Copy Skills with Affinity!

Chapter 109

Tournament (2)

"...That's brutal."

That was what Aiden muttered after scanning his surroundings.

The clashing of weapons was already erupting from all directions.

No one had likely claimed a significant amount of territory yet, but at the very least, everyone now had their own 'starting point.'

It meant many had judged that taking out the weak early and expanding their territory quickly would be advantageous. That’s why things were already turning this intense right from the start.

‘I didn’t expect things to overheat this much from the beginning…’

The real competition would begin only after people started actually gaining ground.

There would be those aiming for succession from the start and waging all-out war, of course, but there would also be people lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike at the end. All sorts of people would come out of the woodwork.

Even this overheated atmosphere was just a prelude.

It was probably because everyone understood the subtext behind the Pontiff’s words.

This succession ceremony would render all ‘previously’ accumulated power meaningless.

Everyone would compete on equal footing, with identical conditions.

Only those with real skill could take the lead...

‘...What are you thinking, that man?’

In any case, from Aiden’s perspective—who had stepped into this mess to prevent people from dying—such an overheated environment wasn’t exactly welcome.

In that sense,

perhaps the very first person he ran into after the tournament began might’ve been the most effective means of cooling things down.

“...”

“...”

Julius and Aiden blinked as their eyes met. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Neither of them had expected to run into someone like this right at the start.

“...Why are you alone?”

Despite being the key figure in this succession ceremony, Julius was now completely alone. No one was with him; it was just him and Aiden, face to face.

“I was just on my way to find my companions...”

Julius responded awkwardly, glancing at Aiden.

Then, seeing Aiden immediately prepare his weapon, a cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

“...Wait. Are you serious?”

“I don’t plan to actually kill you.”

Aiden continued calmly.

“But I figured if I could eliminate you early, the others who follow you might give up on participating too.”

Compared to other factions, the royal members following Julius were especially loyal. For some of them, Julius becoming Pontiff was far more important than doing it themselves.

And if Julius could be eliminated early, reducing their numbers, a great deal of unnecessary combat could be prevented. Simple logic.

"...Tch."

Realizing that his opponent was serious, Julius immediately drew his sword from his waist.

▣

The medals he once wore in abundance, dangling from his clothes, were not just for show—Julius was quite confident in his own combat abilities.

He wasn’t someone blessed with dazzling talent like Alester, but the skills he had forged through countless real battles weren’t to be taken lightly.

His strength wasn’t deep in any one area, but his balanced abilities across various fields combined into a solid overall combat capability.

In that sense—

‘...I’m not going down that easily.’

He had seen Aiden Kellermain’s power during the preliminaries. That monstrous might was said to have been possible only because Aiden was using multiple supernatural abilities.

And knowing that was his limit meant he was now a manageable opponent. Julius was the type to always find a way to win.

In fact, on his way here, he had confidently dealt with over a dozen royal competitors who had ambushed him, defeating them with ease.

He might not be on the level of monsters like Alester or Milene, but he was certainly one of the top 1%—a clear genius in his own right.

So, at the very least, he should be able to fight on equal footing.

…That was what he believed up until one minute ago.

‘—This guy’s a monster!’

As his sword bounced back with a numbing sting in his hand, Julius broke out in a cold sweat.

A cold gleam flickered at the tip of Aiden Kellermain’s sword, sending chills down his spine.

That had been after Aiden deflected a full-power strike from Julius without even taking a single step back.

The divine power contained in the liquid metal burned with a white flame—a light he had never seen in his life.

“Are you going to continue?”

“…”

Aiden’s calm voice gently urged surrender.

Julius clenched his teeth and grabbed his trembling arm.

He had just exhausted every combat strategy he could think of against Aiden.

Close-quarters skirmishing? Like just now, he was repelled before he could even react.

Long-range bombardment? Aiden completely overwhelmed him with bursts of supernatural power erupting from that liquid metal.

Aiden stood his ground, heavy and unyielding, pressuring him without budging. He hadn’t even pulled out any particularly flashy moves, yet it felt like he was countering Julius’s every technique as if he had already seen them all before.

‘There’s nothing special about what he’s doing…!’

Was his divine power output extraordinary? No.

Then was it his innate physical ability or strength that was extraordinary? That wasn’t it either.

Even being generous, Aiden’s natural fundamentals barely reached the average level of a superhuman. Compared to the monsters mentioned earlier—those who gave off an overwhelming presence—he was downright unimpressive.

However, in terms of his sense for utilizing his abilities in the right place at the right time, this man's level of mastery was extraordinarily seasoned.

It was almost funny.

Julius, the one flaunting a chest full of medals, was being utterly outclassed in his greatest strength—his combat instincts—by this man!

‘—He’s strong. I need to go all out!’

With a hardened expression, Julius made up his mind, and a strange supernatural energy flowed through his body.

‘…Runes?’

Aiden narrowed his eyes as he noticed glowing symbols etched across Julius’s body.

Inscription magic—an ancient technique that engraved pictographs onto one’s spirit body to alter the properties of supernatural abilities.

Much like the mana Aiden wielded from Morrigan, it was a power that had long disappeared into history. A technique believed to be extinct.

For a royal of any nation to be using something like this—at best, it was unconventional; at worst, it bordered on heresy.

As expected, everyone had some hidden trump card.

Whether it was Alester, Milene, this guy, or any other dark horse seriously aiming for succession—

Soon, a unique energy infused itself into Julius’s divine power through the glowing symbol on his body.

ᛞ

A rune symbolizing transformation and destruction was now infused into his divine power.

The divine power flowing through Julius’s body gained a new quality—brightness.

It resembled the radiance of Mana Arts, but this was far more intense and destructive in nature.

It felt like an already offensively-oriented supernatural ability had been enhanced with raw physical destructive force.

The problem was—

-System Message

▶ Activating ‘Skill: The Purifier.’

—Julius wasn’t the only one hiding something.

The moment his divine power shot toward Aiden and struck the ‘barrier’ that had manifested before him, Julius’s eyes widened in shock as the attack vanished without a trace.

‘…Just now.’

It hadn’t just been blocked.

One might assume the barrier was simply stronger and withstood the blow, but this wasn’t a case of lacking firepower—it had erased the attack entirely without resistance. That was an entirely different issue.

‘…This guy too…!’

He was still hiding countless cards. Just like Julius himself!

Julius’s expression hardened as he came to that realization.

“So.”

“Are you going to continue?”

“…”

Julius’s expression grew even stiffer.

Seeing that, Aiden let out a deep breath and adjusted his stance again.

They had both revealed one card each. It was time for the next—

“I forfeit.”

“…?”

“I give up. You win. You can have all the territory I own.”

Aiden frowned as he looked at his opponent.

He wanted to confirm if he’d really heard that correctly, but Julius’s face still held that familiar drooping gaze and languid smile.

As if he truly had no will left to fight.

‘This guy…’

Aiden stared him down.

Despite being completely pushed back the entire time, Julius hadn’t revealed the final card he had hidden up his sleeve.

As if he thought it was better to let himself be defeated once rather than expose the rest of his hand.

“…”

This man…

He was hiding something. That much was certain.

Something even more secretive than the rune he had just shown.

But rather than press him further, Aiden respectfully withdrew his sword.

Even Julius raised an eyebrow in surprise at that.

“I told you, I’m not here to kill you.”

Matching his gaze, Aiden replied with calm detachment.

“Having you and your faction forfeit is enough for now.”

He was curious about what Julius was hiding, but right now, preserving his strength to prevent further incidents during the tournament took priority.

If anything, having Julius bow out like this was a welcome outcome for Aiden.

Apparently surprised by Aiden’s reaction, Julius stared at him for a while before speaking with a voice tinged with genuine awkwardness.

“…Thanks.”

And he clearly meant it.

-System Message

▶ Target ‘Julius’ has increased Affection.

▶ You may copy 1 skill!

…Oh.

This was a jackpot.

Even just that rune Aiden had seen was a type of supernatural ability he’d never encountered before. He didn’t know exactly how effective it would be, but it was definitely worth studying.

“By the way, can I ask you something?”

As he was thinking that, Julius suddenly spoke.

“I always thought, among the royals, I had the most real combat experience under my belt.”

“That’s true.”

And it wasn’t wrong. Julius’s combat instincts and all-around experience were top-tier. Among young royals of his generation, he was a seasoned veteran with no equal.

Seeing Aiden calmly agree, Julius narrowed his eyes.

“…Then how are you operating on a level that completely surpasses mine? What in the world kind of training did you go through?”

Well.

Aiden didn’t know what kind of answer Julius was expecting, but he could only be honest.

“Dying about a hundred thousand times.”

“…What?”

“There’s something like that.”

…Truly.

There was nothing else he could say.

▣

So. While it was good that he had just taken out the biggest potential threat—

He immediately ran into another one.

“Hey.”

“…Hello.”

Aiden offered a polite greeting without any unnecessary words.

Well.

His whole body was already screaming with danger signals.

His battle-hardened senses, forged through countless real fights, were sounding every alarm—they were telling him just how ‘dangerous’ the person before him was.

Without a doubt—

In terms of ‘lethal threat,’ not even Noel or Katya had ever triggered this kind of feeling in him.

“…Been doing well?”

Yet, the tone coming from this person was bafflingly peaceful for someone so dangerous.

He already knew who had created this kind of tension in the air.

Aiden turned stiffly to the one awkwardly greeting him with a hardened expression.

“…Hello, Princess Milene.”

“Mm.”

After a brief pause, the armored woman quietly opened her mouth.

“So, I’ve been thinking. About what you said before.”

“Sorry?”

“Would you like to come with me for a while?”

“…”

…Huh.

Good thing Noel and Katya weren’t nearby.