Odyssey of the Blind God

"What the hell did you do?" Ophelia asked in a choked voice but Nial could only smile weirdly.

"Do you really not know what I did?" He asked in return, which caused Ophelia to groan.

"Of course, I know what you did, but how do you know this runic constellation? I couldn't sense it well before but isn't that the unique [Thunder Blessing] runic constellation?" Ophelia was astonished and she couldn't express her emotions, at all.

Ophelia was one of the few Runiciers, who knew about runic constellations, such as the [Thunder Blessing], far more than anyone could imagine. She had spent the majority of her life inside the Draco race's library learning about its intricacies.

Thus, she knew that someone like Nial was not supposed to know the runic constellation of the [Thunder Blessing]. Even knowing the existence of runic constellations like the [Thunder Blessing] was not supposed to end up with someone as a rookie as Nial.

"I don't know what you're talking about. No idea what the 'Thunder Blessing' is, but you must be mistaken. I didn't engrave that on the Runic saber," Nial was not lying. He had no idea what Ophelia was talking about, but she didn't seem to believe him.

This was quite weird since he didn't really look like he was lying, or so he thought, at least.

"That's not the [Thunder Blessing]? But what then??" Ophelia asked, puzzled. Nial couldn't help but feel that Ophelia was blinded by her own knowledge and talent.

She didn't even start questioning what combination of runic constellations he might have engraved on the Runic saber to create the effects that had been revealed but she presumed that he was talented and knowledgeable enough to engrave some sort of unique runic constellation.

"[Lightning Spirit], [Mana Expansion], [Saber frame], three [Tiny Mana Storage], and [Overclock], and for your information, I used ordinary runic solutions and unpurified Ametyztan," Nial added in a clear voice, not bothering to hide the obvious.

Everyone could find out what runic constellations he had engraved on the Runic Saber sooner or later. Thus, there was no point in keeping things under wraps.

It was simply not worth the trouble.

Ophelia looked at him before she began to frown lightly.

"So much trouble to recreate what a single Unique runic constellation can manifest…" She clicked her tongue disapprovingly but quickly noticed that Nial shook his head.

"Just because you're talented and knowledgeable, doesn't mean that everyone else has the same privileges. Your behavior is quite disrespectful right now," He said calmly while looking at his score; [12563].

It was much higher than Kirant Leviant's score, and his ranking momentarily became #1 on the overall scoreboard of the final evaluation.

Even if Ophelia's Celtic shield was better than his Runic saber, he would only be pushed to second place.

That was the worst place he could end up with the extraordinary score he had attained in the practice round.

This was quite pleasant, especially since he had figured that Ophelia would pick the Blaze Dragon's heart, for whatever reason she might need it.

It didn't really matter to Nial, and he was just happy that everything went according to plan, well not really…

However, he would be the one holding the Tear of the Dryad Queen, which was everything that mattered and Nial was happy about it.

While everyone was flabbergasted by the strength Nial's Runic Saber had attained, the measurement barriers were removed.

The barrier, which had been split in half, had regenerated already and it was stored away just like the others.

Now, only Nial's Runic Saber, and the Celtic Runic Shield of Ophelia were left behind.

The same Deux Original, who had been holding onto the Runic saber held it in their hand, while another Deux Original had finished analyzing the Celtic Runic shield.

The President of the Golden Armaments Union had told them to hurry up, which was why they didn't receive enough to start showing off the runic armaments in front of everyone.

Instead, they stood opposite each other, and activated their runic constellations to generate the best effect before the Lightsaber shot forward.

It was slashed in the direction of the Celtic Runic shield with rapid velocity.

For the ordinary spectators, it was not even possible to keep up with the rapid strike, and the only thing they could see was a purple flash colliding on a red shield that had enlarged all of a sudden.

At least that was what they seemed to be able to see in a blur.

The reality was different, which was something that not even Nial was able to visualize clearly. His [Mana Sense] also its limits and it was not able to detect the rapid movements of beings at the Deux rank.

This was only obvious but it annoyed Nial nonetheless.

After all, he couldn't visualize what exactly happened with the Celtic runic shield.

Nial was merely able to perceive that all the runic constellations had been activated one after another before the mana that had been inserted into the runic shield was released in the direction of the Lightsaber.

Nial's Runic Saber was nearly unscathed. There was only a small scratch on the blade. Sharpening the blade would fix that issue in a blink.

Simultaneously, a small, almost invisible scratch had formed on the Celtic Runic Shield.

However, just when a few veteran Runiciers were about to start praising the impossible, the scratch on the Celtic Runic Shield had already disappeared.

The semi-sentience of the Celtic Runic Shield had initiated the healing process, or precisely to fix the small scratch on the shield's surface.

When Nial visualized this, his eyes widened in astonishment. He was not surprised about the result because he knew that it would be his loss, that he wouldn't be able to defeat Ophelia.

Nonetheless, he was amazed that the Celtic Runic Shield could heal itself so easily. Nial didn't perceive that any mana was drained from the Deux Original, who was holding the shield.

Instead, the Celtic Runic Shield had absorbed the mana from the surroundings to fix the small scratch on its own.

This was astounding, and the reason for Nial to attempt visualizing all the runic constellations on the Celtic Runic Shield.

"Tch!" He clicked his tongue when his range of perception was blocked as Celt Melphy, the Negiv, descended from the air.

'Just how impatient can someone be?!' Nial cursed the President of the Golden Armaments Union, not understanding how someone was able to snatch away other peoples' joy, like this.

The Spectators and veteran Runiciers wanted to exclaim, and show their excitement when they witnessed how horrifyingly powerful the runic armaments of two 20-year-old Originals could be.

They wanted to gossip and have some fun discussing the spectacle but were deprived of the opportunity because Card Melphy's presence was more than enough for everyone to shut their mouths tightly.

[Bravo! Bravo!! This is what I call a grand finale! Congratulations to Ophelia Narit for creating the strongest runic armament in the fourth and final round of the U21 Runicier tournament!! Please accept my applause and congratulations,] Card Melphy said loudly and in a cheerful voice that was a stark contrast to his posture and appearance.

Nial tried to hide his frown but that was hardly possible. He could only shake his head and doubt that they were truly in the grand finale of the U21 Runicier tournament.

Right now, the entire situation felt more like they were in an amateurish tournament, instead of the grand and spectacular event created by the biggest Runiciers group that existed in the entire stellar system Ximatra was a part of.

After a while, Nial didn't frown anymore. He had to hide his mocking expression as he realized that the Golden Armaments Union was not only the biggest Runicier group in the stellar system but that it spread out through many other stellar systems.

Nial recalled Master Crevian's words and that they were really powerful because many races owed them favors. The moment someone would dare attack them, more than 30 races would back them up.

And the President of this Golden Armaments Union, Card Melphy, was none other than the laughing stock…

'Fortunately, Damian's memories told me that not every powerhouse is like this clown, otherwise, it would have been hilarious for Damian to die at their hands. Well, at least, Card is not a True God. That is one advantage…I guess…' Nial thought, hiding his smile, while Card Melphy continued to speak.

After a while, he turned in Ophelias' direction. An elegant-looking veil, glamorous lengthy boxes and a quadratic metallic box appeared out of nowhere.

They were hovering in front of the young female Draco, who began to smile brightly as her hand reached out for the metallic box.

However, before Ophelia was able to pick up something Card Melphy began to speak once again.

[As an apology for all the trouble during the Runicier tournament, Ophelia Narit will be allowed to pick two grand prizes instead of one! As for the second place, Nial Orin, he will be rewarded with the remaining grand prize! The third and following ranks will receive appropriate treasures as well!]

Nial Orin began to frown deeply when he heard this.

'Wasn't it said that the remaining grand prizes will be awarded to the second and third place, to begin with??' He asked inwardly, his dislike of the President growing more and more.

The situation had become more troublesome because of the President's words. Now, Nial had a 50-50 chance to get the Dryad Queen's tear in his hand because Ophelia could pick a second grand prize.

However, he was not too worried because he presumed that the Unicorn Horn was of more value to the Draco girl than anything else.

It could be used to create high-ranked Runic armaments after all.

Unicorns were hard to find, and their horns were exceptionally rare. Their value was high because they were a rare breed and forbidden to be used as trading goods in most galaxies.

In fact, hunting Unicorns was not allowed in the vast majority of galaxies, including the planets the Draco race hailed from.

Thus, a Unicorn's horn would be of the utmost value for Ophelia, especially a Silvergeard Unicorn's horn that was rewarded in the U21 Runicier tournament.

Card Melphy seemed to be on the verge of crying as he saw Ophelia picking her first prize. She picked the Blaze Dragon's heart that was perfectly preserved in the quadratic metallic box.

As for the second treasure, Ophelia ended up looking in Nial's direction as she moved her hand between the vial with the Dryad Queen's tear inside, and the lengthy elegant box containing the Unicorn horn.

Nial just smiled seeing her attempts to tease him. However, when she actually grasped the small vial, Nial paled.

Ophelia saw his reaction clearly but she didn't say anything.

She could only see how the last grand prize flew over to Nial, who could barely think about grasping it.

'She needs the Dryad Queen's tear? Why?...' He first asked, feeling confused and devastated.

All his efforts would be for naught if he was unable to get his hand on the Dryad Queen's tear, and that was something he didn't want to happen.

'What the hell am I supposed to do now??' Nial felt like he was falling off a huge cliff, straight into the abyss. His mind blanked out and he remained standing motionlessly as his mind was trying to digest what kind of bullshit had just happened.

While he was processing his 'real' defeat, Ophelia appeared right in front of him.

"You look like a ghost, you know?" She asked mischievously as she placed the vial with the Dryad Queen's tear in his free hand.

Simultaneously, she took the box with the Unicorn horn before she burst into laughter.

"You should really see your expression….way too funny hahaha!"

**

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