Chapter 230: A Lion Appears

After Auren’s name has been drawn, the event does not last much longer. The seventh and eighth matchups are quickly decided, finishing the tournament board.With the final matchup revealed, Auren quickly realizes something that slightly complicates matters. If everything goes as planned, he will only encounter his true target, whom he was hired to kill, in the final round. That means his target first has to make it that far, which could potentially make his request far more troublesome to fulfill.

Do I even fulfill my request if he doesn’t make it to the finals? Killing him outside of Heaven’s Arena... I’m not quite sure.

Finally, Auren, Neffi, Vanessa, and Ura leave the arena swiftly, leaving the other Floor Masters and guests behind.

Back in Auren’s luxury suite on his personal floor, Neffi looks a little concerned as she throws herself onto the couch.

“Bad luck… the champion in the first round? Did he manipulate the draw?” she wonders aloud.

“It doesn’t matter,” Auren replies calmly. “I am not aiming to win once or twice. I want to win the entire tournament, so I would have to face the strongest Floor Masters sooner or later anyway.”

“Do you have a plan?” Vanessa asks, folding her arms. “If his defense is really that good, you might not be able to cut him.”

“I could drown him,” Auren says casually, “but I don’t want to reveal the true nature of my Hatsu. I’ll just cut him instead.”

“How?” Vanessa asks again, not understanding at all.

Hehe... if she asks like that, she is kinda cute... though she’d get angry if she knew I’d think of her as a pet.

“Just wait and see,” Auren replies, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “This is the perfect opportunity to consolidate the gains from my latest training. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine a more suitable opponent.”

“The champion is not weak,” Ura says thoughtfully. “To transmute his Aura into something resembling iron or steel… that requires real skill.”

Auren shakes his head lightly.

“No, it doesn’t. It’s fairly basic. Even steel is only made of iron and carbon. If it’s just iron, then it’s only a single component. Also, he doesn’t actually need to fully understand it. He only imitates it with his Aura. Don’t think Transmuters are like conjurers who need to fully understand their element. Transmuters are liars by nature. They merely mimic their chosen element. They could even transmute their Aura into elements that do not even exist.”

Auren pauses for a moment before continuing. “I’m not saying he isn’t skilled, but the ability itself is fairly simple. With enough training and dedication, many people could probably learn it... with limited success. In the end, it only hardens his body and maybe adds weight. But if that’s the goal, why not simply wear high-grade armor and reinforce it with Aura? This approach is so unnecessary… It’s simply inefficient. In fact, I would even say it’s a waste of a Hatsu.”

However... as I myself know...

“Still, sometimes the simplest things are also the most effective ones. It all depends on his personality and character. Perhaps it’s the right Hatsu for him.” His expression turns slightly colder. “In any case, this is destined to end in a tragedy… for him.”

Vanessa looks at him for a moment before sighing.

“Sorry for asking again… but why?” she asks. “How the hell do you cut iron or steel with water? It will just splash off.”

Is she serious? Water can cut anything… you just need enough pressure. She should know that by now, didn’t she see me cut through that worm a few months ago? The Spider wasn’t soft either.

“Time to go to bed,” Auren suddenly says.

Without wasting any more time, he takes a quick shower, dries himself off, and eats a few energy bars from his bag. After that, he simply throws himself onto the bed and closes his eyes.

The next day, Auren and the others enjoy a quick breakfast in one of the many restaurants located on the middle floors of Heaven’s Arena.

Thankfully, because of his skilled use of Zetsu, Auren is not recognized by anyone. He blends into the crowd easily, appearing like one of the many thousands moving through the enormous tower.

Even though Battle Olympia will only begin at 12 PM, the atmosphere is already heated.

Tens of thousands of fans have gathered. Some want to watch the battles directly inside the special arena near the top, while many others plan to watch through the large screens mounted near the different rings on all the other floors. The entire tower feels alive.

Of course, no other fights are scheduled today. The entire arena is focused solely on Battle Olympia.

“I like this atmosphere!” Vanessa says happily, biting into a huge stack of pancakes.

“People are excited,” Neffi replies, her voice quieter. She looks around at the crowd of ordinary spectators. “But don’t forget… these are battles between Nen users. People will get crippled. Some might even die.”

She shakes her head slightly.

“So many normal-looking people… all cheering for a public bloodbath.”

Ura, however, looks quite happy, almost excited.

“I’m extremely satisfied with the odds. Auren’s odds are way worse than anticipated. This will be quite profitable, way more than expected,” Ura explains, with a slight smile.

Heh... she seems to enjoy money. Good.

Time passes quickly, and Vanessa looks more and more eager to leave.

“Let’s go… I wanna watch the matches!” she says, clearly excited. “The best Nen users in the world... we can’t miss it.”

She still thinks that.

“Do you have tickets?” Auren asks with a faint grin.

“No?! But… hey?” she mutters, looking a little torn.

“We can watch from the ground floor. The Floor Masters have a small area reserved for them,” Auren explains. “Why don’t you go there? You’re with me, so you should be fine. I’m passing. I’m not particularly interested.”

“So where are you going?” Neffi asks.

“Back to my room. I might watch on the TV,” Auren says, standing up from the table. “I need to focus… just enjoy the matches.”

Leaving the girls behind, Auren briefly returns to his room and turns on the TV.

He activates Zetsu and sits down cross-legged on his bed, quietly thinking about the results and insights of his recent training.

Overall, the matches end relatively quickly. Each one lasts somewhere between five and fifteen minutes on average. Auren barely watches most of them, only paying attention to the fight involving his target.

Just as he expected, Gama proves to be physically skilled, and his overall use of Aura is skillful. More importantly, his Ren shows a lot of experience and determination, as it’s quite strong, though still way below his own. More importantly, his tongue technique is extremely dangerous. It stretches with unnatural agility and speed, whipping through the air like a living weapon, constantly changing course. On top of that, it seems to carry a paralyzing effect. Once it touches his opponent, their movements slow down noticeably. Using that advantage, Gama eventually manages to defeat his opponent, a Conjurer who is able to manipulate several small puppets, connected through strings, by simply overpowering and then defeating him in a one consecutive attack.

At the start of the fifth match, Auren leaves his room and makes his way through Heaven’s Arena until he arrives at the Floor Master arena.

When he enters the part of the arena designated for the Floor Masters to watch from, he quickly spots Vanessa, Neffi, and Ura standing near the edge of the ring in the middle. They are watching the fight with full attention while the crowd cheers loudly in the background. The familiar moderator from yesterday is once again energetically narrating the battle.

Despite the fact that his own match will begin in just a few minutes, Auren suddenly feels an overwhelming wave of tiredness.

He yawns loudly before joining the others.

Just as he reaches them, the battle in the arena ends. One of the fighters collapses after getting struck on the back of the head by a manipulated weapon that suddenly appeared behind them. Auren immediately recognizes the item as a heavy spiked ball.

“Looks painful...” Auren comments as the others notice him approaching.

“And it’s over!” the moderator shouts excitedly. “What an intense fifth round! But I can feel it… the next one is the match everyone has been waiting for! The sixth round! Our champion, Cleifer, against one of the most promising new Floor Masters… Auren!”

“Auren… good luck!” Neffi says.

“Show me how you’re gonna cut him!” Vanessa adds with a wide grin.

“If possible… finish it quickly,” Ura says, looking slightly embarrassed. “I placed some additional bets for a quick finish.”

“No problem,” Auren replies.

As he walks toward the ring, the moderator begins introducing his opponent once again.

“…Last year’s champion! The untouchable! The impenetrable! The insurmountable steeeeeeel giant—Cleeefeerrrrr!”

The crowd erupts.

A group of at least a few hundred people wearing what appears to be light armor plates begins clanking loudly as they move and slam pieces of metal together. The result is an insanely loud racket, ear-screeching metal clatter mixed with the crowd’s shouting.

“Cleifer! Cleifer! Cleifer!”

“The Steel Brigade is present as well!” the moderator yells. “What a welcome for the champion!”

“Now for his opponent. Please welcome… Auren!”

This is… so annoying.

Grasping the hilt of Eternity, Auren steps onto the stage.

To his surprise, although not nearly as numerous as Cleifer’s supporters, there are still hundreds of people cheering for him. Some are even holding cheap knockoffs of Eternity, most of them obviously made of plastic and not bearing any kind of resemblance to the real thing, except for the black color.

However, to his absolute dread, he quickly notices something else.

Almost all of his fans appear to be women.

And most of them look to be well into their thirties or forties, some appearing to be even older.

Looking toward the announcer for the first time, Auren notices several special guests seated on a raised stage overlooking the arena.

He does not recognize most of them, but one figure immediately draws his attention. The man is enormous, even taller than Cleifer. His rough appearance stands out, and his wild hair spreads around his head like a lion’s mane. His expression looks stern and confident.

That’s… a prince... of the Empire. It’s... Benjamin, I think. The First Prince.

I remember him having strong connections to the military.

Looking closer, Auren sees numerous soldiers in the background, wearing military suits.

To Auren’s surprise, Benjamin suddenly rises from his seat and leaves the stage. He walks toward the arena itself and gestures for Auren to come closer.

“Oh? It seems our special VIP, the First Prince of the Kakin Empire, the mighty Lion Prince Benjamin, wants to have a little talk with Auren!” the moderator exclaims. “Of course, we’ll happily oblige!”

Did anyone ask me if I want to?

Well… I might as well talk to him. I don’t remember much, but if my memory is correct, he’s one of the most logical princes… and probably one of the most competent ones without any extreme personality flaws aside from a little overconfidence. However, he has a lot to back up that confidence. I remember him being a strong Nen user as well. That much I can see immediately... he’s quite strong.

Auren walks over toward Benjamin.

Behind him, Cleifer watches with clear irritation, staring at Auren with barely concealed hatred.

“I greet you, Floor Master Auren!” Benjamin says. Despite his imposing build, his expression is unexpectedly kind, almost familiar, his arrogance now toned down.

“I want to warn you,” Benjamin continues. “Cleifer does not only intend to win this match. He wants to make an example out of you... my subordinates managed to find that out without any doubt. I would hate to see someone so young and talented end up crippled… or worse, dead.”

He pauses briefly before continuing.

“You have immense potential. If possible, won’t you consider quitting this match? I can offer you a fortune. Come to the Kakin Empire with me. I will personally ensure that you enter the Royal Kakin Military Academy. With your talent, you could become one of our highest-ranking generals within a decade. You could stand beside me as the Empire’s General when I become the next King. Trust me, I am aiming to change the world, and I need strong people like you. I am not interested in adults... but someone young like you, who might find a permanent home in Kakin.”

The Royal Kakin Military Academy…

I think… it had some significance.

I vaguely remember his Hatsu being related to his subordinates… was that a condition?

My memory… I didn’t remember it when I first received these memories, and even now it’s still unclear. At some point, everything simply becomes too foggy.

Still… I can feel his sincerity.

This is actually a surprisingly genuine offer.

“This request…” Auren says slowly. “I can feel your sincerity, and I’m grateful for it. While I loathe many of the Kakin princes and view them as nothing but trash, I can respect you. You are not only a capable Nen user, but you also seem like a capable ruler.”

He pauses briefly.

“Let’s talk again after this little event.”

“But… this fight—” Benjamin begins.

“You might be a competent Nen user,” Auren interrupts, “but you still seem inexperienced in some ways. A truly skilled Nen user would be able to determine the winner of this fight with a single glance.”

Auren shrugs lightly. “Let me teach you.”

Hearing Auren’s confidence statements, Benjamin bursts out laughing.

“Hahahaha! Then show me!” he shouts, clearly intrigued. Still laughing, he turns and walks back toward his seat.