The Author's POV

Chapter 512 - Emperor rank [2]

Clank—!

"Follow me."

Coming out of my cell, I followed a demon out.

Everything happened out of nowhere. I was just quietly relaxing in my cell, and before I knew it, a demon came to my room and called out for me.

I was quite clueless about where I was going, but I decided not to say anything and just followed along.

There was no point in asking questions that I would not get an answer to.

That, and...

The fact that I already had an idea of what was going on.

'This might actually be a good chance for me...'

Glancing toward my left and right, as I followed the guard, I realized that the security was fairly lax.

There didn't seem to be many demons patrolling the area, and to make matters even stranger was the fact that my mane wasn't sealed.

It had to be noted that the demon in front of me was ranked lower than me. If I wanted to, I could kill him with a simple slap.

Not that I had any plans on doing that since I had a goal in mind.

Finding Amanda's dad.

Furthermore, I was sure that the security-only looked lax. In reality, it was probably extremely tight. Had this not been the case, many of the prisoners would've long escaped.

Tok. Tok.

The steady and calm of our footsteps echoed throughout the corridors. The corridors were pretty badly maintained as I could see cracks everywhere. Not only that, but they were also quite narrow, forcing me to move sideways sometimes.

To make matters worse, lingering in the air was an old and stuffy smell.

"We're here."

Walking for who knows long, we soon stopped in front of a large metallic door. Standing beside the door were a couple of demons.

With a simple nod, the demon walked toward the door.

To Tok—!

He then proceeded to knock on the door.

For the first couple of seconds, he was met with no response. However, this did not last for long as the door soon started to open.

Clank—!

Once the door was half-opened, I was finally able to catch a glimpse of what was behind it.

A luxuriously decorated room that far contrasted the shabby room I was previously staying in. A nice red carpet blanked the floor, and all sorts of decorations appeared in the room. From sofas to paintings and other things that would make one drool at the sight.

'So this is how the top rankers live...'

Gazing at the room for a bit, my line of sight paused on a few individuals inside the room. After a quick look, I was able to assess that they were the top rankers of the Duke bracket.

It was hard not to notice them. The pressure that their bodies emitted was quite frightening. It was at a level where I needed to take them seriously if I wanted to win.

Not that I showed it outwardly as I kept a straight face and stepped into the room.

The moment I stepped into the room, I felt everyone's gazes pause on me, carefully scrutinizing every part of my body. Not bothered by them, I calmly walked toward where the sofas were and leisurely sat down.

Crossing my legs and leaning back, I opened my mouth.

"So..."

I looked at everyone in the room.

"What did you guys want to talk about?"

"..."

Silence.

No one in the room said a word as they continued to stare in my direction.

It was then that someone finally spoke up.

"This human seems to be quite cocky."

Standing just at about four feet in height with a long ginger beard was a dwarf. Raising his brow he took a step forward and calmly analyzed my body.

"Herr...Herr...not bad."

Extending his hand, he presented himself.

"I'm SteamPunk, Rank five in the bracket."

"White Reaper, Rank thirty in the bracket."

I shook his hand back. As I did, I suddenly smelt a foul order coming from the dwarf.

'His breath stinks.'

Moving my head back, I tried my best to not make any strange faces. His breath was simply atrocious.

"White Reaper."

It was then that a soft voice called out for me. Turning my head, I found an elven lady staring in my direction. She had a rather long scar tracing down her face, and I could feel hints of insanity in her eyes. Her hair was a mixture of gold and silver, and if not for her scar, she would've looked extremely beautiful.

I stared straight into her eyes.

"You are?"

"Rank two, Silvermoon."

She replied in a disinterested tone.

"...Do you know why we've called you here?"

"Somewhat."

I answered. She nodded her head. The other people in the room became even more apprehensive as the room became tense.

"If you know why we've called you, then what do you think? Will you join our group?"

I smiled.

'Group, huh?'

I had already been briefed by my other self about what this group was all about. It was essentially a group that 'Maintained ranks' by fixing matches.

The purpose of this was so that they could monopolize all the top ten spots, and support the current Emperor rank. In short, everyone here was his lackey.

Before I had a chance to respond, she took a step to the side and extended her hand.

"We've seen your potential, don't let it rot in this place. Only if you join a group like ours can you have the chance to become an Overlord-level contender."

Her words were filled with conviction and resoluteness. Had I not been warned beforehand, I might've even been tempted by her words.

"Oh..."

I gave her a half-hearted reply.

The face of the elf changed when she noticed the tone of my reply, and the room became even tenser.

"You don't seem excited by this. Do you by chance happen to know that once you become an Overlord-level contender you can gain freedom?"

"I do."

I nodded.

Of course, I did.

This was something that was told to me on the very first day that I was here. All participants were told this.

With them having a goal in mind, the games would be a lot more entertaining to watch.

"If you know, then why do you look so disinterested. Are you perhaps not keen on the idea of freedom, or..."

Her eyes squinted and a powerful pressure sprung out from her body before heading in my direction.

"...are you just not interested in joining us?"

Because her actions were sudden, I was caught off-guard a bit. Even then, I retained a passive and nonchalant look on my face.

Glancing around the room and seeing everyone staring at me with bloodthirsty looks, I leaned back on the sofa and calmly asked.

"What do you want me to do?"

The pressure coming out from SilverMoon instantly disappeared. A smile soon replaced her previous scowl.

"Much better."

She muttered in a satisfied tone. Clasping her hands together, she cut straight to the chase.

"Lose your next game."

"Hm?"

I leaned my head forward a little.

"Lose my next game?"

"That's correct."

Turning her head, her eyes paused on a certain individual standing not so far from where I was. Turning my head, my eyes paused on a towering figure.

'He's big...'

I had already noticed him from the moment that I had entered the room, but now that I took a closer look at him, there was this sense of dread coming out from his body that made one shiver.

In contrast to the others in the room, the bloodthirsty aura coming out of his body was far greater.

"Skull Crusher."

I mumbled underneath my breath. I would only have to be a fool to not have been able to recognize him.

The aura that was coming out of his body was simply terrifying. Even for me, it was quite pressurizing. It felt as though I was back in Issanor, in the presence of the orc's number one contender, Kimor.

Overhearing my words, the SilverMoon smiled.

"It looks like you've recognized him."

Walking next to the orc, she patted him on the shoulder.

"Rank ten, Skull Crusher. Your next opponent, and someone who you will lose to in the next round."

"I don't need this."

Slapping the elven lady's hand off, Skull Crusher glared in my direction.

"I don't need him to purposely lose in our next match. I can easily get rid of a fly like him."

"You may be right, but rules are rules."

She turned to look in my direction.

"...I'm telling you for your own good. If you're interested in ever becoming free, then this is your only chance."

Raising and lowering her head to scrutinize me carefully, her brows knit for a couple of seconds. She then warned.

"You seem quite strong, but like Skull Crusher said, any one of us in the room is enough to crush you. It is in your best interest to join us."

After a while, she extended her hand in my direction. Her face was filled with confidence when she said those words.

"So what do you say, will you join us?"

Staring at her extended branch, I softly muttered.

"Tempting..."

The elven lady's smile brightened.

"That great—"

Cutting her off, I smirked. The faces of everyone changed the moment I did so.

But I did not care.

Placing my hand on the sofa, I slowly stood up. Then, turning around, I waved my hand and made my way out of the room.

"Thank you for your offer, but I will have to refuse. As if I'd join a group of people that I will eventually have to discard in the near future."

Following my words, I headed out of the room.

Since contestants could only fight each other in the arena, I wasn't worried about them trying anything in the meantime.

Exiting the room, I nudged the demon that had brought me with my head.

"Let's go."

***

Clank—!

Once the door closed, a heavy silence descended on the room. Apart from the elven lady, none of the faces of the people in the room changed.

They didn't seem to particularly care.

"I see..."

SilverMoon darkly scanned the room. Turning her attention toward Skull Crusher, she coldly ordered.

"Make sure you let him know his place tomorrow. Take your time. Make him understand the consequences of his actions."

"Krrr...Krrr...I would've done this even if you hadn't told me."

Skull Crusher replied while clenching and unclenching his fists. A cruel and bloodthirsty smile hung on his lips.

"Good."

Taking a look at the other people in the room, she turned around and headed out of the room.

Clank—!

Closing the door behind her, she turned right and headed deeper down the corridor. Following her from behind was a demon.

Walking for the next couple of minutes, she eventually stopped in front of another door.

Tok—!

She knocked once.

The metallic echo of her knock reverberated throughout the corridor. A soft and gentle voice followed the knock.

"Come in."

"If you will excuse me."

Extending her hand, she opened the door.

Clank—!

Upon opening the door, she was presented with a similarly decorated room to the one that she was previously in.

However, if there was a difference between the two, it would have to be the fact that there was less furniture in this room.

Taking a couple of steps into the room, she soon stopped. It wasn't because she wanted to, but it was because she couldn't. Raising her head, her line of sight fell toward a figure that sat crossed-legged in the middle of the room with his bare back facing her. His silver hair descended down his back, and a terrifying pressure bore down on the area next to him.

After a brief moment of silence, the figure spoke.

"How did it go?"

"...He rejected the offer."

SilverMoon darkly said. Clenching her teeth, she added.

"He completely dismissed us. Treating us as a joke."

"Is that so?"

The figure in the middle of the room softly said. For a brief moment of time, the elven lady felt a cold chill run down her spine as she weakly nodded her head.

"Y...yes."

"I understand."

Lowering his hands, the figure slowly turned around. His eyes soon met SilverMoon's, and her body froze all over. A huge sense of dread that she had never felt before washed over her body.

"...You know what to do."

"Y...yes."

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