A large crowd began forming around the fairly small training grounds. The area was located at the base of the pathway to the Elven Castle, to which also allowed easy access to the bulk of the townsfolk to come and observe. It was my first time outside of the castle, and also my first time seeing the citizens of Dormou in this new world.

It seems like quite a lot of people decided to show up. Did I miss the announcement for this event or something? Actually, does no one have anything else to do that’s more important than watching this?!

I could only feel a tad bit irritable at the sight of being the Away team here. I could even hear varying comments directed at me from nearby.

“Get a load of this! Looks like the ol’ Cap is about to put a human in his place!”

“Oh my, I didn’t even know there was one inside the city...”

“Did it sneak in or something? Must be a pretty crafty lil’ bastard to get through our barrier.”

“Not crafty enough by the looks of it. Since it got caught and all! Ahaha!”

I could feel my body seemingly slump in dejection. I wasn’t really one to enjoy being the center of attention, and even more so when it was just as a target for a series of verbal beatings.

Ah. My chest. It really does feel like I’m playing for the Away team, doesn’t it? Not a single person is rooting for me in this audience. Well, it’s not like I actually believed any Elven would go and unreasonably start rooting for a random human either. Just hurts a bit, you know?

“You shouldn’t let your focus wander too much, human! Or do you plan on using the crowd as an excuse toward a reason why you’re unable to fight all of a sudden?”

I could easily spot a vicious smirk on the Captain’s face from afar as he attempted to slide in such a comment like a rapid thrust of a dagger to my side. Or at least, I’m sure he assumed and hoped it would resemble something like that.

“Nothing of the sort, was just surprised is all.”

“Hmph!”

Hm? Is he trying to get under my skin or something? Didn’t know the Elven had it in them to trash talk before a fight. I see, I see. I now view you in a while new light, fellow adopter of toxicity.

I definitely wasn’t one for the spotlight, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t one for confrontation. If there was anything I had learned from pitting myself against another player—or PvPing—is that; mind games or trash talking will only take you so far in a duel. Without understanding the other player on a personal level, the stab of your words could only do so much damage. Due to that, Captain Vaalyun would never be able to make a significant dent toward shifting my emotions in his desired direction.

I always tried my best to make sure to not provide too much information on that front to begin with too. Regardless, everyone does have a weak point located somewhere in their heart.

And yours, Captain Vaalyun, has been quite evident from the very start!

“Hm, I guess it’s a good thing Marna decided to go and speak with your King. I’m sure she wouldn’t have wanted to witness her personal guard being beaten so easily.”

As I nonchalantly tossed my lure, it was only a matter of seconds until it successfully made its catch. And it didn’t let me down in the slightest.

“...Watch your tongue, human. She may have permitted it, but you’ll refer to her as Princess Marna in my presence.”

“Ah, sorry, sorry. But I see, I guess the rest of what was said still remains as the truth, huh? Don’t worry, I understand. We all try and look away from the truth from time to time. To think that would also involve completely disregarding it as a whole, or even changing the subject—in your case.”

“You...!”

The Captain seemed ready to lunge in a fraction of a second within that moment.

“Wait just one second there! I haven’t even changed into my combat attire yet. Attacking an unarmed human would only bring shame to you, would it not? Or does a Captain of the Elven army do such things on a regular basis?”

“...”

Ah, he’s definitely fuming now. Did I egg him on a bit too hard? Well, I guess we’ll just have to see how it all goes.

As I began preparations in changing into my equipment, a passing thought reminded me of something else.

Oh, that’s right. I also haven’t even checked this guy’s status at all. It should work without any issues, right?”

Quickly activating [Investigate] toward the Elven Captain across from me—who remained standing in a quiet fury—the status menu appeared. Luckily, there was quite a bit of distance between us as well.

Name: [Vaalyun]

Rank [Elven]

Level: [52]

Class: [Guardian]

Alignment: [Lawful Good]

INFO:

Titles - [Right Arm of the Elven King]

[Shield of the First Princess]

[Captain of the Elven Army]

Oh?! I actually wasn’t expecting his Level to be that high! Not only that...

He was a Guardian too. It came down to a one versus one against someone who—not only boasts high Defense—but also high Magic Defense as well. He also held three separate titles with one of them being the [Right Arm of the Elven King].

I see. Aren’t you quite the important person... Geez, I’m starting to sweat a bit now.

I sighed as I quietly closed his status menu. I then shifted my attention toward my inventory. All of my items were contained in what seemed like a dimensional container of sorts. As long as I could see them in my inventory menu—I could access them at any time. Thankfully, the process was quick and easy as I picked out my usual “end game” gear. And as I did, a golden aura wrapped over me; switching out my garments and arming me.

That’s a pretty neat and convenient effect. Though, I wonder if it might be considered overkill to bring this all out here? I still haven’t even familiarized myself with how the combat in this world works either, so... Better safe than sorry.

Even if my equipment consisted of all Empyreal ranked equipment, it still hadn’t been anything for the front lines or anything that could tank damage. At the end of the day, I was still of the Wizard Class. My appearance somewhat mirrored that as well. The robe set I equipped was the [Robes of the False Nephilim], in which would help decrease the cooldown of my Divination spells as well as increasing how long they remained activated. It boasted one of the highest Magic Defense stat in MO, but not so much in actual Defense. The black robes resembled ones that priests would wear, thus it definitely also lacked in any intimidating qualities. My weapon of choice was, once again, the stave called the [Abysmal End] in order to gain the advantage from the start.

Now, this begs the question; how in the world do I even activate my spells?! Do I just yell them out? Or is it more of an initiation thing like how [Investigate] can be activated? It’s going to get awkward pretty fast if nothing happens...

At the change of my equipment, I could hear another snide remark from my opponent almost immediately.

“So, you’re a priest? Is that it, human? Ha! Ahahaha! And here I assumed that a summoned Effigy would have—at least—a modicum of combative prowess.”

With his arms against his chest, the Captain’s expression shifted into a more serious expression as he continued.

“Forfeit now, human. It would only taint my image to attack some dingy priest. Nor would I take pleasure from defeating someone as weak as you.”

My eyes met his own. It didn’t seem like a joking matter, or even a toxic stab at me. The Captain truly meant and believed what he was saying. Unfortunately for him, I had no intention on backing down.

“Forfeit? Well, I’d feel pretty bad about disappointing the audience we have here. They came all this way to see us and all. I’ll have to decline on that offer, Captain Vaalyun. Sorry, seems like you’ll be tainting that flimsy image of yours today.”

“Human!!!”

In a rush of rage, the Captain drew his weapon immediately from his back—one that resembled a claymore. For someone of his stature, he was seemingly lessening the gap between us a lot faster than I thought he was capable of.

Just starting without even giving me a signal?! Dammit, I guess I don’t have a single say in any of this, huh? Here goes nothing!

I immediately slammed the bottom of my stave into the ground in front of me, making it so that the black orb that rested at its top had been positioned at the height near my chest. I had an array of Divination spells in my arsenal, but I was only allowed eight uses per day for any and all. Originally, that number had been much lower, but thankfully due to my [Necklace of the Ardent Prayer], my uses were doubled without requiring a day of rest. That being said, I only needed two for this start. The other one would be a non-Divination spell. This would be the first experimental step.

“Casting: [Shared Mind], [Whisper of the False Goddess], [Phantasmal Touch]!”

Yelling these out on a whim, the black orb radiated as the spells actually took form. [Shared Mind] connected and allowed for me to understand the enemy’s flow of thoughts toward their next action in the form of short but informative whispers. Similarly, this connection would allow for [Whisper of the False Goddess] to work with enhanced effectiveness. The spell would convey my own curated thoughts in the form of whispers and send them to the enemy. As long as [Shared Mind] was in place—the enemy wouldn’t be able to resist or shut out the whispers.

[Phantasmal Touch] would be the icing on the cake too. In this case, the whispers sent would be altered by another. Or more so, projected in a very familiar voice and appearance.

Now, enter! Our secret guest!

“Sorry, human! I have no intention on holding back! AAAARGH!!”

“Vaalyun!!”

In an abrupt stop in his movement, the Captain seemed rather startled by the unexpected voice.

“What!?”

He was now at a standstill in place, and immediately shifting his body and focus toward his rear. He began to frantically search for something near him. In doing so, he had completely disregarded me for now. This allowed for me to prepare for the next step. One involving [Divination] for precise accuracy.

“Vaalyun!! Over here!!”

“Princess!? Where are you?!”

As Captain Vaalyun spun around in place, a spectral figure took a form before him finally. It had been in the image of Princess Marna. In his eyes, he would see a valid and detailed portrayal of the one in whom he served. Only he and I would be able to see her due to our [Shared Mind] connection.

“Princess! What in the world are you doing out on the field?! Are you attempting to endanger yourself by stopping our duel?! For the sake of this human?!”

I could see and hear varying reactions—several holding weird expressions—coming from the nearby audience. It made sense. To them, the Captain was seemingly talking to himself after all.

And there goes the mad man. Sorry, Captain Vaalyun. I don’t plan on letting that little farce last too long at least.

“Casting: [Sinking Ground]. Casting: [Collapsing Cloud: Freeze].”

As I directed my next set of spells toward a certain and predicted spot. I then initiated the next step—experiment number two.

“Huh? What’s this, Captain Vaalyun? Did you lose your mind or something?”

He immediately flung another glare my way in response.

“Hold your tongue, human! We must put a hold on this duel for the safety of the Princess.”

“Oh? So you’ve decided that feigning insanity would be your excuse? I see. Well, if that’s how you want to end it—then I won’t stop you.”

“You...! Huh?!”

As he spun around in place once more, he attempted to find Marna again. Yet, she was nowhere in sight anymore.

“Princess!? Where did she...?”

Allowing the image of his Princess to be released, the first experiment had concluded.

That’s reassuring. An old and favorite tactic of using Divination alongside some illusory spells seems to still work perfectly fine in this world. Surprisingly, even to someone of his Level, Magic Defense and demeanor. All right!

“YOU! What did you do to me?!”

“Ah, there you go again. I haven’t a single clue about what it is you’re referring to, you know?”

“I won’t let you fool me again!!!”

As the Captain charged at me once more, he neglected everything else in his surroundings. Assuming I had something planned in front of me due to my stave—he pretended to swing in a sudden feint and then shifted immediately to my left in attempt to catch me off guard. As he began his true strike, he had made a significant mistake.

“What!? The ground!? I can’t...I can’t move at all!”

With predetermined movements, he had landed right on the spot where I had placed [Sinking Ground]. In doing so, this cleared the first part of the second experiment. Despite his spectral Princess intervening, his previous thoughts had still been lingering on his next move toward me. He had already been alerted of my stave prior, and created this feint even before meeting her. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he had any intention on switching away from that plan of action.

“Illusions and magic! You’re not a priest, but an actual mage! Even if that’s the case, I won’t have you looking down on me, nor will I lose to your trickery, human!!”

With every and any motion he could spare from his legs being consumed by the liquid ground, his posture switched to attempting to throw his claymore instead.

Geez! He really is going to attempt that?! This guy is one sore loser. Sorry, but I already foresaw that as well, Captain Vaalyun! Or more so, you basically told me yourself!

Before he could release the hilt of his blade from his grip—a massive cloud far above him immediately descended on his entirety. His movements had now become completely frozen by the spell, [Collapsing Cloud: Freeze]. It was a varying trap spell that could be manipulated in different ways. From different elements, to differing sizes and activation times. It usually lacked in strength and against crowd control when compared to other magic traps, but I often enjoyed using it in PvP and against smaller mobs.

“I...I can’t...”

“You can’t move a single muscle, right? It looks like this match ends in my victory, Captain Vaalyun.”

As I adjusted my line of sight from the Captain’s shivering form, I turned toward the crowd in the distance in a rush of adrenaline.

“And there you have it, citizens and spectators of Dormou! Your Captain, as formidable as he is, has been defeated by me!”

Driven by that adrenaline, I declared my victory loud and clear. In the instant that it occurred to me what I was doing, I didn’t expect to hear a single peep from the audience watching over us. Either that, or an immediately wave of booing. And yet, a loud series of cheers began to overtake the area.

“That was amazing! I’ve never seen the Captain be beaten, let alone that quickly!”

“Did he just use magic through that orb...? That looked akin to Divination arts, didn’t it...?”

“Hm, definitely did look like it. Maybe he came here to meet the Divine Elder?”

“Ahaha! Goodness, who would have thought it would end like that!”

I stood, stunned, looking at the audience as they simply applauded and praised the fight—and myself—even if their Captain had lost.

Aha...That definitely wasn’t the reaction I was expecting at all. I shouldn’t have even done that in the first place! But...I’ll definitely take that over anything else.

As I went with the flow, I raised my stave to the sky in clumsy triumph to the sound of the lingering applause. And shortly after, I could only feel the brutal wave of embarrassment toward my actions as the adrenaline finally began to fully subside.