The night before Group B’s match, Anis and Taragon, having already competed, wanted to offer Keter some advice. But he was sprawled upside-down on a couch, lazily kicking his feet. “No need to tell me.” Keter’s disinterested attitude prompted Myle to try persuading him more seriously. “Keter, we know you're strong. But as you saw, this tournament is designed to be disadvantageous to archers like us. Anis and Taragon only made it through thanks to Sir Rajis. If it weren’t for him…” “You know, now that I think about it, it’s kind of funny.” Interrupting Myle, Keter stretched his legs all the way to the table. Then, with an absurd display of flexibility, he pinched a cherry from the tabletop with his toes and flicked it into his mouth. “If you know I’m strong, then why worry?” Keter bit through the cherry—pit and all. Keter didn’t disagree. Having once gone up against an entire nation in a past life, he deeply understood the truth of those words. But… “I agree that everyone has limits. But these guys aren’t strong enough to make me feel mine.” “If I ever need help, I’ll ask for it myself. Is that good enough for you, Big Brother?” “If that’s how you feel... fine. I won’t say more.” Myle gave up asking why Keter insisted on lying upside down or why he was awkwardly eating cherries with his toes. He turned to Anis, Taragon, and Katherine, shaking his head. “I figured. It’s not like Keter to just listen quietly.” Anis wasn’t disappointed—he hadn’t expected much. “Still, the match is tomorrow... and he’s not preparing at all. Or is it just me? Has anyone actually seen Keter getting ready?” Everyone shook their heads. No one had seen Keter training or checking his equipment. “I always say overconfidence breeds carelessness, but with Keter, I really don’t know. Where does he get that confidence?” “Maybe because he’s just that strong?” The brothers all seemed to agree—Keter was undeniably strong. But the world wasn’t so kind that everything could be solved with raw strength alone. Casually, Katherine posed a question. “Have any of you ever seen Keter fight seriously?” They all glanced at each other. No one answered because no one had. “I heard he fought dozens of mercenaries once. Neither side had serious injuries. That means he controlled his strength, and anyone who’s tried knows how hard that is.” “He fought Burgundy, the Orichalcum-class mercenary, but didn’t go all out. Even then, it was clear Keter was winning.” “There’s that story about him taking down the Bydent knights... but there were no witnesses.” “When I sparred with Lord Keter on the bridge, it felt more like he was playing than dueling.” One by one, they recalled the times they had seen Keter in action. And they all realized: they knew he was unbelievably strong, but none of them had ever seen him go all out. “So... what happens when Keter fights seriously?” “He’s got martial arts that can beat dozens of mercs, archery better than Zodiac Archery. I wonder what will happen when he goes all out…” “And he’s a master of medicine and cooking too.” “Um, my lords, you haven’t seen Lord Keter use Magic Archery before, right?” Everyone shook their heads. They had heard from Katherine that Magic Archery was based on mana, but they had no idea what it could actually do. Katherine trembled just from recalling it. “I’ve seen Master demonstrate it. There are three core techniques in Magic Archery. I think if I show them to you, it’ll help you feel a bit more at ease.” “Three core techniques?” “Hold on, Keter actually demonstrated it?” “He has both aura and mana?” “Wait... if he used mana in his archery, that might explain why it’s so strange…” Read full story at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽 Myle, Anis, and Taragon raised their voices in excitement. Katherine calmed them. “My lords, as far as I know, Lord Keter only used aura when showing you his archery. The core techniques of Magic Archery are very visible.” “What exactly are they? Can you show us?” “Well... I couldn’t before, but after healing Lord Ryze, my mana increased a lot. I think I can try to imitate one of them.” Katherine took them to the training yard. “Whew... I’m nervous showing this in front of you, my lords. The first technique is called the Acceleration Gate.” She took a deep breath and spread her arms wide. Mana surged between her palms, forming two glowing pillars. A visible current of mana flowed between them, but Myle, Anis, and Taragon had no idea what it was for. “Would one of you toss a rock through the gate, my lords?” Taragon picked up a pebble and lightly tossed it. The moment it passed through the gate… Its speed skyrocketed. “W-what just happened?!” Anis threw another rock as fast as he could. As it passed through the gate, it became so fast it was no longer visible. Then, it shattered midair from sheer air resistance. In awe, Myle murmured, “I’ve never heard of a spell .” “If you shoot an arrow through it…!” All three swallowed hard in excitement. The Acceleration Gate was exactly what it sounded like: anything passing through it was accelerated. And with arrows, where speed and distance were everything, the implications were staggering. Anis looked like he wanted to try it immediately, but… The gate collapsed. Katherine’s forehead was drenched in sweat. “Ha… Ha… Sorry. That was the first time I’ve made one that was this complete. Lord Keter made one big enough for people to walk through. I don’t even know how he did it.” Despite her exhaustion, Katherine was reinvigorated seeing Myle and Anis truly stunned. “And it wasn’t just one. He made multiple at the same time.” Myle, who best understood how difficult this was, was stunned that he couldn’t even speak. “S-so not only is Keter’s archery beyond imagination, his magic is as well…?” Everyone turned to look at Keter, who was still lying upside down on a couch not meant for such a position. To reassure the brothers, Katherine delivered the final blow. “Oh, by the way... The Acceleration Gate is actually the easiest of the three spells. Just wait until you see the Refraction Panel and the Dimensional Tunnel.” The three looked like they were about to lose their minds. If this was the easiest spell, they couldn’t even imagine what would happen when Keter fought seriously with everything he had. In the waiting room on the day of the match, an official visited Keter’s waiting room. “Lord Keter. As you saw in yesterday’s match, we’ll be collecting your weapons and elixirs per tournament regulations.” Keter spread both arms wide. “I didn’t bring anything.” “Ahaha, what a funny joke.” “Check for yourself.” The official didn’t believe him. It was absurd to enter a battle completely unarmed. Yet no matter where the official looked in the room, they found no bow, no arrows, not even a potion or elixir. “Ahem... I see that you truly have nothing with you. In that case... if I may.” The official pulled a small vial from his coat pocket. A pink liquid shimmered inside. “A certain noble who supports you has personally provided this... beverage.” “Yes. Consumables are allowed under tournament rules. This does not violate any regulations.” “Looks like an elixir to me.” The official looked confused about why he was even asking. Then, the official leaned in and whispered, “It’s not an elixir, my lord. Just a beverage that’s good for you. And please don’t worry—I am the official assigned to you today. Anything I permit, you may carry in.” It was a loophole. It was bound to be abused as it was a rule that was recently added, and Eslow didn’t care what nobles pulled behind the scenes. “So just drink, huh?” “Ah, please don’t open it here… Kuk!” Suddenly, Keter grabbed the official’s jaw and forced it open. Then he poured the drink right in. The official tried to resist, curling his tongue to block his throat, but Keter delivered a swift chop to his uvula. His reaction wasn’t what one would expect from drinking a regular elixir. Elixirs have side effects if consumed without injury, but not life-threatening ones. And yet, the official bolted out of the room in a panic, as though he had swallowed a lethal poison. Keter calmly shut the door behind him, unfazed. “If it’s so good for you, you drink it.” Just like that, Keter effortlessly swatted down one of Galahind’s dirty tricks. Shortly after, the match began. Just like Anis and Taragon before him, Keter’s starting location was at the island’s edge: behind him, steep seaside cliffs, and before him, a dense forest. Almost immediately after the match began, Keter was ambushed. Somehow, two two-star knights had already obtained swords and charged him from both sides the moment the signal went off. It was an even more blatant breach of the rules than what Anis and Taragon had faced, but Keter reacted as if he had been waiting for it. He grabbed both rushing knights by the heads and smashed them together. A sound like cracking watermelons rang out as the two knights collided forehead to forehead and collapsed. In a single move, Keter had neutralized two participants. He took their badges, but then did something utterly baffling. Instead of keeping them, he hurled the badges into the ocean. Tournament rules strictly forbade damaging a badge. But there were no restrictions on discarding them. Spectators watching the match thought Keter had lost his mind. Why throw away such valuable badges? Did he have no intention of winning? But the spectators didn’t know that tossing those badges into the sea was only the beginning.