Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Who Catches the Most (9)
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Nazriya felt like today had crammed in enough shocks to last a lifetime, with plenty to spare.
It had started with running into a drake in a dead-end alley, forcing her to brace for death out of nowhere.
But that could be chalked up to rotten luck—something that might happen once in a blue moon.
What came next was straight out of left field: two humans riding wyverns straight down from the sky.
And not just that—the woman in white leaped off her wyvern, punched a hole through the drake's neck in an instant, then scooped up Nazriya and Dipika before making a clean getaway.
And even then—
"Sorry, but could you hold still for a sec?"
"Wha... what?"
"Fairies heal a bit awkwardly, you see. I need to take a proper look inside."
"W-wait. Right here?"
"It's safe enough!"
"Me... before her..."
"I'll get to you right after. Just lie back!"
"Guh."
They'd retreated, sure, but only to a distance where she could still see them crystal clear—and then the woman whipped out a knife without warning.
Nazriya rarely dealt with humans at all, let alone high-ranking priests. At first, she thought it was some kind of threat.
But no—the woman knocked Dipika out cold with expert precision and got straight to work.
Flash!
She wiped away the blood with a burst of light, realigned the shattered bones, sliced open the torn flesh, and casually inspected the organs underneath.
"Fairies really are tough, huh? Good news—your friend's injuries aren't too bad."
"Y-yeah."
Fairy regeneration outpaced humans', but it wasn't like a troll's instant regrowth.
Nazriya watched in awe as Dipika healed right before her eyes, her first time witnessing such a miracle.
Glancing over at the drake in the meantime...
The massive evil beast was getting absolutely pummeled.
By the water giant riding its back, and the swirling pillars of water battering it from all sides.
"Whoa..."
Nazriya let out a quiet murmur of admiration, her gaze shifting to the human man standing not far off.
Akanksha had mentioned him and the ruins in passing, but this display made her wonder if she'd undersold his feats.
Maybe he was a gem-rank mage hiding his true power...
The council head or vice wouldn't have let him compete without checking, though.
Even at gold peak, could one person really pull that off solo?
Maybe human mages worked differently from fairies... or maybe this guy was just special.
"Our bro's pretty cool, right?"
Nazriya snapped out of her daze.
The human woman stood there grinning, blood dripping from her knife. It was oddly unsettling.
"Stop staring and let's get you fixed up!"
Her smile promised eternal sleep, but luckily, Nazriya woke up.
"Ugh..."
As she groaned and forced herself upright...
Everything was over.
The drake lay motionless in the distance.
"Oh, you're up? You woke up super fast."
The humans lounged nearby on spread-out mats, taking a break.
The man gave a casual nod; the woman beamed a greeting.
"The soreness should fade in a day or two!"
"Ah, yeah. What time is it now...?"
"Around forty minutes since you passed out? We borrowed your flag without asking—sorry about that."
Ah, right—their group's flag now flew atop the canyon entrance cliff.
With proctors mandatory for an incident like that, Nazriya had no complaints.
She let out a soft sigh and shook Dipika.
"Hey, wake up."
"Mmm... ungh...?"
"Cut it out. You went under before me—why're you sleeping in longer?"
"Wha... huh...?"
Dipika shook off her grogginess.
The two bowed their heads low.
"Thank you for saving us."
"We'll never forget this debt."
"No big deal."
The man shrugged lightly; the woman just smiled.
Nazriya exchanged a glance with Dipika, hesitating before asking,
"But... why help us?"
"Huh?"
"Not that we're ungrateful—just curious. You could've looked the other way, and no one would've known."
"But we saw you."
The woman tilted her head like it was the most obvious thing.
"If we hadn't seen, we couldn't help. But we did see, we knew... so how could we not?"
"Still, we're competitors. It was a drake. You could've gotten hurt—big loss."
"Where's the loss in saving lives? Even if you're fairies."
"You caught our eye by chance, and we had the means. That's it."
The man added nonchalantly.
"Got it."
Nazriya gave a wry smile.
Outclassed in skill and spirit.
But it didn't feel bad.
The next day.
As the ten-day tournament neared its end, participants trickled back to headquarters one by one.
No one wanted to blow it with a dumb late arrival and get disqualified pointlessly, so everyone returned before the sun turned fully red.
Final tallies included even the minor evil beasts snagged on the way back.
Everyone double-checked their total scores were recorded right.
Still in the dark on other groups' points.
Gathered in the main event tent, all awaited the final results.
Nazriya and Dipika nodded politely when spotting the pair.
"Hope you two held up okay?"
Akanksha and Sachet greeted them too, with varying warmth.
"We did. You?"
"Can't say it was easy. Score big?"
"No clue—don't know other groups' hauls."
"You'll find out soon enough."
As they swapped quick hellos, Lushad and Radika entered side by side, staff wheeling in a massive blackboard behind them.
Lushad took the podium, scanning the hushed crowd.
"Everyone busted their asses—more evil beasts down than usual. Too bad we can't toss 'em all as prizes every tournament. Wait, if they were that common, would you even bother?"
Laughter rippled through, loosening the mood. Grinning, Lushad continued.
"Anyway, glad it ended without major incidents. Now for rankings... but first, something else."
Lushad and Radika's eyes landed on Galen and Lilia.
"We pulled it off incident-free thanks to the humans."
"Huh?"
"What're you saying?"
"Nazriya and Dipika's group. Humans saved 'em."
Lushad recapped the incident briefly.
The reaction? Total chaos. Even the summary floored them.
"What? Flying in on wyverns?"
"That can't be real."
"Two of 'em took down a drake?"
"Possible?"
"Easy now. Hard to believe, but plenty witnessed it. They brought back the head, at least—that's what counts."
The murmurs died.
Whatever wild tricks the humans pulled or heroic feats didn't change facts.
This was a hunting tournament.
Everyone knew drakes weren't weaklings off the scoreboard.
It outshone any historical high-score kill by miles.
Should it get ignored just for lacking a listed score? But if not, what points to assign?
"Headed us a headache too... Luck or not, final tallies settled it."
"How?"
"Drake gets points or zero—rankings stay the same."
The sharp ones paled, grasping the implication. Galen included.
Only one way drake points didn't matter.
Lushad smirked wryly.
"Rankings up."
Staff flipped the blackboard's top sheet back.
Top spot: Group 7.
Galen and Lilia's win.
"Wooo! We won!"
Lilia hugged Galen tight in glee. He liked it but whispered,
"Lilia, vibe check. Vibe check."
"Oops."
She let go, flushing belatedly.
Predictably, the earth fairies flipped harder than at the drake mention.
"Humans won?!"
"Even without the drake?"
"For real? No joke?"
Radika signaled a staffer, who flipped the thick stack beside the rankings.
Group 7's daily hunt log.
The fairies pored over it, ending in stunned chuckles.
"Basilisk day one?"
"How?!"
"Water mage, right? Blocked escape, probably."
"Insane."
"Kills ramp up toward the end?"
Early days cherry-picked high-value like basilisks, but mid-tournament they swept everything in sight.
Started efficient, but speed left time to mop up every scored beast they spotted.
Quantity matched or beat others; quality topped it. Scores followed.
"See it?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Drake tips it."
"Even without, unbeatable."
Reactions were decent overall.
Some grumbled or grumbled, but mostly accepting shrugs.
Lushad nodded.
"Group 7: Galen and Lilia—winners!"
Nazriya and Dipika clapped first; stunned Akanksha and Sachet joined, then everyone.
"Thank you."
"Thanks!"
They bowed all around.
As applause died, Lushad cleared his throat.
"That's it! Great work, all. Rest up—if curious about scores, drop by. Dismissed!"
"You too, council head!"
"See ya next year!"
Earth fairies chorused. Some left; some lingered for the board.
"You two, with me."
Radika called them aside.
They bid familiar faces goodbye and followed her out.
To what seemed her private tent.
"Well, I'll be."
She guided them to seats, voice delighted.
"Day one screamed potential, but a full win? Wow."
"Luck smiled on us."
Galen demurred. Radika laughed.
"Your unique strategy working isn't just luck."
"It landing was. Wyvern balks, or no basilisk on recon—done."
"Doubt it. Hunt zones don't vary that wildly."
Her smile deepened.
"Drake wasn't luck. That's why no real gripes."
"That big a deal, huh."
"Partly, but saving Nazriya and Dipika sealed it."
Fairies prized equality and tribal bonds fiercely.
Rescuing the expedition earned guest invites without backlash.
Same for the pair—prize gripe minimal, acceptance high.
"Anyway, prize time..."
Radika paused playfully.
"Who gets it?"
"Just hand it over—we'll split."
"Tricky. Human smith knows zilch about it—can't process raw. We'll finish it."
"Uh... halfsies?"
"Splits standard yield into two halves."
"Give it to Lilia then. New holy sword if—"
"Hey! Bro caught more—you can't cut him out!"
"I don't need a sword, half or whole."
"Ask for something else! Radika's a mage—uses it too!"
"Okay, okay. Hold up."
Radika beamed at their brotherly tussle.
"Both useful to you. Halves weaken effects, true. So..."
Her soft voice tempted.
"Want one extra?"