Rise of the Living Forge

Arwin peeled his gaze away from the melee fight currently unfolding on the arena grounds as Reya returned to the room. She flopped down in the chair beside him with a weary sigh.

“Found him,” Reya said. “And so did Esmerelda.”

“Esmerelda did?” Arwin blinked in surprise. “She was with you?”

“Apparently. She’s sneakier than I thought. Didn’t even realize she was with me until she popped out the moment I found the room Arnold was in,” Reya grumbled. She didn’t sound so happy about someone having managed to sneak up on her. “She said she’d handle things with him.”

That’s… odd. Esmerelda was the one that told me about needing to find him in the first place, but I somehow didn’t expect her to directly interfere. Didn’t think she was the type. Maybe that’s rude of me. Either way, this is the best case scenario. I don’t really know what I would have been able to do other than tell this Arnold guy to drop out of the tournament.

“Well, sounds like things are handled, then.”

Reya nodded. “Guess so. I wonder what she’s doing… but not enough to try and spy on her.”

“That’s probably wise. She’s carrying around enough cursed shit to scare anybody,” Arwin said with a shake of his head. “I still don’t get why she does that. Esmerelda is clearly capable of making powerful potions, and not everything cursed has to be bad. It’s just more difficult. She just likes choosing to make things dangerous.”

“Maybe it’s her hobby.”

The crowd above them roared and Kraven barked out a bunch of worthless yammer that amounted to the fact that another melee had ended and its victors had been chosen. The mages ferried all the warriors off the platform and preparations for the next round of the melee fights had begun.

There had already been quite a few of them. Arwin hadn’t been counting, but they were well over 30 by now. It looked like the Secret Eye really hadn’t held back on any stops for the tournament. They must have invited representatives from basically every single ranked guild.

“When do you think the melees will end?” Reya asked, following Arwin’s gaze.

He shook his head in response. “I’m not sure. Soon enough, I’d say. Fights like this are a good opener, but they aren’t great for keeping attention. After a while, it just becomes the same thing. People beating the piss out of each other while trying to hide as much of their abilities as possible. That doesn’t make for a great show in the long run.”

“There’s a lot of fun to be found in watching people just smack each other, though.”

“Perhaps. I’ve found it gets old after you see enough of it,” Arwin said. The melees were just a little too close to real battles for him to find much enjoyment in them. The chaos, the speed of how quickly everything happened — the only things missing from real war were the screams and the smell.

Well, those and the force used. Everyone’s holding back so much because they don’t want to reveal too much of what they’re capable of. I wonder why the Secret Eye set things up so that the participating teams can watch others fight. It would have been fairer if all the competitors were in closed off rooms and couldn’t tell what was going on.

“Hey,” Reya said, squinting down at the arena. “Oh shit. I was going to tell you about him. Look over there. I saw that guy while I was scouting around. He had two shady looking dudes with him. Set my hair on end. Doesn’t he kind of look like Kien?”

Arwin followed her gaze.

It wasn’t hard to figure out where she was looking. In the chaotic sea of battling teams, a single man stuck out like a sore thumb. The man looked completely out of place. He was dressed fine silks that weren’t going to do anything to stop a sword or an arrow.

The man didn’t seem to have a team. He just stood near the edge of the arena, a hand on the dagger at his side, watching through a bed of scraggy hair as everyone else battled. It was a bit difficult to make out any details about his features, but now that Reya mentioned it, the man did seem vaguely similar to Kien.

“You’ve got a better eye than me,” Arwin said slowly. “But I think you’re right. That might be the one that Kien is here for. He’s got a dagger as well.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“You think he brought the thing that stole Kien’s magic with him?” Reya asked, paling slightly. “He’s using that here? Is he going to try to steal other people’s magic as well? What if he goes up against Olive or Art’s teams? Would your armor stand up against that?”

“I don’t know. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Arwin said, leaning closer to see if he could get a better look at the man. “Panic won’t do us anything here. Don’t let your emotions get ahead of you. Focus. Do you see his team anywhere?”

Reya swallowed, then nodded. “Right. Okay. Sorry. I don’t see anyone that looks like they’re working with him, though. It seems like it’s just him.”

Choosing to enter the tournament alone… either an idiot or incredibly confident in himself. That’s a bold move if you aren’t very powerful. Then again, if that dagger still works, he could be stealing the magic from everyone he beats.

The back of Arwin’s neck prickled at that thought. He wasn’t sure how the Mesh even allowed such a weapon to exist. There were meant to be balances. If this really was the dagger that had stolen Kien’s powers, and it was still able to steal more magic… the price that must have been paid to craft or create it must have been astronomical.

I wish I was closer. I can’t get a good look at it.

“I doubt the dagger just steals any magic it touches,” Arwin said after a moment. “I refuse to believe something like that exists. It definitely has to contact somebody’s flesh at the bare minimum.”

“So your armor will work?”

“It should,” Arwin said. “But it’s a dagger. Those are meant for getting between cracks in armor. Keep a close eye on him. Let’s see how he reacts when a team turns their attention to him. If that dagger is just straight up unfair, then he’ll be able to cut through them without any trouble.”

Reya nodded. The two of them fell into grim silence, staring down at the arena as the melee waged on.

They didn’t have to wait long.

As teams fell, there were fewer people left on the arena and far less chaos for anyone to hide in. While the lone man had gone unnoticed by the other fighters before, it was impossible to keep overlooking him.

A warrior and a mage from what had once been a group of three — one had already been removed from the fight by a healer — spotted the man and darted for him without a second thought. They were already at a disadvantage against the remaining combatants, so trying to take out the lone outlier was a smart call.

And, with one of their number down, they could no longer afford to try and hold back. The mage lowered his staff and sent a bolt of electric energy screaming through the air, slicing through the roar of the crowd.

The man leapt to the side, diving out of the way an instant before it could connect with him. He rose to his feet in a dead sprint, ducking past the warrior and darting straight for the mage.

“He dodged,” Reya observed.

“Doesn’t confirm anything, but the dagger probably can’t just absorb magical attacks. That would be too strong,” Arwin said with a nod. “He’s also going for the caster first… though I’d have done the same.”

The mage swept his hand down and a wave of bright yellow lightning rolled out, heading straight for the silk-clad man.

Instead of dodging or trying to block the attack, he ran straight into it.

Arwin’s eyes widened as the power arced off his body, clearly connecting with him but failing to accomplish anything more than slightly singing his clothes.

The man’s dagger flew free from its spot at his side and it whipped through the air, slamming right into the mage’s chest. He kicked the mage back and spun, raising his dagger to block the warrior’s sword before it could bisect him.

They both said something, but the roar of the crowd and the distance made it impossible to hear what. The man lunged at the warrior, driving his dagger for a gap in the man’s armor. It scraped along it, failing to penetrate, and he was forced to hop back before a blazing-fast swing from the other man’s sword nearly cut him apart.

“It looks like you were right,” Reya said with a relieved breath. “The dagger doesn’t go through armor. Maybe that’s not him.”

Arwin’s eyes drifted back to the fallen mage. Healers were gathered around him — but they hadn’t pulled him off the platform yet. They were gathered around the man, and even from where Arwin sat, he could see distress in their motions. His eyes narrowed. The healers were having trouble. They eventually grabbed the mage and ferried him away, but it didn’t matter.

“That’s him,” Arwin said. “There’s something up with the mage that just got stabbed. The healers were having problems fixing something.”

He returned his attention to the fight. In the time it had taken him to look at the mage, Kien’s brother had already dispatched the warrior. His dagger had found a crack in the man’s armor and he had fallen, clutching his side.

Healers ferried him away as well — and though Arwin didn’t see any external signs of distress in them this time around, he had no doubt that the warrior was about to face the same issue that his mage had.

That armor was very likely enchanted. These are top guilds, not random people. Even if the enchantment wasn’t good, there was still magic in it. So the dagger can’t cut through magic objects, but if it touches someone’s body, it can steal their magic… or do something else. Whatever the case, it’s not going to be good.

As much as I hope someone takes the guy out in the first round of the melee, I know that isn’t happening. He moves too fast. I’m not seeing anything particularly special about his actual movements or techniques, but he’s jumped up on magic.

“You better warn Olive about this,” Arwin said grimly. “And tell Kien as well. I’m sure he was watching, but I don’t want to take any risks. Let him know his brother is in the tournament — and he brought the dagger that stole his magic.”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!