As long as the stars shone within one’s heart, one could never lose their path.
Even when deceit and betrayal cast their shadows—when the intricate web of factional interests seemed impossible to untangle—there would be no aimless wandering, so long as one’s priorities remained steadfast.
Silently, unwaveringly, one had to press on, doing only what must be done—nothing more, nothing less.
“From the left, we have the Goddess’ Shield! Renowned as the most unyielding knight, the Paladin of the Church of the Goddess—Nouvelle──!!”
Nouvelle, a member of the Cardinal Faction.
Boom, booom──! Clank.
Like a moving fortress, the Paladin entered the arena, his massive body encased in thick armor. Towering over two meters tall, he carried an enormous shield on his left arm—so large it seemed to swallow him whole.
In his right hand, he carried a standard-sized mace. Yet, given his massive size, it looked almost like a toy in his grasp. However, its destructive potential was an entirely different matter.
According to insider sources, Nouvelle had not yet achieved Metamorphosis. Perhaps this defensive strategy was devised as a precaution against opponents who had already reached that level.
Or, it could have been tailored to counter ‘Kravellin Render,’ the exiled Flame Wizard widely regarded as a tournament favorite. A robust defense would be crucial to withstand his Fire Magic.The strategy was obvious from the get-go: endure with shield and armor, then retaliate with the mace at close range. A battle plan rooted in sheer resilience.
And facing him was––
“From the right, we have the young swordsman who serves as the protector of the Saintess of the Church of the Goddess! Bennett Hilton──!! Huh?!”
Stepping into the spotlight, he entered the arena—a battleground where clashing interests were settled with steel. This was the Tournament of Immutability, and this was the round of 32.
He had a single purpose── to crush the Church of the Goddess’s schemes and save Tara.
To do that, he needed to easily tear through every obstacle in his path. The trials blocking his path would only grow more difficult.
Chiiiiink.
Bennett tightened his grip on his weapon.
The announcer couldn’t hide his surprise as he commented. The weapon in Bennett’s hands was completely different from what had been reported.
“Bennett Hilton is known as a swordsman, but… what he’s holding⋯⋯ its a strange weapon! Is that a chain⋯⋯ connected to a scythe?!”
“I know the longsword is your true specialty, Bennett. Though we may belong to different factions, we are both servants of the Goddess. Face me seriously, without mockery.”
Otherwise──”
Chiink, cliiink.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I’m not underestimating you, Nouvelle. But if I want to win this tournament⋯⋯ this is my only choice.”
“So, in the end, you’re saying… even without your main weapon, you can overcome someone at my level. Is that it, Bennett?”
Crunnch.
Boom, booom, booom──!!
A low, grating sound came from within Nouvelle’s helmet—teeth grinding together. Then began to rotate his mace before charging forward like a tank that had locked on to its target.
“And that, Bennett, is what it means to look down on someone──!!”
“I have nothing to say if you see it that way, but⋯⋯!!”
Cliiiiiink!
The chain scythe twisted through the air like a serpent.
To understand why Bennett abandoned his Metamorphosis 『Guardian’s Dream』 and stepped into the arena wielding a weapon he had never used before, we need to go back one week.
Everything began with Crazy Wizard’s plan.
===============================================================
After witnessing the dirty schemes of both factions, I spent most of my time as a tournament junkie—practically living in the stands, watching every match all day long.
Because of that, I became friends with some rich guy—B-something—who was obsessed with duels, and S-something, a farmer who had taken a year off because his crops had failed. The farmer guy had decided to make the most of his break by not working at all.
I watched and analyzed every fight between the weaklings, and when the matches ended, we tournament junkies would link arms and and go to taverns to play vs games.
“Weren’t you just fucking around?”
“No, I wasn’t!”
I worked hard. Even if I had my own masterpiece stories running through my head, I knew better than to be lazy and neglect ideas that other people had.
Because of that effort, I was able to grasp the general flow of the tournament—it was a violent, unpredictable current, and was too rough for any normal fight.
I needed a countermeasure.
I immediately summoned the Bennett Party and started an emergency strategy meeting.
“Finally it’s our turn⋯⋯! I was beginning to wonder if everything would be resolved without us lifting a finger. Just what strings did you pull with the Imperial family and the Grand Duke of the North?”
[Um, Professor… I just wanted to say thank you for helping us so much. It really feels like we’re getting closer to saving Tara.]
“Are we going to enter the tournament now? Or do you have some other plan?”
It was good to see them all being so eager.
Bennett was dressed like a proper hero, and his once-gloomy expression had brightened slightly, which was nice to see. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his harem life.
Tara maintained her usual striking outfit as always. Since it would be rude to openly stare at another man’s heroine like that, I mentally applied a filter on my eyes to mosaic her out of courtesy.
Niolle kept her hood pulled low, looking gloomy. Beneath the hood’s shadow, her eyes quietly reflected both deep affection for Bennett and faint, shifting patterns.
Overall, the Bennett Party seemed somewhat elated. They weren’t overconfident in their victory, but there was a certain excitement in their hearts—like a light illuminating the path ahead.
I understood. After all, hadn’t an amazing and capable magician just stepped in to take charge? But this was no time even slightly slack off!
I spoke seriously.
“Would you believe there’s a Metamorphosis ability that can affect an entire city?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”
The Metamorphosis of Duke Red Flavor—『Lantern of Foresight』.
It was believed that the Lantern of Foresight could spread misfortune in proportion to the amount of information it gathered beforehand, and its range was assumed to be limitless.
So far, the known countermeasures were disrupting its information flow or overloading it. Back during the Cicel vs. Doll battle, I had somehow managed to block the Lantern’s effect, and I figured a similar result could probably be achieved with an information bomb.
And since the Lantern’s reach would undoubtedly extend to Bennett’s party—who had been deeply involved in the 『Reformist Faction』 for a long time—their abilities and intel would already be well-documented.
We needed to break through this unfair disadvantage.
“⋯⋯did think something felt off about the matches. But I never imagined there could be a Metamorphosis that manipulates ‘fate’—without even using mana.”
“How could you guess that, Bennett? If someone said that, the first thing people would do is check if they’d lost their mind. That’s like claiming there’s a Metamorphosis that can suddenly change someone’s gender from male to female.”
[But the Professor wouldn’t bring it up without reason⋯⋯ this is tricky. How are we supposed to fight against fate?]
Bennett’s party murmured amongst themselves, clearly unsettled. It was understandable. This was world-class cheating. But they weren’t alone. I was here.
And I would guide them with the wisdom of the ancient sages.
“It’s amateurish to try and fight the ability head-on. What we need to target isn’t the arrow after it’s fired—but the bow before it’s drawn.”
“You mean… we should attack the conditions of the Metamorphosis ability?”
“Exactly! We need to contaminate the information, flooding it with so much conflicting data that it becomes unreadable.”
“But how do we do that? Even if we spread false rumors about ourselves, Duke Redburn would obviously cross-check and filter everything he hears. We don’t have time to prepare a convincing disinformation campaign.”
That was the orthodox perspective.
And orthodoxy is shattered by radical action.
“First, we’ll completely overhaul our combat styles.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”
“Let’s use strange weapons—ones the enemy has never seen before—in every round. You climbed the Tower too, Bennett, so you should know. Chain scythes, Battōjutsu, gun kata⋯⋯.”
“Wait. That’s all theoretical. It takes time to master any weapon group—let alone use it to defeat strong candidates. It’s impossible.”
Right. Time was the issue.
If I had that much time, we could just easily spread misinformation.
──But what if we created more time? By using the power of simulation and time acceleration?
“⋯⋯You’re saying you’ll throw us into another world again—to help us win the tournament?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
[⋯⋯⋯⋯.]
The color drained from their faces. Their past experience—the Cthulhu session filled with tentacle monsters and fanatics—was probably flashing through their minds.
Their end goal was to save Tara.
But if they traumatized her in the process, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? That seemed to be their main concern.
Of course, this was just a misunderstanding. I had zero intention of putting them through another existential horror trip while raising weapon proficiency in a gap session. If they had already seen their happy ending, they should just live well.
“It will be as comfortable as the Tower of Trials.”
“That wasn’t particularly comfortable either⋯⋯ still, if it’s just repeated combat, I could definitely train enough to beat opponents below my level.”
[Will the three of us climb together again this time? It might not fit the situation, but I’m a little excited. It was really fun back then.]
That was Plan No.1.
Using weapon-switching to scramble the『Lantern of Foresight』.
And—
“Saintess Tara will not be participating. I have other plans for her. Huhuhu⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯Ha? Are you saying you’re just going to leave Bennett and Niolle alone together? That’s unfair!”
That’s what bothers you?
[Don’t worry Tara, we’ll only go a little bit further.]
“Yes, we’ll only progress a little bit, so there’s no need to be impatient.”
“⋯⋯But you’re still going to make progress anyway, Bennett-!!”
“It’s just a matter of time. There’s no need to hurry. It’s a place you’ll reach too. Trust me—and wait.”
The instant those words left his mouth, Tara’s rebellion was instantly suppressed. Watching this unfold, I suddenly felt the urge to ask— What exactly did he mean by ‘reach’ and how he could make such a judgment, but⋯⋯
If I said ‘I want to become a giga chad sigma harem master like Bennett” right now, my entire image would shatter.
Instead, I quietly recorded this secret technique in my mental notebook. I should copy it exactly when a similar situation comes up.
Thank you Bennett⋯⋯!
“So, why did you call me out separately⋯⋯ Professor?”
“Up until now, we’ve been handling Duke Red Flavor. But we need to prepare countermeasures for the Cardinal Faction’s schemes as well⋯⋯ and you’re perfect for that.”
“Me?”
“Yes. There’s someone who wants to meet you. They’re a person of high status, so purify yourself and prepare your mind. Oh, and by the way—it’s a woman.”
Tara narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously, so I quickly added the person’s gender. I planned to have her meet ‘Heart,’ who was an Angel and the Goddess’s representative.
I judged it would be easier to develop the story that way.
I hadn’t yet told Bennett’s party the full truth—that ‘the Goddess is a machine being manipulated by the Cardinal Faction.’ I kept that from them for Tara’s sake. After all, she hated the Goddess.
If she found out that the ‘Goddess of Machinery’ was nothing more than an accident caused by greedy humans, she would probably want to tear the Cardinal Faction apart ten times over.
That much would be fine.
But anger is painful. Expressing it doesn’t diminish it—it spreads. She had already awakened her Metamorphosis because she blamed herself for Bennett losing his arm. I didn’t want to add more stress to that.
So.
I wanted to⋯⋯ provide some mental care. To let her feel anger—but not let anger become her purpose.
“⋯⋯Fine then. When and where do I need to go?”
“They’ll find you. If possible, be somewhere high up.”
This was Plan No. 2.
Deliberately growing a Saintess to counter the Cardinal Faction.
===============================================================
And then, there was Plan No.3. It was still incomplete, but its purpose was to counter the Goddess’s『Cogwheel』. Something was enveloping this Holy City. Something invisible. I had discovered it through careful observation.
The effect was similar to the Lantern of Foresight.
Candidates favored by the Cardinal Faction would experience good fortune, while their opponents would suffer misfortune. They could probably assign other effects too, but they seemed to restrain themselves—since anything too blatant would be obvious.
Since this power was manifested by controlling a god, it should have surpassed the Lantern of Foresight. But it wasn’t at full power because the ones operating it were bug-spreading coding noobs.
Still. Its output was always constant. And I hadn’t yet discovered the conditions that triggered it.
Yes. I still couldn’t find the trigger. But I could speculate.
The Goddess was close to a mechanical device. And the current Goddess’s system was surprisingly simple. Then, it would make sense if the『Cogwheel』 functioned like a basic conditional statement.
“If A, then B.”
And since the applied effects were fortune and misfortune…
“If/When A, fortune follows.”
“If/When B, misfortune follows”
Maybe there were two types like this.
I could confirm the exact conditions by getting my arm sizzled by『Divine Punishment』 one more time, but there were other ways to find out even without something like that.
Grinding.
Step step step step step step-!
Hundreds of holograms stood at attention in a narrow underground warehouse.
All of them were Heart. Because, well, it wouldn’t be very motivating to work with the gloomy base model, right?
They were going to try every possible human motion. Repeatedly. Through this, we would uncover every conditional statement that applied to movement.
“I’ll take the holograms on the left of this centerline. You handle the ones on the right—start with the basic sitting position.”
“⋯⋯Why didn’t you call the Tower Master?”
“Yuna is a baby and she doesn’t have the fine control needed for this. We need to take care of her.”
“Can’t you take care of me once a year too, you fucking bastard?”
Depends on how well you do.
And so, I started grinding.
***
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