The Author's POV

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.

human seems to

in height with a long ginger beard was a

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

his hand,

five in the

Rank thirty

back. As I did, I suddenly smelt a foul

'His breath stinks.'

my head back, I tried my best to not make any strange

"White Reaper."

her face, and I could feel hints of insanity

straight into

"You are?"

"Rank two, Silvermoon."

in a

know why we've

"Somewhat."

The other people in the room became even

you, then what do you think?

I smiled.

'Group, huh?'

been briefed by my other self about what this group was all about. It was

could monopolize all the top ten spots, and support

had a chance to respond, she took a step to the side and extended her

seen your potential, don't let it rot in this place. Only if you join a group like ours can you have

filled with conviction and resoluteness. Had I not been warned beforehand, I might've even been tempted

"Oh..."

her

noticed the tone of my reply, and the room

seem excited by this. Do you by chance happen to know that

"I do."

I nodded.

Of course, I did.

on the very first day that I was here. All

the games would

Are

a powerful pressure sprung out

not interested

bit. Even then, I

with bloodthirsty looks,

want me

disappeared. A smile soon replaced

"Much better."

in a satisfied tone. Clasping her hands together,

"Lose your next game."

"Hm?"

my head forward a

"Lose my next game?"

"That's correct."

far from where I was. Turning my head, my eyes paused

'He's big...'

I had entered the room, but now that I took a closer look at him, there

the bloodthirsty aura coming out

"Skull Crusher."

underneath my breath. I would only have to be a fool to not have

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,

my words,

looks like you've recognized

she patted him

Skull Crusher. Your next opponent, and someone who you

"I don't need this."

elven lady's hand off, Skull Crusher glared

don't need him to purposely lose in our next match. I can easily get rid

right,

to look in my

telling you for your own good. If you're interested in ever becoming free, then this

and lowering her head to scrutinize me carefully, her brows

us in the room is enough to crush

her hand in my direction. Her face was filled with confidence when she said

what do you say, will

her extended

"Tempting..."