Unedited*

The moment he arrived, everyone stepped aside, leaving Lucius and Clara alone in the center.

Lucius didn’t turn to look at him. He couldn’t meet this guy’s gaze. He kept his composure and glanced sideways. He knew he couldn’t fool this guy.

What he was referring to is the Principle of the Dead Tree, also known as the Principle of Fossilization of Corrupted Mana or Cursed Energy, whichever you prefer to call it.

It is a universal law that occurs under certain circumstances.

The Law implies that Corrupted Mana becomes trapped inside "something" that was once alive and takes on complex forms that can deceive the senses, vision, and even magic and the system itself.

The first part of the Principle is inviolable: It can only occur within something that was alive, that went through a process of fossilization.

Example: A tree trunk—the most common place for this to occur.

And as it takes shape inside, the fossilization process begins rapidly and can erode its surroundings, causing the surrounding area to become larger, heavier, longer, or whatever shape it has taken. If an indefinite amount of time passes, Cursed Magic Tools are likely to emerge; these are rare and extremely dangerous.

Finding these kinds of anomalies is important precisely to prevent a cursed tool from emerging, but they aren’t that easy to spot.

Only a true expert on the subject—or someone who has been around such things very frequently before—could see it.

But how could a young man see it so clearly?

Gerard was suspicious.

"I cannot deceive you, Sir," Lucius replied, lowering his head slightly.

Although having Kael’s nephew standing before him filled him with murderous thoughts, in his current state he was no match for that guy’s strength.

He was already ranked in the World Rankings, a powerful R-S-Rank.

There was no comparison.

Gerard nodded. "When I heard the description, I was amazed. I can see you’re a very talented person; it’s no wonder the system chose you as its new Star."

"I’m flattered, sir. I’m really just trying to stand out in a world that hasn’t treated me well," Lucius replied modestly.

Gerard laughed heartily and then nodded. "Hahaha, I suppose you’re right. You’ve won this bet; you have my word that it will be carried out to the letter."

Lucius swallowed hard. ’Although I’m glad, I hope he doesn’t rush to see me alone. That Sylph is looking at me as if she wants to eat me alive,’ he thought.

"Thank you, sir." That was all he said, giving nothing of his thoughts away.

His words spelled the end for Darius and his companions...

Lord Gerard himself had congratulated Lucius on his victory...

They were finished.

Darius collapsed to the ground, completely bewildered.

Kael didn’t know how to react.

In the distance, someone who had an unexpected reaction was Elara. She clutched her chest, feeling as though she were about to vomit blood, and quickly left the area.

Her father noticed, but said nothing. He shot Lucius a piercing glance before turning to speak with Valerius, who wasn’t looking too well either.

All the Asturians present were pale.

"Now I’d like to play with you a little. What do you say? Look at that fossilized rock over there. The biggest one. Do you want to play with me?" Gerard asked.

Lucius stared at him from behind his hood and then looked at the rock.

"To bet with him..." Lucius swallowed hard, but smiled.

He had to turn this down, but he’d never turned down a bet, so he decided to play it down.

"Haha... Sir, I’m not worthy of that. I think it would lower your standards to face me," he said, glancing at his S-Rank above his head.

Gerard laughed and shook his head. "It’s just a game. Since you took down your direct rival so cleanly, I figured it’d be a good idea to boost your reputation even more. Win or lose, everyone will say you faced me. Isn’t that good for you?" he insisted.

Lucius shook his head. That wasn’t so good for him, but since this man was insisting, he couldn’t refuse.

’I would have liked to stay for the main event, but win or lose, I’ll be forced to leave.’ Lucius sighed.

"Well, it’s not like I have enough money to buy such expensive things anyway."

That’s why he nodded.

"All right, sir. I’d like to face you too."

"Very good. That’s how a man should be. Gutsy." Gerard praised him sincerely.

Although if he knew who he really was, he wouldn’t be able to praise him like that.

The fact that those two were going to compete this time completely stunned the room.

Those who had left came running back, and those who were placing their own bets decided to set them aside to focus on this.

Gerard was already the center of attention, but now he shifted that spotlight to Lucius as well.

It was nothing new; it didn’t make him uncomfortable at all.

The rules were laid out; they were simple.

Lucius thought about it longer than he had the previous times. He spent more time looking at the rock.

Not because it was difficult for him, but because he had to think carefully about what he was going to write.

"I can’t win fair and square. He’s an S-Rank; he has pride. Should I lose on purpose?" he thought.

The problem was that he had just shown he could guess things that no one else in the room could. Even Gerard would have a hard time; only Sylph could match that feat with her current power.

If he lost on purpose, Gerard would easily notice. That would be worse.

’But if I win fair and square, it’ll be complicated too.’

Lucius sighed and took 20 minutes to study the rock.

Finally, he wiped away nonexistent sweat and returned to his seat with a decision made.

He wrote his decision on a piece of paper and then handed it to the judge.

"This is a big call, possibly. Are you sure this is what you want to write?" the judge asked for the first time, feeling slightly anxious at his words.

Lucius sensed that the judge wanted him to win. It was a strange situation, perhaps because he wanted to save face in front of the foreigners. But asking a Rank F to beat a Rank S...

’He’s out of his depth. If he weren’t, he’d be trembling with fear,’ he thought.

"He is," he replied firmly.

The judge seemed quite nervous, but nodded. "I wish you luck," he whispered.

The expert proceeded to cut the rock when he realized both opponents were ready.

This time he was much more meticulous than before. He did it so carefully that even Gerard grew impatient with the slowness, though he said nothing.

After a while, the man sighed as he cut through the last section holding up the structure, and it fell to the ground.

Suddenly, a torrent of cursed energy shot out in all directions. The concentration of cursed energy was so intense that it pushed several weak people backward.

As expected of the largest rock...

It was Gerard who cast a magical tool to contain it, for he knew this tool was quite powerful—it could even rival those chosen for the main event.

The cursed energy quickly subsided, and finally, the tool came into view.

It was a combat-type tool. It had two sides.

Toward the top, the main part, was a massive halberd with numerous runes embedded in it that increased its weight.

Toward the bottom, the secondary part, was a sword. It had surely been able to hide itself before, as it had several runes for that purpose, but now it was visible.

These types of weapons were famous in ancient times... a long time ago.

’A tool over a thousand years old...’ Lucius was in shock.

Gerard was also quite stunned, staring intently.

Both judges then decided to reveal the contents of both scrolls.

What Gerard said: "It’s a spear..." And he went on to explain a few mechanisms.

What Lucius said: "It’s an axe..." With a more detailed explanation.

In the details, they both said almost the same thing. However, they had both been wrong.

Gerard, surprised, smiled. "It seems we’ve both failed," he said, acknowledging his mistake.

Lucius laughed. "A halberd belongs to the family of axes, sir," Lucius replied with a touch of cunning.

"Hm?" Gerard looked at him directly. He found what he had just said curious.

"How about using the Principle of Proximity and Equality?" Lucius asked suddenly. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"You..." Gerard was surprised that this boy was so bold, but suddenly he burst out laughing. "Well, very well. A person who is confident in their abilities will always go far," he said and raised his hands.

"Given the Principle of Proximity and Equality, I chose a spear and you chose an axe. The result was a halberd, which belongs to the family of axes. I admit it, I’ve lost," he said, raising his voice so everyone could hear.

A wave of shock swept through the room...

Lucius smiled slightly.

And Gerard lowered his voice to speak to him more closely. "But the arrogance of always wanting to win could kill you. Use your status as the star of the system to grow. Don’t become arrogant, or you’ll die." Gerard’s eyes turned deadly dangerous at that moment, before he turned to return to his seat.