Reaper of the Martial World

Book 8: Chapter 33: Winner (2)

Aritzia was frozen in shock. The moment she lost her focus, she was immediately teleported back to the start of the game. Clearly, she had taken a wrong step.

She looked upward to find Dyon’s casual figure standing atop the crystalline cube as though it was the most natural thing in the world. It was only now she realized that Dyon never really considered her an opponent to begin with.

Although Dyon underestimated the administrator that controlled this gaming center, Aritzia didn’t because she was much more informed. She knew well that had Dyon broken the contract of their game and used his divine sense, it would have counted as an automatic loss for him. The fact he was named the winner meant he really hadn’t…

‘Could I complete this game of Dimensions so quickly even with the help of my crystal framed glasses?…’ A shudder overtook Aritzia’s delicate frame. She knew the answer was no.

The crystalline cube shimmered out of existence, allowing Dyon to float down. Though his face was covered by a mask, Aritzia could almost feel the sly smirk on his dishonest face. Somehow, that cockiness made her heart flutter.

It wasn’t as though Aritzia never came across men who were wholly confident in themselves. Despite her elder brother Primus’ demeanor, she knew he was a greatly prideful person… The kind of individual who could put their pride down in one breath, but surge upward to become a formidable opponent in the next. In fact, there was her husband candidate, Emytheus as well. Didn’t he claim that he would one day bring the Sapientia Clan down to its knees?

But, neither of these two men were ever truly taken seriously by Aritzia because she never believed that she would lose to them. However, Dyon’s confident aura came off the wings of an absolute crushing victory. The striking difference hit Aritzia differently.

Time flowed, she was in such a daze that she couldn’t even remember how she got from the game center to her office. Somehow, she was right back where they started. Her in a chair, and Dyon sitting upon her desk, his finger still lifting up her chin.

The last time he lifted her chin like this, she flared up and accepted his challenge, slapping his hand away. But, this time, she just stared up at his mask. With the distortion it provided, she couldn’t even truly see his eyes… It was a feeling that made her incredibly uncomfortable.

“Can I… See your face?” Aritzia herself didn’t even know why she had asked such a shameless question.

“Tsk, tsk.” Dyon smiled lightly, his thumb absentmindedly slightly grazing Aritzia’s soft bottom lip. “Don’t you remember the contents of our bet?”

Aritzia blushed and pulled back. That was right, she would only be allowed to see Dyon’s face if she won the bet.

Originally, she had planned to use her glasses. Even if Dyon was in disguise, she could use them to see through it. But, now that chance was gone.

Aritzia gathered herself and sighed. “Alright. What is it that you want me to do?”

“Nothing too complex. Like I said, I want to knock a certain True God Sacharro down a peg…”

Aritzia had been planning on trying to weasel her way out of having to promise to marry into Dyon’s Clan, but who would have known he would pretend like that was never the content of the bet?

That was right. Originally, Dyon would have to show her his face if he lost. But, if Aritzia lost, in her anger, she directly agreed to marry Dyon. The bet’s contents would be quite the scandalous affair if it was ever made public.

Somehow, Aritzia felt disappointed that Dyon didn’t try to take advantage of her careless words. But, at the same time, she sighed in relief.

‘I’m being played.’ Aritzia thought to herself. ‘He’s been leading me by the nose from the very beginning, and he’s even gotten such a good grasp of my personality. To think that my, Aritzia Sapientia’s, heart would be swayed so easily… Alexandria is quite a lucky woman… Or maybe not.’

Aritzia was a highly intelligent woman. But, what many didn’t know was that she wasn’t even 30 years old yet. That’s right, when Dyon first met her, she wasn’t even 20 years old yet.

How did such a young woman become an Empress so early? This was a secret maybe only Aritzia herself knew. However, the point was that she had a youthful innocence to her that was no match for Dyon. No matter how intelligent a person was, without proper life experience, it was meaningless.

Much like Saru, Aritzia likely used some technique to make herself look older than she was. Who knew how long she had been pretending? It likely wasn’t until recently that she could use her true appearance. Or, maybe she hadn’t ever used it…

“How?” Aritzia asked after collecting herself.

“You don’t have a solid understanding of that man or how many reserves he has.” Dyon said plainly.

“I don’t?”

“How talented do you believe he is?” Dyon asked instead of answering.

“Very talented. He’s a Moon Lord already. He has the Titan Diamond Body God Constitution. His wife is no less talented. And, he seems to have fused with a spark of the Sovereign Flame…” historical

Dyon shook his head. “You’re still ignorant. Not only does he have Titan Diamond Body, he has the Silver Mirror Constitution, and… It seems to be far stronger than the normal upper limit of the constitution.

“Not only is his wife talented, both of his wives are talented beyond your imagination. In fact, Empress Madeleine can only rank second among the two of them in terms of pure combat prowess. As far as I’m aware, his most powerful wife is already a middle dao expert… And she’s less than 160 years old!”

Aritzia already felt as though her mind was collapsing as she heard these words. But, it seemed Dyon wasn’t finished yet.

“If you think that’s all, you’d be sorely mistaken… You believe True God Sacharro is a Moon Lord, when I know quite well that he is in fact a Planet Lord!”

Aritzia sucked in a cold breath, her hand slightly trembling. Just what was she trying to meddle in?