MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1501: Myriad Prodigies: Final Round (12)

”…Say, did you notice Erika looking at us?”

With Ataraxia forfeiting any opportunity to get any higher than the top 32 in the tournament, the two did not take long to head down underground once more, prompting the former to bring up the topic with Valyr.

”I did.” Valyr nodded, his expression solemn as he recalled the thought his other identity shared with him. ”Although I didnʼt notice it at first, she looked at us the same way she did the first time.”

Ataraxia frowned at those words. ”Is she planning to do another ritual while the tournament is still ongoing?”

”Iʼm as clueless as you are.” The young man could only shrug his shoulders in response, letting out a faint sigh in the process. ”In any case, itʼs better for us to inform Lunarossa about it rather than let things get worse.”

Receiving a nod from his other identity in agreement, the two went ahead and sent Lunarossa a message regarding what they noticed about Erika during their fight for the top 32 spot.

Getting comfortable in the tavern they were staying at once more, the two soon received a response from the tournamentʼs director, informing the two of them that she has already been notified of such matters.

Other than that, she also told the two that most of her focus was now on Erika, especially after the other arbiters told her that their target was beginning to utter out gibberish all of a sudden.

Reaching that part of the message, both Valyr and Ataraxiaʼs expressions turned serious, recalling that something similar had occurred back when they risked their lives to obtain evidence on Erikaʼs actions.

ʼIf it is what we think it is… we need to give her a heads-up in advance.ʼ Getting a strong feeling that their hunch on the matter was correct, Valyr glanced at Ataraxia, sending him a message through their shared thoughts.

ʼ…Is she seriously planning to hold another ritual?ʼ Ataraxia could only let out a sigh in response, causing Valyr to wryly smile soon after.

ʼAt this point, is there anything else she could do that involves spouting gibberish all of a sudden besides another ritual?ʼ

ʼ…ʼ Remaining silent for a bit to gather his thoughts, Ataraxia eventually let out yet another sigh as he gestured towards Valyr to send another message to Lunarossa regarding their conclusion.

Faintly nodding at his other identityʼs thoughts, the two went ahead and sent her yet another message, informing her that there was a high possibility, if not certainty that Erika was planning to hold another ritual while the tournament was ongoing.

Just as they were about to end their message then and there, the two looked at each other and thought about the number of people she could potentially sacrifice to the ritual, causing the two to pale in complexion as they gave it a bit more thought.

In the end, the two merely told Lunarossa that Erika was either planning a mass ritual that involved everyone within the amphitheater, an elite ritual that included those on the stands…

Or the fourth tier of ritual the director had mentioned to them in passing.

”…Iʼll tighten the surveillance around her.” After what felt like minutes of deafening silence, the two eventually received a response back from Lunarossa, allowing them to feel like a weight was lifted off their shoulders.

Though, once their eyes shifted towards the next message she sent, their complexions slightly paled as thoughts of the previous fight against Erika flashed through their minds.

”Of course, Iʼll also have to request you two to keep a close eye on her.”

”…”

Briefly looking at each other with somewhat indignant expressions on their faces, Valyr and Ataraxia eventually accepted the request that had been given to them, being reminded that the current situation was just an extension of what Mystia had asked of them.

…

Although the first fight for the top 32 spots didnʼt turn out as well as initially hoped thanks to Ataraxia immediately forfeiting, the remaining fights for the top 32 still caused the entire crowd to cheer out of excitement, especially since all of them did not admit their defeat beforehand.

Because of that, it did not take long for the fights for top 16 to arrive, causing the crowdʼs excitement to reach an ever higher peak as all of the remaining participants were considered famous in one way or another.

Knowing not to make the same mistake back during the fight for the top 32 spots, the tournamentʼs organizers arranged Valyrʼs fight to be around the middle in terms of order.

Of course, the young man did not mind the arrangement, considering that he could now unleash far greater power than before since he didnʼt need to worry about Ataraxia fighting anymore.

At the same time, it gave him the opportunity to amass more knowledge on those that were fighting, reminding himself that any of them could become his opponent in the oncoming rounds.

Nevertheless, the most important reason why he didnʼt mind the arrangement was because it gave him an opportunity to keep a close eye on Erika.

ʼShe really is chanting something…ʼ thought Valyr to himself as he watched her from afar, pushing his senses to its limits to barely hear the words that were coming out of her mouth.

Realizing that the words she uttered gave off a similar vibe to the ones he heard during the first ritual, Valyrʼs expression turned serious as he gave Julian a heads-up regarding Erikaʼs motives.

In response, the man thanked him for the warning, though he still wished Valyr to focus his attention on the tournament.

Reading Julianʼs well-intentioned message, the young man could let out a slight chuckle as he glanced at Erika once more.

ʼLetʼs just hope thereʼs still a tournament to look forward to sometime later.ʼ

Continuing to watch the other participants to fight for a spot at the top 16, Valyr was eventually informed that his turn to fight for the spot was about to come on, prompting him to make a few preparations in advance.

Then, a minute or so after the previous fight had declared its victor, the young man made his way up the main platform, eliciting a mix of boos and cheers that were caused by the previous face-off he and Ataraxia had at the platform.

However, rather than let their reactions get the better of him, Valyr remained calm as he continued to watch Erika from afar, waiting to see when she would make her move on the entire tournament.

Surprisingly…

The answer to that question was now.