Ulmer made his way through the crowd and reached the shopkeeper who was on the ground and was bleeding badly from her mouth. He stopped down to her level and gently put his hand on her shoulder.The shopkeeper looked at him confusedly, not sure if he came to help her or hurt her some more. But his touch felt very gentle.“Mm?” Monroe looked at Ulmer. “Hey, what are you doing? Is she your bitch?”Ulmer, however, was looking at the shopkeeper. “God helps those who help themselves, lady. He doesn’t necessarily help those who don't even help themselves. If you know you can’t fight against them, then you should at least run away and live somewhere far away from these monsters. You can just enter a jungle naked and expect the mosquitoes to stay away from you just because you prayed to God. That’s not how God’s grace works. You can’t take it for granted.”“What nonsense are you spouting, brat?” Monroe annoyedly said. “State your identity right now, or I’ll deem you a threat and arrest you.”
At Ayana’s house.Ulmer’s clone was sleeping on the floor.When Ayana woke up that morning, he asked her, “Why can’t I sleep on the bed?”“Because you’re not my husband,” she said. “You’re just his clone.”“I’m part of him, though.”“Clones aren't the real thing,” she said. “I know that much.”“If you hurt me, he’ll be hurt, too,” Ulmer’s clone said. “After all, he can also feel what I feel.”“Then he should just come back home quickly instead of making me talk with a clone,” Ayana said.Ulmer’s clone’s shoulders slumped as she left the room. “It’s so hard to convince her. She reminds me of my sister in this regard.”Ulmer’s biological sister, Kristy, was a busy girl. She mostly cared about her own things and did not have interest or time to spend with her elder brother, even though he was always willing to spend some time with her, and tease her, or make her laugh and such.Kristy used to be a good girl, but as she grew up, she took after her parents. Because they didn’t treat Ulmer
Later that night.Zebron returned to the Foster estate. Edward was waiting for him in the hall while drinking wine.Seeing Zebron’s expression, Edward sighed, “To think so many of the knights together couldn’t catch him… Just who the hell was he?”Zebron sat opposite to Edward. Even though he was Edward’s knight, they were both friends who grew up together. Because there was no one around, Zeborn didn’t care about the formalities.Edward poured some wine to his friend.“Thanks,” Zeborn picked it up and took a couple of sips. “Huh, we couldn’t find a single thing about him. Not his name. Not his motive. Not even how he looks. He’s a complete mystery. All that we know is that he wears a dove mask that covers his eyes. That’s all.”“Dove mask? Isn’t that a famous mask that’s used during the Peace Festival every year in our country?” Edward said.“Yeah, that’s the problem. It’s a common mask,” Zeborn said. He had masculine features and had a combination of black, gray, and white hairs on
The next morning.Ulmer woke up, and he could hear his clone complaining to him from Ayana’s home. “Dude, just shut up,” he ordered the clone. “You’ve been irritating me for hours now. If she doesn’t let you touch her, then that’s that. Why are you upset about it?”“If I’m upset, then you’re also upset,” the clone said.“Yeah, you’re right, but I’m not as upset as you are,” Ulmer said. “Besides, you’re just a clone. Why do you want to touch her? Are you crazy? Just do your job and be there. Help them if needed. That’s all.”“I know, but… when I see her, I feel something in my heart…”“Don’t give me that love crap,” Ulmer snorted. “I feel more than you feel, alright?”Ulmer’s clone bickered. “No, you don’t.”“Yes, I do.”“No, you don’t.”“You know what? I won’t even argue with you,” Ulmer hissed. “So just shut up. Don’t make me yell in the morning. It will totally ruin my dad.”He then ended the conversation with the clone.“Sheesh, what a headache this clone is turning out to be,” Ulm
Ulmer and Zebron’s gazes met.“So, you’re one of the lions of Syslon, huh,” Ulmer uttered after Dove had clarified to him about who the Ten Lions of Syslon were.“I didn’t think you were an outsider, but it makes sense now,” Zebron said. “You probably used some kind of cheap trick to defeat my son, right?”Ulmer smiled and said, “Why don’t you ask your son about that?”Rever’s shoulders jerked. He was the referee of the match, so he was also standing on the stage. “L-Let’s not talk about the past. Let’s look into the future. That’s what matters.”His words made Mirianne chuckle.“There’s no need for a serious fight,” Edward said. “But do try to put on a show since my beloved wife is watching.”Edward’s wife loved how her husband was respecting her. “Whoever wins, I’ll give them a gift,” she said.“I definitely can’t lose then,” Zebron said.“Winning and losing is not just up to you to decide,” Ulmer stepped forward. “It depends on who your opponent is. Since I am your opponent, you ha
“He has a healing skill, too?” Edward smiled. “The way he used it is weird, but he sure is full of surprises. I wonder what exact system he owns.”“It doesn’t matter what system he owns,” Zebron said and took a big step forward. His sword started vibrating faintly. “His loss is inevitable.” He thrust and swirled the sword at the same time. “Dragon Thrust!”Ulmer also thrust his palm forth.Both of their attacks collided, and in that brief moment, both Rever and Edward knew ho devastating the impact would be, so they quickly moved to protect their people. BANG~~!!A tremendous shockwave burst forth in every direction, ripping apart the stone stage under their feet and blowing the chairs and benches away along with the maids. Even the trees in the distance got uprooted and fell to the side.Mirianne, however, did not get blown away because Rever shielded her. And Edward also covered his wife. The other knights quickly moved to help the maids and the butlers.It wasn’t just a single shoc
Ulmer spent the next couple of days in Edward’s estate doing nothing much other than meditating and relaxing himself.To most people, that’s what it looked like.However, in truth, Ulmer was practicing and mastering all of his new skills in his mind. And Dove helped him with that.Nobody bothered him because he told them not to. He didn’t even eat food or drink water, for that matter.And then, he stepped out of his room on the day before the Noble Games.The entire Foster family were already leaving for the Games, and he joined them, wearing simple clothing.Even the maids and butlers were wearing pretty attire, but Ulmer was not.“So, how many people will be participating?” Ulmer asked Edward.“In hundreds,” he replied.“Will it be a one-staged battle royale, or… will there be multiple rounds?” Ulmer asked.“Well, who doesn’t like some drama?” Edward said. “The initial rounds will weed out the weak and worthless. The later rounds are where the fun begins.”“Many noble children also
The Noble Games had just begun as the Foster family arrived there.It wasn’t that long of a journey as these games were happening in the capital city itself, albeit in a closed off grounds, where the commoners were not allowed entrance, unless they were accompanying the nobles.Inside the Noble Game Grounds, which were hundreds of acres wide, it looked like a festival. There were lots of stores open and selling many things, and there were challenge shops where nobles could participate and earn points.There were already hundreds of young nobles taking written tests to prove themselves in literature, history, and other things.The beautiful thing about these Noble Games was that even the participants' families could chip in by earning points.Edward participated in throwing needles and shooting the rising balloons. He earned forty points by shooting four balloons at a time. He used four needles to achieve that.These points could be used by Edward in other stores to buy food, or he cou