The Monster Hunt Tournament (Part 1)
Isaac Francis, the Duke, a Grandmaster.
Species: Human.
Age: 55.
Affiliation: Francis Dukedom, Brigham Empire.
Talent: Physical ability (top), Aura (top), Learning ability (top), Command ability (medium), Administrative ability (medium), Political ability (medium).
Special characteristics: Increased destructive power, frontline breakthrough, allied morale boost.
Relation: Hostile.
Status: Perplexed, Doubtful.
The power was terrifying.
Even compared to Arsia, who set the highest standard for identifying talents, this man still stood on equal footing.
Yet that existence before me had visibly panicked, showing caution and hostility.
Why would a Grandmaster of the Brigham Empire, Duke Francis, react this way toward a young noble only twenty years old?
The sponsors from various countries who had been sizing me up moments ago now stared with wide eyes in surprise.
“You sent such a magnificent gift.”
“……”
And I fearlessly walked straight up to Duke Francis and challenged him head-on.
After all, the man who once tried to kill me. It’s impossible to treat him without any emotion.
Yet he couldn’t say a single word in response.
Just as I had expected.
It seemed Gregory and Auguste had properly caused a scene.
“There was a major incident in the territory recently, right? The Sky Fortress suddenly crashed and the industrial district was wiped out…”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Just that it’s unfortunate. The Sky Fortress crew suddenly lost their mental footing…”
“You brat…”
His expression showed sympathy, but his tone was anything but sympathetic.
With a wide grin, I spotted the woman standing blankly beside Duke Francis and greeted her.
“You must be Lady Evelyn Francis.”
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
“Please treat Ibril gently during the tournament.”
“Of course.”
The atmosphere was almost identical to Duke Francis’s.
Scanning her with Mankyung, she was clearly full of a sense of superiority and the arrogance of the chosen.
Although her face was quite beautiful, the upward tilt of her eyes made her look like a cat.
I shrugged as I glanced at her, then delivered my final line to prick Duke Francis’s nerves.
“Speaking of which, I’m planning to meet Gregory and Auguste again. Do you know them?”
“What?”
“Ah, the two of you have completely cut off contact. Since it has nothing to do with Your Grace, I suppose you don’t need to worry about it.”
I laughed mockingly and bowed politely to the duke.
“You seem to be in a rather uneasy mood, so I’ll take my leave now. Until next time.”
And with a kind smile on my face, I gave Evelyn a cold once-over.
Was that the reaction of someone who had never received such a cold response from a noble of the Brigham Empire?
She flinched slightly, and I turned away without a second thought, leaving with my group.
She probably tried to hide her emotions at the end, but Duke Francis’s flushed face made it clear he was furious.
“If it’s Duke Francis, then the… the Grandmasters of the Brigham Empire… are they?”
In my unexpected action, the one who was most shocked was Ibril, the girl who had been working part-time at the convenience store until just moments ago.
The sight of me confronting such a character must have been a huge shock to her.
“Lord, you’re… much larger than I thought…”
So stunned that she couldn’t even form coherent words.
“I don’t know the exact details, but the atmosphere around us isn’t bad.”
Eric Jones, who had been patting Ibril’s back, said as he casually scanned the surroundings.
Sure enough, I had transformed into a heavyweight who could clash with a duke and claim victory.
Everyone was clearly bewildered, wondering how such a thing was possible.
“That was quite the interesting scene.”
And as if to punctuate it perfectly, Duchess Olivia Riberdale, the leading noble of the Lucias Kingdom and head of one of the world’s top ten corporations, approached with a smile.
As one of the few opponents I had, her behavior toward me was filled with goodwill.
The two archmages who usually accompanied her were nowhere to be seen.
Were the tower matters too busy?
“Call me Olivia, not the stiff Riberdale Duchess. I’ll call you Adrian Priest.”
“Haha, understood.”
And she introduced the saint candidate she was pushing.
“Nice to meet you, Your Highness. I am Judy Esther, Saint Candidate of the Sepia Church.”
This was the ‘Judy Esther’ I would temporarily ally with along with Ibril.
Unlike the other candidates, who wore flashy party dresses thanks to high-noble sponsorships, she was in her monastic robes.
However, they were ceremonial robes, so they had a certain elegance and beauty that made her quite presentable.
Why she alone wore the robes was because she was already a formally ordained nun, unlike the others.
She had progressed through the apprenticeship program without any privileges and three years ago became the youngest novice, stacking up many achievements in the field and approaching promotion to chief nun.
In my personal opinion, she was probably Ibril’s biggest rival.
[Talent: Holy Power (top)]
[Special characteristic: Great Saint]
As expected, her talent was also top-tier holy power, the same as Ibril.
However, while Ibril had the special characteristic of ‘Saintess Qualities’, she possessed ‘Great Saint’, a somewhat enigmatic title.
The special characteristics were like passive skills inherent to the person, and it was clearly an extraordinary title.
But I couldn’t gauge how it compared to Saintess Qualities.
‘There’s no way her special characteristic is above Saintess Qualities, right?’
In any case, she was clearly born to become a priest, just like Ibril.
That’s why I greeted her with a light heart and ended up quite surprised.
“The first tournament’s mercenary activity is quite difficult, but Priest Adrian, are you okay with it?”
“Ah, I see. Yes, I think it’s fine. I also have suitable candidates in mind.”
As expected, the topic of conversation was the first tournament, and it didn’t seem bad for me.
The theme of the first tournament was this.
“Mercenary activities centered around monster hunting…” Right, the mercenary activity of the candidates.
To become a priest who fights alongside mercenaries on the frontlines.
However, the party must consist of five members including the candidate, two Aura-user level examiners, and two magicians of 3rd circle or lower.
Additionally, all abilities other than holy power are sealed for the saint candidate.
After all, this test was to check priestly qualities and adaptability in unexpected situations, not to boast about combat power.
“As someone already at chief nun level, Esther, you should be fine.”
“That’s right. You can at least handle more holy magic than the other candidates.”
But she still looked troubled.
“The real problem is finding candidates to serve as Esther’s partners.”
Candidates?
If I mobilized the regular mages or knights of my family, why was there a problem?
In the lord’s castle, there were overflowing Aura users and 3rd-circle mages.
“Even ignoring knights, there aren’t any magicians with actual combat experience.”
“Ah…”
I was an extremely special case, and modern mages were perceived more as researchers than combat personnel.
That was why I couldn’t easily use the mages I had nurtured under the lord or tower lord as combat mages.
“Now that I think about it, you’re right.”
From the lords’ perspective, monsters were simple creatures to be swept away with a few Vanguards.
Combat mages were rarer than anyone thought.
“What about hiring from the mercenary world?”
“That’s better than nothing, but it’s also uneasy to leave your back to mercenaries who only care about money.”
That was correct.
The other candidates’ tricks wouldn’t stop, so mercenaries would never be fully trusted.
“If the number of mages wasn’t forcibly allocated, we would have formed the party entirely with knights…”
“In the end, we’ll have to hurriedly create combat mages.”
In that sense, I was in a good position.
The academy had talented people, and after the broadcast of the battle with the Aura Master, many aspiring combat mages had shown up wanting to be my disciple.
“Or should I lend you my manpower?”
“You’ll lend it to me?”
Now I understand why she had spoken weakly in front of me. That was the point.
She probably already knew that many combat mage hopefuls had gathered under me.
“I’ll find two 3rd-circle combat mages with good skills and proper character and send them over.”
“Haha, it feels like I’m the only one benefiting from this alliance.”
“Not at all. The fact that we’re laughing and chatting here puts pressure on the other candidates.”
Isn’t that the alliance between second-ranked Judy Esther and fourth-ranked Ibril Barnet?
From someone else’s perspective, the alliance between a sly opponent who couldn’t be read and Olivia who was beaming with joy would complicate their thoughts.
“You two seem to be from a completely different world. Please take care of them. Ibril.”
“Yes, please take care of them. Esther.”
While I and Olivia exchanged opinions about the first tournament, Ibril and Esther greeted each other, and Eric Jones greeted Esther’s aides as well.
At this new friendly gathering, Arsia, who seemed to be watching quietly, suddenly reached out her hand toward Olivia’s aide.
The Riberdale Dukedom’s knight commander, who realized she was offering a handshake, blushed and gently held Arsia’s small hand.
Arsia was not only the knight’s dream of becoming an Aura Master but also extremely beautiful that day, making her a rather intimidating presence.
“This is a sudden question, but…”
“What is it?”
“In this tournament’s mercenary activity, will a magician count as one person?”
“A magician?”
Olivia’s eyes widened in surprise at my sudden question.
Unlike the saint candidates who could only use holy magic, the party members had no restrictions other than equipment.
This was a spot worth digging into.
After the event ended, the next day arrived.
And the first tournament began right away.
“Please provide the list of mercenary parties participating in the first tournament.”
“Here it is.”
**[First Tournament Participating List]**
Representative: Ibril Barnet Candidate
Examiner 1: Bruno Asher (Aura User / 2nd Circle)
Examiner 2: Andrew Dylan (Aura User / 1st Circle)
Magician 1: Allen Lopez (3rd Circle / Aura User)
Magician 2: Hayden Jackson (3rd Circle / Mana User)
The nun in charge of Ibril among the first tournament participants looked at the members she was given and tilted her head.
“It seems the ranks include both magicians and examiners mixed together?”
“Yes, Lord Lawrence, our sponsor, said these people had taken the wrong path because their talents didn’t match.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“People who unintentionally became magicians…”
“What? Magicians?”
Where had she scraped together such a bizarre position?
The nun in charge of Ibril touched her forehead, saying she had to manage a difficult person.
“I think I should report this first. Please wait a moment.”
And shortly after, the story reached the saint herself, who burst out laughing when she heard it.
“What an interesting person.”
“How should we handle it?”
“What else can we do? It’s our fault for not specifying that hybrids aren’t allowed. Just proceed as is.”
“But the fairness issue…”
“We can’t change the rules now anyway. Finding loopholes in the rules is also part of evaluating ability.”
The saint accepted this cleanly, largely thanks to the favor she gained from the previous meeting with Adrian.
Thanks to that, the first tournament proceeded exactly as Adrian had planned.