Lelouch

When the butler-like staff member had explained the rules earlier, he had left out one implicit rule: if the difference in strength between the two sides was too great, the brass bell would be rung early.

But this rarely happened, because when arranging the matches, the organizers paired opponents of roughly equal strength.

Today, however, an accident had occurred. Based on Simon's description of Odys, the organizers had arranged a Sequence 9-level opponent for him.

This young man had already participated in several matches. He was quite skilled in both martial arts and the use of cold weapons. The organizers had originally intended to use him to suppress Odys a little, lest this newcomer become too arrogant in the future.

What they hadn't realized was that Odys hadn't used his full strength at all in front of Simon!

As a result, the young man had been no match for him, and the brass bell had been rung early.

Another burst of applause rang out from the stands. To the audience, although the match had been brief, it had been incredibly thrilling.

The masked newcomer's fighting style was clearly well suited to restraining his opponent's fierce and forceful attacks.

Odys didn't continue attacking. Instead, he retreated several steps and slowly drew his weapon.

The young man was genuinely tough. Odys seriously suspected that his opponent was a Beyonder from the Warrior Pathway.

After spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva, the young man caught his breath and drew his own weapon as well.

It was a snow-white saber that looked extremely sharp.

The young man adjusted his breathing and felt that he could fight again. This time, however, he didn't attack first. Instead, he waited cautiously for Odys to make a move.

Odys glanced at the other man's hilt, then smiled. "Give up. You've already lost."

The young man snorted coldly without saying anything. He continued staring intently at Odys.

At last, Odys attacked. The young man frowned, because his opponent's sword-drawing posture was somewhat awkward—or perhaps a little clumsy.

But the young man didn't dare lower his guard. He cautiously swung his saber and blocked the other man's sword.

The instant his blade touched the sword, he saw sparks of electricity flash across his opponent's weapon. The next second, his entire body began to tremble, and half of it went numb from the electricity.

The weapon in Odys's hand was naturally no ordinary cold weapon. The sword he held, for instance, was a Beyonder Weapon capable of releasing high-voltage current in an instant.

Odys had created it while researching electricity in this world for a period of time. After making it, he had felt that it was somewhat impractical. The sword had cost as much as 230 pounds, yet an enemy could easily defeat him with a revolver costing less than two pounds. Thus, it had remained in the basement and had never been used.

Actually, he hadn't had anywhere to use it. He couldn't exactly walk around the streets with a sword strapped to his back, could he?

But in this Fighting Arena for nobles, it was precisely the place where cold-weapon-shaped Beyonder Weapons could shine!

Although parts such as an opponent's saber or sword hilt might be made of wood and thus seemingly nonconductive, Odys had later discovered that to prevent the hilts of such long weapons from falling off, a metal wedge was used to secure the hilt to the blade.

Otherwise, a metal band was used to fasten the wooden hilt in place.

In short, there was usually a conductive path.

And today, Odys's opponent was actually using a metal hilt, so the electricity instantly coursed through him, making his entire body tremble as he hurriedly retreated.

If he had been an ordinary person, he would already have been knocked unconscious on the ground.

"Ref... referee..." The young man's speech had become slurred from the electricity. "His... his sword has a problem."

Odys shouted, "The rules say that you can bring one cold weapon, but they don't specify whether that weapon can have Beyonder effects."

The young man was furious. "You... you call this a cold weapon?"

Odys said blandly, "It is. After all, it can't fire bullets."

At that moment, the referee, who had been watching from above, finally said, "The rules indeed don't prohibit weapons from possessing Beyonder effects. This weapon is valid."

More precisely, the organizers couldn't have been happier if both sides used Beyonder Weapons. That would make the matches more entertaining.

Odys said again, "Give up."

"As a qualified warrior, surrender isn't an option!" The young man dropped his saber, grabbed a street-side recliner, and charged toward Odys with it raised.

Odys nimbly dodged his attack, then stabbed him with his sword and released another burst of high-voltage current at that instant.

This time, the young man convulsed violently before collapsing to the ground.

Odys smiled. "A true warrior wouldn't be as stubborn as you."

The referee announced, "The Masked Man wins!"

Sparse applause rose from the stands. They would have preferred to see a fight to the death rather than this one-sided battle.

Odys naturally didn't care about the feelings of these nobles and wealthy men. He sheathed his sword and quickly left through the iron gate.

After he exited the gate, the butler-like man from before said, "Sir, please leave your name so that we can arrange another match for you."

Odys was slightly taken aback, then grinned. "Lelouch!"

"All right, Mr. Lelouch." The other man spoke politely. "Please wait a moment. Your payment will be delivered shortly."

Odys sat down again and saw a middle-aged man with two small mustaches sitting opposite him. The man carried a greatsword and was currently resting one hand on it while silently pondering.

He was probably the next Beyonder to enter the arena.

A minute or two later, a servant hurried over and handed Odys 260 pounds in payment.

They were all ten-pound banknotes, and the stack didn't look very thick.

Simon politely said goodbye to the butler-like man, then left in the hired carriage they had taken there.

Once they were seated in the carriage, Odys took out three banknotes and handed them to Simon. "I'm giving you an extra four pounds. Come here more often when you have time and figure out the rules."

"Also, find a way to gather information about my opponents."

Simon smiled as he accepted the money. "Yes, yes, leave it to me."

Odys said nothing more and had the hired carriage take him back to 75 Hailin Avenue.

After returning home, Odys removed his mask, changed into loose clothing, and poured himself a glass of wine to celebrate.

Since advancing, he hadn't digested much of the potion, but he had already used his new abilities to earn more than five hundred pounds.

Adding his previous savings, the deposit Bernadette had paid him, and the intelligence fees he had earned from the Mysticism Research Society, Odys's total savings had now come close to three thousand pounds.

It had truly been a long time since he had possessed so much money.

But by tomorrow, he would have plenty of places to spend it.

After putting the money in the safe, Odys took a bath. He then lay on the bed and reviewed that evening's battle before falling into a deep sleep.

His consciousness once again appeared in the wilderness formed from illusory light.

The research for the new week had begun, but after his advancement, the Knowledge Moor seemed to have undergone some changes.