Chapter 39 – The Hunter and the Trap.

The air in the Second Circle's Central Plaza shifted in temperature in the early afternoon.

Diana walked back toward her commercial stall with Rhea, Kael, and Aurelia-Elysia, after settling the glass supply contract.

Suddenly, a heavy, dense, repulsive pulse of magic energy vibrated the depths of Diana's soul. It was an icy, ravenous vibration, identical to the feel of her own anomalous essence, but loaded with a visceral, raw malice.

The System interface flashed an emergency black-gold hue before Diana's eyes:

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[RIVAL PROXIMITY ALERT!]

[Presence of a Candidate for the Sin of Greed Detected in the Sector!]

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Diana stopped dead in the middle of the plaza.

Rhea, Kael, and Aurelia-Elysia assumed immediate alert positions around Diana, sensing the tension in the air.

Parting the pedestrian crowd with heavy strides, three figures approached.

The man in the center was a two-meter-tall demon with grayish skin, eyes red as blood, and heavy black iron plate armor adorned with pure gold chains. He carried a double-headed battleaxe on his back, exuding an aura of suffocating violence.

His two companions were Level 20 elite mercenaries.

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[RIVAL ANALYSIS VIA ANALYSIS VISION]

- Lord Malakor (Level 22): Class: Blood Greed Executioner (Candidate for the Sin of Greed).

- Warning: Active Candidate hunter. Malakor assassinates other Fragment possessors to absorb the soul essence of the slain.

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Level 22. A Candidate for Greed who hunted and devoured the souls of other Candidates.

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Malakor stopped three meters away from Diana's group, crossing his iron arms over his chest. His red eyes locked onto Diana from top to bottom, sensing the pulse of the Fragment of Greed inside the human girl's chest.

Malakor let out a loud, dry, scoffing laugh.

"Well, well, well…" Malakor said, his voice deep as a monster's bellow. "What do we have here? A little human girl playing shopkeeper in the Second Circle."

He stepped forward, bringing his face close to Diana's, breathing a heavy stench of blood and sulfur.

"You're Level 20, girl." Malakor grinned, exposing razor-sharp teeth. "Your soul harbors a clean, young Fragment of Greed. You're a perfect feast for me. Hand over your Fragment right now, or I spill your guts all over this plaza floor."

Kael stepped forward with his Volcanic Shield, but Diana raised her left hand, signaling the vanguard to hold position.

In the past, faced with a higher-level threat, Diana had suffered an anxiety collapse from terror of death.

But today… Diana didn't blink.

She didn't freak out. She didn't waver. She felt not the slightest tremor in her legs.

Instead, Diana's analytical mind operated with the coldness of a war machine. She activated her [Command Eye] spell completely discreetly, keeping the blue glow of her eyes hidden beneath the brim of her coat.

Lord Malakor's full sheet revealed itself in Diana's tactical vision:

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[FULL TACTICAL SHEET - LORD MALAKOR (LEVEL 22)]

- HP: 550 / 550 | MP: 220 / 220

- Stats: Strength: 25 | Agility: 18 | Vitality: 24 | Intelligence: 18 | Perception: 14

- Magic Weakness: Low resistance to Ice and Electricity Damage. Total reliance on slow physical axe attacks.

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Diana analyzed the numbers in a millisecond.

Malakor was Level 22 with Strength 25 and Vitality 24. He thought Diana was a weak Level 20 rookie.

What Malakor DID NOT KNOW was that Diana had Intelligence 60 (MP 300), Rhea had Agility 46 (with Phantom Step), Kael had 300 HP POINTS on his shield, and Aurelia-Elysia had 230 MP in support.

That Level 22 'hunter' was, in truth, perfect prey for the tactical squad of Arcane Greed.

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Diana made the strategic decision immediately.

Fighting in the Central Plaza was stupid: the citadel's militia guards would intervene, the Council of Nobles would use the brawl to levy fines, and combat would turn into public chaos.

Diana dropped her imposing posture, lowered her shoulders, and forced an expression of hesitation and fear onto her face.

"Lord… Lord Malakor…" Diana spoke in a trembling voice, playing the role of a helpless girl. "Here in the plaza… the city militia will intervene… please… don't make a scene here…"

Malakor cackled loudly seeing Diana's "frightened" posture, convinced that the human girl was terrified of his Level 22 presence.

"Look at her!" Malakor mocked to his mercenaries. "The 'Commander' is shaking with fear of the city guard! A miserable coward!"

Diana took two steps back, feigning desperation, and made the proposal that would set the perfect trap:

"If you want my Soul Fragment…" Diana said, her voice wavering, "…face me in an Official Faction Duel tomorrow morning in the Lawless Ravine of Iron Bones (Neutral Dungeon - Level 20-22). No guards. No city rules. Winner takes all."

Malakor stared at Diana. The blind arrogance of the Level 22 warrior swallowed the bait whole.

"A lawless Neutral Dungeon?" Malakor grinned cruelly. "You just signed your death warrant, girl! Tomorrow morning, at the Ravine of Iron Bones, I'm going to rip that Fragment of yours out of your chest with my bare hands!"

Malakor turned his back, laughing loudly with his mercenaries, and walked away across the plaza.

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The millisecond Malakor turned the street corner, Diana's "frightened" posture vanished completely.

She raised her head. Her dark eyes sparked with a glint of cruelty and greed so cold, so icy, and so devastating that even passing mercenaries backed away shivering.

Rhea, Kael, and Aurelia-Elysia smiled. They knew their Commander. They knew Diana had just placed a noose around Malakor's neck with a flawless knot.

"He fell for it hook, line, and sinker, Commander…" Kael said, adjusting his volcanic steel shield.

"He thought you were scared…" Rhea chuckled softly, touching her corrosive daggers.

"We are going to the supply shop to buy scrolls of ambush and ice traps." Diana declared, her voice calm and lethal. "Tomorrow we don't just win a duel. We execute our first rival and take his soul."

Diana stopped by the market and invested 2 Silver Coins in terrain reconnaissance scrolls and heavy paralysis consumables for the Ravine.

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[FULL FINANCIAL AUDIT]

Previous Balance: 80 Silver Coins (8 Gold Coins).

Purchase of Ambush Consumables and Reconnaissance Scrolls: -2 Silver Coins.

[NEW ABSOLUTE NET WORTH: 78 SILVER COINS (7,800 Bronze! / 7.8 GOLD COINS!)]

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Seventy-eight silver coins in the vault.

Back at the Arcane Greed Faction Headquarters, the squad met in the basement to map out every single inch of the Lawless Ravine of Iron Bones.

—Hmm…

The System's voice murmured in Diana's head, the interface flashing glowing black gold.

—You feigned weakness, lured a Level 22 Candidate into a Lawless Zone with no guards, and you're gonna use your squad to tear him apart. Your rival has no idea what nightmare awaits him tomorrow.

Diana smiled. A sharp, ravenous, completely relentless smile.

The trap was set. And the First Rival of Greed would be devoured at dawn.

Final Notes:

Will she win? Or lose everything... let's see in the next chapter-