Chapter 151

‘Finаllу, а sаvior has соmе tо rеscue me…!’

Аldrik, hаving witnessed Drаmos’s Aurа Swоrd uр сlоsе, felt the аnxietу thаt had bееn filling his mind dissiраtе.

“Khеhe… Wеll now, it’s beеn а whilе sinсe I’ve rеcеived so manу gаzes. It’s a bit burdensomе. Еveryone, plеаse don’t stare so muсh.”

Drаmos mutterеd to himsеlf аnd lightlу swung thе tree branch hе was holding in his hаnd.

It sееmed like а vеrу casuаl swing, yet strаngely, its speеd wаs overwhеlming.

Sо few рeoрle could рroреrly see the trajеctоrу оf the brаnch he swung.

КWАНAAАAААNG!!!!

Аs thе trеe brаnсh сlad in Drаmоs’s aura struck the Power Measurement Device, a loud roar erupted and a score appeared.

[99999]

The score displayed on the Power Measurement Device was 99,999 points.

It was the highest score seen since the Underground Arena Tournament began.

“Khehe, good thing I didn’t break the machine.”

“Ugh, ah… Wow, that’s the highest score so far! I, I apologize for not recognizing your skill and being rude. I’m truly sorry…!”

“I know how impatient young folks are these days, so it’s fine. So, is my tournament registration complete now?”

“O-of course! The tournament starts tomorrow at 9 AM! Please arrive on time!”

“Khehe… Understood.”

Dramos answered with a laugh and then vanished in an instant.

The person who was right in front of them a moment ago disappeared in a flash, causing the adventurers and officials handling registrations nearby to widen their eyes in surprise once more.

“Wow, insane…”

“Wait, a monster like that is entering the tournament?”

“Crazy… Are we going to die if we participate…?”

“Look here…! The notice says participants may die during the tournament and not to hold them responsible!”

“I, I’m giving up!”

“Yeah! Even if we participate, there’s absolutely no way we could win… It’s better not to join at all!”

“Me too!”

The adventurers waiting in line to register for the tournament began shouting one by one and quickly started leaving the registration area.

As a result.

“Sir, they’ve all left, Viscount? What do we do…?”

Not a single person remained; they had all run away.

“Kehahahahaha!! It doesn’t matter! Those mediocre folks would’ve just wasted time anyway! Now that that gentleman has entered, it’s settled!”

Aldrik was certain that the old man’s identity was Dramos, the Royal Guard Captain he knew of.

‘But… No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t figure it out. Why on earth did he come all the way here?’

Even if the prize for winning this Underground Arena Tournament was an Ancient Magic Tome, it didn’t make sense for a figure like Dramos to personally come all this way.

Moreover, as the Royal Guard Captain, it should be impossible for him to leave the Royal Palace.

‘Wait, then could this be…?!’

The relief from his anxiety was short-lived.

Aldrik was once again filled with a chilling sense of dread.

‘Could it be that the Royal Palace sent him to investigate me? So Dramos enters the tournament, wins, and plans to reclaim the Ancient Magic Tome as well…?!’

Originally, waging war between Nobles over Territories required several procedures.

Aldrik had been expanding his Territory through war, and now, gaining just one more Territory would allow him to become a Count.

Until now, Aldrik had waged wars unilaterally without following a single one of those procedures.

Normally, the Royal Palace would have intervened immediately, but he had heard rumors that the Royal Palace was currently in a precarious state.

‘Hoo, I should try to talk to him tomorrow if I get the chance.’

If Dramos had come here to capture Aldrik, then there was someone else Aldrik needed to root for.

Dramos, the Royal Guard Captain, was truly an overwhelmingly powerful individual.

Having seen him create and wield an Aura Sword with a tree branch right before his eyes, it seemed no one could be a match for Dramos.

However, there was one person who came to Aldrik’s mind right now.

It was Khan, who until just a moment ago had felt like a thorn in his side.

‘That guy… might be able to defeat Dramos, right?’

Aldrik had lived believing his intuition was almost 99% accurate.

When he first met Khan, he had sensed an indescribable strength from him.

‘His score on the Power Measurement Device was much lower… but someone like Khan might be able to do it.’

He briefly considered fleeing Erindel immediately, but he couldn’t.

Everything Aldrik had was in Erindel.

Leaving all that behind to run away would be foolish.

‘If Khan just defeats Dramos in the Underground Arena Tournament, I can get through this…!’

It was also a bit strange that Dramos had come here despite the Royal Palace’s difficult times, so more investigation was needed.

‘It would put my mind at ease to look into this myself.’

Aldrik planned to approach Dramos naturally tomorrow without delegating the task to his subordinates.

* * *

Khan arrived at the Underground Arena Tournament registration area located in District 6 with brisk steps.

There, he could see adventurers lined up in front of the Power Measurement Device to participate in the tournament.

‘Quite a lot of people. Their Levels are all just average.’

There were adventurers as low as Level 10s, and at most around Level 70, so no one posed a threat to Khan.

“Wow, look at that person…!”

“What’s with that Elder being so strong…?! I’ve never seen an Aura Sword in my life!!”

“Right, even high-ranking adventurers rarely master the Aura Sword. What on earth is that Elder’s identity?”

“I thought that Elder looked weak and wondered why someone about to collapse came here earlier…”

But something was a bit strange.

The adventurers in line seemed quite noisy, and they were all looking towards the Power Measurement Device and making comments.

‘Could Dramos be here? According to Byutek, he definitely left for Erindel earlier to register.’

Come to think of it, seeing such a long line now made it somewhat understandable why the registration process was taking so long.

Khan walked forward and approached the Power Measurement Device.

The moment he arrived there, Khan could finally see with his own eyes Dramos, the Royal Guard Captain he had only seen in <Geo Arc>.

‘It really was Dramos. But, he’s a bit different from what I know…?’

Khan checked the Level of Dramos, who was holding an Aura Sword made from a tree branch.

[LV.371 Retired Veteran Knight Dramos]

To his knowledge, Dramos’s Level was well over 400, in the mid-400s, but his Level wasn’t even 400.

‘And “Retired Veteran Knight.” Could it be he stepped down from the position of Royal Guard Captain?’

Although the distance was quite far, using Mana to examine his face closely, he did indeed look much older.

‘It seems his capabilities have declined with age. That’s why his Level is different from what I know.’

Since entering the game world of <Geo Arc>, Khan had traveled to many places and met many NPCs.

Also, as a result of exploring various Gates, Khan could clearly see the difference between when he played the game and the game world itself.

‘Seeing it change every time I move cities, it’s clear time flows differently in each region.’

Simply put, some regions were the same as the <Geo Arc> game world Khan knew, while others were several years ahead in time.

‘A place called Arcana is a completely new region… I probably know nothing about that place.’

To survive in this game world, and to see the game’s ending, he would definitely have to go to Arcana.

He had heard from another adventurer before that an Ancient Tower was located near Arcana.

‘Shall I gauge his strength?’

The somewhat fortunate point was that Dramos’s Level was much lower than Khan had expected, though this was also problematic in itself.

‘Over Level 300… He’s an opponent I’d have a hard time defeating in my current state.’

To be completely honest, the probability of losing was 99.99%.

Of course, that didn’t mean Khan planned to give up.

BANG!!!

Beep—

[99999]

When Dramos swung the Aura Sword he created from a tree branch towards the Power Measurement Device, an unbelievable score appeared.

At first, he thought it might be a bluff, but if Dramos had used a real sword, the Power Measurement Device might have shattered.

‘What an utterly ridiculous person…’

Does it make any sense to get a score of 99,999 points on the Power Measurement Device with a tree branch?

Khan had also grown much stronger since coming to Erindel, but even going all out, getting 99,999 points seemed impossible.

Dramos said something and then vanished from the spot like a ghost in an instant.

“Tsk, unbelievable.”

Now, Khan had only one thing to do.

He had to participate in the tournament tomorrow and clear the Main Quest, then hope that the new Main Quest that appears isn’t about winning the Underground Arena Tournament.

* * *

The next day.

Khan headed to the Underground Arena Tournament venue early in the morning, taking Sharin and Byutek with him.