I was greatly shocked and panicked at the same time. It was not because the girl had the same style as Esmeralda.
Maybe it was one of the reasons but no, that was not entirely everything. It was because today... this day was too much of a coincidence.
'The only day I decide to come and spectate the tournament, I meet a guy who can tell I am a demigod, three young noble ladies with much higher status and also find a girl from Elysium with the same style as my sister. What are the chances?'
Seeing me in deep thoughts, Penelope questioned.
"What? Do you know her?"
"Ah! It's not that. I just...well visiting the Land of Gods has always been my dream. So, I was really surprised when you told me that she's from Elysium."
"I see... So you also want to go to Elysium. Is that why you participated in the tournament?" She asked.
"Yes, but I want the potion too."
'It was not a lie. I don't know much about my Stigmata. Although I now realize that it is capable of growing with me, I still don't know when I will reach my limit. The Blood Potion will be a great help for me regardless.'
I brought my attention back to the match. The girl completely dominated her opponent and was about to win any moment.
Although similar, her battle style was nowhere near as Esmeralda. It looked like she just started learning recently.
But, she combined it with her own footwork and swordsmanship, and as such it was quite deadly.
'She may be even stronger than my sister when I last saw her.'
Her elegant and graceful movements avoided all of her opponent's attacks and finally the thin sword in her hand sliced through his body.
"The winner of Arena 3 is Victoria Chauvet. Congratulations on making it to the Top 8"
'The Top 8. The competition has already come this far. And if I win tomorrow, I will also be in the Top 8'.
Although my mind was still filled with different questions, there was no way for me to get these answers now. And the reason the girl named Victoria had the same style as my sister, I could only guess it was because she had the same teacher that taught my sister.
Just then, Sylas Zyair stood up from his seat and said with a slight bow.
"I am sorry but I have to leave. It's my turn to fight now. Oh! You can watch my match by the way."
To be honest, I also wanted to watch him fight. But I cannot wait to get out of this situation. And staying alone with all these girls here was surely not the best idea.
"Oh... I apologize but I have to leave too. I really wanted to watch you. Still, good luck though." I rejected him politely.
"Yes, no problem. I hope I can have a match with you one day"
"Yeah me too... I really do." It was my honest opinion.
"We would like to watch your fight, if that's okay" Penelope said to Sylas as if teasing him.
"Ye-yes Lady Penelope. Why not?" The red eyed boy said nervously.
After leaving, I went to the usual market. The streets were busy as ever, or maybe even busier than before.
I had to wait in a long line before finally getting my hands on the famous grilled chicken.
'The competition is surely famous. I can't believe it attracted so many people. '
Just then I saw three people, with a slightly different uniform than the guards. It was a group of two guys and a girl enjoying grilled chicken at a little distance.
They were the same people I met near the portal in Springbell and for some reason I recognised them instantly.
'Yeah! It's because of the girl. It is not easy to forget such a huge.... height.'
And of course, I didn't want to run into them.
'They look like a special guard force based on their outfit and they asked for the location of Adventurer Guild. There's only one reason to do so... '
They were looking for information.
And if they went to find information about something in the Guild, there's no way they wouldn't have heard about my rumors.
'There's a high possibility that they have heard about the great King Johnathan de Graham Serendipity III too. I don't know how much they heard, but I have to avoid them here.'
But just as I was about to pass through them, I couldn't help but hear their conversation and stop my legs.
"So Brian, you are saying that the Doctor is here now? In Lumina Town."
'What? The Doctor?'
Even though I wanted to leave and not get into all this mess, I couldn't stop myself. If there's a chance that all these experiments are connected to the One Eyed Wyvern incident, I need to know it.
"I am not sure, Diana. His plan has already failed once but I don't know if he'll give up. I only calculated the probability. There's a high chance that he's here."
"Oh... Please elaborate what you found then." Diana said, devouring a stick of grilled chicken.
"Is that really necessary?" Looking at how both of them didn't reply to him, Brian sighed and continued.
"Well, the thing we saw underground in Springbell was surely not something that can be done in a single day. He was planning something for a long time. That means his mission is really important. So ..."
Then the girl named Diana then finished Brian's words.
"So if his real goal was in Lumina Town, there's no way he'd give up that easily. It only makes sense he is hiding here now and waiting for a chance.''
The sudden revelation gave me even more reasons to investigate this. If what they said was true, it'll only bring more problems.
'I have to look out for the Doctor. I can't let him spoil my plans of going back home.'
Putting the remaining pieces of grilled chicken in her mouth, Diana said, turning her eyes slightly to my direction.
"Anyway let us not discuss these things in public. There is a chance of someone eavesdropping on us here.''
'What!?'
For a second, I thought she sensed me, even though I was trying so hard to control any fluctuation in my mana and hide my presence.
But then, I realized that was not the case.
'It was a set up. She started the conversation because she wanted me to hear in the first place.'
Most likely, they have heard about the King's courtier in Pearlton and after comparing his description to the famous 'Grey Mist' of Springbell, they connected the King's courtier to Marcel Mistmer.
'But why? I don't know what they can gain by telling me this information.'
***
"Hey Diana, why did you do that?" Evan complained. Sometimes, it was just too much for him to bear Diana's unpredictable methods.
"Do what? "
"You know what I am talking about? "
He appeared vexed. When they saw the gray haired guy called Marcel Mistmer, he wanted to interrogate him about the Doctor. And also about the King.
But Diana refused. And more than that, she purposefully went to the stall selling grilled chicken and leaked the information they gathered to him.
She also let him go just like that.
'What is she planning? Don't tell me she just wanted to eat grilled chicken.'
He couldn't figure it out.
"Do you think he would answer you honestly if you ask him something?"
"...."
Evan couldn't answer and Diana continued speaking.
"Don't worry. He is one of the participants in the tournament and we can reach him anytime we want. Moreover, if he is the King's courtier, he only stopped what that Doctor was planning. He has done no crime."
"Then why did you leak the information about the Doctor?"
"Just because...I wanted to see how he reacts to be honest and my instincts are telling me that today's events would surely lead to something good."
"Hah... You and your instincts..." Both Evan and Brian blurted at the same time.
****
"Hooooonk! "
The match started and I gripped my sword 'Fluid of Despair' tightly. But I didn't rush carelessly towards my opponent.
It was because just the number of people in front of me was not one but fifteen.
'What the hell is this? Is it a skill? Or am I hallucinating because I couldn't sleep properly yesterday after I met that special Knight trio.'
My opponent formed many clones and right now fifteen exact copies of the same guy are rushing towards me.
'Even if these are fake clones there's no way for me to figure out which one is real. Even the mana framework inside their body was similar.'
When all these copies reached near me, I sliced my sword through one but instead of bleeding out, the clone just disappeared.
I dodged two swords coming from both the left and right sides and struck down three more clones in front of me.
I rotated my body in a full circle cutting through two more clones and dodging the one jumping at me from above, I kicked him in the face.
But this clone too just disappeared.
'I need to see how these things work first'.
There were less number of clones now as I destroyed some. I dashed towards them but just as they were about to reach me, I stopped my sword and bit down my lips.
I wanted to see their attacks.
I was already concentrating my mana to form a barrier over my body from the start and now that it has completely formed a thin mana barrier throughout my whole body, I was confident of surviving even after receiving his attacks.
A sword passed down my left thigh leaving a slight wound. Two more swords hit me in the torso and one of these clones punched me in the face.
I was bleeding through all my wounds and without the mana barrier, they might have been quite dangerous too. There was no way I could try that for a second time.
But that was enough for me.
'I see. So that's how it works. '
His attack power didn't change. Only his number increased and defense got lowered.
I immediately backed off as far as I could and sent my sword back to the ring. Instead, there was a spear in my hand this time.
[Star of Lightning]
'Using his defense to create clones and the attack power remains the same. What an absurd skill he has.'
{Lightning Wave}
"Creakkkk! "
Numerous waves of lightning emitted from my spear and spread through the whole arena.
This skill had good damage but still wasn't enough to seriously injure someone with decent defensive power. But this skill had a large area of effect.
And without his defense, this was a lethal skill against him.
When the lightning stopped, there were no clones but a single boy standing there on the brink of passing out.
'What a guy. He still hasn't given up'.
I rushed to him and avoiding his sword, I thrust my spear to the side of his abdomen. I concentrated a considerable amount of mana on my fist and punched him in his nose.
Thud!
"The winner of Arena 8 is Marcel Mistmer. Congratulations on making it to the Top 8."