Chapter 226: Before the Semi finals

The adrenaline from the Quarterfinals faded, leaving behind deep aches and lingering questions. Two full days passed before the semifinals were scheduled to begin.

Nathan spent the first day confined to a white medical cot, letting the official healers patch up the bruises and deep cuts he’d earned against the Western Federation. The second day was spent safely locked inside the team quarters, reviewing tournament footage with Elise and Garrett while Dillon napped on the couch. But Long Wei’s parting words refused to let him rest.

On the third morning, Nathan woke up before dawn and left the compound alone.

The host city was dead quiet. The streets were totally empty except for a few food vendors setting up their carts. The massive stadium loomed in the distance, its bright floodlights powered down. Nathan walked without a destination, just letting the freezing air clear his head.

"You used skills that aren’t yours."

"The Overlord class."

"The grey-robed figures are watching you because of what you carry."

He had been hiding the Overlord class for months. Even from his party. Even from Elise. He kept telling himself it was for their own protection. That the fewer people who knew the truth, the safer they would all be.

But now Long Wei knew. The grey-robed phantoms knew. The secret was slipping right through his fingers.

He found a cold stone bench near a plaza fountain and sat down. He opened his system interface and stared at his subclass data.

[Sub-Class: Overlord — The ability to wield skills from all classes.]

[Copied Skills:]

[Impenetrable Fortress] — from Mirko

[Invisibility] — from Kuro

[Tyrant Dragon Fist] — from Shiro

[Healing Field] — from Ororo

Four skills. Four pieces of his family. He had used them in the Quarterfinals right in front of the entire world.

He didn’t know how to tell the others. He tried to imagine the conversation. Hey guys, I have a secret second class. The shepherd gave it to me. It lets me copy skills. I’ve been lying by omission this whole time.

He had no idea how they would react.

Kuro’s quiet voice slipped through their mental link. ’Master. You are brooding again.’

"I’m just thinking," Nathan muttered.

’You are thinking about Long Wei’s words.’

"Yeah."

’The secret is yours to keep or share. But know this—we will support you either way.’

Nathan was quiet for a long moment. "I know. I just... don’t know how to say it out loud."

’Start with the truth. That is usually the best option.’

He almost laughed, his breath pluming in the cold air. "You sound like Mirko."

’I sound absolutely nothing like Mirko. I am concise. She is loud.’

"Both of you are wise."

’I am wise. She is just enthusiastic.’

Nathan smiled faintly. He stood up and started walking back to the compound. The sun was finally rising, and somewhere in the distance, the stadium lights flickered on.

Smithy was waiting for him the second he walked through the door.

The former Court operative had clearly been awake all night. His eyes were bloodshot, but his expression was razor-sharp. He had a digital map of the entire arena complex spread across the main table, marked with several blinking red dots.

"I found more crystals," Smithy said, getting right to the point. "Three of them. All placed at very specific blind spots around the arena."

Nathan leaned over the map. The red dots formed a wide triangle. "What are they for?"

"I think it’s a ritual. Or a massive seal. I haven’t figured out which one yet." Smithy tapped the screen, pulling up a raw data feed. "But these crystals are active. They’re drawing power directly from the tournament. Every match, every spell, every skill used—the crystals are soaking it up."

Nathan felt a cold chill that had nothing to do with the morning air. "They’re using the tournament as a battery."

"That’s my guess." Smithy paused, his jaw tight. "There’s something else. I mapped out the crystal placements. They form a circle. A very specific, pattern. I’ve seen it before in the Nemesis Court’s restricted archives."

"What is it?"

"It’s a summoning circle," Smithy said grimly. "But it’s not scaled for summoning monsters. It’s built for summoning something much, much larger."

---

That afternoon, the holographic bracket updated on the wall.

Nathan stared at the screen as their semifinal opponent locked in.

Central Federation vs. Northern Coalition.

Arthur Reinhardt. The Paladin. The walking fortress. The man who simply could not be killed.

Nathan remembered the opening ceremony. Arthur’s firm, stoic handshake. His polite, heavy words. I look forward to seeing what you can do.

This was going to be a completely different kind of fight. Kaito was pure speed. Long Wei was raw, explosive power. Arthur was absolute endurance. He doesn’t dodge. He doesn’t fall back. He takesneverything you threw at him and just kept walking forward.

Nathan was going to have to figure out how to break an unbreakable wall.

---

Over in the Northern Coalition’s quarters, Arthur Reinhardt sat alone on the floor, deep in meditation.

His heavy plate armor was stacked neatly in the corner. Without it, his broad chest and arms were covered in thick, jagged scars—old, brutal wounds from old battles. He breathed in slowly. Calmly.

The door slid open, and his second-in-command, Bjorn, stepped inside. "The bracket is set. We face the Central Federation tomorrow."

Arthur opened his eyes. "The Bunny King."

"He has four humanoid summons now," Bjorn warned. "His resource efficiency is unmatched. His party has perfect synergy."

Arthur nodded slowly. "I’ve been watching him. He fights with real strategy. With precision. He doesn’t waste a single movement or drop of mana." He paused, looking at his scarred hands. "He reminds me of someone I knew once. A long time ago."

"Who?"

"A man who stepped in to save my home village during a massive Tower Collapse. He held the line and succeeded. Then he died from his wounds." Arthur stood up, his massive frame casting a shadow over the room. "I owe that man a debt. And I see something of him in Nathan Cross."

Bjorn frowned. "You’re not going to go easy on him, are you?"

Arthur smiled, a rare, genuine expression. "No. I’m going to hit him with everything I have. That is the only way to honor him."

---

That night, the party gathered around the main table in their quarters.

"We’re facing Arthur Reinhardt tomorrow," Nathan said, looking at each of them. "He’s a Paladin. An unbreakable tank. He doesn’t dodge, and he doesn’t retreat. He just takes the hits and keeps coming."

Garrett nodded, crossing his arms. "I’ve been studying his old match tapes. He’s incredibly patient. He waits for his opponents to burn through their mana and tire out, and then he flattens them."

"Then we don’t tire out," Elise said smoothly. "We find his weak point and hammer it."

"Does a guy like that even have a weak point?" Dillon asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Everyone has a weakness," Nathan said. "We just have to find it."

He looked around the room at his team. "We’ve come a long way. We are exactly two matches away from winning the championship. We face Arthur tomorrow. And we face him together."

Elise reached out and took his hand. "Together."

Mirko jumped onto the table and raised Dragon’s Fang high. "For the Bunny Girl Legion!"

Kuro nodded from the shadows. Shiro smiled brightly. Ororo politely inclined her head.