Standing once again at the Apollo Familia's residence.
'Once this War Game ends, I can start considering the matter of leveling up, right?'
Ron actually didn't want to place the battlefield here. After all, once the war completely ended, all of the Apollo Familia's assets would belong to him.
His gaze swept across the scene.
In the distance ahead, several adventurers were looking at him with extremely complicated expressions—probably wondering why he had appeared here.
Just as Ron was about to make a move, the heavy main gate of the Apollo manor was pulled open from inside. Immediately afterward, the one who entered his field of vision was that male adventurer with an exceptionally handsome appearance.
Hyakinthos.
Among Lv.3 adventurers, he was considered a rather veteran figure.
He was also the target Ron needed to treat seriously. With special magic and weapon equipment at his disposal, he was definitely not something those trash members could compare with.
Looking further behind, Ron then saw two familiar young female figures—Daphne and Cassandra, the one who possessed prophetic dreams—quietly estimating the number of adventurers present.
At a glance, there were more than twenty core members.
"..."
'A bit troublesome.'
If they were all ordinary Lv.2 or Lv.1 adventurers, he could completely treat them like special monsters in the Dungeon and simply kick these roadside wild dogs to death.
But as core members, their strength was definitely greater than that of the trash…
'Still, it doesn't seem impossible to defeat them.'
'Deadly Duel.'
The "Heal" magic from the Tarnished character template allowed him to temporarily ignore the state of death during battle. Even if the magic's duration was short, there was still the healing effect provided by the Healing Gourd.
This was the advantage Ron possessed.
Although the battlefield of the War Game was not the Dungeon, he still had more than enough methods to face the situation of being surrounded and attacked by all the members of the Apollo Familia.
"..."
There was no unnecessary conversation.
The moment their gazes met, a strong smell of gunpowder filled the place. In the eyes of those core members, the only thing visible was dense fighting spirit.
This was a battle that could not be avoided.
Likewise, Ron had reasons why he absolutely could not lose. Looking at this garden filled with aristocratic style, he casually suggested with a relaxed smile: "How about…"
"We fight outside instead? If the Familia residence gets wrecked, I'd feel quite bad about it."
This was an insult toward them.
Hyakinthos's deliberately maintained elegance twisted into something gloomy and distorted after hearing Ron's "certain victory" provocation.
His expression turned silent and cold.
"Do you think this War Game has already ended?"
"Even if we reluctantly count you as a Lv.3 adventurer, who exactly gave you the confidence to say something like that? Has no one ever told you…"
"…that you must always maintain an attitude of reverence toward the strong?"
"Moreover— the advantage in numbers is on my side. Do you really think that after dealing with those ordinary members, you can completely overturn the Apollo Familia? Wishful thinking."
A classic pre-battle trash-talk segment.
Ron did not interrupt Hyakinthos. Part of the reason was that the consecutive high-intensity battles had inevitably brought severe physical exhaustion.
He kept adjusting his breathing. While slowly recovering his stamina, the Shinobi Prosthetic attached to his left arm suddenly turned toward the rear and fired out a grappling claw.
Using the pulling force, his figure retreated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Immediately afterward, the Apollo Familia's core members—led by Hyakinthos and Daphne—followed closely behind.
Compared with the peripheral adventurers encountered earlier, the difference in strength between the two sides could be clearly felt just from their speed alone, like a chasm.
This was definitely going to be a hard battle!
Ron only felt the fighting spirit inside his body boiling. Holding the spear borrowed from Anya in his right hand, the tip of the spear lightly tapped the ground, dispersing the impact from the rope's pull.
He landed steadily on the ground, waiting until his condition recovered to its peak.
"Who's coming first?"
"…"
Anger nearly shattered Hyakinthos's rationality. Yet reason told him that if the goal was victory in the War Game, then there was absolutely no need to speak of martial fairness.
Holding the sun-flame shaped sword in his hand, his cold gaze swept toward the commander Daphne. Without any explanation, it conveyed the signal to surround and attack.
"…"
"So it's already reached this point?"
Facing Ron once again, compared to their encounter in the Dungeon, Daphne could feel that the sense of pressure coming from this guy was increasing at a speed visible to the naked eye…
How much time had even passed in total?
Could a newcomer adventurer really achieve such a leap in growth in such a short time?!
She could not understand it. But recalling the "ancient ruins" that had appeared around the 10th Floor area, as well as the faint clues discovered from Ron, all the guesses gradually began to make sense.
Facing the boy's calm eyes—without the slightest trace of fear, filled only with dense fighting spirit—Daphne gave a slight nod of apology.
This was a matter of Familia position.
She softly chanted: "Follow blindly the sun in the sky. Blossom, armor of laurel, so that all will flee from thee!"
"Raumure."
As Daphne's protective magic, it could, for a short time, grant herself and her Familia companions increased durability and a highly enhanced agility.
Until the radiance of the laurel tree enveloped the Familia companions present.
They could barely be considered acquaintances.
Ignoring Hyakinthos's furious gaze, she calmly explained: "Sorry."
"I belong to the Apollo Familia. This battle is unavoidable."
"Understood."
Ron did not care much.
He glanced at the magical light on the members of the Apollo Familia before him—probably the magic Daphne possessed, meaning they were the ones who had activated buffs first.
Heal.
After skillfully applying the magic that locked his HP at the brink of death onto himself, before he could react further, he saw Hyakinthos take action first: "At any cost, execute the obstacle threatening Lord Apollo!"
"Execute?"
"The Apollo Familia is nothing but insects, yet your arrogance is quite something!"
...
The development of the War Game had absolutely exceeded the expectations of all the gods and adventurers in Orario—especially when Ron counterattacked all the way to the Familia residence.
At the top of Babel Tower, the various expressions on the faces of those gods were now fully revealed. Some were filled with shock and disbelief, but even more were frustrated at having bet on the wrong side.
After all, many gods regarded the gambling pool as a method to achieve complete financial freedom.
"Before this, I'd never heard this guy's name in Orario. Where exactly did such a monstrous newcomer come from?"
"This is completely a fixed match!"
Such thoughts spread through the minds of the gods present.
But without a doubt—they were witnessing a miracle with their own eyes. An unknown adventurer, facing the enormous difference in Familia numbers, had not shown the slightest sign of decline.
Instead, he was advancing triumphantly, pushing all the way to the Apollo Familia's residence.
Next, it would be the crucial moment to determine the winner of the War Game. Could the Apollo Familia, now in a disadvantageous position, during this final encirclement… completely defeat Ron?!
At that moment, as the commentator of the War Game, Ganesha stepped onto the table with an excited expression, his voice carrying tremendous penetrating force.
"The final chapter of the War Game!"
"Will Hyakinthos, who has chosen to employ encirclement tactics, defeat the outnumbered Ron, or will this newcomer adventurer create another miracle…?"
"O gods, please bear witness!!"
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