"I'm sorry, but since you're already carrying one magic tool, you cannot enter while carrying other items."
"Excuse me?"
Leonardo asked back as if bewildered. At his reaction of not understanding, the operations team member brought a detector near Leonardo's neck area.
The detector, whose purpose was unclear, made a beeping sound and flashed a red light. Leonardo, looking down, let out an "Ah" sigh and felt around his neck.
He looked at the member with an expression that seemed to ask 'Surely not this?' The member nodded as if he was asking something obvious.
About 40 minutes earlier. The participants escorted by the operations team entered the multipurpose hall in the southeast of the main arena one by one. The huge hall was comparable in size to a decent parade ground, and as soon as they stepped foot inside, it was breathtakingly full of heat emanating from humans.
In the center, white tents of the Council were lined up in a row, standing firm like a barrier. Under the control of the members, participants entered the white tents one by one. Listening to the murmuring from front and back, it seemed to be a procedure for pre-registering 'match assistance items.'
Among them was someone who carried a two-handed sword twice the size of his own body on his back. A dark red aura emanated from the blade like blood penetrating the heart, with a fierce energy. The source of the hot wind spreading from somewhere seemed to be that guy. Having succeeded in establishing dominance from the start, participants murmured about him.
"Hey, look over there. He brought something incredible."
"What is that?"
"Don't you know Fanontos? It's one of the nine weapon collections said to be made by Aras's craftsman."
"...Isn't it cheating to bring something like that as a weapon? I'd make it to the main tournament if I had something like that too."
'Is it an expensive weapon?'
Leonardo, who didn't think much of it, stretched his neck and looked around at the participants gathered in one place.
From outside, they had all looked like a ragtag bunch, but coming here, he began to notice some real strong people. Beyond simply having threatening builds or weapons, there were those with naturally chilling auras.
They generally hid their faces like himself, shining only their eyes from the shadows.
One of them had his upper body bare with only a hood and cloth wrapped around his head. Setting aside his muscles and veins that seemed ready to burst, what first caught the eye were large scars prominently placed on his abdomen and back. The blackened, kneaded skin with newly grown flesh tangled inside made the surface bumpy and extremely hideous.
Leonardo could guess how that wound had been inflicted.
'Was he pierced through the abdomen? He's lucky to have survived.'
Judging by the width of the scar, it wasn't simply a trace of being pierced by a sword or spear. It looked as if another human's arm had penetrated through to the other side and stirred around.
As he silently looked at the guy, gauging his condition, the guy's reddish glowing eyes suddenly rolled toward him.
Their eyes met for a moment, but Leonardo didn't turn his head away. It wasn't because of pointless pride, but because he was amazed that the opponent had immediately detected his gaze. Fortunately, the operations staff near the guy instructed him to move forward, ending the staring contest anticlimactically.
'Will we meet in the main tournament?'
Leonardo stared blankly at the tent the guy had entered, then turned his eyes again to where he had been standing. Other figures who had been hidden behind came into view. The first to catch his eye was a woman who had her chin raised triumphantly, striking a strange pose.
She was surrounded by other participants, and her outfit was extremely puzzling. Her top was a palm-sized metal piece, her bottom was a dress made of sand, and she wore shoes made of sand. Though it matched well with her bronze skin, it seemed so mismatched with the current situation that one might wonder if she had come to the wrong showroom. Rather, her overly bold appearance seemed to bury even her abilities.
Leonardo quickly averted his eyes in embarrassment. However, she seemed to welcome the attention as if it were natural for gazes to be drawn to her.
The onlookers around her evaluated her appearance and called her 'Desert Nefertiti.' In the woman's hand was a golden staff shaped like twin snakes coiling around each other.
"That woman came too."
"Oh, a strong candidate for advancing to the main tournament."
Following the continued murmuring, he shifted his gaze to see another woman with pale white hair hanging down, standing blankly. This time, it was her face rather than her outfit that drew attention. Not because she was outwardly beautiful, but because of the scars crossing under her eyes and one cheek, and the stitched marks continuing along her neckline. Her corpse-like pale skin and large, cold eyes evoked chills just by looking at her.
She looked like someone who was already dead or on the verge of death. The bandages wrapped around various parts of her body made her bloodless appearance even more spine-chilling.
'But the size of her chest and triceps... that one's not ordinary either.'
Since she was called a strong candidate for advancing to the main tournament, Leonardo stored her appearance in a corner of his mind. Since his goal was victory, it wouldn't hurt to identify potential obstacles in advance.
Lastly, what he paid attention to was someone wearing a mask and cloak. There were quite a few such people, but the mask Leonardo was conscious of was shaped after the medical bird-beak mask that might have been used during the great plague epidemic of old. The person, presumed to be male, was leaning against the wall and sitting sprawled on the floor as if the waiting area were his own home.
The hands visible under the robe were covered with metal gauntlets. In fact, it would be fair to say his entire body was covered.
Among all sorts of demon, beast, and monster masks running rampant, the bird beak's presence might seem weak, but in Leonardo's view, it looked more distinctive and unpleasant than any other mask.
Not just himself, but the fact that someone had so meticulously covered their skin meant they weren't an upright person. They might be a strategist type who moves stealthily while observing the surroundings rather than revealing themselves.
'For now, there are about four notable ones.'
"Next person, please enter."
Just as he finished roughly scanning the competition, his turn finally arrived. Following the member's instructions, Leonardo lifted the entrance of the white tent and entered.
The size of the tent was similar to the large hexagonal tent he had used alone with the Commander on the peninsula. Inside were three members, and no other participants. Various measuring devices, opened artifacts, and boxes filled with bands were stacked on one side.
Leonardo scanned the interior and walked to the position marked on the floor, following the member's gesture. When he stopped at an appropriate spot, one of the two sitting at the table spoke to him.
"You have the receipt you received when applying for participation, right? Could you give it to me along with your ID?"
He immediately took out both items from his inner pocket and handed them over. The two members each took one. Then the remaining member who had been standing back approached. In his hand was a club-like detector.
"Please take out one assistance item you'll use during the match. We'll check it right now."
* * *
'This thing is supposed to be a match assistance item? Are you kidding me right now? This really has no abilities at all. Far from amplification, it's actually a handicap for me—'
'In principle, all items except clothing are classified as match assistance items.'
'...You said accessories were allowed. Don't you know what a choker is? A damn choker that looks like a dog collar.'
'The choker in question was detected as not being a simple accessory. Items that affect mana operation, whether their effect is amplification or suppression, are all classified as match assistance items without distinction.'
"Damn it..."
Leonardo, biting his lips tightly, let out a bitter laugh at the ridiculously twisted current situation.
'If you don't wish to register it as an assistance item, you can remove it yourself right here.'
"If it could be removed that easily, would I still be wearing it?"
Recalling the absurd situation, he ruffled the back of his head like his ruined plans. The hat that had been shaking from his rough touch fell to the floor with a thud, and his compressed blonde hair fluttered in the humid sea breeze.
Worried that someone might see, Leonardo picked up the fallen hat with a sigh. After shaking off the fine sand, he pressed it firmly on his head. The sound of waves full of salt tickled his ears.
Originally, the item he had intended to carry during the league period was a ruby ring that helped with mana operation. Its name was Dominentis. It was a magic tool that could conceal his aura while allowing more precise adjustment of output, which he had found with difficulty from his hideout and modified with Judy's help.
Since he believed without doubt that his strongest weapon was himself, Leonardo had tried to focus only on hiding his identity as much as possible, using his abilities minimally, and seizing the victory prize.
But while others had appeared with collections made by Aras's craftsman and staffs with taxidermied twin snakes, he himself had to navigate the treacherous league with this damn collar instead of even a magic tool.
The more he thought about it, the more irritated Leonardo became, and he glared at the rock placed in front of him for no reason. There were unnatural letters carved on it that were hard to see as traces of nature.
[Movement beyond a 10-meter radius is prohibited until further notice.
Immediate disqualification will result from leaving the designated area.]
It had been almost 30 minutes since waiting for that notice. But there had been no news whatsoever.
Leonardo, tired of waiting, kicked the rock that served as a notice board hard.
However, the rock that he had thought was a model turned out to be real stone, and instead of moving, it only left throbbing pain in his toe. Though the surface crumbled a bit, the scratch was so minor it wasn't even noticeable.
Instead of screaming, he sat down heavily on the sandy beach with blood vessels bulging in his neck, letting out an irritated groan.
"Ugh, really...! What the hell are we supposed to do here?"
To the right was the sea with lapping waves, to the left was a lush jungle forest spread over high cliffs. Under the clear sky, the blazing sun scattered Leonardo's voice in all directions.
The development of a temporary portal appearing right after passing through the tent was unexpected. Following instructions, he had thrown himself into the portal and guessed it would lead to an external match venue, but he hadn't expected to be dropped on such a remote island.
This was the 1st Sub-Arena for participant testing within Agrizendro territory.
Leonardo, who had been getting exhausted on the sun-heated ground, sprawled out on the fine sandy beach. As he stared at the boundary between sea and sky, a net-like barrier reflected in the light, revealing its outline.
And just then, a huge amplification magic circle spread across the blue sky. Along with buzzing noise, an announcement voice signaling the start of the full test echoed through the air.