I woke up as sunlight reflected directly into my eyes. I took a shower and stood in front of the mirror, marveling at how exquisite my body had become, a body vastly different from the one I had when I first awakened.
"Well, I should get going now."
"First things first, I should exchange these mana stones for money and ultimately, buy some skills," I thought, looking at the pile of mana stones lying near my bed. After changing, I took out my phone and called Mr. Ethan.
"Good morning, Mr. Ethan. I hope I'm not catching you at a bad moment, am I?"
"Good morning, Mr. Zephyt. No, not at all—in fact, I was just about to call you to discuss tomorrow's tournament."
"So, you're not busy then."
"No, I'm not—at least for now. Is there something you need?"
"Yes, could you send a car to pick up some mana stones? I have a huge pile of them. So…"
"Got it. I'll send one right away."
I hung up the phone and put it back in my pocket. With nothing to do but wait for the car to arrive, I opened the Hunters Nexus to look for something useful.
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"Wait... is that me?"
As soon as I opened the Hunters Nexus, I saw my picture from yesterday floating before my eyes. The whole page was filled with discussions about my sudden rise in power.
"Even if it's a small city, you can't underestimate the power of the media."
I scrolled down, finding nothing that piqued my interest. After a few minutes, I heard a gentle knock on the door.
I opened the door to find a man in a suit standing there with a smile.
"Good morning, Mr. Zephyr. Mr. Ethan sent me to collect the mana stones. May I take a look to confirm?"
"Absolutely, come on in," I said, guiding him into the apartment.
He stepped inside, visibly baffled by the sheer amount of mana stones I had. "Pardon me, Mr. Zephyr, if you don't mind me saying, may I ask something?" His eyes widened as he took in the sight.
"Yeah… are they too many?"
"With all due respect, Mr. Zephyr, I don't think a single car will be enough to carry all these mana stones along with both of us."
"Oh, is that the issue? Well... don't worry. Just take the mana stones to the Hunters Association. I'll come by myself."
"Here, let me help." I activated [Telekinetic Control] and levitated the mana stones out of the apartment. The man in the suit hurriedly opened the car door, and I placed all the mana stones inside.
The car was packed with mana stones, barely leaving space for the driver. The man then departed for the Hunters Association.
I locked the apartment and went towards the road , waiting for a taxi to arrive and the sudden realization hit me,"I should catch some fresh air today." I began to float as I activated [Flight].
"Flight sure is handy".
I arrived in front of the association. Not many were present, as it was still early in the morning. Only a few hunters were present. As soon as they saw me, they began gossiping, but I ignored them.
"I entered the association and found Mr. Ethan waiting for me.
"Good morning, Mr. Zephyr. I've been waiting for you," Ethan greeted me, extending his hand for a handshake.
"Good morning, Mr. Ethan. Please, drop the formality and just call me Zephyr. I'd appreciate it."
"Only if you do so first. By the way, where is the man I sent to pick you up? I can't seem to find him with you," he said, his eyes drifting as he searched for the man.
"Oh, him? The mana stones were more than the car could carry, barely leaving room for him. So, I instructed him to bring the mana stones, and I came here myself. He should be arriving soon."
"I take it that it's a mistake on my part, then," Ethan said in an apologetic tone.
"No, no, it's just that I wanted to catch some fresh air."
Most of the people present were surprised by the attention the association was giving me. They started taking pictures.
"It seems we can't continue our conversation here. Shall we get going?" Mr. Ethan said, guiding me to his office.
We entered, and I sat on the sofa. "Would you like some tea or coffee?" he asked, picking up the telephone to order.
"Tea would be better, I guess."
After a few minutes, a woman arrived with two cups. She left as Ethan instructed, and I picked up the cup and took a sip of tea.
"Exactly when is the tournament going to commence? Unfortunately, I was in a dungeon when the date was made public, so, I couldn't know."
"Ah, my bad we didn't notify you of the exact details of the tournament. So listen closely. The tournament will be conducted as one-on-one battles. Winners advance to the next round, while losers are eliminated. The ultimate victor of this tournament will be granted entry to the A-ranked city, Baghdid, where the real tournament will begin. Baghdid is the largest among the A-rank cities, nearly rivaling even the S-rank cities in scale. Its most renowned feature is the 'House of Magic', known as "Bayt al-Sehr", famed for containing an extensive collection of skill books."
"Baghdid, huh!"
"Is something wrong?" Ethan asked, noticing I was lost in thought, staring blankly.
"It's nothing," I replied. "I was just reminded of something very old."
"Is that so—," Ethan began, but a sudden tremor interrupted him mid-sentence.
I quickly stood up, sensing an enormous surge of mana emanating from somewhere within the association.
"Ethan, please be honest with me. What exactly is the association doing!!?"
"Ah, this slight tremor? Don't worry about it," Ethan said, noticing the sudden shift in my mood and clearing my suspicion. "It's just Mr. Chairman sparring with some youngsters who were losing their focus. But mainly, they are preparing for tomorrow's tournament."
"Sorry, my bad. I got distracted for a moment."
"Oh, come on," Ethan said. "I admit the association has a bad reputation, but that's just the media manipulation by the five great families and large guilds. We wouldn't do something like you're thinking." He explained, trying to justify his claim.
"Well you could've told me sooner."
"Would you like to visit the underground training hall?" Ethan asked as he saw a flicker of excitement passing through me.
"Why are you even asking?"
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Enjoy.....