Second World Novel

“Oh… He is eleven levels above us…,” Jack muttered.

“Above you, you mean,” Disco Rain said with an annoyed expression.

“Yeah. It’s going to be a tough fight,” Four Winds said.

“Sigh… If only I can fight full power, we might still have a decent chance. What about his partner?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know. Aside from the leader, everyone else is permitted as long as they are from the tribe,” Water Lily said. “None of the tribes announced who will be accompanying their leaders.”

“It’s the same with the other tribes. We only know for certain about their leaders,” Four Winds said. “The other four tribes that will be joining the tourney are Sharpstone, Spiritcrier, Slavebinder, and Thickskull.”

‘Thickskull,’ Jack thought after hearing the name. He had several encounters with the warriors from this tribe. He had killed two of the father and son from the Thickskull tribe, Badu and Wangombe. If they found out about his real identity, this tribe was most likely the first to draw their axes.𝗇𝑜𝒱𝓔𝐋𝑵𝞮xt.𝔠𝑂𝔪

“The leader from Sharpstone is Kali Sharpstone. She is a level 75 rare elite,” White Lily informed. “Leader from Spiritcrier is Roho Spiritcrier. He is a level 76 rare elite.”

“Spiritcrier. Isn’t that the tribe where the Verremor’s mythical-grade shaman king is from?” Jack asked.

“Yes. But like Umeza, he had secluded himself from the power struggle. Unless it is of national importance, he won’t involve himself,” Water Lily said.

“But he will be present in the tourney,” Four Winds said. “He is one of the referees.”

“One of the referees? Won’t he be biased then? Considering his tribe is fighting,” Jack asked.

“The orc higher-ups trust him. He won’t shame himself by showing favor. The orc is a proud race,” Four Winds repeated Water Lily’s words.

“Next one. Slavebinder’s leader is a level 70 rare elite named Utum Slavebinder,” Water Lily continued. “The last tribe, Thickskull. Their leader is Kisasi, she is a level 72 special elite.”

“All of the natives are level 70 and above,” Jack remarked.

“That’s why I said our hardest struggle will be against the natives,” Water Lily said.

“Do we know the order of the matches? Who we will be fighting?” Jack asked.

“No. That and the rules will be explained before the tourney starts,” Four Winds said. “Which will start in less than two hours. Let’s go!”

Four Winds led them out of the guild hall toward the teleportation chamber. From there, they teleported to the Mjiku Maba. The buildings around that place were similar to the ones Jack saw in Larabar, but many of them had larger scales than the ones in Larabar. This made Jack wonder what trees those giant wood pillars were cut from and what giant animals the steel-like leather and the bones used in the buildings were taken from.

“Once the tourney ends, this city will be ours!” Four Winds declared.

“I admire your optimism, bro,” Jack said.

“Haha! Big talks! You have to go through us first!” They heard a loud voice from the side and saw a group of players there. The leading two were Phithion and Gerion.

‘Oh, look. The guy whom I have killed twice,’ Jack almost blurted out. Fortunately, he remembered he was in a disguise and stopped himself from being himself.

Four Winds just glanced at them before saying, “Let’s go and claim our prize!”

They then walked forward, leaving Phithion who was fuming. He had been mercilessly humiliated by being ignored in front of his followers.

Jack just looked back at Warsong Rising’s group and chuckled. Phithion was level 60 while Gerion was level 61. Phithion was lower than the others’ top players’ levels because he had died twice during the war. Although he had everyone fiercely power-leveling him, it was difficult to catch up.

They walked through the city before arriving at a huge stadium-like building. The large wooden sign above the entrance informed everyone that this building was a colosseum.

‘Oh? Isn’t this building the one we are currently building in Thereath?’ Jack asked Peniel in his mind. She was back to hiding inside her hidden dimension. She was pretty eye-catching, after all. Those who had seen her before with Jack would recognize her.

‘Yes, considering orc’s battle-lust nature, it is not strange they had built this building before Themisphere,’ Peniel replied. ‘This building allows natives and outworlders to have an arranged fight. Those who fight within this place will not die for real. The proficiency gained from using their skills in this colosseum is four times normal.’

‘Same as our first-rate training ground!’ Jack said.

‘Yes. Outworlders normally need to pay coins if they want to use this place. But this place is more useful to natives than outworlders. Natives who fight here will have an increased chance of successfully learning the skills or spells they are currently learning. Competent ministers from the army ministry will usually send talented soldiers to fight in this colosseum first before sending them to study in fighting schools or magic schools.’

Jack sent this tip to John without delay, so they can organize the soldiers efficiently once the colosseum in Thereath was up and running.

Inside the colosseum were several arenas. The staff inside pointed them to the main one at the center of the building. It was a large round arena with elevated seating place for the spectators, just like the real-world colosseum. The seats were currently packed full of audience.

A couple of orc soldiers stopped them and asked for identification. After making sure that Jack and Four Winds were the official participants, the two were let in while the rest were told to go to the viewing seats upstairs.

Everyone wished the two luck before they left. Four Winds simply grunted for a reply while Jack gave them a victory sign.

“Don’t get too overconfident!” Water Lily warned Jack.

“Remember, you are a handicap player here!” Violent Blizzard chided.

“If we lost because of you, we will reveal your true self and hand you over to the authority for rewards!” Disco Rain threatened.

“Ugh, you people are mood-breakers,” Jack complained.