Inside Garion’s private viewing room, everyone soon settled down and turned their attention back to the tournament screen.

Since Dahlia and Rovak had already finished their matches, the remaining fights became much more relaxed to watch.

Garion leaned back on the sofa with a curious grin. "Alright then. Show me some of the favorites."

Slifera immediately raised one hand and pointed toward the screen. "That one."

The arena screen changed.

A young woman with sharp eyes and dark green claw marks across her arms stepped onto the battlefield.

[Veyra Thornclaw]

[Beast-Type Race]

Rovak crossed his arms. "She’s fast."

Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "How fast?"

Before anyone answered, the match began.

The moment the announcer shouted, Veyra vanished.

Her opponent barely had time to raise his weapon before three claw marks suddenly appeared across his armor.

CLANG!

The armor cracked.

Then Veyra appeared behind him with a cold smile.

[Venom Shadow Claw]

Green-black energy flashed.

Her claws stopped only a finger away from the opponent’s neck.

The referee immediately shouted, "Match over!"

Garion blinked. "Oh? Poison and speed."

Elisa nodded calmly. "She doesn’t waste movement. Very efficient."

Dahlia grinned. "Good. I like fast ones."

The screen soon changed again.

This time, a pale man with bone-like horns walked into the arena.

[Kaldren Mourn]

[Bone Demon Race]

His opponent charged at him with a heavy spear, but Kaldren didn’t dodge.

The spear pierced straight through his chest.

The crowd gasped, but Kaldren only smiled.

His ribs suddenly opened like a cage and trapped the spear inside his body.

Then sharp bones erupted from his back.

[Bone Prison Bloom]

His opponent was instantly locked in place by countless bone spikes.

Garion’s eyes widened slightly. "That guy is creepy."

Slifera nodded. "Very annoying to fight."

Dahlia rubbed her chin. "So punching him normally won’t work?"

Elisa replied calmly, "Not unless you destroy his regeneration faster than he can reshape himself."

Dahlia’s grin widened. "Good to know."

Another match appeared after that.

A beautiful woman with soft white wings floated above the arena, her expression calm and distant.

[Seraphine Vale]

[Spirit Wing Race]

The moment the battle started, she rose into the air.

Her opponent tried to chase her, but she simply waved one hand.

[Feather Light Barrage]

Dozens of glowing feather-shaped energy blades rained down from above.

Her opponent ran desperately across the arena, but every path was blocked by precise long-range attacks.

In less than a minute, he was forced out of bounds.

Alira spoke calmly. "She’s one of the more popular participants."

Garion nodded slowly. "Air control, speed, range... troublesome."

Rovak grinned. "I want to punch her down."

Slifera sighed. "Of course you do."

Dahlia leaned forward with shining eyes. "Not bad."

Then she cracked her knuckles softly. "This tournament might actually be fun."

---

After watching several more matches, Garion slowly leaned back and lost some interest.

At first, the tournament had looked exciting because of Dahlia, Rovak, and a few other standout fighters.

But after those favorites finished their matches, the rest of the battles felt much more ordinary.

Some participants fought cautiously and relied too much on weapons or dragged the fight out for too long without showing anything special.

Garion yawned slightly. "Hmm... the rest don’t feel that good."

Dahlia nodded while eating some snacks she had somehow gotten from the room. "Yeah. Some of them are too slow."

Rovak crossed his arms. "Not everyone can fight like us."

Slifera glanced at him. "You say that like you didn’t almost get launched out of the arena earlier."

Rovak laughed shamelessly. "But I didn’t, right?"

Elisa shook her head lightly. "Technically, he’s not wrong."

Garion stood up and stretched his body. "Alright then. Let’s rest for now and wait for Dahlia’s next fight."

Dahlia grinned. "Good. Wake me up when it’s time to bully someone."

Alira sighed quietly from the side but didn’t say anything.

Garion looked toward the tournament bracket again. "By the way..."

His eyes moved between Dahlia’s name and Rovak’s name. "Doesn’t this mean Dahlia might fight Rovak next?"

Rovak immediately shook his head. "Not yet."

Garion raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Rovak pointed at the bracket display. "After the first round ends, the second round gets randomized again."

Slifera nodded. "The tournament uses random matching after each round to keep things unpredictable."

Elisa added calmly, "So Dahlia and Rovak may fight next round... or they may not meet until later."

Garion rubbed his chin. "I see."

Then his grin slowly returned. "That actually makes it more interesting."

Dahlia looked at Rovak and grinned too. "Then don’t get eliminated before I reach you."

Rovak laughed loudly. "Hahaha! Same to you, little dragon!"

Dahlia’s eyebrow twitched. "Little?"

Rovak grinned wider.

Garion watched the two of them and laughed.

---

Rovak suddenly stood up and stretched his arms. "Alright, since the good fights are over for now..."

He grinned at everyone. "Let’s eat."

Garion blinked. "Eat?"

Rovak nodded proudly. "Yeah. I know a good place around here."

Dahlia immediately looked interested. "Good food?"

Rovak laughed loudly. "Of course! If the food isn’t good, why would I recommend it?"

Slifera sighed from the side. "Because your definition of good food is usually anything large enough to feed a beast."

Rovak pointed at him. "Exactly. That’s why it’s good."

Dahlia’s grin widened. "I like this guy."

Garion laughed. "Same."

Elisa looked at the tournament screen for a moment before nodding lightly.

"There should be enough time. The remaining matches will continue for several hours, but none of us are fighting again today."

Alira stood up calmly. "If you are all going out, I’ll come too."

Garion raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Miss Alira is joining us?"

Alira glanced at him. "Manager Paren told me to watch you."

Garion placed a hand on his chest dramatically. "That sounds like distrust."

Alira replied without hesitation. "It is."

Dahlia immediately burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Master, even your new friends already understand you."

Garion ignored her completely and waved his hand. "Fine then. Let’s go eat."

Rovak led the way out of the private room with confident steps. "The place is called Beast Furnace Hall."

Garion’s eyes lit up. "That name already sounds good."

Slifera muttered, "It sounds like a place where Rovak can embarrass us."

Elisa calmly followed behind them. "That is very possible."

Dahlia cracked her knuckles excitedly. "As long as the meat is good, I don’t care."

Rovak laughed loudly as they walked into the busy tournament district. "Hahaha! Trust me, little dragon."

He grinned over his shoulder. "This place serves portions big enough for real fighters."