The City of Vitality seemed to be even livelier than usual these past few days.

Needless to say, it was because of the Wulin Tournament. In past years, the competition had not been a mainstream topic of discussion amongst the Nolmes citizens. However, this year was different.

It was because of a particular rumour that was circulating in the city.

A dark-haired foreigner capable of summoning a ring of fire.

This person who had participated in the Wulin Tournament—winning four rounds in a row without a single injury—was heading into the semi-finals tomorrow.

"He's going against the son of Ablemore, right? It's going to be a tough one."

The Ablemores were a wealthy family in power in Nolmes. Earl Ablemore was a close acquaintance of Duke Orteon, who held influence over much of the land and administrative divisions in the northeast territory, including the capital. Even though the extent of control was still incomparable to the royal family, it was sufficient for them to acquire a considerable amount of admiration and prestige from the eyes of others.

Earl Ablemore's eldest son, Faren Ablemore, was a young mage, said to have learnt how to manipulate his mana channel at the age of six. He was also the youngest member of the Crown Prince's Royal Mage Brigade.

Several conversations erupted around the lively pub as the citizens gleefully discussed the topic amongst themselves. Little did they know, their various speculations were being taken in by no other than the main figure of their conversation. With great amusement, too, if one may add.

Edris sat by the corner of the pub, the hood of his black cape covering his dark hair. One of the people at a table near him was whispering to the others discreetly, as if what he was about to say was highly confidential information. With interests piqued, Edris casually perked an ear at their talk.

"Rumours had it that he was a hypnotist. Have you seen his opponents all surrender without even bothering to put up a fight? That guy's insane."

Subtle gasps escaped the people at his table. "You can't do that with normal magic! That must mean..."

The man nodded. "Rumours say that he was knowledgeable in dark magic."

Indeed, manipulating someone's consciousness was neither commendable nor accepted among Awakeneds. However, it was possible with dark magic. Unlike one's inherent mana, which was said to be blessings from the Cloud Realm's deities, those who use dark magic borrowed powers from Diales, the cursed deity.

Edris, listening in from afar, shook his head at the information becoming more ridiculous by the second.

A waitress made her way over with his food, and Edris gave her a slight nod as she placed it on the table. Steam rose from the pumpkin porridge that oozed an appetizing aroma.

"Ah, you are...!" The waitress's eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the current talk of the town. Before she could finish her sentence, however, Edris pressed his index finger to his lips. Catching on to his intention, she nodded promptly.

"Please enjoy your meal," the waitress said with a formal tone, only to then lean forward in a whisper. "Sir, I've heard a lot of things about you! Is it true that you can actually hypnotize people?"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and Edris only awkwardly smiled.

"These are exaggerated rumours," he said, "I seek simple peace, and my opponents understood my intentions. We were able to reach friendly results thanks to that."

The waitress cocked her head at his response, but after witnessing his gentle demeanour, she thought there was no reason for him to lie about something like this. She nodded at his words with a shrug and left to continue her shift. Only after her back completely disappeared into the background did Edris turn his attention to the voice inside his head.

— A seeker of peace? You?

"What's wrong with that?"

Edris's lips upturned a few degrees, and the voice let out a scoff.

Stirring the porridge with his spoon, Edris rested his elbows on the table as his mind flashed back to the first day of the Wulin Tournament.

***

The fire torrent had engulfed both him and his opponent. It had not been created for the sake of ostentation but to open up an opportunity.

An opportunity for conversation.

Contrary to its ferocious appearance to the outside eye, the inside of the torrent was surprisingly calm.

While thick walls of fire were violent, they weren't meant to be dangerous or harmful. As a result, the sight was only a facade for Edris to have a proper, civilized conversation without outside disturbance.

"Is it okay to be here when your child is sick?" Edris said to the man, who was caught off guard by his comment.

"How did you..."

"Luck, I suppose?" Despite the chaotic environment they were in, Edris was smiling.

Observing the man's physiques and the way that he moved his arms, Edris could tell that he was someone in the crafts profession.

There were two types of people that attended the tournament: people who were interested in fighting and people who were interested in money.

Most, including Edris, were in the latter category. The majority of Nolmes was made up of merchants and average citizens, so if there were adventurers or people to get stronger, they would participate in more magic-based tournaments. Nolmes was a magical city, after all.

"Why would a blacksmith participate in an Adalan-rooted competition aimed towards adventurers?" Edris spoke his thoughts aloud, his hair flying wildly from the surrounding gust.

It was strange for a craftsman to go out of his way to attend a tournament about combat. There were few reasons for his action, so Edris was able to narrow down his intentions quite easily.

The man was in urgent need of money.

He was in a predicament severe enough for him to take this risk, knowing that it was extremely unlikely for him to win.

And what would the predicament be?

He eyed the man up and down as he took in his bushy eyebrows, square jaw, orange curls...

The resemblance was indeed there.

The robust, middle-aged man reminded him of a certain boy who had almost caused him to enter the afterlife on his first day in Nolmes. Edris recalled the sickly boy who could barely walk straight when moving down the cobbled stairs.

"How about a deal?"

The blacksmith's eyes shook at the dark-haired man's words.

He knew the traveller standing before him was not the typical competitor. He had seen it when the traveller broke all the potions without hesitation, watching them feebly burst under his feet like bubbles.

As if his mind wasn't chaotic enough already, the bafflement only intensified as the traveller casually pulled out a bar of gold from his back pocket.

"How about it?" Edris tossed the bar up and down like it was an apple. "All you have to do is silently walk off the stage after the fire fades, and it's all yours. If people ask you anything afterwards, I would appreciate it if you just say that you do not remember anything. Makes things easier for both of us, no?"

The citizens of the Zacriya Kingdom, especially Nolmes, were relatively fixed on traditions; this was why most people avoided using magic in this tournament, to respect its original emphasis on pure strength and physical techniques.

If possible, Edris wanted to avoid angering the audience. Although there were no specific restrictions on how to get your opponent to step out of the boundary, he thought it would be meddlesome if they found out that he was bribing them.

To the blacksmith, however, his offer was no bribe.

It was a blessing.

"...Are you serious?" The man couldn't believe his ears.

Ignoring his dumbfounded expression, Edris shrugged, swinging the gold in his hands. "I don't joke. The torrent would disappear soon. You should decide."

The effects of the bagful of potions he had wasted were about to wear off. Edris originally had only planned to hide his actions from the audience by mixing different potions to create a scene.

He didn't expect them to form a whole storm of fire.

It didn't make much of a difference to Edris, though, as long as the results were the same.

"It's a deal!" The blacksmith quickly replied after hearing his comment. There was no reason for him to refuse this once-in-a-lifetime offer.

Edris smiled.

***

Tapping his finger absentmindedly, Edris recalled the blacksmith's expression that had been a mixture of both joy and alleviation. He shook his head at how happy he seemed despite being bribed on the spot.

Regardless, with his first victory secured, Edris then repeated the same method for the rest of his opponents, all of whom, luckily, had also participated in aims for the prize money.

— What were you going to do if he didn't?

Ace's deep voice shook him out of his thoughts. The latter stared blankly at his empty bowl before shrugging.

"He did. That's what matters."

There was no need to think about the hypothetical.

His nonchalant answer led to a sigh from the speaker in his head. Ace eyed Edris with disapproval, sighing at his recklessness.

Edris felt oddly attacked by the voice's reaction but decided to hold back a retort. He was confident in his planning abilities, so if any of them had refused his offer, he would have thought up another one on the spot based on the situation.

Growing up in a world where survival was the least consistent factor, Edris was used to acting on the spot.

While deep in thought, he failed to notice Ace's resting gaze that noted all his actions during the tournament.

Potions and money.

Edris had quite a lot of them.

Ace recalled all the expensive potions he wasted and the bars of gold he had offered to his opponent.

— You...

"Hm?"

His mind flashed back to their contract. Breaching the contract would result in a penalty payment of fifty thousand gold yones. Ace paused for a moment before finishing his thought.

— You're actually loaded, aren't you?