15 - A Simple Book

Lucian was seated with both Ava on his right and Alex on his left. The three of them weren't talking at all and just looked around. Many people were talking around them, and most of their conversations were quite fun to listen to.

"Did you guys see them? There were vampires, elves… everything in the stories we read is real here. This is crazy. I thought that Angel had lied, but it's the truth!"

Most people had similar reactions, wondering where they had ended up. Most had questions about the floors and how they worked.

However, all those questions had no answers at the moment. Everyone was in the dark. Only the angels and those who had been in this world for a longer time knew about those things. 

Luckily for them, Ariel had appeared in front of them. Maybe she would answer some of their interrogations. However, nothing was set in stone.

Suddenly, Lucian got an idea, looking at her flying in front of them.

'Her Status…what does it look like?'

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[Error! The person you are trying to use "Insight" on is too powerful. The Status cannot be shown.]

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Lucian was a little annoyed but didn't care that much about it. He had only been curious about her strength.

"Now that we're here, I'll start by saying that if anyone wants to leave this place and be left to themselves… they can leave whenever they want. Look, the exit is right there," Ariel said as she pointed toward a big arch that would lead outside.

Lucian looked at Alex with a lot of attention, wondering what he would decide to do.

'He'll probably leave, right? He told me he didn't want to join any organizations.'

However, Alex didn't move a single inch; he was stuck to his seat. In fact, no one in the room moved. They kept looking at Ariel with their utmost attention. Most inside this room knew that having connections with people stronger than them was always a good idea.

"All right, seems like no one wants to leave… Then, let's get this started. As I said earlier, each of you will participate in one fight and try to show your talents to the representatives."

Tension arose in the room as everyone looked at each other. People already knew that some of them were a lot stronger than others, and many were worried that they would be eliminated without being able to show the slightest amount of talent.

"All the match-ups are random, as I will close my eyes and point at two people randomly to fight."

"All right, here we go! The first fight will be between…"

'Please don't put me against Alex… Please don't put me against him. Just give me someone weak.'

"You and you."

Ariel pointed toward two different individuals that Lucian had never seen before, and they entered the Coliseum Arena without any complaints.

Lucian's panic vanished instantly once he knew he wasn't the one who would be fighting first. He put on his cool demeanor once again as if none of this even mattered in the first place.

'Wait, actually… don't I have an item that will let me know about my future opponent. And if he's too strong, I can just change him for an easier fight.''

Lucian took out the book he had received from buying the [Ghostwriter] skill and smiled as he opened it.

He had to admit that he had no idea what the insides of that book would look like since it wasn't an item that he had seen before in his life.

Without further ado, Lucian opened it and was immediately surprised by its content. There were multiple pages of content inside it, but the special thing about it was that the story wasn't set in stone. Sentences were being changed constantly.

Lucian wasn't surprised by such a thing. He had always known that the future was ever-changing.

'And aren't I the best example? Even the system told me I had no chance to survive… In fact, it keeps doing it… even now.'

Ava, who was still holding onto Lucian's arm, tried looking at what Lucian was doing, but she got even more confused.

"Uh… Luci, why are you looking at blank pages…"

'Luci? Did she just give me a nickname?'

While Lucian was initially surprised, he quickly regained his composure and realized what she had said next.

'So, she can't see what's written on those pages, huh? I guess only those who have the skill can actually do that… Interesting.'

"Don't worry about it. I'm just trying something."

Ava didn't doubt him at all as she nodded.

Lucian then focused on the book's content and read quickly. There was a little indication in the top right of the book. It seemed to be the total amount of time Lucian could read into the future.

[10 minutes]

'Tsk! Who knows how much time it will take me until it's my time to fight? I'll have to keep reading until my name appears.'

Minutes passed, and a few more people went into the Coliseum Arena. However, Alex and Ava still hadn't been selected.

Lucian had a feeling that Ariel was keeping them for last… They were probably the most interesting in this room, after all.

And from what Lucian had read, everyone who had fought had joined one of the families. However, not all of them joined strong families. Most of them had only gotten one offer and accepted it. It wasn't like they could bargain with the representatives of the families since they didn't have any upper hand in the discussion.

'This is very interesting… I can even see the thoughts of all kinds of people.'

The [Chrono Book] could show him many different points of view for the same situation, which was very interesting.

Time passed by, and only around 50 people were left in the waiting room, meaning there were only 25 fights left.

Lucian was starting to stress as there were still no signs of the person he would be fighting. That is, until… a new sentence was formed.

[Lucian Urias will fight Ava Taylor during the talent showcase.]