Even if the competition made no sense, Layla needed to keep going. She needed to keep her eyes on her goal and participate in this competition.

The competition was fierce, with participants falling in the ranking by the second. In just an hour, only 30 remained.

Layla had come across a few noble kids who seemed to be struggling. The pressure this place was casting on these kids was immense, and Layla quickly climbed a tree to get herself out of the spell range.

As soon as she climbed high enough, the pressure she felt lightened.

Her new position also allowed Layla enough advantage to cast spells at her opponents and knock them back.

The poor kids had no chance against her when she got serious.

The numbers dropped even further, and only 20 kids soon remained.

As soon as the counter hit 20, the number became stable again, and there were no more drops.

Layla waited for about two hours before she decided that she needed to move from her hiding space.

She cast an invisibility spell on herself as she hid in the tree. A small group of noble kids (5) passed through where she was.

They also used the branches as stepping stones, but there was a difference between these kids and Layla.

Layla found this solution herself, while these kids looked like they had a leader guiding them.

When Layla looked closer, she was not surprised to see that it was a familiar face.

'Looks like Daidus Lukewater has a small burden attached to him now. I wish him the best of luck.'

The pointed ears poking out from behind those golden locks gave away this kid's identity. He also had a mature air around him compared to other kids.

He was a good choice to follow as a leader, but Layla had no interest in letting someone else take charge.

"What do we do now, Lord Lukewater? It looks like the number has stopped moving. How do we get it to go down? Don't tell me that we will have to wait."

One of the follower kids asked in a scared voice.

He and the other kids in Daidus Lukewater's party knew they were weak and would be the first ones to go when it was time for number thinning.

That was why they tried to act pitifully and gain someone's protection.

That was the right move for these kids, as pathetic as it was. It was the only way they could hope to win here.

"Don't worry about it. We are not the only ones who are impatient here. Others will try to get the number down once they realize it is not going down. We just need to wait for a while.

Why don't you all go ahead and take a rest? I will look around here and then come to join you."

The elf asked the kids, and they all looked scared. But they were exhausted, so they trusted him and quickly walked away.

Daidus Lukewater kept looking at them leave with a small sigh. Only once they were gone did he turn to look at where Layla was hiding.

"I am sorry, but I cannot pinpoint your exact location, but I know you are here. Can you come out so that we can talk for a moment? I want to offer you a truce."

The half-elf asked in a calm voice.

He was patient with Layla, and he kept his cool. That was the only reason Layla left her hiding spot and decided to talk to him.

Layla was fast enough to run if things got dicey for her.

"What do you want from me? I doubt that you called me out simply to make small talk. So, speak! What do you want from me."

Layla kept her head up, and she refused to cower. She watched as the future Duke flinched at her harsh tone.

"Do you…not know who I am?"

The kid asked in a breathy voice. It seemed he had difficulty accepting that someone had been rude to him just now.

That was why the half-elf sounded as if he was in disbelief. He felt as if he had been disrespected for the first time in his life.

"I know who you are, but why does that matter? Besides, you are the one who called me here. What did you expect me to do?"

Layla asked, and Daidus bit his lip.

He knew that Layla was right. He had called out to Layla, so he was responsible for carrying on this conversation. She was under no obligation toward him or his goals.

That knocked the sense back into this kid, and he also decided to extend his offer to Layla.

"I see! What you say makes a lot of sense. Well, I came here to extend my hand toward you. I want to ask you to join my group. With your power, we can make it to the next round safely. So come and follow me."

The elf bragged as he held his hand out for Layla to take. He looked confident that Layla would not say 'no' to him.

But Layla continued to look at the man in front of her with a blank face.

The more she just looked at him without doing anything, the more nervous the elf felt. He had never had anyone just looking at him like this before.

And when Layla did open her mouth, her question floored the young duke.

"Why? Why should I help you out? There is no merit in having them all become my competition in the next round. Or do you want to ease your competition in the next round? Well, that can be a good reason to help weaklings out."

Layla asked the young duke, who looked flabbergasted. He had never been asked this, nor had his authority been questioned thus far.

He asked someone to jump; they usually asked how high.

But faced with Layla's logic, he felt as if he had been stumped. He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

"I…isn't this-"