At a small clearing, a few people were gathered. Keith looked around at the gathering and he was somehow sure that these were the people who passed the second round by finding tickets.

He could see Luna standing on the other side. But the other female ignored him for the most part.

Other than Luna, there were five more people in this gathering. That made up 9 people (if you count Sara) who found the ticket during this round. So, seven more random people would be selected from the other bracket.

[Hello everyone. Now that you have all gathered here, it is time I show myself.]

Keith looked up to see Sara running into the opening. Sara's presence attracted everyone's attention toward her. And Keith was sure Sara's young age had painted a target on her back.

But as much attention as Sara had gained from her last-minute entry, it was nothing compared to the white-masked man. As soon as he appeared, everyone turned to look up at him.

"Ah, look at all these lovely people standing below me. It surprises me to see you all."

The white-masked man jested but no one was happy with his jokes. It caused the white-masked man's mood to worsen and they all could hear it in his voice.

"Look at all of you, cold-hearted people. Not even one bothered to greet me with respect. But I guess it must come with being great people. After all, you managed to cross the second round."

The white-masked man continued. He looked over the group of people and Keith was sure that unseen face lingered at him a little longer than everyone else.

"Well, I have some good news for you. You all can take a small break before the start of the third round. The third round will start in roughly a month and you will be informed of it."

There was a universal groan of disbelief. No one wanted to delay the third round anymore. But they could also not go against their host's decision.

Somehow, Keith had seen this coming. He already knew this was a possibility. So, he was neither surprised nor disappointed when this was announced.

"Hey host, do you think we all have a lot of free time to come running to you whenever you want us to? We have our priorities as well."

One of the men yelled as he complained from his position. His protest made other people want to stand up as well.

But Keith could tell that the white-masked man was not troubled in the least. Instead, he was amused and ready to tear into the speaker.

"Oh, so you have other priorities. Then maybe you should attend those instead. We can always have one of the others take your place in the top 16."

The white-masked man snapped his fingers and suddenly, the person who complained cried out in pain. His body twisted suddenly, and before anyone knew it, the complaining man died a sudden death.

Everyone was shocked at what suddenly happened. But the white-masked man looked rather bored at the display.

"Ah, this is bad. I accidentally killed someone. I am so lucky that it possible death due to unavoidable circumstances was in the contract, right? And this was certainly unexpected."

Now that everyone had seen such a great display of power and authority, they no longer wished to complain.

And it was not like everyone had been opposed to the idea of having a late third round from the start.

"Alright, so it feels like we are all on the same page now. And that means we will be meeting again soon."

The white-masked man disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared. But he had left behind a group of confused and terrified people.

For a second, no one moved. No one knew what to do and how they should treat a dead body. They did not even know the identity of this dead person. So, they had no way to contact anyone on his behalf.

Keith was about to suggest to Amelia that they should leave as well, but she started moving toward the dead body instead. 

"Amelia, what do you think you are doing? Do you want to get caught up in whatever mess this person was caught up in? Think about your circumstances a little bit."

It was Sara who tried to stop Amelia but Amelia did not listen to him.

She kneeled in front of the deformed dead body and places her hand on the man's chest. Then she picked her hand back up and uttered a small prayer.

Everyone watched Amelia do this with mixed emotions. Most people could not help but think of her as a fool. But some admired her kind nature as well.

"I am sorry for delaying our return. But I could not help but feel bad for this man. He did nothing wrong to deserve being killed in this horrifying way. So, I wanted to pray for his well-being."

Sara picked herself up once she was finished speaking. Seeing her pray, everyone else felt ashamed of their behavior as well. 

Most of the people in this clearing had been happy when this man had stepped out to take the punishment for something they wanted to ask as well. But Amelia's words caused them to feel guilty.

For a few moments at least.

Then they went back to normal and their brains convinced them that what happened was for the better.

"If you are done Amelia, then we should head out. Suddenly, we have a lot of free time on our hands. So, can I take your offer of visiting the Mystica guild? I want to see what all the hype is about."

Sara did not even give Amelia time to stand up before she asked this. She was excited and planning such a thing for a long time now.

Amelia considered Sara's words and then shrugged her shoulder. She did not mind Sara coming with her for a tour. And Amelia had offered her this tour so she could not complain.

"Fine by me. If you want to come with me, then you can. What about you Noah? Will you be coming back with me as well?"

Amelia asked this with hopeful eyes. But Keith ignored her eyes and looked away. He could not go back with Amelia.

"Ah, that would be a little bit difficult for me. You see, I have some work to do and I do not think I will have the time."

Both Sara and Amelia were taken aback by his words. Usually, people jumped at the chance of being able to visit the Mystica guild. They did not reject such a nice offer.

But not only had Keith declined Amelia's offer, but he had also shown no visible excitement.

Amelia could not help but feel like something was wrong with Keith. But she did not say anything to him. After all, she did not want to make things awkward with Keith before the third round.

"Oi Noah, are you serious? This is the Mystica guild we are talking about. You know, the one with the grandmaster! Do you not want to see the grandmaster in person? It would be your only chance to."

Sara complained and Keith looked away once more.

After all, how could he dare to meet himself? And if he ever met a copy of himself, then things would end up in disaster. 

"I have met the grandmaster before so I think I can pass this time. Besides, the work I need to do is urgent and it cannot be put on hold. I hope you understand what I want to say."

Keith tried to make any excuses he could. But his excuse of having met the grandmaster before proved to be the most helpful.

A look of understanding flashed across Sara and Amelia's faces and they finally backed down.

"Ah, I see. So that is why you have no desire to go meet the grandmaster. You have already basked in his glow once."

Sara nodded her head in understanding. She was behaving like she had found the truth to the most difficult puzzle in this world. 

On the other hand, Amelia was still quiet. But her eyes were vigilant suddenly. She was looking Keith up and down before she nodded.

"Alright. Then we shall go our separate ways. I hope we get to meet in the next round as well."

Amelia waved her hand as Keith took his leave. He just wanted to get out of the difficult position he has dug himself into.

As soon as Keith was out of the forest, his phone rang. The number was unknown and the caller had also called his new phone.

So, Keith picked it up quickly.

"G-Grandmaster, we have an emergency. I know you are out on some personal errand, but can you swing by Blooming Lotus Guild? We would appreciate it a lot."

It was Master Hana's call and Keith now had a decision to make.