Keith Zappa believed the word “genius” had been invented just for him. As far back as he could remember, there was nothing he couldn’t do. He was capable of doing anything and everything better than anyone else. When he started studying math, it was a year before he was solving complex problems that befuddled the experts. When he took up piano, he played with such virtuosity that the empire’s greatest pianists wept.
Indeed, Keith was a jack of all trades. Fate had bestowed upon him every known talent, but what he truly excelled at was the art of Seeking. When his class manifested, he did as his parents told him and began training. By the age of fifteen, he had the skills and know-how equal to that of a first-rate Seeker.
The empire was brimming with Seekers, and many of them had been raised to excel just like Keith. But Keith thought of himself as leagues beyond the other prodigies, and in his confidence were glimmers of his true genius.
For Keith, there was only one exception—one challenge to his ascendance.
“This is one fierce battle! How else can I describe what we’re seeing?!” Luna shouted, her voice booming through the colosseum. “We’ve got Archangel Dolly versus Necromancer Keith! Both are back-line Seekers, yet this fight defies the imagination! Look at those fists fly! And the kicks! Is this not high-level hand-to-hand combat at its finest?! Are we all lost in a dream?! No, I assure you we are experiencing reality! This is as good as back-line Seekers get!”
As soon as the opening bell rang, Dolly and Keith were throwing fists and feet at each other. On one side was a B-Rank Wizard class Necromancer, and on the other, an A-Rank Healer class Archangel. Those who didn’t know the classes well thought them unsuitable for rough-and-tumble scraps. However, both Dolly and Keith had overcome this weakness with various skills.
Necro skill: Soul Install broke down the soul of a departed person and carved it into the user’s body as a tattoo. The Necromancer gained access to buffs the deceased would’ve had when they were alive. Keith was using the soul of a distinguished High Monk, so he drew upon their buffs to fight masterfully in close quarters.
Dolly had also boosted her own physical prowess, albeit through different means. The Healer dealt with life and, upon reaching A-Rank, gained more than an improved ability to heal wounds. They could fortify their own bodies to boost their strength.
The two Seekers fought tooth and nail in a heated match. Neither was hit with knockout blows, but their strikes were as good as martial arts could get—both could’ve stood toe to toe with a close-quarters Seeker. As the crowd got louder in their peaking excitement, Keith and Dolly picked up speed in a back-and-forth game of attack and defense.
Eventually, Keith’s movements began to slow even as Dolly moved faster. The skills they had in play required different amounts of magic. Keith was slightly more skilled as a martial artist, but he couldn’t keep up the pace. Realizing that he needed to change tactics, Keith weaved under Dolly’s kick and took a long backstep, putting distance between them.
“You’re as good as I thought,” he said, laughing casually. “As adept as a regalia clan master should be. There’s no way I can win in a brawl like this. But that’s not how you want to win either, is it?”
Dolly tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t want to put on a boring show, trapping your opponent in the corner and wearing them down. A regalia clan master needs to make a statement against a rookie like me, right? The crowd is starting to lose interest, y’know.”
“That’s one way of looking at it. Well, what do you propose?”
“I don’t like boring matches either, so…” Keith suddenly radiated a vicious aura of death. “I’m going to finish this right here and right now, with everything I’ve got! Wild Hunt!”
In an instant, a countless number of Seekers appeared before Keith. Necro skill: Wild Hunt brought the user’s tattooed souls to life with magical energy. Keith had summoned thirteen, all battle-hardened A-Rankers. It took time to ready the skill, and it was so exhausting that it left the Necromancer unable to move for a whole day, but it was Keith’s one chance at turning the tables against a more powerful opponent.
This was Keith’s ace in the hole, and he’d used his time talking to Dolly to charge up for this moment. It went exactly as Keith planned, and now the thirteen fallen soldiers rushed toward Dolly. She could not avoid them. The resurrected warriors closed in, and just as their attacks were about to land, Dolly’s lips curled into a grin.
“Killer Joker,” she said.
At that moment, a winged monster with the head of a goat appeared behind her. It carried scythes in both hands, the blades of which writhed with eyes and mouths. Keith knew then that Dolly had seen through his strategy—while he prepared to resurrect his army, she had readied something even greater.
A scream like a death rattle tore from the monster’s throat, and it swung the scythes with incredible force. It cut through Keith’s souls like butter, and they fell to pieces before fading into particles of light. The monster then sank into Dolly’s shadow, its duty accomplished.
The fight was over. Keith’s chest heaved with ragged breaths as Dolly strode toward him, a bewitching smile and a question on her lips.
“Want to keep going?”
“Nope. I’ve lost.”
Keith raised both hands in a sign of surrender, and the bell rang to mark the end of the match.
“We have a winner!” Luna declared. “Dolly Gardner!”
Keith fell back on the floor of the ring, completely and utterly exhausted. “I am…broken…” he muttered.
He lay there waiting for the tournament staff to bring a stretcher. Dolly looked down at him inquisitively.
“You don’t look at all disappointed that you lost,” she said.
“Oh, I’m disappointed, all right. I knew it was going to be a tall order taking you down. Well, this time, anyway…”
“You cheeky brat. It doesn’t matter how many times you try. The results will never change.”
Dolly turned on her heel, annoyed by Keith’s arrogance.
“Nope,” Keith said as she stepped down from the ring. “Next time, I’ll win.”
The Necromancer chuckled and stared at his right hand. There was a skull symbol there, noticeably different from his tattoos—proof that he’d met the conditions to rank up. Keith had already achieved those conditions before entering the tournament, but he’d made a point of entering as a B-Rank competitor. Fighting tough opposition as a weaker rank only gave him better battle experience, and he knew that his skills had been further polished in this match against Dolly. At the same time, it still wasn’t enough.
Keith looked up, turning his gaze to a person watching him from a locker room far overhead.
“You’re so far away. I still can’t reach you.”
Noel Stollen. The man who had crawled to the peak of the Seeker world without any natural advantages. The only man Keith recognized as a true Seeker.
“All these victories and defeats are just preparation. One day, I will beat you.”
He reached up and clenched his fist around empty space, as if clutching a shining star.
✦ ✦ ✦
The Seven Star Cup finals proceeded smoothly and without any signs of terrorist threats. Block A’s seventh match likewise went off without a hitch, with Leo as the winner. His opponent was Jade Feather of Kingfisher Corps. As with his first match, Leo blasted Jade into unconsciousness in mere seconds.
With the first seven matches done, the stage was set for the semifinals—the first of which pitted Noel against Wolf. Both Seekers carried injuries from their last fights, but they made it out of their locker rooms and into the ring.
“Gotta admit, that’s one hell of a strategy you came up with,” Wolf said with some lingering disbelief. “Are you out for revenge after your heart got broken? Is that what this is?”
He chuckled, but Lycia turned on him with a dark glare. “What did you just say?”
Wolf shrank under her murderous gaze. In that moment, she was far more terrifying than any beast he had ever known.
“Uh, nothing. Nothing at all.”
Lycia let out a deep sigh. “It’s not like I have it in for Noel or anything. In the beginning, we were just acquaintances, really. I didn’t find out about the marriage talks until I saw them in the paper. He didn’t tell me about it himself…”
A wry grin crossed Wolf’s face at the sight of his grumbling cornerman. “Well, he’s a busy man.”
“And a high-ranking one too. He was still on our level not too long ago, and now he’s a clan master on the regalia. And he’s the one who put this whole tournament together. He’s practically sitting up there in the clouds now. But…” Lycia paused, looking at Wolf. “That doesn’t mean we just give up. We have to show him our strength.”
“You’re right,” Wolf replied, nodding resolutely. “We do.”
Just then, they heard the cheers of the crowd from the corridor leading to the ring. Noel had already made his entrance. In that moment, it dawned on Wolf that they would actually be locked in combat soon, and his knees trembled. He couldn’t stand it.
“Lycia!” he shouted. “I need you to hit me. I need to get in the zone.”
“Huh? No! Don’t be a weirdo!”
“Hey! Give a guy a hand, would ya?!”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’ll do it, but I’m not holding back, you hear?”
The dry smack of Lycia’s slap echoed through the corridor. Wolf once more felt the strength of his legs underneath him.
“All right! Let’s do this!”