Chapter 36: Chapter36-Are You Sure You Want to Act?

Although Ymir had her calculations, she thought that, given her status and position, cooperating with an ant like Owen and allowing him to continue wielding the Godslayer Staff while maintaining his genius reputation was a great favor to him!

Moreover, the map she provided for the Godslayer Staff fragments was genuine.

Owen's current fame and strength were almost entirely due to the Godslayer Staff.

He had no reason to refuse!

However, under her cold and proud gaze, Owen chuckled and said, "Give me the map of the Godslayer Staff fragments? Don't you think this deal is a bit naive?"

Owen naturally understood Ymir's intentions, treating him as a pawn to be used? Although he was eager to unseal the Godslayer Staff quickly, Leslie's intelligence network was also formidable, making Ymir's unsolicited kindness unnecessary.

Moreover, as the seals of the Godslayer Staff gradually unlocked, his strength would increase accordingly.

If he still lacked maps for the other fragments, he could directly demand them from Ymir.

Would she have the ability to refuse then?

Owen's mocking refusal was entirely beyond Ymir's expectations!

After all, in her view, this might be a transaction, but on the surface, it offered Owen great benefits!

Owen could not only temporarily wield the Godslayer Staff but also gather fragments to make the Godslayer Staff even stronger.

He had no reason to refuse.

However, at this moment, he refused outright without any hesitation, and his words were laced with ridicule, as if he had already seen through her scheme.

The feeling of being seen through by a lowly ant left Ymir first stunned and then filled with intense anger.

"At this point, if you refuse to cooperate, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Instantly, enraged by Owen, Ymir decided not to waste any more time on him.

Her ethereal spirit body emitted a strange, invisible wave.

Even though her current strength was less than a tenth of her peak, this wave was still incredibly terrifying!

As the wave spread, the surrounding mana began to converge toward her, creating an astonishing phenomenon.

Whirlwinds arose, and the mana within a few miles transformed into huge waves, crashing from all directions to engulf Owen.

The waves of mana distorted the very air.

Sensing this, Owen's breathing quickened. Although he knew Ymir's strength was formidable, merely gathering her power mobilized such a vast amount of mana.

Her strength was entirely beyond what he could contend with at the moment!

However, Owen had prepared for this. He slowly extended his hand, seemingly to channel mana in defense, but in reality, he was revealing a ring he had copied from Princess Marry.

"This is..."

Sure enough, upon seeing the ring on Owen's right middle finger, Ymir's spirit body shuddered violently.

Her previously sharp and fierce gaze seemed to lose focus.

The massive waves of mana she had summoned were momentarily frozen in place due to her shock.

"Where did you get that ring?!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Ymir's eyes suddenly burst with a dazzling light, her gaze like a sword trying to pierce through Owen's inner thoughts.

Owen slowly rotated his hand, making the ring even more visible. "This ring was inherited from my mother."

"Impossible!"

Ymir instinctively shook her head in denial. This ring held significant importance and extraordinary meaning. Owen was just a recently risen genius—how could he be connected to this ring?

However, she had already repeatedly sensed the ring on Owen's finger.

The ring was genuine!

"You say it's impossible? Fine, then let's say I stole it from someone else."

Owen rolled his eyes as he spoke.

Ymir's face alternated between red and white as she clenched her teeth in anger. Her intuition told her that Owen should have no connection to the ring, but the ring was indeed real!

Part of her mission was to protect the bearer of this ring!

With Owen wearing this ring, not only could she not harm him, but if he encountered danger, she would be obligated to protect him unconditionally!

This was an extremely ancient contract, deeply tied to her family.

Thinking of this, Ymir's chest heaved with anger, but in the end, she could only leave him with a vicious warning:

"You'd better be careful!"

With that, she turned into a shadow and left the hill.

Owen squinted his eyes, watching Ymir's departing figure. He then looked at the ring on his finger, unsurprised by the outcome.

The ring was a token. As long as he had it, Ymir couldn't harm him and would even have to protect him.

This was also why he remained so calm after discovering that Ymir had abducted him.

"My current strength is more than enough to handle the younger generation, but when it comes to the older, more powerful individuals, I am still lacking. If not for this ring today, Ymir wouldn't have let me go..."

Owen adjusted his wrinkled black robe, his expression growing increasingly serious.

With his appearance, the original plot had already deviated somewhat, and he now had to rely solely on his own strength.

As a divine artifact, the more seals that are unlocked on the Godslayer Staff, the more powerful it becomes.

It was his best option for rapidly increasing his strength.

"I must get my hands on the hilt of the Godslayer Staff as soon as possible! If I encounter a similar situation in the future, things could get very dangerous! I also need to resolve the issue of Princess Marry's ring soon!"

Taking a deep breath to suppress the sense of crisis, Owen used the cover of night to return to the duke's mansion.

Duke Charles had arranged for him to stay in a room next to Leslie's courtyard. After returning to his room, Owen lay on the bed, tossing and turning.

He thought about how he could charm Princess Marry and duplicate her family emblem.

Recalling the anime, he remembered Princess Marry's personality, her likes, and interests.

Growing up in the royal family, she had everything she could ever want, so there was nothing he could offer that she hadn't already seen.

Having transmigrated into the body of an orphan, Owen had nothing of value to give her.

As for her hobbies, there was no easy way to access them.

In the anime, the princess didn't have much screen time, and after her duel with John, her role diminished.

He vaguely remembered that Princess Marry was very passionate about swordsmanship and was always training in sword magic at Luna Academy.

Such dedicated girls are generally more attracted to those who are much stronger than themselves.

While the Godslayer Sword was undoubtedly powerful, he felt it wasn't enough to fully impress the princess.

The more he thought about it, the sleepier he became.

Especially considering that on the first day of meeting his fiancée, he was tasked with seducing another woman, Owen couldn't help but shake his head.

Forget it. Thinking about this now is pointless. I should get some sleep and deal with it when the Magic Competition starts!

...

After much contemplation, the day of the Magic Competition arrived.

Owen adjusted his clothes, a luxurious robe from the duke's mansion, which was both form-fitting and durable, capable of withstanding normal sword attacks.

It also emitted a faint, refreshing fragrance that kept him alert.

Feeling in peak condition, Owen set off for the palace, escorted by Benedict and the Wolf Guard. The Wolf Guard moved at a moderate pace, ensuring Owen was well-protected.

After Owen defeated Carlos from the Nether Kingdom and eliminated Tony from the Bounty Guild, he had rightfully earned the title of the continent's top genius. His increasing fame drew more attention to him.

With Princess Marry hosting the Magic Competition, many mages were even more curious about Owen. Therefore, Benedict and his team were extra cautious, fearing Owen might fall victim to an ambush.

Not every kingdom could tolerate Owen holding the top spot on the Genius Leaderboard, posing a significant threat to their future.

Fortunately, this was the imperial capital. Although many mages pointed at Owen along the way, their gazes filled with complexity, none dared block his path or challenge him.

However, this calm did not last long. After passing through a street, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. Owen narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression tense.

Using his mind power, he sensed nearly a hundred mages hiding in an alley not far away. Their auras were fierce and aggressive, like ferocious beasts.

"Kyrik's mages?"

Owen recognized their origin by the various birds and beasts embroidered on their robes.

As Owen scrutinized them, a middle-aged man at the forefront of the group fixed his cold, hawk-like eyes on him.

"Owen, it's time to pay for your actions!"