ONLY HE IS WORTHY

In a blur, Lidar appeared behind Zoraida. He then slashed her head off, but his blade recoiled when a thin azure aura hummed to life around his target.

A blue shock wave burst out of Zoraida and pushed Lidar away. "Flying Circus!" she said.

Wisps of blue energies bubbled out of her wand and formed figures. The first one roared. It was an enormous lion with two heads. Then there were tigers, elephants and even clowns with axes.

The blazing circus floated around Zoraida and then charged towards Lidar.

"Hypocrite. The Wargod's Blessing is with you too," Lidar said. He stretched his neck, making cracking sounds.

"Hm. A good number have already discovered the secret quest," Lidar thought. But he did not mind, he had somewhat expected it. Then he steadied his sword before charging to meet the flame spirits.

The lion was the first to arrive. It swiped Lidar with its claws, but the latter cut the beast into half.

More figures formed around Zoraida and continued to swarm Lidar, but the swordsman was unstoppable. He kept on slicing his way through.

Zoraida tightened her grip on her wand. She backed off, increasing the gap between her and Lidar while conjuring fireballs, but the latter was quickly shrinking it.

And then, with a burst of speed, Lidar reappeared before her.

Zoraida parried the slash with her wand. But the stick could not withstand the flurry of wild slashes that followed. Her protective aura broke, and the blade devoured her tender skin.

"When will I be worthy of your skill?" It was the last thought of Zoraida before she crashed into the abyss.

She came to the match with the confidence to force the swordsman to use his skills. Her Wargod's Blessing granted her the ability to summon flame spirits at will without depleting her mana. But it paled against Lidar. He seemed immune to magic attacks.

Lidar caught her off guard after revealing that he too had received the Wargod's Blessing. It was a protective life force that prevented immediate death and granted godly traits—flying among others—and a secret ability to its recipients. A God-Rank player may receive the reward after completing a secret quest in connection to the search for the Empty Throne.

But Lidar was adamant about finishing all his matches with basic attacks. Even in his first War Ground's championship, the swordsman did not activate any skill. He won it with pure brute and wits. It was why fans and foes called him the King of Basic Attacks.

When Ringo asked him in an interview, he answered: "because only he is worthy of my skills." Many speculations came out regarding the identity of the "he." Who was worthy of Lidar's skills? And only one infamous name came into their mind—Aildrin Gentrix.

Zoraida's fall concluded the group stage. Lidar pulled off a three versus one. He then glanced at the clear sky, knowing that thousands of omniscient eyes were watching him. But it seemed he was only looking at one member of the audience.

Aildrin's heart skipped a beat. Lidar was looking at him.

He had singled him out amidst the multitude. And his face seemed to say, "I know that you have returned, and I'm waiting for you."

Then the stage returned to the caster's station, and Ringo and Lark discussed what had just transpired.

Jack's mouth gaped when he faced Aildrin. "Did you see that? Did you see that? I want to pull that off too! Damn!"

"Yeah, it was incredible," Aildrin said.

"Now, I can't wait for the team stage! It's gonna be a five versus five! And this Wargod's Blessing is gonna be a game-changer from here on! There won't be easy deaths in the battlefield anymore!" Jack said.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jack finally realized that Aildrin was not listening to his jabber.

"I need to do something," Aildrin said. "Update me later if Titans won." He then disappeared from his seat.

Aildrin let out a deep breath when he reappeared on the white plane. He then reached for the blue door before Kerstein could speak. It creaked and a white light swallowed him.

[Welcome to Alistor City.] A pop-up appeared on Aildrin's screen.

The burbling water welcomed Aildrin. But its stench was unpleasant. It reeked of humans.

He found himself on a cobblestone street, with a murky river on his right and a row of stone slate roofs on his left.

The streets were empty except for some children and merchants. "It must be because of the playoffs," he thought.

He craned his neck to survey his surroundings. A few meters from his right was a narrow stone bridge connected with the other side of the city. And on the horizon, a giant statue with a sword looked over the city. It stood on the roof of a white tower. To his left were dark alleys.

Aildrin's experience in games told him that the things that happened in a city's dark corners were the most important ones. So he prepared to enter the alleys.

"Look! A real swordsman!" said one child with a wooden sword. He and his friend stopped playing; their eyes admired Aildrin, especially the brown scabbard hanging by his waist. "Attack!"

Aildrin smiled when the two kids rushed towards him with wooden swords raised high. He dodged their silly attacks.

And then the mother came rushing out, saying, "Oh gods, help us! Come over here, quick! Your father would be back soon." She embraced them with her frail hands. "I'm sorry for the trouble, mister." There was fear in her eyes, like Aildrin would strike her innocent children any moment.

Aildrin continued to smile. He shot the kids one last look before disappearing into the alleys.

Sunlight passed through the small gaps between the roofs and illuminated the narrow street. "Kerstein, where should I go from here?" But there was no reply.

Aildrin took careful steps. There was no one in the alley until he turned a corner.

An old man reeking in mead sprawled on the floor, daydreaming. "Oh, a new adventurer has arrived," he said. "Do you have some drink to spare, young man?"