Billy spent the rest of the night talking with everyone, and while they had been careful with their words recently due to Alexander and Natalie's loss, those two didn't look that much bothered by it. Instead of that, they were thinking about how they could keep improving their skills. They couldn't imagine themselves defeating Billy when he used everything he knew alongside with magic. Still, they knew how they could improve their strengths, and that was the key to getting stronger. Billy also asked everyone what they thought of the hooded guy, but they didn't know what to say.
"He passes a weird feeling when he fights… I don't know if it is good or bad," Drew said.
"It is also hard to say if he is merciful or cruel by hitting the opponent in the same spot over and over again until they can no longer stay conscious," Camilla said. "He is powerful, but his real strength is a mystery."
Now that Billy thought about it, when the tournament started, he had a bad feeling about something, and he couldn't tell what it was at that time. After three weeks, maybe he will find the source of that uneasiness… He didn't know how he should fight that guy at first, but using magic right off the bat will be troublesome. Putting the tournament aside, he couldn't let that guy know what he could do that easily… and yet, Billy also felt that he might be causing problems for himself if he didn't fight with all his might from the very beginning.
While he was thinking about that, morning came, and Billy had a silent breakfast with his family and friends before heading to the Coliseum. On the way, he felt a lot more stares than before. It was weird for them to notice him only at that point of the tournament. Still, Billy decided to think that those stares were coming because Marie, Svan, and Ilfa joined them along the way.
"Are you getting the cold feet?" Svan asked.
"You probably had never seen me deep in thought to think that way…" Billy said and frowned. "I am just a bit curious about how a fighter of that level remains unknown until now."
"I guess you have a point, some geniuses appear over the years, but they never suddenly show up at that level," Svan said. "They usually have some fame on their background, like they are adventurers, or warriors of some renown for the first battles."
The leaders of the states that were accompanying them also looked troubled. Usually, their network of information would keep them informed of what powerful individuals were doing since they could cause problems to their states. Still, they also never heard of that hooded figure. After pulling some strings, Svan heard that his name was Icarus, but anyone could give a fake name on the registration. That would be stupid since it means that the fighters would get famous with a fake name, but for someone who wanted to keep their identity hidden…
According to the legend, Icarus was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth that was used to keep the Minotaur. Icarus and Daedalus attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that Daedalus constructed from feathers and wax. Daedalus warns Icarus first of complacency and then of hubris, instructing him to fly neither too low nor too high, lest the sea's dampness clog his wings or the sun's heat melt them. Icarus ignores Daedalus's instructions not to fly too close to the sun, causing the wax in his wings to melt. He tumbles out of the sky, falls into the sea, and drowns. The myth gave rise to the idiom "don't fly too close to the sun"...
"This confirms it… he is a reincarnated person," Billy thought.
Billy could understand the thought of laying low. He was trying to do that as much as possible. Still, since he always wanted to help his friends and family, he always ended up standing out in one way or the other. Still, at least he didn't show the skills that he was born with to anyone, so there was that. In any case, it will be better if he acts like he didn't notice anything and fights like unusual.
When Billy entered the Coliseum, the cheering increased quite a bit. He certainly wasn't that famous among the barbarians, so he soon found the reason why the audience looked so excited. He found out that they put the price near the ring so that everyone could see it. The barbarians weren't that fond of money, but they were found of alcohol, and they were imagining how much they could buy with a massive sphere of gold like that.
"Maybe he wants that because it was something created by one of us," Billy thought.
Maybe that had another value aside from money. Still, Billy couldn't tell since he didn't feel any mana coming from the object, so it was hard to imagine that guy obtaining the same power as their predecessors.
Regardless, the hooded guy eventually showed up, and both of them entered the ring. When they assumed their instances, Billy was the first one to raise his guard while the other guy didn't move a single inch. The fight started, but Billy didn't see his adversary running toward him for the first time in a while. Thanks to that, Billy didn't know how to act. He decided to copy Natalie and then increased his speed, focusing Fierce Aura on his legs. Since he truly didn't know the nature of the hooded guy, he still insisted on the idea of not using magic to improve his body even further with his support skills.
When he got close enough, Billy tried to punch his Solar plexus, but then he saw the hooded guy just moving enough to dodge the strike. Soon after, he also tried to punch Billy's side. He saw that and jumped to the side, but a lot faster than he had expected, he got hit…