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"No, it's not like that hasn't happened before," Karina pointed to the dueling arena. "In past tournaments, assassins have targeted participating adventurers, and even launched indiscriminate attacks on the audience."

However, none of this dampened people's enthusiasm for the tournament. The guild just stated that they will resume the competition as soon as possible, and the matches that were not finished today will continue tomorrow.

"So the most exciting monster battles are backstage?"

"I think so," Karina replied.

Lindsay wasn't paying attention to his upcoming match time; he was busy selecting the new monster abilities he had acquired.

[A long, whip-like tongue: Your tongue structure has changed, its length and resilience have increased, and you can freely control how your tongue protrudes.]

[Flesh and Blood Self-Destruction: Upon death, your body can split apart and launch in all directions at extremely high speeds]

[Flesh Corrosion: Your body tissue is corrosive]

The abilities of the three monsters all matched Lindsay's expectations of the Long-Tongued Flesh Golem.

I didn't see the option to upgrade the [Physical Regeneration] ability, which makes sense since I had already maxed it out before, so this ability wouldn't reappear.

[Blood and Flesh Self-Destruction] is not considered. [Long Tongue Like a Whip], judging from the ability description, is to directly gain the ability of the Long Tongue Flesh Monster to attack with its tongue, which can whip and bind enemies, and seems to be quite powerful.

However, upon closer examination, if you use your tongue to attack in battle and are targeted by the enemy, even though your resilience is enhanced and you can use your [body regeneration] ability to prevent damage to your tongue, it may still restrict your movement, such as if the enemy grabs your tongue.

Moreover, this monster's ability is so bizarre in appearance that it might cause problems in daily life.

Will it affect eating? Will my tongue be too long to retract back into my mouth? It's impossible to verify.

In comparison, the third monster ability, [Flesh Corrosion], is more reliable, at least from its appearance, it's not obvious that it has this ability.

Furthermore, it can be used in conjunction with [Bone Strike], which involves spitting out chunks of one's own flesh to attack. After obtaining this ability, [Bone Strike] can also cause corrosive damage.

[Successfully selected [Flesh Corrosion]]

"Iron Lance" and the other three adventurers were still gathered around the female knight, discussing things like the reason for the cultists' appearance and compensation for the raid, but Lindsay wasn't very interested.

There was one person at the scene who really wanted to know what was going on, and that was the dwarf Ink.

"Thank you so much, 'Tower Shield' senior, for drawing the monsters' attacks and helping us!"

Linsel went up to the dwarf who was wiping the surface of the giant shield with a rag and thanked him. The dwarf laughed heartily after hearing this.

"You 'Wolf Slayer' kid, you're still the same as before, incredibly courageous!"

"Senior Ink, how did you become a referee for this tournament? Also, you're a member of the 'Iron Fang' team, right? Aren't the others with you, including Captain Wood?"

"Take your time, kid, I have to take it one at a time."

The dwarf summarized Lindsay's questions: "Actually, if there weren't many renowned adventurers of our kind near Wind and City, the guild wouldn't have specifically requested me to be the dwarven representative referee. After all, the fee offered is substantial, and the Tark brothers need the money."

As for my teammates, they have more important things to do. After all, the trials in the Vast Regions will begin at the end of the year, and Wood and the others need to make some preparations first.

The vast and desolate region? Linsel heard a cool-sounding name, one that seemed to refer to the very places adventurers should truly venture into.

"The trials in the vast and desolate regions, what are those? How are Senior Tucker and the others doing?"

"Tucker wants to resurrect Lance, which is very difficult. I'm currently helping him raise some money. As for the specifics, you'll have to ask that half-elf girl..."

"Broken Arrow" and Claire also came over at this time.

Seeing two more people approaching, wanting to learn more, Inke couldn't help but choke.

"You've never heard of the vast and desolate region?"

"Broken Arrow" answered honestly: "No, I've only heard of the Underdark, which is the largest underground city in our Golden Lion Kingdom, and also a mysterious underground passage connecting various countries."

The dwarf snorted: "The Underdark? That's not the right accent. That's the Underdark, kid. You're talking about that place!"

The Vast Wilderness is dangerous, but it also holds many lost treasures and riches. If you're planning an adventure there next month, remember to look me up! We, the "Iron Fang," always welcome reliable teammates!

After chatting with the dwarf for a few more minutes, Lindsay bid him farewell.

"Broken Arrow" sighed, "Alas, dwarves are very loyal. It was truly a pity about Lance, the senior of the [Zinc Steel] squad, during the battle against Shalin."

"Brinan, we could actually ask that 'Wind Spirit' half-elf adventurer to find out more, such as what else they might need if they don't need to be resurrected immediately. Maybe we can help them."

"Captain, I also want to know more, but I don't know how to start a conversation with the half-elves over there."

Linsel glanced at the half-elf not far away. She was the referee from his previous match and a member of the [Zinc Steel] team. At this moment, she was sitting on a bench with a preoccupied look on her face, appearing unapproachable.

"Half-elves are usually easy to talk to, right, Lindsay? Let me ask for you." Claire smiled and tilted her head, which made Lindsay blush slightly.

"Claire, you seem very approachable. Thank you for helping us!"

"Friendliness, what is that? Anyway, we're all in the same team now, so it doesn't matter."

Linsset and "Broken Arrow" watched the female wanderer pass by, at which point "Iron Spear" struck up a conversation with them.

"That was a good coordination, 'Wolf Slayer'."

"Your [Meteor Spear] is still very powerful! By the way, do you know about the Vast Expanse?"

"Of course I know. What, Lindsay, are you inviting me to come along? Sorry!"

"Iron Spear" planted his pointed spear in the soil to the side: "I will go to the vast wilderness, but I have already made an appointment with a few adventurer friends to act together."

I've already considered your team invitation last time, so I won't join.

"Oh well."

……

Two days later, at the Wind and City training camp.

As the female knight Karina said, the tournament was postponed by one day, and the fourth match between humans and monsters would follow.

Lindsay and "Broken Arrow" arrived at the training camp. The stands for the competition were still packed, indicating that the previous cultist attack had not affected them much.

Later, Claire successfully learned the key points from the half-elf.

The resurrection of Lance requires 200 gold coins, and other items include: his own remains, a certain number of life crystals, and something called "Source of Life".

Life Crystals are a rare type of crystal, most commonly obtained from various rare monsters. "Source of Life," on the other hand, is an extremely rare liquid, almost impossible to find in the world.

Lindsay felt somewhat regretful upon learning this information.

Leaving aside the "source of life," as for the life crystal, there was a rare variant among the various monsters I had encountered before, but unfortunately I didn't know about it at the time and neglected to look for it.