Chapter 100

"Damn, damn, to be outdone by Lord Rosman..."

The man who arrived in the capital a step behind Rosman, while on his way to the inn, heard at a roadside stall that Rosman's Flash Seat had already entered the capital, and muttered to himself with a regretful look.

The man in his early forties had his slightly graying black hair neatly set back, wore a long, slender foreign robe, and had on a pair of narrow glasses.

His name was Kasakari Kerala, who called himself "Rosman's Flash Seat's rival."

"No, Lord Rosman must be in a hurry. Perhaps the opportunity lies there."

He muttered to himself incessantly as he walked down the main street.

He was unusual among the title match participants for not bringing any companions. His homeland was a distant wilderness country far from the Kingdom of Castal, where the value of participating in the title match was not well understood. No eccentric person would volunteer to come all the way from a far-off, unknown country, no matter how excellent their swordsmanship might be.

"No, no, I mustn't be complacent. Perhaps I should dance the dance of my homeland to stir up my fighting spirit."

Kasakari suddenly started dancing in the middle of the bustling street.

...The reason he had no companions, or rather, the reason people did not approach him, was that he was a weirdo, nine times out of ten.

The people of the capital seemed to understand this well, and when they saw him dancing wildly and dreamily, they ignored him, thinking, "It's just like him."

"Lord Kasakari, Lord Kasakari!"

Upon receiving a report from a citizen, a messenger from the Flash Seat match organizers rushed to Kasakari.

As usual, they tried to calm him down with various tactics and led him to the inn.

"Every time, the food here is delicious! But even when I follow the recipe I was given, it doesn't turn out well. What is the difference? Truly, it is a mystery."

Kasakari did not favor high-end cuisine. He loved extremely spicy dishes.

Therefore, it was customary to take a room in a cheap inn and be led to a common restaurant.

"Chili peppers, perhaps the chili peppers are different. But they are not sold in my country. Is there any way to get them?"

"Once the Flash Seat match is over, I will prepare them for you. Please take them back with you."

"Oh! Messenger, you are quite considerate. Yes, as a thank you, I will dance the dance of my homeland."

"No, no... no, no! No, no, no!"

Please be quiet. Everyone wished this, but he immediately betrayed their hopes and caused a commotion.

Such a man had entered the capital for the season once again.

---

"Lord Alfred, we will soon arrive at the capital."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

In the carriage traveling on the gravel road, the man replied to the driver's words.

The middle-aged man named Alfred, with his dull, unkempt hair, casually ran his hand through it and then felt his way to open the carriage window.

He was blind. However, his hearing was excellent, enough to hear the driver's voice amidst the loud clattering of the carriage.

"I can smell the bustle."

His nose was also excellent, as were his skin and tongue. This was a special sense that only he could understand.

He became blind around the age of 30. Until then, he had been a first-class archer, displaying the strength of a lion.

More than a decade after "that incident," he had transformed into a being of demonic strength.

"...Soon, I will take it back. The Ghost Piercer."

---

In every era, there are always a few people called geniuses.

In the vast room of a large house, he was staring intently at the documents on his desk.

Muratti Tricolor, the pinnacle of mages, was 36 years old this year. Despite the approaching winter, he was sweating slightly in just his undershirt. Standing at 170 cm, he weighed well over 100 kg, and his slightly small glasses were digging into his temples.

"Ah, a great discovery!"

He muttered to himself with heavy breathing, then stood up and reached for a pile of books, rummaging through them for new documents.

Muratti was currently researching the relationship between magic and summoning, particularly the relationship between the four major elements and spirits. When asked why he was doing this, the only answer was that he wanted to. This had been his nature since he was a child, and it remained unchanged even now as a greasy middle-aged man.

He was someone who loved magic more than anything. Therefore, it was only natural that he wanted to delve deeper. The only problem was that his enthusiasm was far greater than that of others, and his pursuit of the truth of magic had turned his life into a "magic-soaked" existence.

His life, from the age of 4 onwards, had been entirely about magic. Even in the harsh world, magic had never betrayed him. Realizing that the more he did, the more results he got, he quickly became engrossed.

He had no financial worries. The Tricolor family was a prestigious family of magic, and Muratti was their heir. His parents, too, were a bit eccentric and had created an environment where their son could focus solely on magic.

As a result, Muratti Tricolor became an incredible "magic otaku." Someone who had spent over 30 years doing only what they loved could, in a limited area, display an abnormal level of strength.

"Ah! Lord Muratti! There you are!"

"Ah! You must be Salotti. Salute!"

"Here! Salute! Salute! Salute!"

The visitor to Muratti's room was his only friend and cousin, Salotti. The two let out a characteristic "Dopfo" sound and playfully teased each other with half-smiles.

"Lord Muratti, about the upcoming Grand Strategist match in a week..."

"Ah, I had completely forgotten. But right now, I'm too busy with my research to think about it!"

"No, I'm too busy too! But please, take a look at this."

"...What is it? A list of participants?"

Muratti took a few documents from Salotti. It was a list of participants for the various title matches. He quickly scanned the contents. There were four participants in each category, more than the usual 2-3. As he was thinking, "This season has more participants than usual," he felt a strong sense of unease at one name and reacted.

"Isn't this crazy? Participating in three categories is just impossible, right?"

"Whoa... I can't overlook this."

"A chill runs down my spine thinking about facing Lord Muratti in the match."

"Your pun combining premonition and chill is quite clever. But feeling a chill means you think I might lose, doesn't it! This!"

"Ugh! Please, have mercy, have mercy!"

Muratti playfully choked Salotti, but despite his playful actions, his mind was calm.

Participating in three title matches meant that the person had achieved the highest level in all "minor skills" of three "major skills." This required an enormous amount of experience.

In the game Mefius Online, players generally gain experience by defeating monsters, but it's not as simple as just defeating any monster. The system is designed so that players only gain "satisfactory" experience by defeating monsters that are "equal to or stronger than" their own level, based on their status and cumulative experience.

Thus, the man participating in three title matches this season was either a "tremendous hero who had consistently faced and overcome intense battles" or a "patient warrior who had tirelessly defeated countless weak monsters."

"Hehehe..."

Muratti was convinced that this season's Grand Strategist match would be different from previous ones and gave a creepy smile.

The main reason he was interested was that the man was also participating in the Spirit King match, which directly related to the relationship between magic and summoning, the very subject of his current research.

To be honest, the Grand Strategist match itself didn't matter much to him, but the possibility that he might learn something new about magic by talking to this man was enough to increase his enthusiasm for the match.

"An interesting opponent has appeared."

"I completely agree."

---

"It's been a while since I've been in the capital."

An old woman wearing a droopy triangular hat and a black robe so large it dragged on the ground had just returned to the capital, Winston.

Her name was Chesta. She was 78 years old and known by various titles such as the Wandering Mage, the Great Mage, the Flame Witch, and the former Head of the Royal Court Mage Corps.

"Aunt, I've been waiting for you."

"Oh, are you Cheri? Wow, you've grown so much."

Cheri, a short woman in the uniform of the First Royal Court Mage Corps, greeted Chesta. Chesta was her aunt.

Cheri tilted her head at Chesta's comment. They had last met about a year ago, and her height hadn't changed much...

"Has something happened? Did you have a breakthrough? You look different."

"!"

Chesta hit the nail on the head. Cheri was startled, then her cheeks turned red as she tried to deny it, but Chesta stopped her with a hand.

"There's no need to say more. Yes, yes, you should thank Zephyr. I told him to look after you."

"…No, the Captain has nothing to do with it."

"Huh? What do you mean? If not, I'll have to scold him. Hehehe."

The current Captain of the First Royal Court Mage Corps, Zephyr, was Chesta's disciple. It was she who had taught Zephyr the "Fire Attribute, Fifth Form."

"Otherwise, who could have made you change so much... I can tell from your reaction. A man, right? Huh?"

"……Well"

Chesta looked at Cheri with a sly smile. Cheri's ears turned red as she looked down.

"Well, it's fine. We'll talk about it later. For now, lead me to the inn. My feet hurt."

"Yes, Aunt."

A few minutes later, Cheri would learn that the man her cute, cute niece was interested in was her first opponent in the Grand Strategist match.

"Let me try something..." Chesta, with her extra enthusiasm, was desperately calmed down by Cheri.

---

Thus, truly colorful and formidable warriors were gathering in the capital one after another.

And finally, the winter title matches were about to begin—

---

＜Flash Seat Match＞

1. Kasakari Kerala

2. Second Fastest

3. Helle Lumberjack

4. Garam

{(1 vs 2) vs (3 vs 4)} vs Rosman Flash Seat

---

＜Ghost Piercer Match＞

1. Dee Mix

2. Sylvia Virginia

3. Alfred

4. Jay Mix

{(1 vs 2) vs (3 vs 4)} vs Elnte Ghost Piercer

---

＜Grand Strategist Match＞

1. Chesta

2. Second Fastest

3. Nil Weissroy

4. Alpha Promenade

{(1 vs 2) vs (3 vs 4)} vs Muratti Tricolor Grand Strategist

---

＜Adamantine Match＞

1. Domingo

2. Rocknchair

3. Jidan

4. Eco Leaflet

{(1 vs 2) vs (3 vs 4)} vs Gorowaz Adamantine

---

＜Spirit King Match＞

1. Second Fastest

2. Capito

3. Mr. Slim

4. Big Horn

{(1 vs 2) vs (3 vs 4)} vs Vog Spirit King

Thank you for reading.