Chapter 511: Temple Guide

There wasn’t much to do except wait. The doors were still closed, and despite people’s best efforts, no one could pry them open. They still had a whole day until the last day, so they used it to explore the surrounding area. The main issue was that everyone else had a similar idea, and it quickly became evident that there was nothing left to explore except the temple nearby.

Still, it was nice to relax and train with his newfound crown that was flickering on his head. The thing was an annoying little shit, and he was forced to take it off the night before, when he was cooking. He tried to use it at the beginning, but when he almost melted all of his equipment and torched the food, he came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth it.

He was fine with burning himself until he was nothing but a dry husk, but he wasn’t okay with ruining perfectly good kitchen equipment, and especially not food.

They ended up choosing a different place to stay. It was still within the no-hostility boundary, but farther away, with more privacy.

He looked over when he sensed someone crossing the barrier he had set up. When he saw it was Derek, he stopped messing around with the crown and stood up.

Derek didn’t look very pleased when he came back to report to them. A vexed expression was plastered all over his face. Small bits of lightning magic cracked all around him.

“What did you find out?” Aubrey asked him curiously, also noticing his expression.

“Not much. But from what other people believe, Garrett and the group following him are going to make a move tomorrow morning, on the last day that the realm is open. They seem very convinced that something will change tomorrow,” Derek explained.

“Is that it? You looked like someone just kicked you in the balls,” Aubrey noted with concern.

Derek pressed his lips together into a thin line. “He has a lot of really strong Tier 3s working with him.”

“Who? Garrett?” Edgar asked.

Derek nodded stiffly. “Yeah. He has Riven Briarwood, Eva Nightgale, Casey Vale, Louis Helvat, and even Eren is a part of that group.”

Julius looked at them curiously, wondering if these names had any significance. He recognized one or two of the names, but he was pretty shit with names, so he wasn’t too sure.

However, Aubrey and Edgar both seemed to know who these people were. A matching pair of frowns appeared on their faces. It looked like each of them bit into a sour lemon.

“What? Am I missing something?” Julius asked.

“They are some of the favorites to win the tournament. Riven Briarwood is the most talented mage of our generation. He has a perfect affinity for fire, water, earth, and wind magic. His master, Archmage Valis, is a man capable of leveling an entire city by himself. Eva Nightgale is Riven’s childhood friend and a scary assassin in her own right,” Derek explained.

“What about the other ones? I know who Casey Vale is, but who are the other two?” Julius asked.

If he remembered correctly, Casey Vale was someone who used soul magic or some kind of variation of it. She was also the same person he believed had prodded his aura during the first stage. The more he heard of her, the more he was sure of it.

“Louis Helvat is someone from House Greyson’s camp. His family is quite close with the Ducal House, and Louis is one of their budding talents. From what I have heard, he uses quite powerful defensive magic. As for Eren, well, let’s just say he is a monster. In my opinion, he is the person who is most likely to win the entire tournament,” Derek said with a shake of his head.

“Oh? He’s that strong?” Julius asked with sparkling eyes.

Derek nodded solemnly. “Yes.”

“Wait, is he the one who summoned all of those swords from the sky?” Julius asked, remembering one of the fights from the first stage.

“Yeah, that is him. He is the disciple of the Sage of Falling Swords, another monster on the same level as Archmage Valis.”

“Sounds exciting,” Julius murmured to himself quietly. However, he must not have been quiet enough because Aubrey gave him a soft, reprimanding whack on the shoulder.

“This isn’t a joking matter. If they have actually decided to team up, then it will cause some serious problems for everyone in the realm.”

Derek pointed his head toward her in agreement. “He might be as strong or stronger than you. According to the reports House Zenith has received, Eren is well known for consistently beating Tier 4s while still in Tier 3. The only other person I have seen or heard doing something like that has been you.”

Aubrey and Edgar nodded with him, looking like they were thinking deeply.

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On the other hand, Julius liked the sound of that. Someone who could also beat Tier 4s with regularity? That was indeed very impressive. He would know; he has done it on multiple occasions. However, he didn’t like the fact that they believed that Julius was weaker than this Eren person.

So what if he was the disciple of a Sage? Julius was the most favored disciple of Cain. And while Cain had only a single disciple, the achievement was still quite impressive.

Still, he didn’t let it bother him too much. It wasn’t like they could know for certain. There was really only one real way to find out.

Furthermore, he had a slight inkling that the person he had fought a couple of days ago was indeed Riven. Julius saw small bits of Riven’s fight in the first stage, but he was wearing a completely different robe, and his face had been obscured, so it was hard to know for sure.