Ninth Day of The Tournaments, Gideon, City of Duels
“Nnnh...”
On this day, the Fallen Knight, Juliet—the fourth in Altar’s duel rankings—was faced with an unusual problem.
“There is no sanctuary where I might hone the darkness I wield... (I can’t find an arena to rent...)”
Gideon had a whole thirteen arenas, and they were the very reason the city received its title. However, they weren’t all being used for duels and events all the time. There would always be some that remained unused, and the local duelists would rent them for sparring matches or to test their new gear or skills.
But right now, there were The Tournaments that rewarded the winners with Orbs containing sealed UBMs. Many other powerful Masters had gathered from all over to fight for them and prepare for the fights. With tomorrow being the final day, their numbers were especially high, and because of that, not a single arena was left unreserved.
“My mortal frame has yet to acclimate to my newfound power... (And I still haven’t figured out the MVP rewards yet...)” Juliet had acquired two MVP rewards recently: one from a gacha ticket she’d won during the Anniversary and one from the UBM she’d slain after winning the Tournament she’d participated in. They had no doubt made her more powerful, but she had yet to familiarize herself with their specifics.
The MVP reward she’d gotten from the UBM had been generated with her previous reward in mind. They now formed something of a pair, best used together.
To put it another way: They were awfully unwieldy if used separately. They were, in fact, double-edged swords that would kill her if misused.
Before she could employ them in actual battle, she had to thoroughly test them within the barrier of an arena, where death wasn’t an issue.
Juliet let out a sigh as she spotted a familiar face.
“Oh. Julie! Any luck on your end?” said Chelsea—Juliet’s friend and rival—as she approached. “Goin’ by your face, I’m guessing not, huh?”
“Yeah... You too?”
“Nothin’ on the west, no. With a Mythical reward on the line, they’re all really serious about tomorrow’s Tourney.”
They had split up to the east and west sides of the city to look for any open arenas, but everything was fully booked everywhere.
They usually had Max and Shion with them too, but they weren’t in the city right now.
Max was out making money. There was an auction being held on the same day as the final Tournament, and among the items being sold was one of Tenchi’s Hundred Famed Blades—the exact one she wanted most—so she was out hunting monsters to gather as much wealth as she could before it began.
Shion was currently offline because of a cold. She had come online yesterday and had looked just fine on the Dendro side, but her servants had hastily chased her over there and brought her back.
Juliet had told her to take care of herself, genuinely concerned, while Chelsea had privately thought something rude—along the lines of “So even idiots catch colds, huh?”
“Hrm... Maybe some of our friends have a reservation? We could join them instead...” Chelsea suggested.
“The ones who are participating in the final day are Figaro and Bishmal, right?”
“Yeah. But Figaro probably didn’t rent one, while Bishmal said he wanted to ‘recharge his batteries’ and went to a maid café instead.”
Chelsea’s words made Juliet tilt her head. “Bishmal is one thing, but...Figaro didn’t rent one?”
“I mean, Figaro is a member of Death Period. Their entire base is a— Oh.”
Chelsea stopped mid-sentence. She was looking at something ahead, causing Juliet to do the same.
There, she saw...
“Ray?”
...their friend, Ray Starling.