As Ryota's voice fell, the huge secret chamber once again felt as if someone had pressed a mute button.
All the gods instinctively turned to look at the black-haired boy walking slowly in.
Countless gazes gathered on Ryota — some filled with jealousy, some with shock, some with complicated emotions...
But most of all, there was the same kind of resentment and teeth-grinding hate shown by Apollo —
because it was this kid who'd just made them lose their shirts, down to their underwear!
At this moment, Apollo had long since lost any semblance of a dignified god.
Having lost so much money, a vein was twitching on his forehead as he frantically calculated which of his followers he could squeeze for valis first to recover his losses.
And the other gods who had heavily bet on the Freya Familia didn't look any better — each face as bitter as if they'd just eaten shit.
When Loki and the others turned and saw Ryota walking their way, a smile reappeared on Loki's face.
"Ryota, how come you finished so—"
But she didn't even get the words out before Hestia jumped the line:
"Ryota!!!"
"I knew you'd win!!!"
The little goddess practically looked like she'd been starving for ages and had finally seen food.
She was just about to pounce on Ryota when Hephaestus grabbed her by the collar from behind.
"You blockhead, are you losing your mind? At least look at the situation!"
Scolded, Hestia shrank back, but her big shining eyes kept firmly locked on Ryota.
And that burning-hot gaze—
no, better to say it was borderline melting—
there was another one like it.
From Freya, standing all alone on the opposite side.
As she saw the adventurer she had dreamed of returning alive,
her gaze looked upon him like a priceless treasure, like the only salvation woven into her destiny.
She couldn't help but smile, those gray eyes brimming with a hunger and fervor that could no longer be hidden.
That wasn't the look of a rival, of a defeated opponent — it was the look of someone who only cared about him.
Stopping in place, Ryota nodded politely to everyone, counting it as a greeting, then turned toward Freya and spoke:
"Lady Freya. As long as I don't use any of the magic or skills I showed today in the next round's siege match, Ottar won't take the field, right?"
"That's correct."
Freya smiled,
"If you have any other requests, Ryota, I'm happy to listen."
Ryota considered.
In today's fight with Ottar, he hadn't actually used that many abilities.
Mainly Susanoo, Sage Jutsu Chakra, and the Kamui.
Beyond that, tons of his trump cards were still hidden.
He hadn't even touched his most basic Fire Style or Lightning Style jutsu.
Let alone the Third Kazekage he'd just gotten from the system, or devastating powers like Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi.
In short, Ryota still had plenty of cards up his sleeve.
Not that anyone present could have known that, of course.
At this point, Loki couldn't hold back anymore, stepping forward and shouting:
"What kind of crap rule is this? Ryota's eyes are his magic, what do you expect him to do, gouge them out before a siege match?!"
Freya folded her arms under her magnificent bust, squeezing out an eye-popping canyon as she spoke calmly:
"Why would I ever do something so cruel to Ryota? Of course those eyes don't count."
"I love those eyes too, after all…"
Hearing that, Ryota completely understood.
What Freya was truly afraid of was Susanoo.
That terrifying chakra giant that had one-shot Ottar.
If he unleashed that blue-violet monster again in the siege, it would basically be the same as dropping a calamity of war onto the field.
That wouldn't be a clash between Familias anymore — it would be a natural disaster.
Of course she wouldn't tolerate seeing that again.
"So even a god can be afraid of something…"
"I wonder what kind of face she'll make once she sees my other trump cards?"
Loki didn't say anything more, and everyone else behind her fell silent as well.
All eyes focused on Ryota, waiting for the boy who had defeated a Level 7 to make the final decision for the Loki Familia.
Ryota looked at Freya and said softly:
"I can agree—"
"but I have a condition of my own."
"This is a War Game. It should at least be fair."
"You name one condition, then I name one condition. Seems reasonable, right?"
Freya, as if she'd already expected this, nodded gracefully:
"Of course, Ryota."
"Very well then… in the siege match, the Loki Familia will take the role of the attacking side."
As soon as Ryota finished saying that, the previously noisy secret chamber fell silent once more.
Finn's pupils shrank, Ais tilted her head, and Lefiya nearly blurted out a shriek.
Even Riveria looked utterly baffled.
Even Hestia, standing off to the side with her hands still planted on her hips, froze completely, mouth hanging open for ages.
Loki stared at Ryota, her voice floating a bit:
"Ryota, did I… did I hear you right?"
"Trust me, Lady Loki. Our Familia will choose to attack."
When Ryota confirmed it again, Freya's smile finally vanished.
Her brows rose slightly, and for the first time, she showed a hint of genuine surprise before this boy.
"You want to attack?"
Freya repeated it, like she needed to make sure she'd heard correctly.
And in the stands, the gods began to stir:
"Is this kid insane?"
"A siege match, the attacking side's difficulty is easily many times higher than defending!"
"Wasn't it supposed to be decided by lottery? Why did he just pick it outright?"
"…"
The chatter swelled, growing more and more heated.
Even the veteran gods who'd seen countless War Games couldn't help but frown.
Hermes, who had stayed quiet until now, fell deep into thought, tapping his chin while staring at Ryota with a gaze as though he were a riddle no one had cracked in a thousand years.
Everyone knew that in a War Game's siege match, attacking was far harder than defending.
That was an unspoken, thoroughly proven iron law.
The reasons were simple.
There was a time limit on the siege.
The attackers had to do three things within that limit:
Break through the outer defense, crush the defending forces, and achieve their final objective.
This meant the attacking side was under triple pressure right from the start —
time, tactics, and resources.
They couldn't go slow, couldn't probe cautiously, couldn't play safe — they had to drive like an arrow straight through a breach and take it all in one stroke.
If they let the defenders drag out the pace, they'd be doomed to a string of defeats, picked off one by one.
Not to mention the defenders usually held the terrain advantage, could prepare traps ahead of time, build layered blockades, and shift reinforcements flexibly as needed.
That meant every moment of hesitation, every single mistake by the attackers, would be magnified a hundredfold!
Of course, in theory, there were ways to break through —
for example, if the attackers had overwhelming numbers or the defenders were stretched thin.
But this time, that didn't apply at all.
Who in Orario didn't know how terrifying the Freya Familia was?
They were the largest Familia in the entire city.
Freya smiled brilliantly, her gaze growing even hotter and hazier, as if she might devour Ryota whole the next second.
"I'm falling for you even more, Ryota."
She turned to Royman.
"Record it down—"
"Three days from now, the second round begins."
Royman's throat bobbed a few times before he quickly bowed in reply:
"Y-yes, Lady Freya!"
Ryota's eyes narrowed.
Just as he'd expected.
This woman had never intended to give the Loki Familia a moment's rest.
He'd asked for five days, but she had forced it down to three on the spot.
Clearly Ottar's defeat had given her a sense of urgency.
And combined with the growing obsession in her heart, there was no way she'd accept losing twice in a row.
She had to take a point in the second round's siege match to tie the score.
As long as she managed a draw, she could fully claim Ryota as her own!
And so, under this man's name, all of Orario was set ablaze.
Ryota, a Level 2, had publicly defeated Ottar, a Level 7.
That disaster-level battle had shattered the city's very perception of power.
That sight of the Susanoo towering in the arena, blasting Ottar away, would forever go down in Orario's history books.
From that moment on, "Ryota" became a burning meteor, slicing across the night sky, lighting up all of Orario.
Yet behind that brilliance, the siege match in three days loomed.
That night, when the Guild made an official announcement confirming the second round's schedule and the siege format,
the entire city erupted.
No one could have imagined that the attacking side would be the Loki Familia!
"What the hell? Loki Familia chose to attack? Did they lose the lottery?"
"That's Freya Familia, man — they're huge, how do you even break through their lines?"
"Pfft, who cares? With Ryota's giant skeleton monster, Loki Familia might just pull it off!"
"…"
But just as support for the Loki Familia was about to surge,
a wave of "rumors" started to spread through the city from who-knows-where:
"I heard Ryota's giant skeleton can't be used again."
"Yeah, totally confirmed. Word is the kid's been out cold for a whole night! Nobody knows if he'll even be awake in three days for the siege!"
"Tch! He blew all his trump cards fighting Ottar, didn't he?"
"…"
It was obvious enough where these rumors had started.
The Freya Familia was quietly waging a propaganda war.
This time, they didn't just want to win—
they wanted to crush the Loki Familia utterly, stomp them into the dirt.
So the once "invincible" Ryota in the eyes of the masses suddenly turned into a "cornered madman."
Even many Loki Familia supporters started to waver.
No one could be sure what other trump cards Ryota might have left.
Or rather — maybe he didn't have any left at all.
Some self-proclaimed Guild insiders even concluded with confidence:
"Ryota is at best a Level 2. That victory over Ottar? A desperate all-or-nothing gamble, that's all."
In an instant, the voices of doubt and ridicule came pouring in from every direction like a tidal wave.
And the young man at the center of all these rumors —
didn't respond at all.
Because right now, he was lying in a bedroom in Twilight Manor, wrestling with a very real bout of choice paralysis:
"I had 80,000 chakra before, then another 150,000 after clearing the main branch quest."
"That's enough to awaken almost everyone except the Six Paths of the Sage."
With a thought, a virtual menu popped up in front of Ryota:
[Forbidden Jutsu: Reanimation — Advanced Version]
[Current chakra: 232,300]
[Available to construct]:
Asura Path, required chakra: 200,000
Human Path, required chakra: 200,000
…
[Locked]:
(hidden)
…
Looking at the list of possible summons, Ryota felt his head spinning.
"After busting my ass to finish a mission, I can only unlock one of these?"
"When the hell will I finally get to summon Uchiha Madara to come dance with me?"
But grumbling aside, he still had to make progress on his plans.
At last, his eyes fell on the name "Animal Path."
"Summoned beasts and such… nothing better for sowing chaos in a siege."
Ryota stood up, then whispered:
"Reanimation, construct Animal Path!"
----
Join my Patreon for early access to chapters: Patreon.com/rivyura :)