[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 81
During the journey back to the mansion after the preliminaries, Zeke's mind was filled with thoughts of Helen.
'Helen Draker participated in the martial arts tournament...'
Helen was Zeke's immediate older sister, only about five years older than him.
Since she had also been promoted to Purple Knight less than five years ago, she was eligible to participate in the tournament.
However, remembering Helen from his previous life, Zeke hadn't imagined that she would actually appear in the competition.
'The Steel Knight.'
After the Platinum Knight, Cali Draker, was killed by the Pirate King in the South Sea, the Draker clan fell into chaos.
Before the current head, Arthur Draker, died and Abel became the head, the Draker clan was divided into two factions, and at the center of it all was the Steel Knight, Helen Draker.
After Abel became the head and the Draker clan merged with the Empire, Helen, wanting to uphold the Draker clan's will, formed a rebel army and held a sit-in protest in the Duchy of Troy.
The Northern Camp reached out to Helen Draker, proposing an alliance to fight against the Empire, but she refused.
Instead, she conveyed her desire to remain a pure Draker until the very end.
In the end, Helen died fighting against the Imperial army led by Abel.
Zeke, who was carrying out missions on other battlefields, learned of Helen's death belatedly.
'Still, Helen was one of the better Drakers. She had the qualities of a true knight.'
Among the Drakers, who used all sorts of schemes and tricks to seize power on the continent, Helen was closer to a traditional knight.
Therefore, he couldn't understand why Helen would participate in the Draker martial arts tournament, which was rife with all kinds of conspiracies.
'Is there a reason?'
Like Zeke, she might be participating under Arthur's orders.
He felt the need to learn more about Helen.
When he returned to the mansion, Catherine from Phantas was waiting for them.
She nodded after listening to Zeke.
"Sir Zeke, your prediction was correct."
"If it weren't for Catherine's help, we wouldn't have noticed Siemens' shallow tricks."
Farel said to Catherine with a smile.
"Fortunately, all three of us from our side have advanced to the finals."
In the Draker martial arts tournament, the more people from the same faction, the better.
This was because there might be competition events that required cooperation.
Then Catherine said with a smile,
"I found out about the first round event. This time it's really confirmed."
Zeke and his companions focused on Catherine's words.
She slowly opened her mouth.
"The first round of the finals is a race."
Felix looked incredulous at the evaluation being a race.
"A-a race? Can there be a race in a martial arts tournament?"
Farel, who was next to him, said with a serious expression,
"A race... It's actually one of the events that often appears in the Draker martial arts tournament."
Zeke nodded, recalling the Draker martial arts tournament manual and past competitions that Farel had given him.
"There was almost a 64% chance that the first round of the finals was a race."
Felix looked even more dumbfounded.
"It's a bit strange that a race is a main event, Master."
Zeke shook his head.
"The race they're talking about isn't an ordinary race, Felix."
"Yes? What's different about it? A race is just a race."
Farel explained to Felix.
"It's called a survival race, and it's actually a famous event in the Draker clan. I'm not from the academy, but I heard that those from the academy have all experienced it at least once."
Zeke nodded.
"That's right, Sir Farel."
Felix asked Zeke.
"A survival race? What is it that makes it so famous?"
"A survival race is a competition where you have to run and reach the destination."
"Then isn't it just a race?"
Zeke shook his head.
"There's one key difference. During the race, any act of hindering your opponent is allowed."
Felix's jaw dropped at Zeke's words.
He realized why it was called a survival race.
"A-anything is allowed...?"
"Ambushes, poison, open combat, it doesn't matter. You just have to reach the destination within the allotted time."
Liam and Felix could understand why the Draker martial arts tournament was a miniature version of a faction war.
If the survival race was indeed the first round of the finals, as they had just heard, the more allies they had, the greater their advantage in the survival competition. Moreover, it would give them a significant advantage in preparing for the second round of the finals.
Zeke said to Felix and Liam,
"The finals start tomorrow. Manage your condition well."
Felix trudged back to his room like a zombie, and Liam went up to the training room, saying he would train more.
Zeke returned to his room and meditated, calmly organizing his thoughts.
'Looking back on my past life, Helen Draker wouldn't have been on the same side as Abel. She was one of Cali's people.'
After Cali's death, Helen succeeded her faction and served as a guardian knight.
He wasn't sure about the present, but for now, she could be considered an enemy of Abel and the Empire.
'I need to find out what Helen Draker wants.'
***
Whoosh!
Helen swung her sword repeatedly in the training room until she was drenched in sweat.
Then someone entered the training room.
"Helen."
Helen lowered her sword and turned around.
Cali Draker was standing at the door.
She lowered her sword and politely greeted Cali.
"Greetings, Cali Draker."
Cali shook her head as she looked at Helen.
"Call me sister when we're alone."
Despite repeated reminders, Helen never once comfortably addressed her as "sister."
Unlike Zeke, who immediately called her "sister" when she told him to speak comfortably.
Compared to Cali, with her long platinum blonde hair that made her look like a Valkyrie from legend, Helen had a simpler appearance with a brown short cut.
Cali asked Helen,
"What was your impression of Zeke after seeing him in person?"
Helen tightly gripped her sword.
Seeing that, Cali nodded.
"Zeke, that child has something that stirs up a competitive spirit. It makes you want to test your skills as a knight."
Helen silently nodded in agreement with Cali's words.
'That thrust he showed in the preliminaries was amazing.'
Dragon Slaying Art, Dragon Scale Thrust.
Naturally, Helen, as a Draker, also knew that technique.
However, the Dragon Scale Thrust Zeke displayed was somehow different.
'Should I call it wild? It felt like that thrust could actually slay a dragon.'
Helen had already been promoted to Blue Knight a year ago.
Although they were both Blue Knights, she thought that she, with her greater experience, would still have an edge over the young Zeke.
However, the moment she saw Zeke in person, Helen abandoned that thought.
'He's definitely not below me.'
Cali approached Helen, who was lost in her own thoughts, and patted her shoulder.
"Zeke will be a great asset to our side. Helen, test him with all your might until you can acknowledge him."
Helen nodded at Cali's words.
Discussions about granting Zeke the position of Abel's guardian knight were soon to be held within the clan.
The Draker clan was changing rapidly every day.
Being by Cali's side, even though she was a Blue Knight, Helen realized that there was not much she could do by simply wielding a sword.
But she couldn't stop wielding her sword.
As she swung her sword again, she thought of Zeke.
'Zeke, I look forward to seeing your skills.'
***
The first round of the finals was held in the city of Maraque, not far from Atlas.
As Catherine had informed them, the first round was a survival race.
Once again, Gareth delivered the competition announcement to the participants.
"Nothing special. Just reach the destination at the top of Atlas Mountain within 48 hours."
After the announcement, the Draker knights handed each participant a backpack and a dagger.
These were the only items allowed in this competition.
Zeke, Liam, and Felix put on their assigned backpacks and stood at the starting line.
A moment later, when all the participants were lined up, the examiner raised his hand high and shouted,
"The race begins!"
The 48-hour countdown started.
About a hundred participants quickly set their course towards Atlas Mountain and started running.
Since most of them knew that it was a survival race, they were prepared with their chosen routes to reach the summit.
Most of them moved with participants from the same faction.
Zeke said to Felix and Liam, "Let's move."
Zeke wasted no time in choosing the most treacherous path.
Atlas Mountain was known for its rugged terrain, and Zeke was ascending the steepest route among them.
Edward, observing Zeke and his companions, smirked.
"Tsk, tsk. They seem to have no idea what a survival race is."
He leisurely opened the front pocket of his backpack.
Unlike other participants, his pocket contained a map.
It was a map that marked all the traps and the locations of necessary supplies.
He grinned as he looked at the map.
'Struggle all you want, you fools.'
Edward, leading the other participants who followed the Siemens clan, started moving according to the route marked on the map.
***
"Liam, Felix. Empty your backpacks."
Zeke spoke to Liam and Felix after they had climbed for a while.
Inside the backpacks were a water bottle, dried food, and simple camping gear.
Zeke took a small sip of the water and a bite of the food.
[A small amount of red fly agaric poison has been detected.]
[The effect of the constitution "Poison immunity" negates the poison's effect.]
As he expected, the water and food were poisoned.
'It's not enough to kill, but if I eat this, I'll need a week to recover.'
Even for a Purple Knight, being poisoned was troublesome.
Zeke took out Agamemnon's Golden Mask from his inventory, held it in his hand, and used the Purification skill.
[Removes poison with the power of purification.]
Although he couldn't use the power of Greater Purification without wearing the mask, he could still use the Purification skill.
After securing the purified water and food, Zeke activated his map and used the navigation function to check their route.
Then he examined the traces left on the ground.
'Judging by the traces of excrement and footprints, they should be over there.'
Zeke deliberately delved deeper into the mountains.
And he found a cave hidden in the mountains.
He unceremoniously sent Felix inside the cave.
"Eek!"
Felix, who had gone inside, suddenly screamed in surprise and ran out.
"Roar!"
Soon, a giant grizzly bear emerged from the cave.
While Felix was panicking with his dagger, Zeke threw his dagger and hit the grizzly bear precisely between the eyes.
Thud!
The bear collapsed at once, shaking the ground.
Up close, it was so large that it felt like a small hill.
Zeke pulled his dagger from the bear's forehead.
Then he said to Liam and Felix,
"Liam, hold that side. Felix, go gather some fresh branches. We're going to skin it and tan the hide."
Zeke skillfully used his dagger to skin the bear.
Then he divided the bear hide into three pieces, placed them on poles, and started smoking them.
Felix, who was following his instructions, asked Zeke,
"M-Master, what are you doing?"
Zeke looked at Felix and said,
"Have you ever climbed to the top of Atlas Mountain?"
Liam and Felix shook their heads.
Zeke recalled his experience from his past life.
He had taken Atlas Mountain lightly and climbed it casually, only to almost lose his hands and feet to frostbite.
'If it weren't for the healing skill, I would have surely died.'
Atlas Mountain wasn't cold at the bottom, but the temperature dropped sharply as you climbed higher.
The summit was always covered in snow, and most people thought they could just prepare near the top, but the cold was harsh even before reaching the summit.
Seeing that there were no cold-weather gear in the backpack, Zeke immediately decided to hunt a bear, skin it, and make cold-weather gear.
'It would be a big mistake to just climb up there.'
Moreover, there were 'those things' on the upper parts of Atlas Mountain.
Zeke started tanning the smoked hide by applying bear fat to it.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and apply it, Felix."
The three sat side by side, tanning the bear hide.
***
Atlas Mountain was a considerably rugged and tall mountain.
However, for trained knights, climbing the mountain itself wasn't very difficult.
Reina climbed the mountain with the participants who followed the Turunn clan, using a pre-planned route.
As the cold set in, they took out the cold-weather gear that had been prepared in advance along the route and put it on before continuing their ascent.
Despite their preparations, the group was momentarily taken aback by the sudden expanse of snow they encountered as they climbed higher.
They had heard about it, but seeing it in person was different.
The chill pierced through their cold-weather gear.
Just then, something approached Reina and her companions from the snowy field.
"What is that...?"
Reina was startled when she realized what it was.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]