57 A Powerful Enemy Arrives
The first man’s teeth were knocked out and he lost his balance. He lay helpless on the ground.
The other two were shocked. They never thought Arthur would end the fight so quickly.
But the two recovered and tried to cast their spells.
A series of magical symbols appeared in the thin air, and the mana of the atmosphere gathered on it. The men waved their hands, channeling the mana and using their books as catalysts.
It was all for naught. Before the spell was even over, Arthur was in front of them, pounding them with his fists. There was nothing they could have done to stop this…
Just like that, three respected fighters of the tournament lost. If Arthur participated in the tournament, maybe he could win, who knows.
Back at the hotel, Arthur searched for clues about Runo, who seemed to have disappeared. The strangest thing was that none of the others who had come to the tournament with Arthur had seen Runo.
“Now that you mention it, brother, I have not seen him in a while.” said Phil.
The situation was more complex than it looked. Where would Runo go, anyway? He was rich, so maybe he was in an area where only rich people could go?
No, that was not going to be the case. The city was in chaos because everyone came here for the tournament, which meant that even the richest areas were filled with people.
In addition, Runo belonged to the Order of Fate. He’s probably not doing any good by hiding in a place where no one would look for him.
“Good, I can do that.”
When Runo took them there the first day, he also got a room for himself. He probably only slept there for a day, but maybe Arthur could find something there.
Arthur also tried to pick up Runo’s scent to see if he could find it. Unfortunately, it did not work. Runo could use some kind of magic, item, or potion to avoid being found.
“Phil, my brother. Do you know which room Runo spent the night in?”
“If I am not mistaken, it was on the fourth floor, room number 74.”
“Thanks.”
Phil was a nice guy, but would he share the room if he knew Arthur was going to break in?
Arthur said goodbye to him and went to the room Runo was using. It was good that the floor was empty without any fighters to witness the crime.
Outside the door, Arthur knocked first to see if anyone was inside. No one answered, which meant it was time to break in.
The door had a magical protective grate, and by normal means it would be impossible for Arthur to break it down.
“I can eat them.”
With his mouth wide open, Arthur swallowed the magical field, turning the room back into a normal space.
It was an easy task, just apply some force to the door and poof, it was wide open.
Arthur closed the door after he went inside. He checked the room, and at first glance it looked like his own room, nothing unusual.
He checked a few drawers, most of them contained only useless things, but in one there was something interesting.
A letter, and from the looks of it, it was from the Order of Destiny.
“This thing is not even written with a code. Are people stupid in this world? Well, Runo probably never thought someone would eat the magical barrier of his room and get in.” Thought Arthur.
The letter talked about a place where Runo would meet with the other members. This had to be the place where he was hiding.
Arthur grabbed the letter, kept it, and left the hotel.
~~~~
A forest. For some reason, most bad guys always hid in a place in a forest.
Anyway, Arthur followed the muddy path until he found a small village. There were a few houses there, most of them simply wooded.
It did not look like a place where evil cultists would be, but maybe there was more there than meets the eye?
Arthur still had the cultists’ clothing in his magical backpack that he had used when he infiltrated the cave back then.
Behind a bush, he quickly changed his clothes to look more like the members of the Order of Fate.
When he entered the village, the residents, who looked like ordinary people, stared at him and said, “Another esteemed member? Please, come in. The others are outside looking for someone.”
The villagers seemed to be cooperating with the Order of Fate. Why would they do that? Arthur could not find an answer to that.
“Looking for someone. Who is it?”
“I do not have the details, since I am just a commoner, but I heard they were looking for someone named Arthur.”
How had they heard about him? What was going on?
“Arthur? Why would they be looking for such a random person?”
“I thought it was strange, too, until I found out why. It turns out our god is looking for him.”
Arthur froze for a second. This random guy was telling us that a god was looking for him? What the hell.
“Do you know why, uh, our god is looking for him?”
“No, I do not. In fact, I do not think anyone but him knows. We must obey you.”
There was something wrong. The man said that a god was looking for him, but if that were true, should not he already be dead? How could someone who called himself a god not find someone like Arthur?
“Only if he can’t use his power in our plane… Maybe, I don’t know.”
Arthur’s plan had failed. He said goodbye to the man, and when he turned around, a masked man in a robe was staring at him.
It was a member of the Doom Order, and Arthur felt a menacing aura emanating from him.
“What’re you doing here, you low-ranking member? Shouldn’t you be looking for someone?”
~~~~
“I’m, yes. Maybe he could be hiding somewhere in the forest.”
“We were just here a minute ago. That doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
“Really? I slept too much and came too late to search.”
The man moved his right hand, searching for the book hanging on his hip.
“You know what I was thinking about after I didn’t find anything during the search? What if the person we’re looking for is actually dressed like us?”
When he said that, Arthur wasted no time and used his dragon transformation. The man had a level of 30 above his head, so he’d to go all out.
Arthur’s body changed slightly and looked like a dragon. The robes he wore covered him up, so the man didn’t see anything wrong with him.
Until he disappeared from the man’s sight and reappeared right behind him. Stepping into the void was an impressive technique.
The sharp claws were aimed at the man’s back, and Arthur thought it was a clean hit until something blocked his attack.
A blue-colored barrier appeared as soon as the attack got too close, blocking it completely. It was a mana shield. An ability that only stronger mages could use.
As he turned, the cultist had already prepared his own attack, sending a thunder bolt that slammed straight into Arthur’s chest and spun him around.
“Damn, that hurts.”
The spell reduced Arthur’s life points, but nothing critical. However, if he kept getting hit by attacks, things would get complicated.
Arthur did not wait for another attack, but lunged again. The lightning came fast, and Arthur was not prepared for it, but now he was focused, and there was no chance that another attack would hit him.
The man was visibly surprised that Arthur was walking around as if nothing had happened. He was almost sure that a normal person would be dead if he was hit by this spell.
Arthur came closer to him again and struck with his claw, which now burnt with fire. It surprised him, but he still managed to avoid fatal damage by teleporting by a short distance.
Still, Arthur’s flaming claw managed to hit his left arm, and it was now doomed.
The skin of the arm had fallen off and was completely burned out. Even the bones were melting from the heat of the attack.
“AAAAAAAGGGRR!” The man cried out in pain, unable to understand how that claw could be so damn hot.
The attack broke through his mana barrier, and with his arm. What would happen if he had no barrier at all?
“Who the hell are you? Why did our god ask us to look for you?”
“I am your worst nightmare.”
Arthur rushed back toward the man, who was now unwilling to fight. He had lost his spirit and was only waiting to die.
“Goodbye.” said Arthur, but when his attack almost reached the man’s head, he met something else.
A man blocked Arthur’s attack with his sword, and when he looked at the number above his head, he was startled.
[Level: 52]
“Oh, damn!”