After the last fight, Jude was starting to feel tired. It had been a long day filled with tests, trials, and fighting. Even with his increased stats that made him like a superhuman, he was still worn out. He took out a potion and drank it. The few wounds that he had received closed up quickly but still left a blood stain on his clothes.

A yawn escaped his lips which almost seemed strange with all the magical battles still going on around him. But Jude didn’t have a care in the world. The platform made from blocks became bigger after defeating the metal mage, and Jude was about to lay down and wait for the end of the preliminaries when an annoying whisper entered his ear.

“You are actually a contestant? And you made it this far?” Serena’s voice sounded like nails across a chalk board to Jude. “If I had known you had some ability, I would have been a lot more forceful before.”

Jude was shocked. Not only did this girl not admit that she was wrong, she even went as far as to say that she wished to have him eliminated before the competition! Jude had never met anyone as obnoxious as this person before. Even Morcheron seemed better by comparison.

He quickly scanned the crowd and found her relatively quickly. There were far fewer people now that the third round had commenced. She was now in completely different clothing than she was before. If Jude had to describe it in one word it would be: battledress. Her short skirt proofed out like a bell and seemed almost indecent. But her top was the opposite by being close fitting and completely covering her arms and ran up her neck, revealing nothing but her shape. Overall the garment was white while colored flames embowered over all of it.

She continued, “What? Are you so stunned by me that you can’t think of anything to say? Let me tell-“

Jude had enough, so he used his understanding of the circuitry to block her from communicating directly.

Apparently, she was able to detect or received noticed of the block as she immediately turned red and stamped her feet on the ground.

Was this how the typical spoiled rich kid acts? Jude wondered. He never met people who had such an inflated ego before he had come to this world. Not that there weren’t any arrogant people, just no one to the extremes that Morcheron and Serena had reached. But he had never interacted with high society before this, so maybe it was typical in this setting. And if that was true, it was no wonder, so many governments fail.

Jude laid down on the stone with his hands behind his head as Serena continued her tirade of being angry at Jude. But she was quickly forgotten.

Jude began to wonder what the all the could be used for to make so many people go crazy for it. If he could get his hands on one, perhaps he could figure out how it is made. If he could make more of these things, he would never have to worry about money again, especially since he was now broke.

Then again, maybe I’ll get a cash reward for getting first place in the preliminary competition, he thought.

He didn’t have to wait long as most of the competitors were already low on mana from the previous two fights.

Once the sounds of magic cleared Yorik announced, “Congratulations to all you who have successfully made it this far. You are the cream of the crop for all of our human race.”

Jude just realized that there really were only human competitors here. Granted, he had only met one other person of a different race so far, but he knew that there were also dwarves and elves to the east. Could it be that Riwa was racist? Or was there a different reason?

Yorik continued, “Everyone who passed will receive an extra one hundred points to their final score. But because there are only 26 of your left, the judges will convene and pick eight from those who failed to participate in the final wizard competitor. Once that is done, we will finalize all the scores, and the top 32 will receive their preliminary rewards at the start of the competition tomorrow.”

Ugh, Jude’s heart dropped, Tomorrow? I’m not sure if Ellie and I have enough money to even stay in the outer city tonight!

“For those of you who do not live in the Core City, we have prepared special accommodations for you and your followers. When you leave, just follow an attendant to the right.”

Is he reading my mind?

“Before everyone leaves, I would like to share some good news. The storm that has been raging on in the Arkess desert has begun to wane, and we expect to be able to contact them again soon. Finally, the Riwa Kingdom will be whole again!” Yorik ended, and he seemed to stare directly at Jude.

Jude gulped but did his best not to show it. He had hoped that the desert storm would persist a while longer, but such a big storm couldn’t last forever when it was being powered by magic. Eventually, it had to end. He wondered how long it would take for them to find out that Longdale was no longer protected by a Town Stone, but rather a monster spawn area. And how long would it take for them to figure out that he was the one to do it.

After the last announcement, everyone began to leave. Jude ducked through the crowd trying to avoid both Morcheron and Serena. Jorgan seemed to be helping him out as he intercepted Morcheron, but Serena was still after him.

While Jude moved quick, he wasn’t doing it so overtly that it would cause a scene. The whole point of avoiding these two people was because it would be troublesome, so there was no point in causing even more trouble to avoid trouble. Unfortunately, Serena didn’t seem to mind causing a scene as she pushed her way through the crowd in an overbearing manner.

Jude was already talking to one of the housing attendants when she caught up to him.

“You think a peasant like you can avoid me?” She said.

Jude sighed, it took all he had not to cuss her out, “What do you want?”

“Peasant. Since you don’t know your place, let me tell you!” Serena began a very long rant about how the lower class should serve the upper class and how it was Jude’s responsibility to always act subservient.

The housing attendants quickly backed off, not wanting to be targeted themselves. The other contestants also saw what was happening and came to crowd around and saw the show. But even they did not venture too close.

Jude was beginning to get tired of this girl acting all high and mighty. What would she think when she found out that he ranked higher than her in the preliminaries?

And when he won the wizard tournament the next day, what would be her reaction?

He would like to see if her pride could hold up then. He, Jude, standing atop the winner's podium looking down at her. How would she feel then? Would she still think herself better?

Probably.

It just was the way she was.

Even now she continued to rant at him, adding vile language every now and then for flavor. How could she even consider herself a noble with a tongue like that?

When it seemed like her speech would go on without end a new group of people approached. Everyone, including Serena, took notice. These people were the administrators of the wizard tournament for the Elitist Completion.

As Yorik and the others approached Serena gave Jude one last jibe, “See, even the others don’t think you belong here. They are coming to throw you out. I guess they found out how you cheated your way here.”

Can this girl not be quiet for a moment? Jude scorned her in his head.

Evidently, his look conveyed his thoughts as she glared back in anger. But Yorik and the others were already near, so she didn’t say more.

“Young man, might we have a word with you?” Yorik asked in a tone that was neither harsh or gentle. This led the people watching to come to the conclusion that what Serena had said was true, especially since Jude’s complexion paled a little when they asked.

Jude knew that he hadn’t cheated, so he wasn’t afraid of that. He was more worried about the repercussions of Longdale than anything else. For all, he knew the Court of Wizards had already contacted the surrounding regions through other means of magic.

Yorik gestured to the side, “We would like to talk to you in private. The attendant will take care of your lodgings and any friends you have accompanying you.”

Jude nodded and left with the elders.

***

Jude’s doubts vanished immediately when he entered the private room of the coliseum. Their neutral expressions became very pleasant and cheerful. It was as if they were trying to curry favor from Jude. The switch from Serena’s overbearing nature to the joyous smiles of the elders was a shocking change. Like going from boiling water to an ice bath.

“Young man,” Yorik started, “we elder are the members of an organization called the Court of Wizards. Our purpose is to find new ways to establish our magic and break through the level barrier placed on us.

“We have seen your performance through the preliminaries and know of your deeds from the previous trials. There is no doubt that you have a high chance of winning the Wizard Tournament and possibly the entire Elitist Contest. Winning the Mortis Device is within your reach!

“Because of this, we feel that you are worthy of grooming and becoming an established citizen inside the Core City. Here you will receive many benefits, resources, and authority that you won’t get anywhere else. People like Serena will no longer be able to look down at you, and with a little hard work, even she will have to raise her head to you.”

All this brought back the sense of revenge that Jude wanted to take against Serena and Morcheron. It would be great to see their faces once something like this happened. But what would happen? Honestly, Yorik was only offering an equal standing with the likes of Serena and Morcheron.

No, what he wanted was something even greater.

He wanted Power.

Power to humiliate those who try and humiliate him.

Power to Rule!

What the cosh am I thinking about? Jude pondered. These were not his normal thoughts. Was he getting corrupted by the influence of these nobles? This was truly a dangerous place. How were his thoughts being affected like this?

Seeing that Jude had yet to respond Yorik continued, “There is only one thing you have to do for us to get all that I’ve said so far.”

This brought Jude back to reality, “Oh, what is that?”

“It is just a trifling thing for someone like you. Win the Wizard Tournament and present us with the .”

[Quest ‘Court of Wizards’: Win the Wizard Tournament and give the over to the Court of Wizards. Do you accept?]

[Warning: Completing the ‘Court of Wizards’ quest will invalidate other quests involving the .]

Seeing that Jude was in a dilemma one of the other elders spoke up, “Don’t worry too much about the young man. It is just an item from a long lost quest chain that can’t be completed anymore. No one even knows where it starts! This item will only be used as the proof of your prowess and capability.”

“Then I can keep the stone afterward?” Jude asked.

“Nothing is free,” Yorik spoke up, “To gain something you must pay something. In this case, the something isn’t valuable to you at all.”

Too many strange things were happening in quick succession. Why did this group of Archmages want something so badly that they claimed was useless? Now that Jude thought about it, maybe the whole situation with Serena earlier was caused by some spell he failed to detect. It would also explain his irrational mental attitude. Not that he didn’t want to see Serena and Morcheron get what they deserved, it was just that he didn’t usually experience such emotions so vividly.

However, if he didn’t accept this quest, his likelihood of winning the Wizard’s Tournament would decrease significantly. They were at least half of the judges, if not all of them. But what he didn’t understand was why they didn’t have the power to just take the stone for themselves.

Clearly, there was a lot more going on here than Jude knew about.

“I accept,” Jude said with his mouth, but his heart said no.

***

Earlier that day.

Ellie worked furiously with her hammer, slamming it down on metal against an anvil. From her strikes, one would think she was working on a large weapon, but looking carefully it was evident that it was a small piece of metal glowing white hot and being held by a long pair of tongs.

Her forging technique already surpassed that of what was humanly possible for someone on Earth. But because she was part of the she had the strength and dexterity of several people combined.

Already she was past level 30 and if she continued there was no doubt that she would hit 50 one day. Unlike combat classes who worried about the level lock that increased the experience gain for all classes after reaching level 30, crafters didn’t experience the same thing. All crafters progress at a different pace than the combat classes as they only require the suitable materials and blueprints to advance.

So Ellie worked her hardest every day to continue to raise her level and not worrying increasing the experience gain on other classes. Because for her, there shouldn’t be any experience increase.

“You are working too hard,” said a young man. He was John Sanderson Jr.

The past month she had been helping Jude complete his staff, but during that time she needed a real forge. She had found that Sanderson Forge and Metal to be a great place and they let her use their forge for a low cost. But after she finished helping Jude, it didn’t mean that she was out of ideas.

She was a crafter at heart and not only class.

Even now she was making even more items that would be of great use in the future.

Wiping the sweat of her brow, she replied, “Oh come on John. You should know by now that I’ve barely started getting into my grove.”

John was a tall and buff young man in his early twenties, though he wasn’t as burly as his father, he still posed a striking figure. Over the last several weeks he had grown quite attached to Ellie. He admired her skill and determination and was quite infatuated over her beauty.

“That heat looks about done, why don’t you take a break and talk to me for a bit,” John encouraged.

“Just for a bit,” Ellie nodded, “But only until this piece reheats.”

John sighed, “I can’t believe you are still working for that Wizard. Shouldn’t you be taking a break now that he’s competing?”

Ellie smirked, “There is always something to do. Besides, this is my passion, why would I not be doing it?”

“I understand your passion for working metal. But doesn’t he have you working in cloth, wood, and leather? Does he not understand that you are a smith, not some general crafter?”

John was a little indignant over this matter once he learned about it. He had seen Ellie smith a few times, and he had to admit that she was far better than even he was. It hurt him to see her work in other materials when he knew how good she was with metal.

“I thought so too at first. But then I realized that a Divine Smith doesn’t just smith metal, but smiths the divine. It doesn’t matter what material I work with; my class encapsulates it all.”

At first, Ellie thought the same way as John, but it was only recently that she noticed that her enjoyment in crafting extended beyond just forging.

“But you enjoy metal working the most, right?” John couldn’t help but ask. As a smith himself, he was far more partial to metal work than any other craft, and since he liked Ellie, he dearly wanted this to be true for her as well.

“That I do, but since I started working with Jude I’ve found joy in crafting everything. Before I meet him, I thought I would only ever enjoy smithing. The other crafts held little interest for me. But after being with him for so long, it has expanded my horizons. I don’t see crafting the same way as I did before. I don’t see it as stagnant or boring. Now I see the endless possibilities a single item can have, whether it is metal or otherwise. What I can achieve is endless.”

“But in the end, he’s a Wizard right? Wouldn’t you like to stay here and craft?” This was as close as John had ever gotten to saying he liked Ellie.

“John, I like you. But not in that way.”

John left dejected, and Ellie felt a little bitter about the whole experience. But she didn’t let it distract her. Leaving the metal in the forge to long would ruin the piece after all.

She continued to forge all the way into the night. Even John Sr. had left as she continued to work the fires. She had wanted wait here until Jude came back with the good news of his victory, but she was unsure how long it would take.

Finally, she finished her last piece. The metal she had worked today was a tough material to smith. But she found mithril to be an excellent material, fully worthy of its mythical reputation.

She was just cleaning up when she heard a knock at the store front.

Thinking it was Jude she rushed over and unlocked the door. But instead of Jude, it was some official sent by the kingdom.

“Are you Ellie Copper?” He asked.

“I am,” she said warily.

“Then come with me. Loggings for you and Jude have been set up in the Core City.” The attendant said and began to lead the way.

After the entered the Core City, they walked through many beautiful avenues that were fully lit until finally crossing a large wrought iron gate and stone wall. Beyond this was a magnificent building that Ellie assumed was some kind of fancy hotel.

But before they drew close the attendant turned around and spoke quietly, “My lord wished for Jude to receive this letter. If you could hand it to him, I would be very grateful.”

Ellie nodded absentmindedly as she was still taking in the sights. She took the letter without much thought, and as they approached the main door that looked more like a small city gate, Jude came bursting out.

“Ellie! Look, we finally have a decent place to stay!” Jude said, “You can finally have your own room. This place has forty of them to choose from, and this mansion is ours for the next few days!”

“This whole place is a mansion?” Ellie was stunned. Jude had essentially become the Lord of Longdale, but while they were there the place was still in the process of being rebuilt. Jude’s workshop was extensive, but neither of them had truly built a home there.

“I know it’s late, and we are both tired, but you got to see this place first!” Jude was excited, so Ellie became excited too.

Nodding her head, she followed Jude in.