[A/N: By the way, a little note for those who are confused by the fact that Aestrea is so strong. You should know that his Mana Quality, and density, are SS+, basically on top of the world, not to mention that he also has a special mana constitution that amplifies his mana output and input by ten times!

So even though his mana is classified as B-rank (because of his poor quantity), it’s much stronger than that! It could even rival that of a high ss-rank mage, but of course, Aestrea would lose against one because he doesn’t train magic spells and because the quantity of his mana is pitifully low. Not to mention, that he still didn’t use his Aura.

So yeah, I hope that I clarified everything.]

The Death Tournament is an underground fight competition that happens every three months, hidden from the public eye.

It’s pretty simple, really: sixteen challengers are chosen by the powerful figures in the underground world.

As the name suggests, every single person who steps into that arena is there to fight until someone dies, whether they want to or not.

Once you enter the stage, there’s no way out. The only thing that matters is staying alive—no one can just give up.

When only four people are left standing, they’ll fight each other in a free-for-all. The last one standing gets to walk away as the winner.

Simple as that.

The reason this tournament exists is all about gambling and making money. Yara Devereux, unfortunately, has lost more times than I can count.

In the underground world, no one plays by the rules. The big shots will do whatever it takes to make sure their chosen challenger wins. They’ll threaten other challengers or even kill them if they have to.

Because the prize for the winner is huge—something that can change a person’s life for good.

The big shots want that prize, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get it.

There are even stories of challengers who tried to walk away with the prize themselves… but they never made it.

They always end up dead.

But I was sure I could beat anyone she picked.

I was a better challenger than all of them.

“Mhm… very well, I accept your proposal,” she said, her eyes locking with mine.

“But you have to tell me what the item you want is, right now,” she added with a small smile.

I didn’t hesitate.

There was no reason to keep it a secret.

“Give me a Lich Heart.”

“A Lich Heart…?” she raised an eyebrow, confused.

“Exactly.” I nodded my head at her.

The Lich Heart was the only thing, besides a Dragon Heart, that could support my mana constitution.

It wouldn’t last long—maybe a few months, or if I was lucky, a year—but that was enough time for me.

It would give me just enough time to get the money I needed to either buy or steal a Dragon’s Heart.

“Alright, I’ll agree to those terms,” she said after a moment of thinking.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“But…” she paused, her smile turning sly, “you’re still going to owe me something… after all, a Lich Heart isn’t cheap~.”

“…What kind of ‘owing’ are we talking about here?”

I asked, unsure of what she really wanted from me-

“You’ll find out~” she giggled, a playful glint in her eyes as she turned away from me.

And before I could even say anything, she interrupted me.

“The first match starts in about an hour,” she continued, settling back into the sofa and picking up her glass of wine.

“That gives me enough time to register you as my challenger.”

She glanced at me, then pointed to the door on her right:

“There’s a room for you in there. You’ll be fighting last today, so you can prepare while the others are fighting.”

I nodded, but she wasn’t done.

Her eyes scanned me from head to toe before she smiled again.

“I’m guessing you’ll be staying here for the next three days, huh?” she said with a small smirk, sipping her wine as she studied me.

I wasn’t sure if I liked the way she was looking at me, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

I walked towards the room, but just as I was about to open the door, I heard her voice again.

“By the way, what name do you want to go by during the tournament?” she asked, sounding quite curious about it.

A small smile tugged at my lips as I pushed the door open.

Without looking back, I answered her.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

I slowly closed the door behind me, and as it clicked shut, I said it one last time, my voice low but firm.

“Moonlight Swordsman.”

Slam!

The door slammed shut, leaving Yara staring at it for a moment. A smirk spread across her face as she lifted her glass of wine, taking a slow sip.

“Moonlight Swordsman…”

She whispered to herself, licking her red lips.

.

.

.

.

.

A few hours later…

“Are you ready?”

Yara stood with her arms crossed, watching Aestrea sitting on one of the benches in the long corridor leading to the death arena.

Lifting up his head, Aestrea only replied with a small smile.

“More than ready.”

Yara grinned, her eyes gleaming with a mix of confidence and amusement.

“Good. I’ll make sure to bet big on you since your odds are 1 to 10.”

She flashed a wide smile as if saying that if he lost, he was going to lose a limb.

“1 to 10? That low?” Aestrea raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

“Of course. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen challengers go down in the first round. None of my fighters get good odds,” she replied with a shake of her head.

At her words, Aestrea only smiled lightly.

“Don’t worry about it. And also, bet a platinum coin for me,” Aestrea reached into his pocket and pulled out a platinum coin, tossing it casually at Yara.

She caught it effortlessly, her smirk growing.

“Mhm… that confident, huh?” Yara’s smile lingered as she turned the coin over in her hand.

“You do realize your opponent’s a low S-rank Awakened, right?”

She seemed to like his confidence.

“So?” he raised an eyebrow.

“I’m just that special,” he winked at her before walking away.

Looking at his retracting back, Yara couldn’t help but bite her lip.

“Was he flirting with me?” she muttered to herself. “Last time we met, he was way more cautious. How did he change so fast in just an entire week?”

She shook her head, dismissing the thought, and walked toward her VIP seat, where she’d have the best view of the arena.

Under her eyes, Aestrea slowly walked towards the arena as the multitude of people cheered for the other guy in the arena.

“Iron Wrestler!”

“KILL HIM! TURN HIM TO A METAL PIPE!”

The cheers were annoying, to say the least.

He raised his hand and slipped the mask over his face, hiding everything except his glowing red eyes. The smile on the mask was just a shadow, barely noticeable.

It might’ve looked pointless to anyone watching, but to Aestrea, it was far from useless.

The mask was a low-grade artifact, designed to help with mana overflow, and that was something Aestrea really needed.

His mana constitution wasn’t exactly the best, so anything that helped him keep his mana in check was a bonus.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” the announcer’s voice boomed over the speakers, “For the last fight of today, we have on our left, Iron Wrestler, the two-time winner!”

The crowd erupted into cheers, chanting his name.

“OOHOOOO!”

They roared.

“KILL HIM!”

“TURN HIM INTO PIECES!”

The cheers were quite loud.

After all, he was a two-time champion…

“And on our right,” the announcer continued, “we have… the Moonlight Swordsman!”

“…Who is that?”

“Yeah, must be his first time here. But why’s he wearing that creepy mask? He had a handsome face, didn’t he?”

“Is he scared to injure it?” someone joked.

The crowd laughed, knowing full well that the punishment for losing was death, but then someone in the crowd shouted something that got everyone’s attention.

“Wait… Isn’t the Moonlight Swordsman the guy who wiped out a bunch of high-ranking demon beasts during one of the hunting festivals?”

“Wait… really?”

The crowd seemed to have mixed replies. Some were doubtful, others were getting more curious.

Slowly, the cheer for Aestrea grew just a little louder.

“Heh, a little kid like you thinks you can take down the great Iron Wrestler?” The massive guy standing in front of Aestrea laughed.

This guy was huge—like, seriously huge. He looked like someone who could go toe-to-toe with professional sumo wrestlers.

He wasn’t wearing much armor, but the few pieces he had were covering his most vulnerable spots.

Aestrea didn’t respond to his taunt. He just stood there, waiting for the referee to give the signal to start.

“So, I think everyone’s ready…” the announcer said.

“Let the battle begin!”

Fwoop!

The Iron Wrestler charged at Aestrea, swinging his giant battle-axe like it was nothing. The speed was shocking for someone his size.

But Aestrea didn’t flinch.

He just lifted his right index finger, coating it with a tiny shield of mana.

Clang!

The battle axe hit his finger with a sharp sound, but instead of cutting through, a shimmering silver barrier expanded around Aestrea’s body, taking the full force of the blow.

The Iron Wrestler’s eyes widened in surprise. He tried to coat his own body in mana to defend, but before he could react…

Aestrea’s hand was already pressed against his chest armor.

“Impacto.”

THRUM!

A dense wave of mana exploded from Aestrea’s palm, sending a shock through the Iron Wrestler’s body. Aestrea’s body quivered slightly as he released all that energy.

“Gah…” The Iron Wrestler let out a small gasp.

He slowly limped backward before he crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

The crowd was in stunned silence.

Everyone was shocked by what happened.

Crack…!

Clink…

As the Iron Wrestler hit the ground, pieces of his armor—those that had been covering his vital points—shattered into tiny fragments.

Everyone turned to Aestrea, who now stood with his fist clenched tightly.

“Explode.”

SPLURT!

The moment he spoke those words, the Iron Wrestler’s body exploded, sending pieces of him flying everywhere—even into the crowd.

For a split second, there was absolute silence.

Then, the announcer’s voice rang out, shaking the arena.

“WE HAVE A WINNER!”

The crowd erupted in wild cheers.

“OOHOOOO!”

“MOONLIGHT SWORDSMAN!”

“MOONLIGHT SWORDSMAN!”

“MOONLIGHT SWORDSMAN!”

The chant grew louder and louder, everyone amazed by how easily Aestrea had defeated the two-time champion.

But…

Aestrea’s smile faded slightly as he stood there, still trying to catch his breath.

‘Damn… I really pushed it over the limit this time.’

‘Guess that’s what happens when you try to end the fight too quickly.’

Removing the mask from his face, he slowly took a deep breath before walking away from the death arena.

Behind, the countless cheers and looks of amazement reached out to him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep