The arena roared with the kind of thunderous excitement that made the ground vibrate beneath the contestants' feet. Spectators packed the towering stands, faces blurred by distance but their cheers unmistakably directed at the grand spectacle unfolding below. Flags waved, enchantments shimmered across the battlefield to prevent lethal injuries — emphasis on "lethal," because everything else was fair game — and somewhere, a magical chicken (from a previous quest) was inexplicably selling fried drumsticks.
This was the final stage of the Guild War Trials. A culmination of weeks of battles, strategy, missteps, sabotage, victories, heartbreak, fusions gone wrong, squirrel-related incidents, and a lot of emotional tension so thick it could be cut with a dagger. One hundred guilds had entered. Now, only four remained. Among them… somehow… was Linked Hearts.
They were the underdogs. The laughingstock at the beginning. A fake guild with a weird name, led by a guy most people thought was a joke. Until he kept winning. And now, standing on the battlefield in mismatched armor and an expression somewhere between confused and terrified, that same guy was being announced by magical speakers that boomed his name into the heavens.
"AND REPRESENTING LINKED HEARTS… THE 'HAREM KING' HIMSELF…!"
MC winced. "Can we not call me that during official events?"
Lina, already bristling with energy beside him, just grinned. "Embrace the brand, dummy."
Kaela, seated on her massive boar, rolled her eyes. "You've got worse titles, trust me."
Iris, calm as ever, adjusted her gloves. "It doesn't matter what they call us. We win. That's all."
MC forced a smile. "Right. We win. Totally. I mean, sure, I'm the leader of a real guild now. People look up to me. Depend on me. Base their strategies around my calls. No pressure."
He was spiraling. Internally. Externally, he looked like a slightly lost tourist with a sword.
The opposing team, "The Blazing Tyrants," stood across the arena like a wall of flames. Their leader, a smug, fire-wielding prodigy named Blaze (yes, really), sneered at them. "Ready to lose again, King of Clowns?"
MC opened his mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again. "Did you just call yourself Blaze? Like… your real name is Blaze?"
"Shut up and fight," Blaze snapped.
The horn sounded.
And chaos began.
The battle was nothing short of cinematic. Firestorms clashed with frozen barriers. Lightning arced across the battlefield. Giant boars charged into summoned golems. Kaela was riding her beast like a war goddess. Iris flickered through time, reversing injuries, dodging spells before they were cast. Lina, eyes ablaze, went head-to-head with the Tyrants' vanguard in a clash of raw will and flame.
And MC?
MC was hiding behind a decorative statue, panting.
"Okay," he whispered to himself. "Breathe. You've done this before. Kind of. Sort of. Accidentally. Maybe. Just… don't mess up."
A shadow loomed over him. Blaze.
"So this is your strategy? Hide and hope your girlfriends do the work?"
MC looked up, dazed. "No, I—wait, that's not—look, I have tactics, okay?"
Blaze raised his hand, fire swirling. "Let's end this."
Instinct kicked in. MC activated his system skill. It triggered copy.
He didn't know what would happen — the magic wasn't even fully aimed at him yet — but he felt the shift. Fire surged into his palm. His veins burned. His eyes glowed. For a second, he felt what Blaze felt: the roar of flame, the overwhelming heat, the desire to dominate.
And then he panicked and shouted, "FIRE GOO BALL!"
It wasn't elegant. It wasn't refined. But the copied magic exploded out of him in a chaotic, pulsing blast of molten goo that arced like a flaming jellyfish and slammed into Blaze's chest.
There was silence.
Then a very wet splat.
Then Blaze, singed, slimy, and absolutely furious, slipped, tripped on his own melted boot, and fell flat on his back. Unconscious.
The arena went dead quiet.
Then exploded with noise.
"HE WON!?"
"WHAT WAS THAT SPELL!?"
"FIRE GOO BALL?!"
The announcer tried to sound composed. "And… uh… the winner of the duel is… Linked Hearts! The match is over!"
The rest of the Tyrants, seeing their leader out cold and covered in slime, hesitated just long enough for the rest of MC's party to capitalize. It was over in minutes.
Cheers rained down. Magical confetti exploded. A chicken flew by wearing a tiny banner that read BELIEVE IN THE CHAOS.
MC stood in the center, blinking, still holding his hand out like he didn't know what just happened. Because he didn't.
His party rushed to him — Lina grabbed his shoulder and laughed so hard she nearly dropped her sword. "You absolute idiot! You won!"
Kaela raised a brow. "What even was that spell?"
Iris just smiled faintly. "Improvised perfection."
Jax somewhere in the stands shouted, "I TAUGHT HIM THAT!" while spilling his drink.
MC looked around at all of them, the people who had followed him here, who'd grown with him, laughed with him, fought beside him. And he realized something through the pounding in his chest and the echo of cheers.
He was the leader.
Somehow. Some way.
And this wasn't the end.
It was just the beginning.
END OF CHAPTER 46