Odyssey of the Blind God

"Then you will get what you want, I guess," Ophelia Narit said with a knowing smile on her face.

She looked deep into Nial's eyes, as if she wanted to say something but didn't speak about it out loud.

Instead, she began to speak about something else,

"You deserve to win something by coming this far in the Runicier tournament while being a rather new Runicier. Congratulations!"

Nial smiled oddly when he heard her remark, and he was not sure whether he should take it as a hidden insult or actual praise.

He was pretty sure that Ophelia was more talented than him.

"Is it so obvious that I'm not a proper Runicier? My forging and concocting proficiency, or actually the nonexistent proficiency exposed me, didn't it?" He asked gloomily, only to receive a nod as an answer.

Her nod didn't really have much meaning, but Nial still sighed. Others were definitely able to tell that he was still a fledgling Runicier who was still learning the basics as well.

Thus, he might attract some unwanted attention, but that was not something he could avoid either way.

Setting all of that aside, Nial grew more interested in Ophelia's earlier comment. It looked like she needed the Blaze Dragon's heart for something, which would mean that there was still a chance for him to finish his task without achieving the first rank.

[The practical examination of the weapons will begin. Each attack-based runic armament will be slashed or thrust against a barrier that measures the force of the fully empowered attack.

As for the defensive-based runic shield of Miss Narit, we will simply use the runic armament with the strongest attack force and re-create the fully empowered attack.

If the attack can be blocked successfully without breaking the Celtic shield, and with minimal damage, she will be the final winner. As for the rest…I doubt that it matters, right?] Card Melphy's voice sounded a bit displeased and as if he was in a hurry.

He had to attend an important gathering on Ximatra to determine the future of the Balgris race.

For him, this was of far more important than the obvious end of the U21 Runicier tournament which was quite opposite to what he would usually feel about his prestigious event.

It was clear that Ophelia Narit would win and that one of the four others would be ranked in second place.

He didn't really care who would be placed in second place, as long as he could leave soon.

The preparations for the practical round were quickly completed. It didn't require much time to erect a total of four measurement barriers.

They were semi-translucent and created with the use of a runic armament. Nial would have loved to analyze it, but he held back, understanding that there were more important things to pay attention to at the moment.

Four young men and women stood a few meters in front of the barriers, one in front of each barrier.

They were tightly holding onto the Runic armaments the finalists of the U21 Runicier tournament had created.

Each of the men and women was at the rank above the Prometheus rank in order to unleash the full prowess of the runic armament they would be using.

Deux was the most common name given to the beings who advanced past the ranks of the Prometheus being.

Their strength was manyfold higher than beings at the Prometheus rank, which was also why they could unleash the hidden potential of Tier-2 runic armaments.

While Prometheus Originals were already able to wield Tier-2 runic armaments easily, Deux Originals were able to sense the synergy between the used materials, runic solutions, and runic constellations without problems.

Thus, four Deux Originals ended up standing in front of the measurement barriers, fidgeting around with the runic armaments they had been given before they unleashed a fully empowered attack in the direction of the barriers.

From left to right, a magnificent, awe-striking phenomenon manifested as a collective gasp resounded from the Colosseum.

Kirant Leviant's Low Tier-2 Runic Sword turned into a ginormous serpent manifested out of blazing flames.

The serpent issued a terrifying roar when the Runic Sword was slashed out before it shot in the direction it was targeted to.

In an instant, the blazing serpent, which was more than twenty meters large, collided with the measurement barrier, and the semi-translucent membrane of the barrier shook violently as several numbers appeared above it.

The blazing serpent burst open upon impact, and it turned into countless swirls of searing hot flames that shrouded the measurement barrier.

Nial's [Mana Sense] allowed him to detect everything precisely. The Blazing serpent was a powerful attack, created out of a multitude of runic constellations.

It was pretty impressive, which was also what many others thought as he heard their exclamations.

"Oh my goodness!! His attack power is over 9000!!!"

"Is that really the strength of a Low-ranked Tier-2 runic armament?!"

"This attack is strong enough to make him second rank!! If only the Draco woman wouldn't have participated…what a shame…"

Nial had no idea what the numbers above the measurement barrier really meant.

It was not really important to know either, because only the highest number mattered, indicating that the attack had the highest attack power possible.

Of course, Nial didn't like the fact that they tested only the power of an attack-based runic armament, especially since not all runic armaments focused on the same functions.

A battle-axe was usually stronger than some dagger. Their functions were different, and so was their attack power along with the ability and extent to inflict damage.

'Looks like I was quite lucky with the runic constellations I engraved. To think that the only advanced runic constellation I was confident of engraving in was based on brute force, that's quite funny,' Nial thought with a faint smile on his lips.

While Kirant Leviant's attack ended the quickest, the attack with the runic armaments of Nicola Hurak and Ulgarn Syzan had just begun.

Ulgarn Syzan's runic armament was a damaged low-ranked Tier-2 Sword. His attacks didn't have the slightest trace of elemental empowerment.

Instead, it was focused on the compression of mana, and the sharpening of the blade.

If the Runic Sword wouldn't be damaged, Ulgarn Syzan would have ranked second. His runic armament was the best, if not for the damaged part that marred his performance and that of his weapon severely.

However, even with the damage, the sword strike his Runic Sword could create was shocking, to put it simply.

The sword's blade shone in bright white light as it created a deep gash inside the measurement barrier.

The barrier regenerated but the depths of the gash were still astonishing, causing many spectators to gasp.

"7000 points, despite being a damaged Runic armament…amazing…"

"If the Runic Sword wouldn't have been damaged, it might have been strong enough to damage Ophelia Narit's Celtic shield!! Woahh…."

Yet, just when everyone exclaimed, the eyes of the Deux Original, who was tightly grasping the damaged runic armament, widened.

Spider-web-like cracks spread across the surface of the entire blade before it shattered into countless pieces.

The expressions of the Spectators changed, especially those who had shouted in support of Ulgarn Syzan until a moment ago.

They frowned deeply and looked down to the arena of the Colosseum with a disappointed expression.

[Ulgarn Syzan will be disqualified. A Runicier's creation has to be reliable, and not shatter after the first encounter with an opponent!] Card Melphy's voice thundered through the Colosseum, but not many Spectators were astonished by this.

They nodded their heads in understanding, only for Nial to be a bit baffled.

"If he gets disqualified, why wasn't I disqualified during the second round? My Tier-0 Swords were basically one-time consumables…" He asked himself in confusion, without truly expecting anyone to answer.

However, Ophelia was still standing near him, and she answered his question without further ado.

"The main weapons of your Runic puppets weren't one-time consumable items, but Tier-1 Runic armaments that never broke. The consumable Tier-0 runic swords you created had the purpose of using up the entire accumulated potential of the weapon to create a powerful slash manifested out of mana.

Meanwhile, in this round, we had to create only one runic armament, our strongest one, at that. If the purpose of the Runic Sword would have been labeled as one-time consumable, Ulgarn wouldn't have been disqualified," Ophelia explained and Nial nodded his head.

By the time Ophelia was done explaining, Nicola Hurak's armament had been tested as well.

Her Spear thrust manifested a serpent made of water. It was basically the same attack Kirant Leviant's runic sword manifested, just that the fire element had been replaced by water.

The attack power of her spear was close to 9000 but it didn't exceed the power of Kirant Leviant's attack.

This was quite difficult to achieve, which was also why Ophelia Narit was intrigued by what the attack of Nial's runic armament would look like.

The Deux Original wielding Nial's Runic Saber had been keenly observing the runic armament in his hand longer than anyone else. It took him a few seconds longer to perceive the intention with which Nial had created the Runic Saber.

However, when he understood his intent, the Deux Original's displeasure to be forced to wield an unaesthetically forged weapon such as Nial's creation disappeared.

He was excited and activated all the runic constellations engraved on the weapon in a perfect combination; the combination Nial intended the weapon to be used with.

There was a slight complexity between the runic constellations and the Amethyztan that had been used to create the saber, but once one found out about it, everything would turn out more interesting than before.

The Deux Original could comprehend the complexity, and he was slightly excited to unleash the power sealed within the Runic saber.

Thunderous crackling noises filled the arena of the Colosseum and currents of lightning shrouded the Deux Original's entire arm.

They squirmed forward and enveloped the Runic Saber tightly before they expanded, enlarging the blade in turn.

The currents of lightning became an extension of the Runic Saber that had begun to vibrate.

Tremendous power was surging through the Runic saber and the vibration made it seem as if the runic armament was laughing as if it was enjoying the current situation.

The Deux Original felt similar and he resonated with the emotions of the runic saber as his eyes twitched in anticipation. He flashed a bright smile as he shot forward, slashing the Lightsaber at the Measurement barrier, cutting it in half….

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise and nearly fell out of their eye sockets as shock spread through their bodies.

A pin drop silence settled in the Colosseum and the only sound that echoed was of the barrier that was crumbling to pieces. For an entire minute, nobody was able to say a single word, not even Ophelia, who finally recalled that she could speak and turned to Nial in surprise.

"What the hell did you do?"