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“…” As he felt his body being lifted uncontrollably, Karlo suddenly came up with an idea. Borrowing the force, he pushed himself straight to his feet.

Xinya hadn’t expected him to stand up on his own. Unable to stop her forward momentum in time, she crashed headfirst into the Brown Bear.

The dagger flashed with a black glow before quickly fading away. It seemed that the weapon had a temporary strength-boosting effect.

But Karlo had already been prepared. Bending his right arm slightly, he slammed his hardened elbow backward! It had to be said that the Brown Bear Captain truly lived up to his rank and status, whether in strength, adaptability, or combat instincts. If that attack landed, the Red Rabbit would likely have been forced into an impossible situation.

Unfortunately, compared to the agility-focused Xinya, he was still too slow.

With a light slide beneath her feet, her nimble figure slipped past the enemy’s arm and moved to his side. Her twin blades crossed in opposite directions before mercilessly slashing down at his right limb.

The second strike even triggered a critical hit. Combined with the periodic poison damage, the Brown Bear’s HP had already dropped to 6%. The outcome had been decided.

The countdown froze at the final 76 seconds as Karlo let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground.

Xinya merely gave him a calm glance before taking out a tiny medicine vial from her pocket. She sprinkled part of the powder over the poisoned wounds on the Brown Bear’s back, then looked toward the audience and said flatly, “Could someone help carry him off the stage?”

“Boss!” Tako hurried onto the arena and hoisted Karlo onto his shoulder. Before leaving the stage, he cast Xinya one long look and sighed.

Just one more minute. If he had managed to hold on a little longer, he would have earned the title of Small Arena Champion. Who could have expected such an unexpected challenger to appear out of nowhere?

The longer things dragged on, the worse the situation became. After all, as the number of battles increased, the spectators below would gradually figure out your fighting style.

One had to remember that once a boss’ mechanics were thoroughly understood, experienced players could sometimes defeat it without taking a single point of damage.

There was another reason as well. As time passed, more and more powerful figures would continue arriving in Noctilune City.

There were five arenas throughout the city. Anyone hoping to obtain the Arena Champion qualification would naturally choose the easiest opponent available. If everyone thought the same way, the chances of snatching an easy victory would become much lower.

Perhaps it was time to try a different arena.

Lulu spread her legs and was just about to dash onto the stage when Starry grabbed one of her rabbit ears.

“Non-participants aren’t allowed up there. Be careful, or the referee sitting over there might eat you!” Zane threatened viciously.

“I was wrong… Please don’t eat me…” The rabbitfolk’s eyes brimmed with tears.

Xinya on the stage looked over in confusion.

However, the distance between them was too great for her to say anything. Once a battle began, contestants were not allowed to leave the arena voluntarily unless they had been seriously injured. This rule existed to prevent people from colluding and repeatedly throwing matches.

Still, seeing Wind Wolf together with an unfamiliar Red Rabbit while bringing along her own younger sister was simply too strange.

Windblossom briefly checked Karlo’s condition. The poison damage had already been neutralized by the medicinal powder. All that remained was to rely on his own powerful regenerative ability to recover.

“Should we give up on this arena?” she asked in the party chat.

It wasn’t because the rabbit on stage was Lulu’s older sister. Rather, that burst of attacks had nearly crippled even the thick-skinned Brown Bear with ease. If they went up there, they’d probably be killed instantly.

“…Let’s switch,” Zane nodded. He had no desire to provoke an assassin-type boss. If he got one-shot by a critical hit and was sent back to the city, it would be a huge hassle.

Before they had come here, Xaelia had mentioned it. Eularia, the Endless Water Prison, was one of the Twelve Kings and the most trusted subordinate of the Azure Bullet, Aivisha.

Rumor had it that the two were both master and disciple as well as close friends, with a relationship that had even crossed certain boundaries. But they were only rumors. Eularia had never revealed their true appearance. Even those who served under Aivisha had rarely ever seen Eularia’s true form.

This arena tournament in Noctilune City had begun preparations a month earlier. As for the exact reason behind it, even Xaelia didn’t know. The most plausible guess was that Eularia wanted to find a suitable confidant.

“If you want to learn what lies beneath the surface… then participate in the arena tournament. Only after earning the title of Small Arena Champion will you be qualified to learn what comes next,” Xaelia said after a moment’s thought.

“Why are you helping us?” Zane asked, utterly puzzled. The Dark Faction and the Light Faction had been at odds for centuries. Since she had discovered that they were human infiltrators, there should have been no reason to let them go.

“Because your story was very interesting. How’s that for a reason?”

“…”

‘Interesting? Give me a break. I had simply taken the game’s official lore, mixed in what I already knew, and embellished it a little. It was practically a serious educational lecture!’

“Hehe. There’s no need to be so worried. This place isn’t nearly as terrifying as the outside world imagines. The so-called Dark Faction is merely a name given by humans, elves, and beastmen.

“The ones who truly want to invade foreign lands are mostly those war-crazed lords who know nothing but conquest. Of course… our King is also interested in the other races.”

‘What? If that’s true… then the disparity between the two factions is really enormous.’

A single Shadow Overlord had already forced the frontline city to mobilize all of its troops, and in the end, the crisis had only been resolved because The Mad Blade: Theo and Mentor Sheen struck at the enemy’s base instead.

“If you run into any trouble in the future, feel free to come find me at the Curio Tavern. We can trade goods… or perhaps some interesting stories you’ve come across.”

“…Got it.” Zane nodded before calmly turning to leave.

“Wait!” The three of them immediately tensed up. ‘She’s not going back on her word, is she?’

“You intend to meet the Endless Water Prison with your current disguises?” Xaelia smiled with narrowed eyes. “Hehe. Even those lords would be able to see through your identities at a glance.”

“…”

***

“Lulu, stay here and keep your sister company. We’re leaving now.” Starry gently freed herself from Lulu’s grip before reminding her.

“Huh? Sister Starry, are you going to participate in the arena too?” Lulu pursed her pink lips, reluctant to let go.

“Mhm.”
“Can’t you stay here instead?”
“…I’d rather not fight your sister.”
“Okay… Then I’ll wait for your good news!” Lulu hugged her once more. “And Brother Zane, Sister Windblossom, I know you’re all good people… Good luck to both of you too!”
““Don’t go handing out good person cards so casually!”” the two of them complained in unison.

…

After asking a passerby for directions, they learned that the nearest arena was about a fifteen-minute walk east, then past another three streets.

“Who’s going first?” Zane asked.

“Let Starry do it,” Windblossom replied. “She has the highest attack power among us. Even if she runs into a boss, she’ll still be able to put up a fight. Besides, we can support her from below.”

That’s true. Although they had seen quite a few Unique bosses taking the stage earlier, those were still the minority. Most of the opponents were only around Epic-rank.

If they were only Epic-rank enemies, then with Starry’s Battlelust lifesteal effect, she could easily sustain herself through continuous combat.

After defeating three opponents, Windblossom and Zane would take turns entering the arena to stall for time. Once the timing was right, they would deliberately lose. That way, they could fulfill the requirements of surviving for one hour and defeating five opponents. The plan was nothing short of perfect.