The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

Chapter 286 Cursed Equipment

What does "deliberately delaying" mean?

Felix, who had just come down from the ring, was unaware of what had happened on ring number two.

Listy, who had been watching the match, offered an explanation for Vena: "Sigurd had already taken to the stage, but deliberately didn't break through. Instead, he beat his opponent until he couldn't fight back, then gave the points to the other students."

"But he was only ruthless to students from his birth country and allied countries before, but now he's even turning on his own people."

"Then why doesn't anyone beat him down?" Felix asked with a matter-of-fact expression.

If one didn't already know Felix's character, they would probably think this kid was just pretending.

"With Sigurd's strength... there are probably few first-year students who can rival him."

Lisette didn't know how to explain this to Felix.

"But I've played against him several times, and I've never lost a single time!"

Felix stated that the results are verifiable.

“Just tell me who you’ve lost to,” Viner couldn’t help but say.

“Uh…” Felix tried hard to recall.

When I first advanced to the Silver rank, I did lose a few times because I wasn't used to the intensity, but I managed to win them all back later.

There is only one person he has never beaten so far.

Does Jessica count?

"I might as well send you to the third-year competition instead of keeping you here fighting Jessica!"

Wiener angrily smacked Felix on the head.

"Hey, hey, hey, Vena, you're bullying me again!"

Felix covered his head, looking at Vina with a resentful gaze.

If they were in a dangerous and unknown dungeon, they would worry about Felix's safety.

If the target were changed to first-year students, it would be hard to imagine that Felix could possibly lose.

“Sigurd is very likely to be Vena’s next opponent,” Listy explained.

According to the half-zone principle, Sigurd will inevitably have a battle with Wiener before encountering Felix.

"Oh—" Felix exclaimed, suddenly realizing, "So you were worried about Vena!"

"Yes, so we've been observing here to see if there's any way."

By this point, Lisette had nothing to hide from admitting it.

"Don't worry, Vena. I will avenge you."

Felix simply assumed that Wiener had lost.

“I—” Viner was furious.

He reached for his waist but couldn't find his Miyagi-maru. "Where's my sword?"

"You two should watch the place. If you want to make a scene, go home."

Lisette placed the Mimi-kiri Maru that she had taken earlier back into Venus's hand, adopting a lecturing tone, "You're not Felix, why are you acting like him?"

"Yes, what I said is true—"

"Shut up."

"Uh-huh!"

Felix covered his mouth with his hand and nodded repeatedly.

"What exactly did you discover?"

Lisette turned her gaze to Vina, signaling her to hurry up and spit it out.

After Lisette's criticism, Vina finally became a little serious, saying, "I only just started to figure it out myself."

"His spear isn't a big problem; any C-rank spear you find in Anna's shop would be about the same level. But that armor is a different story."

"I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out, but this looks a bit like Thief's Armor. I'm not going to say anything more, I'm not going to say anything more."

When Felix saw Lisette staring at him, he quickly shut his mouth.

“Don’t even mention it, I think it looks similar too. But these two things are not the same.” Viner paused for a moment, seemingly trying to find a way to explain it to the two of them, “Have you ever heard of cursed equipment?”

Cursed equipment is a general term for equipment that contains negative effects.

One type lowers the barrier to entry by imposing negative effects on those who wear the item, in exchange for extraordinary power.

Another type is malicious products full of negative effects, which are mostly used as tools for restraint and imprisonment.

Normal equipment, if it does not meet the needs of use, at most it will just mean that you can't lift it or that your performance will be limited.

If it were a cursed item, it would try to fulfill your usage requirements, but the price...

"You're saying that armor is cursed equipment?" Lisette asked in surprise.

Even using cursed equipment in order to win crosses some lines.

From a young age, she had heard of the tragic fates of those Emblem users who, unable to resist temptation, used cursed weapons.

At best, it will severely deplete one's vital energy and cause a serious illness; at worst, it may render one a complete cripple.

Why would someone with such a bright future as Sigurd take such a risk to touch that forbidden power?

I'm 80% confident.

The Enchanted Weapons crafted by Vener are somewhat similar to Cursed Weapons.

First, one must be a Herald user; second, one must obtain the approval of either the forger, Viner, or the weapon itself, in order to use it successfully.

If you force the use of it without meeting the above conditions, you will suffer a backlash.

After Wiener understood this limitation, he only forged spirit-awakening weapons for those he approved of, and these were custom-made with a specific bias.

“I don’t know when Sigurd got this armor. Its aura was very weak until just now, so it probably just woke up.”

"But as he intensified his attacks on others, the aura emanating from his armor grew stronger."

It was precisely because he spent so much time with weapons and equipment that Wiener was able to vaguely sense it.

If it were Sigurd, he probably would have put on this armor without even realizing it.

The blood of the Emblem Warriors, and the fear and resentment of others, all became the sustenance for this ominous armor.

As the consciousness within this cursed equipment awakens, Sigurd will be affected more and more deeply.

Perhaps at first he simply couldn't stand seeing fellow Empire players being besieged and offered his help.

But as he continued to defeat other contestants, and even began to ruthlessly kill Dillon, who was also a citizen of the Empire, things spiraled out of control.

Sigurd had already done enough. Even if he had simply defeated Dillon to advance, leaving the rest to fight for the remaining spots, no one would have said a word.

But he still dragged his feet and didn't finish, even dividing the contestants from the same empire into different ranks and arbitrarily deciding who would advance and who would be eliminated. This was undoubtedly because the armor amplified his negative emotions.

As long as Sigurd is still on the field, it's like a shadow, casting an equal shadow over the hearts of all those who come after him.

Even the players in the preparation area showed fear because of Sigurd's actions.

"You're making it sound so serious, can't we just call a halt?" Felix asked, puzzled.

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” Listy shook her head. “Sigurd’s actions did not violate the rules of the arena.”

"Even if it really is a cursed armor, if he doesn't want to take it off, the academy can't force him."

After all, the significance of the outcome of this first-year individual competition has changed.

Chapter 287 Anna: It seems I've come at the wrong time.

To allow players to unleash their full potential, the rules of the Griffin Battle do not restrict the range of weapons that can be used.

The only thing prohibited is poisoning.

After all, everyone is just trying to determine a winner or loser, not for you to decide a life-or-death situation.

Not using cursed weapons is more like something that isn't written into the rules, but is a convention.

Most people don't come into contact with it, and even if they have heard of it, they know the dangers and won't use it themselves.

On the contrary, highlighting it makes it easier to arouse the curiosity of those with ulterior motives, ultimately making the attempt to cover up the truth more obvious.

Although it may sound negative, sometimes the best solution is to ignore it.

In the short time it took to discuss this, three more people were severely injured and eliminated by Sigurd.

"Hey, Venere. Seriously, do you really have a way to deal with him?"

Felix hadn't paid much attention to this side while he was still on stage, but now that he saw how ruthless the other party was, he couldn't help but worry about Viner.

If the two sides are evenly matched, clashes are inevitable, and it's not impossible for both to suffer heavy losses.

However, when the difference in strength is significant, stopping short of a decisive blow is not too difficult.

The four opponents that Lisette defeated were all defeated and eliminated without sustaining any injuries.

Felix's opponent, after taking on four opponents single-handedly and knocking their weapons off one by one, realized he was no match and voluntarily conceded defeat.

Of the three, only Viner went a little too far, but he mainly relied on his physical skills and never drew his sword, Mimi-kiri-maru.

Sigurd's actions constitute intentional assault.

"If you're not confident, leave it to me. Master has always been the best to you; he wouldn't say a word even if you concede defeat in the final thirty-two."

“I would prefer to encounter them as early as possible,” Wiener sighed. “The earlier they are, the easier they are to deal with; if they are too late, they are beyond saving.”

-----------------

Arena Number Three.

"Contestant number 193 is leaving the stage. The next contestant is preparing to enter."

"Come down here if you dare!" Modi yelled at the Magic Academy students floating in the sky while fending off the puppets.

"If you're so capable, come up here yourself."

Sylvie wouldn't fall for such a pointless provocation.

He possessed most of his skills in puppetry, which prevented him from being surrounded and attacked.

As long as I fly high enough, you can't hit me.

He only needs to keep replenishing his levitation skill to watch the battle unfold from afar and wait for the points to accumulate.

They are now just one point away from advancing.

If it weren't for the distance, after the puppet defeated its opponent, two points were stolen by a player who was closer, and it would have already advanced.

But it's not a big problem. Anyway, I'm already in an invincible position. Surely no one would dare to come up with a bow and join the melee, right?

Just as Sylvie was thinking this, a cold light shot through his shoulder with a "whoosh!"

"what!"

The intense pain in his shoulder blade caused him to lose control of his levitation technique, which he had been trying to maintain, and his body plummeted toward the ground.

Until that moment, Sylvie was still unaware of what had struck him.

But at this moment, he had no time to care about anything else.

After using the Levitation Technique, he was a full ten meters above the ground. If he hadn't used the Feather Fall Technique before landing, the height of the fall alone would have been enough to kill him.

Unfortunately, Sylvie's encounter in mid-air was not accidental.

Just as he began chanting the incantation for the Featherfall Technique, attempting to slow his descent, another streak of cold light pierced the air and struck him squarely in the abdomen.

This time, the cold light did not penetrate his body, but at least it allowed Sylvie to see the culprit who attacked him.

However, until Sylvie was eliminated, he still didn't understand why someone would hit someone with a knife handle.

"Contestant number 194 has four points, contestant number 195 is ready to enter the arena!" the referee announced immediately.

"Yes, I did it."