Nova came back to the arena the next day, greeted by the spectators' shouts, so loud that the adjacent arena could hear a muffled sound, making them question their ears. As the ninth match ended and the announcer's voice rang out, telling him to stop, a notification sounded in his mind:

[Skill Aura – Second Stage → Aura – Third Stage]

His lips arched into a smile as he made his way out of the arena, his ears already blocking all external sound. He thought, 'Going from second to third stage took me a while, but…'

He stored Dreadscape back into his Inventory and mentally called up, 'Status.'

[Status]

Rank: 0

Name: Nova Grey

Species: Human

Affiliation: None

Level: 27 (170/500)

Mana: Mana Core (Medium) (299,631,548/10,000,000,000), ??? Spinal Node, ??? Perception Node, ??? Pulse Node, ??? Voice Node, ??? Vital Organs Node, ??? Power Node, ??? Stance Node, ??? Manipulation Node

Class: None

Titles: Goblin Exterminator, Kings Slayer, Survivor, Spear Advanced, Troll Exterminator, Orc Exterminator, Rune Novice, Mana Intermediate, Lord (Giants), Hunter, ???, Sword Novice

Stat Points: 1,550

Attributes:

Strength: 232 (+9,524)

Vigor: 205 (+8,436)

Dexterity: 255 (+13,018)

Speed: 215 (+10,976)

Intelligence: 171 (+1,907)

Wisdom: 215 (+2,397)

Will: 19

Luck: 10 (+10)

Skills

Active: Spear Thrust (27) (63,989,102,165/67,108,864,000), Spear Jab (27) (2,546,581,910/67,108,864,000), Spear Sweep (27) (1,806,051,031/67,108,864,000), Spear Lunge (27) (47,199,098,678/67,108,864,000), Spear Overhead Strike (26) (5,780,371,026/33,554,432,000), Sword Slash (15) (1/16,384,000), Sword Stab (15) (3/16,384,000), Sword Chop (15) (1/16,384,000), Sword Sweep (15) (0/16,384,000), Sword Parry (14) (2,030,197/8,192,000), Sword Block (14) (1,997,701/8,192,000), Blacksmithing (5) (6,472/16,000), Woodworking (0) (54/500)

Passive: Regeneration (22) (1,701,831,845/2,097,152,000), Keen Reflexes (14) (6,074,879/8,192,000), Momentum Streak (18) (97,991,015/131,072,000), One with the World (Spear) (MAX), One with the World (Footwork) (MAX), Aura (Third Stage)

Skill: [Aura – Third Stage] (Dramatically increases defense against illusion. STR, VIG, DEX, SPD +3000%)

Aura surged from his body, covering it like an invisible film, a blood-red one. "…It was worth it. Although I still have no confidence in beating that tiger, I should aim for fourth or even fifth stage before going back to try." By the end of his thoughts, he sighed and made an effort to conceal his Aura as much as possible, rendering it practically invisible to anyone weaker than him.

"Sir, someone has requested a meeting with you," a voice rang out in front of him, snapping him from his thoughts.

Nova looked up and saw, at the end of the corridor, another manager, different from the one he had seen in the Warlord waiting room over the past three days. Feeling pleased with his recent increase in strength, he didn't ignore the man but lightly asked, "Who is it?"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The manager replied politely, "The person who wishes to see you is the current overseer of this arena in the Lotra Kingdom." Though polite, he couldn't hide the pride in his voice at serving such a noble figure.

'I don't think I've done anything wrong since I arrived here. Why would the overseer want to see me?' Nova thought, then looked at the man before him and nodded. "Lead the way."

The manager nodded, turned on his heel, and led Nova down another corridor, ending at a flight of stairs. A few minutes later, they arrived at a door where the manager announced, "Lord Overseer, I've brought the person you requested."

A robotic voice from inside responded, "Good. You may go back, while the guest may enter."

The manager nodded, shot Nova an envious glance, and left. Nova simply shook his head at the man's antics before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

The room was cozy and large, very large, in fact. The first thing he noticed were the many aquamarine glass screens hanging on the walls, each projecting an image. He raised an eyebrow, thinking, 'Are those like the old TVs from Earth?'

"Why do you look so surprised by the Image Projector?" a clear voice called out.

Nova turned his gaze toward a slender young woman with long black hair, seated on a sofa in front of the screens. 'Is this the overseer, or just a secretary? She looks too young to be the overseer…Also it seems these screens are common knowledge here.'

With a smile, he said, "You must've misunderstood me. I was just thinking about something as I looked at the screens. May I ask who you are?"

"Is that so?" the young woman replied, meeting his gaze directly. "My name is Cynthia, and I'm the overseer of this arena. That's all you need to know, as we aren't here to talk about me, we're here to talk about you."

"Such a young woman being the overseer means she's either incredibly capable or she has powerful connections, perhaps both," Nova thought, then asked in surprise, "Me?"

"Yes, you. Knights from the Empire are forbidden from participating in the arenas of the three kingdoms. So why have you competed so many times over the past three days?" Cynthia said, her voice growing angrier with each word.

Nova was speechless. 'When and how did I become a knight from the empire? Is there something I'm missing here?'

Seeing his reaction, Cynthia assumed he felt guilty and righteously continued, "I let your transgression slide for two days, but you just had to come back today. I was forced to report you to the Empire. Soon your entire family will be implicated because of you. Don't you feel any shame or remorse?"

As the situation escalated and Cynthia became more worked up, Nova asked, amused, "How did you report to me without even knowing my name? And why do you assume I'm from the Empire?"

"Isn't that obvious? More importantly, what kind of knight are you if you don't even know our protocol?" she snapped. "I requested a group of knights be sent here to apprehend you. If you cooperate, the punishment won't be too severe, but if you don't, you might even lose your limbs. Do you understand the gravity of your crimes?"

'She's speaking as if the knights from the Empire are that much stronger than the rest. Maybe I should wait for this group and test myself against them while waiting for Westoria and Lotra's armies to attack Blackridge,' he thought, weighing his options.

The choice was easy, he didn't have much else to do, as long as he couldn't find a rank 7 or 8 wind mage to teach him spells. Without one, he could only explore on his own, and he could do that while waiting for the knights to arrive.

Looking at Cynthia, he asked nonchalantly, "When will they be here?"

"Are you finally worried now that you're in danger?" she snorted. Since when has the quality of the Empire's knights dropped so low that they can't even recognize their own mistakes?

Nova replied calmly, "I'd like to settle some matters before they come to take me, so I need to know when they'll arrive."

Cynthia paused for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. Since we're both citizens of the Empire, I'll tell you: the knight squad will arrive in two or three days. I suggest you settle your affairs before then or it might be too late."

'I can play around with wind for the time being and see if I manage to learn something new before facing these so-called Empire knights,' he thought with a small smile.

Seeing him lost in thought, Cynthia said, "You're dismissed. I already know where you're living, don't try to run away or you'll only worsen your transgressions."

Nova thought, 'It might sound like she's threatening me, but her tone is the exact opposite. Why is she worried?'

Having nothing else to ask, he nodded, turned, and left.

Alone in the room, Cynthia's eyes drooped with exhaustion.

//////

Far, far away from Lotra, in an army tent, a messenger burst inside, panting. "Commander, we've received a report from Lotra!"

A refined middle-aged man draped in a white cape sat in a chair, eyes closed. He remained silent for a moment before lightly saying, "Continue."

"There's been a report of a knight from the Empire violating the rules by participating in Lotra's arena for three consecutive days."

The Commander frowned. "If that's all, you may leave."

The messenger bowed and immediately departed. As soon as he was gone, the Commander waved his hand, releasing a burst of Aura that traveled hundreds of meters before entering another tent.

Less than a minute later, a younger knight hurried in and bowed.

"Tairo," the Commander said, "Pick two other knights at the third stage and go to Lotra. Meet with the arena's overseer and assess the situation before offering aid. Leave immediately."

"Yes, Commander," Tairo replied and promptly left the tent.

A whisper, audible only to the Commander, lingered in the air.

"If anything were to happen to my granddaughter, I'll level Lotra."

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