19 The Title of Veteran

Rose had been waiting Thorn with a pair of bottles filled with his blood.

The moment he let his body collapse in the seat next to Rose, she carefully fed him the crimson liquid.

Of course, this act was mainly a sham so that Thorn could use his Life Restorer skill.

With a very concerned and gentle look, Rose asked: "Will you be alright?"

Seeing Rose acting like that, a warm feeling rose in Thorn's heart.

"Yeah, I'll survive." He replied, a wide smile forming on his face.

But just an instant later, his smile suddenly stiffened. (Wait a moment! In the first place, wasn't she the one who convinced me to pretend to be a girl?! And in the second place, wasn't her idea what made me participate in this tournament?! In the end, the main culprit of my wounds and humiliation is her! Damn! I almost let her fool me! I'll definitely teach her a lesson later!)

Every one of the ninety individuals on the southern seats wrote ten names on a paper, they then handed over those papers to an assistant of the Zelu family. The assistant read all the papers and nodded. He approached Lenna Zelu and whispered to her ten names. After which, the assistant disappeared into some door.

*Clap!*

*Clap!*

Lenna Zelu clapped twice to attract the attention of everyone, and said: "The results of the second phase are out. But before I announce them, I'm going to reveal the prize the ten participants who passed to the third phase will receive!"

After hearing the word 'prize', Rose's eyes lit up.

The hostess pointed with her finger toward the ten empty seats on the southern part of the hall, and continued speaking: "The ten will receive the right to occupy those seats. They all will be ascended to one-star veterans!"

The spectators gasped in shock. They wondered whether they had heard wrong.

Climbing up the ranks in any guild wasn't something easy to accomplish. It required more than just strength, it demanded to have a trust gained over years of cooperation with the guild.

Naturally, having a higher status within a guild increased the benefits one received from it.

Within the Mercenary's Guild in particular, the benefits one-star veterans obtained were quite generous. Not only one-star veterans had the authorization to freely use the exclusive libraries of the guild branches, they could also request higher ranked jobs that increased greatly their income. Besides these advantages, as individuals of higher prestige and social status, they received discounts on almost every shop and gained access to certain restricted areas of the world.

This made the title very valuable and sought-after.

And now, this priceless title was being given as a prize!

Obviously, the spectators would be stunned.

As for all those participants who had a certain degree of confidence in getting into the top ten; except, of course, the clueless Thorn; they were almost jumping up and down from extreme joy.

Rose had a radiant smile on her face, she was thinking expectantly: (If this is for the top ten, what will be the prize for the first place?!)

The dullahan whose pitch-black smoke had the shape of an 'S' began to explain the next procedures: "I'll announce the ten participants who passed to the third phase now. If your name is mentioned, please go to the southern seats. There, your novice license will be exchanged for a one-star veteran license. Then you'll have to wait for the third phase to start in one of those ten empty seats."

Immediately after, she initiated with the announcement of the ten winners of the second phase: "Harl Rora!"

A silver-skinned male goblin happily began to make his way toward the southern seats.

Thorn's right eyebrow slightly rose. "Isn't that goblin the one from the first match? Was he really strong enough to get into the third phase?"

Since Thorn hadn't seen the combats before his, Rose decided to give him a detailed explanation: "From the very beginning, that cunning little bastard was just pretending to have an average strength. He made it appear as though he had a difficult time winning the first match. Then in the second match, something similar happened. By the time he won the third match, it became evident that he was just pretending to be weak so he could ambush his opponent at the right moment. In the end, he won four matches. Only in the fifth match did someone stopped him, but it was just because Harl Rora was already quite exhausted. His strong point is his mastery over his Link Control Racial Skill. That together with his Earth Element Awakened Skill make him hard to deal with."

Thorn nodded and assured her: "I can handle him."

"Chloe Tara!"

It was a valiant female war elf with white skin, golden hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears. She wore a menacing red armor that accentuated her womanly curves, and had a sword and a shield seemingly made of white crystals.

"How about her? What's her strong point?" Thorn asked, his eyes glued on Chloe Tara's sexy and voluptuous body.

Rose ignored Thorn's pervert behavior, and said: "She is quite strong as well. Although her cultivation is only at the Second Level Advanced Awaken stage, her Warrior Physique Racial Skill can enhance her physical strength up to ten times already. So basically, her physical strength can be equivalent to a Second Level Full Awaken cultivator's. And, thanks to her Crystalloid Element Awakened Skill, she can change the shape and size of her sword and shield at will."

"Oh, quite the intimidating warrior we have here. Still, I can handle her." Thorn affirmed confidently.

"Eli Bullo!"

It was a beautiful female gorgon in a luxurious white armor dress. Her serpents were white with black spots

Without waiting for Thorn to ask, Rose said: "She is one of the Bullo twins. You'll have to maintain a concentrated wind barrier around you if you end up fighting her. Not only does she have one of the two rarest Elemental Awakened Skills, the Light Element Awakened Skill, but she can also blend it with her Poison Control Racial Skill."

"No problem, I can handle her." Thorn asserted in a second.

"Derek Niun!"

It was a blond male human. His light armor was black. And he exuded a Third Level Advanced Awaken Aura.

On the northern seats.

Ramph Zelu commented: "Arger Dal, you sure are lucky. That boy has an extraordinary skill."

Delia Adver also commented: "I hate to admit it, but he is probably stronger than my disciple."

"Hahaha… I certainly got lucky. It'll be interesting to see who'll win the tournament now that there are so many talents. Hahaha…" Arger Dal was overjoyed. The two with the highest chances of winning the tournament were from the Mercenary's Guild!

On the public seats.

"Well, here it is, your greatest obstacle to obtain the first place." Rose said, a hint of worry in her voice.

After catching the hint, Thorn frowned. "Why is that?"

"His Arrogant Awakened Skill is especially incredible. It's called Absolute Reflect and it creates a barrier that can return back anything thrown at it, anything. It's a really powerful skill. With it he won twelve matches, twelve! Even you, after only eight victories, were already at your limit." She explained. It was clear that Derek Niun's Awakened Skill impressed and intimidated her.

Thorn held his breath, he was left without words for a while. Still, in the end, he stuttered: "I-I can handle him."

"Allen Bullo!"

It was a handsome male gorgon in a luxurious black light armor. His serpents were white with black spots.

"As you can deduce, he's Eli Bullo's twin. He also has one of the two rarest Elemental Awakened Skills, the Darkness Element Awakened Skill." Rose stopped speaking for a second. "Well, this ends the explanations. You already know how strong are the next five participants who'll be announced as winners of the second phase."

"Ehh? S-seriously?" Thorn's expression couldn't be more bewildered.

"Hehehe… Don't underestimate me. After seeing the entire second phase, others may not be able to know with one hundred percent of certainty who the winners are, but I do. The five already mentioned, four are participants you fought with, and finally you. Ten in total." She said with a smile.

"Jef Ter!"

"Huns Luna!"

"Cure Song!"

"Berean Drunnel!"

"Thorn!"

Lenna Zelu ended up calling out the exact names Rose had predicted.

Thorn looked over at Rose's triumphant smile and thought: (As expected of the little monster.)

He then walked toward the southern seats.

Once there, Vei Dal said to him in a good mood: "Congratulations Thorn! You really gave me a tremendous pleasant surprise when you showed what you are capable of!"

"Hehehe… You won't find someone with more talent than me. Hehehe…" Thorn said self-assuredly. He looked just like the spoiled daughter of an aristocrat.

"Hahaha…! There's no doubt about it. Hahaha…!" Vei Dal was in reality completely positive in his words.

Thorn handed over his one-star novice mercenary license to the shadow human, and received from him a one-star veteran mercenary license.

Vei Dal couldn't help sigh in admiration. "Seven days, you took just seven days to ascend from one-star novice to one-star veteran. You did that with a Second Level Intermediate Awaken cultivation base and with no background whatsoever. There aren't words to describe the admiration you made me feel for you. Arhg! Enough of this! What I am trying to say is: good luck in the third phase, I'll be hoping for your victory more than anyone else's."

(Even if you say that… A man's encouragement doesn't make me happy at all...) Thorn smiled weakly. "I'll do my best."

"Alright. Go take a seat then. You must rest as much as possible to be ready for the incoming battle." Vei Dal suggested.

Thorn nodded and sat down on the last free seat.

An hour later.

*Ziiii…!*

The shield shaped platform began to open up in half. There was an artificial lake under the platform. And on the lake, there were forty small shield shaped black platforms floating about.

After the huge platform opened up completely, Captain Fou Tre of the kingdom's military forces led his fourteen knights toward the center of the hall. They then surrounded the artificial lake in a symmetric fashion. Finally, Lenna Zelu descended on one of the small platforms.

Most spectators became confused after seeing such scene.

It was at that moment when Lenna Zelu's voice echoed out once again: "For the third phase we'll receive the assistance of our respected Captain Fou Tre and his honorable knights. The third phase will be a Battle Royale of ten participants. In this phase a participant will only lose if it is knocked out, in other words, if it loses consciousness. Captain Fou Tre and his Knights will maintain the participants within the combat area. And as you can see, the terrain for the third phase will be slightly different from the two former phases."

She then turned her body toward the southern seats and playfully said: "To lift your fighting spirits I'll inform you all about something you are very curious about: the final prize of the tournament."

The participants and spectators became even more interested in what Lenna Zelu had to say after hearing her words.

She nodded satisfied at this reaction, and loudly proclaimed: "The third place will receive nothing! The second place, nothing as well! And the first place will be granted 4 black coins! Yes! Only the best, the last standing, will earn everything!"