The time left until the Traveling Merchant's invasion was about to end.
In just a matter of hours, the Kingdom would face the most mysterious [Event] we had ever seen.
A man capable of messing with my system, breaking the description, and forcing an [Event] to trigger without my input...
Even though we had gotten much stronger since the war on Maides' Island, the Traveling Merchant's Event difficulty line indicator was still in the extreme red edge.
Miwen: "If it looks impossible, even for a moment, I want you all to run back home."
Standing atop the Kingdom's wall, I repeated the phrase the girls had already heard a million times before.
Licia: "Hm. We've already sent the requests to leave, so no need to worry."
Even though most of the girls were living in the Kingdom, losing it would only be a minor inconvenience. However, Licia reassured me with her usual smile, and for a moment, I truly believed nothing would go wrong, despite my better judgment.
While Licia held my hand, Claire leaned against my shoulder, flashing a confident smile.
The other girls seemed much more anxious, even more unsure of what to expect than we were. The only exception was Mia, who sat by the wall, rocking her hanging legs back and forth.
Before accepting the [Event], I spent my [Kingdom Points] to obtain Beatrice's recently acquired [Wind Magic] and [Earth Magic].
I shared both my [Wind Magic] and [Fire Magic] with Ellie so she could coat her arrow and deal even more damage with her absurdly powerful Gift, but...
That was the last preparation the girls and I came up with.
Hoping I could use the [Kingdom Points] and [Gacha Tickets] I had saved today and get this over with by trading with the guy without a fight, I accepted the [Event], forcing it to start early.
Miwen: "Get ready..."
[Invasion! The Traveling Merchant Arrives!
Before an invasion can begin, the user must add a plot of land to the Kingdom from which the invaders will come. This addition is free of charge.
Please note that Invasion Events provide greater rewards upon successful completion.]
As usual, I was bombarded with information my Gift could've told me beforehand.
Still, no matter how great the rewards were for defending the Kingdom compared to abandoning it, I wasn't much tempted. Keeping my life sounded like the much better deal.
Claire: "...The forest is expanding, Miwen."
I added the new plot of land in the square right in front of the previous one, turning the Kingdom into a large corridor.
The fog cleared before our eyes, and in its place, dark green treetops stretched as far as we could see.
Claire: "Won't that give them cover? Want me to start a fire?"
Her eyes were filled with desire.
I had no idea what her problem with forests was, or if she just enjoyed seeing large fires, but...
Miwen: "Save your mana. Whatever the case is, there's only one straight path towards us."
Claire raised her finger, as if she were about to make a point, but unable to think of anything past 'I wanna set it on fire', she drooped her shoulders.
Licia: "That weird fog surrounds the forest on three sides. Since there are no landmarks or signs, maybe he'll get lost and tired?"
Optimistic as always, Licia tried to see a bright side and lift our moods, but the tension in the air was far too palpable for it to-
????????: "Eh? You think I'm an idiot?"
The silhouette of a tall man with long silver hair appeared between Licia and me in the blink of an eye.
The man wore a white suit perfectly tailored to his body and a gentle smile on his face.
If not for the bloodlust I felt emanating from him, he'd be the personification of elegance.
????????: "To be honest with you, the time prison was a much better idea. I've never been delayed so much in my life... I'm awfully annoyed by it."
His eyes reflected something so deep, it felt heavy.
Even someone like me, who had lived in relative peace, could tell...
This man had seen more blood and death than anyone on Earth.
Merchant: "...So, which of you was responsible for this prank?"
It wasn't just his eyes that felt heavy.
His words made my breath stop in my throat, and I struggled to answer him.
Miwen: "If you're talking about this land, that would be me. I'm responsible for-"
I finally pushed the words out, only for his long stare to make me flinch.
Merchant: "No. I don't think so."
He took a step back, letting his eyes reflect my figure in its entirety.
Merchant: "There's no Demonic Power or Divinity within you. And you don't look like one of the Endless, either..."
The smile he wore changed, curling upwards.
Merchant: "Although... Your Gift might be the closest thing to an Endless I've seen in a while. Seems like I didn't waste my time, after all."
He scratched his chin, and a lighthearted chuckle escaped him.
Merchant: "...Alright, I've decided. The rest of you I can do without. But you... I'll have you bring me to-"
He raised his hand.
Miwen: "Claire!"
I shouted before he could move, and in the time he wasted speaking to me, everyone had put a distance.
Using some of my [Kingdom Points], I summoned an entire house at his exact location.
The speed at which he moved through the forest wasn't normal, but whether it was physical ability or something like teleportation didn't matter.
I used more [Kingdom Points] to launch the house in the air, and while he was still trapped inside it, Claire's flames burst the entire building into fire.
As I used the building system to keep the houses in the air, I threw more houses into the pyre, each with a random design, turning them into a burning labyrinth with no windows or doors to escape into.
The smoke should be enough to suffocate him to death, if Claire's fire didn't do the job first.
Merchant: "That's surprising. How did someone so low-level use [Green Magic] and [Gravity Magic] without mana or a relic?"
He appeared from thin air in exactly the same place he was before.
Merchant: "Then again, I stopped reading your Gift's effects at the [Beverage's Banner]... I suppose the houses came from that 'gacha' ability?"
Speed wouldn't have done him any favors in midair like that. His ability had to be teleportation.
The only problem was that he didn't have a line of sight.
Maybe he could go to places he had seen at least once, but that would mean the entire Kingdom was now a valid target for his ability...
There was no such thing as a Gift without limitations. That was true for Normyu's Gift back in the last Event, and it was true for [Gacha Kingdom Building] as well.
The Merchant's Gift had a weakness somewhere; it was just a matter of finding it.
Miwen: "Licia! We'll need a better arena!"
She didn't blink one time before nodding.
Miwen: "Everyone! Let's take him down!"
I pointed at the ground behind the wall, and the girls jumped from their positions.
Mia, Licia, and I skated down ice slides, while Claire propelled herself with her fire.
Bea grabbed Anna in a princess carry, and both softly landed with an air cushion softening the fall.
Ellie did the same, but on her way down, she fired a dozen arrows at the Merchant. Her eyes never landed on the ground as she tracked the Merchant through all his teleporting.
He had only switched between three different spots, and Ellie predicted his next position, firing an arrow that raced past the others, reaching the man just as he appeared before it.
For a brief moment, it seemed like we had a chance.
That faint hope was shattered alongside the arrow he grabbed midair.
To catch one of Ellie's arrows, his reflexes had to be on par with Mia's.
Maybe he was even faster than her.
I had no time to waste admiring his ability, though.
Once everyone had landed, Mia, Licia, and I instantly created an arena of solid ice while everyone scattered in opposite directions.
Merchant: "Oh? And what is this supposed to accomplish?"
The green grass and brown dirt that surrounded the girls' houses had been replaced by a light blue, almost transparent ice formation.
Scattered at its edges and in various random places, we erected ice pillars slightly taller than a house's ceiling, as wide as double doors, and as thick as walls.
Merchant: "Hmm~? You're coming to me? Haha! I've gotta recognize your bravery."
Given the girls' proficiency with [Ice Magic], the ice ended up so reflective that we had effectively created a mirror house.
With this little trick, we created several illusions that charged toward the Merchant.
The man flicked his fingers, blasting the air at each phantom in the mirrors.
The impact of each blast was enough to destroy a pillar so thoroughly that its shards disappeared in the air, reduced to less than atoms.
His magic was impressive, but between the girls and me, he was facing three mana pools simultaneously.
Not only that, Ellie fired arrows that curved in the air with her [Wind Magic].
These arrows reflected on the ice mirrors as well, and with the weird trajectories they followed before hitting the bullseye, it was impossible to know where she was firing from.
With the reflections charging at him and the bullet hell Ellie had created, we overwhelmed the Merchant's attention.
However, once he noticed we didn't dare approach him, the Merchant focused his efforts on destroying Ellie's arrows.
Unfortunately for him, her unlimited supply was bound to outlast his mana.
All we had to do was hold him for long enough, and to increase the pressure, we decided to mix a real attack among the mirror illusions.
Since he had stopped attacking the fakes charging at him, I got his neck within range of my dagger.
The blade approached his neck, but just as it reached him...
Merchant: "You realize I can still hear you, right?"
My blade stopped at the skin of his neck, and he didn't even bother to turn my way.
His words were not a warning to me, but to Mia.
She had jumped from an opposite direction. Her fists, coated in an icy bladed gauntlet, launched a tempest of punches toward the man.
Not a single strike hit.
And the man grabbed her hand.
Mia: "Get out!"
In an attempt to freeze the man to her, she spread the ice from her fists.
It gave me enough time to jump back, but she was in a deadly position, and I accepted the request she had sent to leave the Kingdom before the battle started.
As she faded before me, the Merchant broke the thick, heavy ice cube that Mia had sprawled on his fists.
Ellie tried to fire even faster now that Mia had left, but it was no use.
Merchant: "I've seen enough."
Flames started to spread from his shoes.
Despite how much effort Licia and I put into reinforcing the ice arena, and regardless of Beatrice's attempt to support us with water magic...
The arena melted in an instant.
We simply couldn't compete with him.
Merchant: "I hope that wasn't the last trick in your bag..."
He blinked a few times before looking around.
Merchant: "...Where's the wolf girl? I suddenly can't sense her anymore."
If he could sense us from the beginning, what was the point of standing there while we attacked him?
Unless...
He let us.
For his own amusement.
He was toying with us since the start.
Merchant: "...What? Did I make you scared?"
His eyes lacked any intensity.
It was the face I'd expect to see on someone taking a casual stroll.
No.
It was closer to someone apathetically looking at ants.
Miwen: "...Thanks for the help, girls."
I opened every request I had received from the girls and accepted them all.
Licia: "Miwen? What are you-"
Her desperate voice faded, and at the same time, she and all the other girls disappeared from the Kingdom.
It was just the Merchant and me.
Merchant: "I see. So you can escape like that..."
He casually put his hands in his pants' pockets.
Merchant: "But in that case... Why are you sacrificing your life here?"
The smile he kept throughout the entire battle faded.
Merchant: "See... I never understood that way of doing things. How does it feel?"
His face tensed slightly.
It was almost as if he was concerned about me, despite being the one threatening my life.
Miwen: "I don't know. I'm not the type to do that, and I also can't understand those who are."
I took a deep breath and readied my blades.
Miwen: "I'm not making a sacrifice here. I fully intend on winning."
A small smirk was all I could muster.
It was still a bet, but...
I had hope in it.
Merchant: "Hahaha! Seriously!? A being like you couldn't hope to survive even a flick of my fingers."
When I met Melissa for the first time, my [Appraisal] was only level 1, and yet, I was able to see as far as her level.
This skill had gained quite a few levels since then, and yet, it didn't even tell me something as basic as the Merchant's name.
His words were likely true. He was on another league.
Miwen: "I know. It's exactly why you're going to lose."
While Melissa could probably take on an entire party of Earth's top-tier adventurers, this guy felt like he could defeat everyone on Earth put together.
That was the reason I knew I wouldn't lose to him.
Merchant: "Really? Alright. Give it your best shot."
He spread his arms, his lips curling back into that annoying smile.
Merchant: "If you entertain me enough, I'll give you enough time to come up with some pretty last words."
I answered his smile with one of my own.
It was an unfair battle, and neither he nor I would be able to return from the path it'd lead us into.