Rainer could have ordered his Avatar to use [Arcane Invigoration], but seeing as there was no harm coming to him he decided to just to wait. The more time passed, the more his attributes recovered from the use of [Void Suppression] anyway.

That the person who knocked him out saw through [Void Suppression] and was also apparently knowledgeable about Souls gave him pause. Normally, a loss of an Avatar wasn’t a big deal. Especially when considering Rainer’s ability to heal his own Soul. There wouldn’t even be a recovery period. So long as he had the time, he could instantly recreate a new Avatar, current Dungeon restrictions notwithstanding.

But if that loose Soul was captured… who knew what could be done with it. It added on to the fact that Rainer wouldn’t be able to recreate the Avatar or recover that portion of missing Soul until it either dissipated or rejoined with the original.

At least Amer himself was vastly impressed with the Soul-storing Ring Rainer had, meaning it was uncommon. And storing Souls otherwise on a permanent basis was no easy task.

He pushed down his unwarranted rage, knowing he wasn’t angry at being knocked out, so much as he was at losing towards that golden Aura user in such a manner. There was no harm in speaking with his captors. And despite the extortion, he had treated the [Nature’s Walkers] decently well. They wouldn’t have their 2nd Stage rewards without him.

“Hey?” Rainer asked in confusion, looking at Kara’s finger poking into his forehead.

“I won’t be having you getting wrinkles.”

He chuckled as he swatted her finger away.

“Does the loss bother you that much?”

Rainer grinded his teeth before deciding to be truthful.

“Yes.”

“How is it any different than losing to me when we have all the rules set up?”

“He couldn’t use Will either,” Rainer added reasonably. He didn’t want to think of that point, but it was true. He couldn’t blame his lack of Void Will for the loss.

Kara stared at him for a while, giving him a nervous fidget in response.

“Do you really think any Will he might have is equal to Void Will?”

Rainer paused. He found that unlikely, And the Aura User seemed to like tanking blows far more than dodging. He might have easily died to such hubris when confronting [Void Call]. Not to mention [Void Hold] could have been a determining factor. As well as [Blade of the Void]. Especially if he had used it back when he attacked the man’s Soul. Only his tough body and quick scrambling had saved him there. Given the difficulty of healing from reality tearing, it was very likely Rainer could have ended it even if the [Blade of the Void] itself didn’t produce a fatal hit.

In fact, one of Rainer’s recent advantages was using Magic and Void Will simultaneously. Something lost in the recent challenge.

“Probably not.”

“So stop thinking so much about it. I’m sure you’ll have a chance for revenge later.”

“Thanks,” he said, before switching focus.

Rainer took over controlling his Avatar as it awakened suddenly.

“Took you long enough.”

Rainer heard the raspy voice of the old man in front as he looked around. He wasn’t tied down by anything, but a quick look with [Arcane Revelation] showed why. The unmistakable power that was the Soul of someone in their 3rd Tier.

[Human, M-]

“None of that now.”

Rainer felt the weak Soul of the Avatar shudder. Did the strength of his Soul give him sensitivity to something like [Appraisal] or had he experience with similar skills in the past?

“Now. What’s your life worth?” the old man asked before suddenly freezing. The original grin on his face vanished.

“Disciple, why is his Soul so weak?” Locklar asked the younger woman beside him, making sure their captive couldn’t hear him with a manipulation of space. Captive, in the lightest sense, given that he was just seated in a chair with no restraints.

“He showed no signs of having a damaged Soul,” she responded, before explaining how he had stored them all in a living space connected to it. While discerning where exactly she had been stored was impossible, she could at least tell what kind of power it was.

He glanced back at the captive Arcanist before his eyes widened. Given a quick search of the man’s Soul, his energy pools felt strange. Like they were there but weren’t. A distant connection. So that’s what it was… he hadn’t even considered that possibility. Such an Avatar... He frowned, realizing he had next to no leverage anymore and had instead possibly made himself a foe.

The Arcanist didn’t seem interested in talking first and just continued staring silently, glancing around the room. Locklar sighed, wondering what to do. His disciples had already told him of everything that occured in the Dungeon and frankly he was a bit grateful towards the man. But he obviously hadn’t known who exactly was spying on them.

And once he found it was exactly that Arcanist that had managed to cross worlds he grew deeply worried. And then was a bit ashamed but still had a thought of exploiting him. But what was the point of threatening a fake body? Even one as realistic and impressive as this one. Even more troubling was the enchanted items on this body. They weren’t that impressive but they clearly signaled the work of a enchanter rather than a gathering of Trial rewards. Especially the robe set.

“What is it you want, coming so far?” Locklar asked, wondering if the story of him coming from a spherical world as being a lie to placate his disciples.

Rainer shrugged, before opting to be honest. He quickly guessed that the old man had discovered this was just an Avatar, given the change in attitude. And honesty had often served him well. Or rather, a massive power that backed honesty. And Rainer had to admit he had little interest in plots or roundabout methods. Even more so when he had people like Elelaria or his family on his side to do such things for him.

“I want what I’ve always wanted. New magic and…” Rainer paused, feeling the wanderlust that once was Francis’s. He found himself agreeing with that desire. How could a Mage like him limit himself to only a planet or two? “to visit new places.”

“I am Magus Locklar,” the old man stated simply.

Given that there were 3rd Tier titles with the word ‘Magus’ in them, Rainer wasn’t too surprised the term existed across worlds.

“Rainer Nvos, [Archon],” he added, and was a bit disappointed when they didn’t show any reaction. They seemed to treat Arcanist as a title or perhaps a race rather than a class, so it wasn’t too surprising, however.

“I do have to thank you for protecting my people, but you should understand why we would not welcome such a traveler. Especially one of your magic…”

“I don’t understand,” Rainer lied. Any native populace should fear outsiders. Then again, he truly didn’t know why so many people recognized him as an Arcanist and had a negative or fearful reaction to it. Fai’Etah’s comments about it being weird he was a Human only confused him further. He blinked a few times as his main body saw something. It looked like his current plans would be on hold.

“Well-” The old man froze as the Avatar in front of him disappeared. Completely ignoring the restriction of space he had created prior to him walking up. They had said that this Arcanist could destroy their group spell, so he went a different route. But even still, who could teleport in front him?

“I’ll look around for a bit, don’t go far, I’ll be back,” Rainer said, laughing as he Void-traveled further away. It never hurt to explore, though mostly he couldn’t deal with the distraction given the system message he just recieved. And If there was going to be any discussion between them, he wouldn’t do it under the impression that they had an advantage over him.

[As Five Parties have reached above 95 points at the same time, the Stage will be altered.]

[Lives Gained: 5]

[Final Round]

[Qualifying Condition: Greater than 95 Party Points]

[Competition Type: Round Robin Full Party Duels]

[Duel Condition: None]

[Reward: Victory]

[00:09:57]

Rainer stared at the message, rolling his shoulders as he just returned from winning a particularly long round. It hadn’t been too difficult to control his Avatar during said Round. He had yet to face the Aura User of the past again. A shame.

But he had no doubt he would face him now.

He quickly sent his Avatar guarding the Mana-Well to the entrance of the Dungeon. It was a simple guess that other than these 5 parties, the rest would be removed. Knowing who he might face would be important.

Flying outside the Dungeon, he glanced at the few evicted parties. Assuming that Aura User’s party wasn’t useless, Rainer now knew three of the parties he’d face. That was under the condition they hadn’t died in the Dungeon, of course. But he found that unlikely. This Dungeon was far too kind despite his initial assumptions. Was that why those invaders had traveled worlds over for this Dungeon? Fai’Etah didn’t seem to say one way or another if Competition style Dungeons had particularly low fatality rates.

Neutral City’s strongest party, the Wolf King’s party—which contained a few other Dragon Isle Kings—and if his guess was correct, the Aura User’s party. He hadn’t a clue who the last of the four might be as he hadn’t faced anyone that left as big of an impression. And while his party did lose a few more rounds after his, it was usually due to the condition rather than a massive difference in strength.

3 out of 5 wasn’t a bad showing for their world. Though given that their strongest had long since prepared for a Dungeon that would let them cross that last level, it wasn’t too surprising. And the prevalence of Mana crystals on their world meant a strong showing of enchanted items. Not to mention, they were likely one of the few who went outside their factions and just recruited whoever they thought was best. He remembered the Wolf King had a Mage Guildmaster or two in his team.

He sent his Avatar back to the Enchanter’s Guild and quickly shared the information with his party, along with speaking to Elelaria about the members of these parties. They quickly strategized, focusing on using Talvara’s abilities to the fullest, while the rest functioned as some form of crowd control. Any distraction could prove fatal versus [Void Call], especially with a Talvara-possessed Aurora. Rainer was on ‘saving’ duty with his [Void-walking], along with distracting any particularly powerful enemies.

As they were teleported to another arena, a far larger size than what was given for singular duels, they saw their first opponents.

Rainer chuckled. It seemed he’d have to impose on his father-in-law.