CHAPTER 50: CH:50 FOR A GUILD CARD

☆ ■•••• System Prompt ■•••• ☆

Friendly reminder, Master! Last time at Level 2, your mana cap was 200 and your HP was 1,000!

"Huh? Oh yeah," Dila muttered, shifting her foot slightly over the obsidian ground as the crowd murmured above.

☆ But now... Congratulations on Level 25! ☆

Your stats have skyrocketed to:

→ Mana: 2,500

→ HP: 25,000

Dila blinked.

"Wait, what?! That’s huge!"

☆ Chem. I know, right?~ ☆ Nari chirped proudly.

Before she could say more, the arena suddenly boomed with sound—metal scraping against stone as a thick iron gate slowly creaked open. The entire room fell into a tense hush.

And then he walked in.

Evos.

A massive wall of muscle, veins like vines coiled around biceps the size of boulders. His face was rough, square-jawed, with a scar dragging across his cheek. His eyes glowed faintly red.

Even his steps echoed with heavy thuds across the arena.

He cracked his knuckles and let out a breath like a war drum.

Up above, the Guild Master leaned over the balcony railing, pinching his curled mustache with glee.

"You may use whatever weapon you want, heh heh heh!"

He cackled, clearly enjoying the setup. "In fact..."

He grunted, trying to lift the giant axe beside him—a double-edged monstrosity nearly as tall as a person—and after a few struggling moments (complete with tiny squeaks), he managed to toss it with a clumsy lurch.

The weapon crashed into the ground near Evos with a flash of sparks.

CLANG!

The obsidian beneath it cracked slightly.

BOOM!

Instantly, glowing golden walls of magic surged around the arena.

A dome-shaped barrier locked in place, sealing off the battleground.

Sarios stood up from the audience bench, his voice like thunder.

"NO!! You greedy bastard! If she dies—if she gets hurt—do you even realize who she is?!"

He pointed upward, face serious and sharp as a sword.

"The king will hunt you. Exonory king will burn this Guild Bar to the ground and he will kill you."

The crowd stirred at that. Some gasped. Some leaned in closer.

Fran’s eyes widened. "Sarios... is that true?"

The Guild Master, still grinning, waved it off. "Pfft! Bah! She’s no princess. She’s just another wannabe adventurer."

But even Evos gave a glance now. That was unusual.

Dila, standing calm in the center of the pit, looked up. Her ears flicked.

"Okay then..." she said, sighing.

Then, sarcastically:

"And what about me, huh? Am I just supposed to throw my shoes at him?"

She raised both hands. "Where’s my weapon?"

The Guild Master shrugged with a grin. "Oopsie~ I can’t hand you anything now. The barrier’s already lifted. Hehehe."

Dila’s eye twitched.

"You... BASTAR—"

☆ Language, Master. ☆

"I HAVEN’T EVEN STARTED YET!!" Dila shouted back, her voice echoing in the dome as her mana began to crackle faintly beneath her boots.

Fran clutched her hands nervously. "This isn’t good..."

Sarios clenched his fists. "She’s got no weapon. No armor. Just her dress..."

And yet—down in the arena—

Dila slowly inhaled... then exhaled.

Her eyes sharpened.

Her hand slowly lowered toward the ground—where faint blue sparkles were beginning to rise.

Sarios stared.

"Wait... is she...?"

Fran gasped.

"She’s summoning something...!"

The match hadn’t even begun—but the real show was just about to start.

As Dila slowly closed her eyes, her breath steady, she focused—mana threads forming at her fingertips.

She whispered, "Come to me... My staff—"

But before the summoning circle could complete—

WHOOSH—!!

A deafening crash shook the entire arena as Evos hurled his massive axe like a war hammer.

It spun mid-air, a blur of iron and destruction.

Dila’s eyes flew open—

"Wha—?!"

BOOM!!

The axe slammed into her side, sending a shockwave of sparks and magic across the field.

Her Cascade Shield flared to life, a shimmering hex pattern of pale blue light enveloping her just in time—

—but it wasn’t enough.

The sheer force sent her body flying like a ragdoll, spiraling backward before—

CRACK!!!

She slammed against the obsidian wall, creating a visible spiderweb fracture in the surface. The crowd gasped in horror.

Her barrier flickered—

☆ Integrity: 30% remaining... ☆

Sparks danced around her crumpled body as she slid down the wall and collapsed to her knees, then slumped forward—

Face-down.

Her hands trembled.

Blood trickled from her forehead, her silver-white hair now stained red.

Her system window blinked erratically:

HP: 19,000 / 25,000

Mana: 2,000 / 2,500

Status: Injured | Barrier compromised

☆ M-Ma... Master... ☆

Nari’s voice crackled and broke, glitching like damaged audio.

☆ A-Are you... oka—y...? ☆

Dila coughed. Hard.

Her vision blurred, and her hands gripped the ground, shaking.

"What... what just happened...?"

"I-I didn’t even see it," she whispered, heart pounding.

Her voice cracked, and then—

Tears welled in her eyes.

"I couldn’t move. I... I didn’t even see it coming..."

Sarios stood up from the benches so fast the chair flew behind him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

His voice roared through the arena.

Fran, wide-eyed, clutched her chest. "Dila...!"

From the top balcony, the Guild Master simply chuckled.

"Oh? One hit and she’s already broken? How disappointing~"

But what he didn’t notice...

Was the quiet, trembling spark building up around Dila’s collapsed hand.

The system flickered.

Her mana swirled like storm clouds trapped in a bottle.

Dila’s fingers twitched against the cracked obsidian floor, her nails scraping lightly over the glowing stone.

Her lips trembled, barely forming words as blood slipped from the corner of her mouth.

Her voice came out in weak gasps—

"I... I... impossible..."

She coughed again, her throat raw.

"I had... Cascade Shield... I shouldn’t have—"

Her hands shook violently as she tried to push herself up.

"I shouldn’t... have taken... that much damage..."

Her vision spun. Her chest rose and fell sharply. She could barely breathe.

Her ribs ached. Each breath was shallow. Her lips parted as she whispered again—

"Ack..."

Her eyes widened as she looked down at her trembling arms, her fingertips already glowing faintly with mana sparks trying to stabilize the fractured barrier layers wrapped around her body.

☆ Shield Stability: 14% and falling... ☆

☆ Pulse irregular. Mana flow unstable... ☆

Nari’s voice flickered inside her head again, weak and glitchy:

☆ M-Master... p-p-please don’t move... please... your vitals are unstable... ☆

Dila’s lips quivered, and she let out a broken laugh through the pain.

"Haha... this is... stupid..."

She tried to lift her body again—but her arm buckled, and she collapsed once more.

From the stands, Sarios gripped the railings so hard the railing cracked a bit. His face was pale.

"DILA!!"

He turned furiously to the Guildmaster.

"You mad bastard! This isn’t a fight—this is an execution!"

Fran was trembling in her seat, hands balled into fists over her chest.

"She... she’s gonna die... if this keeps going..."

The crowd began to murmur. Some laughed, others watched in worried silence. The Guildmaster simply smirked as he looked down at the arena.

And below him—Evos, the beast of a fighter, dragged his axe slowly across the obsidian floor, step by step...

...marching toward the weakened elf girl.

But Dila’s fingers curled into fists.

Her trembling slowed.

Her breathing steadied—just a little.

And somewhere inside her spinning, panicked thoughts...

And than.....

Her breath hitched again, shallow and rough. Blood still trickled down her temple, and her knees shook.

But despite that—

"Hahahaha..."

The eerie sound of laughter echoed in the silent arena.

Everyone stared.

Still face-down against the obsidian floor, her shoulders began to rise and fall... from laughter.

"Haha... haha... seriously?"

Evos stopped mid-step, confused.

Fran stood from her seat. "W-What’s going on...?"

Sarios narrowed his eyes. "Wait... is she—laughing?"

Dila slowly pushed her palms against the ground. Her arms trembled violently... but she lifted herself.

And then—

Fwoosh!

A sudden glow flared in her right hand. An arcane pulse burst through the air as her magic wand staff shimmered into existence—summoned directly from her inner storage.

The long white metal pole materialized with a crackle of mana, and the floating magical shards around the staff head began to spin and orbit like tiny moons. The faint pulse of arcane power radiated from its tip as it hovered midair before snapping into her grip.

Elegant. Clean. Dangerous.

She gripped it tightly and slammed the base into the obsidian floor.

Crack!

Small sparks flared under her feet.

Still hunched over and half-bleeding, she smiled grimly.

"Hahahaha... yeah... yeah... I think I’m insane."

She used her staff like a cane to stand upright, swaying slightly but with defiant pride.

"To think..." she muttered, glancing toward the stands with a crooked smirk, "I challenged the guild master... for a guild ID card."

She wiped the blood off her cheek with her sleeve.

"A guild card," she repeated in a dramatic tone. "Not treasure. Not power. Not vengeance. Just a glorified adventurer’s license."

She sighed.

"Yep... I’ve completely lost it."

The adventurers in the stands blinked. Some chuckled awkwardly. The tension was bizarre now—half-serious, half-comedic.

Even Nari stammered inside her head:

☆ M-Master? Are you... are you okay? This doesn’t sound like healing brainwaves! ☆

Dila raised her Archane Staff, pointing it directly at the axe-wielding Evos, her blue eyes blazing now with focus.

"Let’s finish this, big guy."

The crowd slowly leaned forward.

Evos grunted, finally stepping again, now slightly more cautious.

And the guild master above raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Meanwhile, Sarios whispered to Fran:

"...She really is crazy."

Fran nodded, clutching her dagger tightly.

"...A little... but I like her that way."