The third day’s matches went smoothly. The Holy Maiden Squad was lucky—other than not knowing the true strength of yesterday’s "bye" team, today’s opponent was about the same as the first day’s, maybe even worse.

Because today’s opponents came from a small duchy, just here to see the world.

After a three-to-zero victory, their matches were on hold for now. The rest of the schedule was for teams who had lost one or two rounds—they’d play for two more days, then there’d be a few days’ break, before moving on to the round of 32.

At this moment, compared to paying attention to their opponents’ strengths, Hilia was more concerned about another matter because of what had happened that morning.

"Did the League Committee put the blame on Ista for this incident?"

You couldn’t just go ask something like this directly.

Hilia decided to stroll around Kost City the day after their match, buying reports from several newspapers to check for herself.

Those newspapers all doubted the League Committee’s explanation. Just as Hilia expected, some of the articles questioned why Ista’s participants didn’t "oversleep" and demanded clarification from Ista’s team.

Unfortunately, neither the Northern Alliance nor Ista’s side responded directly—whenever asked, they just insisted they overslept.

As for the "oversleeping" teams, aside from the unlucky ones who raised objections and wanted a rematch, the rest didn’t say much.

"No idea what the League Committee plans to do, but outside people are starting to speculate. Still, aside from those who trust the Committee and those who doubt Ista, why is no one suspecting some sect activity?"

Hilia really couldn’t figure it out.

"What exactly does this sect want?"

Rose laughed. "If you want to know their goal, it’s not that hard—just catch one of them next time they make a move."

Hilia nodded. "True. As long as we catch the culprit, we’ll get our answers. But..."

The girl hesitated a bit.

If she handled things, wouldn’t people just say trouble happens wherever she goes?

If she pretended not to see, left everything alone, and waited for the High-tier Mages to deal with the sky falling, she might finally be invisible... right?

"Let’s catch them. If I made a choice against my heart over a few opinions, would I even be myself anymore?"

Hilia made up her mind, and prayed to Rose: "Dear God..."

"Mhm."

Hilia hadn’t even finished her prayer when Rose grunted, cutting her off.

"Hehe!"

...

The collective "oversleeping" incident on the second day seemed calm on the surface, but from behind the scenes, investigations were ongoing. As a result, everything was quiet for two days with nothing unusual happening.

It wasn’t until the end of the team matches, as everyone turned their attention to the solo rounds, that the shadowy activity appeared again.

Late that night, the sleeping Hilia was woken by Rose.

The girl got up groggily, half awake for a long while.

"Did they finally make a move?"

Yawning, Hilia got out of bed, splashed cold water on her face, changed clothes with her eyes closed, and quietly left the room.

Rose said, "They might use a new potion this time, so be cautious."

Hilia nodded. "The dream magic Lord Rose taught me, I can already use it skillfully. At least, resisting the aftereffects is no problem—just not sure what new potion they’ll use..."

Rose sent Hilia a coordinate mentally. "Go there and see for yourself."

Hilia left the inn and quickly headed toward the target point.

Soon, she saw a large building in front of her.

"I think... this is where the Northern Alliance’s competitors are staying?"

Rose nodded with a smile. "Let’s help the Northern Alliance solve their problem this time. Power is limited—competitors from other empires are on their own."

Hilia wondered, "Will they go to the inn where Ista’s team is staying?"

Rose said, "They will. You get two choices: after helping the Northern Alliance contestants, seek out the truth of the incident; or turn back and help Ista’s team get rid of the potion’s effect—the latter means you’ll miss the chance to track them."

Hilia hesitated for a moment. "I’ll pick the first one. Better to track them to their lair and wipe them out in one go, rather than reacting to whatever they throw. If Ista’s competitors get hit, they get hit. As long as it’s not a life-threatening poison, the rest is acceptable."

With that, Hilia snuck into the inn.

After the incidents of the previous days, there were now guards inside the building—but might as well not be. With Rose’s guidance, Hilia slipped through as if no one was there.

Soon, she reached the door of the first room where the potion had already been used.

There was a deep purple liquid oozing in through the door crack.

As the vapor from the liquid spread, Hilia felt her mind start to blur.

The world around her began to feel dreamy and unreal.

But the next moment, that feeling vanished.

Because Rose took over her body, and through their spiritual link, Hilia sensed that Rose was using a strange kind of magic.

Rose’s voice came: "Their new potion is actually one that can nourish Spiritual Power, called Illusion Dream Potion. It’s usually used together with dream magic—namely, the ’Illusory Dream Blessing’. After inhaling it, the mind enters a dreamlike state. If you don’t use ’Illusory Dream Blessing’ and just go to sleep, you’ll have a wonderful dream—the kind that really moves you when you wake up. While you keep dreaming, the potion’s effect lies dormant, waiting for the blessing to be used.

"If you later use magic power for something other than ’Illusory Dream Blessing’, the Illusion Dream Potion’s effect is triggered—your mind will enter a dreamlike scene until the potion wears off.

"To put it simply, you won’t be able to tell dream from reality, whether you’re sleeping or awake."

Hilia blinked, surprised. "It triggers when using magic power... but the competitors only use magic power during the match, so that means..."

Rose smiled slightly. "Yes. If one side is affected and the other isn’t, it’s a total wipeout. Whoever endures it first wins."

Hilia thought for a bit, realizing another problem. "If they keep things subtle this time, the contestants might not even realize—they’ll think it was the opponent’s magic."

Rose said, "Only competitors would think that way. If a sect wanted to keep a low profile, would it still be a sect?"

At that, Rose had finished her spellwork and released control back to Hilia.

"Remember this feeling. Keep channeling ’Illusory Dream Blessing’ and you’ll turn the Illusion Dream Potion into nourishment for your Spiritual Power."

Hilia nodded quietly, continually channeling the ’Illusory Dream Blessing’ while collecting the liquid near the door.

"If they just inhaled a little, at most they’ll space out for a moment during the match—it shouldn’t affect the result anymore."

Before matches start, everyone gives themselves blessings—it’s allowed.

By then, magic power will already be circulating, so there’s no way getting dizzy will let anyone seize a one-shot victory.

According to Rose, since only the Northern Alliance competitors are getting help... the result is obvious...

Hilia could already see where this was going.

"This time, the Northern Alliance’s team comes out fine, but the other countries’ teams are in trouble. Can’t wait to see what the papers write about this."

Muttering to herself, Hilia kept collecting, and soon, on the top floor of the inn, she blocked a sneaking figure.