(Noble Barristan Arena, last stage of the lower hand quest.)Lex stood a few meters from the main platform where the battle was to take place. His gaze was fixed on Sebastian. Lex had thought about many scenarios on how Sebastian could possibly win this tournament, but in every way he simply would not.The reason Noble Barristan had called Lex back into the tournament was that he believed that Lex could win the tournament and take Sebastian's place. Lex was a variable Noble Barristan could easily take control of.He was well aware of this and was keen on not winning the lower hand quest, however he wanted to see the tactic Sebastian planned on using to have the highest survival time.Sebastian slowly walked to the platform in the middle of the arena. He knew the moment he stepped on the platform in the middle he was sure to lose consciousness just like the others had, however he had expected this.He reached for the side of

“I surrender.”Lex muttered, his gaze focused. Although he might not have won, Lex didn’t care about riches, wealth, or anything of the sort. He was here for a different reason, only because it was the noble’s daughter Elle’s request. He immediately approached the exit of the arena, walking out without looking back.Unknown to Lex, he had just blown the forest horn for war. As the vines lost their hold on Sebastian’s body, he had the urge to chase after that rotten mage and cut him down. However, he had won. To some, it might feel like Lex let him win. However they had all seen the hesitation on Lex’s face, and even though he could have killed Sebastian if that was what the fight called for, he had no choice but to retreat as the latter was stronger.Sebastian raised his hands up and immediately the crowd yelled his name. He had come out victorious against terrible odds. He had fulfilled his father’s wishes, he had ascended to the next stage

(Miners abode Kate's POV.)Kate arrived at the miners abode a few hours after Lex walked through the tear in reality, sent by Arizon. She waited at the entrance of the miners abode for any sign of Lex, but she found none. She had overheard some adventurers who watched how the lower hand quest took place and heard how Lex was so close to winning the finals, yet backed off at the last second."Must have been because of me," Kate muttered as she gazed into the lively streets, with various individuals buzzing about the final outcome of the lower hand quest and how it would affect the city.Amongst all of them, she did not see any signs of "Lex." Kate sighed internally. She had asked the miner officials of his location, even proceeded to his designated room, yet still there had been no signs of Lex."Where did he go?"Kate asked herself as worries began clouding her mind."What if the nobles have him?" The thought lingered. He had made it to the finals of the lower hand quest, of course

“Bring it.” Lex spoke rather confidently as he activated Daze. However, the next second, he withdrew it as one of the magic beasts lunged forward with abnormal speed. Daze did not have the slightest effect on it at all. Its body expanded in an unnatural manner as sharp metal projectiles ejected from it, some aiming toward Lex while others diverted at the last moment and headed toward Naomi, who was being lifted upward by the vines. Lex summoned more vines, deflecting a few out of the way, while the rest scratched his miner's wear. Naomi, on the other hand, parried the ones coming upward with her sword magnificently. Before Lex could think about his next move, chaos erupted as the level fifty beasts began casting their spells in brutal succession. “Maybe I shouldn't have asked them to bring it after all,” Lex muttered as the area descended into wild chaos, with him having absolutely no control over the battle at all. He began using the vines to pull himself out of the battle

(Demonic Realm, Lex's POV)*Splat**Splat*Slowly, blood dripped from Lex's body as he ran at top speed. He had plastered his wounds with vines, and although they had no healing abilities, they had done a great job stopping the blood flow.He held Naomi tightly on his left shoulder with one hand as he gazed at the tall building ahead.He had found the demon king's palace.And not only that, he had a head start on the magic beasts, which were currently trailing him at full speed.Naomi, slumped over Lex's shoulder, was not aware of her surroundings at all. Having hit the ground head first, it was going to take a long while before she fully recovered from the internal bleeding.A vine erupted from behind Lex, parrying a long range shot from a magic beast, with Lex completely unaware of what had happened.A few minutes passed, and Lex edged closer to the demon king's palace.His plan was to hide from the magic beasts inside the building, if luckily, they did not destroy the whole place.