Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 284: Fighting Korvik?

Sensing Vant’s confidence on the subject, Oli asked, “Do you know a lot about previous winners and competitors?”

“Of the mortal championship? Not really.”

“Ahh... I see,” sighed Oli.

“If you’re trying to learn about that, you can ask Master Zelsh for permission to use his library,” added Vant, catching Oli off guard. “The palace also has a public library but Master Zelsh’s personal study is far superior, that is if you can convince him to share it.”

Nodding slowly, Oli felt a bit more optimistic. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to ask him.”

“Wha bout me? Why no ask me?” Korvik got back up using the table as a crutch. “I cen help too...”

“And how’s that?” Oli asked, teasing Korvik like the others to buy some laughs from around the table.

.....

“CAUSE I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!!!”

Somehow, Korvik pulled off sounding sober for a single, complete sentence. But that sentence rang throughout the banquet hall and filled the ears of representatives across the room.

“Korvik! We already–”

“Why not?”

Before Vant could intercept Korvik’s drunken shout and steer him back into a comical conversation, someone else had spoken up. The voice was feminine and reached everyone in the room without being a shout. Those at Oli’s table quickly spotted the source of the voice and had nothing to say in return.

“If Korvik is willing, then why not let it happen?” Jeminine stated, rephrasing her statement from a moment ago.

“Yeah, why not? It’s not like he’d face a merciless dragon, just a drunk idiot,” added Guadel.

Noticing that the silencing barrier had dissipated, Zelsh sighed, “Stop arguing and interrupting everyone’s meals.”

At the same time, Oli was baffled and uncertain how things had escalated yet again. He hurriedly whispered to Kraz, “How did they hear us?”

“It must have been a one-way barrier...” Kraz answered with the same haste.

Uutrai shrugged and laughed, “Come on, Zelsh. As a host, a good show is necessary. And you can tell that everyone’s curious to see him on display.”

“No, they’re curious why you cut off the formation in the middle of our conversation.”

“Either way, they’re eager to see him,” refuted Uutrai, shrugging again.

Zelsh was about to say more when Treeda lifted a hand and sighed, “Zelsh... You defied the plans which you were a part of in the exhibition and even claimed that the boy was your best candidate, despite his low cultivation. Now, Tempest is nowhere to be found, so why hide him? Are you trying to hide the boy from Zrand and his underlings, or from me?”

Wanting to bite his tongue off, Zelsh kept his poker face while shaking his head.

“If you’re not trying to hide him from me, then why not? Let the boy fight Korvik. He’s drunk so maybe the boy can figure something out,” reasoned Treeda, looking softly at Zelsh. “Your colosseum is in the palace, so we won’t need to go far. And we can take a break from the food and quickly return. Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re not wrong. But–”

“But what?”

Zelsh grinned and lightly bowed his head to the prefecture lord. “I fear that such a match will impede Korvik’s healing. After his match with Drogat, the last thing he would need is a match against someone like Oliver.”

“Are you saying... that the boy might defeat someone a full plane higher than him?” Treeda asked, showing an expression filled with even more intrigue.

Realizing the immediate backfire, Zelsh added, “I don’t think–”

“Korvik won’t lose to a mid-adept! Zelsh, now you’re just acting crazy again,” argued Jeminine, defending the reputation of her first seed. “If that was the case, you would’ve let the boy fight Drogat! I know you’re normally a wise, betting man, so please explain why your logic currently has so many unusual holes!”

“Jeminine, I–”

“Go ahead and answer her,” ordered Treeda.

Getting ganged up on, Zelsh felt that the chances of Oli getting through the night unseen and unnoticed were dwindling fast. Zelsh was half-hoping that the man’s unnoticeable arm land on Zelsh’s shoulders, like he had done during the exhibition. But sadly for Zelsh, he felt no such thing and was left to his own efforts.

“So can the boy defeat Korvik or not? Tell us!” Jeminine prodded again, eager to hear Zelsh’s true opinion.

“Yeah!”

Disregarding Korvik drunken shout in the background, Zelsh sighed and offered a calm answer, “Korvik isn’t ready for Oliver’s aggressive soul arts.”

“You gave an adept aggressive soul arts?!” Jeminine shouted.

Guadel reeled back in shock as well. “You have aggressive soul arts?!”

Fontaine was floored as well, shaking his head in disbelief. “No waaay...”

Treeda and Uutrai were silent for a moment while they nodded to each other. Then, Treeda spoke up, “We can see that he’s studied soul arts, but he has aggressive arts? Not defensive?”

“That’s correct,” responded Zelsh. “And it’s just as you’d expect. He can hide the strength of his soul better than his essence. That’s because he’s even more experienced with his soul arts than his typical cultivation.”

Zelsh was trying to cross the tight wire that was their conversation. And now that the entire banquet hall was listening, he was to be all the more cautious of his every word. He now relied on assumptions based on Oli’s fight against Kraz and was pulling at straws. His poker face would never let anyone know just how stressed he was underneath his skin.

“Then I want to see it.”

“Lord Treeda–”

“Let the boy fight Korvik. I’ll cover all medical expenses and guarantee that Korvik will be fine by the upcoming qualifiers,” continued Treeda.

“But Oliver can’t fully control his soul arts just yet! One wrong move and Korvik may–”

“Jeminine, Korvik has defensive soul arts, yes?” Treeda asked.

Answering immediately, Jeminine nodded, “That’s correct.”

Turning back to Zelsh, Treeda smiled and widened her eyes. “There you have it. Korvik will survive and that’s what matters. We can afford critical treatment for a single mortal if that proves we truly have such a powerful candidate.”