Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Although he was called an uncle, he didn’t actually look that old. At a glance, he appeared to be a man in the prime of his life, around thirty years old. The only thing that truly gave him the appearance of an older man was the scruffy stubble covering his chin.

Looking more closely, Starry couldn’t find a single trace of any magibeast traits. He looked exactly like a real human. Could this be perfect humanization? Unlike counterfeit beings like them, had he achieved this form entirely through his own effort?

“Little girl, what are you staring at? If you keep dawdling, those guys down there won’t be so patient.”

“Uncle, what kind of magibeast did you transform from?” Seeing how approachable he was, Starry couldn’t help asking.

Generally speaking, after taking human form, a magibeast’s fighting style didn’t change much from its original form. If she knew his race, dealing with him in battle would be much easier.

As she spoke, Starry downed another High-Grade HP Potion.

However, compared to her 8,000+ HP, it was barely a drop in the bucket.

With perfect timing. The thirty-second cooldown of Heart of Renewal had just finished.

Her HP bar instantly climbed out of the danger zone and reached roughly three-quarters full.

“Haha!” The uncle laughed heartily twice before shaking his head. “I’m no magibeast. I’m a genuine human.”

“A… human?” Zane asked in confusion.
“More accurately, a dead man. Little girl, is this your first time in Noctilune City?”
“…Yes.”
“I knew it! No wonder you dared face the Bewitching Flower head-on. A newborn calf fears no tiger. Fortunately, your strength matched your courage.”

She had only learned about it after stepping onto the stage, okay? If she’d known beforehand, she definitely wouldn’t have rushed out so early. She couldn’t help it. The Bewitching Flower Maiden was only Epic rank. If she wasn’t decisive now, the opponents later on might prove even harder to handle.

After another brief silence, the crowd below erupted into an uproar.

“Quinn, don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to this little bunny? You’re even waiting for her to recover?”
“If you ask me, she might even be your illegitimate daughter!”
“Old man, if you keep stalling, I’ll beat the crap out of you later!”

The man called Quinn scratched his messy hair and roared impatiently at the crowd below. “You little brats, shut the hell up!” Only then did the audience quiet down considerably.

“Sorry you had to see that.” Quinn scratched his head awkwardly. “Since it’s your first time here, you probably don’t know much. Noctilune City is a Free City under the rule of the Azure Bullet.

“And not just Noctilune. Every place under her jurisdiction is the same. Regardless of who you are, anyone is free to come and go. Though… I have to admit, seeing a Red Rabbit in the arena was quite a surprise.”

A Free City? Indeed, she had seen all kinds of monsters here. If there were some kind of bestiary, a single visit to Noctilune City would probably let someone complete more than half of it. Then, by that logic, did the other cities of the Dark Faction reject one another?

Before she realized it, the special skill of her Necklace of Compassion had become available again. As green numbers floated up, her HP bar finally returned to full.

‘Good. Aside from Iceflow Shield, all my skills had finished cooling down.’

“Uncle, I’m ready.” As she spoke, she casually threw out an Inspect Attribute.

The information was extremely brief, yet what it revealed was astonishing. Both his rank and level made it abundantly clear that he was no easy opponent.

“Oh? You’re not going to wait for that pretty necklace to recharge? It looked like it only takes about thirty seconds.”

“!” He actually noticed the cooldown of an equipment special skill!?

“No need.” In the end, she declined his kindness. Using the Heart of Renewal repeatedly had already consumed a huge amount of SP. The remaining points weren’t enough to activate it again.

There were only two ways to restore SP: gradually accumulating them through combat, or recovering them by drinking alcohol.

“I see…” Quinn narrowed his eyes and reached into his robe. To Starry’s surprise, he pulled out an exquisite silver-gray ancient leather-bound tome. Rapidly flipping through its pages, his expression turned serious. “Then let’s begin!”

The moment those words fell, Starry shot forward like an arrow, activating Thousand Flash Steps immediately.

Her opponent was a Unique rank powerhouse. She couldn’t afford the slightest carelessness. Since he had drawn that book, he was most likely a mage or some similar class.

Against a spellcaster, the first priority was closing the distance. The arena measured only about twenty-five by twenty-five meters, leaving very little room to maneuver. Once she got into melee range, escaping would become extremely difficult.

Conversely, a mage’s area-of-effect attacks could easily cover the entire arena. In the end, it would come down to who moved faster.

Watching Starry close in at incredible speed, Quinn smiled faintly. “Little girl… I think you’ve misunderstood something.” Then, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, he reached into the ancient tome with his right hand and drew out a hollow crimson-purple magic sword.

**Clang!**

The next instant, the magic sword collided violently with the Autumn Moon Sword. Their blades scraped against one another, showering the arena with brilliant sparks. In that single exchange alone, the Autumn Moon Sword’s durability dropped by 3%!

‘You’re not a freaking mage, so why are you wielding a grimoire like that?! Seriously!?’

**Bzzzt… Swish!**

Starry barely won out in the contest of strength, knocking the magic sword aside. Her own weapon continued its momentum and slashed across the Deceased One’s body.

Not even a hundred damage? Even if he’d blocked part of the attack, there was no way the damage should have been this low.

There was no time to dwell on it. Starry immediately unleashed Icy Moon Slash, gathering frost around her blade, intending to bind him first!

Yet Quinn neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he chanted calmly, “Book of the Deceased… the blade is about to pierce my body. Answer the call of the dead. Reinforce… Defense!”

A ray of black light burst from the grimoire and enveloped his body. At the very same moment, the Autumn Moon Sword struck.

It felt as though she had chopped into solid ore. Although the sword itself remained incredibly sharp, the impact numbed her hand with pain. His HP bar only dropped to 99%. Of course, the decimal portion wasn’t displayed, but from a rough estimate, he had at least 500,000 HP.

Frost rapidly spread across his body, only to shatter and crumble away a moment later. The freezing effect had failed again.

Not only that, but a crimson-purple afterimage flashed downward as the Deceased One swung his magic sword at her. Fortunately, the attack wasn’t particularly fast. With a quick push off the ground, Starry dodged it completely.

After retreating several steps, she realized brute force wouldn’t break through his defenses. In that case… Whirling Blade!

Her weapon spun through the air, and the uncle’s eyes widened. “So that’s the move that killed the Bewitching Flower? Interesting… very interesting!”

His aura surged. Stepping forward with his left foot, he gripped the magic sword tightly with both hands while the ancient tome floated behind him, standing as immovable as a mountain.

A bad feeling welled up inside Zane. ‘Don’t tell me… he’s going to counter Whirling Blade!?’

**Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!!**

The Autumn Moon Sword spun at incredible speed, colliding with the magic sword over and over until… The magic sword was cleaved cleanly in two.

…

Eight separate three-digit damage numbers appeared in succession.

“Holy crap, it broke again!” the uncle exclaimed in astonishment as the Armor Break debuff appeared on his body.

The weapon then flew back once more.

…

This time, the damage was noticeably higher. As expected, his Defense was abnormally high. It was almost certainly the effect of that defensive spell.

Quinn looked completely unfazed. He casually touched the wound and frowned. “That hurt a little…”

Grayish-black light bloomed from his hand, covering the gash.

His HP, which had only just dipped below 100%, instantly returned to full.

“…” For a moment, Zane didn’t even know what to say.

“Little bunny, although my main class is a priest, I’ve always dreamed of becoming a swordsman.” The uncle seemed to recall something as he spoke leisurely. “Even now, I’m still working toward that goal.”

“…”

‘If you’re a priest, then stay below the stage and watch the match! What are you doing up here fighting!?’