It was the first time Serin had traveled such a long distance in Eidryth. Naturally, even for the relatively wealthy Hainar Family and the Magi—despite their wonderful innovations—travel was still uncomfortable and troublesome for Serin, who was accustomed to the standards of modern Earth.

  The accumulated fatigue finally caught up to Serin when he lay flat on the familiar soft bed in his chamber, which offered a wonderful view of the open sky and the boundless Sedna Sea.

  As soon as Serin’s body sank into the soft fur-covered bed, he immediately felt his muscles loosen as though stretching lazily in satisfaction and relief. Instantly, one-fifth of his fatigue vanished as he felt the silent pull of sleep tugging at his soul.

  Alas, he was not destined to enjoy the peaceful comfort of sleep this night—at least, not in the conventional sense.

  Serin closed his eyes and immediately heard the emotionless mechanical voice of the system inside his head. This was only the second time he would be going to the Arena after getting promoted a rank.

  [ The Divine Arena Will Begin In Thirty Minutes. Would You Like To Join? ]

  Serin sighed inwardly and muttered a “Yes” in his mind. Strangely, he no longer felt tired or sleepy.

  Then he heard a buzzing sound and felt himself being pulled forward irresistibly through the darkness. Having experienced this many times, Serin was no longer shocked and simply closed his ‘eyes’ in anticipation of the bright, blinding flash.

  When Serin opened his ‘eyes’ again, he found himself in a familiar setting. It was a small illusory pagoda—or rather, a camp—at the Precipice of the Divine Arena.

  The difference was that this particular pagoda had “Stockfish” written above it—clearly marking it as Serin’s own.

  Sitting at the head position on the long table in the small hall of his pagoda, Serin opened the ‘menu’ window with just a thought. A translucent screen immediately appeared before his eyes.

  Name — Stockfish

  Divine Blessings — Three

  Rank — Beginner

  W/D/L — 41/0/0

  Arena Points — 1

  Serin’s gaze fixed on his points as he sighed, feeling a little uncertain—but no regret at all.

  Serin was confident that for a long time there was almost zero possibility of him losing his games, so he had no qualms about spending the Arena Points for something other than strengthening his existing Divine Blessings.

  Therefore, Serin only spent a few points on his Divine Blessings and instead chose to purchase his own camp.

  For most players at this stage, this would be reckless and foolish. Indeed, seeing the “Stockfish” fellow use all his Arena Points gained from the unbroken streak of forty victories to buy a camp—some jeered and mocked, while others were silent and thoughtful.

  Serin did not have too many reservations about his decision. He rarely looked back after making a choice, and this time was no different. In fact, Serin had thought it through very carefully.

  Heh, as a world championship contender, I should at least get through a few lower ranks without losing, right?

  Serin chuckled.

  Sometimes he even felt a cruel sense of pity for the players in the Divine Arena. It was simply unfair for them.

  To understand just how unfair it truly was, it would be like throwing a group of kids from their school’s boxing club into the ring against the great Muhammad Ali—it would be a one-sided massacre even if Muhammad Ali wore a blindfold and fought with only one arm.

  Of course, Serin subconsciously chose to ignore the consequences that some of these players would face as a result of losing to him. It was unavoidable, and he could only hope they had enough resources and resilience to get through the backlash of disqualification.

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  Ding!

  Just as he was lost in thought, a sound rang in Serin’s ears, waking him from his contemplation and making him look at the text suddenly appearing on the screen.

  [ Jagga has requested to enter — Yes or No? ]

  Serin’s memory was sharp and he immediately recognized the name as the person he had first seen after entering the Divine Arena. At that time, this fellow had been quite boastful.

  Serin agreed to the request with an amused expression. A moment later, Jagga materialized inside the camp out of thin air.

  “Tch tch, who knew the ‘Stockfish’ I saw one year ago would turn out to be a real dragon among men.” Jagga chuckled awkwardly and took a seat at the table, looking unusually humble.

  “What a surprise! You are the first one who has come to my camp.” Serin smiled meaningfully. “You don’t think I was foolish to squander so many points?”

  Serin immediately saw Jagga sit up straighter. He could feel that Jagga wore a serious expression behind the distortion of the Arena as he waved his hands dramatically.

  “How could that be? No… absolutely not! Like me, many are aware of how legendary your feat is!”

  Serin laughed freely, not even trying to be humble. After a moment he stopped laughing and cleared his throat.

  “Alright, alright. Let’s get to business.”

  He leaned forward.

  “There’s not much time, so let’s cut to the chase.”

  “Yes, Lord.”

  Serin squinted his eyes slightly.

  Wasn’t this fellow being a little too respectful?

  “Hm, it won’t take long for me to get promoted to the next rank,” Serin said matter-of-factly, exuding supreme confidence as naturally as if he had just said something mundane.

  “I would like to exchange information with others from across the world. General happenings, specific intelligence, gossip—anything will do.”

  The reason Serin had invested in a ‘camp’ was to project credibility for others like Jagga to see so they could approach him. Of course, at this point he was already famous in the lower ranks, which only made his task easier.

  Like others, he could have invested in strengthening his Divine Blessings—but the effect would not be too drastic at this stage. Serin felt that information would prove far more useful than anything else.

  The Divine Arena was the perfect opportunity for exchanging information across long distances.

  Of course, only a very limited number of people were randomly selected for the Divine Arena each year—not even crossing a thousand worldwide—and only higher-ranked participants could enter and leave the Arena at will. Thus, the effectiveness of such exchanges was still quite low and rare.

  However, for Serin, something was still better than nothing. He wanted to have as much intelligence at his disposal as possible.

  Who knew when it might prove useful?

  Jagga awkwardly rubbed his fingers like a shifty merchant, clearly hesitant. Seeing this, Serin raised his brows.

  “What is it?”

  “Hehe… Lord… I was thinking—”

  Serin suddenly clapped in realization and interrupted.

  “Oh, silly me! You must want something in exchange, right? What is it?”

  “Ah! Yes…” Jagga nodded, clearly conflicted in his heart as he carefully chose his next words.

  “In exchange… can you teach me some tricks to defeat my opponents more often? There must be something, right?” Jagga asked anxiously, like a slab of butter melting on a hot pan.

  Serin was confused at first, but then immediately understood after looking at Jagga’s stats. This fellow had been stuck in the Beginner rank for a long time, barely avoiding elimination.

  “Alright, but it’s not something that can be taught in a short time. You have to hold on for a while longer and not get eliminated.”

  Serin paused briefly before continuing.

  “Also, it’s not a foolproof method and can be a double-edged sword.”

  Serin explained cautiously. He didn’t want to give the other party any false hope. In the end, chess was not a game of trickery but pure skill. Of course, there were opening traps and gambits that could help—but they were risky.

  Jagga gritted his teeth silently, clearly struggling with an internal conflict. In the end he sighed helplessly.

  “Lord… I’m willing to take the risk!”

  Serin nodded.

  “Good. Now tell me—where are you from?”

  “The Solmarch Empire, Imperial Capital.”

  Serin almost jumped with joy inwardly when he heard this, but outwardly he did not even flinch.

  “Oh? Tell me, what’s new?” Serin asked casually in a gossiping tone.

  Jagga sighed in exasperation and began speaking, almost as if venting his frustrations.

  “What to say…” Jagga sighed again before continuing.

  “The capital these days is like a bowstring stretched to the limit—extremely tense. Everyone feels anxious.”

  “Oh? What happened?” Serin asked.

  Jagga rolled his eyes and chuckled.

  “The court has been heating up from what I’ve heard. Apparently the noble factions and the Emperor are at loggerheads… again.”

  “Why?”

  “Alas, how would commoners like us know? But there have been rumors…”

  Jagga leaned closer and spoke quietly.

  “The Ministry of Revenue has accused some noble house of corruption in the salt trade…”

  Jagga clicked his tongue.

  Salt was a taboo subject within the Empire, and an accusation of this magnitude almost meant a death sentence.

  Serin’s heart raced, cold sweat forming on his back.

  …Surely not… it couldn’t be… right?

  Yet Serin still maintained a calm fa?ade, even looking slightly bored.

  Seeing this, Jagga felt his gossip had not been explosive enough and smiled mysteriously.

  “Oh? There’s more?” Serin nudged.

  Jagga chuckled again and leaned closer, his expression turning dramatic.

  “Hehe… let me tell you the real news! It’s all over the capital right now—it’s insane!”

  Serin raised a brow.

  “Oh?”

  “A Cardinal has arrived in the capital…! And not just that—there’s even a Saintess! A Saintess, I tell you!”

  Jagga spoke excitedly, as if he was suddenly injected with chicken blood.

  The Sky That Lied

  ? WHY READ THIS:

  ? The Stars Are Liars

  ? Destiny is forged, not written.

  ? Humiliation is a shield.

  ? Truth is a death sentence.

  ? Knowledge is a cage and a key.

  ?Silence is a living weapon.