《The Mysterious Black Magician》


 Chapter 1：World Destruction

    Shing! (Sounds of sword slashed.)


    -1 (Health points deducted.)


    Ack! (Monster cries in pain.)


    Tsk! This wooden sword really did little damage. Currently, the monster health points were 99/100. My attack could only deal 1 damage to it. I did all I can just to kill this monster named Pale Toad, but my damage ain''t high enough. This monster is level 1 only. But, for a reason of me being so weak, it''s so difficult to kill it, yet my peers could easily eliminate these monsters.


    If I couldn''t manage to kill this one, how could someone like me become a strong Magician in the future?


    Right now, all my peers already at level 2 and above. Yet I''m stuck at level 0. What a shame. No, I don''t care about shame anymore. The most important to me now is to earn money, to buy medicine, in order to cure my sister''s illness.


    If only I learned an attack magic skill. But too bad, I''ve got a self-healing magic skill instead. This magic couldn''t even be of use to aid my sister''s illness. And no one wants me at their party, because my skill is useless to the group.


    Fwoosh!!


    The Pale Toad flung its 1-meter tongue towards me. I jumped on my right side to avoid the attack that was approaching hastily.


    It passed at me with a whoosh!


    After I successfully avoided the attack, I slash it as many times as I can.


    Zing!


    -1


    Zing!


    -1


    Zing!


    -1


    (Sword continues slashing while the enemy''s life points decrease at every hit.)


    I flung my wooden sword repeatedly at the monster''s body, trying to kill it with guts without glory.


    Currently, I am at the pond fighting the Pale Toad. This pond is outside a town where I live. Now the current health of the toad was at 96/100 HP.


    My brows wrinkle a bit. And I feel my breathing is out of order already.


    Our training will start on Monday, so it''s better to gain more experience before it starts.


    If I said experience, it doesn''t mean the experience like in video games that you received after you killed a monster. What I meant by it is the actual experience in combat.


    If you''re wondering why I am fighting a monster outside the town, then let us turn back the time to where it all had begun.


    About three and half centuries ago, the whole world came to an end in a devastating apocalyptic cataclysm.


    In the last report of NASA, it was stated that the real cause of this destruction was the abnormal force that pulled down all the residing meteorites surrounding the earth planet.


    Those meteorites were being pulled on the earth''s surface and caused the rain of meteors. Thus, it was followed by high-intensity earthquakes and destructive tsunamis.


    However, these three calamities were not just the reasons for world destruction.


    One month had passed, humanity thought that the calamities had ended.


    However, Something unbelievable happened next. Before they could grief upon the loss of their properties and especially their loved ones, another tragedy had started to peek out from the shadows.


    The whole world was shrouded by mist. From this mist, grotesque and vicious-looking creatures came rushing to feed on humanities. They were mutated beasts of any type of animal.


    Once again, humans were drowned in sorrows and despair.


    At night, the cries of humans and howls of these mutated beasts were the sounds that could only be heard. Humans had no way to fight back this horror. Even modern weapons were useless against them.


    Many days had passed, and the human''s population plummeted to 1/5. Yet their suffering was far from ended. Even though nothing had resolved yet, with all the calamities that had happened, a new predicament had begun to bud.


    Pandemic!


    Humanity was pushed to the brink. The new kind of widespread disease had appeared. It killed millions of humans in just a month. No one comprehended the cause of the pandemic. Not even experts discovered the cause. Mostly the cause of deaths was because of Cell Deficiency.


    Many years had passed since the calamity. The monsters from the mist are still causing havoc and the pandemic is steadily spreading. When humanity was about to give up a ray of hope finally brimmed.


    A Filipino specialist doctor accidentally discovered a foreign cell inside a patient''s body. The doctor was known as Dr. Eman Pablo. He said, "the cell is exceedingly vague, almost invisible from microscopic equipment. This cell exudes a negative kind of energy. And this energy causes damages to other cells in a person''s body."


    Thereafter, many experts began to search for a way to stabilize the foreign cell. Later on, they called the cell a Hollow Cell.


    Ten years had passed, a UN researcher known as Prof Mana Gram, had discovered another type of energy from the fallen meteorites, which was the positive energy.


    After so many years of extensive research, they finally found a way to stabilize the Hollow Cell, it was through resonance with the positive energy from fallen meteorites. They later named the meteorites as Gram Metal.


    With the resonance of the two opposite energies, the Hollow Cell had stopped finally on destroying other cells. But before they could rejoice for this success, later on, they discovered that the patient''s stability was still undue. These two energies were too strong for the human body to handle; therefore, another comprehensive research was established again.


    Finally, after many years of researching, they finally succeeded in curing the pandemic. They invented a gadget that could break the limiter of the human body. Only by breaking the human''s limiter that the patient could handle the toll brought by these two powerful energies, the Hollow Cell, and the Gram Metal.


    With the help of the new gadget, everyone with the symptoms of Hollow Cells could level up their bodies to become stronger. Every level up was equated to a 1% breakthrough to their limiter. Now, the gadget was known as System Deity.


    Not just humanity had stopped the pandemic, they also now have the means to fight back these magical mutated beasts.


    Three and a half centuries had passed after world destruction. Numerous things have changed. One of the biggest changes was the world geography, from big to a small country, the Philippines was one of them. If before, the Philippines looks like a granny, now it looks like an egg! No more Mindanao, Luzon or Visayas. Now it''s Upper Region(Luzon), Middle Region(Visayas), and Lower Region(Mindanao).


    On the outskirts of a small town from the Middle Region of the Philippines, a young man was currently fighting a monster.


    This young man was known as Yman Talisman. Almost 2hours now had passed since he was fighting the level 1 monster known as Pale Toad.


    Currently, he flung his wooden sword rapidly in his hand to the monster at the front.


    Heyah!


    Zing!


    -1


    Zing!


    -1


    Shit! (He swore under his breath.)


    But no matter how hard he flung his sword, the damage was still 1. Since the wooden sword has a +6 attack and his base attack was 5, it means that toad had 10 defense.


    But in actuality, these status numbers are just a measuring tool. What''s important was a person''s ability on how he handled a fight.

 Chapter 2：The System Deity

    Yman woke up early on Sunday morning. Because he believes at the sayings that, "the early birds that get a choice which is more important than the worm itself".


    He knew this well, that''s why he got up early on that morning because the one who came early at the venue of the evaluation exam would be able to choose a better starting skill. But for some reason, he had been dragged in the alleyway and ganged up by the group of five youths before he arrived at the venue.


    Therefore, he was late and had no choice left but to get the worst starting skill among the rest, the self-healing magic.


    He not only got a starting skill, but also a System Deity.


    The system deity was a round ball object as big as a golf ball. With designs of profound carving and imprint. To activate the System Deity, the owner must feed it with his own energy to light up all the imprint on its body, then it would spread automatically at the back of the owner''s neck like a wristwatch, and after it was stuck on the owner''s neck, they could follow up by whispering the word ''RESONANCE''.


    System Deity was a super system that boosted the mortal body. Even if the user had been stabbed to his/her heart or head, they won''t die.


    Even if the health points reached zero...he won''t die as long as he was in resonance with the system deity. But he/she would revert back to a normal person again and their resonance would be canceled automatically, then they couldn''t use resonance for a month or depend on how long the person would be able to recover.


    The most important thing to do when the user''s body regressed back to a normal person...was to hide quickly from danger. Or else, no more third life awaited for him/her.


    After Yman whispered the word "resonance", a full display of window interface appeared on his vision.


    The truth was, any magician that was in contract with the System Deity was able to summon their Window Interface even not in their resonance mode. This window interface was also known as...


    "Cyber Screen," Yman spoke softly.


    It was followed by...


    A lovely female voice tickled his ears, which followed by pop up notifications.


    Since this was his first time, he chose the choices. System Deity was a super-intelligent system and could converse to humans like a normal person.


    Yman''s mouth leaked a smile. He was excited!


    Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!


    He didn''t even think twice as he chose this name. It probably had a deep reason behind it.


    After chose the choices, a list of sections in his interface had appeared. He tapped on the Status section. *Bling!* A magical sound rang in his ears. Followed by:


    ?STATUS SECTION?


    |TITLE|


    ===========


    Yman Talisman


    ===========


    Level: 0


    HP: [_100/100_]


    Stamina: 100%


    Attack: 5


    Mdef/Def: 5


    Strength: 1


    Vitality: 1


    CombatExperience: 10/100


    ?Self Healing Magic


    Currently, he only had strength and vitality to his Attributes. And the worst thing of all, he only had 1 point on both.


    To increase his attributes, he needed to buy a special medicine or train.


    To increase his level, he needed to pay using his gold points(There''s a reason why they use gold points as currency in this era).


    Once they level up, their attribute points would also increase. But the price of medicine to advance their level wasn''t low. They needed 1,000 gold points per level of advancement.


    However, the cost would increase depending on his/her level. Not just that, he/she must have a high CE(Combat Experience).


    As of now, Yman has 100 gold points to his wallet section in his Cyber Screen. These points were his allowance for a month. And his CE was 10/100.


    For Yman, what he wanted most was to learn a new skill first. A combat skill, like fireball or wind blades.


    There were several ways to get them.


    The first and the most common way was to buy a skill book or ability scroll on the market or auction using the gold points.


    The second way was to learn a skill through arduous training.


    And then the third way was to kill the monster''s elder. These elders usually brought a skill book with them, because mostly they couldn''t use a spell without it.


    If a person were lucky to kill one, he/she could take the skill book from it. Different skill books have different prices, but ordinary ones usually cost thousands of gold points.


    Well, there was also a free random skill when a magician upgraded their System Deity for the first time. Specifically, their deity could also learn a skill through upgrading.


    And the last among the rest was to train some ancient or legendary techniques that were passed down by their ancestors.


    However, learning this type of magic was not an easy feat, it was only compatible with people gifted with an abundance of Mana or being direct descendants of their clans.


    Yman at the moment was currently fighting a toad. There were many kinds of toads. But today Yman was fighting the weakest one, the Pale Toad.


    He found out that it''s not easy to level and earn points. Even though this toad was as big as a pig and moves slowly, his damage was one thing that made him want to vomit a mouthful of blood.


    Currently,


    10/100 Health points left on the toad. But Yman also wasn''t in good shape. His health points were 30 and almost depleted all his stamina. Every damage he took from the toad tongue-whip, was minus 10 points to his health. His stamina at most 10% left.


    |Shit! Looks like my stamina will be the first to empty. With my self-healing magic, I can heal myself as much as I want. But my stamina will be consumed every time I cast magic. Tsk! I need to kill this one before going home.|


    He dashed forward again and about to swing his sword but the toad flung its tongue toward his head. Yman ducked quickly.


    *swish!*


    Sound of whipping an empty air had reached his ears. He swung rapidly his wooden sword to the toad''s body. This toad wasn''t so quick.


    Zing! Zing!


    5/100, Now the Pale Toad health points were 5 only. Yman became more eager to kill it, but he needed to be careful too.


    The toad was breathing deeply and clearly tired.


    Yman took a step back, he needed great timing to perfectly before rushing in to finish the toad. The toad slowly opened its mouth. Yman gazes on it in a full alert.


    He noticed the tongue that came rushing towards him from its mouth. He smiled lightly and ducked quickly but...suddenly he felt a bad premonition and shifted from ducking to diving on his right in a quick motion.


    *Woosh!*


    *Bang!*


    -20Hp


    Ugh!


    Yman was hit by a fireball that came from his back. Now his clothes were on fire. He dived quickly on the pond to stop the fire from spreading.


    *Splash!*


    "Haha oops! Did you guys see a frog jumping on the pond?" Asked by the young man to his entourage.


    "Haha, I saw one! Shall we kill it too?" answered by another young man.


    When Yman stood up, he saw 6 youth, 5 of them were the ones who ganged up on him this morning. The other one was no other than their leader and the cause of why he was late for this morning evaluation exam. The leader of the group was known as Kiko the hot-headed youth.


    Yman shot a glare at them. Waters dripping from his body and his clothes were tattered.

 Chapter 3：Defective Deity

    |This punk! Irrational as ever. Hah, I don''t have free time for these idiots. Better leave for now and come back later. It''s better to hit some training dummies to increase my combat experience.| Yman thought while trying to get rid of some algae that was sticking on his body.


    When the group of Kiko had noticed him,


    "I thought it''s a frog. Who would have thought that it''s Yman? Haha!" Kiko said while sarcastically laughing so hard.


    "Hehe, Kiko bro, I think Yman thought this pond was a river. Haha!``said one of Kiko''s friends. This guy named Marco.


    "At least he knew how to wash his body. Haha!" Another of Kiko''s friends indicated. The guy named Bruno.


    "But now, he even looks dirtier than before. Hehe!" Marco said while covering his nose and mouth with his hand.


    Hahaha! The six youth were batshit laughing.


    "Hah! What would you expect of an orphan? He can''t even buy food to eat." Kiko said while gesturing can''t be helped.


    "Kiko, he wanted to get away." One of their friends pointed.


    "Let him be. He smelled like shit I don''t want him near me." Kiko said in disgust.


    Yman''s brows twitched when he heard their ridiculing conversations.


    "Tsk, idiots." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Their ridiculing convo had no effect on him. But, he was annoyed that they stole the kill. And worse than that, they intentionally hit him with the fireball.


    |Hump, I make you pay double the next time!| He whispered and started his steps toward the gate of the town.


    Yman seemed down, he''s walking along the road, while shoulders drop.


    |Hah, what a waste of effort. If only I''ve gotten an attack skill, it will be faster to kill mobs. Such bad luck, my dream to become the greatest `Seeker'', was shattered before it started. What could a self-healing skill do? It can''t even be used to heal others.| He thought dejectedly.


    After some minutes of walking, he finally saw the towering wall ahead. Because of the monsters that lurked outside, the mayor of every town and city decided to constrict the area with high walls.


    These walls would defend the citizens from monster attacks. It''s made of concrete, basically hard and not easy to breach. Finally, he arrived at the gate. Some guards did some inspection to the passerby who wanted to enter.


    When they noticed him, they showed contemp on their faces.


    Some girls of his age passed by at him while twitching their noses and mumbled the word, "Gross!" That reached his ears.


    Yman frowned and scratched the back of his head. He wanted to retort but he thought that it was troublesome.


    After he went inside, he canceled his resonance with his System Deity, Sistela. Now Sistela was back on being a ball-shape object again.


    "Sistela, time check," Yman asked his partner.


    Sistela answered. Sistela has a realistic feminine voice. She could speak like a real person.


    "Hmm, just right, " he said while nodding.


    "Yes? What is it?"


    "Eh? How can you tell?" He suddenly paused while wide-eyed staring at his partner.


    "But you are a round ball!"


    "Ehhhh! Is that a joke?"


    "What?"


    "Argh! Don''t say it twice, I know it already!"


    "Whaaaat?! You hurt my feelings, you know!"


    |Hah, can''t be helped, huh.| He thought in defeat. Now, even his deity was showing contempt at him.


    16 inches width and 12 inches in length transparent thin screen appeared in front of his face. He then checked the wallet section in his interface. In his wallet section displays his current balance. As of the moment, he has 100 gold points.


    He went directly to the market and bought 1-kilo rice and vegetables. No need to buy meat and fish, both were expensive. 1-kilo rice cost him 1 gold point, 1 gold point is equal to 1 dollar.


    Tsk! He clicked his tongue when he saw how little balance he had.


    |I can''t even afford to buy an Attribute point.|


    suddenly, his partner called him again.


    "....."


    He ignored it.


    "Ugh, You''re mean!"


    She said knowingly.


    Yman felt excited to what he heard from his deity and his eyes lit up, "Oh, really, then what''s the easy way?" he asked curiously.


    "I''m more worried about your intelligence!" He shouted briefly disregarding his surroundings.


    |Is this deity mocking me? Or urging me to become a criminal? Maybe I''ve got a defective one. In this era, there was only one currency, and that was gold points.|


    While walking along the street,


    Yman saw some pretty young girls wearing an expensive-looking outfit. Their bodies showed a faint glow. And they were heading towards the gate of the town.


    It was advisable that whenever you left the town, you must be in resonance with your system deity. Because who knows what might happen outside, it''s better to be ready than sorry.


    Yman noticed the disgusted expressions that showed on some people''s faces when he passed by.


    Hah! He let out a sigh.


    |I need to go home so that I can wash my body that smells so bad! I wonder what''s Yana doing at the moment? If only I have a decent income so that I can take her to a good hospital, or hire a high-level healer to cure her illness.| He mumbled.


    ...


    Inside a room of an academy, an aged man was sitting in front of the square-shaped table. He busied himself writing something.


    On the table, a pile of papers amassed. At the back of the aged man, was a glass window. Outside the window was a garden.


    A moment later, the door of the room made a creaking noise. The aged man glanced. A middle-aged woman walked in.


    After she greeted the aged man, she proceeded,


    "Principal Mar, they had finished testing the large scale array this afternoon," said the middle-aged woman.


    The aged man paused for a moment then said,


    "Mhm, thank you, Mrs. Aurelia, " he replied.


    "No problem. Sir, what do you think of this year''s batch of trainees?" The middle-aged woman asked curiously.


    "Hmmm... I saw some promising youth, " Principal Mar said casually while checking the papers on the table.


    Mrs. Aurelia''s brows were slightly wrinkled when she heard the casual tone of the principal.


    "But sir, if the Academy still can''t produce a good result..." her words have been cut by Principal Mar.


    "I know, don''t worry, we have recruited two talented trainees." He said. "Tell them to get ready for tomorrow''s Inaugural, " he continued.


    "Yes, Principal Mar." She bowed slightly, then left the room.

 Chapter 4：How rare

    Yman and Sistela didn''t stop bantering until they arrived at a rundown apartment.


    He was about to use the key when he noticed that it wasn''t locked.


    |She''s here.| He thought. The door made a creaking noise when he pushed it. "Yman, is that you?" asked by a voice from inside.


    "Yes, Miss Pai, " he replied.


    A woman wearing an apron came out of the kitchen. On her hands were a bowl, a bowl of steaming porridge. A system deity was floating beside her. Based on her figure, she was in her 20''s. She''s pretty and sexy. She has chest-nut color and curly hair, which is shoulder length. She has beautiful eyes, and she stood at the height of 5"6. Same height as him.


    "Oh, how''s your evaluation exam..." She asked. But she suddenly paused when she noticed his figure. His clothes were tattered and wet. And all over his body were covered by mud and algae. "Eh? What happened to you?" she surprisingly asked.


    Yman scratched his head before opening his mouth.


    "Aha-ha, after I got my partner, I went outside the town to earn points. But, I slipped in the pond area when I fought with a pale toad," he said shyly.


    "Kuku, it''s good that you''re fine, but don''t be too rash next time. Your sister will be sad if something bad happened to you," she said worriedly.


    "Yes, Miss Pai, " he responded.


    "Clean yourself first."


    Yman nodded. He went to take a bath after putting in the kitchen the rice and vegetables he bought. He was grateful for her for taking good care of his sister when he''s not around. For him, if it''s not for Miss Pai, he doesn''t know what might have happened to him and his sister. Maybe they were still wandering on the street and sleeping on the roadside. It''s a good thing that he happened to help her in an incident. After that incident, she let him and his sister stay in this apartment free of rent.


    Later on,


    After washing his body and putting up new clothes, he went to his sister''s room. Before pushing the door,


    Cough! Cough! Cough!


    He heard the coughing sounds of his sister behind the closed door. ''Sadness was written on his face. He wavered, and anxiety slowly crawled in his heart. Hearing her coughing voice, caused a piercing pain on him. He bit his lower lip and balled his hands.


    If only he had a better source of income. He regretted being an unreliable brother.


    Suddenly Sistela called out.


    Pak! Pak! Pak!


    He slightly slaps his face to regain his composure. Sistela was currently in his pocket, located at the chest area of his t-shirt. She can''t fly or float yet. She could only learn those if he upgraded his deity. But of course, a price was needed to pay every upgrade. That thing wasn''t in his mind at the moment. Currently, the most important to him was to heal his sister''s illness.


    The System Deity could feel what their owners felt. They were a super-intelligent system that was capable of feeling.


    Creak!


    He slowly pushes the door. His face wore a smile. In front of his sister, he needed to act cheerful.


    After coming inside her room, he saw Miss Pai feeding his Sister with porridge. The two girls glanced at him. His sister Yana forces a smile after seeing him.


    "Hello, Miss Pai, " he bowed slightly in her direction.


    "Come, " she nodded and called out.


    He slowly approached them and sat beside his sister''s bed.


    "How are you, Yana?" He asked with a smile.


    "I feel better now because bro is here."


    "Mhm," He nodded and patted his sister''s head.


    "How''s your evaluation exam, bro?" she curiously asked in a weak voice.


    "Huh, I''ve got a defective deity," he said while gesturing can''t be helped.


    Sistela retorted.


    "Bro, let me see, " Yana excitedly said. But her voice was low.


    Cough! Cough!


    "Sure," he took Sistela out of his pocket and gave it to his sister. "She''s a little mean, so don''t mind her personality." He reminded her sister.


    "A female deity? How rare, " Miss Pai said.


    "Eh? Miss Pai?" He asked.


    "Female deities have higher luck in alchemy." Miss Pai said.


    "Really?"


    "Yeah, but they are weak in battle."


    "I see, so that''s why I have little damage to the pale toad."


    Yman and Miss Pai were discussing System Deity, on the other hand, Sistela and Yana were chatting happily. Unexpectedly, Miss Pai received a message from the academy. She excused herself and went on.


    The Academy wanted to hire her as an adviser. It''s already 5months since she applied. Finally, she got accepted.


    She happily went back to the apartment. She goes to Yana''s room and sees her happily chatting with Yman''s deity.


    Cough! Cough!


    "Miss Pai, you''re back," Yana said weakly.


    "Where is your brother?" She asked.


    "Sistela, where is my brother?"


    System deity and the owner formed a link with each other. After their resonance, they could tell the exact location of each other. They were one pair. Once registered the deity''s name, a pact was automatically agreed.


    The owner of the system deity was called MAGICIAN. Right, every person who owned a system deity was called a magician.


    "Oh, maybe he''s making an arrow again." Miss Pai said.


    Sistela asked unconsciously.


    Yman was currently walking towards the apartment. On the street, he saw many people running everywhere.


    Commotions? He asked himself.


    "Monsters were attacking at the east gate!" A pale person shouted while running.


    Monsters at the east gate? He thought.


    He was heading to the north side of town, where his apartment was located. He paused for a moment, then decided to go to the east gate.


    He ran towards the gate on the east side. When he arrived, he saw a line of soldiers on the wall. They fired arrows and fireballs towards the outside. Since the gate was closed, Yman couldn''t see what monsters were attacking the town.


    Some soldiers crowded in the gate area, "Make some space!" Shouted by a soldier with a higher status.


    RAAAWWWWWWRRRR!!! A loud roar suddenly erupted.


    FWOOOOOOSSHHHHH!!! Which followed by wheezing sounds.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Then a few seconds later, loud bangs rung all over the place.

 Chapter 5：Saving grace

    He rushed to climb on the wall surface to peek outside. But before he came near to it, he was halted by one of the soldiers. The soldier was wearing steel armor and a helmet. Only his thick brows, round eyes, and bearded face were showing.


    "Hey Kid, what were you doing? You''re not allowed here. Go home, quickly, " said the soldier while showing a worried look on his face. His hands were gripping tightly on his bow. But Yman noticed that his quiver was empty.


    He lightly smiled and said, "sorry venerable soldier, I''m here to offer my help," Yman respectfully said.


    The soldier couldn''t believe what he just heard. How could this young man be able to help in this hopeless situation? Where hundreds of monsters and with a mutated one also were rushing to attack this side of the town wall.


    Even with the high-level magicians that hurling high tier magic to the monsters outside, but the monsters still coming relentlessly. If this goes on, they will exhaust their stamina.


    "Kid, the monsters will be able to climb here, at any moment. You''d better leave now." Said the soldier in a husky tone.


    "Venerable soldier, Sir, I saw hundreds of soldiers currently raining arrows at the monsters outside. How could the monsters be able to climb here in this regard?" Yman said calmly.


    "Kid, they won''t last long. Look, at my quiver, it''s already empty. They too, will not last long and will empty theirs as well at any moment." The soldier said anxiously, and a sigh escaped from his mouth.


    Howling and roaring of battles could be heard at the wall area. Monster''s cries and soldiers'' spell casting was all over the place.


    The pouncing of the monsters that were trying to attack the wooden gate of wall produces creaking noise, and soldiers were running wildly while shouting; noise of battle, with a mix of fears, sorrows, and despair, such a chaotic scene, but all of these things that happening at the moment were a common scene in this era, where monsters and magic exist.


    Just a small wrong move, and it cost you, your dear life. The injured soldiers were being carried by their comrades out of the battle, while the other soldiers took their positions to maintain the formation.


    Yman glances at the soldiers firing arrows up ahead on the wall surface. Then he opened his mouth again, "venerable soldier, Sir, even if I run now, it just a matter of time before they plague the whole town. In this regard, there''s no safe place to hide. My demise already set foot wherever I go." He said.


    "Hah, you''re good with your word, Kid. But, as long as you''re alive, who knows what will happen next. Maybe there''s a saving grace at the end," replied the soldier in a husky tone.


    After listening to the soldier''s word, he smiled. With a smile on his face, he opened his mouth once again, "the truth Sir, I''m here, to offer a saving grace, to all, in the lowest possible price." He said in a low tone.


    The soldier slightly wrinkled his brows. He wondered what this kid was saying. Offered a saving grace? At the lowest possible price? Wait, is he a vendor who tried to sell something in this chaotic situation? The soldier''s mouth curled downward.


    "Listen, Kid, there''s no point in selling something now, and no one will be able to buy anything." The soldier said while shaking his head.


    But, Yman''s mouth showed a smile instead. In these kinds of attacks, archers were playing an important role, though Mage type magicians have powerful attacks, they don''t have an unlimited source of magic. Magic of the high tier needs more stamina to cast. So, Mage type magicians were easily exhausted, and they were not suitable for lengthy battles.


    Unlike the Archer type magician, they only need to generate a little and low tier magic, which is hardening, to strengthen and harden their arrows. As long as there''s more supply of arrows, they were able to support the vanguard for longer.


    Both sides suffered losses. As Yman glanced at the soldiers firing arrows and magic, he couldn''t help thinking, "what a mess."


    "No venerable sir, just like what I had already said, I''m here to offer you all..... a saving grace, " without letting the soldier answer again, he opened his Cyber Screen.


    (Cyber Screen- is a holographic window interface.)


    After opening his Cyber Screen, he went to the storage section., which is called Cyber Storage. Then he took something out of it.


    The soldier he had conversed with has widened his eyes in disbelief after seeing the things he took from inside his Cyber Storage.


    The soldier was also surprised after learning that this kid was not an ordinary civilian. He was a Magician like him! Only Magicians could open their Cyber Screen from out of thin air, while ordinary people needed a mobile gadget to access their Cyber Screen.


    He thought the kid was an ordinary human because he couldn''t see a deity with him. For real? This magician walking casually without his System Deity?! The soldier had thought if the kid in front of him had treated his System Deity as a toy. Though he hoped that his thinking was wrong, it still bugged him to see a Magician casually strolling in this chaotic battlefield without their System Deity in tow.


    But the most reason he widened his eyes was the stuff that the kid has taken from his Cyber Storage.


    A quiver that is full of an arrow.


    "This venerable sir, every quiver has 10 ''arrows inside. Each quiver costs ''10 gold points only, " he said calmly.


    "Too expensive!" The soldier exclaimed and gaped his mouth.


    "Fufu, you''re wrong, venerable sir, these arrows were made from a rank B+ Demon Wood. So the prices of these arrows are reasonable." Yman said with narrowed eyes.


    (Note: if you rank from their quality in ascending way it would be like this; -D, D, D+, -DD, DD, DD+, -DDD, DDD, DDD+. Whereas, there are D, C, B, A & S.)


    The soldier took one of the arrows and examined it. He tried to pinch it, then rolled all over his palm.


    Second later, "aren''t these arrows made from rank -C Demon Wood instead? Look, it tilts easily, " the soldier said while trying to bend the arrows.


    Yman scratches his head while thinking this soldier was not easy to dupe. But too bad for him, because the one who offered him was also not the type that was easy to give up.


    "Fufu, venerable sir, if you still did not believe what I just said, why not try to feed it with your low tier magic?" He said with a sneer.


    Though the soldier was a little hesitant, yet he followed what Yman said. A brilliance of yellow-colored energy suddenly enveloped his palm. It crawled towards the arrow on his hand.


    However, after it fully enveloped the arrow, it hardened like a superalloy. It became unbendable and inflexible all of a sudden.


    The soldier''s mouth gaped after the trial. He wondered how such a thing happened. He assumed the arrow was made from rank -C Demon Wood.


    He didn''t notice when Yman''s mouth curved into a grin.

 Chapter 6：What is money without life

    "Well, venerable Sir, what do you think?" He asked.


    After examining and feeding the arrow with magic, the soldier nodded in agreement.


    It looks like he mistakenly claimed ''the arrow was made from low-rank Demon Wood.'' It certainly came from rank B+ Demon Wood.


    "But Kid, is it not still too expensive for an arrow? Even if this was made from rank B+, I think it is still overpriced, " the soldier said.


    "Kufufu, venerable Sir, what is money without life? Don''t think you can redeem your life with points after you die. As long as you''re alive, points or money will come back to you, as long as you work on it. But if your life is gone, it will be lost forever," Yman said while his hands, gesturing, can''t be helped.


    "Well..... When you said it that way. I see no room for arguments."


    Later on, the soldier had decided to buy. Until more customers were coming to buy on him, at the moment, he sold 30 sets. And now he accumulated 300 points; he grinned from ear to ear. Now he could buy a decent skill. If Yman was not mistaken, there was a cheap skill that he could buy.


    The soldiers were joyful too, after all, the arrows they had bought could penetrate the resilient shells of the monsters.


    His arrows were unbending because of the crazy experiment that Yman did.


    There''s one type of slime which is unaffected by magic. Because whenever you shoot magic on it, it''s body becomes tougher and harder.


    Luckily this type of slime is not hostile to humans. And they were tameable too with a Taming Skill. But most magicians choose not to tame these kinds of monsters. Because they were too weak, they had low attack.


    But Yman has a crazy idea to experiment using these slimes urine. He soaked the arrows for about a week, until every fiber of its wood that was made from Demon Woods was able to absorb the liquid.


    And that''s the reason why his arrows that are made from low-rank Demon Woods have hardened and became unbendable after feeding with magic.


    Because of the hardness, the penetration force has increased as well.


    The battle was unceasing and many casualties from both sides. But unlike before, as of now, the soldier was able to hold their ground until their reinforcement arrived.


    "Soldier Moore, go buy another set of arrows at the kid vendor, " the Commander ordered his soldier.


    When Yman heard it, he grinned even broader. Not just he could profit with this chaos, he also was able to help in defending the town.


    But too bad, he wasn''t able to see what monsters were attacking outside because the civilians were not allowed to go to the wall surface. He can''t even peek outside because the wall was too high. But based on what he heard from soldiers, there was a mutated rank BB+ Wolf and Shelled Ants monsters. This kind of ants was as big as a cat. They were covered by shells, and hard to deal with.


    Not long after Yman emptied his stock of arrows, reinforcements from the Seeker Association arrived.


    They''d be small in number with only 10 people in total, but each one of them exudes dominating aura and brimming with confidence that couldn''t be lost to a platoon of soldiers.


    They were wearing expensive-looking armors and robes. In hands and somewhere part of their body, fasten different types of weapons.


    Everyone who saw them would know that these people were magicians of a higher caliber.


    Yman''s eyes were sparkling with excitement. He yearns to become the strongest Seeker in the future.


    So after seeing these people, his excitement hit the peak.


    Some people and even soldiers around shouted and whispered in loud voices.


    "Look, that''s Pyro of the Red Dragon Party right?" One of the soldiers whispered to the person beside him, in a slightly loud voice.


    "Right, it''s him, no doubt!" Answered by the second soldier in an excited tone.


    "Woah, look at his armor... So cool!" Said by the other soldier.


    The person they called Pyro was wearing a red crystal-like armor with the carvings of dragon scales.


    It suits him well since Pyro has red spiky hair, deep-set eyes, and slightly muscular build. And stood in the height of 5"9.


    At their arrival, the commander stuttered towards them.


    "You are the reinforcement sent from Seeker Association?" The commander asked Pyro.


    Even though he already knows the answer, he needed to ask anyway.


    "Yes, we are from the Seekers, of the Red Dragon Party." Pyro casually replied.


    After getting to know each other greetings, the commander gave a slight briefing about the situations.


    After the briefing, the reinforcement from Seeker Association began their attacks on monsters. Not even an hour had passed that the fight had ended.


    The people from Seeker Association shoot high-level magic on the monster''s side, with an area of effect.


    Their vanguards brutally hack and slash every monster that tried to attack them.


    With his flaming sword, Pyro burns every monster that tries to pounce on him.


    The battle became a one-sided massacre. While watching the fight, Yman''s eyes were full of envy. He wanted to be someone like them. A magician that is able to kill monsters with ease.


    While the magicians from Seeker Association were busy killing the monsters outside of town, the surrounding soldiers were also busy cheering at them.


    Yman was able to see the battle. The dazzling magic of different colors had reflected in his eyes. He could feel his heart''s loud beating noise. He was excited about the ongoing fight that was happening at his front.


    After the fight, everyone was joyful. The people surrounded the magicians of the Seeker Association. They have showered them with praises.


    Yman thought he could get thanks as well. Since it was thanks to his arrows, that the soldiers were able to hold their grounds, and they successfully defended the wall before the reinforcement arrived.


    But they have forgotten his little help. Well, it doesn''t matter for him. Compared to the safety of the town, it was a trivial matter.

 Chapter 7：Into the Academy

    The next morning, Yman wore his new uniform, a dress suit of black and white, paired with black pants. And a big backpack on his back. With him were his sister and Ms. Pai. They were heading into the Academy via train. Ms. Pai would be an adviser at the Academy and him as a trainee and a student at the same time. His sister, of course, would be coming with them, since no one would take care of her at the apartment.


    Sistela and Alo were floating beside Yana. Alo was the name of Ms. Pai''s deity.


    From his profit of selling arrows on yesterday''s chaos, Yman was able to advance his deity Sistela into level 1. Now, she was capable of floating. But the pay wasn''t cheap, because he spent 500 gold points.


    Although he spent a considerable amount of his points, he acquired a new additional magic skill in return, a quick movement skill for a distance of 10 meters. The skill name was Rapid Leap.


    However, he wishes to obtain an attack magic skill. But too bad, he doesn''t seem to have luck in this aspect. Even though Rapid Leap was not an attack-type magic skill, it was one of the rarest skills that is difficult to get in a random.


    Exactly at 7:00 am that they arrived at the Academy.


    Yman proceeded to the auditorium where all the freshmen have to gather. When he reached the area, he saw a vacant chair located on the second row of the 5th column. He hastily went to own the seat before anyone else took it.


    *Creak!* After taking his seat, the chair made a slight creaking noise. It''s not even 10 seconds had passed that he was sitting when--


    "Hey!" A loud call from someone beside him almost ruptured his ears.


    He glanced to his right side out of reflex, to where the voice came.


    He was greeted by a pair of beautiful green eyes that were staring straight at him. A pretty face of jade-like skin, and with the hair of lavender colored that was tied in a ponytail, "such a beauty," he mused.


    "Hey!" She called out again in a slightly lower voice than before. But her brows furrowed when no reply from the guy she was calling.


    "Huh?" Was the only response that escaped off from his mouth; he wasn''t able to react because he was in a daze for a second.


    "Get lost, that chair has already been taken!" The girl said in a stern voice.


    Yman noticed the eyes of other students glaring daggers at him, "taken?" he was surprised. Then he continued after letting a sigh, "i-it looks like I-I mistook this s-seat. If that was the case, then it can''t be helped," he said shyly, then stood up, but when he about to leave, murmurs broke out all of a sudden.


    Pfffffffftttt!!! Some students were trying to hold their laughter.


    "This bumpkin!" said the student with a mole on his left eye.


    "Countryside idiot!" another student with a thick make-up on her face whispered.


    "You mean mentally ill guy?" Said the girl with an extension on her eyelashes.


    Their criticism that belittling his person reaches his ears.


    Some students were whispering while some intentionally murmured in a much louder voice.


    "How shameless, he was trying to sit beside Miss Kesha. One of the most beautiful trainees in this Academy. Haha." Laughed a male student with curly blond hair.


    "Hehe, thick-skinned mountain person," Said a girl student with purple hair.


    Yman sighed. *Hah~*


    "They were making fun out of small things. Idiots! It''s better to find a new seat than hearing your nonsense," He mumbled.


    Well, He was already used to this kind of treatment, so their taunts and ridicules or what so ever didn''t affect him anymore.


    He craned his neck and looked around, disregarding the taunts and ridicules that like bees because of the unharmonized volume of their voices.


    Gladly, Yman found a vacant chair, second row to the last in the same column.


    He went towards it without a second thought, and when he reached the chair, he was about to sit when a guy sitting next to it suddenly yawned and purposely spread his left hand on the vacant chair. The guy''s left hand blocked the seat!


    "Uhm, e-excuse me," Yman tried to grab his attention, but the guy was purposely ignoring him.


    He scratches his head, then decides to sit without minding the arm that spreads across the chair.


    Nevertheless, if something happened to this guy''s arm, then it was this guy''s fault alone. Right?


    But before Yman could take his seat, he noticed that the guy lifted his hand and was trying to push him, out of a sudden, he unconsciously dodged it by slightly hopping to his left side. He widened his eyes when he noticed that the guy''s hand became blurry because of its speed alone. Yman thought for a second if how much agility and strength have had this guy''s Attribute?


    It was obvious that this guy had higher Attributes than him!


    The guy''s fingertips were able to reach him, causing him to stagger 2 and a half step backward.


    Kyaaah! A sudden high pitched yell from someone when Yman bumped to the person behind him.


    Thump!


    Thump!


    It was followed by two consecutive thumps when two butts landed on the auditorium grounds.


    Yman twisted his neck to look behind him and see who the other person was.


    He saw a young girl with neck length blue hair, beautiful round eyes, and a headphone in her ears. The girl was cute but not as pretty as the girl with lavender hair that he saw a moment ago.


    "I-I''m so-sorry, Miss..." Yman apologized in a stammering voice.


    "Aww, I-its okay," The girl said in difficulty while trying to cover her private part that was about to display because of the short skirt of the uniform she was wearing.


    The girl lifted her hand and about to grab the hand that Yman offered. But it pauses and in a half reach only.


    Yman stood up first and tried to offer a hand to the girl since it was his fault, to begin with. No, not actually his, but he was half at fault so he was partly to be blamed as well. However, he noticed that the girl had a second thought of whether to take his help or not so he gradually retreated his arm and bowed slightly to apologize again.

 Chapter 8：Almina Amulet

    And again, a bees-like murmur had broken out once again.


    "Look, that mountain guy again," said someone around them. Yman couldn''t even recognize now if who was talking or not.


    "What a stupid person, it just a moment that he changed his seat and now already got into trouble, tsk!" someone grumbled and clicked her tongue at the end of her words.


    The girl looked puzzled as to what, why, or how the things turned out like this. Many people that had gathered around them were throwing insults toward the guy who bumped her.


    ''Is this guy the most hated guy in the whole world?'' She couldn''t help questioning herself.


    She glanced at the guy who bowed 70 degrees. But it seemed this guy didn''t care what other people were saying towards him.


    "Uh-Uhm, i-it''s fine, don''t worry about it, I''m fine, " she nervously said while urging the guy to stop bowing because she felt scared in this kind of scenario.


    After the girl said that she''s okay, Yman was about to leave when, "Kiko, look, look, Yman was here." one of Kiko''s friends pointed in his direction.


    Kiko gazed to where his friend was pointing. And he saw the guy to their left side at the back column of the second row. While, Kiko and his friends were on the third row. Seeing Yman surrounded by trainees like them, he smiled lightly and whispered something in his friend''s ear.


    Yman glanced at the guy who pushed him. However, the guy was looking at him with a smirk on his face while spreading his arms across the seat.


    Seeing this, Yman was grumbling inside, "Idiot! Let me punch your face for once! Even if you''ll beat me up later, if I landed a single punch on your smirking face, you will see no world the next day!" For some reason, his blood pressure went up to his head. He grumbled while clenching his fist into a ball. And a pulse in a cross form surfaced on his forehead.


    Inside him, an evil Yman and good Yman were quarreling about what better choices to take in this kind of situation.


    "Let''s kick his ass and put a bamboo tube inside his arse!" Said the angel Yman.


    "That''s a wrong move, if we strike now, we will be beaten into a pulp instead. Look the smirking dude has higher attributes than us. And one more thing, it''s a pain in the ass to have enemies at all sides. Gimme a break." Said the devil one while surfacing a lazy look.


    "You''re afraid, huh! You devil sissies are no good, you''re only good at doing nothing and want to have a lazy life while doing nothing!" Said the angel one while kicking the devil''s ass.


    "Wait, Wait, you''re so mean!" The devil Yman cried while trying to cover his face using his hands.


    "Back off, you sissy! Go back inside your mama''s p***y!" Said the angel Yman while raining punches towards the devil one with a background sound of hora hora hora.


    Yman shook his head slightly to get rid of the quarreling duo in his mind.


    Well too bad that his defective deity was not with him at the moment. So he couldn''t use his useless skills. And in terms of attributes alone, he could surmise that he was below in all aspects. At the moment, he only had 2 Strength, 2 Vitality, and 1 Agility.


    He let a sigh escape from his mouth and about to leave when... "Hey, Hey, Frogman!" Called out from one of Kiko''s friends.


    "Frogman?" Someone among the surrounded trainee repeated.


    "Oh, isn''t it the Toadman?" The second friend of Kiko added.


    "Toadman?" And another person around repeated.


    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!


    An earth-shattering laugh and ridicule had been started once again.


    "Hey, hey, isn''t he the bumpkin man?" Said some random girl.


    "You mean the mountain man?" Followed by someone.


    "Shameless man!"


    "Oh, right! It was him! The mentally ill man." The ridicule was like a chain message, hard to stop once started.


    The meek girl who Yman bumped to, tried to reach him. Then again, her hand paused in a half-reach state.


    For some reason, his name was being connected to weird names.


    Yman''s face became pale. He silently walked towards the back row of chairs and stood alone.


    TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG!!!


    THE ridiculed and taunts have been cut off by the high pitch tone of a microphone.


    The trainees covered their ears but Yman was no care of what was happening around him. He was absent-minded at the moment.


    The trainees went to their respective chairs and went into silence without a single noise that could be heard.


    A katak-katak sound of heels tapping against the floor of the stage could be overheard inside the auditorium when a middle-aged woman went upstage.


    The woman took the microphone from the emcee. And she gave speeches that lasted for 1 and a half hours.


    Her voice somewhat made someone feel sleepy. Yman wanted to sleep, but he has to hold on because he''s the only one standing at the moment.


    He could easily attract any attention in this regard. The middle-aged woman while giving speeches was also sending glances at the most conspicuous person out of all inside the auditorium.


    Maybe she''s wondering why this boy remained standing even though there was a vacant seat.


    After the middle-aged woman''s speeches, it was followed by lazy applause from the trainees.


    Some trainees were yawning and some were rubbing their eyes, somewhat sleepy.


    The next to go upstage was a girl of the same age as Yman. Somehow, the girl looks familiar to him. He was not sure, but he seemed to have already seen her somewhere.


    Once the girl went upstage, all the trainee''s eyes inside the auditorium became heart-shaped. The girl was so pretty, with a nice body curve. Even though she''s still young, she looks sexy. Well, a 17 years old girl only needs 1 more year to ripen up. Her face was even prettier than a lavender haired girl.


    Everyone was in trance. Boys or even girls were no exception. Only Yman has remained conscious at the moment. He knows his boundary. No need to feel mesmerized in an out of reach kind of person.


    And he has only two things in mind. To cure his sister''s illness and to become a strong member of the Seeker Association.


    But for some reason, once the girl took the mic from the emcee she glanced at Yman? While sending a warm smile?


    Yman looks in other directions. In his mind, ''maybe I''m imagining things because of how pretty she is,'' he thought.


    Yman without knowing after looking somewhere, the girl pouted her lips.


    The girl gave an inspirational and motivational speech that lasted 20mins. After her speech, earth-shattering applause was followed.


    Yman noticed that the girl went beside the lavender haired girl. It looks like she''s the one who owned the seat.


    Looks Like the girl''s name was Almina Amulet.

 Chapter 9：The Innerworld

    After Almina''s speech, the next who climbed the stage was an aged man. The man had a slight beard on his face and medium length hair that was revealing the length of time he spent on this world based on its faded color that was no tinge of black. He stood at estimated 5''8 feet tall; with a lean body and exude gentleman demeanor. He was wearing a dress suit colored by black and white, and the emblem of Middle Region Magic Academy was distinct on the left chest area of the dress he was wearing.


    When the man stood straight at the center of the stage, every trainee went silent, with only their indistinct gulping sounds were slightly discernible. Every trainee staring intimately with a closed mouth; while awe-inspired at the man on the stage.


    He slowly lifted his arm holding a microphone toward his mouth. When the mic stopped at 3 inches away from his mouth, the man opened his mouth. His voice wasn''t high or low. First, he introduces himself, then, he greeted everyone, which is followed by a motivational speech. He ended his speech with the hope of success for all of the freshmen trainees. The aged man was Mr. Mar Mari, the current principal of Middle Region Magic Academy.


    The five guides had entered the auditorium after the principal left the stage. All the trainees were instructed to follow the guides.


    The first batch of trainees followed their guide with their system deity in tow and went into the door located at the right corner of the stage. The second batch also did what the first batch did.


    Yman''s batch was second to the last. When all of the trainees left the auditorium. What greeted them outside was a wide-open space.


    Almost 250 square meters in width, and on the ground, a large-scale magic array was discernible.


    Everyone had different emotions surfaced on their faces. But most of them were surprised by the large-scale array.


    All trainees were instructed to step on the array. Ten magicians covered with clothing embroidered by gold were standing around the array. They were lifting their glowing arms up above their heads while casting a magic spell.


    When the trainees stepped on the magic array, their silhouette instantly vanished like a sparkle of lights.


    He saw the pretty girl Almina with the lavender haired girl stepping on it too. And their silhouette instantly vanished like others. But for some odd reason, before Almina''s silhouette vanished, he felt like she took a glance at him. Yman thought that maybe this was just his imagination.


    He shook his head to get rid of the thought. Then he also stepped on it with a mixture of feelings. But the most he felt at the moment was an exciting feeling.


    He closed his eyes after stepping on the magic array. But when he opened it again, what greeted him was a new world. A different world. A foreign world.


    Yana and Ms. Pai would be coming later after the adviser''s briefing. And of course, Sistela was with Yana at the moment. She was her bodyguard. It was her master who ordered her to stay beside his sister so that he would know what she''s doing at the moment of his absence.


    Yana and Sistela were cheerfully conversing while waiting for Ms. Pai to get out of the briefing room. For some unknown reason, she was more fond of conversing with her master''s sister than her master.


    She could also feel the adoration of her master towards his sister.


    The trainees were greeted by an unknown sight. Birds of unknown species were flying in the skies. Even the trees, flowers, and animals that could be seen around were unknown to them.


    All of the trainees were in awe while craning their necks in every direction that their eyes caught any of the outs of ordinary things.


    Although they don''t know many things in this world, they knew that this world was not the world they used to live in, this world was a different world, that this world located within the planet earth, and this world was known as the Innerworld; whereas, the world they live in was called the Outerworld.


    Yeah, they were now in the second world of earth. About 50 years after the widespread destruction that humanity was able to discover this world. By no means to travel across this world, they made comprehensive research to find a way to travel across these two worlds.


    Many infamous, talented, and ingenious experts in the world of research, science, technology, and magic were gathered to find a way of crossing into another world of earth.


    After many years of comprehensive research, they finally succeeded in crossing this world by using a teleportation array. At their first crossover, the veil of war was unveiled. The two worlds went into immense battle. It''s only natural that the residents of that world tried to defend their homelands from the potential conqueror of their lands because humans were aliens for them. So, it was only natural that a war would spark.


    After so many years of fighting, the courage of soldiers, and the blood and sweat from the fallen warriors of these two worlds managed to kindle an intimate relationship between the two worlds.


    To no avail. The two worlds both suffered a huge loss. And so they decided for a peace talk. All bigshots politicians from the Outerworld went to travel into the Innerworld to have a proper discussion with the leaders of this Innerworld.


    They have found out that this world was dominated by four great kingdoms and an Empire.


    These four Kingdoms were the Fishman Kingdom at the southeast, the Musang Kingdom at the northeast, the Gigant Kingdom at the northwest and the Winged-man Kingdom at the southwest.


    And in the middle of the map located the largest empire, The Empire of Engkantasya.


    They also found out that this world was unrest from monsters'' attacks. Even the kingdoms and empire in these worlds were not in an intimate relationship with each other.


    One of the conditions that the Outerworld officials promised to the rulers of this world was that they would help in the subjugation of the monsters in this world in exchange for letting the people from the Outerworld to stay and live in this world in peace.


    And so many topics that they have touched, with agreements and disagreements from both sides. But all in all, they had managed to settle.


    And now, after many years of exchange from the two worlds, another batch of trainees had been sent to the Innerworld.

 Chapter 10：Encan

    |At first glance, the world seemed not too different from the world we used to live in.


    But after realizing it, I could see how much of a difference this Innerword than the Outerworld was. Not just from the animals and trees that could be seen around, but also with the people living in this world. One thing about them, they were called half human half beast creatures or known as demihumans.


    That''s not all, there were half humans too that their figures were not too different from the humans of Outerworld. The only difference was they have pointed ears.


    When we arrived in this world, everyone had different kinds of emotions on their faces, but mostly everyone felt an exciting and surprised feeling.


    Not too long after we arrived that Ms. Pai, Yana and Sistela had arrived as well. With them were the advisers and instructors that would be going to teach us.


    The place where we materialize was located in one of the public squares of the Engkantasya Empire. Old-style buildings could be seen at the distance surrounding us. They were built by bricks and stone pavements that are usually colored in gray and maroon. There''s also some that are colored in a milky white and blue.


    And in the air, we could see a huge bird with a person riding on it. Some hybrid animals like dogs, cats, birds, etc... could be seen strolling around. And different kinds of people were walking and running in all directions.


    Some soldiers wearing full golden-plated armors lined in not too far away from us. Maybe they were guarding this place.


    And just like outside the auditorium that we came from, there was a large array under our feet as well. Looks like these two arrays were connected to each other.


    Suddenly, we saw someone walking in not too hurry and not too slow pace towards us.


    A man and two women, they stopped in front of Mr. Principal Mar Mari. The two men shook their hands then greeted each other.


    Seconds later,


    They could be seen conversing with each other. Based on the serious expressions that were written on their faces, it looks like they were talking about something important.


    A few moments later,


    A man and 2 women with pointed ears welcomed us after calming down ourselves from the surprise we felt.


    First, they introduced themselves. They called themselves Encan a type of elf person. Even though they were elves, their ears weren''t long like most elves that could be seen in books, movies or games. Their ears were short like humans but pointed.


    The man was known as Vir Fortis, an ambassador from the empire of Engkantasya. He had long glossy milky white hair. With pointed ears and narrowed eyes. And stood at the height of 5''7 feet tall with a lean body.


    The two women with him were both gorgeous, same as him, they had long milky white hairs, and pointed ears. Both had curvaceous bodies. These two ladies were his personal assistance.


    After giving us a slight briefing about this world, they then brought us to the city of humans or known as Human City Z7. Many humans from the Outerworld had decided to live here for all their lives.


    In this world, no machine transportations could be seen. Everyone rode on a large carriage, which was pulled by a monster that looked like an Ostrich. About 22 large carriages that could accommodate up to 10 trainees each were fast traveling along the road. The first 20 carriage were for the trainees. Two of them were for the advisers and instructors, and some soldiers rode on their horses guarding us.


    In front of me was a familiar face.


    The meek girl that I happened to bump inside the auditorium a while ago.


    At the corner of my eyes, I noticed the girl darted her eyes from here to there. She seemed unrest. Maybe she felt awkward from what had happened this morning. I think even she didn''t expect that we could be sitting face to face with each other as of the moment.


    I caught her stolen glances at me, and her mouth would open slightly then closed again.


    Maybe she was trying to open up a conversation with me? Or want to ask something? I don''t know. I don''t know what she was thinking so I decided to act like I didn''t notice her and scratched my face at the same time.


    In the end, she ended up closing her mouth, then she sighed. She whispered a word to summon her Cyber Screen. After summoning her Cyber Screen, she took something from her storage.


    A headphone? I couldn''t help asking myself after seeing what she took.


    She then connected the headphone into her ears.


    She seemed to like listening to music.


    Her deity was sitting on her palms resting on her hips.


    I decided to let her be, and focus my attention somewhere else.


    Anyway,


    The ambassador Vir Fortis told us that we would arrive at our destination in exactly 3 days.


    Human City Z7 was located at estimated 2,550 kilometers west of the Engkantasya Empire. Good thing that the humans from the Outerworld managed to build cities in this world.


    They said that there were many Human Cities in this world. It was estimated to be about 100+ human cities that were currently here. And the Human City we were going to was the Human City Zone 7.


    |


    Yman was peeking outside while at the same time listening to the conversation of two girls beside the girl he bumped.


    "I heard that we will be going to stay here for 3 years until we graduated," said the first girl trainee with green colored hair.


    "Really, So, is it also true that we cannot contact anyone from outside this world?" asked the second girl trainee with a hairpin on her hair.


    "I guess it''s true, but I hope not since I couldn''t contact my boyfriend in that case," said the green-haired girl.


    "Eeeehh?! You have a boyfriend?" The girl with hairpin exclaimed.


    For some reason, their conversation took a quick turn. So Yman decided to stop listening to them and close his eyes.


    "Hey bro," a sudden call from someone beside him. But Yman didn''t notice that the guy was calling for him. "Bro," the guy called out again while using his forearm to bump Yman slightly in order to grab his attention.


    "Ha?" He was quite surprised by the sudden call with a bump. Yman glanced at the guy on his left side. The guy somewhat had a large build.


    "Oh, it''s you," the guy said with a little surprise on his face.


    "Hmm... do you know me?" Yman asked with a blank expression.


    "Ah, no, no, it just, I happened to see you taunted by other trainees in the auditorium." The guy said while scratching his head.


    "Hah," Yman sighed. Then he continued, "I already used to it," he said with a sad expression.


    "Ah-Uhm, sorry, please don''t misunderstand what I just said, I''m just surprised to know that it''s you," the guy said while trying to smooth things.


    Yman answered with a nod.


    "The truth, I wanted to ask if this is also your first time here?" the guy asked.


    Hearing the guy''s question, Yman nodded slightly. Then he said, "I take that like you too." But he was quite puzzled by the guy''s question. ''Why would he ask a question with an obvious answer?'' Yman couldn''t help asking himself.


    "Yeah, you''re right this my first time too," the guy said.


    "Erm... wasn''t it natural for us trainees to come here for the first time?" He asked.


    "Ah-haha, you''re right, sorry for asking an obvious question," the guy said while scratching his head and wearing a smile that indicated he was wrong for asking an obvious question.


    "Oh-um... erm...," the girl in front of them mumbled which took his and the guy''s attention.


    They noticed that the girl wanted to say something, but her tongue retreated.


    Yman and the guy took a glance at each other and smiled briefly which reflected the expression of ''it can''t be helped''.


    "Uhm, do you want to say something?" Yman asked in a calm tone.


    The girl nodded her head slightly. "T-The truth is... this is my 4th time coming here," the girl said shyly.


    Yman and the guy stared blankly at the girl in surprise.


    ""R-Really?"" The two asked the same question in unison.


    The girl nodded.

 Chapter 11：Monsters Ahead

    Yman and the guy with the large build beside him were both surprised by what they heard.


    "....."


    The girl was speechless for 3 seconds before she nodded.


    "In that case, can you tell us how you manage to come and go?" Yman asked curiously.


    "Mm-mhm," the girl nodded again. Then she continued, "t-the truth is, there is a public entrance at Human City Zone 1," the girl said shyly.


    "Public..." Yman mumbled. "Entrance?" The guy beside him followed after him.


    The two guys mumbled after hearing what the girl had said.


    Suddenly the big build guy''s expression turned around, his eyes became glistening rounds and his mouth grinned widely. A happy feeling surfaced on his face.


    Then he suddenly opened his mouth again, "do you mean we are free to travel across these two worlds whenever we want?!" The guy asked the girl straightforwardly and failed to control his voice which took the attention of other trainees inside the carriage.


    "Ahaha," Yman laughed in a descending tone while scratching his face.


    The girl at their front flinched a bit, she was startled by the guy''s sudden outburst.


    "So-sorry, I didn''t mean to startle you," said the guy while trying to calm her.


    "Nn, it''s fine I''m just a little surprised. Uhm, about your question, w-we can travel��," ... "kuhahaha," the girl wasn''t able to finish her words because of the sudden burst of laughter from someone within the group.


    The one who laughed was the guy sitting at the very end which was at the right side of Yman''s seat.


    Because of this,


    All the trainees inside their carriage glanced at the guy sitting at the very end of their seat.


    Sitting at Yman''s side were all boys, whereas, at their front were all girls. There were two other guys sitting in the middle of Yman and the guy sitting at the very end.


    The guy who laughed had medium-length crimson hair, delicate body, and white skin. He was sitting in a posture that levering one of his legs and the other leg on top of it. While his arms were entangled to each other across his chest. He exuded the demeanor of a rich and wise person.


    Yman and the big build guy beside him slightly wrinkled their brows while glancing at the guy at the corner of their eyes, because they could guess based on the guy''s demeanor he exuded, that he was the type of person who usually looked down on the weak and the poor.


    "Haha. Dumb guys, did you know, it''s not that easy��!"


    *Pang!*


    *Gueh!*


    The rich-looking guy wasn''t able to finish his words either. Because of a folded paper that was smashed straight on his head. Which followed by beads of tears that were forming on the corner of his eyes.


    The smart-looking guy scratches his head using his two hands. Yman and the other trainees inside their carriage were dumbfounded by what they had witnessed.


    "Big sis, why did you do that?!" Questioned the smart looking guy at the girl in front of him.


    "Shut up, who told you to open your mouth and butt-in to others conversation?!" The girl replied.


    Later on, they learned that these two were cousins. And that the smart-looking guy''s name was Brai and his cousin was Mai. The guy beside Yman was Bob, and the girl in front of him was Chloe.


    Mai told them about the reason why it''s not easy to travel across the two worlds.


    ''So it''s because there''s a huge amount of points that are needed to pay before accessing the public array.'' Yman thought with a little bit disheartened.


    He thought he could travel across these two worlds freely. But it looks like it wasn''t that easy. Well, you could travel if you have enough points


    It seemed like the girl in front of him, named Chloe, was of a rich family. Since she traveled four times already in this world. Yman thought that maybe Chloe had a member of her family that was living in this world.


    Bob was disheartened as well after hearing the price that needs to be paid before accessing the array. He also wishes to travel across these two worlds whenever he wants.


    The two poor men suddenly became gloomy.


    "Halt! Halt...!"


    Suddenly, they''ve heard a shout coming from outside. Then all the carriage deliberately went to a stop with a creaking noise from its wheels. The passenger''s body slightly swayed to one direction brought by the inertia of sudden stop.


    "What happened?" The higher status guard asked the guard who ordered the halt.


    "Captain, some monsters of rank C were blocking the road." The soldier reported.


    The soldier''s brows wrinkled slightly upon hearing his subordinates report.


    "Okay, let''s go!" The captain said as he rode on his horse towards the front.


    The carriage that Yman rode was the tenth carriage in line.


    "W-What happened?" Bob asked anxiously.


    "Hmm... it looks like there were monsters at the front," Mai answered him in a serious expression.


    The soldiers that guarded them rushed to the front, to deal with the monsters. But they were halted by one of the instructors named Goki. The soldiers were puzzled and asked him, "why?". The instructor Goki answered that it''s a good chance to test the skill of the trainees.


    After that, all of the trainees were instructed to deal with the monsters.


    After hearing what the instructors said, some trainees were excitedly stretching up their bodies. Now they could show off their skills and strength with others.


    Though not all were as excited as them, because the others felt nervous.


    Instructor Goki added that... whoever among the trainees that were able to kill the monsters would receive +10% to their grade and with an additional of +500 gold points.


    Almost all trainees shouted in excitement. Such a huge additional point to their grade and money, who wouldn''t be feeling excited after that?


    Even Yman felt excited at the prize. It wasn''t easy to earn that huge amount of gold points. But, the problem was, if he was capable of killing the monsters.


    Without an attack skill, he could only trust his normal attack. But even his normal attack was very weak.


    Forget about killing it, even scratching would be difficult for him who was still at level 1. Maybe the other trainees who leveled up further could deal with them.


    Though he had gained additional attributes when he upgraded his deity Sistela, his strength still not enough to hurt a rank C monster.

 Chapter 12：Ice elemental sword

    He even had a hard time dealing with the rank -D Pale toad, what''s more, a rank C monster which was much stronger than the rank -D.


    Nonetheless, he had to participate as well. It''s fine if he couldn''t do a thing about the monsters. He just wanted to test his self-control when fighting.


    Most beginner magicians would flinch and feel nervous when in front of a monster. This was true to everyone who doesn''t have any experience in dealing with them.


    Although Yman was a beginner too, he didn''t feel nervous. His mind was as clear as a tranquil swamp.


    Even though he''s not that strong, the feeling of wanting to get stronger still gets the better of him.


    Unfortunately, there were only a few monsters while there were many trainees. So it''s right to assume that not all of them would be having a chance to deal with the monsters.


    The road they currently have, has a total of 30 meters wide. On their left side was a forest and on the right side was a cliff. They were facing into the west while the monsters facing the east.


    "Big Bro, what happened?"


    *cough!* *cough!*


    Yana asked him with worries after he arrived at the carriage she rode on. It was the 21st carriage, located at the back which was second to the last.


    It wasn''t only Yana who came with them as family members, there were also some family members of some trainees who went with them. Mostly those trainees that only have 2 members in their family were allowed to take their family members into this world, like Yman and Yana.


    He smiled as he replied, "no, don''t get anxious, it''s just low ranking monsters," he said. Then stroke her hair before he continued saying, "Besides, there are more soldiers with the high level that are guarding us, and there are advisers and instructors as well," he said with a smile.


    After hearing his brother''s words Yana nodded at him.


    "Oh, by the way, I will be borrowing this defective deity of mine," he said as he laid his palm below Sistela who was currently floating beside Yana.


    "Big bro, you''re mean to Sister Sistela," she said as she pouted her lips.


    Sistela grumbled which followed by "Humph!".


    He patted his sister while thinking, when did the two of them had become sisters? Looks like his sister Yana was treating his deity Sistela as her sister.


    They became much closer without him knowing. Well, at least Sistela was able to make his sister happy and was able to heal her boredom.


    Yman also wondered when Sistela started calling him ''partner''. She usually called him ''master''.


    After Yana nodded and said her Goodluck to him and Sistela, he strode to the front. To where all the other trainees were.


    Yman saw some soldiers at the front planted their rectangular shields on the ground facing the monsters ahead. Almost 20 shields that were neatly lined in front of the soldiers.


    There were about 50+ monsters that were ready to engage at them at any moment.


    These numbers weren''t that small but compared to 200 trainees, they were still considered few.


    The instructor did not say that all must participate but the price was so tempting that most of the trainees glinted their eyes in excitement.


    Nevertheless, they were under the watchful eyes of the instructors. They thought that, if they fell into a bad situation, the instructors would surely come and help them. They were high level after all. Compared to this rank C monsters, the instructors could easily dispatch them.


    Bob and Chloe look at him as he walks towards them.


    Seeing Yman with a look that ready to rush in a battle, Bob couldn''t help opening his mouth. "Hey. Bro, you are going to join?" Bob asked with the face that looks like he gulped a mouthful of vinegar. He couldn''t help feeling grim at the sight of 50+ monsters. Even Chloe had worried expressions surfacing on her face.


    Yman noticed that these two have no plan of joining. Well, they were not forced to participate in the first place. Only for those trainees who have the guts to participate.


    And he also thinks that Chloe has no need of points, she was even able to travel in these two worlds four times.


    But, Yman did indeed need these points. And he thought that it was a chance for him to accumulate much Combat Experience.


    He wanted to get stronger after all. This was the only choice he had. To fight and survive. Of course, if he deemed that it''s difficult for him to kill the monster. He would give up before the monster emptied his HP. Since the instructor also said that they could give up.


    Anyway even if their HP reached zero, they won''t die directly. But they regressed back into an ordinary human for almost a month. They couldn''t use resonance with their deity; and if no resonance, it also means no magic skill they could use.


    The magician who lost their HP would also suffer Mana Deficiency, a kind of disease when a magician emptied their mana container.


    But Yman at the moment couldn''t even use his mana. At the moment, he could only channel his stamina as a substitute for his mana. Many magicians know how to do it.


    Good thing that he was one of them. Channeling your stamina as a substitute to your mana wasn''t a simple thing. And it is also not a good example to use it in combat. Because the magician would dry out their stamina they would be weakened fast. So it was advisable to use their mana in battle instead of channeling their stamina.


    But, Yeman was not a gifted child with mana. He doesn''t even have mana in the first place.


    That''s why he struggled to learn how to channel his stamina as a substitute for his mana. In order to use a magic skill.


    About 50+ trainees, the same number as the monsters, were going to engage. Some of the trainees were waiting, as a substitute when some of the first batches were going to give up.


    Yman was not in the first batch as well.


    When everyone heard the signal of instructor Goki, they rushed towards the monsters, while grabbing their trusted weapon they specialized in using.


    Yman noticed the beautiful girl named Almina Amulet. In her hand was a 1-meter sword that was exuding a chilly aura around it.


    "Ice elemental sword," he mumbled.

 Chapter 13：Raging Blade Immediate Assault

    She was walking steadily while pointing the tip of her sword downward. Around her, battles had started already. A few seconds later, one of the monsters rushed towards her.


    The monster had a bulky figure. It has a body made of stone and on their head, there was an eye. A lone eye that circles in shape and red in color.


    Above its head, there was a red bar. This bar was the monster''s health point. Inside the red bar, the number 300/300 was visible. This number was its total health points.


    The monsters had four bulky limbs and stood on their feet just like a human did.


    When the monster arrives ten meters away from Almina, it stops rushing and pierces its stone hand in the ground. The land cave in as the boulder formed in its hand.


    A second later it throws the boulder at her. Almina stomps her feet on the ground and jumps 10 meters above the ground while twisting her body in the air.


    The boulder passed below her and she landed at a one-meter distance at the monster''s back. The enemy was an earth elemental type of monster.


    Seeing the monster''s back wide open, she hastily lifted her sword to stab. But Almina did not continue her attack, because of the spikes that suddenly grew on the monster''s back.


    Almina quickly shifted her body from attacking into retreating.


    Her movements were fast.


    "Woah, look at that. She''s not only beautiful but a good fighter as well," Bob commented while watching Almina fight.


    Watching the battle, even Yman was captivated for the way she fought. Her movements were like that of an experienced fighter.


    "...mhm, she is not only a beauty indeed...but a talented girl as well," Yman agreed to Bob.


    "Uhm...the truth is...she is a daughter of one of the rank S seekers in our world," Chloe who was silently watching the battle with them suddenly noted the two.


    Hearing her words, the two men could only admire even more at the beautiful girl who was fighting at the moment. Especially Yman who wishes to become a strong seeker in the future.


    "Looks like Chloe knows her very well," Yman voiced out.


    "Uh? Eh...we used to be classmates in elementary," she said flustered.


    "I see," Yman replied.


    WOOOAAAAHHHH!!!


    Their conversation had been cut by the sudden shouts of the other trainees watching the ongoing battle.


    They glanced at the cause and saw the beautiful girl Almina change her sword with an ice element to a fire element one.


    The monster throws three consecutive boulders towards her.


    Almina shifted her body to left and right in order to avoid the incoming boulders. She moves in zigzag while advancing towards the enemy.


    The monster noticed that its attack had no effect. It then transformed the two hands into seemingly a blade. When Almina arrived on the monster''s front, the monster rapidly swung its hand to tear her apart.


    Though the monster is a bit taller than her and had a bulky stone body, Almina was quick that the monster''s attacks all miss the target.


    The monster stretches its two hands apart which opens up its defense.


    All the audience who was watching the fight knitted their brows in wonder if why the monster let its defense open.


    Even Yman was surprised at the monster''s move.


    Seeing that the monster''s body was open. Almina rushed in while brandishing her sword with the fire element. If this sword hits the monster, it surely doubles or triples the damage, because the earth element was weak on fire element.


    All the trainees around opened wide their mouths and eyes at the intensity of battles that were happening around.


    Although the monsters were at rank C only, the trainees weren''t that strong as well. They were mostly at levels 1-3.


    To kill a rank C monster, one must be at level 3 or higher. Even at level 3, the win was not guaranteed. One must be a talented fighter to kill the rank C monster at this level.


    Almina''s sword lifted in a stabbing attack directly at the monster''s chest. But before the attack hit the monster, the two hand blades of the monster suddenly stab and pierce at her figure.


    The audience shriek at the sight, the others had blood rushing their body while showing grim expressions.


    Although magicians could not literally die after their health points reach zero, and even their wounds have no blood would gush, but witnessing a beautiful girl brutally stabbed to her face was somewhat made anyone hold their breath in regret.


    But contrary to everyone''s expectation, what the monster had stabbed was just an afterimage of Almina. She quickly used a Rapid Leap skill to step back. This was the same skill that Yman got after upgrading his System Deity Sistela.


    Seeing that she''s fine, the audience breathes a sigh of relief.


    Raging Blade Immediate Assault!


    She softly whispered the words and her body instantly vanished at her current location. She appeared 5 meters behind the monster enemy, which followed by a head that flew into the air and bounced in the ground then rolled many times when it landed.


    The audience fell into silence even though the other battle was still happening around.


    A few seconds later, all the audience broke into murmurs. Even the soldiers who guarded them admired the beautiful girl called Almina Amulet. Her fighting was top notch.


    All the instructors that were watching nodded their heads.


    "What a fight!" Bob exclaimed while widely opening his mouth.


    Yman could only smile. He saw a familiar skill. It looks like he''s not the only one who got a Rapid Leap. Not just that, that skill that finished the enemy in one shot was rather powerful. He could only stare with envy at her skill.


    Almina let out a sigh after killing the monster in one strike.


    "I need to practice more," she thought, dissatisfied at her results.


    That skill almost emptied her mana. Her eyes wandered around the audience. And suddenly met his gaze a moment before she ran towards her best friend with lavender hair.


    "Good job, Mina!" Her best friend shouted.


    "Thank you, Kesha," she replied with a smile.


    Seeing the two beautiful girls hugged each other, the boys around could only watch as their saliva gushed from their mouths.


    Yman scratches his face. Wondering if it just him, or she really glanced at him? Weird.


    Mina was the first to finish the fight. Minutes later after her, some had managed to finish as well. There were some talented trainees who caught the attention of the instructors after Almina. While some were able to kill their target in difficulty and some in luck.


    Though some had managed to kill their target, the other''s weren''t able to achieve and decided to give up.


    The instructor Goki randomly chose a substitute to replace the trainee who gives up.


    The substitutes excitedly rushed to the battlefield while grinning.


    "Get your ass out there noob!" Some random trainee shouted to the other random trainee who gave up the fight.


    Yman saw Kiko and his friends also, they rushed towards one of the monsters. They ganged up on one monster.


    Looks like they had found a good strategy to kill the monster easily. But since there were six of them, they needed to kill six monsters or above.


    Yman also noticed the guy who pushed him at the auditorium this morning.


    A sinister smile leaked on Yman''s face.


    How could he let them unpaid?


    After all, he was the type of guy who couldn''t sleep without paying back.


    Even though Yman was acting gentle and calm outside. Deep inside, he was oozing with enmity towards someone he deemed as an enemy.


    "I-I give up!" Another trainee shouted.


    One after another, many trainees shouted to give up. Even the substitute one decided to give up after experiencing how difficult it was to kill these monsters.


    "You, it''s your turn!" The instructor Goki pointed at Yman.


    A glint was visible in his eyes as he nodded.


    No matter if he couldn''t kill the monster, he was level 1 after all. In the first place, it was impossible for him to kill it in a 1 vs 1 fight. But, killing the monster was not his plan all along.


    "Instructor Goki, Sir, is it fine if I will attack several monsters at the same time?"


    But before he ambled towards the battlefield, a question from him stunned everyone in the audience.


    It wasn''t like he didn''t have a plan, of course he has. But it''s uncertain if it succeed. So he had to ask first because he wanted to try.


    After all, there''s no certain in a battle. Luck also plays an important role. However, he believed if nothing unexpected to happen there was a high chance for it to succeed.

 Chapter 14：Below average guy

    "....."


    All the trainees around were speechless at his question. Even the instructors have a loss for words.


    What was this young man trying to tell them? That he could defeat several monsters at the same time? Was it a joke? Could he do that?


    No, it was impossible! No one among the trainees could do it! Even fighting one of these monsters exhausts their mana. What''s more, fighting several of them at the same time.


    "Too arrogant!" One of the trainees muttered out of a sudden.


    "Crazy suicidal bastard!" Another trainee followed up.


    Puffffftt!!! No one knows who the first who let out such a peal of hold laughter among the crowd of people listening around.


    But after that...


    Whahaha����hahaha-ahaha!!!


    The laughter had spread like some kind of epidemic. Until almost all of them had laughed. Everyone went batshit laughing at him.


    The loud laughing noises even reach to the back of most carriages. Yana took a glance at the front. She was wondering why the trainees were laughing so hard that it even reached the back.


    She thought that maybe something funny had happened. Hearing this, she felt relieved. She actually felt nervous thinking that his brother was going to fight a monster.


    Since the trainees were laughing so hard and like they were enjoying themselves, she let out a sigh of relief. Looks like her brother was right after all. That no need to get worried.


    Well, for Yana, her brother was the most trusted person. And what he did was always for her good.


    Some of the advisers gazed at the front as well. But they couldn''t figure out what was happening there. They were just waiting for the carriages to proceed with traveling.


    The laughter is still growing louder.


    Some say, "delusional! Ahaha!" especially those trainees who give up after experiencing how hard to handle these monsters. Only a few manage to succeed in killing the monsters. And more of the trainees decided to give up.


    Yet this dude had actually asked if he could attack several of them at the same time?! Did he know what his words mean?


    Many of them thought that this person made a joke out of himself. Or maybe he was seeking death.


    "Hey, look it''s him again!" Some of the students who recognize Yman pointed at him. Because of this, all those trainees that already knew him at the auditorium lashes ridiculing words again.


    Regardless, Bob, Chloe, Mai and Brai also noticed Yman being laughed at by the other trainees. But they could only shake their heads and sigh for Yman''s situation. Though they knew each of their names, they were not that close enough to understand what the other person was thinking.


    And also, what Yman had asked the instructor was certainly out of the norm. Anyone could say that he was too arrogant or maybe crazy in the head.


    So even them were puzzled as to why Yman asking that.


    But Chloe didn''t think any of it. She was just curious why Yman was asking that question. Even though he was still a trainee like them. She thought maybe Yman was really strong?


    Some of the instructors have shaken their head while chuckling lightly. Instructor Goki was eyeing Yman from head to feet. He was trying to analyze this young man who had the guts to ask such a precarious question to him.


    Instructor Goki thought, ''If this young man had such a large amount of mana. Maybe he can do it. But most of the trainees around have little mana. Only that girl named Almina Amulet and a few more had a slightly higher amount of mana than a normal student. The rest were average.''


    Yet, the instructor Goki could not even feel any fluctuations of mana from this young man. It was even right to assume that he had no mana with him?! He was surprised after realizing it. So how come this young man asking him such a question without a slight fear?!


    The instructor Goki knitted his brows and could not answer this young man''s question. No, it''s better to decline this young man. But before the instructor, Goki could open his mouth...


    "I-I think...i-its fine to let him try..." a sudden voice came ahead before the instructor Goki. And quelled the laughter of all trainees who laughed at Yman.


    The voice was not loud; not low either. But it brought a strong feeling even if the one who said it had stammered her words. Everyone''s attention had been caught by it. Weird, but this voice was known by all of them, especially to the trainees.


    They glanced at the root of this voice just to see that pretty girl, Almina Amulet, she was gripping her hands into a ball, straight pointing below at both sides of her, while showing slight redness on her face and steam coming out from her head. Beside her was her best friend Kesha, with lavender hair that was tied in a ponytail.


    Kesha however, showed a puzzled look on her face. Wondering why her best friend suddenly fuming with anger. Almina''s face showed an irritated expression.


    Kesha also wondered why her best friend recommended letting that arrogant trainee. For some reason, that person looked familiar to her.


    Not long she remembered that that person was the same person who sat down beside her in the auditorium this morning.


    Goki stared at Almina, then thought that she was right. After all, even if this young man found himself in predicament, they could rescue him before the monster could kill him. These types of monsters could not really 1 hit any of the trainees around.


    And he also thought that there were still more than 40 students that were waiting to substitute the others. While there were 35 monsters left. And 34 of them are already fighting the trainees who took their aggro.


    The one that was left, was being held in a stalemate by one of the guards. The guard was waiting for the next trainee to fight this monster before he left it with him or her.


    Wait, did he actually think that this young man could kill several monsters?


    Of course, Goki knows it was impossible to do it. But he could not think of any reason why this person suddenly asked him that.


    They''re also a possibility that this young man was just a boastful person.


    Yman doesn''t know if that beauty was helping him or just wanted to see him embarrassed himself. In the first place, almost all of the trainees in the area were throwing ridicules at him. Who knows what might this girl named Almina have in mind. Regardless, she looks angry for some reason.


    But, certainly, he felt some kind of Deja Vu seeing this girl. It looks like he already saw her before.


    Nonetheless, it was good that she was able to convince the instructor. He saw the instructor Goki nodded at him.


    Anyway, Almina managed to help him with convincing the instructor.


    "Let''s go Sistela," he called out to his partner who was floating beside him.


    She lazily answered at him.


    She was grumbling as to why her partner was being ridiculed. But it seemed nothing to him. Although her partner was weak and poor, he adored his sister very much. Which was likable for Sistela.


    But this person clearly lets himself be mocked by others.


    Regardless, they had to synchronize their thoughts and...


    "Resonance!" They chanted the word at the same time.


    After that, the imprint on Sistela''s round ball body suddenly glows, and then, Sistela deliberately changes her form into something like a wristwatch, then spreads apart, next, she is stuck on Yman''s back neck.


    Right after he opened his eyes, the list of magic skills suddenly appeared in his vision. His body was enveloped by the white glow made of energy.


    He could see the Mini Heal and Rapid Leap skill at the corner of his vision. It was to remind him that this was his current skills. And he could also determine when his skills were in cooldown or not.


    But veteran magicians had no need to display their skills on their vision. They could exactly guess when their skills were on cooldown or not through experience. There was a setting to toggle it on or off.


    Yman took a peek on his status and showed a grim expression after he saw that there was only a small attack on it.


    He even forgot to buy a decent weapon. Right now, inside his Cyber Storage was a wooden sword, 1 vial of red liquid(also known as healing potion), and several pieces of arrows which was useless to the current monsters, it was useless because he doesn''t have a bow. Just an arrow that was for sale. The last thing inside his storage was a rope of 150 meters length.


    All the trainees looked at him with disgust and scorn on their faces. He could surmise that each of them was waiting for how he embarrassed himself to the crowd.


    No, the truth was, he already knew why they looked at him like that. Because the glowing energy surrounding him was of white color. It also means that he doesn''t have mana.


    The most magician with mana was enveloped by green glow at level 1-10. Which then evolve into blue at level 11-20, purple at level 21-30, red at level 31-40 and gold at level 41-50 as the magician''s level and the rank were to raise. As they level, their mana increases as well. But of course, every level gives a random number of attributes. It depends on their activities before they level up.


    ''Fuh,'' he let a sigh depart from his mouth. For Yman, he was already thick-skinned or thick-faced enough to get embarrassed. As long as their mock and taunt would remain as that it was fine for him. Just no physical contact with him, especially to the person close or special to him... because if they did so, he just prayed that they wouldn''t give him a chance to fight back.


    What he wanted to do was not really that big of a deal. And he thought he already achieved the consequence of his question. He then sent a glance at the back of most carriages.


    Killing the monsters? He never thought of it. He was mana less for god''s sake. And no attacking skill. Just a normal attack using his swing with low attack stats was certainly useless to these enemies that were known as earth type monsters; actually, earth type monsters have higher defense than other monsters.


    That was why Yman suspected that Almina had used some kind of passive skill or buff skill that allowed her to one-hit these types of monsters. Aside from her strong ability and a good sword.


    ''What a joke!'' He exclaimed inside. He thought it was an unfair world. Almina was almost perfect. ''No, she literally is perfect!'' He thought.


    Yman noticed that she was staring at him. He could not read her, but Yman believed that it was not hate. Maybe a friendly expression? He could not tell.


    He sent a slight nod at her as thanks, then directed his gaze towards the battlefield.


    About 35 monsters were currently left.


    After Yman turned his head towards the battlefield, Almina clenches her hands in front of her chest while smiling warmly with slight redness.


    Inside her, she felt happy that he appreciated what she did.


    Kesha, on the other hand, was dotted with her eyes. She could not understand why her best friend suddenly sent a smile towards that arrogant person.


    He''s not even that handsome. For Kesha, Yman was gloomy, with a thin body that looks sickly. He even stood while his back curved slightly. And he has messy hair with no fashion at all. Though he''s not ugly, he''s not that handsome as well. He''s just a below-average guy.


    Not the type of person that someone like them with beauty, brain, riches, and strength willing to socialize.


    And he also stood slightly lower than them. Both her and Almina were 5"7 ft tall. While that person, if Kesha was not wrong, he was at 5"6 ft tall at most.


    If only he was strong there might be a chance for them to become a little friendly at him. But after seeing his glowing energy that envelopes his body. He was not just weak but also a mana-less person, better to describe as a normal person.


    Good for him having a talent of channeling his stamina as the magic source. Though he could be said as a talented person for learning it.


    But still,


    He certainly was just below average.

 Chapter 15：Non-important blurry background with a thick face

    Yman took the wooden sword from his storage.


    Seeing this, everyone who was watching at him couldn''t help letting their laughs break out again.


    Now they were certain that this guy was just boasting only.


    "Hah, what to expect from someone like him. A no mana person," someone among the crowd sighed in disappointment.


    "Haha, for god sake! He was even poorer than I thought," another person followed up.


    "Look, he was wielding a stick that could not even be considered as a weapon," another trainee pointed at him.


    "Puffft, did he plan on beating the monster through it?!'' Some girl questioned the other trainee.


    "Oh no, where did he leave his brain?! That stick cannot even deal a scratch on that monster," Someone asked sarcastically.


    "If he was only wielding a stone sword, I might understand. But a wooden sword? Only kids would wield it for them to play," Among the spectators, one of the instructors was commenting in dismay.


    After all, it was just a dummy sword that they used to hit a dummy target at training.


    But this person who was asking them if he could attack several monsters at the same time was wielding it against a rank C monster.


    Even Goki who was overwatching all the trainees shook his head when seeing it.


    Kesha sent a glance to her best friend beside her. She could not understand why Almina said that earlier. It was clear that that person was just boasting.


    Then Kesha was thinking that maybe Almina just wanted to see that guy embarrass himself to the crowd.


    She giggled, then she sighed in relief.


    Perhaps, she was just overthinking herself a while ago, that her best friend would show some interest in that guy. But it looks like she just wanted to make that person embarrassed himself more.


    She thought that she could not blame her.


    After all, that guy was an unimportant person. He was like a passing extra that would be easily forgotten. Or a blurred background that was non-essential.


    Even though many of them ridiculed him, some were silent while looking at him. Deep inside they were expecting that maybe this trainee had really something, like a hidden ace.


    This also what Chloe was expecting of Yman. Since he was asking those words from the instructors, maybe he really did have something. Like he truly was a strong person but hidden his real strength.


    She was thinking some ''what if''.


    Like, what if...he had high Attributes. And what if...he had an overpowered magic ability...


    ...


    Yman was unaware of what the others were thinking about him. He was focusing himself on the fight.


    Ahead of Yman, he saw the soldier that was holding the monster in a stalemate. And about 20 meters to the right of him, the group of Kiko fighting three monsters at the same time.


    Some spectators showed amazement to their way of handling the monsters. Six of them ganged up the three monsters at the same time.


    Yman knitted his brows while glancing at them.


    They were circling the monsters while reigning attacks. Two of them had a shield magic ability.


    Whenever the monsters threw boulders, it was met by a wall that made earth rise from the ground.


    The other one was materializing a shield that made wind. Once the boulder touches it, it slows down then drops on the ground because of the loss in velocity.


    One of Kiko''s friends was an earth element user and the other was wind element.


    Yman let out a sigh.


    A sudden voice from someone who couldn''t read the mood. It was his deity Sistela.


    "...hah, what are you... are you trying to dishearten me?" He questioned her.


    She replied.


    Yman wanted to cry for his pitiful life. Even his deity was saying he was weak. Well, he could not blame her since it was indeed true. But he just wanted for her to time properly when she voiced out her statement.


    ...


    At the back, some instructors also noticed the group of Kiko.


    "What a clever idea. And they even have two shield magic ability users," one of them voiced out as they were watching them.


    "Indeed, but it was still hard for them to finish those monsters. After all, these monsters are of rank C. And only one of them had higher mana than a normal magician, while the other five were having normal mana capacity," another instructor replied while eyeing Kiko''s group.


    He noticed that some of them were rapidly spending their mana. If this continued for a minute, they would dry out their mana and would become useless in the battle.


    "Haha, I guess so..." the former nodded in agreement.


    Heyaaaaahhh! Ground Breaker!!! Kiko dashed then shouted the name of his magic ability.


    Next second, the ground shook lightly and the monsters were stunned for a moment. That skill of his had a mini bash effect. Which stunning the enemy for 1.5 seconds.


    Yman sighed then he glanced around and also noticed that guy who pushed him at the auditorium. Still fighting the monster he was facing.


    The guy was wielding a dual dagger. Sometimes he threw them to the monster. After hitting, it bounced back while leaving some scratches on the monster''s stony body.


    But it was not enough. His attack could not penetrate.


    Yman noticed that every time the guy''s attacks landed, a minus of 10-20 points damage on the monster''s health points. Still better than his.


    Around the...


    Some trainees are raining magic attacks on the monsters. While the monsters were throwing boulders at the trainees, and sometimes charging at them or using their spike to counter a sneak attack from the back. Many trainees shouted to give up one after another. And some were running towards them to take over and rescue.


    However, some managed to kill their target.


    ...


    Nevertheless, Yman started his move. He ran towards his target and threw a stone on it. The soldier that was holding the monster retreated at the sight of him coming charging.


    Yman leaps after arriving at 7 steps away from his target monster to shorten the distance rapidly.


    His movement was not so agile, but it was decent for someone like him who was level 1 only. And he was not using his magic skill or ability yet.


    The monster noticed him but didn''t give a care. It was facing the soldier a while ago. But the soldier had already retreated.


    An exclamation point appeared above the monster''s head after it lost its target. But that''s just Yman''s imagination. There was really no exclamation to be seen above its head.


    Since the monster lost its target, it glances around.


    Suddenly, Yman was able to get close to it and swung the wooden sword in his hand. The monster was not able to react fast and took a hit at its body. Which followed by...


    -1 And a sound of wood hitting a hard object.


    A red text could be seen in Yman''s vision. Although he exerted much force in that attack, he was only able to deal 1 damage on it.


    "Haha, look at that! He only took 1 point on that monster HP!" Laughed by someone among the trainees.


    "What?! Even his damage was too low!" Followed by the other.


    They assumed that even if he was wielding a wooden sword. He might have decent attack damage. But it looks like, even his Attributes were low.


    "Hahaha! How idiotic this person can be!" Some shouted.


    Hahaha!!! And everyone broke out into laughter again.


    Even the instructors that were expecting something of him shake their heads.


    The other trainees were laughing more when they noticed that the monster''s health points only lost 1 point.


    Even Chloe couldn''t believe it. It looks like she was wrong.


    Bob, Mai, and Brai could only leak a lazy smile on their faces.


    Almina, on the other hand, was gripping her hands tightly while staring at him without averting her eyes.


    Kesha, sighing at the sight of Yman, continued embarrassing himself. She was thinking that this guy was a thick face person.


    The monster then treats Yman as the enemy and faces him. But, he already expected it to happen. Nonetheless, he successfully grabbed the monster''s attention.


    ''Now now, how to take some aggro from the other monsters?'' Yman pondered for a moment as he narrowed his eyes. Since he has a lower attack, it was hard for him to accumulate hate from the monsters.


    Good thing that the soldier did not attack this monster and just defended himself while stalling it.


    Yman knew that even if he was going to strike the monster using his wooden sword the damage would be 1.


    He could also throw a stone at them, but still, the damage would be 1 also. In this regard, he could only focus on one.


    At his left, there was a forest, and at his right side, a seemingly deep cliff.

 Chapter 16：If you‘re a girlfriend, I already have broken up with you!

    Yman hastily kicked the ground to distance himself. He noticed that the monster was trying to use its hand-blade, the same thing did by the monster that Almina fought a while ago.


    It swung its bladed hand to the right side to where Yman was. But he already retreated at a safe distance.


    The bladed hand made a swooshing sound when it pierced through airs and it missed its intended target.


    Fuh! Yman let out a sigh of relief after successfully dodging the attack.


    Sistela curiously asked him. He smiled bitterly at her words.


    Yman gasped for breath. "Hmm...it''s not just about winning..." he replied. He could not sum up why this deity of him opened her mouth without realizing if she was hurting someone through her words. And that someone was always... HIM!!!


    This deity is so mean to him but good at her sister. They was even treating each other like real sisters.


    Yet, the other deity of the other magician was so fond of their owner or partner.


    ''If it was only a chatbox, I had already chatted, ''Yman left the group...'' he thought.


    She said at him like a granny saying...'' hah, good grief, what a child.''


    He doesn''t know if to cry or laugh at her words.


    Suddenly, Yman knitted his brows.


    "Loop huh, hmm...loop...loop?�� fufu perhaps..." he mumbled.


    ''Wait, loop?'' He thought.


    "Hmm...maybe��I can take down some of these monsters if lucky..."


    Even if Sistela wanted to ask him. But she could feel that he was serious with his words. After all, she could feel what he felt. But, how would he do that? Somehow, sometimes she could not read her partner''s thoughts.


    "Tsk, now you are trying to use my sister, huh!"


    "Hehe." He sneered.


    "Shut up!" He yelled at her.


    "What? Are you insulting me?! You meanie!"


    "Hah! Now you are acting bossy, huh! If you''re a girlfriend I already have broken up with you!" He said while running towards a trainee fighting not too far from him.


    "Gwaahhh!!!" Yman''s eyes became white. Being called low by an object, was like killing him twice.


    ''What the hell this deity was thinking?!'' He grumbled inwardly.


    He wondered why or who was the one who programmed his deity. And why this deity had such unnecessary programs running through her thoughts. It''s not even helpful to him in the fight.


    Nonetheless, he noticed the monster rushing towards him.


    Yman doesn''t know if what was the name of these monsters. Above their head, only the health bar in red color and the numbers inside it were displayed. Above the red health bar, the three question marks could be seen.


    Since their system deity was from the earth above, the monsters registered on it were limited only from the monsters on earth above or Outerworld. So the monsters in this world were unknown to the system deity.


    Yman suddenly stopped but his feet skidded on the ground. He positioned himself where his back facing the back of the person behind him.


    That trainee did not notice him. Now Yman was at a 2-meter distance from that trainee who was fighting the monster evenly.


    Sistela doesn''t know what her partner is trying to do. Why he needed to run here.


    Sistela sighed.


    He heard her but he chose to ignore. This deity was a no-no.


    The monster that looks like a mini golem was chasing after him while carrying a boulder.


    The golem noticed the human target stop running while facing him. When it reaches at 10 meters distance from the human enemy, it directly throws the boulder without a second thought.


    Sistela screamed seeing the huge boulder being thrown towards them. It was as large as a wheel of a ten-wheeler truck.


    If this hit them, the damage would be huge. After all, Yman was level one only and has lower attributes. He only has 2 points on his vitality.


    Even Yman could not help gulping saliva seeing the boulder growing bigger and bigger in his vision as it rapidly flew towards him.


    Seeing Almina fight the monster a while ago, it seemed like it was easy to deal with. But in reality, what a huge mistaaaaaake!!!


    ''So that''s why many trainees choose to give up, huh!'' He thought.


    Nonetheless, the spectators were holding their breaths seeing the unfolding fights.


    They already expected that this boastful person would flatten himself. And that''s what he got for being an idiot.


    Tsk!


    Kesha clicked her tongue while thinking, ''idiot! That is what you got for being a show-off even though you have no talent. Kuku, do you really think my friend would fall at you? You wish!''


    Beside her, Almina was clenching her hands in front of her chest while trembling slightly.


    "Be careful," she whispered.


    "???" Kesha heard her. But to whom she said it? To that person? No way! She thought that Almina just wanted that person to humiliate himself. But, was it really like that? Now Kesha doesn''t know. Maybe she just misheard her.


    WOAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!


    WAAAAAATCH OUUUUUT!!!


    A sudden yell by the people around them disturbed her thoughts.


    Bang!


    -250 hp


    Gyaaaaahhhh!!!!


    A person was thrown away after he was hit by a bulging boulder.

 Chapter 17：Disconnection, AI and human difference

    Yman was thrown about ten meters away from his current location.


    He could not believe that this monster''s attack was so fast.


    He even tried to use his Rapid Leap skill. But before he could activate it, it was already too late.


    BoooooOOOOOOOOOOO!!!


    The spectators were sending boos at him. While some were laughing and the others cursing him.


    He also noticed the instructors shaking their heads. Even the Instructor Goki did as well.


    Well, he already expected it. What was important was that he''s alive.


    Good thing that he was able to block the boulder with his wooden sword. If not, surely, he would die in that attack.


    But even so, the damage was too high! He lost half of his health points. And the sword was broken.


    Well, he was fine, his right arm was feeling numb though. Nevertheless, the person at his back also took huge damage, like him, that person also was hit by the boulder.


    Yman grinned and took a glance at the person. He saw him standing not too far away from him. He was standing still while wobbling from side to side.


    ''He was stunned! Ahaha,'' he laughed seeing that guy lost more than half of his health points and now was under the effect of Bash.


    That boulder throw of this monster could cause the Bash effect when hit directly by it. They would be stunned for a limited time.


    Since Yman was able to block it with his sword, no Bash effect on him.


    ''That''s a payment for pushing me this morning!'' He inwardly whispered.


    "Shut up, Sistela!" He said while twisting his face.


    "Okay, I know I did something bad...but, that is because I know how twisted humans are. I already experienced many cruelties. And I learned that...if you act meek and weak, they would always pick a fight with you. Sometimes You need to pay them back. No matter if they paid you again later. What is important, is that...you fight back! And showed them that you are not just a training dummy that they can hit whenever they want!"


    He said while his eyes glistened.


    "I know! But since you are an AI and not really a human, it is hard for you to comprehend what the real human felt," he said.


    "Yeah, because they programmed you...like that," Yman tried to explain to his deity the difference between a real human and artificial one.


    He could feel her displeasure at him. But Yman had no time to argue with her. He noticed the golem started to rush towards him.


    Sometimes, Yman felt that Sistela was a human. The way she talked and acted, they were human-like. But, he also knew that she was just an AI, an artificial intelligence. And she could not understand some matters that only humans can do. Because her knowledge was limited only to what was programmed in her.


    All in all, he noticed that...before that person who pushed him this morning took a hit from the mini golem he was fighting with a while ago, Instructor Goki caught the attack of the golem and rescued that person.


    He even caught the golems attack with one hand only. Yman''s mouth formed like ''o'' seeing this. The golem tried to attack him using its bladed hand. But his bulging muscle was like an impenetrable armor that could not be penetrated with any weapons.


    Instructor Goki glanced at Yman and said, "I''m disappointed at you kiddo...regardless, you take care of this one too," he said at him while pointing at the mini golem.


    Since Yman asked him that he would attack several monsters at the same time a while ago, the instructor gave him the other golem that was supposed to be the enemy of that person who pushed him this morning.


    "Y-Yes...sir!" Yman replied. Even though he felt ashamed for what he did. But, he would not change the way he thought just for that.


    "Don''t act too rash kid."


    After leaving those words, the instructor left while carrying that person.


    Yman sighed. After losing the target, the mini golem pointed his hatred to the nearest enemy. And that was Yman.


    Now he needed to take care of these two monsters at the same time.


    Two monsters came charging at him in opposite directions.


    Without waiting for them to catch him, he ran towards the cliff edge while casting healing skills for himself.


    Heal! Heal...


    The spectators wondered what he was planning now.


    Almina didn''t care what the other thought of Yman. But after seeing him running at the edge cliff, she felt regret that she let him do what he wanted.


    That move of him was literally suicidal.


    Kesha sneered at that boastful person. Now he was running at the edge of the cliff. She thought that this person wanted to kill himself because of how embarrassed he was.


    "What a clown..." she whispered.


    "What the...why Yman went there?" Bob was puzzled.


    "Yeah, now he has no way to escape," Mai added.


    "Kuku, I bet he wanted to commit suicide," Brai chuckled.


    "Eh? No��way..." even Chloe had no idea what was Yman trying to do.


    She was as puzzled as them.


    Even the instructors knitted their brows.


    "That kid is crazy!" One of them said in a slightly loud voice.


    "We should stop this!" The other one added.


    "Fufufu," a female instructor chuckled and said, "let him die. After all, he will not literally die. He will revert back to normal humans only if that kid falls on that cliff. But of course, the injury was considerable."


    Yman stopped his feet at exactly 10 meters distance...away from the cliff edge.


    If the Boulder Throw would hit him, for sure, he would fall at this cliff.


    But before that, he needed to prepare himself for the monster''s attack.


    Yman noticed that his deity Sistela was silent. It looks like she was mad at him.


    Floating beside Almina was his system deity named Cal. He was asking his owner Almina.


    "W-Why, Mr. Cal?" Almina was flustered, questioning back her deity.


    But her deity knew what she felt at the moment.


    Mr. Cal said at his owner while the imprints on his round body glowed whenever he talked.


    "Eehhhhhh? What are you saying, Mr. Cal? Why would it happen? He will die for real? Not revert back to a normal human?" Almina''s voice was loud that the other trainees beside her heard her.


    "...how? Why?" Almina asked while widening her eyes.


    Mr. Cal replied to her.


    "...d-disconnection?"


    "You mean...their resonance will be canceled?" Upon realizing it Almina felt a pang of pain in her chest.


    "Mr. Cal is that possible?" Almina asked.


    "D-D-Dear to me? W-W-What are you saying M-Mr? Cal?" Almina stammered her words while showing redness on her face.


    Mr. Cal mumbled.


    Almina grimaced upon hearing her deity. But, what can she do? Stop the fight? Help him?


    But based on Yman''s personality, there was a chance that he would feel bad at her if she did that.


    She bit her lips.


    Beside her, was her stunned best friend.


    When the two monsters reached a distance of ten meters away from him. They used Boulder Throw at him. Two boulders rapidly flew towards him.

 Chapter 18：Earth-Crushing Technique

    This time Yman activated the Rapid Leap ahead of time.


    He knew that...if he was a little bit late of using his magic, it would bring him no good.


    He already estimated the right timing to use his Rapid Leap. And also, he estimated the distance. However, he was not 100% sure that his timing would work. A light was bursting on his feet when he leaped and dove to his right side in a very quick motion using his Rapid Leap.


    The two boulders passed through at the hairsbreadth of him. His body rolled two times on the ground and he pushed abruptly his body to stand.


    He glanced at the cliff edge and noticed one of the boulders at the very edge.


    He narrowed his eyes and ran towards the other side of the cliff where he saw a group trainee ganging up against their enemies.


    He needed to run fast. The two mini golems were chasing him. They sometimes throw boulders.


    "Rapid��Leap?" Mai muttered.


    "That is the same ability used by that beautiful girl, right?" Bob questioned.


    "Yeah, and looks like, Yman was lucky enough to get that skill too. Although, Miss Almina was much better in executing the skill," Mai replied.


    "Is that skill, that great?" Chloe asked.


    "Of course, every skill is great, but it depends on the one using it," Mai answered again.


    "Oh, T-that is��right," Chloe mumbled after hearing Mai''s reply.


    Almina breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Yman was able to avoid the attack.


    "B-Best friend, w-why are you smiling? And why is your face becoming red?!" Beside Almina, Kesha was flustered while staring at her.


    "H-Ha? W-What are you talking about Kesha?" Almina awkwardly touched her face.


    "Your face is getting red! Are you okay? You''re not sick, are you?" Kesha worriedly questioned her.


    Cal said but Kesha did not hear it.


    "N-No no-no, I''m fine..." Mina reasoned out.


    On Kesha''s shoulder, her System Deity was sitting on it and was firmly holding her clothes to avoid falling on the ground. He could fly though.


    The other trainees were still fighting with their intended target. Some of them managed to defeat their foe and some in equal strength and currently in a stalemate. While some had chosen to give up after they had experienced how difficult it was to kill this enemy.


    The other magicians had the upper hand with their magic while the others had a bad match up. It depends on their type of magic if they had the upper hand or not with the enemy they would be facing.


    The group of Kiko managed to kill the two enemies out of three, and now only one was left.


    Thud! Another monster''s attack was defended by an earth shield.


    Hah...hah...hah... each of them was gasping for breath.


    "Kiko, finish it now, Bro!" Marco shouted to Kiko.


    "Y-Yeah!" A bead of sweat trailing down on his handsome face. At the corner of his eyes, he saw that pretty girl Almina Amulet. He felt warm when he noticed that she was looking towards their direction.


    Kiko felt motivated and a smile leaked on his handsome face.


    Shing! A sound of piercing an air was generated when Kiko lifted up his sword in a quick action using his well-toned arm''s muscle.


    The tip of his sword pointed to the sky while his hands firmly held the handle. Suddenly, his sword was engulfed by surging fire.


    The spectators have focused their eyes on him. Even the instructors nodded their heads and smiled.


    "That Kid had some skill," one of the instructors commented.


    "That form, could it be... The Earth-Crushing Technique?!!!" Another instructor shouted in surprise.


    "Hoy, hoy, hoy... wasn''t that skill supposed to be hard to execute. Did he learn it in advance?" An instructor wearing a robe and a straw hat plus a piece of a tree branch in his mouth said in surprise upon seeing Kiko''s stance.


    "Fufufu, that kid is quite amusing," the female instructor said.


    "Mina, look, look at that guy using a powerful skill. And he''s quite handsome too," Kesha said to her best friend.


    But Mina only took a quick glance before turning back her focus to the person that was trying to escape from the chasing two golems. While her white hands were firmly gripping in front of her well-developed bust.


    She was praying that...nothing bad will happen to him. To that person being chased by two golems.


    Not far from them...


    "What they meant by Earth-Crushing Technique?" Bob was confused upon hearing the instructors'' remarks.


    "Earth-Crushing Technique was one of the paths in pursuing magic. Skills that belong in this category were mostly explosive with high damage skills and sometimes have an area of effect type of skills, and are supposed to be taught in the academy," Mai explained.


    "Explosive skills, heh!" Brai muttered.


    "So, that guy had learned it beforehand, what a cheat," Bob said while knitting his brows.


    "Uh-uhm...i-is that one of those skills that can be learned through training?" Chloe asked shyly.


    "Yes, Chloe, that technique is one of the ancient techniques that can be learned through training, well, we will mostly learn it as well in the academy but that if, if you choose that type of skill category. I heard there are more categories that we can choose upon," Mai replied.


    "W-Wow! Miss Mai, you''re so knowledgeable in this!" Chloe''s eyes glistened like a child that got a new toy.


    "Hah! She was an idiot who was infatuated by magic..." Brai said blatantly.


    "You!!!" Mai shouted at his face.


    Goaaar!!! Their conversation had been cut by the sudden roar of the mini golem.


    Kiko was about to slash the grieving mini golem at his front when...


    Tap, tap, tap... They heard fast stepping sounds approaching them. They glanced and saw the guy they hated the most.


    Kiko scoffed seeing that guy fleeing away from his target and running in haste towards them.


    "Hahaha, look... it''s him! that dummy is fleeing like a chicken," Marco laughed.


    "Puwahaha, this shit cowardly man! Run for your shit life idiot! Puwahahaha!" Bruno yelled while ridiculing him.


    "Gyahaha, that guy was thinking he was playing temple run!" One of Kiko''s friend added.


    Wahahaha! All of them were laughing. Even though they were feeling tired, they still have time to ridicule.


    Even the group of instructors that were watching the battle was confused by this kid''s action.


    The other trainees and the soldiers from the empire were as confused as them.


    Yman did not mind their ridiculing words and laughs. He had no time to mind them. The two golems were chasing after him like tails.


    Seeing Kiko''s stance, Yman sneered at him.

 Chapter 19：The real reason

    While the others were thinking that Yman was out of breath trying to escape from the two mini golems chasing after him, Kiko on the other hand, doubted what that person was trying to do.


    Why was he sneering at them while being chased?


    Kiko''s face twitched when a sudden realization came into his mind, he shouted immediately to his friends to shoot that guy. Although everyone was doubting him because their mana was almost dry, they followed him anyway.


    Generating the last drop of their mana, two of them managed to cast a spell and shoot towards Yman.


    When Yman noticed the incoming magic attacks. He wanted to laugh. Water Blades in the air and Ice Spike from the ground, these two attacks were fast approaching him. He was too envious of their magic.


    The spectators were dumbfounded of why those guys were attacking that laughing stock trainee. Even the instructors knitted their brows. But they had guessed that that person might be trying to do something again. Like what he did to the other trainee a while ago.


    They could not sum up that person as to why he was doing these dirty tricks. Even though he was weak. Or should they say ''the weakest among all the trainees''? He doesn''t even have mana, to begin with, yet he was trying to do bad things to others.


    ''Disgusting!!!'' Their thoughts. Even the other instructors thought the same and shook their heads. For them, that guy was not fit to be trained by them.


    Instructor Goki knitted his brows upon seeing the battle. Many trainees shouted to give up one after another. He was quite dissatisfied that only a few of the trainees managed to succeed. And yet there was one person who was playing on the battlefield.


    Even though what he did was outrageous, instructor Goki was quite curious about this person. Because not all magicians were able to act calm in the face of the enemy. Yet, that person had the guts to play on the battlefield and do dirty tricks to his fellow trainee! That''s unbelievable!


    "That person is just too shameful!" Kesha commented.


    Beside her, Almina was just silent. She knows that person very well. He was not the type to hurt someone. But...why did it seem he was planning something bad for the group of trainees ahead of him?


    Watching them from a distance, anyone could tell that Yman was trying to lure those two mini golems to the group of Kiko. But Almina still believes in that person.


    Even Mai and the others could guess what he was planning to do. Since he already did the same thing to the other trainee.


    Bob and Chloe knew the reason why Yman tricked the person a while ago, that guy did something bad to him this morning. But what about those groups of trainees? Everyone had questions in their minds.


    Seeing the incoming attacks, he felt a little nervous, but Yman timed his Rapid Leap perfectly.


    He was able to leap on his left and avoided the attacks. Because of his sudden leap the attacks missed the target and continued towards the two golems.


    On the other hand, Kiko was distracted and his skill stopped its effect and now he was currently contesting with the mini golem in front of him. He was furious at that guy. Because of that guy, he could not show off his skill to that pretty girl Almina.


    It was supposed to be his chance! However, that guy showed up while luring the other mini golems to them.


    Kiko''s brows greeted each other, at the same time he gritted his teeth so hard that it made a creaking noise.


    "I will fucking kill that frogman..." he was cursing while trying to push back the hand-blade of mini golem through his sword.


    He was mad that even the pulse on his face down to his neck was visible.


    Yman evaded the Water Blades and Ice Spike, the two magic attacks flew towards the two mini golems chasing after him.


    The other one suddenly froze when hit by the Ice Spike. The second one was hit by Water Blades, but not much damage was visible, only a slight scratch on its body. Both of the mini golems health points were at 90% at most.


    Since the attacks dealt with higher damage than Yman''s attack. The aggro has been stolen by the group of Kiko. And now the mini golem''s eyes glowed in red while facing their direction.


    Seeing this, Yman chuckled while switching his course.


    Nevertheless, one of the golems was still in a frozen effect and couldn''t move. The other one threw a boulder at Kiko''s group.


    "Shit! Damn, you fucking toadman!" Marco shouted at Yman. But the person he shouted was already running towards the cliff edge.


    Looking at the new enemies Bruno wanted to run in fear, "K-Kiko dude, l-lets give up!" He suggested.


    ''G-Give up? Give up in front of that pretty girl Almina? Why the fuck I would do that?!'' Kiko''s pride could not let him give up. He had still mana left. But his friends already dried their mana.


    He was thinking about what to do. To redeem himself. He could not let that guy look down on him. He would kill these monsters then he would kill that guy next.


    GYAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!


    Kiko screamed with all his might. Massive mana bursting from his body. It then covers all over his body like a skin of mana to protect himself.


    The name of the spell was Mana Membrane. It reduces the incoming physical and magical attack by 50%.


    "Whaaaa! Look at that guy!" A trainee pointed to Kiko.


    "Cool! He already mastered his 3rd skill."


    Exclaimed by another person.


    "Wow! What kind of magic is that?!"


    A girl questioned.


    "Dummy, that is called Mana Membrane. A defensive spell." Answered the person beside her.


    "Mina! Mina! Look! That person is using his 3rd skill already. Such a genius!" Kesha''s eyes lit up.


    "Mhm." She nodded while glancing at the mana covering that person''s body.


    "I- Is that awesome?" Bob asked.


    "Of course, as a trainee, we can only master 2, but that person already mastered three skills. The first skill he used is an attack with a bash effect, second is the Earth-Crushing Technique which lost the effect when Yman intervened. And the third is that protective spell. He already had a good set of abilities with him. Such talent!" Even Mai exclaimed while nodding her head.


    "Tsk!" Brai clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    The instructors were quite amused by Kiko''s talent. They were watching him while nodding their heads. And each of them was thinking about how to further develop this person.


    The mini golem''s bash effect on their Boulder Throws no longer effective against the Mana Membrane ability of Kiko. It has an Anti-Bash and Anti-Stun effect. And all damage coming to him greatly decreases. Everyone was watching with awe at him.


    Yman was so envious when he took a glance. He was wondering why all luck was in that person. What about him?! Almost all of the good things he wishes for were already with that person!


    "Well, he doesn''t have a cute sister!" He shouted while trying to distract himself from jealousy he felt. The unfairness of the world. He ran quickly towards another mini golem who lost their target. Now no one even glanced at him anymore. They forgot he exists.


    Kiko slashing the enemy, brandishing his sword from left to right. The three mini golems health points started to decrease little by little. His friends were already lying on the ground gasping for breath. He was the only one remaining standing in their group.


    "K-Kiko dude, d-don''t let that toadman mock on us..."


    His men watched him while cheering inwardly.


    Shing!


    -50 hp, a red text appeared in Kiko''s vision.


    GOORRRRrrrrr!!! One of the golems died while wailing in agony.


    "Fufu, t-that is awesome, he was fighting three at the same time, yet, he managed to kill one and wounded the other two," the woman instructor commented.


    "Mhm. That kid had a bright future ahead," instructor Goki followed up.


    Kiko smirk.


    "Haha. Do you think you can make me surrender the fight, huh?! What are you now? Frog!" Kiko screamed, but when he glanced at the back, he saw that guy running towards him again. Chased by three mini golems?!


    Kiko''s eyes went bloodshot as veins surfacing on it. His face was twitching as he shouted, "are you fucking kidding meeeeee!!!"


    Yman rapidly runs towards that guy while being tailed by three new mini golems.


    "Hehe. So what if you are talented. So what if you are a genius in magic. So what if you are loved by heavens. You can have all the luck on earth. I even help you. Here is the proof of my heeeeelp!!!" He yelled in his thoughts.


    Yman passed by on Kiko with a smug, before he used his Rapid Leap skill again to lose the trail of the three mini golems.


    Because of this, the golems suddenly stopped their pursuit. The aggro was gone after Yman left them at a specific distance.


    The mini golems were looking for the new target. And the one nearest at them was no other than that person with mana coating around his body and currently fighting some of their kind.


    The golem''s eyes suddenly glowed in red as they pounced their massive body towards Kiko.


    Kiko wanted to cry. Even the spectators watching the scene were dumbfounded. What kind of horror was this? Everyone''s thought. Only the random gulping sounds were discernible at the moment.


    Yet another batch came again. That specific person luring another batch of mini golems chasing after him. Everyone already guessed what he was planning, they only wished that that talented guy would give up. He was surrounded already. And yet, that person keeps bringing more monsters towards him. Because of his Rapid Leap, he could easily lose the trail of these not too fast golems.


    Truly, this was what Yman meant when he asked the instructors if he could attack several monsters at the same time. Of course, it was not for him. But for that guy that he hated.


    Yman chuckled inwardly.


    Bob and the others, laughed at the sight. They could not believe that this person had such a way of thinking.


    Mina chuckled at Yman''s silly behavior but she found it adorable for some reason.


    The instructors wished for that guy to give up. That other person was just too absurd with his tricks.

 Chapter 20：A bad guy that a little stronger than normal human

    Gritted his teeth, he was holding his sword firmly with his sweating hands. Again, pointing the tip of the sword to the sky; after permitted a huge sudden breath from his mouth, the sword once again was surging with fire.


    All around him, the monsters pouncing their massive body at him. He noticed his health points rapidly decreasing. Thanks to his Mana Membrane ability, the damages he took were not too high. But before his health points reached zero, his eyes glinted with fighting spirit. A moment later...


    Meteor Blast!


    Kiko shouted the name of the skill and successfully used it this time.


    After he shouted, a loud bang was heard by everyone; smokes and clouds of dust hovered in all directions surrounding him forming like a ring, then it expanded in an instant like an invisible force that pushed back all of the monsters that hoarding him.


    It was a strong downward strike onto the ground. Which generates a mini shockwave to knock-back all of the enemies within the radius of 5 meters away surrounding him. And it plows the ground in a line for about 10 meters.


    Minus (-50) health points for those who got hit by the mini shockwaves and minus (-100) health points were visibly taken from those who got hit by the explosion at his front which causes the ground to cave-in for 10 meters distance.


    This was the skill belonging to his Earth-Crushing Technique. At the moment, he only had this one at this category or rather in this Skill Tree.


    It usually has high damage because of its explosiveness. But none of the monsters had died, because the damage had been divided depending on how many targets took the attack.


    The shockwave happened in just an instant, and after it, the cloud of dust cleared in just a matter of second. The surrounding was cleared again. But a large pit was visible on the ground which was the center that received the full brunt of the force from his attack.


    Since Yman kept on delivering monsters at him, the monster hoarded him like ants that were attracted to sweets.


    After using the skill, his mana dried up because of how massive mana that he had used when he activated the skill. He suddenly felt weak and groggy after using it. After all, he was just level 3 at the moment.


    Regardless, he was cursing that person. He would definitely get back at him later.


    In the end, he had to eat his pride and chose to give up. That person was just too shameless, thick-skinned.


    Good thing that he was able to think rationally this time. Because if he did not give up he would certainly die in just a matter of time, that�� if his pride continued getting the better of him.


    Without him knowing, he was able to harbor favorable reactions from all of the instructors watching him. Five of them immediately rushed to rescue him. They could not let such a talented trainee injure himself.


    Everyone was feeling helpless at him. No matter what he did, that other person was just too shameless, he kept on bringing another monster at him. It just a matter of time that his health points would have reached zero if he did not give up.


    ...


    Yman somehow had no idea what they were thinking at the moment. He doesn''t care about them. He was to focus on what he was currently thinking.


    He continued doing what he originally planned to do. Now that he was able to pay those people, he had to try his luck in killing some of these monsters.


    At the corner of his eyes, he noticed that person who pushed him this morning at the auditorium. It looks like he recovered already. And now, he was sending piercing glances at him.


    Currently, Yman was tying up the rope on a boulder that was on the edge of the cliff. He was tying it in a loop manner. Then he ran towards the forest and changed course to his right while simultaneously dropping the rope on its way.


    After running for a few seconds, he turned to his right again and ran towards the cliff, then tied the opposite end of the rope to the other boulder that was also on the edge of the cliff.


    Now the rope formed like the letter ''U'' on the ground. Where the opening was facing the cliff.


    Some trainees were still fighting around the field but they were outside his rope range.


    The spectators watching him wondering what he was doing. But they felt something out of the ordinary already.


    Even the instructors could not fathom this trainee. His way of fighting was different from everyone. He doesn''t even have any attacking spell.


    "That person is about to empty his stamina," Kesha voiced out with a mocking face.


    Almina furrowed her brows, "yeah, I felt it too. Someone who doesn''t have mana will eventually drain their stamina faster than someone that does."


    "Hmph, that''s what he got for being an assuming person. He''s not even strong, but he did some bad things with the other trainees. What a disgusting person." Kesha as she shook her head and sighed inwardly.


    Hearing her best friend''s remarks, Almina''s lips curled downward. "H-He''s not like what you think..." She muttered although Kesha did not hear it.


    After muttering it, a scene has been played in her mind once again. The same scene that happened on that day when she saw him. It was a scene from her childhood. About a lone boy sitting in the park while looking up to the tree��.


    But the scene was cut when someone among the crowd cried out. "Eh, what''s that guy trying to do?" Another person pointed out, "look, he was pushing the boulder!"


    "Looks like he was trying to push that boulder down the cliff?" Instructor Goki stated which causes the other instructors to furrow their brows and smiled bitterly. Then he thought, ''but�� what is his purpose in doing that? Wait-- don''t tell me he''s trying to drag those monsters off of the cliff...'' Instructor Goki was surprised upon realizing this.


    The other instructors don''t like that person or that trainee who uses his dirty tricks to outdo the others and hurt them at the same time.


    He was the bad guy in their perspective. A vile person for them. He doesn''t even have mana, so it was useless to train him. No matter what he did, he won''t be a strong magician in the future. At most, he would be a little stronger than an ordinary person.


    In any case, they noticed that his skill was healing magic and Rapid Leap. He could be a healer in the future but he would never be a vital person in this academy. Since, there were more healers that had better healing magic than him and had high mana capacity; compared to him who had none.


    Even if he trained himself like a madman. He could not learn any good skills, because most of them needed high mana in order to use the full force.

 Chapter 21：Yman wished for a knight in shining armor, but...

    He has 10% stamina left and he was currently pushing the boulder to drop it off of the cliff.


    The boulder made a shaking motion as it slowly lifted from its position.


    Instructor Goki fixed his gaze at the young man trying hard to push the boulder. Even the other trainees were watching him, they were wondering what he was doing. Not all of them were smart enough to figure his motive.


    Goki had no plan to stop the battle if the one battling did not give up. This year was a vital year for the academy. So they needed to be strict at training them.


    Seconds later...


    GOOOOOHHHHOORRRR!!! The ground rumbles when the golems start running towards Yman''s direction while howling in weird sounding noises.


    Since Yman was the nearest among them all. He was the next target of those golems who he lured to Kiko''s group. After Kiko gave up, they had lost their target again and needed to find a new one that was nearest them. In the end, it backfired at him. His only chance now was to drop the boulder at the cliff - faster as he could.


    Kiko and his group scoffed at him. They were wishing for that person they hated the most to fall on the cliff together with those golems.


    Yman''s heart skipped a beat when he heard the familiar howls of the monsters. He took a quick glance at the back and saw them charging towards him. His heartbeat started racing faster - he hastily used his full strength in order to quickly drop the boulder.


    Veins appearing on his face down to his neck - as he was exerting his full strength to roll the boulder. His body was shaking while he gritted his teeth.


    Not good if they catch up onto him!


    He noticed that Sistela was quiet for quite long. But he didn''t care about it. What''s important for now was to push the boulder down the cliff.


    Because of the rumbling sounds, the other spectators who were not watching at him a while ago had shifted their eyes onto him.


    Some were wishing for him to succeed but most of them were wishing for him to fall down the cliff, because of how bad they saw him. Especially the girl named Kesha.


    Almina anxiously darted her eyes to the instructors and to Yman. She was worried about what would happen if the golems reached him first. For sure Yman would fall down the cliff if they attacked him.


    Everyone was holding their breath! Each of them has different thinking at the moment.


    Just a little more push to drop the boulder!


    However...


    Yman lost strength and tumbled face-first on the ground. He suddenly felt weak and unable to lift his arms anymore.


    The resonance has been canceled unexpectedly just before he succeeded!


    Looks like the Like Value of his deity towards him had dropped beyond the limit and it auto disconnected their resonance.


    Sistela was surprised to find herself back as being a ball-shaped object.


    When she noticed the approaching enemies, she was scared and flew in a circle above Yman''s head while shouting, . But no matter how loud she shouted at him, he already lost his strength after the resonance canceled unexpectedly. His muscles became numb because of the toll brought for the sudden disconnection.


    Yman forces his head to glance at the back. But what he saw were the figures of the golems growing bigger and bigger as they came closer to him.


    Hearing the rumbling sound of the charging monsters like unstoppable trains, he grimaced and regretted. Now, even his mouth had no strength to talk. He could not scream to give up and he could only wait for his death.


    Deep inside he was wishing that someone would rescue him. Someone like a knight in shining armor.


    Bob and the others were shocked at the sudden turn of events. Yman was about to succeed but how come his resonance with his deity suddenly canceled?!


    They anxiously looked at the instructors. Even if Bob, Chloe, and Mai would rescue him, they definitely won''t succeed because they were lacking in strength. Both of them have average scores on the evaluation exam. It means that their magic and strength were not strong enough to easily kill one of those monsters that were rank C.


    They were wishing for the instructors to rescue him immediately. But they noticed none of the instructors had the plan to make a move.


    Mai was staring at Brai for some reason. He noticed her gazes but he chose to ignore her.


    Yman felt sleepy. His eyes started to close when a blinding warm reflection of sunlight hit the side of his face. He forced open his eyes and saw a sword user goddess with long black hair and a bow user goddess with long blonde hair.


    Their slender back was facing at him like shielding him from the enemies. He wanted to cry because, for the first time, someone was trying to protect him.


    Although he wished for a knight in shining armor, the heaven-sent two goddesses instead.


    He secretly thanks heaven. It looks like heaven still remembers him.


    But Yman furrowed his brows. He knows the other girl that was holding the fire sword. It was the beautiful girl Almina Amulet.


    But the second person, he doesn''t know who she was. This was the first time he saw her.


    He did not see her at the auditorium either. But she was wearing the uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy like them. So it means, she was also a trainee in the same academy as them.


    Seeing the side of her face, he could assume that she was a super beauty like Almina.


    Although Yman was having difficulty in just glancing at them, he was stunned and balled his eyes when the two goddesses started attacking.


    They were killing the golems very fast.


    He saw Almina slashing every golem at exactly the same spot. Her movements were graceful and measured.


    Yman admitted that she was really better than him at using the Rapid Leap skill. Maybe because she has massive mana. Compared to him that needed to channel his stamina in order to use the skill. So it has two hurdles upon him. First, he doesn''t have mana - that''s why the execution of his skill was a little laggy than her. Second, because of him using his stamina as a medium, he became weaker and slower each time he used the skill.


    But what surprised Yman, was how Almina was able to 1 hit these creeps! Even the instructors had no idea how she managed to do that.


    For some reason, she looks serious right now. Unlike the way, she fought a while ago. They were wondering if what was the cause that she was fighting seriously now. But they were assuming for two reasons. First, she was inspired by Kiko''s strength a while ago, or maybe she had a crush on him. In any case, Kiko was a handsome guy. Any girls would probably fall over him. But Almina was not an ordinary beauty as well. She was a goddess for them. So for her to have a crush on Kiko was just a 50 - 50 expectation.


    Kiko somehow has the feeling that Almina had a crush on him too. Because after his fight, she became serious as well. It looks like she wanted to show her real skill to him. Kiko felt happy, more on it, his friends were teasing him saying - that Almina probably had a crush on Kiko. But Kiko was feeling a little sad that Almina was helping that guy Yman.


    She could show her skill later after that person fell on the cliff. Kiko regretted that Almina chose the wrong timing to show-off her skill. All in all, he was happy. Happy that he felt she had something on him.


    The second reason that they assumed for Almina''s sudden seriousness in fighting, was because of the other girl. Maybe she saw her as a rival. Not rival in love but rival in strength.


    On the other hand, the blonde goddess sent arrows that penetrated every golem at the back of her target. The one at the back has been hit also and so on. So every two arrows she sent flying, multiple golems would instantly die.


    Just a few seconds that had passed when they finished them off. The noisy surrounding a while ago had suddenly become as quiet as the peaceful swamp.


    Everyone was dumbfounded at the domineering power of these two goddesses. The instructors showed a ''can''t be helped'' expression on their faces.


    Looks like these two beautiful ladies were top-notch magicians.


    While the others were dumbfounded, inside the carriage - Principal Mar Mari was grinning. It looks like he made the right decision in recruiting this girl. But not just that, he also discovered another talented trainee that could rival his recruited trainee. Who would have thought that that girl Almina Amulet would be attending this academy too? Her mother was rank S magician, while his father was one of the top leaders from the Seeker Guild back on Outerworld.


    It was really unbelievable that such a talented magician was going to train herself in the lowest academy out of all the academies.


    ''Looks like this year would have a different route than last year.''


    Principal Mar thought.

 Chapter 22：Different kinds of people around you

    After Almina and the blonde girl defeated all the monsters charging towards Yman, he lost his consciousness.


    The battle ended and the soldiers finished all the remaining few monsters.


    Then the carriages proceeded from their halted travel.


    <><><>


    Yman slowly opened his eyes. He was greeted by a single lamp hanging up above the ceiling of the room and illuminating the surrounding with yellow brilliance. He glanced around him and noticed that he was inside a tent.


    He frowned after remembering what was happened before he lost his consciousness, he slowly pushing up his body.


    He felt weak and dizzy. But he could manage somehow.


    He scanned around him but he could not see his deity Sistela. He needed to concentrate to feel his deity''s whereabouts, though he needed to use his stamina. But because he was in a weakened state, he could not carelessly use it.


    A moment later, Yman noticed a part of the tent-making a slight movement, which he believed was the entrance of the tent.


    After a second, Miss Pai came in. "Yman? Hah, good that you''re finally awake! But, uh, you''re not allowed to get up yet. Go back to the bed."


    Miss Pai said in surprise and sighed in relief when she noticed him standing beside the folding bed.


    "....."


    Yman was silent. He did not expect to see her here. After a second, he opened his mouth.


    "N-No Miss Pai, I - ''m fine... just a little groggy." He said to her while trying not to cause any suspicion. "By the way, Miss Pai, where am I?"


    Even though he tried to look normal, Miss Pai knew that he was still not feeling well.


    Yman noticed her knitted brows and pouting face with a ''hmmph...'' sound. It looks like she won''t answer him if he won''t follow what she wanted.


    He decided to sit down on the bed while scratching his face and lightly laughed.


    Miss Pai sighed before opening her mouth, "you are currently inside the medical tent. The group decided to take a detour to pass the night, since many of the participating trainees got tired from the battle this noon, and the soldiers guarding us said that it was not good to travel at night cause many hostile monsters will go out hunting. Early tomorrow the group will resume the travel. Right now, we are settling beside the river they called Silent River." Miss Pai explained.


    "S-Silent River?" He repeated.


    "Yeah. They said this river was historical and that it was the longest river in this world. Although, I''m not sure if I believe it or not, like you it is my first time here also."


    She said at him while blending an herb in a glass.


    "...weird."


    Yman knitted his brows in puzzlement.


    "Why?" She asked.


    "Because wouldn''t it be natural to call it the Longest River instead of the Silent River..."


    Hearing him, she stopped her hands and showed thinking gestures.


    "...hm, maybe because this river doesn''t flow like the usual river should be that''s why they called it Silent River."


    "I - I see. So that''s why I didn''t hear any gushing sounds."


    She nodded and resumed what she was doing.


    "Anyway, you made quite a blunder out of yourself this noon." She told him with knitted brows.


    After hearing her say this, Yman helplessly sighed and slightly downed his head. "S-Sorry." He mumbled shyly.


    He could not say anything since Yman knew it was his fault after all.


    "I know that some people made fun of you. But, don''t forget that there are people too...that cared about you."


    Yman slightly nodded his head and remained quiet. Somewhat her words felt comforting to him. She was like an older sister towards him and Yana.


    Seeing him quiet. She approached him with the glass of herb in her hands. "Here, drink it," she said and handed the glass to him.


    "This is..."


    "That is an herbal tea made from Young Lilly herb that we found floating on the river and mixed it with a grinned 1-month-old root of Yellow Clover. I know that you dislike bad smell but this herbal was good for regaining your stamina a little bit faster. So please, bear with it and drink."


    She said to him, however, she did not leave beside him. Yman knew that she wouldn''t leave unless he drank it. He felt defeated when he took the glass.


    |So, these herbs can also be found here, huh...|


    He was a little surprised by these familiar names of herbs.


    |These herbs can also be found on Outerworld.|


    Slowly lifted the glass towards his mouth. His nose was invaded by the pungent smell it brings.


    She was right. He dislikes drinking medicine or herbal with bad smell.


    Glug...glug...


    Yman held his breath and drunk the herbal tea in one go. Good thing that it wasn''t so hot. He wanted to puke though.


    She nodded and smiled at him.


    Before Miss Pai left the tent, she told him that Yana was sleeping in her tent beside Sistela. And that she didn''t know what happened to him.


    Yman sighed in relief. He was afraid that his sister would worry about him. Looks like Sistela did not say about the fight to Yana.


    Miss Pai finished her words saying, "isn''t your goal is to heal your sister? (Yman nodded. She smiled and opened her mouth again.) From tomorrow onwards, your life might become more difficult than usual. However, don''t forget what you originally wanted from the start. You might find enemies and they might look down on you, but don''t forget that there are people too who finds you important to them..."


    After saying this she stood for a second before she decided to leave the room.


    Yman suddenly felt sleepy after she left. The herbal she gave him also has the effect of making someone feel sleepy.


    Just like what Miss Pai said, the trip continued early in the morning.


    Right now, Yman was inside the carriage just like before the fight with the monsters.

 Chapter 23：Desire, Mana, Fate, and Bad Villain

    The words of Miss Pai last night remained in his mind.


    |What I originally wanted to do, ha...|


    While thinking this. Yman''s face was twitching. Behind his bangs, a glint was visible in his eyes.


    And a scene was about to replay inside his mind when...


    "Y-Yman welcome back."


    A scene that was supposed to appear in his mind was interrupted by a sudden greeting from the shy girl in front of him.


    Yman likes waking up from a nightmare blankly glanced at Chloe. He saw her staring at him with a puzzled look.


    He blinked his eyes.


    "Y-Yman, are you okay?" She asked.


    He also noticed the other trainees glances at him. The two girls and the other boys besides them were whispering to each other while stealing glances at him. He doesn''t know what they were talking about, and Yman doesn''t care.


    Though he felt that their topic was unkind to him. Maybe he developed a new skill that enables him to sense other people that are talking ill at his back. Yman sighed. Certainly, it was only his imagination playing tricks on him.


    He turned his eyes again to Chloe and smiled at her.


    Same as usual her deity was sitting on her lap connected by a cord of an earphone.


    Yman wanted to laugh. |This Chloe really made her deity as an mp3 player!|


    This was one of the uses of the deity. They could be used with mundane things such as this.


    |Good for her having a docile deity. Unlike my Sistela.| For some reason, he envied her a little.


    He doesn''t have mana and he had a sulking deity, what an unlucky life.


    He smiled and nodded then said, "Uhm, yeah sorry, I happened to remember something that I shouldn''t have. Ah, by the way, thank you for the greeting, Chloe," he replied. He remembered that Chloe''s deity was also a female type like Sistela.


    A small and cute voice from a deity also greeted him. But for some reason, it somewhat sounded rude.


    "B-Bad v-villain man?" Yman was dumbfounded.


    "Did you hear that? Even that deity called him a bad villain." The girl with green hair beside Chloe whispered to the other girl beside her, which reached to Yman''s ears.


    He suspiciously looked to Chloe.


    Chloe''s deity suddenly greeted him ''good morning'' but his name had been replaced by a bad sounding name. Chloe was startled from Yman''s gaze to her, she hastily explained to him that she was innocent, and she didn''t teach her deity about it.


    She also said sorry from her deity''s mean words. And hastily asked her deity with worried eyes, "J-Jazz, why did you call him like that?"


    And that her reply. "N-No-no, Jazz, that''s not what he... ah, ehm, he did that because he had a reason to do it."


    Chloe who was flustered tried to reason to her deity.


    "Mhm!"


    She nodded.


    Chloe gaped with blank eyes. It looks like it''s not easy to convince her deity to change her way of thinking about Yman.


    Yman scratches his head. For some reason, he became the enemy of all-female deity!


    Yman forces a laugh to Chloe and says that it''s fine. And there was nothing they could do, looks like, female deities were programmed as kind and just.


    A second later, he felt a slight tug on his left arm. He glanced and saw Bob opening his mouth.


    "How are you, bro?"


    Bob sitting beside him, asked him after a laugh from the words of Chloe''s deity. Bob''s deity was sitting on his shoulder like a boss. Yman, even noticed that Bob''s deity already had arms. Looks like Bob''s deity was at level 2 already, same with Chloe''s deity. Whereas his Sistela was level 1 only.


    Chloe was secretly thanking Bob for intervening before the situation became more difficult for her.


    Although, Bob doesn''t know about it.


    "I''m fine, Bob. Thanks for asking. I think my stamina is now at 80%."


    Yman replied while clenching his hand close and open to show that his stamina almost fully recovered.


    "Haha, that''s good. Really, what you did yesterday surprised us. We didn''t expect that you''re a channeler. It was unbelievable that you joined that fight, even though you don''t have mana. Haha,"


    Bob said with a grin on his face. In front of them, Chloe was having a scared look, because of Bob''s unrestrained words. This Bob was as worst as her deity in way of talking! She thought.


    "Hm... But, unfortunately, I failed, huh." Yman was looking down while saying this, and it was clear that he was having an unhappy face.


    He certainly thought that he would succeed in killing at least one monster if he succeeded to drop the boulder in that battle.


    But in the end, the resonance of him with his deity had been canceled, unexpectedly.


    Looking at him having an unhappy expression, Bob felt that he made a big mistake in his words. "Ahhh, I - I don''t mean bad with what I said, Yman, Bro." Bob hastily added.


    "Ah, no, Bob, don''t worry I''m not thinking about that. It just...my bad luck that I''m not strong enough and I''m not gifted by mana. And yeah, I''m a channeler, I learned it when I was a kid, haha."


    Yman scratched his head and forced a laugh to assure Bob that his words were not the reason that he felt down.


    Chloe and Bob sighed in relief.


    "Yman, wasn''t channeling mana was a difficult task and hard to learn?" Chloe asked.


    "Yeah, it is. I''m just lucky that someone taught me when I was a kid. And that person said that I have a natural talent in this aspect."


    Yman said while glancing at his palm. Right now, he could only rely on this channeling that he had.


    "W-Wow, a master? I bet he was an old man with long white whiskers and hair."


    Bob exclaimed and laughed. In his mind appeared an image of a benevolence master elder, stood while his broad back facing at his student and looking at the far horizon while speaking profound lines of wisdom.


    "Haha, no, Bob. I think he''s a young man �� if I made a guess of his age based on his voice, and the way he brings himself �� he was at least 20-30 years old at that time."


    "Eehhhhh, So young! But then again, it''s only natural since you were only a kid at that time. Haha, looks I overreact a little. Please say sorry to your master, Yman bro, for my mistake."


    Bob and Chloe were both surprised after hearing Yman''s words. Yman thought that these two might be thinking of an immortal master. But Bob noticed something in Yman''s words.


    "But how come that you based him from his voice and the way he brings himself or is it demeanor?"


    "Why not by his looks?"


    Bob asked curiously and Chloe added.


    "Ah, that? It''s because �� he was wearing a mask and his body was covered by a long gown from head to feet whenever he appeared before me."


    Yman glanced at the two. He noticed that Bob and Chloe furrowed their brows slightly. It was easy for him to guess what they were thinking at the moment.


    He chuckled. "Haha, I know that you are thinking that my teacher sounds suspicious by the way he dresses. You bet, I also felt that way when I first saw him. But weirdly, when he started talking to me, that suspicion I had at first, magically gone..."


    "Oh, You mean...?"


    Chloe intervened with an indirect question.


    "I mean, he seemed so mysterious, and sometimes he knew what I was thinking. He could also guess what decision I would make at a specific moment."


    Yman added.


    "Hmmm..."


    Chloe and Bob were having long thoughts.


    "Hm... sounds like a Fate Master."


    Mai who was silent for a while suddenly intervened.


    "Fate Master?" Yman repeated. The three of them looked to Mai while wearing curious faces.


    Seeing their faces. Mai sighed saying ''can''t be helped.''


    "Right. There was a tale about a person with a weird habit of foretelling someone''s fate. Some said it was a false and hoax tale. And some rebutted that he was real and that what he was telling was 80-100% accurate. But I won''t say that he was the same person as your master."


    "Yeah. Me too." Yman agreed to her.


    But Yman narrowed his eyes. |Fate Master ha.| This name was familiar to him.


    Suddenly, in Yman''s memory, the last scene with his teacher before he left, was replaying.


    <><><>


    "Teacher, why did I need to practice even though I don''t have mana? I don''t even need to learn how to fight. Since what I want is to become a rich man in the future. And live a normal life. My parents told me that I don''t need to learn how to fight. Only magicians have the right to it. Because even if I learn how to fight, it is impossible for me to kill even a monster of rank -D." An innocent statement of a kid.


    He could not read his teacher''s emotion behind the black mask with a carve of one big eye in a gray color and inside that big eye was another 3 eyes in a triangular formation; whereas, the third eyes were in a close state. And another eye at the mouth area in an open state.


    "Yman come here."


    A person wearing a gown embroidered by �� gray and gold �� and a mask on his face beckoned on a 5 years old kid Yman.


    Gripping the wooden sword that''s taller than him, he tottered towards the person that he called the teacher.


    "Teacher, why?" He asked.


    The person gently placed his hand on top of his head. Then he looked at the sky.


    "Do you know that �� the person who was born with heroic desires will be blessed with an abundance of mana. The stronger the desire the more mana the person gets, and when his/her desire continues to grow stronger, the stronger the person will get as he/she grows. On the contrary, the person who doesn''t have this heroic desire will eventually have a lower chance to grow with mana."


    "Is that mean, the reason I don''t have mana was that I don''t have that desire?"


    His teacher nodded. "Although you don''t have mana, it is also true that the person who has the strongest desire can eventually kill a godly dragon even without mana. What a person needs is a boundless desire and limitless wisdom to step on the peak of the tallest mountain. You could even have a chance of killing the unkillable enemy �� that was gazing at you from above."


    Kid Yman asked while looking up at his teacher''s mask, who''s staring at the sky.


    "Master, what kind of enemy is unkillable that you just mentioned?"


    "#%����$%#$����꣤"


    He couldn''t understand his reply at that moment.


    But after saying it, his teacher left. Yman returned to his home and witnessed a scene. It was a scene that he doesn''t want to see, he wanted to forget but he couldn''t.


    Because a scene, in front of him, was a scene where his mother and father were brutally murdered.


    A long sword embedded in his father''s chest. Whereas, his mother was lying in a pool of blood, underneath his father.


    And a person with long spiky hair dyed in red and has eyes that look like the eyes of a predator. He was standing beside his father while his hand on the sword handle. On the sword that pierced his father''s chest.


    "Y-Yman... run..." his father''s grieving voice pleaded with him to run. But he was shocked and could not move. He was standing still with blank eyes.


    The killer twisted his neck to look behind him. He then saw him.


    Yman was staring with a crying face and was gravely afraid.


    Blood was splattering around when that person pulled the sword from his father''s chest. The killer was walking towards him. But Yman''s body froze in fear. He could only stare at that person''s menacing gaze as he deliberately walked closer and closer to him.


    "Hehehehe...a kid, huh," the killer said while licking the blood of Yman''s father that was staining on the killer''s sword.


    "This is, great! More soul...more soul...more soul for this greedy sword of mine. Hahahaha!" He was spreading his hands as he said it, and the sword was oozing with black energy.


    On the hilt of the sword, the monster''s mouth was carved at the tip of it. And fangs were visible at the boundary of blade and hilt.


    Yman felt the chill coming from the sword. And a sinister feeling was pressuring him that made him unable to run and rooted his feet to where he was standing.


    He wanted to shout for help! But how? They were living on the mountainside. Their nearest neighbor was at a 1-kilometer distance from them. And his teacher already left.


    No one could help him.


    The killer was walking towards him in a not hurry and at a not slow pace. Any moment his death would be certain. His small hands were trembling as he summoned his strength and successfully lifted the wooden sword in his hand.


    But the killer was already in front of him. He was looking down at the kid. While gazing at Yman with his eyes that look like the eyes of a fierce beast. That ready to devour his prey.


    Yman gritted his teeth, and tears were forming at the corner of his eyes.


    "Haaaaaa! W-Why?! Why did you kill my father and mother?!!!" he shouted while looking up at his face. Like looking at the most disgusting shit in the whole world.


    He stabbed the tip of a wooden sword towards the killer.


    But the killer caught the sword. The gap in strength between them was too wide. Like comparing heaven and earth.


    "Hehehe, hahahahaha �� kid, are you that angry to see your parents died? Hahahaha! Poor thing, poor thing! Soul give me your soul! Fuel this sword with that petty soul of yours! Hahahaha!"


    The laughter of the killer was like a curse in his ears.


    "Shut uuuuuup!!! M-Murderer, I will ki - kill you! I will avenge my parents, I will kill you!!!" He tried to pull the sword. But it won''t budge even a little. The killer was laughing at his struggle. Yman tried to kick the killer, but his legs that were at half-length only than his sword could not reach the target.


    "Ohohoho-hahahahaha- you want what? Avenge your dead parents? You can''t even save your life. Kufahahahahahahaha!!!


    The earrings that were lining on his mouth were dancing as he was laughing tremendously.


    "Haaaaaah!"


    Yman yelled again. Even though tears fell from the corner of his eyes, he did not give up and released the sword then leaped towards the killer''s leg. The fear he felt a while ago already vanished.


    What he wanted to do now was to avenge his parents. It doesn''t matter for him if he died, as long as he could wound this enemy. No matter what, he won''t die without a fight.


    "Hehehe, hey, kid, what are you doing?"


    Without answering him, Yman''s mouth opened wide. Then, he bit the killer''s leg.


    "Bwahahahahaha! That was useless! Useless! Useless! hahahahaha!"


    Yman seemed to notice that what he did nothing to the killer.


    His strength was not enough to cause a wound to the killer. It looks like this killer was not an ordinary person!


    "Hahaha, kid, are you done with your little game? Hehehehe! Now beg! Beg! Beg! Beg for your petty life! Then resign your soul to my sword! Hehehe!"


    His laughter sounds sinister which sends a chill to Yman''s spine.


    He gritted his teeth and balled his palm.


    Yman summoned all his strength and punched the killer''s crotch.


    "Ugh!"


    The killer seemed to be affected by it. Since he stopped laughing and groaned.


    "You bastard! That''s foul!"


    Whoosh! The killer flicked his leg where Yman was sticking like a lizard. He tried to hold on to the killer''s trousers. But the second time he kicked his leg, Yman lost his hold and was thrown away then bumped at the house wall. His hand hit the flower vase which caused it to drop on the floor and broke.


    "Ughhh!" *cough!* *cough!*


    Yman was groaning as he balled his tiny body to endure the pain while coughing blood.


    "Waaaaaaaahhhh!!!"


    Suddenly, he heard a crying noise. His eyes opened wide and, "n-no way..." Yman muttered in a close eye and endured the pain that he felt.


    The cries of a girl kid were heard inside the room.


    It was the cry of his sister!


    "Y-Yana? Y-Yana p-please don''t cry he will hear you..." Yman tried to crawl towards the killer''s feet and muttered the words in difficulty.


    The killer smiled and glanced at the room where the voice came from.


    "Hehehehehe, soul, soul, more soul..." he stepped towards the room while repeatedly chanting the word.


    The tip of the sword was pointing below, where blood from his parents was dripping on it.


    "W-Wait! Stooooop! No! Not my sister! Please not my sister..." He cried.


    Yman weakly crawled. But the killer did not stop and continued stepping inside the room.


    "Waaaaaaaaaahhhh! Mother, father, Big broooo! Where are you? I''m afraid, I''m afraid, please, don''t leave me..."


    Yman although having no strength to stand, crawled hastily towards the killer.


    The killer stopped in front of the cabinet, where the crying voice of Yana came from. He lifted his hand that was holding the sword. But before he could slash it, Yman dove on his feet and bit it.


    The killer had a mocking face. And kicked him towards the cabinet. Yman bumped on the cabinet and almost lost consciousness.


    "You''re a tenacious little soul...hehehehehe!"


    Yman was groaning. Brought by the impact when Yman bumped on the cabinet''s door, the cabinet opened. And there, a girl was trembling while using her tiny hands to cover her head.


    "Big bro?"


    She saw her brother in a bloody state while curling on the floor in pain. And a man was holding a sword with menacing eyes, looking at her.


    "Hewehehehehe, new soul, new soul..."


    "Y-Yana..."


    "Hehehe, now goodbye brat...Gwahahahaha!"


    Yana saw the scary person lifting his sword high. His target was her brother. The killer swung his sword, but before it landed on Yman, Yana dove to protect his brother.


    The sword hit her but a blinding glow suddenly erupted from her body. And pushed everything around her. The killer was thrown away and bumped his head on the wall.


    Although, it didn''t manage to kill him, he almost passed out. The killer blinked his eyes and seemed surprised by what he witnessed.


    Blood was running down from his head.


    On the other hand, Yana was standing in front of his brother. She was enveloped by a blinding glow. She was glowing �� even her eyes.


    Yman was dumbfounded staring at his sister.


    "F-F-Fate, one of the chosen...one of the chosen by Fate Master..." the killer muttered repeatedly these words.


    After that, the killer seemed scared he ran and fled.


    That was the first time he heard the word, Fate Master.


    Yman doesn''t know why he seemed so afraid and escaped.


    He was also surprised that his sister turned into a lamp.


    But a moment later she lost her consciousness. She became sick after that incident. And losing their parents, the two of them become an orphan.


    <><><>


    "Uhm, Yman, it might be presumptuous of me to ask, but I will ask anyway. Uh, don''t get me wrong, it''s just to make it an example, but that if �� if it''s fine with you..."


    Mai glanced at Yman while crossing her hands across her chest, and crossed one of her ample legs on top of the other one. In front of her, Brai was silently sitting, in a posture that was like a mirror of her.


    Yman side-glanced at Mai. He thought that she was a fine girl and looked classy. The best thing about her was that she doesn''t look down at other people beneath her.


    He was curiously thinking about what she would ask him. Why him, and not Bob or Chloe? In any case, he was the only one who had no mana among them. So, he could guess somehow of what she would be going to ask him. It might be about his goal or ambition in life.


    Since they are already talking about mana and Fate Master.


    "...Uhm, I don''t know what you wanted to ask me, but, you said that...it''s just to make an example, so I don''t mind. I will answer if I have the answer, just spare me from questions that are beyond my imagination, haha," He tried to joke.


    Bob laughed, and Chloe in front of them smiled. While the other trainees besides them �� inside the carriage �� were having floating question marks on top of their heads.


    "Understood." Mai nodded and blinked her eyes before she opened it again, the corner of her eyes glanced at Yman, then she asked, "may I or we know what is �� you most wanted to do in the future?"


    |Looks like I''ve hit the mark. My guess was right.| He thought.


    "Future, ha, hmm..."


    Yman made the thinking gesture. He could really not answer her truthfully.


    "I think �� to become a strong magician, so I can join the Seekers Association. Then, gain lots of money. And after my retirement, live a normal life."


    His answer was simple and direct. Though he also wanted to become the strongest magician, that''s because �� it''s free to dream, after all, ambition is boundless and limitless. But the truth was, he could not tell them his real goal.


    "I see, so, that''s maybe the reason that you don''t have mana," she said.


    |Looks like Mai also knew about it.|


    Like what his teacher told him, about desire and mana.


    Mai explained to them about it. But Yman chose to not listen anymore since he already knew. He was thinking about his sister.


    On the other carriage, Sistela was sitting on Yana''s lap. Yana was thinking about what her brother was doing at the moment.

 Chapter 24：Mustang Spider

    While the carriages traveled, they encountered many other monsters along the road. But the soldier guarding them handled the monsters with ease.


    It looks like they were professional in handling the type of monsters. Maybe these monsters were common in these areas.


    Yman noted a specific monster with a metal-like body and crawled with 16 legs. It looks like a spider but different in some way. Since a spider has 8 legs, whereas, this monster had 16 legs.


    The soldiers said that it was a hybrid monster known as Mustang Spider. Its colored dark green skin was as hard as steel. The soldier requested to change the route. Not even they could manage to kill it with ease. They might be able to kill it, but for sure, some of them would fall victim to the monster.


    That monster was rank C+. Monsters in this rank are also known as ''Wanderer''. Because they usually wander around the place, hunting for enemies. Every time they kill their prey they become stronger. And they had the ability to summon mobs of the same race as them.


    "Why, I think we can deal with it. If me, Ms. Almina, and the other girl with blonde hair ganged upon it there is no way for us to lose."


    Yman heard the voice of Kiko shouted. It looks like he wanted to fight that monster that even the professional soldiers wanted to avoid.


    |This Kiko is really a no-no.| Yman thought and sinisterly smiled when something came to his mind.


    Then he went down from the carriage.


    Bob and Chloe were puzzled at Yman. They were wondering why he went down the carriage.


    "Yman, bro, where are you going?"


    Bob asked.


    "Nothing. Just, wanted to have a little walk. My butt hurts caused by sitting for long," He replied.


    "I - I see," Bob said.


    "Hehe," Chloe chuckled.


    Yman continued walking towards the voices. Ahead of him, he saw Kiko and an instructor talking surrounded by guards from the empire.


    "You can''t, that is a very dangerous one, Kiko, we don''t want something bad to happen to you lot before arriving at the academy."


    They suddenly heard the voice of Instructor Goki replied to Kiko.


    Kiko and the instructor glanced at him. Kiko was about to open his mouth��


    "I also wanted to try fighting it, Instructor Sir." Someone suddenly intervenes from behind. It was Yman.


    Hearing his voice, many of the trainees suddenly looked at him from the windows of the carriages. And suddenly bees-like murmurs enveloped the area.


    "That idiot again?"


    "What an arrogant person!"


    "(Facepalm) This toxic guy again."


    "....."


    |Looks like, my popularity hit the peak, huh. Although, not in a good way.| Yman thought to himself.


    Kiko narrowed his eyes to Yman while furrowing his brows. He wanted revenge on this guy who humiliated him at the first test. If not with the help of Almina and the other beautiful girl, this Yman already rotted on the ground.


    "Pwe!" Kiko spat. In his mind, for sure this Yman wanted only to leech at them. And there''s no way he trusted him.


    "How arrogant of you, Froggyman! You wanted to help, huh. Pwe! You don''t even have damage against a weaker monster. And now, you arrogantly stated that you wanted to help to fight that rank C+ monster over there. Pwe!"


    Kiko shouted at him. And he sent a smile to Kiko disregarding what he said.


    Yman glanced at the monster. It was currently sleeping on its web house that was blocking across the road, about 150-170 meters away from them. It had the body that as big as 3 vans joined together.


    The monster was sticking on its web house where its head pointed to the ground, and it''s butt pointed to the sky.


    Its dark green color body had yellow linings on it. On its broad back, the markings of black formed like a demon skull tribal.


    Its two eyes were closed. And the 16 legs that were sticking on the web were like pointed spears that could pierce even a metal.


    But one thing that interested Yman was its lustrous web. It looks like some kind of durable wire. He could find some uses of it in the future.


    The way it was blocking the road, it was impossible for them to pass. The only solution was to fight it or to find another route.


    Not just that, he also noticed something, something was entangled by a web beside it. It was encased by its web, like how the mummy looks like. It looks like this monster caught its prey.


    Instructor Goki narrowed his eyes at Yman. He couldn''t care less about this person anymore. Goki already had a gist of what kind of person Yman was.


    In fact, his damage was too low, he only has 1 damage at the monster of rank C. What''s more that rank C+. For sure he would have zero damage against it.


    He was thinking of how this young man did not traumatize from what happened to him in the last battle.


    He certainly could not read this specific young man. He has a fine resolution of a good fighter and wits of a wise general, but, his downside he had no mana, had weak strength, and low potential.


    And this young man would not think twice harming the other trainee. So Goki would not let it.


    "So-Sorry, but whatever you guys said I won''t let..."


    "I also wanted to fight it, Instructor Goki."


    He was interrupted by a female voice that sounded familiar to all of them. It was from the beautiful Almina Amulet.


    The other trainees looked at her. They also wanted to see her fighting again.


    Because she had a fighting style that was good for their eyes. They really were idolized not only for her beauty but also for her way of fighting, which could only be described as elegant, and as she moves �� she looks like a swan on the tranquil swamp.


    So they are looking forward to her next fight. And they were curious how she managed to one hit those golems from their last battle! Which every one of them who participated had difficulty killing it.


    Some of them also wanted to see the mysterious girl with blonde hair. Especially boys.


    And some girls wanted to see Kiko fight again. His Earth-Crushing Technique was very intriguing.


    The one person they don''t wish to see was that shameless guy, Yman! They wish he buried himself on the ground like a mole.


    This person really wanted to spread its toxicity like viruses.


    And now he wanted to fight alongside Almina and Kiko. What a shameless bastard!


    They wish the lightning strikes would hit him and burn him like charcoal.


    Yman scratched his face. He could feel the negativity of the people around him.


    After Almina interrupted Goki, Kiko was very happy, more on when Almina showed up. His beliefs about her liking him increases. It looks like this girl wanted to fight alongside him. He blushed while glancing at her.


    He saw her staring at the instructor Goki with resolve in her eyes.


    Yman glanced at the back where the voice of Almina came from. She was standing about 7 steps away from him. She stood elegantly.


    |She is like blooming cherry flowers. Or like a drifting white cotton cloud on the blue sky, that is hard to embrace. Or someone like unreachable.|


    This is what Yman felt when he glanced at her.


    "Sorry Almina but not this time. That monster was way beyond the sum of your strength."


    Goki was part of the Amulet family. He was from their branch family and a subordinate of her father.


    That''s why he couldn''t care less about letting the carefree behavior that might cause harm to her.


    And he won''t have a full trust towards Yman. What if, he did something that might hurt others again.


    "Instructor Sir, I think we have a high chance of killing it," Yman stated.


    Goki furrowed his brows. He could not find a tinge of lies in this young man''s eyes. Wait, could they really kill it? But that monster was way beyond their strength. Even the soldiers are afraid of confronting it.

 Chapter 25：A grass background who is not worthy of second look...

    No matter what Yman said, Instructor Goki could not just believe him this time. Yman almost succeeded in killing multiple monsters in the last battle, although in the end, he failed.


    So he could not believe him fully right now. Even if he said that there was a higher chance that they could kill it.


    Goki knew that this was just a baseless assumption by this young man.


    So Goki said, "no is no, sorry Lady Almina, your father will get mad when something happens to their princess, so, I cannot agree with you this time."


    Goki said and turned his back at them while saying, "go back to your carriages this is an order!" He was waving his hand to signal them to go back.


    After hearing him. Almina felt helpless. If it''s about her parents, there was nothing she could do.


    She glanced sadly at the back of the person in front of her.


    He was slightly shorter than her and his back curled slightly when he was standing. But even so, she was feeling warm while watching this person''s back.


    They were surprised to know that Almina and Instructor Goki had some kind of connection.


    Kiko knitted his brows when he noticed that Almina had a sad expression. He won''t let this girl down.


    "Wait, Instructor Goki! I can assure you that we can kill it and make Almina safe, sir!"


    Goki stopped his feet and glanced at Kiko.


    "Kiko, I know you are talented, but you know �� overconfidence may lead to one''s disaster. You guys are just newbies. So being arrogant and overconfident is common at your age. But...


    Don''t make yourself full just because you have the talent. Many talented trainees with that kind of thinking before you had died early in the process."


    Yman smiled. He knew that his words had some deep on it. He couldn''t argue with him in this regard.


    He doesn''t really care if they were going to fight it or not. He was just feeling curious about the web of this monster, and the crystal-like object that was embedded on the monster''s forehead.


    He knew it was a Magic Cryst.


    It cost a lot of gold points. It can be processed into accessories or embedded into a weapon or armor.


    Yman thought |such valuable objects could not be found easily.|


    Not all monsters had that in them. Only those special ones.


    This Magic Cryst also increased the monsters fighting capability or ability. So Yman assumed that this monster would not be easy to deal with.


    But he wanted to try somehow.


    But after he heard the instructor''s words, he had to quit in forcing his beliefs. He knew that there was no 100% absolute in a battle. So he could not disagree with the instructor''s words.


    And he was just only thinking about their safety so it''s not good to disapprove of him.


    But Kiko had continued arguing about fighting the monster with the instructors. After all, he had the Earth-Crushing Technique.


    |Can''t be helped, huh.| Yman shook his head and smirked at Kiko, then decided to leave. But when he turned around, he saw the girl Almina Amulet was facing him with a surprised face.


    "....."


    He was speechless for a second and his heart skips a beat. She was so pretty looking at her face to face.


    Almina did not expect him to turn around suddenly, "ah..." she opened her mouth awkwardly.


    Yman noticed her mouth agape. He was thinking if she was surprised or angry.


    He remembered what he heard a while ago inside the carriage. The two girls beside Chloe were talking about Almina having a crush on Kiko.


    Wait. Maybe he was covering her sight. He glanced at the back and saw Kiko and Instructor Goki were still arguing.


    They were in line at him and Almina. Looks like he was in the middle between these two''s eyesight.


    |Maybe she wanted to say ''hey, don''t block my sight. Get lost, you jerk!'' (Insert an angry face of devil Almina with horns and burning eyes)|


    Yman thought as he was feeling a little jealous of Kiko in having someone as beautiful as Almina Amulet to have a crush on him.


    Yman sighed and bowed slightly to her direction, then he slowly sidestepped to unblock her line of sight. But for some reason, her eyes followed him.


    "....."


    Yman doesn''t know anymore. But he started feeling embarrassed.


    Almina felt shy and her face became rosy red, although Yman did not notice it.


    Suddenly, he remembered something.


    Maybe this is the reason that she was looking at him. He had a second thought though if he would thank her or not that she rescued him last time. What if she snubbed him?


    In any case, his life was saved by her and that other girl. So, he needed to thank her no matter what.


    Kiko furrowed when he noticed Yman was approaching Almina.


    "Ah, Miss, uhm...t-thank you for the help las..."


    "Ohohoho!" Yman was interrupted by a sudden laugh from someone.


    |Tsk, who might it be who spoiled my courage to thank this girl?| With narrowed eyes, he glanced beyond Almina''s back. To where the laughing sounds came from.


    "Mr. Principal," Almina called out after she saw the figure behind her. She was about to say something else but she stopped when she noticed the other figures beside him.


    Yman was thinking, |so it was the principal, huh. Good thing I didn''t shout ahead of my thought.|


    He also noticed the other figures besides the principal. It was the blonde goddess who saved him together with Almina.


    In Yman''s mind, |She really is a goddess. Such a beautiful face. Only Almina can contest with her.|


    The two beautiful women were facing each other again!


    The other trainees inside their carriages were whispering in bees like murmurs.


    If looking at this sight from the other trainee''s perspective, Yman looks like a grass background in a painting. Someone who''s not worthy of a second look.


    He doesn''t really know what the other trainees were thinking about him.


    Yman noticed Almina and the blonde girl were staring at each other for a second.

 Chapter 26：To be stared at before the battle is embarrassing.

    Almina and the blonde girl seemed like there was some kind of rivalry towards each other. This is what Yman suspected after noticing their brief staring contest.


    Both of them were fairly strong. So it was just natural that each of them saw the other as a rival.


    He decided to ignore them. After all, he was an unrelated person. He would be thanking Almina and this blonde girl later if he got another chance.


    Anyway, he noticed another guy with the principal and Miss Blonde.


    But Yman did not recognize him.


    He had a suspicious smiling face. Yman stared at him. But it seemed like he noticed his gaze and glanced at him and smiled.


    |Even his eyes were closed?| He was surprised seeing the guy had closed eyes. Even his deity was laying on his head, seemed like, having a lazy life.


    The principal beckoned to Instructor Goki to let the youngsters handle the monster. After all, if they could not produce results this year, the academy would be finished.


    Instructor Goki doesn''t like the idea since that monster''s strength wasn''t a joke.


    Yman understands Instructor Goki''s worry. After all, that thing was so big and it looked fierce.


    But after saying that the two trainees with him were from a foreign country and each was strong. Goki felt curious.


    In the end, he agreed to the principal. He was praying that nothing bad would come out.


    Yman was surprised when Goki called him and asked if there''s really a chance to defeat the monster.


    He honestly replied that the odds were 30-70%. And that if the instructors joined the fight, it would be 99-1%.


    He reminded him that the instructors could not join the fight. Instructor Goki pleaded with him to behave and not do things that might harm his companions.


    Yman scratched his face and wondered if he was really that bad from other''s perspectives?


    When the instructor Goki announced that Yman would take the command, Kiko was furious.


    He wasn''t expecting to be under that person''s command. For him, they don''t need him.


    The other trainees who heard them were murmuring, saying that the instructor Goki favored that waste person more than Kiko.


    The blonde girl also disagrees with having him as their commander.


    Yman did not expect that even the beautiful blonde girl would disagree with him as the commander.


    Her reason was, she doesn''t like being directed by a weaker person than her. For some reason, Almina was angry at the blonde girl and called her arrogant.


    Well, Yman understands her arrogant behavior though. She had the right to be arrogant since she was strong.


    He was just hoping that they would stop calling him weak already. Since it was not his fault that he was born weak.


    He already did all that he could, in order to get stronger, but the reality was cruel.


    The more he thought about it, the more reality reminded him that he was born a weak person.


    No matter what he did, he was only a little stronger than a normal person.


    He even trained himself every day, but still, the gap in strength between him and his peers becomes wider.


    On the other hand, that other guy was just smiling with closed eyes, without saying anything. Yman was wondering when this guy would open his eyes.


    Kiko becomes more furious when Almina agrees to Yman as the commander.


    Although Kiko was furious, he could not change the instructor''s order. He tried to ask the principal but the principal shrugged it off saying that it wasn''t important who would take the command.


    You just needed to do your best in fighting the monster and kill it when a chance presented itself.


    Goki disagrees with him. In the battle, a fine commander was needed. Even with how strong the soldiers, if the commander was an idiot, there''s a big chance for failure.


    Finally, Yman would take the lead. He went back to his carriage and asked the others if they wanted to join the fight.


    At first, they were skeptical, but after he said that they could get some rare materials and that they could gain huge points, Bob excitedly agreed.


    Bob agreed but he said that his magic type was body strengthening and that he was only at the base of it.


    Yman said that it was fine as long as he could block the monster''s charge for once.


    Bob nodded.


    Next, he asked Chloe. She said that her magic was materializing a shockwave. And that she could only use it once daily, since like Bob, she was also at the base of it.


    Yman thought for a while and asked her about the impact. She replied saying that it could lift a van but not completely sure.


    He smiled and nodded.


    Mai also joined them, but Brai chose not to go.


    Yman already has the gist of the magic that Kiko, Almina, and blonde girl had. But he hopefully wished that Kiko invited his friends.


    To his dismay, he did not. Maybe because Kiko was not the commander.


    Yman thought this was bad if Kiko decided to mess up his strategy.


    He tried asking the smiling guy, but he just smiled at him and did not answer.


    And that blonde girl, he was sure that she would not follow his order fully.


    He was having a headache thinking of them.


    When the group was ready, Yman explained to them what to do.


    "Miss Almina, sorry that you have more tasks assigned to you."


    Yman said his sorry to Almina beforehand.


    "Tsk! If you feel sorry, then get lost, you jerk," Kesha mumbled.


    Chloe, Mai, and Bob frowned after hearing her words.


    Almina seemed shy from her best friend''s words. She bowed slightly and said sorry to Yman, in her best friend''s stead. And she said that she would do everything she could.


    While Almina was talking, Bob was having a happy face surrounded by flowers. Bob thought. Not only Almina was beautiful, but she also had a warm voice and a good personality. Unlike her friend.


    The other trainees were watching in the distance together with the instructors and guards from the empire.


    While they were approaching the monster, they noticed Yman without his deity. They asked him, but he scratched his face and told him she was with his sister.


    "You have a sister?!" The others seemed surprised to hear him having a sister.


    Yman nodded. He noticed Almina was glancing at him. But he chose to ignore it. It was embarrassing to be stared at by a beauty.


    He felt anxious and might lose his focus in the fight.

 Chapter 27：I don’t like you - rejected!

    While they were approaching the Mustang Spider, it suddenly twitched.


    "Yman Bro, are you sure we have a chance to kill that?" Bob anxiously asked Yman.


    Yman narrowed his eyes and said,


    "Truthfully speaking, there is a low probability that we succeed. However, no one knows what the outcome will be like. Hopefully, everyone will follow the plan."


    "Che!" Kiko spat at Yman''s words then he ran towards the Mustang Spider without waiting for the leader''s command, he''s right hand created a fire that was slowly forming a circle.


    A moment later, a fireball as big as a volleyball was dancing on top of his hand. Then he threw it towards the Mustang Spider without a second thought.


    The fireball did not travel in a straight line. It was spiraling in the air as it fast approaching the Mustang Spider.


    This was the fourth ability of Kiko. That he used to hit Yman back on the Outerworld when he was fighting the Pale Toad in the pond area.


    Everyone was surprised again to see another ability from Kiko. Looks like he already learned 4 ability before the real training even started. Such a genius!


    Kesha nodded and muttered, "his really cool, very opposite to that shameless person."


    But...


    SCREEEEEE!!!


    The Mustang Spider seemed to sense it. It sent an ear-piercing screeched.


    "Damn this dude is too zealous. This is one of the variables that may change the outcome of the battle! And ruined the plan."


    Yman muttered.


    Every one of them felt dizzy. And their speed, everyone felt they become slower than before.


    He originally wanted to throw stone first to the Mustang Spider to avoid scaring it. Although he was not sure about it since this was also the first time he saw this monster, based on his teacher, that monster like this tends to activate its passive ability when it senses its life was in danger while they were asleep. And the fire was the most dangerous element for this bug type monster.


    Although it was huge and enormous, the bug still a bug no matter how anyone sees it. And most of them were afraid of fire!


    Now, it was too late to think, "Now, attack!" Yman shouted. The others rushed towards the huge Mustang spider.


    Seeing that the leader of the group was standing far behind the others. The other trainees trash-talking him.


    "Shit, what that shameless idiot doing? Why he didn''t join the fight?!" A trainee with narrowed eyes angrily spatted an insult.


    "Damn, look at that, he was not even bringing his deity with him!" A girl with a star on her eyes pointed.


    "So he was just tricking the others! Shameless! Tsk, tsk." A boy with a mole on his mouth said knowingly while shaking his head.


    "I bet his afraid!" A girl with glass stated.


    "Tsk, why did the instructor let him join that fight he was just leaching with the others." A girl trainee with pigtails hair regretted.


    "Hey! You bitch! What are you standing there dumb-shit?! One of the trainees with a skinny body and curly blond hair shouted.


    Yman wanted to talk back but he wasn''t that kind of person who easily bothered by these types of taunts.


    He already masters the ability of Skin Face level 100, Thick-skinned level 100, Snob level 100 and etc...


    While watching the unfolding battle, he was thinking that...if only being shameful would make someone stronger, for sure, he would become the strongest magician in no time.


    He would ascend into divinity or demonize, was it? Welp, whichever of the two.


    He noted that Almina was the fastest among them all, although, their speed was decreased from the monster''s passive ability. But the decreased in speed wasn''t noticeable in Almina. She was raining attacks using her fire sword. Poking the enemy while quickly dodging the incoming counter from its spear-liked legs.


    Even the audience from far behind was cheering for her.


    Based on what Yman noticed at her, she was changing spots, and every spot that her attacks landed had different damage dealt with the enemy.


    |Wait, did she know where the weak points of this monster?| Yman asked himself. Although, it was only his guess.


    Next was Mai, which surprised Yman the most. He never thought that this girl would be the type who fought in melee. Based on her feet that were covered in a magical glow, and in monster form, her magic must be transformation type.


    And that transformation increased her speed.


    Sometimes she jumped and kicked the monster whenever an opening presented. Although, her damage was not great, but still considerable. She could also jump higher than the rest.


    Yman envied their ability.


    The third with the fastest speed was the guy with closed eyes and a smiling face. For some reason, he looks like he was toying with the monster. He goes in without weapon in hand and then awkwardly dodge whenever the monster attacks him. Which causes the other trainee who was watching from the distance to laugh.


    Yman was wondering if this guy serious or just wanted to play as clown.


    the blonde girl did not join the attack. She was standing beside him while watching the fight ahead.


    "Uh-uhm...miss, why you are not helping?"


    Yman asked while forcing a fake smile.


    "....."


    He was snubbed...


    "A-Ahem...miss?" he cleared his throat and called out.


    "Shut up..." she said coldly.


    "....."


    "I''m a leader."


    He said.


    "I don''t care." She replied.


    "....."


    Yman was speechless.


    "But miss��"


    "Stop bothering me, I don''t like talking to someone I don''t like. Although I save you petty life before, that is because the principal asked me to do it. And don''t expect for a second time. I don''t want to waste my energy in saving weaklings like you."


    And again, she said coldly at him.


    "....."


    Yman was thankful that she save his petty life before, together with Almina. But why does he feel �� she was rejecting him?

 Chapter 28：Even a fierce beast will lose its focus when surrounded...

    Yman blinked his eyes. Wondering why this girl was so mean to him.


    Perhaps, he did something bad to her without him knowing, or she really was just like this, or maybe he was really that bad from other people''s perspective? That even someone he just met would dislike him? Frankly speaking, he also had something he dislikes.


    "Such coincidence, I was also thinking that...a weak soldier who is not afraid to fight is better than a strong soldier who refused to fight." After saying this he left her standing alone. He doesn''t want more unnecessary hate. It''s up to her how she would be going to comprehend what he just said. What was more important for now was to kill the monster in front of them.


    Because if they could not kill this monster, the group would be forced to find another route. And the soldiers from empire said that the other route would take them another 2 days before they arrived at the academy.


    The Blonde girl left standing with knitted brows. She felt awkward being left behind standing alone without doing anything. She doesn''t like the way he left her. Leaving words that were like insulting her for not doing anything.


    "Tsk, big words from weaklings!" She whispered. Then she took her bow. If not only because of the high offer from the principal, she would never ever come to enroll in this academy.


    Not only there were a bunch of weaklings in this academy. Most of them were arrogant as well. In the end, these people would be grieving for their loss in the official stage later. And her? She could transfer to any academies whenever she wants.


    Hayaaahh!!!


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Three consecutive swords slashing from Almina that wounded the Mustang Spider. Seeing Almina, Kiko also did his best, of course, he needed to show off his skills. He was using his groundbreaker which causes a bash effect to the enemy.


    On the other hand, Mai was using hit and run tactics. Before the spear-like leg of the monster could counter her she already retreated at a safe distance from the monster attack.


    Bob and Chloe were waiting for the signal of Yman if when they would use their ability. Right now, they were using normal attacks to damage the monster even for little. Chloe was using a magical pistol with magical bullets. The damage was based on the user''s magical strength and mana capacity.


    And these type of weapons cost lots of gold points. They were expensive. The materials used to make it was from the monsters body parts.


    Yman was checking the battle from the distance. He could not go near them. He tried throwing rocks, but he stopped doing after realizing that he had zero damage no matter how strong his throw.


    The monster''s health points were slowly decreasing as the battle progressed. Yman noted that every time the Mustang Spider lost 10% of its health points, it changes its attack pattern.


    At the start of the battle, it was using its leg only. Then after its HP reached 90% its started randomly firing its web from his mouth and butt. Its battle pattern keeps changing as its health points steadily decreasing. This was one of the reasons why its hard to deal with this type of monster.


    Yman told them about this discovery of him. He needed to warn his teammates for the sudden changes in the monster attack pattern.


    Right now, they needed to deal as much damage as possible.


    Good thing that Almina and Kiko both have high damage in their attacks. The blonde girl sometimes fired her arrow, but not actively, Yman did not mind it. It''s better to let her be than to get rejected again.


    But he could guess that she was feeling awkward that she was the only person who did nothing that''s why she decided to fire arrows every now and then. Although Yman was also doing nothing to damage the monster, it was only natural since he was weak, his damage was zero for god''s sake. He chuckled secretly. This was one of the advantages of being a weakling. You don''t need to do anything. Hehe.


    But really, he doesn''t like it. He wanted to get stronger too. He envied their skills. He was really hoping to learn some awesome abilities in the academy.


    Heyaaaahh!!! Bob shouted while punching the Mustang Spider''s butt which almost hit him with its web attack. Then it countered using its hind legs, which hit on Bob at his arms. Fortunately, he was able to cross his arms before the attack landed. Bob''s legs skidded for 5 steps backward.


    Looking at them from the audience''s perspective, they were seemingly having an easy fight.


    Even the audience far behind were saying that the monster wasn''t strong; it really was just a weak monster; who said it was a strong monster? I promised I won''t kick your ass; damn, I could even do better than some of them!


    They were spouting any kinds of nonsense!


    Kiko parried the incoming stab attack using his sword.


    Then he slashed it vertically. He followed up by firing a fireball while chanted some kind of spell and was intentionally making his voice louder than needed. However, he was dealing high damage to the monster whenever his fireball landed.


    Yman decided to let him be. Of course, he understands that it was because of Almina that he was showing off. Although Almina was more focused on fighting with the monster. He really admired this girl. She was undistracted in a fight. And did her best. Unlike the uncooperative blonde.


    The smiling guy was still doing some funny stunts, but for some reason, the monster could not land a hit to him.


    Only Almina and Kiko dealt with visible damages on the monster. Followed by Mai and Chloe. Bob had lesser damage. But he was better compared to the smiling guy who didn''t even do a hit to the monster.


    They surrounded the monster and attack at it at both sides which causes it to lose its focus to where he should attack first. Yman smiled. Even a fierce beast being attack aggressively like this would lose its focus.


    KHAAAAAAAAA!!!


    The monster cried after its health points reached 30%. Its whole body suddenly was shining in golden brilliance. He hastily ordered them to retreat. Although, not all of them followed him. A moment later, the monster health points, returned to 100%?

 Chapter 29：An arrogant weakling who loves seeing his comrade hurt...

    Everyone was staring at it with wide mouth open.


    "Oh, my �� Gawd..." Such words escaped unnoticed from Bob''s mouth.


    From the idiot expressions that were showing on their faces, it was clear that this was the first time they had witnessed something like this.


    Even the smiling guy had a mouth that shaped like ''0''. But still, his eyes were in a closed state. This was the biggest question that Yman wanted to know. If how this guy able to see while his eyes like this.


    Besides the monster, Kiko was watching at the monster''s red bar in disbelief. This red bar was the monster''s health points.


    Almina, Chloe, and Mai wore the same reactions on their faces. Even the audience far behind had uniformed expressions. Most of them gawked in disbelief. All of them had already expected the monster to die fast and easily. But it didn''t happen.


    Tsk!


    The blonde beauty clicked her tongue. Not far from her, Yman narrowed his eyes while staring at the monster. He noticed the crystal on its forehead briefly gleamed and shined after it healed itself.


    A while ago, its body had already been bathed with its own blood of muddy black color from all the wounds it took. Yet now, it completely returned to its original color, like nothing happened in the first place.


    Feeling suspicious, Yman knitted his brows. Although he was not sure, he could still remember some of his teacher''s teachings.


    He said that the monster with ''+'' on their rank tend to have a crazy mode that will be triggered when the monster''s health points dropped at a certain percentage.


    But...


    A monster in crazy mode usually changed its skin color different from its original color. Then bloodlust and killing intent would burst out from its inner core to the outside. This inner core was where its weird energy was circulating. And an eerie feeling will be felt by all the people around it.


    Yet...


    This monster''s body went back to its original color. No bloodlust, and no killing intent. No eerie feelings either. It was just scary by how huge it originally looks. And the squirming 16 legs looks so bizarre just like before.


    After it successfully healed itself, the monster took the initiative in attacking and successfully hit the still in a daze Kiko when it charged towards him.


    Its massive body bumped him.


    But good thing that his reflexes were able to save him. He managed to negate the bump power by blocking his sword, although he was sent flying towards the tree not too far from his back. Blood spurted from his mouth and -70 health points were visibly taken from his green bar when he collided at the tree branch. It causes the tree with a 1-meter radius thickness to bend and shake. Leaves and branches fell on the ground and a bird''s nest with scraps of eggshells landed on Kiko''s head like a cap.


    "....."


    Yman was speechless seeing the sorry situation that Kiko had.


    The damage was not too high but still, it''s painful. He did not feel the need to use his Mana Membrane ability awhile ago since he had never thought that the situation would come up like this. If he was a little late in blocking the attack, perhaps the damage would be much higher.


    Kiko had a total of 500 health points, and right now he had 430 health points left. Still fairly high.


    The audience, especially girls, cried out when they saw Kiko bumped into the tree branch. They grieved for him. And feel sorry at his current state. But he quickly stood up. He could not let himself be embarrassed in front of Almina. Almina sent a quick glance at him. Then focus her attention on the monster again.


    But when he noticed a slight grin on Yman''s face, a pulse in a cross shape surface on his face. While sending a piercing glance at him.


    Yman wanted to laugh at Kiko but he chose not. Because the situation was unfavorable for them. Well, he warned them to retreat, but this idiot did not follow his command. So, he only had himself to blame for what happened to him. Although, he secretly said ''good job'' to the monster.


    |Hehe, I wish to add-friend this monster on my facepalm.com account. But unfortunately, we have to defeat it.|


    (www.facepalm.com: a very popular website nowadays where most people use it. Many kinds of content were posted there every second. Mostly about life problems, love quotes, discoveries, advertisements, and etcetera...)


    Yman did not notice that the blonde sighed at him when she noticed a grin in his mouth. "Such an arrogant weakling who loves seeing his comrade hurt. Hump!" She muttered with a cold gaze. She really doesn''t want to fight along with this fool. But she also wanted to arrive at the academy sooner. This travel was already long enough! She was so sick of this! She aimed her arrow and fired three shots.


    The monster was able to dodge it though.


    Tsk! She was annoyed. For some reason, she could not focus herself. She was annoyed looking at this weak guy!


    The sudden attack from the monster alerted each of them. They looked at Yman with questions in their eyes. Which he understood.


    Yman was having two conjectures of this monster''s ability to heal. First, this monster crazy mode was different from usual. Second, his ability to heal was because of the Magic Cryst that on its forehead.


    Among these two conjectures. He more felt that the second one was more valid than the first one. Anyways, in order to confirm his conjectures, there is only one solution. To test it.


    "Listen, everyone, that crystal-like object embedded on its forehead is something called Magic Cryst!"


    He said.


    "Magic ..... Cryst?" Bob and Chloe repeated.


    Mai had an ''aha'' expression on her face. "Do you mean...the the magic cryst that cost lots of gold points? That it could be fused to any type of weapons or armor? With additional ability or skill?" Mai fired question after question after hearing the familiar name of such an item.


    "That''s it, Miss Mai. I think that crystal on its forehead was the reason why its health points went back to full again! If we able to ex��!"


    "So that''s it huh! Then I will destroy iiiit!" Yman was not able to finish his words when Kiko suddenly shouted and was dashing towards the monster, wielding his sword in both hands.


    The monster fired the web on its mouth at the approaching Kiko. But he dodged it by leaping side to side. When he arrived near the monster, he jumped about 5 meters high above the ground which was at the level of the monster''s head. He wielded his weapon by both hands and lifted it above his head.


    "Idiot stop!" Yman cried out. But Kiko seemed did not hear him. No, he chose to disregard him.


    Earth Crushing Technique - Meteor Blast!

 Chapter 30：This idiot is really a fool...

    Baaaaang!!!


    "!!!"


    Thunderous sounds followed after Kiko slammed his sword onto the Mustang Spider''s forehead. Almina and the other who also near the monster covered their faces using their arms.


    Yman frowned, its not because his warning came late, but this idiot chose to disregard his warning.


    A moment later...


    Swoosh!


    A steaming figure was sent flying back. All of them were staring at this figure with wide eyes.


    "???"


    "Is that a bird?" Chloe subconsciously asked.


    "It''s a plane." Muttered by Bob.


    "No, it''s a human being!" Mai screamed seeing the smoking figure flew away from the explosion.


    Yman sighed, he was right. |What an idiot.| Yman muttered in his mind while staring at the body who passed by at him and was flying like a crashing plane. Then it landed on the ground with sounds effects of bouncing and rolling.


    |Ugh, that might hurt a little...| With indifferent looks on his face, he whispered in his mind.


    How could a boss-like monster like the Mustang Spider just display its weakness wide open? Of course, it was a trap! This Kiko was too reckless for rushing in without thinking. However, he was happy about what happened to this guy.


    Yman already suspected it after seeing the Magic Cryst on the monster''s forehead. Since, in the first place, Magic Cryst usually hid inside the monster''s inner core. Yet, this monster displayed it on its forehead.


    He was only not reading books about monsters on the Outerworld, he even experimenting with some of them. And he likes watching the soldier fighting with the monsters on the town walls. So his knowledge about Magic Cryst was fairly high.


    Magic Cryst was formed from the accumulation of excess energies and combat experience in the monster''s inner core. Which solidified through toughed battles.


    That''s why Magic Cryst had random effects or abilities. It could also be meant that this Magic Cryst was like their trophy for winning battle after battle.


    But this idiot did not let him finished his words and suddenly rushed towards the monster.


    What he heard was not a collision of two opposing forces. But a loud explosion of magical energies from Kiko''s own Meteor Blast. His attack triggered the monster''s passive skill, which would activate once the attacker hit the Magic Cryst on its forehead. It sent back the attack to the attackers. So the one who got injured by his own ability was no other than himself.


    Although the bounce attacked was not 100% of its original strength. Still, that explosion of his own ability toasted him.


    He doesn''t really care about that person, but as a leader, he had the responsibility for their safety and for the success of this mission. But since he did warn that idiot and still did what he wants, then Yman could only wash his hands to what happened to him.


    "Plan A!" Yman shouted. There was no time to be in a daze and they could not wait for some idiot to regain his bearings. They needed to kill the monster as fast as they could. Else, everyone''s stamina would run out first.


    <><><>


    When the rolling body stopped, "It was Kiko!"


    The audience screamed after they identified the person. The audience at the distance was having ashen faces. Especially the girls. The person they admired was sent back like a charred lump of a tree branch. The brand new uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy that he was wearing was tattered all over.


    His handsome face and well-combed blonde hair were in a mess.


    He was having a shock expression on his face while trying to get up. His friends who were in the audience shouted for his name. While the other trainee shouted abusive words to the only person who did not do anything. Cursing him, and telling him ''gayman''. That he was afraid to fight. And he''s the reason why Kiko was hurt.


    Yman didn''t know if where to hide so that no one would mind him. He was wondering why their idol''s fault was thrown towards him. These people were just too unjust. In this era where strength and looks had a bigger impact on the masses, someone like him was not worth noticing. Yet, he was noticed by them. But in a very bad way.


    A beautiful girl with ponytail lavender hair ran towards Kiko''s side.


    |See? Even in his embarrassing situation, there was still a beauty that would lend him a hand. How about if I was the one who hurt myself in the process of saving others? For sure I had only myself to blame. For sure no beauty would run to my side and reached me a hand.| In Yman''s mind.


    That was one of the unfairness of this era. Only strength and looks were mattered. In any case, he really doesn''t care about other people. He only cared for his sister. In this world, there''s only him and her.


    After all, they don''t have a normal childhood. The two of them went through hell after their parents were murdered. Their life only became a little nicer when they met with Miss Pai.


    So for Yman, coming to the academy and have a peaceful life was already a refreshing event for him and his sister''s life. They were able to run away from that dark passed they had.


    So the ridicules and taunts that they were throwing towards him, were just speck of dust compared to their past.


    <><><>


    On the other hand...


    Kiko for some reason could not hear the noise coming from his surrounding. His eardrum had been damaged by that loud explosion earlier. He doesn''t even have any idea of what really happened. After he smashed his sword on the monster''s forehead, to where the crystal object embedded, he was hit by an explosion.


    ''Wait, don''t tell me...it was a trap and that frogman purposely said it to fool me! He already expected it that I would attack it! It was his fault after all! You damn frog! I will kill you!'' Kiko thought while gritted his teeth and glints of hatred were visible in his eyes.


    He glanced at Yman and saw that guy giving a command to others. The others resumed their attacks. They surrounded the monster like before.


    He also saw Almina still focused on the fight with a serious and mad expression on her face. He thought that maybe she was mad because that monster hurt him.


    Seeing Yman''s casual behavior, Kiko was furious. Looks like, he was right thinking that this frogman really did fool him. Look, he was ordering the others to attack the monster but he said, ''do not hit the crystal.''


    ''Fuck! What is this?! Damn, his getting into my nerves! I will kill this frog! I will kill this frog! I will kill this frog!!'' He was staring daggers at Yman''s thin back while repeatedly thinking of killing him.


    He reached on the sword hilt that laying beside him. But, "Hey, are you okay?" Kneeling beside Kiko, Kesha was calling at him. He noticed her and gawked for a second, he recognized her! She was the girl that always with Almina.


    Although he was at the sorry state and looks haggard at the moment, he noticed that he still had 170 remaining health points.


    His face twitched, he could not believe that he was fooled by that guy.


    "Here take this." Kesha handed him a vial with red liquid in it. Everyone knows that it was a potion that enables them to regain back their health points and cured the wounds on their body.


    When Kiko''s hearing finally returned to normal, he heard the other trainees and even the instructors shouting him to get up. And asking if he was fine.


    He felt a little embarrassed about what happened to him. And a smile suddenly surfaced in his mouth when an idea appeared in his mind.


    He was staring at Yman''s thin and unhealthy back that seemed like it would crumble with just a little smack.


    Kiko strengthened himself and stood up once again. He took the vial handed to him by Kesha. Then thanks her after drinking it.


    Kesha smiled sweetly. But his eyes not directed to her. It was directed to her best friend Almina.


    Kiko sighed. He already embarrassed himself twice in front of Almina. What if, she was turned off of him. He must redeem himself. But first, he needed to punish this frog for fooling him.


    Far behind them, Goki was shaking his head. He really did not believe that these youngsters could kill that monster. It was a C+ after all. Even him who was having a 10%(level 10) breakthrough in his limiter, did not wish to fight it alone. Yet, these youngsters asked to fight it. He shook his head once more and said, "They really had no idea how strong that monster." He mumbled.


    The fight continued for several minutes. Everyone was having difficulty damaging it as time went by. Right now, they could only rely on Almina and the blonde girl to do the damage.


    Yman felt relieved that this blonde beauty finally becomes more active firing her arrows.


    Kiko also came back and slashed the monster as much as he could. Of all the trainees in their group. Yman believed that Kiko has the highest normal attack damage. And because of that, he could easily take the aggro of the monster.


    The monster also became more aggressive and active. It was using his size to rummage its enemies. And sometimes spraying his web randomly. Which was very dangerous for them.


    The smiling guy, finally using weapons. Although he was using different kinds of weapons and threw it to the monster. The monster tried to bump him. But he skillfully dodged its every attempt. Still in closed eyes. Yman had already stopped wondering how he could see in this state.


    "Heyahhh!"


    Bob used his bare hands to throw punches on the monster. Even though he had strengthening ability, but he was waiting for Yman''s go signal. Chloe was rapidly firing the magic pistol in her hand. Raining magic bullets on the monster''s body.


    Suddenly, they noticed Kiko was running towards Yman, and since he had the monster''s aggro, it followed him...


    Yman narrowed his eyes. And a glint was visible in his eyes. His mouth leaked a smile. Then he shook his head.


    "Hah, this idiot is really a fool." He sighed and muttered.

 Chapter 31：Colder than any glaciers in the whole world...

    Staring at the approaching Kiko who was being chased by the Mustang Spider, Yman steadied his breathing. Watching that person''s gaze to him, and the way he lured the monster towards him, he was 99% sure that this idiot was up to something not good.


    Kiko was grinning inside seeing that Yman was standing alone in a safe distance at their back. He was not in resonance with his deity. What a perfect scenario to kill this frog. If the Mustang Spider able to collide at him. For sure he was dead meat!


    And him? No one would suspect him. After all, it was easy to find a reason. Just several seconds it took that he neared that guy.


    The others were having different outlook at the current situation. Chloe, Bob, and Mai were having stupefied faces.


    Almina on the other hand was tailing the monster and Kiko with all her might. She was able to cut one of the monster''s hind legs. But it didn''t stop and continued chasing after Kiko, while Almina lost her pace. Because of this, the monster lost her tails.


    The blonde girl and the smiling guy had puzzled faces. On the other hand, many in the audience were having dumbfounded faces. They don''t like that person, but it was still too cruel to die here. Although, it was his fault for coming on the battlefield without his deity''s resonance.


    However, none of them thought that Kiko did it on purpose. In their''s perspective, Kiko just wanted to get rid of the monster from focusing its attack on him.


    The principal was speechless. While beads of sweats were forming on his face.


    Some shook their heads. While Instructor Goki wanted to rush. But he was held by his co-instructors. They said it was too late. In any case, that person was unimportant. What important was to hasten those young trainees who had visible talent. And let go of the untalented one. If he died here, then there was only his bad luck to blame.


    And it was his fault for being arrogant, he went into the battle without his deity''s resonance.


    Hearing this �� he felt he was being showered by cold water all over his body.


    Instructor Goki had mad expressions while staring coldly at his co-instructors. He was wondering what these people were saying. They just stood here while watching a death that about to happen? It was okay because that guy was unimportant? Because he was untalented? In the first place, he doesn''t want to agree with this fight. If not because of the principal, he would not let this fight happen.


    "Wtf world! Fuck off!" He shrugged off the hand that was holding him and ran towards where the trainees were fighting. But he was too late.


    ''This is it! You die, Frog!'' Kiko screamed inside his mind after he passed by on Yman.


    Yman shook his head. People who were full of hate tend to lose their reasonings: "Im-be-cile." A word was shot to that person as he passed by. The way he muttered that word was not loud and was not low. Just as normal as conversing with someone. And Kiko heard it clear.


    After hearing Yman''s words he felt he gulped something bitter in his throat. But it happened only in an instant before a smirk appeared on his mouth. No matter what this person was saying. In the end, he would die today. Hehe! And they could not blame him, since he was not the one who did it. He was not even touching him. Everyone would think that it was just an unlucky accident.


    ''Hehe, blame yourself for being arrogant coming here without your deity!'' Kiko shouted on Yman''s arrogance. After shouting this in his mind, he glanced behind him to witness how that guy''s body being torn by the monster.


    But to his dismay, the expected scene did not happen.


    The Mustang Spider leaped overhead on Yman. It was like �� the monster was avoiding touching him.


    Kiko was dumbfounded. Even the other trainees, the instructors, the soldiers from the empire, and even the principal �� all of them that were watching from the distance were dumbfounded.


    The monster directly landed on Kiko who paused from running. Kiko staggered and fell butt first on the ground.


    He was using his sword to block the monster''s rapid attack using its spear-like legs.


    Yman noticed that the monster could not use its web attack. He sighed. He wanted to see Kiko in such a state.


    "Hehe, listen to me everyone! Our benevolence teammate offered himself as a good bait! Let''s not waste his courage. Or his sacrifice was it? Regardless, let''s proceed to plan C!"


    Ehhhh?!!


    ''Wait, did we have a plan C?'' Bob thought.


    Yman noticed that his teammates were having second thoughts.


    "Chloe!" He shouted at her.


    "Y-Yes!" Chloe with the body that was glowing in bright green colors of mana replied to Yman.


    Looks like her deity knows she was troubled and cheered her.


    Most of them were enveloped by bright green mana. Since all of them were having a breakthrough below 10%(level 10). Only Yman that wasn''t glowing.


    Chloe stored back her magical pistol. And aimed her right hand below the monster to where was Kiko laying trying to defend himself from the monster''s attack. W-Well, she believes her magic could not kill him. But it might hurt him a bit. Her left hand was supporting her right hand.


    A moment later, her right hand was enveloped by energies with purple color. And a sphere of purple-colored appeared below the monster.


    Then it exploded.


    The ground cave in and the monster''s body hovered in the air and was flipped when landed.


    Below the monster, Kiko with white eyes was being pinned by the monster''s huge body.


    Seeing this situation, Yman grinned.


    "Miss Almina!"


    "Yes!" She dashed and slashed all the monster''s legs. Almina followed him without any questions. Her cheeks even went rosy when he called her name.


    After losing all its legs, the monster had no way to retaliate or overturn its massive body. And Yman was checking on its health points not to drop at 30% to avoid activating the ability of Magic Cryst.


    "Now archer!" Yman shouted.


    But no archer fired. He looked behind him. Just to see a cold gaze from that blonde.


    "Hey, you! What are you doing?" He asked with a sneer. He was already tired and wanted to finish this fight.


    "Shut up! Did you forget what I said a while ago? I don''t want a weakling to order me!" And she replied.


    Almina knitted her brows: "Hmph, this girl is too callous," she muttered.


    Yman sighed: |This girl is a pain in the ass.| He thought.


    "I''m not too sure about that blonde." Suddenly, the smiling guy said and dashed towards the monster while summoning a javelin with 3 meters long.


    Seconds later the javelin was enveloped by green mana and he threw it directly on the monster''s butt.


    The monster''s head was not easy to pierce from the back of its forehead or below. Because it had a hard shell protecting it. It was protecting pretty well the Magic Cryst on its forehead. So Yman instructed them that their only choice was to pierce it from its butt towards the monster''s forehead.


    And so the javelin he thrown pierced through its butt and hit the Magic Cryst from behind. They were shocked by the power of the javelin.


    The Magic Cryst popped up and it bounced and rolled on the ground before it stopped.


    All of them sighed in relief seeing the monster health points dropped at 10% and it did not heal itself again.


    Kiko was being pinned below the monster and could not make a move. He almost lost his consciousness from Chloe''s shockwave. If not because of his Mana Membrane ability he might die already. But right now his health points were at most 150 left.


    He was enraged but he could not do anything in his current situation. He wanted to kill that frogman! He really was puzzled why this monster leaped and did not hit that guy.


    Chloe after she fired that shockwave had lost her strengths and the resonance with her deity Jazz, already canceled. Same with her, Mai also already exhausted her mana and was resting beside Chloe. Together with their deities.


    Almina was about to finish the monster''s life when suddenly it was enveloped by dark red energies. And it was oozing with killing intent and murderous aura. Everyone felt the eerie sensation. Their knees were about to lost strength. The body of the monster slowly changes its color into dark red. Then rolled rapidly. Because of this the guy below it �� Kiko had struggled and tried to push the monster''s enormous body.


    They could hear the other people far behind them were shouting. But none of them understands what those people were shouting.


    Yman knows this was the moment. The crazy mode!


    "B-Bob!"


    Yman who was having difficulty maintaining on feet had managed to call out for Bob.


    "Yosh!"


    Bob''s body muscles suddenly were bulking. His body muscles grow bigger and veins were surfacing everywhere on his body. Even his eyes change into a reddish color. Then he jumped in front of the oozing monster. And tried to stop its rotation.


    Yman sneered at the person below it. He could order Almina to finish the monster. Or let Bob pushed the monster to save that guy. But he did not do it. He wanted that guy to die miserably first. After all, he was the first one who had thought of such a thing towards him. He could not let such a dangerous person live. Anyone that could harm his and her sister''s life was not worth letting live.


    No one among them knows what he was thinking at the moment. No one among them knew what Yman and his sister went through in their childhood.


    In order to survive in such a society, he needed to have a cold heart. Or else, he would not live long. He would never be able to see that smile of his sister. In order to avoid that from happening, he must be colder than any glaciers in the world.


    Kiko could not even make a noise since his stomach was being pinned by the monster''s rotating body. No one even noticed his miserable state. No one except for Yman.


    "Yman, bro, I could not hold any longer!" Bob shouted and it was clear from his face that he was at his limit.


    "Just a little more..." he was waiting for Kiko to die.


    Bob''s veins were about to pop out from its muscle while fending the monster.


    Yman noticed Kiko already lost the resonance with his deity. Looks like his health points already reached zero. And now blood and wounds started to appear all over his body.


    Suddenly,


    BANG!


    The monster was sent flying towards the forest and crushes all the trees it passes by. Someone punched it.


    "This battle is over." Instructor Goki''s voice resonates.


    He glanced at Kiko''s state and frowned. Then he hastily called for a healer.


    Later on. Kiko luckily managed to survive in a thin as thread luck. If Goki had been late for one second, Kiko would already be buried deep down below the ground.


    Among them all, only two people had seen through Yman''s sinister plan at the end part of the battle.


    Goki was wondering why that monster did not hit Yman.


    But the smiling guy was the one who answered him instead.


    He first praised Yman saying that he really was a wise commander.


    He said that the spider loves having a living meal. And it saw Yman as a meal from the beginning. Since he was the monster''s meal, he must live until the monster decided to eat him. It only attacks those it deemed dangerous. But because Yman was not in his resonance. It was looking at him as a harmless being and was treating him as a food that shouldn''t be touched.


    In this regard, Yman was the safest in their group. Because that monster would kill first the harmful entity around it.


    Goki gawked. His admiration for Yman hit the peak.

 Chapter 32：A warm she’s seeking...

    Goki knew that even if he did not intrude in that fight, they could kill that monster sooner. With Almina''s unfairly high damage that comes from her unknown ability, and with the addition of those two specially recruited trainees, it was only a matter of time that they would finish that monster. Although he could not save Kiko if he did not rush to help.


    And those three others with them(Mai, Bob, and Chloe). They both had interesting abilities, although, they were weaker if compared to those four: Almina, Kiko, blonde, and smiling guy.


    It was unbelievable for them to kill that monster since it was a rank C+ Wanderer. Not even him would wish to challenge it.


    .....Yet with that person''s direction, it becomes possible for them to kill it.....


    Goki also felt scared at that person, not because he''s strong �� he doesn''t have strength, not because he had a genius-level skill �� he had no mana. But because the way he planned out his battlefield was unprecedented. However, the problem was he would always disregard the other''s life!


    After looting on the monster''s corpse, the smiling guy with the close eyes appealed on Yman saying he admired him. And that he wanted to get closer to him. Yman on the other hand, felt a cringe to the guy while awkwardly distancing himself. Then he called him suspicious for having closed eyes.


    The smiling guy said that he likes Yman''s eyes and wanted to trade one of his eyes to him.


    "....."


    He was speechless at the smiling guy''s offer. Yman hastily back steps. Then he ran away and hid.


    Right now, he was sitting in a different carriage beside his puzzled sister. While on his carriage the smiling guy sitting on his seat. Chloe and the others had a tired smile on their faces.


    They wondered what happened to these two.


    As the carriages were traveling along the road towards the academy, Mai and Chloe fell asleep. They really exhausted their mana and stamina. However, all of them had gained a big profit from that fight.


    The principal paid them 5,000 GP(Gold Point) each from the Magic Cryst. And they also looted some rare parts on the monster''s body. Which then stored in their Cyber Storage of Cyber Screen.


    Not only they''ve got gold points and rare loots, but their Combat Experience also increased as well.


    Bob was in a good mood. Grinning from ear to ear. Now his combat experience already at 100%. It also means, he could break through to a new level after injecting the Level 3 Syringe of Advancement into his body. Which cost 3,000 GP.


    Currently, Bob was still at a 2% breakthrough in his limiter. So after injecting the Level 3 Syringe of Advancement he could breakthrough to 3% of his limiter. Which then increases his body''s strength, speed, durability, stamina, vitality, senses, adrenaline, dexterity, and etcetera. Even his mana capacity would increase also.


    But, it''s not 100% that a breakthrough would happen if a magician injects the syringe of advancement. Sometimes they fail. Inside the syringe was medicine with initials of MM or also means Morph Medicine. It was a mixture of different types of magical herbs. And it has different kinds of levels. It was strictly advised that someone must in deep meditation while injecting the Syringe of Advancement.


    A person needed to synchronize the flow of medicine and guide it towards the Hollow Cell(also known as Magician''s Seed).


    After absorbing all the medicine into the Hollow Cell, it then distributed to all parts of the body. Thus, Human Morphing undergoes its process.


    A person who succeeds would have a feeling of being enlightened.


    If fail, the accumulated CE would be gone and goes back to 0%.


    So Bob could only wait when they arrived at the academy before he goes into deep meditation and secluded himself to absorb the MM.


    .....Nevertheless.....


    The other trainees could only felt sad at what happened to Kiko. Even the other instructors could only pray for him to regain his consciousness.


    Their travel halted once again when night came. They needed to take a detour since it wasn''t good to travel at night.


    Everyone busied themselves in making tents. And some were gathering any edible foods around the place. A big bonfire was lit in the middle of an open space that was surrounded by trainee''s tents.


    Yman was babysitting his sister. He was a doting brother after all. Sistela who was still not in a good mood towards him was sitting on his shoulder.


    Every time he prompted a conversation with her, she always snubbed him with a . His sister could only force a smile at these two.


    Yman really wondered why he got a sulking deity. In any case, he needed to buy some new upgrades to Sistela. The system deity could be upgraded by adding additional data in it. Before, Sistela was just a round ball who cannot do a thing. But after upgrading her last time, she learned how to float.


    Now Yman thought of downloading a new app. Which enables her to sing. If ever Yana wanted to listen to music. But Sistela was like a sulking girl. She snubbed her owner. Yman doesn''t know whether he would laugh or cry.


    She''s mad at him because he fought awhile ago without her. Although, he told her the reason.


    In the end, he needed to promise not to go in the battle without her, which he agreed with a forced smile.


    When Yana feel asleep soundlessly, Yman decided to stroll outside. He left Sistela with Yana as her bodyguard.


    He looked up to the sky. Stars were twinkling like jewels. And the moon in crescent was overlooking the night. With some birds passing by. Chasing each other like tag-playing children.


    He made a tired smile and thought that it was a waste that Kiko escaped his death this morning. Yman felt that guy would certainly get his revenge later.


    "Troublesome." He muttered.


    One month before Kiko could use resonance with his deity again. In this regard, Yman had 1 month to prepare himself before Kiko would take his revenge.


    |If only the instructor did not meddle that time. It was the most perfect scenario for Kiko to die.|


    Yman sighed.


    Now he had to waste some of his energy again in thinking for some solutions to solve that undying problem.


    Yman glanced at Yana''s tent, then decided to walk towards the bonfire and saw a familiar figure beside it.


    It was Almina. Sitting alone. He remembered he was not able to thank her for saving him awhile ago. He thought that it was the right time to thank her.


    Yman walked for several steps towards her when he remembered about Almina having a crush on Kiko. And looking at her sitting alone, she must be saddened from what happened to that guy. Yman stopped on his feet and decided not to bother her for now.


    He wished for Almina to find someone else better than that waste. For him, Almina was a kind girl, very opposite to Kiko.


    Yman went to his tent to sleep.


    Almina was staring at the bonfire. Wondering where Yman went. She visited his tent but he wasn''t there. She wanted to make a conversation with him. To cut the distance between them.


    For long she had wished to ask him to be her friend. But every time she tried, he would always gone.


    She glanced at the fire. It was burning brightly. That hot sensation that caressing her skin. Just as warm when he called her name.


    Another night had passed...


    The travel continued that morning. Everyone was wishing that no more monster would block them.


    Finally, after their horrendous travel, everyone finally saw the city gates at the distance. And shades of skyscraper buildings and roofs of houses. They were like painting in their eyes. They could finally relax. Everyone suddenly felt excited.


    <><><>


    In the dimly lit room. Where only the footsteps that could be heard. A man wearing a black tailcoat was walking steadily.


    He was walking towards a person sitting on a bronze chair with an eccentric design. The person was sitting while levering one of his legs on top of the other. And levering his right fist below his chin. On his face, was a mask with eyes.


    When the man arrived near that person, he downed on his knee and said: "My lord, looks like the Tadpole finally arrived in this place." Said the man in a tailcoat in a voice that full of respect towards the sitting person.


    The masked person made a slight movement: "Let''s see, I wonder if he remained a tadpole in a tiny pond, or become a scavenger to roam the land, or be a brainless falcon and owned the sky when he spread his wings and learned to fly." His voice had a tinge of mystery.

 Chapter 33：Training grounds

    The sun was already setting at the west when they arrived at the Human City Z7.


    City lights were shining brightly from all the establishments they had passed. Yet they had noticed that even in this city, any modern vehicle was absent in this place.


    Everyone directly went into their rooms that were reserved in advance. All of them were exhausted from the long travel and had no time to appreciate the place.


    Each of them has their own hotel rooms allocated to them. This hotel was one of the biggest hotels in this city. For most of them, the room was decent; with a 1-bed room, a restroom, a kitchen, a sofa, and a terrace. But for Yman and his sister, this room was grander.


    He had just finished taking bath and now he was sitting on a sofa while staring at the night sky through the window gap that slightly opened.


    The modern vibes inside Human City were different compared to a fantasy-like Empire of Encantasya.


    Yman was wondering if this world was really the second world of earth. In the morning, the sun was burning hot; while at night, the moon and stars were brightly shining.


    In Yman''s mind, he questioned: |Is it also mean that there was another solar system inside the earth? Even in a fantasy world such as this Innerworld, this seemed sounds absurd. But who knows right? Maybe it''s true, or maybe not.|


    He wondered which of these were true. Regardless, these two worlds look similar and different at the same time.


    While staring at the dim sky, Yman yawned. He


    could also hear his sister soft snoring sounds who was sleeping on the bed that only few steps away from the sofa.


    His body felt sluggish after that long travel. Even after taking a bath, his body''s fatigue already reached the limit.


    Yman forced a smile. His eyes for some reason felt heavy. So he adjusted and spread his body to accommodate the sofa. As his breathing went steady and softer, his world slowly turned into the dreamland.


    Morning comes pretty fast to someone unaware.


    Wearing his Middle Region Magic Academy uniform, he went early to the academy.


    While walking along the street, he saw some giant birds traveling across the sky. They hovered in the air as they unfolded their wings and flung every now and then. Humans or magicians were riding on top of it.


    Without taking a detour, he was walking with his feet at a steady pace towards the academy. It took him about 30 minutes of walking to reach the place from the hotel room he stayed with his sister.


    Before leaving his sister he already prepared all her necessities.


    It just 6 in the morning but the academy training grounds already flocked by trainees.


    Yman directly went into the dressing room to change for a training suit; a fitted black suit from neck to feet with protection pads on the chest, back, shoulder, elbow, and legs. And black combat boots on his feet, and gloves on his hands.


    Every one of them was escorted by their deity. They were asked to line up in rows.


    While searching for the row to line up, he saw some familiar faces. He noticed Kiko''s friends not far from him. But Kiko not with them. They were sending piercing glances at him, like trying to melt him with their gazes.


    He also noticed the blonde girl. Yman noted that she stands out within the crowds together with Miss Almina Amulet. The two of them gathered more glances from the other trainees because of how sexy they looks with this fitted suit: |Goddesses indeed.| Yman commented in his mind. Although that blonde raised her brow when she noticed him.


    "Prince!" At this call, Yman felt a chill running down his spine. The voice seemed familiar to him because Yman''s brows twitched after hearing it and he quickened his every step. It was the smiling guy with close eyes. For some reason, he started calling him Frog Prince after yesterday''s battle. He also learned his name. It was Keremi. But Yman likes calling him a smiling guy or closed eyes dude.


    "Wait, Prince!!"


    The voice became louder than before. And it caught the attention of other trainees. They looked at Yman with puzzled looks. Wondering why that guy calling him ''Prince''. They wondered if he really was a prince. But looking at Yman''s appearances, it''s so not prince-like.


    Yman felt embarrassed by everyone''s attention. Almina''s face warmed and felt anxious when she noticed Yman. But she felt sad that he did not even send a glance at her. She wondered if she was not that attractive.


    "Yman, bro!" Suddenly, Yman heard the voice of Bob. He was lining up in one of the rows and at the back most, he was at the right side in Yman''s perspective.


    "My Frog Prince," Keremi called again and followed him also. Yman lined on Bob''s back while Keremi lined on Yman''s back.


    He felt the cringe from this guy and wanted to run away. No matter how he denied him and told him not to call him that... but he still did it no matter what. Bob forced a tired smile watching these two.


    Chloe was lining up on the row beside their row together with Mai.


    Before Yman could run away and scaped from the smiling guy; "Everyone listen up!" A loud and powerful voice rang over the academy grounds.


    All of them suddenly put their attention on the speaker.


    Yman noticed that the number of trainees had increased. He also noticed some demihumans. It looks like, they were not the only trainees in this academy. There were trainees also who were natives in this world.


    The speaker was wearing a training suit like the trainees. But the color of his suit was dark green.


    He wore eyeglasses on his eyes and on his hands was a paper and pen. He was standing on a round stage with 30 meters radius. And the rows of trainees were surrounding it like sun rays.


    A big bulb stood beside the speaker and a monitor screen with 12 inches long and 6 inches wide in front of it.


    Two old men and one old woman were sitting in front of a long table behind the giant bulb. On top of the table were papers in different colors, pens, books, a bottle of water, and others...


    "My name is Stone De Guz Man, head instructor of this academy..." The speaker first introduces himself.

 Chapter 34：The unfortunate fate of someone from the weakest and unpopular academy...

    Yman noticed some other trainees on the distance. They were watching at them. Based on their looks, he surmised that they were senior trainees. Although he was wondering that there were only a few senior students in this academy.


    Every row of trainees there was an instructor facing them. Watching them while managing their actions.


    If any of the trainees made any unnecessary movements they could be easily be caught and be punished.


    So every one of them was too careful not to make any slight movement that could be caught the instructor''s attention.


    They were standing straight with both hands straight down on their sides. Everyone''s attention must focus only on the person on stage.


    Only the gulping sounds of their drying throats were slightly discernible. Everyone was having mixtures of feelings. They were excited and nervous at the same time.


    After introducing himself to the fledgling trainees, Instructor Stone De Guz Man greeted the new batch of fledglings. They were the new freshmen of this academy.


    In the distance, some senior trainees were watching the scene. This was the same scene at their time when they first came to this academy. Every one of them had the ambition of being the one to raise this academy''s reputation.


    That they would be the ones to lead this academy to victory. That they were fated to become the great leader of this academy.


    But reality slapped them very hard on their faces after they experienced the crushing defeat in the official stage of academy contest.


    They were out in the preliminary round of the contest. The gap in strength was too high. The other academy was just too strong. And they have better facilities compared to this academy. They could not even complete their quests because the other trainees from the different academies would hunt in their territory. And they could just flee, run with their tails.


    How could they able to get stronger when the other academies had stronger senior trainees who accompanied their fledglings to hunt in this academy''s own hunting ground?


    In this repeated fate of defeat, when the official match had begun, they had lower levels compared to the magicians from the other academies.


    All those senior trainees who would be going to graduate in this academy could only sigh in regrets. After they graduated here, it would be hard for them to find decent jobs in the future. In this era where only looks and strength were matters, a loser like them had no place in these two worlds.


    And, those who graduated from the strong and popular academy would have a better future ahead of them. For sure many companies or guilds would flock to recruit them.


    This was the reality of these two worlds. Well, those losers who graduated from the weak and unpopular academy had a future of becoming a canon-fodder. They could join the subjugation mission to reclaim some lands that were fallen to the monster on the Outerworld.


    Or they could stay here and joined the adventurers guild to support themselves. Being an adventurer could help them gained money to become rich, but their life would always be in danger. Since high reward mission means high difficulty. And if no mission, it also means no work, so no pay.


    Unlike the seeker association on the Outerworld where their salary was set for monthly even if there was no mission. And also, in the seeker association, many benefits were given. For example life insurance, medical, health, and much other insurance. But in adventurer''s guild, no insurance you would get even if you died.


    This was the unfairness of this new era. Where looks and strength only matters.


    If you''re wondering why looks were also mattered. That was because any good looking individual could use it to their advantage.


    Right now, those seniors who were watching at these new batch of fledglings could only sigh in regrets at them while shaking their heads. All of them knew, that these people don''t know yet if what kind of unfortunate fate awaited them.


    For sure if they found out about it, many of them would transfer to the other academy.


    Instructor Stone followed his speech by introducing those three old men on stage together with him.


    They were the Elders who were managing the academy together with the principal. They mostly taught the trainees about magic.


    The advisers taught them about minor subjects; such as math, history, language, and etcetera.


    Those three old men on stage were the ones responsible for teaching them about major subjects. These subjects were of course all about magic.


    They would be teaching the trainees about magic and its history and they would be teaching them how to better increase their understanding of it. And how to better manipulate them.


    On the other hand, the instructors would teach them about fighting and how to efficiently use their magic in live combat.


    In this academy, not only they learned about magic, but they would also learn other things, such as this world.


    The three elders were known as:


    Elder Nitan �� A 150 years old man who was an expert in wind magic. He would be teaching the trainees about magic understanding. Currently, he was a level 25 magician or having a 25% breakthrough on his limiter.


    Not only the magician becomes stronger whenever they breakthrough. Their lifespan also would increase. And their aging becomes slower. There were even some rumors that a magician who leveled up beyond level 50 would be having a reverse aging. Where their visage would start to look younger and younger, the change in appearance would stop when you achieve your prime appearances. Mostly at the age when you''re at 18 - 30 years old.


    But this was just an unproven rumor since no one had been reported yet that there was someone who achieved such a level of above 50.


    Elder Gatan �� an expert in water type magic. He would be in charge of teaching the trainees about magic history. Like the Elder Nitan, he also was at level 25. He was 199 years old and the oldest among the three elders. He was also an expert in healing magic and spirit summoning magic.


    Also, he was the longest Elder who was teaching in this academy. Some rumor said that he used to be the principal in this academy. Then he resigned and chose to be a magic historian.


    And lastly Elder Paan �� She was an expert in earth type magic. About 129 years old. The youngest and the only female among the three elders. It was said that this granny was a beauty in her prime. But now she was just a strict unmarried old woman.


    Aside from that, there was not so much information about her. She was kind of mysterious. Even her level was unknown to others. Other people had no way to know about the other''s level. Even if they were in resonance with their deity, they could only see the life bar on the green bar above the other''s head.


    While on the monster, sometimes their ranks, names, and life points were visible inside their red bar. But that depends if the system deity had information about that certain monster. And if not, only the red bar would appear.


    She would be teaching the trainee about magic manipulation.


    The reason why this batch of new trainees was gathered here, was to check their magic aptitude, best element, magic type, etcetera and to measure their magic power they currently possessed.

 Chapter 35：The bully cute bug...

    After introducing the three elders, the speaker Head Instructor Mr. Stone De Guz Man proceeded by giving a slight briefing about this world and the academy.


    After the briefing, one of the elders, Elder Gatan used a resonance with his deity. After that, his body was enveloped by blueish mana. A moment later, all those mana that was surrounding him slowly faded like it was being absorbed by his body.


    This was the skill that only an expert magician could do. The level of understanding and control over magic was not based on a magician''s breakthrough level, but it was based on his training and perseverance to learn and how eager he or she wanted to advance his/her level of understanding and control.


    Elder Gatan was absorbing that mana that was encasing his body to minimize the use of mana at a reasonable degree. Fledgling doesn''t know about it. All of them thought that encasing one''s body with mana could increase their defense and attack power. But the truth was, it only increased a little while at the same time eat much of their mana. That mana that was wasted from covering one''s body could be used in a more specific and efficient way.


    Although he could absorb it in an instant, he chose to do it slower to show it to these fledgling trainees the difference in their level of understanding and control over magic, and what they could possibly learn in this academy.


    All the trainees were watching in awe. Everyone suddenly felt the urge to learn and to perform better.


    Seconds later after absorbing all those excess mana in his body, he summoned a circle object, with an estimated 3 inches radius or lower. The object he summoned was a pale orb with hazy bluish light.


    Watching the object on elder Gatan''s hand, Yman believes that it was some kind of weapon used by a magician who has had the expertise in Casting Magic Spell.


    A moment later, the orb glowed after he chanted a spell. Then the water on a glass hovered to the air like a fountain until it empties the glass. Magically the water did not spill and scattered.


    The water swirled in the air as they gathered in one spot trying to make a form. Elder Gatan continued chanting the spell and what happened next was amazed all the fledgling trainees.


    Hundred Sprite Summoning!


    The accumulation of water broke into pieces and those broken pieces formed tiny sprites or water spirit then they flew around on top of the elders like tiny bugs.


    About hundreds of tiny sprites, each took 1 piece of paper on the table and flew towards the trainee as they handed those papers to every trainee.


    The trainees took the paper handed to them by those cute tiny creatures. The trainees were more than amazed at the magical spell used by Elder Gatan.


    Every trainee has a different conclusion for these tiny water sprites. Some thought it was illusion magic. Some surmised they were summoning magic. And the others believe it was some kind of ancient spell. The other had different guesses as well.


    When all the trainee got a piece of paper in their hand, the speaker HI Stone De Guz Man instructed them what to do next.


    Those papers handed to them were not ordinary papers. They were magical devices or also known as Magical Tools. These magical tools were more efficient to use than the conventional one.


    Magical particles followed when Yman''s finger was trailing down the papers as he wrote something on it.


    The water sprites were flying beside the trainee''s side. After he finished writing on the magical paper,


    Yman noticed the tiny sprite playing tag with Sistela as they swirl around him. He scratched his face and forced a lazy smile after seeing Sistela trying her hardest to catch the water sprite which undoubtedly more agile than her. Although Sistela was already a level 3 deity and already got her arms. But too bad for her, her speed just enabled her to float.


    He felt pity for his deity, looks like this water sprite with him was a playful one and a bully at the same time. When Sistela was about to rest, the water sprite would appear before her and would poke on her round body. Then the annoyed Sistela would chase after the water sprite again. Yeman noticed the other sprite was behaving accordingly only this sprite with him was a bit different.


    "Yman Bro, shall we write only the name and magic type we currently have?"


    Bob who failed to follow what the HI instructed awhile ago looked behind him and asked Yman about the other information that was needed to write down on the paper.


    "Your name, age, gender, blood type, Outerworld address, your deity''s level, and your current breakthrough level," Yman replied.


    "Ohh, thank you, Yman bro!" Bob was so thankful that he asked Yman.


    "Don''t mind..."


    "Nice memory, my frog prince," from behind him, Keremi softly whispered.


    Yman suddenly felt a chill that tickled his ears.


    |The heck, I forgot this dude!| He exclaimed inwardly. Yman was wondering why this guy kept calling him a Frog Prince. Isn''t the Frog Prince some kind of ancient tale from a lost era?


    After they finished writing all the needed info''s of themselves, they handed the paper back to the water sprites. The other sprites dove back to the glass after putting the paper back on the table which already signed by the trainee.


    Yman noticed sistela already out of gas. She was sitting on his shoulder and did not twitch. She must be tired of floating already. Regardless, the bully sprite was poking her but Sistela had no reaction at all. She must be reaching her limits.


    He shooed the water sprite. But the water sprite flew in front of his face while staring at him which make Yman surprised.


    "Fufu, look at that little thing, even this tiny one showed interest to you, my frog prince," Keremi whispered again.

 Chapter 36：Going to perform on stage...

    The water sprite seemed to be interested in him. It was staring at Yman with its big twinkling eyes.


    It looks so cute as it swayed its small head from side to side, and its small finger pointed below its mouth. Seemingly wondering about him. This female water sprite was having long light blue hair down to its feet and light blue gown that well match on her cute figure.


    Like a princess, she was sitting on a bubble that was obviously bigger than her body, although this bubble magically did not pop up.


    Elder Gatan noticed that one of the water sprites still did not return. He glanced towards the trainees and saw one of his water sprites at the backmost and was in staring contest with one of the trainees.


    Elder Gatan narrowed his eyes, slightly interested at that trainee who got the attention of his water sprite.


    Yman then lifted the paper in front of him and the water sprite.


    Seeing the magical paper, the water sprite was seemingly realized her task. It smiled big at him and saluted, then quickly took the paper on Yman''s hand. The water sprite spiraled back to the stage and it handed the paper to Elder Gatan. She waved to Yman''s direction before diving into the glass then she turned into ordinary water again.


    When all the papers with the information from all the trainees were completely handed back to Elder Gatan, the trainees had been called out on stage one by one.


    The first one who got called out was a dime-human with dog ears. He has brown hair and green eyes. With the tall, lithe figure, about 5 feet and 8 inches in height. On his back, a tail with sleek fur was waving downside to side as he walked towards the podium.


    The speaker HI Stone De Guz Man instructed him to place his naked dominant hand to the screen surface in front of the big bulb. Then he needed to feed it with his densest mana that he could muster.


    After feeding the screen with its mana the giant bulb shone and the color was changing until it stops in bright green color after several seconds.


    The elders on stage nodded after seeing the result of what the dog person did. Seeing their nods, it must be a good result.


    After he left the stage, another trainee came upon the stage. Then like the first one, he musters his densest mana after placing his naked dominant hand on the screen that was having 12 inches long and 6 inches wide.


    The color stop in blue.


    Yman guessed that that color represents the element that a magician had more affinity with.


    The test proceeded at a steady pace. As time gradually passed, many trainees already went upstage and they deliberately step down after they finished their test, then another trainee would follow to test themselves.


    The test results had yet to announce.


    The three elders on stage showed different reactions, sometimes they nodded and sometimes just did not.


    There was also a time when they had a big smile on their faces, which Yman assumed that that specific trainee had better results than those trainees who came up before her. Of course, because that specific trainee that mentioned was no other than Miss Almina Amulet.


    When she placed her soft white naked hand on the screen surface and summoned her densest mana, Yman felt the sun descended. Everyone was awe-inspired at her.


    Rather than that, before she even reached the podium many eyes already were stolen by her, not by force, rather by how elegantly lovely stunning she looks.


    Regardless, there''s a mixture of color on the giant bulb: reddish, bluish, and yellowish that shone brightly. Brighter than those who came up before her.


    Yman noticed the widened eyes of the elders after seeing this. One of the elders took a tablet(Elder Paan), might be a magical tool, she scanned on it, and after a few seconds, she whispered to the other elders beside her. Then all of them suddenly showed an understanding looks. But it was clear on their faces that both were surprised and in a good mood.


    Yman narrowed his eyes and thought that Miss Almina might not be just beauty and strength. Maybe she was an outstanding person, to begin with.


    "Fufu, that''s the cool princess for you, she really is an idol wherever she goes." Keremi behind Yman suddenly muttered which caught his attention.


    Yman was quite surprised hearing the smiling guy, "do you know her?" He glanced at his back and asked him.


    "Fufu, my frog prince ��"


    "No, skip about the frog prince!" Yman retorted.


    "Actually, me, the cool princess, and the blonde came from the same school before coming here in the academy," Keremi told him.


    "Really��?" Yman was surprised for what this dude with closed eyes said.


    "There was this school that was recruiting children who showed hollow cell symptoms at a much early age," Keremi added.


    "A school that recruits children with hollow cell symptoms?" Yman repeated while showing a doubtful face.


    "Yes, my frog prince��"


    "No, I said drop that way of calling me." He hastily reacted. Then Yman continued, "Regardless, what school did you mean?"


    "Elite School of Elementary Magic," Keremi answered directly.


    "Hm, Elite School of Elementary Magic?" Bob suddenly middled and repeated Keremi''s words.


    Bob and Yman had puzzled looked. This name of the school was foreign to both of them. But based on the school name, they must have been taught about initial magic at a young age. In this regard, they were experienced enough before coming to the academy.


    Regardless, the bulb showed multiple colors, it also meant that she had the affinity in multiple elements. Based on the color, it must be fire, water, and light.


    Yman envied and muttered, "a cool princess. Such a gifted girl, she''s almost perfect."


    The next who came up on stage after Almina was the blonde girl. Like her, her beauty also garnered much attention from the other trainees. She took her gloves off and after she placed her soft naked hand on the screen surface, it shined as brilliant as Almina Amulet. And the bulb also had mixtures of colors.


    The elders were whispering at each other again and showed excited faces.


    The test proceeded accordingly. Many trainees already did the test and only a few left. But it still continuing without a hitch.


    Some other trainees showed remarkable talents like Almina and the blonde girl. One of them was from the natives, a Demi-Human who was from Encan race, or an elf. She was an astounding beauty with long milky white hair.


    There was also another guy who Yman and the others know. It was the cousin of Mai, the guy named Brai. It looks like he acted low-key while traveling but in truth, he also was a rare talent. He also had the affinity in 3 elements. And had high mana capacity based on how brightly lit the bulb was.


    Mai on the other hand had 2 element affinity and had normal mana capacity. Same also with Chloe. And the girl who always with Almina.


    Bob had the affinity in metal elements and normal mana capacity.


    Yman was walking towards the stage. He was excited to know what kind of element he had an affinity with.


    He noticed some piercing gazes towards him. But he disregarded it.


    "Good luck, my prince!" Keremi''s voice reached his ears but he chose not to hear it.


    "You can do it, Yman bro!" Even Bob with his loud voice was cheering at him.


    Yman made a huge sudden breath before climbing up onto the stage.


    Seeing him, Elder Gatan narrowed his eyes. This trainee was the one who was in a staring contest with one of his water sprite awhile ago.


    Since the water sprite showed interest at him. He must be not an ordinary trainee.


    Almina was looking at the specific guy with a lithe figure and not so tall. He was standing while his back curved slightly. He looks unhealthy from other''s perspectives. His messy hair slightly dancing in the air when a light gust of wind passed him.


    Looking from afar, he looks like he would crumble with just a little pinch on him.


    She noticed him gulped before taking a step on stage. He looks nervous and excited. Silently, she was wishing him good luck. Almina slightly chuckled while looking at him. He looks like he would be going on stage to perform a dance or sing.

 Chapter 37：Barracks

    When Yman''s hand landed on the smooth screen surface, he felt a little chill on his skin.


    He also noticed some evidence of nervousness from those who came before him. Looks like some droplets of sweat stayed on it.


    He could hear the noise from his surrounding but he had to disregard them. Their murmurs were not of help to him. He needed to concentrate his mind to summon his densest mana.


    Like what the others did, he also did what he needed to do. His hand slowly envelopes by white brilliance. Although the other''s mana was of bright green color, only his that was of white.


    And everything happened like a dream...


    Night came pretty fast to someone unaware and happy. But for Yman, he had a lengthy day!


    Right now Yman was sitting on the sofa while facing the window of his room from the inside and was looking towards the distance outside.


    Wearing an old t-shirt. His thin shoulders dropped down at a certain angle.


    In his hand was a glass of cold water. He felt like, he had the longest day of his life. He was remembering what happened this morning.


    Before he placed his hand on that screen surface, it''s not like he expected a great result to begin with. The truth was, he really had expected a little great result! But sadly, he could not muster any mana and could only rely on his channeling magic.


    He sighed.


    |My mana capacity is of the lowest because it only comes from my channeling magic. And don''t ever ask me about the color of brilliance inside the bulb. For some odd reason, I could only manage to make it glow a little. That glow not even enough to produce any brilliance. And the color of the bulb remained a hazy black.


    Not even the elders had any idea.


    Well, truth be told, I already expected that results. Maybe I''m not cut out to be a magician in the first place.


    I had to force myself on believing that the reason why I''m different than others was that I am special. Or is it what called as ��


    self-redemption?


    Self-pitying?


    Or self encouraging?


    "..."


    Regardless...


    That hazy black...might also mean �� I do not have affinity in any elements.


    .....I don''t even want to remember what happened after that. Just another wave of laughter which I''m so used to. Rather than that, after the test, the initial training had started.


    And that''s the reason why I felt so tired as of now. We were required to do some basic exercise.


    A basic exercise.


    About running 20 kilometers in an hour, 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 pull-ups and etc.


    For how many times I passed out �� Welp, I could not even remember.


    "..."


    Meh, I want to forget that hell of a morning.|


    Yman sighed after thinking about what happened this morning.


    "Big bro, are you okay?" Yana who was laying on the bed asked him worriedly when she noticed her brother sighing several times already with eyes that fixed looking at the distance and with an exhausted face.


    Hearing her worried voice, he glanced at his sister and forced a smile. "I am �� just fine. Just a little tired from some basic exercise this morning, haha." Yman forced a laugh at the end of his words.


    "Is that so?" She asked.


    "Mhm!" Yman nodded then placed the glass with cold water onto the table. Then he walked towards his sister''s side.


    He was thinking about how to earn money while he was training in the academy. Of course, he needed some source of income.


    Morning comes pretty fast to those people with great responsibility...


    Yman came to the academy early for the morning training. They needed to run 20 kilometers again, repeatedly running around the 10-kilometer training ground of the academy for 2x. It would be followed by push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and etc.


    Yman once again collapsed for many times. His body wounds could easily be heald by his healing magic. But not fatigue.


    Bob was physically fit and Keremi had high stamina for being one of the Elites who took his training at an early age. While Yman as a channeler, always spends some of his stamina in using magic. So, Bob and Keremi would be the one who would carry him to the infirmary.


    A girl was watching him from a distance with a pity expression written on her pretty face.


    Holding a piece of paper in his hand, he was searching for a certain room section while walking like a zombie. Written on the paper were his results on yesterday''s test.


    Name: Yman Talisman


    Mana Capacity: Rank -D


    Magic Power: Rank -D


    Magic Type: Channeler


    Magic Abilities/s: Mini Heal(Self Healing Magic),


    Rapid Leap.


    Element/s Affinity: ?


    Year: 1st(Fledgling Trainee)


    Section: Bronze


    The academy building formed like three squares if looking from above; with inner, middle, and outer layer. Each building was 3 stories long. And other small buildings which 3 stories long converged to the outer layer to form like eight sun rays. Just like the logo of Middle Region Magic Academy, which represents the Innerworld, the Outerworld, and the Sun.


    There was a long and wide pathway connected to the centermost of the inner building from the outermost towards the academy gates, which people used to pass.


    In the innermost building, it was for the senior trainees, the middle building was for junior trainees, and outer building for fledglings.


    It accommodated like this because there''s always a high number of fledgling every year. The next year, the number would be lowered for the junior since many dropped outs and some would choose to transfer. Then lowered again in the following year.


    Those sunrays-like buildings were for academy staff: like faculties, principal office, even the canteen, gym, and etc.


    Good thing that Yman easily found his classroom. It was located in the fifth classroom of the first floor in the outer layer square building. It was on the left side when facing it from the gate.


    When Yman opened the door of the classroom of year 1 section Bronze, all the students that already inside stared at him. And they murmured that he was the guy who always collapses at the training grounds.


    Yman without minding them continued walking to look for the vacant seat.


    "Yman Bro!"


    "Y-Yman."


    Suddenly he heard familiar voices from someone. It was from Bob and Chloe. Yman smiled to see Bob and Chloe in the same section as him.


    He wondered why Chloe in the same section as them. If he remembered correctly. She had good results in that test.


    The three greeted each other.


    After a trivial chatting, he saw a vacant seat to the backmost near the window. Before sitting on it, he looked left and right to see if this seat was taken. But it looks like, no one owned the seat yet.


    Not long after Yman took the seat that their adviser entered the classroom.


    Yman was surprised to see the figure of their adviser. He was staring with wide-eyed as she wrote her name on the blackboard.


    "You can call me Ms. Pai Magnum. I will be your adviser starting today. Let''s get to know each other first. You first..." she pointed on the girl at her right side who seated at the first seat of first row.


    The girl stood up and presented her name, age, and hobbies. Then the girl next to her followed after her until all of them were able to present their names. Ms. Pai was a little bit surprised too to see Yman at the section where she was going to teach.


    Before she left, Ms. Pai just gave them some pointers and collected all the papers with their test results from yesterday. It looks like she had something she needed to do.


    After the class, Yman, Bob, and Chloe went to the cafeteria. They directly lined to order some foods.


    The cafeteria wasn''t so noisy when they arrive. Only some of their classmates were lining to buy foods. Maybe because they were the first section who had a break time at the moment.


    After getting their foods, they quickly found themselves a vacant table. Near the window. Some of their classmates were talking noisily at the different tables around them.


    After their break time.


    Yman and the others had to get a mission from the barracks. They needed to complete a mission at least once per week to increase their grades and points. Every mission has a level of difficulty. Any of the trainees should complete the mission via solo.


    Or they could recruit mercenary to protect them and help in their mission. Although, recruiting the mercenary comes with a price.


    Anyone could apply as mercenary but they needed to accomplish some special trials.


    Yman, Bob, and Chloe went into the barracks together to take their first mission.


    Inside the barracks, there was a counter and some clerks were checking some files and writing on the paper while the others scrutinizing the drawers below. About five clerks who busied themselves by doing something.


    At the sides of the counter, there was 2 wide screen which Yman assumed was where the missions displayed.

 Chapter 38：What kind of horror is this...

    Inside the barracks, some people were sitting on the chairs that were surrounding the tables placed near the walls and windows.


    Most of them were wearing the uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy. Yman believes that they were junior or senior trainees.


    A pub on their left side caught Yman''s attention. They were selling some drinks and food. He never had a thought that there would be such a pub inside this place.


    He also noticed some of the senior and junior trainees that were fixedly staring at the flat screen located on the right side of the counter. But for some reason, they were staring at it without really doing anything. Their deities were beside them. Some were floating while some were sitting on their shoulders or on their heads.


    Some people that already inside just sent a glance towards them when they stepped in. Then returned back their sights to where they were originally staring awhile ago.


    Their images barely reflected in the dusted white tiled-floors that turned yellowish. A big ceiling fan was rotating slowly on the ceiling. And lights were on but barely lighten up the inside. The walls painted in maroon below and yellowish on the upper, and some posters of monsters, hot chick, old paintings, and etcetera were pasted on it. The chairs, desks, and tables were in uniformed dark brown color.


    Yman noticed the weird ambiance inside the barracks. Everyone that was inside was having solemn expressions.


    "What an unhealthy atmosphere is this..." He mumbled. For some reason, the tiredness he felt at the moment had multiplied inside this room.


    Sistela who was sitting on his shoulder asked him.


    Yman forced a smile and said, "I don''t think so." Although he knew why she asked it. Looks like even Sistela also noticed the weird atmosphere.


    "Y-Yman, d-do you think the atmosphere is kind of listless?" Chloe who was standing beside him also noticed that something was amiss and whispered to him. Her deity Jazz was sitting on her hands while raising them at her chest level.


    Jazz sitting on her hands called Chloe''s name, maybe she felt nervous.


    Chloe gently massaged her deity Jazz while saying, "it''s alright, Jazz."


    Yman nodded at Chloe and said, "don''t mind it, let''s go and ask at the counter."


    "Yeah, he''s right, let''s go," Bob agreed to him and followed after him to the counter. Chloe nodded and followed after them.


    "Uhm, Miss..."


    The three directly went on the counter and Yman called out to one of the clerks. But none of the clerks seemed to hear him. They were still busy doing something. Although the room was not even that noisy it was as solemn as someone had passed away.


    Only the guys in the counter that making some noises from their works of placing some things in order or scrutinizing some objects.


    "....."


    Sistela whispered on him.


    He wondered if his voice was just too low. He cleared his throat and he called out again for the second time. Now he intentionally made his voice louder to make sure that all people inside would hear him.


    But...


    "....."


    |Wth,| Yman exclaimed in his mind after noticing that he was intentionally ignored.


    Sistela and the others were speechless.


    He narrowed his eyes to see if these people were some kind of robotic dolls or what.


    But however he looked at them. They seemed to be human. Even the other people around had such unbothered faces.


    Bob and Chloe also noticed the odd situation.


    At the corner of Yman''s eyes, he noticed a silver bell on top of pieces of paper on top of the long flat surface of the counter.


    He took it and shook it twice which reverberated and blew away the solemness of the atmosphere inside.


    Because of the sound caused by the ringing bell, he successfully took the clerk''s attention. But they were staring at them with indifferent faces.


    Sistela exclaimed.


    Jazz called out her owner''s name again, might be feeling scared.


    Bob''s deity just snorted like a boss.


    |What kind of unusual situation is this?!| Yman inwardly screamed.


    One of the clerks after noticing the three new young faces had stopped his work and took off the gloves on his hands. Then, he walked near the counter which in front of the three.


    The clerk forced a smile on his face after seeing the young man in front of the counter was having a tired face and looks unhealthy. And also, they look scared for some reason. His force smile turned into a chuckle seeing their reaction.


    "Are you three one of the fledglings?" The clerk wearing a polo shirt of white color and black pants asked them. He wore eyeglasses on his eyes and his short black hair was a little messy. Based on his figure, Yman assumed that he was in the mid-''20s.


    "Yes!" Bob''s voice was slightly louder while Yman and Chloe nodded their heads only. Even their deities were nodding as well.


    "Is that so, ah, sorry about the messy place. Everyone was kinda busy putting things in order. We just reopened and much cleaning needed to be done," the clerk apologetically stated.


    Yman was wondering if how this place used to be closed. What are the seniors and juniors trainees doing without the barracks? Weren''t they supposed to do some missions to increase their grades? And it was stated on yesterday''s test that every trainee would be doing the quest for the entire 3 years as some additional source of their income and also their grades would be greatly affected by it.


    "Oh, sorry for being a bother in your work, sir," Yman said his sorry. Bob, Chloe, and their deities just remained quiet while listening to Yman and the clerk.


    "Ah don''t mind it. I believe you came here to acquire your first mission, right?" The clerk asked them which they nodded.


    "In that case, you can place your dominant hand on that screen." The clerk told them while pointing on the screen located at their left side about a hand reach away only. It was on top of the long flat table of the counter.


    Yman noticed that it has the same screen size from yesterday. He then asked Sistela to resonance with him. But...


    "Ah, wait! You don''t need to use your mana. Just place your hand and wait after the screen light turned into bright green." The clerk suddenly said when he noticed Yman was about to use resonance with his deity.


    "Ah, I see. Thank you for telling," he said. |So it is much simpler than yesterday.| Yman thought.


    The clerk nodded and Yman placed his hand on the smooth surface of the screen.


    After the screen lights turned into green, the process was finished and Yman was presented by an identification card and a badge. This protocol was to assure that he was registered in this academy. This was connected to yesterday''s events.


    In that ID card were some of his information and a pin number. The badge was used to identify him as the barracks member. And Yman felt this ID was a magical tool also.


    Maybe it automatically registered their ranks. There was even a record of:


    Mission Succeeded: 0


    Mission Failed: 0


    And there''s even, Total Gained Points: 0 GP


    Not long after him that Bob and Chloe had finished too.


    The clerk gave them a slight briefing about the barracks and the missions.


    The three went into the mission screen and inserted their ID card in one of the slots below the screen. Then, they scanned the beginner''s mission. Beginner''s mission was usually rank bronze. And has the lowest difficulty rate.


    "I''ll be taking this one!" Bob toggled on the screen and he clicked ''select'' on the choices with the title: Rampaging Mad Pig!


    After taking his card, Bob noticed the word on the backside, it says:


    Current Quest:


    Title: Rampaging Mad Pig!


    Quest Rank: Bronze


    Details: Kill 5 mad pig within 1 week.


    Rewards: 100 GP


    Status: ongoing...


    Remaining Time: 167hr: 59min: 12sec


    Bob waited for Chloe and Yman to choose their mission. A moment later, Chloe also chose her mission.


    Current Quest:


    Title: Thief Blue Beak Bird!


    Quest rank: Bronze


    Details: Kill 5 blue beak bird within 1 week.


    Rewards: 100 GP


    Status: ongoing...


    Remaining Time: 167hr: 59min: 50sec


    Yman was having a hard time choosing his mission. He needed to find a more suitable quest for himself. But no matter how he scanned on the mission screen. Nothing was good for him. He was looking for some Pale Toad missions. But he could not find even one. Not even slime was there.


    There were Evil Horned Bunny with a difficulty rank of Bronze, but when he checked the details, it said that this bunny was quite agile and able to use the paralyze effect by shooting their horn to the target.


    Yman sighed. He was not proficient enough in using his Rapid Leap skill. So these bunnies were deadly for him. And the paralyzing effect was scary.


    He needed an enemy that was not so agile and not so strong.


    Sistela who was sitting on his shoulder pointed on one of the missions on screen.


    Yman glanced at where she was pointing. The title said: Gross Evil Rats!

 Chapter 39：Getting ready for the mission...

    "Tsk, if only Lady Ice is here, she will kick their asses," said the voiced one.


    "Right, but it was already had been 3 months after she went into seclusion and didn''t return yet," replied by someone.


    "Do you think, her advancement had failed?" Asked the former voice.


    "No way, that''s impossible!" Exclaimed the later voice.


    "Right. As talented as her, there is no way for her to fail her advancement," the former voice agreed.


    "Yeah. But unfortunately, she''s not here. Now we can''t even accomplish our quest. Those fuckers from the other academies won''t give as breathing even in our own hunting grounds," the later added with a lack of enthusiasm.


    Some of the loafers inside the barracks were conversing about someone and something in bitterness, which caught in Yman''s ears. Their voices have a lack of vigor. He really was wondering if why the atmosphere inside the barracks was kinda gloomy.


    He wanted to ask the clerk man. But he decided not since they were seemed to be busy at the moment, and other fledgling trainees had started to arrive one after another.


    Bob said goodbye to Yman and Chloe after they exited the barracks, which they understood. They already knew that Bob''s CE was at the peak. He needed to seclude himself for meditation while absorbing the MM.


    "Ummmp!" Yman stretches his hand higher. If not because of his healing magic, for certain, his body would be aching all over now from those hell-like training. Although he felt like his strength, stamina, and speed had increased a little.


    Yman and Chloe walked on the street with their deities.


    Even though the place was a city but it seemed not so bustling with people.


    "Yman, what do you think is the reason for those weird atmosphere inside the barracks?" Chloe who was walking beside suddenly asked him.


    Lately, Chloe was able to converse with him casually, which made him happy about it. It also helps to get rid of the awkward atmosphere between them whenever they were side by side just like now.


    Yman side-glanced at her before opening his mouth. He noticed the doubt and worry that was written on her face, "Hmm... I''m not too sure. I also was wondering, maybe something had happened? (sigh)" He said with a furrowed brows, then he followed his words with an uncertain question before he sighed.


    Two days of consecutive training already bullying his fatigue. Now he could feel his body started to turn sluggish. He wanted to take a bath and fall asleep at the moment. But he could only wait until he returned to his apartment. And also, he was worried about his sister being alone at the moment.


    After hearing his reply, Chloe also glanced at him. Then opened her mouth.


    "Mhm, it seems like that. R-Regardless, what you are planning to do with your quest?" She nodded and asked him about his mission.


    She really wasn''t expecting for Yman to acquire such a quest. After all, rats were a very hated pest. They were gross and scary. Yeah, they have fluffy fur, but they were not cute to pet.


    Well, depending on rats though. Since there were rats also that looks cute like a highbred hamster. Highbred hamsters intentionally bred for petting purposes. But the thing was, Yman took the quest about the Evil Rats!


    Those Evil Rats were hideous looking with the body as big as normal pigs. And their mouths were dripping with greenish saliva that contains poison. And those pointed teeth outside its mouth, well, scary and gross when it bites you.


    However, the most problematic part about rats was their dwellings. They usually gathered inside the tunnel and any other nasty places.


    While thinking about it, Chloe felt a chill running down her spine, and her body pores were opening.


    Yman on the other hand forced a tired smile. He knew why Chloe asked him about his mission. But, it''s the only mission he had the chance to accomplish.


    While they were conversing, Sistela and Jazz were also conversing with each other. For some reason, Sistela was patting Jazz who was seemingly afraid of rats also. Looks like, she and Chloe were both scared of rats.


    The two of them were floating in between Yman and Chloe.


    Yman and Sistela also parted with Chloe and Jazz when they arrived at the crossroad. He needed to buy a weapon and other items that might be helpful in his quest.


    After saying their good lucks, the group parted to each other.


    Yman with Sistela first went to the weapon shop. He needed a new weapon to hunt for rats. He already broke his wooden sword.


    Now that he accumulated some GP, he believes he could buy a decent weapon. He really was thinking to buy a magical gun. But he had two problems. First, his GP wasn''t enough. And second, his dexterity attributes still very low.


    Someone who was planning to become a ranged combatant should have high dexterity attributes. Because it would be a waste if one lacks it since a person who had low dexterity would be having bad aiming ability.


    After 15 minutes of walking, he finally arrived at the front of a 2 story building. Above the close glass door, the name ''SARSMITH WEAPON WORKSHOP'' was written in bold fonts and in blue paint color and having the design of shield, sword, and gun.


    Yman pushed the glassed door, then he together with Sistela stepped inside the workshop.


    They were greeted by the smell of metal that invaded their nostrils, although Sistela doesn''t have it. However, she could read the data surrounding her. After all, she was a super high-end system who was capable of five senses.


    The inside was illuminated by yellow brilliance from the big circle lamp on the ceiling.


    Inside the weapon shop, different types of weapons were lined accordingly. Some were neatly hung.


    In their Cyber Screen, there was also an Auction option in the Market Section. Where some people posted their items for sale in there. And after you bought it, it will be delivered to you at a later date.


    But Yman doesn''t trust that auction, because sometimes, what posted their usually different from the item they delivered to you. They only looks better in the picture that was posted, but in reality, they were trash!

 Chapter 40：Magician, Deity, and Resonance...

    When they entered the shop, a "Ting!" sound rang alerting the people inside of some visitors or costumers stepping in.


    Which followed by, "Welcome kid!" A greeting from a man sitting in a relaxed posture on the back of the counter in a slightly hoarse voice. Which his two legs on top of something and leaning his back on a softback of a chair.


    But Yman could not see the man''s face, because his head that was facing the ceiling was covered by a straw hat. The shirt he was wearing slightly loose up to his chest where the bulging naked stomach as round as ball in full view. And a diety was comfortably cushioning on top of it.


    "Mhm..."


    Yman just nodded with a little deep sound to his throat. Emphasizing his appreciation from the greeting.


    "???" On the contrary, Sistela floated near the man while question marks floated above her head as she was staring at the man and his deity with doubt.


    She might be wondering why such a person had the same body as her. Maybe this person was the mother of all System Deities. (LoL)


    Yman''s mouth leaked a forced smile.


    Then he walked to the sword area leaving Sistela on the counter. Swords in different designed and sizes were lined on top of a table covered by dark-colored clothes besides their scabbard. The sword shined as the yellow illumination of light reflected on its blade.


    He took one of the swords and thought, |It was a well-made sword.| Then he checked the name of a smith who made the sword, he picked the scabbard after noticing that no marks of sword-smith on the blade itself, good thing that it was written on the scabbard.


    "SarSmith..." he mumbled as he read the name of the swordsmith. He''s not really proficient enough in using a sword. Since he was only 5 years old when his teacher taught him some basic sword techniques.


    From all his teaching, the words that deeply marks in his mind was to always appreciate the name of the smith who made the weapon.


    The man behind the counter made a slight movement after hearing his mumble. He seemed to be peeking under the straw hat that was covering his face.


    "!!!"


    Sistela seemed to be startled by it and hastily flew to Yman''s side.


    Yman was not really chossy of weapon. After all, he was not a master of a specific weapon. Any weapon was fine with him as long as it could help him in the battle.


    Yman opened his Cyber Screen and summoned a cursor, then he pointed it to one of the swords. It was followed by a window display that appeared in front of his face.


    [Silver Sword]


    Rank Common


    Atack + 20


    "The sword that saves one''s life is a fine sword no matter it was edgeless." Such a description was written on the sword details. Yman thought that this quote might be hiding deep meaning.


    He suddenly remembered something. His teacher used to tell him before that, "a wooden weapon that can save one''s life is better than a divine weapon that chooses its wielder."


    These two quotes seemed to be connected to each other. He thought. But quickly pushed this thinking at the back of his mind.


    The Silver Sword was about 1 meter long. He thought that it might be difficult to wield inside a tight area such as a tunnel. But really, he wasn''t sure if the area he would be going to hunt had such a lack of space.


    Of course, he rather not chose such a place to fight.


    He glanced at the price located in front of where the sword placed.


    500 GP was written on the price tag. No need to checked his Wallet Section in Cyber Screen, he already knew that his current money was at most 5,700.50 GP. Last time he upgraded Sistela twice.


    Actually, like the owner, the deity would also learn some helpful skills when they were upgraded to a certain level. At most at level 1, 10, 20, 30...etc....


    Yeah, Yman''s Rapid Leap was not his personal ability, it was his deity''s skill. He could train himself to execute the skill better than others. But he could not upgrade it through training. This deity''s skill could only be ascended through upgrading the deity itself.


    That''s the reason why Yman was upgrading his deity twice last time. Since every level also gave 1 skill point. So right now, his Rapid Leap skill was at level 3. And its cooldown time drops at 3.5 seconds. While the amount of mana needed also lowered.


    Whereas, the Mini Heal (self-healing magic) was a gift from the academy together with his deity. It was a scroll at first. But after absorbing the magical scribble inside to his body, the magician then able to learn the type of magic written on it. If he could not learn it at the given time, it also means he was not qualified to be a magician.


    This was one of the exams he went through on that evaluation exam back on the Outerworld.


    Of course, inside the ability scroll that gifted from the academy were of low tier magic only. But the price wasn''t cheap if someone bought it with their own money.


    In any case, the effect of skill could be improved through training.


    Actually, any magician could manifest mana without the help of resonance with the deity.


    But it wasn''t advisable.


    Since low-level magician''s body could not handle the negative mana that was exuding from their Magician''s Seed(Hollow Cell).


    They needed a breakthrough until their body could stand alone from the negative mana of Magician''s Seed.


    And being in resonance with the deities comes with many benefits. One of them was fast chanting. With the help of deities, they could manifest their mana at ease. No need to go to the process of nature bending.


    Like for example, a magician who was a fire user. In order to avoid burning himself with its own fire magic. One must tamper his body to acquire such fire resistance. To succeed, he/she first would become a lab-rat and be the subject of repeated tests.


    That''s why if they wished to use their abilities without going such a hurdle, they only needed to resonance with their deity first.


    There was even an incident that a magician of level 20 lost his sanity after forcing his way of using his own mana without the resonance with a deity.


    In the end, he murdered the parents of a family. That family''s 2 children becomes an orphan as a result.


    And that certain magician goes into hiding. Until now, no one knew what happened to him. But rumors bound to exist. Some said that that magician becomes a demon. And some say he died after he suffered mana exhaustion. No one really knew the truth of what happened to that person after he flees from the scene...


    However, what he did that time birthed a great desire from a certain person. After all... ''hatred is the best fertilizer to nourish a great desire.''

 Chapter 41：A young magician with the aura of normal human...

    Yman chose the sword that about 2 feet in length. It was laying beside the silver shortsword.


    The name of the sword was Gladius. It has a double edge. It wasn''t too short and wasn''t long at the same time. It cost 350 GP only. Much cheaper than the silver shortsword. And had an additional attack of +15, much lower compared to the shortsword.


    And weirdly enough, he also bought a spear of 2.5 meters long. For a strategic purpose. It was named as Silver Spear, but only the blade at the tip was made of silver. And the long body stick was made from hardwood, which he assumed was a Demon Wood of rank B+. This type of wood was unbending and hard as metal.


    |So, even in this world, such wood also exist, huh.| He thought as he took the Silver Spear with him to the counter, together with the Gladius sword and 2 daggers. Each weapon was of Common Rank only.


    Even as Yman was in front of the person in the counter, the person seemed to be unbothered and only showed him the total price while lifting his thick arm. Without even taking off the straw hat that covered his face. However, Yman noticed a strap of black garter connected to his ear. He guessed that this guy was wearing a mask �� or an eyepatch?


    The two daggers cost 250 each, so Yman paid 1,350 GP in total. There were some rare quality weapons in the display also. But they cost 5k from the cheapest. And at the moment his money could not be wasted in such a high-quality item. After all, having a good quality weapon could also put one life at risk. No good owning such an item without some strength to protect it. He doesn''t want to gather unnecessary trouble for himself.


    After paying the bills, seeing the back of a leaving young costumer. The man''s eye was peeking underneath the straw hat. No, it wasn''t an eye, but a form or marks of an eye.


    "The looming storm that gathering above, will soon fall to devastate the land. New heroes will rise, and many comrades will fall. Soon, the minions of light will be scouring the forces of darkness. Yet only the uninvolved residence will suffer more from this insurgence." The man whispered behind the straw hat with a tinge of mystery. However, Yman and Sistela both did not hear it.


    All the equipment that he bought were stored in his Cyber Storage.


    Yman and Sistela next went to the tailoring shop to buy a cloak with poison resistance. It was stated in mission details that Evil Rats were a poisonous beast. Although the resistance mostly could only resist 10-15% of the poison effect.


    Then he goes to the store to buy some potions with poison resistance. For him, more resistance means much safety. He also bought some food.


    Yman and Sistela asked some of the residences about the address of certain individuals who posted the quest in the barracks. Of course, the missions that were posted there were not random quests only. They were posted there by some people or residence who wanted some assistance or wanted to get rid of some problems such as monsters who cause some issues in their daily life chores or works.


    The person who posted the mission with the title of Gross Evil Rats was a middle-aged woman whose line of works was collecting some weeds inside the Underground Channel. They traveled 30 minutes using a carriage to locate the person.


    After seeing the magician sent by the barracks, the middle-age woman seemed to be skeptical. The person in front of her looks like not a magician at all.


    He looks sickly for some reason and doesn''t have a well built healthy body. Or the blooming face of a magician. Although this person not ugly, but he wasn''t handsome as well. The most magician was of a high standard of beauty. But the person in front of her seemed to be normal. He doesn''t look strong as well.


    He already saw many magicians, and all of them had an aura that was different from an ordinary human.


    "Are you really the magician sent by the barracks to complete the given mission?" Asked the woman that sounded skeptical. While looking at Yman with furrowed brows.


    Yman scratches his head and did not choose to answer, instead, he took his ID card and showed it to the middle-aged woman.


    Seeing the ID card with the mission listed on it, the middle-age woman could only agree and accept the fact this young person in front of her was no doubt a magician sent from the barracks to complete the quest she posted in there.


    "About a week ago, like what I had been always doing, I went to the Underground Channel to collect some weeds. The weeds are no ordinary weeds. They have the ability to heal a person sickness...blah blah blah!" The middle-aged woman explained to them her experience.


    She said that she was just collecting these magical weeds that she discovered appearing since last 3 months ago. And these weeds were magically made of ice. No, basically the weeds were coated in ice. And those weeds when boiled with water and let the sick person drunk it. It could heal their sickness. And give the person a relaxing feeling.


    They then called the weeds as Iceweeds Cold-Reliever.


    After the news of such weeds reached the ears of other people who''s a line of works was gathering herbs, they also started collecting the weeds. And so the Iceweeds become popular inside the city.


    The price also started changing. Behind the scene, some people started to manipulate the price in the market.


    Yman has the gist of what the woman said. After all, humans are born scam no matter what era. Not all but most.


    Although the market price becomes messy. And the original collectors earned less day by day. But this income gave them big help for their daily life needs.


    However, this past week some Evil Rats started showing up. They attack the people who tried to gather the weeds inside the Underground Channel. Which causes a big hurdle in their line of works.


    Yman did not expect such drama for his first quest. Although what written in the quest description was just to kill 5 Evil Rats. Was the test really just as simple as killing 5 beasts? However, it might be simple to others, but not for him.


    After 1 hour and 30 minutes of travel, Yman and Sistela reached the entrance. The Underground Channel entrance was located on the westside of the Human City Z7.

 Chapter 42：Love moves in a mysterious way...

    Yman asked Sistela about the current time before they going to enter the Underground Channel entrance.


    He nodded at her after her reply and reminded himself that he only had 2 hours to finish his intention in this place for the day.


    But Sistela has seemingly noticed something.


    Suddenly, her complaint was heard by him.


    At the moment he was wearing a cloak of black color. It covered his body like a robe. His mouth and nose were covered by a mask to get rid of the pungent smell that might invade his throat. The cloak and mask both had poison resistance.


    His enemies were poisonous creatures, so, it was only natural for him to dress such a way. No one knows if when the danger would come. One could only realize a danger after they found themselves in a situation.


    Yman''s lips extended into a smile after hearing her, then he cleared his throat and said: "It''s not like that. The air inside this Underground Channel might be carrying poison, although, the woman did not mention it.


    However, it is better to be ready than fall to the unforeseen state of sorry. At my current level, for sure, certain death to me if that was to happen. Although, I hope not," Yman replied at her while scratching his face using his index finger.


    That''s why, even though he looks suspicious in his current attire, Yman had to do it. Anyways, they were going underground and not in the park. So no matter how he looks at the moment, he doesn''t care.


    Yet...


    "Tsk," going into the battle really scares the shit out of him. More on that, he was alone at the moment. Although, he always alone from the beginning.


    |Ah, my bad, right I''m with my deity. Rather than that, I cannot afford to make her angry and lower the Like Value like last time. This is a very dangerous situation for me. So, I can only depend on her this time.|


    He thought while having a hard time controlling his knees and his heart that started to pound a little bit faster than normal. He could even hear his heartbeat.


    Yman already experienced to be in a face to face with a stronger monster like the Mustang Spider, but he was not the one who fought with it. In any case, he was afraid also at that time, he was just acting cool. After all, he was also a normal young person. Although, his acting cool only bears taunt and discrimination from others.


    He glanced at the round object floating relatively close to his face. His lips extended into a tired smile. Then it slowly opened.....


    "My deity, let''s go?" He asked her with a little tease.


    She replied while crossing her two robotic arms across her round body.


    Seconds later, RESONANCE! After the resonance, his health bar appeared in his vision. His skills were displayed as well.


    Yman inhaled and exhaled deeply. He was readying himself for the coming fight. But of course, he doesn''t want to engage in a fight yet. His plan was to scout the area first. And do some mapping.


    Since the mission needed to be completed within a week, he still had much time left. No need to be so eager to finish the job.


    After letting a huge sudden breath escaped from his mouth, Yman was about to lift the loose metal bars that were barred the entrance when a sudden,


    Ding!


    Notification sound rang out in his ears, which only he and Sistela was able to hear.


    Located at the lower center of his vision, there was a blinking icon of a white envelope or also known as the Mail icon.


    Yman''s brows slightly furrowed seeing this. He did not expect to receive a mail.


    He summoned the cursor by summoning a little bit of mana at his fingertip and pointed it to the blinking icon of mail. Then, it directly brought him to the Mail section of his Cyber Screen.


    He stared at the sender''s name.


    |Anonymous?| Yman asked in his mind.


    Sistela asked him too. Which he answered with a big: "No."


    She commanded, but Yman seemed to be doubting the mail.


    |Hm... looks suspicious no matter one saw it. Wait, what if, this person is a scammer? Or a hacker?


    Dang, it! Not me... at least if I am a hacker, I will choose to hack those rich looking magicians.


    In any case, I don''t remember such an issue that someone''s account was hacked by some anonymous person through a mail. Though, it is my first time receiving a mail from someone except my sister and Ms. Pai.


    Rather than that, the hacker could only hack if the System Deity is not online or should I say in hibernation mode. Regardless, I needed to read whatever was written inside this mail. Hopefully it safe. Dang! Curiosity kills!| He shouted in his mind and tapped the mail unwillingly.


    Without even a lag when the system responded on his touch.


    Anonymous:


    [Hi, can we meet tomorrow? (Blush emoji)]


    "....."


    |Meet? But no specific time and place stated?|


    "Dang it! It''s a prank!" Yman screamed out after 3 seconds of silence. He noticed that there were no addresses and times from the sender.


    "(Sigh!)Even the content of this mail was anonymous." After saying this, he then canceled the Mail Section. What appeared next was fragmented displays of Cyber Screen that were divided into different sections.


    Yman tapped on the Status Screen section. Like before, without a lag when the system responded to his touch.


    STATUS SCREEN


    |TITLE|


    ===========


    Yman Talisman


    ===========


    Level: 1


    Rank: Fledgeling


    HP: [_350/350_](+300)


    Stamina: 98%/100%


    Attack: 20(+15)


    Mdef/Def: 20


    Speed: 10(+15)


    Perception: 10(+15)


    Accuracy: 10(+15)


    Strength: 4(+3)


    Vitality: 4


    Sense:2(+3)


    Dexterity:2(+3)


    Agility:2(+3)


    CombatExperience: 60%/100%


    ?Mini Heal(Self Healing Magic)


    "....."


    No reaction on his face after seeing his status. Although some of his Attributes went up after those horrendous training he had been, he knew that it''s not enough to defeat enemies at rank D in a fight of 1 vs multiple opponents. And his problem was, these Evil Rats were known to attack in a horde.


    He swiped his status screen and checked his deity''s status next.


    =============


    Deity Name: Sistela


    =============


    Upgrade Level: 3


    Rank: Low Land Deity


    Battery: 90%/100%


    ?Air Float(+3 Agility)


    ?Robotic Arms(+3 Dex and Str)


    ?Radar(+3 Sense)


    ?Rapid Leap(Level 3)


    After the resonance, the additional attributes from the deity''s inventory were added to the owner''s attributes. So, upgrading the deity really comes with many benefits.


    After all, it was easy to upgrade them at a lower level than leveling up the owner, since a magician needed to increase his/her CE first.


    Later on, the price of upgrading the deity would become much expensive when the Upgrade Level becomes higher.


    Yman closed his Cyber Screen and decided to continue taking off the metal bars that barred the entrance of Underground Channel.


    The entrance was not so big. It only has 2 meters tall and about 3 meters wide. Yman gripped one of the metal bars and summoned his force to forcibly took off the metal bar.


    With his magician''s strength together with additional strength from his deity, the metal bar did not take long before it was taken successfully by him.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    Clattering noises could be heard while he was placing the metal bars one by one on the ground. And rusts were staining the gloves he was wearing in his hands. But Yman did not seem to mind it.


    After taking off 3 metal bars, he finally stepped in...


    <><><>


    On the upper floor of the fledgling trainees building inside the academy, the Elites students with exceptional talents were placed here. Each of them had their own room. To give them more time to focus on their training.


    But at the moment, one of the Elite trainees was laying on her bed while blushing and buried her face in the soft pillow.


    She was an exceptional beauty with long black hair.


    And at the moment.


    "Kyaaaaahhhhh!"


    She screamed inside her room but she''s not alone. Beside her was another beautiful girl with lavender hair that was tied in a ponytail. She was rubbing the back of the beautiful girl with long black hair while asking her what happened.


    "Mina best friend, what happened?!"


    These two girls were of course Almina and Kesha. Kesha was asking Almina of the reason why she was screaming while having a red face and her head was steaming.


    "K-K-Kesha!" Almina called out in a stammering voice.


    "Yes?! What is it, best friend? Is there a problem? Are you sick?!" Kesha was feeling perturbed at her best friend''s odd behavior.


    "I - I - I accidentally tapped the send button..kyaaaahh!" Almina said and buried her face in the soft pillow once again.


    ''What? Send button only?'' Kesha thought in dismay and relief. She thought her best friend had some serious problems. But it seemed, it was only because of sending something.


    ''Wait, what she sent? And button?''


    For some reason, Kesha suddenly felt curious.


    "Bestfriend, what you meant by sent?! Please, tell meeeee!"


    Kesha asked her, but Almina already lost in her own world of fantasy. Like what if, he really came to her? She did not even notice that there were no addresses and specific time in her mail.


    Beside them, their deities were playing cards while shaking their heads. Almina''s deity named Cal let out a sigh. But only smoke came out from the tiny hole in his small round head.


    Cal mumbled.


    Some question marks appeared on top of Kesha''s deity.


    Almina really was having a second thought if to send him a mail of invitation to lunch together tomorrow after a break, or not. However, she unintentionally tapped the send button and some part of the message was deleted. But she did not notice it. She even was using an anonymous name.


    On the rooftop of the building, a blonde girl was sitting crosslegged while her body was enveloped by green mana brilliance.


    Yman on the other hand was already walking inside the Underground Channel...

 Chapter 43：A scared magician and mean deity...

    The Underground Channel entrance located at the west side of the city, under the bridge, and near the river-dam that streaming steadily towards the end. On the opposite side of the entrance, there was a big dumpsite area that could be seen a little distant from the river-dam. The place was known as West District.


    At the dumpsite, he could see some smokes that were flying towards the sky and resembles the clouds as they continued to hover higher.


    After Yman stepped in the entrance, he asked his deity to activate the radar.


    Sistela replied:


    He said: "It''s not sudden. It''s better to have a perfect mapping from the entrance towards the farthest area that we can reach."


    She questioned him.


    He scratched his face and replied: "Don''t worry, we sure to leave the place before it happened."


    Hearing what he said, she resigned then followed what he wants and activated the radar without further retorts.


    But she really was worried if she emptied her battery. Because when the battery of the deity was emptied, it also means disconnection with their resonance.


    Ding! Something materialized...


    12 inches in height and wide window screen reflected in his eyes as it animated before his face in a holographic manner. It was sending luminous brilliance around and slightly illuminating his face and the place.


    Inside the screen was a tiny dot of green color. Around it was shaded in darkness, but as he was advancing slowly, the inside of the screen, around the tiny green dot in the holographic screen was slowly forming a map outline that resembles the place he currently in.


    The radar had a distance of a 10-meter radius surrounding him. Only within this area the shaded part that was surrounding the green dot was contorting automatically to form a map outline of the unexplored place he was strolling.


    Yman slowly dragged the screen on his upper-left side to avoid distracting his vision. Currently, it was floating on the left side, above him. This thing was no doubt his Map Section from his Cyber Screen.


    Tak-tak-tak...


    The deliberate sounds of his footsteps that slightly echoed the inside of the channel could be heard by the person itself. And sometimes droplets of water from the distance ceiling tickled his ears, sending chill in him which causes his body hairs to stand upright.


    Yman was walking in such a place. His hand was gripping the hilt of a sword with odd size. His face was covered by a mask and his body similarly covered by a piece of cloth. He was wearing a pair of brown boots on his feet, which produces some noises whenever his boots landed on the dirty pavements inside the channel.


    His trusted partner whispered in his ears out of a sudden.


    He smiled wryly and said: "As you can see, this place seemed to be a scene from a horror movie." Yman replied to Sistela and darted his eyes while cautiously scanning his surroundings.


    He tried to sound as normal as he could while seemingly unbothered by her question to avoid her from noticing what he truly felt at the moment.


    Although there was only darkness around him, it was manageable to see because of the illumination from his Map Section. He could even define the complexion of everything around him.


    Sistela asked after noticing his a little quickened heartbeat.


    "Of course, not! Maybe you!" Yman strongly denied and throwback the words. He was wondering why this deity of him bothered asking him unnecessary things.


    "Then, that''s that." He intentionally shrugged off the topic. Though his breathing was steady, Yman was really scared at the moment. Under the mask, he wetted his drying lips.


    Sistela whispered again after she noticed some green weeds sticking and hanging on the ceiling and walls of the Underground Channel.


    "I-It''s just some algae." He replied after his eyes briefly followed to where Sistela mentioned.


    Suddenly, his eyes landed on the ground and noticed something.


    Using his free left hand, he dragged the Map Section down below to illuminate the ground and have a clear full view of the ground.


    |Seemed like the dirty pavements were already littered in dark and brownish stains and were smelling odd.| Although he was already wearing a mask, the bad smell still invaded his nostrils.


    |Such a strong penetrative force, huh.| He truly meant penetrative smell.


    Yet, he paused for a moment while knitting his brows.


    |Wait, why does it smells like some kind of rotting flesh and not muddy smell?| He questioned himself after noticing the oddness in the pungent smell. Then, he scanned further on the pavement floors.


    Sistela suddenly screamed out.


    Yman shuddered even more upon seeing the bloodied pavements. Certainly, it provoked his trauma from that certain day in his childhood. He suddenly felt goosebumps at this place. His body slightly trembled. He tried to bite his lips inside the mask to dispel such negative thinking that was trying to challenge his weakening braveness.


    The inside of the channel was quite spacious for a person to pass. If he did an estimation on it: the wideness was about 5 meters from the walls on his left to the walls on his right, and the height of the ceiling from the ground was about 10 meters tall.


    Certainly, he was more scared at the place than the monster itself.


    For some reason, he felt like someone was following him. He even felt some cold arms trying to hold his legs. But of course, it just his mind playing tricks on him.


    Yman remembered something as he was walking quietly. "My deity, do you have the data of the Evil Rats?" Yman tried to relive the atmosphere by talking with his diety. To lessen the scare he felt at the moment. Yet truly, what he asked her was not just from out of nowhere question. He just forgot to check it awhile ago.


    After his question, she immediately answered with:


    Hearing her reply, he sighed in relief. It was very helpful in the fight to have the monster''s data that you would be fighting.


    Yman continued asking her some question that was out of nowhere and unimportant. When she noticed his intention, she annoyingly ignored him and even teased him by scaring him through words.


    Yman thought that this deity of him was really a mean one.


    There bantering automatically died down when he finally reached a dead-end. At the moment, he was facing the wall that was covered with darkened algae. A small water-passage hole was present below it. But there''s no water passing on it at the moment.


    Yet, the hole was too small for a person to pass by.


    Next second...


    Squeak!


    He heard some squeaking noises from the other side of the wall. Yman jolted back and readied himself from posible attacks.

 Chapter 44：Cotton-like ball-shaped object...

    Yman scratches his head and forced a dry laugh when he realized that the water passage was still too small for the monster to pass through.


    He remembered what Mrs. Merced (the woman who issued the quest) said to him. That when he reached the dead end, there was a hole where a person can pass through to his left side. But Yman could not see it, the hole that she mentioned.


    Suddenly, he heard Sistela''s call:


    He then glanced at the map that was hanging steadily above him. He noticed a thin layer of the wall outline. Based on the map, it was located two steps away from his left side.


    "Must be a camouflage." He muttered and summoned his spear from Cyber Storage.


    He then pokes the part where the thin layer on the map was shown. Yman narrowed his eyes when the wall that looks so sturdy bend inwardly like a piece of something soft like it was made of cloth, a camouflage cloth to be specific.


    |It''s a well-made replica of the wall.| He thought. |But why such a thing placed in here? And who was the target to prevent getting inside with this camouflage?| Yman wondered. Yet, he reached in the conclusion that it might be placed here intentionally to avoid someone that was unaware of the danger that lurks around here to wander inside.


    But of course, he wasn''t sure if it was the real reason or not.


    He proceeded to lift the cloth. Behind it was a hole that was done in a crude manner. Seeing this, he presumed that someone might be intentionally broke this part of the wall.


    Yman realized something was odd. Mrs. Merced did not mention such a thing to him. She just said that there was a hole in the end. But did not say about the camouflage cloth.


    Maybe she also doesn''t know about it? Regardless, he needed to crouch slightly to enter the hole passage.


    The squeaking noises were still can be heard from the other side of the wall. But Yman chose to disregard it for the meantime.


    After he cautiously entered the hole, he was greeted by darker surroundings. The place was a little eerie with some kind of coldness in the atmosphere.


    He saw a small gap on the wall ahead of him which he believed was an alley. As far as his eyesight could reach inside this dark room, there was no other corner or intersection that could be seen except for that little alley.


    He proceeded at a careful pace. Like every step of him was measured. He also redied the Gladius sword at his front.


    When he reached the alleyway, he decided to check on it first. But just after 15 steps of walk, he already faced the dead end. He also found out that only one person can pass inside because of how narrow the alley was.


    Yman then retreated from the alley and continued advancing in the dark straight passage.


    The holographic screen that was floating slightly above him was steadily drawing the map outline of the place as he continued to advance.


    Every step he made was light and careful; to not make any unnecessary noises that could attract the lurking danger''s attention. Nonetheless, his body that was slightly glowing in white brilliance was very attractive in this dark surrounding.


    He still doesn''t know how to absorb it into his body to minimize the use of mana like what one of the elders did.


    However...


    Not even 1 minute that had passed after he retreated from the alley when his ears caught some creaking noises ahead. Based on the noise, it seemed like the friction of claws that repeatedly brushing the wall.


    Yman''s heartbeat quickened a bit.


    He really was not the type to be scared easily by a beast. But inside this dark and enclosed area, where all he could feel was an eerie feeling and cold surroundings, Yman''s braveness was waning every second passed.


    2 pairs of red eyes glowed in the dark ahead of him. Yman stopped his step immediately upon seeing this. He felt something cold was being poured behind him, and his heart was about to leap because of how sinister those eyes look.


    When he noticed that they were coming closer to him at a rapid pace with the addition of stomping sounds against the ground, he readied himself for the fight while tightening his grip on the hilt of Gladius sword in his right hand.


    Based on the eyes that positioned relatively close to the ground, these monsters must be ground type monsters and not flying types.


    Actually, not only Evil Rats that could be seen inside the channel, there were some other monsters like Evil Bats, that usually hides here also.


    His left hand hastily took a ball-shaped white cotton-like object as big as a golf ball from his Cyber Storage. After feeding it with little mana from his channeling talent, he threw it without a second thought on the ground about 5 steps away from him.


    He could feel the decrease in his stamina after using his talent, even when he was in resonance with his deity. He needed to activate his channeling talent for the whole time. This was also the reason why he had a slow execution of his abilities.


    Sistela questioned him when she saw the ball-like object.


    He did not answer immediately, yet, he threw another 4 pieces of it. 5 pieces of ball-like objects were scattered on the ground about 4-7 steps ahead of him.


    "Just some toys made from spider webs." He answered after he thrown the five balls made from spider webs.


    Seconds later, he finally saw the name and red bars on top of the enemy''s heads when they closed at 10 meters distance away from him.


    Sistela screamed out.


    "Their data!"


    "....."


    "That''s it?!"


    Sistela reacted.


    "What��" Yman was like he just eaten his words. He really thought that if the deity had the data of a specific monster or beast, he/she could appraise it.


    But it looks like, he needed to buy the head part of the deity first to unlock their appraisal talent.


    |In that case, no choice, huh! I must use this finishing touch!| After saying this in his mind, he threw on the ground another ball-shaped object but this time with gray color.


    The gray-colored ball-shaped object landed near those five white cotton-like ball-shaped objects. After it hit the ground, smoke suddenly raises around it. But it wasn''t so thick.


    Actually, this thing was a smoke bomb, but it only smokes a little. The good thing on it was, it lowered the enemy''s vision for a few seconds.


    Regardless, he noticed the monsters were already neared him. The one that was running ahead of the other had blindly stepped on one of the ball-shaped objects.


    It suddenly stopped like something was holding it, and its head hit the ground by itself.


    And the number -50 in red color was visibly floating above the monster''s head.


    These balls that held the monster was very sticky. After all, it was made from the web of a Wanderer type of monster, the rank C+ Mustang Spider.

 Chapter 45：Evolution

    Sistela warned after noticing the second Evil Rat made a wise leap in the air while opening its largemouth. Some green liquids were splattering around and looking like small particles of lights when they were hit by the illumination of brilliance from his holographic map.


    Yman narrowed his eyes. Even though this Evil Rat managed to avoid the ball-web traps, the smoke abled to hinder its vision.


    He summoned his strength and sent a stab to the leaping Evil Rat.


    Shing!


    -30 HP in the red text was visible in his vision when his stab was successfully landed on the Evil Rat''s jaw, which followed by squeaking noises from the Evil Rat when the tip of Gladius sword dig in about 3 centimeters in its flesh.


    |20 defense!| Yman quickly calculated the enemy''s defense based on the damage that he dealt it.


    He has 20 attacks and an additional 15 from the resonance with his deity and another 15 from his Gladius sword. It was 50 in total, but he only managed to take 30 of the monster''s health points. So Yman reached the conclusion that this monster had a total of 20 defense.


    He already thought that this fight would not be an easy fight. But... he could manage somehow. After all, his deity already at level 3.


    On top of its head, the number 220/250 was visible inside the red bar that at the moment not in a full state. As the number inside the red bar decreases, the red in its bar also decreases.


    Dark muddy blood drips when he hastily retreated his sword.


    The Evil Rat fell on the ground with back first, which followed by a loud thump when its back slammed on the ground. Another -5 HP in red text floated above the monster''s head, but this only visible in Yman''s vision.


    He about to follow up with a slash attack but stopped when the Evil Rat''s body was twitching even it was still lying on the ground.


    He noticed the wound he dealt on it, it''s visible on its jaw. But not so big.


    The Evil Rat was at a hand-reached distance only, he back stepped and change his weapon into a 2.5 meters spear without waiting for the Evil Rat to regain its control.


    The Evil Rat abled to flip his body and now on its four limbs. It blinked its eyes while shaking its body, perhaps it was trying to clear its vision.


    A moment later, its vision seemed to clear up a little. It stared at him with fierce red eyes.


    But what greeted it was a silver pointed edge of a spear that was hastily approaching on its forehead.


    The dizzy Evil Rat had no time to react.


    Chaaaaaap! Such a sound of piercing the flesh and skull has been heard by the attacker itself after the pointed spearhead pierced into the Evil Rat''s head and into the ground.


    The Evil Rat did not die on the spot. It was twitching and tried its best to free its body. But the spear was well-anchored its tip in the ground and was seemingly preventing the Evil Rat to free itself.


    The Evil Rat''s health points were slowly decreasing as more blood was dripping from its body.


    This spear has an additional 30 attacks and a 5 percent penetration force. It was also a good weapon for mid-ranged combat.


    After a minute, the struggle stopped and its body was seldom heaving high and low. It was deeply breathing as its health points reached in a critical condition. When the red in its bar emptied, the movement also stopped.


    Which followed by a notification of:


    [You killed rank D Evil Rat!]


    A notification inside a rectangular text box and in a broad text. After this notification, it followed by another notification saying...


    [Mission update: Killed 1/5 Evil Rats!]


    Yman has no time to read these notifications. He noticed the entangled Evil Rat finally freed itself from the ball-web traps that he planted. This trap had a limited time of effectiveness. After the mana from his channeling talent expires, the stickiness of the ball-web objects would become less and less until it becomes an ordinary ball that made of the web.


    The last Evil Rat sent a loud shrill while rushing at him at full speed. Yman gave up on the spear and summoned the Gladius sword from his Cyber Storage.


    He realized that it tried to tackle him, Yman chose to evade it by leaping normally to his right in good timing. The Evil Rat passed at him with a whooshing sound.


    He originally wanted to stab its side while avoiding its attack, but he figured out that it was impossible for his speed to do it at the moment.


    He''s not so agile enough to land a hit at the moving target who rushes at full speed. And he was not in a good spot to do it.


    Creaaaak!


    The claws of its four limbs skidded and were drawing a long line of scratches on the ground when the Evil Rat missed its tackle attack.


    It used its front limbs to turn its body while skidding. When it stopped at 5 meters distance, it was already facing at him.


    Yman also was facing at it with caution.


    They both rushes towards each other at the same time like in sync with each other and was having the same thought.


    He noticed that this one was much faster than the other one that he killed earlier.


    Yman knows that he would find himself at the disadvantage if he chose to wait for the attack to come.


    He needed to accumulate force while rushing to counter the full brunt force sent by the Evil Rat.


    Ting! Such high-pitched sound was heard by them when the poisonous two front teeth of the Evil Rat met the Gladius sword in Yman''s hand.


    Both of them were sent back from the force of the collision. Yman staggered back, while the Evil rat was thrown back and was flipping its body in mid-air to maneuver a safe landing.


    Yman''s hand trembled slightly and was seemingly numb: "Dang! As expected, this rank D beast really had quite the strength!" He whined.


    He heard Sistela''s exciting voice.


    |What this deity saying?| He thought.


    He then rushed again towards the enemy who already rushing towards him with its large pointed mouth dripping with poisonous green saliva.


    When they neared at each other, swoosh! Yman slashed the sword downward but hit empty air.


    The Evil Rat was able to leap to its right before the human enemy''s sword landed on its dark blue fur.


    "!!"


    |Oh, shit!| He exclaimed.


    Swish!


    Gyah!


    After the successful evasion, the Evil Rat sent a tail whip that landed on his back. Yman was sent 5 steps at his front. And his front was slammed on the ground which his body skidded on the ground.


    -125 health points had subtracted from his green health bar. He promptly pushed his body to get up immediately. Even though his back was still aching from the whip attack, he could not wait for a follow-up attack that would be coming from the monster.


    But before he could stand up,


    "Ha?" He doesn''t know whether to laugh or cry at this warning.


    He hastily glanced in the air and saw the Evil Rat was maneuvering its body like it was dancing. A moment later, he noticed that the Evil Rat''s front leg was shining. He gawked in disbelief with eyes opened wide. Yet, Yman felt something bad was coming. So, he quickly dove to avoid.


    Bang!


    The inside slightly shook, and Yman stared dumbfounded at where he was laying just a second ago. Now, there were spiderweb-like cracks. And in the middle was the Evil Rat with the body that enveloped by brilliance.


    Sistela screamed out.


    "Oh, my god..." he subconsciously muttered.

 Chapter 46：The Elite

    Reflected in his eyes the shining image of the Evil Rat that was undergoing an evolution phase.


    The brilliance that envelopes its body had even brightened the place a little.


    Tsk! Yman as he gnashed his teeth. Never in his wildest dream to be able to see an actual evolution phase of a beast.


    Seemingly, beasts or monsters will undergo an evolution phase when their battle experience reached a certain threshold.


    Currently, Yman was downed on his butt on the cold pavement ground, while staring at the Evil Rat in surprised and without batting an eye.


    Sistela''s voice rang in his ears which made him snapped from the shock and pulled him back to reality.


    He did not even notice his health points which now short of 150 points. After the tail whip attacked that landed on his back, -150 health points were taken from his health bar.


    He certainly questioned his luck. If seeing it from a different perspective, he might be lucky for witnessing such a rare event. But the situation he had at the moment was not favorable to him! And could only be considered as bad luck.


    Yman''s face twitched. He was thinking if he would run away and escape. Decisively, he already made a decision.


    A dagger materialized in his hand when he summoned his Cyber Storage and clicked on a dagger icon in it. After clicking the dagger icon, he quickly chose the [Take] choices that could be seen popping out after. With his well-practiced hand, all of this had happened in an instant only.


    A dagger of about 10 inches in length had magically materialized in his hand.


    Without waiting for the evolution phase to complete, Yman resolutely threw the dagger in hand.


    Even though his dexterity attributes were low, within a distance of 7 steps away, he was confident that his throw would not miss.


    As expected, the dagger flew and tore-up the space between them in an instant. Its tip landed on the intended area with a whoosh, but... unbelievably, the dagger was seemingly hit an unknown barrier when it bounced back and was repelled.


    Yman knitted his brows. Anxious by uncertainties.


    He noticed that some unseen force was protecting it.


    He scanned his storage to find something that might help him. Yet, he finds nothing that could help. He looks around him and saw the still anchored spear protruded on the ground. It was located at 7 steps behind him, slightly at his right.


    He promptly jumped on his feet and ran towards it. With his 1 percent breakthrough of his limiter and with the addition of resonance with his deity, his agility attributes were high enough to reach this distance in below 2 seconds time.


    He firmly held the spear-pole and exerted strength to uproot it. Noticing that it was tightly dug in the ground and would only budge a little, he wobbled it promptly at any directions with the intention of loosing it from being anchored.


    Underneath, the laying corpse of the Evil Rat that was pierced by it had made undefined movements.


    The noises of metal and ground scraping tickled his ears.


    Yman glanced at his back to where the evolving beast. His eyes balled upon seeing that the Evil Rat had now looked different.


    He noticed its image was already different from before. It grew taller. Based on how he sees it, the Evil Rat seemed to be standing on its 2 limbs as a human did!


    Even the name ''Evil Rat'' on top of its red bar had started to blur, and a new name was about to happen.


    Beads of sweats surfaced on his forehead. He could even feel his breathing that started to become heavier. His stamina was deliberately declining.


    He heard Sistela''s anxious voice demanding him to run. But Yman did not react, nor did he replied? No. He remained quiet and focus. Only the hard breathing sounds were discernable from him.


    A few moments later,


    Shing! Such sounds were heard by him when the spear tip had successfully unburied from the ground. Getting rid of the corpse that was pierced by it, he briefly kicked on it.


    The corpse rolled away after a kicked from him.


    Yman held the spear in his hand and walked towards the evolving beast. He was holding the spear relatively close on its tip and was dragging the opposite end that scraping the ground.


    When he reached at 5 steps away from the evolving beast, he held the spear comfortably in two hands and rushed to the beast while pointing the tip on it to it.


    Haaaaaaa! He screamed out loud which signifies his courageous charge, summoning all his strength in the body into one hasty stab with all he has.


    Sistela''s from demanding to pleading voice was heard by him.


    However, Yman already had the resolute to fight it now. If not now then not later also. It would be impossible for him to defeat it when it matured. It''s better to strike it now that it was still on its shell.


    No. It was already out of its shell!


    Swoosh!


    The stabbed attack hit an empty air! The Evil Rat had gone from its supposed position. It jumped high in the air away from him. When its feet landed on the ground, it was already at 10 meters distance away from him.


    Sighed.


    |Well, stabbing a newborn chick is okay too.| Yman as he thought. His face already showed tiredness. He just walked not so far and killed one Evil Rat but he already gasping for breath. Getting hit was also demanding in stamina.


    He knows that the enemy had become more agile. And the battle would become more difficult to him from this point onward.


    Certainly, there was also a choice of forfeiting the mission. But it also meant that he was incapable of accomplishing such a lowest ranking mission and becomes a more of a laughing stock from the others. Although it could not be considered as a lowly mission anymore, with the appearance of this evolved beast.


    But the unknowing people would only believe what their eyes had seen. So basically, even if he reported it, they would only think that he made up things and that he was just afraid and so.


    It may cause more unwanted attention to himself which already made him so sick. And they might suggest to him to hire mercenary to help him accomplished the mission. However, Yman was not a money bag. He was in a tight situation financially.


    Hiring mercenary would come with a price that depends on the mercenary rank.


    "Heh!" He scoffed after seeing the new name that appeared above the enemy''s health bar.


    Noble Rat was written in an exchange for the Evil Rat. He was sure that right now, this enemy had already evolved into a Wanderer rank D+ beast.


    He certainly wondering why such a noble name was on a gross rat! He then followed another rushed.


    Anyhow, no matter what he whined about would not change the fact that he was currently facing a Wanderer type monster alone!


    Right at this moment that Yman was fighting the evolved Evil Rat, inside the academy, Kesha was dragging the still in fantasy Almina in the hallway. She was dragging her towards the room for the chosen Elite trainees together with their deities.


    The hallway seemed empty since this top floor of fledgling trainee building was for the chosen Elite trainees only.


    "W-W-Wait Kesha..." Almina called out while trying to free her hand that was held by her best friend Kesha.


    Cal and Kesha''s deity was floating beside the two girls with a bead of sweat that appeared on their round body. Why not on their small heads though?


    "No. We need to hurry. Else, we will be late in the meeting. The others are already gathered there. Even the blonde already there too." Kesha firmly stated.


    Almina sighed and said: "Hah. Why you even mentioned her. In any case, what''s the point of dragging me? I also was planning to go!"


    Cal and Kesha''s deity had the same thought.


    "Eh? But your mind is flying everywhere and screaming while burying yourself with the pillow!" Kesha replied.


    "Wha��, erm... I - I am okay now," Almina said shyly yet her face showed rosy red. She really was planning to get a mission in the barracks but Kesha went into her room with a piece of news about a meeting with all the Elite trainees.


    Creak!


    When they opened the door of the room, all of the other Elite trainees were already in there, sitting around the round table in the middle of the room.


    They now staring at the two who just happened to open the door.


    An old lady was standing facing the window with its back facing the Elites.


    Almina noticed some familiar faces inside the room. It was Keremi and the blonde.


    They then proceeded to seat on the vacant chairs which made some creaking noises.


    She noticed the blonde girl staring at her. Almina replied with a sharp glance at her.


    Right now, 10 chairs were surrounding the round table but only 9 was taken with extra one empty seat.


    "Looks like, everyone is already here." Said the old woman after Almina and Kesha took their seat.


    This old woman was one of the elders, Elder Paan to be specific.

 Chapter 47：Deity’s true form...

    The other Elite members seemed like they were from the native of this world.


    Kesha glanced at the empty seat. The person who


    owned it was still recovering at the moment. He was sent to the famous magical hospital in this city.


    Sadly, he had injured himself at that time when they fought the rank C+ Mustang Spider. But because of having great talents in magic and owning 4 different types of ability for being a fledgling trainee only was more than enough for him to acquire a seat as an Elite trainee without going through the test.


    Kesha could only sigh and prayed for his fast recovery.


    Next to her was a man with medium length red hair. He was sitting calmly while closing his eyes and arms across his chest. With his right leg on top of his left knee. This person was no other than Mai''s cousin, Brai.


    Kesha noted that this person was also a handsome man and was kind of mysterious. Unlike the infamous wastrel who only knows how to hurt his comrades.


    Everyone certainly thought that that guy would be kicked out from the academy on the first day after he failed to light up the bulb on the test.


    He was even passed out many times in physical training. Nothing really was interesting about that guy except for being a joke. He was just wasting his time coming into the academy. It was better for him if he chose to go to a normal school instead of a magic academy. In that regard, he could choose a better course which brings him a fortune in the future.


    She was hoping not to see him again. Seeing his unhealthy figure and lack of vigor will ruin her mood for some reason.


    It''s not like he did something bad at her that''s why she disliked him. But because of his awkwardness that seemingly triggered her past self that she mostly tried to forget.


    Anyhow, she must rid that guy from inside her mind. Or else, her mood will get spoiled.


    "Ahem," Elder Paan purposely cleared her throat to grab everyone''s attention. Which she succeeded.


    The Elites looked at her and was waiting for her words.


    At the moment, she was garbed with a coat embroidered with silvery-white and black colors towards her knee.


    Her neatly tied grayish hair was being hung towards her back. Her looks were the same as a 60 years old normal person. However, she already had passed a century of her life.


    Everyone was eagerly waiting for her words. But before she spoke out, a deity in green color with the appearance of a pixie that was flying beside her suddenly glowed. Indicates the use of resonance.


    Seemingly, a magician can decide whatever their deity''s future design is.


    Like for example, the deity of Elder Paan looks like a wood fairy. With small transparent greenish wings stick on its back. And two antennas on its cute little head. And with two round big eyes of red in color. Of course, this deity''s body was made of special metal. Or commonly known as robotic. Yet, with the addition of its dress and skin color, it looks seemingly a real pixie.


    It has a size that is 2x bigger than the water sprite of Elder Gatan. Even Elder Gatan''s deity resembled a whale. A whale that was floating in the air. Although he had water sprites, those creatures were from his summoning ability.


    Currently, the trainee''s deity was only a scrap of metal with no particular form or color. They were mostly round at the moment. Which resembles an egg. It was only natural since they were newbies only. They still needed more money, time, and experience to level their deity to such a degree, like the deities of the elders.


    The Elites were silent waiting for Elder Paan''s words together with the deities that lay everywhere around them. Some were sitting on top of their heads, some on their shoulders, and on their hands. While Cal, Almina''s deity, was sitting like a boss on a table in front of his owner.


    Keremi was in his usual closed eyes. Yet, no one inside the room had questioned him if how he could see in such a manner. On top of him was his deity that was sitting comfortably on his head.


    Keremi was sitting on the left side of the blonde and on the right side of Almina. Sitting at Almina''s left was Kesha then followed by Brai, the Encan girl, and the others in a clockwise manner.


    The others were as silent as them, waiting for the Elder to speak. Even the beautiful Encan girl. Who seemingly had a genius-level magic talent as the others, were waiting with her narrowed eyes focused on the elder.


    Contrary to everyone''s expectations, the elder did not open her mouth. However, the light inside the room automatically died, and a holographic screen as big as a 32 inches TV screen appeared on top of the elder''s palm that slightly lifted at waist level facing the ceiling.


    The elder tossed the holographic screen to the center of the table. Which landed on a plate-like object in the middle of it.


    It was called a Receptor Plate with a magic sequence that was able to transmit and receive magic-based light waves such as the holographic screens the elder produced.


    The holographic screen that the elder summoned was a cube with 32 inches square meter. She did it on purpose so that everyone from different angles would be able to see the perfect picture she intended to show.


    The Elites were staring at it, wondering what the elder was planning to show.


    Second later,


    Boom!


    Bang!


    Wham!


    Waaah!


    Charge!


    Attaaaack!


    Ting! Ting! Ting!


    Shing! Swoosh! Woosh!


    Chaotic scenes with thunderous explosions ringing everywhere around the area where the scene was playing.


    It was in the middle of a battlefield!!! Everyone exclaimed in their minds.


    The scene was in the middle of the battlefield where humans fought with monsters, demi-humans, and humans themselves.


    After 10 minutes of watching the scene that seemed like from a fantasy movie, the scene in the holographic cube ended while showing 10 images in black shade.


    But who were those people that shrouded in the dark shade? They could not even identify their tribes. What is the purpose of the elder for showing it to them? Is this related to the topic of today''s meeting?


    Everyone had such questions in their minds.

 Chapter 48：Resources

    Not only humans fighting against humans, but also demihumans were against demihumans, and beasts fighting against beasts.


    "The video you just watched were collections of clips from the previous battle in the Worlds Magic Academy Competition." Suddenly said the elder in a stern voice that devoid of emotions.


    It was cold and a little hoarse.


    Ahem. (She cleared her throat once again.)


    The Elites remained silent waiting for the continuation of the elder''s words.


    "Probably, some of you might already know the purpose of Magic Academies. Or why it was in such a rule or system. It was of course to prepare you from the sudden attacks of the real enemies lurking everywhere. But before that, some precarious issues needed to be solved at first.


    Right now, this academy was in a tight situation and was in danger of getting pulled out from this world. If that happened, not only the academy would be gone.


    Also the city itself.


    Since, this city''s resources mostly came from the academy''s trainees, who were tasked to complete some task at hand or to gather some resources in dangerous places such as the outskirts of the city.


    And mostly by winning competitions.


    It was one of the world agreements in the Worlds Alliance that humans from the Outerworld were not allowed to pull resources from this Innerworld. Such as mining or drilling oils, even farming was not allowed.


    This is also the reason why there is no modern transportation in this world. Actually, we could acquire resources through product trading.


    The value of the resources we get depends on the value of the products we traded. These products are, for example, herbs, monster parts, potions, and any items that can be gathered around the city or can be made by us. With these products, we could acquire resources such as oils, stones, metals, foods, and etcetera in exchange.


    Yet, the value we acquired could only satisfy the city residents'' daily needs. And we are even in danger of starving our fellow residents.


    More on that our current situation was at the bottom of resource ranking.


    Every academy who won the competition would be able to acquire a massive amount of resources as competition prizes. This prize was equivalent to 10 years of total consumable resources in a city.


    That''s why, in order for the city to function longer, we needed to win in the competition.


    Yet it was not easy to succeed. After all, in this world, there are 300+ academies around the Innerworld.


    At the moment, the city had only year-long resources at hand.


    Ordinary citizens had no means of fighting mutated beasts. Some might be able to gather some, but not so many that it could satisfy the consumers'' heavy demands.


    Moreover, ordinary citizens could only gather enough for themselves.


    Thus, right now, not only us, the elders but also the academy committees decided for you to undergo more serious training.


    Magic Academies are also the training grounds of future militaries, professionals, association magicians, and heroes.


    But these past few years, the Middle Region Magic Academy''s'' previous results could only be described as bad.


    The rank bottom in all the academies resource ranking. Although in power ranking, the Middle Region Magic Academy ranks higher. That was because of the appearance of two individuals.


    One is the son of the famous magician from the Seeker Association and from a prestigious family, known as Almond Amulet."


    Almina''s eyes twitched from the name. This name was of course very familiar to her, after all, It was her big brother.


    "Before he entered the academy he already reached the level of 5 percent breakthrough in his limiter, which is very rare. With his expert level in wielding a longsword. He was able to reach the top of ranking in the academy. And garnered interest from the other academy''s leader. But something happened that made him no choice but to drop out of the academy." For once, the elder''s voice was trailed with sadness.


    Almina made a twitching face. She noticed the blonde muttered: "Birds of the same feather. Traitor," while glancing at her directions.


    "This girl!" Almina thought. She was angered by what the blonde said but did not react openly. Almina chose to remain quiet. She was not a child anymore to argue on the spot with a little provocation from others. And she had things that she wanted to do for herself and not for the others.


    Keremi who was in the middle of the two just forced a smile and acted he did not hear anything. Suddenly, his deity who was in sleeping mode fell from his head and landed on the table with a bang. Which caught everyone''s attention.


    The deity''s body rolled a few times. When it stopped, it suddenly pushed his round body using his frog-like robotic arms. Then it poses in a fighting stance. It looks awkward as it doesn''t have feet yet.


    "Pufft," Keremi chuckled a bit and said sorry to the others, especially to the elder.


    Almina sighed. The bitterness from what the blonde said a while ago still remained in her mind. She wanted to graduate in this academy as a top ranker or an ace.


    She really did not care to be in the lowest ranking academy. She most wanted to clear the name of her brother, which was falsely accused as traitors from the others.


    Almina knows her brother very well.


    Two years ago, her brother was accused as a traitor in a case of crippling 5 Elite magicians in this academy, which were his comrades.


    Crippling a magician was like taking their bright futures from them. And the victims were Elites. So even with the reputation of his parents in the Seeker Association, it was not of help to him.


    After all, the accusers were of famous families also. Elite trainees were commonly from prestigious or infamous families. Families that were able to acquire ancient techniques from their predecessors.


    Almond Amulet was brought to the court and was detained in a prison for three months and was not allowed to participate in the competition before the issue was resolved.


    After all, the academy''s purpose was to produce a hero that would save the world from danger and not a villain who seriously hurt his comrades. This traitorous deed was really a big issue. It even affects the reputation of his parents in the Outerworld.


    But the issue automatically died down after the competition ended which was very mysterious and doubtful for the Amulet Family. The Amulet family was also of the top family on the Outerworld. Their family even had their own guild and had many allied families at the top.


    Yet after the issue in the academy, their allies started to leave one by one. However, it did not weaken their family''s strength. After all, Almina and Almond''s mother was one of the rank S magicians in the entire Outerworld.


    Since the Seeker Association was not allowed to meddle in the Innerworld''s affair, his parents had no way of investigating the issue.


    Losing 5 elite members and an ace, the academy had no way of winning the resource battle, which was a team battle composed of the academy''s strongest trainees, the elites.


    Anger surged in other trainees'' feelings after their loss in the competition. Looking for someone to blame for the loss, thus, he has deemed a traitor after the competition.


    Which is very unlikely to happen in Almina''s perspective. Her brother was a kind person who disliked fighting even with his talent in sword and magic. For her, he was a caring brother.


    Almina knows that even a magician was born with heroic desires, not every heroic desire was for good. There were many aspects of human behavior that resulted in the twisted thinking of a person. Even a magician was no exception about this.


    And his brother was an ace. So it was only natural that jealousy towards him bore from others who had the ambition of becoming one.


    Good thing that the issue only revolves around the upper families. And did not reach on the lower families. In any case, most of the lower families had no time to mind the upper family issues.


    Some might gossip, but they usually only ride on the issue then lashes insults but mostly it only at this level and so on will be forgotten.


    And also, a person she met from before was here in this academy. Although, he might already have forgotten her.


    "Second is the known Ice Queen, Miss Ice. She was a powerful ice user magician and had high proficiency in casting magic. She is a mysterious girl who appeared and disappeared without anyone knowing where she went or goes." The elder paused for a moment and gulped some saliva to wet her drying throat.

 Chapter 49：A human deity...

    While the meetings of the members of the Elites were ongoing, Yman was struggling against the evolved Evil Rat which now had the name of Noble Rat and reached the pinnacle of D, the D+ Wanderer.


    Now it stood on its 2 limbs. It''s supposed red eyes had turned into hazy yellow. Its pure dark blue fur that covered its whole body, now had milky-white fur arcing on its stomach down to its middle part. Its two ears grew longer, about 10 inches long that stood like horns on its pointy head. And on its face, gleaming in metallic luster, the whiskers were protruding like long needles. Even its razor-sharp claws had grown longer and sharper.


    Khaaaaaaaa!!! It suddenly yelled. The raspy shrill from it sent shivers on him.


    The cloak he was wearing had already torn, the clothes were tattered, and marks of blood could be spotted on some of its torn areas.


    If not because of his healing magic, not only his clothes would be torn at the moment but also his flesh. For once he was thankful for having such healing magic, a self-healing magic though. Which was not usable to others.


    Actually, his body was covered by rashes as of the moment. It was the effect caused by the poison. So, at the moment, he was still in danger. If not because of the resistance coming from his cloak and mask, for certain he was already dead at the moment.


    Hah, hah, hah... Yman was breathing heavily.


    Currently, he was on his feet and was maintaining his balance not to fall on the ground. At the same time, he also was eyeing the enemy in front. They just finished an exchange of attacks, however, Yman was at a disadvantage. This monster''s agility and strength had increased for many folds after it evolved which he already expected.


    Yet, he did not choose to escape, how could he just leave this monster roaming down here freely? Although he did not really care if some people wandered inside the channel and found themselves in unfavorable situations, he was not the hero type person who would sacrifice himself just to save someone.


    Actually, he did it, he did rescue someone from before. When he and his sister wandered around the town. He was carrying his sister on his back for days after they lost their parents.


    But because he was just a 5 years old brat that time, he could not find work to feed both of them.


    It was a bright sunny day when they passed at the town''s park. He saw a rich-looking beautiful kid girl running towards the dark alleyway while being chased by a Hybrid Mad Dog.


    That time, the town where they live was unrest from the attacks of these relentless creatures. They usually prowled the town and attacked their victims with their leagues. They usually appeared from sewers or canals, and also went through it to escape.


    Hybrid Mad Dog was at the rank C monster. They mostly attack their victim when they are with their group or if the victim is alone.


    Seeing the rich-looking girl running aimlessly towards the dark alleyway, Yman thought that if he managed to save this girl, her parents might be thankful and gave them food by saving their daughter.


    That time, his mind was devoid of fear and shrouded because of his stomach that clamored in hunger, he did not even think that they might find themselves in danger by doing so.


    TOGETHER with his sister that was tied on his back, he chased after them without a second thought.


    He saw the girl cowering in a corner while covering her head with her little hands.


    She was crying while shouting: "Mom! Dad! I''m scared! Help me! Help me! Help me!


    Noticing a dirty 1-meter stick that was leaning in the wall, he immediately grabbed it then rushed in difficulty towards the Hybrid Mad Dog.


    Even though he was still 5 years old at that time, he was trained with basic swordsmanship by his mysterious teacher.


    Before the Hybrid Mad Dog could gnaw its prey in front, it suddenly stopped when it heard a yell from behind it.


    Yman flinched a little upon seeing its red eyes, those piercing gaze of the killer, it was almost identical with that eyes of that person who murdered their parents.


    Its wide-mouth was dripping with sticky liquids, and heinous-looking razor-sharp fangs protruding like inverted nails.


    Definitely, it could tear him without difficulty if ever it bit him.


    Regardless, after hearing the grumbling of his and his sister''s stomach, he was looking at it like looking at the food instead.


    In his mind, if he won and successfully rescued the girl, he could get some food. And if he loses, then they would become a fresh meal for this beast together with the rich-looking kid girl.


    Yman continued his charge and made a basic downward strike to the monster''s head.


    The dirty stick made a whipping sound in the air as it came from above to below. Yet��


    It hit empty air.


    Yman''s eyes trembled after his attack failed to land on its target.


    However, the Hybrid Mad Dog leaped overhead and sneak unto the opposite wall, then gone in a second.


    He sighed in relief. Looks like the Hybrid Mad Dog really did not attack if there were multiple enemies in its vicinity.


    No. The reason why it chose to escape was��


    Tak, tak, tak��


    A moment after the Hybrid Mad Dog escaped, some steeping sounds reached their ears.


    When the owner of those steeping sounds reached the dark alleyway where the children were.


    They saw a young boy holding a dirty stick in his hand that was pointing its tip to the cowering girl.


    "You bastard! What are you doing!" Angry yelled from someone who just arrived.


    Yman suddenly threw the stick and tried to explain what really happened, but instead, he was beaten up. And that guy even acts heroically in front of the girl''s relatives when they arrived, like he just rescued a damsel in distress from some villain.


    They even took his sister and brought her into the orphanage. And accused him as a collaborator of the criminal group who kidnapped children to sell their organs or made them a puppet for killing.


    He tried and tried to reason out. Yet, those so-called magicians who are supposed to be heroes would only believe what their eyes saw and not the actual scenario.


    Because of hunger, he lost his consciousness just moment after the beating. He was so hungry that even what happened in that time was pretty vague now in his memory, yet he was sure that something like that happened from before.


    However, what he got in exchange for rescuing someone was a beating and not food. And he was sent into a facility to be a lab frog.


    After all, they were looking at him as not human. But a scam criminal. For god sake, he was just a kid at that time. Right now, he believes that that issue was not as simple as that. It was already planned by someone lurking in the dark.


    However, all of these were just a blatant hunch.


    After he was brought in the facility, repeated tests and experimentation was done to him. They were making a living weapon from him. Planting artificial Hollow cells into him together with a built-in deity.


    Failures after failure. Which causes him pain, pain, pain, pain�� for a long time.


    Yet Yman chose to be obedient while waiting for the right timing to escape.


    Yeah...inside him...or he himself was a living deity...


    Until one day, he was able to escape from that facility with the help of Miss Pai. She was a new attendant at that time.


    And something happened that changed her perspective from helping to develop a living weapon which is him, into helping him to escape.


    Yman that time was already 15 years old. After his successful escape. He went to look for his sister with Miss Pai''s help.


    That time when they took them, they were using an alias. After their parents were killed, it was only natural for him to change their identity. Who knows what that murderer''s true goal was. It was taught to him from his teacher to always conceal yourself from your enemy.


    Sistela''s warning reached his ears, yet Yman seemed like he did not hear it.


    Hah! Hah! Hah! Deep breathing coming from his mouth hindering the noise coming from around him.


    Even a call of warning coming from his deity��


    ��seemed to be unheard �� by him.


    Regardless, the enemy was still unhurt, standing a head below him, yet it was looking at him like looking at someone below it.


    Such an arrogant pose for someone who was crawling just a moment ago! Yman inwardly thought.


    A thing in his throat seems to be itchy and his chest felt a little pain.


    Cough! A taste of blood in his tongue followed after his cough, a mouthful of blood that almost choked his throats departed from his mouth.


    Chu! Yman sent a spit of blood to his side. He coughed several times before he lifted his left arm and wiped his mouth that was wetted by his own blood.


    However,


    Exhaustion had started to creep out in him. His muscles that started to numb signified how beat-up he had become for just a little time that had passed.


    But Yman seemed to be unbothered by it.


    His eyes even glinted with excitement. This beast, for sure would give him big loot.


    A sinister smile finally creeped out on his mouth when he noticed his stamina at almost�� 0%?

 Chapter 50：Black mana...

    As the fight of Yman against the Noble Rat reached the peak, the meeting of the Elites was still ongoing.


    After explaining to the Elites about the current situation of the academy, Elder Paan proceeds on discussing the shaded individuals that could be seen displayed in the holographic screens at the end of the clips.


    "I''m sure you are wondering who those people on the screen..." the elder stopped then glanced at the Elites one by one. Noticing that all of them had no idea who those people are, she continued by snapping her fingers. After the elder snapped her fingers, the ten shaded in black figures suddenly revealed their real appearances.


    The Elites noticed that each of those individuals was wearing academy uniforms of different academies.


    They also noticed one specific person wearing an academy uniform from the Middle Region Magic Academy.


    She has smart looking-eyes, a small nose, and rosy red lips. Her sky-colored pupils gleamed like the crescent moon reflected on it. And her shoulder-length silver hair was paired with a white headdress embroidered by black. She looks stunning and beautiful.


    "That is our own Ice Queen, Miss Ice," said the elder after noticing that the Elite''s eyes were focused on a specific person. "She was the top 8 strongest in the last year competition," she added.


    "Wow..." one of the Elites muttered in amusement. She was a short girl with short sakura-colored hair. She looks cute with her big round eyes and rosy cheeks. Her figure was of that half-human half raccoon. But no one inside the room dared to belittle her. After all, all of them inside this room all possessed exceptional abilities and wielder of great mana.


    "Amazing..." Kesha followed after the little girl.


    Almina and the others also had the look of admiration towards the person on the screen.


    "So, she is the mysterious Miss Ice," she and the blonde had the same thought at the moment.


    Elder Paan proceeded on discussing who those people were and their backgrounds one by one. The Elites learned that those people on the screen were the top 10 strongest individuals in all the academies. Some of them were from the Outerworld and some from here in the Innerworld.


    But this ranking was inconsistent, almost every year that new talents bound to rise and took a top spot.


    She also explained that the Resource War would be starting early this year, about 3 months from the current date. It will be held in the early days of September.


    The elder required the Elites to form a party, a team, group, or squad. This party was essential for the training in preparation for the upcoming Resource War.


    She then added the details corresponding to the Resource War and training. And what they needed to do.


    After the meeting, Elder Grenn left first the room which was followed by the Elites and their deities. Each of them had their own plans after it, but most of them went to the barracks to acquire their individual mission.


    Before Almina could leave the room together with Kesha and their deities, she heard the blonde whisper some words when it passed her.


    Inside the underground channel, Yman was staring at the Noble Rat in cold eyes.


    On the other hand, the Noble Rat was staring at him like staring at a dying insect.


    Yman who was tired and barely able to move had a face contrary to his situation even in the face of danger. Inwardly, he was grinning when his stamina was at 1% left only.


    His enemy had some weird abilities. Every attack was deadly. He glanced on the pavement ground and saw some pit on it. Debris of concrete scattered everywhere, because of the Noble Rat''s ability which its limbs would be enveloped by powerful mana.


    It could even maneuver its body in the air! Which gave Yman difficulty in making a plan to defeat it.


    He even was thinking of using the narrow alleyway as the last-ditch, but he disregarded the thought. The enemy was getting wiser as they fought. Yman was afraid that instead of trapping the enemy in that place, the opposite would happen.


    He lifted his hand, but because of tiredness, he felt like he was lifting a stone brick, which is his hand.


    Sistela''s tense annoying voice of warning rang in his ears repeatedly. But he chose to ignore it. Before his stamina reached zero percent, he selected a hibernation option for his deity. Only through this that their battery can recharge.


    Suddenly, after choosing hibernation mode, the floating Map suddenly went puff and gone which caused the place to suddenly turn dark and hinder his vision. But why did he do it? Even the brilliance that envelopes his body also fades at the same time.


    The annoying tense voice of his deity was also quieted. Sometimes, he wished that his deity was like a computer. Would answer only if he ever asked, because he could not think clearly of a good plan whenever Sistela started to rapid-fire his ears.


    But Yman could only sigh at that.


    He thought. If only he could fully wield his real ability he was just fine going alone without a deity. But of course, he was doing it because of his Sister.


    It was followed by a thud. Yman suddenly felt weak and fell down on his knees onto the ground after the resonance was canceled. After his knees landed on the ground, it followed by his face that smacked hard onto the ground.


    He even had no more strength to stay on his ground.


    Yman groaned from the pain of having his face hit the hard pavement ground. Right now, he was lying on the ground where his back was facing the ceiling of the underground channel.


    The Noble Rat seemed to be puzzled by what happened.


    Although the place suddenly turned dark, the Noble Rat was unaffected by it. In its vision, it just likes staring outside in a noontime, as bright as day.


    He could even perceive the enemy''s chest heaving deeply as sweats trailing on his body. The mask the enemy wore a while ago had long since torn to pieces from its claw. And even the clothes and cloak were in no good condition.


    The enemy''s action seems like he was giving up.


    The Noble rat sneered. And smoke blows from the crevices of its face. It then stepped towards the human enemy to finish it but suddenly stopped on its feet when...


    Something''s wrong with the human body! It was enveloped by black thingy.


    The Noble Rat immediately back stepped. It could feel his life was in danger.


    The Noble Rat seemingly made the right decision. After it backstepped, from its supposed position, where it was standing just a moment ago, had now scratched marks of claws.


    The Noble Rat stared at the enemy in puzzlement.


    Yman''s body was enveloped by black mana as he was slowly pushing his body to get up.


    The Noble Rat wondered if this person just playing dead a moment ago.


    Never did the Noble Rat expected for this human to hide such a card up his sleeves. He was dying just a moment ago, but now, his body had something weird on it.


    The current Yman has ears the same as the Noble Rat but it colored like black smoke. His hands have black long nails but the sizes and forms were the same as that of the Noble Rat and his eyes had turned red, but in this state, his vision was unhindered in this dark surroundings. He even has a black tail grown on its back the same as the Noble rat.


    He was imitating the Noble Rat. But not the face though.


    Actually, not only some of its appearances were imitated by Yman.


    He jumped into the air and maneuvered its body like dancing. Then he suddenly dove while swinging its hand that was wrapped by black mana.


    Seeing the incoming attack. The Noble Rat scoffed. This attack coming from the human was the same attack he did a moment ago.


    The Noble Rat''s hand also was enveloped by mana and thrown an attack towards the incoming enemy.


    He was the real user of this attack, he could not let anybody to imitate it without paying the price!


    Booooooooooom!


    When the two shining hands met each other, it was followed by a loud bang that shook the entirety of the underground channel.


    Smoke was covering the entire area. But big cracks were visible on the ground and walls.


    A minute later, the smoke finally dissipated and the surroundings finally cleared. Yet, only those individuals who could see in the dark were able to have a full picture inside this dark place.


    A silhouette was standing in the middle. With the outreached hand pointing towards the wall where a hole in the form of a human-shaped one, where its two hands extended in opposite directions forming a letter ''T'', while its legs forming a letter ''Y'' invertedly.


    And the owner of the silhouette who remained standing on the spot was no other than...


    Yman.


    In his extended hand, there were two gleaming objects. The other one was the Inner Core of the monster, and the second one was a Magic Cryst! These two objects could of course be sold at great prices! But Yman was more interested in the ability this Magic Cryst holds. He could use it to his armor or weapons to increase his fighting capability.


    Actually, he could not use this black mana freely. To use it, he needed some preparations. He was a failed weapon they experimented from before.


    In order to activate his black mana, his body must be in an exhausted state! But in good condition where no wounds even a scratch! And in fact, he could not increase his Combat Experience when using this ability. And because Yman had a weak physical body at the moment, he could not handle much longer his black mana and could only use it for a few seconds.


    In order for him to use it freely, he needed to break through his body limiter first by using the System Deity and not the built-in system in him. That is why Yman could only eat those taunts about him being weak. He could not reveal such power with so much weakness.


    And he was avoiding being discovered by those people who did the experimentation on him.


    Although they might not know his real ability, Yman had to be careful and wary somehow. He could not let himself be discovered before becoming stronger.


    So he could only hide this power for now. He could not use it redundantly also. Because the after effect was too awful.


    A fucking DIARRHEA!


    After he looted the Noble Rat, he quickly left the area. And returned to the hotel where he and his sister stayed. He would sell the materials later. But before he could reach the hotel, he suffered many stops.


    And Yman was really as tired as fuck! After all, he exhausted his stamina.


    That time before his attack landed on the enemy''s own attack, the tail on Yman''s back abruptly bound the Noble Rat''s arm then he quickly used Air Dance and increased his speed using his channeling talent. With the power of black mana, his channeling could be manipulated without a lag.


    Then he shifted his body and landed on the enemy''s back. Yman once again used the Hard Strike ability of the Noble Rat at the monster''s back.


    It resulted in it being thrown on the wall where the Noble Rat was facing. But on its chest area, where it was hit by Hard Strike, a palm-size hole was visible.


    The exchange happened in an instant.

 Chapter 51：Shooting

    When Yman finally arrived at their room, his sister was so shocked when she saw him. He looks so beat-up and sluggish.


    She asked him worriedly of what happened, Yman told her that he went to map the Underground Channel where his solo mission as a trainee was located.


    But unfortunately, he had met with the monsters so soon and a fight was inescapable. He did not mention the evolved one and about his power. Because he knew that his sister would feel regretful if she knew what happened to him in the past after they were being separated. Even though she was not at fault about it. However, she keeps on blaming herself for being a disabled person. Which Yman is trying to avoid.


    An idea popped up in his mind. He must bring extra clothes next time so that before coming back he looks fine and avoids worrying his sister. Hmm�� why did it just come to his mind? Yman regretted. Anyways, he was too exhausted to think of any sensible things.


    Regardless, at the moment, only he and Ms. Pai knew about his secret.


    He also told his sister that the monster inflicted a poison on him but good thing that he was well-prepared, not only he wore some suit with poison resistance, he also bought potions for poison ailments.


    He explained to her that after drinking the potion, the poison healed but his body protested because of the side effect and that he was having diarrhea at the moment.


    Yana had a worried face and was trying to get up and sit on the bed. He hastily said that he''s fine now and that no need to get worried about him. This diarrhea will probably go away after taking some medicine.


    In reality, his diarrhea was the after effect from using his Black Mana, and it could not be healed by ordinary medicine. Although it would be gone even without medicine, he just needed some rest, but for the main time, Yman had to suffer before that.


    To assure his sister that he was really fine as of the moment, Yman self-proclaimed that he was a strong person, and this kind of disease was nothing to him.


    Yana could only force a smile to her brother''s act. She knew that he was forcing himself too much, and right now he was acting fine. She could even feel his deep breathing at the moment, and his messy hair was even messy and clearly wet from his sweat. He''s exhausted no matter how she looks at him.


    Certainly, Yman was not a good actor in front of his sister.


    If only she could stand on her own. If only, she could help even with the house chores, she could help to lighten up some of his burden that he was lifting through his thin shoulders.


    However, here she was, limped lying on the bed. Could only sit but could not walk. She doesn''t like this, being an addition to his heavy loads that he carried on by himself.


    She really doesn''t care if her brother was the weakest person in the world, as long as he''s fine and away from danger.


    Yman noticed that Yana had a solemn face, and at the corner of her eyes, started to wet. He then moved beside her and gently touched her head while forcing the sweetest smile a big brother can muster.


    "Sorry, I made you worry again. Don''t worry your big brother will be more careful next time." He said with a gentle smile and gently wiped her eyes that started to get wet and red.


    Yana also smiled from her brother''s words: "Mhm." And she nodded her head. Then entangled her arms on Yman''s thin waist.


    Yman knew what his sister was thinking. That she felt like she was a load on his shoulder, which is not true. He was very happy to see her again, after many years that they had separated. Every day he was praying to reunite with her. Because of her, he was able to stay alive from that torturous hell-like place.


    And because of her, he did not lose his sanity and remained sane even after that horrendous past of him.


    Yman gently brushed Yana''s hair with his hand. His hand slides on his sister''s long silky brown hair.


    A moment later, she asked about Sistela when it came to her mind. Yman explained truthfully, he said that Sistela was in hibernation mode at the moment. Then he handed to her the soundless sleeping ball-shaped deity. Every 2 seconds, blue flashes of lightning occasionally trailed in the imprint that could be seen around its body. Indicating that it was charging at the moment.


    The next morning,


    Yman woke up early per usual, he needed to attend the physical training which is held at 4 AM - 8 AM early in the morning.


    But this time, Yman was not in his top condition. His stamina did not regain fully. He had to suffer being woken up and had to run to the toilet several times last night.


    He didn''t even have a good sleep last night. And now his eyes have black circles surrounded around it.


    Sistela was left in the hotel to take care of his sister. There is no need to bring her to the training grounds.


    After he finished changing his uniform into a training suit, he directly went into the training grounds where he saw Bob and his deity doing some stretching in front of one of the punching dummies.


    Near it is a shooting area, where every trainee can practice their shooting skills.


    He even saw some trainees using magic-based guns and some using bows and crossbows while shooting at a distance of 30 - 50 meters, each one of them was busy trying to hit the bullseye target inside the flat wooden cardboard.


    Yman noticed from Bob''s face that something good happened to him. He guessed that he successfully advanced into level 3.


    When Bob saw him, he immediately lifted his hand in the air and called out to Yman excitedly.


    "Yman bro!"


    His voice was so loud that even the other trainees around had to take a glance at him. When they noticed the most hated person, they scoffed at Yman.


    Yman disregarded them and walked towards Bob''s direction.


    He also noticed Chloe together with her deity Jazz sitting on a bench near the shooting area, she was talking with the other girls from their class. Looks like she made some friends already. But for some reason, she was having a red face and was trying to shake his head and hands in between her and the other girls.


    It was easy to guess what their topic was. He used to read some romance novels inside the facility. It was his way to divert himself away from the thought of suicide.


    Yman was thinking that they might be having some girl talks. It''s not uncommon with girls of such age to have such conversations.


    He wondered if Yana was not ill, would she also have an interest towards a person of the opposite gender? After all, his sister was a cute and beautiful girl also.


    Yman immediately disregarded the thought and chose to forget it without a second thought.


    He believed that Chloe just finished her shooting practice. A magic-based pistol with blue color was hanging on her waist, inside its holster.


    When Yman finally neared Bob, his guess was proven right. Bob had successfully advanced to level 3. And right now, all his attributes had increased a lot and so his mana. However, his strength and vitality had greater growth than his other attributes. This is normal for someone like Bob who had a physically fit body, and most of his activity before the advancement was based on strength and endurance.


    He could only envy this guy. His physically fit body, had now glimmering, this is one of the effects after a successful advancement of a magician.


    On the other hand, Yman''s CE is almost at the peak. Probably, he believes that after the training it would reach the peak. So he was excited also for his coming breakthrough.


    When Yman checked his mission tab after he woke up, he noticed that killing the Noble Rat was not counted in the list of total Evil Rat killed. Maybe because it was an evolved form, and since his mission was the Evil Rat, so killing monsters other than that would not be counted.


    Yet a question from Bob stunned him: "Yman bro, what happened to you? You look like -- you are dying!"


    "Wha �� ?"


    |What an insensitive person!| Yman screamed inwardly. However, Yman knew that Bob didn''t mean bad for what he just said.


    He knew that Bob is the type of person who''s not concerned about his choice of words. But mostly he did not mean ill with his words.


    After noticing the stunned face of his friend: "Ah - aaaah, I - I didn''t mean for you t-to die bro. I - I''m just kinda..." Bob hastily explained with a stammering voice after he noticed that his words might sound rude to Yman.


    "Haha. No, don''t mind it, Bob. The truth is, I met with an unexpected bad luck yesterday while mapping the area of my mission." Yman said with a can''t be helped gesture.


    "Hah, I - Is that so? Then how''s your progress?" Bob sighed in relief when he felt Yman was not angry with his remarks. He really was trying to change his way of talking but sometimes it would come out unexpectedly from his mouth. Especially when he felt excited or tense.


    Yman sighed and said: "Not bad, I guess. Although I killed one in difficulty."


    Bob forced a dry smile. He knew how Yman had zero mana. And had to rely on his channeling talent. In any case, what is a channeling talent? Even Bob has no idea what this talent can do.


    Not only him. Even Yman himself was not quite familiar with it. Because the logic behind it was whenever he used it, his stamina would be consumed.


    In these thoughts, he assumed that he was channeling his stamina as a substitute for his mana.


    Regardless, after their small talk, and before their 20 kilometers run started, Yman excused himself first and went into the shooting platform. He really wanted to increase his accuracy.


    He saw some magic-based training guns, bows, bowgun, throwing weapons, and etcetera lined accordingly on a long table in front of the shooting platform.


    Yman did not decide long as he picked the bow. He checked on it. It was a normal wooden bow bind with a garter on its handle for a stable gripping.


    He took a quiver of arrows next and positioned himself in front of the shooting platform. He adjusted the target at 10 meters distance only since he was not proficient enough as a range magician.


    When everything was set. He readied himself and inhaled then exhaled three times. He focused himself, getting rid of all the surrounding noise coming from around him. His eyes were dead set on the tip of the arrow towards the bullseye.


    After relaxing his hands and the tip of the arrow well aligned on the bullseye, his hand released the grip on the arrow''s tail.


    The arrow travels the space between him and the bullseye in just an instant. And landed a few centimeters at the top right corner of the center.


    Yman sighed. He needed more practice.

 Chapter 52：Passed out again...

    After the first arrow, he followed up by another one then another and so on until his quiver was emptied. Yet, not even once that his arrows landed on the bullseye.


    Yman finally gave up hitting the wooden cardboard when the last arrow landed farther off from the bullseye.


    He used his arm to wipe the sweat on his forehead. He already expected such result. Not far from him, some trainees were snorting.


    "Puffft, what that idiot trying to make a fool of himself?" A rich looking guy wearing a training suit like the others asked the other trainee beside him.


    His deity beside him replied.


    "I heard that guy is a mana-less person." A rich looking girl said.


    "A no mana person? Then why is that guy allowed to enroll in this academy?" Asked the rich-looking man.


    "I heard he has a weird talent that enables him to use magic even though he has no mana." Said the second girl with them.


    "What? A talent that enables him to cast magic without mana? What bullshit is that? Uhm... wait, do you mean mana channeling?" Said the rich-looking guy.


    Said the deity beside him.


    "It is a crap ability though!" Said another man with 2 earrings on both ears.


    "Right?!" Agreed with the girl with purple long hair.


    "I told you he is crap. In any case, don''t get bothered by him. That guy is a waste!" Said the rich looking girl.


    "I''m sure he came into the academy to brag himself as a full-fledged magician." The rich-looking guy added.


    "Hahaha. What a joke person." Said the girl with purple long hair.


    "It''s better not to waste our time talking about him. He was so gross. Look how unhealthy he looks! He looks like someone who had no money to buy decent food." A rich looking girl said.


    "Yeah, hahaha!" Laughed the guy with 2 earrings on both ears.


    "Let''s go, sweetie!" Said the man with them.


    Yman briefly glanced at his back and saw the leaving figures of some trainee, two boys, and 2 girls together with their deities.


    He wondered if he did something bad to them. Although they didn''t mention a name, he knew they were talking about him. Their voices were slightly loud.


    Regardless, who are they? Yman didn''t even know them. Looks like his being infamous reached a different height that even some random group of people would take notice of him.


    Well, they were already gone, so Yman decided to leave the firing platform too and went back to where Bob is, who was busy punching the punching dummies. Beside him was his deity named Mac. Mac was imitating what Bob is doing and also threw punches on one of the punching dummies beside his owner.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    The consecutive one-two combination of left and right punches that shook the training dummies. When Bob noticed him, he stopped and asked: "You''re done with your training, bro?"


    "Yeah," Yman nodded.


    Bob asked him: "How is it?"


    "Ahaha, not quite good. I needed more training but I guessed I would do it next time..." Yman replied while scratching his face then pointed out a direction towards them using his head.


    Bob glanced at where he pointed. They saw the other trainees together with the instructors. Those trainees were the chosen Elites. They also noticed Keremi waving his hand at the two.


    "It''s Keremi," Bob muttered.


    Yman sighed but soon he frowned and wondered why the Elites came together with the instructors.


    They also saw the beautiful girl Almina Amulet and the blonde. Both of them were wearing their fitted black training suits.


    The other trainees started whispering how cute, how pretty, or how handsome they are. Looks like those Elites had become academy idols for some reason.


    There was even a group of trainees quarreling about who was more pretty, Almina, the blonde, or the Encan girl.


    The other male trainee on the training ground suddenly liven-up seeing those two goddesses coming. Not only them, but there was also another beauty. There were the beautiful Encan lady and a cute loli, even Kesha was of top-notched beauty also. So seeing these groups of people really liven the atmosphere of the training grounds.


    Yman was not aware, while he was staring at the coming people, Almina''s eyes darted to his direction with a rosy-colored face.


    She remembered her message to him yesterday. Now she was shy to stare in his eyes. As of the moment, she could not focus on her mind. She wondered if she made an excuse that the message he received was a wrong sent. Yet deep inside something in her wanted to protest that it was not.


    Almina''s mind was in a mess. What if Yman asked her about the message? What will be her reply? For some reason, she was not ready and she was shy.


    Her face was becoming redder every second.


    "Best friend, are you okay?" Now, even Kesha who was beside her noticed her redness.


    "Ha?! A-A-Ah y-yes! Of c-course!" Almina replied in difficulty and was shaking her hands in front of her and Kesha. Kesha frowned. It was clear that her best friend wasn''t okay. And it looks like something was bugging her.


    Nevertheless, Yman was unaware of it, and he already forgot about the message. His mind was focused on what he would do with the Magic Cryst that he looted from the Noble rat. He could sell it or use it.


    "Formation!" Shouted by Mr. Goki. Whenever the HI Stone De Guzman was not here, Instructor Goki would take his place.


    All the trainees immediately ran to their respective position per usual and lined in rows. Not the sun-rays formation but the regular rows and columns formation.


    Like usual, Yman was at the back of Bob and Keremi was behind him.


    "Before we proceed in our training, there is an announcement coming from the Elites. So all of you listen up!" After instructor Goki said this, he beckoned on Almina Amulet and the other members of Elites.


    Almina and the others walked to the front.


    "Hey, why are you still here? Your group went to the front though." Yman asked Keremi when he noticed that only him didn''t go to the front.


    "Ahaha, there''s no need for me to go there, my prince," Keremi replied.


    Yman wondered what''s up with these people, will they go to perform a dance or sing in front?


    Needless to say, this Keremi still calls him my prince, my prince... Which was very inappropriate for him.


    He already tried to put a stop on it but this guy still kept on calling him like this. What a weird dude, he thought.


    After Almina and the others went in front, they immediately announced their purpose.


    "What? A party?!" Bob exclaimed in surprise.


    "Yes, that''s what the Elder told us in the meeting yesterday." Keremi approved.


    "Hmm... A party of trainees to explore a wider hunting grounds?" Yman also muttered.


    "Yes, my prince," Keremi nodded.


    "And what is this Resource War mentioned by the Elites?" Yman asked.


    "I don''t really get it. The elder only said that it is one of the competition mechanism where trainees from different academies fight in a team battle. And at the end of the battle, each team will be ranked accordingly depending on whoever had the highest accumulated resources." Keremi explained what he understood.


    |Hmm... what a vague explanation.| Yman thought.


    The other trainees seemed to be excited after hearing that they could get a chance to join a party with Elites.


    "Whooo, I wanted to join Miss Almina''s party!" A guy trainee shouted.


    "Please Miss Blonde, my love invites me to your party!" Some un-shameful guy with thick-skinned shouted.


    "Miss Rui-Rui chose me, I offer my life to become your servant!" Another shameful bastard shouted and offered his life to the beautiful Encan girl.


    "Loli is life!"


    "Must protect!"


    "Loli is life!"


    "Must protect!"


    "Loli is life!"


    "Must protect..." Some chanted the words repeatedly.


    Yman wondered if loli was an endangered species. But when he noticed Bob screaming ''Must proteeeect!'', |For real?!| He shouted in his mind.


    "Ahahaha..." Keremi just laughed. Looks like the loli girl had many fans.


    Some girls also scream the Elite boy''s name.


    Yman finally understood why Keremi had chosen not to go in front together with the Elites.


    Before the trainees lost their control, the Instructor Goki immediately announces that the recruitment and building of parties would be held tomorrow morning in an open forum event for the trainees.


    When the heat finally calmed down. The training immediately resumed. Yman had to suffer again from passing out several times.


    The other instructors could only shake their heads at him. However, Instructor Goki was secretly cheering on him.


    But from a distance. A girl was snorting, "Tsk, that guy is literally a waste. I wonder why he kept on staying in the academy. Even though the academy doesn''t need him." Kesha muttered.


    The blonde girl just rolled her eyes and thought that Yman was struggling for nothing.


    "Look, that guy, he passed out again. He really was the weakest in the academy." Some girls pointed out.


    Regardless, his vision had started to dim. Not only was he physically weak, but at the moment his stamina was also very low. He needed more rest to regain it. Although, he passed out again. But Yman felt that his CE already hit the peak. He was excited somehow.


    But right now, he had to succumb in the face of exhaustion, and slowly closed his eyes.


    Keremi and Bob immediately ran to his side and took him into the medical tent.


    After laying him down. The two left the tent and continued their training. Yet, after the two left, a girl sneak-in inside.

 Chapter 53：Unreasonable

    "Ssshhh, lower your voice, Mr. Cal. We are going for a rescue mission." Said Almina as she sneak-in inside the medical tent where Yman was currently laying.


    "!!" Mr. Cal was puzzled. He wondered who was in need of rescue here.


    Cal mumbled. He added while shaking his metallic tiny head, and lifted his robotic hands at both sides.


    Noticing that there''s no other person inside, she breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ran to the side of the resting person.


    Almina stared at his sleeping face. She could not believe that she had the chance to stare at him this close.


    In her mind, she thought that he was so tired just looking at how messed-up he looks at the moment. His breathing was deep and his eyes seemed like he had a lack of sleep. Almina felt something poking her heart seeing how tired he looked. She wanted to help him.


    Almina was unaware that at the moment, her face was burning in red. But while looking at his resting face, she couldn''t avert her eyes anymore, until her face slowly moved on its own towards the sleeping face of Yman. Her throat made a slight movement when she gulped and cleared something in it.


    She felt like some invisible magnetic force was pulling her face towards him, and was inside a separate world where no one inside except the two of them. His words that day are still fresh in her memories.


    The scene of that certain day had automatically replayed in her memory, their first encounter.


    Five-years-old Almina was sitting on her usual seat in the park. Being the daughter of the famous Amulet family, she was treated like a princess. Ten maids would follow her wherever she goes. Only at school that she could find herself breathing away from her maids.


    Yet even in school, she was always surrounded by friends. There''s really no space for her to be alone.


    However, on that specific day, as usual, together with her friends, they went to the park to play. Almina lost track of time, and the sun started to set. Her friends started to say goodbye and left one after another. When Almina finally left alone, she noticed that the surrounding was already dark. And now she was alone inside the park. When she checked the time on a watch inside her shoulder bag, it was written 6:10 pm.


    At a young age, she was always afraid of the dark. Almina was so afraid to move; therefore, she remained in her position while sobbing.


    A moment later, she heard an eerie growling sound from behind her.


    Almina slowly glanced behind, but what greeted her was two red eyes, dripping in sticky saliva razor-sharp fangs. And a smell of rotting flesh and blood.


    "H-Hybrid Mad Do ��" after muttering such words she lost her consciousness in too much fear.


    What follows next, she was awakened by the sensation of something touching her lips. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a pair of shocked wide eyes of a young boy while his lips were on top of her.


    Almina blinks twice. The boy immediately separated himself and told her... that he was trying to wake her up because it was almost dark but no matter what he did she was not waking up, hearing it, Almina immediately glanced around and noticed that the surrounding was still not dark.


    She checked the time on a watch inside her shoulder bag, it was still four pm and 10 minutes.


    Almina did not know if to get angry by the stolen kiss or felt relieved about it.


    "I''m sorry for the kiss, I just no way of waking you, and I remember a scene in the old book I happened to read from before. It was about a prince and a sleeping beauty. In order for the prince to wake up the sleeping beauty, the prince kisses her and so the sleeping beauty finally wakes up... and that''s why I tried it on you. Guess it was effective..."


    For some reason, the boy started telling her about an old tale from a storybook.


    Almina chuckled, she wanted to get angry but she also felt relieved that he woke her up. "My name is Almina Amulet, how about you?" She reached a hand to him.


    Seeing the girl not angry for his rude behavior, the boy cracked a smile and reached her hand, "I''m Yman �� Yman Talisman."


    After that the two of them become friends. The next days, they went into adventures of rescuing some high breed little animals and other cute pets. They always play after school.


    But suddenly, Yman just left and went away one day. And Almina could not find him again. She also was recruited at the Elite school when her Hollow Cell symptoms awakened early.


    And when the academy evaluation started, she checked in the website the list of names of the trainees who participated in the evaluation exam. And finally, saw his name on the list. She immediately downloaded his photo and pasted it in her room so that she won''t forget.


    When she saw his face, she could not believe it at first. He looks so thin, very far from the chubby face kid that she used to play with. But anyhow, those eyes that greeted her that time when she woke up from the sensation on her lips, was the same eyes he had that time. Yet, there was a tinge of hardship in it.


    Her pinkish lips almost landed on his when she heard some noise coming from the outside. Almina jerked back like she just awakened.


    Almina took something from her Cyber Storage, it was a vial with yellow colored liquid inside. She then tucked it inside Yman''s mouth.


    When the bottle was emptied, she immediately ran towards the entrance.


    Right at this moment, Yman opened his eyes and noticed a leaving back of a girl and a deity. But he couldn''t tell who were they since his vision was blurred.


    Cal was having a puzzled face. He wondered why this girl had to leave like that. Why not pretend to be a medic though?


    Cal thought once again as he followed his owner.

 Chapter 54：Dormant state

    Yman pushed his body to get up. Weirdly, he felt like his stamina had fully recovered already.


    He clenched his hands repeatedly and figured out that his stamina had fully regained truly. He was about to stand when his eyes landed on an empty vial laying on the ground. He picked and smelled it.


    "This is...!" He muttered with wide eyes and he frowned in puzzlement. The smell on it was familiar to him.


    |What is a stamina potion doing here? And who was that person who just left now?| Yman had some questions in his mind. He could also taste the smell of potion at the tip of his lips and tongue.


    He then glanced around and noticed that he was inside a medical tent. Looks like he was carried here after he passed out again.


    He believed that it was Keremi and Bob that carried him here. Like always.


    He could not return to the training grounds. Although his stamina went back fully, the accumulated fatigue still exhausted him.


    And he needed more rest. He felt hungry also. All the food he ate yesterday was donated to the toilet last night. And now his stomach started to rebel.


    Yman took a mobile device and contacted Sistela to give him permission to access the Cyber Storage. Magicians who were not with their deity could access their Cyber Screen after getting their deity''s permission.


    Although Yman had his own Cyber Screen, he needed to used his Black Mana first. And it''s not easy to activate it.


    After getting permission, he quickly took his lunch box from inside the Cyber Storage and gnawed his lunch ahead of time.


    Someone entered the room right after he finished eating his lunch.


    "Miss Pai?" Yman was surprised to see Ms. Pai enter the tent.


    Ms. Pai also had a surprised face, "Oh, I thought you passed out, but seeing you now with a grin of food on your face, I bet you faked out losing your consciousness. So that you can have your time eating your lunch in advance. Hehe," Ms. Pai giggled.


    Yman suddenly wiped his face with his hand, "No it wasn''t like that, regardless, did you see someone came out from here?" Yman denied shyly and asked when he remembered the leaving figures of a girl and a deity a while ago.


    "No, I didn''t, why? Did someone come here?" Miss Pai asked curiously.


    "Hmm... yeah, but I only saw their leaving back. I could not tell who it was since my vision was blurred at that time." Yman explained.


    Ms. Pai narrowed her eyes, "Hm, did that person do something to you? Did you feel something unusual right now?" Ms. Pai fired consecutive questions.


    "No, it''s not like that. Here..." Yman denied and handed the empty vial to her.


    Ms. Pai took it and smelled it.


    "A potion?!" She muttered.


    "Stamina Potion to be specific," Yman replied.


    "This type of potion is expensive." Ms. Pai thought that that person who just came here might have fed this to the resting Yman without him knowing.


    "It''s weird that someone had the heart to feed such an expensive potion to you. You must feel gratified."


    Ms. Pai said while handing back the empty bottle. But Yman declined it and said, "Can you check if there are some foreign substances mixed on it?"


    "Ok, but you must come with me." Ms. Pai replied and urged him to come with her.


    "Eh, is something wrong?" He asked.


    "There''s someone that I want you to meet." Miss Pai replied.


    "Hmm..." Yman didn''t answer right away and checked the time first inside his Cyber Screen.


    Seven hours and twenty minutes in the morning was shown on it, "Okay!" He nodded.


    He followed Ms. Pai. The two of them walked in the hallway and stopped in front of the door of one of the rooms inside the outer layer building.


    When they stepped inside, Yman''s eyes were greeted by a row of apparatuses. Monitor screens of different sizes could be seen around. And he noticed a door, towards a room where he could see through a glass window. And inside that room was a stale bed. A woman of about 20 years old and in white clothing was sitting in a swivel chair in front of a big monitor screen.


    Yman suddenly felt a bad premonition after seeing the inside. He froze where he stood and wore a sour face.


    Ms. Pai felt Yman''s change in the face. She was taken aback when she saw his grim expression on the face.


    "Y-Yman, c-calm down." She did not expect him to have such a reaction after seeing the room.


    "Ms. Pai, what is the meaning of this?!" Yman bellowed.


    Yman could not believe that Ms. Pai would sell him to those people.


    "It''s not what you think, please calm down Yman. Besides, we are inside the academy," Ms. Pai tried to calm him down.


    He bit his lips until it bled.


    "Yman listen to me..." Ms. Pai approached him and slowly reached him. But he subconsciously stepped back with an afraid look on his face.


    "Yman looks at me, Listen to me!" Miss Pai forced him to look at her.


    He stared at her eyes and noticed that they were the same eyes from that day when she helped him escape from that hell-like place. And what she just said was sensible. That they are inside the academy.


    However, he could not get rid of the feeling that started to creep out once again from within.


    "L-Look, I''m sorry for not telling you ahead of time. I - l thought, you''ve already gotten rid of your trauma from that place," She added in her trembling voice as she slowly embraced him.


    Yman was standing still. Letting himself be embraced. He could even feel her slightly trembling body, and her breasts poking on his chest. Yet, for him, she was like an older sister to him and Yana. A moment of silence before he finally let a sigh escaped from his mouth, after he calmed down himself he said to her, "Sorry, for my sudden outburst," Yman whispered his sorry shyly.


    "Ahem!" When would the two of you stop flirting in my lab?


    "!!"


    "?"


    The two of them got startled, by a sudden question from someone. Ms. Pai immediately released him.


    Yman glanced ahead and noticed the woman who was sitting on the swivel chair just a moment ago.


    Now she was standing in cross-arms while leaning her shoulder on the door of the room that was separated by a glass window.


    "W-W-What do you mean flirting, Elona?!" Ms. Pai stammered her voice.


    Yman was stunned. This was the first time he saw her like this. He always saw her as stoic, calm, dignified, and a woman of good virtue. But right now she looks awkward, but he finds it cute though. Very different from her usual self.


    Miss Pai immediately introduces the two of them.


    Yman learned that Ms. Elona was Ms. Pai''s cousin. And they even had the same last name. Looks like their fathers were brothers.


    The two of them are both physicists. But Ms. Pai quit after he helped him escape that time. And now she works as an adviser at this academy.


    "So this is the kid that you are very interested in, huh," Elona said while walking in a circle around him, like sizing-up him. Yman was standing stiff.


    "W-What do you mean interested, Elona? Yman is just my student." Ms. Pai said with a red face. "In any case, stop walking in circles around him and do your work!" Ms. Pai roared.


    Elona was older than her for 1 year. But the two of them were as close as real sisters. "Ehehe," Elona snickered at Ms. Pai''s reaction.


    "What''s the rush, Pai. Although this kid was not so handsome, he''s not ugly as well. He''s thin yet cute. But don''t worry I won''t steal him from you, ehehe." Elona cracked a joke and chuckled once again.


    Yman noticed that Ms. Pai had become redder every passing second. He really didn''t know why. His first impression of Ms. Elona was someone who likes teasing other people.


    "Ms. Pai, what is the reason for me coming here?" He asked. Actually, he just wanted to change the topic.


    "Ha?" Ms. Pai startled by his sudden question as she gawked. "Ah, that, yeah, Uhm, erm... I mean... I asked Elona to help you and have an in-deep inspection of your Hollow Cell. Hah!" She said in a laggy voice and breathed a sigh at the end of her words while pressing her chest with her hand.


    "In-deep inspection to my Hollow Cell..." Yman repeated.


    A moment later, Yman was now laying on the steel bed, connected by some apparatus. He was nervous though. Since it was like this when he was being experimented in that facility. Four big chords were connected to the crown on his head towards the device that was seemingly an amplifier.


    The steel bed was slightly bent upward like he was sitting on it. And beyond him, Ms. Elona and Ms. Pai were staring at the large monitor in front.


    Suddenly, the monitor lightened up and a display that separated the monitor screen into two areas was being displayed on the monitor.


    "Yman, what can you see inside the monitor?" Suddenly asked by Ms. Elona.


    Yman narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, "On the left side, it is like a snake that is spiraling away from its hole. And on the right side... on the right side, why there''s no movement on it?" Yman was puzzled on the right side of the monitor.


    "Hehe, on the left side, that is the normal reaction of the Hollow Cell inside a magician while distributing mana to every part of the body. And on the right side ��- that is your Hollow Cell... in a dormant state." Explained by Elona.


    "Dormant ��- state?" Yman repeated with a frowned.

 Chapter 55：Elder Nitan and Magic Understanding

    What Yman saw inside the monitor screen was the description of Hollow Cells while it exuded mana to a person''s body.


    His Hollow cell somehow was in a dormant state, or inactive.


    Elona had a face of disbelief. This was the first time that she saw a Hollow Cell in such a state. Mostly, Hollow Cell was a very active cell. It was also the reason why many people in the former era died before the experts discovered the mystery behind the cause.


    Many thought it was a pandemic, but no, it was because of this foreign cell that invaded a person''s body. There was once a rumor at that time, that the Hollow Cell was an uncontrollable cell and it had the tendency to transfer into another host after its former host died. But this rumor wasn''t proven.


    That might also be the reason why many experts that time wrongly accused this cell as a new type of volatile virus. Which is very destructive to the other cells inside a person''s body.


    "Ms. Elona, is there a way to awaken my Hollow Cell?" Yman asked in a somewhat curious and solemn voice.


    Actually, if his Hollow Cell would become active like a normal Hollow Cell was, there''s a high tendency that he can control his Black Mana freely without going through such a hurdle of its side effects.


    Also no need for preparation such as emptying his stamina that gives Yman too much headache just to activate his Black Mana.


    Elona glanced at him and sighed in defeat. "Sorry, Kiddo. As of now, I don''t know, this is the first time that I witnessed such a case where a Hollow Cell was in such a state." Elona honestly answered him while staring at the screen with knitted brows.


    Yman fell into silence. Maybe there''s no way for him to awaken his Hollow Cell normally.


    He was contemplating.


    Suddenly, a tug was felt on his shoulder. Yman didn''t glance at it but he knew that the owner of the hand was Ms. Pai.


    "Don''t feel down. Just relax. I''m sure we can find a way to awaken it." She said with a smile, concerned at him.


    "But ��" Yman stopped his words when Ms. Pai again tugged him twice on his shoulder. Then she said, "No buts. For now, do your best in training."


    He glanced at her and noticed her eyes full of determination. Yman felt embarrassed. Although he was the one who needed such determination.


    Actually, he was afraid that his Black Mana was discovered. Not even Ms. Pai knew. As of now, only he knew about it. What Ms. Pai knew was only at the level of him being a product of the facility. But never did anyone know that he could use this weird mana.


    Even Yman himself only discovered this ability by coincidence.


    Regardless, he was not too worried that his Hollow Cell was in a dormant state. As long as he could manipulate mana through his channeling talent.


    Seemed like a bulb light on his head when he realized something. "Ms. Elona, do you know about Channeling ability?"


    "Channeling?" Elona repeated with a frown.


    "Yes, Channeling!" Yman confirmed.


    "Actually, I heard some information about it. Channeling ability is also in line with understanding nature which we physicists also do. But I don''t have much deep understanding about Channeling ability..." she turned her head and glanced at him.


    Yman sighed. |Looks like no one knew about it, huh.| He thought.


    Yet, he heard her continue saying, "However..."


    He glanced at her and waited for the continuation of her words.


    "...I saw a book once in the library about this Channeling ability." She added.


    His face brightened after hearing it, "A book?" He repeated.


    After Yman left the lab, he checked the time and figured out that it was the right time for phase 2 of training which is about magic.


    Today, it was Elder Nitan''s turn to lecture them about the Magic Understanding and Simulation test.


    Yman thought that this must be a fruitful lecture. He decided to go back to the training ground first and would check the book later. After all the library was just there, it won''t run away from him. Most important was to learn about magic. And he thought that he would learn something new in the lecture.


    Before Yman arrived at the spacious training grounds of the academy, all the trainees were already in a sun-ray formation while sitting on the ground with their butts. In this formation, the trainees were surrounding the circle podium where the elder was giving his/her lectures while using a magic tool known as an enhanced microphone.


    This enhanced microphone was very different from a conventional one. With the enhanced microphone, the elder seemed-like he was talking to them face to face even if he was speaking in a low volume while on the stage.


    This is the first day that Elder Nitan would give his lecture.


    "Ahem. No need to introduce myself and yours because I already did introduce myself on the first day.


    ''MAGIC.''


    What is magic? Where does it come from? How does it affect us?


    ''MAGIC.''


    Such words are not uncommon to us. With magic, our daily life was much easier than from the lost era. Using magic, we can cook food without the use of stove gasses, when we are far from home. Create water to quench our thirst. Or make a breeze when we feel hot.


    With magic, we can do many things a lot easier. But magic �� is like an addictive drug that slowly kills our striving essence. Especially for youth like you. At your age, it is easy to drown in a more easy lifestyle. Youths are lazy! And it was easy to lose their paths.


    Before the age of modernization, people at that time were very industrious. They walked miles, to reach their destination. They trained their body arduously.


    When the automobile was invented, it slowly killed the hard-working spirits of the youths at that time. They started to become lazy, especially those youths who love to show off their riches to their friends and to not.


    But when the internet was invented, that''s when the worst era in human civilization was recorded. Lazy people were doubled, dirty-minded people were multiplied. Crime marched to the pinnacle.


    That''s how the economic rise affects the mindset of people..."


    [In that case, don''t use the enhanced microphone and shout with your old lungs you Oldman!!!] The trainee''s thoughts. But no one was brave enough to voice out such a thought.


    The elder continued his lectures.


    "When the world''s destruction happened. Maybe just maybe, it was God''s will to end that era to start anew.


    Now, in this new era of magic and technology, if not because of the incessant danger coming from the mutated beasts. This era might be the worst. Thanks to the implementation of the academies, magicians like yourselves had the means to do meaningful things..."


    All the trainees were dead silent as of the moment while listening to Elder Nitan''s words.


    However...


    Right at this moment, Yman was casually walking towards his position, at the back of Bob.


    "Well, well, well, and we have a late comer...a VIP? Mr. Coolman?"


    "!!" Yman suddenly froze and noticed that everyone was staring at him.


    |Wtf?!| He thought.


    Looks like Ms. Pai did not excuse him when she brought him into the lab of Ms. Elona. Maybe she did not expect them to get longer in the lab. Well, they were discussing his Hollow Cell, and it eats too much of time.


    Now Yman found himself in an awkward situation.

 Chapter 56：To whom her smile

    He was caught by Elder Nitan since he was the only person who was standing at the moment.


    Yman scratched the back of his head and thought of how unlucky he was.


    "Come here, Mr. Coolman." The Elder beckoned on him while gesturing with his hand for Yman to come closer to him.


    He glanced around and noticed Bob and Keremi saying, "Goodluck, Yman bro," said Bob in a low volume, seemingly whispering him from the distant, and Keremi in his usual closed-eyes state signaled, "Goodluck, My Prince," while using his hand to cover the side of his mouth and gestured a whisper.


    It was the biggest mystery for him how Keremi was able to see his surroundings in such a state. May be placed at 6th in the top Five Greatest Unsolved Mystery on earth in the current era.


    Regardless, |I''m so dead.| He thought to himself as he deliberately changed his destination towards the podium on which the elder was standing. Bob and Keremi forced a dry laugh while cheering him inwardly.


    Bees-like murmurs struck once again. Honestly, he already knew of how infamous he was, in the eyes of the others; therefore, he accepted their murmurs from one ear and let it through to the other side.


    5 steps closer before Yman arrived at the podium when suddenly, "Elder, Sir!" a call from someone that came from the trainees was heard by everyone around and caused to minimize the rising murmurs immediately. All the trainees simultaneously glanced at the source of the voice, Yman did too.


    He glanced at his left side located in the 3rd row from where he was currently standing. She was the 7th trainee lined in that row. And she was raising her hand in the air to grab the Elder''s attention.


    |Almina?| Yman muttered her name in his mind when he saw her. Also wondering why she called the elder.


    "Hmm... who might it be...?" The elder muttered as he adjusted his eyeglasses. After adjusting the eyeglasses comfortable to him, "Oh, the young miss from the Amulet family. Do you want to ask something?" Elder Nitan said in a mellowed voice.


    Almina immediately stood up which caused the inconsistent noises coming from around to die for good and all eyes were caught by her, "Elder Sir. Uhm... h-he was late, b-because he p-passed out a while ago." She said shyly and darted her eyes to Yman who was now a few steps away from the podium.


    Almina was stunned for a moment when their eyes met. At that moment, a few hundred fireflies were dancing in her eyes.


    A smile subconsciously happened on her face.


    Yman gawked and abruptly glanced behind him. He could not believe such a smile was directed to him.


    It''s not like he was thinking of courting her. He just wanted to be sure if that smile was for him or not.


    Right when Yman glanced behind him, his face contorted into a cold gaze.


    |Dang, how could it be... Why did he recover so fast?!| He mused for a moment, couldn''t believe what his eyes were seeing from behind him.


    Kiko was walking towards the podium as nothing bad happened to him.


    Yman was wondering how this person recovered so fast.


    Just like before, Yman was currently situated in the middle of Almina and this guy.


    Yman thought that he was right, after all, that smile was not for him. Good thing he glanced behind him. He would probably bury himself in embarrassment if he went ahead and smiled at her too.


    That smile of Almina was for that guy. Looks like the rumor was true. Because Almina smiled the sweetest smile whenever she saw this guy. And he remembered her having a solemn face in front of the bonfire that night after they fought the Mustang Spider.


    Kiko was badly hurt at that time because of an accident. Well, that''s what everyone believed, however, the truth was, it wasn''t because of an accident. Yman did it to him.


    Kiko tried to hurt him first, and he just fought back. So Yman had no feeling of conscience about what happened to Kiko.


    However, he did not expect this guy to recover so fast as nothing happened to him in the first place.


    Yman guessed that Kiko used some expensive medicine to quickly heal and recover himself in just 2 - 3 days.


    He was wary that his peaceful days will start to turn upside down.


    If a situation occurred where he had no way to escape and his only way out was to engage him in a head-on encounter, he will probably retaliate even at the expense of his secret being revealed.


    Kiko was approaching his direction but his eyes directed far behind him. He was walking with a smile on his face. Like some main character in a book, exuding with handsomeness and overbearing aura.


    The trainees once again started murmuring but this time not about Yman. It is about Kiko. Some shrills of excitement escape from the mouths of some lovestruck girls who admired the shit out of Kiko.


    Only those trainees that are natives in this world are wearing the face of ''Who is this guy? Is he someone popular?'' They were puzzled by the sudden gossips around them.


    The Encan girl just glanced once at Kiko, seemingly curious at him. The Encan race was known for its beauty and elegance. So seeing a handsome male was a natural thing for them. The Blonde glanced as well, but sooner, her eyes darted to Almina with knitted brows. No one knows what she was thinking at the moment.


    The elder forgot to reply to Almina, as he also was looking at the approaching young man.


    "Are you the one who the instructors talking about?" Elder Nitan suddenly asked Kiko.


    Kiko passed by in front of the wary Yman and stopped beside him, then he turned around to face the Elder. His body bent into a bow while his hand on his chest. "Yes, Elder. My name is Kiko of Sun family." Kiko answered in the most respectful voice.


    The Sun family was one of the strongest families in the Middle Region of the Outerworld.


    "In that case, welcome to the lecture, good that you recovered already. I heard many things about you from the instructors. Looks like they were expecting great things from you. We hope that you bring this academy into the highest podium and achieve great results in the upcoming challenges." Said the elder, sounding like full of expectations to the person he was conversing with.


    "Of course, Elder Nitan, Sir, I will do my best with all my strength. And face whatever challenge that coming into my way. Then overcome them all in my power, together with the whole academy."


    Yman had question marks floating on his head at the moment. Wondering what happened to this person suddenly sounded so heroic. And why did it sound like he was representing the whole academy? How could their conversation suddenly turn in this way?


    Regardless, there are many other strong trainees around, but why is this elder so hyped about Kiko?


    Yet no matter how Yman thought, he could not come up with answers. He really was puzzled by this development.


    Noticing the changes in Kiko''s demeanor, he guessed that this person was being rained by praises from the instructors and maybe by teachers also. And now it went to his head, resulting in this new version of himself.


    He just hoped that this change of Kiko also changed the way he treats him, and stopped bothering him from now on.


    Kiko secretly glanced at Almina. But Almina was looking to the elder. What she said just a while ago seemed like it was already lost from the elder''s mind.

 Chapter 57：How mana works?

    One other girl was very happy and excited at the sight of Kiko. It was Kesha, Almina''s friend.


    Kiko went to his group of friends without causing trouble for him. No matter the reason, Yman was still wary of Kiko.


    A person might change but not in a day or two. Maybe he was plotting something while in the hospital? Yman was not sure. But one thing he believes, those rages from yesterday might alleviate as time went by but would never pop like a bubble.


    On the contrary, Yman had to remain. Almina went back sitting on the ground while fuming deep inside. She could not believe it, that Kiko was also late, but the elder just let him go because he had just recovered. While Yman with the same reason ''of just recovered'' from being fainted awhile ago had to remain and go on the stage. She thought that the elder was too biased.


    Contrary to Almina''s expectation though. Yman had become the elder''s demonstration assistant.


    ''Sigh. I thought the elder would reprimand him. But it looks like he just wanted his help.'' Almina sighed in relief.


    Yman went on stage and stood a little behind the elder, waiting for what the elder wanted him to do.


    Not only Almina that sighed in relief. Bob, Keremi, and also Chloe did too. And also Yman himself.


    Seeing their mortal hateful person on stage, the other trainees, mostly those trainees who already had a bad impression towards him, had their faces twisted in sour expressions. He was like a stain in a perfect portrait from their eyes.


    *Flip!* The elder flipped a page of the book and said, "Okay, let''s proceed to our lectures. Since we only have little more time left. Let''s directly go into the topic." After he said this, he glanced at the person standing behind at his left side like a stone statue.


    "Ahem. Mr....? Ah, sorry what is your name again??��" the elder asked as he glanced at Yman.


    "Yman Tal ��"


    "Ah, Mr. Coolman. Right, Mr. Coolman, under the table there is something in there. Take it and bring it here. So that all our friends here can see the demonstration."


    Yman wondered if the elder did it on purpose about calling him with that name. However, he could not disagree. And should not make the elder angry! This elder was a level 25 magicians! One flick of his finger will put a stop on his age!


    He was just wondering why his name had always been replaced by other names. Even a deity from someone he knew did too. He could only force a dry laugh to his name''s fate.


    "Yes. Elder." He nodded obediently and followed what the elder instructed him like a puppy.


    Yman peeked under the table while the elder continued his lecture to the trainees. He saw a box under and some training gadgets.


    "Oh, I forgot to say, just leave the box there and take the things inside it!" The elder suddenly notified. Yman sighed in relief when the elder mentioned it. He really was puzzled about which one should he take.


    When he opened the box, he saw a bulb as big as a ball of basketball. Together with a 12 VOLT 40 AH battery. Yman wondered what the elder planned to do with this old model battery.


    Anyhow, he must do what the elder instructed him. He took the bulb together with the old model battery and let the now empty box under the table.


    The battery was slightly heavy but as a magician who trained his body every day and with a 1% breakthrough to his limiter, this weight was nothing to him. Just like lifting a fist-size stone.


    The other trainee was as puzzled as him when they noticed the things he was carrying. They knitted their brows and whispered to the person beside them.


    Almina for some reason felt so proud of him. Even though what he did was just simple things only. She was sending a warm smile at him without him knowing.


    He placed down the battery. Next, he was placing the bulb on a single pedestal stool where a bulb socket could be seen on top facing the sky. After tightening the bulb on its socket, he then dragged it in the middle of the stage so that everyone was able to see.


    Yman extended the wire towards the battery and waited for the elder''s next instruction. The elder nodded his head, seemingly glad at his help.


    "I know most of you still have no idea how mana works inside our body. Now, look at this..." said the elder as he pointed on the bulb.


    All the trainee''s eyes were focused on the bulb. They were wondering how this bulb represents magician''s mana. They originally thought that the elder would test them again using the bulb to light it through mana like the first-day test. But it looks like it was different from that time.


    "To further increase your understanding of mana. Let me show you the simplest... and easiest to understand demonstration." Said the elder in normal volume as he walked beside the bulb.


    Yman was on his knee in front of the battery, holding the wire as he was waiting for the elder''s next instruction. He also was excited to learn about this demonstration. Probably, he could guess a little now of why the elder was using the bulb as an example.


    The trainee''s murmurs together with their puzzled expressions enveloped the whole training grounds.


    After the elder signaled at him, Yman connected the red wire on the positive and then the black wire on negative.


    Next second, the bulb lit up and was glowing brightly.


    "Isn''t this a familiar sight? Can any of you relate to this bulb?" Suddenly questioned by the elder.


    Yman smiled. Looks like he was right after all. This demonstration is indeed a familiar sight.


    Most of the trainees were having ''aha'' expressions surfacing on their faces after seeing the bulb lit up.


    It was truly a familiar sight for both of them. It was the same sight when they did resonance with their deity.


    The murmurs increase but this time most of them with an understanding look on their faces.


    The Elder laughed lightly and nodded his head.


    "Looks like you already got my point. That''s good. This is how mana works in our bodies. Every one of you has your own mana within, from the energy released by your Hollow Cell. Because of how destructive this cell, it was given a scientific name as -e. Or negative energy. Whereas, the energy releases from the Gram Metal was given a scientific name of +e or positive energy. This Gram Metal was what used to create the deity''s core..."


    The elder glanced around him and saw that everyone was silently listening to him. He smiled and continued his lecture.


    Just like what happened to the bulb after its wire was connected to the power source which was the battery, the bulb lit up brightly. The same thing happened when a magician used resonance with their deity. The magician''s body would light up like what happened to the bulb.


    Then the elder instructed Yman once again. To lower the power output by pulling down the lever that could be seen on the battery.


    Once he pulled the lever down, the bright glow of the bulb suddenly sunk until it dim.


    "That''s how you control your mana. By lowering your mana pressure. You will be able to minimize the use of it. That glowingly bright mana was just excess. After all, we are not lamps. We are magicians. So we don''t need those glowing bright things as long as there''s no reason to use it. For you to become a genuine magician. You must learn first how to conserve your mana. Control it! Then after that. You will be surprised by how easy to manipulate your element that you have the affinity with..."


    Before ending his words the elder inhaled. Then he opened his mouth again.


    "Before we end this lecture today, I will give you your first assignment. Since I will be seeing you next week, that time you must already know how to conserve your mana. If you are still having a hard time understanding how mana works. The library is open twenty-four/seven. You are free to RESEARCH.....Now see you next week."


    Before the elder left the stage. "Oh, Mr. Coolman, thank you for your help." Said the elder while tapping Yman''s shoulder.


    Yman felt a sack of gravel landing on his shoulder. But he had to endure it, if not, he would be laughable.


    "I-I''m glad to be of help, Elder Sir." He replied somehow.


    "Mhm. I hope the next time we meet you can also control your mana. But don''t think about it too much." He said before he left.


    Yman was puzzled by the elder''s last line. |Don''t think about it too much...?| He repeated his words in his mind. |Why was the elder said that?|


    After the lecture ended. He was instructed once more to help clean the stage. And bring those pieces of equipment to the storeroom. Yman did what the elder said.


    He carried back the battery and bulb and placed it inside the box again. Then he carried it towards the storeroom. It was located near the library. The 10th room from the entrance. Whereas the library was in the 12 rooms from the entrance.


    When Yman went back on the stage to get the other stuff, he noticed someone at his back. He looked at his back and saw �� the girl Almina Amulet?!!!


    Standing about three steps away from him.


    He was quite surprised.

 Chapter 58：Invitation

    Almina was trying to invite him to her party. Yman initially thought that she was inviting him into a celebration but when he remembered about the Elites announcement from this morning, he figured out that she was inviting him into their group.


    Yman felt excited and happy for the invitation and it was showing on his face. Although he felt bashful being in a face to face situation with one of the most beautiful girls in the academy, he was dejected when he remembered that his ability might not be of help to Almina''s group.


    Actually, after the evaluation exam on the Outerworld, he tried to join some groups, but when they learned that his ability was self-healing magic, they kicked him out of the group.


    Now Yman was afraid that Almina might kick him too after she would know that his ability was useless to their party.


    Not only that, but his physical strength was also way weaker than the rest. Even the girls were stronger than him.


    So Yman had to decline her invitation with regrets on his face.


    "I don''t care...!"


    Yman was about to leave but rooted on his feet and stared blankly at her face when Almina suddenly exclaimed.


    She opened her mouth once again and continued saying, "I don''t care if your abilities are no use in the party. Your commanding talent is more than enough to be qualified in my group. And besides..."


    She added then stopped her words again and bit her lip, unaware of how blushful her face had become. Even Yman had noticed the redness in her face. But he somehow did not give it any malicious meaning. He just thought that the heat from the sun got her. However, she looks more stunning and lovely than usual. He could not help admiring her beauty once again.


    If his memory serves him right, this was the second time that he was in a face to face situation with this girl. Now that Yman thought about it, he was yet to say ''thank you'' at her for saving him last time.


    She lifted her right hand in front of her chest, and her left arm was straight down pointing the ground on her side as she gripped her hand into a fist that slightly lifted to the side. Then she stared at him while furrowing her brows.


    After a deep breath, she said, "And besides, I - I want you at my party, not because of your magic."


    She said shyly. And even become redder.


    |Hm, not because of my magic...?| He had a puzzled expression surfacing on his face. How come someone invited someone into their party of magicians but not because of his/her magic?


    |So it must be because of my commanding talent again, huh.|


    He wanted to rebut that what happened last time when they fought the Mustang Spider was just a lucky one because he had a little knowledge about that monster, to begin with. But if they encountered an enemy that unknown to him, it would be a problem.


    However, he really wanted to join their party. It would be easy for him to increase his combat experience if he had a party to help him kill some monsters. Which was difficult for him at his current state.


    He needed to increase his breakthrough level as soon as possible so that he could control his Black Mana for a longer time. And besides, he could not execute a strong spell if he was low level.


    "Uhm, can you tell me... what do you mean by not because of my magic?" For some reason, even though he expected already that what she meant by it was about his commanding talent but oddly enough, he was curious about it. Hoping for a different reason from her.


    "Hmph, you''ve got guts for asking someone you have forgotten after you stole her first kiss," Almina mumbled in an indefinite voice, the reason why Yman did not understand what she was mumbling.


    She could not believe that even though they were in this distance. This guy still did not remember her. After stealing her very first kiss. This guy had the nerve to forget her. She initially wanted to lash mean words at him for forgetting her. But she could not bring herself to get angry at him for some odd reason.


    "Ha?" Yman awkwardly asked after he failed to understand what she mumbled about.


    "I - I will..." she hesitated. But Almina opened her mouth again. "I will tell you the reason after a few months." She said blushfully.


    "Eh?" He could not follow what she meant.


    |Why does the answer have to take longer?| He thought.


    "Anyway, you don''t have the right to refuse, hmph!" She said with a pout then she retreated away while her face was painted in redness. Though he finds it very cute. "See you later!" She shouted while waving her hands before she left for good.


    |And now she was demanding, huh.| He thought as he scratched his face.


    Actually. Yman could not decide yet. He needed to balance the cons and pros before joining her party.


    |To be in a party of one of the most beautiful girls in the academy, certainly, it was a dream come true to most of the boys out there. Not just that, she was one of the strongest magicians also in this academy.


    So it was easy for her teammates to accumulate enough Combat Experience and breakthrough.


    But, the cons...


    No doubt, Almina was an exquisite young girl, it would be easy to fall in love with her, but I had to shake it off of my mind. The feeling of trying to grab the smoke in the air, was the same feeling if I let myself fall in love with her. Just like reaching the stars in the sky. Right in front of your eyes but will never be yours.


    In fact, she already had someone she likes. So joining with her group was like luring myself in the abyss. It''s hard to suffer a one-sided love. I could not let myself fall to someone out of reach.


    It would only be a bother to me in the future. And besides, being with someone as beautiful and popular as her �� would attract unfavorable attention to me which I tried to avoid. I do not want to stain my already infamous name.|


    For Yman though, falling in love was just a pretense. They were unnecessary feelings that may distract one''s decision making.


    After Almina left. She regretted that she forgot to mention her message yesterday. And wasn''t it supposed to be now? Almina went into the canteen together with Kesha. She was waiting for Yman to show up there. She already spends all her guts just for inviting him to their party. Her only wish that he would show up tomorrow. Wait, she forgot to tell him that it was tomorrow the creation of the party! Well, she could message him though.


    One person in the distance had fierce-looking eyes. He knew that Almina was a kind girl, so she must be trying to help that person. But his mind wanted to know what they were talking about. Yet he could not do some unnecessary things as of now. No matter what happened, he would become the ace in this academy, after that, Almina''s love for him will surely become deeper.


    He was just wondering why she did not welcome him yet after recovering. Although her friend named Kesha already did. And Kesha told her that Almina''s mind was just too full at the moment because of the many events that were coming. And it looks like she was nominated as the Elites leader.


    He really wanted the position but if it was for his girl, he could only let her be.


    In any case, he would help her to lessen the loads on her shoulder. Once he becomes the ace of this academy, that will be the time he would claim her.


    With his talent in magic, he was sure no one was above him. And he almost reached the pinnacle of his CE to advance into level 5. As talented and handsome as he was, it was only natural to be loved by the most beautiful girl in the academy. He was regretful but he needed her to wait for a little longer.


    He would surprise her one day and will tell her that he also likes her. For sure, when that time comes, that will be the most unforgettable moment in Almina''s life. He could not wait to see how happy she will be when the time comes.


    Then after that, he would squish that frog under his shoes.


    Before he left, Kiko smiled as he thought of that day. Then together with his friends, they walked towards the barracks.


    After delivering all the equipment into the storeroom, Yman directly went into the library.

 Chapter 59：Buy and sell store

    "Kiko, bro, we must do something about that Toadman, we had yet to get our revenge!" Marco, who was walking beside Kiko and their friends, said in regrets. He really wanted to see that guy in a sorry state after what he did when they fought with the golems.


    That''s why they were delighted when Kiko finally came back. But to their surprise, their friend seemed to be acting low key. It was strange to see Kiko acting like this.


    "Heh, I don''t want to waste my time in garbage like him. Anyway, that person will never last long in this academy." Kiko replied with a glint in his eye, followed by a wicked smile.


    Who said that he would let that froggy go easily? After what he did to him? That guy almost killed him. That''s why he made some preparations while in the hospital.


    Kiko suddenly stopped on his feet and glanced on his hand and said, "For now, let''s just focus on getting stronger. I must become an ace in this academy." He added with a smirk and a cold gaze.


    "Hahaha, right, don''t get too excited about that guy, Marco dude! I''m sure, Kiko dude already planned something for that Froggyman." Bruno laughed while resting his arms on Kiko and Marco''s shoulders.


    "Yeah, and after that let''s have a party when Kiko and Miss Almina started dating!" One of their friends shouted.


    "Ahaha, sure thing!" Bruno screamed.


    Kiko smiled. That was already in his plan.


    They continued walking towards the barracks. When they arrived at the doorsteps. They were greeted by a solemn atmosphere.


    Yet Kiko did not mind it, although his friends had puzzled expressions on their faces. They already went here and took their individual mission yesterday. And that time too many fledgling trainees were taking their mission. So they did not notice the somber aura inside the barracks.


    Some junior trainees were loafing inside. Sitting on the chairs with the table in front. It was located on the left side of the door.


    Suddenly, one of the people sitting in one of the chairs stood up when he noticed Kiko and his group.


    "Young master, Sun," said the person as it bowed slightly in front of Kiko.


    "Abel," Kiko called.


    Abel is one of the people sponsored by the Sun family. And Kiko was a young master of the Sun family that''s why. He was so respectful towards Kiko.


    "Let''s go to the VIP room, Young master," Abel said, to which Kiko replied with a nod.


    Marco, Bruno, and the others had an understanding look on their faces. They could only wait for Kiko as the two of them went to the VIP room to talk for something important.


    Around this time, Yman was searching for the book about Mana Channeling. Yet it''s already 15 minutes of searching but he could not find it.


    The library here was bigger than the public library in Sitona Town. But the books here are well-arranged on the bookshelf with their names in alphabetical order.


    Yman tried to change the order of searching from Channeling, Mana Channeling, Magic Channeling, Ability Channeling, or Talent Channeling. However, he could not find it.


    He went to the librarian''s desk and asked the nerd looking girl. Probably a bookworm person. She was reading a book with reading glasses on her eyes. In front of her was a pile of old books, amassing on top of the table.


    "Uh, Miss," Yman called out but the girl seemed to be unbothered.


    She was having shoulder-length brown curly hair and a white headband. Like him, she also was wearing the uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy. Seemingly a trainee as well.


    However, she looks a little older than him. He believed that the girl was a junior trainee. Although she looks cute and timid.


    "Uh, Miss!" Yman purposely increased the volume of his voice and succeeded in attracting her attention.


    The girl seemed to be surprised to see a person in front of her. She was deep into reading the book in her hand that she lost connection in her surroundings.


    And now, suddenly there''s a thin-looking person in front of her which she assumed was a newbie.


    She pushed her eyeglasses and fixed her sitting position.


    "Y-You need some help?" She asked shyly.


    "Yes, about a book for Mana Channeling." Yman directly told her what he was looking for.


    He noticed the librarian girl stared at him with doubt. Probably, it was the most unexpected thing to happen that someone would be looking for such a book such as Mana Channeling.


    "A-A Book For Channeling Mana? Uh �� wait..." she said and took a journal book. Then she scanned it.


    "Shelf number 21," she said after a minute.


    "Hmm... that ''s weird," Yman said while scratching the back of his head.


    "Why?" The librarian girl asked.


    "I already searched all the shelves but I could not find that book," Yman said dejectedly.


    "I-Is that so? Uhm �� erm... give me a second." The librarian girl took another journal and flipped over the pages.


    After several seconds of waiting, the girl knitted her brows in bewilderment, then she looked at him and said, "S-Sorry, that book �� someone borrowed it, and had yet turned-over." The librarian girl said while shyly scratching her face.


    "S-Someone borrowed it?" He repeatedly asked.


    "Y-Yes." The girl nodded.


    "Uhm, may I know who the borrower was?" He asked her. Not willing to give up. He needed that book. For his guidance in understanding about his mana channeling talent.


    But what the girl''s reply stunned him for a second, "Hmm... I-I advised you to give up looking at that book."


    "....."


    "W-Why I have to give up?" He was puzzled by her words.


    "The person who borrowed is somewhat a mysterious person." Her reply was somewhat vague for him.


    "What? May I know who that person is?" Yman asked her. No matter who it is, he must find that person. And borrowed the book.


    "M-Miss Ice."


    "Ice?" Yman frowned at the name. This name sound familiar to him. He tried to scan his memory and was successfully remembered where he heard it. It was yesterday inside the barracks. Some junior trainees were gossiping about the name Lady Ice. So it must be the same Miss Ice that the librarian girl mentioned.


    "Ah, may I know where I can find that person? Do you know that person''s address?" Yman asked.


    "Sorry, but you can''t find her."


    Yet her reply surprised him again. "Why can''t I?" But he needed to know. Wait, if he remembered correctly, weren''t those guys in the barracks talking about how that person went into seclusion for three months?


    As expected the librarian said that Miss Ice was gone for three months and no one knew where she was currently.


    Yman left the library dejected.


    Since the book was not there, he decided to go back to the hotel room. But before that, he must go to the market first. He needed to buy some stuff and food.


    Yman rode on a carriage. After several minutes, he went down and paid 5 gold points to the coachman via the trading system.


    Every Magic Tool Mobile Device has such a Wallet Section and Trade System just like a magician''s Cyber Screen. But for ordinary people, they use this MTMD or Magic Tool Mobile Device. Even some magicians were using this device. Yman was one of them. Since he sometimes left Sistela to look after his sister.


    Yman first went to a buy and sell store.


    He saw a few people leaving the store with solemn faces. Each of them was wearing the uniform of Middle Region Magic Academy.


    He assumed that they were Junior students because of the color of their badges. They were wearing silver-plated badges. While the fledgling had bronze, and gold for the senior trainees.


    "Tsk, if this continued like this, the academy''s defeat will be a sure thing," said one of the juniors in a dejected voice.


    "That is if Lady Ice would not return." Replied the person beside him.


    "Tsk, it was already three months. Yet no one knows where she went." Added the third person.


    "You guys are such sissies. What''s the purpose of coming to this academy if you''re too dependent on others." Yelled the fourth person.


    "Yeah, and I heard there are many talented newbies this year." Said the first person.


    "Man-up dude! I just said not to depend on other people. What''s the use of being a magician if we can''t stand on our own feet? Let''s get our revenge later and hit them hard!" The fourth guy shouted.


    "Yeah, yeah, but no matter what you said, we still have no match against those magicians from the other academies." Replied by the third guy.


    "And they always steal our loot. Hah~" sighed the second guy.


    "....."


    Yman was just listening to their conversation as they passed by. He knitted his brows. He wondered why the juniors seemed to be troubled.


    Regardless, he must finish his business here. So that he could go home already.


    When he stepped inside the store, a lack of vigor ''Welcome'' from a middle-aged man at the counter, greeted him. When the man saw him, he frowned and thought.


    ''Tsk, just another weakling again. For sure this young man will sell his low-quality materials only. Such a waste of time.'' He thought while twitching his face.


    "Hah, this shit, what''s your business?" Such a rude way of asking.


    However, Yman just ignored it. Although he did not like it. But what else could he do? He came here for business.


    "I wanted to sell some monster materials," Yman replied normally.


    The man in front frowned in disgust as he thought, ''As expected. A seller of trash materials again. Just the same as those groups of idiots who came just now. Those fools in the academy could not even produce a talented magician.


    I have to start packing my things and go back to the empire. Not only academy magicians will sell their monster loots there, but also some of the adventurers. Even the soldiers of the empire did too.


    Compared to the empire, the business rate in this place is the lowest. Pwe!


    And look, this magician from that academy looks unhealthy and sick. Can this boy even be able to kill a worm? Tsk, tsk, HAHAHA... Are they starving their magicians? What a joke! In that case, that academy is good to be shut down together with this place!''


    The man shook his head and laughed.


    "50 gold points to all your materials. No excess and no price offer!" The man said blatantly.


    Yman scratched the back of his head and thought, |Is this store a fraud?|


    A monster core of rank D+ Wanderer already cost not lower 5,000 GP. Yman wanted to laugh at the man''s price. And he also had a fragment of the monster core from Mustang Spider. Which might sell for 2,000 GP. Plus the other parts.


    He already checked the official price of these materials before coming here.


    "Uh, Mister, do you think this monster core(inner core) only costs 50 gold points? What a swindler!" Yman said while showing the purple color hard rocky objects. That glistened when lights hit on it directly.


    "A p-purple monster core?!" The man widened his eyes.

 Chapter 60：Mysterious magician

    "Since Mister, only buy it for 50 gold points I guess I can''t sell it here," Yman said while trying to sound regretful.


    "....."


    "Wait, Kid!" Shouted the man at the counter. The man has narrowed eyes, a little beard and long black hair that is tied at the back of his head.


    When he saw the object in the hand of Yman, he almost choked himself in regrets.


    Common quality core had gray-ash color, and the blue inner core is for rare quality materials.


    Whereas, Wanderer monsters were known for their high-quality Inner Core. Only this kind of monster or beast had such purple color of Inner Core.


    "No way, who wanted to sell such high-quality materials for 50 gold points." Yman rebutted as he tried to leave the shop.


    Regardless, if he could not sell it here, he would just find another buyer through online trading. Although it was riskier. More scammers nowadays online. He could also let the barracks sell it for him. That was part of the agreement. But, Yman wanted to avoid causing trouble to himself.


    It was known that the weakest Wanderer beasts were as strong as level 10 magicians. So if Yman went into the barracks and showed the material to them. He was certain that they would rain him with questions.


    How did he get it? How did he kill the monster? Such things are very troublesome for him.


    So his only choice was to sell it in a buy and sell store.


    "Wait, kid, I''m just joking a while ago, hahaha." The man at the counter said as he clapped his hands near his face and showed a delightful smile.


    In his mind, if he succeeded in buying the purple core, he could gain a huge sum of money in return. After all, the purple inner core was one of the rarest cores among all the monster cores.


    And this core is hard to gather. Since Wanderer monster or beast tends to roam all over the place looking for victims to be preyed upon. They fought humans, Demi humans, beasts, or monsters alike.


    They were the hunters who did not choose which enemy to kill, even monsters of the same species as them.


    More on that, they became stronger as they won every fight. So it''s hard to kill them. Since they could also use some unique abilities.


    "No Mister, I could not trust someone who tried to swindle me just a moment ago. *Sigh!*" Yman replied with a sigh.


    "No no, kid, listen up, I-It''s just a misunderstanding. We can come up with the right price. I may even extend 10% of the price of your low-quality materials. Just sell that purple core to me. Ahaha, but of course I needed to check it first if it''s real or not."


    Said the man.


    |10% my ass!| Yman yelled in his mind. This man certainly from a secret fraud society. "But, Mister, your minimum price for low-quality materials is 50 gold points per gram only. However, the original price is 100 gold points per gram. Isn''t that still a scam even if you added 10% on it?"


    "....."


    The man was speechless. Looks like he was unveiled.


    "Ahaha, no no no, what I mean is 100 gold points per gram. With an addition of 10% for you as a good customer! Hahaha. How about that kid? Wanna do a partnership with me?"


    He really did not know how this kid acquired such high-quality material. But he needed it. Even if he added 10-20 percent in every gram of low-quality materials he could still earn a lot of money if he managed to resell the purple core into another buyer.


    Yman sighed. He certainly knew what this man was thinking. But his offer was good enough for him. As long as he bought the purple core at its original price. And he could sell his low-quality materials at a slightly higher price. This offer is good enough. But he was certain that this man would flee after that. So that the partnership he mentioned of about a 10% increase in all his low-quality materials would render invalid after this one-time deal.


    "Hmm... 10% was not enough. Still too low than the income you may get from reselling the purple core." Since this man already thought of escaping after this one deal. He should try to increase the price somehow.


    ''F*** this kid!'' The man shouted in his mind.


    "S-Sorry kid but, I could only give you a 10% increase. And besides, it''s not easy to sell materials nowadays." He replied.


    ''Hehe. Too bad kid. You don''t know about business! While you are still going, I''m already returning! That''s the gap of knowledge in business the two of us had. Hehehe!'' His real thought.


    Before Yman could reply...


    BZZZZZZZZTTTT!!!


    His MTMD made a vibrating noise. "Oh, sorry Mister, I got a call from a friend." He said and picked the device that was stored in his trousers pocket.


    "No problem kid, just go on." The man said at him with a smile.


    No matter what, it''s just a call though. What he was most concerned about was the purple core.


    However,


    "Hello, Bob?" Yman said in a normal volume which the man at the counter could hear him.


    "Yes, Yes!"


    "What?"


    "Is that true?"


    The man was wiping the glass with a delighted smile on his face. Waiting for the kid''s call to finish.


    "A merchant from the empire will be coming here next week and wanted to buy low-quality materials with a 20% increased in price?!" Suddenly, Yman yelled in surprise.


    The man''s smile suddenly froze upon hearing it. ''The heck, is it true? A merchant from the empire?'' The counterman could not believe.


    "Really?" Yman continued talking on his MTMD.


    "Yeah, that''s good news!"


    "What? That''s not all?" While Yman was talking, the surprise of his face was very literal.


    "He is also buying rare and high-quality materials with a 30 percent increase?!"


    The counterman had sweats forming on his face. Looks like his plan will be ruined.


    "Damn, that merchant sure thing is a rich man."


    The man was thinking of who was this merchant? If it''s true, then the more he needed to buy the purple core before that damn merchant came here.


    Actually, before the change in price was announced to the public. The legislation would give a margin of 1 - 2 weeks prior, before it would announced to the public.


    Just last night he received a message from one of his trusted friends working in the commissioner department that there would be an increase in price for all the high-quality materials because of low supply and high demands. The price would increase two-times the original price.


    So it was only natural that some of the merchants would send their people into the other cities to scout for some high-quality materials. So what this kid said wasn''t really illogical.


    More sweats were surfacing on the man''s forehead as he thought of money slipping from his hands.


    "Okay, Bob, I guess I''ll wait for that merchant."


    Yman said with delight. It was evident that he was grateful for the news he got.


    But before he ended the call, the man growled and said that he would increase the price higher than the merchant.


    A smirk silently appeared on Yman''s mouth as he said, "Sorry, Bob, I''ve got a better deal here, so I may pass for now with the merchant''s offer." He said and ended the call."


    On the other side, Bob was having a stunned and puzzled face. He called Yman to ask him about the Open Forum tomorrow. But Yman was talking about something he could not understand.


    Yman was thankful for Bob''s timing at calling him.


    Actually, Yman already knew about the price hike. It was easy to figure out, online. Because some of the dealers seemed to be improperly increasing the price of high-quality materials in the online market. And even so, the price increased, the material still sold out in no time.


    In the online market, almost all of the products were being posted there repeatedly. So it was easy to figure out which materials are lacking.


    But these past days, there were no high-quality materials being posted. So Yman had guessed that something was amiss.


    Finally, Yman was able to sell the purple crystal with a 50% price increase, 30% on rare quality materials, and 20% to low-quality materials. Yet he believed that the man at the counter was still able to get a good commission after he resells those materials.


    Although, it depends on his business strategy. After proving that the materials were genuine the deal was concluded.


    Actually, Yman had more rare materials and low quality than those two high-quality.


    If he wanted to gain more, he just needed to wait for a few days when the price-hike will be announced. But he needed money now. He had to finish his mission before the time limits. And needed to buy a Level 2 Syringe of Advancement for him to advance into Level 2.


    Before he left the store, the man in the counter asked him if how he got the purple core. Since he could not believe that such an unhealthy and sick-looking person could manage to kill a Wanderer monster. And the kid did not look strong no matter how the man looked at him.


    Yman forced a dry laugh. Fortunately, he remembered about the mysterious girl Miss Ice. He replied saying, "A mysterious magician just asked me to run an errand." After scratching the back of his head he finally left the store.


    The man was puzzled though. But, anyway, he did not give care on it and just pushed it at the back of his mind. Then he hastily contacted some business partners.


    Yman next went to the smithing shop. And asked for an item that suits the ability the Magic Cryst holds.


    It was the same round person who was at the counter when he first came here. When he entered, that person was sitting on the chair in the same position as before. With his face covered with the straw hat and his deity was resting on top of his bulging belly.


    When he showed the Magic Cryst, the man finally took an interest and stood up. Then he took the Cryst from Yman and examined it. Probably he was appraising it.


    Yman''s guess when he first came here was proven right. The man was really wearing an eyepatch with the design of an eye. The eye design was familiar to him though. Similar to the eye on his teacher''s mask.


    He wanted to ask but he assumed that he would not get a truthful reply.


    The fat man asked him to come back tomorrow because he would prepare the item. Then he returned the Magic Cryst to Yman. It would be attached tomorrow when the item was ready. But before he left, the man measured Yman''s hand first.


    After leaving the smithing shop, he directly went to the market and bought some food and other stuff.


    After buying all the stuff needed. He directly rode on a carriage.


    Yman was contemplating while inside the carriage.


    |*Sigh!* Going on the market was so tiring, huh. Wait, I have something I need to do. To order a level 2 Syringe of Advancement.| He thought and then took his MTMD. He directly brows on the main website of Seeker''s Association.


    |Not only the Seeker Association fought against monsters. They were also one of the most trusted suppliers of Syringe of Advancement.


    After issuing my order, I will only need to wait 5 hours for the item to arrive. Of course, I was filling up some forms before the order was made. Since, they must know my address.|


    |Oh, right. I have to buy a head part for Sistela. This will be helpful to appraise the monster''s strength. After all, it is useful to know the enemy''s capability in a fight.|


    After several minutes,


    "Welcome back, bro!" Yana greeted him with a warm smile.


    "I''m back," Yman replied and sat beside her then patted her head.


    Someone came out from the kitchen. Yman glanced and saw Sistela. She was keeping the laundry into the restroom and boiled some water.


    Sistela shouted. Actually, she just recovered her battery and now she had to do the house chores.


    Yman chuckled. Although Sistela was sometimes mean to him. But she was a big help to him and his sister.


    "Don''t worry, My Deity, your head is coming." He said with a grin.


    "Ehehe, he was only teasing you, Sister Sistela."


    Yana chuckled.

 Chapter 61：Jin Makorov

    Yman and Yana had just finished their dinner when they heard pecking sounds from the window.


    The two of them glanced at the window and saw something outside.


    "Hm, must be the items I ordered this noon."


    He said and hastily walked towards it and saw a bird outside the window.


    The bird looks gentle, plump, small-billed birds with a skin saddle (cere) between the bill and forehead. Yet it has a grayish color. Actually, it was made of light alloy. This bird was known as the mechanical bird of the Pigeon100.


    It is called Pigeon100 because there are total of 100 different versions of this mechanical bird.


    It was powered by an internal engine made from Gram Metal and purified-core of some beast. These two acted as its power source.


    Whereas, its green eyes acted as a camera, radar, and scanner to avoid thievery of goods. It could even fly higher and faster than the original pigeons.


    It was also said that these mechanical birds had a self destruct system and an escaped system within. So whenever the operator detected malicious intent towards the parcel they were delivering. The operator could decide to self destruct the mechanical bird together with the goods or use the auto-escaped system.


    Yman immediately opened the window to permit the bird inside. It was 2 times bigger than the original one.


    The bird landed on his arm. And Yman noticed a parcel that was locked on its robotic leg.


    After successfully scanning Yman''s identity as the one who ordered the item, the mechanical bird opened its beak and a 12 inches in height and 6 inches in width holographic screen appeared in front of it.


    It required him to input his ID number and the total amount of the item he ordered.


    2,000 GP for the Syringe Of Advancement. And 5,000 for the head part of his deity. And delivery payment of 1,000 GP since it came from the Outerworld.


    Currently, his total GP in his Wallet Section was at most 13,500.50. Now after paying the bill, he was left with 5,500.50.


    Yman could only sigh. Tomorrow he needed to pay for the equipment he ordered from the smithing shop. So he will probably be left with hundreds of GP later.


    After paying up the exact amount through the trading system, the parcel was automatically unlocked from the mechanical bird''s leg.


    It was said that this series of mechanical birds were able to carry a total of 11.023 pounds. And still able to fly fast.


    Yman took the parcel and rubbed the mechanical bird''s head while saying ''thank you'' to it. Then he let the mechanical bird through the window again. It then flapped its robotic wings and in just a second it twinkled far in the night sky as its figure disappeared from his sight.


    "Brother, congrats." Yana, who was talking with Sistela not far from him, suddenly congratulated her brother.


    Yman smiled at his sister and said: "Thank you, Yana."


    "And you too, Sister Sistela," Yana said while happily staring at Sistela who was sitting on her lap.


    Sistela suddenly floated as she shouted her thanks.


    She was floating up and down like a kid.


    Yman walked towards them with a parcel in hand, while smiling.


    After opening the parcel and saw the head part,


    "Wow!"


    Yana and Sistela were amazed by it.


    Sistela asked him.


    "Mhm." Yman could only nod his head.


    The head he ordered was a Nixie series. It was modeled from a known water spirit. He originally wanted to order the Imp series because of its extra ability that gives him an increased vision in darkness. But Yman thought that Sistela might get angry at him if he did it. So he chose the Nixie series which had better appraisal ability and low battery cost than the other series.


    There were also Sylph Series, Pixie, Dragon, Angel and etcetera. But after seeing the Nixie series he was inspired by that cute little water sprite on that day of the test.


    But this Nixie series was a little expensive.


    The Nixie head had two little blue oval eyes. And wavy hair of blue color made from strange materials. And a little doll-like mouth.


    Upon imagining, Sistela having a cute face but a round metal body, Yman could not help letting some chuckle escape from his mouth.


    And it''s not like he likes cute things. It just, he did it for his sister. Since Yana seemed to like cute things.


    He wondered if the head was coated by silicon. Since it feels smooth when he touches it.


    He then equipped it on Sistela.


    After attaching the new head of Sistela. As expected, she looks weird as of the moment. Like a pregnant deity. (Lol)


    Yman was thinking that he might need to buy new arms and body for her, next time. So that it wasn''t embarrassing bringing her to the academy like this.


    Nonetheless, Sistela was very happy though. She repeatedly asked Yana:


    "You look so lovely, Sister Sistela," Yana replied with a smile.


    She shouted.


    On the other hand, Yman was scratching his face while forcing a laugh. Then he stood up.


    "Sistela, Yana, I''ll go on the rooftop for a bit."


    "Okay, bro."


    Yman arrived at the rooftop. It was empty at the moment. Most of the trainees in this hotel like going out instead of chilling here.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! He made two consecutive leaps and landed on top of the big water tank.


    On this height. He could see the other buildings around. And some people walking on the streets are as big as ants in his vision.


    He glanced at the sky and noticed that there were not so many stars up above.


    But it wasn''t cloudy also. The wind wasn''t so strong but the atmosphere was a little chilly. Yman inhaled the fresh air coming from around him.


    Then he sat in a meditation posture and he took the Level 2 Syringe Of Advancement from his pocket. After injecting the syringe, a second later, he felt weird, like millions of ants started to crawl all over his body. Uhm, No, Yman thought it was more like his whole body was being pierced by millions of needles. He was in pain and perspired.


    But he knew it was only the beginning. He focused his mind.


    Around this time,


    In a dim room that was illuminated by yellow brilliance, a young handsome man with medium length silver-white hair was cushioning on a soft red sofa. Beside him were two young sexy girls wearing sexy short dresses that almost displayed the whole of their ample legs and were slightly opened on their chest area. Showing their voluptuous assets. The two girls were sitting on both sides of the young handsome man while leaning on the man''s broad naked shoulders.


    In front of them was the exquisitely made table which reflected each of their figures. On top of the table were 3 wine glasses and a half-filled bottle with purple liquid inside.


    Suddenly, the door of the room made creaking noises. The topless young man''s brow twitches.


    A moment later a young person walked in. He was wearing white long sleeves toppled by the black vest and was paired with black slacks and shiny black leather shoes. And was wearing a smile on his handsome face. He has medium length wavy blonde hair that is open on his forehead.


    "You jackals, you have the guts to disturb my pleasure." The naked young man said in an annoyed tone but in a normal volume.


    "Ahaha, relax, Jin! I''m here to deliver you some news."


    "Go back if it wasn''t a good one."


    "Ahaha, probably both."


    The topless young man called Jin narrowed his eyes. "Speak."


    "The academy failed to recruit The Cool Princess."


    Jin was silent with his face that showed bitterness and his brow twitched. "Those academy officials are useless fools!" He groaned.


    The guy seemed to be delighted at Jin''s reaction as he waited for sometime before he opened his mouth again: "Heh, but..."


    "....."


    Jin did not open his mouth again and waited for his next word.


    "We can do something for her to transfer here."


    "Pressuring?" Jin seemed to catch what the guy planned to do.


    "Ehehe."


    "What academy?" Jin asked with a glint in his eyes.


    "Middle Region, at City Zone 7." The guy answered.


    ''Tsk, that girl did choose to go to that waste academy, huh. I will punish her after she transfers into this academy. She only belongs to me. Not even that sissies from the Sun family had the right to claim her. Just you wait, My Cool Princess, you will be sharing a bed with me in no time. Hehe.'' Jin thought.


    "By the way, what''s the news with the blonde?" Jin suddenly asked.


    "Ahaha. Wherever the cool princess is... you will find her there." The guy replied.


    Jin smiled as well. ''This is good. My most desirable threesome will come to reality in no time.'' He thought as he was imagining those two most beautiful girls in a bed together with him. Just like these two sexy girls with him now.


    Jin smiled wickedly and said: "Sent some of our men! And show them that they don''t belong in that trash academy! Here in the City Zone 1 where they most belong together with these arms of mine."


    The Human City Zone 1 was the 3rd finalist of last year''s competition. And most of the talented individuals from the Outerworld were here. It was said that this year, Zone 1 has the highest chance of taking the championship. Because of the appearance of this man, named Jin Makorov.


    He was the grand champion of the Outerworld''s Grand duelist Tournament. He already fought many fights. And never been defeated once. He really wanted to fight the man who said to reach the apex of sword mastery. The man named Almond Amulet. But that person was banned from joining the tournament after an incident. Yet when Jin saw Almond''s younger sister in the Elite School competition. He admired her beauty. He could not get rid of her image from his mind. His heart was screaming to own that girl.


    Yet until now, that girl is still rejecting him. It must be the boy of the Sun family. He really felt that Kiko was the reason why he could not advance with Almina.


    Almina must be in love with that guy. But he was not giving up. He will surely make that girl his.


    And not just that, another blonde girl also appeared. But for some odd reason, that girl was more interested in Almina than noticing him. He could not let this. All girls are supposed to be flocking at him like affectionate ants towards sweets.


    Yet those two girls destroyed his pride. He made an oath that no matter what happened he will own those two beauties.


    "As you wish!" The blonde guy replied and turned around as he took his leave.


    After an hour,


    "Yes, a breakthrough!" Yman screamed in delight after he successfully advanced into level 2.

 Chapter 62：Mana control

    Yman was having a hard time falling asleep. He was too excited because of his level up.


    Until...


    Bzzzzzt!


    His MTMD on top of the table danced when it suddenly vibrated. He was currently laying on the sofa beside the table.


    He lifted his left hand and reached on it. A mini holographic screen appeared after tapping it.


    |An email?| Yman had doubts when he noticed an email icon blinking repeatedly.


    Around this time of night, he was least expecting to receive a mail. And who might it be? Regardless, he needed to open it. He was also curious about the mail. And he was not using his System Deity. So he was safe from hacking. Even if it was a hacker, they could only hack his back-up account and not his System Deity account.


    Tap!


    Anonymous:


    [(Shy emoji) Hi, Good evening, please come to the auditorium tomorrow. Don''t be late! Goodnight! Uhm... uhm... (heart emoji)(blush emoji) Sleep well]


    |What?.....Anonymous again. So it''s just a prank, huh. *Sigh!* Why do even these guys keep doing it? Even though it was only a prank, it is not good to prank my petty heart. I may not be so handsome, but even I was wishing for a girlfriend. This prank is just too heartless for me.| Yman was whining in his mind.


    He immediately closed the device and returned it back on the table, before he exhaled in defeat and forced a dry chuckle for himself.


    He thought that, if not because of the emojis, that message looks so legit. He might think of it that someone just forgot to add their name. But with those emojis of heart and blushes, no matter how he looked at it, it was literally a prank. He was not degrading himself. It just.....he knows his boundary.


    And besides, he was too inconsistent. His feelings and emotions kept on changing. He knew that his mindset was not normal. Sometimes he was impulsive. And sometimes timid, and sometimes just normal, then next time different again. These were his biggest shortcomings.


    So. Probably. It was unthinkable that someone showed interest in him.


    Yman was peeking at the window when suddenly Almina''s figure appeared in his mind. She really was too beautiful, he thought. Then he shook his head to get rid of it immediately. It''s fine to fantasize but not too much.


    Noticing that he could still not fall asleep, Yman stood up and took Sistela who was sleeping beside his Sister. The deity was not really sleeping like a human, they were just going into a sleeping mode.


    Sistela suddenly asked when her two oval-shaped eyes glowed and saw him carrying her body.


    "I-I needed to train my mana control. Well, you help me?" He said and asked.


    Her mouth twitched as she was speaking. Her new head was so cute, yet, it was dragged by her robotic arms and body, which was unsuited to her head.


    The two of them went to the rooftop. He must practice his mana control until he is tired. Actually, hiding the brilliance of mana within his body could also help him to do some sneak attack. It was because of the brilliance that he was so attractive in the dark and could not hide properly.


    They immediately used resonance and Yman''s body was envelopes by a colorless or white brilliance. Without wasting time, He began his mana control training.


    The next morning, as usual, he woke up early and went to the academy for physical training.


    Last night he fell asleep very late. Yet, he is still able to wake up early. His body knows when to wake up like it was in auto function mode. Well, it must be out of habit.


    Everything seems normal like the usual day. But perhaps, today was different for Yman.


    He felt so light. Like he was oozing with vigor. Even his eyesight seemed so clear. His hearing, senses, and even his stamina. Maybe this morning training he would succeed in not fainting.


    Yman smiled. This was a different feeling. The same feeling when he first levels up. But right now he felt more alive. Stronger, faster, and his mind was clearer.


    He also noticed that his skin was more glossy unlike his unhealthy-looking skin from yesterday. However, all of this was still far if compared to the other trainees. He was not bothered by it though. What was important for him was to keep going and improve himself bit by bit.


    After changing into a training outfit, he directly went to the training grounds.


    Many trainees already on the field, he also saw Bob in his usual activity, punching the training dummy together with his deity.


    Yman went to the shooting area. Where he finds Chloe firing at the bullseye on the wooden cardboard, using her favorite magic-based pistol.


    He noticed her body was glowing, this must be how she trained herself. It was effective to practice her marksmanship if she was in resonance because she could fire her pistol as long as she wanted. And maybe she wanted to practice her mana control at the same time.


    Yman chose not to bother her and went to choose a weapon to practice his shooting skill too. He went to one of the shooting platforms.


    The weapon he chose this time was a magic-based pistol for training.


    After adjusting the wooden cardboard at the distance of 10 meters away, he aimed the pistol then pulled the trigger.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    Out of 3 successive shots, 2 hits the bullseye. He smiled at the results. His dexterity had finally improved. But It still wasn''t enough, however, this result could only bear a smile on his face; therefore, he continued firing the pistol.


    He took another weapon after he was done with the pistol, then continued firing. He also adjusted the distance farther and farther.


    A girl was standing beside him with a puzzled look. But Yman seemed not to notice until the arrow on the quiver was emptied.


    "Oh, hey?" Yman called out when he finally noticed someone at his side.


    "Ahaha. Yman, I thought you are leaning on swordsmanship. Have you perhaps changed your profession?" Chloe asked in wonder.


    "Hm, not in particular. Apparently, there are no weapons that I am proficient in, to begin with."


    "Eh, what do you mean by that? I-I thought your teacher taught you swordsmanship. Since that day when you fought with the golems, you have been using wooden swords. And I don''t think it was bad. Although you only use some basic slashing."


    "Oh, that? No, it wasn''t like that. It just..." Yman scratched his face shyly, "...it just, I don''t have enough money to buy a decent weapon. And my master only taught me basic techniques in the sword. That''s probably why you only saw me using basic strikes."


    "I-Is that so." Chloe felt bad for asking.


    "Mhm. Regardless, your marksmanship has improved quite a lot. Congrats Chloe."


    Honestly, Chloe''s dexterity must be improving a lot. This is what Yman believes after seeing her performance while in a practice.


    Out of 10 shots, 6-7 was on the spot at a distance of 25 meters.


    Such results could only be considered as excellent.


    "Y-You watch me practicing?" She asked in surprise.


    "Ah, sorry, should I not?" He immediately said he''s sorry when he thought that Chloe might not like it when someone was stalking her while in training.


    "No, no, it wasn''t like that. It was fine, you know." Actually, she felt embarrassed to be stared at while practicing her shooting. She was the type to lose her focus if stared at.


    "Ah, okay, then."


    "Anyway..." suddenly Chloe noticed something different on Yman.


    "By the way, Yman, are you in resonance with Sistela?"


    Sistela''s triumphant voice was heard by Chloe which widened her eyes.


    Right now, Yman is not glowing. He looks normal. Like he was not in resonance with his deity.


    "D-Did you perhaps.....already master the mana control?"


    "P-perhaps. Regardless, I don''t even have mana, to begin with." He said while showing can''t be helped gestures and emotion.


    Chloe felt sorry for Yman. It was already known to everyone about him having no mana. It must be also the reason why he was the target of mockery.


    Somehow, she admired his dedication. Even though he had no mana and was only clinging on his unsure talent, he kept bringing-up himself moving ahead disregarding the taunts and contempt he received from the others. Although he was the weakest in this academy in terms of strength and magic, for Chloe, Yman had the bravest heart.


    "R-Right. T-Then. Is that because of your Channeling talent?"


    "Hmm... you could say that."


    Actually, when Yman was practicing with Sistela last night, Sistela noticed that �� what Yman was channeling was not his stamina. It was her own mana!


    After equipping the head of the Nixie series. She was capable now of inspecting the Mana usage and statistics. This must also be the reason why the Nixie series was more expensive and had better appraisal value. Since it was modeled from a water spirit, it was only natural that it was capable of high mana control and excellent appraisal ability plus low battery consumption.


    Yman and Sistela learned that. Yman''s body was like a bulb, and his Channeling ability the wire. While Sistela is the battery. Yet, his Channeling ability was a bad wire. Instead of being a wire, Channeling was more like a parasitic wire. It must be clearer to say that he was leeching on Sistela''s mana alone.


    Not only did Yman not contribute with his mana, since he had none in the first place, but he also took a share from Sistela''s mana.


    In order to control the use of mana. Yman was the bulb and his Channeling must be the switch only, while Sistela becomes the battery with a lever. As a lever, the mana control must come from her.


    Therefore, what Yman needed to do was only to activate his channeling talent, and as a lever, Sistela controls the mana usage.


    In this regard, they finally succeeded in controlling the mana. But Yman was puzzled with one thing.


    The resonance should be composed of positive mana from Gram metal and Negative mana from Hollow cell. So how come even without using negative mana the resonance is still activated.


    His doubt toward channeling talent increases. He believed that channeling wasn''t a simple talent.


    Although many magicians said that it was a trash and weak talent like a fire in the dying candle. And that it wasn''t useful in a fight.


    However, it was also the most mysterious talent that a person could have. It is even capable of activating a one-sided resonance.


    This must be also the reason why the brilliance envelopes him when in resonance with Sistela was colorless or pure white. Since it was the mana color from Gram metal.


    "G-Good for you. I never thought that the first one who succeeded in controlling the mana would be you!" Chloe said in bewilderment. She really finds him interesting. Even from the start. She had this vibes about him, that Yman seemed to be different from the others.


    There''s an aura around him that Chloe could not express.


    "Thanks. Chloe." Yman smiled as he thought that Chloe had become more open every time they conversed. Which, a good development for her seemingly shy personality.


    "Yman, bro! What you said yesterday?!" Suddenly Bob shouted when he noticed him.


    He was walking towards them together with Mac.

 Chapter 63：Duel

    Bob who was drenched in sweat ambled towards them.


    Yman remembered that he owed an explanation to Bob from yesterday''s call.


    He decided to tell him the truth.


    "Oh, so that''s what happened? Man. I thought you hit your head so hard and lost your sense of talking. Ahahaha!" Bob laughed with hands on his waists and his deity was sitting like a boss on his shoulder.


    ''Ahhh, here he goes again!'' Chloe thought. The reason why she did not choose to cancel her resonance yet was that her deity was calling Yman with rude names. Yet this Bob was a classmate of Jazz! The two of them wantonly opened their mouths without thinking if their words might irritate someone.


    Yman, who already knew Bob''s way of talking let a sigh depart from his mouth. He was not affected by Bob''s way of talking though, and just laughed at it. He thought that Bob was already beyond help.


    "A-Aah, Yman....."


    And suddenly he heard Chloe''s seemingly tense call. He glanced and asked her if what''s the matter.


    "You know. I-I heard that we will have a mock duel in today''s training." Chloe said while darting her eyes from side to side. Honestly, she just wanted to change the topic. Good thing she managed to find a subject within her mind.


    Yman was surprised by what Chloe said. He felt a bad premonition about this duel.


    Almina who was walking towards one of the training platforms noticed Yman who was busy talking with a girl with short blue hair and a physically fit guy at about 20 steps away from her.


    Suddenly she heard stepping sounds from behind her and glanced.


    She saw the blonde fixedly staring at her. She narrowed her eyes and shortly returned her gaze to the training swords lined on the table.


    But...


    The blonde showed a disgusted expression then opened her mouth and called, "Almina Amulet!"


    Almina glanced back at the person calling her name, "What you want, Maena?" She asked while raising a brow.


    "Let''s settle our score in today''s duel." The blonde girl named Maena Hex declared in a cold voice.


    Almina smiled with a glint in her eyes. They both staring at each other eye to eye. Like a goddess of death and heavenly goddess.


    "Hey, bro, look look! The beauties are facing each other. Kuku. What a sight to behold!" Bob dubbed at Yman and pointed to the direction of Almina and the beautiful blonde. Not far from them.


    |Hm, what a sight indeed.| Yman as he thought. He wondered if the two girls were going to face each other in a duel. He was having this vibe towards these two that they both saw each other as rivals.


    They must have had some unsettled score from their childhood days at Elite school that the smiling dude mentioned to him a while ago.


    Before Almina could accept her challenge, "Wait, wait, wait, best friend, let me handle her!" Kesha rushed to Almina''s side and declared to challenge Maena by herself.


    She really wanted to challenge this beautiful blonde who seemed to have had some grudge towards her best friend. Although this blonde was seemingly strong, Kesha wasn''t afraid of her. They both were a member of the Elite trainees. So she believes she stands a little chance.


    "Guys, guys, look, the goddesses were going on a duel." Some random dude in the area started which caught the attention of other trainees around.


    "Really?"


    "It seems!"


    "Wohooo, interesting!"


    "Let''s go!"


    And so the crowd suddenly gathered and formed a circle around the girls. On timing when Instructor Goki together with three other instructors and some well-dressed people arrived. About 7 people in a well-dress came with the instructors. Seemingly some high officials in this academy and this city.


    "Ahaha. Look how spirited our newbies are. I wonder what they are up to." Said one of the well-dress people. Wearing an ash-gray polo suit. Paired with black pants and shiny black shoes. The person was having a wide forehead and fatty belly. With slight mustache on his round face.


    "Hm, you are right Mayor Chan. But I came here to watch the said kid with genius-level talent in magic. The young man of the Sun family." Seconded by a middle-aged man wearing a military officer suit. With badges hanging on his chest. This man was the military chief stationed in this city.


    "Fufufu. Then lets the fun begin." Principal Mar Mari stated and beckoned on Goki.


    The other people with them are probably these high personnel''s assistants.


    Goki''s brows twitched upon noticing the gathering of trainees.


    "Formation!" Instructor Goki demanded in a shout.


    The crowd suddenly dismissed in regrets as they rushed into their formation forthwith. They lined in their usual rows and columns formation.


    Goki, who was wearing a black cap, a black t-shirt that paired with green military pants and combat boots, walked in front with his hands hidden on his back.


    He stepped back and forth from side to side, seemingly examining the trainees.


    About 15 seconds later...


    "Alright, as I already announced in advance this morning, today''s training will involve a mock duel. Each of you shall participate. If you have someone you want to challenge just state the name. Each of you could only challenge in a duel one time. So choose your partner wisely!"


    He stopped and scanned each of the trainees. He nodded when he noticed that most of them were full of fighting spirits. Except for one though. Goki just ignored that specific one, after all, he was not the fighter type. More or less, he was the weakest, although he felt bad for him. Actually, the higher-ups just announced it on the whim about having a mock duel in this morning''s training because some high personnel would be coming to inspect the newbies. He finds it unsuspicious, so why not.


    And that is how this mock duel was decided on a whim.


    He just hoped that no one would choose to challenge that little commander. And let him be.


    He would give an exception for him. Not because he disregarded him, but because he felt sorry for him.


    Yman felt a chill, like someone just thinking bad at him. Or maybe felt pity at his situation. Really, this duel was bad news for him. Someone like him, who was hated by many, for certain, most of the trainees salivating to embarrass him in this duel.


    After all, some high officials are here to watch. This was the perfect time to embarrass someone like him.


    As expected, a group of trainees were having wicked smiles at the moment. Kiko''s eyes glinted in excitement as he thought, ''What a great chance.''


    Yman''s face twitched. If he knew that something like this would happen today, he would choose to be absent in today''s training.


    By the way, how come he got no news about it yesterday? Maybe it was announced so early this morning?


    Hah! He could only let a sigh escape from his mouth. Well, he was a little excited too. After all, this was only a mock duel.


    Since it was a mock duel, for certain, they would stop the duel before it got out of hand. So this duel would probably be beneficial to him too.


    "Instructor Musk, Instructor Torr, and Instructor Beth will be the judge of today''s mock duel!" Goki added.


    "Fufufu, this is going to be exciting. Too much hype." The woman instructor named Beth stated as she stepped forward and licked her red lips.


    Most of the male trainees suddenly felt a burning aura within them.


    She looks elegant in a navy blue dress outfit that she wore at the moment. Red lips and light makeup summed up with her waist-length wavy brown hair.


    She was oozing with adult demeanor. And a faint smell of expensive perfume carried by the wind towards the trainee''s twitching nose holes. Most of the male trainees salivate at her voluptuous chest. With their eyes turned into a heart shape, like some dude who was under the effect of love potions.


    Although she was not as pretty as Almina and the blonde, she had a womanly charm that was unique to her.


    A sunflower-like deity was floating beside her. Every time the deity moves, the petals around its body rotated.


    "I wonder if the young man from the Sun family will join this duel?" Instructor Torr added.


    He was a towering man. Stood at 6 feet and 5 inches. With stone-like muscles and chest that seemingly made of stone; topped-up with a plain military green shirt and paired with military fatigue pants. He was wearing combat boots on his feet.


    Then a long slanted scar on his left eye that add a seemingly first impression that this guy had already taken many lives before.


    The trainees immediately gulped and went into deep silence. Scared at the towering man in front of them.


    A crow-like robotic deity in full black color was nesting on his broad shoulder.


    "Oh my, you really are a detestable person senior Torr. Look how you chickened out our newbies. Kukuku."


    A man in a straw hat and was chewing a piece of tree branch spoke sarcastically as he took a step forward. Two slim single-edge swords were hanging on his waists.


    And a panda-like deity was resting on top of his straw hat.


    These three people were the instructors that will be the judge in today''s mock duel.


    "Hmpf!" Instructor Torr just scoffed at Instructor Musk remarks.


    "Okay, everyone. Make a 50-meter radius of empty space!" Instructor Goki commanded in a whole loud voice.


    The trainees hastily made a circular space in a radius of 50 meters as the instructor required.


    When everything was set, ironically, the first who stepped forward was the girl with lavender hair that tied in a ponytail, it was Kesha. And she demanded to challenge the blonde girl, Maena Hex.


    Maena wanted to challenge Almina, but she was not allowed to refuse the challenge.


    The two girls were facing each other in the center of the round empty space after choosing their weapon of choice.


    5 long tables were placed around to act as the ring or boundary. The guest officials and judges were sitting in front of some of these tables. And on the other table was placed the different kinds of training weapons.


    Instructor Goki stepped in the middle of the two girls. He would be acting as the referee.


    "The rules of these duels are just simple. Whoever hits their enemy 5 times will automatically be announced as the winner. The duel will be stopped if serious damage was dealt with with your enemy.


    You can''t choose to give up either since the judges will judge you through your statistics that can be seen inside a thin transparent magical widescreen(Holographic Screen). Your vital will be displayed in there, so only they had the power to decide if when to stop the duel..."


    After the long announcement of rules, the duel finally started.


    Maena''s weapon of choice was a bow and a quiver full of arrows. While Kesha chose a shield and a magic-based pistol.


    "What a wise weapon choice," Yman commented.


    "Fufufu, what a cheeky girl." Keremi, who was at his back, suddenly stated, but Yman did not know who he meant by it.


    RESONANCE!!


    The two girls shouted at the same time. Immediately, their body was enveloped by the brilliance of green.


    Twang, twang, twang!


    Three arrows flew successively towards Kesha.

 Chapter 64：Spotless shield, ultimate defense

    Displayed in the wide transparent magical thin screen were the vital statistics of Kesha and Maena.


    Both were at level 4. But had a noticeable gap in their health points.


    Kesha''s total health points were 2,000 and Maena was 1,250.


    And besides their names, the kind or class of warrior (Profession) they are, is being displayed.


    Kesha was a Gun Shielder and Maena was an Archer. Although these professions were just temporary since they never even received serious training yet. The instructors were more inclined to basic training first. It was better for the trainees to build their foundation before the proper training of their magic and chosen profession began.


    It must be because Kesha was holding a shield that right now she had more total defense than Maena. And actually, her attributes were leaning more in Vitality and Dexterity. Whereas Maena''s attributes were more on Dexterity and Agility.


    The three arrows that Maena fired successively tore the space as it appeared in a second in front of Kesha.


    ''Pft, don''t think that shabby attack can hit me!'' Kesha inwardly snorted and raised the shield in her left hand to guard herself and block the fired arrows.


    Thud, thud, thud!


    It was followed by three consecutive dull heavy sounds when the arrows landed on the shield.


    With her defense, such an attack is child-splay.


    Kesha reacted fast by aiming the magic-based pistol at Maena. A second after feeding it with her mana. She pulled the trigger continuously to return the fire.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    It hit the curve shield that covers the whole space like a dome. This shield was a defensive barrier, it was generated by magic tools known as Defensive Plates.


    The sudden loud and sharp noises from the pistol reverberated in the area.


    And the seemingly laser-like bullets in greenish hue travel the space much faster than the arrows.


    It hit nothing, except the defensive barrier, when Maena managed to evade the bullets by swaying her body left and right in a hasty motion.


    Maena forthwith ran to his right while releasing arrows one after another. This was a known tactic of most archers like her. They orbited on their enemy while kiting them.


    Because of her agile movements, Kesha was having trouble aiming at her. Yet she was able to defend herself from Maena''s kiting attack.


    But a moment later, an arrow managed to graze her leg. Kesha frowned. ''Heck, Mina was right, this blonde is really strong. But no matter what, I won''t lose without a fight.''


    After pursing her lips, she yelled a war cry.


    "Haaaaah!"


    Almina who was spectating together with the other trainees knitted her brows.


    Around Kesha, the soil raised at the knee-length level. As of now, this was the only she could manage. She was not proficient yet at using her earth element. What she had practiced more since before was her light element. So as of now, she could only raise an earth shield at this level.


    It was enough to cover the lower part of her body where the blonde might be aiming.


    All the spectators narrowed their eyes. The military chief Henderson''s mouth extended into a smile.


    "Ohoho, incredible, these two lads are not only beautiful but also talented." Mayor Chan exclaimed.


    "Mhmm!" The chief nodded slightly.


    On the other hand, the Principal Mar Mari grinned.


    As expected, Maena''s arrow landed on the shield and some are on the soil that protects Kesha.


    Without wasting time, Kesha''s hand and the pistol were suddenly enveloped by green brilliance, then she fired once again.


    Ironically, the bullets traveled much faster and more destructive than before. It even plowed the ground and the shield that protects the spectators shook vehemently.


    Maena evaded all the bullets in a very small margin.


    Then she leaped to the right and released another arrow.


    Twang, Twang! And yet again, it was caught by Kesha''s shield. She even reinforced the shield with her strengthening ability to make it more durable.


    "Wooah!!! What an epic battle! As expected of Miss Almina''s friend, she wasn''t an ordinary girl also." Bob commented on Kesha''s skill.


    The other trainees immediately broke into a loud cheer, cheering for the two girls.


    The two were exchanging fires. But in the current situation, it was clear that Kesha has the upper hand because of her shields.


    Yman who was watching the duel thought that the ponytail girl did a good job combining a shield and a pistol. The arrows fired by the blonde could easily become a no threat by the shield. And while she was blocking the arrows, she could also return the fire.


    Although Miss Blonde easily avoided the bullets, it was only a matter of time before she tired herself.


    Regardless, are these two even a beginner? If they are, then what am I? A super beginner then. I''m sure these two can easily pass as junior trainees.


    Someone who was capable of evading the bullets at such a degree could only be said as remarkable. And the other one was having spotless defense! Like hiding herself in a turtle shell.


    He could only admire the two. Although both of them were nasty towards him. Regardless, he was not the type to be easily affected by verbal abuse.


    Kesha continued firing while shielding herself like a turtle in the shell. Not only did she have a shield, but she also had a cover-up. She looks like a real soldier in this regard who was battling in a war.


    Everyone could tell that in the current situation, the blonde was at the disadvantage.


    It is only a matter of time that Maena will tire out her stamina from running and evading Kesha''s attacks.


    Kesha grinned and thought that if she kept doing it, she might have a chance to win.


    Somewhere in the spectator side,


    Kiko''s eyes were fixed at the front but he was not looking at the two ladies battling in the duel. His eyes went through them and fixed to a person watching the duel in silence. It was Almina Amulet. However, even though they were facing each other, Almina''s gaze was on the duel. Maybe she did not notice him yet?


    A moment later Almina felt someone was staring at her and her eyes landed on that person known as Kiko. One of the talented trainees on this year''s batch. The young master of the Sun family. A potential rival for being an ACE of this academy.


    Almina was dead set on becoming the ace. Because being an ace comes with many benefits. And it was easy for her to prove her brother''s innocence to the top 10 outstanding families on the Outerworld.


    Kiko was more than happy when he felt Almina''s eyes on him. He was right after all. Seems like Almina could not resist the urge to glance at him.


    "Hehe." Kiko giggled.


    From time to time he also was sneaking glances at the blonde. But this blonde although exquisite young lady, yet Kiko felt that she was the type of girl that was having a superiority complex. He finds it cute though.


    However, his heart was dead-set on Almina Amulet. But even a king of a Kingdom had many concubines. What''s more, him. He could also get one or two.


    In any case, if he could manage to attract the blonde and Kesha also, then wasn''t it more fun and successful of him? He could get more lovers if he wanted, but he would let the number 1 spot for the dearest, Almina Amulet.


    Kiko grinned at the thought.


    In this era, where humans civilization is at the lowest, polygamy is allowed.


    POLYGAMY IS ALLOWED...


    POLYGAMY IS ALLOWED...


    POLYGAMY IS ALLOWED...


    The words reverberated in his mind.


    IT was only natural to someone like him who was born talented and the man who was destined to lead the academy to the highest podium would captivate all the beauties. Someone like him who was not only born handsome, rich, and strong as well, must claim all that he wants.


    Not only in this academy but also in the whole world. When his name spread widely as he triumphantly endeavored to the apex of power.


    Such thought was inside his head at the moment.


    He could even feel that at this moment, Almina and Kesha were already attracted to him. He could let Almina as his number one and Kesha as his second. It only a matter of time that the blonde would also fall on him.


    Only a little show-of of his ability is enough for the girls to scream his name in excitement.


    And for his most hated person, the waste, he would give him a slight pity by making him a slave. A loyal dog that would only bark whenever he was told to.


    Kiko grinned once again as he wetted his lips. Such a dream was not impossible for him to achieve. After all, he was strong.


    Beside him, his friends were loudly screaming for the girl''s name.


    Suddenly,


    "Ahaha, looks like the duel will come to an end much sooner," Keremi mumbled in a descending tone.


    Yman''s brows slightly raised and focused his eyes on the two who were in a duel.


    If he remembered correctly, wasn''t the blonde had some kind of ability that enables her to easily deal damage even with the stone-body of golems?


    As expected. After Yman remembered it. The wind was gathering on the tip of the arrow on the blonde''s bow that was aimed at Kesha''s direction.


    Yman with wide eyes was staring at the arrow. Weirdly, he felt some similarity when he was channeling mana.


    The wind gathered on the tip of the arrow, and when Maena released it, it tore the space in an instant but Kesha immediately raised her shield, then the arrow bore on the shield with low piercing noise.


    It was defended?!


    Most people thought in their minds. The arrow that looks so intimidating was successfully defended by the lavender haired beauty in a ponytail.


    But the crowd suddenly went into a deep silence.


    When they noticed a big hole in Kesha''s stomach. Yet no blood could be seen. Only pieces of light particles that were slowly dropped onto the ground.


    It was one of the best effects of resonance. Their body was just a copy of their original.


    In this state even if they pierced their body, as long as there were still health points left, they wouldn''t die immediately.


    Well, they won''t particularly die, they just reverted back into a normal person when HP reached zero. And could not use resonance again for approximately 1 month longest period.


    However, they could still feel pain. The same pain was felt by Kesha when her body was pierced.


    Kesha was agonizing from the pain of having her stomach being pierced by an inexplicable force.


    Her complexion immediately turned pale.


    She groaned. And her knees trembled.


    "Kesha!" Almina screams her best friend''s name worriedly.


    ... Kesha''s health points plummeted to 800 HP in just a hit. Thanks to her high defense, her HP is still above the limit.


    Her vision turned hazy. If she won''t do something, she was certain that she would lose consciousness in a second.


    Kesha in difficulty �� bit her lip and summoned more mana from within her body. Then, "Heal!" She shouted and next second, her body was enveloped by brilliance. It was her healing spell from her light element.


    The hole on her stomach slowly went back to normal as more light particles were gathering on it like they were covering or reinforcing the wound.


    Just a few seconds had passed when the wound was totally healed. In Kesha''s mind, she could not let herself be defeated easily, after all, Kiko was watching. Although that attack from the blonde was unexpected to her.


    "She really was above of my league," Kesha mumbled.


    Finally, the hole on her stomach was fully healed. And her health points went up once again.


    However, before she could act again, another arrow that was also covered in the wind element came faster than the first one. Faster and more wind was visibly coating it.


    Out of reflex, Kesha covered her body with her shield in hand.


    Whoosh! Thud! Another low dull sound was heard when it landed on Kesha''s shield and bore its tip on it. Kesha''s shield already had 10+ arrows sticking on it turning into something like spikes.


    Yet...


    "The battle is over! The winner is �� the archer Maena Hex!" Goki''s loud announcement was heard.


    The other trainees, even the mayor, had knitted their brows, wondering why the battle had been stopped so suddenly.


    The girl with the shield was still fine and still standing within her defensive wall. And the arrow only hit the shield!


    But when the judges showed the vital statistics screen. Kesha''s health points were left with 500 only.


    They also noticed a bigger hole in Kesha''s stomach once again. Bigger than before.


    They could not let the battle continue like this. If the health points reach zero, it will take longer for the magician to use resonance again with their deity if not using an expensive medicine which the academy did not want to waste their finance in mundane things.


    And the instructors could not approve that a trainee will be absent at the training for long. Because the real magic training will begin soon.


    So 500 HP is the boundary for a player to lose the match.


    A second later, Kesha fell on the ground and lost consciousness. Then the resonance has been canceled. Her body went back to normal. The greenish glow from before is already gone. And a deity was floating beside her calling her name anxiously.


    "Kesha! Kesha!" Almina immediately rushed to her side.


    "Ha~haaa~! I never thought to see such a skill in the first duel. Indeed, this year''s batch had much promising youth. Kudos to you Principal Mar for finding such a magician." The Chief let out a yelp and praised the principal.


    Principal Mar Mari cackled.


    "Hmm...In any case, what kind of skill is that?" The mayor who was not proficient with magic matters asked in puzzlement.


    "Ah, it was one of the signature abilities of one of the heroes who fought the Dominion Devil inside the infernal regions, the Netherworld or Abyss. (The chief face turned grim slightly.)" Then he continued saying: "That skill is known as��"


    "The Arrowbites?!" Yman exclaimed after Keremi explained the skill used by the blonde.


    "Yes, my prince."

 Chapter 65：Death Immunity Particles

    After the fight ended, the hole on the stomach of Kesha had already gone and it returned back to normal after the resonance had been canceled, like no wound on there in the first place except for the torn part of her training suit.


    Yet some marks of blood are still on the ground. Wounds may not bleed while in resonance, but coughing blood is different.


    The resonance''s main priority is to ensure the body is safe by sustaining it with death immunity using the particles known as Photonocules, from the root word of Photon-Nano-Molecules.


    It''s not a type of molecule, it''s just modeled after the molecules using the super-advanced technology and magic that became possible through resonance.


    However, unlike the molecules, it prevents the person''s body from heavy loss of blood and prevents him/her from dying when the person in resonance took a hit or wounded himself gravely that may cause a person''s death.


    Some people even called these Photonocules as Death Immunity Particles or DIP.


    Although, it would only activate when a person was in resonance with their deity.


    However, these DIP neglected wounds like a scratch or graze or any trivial injuries that would never cause death to a person in resonance.


    After all, its main function was to maintain the body''s safety of the person.


    Even if the person lost blood and took grazes, as long as it won''t cause the person''s death, the DIP would neglect it. That''s why, even if a person was in resonance, there''s a chance for him to lose blood, suffer exhaustion, and take some grazes or any small wounds.


    The light particles on Kesha''s wound were the so-called Photonocules, Death Immunity Particles, or DIP in short.


    Kesha lost her consciousness due to unbearable pain and from the accumulation of fatigue. But her condition was far from danger. Just a little rest and she would regain her strength later on. After all, the magician''s body was tougher than the normal human.


    She was stretchered to the medical tent that could be seen in the distance from the training grounds, Almina went with her.


    Nonetheless, the battle she showed was highly commendable. That shield and a gun combo of hers will surely put headaches to all her opponents who don''t have an ability capable of high penetration power.


    It might be the reason why she was selected as one of the Elites even though she only has the affinity of 2 elements. Whereas most Elites had 3.


    On the contrary, the Arrowbites ability of the blonde will surely become a big nemesis to enemies leaning towards Vitality and having low agility, and without any ability to counter it.


    *Sigh!*


    Yman let out a sigh after some thinking. If only he had such ability, he could probably finish his mission much faster and easier.


    It was a good decision for the judges that they stopped the duel before something more serious would happen.


    After all, it was only a mock duel.


    He glanced at his left side and noticed the blonde panting slightly. A bead of sweat sparkled on her forehead when it was hit by the sunray. It added more appeal to her beautiful face. Her fair, smooth, and flawless skin was becoming paler, yet more attractive. Looking at her, Yman could tell that she was exhausted.


    It is only natural though, for all that running and evading the bullets she did, certainly, anyone would be gasping for breath after that. And they were still fledgling, to begin with.


    "Wow, congratulations M-Ms. Maena!"


    "....."


    He forced a lazy smile when he noticed her ignoring the girl beside her who was praising her for winning the duel.


    |What a snobby girl, ahaha.|


    Yman commented inwardly and forced a laugh in a descending tone as he thought that this blonde really had no eyes and ears towards someone who was weaker than her. She would give notice only to those people who she deemed strong.


    For some reason, Maena felt someone was gazing at her, so she glanced to her right side and caught that unhealthy person promptly turning his head to the front.


    ''Tis! This weakling.'' She clicked her tongue. Her brows wrinkled and sent a sharp gaze towards him. She was certain that that person was looking at her originally.


    Yman immediately returned back his eyes at the front while scratching the side of his face, because unexpectedly, that girl glanced to his direction.


    He wondered if that girl caught him staring at her.


    Regardless, he must focus himself on the instructor''s announcements for the next battle.


    ''Hmph.'' Maena narrowed her eyes at him and snorted before she returned her gaze at the front. Waiting for the next battle.


    "Heck, I don''t even know how Ms. Kesha was defeated." Someone among the trainees whispered.


    "Yeah, me too." Added by another voice.


    "Didn''t she successfully block the attack of Ms. Maena?" Someone asked.


    "Right." Answered by another person.


    "In any case, I don''t know how Ms. Maena was able to pierce the stomach of Ms. Kesha." Another person stated.


    "Yeah. Me too!" Seconded by someone.


    "But. What a good duel that was! Now I feel I am burning with a fighting spirit." Someone exclaimed.


    "Right?"


    "Ahaha."


    "Whoooo! I''m motivated to fight too."


    "Me too....."


    The topic about the first duel still continued and did not die yet even after Instructor Goki went into the center and was announcing about the second duel while holding a tablet in his hand.


    Even Bob was looking at his back and asked Yman and Keremi about that duel. He nodded his head in reply. Currently, his head was full of thinking for the coming duel.


    Some trainees shouted in excitement. Excited for their turn to show their skills to the officials. Most of them felt motivated after watching a good duel from those two pretty girls.


    Kiko was grinning at the sideline. Waiting for his turn. He really was etching to embarrass that person he hated the most. Not only him, but all his friends around him were also thinking so.


    Ahem! Goki cleared his throat.


    "Alright, the next person I will be going to call out next shall come forward and you will choose the person you want to fight," Goki announced.


    Yman frowned at this arrangement. It was not good for him if the instructor chose Kiko or his friends.


    Those guys had personal issues towards him. Not good to fight them at this stage. Even though it was only a mock duel, those guys for sure would not let him go with a scratch only.


    There were some ways to bend the rules in accordance with their motive without being penalized.


    His only chance is that Instructor Goki would choose him first so that he could select a better non-hostile opponent towards him.


    Like for example those natives from this world. Most of them didn''t know him. Even if he lost, he would lose in a fair and educational way, and not in a hotheaded confrontation. Although they looked fierce and scary, he believed that they would show mercy at him.


    At Least that''s what he believes in.


    For Yman, it wasn''t about being scared, it was about knowing one''s capability. Yman knows that he was the weakest person among all the trainees here.


    Not just because he had lower status compared to others, these statuses are just there to put in numbers their strength, vitality, senses, dexterity, agility, and etcetera. It''s not really that 100% accurate. Maybe about 99% accurate.


    One''s capability can only be decided by his own ability and skills or how he handled himself in a fight.


    But the big difference between him and the others is their magic abilities and breakthrough level.


    They were much faster in casting. And it was only natural since he has no mana and depended only on his channeling talent that was known as trash talent or ability. Which is probably true based on his experience, since the execution of his skill was even slower than those with mana.


    Yman swallowed his saliva. But it was a different issue if he used his black mana.


    Whenever he used his Black Mana. He could easily manipulate his channeling talent like it was an extension of his limbs.


    It actually puzzled him. Since even if he was in resonance with Sistela and used her mana, the execution of skill is still a bit laggy. Unlike when he was using his Black Mana.


    Although many people have channeling abilities, he was certain that most of their knowledge about it was only on his level.


    The breakthrough level of their limiter also played an important role in one''s strength. Which is Yman also behind in this aspect.


    He was having a headache thinking about it so he decided to put it at the back of his mind for now.


    Yman made a gesture of putting his hand on his head to catch the instructor''s attention. Yet... the instructor seemed to be snubbing him as his eyes wandered around the trainees and did not even give a glance at him. After all, he was hidden at the back of Bob''s broad back. And in Goki''s perspective, Yman''s arms must be numbing that''s why he raised them. Goki already chose the next participant.


    He pulled down his hand in dismay.


    The next one who went to the stage was a boy. Yet Yman seemed to remember the dude.


    If he wasn''t wrong, that guy was one of those four from yesterday who was talking on his back when he was training on the shooting platform.


    After checking the guy''s info, Instructor Goki''s eyes narrowed: ''Another well-known name.'' He thought. Then his mouth opened and said: "Bren Storm, choose your opponent." Instructor Goki said.


    Bren in a toothy grin scanned around the trainees, for his desired opponents.


    And his eyes landed on the specific person. Everyone was shocked as he called his opponent''s name.

 Chapter 66：Fusing skills

    "Kiko Sun?!!!"


    Everyone shouted under their breaths after Bren Storm called out Kiko''s name as his opponent.


    This decision of his was unexpected to all. Even his friends were having shocked faces. They also weren''t expecting Bren to choose Kiko to be his opponent.


    Why did he choose someone of such caliber to be his opponent? His friends asked in their minds. It was known to everyone that Kiko was from the Elite section. And he was a wielder of great talent that was favored by the instructors and even by the elders as the one who has a high chance of bringing the whole academy into the top of the ranking. Such thoughts were present in everyone''s mind.


    Each trainee has scattered thought at the moment.


    Actually, this was also the reason why Bren chose Kiko as the opponent.


    Kiko frowned.


    He never expected that someone would challenge him so blatantly.


    "Fool," Marco muttered while staring daggers at Bren and shook his head in disgust.


    "Hahaha. What a joke! That guy probably hit his head so hard and forgot who he shouldn''t choose to challenge." Bruno followed while guffawing.


    "Hehe. Is that guy an idiot?" Other friends of them said and chuckled.


    "Tsk, such a pushover." Kiko felt awful at Bren. He originally wanted to fight that Froggyman and embarrass him.


    The judges seemed to be excited at the next duel.


    "Hehe. So we are already at the climax of the show?" Instructor Musk asked with a grin.


    "This is what I''ve been waiting for...! Finally, finally! Ahahaha!" Torr exclaimed excitedly. Finally, he was able to witness again that kid''s ancient technique, the Earth-Crushing Technique.


    "Oh, I started to like that kid. Someone who is not afraid to challenge a strong opponent is worthy of praise." Instructor Beth pointed to Bren.


    Yman who was near the judge''s table heard what the Instructor Beth said. Because of her words, he felt some arrow let loose and hit his head from behind.


    Regardless, for him, he would rather escape or chose a weaker opponent than feed himself to the beast.


    Safety first!


    Most of the trainees wanted to question Bren of why he chose Kiko as his opponent.


    But Bren had reasons that were not simple to achieve. He knew that Kiko was strong. And that is also the reason why he chose him as an opponent.


    If ever he was able to defeat him in this duel, even out of luck only, for sure his popularity would rise immediately.


    And he might get a chance to be close to the most beautiful girls in this academy. Actually, not just that. It is also about his family. The Storm family used to be one of the tops in the Middle Region.


    Yet their family slowly declined for not producing talented offspring for about 5 generations.


    In order to prove himself. He must defeat someone stronger. And the best target for him was Kiko who was favored by many in this academy.


    If he lost in this duel, nothing really much of an impact on him. After all, the gap in their strength was noticeable.


    On the official''s table, Mayor Chan and Chief Henderson also have curious faces. They already had some news about this specific trainee who was said to have a great talent, with the high probability of bringing the academy into the top of ranking once again.


    After choosing their weapons, everyone expected for Kiko to use a sword. But contrary to their expectations, he chose nothing.


    He was barehanded!


    Bren felt like he just swallowed a bitter food. And he was wearing a grim expression on his face.


    "Arrogant. I will defeat you." Bren mumbled and the sword in his hand trembled from his grip.


    "Hehe..." Kiko smirked while spreading his hands open, welcoming Bren to attack.


    "Haha, that kid even has the heart to feel pity to his opponent and present a handicap." The judge''s Torr chuckled at Kiko''s behavior but he found it amusing.


    "I don''t think he was pitying him. More like, he is looking down on his opponent. Mhm." Instructor Musk added while nodding his head.


    "Kufufu. I hope to see a good fight." Instructor Beth cackled.


    After their resonance, their body was immediately enveloped by greenish brilliance.


    Without wasting any second, while he was holding the sword hilt in his right hand, Bren caressed the sword blade using his left hand and it was followed by the mana of green brilliance, coating the sword blade.


    Then more mana burst on his feet as he made a huge sudden stride towards Kiko.


    "Dieeeee!!!! Bastard!!!" He dashed towards Kiko like a comet.


    And followed by...


    BANG!


    A loud explosion was heard. The mixture of smoke and dust arises. Forming like a tree.


    Then,


    Whoosh! The burned smell was carried by the wind as it invaded their nostrils.


    The area was dead silent like it was desolated.


    A moment later when the dust and smoke were carried by the wind and caused the surroundings to clear up, a charred body fell face-first on the ground.


    Then it glowed for a moment and next second, a deity cushioning on a person''s back. His color went back to normal also, but he lost his consciousness.


    "He was defeated in one explosion?!! All the people in the area shouted behind their breaths!"


    "Such domineering aura!"


    "A true genius indeed!"


    Everyone thinks so.


    Kiko walked towards his friends as if nothing happened in the first place. After three steps he stopped and glanced at Yman. Narrowed eyes and disgust was visible on his face. In Kiko''s mind, it should be that person that is laying like a charred piece of wood at the moment.


    ''Well, there are still more chances to come, and next time I will make sure to grill that frog as crispy as possible.''


    After a quick thought, he proceeded towards his friends who were at the moment in full excitement.


    "Hahaha, Kiko Dude, you have never told us that you''re bad at grilling this whole time. Ahahaha!" Bruno who was holding his stomach exclaimed with a big laugh.


    "Yeah, gyahaha, oh boy, you overcooked that one. Gyehehehe!" One of Kiko''s friends added and cackled.


    "Ha~haaaah! I already expected this to happen." Said Marco as he shook his head in disappointment for that guy who challenged Kiko.


    *Sigh!* Kiko sighed as he wanted to fight that froggy originally but was spoiled by that side character.


    For Kiko though, everyone was a side character for his glorious path of achieving his goal.


    Even that frog was just a comedic villain for him. He just wanted to squash him for a swallow reason of ''that guy was like a personified bad omen, whenever he saw his face, his goodwill will be sullied, because of how unhealthy and gloomy he looks.


    Like, he was spreading negativities around him.''


    Seeing his face made Kiko want to vomit. It was what he originally felt before. That was also the reason why they ganged up on him when he passed by in the alleyway on that day of the evaluation exam.


    However, after that incident on the cliff, his anger towards that person had reached the pinnacle of a mere disgust. And now sprouted a real animosity towards that person.


    But after realizing that even that mere frog, an unessential comedic villain has almost killed him?! Kiko realized that he could not just let loose his cool.


    And so even in the hospital, he practiced and invented new techniques. With his high level of control with his mana, he finally found a better ability for him. An ability that suits that person. An ability to grill that frog for good.


    And now he wanted to thoroughly dispatch him.


    Everyone was having surprised and unbelievable faces at the moment. Not all of them were smart enough to understand what happened in that instant. And most of them were overcome by deep emotions that wanted to scream that man''s name.


    "He-He-He''s so coooooool!!!" Most of the trainees thought so."


    "Kyaaaaahhhhh!!!" Some girls failed to hide their emotions and burst into deep admiration then shouted on top of their lungs as their emotions finally wailed up.


    "Kiko!!!"


    "Coooool!!!"


    "Marry me!!!"


    "Please be my boyfriend!"


    "One night is enough!"


    "Two nights is okay too!"


    "No, make it three!!!"


    "No, daddy K'' make me your baby!" Some random gay shouted in a flirtatious tone.


    Screams of excitement overcome the whole training grounds at the moment.


    "Woah! What was that?" Bob exclaimed in puzzlement of what or how it happened. That guy named Bren was KO''ed in just one instance!


    "Kere boy, Yman bro, what was that explosion?!" Since the two remained silent, he asked again after calling their names.


    "Ahaha. Must be his new technique. What do you think, my prince?" Keremi replied while showing a tired smile. He too had no idea why that guy named Bren suddenly exploded before his sword tip pierced Kiko''s face.


    Yman scratches the side of his face before opening his mouth, "Actually, I failed to see the whole picture of the skill execution �� but..."


    "But?" Bob repeated.


    "It must be some kind of �� skill fusion."


    "Skill fusion?" Bob repeated in puzzlement as more question marks floated above his head.


    "Hm, must be a combination of skills or techniques. Right, my prince?" Keremi explained.


    "Mhm." Yman slightly nodded. He really felt awkward about the way Keremi called him.


    "So it''s like that." Bob in realization mumbled and added, "But what kind of skills he fused?"


    Keremi and Bob glanced at Yman. Who was now in between of the two.


    Yman''s eyes slightly narrowed.


    "I''m not too sure, but, hm..." he stopped for a moment and thought, while slightly biting the tip of his thumb.


    "If I made a guess, it would be his explosion ability with the addition of fire and wind element. And hid it in the ground using his earth element." Yman explained.


    "A-A-A land mine?"


    "Basically. Fufufu. As expected of you my prince."


    "No. This is just my honest deduction but I''m not too sure if it was really the truth. Regardless, only the person himself knows the truth."


    Actually, this was just based on Yman''s observation of Kiko''s skill that he saw he used from that day on the cliff. And because he used some earth element ability on that day, he assumed he had an affinity for it. Then he used fire also. And the explosion happened from below of that guy named Bren. So it must be something like a landmine.


    It was also known to everyone that Kiko had an Earth-Crushing Technique which is an explosive type of ability. Not just explosive but it also can cause an explosion. Although not a strong explosion, it would have different results if he combined it using his fire element.


    It only means that Kiko delayed the explosion like a timed bomb.


    But the problem comes, how he managed to delay the explosion? Or hold it for a certain period of time?


    The only possible answer that Yman comes up with is...he coated it using a wind element. Only wind elements can do such. If it was water, then it will defuse the explosion instead. Earth and water was not a good pair, it shortens the water''s time of manifestation. Because basic knowledge says: earth absorbs water.


    That''s why Yman assumed that Kiko also had an affinity for wind elements.


    Yman suddenly noticed some realization. The mechanics and execution of combining the skills to create a new type of skills. Just like when he was executing his channeling ability. Maybe he could also do some tricks with his ability?


    Not only the trainees were surprised at the results of the duel, but also the judges themselves. And even the officials.


    "Ahaha. So that''s the reason he did not choose a weapon. I thought he was just cocky. Hahaha. This kid is really an interesting person." Instructor Torr exclaimed in excitement. He became more of a fan of Kiko''s talent.


    "Fufufu. In any case, although the fight I expected did not happen, the result is more than a good fight. Fufufu. I wanted to train him personally." Beth declared.


    "Heeehehehe. No. That kid should be trained by me." Musk also declared.


    "No way. That kid belongs to me. His abilities were more suited to be one of my students." Torr joined the two.


    They were really surprised by Kiko''s skills. But because of excitement, they failed to voice it out.


    The chief showed more interest at Kiko after such a domineering performance.


    Mayor Chan and Principal Mar giggled in excitement as they thought, ''Middle Region Magic Academy will surely reach the top ranking on this year''s competition with this person.''


    Kiko''s name resounded.


    Almina who was tending on Kesha heard a loud cheering noise from the training ground. She looked towards the area and thought something interesting probably happened.


    |Not only does he have high control with his mana, but he also has super-fast casting speed.| Yman thought in dismay.


    Yman glanced at the blonde and surprised that she was having the same face. No reaction at all. Only nodded her head slightly. Probably, she appreciated Kiko''s performance. Looks like she found a new friend.


    After the unconscious Bren was brought to the medical tent, many trainees went next after Kiko''s duel.


    Some shouted as they won, adding more confidence in themselves. While some griefed as they lost but it only bore courage to make themselves stronger. Although some took it seriously and felt down. While their friends tried to liven them.


    As more trainees finished their duel, Yman''s turn came closer.


    Sistela who was in standby mode a while ago finally woke up, she yawned and asked. Actually, as of now Yman and Sistela are still in ''resonance'' state.


    In standby mode, the use of battery and mana was being conserved and only a little of it would be spent. But it also means some of its features are in lock mode.


    Yman could not show Sistela''s form to others, she looked so funny. Although her head was cute, her body was awkward.


    So he had to spend some mana and battery. And it also a part of her training in controlling mana by herself. After all, she will be the lever and Yman was a switch only.


    ''Nothing. Just some kind of a game.'' He replied through a ''thought conversation''.

 Chapter 67：The person you used to look down

    Yman made some obvious gestures just to steal the attention of Instructor Goki; however, without him knowing, Goki also was intentionally disregarding him.


    Actually, he was wondering if why seems he was purposely ignored by the instructor.


    Instructor Goki does not want him to duel so as not to hurt himself. For him, Yman had no need to fight in this duel. What he needed to do was to practice his leadership skill. Being strategist was more suited to him. Maybe he would be the one to lead the academy to group battles on some of the competitions.


    Now that Kiko was already out of the picture, Yman was finally able to breathe in relief.


    But for some odd reason, after the instructor chose the next trainee to duel, he would whisper in their ears.


    Yman just thought of it that the Instructor Goki was giving advice to them. Actually, Yman''s thought was spot on.


    "You''re next," Goki pointed at one of the trainees.


    "Yes sir!"


    When the trainee stood beside him, Goki whispered in his ears, "Actually, if you want to become stronger choose a stronger opponent or someone as strong as you in this duel. Not the like of that infamous brat who had zero mana and was the least talented in a fight. You won''t gain good experience in fighting someone like that. Understood?"


    "Y-Yes sir, I u-understood! Thanks for your guidance sir!"


    Yman noticed the trainee bowed slightly at the instructor.


    The trainee chose his opponent who he thought was a good opponent for him.


    Clang, clang, clang!


    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!


    Their duel lasted 3 minutes. And both of them took damage. The trainee that was called out first by Goki was defeated but he was happy at the result and even said his thanks to him.


    Goki grinned. Not only did he avoid the trainee feeling down after their defeat, but he also was helping them so as to more improve themselves. And not only that, he avoided Yman to go on the duel too.


    Just like hitting 3 birds with one stone.


    Hehe, Goki giggled.


    The duel continued. Many trainees finished their duels.


    Bob was able to make a draw result with an opponent that has the same ability as him. His opponent was one of Kiko''s friends with the element of earth and wood. While Bob''s element was metal.


    Their fight was like two boulders crashing into each other. It was the longest fight to finish. And the judges decided to finish it with a draw.


    "Damn! I can still fight! Why did the judges stop the fight? I almost got that gorilla!" Kiko''s friend roared in dismay behind his breath.


    "Chill up, Mario dude! Hahaha, since both of you did your part already, let me handle that Toadman!" Bruno declared with a big laugh.


    Kiko and the others could only cheer at him.


    Yet...


    "I choose that person as my opponent!" Someone pointed at Bruno.


    "What? Damn it dude! Why me of all people here? I have a mission you know!" Bruno growled.


    His friends chuckled as they thought, ''Mission my ass?!''


    Yman on the sideline just forced a dry laugh. After Bruno and the guy who chose him as his opponent finished their duel. Bruno won in a domineering manner. His opponent was having a hard time countering his shield magic that was made from wind. All of the attacks of his enemy were being slowed down by it, and sooner dropped on the ground because of the loss of velocity.


    The next duel was between the guy who Yman never forget. It was the guy who pushed him inside the auditorium on the Outerworld.


    His enemy was a knife user. And that guy used a dagger.


    The two of them contested through speed. Both were agile and used the same elements. However, the fight ended with that guy''s victory, using a special move.


    Before he left the center, he sent a sharp glance at Yman. He just scratched the side of his face and thought, |How troublesome.|


    Chloe managed to win in difficulty against a girl opponent, and Mai won too against a bestial girl opponent with cat ears. Although she was agile and sent a combo of swipes to Mai, Mai''s transformation magic dominated her. Chloe sent a cheer on her while Bob''s voice dominated the other''s voice. Yman just sent a thumbs up at her.


    She said her thanks to them. Although they were not in the same section, both of them were able to get close to each other from that horrendous travel.


    Keremi won against a bestial opponent without receiving a single hit. Yman was wondering about Keremi''s speed. Although he didn''t look fast while he was fighting, the enemy could not land a hit at Keremi. Just like before when they fought with the Mustang Spider. The spider failed to land a hit on him too.


    Brai and the other Elite members dominate their opponents easily.


    Goki was grinning broadly, actually, he wasn''t only avoided calling Yman, he also avoided choosing those trainees who had clear animosity towards him. Until the other trainees would choose them.


    Chief Henderson, Mayor Chan, and principal were very pleased with the results of every match.


    "Haaah~ Now I agree that this batch of trainees has many talented individuals. Hehehe! This is getting more exciting. I wanted to train some of them personally!" Instructor Musk said while chewing a small piece of a tree branch.


    "Yeah! Hahaha. But that Kiko kid shall be taught by me alone! Gyahaha!" Instructor Torr declared in a loud voice.


    "Ufufufu." Beth just laughed.


    Kiko on the distance felt proud of himself after hearing the instructor''s words.


    Yman on the other hand raised his hand and called out, "Instructor Goki, sir!"


    Goki glanced at him, "Yes? You have something to ask?"


    "Yes, sir. What about me? I did not take part in the duel yet." Yman asked him.


    The other trainees went into random murmurs again after hearing him.


    "Pufft, that guy again."


    "Haha, who would want to duel him? It''s just a waste of time, anyway."


    "Yeah, and we would probably not learn anything if we did fight him."


    "You got it right! Hahaha!"


    Such murmurs reached his ears.


    Goki forced a drily smile, "Ah, is that so? Oh sorry about that. But that''s fine I guess. Since you have no pair."


    Suddenly, Judge Beth also asked, "By the way, Instructor Goki, is that the last pair?" Beth asked Goki.


    "Yeah, it seems. Actually, there is one person left here. But no need to push him to duel since he has no pair." Goki replied like it wasn''t important talking about it.


    "Hmm... is that so? Okay then." Said Beth as she was about to stand.


    "....."


    Yman was speechless, wondering if he was lucky or not. Shall he rejoice? Or be sadden?


    "So that''s the last pair, huh."


    "I guess."


    "Then, are we free to leave now?"


    The other trainees started to leave.


    "Oh, so that''s the last pair?" The chief asked.


    "Probably." Mayor Chan replied.


    "Fufu. Well, we did see a very entertaining performance from these trainees."


    "Kuku." Principal Mar laughed.


    Yman was in dismay. He wanted to try this duel too. But somehow, he had something more important needed to do.


    But...


    "Sir Goki," everyone stopped on their feet after hearing this familiar voice.


    Goki and Yman glanced at where the voice came from.


    "Y-Young Miss?!" Goki with a little shock in his voice called out her name.


    "When is my turn to duel?" She asked.


    Yman glanced at Goki.


    Goki had a sour face. Like he gulped something awful. He forgot her!!!, he thought.


    Almina just came back from tending on Kesha.


    "Oh right, the strongest girl had yet to duel. Fufufu. How forgetful of you Instructor Goki, sir." Beth said sarcastically.


    If Kiko was the strongest male trainee, then Almina was probably the strongest female trainee. But actually, this is just their assumptions, since no actual ranking yet.


    Goki immediately announced the last duel.


    "Okay, this is the last duel, Almina Amulet versus Yman Talisman! Hah~" Goki announced with a sigh.


    Yman with the face like it was his last day of being alive walked towards Goki and whispered, "Instructor Goki, sir, are you perhaps intentionally tried to feed me to the abyss?"


    Yeah, he wanted to duel, but not to the final boss!


    "Ugh," Goki felt he choked his own. He then put his hand on Yman''s shoulder and said in a somber voice, "Kid, I did all I could but a miscalculation happened."


    Yman narrowed his eyes from Goki''s reply, |So, it was your fault after all!| He exclaimed inwardly after realizing that Goki did something all this time.


    He wanted to preach it to the instructor, but Yman thought that it can''t be helped now. He sighed in defeat as he thought, |So, that''s why no one called to challenge me, huh.| He remembered the murmurs from other trainees.


    "Regardless, can I pre-register for medical insurance?" He asked seriously.


    Goki glanced at Yman and noticed he''s serious, "Pft," Goki was about to burst out laughing but managed to hold it.


    Almina who was having a red face at the moment was wondering what these two were whispering about.


    Her heart was racing like someone drumming inside. She''s not nervous, it''s just, she did not expect that she would be fighting him.


    In any case, it was also her chance to punish him right?, for forgetting her �� that is. She will make sure that he will never forget her again, fufu.


    After hearing Yman''s question, "Pft! Although, life is beautiful and you are still young. But d-don''t worry kid, even your funeral will be on my expense." Goki replied while tears were about to appear at the corner of his eyes because of trying to hold his laughter that about to burst out.


    "....."


    "And now you''re expecting me to die, huh. How mean." He said as he exhaled slightly while closing his eyes.


    Seeing his reaction, "Man up, kid, cheer up!" Goki tried to cheer him up while tapping on his shoulder repeatedly.


    Actually, he started to think of him as someone like a younger brother to him.


    *Sigh!*


    Almina chose a dual sword as her weapon. And Yman chose a sword too but paired it with a magic-based pistol.


    "A pistol and sword?" Bob asked in doubt.


    "Fufufu, I wonder how this duel will come out," Keremi muttered.


    Originally, Yman wanted to use a shield and a pistol like Kesha. But he realized that he would become a training dummy against Almina''s speed.


    The Chief and Mayor were having curious faces. And the judges were excited to see Almina abilities.


    They didn''t have any expectations towards her enemy. That was the guy they hated.


    Kiko on the sideline was having a fierce look on his face, thinking that if that Froggy touched even the slight hair of Almina, he would grill him on the spot!


    When Almina and Yman were facing at each other in the center, only Almina who shouted resonance. The people around were puzzled.


    "What? Will he give up?"


    "No way, that is against the rules!"


    Kiko grinned, "Hehe, that guy is afraid!"


    "No balls! Ahaha!"


    "Man up, Toad!" Bruno shouted.


    Chloe smirked, "Look at the person you guys used to look down, he managed to succeed first before us in controlling the mana." She mumbled and looked at Yman with a smile. Then silently said her ''Goodluck''.


    Until one of the trainees noticed a collar on Yman''s neck, "No. Look! He was in resonance already!"


    "Resonance?"


    "Resonance already?"


    "He''s in resonance already? What?"


    When they looked at Yman''s neck, they saw a collar.


    "He already mastered the mana control?" Beth asked with widened eyes.


    The others could not believe it. Almina was shocked also. But for some reason, she felt proud of him. Like, that person belong''s to her.

 Chapter 68：False Magician

    It has only been a couple of days since they arrived at this academy. And yesterday only, that the topic about it was lectured to them. Yet now, someone already mastered controlling it?


    Is this for real?!!! The other student and even the instructors and officials thought in surprise.


    However, it''s not just a random someone who achieved it. It was the infamous person, the weakest among the rest, and known as a no mana.


    What the hell?! It''s like saying that the crow changed its color to white! Very unbelievable!


    Everyone was flabbergasted.


    This is the first in history! No one was able to do it even those geniuses from before. The fastest one that had been recorded was about 3 days. And that person was a real genius.


    Every official in the academy that was present at the moment in the training grounds seemed like they had witnessed a miracle. They gawked in disbelief.


    The chief and mayor realized that all of the trainees who fought first were still not able to control their mana. But this kid right now had already done it?! They stared at him full of curiosity and doubts.


    Yman on the other hand was puzzled by everyone''s reactions. He asked his trusted partner, ''My deity, is it that great to learn how to control mana?''


    Honestly, Yman didn''t feel any out of the ordinary that worth taking notice about it except for it being able to conserve mana.


    Sistela replied in an annoyed voice.


    Yman scratched his face and thought that what Sistela said was right, ''Hah~ sorry about that,'' Yman was sorry for her and sighed.


    For him, aside from being able to conserve the mana usage and able to conceal the glow if ever one wanted to do a sneak attack, nothing else is worth mentioning about it. And it was easy to learn. He believes that others could do it fast too if they know the fundamentals of it.


    Like for example, he and Sistela; his way of learning it might not be applicable to others, but they only need to understand the fundamentals of it.


    Wait... Yman realized something. Actually, the curiosity he felt towards his channeling ability has always been lingering in his mind recently. Like something always reminded him about it whenever he forgot about it. But maybe it was only his imagination.


    |What if my channeling ability also followed certain fundamental �� rules? Hmm... possible. But... the question is... what kind of fundamental it is?| Yman in deep thought disregarding the noise of surprise around him.


    He felt he was moving towards the realization. Yet he also felt that what he knew was still too shallow. Actually, He had this urge to search and to practice every time an idea popped up in his mind but now is not the right time.


    ''My deity, do you feel anything weird whenever I use my channeling ability?'' Again, Yman asked Sistela.


    Sistela was wondering why this partner of hers was asking her out of the blue questions. But she also noticed that he became polite at calling her. So she must pay him with kindness, after all, she was a kind deity. Her kindness knows no bounds.


    Sistela replied in her honest feelings.


    For some reason, he felt like he was being emphasized as a thief.


    ''Ahaha.'' Yman was sorry for her and laughed despondently, and thought that it was hard to search for something if you are in the dark, just like his situation.


    Actually, he didn''t think highly of this ability. Just, he has nothing else besides it. Since he could not use his Black Mana to breakthrough, he had to cling on this channeling talent of his in order to achieve a breakthrough. To become stronger.


    "That kid. Is he from the top family?" The chief finally asked as he couldn''t hold his curiosity anymore.


    "Hm..." Principal Mar was having a thinking gesture but could not remember that kid, so he tried to ask his assistant who was standing at their back about the identity of Yman.


    The assistant nodded. Then she took a tablet and scrolled on it. After a moment, the assistant whispered in Principal Mar''s ear. The principal nodded. Then he opened his mouth saying, "Unfortunately, he''s not. He is an ordinary kid. Based on his information in the panel, he came from the orphanage."


    "Ordinary person and orphanage? .....So he''s not from the top family." The chief sounded dejected.


    He was a bit curious about that kid; after all, being able to learn how to control the mana in just a day was a very rare event.


    Kiko who was silently listening to all the conversation of surprise from the people around him had knitted his brows. Based on what he heard, most of them thought that that person was awesome. He was the first one who succeeded in controlling the mana.


    Kiko didn''t like the way the situation was going. The others slowly changed the way they were seeing that person, ''If this went on, there is a high possibility that they will think of him as an outstanding person later on. Tsk. This isn''t good.'' Kiko thought.


    He must do something before that guy becomes an awesome person in the other''s eyes.


    *Beep!* Unexpectedly, he grinned when something came up.


    Currently, Yman and Almina were standing opposite to each other at the center while gripping their weapons of choice in hands.


    The duel had not started yet, but both of them were ready to go. They were distracted by the people around them.


    Suddenly, "Hahaha." A roar with laughter broked the noise of whispers and murmurs in the whole training grounds.


    All the trainees, even the officials, and judges looked at the source. Goki, Yman, and Almina also glanced.


    They saw the guy in Kiko''s group guffawing while holding his stomach. The guy named Bruno.


    Kiko grinned. After noticing that everyone came into a sudden dead silence, Bruno opened his mouth saying, "Everyone, dude, I think it is only natural that Toad-guy has no mana-excess, enveloping his body. After all, that Toad doesn''t have mana in the first place!"


    The crowd suddenly broke into whispers again. They thought that, what Bruno said was logical.


    Almina knitted her brows in disgust towards Bruno. Goki and Yman frowned. He knew what this guy was trying to say. But actually, he didn''t care about it. If this mana controlling really that great, then he needed its greatness not the praises from others.


    On the official''s table, Mayor Chan and Chief Henderson were having dumbfounded faces.


    "That kid had no mana?!" Mayor Chan asked in a slightly higher voice.


    "Is that right, Mr. Principal?" Followed by Chief Henderson.


    The principal glanced at his assistant and saw her nodded.


    "Yeah. It seems he was born as no mana." The principal replied with a forced smile.


    "Then he is an ordinary person. How come he was accepted in this academy? I thought you only recruited talented magicians this year, Principal Mar? Wait, he could not even be considered a magician in that case." Mayor Chan questioned the principal with a frown.


    "Wait. Wasn''t it against the rules of the academy to accept a no mana trainee? After all, it was a Magic Academy. This academy only belongs to magicians." The chief added.


    The principal felt he was in trouble. Thankfully the assistant whispered in his ear. The principal sighed in relief.


    "Actually, the attendants who evaluated him found a Hollow Cell inside him. But in the report, it says that his Hollow Cell was acting abnormally. It didn''t produce mana. However, that kid seemingly had this ability known as ''Channeling''?"


    "Hm, channeling?" The chief repeated. The chief was a little bit surprised. It''s not like this ability was not known. Actually, this ability was well-known for being a trash ability.


    "Yeah, it must be like that." Principal Mar nodded.


    "Tsk. Wasn''t that wasting our resources only? If that kid was admitted to this academy just because of that channeling then it''s just a waste of resources." Mayor Chan spat annoyingly.


    Not only that kid would never be a talent worth mentioning. He would never be a vital magician in the future. It was better to send him into the construction site or become an herbs collector outside the city, or any work to contribute to the city except being a trainee.


    In this world, or in every Human City in this world, the most banned type of people is those unproductive people and has a vague future. Every human sent to this world was only those humans that could contribute to the city.


    The trainees that were sent here were free of tuition and they had been given a free allowance in the first month. After that, they needed to do a mission to earn money for themselves. While they were doing missions, they not only fed themselves they also made contributions to the city and even to this world. They needed to be independent while being helpful to the city at the same time.


    This was the other side of this Human City and the academy.


    And being a trainee wasn''t easy. They needed to become strong if they wanted to stay long in this academy. If not, they would definitely find themselves at a loss when the time comes that they needed to venture into the more dangerous place.


    However, no mana and only a channeler? �� what can it do? This kid will probably face a dead end sooner or later. Only a true magician with actual mana could breakthrough this dead end. This kid is not suitable inside the academy. The Mayor thought.


    "So he is a channeler, or also known as a �� False Magician." Chief Henderson muttered.


    Principal Mar started to feel troubled, "In any case, for now, let''s see his performance first." Principal Mar said in order to divert the issue.


    "Hm, yeah, it must be the best we can do at the moment," agreed by the chief.


    He knew a little about the channeling ability, but he was in a hollow about the mana controlling ability of it. Although, that other kid said that it was because the other kid has no mana. However, the chief knew that a channeler could access mana in a different way. But he didn''t know how it works. This channeling ability is actually hard to comprehend. This was the chief honest thought at the moment.


    Mayor Chan knitted his brows in annoyance but didn''t contradict the two.


    Kiko on the sideline was grinning. Looks like the officials, the trainees, and the instructors had started to doubt that person.


    This is good, he thought.


    After noticing the discontent on the officials'' faces towards that person, especially the mayor, "I have a suggestion!" Kiko voices out.


    "Suggestion?" The crowd started to whisper at each other again.


    "Suggestion?" Beth repeated.


    "Bwahaha, that brat seemed to be up to something," Torr laughed and said.


    "Why not let him speak about this suggestion of his," Musk agreed.


    The chief nodded his head slightly.


    Yman felt that this guy was up to something. He was sure Kiko was planning something against him. Anyway, when did this guy able to use his brain? It was out of his character.

 Chapter 69：Let’s drag all of them

    All eyes were gathered on Kiko when he stood and walked towards the center while carrying his deity on his shoulder. He spreads his hands open on both sides like a professor who would be giving a lecture to his students as he announced that he has a suggestion.


    Yman, Almina, and Goki were looking at him with knitted brows. Especially Yman. He was wary of Kiko since he came back. He knew this guy won''t just stay silent after what happened on that cliff.


    The other trainees were busy conversing with the person beside them upon hearing Kiko''s sudden announcement, but most of them were staring at Kiko in silence while waiting for his next words.


    "What kind of suggestion do you mean, Kiko Sun?" Goki was the one who asked him.


    "I heard that it was in the academy''s rules that only magicians with mana are applicable to admit in the Magic Academy," Kiko said as he glanced at the officials.


    The officials on the table were looking at him in silence, waiting for Kiko''s main point for stroking this topic. It was just a few seconds that they touched this topic and yet Kiko tried to relive it.


    The instructors on the judge''s table were also having the same faces as the officials. They were curious about Kiko''s said suggestion.


    After noticing that the officials stayed silent, Goki opened his mouth again, "What do you want to point out, Kiko?" Goki again urged Kiko to say his main point.


    Kiko did not answer yet but he walked and stopped beside Almina. Almina seemed to be puzzled by him as she retreated a bit and moved near Yman and Goki. She was on Yman''s left while Goki was on Yman''s right side. They were looking at Kiko who had a puzzled face and contorted into a frown when Almina walked away from him. And not just that, she also stood beside his most hated person!


    Yman didn''t give any thought of Almina''s reaction, he was more concerned about Kiko''s plan.


    He just thought of it as her being shy or anxious to the guy she had a crush with, which was �� what Kiko thought also. Actually, Kiko thought the same but with a little doubt. He even questions himself if Almina truly likes him? In spite of that, Kiko still believed that maybe Almina was just shy at him or maybe anxious.


    After sending a warm smile to Almina; Although Almina frowned and thought that this guy was weird, Kiko continued saying, "Since I am a man of virtue, and Yman was a close friend of mine, I wanted to suggest to the mayor, chief, and to the principal to let Yman prove himself that he was qualified to this academy."


    Almina twitches her face after hearing the words ''A man of virtue''. For her, someone who claimed that they are good openly is mostly the opposite.


    Yman narrowed his eyes, now he understood exactly what this guy was trying to make of. And, |What the hell is a man of virtue? And close friend my ass!| Yman revolted inwardly but he didn''t voice out his thoughts.


    Frankly speaking, he has this attitude of swearing inwardly, but would never voice it out. After all, everyone was free to swear in their thoughts.


    Then he thought again, |Regardless, when did this guy start to become an actor?| Yman chuckled a bit. He didn''t know about the rules of the academy. But he was already accepted here and it was too late now to kick him out.


    So the only conclusion he came up with, probably, Kiko would try to use these rules to prompt a duel on him. However, he doubted if Kiko would succeed in his plan.


    As expected, his guess was spot on. Kiko suggested a duel to him while saying it was to help Yman to prove himself to the officials that he has the strength to be capable of staying in this academy. Saying to help him but his real goal was the opposite. Yman knew about it, like knowing the back of his hand.


    Before Yman could reply at Kiko, everyone was stunned when Almina screamed saying, "How shameless!"


    Yman was surprised too at Almina''s sudden outrage.


    Kiko smirked at Yman while thinking that even Almina was angry at him.


    Yman on the other hand had puzzled expressions. He didn''t know if to whom those ''being shameless'' words coming from Almina were aiming.


    Yman slightly widened his eyes in puzzlement while thinking, |Did Almina also think of me like that? �� After all, she has a crush on Kiko. So aside from Kiko, there''s only me who will be the target of that word.| He thought, disheartened.


    Then deliberately glanced at his left side and saw Almina was facing the ground. He could not fully see her face because of her beautiful silky black hair that looses slightly and covered her face from the side.


    Almina was a little bit embarrassed by her outburst. But she was mad at this guy who shamelessly proposed a duel to Yman.


    She bit her lips in annoyance but before she could open her mouth again,


    The principal butt-in saying, "Sorry Kiko Sun, but, what you suggested is not possible. That kid passed the evaluation exam in a legal process, and even though he has no mana, as long as he could use a spell, he was qualified to train here in the academy. You''re right though, that there''s a rule that stated that �� a normal person could not be admitted to this Magic Academy, but there''s also no rules stating that a ''False Magician'' could not be admitted to this academy. As long as anyone could use a spell, they are more than qualified to train here." This is the principal''s honest feelings. It was not only to point it out to Kiko but also to the mayor.


    The other trainees suddenly have been whispering upon hearing the words ''False Magician''.


    "False Magician?"


    "Wasn''t that what they called to someone who uses channeling ability in order to use a magic spell?"


    "Yeah, just like that guy with no mana."


    "So, he is a false magician!"


    "Probably!"


    There muttering enveloped the training grounds.


    In actuality, Principal Mar could size up Kiko''s true intention.


    The principal was too fed up with these people from the top families. Most of their children grow up spoiled. The only exception was that person Almond Amulet, who was a silent type of person.


    One of the reasons why the academy could not produce good results was because of those brats from the top families. They usually schemed with each other. Inside fighting or urging the other trainees to fight with their rivals.


    Principal Mar was not against rivalries. Honestly, the rivalry could also be one of the elements needed to encourage a person to improve himself. But those kids from the top families usually used this rivalry in a different way. In a negative way.


    With this kind of thinking, they were too focused on their own devices that they neglected what they were coming here for.


    That was also the reason why the principal chose to recruit those two foreign magicians, Keremi and Maena Hex. Because before, whenever he especially recruited those people from the top families, their heads became bigger sooner. Most of them were saying that they were special and the other should see them in a different light than the others.


    The principal was too fed up with this kind of person.


    So seeing Almina Amulet, the younger sister of Almond Amulet enrolled in this Academy on her own devices, the principal was very happy. Not only is she a kind young girl, but also a great talent to behold.


    The principal believed that together with those two recruits, there was a high chance that this year, the academy has a higher chance to place on the top rank.


    However, the road was uncertain. There were 300+ total academy participants in last year''s competition. And each academy breeds their own talents. That''s why with the addition of Kiko who is said to be the strongest male fledgling trainee of this year, the principal''s joy could not be contented.


    But, if this Kiko is also the same as those spoiled brats from the top families, then he needed to straighten up his attitude firstly.


    Chief Henderson nodded his head in agreement with Principal Mar Mari''s statements.


    On the other hand, because of the principal''s sudden butt-in, Almina finds herself at a loss for words. And chose to remain quiet while stealing a glance to her side and saw him wearing a serious face.


    Almina abruptly felt her face was burning hot. Deep inside, her thought had been spiraling like she was about to collapse with too much shame of what she did a while ago. Yet she never regretted saying it. She actually dislikes this person in front of them.


    For Almina, what Kiko had suggested was upright bullying! Just because he has a stronger ability than Y-Yman, he cannot just propose a challenge to the person who was clearly w-we-wea��, in any case, Almina could not say the word. Her mouth could not say it. She could not say that Yman was ''weak''.


    He came here to train and to make himself stronger. That''s why it was too early to assess the person. And it was only a couple of days that they started the training. They even were still in the basic part of it.


    One blonde girl was annoyed at this development. This whole thing was a waste of time for her. She needed to train herself. And she also wanted to see Almina and that weakling fought, although she already knew what would be the outcome.


    In spite of that, she wanted to peek on Almina''s strength for future references.


    Kiko on the other hand had knitted his brows from the principal''s reply. But he didn''t back down. And was able to find a hole, "I didn''t mean to test his strength now. After all, I''m not a bully. As I said before I am a man of virtue. For it to be fair, the duel is not needed to be now. It can be on a later date." Kiko said with a smile.


    Principal Mar sighed and shook his head slightly. Disappointed with Kiko. He wondered why Kiko insisted on dueling that False Magician. It wasn''t important right now. If that False Magician could not develop himself to become stronger, then he had the choice to leave the academy to find new professions to feed himself. Until the higher-ups on the Outerworld took him out of this world and brought him back to the Outerworld.


    But before the principal could voice out his reply,


    "Excellent!" The mayor exclaimed.


    "I like that idea! I approved it!" He added. Not all officials had the same thought as the principal. The mayor really likes this Kiko kid of the Sun family. Not only was he strong, but he also was a man of virtue and a kind person who wanted to help his friend to prove himself to others, that he was capable.


    Not only the mayor but some of the instructors also agreed to it. The chief remained quiet. He also was curious about that False Magician''s growth. After all, he was able to control the mana flow in just a day. So he had high expectations of him somehow.


    Goki tried to disagree but the mayor and the others already decided.


    Yman was not even allowed to say ''no''.


    The worst thing was, if he lost, he would be suspended in this academy.


    |This Kiko was so desperate,| Yman thought.


    However, everyone was dumbfounded at Yman''s next words. He could not let Kiko''s idea win. Now that he was not even allowed to disapprove of this duel, Yman grinned and thought with a glint in his eyes, |Then let''s escalate this to all of them.|


    Yman walked a step then stopped on his feet. Everyone turned silent when they noticed him.


    Almina was watching his narrow-back and wondered why Yman made a step forward. She also noticed his back made a sudden heave as he permitted an air left from his mouth.


    Then everyone heard him saying, "If that is the case, since I can''t even say no to this predetermined duel, perhaps I can also suggest something?"


    "Fufufu looks like it is going to be interesting."


    Keremi from the audience podium was delighted at the event that was going to happen. He knew Yman would never let himself be at the disadvantage without making a fair comeback.


    But he had no idea how Yman would upset this disadvantageous situation for him. That''s why he was curious about this suggestion that Yman spoke of.


    Bob on the other hand had no idea what was going to happen. He wanted to see the duel of Yman and the beautiful Almina Amulet. But it looks like things swayed away from it after that rich-looking person named Kiko went to the center and suggested something outrageous.


    The blonde Maena Hex sighed in annoyance for what currently was happening.


    Hearing Yman''s words, "Pufft!" Kiko held a laugh. Well, Kiko was certain that whatever this frog tried to suggest was just unnecessary.


    Almina knitted her brows at Kiko''s rude behavior.


    Ahem! The principal cleared his throat and said, "Well, well, just to be fair, let''s hear it."


    "I agree with Principal Mar." The chief seconded.


    "Speak, False Magician," Principal Mar Mari beckoned him.


    Yman didn''t know whether he laughed or cried. He was called with another name yet again.


    However, it wasn''t important at the moment. He opened his mouth and, "Heh," he sent a smug at Kiko.


    Kiko knitted his brows and felt something bad was going to happen. He tried to open his mouth to ruin Yman''s pace but Yman has already opened his mouth while saying, "Thank you, Mr. Principal and Sir Chief for this favor. My suggestion is... since it was a duel where my future in this academy is betted. In this regard, it would be much better and fairer if the principal made it an official contest instead. In which all the other trainees can join."


    Since he had a little chance of winning in the first place. Then he wanted to make Kiko troubled by it also. After all, there were more strong trainees out there who chose to hide their real strength and stayed low key.


    If Kiko is still able to win the championship after that, then it also means that he was no doubt the strongest trainee in this academy. After that, he could only accept his defeat in silence and leave the city.


    Yman also suggested that if both of them lost the competition, then both of them must leave the academy.


    Kiko felt like he just ate a mouth full of bitter foods at this proposal of Yman. He tried to disagree but the chief and principal already made their approval with glistened eyes. Kiko was enraged and thought �� did the principal did not think highly of his ability?


    Yet he had to calm himself. He could not let any uncool behavior happen in front of Almina.


    Actually, Principal Mar did not decide on a whim. He also thought of Kiko''s importance in the academy for the coming competition. But if Kiko could not win in this competition against the other trainees inside this academy, then how could he be able to win those super-geniuses from the other academies. And like what that False Magician said, to be fair. Since it was Kiko who decided it first. For the sake of fairness, it was only natural to give both of them a suggestion.


    The chief suddenly straight up on his seat after hearing this False Magician''s suggestion. A feeling of admiration towards that young man slowly wailed from inside him. He chuckled and muttered, "What a crafty one."


    "Ufufu, this kid, wasn''t really that bad," Instructor Beth muttered in fascination also. Although he was weak, his craftiness and wittiness started to fascinate her.


    She knows that this kid suggested it to avoid a head-on confrontation with Kiko. With such a number of participants, only a little chance that the two of them would be facing each other in a match.


    "Kukuku." She giggled at the thought.


    With this proposal, the other trainees become livelier. Especially those who lost recently in the duel. They wanted a rematch and won next time!!!


    Principal Mar was very grateful for this proposal. Not only it encourages the trainees to become stronger. They could also use it to earn money and entertain the people in this city.


    Unlike those old years, where the trainees only thought of their personal issues. Not even productive for the city. And sometimes the city resources were spent on useless things.


    Goki''s admiration for Yman leaped higher. However, Yman was still in high danger of leaving this academy. Beside them, Almina was having red eyes. She didn''t know why. But the thought of Yman leaving the academy, hit her hard.


    "Oh yeah! Good Job for that, Yman bro!" Bob exclaimed in excitement. He also was excited to duel again.


    "Fufufu, as expected of My Prince. He really was one of a kind." Keremi cackled.


    Maena felt this was her chance to settle the score between her and Almina. And she thought, ''Not bad for that weakling. I will be good to him in our next life but not in this lifetime.'' She said with a glint in her eyes.


    Yman and Almina lose their desire to continue the duel after Kiko interferes.


    The date and rules of the coming competition will be announced at a later date.


    Yman directly went to the smithing shop for the item he ordered. Together with Sistela who was sitting on his shoulder. He had to become stronger somehow.

 Chapter 70：Core

    *Ting!* A sound of warning about a visitor coming from the outside was heard from the inside of the smithing shop.


    "It''s you. Welcome back." The man sitting on his usual spot greeted his visitor.


    Yman did not reply through words but nodded his head slightly.


    "I''m here for the item I ordered yesterday, Mister Smith."


    He said directly his main reason for coming. Actually, just yesterday he found out that this man was the blacksmith Sar Smith himself, the owner of this smithing shop.


    "Ah that. Don''t worry it''s finished. It''s here. Now, where is that crystal?"


    Yman got excited when he heard his reply and saw the item on top of the glass table in between them. He then handed the Magic Cryst to him.


    Sar Smith took it and pointed against the light and meticulously checked on it against the pinch of his fingers.


    The Magic Cryst was seemingly alive as it twinkled when Yman took it from his Cyber Storage and handed it to the smith. It was in bright red color and sparkled whenever the smith rotated it slowly.


    After checking on it for a couple of seconds. He glanced at Yman with a little doubt. Then he opened his mouth, "Really. How did you even able to acquire such a valuable item?"


    Yman''s lips extended to one side. Probably the smith didn''t mean bad at his words. So he smiled with a smug.


    After another couple of seconds, Sar Smith took it in the next room together with the item.


    *Gluggglug!* *Clang!* *Bzzzzzzzt!*


    Sistela who was sitting on his left shoulder asked him in doubt. The two of them heard some scraping noises from the next room where Sar Smith went to with his Magic Cryst and the item.


    "He must be peeling the Cryst," Yman replied.


    "It was a skimming process of peeling the outer layer of the Magic Cryst in order to inlay it to the equipment of choice."


    "Ah, that? It is because the outer part of the Magic Cryst is just a normal crystalline. The real Magic Cryst was the core of it."


    "Mhm."


    "How big, huh. Hmm, I think..... half as big as the nail on my shortest finger." Yman replied and lifted his left hand to show Sistela his fingers.


    Sistela glanced at Yman''s shortest finger then she glanced at his nail and shouted,


    "Ahaha, right."


    After an hour and a half of waiting, the smith Sar Smith finally returned.


    Yman and Sistela noticed a box in Sar Smith''s hands.


    "It''s been ages since I last inlay such a rare crystal in a piece of equipment."


    Mister Smith said while wiping the remains of sweat on his forehead using his left arm. The eye patch on his eye made a slight movement when his arm unintentionally touched it.


    Yman noticed a bluish glow in it. He wondered what it was.


    Sar Smith handed the rectangular box to Yman.


    Yman grinned in excitement and asked for the total price.


    "Hmm... 5,000 GP for the equipment and 300 GP for the labor."


    Upon hearing his reply, Yman''s eyes slightly widened but he already expected it. After all, the materials he chose yesterday for making the equipment was of rare materials.


    And if he''s not been mistaken. The actual item was made at the tailoring shop then delivered here to attach other materials. And today for skimming and inlaying the actual Magic Cryst, or the core of it.


    Yman paid the total price through a trading system after checking the item. It was made of good materials from the high ranking beast. It was colored in black and a small chip on its back in red color sparkled when hit by the light. The tiny chip on it was no doubt the core of the Magic Cryst.


    Yman caressed the crystal chips and felt the smooth and chill on it. Like touching the water surface of the tranquil swamp.


    Yman excitedly wore it on his right hand and his five fingers went through each hole of the glove, not so tight and not loose. It fitted well on his hand.


    A kind of joy when a kid received a new toy from his/her parents. But at this moment, he was unaware of that expression he was wearing on his face.


    He repeatedly closed and opened his hand. Checking if it''s comfortable on his hand. After realizing that there was no issue. He smiled in appreciation to Sar Smith.


    Suddenly, he felt a surge of power from it. Like, his strength increases a little. For certain, with this item, he had the feeling that he could dispatch those rats a little bit easier than before.


    In truth, his first choice was to inlay the Cryst in the weapon. But after appraising the Magic Cryst, Yman and Sar Smith found out that it was in a strengthening category.


    Then Sar Smith recommended him to inlay it in a glove while saying that it would be a waste to inlay it in a weapon if the one who used that weapon was not proficient with it.


    Yman was surprised that Sar Smith knew that he was not proficient in any weapon. But he thought that maybe he was found out based on the equipment he bought the other day.


    Since a man who was proficient in swords probably stared at the sword only when buying a weapon. While him, he bought different kinds of weapons.


    The second reason why Sar Smith recommended him the glove and not armor or anything else is that gloves can be used in both offense and defense.


    The Cryst he got was looted from a rank D+ beast, so it increases his strength for a certain percent only.


    After Yman and Sistela left the shop, he checked his money and noticed that he had 200.50 GP left on his Wallet Section. He sighed then checked his mission status:


    Current Quest:


    Title: Gross Evil Rats!


    Quest rank: Bronze


    Details: Kill 5 Evil Rats within 1 week.


    Rewards: 100 GP


    Status: ongoing...


    Progress: 1/5 killed


    Remaining Time: 102hr: 22min: 49sec


    He still had much time left to complete his mission but he needed money so he had to do it now. So that he could acquire another mission with much higher rewards.


    Before he proceeded, Yman suddenly stopped on his feet. He remembered that Almina invited him yesterday. And it seems around this time that the open forum in the auditorium will start. He wanted to message her but then again, he doesn''t have her IDA or Identification address. So he could not contact her.


    Yman exhaled and thought, probably, Almina just pitying him. She must be thinking that he could not find a group because he was hated by most trainees in the academy. Regardless, there was a high chance for him to be suspended in the academy, so it was useless now for him to join a group. It''s better to finish his mission first so that he could keep enough money when the time comes that he has to leave.


    After that, he would start to find another job in this world until the higher-ups on the Outerworld decide to pull him out here.


    Hmm... maybe he goes and travels to some places in this world too together with Yana and Sistela. It''s a waste to just leave in this world without seeing what''s beyond that horizon. Yman thought as he looked at the distance where his eyes landed on the far away shade where the sky meets the mountains.


    One and a half hour had passed,


    Keeeeeek, keeeeeek!


    Two Evil Rats rushed towards him in a zig-zag movement.


    Yman threw a dagger. The first rat evaded it by jumping to his left but the one behind had no way but to retreat in order to dodge. Yman rushed immediately. Seeing the person in front rushing towards them, the first rat increased its speed and leaped to bite the person.


    However, the person suddenly twisted his body to the right in a hasty motion. The rat''s eyes followed the person but his body was late to react.


    Next second, the rat felt someone rudely grabbed his tail. Then the world seemingly became hazy and blurred as the rat felt he was spinning.


    A second later, Bang! The Evil Rat felt excruciating pain when its body bumped into something. The Evil Rat coughed muddy black blood in its mouth.


    It forcefully rotated its body that was laying back-first on the cold and dirty pavement ground. The rat was able to stand in difficulty, then he noticed another rat laying beside him while twitching his body. The Evil Rat came into the realization that he was thrown to the other rat by that person.


    Before the rat was able to get rid of the dizziness it felt, it widened its eyes when it suddenly felt something was piercing its head. The same thing also happened to the other one.


    [Mission update: Killed ? Evil Rats]!


    [Mission update: Killed ? Evil Rats]!


    Before the rat lost its consciousness, it heard the person saying this line, "Phew! That''s 3 out of 5, huh!" After it, the rat''s consciousness traveled into the darkness when it finally stopped its breathing.


    "This glove did a good job."


    "Not only it increases my strength, but it also increases my attack."


    "Right. Then, let''s proceed."


    The two of them were cheerful with their new equipment. Yman and Sistela continued their hunts.


    After his breakthrough to level 2, his movements became swifter than before.


    He even grabbed a rat sometimes and smacked them onto the ground or to the other rats.


    Even his accuracy became sharper.


    He sent two daggers flying towards the two Evil Bats that were hanging on the ceiling. At a distance of 7 meters away, the two daggers travel the space and pierced through their bodies. The two Evil Bats shrilled in agony before they dropped dead on the ground. Yman took the daggers back and wiped the muddy blood on it before storing it back to his Cyber Storage.


    Currently, his CE is 12%/100%. Yman also checked on his mission status:


    Current Quest:


    Title: Gross Evil Rats!


    Quest rank: Bronze


    Details: Kill 5 Evil Rats within 1 week.


    Rewards: 100 GP


    Status: Return the quest before the time limit!


    Progress: 5/5 killed.


    Remaining Time: 100hr: 10min: 48sec


    "Finally."


    *Sigh!*


    Before he replied to her, Yman glanced at the deeper part of the underground channel. All he could see was darkness. But, in some weird cases, he felt something weird beyond it. Also, the atmosphere seemed to be abnormal. It was way colder, and he almost could not stand the rigidness it brought.


    Suddenly Sistela voices out.


    "Have you felt it too?" He asked her while thinking that Sistela might be feeling weird also as he does.


    Yman was helpless when he heard her reply and said with a laugh, "Ah-ahaha. Must be because of my breakthrough last night."


    "Mhm."


    After he nodded to her, Yman glanced again at the deeper part and thought, |I have to investigate this place.|

 Chapter 71：Not made for the better

    Later, after Yman and Sistela came out of the Underground Channel, he checked on his mobile device and noticed that there were many new mails in it. He turned it silent before entering the channel so as not to distract him while he was fighting.


    He wondered if it was from Yana or Ms. Pai who sent him the messages. He hoped nothing bad happened to his Sister. But when he saw the sender, he sighed in relief.


    That anonymous again...


    He disregarded it and didn''t bother checking the content of the message as it was probably another prank again.


    This was what he believed in.


    Together with his deity, they went back to the hotel room where they were staying.


    When Yman and Sistela entered their room, they saw Yana soundlessly sleeping on the bed. Yman immediately went to take a bath as he was smelling bad.


    On the other hand, Sistela flew beside Yana and went into sleeping mode; initially, she wanted to tell her of what happened today.


    After a refreshing bath, he wore a white T-shirt paired with pants; then, he walked beside the bed and pulled the blanket up to Yana''s shoulder. His lips extended into a warm smile as he watched his Sister''s serene face while it was sleeping.


    After turning off the light to dim the inside, he glanced outside and saw the blue skies and the drifting clouds. There were also some weird looking birds flying at the cloud''s level. They flew towards the distance together with their peers.


    The beautiful scenery captivates him. He walked towards the window to open it and permit the fresh air inside. Also, to illuminate the room with its natural brilliance, and at the same time, to peek outside and to have a clear full view of this mysterious world.


    His messy brown hair danced slightly when the wind passed through the opened window and caressed his skin.


    Gazing through it, he saw some people riding giant birds coming from the left and flying towards his direction in haste. Each of the birds was carrying one person. He also noticed some objects besides them, lying horizontally on the bird''s back, which Yman assumed were pieces of luggage.


    Each of them was flying not so high.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!


    A moment later, they passed by at the height of a hotel''s window on the third floor, where Yman presently was gazing through from the inside.


    Yman''s eyes widened a bit when the laying objects that he initially thought as luggage were not really as he thought.


    Human corpse?! He exclaimed in surprise.


    Hmm...probably not, he instantly retracted his initial thought when he noticed that one of the laying people twitches her face. Likely, she was in pain.


    However, whether they were all conscious or not, he had no idea.


    Each of the birds was carrying one person laying and tied on top of the bird behind the person who was maneuvering the birds or also known as the pilot.


    Yman also noticed the solemn expressions worn by each of the pilots.


    Do they belong to the junior or senior trainees? He had to question himself. Since based on their faces, they don''t look old, and likely, just a little older than him.


    Yman was marveling at what really happened to them.


    Wait... aren''t they in a group? So maybe they were on a mission and encountered a fierce beast. They even looked so worn out.


    He was pondering, and thought, how scary it was outside the city. He saw their back become tiny and tinier as they rapidly flew towards the distance which he assumed to be the direction of the hospital.


    Yman sighed and was about to leave when in an instance, the corner of his eyes caught something from his left side again.


    Before his head could fully glance to his left, his eyes widened in disbelief when a streaking azure light straightforwardly trailed to chase those people on the birds.


    The azure light traveled rapidly and in an instance, it was already in front of his face. His mind went blank for half a second.


    Then, Yman felt a bad premonition and immediately leaped over his sister and shielded her using his body.


    A sound similar to fireworks reached his ears when the streak of light passed by the window and went towards the distance.


    However, since it passed relatively close to the windows of the hotel''s third floor, the pressure it was emitting broke the glass windows of the hotel rooms.


    It was followed by a loud explosion. People''s jarring shouts from the outside reached his ears. But it seemed he didn''t hear it.


    Because at the moment, some shards flew towards Yman and pierced on his back. Blood immediately spurted on the wounds and from his mouth.


    "!!"


    "!!"


    Because of the loud rustling noises, Yana and Sistela woke up abruptly at the same time.


    "Bro?!"


    Both called out to him when they saw him above them. Yana and Sistela were puzzled and flabbergasted. However, the two of them froze upon seeing him bloodied all over.


    "Cough, cough, cough...!" Yman coughed blood and stained Yana''s face and the blanket.


    "I - I am fine..." he tried to sound as fine as he could so not to worry his sister.


    Yana''s lips and eyes trembled, "B-Bro, y-your b-bleeding..." she said with a grim expression. Her heart immediately beats rapidly, and it suffocates her. Summed up with her trauma from the past; her vision abruptly becomes blurry and she feels strong dizziness attacking her.


    A second later, because of her weak resistance of seeing blood from her family member, and having a weak constitution, she blackout.


    *Cough!*


    "Sistela resonance!" Yman shouted immediately after lifted out most of the shards. Blood splattered from Yman''s mouth.


    Sistela though puzzled, forthwith agreed to him.


    After shouted resonance, he noticed his health points barely made him alive. Perhaps he felt it too.


    The DIP or photonocules instantly did their rules. Retracing the most lethal wounds and avoiding it from further blood loss. Even the damaged organs were reformed.


    Yet he forced his hand to pull out the broken glass shards that stuck on his back.


    Then without wasting time, he cast his healing ability multiple times.


    A couple of seconds later, he finally felt better. The DIP could only avoid him from dying as long as his health points still did not reach zero percent, but it could not heal wounds �� or can it replenish his health points? The answer is a flat ''No''.


    "Y-Yana?" Yman''s voice was trailed with sorrow when he noticed his sister was unconscious.


    "H-Hey, Yana?" He called out again.


    "Yana! Yana!" He called out again and again while shaking her. He was afraid since Yana was covered by the blood.


    Sistela notified him.


    Yman immediately checked her breathing and figured that she was indeed breathing. Then he scanned if she was hurt by the shards. Thankfully she wasn''t.


    Yman speculated that it must be traumatic for her to see him in such a state a while ago. Therefore, it causes her to faint.


    He sighed in relief but he needed to do something.


    The glass shards flew around when he lifted the blanket away. Then he carried his sister towards the sofa. He gets rid of some shards on it by kicking them.


    But before he began placing her on the sofa,


    Woosh, woosh, woosh...!


    Yman glanced through the broken window and saw five people with their bodies covered in dark blue clothing. Each of them was riding a giant bird. It was the first time he saw such a bird. With a long neck, pointed red beak, fierce-looking eyes, and in red feathers.


    "Hehehe. Those weaklings truly run fast with their tails like scared chickens!"


    "Heh! Just as I thought, this city''s academy magicians were a bunch of cowards."


    "Boss, shall we made an artistic explo��"


    The third person didn''t finish his words when he saw a young man carrying a young unconscious girl on his arms inside the broken windows of one of the hotel rooms.


    "Bleeeeeeeh!" He then sent middle fingers on both hands while tucking out his tongue towards the young man.


    "Hehehe!"


    Each of them glanced at the young man and grinned wickedly.


    "Hahahahahaha!!!"


    "Gyahahahahaha!!!"


    "Hehehehehehehe..."


    Yman saw their taunts before their silhouette went when they passed by; leaving behind their hideous peals of laughter.


    His eyes were hidden behind his messy and bloodied bangs.


    He felt a strong desire. The same desire that he wanted to forget. A desire for revenge.


    Then a wicked smile appeared on his mouth. He tried to change for the better. But maybe he was not made for the better.


    Suddenly...


    Black smoke was oozing from his feet.


    Sistela''s voice was like a broken machine.

 Chapter 72：Playing tag

    "Sylvia! Are you okay? Don''t give up, we''re almost there!" Shouted the man �� pilot of the bird.


    He knitted his thick brows, and his sharp eyes with azure pupils were filled with worries; sweats were flying from his spiky red hair that dangled in the air caused by the wind pressure, and his long pointed nose twitched. His swollen muscles were unnoticed by his slightly tanned skin; in his mouth, he was grating his teeth.


    The unshaven beard was settling on his chin.


    He was wearing a sweated dark red t-shirt doubled with a padded vest of red color as well, it was paired with combat trousers. He was wearing combat boots on his feet. Both pieces of equipment were made of good quality materials with fairly high resistance from physical and magical attacks.


    "Y-Yeah, s-somehow, Jun." Said the person in grave voice who was lying horizontally on top of the bird and behind the pilot.


    Her chocolate-colored hair that is tied at the back was fluttering caused by the wind. At the moment, her features look pale. Even her lips had faded colors. The dark circles below her eyes gave off a hint of how weak she was at the moment.


    Swoosh! The bird they were riding glided to the left behind the 4-story building.


    Jun felt relieved at her reply.


    But.


    "Damn it, those assholes chase even here!" Swear Jun under his breath.


    Swoosh! Another bird glided closer to Jun''s bird. Rode on it was a girl, and a man was well-tied on the back the same as Sylvia''s situation.


    "Jun, Sylvia! Are you okay?!" Worriedly asked the girl pilot rode on another bird. Her black hair with highlights of pink was tied in a pigtail. She also has lovely big eyes, pointed small nose, rosy lips, and cute face.


    She was wearing a pink fitted suit toppled with a black vest and black shorts.


    "We managed to evade at the last second! Where are the others?!" Jun replied.


    Because of the wind pressure, they had to shout in order to converse. Most of them had knitted their brows and frowned to fight back the pressure that was caressing their skin.


    Actually, they could converse using communication features in their Cyber Screen. But right now, they were conserving their deity''s battery.


    "They turned right, we will reunite them after we pass this residential area!" Shouted the girl pilot.


    "Okay! By the way, Sierra, how''s Pol?!" Jun nodded and asked in a loud voice.


    The girl named Sierra glanced at her back and signaled a thumbs-up to Jun while saying, "Still unconscious, but he was breathing!" Sierra replied in a mischievous manner.


    Jun sighed in relief and glanced at his back yet he widened his eyes.


    "The heck! Watch out!" He shouted a warning.


    Swooooooosh! ~~~~Bang! Another line of azure light trailed towards them. It went straight and hit the building in front.


    Debris fell down from the broken part of the building.


    "Hehehe! The rats managed to evade, boss!" One of the people covered in dark blue cloths jibed.


    "Tsk!" The leader of the group clicked his tongue.


    Fortunately, Jun was able to maneuver to his right. He also saw Sierra glided to her left. The both of them went into the opposite directions and twirl around the 4-story building.


    Many people below were shouting.


    Some were taking videos using their MTMD''s. But magicians mostly use their Cyber Screen to record it.


    "Damn it! Who are those people??!" Angry shouts of one of the residents below.


    "I believe they were magicians from the academy! But I don''t know those people who are chasing after them!"


    "Oh my god! They even intruded here in the city at this time of the day!"


    "Are they from another academy''s magicians?"


    "No one knows about that. Since they were disguising themselves!"


    "Gosh! They were firing high-level magic without consent!"


    "Call for military guards!"


    "Are you an idiot?! Do you think it''s easy to get a hand of a Transpo bird? Even if they come, they could only watch below together with us!"


    "Fucktards! It''s better than doing nothing!"


    "I agree. Let them work!"


    "Hump! Their work is to balloon their bellies! They could not even catch a single thief who stole my husband''s underwear!"


    "Ah, this morning I woke up and saw male underwear beside me but I didn''t steal it! I promise!" Shouts a guy with thick makeup on his face.


    "Damn gay!"


    "....."


    "Hey, guys look!"


    "What is that?"


    "Is that a monster?"


    "Oh no!"


    Such noisy shouts coming from the people below. They suddenly focused their cameras on a mysterious individual running and jumping from building to building at a high-speed going towards the directions of the bird riders.


    "Holy shit! What kind of monster is that?"


    Jun didn''t even recognize these people. They suddenly attack their group while they were resting in the woods after completing a mission of killing a fierce beast that wrecked a village located to the east of this city.


    They tried to fight back since they have the number advantage.


    However, most of them had already exhausted their mana and stamina before the battle started, hence, they were barely able to return fire.


    Jun had no choice but to order a retreat when half of them fell wounded together with their two most trusted medic magicians.


    ...


    After Jun succeeded in evading the azure light attack, he proceeded to maneuver the bird in full speed, trying to lost the enemies.


    Three members of the people from the enemy side chased after Jun, and the other two went to chase Sierra.


    The enemies were raining fires at them. Jun had no way to return the fire and focused himself on evading.


    Jun stole a glance at the back and saw a red hot flame shot towards him.


    He hastily maneuvered the bird to descend; yet, he noticed an azure light shot below. Jun grated his teeth and disregarded his initial plan and chose to increase his speed while crouching his head on the bird''s back.


    The flame passed by a hair''s breadth away from his head, his scalp could even feel the burning aura of it.


    Abruptly, he glided to his left because another high-level magic was coming to his way.


    Weng, weeeeng, weeeeeeng! A wind cutter attack was fast approaching him! It was a spinning crescent moon-shaped.


    This attack was no doubt could easily slice him in half!


    Jun felt he could not avoid it by simply swinging left and right. He strengthened his grip on the bird''s rope and forcefully maneuvered it.


    The Peon bird hid its wings and dove free falling on the ground. Because of this, he was able to avoid the wind cutter attack and it passed above them while leaving sharp spinning sounds behind.


    It then hit a billboard of a product and sliced it in half.


    Before the Peon bird hit the ground it suddenly spread its wings and hovered above, then it flew at full speed. It spinned its body to avoid the falling half of the billboard.


    He continued evading while swirling around the building. The enemies continued their nonstop attacks.


    "Guehehehe, boss, we are almost at the academy. We shall make a huge explosion at their barracks."


    "No. We can''t do that."


    "Eh? Why?"


    "What do you think of us? Terrorist? Our mission is to pressure the magicians in this city."


    "Isn''t it a better idea to destroy their barracks instead? I''m sure it gives them more pressure if they lost their barracks."


    "If we do that, those high-level elders won''t just stay silent, idiot."


    "Then, why are we chasing them until here, boss?"


    "Hehehe, don''t you think those girls in their team are very attractive?"


    "Guehehehe! I like that idea boss! Looks like joining your team is the most right decision that I''d ever made."


    "Ehehehehehe!"


    "Gyahaha, the boss is right, Bean Cutter! With this disguise, I bet they wouldn''t know who we are!"


    "Damn you! Who''d you call a Bean Cutter?"


    "Gyahahaha! It''s you! Dumbass!"


    "You yourself are dumbass, Lighter!"


    "Lighter, huh! You want a go?"


    "Sure, the challenge is accepted! Guehehehe!"


    "You two stop it!"


    "Pwe, say thanks to the boss, Bean Cutter. You avoided turning into a crisp!"


    "Guehehe, you must be the one to thank the boss, Lighter. If not, your good as a piece of swiss cheese."


    "Hehehehe, before the two of you fight each other, At least hit the target in front. I heard after this residential area was a hill with thick forest. Then the academy is beyond it. We must catch them before that!"


    The leader exclaimed then decided to increase the bird''s speed. Immediately, his hand was enveloped by azure brilliance once again and he shot it to the person riding a Peon transport bird in front.


    He frowned when that person was able to evade it.


    "Boss, wait up!"


    "Wait for us, boss!"


    Jun glanced at the back and clicked his tongue. ''Damn it! As expected of those Hell Chaser birds, they really live to their name! They could easily chase the Peon birds. Although they don''t have high stamina compared to the Peon birds, Hell Chaser birds are known to be one of the fastest transport birds.'' Jun mulled.


    Beads of sweats splattered and mingled in the air. He returned his gaze in front as he was already able to pass by the residential buildings.


    Looking from others'' perspective, they looked like they were playing tag. Drifting along the buildings in every direction to lose the trail of the enemies that are chasing after them.


    "Jun!"


    He saw Sierra at his left side being chased by two people. She shouted his name while dodging the rapid-fire of magical attacks.


    Sierra seemingly annoyed as she summoned a wind element in her delicate hand and formed it into a shape of the disc then threw towards one of the enemies while shouting, "Fuck off!".


    Yet.


    *Shing!*


    It was sliced by a sword coated by a similar wind element.


    The spell she shot was just a low-level spell. But at the moment most of them could not muster high-level spells because of mana exhaustion.


    Jun knew that Sierra was as tired as most of them.


    A moment later,


    "Guehehe, we finally caught up on you, boy!"


    Said one of the people covered in dark blue cloths. His wicked eyes were peeking under the hood of cloth.


    ''Damn it!'' Jun curses inwardly. Just a moment that he glanced somewhere and they already caught upon him!


    Jun tried to maneuver to his left to increase the distance from them. But...


    "Gyahaha, where are you going, Sissy?"


    "Tsk!" Jun gritted his teeth when another person appeared on his left. Now he was in the middle. He was being pincered.


    "Ehehehe, you are chicken-mate(He means checkmate), punk!" Jun glanced above and saw one of the enemies said this line.


    Jun felt dejected and his face turned grim at the situation.


    He bit his lips and tried to summon one ounce of his mana. But with a puff, he suddenly felt weak and his deity landed on his shoulder.


    "No, way..." his mana and deity''s battery hit the limit and it canceled their resonance.


    He also saw Sierra in the same situation as him.


    ''This is the end.'' He thought in dismay. He could not even save Sylvia. What a loser party leader he was. He glanced behind to see Sylvia. He noticed that she already lost her consciousness.


    ''Damn it!'' He curses inwardly.


    "Ehehehe, too bad, Chickens, You almost succeeded in getting away! Ehehe," said the group leader and wetted his lips that broke into a toothy grin.


    "Gyahaha, don''t cry cow, I mean coward! Haha...!"


    "Guehehe. Boss, this girl here is barely alive, let me have a taste of her before she passed away!"


    Hearing this remark, Jun''s face turned sour, but he could not even summon a little bit of strength.


    Suddenly.


    "Heh, so that''s what this is all about, huh!"


    They heard a cold voice, but none of them recognized it. The three glanced behind them but...


    Bang!


    The leader was sent flying below.


    And a person? Monster? Landed on the bird''s back where the supposed position of their leader.


    "What?!!"


    Both of them gawked in disbelief. And question marks floated above their head. Wondering where this one came from? And how was he able to come here?!

 Chapter 73：Mysterious person in black

    Before Yman chased after the bird riders.


    Inside their room.


    "Sis��tela?" Yman tried to call out after Sistela''s voice suddenly sounded like a broken machine.


    Yet.


    Only silence had remained when Sistela''s voice ironically went out.


    "....."


    He was wondering what happened to her. She suddenly went silent.


    Yman gently lay Yana on the sofa and positioned her on her back. Then he took some pillows and put them under her legs.


    Currently, his body was enveloped by Black Mana. Probably, this was the third time he would be using it. However, only now that he felt so complete after activating it.


    He grinned and thought,


    |This is a different kind of feeling from before. I feel like I have the complete control of this power. Is this because I activated my Black Mana while in resonance with Sistela?


    Perhaps. Since the last time I''d used it, I was not in resonance with her. I had no choice at that time but to cancel our resonance because of the lack of battery.


    Now that I think about it, I activated it, though my stamina was still at 10 percent.


    In this regard.


    My hypothesis was in actuality!


    After I breakthrough, the needed preparation to activate my Black Mana had become lesser.


    Hehe.|


    Yman felt a surge of satisfaction from within. He lifted his hand in front of his face.


    It was oozing with black mana, but a moment later, it was absorbed within his body. He concentrated and thought of it as an extension of his limbs. The smoke-like black mana seemed to feel a familiarity towards him. When Yman silently ordered it to return within him, the smoke obeyed as he wanted.


    He felt like he was not only in resonance with Sistela. But actually, he was in fusion with her system. No, it probably was, he was dominating her system.


    |Dang! Is this Black Mana actually hacking Sistela''s system?| Yman exclaimed and questioned himself.


    Yet,


    He was delighted with this discovery; however, he had no idea of what happened to Sistela. He was a little concerned for some reason.


    Yman was stunned when his appearance reflected in one of the glass shards on the floor.


    "Who is this handsome face?" He mumbled.


    This was the first time he saw his image when he was using the Black Mana. Never in his wildest dream, he would be looking like this!


    Yman touched his face and gawked.


    He tried to rotate his face side to side. Then the reflection in the mirror did as well.


    "It''s actually me!" He was in disbelief.


    Regardless, Yman has almost entirely changed his appearance.


    His messy brown hair had turned black, and his brown pupils in his eyes had become red agate.


    Yman thought that it must be because of Black Mana that changes his hair color and his pupils.


    All in all. He looks so handsome!


    His unhealthy and dull-looking face from awhile ago had now beamed with vigor.


    He scanned his body and noticed his skinny body was covered with muscle. Though his body was covered with muscles, looking from other''s perspective his features still look slim.


    Yman shook his head as it wasn''t the right time to be thinking of such thoughts.


    Regardless,


    He wanted to chase after those people who were the cause of why his sister was in such a state right now. But he had to do something for his sister first. She was more important to him than chasing those goons.


    With his 10 percent stamina, he believed he could remain in this state a little longer as long as he was not in battle.


    Yman took something to fan Yana. However, a few seconds later.


    Tok, tok, tok!


    He heard hard-knocking sounds from outside the door which followed by, "Yman! Yana! Are you there! Are you okay?!" He heard a worried familiar voice.


    "Ms. Pai?" Yman muttered and gawked.


    Hastily, Yman glanced around him. He must do something with his appearance.


    Or should he say she was in the wrong room?


    No, he could not do that, he needed her help!


    At the corner of his eyes, he saw something, |A hooded jacket? Good!| Yman noticed a hanging jacket outside the dressing cabinet. He forgot to put it inside this morning.


    He glanced around again and saw another thing, |Sunglasses! Nice!| His face lit up with impish glee.


    |A perfect disguise!| He muttered inwardly.


    He hastily went to open the door cause if not, he was afraid that Ms. Pai might destroy it.


    When Yman opened the door,


    "Eh?"


    It was clear from her face that she was surprised to see his attire.


    "Ms. Pai, come in." He urged her, but she was standing still on her spot.


    "Y-Yman?" Ms. Pai looks suspicious at him. If not because of his familiar voice, she might think that he was a robber.


    Suddenly, Ms. Pai''s face turned grim when she noticed that the white T-shirt under the black jacket that Yman was wearing was stained by blood. No, it was almost all red. Even his face and mouth were stained by blood.


    "Y-Yman are you o-okay?" Ms. Pai in wide eyes asked in panic while trying to grab Yman''s T-shirt. But Yman jerked back a little out of reflex.


    He forgot he was bloodied all over!


    "Yman, you''re hurt!!" Ms. Pai shouted.


    "No no no, Ms. Pai. I am fine. I managed to use my healing ability in time." Yman shook his hands in front of his face, then explained to ease her.


    She sighed in relief but it was still visible on her face that she was worried. She could not tell if he was telling the truth because of the sunglasses he was wearing.


    Ms. Pai was puzzled why Yman was in such attire. But did not choose to point it out. There was a more pressing issue in front.


    Ms. Pai rolled her eyes to scan the room, and saw how messed up it was.


    She opened her mouth, "Hows Ya��" but she stopped when Yman said in haste, "Regardless, Ms. Pai, I need your help. Yana had fainted."


    Her eyes widened and hastily forced her way inside then saw Yana on the sofa lying unconscious.


    Yman asked Ms. Pai to excuse himself, he had to grab something outside. Although doubtful at him, she nodded somehow.


    He directly ran towards the rooftop and jumped on the water tank to have a higher view.


    At the distance, to where those riders went, he saw some smoke and fire in some of the buildings.


    He also noticed some shouts and people were running around disorderly.


    His eyes glinted and a wicked smile happened on his face. How come he just let those who tried to hurt his sister let off without paying a price.


    Yman jumped off of the water tank and free-falling off the building while tucking his hands in the jacket''s pockets.


    20 meters above the ground before landing, a moment later, his silhouette dashed forward towards the direction of those bird riders.


    He was jumping rapidly in the air just like when he did it on the surface. Sometimes he landed in the building and sometimes just rushed in the air.


    In fact, he was sequentially using Air-Dance ability and the Rapid Leap. With this combination, he was able to maneuver in the air without descending or falling.


    Because of the sunglasses he was wearing, the wind pressure could not bother him. He even was thinking that it would be better if he wore a mask too to cover his mouth.


    Yet,


    Ironically, something happened.


    The collar on his neck, which was supposed to be Sistela''s shell, turned into a mask! Covering entirely his mouth and nose!


    Yman was surprised. It looks like this thing could also change its form by following his thought. And yet another discovery.


    Now for certain no-one could be able to recognize him in this disguise.


    He decided to quicken his pace.


    ...


    Presently,


    Jun and the 2 people in the enemy side were dumbfounded as they stared at the individual in front of them.


    Yman was surprised too after hearing his voice. It sounded like a mixture of his and Sistela''s voice. However, it sounded cold and computerized.


    He noticed the three people just staring at him. Two of them were the enemy who laughed at him a while ago while the other one was �� he believed he was a magician from the academy.


    Yman also noticed an unconscious girl tied well on the bird''s back. Yet he didn''t mind it.


    The three were dumbfounded at his sudden appearance.


    At first, they thought it was some kind of monster. But on second look, he was a person in disguise.


    He was even wearing a weird mask. His face was well-covered: with hood, sunglasses, and a mask with the designs of two blue oval-shapes forming like eyes.


    What''s eerier about him was the black smoke he was exuding from his feet and hand.


    The most mysterious part was how he managed to climb on this height. When Jun and the two people on the enemy side glanced around them, they noticed that they were 50 meters above the ground and the nearest building from them was 35-40 meters away. Summing it up, that currently they were flying at a speed not lower than 90 mph.


    So how come this person managed to climb here? The three were in bewilderment.


    After a moment of silence, "This shi....t!" One of the people in dark blue cloths managed to spat the words.


    But it seemed to be a signal when the other one shouted, "Bean Cutter, save the boss!" After a scream, his hand was enveloped by fire and shot it slightly above him without a warning to where the mysterious person in black was currently standing.


    "Damn it!" Bean Cutter curses before hoisting the rope to maneuver the bird. The bird sped up its descend and chased after their boss who was currently falling.


    On the other hand, Jun was staring with wide eyes when the other person in blue cloth shot a high-level Flame Attack.


    He wanted to shout a warning to the mysterious person but he was too late.


    These guys who hunted them had fast incantation ability. They could easily summon mana like it was normal to them.


    The blazing fire that burns like the sun, it travels in an instance and shot to the mysterious person.


    Jun countenance turned bitter. He felt dismayed that he didn''t warn that person beforehand.


    Yet his eyes widened again. Weirdly enough, the flame failed to hit the target!


    "Eh? What happened?" Jun was staring in puzzlement.


    The person in a dark blue cloth called Lighter was staring at the mysterious person with the same question.


    Both were wondering how he wasn''t hit by that attack! Did he dodge it? Evaded it? No way! They didn''t see him move on his feet. And he was still standing on its original position.


    "Heh!" The mysterious person scoffed behind the masked.


    Lighter broke into laughter, "Gyahaha, don''t get cocky! I will kill you!" He released the rope and stood also on top of the bird just like the mysterious person in black.


    Now both of his hands were enveloped by flame. This time he will make sure to turn this cocky person into a crisp!


    Yet the mysterious person was standing still on top of the bird without doing anything. Perhaps he was waiting for the enemy to fire again.


    He only lifted slightly his hand that was exuding with black smoke. And doubly stayed it at above waist level. Aside from it, nothing else seems weird.


    No one knew of what face he was making because of the disguise he was wearing.


    "NOW DIE!!" Lighter shouted once again.


    Then he sent successive shots of flames.


    Then again, none of his flames were able to land a hit to the target.


    "Hehe." Yman finally grinned behind his mask.


    ...


    "What the fuck is that?!" Inside the auditorium where the open forum was being held. One man screamed in puzzlement.


    Together with him were the other trainees who were present in the open forum at the moment.


    The one who shouted was one of Kiko''s friends, Marco. Beside him, Kiko and the others also were staring at the large monitor in the auditorium with their wide eyes.


    Currently, most of the trainees were present inside. Maybe only the infamous person was currently absent in this open forum.


    Actually, the forum had just ended, but one of the trainees shouted about some live coverage happening in this city. About an unknown group of people chasing after the juniors of this academy.


    Almina as a leader of the Elites, and the one who led this open forum event decided to play it on a big widescreen monitor. Although they could watch it through their Cyber Screen, it still gives a different feeling if all were watching it together.


    She was actually dejected at the moment. That person she personally invited did not show up!


    Almina was thinking of how she would be going to punish him later for snubbing her invitation.


    Not only in this academy that the current fight was being watched.


    Yman was unaware that millions of people were currently watching them at the moment from different parts of this world.


    Everyone was puzzled about how that guy in dark blue cloth couldn''t hit the mysterious person in black, who was standing at a close distance to him!


    None of them could explain the reason behind it.


    ...


    "Oh my, hehe, you can''t even hit at this distance," Yman said while shaking his head. "Say what? kill me? Before that, aim properly first, hehe." His computerized voice rang out on their ears.


    Lighter stared wide eyes under the hood. He could not believe it, ''How in the hell that guy is still standing and breathing like nothing happened?!'' His fury of attacks didn''t toast or even graze him?


    Lighter was stunned and thought to himself, ''How is that possible?''


    Jun on the other hand had already turned white while thinking, ''What kind of curse is this?''


    Actually, it was one of the abilities of his Black Mana, which enables him to weaken the senses of the enemy and create some illusions.


    While the ability he used to defeat the Noble Rat was a kind of ability that enables him to copy the Noble Rat''s abilities and used it for himself like the Air-Dance.


    The black smoke he was exuding was not just an ordinary mana. They enter the enemy''s body and modify their DatS(Soul Data). Finding possible weaknesses or any possible data that might be helpful to him.


    But no one knows about it except Yman himself.

 Chapter 74：Discoveries and modifying skill

    Everyone who was watching the present fight has no way of hearing the conversations between those people who were in battle. Most of them just pushed a thought that the reason why the person wrapped in dark blue cloth couldn''t hit the person in black was probably he just wanted to send a warning shot. The video was taken from 50 meters or more �� away from the scene, so none of them knew exactly what they were talking about.


    On top of that, their faces were hidden behind the hood. In this regard, the spectators could not read their faces'' reactions.


    Yman glanced at the sun above while also in full alert towards the enemy.


    He said in mind��


    |Hm. The sun couldn''t be seen as it was hiding behind the clouds, huh. But I believed that currently, it was hitting the angle of 3 o''clock pm.


    Gazing below at the front, My enemy gnashing his teeth like some kind of angry beast. With his eyes peeking under the hood were staring at me with doubt? Wariness? Scared? Or loathe?


    Such emotions from this person.


    These are the same emotions I used to wear before. Or maybe until now. After all, that''s what makes humans a unique creature.


    Honestly.


    I''m always ''doubtful'' of my decisions and every action I made.


    I''m always ''wary'' of my surroundings and the people around me.


    I''m always ''scared'' of what comes tomorrow and the future.


    And ''loathe?'' Yeah, I loathed all the people who were living luxuriously and still not satisfied, then snatched what a person living in poverty has.


    Moreover, I loathed everyone who tried to take my only family away from me.


    Regardless.


    Seems like this person in front of me was wondering why his attack could not hit me. Probably, he started to think that something wasn''t right. That something was amiss.


    I was staring at him attentively while secretly scattering my Black Mana around and was stealthily invading him through every pore of his body. Then a flat-screen appeared in my vision. This flat screen was different from the usual screen that usually came out whenever I summoned it at my normal state.


    Now, this screen was having a dark theme. Like it was made intentionally to match up with my mana.


    The screen displays my enemy''s data about any oscillation of mana or any activities happening inside his body. It was giving me a report that a dense gathering of mana was happening inside.


    Under the mask, my mouth extended into a wry smile.|


    "Don''t get too cocky, bastard!" Lighter roared at the top of his lungs; more fire was coming out of his hands, combusted like magma.


    He screamed out.


    Splashing Flame Wave!


    Without wasting time, a barrage of flame was fired to Yman''s direction. They were shapeless flames, unlike fireballs. The enemy was insanely splashing them to him like a madman that had lost his bearings.


    Bang, bang, bang...!


    Loud explosions erupted when the flames hit the target. Everyone who was watching from different parts of this world showed a grimace when they saw his silhouette engrossed by the flames, obstructing the viewer''s view on him.


    "Let''s go, let''s rescue them!"


    "Damn, I don''t have a transport bird!"


    "Tsk! Just rent!"


    "Are you nuts! Did you forget where the rental station is? It is located at the east gate! If we go there now, it will already be too late when we come back!"


    "You guys are already too late! Look at the screen!"


    Many junior trainees in the barracks of Zone 7 Academy were in haste to find a way for them to rescue Jun''s party. However, they froze when they saw that the enemy sent a barrage of flame attack and hit the mysterious person in black.


    At the forum, Kiko shook his head as he commented, "What an idiot that person. Acting mysterious and cool but getting himself killed on the spot. Haha!" He cackled. For some reason, an image of that detestable person appeared in his mind.


    His laughter reverberated inside the auditorium.


    His friends beside him also shake their heads and sighs. They even thought that that person in black had a cool entrance, but reality showed them that it was not only how cool you look like. You needed strength also to back it up.


    Almina knitted her brows at Kiko''s remarks. Wondering if this guy was cheering those clearly bad people rather than the person who clearly came to save those juniors of their academy. She sighed and focused her gaze at the monitor, but for some reason, she felt a weird feeling of uneasiness when she saw the person exuding black smoke receive the relentless attacks.


    All of them were wondering what were those black smoke coming out of that person''s body. Maybe some kind of trick? They don''t know or they were not sure what to think of it. But it seemed already late for them to wonder about it because that person was probably dead already at the moment.


    Most people were already expecting a charred person in disguise. They were even shaking their heads of why that mysterious person just stood still on his feet without moving and was receiving relentless attacks of such a degree. It was clear just by seeing it from a distance, that those attacks were no ordinary.


    Splashing Flame Wave was part of high-level spells and that person in dark blue cloth executed it well. It was clear to everyone that he was no ordinary magician.


    The spectators who were currently watching the scene shook their heads and sighed in dismay.


    Jun saw that the fight wasn''t in favor of his situation. He was puzzled why this person had to meddle then let himself be killed sooner. Probably, he was charred already. Looks like that person who uses fire was not serious in his shot lately. Jun was not sure if he could defeat him in a one versus one duel even when both of them were in a top condition.


    Those flames he was firing were just too destructive.


    He must do something! He needed to escape while the enemy''s focus was not with him. Gripping the hilt of the rope once again, he hastily maneuvered the bird to distance himself. No matter what, he needed to save Sylvia. The Peon bird fluttered its wings in haste as per the rider''s command.


    At the distance, he saw Sierra being pincered by two enemies. She tried to struggle but he believed it was only a matter of time that they would catch her.


    Lighter did not even notice he sneaked away as he was busy raining attacks at the meddlesome person in front of him.


    In some of the academies, some people were watching the battle wide-mouth open, some frowned; and some were entertained by it.


    "Hahahahaha! What a spectacle, look at that flame, the way he was controlling his flames was by no means weaker than most of our sophomore magicians. I wonder who these people are. Are they from a rebel group? Or some sort of organization?"


    A boisterous laugh broke the silence inside a room with a 50 square meter width. A man was crossing his arms across his chests and having the demeanor of a young noble person. He was sitting in front of the long oval shape smooth wooden table that one''s image reflected on it. He commented as he was watching the battle that happened in one of the Human City �� the Human City Zone 7.


    He has trimmed short milky white hair, round face, long pointed nose, thin lips, square jaw that oozes with manliness, fair white skin, and short pointed ears that most Encan people have.


    "I do agree that the battle was a good show. But I''m sorry to disagree with your assessment of that person, Son of Baron Elsen Senrod �� Nicholas Senrod, that he was by no means weaker than our academy''s sophomore magicians.


    After all, we in the Encantasia Magic Academy are the strongest Magic Academy. And our magicians are of such high prestige compared to the other academies. Don''t forget that we are the blessed children of her grace, the goddess of nature Htraerea(He-ra-ya)." Firmly asserted by the person sitting opposite to the person named Nicholas Senrod.


    He has middle length blonde hair, droopy nose, thin lower lips, monolid eyes with azure pupils, hearty shape face, and like the guy named Nicholas Senrod �� he also has short pointed ears.


    "Haha, fair not, Son of the valiant General Beleggor Gorthalion �� Jura Gorthalion. I didn''t mean to degrade our magician''s prominence. You see, I''m just jesting."


    Again with a hearty laugh �� Nicholas cleared his meaning with the words he had been spoken lately.


    "Is that so, sorry to misunderstand you then, son of the Baron, Nicholas Senrod. Nonetheless, I am more intrigued by that person''s black smoke thing. However, it looks like it was too late. That person likely turned into a crisp already." Jura Gorthalion said as he brushed his blonde hair using his hand and leaned his back on a chair.


    Before Nicholas could open his mouth again, a female voice came ahead of him.


    "Oh right, Nicholas Senrod, Jura Gorthalion, I beg to the two of you to turn it off already, we cannot waste our time watching at some academy''s predicament. Nonetheless, the princess is coming." Sternly said the female sitting at the opposite end of the oval-shaped table.


    She has straight long blonde hair, an emerald green pupil in her almond eyes, oval lips, small Nubian nose, cute triangular face, and the same as the two male �� she also has short pointed ears.


    Currently, there''s a total of 9 people sitting around the oval-shaped table. All of them are the chosen Elites of the Encantasia Magic Academy.


    After hearing the last line, Jura and Nicholas become excited.


    With a can''t be helped expression, Jura flicked his fingers. Then the holographic monitor screen on top of the Receptor Plate located in the centermost of the table immediately disappeared.


    Honestly, none of them was bothered by those individuals who were fighting in the far city. What they were more concerned about was their academy''s matter. They needed to win in this year''s competition. They could not let some outsiders dominate the ranking and took more resources from this world.


    Shortly after turning off the screen, a young beautiful girl walked inside the room. She has snow like long hair and also with short pointed ears. She was a peerless beauty that every male inside the room could only stare at her with mouth agape.


    Everyone inside the room immediately stood up and greeted her.


    "Welcome princess!"


    Jura and Nicholas already turned red. They bowed slightly towards her in a more gentleman mannerism they could present themselves.


    The princess nodded at them in a dignified countenance and said, "Let''s start."


    In the battle,


    "Gyahaha! You''re dead! See! You''re dead!" Lighter broke into a guffaw after a barrage of flaming attacks towards the enemy.


    In just a matter of seconds, the smoke caused by his flame''s explosions was cleared already.


    Yet, the expected results were contrary to what was standing in front of him.


    "Hehe! So this is how this channeling ability works, huh. Now I understand a little bit." Yman mumbled after the smoke from the flame explosion cleared out.


    His body was covered by thin layers of Black Mana. He modified his healing ability and used it as a shield. So after receiving damage from Splashing Flame Wave, it was automatically healed. Although, he had to suffer from experiencing pain repeatedly, being a lab-rat was more than enough for him to be used to this thing called ''pain''.


    He noticed a dumbfounded enemy in front of him.


    "What? How the fuck you''re still alive?"


    Not only Lighter was dumbfounded, everyone who was expecting a bitter result also did.


    Kiko on the other hand felt he choke himself and shyly glanced at Almina who was standing not too far from his right. Good thing that she wasn''t paying attention to him. But for some reason, he dislikes this person in black.


    "I guess, it is my turn now." Everyone felt a chill when they heard his voice. Shortly after saying this.


    His silhouette disappeared and, *Shing!* A head flew.

 Chapter 75：Aerial advantage

    "How the f**k was that happened?!"


    No one knew how it turned up like this as it happened instantly. Even the person who was taking the video gasped in surprise. A second after that person appeared behind the smoke caused by the explosions, his silhouette vanished and materialized behind his enemy. It was followed by a head to fly then shortly became light particles. A System Deity, in a bird shape, floats in front of his enemy, seemingly their resonance had been canceled after he was decapitated.


    A second later, Lighter''s body returned to normal. He briefly touched his head and felt relieved that his head was still intact. He hastily massaged his neck as it was still fresh in his memory when the cold metallic blade severed this part.


    Out of a sudden, a sensation of floating was felt by him. He glanced below just to find himself hanging in the air. His heart immediately leaped out of fear.


    "As expected, the neck is one of the parts of the human body that is easy to cut, huh," A cold mutter from behind him.


    ''What?!!'' When Lighter heard it, a chill ran down his spines, and subconsciously gulped.


    Then he noticed someone was grasping his cloth from behind. Deliberately, he glanced at the back just to see those same weird disguises, though his clothes and hood looked tattered. He tried to struggle and free himself, but he froze right away upon the idea that he would fall and die if this person behind him released his grasp on him.


    Yman frowned when he saw the enemy''s face. The guy was only a little older than him. He assumed that this person must be a trainee from a different academy.


    So why are they attacking those juniors in this academy? He was puzzled.


    He decided to put this topic at the back of his mind for now. Unhurriedly lifted his hand that was gripping the sword while pointing its tip at the right side of the enemy''s neck.


    Lighter gawked while thinking, ''Why my neck? Did this person think of me as a chicken? Maybe this person a neck-freak!''


    Once again, that familiar sensation was on his neck, a sharp tip of a weapon was poking on it ''Ahhhhhh!'' A shrill so loud escaped from his mouth out of fear.


    Then he begged, "P-Please bro stop! D-Don''t kill me! I don''t want to die! Please, mercy! Spare my neck!" He cried out in trembling voices.


    Yman mulled, if Yana was the one who had been receiving those hits from the glass shards awhile ago, he was afraid she wouldn''t survive. Supposedly that fate happened, could these people be able to revive her if he begged them? Of course not! He was even sure that these people would just laugh and mock him. Just the thought of it made Yman simmer with resentment towards these people.


    Honestly, he cared not if they did it to others, but he wanted to vent his anger for almost killing the most precious person in his life; these kinds of people were unworthy of mercy.


    "Ahhhhhhh! No, no, no, no!!!" Lighter tried to struggle and free himself, disregarding the thought that he might fall. What he was thinking at this point was to avoid being decapitated once again.


    Yet,


    The coldness of the tip of the Gladius sword started to penetrate on his neck. Blood percolating from his skin.


    He felt regretful that he chose to come here. If he knew that there was such a person in this academy, he would stay behind.


    Lighter had realized something, ''Wait, is this person the one they called Lady Ice? This academy''s strongest trainee? The Ace? But they said she''s gone for almost three months! Did she return already?


    No! this person is not the Ace, I couldn''t feel a strong surge of mana from him.


    However, at this person, I felt an eerie feeling instead. Wait, this is weird, his mana wasn''t as dense as the junior trainee like mine! If my guess won''t upset me, he was a level 4 magician only. Then how was he able to defeat me? Impossible!''


    Only now that Lighter realized that something wasn''t right.


    *Gulp!*


    Even though they were 50 meters above the ground, and the wind was strong at this height, yet beads of sweats tickled his forehead.


    Lighter closed his eyes and succumbed to his predetermined death when that cold sensation on the tip of Gladius sword was penetrating deeper and deeper on his neck. He had no strength to struggle further.


    His deity tried to help him by perking on Yman''s hand.


    Blood splattered every time its pointed beak pierces his hands, but the wounds it dealt immediately healed by his modified healing ability.


    "Blaze?!" Lighter weakly muttered his deity''s name with tears.


    Yman grinned at the deity''s struggle of helping his partner to escape from his grasp.


    Blood was dripping when the tip of the sword went deeper.


    However,


    Contrary to Lighter''s expectation, his vision turned hazy when the sensation of being dragged and thrown came at him. *Thud!* it was followed by a dull sound when he bumped into something. No, it was someone!


    Yman had to do it after killing intent was felt from his back. He couldn''t let himself be careless, if he wasn''t wrong, after activating his Black Mana, all of his attributes doubled. Since he was level 2 magician, then currently, he was as strong as level 4 magician.


    And probably, his opponents were at most level 6-7. Thanks to his Black Mana and Channeling abilities that enable him to reduce their senses, he could mislead their attacks by creating an illusion of himself that only he and the one under it were able to see.


    After Lighter bumped onto his comrade, he heard an annoying tongue clicking noise, "Tsk!" That person didn''t bother to catch him, and he was pushed aside by that person''s forearm.


    Because of this, He found himself falling.


    "You! Dumbass!" He shouted as he fell, and his voice trailed lower and lower.


    Without wasting time, Yman flipped back as he scattered his mana once again. It was mixing into the air.


    Shing!


    Just right after he flipped, a sword coated in wind element slashed at his position in the past half a second.


    "Eh? Why those people...?" Jun was surprised when he glanced at Sierra and saw those two people who were trying to pincer her suddenly left her at her own devices. Then he glanced at the back and gawked in disbelief.


    "H-Ho-How did -- he was alive?!" Jun screamed from what he was seeing. The person that should be crisped by now was still alive. Not only that, but he also saw an enemy -- was falling. However, one of his comrades caught him before he crashed onto the ground.


    "How come the situation turned out like this just a moment that I looked away?" Jun mumbled.


    "Jun!"


    Behind him, he heard Sierra''s tired voice.


    "Are you okay?" Jun asked without slowing his pace.


    He was embarrassed that he chose to abandon her a while ago. In his mind, he must save at-least Sylvia.


    "Mhm, somehow," she replied while gasping for breath.


    ''Looks like, she was not angry, but exhausted.'' Jun thought.


    "Let''s hurry!" Jun urged her to increase their speed.


    "By the way, who is that person?" Sierra tried to ask him., but his reply stunned her a little bit.


    "No, don''t mind it, just focus on escaping," Jun didn''t mind what Sierra would think of him after this, but right now, he couldn''t help it, he was too exhausted and about to pass out. However, before that, he needed to save his comrade first. He also had no idea if whoever was that person helping them.


    Jun thought that he would be tolerating it as a debt to that person. He would return this favor someday if they survived here.


    He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as he swallowed his pride for running away while someone who''s not related to them betting himself while trying to save them; this was how Jun comprehended the situation.


    Then he sped up towards the direction of the hospital.


    Sierra stayed quiet as he followed him. She almost was at her limits and barely able to remain conscious.


    Without them knowing, many people in the barracks were cheering for them to survive and to reach the hospital. Some of them were even waiting there and guarding the area for a safe landing if ever the enemies still chose to chase them there.


    In the video, their images become tiny and tinier when they flew farther and farther towards the hospital. But they noticed another two silhouettes came after them.


    "Boss, are you sure we just let off that person who punched you?"


    "It''s not as important as succeeding to catch those escaping rats!"


    "Okay, boss!"


    The people in the barracks were in a racket. They were shouting and swearing towards those two who chased after Jun and Sierra.


    The situation had become tense.


    Out of a sudden, Almina ran outside.


    "Best friend!" Kesha called out, then followed after her.


    Without waiting for Kesha, Almina rushed towards the hill.


    "You! Coward!" The enemy bellowed when his strike hit nothing.


    The enemy in front of Yman seemed to be puzzled that his attack couldn''t hit him. Although this person in front of him was seemingly not a high-level magician, his strikes only landed on empty air.


    More wind blades shot rapidly at Yman, but Yman easily evaded it with his full accessibility in the air.


    The enemy started to get annoyed as he could not hit him. He then uses some high-level spells.


    A wave of Storm Wind hit Yman and cut off his arm, but it was healed automatically by his modified healing spell.


    ''The f**k is that? I can''t even celebrate my success in cutting his arm!'' He screamed inwardly.


    Red veins had been surfacing in the eyes of the enemy underneath his hood, after witnessing the cut was already healed like it was nothing there in the first place.


    The enemy sent another high-level spell.


    Wind Vortex!


    Yman ran horizontally to escape from the barrage of multiple Wind Vortex.


    His illusion was a huge help. Yet the enemy was just too powerful. He could not even get close.


    Yman suspected that this enemy was of level 7.


    Thanks to his advantage in aerial maneuvers, the enemy was having a difficult time hitting him.


    And he could not carelessly copy the enemy spell also as it was very taxing in his stamina.


    A moment later, Yman found himself standing in front of the enemy.


    "Hehe, I will make sure to kill you," the enemy said his threat with a perky chuckle.


    About ten meters away from each other, the enemy maneuvered his bird and made an aerial assault towards Yman, while the person (himself)riding on it readied his weapon coated by the wind element.


    Tossing his weapon repeatedly in the air slightly above his hand, Yman readied and was waiting attentively at the enemy''s attack.


    Many people were watching the fight while holding their breaths.


    Kyaaaaaahhh!! A wail so loud coming from the Hell Chaser bird becomes the signal of their head-on clash.


    The bird''s aerial assault combined with the rider''s wind technique birthed an attack that looks like a raging tornado.


    Dense, heavy, and suffocating pressure of wind was gathering on the tip of his sword that was pointing at Yman.


    Assault Tornado!


    The enemy shouted as it passed at Yman in an instant like a whirlwind.


    However,


    "....."


    Where was his enemy?!! It was suddenly gone!!


    A moment later,


    Swoosh, swoosh! Two objects tear the space which followed by �� Kyah!


    The bird cried in agony when two daggers penetrated its body and neck.


    The bird was twitching in pain. Then it flew unsteadily like a crashing plane.


    "You cowaaaaaaard!" The rider shouted. His voice trailed lower and lower as the bird rapidly fell together with him.


    Yman did not choose to finish the guy, because he had to save his stamina; he glanced at the direction of the hill, to where the other two members of the enemy chased after the trainees.


    Since he was already here, he might as well try helping them escape.

 Chapter 76：Puzzled and surprised

    Before the enemy could collide at him, Yman let himself fall below, because of this, he evaded and avoided the head-on collision at the right time.


    After the expected collision did not happen, the enemy had lost in thought for his surprise, which led to losing his focus.


    On the contrary, Yman took advantage of it and threw his daggers overhead to where the transport bird was hovering. It then hit squarely at the bird''s neck and body, which caused it to lose its balance, and fell towards the ground together with the rider.


    He heaved a sigh, then turned his eyes around him, and saw the retreating figures of the other enemies. They were riding in tandem and rapidly flew towards the east side of the city.


    Yman had a surprised face when he saw the person who fell before was able to escape his death.


    "Looks like he has the devil''s luck," he mumbled then decided to let them be.


    He darted his gaze again and saw a Hell Chaser bird orbiting in one of the buildings around. He wondered why this bird did not choose to escape, but in his mind, he thought, it was probably because of the bird''s nature.


    To be honest, most transport birds have a timid, docile, and friendly nature.


    Without wasting time, he kicked in the air and dashed towards the riderless transport bird.


    His breaths were a little bit off, and he felt his stamina was almost at the limit. Modifying a skill was stressful. He needed an exceptional talent in concentration and mana control to achieve the results he wanted.


    In a few seconds, he leaped and landed on top of it. The jolt of impact startled the bird, and a low growl escaped from it, but Yman did not mind it.


    "And now, how to drive this?" He muttered to himself and scanned the bird.


    He saw a rope tied from its beak to the back. Being a first-timer, he had no idea how to handle this thing.


    "Hm, anyhow, it''s easier to learn by experiencing it to yourself," He said as he picked the rope and positioned himself -- sitting on its back, imitating someone who rode on a horse.


    The bird seemed to be puzzled to where this pilot wanted to go as he was hoisting the rope randomly.


    The video already cut-off after everyone left the area.


    Meanwhile, at the foot of the hill, four transport birds were racing.


    A chilling feeling of bad premonition tickled from his back. Jun glanced behind just to see his face shortly turned cold. "Dodge!" He shouted.


    Without looking behind, Sierra skillfully controlled the bird to drift on her left. A hissing reached her ears; a spear-like azur light passed before her face.


    Bang!


    The unlucky trees below turned into smithereens.


    Without decreasing the speeds, Sierra and Jun swerved left and right to avoid the follow-up attacks.


    Both frowned from the relentless attacks; their visions started to become unsteady.


    "This is bad, I have no idea why they had to be persistent in chasing after us," Jun weakly grumbled, while trying to evade all the spear-like magical magical attacks that fired at them.


    Suddenly, his deity voiced out.


    He nodded and said his thanks; his cat-looking deity went inside his clothes and curved into a ball.


    Yet a wind blade magical attack almost hit him.


    "Idiot! Are you trying to kill them?" The leader of the enemy shouted.


    "Ah? Aren''t you trying to shoot them down, boss?" Said his comrade in puzzlement, who uses wind element magic.


    "What you! Of course not, I''m just scaring and tiring them out by forcing them to evade!" The leader explained.


    "Ah! So that''s the reason why up until now your attacks are all missing, boss?"


    "Of course! Why? Did you think I had a bad aim, huh? If I wanted them dead, they had already turned into a piece of s**t by now!"


    "No, I would never think bad of you, boss. You are certainly the man who stood like the mountain, boss. Your wittiness knows no bounds! HEHE, I will do as you do, boss! Please, forgive this incompetent fool," His comrade excitedly proclaimed.


    "Don''t mind it. You are still growing and learning. What''s more important is that you understand now why my attacks didn''t hit them," the leader said in a dignified manner �� crossed his arms and raised a brow.


    However, inside his mind, ''Damn it! Why couldn''t I hit those fools? Not good. This idiot with me has better accuracy than me.


    I will lose my face if they find out that I have pitiable accuracy!!!


    If only I had been practicing my shooting skill until now, this predicament of mine would never happen. If this idiot beside me will be the first to hit those fools, my pride as the leader can''t take it!''


    He shouted in panic inside his head.


    "Ahem! In any case, we must capture them before they reach the peak of this hill." He added, then sped up his flight.


    "Okay, boss!"


    All of them were climbing the hill while flying parallel to it, a little above the trees.


    Every second, the distance between them had abridged tremendously.


    "Hehe, boss, let''s hit their birds!"


    "Okay, but let me handle it!" Replied the leader. His arms immediately envelope by azur brilliance.


    Jun and Sierra shuddered at their fate.


    The leader of the enemy pointed his palm towards Jun''s bird. At this distance of about 3 meters away from his target, he believed that he could hit it.


    Jun tried to confuse the enemy by flying in a zigzag. But he failed to lose the enemy''s track.


    The leaders were gathering more brilliance until to the point that he needed to fire.


    A figure leaped from the tree branch and brandished a weapon to him.


    The enemy was startled but he managed to block the attack.


    Ting! A piercing noise invaded their ears when their weapons clashed.


    If not because of his quicker reaction time, he was particular that his head would already fly away by now. Though, because of the sudden attack, he lost his balance and fell on the grounds.


    The ambusher thought that his back would hit on the tree branch as he fell; however, he concisely flipped his body, and his foot landed on it.


    He glanced in front of him and saw an exquisite lady. His mouth extended into a grin.


    "Hehe, what a stroke of luck." He mumbled.


    Almina stood at the opposite tree from the enemy, wearing a cold face and disgust expression towards the lascivious smile of the enemy.


    Without wasting time, she sent flame slashed using her elemental swords.


    The leader of the enemy extended its hand in front of him and created a barrier.


    The flaming slash hit the barrier and exploded


    "Hehe, what a sweet girl. I like it!" The leader shouted.


    After hearing his ecstatic voice, without waiting for the smokes to dissipate, Almina rapidly retreated.


    "This person was at a high level!'' She thought. Then she noticed other enemies swirling up above the trees and rode on a bird.


    "Boss?!" His comrades called out. "What a beauty!" He exclaimed after noticing Almina. Soon he jumped off of the bird and landed beside his boss.


    Jun glanced behind and saw the enemy confronted by a beautiful girl. The enemy''s leader rushed towards the retreating figure of the girl. In just an instant, he already caught up behind her.


    The enemy extended his hand to grab on the girl''s back with a wicked smile.


    Jun grimaced.


    But his grasp only caught an empty air when the girl suddenly dove and rotated her body to 180 degrees while horizontally brandishing her flaming sword.


    The leader was able to backstep and evaded Almina''s sudden attack.


    "Come at us, baby!" From above her, the other enemy leaped in the air and tried to reach her while smiling like a maniac.


    She instantly kicked the ground and backstepped. However, Almina''s foot tripped on a stone and lost her balance. The enemy broke into a toothy grin, seeing her about to fall.


    His hand came closer to her.


    Yet,


    "Ugh!" He felt an impact from the side of his face. His face twitched in pain; he was sent and bumped on the three.


    A shield was thrown onto him by Kesha.


    "Almina!"


    "Thank you, Kesha," she said her thanks without glancing at her, she hastily took her ground and readied herself, because the enemy''s leader was rushing towards her again; he looked like a hungry beast.


    Jun shook his head towards Sierra, who wanted to help. They barely can move, and their resonance had long since been canceled.


    What they needed to do now was to reach the hospital and ask for backups for those girls.


    Jun and Sierra turned their back and continued flying towards the hospital.


    "Kesha, run!" Almina shouted after seeing the other person rushed towards her.


    However, Kesha was not the speed type magician.


    "Come to me, darling, hahaha!" He laughed and jumped above her while spreading his hand.


    Kesha felt a chill, seeing him.


    On the other hand,


    Ting, ting, ting!


    "Hey, babe, let''s enjoy ourselves," The leader teased her while raining sword attacks at Almina.


    Almina tried to parry his attacks, but the enemy''s level was twice higher than hers. Even if she used some of her advanced abilities, it was still not enough.


    She used her Rapid Leap to distance herself, but the enemy still managed to catch up on her with his speed alone.


    He was never even using his full strength yet.


    A moment later, Almina finds herself in the same situation as Kesha. The enemy in front of her was raising his sword overhead while saying, "Hehe, let''s see what is inside that dress," the leader said, licking his lips.


    Not far from her, the enemy who went after Kesha was about to grab her.


    Then,


    "Gotcha! Hehe," the enemy tightly hugged as he sent kisses. But suddenly, he felt weird, why does this beauty rough and solid? Not the expected smooth skin. He opened his eyes just to see he was hugging a tree trunk.


    "What the heck!" He shouted in his mind.


    Almina''s face grimaced at the blade of the sword brandished rapidly from above towards her.


    She subconsciously closed her eyes and thought, "Am I going to die here? So, those many years of training were just for naught? After all these years, I''m still that weak girl from before. Afraid of the dark, I wanted to see him. I wanted that smile who woke me up from that time. Yman!"


    She unconsciously shouted his name.


    In the next second,


    Shing!


    She heard a slashing sound, but she didn''t feel any pain.


    Almina slowly opened his eyes, just to see the enemy lost its hand. And seemingly at the back of that enemy was that person. The mysterious black magician who fought to these high-level enemies in the monitor.


    Inside the hood, under those black glasses, Almina could see-through his eyes were staring at her puzzled and surprised.

 Chapter 77: Going to leave

    Seeing him at close distance, Almina felt he was more mysterious and also weird. And yet, she also felt some kind of inexplicable familiarity with him.


    YMAN''s sneaked attack to directly decapitate the enemy had been spoiled, when Almina called out his name out of the blue.


    His heart went ''ops'' out of a sudden.


    Because of this, his attack that was supposed to land on the enemy''s neck deviated to its arm.


    "Ugh, s**t, this sneaky person again!" The enemy who was still in pain swears in his breath.


    Without wasting time, the leader tried to escape to his right, but a kick was coming to his face.


    Seeing that the kick wasn''t fast approaching, the leader snorted on it.


    ''Damn, he''s not even that fast. If not by a sneak attack, this sneaky black bastard would never land a hit to me!'' He grumbled inside.


    But contrary to his expectation, he saw the kick deliberately approaching his face. He was watching it like watching it in slow motion.


    However, his eyes slowly widened as the kick came closer and closer, and he could not bring his body to evade. The kick wasn''t quick like it was a kick from a low-level magician, but why did his body have a slow reaction speed? He felt like someone was cursing him!


    Almina had wide-eyes watching at it.


    She thought that the black magician would miss his attack. She hurriedly followed up to stab the enemy if ever he evaded the black magician''s kick.


    However, Almina stopped, the kick bore deep on the enemy''s face, under its hood. The leader was sent flying and knocked on the tree.


    She wondered if the enemy just let himself get a kick. However, she quickly pushed the thought at the back of her mind when she noticed the enemy was wearing a puzzled face with blood gushing out of his nose.


    "Bestfriend!"


    She glanced at the one calling her name. She sighed in relief, after seeing that Kesha was fine.


    "You again, bastard!"


    Seeing the other enemy rushing towards him, Yman was about to use his illusion, "Let me!" But he stopped when Almina muttered at him, and she dashed towards the approaching enemy.


    Behind the mask, Yman forced a smile and extended his hand towards Almina, but she was unaware of it.


    The enemy molded sharp winds and sent them towards her while laughing maniacally.


    But Almina wasn''t afraid. He dodges using her sharp and elegant moves. This enemy was weaker and slower than the other one. Almina wielded the ice sword on her left hand and the fire sword at the right.


    The enemy was annoyed after all his attacks did not hit the target. Then it molded in both hands a bigger sphere of winds and sent them towards the beautiful girl.


    Amina narrowed her eyes and increased her speed while leaping left to right to avoid the spheres.


    Then she made a sudden leap, using her Rapid Leap ability together with her Sudden Assault, her figure disappeared, leaving some spec of light particles, forming like a piece of beautiful petals, dancing in the air.


    "D-Dazzlingly beautiful..." Yman gasped and subconsciously muttered.


    Dancing Petals Of The Twin Blades!


    Almina whispered after her figure appeared ten steps away at the back of the enemy.


    The enemy stood with an unbelievable face. A vertical and horizontal cut was visible on his body.


    "A goddess..." He muttered before his body -- divided into four, then limped and fell on the ground. A moment later, his body was glowing then a deity was sitting on his back when the glow died down. His body went back into normal also. They glanced around to see the other enemy, but it was already gone.


    "Kesha, where is that person?"


    "Who?"


    "The mysterious black magician."


    "Eh? He was just standing here awhile ago. I didn''t notice when he left."


    "Is that so."


    "Ah, I could not even say my thanks for saving me!" Kesha shouted.


    "Me too." Almina added.


    Moments later, many people from the academy arrived. They also said that the juniors successfully arrived at the hospital.


    The unconscious enemy was taken to jail and will interrogate later.


    Everyone couldn''t believe that Almina was able to defeat the level 7 junior trainee.


    Almina''s name slowly gained popularity after defeating a junior level enemy.


    For just a fledgling of level 4, it was rare to defeat level 7 junior trainees. Everyone in the Academy thought that no doubt Miss Almina Amulet was the upcoming Ace second only to Lady Ice.


    Together with Almina''s popularity, the rumors about the mysterious black magician started to take notice inside the city.


    Almina didn''t understand, that moment when she rushed in towards the enemy, she felt her power had increased tremendously.


    On the other hand, the other academies had different reactions to this. Some started to show wariness at the Human City Zone 7, while some just thought of it as their ploy.


    Inside the faculty room of Academy in the Human City Zone 1, a person on his 60 broke into a burst of laughter.


    "Hahaha, what kind of fallacy news is this, Principal Li?" The person asked in amusement.


    "But Principal Kim, there were many videos regarding this guy that they called, the mysterious black magician." The person of his 50''s said in a worried tone. He has a broad forehead and white hair on the side, wrinkled face, and a little beard.


    "Oh no, Principal Li, that black magician was probably just a gimmick to scare the magicians of other academies. A magician who used something like black smoke? What a joke! Puffft! Perhaps the academy officials of Zone 7 just came into that idea to scare the other academy trainees to avoid bullying their weak magicians." Said Principal Kim as he tried to suppress his laughter.


    "Indeed. Tsk, why do I even think of it as real? Damn, those people in Zone 7 came up with shameful tricks again. Thank you for enlightening me about it, Principal Kim." Principal Li agreed with a sigh of relief.


    "Haha, don''t mind it, Principal Li. It is my honor to help an ally." Principal Kim smiled then lent his back on a leaning back of his chair.


    "Hehe, allying with you was indeed a wise choice for me. Perhaps the rumor about that girl of the Amulet family is also one of their tricks."


    "Oh, about that, I''m not too sure about it. After all, that Almond Amulet." Principal Kim''s face suddenly turned serious.


    "So, do you mean... It could be true?"


    "Perhaps, as I said, she is a younger sister of that person who reached the apex of sword mastery. The Amulet family is known for their sword techniques."


    "In that case, there is a possibility that that girl could defeat a higher level -- magician?" Principal Li asked with a can''t believe face. After all, it was rare for even a talented magician to defeat an enemy with a 3-4 level above theirs.


    "Well, honestly, we can''t be too sure about that. We all knew that Zone 7 is way too desperate now. So it could also be one of their ploys."


    "I see."


    "Nonetheless, let your magicians continue pressuring that Academy. They probably will be unrooted at the end of this year. And we could get hold of the hidden treasure lying underground of that city."


    "Hehe. Let my magicians handle them, partner."


    The two principals shook their hands like a business partner who came into a deal.


    When Principal Li left, Principal Kim grinned, "Hehe, this year, our Zone 1 will take the top 1 place in all the rankings. After the Zone 7 would be kicked out from this world, soon the bidding for ownership of that land will take place. Isn''t merely that we will take hold of that land, but we also have a high chance to take their talented trainees. That girl -- Almina Amulet -- together with Jin Makorov, will become an unbeatable duo." Principal Kim mused.


    The other academies did not show any reactions towards Zone 7. They were busier with increasing their magician''s strength.


    Inside a room that was only illuminated by a single lamp, a young man was leaning his butt on a crude table.


    He was wearing white long-sleeves that slightly loosed to his forearms, doubled with an ash-colored coat, and paired with black pants and shiny black shoes.


    The man had a cold gaze, looking at his front without bearing any emotions.


    A moment later, his mouth slowly opened.


    "Your mission was clear and simple to pressure the magicians of that city. Not only you carelessly went inside the city, but also let one of your men -- be caught by them." The blonde young man said. He was the same person who talked with Jin Makorov. And he also was the one who sent these people to pressure the Human City Zone 7.


    The leader of the group trembled slightly. At the moment, they were surrounded by vicious-looking creatures: Human skeletons, beast skeletons, and many more. They were howling that sent chill down their spines. Each of them was waving their hands towards the group.


    "B-Boss..." muttered the guy who uses flame magic while grabbing on their leader''s hand.


    "S-Sorry, Young master Chad, it was actually the fault of that meddlesome person," the leader reasoned out.


    "Shut up, you failed your mission and even put the academy at risk." He said and lifted his hand.


    The group felt like their backs were being poured by cold water.


    The leader hastily opened his mouth. "No, Young master Chad, I assure you that the Academy will not be at risk."


    "What do you mean?"


    "That guy they caught is not from any Academy. He joined us because he thought that we are some kind of bandit group."


    Chad narrowed his eyes.


    "Please, Young master Chad, give us a second chance!"


    Chad grinned.


    A moment later, the room was enveloped by cries and screams.


    ...


    For an entire week, Yman was busying himself for mission and self-training, like the usual day. His unhealthy figure came back whenever he was not activating his Black Mana.


    Because of Almina''s deeds on defeating a higher level magician, the officials of the Academy decided to advance the training to phase two.


    Each instructor would be choosing the desired trainees they wanted to train specially. These included live combat with magic and physical.


    Yman was not one of the lucky one to be chosen.


    Kiko mocked him, saying it was only natural that no one wanted to train someone like him. It was a waste of effort to train him.


    The elders gave them lectures on how to improve their powers.


    However, except for combat and physical training, none of the magic tutorials were suitable for Yman.


    For the entire week, he managed to level up again, and now he was a level 3 magician.


    Nonetheless, Sistela came back to normal after the resonance that time was canceled. But she doesn''t have any memories of what happened that time.


    Yman was currently laying on the rooftop while staring at the night sky.


    He just finished packing up his things. He got good news from Ms. Pai when she came to their room that day of the attack.


    It was about a medicine that might heal his Sister''s illness.


    He would be going to leave tomorrow at dusk.

 Chapter 78: New name again

    Yman asked Sistela about the time which she answered,


    As per usual, Yman got up early, but he didn''t go to the Academy this time. Instead, he jogged to the barracks.


    The barracks was opened 24/7 since most of the clerks work in shifts. So by now, many people were inside when he arrived. After the news of Almina defeating a level 7 magician, many juniors and seniors became active lately. If before they only loitered here, now most of them were taking the quest.


    Yman at first didn''t understand the situation of the juniors and seniors of this academy, but now it was clear to him.


    For these past days, he learned that the magic academy''s purpose was not solely for training and learning, but also for acquiring resources. Therefore, magic academies were competitive with each other. They were going as far as bullying the weakest academy to downplay them and to lessen the numbers of possible rivals.


    He also learned one of the shocking truth that this Academy was on the verge of getting pulled out from this world.


    Whether this information was credible or not, he wasn''t sure, but the source of this information was Ms. Elona, Ms. Pai''s cousin.


    When the trainees inside saw him enter the barracks. "Yow, Rat Slayer," one of the people inside shouted at him and beckoned him. Then it was followed by more heads turning to glance at him. One after another called out to him. Some were calling for pure sarcasm while some for mockery purposes.


    Just in a few days, he became popular in the barracks so soon. Believe it or not, there were three hot topics inside the barracks. These topics were like appetizers to them.


    The most popular topic was, "Really, Ms. Almina Amulet will get personal training by Elder Paan herself?!"


    A female junior trainee on the left corner-most of the barracks exclaimed in surprise, and almost spit the coffee she was sipping.


    Yman forced a light giggle as he thought that Miss Almina had wholly become an idol. She was the favorite topic for favorable gossip these days.


    If his memory serves him right, Keremi once said to him that Almina was an idol at the Elite School of Elementary Magic. In this regard, Yman believed that Almina was someone with inborn charm. She could easily attract people around her. Not because she was beautiful, nor because of her talent in magic. Well, these two factors played a big part in it. Regardless, Yman believed the most reason for it was because luck was on her side.


    Yman darted his eyes to the other group.


    The next popular gossip was, "The academy was allocating rewards for the one who could uncover the identity of the mysterious black magician?" A junior trainee asked in surprise the senior trainee at his front.


    After that incident of the attacks, the other academy became aggressive with their attacks later on. So once again, he had to show up and test his newly found abilities.


    If Almina was there, he could secretly buff/boost her capabilities while hiding in his illusion.


    After boosting Almina''s capabilities, a magician of level 9 was defeated by her. Level 9 magician was the Senior level. That time Almina was level 4, so winning against a level 9 was out of sense. The other academy became wary of her, and the attacks had reduced drastically.


    The magicians in Zone 7 were finally able to do their missions. Yet what left them was an insufficient quantity of resources around this city''s perimeter. It was already too late for them.


    Right now, the city officials were having headaches by now, because it implicates the economy later on, especially at the pricing value of all the products in this city.


    But if Yman''s intuition would be proven right, he might be able to solve this issue of lack of resources before he left. It was also the reason why he was here at the barracks


    Regardless, the third popular topic of gossip was no other than, "Oh, it seems the venerable Rat Slayer will again blow steam on the rats! Haha."


    "No, my baby rats hide!! The fierce Mr. Rat Slayer is coming!"


    Hahaha!!


    Such laughter.


    Yman once again received a new nickname. It happened because this past week he took missions of killing rats only.


    Yman did not mind it. After all, it was their daily routine to find victims of their sarcasm, and he was an easy target for it. If he got angry and tried to quarrel, these people would find it more amusing to tease him instead, and they might become intense in their sarcastic approach later on.


    It wasn''t like he was afraid, just find it troublesome to argue with it. And one more thing, he didn''t have extra time to spend on their humor.


    Truthfully, it was Bob''s fault, one time that he came here together with Bob, Chloe, and Keremi to get a mission, Bob unintentionally blurted the words, "Gross rat again?!".


    Then his mission history had been revealed since that time. That since the first day, he was only doing a killing rats mission.


    "Rat Slayer, come here!" The first guy who called out to him beckoned him to come.


    This guy wasn''t bad -- actually. He was the person he saw one time when he visited the trading store.


    Yman sat on the chair opposite the guy who called him.


    "Sir Ult, good morning," Yman greeted him. He was called Ultima, but Yman was calling him Ult in short.


    The ''Ultima'' was the codename given to him after he succeeded in the trial to become a Mercenary.


    "Likewise, so are we going now?" Ultima asked him.


    "Not yet, Sir Ult, someone wanted to--,"


    Yman was not able to finish his words because of the sudden laugh that reverberated in the barracks.


    "Haha, Ultima, so you are joining a rat slaying game together with that Rat Slayer?" Laughed a guy with narrowed eyes, long black hair tied at the back, and had a medium build body.


    "That''s none of your business Vortex, it''s my duty as a mercenary to help those who need my assistance; besides, I''m not choosy of missions," Ultima replied with his ideals.


    "Fue, then how about the payment? I''m sure that Rat Slayer can only earn 120 GP at most," the person added with a smug.


    "Fufu, talk about being greedy. Don''t worry about that. This friend little Rat Slayer had already paid me in advance. And even if he did not, I would not force him to pay me now. It can be tomorrow or the next day or month."


    "What?" That person with the codename Vortex was seemingly surprised.


    "Haha, actually he paid double the price," Ultima said in glee.


    After hearing it, Vortex and the other people have their mouths extended on the floor.


    They were wondering how this Rat Slayer able to pay such a price of 500 gold points.


    "doubled?"


    "Hey."


    "What?"


    "Did the price of Evil Rat materials increase?"


    "I don''t know."


    "Let''s ask the Rat Slayer."


    "Lol, he probably won''t tell the truth."


    "Then let''s go to the trading store."


    "Okay!"


    Most of the people around ran towards the market.


    Yman was listening at their exchange of words; had scratched his head, then he signaled to order a cup of coffee in the bar.


    But he was surprised when, "Tsk," Vortex clicked his tongue and, "Mr. Rat Slayer, maybe you wanted to hire me also," he said.


    "Yes, Mr. Rat Slayer Sir, hire us," the others also followed up.


    Ultima giggled.


    Yman''s mouth extended on one side and formed a lazy smile.


    "Haha," Yman forced a troubled laugh. "I can''t hire another one," he said.


    "RatSlayer bro, a 3-4 man party is better than two," Vortex did not give up.


    Yman scratched the side of his face and said, "I agree with you, Mister."


    Vortex broke into a broad smile but froze after when Yman said his next words, "In fact, we are waiting for that third member of ours."


    After saying it, the other people inside the barracks suddenly broke into a furor.


    They glanced around and saw all of them were gaping at the door.


    Yman and the others glanced and saw that person.


    "Are we late?"


    Vortex and the others almost have their eyeballs dropped on the floor.


    He smiled at her and said, "No, Ms. Almina, we came earlier than the appointed time."


    But Yman gawked upon seeing the other person with her.

 Chapter 79: Gauntlet

    The two most beautiful girls in the academy of Zone 7 came together with their deities. It made the people inside the barracks go hyper. They were staring at them like staring at two exquisitely made figurines.


    Yman reluctantly asked, "Uhm, Miss Almina, why is she here?" he beckoned with his chin towards the girl beside her.


    Never did he expect that Almina would arrive together with the blonde."S-Sorry, but it''s a long story. C-Can we bring her with us, Y-Yman?" Almina said bashfully while staring at him with sorry eyes.


    ''So cute!'' the people around them shouted in their minds when they saw her begging eyes. Ultima was no exception.


    As per his habit, he scratched his face before opening his mouth. "Uh, hmm, Erm..." Yman was a little hesitant. But when he took a glance at the girl with Almina, he was being skewered by her piercing gaze. Like that of a predator staring at her prey.


    He gulped.


    Then he noticed her mouth twitched and said, "What? You are unwilling? I didn''t come here because of you. So please don''t fantasize over me," she said coldly while raising a brow at him when she noticed his gaze over her.


    He frowned. |What is this girl talking about? Grr, she got on my nerves. On the contrary, having her in the party is a big addition of strength and this is what I really need right now. With Miss Almina''s help, I could fully use this girl''s ability. Maybe, probably, I hope so.| Yman thought.


    "M-Maena?! What are you talking about ''fantasize over you?'' in any case, d-don''t say bad things to him, eh, eh, sorry about her behavior, Y-Yman. B-But she''s not bad -- actually," Almina was flustered.


    Yman was surprised to see Almina like this. The people around them were whispering of how cute Almina''s reaction was when she was flustered. Some of them secretly took a picture of her and made it as their Cyber Screen wallpaper.


    A sigh departed from his mouth when he nodded in defeat and said, "Hah, well, the more the merrier I guess. As long as she doesn''t do any unnecessary things."


    "Hmph!" Maena snorted to him before she asked, "So, what mission are we getting?" Maena asked.


    Yman looked at her with a grin and thought, |Hehe. Let''s see how this sophisticated beauty''s reaction after seeing the gross mission.|


    "Hehe, asking someone with the nickname of Rat Slayer," he said with a smug.


    Maena''s countenance turned grim and uttered, "Gross," then he glanced at Almina with doubt.


    Almina looked away from Maena while a bead of sweat appeared on her smooth jade-like skin.


    Yman introduced Ultima to the others then they ordered some coffee.


    After warming their stomach, without wasting time, they immediately left the barracks.


    Vortex and the others left hanging their mouths down to the floor. Never did they imagine that Rat Slayer was known by those two beauties.


    "Did Rat Slayer actually an awesome person?" Vortex asked himself.


    "Did you see how friendly Miss Almina was while talking with him? I even heard that she''s a stoic beauty. She was even showing a flustered face in talking to that guy," a man beside Vortex said.


    "Damn it, I should have been friendly with Mr. Rat Slayer Sir from the start!" Vortex exclaimed.


    "Yeah me too!" His friend seconded.


    "I will send a friend request to him in the Facepalm.com account." Vortex uttered.


    "I will too! I also wanted to get close to the two beauties!"


    "Damn, that Ultima bastard was so lucky to go on a mission together with two beauties!" Vortex finally howled.


    Thankfully, Almina was a party leader, if not, making a party like this together with other trainees that were not part of mercenary would never be allowed.


    But since Almina was a party leader of her own team, she had the right to issue a party mission together with other trainees.


    Yman and the rest went first to the smithing shop. He needed to get the items he ordered from the other day.


    "Look, who we have here," said Mister Sar Smith.


    "Mister Smith, I''m here for the item I ordered," Yman directly states his intention without pleasantries like usual.


    "What��" Ultima was surprised that Yman was casually conversing with Mister Smith.


    "Why Sir Ultima?" Almina asked in puzzlement when he noticed a surprised expression on the junior''s face.


    "Uh, it''s nothing," Ultima was flustered being questioned by beauty, and that beauty was no other than the most popular Almina Amulet.


    Seeing the two beauties staring at him with doubt, he quickly opened his mouth, "In truth, this wasn''t the first time that I came here. However, whenever I came here, Mister Smith wouldn''t bother conversing with me."


    "Maybe he just doesn''t like talking with you," Maena butt in.


    "No, actually not only at me but the others also. None of the customers who came here was able to converse with him as casual as Yman. There were even some thatafraid to come here."


    "Maybe they didn''t like the equipment that was being sold here," Maena flatly stated.


    "That can''t be true," Ultima disagrees.


    "Mister Smith was a popular smith. He was getting offered by the empire and other kingdoms to work for them. But weirdly he always flatly declined to their offers," Ultima explained.


    "Really, then what''s the reason, Sir Ultima?" Almina asked curiously.


    "What �� we didn''t know as of yet," Ultima said in a can''t be helped expression.


    "So seeing him how friendly he was conversing with Yman was out of his character. That''s why I was surprised to see it with my own eyes," he added.


    "I-I knew it, Yman was awesome!" Almina''s admiration towards Yman leaps no bounds. After hearing the senior trainee''s words, she felt so proud of Yman. A strong surge of feeling wanted to explode within her.


    "Fufu, I don''t know how you get this item like picking them on the street, Kid. Did you have a factory for this?" Sar Smith amusingly asked. Pinched in his fingers was another Magic Cryst. He certainly could not believe it, this kid was easily getting this super rare item. Not just that, it was hard-fought to get this. Since it could be looted only from a Wanderer Class beast/monster.


    "Just lucky, Mister Smith. Haha!" Yman laughed gleefully.


    Sar Smith sighed. This kid probably won''t tell his secret of how he was able to get this item so quickly.


    "Magic Cryst?!"


    Yman glanced at his left side out of reflex when someone exclaimed in surprise. He saw the blonde with wide-eyes, but since he was a little shorter than her, he had to glance a little higher to see her face.


    "As you can see," he replied.


    "How did you get it?" She asked.


    "Eh, why should I tell you?" Yman said with a smug.


    Maena stared at him before annoyingly said, "Then don''t!" She said with pursed lips.


    He giggled. Finally, he was able to make her annoyed.


    Before Yman could celebrate his success,


    "Okay, let me excuse myself first before the two of you go into a lover''s quarrel. Hehe, I''m so excited to inlay this material. Let''s see how this thing will come up," said Mister Smith disregarding the gulping Yman with beads of sweats trailing at the back of his head.


    Yman froze into a block of ice when he sensed a burst of dense energy at the blonde. That energy seemingly formed an entity like a goddess of snow, wielding a huge crystalline bow that shines brightly like a star.


    Her eyes gleamed into a cerulean glow.


    Inside his mind, |Mister Smith you idiot! Take back your words! Take back!!!|


    "Don''t ever think I have a feeling for you!" The blonde said in a ticklish cold overbearing voice.


    "I-I-I didn''t. I swear I didn''t. Hey, Blonde, calm down, calm down..." yet another surge of energy burst from his back, melting the block of ice encasing him. But for some reason, it was burning his flesh, like he was swimming in the magma.


    Yman was sweating profusely.


    He deliberately glanced behind him, and saw a burning sexy suited goddess, with burning in crimson eyes and protruded long crimson horns that curve to both sides forming like arcs. Huge crimson wings similar to that of a dragon fluttered at the back of that goddess of hell. The source of this was Ms. Almina''s energy!


    "M-Ms. A-Almina, y-you are b-burning. You are burning!" Yman said in a hush.


    "Say, what''s the relationship you have without me knowing?" Her voice was melodious and enticing. But yman felt a bone-cracking pressure bore towards him.


    Ultima at the side had a surprise (Pikachu) face.


    "Eh? Relationship? We don''t have any. We''re not even friends," Yman said, but briefly covered his mouth when he realized that Ms. Almina was angry at him because he was not friendly to her friend.


    "No, you look suspicious!" Almina''s overbearing voice stunned him.


    "I''m so dead," he thought.


    He was trapped between two goddesses. Yman stood still and shouted in his mind, |Mister Smith, you idiot, your shop will be destroyed sooner!!|


    On the contrary, their deities were shaking their heads while thinking about how childish their owners.


    A moment later,


    "Fufufu, you''re still at it, ah �� you''re two-timing the two beautiful lads?" Sar Smith who just came back after inlaying the Magic Cryst said without consent.


    When the energies from the two beauties surged towards the sky, Yman''s countenance immediately turned into that of a dead fish.


    |I don''t want to come back here again!| Yman screamed inwardly.


    A minute later, the atmosphere finally calmed down.


    "Wow, what an exquisitely made gauntlet," Almina, who was peeking from his back, said when Yman lifted the black gauntlet.


    Yman grinned. This gauntlet also had a tiny red chip embedded in it. The same as the Magic Cryst on the glove, it also was of strength category. Yman wore it on his right hand together with the glove. He felt that his right arm was exuding with strength the moment he wore it. With this, he could break a boulder with a punch.


    "It looks good on you," Almina commented, which made Yman a little bashful.


    Maena thought the same. But she wasn''t showing openly her true feelings of admiration towards it.


    Mercenary Ultima was telling Yman of how cool the item and praising it.


    Sistela who was sitting on his shoulder suggested.


    The group next went to their destination.

 Chapter 80: Merciless

    After a small incident of Yman hallucinating the incarnation of goddesses in the background of Almina and the blonde, they directly went into the Underground Channel.


    To be honest, Yman didn''t plan to bring companions today, but Almina rants at him for forgetting to come in the open forum. Although he didn''t forget it, he chose not to come.


    Yman said his sorry and told her that he went to complete his mission. Almina asked him if he would be going on a mission again. He told her the truth that he would, but Yman soon realized that he fell into her trap.


    She insisted on coming with him!


    He wanted to decline because the place he would be going to wasn''t suitable for her, but before he could say no, Almina with a pout, soon threatened him that she would tell the other trainees that he was bullying her with a tear forming on the corner of her eyes.


    Yman froze on the spot.


    He was flabbergasted as to why Ms. Almina was going so far to threaten him just to come with him.


    Does she really have a crush on me? A wild imagination happened in his mind, but he shook his head in a second as he thought that he was too assuming.


    Yman believed that Almina wasn''t serious about her threat, but what if she did that?


    Argh, thinking about how popular she was at the moment, Yman felt the unfathomable pressure if ever most of the trainees fledgling to a senior trainee, going to trouble him!


    Before answering her, he looked at her and saw her puppy eyes. He thought to himself, it was unfair.


    He sighed in defeat and nodded.


    When Yman realized that he would be doing a mission alone with Almina, he immediately surmised the consequences. The others might think differently about it if someone saw them. And it probably became awkward to both of him and Almina to be alone. After all, he was not a chatty person.


    He decided to hire a mercenary and how their party was made. Although he didn''t expect that Almina would bring someone with her too. The least he expected was the someone she brought with her �� the whiny blonde.


    Well, he also had a bigger reason why he agreed to let Almina and the others come with him.


    Before they entered the underground entrance, Yman glanced at his side. "Hey, blonde are you sure you''re not going to wear a mask?" He asked Maena. The three of them were wearing a mask with poison resistance and its basic resistance �� the bad odor resistance. Only the blonde declined to wear it for no reason.


    "Tis, I don''t want to as long as it comes from a weakling like you!" She firmly said.


    Yman felt an arrow let loose and hit the back of his head.


    "Eh, M-Maena, please be kind to him. A-ah, Y-Yman don''t take her seriously, she really was a good person." Flustered Almina tried to ease the atmosphere.


    But contrary to her expectations, Yman wasn''t mad at the blonde, he snickered before saying, "W-Well, it won''t be my fault if you need them later. But if that''s going to happen, you can only get it if you pay the price."


    Yman was meaning to say that he would be selling it to her later when the blonde needed it.


    "Hmph." Maena pursed her lips as she looked away.


    "Uh, Miss Maena, if you want, you can have my mask," Ultima tried to offer his mask also.


    "....."


    But what he got was a cold stare.


    Ultima cried on his knee while Yman rubbed on his back while saying, "Yosh, yosh, don''t take it to your heart, Mr. Ult."


    Almina tried to soothe the atmosphere again.


    They decided to enter after their resonance. Like him, all the fledgling trainees were able to control their mana this past week. It was also one of the reasons why their training advanced to phase 2.


    Since Yman already mapped most of the area near the entrance, they easily reached the camouflage wall, to where the hole was hidden.


    When they passed the hole, they noticed that it was darker on this side. They summoned each of their Floating Map. The brilliance of it could illuminate the place.


    Yman casually walked in the middle of the group. He already did mop-up the mobs in this area. So if there were beasts to appear it would only be counted at one hand.


    When the group went deeper and deeper, everyone noticed the blonde was coughing. She tried to bear it, but as they went deeper, the coughing became intense.


    Almina worriedly asked her, "Maena, are you okay?" She replied that she was fine. After saying her reply, she took a vial from out of thin airs, then she drank it after uncapping.


    The coughing soothes a little.


    "Enemies," Yman warned. Hissing and scraping noises coming ahead of them.


    Three pairs if red eyes were peeking from the dark. The two pairs were closed to the ground while the other one was hovering in the air.


    "Evil Rats and an Evil Bat." He said.


    Before they could summon their weapons, three arrows flew into the dark. It was followed by piercing shrills.


    They glanced at the back and noticed the blonde holding her bow.


    When they passed at the lying corpse both of them noticed that they were all pierced at the same spot.


    "What a scary accuracy," Yman whispered. He could not deny the fact that this blonde was as talented as Almina Amulet. He also wanted to increase his accuracy but it probably took him ages to achieve it.


    Not only Yman was the one who admired Maena''s accuracy in a bow. Even the mercenary Ultima could only sigh in admiration. Not only to her beauty but also to her talent.


    To be honest, junior trainees in this city''s academy had pitiful strength. They were poorer than most of the fledgling. Especially those who came from normal families and had average strength. No rich family would bother to sponsor them, they could only depend on their income in finishing a mission, which was too low of rewards. Not even enough to buy a Syringe Of Advancement for them to breakthrough. The scarcity of resources resulted in a price hike to all commodities.


    In this regard, even living in normal was hard for them.


    The beasts kept coming at them in a group, but they were dispatched easily by his companions. Yman did not even do a thing. He just keeps on checking his Floating Map.


    A few minutes later, "Blonde, if you keep being hard-headed you only have yourself to blame,"


    He told her. Yman didn''t feel soft towards her, he just did not want any unnecessary trouble because of her refusing to wear the mask. Her coughing still did not alleviate and it might cause a weak link in their formation.


    "Tis, you don''t need to feel pity, it sends goosebumps at me and I wanted to puke. And besides, we are just killing your kin. Something as weak as you are nothing to me. I will rather be poisoned to death than wearing that mask of yours. Cough!"


    Yman''s brow twitched. He wanted to punch the top of her head for some reason. He sighed.


    "Maena, why are you so mean to him? Yman just wanted to help you," Almina said with a sad face.


    In Yman''s head, I don''t even want to help her. I just worried about team formation.


    "Tis, hmph!" She pursed her mouth again.


    "In that case, you can''t blame us when you drop dead later on!" Yman said before turning his back.


    Maena was staring coldly at his back.


    The group decided to continue.


    Cough, cough, cough! The blonde started coughing again. And it was more intense than before. Blood even was coming out from her mouth.


    She drank another vial of potion to alleviate the poison. But the soothing feeling lasted for a moment only before the coughing attacks again. As time went by, it affected her battle. She missed a shot at a distance of 5 meters only.


    "Maena!"


    "Miss! Watch out!"


    Almina and Ultima shouted when they noticed one of the Evil Rats moving rapidly towards her. Baring its fang as it leaped to bite her.


    But Maena''s vision started to get blurry, and Almina as a vanguard was in the front most. She would be late to rescue her. On the other hand, Ultima who was 10 meters away at her right side was being surrounded by 3 Evil Rats.


    Maena shook her head to clear her vision but what greeted her was a pair of fangs coming closer at her.


    She jolted back, but the rat was so quick and she had no time to dodge. Her countenance turned grim.


    In a split of second,


    *Snap!*


    "....."


    Someone snapped the head of the Evil Rat! They noticed it was Yman. Using his right hand, he snapped the head of the rat. It tried to bite him. Yet Yman didn''t seem bothered by it. He used the full strength of his right hand to crush the head. It twitched and tried to escape from his grip. However, his right hand had two Strength type Magic Cryst. And right now, he was at level 3. The head was easily crushed by him; muddy black blood was dripping from his hand and splattered on the ground.


    "....."


    The three were speechless at his mercilessness.

 Chapter 81: The reason for those tears

    Thump!


    A dull sound intertwined to the solemnity of the atmosphere when Yman threw the corpse of Evil Rat to the side.


    Plok, plok, plok! Droplets of blood departed from the tips of his fingers. It was dripping onto the ground like sticky excrement.


    His back was still facing at her when they heard him saying, "How ironic..." his voice was trailed with regret, dismay, and disappointment. "I remembered someone told me that as weak as I am was nothing to her. Yet..." he stopped and side-glanced at the girl at his back. "Is this the extent of your ''Power''? Or you misunderstand the concept of the word ''Stronger''?"


    Maena frowned but she remained quiet because she felt something unusual with him at this moment.


    "Someone who has strength but incapable of surviving a little struggle is much weaker than someone with a little strength but capable of advancing through any hurdle." His voice wasn''t loud nor low. But the meaning behind it was clear to them.


    Ultima was surprised to see this part of the famous Rat Slayer. What they knew about him was a silent and serious person but not to this extent. Whenever he went inside the barracks, there were only two reasons for it: to relax while sipping tea or coffee and to take a mission of killing rats. Even though those around him were mocking him, he only replied with a forced smile. So seeing him killing the rat mercilessly, and casually talking to the beautiful girl like the blonde. He could not help to feel more curious about this person.


    Yman noticed she stared at him. Then it grew into a piercing gaze. Yman''s brow slightly raised.


    "Don''t talk like you know me!" She screamed, and her voice echoed inside the channel. "You don''t know what I''d been through."


    Yman was taken aback.


    He noticed some tears running down from the corner of her eyes. He knitted his brows and glanced at Almina.


    Yman saw her had a solemn face. Perhaps something happened to the blonde in the past which Almina knew.


    Yman sighed and lifted his left hand.


    A moment later, he threw something on the blonde''s head.


    "H-How cruel," Ultima muttered but no one heard it or maybe they just pretended not to hear it, especially Yman himself.


    The thing he threw landed on her head. Maena stared at him like pointing a dagger on his throat.


    Yman exhaled, "Don''t misunderstand I''m not forcing you to wear that. Regardless, if you want to talk with something, I''m willing to listen later. But right now is not the right time, and if you still insist not to wear that mask, then it''s better for you to return to the surface. I can''t let you come with us in that state," he said firmly.


    "W-Why are you so adamant in killing rats?"


    "Adamant you say? That word is more suited to you, you know. Anyway, look around you," he beckoned her to look at the people around her.


    "What do you mean?" Maena asked with doubt.


    "If I only came here just to play with the rats, what''s the point of bringing you all here?" After saying it, a glint was visible in his eyes; Yman''s face turned serious.


    Maena and the others widened their eyes. Now that they thought about it.


    Ultima thought, ''Why did the Rat Slayer have to hire me with double the price if he was only killing rats? He even squished that rat a while ago.''


    In Maena''s mind, ''He''s right, it''s weird that he hired a mercenary if he already had Almina as his companion, to begin with. If killing only these rats, Almina was more than enough by that. He was even capable of killing them with his hand."


    Maena''s gaze landed on the mercenary.


    "Wait, weren''t the price of hiring a mercenary mostly cost 500? It was impossible that he could earn that lots in killing these rats. So what''s the reason for coming here? Wasn''t he here to play? No, this person was so wicked, it was impossible that he wasted his time in coming here just to play."


    When her gaze darted to Yman''s right hand, "Wait, that Cryst... could it be..."


    She absentmindedly stared at him who was showing a grin.


    Almina ran and stopped beside him while saying, "Y-Yman, I don''t care what the other may think of you. I am more than happy that you chose your safety than going on a mission that might hurt you," She said with full of concern.


    "Eh?" Yman lost in thought after hearing Almina''s words. "T-Thank you for your concern Ms. Almina."


    She smiled sweetly at him.


    He thought, |That smile again.|


    But before he could think much of it, He heard Sistela whisper in his ears.


    Yman narrowed his eyes to the dark part of the tunnel.


    He said his thanks to her through thought communication. Then he glanced at the blonde.


    "Are you coming?" He asked her.


    Maena stared at him for a couple of seconds.


    In her mind, ''This person is a vile person who has no qualms of hurting his comrades as long as his plan succeeded. But why is he showing this kind of concern right now? Is it genuine? Or just fake?'' She took the mask off of her head and tightly gripped on it within her hand.


    Inside his head, he wanted to bury himself in the ground for saying those embarrassing lines a while ago, but he needed this blonde''s strength in order to succeed in this mission. So, he had no choice. Well, he would be leaving here later on, anyway.


    He noticed her mouth slowly opened.


    "It''s fine, Maena," Almina went to hug the blonde.


    "W-Will you listen... to-to my story-later?" She said a little bashful.


    "Eh?" Yman was surprised. Although he said that he would listen if she wanted to talk with him, it was an out of the blue utterance. Never would he imagine that the blonde took it seriously.


    Now he was a little curious if what really was the reason for those tears a while ago.


    Wait weren''t these two supposed to be rivals? Maybe it was connected to the story she wanted to tell? But why me though? Perhaps she already thought of me as someone that can be trusted after I saved her.


    "Sure, when we both had the free time," he answered with a smile.


    "Cough!" Maena slowly lifted the mask towards her face. However, "Wait," Yman stopped her. "Why?" She asked. "Drink this first," he handed a vial of potion for poison.


    She glanced at his face; he was the shortest than the rest in the group. But right now, she felt he was exuding a demeanor like he was staring down at them. Like he was stepping in the higher podium. Maybe this was just her imagination. However, this is what she feels at the moment. This is the first time she feels like this. She subconsciously took the vial and drank it without opening the cap.


    "....."


    "Eh, S-Sorry!"


    (Facepalm)


    Almina and Yman were having blank eyes while watching at Maena.


    Ultima had a surprise (Pikachu) face once again while thinking, ''This Rat Slayer was so awesome! Not only he was so merciless in killing that rat. He is also able to tame the blonde tiger!'' (Cries)


    Flustered Maena quickly opened the cap and drank it out of embarrassment, yet it almost choked her.


    "Cough, cough, cough!"


    Yman giggled. Never did he imagine that this cold blonde had this cute side of her.


    Sistela warned.


    "Mhm!"


    After Maena wears the mask, ''Well, it''s not bad. The smell is nice also. Eh? What I am thinking?'' She shook her head.


    "Now everyone, I know all of you think that I come here every day just to kill those slightly weaker rats. But that was wrong. From here onward bear it in your mind that we might be facing a real danger where our lives were at stake," Yman said with his eyes gleaming in an instance.


    Everyone was puzzled by his words. Even Almina had question marks floating on her heads, wondering what Yman was saying. Wait, didn''t he mention to Maena of why he brought them here?


    Before everyone could process what Yman''s words were meant, they felt a cold sudden pressure ahead of them. It was like compressing the air inside the tunnel, sending chills on their skins.


    A suffocating feeling of strong pressure was baring onto them. The others slightly trembled, but they noticed the guy in front of them, the weakest guy they all knew, he was standing unaffected by the strong pressure while twitching his hand casually.


    Everyone was puzzled. Why was Yman standing unaffected by it? Whereas, they had difficulty in grasping their breaths.


    Yman glanced behind him and frowned immediately.


    "Eh? Are you okay?" He asked in puzzlement.


    "R-Rat S-Slayer, how can you talk casually in this situation?"


    "Eh? Why not? I''m more wondering why you guys are having a hard time with this slight breeze of pressure," Yman replied.


    "S-Slight breeze?!" The three cannot believe.


    A moment later, they heard a steeping sound coming closer to their direction. The ground vibrates at every step.


    They immediately readied their weapons in hand.


    "The hunt is going to start," Yman mumbled.

 Chapter 82: Teamwork

    A leg with silver fur had first stepped out from the darkness. It was slim at the lower part and on its feet, there were three fingers with inch-long nails.


    Next to emerge was the face, it was pointed to a certain extent. Around its black nose, six whiskers were protruding like metallic strands. Its flaxen big eyes, squinted at them like it was peering at its prey.


    They noticed when its shut mouth extended into a toothy grin; then blood colored energy was oozing from its body, sending a chill to its prey.


    "W-Wanderer?"


    Ultima muttered in a trembling voice. It was clear from his voice and face how shocked and afraid he was at the moment. Never would he have imagined to see such a monster in this place.


    He glanced at the Rat Slayer''s back and thought, "So this is what he meant a while ago."


    Maena and Almina also wore unbelievable faces at the moment, and it was clear that both of them were scared.


    ''How can it be that there is this monster down here?'' Almina thought. Maena also had similar thoughts as her. Then both of them remembered what Yman said to them a while ago, the reason why he brought them here. Now Almina and Maena understood why Yman had a Magic Cryst with him.


    ''He didn''t come here for those low ranking rats, but because of this Wanderer!'' They could not believe it. ''Wait, he already had a Magic Cryst with him, so how come there is still another Wanderer beast here?''


    Yman noticed the others were having puzzled faces.


    His mouth extended to one side. It was easy to guess what they were thinking at the moment based on their faces. He as well noticed that they all bore a scared feeling towards the monster.


    He opened his mouth and said, "Bit your lips," He advised them. His voice was just enough for them to hear.


    The three looked at him and saw that he was serious.


    "I-I feel better?" Almina muttered after biting her lips.


    Under the mask, Maena also bit her lips, the scared feeling she felt towards the monster shortly cast away. "Tis, so it''s some kind of illusion?" Maena said after her bearings returned.


    "It was the effect of intimidation and fear," Yman told her without averting his eyes from the monster.


    "Tsk, so we are under this kind of ability," Ultima said in a frown.


    "Then why you''re not affected by it?" Maena doubtfully asked him.


    "From experience I guess," Yman replied immediately.


    Maena shut her mouth and did not bother asking him again. It was known what he was doing since the first day.


    "Is that mean that you are fighting this kind of monster for these past days?" Almina couldn''t help asking. She thought Yman was securing himself for taking a low-level mission, but it seems like it was contrary to her expectation.


    He nodded at Almina. Then said, "It''s coming."


    The monster rapidly rushed to them.


    The feeling of being scared had already been lifted after Yman instructed them to bite their lips.


    Almina with a fire sword in hand immediately intercepted it. Which followed by metallic noise. It was followed by multiple exchanges.


    The monster clearly outmatched her, but whenever she finds herself at a disadvantage, she would use her Rapid Leap ability to distance herself.


    Before the monster could chase her, consecutive arrows from Maena and waves of energy from Ultima would rain after it.


    The monster had no choice but to step back. It was a wanderer D+ monster, killing it wasn''t as easy as killing those normal rats.


    Before Yman joined the fight, he signaled to Maena where to hit the monster.


    Wielding the Gladius sword in his right hand, he made a sudden swing towards the monster''s head, but the monster was able to evade it. Yet Almina with her Rapid Leap was already waiting at the other side to where the monster would go when it dodges his attack.


    Shing!


    Kyaahh!


    The monster cried when the fire sword cut its waist.


    The monster''s health points dropped to 75%.


    It tried to distance himself immediately but the wave of emerald energies shot towards it. The monster lifted its hand in front, its body immediately enveloped by flaxen energy. This technique was the same as Kiko''s Mana Membrane but with higher effectiveness.


    However, an arrow enveloped by wind and water tore the space, it rapidly shot to the monster.


    The Wanderer squinted its eyes at the incoming arrow, then it casually crossed its arms to guard its body.


    Arrowbites! Maena''s soft utterance of her ability''s name reached their ears.


    In an instance, the monster widened its eyes when a large hole appeared on its chest. They noticed the unbelievable feeling written on the monster''s face.


    The monster dropped dead without knowing how the barrier was pierced by that arrow.


    Everyone sighed in relief. All of them did their job efficiently.


    "Congrats," Yman said to all.


    "How did you know that the monster''s weakness was on the chest?" Maena asked.


    "Ah that, it was Sistela, my deity. Her appraisal ability was a little better," he replied.


    "Sistela did a good job," Almina said.


    "Mhm."


    He heard his deity''s proud voice but Yman chose to disregard. It was because all of his money was spent to upgrade Sistela''s part. Right now, if they were not in resonance, her figure was of that Nixie spirit.


    "Let''s take the valuable parts," he urged them.


    Everyone nodded.


    They took the monster''s Inner Core, Tail, Nails, and fangs. Everyone brightened up when Yman lifted a Magic Cryst.


    "I never thought that there''d be a day for me to see this kind of item again," Ultima tearfully said.


    "Kuku, wasn''t that an exaggeration Sir Ult?" Yman tried to tease him.


    "No, it wasn''t!" Mercenary Ultima Shouted.


    Yman and the two girls chuckled at him.


    The group continued their advance and they encountered lots of monsters.


    There once an Evil Bat that evolved into a Wanderer class.


    In order to kill it, Almina and the others bombarded it using long-range attacks. Almina used her flame waves, sending flame in the form of a crescent moon.


    However, it wasn''t an effective long range. It had a short distance and it wasn''t so fast. She said she was sorry for not being helpful and told them that it wasn''t long when she learned it, and that she wasn''t proficient enough to use it. This technique was the evolved form of the technique she used to attack one of the attackers on the hill.


    Sistela was also feeling helpless, it was the first time for her to encounter this type of Wanderer, so she could not pinpoint its weak points.


    Maena was able to pierce the monster to every part of its body. And the left part of its large wing was skewered by Mercenary Ultima with his wave of emerald energy.


    This wave of emerald energywas a secondary class ability. It was supposed to be strong, however Ultima''s breakthrough level wasn''t enough to manifest the real strength of this technique.


    The Wanderer Bat had the ability to heal itself like the Mustang Spider. It was a headache for them to kill it.


    Yman suggested something on Almina. She tried to decline but when she noticed Yman''s firm gaze at her.


    Before she agreed, she bashfully said, "Promise me that you won''t look up."


    Yman felt a little embarrassed at Almina''s words. But he nodded multiple times.


    Almina was on Yman''s back, waiting for his signal.


    It was hard to find a perfect opportunity because the enemy was sending gusts by flapping its wings.


    Suddenly, it dove towards Maena who was one of the decoys.


    Maena evaded by diving to her side.


    When Yman noticed that the enemy was about to ascend.


    "Miss Almina!"


    "Just call me Almina!" She shouted.


    "Eh?"


    For some reason, her reply almost stunned him.


    "O-Okay, A-Almina!"


    Wearing a smile on her face, she quickly stepped on his shoulder. Then Yman used Rapid Leap towards the ascending enemy.


    He, together with Almina who was stepping on his shoulder appeared in mid air, closely behind the enemy.


    Then Almina summoned all her strength on her feet and used her Rapid Leap. Because of this, Yman was sent crashing on the ground, while Almina appeared on top of the monster, brandishing her firesword downwards with all her strength.


    Flame Wave! She shouted.


    Mercenary Ultima rushed and dove to where Yman would land.


    The fire sword sliced the Wanderer Bat neatly, and it was engulfed by the flame.


    On the other hand, Yman crashed on the back of Mercenary Ultima. The two of them were lying on the ground, withtheir backsfacing the high ceiling of the underground channel.


    "Kyaaaaaah!!"


    Maena wanted to rush to catch Almina but he calculated that she would fall on the guys so she decided to let her be.


    Before Yman and Ultima could stand up. "Yman, catch meeeee!!!" Almina was rapidly falling. The two boys gulped as they felt a bad premonition.


    A moment later they both groaned in pain when Almina landed on Yman''s back.


    Mercenary Ultima and Yman''s eyes turned white.

 Chapter 83: A dense gathering of mana

    The Wanderer class bat was charred by Almina''s Flame Wave.


    Yman felt all the bone in his body was crushed by Almina when it crashed onto him. He had to use his healing ability multiple times.


    Although Almina said her sorry to him and to Mercenary Ultima, he told her that she didn''t have to, in the first place it was his plan.


    Since the enemy was charred and most of its flesh and bones were wasted, they could only take the Inner Core and Magic Cryst from it. Well, it was the most valuable part of this monster.


    Yman and the rest had lingering doubts about the place. The farther they advanced, the more they found out that this underground wasn''t ordinary.


    As they go deeper, space inside becomes wider and wider.


    Not only that, but there were multiple alleyways also. They even noticed some kind of crystalline objects stuck on the walls and ceiling. It radiated the place with cobalt radiance.


    "S-So pretty," Almina muttered while glancing at the glowing crystalline around them.


    The three chose to turn off their Floating Map as the place was bright enough for them to distinguish. Only Yman that let his Floating Map stayed in the air as he had the area''s data. He mapped this area when he came here last time; like them, he also was amazed the first time he saw those crystallines.


    The only thing that puzzled him was the growth of Wanderer class monsters in this area. For these past days that he visited here, he only encountered mostly one Wanderer class. But now, they have encountered three already.


    This appearance of multiple Wanderer class monsters was the most mysterious in this place, and it was dangerous if these monsters went to the surface.


    Almina as well thought of how weird this place was. She also thought that maybe the reason why Yman came here every day was to check and guard the place, but she quickly disagreed with this thought of her. Because there was a high risk if he encountered those Wanderer monsters. Yman likely could not handle this type of monster alone.


    Yet how come he was able to acquire two Magic Cryst? Maybe he bought it? After all, he had no mana and only depends on his channeling talent in order to use a spell. With this, he could only depend on using items that could boost his strength.


    However, the problem is, does Yman have quite a sum of money to squander around? Although this item may boost one''s capability, they only give a slight increase in their strength. Not exactly advisable to squander one''s money for such an item.


    While thinking about this, her eyes wandered to the person walking at her right side. She opened her mouth under the mask and asked, "Y-Yman, how did you able to get those Magic Crysts embedded in your equipment?" She finally was able to ask him.


    He glanced at her and wondered why Almina suddenly was interested in it, then he darted his eyes to the glove and gauntlet on his right hand. "I was just lucky to kill some of them," he answered.


    "A-Are you alone when you killed it?" Almina asked with a slight surprise.


    Yman as well was surprised by why she was asking about it.


    "Yeah, but it was when they were at their weakest," Yman replied.


    "What do you mean by it?" Maena who was walking at the left side of Almina suddenly joined and asked him.


    Yman glanced at the two girls who were staring at him, waiting curiously for his answer.


    "I happened to be there when they were at their evolution phase," he told them. It was half a lie though.


    "You witnessed them in such a state? H-How lucky!" Exclaimed by Mercenary Ultima who was walking at his right side.


    Yman nodded.


    "Haha, no wonder you''ve been able to acquire such super rare items," Mercenary Ultima said enviously. If someone like him who was a junior trainee couldn''t defeat it alone, what''s more someone like Rat Slayer who was weaker than him. But it was a different story if the monster was in the evolution phase. He felt a little envy at his luck.


    "I-I see," Maena muttered. It was known that the monster which was undergoing an evolution phase was vulnerable since they could not move in this process.


    "Next time, if you go into a mission don''t be shy to ask me for a favor, okay," Almina told him.


    Yman blinked his eyes and stared at her for a moment before he nodded. He smiled at the thought that Almina had a different concern for asking the question. He could see in her eyes that she wasn''t concerned about how he looted the item specifically. More likely, she asked because she was concerned for his safety.


    Sistela''s voice was suddenly heard by him.


    Yman noticed that they reached the last save data on the map. Beyond this point, they needed to scurry around the place while mapping it all along.


    They had been killing monsters they encountered as they advanced at a steady pace.


    "Another dead end?" Almina said listlessly.


    "It is the 7th alley," followed by Maena.


    "Besides the appearance of many Wanderer class monsters. It seems this place was only a little above than an ordinary Underground Channel," said Mercenary Ultima.


    Yman scratched his face in dismay, "Shall we take a break first?"


    He was puzzled. Seems like, his guess was wrong after all.


    The area where they are at the moment has a size of 10 square meters and the ceiling was about 20 meters high from the ground. It was also illuminated by the radiance coming from the crystalline.


    Anyhow, there was only one exit, and that was the entrance on their back where they used to enter.


    He was checking their whereabouts and put a red ''X'' mark on the dead-end alleyways. While he was busy fiddling on his Floating Map, "Yman, what is this?!" He heard Almina''s question.


    Yman saw her and Maena fixedly staring something on the ground while hugging their knees. On the other hand, Mercenary Ultima walked towards them, and said with a frown, "T-That is..." he said with a pause while trying to remember something in his mind.


    They both glanced at him and waited for his next words.


    "Right it''s Iceweeds Cold-Reliever!" He exclaimed when finally able to remember.


    Yman''s eyes widened and immediately went to them. He went down sitting at the back of his right foot, while his left leg was bent. His left elbow was on top of his left knee; his back slightly curved as he was staring at the weeds on the ground.


    |It was really as Mrs. Merced described.| He thought after seeing the object that was lying on the ground. Yman noticed that there were a number of these, scattered around. He didn''t notice this at first because his mind was muddled in thinking of how the beast in this place mutated faster.


    "Iceweeds Cold-Reliever?" Almina and Maena asked the same questions.


    "It is a medicine for cold," Yman answered.


    "Right, Rat Slayer was right," Mercenary Ultima said while nodding his head.


    "Can we take it?" Almina asked.


    "Yes, Miss Almina. Actually, it cost a lot and of high demand. We are lucky to find it here," Mercenary Ultima excitedly said.


    Almina gazed on Yman. He didn''t answer immediately, rather he picked one and lifted it in front of his eyes.


    |A stem of it has three symmetrical mint leaves converge on its tip and constitute a triangular-shape. From stem to the leaves it''s covered by a thin layer of cerulean ice.| Yman described the weeds in his mind based on how he saw it.


    Yman felt a ticklish feeling from it when he touched it. It was chilly and felt like a breeze of wind caressed his skin. This was a familiar feeling that he usually felt whenever he was channeling mana.


    "Yman?" Almina who was beside him muttered his name when she noticed his face contorted into a frown.


    "Weird," it was the only word departed from his mouth.


    "I-Is something wrong?" Almina asked.


    "It seemed like �� this ice was made from mana," he replied.


    Almina and Maena also picked one, "Right, this is made of mana," Maena said in surprise.


    "Mhm," Almina agreed.


    "Eh? Is it true?" Mercenary Ultima asked.


    He knew about these weeds but only now that he saw it in person. So he too had no idea about it.


    Yman and Almina nodded their heads at him while Maena took off the white glove on her hand. Then her naked jade-like hand tapped the ground.


    They saw her summoning a bit of her greenish mana. She closed her eyes then a moment later, they noticed her brow twitched.


    "There is a dense gathering of mana, and it was coming from... that.... wall?" She said as she opened her eyes and pointed on the wall in her left side which was in front of Yman and Almina, and at the right side of Mercenary Ultima.


    Yman briefly glanced at the Floating Map, then he noticed that in the map outline that part of the wall was having a thinner line than the rest.


    He pointed his hand on the ground then summoned a bit of white glow on his hand, trying to sense the mana like what Maena did. This was his channeling talent at work, it enabled him to percieve the flow of mana.


    Unlike the real magician who had the access of internal and external mana, a False Magician like him could only sense mana externally but in a much wider range, as long as he used his channeling talent.


    A moment later, Yman gawked in disbelief, there was truly a dense gathering of mana behind that wall. Not just dense, but super dense. A moment later, he felt a vibration on the ground.


    "Enemies!" He warned.

 Chapter 84: Something behind the wall

    After Yman said it, squeaking noises reached their ears.


    They hastily came closer and closer to the entrance. "This is bad, it was a trap," he muttered worriedly.


    The others also got alerted then focused their senses.


    Based on the noises and the trembling of the grounds, everyone''s awareness enabled them to surmise that there were multiple monsters hastily coming to this place.


    "Rat Slayer, let us handle the monsters, while you take care of the wall, maybe there is an entrance somewhere on it!" Mercenary Ultima shouted in a hurry.


    He glanced at the two girls in their party and saw them nodding their heads at him.


    "Okay, you guys be careful," he said as he hastily went and check the wall. It was the wall opposite to the entrance.


    As the noises were getting closer and closer, Almina and the rest readied themselves.


    "Almina Amulet," suddenly Maena called out in her usual aloft manner.


    Almina smugged at her but the blonde couldn''t see it because she was wearing a mask. She knew what this girl wanted to tell her, "Let''s see whoever gets the highest number of kills," Almina declared.


    "Heh, don''t die before your defeat!" Maena snorted in a mocking tone under her mask.


    Almina further smug. "Kuku, be sure your arrows will land on your target," she rebutted.


    Maena sent a sharp gaze at her, "Talk big later!" She replied.


    When the news that Almina had defeated high-level enemy magicians reached her ears, it irks her.


    While she was improving herself, Almina as well was improving at an incomprehensible pace. She could not let herself fall behind her.


    The two of them were candidly like predators of equal terms in a small pond. Each of them was trying to overtake the other.


    Almina side-glanced at Maena. She too, like this kind of relationship the two of them had. It motivates both of them to improve.


    She never expected that Maena would follow her in this academy and did not choose to go to the more advanced academy like Zone 1 or the others; it looks like, Maena''s rivalry-complex towards her took the better of her.


    "Enemies here!" Mercenary Ultima shouted a warning and put a stop in Almina''s thoughts.


    The monsters scurried at the entrance while trying to overtake their kins. They were composed of Evil Rats and Evil Bats and they were rallying to reach and skewer their enemies.


    Looking at their visage, it was easy to figure out that they were in frenzy mode. All of them had something in common, they both had bloodshot eyes, dripping basil salivas, and their countenances revealed an upheaval.


    Before the monsters could near them, "Darn, I was hiding this ability for long, but I guess now is the right time to use it, hehe," said Mercenary Ultima as he chuckled. After saying it, yellowish brilliance shone on his hands.


    Version 555 Daffodil Shield! He shouted. His voice was loud and strong and couldn''t be defeated by the messy noises coming from the monsters.


    He lifted his hand then pointed it to the enemies.


    A radiant daffodil shield made of light particles had materialized on the right side of the alleyway. It had five meters in width, five meters in height, a thickness of five inches, and had a design of a daffodil flower on the flat surface. It occupied half of the pathway which followed by low dull sounds that were overheard in the area when some of the frenzy Evil Rats crashed on it. His hands shook at the impact.


    "As expected of a junior trainee, Mr. Ultima truly has an interesting technique," Almina suddenly praised his secret technique.


    He felt a surge of emotions from within. His hard work had paid off. Praise from the most popular academy goddess brought extreme joy to him.


    He called it a shield but in actuality, it was more of a screen than a shield. Despite that, it was able to hinder the sudden escapade to plague them.


    The unlucky Evil Rats that crashed on it have to suffer bone-cracking and flesh splattering pain when they were hamburger in the middle of the shield in front and their frenzy kins behind.


    To the monster''s perspective, only the left side of the alley was blocked. Those who came at the right side originally were able to rush unhindered.


    Almina forthwith dashed forward to intercept them.


    It was just a matter of seconds that the first victim was horizontally sliced in half. She did not stop and continued swinging her fire elemental sword.


    Three Evil Rats leaped to bite her at the same time but met with a quick successive strike instead. Their body turned into a lump of meat when they fell on the ground. Almina didn''t stop after killing the three idiot rats. She fueled her fire sword with more mana which caused it to ablaze.


    "That''s four," she whispered.


    She then brandished it at her front, sending her newly learned technique �� the Flame Wave.


    Flame of unbearable heat bursts out from the fire sword then rapidly swallows sixapproaching Evil Rats. The unlucky victims were charred.


    "Ten," she whispered again. Then she twisted her body to dodge the leaping monster from the side. After her successful dodge, she stabbed the monster''s side. The sword pierced the monster''s body and it dropped twisting in pain on the ground before it lost its ability to move.


    "Eleven," she continued counting.


    Three Evil Bats tried to dive towards Almina but before they succeeded, they were met with three arrows instead.


    "Nine, ten, eleven," Almina heard the blonde mutter.


    She side-glanced at her and saw her raising a brow.


    Sparks flew in their eyes.


    Mercenary Ultima thought that these two beauties were scary. ''So this is the disparity between me from a normal family and them from a rich family plus talented magicians!'' Ultima thought in dismay.


    But he could not give up, ''In any case, as a junior trainee I can''t let myself fall behind!'' He yelled inwardly and summoned more mana to repair the shield that started showing cracks.


    Almina and Maena continued their onslaught. Monster corpses were massing on the ground and painted it with blood.


    These monsters were of low rank but Almina and the others noticed that more monsters were coming. They were wondering if where these monsters came from.


    They also started to feel tired and their mana had greatly decreased.


    Ultima''s shield had been broken long ago and now he was helping in killing the monsters using his main ability the wave of emerald energy.


    Emerald color energy traveled the space from him towards the target enemy. He was supporting the two who charged in a melee to the monsters. Never did he imagine that the blonde was capable of wielding a dagger. She was executing weapon-exchange pretty quickly.


    The approaching enemies were met by her arrows and the one who neared her was cut by her dagger. Actually, she was annoyed at the moment because the mask she was wearing hindered her breathing �� added more pressure to her.


    On the other hand, Almina was wielding a dual sword with two opposite elements.


    She was moving agile and killing the monsters with combo attacks.


    What made Mercenary Ultima dumbfounded was that these two beauties were counting the number of their kills. Looks like these two were in some kind of competition!


    Yman was still scrutinizing the wall. He tapped it, "Errk!" He jerked back his hand.


    "This wall is so cold."


    "I don''t know."


    "Okay."


    Yman borrowed Sistela''s mana. His both hands were now glowing in pure white. He tapped the wall again. It was still cold but it was bearable now than before.


    He tried to push it, "Dang, it seemed like something was blocking or holding it from the behind." No matter how he pushed it, it won''t budge even a little.


    He anxiously glanced at the back and saw the others were already fighting in a melee. It seemed like most of them had spent their mana.


    Yman quickly turned back his eyes on the wall when a piercing gaze from the blonde landed on him. Based on that gazed it was easy to read that she was annoyed at him. She must be asking him if what he was dilly-dallying while they were fighting with the monsters.


    A bead of sweat appeared at the back of his head.


    A moment later, Yman noticed that the mana he borrowed from Sistela was being consumed by something. He closed his eyes to sense it. The mana that enveloped his hand traveled towards the other side. He thought that whatever was on the other side of this wall, it was no ordinary.


    |Wait, if I''m not mistaken, the thing that holding this wall firmly should be a massive amount of ice since the wall is freakin cold. Then how about the thing that absorbs mana?|


    Suddenly, his eyes landed on the Iceweeds Cold-Reliever on the ground. Yman''s eyes widened.

 Chapter 85: Magic structure and the outcome

    This thing! Yman picked one of the Iceweeds Cold-Reliever. He pinched to discard the ice. With his strength, it turned into powder in no time. He then blew to get rid of it.


    Staring at the bare weed on his palm, he narrowed his eyes then used his channeling ability onto it. Yman was surprised at the result. A fluctuation of mana emitted on his hand.


    A cursor was summoned on the tip of his finger. Unhurriedly, he pointed it on the weed. Without a lag, a screen section with twelve inches height and 6 inches width appeared in the air in front of his face.


    What written on it was a list of data concerning the weed:


    [Weed Lunaria]


    ?Magical weed.


    ?Rich in mana.


    ?Grow in places with direct moonlight and in places with an abundance of mana.


    ?For medicine purposes.


    ...


    Such information was listed in it together with the other related data.


    "Looks like this is not a simple weed, but a magical weed. And the reason why this weed coated by ice is the ice was trying to absorb mana from it. For this weed to grow here, this place might be rich in mana, and that mana source was no other than the ice itself. The weed and ice are seemingly in a ''give and take'' relationship or ''friends with benefit'' or something like that, but in a weird way," Yman muttered in surprise.


    Sistela stated.


    "Mhm..."


    He agreed to Sistela, There was no way a massive amount of ice would appear here. In the first place, it was weird that this ice did not melt. Could it be the caster was... behind this wall too?


    He was taken aback at this thought.


    Thinking about it, when he first saw the camouflage cloth on the hole, he had a suspicion that something was amiss in this place.


    "Regardless, it''s difficult for us to lift this wall," Yman said in dismay.


    He glanced at his comrades. Most of them were breathing heavily, yet the number of monsters did not decrease. They keep on coming from who knows where.


    "Hmm, looking at it is, I think no one can do it at the current state. This wall is not ordinary. Rather than that, everyone is exhausted."


    Sistela fell silent.


    Yman squinted his eyes around him as he fell into thinking...


    Could it be a preset trap? To trap someone who was trying to come here. Whoever did this must be hiding something behind this wall. Or he/she itself must be hiding behind this wall.


    The place and the ice were rather suspicious to him.


    How come a thing that materialized through mana able to absorb another mana? It was as if �� the same as my channeling ability. Eh? Right! Why I just realized it. Damn it!


    Yman thought with a grin.


    Sistela worriedly told him.


    Yman made a quick glance at the back and saw the unfavorable situation. Almina and the rest had received bruises. Their bodies were covered by blood from the monsters and a little of their own.


    He felt a little regret for bringing them here together with him. Never did he imagine that the situation would become as dangerous as this.


    He shook his head slightly to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts for his current situation. No matter what happened he must do his part.


    He bit his lips and focused his mind. If ever he failed on it, he would activate his Black Mana and force his way for them to escape this place, even if there was 20 or 10% or lesser chance of escaping alive.


    Sistela wanted to ask him, but when she noticed his concentration she quietened.


    "Let me try something first," he said.


    He tapped the wall without using Sistela''s mana. Yman''s brows twitched because of the coldness of the wall. The cold was biting him and his hand immediately turned numb.


    However, he had to endure.


    A moment later, he activates his channeling talent. His hand immediately glowed. As long as he had direct contact on the mana, Yman believed he could modify it using his channeling ability.


    Sistela was surprised to see his partner''s hands were deliberately glowing.


    |I was right!| He exclaimed in his mind. It was his first time doing it to the mana owned by someone else beside him and Sistela. It seemed his channeling talent could actually be activated as long as he had a contact on it.


    He was able to connect to the flow of mana on the wall. The coldness that he felt a while ago had finally eased.


    Before getting drowned to his excitement, the next step he must do is to alter the construction of magic.


    However, something unexpected happened.


    His hands further glowed in a more blinding brilliance of silver.


    Almina and the rest felt a strong fluctuation of mana behind them. They sneak a glance and gape at what their eyes were seeing. Yman''s hands were enveloped by blinding brilliance.


    Yman struggled to maintain his bearings. The massive surge of mana was trying to devour him.


    Tsk, it was trying to go against my will. Whoever was controlling this magic... must be a renown magician!


    He shouted in his mind.


    Sistela''s warned.


    "Is it affecting the resonance?!"


    "Tsk," He clicked his tongue while trying to brawl the unrestrained mana.


    Damn it, stupid brain! Think, think think...


    Yman curses and chants the words repeatedly.


    "Ymaaaan!!"


    Darn, now I started to hear Almina''s voice calling my name. Or was it just my hallucination?


    The unrestrained mana crawled to his shoulder. Then it started to appear on his feet and climbed to his legs.


    Yet, he didn''t let go of it.


    Becauseeven if he let loose on it, there''s still a little chance of them surviving.


    The unrestrained mana climbed to his neck. Yman''s vision started to get tipsy.


    "Yman let go of it!"


    For some reason, he heard Almina''s worried voice again.


    "Hmph, that idiot!"


    Ironically, he also heard the snort from a certain blonde.


    Systela''s voice turned like a broken machine.


    He heard hasty stepping sounds behind him.


    Could it be Almina? He thought while thinking that Almina''s concern towards him was a good motivation.


    Yman shook his head to get rid of the dizziness he was feeling.


    Suddenly,


    Yman felt a soft sensation hugging onto his back.


    He was surprised and a little happy that someone wanted to embrace him out of worry. His mouth extended into a smile. He slowly glanced behind but he already expected who it was.


    Who else could it be if not Almina?


    Yman glanced to his back to see her worried pretty, beautiful, charming, lovely, and attractive face.


    But what greeted him made him freeze on the spot. It wasn''t the expected pretty, beautiful, charming etcetera...


    It was an ugly, grotesque, hideous, and poisonous creature instead!


    Yman''s eyes become dead as the dead fish. His face becomes blank. Spinning flowers in the background recently turned into a nightmarish Castlevania.


    The kissable rosy lips he expected to see when he turned around had become twofrontliner-teeth. Her supposed to be a beautiful soft face had turned into a pointed dark blueish face and with some whiskers protruding onto it.


    For some reason, in his mind, he heard the Evil Rat saying, "Are you lost, baby boy?".


    Damn it, I''m so dead!He exclaimed inwardly.


    It was followed by two frontliner-teeth bore on his shoulder.


    "Ugh!" A deep inarticulate sound escaped from his mouth.


    -43 hp


    He saw a certain number of his health points departed from his health bar.


    Those numbers were the equivalent of the pain plus the blood loss he suffered after he was bitten. And also the monster''s poison ailment took a minimal effect on him which subtracted little health points on him per second.


    But these numbers were just there to measure or calculatethe damage on his body.


    Yman immediately used his healing ability. He didn''t even notice that at the moment he was using the mana he was channeling to activate his heal spell.


    However, the clingy Evil Rat bit him again, then again he shouted ''heal''.


    Almina and the others did not notice as they were facing one of the Wanderer Class monsters together with lowly mobs.


    Yman and the clingy Evil Rat repeated a bitand healed.


    A moment later, he noticed that the wild mana that was trying to devour him was retreating every time he used his healing spell.


    Who would have thought that I just need to spend it to calm it down.


    A smirk happened on his face. Then he let the rat bit him and used his healing spell after the bit.


    His problem was the ticklish feeling of being poisoned. But he knew, he won''t die by it. The pain from being bitten was endurable somehow. After all, he had a high pain tolerance.


    Someone like him who survived for long torture from the facility, this kind of pain he was suffering at the moment was insignificant compared to that day.


    Yman focused once again.


    He needed to modify the magic structure of this so-called ice.


    Since ice is a solidified water, he could modify it back into a liquid or break it by turning it into dust.


    Once again, hepointed his hands on the wall. Then he closed his eyes. Trying to process the information on how ice was formed and the ending it might become.


    In order to get rid of the ice that was blocking on the other side of the wall, Yman opened his eyes once again and spoke of the modified version or the outcome of ice that he chose.


    "Crumble!" He spoke the word a little louder than a whisper while simultaneously gripping his hands like he was crushing something in it.


    They unexpectedly felt vibrations coming from the other side. The wall trembled and so the ground.


    Ironically, the frenzied monster returned to normal. They hastily scurried away to escape, like they were scared of something.


    Almina and the others were startled by it. They glanced at the back to where Yman was.


    They saw the wall in front of him shook slightly and fell.


    He grinned at his new ability. His belief turned to be right, he could use his channeling talent to someone else mana. It also means he could modify their magic!

 Chapter 86: Im free...

    Thud! A dull, heavy sound resounded when the part of the wall fell on the ground.


    Apparent cold smoke and pulverized pieces of the crushed ice wafted in the air like dust, when the broken part of the wall crashed on it.


    It blew the rigid smoke and embracedYman''s skin as he stood close to it. The chilling cold caused a biting sensation on him. However, he wasn''t bother by it.


    The place turned quiet and onlythe heavy breathing were conspicuous at the moment �� as it was the sole noise left presently.Both of them were gasping for breath; none of them were in good shape.


    ...


    Step, step--


    From the back, unhurried footsteps were coming closer to him. His neck twisted a bit to his left to glance to his companion.


    To his surprise, both of them were wearing stunned faces.


    "Is the matter?" He asked with a frown, wondering what kind of ploy was this.


    They did not answer, probably tired.


    However, both of them lifted their fingers and pointed on his back.


    As he could not see what they were pointing, he turned his head to the right.


    And there, he saw the still biting Evil Rat on his shoulder.


    Yman''s brow twitched.


    "Get off, buddy!" He yelled, then he grabbed the head of it, and crushed it with his hand.


    Within his grip, the rat''s misery only lasted for several seconds, when he crushed themonster''s head.


    "Merciless as ever, huh. Truly a Rat Slayer," Mercenary Ultima said jokingly.


    "Y-Yman, you should kill it properly," Almina said.


    "Hmph, no matter how he did it, the conclusion is still the same," Maena said to contradict Almina''s words. ''As if that guy knows how to pity others, he was even no qualms in hurting his comrades, what''s more, a monster...'' she thought.


    Almina glanced at her, and their eyes met, then electric sparks were shot to each other.


    Yman forced a tired smile and said, "I agree to blonde. No matter how you did it, in the end, you were still going to kill it."


    Almina was enveloped by dark aura for some reason.


    She never expected that this guy would choose to agree with this girl.


    But his next words put a smile on her face, "But I think Miss Almina''s way of killing them suit her better. Very elegant," he had to soothe the atmosphere because he ironically felt a dangerous ambiance from Almina. He didn''t know if his words made her mad.


    The dangerous ambiance recently suddenly castaway.With a flush red face, she pushed some strands of hair behind her ears while asking, "Really?"


    "Mhm!" He nodded.


    Almina broke into a broad smile which stunned the three of them. Then she opened her mouth andsaid bashfully, "B-By the way, Y-Yman, cut the M-Miss when you speak of my name,"


    "Ah, sorry, I forgot, ahaha," he drily laughed while scratching the back of his head.


    She sighed.


    "Always forgotten," Alminamumbled with teary eyes.


    "Pardon." But Yman did not seem to hear it.


    "N-Nothing."


    Ahem! They heard the blonde cleared her throat. Then said,"Oh right, I don''t want to be called blonde by you, call me Maena from now on. Be glad!"


    Maena said in her usual aloft demeanor.


    He wondered if she''s trying to be friendly or what.


    He smiled and nodded at her then said, "I''m glad."


    "Of course, you should be."


    "Hehehe, seemed like Miss Cold Woman here started to melt away," Almina grimly said.


    Yman gaped while looking at Almina, surrounded by an eerie aura once again.


    Is this her passive skill? -- his thought.


    "You!" Maena shouted at her.


    Yet the two of them started their bickering.


    He wanted to ask if they felt no tired as of yet.


    A moment later, they decided to enter the room but before that, "Wait! Miss Almina, Miss Maena! What about me, can I also called you without honorifics?" Mercenary Ultima, suddenly asked as he was pointing himself.


    He believed that he was more than capable compared to Rat Slayer. With this in his thought, he had high expectations that these beauties would not mind if he called them without honorifics too.


    "Eh?"


    The three paused for a moment and said,


    "Who this guy?" Maena asked indifferently.


    "A wanderer?" Almina added.


    "Tis, here I thought all of them escaped already," Maena gnashed her teeth.


    "Looks like one of them remained," Almina replied.


    "Oh, by the way, how many you killed?" Maena remembered their competition.


    "150 mobs and one Wanderer. How about you?" Almina replied.


    "Tsk, the same score again, did you cheat?" Maena clicked her tongue and bit her lip.


    "Hell, no!" Almina yelled at her.


    "Then shall we kill this one here to settle the score?"


    Mercenary Ultima instantly froze at Maena''s words.


    "Kuku," Almina chuckled then summoned her twin blades with no further words.


    "RAT SLAYER HELP!!"


    Yman chuckled at the Junior''s pitiful yelped and giggled at the two girls. They were totally in sync at bullying the Junior trainee.


    Suddenly, he felt an itchy feeling down his throat and throbbing pain on his backs.


    Hmm, looks like, the poison exacerbates, and the wounds are bleeding -- his thought.


    He took a potion from his storage and drank it to counter the poison. Then he used his healing spell to heal the wounds from the bite.


    The group proceeded when he urged them once again.


    He was very suspicious of what was inside this next room. Recently, when he was fighting with the wild burst of mana, his senses were muddled up. And he felt a strong affection towards Almina.


    It feels like something or someone played on his senses and emotions.


    So he had to figure out if what''s inside this room.


    When they entered the room, "Woah!" No words can express what they felt at that moment.


    They have felt that they come into another place out of a sudden. They wondered if they were still inside the underground channel as of the moment.


    The room''s estimated-width was 100 Square meters.


    On the ground, crystallized ice of different sizes was protruding, and some were on the wall.


    And on the curvaceous ceiling, numerous stalactite jutting out; the whole room was illuminated by white and blue.


    In the middle of the room stood a what seemed like an altar.


    "Who are you?" A soothing melodious voice resonates in their ears.


    Simultaneously, they glanced at where the voice originated.


    She has smart looking-eyes but with a tinge of dreary, a small nose, and pale lips. Her sky-colored pupils had no gleamed, it was shady and no reflection on it. And her long messy silver hair was paired with a tattered white headdress embroidered by black. She looks beautiful, but something was odd.


    She was standing on top of the altar, encasing her body up to her neck by crystal ice, while her arms stretched open to the opposite directions.


    And at her back stood a 5 meter tall and 3 meters wide mirror.


    Although the mirror trailed with cracks, it gave off a feeling that it wasn''t an ordinary ice mirror.


    But something was off; her hands were tied by the chain that was seemingly made of ice as well.


    This chain of ice adjoined her hands to the two opposing ice pillars at the corners of the altar.


    "Lady..."


    Yman heard a whisper from the man on his left side.


    "Do you know her?" He asked.


    "Mhm," Ultima nodded.


    "It''s Miss Ice."


    "The Ace."


    Almina and Maena exclaimed, however they did not expect to see this person here.


    "Right, it''s Lady Ice. The one and only Ace in our academy." Mercenary Ultima also exclaimed.


    Yman was surprised that that woman was the so-called Ace. And he was surprised too that Almina and Maena knew about her.


    Wait.


    Miss Ice? This name sounds familiar, though.


    Yman scanned his memory, and he remembered that this was the person who borrowed the book for channeling ability from the academy''s library.


    But why is she here? And why she was covered in ice and tied to the pillars of ice. Such thoughts were present at Yman''s mind.


    "Miss Ice, we are the new batch of trainees from the academy!" Almina introduced them.


    Though she looked awry, her countenance was no doubt �� that it was her.


    "I see... can you help me?" She said in a pleading voice.


    "Of course, Lady Ice, in any case, what happened, why are you entangled?" Mercenary Ultima agreed without a second thought �� then asked her.


    "Don''t mind my situation. It was sealing magic that I had been practicing for a long time. But something happened, and this is the result. Notheless, will you guys climb here?" She said.


    Mercenary Ultima immediately ambertowards the altar.And Yman, Almina, and Maena followed after him.


    When they arrived on the altar, everyone frowned at her state.


    How could such a thing happen to this person? Right now, she seemed so weak. But really, this person was the academy''s Ace.


    "Lady Ice, what do you want us to do?" Mercenary Ultima asked worriedly.


    "Can you pick that book on the floor for me?"


    They glanced to where she pointed.


    "That''s..." Yman muttered in surprise upon seeing the book on top of something like a seal, a seal that was written by blood.


    But suddenly, something happened...


    "Wait, don''t... Urgh! Don''t take the g-grimoire. The d-demon will -- escape."


    Yman, Almina, and Maena were surprised to hear her pained voice. It was far from the soothing voice of her recently.


    And why she was stopping them to the book that she called grimoire?


    They immediately glanced back at the book, but it was already in the hand of Mercenary Ultima.


    "Eh?" Ultima stared at them, puzzled.


    Suddenly, the whole room vibrated. Thenthe ice pillars and the ice around the body of Miss Ice had crumbled.


    Seeng that she about to fall, Yman immediately caught her body.


    "Y-Yman, something happened to Mr. Ultima, " he heard Almina''s trembled voice.


    Ehehehe-ehehe-hehehehe!


    For some reason, Ultima broke into anunpleasant chuckle.


    Almina and Maena backstep subconsciously.


    Ultima was standing in front of them, holding the opened book on his left hand. He was guffawing while staring at the ceiling, and his body exudes crimson energy.


    His figure turned into that of a ��demon?


    Yman and the others could not believe what was in front of them.


    One little horn stood at the right corner of his forehead. His eyes turned black, and sharp fangs were visible in his mouth.


    "Cough, cough, cough, you guys, run! He was possessed..." Miss Ice warned.


    But Yman and the others could not move because of the different levels of pressure bore onto them.


    "I''m freeeeeeeee...."


    Ultima said in a chilly and loathing voice.

 Chapter 87: Who is he?

    For some happenings that he could not explain, their comrade Mr. Ult turned into something akin to a drug addict.


    Even the green bar floating on top of his head had turned into a red bar. It also meant that he became a hostile person towards them.


    "Ehehehe-hehehehehe..."


    Impish glee reverberated inside the cold room.


    It was a kind of laugh stimulating everyone who heard it to succumb to their fears.


    Not even the two Elites trainees with him were immune to this kind of intent.


    Almina and Maena wore scared faces. It was clear that they were under the enemy''s spell. Though they were wearing scared faces, they tried to fight it while on their knee, really two persistent girls.


    The enemy was planting fear and a whole lot of intimidation into their hearts and minds. But to his experience of being the subject of the repeated experiment, ironically because of it �� he developed high immunity towards these kinds of attacks. Merely biting his lips could dispel it.


    However, the oppressive aura it exuded made him down onto his knee as well as the others.


    Yman used his right hand to support his body and not to fall down.


    Beside him, he noticed the Ace of academy knitted her brows. Yman was surprised that she seemed to be alright even with this overbearing aura exuded by Mr. Ult.


    Yman had no idea what was going on. But his intuition was urging him to run. However, he could not even lift a single finger.


    Whatever was that that possessed Mr. Ult, it must be some kind of entity that could crush them into tiny pieces in just a little lift of his finger.


    To maintain his visibility, he had no choice but to close his left eye to add more strength to the right.


    He took a glance at Almina and Maena, he saw that both of them were in pain and their bodies were shaking.


    The enemy continued laughing sinisterly while covered by crimson aura; even his skin changed color akin to that of a monster, a currant red color.


    Suddenly, he felt a tag on his left arm. He glanced and saw a pale face, Miss Ice.


    "Help your friends..." she whispered weakly.


    He narrowed his eyes, "How about you?"


    "I can move on my own..."


    He wanted to ask why she was in that state a while ago, and where is her deity, but now was not the right time for it.


    On the other hand, Ice was wondering. Even though she could not feel a strong aura to this person beside her, he was not affected by mental attacks of such caliber coming from the enemy.


    On the contrary, the two girls that she felt having strong auras within them, were clearly affected by it.


    Then Ice realized something. How did they manage to enter this place? If she wasn''t wrong, she cast a high-level spell on the wall-door. Did the Demon of Possession do it, while she was under the process of completing the seal?


    The seal she was working weakened her inner self. Because of this, the demon took advantage and possessed her body. She knew that it would happen so she set-upped and locked herself on her own before the demon possessed her. In this regard, she could only wait until the demon successfully sealed in the grimoire.


    Yet, when she woke up, she saw some stranger around her, and the grimoire was already in the hand of one of them. So she had no idea what happened before that.


    ...


    Yman stared at her and similarly was shocked that the mental attack and oppressive aura were not able to affect her; in any case, based on what he saw within her eyes, it seemed like �� she had a plan.


    Suddenly, he felt a tickle under his palm. He darted his eye towards it and saw some specs of light particles. The sensation when it touched his skin was very familiar to him. If he wasn''t wrong, "This is..."


    He glanced back at Ice and did not decide long when he nodded.


    The long euphoria of being freed hadfinally stopped as black pupils of his eyes bore to the insects in front of him.


    "Ehehe..." his shoulder shook as his mouth broke into a toothy grin.


    Looking at her looks so weak at the moment, Ultima who was now possessed by the Demon of Possession, taunted her with a mocking grin.


    "Alas, I can punish you finally, Little girl. Ehehehe..."


    He said as his sneak like pupils were bored on Ice alone.


    Then he lifted his palm facing the ceiling. The extreme heat of crimson fire coagulated into a ball. First, it was as big as the golf ball, then its size deliberately increased until its size grew into a 1-meter radius.


    Seeing the enemy lifted his palm above his head, Ice squinted her eyes. Then she shouted, "Now!" After it, four-pointed crystallized ice jolted from the floor of the altar and rapidly shot to the enemy.


    "Heh, so you still have energy left? As expected of someone who almost sealed me. Ehehehe..."


    He said as he made a huge leap backward to evade the attack.


    "Do you think you could catch me again, huh, Little girl?" The demon Ultima mocked her.


    After the enemy leaped away, the effect of the intimidation and fear had lessened and also the pressure. It was because the nearer the caster, the stronger the effect, and vice versa.


    When Yman was finally able to move, he directly rushed and grabbed the two girls who were still groaning in pain.


    Then used Rapid Leap skill to escape.


    "Yman?"


    "You! Ugh."


    The two girls are finally able to get back to their senses when Yman successfully distances at above 20 meters away. He didn''t even notice the redness on Almina''s face as he was grabbing them by their waist.


    Before he ran towards the opened wall, he glanced at Ice. He saw her jumping high in the air and rapidly came closer to their direction, while her white dress embroidered by black was fluttering. She looks like she was flying,but actually some transparent slab of ice appeared in mid-air and she was using it as a foothold.


    On the other hand, the Demon Ultima was being surrounded by sharp-pointed crystal ice.


    "Don''t stop!" He heard Ice shouted.


    Yman without minding the two girls quickly ran towards the passage.


    When he finally neared it, he suddenly felt a bad foreboding at the same time that he heard Sistela''s warning.


    Yman immediately stopped on his feet but because the floor was littered with ice, he slid for a couple of steps.


    A crimson fireball passed at a palm-size distance away from his face. The fireball continued towards the entrance. And it was followed by an explosion that shook the entirety of the underground channel. Even the people on the surface felt it.


    Those living at a relatively close in the area rushed outside while shouting, "Be careful there''s a quake!"


    "Noooo, maybe some terrorist group were attacking the city again!"


    "Call the soldiers! And the guards!"


    "Romeo? Where is Romeo?"


    "Careful everyone, thieves may take advantage of the calamity!"


    "Hide your husband!"


    "Oh no, Juliet was still inside the house!"


    "Yamete kudasai!!"


    "Dang, those people are idiots, I would rather take a video for this. I''m sure to get more subscribers later in YT if I made a live coverage!" One person was able to think rationally. Then he took his MTMD to start recording the scene.


    Some poorly-made houses showed cracks. And some people kneeled on the ground while praying to the sky.


    Moments later, because the title of the video was very catchy, which was ''The City Of Zone 7''s Demise!'', the viewers started to appear one after another.


    A girl of about six years old was crying on the roadside while looking for her parents. Then a shady man came near to the kid and asked her.


    The angry shrill of the vlogger named ''NoToPedopie'' could be heard in the video. He was shooting the shady person who came to the lost child.


    After seeing the vlogger recording a video, the shady person rushed rapidly to who knows where.


    Jarring shouts from the rattle crowds could be overheard in the area near the Underground Channel.


    All of these scenes were caught in the video. Sooner or later, some random explosion could be overheard also. And the quaking of the grounds followed closely after the explosion.


    Inside the underground channel, in the cold room, Yman and the others had no choice but to face this so-called Demon of Possession.


    Some parts of the ceiling had crumbled and a segment of it blocked the passage.


    "What is he?" Almina asked while wiping the blood on her mouth.


    "That is one of the Demon of Possession," Ice replied.


    "So he possesses the Junior trainee," Maena said.


    "Mhm, you guys must be careful not to enter his range. With your current strength, you won''t last long. Forgot even lasted longer, you couldn''t even move near him."


    "Miss Ice was right," Yman agreed to her while readying himself at the next attack of the enemy.


    "Okay!"


    "Tis."


    "Ehehehe, insects....." The demon Ultima sneered at them.


    He was currently standing on the altar facing towards them. And on his palm was a bigger crimson flame that coagulated into a fireball.


    Ice stepped on the front, while Yman was a little on her back, Almina was on his right and Maena on his left. Both of them were gasping for breath already.


    Never did Yman imagine that something like this would happen in this underground channel. Now he was facing a being that way above their strength.


    "Heeeh!" The demon Ultima sneered, showing his pointed teeth. Then he lifted his hand and threw the Crimson Fireball.


    It was rapidly approaching them.


    Seeing the fireball that rapidly approaching, each of them grimaced.


    Yman knew that even if they successfully avoided it, the demon would soon follow up with another attack. So basically, they become a live target.


    At this thought, he ran on the front and extended his palm pointing at the coming fireball.


    "Yman!" Almina shouted.


    His left hand was supporting his right arm.


    Then his eyes glinted while gritting his teeth.


    And in his mind, he shouted, ''This time, I will not make a blunder of myself!'' He shouted inwardly.


    "Watch out!" Ice shouted, but it was too late.


    In a split second, the fireball that was shot had hit him, which followed by a dazzling explosion.


    "Ehehehehe��.ahahaha such idiot ahahah��" the Demon laughed at the person who sacrificed himself.


    Almina and the others were shocked at what Yman did. She was staring at the place where he was standing a while ago, but right now it was enveloped by blinding lights.


    Tears flowing at the corner of her eyes. Even Maena and Ice gaped in surprise. Never did they imagine that Yman was so courageous.


    Yet a moment later.


    "Heh!" They heard a snort.


    Everyone turned silent and stared with wide-eyes.


    Even the demon was no exception.


    When the blinding light dissipated, they saw him standing still at his original position.


    But, who is this in front of them? He seemed to be different.

 Chapter 88: Time

    After the light of explosion glistened like silver dust,


    "I did it..." his voice resounded in the room of death silent.


    Though his appearance had changed, his voice could be easily remembered, and even the clothes he was wearing were still the trademark of him.


    "Y-Yman...?" He heard Almina''s doubtful call.


    Twisting his neck to glance at the back, he saw their surprised faces.


    Yman slightly frowned and thought, ''Maybe they are wondering how I was able to survive that attack?'' For some reason, they all stared at him with curious eyes and agape.


    Standing in front of them was a youth with a height of 5 feet and 8 inches. He had medium brown hair that some strands of it had turned silver, and his face aged a bit, about a year.


    ''It''s really him!'' Almina and Maena shouted within their minds. Ice, on the other hand, had a curious look towards him. She wanted to question him about something, but it wasn''t the right time and place for it.


    They were wondering how Yman was able to survive that attack earlier, or why that oppressive aura of crimson fireball suddenly exploded dazzlingly, and why his appearance had some changes. But before they sought his answers, they needed to survive here first.


    "From now on, let me handle the defense!" He shouted.


    Almina and the rest fell silent in surprise. But thinking about it, nothing happened to Yman after that oppressive fireball was caught by him.


    And besides, even though sometimes he did reckless actions, he was not the type to let himself in danger without a plan to survive. Basically, right now, he probably found a way to render the enemy''s attack as ineffective.


    She and Maena were the most doubtful of him. Because they knew that Yman had no mana. But right now, they could only nod their heads as they didn''t have another choice. Ice, of course, nodded her head as well.


    Then again, everyone was alerted when another fireball was shot to them.


    The demon smirked.


    He was puzzled why that guy was able to avoid his death. Or how his fireball did not explode a while ago. But this time, he would burn them all together with that b***h who sealed him in this place for a little longer.


    What was most frustrating to him was that even now that he was able to free himself, and avoid getting sealed in the grimoire, it was still useless because he could not leave from this altar. That clever b***h turned this whole place into a sealed room.


    Whenever he tried to step down, those stalactites at the ceiling and crystal ice on the floor would then bombard him. Tsk! He could only click his tongue. If only he knew about it before possessing this human''s body, he would wait until they walked outside this room before possessing this body or anyone within their team. But all was in the past now.


    The fireball he shot went directly to the human boy once again.


    ''Human is a despicable creature. They are weak and yet arrogant. Just like this boy in front of me!'' The demon thought.


    Yman lifted his hand in front. His palm was waiting for the fireball to land on it. Almina felt cold sweats at Yman''s action.


    However, she did not interrupt him, because since he did it awhile ago, then maybe this time he could too.


    Each of them readied themselves in full alert. On the other hand, Almina could not settle her hard pounding chest.


    A moment later, everyone saw it clearer than before, when the fireball landed on Yman''s hand and immediately shattered like particles of light.


    Finally, the demon''s jaw dropped on the ground! Last time, he was skeptical to believe that this human boy was unhurt from his attack. But right now, he finally saw it with his two eyes.


    ''That human certainly caught it like it was nothing!


    FOR DEMON''s SAKE!


    We are from the race way above humans. Every human would tremble in fear in front of us.


    Yet, how did this boy able to catch it like it was a normal thing, and then popped it like it was a bubble! Did my power reduce greatly after being sealed for 3 months?


    The demon was in long contemplation while showing a face that wanted to escape reality.


    Not even that clever girl would dare to do it. Yet this boy in front really did it! What is he? He''s not even that strong however I look at him. HOW THE DEMON F**K IS THIS! Grrrrr!!


    The Demon Ultima gnashed his sharp teeth.


    Not only the demon was dumbfounded, Almina, Maena, and Ice were also dumbfounded at what their eyes saw.


    But Yman did not notice it because, Sistela''s voice was heard by him.


    ''Ha? W-What do you mean?'' Did he become a demon too? Yman frowned at Sistela''s words.


    ''W-What?!'' Yman was quite surprised to hear it.


    Then he finally noticed that his hair was now a little longer than before. And some strands of it were discolorize.


    Hmm, does it have to do with my channeling magic? Wait, now that I think about it.


    That moment on the altar, when I used my palm to support my body, I felt something familiar. Then I noticed that this whole room was filled with a massive amount of mana.


    Yman sneaked a glance at his back to where Ice was standing. He saw her gawking.


    He slightly smiled and thought,


    She is probably the source of this massive mana in this room. The Ace is truly a whole lot level beyond the rest of talented trainees. She is truly an ace of the academy no doubt. I could even feel that she is stronger than the instructors. Look, even in such a weakened state, she was still able to avoid the demon from executing a charge attack.


    Regardless, that time when the first crimson fireball was shot on me. I tried to coagulate a massive amount of mana into an ice shield by using the pieces of broken ice around as the second component for my supposed magic ice shield.


    However, It didn''t happen as I wanted. The mana gathered around my palm but did not coagulate to form a shield. Maybe I can only destroy but not reform?


    This is very opposite when I use my black mana that I can modify a combination of skills to form a new type of skill.


    Wait, if it only can destroy, then it cannot explain how my appearance turned like this.


    I aged in advance, my hair strands lost their original color, I can destroy any magic, and I can shut down an object that was flowing with mana like the ice that blocked the wall a while ago.


    Maybe.....it has something to do with �� Time?


    He muttered in his mind. Then his eyes formed to that of surprise.


    "Tsk," Yman gritted his teeth because it was not the right time to contemplate. The enemy in front was way beyond they could imagine.


    He then asked Almina and Maena to attack the demon using range attacks.


    Gripping her favorite ice elemental bow in her hands, she once again focused her mind. She already lost much of her mana. And the enemy was so tough beyond beliefs.


    She aimed her bow at the enemy on the Altar who was still wearing a puzzled expression on his face while staring at Yman with disbelief.


    Twang, twang, twang! Maena took advantage of it and released some arrows.


    The arrow travels the space one after another in the distance of 24 meters away from the target.


    However, "Grr...sneaky b***h!" The Demon Ultima showed an annoyed expression and snapped the arrows fired by Maena.


    Then he crushed it within his hand.


    Almina followed after her, she coagulated a low tier ice javelin and threw it at the Demon Ultima.


    They already asked Ice a while ago about the Junior trainee''s possible rescue. She replied that the possibility was there, but at a very low percentage. If they wanted to survive here, they must not restrain themselves in attacking.


    A pulse appeared at the corner of the Demon Ultima''s forehead while glaring at the fast-approaching ice javelin.


    However, the Ice javelin she fired did not even reach the target. Question marks appeared on top of the demon''s head.


    Seeing her javelin did not hit the target, Almina once again manifested an ice javelin. Since she could not fight in melee, this was the only she could do. It was only a low tier spell. She knows that it''s not even enough to scratch the enemy, well for distraction purposes only.


    She threw another javelin again, but for some reason, it went off farther.


    Almina noticed Maena staring at her with pity.


    "Maena..." Almina called in teary eyes.


    Maena didn''t know whether to laugh at her or cry at their current situation.


    Then she attacked once again.


    Maena gathered cold wind at the tip of her arrow. After accumulating enough pressure, she fired it.


    Ice was surprised when she saw her. She was wondering who Maena was. How she was able to manifest this skill known as Arrowbites!


    The enemy once again used his hand to catch it. The arrow was successfully caught, but Maena sneered at him, then the demon''s eyes bulged when he felt a piercing pain on his shoulder. The Demon did not know how it happened, he successfully caught the arrow so how he was pierced by that annoying insect?


    "Grrr.....I fucking feed you to the Uncivilized!" His voice turned angry.


    Damn you girl!


    He shouted at Ice.Theseal preventing him toleave the altar, because those stalactites were mixed with heavenly water �� the demon''s weakness.


    However, the demon knew that she couldn''t hold any longer. After that, the seal will weaken. Then he directly rushed and skewered their innards.


    "Ehehehe," the demongiggled.

 Chapter 89: Plan

    On the surface, the panic had calmed down a little. However, inside the cold room of the underground channel, the battle was in a standstill.


    "Belong to the lowest rank of the Civilized demon?!" Yman and the others asked Ice.


    Ice, without glancing at them, nodded her head, "Mhm, although Demon of Possession has the weakest physical and magic ability, their mental attack is the scariest about them..."


    Hearing what Ice said, Yman and the two girl''s countenance turned sour.


    In their minds, ''Weakest? Even the mere presence of it was enough for them to get down on their knees. How about those of the strongest family? Does it mean the mere presence of them can tear them into pieces? For some reason, they do not wish to encounter such beings."


    "...So for now stay away from his range?" Ice explained.


    Yman and the two girls nodded their heads.


    Then she opened her mouth again, "If only I have a little of my mana, I can do something for you to be unaffected by his mental interference," Ice mumbled in dismay.


    Yman narrowed slightly his eyes.


    "Do you mean... the seal will cancel if you use that something you mentioned, Miss Ice?" He asked.


    "Mhm, but forget I mentioned it, whether I can do something about his mental attack or not, it isn''t still the best choice, since that monster will be able to free himself; even if that monster was from the lowest family of the Demon Sect, his total strength is a hundred folds than yours."


    Yman frowned. He knows what she was saying wasn''t an exaggeration by her. He could feel how enormous that monster''s strength was �� even at this distance. ''Such disparity in level,'' he thought.


    Yet this demon finds himself his nemesis in the form of Miss Ice. It''s not because Miss Ice was stronger than him in terms of strength or magic. It was clear to each of them that this demon''s level was way beyond even for Miss Ice. However, his greatest weakness was someone like Miss Ice who was capable of sealing magic. Not just that, she was a genius talent also.


    Yman could only sigh, because he feltit was his fault that the demon avoided being completely sealed �� in his mind,he must do something about it. Not because he felt guilty, but because the most important person to him was in this city.


    Maena and Almina were both silent while listening to Yman and Ice talking.


    Ice thought that Yman would probably get scared when he heard what she told them that the seal would be broken when she did something about the demon''s mental attacks. After all, it also meant death for both him and these pretty girls with him, together with her, if ever the demon could run free.


    But contrary to her expectation, Yman''s mouth curved upward.


    "Perhaps I have some way to defeat that monster, Miss Ice."


    "Eh?!"


    "Eh?!"


    "?!"


    Not only Ice was startled by his words, but even Almina and Maena also did too.


    "Hey, what are you saying?" Ice was startled at this guy. Although he performed unbelievable stuff a while ago, it wasn''t enough to defeat the demon.


    She stared at him who was at the same time gazing at her with confidence.


    ''Is this person...for real wanted to defeat that demon?'' Ice could not believe it and had to read his eyes.


    She saw no lies at them, at his eyes.


    On the other hand, Almina and Maena stayed silent. They had the gist of Yman''s personality, if this how confidence he was stating it, then he must really have the means to do it. Though doubtful, they trusted him somehow.


    "How confident are you that you will succeed?" Ice asked.


    His mouth extended to the side, then said, "It all depends on how we perform."


    Ice stared at him for a second before saying, "I see."


    Yman then explained his plan to them.


    The demon tried to sneak a barrage of magic attacks. But that human boy did really catch his attacks, then it disappeared like a bubble. The demon wondered if this boy was also the same as that Icy girl who uses sealing magic.


    He could not let those fools escape from here before he escaped at this altar, so he had to minimize the power of his attack.


    After a minute,


    "Not bad, though it is a bold and risky plan. Also, it is better than none," Ice muttered.


    Yman couldn''t helped showing a tired face then said, "There''s no risky plan, just risky mission."


    Ice knew thatthe seal won''t last longer. Her body almost gave up.


    "Hah," She sighed.


    Almina and Maena smirked.


    "Yman..." Almina called out. He glanced at her.


    "Let''s do our best!"


    "Yeah, let''s get out of here alive," Yman replied.


    No matter what, he can''t die here.


    The demon stared at the human boy and girl with long black hair when they walked in the front. For some reason, his attack was barehanded-caught by this human boy. He has no choice but to stop his attacks and find another way to attack them. If only he did not appear in this place, at this moment he probably already sitting on top of the countless corpse of humans and of those fools demi-humans.


    He saw it when that Icy girl tapped her hands at the back of the human boy and girl with long blackhair. A moment later their bodieswere enveloped by a silver glow.


    But after it, the cold room crumbled together with stalactites on the ceiling and the ice crystal on the floor. After it, a deity appeared beside that ice girl.


    He immediately glanced at the ice mirror at his back. But unfortunately, it was the only exception that did not crumble.


    "Grrr, clever girl..." the demon gnashed his sharp teeth while coldly staring at Ice.


    When all the ice crystal inside the room crumbled, Yman and Almina dashed towards the demon on the altar.


    Seeing it, the demon was puzzled, "Are these humans really coming for their deaths? Hehe!" The demon giggled. Looks like these two humans were so idiotic to charge at him. He even thought that humans were capable of logical thinking, but looks like, except for that ice girl, the rest were ��mindless!


    "Guehehehehehe!"


    The demon broke into impish glee.


    Now that the crystal ice and stalactites had finally disappeared. He could finally escape from this predicament. And not just that, he could also take his revenge towards that girl!


    A moment later, the demon rushed toward the two humans who dashed towards him.


    "Ehehehehe, how courteous for you to come at me on your own devices!" The demons shouted.


    He could not use a magic attack as long as that human boy was present. So he needed to kill him first using his bare strength.


    Thinking about killing that human boy through bare strength, he wanted to puke. Although in the Demon sect the Demon of Possession was the lowest rank family, their ability could defeat those of the top family.


    The Demon Ultima glared at the two humans who leaped rapidly towards him.


    Just a second had passed, they were already in front of each other.


    The demon Ultima immediately brandished his claw towards the most bothersome insect!


    With a smirk on his mouth, his claw tore the air and brandished downright in haste!


    Shing!


    Yet the smirk froze when he didn''t feel any flesh-tearing on his claws.


    The two humans suddenly disappeared from his front!


    But at the corner of his eyes, he noticed them appeared at his back, while their fingers entangled at each other.


    Actually, they were using Rapid Leap consecutively while dragging each other.


    They sneered at him. The demon''s face twitched and said, "Do you think you can fool me? Guehehehe!" His laugh reverberated inside the room.


    He summoned more energy, the dark red energy burst out from his body.


    The demon noticed the two humans stopped on their feet at a mere hand-reach away from him.


    His mouth broke into a toothy grin. It seemed like the disparity in level from them was still proven right!


    His claws fast approaching the human boy.


    No matter what! He must finish this one first!


    "Guehehe!" He laughed.


    Then,


    Swoosh, swoosh!


    "Ugh!"


    He suddenly paused when he felt piercing pains on his back.


    The demon staggered a little then glanced at his stomach. He saw two arrowheads jutting out on it.


    His eyes turned cold. Then glanced at his back just to see that girl who uses a bow aiming at him.


    Bloodshot eyes were shot at her.


    "Humaaaaans!" The Demon Ultima shouted.


    Swoosh, swoosh, shoosh!


    Yet what greeted him was three consecutive shots.


    The demon tried to evade by stepping back. But because of anger, he forgot who was behind him.


    Shing!


    "Ugh!"


    He suddenly felt another piercing pain.


    He slowly darted his eyes down and saw a tip of the sword pierced on it. Not only that, but he also felt a chill from this sword.


    He turned his head to look back, and there he saw a long black hair girl holding a sword that exudes a freezing aura, while her left hand was dragging the despicable human boy. He was on the floor while his back was facing the ceiling.


    His eyes were half crying while saying, "A-Almina... you forgot to release my h-hand..." the demon did not know what he meant.


    Actually, Yman and Almina should attack together. But for some reason, her hand did not release his. Since she was faster than him, Yman lost the momentum and was dragged by her.


    "Eh?" Almina was flustered.

 Chapter 90: Fooling the enemy

    The Demon Ultima was puzzled.


    ''Why his mental interference did not take effect on them? Why are these two able to move in the face of him?''


    He could not believe this! Then he noticed the glow that enveloped their bodies.


    ''T-That girl again! Meddlesome girrrrrl!'' He angrily screamed in his thoughts.


    In truth, Ice cast a spell that temporarily boasted Yman and Almina''s resistance to mental attacks and pressure.


    Yman guessed that the enemy would not expect them to dodge his attack at the first encounter.


    He believed that proud beings would always look down on the weak and thus the bearer of limitless pride.


    After the enemy''s attacks were caught by him, Yman assumed that the Demon Ultima would take him first.


    To completely evade his attack, Yman had to use Rapid Leap towards Almina, then Almina would use Rapid Leap towards the enemy''s back-side while pulling him. With this, the enemy could easily pick their presence.


    Fueled by pride, the anger rose in him and therefore he lost his awareness to his surroundings. He turned his back and faced them. He forgot that there was someone who could easily tear his flesh among their group. And that someone was aiming at him �� accurately.


    Ice was staring at it knowingly, but in reality, she was dumbfounded, everything that happened at the moment was really as that person told them. It was like he already knew how the enemy would react in the battle.


    "I-ls this for real?"


    Maena heard the Ace muttering in surprise. She sighed inwardly, then chose not to be bothered by it.


    However, deep inside, she started to question, ''What is true strength?''


    Maena pushed it at the back of her mind for now as she had more important things needed to do!


    ...


    The Demon cried in agony as his body was pierced one after another.


    However,


    Despite the fact that he was pierced multiple times, Yman noticed that the demon''s health points were still at 70% at most.


    Yman quickly stood up and signaled Almina for a retreat.


    Almina quickly retreated her sword that bore in the Demon Ultima''s stomach, when she felt Yman''s hand was strengthened his gripped onto hers.


    The warmth from it proliferated into hers.


    Right now, the guy beside her looked like a real man. Stood taller than her, and with a mature aura around him. She couldn''t understand what happened to him, but it wasn''t important right now. Because she was very happy at the moment! To be able to hold his hand is like a dream come true to her.


    She was caught unguarded when Yman proposed this plan to them. Seeing her flustered and awkward yelped, Yman had to explain that he wasn''t taking advantage of the situation. Almina knew about it, but she was caught in surprise, so her face was burning hot.


    Regardless,


    Yman felt something unusual and immediately signaled Almina to retreat.


    Without a second thought, he used Rapid Leap and jumped into the air while pulling Almina with him.


    Right after they leaped, the demon stomped his foot on the ground, followed by countless spikes that protruded from it.


    Spikes in the form of fangs and with dark red colors raised 3 meters while racing to pierce them. Fortunately, Yman and Almina were already 10 meters above the ground.


    But the demon didn''t seem bothered with it. He in fact was snoring at them.


    "Guehehe, do you think you are successful in your escape? Now let''s see if you can stay for long in the air!"The demon had expected them to fall after they reached the highest level of ascending. Later on, they would start to descend.


    A while ago, Yman felt a disturbance of dense mana around the demon and on the ground. He felt a bad premonition about it and had to retreat. Even if he had the ability to crumble the enemy''s magic-based attack like it was nothing, it was still dangerous to do it when he didn''t know what kind of ability the enemy would use.


    His decision proved right after he saw those countless spikes raised on the ground.


    Yman had no way to make them all disappear.


    "Tsk, an area of effect," he clicked his tongue and mumbled while still on the air.


    "Area of effect?" Almina repeated.


    "It is a wide-range attack that is able to hit multiple enemies," Yman explained while twitching his brow.


    Almina peeked below and saw the 10 meters radius spikes surrounding the demon. On the other hand, Maena was bombarding attacks of freezing arrows towards the demon. Those arrows were purely made of ice. It was the secondary ability of Maena in learning magic; to be able to materialize an object out of thin air, using the element she was having an affinity with.


    The demon seemed to find a way to defend himself from Maena''s barrage of attacks. He was using the spikes to block it. The arrows she fired had pierced about 5-7 spikes before it broke into pieces like powder and turned into smokes.


    Inwardly, the demon was wondering why ice Elementalist humans are always troublesome. He wanted to skewer their flesh and scattered their innards while bathing from their blood.


    The demon eerily thought.


    Almina noticed that Maena''s attacks had become lesser and lesser. She was probably getting tired by now. Yet, she did not stop.


    "C-Can we do something about it?" Almina anxiously asked Yman.


    Yman gazed at her and smirked, "I and the others can''t, but you perhaps can do it," Yman replied.


    "Do you mean ��"


    "Mhm, your Flame Wave," Yman added.


    Almina looked at him and noticed that he was serious.


    "W-What I needed to do then?" She asked.


    "Just fire everything you have towards him," he said with a grin.


    "O-Okay!" After saying it, their body started to descend.


    The demon fired a crimson energy wave towards the two humans in the air, without waiting for them to descend.


    Yman noticed and figured that it was the same ability used by the Mercenary Ultima. Not only the color had changed, but he could also feel that its power had increased greatly. Looks like this Demon of Possession could also use the ability of the person they possessed.


    Yet, the demon frowned once again when his crimson energy wave was caught again by that human boy and disappears shortly. He was kind of annoyed for not knowing if what kind of ability this human boy had.


    ''What a waste of effort!'' He thought to himself.


    In actuality,


    He could fly and tear them in the mid-air or shoot these spikes towards them, but he was doubtful about that human boy''s ability. So he chose to wait because he also wanted to see the pitiful outcome of these humans, thinking they could escape by leaping in the air.


    When the demon saw them started to descend, he smiled wickedly.


    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! The demon while staring at Yman and Almina had heard familiar sounds of something rapidly traveling in the air.


    The demon glanced at the source of sounds and saw some arrows racing to hit him.


    He slightly frowned. These arrows were much more powerful than the one she fired before. And now this girl fired as many as she could.


    ''Tsk, she''s annoying.'' However, the demon believed it could not hurt him, forget about hurting him. It could not even reach him.


    As expected the arrows Maena fired did not reach him. It was stopped by spikes and sometimes was using the crimson energy wave to collide with the arrows.


    The freezing arrows lost its durability and exploded into white powder smoke when they collided at the last spikes they could pierce.


    "Fool, guehehe," he laughed.


    Nonetheless, Maena did not stop and continued firing.


    The demon tried to fire a crimson energy wave but good thing that it didn''t have a long-range. Whenever the enemy demon fired it, it could not reach them.


    The smoke powder proliferated around the demon, then it covered the whole area where he was standing. The demon had no need to worry about it, he had high perception ability and could clearly identify what was happening around him.


    But suddenly, his attention was caught by the two humans falling towards him.


    The demon smirked and broke into laughter, "Gyahahaha, die!" He shouted.


    The demon lifted his hand towards the two descending humans, then unexpectedly the spikes rose up and flew to pierce these humans. Actually, he was waiting at his current position, and let himself beaten-up for the humans to think that he was having a hard time dealing with their attacks.


    But actually, he was laying a trap for them!


    "Gyahahaha, humans are still naive creatures! They were lowlife with little brains! They are easy to fool! Gyahahaha!" Once more, he broke into laughs of great delight.


    Almina widened her eyes at the approaching spikes.


    Her heart started to pound. She wondered if they would be going to die here.


    She glanced at the person at her left side, who was descending rapidly together with her.


    His brown-white hair was fluttering, while his brown eyes were straight-staring down below, with his left hand extended in front, and his right hand firmly gripping her left hand.


    Almina noticed no fear in his eyes. His face was not the face of someone who gave up. It wasn''t also the reminiscing face of someone who was prepared to die.


    In truth, it was the face of someone who was looking forward to tomorrow!


    Suddenly, he glanced at her, smiled, then said, "Let''s survive." She then felt his hand firmly gripped her hand.


    Almina with teary eyes nodded her head. Like him, she turned her gaze in front full of resolve. Then a moment later, they collide with the spikes.


    The demon broke into a guffaw!


    But suddenly froze.


    Because a block of ice crystal suddenly appeared and he was at the center, frozen inside it.

 Chapter 91: The rift

    Thump, thump!


    Yman and Almina landed on top of the ice block.


    "What the hell is that?!"


    The three girls had similar reactions after a huge block of ice covered the entire area surrounding the demon with him at the center.


    The demon was freezing inside together with the spikes.


    Ice and Maena looked at Almina. Although Almina had an affinity for ice also, they didn''t notice that she did something to create such a degree of iceblock. And they both knew of how bad Almina was in controlling her ice element.


    They figured out that it wasn''t her doing. Since it was not her, then there''s only that guy who at the moment extended his hand on the surface of the ice block. ''It was him who did that?!'' Ice and Maena exclaimed in their thoughts.


    But Ice had the notion that what happened wasn''t as simple as creating a block of ice.


    She then fell into deep contemplation.


    In truth, it puzzled her how they managed to enter this place. Even if the demon was able to possess her while she was in her weakened state, she made a proper preparation so that the demon could not use her skills with her sealing ability. She believed that even if the demon was so compelling, he could not break the seal that she placed on the wall.


    At this thought, Ice seemed to realize something, ''Now that I think about it, he could dispel any magic thrown to him, and now he was capable of producing them even without using an ounce of mana. Could he be...''


    Ice was still doubtful but right now she could only come up with a conclusion.


    ''...I-Is he a special case too? If he is, then it also explains how they get to enter here,'' Ice came up to believe.


    She didn''t know how his ability works, but if she made a guess, it would probably dispelling and recreating things.


    About 10 steps away from her, Maena also widened her eyes. Did she misjudge this guy all along? Is he really an awesome person? Did he just pretend to be weak from the start? Maena questioned herself. At these thoughts, she felt ashamed for herself for always looking down at him and saying how weak he was.


    She bit her lips.


    "No, this is impossible, he cannot do something like that unless he has an affinity with ice elements," Maena muttered.


    "I think he refroze the powdered ice from your arrow," Ice suddenly told her.


    "What, i-is that possible? Does magic like that exist?" Maena was astonished.


    "Mhm, actually there are some magicians who had special abilities," Ice replied.


    "Magicians with special abilities?" Maena repeated.


    "Yes, and I think that guy is one of them," Ice said.


    "Then, are you one of them too, Miss Ace?" Maena asked.


    "Miss A-Ace? So you know about me?"


    "The academy told us."


    "I see, in any case, to answer your question about me, I let you guess about it."


    "Isn''t your sealing magic special magic?" Maena asked.


    "It is special but it doesn''t belong to that category. My sealing magic is an ancient technique passed down from our ancestors. It is different from the special ability I mentioned earlier."


    "I see," Maena said in doubt. "Then how about him, what kind of special ability he has?" She asked while pointing to Yman.


    "To tell you the truth, I''m not too sure what kind of ability he has. But my intuition was telling me that he refroze those powdered ice in the air."


    "So that''s why he asked me to fire a barrage of freezing arrows at the enemy as much as I can."


    "Mhm, looks like that guy not only has a special ability, but he was also a smart one. I bet he is a famous person in the academy," Ice said.


    Maena didn''t know whether to laugh or cry when she heard the last line. That guy was more than famous for being an infamous person in the academy.


    Thud!


    Suddenly, Maena heard a dull sound, she glanced and, "Miss Ace!" She called out when she saw her fell on the ground. Looks like her exhaustion gets the better of her.


    Almina and Yman were on top of the ice block. Actually, she was as surprised as the others.


    But right now, she couldn''t let herself lose her focus.


    Yman nodded to her, seeing his nod, she gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands while pointing the tip upward.


    Then the sword exuded with intense heat, it was enveloped by fire.


    Yman and Almina noticed the block if ice shook. They both frowned. However, Yman expected it to happen. Looks like, this amount of ice wasn''t enough to completely entangle this monster.


    When the shaking started to produce cracks on the ice block, Almina leaped in the air once again while Yman leaped in a different direction.


    Before the block of ice completely shattered, Almina brandished her flame sword downward. Immense flame abruptly shot to devour the block of ice. It then melted it in no second.


    The impact of fire on the block of ice caused an unforeseen pressure to blast. It was followed by the blinding smoke to proliferate around and was forming like a tree.


    Rushing sounds reached their ears, then it was followed by smoke as dense as clouds to rise up towards the ceiling.


    On the other hand, Almina was sent flying away because of the blast.


    GwaaaAAARRRR!! They even heard a howl of someone in agony.


    A moment later, the area where the block of ice was supposed to be standing a while ago was now like a sea of fire.


    Burn smell and smoke were carried by the blast.


    Maena knitted her brows, she could feel that Almina was stronger than her at this moment.


    Then out of sudden, they noticed someone in the smoke, a silhouette was visible in it, standing still in a position without twitching.


    A moment later everyone felt an eerie feeling.


    Everyone was twitching their faces. Then, a massive pressure burst out from his body and wafted all the smoke surrounding him.


    "Tsk, he was able to manifest the daffodil shield of Mr. Ultima in time!" Almina mumbled in disbelief after seeing a shiny screen appeared in front of the monster.


    Her attack was blocked by it!


    "Guehehehehe!"


    They heard his impish glee once again. This kind of


    laugh irccs each one of them. The truth was, only at this point that Yman explained his plan. His plan was almost 100% accurate, but they were too weak to defeat that monster.


    Almina believed that her last attack was the finishing move to defeat the monster. She sighed in dismay. Looks like, in the end, they are still going to lose. She gave her all in that last attack. And now she was barely able to move.


    When the smoke around was completely wafted and the surroundings finally cleared, everyone was gaped at what their eyes were seeing at the moment.


    "H-How that person was in there?!" Maena asked herself.


    Even Almina and Ice gawk in disbelief.


    Not only them, "Eek?!" The demon felt someone touching his back.


    He glanced at his back and his eyes bulged.


    "You!" The demon yelled.


    "...hehe!" The demon heard a chuckle from the human boy at his back.


    Then, Yman''s hands were enveloped by a silver glow.


    The next second, the Demon Ultima felt something was dragging him away from the body he was possessing.


    Then with a poof, the Demon of Possession found himself outside the body and was in spirit form.


    Ultima''s body fell down but was caught by Yman. It went back to normal as well.


    Ice and the others were dumbfounded.


    "Is he an exorcist?" Ice thought.


    "Yman, was capable of that too?" Almina gawked.


    "So he was a priest before?" Maena muttered.


    "Miss Ice, Now!" Yman shouted.


    A question mark appeared on top of the demon spirit''s head.


    "T-The g-grimoire!" Ice screamed weakly. Based on her voice, there was no doubt that she was exhausted.


    Yman noticed the grimoire in the hand of Mr. Ult.


    He then quickly took it.


    Seeing the human boy took the grimoire, a foreboding feeling rose inside the demon. He quickly flew towards the big mirror on the altar.


    However, he could not pass through it.


    "Damn that b***h, she sealed my real body behind this mirror!" The demon exclaimed. "Looks like this ice mirror is not ordinary ice!" He muttered.


    Ice shook his head at Yman. Her mana wasn''t enough to cast sealing magic again.


    Yman suspiciously glanced at the ice mirror on the altar, ''Did she spend most of her mana on that thing?'' Yman thought before throwing the book into his storage then rushed towards the altar.


    When the demon noticed him, it quickly flew to the ceiling and he passed through it.


    "Tsk!" Yman clicked his tongue.


    He glanced at everyone. All of them had a pale faces, mostly tired.


    Yman wondered what was behind the mirror. He asked Ice, but Ice instead told her to secure this place. Even Though tired, her eyes lit up after the topic touched about the ice mirror.


    Yman wondered what she meant.


    "Behind that mirror is the dimensional rift, it was the entrance of the labyrinth."


    "Labyrinth?"


    "Labyrinth?


    Maena and Almina asked in puzzlement.


    "I see, so my intuition was right," Yman muttered. Maena and Almina were puzzled with his words.


    "Sorry Miss Ice looks like we intruded in this place at the wrong timing," Yman added. He felt bad that because of him the sealing of the demon was disturbed.


    Ice seemed to read his mind.


    "No need to say sorry, actually, I don''t think I will succeed even if you don''t come. That demon is a Civilized demon of the Demon Sect. It''s not easy to seal it at my current state. Anyway, now that the demon left here. We needed someone to inform the officials on the surface about the demon and this dimensional rift. Fufu, I''m sure we will get rich later!"


    Miss Ice suddenly said excitedly.


    ''Her real self revealed!'' Yman and the others exclaimed inside.


    Yman forced a laugh at the famous Ace of the academy''s sudden flipped of personality. Looks like she persevered this long because of the possible income she would get at this labyrinth. They noticed hereyes turned into gold coins while drooling.


    He glanced at Almina, "Mi�� Almina, can you inform the officials? And ask to send a medical team here," for some reason, it was kind of awkward calling her first name.


    Almina nodded, "But how can we get out of here?"


    "Hehe, let me handle it, before that �� Maena, (She looked at him) please guard this area and the seniors."


    Although she was exhausted too, her exhaustion wasn''t as serious as the seniors. "Mhm," she nodded.


    Almina handed her a stamina potion to ease a little of her fatigue. Ultima on the other hand was unconscious lying on the ground.


    Now that the mana was scattered around the place, and some were absorbed by the wall. He could easily destroy a segment of it.


    Once again, they were reminded of this weird ability of him.


    When Almina and Yman reached the surface, the place was already in chaos.

 Chapter 92: Honorable blogger

    The place was so chaotic and many people were shouting for help. Houses were on fire, and some people were wounded on the street.


    Almina and Yman jump at the roof of the buildings. No need to tend for those wounded people, they are both certain that someone would come to help them later. And after all, they were not healers, and right now, they have more important things needed to do.


    "Tsk looks like he was possessing another person," Almina gnashed her teeth and muttered.


    Yman''s face twitched.


    "Almina, it''s up to you now..."


    "How about you?"


    "I will try to find a way to seal that demon..."


    "....."


    She turned silent for a second. She was a little doubtful but thinking about all he did below, Almina could only pray for his success, "P-Please be careful, I will come back to help you later," Almina said while biting her lips.


    He nodded but before she left, Yman stopped her.


    Almina was puzzled. Then she heard him whistling while looking at the sky. A moment later, he heard a howl of a fierce bird. "A Hell Chaser?!" Almina exclaimed. If her memory was right, this was the same transport bird used by those bandits who attacked the city recently.


    The Hell Chaser bird landed beside him, which made Yman and Almina look small beside it. Almina wondered how Yman was able to get it. If she was right there was no Hell Chaser bird in this city. The rent house for transport birds only had Peon birds.


    ''Did Yman caught it when the chaos happened at that time?'' Almina questioned herself enviously.


    "It will be faster if you used this," he said.


    She wanted to ask him how he caught it but now wasn''t the time.


    "Okay, thank you!" She nodded then quickly rode on it.


    "Oh, before that... it was easy to control," Yman reminded him.


    "O-Okay," she nodded again.


    "Mhm, good luck."


    After Almina nodded her head, she immediately maneuvered the bird, she was happy and sad at the same time. Because she felt she wasn''t able to help much in this battle against the demon.


    If she continued like this, becoming an Ace would be impossible for her. If she compared herself to the current Ace, she was too far. She couldn''t let herself slack.


    "I must become stronger..." she muttered and her voice blended in the air.


    After Almina left, Yman looked around.


    "Sistela, can you trace him?" He whispered in the air.


    "Okay, thank you, Sistela!"


    Yman looked ahead. If he wasn''t wrong, there was a residential area in that place. He then jumped on the alleyway.


    Seconds later, a person wearing a black hooded jacket jumps out of it.


    He leaped on the air and ran rapidly towards the direction of the north.


    In the northern part of the city, in the residential area, "W-Who are you?!" A man asked the creature in front of him.


    "Ehehehe, you are asking who am I? You insolent insects had no right to know!"


    "S**t, what is this scary creature with a horn and red skin? Tsk, I should have escaped a while ago, but who would have thought that he easily defeated those three guards! I am only doing live coverage here when the quake happened. Yet right after that, this creature suddenly appeared and attacked the people around!" Said the blogger in a panic.


    "Hehe, it was too late to feel bad, human!" The demon said with a grin.


    ''Grr, I needed to find a strong body with great magic before the human boy and Icy b***h came here! If only I had my real body, I could squish them easily,'' The demon thought in dismay.


    A moment later, the demon noticed that the person in front of him was pointing the device in his hands towards him. ''Grr, what is this human trying to do with that toy? Wait, is it a weapon?!'' The demon was alarmed. Then, ''No, it''s impossible, I couldn''t feel any danger from it,'' he thought.


    The demon grinned broadly, "Now it''s your turn to die humaaaaan!" He shouted.


    Around this time, in all the neighboring cities or at the far kingdoms, peoples of different stature were watching the live coverage while knitting their brows.


    Principal Kim from Human City Z1 had a broad smile on his face. "Hehe, looks like that city''s demise will come faster as planned." Said him.


    Although that monster was kind of scary, he wasn''t bothered by it, he had many strong individuals who could defeat it. This was what Principal Kim thought.


    Chief Henderson immediately sent his men for a rescue mission for the possible victims from the high-intensity quake.


    In front of him was one of the soldiers he sent to that mission. He just returned and now giving his report.


    "Sir, when we arrived at the area most affected by the quake, we encountered an unforeseen danger.


    One of our men unusually changed its frame and started attacking our comrades out of nowhere.


    We tried to constrict that person, but he had unusual strength, and nine of us together with the captain had no match for it.


    The captain ordered us to fight the enemy, but when we were about to defeat it, another of our men started to act unusually too, then it started to attack us.


    We can''t understand what was going on.


    The captain also started to act weird like our other men who attacked us. But before the captain lost his sanity, he asked me to retreat and report about what happened there," one of the soldiers sent by Chief Henderson reported.


    Chief Henderson who was sitting in front of the table, massaged his temple.


    He wondered why these attacks suddenly happened one after another in this city.


    "So it wasn''t just a normal quake?"


    "Yes, sir!"


    Is this city cursed by the great god? What kind of enemy his men encountered this time? The chief contemplated.


    However, before Chief Henderson could open his mouth again, one of his men came rushing into his office.


    The chief was a little startled and frowned, but he beckoned to his men to speak his intention.


    "Sir, there is a call from the academy!" Reported the soldier.


    The chief was a little surprised. "Is it from the principal?" He asked.


    "Yes, sir!"


    The chief connected the call to his private line. Then he immediately strengthened his back when he heard what the principal said.


    "What! a civilized demon of possession?!" The chief''s countenance immediately turned sour when he heard the principal''s words and the enemy''s race. Not just that, it belonged to a higher family of that race. The chief gulped a cold sweat trail on his forehead.


    ''Maybe this will be the end of this city,'' the chief thought.


    The principal then asked him for a rescue team to the underground channel.


    "Underground channel of West District?!"


    "...Yes, chief," said the principal''s voice from the other line.


    "Okay, I will send some men right away!"


    "...Okay, thank you chief."


    Toot, toot, toot �� The call finally ended.


    The chief immediately ordered another rescue operation with another squad together with some medical team. It was led by the only survivor from the first team. Well, they were lacking soldiers and that soldier was the only person who knew the frame of the enemy.


    No matter what happened, they needed to rescue the Ace of the academy. She was the only one who had more knowledge about that enemy. Since she already fought it for a long time.


    Inside the academy, all the officials were flabbergasted from Almina''s news.


    "The Ace fought a civilized demon for a long time without us knowing?!" One of the faculty officials roared.


    "It seemed like it, based on what I heard inside the principal''s office."


    "This is a big negligence of the principal''s duty. It is because he doesn''t give importance to the trainee''s safety that the Ace puts herself in danger!"


    "Shh, don''t shout too loud Mr. Noy. The principal will probably hear you if you keep shouting," said the person beside the person named Mr. Noy.


    "Like I care! We need to oust the principal and reelect another one who is more capable than him!" Mr. Noy roared.


    "Yeah, I second the motion," said the person beside Mr. Noy.


    "Come, Mr. Trillo, help me gather some friends to protest against the principal."


    "Wait, Mr. Noy, look at the video, someone appeared," the person named Trillo pointed on the screen.


    Mr. Noy then glanced at the screen on his table.


    Currently, the predicament of the blogger was being displayed in it.


    Inside the barracks, all the people inside were silently staring at the large monitor.


    On the other hand, Chief Henderson''s deep thinking was disturbed when his assistant rushed inside his office and showed him a video.


    ...


    In the area where the fight was happening.


    The blogger closed his eyes when the monster started to dash towards him, seeing this �� he resolved himself that no matter what happened, he won''t stop his live coverage. So that if he died today, many people would witness what he did. Maybe when he died today, later on, they would build a statue for him, and honor him as the National Blogger.


    For some reason, he felt proud of himself at this thought, even in the face of predicament.


    The blogger named NoTopedopie thought to himself, "It isn''t bad to die like this," after thinking about it, he prepared himself for his dramatic end.


    A few seconds later, the blogger noticed something weird.


    He felt no pain even after a couple of seconds that had passed. He slowly opened his eyes and saw someone. That someone was wearing a black jacket beside something like a corpse of a soldier?! Now it seemed like it was still breathing, but deeply.


    The monster with a horn and red skin had gone. He didn''t know what happened because he closed his eyes. But it was all caught in his video.


    Suddenly, he heard the person whisper the word, "Hah, it was easier than I thought..."


    That person glanced at him. The blogger caught that person''s face in the video. He has very dark hair and red agate eyes. Yet what caught his interest was, "...he looks so handsome!" The blogger exclaimed in his mind.


    Then he noticed some kind of black smoke on that person''s right hand and on his left. "W-Wait, are y-you... the black magician?!" Looks like the blogger was updated.


    ...


    The blogger was unaware that at this moment. All those people who happened to watch the whole event had dumbfounded faces.


    Inside the faculty room of the academy. Only gulping sounds were discernible.


    "How the f**k he did that?" Mr. Noy screamed


    in surprise upon seeing the video.


    When he noticed his voice echoed inside the room, he awkwardly shut his mouth.


    In the barracks,


    "Ehhhh?! He defeated that monster so quickly?"


    "Wait, isn''t he the black magician?!"


    "You are right, he really is!"


    "Kyaaaah! So handsome!" Some girls and some semi-girls in one of the tables inside the barracks shouted.


    In the office of Chief Henderson, he felt like he just saw something unbelievable.


    That mysterious person summoned some black smoke and enveloped the monster. A moment later, something from the monster was forcefully taken out from its mouth. And then a sphere-like thing made of dense energy floated from and hovered to his hand.


    Currently, that sphere object was floating on top of that person''s hand.


    The chief muttered, "We needed that person."


    "You''re right, chief, someone like him, if we had a soldier like him, we could easily build an outpost in our borders," his assistant excitedly said.


    "It will be your assignment to figure out that person''s identity. Since he already appeared and helped the city three times, he must be someone from this city," The chief felt joy about it. With this person, this city would surely become a powerhouse like the other city.


    "O-Okay chief."


    Chief Henderson sighed. Actually, he was curious if what the mysterious person in black talking with the demon. Looks like the blogger unintentionally turned off the audio, because of fear.


    In some of the cities, some officials gnashed their teeth. One of them was of course, Principal Kim. He never thought that Black magicians would save that city again. Now Principal Kim was wary about this black magician. He needed someone to investigate that person.

 Chapter 93: The labyrinth

    The demon was slack-jawed, never would he imagine that there was someone who was also skillful in using mental interference in this city!


    He was beaten immediately in their battle between mental attacks!


    He was at odds because the real owner of the body he was possessing resisted him. In this regard, his footing in that body wasn''t so fortified.


    In addition, it was only a few minutes that had passed since he possessed that body, because of it, his spiritual link on it was quite lax and he was defeated when the battle with this newcomer started.


    Not only that, but this person who defeated him had also invaded so soon the body he was occupying. Looks like those smoke-like things he was exuding weren''t normal.


    What puzzled the demon about the smoke of that person, he couldn''t feel any malicious intent from it.


    Well, the battle had already been decided before it even started.


    Ice and the others were successfully rescued.


    However,


    The soldiers who came down the underground channel were gasping in shock for what they saw. The ground was littered with corpses of Evil Rats, Evil Bats, and Wanderer class.


    Nevertheless,


    Those magician''s experienced being possessed by the demon were tended by specialist doctors to have a deep inspection with their health issue. While their deities also needed a deep scan.


    Many people were wounded gravely, but they were rescued in time before the worst came to them.


    Almina and Maena only took minor wounds and were healed immediately.


    Nonetheless, they were prohibited from joining the training the next day. They exhausted their mana with that fight with the demon, so they needed enough rest.


    The Mercenary Ultima had been taken to the specialist together with the other magicians who were possessed by the demon.


    On the contrary, the Ace Miss Ice was obliged to rest for a week. But the next day, she was seen strolling around the academy. Her fans immediately took some stolen shots of her.


    Most of the fledgling trainees didn''t know much about her. But the Juniors and Seniors were looking at her with so much respect. She actually was admired by them, not only her beauty but also her strength.


    Her appearance awakened the tigers and dragons who currently ruled the other academies. "Finally, the uncrowned queen showed up! The real competition will about to start!" Only their fierce eyes were visible. But both of them exuded an extraordinary aura.


    Chief Henderson, Mayor Chan, and Principal Mar Mari were having a meeting. As the three higher officials together with the three elders, they have the final say for every decision needed to be made in this city. Although there was also a church, they were not allowed to enter such as political stuff or managing the city.


    "The biggest problem we have is the lack of resources and security. I suggest to form a special squad to guard our perimeters outside and inside the city." The mayor suggested.


    The others knitted their brows at this suggestion coming from the Mayor.


    Not only was the city lacking in resources, but the military was also lacking soldiers.


    While their meeting was in a heated discussion, all of them froze and stared wide-eyed when the door of the meeting hall slammed open and that girl walked in, as nothing happened.


    Miss Ace?!


    Everyone exclaimed in their minds. Never would they imagine that this girl would appear here at this moment.


    "Ace! Why are you here? Didn''t I tell you to rest for a month!" Elder Paan roared at her like a tiger.


    "Wha��? Fufu, I see. Looks like Paan Elder is having a sign of age. Ehehe, for what I know, you asked me to rest for one week only," Ice chuckled playfully.


    "This child! Then what you called yourself? It''s not even 2 days yet since you rested!" Elder Paan yelled with a cross-shaped pulse appearing on her forehead, then she smacked her head.


    Ice was holding her head with teary eyes, "Eh, but I am too bored staying at the hospital, besides I feel okay now."


    Everyone was dumbfounded by what they heard. Is this girl even a human? They thought.


    The other elders were wearing a can''t be helped expression on their faces, while thinking, ''Elder Paan was having it hard time again. Maybe it''s time for her to find a husband.''


    (A/N: Elder Paan age = 129)


    Suddenly, everyone noticed the slight change in Elder Paan countenance. "What you say, you are okay now?" She asked.


    "Fufufu, you are as quick as ever, Paan Elder," said Ice.


    "Don''t tell me, you already mastered the Perfect Breathing technique of that man?" She exclaimed.


    "Eh," Ice suddenly blushed. "It wasn''t perfect yet," she said bashfully while playing with her hair.


    ''This girl really admires that person too much. In any case, it''s good that she finally able to learn that technique,'' Elder Paan thought.


    "That''s good, I want you to teach it to someone later," Elder Paan told her.


    "What?! B-But I just came back! And I almost die of exhaustion! Well, I better go, hehe..." Ice tried to escape but the Elder Paan already gripped her collar and lifted her in the air.


    Such a grip from an elder, even the Ace of the academy could not budge it.


    "P-Paan Elder? Isn''t it too rude to bully a patient?"


    "Kukuku said someone who escaped from the hospital."


    Ice eyes turned blank.


    "Fufu, let''s ask our Ace what is really her intention of coming here. I bet she came here with a reason," Principal Mar Mari said with a chuckle.


    "Principal Mar, I think the academy is just too lax towards this girl, that''s why she acted too spoiled. Look, if this girl didn''t go that time of the competition, the academy won''t suffer from such humiliation."


    He immediately shut his mouth. No matter what, he could not anger an elder, especially someone like Elder Paan who was an unmarried woman.


    Ice remained quiet, but actually, her shoulder was trembling, and she was chuckling while looking in different directions. She really did something silly at that time.


    "Kuku."


    Out of a sudden, they heard Elder Paan grinned menacingly. For some reason, a foreboding feeling creeped out in Ice skin.


    Then they heard Elder Paan saying, "Although, at first I dislike the incompetent plan of Mayor Chan..."


    Hearing his name spoken by the elder, Mayor Chan felt a chill running down his spine. It was known all around the city that Elder Paan was the scariest Elder. Even he would not dare to anger her.


    He gulped.


    Everyone showed interest in Elder Paan''s next word.


    "Let''s do what Mayor Chan suggested. And I wanted this silly girl to be the leader of that special squad," said Elder Paan coldly.


    Question marks floating above the head of their so-called Ace.


    Ice for some reason felt she made a big mistake invading here!


    "Even though I am the renowned Ace of the academy...why bullying such a lonely girl..." she mumbled.


    The others did not react against Elder Paan and drily shrugged their shoulders.


    Later on, Ice told them what she came for.


    She explained to them all about that demon, if how she encountered it. And she also told them about the rift. After she mentioned it, everyone''s eyes lit up.


    The solemn atmosphere a while ago immediately washed away. Because the rift was mostly connected to the labyrinth. And the labyrinth was known to store a massive amount of treasure and resources. But of course, it wasn''t easy to gather these resources. After all, the labyrinth was also the house of many kinds of monsters and traps. It was the very meaning of danger.


    However, it could also be the best training grounds to accumulate combat experience.


    So this achievement of securing the rift or the entrance was truly big success.


    Before they celebrated, Ice asked them about a certain magician that made the elder''s brows knitted to each other.


    "A talented fledgling male magician who defeated the demon?" Elder Nitan asked.


    "Yes Nitan Elder, that person did defeat the demon," Ice said but she noticed the puzzled expressions shown in the faces of these oldies.


    "Wasn''t the black magician the one who defeated the demon?" Mayor Chan asked as well.


    "Actually, I also was curious about this black magician who defeated the demon. But before that, that demon fled from the underground channel in haste after he was defeated by a newbie."


    "What? It was not because of you that the demon flees from the underground channel?" Chief Henderson exclaimed.


    "Yes, Mr. Chief."


    Everyone was surprised by what they heard from the academy''s ace.


    It was out of the question that a fledgling trainee was able to defeat a demon of such a degree. Never in history, it happened.


    "Was that person really had fought the demon?"


    "Wasn''t it Kiko of the Sun family?" Mayor Chan said.


    "Possible, after all that young man was truly a talented person," the principal added.


    "In any case, let''s find it out tomorrow..." Elder Paan said.


    The next morning, it was already 2 days ago when the demon attack happened.


    Most people in the city of Zone 7 were in the celebratory mode. The officials together with some important people(Probably businessmen) in the city were currently in the underground channel.


    They were watching the academy ace as she lifted the ice mirror she cast to cover the rift.


    A moment later, they noticed the whole underground channel trembled slightly.


    Then they saw the ice slowly broken apart. When the ice mirror finally broke apart, their eyes were greeted by 10 meters in height and a 5 meters surface that looked like a surface of the water in crimson color.


    Some tester soldiers tried to enter it but after three minutes.


    "I-It''s an active labyrinth!!" Exclaimed the soldiers when it came out.


    They went out with some herbs, loots and they even found a chest treasure. And some scratches on their armors.


    Everyone immediately jumped in joy. The excitement they felt could not be asserted after it had been proven as an active labyrinth.


    The bigshot businessmen together with the city officials did not waste their time and immediately made a conclusion.


    It was agreed that The Ace of the academy would get a 10 percent commission as the one who discovered and secured the rift.


    2 percent for Almina Amulet and Maena Hex as the two girls contributed with the fight against the demon.


    1 percent for the Mercenary Ultima who at least did a little thing.


    2 percent to the mysterious black magician who defeated the demon.


    Everyone was looking at the poster posted in the academy andbarracks announcement board, and on the academy''s website with full of envy in their eyes.


    Everyone gawked in disbelief after they saw the final name listed.


    Yman Talisman - will get a total of 3% commission of the total income of the labyrinth.


    WHAAAAAAAAT??!


    The chief and the other officials and even the elders, could not believe it at first. But the one who told them was the famous Almina Amulet, that it was that person who came with them and the one who first defeated the demon.


    "Tsk, what the f**k is this? Did they make a bluff in it?" Marco questioned annoyingly.


    "Damn, that toad! I wonder how he cheated!" Bruno added. He believed that person was only leeching at the others. But how come he had the second biggest commission? He was even bigger than the mysterious black magician who defeaed the demon.


    Kiko on the other hand was burning in anger.

 Chapter 94: The new beggining

    Wearing her tracksuit, Ice jogged early in the morning. Sealing herself inside the underground channel, she felt her body turn stiff.


    Last night she had to write a 5 pages long report. It was about how the rift appears in that area. It was because that time she was in seclusion for her advancement. At first, she was able to guide the medicine to her mana output then directly to her mana source which was the Hollow Cell.


    Then something happened after �� that endangered her life. A massive amount of mana ironically burst out from her Hollow Cell. She didn''t expect that her advancement would lead to a sudden increase in mana. A dense and massive amount of mana bursts out and almost ruptures her mana outputs.


    In order to ascertain her safety, she released the mana from her body by letting it flow outside, through every pore of her body. Because of this, the mana scattered all over the place. Then it causes a ripple in the space. It was followed by the formation of the rift.


    Ice gaped seeing it, it was a very low chance that such a rift would occur. Yet it happened in front of her.


    Ice immediately used her ice mirror skill to cover the entrance in order to avoid monsters or any kind of hostile creatures to pass through from it, if ever there is.


    But not only that, but she also felt another presence baring an enormous pressure that was trying to take advantage of the ripples, it was the demon.


    Unfortunately though for the demon, when he invaded, the rift had been covered by an ice mirror already. It was a high-level magic spell for sealing.


    However, Ice knew that it wasn''t enough to entangle the demon. So she decided to borrow a spellbook from the library to use it as the medium.


    Before she left the underground channel, she used a super high-level spell to assure that the excess mana would not overflow to the outside of that room.


    It was also the reason why the room was covered with ice crystals.


    And that''s what happened at that time. But Ice didn''t write it in the report. And she didn''t tell about the hidden body of the demon inside the rift for personal reasons.


    Maybe because of the hype that everyone was feeling at the moment, but no one asked her about it or even mentioned it. Later she would sell the demon''s body secretly. Ice couldn''t help getting excited at how much money she would receive from it.


    "Hehehe." She giggled.


    Actually, she felt more exhausted in writing a report than sealing that demon for three months.


    She wondered if those oldmen loved bullying their lonely beautiful ace in the academy.


    Around the city, in every corner, she noticed the pictures of the mysterious black magician were being posted. No one knew who he was. But he was a handsome guy, Although, his face was a little similar to that fledgling trainee. However, this black magician was a very handsome guy and that person although not ugly, wasn''t as handsome as the black magician. Maybe because he was so thin.


    She also noticed that the picture had a message saying, "Mr. Black Magician, the city officials hereby announced to reward you for your successive help in protecting the city from the attackers in the recent events. Each of the officials wishes to speak with you, kind sir. And thus, you are given a 2% commission reward from the labyrinth income together with some promising youth. In addition to that, on the following date mm/dd/yyyy, we would like to grant a medal of appreciation to you, kind sir. But if you don''t want to reveal your identity, please at least leave your Cyber Wallet account or any contact number. So that we can send your money to your account. Or you could also contact one of these ID numbers...'''' It was followed by lists of ID numbers.


    Such posters were visible in every street corner of the city.


    She was kind of curious as to who this magician was. "He really made a name for himself. But what''s the need in hiding his identity?" Ice wondered.


    In any case, she needed to go to the academy for morning practice. It seemed like, when she was gone, most of the juniors were slacking. And that granny wanted her not to be late in their magic training. Looks like that granny wanted her to meet some promising newbies who she took under her wing.


    Ice also was expecting to see that fledgling trainee who defeated the demon.


    Some people greeted her when they saw her. Some were cheering at her. And most of the people took a stolen picture of her then showed it off to their friends with them or in their group on social media.


    Right now, inside the barracks and academy. There was a poll about who was the most famous person in the academy.


    At this moment, many people were excitedly watching the poll. Currently, the most popular person was Ace Miss Ice, followed by Almina Amulet, the mysterious black magician, the loli elite girl, Kiko Sun, and then Maena and Rui-Rui. Mercenary Ultima slowly gained popularity as well. On the contrary, Yman the Rat Slayer was still the most infamous person.


    But everyone was puzzled how he was able to acquire such a high commission. Even though he eventually leached with the girls only. No one really thought that he could help in the fight against the demon.


    So many trainees questioning how he achieved such a feat of acquiring a 3 percent commission from the labyrinth. However, the officials did not disclose more information regarding the fight against the demon.


    Vortex and his friends were so envious with Ultima. Although he was still currently under quarantine and in the observatory process, his future was so bright. Getting a 1 percent commission from the labyrinth was really a very big deal. Perhaps at this moment, many businessmen are already offering to buy this 1 percent commission from him. Actually not only him, but even Maena and Almina were also getting a call from left to right. Asking if they wanted to sell their commissions to them with a huge price and resources.


    Maena couldn''t believe what was happening. She didn''t expect that just by going with Almina Amulet and that gloomy person, she would receive such huge benefits.


    In any case, now is the day that she and Almina Amulet could go back to the training grounds.


    Actually, she not only received a huge benefit financially. She also received an invitation to be trained personally under Elder Paan. Together with Almina Amulet and a junior trainee. This makes her more excited. But actually, Maena wanted to go to the more advanced academy like Zone 1. Now she wasn''t sure of herself.


    But before that, she wanted to see that guy. I - It''s not because she was concerned about him or whatsoever.


    Not only Maena wanted to see him, but even Almina was also excited to see him.


    However, when they arrived at the training grounds, they learned that Yman was absent for several days already.


    Maena and Almina wondered why.


    But even the group of friends of Yman did not know where he was at the moment. Even Bob was wondering where Yman went. He tried to contact him but his call could not go through. He also went to visit his apartment room, where Yman and his sister were staying. But no one was there.


    "Fufu, seeing you and the cool princess looking for the same person is a very surprising thing," Maena who was currently stretching up suddenly heard a voice from her back.


    She looked and frowned.


    "W-What are you talking about?" Maena tried to act like she didn''t understand what this person meant.


    She answered while raising her brow.


    "Fufu, in any case, I thought you dislike this place. I see that you started to have a change of heart. Remember that this place couldn''t give you back what you lost. Only the young master could do it for you. Please don''t forget about it."


    After saying it, that person turned his back and walked away.


    "Even in this academy, he is still able to spread his connection," Maena mumbled.


    ...


    That time when Ice lifted the ice mirror seal, many merchant agents came into the city to buy high-quality materials. Because of this, several merchant agents were able to catch the news of the labyrinth entrance. Therefore, they immediately called back to their bosses about it.


    Many bigtime merchants requested a partnership with the businessmen in the city of Zone 7. Not only that, but the news about it also reached the neighboring cities.


    Mayor Chan and the other officials were very busy at the moment.


    The rebuilding of broken houses and streets were ongoing. The underground channel was also undergoing remodeling.


    Another week had passed,


    Many people from different cities came into the West District of Human City Zone 7. Different kinds of businessmen were present at the place. Not only businessmen but also magicians. In just two weeks, the West District had changed so much.


    The city income also leaped at a new height. The people who come from the other city came here not only for the rift. Some came here to see the famous Ace of this academy. Not only was Ice famous in this city, but she also had many fandoms from other cities. Especially those who saw her fight before in the competition. Summed-up with her beauty.


    Nonetheless, some came here for the mysterious black magician, and for those promising youth of the academy, especially Almina Amulet who defeated high-level magicians.


    Regardless,


    Many kinds of stores were lining relatively close to the underground channel, and people from different parts of the world were crowded around it. The whole city was celebrating.


    After the mayor went to the stage, he gave a dramatic speech of how this city suffered. Then he said thanks to some individuals. He ended his speech saying, "The Dungeon officially opened!"


    The people present at the place broke into a loud cheer.


    On the contrary, Almina was not in the mood. It has already been 2 weeks since Yman was gone. And no one knew where he went.


    In order to forget the unease she felt, she drowned herself in training. At first, she and Maena were surprised to see that the junior trainee the Elder Paan mentioned would be training together with them was no other than the current Ace.


    The Elder guide them well.


    On the other hand,


    Miss Ice taught them some super high-level techniques. One of them was the technique known as Perfect Breathing. Almina was familiar with this technique. After all, it was her brother who invented it. She wondered how Miss Ice was able to master it. Not just that, she was a good teacher too compared to her brother. She didn''t even learn even a little about it when her brother tried to teach it to her.


    And now, Almina''s abilities have improved a lot. Next time, if ever the same thing would happen, like the demon incident, she would make sure that she was helpful.


    One thing that puzzled her, whenever they were resting, Miss Ice would occasionally bother her asking things about her brother.


    Actually, Ice was a big fangirl of Almond Amulet.

 Chapter 95: Adventurers Guild

    In the Empire of Encantasia, inside the adventurers guild bar. Some adventurers could be seen loafing around while chatting with buddies.


    Most of the adventurers after their missions came here to drink, to have a rest, eat, and mostly chatted with their friends.


    Suddenly, a bell rang when the door was pushed open. Out of reflex, some of the customers and clerks inside glanced at the door to see who it was. But some people just did not care about it and continued what they initially did as usual.


    A second later, a middle-aged man together with two handsome young men and two exquisite young ladies came in. Each of them was wearing a grand looking-dress.


    With them were 5 people with burly figures that were wearing full-plated silver armor from head to feet. Each of them held a 2.5 meters long spear in their hand.


    And a well-known logo of a green fairy in a side view with 6 protruding transparent wings was apparent on the banner held by one of the 5 people in armor. It was the logo of the royal family of the Empire. These five people were from the Wolfmen Tribe. The tribe of half-human and half-wolf people.


    One adventurer asked in irritation, "Who are ��?" But when he saw the logo, he quickly swallowed back his words.


    "The royal family?" Everyone exclaimed in silence at the visitors.


    "Wait, isn''t that person the Royal Knight-Captain?"


    "Do you mean... Captain Borge Bergal?! the person who defeated the rampaging Winged-Lion at the south border of the empire?!"


    "Yeah!"


    "Then those handsome young men and beautiful young women must be the sons and daughters of the nobles."


    "Looking at their dresses, there''s no doubt about it."


    "The heck, you don''t know? That is Miss Ella!"


    "Miss Ella? The popular artist? Who sometimes uploaded her work in YT and Facepalm.com?"


    "Yeah! And I''m one of her followers! I even subscribe to her YT channel. Then I clicked the bell beside it for notifications!"


    "Eh?! What are they doing in a place like this? And why is she with people from the palace?"


    "Don''t tell me those two handsome youths are her suitors?"


    ''Am I not beautiful in their eyes?'' The other girl together with the girl named Ella thought to herself when she happened to hear what the people around was conversing. Actually, she was the Encantasia Academy''s student council president. Having long blonde hair, green eyes, beautiful face, and perfect body the same as the girl named Ella. And she goes in the name of lonely Hannah. The beautiful lonely Council President of Encantasia Empire.


    She also was a beauty, but Ella was very popular in the empire.


    The atmosphere inside the guild bar immediately rose to see such an idol.


    Even the empire was affected by the technologies coming from the humans in the Outerworld.


    The whispers and murmurs gradually become louder.


    An adventurer yelled in excitement, "Whoo never in my wild dreams to see her in person!"


    The visitors stopped in front of the counter.


    "G-Good day, e-esteemed ladies and gentlemen," greeted by the clerk in a shaky voice. Never did she imagine that some high profile individuals would come to visit such a place.


    The clerk was an 18 years old young lady from the Rabbitmen Tribe. She has brown long wavy hair and a cute face. She was supposed to be energetic but seeing such kinds of people unprepared, she was at a loss of words.


    "Miss clerk, sorry for the trouble," said a beautiful young lady about 17 years old. She has shoulder-length snow-like hair, pointed ears, sky-like eyes, and was wearing a cerulean gown.


    Everyone was in awe seeing her beauty in close-up.


    A fan could not help screaming, "What a godlike being!"


    On the other hand, some people around were drooling at her.


    A guy next to her twitched his brow after seeing the malicious looks in the face of the people around.


    None of them knew who the young males were together with Miss Ella and the unfamous council president with her.


    Because of the Knight Captain''s presence, they can''t openly show malicious intent towards their idol. Well, the other girl was beautiful too. But...


    In any case,


    The young manbeside Ella seemed to perceivewhat was in the minds of the people around.


    He knitted his brow, "Ahem!" He intentionally cleared his throat to take everyone''s attention. This caused the noisy whispers to turn silent, immediately.


    "Uncle Borge, let''s finish what we came here for. This place is awful for the ladies," said the young man in disgust.


    "Eh? What are you talking about Gilion? W-We didn''t say any complaints..." disagreed the girl named Ella.


    "R-Right! And in fact, we didn''t come here to cause enmity to the people here. We came here with important matters, Gilion," the unfamous Hannah said.


    "Ahaha, sorry about this guy''s way of talking Princess�� I mean Miss Ella. Actually, he was just thinking about the two of you," said the other guy with them.


    The people around seemed to dislike what the young man named Gilion was saying.


    "The heck, this young man is courting death!" A person with bunny ears exclaimed.


    "Maybe he doesn''t know where he is currently at!" Added a person with fox ears.


    "Too arrogant, shall we sew his mouth?!" Said another person with bunny ears.


    "I bet he''s acting lofty because of those guards! Damn! I remembered killing a rank BB mutated beast yesterday! What''s a mere delicate young man compared to it!" Said the person that looks like a tiger.


    "What a weakling, I remembered killing a Wanderer class B lately, compared to some boastful young master, I can guarantee to bury him with a nail!" Followed the person with wolf ears.


    "You guys are courting death? Do you want to anger the Royal Knight-Captain?" Said an innocent person who just came here several days ago.


    "I see, you don''t know about this empire. You are either a migrant from a far kingdom or a mountain person who just came here to the mainland of the empire. For your information, no one can order the Royal Knight-Captain except her majesty the queen."


    Hearing the complaints coming from the people around, the guards immediately encircled the group of youths to protect them if ever the situation escalated more.


    They really couldn''t understand why the young master had to anger the people in this room. This place was the den of the adventurers. Most of them were used to fighting and not afraid to anger the noble families.


    Well, not all. Some of them would probably chicken out. But some were brave enough to buy a fight even with a noble.


    So it was really not a good idea to act arrogant in such a place.


    Captain Borge Bergal forces a drily laugh. "Are you sure you want to anger the people here Young Master Gilion Gustav?" The Royal Captain Borge Bergal asked. He really doesn''t care if a riot broke out here. Her majesty only told him to guard and secure the safety of the girls, though both of them were capable magicians. He only tags along for safety purposes if something unexpected were to happen. After all, Ella wasn''t an ordinary person. She was the Queen''s niece.


    But only the nobles that had close ties to the royal family knew about her real identity.


    Nonetheless, these two young men with them were no ordinary nobles as well.


    As long as their lives were not in danger, he could let them do their thing. Although the people here were battle-freak, none of them had the guts to actually kill a noble.


    So Captain Borge Bergal just shrugged this kind of stuff. He also was curious about how strong the people in this place were. Or how strong the young master from the Gustav family.


    After hearing the words of the Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal towards the arrogant youth, the people around gawked in disbelief.


    "Eh? Do you hear what the royal captain said?"


    "Did he mean Gus-tav?"


    "That name sounds familiar though."


    "Damn it! Wasn''t one of the great families in the empire also has Gustav''s name?"


    "The fuck! Is he the son of Merlion Gustav?"


    "The 3rd strongest great noble family in the empire?!"


    "Who else..."


    "....."


    The people around immediately froze and trembled in fear.


    "Eh? Why did you guys suddenly freeze? Didn''t you kill a strong beast before? Then why do you suddenly look scared with just the spoke of a name?" The innocent man questioned in puzzlement when the brave people awhile ago suddenly turn silent.


    "Dumbass newbie... that guy is not just a simple noble! If what the Royal Knight-Captain said was true, then we fuck up..."


    "What''s the deal with the Gustav family that made you all like wet chicks?" The innocent person asked.


    A moment later,


    "Hehehe, so you are strong, huh. Gustav family? Like I care." A person with a large build, wearing a vest made of fur from the high-rank beast. His body and face have several scars. He has spiky black hair and has pointed ears.


    The young man and the other people glanced at the guy who was just talking. They saw him slowly stand up from his seat. Together with him, where 3 people, both were wearing wicked smiles on their faces.


    The royal captain squinted his eyes. He knew this person. This guy used to be a renowned soldier of the empire, but something happened that led him to quit being the soldier. The last thing he heard about this guy was that he joined the adventurer''s guild. Seeing him here, it seemed to be true.


    "Vince the Menace! The person who was feared by his enemies," Captain Borge called out.


    The people around once again broke into random whispers.


    "Vince? Isn''t he the golden rank adventurer?"


    "Do you mean the famous Vince who beheaded a phantom snake?"


    "Right. It''s him!"


    Vince on the other hand raised a brow when he heard Borge''s call.


    "Ohoho looks like someone still able to recognize me in that name, Bergal!" Vince menacingly said.


    "You! I''m not talking to you!" Gilion yelled at Vince.


    "Ohoho, so the renowned and feared Gustav family were a bunch of chickens, huh!" Vince said at Gilion with a toothy grin.


    Borge Bergal felt this wasn''t good. He shook his head towards Gilion so as not to be teased by Vince''s words.


    However,


    "Miss Ella, it''s better to come with us than that pussy over there! Hehehe!"


    Hehehehe! The people with him laugh after him.


    Suddenly, dense mana was circulating in the hand of Gilion, "Insolent!"


    Lightning Emerald Dragon!


    Without a warning when he castit.


    A lightning emerald dragon was shot towards Vince!


    Everyone gaped in surprise. Such a high-level technique!


    Ellaand Hannah also froze and stared with wide-eyes open.


    The Lighting Emerald Dragon shot like electrifying energy to Vince.


    Everyone gasped and held their breaths.


    Seeing the incoming burst of energy, Vince grinned.


    A moment later, his left hand was enveloped by golden energy.


    Before the Lightning Emerald Dragon could hit him, he slapped it from right to left, using his left hand.


    The Lightning Emerald Dragon seemed like a puppy who gets slapped. It immediately changed its trajectory and flew towards the door of the guild bar.


    The clerk wore a grim face. It was her new job, but it looks like everything would be over for her. If that thing hit the entrance. It would probably destroy the whole building!


    Right at this moment, the door was unexpectedly pushed open.


    And a young male about 5 feet and 8 inches height came in. He has medium white hair and wears a white long coat. He has almond eyes with golden pupils. A very definition of the word handsome.


    "Watch out!" A warning from a female voice reverberated inside the guild bar. Everyone knew who this voice was. It was from the popular Miss Ella.


    But the warning came too late.


    Woosh! The weird sound of explosions reached their ears; then the whole room was illuminated by emerald brilliance for a moment.


    Next second,


    They saw the young man with his hand extended in front. While his palm was smoking slightly, and the Lightning Emerald Dragon... was nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 96: Noble’s pride

    Everyone had their mouths almost dropped onto the floor as they stared at the newcomers.


    None of them were able to react for a second.


    A moment later, "How did it happen?" Ella subconsciously muttered.


    Followed by Hannah, "Where did that scary high-level skill go?"


    "Why did it suddenly disappear like nothing was there in the first place?" Some random people around also muttered in puzzlement.


    Most of them had questions, but none had the answer.


    Even the Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal couldn''t understand what just happened. Although what Vince The Menace did was surprising, that young man did something beyond that. Or perhaps the Lightning Emerald Dragon disappeared before it reached that person. The only thing that baffled him was the brief spark of crimson energy in that person''s hand. Although the spark of crimson energy happened in a split second, it didn''t skip at his perception.


    Unaware of the situation, the newly entered Yman narrowed his eyes and muttered, "What a greeting..."


    Never would he imagine that after opening the door he was greeted rudely.


    He scanned the room and noticed some unusual people.


    Ahead of him, near the counter, he noticed several people staring at him. He was baffled by the bemused expressions on their faces. ''Hmm... what''s going on here? It seems there is an argument happening,'' he thought when he noticed a young man in an elegant dress wearing an angry expression on his face. As of the moment, that young man was staring at him with knit brows.


    It didn''t come to his mind that the angry face was for him, because in front of that young man there was a burly person towering over that young man.


    The golden energy that enveloped that burly person''s hand caught his attention. It was so dense and suffocating.


    If Yman compared this person''s energy. It was clear that this person was way stronger than the soldiers in the City of Zone 7.


    Yman didn''t give any regards to it as he was here for his essential matters.


    He darted his eyes and it landed on two beautiful young girls, seeing them �� he changed his initial thought and believed that the weird scene in the room was involved by those girls.


    Well, in such a place like this that could only be described as a wolf den. It was an inappropriate place for them since many men would probably tease them.


    He also noticed some warriors wearing heavy silver armors and a knight wearing a distinct heavy golden armor. Yman assumed that these people might be from a distinct high profile family.


    However, he didn''t know much about the nobles


    of this empire. Or the people of the palace. So he only assumed they were not ordinary noble since they brought some knights with them.


    From behind him, Sistela peeked and asked,


    Yman tilted his head, "I thought I just saw a stray cat with a body of a snake rapidly running towards me the second I opened the door," He replied while looking at his hand.


    His voice was neither loud nor low, just enough that most of the people inside could hear it.


    "....."


    Gilion was speechless after hearing him.


    Vince on the other hand broke into a chuckle. But he was curious as to who this person was.


    Sistela was confused about what kind of animal he meant. A high breed? In any case, she didn''t care for the inevitable things such as a lost pet. she replied to him.


    "Yeah. But don''t mind it, let''s go and order some take out," Yman beckoned.


    Suddenly, Sistela remembered their recent conversation,


    Yman''s mouth opened to form a voiceless chuckle. He was perplexed. It had already been 2 weeks since they arrived here, and his money was barely enough to pay the rent for an Inn, and also he needed to buy foods to feed himself.


    With shoulders dropped, he opened his mouth saying, "There''s nothing we can do about it. Most of the quests in the mission tab were all low tiers and low pays. It seems we need a friendly connection with the guild''s clerks to reserve us a high-tier mission."


    Sistela crossed her arms,


    His mouth opened broader and let a sigh escaped from it, "It''s not even my fault. They tried to pick a fight on a newbie like me. And I only give them a little beating. Wasn''t I generous for showing mercy?"


    Sistela landed on his shoulder and gave up the conversation. She mumbled which Yman did not hear.


    The two of them were walking towards the counter, disregarding the dumbfounded expressions on the face of the people around them.


    Only their voice and steeping sounds were audible at the moment. And the gnashing of teeth coming from Gilion together with the chuckle of Vince.


    Everyone was watching the human with a System Deity in tow, talking casually like nothing happened. Wait, is he a human? But they noticed his ears slightly pointed.


    Suddenly a murmur broke out.


    "Wait, he seemed to be familiar to me for some reason," someone among the crowd said.


    "Hey, hey, isn''t he the fierce newbie?" Said the person wearing leather armor and two scabbards was in ''X'' shape on his back.


    The person beside him slightly frowned but when he took a clear view of that person that his friend was talking about, his eyes slightly widened, "I-It''s him! He''s that newbie who defeated 5 silver rank adventurers when he first came to the guildhall!" Exclaimed the person wearing moss-colored leather armor. It was paired with a basil-colored pointed hat and a cape.


    The others started whispering to each other.


    "A newbie who defeated a 5 silver rank adventurer?"


    "Yeah, I heard something like that the other day."


    "So it was him..."


    "I also heard that in his first mission, he soloed the encampment of the bandit group. Although he didn''t kill them, all of the bandits surrendered."


    "What? Did that really happen?"


    "Do you think I''m a liar?"


    "The heck, then he''s an irregular newbie!"


    "Cool, he''s also a newbie like me!" Exclaimed the innocent-looking guy.


    Hearing what the other people whispering around, Vince and his men sneered at this famous newbie, "Heeeh, so he was that newbie I heard about..."


    Vince muttered in exhilaration.


    "Kekekeke..." His buddies chuckled weirdly.


    Yman was wondering why it suddenly became noisy.


    When he passed by the group of the people wearing nice dresses, he heard one of them utter the words, "C-Cat...with the snake body...?" He gave a quick glance at the person.


    He noticed his twisting face and a pulse in cross-shaped appeared on his forehead.


    Gilion Gustav couldn''t believe it! Never had anyone looked down on this ability of his! He understood that it was slapped by this person in front of him like it was nothing. After all, this person named Vince was an expert. But it doesn''t mean he didn''t have a way to defeat him.


    Nonetheless, this person who just arrived called his high-level technique as a mere ''cat head with the body of a snake!''


    Gilion''s face turned sour, "A cat head with snake body.....?!" He repeated.


    Yman heard again the mutter from the guy with a handsome face, long milky white hair braided at the back of his head, and pointed ears. And he was wearing a white long dress embroidered with gold.


    However, he disregarded it and directly passed at the two beautiful young girls. His eyes met with the eyes of the girl with shoulder-length snow-like hair and beautiful eyes.


    Yman couldn''t help admiring her beauty. Ella on the other hand was puzzled. The Lighting Emerald Dragon still lingering in her mind. ''What did this person do?'' She was in thought. She wanted to ask him but her tongue seemed to retreat when she saw his indifferent gaze.


    For her, he gave a feeling that he doesn''t care about everything around him. Like a very portrait of a man staring to a faraway horizon.


    The meeting of their eyes happened for a moment only.


    Yman startled the still in a daze Bunnygirl when he opened his mouth and ordered food, "Miss, A medium slice of rank B Ram beef with a salty sauce. And please add a soup," he directly said to the counter.


    "E-Eh?!"


    Seeing the handsome man in front of her, the Bunnygirl was at a loss for a second.


    Then she said, "O-Okay sir, right away!" She then hastily took what he wanted.


    Yman scratched the back of his head but froze when he felt an ill intent coming from his back.


    He took a glance and saw the handsome man with his body exuding emerald energy.


    But it was spoiled when,


    "That''s enough, Gilion Gustav. Remember why we came here."


    "The Royal Knight-Captain is right Gilion!" Ella added.


    Yman saw the man wearing heavy golden armor placed his hand on the handsome young man''s shoulder and said those words. And the beautiful lady agreed to that person she called Knight-Captain.


    The ill intent bothered him. There''s no way he mistook it. After signing a contract with that demon. His perception of any bad intentions towards him had increased greatly. Right now, that demon''s spirit was lurking inside his Hollow Cell.


    Yman learned the signing contract technique from the grimoire.


    Well, the demon didn''t want to disappear. So for now, he had to cooperate with this human, until he retrieved his body.


    Yman on the other hand did the contract to help him in his journey of searching the medicine for his sister.


    Nevertheless,


    Gilion''s pride got the better of him. After all, he was from the renowned family of Gustav. If the news that he didn''t punish the person who slandered the technique from the Gustav family reached the ears of their family elders. Gilion would certainly lose his face in the family. And he might be branded as a coward to the other family members.


    "Hey, you! I Challenge you into a duel!" He roared while pointing his finger to Yman.


    Vince on the contrary broke into a smile. "Hehehe, let me join."


    Ella and the others tried to stop Gilion, but it seemed like, for him, his pride was on the line.


    The people around were astonished by this turn of events.


    Yman and Sistela on the other hand had indifferent faces. In their minds, ''What the heck is this?! We just came here to buy food, you know!''

 Chapter 97: Laura Agila

    "Ufufu," everyone fell silent when a sudden giggle was heard by them.


    They glanced at the source of it and saw a person climbing down the stair, it was at the left side of the counter and right side of the customer perspective. This stair led to the third floor of this building.


    Actually, the first floor was for the reception area. The second was for this guild bar, and the third for lodging, and fourth for the Headmaster Office.


    "Headmaster Laura Agila!" The people around exclaimed when they saw who was the person who climbed down the stairs.


    "Aunt!" Suddenly, they heard a yell from the famous Ella. She immediately dove towards her.


    Everyone was astonished seeing the famous artist Miss Ella hugged the headmaster of the adventurer''s guild.


    Never had they imagined that the famous Miss Ella had a close relationship with the headmaster of the adventurers guild.


    "Merea, how are you little, girl?" Headmaster Laura Agila asked Ella who she called Merea. She then hugged her back and gently brushed her head.


    After hearing her aunt, "I''m not a little girl anymore Aunt..." she retorted bashfully while slightly emphasizing her well-developed figure.


    Most men in the room were having elation for the cutie behavior of their idol towards the headmaster.


    Laura shook her head slightly, this niece of hers did not act like the princess she should be. Well, her being a princess was only known by few.


    After saying her thanks to the Knight-Captain for accompanying her niece and her friends, she smiled at Ella and looked at the men in front. She was amazed to see a few handsome men near the counter. Laura raised a brow as she said, "Let''s chat later, Merea sweetheart." Ella nodded at her, "Mhm!"


    The others just remained silent so as not to distract the reunion of these two, especially Yman who came here only to order food. He didn''t care what was happening around him, but it was good to take note of those people with an influential background like the headmaster.


    After Ella nodded at her Aunt, Laura darted her eyes back to the men in front and asked, "I wonder what is it that made the atmosphere here to boil, hm, gentlemen?" Laura asked with a smug.


    Yman glanced at the so-called Headmaster. This was his first time seeing her in person. When he applied to join the adventurers guild, he was only able to talk with the clerks and the headmaster''s assistant.


    Never did he expect that the headmaster was a woman with shoulder-length wavy red hair, wearing an eyepatch on her left eye. She was dressed in black fitted-pants that were paired with a long-sleeves Aegean blouse, adorned with a canary cardigan.


    Out of sudden when the headmaster showed up, Yman noticed the emerald energy enveloping the young man suddenly dissipated.


    "Goodmorning Headmaster Aunt Laura Agila, my name is Gilion from the Gustav family. I came here together with our friends and the knight captain to accompany your niece....." Gilion takes the initiative to greet the headmaster and introduce himself. Then he told her what happened after that. That Vince was being rude to Ella and the newly entered Yman belittled her family''s technique so he wanted to propose a duel with him.


    "Gyahaha, it just a little prank kid. No way, I will be rude towards the headmaster''s niece!" Vince exclaimed while scratching the back of his head. Well, he didn''t know that she was the headmaster''s niece. Vince inwardly thought that this young man of Gustav family delegate like a bullied kid.


    On the contrary, question marks floated on top of Yman and Sistela''s head. she whispered.


    Yman squinted his eyes, "I don''t even know him," he replied.


    Sistela showed an understanding look. She and her partner were together all the time. And she didn''t remember encountering this young Encan man before.


    Yman scratched his face from Sistela''s heartless description for the guy, "P-Perhaps..." he replied while holding a chuckle from escaping on his mouth.


    After hearing Gilion Gustav''s words, Laura was in deep thought, ''Gustav, huh, one of the big-shot families in the empire. So this young man came together with my niece,'' She glanced at her niece suspiciously.


    Ella on the other hand had a puzzled face from her Aunt''s malicious stare.


    Upon seeing the innocent face of her niece, she sighed. She initially thought that there was some kind of intimate relationship between the two. But it looks like there was nothing like that as of now. It seemed her niece was gathering connections by befriending the big shot family.


    Nonetheless,


    She glanced at the person pointed by Gilion and saw a toy(Sistela) sitting on its shoulder. ''A human?'' She thought.


    However, she noticed his ears were pointed like the Encans. Her brows knitted, it was unusual to see an Encan playing with such a toy from humans on the Outerworld.


    Encan people dislike using such toys. They have their own way of casting a spell. And for their body to get stronger together with their magical energy, they used artifacts and trained their body from their childhood. Actually, their researchers are able to make a status artifact that is able to measure their growth level like the System Deity of humans on the Outerworld.


    The natives in this world solely believed the deities they believed-in ��such as the goddess Htraerea. Whilst, the other Kingdom also had their own deities they believed in. That''s why most of the natives in this world dislike the fact that the humans on the Outerworld named their toys as deities.


    This was also the reason why Yman had to change his appearance after coming to this empire. Because most people here hated the Outerworld humans.


    However, it doesn''t mean that there was no native who uses System Deity. And it doesn''t mean that there were no human natives in this world.


    There were many human magicians who became adventurers after they failed to find a good job on the Outerworld. However, most of them were not well-received by the people here.


    Yman noticed the headmaster''s eyes on him, "Fufu, who might be this young man?" Headmaster Laura asked while facing Yman. If her memories served her right, this was the first time she saw him.


    Since the headmaster asked him, it would be presumptuous of him if he disregarded her. "Good day, Headmaster, I am an adventurer who just joined recently," Yman slightly bowed, he greeted and introduced himself to the headmaster.


    Yet, Yman was puzzled at the beautiful girl beside the headmaster. She was staring at him with a curious look. He then smiled at her.


    "Eh?" Ella was taken aback and thought he was handsome but also suspicious. What happened a while ago about the Lightning Emerald Dragon, still puzzled her.


    After hearing the handsome young man''s reply, the headmaster''s eyes slightly widened, "Are you the newbie they called the Crimson Canceler?"


    Yman was surprised by the headmaster''s question. Actually, it was those guys who he had beaten up that started calling him that name. And now some people in the guild started calling him that name too. Well, it was better than bothering himself to think of a nickname for himself.


    He nodded at her. Then he saw the headmaster''s mouth curled upward with a suspicious smug face.


    "Crimson Canceler...?" Ella muttered. ''This nickname was suspicious,'' she thought.


    Yman glanced at her and smiled again. Ella blinks her eyes. Wondering why he kept on smiling at her.


    On the contrary, In Yman''s mind. ''Why she kept on staring at me with a suspicious look?''


    Gilion noticed their little exchange of staring and smiling. A wave of anger burst towards his head. He wanted to beat this insolent guy.


    A moment later,


    Yman noticed her sighed in relief, then opened her mouth saying, "What a nice timing. Good thing that you are here, I was about to ask the receptionist below for your contact. Actually, I have something I needed to ask you personally,"


    Yman did not able to reply directly. He wondered why the headmaster looking for him. A second later, he said while narrowing his eyes,"Uh,r-really?" It was very unexpected for him that the headmaster herself would be looking for him.


    Not only Yman was wondering, even Ella and the others.


    "Uhm, may I know the reason, headmaster?" He added.


    "Sorry, I can''t openly tell you the details here. Please follow us upstairs."


    After hearing her Aunt''s words, "Auntie wait, how about my��" Ella was not able to finish her words when a finger of the headmaster landed on her lips.


    Then she smiled saying, "It was also about that, Merea, so you too will come with us."


    "Eh?" Ella was puzzled.


    Yman on the other hand had become more suspicious, but at this moment, a smirk appeared on his mouth. Since the headmaster couldn''t tell it in the presence of others. It must be a secret mission!


    Since it was a secret mission. It could also be said that it was a high tier quest! And since it was a high tier quest! It also means a huge reward!


    But he was wondering at the headmaster''s last line, that also involved her niece.


    Not only Yman and Ella were surprised with the headmaster''s words, even Ella''s friend, Vince, and the other''s were also surprised at her.


    Vince narrowed his eyes. He could smell a high tier mission from the tone of the headmaster.


    Second later, "Sorry gentlemen, but I have to talk these two in private," the headmaster excuses herself together with Ella and Yman.


    Most people in the bar were envious that a newbie was able to have a private talk with the headmaster and more on that, together with Miss Ella!


    "Holy cow!" They exclaimed in their minds. They suddenly had the urge to curse this newbie.


    "Wow, even though he was a newbie like me, he was already going to have a private talk with the headmaster!" The innocent-looking newbie exclaimed in admiration.


    However,


    "Wait, headmaster," Vince called out.


    She glanced at him, and immediately recognized him, because he was a gold rank adventurers and already made a name inside the guild. "Oh, Vince, do you need something?"


    "Ahaha, nothing really... (Vince rubbed his hands against each other while having a toothy smile.) actually headmaster, it was almost a week since I was out of high tier mission. And isn''t it a waste of time for a golden rank adventurer like me to have such a long vacation?!"


    The headmaster seemed to understand what he meant.


    "Tomorrow there are tons of new high tier missions that will be posted," She said.


    But she noticed that Vince wasn''t happy with this news. The headmaster was about to open her mouth again when another person interrupted her.


    "Wait! Headmaster, I can''t just let that guy go without a duel!" Gilion shouted.


    Ella frowned. She wondered why Gilion was still insisting on a duel with this person. Even her friend Hannah knitted her brows at Gilion''s incessant remarks for issuing a duel.


    The knight captain just sighed and Gilion''s friend showed a can''t be helped expression.


    The other people started cheering for Gilion. Well, out of envy towards the newbie.


    Vince grinned. For some reason, he started to like this Gustav kid.


    The headmaster knitted her brows, "Sorry Gilion��"


    "Oh, a duel with me? Kuku, I won''t mind."


    Everyone fell silent when the newbie suddenly agreed.


    They wondered if this newbie didn''t know about the Gustav family.

 Chapter 98: Artefact and Spirit Beast

    "No need for that, we came here for two reasons. First is to accompany Miss Ella and second is to announce that tomorrow there will be an open Clash of Strength at the main city, sponsored by the royal family. Everyone was allowed to join. The details regarding it..... you can read it in the reception area. It is already posted there," said the Knight-Captain Broge Bergal. This caused the surrounding people to fall silent while processing in their minds what the knight captain just said.


    Then the knight captain faced Gilion, "If you wanted to have a duel with this man..... isn''t it better if you do it on that stage tomorrow? In that place where more people would be watching. Not only that, but you can also fight and defeat him in a reasonable way," he said to Gilion and sent a glance to Yman before darting his eyes at the surrounding people.


    Yman understood the knight captain''s glance at him. This was to emphasize that his words were not only for Gilion but also for him and to everyone here.


    Gilion''s twisting face revealed a non-convinced expression. But he calmed down when the knight captain placed his hand on his shoulder again and whispered something on his ear.


    Everybody broke into elations of whispers. Most of them had surfaced excited faces.


    The Clash of Strength was where they could gain a sum of prizes and also test their strength in a more legal way. Even if they can''t be the champion as long as they defeated an opponent, they could get a rich consolation prize, since it was always like that whenever the royal family was the one who sponsored it.


    Sistela muttered while tilting her tiny head from left to right. Then pointed her little finger below her mouth.


    "Must be a tournament of strength and power. It was a battle between knights," Yman replied.


    "Tsk," Vince clicked his tongue when he noticed the Gustav kid calmed down. He stepped in front and personally proposed a duel to Yman in the guise of testing the newbie''s capability.


    Everyone knew it was absurd for the golden rank adventurers to propose a duel to a newbie with a bronze rank only, however, they didn''t care for this newbie. They were too envious of him that they wanted to see his handsome face to be beaten by Vince. They were curious too by his ability to cancel a spell like what he did a moment ago.


    Headmaster Laura agreed too. After all, it was also to assure if this newbie was really capable of the thing she wanted him to handle.


    Everyone was relocated to the underground chamber of the building. In this place, the adventurers normally did their daily training.


    The Royal Knight-Captain Borge Belgar together with Gilion and the others also went to watch the duel. He also was curious about this young man.


    Yman was astonished to see such a place underground the Adventurer''s Guild building.


    It has a total of 250 square meters and the height of the ceiling from the ground was about 25 meters. He noticed some rooms on the sides. Probably, weapon storage and dressing rooms were one of them.


    He also saw some training dummies and training platforms in rows on the other sides. At the center could be seen the wide empty space where the people could spar, it was illuminated by the light coming from the ceiling. The lamps were crystals known as Crystalights, some expensive crystals that were able to produce its own light mostly could be seen in some areas with a dense gathering of mana. It was similar to those crystals stuck in the underground channel in the West District of Human City.


    "Before you proceed, you can choose whether you use weapons or not," said the knight captain.


    "I don''t need it," said Vince with a broad grin on his face.


    Yman noticed that no one reacted to it. Looks like no one expected this guy to lose. After all, a golden rank adventurer was of another level.


    Yman also noticed that even the knight captain was wary of this person known as Vince.


    "How about you?" The knight captain asked him next.


    Yman''s mouth extended into one side, then it slowly opened and he replied saying, "Since he did not choose a weapon, for fairness sake, I will be fighting empty-handed too."


    However, this decision of his caused some whispers from the audience.


    Even the knight captain thought that this young man was acting arrogant. But he dismissed this thought when he remembered that this young man actually didn''t know about Vince. He then glanced at the headmaster who was sitting on the empty table in one of the tables that could be seen around, beside her was Miss Ella and her friends.


    "Eh? Isn''t he a newbie only? He didn''t choose a weapon also?" Ella asked, bemused.


    "Blunder. Later, he would regret this arrogant decision of his. Tsk, it''s a waste of effort to mind him," Gilion scoffed.


    "But..... you came here to watch his duel right?" Ella tilted her head while asking Gilion Gustav.


    Gilion was slightly blushed when her gaze was on him, "I-It''s not because of that guy that I wanted to watch their duel. I was intrigued by that person named Vince that even the Royal Knight-Captain knew him," he replied.


    The other guy with them held a chuckle."Pft, for fairness''s sake? Is this man out of his mind? He has the guts to evaluate himself highly in front of the gold rank," said the other young man beside Gilion.


    "Isn''t it good to play fair, Ellias?" Hannah asked the young man. Actually, even she would choose a fair fight. No matter if she loses.


    "It is good if you''re strong. But if you are weaker than your opponent, it is better to take advantage of the handicap that was given to you," said the person named Ellias.


    But Hannah wasn''t convinced by it. She had a strong attitude towards fairness. Maybe it was also the reason why she was elected as the Council President of Encantasia Academy.


    Nonetheless,


    It wasn''t them only �� who were wondering why that newbie did not take advantage of Vince handicap for not using a weapon. Some people around also did.


    "What he meant for fairness sake?!" Someone asked. ''Is he an idiot?!'' Everyone thought.


    On the contrary,


    Vince''s friends were busy chatting with each other. They were not even focused on the coming duel. They tagged solely because of Vince. But they could somehow guess the outcome of the fight.


    On the other hand, the Headmaster Laura Agila was also curious what the result would be. However, she could guess why this young man did not choose a weapon also. "Such a clever person, now let''s see if he had the ability to stand for it," she whispered.


    "Aunty..... who''s clever?" Ella asked when she vaguely heard her Aunt''s words.


    She placed her hand on her head and patted her, then she said, "No, nothing. Look, the duel is about to start."


    Ella was puzzled by it. She really heard her saying clever. But who was it that her aunt meant? From her perspective, both of the duelists acted unwisely. The first one did not use a weapon, maybe because of the reason that he was a high ranked adventurer. Might be pitying his opponent, however, it wasn''t a good habit if they asked her. Even her personal trainer in the palace told her that she needed to grab the opportunity of taking advantage of the opponent.


    Regardless,


    The second one didn''t take advantage of the handicap and probably chose his ego. ''Truly unwise of them,'' she thought.


    In any case, just like what her aunt said, the battle was about to start.


    Everyone immediately focused their eyes in front, to where the two were facing each other at about 25-meter distance away from each other.


    The knight captain as the mediator of the duel glanced at the two.


    Yman noticed his enemy''s mocking smile at him. But he disregards it and asks Sistela for resonance.


    "It is so weird seeing a half-human using the toys from the weakling pure humans. Someone like you must be slapped to the butt by a senior like me!" Vince suddenly jibed.


    "Slapped to the butt?" Someone among the audience repeated his words. Then it was followed by,


    "Puwahahaha!"


    "Right! Slapped his butt so hard, Viiince!"


    "Damn, we will be going to see Vince''s slapping-butt technique!"


    "Shall we record it?!"


    "Yeah! It probably become a hit on YT!"


    Yman didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. These people hated the System Deities but they were one of the craziest users of YT, facepalm, and any other sites made by humans. On top of that, almost all of them had the new version of MTMD''s.


    After shaking his head, he then shouted ''resonance!''.


    From what he learned from the grimoire, he could safely initiate any spell he had without the help of resonance. But it depends on his mastery level and his channeling talent.


    He also learned a very shocking truth about this talent. It wasn''t a simple talent, and there were several abilities branches under it. Regardless, this wasn''t the right time for this talk.


    After Yman shouted his resonance, the person in front of him took something from out of nowhere. It probably comes from the spatial ring that he was wearing at the moment. Actually, the demi-human used this to store their items in a dimensional space like the Cyber Storage.


    The thing he took was a necklace with a ruby-colored pendant.


    The people around once again broke into a beez-like murmur after seeing it.


    "Damn it, Vince was pitying the newbie on a whole different level!" Someone shouted.


    "Hahaha, a rank 1 necklace artefact, made from a rank 1 Ruby-Eyed Venomous Mouse!"


    Yman was puzzled by what they were talking about. Maybe they meant Rank D+ Noble Rat, the evolved version of Evil Rats. It seemed like the natives here had a different sense of naming the monsters.


    A moment later, "Grace!" Yman heard his enemy shouted. Then the necklace in his hand glowed until the glow covered all over his body. The next second, the glow was absorbed into his body. And on his forehead appeared a ruby diamond.


    "I''m ready. Mwahaha!" Vince declared.


    The people around got excited. They were even cheering his name. Even Though most of them know that Vince losing against the newbie was almost zero percent.


    The Knight-Captain Borge Bergal showed a lazy smile, before he shouted, "Start!"


    Vince immediately accumulated electrifying ruby energy on his right hand.


    "Thunderous-Spirit Venomous Mouse!"


    Yman noticed his enemy summoned electrifying energy with the form identical to the Noble Rat.


    "Hehe!" Vince grinned.


    "Woah look at that! Even Though it was only a rank 1 spirit beast! But it so domineering!" Exclaimed one of the audience.


    "As expected, Vince''s ability to increase the power of a low ranking spirit is still the best of the best," Borge Bergal muttered.


    "Tsk, so he wasn''t even serious awhile ago when he slapped my Lightning Emerald Dragon," Gilion also muttered in disgust.


    On the other hand, the headmaster was looking at the fight without averting her eyes.


    Ella stared at Laura, "Aunt, looks like, that golden rank adventurer of yours, wanted to end the fight so soon," Ella said.


    Laura smiled and said, "Mhm..... but I wonder if it is going as he planned....."


    "??!" Ella couldn''t read what her aunt wanted to say.


    A moment later, the people around shouted in excitement.


    Ella immediately returned his eyes to the front. She saw the spirit beast dashed towards that handsome young man who was standing still like a steady rock. Or maybe he was nervous? She thought.


    Then she saw his shoulder made a heave. Ella was wondering if that guy wanted to give up. She sighed and thought, ''He should have taken a weapon. What a bummer.''


    Vince smirked. That rank 1 spirit beast was enough to defeat that young man.


    A second before the razor-sharp claws reached him. They noticed the newbie lifted his hand to the front.


    Just right when the spirit beast brandished its razor-sharp claws at him, they saw the newbie''s hand exuded crimson energies.


    Then everyone fell silent.


    Because the spirit beast suddenly disappeared like glowing dusts.


    "Eh��" Ella felt like she just ate her words. This was the same thing that happened to that Lightning Emerald Dragon!


    "....."


    Everyone gasped in surprise.


    "What the heck was happening!"

 Chapter 99: Obvious weakness

    "What the hell was that?!" Screamed the person with dog ears.


    "He could even cancel a spirit beast?!"Asked the person with narrowed eyes and wolf ears.


    "Did my eyes play tricks on me?!"Said the girl with raccoon ears.


    Most of the people inside the room exclaimed randomly in surprise.


    The Knight-Captain Borge Bergal wrinkled his face. It was unbelievable even for him that someone was able to cancel a spirit beast.


    "Aunt?" Ella called out. ''It seemed what happened recently was real. That guy did cancel an attack! How could he do that? I wonder what level his current Grace power is,'' She thought.


    "Fufu," Laura giggled, "Unexpectedly, he could not only cancel some simple attacks but even a spirit beast. Although it was only a rank 1 spirit beast, to cancel it is already beyond belief. That newbie is a wielder of unique ability," She said to her niece who was staring at her with a face that was full of questions.


    "Unique ability?" She repeated.


    Laura nodded her head. She could not explain the newbie''s ability. She had no idea what it was, but she felt it wasn''t ordinary.


    Beside her, Ella heard her friend muttering.


    "H-He''s not only handsome but also has an interesting ability," said Hannah with gleaming eyes. Ella forced a chuckle from her words of admiration.


    Ellias and Gilion countenance turned sour.


    Anyhow, Vince''s friends seemed to be unbothered by it.


    Vince gritted his teeth.


    "Eat this shit!"


    KREKKKKKK!!


    Everyone''s attention returned back to the duel when Vince shouted and jumped higher in the air then consecutively sent golden-colored electrifying spears towards the newbie.


    Seeing the incoming 10-15 electrifying spears, most of the spectators cheered once again.


    "Woah! A high ranking spell!"


    "That''s overkill for sure!"


    Some people shouted.


    A second later,


    Bang, bang, bang...!


    It was followed by loud consecutive explosions that reverberated inside the training room.


    Everyone fell silent once again when the newbie was enveloped by smoke caused by the explosion.


    However, they could discern a person''s shadow inside the smoke. It was standing without making any move, though, they could feel him alive.


    They wondered if he was too beat-up to move.


    Maybe Vince overdid it. Although they noticed some of the spears disappeared when the newbie waved his hand to protect himself, he was not able to cancel all of them.


    Everyone admired that Vince was quick-witted in thinking of a way to render useless his enemy''s ability.


    Vince on the other hand stopped his barrage of attacks. It wasn''t good if he accidentally killed the newbie in the presence of the empire''s knight captain, headmaster, and the others.


    Everyone expected a beat-up face when the smoke finally cleared up.


    However, they saw him standing still.


    "Damn it, is that newbie an immortal?!"


    "Not even a tiny wound is visible!"


    "Forget about the wound! Not even his clothes have a scratch!"


    Vince knitted his brows and his face started to grim. It was impossible that he canceled all those attacks.


    Not only Vince could not believe that this newbie was able to cancel those barrage of attacks, even the knight captain and Headmaster Laura also did.


    In truth, Yman only canceled those which might bring greater damage to him. Hence, he was hit by the explosions from the other spears. But with his healing ability, it seemed like nothing happened to him. And to further fool his enemy, he had to cancel his resonance with Sistela and use it again so that the torn part of his clothes returned back to normal. This was the power of System Update. Well, at the moment Sistela was already a level 7 System Deity. He updated her frequently whenever he had extra money. Because a high-level deity brings many benefits to its user. More stats also added to him when they were in resonance.


    Ella and Hannah widened their eyes. On the contrary, Gilion and Ellias narrowed their eyes.


    Seeing the newbie without a little damage, Vince''s friends finally took interest in the duel.


    "You!" Vince shouted. Then he gnashed his teeth. It seemed like no matter what kind of ability he threw to this newbie nothing would succeed. ''This is bad,'' he thought to himself. If the fight lingered longer, the headmaster would certainly think he was incapable!


    He summoned more energy on his hands. Out of sudden, his left arm was covered by dense golden aura while his right was covered by dense ruby aura.


    Everyone bulged their eyes while staring at him.


    Vince tapped his hands on the floor of the training grounds.


    "Earth Shaker - Twin Crush!" He shouted.


    The ground trembled then it split and the crack ran towards his enemy.


    They also noticed something glowed in the cracks, looks like it wasn''t an ordinary crack. It rapidly shot towards Yman.


    A second before it reached him, a crimson-colored aura burst out from his body and formed into a thin-layered transparent shield of about 12 inches away surrounding him.


    The glowing-crack stopped when it bumped the thin layer shield.


    Everyone was dumbfounded that even the ground attacked was useless against that newbie.


    "Having a reliable mana source is quite convenient," Yman muttered under his breath.


    ''Yeah, I know �� don''t worry we will find some way to cover the cons of it," he replied via thought communication.


    Nonetheless, Yman noticed the training floor was alreadyrestored. Looks like some high-level spell was cast on this whole room.


    Yman smirked at his enemy. Then he shook his head while spreading his hand, looking disappointed at the enemy, "Haahh, that''s it?" He sighed asking.


    Looking at his enemy showing disappointment to him, Vince''s anger was visible on his face. Summed-up by the murmurs coming from the audience saying that he was about to lose from a newbie.


    Vince took a ring from his spatial storage.


    "Grace!" He shouted once again, then the ring in his hand glowed in golden color. But the same as before, it was absorbed in his body.


    A moment later, 2 diamonds were visibly embedded on his forehead. His hair changed color too. It became white.


    Yman felt the pressure wasn''t right. Then he heard the spectators shouted.


    "Vince is serious now!" Said one of Vince''s friends.


    "Look, he used a rank 2 artefact!" One person pointed to Vince.


    The Knight-Captain Borge Bergal narrowed his eyes and muttered, "That newbie made a very big mistake in provoking his enemy."


    A golden werewolf appeared on Vince left and the Venomous Mouse appeared on his right.


    "Dang it, this Vince can uphold two spirit beasts at the same time! No wonder he''s a gold rank adventurer!"


    "Mhm, looks like the fight is about to end, kukuku," said Gilion.


    "Right, although that other guy has an extreme defensive ability, his weakness was clear as day," added Ellias, then he sighed.


    Hannah knitted his brows, "What do you mean, Ellias?"


    Ella gazed at Hannah. "He must be talking about how that guy did not use any attacks since the fight started. Probably he was waiting only to tire out his opponent. Maybe his ability and attributes were focused mainly on his defense," explained Ella.


    "As expected of the princ�� ah I mean Miss Ella..." said Ellias in a hurry. He was about to call her princess. Ella and the others sighed. He immediately said his sorry.


    Their eyes returned back to the duel when they heard a warcry coming from the gold rank adventurer.


    They saw him rushing rapidly towards the handsome young man together with his two spirit beasts.


    "Looks like Vince decided to bring the fight in a melee since the newbie can cancel all his ranged attacks. In this regard, even if the newbie cancels the two-spirit beasts with him, as long as he has enough mana with him, he can recreate them," the headmaster said.


    Everyone who heard her looked at her. Then they thought, ''He really was a smart guy!''


    "That newbie made a big mistake of provoking a smart person!" Someone shouted.


    They stared at him while holding their breaths.


    Vince and his spirit beasts leaped in the air towards the newbie. He sent another barrage of electrifying spears while in the air to keep the enemy busy.


    They saw the newbie wave his hand, then one after another the spears disappeared.


    Everyone cheered in elation. This was the exciting part and Vince did some witty moves.


    They knew that those spears were decoys only to fool the newbie. Most of them were waiting for the Butt-Slapping Technique of Vince.


    They wanted to see this handsome newbie in an embarrassing situation.


    When Vince and his spirit beasts entered at 5 meters distance away from that person,


    BANG!


    A loud sound of crashing reverberated inside the underground training ground.


    Everyone had slack-jawed and immediately fell silent while staring at the front with wide-eyes, and with their mouths shut.


    Vince was slammed to the floor by an invisible force. His spirit beasts were nowhere to be seen. They disappeared like bubbles.


    Vince pushed his body, but everyone noticed his difficulty in getting up. His arms and body were trembling. It seemed like something was pushing him down. Actually, at the moment, strong pressure was pressing onto him. And he felt like he was being stared at by a being far beyond him.


    "W-what happened?" Someone among the crowd muttered a question.


    The knight captain frowned.


    Everyone was puzzled by the scared look on Vince''s face while staring at the newbie.


    "What the heck?!" One of Vince''s friends screamed.


    And another one asked, "Is Vince just acting?"


    "Aunt? What happened?" Ella asked Laura, but she noticed her Aunt''s disbelieving face while staring at that person with great surprise.


    "It can''t be. He could even use an in...ti...midation?" Said Laura in surprise.


    "Intimidation? That''s impossible. Only the elders hadthe ability to unlock such skill!" Gilion disagreed.


    But how could he explain what his eyes were seeing at the moment? It was clear by the expression written on the face of Vince that he was scared of something. And an invisible pressure was pressing him on the ground.


    Tak, tak, tak...!


    Their ears picked an unhurried stepping sound. They saw that person finally move from his position. This was the first time he made a step. He was walking towards his enemy who was on his four. While trying to push his body upward.


    They saw the gold rank adventurers who couldn''t even look directly at his newbie enemy.


    Everyone had question marks on their heads. Even the knight captain could not believe it. But he and the Headmaster Laura Agila knew what kind of skill the young man was using. And it was also what bugged them most.


    All the people who were watching at the moment saw the newbie move behind Vince who was still on his four limbs lying on the floor.


    Vince felt something bad when he noticed the wide-grin on his enemy''s face. He tried to shout to give up, but his mouth couldn''t even produce any sounds.


    A moment later, everyone gawked in disbelief.


    Their eyes turned dot �� when the newbie kicked the butt of the gold ranking adventurer Vince!


    Pak! �� Ahh!


    Pak! �� Ahh!


    Pak! �� Ahh!


    The pitiful yelp of him was like a creepy scream to those who heard it.


    "What a merciless man!" Ella screamed while covering her face with her hands but her eyes were peeking on the gap of her fingers. Hannah on the other hand had a blank face.


    Everyone prayed for Vince''s fast mental recovery.

 Chapter 100: Special Mission

    The duel had ended in an unforeseen ending. Everyone initially thought of a senior bullying a junior kind of result, but it was contrary to everyone''s expectation. The most inconceivable part was that it ended in an outmatch manner where the newbie was the one who was bullying the veteran.


    Everyone was now wary of this newbie. They were thinking of how he didn''t think twice when he did that shameless act of kicking the butt of the gold rank adventurer even in the presence of beautiful girls, and the headmaster together with the knight captain was there too!


    The scene would forever embed in their minds, especially to Vince. But on his part, it might be the worst nightmare in his waking time.


    After the fight, Yman left the dumbfounded faces of the other people as he went together with Ella and the headmaster to have a private talk to her office.


    Although Gilion and Ellias didn''t like it, they could


    not do anything.


    Yman together with the headmaster and the beautiful girl arrived at the office.


    The room was 25 square meters wide, and in the middle, there was a small square glass table surrounded by sofas. It must be placed there for the purpose of comfortable and lengthy conversation.


    He noticed another table positioned at the corner, near the glass wall. And on that table, a golden slate with the headmaster''s name was on there together with number of things and writing tools.


    Yman placed himself on the sofa opposite the beautiful girl.


    Then the headmaster came and served a cup of coffee and a slice of cake for each of them.


    She sat on the single sofa on the left side of him and right side from her niece''s perspective.


    He could feel the slight puzzlement on the face of the girl opposite him. She must be wondering why her aunt �� the headmaster had to talk the two of them at the same time. Like her, he too had a slight puzzlement for the same reason. But he guessed it was in accordance with a special mission that he was expecting.


    Distracting himself from the fact that at the moment he was too hungry and was not able to eat because of the duel, he rolled his eyes around the room.


    The room has a simple design. Aside from the art of a gloriousknight slaying a humongous monster and a simple curtain of parmesan color with the design of converging squares, not much feminine vibes that one would expect in a girl''s working room. Yet the room was having a relaxed and comfortable ambiance.


    One part of the wall was made of sliding glass that was mostly seen in the grand establishments on the Outerworld.


    Yman smiled on it, although people here disliked the fact that the Outerworlders saw the piece of metal as deities, their economies were influenced greatly by the Outerworlders product.


    Yman glanced outside through the glass window, he noticed the sky started to dim. Just by looking at it, he believed that the current time was at most 4-5 pm.


    As of now, he could not get rid of the feeling that this world was from a separate universe than that of earth.


    Maybe this world was a twin planet of the earth? That was orbiting around a different sun? Actually, only the advanced country on the Outerworld had the ability to seek the truth. Mostly, the least powerful country and economy was shrouded in mystery.


    But who knows what was the truth? Not even in the social media that news about outer space nowadays was posted there. If there were outer space videos or topics about it roaming on the internet, it was mostly about those from the lost era and already torn out from millions of views.


    While he was musing, Yman suddenly felt an itchy feeling like someone was staring at him. He darted his eyes like it was being pulled by an invisible magnetic force towards the person in front of him. He caught her staring at him.


    Ella''s brows twitched upward as her eyes widened a little, then she awkwardly darted her eyes away from him, in haste.


    Yman had noticed her covering her mouth slightly, using the middle part of her right index finger.


    Then again, he noticed her holding a chuckle. He wondered what was the reason. He touched his face with a frown, wondering if there was a stain on it.


    Maybe his disguise was canceled?!


    He briefly asked his deity through thought communication. Sistela who was currently resting on his shoulder replied with a ''no''. He then sighed in relief. Yman knitted his brows. Maybe this beautiful girl was mocking on him? He suddenly remembered a specific person who didn''t show even a slight contempt towards him.


    Her image suddenly appeared in his mind.


    He wondered what happened after he left. Actually, when he left the city, his MTMD had broken. And when he made a contract with the demon, it caused an unexpected bug on Sistela''s System. Now he could not contact even his sister. He needed to find the medicine as soon as possible. He had only a little time before the competition in the Zone 7 academy would start.


    Yman was unaware of the reason why the girl in front of him seemed like she was holding a chuckle. In truth, Ella was having difficulty getting rid of the scene that unfolded in front of her awhile ago. A chuckle was attempting to escape from her mouth whenever she remembered that little parody. And the author of it was no other than this man who was currently in front of her.


    Yman took a sip of coffee and bit a little piece of cake, still wary of the girl in front. The coffee''s taste was not his preferred taste, but it tasted good together with the cake.


    Ahem!


    The two of them heard the throat-clearing sounds of the headmaster. After officially introducing herself, she also introduced her niece to him. Which Yman had to introduce himself too.


    Laura took the initiative to explain the reason for the meeting.


    "A bodyguard?" He gawked. This was unexpected. He also noticed the same expression on the face of the beautiful girl in front of him.


    "Yes, I needed you to act as her bodyguard for several weeks," Laura said after sipping her tea.


    "A-Aunt? B-But isn''t he just an n-new adventurer?" Ella said while trying not to sound rude.


    The headmaster seemed to understand her worry. The way she said it as a new adventurer and not newbie means she tried not to be rude to him. Laura glanced at Yman, she noticed that there was no slight change in his countenance. Looks like he too knew that her niece didn''t mean to mock him. He has the usual calm demeanor that she saw on him this whole time.


    She sighed in relief.


    Actually, Yman didn''t care if it was meant to mock him or not. What he was more concerned about were the consequences. He might drag himself into danger because of this mission.


    Before Yman could speak again, something tickled his ears.


    Sistela suddenly said to him via thought communication.


    Yman''s mouth broke into a soundless laugh, ''Y-You are right,'' he replied.


    But when Laura told him the rewards, Sistela was the first one who accepted the offer. Even Yman was speechless by the reward. It really was tempting.


    "100,000GP and Rank A Level 10 Soul of Advancement?!" Yman and Sistela slack-jawed.


    With that much money, he could fully equip Sistela. And with the Rank A Level 10 Soul, he could advance her into the rank of Main Land Deity! In this case, he could finally use her to attack like those spirit beasts. And Rank A to boot! It has the stats equivalent to a Rank A+ Wanderer Monster, Or Rank 6 Spirit Beast in terms of the demi-humans.


    To advance the System Deity, not only the user needed to equip their deity with body parts, but the System Deity must also be up-to-date. Their system must be at the newest version of its System OS. But it wasn''t just that, like the magicians who needed the Syringe of Advancement in order to breakthrough, the System Deity needed the Level 1-100 Soul of Advancement in order to level. The more soul


    the more humanely they become.


    Even Sistela was drooling.


    Yman scratched his face. Looks like the headmaster really is an expert in baiting.


    Although, most people here didn''t like the System Deities of humans. Yet the headmaster knew how their power-ups work.


    In the end, Yman had to agree too. After all, it could also solve his money issue. He could use the money to buy the needed materials in order to Synthesize medicine.


    After gathering all the needed materials, his next problem was to find an Alchemist who could process and Synthesize the medicine for his sister.


    But before that, it now depends if the beautiful Miss Ella would accept him as her bodyguard for several weeks.


    "I accept him as my bodyguard if he joins tomorrow''s Clash of Strength and defeats his first opponent in a domineering way," Ella firmly suggested.


    Well, for her, that duel a while ago wasn''t valid since it was only a duel and it was like a child''s play compared to the real tournament.


    And his enemy even though gold rank adventurer, he was only using a rank 1 and rank 2 Spirit Beast. It was that guy''s fault for looking down on his opponent. But the great noble of the empire would never make such a mistake. Certainly, many nobles would be joining tomorrow''s Clash Of Strength, since it was one of the most popular tournaments in the empire.


    She even heard from Hannah that most of their Elite magician students from year 1 to year 3 would be joining.


    Yman scratched the back of his head while nodding.


    He wasn''t really planning on joining it. But now he had to.


    ''And what the heck is winning in a domineering way? Do I need another butt-kicking?!'' He thought.

 Chapter 101: The curse swamp

    Before their talk reached the end, he asked, "Right, headmaster, why me?" Though his growth was beyond normal, he won''t claim that he was the strongest in the guild.


    There were lots of stronger and veteran adventurers who he hadn''t met yet, he was still new in the guild. And it isn''t like he was on par with those high-ranking top adventurers.


    He stared at the headmaster with a curious face.


    The headmaster''s red lips extended and formed a smile. "It is because of your abilities and looks," Yman was puzzled from her reply. He understands that at the moment he looks like a handsome Encan male. Though these looks were the effect when he used the modifying ability on himself. His height, hair and eyes color, and even his ears, he could modify them, but it was very taxing on himself to maintain it in a day.


    Seeing the doubt on his face, the headmaster leaned her back on the soft leaning back of the sofa and put her right-thigh on top of her left, then she continued saying, "It is easy for you to sneak in the academy as a new student. With your age and looks, you can admit there as a sophomore or even as a freshman student. In that sense..... you can guard her even inside the academy," she said.


    He finally understood, however, he doubted that the reason was only like that.


    If he wasn''t wrong, probably, she chose him because if ever he tried to make some foul move, it was easy for them to hunt him.


    And maybe she based it on his performance in every mission he completed recently, and on how he mostly used defensive spells only.


    So probably, for her, he was more harmless than those stronger adventurers. Looks like the headmaster had a trust issue. And so for her, he was the most suited person in this job. Not too strong and not weak either, and had the fittest abilities to act as a bodyguard.


    "....."


    But what?! Academy?! Yman suddenly took notice of her words. Did the headmaster want him to attend the Academy?


    "A-Academy.....?" Yman repeated in a mutter.


    Clink!


    Laura placed the fork on top of the small plate which caused a slight scraping sound, then she nodded and said, "Mhm, the Encantasia Academy."


    E-E-Encantasia Academy?! Isn''t it for nobles only?! And if what he heard these past days of staying here were true, that academy was where most of the royals from different kingdoms attended! Yman was astounded.


    There were 5 Kingdoms under the Encantasia empire. These 5 kingdoms, although not as big as the four leading kingdoms of these worlds, they both have strong armies and are rich in different resources.


    Nonetheless, most of their royal family members went to the Encantasia Academy to learn both magic and academics. Because this academy was special and only members of royalties and high nobles could attend.


    So basically, Miss Ella was not an ordinary noble?! Yman exclaimed under his breath.


    He was stunned for a moment before he went back to reality, "Wait, wait, wait, headmaster, isn''t that academy for super nobles and royalties only? You see I''m a nameless individual and an orphan to boot. In spite of that, I do not own a handful of land," Yman immediately affirmed.


    (A/N: In this empire, ''nameless'' means peasant. Because only nobles had the right to own a name �� for the nameless, they were called with nicknames and no actual surname.)


    Actually, it was also one of the reasons why he got in trouble the first time he went to the adventurers guild. Because they thought he was a noble and those guys seemingly had enmity towards them. So when they saw him, they tried to pick a fight on him.


    In front of Yman, Ella also had an unbelievable face. More-on when she heard him saying that he was a nameless orphan. Ella could not believe it. How could it be possible? He looks like a noble no matter how anyone saw it. On top of that, he has unique abilities! She wondered.


    Anyhow, it wasimpossible for him to attend the Encantasia Academy with that background, and besides, isn''t it embarrassing that someone would be tailing her? Not even her cousin the princess of Encantasia Empire did that.


    "Right, Aunty, is it not awkward that there is a guy following you all around? And besides, could he even be qualified there?" Ella followed up.


    Laura found their reactions very amusing. She took a sip of coffee before answering both of their worries, "Fufu," she chuckled. "You don''t need to concern yourself with such things. I will do the rest of the work for it to become possible," said the headmaster.


    Regardless, she was telling him that she would do something about it right? Well if that''s the case, then he needed only to win against his opponent in a first match to get the favor of Miss beauty in front of him.


    He noticed the girl in front took a spoon of cake and pushed it in her mouth with a pout.


    Yman scratched his face and said, "Don''t worry Miss Ella, I don''t need to be at your tail. As long as the distance between you and me didn''t pass 50 meters, I will do what I can to make you safe," Well, he needed the money and that Rank A Soul of Advancement. That''s why Yman had to do it. But he cannot guarantee that he could give 100 percent protection to her.


    Ella raised a brow from his words. Yman felt he just spoke something embarrassing. This was so out of his character to boldly claim to protect someone. Looks like, money shrouded his logical thinking.


    On his shoulder, Sistela wasn''t bothered by their conversation. At the moment, she was browsing the online market, checking for the limited edition item that was being posted there. There was a list of 100 different kinds of Wings being posted. Every hour, 1 wing was taken out of the list when some unknown people in the world ordered it. She seemed unrest and having a sad face whenever the icon of the Wing she had interest turned gray color �� signified that it was being ordered. Her tiny face darted back and forth to his owner and to the item posted in the online market.


    Unaware of her predicament, Yman wanted to take back what he just said. But it was already too late as he already spoke it.


    Regardless, he must take advantage of the offer. The headmaster said that it would only last for several weeks. As long as he could make her safe in that long, everything would be fine. He could even return to the city much sooner.


    Now that Yman thought about it, It might also be a great chance to spy in the prestigious academy of super magic, the Encantasia Academy.


    "Fufufu, you heard him," Laura said to her niece. Then she added, "In that case, good luck for your first match Crimson," Laura cheered him.


    "Well, let''s see first if he can pass the challenge," Ella muttered. It wasn''t like he disliked him as her guard, it was just weird that someone would be following her.


    She came here because her Aunt the current Empress of Encantasia Empire and former Queen of the Mangrove Kingdom sent her here to ask for protection from Laura.


    Since the adventurer guild was famous in this empire for having many high-level members that were experts in special missions such as stealthy, reconnaissance, and ambush missions. And vice versa, they are also good at counter-attacks. Laura was the sister of Ella''s father, and her mother was the sister of the current Empress.


    So her situation was kind of special, not just that, she was a popular artist. Most people in the empire knew about her as Ella the artist. But only a few knew her for being a princess. And these past days, she noticed some people who she thought were stalkers.


    The situation in the Mangrove Kingdom wasn''t good at the moment. Currently, her grandfather retook the throne after her Aunt became the Empress of Encantasia. Since her mother has been suffering from an illness for a long time. And she was still too young to rule the Kingdom, at that time.


    Before the talk ended, he asked them, "Who were the people that after the life of Miss Ella? Regardless, why was she being targeted anyway?"


    Laura and Ella explained to him the situation.


    About 7 o''clock pm that their meeting had ended. He first went back to the guild bar to eat after the meeting.


    Afterward, he was strolling the street together with Sistela towards the Inn where he was staying. The Guild Hall was located in the northern part of the main city. Whereas the inn where he was staying was at the Flamingo Town. It was located onthe east side of the empire.


    The place has only a total of 1,500 population and it was the smallest out of all towns in the empire.


    In order to arrive here, from the main city, Yman has to ride a carriage for as good as 5 hours. Since it was located 250 kilometers away from the main city. Whereas, if he rode on a transport bird, it only took him 2 hours and 30-50 minutes. Good thing that he had his own Hell Chaser bird, so he arrived at the town before 10 pm.


    When they arrived at the inn, it was already 10:30 pm.


    But Yman did not immediately go inside. Instead, he proceeded to the near forest, about 200 meters away on the back of the Inn.


    The surroundings were unperceivable by ordinary people. But even without using his trusted Map Section to illuminate the place, it seemed like the darkness was nothing to him as he proceeded walking without a hitch to the forest.


    Actually, after his contract with the demon, his perception ability had increased to an unimaginable degree.


    In this forest, some low ranking hostile beasts were lurking. But they mostly didn''t go to the town because they were afraid of lights. That''s also the reason why Yman did not choose to use any lights at the moment.


    After 20 minutes of walking. He arrived at the center of the forest.


    In the center, there was a swamp. The residents of the town were afraid to come near this swamp. They even called it the Cursed Swamp.


    Many residents went without a trace in this swamp.


    Rumors about this swamp were common in the town.


    About how a person who was resting nearby suddenly went. And how some people swimming in that swamp were pulled by something towards the deepest part. Their bodies didn''t even float even after a couple of days. Not only that, but many other bad rumors about the swamp were also common in the town.


    After that, the town residents didn''t dare to come near this forest again.


    But at the moment. Yman was here.


    Finally, after a couple of minutes walking, he finally reached the swamp. He walked and stopped beside it. If he made an estimation, probably the swamp had a total of 30 meters radius. However, it has a shape slightly identical to an hourglass.


    He stared at the replica of the full moon on the water. The sound of insects and nocturnal animals reached his ears. Even the slight brushing of leaves did not escape on his perception.


    The slight breeze of chilly wind caressed his skin. And it caused ripples at the replica of the moon on the swamp.


    Yman''s countenance was tranquil while staring at it without averting his eyes. A moment later he noticed the ripples became bigger and wider.


    Then his mouth broke into a grin, "It''s here," he whispered.

 Chapter 102: The knight of the goddess

    A piece of long plump flesh rapidly shot out from the deeps of the swamp towards him.


    Without waiting for it to hit him, he evaded it by leaping to his right. The thing that shot him hit and bore on the grounds.


    Yman narrowed his eyes, "Bingo!" He whispered upon seeing the thing that attacked him.


    "Looks like my guess was proven right �� A Mutated Kraken!" He yelled and took a sword from his storage. Then he hastily summoned crimson mana from his hand and enveloped the sword.


    "Right," he replied.


    Yman abruptly threw it towards the tentacle. The sword traveled the space and hit squarely on the tentacle.


    The tip of the sword pierced on it. And the red text -5,000 Hp was visible. "Dang, it has high defense!" Yman exclaimed.


    Sistela''s astonish voice rang in his ears.


    "On top of that, it''s just a tentacle!" Yman added.


    The tentacle showed a health bar with 95,000 health points.


    The tentacle twitched for seconds then hurriedly unburied itself from the ground. Yet another tentacle shot out rashly.


    Sistela shouted a warning.


    "Mhm!"


    He jumped in the air to dodge. It was followed by a loud ground-crashing sound.


    While still in the air. Yman perceived another tentacle coming out from the swamp. No, it''s two! Without wasting time, before his body started to descend, he summoned mana on his whole body.


    The two tentacles constricted to each other and formed like a massive drill. Then it shot rapidly towards its enemy in the air.


    Seeing the drill-like tentacles, any normal human or slightly weaker magician would probably wet their pants at the moment.


    However, Yman''s body disappeared before the drill tentacles hit him.


    The drill tentacles hit empty air.


    He reappeared to his position from the last few seconds. His feet landed on the second tentacle that was still on the ground.


    "Yeah, it is not the result I want it to be, but I guess for now it is the only I can accomplish," he replied with a tinge of relief and a little disappointment.


    His body teleported to the place where he was standing in the past two seconds ago.


    Anyhow, this was the perfect execution he had ever made �� no noticeable time lag, kudos to the demon''s mana. However, it only let himself transfer within the past 10 seconds ago.


    Looks like he needed more practice on it.


    In truth, what he wanted to create was a skill that enabled him to do a ''Mock Teleportation''. Although it seemed like he teleported, in actuality, he only did a Time Warp - a kind of time traveling from the past seconds with the assimilation of time and spatial coordinates. It''s a failed Mock Teleportation but a good start.


    His feet landed on plump meat of the tentacle with a meter thickness.


    After his successful execution of Time Warp, the crimson glow dissipated. Then his right hand briefly glowed in crimson. A moment later, the sword that was stuck on the first tentacle suddenly disappeared and reappeared in his hand.


    Without wasting time, Yman did a horizontal slash to the tentacle under his feet.


    The 1-meter thick tentacle was cut. This happened in just an instant. Only 5 seconds had passed but he already cut one of its tentacles.


    The tentacle twitched and he immediately leaped down to the ground.


    In his vision, he noticed the damage -25,000. The damage was a lot higher because he applied more strength on his attack.


    Yman narrowed his eyes and noticed that the damage would increase depending on the force he applied when he attacked. Thanks to the demon''s additional stats, he now had superhuman strength.


    However, he narrowed his eyes towards the cut tentacle. Because the health points did not empty.


    It then twitched furiously.


    Sistela''s voice was heard by him.


    "I see," after he replied, just as Sistela said, the cut part had regrown.


    Yman grinned because the health points remained 75,000 health points.


    "Heh, so I need to empty his health points in order for it to stop regrowing, huh," he whispered.


    The other tentacle had 95,000 health points left. And now it rapidly whipped towards him. Yman leaped backward and successfully dodged it.


    Then the newly grown tentacle followed after. Yman evaded while twitching his body, it passed at him about 5 inches from his face.


    His perception rang a warning when he noticed a malicious intent from above him. He took a quick glance and saw the drill-like tentacle fast approaching from above him.


    It was followed by a loud bang when the drill tentacle hit the ground. Yman''s body disappeared and reappeared in the mid-air using his Time Warp.


    When he was about to throw the sword in hand, "Eh?" Yman paused, he noticed that it wasn''t in his hand.


    He glanced at where he was standing a moment ago and saw the sword was lying on the ground.


    Seemingly, what''s not with him that time when he was in that position, would never be there when he did the Time Warp.


    Since, when he leaped in the air a while ago the sword was still stuck on the first tentacle at that time. So when he reappeared in the mid-air once again the sword was not part of it. It then dropped on the ground when the one holding it suddenly disappeared.


    Without wasting more time, a spear materialized in his hand. This was the same spear he bought from Mister Smith''s smithing shop.


    He then threw the spear and pierced deeply to the tentacle with 75,000 Health points.


    -7,000 hp was subtracted on it. Now its current health point was 68,000.


    Yman disappeared from mid-air once again and appeared beside the drill-like tentacle. Right after he disappeared in mid-air, another tentacle shot out from the swamp and pierced the space where he was supposed to be a split second ago.


    The fight continued with him disappearing and reappearing.


    In his vision, random numbers were appearing rapidly. It was the damage he dealt with the tentacles. The battle was chaotic. The more he widened his area, the more advantage in maneuverability he had.


    The enemy seemed to be puzzled by it. Then a moment later, its tentacle was cut one after another.


    This presumptuous human invaded his territory!


    In the deep of the swamp, a pair of fierce eyes had vexingly opened. Then black ink splattered out from its hose-like mouth.


    Yman noticed the ground was trembling. The tremble even reached the nearby town, as many people went out of their houses and glanced around.


    "What happened?!"


    "A quake! There''s a quake!"


    "Run! Get out of your houses!"


    Many people were gathering outside and asking the other people around who also had no idea of the situation.


    "Hey, look!" One person pointed at the forest.


    Everyone glanced at where he was pointing. All of them frowned when they noticed that he was pointing to the direction of the Cursed Swamp.


    "The heck!"


    Exclaimed one of the people around when he saw something shot and trailed towards the sky.


    "What is that?!"


    "A pillar?"


    They saw a jet black object rapidly climbed towards the sky.


    A moment later, it suddenly disappeared. Like nothing in there in the first place.


    "What happened?"


    "Where does the pillar go?!"


    Then, OOOOOOOOHHRRGGG!!! They heard a loud howl. And it caused the lowly beast and animals to fly and scuttered away.


    Everyone covered their ears as they screamed in pain while holding their heads.


    In the battlefield, Sistela asked worriedly.


    "Yeah, somehow. But that dude spits awfully," he said in a frown.


    She was surprised.


    "Don''t worry about it," he then used his Time Warp.


    "?!" He was surprised, it didn''t heal his wound. Yman squinted his eyes. Looks like it can''t regain back what he lost. It affected the time, space, color, and texture, but it wasn''t able to return what was not there. After all, he needed to envelop the object with his mana for it to Time Warp in the past.


    He sighed.


    "Ah�� no-nothing haha," he scratched the back of his head using his other hand.


    The wound was throbbing but manageable by him who had a high tolerance for it.


    Apparently, the DIP would do something about it. But it was awful to fight with an arm, so he decided to heal himself using his healing ability.


    Said Sistela.


    "Yeah, any continued attacks or attacks with longevity is no good to cancel," well, he was happy to learn it. However, it surprised him. He managed to cancel it, but he almost got himself KO.


    ''Looks like I have no choice, the enemy''s health points are 450,000/500,000. My damage in this state is only a little above my normal one. I have to use that form again to double my stats. This territorial beast is just too OP. Although I have my way of evading its attack, my stamina will be the first to drain apparently,'' he thought.


    After that night, no one knew what exactly happened, but due to the few hundred witnesses, "around 11 pm at night of the 11th in first month of Autumn, in the Cursed Swamp area, they saw some giant tentacles trying to catch a mysterious person who was floating or leaping in the air while his body was enveloped by black energy. Sometimes a big pillar of a black object was shot towards the person. But he managed to avoid getting hit without moving. The next second they saw him, he was producing a huge ball of pure energy. The inside was like brilliant crimson that was coated in black.


    After that, the person threw it, then the world seemed like it was going to end as the Flamingo Town and any relatively close towns and cities shook terribly. Some poor-made houses fell down. One of them was the closest inn in the area. But the next morning the inn owner and the owner of the houses got compensation from an unknown person." This was what was written in the report.


    In the morning,


    Some people brave the forest and visit the said Cursed Swamp. But what they saw astonished them.


    The swamp was gone, and what was there in exchange for it was a big crater, and in the middle was a giant corpse of a monster similar to an octopus.


    Everyone believed that the goddess Htraerea sent her knight to bring justice and end the Cursed Swamp.


    Some people who happened to take a photo of it earned a massive amount of money when the mayor of the town personally bought the picture to be drawn by the Best Artist in the place. It would be a good tourist view when times come.


    1111 of Autumn,


    "The Mysterious Black Knight slaying the humongous monster with massive tentacles,"


    Such words were written underneath the big painting.


    But the person who was the cause of it was crying at the moment. He had to compensate and now the money he kept for weeks of doing extra missions had gone like smoke. Even the money he earned from selling the items he got from Kraken was only enough to compensate for the many establishments he destroyed.


    He felt a little conscience whenever he thought that some people would lose their houses. Because he suffered just the same.


    Never would he have imagined the effect of that modified attack was that strong. And it was his first time using it! He applied the same principle on how Kiko did his invisible land mine.


    It was probably because of that demon''s mana.


    And since the inn where he was supposed to be staying had been destroyed, he had to find another place to stay.


    ===================


    Thanks for the support! You want shout out? Just comment!

 Chapter 103: Elemental armor

    12th of the first month of Autumn, Yman, and Sistela


    rode his Hell Chaser bird towards the adventurer guildhall.


    He received a message from the headmaster early in the morning through a messenger bird.


    Apparently, he wasn''t able to sleep last night, and now his stamina wasn''t able to regain much. After he made a contract with the demon his stamina raised a lot, however, the fight last night drained him for good. Yman at the moment was lacking vigor. But what made him more dispirited was the fact that his Wallet Section in his Interface only had 1 GP left.


    Just enough to buy the cheapest coffee. After that, he would be left with a big ZERO.


    His only chance was to get the reward money if Miss Ella approved him as her bodyguard.


    Yman sighed listlessly.


    He was flying the transport bird not too high, just enough height where he could discern the people''s face below.


    He even noticed some birds racing beside him. In the distance, the canopy of large mountains together with the blue horizon was like an exquisite painting. But Yman was too tired to appreciate the beauty of it.


    After a couple of minutes, the Hell Chaser bird descended in front of the adventurers guild.


    Yman listlessly climbed down, then he tapped the bird to let it fly somewhere for it to hunt its own food. The Hell Chaser bird snorted and blew smoke from the crevices of its beak. Its favorite food was insects and it also likes eating fish and fruits or any low tier beast. But the most it wanted was the Rank A meat of Ram that could be bought in the guild bar.


    The Hell Chaser bird flew halfheartedly. Seconds later, it was gone within his sight as it flew to the direction of the north. It likely went towards the forest there.


    Yman walked towards the door. But before entering he checked himself, well, he looked bland. The long white jacket was the same jacket he was wearing yesterday. He wasn''t able to take a bath and at the moment, he smells �� not bad but not good either. Good thing that Sistela was a little bit high level, the Photonocules now included restoring the torn part of his clothes even dirt would be washed out.


    Regardless, he was too hungry. Yman opened the door and was greeted by the serious faces of the people that were already inside. Yet what surprised him more was the fact that at the moment there were quite a number of adventurers inside.


    "That''s him," whispered the person who was leaning his back against the wall near the window.


    Yman stole a glance and noticed the person was a plump human with a round body, and face covered in beards. Beside the man was a Rabbitman who was wearing tawny light leather armor.


    He noticed as well the other adventurers whispered to the people beside them. Looks like the news about him beating the golden rank adventurers proliferated already.


    Yman did not mind it and continued to climb towards the Headmaster''s office. He was wondering why he was being called, the headmaster didn''t state the reason in the letter she sent.


    Although today is the start of the competition, it will start at 10 am. He still has a lot of time to waste. He then continued and climbed the stairs.


    ...


    In the palace of Encantasia Empire, in the garden of beautiful flowers, a beautiful woman with long snow-like hair that was braided at her back, was standing in front of the flower bed. She was wearing a long sapphire gown, and on her head was a silver crown embedded with eight diamonds.


    Two short pointed ears were distinct on both sides of her head.


    This woman was no other than the Empress of the Encantasia Empire, Empress Eleanna Encanta.


    She was 37 years old but her appearance was that of a woman in her 20''s.


    A moment later, a middle-aged woman wearing a fine dress, came out behind her and bowed slightly.


    She remained her head down while saying, "Your majesty, the preparation of the stage, and the area for elimination round are all done. And we successfully reached the quota of 1.5 thousand of participants," said the middle-aged woman.


    The empress glanced at the back while wearing a light smile on her face, "Thank you for your hard work, Miss Rue," she said.


    "No, your majesty, it was thanks to your smart and brilliant idea. With this, we can avoid the hype that was going on in one of the Human cities, and in regard to that issue, we can avoid affecting the increase in the price of all the products in the market. Although the duke and the other family have no idea why such a competition will be held on a whim, we on the other hand understand your majesty''s real reason," said Miss Rue.


    Miss Rue was the closest aid of the Empress.


    She smiled. "As expected of Miss Rue! You really know me like the back of your hand," said the Empress cheekily. Then turned her gaze back to


    the flowers.


    The aid smiled brightly at the empress words, but under the veil of her bright smile, was another kind of smile.


    The empress lips curved upward and caressed one of the flowers in front of her, "No matter how beautiful the flower is, it''s useless if no one truly appreciates it," whispered the empress with a glint in her eyes.


    Miss Rue frowned.


    Empress Eleanna turned around and giggled, "Fufu, let''s go, Miss Rue, we can''t delay the competition. I hope it will be an exciting competition, fufu," she said with a cheerful face.


    She passed at her close aid and walked inside the palace.


    Miss Rue who was still frowning followed after.


    ...


    Inside the headmaster''s office, Yman was in front of two large boxes; not just that, the girl named Ella was present too.


    Yman stared at the boxes with a puzzled face.


    "Uhm, headmaster, Miss Ella, what are these?" He asked. Although he knew they were boxes, what he meant were the things inside it.


    Ella on the other hand had noticed something, ''Why does this person lack energy?'' Ella thought. She also noticed black circles below his eyes. She wondered if this guy did not manage to sleep last night.


    Is he afraid of today''s competition? She wondered.


    That''s too bad, she even bought these things for him.


    It''s not like she bought it because she wanted him to win, or because she was concerned about him. It was because of ''what if he really achieved his challenge?'' thing. It was better to hide his identity. So that if ever he ended up being her bodyguard, the stalker or any potential danger would not have an idea of his ability.


    Even if he has a great defensive ability, there were stronger people in the empire.


    "Kuku, why don''t you open it," Laura urged him.


    Yman doubted what she said and glanced at Ella then caught her staring at him with a baffled face.


    Ella quickly averted her eyes when she noticed his eyes on her.


    Yman didn''t mind it and returned his gaze at the boxes. Seeing that it was on top of the small glass table, Yman assumed that the things inside weren''t that heavy.


    The boxes were well-made with exquisite designs and carvings. However, both were already unlocked. Probably the headmaster or Miss Ella checked the inside of it.


    Whatever was inside it was likely hidden for quite long. Because he noticed some speck of dust on the boxes.


    Yman glanced again at the two. He saw the headmaster nodded her head, while the beautiful Miss Ella sneaked a glance on him before averted her eyes towards the glass wall. With an indifferent look on her face, she drank the coffee in her hands.


    After a sip, she placed back the cup on the small plate in her left hand which was resting on her lap.


    She noticed his eyes followed after her hand. She looked down and saw her voluptuous figure molded her off-shoulder dress.


    She quickly covered it using her arm and caused the coffee to spill a little. Then she noticed his face having a regretful look after she covered it.


    "Eh, perv..." she uttered with a red face towards him.


    Well, Yman was staring at the spilled coffee. He wondered why the headmaster did not serve him coffee. Maybe she forgot. He was waiting though.


    Yman felt hungry. Even a coffee will do just to alleviate his hunger even for a little.


    Seeing the misinterpretation of the beautiful girl in front of him, his mouth opened in a soundless laugh.


    The headmaster just forced a smile and waited for him to open the boxes.


    He then opened the boxes one by one. Yman was more regretful than surprised.


    "Hey, what kind of face is that hmph?" Ella asked with a pout after noticing the slight regret on his face.


    "S-Sorry," he said while scratching the back of his head. ''It was better to see meat or any food after opening it,'' he thought.


    Regardless, in the first box, there was a set of silver armor, looking at its design and the materials, this set of armor probably made in good materials. The urge to touch it got the better of him. When his hand caressed it, his fingers slid. It was too soft. And the glint was visible on its surface.


    Elemental armor? A question in his mind.


    This was the first time for him to see such a thing. An elemental weapon was more common than an elemental armor. This armor probably cost a lot of money.


    Ahem!


    The beautiful girl in front cleared her throat. Maybe she noticed the frown in his face. It wasn''t like he doubted them, He was just surprised to see this kind of armor.


    "Don''t get wrong. We are not giving it to you."


    Sternly said the girl in front while raising a brow. She looks cuter though. Regardless, He wasn''t expecting them to give him these things.''


    "May I know what these are for?"


    He asked.


    "It''s for you to wear in the competition."


    ''And that''s what she said.'' He thought.


    Yman fell silent as he stared at the second box. In it, was armor with jet black color. He touched it and just like the first one, his finger slid on it and glints were visible too, likely an elemental armor too.


    "May I know why I have to wear it?" He asked.


    "Hah," sighed Ella. Then she explained to him the reason.


    A few hours later, the street towards the public square of the main city was already crammed with people.


    Each of them was wearing different kinds of equipment.


    Many carriages and transport birds were going forth in different directions.


    Then suddenly, the people around broke into loud murmurswhen some big and exquisite carriage stopped nearby.

 Chapter 104: Gathering of elites

    Two young men climbed down from the carriage. Both were wearing silver shiny chest plate armor on top of their red dresses.


    Other one had spiky short garnet hair, while the other one had medium length scarlet hair.


    The silver wristband was on their hand and the red bandana on their head had the initial ''KS''. Who knows what it meant. On their head, two wolf ears were very recognizable.


    "T-They are from the Lupine family!"


    A slight loud whisper from someone in the crowd.


    "Woooo! They are the twin of the Lupin family!"


    "???"


    At the whisper of the name Lupine, everyone''s neck was like being pulled by an invisible force when most of the people around craned their neck at the same time towards the direction to where most of the people around were looking at.


    Beside the grandiose looking big carriage on the road, they saw two red-haired young handsome men.


    "Her majesty really did a great job to open the curtain for our greatness! Right, My Cinder bro? Bwahahaha!" Grinned the young man with short spiky garnet hair, while placing both of his hands on his waists and laughs heartily.


    "T-That''s enough, Brother E-Ember," shyly said the person next to him who he called as Bro Cinder. He really wasn''t the type of person to like crowded places such as this gathering.


    He wanted to play video games inside his room, and did some light training in silence, mostly at night. Although their family was known in the whole empire, he wasn''t concerned about such things.


    He only came to join this competition because his father, the elder of their family, and the son of the current patriarch of the Lupine family, wanted him to join the competition in the exchange of the new generation Newtendo, the Fulldive Newtendo! One of the most popular gaming consoles nowadays!


    And one more thing! He''s a beautiful ''she'' not a ''he!!!''


    Why was everyone calling her he!!!


    Even Though she has beautiful long ample legs and a beautiful lovely face! Everyone still treating her as he! That''s why she wanted to seclude herself inside her room and play Newtendo all day long. Fighting is bad for health. And everyone was treating her as ''he''.


    Her fans in the game world were treating her kindly. Maybe she would do a live stream in YT next time. Her character almost hit the apex of the level. She needed to buy that new pack. In any case, she needed money, her parents cut her allowance, and now left with none. So she had no choice but to join this competition. Together with this muscle brain twin brother of hers. (Pout!)


    *Fidget!*


    *Fidget!*


    "Cute!" Shout the people around after seeing her shy blushing face.


    "Bwahaha! Don''t be too embarrassed bro!" Said Ember while tapping her back. (Cough! Cough!)


    ''O.....O rip, I''m a beautiful wolf girl!'' She wanted to shout. Why did she even have to wear this male armor? Hah!'' Withshoulders dropped and she sighed.


    "Oy oy oy! Look who we have here!"


    The two suddenly heard a voice coming from their right side.


    A woman and man wearing gray long dresses with spiky-shoulder pads. Both were having beautiful faces and long white hair, plus white wolf ears on their head.


    The girl''s dress was opened at the stomach area until the end, and her sexy abs were distinct to everyone who sees her. Every man in the area gulped and drooled at her while having heart-shaped eyes. Her long gray dress was paired with black sexy shorts that were made with fine materials, and black combat boots on her feet. She looks sexy. She was using black lipstick and her squinted eyes were blackened also.


    Both of them were wearing gray and black gloves on their hands towards their forearms.


    "The young miss Lyka together with the young master Harou!"


    "Goddess Lyka!"


    "Goddess Lyka please look here!"


    Some fanatic boys and girls shouted.


    ''Hmm, I will create an evil avatar that looks like her next time,'' thought Cinder.


    "Look! the Lowe and Lupine family of the Canine family!" One person in the crowd shouted.


    "Heaven! The rank 4th great family of the empire, with their two major branches families, are present in the competition!"


    "Looks like they sent their juniors to join the competition!"


    "They are probably serious in winning the competition!"


    "I wonder which branch is stronger, whether the Lupine or Lowe family!"


    "Damn I''m excited for the start of the competition!"


    "I bet 10,000 GP for the Lowe!"


    "I''ll bet 5,000 GP together with my elemental underwear for the Lupine family!"


    "THE HECK DUDE!" Many people shouted.


    Cinder wanted to cry at this shout.


    Such a noisy crowd.


    "Harou! Grrrr...!" Ember Lupine gnashed his teeth.


    "Fufufu, your mad intent is coming out Ember," laughed Harou of the Lowe family.


    "You dare to show up yourself in front of me!" Ember said while pointing a finger towards the guy in front of him.


    "Why not? This is an open to all competition, or are you afraid to get yourself whop once again? Fufu!" Jibed Harou.


    "I dare you to do it! It''s you who will get a whoop this time!"


    "Kukuku, you two are as noisy as ever!"


    Another voice came in. They glanced and saw the owner of the voice.


    "Hilion Gustav," they muttered the name at the same time.


    The other people around gasped in surprise when they saw the newcomer.


    "That''s the Gustav family?!"


    "The first son of Merlion Gustav, it is Hilion Gustav and his trusted member of White Leo Knights!"


    "Even their Captain Leon is with them!"


    Together with Hilion Gustav were eight knights wearing silver and gold color armors. And one of them was wearing pure gold color armor.


    "Who are they?"


    "Dumbass, you don''t know about them?"


    "Well, they are not the type of people who showed themselves in the public more often."


    "Hilion Gustav the first son of the Main Family of Gustav family! I heard he has a younger brother too!"


    "Do you mean the guy named Gilion Gustav?"


    "Yeah, him!"


    "I saw him the other day in the adventurers guild, together with Miss Ella the popular Artist!"


    "WOW JUST WOW! That''s some whole different level of gossip you have there dude!"


    "I''m not lying though! I even have some stolen pictures of them!"


    "....."


    "Nooo! The pure Miss Ella cannot be with someone! Let''s boycott her show if ever she dated someone!" A man wearing a hooded black robe shouted.


    "The heck, dude, don''t be too rude to Miss Ella!"


    "Tsk, idiots!" The man in black robe clicked his tongue.


    The topic of the crowd turned into a personalgossip.


    On the other hand,


    Harou Lowe and Ember Lupine fell silent at the appearance of Hilion Gustav.


    "Hehe, This competition is rather done in a bold way. Maybe this is how the empress wanted the world to know how our grand family disciplines the dogs!"


    Ember had an angry face, like an angry wolf who wanted to crunch the person in front.


    Beside him, Cinder was shaking her head. For some reason, she felt dizzy being surrounded by a crowd of people. If she had a choice she would rather roll inside her long pillow and dive in a VR game all day long. She hated going outside. She even hated going to the academy and was almost absent for the entire month.


    Harou, on the other hand, was having a pulse surfaced on his face but he remained quiet. Beside him, his cousin Lyka was having an indifferent face.


    "Hilion, don''t start a fight before the competition start!" Another group came in.


    Hilion grinned at the familiar voice coming from behind him.


    "Theodore Hugo," Hilion whispered the name.


    Hugo was one of the branch families of the Gustav family. Although Hugo was only a branch family, Hilion would not dare to openly provoke them.


    "Oh no, even the branch family of Gustav family is here also. The popular Hugo family who were tasked to defend the borders of the empire!" A random person within the crowd shouted.


    A moment later,


    "Fufufufu, is this the gathering of the Elite family of the empire?" A chuckle from someone was heard by all of them.


    "Perhaps it is," added another one.


    All the people in the area glanced and saw the other elite family.


    "The Gorthalion family together with the Senrod family also came to participate!"


    "Now, who among these elite families were going to be the champion?" Someone asked.


    More members of elite families in the empire continued coming, from their branch families to their main family. Most of them were the young generation.


    It was also a good trial to test the youngster of the empire, andto see which families had the most promising magicians.


    But it''s not only a simple competition. Because it also affects their ranking in the future. So not only their young ones were here to participate. Even some of their strongest family members were here too.


    The surrounding was very noisy with different types of whispers and shouts from the crowd of people.


    The public square of the main city of the empire has a total of 2 baseball fields wide. But at this moment, the place was almost filled with people although not


    entirely.


    Some sprites were flying overhead. And some people were riding their personal transport birds to see a full clear view from above for the better video recording.


    A moment later, everyone immediately fell quiet when one of the soldiers announced the arrival of the empress.


    They saw her walking towards the podium in the middle of the public square.


    This whole event was being watched live in the other Kingdoms and Cities. Especially it was the live recording fromEncantasia Empire. Everyone wanted to see how strong their magicians were.


    One of these cities was of course the Human City Zone 7.


    The Human City Zone 7 became a bustling city after the appearance of the dungeon. But right at this moment, most people in the City were chilling at some pub or bars while staring at the widescreen inside the establishments. They were waiting for the start of the competition that was going to be held in the Encantasia Empire.


    Somewhere inside the room, specifically in the room of the academy''s Ace. Miss Ice, Almina, and Maena together with Kesha were staring at the large monitor. Although, they could watch it using their Cyber Screen, watching it with others was more enjoyable.


    The three girls asked the Elder for a day off to watch the competition that was going to happen in the empire. Well, they already did their morning training.


    At the moment, Maena and Almina were asking about things Ice knew about the Encantasia Empire.


    "Really, Miss Ice?" A sudden question from Almina.


    "Mhm, the magicians in the Encantasia had different ways of fighting," Ice replied.


    Suddenly,


    "Woah, is she the empress?" Kesha asked.


    Almina, Maena, and Ice glanced back at the monitor and saw the gorgeous Encan lady wearing an emerald gown and cloak, and on her head was a crown. She was walking towards the stage, beside her were the Royal Knights of the Empire together withKnight-Captain Borge Bergal.


    "Yes, she is the Empress Eleanna Encanta of the Encantasia Empire," Ice said.


    "So beautiful..." Almina muttered.


    "Yeah, she is."


    "Although the empress is no doubt beautiful on a different level, who I mean is the girl beside her," Almina said while pointing to the girl beside the empress.


    "Ah, she... she is a popular artist in the Empire. If my memory serves me right, her name is... Ella... Merea Ella. Looks like they will be using her magic for the battlefield of the competition," Ice said.


    Merea Ella? Almina whispered.

 Chapter 105: Painting

    "What do you mean..... using her magic for the battlefield, Miss Ace?" Maena asked.


    "Ah that, you will find it later," Ice replied.


    "I see. Regardless, among all the people in the venue, only the empress and that beautiful girl are having the same hair color. It seemed like they are related to each other," Maena said.


    "You''re right, Maena!" Almina who was staring at the beautiful Encan in the monitor screen had suddenly agreed.


    Ice placed her finger below her mouth, "Hmm if I''m not wrong, Miss Merea Ella is from the Mangrove Kingdom. And the empress was also originally from there. The empress hair color was the main feature of the royal family in that Kingdom. I don''t know about Miss Merea Ella being a royal. Maybe she is a far relative of the royal family. Or maybe she dyed her hair. I''m not sure, I''m not particularly familiar with their cultures or traditions," She said then took a can of cola which was placed on top of the small table in front of them, together with some potato chips and popcorn.


    "Hmm... The Mangrove Kingdom....?" Almina and Maena whispered in their minds.


    While they were discussing, the empress in the monitor screen just finished giving her inspirational words of wisdom and the wish for everyone''s success in the coming competition.


    This competition would be their stepping stones to create a better version of themselves in the future, even if they lost or won.


    An earth-shattering war cry followed after the empress finished her words.


    Different kinds of demi-humans were gathering in the public square at the moment. They were the Encantasia''s people. In truth, some pure humans were also there, but the majority were demi-humans.


    The next who came to the stage was a demi-human with bunny ears.


    He was wearing a blue magician''s cap and wearing a blue tailcoat paired with blue pants together with a cane in his hand. He was a Rabbitman from the Rabbitmen Tribe.


    After he went to the stage, "Chuuuch Chuchuchu!"


    Everyone heard a peal of mysterious chuckles. On the stage, the Rabbitman took off his cap then bowed slightly in front of everyone.


    "Hello everyone! My name is, Faye!" Said the Rabbitman.


    It was followed by a little louder whispers from the people around.


    "Faye the trickster?"


    "Yeah, it''s him, the man in the circus!"


    "Woah it''s really him!"


    Faye raised his hand slightly to signal the crowd to quiet, "Chuuu Chuchu Chuchu. I see everyone was so lively. In that case, let''s not wait far longer. Today! Will be the official opening of the competition known as The Clash Of Strength!" He said while spinning the cane in hand, and flickering lights were visible from it.


    The timbre of his voice was not high and low. It was a normal timbre just like talking with the person face to face. Even though he didn''t shout while speaking, his voice rang in everyone''s ears like he was talking to them face to face.


    After hearing his words, "WOooooooooohhhh!" The crowd cried out again.


    But they immediately went silent when "Thud!" A dull sound when the tip of the cane hit the floor of the stage. Right when the tip of the cane hit the stage floor, at the same time, he raised the cap above his head while the hole facing the sky. From the hole, different sizes of white birds flew from it. They flew overhead towards the people around. From their tail, different kinds of flickering colors trailed behind and rained below.


    All the people gasped in admiration at the majestic view.


    Then the birds flew into the sky and the flickering brilliance that trailed behind them formed an image of the Encantasia Empire''s insignia �� the side-view fairy with 6 protruding wings.


    But the majestic show didn''t end there.


    A few seconds later, Faye the Rabbitman flicked his white fingers, then the flickering insignia of the Encantasia Empire exploded into a flash of colorful fireworks in the sky.


    The opening of the competition was a true beauty to behold. Everyone shouted in elation because of it, even the people watching it through their screen monitors couldn''t help but admire.


    "What a grand opening..." Almina whispered.


    In the podium, Faye dipped his hand into the cap hole. When he retreated, he was already holding a piece of paper.


    After looking at it for a second he showed a toothy grin then opened his mouth. He then place the cap on his head, "I know all of you are eager to start the competition, especially the younger generation of the empire who were full of vigor..... But for a few minutes, please give me your attention as I am going to explain the rules for this competition! Please listen carefully as I won''t explain it again for the second time.


    Okay, without wasting more time as you are probably excited about the start.


    However, before that let me announce that there are a total of 1,500 participants! Yes, just 1,500 participants!" He repeated his words in the end.


    After hearing his words, the participants and the audience around immediately broke into random inaudible murmurs.


    "What! 1,500?! So many!" Kesha who was watching closely in the monitor exclaimed.


    Almina opened a can of potato chips while glancing at Ice. "Do you think..... they will launch a mass duel at the same time, Miss Ice?" She suddenly asked.


    She smiled at her. Actually, Ice was the one who toldto themabout the competition in the Encantasia Empire, and she asked them that they would be going to watch it together in her room.


    Every time they finished their training, although these two girls did their best in every training, they were usually absent-minded after the training.


    Especially Almina Amulet. Sometimes, she was clumsy, like her mind wasn''t in there.


    She wondered what was bothering her. But she couldn''t ask her out of a sudden.


    Nonetheless, until now, she didn''t see that guy again. That person who fought with the demon together with them.


    For some reason, that person and the mysterious black magician were both mysterious for her.


    Regardless, she needed to answer Almina''s question, "I think..... they will do an elimination round in the first phase of the competition to lower the number of competitors for the second phase," Ice said.


    "I-I see..." Almina wondered if the Academy competition would also be the same. She glanced at the window and saw the blue sky. Then her mind suddenly traveled to a pathless adventure.


    She wondered where Yman was at the moment. Her mail just went through without a reply.


    What happened to him after the fight with the demon? Not even his body was found by rescuers who came to retrieve all the bodies of fallen victims by the demon. It seemed like he suddenly popped up like a bubble.


    Did he go back to the Outerworld as the rumors said? Wherever he was at the moment, Almina wished that he was fine. If the rumor was true that he decided to continue his study in a normal university then it''s fine.


    But why could she not get rid of the feeling of unease within her? If only she knew that he would go after that time she left him to seek help, she would rather choose not to leave.


    If only she was stronger at that time, there was no need for her to leave him at that time.


    "Bestfriend, Miss Ice! Look, the beautiful Miss went upstage!" While Almina was mulling, Kesha suddenly called out.


    In the video, they saw the beautiful girl Merea Ella on stage. Then she cast a spell while waving her hands. She looked graceful the way she did it. The next second, a giant magical canvas appeared in front of the stage.


    She was painting mountains, rivers, trees, meadows, plains, animals, monsters, skies, beasts, and etcetera.


    Everyone gasped in surprise. Especially those who didn''t know about this ability of the most popular artist in the Empire of Encantasia.


    Apparently, she was not only popular inside the Ecantasia Empire, even in the other cities and Kingdoms she was well-known.


    In the barracks of Zone 7 Academy, Bob, Chloe, Mai, and the other people inside have slack-jawed while staring at the monitor.


    "What kind of magic is that beauty using?" Asked Bob in surprise.


    "I heard that the magicians of this world are using different kinds of unique magic. If we mostly depend our magic on different kinds of elements, and by learning ancient techniques, they on the other hand were born with unique talents. Though like us, they could also learn some ancient techniques.


    What really made them different, are their in-born talent," Mai said.


    "That''s right," Chloe chimed.


    "I wonder what she was doing it for?" Bod asked again but no one was paying attention because at the moment the painting was already finished.


    "That is the battlefield where the first elimination round will be held. Miss Merea Ella''s magic is not only for making an exquisite painting but also to create a real-world," Inside the room of Ice, Almina and the others fell silent after hearing the word of the academy''s Ace.


    "Create a real-world...?"


    "....."

 Chapter 106: The unexpected

    Bewildered by what they heard, the three beautiful


    girls fell into deep silence.


    Almina''s deity �� Cal, was the first to blurt a question and break the silence in the room.


    Right now, he is in the form of a little butterfly robot that looks like a ninja. His wings could be folded and formed like a cross wheel. He was supposed to be a ninja robot, then these limited edition wings came out. And the Missy forced him to equip the body part. If he was a real human, he would probably cried in shame.


    Fortunately, he discovered that it was foldable. And it even looks like a cross wheel hanging on his back after he folded it. Fufu, he couldn''t help to feel proud of how awesome he looked after. Good thing the little Miss immediately ordered it last night. It could even let him glide and fly like a real "....." butterfly.


    In order to equip this, he had to unequip the Float device. Since the wings were the upgrade version of it. Right now, he could even use a new ability, but it was a secret though.


    Hmm, Like his owner, his artificial mind was also busy thinking of something, he thought. His owner was kind of busy with her training and sometimes busy thinking of her crush. So she could not prolly help him with this serious matter.


    Cal glanced at the other deities. The deity of the girl named Kesha was like a fairy. The blonde girl''s deity was a white chick, however, she would sometimes transform into a hot humanoid chick. And the deity of the beautiful Ace girl was modeled after a snow sprite. As of the moment, only him and the deity of blonde had the new edition wings. The deity of Ice had a limited edition Wings from last year.


    On the other hand, Kesha''s deity was a robotic fairy-like, and she didn''t order the limited edition because she was already content with her deity''s wings.


    While their owners were conversing, they somehow were playing cards on top of the table. And watched the show on the monitor at the same time.


    But it seemed like, the others were bullying him, his body and face were full of tape, he always lost in poker! He must ask the Missy to upgrade his head later to increase his perception.


    Actually, wing parts not only help the deity to fly, but it could also increase their owner''s leaping ability and also speed. While the head part could increase the radar perception of the deity and it''s appraisal ability. It also increases their owner''s perception when in resonance. Every upgradeable part of the deities had equivalent increases to their owners when in resonance. This was weird, he had the highest perception for sure. But he still lost in poker.


    Cal interest piqued when he heard the word of the academy''s ace about a girl able to create a world. He noticed the other owner and his Missy gawked in disbelief, and his curiosity got the better of him.


    "Fufu," Ice giggled after hearing Almina''sdeity unbelievable tone and seeing everyone''s reactions. Especially Maena and Almina who were doing their best in training to become the next Ace of the Academy.


    "You don''t have to think much about it. Although she can create a real-world through her painting, it is not the same as the real world we have. It only lasted for a couple of hours and with limited space," Ice said.


    "Limited," Maena uttered.


    "Mhm!"


    "Even though it is limited space and has a time limit, that kind of ability is still surreal, haha," Almina said with a forced laugh.


    "On the other hand, can''t that kind of ability put her in danger?"


    Just after Kesha said it, the crowd in the monitor suddenly erupted into a loud yell.


    They quickly returned their eyes to the screen and saw three people in black robe and hood. They jumped high in the air towards the stage to where Miss Merea Ella was just finishing her painting.


    "Miss Ella!" Gilion who happened to perceive some ill intent from these people shouted, he immediately summoned electrifying energy on his feet to leap after them. He came here together with the people of the student council in the academy to join the competition. Regardless, he was too far behind from the enemies.


    His face had twisted. "Damn!"


    Not all experts were able to react fast because it was too sudden. They were exuding bad intent, and seeing them going towards the stage to where Miss Ella was, they could guess that their target was no other than her. Since only her, the Trickster Faye, and a person who was wearing a hooded black armor and a mask that covered his mouth and nose were currently on the stage.


    Wait! Who is that person? Everyone had such a thought. No one had paid attention when that person climbed the stage together with Miss Ella.


    Not even the people who were watching it through their monitor had any idea who that person was. They just assumed that he was some random guard. Although he wore nice looking armor, for them he was just a random soldier of the empire who perhaps tasked to accompany Miss Ella on stage.


    However, everyone knew that whoever that person was, it was not important in the current situation. The more pressing issue was that Miss Ella was in danger.


    Still, in mid-air, the robed person in the middle materialized a golden sphere on his hand. The sphere had a total of a half-meter radius. Seeing that it was exuding akin to electricity, everyone knew that it wasn''t an ordinary magical sphere.


    "A paralyzing magical attack!" Almina who was watching at the monitor yelled.


    Not only Almina, even Maena, Kesha, their deities, and all the other people who were currently watching at it through their monitor or in the venue, had grimed faces.


    However, "Fufu, how idiotic. Terrorizing an important guest in the presence of Royal Knights and many talented individuals is just akin to asking for suicide, especially that it is the Encantasia Empire," Ice chuckled.


    Alas, a moment before the three people in black robe could descend, some soldiers leaped towards them to capture.


    And some experts of the great family summoned electrifying energy on their feet then jumped higher in the air while their hand flashed with different colors of dazzling brilliance.


    One of them was the brother of Gilion, Hilion Gustav, together with the Canine people and other experts from top families in the empire.


    However, most of them were too late.


    Before the black-robe man in the middle could fire the sphere in hand, Gilion coagulated a spear-shaped magical weapon. It was made of pure mana.


    Seeing this,


    "Stop Gilion!" Shouted the Council President Hannah, who came together with other members of the student council, not to join the competition but to watch.


    Not only Hannah was the one who shouted for Gilion to stop, even his brother and the other experts did too when they saw him coagulating massive and dense mana on his hand. But their warning came too late, Gilion already threw the magical spear.


    The head of the spear was like a gaping mouth of a dragon and its body was that of an emerald dragon, with scale carvings on it.


    It was tearing the space as it trailed towards the back of enemyin the middle.


    Everyone gaped wide-mouth opened seeing an unexpected event unfolding in front of them.


    The people in black robe glanced behind, their eyes bulged when they saw a powerful dragon-like spear shot towards them.


    Everyone held their breaths for a moment. But before the spear hit the target. The person in the middle grinned under the hood, then he disappeared from everyone''s vision.


    After losing its target, the spear passed in the middle of the two people.


    "Shit!" Gilion gritted his teeth. But he froze when he noticed his spear continued towards the people on stage.


    "HEHE, idiot," inside a pub, Kiko mocked. Although these people in the empire have strong abilities, for him, they were simpleminded people.


    Everyone in the public square gasped with ashen faces when they noticed the spear was traveling straight towards the popular artist Miss Ella.


    "Damn, it''s going to hit her," muttered one of the robe people.


    Ella''s face turned white while watching at the dazzling flash of a spear that was approaching her rapidly.


    Yet, she suddenly felt a force pulling her. Ella had no strength to fight back the force and let herself be pulled. Her face landed on the leather chest of an armor.


    Just after she was pulled, the surrounding flashed brightly. She closed her eyes and waited for her demise.


    Everyone fell silent after the flash. The expected loud explosion and the demise of someone did not happen.


    Standing on stage is the person they thought as a random guard. His right arm extended in front while his hand was wide open. His left hand somehow was hugging the popular Miss Ella while hiding her on his chest.


    And the powerful spear? Is...nowhere...to be...seen.


    "Geez, that snake again," muttered the person who pulled the popular girl Ella. He didn''t expect that he would be working in advance. And what the heck was this. They didn''t look like a normal stalker at all. After witnessing her magic ability, he wanted to call off the offer. After all, he was not officially assigned yet.


    This ability of this girl was no ordinary. Regardless, his perception still perceived some bad intent.


    All the people around were surprised, and even the people who were watching it through their monitor screen also could not believe what happened. It suddenly vanished and turned into dazzling particles.


    "What happened?" Ember who didn''t bother helping to capture the robed people asked in disbelief.


    "The powerful spear that was thrown by that little brother of Hilion suddenly disappeared," followed Harou who was standing beside him.


    "Wasthat person the one who did that?" Asked Cinder while pointing to the person hugging the artist Ella.


    Ember knitted his brows.


    Inside the room, one girl widened her eyes after seeing what happened to that powerful spear. This was a familiar scene to her.


    "T-That a-bi-lity!" Almina exclaimed while covering her mouth with her hand.

 Chapter 107: Cross the boundary

    Without lowering his defense, he summoned a crimson aura to form a thin shield. It was the same shield he used to cancel the ground attack of Vince.


    Just right after the shield materialized around him and Ella, the robed man who disappeared awhile ago reappeared below the stage, about 15 meters away from them.


    Shockingly, the golden sphere was still on its hand.


    Without wasting time the robed man''s feet flashed with dazzling brilliance, then again the robed man leaped high in the air. The next second, he threw the golden sphere towards Yman and Ella on stage.


    Seeing the rapidly approaching sphere, some people shouted a warning. Ella heard the scattered shouts from the people around, but her face was still deep on his chest. Yman grinned.


    Sistela already warned him about the structure of the magic used by the enemy, thanks to her high appraisal ability.


    When the golden sphere bumped to the thin shield, both of them disappeared at the same time. In truth, if he used his hand to cancel it, there was a little chance that it might paralyze him. Yman didn''t want to let the little chance become his demise. Even though he was using elemental armor at the moment, which lowered the effect of any elemental attack towards him.


    For him, being careful was much better. It was also the reason why he used the same thing with the ground attack of Vince last time because that attack contained a bash effect.


    "What? It disappeared?"


    "He canceled the spell!?"


    Some random people exclaimed.


    "Cancel?"


    "Don''t tell me��.. it''s him��"


    "The Crimson Canceler!"


    Although not all, some people from the adventurers guild who came here today were able to recognize him because of this ability.


    The experts were baffled; people in the public square suddenly shouted the name Crimson Canceler.


    "Crimson Canceler? Who''s that?" Harou muttered.


    Ember frowned. He had no idea who it was. But based on how they called the person, it must be a nameless person.


    Most of the experts from the great noble family only had an interest in the experts of the same great noble families, but the person on stage had an intriguing ability that piqued his interest.


    Most of the people in the public square were still unaware of the situation and were still puzzled at the current happenings. So the number of them just stood and gawked like scarecrows.


    After the golden sphere disappeared, the robed person who threw it vanished again at the same time.


    After a few seconds, Ella finally noticed that she was still alive and she didn''t hear a loud explosion.


    But what situation was this?! Why was she in the arms of this person?! Did he save her?!


    Feeling embarrassed at her situation, she tried to free herself. But before she could push him away from her, she felt his arms tighten his hold on her waist.


    Her face immediately flushed red. A second later, he dragged her with him as he stepped back abruptly. She could feel his arm''s strength as he dragged her with no difficulty.


    ''So this is the man''s arms?'' She thought.


    Right after they stepped back. She noticed a mark of vertical slash in the empty air �� at where they were standing a split second ago.


    "An invisible enemy?!" Her shocked remark was noticeable by him.


    Not only Ella was the one who was shocked at their enemy''s ability, even the people around did too.


    Invisible ability wasn''t an ordinary ability that could be trained easily. Only gifted individuals could use it.


    So seeing this kind of ability was a big surprise to all. It even had a big impact on Gilion Gustav. Because of this ability, he endangered the life of a precious girl to him. And on top of that, she was saved by that hateful person. Just looking at the skill he used, he could already guess who the person behind the hooded black armor was.


    ''The Crimson Canceler!'' Gilion shouted inwardly while forcefully gritting his teeth. More on, when he saw Ella was hugged by that person.


    The girls inside the room of Miss Ice had seemingly paused as all of them were staring at the monitor with stunned faces. Only Kesha had a different reason for being stunned. But the three girls with her had the same reason.


    Ice knitted her brows for a reason that the person who protected Miss Ella has a familiar ability.


    She glanced beside her and saw Almina Amulet glued her eyes towards the screen. Emotions of affection were obvious on her face.


    ''Could it be the reason she was absent-minded sometimes is because of the disappearance of that boy?'' Ice thought.


    She also noticed the blonde had a similarly surprised expression on her face.


    Ice remained quiet as she also was curious about who was that person in a hooded black armor. But she had a strong feeling that it was the same person who she initially thought he would be. Based on the expressions on Almina and Maena''s face, she bet that they also thought the same as her.


    However, if they couldn''t see his face, it was only a baseless assumption. Since Demi-Humans were known for their unique abilities. What if he was a different person with a similar ability to that guy. So as of now, as long as his face won''t reveal they could not say for sure that it was him.


    On the stage of the public square in the main city of Encantasia Empire,


    "Tsk!" The robed person clicked his tongue between his teeth when his attack hit empty air. ''The f**k with this man! How was he able to guess my attack?!'' He thought with a frown. It was the first time that his surprise attack was dodge by the target. He didn''t know how this person knew his intent even though he was in invisible mode.


    It was just a brief moment that he was surprised, then he promptly chased towards them. Actually, their mission was to abduct the girl, but in order to do that, he needed to dispatch the annoying guard first!


    The distance between them escalated to 7 steps in just a single step back. However, he wasn''t bothered by it as he just needed a single leap to shorten the distance.


    Unexpectedly, before he could take a leap forward, the two instantly reappeared in front of him.


    "!!"


    "The fu��!" He exclaimed, startled by their sudden reappearance. He wasn''t able to finish his word because out of a sudden a numbing pain in his stomach cut his strength to talk.


    He slowly glanced below and saw an outreach arm bore deeply to his stomach.


    His body curled down as his knees gradually lost strength until he fell curling on the ground while twitching in pain.


    It seemed like an angel had passed by when out of a sudden everyone turned silent.


    "A��.. Amazing," someone among the crowd muttered.


    "He blinked?!"


    "Did he use instantaneous leap?"


    "Probably!"


    "He defeated him without using a magical attack��" someone added.


    Yman disregarded the murmurs and glanced at the two remaining enemies. He saw the other two were already captured by the experts and royal knights. At first, they tried to fight back, but their struggle bore nothing as they were easily defeated.


    The royal knights and other experts that saw the fight narrowed their eyes at the person in a hooded black armor.


    Each of them had similar thoughts, that his strength was nonordinary. They wondered who was the person behind the armor.


    ''Looks like Miss Ella found a reliable guard,'' most of them thought.


    The empress who was watching at the scene in disbelief forthwith ordered the soldiers for additional security and to bring the prisoners to the underground prison cell for further investigation.


    She then asked the Royal Knight Captain to escort Miss Ella.


    After arresting the three robed people, Yman and Ella were startled when Gilion suddenly barked, " Impudent, get off your dirty hands from the prin- Miss Ella!!" He roared when his feet landed on stage.


    His friends were puzzled as to why Gilion was angry at that person who saved Miss Ella, while Hannah was shaking her head for Gilion''s childish act.


    However, Hannah was surprised by the person who saved the princess. ''So it was the reason why the headmaster of the adventurer''s guild talked to them in secret,'' she thought.


    Looks like the headmaster appointed that handsome guy to be the princess''s personal guard.


    After Gilion roared at him, the two looked at each other and noticed how close they were from each other.


    Ella''s mind went back to reality and noticed that she was still in the embrace of Crimson Canceler. Her face instantly became redder.


    Yman then immediately released her.


    Ella said her thanks to him without looking at his face when the soldiers of the empire came to escort her towards the empress.


    When she left together with the guards, Yman was left standing on the stage together with Gilion who was raising his brow at him and declared a challenge that he would be going to defeat him.


    "Kuku," Yman smirked. He wondered why this person was always challenging him without a proper reason.


    Gilion could not argue further with him as he was the one saving her. However, this guy annoyed him to the bone! Just seeing that ability would boil his blood. He would be going to defeat him and that ability of him in this competition.


    One girl inside the room of Miss Ice could not settle her feelings. She wanted to believe that it was him. But it was impossible to be him. Almina wanted to believe it was him and also wanted to deny it at the same time. Especially after she saw him hugging the beautiful Miss Merea Ella.


    However, the skills he used were similar to him.


    Regardless, more soldiers came to secure the place, no matter what happened the competition must go on.


    Actually, it wasn''t the first time that terrorism like this happened in the Empire. So such a kind of event wasn''t an unusual event for them. The only thing that made the people bemused by it was the fact that this time the target was the famous artist Miss Ella.


    Faye the trickster went in front again and announced the rules of the competition.


    The painting seemed to be 3-dimensional geography of the world when Faye toggled it into a bird view.


    The painting wasn''t an ordinary painting as it was made through magic.


    "The first round of the competition is known as �� Cross The Boundary.


    As you can see, there are 3-layered circles from the small, medium, to large. Each circle had an estimated distance of 20 kilometers each. These three circles would act as boundaries.


    For you to be qualified for the next round of competition, you needed to enter the center-most boundary. Which is inside the smallest circle. However, these three circles are made of magical barriers. One can only pass it when he or she gains a total of 1,000 points at the first boundary, which is the larger circle. Then you need at least 3,000 points at the second boundary. And in order to enter the last boundary which is your end goal, you needed at least 7,000 points��"


    "Woah as expected of the Empress. She came up with a new kind of competition again."


    "Yeah, this competition seemed to be interesting!"


    "But how to get the points?"


    "Maybe we needed to defeat other participants to earn it."


    "Right."


    Some participants muttered.


    Thud! A dull sound was heard which caused the noise to die down.


    "Chuchu chuchu chuuuu, I see everyone was excited to start the fight.


    Remember! Each one of you holds 100 points. When you defeat a participant your points will become 200, then it will become 300 when you defeat another again. Continued defeating the other participants will gain you more points until you reach the amount needed to enter the boundary. On the other hand, the defeated participant will automatically be summoned out from the painting.


    "100 points only?"


    "Damn, then we need to defeat 10 participants in the first boundary!"


    "Bwahaha, this is exciting!" Ember laughed.


    "Fufu, indeed!" Added by Harou.


    "Fuu! Good thing that it seemed I don''t need to fight with this muscle brain brother of mine," Cinder muttered which caught the interest of the other people around who managed to hear her.


    "He''s right, hey do you want to team up with us?" Whisper the person to the person beside him.


    "Keke, that sounds good," replied the other.


    The whisper escalated until more participants formed a team.


    Yman forced a soundless laugh upon noticing the undergoing secret recruitment from the other participants.


    He glanced at the person beside him.


    "Hey, do you want to team up with me?" He asked.


    Gilion didn''t expect this person to talk with him. And, ''What the heck this guy was talking about?! Does he look like he needs it to win this elimination?! Damn!''


    "F**k off!" He replied annoyingly.


    "Kuku," Yman smirked. Well, he wasn''t serious though. He just wanted to annoy him.


    "Chuchu chuchu chuuu, aside from participants there are also beasts in the area which contained different numbers of points. You can kill them and earn additional points. The points they hold depend on the ranks of the beasts.


    Just remember,


    When you enter the painting, each one of you will be sent randomly outside the boundaries.


    Alright!


    I wish you Goodluck everyone! Chuchu chuchu chuuu!"

 Chapter 108: The beautiful world of survival

    The painting was like a dimensional gate. When Yman stepped inside, another view greeted him.


    He saw mountains to his left with forest on the foot of it,and a wide prairie to his front that runs to his right.


    However, he wasn''t please by it. Something was bothering him, he felt a tingling and uneasy feeling.


    "Sistela, how''s our inventory?" He asked. Yman could check it by himself, but it was more convenient to ask his deity than go into trouble checking it himself.


    He then scanned his surroundings while waiting for Sistela''s reply.


    Sistela''s bemused voice rang in his ears.


    Looks like he was right, "I-I see," he said while glancing around.


    She asked curiously.


    "I am, but I have a gist that it would be like this eventually," Yman replied, then he continued walking towards the canary wheat fields to his right.


    It was located about 50 steps away from him. Looking at it from a distance, the wheat grew tall.


    curiously asked Sistela.


    "Intuition."


    "I have the intuition that my modifying ability will have no effect here," Yman said with a serious face.


    Actually, it was more of a danger sensing ability than an intuition.


    Maybe it triggered his trauma of being sealed in a confined place when he was abducted. So he had this strong intuition towards the situation that was unfavorable to him.


    "Kuku, I also wanted to know about that."


    After stepping inside the painting he had a tingling feeling of being constricted in this world. Like he was confined inside a cell.


    ''While Miss Ella was making this world, she must be aware of my ability to cancel a spell. So she made some restrictions in this world to avoid cheating. In that case, this world wasn''t an ordinary world. It is prolly made with certain rules if I made a guess.''


    Yman couldn''t help but feel a chill at this magical skill of hers.


    ''A world where you can manipulate.''


    ''Wasn''t she a very ''OP'' person?!''


    ''Damn! What a nice ability to have,'' He thought.


    ''Wait��.. if she made it with rules, she probably only disallowed my ability to cancel a spell.''


    He then tried using his [Time Warp].


    ..��but Yman was still in his place.


    No way!


    "The time here is unbendable!" He uttered in surprise.


    "N-Nothing, haha."


    ''Could it be she didn''t intentionally restrict my [Time Modifier] ability? It happened because the world itself is intangible?''


    Though it was his wild guesses only and not certain.


    Yman slack-jawed.


    Now his trusted skill was unusable in this world.


    ''So that''s the reason, huh. Of why I felt uneasy after entering here,'' He thought.


    ''I am supposed to be the Crimson Canceler, the king of spells! But anyhow, that beauty created a world that could silent my skills."


    "....."


    Sigh.


    He then further scanned his surroundings.


    A single tree in the middle of wheatfields took his attention and decided to rest under its shade. He sat with his butt on the ground and leaned his back on the tree trunk as he was mulling.


    Yman noticed the sun was set at the angle of 12 o''clock pm. It was also the time outside before they stepped inside the painting. But at this point, the time in this world would then run faster than the real world.


    The announcer Mr. Faye already told them that the time here was different from the real world. 1 day here was equivalent to 20 minutes in the real world. And they only had 1 week to complete the mission.


    So 1 week in this place was about 2 and a half hours only in the real world.


    His eyes wander above and notice some kind of flying objects in the air, about 30-50 meters above the ground.


    ''Monitoring devices?'' He asked himself.


    He heard Sistela saying.


    "I just hope they censored some stuff, haha," He replied jokingly.


    Although, the current time was 12 o''clock. The place wasn''t hot. The slight breeze from the mountain was very fresh as it brushed his face.


    The scenery was so beautiful.


    What a perfect view. If only he had this ability he could slack off all day long. In his mind.


    He decided to lay on the ground while using his arms as the pillow. The armor he was wearing wasn''t heavy and it was comfortable to wear. Good thing that he wore it. At Least he had the armor.


    Looks like, whatever outside their storage the time they stepped in was the only equipment they could use here.


    His eyes were peeking under the hood of his black leather armor while staring at the sun rays from leaves crevices.


    A magical sound resounded when he summoned the list of skills he could use.


    [Rapid Leap], [Air Dance], and [Healing Spell] was available. He could also use a weak fireball from the Demon''s Mana, and some basic magic like [Strengthening].


    Only his [Time Modifier] which was from his channeling talent was unavailable because of this weird world.


    This world forbids him from using his [Spell Canceler] and [Time Warp]. These two skills were under his [Time Modifier] ability.


    And based on the grimoire, the [Time Modifier] was under the [Channeling Talent].


    Most of his skill was self-naming by him. Well, since he was the one who created them so it was right for him to name them by himself.


    Looks like I needed to learn some skills using my Demon''s Mana. He thought.


    Haha, even without my [Time Modifier], I still have that Black Mana, or should I call it Black Smoke? Vapour?


    No!


    The best name for it was�� Black Miasma!


    Yman''s eyes slowly closed, but it abruptly opened when the cute face of his sister appeared in his mind. Ah, he missed her, wondering how was she at the moment.


    He couldn''t slack off! The prize for this competition was very important to him. One of the ingredients to create the medicine. And a lot of money. Fufu, not just that. He could also get a rank 7 Artefact! He really wanted to own an Artefact.


    Not only that, he perceived some life forms around 100 meters radius around him.


    Based on what he perceived, it must be some kind of beasts.


    Good!


    The most important thing to do in survival like this is to gather enough food first.


    He immediately leaped on his feet. Then jumped on the tree branch and took a piece of the branch.


    About a 1.2-meter branch that is as big as two fingers.


    Yman summoned the crimson mana and enveloped the tree branch, to harden and strengthen it.


    He closed his eyes, appearing in his perception about 5 monsters. Based on their auras, one rank B, two rank C, and two rank F, the lowest.


    He didn''t perceive human presence from his vicinity. Each of them was probably sent at a good distance from each.


    He strapped the 1.2-meter branch on his waist.


    Then,


    Plak! He took another three branches of about 12 inches long each.


    One by one, he fixed them on the gap of his fingers on his left hand and formed like a claw.


    He stared at them and thought that these branches weren''t good weapons as the tip was not pointed yet.


    Flame! He whispered and flicked his fingers at the same time.


    The tip of his right index finger had exuded a slight flame like a lighter, he then burned the tip of each of the branches.


    This magic of creating a small amount of flame was a part of basic magic which was taught in the academy by the elders. Everyone could learn it in a day, but Yman who had no mana at that time failed miserably and became the laughing stock again from others.


    He could only feel jealous while watching them succeed in creating flame.


    Good thing that the crimson mana had the affinity of fire. Now he could create a flame.


    He burned the tips of the three small branches.


    Before the tip completely turned charcoal, he waves his hand to turn off the flame.


    Then he scraped them at the tree trunks to sharpen the tips.


    After sharpening them. Yman smiled under his hood.


    Now the hunt will begin! He muttered.


    Sistela remained quiet as she needed to concentrate and appraise what she needed to appraise, and also she needed to concentrate and monitor the demon''s mana as it was overpowering her which wasn''t good to their resonance if it fully dominated her system.


    From the single tree in the middle of the wheatfield, a silhouette jumped higher and threw one branch covered with crimson aura.


    Fwoosh!


    The branch traveled the space towards the tall grass.


    GAaarrrr!


    A moment after he threw it, it was followed by a grieving howl.


    Though, he noticed it was still alive.


    Dang, my marksmanship is still awful in the distance of 50 meters away even after my power ups. He muttered in regret.


    He was off a hairsbreadth to directly kill the beast.


    After this, he would be back to training his basic attributes again, especially his dexterity.


    Currently, he was level 3 and his CE was at 55%. He needed to accumulate more experience to advance his level. Or else he could not execute the full potential of the strength he was holding.


    He followed another throw to his left while executing an [Air Dance] to slightly maneuver his body even in midair for a couple of seconds. But it wasn''t the same when he used the [Skill Modifier] of Black Miasma, which he could combine the [Rapid Leap] and [Air Dance] to create a new ability which he called [Air Maneuver].


    Without wasting time, he followed another throw to his right.


    Two consecutive cries followed after.


    But before his body descended, a large silhouette jumped from the grasses with a large gaping mouth to bite him.


    Yman''s eyes glinted.


    Plak!


    The next second the beasts were sent crashing on the ground when its mouth was hit by something.


    It was a sudden downward strike using the 1.2-meter tree branch, strengthened and hardened using the crimson mana.


    His feet landed about five steps away from the monster with two horns protruding at the side of its face. And two gaping fangs coming out from its mouth. It has jet black furs and stood on its four limbs.


    Well, the most striking feature of it was that it was identical to wild pigs.


    He heard Sistela''s voice. It then followed by the appearance of its red bar above its head. And the number 1900/5000 HP was visible inside the red health bar.


    "What a feast! Hehe," he grinned, then used [Rapid Leap].


    Plak!


    The Giant Mutated Boar failed to retaliate as it was hit squarely in the weak spot.


    After killing the boar, Yman also finished the other beasts.


    Before his fight with beasts, in the real world, viewed on their monitors the different battles that are happening at the moment. Especially the battle between the participants.


    However, one participant was caught in the camera, lying under the tree in the middle of a grassland.


    "Eh? What is he doing?" Ella asked.


    "Haha, that guard of yours is a very interesting person, Rea honey," giggled the empress beside her.


    "H-He''s not my guard yet, Your Majesty�� I-I mean Aunt."


    "Why is that? He just saved you," the empress said while eyeing her.


    "Uh, erm��" Ella was at a loss of words on how to explain their deal.


    Currently, they were watching it inside the palace balcony.


    Yman was caught in the camera for a moment only. And it was transferred to the beautiful views of the world. Then it was followed by a fight scene from other participants.


    Everyone cheered whenever the camera darted to the experts of great noble families from the empire.

 Chapter 109: The heated competition

    A giant cube monitor of about 30 square meters stood above a big Receptor Plate that was placed on stage for everyone to enjoy. On it was being played what was happening in the world inside the painting.


    The monitor was divided into different panels with different channels, for them to watch at the same time.


    In one of the panels, they saw the expert of the Lupine Family known as Ember, surrounded by 7 people in the area full of tall trees.


    Inside the forest, a guffaw resounded, "Bwahahaha, good job punk for finding me!" Said Ember to the people surrounding him.


    "Damn it, what are you saying, don''t make it like we are the one searching you!" Said the person wearing a leader armor and was holding a crossbow and having pointed ears.


    "Right, you are the one who found us, idiot!" Seconded the black skinhead person with dog ears.


    "Yeah, we are just about to poop and you suddenly showed up!" Lashed out a demi-human with bunny ears and wearing sunglasses.


    "Man you want to poop too!"


    Ember''s brow was twitching, ''What are these idiots saying?'' He thought. "In any case, what a fortune that you are gathering here. 1,2,4,5,7! Guehehe!"


    "This person is bad at math!"


    "Haha, where is the 3 and 6, dumbass?!"


    Arrrgh!! Guwaaahh!!! They suddenly heard crying voices besides them.


    They glanced and saw two people having big holes on their chests. They glanced back at Ember and noticed his hand was enveloped by fire.


    "Hehe, no need for 3 and 6 as they were dead already, bwahaha!" Laughed Ember.2


    "Shit! When did he shoot them?!"


    ''Dang, why does this person have to show up here!'' Thought the fourth person.


    "In any case, he''s alone, let''s defeat him!" Shouted the fifth person in their group.


    "B-But he''s an expert from the great noble family!"


    "Do you think we have a choice! Let''s kill ''em!"


    "He''s right, let''s break his balls!" The person holding a massive hammer dashed forward.


    "Let''s go attack together! And revenge our comrade!"


    "Aight!!!"


    The other people rushed behind the person holding the big hammer. Different kinds of brilliance burst out from their bodies towards their weapons. The other''s shot magical energies at him. Swoosh swoosh! Two arrows let loose from the crossbow and flew towards Ember''s forehead.


    "Hehe, right come at me! Bwahaha!" Said Ember in elation.


    The next second, a golden aura burst out on his hand then it turned into a massive furry hand with razor-sharp claws.


    The 3 people rapidly leaped to smash him.


    However,


    [Partial Transformation - The Punisher Hand!]


    He whispered.


    Boom boom bang, the fired magical energies and arrows hit him but it was blocked by the large furry hand.


    Seeing it, the other did not stop their attack and brandished their weapons in hands.


    Ember smirked then the razor-sharp claws were horizontally swiped that hit all the approaching enemies, five marks of claws that was tearing the space materialized in the air. It immediately tore the bodies of the charging 3 people.


    Ember disappeared from their sight as he leaped in midair towards the two range enemies and slashed their bodies.


    His movement was too agile for them to follow. In just a second, their bodies were torn in half.


    Only the long marks of claws in the air and the wailing voice of the killed participants had remained.


    The seven people''s body instantly turned into light particles as their body materialized outside the painting.


    "Damn that freak!" Regretfully shouted one of the people who attacked Ember.


    "Bwahahaha, hey you losers! How does it feel getting hit by that attack?"


    They gawked upon hearing it.


    Some people who were gathering around the respawn area asked. They noticed that there were many people in the area. All of them were staring at the giant monitor on stage. While the respawn area was located at the front of the stage to where a wide empty space was. Under them was a big round flat empty surface with a magic array that was written beautifully.


    "Damn, this is so embarrassing��" muttered the other guy with bunny ears.


    After they materialized, another group of people materialized one after another. Like them, they also spat some regrets, for them to alleviate the bad taste they felt for getting killed too early in the competition.


    Until then, they joined forces to the welcoming group, to welcome the fallen warriors. Ahem, they mockingly welcomed the loser warriors like them. And so another squad was formed in the respawn area. Their numbers were rapidly increasing as more losers came out crying.


    "Hah, I knew it, those experts from great noble families are of a different league," a person sighed after his body respawned.


    The eyes of the people gathering around the spawn area glowed in red.


    Then a moment later,


    "Haha, welcome to heaven brother!"


    "Good dying day bro!"


    "Haha, how is it loser!"


    And so on��


    The person they welcomed turned stiff at the embarrassing situation.


    ''What the f**k is this!'' He thought.


    Later on, he too joined the legendary squad.


    Displayed in the other channels were the heated hunting of participants inside the world of painting.


    Some were in a solo and some were in a group battle.


    Most of them were busy roaming the land.


    But they noticed a specific person in one of the channels having a relaxing time.


    He was cooking some meat under a tree in the middle of a grassland, unbothered by the other participants who were currently busy hunting beasts or participants alike.


    "That guy, he was the one who saved Miss Ella right?"


    "Yeah! Eh, what''s he doing?"


    "Cooking��"


    "Look, while the others are busy hunting for enemies, that person is busy roasting meat."


    "Haha, what the heck!"


    "Does he even know the rules?"


    "If he won''t gather points eagerly, he can''t cross the border!"


    "On top of that, it''s not easy to find the border!"


    "You''re right! Not only did they need to gather points, but they also needed to search the border. So it is better to gather points early in the match."


    The people who were watching the elimination round on the monitor were wondering why this person was leisurely cooking under the tree with a nice view and didn''t hunt for points.


    Inside the palace balcony, the slightly loud chuckles of the empress resounded.


    "Kuku, that person, really came there for a vacation, what do you think, Rea, honey?"


    "....."


    For some reason, Ella didn''t know how to answer her aunt the empress. ''Did that guy even plan to win this competition? Did he think that after he saved me I am going to accept him for sure? W-Well, I-I''m grateful for w-what he did. B-But he should at least show a motivation to pass the elimination round!'' She cried in her mind.


    Suddenly, her beautiful eyes widened a little, "Wait�� maybe the restrictions in that world affect his magic!" She mumbled a little louder which was heard by the empress.


    "Ooh, is that so, fufufu. So that''s the reason ha. That''s too bad. I am even looking forward to his fight," said the empress, a little dismay.


    Ella''s shoulder dropped. ''If I know it, I''d rather not put any restrictions,'' she thought. Well, it was also a good test for him. But anyhow, that guy seemed to have no plan to win this competition.


    Inside Miss Ice room, Almina and the others wonder if their initial thought about that person was right or wrong. If it was Yman, it was impossible that he just leisurely did nothing while the competition already started.


    Perhaps it was not an ideal time to just sit there.


    Almina and Maena knew him very well. He would always be too eager to take advantage of the situation. While also thinking of some ideal plan.


    They all knew that if they were in that guy''s shoes, they would eagerly hunt points as they only had a week to complete the mission.


    Perhaps it''s not easy to gather all the needed points.


    If that guy was Yman, he would probably know the importance of it. But that guy on the monitor seemed like he didn''t have the drive to take this competition seriously.


    Around this time, inside the painting, the world was already around 5 pm.


    Unaware of the discussion outside, Yman was still sitting under the tree.


    He just finished a very good dinner. The foods were very realistic. No, the world itself was very realistic.


    No matter how he thought about this world, he had a hard time comprehending the laws regarding the time in this world.


    The sky was already dimmed, but he knew that just a few minutes had passed in the real world.


    Yman drew a big cross in the ground. Then he laid on it while facing the sky.


    Stars started to appear in the sky.


    While staring at it, he noticed a monitoring device flew towards the direction of the east if he presumed.


    He wondered how the things that happened in this world were being played in the real world. But he guessed that those monitoring devices captured the scene in very slow motion, then it played in the real world at a normal speed.


    And they frequently shift the scene to cover up the time gap between these two worlds.


    Really, such great magic. He thought.


    Sometimes, his perception caught a human presence around him. But he just ignored them and masked his presence so as not to alarm the enemies.


    As of the moment, he killed 2 rank F, 2 rank C, and 1 rank B. He stored some of their meat inside the Cyber Storage.


    Rank F is equivalent to 1 point.


    Rank C is equivalent to 30 points.


    Rank B is equivalent to 40 points.


    So as of the moment, he had 102, summing it to his 100 own points, the total is 202 points.


    He needed 1000 points to cross the first border. In this regard, he needed additional 798 points.


    When darkness finally blanketed the world inside the painting. Most of the participants were already hiding somewhere they could rest.


    Yman on the other hand...

 Chapter 110: Whatever he did, reminded her of him...

    Yman''s eyes were peeking under the hood while staring at the night sky.


    Many stars were blinking on it. He wondered if after they get out here, would he feel hungry again? That food meat he ate a moment ago seemed real. But he knew that everything in this world was just an illusion. It was made of magical power.


    He found himself unable to stop admiring this world. No, what he was admired was the magical power that Miss Ella wielded.


    Sigh.


    Currently, he was not in resonance, and Sistela was hiding in his hood.


    They needed to save her battery as they could not use their spare ones. And mostly, they would cancel their resonance at night.


    Many Monitoring Devices passed by in the air above him.


    They must be searching for some interesting scenes.


    Underneath the hood, Yman''s mouth curled upward.


    Then his vision was enveloped by darkness upon closing his eyes.


    The people in the real world just gawked at the sight of him soundlessly sleeping in the open while lighting a bonfire.


    "Holy, does that guy know how to hide?!"


    "Lmao, he is in the open, and still has the guts to light a bonfire. Is he attracting danger to himself?!"


    "Hahaha, that guy is just too lax! I admired him for saving Miss Ella awhile ago, but it looks like he wasn''t that great, to be honest."


    Some of the audiences exclaimed.


    The next second, one of the Monitoring Devices caught a participant deliberately crawling under the grasses, towards the tree to where that person was sleeping.


    Most of the audience snickered while shaking their heads.


    The person who was slowly approaching had a bow in hand.


    Then he was caught in the camera positioned himself in a half-kneeling state, he lifted the bow in hand and positioned it at his front.


    The people currently watching it didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    "Hahaha!"


    "That guy is too defenseless!"


    The audience laughs at him.


    Ella in the balcony didn''t know what she should feel.


    She wanted to warn him, but how?


    The empress forced a smile at her niece''s silence. She probably was thinking of his carefree behavior.


    Almina and the others knitted their brows, wondering what was the deal with that person. For some reason, her eyes couldn''t take away from him. Like, there was some kind of invisible force forcing her to stare at him.


    Inside the barracks, Bob and the other''s just stared at the whole panel, but when they noticed a ranger aiming his bow at the person sleeping beside the bonfire, they couldn''t help force a laugh.


    They wondered if that guy was too tired that he had the leisure to sleep in such a conspicuous place.


    "Hahaha, I never imagine there is such a guy as idiot as him in the Encantasia!" Laughed Marco.


    "Hehehe, Kiko dude was right, Demi-Humans are simple-minded people!" Followed by Bruno.


    "Gyahaha! My stomach hurts laughing at that dumbass!" Their other friend added.


    "Pffft!" Kiko trying to hold his laughter.


    Inside a pub, Kiko and his friends were mockingly laughing while shaking their heads at the person sleeping in the open.


    The ranger materialized an arrow in his hand and his mouth broke into a grin.


    ''Hehe, easy points. Those guys who died early have no brains. They never thought that it''s better to hunt at night, Kuku. Look at this idiot here. Does he think that all of the participants will just go and sleep? Tsk, why these amateurs even bothered joining this competition. Well, maybe her majesty knew that it would come up to this, that''s why she designed this kind of elimination. To clean up this messy amateur who lowered the quality of this competition. Fufu, only the strong had the ability to qualify for the next round. And��.. Amateur like you shall die!'' He thought with a soundless laugh.


    After aiming the tip of the arrow to the person''s head, *Twang!* he hastily released the arrow.


    Watching the arrow fly towards the unaware person, his grin slowly became broader until it evolved into a toothy grin.


    The arrow directly hit �� Fwoosh!


    "!!"


    "The heck!" An utterance escaped from his mouth upon seeing the arrow was snapped before it pierced the enemy''s scalp.


    "!!"


    "!!"


    "!!"


    Everyone was dumbfounded. "Kuku." Then they heard a chuckle.


    They saw him slowly getting up until he stood, in his hand was the arrow he snapped. As he gripped on it and crushed within his palm.


    He glanced at the direction where the person shot him.


    "What the��," one of the audience uttered.


    The ranger had a shocked face. Then he saw the person in front of him about 30 meters away from him.


    Glanced at him in slow-mo. "Kuku, if you wanted to sneak an attack, at least masked your intent as I have eyes around me," said the person.


    The ranger frowned after he heard him. Then he felt danger for himself.


    Without waiting for that person to take a step forward, Twang, twang, twang!


    Three magical arrows flew. It was made of pure mana energy.


    Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Swoosh! He again snapped the two arrows and tilted his head to avoid the last one.


    Everyone had their mouth open wide.


    "He caught an arrow?!" Finally, someone among the crowd of people cried out in disbelief. It was followed by bees like murmurs.


    The empress and Ella also fell silent as their eyes were focused on the monitor.


    Kiko and his friends immediately went silent as they didn''t expect that this person could catch an arrow in that ideal distance for a ranger. Their faces had bitter expressions as they felt they just ate their own mocking words.


    "Woah, that person is so damn insane. Look, how he caught the magical arrows barehanded!" Inside the barracks, Bob exclaimed.


    "Right, it was insane to catch it without coating your hand with mana to shield from its magical damage," said Chloe.


    "Hmm, either that person is insane, or he has high magic resistance in the first place," Mai explained.


    Bob and Chloe agreed.


    Almina, Maena, and Ice narrowed their eyes, they could already guess what happened. They believed that he had high perception and high defensive stats. On top of that, wasn''t he able to cancel his enemy''s magical attack? So it wasn''t really surprising if he caught the magical arrows.


    But the battle between the two had just started so everyone focused their eyes on the monitor as they were watching on the same channel.


    "Resonance," after he whispered he walked slowly while catching and dodging the fired arrows. Seeing it, the ranger felt perspired. But as a veteran warrior, he didn''t stop firing as more and more arrows departed from his bow and tore the space between him and his enemy.


    After the third step, the ranger noticed the enemy in front of him kick the ground as he dashed forward.


    Twang, twang, twang! More arrows were flying rapidly.


    But his enemy jumped in the air to cut their distance. The ranger, as a veteran warrior, leaped back to increase their distance while nonstop firing arrows at him.


    The ranger grinned, as the rapid-fire of arrows traveled accurately. Although his enemy could catch it if he shot him in different parts of his body he was sure that if not three or two, one of them would surely hit the enemy.


    Yman grinned. Then he used [Air Dance] to avoid the barrage of attack.


    Even in midair, his body made a front flip and rolled rapidly in the air towards the ranger enemy.


    "!!"


    "How is that possible?" The bow user enemy muttered.


    After a rapid roll, he was finally above him. He saw the bowman aimed his weapon at him, but before he could fire it.


    Yman''s silhouette disappeared. The enemy scanned his surroundings to find him.


    [Rapid Leap] A soft whisper tickled his ears. It came from his back. He abruptly turned around but he felt the world seemed turned over.


    A moment later, his vision rotates! And�� and�� and he saw his body�� with his back facing the enemy''s back!


    Wait! What?! How come his body over there!?


    He was late to realize that he was decapitated by that person!


    His head with a shocked face fell on the ground and it bounced several times before it turned into light particles. The same time when his head turned into light particles that his body also became light particles.


    [You obtained 300 points for killing the participant 0154]


    "I see, so it was like that ha��" Yman whispered.


    The audience from different places went into deep silence. Every one of them could not believe what they just saw. That person mercilessly decapitated his enemy! And what the heck he did?! He caught the arrows! Well, wasn''t he the person who canceled the terrorist magical attack awhile ago? So what was the point of getting surprised about it? Maybe he just wanted to loaf around and appreciate the view in that world. This was what everyone thought at the moment.


    "Fufufu, as expected, he really was an interesting person," muttered the empress.


    "Ahaha, but why does he have to be so cruel?" Ella forced a laugh. She wondered why that person had to do it like that. Good thing that she added restrictions and censored some gruesome parts for the children viewers. But even so, it was clear to them what he did at that time.


    The empress smiled at her as she could read what she thought based on the expression written on her niece''s face.


    Almina''s doubt towards that person grew stronger every time he did something. Whatever he did reminded her of Yman. Like how merciless Yman was at killing the Evil Rat in the Underground Channel that time.


    The next morning...

 Chapter 111: Shapeless Flame

    All the participants were busy earning points.


    Using her hand, Cinder swept the tall grasses that were blocking her.


    *Fidget!*


    *Fidget!*


    "Aaaaaa, I''m finally able to pee! Those devices kept tailing me since yesterday! At least give me some privacy you idiot!" she wanted to cry. "I''m a girl you know!" Cinder screamed with teary eyes.


    She knew that being a member of one of the great noble families attracts more attention to the masses. Also, she wondered what that Lyka girl did at times like this. It was hard for her since she wasn''t an outside person and had zero camping experience.


    Yet she was forced to join this competition by the family elder.


    Fighting nonstop in order to gain points made her uncomfortable as it made her reek of sweat. On top of that, her throat was dry and she couldn''t find any swamp, falls, or��.. "A river!" She exclaimed upon seeing a river in the distance.


    Patapatapata! Her teary eyes gleamed as she hastily dashed forward.


    Not far from the river, a lone tree stood in the clearing surrounded by canary grasses.


    But her awareness wasn''t for it as she was more concerned about the river.


    It was still early in the morning, and most participants were busy hunting everywhere. Especially the guys who were eager to complete the quest as soon as possible.


    In the real world, the current point ranking was being displayed.


    "Woah, Roman got the highest points!"


    "Isn''t he from the Hammerhelm family?!"


    "Of course, Roman Hammerhelm, from the top two families of great noble families. You guys didn''t know about him?"


    "Curse you! Who said I didn''t know him? He''s once the champion of last year''s tournament! And in fact, his family originated from the FatBeardy Tribe!"


    "Right, their family has once created a legendary Artefact! And that is also the reason why they were in the rank two great noble families in the empire."


    "Right, and I heard that when he was 10 years old, Roman was sent to the southern part of the empire to tame a rampaging rank 7 spirit beast!"


    "What?! Is that true?!"


    "That''s what I heard when I happened to visit the southern part on a vacation."


    "Damn! 10 years old?! And now he is 17! Just think how OP he has become!"


    "That''s bad that we could not peek a little of his strength in the first border struggle as most participants he encountered are mostly weakling!"


    "THE HECK DUDE!! Think about our feelings! Who said we are weaklings?! They are just stronger!" The legendary league of fallen soldiers who welcomed their fallen brethren in the respawn areareacted with devilish eyes.


    *Whisper!*


    *Whisper!*


    The audience noisily discussed the first person who crossed the first border and currently had the highest points.


    The 2nd who had the highest points was Hilion of Gustav family and his White Leo Knights. Followed by Lyka of the Lowe family, then Ember and Harou. Next was Gilion of the Gustav family, and then other members of great noble families and some adventurers like Vince and the others.


    Yman wasn''t even in the top 100 but his points weren''t low as he was already able to gather 502 points.


    At the moment, only Roman Hammerhelm was able to cross the first border as most of the participants beside him were not able to gather many points yet.


    Hilion and his White Leo Knights were still searching for the border.


    In the meantime, Yman was grilling meat under the tree in a clearing surrounded by tall canary gasses.


    He was fanning it using leaves that he sewed together. He gulped when the fresh smell of smoke invaded his nose towards his throat. It smells fresh and delicious.


    Nonetheless, his rebel stomach didn''t stop grumbling. Fortunately, the grilled meat was finally cooked.


    He summoned a bit of mana from his fingers and took a big piece of it. It was one of the most basic magic spells that a magician could learn even without the help of the academy. It also was the weaker version of Mana Membrane, commonly known as Mana Coating or Mana Skin.


    Actually, every magician who used elemental magic had to learn it before casting the spell, especially the fire element. This Mana Coating ability would enable them to manipulate fire on their fingers or on every part of their bodies without burning their skin.


    Yman after coating his finger with mana took a big piece of grilled meat. He blew it before taking a bite.


    "Aaa, smell so great," he mumbled. GOWARRRR!! His stomach grumbled again, seemingly could not wait for him to bite the meat.


    However,


    Patapatapata!


    Before his mouth could bite it, together with Sistela''s warning, his perception and ears picked a presence from the distance.


    "Tsk, wrong timing!" Yman clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    He hastily threw the grilled meat to his Cyber Storage, then hid his mana. Yman took the skin of the boar he dried in the sun and covered the fire he used to grill to hide the smoke. Although it wasn''t able to prevent the smoke from escaping, it was able to cover most of it. Then he focused his perception. "?!" He was puzzled.


    ''It''s not coming to my direction? Based on the cross I drew on the ground, it was coming from the northern forest at the mountain-foot to my left side, and it is running towards this direction but not entirely towards me. Perhaps its main goal is the river to the south which is located 100 meters away from my position,'' Yman mulled.


    He leaped on the tree branch and took again the grill meat then slowly bit on it as he waited for the person to pass by.


    Just few seconds had passed when he finally saw who it was.


    "A guy? Looks like my initial thought was right. He was going after the river. I must ambush him then. As it is already the second day, probably most of the participants that areleft hold higher points now. Killing one or two of them must be enough to cross the boundary," he muttered then glanced in the sky.


    "No more ha," he whispered.


    "Uh-erm, it''s nothing?"


    "Haha, there''s no point in telling you right now as you will find out later."


    "Hehe, I know, don''t worry."


    "Right, right���� Ehhhh what the��?!" While conversing with Sistela, his eyes also staring at the person who rushed towards the river. But in the odd twist of fate, the person he originally thought as a man, turned to be a woman. After she took off the chest plate and red dress, Yman saw two small versions of the mountain to his left and a curvaceous body with furry tails and wolf ears.


    Good thing she was wearing undergarments!


    However, his foot slid from the tree branch where he was steeping, but because of his high reflexes, he was able to grab another branch over his head. Yet the problem was, the slight incident made the tree shake terribly and startled the nesting birds on it. They hurriedly flew away.


    The next time he noticed, "The heck!" a flash of fire was shot towards him. His perception rang a warning of danger.


    Without wasting time, he dove away from the tree, Bang!


    Yman''s body landed on the ground and rolled a few times before he regained his ground.


    "Damn that almost roasted me!" He muttered upon seeing what his favorite tree had become. It was charred on the spot.


    ''An expert!'' He thought.


    But Yman could not linger any longer as another flash of fire hastily shot on him. He kicked the ground and ran forward.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    His movement was like that of a snake when he ran to his left and right in order to evade the flashes of fire. While he was evading, at the same time he also was rushing forward to the enemy. He didn''t care if it was a girl. He needed to take her life for the points. Yman snapped a handful of grass-leaves on his way. Then coated it with the bright crimson mana.


    The leaves had become solid and unbendable and their edges gleamed in sharpness.


    Cinder on the other hand had a surprise face. ''Tsk! How careless of me to rush here without being attentive to my surroundings!''


    More shapeless flames coagulated around her.


    "Lupine Fire - Shapeless Flame!" She chanted. Then fired them all at once.


    Woosh, woosh, woosh!


    Seeing the approaching [Shapeless Flames], he added more strength on his feet and ran more agile.


    Bang, one of the [Shapeless Flames] hit the ground, about a step away to his left.


    It immediately exploded and caused the ground to carved-in. It was followed by the spread of fire on the grasses around.


    Yman did not stop as more [Shapeless Flames] were shot to him.


    He leaped higher into the air to hastily shorten their distance.


    Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh! While in the air, he threw three strengthened leaves in his hand like throwing knives.


    Cinder narrowed her eyes at the incoming objects that gleamed in crimson.


    To be continued...

 Chapter 112: Against a wolf girl beauty...

    Cinder Lupine sent another [Shapeless Flames] towards the three approaching Fortified Leaves. Her narrowed eyes, "What?!" Were replaced by surprise when the Fortified Leaves passed through unhindered into her [Shapeless Flames].


    Before the Fortified Leaves hit her, [Lupine Flame Shield] Dense amount of burning flame burst out from her body. She looked like she was on fire. When the Fortified Leaves touched it, it instantly turned into ashes.


    Yman squinted his eyes, "What kind of flame is that?" He subconsciously muttered while his body started to descend.


    Sistela whispered.


    "I-I see��"


    Yman summoned much denser crimson mana. When his feet landed on the ground he didn''t stop and continued rushing forward while throwing another three Fortified Leaves. But this time, he threw it one after another.


    "That''s useless!" Cinder shouted. Just as she said, the Fortified Leaves were again turned to ashes when they touched her shield of flame.


    Instead of feeling disheartened that his second batch of Fortified Leaves still failed, he seemed not affected by it as he continued rushing forward.


    Cinder''s mouth broke into a glee. Looks like this person wanted to commit suicide as it continued rushing towards her even though all its attacks were useless against her.


    Although she couldn''t take a clear view of who it was because of its speed, she wasn''t a bit bothered by it.


    Cinder didn''t stop attacking using her [Shapeless Flames].


    15 meters away from her, the enemy suddenly disappeared then reappeared in front of her while raising his fist that was coated in crimson mana.


    Yman was also surprised that this person turned out to be a beautiful girl with a stunning figure. Although he already saw different kinds of beautiful girls, this person in front of him had a different allure that was unique to her.


    However, he wasn''t a bit bothered by her looks. There was only one thing in his mind, that the girl in front of him was additional points to him.


    "Eeehkk?!" She shrieked. She was shocked upon seeing the enemy in close distance. Because this person was familiar to her. This was the person who saved Miss Ella awhile ago.


    Cinder felt a chill run down her spine and out of reflex, her body subconsciously retreated. Her instinct screamed danger from this person.


    Just right after she retreated, his punch hit the empty air to where she was supposed to be. Although it did not hit her, it generated a mini shockwave and almost pushed her away just by force alone.


    She followed up with another leaped backward to immediately increase their distance.


    "Tsk, he''s so strong��" she muttered while clicking her tongue. ''I have to use it!'' She thought and lifted her hand in front of her face. Three rings with crystals of different colors gleamed on her fingers.


    These three rings were her Artefacts. Before she could activate the power of it,


    "!!"


    Her hand was grabbed by him! "Eh? H-how did-?!" The word escaped from her mouth as he grabbed her hand that was protected by [Lupine Flame Shield], but she immediately ate her words when she remembered that he had the ability to cancel a magic spell.


    She tried to take her hand, but she couldn''t budge it. ''Such strength!'' She thought with a grim face. Yet she noticed that her [Lupine Flame Shield] was still protecting her. She felt relieved, because that person''s hand although it was covered by dense mana energy of bright crimson color, her shield could lower the effect of it. In this regard, his hand would sooner turn to ashes.


    Then again, she smirked and thought that this person was an idiot as she noticed his hand was burned. But gawked sooner, ''What, he can heal himself too?!''


    Even his hand was getting burned, it healed the next second, his grip on her didn''t even loosen up even for a bit. She was baffled if this person did not feel any pain for continued burns and healing. At Least a normal person would certainly cry in pain.


    She wondered who this person was. Only his golden eyes were peeking underneath the hood. But in those beautiful eyes, there seemed to be another scary entity behind it, staring at her to the bone, like mocking her.


    ''He''s scary!'' Her mind screamed. She could even felt that he wasn''t using his real strength yet.


    She subconsciously closed her eyes and resigned to her fate when she noticed his other hand slowly lifted in a hand chop form. She could not budge her hand and could not activate her Artefact. Because at the moment, she felt scared and weak. Even her knees about to drop on the ground.


    "!!"


    After a couple of seconds of closing her eyes, she heard three unfamiliar dull sounds and a dull sound of metal crashing to the ground. She wondered if she already died, without even the sensation of pain.


    She slowly opened her eyes, "Eh? What��hap��pen?"


    Cinder was surprised to see the same scenery, and she was still standing in the same place beside the river. However, that person was gone in front of her.


    Out of reflex, she looked around her. Then there she saw three headless bodies and three bodiless heads nearby with their eyes pierced by those Fortified Leaves and their head was cut. Based on their figure, they looked like some nobles in the Empire. However, not from the top great noble families.


    Their bodies had slowly turned into light particles. She subconsciously massaged her neck. Not two far from the bodies, she also saw a broken Monitoring Device. The same as the dead bodies, it was also pierced by a Fortified Leaf.


    In the distance, she saw his back walking towards the eastern part. His silhouette becomes smaller and smaller.


    While they were fighting, she already felt another presence around them. Yet the Monitoring Device was what puzzled her. Why did he have to destroy it?! Is he a weirdo? She questioned herself.


    Then she noticed her reflection in the river, which was at her left and only a step to the side distance. Being a self-conscious person, and always curling inside her room, letting others see her in such a naked state was already beyond her capability.


    She yelped! Then hastily ran to get her clothes which she saw lying on the ground beside the river. But that person saw her at such a close distance! She needed to delete his memories! But�� How can she do that? Was the big question mark. She doesn''t want to come near that person again. If only she focused herself on training than playing games maybe she had a little chance. Then again, she needed to cross the border too.


    In the distance,


    Sistela asked with a puzzled tone.


    "Aaaa, there''s no need to��"


    Yman scratched his face. "No need to kill her since we already gathered enough points. And besides, I don''t want to gather enmity from the members of the higher noble family in the Empire."


    "Well, I''m not too sure, but seeing her appearance, she must be one. Although like I had said, I''m not too sure."


    "I-I mean�� If I killed her in that state�� I''m not sure if she was still in her original dress when she revived outside. If she happens to revive in an almost naked state, she will probably come back at me later because of the shame she suffered.


    And that will be problematic.


    Although I have my disguise, my ability was noticeable. So it will be easy for them to unveil me," Yman laughed.


    Sistela shockingly fell silent at his words.


    She was thinking that he''s right. Although her partner had become strong, he was in his infancy. He could not even perform yet the 100% power of that demon. And besides, all his abilities ��if not self-taught, mostly are basic abilities taught in the academy.


    "?!"


    "Well, she is indeed a beauty, however, a figurine one��"


    "And besides we are here for a very important reason. Whatever we can take advantage to, must take. And avoid the things that might hinder our main purpose."


    "Mhm!"


    Sistela suddenly remembered something.


    "Eh? To the border��"


    She couldn''t believe what he was saying. Because yesterday, he was laying under that tree the entire day.


    So what was he talking about going to the border?


    "Haha, it wasn''t like I did nothing yesterday, perhaps the moment we entered this place, I already started observing the movements of those above us," he said while pointing to the sky.


    In the sky, Sistela noticed a flying device, hovering towards the direction of the east.


    "Right, since those devices will mostly search for the fight scene around to play in the real world. So they mostly search for the participants.


    Yesterday, those Monitoring Devices were moving a lot aimlessly, but now, most of them went to the eastern part. So probably, most participants are there. And the boundary is probably there too," he said.


    Not only did Yman aim for the boundary itself, but also, he was waiting for the other participants to flock in one place. In this regard, he didn''t need to trouble himself, searching for each one of them around this huge world. Doing it will only tire him.


    Just after Sistela said it, Yman caught some presence 70 meters away from them. They were hiding in the bushes ahead.


    "Kuku," Yman chuckled.w

 Chapter 113: An insane marathon and ominous aura...

    Under the morning sun that shone brightly at the angle of 10 o''clock, Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh! Three stems of plants veiled with bright crimson mana were shot towards the bushes ahead.


    Gyahhh!!


    Nghh!


    Arayy!


    Three cries were heard. Then three silhouettes leaped out from the bushes. One of them was pierced in the shoulder, the other one was pierced to its leg and the last one was hit at the arm.


    "This s**t!" Cursed the guy who was hit at the shoulder.


    "Damn it! How did he know?" Asked the second one in puzzlement.


    "Careful!!" Warned the last one.


    They took the stems and healed their wounds. "Tsk, [Heal]," each of them cast healing magic. "Good thing that we learned healing ability beforehand," said the first person.


    "The heck, that''s not a good way of greeting us. Wait how did he know we''re hiding here?!" Asked the second one. But no one knew the answer.


    Ahead of them, they saw a person rapidly rushing towards them.


    "Damn it! He''s coming!"


    "He''s alone, let''s kill him!" Said the third person.


    "Yeah!!" The others responded.


    The third person gathered lumps of soil on his hand. Until it formed into a boulder with half a meter diameter.


    Without a second thought, *Whoosh!* he fired it to the incoming enemy.


    Yman ducked without slowing his speed. The boulder passed a few inches above his head.


    The third guy clicked his tongue and coagulated another soil, now in both arms.


    The other two rushed-in to engage their enemy in melee combat.


    Both of them were good assassins that studied in one of the Academies in Encantasia...


    And they believed that they have talents that would not lose against the experts of great noble families.


    The two of them did a zigzag movement while rushing to the enemy in order to confuse it. On the other hand, their third member was supporting them by firing hardened soil to the enemy.


    A smirk appeared on their mouths when they noticed that the enemy wasn''t as agile as they thought. ''Hehe, too bad for this person, he rushed in without knowing his enemies," thought the first person.


    "Let''s punish ''em!" Shouted the second one who was in front.


    "Of course!"


    Just 2 seconds and a half that had passed when they traversed the distance of 70 meters away.


    When they collided, ''What the�� did he lower his speed intentionally?'' Thought the second person who was sent flying away. He instantly lost consciousness when his body stopped rolling in the ground.


    Likewise, the first person instantly died when the back of his neck was hit hard by something.


    The range of the group stopped his attack and stood frozen with wide-eyes staring at the person in front.


    The moment later, right after that person disappeared, darkness blanketed the third person''s vision as his head flew away and turned into light particles before it landed on the ground.


    [You obtained 500 points for killing the participant 0900]


    [You obtained 500 points for killing the participant 0890]


    [You obtained 500 points for killing the participant 0970]


    [Total points: 3202]


    Phew!


    "With this, I only need 3798 points to complete this mission," he said while wiping the unnoticeable sweat.


    He glanced up and saw nothing other than an empty sky. "Looks like most of the Monitoring Devices already gathered near the boundary." This was what he believed in.


    Hilion and most of the experts from the great noble families already entered the first boundary.


    Gilion somehow decided to collect more points. He took a detour near the boundary and attacked the other participants who tried to cross it.


    However, he was on the other side of the boundary. He came from the east and walked a mile to the west in order to reach it.


    Harou and Lyka were able to reunite at the southern part of the boundary.


    In the northern part, Ember waited for the group of Hilion to cross the border first while he was hiding far behind them. And also, he was searching for Cinder.


    Later on, he entered too when the group of Hilion and his White Leo Knights already went far from the border.


    Many other experts from the Encantasia Academy and experts from the adventurers guild went to step inside the first boundary.


    After a couple of hours walking,


    Yman could finally see the towering wall of golden brilliance ahead. Yet he stopped on his feet when he felt the ground was weirdly vibrating.


    He focused his perception. But he could not catch any possible cause at the radius of 100 meters from him.


    Yman knitted his brows. Dududududu!!! The vibration became stronger and now he could hear weird sounds coming from behind him.


    Yman froze and gulped when he glanced at the back. He saw 5 giant lizard-like beasts rapidly stomping their massive limbs and hastily coming towards his direction. No, it was chasing someone!


    "Heeeeeelp! Aaaaaaaaaahhhh!" She cried.


    His jaw dropped on the ground. "The heck that girl again!" He screamed, then hastily ran towards the border. He saw the recent naked fire wolf girl. Now she is in her red dress and chest plate.


    However, looking at the gaping monsters behind her, with their fangs as big as her, Yman couldn''t help but run as well.


    "What the heck! How did this girl attract those monsters!? Wait, where those monsters came from?! Yman asked to himself without getting an answer.


    "Waiiiiit! Hey! You!" She shouted while running as fast as she could while calling at that person she was tailing for the whole time. Nonetheless, these monsters suddenly showed up.


    "The heck! Don''t come here, I will kill you for sure!"


    He shouted, but suddenly turned grim when he noticed that ahead of him was a flat plain. There was no place for him to hide and the distance of the boundary was about a few kilometers away from them.


    "I should have killed her awhile ago!" Yman screamed while sprinting towards the boundary. Behind him, he heard her shouts but he disregarded it and focused solely on surviving.


    Yman grabbed a handful of leaves on his way and shot behind him towards the girl. Although she eventually could not satisfy their hunger, she could at least hinder them a little.


    Seeing the familiar objects shot towards her, she wanted to cry, "Ruuuude! Insensitive! Heartless!!" She cried out then used her [Lupine Flame Shield] skill.


    Patapatapata!


    Patapatapata!


    "Aegor, someone is coming." In the bushes, someone whispered to the person beside them.


    "Okay ready yourselves! Let''s attack at the same time."


    "Wait, Aegor, Taflas, are you sure we have to do this? Isn''t it better to enter the boundary as soon as possible?" A girl''s voice said.


    "No, it will be hard for us to hunt points after we enter the first boundary," Aegor replied.


    "Aegor was right, Tiafel. The enemies we will be going to encounter inside will certainly be much stronger. They are the people who survive the first struggle so most of them are no easy opponent," added the guy named Taflas.


    "Hmm�� o-okay," Tiafel agreed. Since what Taflas said was logical.


    The trio was hiding in the bushes. Unfortunately, Dudududu!


    "What is that sound?!"


    "Wait! The ground is trembling!"


    "What?"


    They peeked ahead and saw two people quarreling and were being chased by some giant ��giant ��-giant monsters!!!


    They screamed while their faces turned blue.


    Yman and Cinder''s eyes turned into dots when they saw three people ahead of them, they came out from hiding. They must be thinking of ambushing some passerby just like the people he encountered recently.


    Alas, their plan backfired to them, because this girl a little behind him brought bad news to all of them.


    Patapatapata!


    "Holy shit run for your life!" Aegor shouted while his plump stomach pumping up and down.


    "Aaaaah don''t look back!" Taflas said in a hurry.


    With regrets on her face, "If only I know!" Tiafel shouted.


    All of them were racing towards the boundary with all their might.


    After a couple of minutes running nonstop, Bang! Bang! Bang! The monsters collide at the barrier.


    They all successfully reached the boundary and went through it. But all of them were exhausted and unable to speak.


    Cinder and the other three people rolled on the ground. They were gasping for breath. Only Yman was a little better than the rest but even he was also having deep breaths.


    It was the first time in his life to run 30 kilometers nonstop without passing out. He remembered getting passed out every day at their morning training of running 20 kilometers per day in the academy. But now, he remained standing even at a nonstop running in a distance of 30-35 kilometers. He felt successful.


    The others on the other hand were lying on the ground while gasping for breath. Even that beautiful girl with wolf ears was no exception.


    Cinder as an introverted person and a non-athletic type, could not even twitch a finger at the moment. She was laying on the ground while her back facing the sky and was heaving deeply.


    Yman wondered if this girl was still alive? She looks like she would never last in a minute.


    On the contrary, all of them were staring at him with disbelief. They wondered how this guy remained standing even in that insane marathon just now.


    Yman grinned and slowly picked the dry branch on the ground. ''Fufu," he chuckled under the mask. Then enveloped the dry branch with mana.


    Cinder and the others felt danger. However, they were too tired to retaliate. "B-Bastard��" she managed to force it out of her mouth.


    "Hehe, since you followed me here, after letting you live last time. You must be seeking death," he said with a glint in his eyes.


    Cinder who couldn''t even lift a single finger ��replied, "Do as you want��"


    Aegor, Taflas, and Tiafel didn''t know the history of these two, but for some reason, the situation was unfavorable for them too.


    They grim when they saw him lift his hand above his head.


    Regardless, Yman''s intentions did not happen. Because out of a sudden, he perceived an ominous aura.


    ROOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!! They heard a loud howl.

 Chapter 114: A noisy and bringer of disaster...

    Dum! Dum! Dum!


    Every footstep caused an earthquake.


    It had a face similar to the bulldog but much fiercer. Its eyes were gleaming in a reddish color. Its teeth were razor-sharp; sticky, muddy, and dirty saliva was dripping from it. His hairless skin was so eerie. Nails that were longer than their height were protruding at 3 fingers of its four limbs.


    It''s so gigantic! Well, a little bigger than the lizards awhile ago. And the dark red aura was oozing from its body.


    "Damn it! It''s a [Nightmare] class monster!" Yman uttered.


    It passed by a big chunk of rock where ashen blue heads are peeking from it. All of them had similar countenance. Their mouths were wide-open while holding their breaths. And sweats dripping from all over their faces.


    Yman was no exception.


    "What that beautiful �� looks innocent �� mad lass artist put in this world! Is she perhaps a psycho?" He muttered with his eye fixed staring at the monster that he did not wish to see even in his dreams.


    Beside him, Aegor who had a similar blue ashen face was muttering, "What in the world are these gigantic beasts doing here!?"


    "Does Miss Ella have a hidden agenda?" Taflas also whispered to himself.


    "My idol baby love Miss Ella�� is actually a silent sadist," said a fangirl Tiafel.


    "I''m wondering if I''m going to unsubscribe to her YT channel and unfollow her on Facepalm.com, TweetTweet, and in Instakillogram account or IKG for short," Cinder who had a similar blue ashen face muttered to herself.


    Their heads went ''poof'' with a background sound of ''WOINK!'' when they noticed the monster glanced at their direction.


    They simultaneously lowered their heads.


    Right at this moment, the girl they were talking to was calmly sipping a newly served tea beside the empire''s empress.


    The scenery on the balcony was so beautiful. It was surrounded by fresh-smelling flowers with different colors. Beautiful tiny birds and some playful sprites would fly from now and then. Together with butterflies with glowing wings that scattering particles of lights that look like silver dust.


    In the sky, the blue sky was like a calm sea, devoid of storm and calamities. Every now and then, some birds and transport birds could be seen flying in the distance. They were hovering over the clouds and sometimes below.


    The aunt and her niece were currently watching the holographic screen on the table in front of them. While also enjoying the peaceful moment.


    "Fufu." A chuckle from the gorgeous empress of the empire came in to oust the solemn atmosphere.


    "Looks like most of the participants have already entered the first barrier. I can''t imagine what face they will make when they see the surprise. Even the experts of the great noble families will probably have headaches dealing with those beasts," said the empress cheekily.


    ''I-It''s not my fault��'' Ella in silence said her sorry in advance to all the participants.


    "D-Do we really need those things, aunt?" She asked. Though it was too late since the competition had long since started.


    "Fufu, don''t worry about it, Rea honey. It will be a good challenge to test their strength and adaptability.


    An empire''s warrior must be the bearer of both strength and adaptability in any battlefield," assuaged the empress.


    Ella nodded her head. Her aunt was truly a talented person. She was written in the Book of World Record as the youngest person to become the queen of a kingdom. And in just a few years she was once again recorded as the youngest person to become an Empress in the Empire.


    However, the late emperor''s siblings were not on good terms with her.


    Ella didn''t know why her aunt on a whim sponsored a competition.


    In any case, she noticed that most of the participants that displayed on the monitor were already engaged in a bloodbath battle with the High-Rank Spirit Beasts she created in that world. Although they were not the real beasts, in that world, they were real for the people who entered there. Even their strength was the same, but their power was limited only to what she knew about the monster.


    All in all, they were an impossible opponent.


    Yman and the others were crawling towards the bigger chunk of rocks. It was a little closer to their current position.


    They were crawling in line while trying not to create any noises even a little.


    Thanks to Sistela''s appraisal ability. He learned that the beast was still in its half-sleep and only relying on its hearing ability.


    And before it could smell them, he took a piece of stone on the ground and threw it away towards the distance.


    It hit a distance piece of rock and created a dull sound.


    Dum! Dum! Dum! The ground shakes terribly when the monster dashed towards it.


    The place they were currently at, was full of scattered chunks of rocks, and it was a little misty.


    Yman sighed in relief.


    Regardless he could not linger here for long. This place wasn''t a safe place to stay.


    "Hey, hey, how did you recklessly do it?"


    While crawling quietly, the disaster-bringer girl behind him asked.


    "Don''t worry, if it failed, I''ll use you to feed it while I''m escaping."


    "...heartless! Unsympathetic! How could you say that to a beauty like me!"


    She lashed out such words with teary eyes.


    Yman brow twitched, "Shuddap, isn''t that thing your kin?" He pointed.


    Hearing it, "Ngh!" She whimpered. "Is that how you tell someone after your naked eyes feast on her naked body!" She yelled in teary eyes. Like a girl having a break up with her boyfriend.


    "What the��!" He forgot what he should say and can''t believe that this girl could say such things openly. And, "Hey, stop saying weird things that may cause a misunderstanding. Besides it''s your fault for undressing in front of me��-" He said, but, ''Damn it, I made it worse.'' He regretted saying it. He noticed his words were inappropriate as well.


    "Just be grateful that I did not kill you just yet," he added.


    "Wha��-!" She could not believe this guy. ''How could he not care for a lady''s heart?'' She thought, "Hmph�� meanie!" She muttered.


    "....."


    ''Such indecent things to voice out. What are these two talking about? Are they not satisfied and that''s why they were quarreling about it?'' Taflas thought with envy.


    "Hey, you lovers please stop your quarrel at times like this, otherwise that thing will notice us you know," said Tiafel. An Encan lady who was wearing an Encantasia Academy uniform at the moment.


    "We are not! And over my dead body!" Cinder denies.


    "Well, you almost died a while ago��.. fufu��-!!" Yman chuckled a bit and froze when the person who was supposed to be at the back of their line passed by in a silent walk that looks like a run.


    Actually, they were crawling and Yman was at the front, followed by Cinder, Tiafel, Taflas, and lastly was Aegor - the beardy plump man.


    "?!"


    "!?"


    "??"


    "?"


    The four of them had question marks floating above their heads when out of a sudden the person named Aegor suddenly stood and walked in a hurry ahead of them!


    They slowly glanced at the... and froze.


    A large open mouth, full of fangs and dripping sticky liquids were seemingly inviting them inside.


    No need for talk��.. they stood sooner��.. then sprint away from it without looking back!


    The Nightmare Class monster squinted its eyes then followed after them. While thinking, ''Foolish insects!''


    Although tired, their adrenaline rush did its duty, pretty well.


    "Damn beardy I will skim your face!" Taflas shouted while rapidly kicking the ground.


    "OMG Fatsu! You''re the worst!" Cinder followed.


    "Aegor you''re a traitor!!!" Tiafel yelled.


    Yman forced a voiceless laugh while sprinting. Well, if it was him, he too would do what that plump guy did. But at this moment, he would rather not waste any more strength.


    Dum! Dum! Dum!


    They heard a familiar sound at their tail. No need to glance behind as they knew what it was.


    Cinder noticed the guy beside him slowly advancing.


    Huff! Huff! Huff! "Hey!" Suddenly, from his back, Yman felt someone leaped on it. He felt the sensation of something grabbing him at the back!


    "Hey what are you doing! Get off!" He tried to wag her, but the person did not let him go. "Idiot! Use your Artefacts or we will die!"


    When Tiafel and Taflas heard it, a bulb lit up in their heads and shouted "GRACE!" At the same time.


    Taflas wristband and Tiafel''s ring glowed but even so, they did not stop their running.


    Two-spirit beasts materialized beside them. Both were speed type �� an ostrich and dino type. But they look fiercer than the original.


    "Hey you bringer of disaster woman, get off of me! And summoned your Artefact too!" Yman shouted at the person clinging to his back like a leech.


    ".....I-I don''t have a speed type spirit beast!" Cinder shouted in his ears while strengthened her gripped to his back.


    "....."


    He thought talking to this girl was a waste of time. He used [Rapid Leap] as he could feel the monster''s fangs at a few centimeters before they became a good chicken dinner.


    GWAARRRR! GOOAAARR! Rawr! The monster was so annoyed chasing them.


    Tiafel and Taflas already went ahead of them.


    "Sothis is what you did when you fought me huh!" Cinder shouted.


    "Hey, don''t be a leech and shoot flame at it!"


    "Oh, right!"


    Ahead of them, Yman noticed the three people. They were waving their hands. Looks like they found a cave.


    He once again used [Rapid Leap].


    "Woah, what a nice mount!" She shouted with a laugh.


    Something bothering him��.. after she said ''mount''. Because, since this woman leaped and cling on his back, he felt something that keeps poking his back!


    "Fireball!"


    ''So she could also use a fireball huh,'' he thought.


    "!!"


    "Hey, this guy is weirdly dodging my fireball. I think I''m strong!"


    "Wha��?"


    ''Dodge the Fireball? The heck, this woman said.'' But when Yman took a quick glance at the back, he saw the Nightmare class beast dodging her Fireball which was clearly weaker than her [Shapeless Flame].


    "Keep firing at it!" He urged her.


    "No need to tell me!"


    "Geez, such noisy woman��"

 Chapter 115: Dark Gremlins

    Bang! The cliff where the cave was located had shaken intensely when the huge grotesque figure of the Nightmare Class beast collided onto it.


    Fortunately, Yman and Cinder were able to enter the cave at the right time.


    If not because of the leech clinging behind him, he was certain to lose its tail easily, though it was a different story if the monster was fully awake.


    He even heard before that a Nightmare Class monster could dissipate a mountain.


    Not even a Rank S Seeker would wish to fight it alone.


    The good thing about them was, they were not easy to wake up. As long as they could not feel a danger to themselve. Even if they were hit by heavy objects.


    However, Sistela said that it was in a half-wake state.


    After going inside, *Woosh~~ woosh~~*


    Yman wagged the luggage on his back that caused it to fall on the ground�� face first. But she had no complaints as she was too exhausted to do so. She fired [Fireball] nonstop to the monster and forgot to save some strength. Thanks to her unceasing [Fireball], the scary spirit beast was not able to catch them.


    Huff huff huff! Both him and she were gasping for the air. Not far from them, *Thump!* Aegor dropped his butt on the ground, while breathing heavily, then leaned his broad shoulder on the chilly wall. His face twisted bitterly, "Hah~~ now we are trapped, huh," he said after a deep breath.


    "Well, it''s better than dying, and the heck Aegor, you tricky bastard!" Roared Tiafel while closing to pound him.


    Aegor covered his face out of reflex, but she was stopped by Taflas.


    Aegor opened her mouth wide, "Haaah~~ hey, I did find this cave, and my fault is doable. In fact, you can''t blame me for running ahead, since I''m the slowest among us. And that thing scared me to the bone, making my limbs move on its own accord��" he replied with a sorry ashen face.


    "Let him be, Tia. In fact, we can''t blame him. Let just be grateful that we survive somehow," said Taflas after noticing Aegor''s sorry state. Well, they were all in a sorry state at the moment. Tiafel frowned, "Hmph!"


    Hearing them, Yman felt the need to intervene. "If I were you, I would prudently save my strength than wasting them in a thoughtless banter," he said.


    The three people looked at him, and gawked, ''H-He''s fine already?'' They noticed his breathing had calmed down. ''Is he even a normal person?" They asked in their minds.


    Now they wondered if it was a wise choice of them to not let this guy become the monster''s food. Meh, anyhow, they were skeptical if that monster could catch him that time, they even saw him using some kind of ability that enabled him to move quickly from one place to another. And his girlfriend was helping him too. (Their thoughts about the relationship between the two.)


    So their only choice was to be on his good side or leave these two for good. However, they found themselves in a dead-end. Good thing that they saw a cave. They decided to choose the former option.


    They could feel that he wasn''t an ordinary person. But who was this man? They didn''t know him and they didn''t see what happened in the public square when Yman saved Ella from the robed attackers which he believed as abductors, because they were a little late to come in the public square.


    When they arrived the announcer Faye The Trickster was already discussing the first elimination round. So they have no idea that an incident happened.


    Regardless, Yman felt suspicious at this second boundary. For now, he needed companions. But, if ever he felt a malicious intent towards him from these people, he would not think twice to end them.


    After all, both of them were equivalent to points, points that he needed to pass this trial. But in order to do that, he had to risk himself by using the Black Miasma. Otherwise fighting these four at the same time, even with the mana of that demon, he would be finding himself at the losing end.


    These three were no ordinary people.


    Although, Sistela''s Appraisal Ability was not 100% accurate. It had 70-80% accuracy. And she was telling him that these three people were as strong or if not, only slightly weaker than the wolf girl.


    He defeated her, but that was because he was able to prevent her from using her Artefacts. Otherwise, he might be forced to use his Black Miasma to defeat her. On top of that, this girl was hiding something. He had to change the way he looked at her from a figurine to a polish beauty like the type of Almina Amulet.


    It was that mad lass artist fault though that he could not fight at his 100% without using his Black Miasma.


    Fighting them at once must be possible if his [Time Modifier] ability wasn''t restricted in this world. But, since it was unusable here. He had to depend on his Black Miasma for his [Skill Modifier] ability.


    Meanwhile, he and the others could not leave the cave at the same entrance. That beast was certainly guarding it, waiting for them to come out. If they ever did come out, it would certainly nab them in the spot like how the cat did to the mouse.


    In the meantime, they decided to rest when they found a spacious empty space. Although the inside was dark, it was dimly lit by a bonfire. The woods they used to make it were from the roots that jutted out from the walls and ceiling of the cave.


    Their discussion was being backgrounded by the flickering noises of the bonfire that was deliberately roasting the jerky meats on the sticks that were projecting around it.


    After introducing themselves to each other, they have planned out what they need to do next. Yet, it was clear that they were left with one option only��.. to find another exit.


    They noticed the person named Crimson playing with stones. Cinder and the others laughed at him. He only stopped when their jerky meats were cooked.


    While they were eating, Yman asked them some questions but he chose to ask not the personal one.


    He learned that these three were studying in Encantasia Academy and from the rich families in the empire. But all of them gawked when Cinder introduced herself.


    "You are from the Lupine family?" Asked Tiafel in surprise.


    It was only natural that they felt surprised as the Lupine family wasn''t a small family in the Empire. They were the branch family of the Canine Sect.


    Cinder nodded.


    "So, so do you mean you are also studying in the Encantasia Academy Miss Cinder?" Asked Taflas.


    "Yet why didn''t we see you in the opening and up until now? But we somehow saw the Young Master Ember Lupine," said Aegor.


    "Ahaha, well, I was b-busy doing some stuff. I mean family matters," she lied.


    She eyed the person beside her. Trying to peek at his expression upon learning that she was from a famous family. Well, most of the guys would certainly act close to her, especially those of noble families if they found out who she was. It was always like that even in the gathering or banquets for the nobles. Although, she only attended once or twice for her whole life. Since she didn''t like gatherings in the first place. And she hated the lascivious eyes from other nobles, whenever she wore a female dress. Especially now that she was 17 years old and already had a great figure. Maybe it was also the reason why she liked staying in her room rather than going outside.


    Yet under his hood, there were only tranquil eyes. Like he didn''t hear what they were talking. Or maybe he wasn''t interested in it.


    Is he afraid that someone would know him? She wondered. Because even while they were eating, he sneakily took a bite of his food without them seeing his full face.


    Maybe he was an ugly person? And shy to show big scars on his face? Or something like that. Well, she couldn''t just force him to show his face. Even though she was curious about it.


    She knitted her brows. This guy beside her had no change in expression even after he learned who she was. She was expecting the same reaction as these three to him. However, what was on his eyes was a ''meh''.


    Maybe he was from a great noble family also? Or an important person in the empire? She couldn''t tell. But based on his strength, there was a big chance that he wasn''t an ordinary person in the empire.


    Cinder sighed. She originally wanted to tease him.


    Right after they finished eating, the group heard hissing and screeching noises around them.


    Guehehehe! An impish glee echoed inside the cave.


    Cinder and the other glanced to where the laugh originated. But, *Guehehehe!* whenever they looked around, another laugh would follow from behind.


    It looks like they were being played.


    Aegor stood up and looked around, *Guehehe!* still the same, the laugh came from the opposite of where they were staring at, "S**t, what are those?" Aegor asked while picking a stone projected by wood to look like a big stone hammer. Then summoned mana to fortify it.


    He left all his equipment in the spatial ring. So he had to make a conventional weapon out of the stone and wood that he found on his way. Since he could not take out his equipment in the storage when he entered here. Not only him, the others too.


    Once again, Guehehe��"Ngh!" But this time, the laughter stopped and changed into a cry after a bright crimson glow was shot towards the distance to where the dim lights from the bonfire could not reach.


    They glanced to where the crimson light came from and widened their eyes when they noticed the person named Crimson with his hand enveloped by bright crimson mana. And in his hands were some fortified tiny stones. There were also a number of stones that gathered in front of him.


    While they were discussing a while ago, they noticed him playing with stones, but they did not give it a thought as he probably was playing with it out of boredom.


    The weirdest part was, he was looking opposite to where his hand and arm were aiming.


    The next second, *Gueeeeeeehhhh!* they heard an angry high-pitched voice. Based on its tone, it must have come from tiny entities.


    Tatatatatatatat! Tatatat! Multiple footsteps were coming closer to them.


    Right at this moment, fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh��..!


    Stones and rocks that were enveloped in bright crimson brilliance were rapidly shot ahead to where it was mostly dark.


    Gyah! Grr! Nya! Guwah! Kyeh! Kyah! Different kinds of cries followed after.


    The four people were staring at him without blinking their eyes. And darted their eyes to the dark side but they could not see anything other than an eerie feeling.


    They were baffled at the things happening in front of them. Questions floating in their minds. How could he tell where the opponents were? And what the hell he was doing? Flinging stones and rocks through his fingers?! On top of that, he wasn''t looking to where he was shooting!


    "[Dark Gremlins]..." he muttered.


    The four people froze upon hearing his words.


    These cheeky little monsters with big ears were known for their playful attitude. And they had the ability to silence mana-based abilities.


    Yman knew about it, since [Dark Gremlins] were known even on the Outerworld. They could use silence when their target entered 10 meters from them. However, Yman''s perception has a diameter of 100 meters around him.

 Chapter 116: Passive skills

    Outside, the audience were betting on who would be the first to cross the second boundary.


    But most were betting to Roman Hammerhelm. Followed by Hilion and the other experts from great noble families. There was also an irregular adventurer who was second only to Roman with the highest points. His codename was Gath Rainripper, a rank platinum adventurer.


    He was a mysterious person who shot his rank in the adventurers guild in just a couple of months after joining.


    They were wondering where that person went, the one who was always chilling under the tree. The monitoring devices had never caught sight of him again. The last time they saw him he was chilling under the tree. And they noticed someone was fighting near it, but before the camera could record them, the video suddenly lost connection. Perhaps it was him fighting someone, then they unintentionally hit the Monitoring Device. This is what the majority of the audience thought.


    At this moment,


    Inside the cave,


    Cinder closed her eyes and sniffed. People from the Canine Sect were gifted by exceptional smelling ability than the rest demi-humans with wolf bloodline. Tiafel and Taflas also closed their eyes. Encan people since birth were known for their sharp hearing.


    These abilities were their passive skills.


    On the other hand, the Dwarf people had high instinct but they needed to further train this ability to execute this skill. However, Aegor wasn''t able to do it yet.


    To fight the [Dark Gremlins] one must not look them through the eyes, but by perception using the other senses.


    What Yman did had bore something within the poor girl''s eyes, it brightened with admiration towards him. Although still exhausted, she summoned her [Shapeless Flame].


    Not only her, but even the others also understood that this person with them was truly unordinary.


    After hearing his words about the enemy, all of them finally understood why he was shooting at them with his face facing the opposite direction.


    Because [Dark Gremlins] had an ability that enabled them to detect their target''s blind spot. Not just that, they were good with hallucination magic as well.


    Even the [Dark Gremlins] were surprised at what Yman did. They were shot down one by one using stones! Looks like these people were no ordinary targets! They thought.


    Geeeeeeee! One of them screeched sharply, which the others understood. It was a signal for them to retreat.


    Unfortunately, before they could run away �� flames, lumps of soil, and wind magic rapidly shot to them.


    But they were more concerned about those stones. They were deadly and have high magical and physical force.


    The text, [You obtained 40 points for killing Rank B Monster!] repeatedly appeared on the rectangular holographic screen in front of Yman.


    The same thing happened to Cinder, Tiafel, and Taflas. Only Aegor was not able to kill one.


    After a few seconds, the remaining [Dark Gremlins] had managed to escape. These type of monster was not the type who engage with their enemies in a head-on confrontation. Once the target was able to fight back, they would immediately escape. For them, this day was the most unlucky day to encounter such a weird enemy that could shoot them with stones.


    Yman grinned, he knew that everything in this world wasn''t real, but these monsters acted the way how the real one should act. He really was wondering how this world works. But it seemed to him that it was a kind of high-level illusion magic.


    Although it was unnoticeable on his face, he was actually very interested to learn how this world works, and the magic behind it. It might help him advance his illusion magic to a new height.


    At the moment, his magic illusion could only create a copy of himself. But it won''t move and just stood like a statue or mannequin. With his Black Miasma, he could alter the vision of the enemy for a few seconds, and make him invisible in the eyes of an enemy.


    Making a copy of himself, at the same time making himself invisible from the enemy''s vision could trick his opponent and divert their attacks.


    But if they figured out the trick behind it, it would be a useless illusion.


    He needed a perfect illusion. That could act on his own. Like the monsters in this world.


    Regardless,


    After everyone had their rest, the group decided to advance to search for another entrance.


    However, they found out that this cave wasn''t just an ordinary cave as it was littered with various types of monsters.


    They even encountered a Rank B+ Wanderer Worm Mole.


    It has the body of Mole and the tail of a worm. It has a size of 25 meters tall and about 5-7 width. This monster was strong and hard to deal with �� in a place such as this cave. Because it burrowed itself and hid in the ground. Then attack in surprise to them when they were unaware.


    Not just that, it also scattered poison which was very deadly.


    Once again, they were reminded of how awesome Crimson was. The poison had no effect on him. Not just that, he had the raw strength that was not ordinary. He was able to cause the monster to stagger when the tail of the monster and his punch collided.


    ''Is this person was hiding his strength the whole time?!'' They thought. If his life would not be put in a disadvantageous situation, he would not even bother showing it.


    But the enemy as expected was not an easy opponent as it was a Rank B+ Wanderer, to begin with. For the people in the empire, it was a Rank 4 Spirit Beast.


    Woosh~~~ Bang!


    He was sent flying and crashed on the stone pillar that connected the ground and ceiling.


    "Crimson!" Cinder shouted.


    "Cough cough! Ugh, damn is that monster unkillable?!" They heard Crimson''s complaint. But in their minds, ''No buddy, you are the most unkillable here! Look, you are fighting a Rank 4 Spirit Beast head on! And was sent flying a couple of times! Then that monster pierced you a couple of times by its needle that was shot from its wobbly greyish tail tip!''


    However, before their faces twisted to bitter and sour, the wound was already gone.


    "!!"


    After hearing his complaints about the monster, "Ngh, why do I even bother myself worrying about him," Cinder muttered with a blank face?


    For some reason, he suddenly suggested taking the rule of a tank even though he didn''t have shield equipment. He wasn''t even materializing a shield with mana. Only using basic magic to fortify his body.


    They wondered why��.. Is he a battle freak?


    Cinder remembered he used a thin crimson shield when he protected Miss Ella from the attackers. But why wasn''t he using it here and just let himself get beaten by the Rank 4 Spirit Beast?


    His reason was simple. Aside from no one among them having the ability to slow down the effect of poison except him, he also wanted to test something.


    Yman noticed his HP(Health Points) going up and down. Actually, after he contracted the demon he also got this passive skill known as [Health Regeneration].


    In which any wounds his body took would be healed per second. The amount of regeneration was dependent on the total amount of his health points.


    Watching the number being displayed whenever a regeneration took effect, he came to the conclusion that at the moment, his total HP regenerate was 3% of his total HP.


    But it wasn''t only the reason why Yman summoned his Status Screen.


    Yman closed it again and a grin happened on his face. His face was wearing a delighted expression.


    He used [Mana Coating] on his right hand and summoned a fire, then shot himself towards the enemy who was currently charging towards the three comrades.


    After kicking hard at the ground that caused it to cave-in, his whole body shot like a comet and intercepted the enemy before it''s needle tail could fire.


    Bang!


    -25000 HP


    A loud explosive collision that followed by a red text was noticeable when his fire-fist landed on the monster''s massive face.


    The monster was sent like a bowling ball, and it broke a number of stone pillars before it''s massive body stopped on the wall and bore on it creating a hole with an identical frame to it.


    Yman eyed Cinder, which she understood. Before the monster could burrow into the ground, a massive [Shapeless Flame] was shot to it, which insta-killed the monster.


    Ground-type monster was weak against fire.


    Each of them got 100 share points for killing it. The group continued to advance. After the monster was defeated, they became light particles, like when the participants died.


    After killing it, they rest for a bit before continuing their search.


    However, Yman was unaware, the admiration of the girl beside him was building up. She saw him as someone reliable. If there is something upsetting about him, it was his Elemental Magic. Other than that, was way beyond everyone''s comprehension.


    His fire was pitiable. Which the other agreed. Yman also knew about it.


    Cinder tried to open a conversation about it. And tried giving him some pointers on how to enhance his fire magic.


    "What? I need to own my own fire��.. What do you mean by it?"


    He asked.


    Cinder smirked. After all, she was a fire genius, that second only to his mother in the Lupine Family.

 Chapter 117: On another level

    In the deep of the forest, there was a clearing. And in that clearing, a man was standing. In front of him was a giant monster, it was facing at him like it was facing at a barely satisfying food.


    The monster has a dark furry body. With fierce-looking eyes that were gleaming in red color. At the tip of its two fangs, sticky saliva was dripping from it. The beast was standing on four limbs and had a face similar to a wild cat.


    The man in front of it was a beardy person. Wearing normal leather armor.


    The man was no other than,


    "Look, Roman was facing a fierce beast!" A random man in the audience podium around the public square of Main City shouted.


    "What, even in the face of such a beast there is no fear on his face!"


    "Finally a worthy opponent!"


    "Woohoo! We can finally see his real strength!"


    "Okay, now let''s have a feast in our eyes!"


    The audience broke into a furor.


    Inside the monitor, RAAAAWWWWWRRR!!! In the face of a large gaping mouth, Roman stood unfazed. The rotten breath brushed his skin, but Roman stood still, receiving all the smell.


    The pressure that one would feel in the face of it was enough to make them wet their pants.


    After its loud howl, the monster raised its front limb to snap the person in front.


    Everyone gulped seeing the huge limb and razor-sharp claws. Thinking if they were in his shoes, they would probably sprint to where their legs take them.


    But Roman didn''t budge from such pressure. His shaded eyes that were hidden by the bandana on his head were like an infinite abyss.


    A downward slash of claw came hastily, but before it hit him, everyone who witnessed it gasped without blinking their eyes.


    The limbs of the fierce monster were snapped instead, at the back of Roman, stood a much fiercer and much bigger predator.


    Its white fur that covers all over its body was trailed by white and blue electric flashes, and much sharper and longer claws and fangs sent fear to its enemies.


    In addition, it has fierce eyes that cower even the monster in front.


    GWAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!


    After its louder roar, it condensed magical energy from its mouth and shot it at the beast in front. The beast looks-like it wanted to escape but it was too late. Only its feet remained out of it. The rest��.. was pulverized.


    The audience who expected a good showdown lost in thought. Never would they expect to witness such a domineering performance.


    "Fufu, as expected of the genius of the Hammerhelm family. Even a Rank 6 spirit beast was dealt so easily," the empress giggled.


    Beside her, her niece was having widened eyes. It was known that Roman was only a young man, but he was already able to control a Spirit Beast of such level! He truly was one of the younger generation''s geniuses in the empire.


    In the Human City Zone 1, inside a room, the young man named Jin Makorov broke into a grin. "Hehe, a show-off," he mumbled with a glint in his eyes. Then he stood from his seat. He could not loiter any longer. A worthy opponent that had high possibility he would encounter in the coming competition had appeared.


    The demi-humans in Encantasia empire had this unique technique that enabled them to control a high rank mutated beast, which they called as Spirit Beast using an item known as Artefact.


    Not only him that had reacted after seeing such a power. Inside a pub in the Human City Zone 7, Kiko frowned while saying, "Tsk, he is just a coward who needed the protection of the beast," he said with a smirk. He wasn''t even a bit shaken by it. He still believed that his explosive skills were more commendable.


    If he perfected it, no one in the world could defeat him.


    Recently, his training had good results. Maybe because that hateful person was nowhere to be seen. So no one could destroy his day. Seeing that gloomy person was like being surrounded by trash.


    Well.


    While watching the current competition happening in the Ecantasia Empire, it motivates him to fight in a competition too. To be watched by many people, in the world. Such a feeling of dominating your enemies while the audience cheering your name. Ahhh!! He can''t wait for a day to come��..


    Kiko was excited. Oh, right. The competition in their academy was coming too.


    It was regretful if that guy won''t show up. Although he was happy for the disappearance of that Frog, it was regretful for him as he wanted to embarrass that guy in the face of many spectators in an official competition.


    The other powerful Elites from different academies who were watching at the moment had different reactions towards it. Especially the Aces, or best known as the Top Ten human magician in all the Magic Academy in all Human Cities.


    One if it was, of course, the current Ace of Zone 7, Miss Ice. Well, actually, she was chilling together with other beautiful girls in her room.


    Ice secretly smiled upon seeing the bitter expression on the faces of the girls with her.


    Almina and the others were unaware of what kind of expression they were wearing at the moment after seeing the powerful display of power shown inside the monitor.


    They finally understood that they were still far behind if compared to the magician from the Encantasia Empire. Only an idiot would claim that they were stronger compared to them. Forget being more powerful than them, even being as powerful as they are just wishful thinking.


    Almina thought that maybe Miss Ice did it on purpose to postpone the training of this day. To slapped on their faces the reality of how behind their power compared to the magicians of Encantasia.


    Almina could not chill anymore. She needed to grow stronger as fast as she could. She had her personal reason why she came to this academy!


    She stood up from her seat. "Miss Ice let''s try the 7th floor in the dungeon!" She declared with gleaming resolve in her eyes. Although she was curious about the guy with similar skills to Yman, it was unthinkable that it was him.


    He didn''t even have a reason to go to that place. And besides, even his sister wasn''t in their apartment. So probably, they already went back to the Outerworld. Even though he had that unique ability that could even cancel the magic power coming from the demon, it was useless if he himself could not learn magic.


    He might be thinking that continuing his study in a normal university was more fruitful for him than staying in this world.


    So for now,


    She needed to focus on her own goal too. Well, if the time comes that their path would cross again. She wanted to become his close friend like before when they were just kids. She wishes for his success in life as she would be going to strive for hers.


    After seeing the power displayed by one of the Demi-Humans, she could not waste her time any longer. She wanted to become a strong magician as fast as she could.


    To lift the whole academy into the higher podium with her hands. In order to clear her brother''s name to the members of top families on the Outerworld.


    Maena also stood up, she too could not waste her time. She too wanted to become stronger for personal reasons.


    Kesha had question marks floating above her head. She wondered why they suddenly suggested going into the dungeon, but she wanted it too because they could earn more money by killing some monster inside. Even the weakest beast inside the dungeon could earn them a fair amount. That was also the reason why the city nowadays was bustling.


    Seeing the resolve and fighting spirit in their eyes, Ice smiled.


    Finally, their fighting spirit had surged once again. She had a guess that these two were bugged by some personal feelings, and it affected their training. So Ice after learning that there was a competition in the Encantasia, asked Elder Paan for a day off.


    Which she understood. It wasn''t good teaching these two if their focus was not 100% in the training.


    Sigh.


    Ice let a breath depart from her mouth. This beautiful Ace dreamed of a day that she would be teaching some younger magicians. Now, she finally became a trusted big sister. Of course, she would be helping them to get stronger, they were like sisters for her.


    "Geez, we go after we finish the first elimination round. I bet many interesting things will happen," she said.


    Although the two felt so eager to fight monsters as of the moment, they understood that it was because of the heat of the moment after realizing how weak they were compared to the magicians from the empire.


    Almina and Maena nodded their heads.


    "Roman! Roman! Roman��!"


    Every person in the public square repeatedly shouted his name.


    Not only Roman was shown displaying his power, the other experts did too. But as expected the experts of Encantasia Empire were on another different level. They did not even bother that the other academy''s magician would spies on them.


    All in all, in the face of true power, only the strongest would succeed. It was useless to spy if they didn''t have the strength to conquer them.


    Around this time, Yman was getting a lecture about elemental magic from Cinder.

 Chapter 118: Assassinating...

    In the cave, they could not tell the difference of day and night, as it was mostly dark inside.


    The group decided to take a detour when they passed by a small swamp. Above it, on the ceiling, there was a leak where water dropped from it towards down below.The water was clean and clear, edible to drink.


    They again gathered some protruding roots around and scattered woods to make another bonfire.


    Tiafel was boiling water. Aegor was sitting with close eyes, and Taflas was lying on the ground using the skin of a beast. An edible to eat beast in this world would not disappear after they died. Only the not edible one would become light particles. After all, they needed food too. Most of them used the skin as a blanket while making meat jerky from their flesh.


    Cinder was giving tips to Crimson.


    "Actually, there are two ways to power-up your elemental magic. The first one was the safest and simplest one. It is to increase the effectiveness of [Mana Coating] ability.


    Like for example the fire element. You can''t cast a strong fire if you can''t handle the heat of it. So in order for you to materialize a strong fire, you needed to resist the heat first.


    Increasing the resistance wasn''t an easy thing. But if you use [Mana Coating] ability, you could easily bypass the needed resistance," she explained in detail to make sure he understood what she wanted to convey.


    ''Although her explanation was lengthy, what she truly meant is, the more heat I can handle, the stronger flame I can materialize. It was a basic knowledge of the Outerworlder magicians to learn [Mana Coating] ability first before using elemental magic.''


    Well, he could probably do it. But, the demon''s mana was still unstable.


    He remained quiet as he noticed her mouth was about to open. Probably, she wanted to add something, "However, this option would never allow you to use your 100% elemental magic."


    Under the hood, he was a little puzzled, "Hmm��.. why?" He stared at her and waited for her answer.


    She showed a serious face.


    "Because you are multitasking two different abilities. So your focus was slightly off," she said with seriousness.


    Yman understood what she meant. However, it wasn''t the case to him. Because he liked using multiple skills at the same time to create a new ability. No, not only him, actually, most humans from the Outerworld did it.


    However, he did not argue this to her. He had the feeling that it would be a long debate if he did so. In honesty, most of what she said was also true.


    In addition, he also agreed to what she said, that focusing your magic in a single element would have a good result. Looks like people in the Empire when casting a spell, they gave their all to it.


    Hmm��.. it was also the reason why their elemental magic was stronger.


    "Ah, I see�� then��.. What is it that you recommend to me?" he replied.


    After hearing his question, "Hehe," she giggled. "The more effective way to increase your fire element power was to own your own fire magic," she said.


    "What? I need to own my own fire magic. What do you mean by it?" He asked puzzled. "Aaah, do you mean I needed to buy a skill scroll?" He added with a frown because a skill scroll wasn''t a cheap item that anyone could buy on the spot.


    She giggled further at his puzzled face, "Fufu."


    Yman wondered if she was serious or just playing with him. But he noticed again when she opened her mouth.


    "To make it more vivid. I mean, you can create your own fire technique without the need for skin contact but the quality was stronger than what you can do at the moment."


    Yman was stunned and widened his eyes. He finally understood what she meant. She was right! Why it did not come to his mind in the first place! He was too focused on trying to combine skills that he forgot to improve the things he already had.


    "I see��.. that is indeed a good idea. But the problem is��.. how to do it?" he said unsure.


    This made her giggle further. She felt she was finally able to grab his attention.


    "In order to do it, you needed the four aspects: to visualize, to feel, to control, and lastly to own. Based on what I noticed in you, you have fairly decent visualization in your magic, but you are weak in the aspect of ''feel''. I can''t say for sure in the aspect of control. Lastly, you lack the aspect of ''own''," Cinder, who was sitting opposite to him, was explaining the reason why he had weak elemental magic.


    "To visualize, feel, control, and own��" he repeated.


    "Fufu, for you not to forget, just thought it like this��.. to visualize my feelings and control my own," she said with a wink, which made her look cuter.


    "To visualize my feelings and control my own. To visualize my feelings and��" he repeatedly mumbled the words.


    Yman who was currently sitting in front of her was listening to her every word. In the midst of them was the bonfire.


    She was right. Looks like he overlooked the other things that he already had and forgot their significance.


    In the aspect of control, because of his Channeling Talent, he had high control with magic. So he believed he passed this aspect.


    In the aspect of ''feel'', this was where he failed and he knew it. The reason behind it must be because he had a high tolerance for pain. He lacked feelings. Even if he was getting mocked by others, it wouldn''t affect him. If sometimes he tried to retaliate, it was because he just wanted to.


    Yman stared at her eyes, "Do you mean, I needed to feel my own element?"


    He noticed her lips curled into a smug. "To make it more specific, you needed to be the first victim of it. In order to create a strong connection with your own power. Well, it was the most shortcut way," she said, which made Yman gawk.


    "Eh?!"


    "Fufufu," finally, she was able to witness a surprise in his expression. ''So even this guy could have such a face. Hehe,'' she laughed inside.


    "Hehe, don''t worry, you don''t need to light up your bare skin. You just need to get used to it. Like for example surrounding yourself with fire in a slight unbearable state," she further explained.


    Yman showed an understanding look.


    "Hmm, I see, so I just need to burn myself right?" He replied with a serious face.


    "....."


    She wondered what he meant by his words �� burning himself. She believed that what he meant by burning himself was �� as she said, to surround himself with fire.


    Well, who would be in their right mind would actually burn themselves.


    "Yeah just the bearable heat," she replied.


    She noticed him nodding his head slightly. ''So it was the shortest, huh,'' he thought.


    Then, Yman without a second thought took his gloves and gauntlet on his hand.


    Cinder wasn''t puzzled by it. As he needed to be in a half-naked state for more effectiveness.


    But what the guy in front of her did, dumbfounded her.


    "Hey, what are you up to?!" She shouted when the smell of the burning fleshhad reached her nose. Her shout caused the others to glance at them. They too were shocked by what they witnessed.


    ''What? Is he so hungry that he grilled his own hand?!'' They thought.


    "Nhg!" Yman let out a groan.


    "Hey stopped that!" She stood up and shouted. But it was too late. His hand already was on fire. He put his bare hand on the blazing fire of the bonfire.


    The fire burnt his skin. The odd smell of it had reached to everyone''s nose.


    "Hey stopped!" They shouted. They thought that there was something wrong with his mind. Yet instead of stopping, Yman also put his other hand on the fire. His companions were in chaos of how to stop him. Out of reflex, Tiafel splashes him the newly boiled water.


    "Urgh!" It made him groan further. Good thing he was wearing elemental armor. The heat wasn''t so strong. However, it wasn''t Yman''s aim. He wanted to do a shortcut on how to increase the power of his elemental magic. His whole body was enveloped by fire.


    They gawked when he stood up with his body covered by fire. However, instead of getting charred, his body was repeatedly healed using his healing spell and regeneration passive skill.


    They looked at him with dumbfounded faces.


    At this moment, outside the cave, the surrounding was already dark. It was night time. The second night after they went inside.


    Most of the participants already hid to rest for a night. To recharge themselves for tomorrow''s search. This second boundary was littered with a strong beast. And they still needed to find the barrier.


    However, in the midst of the forest, one silhouette jumped higher into the air. He condensed water element on above his head. Then fired it at the big boulder on the mountainside.


    From the condense water, hundreds of needle-like raindrops were shot rapidly towards it. "Aarrrgh!!" A cry followed after the boulder was carved with countless holes.


    The poor victim spawned in the spawn area of public square. He was greeted by solemness. A moment later another participantspawn beside him while swearing, "What the f**k! Who the heck killed me!" They died without them knowing who killed them.


    Many other dead participants spawn after them. They glanced at the monitor and only saw a shadow leaping from here to there, assassinating the resting partcipants without them knowing.


    "W-Who is that��..?" A newly respawned participant subsconciously asked.


    "T-That''s G-Gath, Gath Rainripper��.." answered the person next to him.

 Chapter 119: Dolls

    Gath Rainripper was said as the irregular of this competition. After assassinating a bunch of participants last night, his name also gathered a lot of attention. Now everyone questioned who will be the champion in this competition! The current number of participants dropped to 800. Last night about 50 participants were killed by him.


    Another day had passed and another had come. Inside the tunnel, the group continued their search for an exit.


    But at this moment, Cinder mumbled some words while walking beside him.


    "I taught the beast how to become a monster �� I taught the beast how to become a monster��.." she mumbled repeatedly with a ghastly face.


    The three people with them showed tired faces. They never thought that this guy was so crazy to burn himself in the flame. But what made it more unbelievable, he wasn''t even a bit hurt by it. Is he an immortal? They asked in their minds.


    Nonetheless, what made them to show suchfaces was that this guy was able to succeed in just a night! He could even summon fire now without the need of [Mana Coating] ability.


    Yman was able to summon his fire like it was a part of him but he was still in the process of creating his own form of fire.


    As usual, like what happened the other day, they encountered lots of monsters. However, unlike the other day, the guy with them seemed so hyper. Like a kid who got his new toy.


    They were watching him with a ''can''t be helped'' expression on their faces. Cinder on the other hand still couldn''t believe this guy. The whole process of creating a deep connection with his element was done in one night! Whereas she did it for her whole life. On top of that, she was a genius from the Lupine family.


    However, the person beside her was just too much for succeeding in just a night. He was above her comprehension level.


    Sigh. She gave up thinking about it and let a breath permit her mouth.


    Her nose picked more presence ahead. Before she readied herself for the coming battle, a deform fire was shot ahead. And followed by an explosion then howls of pain followed closely.


    "Ahahaha��" she laughed descendingly. ''Looks like this guy was not too excited right?'' She thought.


    For the whole day, they were advancing to search for the exit. They encountered fork passages that they had to change the route a couple of times.


    Many monsters were on their way, but each of them was no ordinary magician.


    Yman on the other hand felt so excited with the new strength of his fire element. With this, he was finally able to fire a long-range attack! But he was not satisfied with it. He needed the last aspect, which is the aspect of ''own''.


    Another night blanketed the world in painting. It was the third night.


    Yman was sitting on top of a big boulder of rock. His whole being was being illuminated by the moonlight coming from the hole on the cave ceiling.


    He was in a meditation posture while his hands were enveloped by fire. He needed to concentrate and create his ''own'' fire. Cinder just finished giving him some tips and now she was sitting beside the bonfire about 200 steps away from him. She probably was tired. This afternoon they were surrounded by hundreds of Rank A beast. Known as [Gnoll]. Everyone did their best. The battle had lasted for 1.5 hours.


    It caused unwanted attention from the other monsters. And more came to join. She must have exhausted her mana. Not only her, but even the three people with them weren''t in good shape also.


    Aegor was slightly better than the other two.


    A piece of dry root was thrown and landed on the fire, then blaze in a second. "Lady Cinder, it''s better for you to take a little rest. To properly regenerate your lost mana," Aegor suddenly spoke after feeding the fire.


    Her eyes were fixed on the person sitting on top of the boulder a couple of steps away from them.


    Cinder turned her eyes to the bonfire, "No, I''m still fine, Mr. Aegor. You perhaps should take your rest. Especially now that our tank was being ruled by excitement and changed his role into a range type magician. It is not good if our only vanguard is enfeebled in the battle. Please do take care of yourself," She politely replied.


    "Fufufu, don''t mind me Lady Cinder, I wish to tire myself out for my near promotion," he replied with a tinge of excitement.


    Cinder gasped in a slight surprise. "Wow, do you mean The False Path? Hehe, congrats in advance to you Mr. Aegor!" Cinder exclaimed.


    "Yeah, it is. Thank you Lady Cinder."


    "Mhm."


    Cinder eyed him slightly as she mulled, ''there were 5 promotion paths that every magician would experience when they grow stronger. These five were the False Path, Real Path, Hegemon, Heavenly, and Immortal. Each promotion needed 10 levels. And the 10th level was the promotion period. This is also true to the humans.


    In the human race, they called it ''Level'' but to us Demi-Humans, we called it ''Star Level''. In the human''s perspective, Aegor would be undergoing a Level 10 Advancement. So at this moment, he was already a Level 9 magician.


    After they were promoted to the False Path, they would be called as Experts and not magicians. At this very moment, most of the participants from the great family of the empire were already at the False Path.''


    She ended her thought with a slight smile. Her eyes felt heavy as the sleepiness sneakily attacked her.


    Right at this moment, Roman as the 5-Star False Path has a higher level among the other Expert participants who joined this competition. This was also equivalent to Level 15 in the human''s perspective. At such a young age but already in the middle of False Path and Real Path was really commendable for him.


    While they were discussing it suddenly, Aegor cried out, "Eh, w-what is that thing?!"


    Cinder''s sleepy eyes eyed him with a knitted brow and saw him staring to the distance with wide eyes, to that person sitting on top of the boulder.


    While sitting on top of the boulder, he slowly lifted his hands at the chest level which his palms were facing above. On top of each of his palm, deform balls of fire were trying to take a form.


    They were squirming like soft fluffy objects.


    Cinder and Aegor were staring with their eyes like seeing something beyond their imagination. ''How come such a thing! What was that squirmy fire over there!'' In their minds.


    The next second, from a soft deform-shape fire, a tine figure of a leg had taken a shape. It was followed by another leg and another. Eight tiny legs in total were formed. The next to make a form was the body part of it that looks like a bulb on its back. But before the thing could complete, it suddenly exploded into a ''bang'' and damaged his hand. But his hand healed sooner. Cinder and Aegor already stopped getting surprised at this.


    Yman frowned. He almost succeeded. He then tried the other ball of fire on his other hand. The first to form from it was a beak. A bird beak! Followed by the head, then the legs.


    However, when it comes to the body, it also explodes.


    "Tsk!" He clicked his tongue in annoyance for failing continuously. And always the body parts that troubled him. The most simple of all.


    Wait, maybe he was too full of himself and too lax in his concentration for it as being the simplest part.


    He condensed another deform ball from both hands. They have the size of a volleyball.


    Once again, after several minutes, the deform balls of fires squirmed.


    The ball sunk slightly at the same time. Then both heads came out from it the next second, legs were taken a form and followed by heads.


    The next morning,


    "Fufufu, these things look so cute," Tiafel exclaimed, seeing two crimson bats hovering overhead.


    Taflas was so focused staring at the two crimson ants and spiders moving ahead of them. They were kissing the ground as the real one would be. He was wondering how in the world such a thing possible!


    On top of that, the ants were a small version of [Shelled Ants] that attacked the Sitona Town on the Outerworld. And the spider was a small version of [Mustang Spider]!


    Aegor and Cinder had black circles below their eyes. They could not fall asleep. Cinder repeatedly chanted the words again, that she taught the beast how to become a monster��. ''This is too much!'' She shouted in her mind as she tried to swallow the reality unfolding in front of her. And thought to herself that she would never be as surprised as now anymore.


    However,


    When a monster leaped in front of them, those tiny crimson spiders simultaneously fired fire magic at it! And they roasted it in just a second.


    Everyone''s jaw dropped on the ground. Wondering what kind of nightmare was this! They were not even a real thing! How are they so powerful!


    What the hell are these dolls!

 Chapter 120: Unbelievable surprises

    Two crimson spiders were crawling on the ceilings. Two crimson ants were moving ahead of them, and two crimson bats were hovering in the air. All of these were condensed and materialized using his blazing fire.


    And he called them [Fire Dolls].


    Their bodies were gleaming in crimson and orange colors. Their outer shell looked shiny and smooth.


    Actually, that time �� he failed.


    Cinder and Aegor went to sleep when they thought he gave up already. But when they woke up this morning.


    They were greeted by these monsters. They were about to attack them if not because Yman put a stop to them. The expressions on their faces were so priceless that made Yman let a couple of chuckles.


    They were asking him about the ''hows'' and ''whats'' about it, but Yman just gave them a vague reply �� that they were his new toys.


    They knitted their brows, they thought he already gave up that night. Looks like this freak continued practicing until he succeeded!


    It was impossible to create such a thing. How could a person be able to create a living beast from his Elemental Magic alone!? Unbelievable! Everyone thought.


    They were right. It was impossible.


    In the first place, the skill he wanted to create was impossible without combining and modifying a couple of his skills. In order for him to succeed, he used his [Skill Modifying] ability by activating his Black Miasma.


    To create living dolls out of the fire, he used: [Fire Element] as the power source, [Mana Coating] as the shell and frame, [Air Dance] and [Rapid Leap] for mobility, [Perception] to share their vision to him, and lastly the Demon''s [Possession] skill for awareness, for them to move on their own. This awareness was like their sensory ability. They could be controlled by him or they could move on their own.


    Although he was using the Demon''s [Possession] skill, it actually only shared his awareness. He could not even possess a real person. Maybe he needed to become a spirit too in order to do it. But if he becomes a spirit, then the demon would be freed from their contract. So this [Possession] skill was useless for him.


    Luckily, it could also be used like sharing his awareness to these [Fire Dolls]. Thanks to his [Skill Modifying] ability.


    Based on what he understood, he could share awareness as long as the target has mana and not a living figure, and most importantly must have an actual body.


    He came up to this conclusion because it didn''t succeed when he tried it to his illusion magic. Maybe because it was an illusion only and no actual body �� it can be seen but cannot be touched.


    On the contrary, these six [Fire Dolls] were made of fire and had actual bodies. On top of that, they were made of pure mana. So these dolls were truly the perfect targets for the [Possession] skill.


    However, he could not use this skill without the help of Black Miasma. So if these [Fire Dolls] were destroyed, he could not summon them again unless he activated his Black Miasma.


    The good thing about it, they could maintain their existence even after he canceled his Black Miasma.


    Yman grinned because they were a good addition to the team. And both of them could fire hellish flame thrower.


    He could not recreate them without using his [Skill Modifying] ability.


    But he wasn''t bothered by it because he was able to create another original fire magic.


    Unfortunately, he had no chance of using it because those [Fire Dolls] were killing the enemies before they could react.


    He could even use them as surveillance cameras.


    Cinder and others didn''t know what to feel. They could not even gain points for themselves because these dolls robbed their roles as range mages.


    On the contrary, Crimson''s points had skyrocketed.


    They continued the search for the exit. No one of them knew if there was really another one aside for the entrance they used to enter.


    Luckily, after another few hours of advancing, they finally saw one.


    Before they could step outside, the [Fire Dolls] dissipated into the thin air as their figures turned into an ordinary flame before they turned into smoke and disappeared.


    "Eh? What happened to your toys?" Cinder asked with a puzzled face.


    "No, our cute bodyguards have disappeared!" Tiafel screamed with a solemn face.


    They stared at the owner for the answer. Looking at their curious faces, Yman forced a soundless laugh.


    "Looks like their mana reserve had emptied," he responded.


    "I see," Aegor and the others were already tired of getting surprised by this person.


    "Hmm��.. so it lasted about 5-7 hours huh," Cinder stated.


    Yman side glanced at her. Looks like Cinder thought that his dolls have a time limit. The dolls disappeared because the mana reserve on them had been spent from battling. He slightly, "Mhm," nodded his head.


    Regardless, he could not disclose much information about his ability. After all, Cinder was strong. And there was a chance for them to face each other again in this competition.


    Just last day, his Elemental Magic was pitiable, but now he already surpassed them in understanding about it.


    The group decided not to think much about those dolls as they could not comprehend the trick about it. They continued walking towards the outside while wearing excitement and relief on their faces.


    "Haaaa~" Tiafel let out a long sigh escaped from her mouth. "Finally, the sun!" She shouted. She was finally able to see the light and not darkness only. Although they could use fire to light the inside of the cave, the light coming from the sun was still different.


    Cinder, on the other hand, used her hand to cover her eyes from the sudden light, being in the dark for long made her eyes not used to the sudden change.


    She wasn''t bothered to be in the dark, as she was so used to the darkness. She was an introverted person, to begin with. Anyhow, she also was fairly happy to finally be able to get out of the cave; she liked darkness but only if she was in her own room.


    Aegor and Taflas also breathed a long sigh when their feet stepped outside the cave.


    However, before they could celebrate, for successfully getting out, "Bang!" They heard an explosion. It was followed by, "Arrgh!" A loud grieving cry.


    "!!"


    "What is that?" Tiafel asked.


    "Must be someone battling," Taflas replied.


    "Looks like the hunt is still ongoing," Aegor added.


    "Look! There''s a cloud of smoke coming from that forest!" Cinder pointed at the forest where the explosion came from. It was located ahead of them about 200 steps away from the cave entrance. It was relatively close, he could even perceive some sign of life in that forest.


    Yman looked further, too bad that his dolls already disappeared. He could send them to make a quick survey of the place.


    It wasn''t nice to just aimlessly roam, they were gone on the surface for a long time. Now they don''t have any idea what the others were doing.


    *Sniff!*


    *Sniff*


    The girl beside him started sniffing like a dog. ''She might be a good bomb-sniffing dog,'' he thought jokingly. She probably barked on him if she knew what he was thinking at the moment.


    "Stink!" Cinder cried out.


    "Heck, you''re sniffing the wrong smell!" Yman yelled with white eyes.


    For some reason, her nose is on his underarms. ''Is this dog an idiot!?''


    "Ehehe," she giggled while sticking out her tongue.


    Well, she''s cute though. A red hair beauty with wolf ears. Perhaps his peers would be dying at this moment if they were in his shoes.


    Looks like she was just teasing him. Being in the cave for long, made their smell not different from the smell of soil.


    Yman lifted his hand.


    While closing her eyes, Cinder jolted a little, out of reflex, "?!" Question marks appeared on top of her head when she suddenly felt something. She slowly opened her eyes and saw his hand on her head. She suddenly turned red while staring at his eyes under the hood.


    He grinned and whispered, "Thanks, Master,"


    She could not tell if he smiled or not, but based on his eyes, he seemed happy.


    Yman was grateful for her teaching. He learned many things about his Elemental Magic.


    Ahem.


    "W-Will you two find a perfect place and time for your lovey-dovey. Right now, is not the right time for it!" Tiafel with a blush on her face stated. "Right now, we are surrounded, you know!" She screamed worriedly.


    "Eh?!" Embarrassed, Cinder retreated her head immediately. ''Damn it, I almost fell to his charm. Not good to fall to a stranger who could not show his face! Most of them, if not ugly, probably bad guys!'' She thought in her mind. ''No no no, I don''t even like him. I''m just curious about his strength! Yeah, just curious! It is definitely the only reason! And I taught him because I felt sorry for him!'' Her busy thought.


    Unaware of her thought, Yman just forced a smile.


    He glanced around and saw nothing other than trees and tall bushes around.He glanced at Tiafel and the others and saw their worried faces. He believed they used their sharp hearing to perceive their surroundings.


    "Okay, let''s try my other toys��" he whispered with a grin.


    "?!"


    "....."


    "What?"


    "Another toy?!"


    For some reason, they have different reactions.


    From empty air, "Bzzzzz!" Small insects materialized. About 50 bees-like creatures came out of thin airs. Actually, they came from his Cyber Storage.


    What the hell! And there''s more?! They screamed.


    They thought they would never be surprised again if this guy pulled something unordinary once more.


    However, this was just the start�� the beesimmediately scattered towards the bushes around and to the forest.

 Chapter 121: Explosion

    "I wonder if the boss and the others already killed that noble expert." A person on the tree branch muttered to the person beside him.


    "Ofcourse, did you hear that explosion just now? They definitely killed him already," replied the person beside him.


    "Fufufu, joining a party in a competition like this is a good choice," the former muttered.


    "Of course, do you think we can kill those experts without joining hands?" The latter questioned.


    "That''s impossible," exclaimed the former.


    "!! ��Ssshh!" Signalled the latter while putting his index finger on his mouth.


    "Wha��? Why?"


    "Look, someone came out of the cave."


    The other guy whispered and pointed.


    "Oh I see."


    "Five people?"


    "Yeah, and this aura."


    "One of them is an expert!"


    "You watch them, I go and call the boss! Hehe this is great, we can complete the required points for sure!"


    "Okay!"


    Whoosssssssshh!!! His figure disappeared from the trees.


    A moment later, he came back with a burly person together with 10 other people. Most of them were from the Boar Tribe and Lizardmen.


    Half human half boar people were known by their burly figure. Although they don''t have pig-like noses, they do have pig ears. Most of their male even have big fangs.


    On the other hand, Lizardmen looked more reptilian, if not because they stood on their two feet, they definitely indistinctable with the real one.


    They immediately went into the position while peeking under the cover of bushes and tree leaves.


    Most Lizardmen were good in hiding because of their ability to camouflage. They were good assassin as well and a warrior.


    Boarmen on the other hand were well-known battle freaks. They were the berserkers in the battlefield that feared by many. There was an old knowledge in the empire, that Boarmen and Wolfmen were a rival tribe. They mostly quarreled and fought about who was the real monster in the battlefield.


    The leader of the group was a Boarman. With a body that stood at most 7 feet. With arms that are as big as the trunk of a coconut tree.


    He was wearing a faded brown color pants. Aside from the two big chain that were crossed on his chest, he was on his bare skin. The most striking feature of him was his muscles that looks like a well-sculpted stone.


    Resting on his shoulder was a large Axe.


    "Boss Breegoria, there they are," pointed the person awhile ago.


    "Gwarharhar, a beardy, two Encan people, and... a red-haired wolf girl eh? A noble from Canine Sect. Perhaps from the Lupine Family. Harhar, this is great. Based on her magical aura, she must be a 1-star False Path expert. Those three on the other hand, were below. They are weaklings��.. Wait, who is that person with them?"


    "Eh? Maybe just an extra boss," said the person who reported. This person was from the Lizardmen Tribe.


    "Purffft! Good Job, Berlin(name of the lizardmen who reported)!" Breegoria said while patting the shoulder of Berlin who only as tall as his waist.


    "Hmm�� Based on his magical energy that I perceive from him, he looks like he is the weakest among them. However, that armor he was wearing, it gives a feeling that it is not an ordinary armor. He probably comes from a noble family," added Breegoria.


    While staring at the mysterious guy who was wearing a black armor with a hood, Breegoria thought that he looked familiar to him, but he could not remember where he saw him.


    Anyway, that guy seemed exhausted and looked weak. He couldn''t even feel a strong magical aura from him.


    He squinted his eyes and ordered all his men to scatter and surround them. They would probably have noticed their presence later since Encan and Wolfmen were known for their keen senses.


    However, Breegoria wasn''t bothered by it. When they perceived their presence, it would be already too late for those people. His men perhaps already surrounded this area when that happened.


    Looking at those people, Breegoria believed that both of them had quite a number of points on their heads, he could also loot their foods and equipment before killing them. Just like what he did to that last victim. That guy even though he was a noble, he cried like a baby and even beg him to not kill him. Fufu, too bad, Breegoria wasn''t a kind person.


    Breegoria licked his lips while staring at the red-hair girl with wolf ears. "It will be fun�� Garharhar!" He laughed.


    Their yellowish eyes peeking from the bushes and tree leaves. They were like predators who were ready to hunt their prey. They could not charge blindly as it would startle their prey and some of them might be able to escape. They needed to lock their escaped route.


    Their movements were so silent, that even when they stepped on a dry branch of trees, there was no noise produced.


    Most of them were experts in reconaisance and assassination. This skill of stepping a tree branch and avoid making a noise was easy-peasy for them.


    They just needed to use a skill on their feet known as [Noise Canceler]. It was a medium tier spell that was taught in the academy of magic.


    Weeeeeeweeeew! When everyone finally took on their position, Breegoria heard a signal from one of his men.


    He lifted his arm to signal for a charge.


    However,


    "Boss, what are those?" Berlin beside him suddenly asked while pointing to their targets.


    Breegoria''s face wrinkled and narrowed his eyes as he peered ahead of him.


    Bzzzzzzz��.. bzzzzzzz�� bzzzzzz!


    He saw a pack of insects producing familliar noises in the air. "Hmm�� bees? Gwarharhar, what a joke," he said with a sneer. He was wondering why these people played with such an insect. Breegoria wasn''t a bit worried about it. It just some bees, nothing unordinary except their colors.


    He signaled a charge. His men immeditely rushed forward, from the bushes and some leaped from the trees, but�� Fwossh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh!


    Argh! Gyah! Ugh ��


    Stings were flying towards his men when those supposed to be ordinary bees shot each of them.


    "Wha��?" Breegoria was dumbfounded.


    "Argh! Boss! Help!"


    "Gyahhhh! I-It''s so hot!"


    "Oh no, I''m burning!"


    "???" Breegoria and Berlin were puzzled. What are they saying ��''hot?''.


    Isn''t bees supposed to be poisonous? They wondered.


    Breegoria did not know that those bees were made of fire. And those things they fired were made of condensed magical energy to create a hot needle, which when pierced in the target''s body they could cause a burn effect internally.


    Cinder and the others were having ashen blue faces while looking at the enemies who were squirming in pain on the ground with their bodies turned reddish.


    On the other hand, the bees flew everywhere, firing needle-like sting.


    ''What the heck is wrong with those people?'' They thought.


    "Hehe��" they heard a giggle from the suspect.


    They felt a chill run down their spines. ''This guy was scary to be an enemy!'' They shouted in their minds with a grim expression on their faces.


    In Yman''s vision, the enemy''s green bars and the numbers inside it were deliberately decreasing.


    He heard his deity''s warning.


    ''Mhm, I felt it too.''


    He heard her worried voice.


    ''Fufu, that''s imposible, it''s not like my perception can do a mapping. If not because of your radar, we may end up being trap in that cave until the competition is over.''


    Finally, her voice became lively.


    He smiled. Looks like, his beloved deity was worried to become a useless deity.


    ''Besides, your appraisal was the best among all the deities,'' he sang praise which was unusual to himself.


    Sistela was speechless and wondered if her partner ate something good this morning.


    The supposed stings were replaced by condensed fire needles. And because of the heat, the penetrative force was multiplied.


    "Kill those flies!" Breegoria shouted which caused the nearby nesting little animals to scutter away.


    A grin appeared in Yman''s mouth when the voice of the Demihuman was translated to his ears.


    One of Breegoria''s men molded magical energy on his hand and shot the bee that was charging speedily while gliding left and right and was firing hot needles at the same time.


    About a meter and a half away from Bregoria''s man, the bee was hit by a wave of greenish energy. However, something happened that made them succumb in dispair.


    BANG!


    A loud explosion that immediately turned his men into light particles.


    "Pufft" Yman held a chuckle.


    "What happened?" Puzzled Tiafel.


    "How is that possible?" Shocked Taflas.


    "It exploded?!" Shouted Aegor.


    "Ehhhh?!! They weren''t just ordinary bees?!" Surprised Cinder. She and the rest shouted questions.


    "Fufufu," Yman chuckled. His toys were made of fire, so an impact on them would disturb the atoms and would generate an explosion.


    "Those bees were explosive. In truth, not only my bees but the others too. They are made of fire that is trapped inside a container which is their stomach. So rashly killing them is not a good idea," Yman explained.


    ''Wha��!'' Cinder gaped. The truth was, she was about to prank one of them. Good thing she didn''t do it.


    Although the explosion wasn''t so strong, it could K.O the unguarded one.


    The best choice was to kill them while they were still away so that the explosion could not reach. Or used shield or any resistance, like impact and explosion resistance. However, their enemies were in chaos and could not think logically at the moment. And some were still suffering from pain caused by the burn effect of the hot needles.

 Chapter 122: Berserk Breegoria

    Around this time, outside the painting, everyone was surprised to see a new name on the list of top highest points.


    The new person had the codename of The Mysterious. A participant with a number of 1500.


    "Eh? He got the last number for being registered," one of the audience said.


    "In any case, who is this The Mysterious person?"


    "His points suddenly rose up into the fourth place."


    "I heard that the top 3 participants who complete this round with the highest points will get an extra reward," someone in the audience remarked.


    "Really?!"


    "Yes!"


    "Woah! Her majesty the empress not only has an unparalleled beauty but she''s a generous person also!"


    "Right!"


    "Long live her Majesty Empress Elleanna Encanta!"


    Long live! Long live! Long live! Long live! For some reason, the people in the public square suddenly chanted the words. This put a smile on the empress''s face.


    "Ehehe, is this one of the reasons that you are doing this competition, Aunt?" Ella giggled at the people''s love for her empress aunt.


    "Ufufu, this is just a bonus," replied the empress with a bright smile on her eyes. She took a sip of her tea. But under the veil of her bright smile was a worry.


    "Hmm��.. who might this Mysterious person be? In any case, that person�� I mean your guard has gone for a couple of minutes now, and it seems he''s still inside. I wonder where that person is hiding..." the empress added.


    Ella pushed the cup of tea towards her mouth while giving a side glance at her aunt. She knew who she meant by ''that person''. Honestly, she was surprised to see the new announcement of points that were currently displayed on every monitor. Because she knew who this person was with the codename of The Mysterious. In the first place, she was the one who made the registration for him. And she was the one who chose the name.


    Ella also was wondering if where that person was right now, her Monitoring Devices could not catch sight of him in these past minutes. On the other hand, his points suddenly soared high.


    Even in that area where high-ranking beasts were roaming everywhere, he was still able to accumulate such points! He really wasn''t an ordinary person!


    Her curiosity towards him stepped to a new height.


    After a couple of minutes in the public square, "I wanted to bet for The Mysterious person!" A beardy old Demihuman shouted.


    Aside from him, no one else wanted to vote for him. After all, no one knew who this The Mysterious person was. For most of them, it''s better to bet their money to the most well-known and had a tested strength, than try their luck to the unknown individual.


    So currently, from the audiences, the person who had the biggest accumulated bet as of now is no other than Roman, Gath Rainripper, and Hilion Gustav. Followed by Lyka and Harou of the Lowe family, then Ember Lupine and Gilion Gustav.


    But what they were betting on was, whoever entered first to the last barrier would win!


    At this point, Roman and the others were already near the second barrier. If not because of some Spiritual Beast that hindered their advance they probably already have entered the second barrier long ago.


    Although Roman was a strong expert of 5-star False Path, he needed to take a detour from time to time in order to regain his spent mana. This second boundary was littered with high ranking beasts.


    Nonetheless,


    The beardy Oldman was being urged by his friends to bet on The Mysterious person.


    They were singing praises about The Mysterious, that there was once a rumor about him beating some high ranking beast alone. That this Mysterious person was actually a popular person from the far village, he was a strong person that no one ever defeated him yet.


    This kind of song of praises was of course a big farse. In truth, this old man was a noble who loves gambling, though he has never been able to win even once.


    Actually, these two friends of his would occasionally urge him to bet on someone they praised while in truth the two of them would bet to the other side.


    In this regard, they could win a great sum of money, because this old beardy noble was a big spender.


    A money bag for them.


    Like the other time, again they successfully urged him to bet on the wrong person. While on the other hand, they put their bet to Roman. In this regard, the amount they could win would increase.


    They had a successful grin under the veil of a trusted looking friend. Their anxious hands were rubbing each other as they were excitedly waiting for the result. And in their minds, they planned in advance where to spend their money after.


    Kukukukuku!


    Their silent chuckle echoed in their minds.


    Inside the painting,


    "Gwaaaaarrrr!!"


    Bang!


    Like a monster, Breegoria charged forward full of killing intent. But his massive ax hit the ground only.


    Bang!


    A huge figure was hit at the back by a flying kick and was sent flying like a thrown boulder.


    His body skidded on the ground and caused the dust to hover in the air.


    With a shocked expression, he slowly pushed his body to get up. He glanced ahead of him and saw that person just landed on the ground.


    What��?


    The person who had the weakest magical aura could kick like that?! Breegoria could not believe it.


    Around them, his men were still squirming on the ground like some worms.


    Puzzled by what happened to them, he charged blindly to trample these enemies. The barrage of Hot Needles from the bees was shot at him. But those puny needles were nothing to his hardened skin.


    He scoffed and immediately brandished his huge ax in hand towards the person with the weakest Magical


    Aura.


    However, that person suddenly disappeared from his sight and he was sent flying instead when something hit his back. And his ax clattered a few steps away from him.


    Berlin stopped on his feet while looking at his boss with a gaping face. Never did someone was able to knockback Breegoria with bare strength. He looked back at the cause of it. At his front about 25 steps away from him, the person stood in front of his group.


    Looking at the expression on their faces, it seemed like they already expected it to happen.


    They even have a tired look. ''What''s with their confidence look! Do they have any idea who Breegoria is?! He is a 2-star False Path expert!''


    He roared inside. After thinking such, Breegoria stood up with bloodshot eyes and dark red energy was oozing from his body.


    "Breegoria is serious! He is in his Berserk Mode!" Berlin blurted.


    ".....Berserk Mode?" Cinder repeated his words.


    "Do you know about it Lady Cinder?" Asked Tiafel.


    "Hmm��.. this ability was most common to the Boarman. Their strength, speed, defense, magical defense, and etcetera will increase!" Cinder said.


    After all, Wolfmen was an old rival of Boarman so it was natural to most of the Wolfmen that they would know about it.


    Yman twitched his brow. Actually, he was using at least 30% of his real strength in that kick. In truth, he was maintaining his stamina at 30% in a case that he needed to activate his Black Miasma.


    Looks like, his 30% strength wasn''t enough to defeat this enemy. That guy''s defense was fairly high.


    And now he could feel his strength had increased. Not good. He could not use his intimidation as it was only effective if the enemy was sane. However, looking at the bloodshot eyes of his enemy. Yman doubted that it would affect him.


    ''Fufu, isn''t it what I''m looking for?'' For some reason, instead of worrying, he somehow felt happy to find a strong enemy in front of him.


    Before Berlin could react, he was already charred by a [Shapeless Flame] that fired at him.


    But before his body completely turned to light particles, he shouted, "Sneaky cheater!" Well, it''s not like he could defeat her. But it''s rude to kill your enemy without letting him know! Berlin''s complaint was heard by them before he disappeared.


    "Ha ha ha," Tiafel and the others forced a laugh.


    "Well, he is going to die anyway, so what''s the difference, fufufu. And besides, I''m just disposing of unnecessary extra," said Cinder with an indifferent face.


    "She started to think the same as that person," Tiafel whispered while eyeing Crimson.


    *Nod nod!*


    *Nod nod!*


    The two guys with her nodded their heads.


    Then, Ugh gwah argh gyao eek naw! They finished the other enemies who were suffering on the ground. Each of them received quite a sum of points that enabled them to complete their needed points. Looks like those guys were able to gather many points. Now, they only needed to focus on finding the barrier. However, there was a problem.


    Gwaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!!! The frenzy Breegoria shouted after seeing his men turned to light particles one after another.


    Woosh! His figure suddenly disappeared after he hopped high in the air.


    A big punch was baring towards them but a figure leaped to intercept it.


    BANG!


    A loud collision of force happened in mid-air.


    Thud!


    Thud!


    They landed on the ground at almost the same time.


    Cinder and the others stepped back so as not to distract their fight.


    Gwar!


    Bang!


    Their fists hit each other, then it followed another one.


    Against a berserk opponent who lost his sanity but increased all his stats.


    Fighting such an opponent was a godsend for him.


    Bang bang bang!


    ''Sistela, how''s my CE?'' He asked his deity while in a confrontation against his enemy. Both of them sent multiple punches to each other.


    Although he was still a level 3, fighting against an opponent that should be at his level could not give him a fair CE because of his high stats in all of his attributes.


    This kind of battle and enemy was what he was seeking.


    Sistela replied.


    Yman grinned further. The more he fought, the more his body will get used to it. Especially the close call fight where his instinct screamed for danger.


    In this state, not only his CE will increase, all his attributes too!


    The enemy was tall, so Yman had to jump to hit him.


    Bang bang bang!


    Berserker Breegoria sent frenzy attacks, countless punches flying towards him. Yman chose not to evade it and sent countless punches as well. Whenever their punches met each other it generated a mini shock wave caused by the impact. Subconsciously, Cinder, and the others stepped back again.


    "Such power! These two are monsters!" Aegor shouted.


    Aegor knew that the Boarman was known for their resilience, the more they were wounded the stronger they became.


    However, Crimson was not an ordinary person. They fought together inside the cave. He was the type of person that was difficult to kill even with his weak magical aura.


    Noticing that his enemy was still able to retaliate against him, Berserk Breegoria howled strongly.


    Yman stepped back a little because of the pressure. He used his hand to cover his face.


    When the howl stopped, he was about to charge but Breegoria was already on his face, baring his massive punch towards him.


    He clenched his teeth. And hardened his muscle to brace himself while holding his hood. Bang! Ngh!


    -2500 Hp


    He was hit in the face and was taken by the force that made him stagger back. A good number of health points left his green bar. ''Tsk, that damage though, it''s one-fifth of my total HP!'' he thought. But the pain wasn''t enough to knock out someone like him with a high tolerance of it.


    "Eep!" Aegor and the others yelped with a sour face while thinking it must be painful to receive a punch from that muscular arm! Yet that person just staggered a little! Too bad the person who received the punch is someone who can eat it!


    If only Aegor knew that person was more concerned with the number than the pain itself.


    Heal!


    +2500 Hp


    Yman whispered as he noticed the enemy''s follow-up.


    His Healing Spell could heal 25% of his total health points.


    A [Hammer Punch] from Breegoria was hastily coming, however, the enemy suddenly disappeared from his sight, and next second.


    Bang! Gwar!


    -3000 Hp


    He felt a piercing pain from his stomach. No, an elbow had dug deeper into it.


    Breegoria''s eyeballs almost went out, now it was his turn to stagger back again.


    He used his Rapid Leap while sending an elbow attack, because of this, the power was multiplied.


    If not because of his [Berserk Mode], Breegoria would be wondering why this enemy had so much strength even with his lean figure.

 Chapter 123: New Attribute?

    The others were watching the fight without interrupting it. Although they wanted to help especially Cinder, they respected Crimson''s decision.


    In the face of a berserk enemy, he wasn''t even a bit afraid of it.


    Whereas if any other people would challenge such an enemy, they would have a headache for sure. Not even Cinder would wish to challenge such an opponent in a head-on confrontation. If it was her, she would maintain her distance while shooting countless flames at him.


    However, that person brings the fight in a melee! ''He really was insane! More insane than that Berserker Boarman!'' She shouted in her mind.


    Bang bang bang!


    The fight was continuing.


    Yman realized that their movement had become sluggish, but actually, from other''s perspectives, their movements were hard to perceive. They became faster and faster as the fight prolonged.


    He was unaware that his body had started to get used to it as his stats increased on its own.


    After a couple of minutes of continued exchange, the two were sent back when both of their punches landed on each other''s faces.


    "!!"


    He noticed the enemy had similar [Health Regeneration] ability as him. On the contrary, Berserk Breegoria twisted his face.


    Although Berserk Mode was fueled by anger, his mind was not completely muddled up. Breegoria noticed that as the duel went on: the strength, speed, and other attributes of his enemy were increasing every few minutes.


    Contrary to it, Breegoria''s [Berserk Mode] was waning.


    GRR, he clenched his teeth.


    The next second, GYAAAAAAAAR! He shouted and dashed again. The ground was seemingly reacting to him, as his charge caused it to vibrate.


    Bang bang bang bang bang bang��!


    After the countless exchange of attacks, both of them retreated once more.


    Each of them felt their stamina could not last long. They summoned all ounce of their strength. After staring for a couple of seconds, both gritted their teeth and rapidly rushed to each other.


    Their right hand was both covered with dazzling energies! One was oozing with dark red energy, and the other one was exuding with bright crimson energy! GWAAAARRR, AAAAAHH! They both screamed and hopped at the same time they met in mid-air!


    KREESSSSSKKK! KRAAASSSSSKKK!


    *Rumble!*


    The contest of power lasted for a couple of seconds before the world was painted with brilliance.


    BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!


    The world was seemingly shaken when their punch collided and created a huge explosion.


    *Woosh!*


    *Thud!*


    A figure was thrown then crashed on the ground with a dull sound. After the last bit of his strength, Breegoria finally lost the ability to retaliate when his body turned into particles of light. Never would he expect that someone could defeat him in a fight of raw strength.


    He could use magical attacks, but as a prideful monster on the battlefield, he wanted to settle it with pure strength solely. Although he was defeated, he wasn''t disheartened by it.


    He was happy to fight an opponent who engaged with him in a face-off confrontation without the help of any magical attacks.


    However, he was puzzled by one thing. How this person had so much strength even though his magical aura was very weak. Not even half to him!


    Most experts have high senses. They could feel magical energy or aura that circulated in a person''s body. This magical energy or magical aura was the equivalent power of the person.


    In truth, what they could feel was only the minimum amount of true power the person held. But, a person with low minimum power would naturally never have high maximum power either. It was an old knowledge that was known to all experts.


    This magical aura reflects the level of the breakthrough level of a person. So a person with a low level also had a low minimum magical aura.


    Most experts were so used to it that they could literally guess the breakthrough level of a person based solely on his/her magical aura that he/she felt from him or her.


    However, Yman never was a normal person in the first place. A stronger entity was renting inside him. So, even though the minimum magical aura inside him was very low for being a level 3 only, the maximum magical aura of him was irregular.


    After defeating the enemy, Cinder and the others saw him standing in the middle of a large pit. The pit had a total diameter of 25 meters and a height of 15 meters.


    Yet instead of seeing a person deeply gasping for air, they saw him surrounded by bluish-holographic screens in different sizes, and with a calm expression, his attention was focused on each of them.


    They were tired of a surprise anyway. So there was no use of getting surprised anymore.


    But they wondered why he was using such an item from the human race. It wasn''t really surprising to see a Demihuman using such an item. Some of them used it too. Especially those with cross-blood, people with Demihuman and human parents who live together with humans. There were also those who chose to live in human cities. And lastly, those exchange students who were studying in the human academies as part of the World Agreement.


    They guess that Crimson was one of those people in the lists.


    But the issue, there was a rule stating that no human race shall be allowed to join in this competition.


    Yman was taking a quick peek at his stats. He was excited to know how much he grew in that fight just now.


    -STATUS SCREEN-


    HP: [_7770/12000_](+700)


    Level: 3


    Demonic Mana: 30% /100%


    Stamina: 10%/100%


    Strength: 250 +5


    Vitality: 240 +5


    Sense: 230 +3


    Dexterity: 150 +1


    Agility: 220 +3


    [New!] Charisma +7


    Sistela''s excited voice greeted him.


    "Eh?" He was puzzled but upon looking at the lowest part at the list of his Attributes, he noticed there was really a new Attribute added. "Charisma, eh!?" Yman wanted to laugh at this new stat that finally appeared. Look, he gained [Charisma]. Maybe those 7 points were the number of people looking at him in a positive light? He guessed.


    He didn''t know about it.


    Regardless, those additional stat points were the growth he acquired in that fight. As expected, Dexterity had the least growth followed by Sense and Agility.


    However, his attention was taken by Sistela''s greeting. The appearance of the [Charisma] attribute was definitely surprising.


    "Fuf, thank you, my deity," a giggle unintentionally escaped from his mouth. He was wondering if it was because of his disguise. Or maybe that demon was the cause.


    No.


    He wasn''t sure.


    For now, it has a pitiable number. But like the cliched line, "It''s better than none". Puft! He chuckled again. He was happy to see it.


    Nonetheless, his [[Combat Experience: 100%/100%]] was already at the peak! This excites him the most!


    Level 4 is coming!


    He already bought an L4SOA(Level 4 Syringe of Advancement) before coming here to the empire. But unfortunately, it is currently unusable inside the Cyber Storage. Because that mad lass beautiful artist disabled all the items originally inside it.


    Sighed.


    He could only wait after he got out of here before absorbing the L4SOA.


    "!!"


    Crissssss, crasssss!


    Cinder''s feet made a noise of friction on the ground when she slid down the pit. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked after her feet landed beside him and noticed how tattered he looked at the moment. Though based on how serious he was staring at those objects, she perhaps could tell that he was fine.


    Obviously, she already stopped getting surprised at him. This person is Jack-of-all-trades.


    Yman closed all the screens when a cute beautiful face was peeking at his face while slightly bending her body with her hands at her back.


    "Mhm," He made a low groan with a slight nod from her question. "Let''s go?" He beckoned her.


    However, he noticed her face with an astonished expression while staring at him. Yman wrinkled his brows and remembered something, he immediately touched his face and noticed his hood and mask was torn.


    ''Damn it!'' He thought. ''That last explosive attack of us must have torn it without me noticing!'' He thought.


    ''H-Handsome!'' Her first impression upon having a slight peek of his full face. She noticed that his initial thought was right! He is a handsome human with brown hair and eyes!


    However, there was a problem, how come a human able to join this competition!


    Yman froze upon noticing that even his disguise was gone.


    Actually, after the contract with that demon, his body was toned up. The side effect of the experiment he suffered from childhood which slowed his power growth was healed. Right now, he was a handsome young human male with a height of 5 feet and 8.5 inches, with a well-toned body. Not burly and not thin as well. Just enough. He even looked lean in his attire. But his muscles were well reformed and were exuding with unordinary strength.


    Fortunately, he was starting to grow normally. His skin was gleaming with vigor as well. He didn''t look like the pale and sickly person he was before.


    ''This is bad! Should I kill her?'' Yman''s face showed a troubled expression.


    He heard Sistela''s words.


    ''Well, she will not really die, she is just going to respawn outside this world,'' Yman responded.


    "....."


    She added.


    |The place where I came from only taught me to show emotions. But not literally feel.|


    |Behind this face is a HOLLOW.|


    Yman''s inner thoughts.

 Chapter 124: Demonic beast

    Although Yman said to kill her, he wasn''t serious about it. In fact, he didn''t have the ability to do it inside this world.


    Actually, Yman believed what Sistela felt was the killing intent from the demon within him. It felt excited upon hearing his words of killing.


    And if there was someone who was capable of killing someone even in this world, it would probably be that demon only.


    However, too bad for him, he could not let him do his thing.


    Killing this girl is not a good choice. The benefit was lower than the problem it may cause to him.


    Sistela suggested.


    "Mhm."


    He nodded.


    Yman glanced at Cinder but gawked.


    Cinder was staring at him with a rosy red face while putting her finger in front of her mouth. In addition, she winks at him.


    He understood what she meant. Looks like he still had a chance. He nodded, "But, I wanted to know how you were able to enter in this competition," she said to him.


    Looks like, he left with no choice huh. Without wasting time Yman canceled his resonance. After it, the tattered clothing returned back to the original.


    Again, Yman and Sistela went in resonance once more, which caused the girl beside him to gawked upon witnessing that his figure turned into a white-haired with pointed ears.


    She gasped in surprise, "I see, so that is the reason."


    He smiled and nodded.


    "Hehe," she giggled. "Let''s go?" She asked him.


    Yman lifted the hood to hide his face before he glanced and nodded at her. Then he answered, "let''s go!"


    He walked ahead of her.


    "Not even asking for a rest?!" She whispered. She wondered if this person was still a normal being. In any case, she followed after him, excitedly.


    Sistela sighed in relief. She wondered if this partner of hers still had this desire of hurting someone for no good reason. But no matter what, she wouldn''t let him hurt anyone, for Sister Yana''s sake!


    This brother of hers must be taught how to become a certified good person!


    "Good Job!" Shouted Aegor with a broad grin.


    "Congrats!" Taflas said.


    "Nice win Crimson," said Tiafel.


    The three greeted him when they arrived at the surface.


    Yman smiled and nodded at them.


    Looks like, both of them already completed the needed amount to qualify to enter the next barrier and the last.


    "Let''s search for the barrier now?" Cinder asked.


    The three noticed her lively attitude. They wondered what happened.


    "Yeah, let''s do that. After all, we already completed all the needed points. We don''t need to fight another monster."


    "I agree,"


    "Right. How about you Crimson, do you want a rest?" Tiafel asked. Then they glanced at him. It was noticeable that he was exhausted.


    "There''s no need for that," he replied. Then took something from his Cyber Storage.


    "What is that?!"


    Everyone asked in surprise. They thought they would never be as surprised ever again. But here again. Yet this person always pulled something out of the norm from his storage.


    Three [Fire Dolls] resembled the Hell Chaser Bird.


    Well, making this bird wasn''t easy. It was slightly smaller than the original one. But it was enough where two people could ride on it.


    "I-Is it safe to ride?" Tiafel asked with a skeptical face.


    "Mhm. It is. Don''t worry. I made sure that the [Mana Coating] on it was thick enough to prevent the heat from leaking. And it won''t explode easily. I can assure you that," He replied.


    Yman spent a lot of mana to condense it. And it took him a couple of hours to succeed in making it.


    Even though Tiafel and the others are still doubtful. It was only natural for them to feel it after seeing those bees.


    Yman leaped on one of the bird types [Fire Dolls] to show them that it was safe to ride.


    His feet landed on top of the bird with a dull sound. It even caused a ripple on its surface. The surface of the bird isn''t fluffy, it was smooth but Yman made sure that it was comfortable to ride by adding some saddles.


    Thump!


    "!!"


    "Eh?!"


    It was Yman''s turn to be surprised when someone jumped on his back.


    "Woah, it really isn''t hot!" Cinder exclaimed.


    "....."


    He wondered why this girl rode together with him. He even made three of them so that he could ride solo.


    "You don''t mind��.. right?" She whispered in his ears.


    Yman just forced a smile. He wanted to disagree, but when he remembered about his secret, he could only sigh and nod his head.


    Seeing the Lupine Princess casually jumped to it. Tiafel also jumped on one of them.


    "Eeeh! It really wasn''t hot!" She shouted.


    The two boys looked at each other. Still doubtful.


    But when the ground trembled, all the hairs in their bodies stood upright.


    They simultaneously glanced behind them and saw that same giant beast who chased after them the other day.


    "Let''s go! Just maneuver it the way you maneuver the original!" Yman shouted.


    Instead of a rope, a long whisker was connected to its beak, Yman lifted which made the bird slowly hover in the air. He also felt the skeptical hold from someone behind him.


    Tiafel copied what he did, then the bird she was riding with slowly hovered.


    However,


    *Thud!*


    Out of a sudden, someone hopped behind her.


    "Eh!!!" She screamed in shock.


    They glanced and saw a spiky red hair dude behind her.


    Everyone frowned.


    "Ember Lupine!!!" Aegor and Taflas yelled.


    "Ember!"


    "Gwahahaha, yo'' Cinder bro!" He said with a broad laugh.


    Yman glanced below and saw a guy with identical features with the girl behind him. "Do you know him?" He asked.


    "H-He''s my b-brother��" she said with reservation.


    "I see, no wonder��" he replied.


    "Hehehe," Ember grinned. He had no idea what happened, but that person seemed close to his twin. He remembered the guy, he was the person who protects Miss Ella from the attackers in the public square.


    "Ehhhhh!" Tiafel screamed in nervousness. The man behind her was no other than the young master of the Lupine family! Will he kill her? She doubted.


    "How did you��"


    "We don''t have time to talk! Girl fast, fly this thing!" He commanded Tiafel.


    They noticed the giant scary beast coming rapidly.


    "Eh! O-okay!"


    Aegor and Taflas had no choice as well.


    Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Three birds flew at a constant speed below the clouds.


    In the sky, the bird where Tiafel and Ember were riding gilded closer to the bird where Yman and Cinder rode.


    "Hey, dude! Are you courting my brother?"


    "....."


    "What are you talking about Ember!?" For some reason, Cinder was the one who replied.


    "Gwahahaha! Look at your face, you''re so flustered! It can''t be happening to my brother!" He shouted.


    Yman was wondering what this person was talking about.


    Regardless, this person''s magical aura was so strong. As expected of the experts of the Lupine family. They were on another level compared to ordinary experts.


    He smiled. Truly, the empire was littered with strong people.


    "Nonetheless, where have you been this whole time?!" Cinder asked her brother.


    "Guwahaha, I was sent to the northern part together with that Hilion Gustav!"


    He replied. Yman''s ears piqued an interest towards the name, "Do you mean�� Gilion Gustav?" He asked.


    Ember glanced at him with narrowed eyes, "Gilion Gustav is the younger brother of Hilion," he told him.


    "Hmm, I see."


    "Ember, did you fight with Hilion?" Cinder asked.


    "Bro, if I did that, I may have already gone here," he replied with a can''t be helped face.


    "Pufft, so you''re afraid," teased him.


    "This brother of mine, you become more talkative than usual. That guy was together with his guards, it was suicide for me if I''d challenge him. Nonetheless, that guy and the other experts from the great family already entered the second barrier."


    "....."


    Cinder fell silent. She wondered what this brother of her talking about that she was more talkative than usual.


    Yman grinned. Looks like this competition will not be an easy one.


    Ember was puzzled as well, this was the first time he saw his sister acting so girly. And look, she was hugging that person''s back! Grrrr! No matter what, he would punish him if that guy hurt her!


    But he could not think of a reason for how these two become so close.


    KYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!


    His contemplation was ended when they heard a loud howl from behind them.


    Ember glanced and saw a large bird with fierce-looking eyes and a long tail. It had reddish color and long horns protruding on its head. Its body was exuding with a dark aura.


    "Damn! Demonic Beast!" He shouted.


    "Eeeeeeehhhhh!!!" The others shouted too.


    Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh!


    Violet flashed trailed from their back. The bird [Fire Dolls] swayed left to right when the Demonic Beast started raining attacks on them.


    Yman was focused on evading. It would be bad if that thing hit them.


    "Damn it!" Ember spat a curse and sent a fireball at it.


    It hit the incoming violet flash of energy and caused a strong explosion and created a dense amount of smoke. From the smoke, the Demonic Beast''s body shot within the smoke and pierced through it. However, it was greeted by another fireball when it came out of the smoke.


    Another loud explosion had happened in the air.

 Chapter 125: Homing Type - Spear-Shape Mating Flame

    The Demonic Beast sneered at them after it took a hit from one of its prey.


    Its massive body was still steaming from that [Fireball]. Yet it didn''t look hurt. Although it was featherless and scaleless, its skin was thick enough that it could negate the attack coming from the expert from the Lupin family.


    "Girl fast, faster, or that damn beast will catch on us!"


    Ember''s shout only added more nervousness to what Tiafel already felt.


    She saw what happened to the bees when they were attacked by the enemies. In the knowledge that this bird was made of the same thing with those bees, sweat trailed down on her face. It would be a game over for them if this bird exploded!


    She glanced to her left and saw that guy focused his attention on piloting only.


    It wasn''t only her who was anxious for the same reason, Aegor and Taflas did as well. However, there was nothing they could do at this moment.


    Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh!


    Pure magical energies were shot from the hands of Taflas towards the gigantic beast behind them.


    Seeing the incoming attacks, the Demonic Beast squinted its eyes and shot a massive amount of dark-colored energy beam.


    The attack coming from Taflas dissipated when it collided at the scary dark beam of the Demonic Beast.


    The three [Fire Doll] birds were like fishes when they jolted away from the line of shot.


    Yman noticed Cinder''s grip strengthened on his waist. He couldn''t even do a thing at the moment. Aside from that, her brother named it Demonic Beast. But in terms of humans, they called it [Nightmare] class! The same as that gigantic dog below.


    This rank of the beast was bad news to them.


    "Miss Cinder, distract it for a couple of minutes!" Yman asked her. No, he wasn''t asking, he wanted her to do it!


    Her lips extended into a smile at the call of her name.


    "Okay!" Her excited exclamation mixed and faded into the air. But it also reverberated into his ears.


    Her brows slightly knitted as she glanced at the enemy.


    While her left hand was gripping tightly at his waist, she lifted her right hand and coagulated a big [Shapeless Flame] that was blazing wildly on top of it.


    Without wasting any more seconds, she waved her hand to the direction of the enemy.


    The big [Shapeless Flame] was shot! The enemy seemed to perceive that it was dangerous.


    It evaded the attack!


    Yman took a sneak glance upon the evasion of the enemy. His eyes glinted with understanding, seemingly aware of what was going on.


    He finally understood.


    After the Demonic Beast evaded, ''woosh woosh woosh'' another [Shapeless Flame] came rushing towards it.


    Ember frowned while seeing it. How could that Beast just eat his [Fireball] and evaded the [Shapeless Flame] of his twin!?


    "....."


    Couldn''t believe it, he fired [Fireball] again. Yet the beast was unbothered by it and focused only on evading the [Shapeless Flame] while bracing itself by the impact of [Fireball].


    Ember seemed annoyed by it.


    He glanced at Cinder. "Hey bro, why is it so afraid of your flame?!" He asked.


    "Fufu," but Cinder only chuckled and raised a brow at him. It was really new to her to see her brother so flustered like this.


    He was an adamant type of person. But here he was, asking how her flame could afraid that beast while on the other hand, his flame could not scare it. Actually, she wasn''t sure as well. She also was curious if why her flame could afraid of this beast. Did she perhaps a legendary being? Or maybe she was a child of prophecy like in most online novels that she happened to read! For some reason, it excites her.


    The beast tried its best to avoid her flame.


    "As expected of Miss Cinder!" Tiafel said astonishingly with so much admiration and respect.


    But it only made Ember more puzzled. This twin of his was supposed to be an introverted person. No real friends in the outside world and only focused herself on curling inside her room playing games all day and at night only that she left her room to train together with their mom.


    And that guy with her! How come she was closed to him! Is he perhaps her online boyfriend? He mulled.


    Besides them, Aegor and Taflas breathed a sigh of relief when the focus of the beast turned away from them.


    On the other hand, "C-Crimson, that beast for some reason has started chasing us only!" He heard Cinder''s worry.


    "Yeah, good job, we got the aggro on us. Now hold tight but don''t stop firing at it! Let''s try fishing a big fish! In this boundless sea!"


    Cinder was puzzled by his wording, "Eh? Wh-What do you mean fish and sea? That is a bird you know! And we are in the skyyyyy!!" She shouted but still followed what he instructed.


    With a red face, she tightened her hold on him.


    "!!"


    "Are those two flirtings even in the face of danger? Damn it my brother had started acting girly!" Ember thought. The beast passed by them which almost threw them away.


    ''What this person is saying. Calling his sister as brother and bro,'' Tiafel wondered. But did not put much attention to it.


    Actually, it was his way of teasing her.


    Yman stirred away from the others.


    "Eh? What are they planning to do?" Tiafel asked when the bird of Crimson and Cinder was moving away from them.


    "He''s trying to lure that beast away from us," Ember was the one who answered.


    "I see��" understandably said Tiafel.


    "Will they be okay?" Now it''s time for Ember to ask. He was worried about his sister. He didn''t want her to expire so soon on this competition. He was cheering for her to successfully buy her dream Newtendo. The newest version of it.


    It''s not like he was a dotting brother. He just�� he just wanted her to be happy.


    "Hah~ don''t worry Mr. Ember, with that guy, they certainly will be okay!"


    Ember knitted his brows, puzzled by why these people were so trusting of that guy. Although that guy really had an awesome skill like what he did on the Public Square, the enemy this time is a way beyond their sum of power!


    It was a Demonic Beast for her Grace Htraerea''s sake!


    Ember exclaimed with a face that could not believe what they were so trusting with this guy about.


    Yman sped up the bird and also widened his perception to a full extent. His stamina won''t last long. He needed a one shot one kill strategy. If not, game over for both him and the others.


    Looks like, it wasn''t easy to lose it at their tail. The beast was so fast. It was thanks to Miss Cinder that until now it still could not come closer to them.


    But her breathing was becoming heavier every time she fired those flames. He could not linger any longer as both of them were like dying candles in a window.


    Any moment from now when a strong breeze of wind passes through -- it will dissipate the flame of their life in this world.


    ''Wha��-!?'' Yman was shocked by it. Did not expect this notification from his trusted partner. ''What is the new Attribute then?''


    "....." (Yman be like, surprise Pikachu face!)


    "...o-okay then." He stopped thinking about it. In any case, it was a plus for him to get such an Attribute. He stared ahead of them, to where the canopy of the mountains met the unbound horizon.


    As they hovered below the sea of clouds, below them was the blue ocean, the ever so wide part of the world. Looks like that artist modeled this world to the real world. But he was sure that it wasn''t the Outerworld.


    A bright blinding sparkle on it piqued his interest. The ever so dazzling star that all the planets in the universe orbiting around.


    It was the sun!


    Yman leaked a smile, "We either a fisherman or a pirate, but whoever takes the bait will get hooked," he whispered.


    He forced a soundless laugh.


    Cinder on the other hand was wondering about his words but had no time to ask him as she was focused on distracting the enemy.


    "Now hold tight"


    "Ehhh!"


    Looking from the other''s perspective, the gaping mouth of the giant bird beast was about to maw Cinder and Crimson. However, their bird suddenly rose higher to the sky, to the direction of the sun.


    It continued climbing higher and higher without decreasing their speed. Until all of them use their hands to cover their eyes while peeking at the gaps of their fingers.


    They could not clearly see it but based on what they saw, their distance from the beast had widened a little.


    Until their vision could not focus anymore on the figure of Cinder and Crimson.


    The bird made a sudden backflip.


    ''Eeeeeehhhh!!!'' Cinder shouted in her mind. Her face was so red.


    Crimson suddenly jumped behind her. His left hand was covering her eyes, while his right hand was embracing the back of her palm. He looked like he was embracing her from behind.


    "....."


    He whispered a word into his ears that made her boiled in surprise. Steam was visible on her head. But it was in everyone''s imagination only. (LoL)


    A moment later, a huge [Shapeless Flame] materialized on top of her palm. Then the size became doubled.


    Suddenly, she felt a strong surge of magic energy from within her. It felt like she leveled up a couple of times.


    Or did she ascend to a Real Path expert already? This is what she truly felt at the moment. But his hand was covering her eyes. So she could not see what was happening at the moment. In her ears, his instructions were keep coming.


    WHAT IS THAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!


    The others shouted with wide gaping faces as they stared above them.


    They saw a 25 meters spear made by pure flame and�� it was dressed by black��.. smoke?


    Seeing the massive spear, with the element of the [Shapeless Flame]. The fierce Demonic Beast felt a grave danger to itself.


    It cowered away as it tried to escape.


    A glint in his eyes together with a grin was already locked to it.


    [Homing Type - Spear-Shape Mating Flame]


    A giant spear dressed in black smoke that formed like falcon wings was rapidly approaching towards the Demonic Beast.


    Everyone was staring at it without blinking their eyes.


    Who knows what they were thinking at the moment.


    But after that thing was fired. It followed the beast to where it went. Until a huge explosion that caused the world to be blanketed by darkness was happening in front of them.


    Every participant who is currently in that world saw the explosion. And even the audience outside the painting was staring at the monitor with both stunned and astonished expressions.


    Yet all of them could not utter a single word.

 Chapter 126: Gilion and Roman

    From the perspective of the people who were watching it on the monitor, it looks like two bird-type Demonic Beasts were chasing each other.


    But the explosion denoted everyone that something untrivial was happening in the sky of that world.


    Three people instantly rose-up their points after the explosion.


    "How can it be?!"


    It took the interest of the empress that caused her to subconsciously jolted up from her seat.


    This rash movement of hers caused a clatter on the table.


    Beside her, her niece Ella also was staring at the monitor with a far-fetched face.


    Ella understood her aunt''s reaction just now.


    In her mind, she was contemplating what was that thing that shot the Demonic Beast dead.


    They saw it at a bad distance because it was already too late when one of the Monitoring Devices received a heat reaction from its sensor.


    At first glance, they thought a large bird-type Demonic Beast was being chased by another bird-type Demonic Beast as well.


    However, Ella realized that there''s no way that it was a Demonic Beast either. Ella knew every beast she put in that world, and she couldn''t identify the chaser.


    So it certainly wasn''t a Beast. Especially a Demonic Beast.


    Like a scared cat, the bird-type Demonic Beast tried its best to lose the tail of it.


    Unfortunately, after a mile of chasing, the beast was shot dead when that thing collided with it. Then it was followed by a huge explosion that caused a phenomenon where the world was veiled with dark clouds, lightning strikes which followed by heavy rains.


    The two disappeared sooner after the collision.


    After a moment of silent,


    "Aunt, could it be��.. someone among the participants killed it?" With uncertainties, Ella asked her empress aunt who was yet to recover from her surprise.


    The empress gasped for breath after a couple of seconds, "Do you mean that kid of Hammerhelm family?"


    Ella slightly nodded her head, "Possible," she said. But it was clear from her voice that she wasn''t fully agreed at the thought.


    The empress glanced at the person standing nearby, "What do you think, Mr. Knight-Captain Borge Bergal?"


    The unexpected call of his name made the Knight-Captain blank out for a second before he opened his mouth to answer.


    Noticing their eyes on him, he felt a little nervous and thought he could not mess up with his answer, "Yes, your majesty��" with a furrow, "Ahem, sorry!" He cleared his throat and opened his mouth once again.


    He paused for a second, and upon finding out the right word to satisfy their question he started saying, "I think, it was a condensation of a massive amount of energy that only the Real Path expert could achieve. I bet not even Roman is capable of doing it.


    Unless he was really a Real Path expert but hid his real strength.


    But, I don''t think Roman is capable of hiding his strength��-"


    "I see. Because the Hammerhelm family was known for their integrity. Right?"


    The Knight-Captain wasn''t able to finish his words because of the empress cut-in.


    "Yes, your majesty!" He agreed.


    It really was unbelievable that someone in the participants was able to kill such a monster.


    Even the Knight-Captain himself would not wish to challenge it alone.


    ''But who could it be who killed that beast?'' Borge Bergal thought inwardly. In any case, it was a waste of energy thinking about it at the moment, because the empress would certainly do an investigation later.


    "Let''s say multiple numbers of False Path experts against it. Do they have a chance to kill it?"


    "No. It''s still impossible for them to succeed, your majesty. Although it was only a copy of the original Demonic Beast, putting into account that it was Princess Merea Ella who made it, it at least had the 70-80% strength of the original. But if multiple Real Path experts are against it, I will say for certain that there is 99% for them to win."


    Grateful for his answer, The Empress slightly nodded her head.


    The empress glanced at her niece,


    "Do we have a Real Path expert participant, Rea Honey?" She asked.


    Ella put her finger below her chin.


    "I don''t think there is. Probably none..."


    "Hmm, then there was no one who could at least have a chance to win against it," The empress mumbled.


    ''Could it be there are intruders? No, it''s impossible. Ella would certainly sense them the second they entered without her permission. Regardless, everything will be put in the light once everyone returns here.


    She glanced at the monitor and saw the list of participants who had a noticeable increase in their points.


    ''Could it be��"


    "I think it was one of them who was possibly behind it. However, just like what the Knight-Captain said, none of them were capable of doing it because most of them at the very least were False Path experts only.


    But maybe�� some of them have a way." The Empress pointed at the names that were listed who had a sudden climb of points a second after the explosion.


    Deep inside, she was expecting for someone with a talent that could twist heaven and earth.


    It was also one of her reasons to sponsor this competition.


    To find that someone.


    Ella glanced at the monitor to where the empress was pointing and saw a specific name among those which are listed in the monitor.


    ''Could it be him��?'' In her mind.


    From the other cities, those who had a glimpse of what happened had different thoughts about it.


    Almina and the others were also talking about it. But they could not come up with a conclusion of what truly happened.


    Or what is that thing that killed the fierce beast that they believed was a [Nightmare] class.


    Even Ice could not give a good explanation about it as she was as puzzled as them.


    Most of them had a doubt that something unordinary happened.


    Nonetheless,


    Before the explosion happened, Gilion unexpectedly encountered Roman beside the second barrier. However, the explosion happened and Roman decided to leave without making a fight.


    But Gilion didn''t like it, that Roman was seemingly looking down at him. He clenched his teeth and tried to stop him.


    Roman just shrugged saying, "at your current state, You aren''t even a match with your brother, so how come you think that you have a chance against me?


    Grow first before the second round of the competition started. If by the will of her Grace Htraerea a chance like this will repeat, I will fight you in that time��" he said. His voice was as calm as the wind breeze. Yet it brings the weight of a mountain.


    Such domineering aura! Gilion thought. Well, he was a 1-star False Path expert and Roman was already a 5-star False Path expert.


    However, he strongly believed that ''how one handles a fight is all that matters.''


    Even someone like him could probably defeat a mountain �� that is Roman Hammerhelm.


    Before Roman could fully pass him, and when their shoulders were in line with each other, Roman whispered, "At your current strength, you can''t even last a couple of seconds."


    Then he took a step forward.


    "Bigmouth!" He roared and grimly glanced behind him just to see��.. no one ��was behind him.


    2 days had passed in the world of painting since the fight with the Demonic Beast.


    Most of the participants had entered the second barrier. And one more to go for them to complete the first round.


    However, their numbers were left with a few hundred.


    Many participants were defeated in the search for the first barrier, and many that did not make it to the second barrier. Now, in the search for a third barrier, how many of them will remain? No one knows as the competition is still ongoing.


    The betting system that was originated by the audiences, were on the climax. As more names started to climb their ranks of the most point holders.


    After killing the Demonic Beast, Yman and Ember got a Sharepoint. But Cinder got the most points because it was her attack that killed it. And Yman only did a buff on her.


    Although Ember''s [Fireball] wasn''t able to hurt the beast, the attack successfully landed on the monster. In this regard, it was counted for a share.


    After killing it,


    5000 additional points for Cinder and 2500 both for Yman and Ember.


    After the explosion, it was followed by a strong shockwave, and after the shockwave, a strong gust of wind blew Yman and Cinder away from the group.


    Yman used all the means he could for both of them to land safely on the surface, but because of this, he was knocked out for two days.


    The cause was exhaustion.


    After his fight with the Berserk dude, he was left with a little percent of stamina. And that encounter with the beast emptied him for good. He did not expect that buffing a 1-star False Path expert was so taxing to him who was only at the peak of level 3.


    Fortunately, he succeeded in buffing her. And they succeeded in killing the [Nightmare] class beast.


    Even though it wasn''t the real one, it was a huge achievement to kill it for someone like them who were far below in strength compared to it.

 Chapter 127: Oneself predicament

    A cold sensation on my back, occasional droplets of water from the distance, and the familiar flickering sounds of fire was what awoke me from my sleep.


    I slowly opened my eyes, but a blurry vision greeted me. Using my hand, I wiped both to clear it.


    After it felt comfortable to me, I glanced left and right and discovered that in addition to the slight illumination of the dying bonfire, a familiar ceiling and walls greeted my eyes.


    ''A cave?'' What came to my mind at first glanced.


    I tried to remember what was happening and how I am in a state right now. I remembered we were chased by the [Nightmare] class beast.


    Looks like I passed out.


    Although we successfully killed it, me and that girl was thrown away by the sudden gust of strong wind. Which I did not expect to happen.


    That attack that we condensed had a stronger effect than I originally thought.


    Regardless, I felt something on my lower body.


    I looked towards it as I was doubtful about it. The feeling of something heavy and warm on top was bugging me. Below, I saw a piece of cloth wrapped on me.


    However,


    "!!"


    I was speechless, the cloth was bulging. ''Do I become so plump?'' The thought unsettled me.


    "Zzzzzzz zzzzzzzzz��"


    "!!"


    Out of a sudden, my ears picked soft snoring from within the blanket, I furrowed, and deliberately lifted the blanket.


    "....."


    After I lifted it, what I saw next, made me speechless.


    I saw the barely dressed Wolf girl cuddling on top of me.


    She was in her undergarments!


    On top of that, I am naked as well! I could even feel our bare skin touching each other.


    ''What happened? Wasn''t this a serious matter?'' My thoughts.


    "....."


    I cannot settle my thinking as I ponder and try to recollect what little I could remember. Yet nothing comes to mind.


    With a blank face, I opted to shake her off of me. But on second thought, I didn''t want to become rude; because this girl did a lot of helpful things to me. And she was in deep sleep already. Probably tired.


    I glanced around me, looking for something that could help me in my current situation.


    Sigh. A sigh of relief escaped from my mouth when I noticed some things above us.


    I immediately shook the thought that a sexual thing had happened between us. I saw our clothes hanging. Both are noticeably wet.


    Prolly, she did this to warm our body.


    The last thing I remembered before I passed out, the two of us fell into the ocean.


    Hmm�� looking at this girl. My thinking is starting to muddle up. I slowly lift my body as carefully as I can so as not to wake her up.


    Although most of my emotions are as fake as what I originally felt, the sexual desire is still with me. Being a man and naked together with a beautiful Demihuman won''t end up good for this situation.


    On top of it, she''s already on top of me. Her soft bare skin was very tempting and made me forget to breathe for a couple of seconds. Especially those two round parts that most females have. They are currently pressing tightly onto my chest.


    ''Not good!'' I spoke in my mind. To be honest, it worried me because my resistance to it was as normal as the others.


    "Gulp!"


    It was unintentional when my throat did a gulp.


    Truly, what a difficult situation I have at the moment. Maybe more difficult than fighting that [Nightmare] class beast.


    I tried seeking within my mind, trying to find a good topic for myself in order to mislead the thought that started to bug me. But, the temptation was so strong that no matter what I thought I was defeated immediately by the soft sensation on top.


    This temptation is much stronger than the devil''s temptation, and in addition, her girlish scent invaded my nose and seemingly cast a ''weakening debuff'' on me.


    I closed my eyes. While closing my eyes, an image appeared in my mind.


    (AaaaahhleeeeluuuuyaaaaaahHHH��) A melodious sound rang on his ears.


    A moment later,


    An angel Yman descended from the sky. Wearing a piece of white cloth. With a pair of cloudy wings behind him and was adorned with a heavenly light background. He unhurriedly opened his mouth saying, "My child, myself��"


    "....."


    Yman was speechless. Its voice was so divine and heavenly. Full of wisdom and boundless charisma.


    It continued saying, "...you are about to venture the wide range mountain. Go forth, climb it, and conquer, have yourself fulfill your gusto.


    And then, from the foothill of that mountain, travel a couple of miles down the south. There, the legendary cave can be found. And in that cave, the fruit of sin was hidden. Don''t worry my child, me��"


    "No matter what happens, your sin will be forgiven."


    "....."


    Before Yman could open his mouth.


    (Wake me up inside! Wake me up inside! Call my name and save me from the dark��) A rockband sonata rang in his ears.


    From the crevice on the soil a hand reached-out on the surface. A devil version of himself came crawling.


    It was wearing black. And on his head with black medium hair, the two horns were protruding. He also noticed a pair of black wings on his back. But weirdly, he saw some bondages on it. The devil Yman was having backgrounds of black-steam that were oozing from the soil. However, his black clothes were tattered and were sewed in a crude way.


    "Cough cough cough��" It was using a wooden stick as a cane while coughing terribly that it looked like his business went into bankruptcy.


    Yman gawked.


    "M-My dear self, don''t be fooled by that corrupt traitorous fake unholy sinful pretentious wicked unlawful misguided being��.."


    "Cough cough cough��" it looks so weak as he spoke those words. Yman wondered if he was fine.


    "In any case, if you do what he wants you to do, the jail is waving to you��"


    "Insolence, you weak bastard again! How dare you show your face before me! This time I will make sure to erase you!" The holy angel Yman beamed in anger. Then he shouted, "Holy Judgement!" After he spoke the words, countless golden lights in cross-shaped materialized around him. It covered the sky like twinkling stars.


    "No way! You''re such a bully!" The Devil Yman cried as it tried to cover his head using his weak hands.


    Then seconds later, the cross-shaped golden lights came raining towards him.


    "So baaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHd!" Devil Yman shouted.


    Bang bang baaaaaaaaang!


    Whooooooooosssssshhh!


    Critical!


    K-O!


    (x_x) Evil Yman fainted.


    Yman shook his head to get rid of this duo again. He wondered why these two were popping out of nowhere.


    His hand slowly lifted on its own. His mind telling him thatthe thing he was about to do was not indecent, it was pure curiosity. For research purposes.


    Curious of how it feels to touch those soft bare skin.


    His fingers were approaching like a spider that crawled slowly to devour its prey.


    A centimeter before it touch,


    Yman remembered his sister and his hand froze before it touched.


    No way!


    How could he do such a thing!


    He didn''t want to embarrass her sister for having a perverted brother!


    (Yman sighed and about to retreat his hands but��)


    Before he could retreat his hands, a piece of bad news in perfect timing came in, Sistela jumped out from within the blanket and beamed on his ears. With an excited voice.


    "....."


    Yman was speechless and froze. Then Sistela noticed his hands a centimeter away from Cinder''s round bare skin.


    ,


    Cold sweat appeared at the back of his head.


    "Aaaaa-hm, s-stretching. Ahaha..." he replied while forcing a low volume laugh. But his voice had a tinge of nervousness.


    Sistela repeatedly blinks his cute eyes.


    , She asked suspiciously.


    ''Damn it! I''m so fuck up!'' He shouted inwardly and tried finding a better excuse.


    "N-No no no, I am really stretching, hehe," he failed to find a good excuse.


    Sistela did not back down, as it was suspicious for her to see those hands of him relatively close to those white bare skin.


    However, Yman finally found a perfect excuse, "Y-You are right, I am reaching the blanket! Fufu."


    Sistela continued pestering him. Yman on the other hand was wondering if deity truly had an ass? In any case, why did this deity of him have so much unnecessary data with her? Who was the one who programmed her?!


    "....."


    Yman finally lost the words. At this moment, Cinder woke up because of their voices.


    Her beautiful ruby eyes blinked several times before she noticed that he was staring at her and that they were currently in an odd situation.


    "G-Goodmorning, beautiful. Ahaha," Yman greeted while sneakily retreated his hands. He also sent a wink to Sistela to signal her to keep quiet.


    However, it was too late. Her face already hit the boiling point.


    KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!


    Her shrill shook the entire cave which caused the lower rank monsters sheltering inside to scuttle away.


    Her embarrassment for letting him show her naked skin got to her head.


    After a couple of hours, Yman finally understood what really happened. But unfortunately, his face was swollen at the moment.

 Chapter 128: Apocalyptic world

    "Two days huh," he was surprised after he heard it from Cinder. The last time he passed out was when he was in the academy''s morning training.


    The accumulation of fatigue from the training of elemental magic and creating [Fire Dolls] got the better of him ��plus activating his Black Miasma for several times, it was so strenuous.


    In addition, in order to activate his Black Miasma he had to maintain his stamina at a certain level. He had to skip sleep for consecutive nights.


    Anyhow, "I had my ''looooooong'' good sleep!" He yelped as he was stretching his arms while letting his back fall on a bedrock where He was currently sitting.


    Contemplating.


    Cinder was currently in front of him, grilling the meat jerky in the bonfire. She told him that they successfully entered the second barrier. Actually, she was arduously dragging him the entire time. He felt bad that he''d become a piece of useless luggage to her these two days.


    Though it was weird that she didn''t end up finishing him while he was so vulnerable, He didn''t know her reason but he thinks it''s natural to kill a potential rival for the future rounds.


    In any case, that''s her decision. He had no idea for her real reason though. Perhaps she merely wanted to return the favor back then when he didn''t finish her that time when they fought near the river in the search for the first barrier.


    Regardless,


    Time to check the surroundings. Closing his eyes, He heightened his perception. This cave wasn''t so deep. And an entrance could be found nearby.


    In a 100 diameter area around him, He could not sense signs of life outside the cave except for the low ranking beasts that were sheltering inside.


    "Uhmmp!" A groan escaped from his mouth when he pulled his body up.


    When she noticed him about to take a step, "Where are you going?" She asked him with a tone of worry.


    He wondered what she was worried about.


    Subconsciously when his mouth extended into a smile, "I''m going to check outside," He replied.


    "Wait. I''m coming with you," she told him.


    "Ah, no need, I will take a quick peek only. Aside from that, you have to grill that meat," he replied to her while pointing to the meat jerkies.


    She darted her eyes towards him and the meat jerkies.


    Hah~~ Then she sighed. "Okay, come back fast. Though be careful not to wander far away from here, outside was littered with eerie mist," she said in defeat.


    "Eerie�� mist?" He repeated her words, unaware of the curious look on his face that he was wearing at the moment.


    "Mhm. You will find out anyway when you go outside." She said.


    "Okay." After he nodded his head, he continued with his action.


    (Tap tap tap tap tap tap��) He walked outside to see it for himself.


    Just like what Cinder told him, the outside was full of mist. The sky was so red and it transpired the mist with its reddish color, turning it into a red mist. The world seems like the Apocalyptic World.


    The mist even has the smell of blood. It seemed like a scene from a horror movie. Not just that, bloodlust and strong killing intent were oozing from it.


    ''Is it a horror movie? What that mad lass beautiful artist put in this world of hers? She''s a silent wicked person indeed.''


    But at the moment, the girl Yman was talking bad from her back was leisurely sipping a milk tea in the castle.


    ''Gosh, this makes my body hairs to stand upright, the rigidness that the mist brought and the apocalyptic setting!''


    He could not even see what was in front of him because of how thick the mist was. Although on Outerworld the world also was covered with mist, it wasn''t as thick as the mist here. Hard to perceived the path through normal senses.


    One needs a high perception ability to wander around or to advance.


    Out of habit when his mouth extended into both sides.


    "Sistela, is your radar useful here?" He had to make sure about it.


    Her worry transmitted into me.


    "...I see."


    "I am. But there is nothing we can do anyway."


    "Fufu, let''s see��"


    It was 8:00 am in the morning inside the painting, but the world was dark red.


    In different areas,


    Clang clang clang! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!


    Shing!


    A claw brandished to one of the soldiers.


    "Arrgh!" Groaned one of the soldiers when a claw made a long line of wounds on his shoulder. Tearing the metallic shoulder pad that he was wearing. "Ugh, sorry I can''t hold on any longer, Captain Leon, Young Master Hilion!" Shouted one of them.


    These people who currently fighting these bloodthirsty monsters at the moment were the group of Hilion and his White Leo Knights.


    [Auxiliary Heal]! One of his men cast a healing spell to the wounded teammate.


    This type of magic although could not fully heal the wounds, could at least clot the wound and prevent it from further blood loss.


    "Thanks, Anthony!" shouted one of the soldiers wearing silver armor, and in his hands were a sword and shield.


    "No problem, don''t give up, Senior!"


    Anthony was the youngest and the most recent member of their group.


    He had a high affinity with healing and wood-type spells.


    GWARR!


    (Slash! Slash! Slash...!)The monster sent multiple frenzy attacks using its razor-sharp claws. (Ting ting ting ting��!) Its attack landed on the shield of one of the Soldiers.


    "Damn these demons! They''re so resilient!" Cried out the soldier while making a huge swing with his sword.


    Ting!


    However, it was met by claws. "Damn it!" He cursed with a grimace when he noticed another claw was coming from above them.


    (Hum hum hum...!)


    (Bang bang bang��!)


    GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!


    The demon cried in pain when suddenly, the flashes of strong waves of energies were shot to it. The demon was hit in the face.


    The sword wielder soldier glanced at the person who helped. "Thank you, Young Master!"


    "Don''t stop!" Hilion replied, then he condensed another wave of dazzling energy on his hand and shot it to the other demon who was frenziedly slashing its claws to the shield-user member of White Leo Knight.


    Although the shield-user was using strengthening on his shield together with medium tier durability skills, it wasn''t enough to block the demon''s onslaught for a longer.


    At this time, one silhouette rapidly shot forward.


    "Captain Leon!" Shouted the shield-user.


    [Infinity Slash]! After muttering this, Leon, the Captain of White Leo Knights shot himself forward towards the demon who received the attack from Hilion.


    (Shing shing shing shing��!)


    Leon did a consecutive slash using his katana sword in hand. The slashing of his sword was so fast that it''s hard to perceive using the naked eyes.


    GWAAAAAAAAAAAARRR! The demon roared in pain while its body was being skewered by his katana.


    But Leon immediately retreated. (Bang!) A burst of reddish energy exploded from the demon''s body.


    "Ugh!" The surrounding soldiers groaned in when and tried to fight back the pressure that tried to press them on their feet.


    It was the [Intimidation] ability that most of the demon had. Although it wasn''t as strong as the [Intimidation] coming from a Civilized Demon, this ability was able to slow them.


    "A-As expected of a demon, it''s hard to kill even it was only a copy!" Leon whimpered.


    The demon stood in 7 feet tall. With grotesque figures and with hairs that look like hoses. Its body was in a dark reddish color and a swirling fire was visible on its chest area. It has a long tail, and horns were protruding from every part of its body.


    These two demons were part of Uncivilized Demon. They were weaker than Civilized but these demons have a resilient body, they were impossible to kill using ordinary attacks.


    "Anthony!" Called out Leon.


    "Yes, Captain!"


    [Wood Quadra - Binding Pillars]! Anthony cast a spell.


    Four gigantic pillars jutted out from the ground and surrounded the demon.


    From their trunk, spikes appeared and nailed the demon''s body inside. Both legs were pierced and even its two hands, down to its stomach.


    The demons tried to retaliate, but its body couldn''t move because of the bind.


    "Good job, Anthony!"


    "Yes, Captain!"


    Seeing the entangled enemy, Hilion shouted, "Leon, Let''s finish it before the others arrive!"


    "Yes, Young Master!"


    The most troubling about these Uncivilized Demons was that they could attract Demonic Beasts.


    That''s why if one encountered it, either to kill it fast or escape sooner.


    Both Hilion and Leon activated their Artefact. In Leon''s case, it was his sword.


    Now it was covered with purplish energy around it and a dark blue ring was visible near the hilt. He jumped higher into the air towards the demon who was in a bind.


    [Mega Slash]! Leon shouted. From the air, he lifted his sword above his head while holding the hilt with both hands. Then he made a sudden dive towards the demon.


    (SHIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNG!)


    The attack made a long purplish slash mark in the air towards the demon.


    (BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!)


    (GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!)


    It was followed by a loud explosion then a loud wailing cry.


    Not far from them, Hilion activated his earring Artefact as well.


    Now a small emerald pillar of light appeared from his back. And his right hand was exuding powerful emerald energies.


    Looking at him, the demon rushed towards him. But Hilion didn''t escape, he was calm and walking slowly towards the approaching demon.


    He lifted his right hand to the side. A moment after the collision, no expected explosion happened. The demon stopped 10 meters away from Hilion''s back. Then it staggered and limped on the ground.


    In Hilion''s right hand, the swirling fire that supposedly was in the chest of the demon was now on his hand. He crushed it and crumble in his hand.


    The two demons turned into light particles.


    "Haha, as expected of the Young Master and also the Captain. They were truly a real beast in the battlefield," praised Anthony.


    The group immediately advanced towards the last barrier. Killing all the demons that would come on their way.


    However, the search wasn''t easy because of the mist.


    In the other area, the other participants were fighting with the demons as well.

 Chapter 129: A teasing man

    "Damn it, I almost survive!"


    "Arrgh! No way, why those demons had to show up!"


    "I''m dead? Nooooooo! Give me another life! Reincarnate me in that world! I will get my revenge!"


    "Urgh, I thought I would die for real."


    "Oh shit, I peed my trouser. I forgot it''s not real!"


    "Grrrrr, even though it wasn''t real, I still could feel how those monsters gnawed my head."


    "Hey, bro, how did you die!"


    "In shock!"


    "Lame."


    "How about you?"


    "I don''t even know what they meant about demons. I was only sleeping inside a cave after I crossed the second barrier, but then suddenly I heard a loud shrill that I thought was a shrill from a girl. To my surprise, I woke up immediately, and then my head hit the protruding stone above me. And that''s the end."


    "....."


    Dead participants were spawning one after another that even the welcoming squad could not barge-in to make a joke.


    Since they already made jokes to themselves!!!


    "Chuchuchu, look everyone! The elimination round was at its climax. Behold! Let''s witness how our mighty participants handle those creatures.


    Truly a magnificent sight!


    Our beloved her majesty The Empress Elleanna and her Eminence The Popular Artist Miss Ella did a very wonderful surprise!


    Inside the third barrier, the theme of it is as you see! Apocalyptic World! Where various monsters roaming the place, led by D-E-M-O-N-S!!!


    Ahem!


    At the moment, the group of Hilion and his White Leo Knights was the nearest to the last barrier.


    But the group was halted to their advance because more and more monsters were waiting and guarding...


    THE LAST BARRIER!!!"


    WOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!


    The crowd beamed in excitement.


    "Chuchuchu! The next person who was the nearest��


    �� Was the irregular Gath Rainripper!


    Currently, he was being chased by around 10 lower rank demons. Look how he sneakily fired those needle-like raindrops of him. He truly is an amazing participant to place your bet.


    However,


    HOWEVEEEEEEEEEER!


    The third nearest participant is our greatest-!


    ROMAAAA~~~AAAAANNN!"


    WOAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!


    ROMAN! ROMAN! ROMAN! ROMAN!


    The audience chants his name!


    "Look, his Artefact the Guardian Beast, the Lightning of Mayhem, like striking lightning, it''s tearing every monster who comes across his way. LIKE A KING! Roman was advancing unbothered by it."


    WOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH! With the instigation of the announcer Mr. Faye The Trickster, everyone''s hype reverberated on the whole Public Square.


    ROMAN! ROMAN! ROMAN! ROMAN!


    HILION! LEO KNIIIIIIIIIGHTS!


    GATH! GATH! GATH! RAINRIPPER!


    Every gambler chanted their favored participants.


    What''s good with this kind of competition, is that the audiences could freely bet their money. So even those of lower family, if lucky, could win a huge sum.


    Right now they are betting on who will enter the last barrier first, and who will be able to gather more points.


    The announcer Faye The Trickster continued saying,


    "Chuchuchu, just two days ago inside the world in the painting that the participant number 1500, ''The Mysterious'' person was able to climb at the first spot on the ranking list of most point holders. He was followed by the Young Miss of Lupine Family! Her Highness The Shut-In Wolf Girl Lady Cinde Rayla Lupine!


    HOWEVERRRRRR!


    For whatever reason, these two were missing in action these past two days and their points had stopped increasing after that.


    And now the new top in the ranking list is��


    Number One! With the points of 15700 �� The Platinum Rank Adventurer Gath Rainripper!"


    WOOOOOOOHHHH! The people who were betting for Gath Rainripper boom in cheers. They mostly consisted of people from the adventurers guild.


    "After assassinating multiple participants these past days in the world of painting, his points rose up higher than Roman!"


    The cheers continued without stopping!


    Number Two! With points of 12500 �� The Mighty Roman of Hammerhelm family!


    WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!


    More cheers that almost shook the entire Public Square.


    Number Three! With the points of 11800 �� The Younger Brother of Gustav Family �� Gilion Gustav!


    "Ehhhh?"


    "It''s not Hilion?"


    "Chuchuchuchu, I know that you are going to question how the Younger Brother of Gustav Family got higher points than the Big Brother.


    It''s because Hilion''s points are mostly shared by his teammates. And they were not able to kill many participants because most of them scuttered away at the sight of their group.


    On the other hand, Gilion was sneakily killing the other participants while hunting beasts on its way.


    "Fair enough!"


    "So, that is the reason!"


    "Right, in any case, I still believe that Hilion will able to make a comeback!"


    The Fourth place! With the same points of 11500 �� We have a tie! The Young Miss of Lowe family! Her Highness Lady Lyka Lowe and The Big Brother of Gustav Family �� Hilion Gustav!


    In fifth place! Ember of Lupine and Harou of the Lowe family were tied at 10500 points.


    But the elimination was still ongoing so we can''t say for sure who will come up at the top!


    Everyone! Let''s watch and enjoy as we witness who among our great warriors will dominate the points and enter the last barrier."


    WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!


    The whole Public Square shook at the people''s cheer.


    Around this time, inside the barrier, every participant came closer and closer to the last barrier. But their advance wasn''t as fast as the last two boundaries.


    Their visibility was hindered terribly, and stronger monsters were roaming across the land waiting for their victim.


    Ember and the other were currently battling with a demon.


    None of them knew what happened to Cinder and Crimson. But they believed that both of them were still alive. In any case, they could only advance. And so the group decided to team up with each other.


    With Ember and Aegor as the vanguard, Tiafel, and Taflas as their range support, they managed to kill the demon.


    None of them really cared about the points, the most important for them was to reach the last barrier.


    At the same time that their group just finished killing the demon, Yman just came back inside the cave.


    "How''s your sightseeing outside?" He was greeted by a question.


    "Just as you said," his reply.


    "Do you think we can make it before the deadline? Can we make it?" She questioned him again with a mix of worry.


    "Don''t worry, as long as you help me with one thing, we can do it without a hitch."


    His straightforward answer was like a melodious song in her ears, it brought so much weight and calmed down her raging worry, giving her more confidence like a prince charming in a fantasy movie.


    She knew that this guy was not just an empty talk as she already witnessed all the impossible things he did these past few days that they were together.


    "Okay just tell me what I needed to do!" She beamed excitedly.


    Yman smiled.


    "Flame Mating��"


    "....."


    However, her reaction was unexpected to him. She turned red all of a sudden and steam coming out from her head.


    Her face was that of embarrassment.


    *Fidget!*


    *Fidget!*


    "B-B-But w-we just know e-each other for an s-short t-time!"


    Her stammering words puzzled him and even her reaction.


    "Eh?"


    Seeing her partner''s puzzlement,


    "Wha��?"


    Yman was dumbfounded.


    It was also the same words he whispered in her ears when they fought the [Nightmare] class beast. He found himself in a weird situation for some reason.


    Yman explained to her that what he meant by [Flame Mating] wasn''t like what she thought.


    Though she felt embarrassed for her initial reaction, she accepted what he meant. She also was curious about this [Flame Mating] technique that he proposed to her.


    The two of them were in meditation postures while in a half-naked state in which their back was touching each other. While closing their eyes.


    "By the way, Crimson, how did you manage to solidify your [Mana Coating] even without you supplying mana on it?" Before they started what they needed to do, he heard her asking a question.


    It''s what was bugging her the whole time after seeing his [Fire Dolls]. Actually, it wasn''t ordinary to use [Mana Coating] separate from the caster. It should only work if it was close to the caster''s body.


    However, this person was able to use it like it was some kind of rubber or some solid substances.


    Yman''s pupils moved to the side of his eyes, seemingly glancing behind him but not really looking at her as she was in her underwear only.


    He was silent for a moment, thinking if it was fine to tell her about it. After thorough thinking, he opened his mouth, "the trick about it is the storage, in your case, it was called a spatial ring. To us, we called it Cyber Storage, but both were just the same. Just the name and the application was different. Inside that storage was a dimensional space in which time stopped running as we closed it. However, it''s not as simple as placing the [Mana Coating] spell inside. For it to solidify, you must repeatedly place it inside then take again, after taking it, cast another [Mana Coating] in it. Then place inside again, then take again and cast another [Mana Coating].


    (Cinder was wearing an ''Aha'' expression.)


    ''Right, you can''t use another [Mana Coating] spell to a [Mana Coating] spell if it''s connected to the body because even if you use your other hand to cover it with another [Mana Coating] spell it would only reinforce the already existing one and no other reaction at all.


    But, if it was frozen inside the spatial storage, after taking it, you can use another spell because the mana thread that was sustaining it was already cut. So it was a separate spell already after putting it inside the store. In this case, you can use another spell, a separate spell than the first one.


    Wait.''


    "Isn''t it going to dissipate when you take it out of storage?" Cinder realized the obvious problem.


    Yman''s mouth extended into a smile. "It will, but not right away, in this case, you have to use the basic tier spell [Durability] and [Strengthening]."


    "The real process is [Mana Coating], storage, take out, [Durability], storage, take out, [Strengthening], storage, take out, [Mana Coating], and then repeat the process until it solidifies to a certain degree you desire."


    Yman said it but he didn''t need this process as he had the [Skill Modifying] ability. But he could not tell her about it.


    But the process he told her was a valid explanation as well. It would certainly do the trick.


    After satisfying her curiosity, the two proceeded to what they originally wanted to do. To create some stronger [Fire Dolls] that could help them to cross the last barrier.


    He would use her flame while the [Mana Coating] was his.


    Since he was going to use his Black Miasma, he had to trick her by saying she needed to close her eyes and concentrate until the process was completed.


    Actually, he realized something about her flame. It wasn''t ordinary.


    In meditation posture, while their naked backs were touching each other, both of them closed their eyes at the same time.


    Cinder''s flame envelopes her body, while at the same time he activates his Black Miasma and starts using his [Skill Modifying].


    After a couple of minutes, they were finally ready to venture the red mist.


    But before they started.


    He teased her by saying that he didn''t dislike what she initially thought about [Flame Mating]. After all, he didn''t dislike her to be honest.


    This made her speechless and boiled in redness. But he chuckled that made her want to beat him for teasing her.


    From his storage, the dino type [Fire Doll] walked out. The inside of it was made from her flame. But the [Mana Coating] or the skin was black.

 Chapter 130: A gangster Deity, Black Dino, and trusted bodyguards...

    In order to decrease his stamina to a certain degree where he could activate his Black Miasma, he had to beat himself a couple of times and heal again. It was one of the reasons why he went outside the cave.


    At this moment,


    The Dino version [Fire Doll] was rushing towards the last barrier in huge strides.


    It was smaller than the Dino used by Tiafel and Taflas. But enough for two people to ride together. Though it was smaller in size, this dino runs faster than the real one, since it was fueled by mana that came from a powered-up expert. The flame was blazing in red-orange color, while the skin was oozing with black.


    At first sight, Cinder was surprised to see why it was black-skinned, but Yman just tricked her by saying that it was a reaction of her flame to his [Mana Coating].


    He noticed that she was not fully convincebut Yman did not mind it. She would probably forget about it later seeing that it wasn''t important at the moment.


    Woosh! Thump!


    The dino made a huge sudden leap to cross the river with 20 meters width. Thanks to his high perception ability the mist wasn''t a problem at all.


    Nonetheless,


    With the effect of his Black Miasma, he powered up her before applying her flame, for the reason of having stronger magical energy. In this sense, the power of her flame becomes doubled.


    And also the effectiveness.


    He used her flame, because her flame if Yman''s guess was right, her flame was a divine flame or called as Holy Flame. This element was strong against all Demonic type monsters.


    It was also the reason why the [Nightmare] class beast was so afraid of getting hit by it. He first noticed it when they fought near the river. The demon inside him was screaming for danger at the sight of her flame. The second was when they were chased by the dog-like [Nightmare] class. And lastly was when they fought the bird-type [Nightmare] class beast.


    Currently, Cinder was tightly hugging him from behind.


    At the distance, Yman could perceive some enemies. Judging from what he felt, it must be from the monsters of rank C to rank B.


    Yman opened his Cyber storage and let two Bird-Type [Fire Dolls] out. These two birds were colored in crimson and not made by Cinders'' flame.


    The bird-type [Fire Dolls] flew beside them from both sides. Like guarding them against dangers. When it suddenly caught a hostile presence ahead of them, they immediately rushed forward like little jet fighters.


    "!!"


    WAAAAARR!! (SLASH!) (One monster tried to slash the incoming bird.)


    HISSSSSS!! (BITE!) (The other one stretched its long body to bite the other bird.)


    The monsters attacked his [Fire Dolls] using their claws and fangs.


    WEEESH!! ( The first bird gilded to the left and avoided the incoming slash!)


    WOOOSSH!! (The second bird climbed higher to avoid the stretching monster that looks like a snake with medium size.)


    After their successful evasion,


    HUM!! BANG!! (After gilding to the left, it made a quick turnover and shot flame from its body that was identical to itself.) WOOSH!! BANG!! (The second bird made a backflip when it reached the unreachable height of the enemy, then fired flame the same as the first bird.)


    (GWAAAAAAAARRRR��)


    Both their attacks hit the target. But it did not kill them immediately, even the monster''s bodies were on fire. They tried to fight back, but their struggles were futile as they could not reach or land a hit to the two agile [Fire Dolls].


    [Rank C (x_[x]) Mutated Little Bear was killed!]


    [You obtained 30 points for killing Rank C Monster!]


    [Rank B (x,,x) Mutated Horned-Snake was killed!]


    [You obtained 40 points for killing Rank B Monster!]


    "....."


    Such weird notifications appeared in his vision.


    ''Sistela did you change the notification panel?'' He asked out of curiosity.


    ''Well, it doesn''t matter.''


    The bird [Fire Dolls] were seemingly toying with their enemies until both monsters were charred on the ground and turned to ashes.


    It came back after killing the monsters ahead. But not even a minute when other monsters were perceived by them again.


    Woosh! Woosh! (Without waiting for orders when they shot ahead.)


    Again, the two bird-type [Fire Dolls] sped up forward.


    (FIREBIRD ATTACK!) (FIREBIRD ATTACK!)


    From their bodies, they shot flames to the enemies which are identical to themselves.


    OIINNNNK! (Cries!) GYAOOOO! (Wail!)


    [Rank B (x(??)x) Mutated Two-Tailed Boar was killed!]


    [You obtained 40 points for killing Rank B Monster!]


    [Rank B (x)v(x) Mutated Fanged-Bird was killed!]


    [You obtained 50 points for killing Rank B Monster!]


    Yman didn''t know whether he would laugh at this new notification design.


    For some reason it looks childish, it was so bright, plus with blinking effects.


    ''What?'' Yman was surprised to hear it.


    ''Why do you let your settings be looked at by others?!''


    "....."


    Yman noticed something about Sistela but had no time to complain.


    ''Dammit, what are you�� a child!?''


    (Sigh!)


    ''Don''t be so trusting!''


    Yman blinks his eyes twice. D-Did he heard it right? For some reason, this deity of him had something weird! She sounded like a madam with colored hair while chewing a cigarette and shouldering a large baseball bat, A gangster!


    He was on the verge of crying. ''I will factory reset you later!'' He screamed.


    From his back, Cinder was secretly chuckling the whole time. She wondered what this guy''s reaction was when he noticed her little surprise.


    ''How can she let this guy teased her without a little payback!'' The big part of it was because he didn''t give any compliment about how she looks. Even though he already saw her almost naked three times! Is this person a NUMB!?


    Yman has an urged to drop the girl behind him.


    Actually, it wouldn''t affect his battle as it was only part of the ''Entertainment Panel''. Like what Chloe always did to her deity. (Making her deity as an MP3 player.)


    One black dino jumped on the slope, while two crimson birds tagged on both sides. It was caught by one of the Monitoring Devices.


    Good thing that this Monitoring Device was made by magical energy, and not ordinary devices. It could somehow identify the silhouette but could not figure clearly because of the thick mist.


    The audiences outside the world in the painting were whispering if who it was.


    Occasionally, those two birds would sprint around them when some monsters wandered at 25 meters distance from them. Then, those would open fire at the enemy.


    Their initial thoughts, "are those two birds are Spirit Beast?" Asked the empress who had her eyes fixed at the monitor in front of them.


    "No, they are not!" Ella, who had a surprised face, answered the empress.


    "Eh, are you sure, Rea Honey?"


    "Yes, Aunt," firmly affirm Ella.


    "Then what are those?"


    "Sorry Aunt, I can''t figure out what those birds are, but I do feel that they are not Spirit Beast."


    The empress glanced at the Knight-Captain, "do you know what those two birds Mr. Knight-Captain Borge Bergal?" She asked him.


    Borge Bergal stared at the monitor with a frown, then he shook his head saying, "sorry your Majesty, those two, if her Highness Princess Merea Ella said that it wasn''t Spirit Beasts, then I don''t have any idea what it was," he said with a sorry face for being unhelpful.


    "I see, if even the Knight-Captain and Rea doesn''t know about it, then I guess none of us can explain that thing." Said the empress with full of curiosity.


    "Aside from that, I wonder who those people riding the dino Spirit Beast," added the empress.


    Ella focused her eyes, a moment later, her eyes glowed with blue brilliance, then the Monitoring Device hovered closer to the people riding on the dino.


    Upon seeing the figure, and the familiar armor, "It''s him!" She exclaimed.


    "Eh? Who do you mean?" The press asked with puzzled looks.


    "I-I mean, The Mysterious, the guy who protected me from attackers a while ago."


    "Ehhh? So that guy is ''The Mysterious''?!" Surprised the empress.


    "Yes! Aunt!"


    "Fufufu," laughed the empress with a glint of interest within her eyes. ''So it was him, huh!'' She thought.


    The thing about the killing of the Demonic Beast was still lingering within her mind. And that person was one of the suspects.


    ''Fufufu!'' She laughed inwardly which reflected on her face.


    "Yo-You look happy, Aunt��" Ella muttered.


    "No it''s nothing," she said.


    "....."


    Since it was that person, then those two birds, it was only him who could explain it to them. That person really did some unbelievable stuff in this competition.


    On top of that, if she wasn''t wrong, that beautiful girl that was riding in tandem with him, it was the Miss from Lupine Family! Just by judging her hair color and those two Wolf ears!


    She wondered how he got close to her. Or perhaps those two knew each other beforehand. Ella wondered.


    Nonetheless, 1 kilometer away, east of the last barrier, the group of Ember, Aegor, Taflas, and Tiafel found themselves in a disadvantageous situation against 10 demons. They were surrounded by both sides!


    They have their back facing each other while readying themselves.


    Huff! Huff! Huff!


    "Tsk, we are almost there. Why these monsters have to show up!" Said Tiafel with a grimace on her face.


    Though they were not sure, the towering shadow ahead gave them a conclusion that it was the last barrier.


    (GWAAAAARRRR!)


    Growl the demons, while their mouths were dripping with sticky saliva.


    (HARRR! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH...!)


    One of the demons consecutively brandished its claw to Aegor!


    (TING! TING! TING!)


    But Ember used his Partial-Transformation Artefact and parried its attack.


    (THUMP! BANG!) Ember sent a kick on the demon''s stomach after he completely parried all of its (Claw Slashing Attack!). The demon was sent 5 steps away from them and crashed on the ground, which its back skidded a few meters.


    However, it didn''t hurt it. The demon stood up again.


    (GWAAAAAARARRRR!!!) After the first demon was sent crashing on the ground, the others rushed to attack at the same time.


    "Thanks, Mr. Ember!" Aegor said his thanks.


    "No biggie, you guys stay alert! They are going to attack!"


    Everyone grimaced from Ember''s warning. They knew that the current situation was a hopeless one.


    Right after Ember shouted, all of the demons around them brandished their claws. While the others leaped in mid-air while raising their claws higher.


    "Mr. Ember, you can leave us, and save yourself!" Tiafel urged him.


    "She''s right Mr. Ember, you can''t die here with us!"


    Taflas added.


    A sweat trailed on Ember''s face. If only it was him, he had the means to escape. But as a member of the Lupine family, he could not disgrace their proud family names.


    Aegor remained quiet, he wanted to survive in this elimination round. He bit his lips.


    (AHHHHHHHHH! I KILL YOU DEMONS!!) He rushed forward to clash with the demon in front of him. He could not die without a fight. He wanted to survive this round.


    However, his hammer was caught by one of the demons and stopped his attack.


    "Aegor!"


    Everyone shouted his name after seeing the demon raised its hand higher.


    Aegor grimaced and subconsciously closed his eyes.


    But before the hand could brandish downward,


    (WOOSH! WOOSH!)


    Two crimson birds collided with the demon''s face.


    (BANG! BANG!)


    After seeing the birds, "[Fire Dolls]?" Taflas muttered in surprise.


    "CRIMSON!" Shout Tiafel.

 Chapter 131: Come, my soldiers...

    The two [Fire Dolls] directly went into a suicide mode. They explode in the demon''s face.


    No need for reservation, either way, the flame inside it was almost empty.


    The explosion caused the demon to stagger a little. But it didn''t kill it. But it caused the other demon to stop their attacks and glances around them.


    (Hiff huff Hoff! Gorrrrr!)


    A groaning sound from the familiar mount. Everyone saw a silhouette who came out of the mist. It hopped into the air, (Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!) it shot a three consecutive [Fireball].


    (BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!)


    Three demon''s heads immediately turned to cinders. Until their whole body was eaten by fire and sooner became light particles.


    (Rank A ^(''x_x'')^ Pawn Demon was killed!)


    ''Pawn?'' Yman was surprised to see the notification.


    (You obtained 500 share points for killing Rank A Pawn Demon.)


    (Rank A ^(''x_x'')^ Pawn Demon was killed!)


    (You obtained 500 share points for killing Rank A Pawn Demon.)


    (Rank A ^(''x_x'')^ Pawn Demon was killed!)


    (You obtained 500 share points for killing Rank A Pawn Demon.)


    (Thump! Thump!)


    The Dino landed in front of them.


    (Hiff hoff! Gorrrrr!)


    Now what?! A new type of Doll again!? And it even produced a groan?! Tiafel, Taflas, and Aegor didn''t want to feel surprised again. But this guy just keeps bringing things that could drop down their jaws on the ground.


    This time it was a Dino, a speed-type mount Spirit Beast. Most curious about it, the skin was colored in black.


    ''Isn''t his [Fire Dolls] supposedly crimson colors?'' They thought.


    (As expected it''s Crimson and Miss Cinder!) Everyone beamed inwardly.


    Seeing Crimson and Cinder here, all of them have their faces lighten up.


    Without wasting time, Cinder jumped, "!!" But used his shoulder as the stepping stone.


    [''_'']


    Surrounded by several demons wasn''t a joke!


    She fired [Shapeless Flames] around and killed 5 demons. Yman just remained on the Dino.


    After killing some of the demons, her foot gracefully landed on his head.


    [-_-] Yman thought, ''What the heck is this bold perverted girl who likes showing her underwear doing? Do I look like a stepping stone to her? Or a doormat?''


    Cinder, on the other hand, was having a satisfied face. While using the back of her hand to brush her chin.


    But sooner, Yman''s attention was caught by the monster''s visage. All of them were having identical features and only their sizes differed from each other.


    They look so grotesque. Like in a horror movie. Not the like of animal looks of mutated beasts.


    (Whoosh! Thump!)


    She jumped down and her feet landed on the ground.


    "Ember, everyone, are you okay?" Cinder screamed and asked.


    "We are not!" Ember replied fast.


    "What an honest reply," Crimson chimed.


    However, there were still 2 enemies left.


    (Woosh!) from the mouth of the Dino, it fired a [Fireball] again to the nearest demon from Tiafel.


    (BOOM! AAAAAARRGGH!!)


    The demon cried as its face started to burn. Seeing the Dino did a [Fireball], everyone''s mouth agape.


    One person brightened his eyes.


    "Bwahaha-haha-hahaha! That one looks interesting. However, I''m afraid that [Fireball] can''t kill i�� ehhhhhh?!" Ember laughed at Dino''s unexpected shot but he thought that it was futile to shoot fire at the demon. Yet, he ate his words when the [Fireball] the Dino shot disintegrated the demon''s face.


    Everyone was dumbfounded, (It was this mount who helped them?!) They initially thought it was Miss Cinder who fired those first [Fireballs] just a moment ago.


    "Damn it! Even that Dino''s [Fireball] is stronger than mine?! Is this a curse?!" Ember didn''t want to cry but seeing the Dino killing demons on the spot.


    A dramatic tear fell from his eye.


    "No way! I can''t lose!" He shouted. Then resolved himself. He canceled his Artefact power and his right arm to hand which partially transformed returned to normal. He wanted to challenge the Dino for whoever can kill the last demon.


    The last demon tried to escape when he noticed the [Holy Flame] wielded by a human girl and by the mount.


    However, Ember already summoned fire from both hands and, (FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!) He fired a barrage of [Fireballs] to the last demon.


    Yet, his fireball, although strong, could not kill the demon. Seeing his sister here, he could not shame himself for being useless. Cinder on the other hand shook her head at her brother''s childish act.


    The multiple [Fireballs] chased after the escaping demon, (BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!) But the demon had high resistance to fire. In this regard, his [Fireballs] dealt a little to no damage to it.


    "!!"


    The demon glanced and wondered why this fire so ticklish to him and not painful. It was bearable.


    "Dammit! Why can''t I kill it?!!" Ember screamed.


    Cinder shook her head. Seemingly having a headache.


    Yman on the other hand chuckled. The others stared at the escaping demon with dot faces.


    At this time, one [Fireball] made its way to the barrage of [Fireballs]. When it landed on the demon''s back.


    (BOOM!)


    (AAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGH!!) The demon cried and turned to cinder right away after its loud cry.


    Ember had a crying face while hugging his knee and writing something on the ground. His pride was shattered by a Dino mount!


    In front of him was Aegor, out of exhaustion, he was currently lying on the ground with his plump stomach facing the sky and heaving deeply. Fortunately, he was able to avoid death. Thanks to Crimson and Miss Cinder''s appearance.


    (GORRRRRRFF!!)


    The Dino arrogantly groaned while raising its head slightly. It seemed to say, "easy-peasy��" while looking down at Ember.


    Dramatic tears fell from Ember''s eyes. Even a Dino mount was looking down at him. (Cries!)


    "Pufffft!" Cinder giggled.


    (Patapatapatapata!)


    Tiafel hurried towards Cinder and Crimson. Behind her, Taflas followed closely.


    "Miss Cinder, Crimson, thank you for helping!" Tiafel was the first one who said thanks. Then others followed after her.


    "No biggie! Good thing we made it on time! If not, perhaps this useless brother of mine was already skewered by the demons!" Cinder replied, and asked, "What happened to you guys these past two days?"


    "Hah~~~!" Tiafel made a long sigh. "We fought with monsters nonstop until we arrived here. Good thing that you arrived. If not, certainly, we will die," said Tiafel in relief. Both of them were already exhausted. Especially Ember who made the most contribution in the fight.


    "Yes, Tia is right. In any case, how are you Miss Cinder, Crimson? We saw you guys fell into the ocean that time," Taflas asked. But they noticed the change on her face. Cinder suddenly turned red. She remembered cuddling on top of him this morning.


    (SUSPICIOUS!!!) Tiafel and Taflas thought.


    "Well, on my part, I passed out for two days and just this morning I woke up in the dark under the two mountains..." Yman said innocently.


    "Eh?" They wondered what Crimson meant by it. But they noticed Miss Cinder boiled in heat again. As more fumes came out from her head and her face was already red in a half crying state. ''This guy is so bad!'' She thought.


    Tiafel and Taflas suspicion from these two''s relationship grew stronger.


    "Regardless, is that the barrier?" Yman right away changed the topic as he noticed Cinder''s embarrassment.


    He pointed to the towering shadow ahead.


    "We think it is!" Taflas was the one who answered.


    Yman narrowed his eyes, this last barrier he could see it was smaller than what he expected.


    Without wasting more time, the group continued their advance towards the barrier which was only in their sight.


    Just a few minutes had passed when they arrived a few hundred meters away from it. But what they saw stunned them.


    "I-Is that a cas��tle?" Cinder muttered a question.


    Outside the painting,


    "Chuchuchu! Most of our participants had finally reached the last barrier! But��


    BUUUUUUUUUT~~~! Everyone, look at the last phase of our elimination round! A towering wall which is heavily guarded by UNDEEEEAAAAAAAAD!!!"


    WOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!


    The people yelled in excitement, seeing the towering wall surrounded by thousands of undead, from below to the top.


    Not only undead but also demons and different kinds of monsters.


    "Chuchuchuchu! This is�� the last surprise! The last phase of the elimination round! The CASTLE SEIGE in the APOCALYPSE WOOOOORLD!"


    Mr. Faye The Trickster shouted from the top of his lungs. It was followed by loud cheers from the crowd.


    Everyone who was watching it from the different cities and kingdoms was wondering if this was the last phase of the elimination round or the last round of the competition.


    Who can survive with that many monsters? Did the Empress Elleanna design this competition? Who can survive that?


    Everyone thought the same. Especially people from different cities or kingdoms.


    However, Empress Elleanna was having leisure time at the moment.


    "Aunt, do you think it''s alright? Isn''t it a bit too extreme?" Beside her, Ella was worried as she asked.


    "Fufu, I won''t lie that it''s a little bit too extreme, but It''s fine I guess, it all depends on them," said the empress.


    But her eyes were fixed at the screen where the image of a specific person was being shown.


    She wondered if this person was capable.


    A pair of beautiful eyes was also staring at the same person in the Human City Zone 7, inside the room of the Academy''s Ace.


    For some weird reason, whenever she saw that person in black armor, the image of him, the guy she had a crush on, always came to her mind.


    Almina bit her lower lip when she noticed another person besides that person on the screen. A beautiful red-haired girl with wolf ears.


    In the eyes of Yman and the other participants, the canopy of towering walls reflected on it. Countless undead and monsters were waiting on the ground and top of the wall.


    While the others frowned and grimaced at the sight, he on the hand grinned.


    "This is exciting��" he muttered. "Hehe, come, my soldiers," after saying it, something came out from nowhere. They were all uniformed in black colors, and their bodies were trailing with lines that looked like streams of lava, forming like veins. Their eyes were on fire exuding with power. And Black Miasma was oozing from their bodies.


    "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!!!?"


    All the people who were watching asked in their minds.

 Chapter 132: How everyone adapt

    Before Yman arrived near the wall,


    In the room of Ice,


    "So the last part of this first-round elimination is the castle-siege!"Kesha exclaimed.


    "A castle siege under an Apocalyptic World. This kind of elimination is just unusual," Almina added with her eyes scanning around all the participants who are currently battling with a group of Skeleton Warriors.


    "Fufufu, what a lively competition!" Ice giggled at the chaotic battle.


    All the participants fought together and tried to break through the monster''s defenses.


    "Look, those Skeleton Warriors brandished their weapons while at the same time used their numerical advantage to surround their enemies. Fufu, aren''t they a clever bunch?" Chuckled Ice.


    "Though the participants did good jobs for fighting back even in the disadvantageous situation they are in," Maena added.


    "However, they have a big problem. All of them are uncertain if they rushed forward or stayed on their feet. They must be thinking, ''What if the others didn''t follow after they rushed in?'' This kind of thinking will put them in danger," Ice followed up.


    "Right!" Almina agreed. Then she continued, "Not just that, another problem came in, the Elder Skeleton!"


    [Dark-Birth Pagoda]! The Elder Skeleton cast a dark spell!


    (WAAAAMMM! RUMBLE RUSTLE!)


    The ground shook thatcaused theparticipants and Skeleton Warriors around to stopped on their feet. Near the participants, from the ground, a tower of about 25 meters tall protruded. It was leaking with red miasma. When the surrounding participants breathed on it, they suddenly fell to their knees.


    "F-F**k! T-This m-miasma has a ''weaken'' effect��" one participant said in difficulty. But after his words,


    (Shing! AAAAARRGH!)


    A broken old sword pierced his chest!


    (Shing shing shing shing shing!)


    Countless blades followed closer, carving his body with countless holes.


    (Thump!)


    His lifeless body fell on the ground and slowly turned into light particles. Not only the pagoda was leaking with dark red miasma, to where the participant died �� a Skeleton appeared in exchange.


    The others grimaced at the sight. After that, was a horrible death to all of the participants who breathed the dark red miasma. Their bodies were skewered and pierced by the weapons of the Skeleton Warriors.


    While the participant''s number decreased, the Skeleton Warriors number increased.


    "Gulp!" Almina and the others subconsciously gulped after witnessing the fate of the participants.


    "H-How can someone survive against that thing?" Almina questioned, trying to shift the atmosphere.


    Even though it wasn''t real, they couldn''t help feeling gloomy at the sight.


    "L-Look, some participants shot range attacks." Spells of different colors shot towards the Elder Skeleton.


    "However, the monster''s group did not lose, as they too have their own Spell Casters. Together with their Skeleton Archers."


    A magical shield protected the Elder Skeleton and was able to survive the attack from the participants.


    The walls were 25 meters high. But the top was heavily guarded by Skeleton Archers and Spell Casters.


    It was possible to climb, but since everyone did not prepare any tools for it, they had no way to climb it.


    For them to enter the castle, they needed to go through the front gate which was located in the northern part. There, towering double doors were shut tightly.


    Also, the participants had trust issues with the other participants. So no matter what plan they are about to try, it only will be executed halfway.


    Because in their minds, it was full of ''what if''s!''


    The battles were chaotic and scattered. Each one of them was on their own devices.


    The girls inside Ices'' room furrowed their brows while watching the battle, at the same time giving their comments.


    "Did the empire always do this kind of competition Miss Ace?" Maena, who had a bitter face at the moment, asked Ice.


    Before she replied to her question, she frowned and sighed. "How many times I need to tell you to call me Big Sister, hm!" Ice said while poking Maena''s face.


    "Ah-eh��erm. B-B-Big Sister I-Ace��"


    "....."


    "Fufu, you can''t change her right away, Miss Ice, perhaps only one person did it��" Almina chimed in.


    "W-W-What are you talking about, Almina Amulet?" Maena said with a little fluster face.


    "Almina, you too, call me Big Sister!" Said Ice, pointing to Almina.


    "Ehhhh!"


    Maena sticks out her tongue towards Almina.


    After seeing the knitted brows of Ice, "O-Okay B-Big Sister I-Ice," said Almina, a little embarrassed.


    "Pufft!"


    Almina shot a look to Maena who was holding her laughter. "Humph!"


    She sighed in defeat.


    Ice on the other hand was so happy. Finally, these two girls called her big sister, ''Yay! Success!''. She taught as she clenched her face while giggling. Well, she also successfully diverted the atmosphere.


    "Ah, Miss Ice, can I call you Big Sister too?" Kesha asked too, did''t want to be left out.


    "Mhm!" She nodded. Now she has three younger sisters, "Fufufu��"


    Almina sighed at the happy giggle of their Academy''s Ace.


    She darted back her eyes to the monitor. Her curiosity urged her to question, "In any case, do the empire want to wipe out their participants? Do they even want someone to win? Just looking at the current situation, it looks so hopeless no matter how one sees it."


    "Yeah, Amulet was right. There are only a few hundred participants left, while there are thousands of Skeleton Soldiers together with Demons and other monsters. Aside from that, those pagodas are troublesome tools," Maena unexpectedly agreed with her with the addition of her assessment.


    Kesha, also added, saying, "So if they all die in this battle, isn''t it a waste of effort only? I wonder what the competition staff is planning in this kind of elimination round."


    Ice wanted to gossip a little more about the person who can change Maena''s resolute behavior, but Almina''s question was also a good topic. Nonetheless, the competition had reached its climax. It is only a matter of time before it ends.


    Who would win the battle, was uncertain.


    Ice showed a thinking gesture and said, "If that happened, then it only means, no one is capable enough to become the champion."


    "Eh? So they didn''t care if no champion would come out?" Almina replied sooner.


    "Yeah, what the empire is trying to promote is a real champion who can survive in any situation. Not only by strength but also by luck. A whole package warrior that can symbolize the Empire''s dominance."


    "Make sense," Almina agreed and Maena nodded.


    In the Public Square of Encantasia, the atmosphere was lively. Likely because they saw when the people that were killed inside the monitor respawn outside the painting.


    The legendary welcoming squad resumed with their welcoming joke towards the new respawn people.


    Although a mocking and taunt element was part of it, it also helped the person to forget faster the bitter experience he experienced inside the painting.


    In one of the good spots around the Public Square, the Encantasia Magic Academy''s Council President Hannah, together with her friends from the student council were also watching at the current elimination round of the competition.


    A girl beside her pointed to the monitor, "Pres. Hannah, look, Jura and Nicholas are over there!"


    "Fufu, those two like acting low-key, huh!"


    "Look at their points! Not even half as much as Gilion and the others."


    "I bet, they''re just chilling inside."


    "Well, they always said that the main character only showed his true power at the most exciting event."


    "Fufu, those two likes showing off, but also know when is the right timing for it."


    "Jura is a clever person. He knew how to play his card well. If I make a guess, he was reserving his stamina and strength for the entire time. He probably thought already that everyone would gather at the last barrier. In that case, acquiring points would be easy for them as everyone was certainly already exhausted."


    As expected, after Hannah said this, in the monitor, Jura and Nicholas activated their Artefacts.


    Together with their three other friends from the Student Council group, they were bashing every monster and participants alike. Killing everyone who comes on their way. Their points were rapidly increasing because of it.


    "If things keep going on like this, they will eventually be able to catch up with the others!" Exclaimed the girl again.


    "Mhm! That''s a high possibility," Hannah agreed.


    In the palace balcony,


    "Fufu looks like some promising youth also arrived in the battlefield," mentioned the empress while changing her sitting position.


    "That''s Jura of Gorthalion family and Nicholas Senrod, together with the other members of Student Council in the Academy," Ella added.


    "I see, so that''s why I felt he looked like the valiant General Beleggor Gorthalion," said the empress with a tinge of curiosity.


    "Anyhow, I wonder if it was their strategy to kill both monsters and participants alike," said the empress.


    "Isn''t it going to be more difficult for them later?" Ella asked in puzzlement.


    "I don''t think the valiant general would teach his son how to become blind. Since they did that, there should be a reason behind it."


    Ella glanced at the empress and noticed her unbothered face. Looks like she only has an interest in the result of this competition. She turned back her eyes to the monitor and saw other familiar people, "t-the other experts from great families also started to arrive, Aunt," she said.


    "Oh, those wolf ears and silver hair, they are from the Lowe family of Canine Sect," said the empress upon seeing Harou and Lyka. She continued saying, "Even Roman is also there now, followed by the younger brother of Gustav."


    "That irregular from the adventurers guild arrived too," Ella added.


    Around this time, the expert participants started to appear one after another. They were adventurers, nobles, talented soldiers, and some students from the empire''s academies. They were the participants who survived the past struggle on searching the first and second barriers.


    The ground surrounding the castle was cluttered with gravestones. It was like the whole place was a graveyard.


    From the gravestones, skeleton hands jutted, then came crawling from the ground.


    Not only the gravestones were cluttering around, but also different kinds of weapons were scattered disorderly.


    The mishmash noises from the clattering of weapon collisions could be overheard around the place.


    "Fufufu, I wonder how everyone is going to adapt to the situation. Will they follow what the son of the valiant General Gorthalion did? Or perhaps do something different�� fufu!" The excitement was visible on her face.


    As expected, after seeing the already chaotic battle, everyone one of the experts from a well-known family did their strategy.


    Harou and Lyka teamed up together and dashed forward, killing all the skeletons on their way.


    Hilion and his White Leo Knights, together with their captain Leon, rushed forward while trying to take command of the other participants.


    Gilion and Gath went solo.


    On the other hand, when the other participants saw Roman. They gathered beside him.


    The battle continued, but this time, the participants were able to advance slowly. However, still, not an easy battle as more monsters and undead together with demons came rushing forward.


    Right at this moment, Almina, the empress, and Ella''s eyes glued in the monitor when, in the mist, some shadows appeared.


    "S-Someone had just arrived, I think it''s that person," said Ella.


    She glanced beside her and gawked. Her aunt showed an excited face. "Now, this battle is going to be more interesting," said the empress with a broad smile on her face.


    ''What is she, a fan of him?'' Ella thought with an unbelievable face.


    On the battlefield, Yman and the others finally arrived.


    But they were greeted by scattered battles that were happening everywhere.


    "Fufu, what a lively place��hehe!" His whisper reverberated to the ears of the people beside him.


    "Hah~!" Cinder sighed. And continued saying, "said the battle maniac person."


    He heard it but he chose to disregard it. He then waved his hand while saying, "come forward my soldiers!"


    "!!"


    ''What in her Grace Htraerea name !!'' Exclaimed the people around him when some black monster-looking entities suddenly appeared around them. They also stood taller than the rest.

 Chapter 133: Enhance Fire Dolls

    When The Mysterious arrived at the battlefield, "what do you think he will do?" Suddenly asked the empress.


    Ella glanced at her before opening her mouth, "hmm, I think�� err, seeing that he already had some allies with him, I think it''s better if he tried to expand his group by persuading those scattered participants. Then force their way to the northern part together, and reunite with the group of Hilion Gustav. Together with his White Leo Knights and those two experts from the Lupine family, they will have a bigger chance of breaking the enemy''s defense and destroying the gate that is heavily guarded by demons, monsters, and undead," Ella''s reply impressed the empress.


    However, it was the obvious answer, because there was only one entrance. So everyone would probably gather in the northern part at the end.


    Even the participants in the southern part were starting to force their way towards the eastern part.


    Empress Elleanna smiled, "Fufu, as expected of my niece. That is indeed a good choice. I wonder if he did the same. Even Roman at the eastern part was having difficulty to advance because of the enemy''s number. He too is surrounded by allies by now. Well, Roman is truly a charismatic youth that everyone automatically gathered around him. He''s strong in both range and melee and has high stamina. I wonder if that Mysterious person can handle the monsters in melee as well. He most of the time used range attacks."


    "I think he is more of a defensive type."


    "Defensive?" The empress was a little doubtful. After all, based on his previous fights, he seemed to be an agile type or more of an attacker. Like an assassin.


    "Well, he can cancel an opponent''s spell. I mean, the thing he used when he pro-protected me��"


    "Fufu, I see. But�� that skill will be useless in this kind of battle."


    "Do-Do you mean because of the enemy''s number?"


    Ella was unaware that Yman''s [Time Modifier] skill was unusable inside her world of painting.


    "Mhm. But not only that. Those pagodas as well. It will be a headache for all of them. Fufu, let''s see how he does his battle as I am as curious as well. Hopefully, he will join forces with the other experts."


    Every audience was watching attentively at the ongoing battle. Excited for the outcome. Everyone was hoping for their favored participants to succeed.


    The old noble who bet to ''The Mysterious'' person was watching it in pure enjoyment only.


    Right at this moment. Another person bet on ''The Mysterious''. Seeing him arrive at the battlefield as well, it gathered some favorable attention to him.


    It''s already commendable that they arrive in the last part. So eventually, some showed respect for him by betting on him. But no one expected him to win. His points were already left behind by others.


    And if they based him on his latest fight, his capability wasn''t that awe-inspiring, to be honest.


    Unlike the domineering performance of Roman and the others, his performance from his latest fight was so lacking with dominance.


    But right at this moment,


    (DUGUDUGUDUGUDUG!!!) The ground trembled and everyone saw some demons, mutated beasts, and a group of undead sprinting towards the group of the newly arrived ''The Mysterious''.


    They totaled 100+!


    Some skeletons raised from the gravestone and rushed with the others. There was even a skeleton who mounted on the Mutated Boar.


    Yet, that guy and his allies did not bother moving. Even that enthusiastic expert from the Lupine family is weirdly standing still.


    A moment before the clash, everyone fell silent!


    (RAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!)


    Loud howls suddenly reverberated inside and outside the world in painting. The owner of these howls were the 10 creatures that suddenly appeared around the group.


    From their mouths, flames were overflowing. A second later,


    (WASSAAAAAAH!!!)


    (FWOOOOSSSSH!!!)


    (BOOOOOOOMMM!!!)


    Spraying sounds which followed by explosions reached their ears.


    In the distance of about 30 meters away from their mouths, each of them sprayed flames and incinerated all the monsters in front in an instance. Leaving only a few numbers in a daze.


    The monsters never even have the time to cry as they were turned to ashes in a moment.


    A few seconds later, blazing burn marks were visible on the grounds.


    Everyone was silent, even the participants and the monsters who were supposed to be battling in the area not too far away from them. They were all wearing a face that wanted to question, ''what was that just now?!'' But none of them could explain.


    After a few seconds, (WOOSH!) A silent gust of wind made its way across the battlefield which is now enveloped by solemness. Taking away with it some of the smokes and mists.


    In the next second, outside the painting, jarring voices of whispered slowly become louder. Some were asking what those black creatures were. While some failed to grasp what just happened.


    "Look, those creatures, they look like Venomous Mouse!" Someone from the audience identified the image of the black creatures.


    On the balcony of the palace, "don''t tell me those are Venomous Mouse?!" The empress exclaimed. "In any case, why are they black and tall? How come there are ten of them and uniform in color? Plus, how come they are so powerful that even the demons turned to ashes in the instance?!" She fired many questions in one go.


    But Ella and the Knight-Captain had no way to answer even one of those questions. Because they too have questions. ''What are those creatures?'' Ella could sense that they were not the real Venomous Mouse, not even a Spirit Beast! But she believed that those creatures were the same as those two birds awhile ago.


    "No, your Majesty, sorry for the intrusion. But the most important issue is, they almost wipe out the charging monsters of 100+ in total in just a second!" Even the Knight-Captain Borge Bergal beamed in surprise.


    However, the empress''s attention was taken by another thing. She noticed something on the monitor. Two-people rose in points after killing most of the charging enemies.


    Her eyes widened. These two were also part of those suspects for killing the Demonic Beast!


    A feeling of curiosity and excitement rose within her soul. Finally, she could eventually guess that one of them was responsible for those weird summoned creatures and the killing of the Demonic Beast!


    Then she saw that person raise his hand higher. After waving it in front of him, those 10 Black Venomous Mouse creatures rushed forward towards the remaining enemies.


    A glint was visible in the empress'' eyes.


    The battle wasn''t finished yet. It''s just started.


    Looking ahead, Yman grinned. This kind of battlefield was unexpected to them. But it was the kind of field that excites him. Thanks to his mana source for having a unique Fire Element. These demons and undead that are supposed to be headache opponents could be dealt with easily.


    A field that littered with countless monsters. Those countless monsters for him�� were like countless attribute points!


    He noticed the other participants were doing all they could in different ways they wanted. Especially experts. No one was bothered to cooperate with the others.


    "Heh," a scoff escaped from his mouth as he was watching the battle in front of him.


    His eyes landed on the weird Skeleton, it was wearing a tattered dark cloak. ''An Elder Skeleton.'' His initial thought upon seeing it. He only read about it in some books before. Regardless of what he learned, this type of undead was hard to deal with.


    The Elder Skeleton was waving his bony hands in the air. Some participants tried to attack it, but the attacks that were supposed to hit the Elder Skeleton were stopped by a thin layered transparent magical shield.


    Narrowing his eyes, Yman noticed that the one who cast the shield wasn''t the Elder Skeleton himself. He was protected by someone.


    His eyes wandered on top of the wall. There, he saw some Spell Caster Skeleton together with archers. ''Looks like those guys are responsible for the Elder Skeleton''s defense,'' he said in his mind.


    The wall was towering, but most experts could certainly jump on it. However, no one was blind enough to do it as long as those Skeleton Marksmen and Spell Casters were guarding it.


    But not just that, in the sky, some bird-type mutated beasts also rained attacks on the participants below.


    "Crimson!"


    Cinder beside him called out. He understood what she wanted to tell.


    "Mhm," he nodded.


    "Hehe." Ember grinned. He was eager to rush in. He could not let those mouses shattered the last bit of his pride.


    Each of them forced a dry laugh upon seeing those 10. To be honest, when they saw the countless charging monsters: Aegor, Taflas, and Tiafel wanted to run and hide. But when they noticed Crimson and Miss Cinder''s confidence, they decided to stay.


    The mouse is supposed to be gross. But those 10 looked cool. That even Ember and the others couldn''t help to feel a chill from how domineering they look.


    After he replied a nod to her, 3 [ Fire Dolls] materialized in front of him.


    Same with the Venomous Mouse model, this time, the Hell Chaser bird model [Fire Dolls] also in black color. And their bodies were trailing with red-orange lines, forming like veins in their bodies. The same with Venomous Mouse, their eyes were blazing with fire also.


    These models of [Fire Dolls], he called them as [Enhance Fire Dolls]!


    Seeing the Hell Chaser bird model [Enhance Fire Dolls], without a second thought, Cinder hopped on top of one of them. Tiafel and Taflas also took one each.


    They will be their aerial support.


    The three immediately hovered up in the air.


    After they left, Yman summoned another [Enhance Fire Dolls]. 6 Bat models appeared from thin air. Two of them hovered near Ember, and the other two were guarding Aegor.


    These Bat-model [Enhance Fire Dolls] were to counter the Demons. Of course, each of these [Enhance Fire Dolls] held the mana and Holy Flame of Cinder.


    Not just that, they were enhanced using the Black Miasma. Although their supplies were limited, their magical powers were as strong as a Real Path Expert.


    Ember immediately rushed forward, he didn''t want to lose again. He must surpass these Mouse models [Enhance Fire Dolls].


    He activated his [Partial Transformation] Artefact. Then leaped to the group of undead ahead to shorten their distance rapidly.


    Before he landed, he swung his massive right hand with razor-sharp claws.


    It immediately pulverized their bone bodies without the chance to retaliate.


    From his left, (GWAAAAARR!!) a demon roared and charged rapidly towards him. However, before it could reach him. (Woosh! Woosh!) Two [Fireballs] were shot towards it from the Bat-model [Enhance Fire Dolls].


    It immediately turned to cinders.


    "Gyahahaha!" Ember laughed heartily.


    The same thing happened to Aegor.


    After learning that all of the [Enhance Fire Dolls] was working fine, he also started to move.


    From his back, a skeleton warrior made its way into him.


    "Watch out!" From the palace, Ella subconsciously screamed.


    However, it was futile, before even the sword reached him. The Skeleton Warrior''s knees were shaking terribly.


    Intimidation from a Higher Rank demon was shot on it. Yman slowly looked behind and tapped its head. With a glint in his eyes, "It''s futile, heh," he said before crushing the head using his bare strength.


    "Eh!?" Ella was surprised but she soon remembered that he has this High-level skill that usually only a Real Path Expert could achieve.


    "What was that?!" Everyone was dumbfounded again.

 Chapter 134: Wipe out!

    [Rank C (O,,o) Skeleton Knight was killed!]


    [You obtained 40 points for killing Rank B Monster!]


    This was one of the many notifications that unceasingly appeared in his vision.


    Five Skeleton Warriors leaped to surround him. But instead of ambushing him, what happened was contrary. They too were caught by his [Intimidation] skill.


    They froze around him with their knees and bodies shaking uncontrollably.


    Yman horizontally waves his hand into a chopping form, hitting all their necks.


    Five skulls flew in the air and landed as light particles.


    A Mutated Bear appeared behind him. It has a tall body that was covered in muddy furs. From both sides, its hands were spread wide, seemingly to claw him. Without looking back, he used an elbow attack.


    (Thud!)


    -2000 Hp


    The elbow dug dipper on the Mutated Bear stomach.


    (Ngh!) It groaned in pain.


    He followed with a roundhouse kick. (Bang!) A huge body was stumbled away.


    -2500 Hp


    Ella and Empress Elleanna held their breaths while watching the same person inside the monitor. But sooner a smile appeared in the empress''s mouth.


    The wild bear with a huge body was sent flying back without difficulty! But honestly, it wasn''t surprising as most experts could eventually do better than it.


    In truth, Yman was controlling his strength. He could not let all his cards be known. The elbow attack and kick failed to kill the mutated bear.


    Yman stomped on the broken sword lying below him. It was the sword used by the Skeleton Knight which he crushed in his hand.


    After a sudden stomp, the sword flung higher while spinning rapidly.


    He caught the hilt without even looking at it. In an instance, crimson mana enveloped the sword. And, with a little twist of the body, he waved his hand and released the sword, (Woosh!) He threw it towards the still lying Mutated Bear.


    (Shing!)


    -500 Hp


    Blood of the mutated bear smeared the ground when the tip of the sword pierced its flesh without difficulty.


    Finally, after a deep grieving groan, it turned into light particles.


    Yman was killing the enemies using basic fighting methods.


    After killing all the surrounding enemies, he took a Bee-model [Enhance Fire Doll]. It instantly hovered higher, but weirdly, unlike the first model of it, this enhanced one did not attack any enemies. It only stayed in the mid-air like an audience.


    He was satisfied to see the bee in the safe height. This bee was not made from Cinder''s mana. It was made from his Demonic Mana and powered-up with [Skill Modifying] ability. But its role was different from other [Enhance Fire Dolls] he had.


    On the other hand,


    The Mouse-model was killing the enemies using their flaming claws.


    Although their magical power was as strong as the Real Path Experts, their fighting capability in the melee was just normal.


    However, their flame scared the demon enemies. Even the Skeleton type was skeptical if to approach them.


    Only the mutated beasts were unbothered by their flames.


    One Mouse-model [Enhance Fire Doll] was surrounded by 10 mutated beasts. A snake mutated beast with 20 meters long body and with a thickness that was as big as the leg of an adult person charged on it with a gaping mouth, emphasizing its poisonous fangs. However, the snake was sliced 5 times instead. The poisonous biting attacked weirdly passed by without hitting its target. The audience who saw it would certainly believe that the mutated snake was blind.


    These Mouse-models have the similar fighting capability as him. He inserted similar skills to them. It could use illusion magic. Though it could not be used redundantly.


    Two Skeleton Knights hopped into the air and raised their weapon in hands to make a sudden downward strike. But before they could brandish their weapon, flame burst out from the body of the Mouse-model and charred them.


    Not far from it, one of the Mouse-model was caught in an unfavorable situation. A mutated hybrid wild bear with red furs was luckily able to sneak from behind it.


    The Mouse-model tried to burst out the flame from its body to kill the Red-Furred Bear, but it only damaged a little and did not kill it. This type of bear had high fire resistance.


    Although not many, some of the audiences who were watching it reacted with an, "OOOOOHHH!" The audience thought that it would be the end of one of those 10 black creatures.


    The Red-Furred Bear grappled on the Mouse-model and bit its arm.


    But.


    (BANG!)


    The bitten arm exploded within its mouth and blew up its head. Unexpectedly, from its torso, a new arm grew.


    These [Enhance Fire Dolls] held the power of modified [Regeneration] ability and [Healing] spell. Upon modifying and combining these two spells, he created a new spell known as [Restoration].


    "Eeeeehhhh?!" The audience''s dumbfounded reactions caught the other''s attention. Then the others glanced at the cause of their yelp. And some caught a glimpse when the arm of one of those black creatures regrow.


    Their attention was captivated by these black creatures that seemingly looked like Spiritual Beasts. They could spray flames from their mouths that could incinerate the demons who were known by their resilient body. And now, another ability of theirs came to light. They could also regrow their cut parts!


    "Are they even killable?" Some of the audience could not be helped asking this.


    Even the empress and Ella had a doubt also.


    The fight continued. But on this side, the enemy was at the disadvantage.


    "Fufu, truly��.. a not ordinary person," the empress whispered under her breath.


    In the sky, Cinder and the others were currently in a dog fight with the bird beasts. They chose to fight in the air as they all had effective range type spells. And also to support the people fighting from below.


    Cinder was being chased by 2 bird types of beasts. But they soon get roasted by her flame.


    Taflas shot an earth-type spell in front and pierced some of the bird-type beasts that were swarming ahead of him.


    Tiafel swings left and right before climbing higher and make a sudden turn. She successfully evaded the collision from her pursuers as they passed below her. Without wasting time, she used her wind spell to create some [Wind Blades] in a crescent moon shape. The [Wind Blades] hit the wings of the bird-type beasts and completely cut their wings.


    Experts from Encantasia supposedly used Artefacts. But their items were frozen inside their spatial ring. So they could only trust their elemental magic at the moment.


    Occasionally, the Bird-model [Enhance Fire Dolls] would also help in killing the enemies by firing [Fireballs] at them.


    Seeing that everything was fine above, Yman sent the two Bat-model beside him, towards the wall.


    On the other hand, the Bee-model was orbiting in midair as it moved closer and closer above the Elder Skeleton.


    Yman sighed. He could only create this amount since Sistela''s storage capacity could not contain much more.


    Looks like he needed to upgrade her storage capacity later for more soldiers.


    When the two Bat-model arrived at a certain height, his eyes slightly narrowed and widened a little with surprise. He didn''t expect that the wall ahead of them was only a first line of defense. However, most of the enemy''s vanguard was cut to one-third of their total number.


    At the moment, He estimated the total number of them was about 250-300. Fortunately, their number was rapidly decreasing because of those 10 Mouse-model with the addition of Ember and Aegor.


    The AOE(Area of Effect) attack from those 10 was a big help to decrease the enemy''s number faster.


    And thanks to his Bat-model bodyguards, Ember and Aegor could focus on killing the beasts and undead without being bothered by the demons.


    He looked ahead and saw the Skeleton Elder busy summoning Skeleton Soldiers from the pagoda.


    Yman smirk.


    After waving his hand, a small Bird-model [Enhance Fire Doll] appeared and flew towards the three in the sky.


    They needed to get rid of those on the wall before the 10 Mouse-model, Ember, and Aegor arrived at their preferred range.


    Right at this moment,


    The other participants were all busy in their battle. Lyka and Harou took a detour to rest and made a small camp about 700 meters away from the wall. Also, while waiting for the news from the scout he sent to the west and east.


    (PATAPATAPATAPATA!)


    Creak! The door of the shabby-looking barracks was slammed open.


    One man strode toward him. "Young Master Harou, Young Master!"


    Harou glanced at the man. Seeing the trouble expression on the man''s face, Harou frowned. This person was one of his people, "Speak," he said.


    "The scout you sent to investigate the eastern part had just returned. He said that the people on the eastern side had started their move towards the north."


    "What?!"


    Harou narrowed his eyes, he understood why this man had such a troubled face.


    Because it is a troublesome situation.


    Now, they could not follow their original plan. If they go to the eastern area. They could only meet more enemies and no possible allies. On top of that, they could no longer stay here. Because if they linger longer on this site, there''s a tendency that they reached the time limit before they could enter the last barrier.


    In this regard, "Younger Sis, is there any news on the scout we sent to the west side?"


    Lyka, who was sitting beside him, shook her head.


    They could not climb the wall as they were lacking people. Aside from that, the enemies were swarming on top of it.


    Although he and Lyka could destroy those who block their way, their mana wasn''t unlimited.


    And they needed to conserve as much strength as possible until they reunited with the other experts. He believed that they too were starting to understand that it wasn''t good to fight alone in this kind of situation.


    Gilion and Gath Rainripper were now starting to gather people too. The scattered participants decided to join the group of stronger Experts.


    The undead were very exhausting opponents. No matter how strong a person might be, if their enemies keep on reviving, it is still useless.


    Summed up with the lack of back up from their side, they could only wait until the enemy wiped out them.


    To avoid it from happening, Roman decided to move towards the northern part together with some participants.


    An hour and a half later, the scout sent by Harou to investigate the western part had finally returned.


    It immediately gave his report.


    "What!!!!!! They wiped out the enemies there?!" Harou and the others exclaimed in surprise.


    ''Who could it be? Could it be Roman joining forces with the others?''


    ''Still, it was so fast.''


    Harou mulled.


    "In your estimation, how many participants are there who joined forces together?" He asked again.


    Cold sweats appeared on the scout''s face, "I-If I-I only c-counted the people, then they only n-numbered a t-total of 6��" said the scout in a stammering voice.


    "....."


    Harou and the others fell silent and thought, ''is this guy serious? Or has a serious mental disease?''

 Chapter 135: Skeleton Elder

    "What do you mean by 6 people only?!"


    "Wait, are there a fewer number of enemies on that side?"


    "No, Young Master, there were supposedly more than a thousand monsters on that side."


    "Do you mean more than a thousand monsters were defeated by 6 people only? Are you kidding us?" Harou asked with close smiling eyes.


    "Ah-I mean, some participants already brawled with the monsters but they were at the losing side until those 6 people arrived."


    Inside the room, there were a total of 5 people together with Harou, Lyka, and the scout. But both of them were doubtful at the scout''s words.


    "Are those 6 from the great family experts?" He asked again.


    The scout did not ponder for long when he answered, "two of them are from your family sect, Young Master."


    "Lupine twins?"


    The scout nodded.


    It made Harou more doubtful. He had no idea how strong Cinder was since she seldom came to family gatherings. But that idiot Ember, he was the weakest among their age inside the family sect.


    ''And six people fighting against a thousand monsters? What kind of joke is this?''


    Seeing the doubtful faces of the people around him, the scout opened his mouth once again. "Young Master, the cause of their success are those Black Spirit Beasts!"


    The last words took his interest.


    "B-Black Spirit Beasts?" Harou repeated his words and asked, "what do you mean?"


    "Yeah, one of them could summon such a beast. And the weirdest about it is��.. not only one but multiple!"


    "....."


    To be honest, it wasn''t surprising to see an expert summoning multiple spirit beasts at the same time.


    "...really, those near 20 black spirit beasts are nearly invincible," added the scout.


    "What?!"


    Everyone exclaimed.


    The scout explained to them all the details he knew.


    How can someone control so many? Harou and the others couldn''t believe it. And nearly invincible Spirit Beasts? They started to feel curious about it.


    Based on the scout''s information, they could reach there in 3 hours of nonstop travel using their speed-type Spirit Beasts.


    Without wasting time, Harou decided to advance towards the west.


    Outside, everyone was flabbergasted after witnessing a domineering fight. Who would expect that those black creatures are so OP(Overpower)!


    Their flame breath could eliminate multiple enemies at one shot. And they were weirdly effective even against the demons who were known by their high resistance in the fire.


    They could not process all the things that happened awhile ago!


    Some audiences wanted to change their bet, but the betting was already close because the participants were already at the final stage of the elimination round.


    Right at this moment, Mr. Faye announces the new top rank in points.


    Rank 1 Cinde Rayla Lupine.


    Rank 2 The Mysterious.


    Rank 3 Gath Rainripper.


    Everyone was wondering why the young miss had a rapid increase in her points even though the number of monsters she killed was lower than the summoned creatures of ''The Mysterious!''


    They also noticed that every time those creatures killed the enemies, two people got the point increased, and she was one of them. But most of them were not bothered by it. However, some leaders from great families were watching the competition with great interest.


    Nonetheless,


    The audience could not forget when that person ''The Mysterious'' walked towards the Skeleton Elder. He was being swarmed by 200 plus enemies.


    Using his normal fighting ability, he fought with them like a mad man. Killing them one after another with a conventional method.


    While the fight was ongoing, everyone had their jaws dropped on the ground.


    They wondered if the guy was a psycho.


    He wasn''t even using a weapon. Well, he occasionally took the weapons of the enemy he killed then used it against them.


    Sometimes, he even grabbed some stones and bricks on the ground, he fortified them using low tier spells [Strengthening] and [Durability], then threw it towards the enemies.


    Everyone was watching him with uncertain faces. How come there''s someone who fights like him? All of them thought so.


    The weirdest things they noticed while he was fighting were the demons, they seemed like they were avoiding confronting him. Only the beasts and skeletons that were charging at him.


    Right after killing all the beasts that the range enemies on top of the walls were bombarded by his teammates who were riding the black birds. Then the two men with him together with those black creatures rushed forward and confronted the last wave of the enemies.


    After losing the backup, he started rushing towards the Skeleton Elder who at that time lost the protection from those on the walls.


    The audience and those who died recently in that world inside the painting shook their heads when they noticed him moving near the pagoda.


    Most of them knew that the leaking mist from it was bad news. However, everyone was dumbfounded again when he passed by on it while at the same time killing the newly respawned skeleton. Not only the audiences were astonished seeing him unbothered by the leaking mist. Even the Skeleton Elder gawked in disbelief.


    Though half of the Mouse-model [Enhance Fire Dolls] dissipate after the mana inside them emptied.


    The empress and Ella, well, they were as dumbfounded as the others.


    They once again focused their eyes on the screen when they noticed him confronting the Skeleton Elder.


    The Skeleton Elder tried to distance himself while raining dark spells at him.


    Skeleton Elder was known for their ''debuffs''.


    They could use poison, freeze, sleep, and any ailments that lowered their enemy''s capability.


    Yman threw some fortified stones, but the Skeleton Elder used a force shield. The fortified stone became useless against it, especially that he was a level 3 magician only.


    He used his [Rapid Leap] ability to shorten their distance, but the enemy used [Shadow Steps] to distance from him.


    Yman got excited, truly, the Elder Class enemies were not an easy opponent, even though it was only a copy of the original.


    But when the bee that he sent above finally returned to him, he grinned under the hood.


    Then, Yman summoned his last batch of [Fire Dolls].


    The suicide squad! His bee [Fire Dolls]!


    About 50 of them swarmed towards the Skeleton Elder.


    The Elder tried to escape, but sting attacks from 50 bees were not easy to evade. Surrounded by [Force Shield], it decided to confront the bees.


    However, not only the bees that came to surround it. Half of the Mouse-model also came.


    Finally, after an hour and a half of fighting, the Skeleton Elder lost when one of the bees managed to explode below it. The Elder lost its balance, but it managed to regain its balance in no time. However, it was already too late, he was already surrounded. All of the bees charged towards it and the remaining Mouse-model fired their flames. After that, there was a big explosion that shook the area.


    An Elder class monster usually held a grimoire with them. Unfortunately, this one was only a copy.


    But Yman did not bother by it.


    Yman and the others took a break for a while after claiming the wall.


    Yman sent a small bird [Fire Doll] to scout the place and have a bird''s view of the entire place.


    The bird flew higher and towards the distance. He learned that the walls were connected by four bridges. The western, eastern, southern, and northern bridges. These bridges ran towards the next line of defense.


    And in the middle where all the bridges converged. A castle surrounded by a small version of walls could be found.


    It was half a kilometer away from their location. Yman also noticed a group of monsters crossing on the western and northern bridges.


    "Looks like the other participants went to the northern part," he mumbled.


    "Is it? They might be planning to reunite with the other experts," said Cinder who was beside him.


    At the moment, they were grilling some jerkies on top of the wall.


    They needed more strength for the final clash.


    Cinder secretly sneaked a glance at him. Wondering why this person had so much stamina. And the way he fought, she didn''t know how to describe it.


    He fought without a pattern or technique. All of the things would become a deadly weapon in his hand. Even the fortified stone was deadly.


    ''How can someone fling a stone like it was a bullet?!


    Except for those high ranking experts, only this person can do it,'' thought Cinder.


    "Gyahaha, I think my breakthrough will come sooner than I expected. By the way bro, from what family are you?" A sudden throw of question from Ember. That was currently gnawing a big piece of grilled jerky.


    Yman didn''t know how to answer his question. Aside from that, his sister, the girl beside him, already knew that he was a human and not a Demihuman.


    Seeing his troubled face under his hood.


    "You shut up stupid, brother! Why don''t you go and train your elemental spells," said Cinder while sending a wink to Crimson.


    Yman forced a soundless laugh.


    The six of them were surrounding the bonfire while gnawing their grilled jerkies. Most of them were already exhausted except for Crimson and Ember.


    Yman also was surprised by Ember''s stamina. Looks like this guy had weak elemental spells but high stamina.


    Everyone was laughing when Cinder was pestering her brother to train his elemental spells.


    Ember was wondering why their role had reversed for some reason. He was usually the one who pestered her to train.


    Well, there''s nothing he could do at the moment because only his [Partial Transformation] Artefact was with him. His stronger one was frozen inside his spatial ring.


    Around 25 participants came to join their group. They were the leftovers from the recent battle before their group arrived.


    At the moment, those 25 were resting on top of the wall while eating their grilled jerkies.


    They were gossiping about that guy. He fought like crazy. And those summoned black creatures of him. What the f**k are those?! Thanks to their groups, they managed to survive as well.


    Yman checked his status screen. He saw a noticeable increase in his Dexterity and Charisma.

 Chapter 136: Full-Transformation Artefact

    After a couple of minutes of scrutinizing his Status Screen, he decided to close it. He decided to cure Sistela''s gangster behavior while at it. Although he wasn''t as good as this girl, he had a little knowledge about it. Hopefully, it won''t get any worse.


    About half an hour had passed, he was finally able to return her to her original way of talking.


    He glanced around him and saw everyone was resting.


    Aegor was lying with his stomach facing the sky. Out of boredom, Ember was poking Aegor''s stomach using dry wood.


    Taflas was blowing the bonfire to kill the fire, but the fire just went bigger. Tiafel and Cinder were leaning at each other with their eyes close. Both were noticeably tired.


    Without him knowing, everyone became close to each other; though if they successfully entered the last barrier, all of them would become an opponent to each other.


    Looks like he had to wait after she woke up before creating new dolls.


    The leftover participants who joined them were also resting around. All of them were as exhausted as the others. While resting, some were gossiping about something which Yman did not bother taking interest in.


    He closed his eyes and shared the vision of the [Fire Doll] monitoring on the sky. But soon, he opened his eyes while squinting towards the direction of the bridge.


    When Ember and Taflas noticed him stood up. "Hey, Bro, aren''t you going to rest?" Asked Ember. "Crimson, where are you going?" Taflas asked too.


    He glanced at them, "I''m not too tired, I''m just going to check for something while waiting for the others to wake up."


    Hearing him saying not too tired, Taflas just forced a laugh. Well, they already used to him. Even the Expert from Canine Sect who were known for their high stamina had to rest for a little.


    Taflas nodded his head, Yman was about to walk away when, "let me go with you, bro."


    He was slightly surprised, he stared at him, then he noticed something within his eyes, looks like Ember had something to say.


    He nodded.


    The two of them walked towards the bridge. They climbed down the 30-steps stair which was at the east part of the wall. Then they walk about 200 steps to their southeast. There, they saw the bridge not far from their location. But Yman and Ember were weirdly cautious as they walked closer to it.


    When they arrived, they noticed that it was made of stone pavements. It was old and some leaks were visible on it.


    "Did you notice also?" Yman asked.


    "Yeah!" Said Ember while focusing his eyes ahead.


    Yman was surprised. Even his 100 meters perception did not catch it. However, this person perceived it! Wait, wasn''t Cinder''s keen smelling unusable because of the mist? Then how come this guy perceived it?


    Noticing the surprise of the person beside him, Ember grinned while brushing his nose using the back of his hand.


    My smell was 2x better than my sister. And it could reach 150 meters away.


    "....."


    Yman was surprised for two reasons. First was, he didn''t expect for him to have such a sharp smelling ability. Second, he was surprised at how casually he told his capability to a potential enemy.


    ''Is this guy an idiot? Or perhaps, he is just easy to trust a person.'' He didn''t know which one this guy belonged to.


    "I see, it''s good for you to have a reliable sense of smell," he replied.


    "Fufu, in any case, those guys are planning some dirty tricks!"


    Yman glanced in the front, he could perceive some silhouette ahead of them.


    About 5 people, but weirdly, two of them were covered with strong magical power. Not just that, they were flying!


    They rushed forward, but right after they arrived, they saw two beast-like creatures with dragon-like wings on their backs. Their faces and skins were similar to those of reptiles. And also, both were huge. Besides, each of them was carrying a huge chunk of rock.


    (Flap! Flap! Flap! Flap!)


    "W-Winged-man?" Yman subconsciously let out a word.


    "No! That''s a full-transformation Artefacts!"


    "Wha-? Wasn''t Artefacts for summoning a Spirit Beast?" But Yman realized that Ember used a partial transformation Artefact before.


    "No! There are many types of Artefacts!"


    "Wha��?"


    (Woosh! Woosh!)


    Yman wasn''t able to finish his surprise as the two chunks of rocks were thrown at them. He shouted a warning while hopping at the back, "Damn! Watch out!"


    (Baaaaang!)


    (Baaaaang!)


    (Dum Dum Dum!!!)


    (Russssssstle!!!)


    The two of them hopped two times behind them and successfully evaded the attacks. However, the bride shook terribly like it was going to collapse at any moment.


    (Criiisssssssh!) (Craasssssshh!)


    Their feet skidded when landed. Yman used his hand to stop the slide. Ember, on the other hand, balanced himself.


    "Guhehehe!!!"


    "Ehehehehe!!!"


    Two impish-laughters were heard by them.


    "Hahahaha! Let''s go!" Someone shouted.


    On the other side of the bridge, they noticed 3 people.


    "Tsk! Jura, Nicholas! You tricky bastard!" The person beside him clicked his tongue and shouted some names he couldn''t recognize.


    "Do you know them?"


    "Yes! Grrrr! Those bastards!" Ember angrily gnashing his teeth.


    Seeing the retreating figures of the people below and the two flying reptiles, "heh!" He scoffed.


    The next second, "!!" At the corner of Ember''s eyes,


    (Fwoosh!)


    (Fwoosh!)


    Two red flashes trailed towards the flying enemies. It was followed by, (Ngh!) (Arrgh!) Two groaning sounds when the flying reptiles were hit by something. The first one was hit at the shoulder, and the second one was hit at his left leg. Blood spurted from their wounds.


    For a moment, their flying became unsteady before they completely flew to a distance where their eyes could not perceive anymore.


    "Fuck off!" Ember shouted.


    Regardless, he wasn''t expecting those shots. This guy was certainly not ordinary. ''What did he do just now?!'' He glanced at the hand of the person beside him. It was enveloped by red energy. ''D-Did he uses a stone again?'' He was surprised by how quick he thought of using the stones to give a little pain to those bastards.


    Ember could not understand this person.


    Those were stones that he grabbed when he tried to stop himself from sliding.


    Anyhow, they have a big problem. The bridge started to collapse.


    They hastily ran to their back.


    Good thing they successfully avoided becoming part of the collapse. A few moments later,


    "Crimson! Ember!"


    "Crimson!"


    "Mr. Ember!"


    "Hey! Guys! What happened!"


    "You two! Are you okay?!"


    The shouts from the others came to their ears. They saw them rushing towards them. Together with the leftover participants.


    When the group finally reached them, "we have bad news��"


    "....."


    Everyone fell silent.


    "What happened?" Cinder was the one who asked.


    "Look behind!" Ember beckoned at everyone to look behind him.


    "WHAAAAT?!"


    "What you two did?!" Cinder asked again while furrowing.


    "Tsk! It wasn''t us��" Ember replied.


    Yman just staring at the distance, to the collapsing bridge.


    ''Tsk looks like, they were late,'' who would have thought that there was someone as shameful as them among the participants. ''Well, it''s only to be expected since it was a competition. Looks like I let my guard down.''


    Regardless, there are five of them only. It was doubtful that they rushed towards the castle with such fewer numbers.


    ''Could it be, they knew already what was at that place?''


    Yman mulled.


    "Crimson." Suddenly his attention was stolen by the sudden mention of his nickname.


    He glanced from the source of the voice and saw the red-haired girl staring at him, "Hm?" He made a low groan from deep in his throat, emphasizing a question.


    "What will we do now?" She asked with a troubled face.


    "....."


    He fell silent and glanced at everyone.


    On the palace balcony,


    Ella glanced at her aunt, "isn''t it a violation?"


    "Fufu, no rules are stating that a participant cannot use tricks to outplay the others. After all, it was a competition. Each of them is bound to fight each other at the end. It''s up to them when they want to stab everyone''s back. It''s not a sin for the clever and wise person. The one who is to blame is the victim himself."


    "...b-but it''s just too wicked," Ella mumbled.


    "Fufu, in the real battlefield. One must not lower his guard at all times."


    Ella could not argue anymore against her empress aunt who was known for her wittiness.


    She did not expect Jura and Nicholas to do such a thing. Well, her aunt was right. And it might also be a good opportunity to see the extent of that person''s ability.


    If he could not overcome such a hurdle. Then, he wasn''t a perfect bodyguard for her. Power without a brain is just an empty vessel.


    Around this time inside the painting, Harou and Lyka together with the other participants were coming closer to the west. On the north side, Hilion and his White Leo Knights decided to retreat first to take a break. The gate was heavily guarded. They also received news that Roman and the others were coming to help them. So the group decided to retreat and wait for the backups.

 Chapter 137: Misunderstood

    "Experts from the academy?" Shocked, Tiafel exclaimed.


    "Did you say�� Jura of Gorthalion family? And Nicholas Senrod?" Taflas chided.


    "Aren''t they members of the student council?" Tiafel asked.


    "They were supposed to have come from respectable families. I never thought they could do such things. How low." Aegor chimed.


    "Yeah��" Ember replied with knitted brows.


    "....."


    However, one person remained silent. Cinder shot him a strong look.


    "Crimson what are we going to do?" Aren''t we going to follow after them?" She asked with an anxious face. She didn''t know much about them. Well, a shut-in. What would you expect?


    Everyone expressed their discontent and disagreement with those people''s actions. Crimson glanced at her. He could feel her irritation.


    "!!"


    Unexpectedly, his scouting Bird [Fire Doll] picked some shadows below. Several people rushed towards the western part, they would arrive any minute from now to where they currently are. Yman narrowed his eyes.


    If he wasn''t wrong, they were participants from the southern part. Looks like they decided to come to the western part to find some allies.


    He glanced at the people around him. Each of them was having anxious faces.


    (Sigh.)


    He let out a sigh, and thought, ''looks like everyone misunderstood everything about their mission.''


    "No. I stay a little longer," he replied calmly, no tinge of irritation or discontent.


    "Eeeeh?!"


    "Why?!"


    They asked. There was a tinge of disagreement from their voices, especially from the leftover participants.


    "Our quest is not to cross the barrier in first-place. Our quest is to cross it before the time limit. What''s the need for a hurry?"


    Everyone fell silent and thought he was right.


    "But Crimson��" Cinder tried to say something. What those people did irritates her. But she stopped when she noticed that he was firm with his words. Although he was silent, his face was saying, ''if you want to go, then you can go, but I stay.''


    ''This guy!''


    She pursed her mouth. Even in this irritating situation, he''s still able to think calmly like he didn''t care about it.


    Everyone was waiting for the continuation of her words. "...okay." Cinder resigned and agreed to him while dropping her shoulders.


    "....."


    "If that''s what Crimson wants, then there''s nothing we can do. Of course, I stay too, we can''t even cross that broken bridge without him," added by Aegor.


    Ember, Tiafel, and Taflas also agreed to Aegor. Only this mysterious guy could summon those flying dolls of him. Without those, they have only one choice, to go to the other part of the wall and try to join forces with the others.


    Just thinking of joining hands with the other Experts urged Ember to vomit. He would rather go with this mysterious person than those great noble experts. And his sister was weirdly sticking on this guy.


    ''Did these two in a kind of relationship?'' Ember doubted.


    Nonetheless, he was right. Their quest was just simple. To collect points and to cross the last border. No need to sweat about it.


    Seeing that everyone agreed to him, he walked towards the wall which Cinder, Ember, and the others followed after him.


    However, before they could walk a couple of steps, "wait, Mr. Crimson, sir��" someone among the leftover participants suddenly called out.


    He glanced at the person with a sudden glint in his eyes, "yes?" He replied.


    "Uh�� er, I think we should follow after those guys," said the person wearing a tawny robe and an elfen hat of the same color. He was an Encan with long tortilla hair. That was tied at the back. The guy had narrowed eyes and exuded a demeanor of a friendly person buddy.


    However, Yman''s stare towards the guy wasn''t that friendly one.


    "Why do you think so?" He asked again.


    "You see, I heard that the empress will give additional rewards to those who achieve first place!" He said while raising his hands at both sides.


    It piqued the other''s interest and created some whispers from his surroundings.


    "Wow, is that true, Mr. Mus?"


    "Yes, yes!"


    Said the person named Mus.


    "In that case, isn''t that great!" Someone shouted.


    "Of course it is, just think if the empress rewards us with some treasures from the palace treasury. For certain many high-ranking Artefacts were stored in that place. Or some high ranking Magical Herbs that can faster our breakthrough. Not just that, some legendary equipment might be stored there too. Or perhaps we will receive some gold."


    This made a certain someone to drool.


    Cinder was having a bright smile while drooling. After all, the main reason she joined this competition was to buy the new version of Newtendo! If only her family did not freeze her allowance, it''s easy for her to acquire one. But because of being the young miss of the renowned family, she could not slack off with her training. Also, she was the successor to her mother''s technique. So they punished her for mulling inside her room all day while playing games. And not serious with her study at the academy.


    They glanced at the person beside them.


    "....."


    As expected, he was wearing a not-interested face.


    "Fufu," for some reason, he suddenly chuckled. Which caught everyone''s attention. They glanced at him.


    "Don''t get me wrong, I did not disallow everyone. You are free to go. But I''m just not interested in it. I only came here to enjoy myself. Aaaahhh!"


    He said while stretching his hands higher while yawning. His expression was very honest. Everyone was surprised by his words though.


    Then he continued walking towards the wall.


    "Eh! That''s it?!"


    They were shocked, how come there''s a person uninterested with treasures or high ranking materials! Is this person a joke?!


    Even Ember, Tiafel, Taflas, and Aegor were surprised at him.


    Although they were doubtful with this person named Mus, what he said was right. They also heard about it.


    Mus grinned under his hat.


    ''Fufufu, although this Crimson guy had high stamina, he isn''t that great. It was thanks to his summon and the people around him that the enemies were wiped out in that battle. In that battle, he was only facing the low ranking skeleton and monster. If he faced a demon, I bet he''s a dead man at this moment. Look how weak he looks. He was even breathing heavily. On top of that, his magical energy is very weak! Pwe! If I can get the favor of everyone around him, we can force this guy to surrender those summons of him.


    And what the heck he was saying, he didn''t care about treasures? Pwe! I bet he said it only so that everyone will think that he can be trusted!''


    "Everyone, I don''t think we can force Mr. Crimson if he doesn''t want to go. And also, we can''t blame him. Although he summons some strong unique creatures, I don''t think he will last longer. Look, he looks exhausted already.


    He doesn''t even have strong magical power with him. I bet his level is below a False Path Expert."


    "Hmm�� right."


    "He looks exhausted.


    "Yeah, maybe it''s also the reason why he doesn''t want to follow up with those people earlier."


    "Well, we can''t blame him if he''s that weak."


    "Yeah, it was thanks to the Experts of the Lupine family that everyone was saved in that battle," added Mus.


    Until all of the leftovers said their discontent towards him. Some even were saying more aggressive remarks, ranting that he was acting important even though he was just leeching with the others.


    They even said that he was too shameless for feeling important.


    Aegor, Taflas, and Tiafel shook their heads. Looks like these people misunderstood everything.


    Ember and Cinder knitted their brows. Although Cinder wanted that extra reward from the empress, she could not stomach discrediting the person who saved their sorry ass. ''This how they returned the favor! How ungrateful!'' Cinder roared inside her. Not only her but the others also didn''t like what happened at the moment.


    She was about to bark, (thump!) but a tag on her shoulder stopped her.


    She glanced and saw the hand of Crimson on her shoulder. However, a tiny black insect came crawling from his hand towards her neck.


    She froze.


    ''What the hell is this guy doing?!'' She shouted inwardly while trembling. Then she rid his hand by slapping it.


    Yman noticed her weird reaction but did not mind it.


    Seeing Cinder slapping his hand, Mus and the other leftover participants grinned.


    Tiafel and the others could not believe it. They wondered if there''s a quarrel between these two.


    She was afraid of insects especially when they were on her skin, despite that, this person sent one to her.


    Yman also tapped the others while he was passing.


    "Those who want to leave can leave, I''m not forcing you to stay," he just said it. Tired of the discussion. He already saw many types of people, but these types of people were the lowest among them.


    "Fufu, yeah, we will leave without you, but, give us those black birds of yours!" Said Mus while pointing a sword at him.


    "Right!"


    "Give them to us!"


    "Young-Miss Cinder and Young-Master Ember, please join forces with us and let''s make him surrender those summons of him," said Mus.


    "Right! Young Master Ember, everyone, there''s no point in going with this guy, he doesn''t have the intention of winning the rewards," the others followed.


    The others started to point their weapons at him.


    "....."


    Cinder and the others didn''t know whether to laugh at these people. Looks like they misunderstood him.


    They were right though, that Crimson was having low magical energy, however, are they trying to become his enemy?


    "Gyahahahaha..." Ember broke in a guffaw. He could not bear it anymore. These people were just too funny.


    Aegor felt sorry for these people, they were steeping on the landmine. A very destructive landmine.


    Right at this moment, everyone heard stomping noises coming towards them.


    Mus grinned.

 Chapter 138: Ungrateful

    About a hundred people came into a halt in front of them.


    (Tap tap tap tap tap��) Then a man walked in front of the others.


    "Harou��" Ember mumbled.


    Seeing the red hair man together with a group of people, a grin appeared on the man with long silver hair,


    "I didn''t expect to see you here, Ember," said the man which Ember called Harou.


    "Do you know them?" They heard Crimson''s question.


    "Those two who have long silver hair are from the Lowe family of the Canine Sect," Cinder was the one who answered.


    "I see��" Crimson replied. ''no wonder they had wolf ears too,'' he thought.


    Harou narrowed his eyes upon noticing the person together with Ember and his sister. He recognized the person. It was the same person who protected Miss Ella on the public square. ''Kuku, who would expect these people would team up together.''


    On the other hand, Cinder fidgeted closer to Crimson while staring at Lyka. She saw this beautiful girl again that seemingly looked like a character in the VR game she played.


    She looks cold and snobby though. It was her honest impression of Lyka.


    Lyka was just a meh. Unbothered by Cinder''s gazes. But she was staring at Crimson. She felt something about this person who was hiding under his hood.


    Lyka raised a brow at Cinder who moved closer to the person in front.


    "Heh," Harou scoffed. Then he added, "I see, I did not expect you guys were together with this man," Harou said while beckoning in Crimson''s direction.


    "....."


    Yman wondered why this newly arrived person seemingly knew him, but before he could open his mouth to ask, "Y-Young Master Harou Lowe Sir��" someone among the leftover participants called out.


    Harou and the others glanced to where the call came from and saw a guy cupping his hands towards Harou.


    "Tsk, him again��" Tiafel mumbled.


    "What do you want?" Harou asked.


    "Young master sir, did you perhaps come here to cross the bridge?" Mus directly went to the main point.


    Harou knitted his brows.


    ''Bridge?'' He did not expect this. ''So there was a bridge needed to cross? I see��'' He thought understandably.


    "Yeah," He nodded then asked, "what of it?"


    "Uh�� er," said Mus while brushing his hands. Harou and the others furrowed while waiting for the continuation of his words. Wondering what this person is trying to tell. Then Mus continued saying, "...there is a problem with the bridge, sir."


    Harou further frowned after hearing his words. "What, a problem? What do you mean?" Asked Harou as he glanced at the people in front of him. He noticed that Ember and the others were unbothered by it.


    "Is it true, Ember?" He asked Ember.


    "Don''t ask me, dude!" Ember''s annoyed reply.


    Mus opened his mouth again. "Yes, a problem young sir, it collapsed a moment ago. For how it collapsed, most of us have no idea as we were resting at that time.


    Only the young master of Lupine''s family and this guy here named Crimson were the ones who know how it happened. Also, they refused to proceed when we tried to ask them. I didn''t intend to point them as the ones responsible for the destroyed of the bridge since we have no evidence in the first place. However, being that they have no intention of proceeding, it only means one thing," explained Mus.


    "Right, Mus is telling the truth. These people might be hiding something!" Some leftover people added, and the others also followed with their version of disagreement towards the group of Crimson.


    Yman noticed a hidden smirk from Mus''s mouth.


    He knew that this guy was trying to plant doubt in others about them. But then again, a grin appeared in his mouth under the hood.


    He could already guess what this guy wanted. ''Then let''s play along,'' Yman thought.


    Cinder and the others glanced at Crimson and Ember, but they noticed that they didn''t have a plan to say something.


    They too had remained quiet.


    While the group of this guy named Harou was just approaching, Yman already knew that this guy named Mus would act the way he acted at the moment.


    Crimson and Ember noticed the eyes of Harou on them. "Are you guys the one responsible for the destroyed bridge?" Asked Harou with a bitter face. They have traveled quite long. If they proceed to travel north, they were already out of gas when they reached the place. Most of them were already exhausted.


    Harou''s voice while asking them was trailed with intimidation. It was real that he wasn''t happy at what happened to the bridge.


    "No, we were not the one who destroyed it," He replied honestly. But it only caused a further frown to Harou''s face.


    Based on what his scout reported, 6 people wiped out more than a thousand enemies in this area. So Harou was a little wary of the guy in front of him. He wasn''t even considering that it was because of Ember who did the work as he knew this guy''s capability. Based on what he knew about him, it was an impossible feat for Ember. He wasn''t sure about Ember''s sister though. Seeing the other people around these three, Harou noticed that each of them had an average level.


    Within their group, the only variable and very suspicious was the guy named Crimson which was in front of him.


    Now that this guy was in the hand-reach distance away from him, he noticed that this guy wasn''t that strong really. His magical energy was so weak! Not even a False Path Expert level.


    If not only that he saw what he did on the public square, he already pounced him in the face while asking him what they did to the bridge.


    It wasn''t because he was afraid that he didn''t do it yet, he was just cautious.


    But.


    "Young sir," Mus called out again.


    Hearing him, Harou glanced and asked, "what?" With a slightly annoyed face.


    "I think I know of the reason why these people destroyed the bridge�� hehe," said Mus gesturing like a smart man.


    Harou threw a look at Crimson and Ember. Ember''s eyebrow twitched. He wanted to challenge this Harou. On their previous duels, he never won even for once, but he wasn''t afraid to try again. ��A man can only become stronger after so many defeats!�� This is what he believes in.


    "Speak!" Harou bid Mus for what he wanted to say.


    A grin appeared in Mus''s mouth. "You see young sir, it was only my baseless hunch��"


    "Speak right away! I don''t need some unnecessary talks!" Harou slightly raised his voice. He didn''t like Mus'' way of indirect speaking.


    "...ahem, I mean young sir, this guy can summon some bird creatures that can be mounted by two-person each. Hehe!"


    "I see," Harou squinted his eyes towards Crimson. Looks like this person was a summoner type.


    "Can he summon multiple at once?" He wanted to make sure.


    "Yes sir! We saw it with our own eyes. Although this per��" Mus was not able to finish his words as he saw Harou''s hand raised slightly.


    It also clear that Harou wasn''t in the mood for chitchat.


    "....."


    Yman remained quiet. At the moment, the other participants together with this guy named Harou were gripping their weapons. Everyone was seemingly readying themselves for a brawl.


    "Is it true��?" Harou asked Crimson in a chilly and demanding voice. Now he was serious. If it was true, then those birds were the only saving grace for all of them. If this guy remained unperturbed. There was nothing they could do but to use force.


    (Sigh.)


    Based on his previous battle on Public Square, he believed that this person was a mage-type. A class of


    a magician with tricky spells but weak physically.


    He was wary only by his summon that the scout reported. But with the number of False Path Experts at his back. He believed that this guy wouldn''t stand a chance if he tried to fight back. His only choice was to give up and hand those birds to them. If not, there was only death that awaits him. Also, this Crimson man looked exhausted.


    "Fufu," However, after a sigh, they heard him chuckling. Then, "what of it, huh?!" Ember chimed with his unconcern arrogance.


    Yman noticed the leftover participants raised their weapons. Oddly enough, they point their weapons to Crimson''s group. Although some of them were having skeptical faces, they were puzzled about which side to favor.


    "Ungrateful traitors!" Cinder and gnashed her teeth.


    Ember, Taflas, and Tiafel readied themselves. Aegor on the other hand looked everywhere. He didn''t expect this development. He glanced at Crimson and noticed that he was as calm as ever.


    Yman slightly frowned. They were surrounded. It was a bad situation.


    He saw the guy named Mus, grinning from ear to ear.


    "Crimson! Let''s kill them all!" Ember shouted.


    "Hah!" He sighed again. "There''s no point in fighting," he replied to Ember.


    "Eh?!"


    They never thought for Crimson to not retaliate. He was supposed to be battle-freaked. It was unexpected for them that he said that.


    "Crimson? What do you mean," Cinder asked while darting her eyes to the front and beside her.


    "Sorry, but we have no chance of winning against this many," he said then stepped in front.


    "What?!" Ember, Cinder, and the others were surprised at him.


    Harou with knitted brows stared at him.


    Yman glanced at Mus and the other participants. He saw their wide grinning faces. Then he returned his eyes to Harou.


    "You want my summon birds right?" He asked.


    Harou finally broke into a smile, but he didn''t lower his guard.


    With a wave of his hand.


    (Poof! Poof! Poof!)


    Three birds appeared before them.


    Cinder and Ember wanted to stop him but it was too late.

 Chapter 139: Flesh-Eating plant

    Three blackbirds appeared in front of Harou and the others. At first, while they were rushing towards this area, he was doubtful of the scout''s report. But when they arrived, they were greeted by a deserted place.


    And evidence of battle was visible around the place.


    Then they heard a loud collapsing noise in this area not long ago. They suddenly rushed here and this what greeted them.


    Harou wanted to laugh. Looks like, coming here was a good choice. Not only did they avoid clashing with multiple monsters, but they also were able to meet the summoner that the scout mentioned. Looks like this person wasn''t that great, to begin with.


    Harou nodded with a smile.


    "Do you think you can fool me?" Harou suddenly said.


    "Hehehe, this Crimson might be looking down on you, Yount Sir��" Mus added.


    Cinder and the others stared dagger at him. ''What a shameless bastard!'' They thought.


    "Why not let one of your people fly it?" Crimson replied. He knew what this person meant about it. He might be thinking that he was controlling these birds. Well, he could. But he had no intention of doing so. It''s up to them if they take it or not. Regardless, they didn''t have a choice.


    Harou slightly narrowed his eyes. But the person in front of him was right. He then called one of his men.


    "....."


    With a skeptical face, his men tried to fly it slowly. Yman told them that it could be piloted the same as the Transport bird.


    Harou asked him what kind of Spirit beast were those birds. They have unnatural colors. But Crimson had no intention of answering his question.


    Cinder and the others were doubtful of Crimson''s action. They did not expect that he would give in just because the enemies were higher in number.


    However, they started to think that maybe they were overestimating him. His exhaustion at the moment was even visible to all of them. Also, fighting an opponent that was capable of thinking than killing those brainless monsters was just too big of a difference. Looks like they were the one who was overestimating themselves after they successfully wiped out the monsters in this area. These people who were surrounding them were all in the False Path level. If one thought logically, there was no chance of them winning.


    They finally understood why Crimson did that.


    After testing the birds, Crimson and the others were still not able to escape. Harou seemed to be a cautious person. They brought them with them to the other side of the broken bridge.


    Not just that, they were tied. They noticed Mus secretly whispering to Harou about something.


    Crimson and the others were surprised when everyone was staring at them with malicious intent.


    The moment they landed on the other side, Yman and the others were pushed to the ridge.


    "Bastard! What are you planning?!" Ember gnashed.


    "Kuku, sorry Ember, but you won''t advance to the next round. Tell me later how it felt to die in a fall! Hahaha!"


    "Tsk!" Cinder clicked her tongue and anxiously glanced at Crimson. But she noticed him with a frown and baffled face. Looks like even Crimson did not expect this to happen.


    "HAROOOUUU YOU BASTARD!!!" Ember roared.


    However, (Thump, thump, thump��)!


    Everyone was kicked and fell.


    "NOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!" They shouted.


    Hehehehehehe!!!


    HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!


    Mus and the others laughed at the group of Crimson.


    "That''s what they get for destroying the bridge and tricking us all!" Shout Mus. "Let''s go!" Everyone excitedly followed at the group of Harou. Finally, they have a bigger chance of getting additional rewards from the Empress.


    Yman and the others were falling fast but the ridge seemed to be so deep as they could not see the deepest part of it.


    Everyone had ashen faces as they resigned to their fate. Looks like in the end, they were still defeated.


    What a turn of events.


    Empress and Ella at the palace balcony were sighing heavily. Looks like luck wasn''t on that person''s side.


    "Well, even in the real world, traitors are everywhere��" muttered the empress. "You can''t just trust anyone��" she added.


    Ella remained quiet. "She understood her aunt''s words."


    In the end, that person was defeated by a little trick.


    The audiences have different reactions to what happened. Especially those who wish to change their bets to ''The Mysterious'' a moment ago. At the moment they were thinking that ''good thing the betting was already close when they were about to change their favored participants.''


    The old noble and the others who bet on him just sighed. There''s nothing they could do. It was bad luck


    that there''s some traitor in the group.


    Even Almina and the others did not expect this result.


    The legendary welcoming squad had already readied themselves for the grand welcome for those people.


    They saw in the monitor thesix people. Deliberately, their silhouettes were eaten by darkness. And their unwilling yell echoed from the distance. Until they were wholly gone from the sights of all. They could lament later like most of the dead participants. Everyone was already expecting that they would revive sooner outside the painting.


    A couple of hours ago, those in the north and east successfully reunited and joined forces.


    The joined forces of most of the experts from great families had successfully destroyed the gate. And sooner, wiped out the monsters in the area. With a united force of Roman, Hilion, Gilion, Gath, White Leo Knights, and the other participants, the battle became a one-sided massacre. Everyone outside the painting was cheering heavily while they were killing the enemies left and right.


    Especially when the monsters came charging to Roman. They turned to dust in no time. His high ranking Spirit Beast behind him was like a deity guarding him against any harm.


    (Woosh woosh woosh!)


    Some arrows let loose towards Roman, but he was shielded by Lightning Mayhem. From its huge mouth, electrifying charges were fired to the incoming arrows.


    The arrows broke into tiny pieces.


    Seeing it, Hilion and the others could only gasp at Roman''s domineering power. However, they too could not let themselves be outdone by him. They needed to show their powers too.


    The excitement of the audience boomed into the sky as their cheers could shake heaven and earth.


    As expected, the Skeleton Elder was the only one that gave them a headache, though, in the end, they managed to kill it.


    After a short rest, they immediately rushed towards the bridge.


    The battle was truly a sight to behold.


    The group of Jura and Nicholas were the first to arrive at the castle. Two of their men were cursing because of the wounds they''d got from those trailing red lights a while ago.


    Luckily, both of them had high regeneration abilities.


    The wall protecting the castle wasn''t heavily guarded. But the group of Jura didn''t go for a head-on confrontation. They flew above the castle garden.


    Actually, at the castle entrance, they noticed two towering demonic statues. And they have felt a strong fluctuation of magical energy from them. It was the reason they chose the garden as their landing point.


    Although it was a garden, the plants on it were no ordinary plants. They were Flesh-Eating plants!


    Jura noticed it beforehand. But compared to the two towering statues in the entrance, these plants have lower magical energy fluctuations within them.


    "Jura was indeed a cunning one��" Hannah in the audience podium commented.


    Before landing, they bombarded the garden with magical attacks. The simple-looking plants turned into wild monsters when they perceived the incoming danger.


    Some tiny plants scuttered away using their stems and little branches and trunks as feet and arms, while the bigger one tried to reach the group of Jura using their vines.


    Whipping and piercing the air, but Jura and the others who currently in full transformation mode using their Artefacts evaded the attacks.


    One of his friends, "Hahahahaha!" Laughed heartily at the pitiful giant monster plant.


    Its monstrous mouth that full of razor-sharp fangs were drooling like a hungry predator.


    From the hand of transformed Jura, a javelin transpired into a golden javelin. A second after he threw it, AAAAAARRRG!!! It was followed by a piercing sound.


    The javelin impaled one of its roots.


    "Nicholas!" He shouted.


    "Okaaaaayy!!!"


    WREEEENNNNGGG!!! Like a comet, two dense magical energies were shot towards it.


    Then.


    BOOOMMMMM!!! The explosion shook the entire garden.


    Woosh! A wind blows the surrounding smoke from the explosion.


    They saw the plant barely alive with a big hole on its head.


    "I will finish it!" One of Jura''s friends shouted in excitement, then flew hastily.


    "No! Kage!" Jura''s warning came late as Kage''s figure shot towards the grieving enemy. The other two of their friends follow close behind. Everyone wanted to last hit it. For ''coolness points'' of course. After all, they knew that at this moment, the other members of the Student Council were staring at them. Their crushes would probably notice them when they did a cool finishing move to the monster.


    However, their supposed to be cool finishing moves, became their nightmare.


    WASSSAAAAAAAAKKKK! From the mouth of the giant flesh-eating plant, a cloud of poisonous gasses were shot everywhere.


    Kage who was already near it took the poisonous gas. He suddenly felt weak and dizzy then dropped to the ground.


    (X_X) ooOO((goodbye my love��)) his last thought. A tear trailed down to the ground.


    Then,


    Thump!


    Tsuk! Tsuk! Tsuk!


    After he fell, the root protruded from the ground and formed like spikes. It pierced its body a couple of times until he became light particles.


    (In memory of Kage�� rip) the garden suddenly became solemn.


    One girl in the audience shouted his name. She looked sexy and beautiful. (Spoiler alert!) In truth, she wasn''t a ''she''.


    The audiences outside the painting didn''t know where to look as another battle was happening in the wall area.


    It was the group of Harou and Mus. The joined forces of other experts were following behind.

 Chapter 140: Winged-Ant

    Jura''s friend, Kage, respawned at the back of the painting with a blank face, to where the magic circle was located. It was the respawn point for the dead participants.


    However, instead of greeting him, the legendary welcoming squad had noticed something.


    ''Where are those people who fell to the ridge?!!!''


    ''Why didn''t they respawn yet?!!!''


    Everyone was baffled.


    (Wait�� Are�� They�� Still�� Alive?)


    !


    Right at this moment, Crimson and the others came out of the ridge. At their backs were black wings.


    (Wreeeng wreeeng wreeeng��)


    Cinder and the others were tired of surprises already. Yet, this person pulled off another one again!


    Right before their sorry-self crashed to the bottom, each of them felt a bite on their necks. Then a feeling of exhaustion invaded them like their mana was being sucked away.


    They were about to resign to their horrible fate when out of a sudden, something grew from their backs.


    Then it lifted them to the surface.


    Puzzled, everyone peered around them. Then, each of them saw the others being held by a black figure with wings.


    It was a Giant Winged-Ant!!!


    No need to ask who was the one responsible for it. As only one person could pull such creatures out from his storage.


    What puzzled them, ''is when did Crimson put these Enhance Fire Dolls to them?''


    Only Cinder knew when. It was when Crimson tapped her shoulder. A small insect came crawling towards her at that time. And she also remembered that after he tapped her, he also tapped the others.


    ''Did he already guessed that this would happen?'' Cinder widened her eyes. This person, for some reason she couldn''t define him anymore. He was beyond reasons.


    However, how did it grow so big?! It was supposed to be so tiny. What kind of ability does this kind of Enhance Fire Doll hold? Cinder was so curious. But right at this moment she was too exhausted.


    Crimson and the others landed 20 meters away from the ridge edge.


    (Hah�� hah�� hah��)


    Everyone was breathing heavily. Then they heard an approaching noise.


    (Tap tap tap tap tap...)


    They glanced to where the steeping noise came from and they saw him walking slowly towards them.


    Suddenly, the Black Winged-Ant flew and flocked above him.


    "Are you guys okay?" He asked when he came near to them.


    "Aaaah��barely alive��" Ember was the one who answered while pushing his body into a sitting position.


    They noticed Crimson forced a chuckle.


    "Aaah! I thought I''m a goner," Aegor cried out with his back on the ground, and his arms were stretched wide in opposite directions, forming like ''T''.


    He noticed everyone was barely moving. And each of them perspired so much. He glanced at the red-haired girl with wolf ears. She''s no good as well.


    Cinder twitched then forced her mouth, "T-Thanks f-for saving us again�� Crimson��" she said in difficulty that sounds like a whisper.


    "Don''t sweat it," he replied with a grin.


    Tiafel and Taflas said their thanks also.


    "By the way, I excuse myself for a minute. For now, rest and try to regain your strength. We will go after those people when I return."


    "....."


    After saying it, he waved his hand and two of the Mouse-model Enhance Fire Dolls appeared.


    He did not wait for their reply and walked a little farther. Seeing his back moving farther, Cinder frowned. She wanted to come but she couldn''t lift her body.


    The two Mouse-models stood closer, guarding them against any potential harm.


    His figure disappeared from their sight when he walked quite a distance.


    After he left them, Sistela whispered in his ears.


    Being together with him for quite long. She could guess his motive. This whole event was conducted by him. Her partner could sense any bad intent towards him, thanks to the Demon of Possession''s passive ability.


    "It wasn''t like I did it for myself�� it''s the only thing I could think of. To cure Yana."


    For Yman, no matter what, he needed to cure his sister. So whatever comes to his mind that could help him, he won''t hesitate to use any means.


    "I only took a little bit of their mana."


    Sistela didn''t know what to think of it. He said little, but everyone was dried out. They look as pale as a ghost.


    Since he couldn''t just ask them to give their mana to him. He let themselves fall into someone''s scheme.


    In this regard, he could collect their mana in the guise of saving them. With this, they have no way to complain and no way to say no.


    Sistela thought.


    Yman walked about 200 steps towards the forest. Then he leaped to the big chunk of rocks in the middle of a swamp.


    Sistela went silent when he activated his Black Magician mode.


    Thump! After two consecutive leaps, his feet landed on top.


    He wondered how this giant chunk of rocks was here. Maybe it fell from the mountain nearby.


    After climbing on top, he was overlooking the whole forest. It was enveloped by mist.


    Without wasting time, he sat cross-legged. Then closed his eyes. He widened his perception to the full extent, surrounding him.


    It reached 150 meters. Thanks to the recent battles, his Sense Attribute grew a lot and it affected his perception.


    After closing his eyes, he connected his vision to the scout bird above which he sent to follow the group of Harou and Mus. At this moment, he saw them battling with undead and demons that were guarding the walls.


    However, the shared vision didn''t last long as the bird went ''poof!'' When the mana on it was emptied.


    He opened his right palm facing the sky while it was resting on its leg. Then one of the Black Winged-Ant landed on top of it.


    This Black Winged-Ant was having an elastic Mana Coating. And it has a Mana-Sucking skill from his Modifying Skill ability. After it sucked a good amount of mana, its body would expand like it was evolving because of the elasticity of its skin.


    When the Winged-Ant landed on top of his palm, a second later, (Woosh!) It turned into a sphere as big as a volleyball. It was covered with Black Miasma, and the inside was gleaming in greenish color.


    "Fufu," Yman looked satisfied.


    He lifted it in the air, but when he retreated his hand the sphere remained in the air. It was floating! Then it orbits around him in slow motion.

 Chapter 141: Exoskeleton

    After the first Winged-Ant turned into a sphere, another one jumped on his palm. Then a second after it landed, like the first one it also turned into a sphere. But this time the color of energy inside it was brownish.


    ''Hmm, it must be the Winged-Ant that I instilled to Taflas. As expected it has the earth element. And the first one was a wind element from Tiafel,'' Yman thought.


    The same as the first sphere it also floats in the air then orbit around him.


    The third Winged-Ant landed on his palm. Yman stared at it for a second. In truth, the concept of elasticity applied to the Winged-Ant was different from the rubber.


    Like the other Fire Dolls, it was made of pure mana. So after sucking more mana, it would reinforce its body and expand.


    In addition, the concept of solidification of mana was different from rock or stone; though, it was barely identical to the relationship between water and ice.


    After pondering, thethird Winged-Ant also turned to a sphere a second after it touched his palm.


    This time, it had a purplish color.


    ''A Lightning element. Must be Aegor''s mana. Looks like people in the Encantasia mostly had one affinity only in an element. Probably because they are from different races. Like for example the Encan, they are only a few cases that they crossbreed from other races like Fatbeard or Wolfmen.


    On the other hand, humans have no qualms about crossbreeding. They even promoted to breed a stronger offspring. Like for example marrying their sons and daughters into other sons and daughters with stronger magical power so that their offspring will become the wielder of multiple elements and have stronger magical power than their parents.


    Besides, humans aren''t prohibited in marrying other races. They are the father of crossbreeding, hehe.''


    After mulling he placed the third sphere floating in mid-air. Now three spheres are orbiting around him.


    He looked like their sun. Yman continued what he was doing. The last two Winged-Ants were holding the same fire elemental mana. But the other one was a special case, and the other was denser. Even though they were siblings, twins to boot, and have the same element, their mana and element quality and quantity still differ from one another.


    Yman didn''t know why it was like that, and he didn''t want to know either of how these two were made.


    His only guess with their situation, that there was a power breeding happened to the members of their own family. Probably,between the Lupine family only.


    Though it was only his baseless guess.


    He didn''t want to think more about this issue because it was a little bit personal and a little far off from what he was currently doing.


    He slightly shook his head to get rid of such thought.


    Must focus himself.


    When all of the Winged-Ant turned into spheres, Yman activated his Skill Modifying ability and started creating multiple skills out of all the mana and data he gathered.


    First was the ''Framing!''


    He needed to concentrate to create an exoskeleton of the creature he wanted to create. Yman did not think much of what kind of creature he would be going to create at the moment.


    From his opened hands and his whole body, Black Miasma was exuding. It was gathering above him while trying to come up with a form.


    Like clouds in the blue sky as they constantly change their shapes.


    Yman was unbothered even though his two Enhance Fire Dolls that he left to guard were currently killing some monsters who tried to attack the others.


    Not long, a black humanoid frame appeared overhead of him.


    Though it wasn''t complete, the shape wasn''t polished. It was like a shadow of a fluttering cloak. But it was only natural since it was only the start.


    The sphere with brownish-gleam inside was being sucked bit by bit as it orbited around him.


    As the bits of it were being sucked off by the frame, the empty frame started to materialize 2 legs that were made of rock. A brownish rock. But it was too thin.


    The sucking of brownish mana did not stop. The legs grew longer, about five meters tall. Then it continued to create the spinal cord, the rib cage, arms, and finally the neck and the gleaming skull with hollow eyes.


    The remaining brownish mana continued orbiting around him. But at the moment it was smaller than a fist.


    The other mana spheres were being sucked after, for resistance purposes.


    When the enforcement of elemental resistance was done, a giant skeleton stood floating in mid-air above him, cloaked in Black Miasma that formed like a fluttering tattered cloak.


    A second later, together with his Demonic Mana, the 5 spheres of mana went through to the exoskeleton.


    From its hollow eyes, the flame ablaze.


    The six spheres of mana were forming hexagram in the chest part of it.


    If not because of his Skill Modifying ability, it would be impossible to combine his Black Miasma, Demonic Mana, and the Holy Flame of Cinder. But thanks to it, it became possible.


    Still, it wasn''t complete.


    From his storage, a Bee-model Enhance Fire Doll came out. It was the same bee who monitored their battle outside the wall.


    This bee did not join the fight at that time. But it had the most important role. To record the gesture, spells, and any other actions regarding the Skeleton Elder.


    It was holding the skill ''Copy'' from his Skill Modifying ability. Since it was difficult for him to copy yhe opponents ability while he was fighting. He thought of a method that could overcome this hurdle. That enables his ''Copy'' ability to shine. And this what came to his mind. Good thing that it work perfectly.


    The Bee-model Enhance Fire Doll flew towards the skull. A moment when it went through.


    Owwwwoooooooooooohhhhh!!!


    A loud howl was heard!!! It made the other monsters close by to tremble and scuttered away from the place.


    The bee acted as the brain as it had all the data about the Skeleton Elder.


    To finish it, he started modifying some of its skills. To improve the fighting capability. Like for example combining the Rapid Leap and Shadow Step.


    After a couple of tries and failures, finally�� a new skill was born! It was called Ghost Walk.


    Yman did not finish with just that, he also modified the other skills of it.

 Chapter 142: The last surprise

    In the castle, Jura and his friends were successful in killing the Flesh-Eating Monster Plant. They were now proceeded to the next room to where the direction of the light for the last barrier could be seen.


    For some reason, this barrier''s size sunk so much. Last time it was inside the walls at the first line of defense. But as they move forward towards it, the barrier seemingly avoiding them as its size continued sinking like it was luring them inside the castle.


    Jura and his friends met some monsters on the way, but with the help of their full transformation, the following fights seemed so easy for them. They dispatched most of the enemies who came to blocked their way.


    The only problem that they encountered was the Possessed Knight Statues. Since they were not easy to kill. Even if they broke them, the statues broken bodies came back to normal a second later.


    Jura gnashed his teeth while knitting his brows. It wasn''t good if they stay longer in this place. After the last statue killed by Nicholas restored its broken body, he decided, "no, Nicholas! let them be! We can''t waste our time together with this unkillable piece of crap!"


    Jura shouted to Nicholas and the others.


    "Eh?! Okay!" Nicholas agreed.


    "Let''s go!" The others also shouted.


    The group decided to continue to the next room without minding the chasing statues.


    After they left, another group entered. It was the group of Harou and Mus.


    But being that they have several participants with them, the statues broke into dust until they lost the ability to restore.


    But the battle wasted too much time for their group. Then they immediately went to the next room to where Jura and the others went.


    After they left, another group followed. It was the united group of Hilion, Roman, Gath, Gilion, and the other participants.


    Some statues respawned in front of them, but with the power of Roman and the others, it was easily defeated.


    Outside the painting, everyone was cheering like wild drunkards.


    The race of whoever is the first to enter the last barrier came into the climax.


    In the audience podium, the student council members were cheering for the group of Jura and Nicholas.


    Especially that they were the first people who entered the castle.


    Everyone already forgot what happened to those people who fell in the ridge. They didn''t have any ideas about what was happening to them as their focus was inside the castle. Also, all of the Monitoring Devices had gone to the castle for live coverage to all the experts.


    Inside the house of the Lupine family, a beautiful lady of about 30 years old was sighing heavily. She was excited at first because her son and daughter managed to enter the second barrier. But they fell into someone''s scheme and were thrown into the ridge.


    On top of that, the one who threw them was from the other family of the same Canine Sect.


    Her long red hair fluttered gently when the slight wind from the opened window passed through it.


    She looked into the distance with a can''t be helped face. A moment later, the door of the room was pushed open and some elderly came in.


    She slightly frowned.


    At the same time, inside the palace balcony, when the empress saw that all of the participants had managed to enter the castle, a grin happened on the empress''s face.


    In the throne room. The last surprise was waiting for all of them.


    Jura, Nicholas, and the other two people from their group excitedly opened the towering well-polish wooden door with exquisite design. In the middle of it, the statue of the gaping lion''s head was stuck from it.


    Based on their informant, in the throne room, they could obtain additional rewards from the empress.


    The reason why they rushed over here was that behind this door was where the treasure could be found and the last barrier was located!


    After a very long battle, in the end, only the one who had the brain to outwit everyone would be the winner.


    Jura thought so.


    "Hehehehe!" Each of them grinned.


    Without wasting any more time, using their joint strengths, (HUFFFF!!!) they pushed the door.


    CREEEAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKK!!!


    The door made a long creaking noise as the gap of the door became bigger.


    When the gap was big enough for them to enter, they did not waste another time. They entered immediately.


    "Woohoo!" One of their friends screamed in elation. After this, they would not only earn treasures, they would also become popular. Especially in the academy. No, not only in the academy. But also in the whole empire.


    The girls from the student council chuckled at their childish action. But most of them were proud of Jura''s group. Some of them were even whispering. To have a crush with�� (No spoiler!)


    Jura and the others immediately rolled his eyes. Scanning the whole room.


    The walls were decorated with expensive-looking fabric of red and black colors. On the ceiling, a seemingly alive painting was eye-catching.


    It was a painting of a demon with long horns. Hacking every Humans, Demihumans, Fishmen, etc.


    On the floor, a red carpet was connected from the door towards the podium with 5 steps high.


    And on top of the podium, a big golden chair could be seen.


    On the chair, a huge entity was sitting. It had long horns and big protruding tusks from its mouth.


    It had well-built arms and legs muscles. Its eyes were close. But Jura and the others could feel an eerie feeling towards it.


    Golden knuckle and wristband on its hands and arms.


    And golden boots on its legs. He was clad with heavy-looking red breastplate armor. And a long red cloak was hung loosely from its back. His two arms were resting on the golden armchair. They also noticed a big sword inside the black scabbard.


    Everyone gasped upon seeing it and fell silent. Even the people outside the painting were no exception.


    But fortunately, it was only a statue.


    "A demon lord?" Mumbled Jura.


    "H-Huge!" Nicholas added.


    At the moment, Nicholas and the others were in their full transformation mode.


    Nicholas'' transformation was like that of a golden humanoid bird. Jura on the other hand, nothing much changed in his appearance. There was only a pair of wings growing from his back. And he was clad in shining silver armor while wielding a longsword in his hand.


    They noticed that they were only as tall as the statue''s knee.


    While Jura and the others were staring at the statue, one of his friends ran towards the podium to where the huge figure was sitting in the chair.


    "There! The treasures! Hahaha!" He shouted while fast approaching towards where the treasures were lying.


    Jura and the glanced and saw 3 golden chests at the foot of the huge figure.


    "!!"


    However, before their friend could get near it, Jura noticed a slight twitch in the figure''s eye.


    Before his warning came out from his mouth. His friend suddenly went to a stop.


    (Thud thud thud��) Then something flew and rolled to the room''s floor.


    Everyone fell silent��


    "A head?"


    "....."

 Chapter 143: The One-Eyed Ominous Mino Taur

    A reptilian head!


    It was the transformed head of one of their friends.


    "Roy!"


    Shouted the other person with a similar transformed form. But it was too late. The person named Roy already turned into light particles when his body lost the head.


    Everyone who was watching right now outside the painting subconsciously gulped in disbelief.


    "Backoff Rey!!" Shouted Jura after noticing the other person was still standing in the middle on the red carpet in the distance between them and the figure sitting on the golden chair.


    However, the person named Rey was still shocked at what happened to the other person.


    Before he could regain his bearings, his head was already detached from his body.


    With wide eyes, Jura and Nicholas who was still standing near the door went into a battle-ready stance.


    In the palace, a silent chuckle was heard.


    "Fufufu, greed blinded a man, while hatred clouded one''s rational thinking��"


    Whispered the empress.


    Ella glanced at the person beside her. The empress smiled when she felt her eyes on her.


    "Just, common faults for newbies," Said the empress while stroking Ella''s hair like caressing a baby.


    After a slight nod, they returned their eyes to the monitor in front. Ella already lost half of her interest towards the competition after that person fell.


    Jura and Nicholas were staring in full awareness at the supposed statue of a Demon Lord.


    He only lifted his huge finger and it already killed two of his friends.


    Then they noticed its eye twitched a little. A second later, it deliberately opened in slow motion.


    A hollow eye with a gleaming purple pupil is what they saw. While the left-side eye was still in a closed-state.


    A second after his eyes were fully opened, an ominous aura attacked Jura and Nicholas that caused them to daze for a couple of seconds.


    Jura as the son of the valiant Beleggor Gorthalion knew that they were in a dire situation. He couldn''t lose his focus.


    He started chanting a spell and after a couple of seconds, his whole body let out a golden brilliance surrounding him. It was a middle-tier resistance for control-type intent.


    "Fufufu, he truly is the son of valiant General Beleggor Gorthalion��" the empress once again commented after witnessing Jura''s quick-thinking for a solution in their situation.


    Seeing what Jura did, Nicholas also followed his lead. Then golden brilliance enveloped his whole body also.


    A second after the ominous aura was released, all the lights inside the room died down. The illumination coming from the orange brilliance of the barrier located at the back of the golden chair was the only light that gives the room slight visibility.


    Not only that,


    (Dun dun dun��)


    The whole room started to tremble when the figure of the Demon Lord used his hands to push his body to stand.


    Although the room was fairly huge in space, it still managed to shake the room with just him about to stand.


    "Such overbearing aura!" Nicholas cited.


    "Tsk!" Jura clicked his tongue.


    "Jura Gorthalion, what we gonna do?" Anxiously asked Nicholas.


    "For now, just stay alert!" Jura reminded him. But it only made Nicholas knit his brows.


    ''Now it was uncertain��'' he thought.


    In this kind of situation, even for Jura, it was hard for him to think. Especially that there were only two of them left.


    ''Should they retreat?'' Jura was starting to think about the worst possible outcome.


    ''No, we can''t leave here without achieving a goal. Only the man that can achieve something even in a difficult situation can truly become the real hero!'' Jura''s thought.


    After all, he was the son of the valiant general who fought in countless battles. He needed to follow his father''s feats. No matter what he needed to do. No! What he truly wanted was to become a hero that surpassed his father''s feats.


    And this competition was the starting point for him! So he could not just let himself down.


    He stared ahead of them.


    The Demon Lord successfully stood up. Then he lifted his sword, and slowly unsheathed it.


    A gleaming scarlet blade that was exuding with a murderous aura.


    "The heck with this bloodlust!" Nicholas once again whimpered whole bracing himself.


    DUM!


    It''s first step-down created a crack on the podium. And a gush of chilly wind was slammed to the two. But they managed to remain on their feet.


    Jura without wasting time, he swung his longsword horizontally. At the same time, he shouted the name of his technique.


    Severe Slash!


    Then a golden brilliance of pure energy was sent flying towards the Demon Lord.


    But the golden attack -Severe Slash- dissipated before it reached the target.


    Jura expected this to happen. He knew the identity of the enemy in front of them; he was one of the Demon Lords in the Dark Continent.


    The One-Eyed Ominous Mino Taur!


    Jura shouted the name. However, this one in front of them was just a copy of the original. That''s why he tried to attack it. But he didn''t expect that even if it was only a copy, it was still this strong.


    He wondered if the empress didn''t want someone to win this competition.


    Jura did not back down and sent multiple -Severe Slash- golden slashes were sent towards the unhurried approaching Demon Lord.


    Seeing him sending multiple attacks, Nicholas also summoned javelin by coagulating dense amounts of mana.


    He sent it with a shout.


    Sendor''s Javelin!


    Javelin that was gleaming in purple color flew rapidly towards the Demon Lord. This technique was passed down from their ancestors who once fought and killed a Demon General.


    Sendor Senrod, a mighty general who claimed the life of Demon General and thousands of Uncivilized Demon.


    From Nicholas'' right arm. A tattoo of a purple needle caressed by a dragon was visible. It was their clan''s symbol. The Senrod family.


    The javelin traveled like a flying purple dragon. But like the -Severe Slash- of Jura, it disappeared when the Demon Lord swung his sword and created a veil of thin layered -Scarlet Shield- around him.


    The battle continued,


    Jura and Nicholas maintained their distance while sending their range-attacks.


    After a couple of minutes, the door opened again, and many figures came in.


    "What?"


    Everyone was shocked when they entered.

 Chapter 144: Surrounded

    "I-Is that Jura Gorthalion and Nicholas Senrod?" Asked Harou.


    "Yes, Young sir," Replied Mus who was standing beside him.


    In front of them, Jura and Nicholas were currently lying on the floor. However, both of them were seemingly unconscious. Both were breathing deeply.


    On the contrary, there was a huge creature standing in front of the podium facing the door.


    Harou didn''t know what kind of creature it was since he wasn''t the type who read books of history.


    "What kind of monster is that?" He asked the person beside him. But what greeted him when he glanced was a shocked face while staring at the huge creature.


    "T-That''s a Demon Lord!" Shouted Mus with a scare on his face.


    Not only him but also the others were looking at the creature in front with a scarred face. Especially after seeing the sorry state of the two experts from great families.


    However, they noticed it didn''t move.


    "Fuh, good thing that it was only a statue," said one of the people with them.


    Hearing him, Harou squinted his eyes.


    The Demon Lord was standing-still. However, how did those two in such a state? Who was their enemy? Harou and the others doubted.


    Then, the doubt they felt suddenly washed away when one of the participants with them noticed something.


    "Look! Treasure chests!" Someone shouted upon noticing the three golden chests to the podium.


    They looked through the gap of the huge creature''s legs and saw three golden chests on the foot of the giant golden chair.


    Some of them rushed over, without thinking of possible traps.


    "Wait!!!" Harou tried to stop them. But at this moment, they disregard him as the leader after seeing the treasures. After all, first come first serve. Whoever gets a hold of the treasures first will be the owner.


    After they arrive 25 meters away from the supposed statue, a burst of magical energy was reflected to everyone''s eyes. Then multiple bodies immediately vanish. They were the bodies of those participants who rushed ahead.


    Just then, the standing-still Demon Lord statue moves again.


    "What the��" Harou mumbled but did not finish his words.


    After seeing the state of Jura and Nicholas, he believed that there was something amiss in the place. But he wasn''t expected that it was the statue in front that was responsible for it.


    He forthwith ordered everyone to attack together. After hearing him, everyone summoned their magical attacks and attacked them at the same time.


    Different colors of magical attacks rain towards the Demon Lord.


    Yet the Demon Lord seemed to be unbothered by it. It used its hand to swing the sword 180 degrees.


    It created a gust of scarlet wind and sucked all the attacks coming towards him.


    Harou and the others gaped with wide eyes. Even Lyka who always had a stoic face showed a ''can''t believe'' kind of face.


    "Young sir! I think we can''t hit it if we attack at one point," Mus asserted.


    Harou thought he was right. He then ordered, "Everyone surrounds it!"


    All the remaining participants followed without arguing. They rushed to surround it. Then they resumed their attacks. The Demon lord sent another scarlet gust of wind. However, this time some attacks managed to land it.


    "Woohoo! We got it!" One of the participants shouted.


    "Take this! And this!" Another one was enjoying while raining attack to the pitiable copy of the Demon Lord.


    Although it looks scary and huge, what can this thing do? It can''t even protect itself.


    "Hahaha! Eat this -Consecutive Wind Strikes-!"


    Everyone shouted their spell''s name. The whole room enveloped by explosion whenever the magical attacks coming from the participants landed on the Demon Lord.


    Harou and Mus shot with their magical attacks as well.


    Lyka summoned a Spirit Beast, a Winged-Wildcat. It is black. Even its wings were black. With the eyes of a predator and sharp razor-like claws. It was bigger as well, about 7 meters tall if it was standing on four limbs.


    Without wasting time, (woosh!) Lyka hopped on top of it. After she landed on top, the Winged-Wildcat''s feet exuded an azure aura that looks like flames. Then it leaped into the air.


    (Flap flap flap��) It flew together with her. Seeing it from another''s perspectives, it looks like it was running in mid-air.


    Before it reached the ceiling, it suddenly made a turn and rushed towards the Demon Lord while sending 3 consecutive masses of azure energies from its mouth. It was followed by,


    (Bang bang bang!) loud explosions reverberated inside the room.


    Lyka also shot with her magical attacks.


    Because of the pressure from the combined attacks, the bricks from the ceiling were started to fall.


    Lyka and her Spirit Beast were flying without stopping their attacks. And on the ground, the attacks were also unceasing.


    At the moment, the Demon Lord was covered in smoke caused by the explosions.


    Everyone only stopped their attacks when they noticed the Demon Lord finally stopped in summoning the scarlet gust of wind.


    At the moment, it was covered by smoke. Alas, they could not tell if it was alive or dead.


    They decided to stop their attacks to check if whether it was still alive or not.


    However, when they stopped their attacks,


    ROOOOOOAAAARRR!!! The Demon Lord roared in an earth-shattering intensity sounds.


    Everyone covered their ears. Lyka almost fell from its Spirit Beast. Good thing that the Winged-Wildcat managed to land in time.


    The surrounding smoke on it was washed away by the pressure from its shout.


    They used every means to brace themselves from the pressure.


    Harou used his hand to cover his face, while Lyka was being protected by her Spirit Beast.


    A moment when the roaring of the Demon Lord stopped, they heard loud thumping sounds with the additional ground trembling.


    Harou peeked in the gaps of his fingers and saw the charging Demon Lord.


    Then it was followed by sounds of gushing air. After the gushing sounds, grieving cries from other participants went in his ears.


    Harou saw it. When the Demon Lord brandished his weapon, about ten people abruptly turned into light particles after their grieving yelped.


    ''Damn! It''s so strong!''

 Chapter 145: A man that can lead an army

    After killing a couple of participants in just a swing of his scarlet blade, the Demon Lord rushed to the others and raised the sword in hand. He was raising it over his head.


    The people in front of him trembled in fear. Although it was a competition only and not real, being in the face of such a monster, one could not help be afraid.


    Ssssshiiing! A sudden down-strike drew a long scarlet mark in the air.


    Aaaarrgggh!


    People who were hit by it were torn to pieces in a second when the attack landed on them.


    Multiple figures spawned in the spawning area outside the painting; each one of them was wearing uniformed faces. Fear was visible in their eyes.


    But the people around were not minding them as their focus was on the giant monitor.


    ROOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!


    The Demon Lord was in frenzy mode. It did not stop its onslaught.


    Seeing the Demon Lord killing his men from left to right, "Attack! Attack!" He shouted once again.


    Woosh! Wwwwiiiisshh! Woooosssh!


    Such sounds coming from several kinds of attacks were overheard in the area.


    However, this time, the Demon Lord was unaffected by their attacks.


    "This is bad young sir, he''s a berserker type, which not only has a resilient body but also negates a huge portion of damage we dealt!" Mus reported.


    Harou was staring at the monster with a bitter face.


    "Is it unkillable? Damnit!" He grunted.


    "Let''s try to sneak to its back then collect the chests and run towards the barrier!" Harou commanded.


    "Okay, sir!"


    The participants immediately followed and ran towards the back of the Demon Lord.


    But before they successfully crossed the back of him, in a distance of 50 meters around the Demon Lord, the ground trembled with a loud shaking. Like a high-intensity earthquake.


    Debris was falling from walls and ceilings. But the most affected by it were those in the ground.


    Every participant who was hit by it suffered a daze for a couple of seconds and couldn''t move.


    Using the scarlet sword in hand, the Demon Lord made a full 360 degrees horizontal swipe!


    All the participants inside his range turned to dust out of a sudden.


    Harou, Lyka, Mus, and the remaining few numbers of participants grimaced at the sight.


    Especially Mus who wanted to obtain the treasures and become one of the three people who will cross the barrier.


    However, never would they expect that such a boss was waiting here! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! He gnashed his teeth while cursing repeatedly. Looks like not even the expert from great families could do something about it.


    Right at this moment, the door made a long creaking noise once again.


    Everyone glanced and saw the other experts together with all other participants. Even the person who Yman fought in the adventurers guild was here too. It was Vince the Menace. Looks like he survived as well. He was currently wearing a broad grin on his face.


    And not just that, all the other experts were here too!


    "R-Roman and H-Hilion?" Mus muttered their names listlessly. Now, it will be more impossible for him to obtain a treasure.


    Not just them, the other strong experts were there too.


    "Young master look!" Leon pointed in the direction of the Demon Lord.


    Hilion just made a brief scan inside the room and he wholly understood what was going on.


    "Looks like the final stage is a boss room, huh," he said and walked to the front, "Kukuku, as expected of Her Majesty Elleanna Encanta. Always come up with a surprise that won''t bore everyone," Hilion chuckled.


    "Hilion, let''s team up to kill that bastard!" Harou offered.


    "Heh, no need for that, I don''t want to team up with smelly dogs��" said Hilion with a smug.


    "Fuck you!" Grunted Harou.


    "Kukuku, why don''t you lay down there together with those two idiots," Hilion said while pointing to Jura and Nicholas who was still lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious.


    Mus on the other hand scuttered towards Hilion, "Young sir, I have all the data about that monster which may help the team."


    Harou knitted his brows and thought, ''this traitor!''


    For Mus though, if he could at least help the group of Hilion, maybe there''s a chance for him to sneak and steal one of the chests.


    Hilion glanced at him and scoffed, he didn''t even know who this guy was. "No need for that."


    "What?" His words stunned Mus.


    Hilion knew that this man was aiming for something. But looks like he misunderstood. There was no way that those treasures in the chests were easy to get. Her majesty has an unrivaled mind. If his guess was right, then those chests would open only if they killed the one guarding it.


    Without wasting more time talking with Mus, he raised his hand pointing to the Demon Lord and shouted, "everyone surrounds it and uses your high penetrative magical attacks!" Hilion shouted a command.


    "Aye, sir!"


    (Dun dun dun dun��!) They ran to surround the monster.


    "Tsk!" Harou clicked his tongue. Since Hilion doesn''t want to team up so be it. He would rather do his thing.


    "What are we gonna do, big bro?" Lyka, who was sitting on top of the Winged-Wildcat asked him.


    "Let''s just wait and see what those people could do. For now, conserve your stamina and mana," he replied to her.


    After all, Hilion''s team was much larger compared to them who lost more than half of their original number. On top of that, Roman was in Hilion''s group.


    After everyone went into formation, ear-piercing sounds and gushing sounds of air enveloped the whole room.


    Magical energies in the forms of javelins, spears, and any kinds of blades shot towards the Demon Lord.


    These types of attacks were known for their high penetration.


    This is the type of magic that Yman could not do without the help of his Skill Modifying ability. Cinder who was absent at the academy also didn''t know how to use it.


    After all, the two of them had never been taught how to condense mana on the spot and materialize object-based magical energy like the spear, javelin, blade, etc.


    This magic was called -Mana Condensation- a middle-tier magic ability. It was different from the Mana Coating.


    Nonetheless, after all the attack was released, the Demon Lord howled.


    "As expected, Hilion can lead an army and can make a rational decision just by a brief moment of scanning. He truly was a talented one, fufufu," muttered the empress.

 Chapter 146: Hell-Bound

    ''Now who in the new generation will stand among the rest. Roman was strong, but he was a one-man army, unlike Hilion. The younger brother of Hilion is also a solo type of person. Among all of them, only Hilion and that young man from the Lowe family tended to lead an army."


    Thought the empress.


    In the throne room, the battle was still ongoing.


    "OOOOOOOORRRRRGH!!!"


    The grieving howl of the Demon Lord brings joy to all of the participants who were raining attacks on it.


    Hilion''s strategy of using high penetrative attacks seemed effective as the Demon Lord was put at bay. It hindered his movement and could only use his sword to guard himself while stepping back now and then.


    His body was impaled by multiple weapon-based magical attacks, and the purplish glow in his eye was blinking like a dying candle.


    Even in this advantageous situation, "Don''t stop! Give it all you''ve got!" Hilion sternly ordered not giving the boss room for breath.


    Following his command, more weapon-based magical attacks were raining in the air, drawing colorful arcs towards the Demon Lord.


    "GOOOOOORRRRGGGHH!!!" It''s crying voice echoed inside the spacious room.


    Woosh woosh woosh��!


    Several condensed magical energies in the form of javelins made their way to the Demon Lord''s limbs and caused the blood to splatter and drip on the floor.


    The experts did not let themselves be outshined by the other participants. They also shot their attacks. The more attacks they fired the weaker the Demon Lord had become.


    Gilion wasn''t interested in this kind of battle of ganging the lone opponent. He was more curious as to what happened to that guy as he did not meet him. He was itching for a fight against him.


    Wait, now that he thought about it, he could not find him here. ''Haha did he die?'' Gilion laughed soundlessly. It was unfortunate for that person. Looks like he wasn''t that great.


    Now that person is out of the picture, he can''t waste his time thinking about him. He needed to beat the real monster and not the fake who couldn''t even make it to the final barrier.


    Gilion glanced to his left and saw Roman standing still with cross-arms. While a gigantic summon from his back was sending powerful condensed magical blades.


    ''This guy was the real deal!'' Gilion thought.


    He darted back his eyes ahead and saw the grieving boss of the room. He also saw his brother sending his magical power while giving commands. From his right a mysterious man who was wearing a dirty white clock that covered all over his body. If his guess was right, this man was an adventurer.


    From his hand, needle-like droplets of water were rapidly fired at the monster.


    The boss could not even retaliate so no need for him to join the fight. Gilion stepped back and leaned his back on the wall beside the door. While waiting for the boss to die.


    Looking at the monster''s situation, he assumed that it would only last for a couple of seconds.


    "Just a little more! Fire!" Hilion once again shouted.


    "Ayyyyeeee, sir!" The other participants replied excitedly.


    Then they fired with all their might. However, before they could kill the Demon Lord, "Nicholas!!!" Everyone heard a shout.


    It was from Jura who was supposed to be lying unconscious. They noticed the person named Nicholas sprung on his legs and shot a powerful javelin.


    "Sendor''s Punisher!" He shouted.


    "Supreme Slash!" Jura also leaped on his feet and shouted.


    Two powerful attacks were sent together to end the boss.


    "!!"


    Hilion and the others were surprised at this. "Wha��!" He was late to realize what was happening. Looks like Jura and Nicholas were acting unconscious all this time to last hit the boss if ever someone tried to kill it. And seeing that Jura and Nicholas were so eager to kill it. It must be one of the keys to getting the treasures! He could not believe that he was dupe with a simple trick.


    "Jura was an amusing young man. He was a cunning person who was capable of tricking even someone like Hilion. Fufufu, quite a lot of interesting individuals in this generation," said the empress.


    Ella, side glanced at her aunt. Although she said that, her face was telling that she was unsatisfied. She wondered what her aunt was seeking.


    "Mhm!" SHE nodded. "Looks like Jura noticed that the lord won''t attack them if they don''t show any ill intent towards it or to the treasures.


    So upon noticing the other participants outside the door, he immediately ordered Nicholas to lay and act unconsciously."


    "You''re right, Your Highness Princess Merea Ella. A while ago when they were fighting the Demon Lord together with the son of Senrod, his action wasn''t really to kill the boss, but to find faults or weaknesses about the enemy.


    Haha, not every genius would bother thinking about it. Only he could certainly do it. So young yet had a high level of cunningness. In a span of a second, he already arrived at such a strategy to dupe and outclass everyone. He was truly a magnificent person that needed to be nurtured efficiently," the Knight Captain Borge Bergal excitedly said.


    But soon he noticed her mistake.


    "A-ahem! Sorry for my sudden intervention." Borge Bergal immediately cleared his throat and shut his mouth upon realizing that it was presumptuous of him to suddenly intrude on their conversations.


    Ella just forced a laugh while the empress just shrugged and did not bother by it. Her focus was on the monitor.


    In any case, the competition was about to end.


    After a loud explosion that further shook the entire room, "hahahahaha!" Nicholas laughed heartily which made everyone gawk in disbelief.


    How can these people who are supposed to be on their deathbeds suddenly wake up and fire powerful attacks?! Everyone thought so.


    Jura and Nicholas were grinning broadly as they stared at the silhouette of the enemy inside the cloud of smoke.


    Gilion and the others did not expect this. Could it be those two just acting unconsciously? He thought. And now they are in their full transformation.


    Before everyone regained their senses, the expected dead boss that was covered with smoke at the moment suddenly howled an ear-piercing cry.


    "What?! It didn''t die?!" Jura and Nicholas exclaimed.


    In the empress''s mouth, a smile appeared.


    After a loud cry,


    "HEEELL-BOOOUUND!" Everyone heard a hoarse but thunderous utterance of words.


    They glanced at the source; behind the smoke, a red gleaming color was visible from it.


    A moment after the words were spoken, a strong pressure exploded and instantly wiped out the covering smoke. Then all of the participants inside the range of 50 meters away from the Demon Lord were taken aback and sent rolling on the ground. Jura and Nicholas who were inside as well were no exception.


    Everyone noticed a huge segment of the pillar and the ceiling was destroyed.


    Dum!


    Suddenly, the floor trembled. They fixed their eyes in front and what they saw made them speechless. All of them froze and stared wide-eyed!


    The Demon Lord had now red skin and on its face, the supposed to be closed eye was now open and was gleaming in red. On the contrary, the other eye with a purplish glow was now close.


    The tusk on its mouth grows longer. And some horns grew on its shoulders and the back.


    "Tsk! Fire it!" Hilion did not wait and ordered an attack.


    But before everyone could move, a second later, 50 meters around the lord, the floor suddenly was on fire.


    The place suddenly became a hell-like place! From the ground, some silhouettes came crawling.


    "L-Lesser Demons!" Someone among the crowd warned.


    After he shouted,


    "Tsk! These Demons again!"


    Lesser Demons raised from the blazing floor. Then charged without a warning to the nearby enemy they spot upon.


    Clang! Ting! Shing!


    The noise of battle immediately resumed inside the room.


    "Damnit, let''s join!" Harou bellowed.


    "Okay!" Lyka responded. Then flew with her Spirit Beast and fired magical attacks.


    The Demon Lord kicked the floor and caused a pit on it. Then his figure disappeared and appeared in front of the ten participants!


    Wwwwoooossshhh!


    Bbbbbaaaaaannng!


    A down strike that hit the floor and plowed the tiles on it.


    The smashed floor broke into pieces. Debris and broken tiles flew everywhere, hitting the other participants around


    Those who were hit by the attack had no way to react; they just died without knowing what happened.


    The sudden attack summed up its size, causing a strong wind pressure which threw every participant and even the Lesser Demons who were close by.


    "What the hell is that!" Nicholas subconsciously muttered.


    Everyone started to grimace.


    The Demon Lord silhouette disappeared once again and appeared in the opposite place while brandishing its scarlet blade weapon which is now exuding a darkish red aura, sending a chill to their spines.


    Several participants died on the spot while the others were sent flying and smacked on the close wall.


    "Roman, Gilion, let''s deal with it!" Hilion shouted.


    Roman did not reply but he walked in front emphasizing that he was ready for a fight.


    Gilion twitched his brow.


    The next time the Demon Lord disappeared, Roman leaped and blocked its attack using the claw of his Spirit Beast, the Lightning Mayhem. The rank 7 Spirit Beast. Not all geniuses could tame such a level of Spirit Beast at such a young age.


    "He truly is a monster himself, tsk!" Gilion muttered upon seeing Roman blocking the attack of such an enemy.


    "Anthony!" Hilion shouted the name of their newbie member.


    "Yes sir!"


    Without wasting any more second, Anthony invoke his binding spell ��Wood Quadra - Binding Pillars��!


    Four gigantic pillars jutted out from the floor; Roman immediately Stepped back.


    In the middle of the four pillars was the Demon Lord. A second later, spikes appeared to impale it.


    The lord tried to struggle but to no avail.


    The next second, (Bang!) The Demon Lord stomped his foot on the ground and created a shockwave that broke the wood pillars.


    Oowwwwwwwooohhhhh!!! It howled upon freeing himself.


    Anthony was sent flying back but caught by Leon.


    The battle became a chaotic battle. The Demon Lord followed up by a long horizontal strike that sent a scarlet wave of energy in the form of a lying crescent moon. Hilion and the others immediately duck and the others dove to evade.


    But not all of them were lucky enough. Some heads flew in the air.


    "Damn!"

 Chapter 147: Grim Reaper

    (Russssssssstleeee!)


    The lord did not stop, it followed by another slashed in the direction of Roman and the others.


    But instead of backing down or evading, he blocked it!


    "Damn! That guy was so insane!" Nicholas commented on Roman''s action.


    The Lightning Mayhem Spirit Beast used its claw to confront the scarlet wave of energy.


    After three seconds of confrontation, it exploded and Roman was pushed back a little.


    "Nicholas!" Jura shouted. ''Now no plan is good at this point!'' He thought.


    Nicholas seemed to understand what Jura wanted to say. He hastily fired another valley of condensed javelins. Which Jura also did with his magical attacks.


    Right after Nicholas and Jura sent multiple strong magical attacks, Roman also lifted his hand aiming at the Demon Lord. Then a purple sphere that flashed with azure lightning was coagulated in front of the Lightning Mayhem''s mouth.


    After it reached a certain size, it shot towards the Demon Lord.


    Thunderously, the Demon Lord while facing above howled while at the same time summoned more strength to himself. It was followed by the influx of scarlet energies, bursting from its feet and enveloping its whole body.


    It then suddenly charged towards the fast approaching sphere of lightning.


    Before the impact, a large weapon of scarlet blade drew a long scarlet line in the air when the Demon Lord brandished it.


    All the people saw it when the scarlet blade and the lightning sphere hit each other.


    Kkkrrreeettteeekkk!!! The two opposing forces were struggling to dominate the others.


    Then.


    Baaaaaaannnngggg!!!


    A stronger explosion exploded that resulted in a larger pit on the floor and destroyed a big part of the ceiling.


    Everyone gaped.


    Only Roman could confront the Demon Lord like that! They thought so.


    Everyone outside the painting was dumbfounded, but sooner they boomed in excitement. Such kind of battle was seldom to be witnessed by ordinary people like them.


    "Roman was the man!" Someone among the crowd of an audience beamed!


    "Go Roman my boy KILL THAT SHIT!!!"


    "Spunk his ass!"


    "Turn him to ashes!"


    "FIREBOLT!"


    "EXPLODE iiiiit!"


    Such a noisy crowd. Then it was followed by,


    Roman Roman Roman...!


    Once again, they repeatedly chanted his name. After all, ordinary citizens tend to idolize people who were seemingly on another level than the others.


    The people outside the painting was having a lively atmosphere once again.


    Even from the other cities and kingdoms, those who were watching at it glued their eyes on the screen.


    No one could believe what they were seeing. What kind of battle is this?!


    After the explosion, the Demon Lord shot himself towards Roman. Looks like he saw him as a dangerous being.


    The other experts fired attacks at it. But the Demon Lord disregarded it and continued its charge towards one person.


    Jura, Nicholas, Gilion, Hilion, The White Leo Knights, and even Harou and Lyka fired their strongest attacks to finish the boss while the other participants were currently fighting the Lesser Demons.


    Seeing their approaching wave of attacks, the Demon reinforced his feet with a suffocating magical aura.


    Gath on the contrary was killing the minions together with Vince and the others.


    Ooooowwwwwwwhhhhrrr!!!


    Wooooooossssssshhhhhh!!!


    The combined attacks of the other experts just passed by a few centimeters away from the Demon Lord after it increased its speed.


    Seeing the monstrous figure rapidly approaching him, Roman lifted his hands at shoulder level then opened his palm.


    Like a sumo-wrestler who was ready to capture his opponent. But Roman wasn''t a sumo-wrestler. A second after he opened his hands, "Stage 3 Transformation Technique - Lord of Mayhem!" he shouted in a whole overbearing voice.


    It was followed by the bursting of blinding light around him.


    When the blinding light disappeared, everyone saw the figure of Roman as big as the Demon Lord.


    He now looked like the Lightning Mayhem. "Wait, he already mastered the third-stage of transformation?!" Jura and Nicholas were flabbergasted. Both of them were only capable of the second-stage.


    Roman has currently had a tiger-like figure with white fur and stood on its two feet with its body trailing with lightning all over.


    He leaped to encounter the approaching enemy.


    When the two of them met in the middle of the spacious throne room, space was seemingly trembled by the super-strong impact of their attacks.


    It made the others look like unwanted extras. They could only brace themselves from the mini shockwave.


    Even the live video on the screen was trembling when the strong wave of pressure hit the Monitoring Devices and made them fluttered in disarray.


    But it did not end in just one impact. The blade and claws were repeatedly brandished to tear the other side; however, no one of them wanted to back down, especially that the fight between them had just started.


    Roman''s two hands were enveloped by electrifying azure energies. And hastily slashed to the Demon Lord. Yet, the Demon Lord''s scarlet blade parried his attack while sending multiple swings himself.


    Everyone was dumbfounded while in awe staring at the two monsters dueling with their strengths in a melee battle.


    Seeing the busy people around him. Mus slowly slipped-in towards the treasures.


    Roman and the Demon Lord''s exchange was being backgrounded by thunderous sounds of collision.


    After a couple of seconds of exchange, both Roman and the Demon Lord stepped back a couple of steps when their strong attacks hit both of them.


    Yet none of them was willing to surrender.


    Once again, they both kicked their feet on the broken floor and dashed forward towards each other; the other one was trailing with azure electrifying light while the other one was trailing with scarlet energies.


    However.


    Owwwwwoooooohhhhhh!!!


    "!!"


    Everyone''s ears caught a howl that seemingly came from the graveyard.


    A moment before the collision of the two monstrous figures, they noticed something fell from the ceiling.


    A black figure.


    Then.


    Waaaaaammmm!!!


    All the people heard a reverberated dull sound.


    The next second.


    Thud! Thud! (Tremble!) The room trembled when two figures were sent back and crashed on the floor. The other one was sent and crashed into the wall.


    "....."


    Everyone fell silent. Even the watcher outside the painting all gawked in disbelief. The other participants and the Lesser Demons stopped their battle and glanced in the direction of the crash.


    It seemed the time had stopped for all of them.


    Everyone was holding their breaths, puzzled as to what was happening.


    "W-What was that��?" A mutter escaped from her mouth. The empress subconsciously asked. It was so unlike her usual calm and perceptive aura around her.


    The Knight-Captain was tight-lip while staring at the monitor. He too had no idea what just happened.


    After seeing the black figure in the middle of the throne room,


    "C-Could it be��" Ella''s skeptical utterance made the empress and the Knight-Captain glance at her.


    In the middle of the room, they all saw another huge figure. And based on what they had witnessed a while ago, this new figure repelled the attacks from both Roman and the Demon Lord!


    Also, it was sending an eerie and cold feeling to all of them. The figure was garbed in black tattered-looking cloak.


    And.


    Both its arms were extended in the opposite direction. In fact to the directions of the two other monstrous figures: Roman and the Demon Lord.


    They could even see the bluish glow on his hands. But they all noticed something unusual about the new arrival. Its hands are neither the muscular hands of the Demon Lord nor the furry hand of the Lord of Mayhem Roman. Its hands were so thin, no flesh nor skin.


    "A-A Skeleton!?" Nicholas shouted.


    "It''s an undead!" The audience outside the painting exclaimed after they finally went back to their senses.


    "Damnit, an Elder Skeleton! But how was it so huge?!" Vince asked with a ''can''t believe face'' but no one could answer this question.


    "W-What the hell! Why is that here?" With knitted brows, Hilion asked.


    "Could it be�� another enemy?" Leon doubted.


    "Perhaps sir," said Anthony beside him. While warily gripping his long stick weapon in hands. Also known as staff.


    "Damn it! What kind of joke is this?!" Some random participants shouted.


    Harou squinted his eyes. The next second, "thump!" Lyka landed beside him.


    "What is that, Big Brother?" She asked.


    "....."


    "I don''t know, in any case, don''t let your guard down��" he too didn''t know about it. But seeing the figure of it, it must be an enemy. Harou thought so.


    Roman sprung on his feet which caused the ground to tremble slightly. He peered in front of him and saw the reason why he was sent back. However, Roman did not blindly attack it. In any case, this newly arrived, he could feel something strange about it.


    Ahead, near the podium, he noticed the Demon Lord angrily picked up his scarlet blade on the ground.


    The Demon Lord twitched his face towards the newly arrived. Then without wasting time, it dashed towards it.


    Roman and the others were surprised at his action.


    As a copy, it didn''t have a mind of its own and only followed what was programmed to him based on his creator''s intention.


    However, it wasn''t possible that he intentionally going to attack his comrade.


    In this regard, could it be�� the newly arrived wasn''t its comrade!? Everyone arrives at the same conclusion.


    But before that, the Demon Lord strode in wider steps.


    When it came near to the huge skeleton in a black cloak, it swung in full force, the weapon in hand.


    However, everyone was surprised! In the hand of the huge skeleton, the debris of the floor and concrete were gathering on it. Then it formed into a huge scythe!


    "G-Grim Reaper��" the empress muttered upon seeing the huge skeleton wielding a huge scythe.


    Oddly enough, they expected the huge skeleton to use his weapon to block the incoming swinging blade of the Demon Lord, yet�� the huge skeleton''s figure disappeared and reappeared behind the demon.


    On top of that, the sharp blade of the scythe was now embracing the neck of the Demon Lord. While the long handle of it was resting on the huge skeleton''s shoulder and their backs were facing each other.


    Everyone held their breaths.


    A second later before the Demon Lord could make a move, ssshhhhhhiiiiinnngggg!!!


    The head flew and fell to the ground which followed by a dull sound that reverberated inside the room.


    (CRAAAACCCKK!)


    A crack to where the head landed was visible on the floor.


    Then silence descended the whole room once again.

 Chapter 148: Headless

    "What�� that super strong lord was beheaded in a second?" Mus, who forgot his real intention at the appearance of the huge skeleton, muttered in disbelief.


    "The scythe that was made from the debris of concrete was able to behead the metal-like neck of the Demon Lord?" Anthony asked with a face that doesn''t want to believe.


    "Must be a high-tier condensation ability��" Leon responded with a frown.


    "Still impossible, there must be something else in that scythe," Hilion followed. "Even if it was sharpened to a certain degree that could tear a fluttering leaf when it touched the sharp side on it without lifting the scythe itself, it was still unbelievable that it could behead that Demon Lord."


    Hilion knew about the Demon''s resilient body. They have a high physical and magical defense!


    While Hilion and his White Leo Knights were having a conversation about the scythe that was used to behead the Demon Lord, Harou and Lyka also had the same conversation.


    The same as what Hilion was saying, Harou was also explaining the same thing to his cousin.


    "I see, in that case��" before Lyka could finish her words.


    "Look! The sharp edge of the scythe is on fire!" A random participant who was closer to the huge skeleton pointed.


    Upon hearing him, they all glanced at the sharp edge of the scythe and noticed that it was truly on fire.


    "But�� could fire affect the Demon?" It just made them more confused. Even the empress in the palace could not think of a logical reason for it.


    "It can��" Beside her, she heard her niece muttering the words. The empress wondered if she heard it right.


    "Uh�� Rea honey�� what do you mean by�� it can?" The empress with a little doubt asked her.


    "I mean, it''s possible if the one behind it is that person!"


    The empress widened her eyes from what she said ''that person''. A feeling of excitement was visible on her face when she hastily returned her gaze at the monitor.


    There''s no need to figure out who Rea meant from her words. Her eyes further widened when she noticed that the Grim Reaper in the monitor was exuding the same black smoke-like thing from its body. The same as those creatures who he always summoned. Even the cloak was made of the same.


    And only that person that would use fire to counter a creature with high resistance with fire. Which is in a sense ''out of sense''. But that person made the impossible possible by killing them without difficulty.


    In that case, ''he was alive!?'' She exclaimed with excitement inwardly.


    ''Unbelievable! That Grim Reaper was made by that person! The same as those black creatures who kept on popping out around him!''


    ''No. I can''t let the final fight end just like that! I want to see what that Grim Reaper of his else can do!'' The empress thought in elation.


    "Honey��!" She glanced back at Ella. This time with puppy eyes.


    Ella on the other hand felt like she was having a headache. Looks like her initial thought was right. This empress idolized that man!?


    ''Aaah, I feel sorry for Her Highness Merea Ella. When Her Majesty Elleanna in her spoiled child state, no one can say no to her request!'' The Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal thought. Reminiscing about those old days when he had to run multiple errands. Not even the late emperor could do something about this state of her.


    Hah~ Ella sighed. She knew what she wanted her to do.


    "O-okay��"


    "Yaaay! That''s why you''re my favorite niece, I love you, Rea!" She said in a child-like behavior while tightly hugging her niece who was currently with dot eyes.


    ''That person gained a diehard fan without him knowing!'' Ella thought.


    Ella focused her eyes on the monitor. Then it gleamed in a bluish color.


    Inside the painting, all the participants were still puzzled at the appearance of the giant Skeleton, and how it beheaded the Demon Lord.


    However, around this time, everyone noticed something unusual.


    The headless Demon Lord was still on his feet! And was still gripping the scarlet blade in hand.


    After realizing it, an ominous aura once again exploded from its body. This time it was denser and nauseating.


    All the participants stepped back subconsciously.


    "Now let the battle resume��fufufu," the empress giggled.


    After saying it, the Headless Boss of the room made another loud howl. But his howl this time didn''t come from his mouth. It was from the scarlet energy exuding from his body.


    The Headless Boss sending an ominous aura, then the Lesser Demons around started their attacks once again. It was even more aggressive this time.


    "Shit! Watch out! Prepare to fight!" Leon shouted a warning after seeing the group of Lesser Demons.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    The battle with the Lesser Demons immediately resumed.


    "Jura!" Nicholas called out, then asked, "Tsk! That thing still alive?"


    Thump!


    Jura flew and landed beside him but he almost got tripped because of the pressure being released by the Headless Boss. Then Jura stabilized himself and answered, "maybe, but wasn''t it good news for us?"


    "You mean...?" Nicholas asked.


    "We can still steal the last hit of it."


    Nicholas narrowed his eyes. Looks like Jura didn''t give up on the treasures yet. Neither did he.


    "I see. So what''s the plan?" He asked.


    "Just regain as much energy as you can. Then let''s fire at once when the boss has his last stroke of life."


    Jura said while sending a stab to the Lesser Demon when it rushed to them. The demon was pierced to the chest, to where the flickering fire could be seen.


    "That sounds difficult. Besides, that other one, don''t you think it will attack us?" Nicholas, who was also just finished killing another demon, replied to him.


    "I don''t know. But it has a high chance that it will. In any case, we only need to last hit the real boss."


    "Eh? What do you mean? How about the other one? Don''t you think it''s also a boss?"


    "No, I can''t feel any connection to it from this room."


    Said Jura while pointing his forehead with a star mark, shining in purple color. He continued saying, "But I do feel it isn''t an ordinary one," Then he added, "in any case, I bet whoever wins with those two, the winner will get exhausted."


    Nicholas knitted his brows. "I see. Then let''s do that," in the end, he agreed to Jura''s plan.


    But they needed to get rid of the small fries that were surrounding them at the moment.


    While Jura and Nicholas planned to last hit the boss, the other expert also did.


    However, all of them wish that the huge skeleton would tire the real boss of the room before the boss defeated him.


    When the howl of the boss finally stopped, a stronger wave of scarlet energy was shot to the huge skeleton.


    But.


    "What the��-!" Everyone exclaimed.


    The attack did nothing when the huge skeleton lifted his hands and spun the scythe.


    The wave of energy disappeared like nothing in there in the first place.


    But the Headless Boss continued its attack, sending numerous blade-like scarlet energies to the skeleton.


    However, it was futile. All was disappeared when they touched the spinning scythe. Not even smoke was left.


    Thefire on his scythe. Everyone was puzzled by it. Why the demonic power of the boss was no match against a piece of weapon that was formed from concrete and was exuding with fire!?


    On top of that, a fire element was used to counter demonic energy?! This is just too out of sense! Everyone shouted in their brains.


    Noticing that his attack was fruitless, the Headless Boss decided to change its attack. He leaped in the height of 15 meters away from the ground towards the skeleton, while wielding the sword in both hands and about to do a sudden downward strike.


    "Watch out!" Hilion shouted a warning for his men who were a little closer to where the Headless Boss would land.


    Everyone jumped to their backs.


    But before the sword could strike down.


    "What the hell! It floated in the air!" Vince shouted when he saw the skeleton floated in mid air to avoid the attack.


    The Headless Boss dissed his first intention. Then he landed on the ground with a loud bang but without doing anything.


    However, another pit was created on the ground when he landed.


    Upon learning that the enemy could stay in the mid-air, the Boss curled up his body. Then from his back, something was wriggling. A moment later, a pair of scarlet wings grew.


    Then it flew rapidly towards the skeleton.


    "Eh, what was he doing?" Anthony asked when he saw the skeleton extended his hand towards the charging enemy in mid-air.


    In a split second!


    Bang!


    They saw a figure sent flying and crash loudly on the ground. And a cloud of dust raised into the air covering their vision.


    The whole room was already in a mess. But now it is more of a ruin.


    Roman just remained on his feet. He didn''t know who he would attack. So he decided to watch for the time being.


    Regardless, whoever among these two would win, they would be a good opponent for him.


    After the cloud of smoke cleared up. They saw the Headless Boss already stood up straight while gripping in both hands the hilt of his blade at chest level and was facing the broken ceiling. On the contrary, the blade was facing the broken floor.


    The next second, they saw him piercing his blade to the ground.


    Then the ''already on fire ground'' was now scorching.


    "Dammit! It was an Enhanced Version of Hell-Bound ability! Everyone don''t step inside its range!" Hilion shouted. Inside the range of it would weaken their strength. On the other hand, it strengthened the demons.


    Even before Hilion said it, Gilion and Gath already leaped away from it.


    Many Lesser Demons came out of the grounds. Some of them have wings, and was wielding a fork-spear in hands.


    They were the Middle-Tier Lesser Demon.


    Without a warning, they flew towards the skeleton while sending Fireballs to it. While the others went to the participants.


    "Everyone prepare yourself. Another wave of enemies!" Leon shouted once again.


    "Tsk! They look stronger than before!" The shield-user member of White Leo Knights grunted.


    The Headless Boss was seemingly laughing as it was producing gushing sounds. While his chest and shoulders were trembling.


    Unfortunately for him, the skeleton lifted his hand, facing the incoming countless enemies.


    Countless Wind Blades and Earth Javelins materialized from his back. Then without waiting for the enemies to reach him, he fired them all at once.


    The charging Middle-Tier Lesser Demons find themselves in predicament.


    "What the hell! That skeleton was too broken!!!" The audiences who were in elation a moment ago when they witnessed the fight of Roman were now dumbfounded.

 Chapter 149: He’s here!

    As expected the Winged-Demons were hit at every part of their bodies when the Wind Blades and Earth Javelins rained towards them.


    Everyone''s face contorted into bitterness and thought to themselves, what if those magical attacks were fired at the participants, for certain, only a few could survive.


    Even the expert can''t guarantee their safety if they were the ones receiving the attacks.


    Anyhow, after killing most of the Winged-Demons, the skeleton descended and landed about 25 meters away from the Headless Boss of the room.


    However, this move of him gathered attention from the participants around him.


    At the corner of everyone''s eyes, "Eh! The skeleton landed in the middle of the scorching floor?!" Most of the participants who noticed it was puzzled. It was known that skeletons were weak against fire. "Also, it was in the range of his enemy, the Headless Boss. It will lower his stats!" Everyone said so.


    Regardless, they noticed the skeleton had seemingly no plan on moving away.


    A second later, the floors seemed like it was grieving when another wave of demons crawled up from it. Then they sprung on their feet while surrounding him.


    About 25 Lesser Demons and 25 Winged-Demons currently crowded on him. Now there is no way for him to escape.


    Even if he used those Wind Blades and Earth Javelins once again, he could not kill them all on the spot, seemingly because he could only fire them at once and more demons were unceasingly coming up beyond the scorching floor to where he was currently standing.


    "This is bad, Captain! The skeleton went inside the range of Hell-Bound. Now he''s surrounded," one of Leon''s members reported.


    Leon and Hilion took a glance before returning their gaze at the enemies in front of them. Leon replied, "that is certainly bad! We can''t have him lose yet."


    Everyone was eyeing for the last hit at this moment. But if the skeleton would be defeated so soon, every participant would eventually become wary of each other.


    If only their strongest Artefact was not frozen inside their storage, they could fight the boss head-on. But as of now, only their spare one was available for them to use. Roman was lucky for not storing the Lightning Mayhem in his storage.


    Hilion frowned. It was certainly not good for them if the boss was able to defeat the skeleton sooner.


    After it became a Headless, everyone came into understanding that simply cutting could not kill it.


    If they wanted to defeat the boss, they needed to shoot a very strong attack that could disintegrate it wholly.


    Though it was a difficult task if the boss was still in his stronger state; therefore, they had to exhaust him first to achieve their plan about killing it. And that was the reason why they were letting the skeleton fight with it without disturbing him.


    The only variable was Roman. They were wishing that he would join the fight to tire himself, but it looks like, Roman was also waiting for something.


    However, even if they were ''ganging'' for the last hit, it was still uncertain for them to succeed or not, it''s all up to their luck.


    "Young master, are we going to help the bone?" Leon asked.


    Hilion was narrowing his eyes and thought that it was risky to do it. If they helped the skeleton, there was a big chance that those demons would flock to them instead.


    Then Hilion creased his brows. Because at this point, the skeleton was in an unfavorable situation. ''Tsk, the hell with this creature!'' He glanced around him, to the other participants especially to the experts.


    He noticed both of them were busy fighting with Lesser Demons. Even his brother was being surrounded by 5 demons.


    Hilion knew that Gilion could easily defeat those enemies if he wanted, but looks like he had something in his mind too.


    Harou and his cousin also had their hands full. Even Jura and Nicholas were the same. In any case, he could not ask for help from those people.


    But in truth, Jura and Harou were just eyeing Hilion. They both knew that he would do something about the situation.


    "Tsk!" He clicked his tongue. Looks like he was left with no choice.


    "Leon! Those who are flying!" He shouted.


    "Okay!" Leon understood what he meant, then he called out to his men, "Andrew, Felica! Snipe those Winged-Demons that are flocking the shitty bone!"


    "Aye, sir!"


    "Yes sir!"


    "!!"


    "Wait, sir! Look��!" Before his men could aim their attacks, Anthony shouted and pointed to the skeleton.


    Weirdly, they saw the skeleton waving his bone hands in the air. The next second a large magic array appeared on the floor. Then something jutted out from it.


    "P-Pagoda��" mumbled Leon.


    "It was bigger and black in color!" Exclaimed Anthony.


    "But�� he summoned it inside the Hell-Bound range, Captain!" Andrew pointed.


    "....."


    Leon and the others didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at the skeleton''s idiocy.


    They knew what it was for, but since it was inside the boss area of effect. It would certainly weaken the skeleton soldiers that would come out of it.


    A towering black pagoda protruded from the floor. Then, as expected, from the four sides of it, the door opened simultaneously. And a small version of the skeleton walked out from it. The same as usual, they were holding swords and shields. However, they noticed something different, the skeletons from the black pagoda were wearing black cloak on their backs the same as the huge skeleton.


    "Skeleton Knights," someone outside the painting commented.


    Without warnings, after the Skeleton Knights walked outside the pagoda, they rushed towards the Lesser Demons who were surrounding the huge skeleton.


    Claaaaaang! The battle against skeleton knights and demons immediately commenced.


    Not just that, they also noticed that the pagoda was oozing with black miasma, unlike the red miasma from the pagoda of the Elder Skeleton summoned on the wall.


    The battle was surreal and it was happening inside the Hell-Bound range.


    Not all but most of them expected that the skeletons would be a disadvantage. But sooner, their jaws dropped on the ground when they saw the skeleton soldiers were evenly fighting with the demons that were noticeably larger than them.


    They wondered how the skeletons could handle the demons that were supposedly higher than them in both attack and defense.


    "Fufufu, I think those black cloaks on their backs are not ordinary cloaks." The empress said what she noticed which made Ella force a soundless laugh.


    "And those black miasma�� they look suspicious to me. It was supposed to be a red miasma. Maybe because of that person?" The empress added while glancing at Ella.


    Ella nodded at her, indicating that her initial thought must be right as she too was thinking the same. That it was made by that mysterious man. After all, based on what she knew, there was no such creature in that world that could let out such a kind of miasma.


    Everyone gaped in disbelief when the battle continued for longer. Because the longer the battle between the skeleton soldiers and demons, the more the demons turned to the disadvantageous situation.


    The ratio of the battle became one-sided too. Those who died around the pagoda would soon rise as skeletons. Then rushed towards the Lesser Demon.


    The demons also constantly reinforce their troupes. But not as fast as the skeleton knights,


    Right at this moment, 1 demon was surrounded by mostly four to five skeleton knights.


    Even the demons who were supposed to be fighting the participants dissed their opponents and went to help their comrades who were fighting against the demons.


    On the other hand, the Winged-Demons could not help their comrade as well, because they were shot down by Skeleton Archers and Caster through the windows of Black Pagoda.


    "Holyshit, that pagoda becomes a real fortress!" Nicholas grunted. All the participants had become audiences in their competition.


    Even Roman remained quiet.


    Then everyone''s attention was turned to the huge skeleton, he was walking towards the Headless Boss while resting the huge scythe on his shoulders. His steps were unhurried. Like a calm boulder amidst the storm around him.


    Noticing the enemy slowly approaching towards him, the Headless Boss once made a chest up pose and summoned another dense scarlet energy from within.


    Then he strode towards his rival, the huge skeleton!


    A second later, (TTTIIIIINNNGGGG!!!) an ear-piercing sound tinkled their ears when the scarlet blade met the huge scythe.


    Then it was followed by a combo of attacks from both of them.


    (Ting-ting ting ting ting��!)


    Sparks were flying everywhere when their weapons repeatedly collided.


    The Headless Boss'' whole body exuded scarlet energy, then he made a horizontal slash and created a scarlet gust of wind that was sent toward the huge skeleton.


    Then again, to repel it, the huge skeleton spun his scythe and created a wind and fire vortex.


    The two opposing forces exploded and created a much larger hole on the ground. The Headless Boss leaped immediately and brandished his weapon, then the skeleton twirled the scythe around him while engulfing it with fire.


    (Tiiiiiinnnggg!!!)


    Another piercing sound reached their ears.


    Their battle was so fast-paced that the watchers could not perceive all their movements.


    The force of the collision sent both of them away from each other, about 25 meters.


    "Looks like the Headless Boss will end the bout!" Shouted Anthony.


    They saw the Headless Boss gathering a massive amount of scarlet energy in his left hand. A scarlet sphere that grows larger every second as more energy is reinforced on it.


    Until it grew into a sphere with a diameter of two meters.


    "Fuck it! What the hell is that!?"


    "So huge!"


    "Looks like it was the end!"


    "Nah, it''s also the end of us!"


    "Dammit! Let''s hide at Roman''s back!"


    "Shhh! Quiet, that''s my plan..."


    "....."


    The other participants started to cause commotions out of worry that they become unlucky victims


    Seeing a large scarlet sphere, the hollow eye-sockets of the huge skeleton suddenly ablaze with crimson fire.


    Then he lifted his cloak to the back. Everyone gasped in surprise upon seeing the 6 spheres inside his chest with different colors. Specifically, they were inside his ribcage.


    "The hell is that?!"


    "Are those his life force?"


    "Lifeforce?"


    "Isn''t those his energy sources?"


    "With six of them?!"


    "No wonder he''s too broken!"


    "Noooo! These two monsters are just too powerful! Did the empress want us all to die?"


    "If that happens no one will win the elimination round! For Her Grace Sake!"


    Everyone lamented.


    The audiences outside the painting were watching at it with solemn faces. They wondered if the empress didn''t want someone to win.


    On top of it, it was only the elimination round!


    They focused their eyes towards the huge skeleton who lifted his right hand. And on top of it, different colors of energies were gathering.


    Like the Headless Boss, the different colors of energies were forming into a sphere. And it was also growing bigger.


    While watching at it, Harou was twitching his brows. He glanced at Hilion and the others. But he noticed that all of them were in trance.


    "These bastards!" He grunted.


    Then he called out, "Hilion, Jura, Roman, Gilion! What are you guys waiting for?! We can''t let those guys do their thing!" Harou was worried the monsters would pulverize themselves and disappeared at once when those two super dense and huge spheres fired at each other.


    Jura and Hilion understood his worry. But they were wary of the other.


    They did not expect that these two monsters would settle their battle with such kind of attacks.


    "Right, we can''t let them settle their battle in such a way!" Jura replied.


    "I agree! Damn it!" Hilion bellowed.


    Gilion on the other hand just nodded and Roman stayed in silence.


    Mus who was hiding behind the huge golden chair was gulping with sweats trailing on his face.


    "Damn damn��.. I needed good timing when they fired those spheres!" He needed to rush and steal the treasures while the others were busy with the monsters.


    Before everyone could make a move: BANG! Whoosh! Thud thud thud�� crasssssss��!


    "!!"


    The towering wooden door of the room was sent flying which caught everyone''s attention.


    All their eyes followed the door, then out of reflex darted their eyes to where the door was supposed to be.


    Tap tap tap�� six people walked in from it.


    "....."


    Everyone went silent.


    "Hehe, he''s here!" The empress giggled.

 Chapter 150: Xelestial Beast and the descend of sun

    "We made it! Haaaah!" Tiafel did a long sigh.


    "Haaaah! Finally��" Taflas also breathed in relief.


    "Man I''m so dead��(thud!)" Aegor muttered then dropped on his stomach and rolled a few times on the ground. Walking quite a distance was so tiring.


    "Hmm, who are they? Eh! Lupine twins? So they are alive?" Hilion questioned.


    Everyone glanced at the newly arrived group of people. It was of course the group of Crimson.


    "I-I-It''s Crimson and the others!" One of the leftover participants who remained alive up until now exclaimed.


    "Ha? They''re alive?"


    ''Fuck it! It''s Crimson the one who kicked my ass! Time to hide.'' Vince thought while slipping at the back of his friends.


    "H-How come��" Harou subconsciously muttered. "These people! They were supposed to be dead by now. How come they survived that fall?!"


    "Harou! You traitor bastard!" Ember bellowed while sending a sharp gaze to Harou.


    Harou was taken aback a little. Even Lyka next to him was staring at the newly arrived with wide eyes.


    But they noticed that Ember and the other were not in good shape. All of them looked exhausted beyond belief.


    Ember wanted to plunge himself to Harou and kick his ass or throw him in the ridge, but at the moment, his feet were so heavy.


    Even the way Ember shouted Harou''s name was like out of voice.


    Hilion on the other hand felt like he already saw the guy who was walking in front of Ember''s group but he could not remember when he saw the guy. In any case, his mind was full at the moment.


    "T-That''s Crimson right!?" One of the participants who came from the adventurers guild asked. Then the person beside him replied a whisper.


    At this moment, another person was staring with wide-eyes.


    "Damn, so you''re still alive! Why just now you showed your face to me! Huh! Crimson!"


    Finally, everyone was taken aback at the sudden roar of Gilion''s voice. Amidst the chaos of two huge monsters gathering energies on their palms.


    Gilion without wasting time rushed over to Crimson with his hands was emanating emerald brilliance.


    He had no idea how this person was alive. Or why he just showed now, but it was his chance to prove to the Princess that he was more capable than this stranger!


    He could not let this person around Ella anymore. Only he had the right to stay close to her!


    Everyone was in awe at Gilion''s sudden rapid charge towards the guy he called Crimson. Even his brother showed question marks above his head.


    Crimson made a quick scan inside the room and saw all the participants standing around like some audiences. Most of them were staring at them and rapidly charging Gilion.


    About 50 meters away from his front-right, he saw some people which he believed in a transformation form. Probably, they were the Transformation Artefacts that Ember mentioned to him before. He also saw Vince not far from them together with other adventurers who he always saw chilling inside the adventurers guild bar.


    And that person who threw them into the ridge, he was called Harou if he remembered correctly. That guy was having a frown on his face. For certain he didn''t expect to see them here.


    Crimson also noted some individuals with exceptional aura around them. Especially the huge white tiger. Among all of the people around, he was emanating the most energy.


    If he made an estimation, there were at least 70+ participants that were currently inside the room.


    In front of them, demons and skeletons were battling.


    A grin broke on his face upon seeing the black pagoda working well.


    The leading actors of the show were the two huge figures in front. Both of them were gathering massive amounts of energy on their palms, forming them into spheres.


    They were huge and suffocating.


    The other one was a pure scarlet sphere and the other was the combination of different colors while coated in black. It was a combination of different elements.


    Those two sphere''s sizes were growing constantly on their palms.


    A grip on his right arm was felt by him. "C-Crimson, what are we going to do?" It was followed by a soft and weak whisper into his ear, filled with worry about the current situation.


    He knew that it wasn''t good if those two spheres would explode at the same time in this area. Even Crimson himself could not escape away from the explosion of it.


    After all, he already witnessed how strong those spheres were. Since he too used it once against a Territorial Beast in the Cursed Swamps of Flamingo Town.


    Those spheres are called Spherical Bombs! A mass destruction skill that could dry a large swamp, could disappear a forest and could disintegrate a mountain.


    It could even vanish a city.


    However, not all magicians or experts could learn it on a whim. One must need a huge supply of mana to use it. And one must be talented enough to know the process of gathering mana.


    Although it looks like a simple gathering of mana, the process of doing it wasn''t so simple. One was basked in danger of self-detonation when a little mistake was made.


    So high-level concentration is a must.


    At the corner of his eyes, he noticed the fast approaching guy, it was Gilion. Wielding his dazzling emerald brilliant energy in both hands.


    Hah~ Crimson sighed. There''s only one option left. ''To dominate the enemy wholly," Crimson said in his mind.


    "Dieeeeee!" Gilion leaped to shorten their distance rapidly. Now he was above him while lifting his hand. Probably, he would be going to shoot that Lightning Emerald Dragon.


    However, Crimson already made a decision.


    (Click!)


    They saw the guy named Crimson flicking his fingers. A second later, "what��!?" Everyone felt a stinging bite from their backs.


    "What is happe�� eh?" Gilion was leaping in the air to attack Crimson when he suddenly felt weak and from his back, a pair of black wings grew larger.


    Not only him, the other too.


    Everyone was puzzled, they suddenly felt so weak. And what the heck are these wings at their backs?!


    Mus who was peeking from the back of the chair froze upon seeing him.


    "Dammmmmit! Why that guy still alive?! And those creatures from everyone''s back! It was certainly made by him! Dammit! It''s sucking everyone''s mana energy!" Now Mus doesn''t know what to do. He had to steal the treasures as fast as he could. No, it must also be a good chance for him. Since everyone was already weak, there''s only that person and his group as an enemy.


    ''Hehehe, hahaha!'' He laughed inside. Then, ''taptaptap'' he went out of hiding.


    "I don''t know how you survive the fall but good job Crimson! Gahahahaha! Now no one can stop me to get the treasures!" Mus laughed heartily.


    Looking at Crimson and the Lupine twin, he was certain that both of them were so exhausted to fight.


    Looks like Mus clouded his thinking because of the treasures in front of him.


    "That lowlife went out of hiding! Let me handle him!" Ember gnashed his teeth and declared.


    "No bro, let me handle that traitor," she glanced at the person beside her.


    Crimson smiled at her and nodded. He knew that this girl was hiding some trump card.


    He too was curious about it.


    Unhurriedly, Cinder walked towards the podium. And took something that she was hiding from within her clothes. It seemed like a pendant that looked like an egg.


    "Hehehe, I see, so the princess of Lupine Family decided to confront me, huh. I don''t even mind if you attack me once," said Mus while licking his lips. Seeing their situation, Mus believed that he could defeat all of them at once.


    Cinder raised a brow. ''This guy was out of the blue. He was in his utopia,'' she thought.


    Right now, she wasn''t in a good mood to play. But she was in the mood to punish a traitor.


    Without wasting any more time, she summoned the weapon she took.


    "I-Is that an Artefact," Crimson asked subconsciously.


    "That''s not an Artefact. I didn''t know she brought it with her," Ember said with a serious face.


    "Not an Artefact?"


    "It''s a Sealing Stone!"


    "What was sealed inside?"


    "Ahaha, even me had no idea what it was. But she used to hate bringing that thing with her."


    Crimson did not continue asking, as he felt sadness and worry from Ember''s voice. Looks like the thing inside the Sealing Stone connected to a sad past.


    "....."


    Crimson fell silent and glanced and glanced at Cinder who had started unsealing the Sealing Stone.


    While they were talking, a little above them, Gilion was hanging and was struggling to free himself from something behind him.


    For some reason, he felt so weak and his mana was being sucked. Even lifting his hand was difficult now. It was the sign of Mana Deficiency!


    "What bull��shit is thisss��" he said in a weak voice.


    Even Harou and the others were the same. Lyka was able to free herself before the creature fully sucked her mana. Thanks to her summon who clawed the creature. But it flew away before the claws hit it.


    She then helped her cousin to get rid of the black creature sticking from his back. She wondered what it was. But no doubt about it, she knew that only that person could make such creatures. In fact, at this moment only that person and his comrades were not attacked by these creatures.


    She also noticed the other creatures flocked above him. Looks like they were so happy and waiting for his order.


    Her initial thought about him was right. He wasn''t an ordinary person. They needed to get wary of him.


    The battle between demons and skeletons was still ongoing. Both were inside their area of effect. So their numbers were going into the process of ''increase and decrease''. But at this moment, the demons group was being suppressed.


    While the two main characters of the battle were still focused on gathering enough mana energy for their attack, the fight between Cinder and Mus was about to start.


    Crimson narrowed his eyes. The thing that came out of the Sealing Stone was a huge creature with the body of fire. It looks like a bird. A little smaller than a Hell Chaser but looks fiercer.


    On top of that, it was exuding tremendous heat.


    Mus who had a broad grin after he transformed into a figure of Venomous Mouse, now was trembling like a scared chick.


    "A-A Contracted Xelestial Beast(Celestial Beast)..." he stammered.


    Crimson was having a puzzled face. He didn''t know what it was.


    "I see, now I understand�� why those demons were dealt with so easily. And why he and she always had the same increase in points whenever those black summons killed an enemy. And to see such talent. Looks like the Lupine family were hiding something big," the empress stated. "In any case, that guy fufufu his beyond belief. Look at that summons of him. It is even able to use that kind of peak-tier attack," she further giggled.


    Ella glanced at her with a face that wanted to ask. But she remained quiet. Cause she too had a slight understanding of the situation.


    Not only Mus but the others inside the ruined throne room were also having surprised faces after seeing the Contracted Xelestial Beast.


    "N-No-way she was able to get a contract with such a beast?!" It was only below a Sovereign Rank Beast which is the highest.


    After the Xelestial FireBird opened its mouth, Mus already turned to ash and disappeared like no Mus in there in the first place. He was wailing like someone being grilled in the scorching fire.


    Crimson subconsciously gulped. That Xelestial Beast did not even fire an attack; it only gaped its large beak in front of Mus. Then steam came out of its mouth which turned Mus into nothing.


    "....."


    Everyone gaped.


    After killing Mus, Cinder dropped on her knee and the Xelestial Beast turned into a tiny firebird and landed on her head.


    "As expected, she wasn''t able to control it yet! But good thing that she ran out of mana�� if not, all of us might get wiped out," said Ember worriedly.


    Without wasting time he rushed towards her and took her.


    After taking her to a safe place. Let''s end this game.


    He lifted his hand towards the huge skeleton. Then all the Winged-Ant hovered over the huge skeleton and turned into little spheres. Countless small spheres were floating above. Then they dove towards the Spherical Bomb of the huge skeleton. But it did not explode. It combined and made the Spherical Bomb bigger. Now it was way bigger than the Headless Boss.


    The Headless Boss was sweating upon seeing the Spherical Bomb of his enemy.


    After reaching the size that was triple than of the Headless Boss. The skeleton fired it.


    The Headless Boss who was already late in making his Spherical Bomb so big had no way but fired his Spherical Bomb also.


    However, together with him, the Spherical of the skeleton bulldozed the enemy''s Spherical Bomb together with the Headless Boss. It broke a part of the castle and went towards the faraway land. It even pierced the mountain until it exploded.


    The sun was seemingly descended as how everyone described the scene.

 Chapter 151: Crossing the last barrier

    ...The Headless Demon Lord was disintegrated for good.


    Only the ruined throne room remained together with several participants that seemingly lost their ability to talk. Most of them were sucked dry. But they could manage to move somehow.


    However, none of them was in the mood to do that as they were contemplating of that last second.


    ''What the hell was that?'' Their thoughts. They were puzzled about everything. About those insect-like creatures that sucked their mana dry and flew towards that person. A moment after he lifted his hand, the black insects turned into tiny spheres and they combined to the sphere on the huge skeleton''s hand. Creating a giant sphere that triples its original size from before.


    When that giant sphere was shot, not even the Headless Boss of the room was able to retaliate in a second.


    But the thing that surprised them the most was the current situation. The scary skeleton was seemingly obeying that person.


    ''The heck with that skeleton! It''s obeying that person like a dog!'' Their thoughts.


    Everyone was silent.


    Step step step��! One person broke the silence with the tapping of his shoes against the broken floors.


    He was walking towards the treasures. But no one was minding his action. Following behind him was the huge skeleton, seemingly guarding him.


    Roman who managed to avoid having his mana stolen just stared at the guy with lots of interest. But he did not propose a challenge to him. After seeing what that skeleton could do, only a blind and idiot would risk himself getting killed at this point.


    Although that guy looks exhausted, the skeleton behind him was so domineering.


    If Roman remembered correctly, that fight between the skeleton and the Headless Demon could not be considered a real fight. Since it was a one-sided battle. The headless did not even manage to touch the skeleton.


    But what puzzled him was�� if that skeleton was that person''s summon or not. He never heard even once that a person summoned a creature aside from a beast.


    Also, the one following behind him was an undead!


    He couldn''t even feel a strong magical power from him.


    But this was what made Roman warier of him.


    Any uncertainties had boundless possibilities. So Roman could not risk himself for such an opponent that he didn''t know what he was hiding up in his sleeves.


    In any case, he was certain that he could enter the last barrier. He wasn''t here for the additional prizes. His main goal was the grand prize in the competition.


    After here, he would have more time to research about that person that they called Crimson.


    However, not all people were as sane as Roman.


    Before Crimson''s finger could touch the treasures.


    "Damn it don''t be cocky! That''s our treasures!" Jura was getting out of sense after thinking that someone other than him would claim the treasure.


    Jura and Nicholas rapidly flew towards him.


    "Tsk! Those idiots!" Hilion commented.


    Crimson narrowed his eyes. Looks like some were able to avoid the Winged-Ants.


    However, before they even touched his hair, a huge scythe met them and sent their heads flying.


    The audiences from the Student Council of Encantansia academy tightly shut their mouths. Hannah on the other hand shook her head.


    In the end, Jura lost his cunningness and let himself get killed just because of an additional prize.


    Hah~ Hannah sighed. It would lower the value of the academy. ''That Jura is an idiot!'' She thought.


    They materialized outside with sour faces. They won''t forget that guy for the rest of their lives! They made an oath.


    ''Tsk if only I have my main Artefact!'' Jura thought.


    Gilion who couldn''t even lift his arms remained quiet while clenching his teeth. He tried to force himself to


    get up, but he was still lacking in strength.


    ''Dammit! Damn damn damn! Move! The hell! Move!'' Gilion shouted inwardly.


    After killing two of the experts, no one had ever tried to distract him. Harou, who planned to attack too, changed his mind. In any case, he would get his revenge later when all their equipment was not locked anymore.


    All the audience outside had a face that could not believe the result of elimination.


    Crimson opened all the treasures. No need to share them as it was planned by him from the start. To use whatever means he could to succeed. Even using some people. Cinder was one of them.


    After all, he didn''t come to the empire to find friends and adventure. He came to find medicine for the most important person to him.


    After opening the first golden chest, what inside it made him frown. It was parchment.


    He took it and read, but what was written in it caused his brows to knit.


    Around this time, inside the palace, "Rea Honey, fast rewrite what''s written in the parchment!" The empress immediately requested her niece.


    Ella forced a soundless laugh before agreeing to her.


    Crimson was surprised when the letters in the parchment suddenly disappeared. Then another letter came out.


    The thing that was first written in there was a prize of a costume-made weapon. Although it was a good prize, it was wasted on someone like him who wasn''t proficient in any weapons. Well, after seeing it, his initial thought was to sell them.


    Yet, the letters disappeared and another prize was written on it.


    He wondered how it happened. But he believed that beautiful mad lass artists had to do with it.


    The others were having sorry faces while looking at him opening the treasures one after another.


    When he tried to open the next treasure chest. He found out that he could not open it. He scratched the back of his head and tried to destroy it.


    Everyone was having puzzled faces while their eyes turned into dots.


    "Is he an idiot?"


    "Shhhh! Shuddap! If you don''t want that skeleton to behead you.


    "Gulp!"


    Some random participants were whispering.


    He tried to shake it, but no matter what he did, it won''t open. Even Cinder and the others curled their brows at him.


    Then above the chest cap, a notification appeared.


    Saying, "The Audience Choice Award goes to Roman Hammerhelm."


    "The heck is this?" Crimson eyes turned white.


    Sistela added. He didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    "Ah-Ahem, who is Roman Hammerhelm?"


    Everyone gawked when they heard Crimson asked about it.


    Even Hilion and the others.


    Roman was as surprised as them. It was unexpected that this person would ask about him. His body then slowly shrunk into his original self. As he could not perceive bad intent from the guy.


    "It''s me!" Roman admitted.


    Crimson glanced at him. It was the same guy who had exceptional strength.


    Whoosh!


    "Eh?!"


    Roman and the others were dumbfounded when he threw the chest towards him. But he managed to catch it.


    "Why?" He asked. But Crimson just raised his shoulders. Signifying that he too didn''t know why.


    "The heck! He just gave it? How generous!" Someone muttered.


    When Roman opened it, he saw a parchment.


    Then Crimson went to open the third chest. But as expected, like the second chest, it was also locked. Then a notification in the form of a holographic screen appeared.


    Saying, "Good Leadership Award goes to Hilion Gustav!"


    Crimson wanted to cry.


    "Ahaha��" He forced a descending laugh. For some reason, he became the guy who handed everyone''s awards.


    ''Damn it! What the hell is that beautiful artist thinking!'' Crimson cried out inwardly.


    He then asked who Hilion Gustav was.


    "That''s me!"


    Yman glanced at him. For some reason, this guy''s energy was identical to that of Gilion.


    He then threw the third chest towards Hilion which astonished the others.


    "Dang it, he''s giving them for free!"


    "Is he perhaps a kind-hearted man? I wish to add him to Facepalm.com and TweetTweet accounts."


    "....."


    After Crimson threw the third chest, he glanced at Ember and the other and beckoned to pass the barrier.


    They nodded. But before it, he passed the parchment to Cinder while saying, "it''s yours!"


    Cinder was puzzled but upon reading the parchment, she smiled and nodded.


    He then turned around and walked towards the barrier. Seeing him walking away, Cinder frowned and tried to reach him. But he already moved a little farther.


    After Crimson crossed the last barrier, all his summons immediately disappeared into thin airs.


    One after another, those who survived were able to pass the barrier.


    When Crimson passed on it, he found himself in a white space.


    Suddenly his mind was seemingly invaded by something.


    Then a scene appeared in his mind. About the world and a supreme being. About the 15 summoned beings from another world.


    About the 15 Heroes and the Fate Masters. Yman was puzzled. Then, a big planet was shown, it was divided into four large continents.


    Then a widespread battle between four continents?


    "....."


    Yman wondered if it was a dream. Regardless, why was he here? What is this place?! It''s all-white! And what was the scene that he was seeing?


    But no matter how many times he asked the question, no one could give him an answer. Because he was alone.

 Chapter 152: Wakeup call

    (You came again��) (First voice)


    (Eh? Uh. J-Just wanted to check i-if h-his still breathing��) (Second voice)


    "....." (No voice)


    (Miss #%^����$!) (Third voice)


    The voices coming from around me was what brought me back to my senses.


    Before opening his eyes, He tried to perceive his surroundings.


    He sensed two human presence close to him and another two not too far.


    He scanned his memory of how he was in a situation right now.


    If he remembered correctly, He went to cross the barrier after distributing all the treasure chests.


    Then after that, ''is this?''


    ''No no no.''


    He also remembered some scenes in his mind. ''Regardless, what are those scenes? A dream? A lucid one?


    ''Perhaps��''


    ''Maybe I''m hallucinating?''


    ''Aside from that, why I am in this situation again?'' He couldn''t connect the dots.


    Even without opening his eyes yet, he could guess that currently, he was lying in a soft-cottoned bed.


    The people talking around him, he knew all of them based on their voices.


    ''One was from Cinder?''


    The other one was unexpected. ''It''s from that Artist!''


    And the third and most noisy among them all, ''is no other than my deity.''


    "....."


    Yman wondered how a group was built up.


    Regardless, he was still in the dark of how he was lying in the bed right now.


    His nose twitched; the fragrances of perfumes that usually used by females had invaded him.


    He slowly opened his eyes as he could not perceive any ill intent around him.


    Although his vision was a bit blurry at the moment, he could identify the people around him.


    He was greeted by two pairs of beautiful eyes staring at him like they already knew he would be waking up.


    ''Ah my bad, it was three. Though the third pair of eyes is smaller than the rest.''


    said the noisest one.


    Together with her were two beautiful ladies. A red hair girl with wolf ears and an Encan with shoulder-length snow-colored hair.


    Using his fingers, he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision before asking what happened.


    Ella and Cinder glanced at each other before deciding who would explain to him what happened after he crossed the barrier.


    In the end, the two of them alternately explained to him.


    He found out that he passed out after crossing the barrier. And it was already a week since the competition ended.


    After he passed out, he wasn''t able to join the last part of the competition which is a duel. The duel ended just yesterday and the contestants who fought at the final were Roman and Hilion.


    The last battle was held at the grand auditorium of the empire. Thousands of viewers came to watch the final fight between two of the most prestigious families in the empire. Many important people were present in the fight.


    Using their strongest Artefacts and equipment, the battle became a sight to behold.


    Because of this, most people forgot what he did in the first elimination round as only the name of the people who fought in the finale remained in everyone''s mind.


    Their last attacks were the deciding factor. And sparks the crowd''s excitement.


    The battle ended with Roman''s victory. Although it was a close call, Hilion was a bit short in stamina.


    He wanted to see their battle with their real strength. Too bad he passed out after passing the barrier.


    He didn''t know whether to laugh at his pitiful luck. He wondered how to increase his luck. Maybe he needed more positive karma?


    Sigh!


    The two girls noticed he did a long sigh. But his eyes widened when he remembered something more important.


    He quickly touched his face. And glanced at his hair.


    As expected, his hair went back to brown. And his ears went back to human ears.


    He glanced at Ella and saw her mouth slightly open. Probably, she wanted to force a laugh but on second thought left it hanging open.


    Then she heaved and said, "Hmph! Good job for tricking us," with a pout on her face she looked in the other direction.


    "Uh��er�� Miss. Ella, that''s not what you wanted to tell him right? In any case, if you don''t want it. I also in need of a bodyguard so I will hire him!"


    Cinder said like a child.


    Yman knitted his brows. He wondered what Cinder meant by her words.


    He noticed Ella sighed.


    "I don''t know why you have to disguise yourself into an Encan person. But you might have something that you wanted to hide for doing so. As long as it won''t hinder your job�� t -then, I don''t mind hiring you��" she said while looking away from him.


    "....."


    "Eh?" He pondered for a moment about her words.


    "D-Do you mean, I''m hired?" He asked.


    Sistela beamed.


    He glanced at Ella and saw her slightly nodded.


    On the other hand, Cinder was sighing.


    Well, it was a waste that he could not join the final elimination. The high-rank herb was what he truly aiming for the competition prizes. He believed that it was one of the keys to create the medicine. But no used regretting now. It already happened and he did not wish for it to happen in the first place. Though he was puzzled by how he lost his consciousness. It was just out of luck for him.


    ''Could it be due to exhaustion?'' His thought. However, no one could give him a clarification about it.


    Ella also explained that besides her and Cinder, there''s only the Empress who knew about his identity of being a human. Thanks to Miss Cinder''s quick assistance.


    He glanced at Cinder who was currently having a proud face.


    He was grateful.


    In any case, since the competition prize slipped from his hands, he could only depend on the payment he would get for being a bodyguard.


    He sighed and glanced at the window. It was dark outside.


    "By the way, what is this place?" He asked.


    "Ah! It''s one of the famous medical centers in the palace."


    "But aren''t you suggested to bring him into your room, Miss Ella?" Cinder said with an innocent face.


    "What are you saying Miss Cinde!?" Ella shouted with a slightly red face.


    "Fufu, if I did not object, you probably bring him to your domain. Right?" Cinder said with a little tease.


    "I-It just��!"


    For some reason, they started bantering so he chose not to listen to them anymore. He had no idea that these two had become close. In truth, while they were inside the painting, Cinder was secretly cursing Ella for making so many strong beast.


    But seeing them casually bantering in front of him. He believed that they became friends in these few days. Looks like Demihumans were just like humans.


    Regardless, he gathered much useful information inside that painting. Especially in his modifying ability.


    He closed his eyes for a brief moment and smiled slightly when he noticed that nothing serious or injury with his body. Maybe the cause of him getting passed out was mental fatigue?


    ��..aside from that, he felt stronger than before. The battle inside the painting abled him to grind a good number of attributes. And he was at the peak of LEVEL 3 at the moment. Later he would become LEVEL 4 after taking the L4SOA.


    He also learned some unique skills with the help of his Skill Modifying ability.


    Nonetheless,


    There''s a lot he needed to prepare before that. And he needed to upgrade Sistela too.


    Suddenly,


    "Regardless, I don''t want a wimp bodyguard. So get up. I know you''re fine already," said Ella to him.


    "Hey, let him rest for a little! And it was night time!" Cinder disagreed with Ella.


    A bead of sweat appeared at the back of his head. Yman scratched his face upon noticing Sistela darted her small eyes to Ella and Cinder. Uncertain to whom she sided.


    Looks like his deity was troubled by these two noisy visitors.


    The competition was seemingly the wake-up call to the other kingdoms and cities.


    Upon realizing the power held by the youths of the empire, every academy was now in preparation for much serious training. They could not slack off as the World Competition was coming closer.


    Meanwhile,


    On the rooftop of the building where the Elite girls of Human City Zone 7 were staying, Almina and Maena were in meditation posture. They were trying to master the technique known as Perfect Breathing. It was the technique originated by Almina''s brother. And was learned by the current Ace of the academy.


    While the two of them were sitting in the meditation posture, they were surrounded by bluish energy that swirling around them.


    "Focused!" Ice voice was heard by them.


    "Maena sync your breath."


    "O-okay, b-big sis��"


    "Almina, your breathing is out of order also, feel the energy around you and stay calm!"


    "Sorry, b-big sister Ice��"


    Ice beamed in joy upon hearing their way of calling her.


    It''s already been two weeks since they practiced the technique. Yet at the moment they could only master the First Level of it.


    While they were practicing, the others also did. No one was slacking at this moment. Everyone was eager to learn.


    Especially that they don''t have Artefacts like the Demihumans. They could only depend on their equipment and power.

 Chapter 153: Loots

    The two didn''t bother asking his real name. Both of them wanted him to tell it of his own accord.


    Since he was already fine and could not feel any abnormalities in his body, he decided to leave the medical center.


    Together with the two girls, they were walking towards the Inn where most of the finalists who came from a farther town were currently staying.


    "So there''s a banquet." He said after hearing Ella''s words.


    A banquet, he only heard about it but never been in one before.


    But based on what he knows. It was an occasion where people were going to meet up with each other while wearing grande dresses.


    Foods were served for free and everyone could enjoy the melodious sonata. It was also a good place to meet with other influential personalities.


    It could also be said that it was where the most higher families could be seen as chilling and chit-chatting with others.


    In actuality, it depends on what kind of banquet. Yman was in the dark of this kind of occasion.


    "I see," was the only word left from his mouth.


    "What a boring reaction��" Ella mumbled.


    "Hah~! I''m no good with a banquet also," Cinder, who was on the other side of him, sighed and mumbled.


    Their shoulders were aligned with each other as the three walked side by side.


    "By the way Miss Cinder, how are the others?" He asked.


    "Aah��!" Cinder did not expect his question and had her mouth left open.


    "...they were fine. Tiafel and the other two were defeated in the third round of elimination. And my brother and I were defeated at the finals," she said after a long pause.


    Cinder also said that the one who defeated her was the girl from their Canine Sect.


    Yman remembered seeing the girl. It was the girl with silver hair. She was the quiet girl who stayed at Harou''s side.


    Ember on the other hand was defeated by Gilion. Then Gilion was defeated by Roman. And Harou was defeated by Hilion.


    Lyka also was defeated by Gath Rainripper. After defeating Lyka, Gath''s next opponent was supposed to be Hilion. But for some reason, he did not show up.


    He took a glance at Cinder. Yman knew that she wasn''t weak but her flame was good against undead and demons. Although she has a Xelestial Beast, she could not yet control the power of it.


    "Hm, I see," again, the only words left from his mouth.


    Cinder frowned at his disinterested behavior.


    He glanced above and saw many stars twinkling like little jewels. Sometimes, transport birds and little sprites would pass now and then.


    At the moment Cinder was wearing a navy blue dress. And on the other side of him, the artist Ella was wearing a white dress. Yman thought that these two were of high standard beauties.


    But this kind of thought only lingered for a second in his mind as he wasn''t the type of person who likes indulging himself in unnecessary things that weren''t helpful to his goal.


    In any case, he felt some malicious intent.


    Ahead of them,


    "Hey Regor, look at some beauties! Hehe," pointed to the person who was holding a bottle in his hand. Together with him were 4 other people.


    The person named Regor glanced ahead and, "hehe, so white and looks fresh," said Regor while wetting his lips as he looked intimately at the two beauty together with a handsome young man.


    Seeing the young man, Regor thought that it was another rich kid who loved spending his pennies with beautiful ladies.


    "Tsk! Let''s kick that kid''s ass. Then the girls will be ours," he whispered after clicking his tongue.


    "Ehehe, aren''t we lucky tonight?" Said the person next to him.


    "Sure we are!"


    "Let''s go!" Urged Regor to the friends then they ambered towards the three people ahead.


    They intentionally blocked their path.


    "Hey hey, kid! Scram!" Directly said Regor.


    They also noticed a small object sitting on the young man''s shoulder.


    "Fufu, ain''t that a human''s toy?" Asked one of Regor''s friends in a whisper while pointing to Sistela.


    "I heard that this toy of humans could make them nearly immortal as long as they are in resonance with it."


    "Tsk! Only gays would use it! This man is a sissy who is afraid to die that''s why he''s using that toy."


    Well, it is unusual to see an Encan person using this human toy.


    "Look, that little bird looks cute! Maybe it tastes good if we grill it," said the other one while pointing to the Xelestial Fire Bird that was sitting on Cinder''s head all this time.


    In any case, the girls in front of them were out of ordinary beauty. Being born into a rich family was a blessing! Even the beauties like these two were easily lured. They thought. That''s why they despised young noblemen. They could get most of what they want.


    While people like them had to be content with gays, oldies, and fatty!


    What an unfair world they live in!


    Nonetheless, tonight''s gonna be a goodnight!


    Regor and the others further licked their lips as wild thought began in their minds.


    Cinder twitched her brows. And Ella had a cold and stern face. For some reason, they felt awful at these groups of thugs.


    However, the young man seemingly did not hear Regor''s words. He was staring at them with no reaction on his face. A second later, his mouth slightly bent to both sides.


    "Hey, kid! Did you not hear me? Or you wanted to die?! Huh!" He once again called and warned the wimp. He intentionally increased the volume of his voice to intimidate the young man.


    He even took a dagger while playing it in his fingers and summoned mana to reinforce the dagger and increase the sharpness to smite his enemy.


    Finally, the young man made a reaction. He narrowed his eyes.


    But��!


    ''The heck with this guy! Still on his feet! This person is challenging my patience,'' Regor thought as he noticed the young man had no plan to escape.


    "Ahah, so that''s what you want, huh!" Said Regor while rotating the dagger within his fingers.


    The two girls beside the young man were raising their brows. But it only added more allure to them.


    "Regor! Beat him already!"


    Regor friends were urging him. They were depending on him because Regor was a Star-7 magician. It was equivalent to a LEVEL 7 human magician.


    Then one of his friends noticed something. "Wait, these girls look familiar to me��" said one of Regor''s friends.


    But it came so late. Because Regor already came for a stab.


    His movement was agile. Just what you would expect for someone who wielded a lighter weapon.


    He leaped forward like a shadow and yelled, "You won''t scram!? Then di��(Woosh!) Ngh!!!"


    However, before the stab landed on the young man. No. Before even Regor finished his words, something went flying and directly went inside his mouth.


    Cough! Cough! Cough!


    Regor came to a stop and coughed while his palm was covering his mouth.


    After a couple of coughs, something came out of it and landed on his palm.


    "The heck, what is this?" He mumbled.


    The thing that came out of his mouth was yellowish. And it looks like it''s made of white ceramic. Or more like a tooth? But bigger? Regor''s thought.


    "Pfft!"


    A held laugh came out from the young man. Regor glanced at him with a twitching face.


    "That''s a rat''s tooth," Cinder and Ella felt a chill upon hearing Crimson say it. They immediately wanted to vomit but they were able to hold the urge. They could not let undignified behavior happen.


    They both stare at Crimson with ashen faces. But the person was unconcerned by how they look at the moment.


    "Hehe," a chuckle was heard by all of them.


    A moment later,


    PAK PAK PAK PAK PAK PAK!


    Everyone was beaten up into a pulp. Regor could not even notice what was hitting his face. Was it a kick? Or a punch? For some reason, the moment it landed, he already saw some stars rotating above his head.


    And his late grandma and grandpa with angel wings came to welcome him. But he refused saying, ''sorry grandma, sorry grandpa I shall refuse the invitation until I found a real girl for myself.''


    Pak!


    He lost consciousness once he felt a strong force on his butt. But before his consciousness faded. He saw his group of friends. Their posture was of that as the frog who had their faces kissing the ground and their butt slightly raised. And that person was kicking their asses!


    ''What the hell!'' He wanted to yell. Not just that he took everyone''s spatial ring! ''This man was a shameless robber!''


    (X_X) Regor fainted.


    Ella looked away from Crimson. She wondered if he liked kicking someone''s butt. He also did it to an adventurer before.


    Cinder, on the other hand, looked around them. She sighed and asked, "Crimson, what are you doing?"


    "Ha?" He was a little bit confused about what she meant.


    "I mean, I understand that you are annoyed at them and want to kick their asses. But what''s the need for stealing their spatial rings?" Cinder asked in concern.


    "Eh!?" But it only made him further confused, then said, "wasn''t it only natural to get my loots after defeating some thugs?" He said innocently.


    Ella and Cinder didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at this person''s reply.


    Well, it was one of his sources of income after coming into this empire. Good thing that some thugs occasionally pick a fight with him. Because of it he survived living in this empire alone.


    ''I can''t believe it! He just applied VRMMORPG''s rule in real life!'' Cinder thought. Well, inside the game, thugs are common mobs that drop loot.


    "In any case, I think we shall go now! Before someone reported about someone stealing someone''s property!"


    She was worried to find herself in jail for being the robber''s cohort!


    "Ahaha��" Ella laughed descendingly with a blank face.


    Am I safe to be with this person''s protection? Now she doubted.


    Regardless, his strength could not be measured by ordinary means. A low-level person that could easily defeat a higher level enemy. Such a person was unheard of even in this empire.


    They continued walking towards the Inn. With Crimson having a big smile on his face.


    ''Lucky, thousands of Silver Royal Coins are left on their spatial rings, together with some Rare Class equipment. Looks like those guys were living as a thief also,'' he thought.


    Without them knowing, one little troublemaker was puzzled all this time, Sistela who was having question marks above her tiny head asked in a confused face. While putting his little finger below her mouth.


    Ella and Cinder stared at Crimson with demonic eyes while asking, "What did you teach to your partner? Huh?" They both questioned him.


    A bead of sweat appeared behind his head while scratching his face.


    "It was Sistela who''s my teacher, you know."


    He mumbled. But none of them were able to hear him as he was looking away from them.

 Chapter 154: Gift

    "Level 4!" He excitedly screamed after a successful advancement.


    Presently, he was sitting cross-legged inside one of the Inn''s rooms.


    And a dense amount of Crimson Mana was swirling around him. Luckily, the room was empty if not, it would be a mess. The room only had a bed and a piece of bed cover and a pillow. Then a crystal light on the ceiling. Aside from that, nothing else.


    Since he was hired as a bodyguard by her, he needed to stay close to her.


    Yman could feel Ella was someone who wasn''t an ordinary person. He could feel an aura of royalty from her. But he could not ask directly as he too was hiding something from everyone.


    What he felt was probably a kind of familiarity with someone in the same situation. Maybe it was also one of the reasons he accepted the job.


    Sistela who was sitting on the bed came to him and said her congratulations.


    "Thanks, My Deity," he replied with a grin. Sistela knew that whenever he called her with that ''My Deity'' kind of call, it meant that he was in a good mood to tease her.


    She waved her little hand that was exuding with white brilliance. Then after that, a Holographic Screen materialized in front of him. Sistela then landed on his shoulder.


    The thing that she summoned was a Status Screen of his partner. She too was excited to see the growth in Attributes after his advancement.


    Yman and Sistela grinned upon seeing the results.


    "Hehe!" As expected.


    Sistela and Yman were surprised at the results.


    His Strength, Vitality, Sense, Dexterity, and Agility Attributes grew 10 points each. It could also be said that it was a perfect advancement.


    Whereas, his Charisma grew 2 points and now had a total of 10 points. His Wisdom grew as well, and now had a total of 5 points.


    His CE after advancement went back to 0%/100%. Now his total Health point is 13500.


    His Demonic Mana and Stamina went back to 100% after a long rest.


    His skin bloomed after his advancement. And now he looks more handsome than usual and exuding with sex-appeal. It was a slight effect after one advanced his level.


    Although he was still at LEVEL 4 at the moment, for Yman himself, it was a big start to start his new Academy life.


    The only thing he was hopeful, that the side effect of activating his Black Miasma would be lessened also. He meant diarrhea. Though last time he activated it his stomach only ache and he didn''t have to poop.


    Now that he thought about it, he needed to check the required preparations to activate it.


    "I see, so my stamina should be at 40% or less to activate it. Much better than before. Wait, it seems like every advancement would increase the needed stamina for 10%. In this case, maybe if I advance to False Path Expert the needed preparation will be no more!? Fufu!" Yman giggled in excitement as he realized it.


    Now his eyes are gleaming with excitement.


    on his shoulder, Sistela was jumping up and down like a kid.


    He checked on his Wallet Section and saw an additional 50,000 GP on it. It was the downpayment for being a bodyguard. He would receive the full payment after he completed his task. It would increase depending on the situation.


    Yman smiled and glanced at Sistela then nodded. He then connects to the Market Section on his Interface.


    He toggled to the Limited Edition Equipments that were exclusively displayed in one of the panels.


    There displayed a list of Wings for the deity.


    He scrolled one after another.


    [Wings of Fury]


    ?Increase the Deity''s mid-air mobility ?With additional +10 Agility Attributes to the Deity and User(Only take effect when in resonance.)? +2% Speed to Deity and User(Effective only when resonance.)?


    The wings looked like falcon wings. The appearance and stats looked good, but Yman believed that it won''t suit his Deity''s current figure.


    He glanced at Sistela. Currently, her eyes are gleaming in excitement.


    "What do you think about this one?" He asked.


    she seemed skeptical while placing her little index below her mouth.


    she beamed.


    "Okay��"


    Yman toggled to the next wings.


    [Fiery Wings]


    ?Increase the Deity''s mid-air mobility? With +5 Strength to the Deity and Partner(Only take effect when in resonance.)? Boost Fire Element to 2% to Deity and User(Only take effect when in resonance.)?


    It was a pair of transparent red wings. Like the wings of a fire fairy. The attributes excite Yman. But then again, he noticed Sistela shaking her head.


    Sighed.


    "The attributes kinda OP," he mumbled. The attributes were a good pair to his fire element. It could boost his firepower for good. However, he could not force her to equip it if she dislikes it. She did a lot of help to him so he decided to let her choose what she likes at this time.


    He proceeded to the next pair of wings. But it was already in faded color. Seemingly, someone already ordered it or bought it.


    Yman proceeded.


    In the end, the one they ordered was the wings with the name of [Sky Harpy Wings].


    Just based on the name. It was modeled from the Xelestial Beast Harpy. The color was of the same color as Sistela''s hair.


    After they ordered, Yman was next updating Sistela''s System to the newest version. For her to be qualified for the future upgrades suitable for her LEVEL.


    When the Deity was undergoing an updating process it wasn''t what you expect that it would connect to the chords or internet connections and download some files.


    The Deity was surrounded by Magic Array when it was in the updating process. Currently, Sistela was on the floor. She was floating above the Magic Array with a hexagram design and was glowing in a bluish color. Her tiny figure was seemingly curling into a ball. She was hugging her knee with her bluish hair fluttering from her back.


    White color energy was enveloping her whole body and loads of numbers and letters in an ancient text were surrounding her like constricting her by the whole.


    It looks magnificent no matter how many times he saw it. From her chest, a blinding glow was surfacing and it became brighter every second.


    After a couple of minutes, Sistela''s updating finally ended.


    Sistela slowly opened her eyes.


    The first thing she said was , another human gesture was added.


    She reported.


    "I see."


    Right after saying it, Yman and Sistela heard knocking sounds from the door.


    He heightened his perception and noticed that it was her.


    He jumped on his feet and Sistela floated towards the bed. The wings they ordered would arrive later. So as of the moment, she was still equipping her [Floats] device.


    When Yman opened the door, "Yes my lady?" He said.


    However,


    "W-w-what a-are y-you doing? W-why you''re topless?!" He was greeted by a stammering voice with a fuming face.


    "Eh?" He was baffled. Then after hearing all her words, he realized that he was topless at the moment.


    "Oh, sorry��" he said and immediately took the white t-shirt on the bed.


    The girl on the hand was covering her eyes but it was useless because she was peeking from the gaps in her fingers.


    After all, the guy in front was oozing with sex appeal! And a handsome one to boot. She wanted to retreat but her feet remained still.


    Well, Yman did not care for such things, it wasn''t like it''s a big deal for him. There was never even an indecent thought in his mind at the moment, even if the girl in front of him was wearing thin cloth but in dark color.


    She looked lovely and alluring. Even someone like him who was used to the beauties already, could not help but be amazed by her. Especially with the addition of the feminine perfume that she was wearing. Even the ambiance of the surrounding was too enticing.


    However, there was only one thing in the mind of Yman at the moment. To serve this girl and secure her from any harms.


    When he returned to the door, he urged her to come in. But she stiffly remained on her feet.


    He scratched his face.


    "I-I came to give this��" she handed him a small black box that was tied by a golden ribbon.


    With a puzzled face, he slowly took it that even his finger touched hers.


    For some reason, she quickly retreated her hands. He wondered why this girl was acting warily to her bodyguard.


    Regardless, "what is this?" He asked as he slowly opened it without asking for permission.


    "Aaah��" before she could say something the box was already opened.


    "A��eh?" He was surprised.


    Before Yman and Ella could complete their words, Sistela landed on his shoulder and saw the thing inside the black box.


    She muttered.


    Yman and Ella both have their mouths hanging open.


    Then.


    "IT''S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"


    Ella shouted in embarrassment.


    Later on, Ella explained that it was a Ring-Model - Equipment Artefact and inside it was the Silver Armor. It was one of the two armors he saw inside the Headmaster''s office in the adventurers guild.


    She said she was letting him borrow it. But she wanted to gift it to him for showing a domineering performance in the first elimination round of the competition.


    Ella immediately left after saying all that she wanted to say to clear up the misunderstanding.


    The next morning, together with Sistela, the three of them went to the market to buy some potions.


    Cinder wanted to tag but something came up.

 Chapter 155: A different person

    Around 9 AM when Yman together with Ella and Sistela went into the Public Market of the Empire.


    When they arrived, the place was already bustling with people. They were unceasingly ''coming and going'' in every direction.


    On the roadside, they saw different kinds of stalls that were lining disorderly, and different kinds of people were passing on the road. Not only people but also different kinds of carriages. Even in the sky, different kinds of rental and personal Transport Birds were flying everywhere.


    He also noticed some uniformed guards of the Empire patrolling around the place. Most of them were Demihumans with wolf and dog ears.


    The ambiance of the place was what you would expect in a fantasy world.


    As they went closer to the most crowded part to where the most stalls were lining, their ears started to pick some random shouts.


    "If you''re looking for the best materials for crafting! All that you need are here at low prices!"


    "If you are looking for the best quality equipment! Come have a look!"


    "Lady! Mister! Have a look! Freshly gathered High-Quality herbs and roots from the RainForest of the far east all for low prices! Come boost your stats and increase your advancement speed with additional free sapling!"


    Some vendors were shouting to the passerby while urging them to buy their products.


    Yman wanted to check the herbs. But he was guarding someone at the moment. So he could not do his thing.


    He already expected that it would be bustling with people but not as busy as what he saw at the moment.


    At the corner of his eyes, he noticed a fat lady with heavy makeup and was decorated with jewelry all over her body. Then an expensive-looking shoulder bag was carelessly hanging from her side.


    She was currently quarreling with a middle-aged male jewelry merchant.


    However, from the back of that lady, a Rabbitman kid sneakily inserted his little arms in the fat lady''s shoulder bag.


    The fat lady was unaware of what happened. Yman didn''t want to mind other people''s business. Everyone needed to survive at all means.


    He forced a soundless laugh. ''Looks like this place wasn''t a safe place, huh,'' he thought. Then he widened his perception. He already expected such things. It was a common event in a crowded place like the market in which different types of people hoarded.


    Regardless, he needed to stay alert as a bodyguard.


    He thought that he could not depend on his perception only, he then sneakily let out one Bee-model Fire Doll to act as a scout.


    Bzzzzzzzz! The Bee flew higher to give him an extra bird''s eye view of the place.


    They then proceeded to look for stalls where potions were being displayed.


    "Hey Young Lady and Young Sir, are you looking for fresh meats? They were the meat of Red-Eyed Deer, a Rank BB beast that can only be found in the West Plateau!"


    Yman''s ears twitched upon hearing the meat vendor.


    One of the things that excited him after coming to the Empire was the meat quality here! They were so good unlike in Human City where he came from!


    Here, you could eat all the high-quality meat as long as you have the money. Regretfully, they just passing by. Anyhow, they didn''t come here for such things.


    But the girl beside him who constantly sneaking glances at him had noticed his regret in the eyes.


    Looks like their role as a bodyguard and the one being guarded had reversed. For some reason, Ella was the one checking tab at him now and then.


    She was curious about this person beside her. For her, he was cooler when he was fighting. He looked calm and collected. Very different at the person right now. For Ella, he looked careless and uncaring about his surrounding.


    In Ella''s mind,


    ''What''s wrong with this person? He just ate breakfast and is already drooling.''


    On the contrary,


    ''Sad to be poor!'' Yman''s thought while dropping his shoulders. In any case, he could not squander his leftover money. Especially that he lost the competition. He needed to save them for the medicine of his sister.


    Ella beside him had noticed his bothered reaction but was intentionally ignoring him. She was more doubtful now if he was the same person who fought insanely inside her painting. Look, he was already distracted by just the call of meat from the vendor. She wondered if this person could do his job.


    Sighed.


    Ella let a sudden breath escape from her mouth while slightly shaking her head.


    Beside them,


    Sistela was in her world. Right now, she''s flying beside his face, with her little feathery wings that glowing in blue color.


    It would shape into a pair of wings whenever she spreads her arms to fly, otherwise, it becomes a wing cape on her back when she doesn''t.


    The wings looked magnificent as it was glowing and leaving magical dust while she was flying.


    It also came up with an additional feather-design crown. She looked like a small goddess in disguise whenever she was flying, summed up with her navy blue dress that was fluttering in the air.


    This wings also


    came up with a Superior Air Mobility additional stats. And increase the Deity and Owner''s air maneuverability. In that sense, it was a good upgrade for some owners who could fly.


    After they ordered it, Yman asked sistela ''why she chose this type of wings and not the Fairy-Like Wings or the Nix Series Wings.''


    She told him that it could make her fly faster. She always lost when she tried to chase something.


    Like for example the water sprite in the academy, and then the little Xelestial bird of Cinder. Sistela felt she was bullied by those creatures. Now she can show off when they meet again.


    And that''s her reason.


    "I-Is it your first time here?"


    Suddenly, the silence between them was cast away when Ella unexpectedly asked him. Though Ella was still shy because of what happened last night. She needed to distract him from the thought of meat and remind him that she was the priority here.


    In any case, this person would not even bother saying a thing! She already forgets if this person was capable of talking or not.


    After hearing her question, Yman glanced at her and saw her glancing at him while slightly bending her body forward with her hands on her back. Some strands of her hair dangled on her face. While warm sunlight caressed her skin. Paired with a white dress which was adorned with small crystals. She even more dazzling this morning.


    He could not help to be in trance for a moment before opening his mouth.


    Seemingly, she was peeking at his face.


    "Mhm, it is." His response.


    "Hmph," this person is too measured with his reply. She thought after pursing her mouth.


    He noticed her slight irritation from his reply but did not give much thought to it. He then opened his mouth once again when he remembered he forgot to ask why she needed a large number of potions.


    "Uh, by the way, My Lady, what is��"


    "Oiii!"


    "Ha?"


    Before he completed his words, he was stopped when she suddenly called out with an uncertain call at him.


    "I-I mean just call me with my name. I-It''s more casual that way and�� no one will figure that you are my bodyguard in that sense."


    He thought that she was right. After all, they would be attending the academy soon, and he would be going to be an undercover agent bodyguard. At least they needed to act like a friend. (LoL)


    "Ah, I see. You''re right. Sorry, that was careless of me�� er�� Mad��Miss Artist?"


    ''Regardless, what''s her name again?'' He thought with a puzzled face. He forgot as he used to call her Mad lass artist inside the painting!


    "....."


    Ella fell silent. She couldn''t believe that someone had dared to forget her name. And it was her bodyguard to boot! On top of that, he slipped his tongue. She was 101% certain that she heard the word ''Mad'' before the ''Miss''.


    With a face beyond crying, she was looking at him with an angry face.


    "Aaaah, this going to be troublesome," he mumbled while scratching his face. In any case, he could not let her get angry with him.


    ''My Deity help! I need backup pretty fast!'' He used thought communication with his trusted partner.


    Sistela who was currently enjoying herself flapping her wings suddenly went to a stop.


    she asked via thought process also.


    He told her the situation which Sistela understood and told him her real name based on what was recorded in her data.


    ''I see, thank you, My Deity!''


    "Then, I call you Rea then��"


    "....."


    ''Is he a shameless man?'' Ella was surprised. This person went directly into asking of calling her with a shortcut name which only applied to someone very close to her. Or know her from childhood.


    For Yman though, ''it is convenient to call someone in an easy to remember ''name''.No need to waste more brain juices just by remembering someone''s name. And Rea was a good name. I believe.''


    Sighed.


    She didn''t argue any further and agreed as they already in front of the stall where potions lined neatly depending on color. However, that ''Mad'' he said still bothering her.


    "Oh, a handsome Young Man and a beautiful Young Miss. Are you perhaps looking for high-quality potions?"


    A middle-aged man said while keeping his composed smile on his face.


    Seeing the two rich-looking young people in front of him, the vendor secretly grinned.

 Chapter 156: Elixir

    While Yman, Sistela, and Rea were buying potions, in one of the corners of the market, some people in black clothing were whispering in hush voices.


    They were currently inside a dark alley in which the light coming from the sun could not reach.


    Four people, all were covered in dark clothing from head to toe. If someone saw them, they would think the same thing. That these groups of people were suspicious.


    A second later, the shadow in front of them seemingly distorted and another person in black cloth appeared in front of them.


    "Fang, what''s the matter, why you came back so soon?" Said the person in front of the person who just appeared.


    "Sorry Boss Scar, but I have good news," said the person called Fang.


    "Good news is it? Don''t beat on the bush! Speak!" The person named Boss Scar yelled in a controlled volume.


    "We saw the target!" Just as the boss wants, Fang immediately reported.


    "Really!?"


    "Yes, boss!"


    "Then, where?"


    "That person is here in the market!"


    "What?! Are you sure?!"


    "Yes! Boss!"


    "You know the consequences if you''re lying right?"


    "I won''t dare, boss!"


    The eyes peeking the hood of the boss gleamed like the eyes of the predator after hearing Fang''s words.


    "Hehehe," he grinned and wetted his lips with his tongue.


    "Is she surrounded by the soldiers from the palace?" Scar asked.


    He wasn''t afraid of them but it would be troublesome since they were inside the Empire. It would easy for them to send reinforcements to capture the rest. If they wanted to catch the prey, they needed to do it quickly and soundlessly. They could not apply the same strategy used by those idiots who came first. Blindly charging to the target is the work of unprofessional assassins.


    If they wanted to abduct someone, they should do it stealthily.


    After hearing his Boss''s question, Fang opened his mouth saying, "No Boss! But��"


    "But?"


    "��.I saw a handsome young man together with her! Might be a boyfriend?"


    "What!? Are you sure it''s her?"


    "No doubt Boss!"


    Scar''s face under the hood was twitching.


    ''A boyfriend, huh! That girl! No wonder she refused His Highness proposal!''


    "....."


    Fang noticed his Boss went silent.


    Scar was pondering, it was very unusual and doubtful that someone who was being targeted recently is carelessly strolling in a place like this. Aside from that, they couldn''t let some random guy together with the princess other than their highness.


    "I see. Hehehe, this is perfect. Let''s kill him in front of her. Call others! Make sure you surround them!"


    "But boss, don''t we need to report it to His Highness?" Fang asked.


    "We will when we catch them!"


    "Ah, I see, okay Boss!" After saying it, Fang''s figure sank in the shadow and disappeared shortly.


    At the same time that Crimson and Rea arrived at the potion vendor stall, some people in black clothing were hiding the close buildings around. They were eyeing the two while waiting for the right timing to strike.


    "Boss, look! There they are!" From the window of one of the buildings, Fang pointed towards the direction of a young man and a young girl in front of the potion vendor.


    "Mhm. No need to point out. I saw them."


    "Uh, so-sorry Boss��"


    "Tell the others to wait for my signal."


    "Okay," after saying it, his figure disappeared again.


    After Fang left, Scar looked at the people around him. "You, and you, go to the opposite building," he pointed to the two other men.


    "Yes, Boss!" The two agreed simultaneously before they disappeared into the shadows too.


    Now there''s only him and the other one person inside this building''s room.


    But they were unaware that somewhere in the other buildings. A group of people was eyeing them too.


    "Captain, the rats smell our bait," reported a young man with short blonde hair that was neatly combed to both sides and opened on the forehead. He has pointed ears, emerald eyes, and narrow eyebrows.


    He was wearing a hooded green leather armor toppled with a silver chest plate. And an insignia of Encantasia Empire was visible on the chest area of his armor.


    He was talking to a man with a burly figure and stood about 6 feet tall. With spiky black hair and also with pointed ears. He has thick eyebrows and almond eyes.


    Like the other person, he too was wearing a green leather armor toppled with a silver chest plate.


    "Be alert, we will strike once they gather all their members," said The Captain.


    "Fufu, those fools thought the empress just let them do their thing without taking measures against them. Hahaha!" Chuckled the blonde Encan man.


    "Mm! No one can outwit the empress! Not even those fools from The House of Duke had the guts to do it. What a mere kingdom bumpkins can do? They are just luring themselves into a trap."


    "Yeah!"


    These groups of people were the members of the Green Shadow Elite Squad of the Empress Elleanna Encanta, specialized in reconnaissance and assault.


    They were a group of talented individuals in which the empress trained arduously in secret to shape them into a real beast.


    Only a few of them saw their faces. But those few who saw them only lasted several seconds in this world before they turned into rotten flesh buried below the ground.


    There were currently five people inside the room. Both of them were in uniform armors.


    While everyone was eyeing their prey, Yman and Rea were currently choosing which potion to buy.


    "Ah, you mean Mana Replenishment Elixir and Vitality Elixir as well?" Inquired the vendor.


    "Health Replenishment Elixir also, Mister," Rea politely nodded.


    After hearing her words, the vendor squinted his eyes in a brief moment. Veteran buyers of elixir wouldn''t say Health Replenishment Elixir or Mana Replenishment Elixir; they usually said Health Elixir on the spot or Mana Elixir. Although there were several types and sizes of Health and Mana Elixir, the most common one is Mana Replenishment Elixir and Health Replenishment Elixir which veteran people tired of repeating themselves talking the ''Replenishment'' words. Later, they called it Health Elixir or Mana Elixir in short but it only applies to veteran buyers. Aside from that, there are also Health and Mana Regeneration Elixir.


    "Oh, Health Replenishment Elixir too, hehe," said the vendor while rubbing his hands against each other.


    "Is this one the Mana Replenishment Elixir?" Yman picked one of the elixirs with a blue cap and blue liquid and stared at it for a couple of seconds.


    There were many kinds of potions in front of them.


    ''Looks like this young man is an inexperience as well,'' thought the vendor before he replied.


    "Yes. As you can see, they are cap in different colors. Each color represents the type of elixir. Like for example that one in your hand, it was an elixir that replenishes one''s mana that is called Mana Replenishment Elixir. Not only the cap is blue, but even the liquid in it is also of the same color. On the other hand, the red color is the Health Replenishment Elixir," explained the vendor.


    "I see. Then how about this one, Mister?" He placed back the elixir with a blue cap. Then pointed to the other elixir in a thin bottle�� like a test tube. While the bottle of Mana Replenishment Elixir was round like a bulb but smaller than it.


    "Oh, that? That is what you called Antidotes. It was used to heal Ailments."


    "Then, the colors also represent which Ailments it represents?" Yman asked while shaking the bottle slightly.


    Seeing him shaking the bottle, the vendor scoffed inwardly. And thought, ''it''s a futile kid, fufufu.''


    "Yes, you are right in there, Youngman. Since there are many kinds of ailments such as poison, paralyze, cold, and etcetera. For example that green one, it is the Antidote for poison, and that in bright yellow is the Antidote for paralyze. Also this bright blue color is the Antidote for cold."


    The vendor wondered if this young man that looks like a noble didn''t have any knowledge about elixirs.


    On top of that, Rea also noticed some kind of elixirs inside the square bottle. Like a bottle of perfume, she was using.


    "How about these, Mister?" She asked as she picked one of the bottles and lifted it close to her eyes.


    "Ah, that one is an Elixir that boosts one''s resistance."


    Replied the vendor.


    "Hmm, an Elixir of Resistance��" muttered Rea.


    "Yes, such as Stun Resistance, Impact Resistance, Controlled Resistance, and etcetera��" again, the vendor responded.


    ''Looks like these two did not know elixirs,'' the vendor thought while maintaining an innocent smile on his face.


    "And this?" Yman asked again while lifting the smallest bottle of all. It had the darkest color also among all the elixirs displayed.


    "That''s Booster Elixir. It boosts one''s capability depending on what Attributes. For example that dark red color, it boosts the Strength of the one using it."


    Explained the vendor. ''Fufu, now I''m certain that they had no idea about elixirs.''

 Chapter 157: Ungentleman

    ''These elixirs are indeed important to stock inside one''s storage. I have to buy some as well,'' he thought.


    He nodded at the vendor after hearing his explanation then he glanced at the girl beside him who had her eyes fixed staring at the elixirs in front.


    "I see. Rea, what kind of potion�� I mean elixir you wish to buy?" He asked her in a calm voice.


    But he noticed her, gawking towards him.


    In Rea''s mind,


    ''This person is calling me without honorific! N-Not even connected with a Miss or Lady before mentioning my name,'' she grumbled inwardly while showing a little redness on her face. ''Besides, isn''t the way he called me, is like calling his p-partner or lo-lo-lover��?'' She thought and her eyes started to spiral.


    In truth, she wasn''t mad, she was just surprised by his unconcerned behavior towards many things that were supposedly very serious.


    Yman on the other hand tilted his head in puzzlement from her reaction.


    Rea immediately regained her composure, she would lose much of her precious time if she kept getting surprised by this person.


    "I-I need 20 small bottles of Medium-Tier and 10 medium bottles of Advance-Tier of Mana Replenishment Elixir, Health Replenishment Elixir, Vitality Elixir, and Stamina Elixir," Rea responded.


    The vendor gasped for a second upon hearing her reply. ''These two are truly rich!'' He thought. ''What a bulk buying!''


    "You heard her, Mister," Yman said to the vendor.


    "Aaah, yes yes, venerable young man, these are the Medium-Tier in small bottles and over there are the Advance-Tier in medium size bottles. Hehe," said the vendor, still in his composed innocent smile which was very suspicious to Yman.


    He remembered he said the same when he tried to sell some arrows on the Town Walls of Sitona.


    "Uhm, are you sure they are the Medium-Tier and Advance-Tier Elixir, Mister?" He just wanted to make sure that the vendor wasn''t swindling them. Although it was a little rude to ask directly, it''s better than staying silent and doing nothing.


    "Of course, Of course! Haha, do you think I''m swindling you? That''s impossible. I won''t sully my name in the name of Her Grace Htraerea!" Said the vendor while cupping his hands.


    After Yman heard it, he felt relieved. He could not tell what kind of Demihuman the vendor was, because he was wearing a cap that covered his ears. Most Demihumans were just like normal humans when they hid their ears and tail.


    Regardless, after saying the name of Her Grace was already enough to feel at ease. Because for the Demihumans, it was a big sin if ever someone found out lying while using Her Grace''s name.


    He responded saying, "I see, then that''s good."


    "Yes, yes. You don''t need to worry I''m a man of my words," said the vendor. But Yman''s words gave him a brief scare.


    However, the vendor thought that it was impossible for someone like them who were inexperienced to know the difference between every tier of elixir. They didn''t differ in color even if one shook it. And aside from that, it was the first time he saw these people''s faces around this place. So they probably not from here.


    Rea stole a glance beside her and noticed he went silent. She opened her mouth saying, "Ah, is that so? Is this the one, Mister?" Rea asked the vendor while pointing to the elixir.


    She was a little embarrassed about being in the dark about potions or elixirs. She too could not argue if the potions in front of her were legitly the tier she needed.


    The school council asked her to buy a large number of potions when they figured that she was near the area. She couldn''t say no as the Council President was her best friend and the Vice President is her cousin, the princess of the empire, and her aunt''s only daughter.


    "Yes yes, that is, beautiful Young Miss, fufu. Go on, choose all you want." Urged the vendor but inwardly, ''as expected of rich inexperienced people, they have no means of checking the quality of it. Even if they shake it many times, they can not figure out the difference between each rank of these elixirs. Not even the experienced people could distinguish the quality of it. What''re more these two newbies who''re not even familiar about elixirs.''


    He further grinned when he noticed the young girl in front started choosing her desired elixirs. And the young man went silent.


    One by one, Rea started selecting the right bottle size. She was mumbling inside that this man beside her did not even try to offer some help to her. ''Such an ungentlemanly person!'' She thought but didn''t stop what she was doing.


    Yet a moment later,


    "Wait!"


    Suddenly, Rea and the vendor heard his call.


    "What?" She asked, slightly annoyed.


    Around this time,


    "Boss, all our men are already in their position. They are ready anytime!" Said Fang who appeared in front of Scar once again. Currently, they were peeking at the two who were busy buying in the elixir stall.


    "Good! Just wait for my ''Go'' signal before taking any actions. We need to wait until they move to a deserted place," Said Scar while showing a wide grin. Then licked his lips using his tongue.


    A large scar was visible on his chin.


    "In that case, aside from the alleyway in the western part, there''s no other place they most probably take when they decide to leave, Boss," said Fang. Then he continued, "But that alleyway is where most of the people living on the western part of the empire will pass when they decide to go home."


    "Hehehe, don''t sweat it. We just need to lure them into a more desirable place. Look at that young man with her, he looks like a kind wimp!" Sneered Boss Scar at the young man beside their target.


    "Gegege, do you mean��" Fang immediately understood what his boss wanted to tell and got excited.

 Chapter 158: Human toy

    While the group of Scar and Fang were busy scouting the two unaware young people, there was another group who was eyeing their group.


    "Captain BBear, looks like those fools are already in position and ready to act anytime," said the blonde man.


    "No Precarious, just wait for a moment. I''m sure they won''t act as long as the bait is in the crowded area. I bet my balls that those idiots have no balls to act in the open area."


    "I see. Hehe, okay sir," replied the blonde who had the codename of Precarious. He couldn''t help chuckling at Captain''s words.


    A second later, a mist appeared and a figure materialized beside them.


    "Shawter..." Precarious mumbled.


    The figure fully materialized from the mist. And based on the figure. She is a woman.


    (Tap tap tap��)


    She stepped slowly towards the Captain and stopped in front of him.


    "Our men are already in position and ready to catch them whenever you permit," respectfully reported by the girl with the codename of Shawter.


    Her figure looks magnificent. Her face couldn''t be seen as she was wearing her green hood from her green leather armor she was wearing, and a green mask was covering her mouth and nose.


    However, everyone was seemingly wary of her. No doubt that she was no ordinary member of their group.


    "Mm. Good job, Lady Shawn. When those idiots make a move we will start as well," said the Captain.


    "Just doing my job." After saying it, she sent a glance at the two unaware youngsters before her figure disappeared in a mist once again.


    "Fuh, she finally was gone." Precarious breath a sigh of relief when Shawter left. For some reason, he could not help holding his breath near her. That woman was sending chills down everyone''s spine who were present in the room. She was oozing with malignant aura.


    In truth, Shawter was the one who trained them all on how to become a monster. And their training was could only be described as hellish.


    Gulp. Everyone gulped upon reminiscing their past. But it was different now. They successfully evolve into a beast that ready to devour their opponents. Not the wimp they used to be! Now they are members of a group that able to scare even a large syndicate black organization!


    Everyone''s eyes were gleaming with fighting spirits.


    Well, they were already in many missions and accomplished great results in each. So now, their resolve was as solid as the sturdiest rock!


    But when they noticed the appearance of mist once again.


    ''Gwah! She came back!'' They warned their selves inwardly. They immediately went into attention and fell silent, not even a gulping sound was discernable.


    "By the way, I received input from our insider. They are going to lure the bait into a deserted place." She immediately said without greetings.


    "I see, good job, Shawter."


    As expected, only the captain can casually talk with her. Not even Precarious wanted to meddle in their talks.


    "No biggie. Aside from that, based on the map, the closer deserted place in the area will be�� the Back River?"


    In the northern part of the Market, there was a river at the back of buildings that were lined in accordance.


    But to arrive there, they must pass the narrow alleyway first. Then turn right and step down on the 5-steps stairs that could be seen in there. After it was a dark segment where most people only visit if they needed to piss.


    It was dark over there and mostly deserted. But when a person turns to his left and steps down again at a 10 steps long stair, everyone could see the Back River.


    "Right. That might be the place. Please order some of our men to hide and watch over the place before the enemy do."


    "Mhm!" After her nod, she vanished once again.


    Haaaah~~!


    The other people inside the room were finally able to make a long breath.


    The captain glanced at them and saw their ashen faces.


    ''Just how long will be these people recover from their trauma?!'' The Captain was wondering.


    Regardless, they needed to spy on the enemies!


    In the elixir stall,


    After hearing Yman''s call, Rea and the vendor glanced at him.


    "My my, do you wish to add something venerable, young sir?" The vendor said respectfully but with a hidden grin.


    Yman glanced at them. Then darted his eyes towards the small figure resting on his shoulder.


    "My Deity, can you appraise the quality of these elixirs?" He asked her, then glanced at the vendor. "You won''t mind right, Mister Vendor?" He said.


    The vendor was shaken upon hearing the word appraise. But he needed to compose himself. Perhaps, it was only a mere sniffing or whatnot.


    "Oh my, is it the human toy? Fufu, of course, please do so," urged the vendor while glancing at the small figure that based on what he knew, it was invented by humans. He had no idea what this little figure could do. He had several human customers buying his elixirs, but most of them did not bother asking their toys to appraise his elixirs. Therefore, he wasn''t wary of it.


    It was just a human toy after all.


    He heard many great things about these toys of humans, but it wasn''t great as he heard too that when the one using it exhaust his stamina, the resonance between the toy and user would be canceled and the owner would be vulnerable and prone to death.


    By the way, it was unusual to see a noble Encan young man using it. Though it only wondered him for a brief moment.


    Then he heard the toy saying in an excited tone.


    Then the next second, the small figure''s eyes let up while waving her tiny hands.


    After it, one after another, some small objects in bluish and holographic design appeared on top of all of the elixir''s cap.


    Both of them saw a long-narrowed rectangular box filled with a different color as it went up and down inside the box. Probably, a gauge to measure the authenticity of the product.


    The things that appeared in empty air were the holographic screen in small sizes. Inside it was written the result of the appraisal.


    Yman grinned upon reading each one of the data on it.

 Chapter 159: So clingy

    None of the data written in the holographic screens approved the vendor''s claim.


    "All of them were Low and Normal-Tier only!?" Rea who was able to read the data inside the holographic screen was astonished.


    Beads of sweats appeared at the back of the vendor''s head. Because he too could read what was written on each of the small screens. And all of them were showing the results accurately.


    "Eh? Uh��er��" the vendor stammered his words, uncertain what to say.


    "Fufufu, Mister. It is unwise to become a swindler," he heard The Youngman''s giggle. And beside him, The beautiful Young Miss was staring coldly at him.


    Now, even the vendor''s nose was sweating. How to avoid this dilemma! He was unprepared for such things as he didn''t expect that the toy could do such a thing.


    Rea was surprised at it too. Looks like, these human Deities truly came up with many surprised. The same as her owner! She sneaked a glance at him and saw his evil smile.


    Probably, he was thinking of something�� unkind. She believed.


    Then she darted her gaze towards the vendor. Now her gaze was cold. Then she slowly opened her mouth.


    "Mister, you said they are the Medium and Advance-Tier Elixir. But, it seemed they are not��" her voice was soft, but with a mixture of disgust towards the vendor.


    The vendor was sweating profusely while trying to scan his brain for an escape.


    His eyes darted from left to right as his legs and hands started to tremble.


    ''Shit! What the heck that toy is!'' He grunted inwardly.


    "Ahem!" He cleared his throat and calmed his disorder breathing. He couldn''t show any doubtful action.


    Yman and Rea stared at him, but the vendor could feel that their stares were demanding an explanation about this.


    "Ahaha, that''s impossible. That thing must be showing random things. Young man, don''t you think it''s quite rude to point an honest vendor like me as a swindler just because of that toy? Is that even a reliable one? How could a man''s honesty be compared to a piece of metal?"


    ''Sigh. Good thing he''s talented in wordplay. Fufu, too bad for these people. Now, I can use to turn back the table and get double from them. That''s what they get for trying to embarrass me. You want a play huh, then bring it on! Try this cleverness of mine!'' Thought the vendor.


    He already harnished his swindling skills for ages. So these kinds of amateur were just an infant compared to him.


    "What do you mean, Mister?" Rea asked with a frown.


    "This young man and that toy of his are trying to frame��(Thomp)!" Now he intentionally raised his voice to gather some consent from the other people around. This one of the basic moves to put pressure on the enemy. But the mouth of his was left hanging when an insignia in golden color was placed on top of the glass counter.


    ''A��A-A golden rank adventurer!'' The vendor exclaimed in shock upon seeing the badge.


    As a professional swindler, just a glance by the item, he could already tell that it was real!


    Rea stared at the insignia with understanding.


    Well, after defeating a Golden Rank in an easy and domineering performance, and single-handled a mission of subjugating a bandit encampment. The guild would be put in shame if they let him as a Bronze Rank adventurer. It was unsightly to see a Golden Rank being kicked in the butt by a Bronze Rank newbie. It would lower the value of the guild High-Ranker member.


    To avoid this ordeal, the Headmaster hastily promoted him so that the others would see it as a duel of two High-Ranker.


    Thankfully, the guild was able to avoid the mess.


    Well, no one had expected that the duel would come out like that.


    She sighed.


    "Now Mister, who is framing who?" His voice was as mellow was as the soft drifting wind. He even was putting a warm smile on his face. But the vendor felt a weight on it.


    He knew this smile. It was the smile of the same profession as him!


    "Ah��!" He about to say something but stopped when a voice was heard,


    (I won''t sully my name in the name of Her Grace Htraerea!)


    (I won''t sully my name in the name of Her Grace Htraerea!)


    (I won''t sully my name in the name of Her Grace Htraerea��!)


    it was his words recently. The young man repeatedly replayed it.


    (0_0)


    Damn! Damn! Damn! It was the only word that his mind repeatedly screaming at the moment.


    It was inevitable to say some reason. This man in front of him was on a higher level than him! Not in strength, but in ''SWINDLING business!''


    He never would imagine meeting someone as cunning as this person. The vendor finally realized. He was already trapped in this man''s hand from the beginning! Only a person of the same doing knows each other''s thinking! So that''s the reason why he acted so calm?!


    No! This man is his senior! The real beast in the world of trickiness! The real monster in swindling! The immortal!


    The vendor showed a dying face. Like 60 years past in an instance of his life.


    His hair started to fall one by one. Until it became two by two, three by three��.. and so on.


    If only he could turn back the time, he would ask him to teach him how to reach the height where this man was stepping.


    But now only regret remained.


    "Fufu."


    Suddenly, he heard the young man''s chuckle.


    "Rea, what''s the possible sentence for a swindler?"


    "Uh? Eh��" Rea who was staring at the sorry state of the vendor was having a puzzled face. She had no idea what happened and when this person beside her able to record the voice of the vendor.


    In any case, she needed to respond.


    "Probably, confiscate his sales, detain in prison, pay a huge sum of money, and��"


    (O,,o)


    Upon hearing her reply, the vendor''s head started to turn into a skull.


    "Fufu." An evil chuckle again which slowly turned his skull-head into dust, being swayed by the wind.


    "You heard her, Mister. Without even counting the sentence they would bestow onto you�� this girl beside me is an important figure in this empire. Look at this��" Yman said while showing a picture of Rea standing beside The Empress. He secretly asked Sistela a while ago to download one.


    Rea on the other hand, had her eyes turned white and blank.


    In her mind, she was mumbling.


    ''What this person was doing? What this person was doing��.. why he secretly storing my picture!!!?''


    She screamed and was fuming. Her brain could not focus.


    She wanted to beat him. But, is she capable of it? Noooo! She wanted to scream! This person is so shameless!


    But Yman didn''t stop with just that.


    The vendor did not want to listen anymore.


    "Look, Mister, this young lady was being protected by shadow assassins��" he said while beckoning to the building not too far behind them.


    The vendor stole a glance and noticed some people sneakily spying on them. They were wearing black clothing all over their bodies!


    Rea tried to glance also but before she lifted her head. She was dragged onto his chest.


    Poof! Something in her head went short-circuit and steam of smoke went out.


    "Wha-wha-wha-what?!"


    Yman knitted his brows. He wondered why she sounded like Sistela when he first dominated her System the first time he activated his Black Miasma and Skill Modifying ability.


    In any case, he needed to warn her, "don''t look behind, we are being followed and surrounded��"


    However, this whisper was like a hazy whisper in Rea''s ears. Her brain was muddled up by the current situation.


    This person suddenly pulled her towards him! She wanted to free herself but his grip could not be budged.


    Rea stood stiffly, being hugged in front of many.


    So-so clingy...(Rea''s thought.)


    On the contrary,


    The vendor already turned into a stone and didn''t want to talk anymore.


    Sistela wondered if her partner awakened a Petrifyskill.

 Chapter 160: A similar situation from the past

    The vendor was right, the young man had no intention to report him. But in exchange, he had to agree to give them a 45% discount!


    "This is a blackmail," he muttered after sighing heavily.


    They left after he gave them the tier they wanted to buy. At a very cheap price. He wanted to cry, but good thing that they didn''t report him.


    He glanced at the window of the opposite building. The people in black clothing were gazing at those two.


    "Are they her Shadow Assassins?" The vendor asked with doubt tohimself upon noticing the ill-intent from their gazes.


    The vendor immediately darted his eyes away and thought it''s better to give them low price elixirs than getting himself involved by those people. At least they left without troubling him further.


    The sun was almost at the center of the sky when Yman and Rea left the Elixir Stall.


    Rea was so surprised after Crimson repeated to her that some people were spying on them. She doubted how he figured out because he seemed to be careless and uncaring of his surroundings.


    ''Could it be his Deity who figured it out?'' She wondered. But she saw the Deity didn''t leave his side when they were in the stall. She wasn''t sure how he did it. But it made her more curious about him.


    Nonetheless, she frowned when the image of someone appeared in her mind. "Ump! That person just doesn''t stop sending his people to get me."


    Yman heard the words she mumbled but he decided not to give a care about it. Though he was doubtful of her situation. He might as well ask her later about those people who wanted to abduct her.


    His initial thought was some fans of her, but he could be wrong. Even the headmaster did not disclose the information.


    However, Yman could not fully protect her if she won''t tell him the scale of her issue.


    The two of them were empty-handed at the moment.


    The things they bought were stored in Rea''s spatial ring, while Yman stored his in Cyber Storage. He bought some Booster Elixir, Mana Elixir, Vitality Elixir, and some Antidotes.


    Seeing her panicky behavior, he leaned closer to her and whispered, "just stay calm, and don''t panic. Act like you''re unaware of their presences," Yman was giving Rea some directives. While saying these lines, his face was straight staring in front.


    Rea was wondering how he could act so calm in the face of danger. Is this his battle-ready mode?'' Rea couldn''t help asking herself. But she liked this kind of behavior he is currently showing. He seemed more mysterious and reliable.


    Regardless, he was her bodyguard. She could only depend on him at the moment.


    "Mhm," she responded to his directives with a nod while forcing herself to stay calm and unbothered like him.


    Not far from them,


    "Boss, they finally started to leave the place," said Fang.


    Boss Scar was staring at their figures. In his eyes was full of intent to kill the young man. ''No one has the right to stay close to His Highness woman!'' He growled inside him. He had the urge to rush forward and skewered the man''s body with his bare hands but he could not ruin their plan. And he was the leader of the group. So he must act by his plan.


    "Just you wait idiot you will die soon." He muttered in the air.


    Seeing the figures of the two people going further and further, "Let''s go!" Said Scar to the others. "Yes, Boss!" Then they leaped like shadows on the roof.


    The urge to glance got the better of Rea. She took a quick peek at the building and saw some shadows leaping.


    ''They are being tailed by several people!'' She exclaimed inwardly then returned her eyes to the front.


    Yman was certain that those people won''t act carelessly unless they were in a deserted place. So for now, they need to stay where most people are gathering while staying alert.


    Then he asked Sistela for resonance. It might alert the enemy but it''s better to be in their resonance beforehand so that he could cast his skills sooner whenever a battle spark.


    The occasional glances from the person beside him were disregarded by him. Though he wondered why this girl loves sneaking glances at him.


    ''Perhaps, there''s something in my face?'' He thought but (Shake shake!) he shook his head to get rid of such trivial thoughts. He could not let himself get distracted in a situation like this.


    "My Deity, please appraise their strengths."


    Yman asked his partner to appraise the strength of the enemy. He needed to know his enemy''s strength based on the magical aura that circulating in their bodies.


    After a couple of seconds,


    Yman was surprised and briefly stopped on his feet when a small circular holographic object covered in front of his left eye, seemingly forming like an eyeglass lens.


    Then a list of data appeared in the air. And a map outline of the place where it was being displayed.


    "My Deity, what is this?" He asked. A little skeptical.


    "I see."


    Upon hearing her. Yman understood that it was one of the new content added after last night UPDATE of her.


    So it must be one of those things she said that ''every screen was resizable now''.


    But looks like it was modeled like this for private-use while he was in a crowded place.


    With this design, only he and his deity could see the floating holographic screens around him.


    Not long after he asked her to appraise the enemy, he heard her saying that the appraisal was done.


    "Fufu, you''re working faster than before," he said with a laugh.


    She replied seriously.


    Looks like her System ran smoother and less lag too. Truly, the update came in handy. She was LEVEL 8 at the moment, thanks for her successful advance last night. Only two-level needed to promote her into a Main Land Deity.


    Rea was just listening to Crimson while he was busy talking in the air, but she believed that he was talking to Sistela, his deity. So she remained quiet. However, it puzzled her why he suddenly stopped so she asked, "what''s the matter, Crimson?"


    "No, nothing. Let''s go," just a simple reply. Without even explaining to her the reason.


    She let out a sigh before they decided to continue walking. But, "Big Brother, Big Sis, please help me��" a scrawny-looking kid suddenly blocked their path and asked for help.


    Yman and Rea remained on their feet and stared at the little boy in front. It was the Rabbitman kid that he was familiar with.


    He narrowed his eyes, ''looks like they come up with a cheap trick. Then let''s play out,'' he thought.


    Peeking from the roof, "Boss, look, the kid did a good job. You are truly a wise person boss!" Bootlicked Fang.


    "Mmf," scoffed Scar while puffing his chest. ''Such simple tricks,'' he thought. It was the result of his experience. Then he said, "Although using pitiful figures was a very common and overused tactic in luring the enemy, it was still effective even nowadays."


    Fang and the others followed saying, "You''re right Boss! You''re so great!"


    They saw the kid took their target towards the alleyway where they wanted them to take.


    Scar grinned broader upon seeing it, "Hehe, it''s time to claim someone''s life and bring the princess to His Highness. Let''s go!"


    They hastily followed towards their target.


    Meanwhile,


    "Fast Big Bro, Big Sis! That guy will be going to kill my sister!" Said the Rabbitman kid.


    "Hey what are you doing?!" Rea yelled to Crimson who was following behind them. She yelled at him when she felt a tug from him. He took her hand!


    "No need to rush," he said in his usual calm demeanor.


    "Hmph! If we don''t hurry, that guy will kill his sister!" Rea said in a slightly higher voice. She couldn''t believe this guy. ''Is he a heartless man?'' She thought,


    "Remember your situation, Rea," he said.


    Rea stopped on her feet and gawked. She forgot that they were being chased by several people. She glanced around her and noticed that they were in an enclosed space. An ideal place to ambush someone!


    Upon realizing, she briefly stared at the Kid''s back then returned her gaze to him and muttered. "C-Could it be... we got lured by that kid?"


    Crimson stared at her for a second. Then she saw him extend his mouth to both sides.


    He said, "Yes��.. and no��"


    "....."


    "What do you mean?" She asked.


    "We are being lured, but��"


    "But?"


    Sigh.


    "....I don''t feel any malicious intent from that kid. So he is probably telling the truth," he replied.


    She beamed after hearing that the kid wasn''t lying to them. Regardless, they needed to help his sister!


    "Let''s go!" She urged him.


    "Rea, do you want to help that kid?" He asked her. But his voice was cold. She glanced at him and noticed he was wearing an unusual gleam in his eyes.


    "Eh��!" It gave her a scare and chill.


    This familiar situation triggered his past.


    That time when some unknown people separated him and his sister.


    A cold sensation of murderous aura was oozing from him.

 Chapter 161: Employer

    "I-I just can''t let him and his sister die. I can''t settle without doing something to help after someone asking me for help..."


    She said with a face near crying. His gaze was on her. It was a gaze that wanted to scrutinize someone.


    "What can you do? Will you trade your life to save them?" She heard his voice. It was cold and demanding. Demanding an honest answer, that''s what she felt from it.


    Rea swallowed back her saliva to wet her throat.


    "I-I won''t trade my life. But I want to try to save them. I want to see if I can do a thing. Even if it put my life in danger."


    Yman remembered the kid''s words. The person who took hostage his sister told him to bring the two of them in the Back River. If not, the man would kill his sister.


    Also, if they reported the situation to the guards or palace soldiers, he would kill his sister without a second thought.


    After hearing it, Rea dragged him together with her. Not even asking his opinion as to her bodyguard. ''Such a troublesome girl. And yet, she wanted to rush over there without a proper plan. Even though she said earnestly that she won''t trade her life, she still wanted to help even if it put her life in danger. She said it, yet she was shakingly afraid right now.''


    He thought when he noticed her hands and shoulders slightly trembling.


    ''She''s contradicting herself. It''s not hard to guess that it''s her conscience that''s dragging her to make a logical decision.''


    ''In fact, the two kids are not related to her. She doesn''t even know about them. She wanted to put herself in danger just to try saving some strangers.''


    In this era, it''s an idiotic decision. Many will find it absurd.


    For him, it was one of the most illogical decisions and�� surreal.


    He sighed.


    A person who wants to become stronger doesn''t need a conscience. One must be a ruthless killing machine to acquire strength.


    However, the girl in front of him wasn''t in this category. And because she wasn''t, someone must do it for her.


    He noticed her mouth twitched then she opened it slowly.


    "Sorry if I''m dragging you with this. Y-You can leave me here if you want. I-I promise I won''t condemn you if something bad happened to me and the children," she added while slightly looking below. She said it but in truth, she didn''t want him to leave her in this place.


    Yman scratched the back of his head.


    ''Troublesome girl��'' he thought. In any case, she was his employer and he already accepted the job and even spent some of the advance payment. So whatever trouble she found herself in, he must be together with her.


    "How can I face the Headmaster if I leave you here."


    Upon hearing him, signs of tears were visible in her eyes. "D-Do you mean��"


    "Mhm."


    ''The problem is, I ran out of stock of Fire Dolls,'' he thought.


    Sistela warned her.


    ''No choice, huh!'' He thought and briefly stared at the girl in front of him.


    "Okay, since you want to save them��" he said at her.


    Not far from the alleyway where they currently are, the people in black clothing were rushing in their direction.


    "Boss, most of our men are already in their position for an ambush!"


    "Hehe, that''s good."


    "Boss, there!" Shouted one of Scar''s men upon seeing the alleyway ahead of them.


    "I saw it! You fool!" Bellowed Scar.


    "Aah, sorry, Boss! I''m just excited!" Said the person.


    Most of them are excited. After all, if they succeed in today''s mission, not only they will get more money rewards, they can also get beautiful women! Everyone is salivating while imagining the scene.


    After several seconds, they finally arrived at the alleyway! They leaped higher and landed on the ground one after another.


    Without stopping their feet they rushed towards the Back River.


    However, before they could make several steps, everyone stopped on their feet when something was thrown and rolled on the ground several times before it went into a stop in front of them.


    "What the��" exclaimed Scar.


    "Boss look!" One of his men shouted.


    "A body?!"


    "Wait, Isn''t he one of us!"


    Scar''s ear twitched upon hearing Fang''s remarks.


    He was right, the person who rolled on the ground was one of their men. He was the person Scar tasked to hostage the kid and brought it to the Back River. But how was he thrown here?


    The body was twitching. And they noticed that some part of his body was missing.


    "He lost his arms!?"


    One of his men immediately rushed forward to check the person.


    "Hey! Are you okay?! What happened buddy?"


    He saw the guy having a face as pale as ghost.


    "The heck what happened!"


    Scar and the others frowned.


    The guy was barely alive, but still able to glance around him. When he saw their Boss Scar, "B-Boss, t-that person is d-danger�� ous," said the person who lost his arms.


    "Wait, how about the others?" Scar asked but it was too late.


    "Boss, he already lost his consciousness!" Fang reported.


    Although there were many ways to regrow back his arms, the cost wasn''t cheap. It would be good if there was a high-level healer who could cast high tier healing which is called Restoration.


    "Finish him," he coldly said.


    "But Boss��"


    "We can''t bring back a useless fool!" He bellowed.


    "O-okay Boss!"


    Shing!


    Blood splattered after Fang pierced a dagger into the unconscious person''s chest. "Damn it!" He muttered in regret.


    Scar narrowed his eyes. ''What was happening here? And what he meant by -that person- words of his?'' Scar pondered. In any case, they must continue the plan "Let''s go!" He couldn''t stop the plan just because he lost a man.


    A moment before they resumed their steps. Everyone froze once again.


    Waaahhhh!


    Nooooooo!


    Heeeelp!


    Gyaaaaaah!


    "Monster! Monster! Get away from me! Get away from me!"


    GYAAAAAAAHHH!!!


    Everyone heard some crying voices.


    "What''s that?" Fang asked.


    "Boss, it''s coming from the Back River!" One of their companions announced.


    Fang and Scar looked at each other.


    "Let''s go! We can''t waste our time here!"


    "Yes, Boss!"


    The group wanted to proceed yet, "wait what is that?"


    One of his men was staring above.


    "What the he��ll is that��" Scar muttered in disbelief.

 Chapter 162: An out of ordinary presence

    Rea was flabbergasted when Crimson asked her that he wanted to enter her painting for a brief moment.


    She was skeptical of his request, though she agreed when she saw his gaze.


    In her painting, the time zone was different from the real world.


    The Rabbitman kid was staring at the painting with question marks floating above his head, wondering what it was. Especially when the big brother goes inside it. "Big sis, where''s big brother go? Please let''s hurry! That person�� he''s going to kill my sister," panicked the kid, which she understood.


    Rea placed her dainty hand on top of his head and whispered, "He will come back in a moment, don''t worry, we are going to save your sister," said Rea but bit her lips after. As she too was anxiously waiting for Crimson to comeback.


    She tried herself to sound normal to not worry the kid further, but it only took half of his worry as the frown on his face was still there.


    Rea created a small version of the painting they used in the competition.


    Just a few seconds had passed when Yman came out of it after he entered. It was enough time to beat himself. (Lol)


    "Dang it, that almost killed me many times," he whined after coming out of the painting. Rea showed a puzzled face. She wondered what he did inside for him to whine like that.


    In truth, he had to suffer a self-creation tribulation to satisfy the need for preparation of activating his Black Miasma and Skill Modifying ability!


    Aside from him looking a little exhausted, she could not figure any changes from him. She could spy on him inside her painting but she did not do it. He strongly warned her that he would be doing some private matter.


    She wondered if he went inside to poop. Did this man''s cunningness go over heaven and now even her dimensional world was being used as his convenient toilet?! She wanted to cry at the thought. And what made him whine like that? Perhaps, he was fighting a big poop? Rea blinks her beautiful eyes many times before she decides to kick the thought out of her mind.


    Considering that she was a princess, It was inappropriate for her to think of such a thing! With a slight redness on her face, she opened her mouth but stopped when Crimson took something from his storage.


    High in the air,


    The scout bee that he let loose a while ago was hovering above and was perceiving several presences below. All of it was being transmitted to him.


    Through his scout bird''s shared vision, he saw some people battling silently around the corner of the Back River.


    ''Hmm, I see,'' Yman finally understood. They must be a secret group of high-level experts sent to secretly monitor the area. Or perhaps, to guard her?'' He thought as he glanced at Rea. Yman wasn''t sure about it, but he was sure about one thing. That they were not their enemies.


    Not far from them.


    The second scout bee was following another group of people. But the link was cut when one of those people detected it.


    From the back of a burly man, wearing green leather armor. A sharp greenish ray of light took a form like a giant needle. After the man pointed his index and middle fingers towards the fluttering bee, the giant needle shot and pierced the bee in an instance.


    Yman frowned. ''This person is truly a high-level expert!'' He thought. But he didn''t feel any bad intent from them. So he didn''t give much care about it.


    In any case, it was a big discovery for him that a person of such caliber could perceive the tiny oscillation of mana on his Enhance Fire Doll. He must be careful next time.


    "What was that, Captain?" Precarious asked.


    "I don''t know, but I felt a slight mana fluctuation from it."


    "Eh, that''s weird."


    "Regardless, how are the others? Did they successfully secure the place?" Captain Bbear asked.


    "Captain, I received a report, they are currently engaging with the enemies!" One of his men shouted.


    "What? How did��"


    "Looks like one of the enemies is an experienced scout!"


    "Hmm, I see, let''s hurry!"


    "Yes, Captain!"


    (Woosh woosh woosh��!)


    Everyone increased their speed as they crossed the street with a huge single leap towards the opposite roof.


    Some people below glanced above them but most of them only saw some shadows in a brief moment. Then they returned their attention to what they were initially doing.


    "Let''s begin."


    Rea and the kid were puzzled about what he meant. But after whispering those lines. She realized that her initial thought was wrong.


    Because from out of thin air, seemingly from his dimensional storage, a creature came out. A bug, or an ant with a pair of wings. It has the size as big as the scout bee. It has unique colors of black and lines of crimson across its bulging stomach. Even its antennas are crimson in colors.


    "Version 2 Ant-model, hehe," he grinned as he said it. After witnessing what the high-level expert did to his scout bee, he came to decide to choose this one.


    Rea and the kid turned their eyes to dots.


    She already knew that it was he who made those black creatures that seemingly looked like summoned Spirit Beast. But seeing one in person, Rea could not help wondering how this thing was made!? Miss Cinde only explained that it was made by mana, Mana Coating, and other abilities. Anything aside from that, only this person could explain.


    He noticed the agape of the girl beside her. "What?" He asked.


    "N-Nothing��" she wanted to ask him to teach her. But there''s a more important issue they needed to settle first.


    After letting the Version 2 Ant-model, it flapped its transparent black wings and flew unhurriedly towards the direction of the Back River ahead of them. They saw it turn right when it reached the corner.


    "Let''s go��" Yman urged them. The group then chased after it.


    At the riverbank, a person was sitting in front of a tied Rabbitman girl kid. Unaware of what was happening around him. He was sharpening his curvaceous sword using an unknown stone.


    In front, the kid was lying on the dirty pavements, wriggling her petite figure to get rid of the rope. But her struggle was in vain. She doesn''t have the strength to get rid of it. She couldn''t even scream as her mouth was covered by a piece of cloth.


    The hostage-taker was staring at her with a grin.


    "You lass just stay obedient. Well, I don''t care. Go on, struggle more. You idiot."


    Kekeke! He laughed at other''s demise.


    At this moment, his ears picked a flapping sound of wings. But based on the sound, it must be coming from an insect.


    He glanced at the left-front of him to where he passed by a while ago. There, a small figure of an insect was fluttering towards his direction. ''A bee?'' His thoughts.


    ''Wait, what kind of bee is that?'' He thought again after realizing that the bee had a different figure than the bee he initially thought.


    (Woosh woosh woosh��!) It continued flying until it reached the distance at which he could reach it at hand.


    "Sho, sho!" He tried to drive it away by waving his hand to it.


    But the insect just evaded his hand and did not fly away.


    "Eh?!"


    "Is this little thing showed mana fluctuation?" He muttered upon noticing slight mana from it. It was easy to figure it out. After all, he was already a Star-2 Real Path Expert.


    "Damn it!" The guy felt annoyed and used his sword.


    The sword made a gleam in an instance when it cut the insect in half.


    But, after he cut it, black smoke exploded.


    "Cough cough cough��! The heck was that?!" He whined. Then he noticed his vision swirled a little.


    He used his forearm to brush it. Then he blinked his eyes to clear his vision. After it was convenient enough, he looked in front and his eyes instantly shut open when saw a person in shining silver armor rushing towards him!


    No! He was already in front of him! "Damn it! Who''s this man!?" Without a warning, he lifted his sword and made a horizontal slash from down left to the upper right of the person. The figure was cut horizontally.


    But he grimaced. Because he could not feel a cutting sensation from his hand. It was like he was just cutting an empty air.


    Right.


    After the figure was cut, it slowly faded away like a mirage.


    Then his killer instinct screamed for danger from his back.


    But after he turned around, there was no one on his back.


    ''Weird,'' he thought.


    A moment later, a cold sensation was felt by his arms. It seemed like a cold wind brushed on it.


    He further grimaced when blood-spattered and gushed out like fountains. On top of that, he could not feel his arms anymore. Then he saw them flying away from his body.


    GUAAAAAAHAAHHHHHH!!!


    He screamed.


    After the Black Miasma invaded his body, Yman rushed forward without wasting time. It altered the enemy''s DatS and erase his presence from his enemy''s vision.


    Actually, before rushing, he drank a small bottle of Strength and Speed Booster Elixir. The enemy was more level ahead of him. He could not assume that he was stronger just because his Attributes were higher than his peers.


    Yman knew that it would last for a few seconds only, so he immediately leaped forward using his fastest speed.


    Just right when the enemy regained his vision that he arrived in front of it, the Illusion Magic from Black Miasma took effect. Leaving the clone of him in front of the enemy while he used Rapid Leap and landed behind him.


    But the enemy was quick to react, it already got rid of his illusion when he landed. However, Yman used his Time Warp ability before the enemy saw his silhouette.


    And he appeared to be in his illusion''s position.


    He then used his two silver daggers in hand to disarm the enemy. The literal disarming. Because he cut both of them.


    He could not kill him as it would lower the Like Value of his Deity towards him. But cutting both his arms was enough to accomplish his mission.


    The enemy wriggled in pain on the ground while blodd gushing out from its wound.


    Rea ran to the enemy''s side. And let it drink a small bottle of Middle-Tier Health Elixir. Although it could not regrow his arms, it could clot the wounds.


    Just then the crying stopped.


    Yman did not react to her action.


    "Sister!"


    "Moooi?" Her words could not be understood because the cloth was covering her mouth.


    The Rabbitman boy rushed to his sister''s side and took the sword to free his sister.


    "We can''t stay for long, let''s go!" Yman urged them.


    Witweeewwww!!! He whistled.


    A moment later, Kyahh! Whoosh! Thump! A huge Transport Bird landed in front of them.


    It was his Hell Chaser Bird. Yman was surprised to see it. It became so huge.


    ''Did this guy eat a whole cow to become like this?!'' He doubted.


    Aside from that, they needed to hurry!


    Rea darted her eyes to him and the Hell Chaser bird. It was clear that she wanted to say something. But before she could open her mouth. She was pulled by him and thrown on the Hell Chaser''s back.


    Kyaaah! She yelped.


    He rushed towards the kid.


    "Who are they, Moi?"


    "....." before Moi could reply. He and his sister were rudely picked by that guy.


    "We need to escape this place!" He only said then jumped on top of the bird.


    The Hell Chaser bird flew right away.


    A moment after they escaped, a huge beast landed on the ground. But it only saw an armless man on the bloody ground. It then picked the man and tossed him away.


    Yman decided to escape because he felt a strong presence nearby. An out of ordinary presence.

 Chapter 163: Abnormality

    "What was that?" The words subconsciously left his mouth as he stared below.


    A huge figure of a beast that clearly looks like a gorilla was running amok. It jumped so high and landed on the alleyway that shook the place. Some segments of the wall turned to rubble immediately. No! It destroyed the relative buildings.


    A group of people in black clothing went into a stop after the monster appeared in front of them.


    They were the people who talied them, they were the one sending ill-intent towards him and Rea.


    Seeing it that they came to the alleyway, he understood that the enemy was planning to cut their escape route, while some of their men were surrounding the place.


    However, their plan was already a big failure when they failed to detect the second party. More on that, their plan backfired when the huge beast appeared before them.


    After the huge beast landed on the ground, those people in black clothing decided to retreat but some of them were caught and crashed in the big gorilla''s hands. Those who were able to evade the beast was able to leap on the roof. But found themselves surrounded by those other groups.


    Yman could not hear what they were talking about. But it looks like they were arguing. He then sent the scout bee towards them.


    On the other hand,


    The people in the area started running aimlessly. They were shouting, "earthquake! Help!"


    The bustling market suddenly went into a mess. Looking at it from above, they look like scuttering ants.


    Oooooohhhhhhooooorrrrrr!!!


    The huge gorilla beast let out a loud shrill.


    "An Abnormality!" Rea exclaimed upon looking below.


    "Abnormality?" He repeated her word.


    "Yes! They called it that because they abnormally evolve."


    "Abnormal evolution? It isn''t a natural occurrence?"


    "No! It is not!"


    Yman narrowed his eyes.


    "So is it the first time that it happened?," Yman whispered to himself but Rea beside him heard his words.


    "No, the first one appeared was last three months ago," she slowly frowned. "The beast almost destroyed the whole town on the southern part of the empire. Good thing that one of the Experts from the great family able to tame it."


    "Tame?" This was a surprising term for Yman. "A beast like that could be tamed?"


    "Yes, as long as you have a medium to seal the soul of the beast and make a contract with it!" Rea answered with a frown.


    "Hmm, do you perhaps mean the Artefact?" He was in the dark about this item. However, he was intrigued by it.


    "Yes!"


    "I see," His reply. He wanted to ask more about it. But Yman felt that it wasn''t the right time to talk.


    He glanced at her.


    After hearing her explanation, he pondered, ''An abnormal evolution, huh. Wait, why does it sound so familiar?'' He asked inwardly. ''Wasn''t it also happened in the Underground Channel of Human City? Those Noble Rats abnormally evolved in great numbers.``


    Then he noticed that his Hell Chaser Bird also became bigger. ''Could it be related to it?'' He wondered.


    But unlike the gorilla beast below, his Hell Chaser Bird looks more normal. Only its size had changed.


    The huge gorilla below looked like a deformed beast.


    It has 2 heads and 4 arms, it also exuded an aura of a high-level Spirit Beast.


    "In any case, will it be okay?"


    Yman''s pondering came to a stop when he heard the person beside him asking. He glanced below and replied, "I''m sure some people already reported it," he replied. Besides it wasn''t his job to defeat that beast. And Yman knew that many high-level experts were present below. So he was sure that they would do something about it. And he also noticed some soldiers and guards running towards the area.


    But it seemed Rea meant another thing from her words. "I mean�� those people below."


    He realized that Rea was meaning to say about the people battling below.


    He scratched his face.


    "Ah, you don''t need to concern yourself towards them. It was their fight," he said. After all, as a bodyguard, his only concern was her safety.


    Now that his bee is able to get closer to them, he was able to hear what they were talking about. Yman finally understood about those second parties. "Looks like those people are tasked to capture those shady groups," he added.


    Rea glanced at him in surprise. She was wondering if he was telling the truth or just his hunch. Yet his eyes and tone was saying that he was certain with his words.


    "How can it be?" The silent-mutter unintentionally became louder which reached his ears.


    "Mm?" Yman asked in puzzlement from her words.


    "No no no, nothing��" Rea realized she voiced out her surprised.


    "....."


    The two of them stared at each other in a loss of words.


    They both blinked their eyes, wondering what to say. Yman thought it was an awkward situation.


    "Uhm�� Big Sis, Big Brother�� where are we going?" They heard the kid Rabbitman.


    "Eh?" Rea immediately darted her eyes away from Crimson. She looked behind and saw the two kids were staring at them with skeptical faces.


    "We need to bring them into a safe place," Rea suggested.


    "Mhm!" He nodded then maneuvered the bird away from the area.


    After Yman and Rea left the area,


    Scar, Fang, and the other members of their group were being surrounded by the group of Captain Bbear.


    "Give up! It was inevitable for you to struggle any longer," said Captain Bbear. Behind him, multiple giant needles were aiming to the three in the middle.


    "Shit! How come it turned out like this!" Fang grunted.


    "What will we do, Boss?" Said Fang as he was warily gazing at the people around them.


    "Contact the back up��" Scar whispered in an inaudible voice.


    But.


    "Captain, I received a report from Miss Shawter. They successfully eliminated the other group of enemies," Precarious reported.


    "What��!"


    Upon hearing his words, Scar felt like his plan was spoiled.


    A grimace finally visible on his face. Captain Bbear on the other hand grinned broadly. "It''s a checkmate!" He said in a cold voice.


    But looks like luck was on his side.


    One of his men, the third person together with him and Fang whispered in his ears. "Boss, hold!" The person shouted.


    Scar and Fang glanced at the person''s hand and noticed a bluish crystal ball.


    "A Teleportation Crystal?!"


    They exclaimed.


    Captain frowned upon seeing it. He wondered how that person got such a very expensive material.


    "No, catch them!" He immediately ordered.


    "Damn it!" Said Precarious as he charged forward to capture the surrounded enemy.


    But before they reached their position, the three people in black clothing disappeared.


    "Tsk!" Captain Bbear clicked his tongue.


    "Sorry Cap, they managed to escape," said one of his men.


    "Well, it was unexpected that one of them had such a precious item," he replied in regret.


    Sigh.


    Captain Bbear waved his hand to get rid of the magical needles behind him.


    "How about that, Captain!" Precarious pointed to the huge beast.


    He narrowed his eyes before saying, "Let the expert in handling a beast deal with it. It''s not our task to fight with it."


    Precarious and the others nodded.


    "Let''s go!" After saying it, their silhouette instantly vanished.

 Chapter 164: I have a fever!

    "Big Bro, Big Sis, please don''t bring us to the orphanage," with worries in their eyes, the two kids said their, please.


    "Ah, no no no! We won''t go there," Rea said. She was thinking that these two must have had a bad experience there for them to be so afraid to go there. Or maybe they heard some bad rumors about the orphanage.


    "By the way, where are your parents?" Seeing that the first thing they worried about was to be sent to the orphanage, these two must be orphans. But Rea had to ask somehow.


    "W-We don''t have any�� they passed away (Hic!) when they tried to protect us from some bad people," the girl kid said with tears.


    "Ah��eh...erm��!" Rea was flustered. She wasn''t an expert in dealing with kids! She glanced at the person beside her but the person was seemingly gazing into something. She noticed that he was staring at the kid''s chest part.


    ''This idiot!''


    "Hey! Are you into kids?!" Her question alarmed him and thought, ''what is this girl talking about?''


    He noticed that he was staring into the kid''s chest. But it wasn''t like he liked their chest. In truth, he noticed something, like a tattoo, or is it an insignia? Thanks to the wind pressure, it made their tattered clothes flutter and had him take a glimpse at them.


    The kids tightly hugged their bodies after hearing Rea''s words, while warily looking at him like he was some kind of pedophile.


    He immediately darted his eyes to her. "That''s impossible," he said in a calm voice while scratching his face as he always does whenever he finds himself in an odd situation. At the same time, he showed a can''t be helped face. A bead of sweat appeared at the back of his head.


    He sighed.


    Yman thought that he needed to clear this issue before it sullies his name and become a troublesome misunderstanding in the future. But even for him, this awkward situation wasn''t easy to deal with. "I''m into someone like Miss Rea," he said while holding his bangs that were trying to block his eyes because of the wind.


    But in Rea''s point of view, he looks like he was purposely seducing her!


    This the only solution he managed to find in his mind to divert the issue. But after saying it, Rea immediately turned bashful, and fumes coming out on top of her head.


    "Wha-Wha-Wha-whaaaa!!!" She shouted like a broken robot.


    "!!"


    He heard his partner''s voice.


    ''Ehh? What do you mean?''


    ''What?'' Yman was late to realize.


    His mouth was hung open upon realizing he just made a blunder of himself.


    Beads of sweats coming out on the back of his head as he was thinking of how to deal with this another troublesome misunderstanding.


    Rea was on the verge of collapse. Her mind was in a mess!


    An idea came to his mind, "I mean, I admired girls as beautiful as Miss Rea," he added so he wouldn''t sound like he specifically meant her from his words earlier and telling her that he liked beautiful girls in general.


    For some reason, he heard Sistela''s disappointed voice while seemingly shaking her head. She sounded like a grown-up woman though.


    Right after he heard his Deity''s words,


    "What a discontent person, I can''t believe that you already thought of adding another woman even before I accepted you as my lover!"


    "Ehhh?" Yamn was taken aback. ''How come it turned out like this?'' He thought.


    She shouted angrily at him while raising her brows. Her eyes were exuding fire and her face was as red as a tomato.


    In his eyes, she looks like a certain person when she thought he had a relationship with her friend at that time when they went into the smithing shop.


    Yman realized that the situation became messier. Whatever he would say just added to the mess.


    ''Uhm, My Deity, what should I do?!'' He finally asked for guidance from his partner.


    ''She sounded like a lawyer,'' he thought.


    "Oh-uhm, Big sis, where�� are we going?"


    Rea''s over-thinkingstopped when they heard the girl kid.


    "Ah�� ah, I- I have a farm in the Sunshine Village. Do you want to work with me?"


    "Eh? Wasn''t that against the law?" Crimson said with doubt.


    "Ah? No no no, I won''t give them heavy jobs. Just help my people feeding the chickens and such."


    "Hm," Crimson pondered. "Do you have a free barn or stable?" He asked.


    "Mhm! They can stay there," Rea said while glancing at the kids.


    "Really Big Sis?!" Moi exclaimed.


    "Big Sis can I stay there too?!"


    "....."


    "....."


    "....."


    The three went silent when Crimson asked like a kid.


    "Ahaha��" Rea forced a laugh while scratching her face, she copied what Crimson always did. "What do you mean Mr. Crimson sir?"


    "Eh?" Crimson wondered why she sounded like his employee. Well this is good, "you see, I don''t have a house�� and I already spent most of the advance payment. So I''m kinda broke now, ahaha," he laughed.


    "....."


    Rea went into silence once again. Then she opened her mouth with her eyes trembling.


    "How shameless this person was when he told his affection towards me a while ago even though he doesn''t have a house and money.


    If ever I agreed to his love, we started to date like a usual happy couple, and because he was a poor man, I will take care of the expenses. But since our affection was too strong, there''s nothing I can do. Every day is like a blossoming flower. We will take advantage of our little time amid our busy day.


    Then we decide to marry.


    The first night is happy. But�� but what if he get addicted?


    Noooo! What if this man just wanted me for his pleasure later on?


    Every night he will be calling me to our room to satisfy his lust. Then our family will grow bigger. Then I become thin and lose my sex-appeal. Or my beauty will fade if I become plump.


    No no no! He will find me unattractive anymore. Pretty much he will start to find another beautiful woman to satisfy himself. While he was busy with his woman, I''m alone tending to our big family��"


    Did he wish for me to raise our family alone?


    A neglectful husband! Taking advantage of his wife''s affection!"


    Yman and the two kids had their mouths wide open when Rea started to mumble to herself.


    "....."


    "....."


    "....."


    Even Sistela went silent too.


    ''What kind of story is this?'' Yman asked inwardly. ''Please someone shut her mouth!'' He added.


    Sistela commented.


    ''The following chapter is full of drama!'' He followed.


    ''Wait some kids are listening! Please censor it!''


    (Rea wasn''t finish though.)


    "Then, then, then�� I started to plot against him. To catch himin the act with his woman! After that�� I will stab both of them�� End!"


    (0��..0)


    KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!


    Rea exploded in embarrassment when she realized she voiced out her thoughts.


    I HATE YOU!


    (Slap!)


    "Ouch!?" An unexpected slap landed on his face.


    "No! The ending was so painful, I got slapped, you know!" He whined.


    (A/N: Please fill in the blank. It''s a chapter and also a filler. Sorry I''ve got a fever.)


    {=^=}// {o_-}//{~_~}//

 Chapter 165: A win is a win

    While Crimson and the others steadily go towards the western part of the Empire.


    His scout bee transmitted something to his vision that piqued his interest.


    His mouth extended into a smile.


    "Rea, I have something needed to do back there." He said while beckoning at the back. To where they come from.


    "What do you mean? We will go back?" She asked.


    "No, I mean I will go back alone. I will follow after you when I am done."


    "Ehh? Then how will you go there?" Rea was puzzled. Wondering what this person was talking about. He wanted to go back alone��''Wait! Will he be going to throw us off of the Transport Bird?!'' Rea knitted her brows at the thought. She opened her mouth, but before she could voice out what was in her mind, her mouth was hung open when a big black bird appeared from out of thin air. Probably from his storage, which Miss Cinde told her before.


    She said Crimson was storing his creation from his storage. And that she shouldn''t be surprised if he pulled something out of the norm from out of thin airs. Or without summoning a summoning array or Artefact. Even an Artefact needed to feed with mana by the owner to activate it.


    But this person was conveniently storing his creation like some kind of equipments.


    The two kids with them blink their eyes, wondering where the blackbird came from.


    Without waiting for Rea''s next words. He jumped on top of the Enhance Fire Doll bird.


    "Wait Crimso��!"


    Before Rea could finish her words. He already sped up towards the area where the gorilla was running amok.


    He canceled the Artefact armor. His white long jacket was fluttering after the leather armor with a silver chest plate disappeared from his body. But Yman took off also his long white jacket and stored it inside his storage. In exchange, he took a black jacket from his storage and decided to wear it.


    He then increased the speed of the Fire Doll bird.


    In the Market area. The beast was still rampaging. Many victims died from its hands.


    The Empire''s guards and soldiers could not do a thing about it. It was too strong beyond their capability.


    "Nooooo!"


    "Wait, wait!"


    Rooooaaaarrrrr!!!


    "Aaaaaaaahh!!!"


    "Where are the Experts?!"


    "They are coming!"


    "Shit! They are so slow. We are as good as corpses by the time they arrive!"


    RAAAAAWWWWRRR!!! The monster''s howl could send chills down their spines.


    "Shit another boulder attack! Watch out!" Shouted one of the soldiers.


    "Miles, boost me!" One of the soldiers asked to the other soldier beside him.


    "Do you wish to suicide, Tom?"


    "Of course not! I''m going to lure it in an empty place. If no one can do it, I''m afraid this whole place will become a ruin," said Tom.


    "Watch out!"


    "Dammit! Another Scattered Shot of dense purplish energy!"


    After a loud howl, around the beast, some purplish spheres were materializing. Electrical sparks were visible on their surface that Tseemed like snakes circling around every sphere. Each sphere has the radius of half a meter.


    Not long when all the spheres shone, they shot in unperceivable speed by a low level person.


    It was followed by loud scattered explosions.


    Thump! The concrete debris fell on the ground when someone beneath it forcefully pushed it away.


    "Cough! Cough! Dammit! That almost killed me!" Tom whimpered.


    "Thanks Tom��"


    "Don''t sweat it. Nevertheless, that thing was so strong."


    If not because Tom jumped and pushed them both on the ground, Miles for sure is already dead at the moment.


    But not all were as lucky as them. Those unlucky fellows who got hit by the attack either died on the spot or lost some body parts.


    Outside the Main City of the Empire. Three silhouettes materialized behind the North Hill. They magically appeared after a flash of bluish light.


    All of them have suspicious attire as they were covered in black clothing from head to toe.


    "Damn it!" One of them spat. "Fang, try to contact the others!" He commanded.


    "Yes, Boss!" Fang agreed and took a device from behind the cloth. It was a convenient human device that enabled people to contact people from around the world.


    After a couple of seconds without reply, "Boss, negative."


    "Shit, so they were all taken down. Looks like they knew about our plan and lured us by intentionally letting the princess roaming around without bodyguards!" Scar realized his biggest mistake.


    "Sorry Boss, I didn''t notice either that they already laid the traps before we took our action!" Said Fang with a sorry face under his hood.


    "Forget it, it wasalready happened��" he shrugged then glanced at the third person. "By the way, you are the newbie right?" Scar asked. It''s easy to guess that this person was a newbie from their group because most of the newbies were weirdly silent and had problems interacting with others. But when they started interacting with them, they mostly became the noisiest one later on.


    "Yes."


    Scar could not discern if the person behind the cloth was a woman or a man.


    "I see. Thanks for using that expensive item for use to escape from entanglement."


    "It was the least I could do."


    "Good. What''s your name?"


    "Gath."


    "Gath? Mmm�� sounds familiar," Fang butt in. The name of this person rang a bell but he could not remember where he heard it. "In any case, what are we going to do now, Boss?" He asked Scar.


    "Hmm�� let''s go back to the Nara Kingdom to report to His Highness. And also to recruit some men."


    "Okay, Boss!"


    "Let''s go!"


    "Aye!"


    The three people started moving. To arrive at the Nara Kingdom, they needed to walk for a month or more. But if they ride a carriage it could shorten into weeks, and days if they ride a transport bird.


    Coming to the empire was a fruitless adventure for them! They lost their men in the process and failed to accomplish the mission. In honesty, Scar was skeptical of going back to the Nara Kingdom. There was a high chance that His Highness would take his life for this big failure.


    In the Empire''s palace. Sitting on her throne.


    The group of the Royal Knights knights were standing guard behind her. All of them were wearing shiny golden armor. The Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal was present as well. As Her Majesty Empress Elleanna Encanta''s protector he must stand beside her whenever he''s on duty. Not only him, but all of the members of Royal Knights were present inside the room.


    Elleana was contemplating when a shadow came out in front of her.


    It was the burly shadow of a man. Seeing the shadow, the other member of the Royal Knights gulped. Although both of them were protectors of the empress, the Royal Knights understood that these groups of shadows were the most mysterious group for all the protectors of her majesty.


    Not even the Royal Knight-Captain knows their real persona. They only knew that they were a group of people who specialize in killing the empress''s enemies and protecting her from the invisible danger, like plotting against her. That''s why she remained untouchable even though she was surrounded by enemies inside the palace. Especially from the Royal Family.


    Elleanna knew that it''s only a matter of time before a war broke out inside. Her enemies were secretly cooking some plots behind her. However, she could not attack them directly. Aside from lack of evidence, she also lacks information about his enemy''s power.


    The burly shadow went to his knee. "Your Majesty, we dealt with most of the enemy."


    "I see. Good job as always. Did that person manage to slip in?"


    "Yes Your Majesty, just as you planned."


    Elleanna smiled understandably but a glint was visible in her eyes.


    "Now let''s see what our dog can sniff inside the enemy''s domain," she muttered.


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    (Patapatapata��)


    A sudden hurried footsteps from outside the door was heard by Elleanna. She then eyed the figure in front of her which he understood. The silhouette vanished like there was no one in there in the first place.


    After the door of the room pushed open.


    "Your Majesty!"


    A soldier wearing a silver breastplate went to his knee in front of her.


    Elleanna knew this person. It was one of the higher position soldiers that he tasked to help eliminate the beast in the market.


    "Did you eliminate the beast?" She asked without waiting for the soldiers report.


    But Elleanna noticed the slight change in the soldier''s face.


    "Uh...eh�� yes, Your Majesty! The beast was successfully dealt."


    Elleanna sighed in relief upon hearing the soldier''s reply.


    "Did the Experts I''ve sent arrived on time? Oh by the way, did you loot all the materials from it?"


    "Uhm, that''s the problem, Your Majesty."


    Noticing that the empress was creasing her brows, the soldier stammeringly followed saying, "uh-eh�� Your Majesty please look at this!" He said while handing a piece of equipment.


    Elleanna beckoned to one of the Royal Knights.


    It was a woman, wearing a shiny golden armor who approached the soldier and took the device from it.


    The device was one of the human convenient tools. It could record a scene and replay whenever one wanted.


    When Elleanna started playing what was recorded in it, inside a small holographic screen, a scene of the whole surroundings that almost in ruin greeted their eyes. And a rampaging huge beast was firing balls of condense purplish energies.


    Everytime it fired, it was followed by loud explosions. The crying voices of her people could even be heard from it.


    Elleanna was further creasing her brows. Although she already steeled herself from the kind of scene, it still pained her whenever she heard the pitiful yelping of her people.


    The ground was littered by dead bodies bathing with their own blood.


    She could not help biting her lips to lessen the guilt for not able to avoid such a scene to happen.


    It was also one of the Empire''s problems. The sudden appearance of this Abnormality.


    The people she tasked to investigate this matter still could not find a clue about it. Elleanna subconsciously massage her temple.


    She felt like she would lost 10 years of her life from all this problems popping out from out of nowhere. But she wasn''t a weak woman. Elleanna already had a plan.


    In any case, she focused her eyes to the holographic screen.


    Many of her soldiers fell victim. Some even shouted if where are the Experts!


    When things about going to the worst. One of the soldiers shouted, "Look! What is that?!"


    Everyone looked above, even the shaking video darted above to capture what the soldier was pointing at.


    Everyone saw a figure covered in black smoke. But oddly, the figure was floating in mid air!


    "A monster?"


    "Dammit! Another enemy?"


    "No! We''re all dead!"


    "No wait!"


    They noticed the figure rapidly dove towards the beast''s direction.


    Then it was followed by a loud dull sound of collision.


    Debris of concrete and bricks were flying away together with the cloud of dust and pieces of broken woods.


    When the dust calmed down, two figures were staring at each other. The one was a huge figure of the beast, and the second one was the small figure of a��.. Human?!


    Everyone was surprised to see his face. He had jet black colored hair. And red agate eyes that seemingly biased against fear.


    But looking at his figure, he seemed to be a young man, he looked like a first year student of the academy.


    Some people shouted to him, urging him to escape. Some even spat nonsense words.


    But when the battle started, everyone gaped. All the remaining people around the place were awe-inspired at the battle.


    The mysterious youngman in black was engaging the gigantic beast in a melee fight! What the heck! Who was in their right mind would do it! And he was alone?!


    Even Roman of Hammerhelm''s family fought the Lightning Mayhem together with his family''s soldiers. And had to use all his resources in order to subdue the beast.


    But this person who was currently fighting the beast of the same level was battling with it in a melee and barehanded to boot!!!


    Everyone shouted in their minds and had their mouths forgot to shut.


    Everyone expected that the young man would be crushed by the monster''s hands. But contrary to their expectations, the beast and the human both staggered back when their punches collided at each other.


    Then the beast switched into firing a range attack using its condense purplish sphere. However, not even once that the attack landed.


    But everyone grimaced when one finally was able to land a hit. But soon they almost drop their eyeballs. It was block by a force shield and soon disappeared like smoke.


    Seeing his failure to kill the tiny human, the gigantic beast leaped higher in the air and pounded the ground that shook the entire place. Some people around who were in the effective range were stunned by it.


    It was a super strong attack. One''s brain would be shaken by it. Some even slipped and fell on the ground.


    Good thing that the one taking the video was slightly farther. He must be using a zoom-in setting to record it.


    Unexpectedly, the person who was supposed to be the main target of the beast''s attack could not be seen around.


    Then the video darted above and saw the guy floating in the air. Knowing that he could fly, everyone understood that this kind of attack from the beast was useless against that man.


    The man slowly descended like a king of war. In front of his enemy he landed calmly.


    A grin was visible on his face, absence of worries and fear.


    Just then everyone started to question about his identity. But all the people around had no idea who he was.


    The duel of the gigantic monster against a tiny human had commenced. It was a surreal scene. They both rained punches to their foe.


    The young man was sent like a bowling ball when he was hit. His silhouette disappeared in the pile of debris.


    Causing all the relative debris and trash to scatter around and send flying.


    The beast started to materialize powerful energy from its mouth. But before it could fire it, a concrete went flying and hit the beast on the forehead and disrupted its attack.


    Actually, they saw the mysterious human cross his arms in time and able to lessen the impact of the punch from the beast.


    The human leaped rapidly that most of the people around failed to follow. They heard a loud sound of crashing on the ground.


    "What?! The gigantic beast was sent flying! Is this for real?!" Shouted a surprise person.


    A second later, the gigantic beast leaped on his feet. It then repeatedly pounds his hand on his chest. Then a moment later. A huge ray of light was shut from its mouth and unguardedly hit the mysterious human.


    Fortunately, he was able to twist his body. But still, he lost his arm.


    "Nooo! That beast is just too powerful!"


    "This is the end!"


    Everyone exclaimed in regret.


    But contrary to their expectations. The next second, everyone witnessed his arm grow once again.


    Elleanna frowned. She knew that human System Deity restored their lost body parts after their resonance. But if one took damage like that, it was impossible to go in consecutive resonance. They needed to rest until their stamina was stable once again.


    And she did not even see him cancelling his System Deity. In this regard, that person, he had a natural ability of Restoration! Such high level skills! Elleanna exclaimed.


    The battle lasted for almost an hour. The experts were able to arrive at the place. But what they witnessed was a mysterious person exuding with black smoke that seemingly looked like a miasma was standing on top of the lying beast.


    The beast was twitching but it seemed so weak that it could not lift its arms.


    "What the heck was happening here?" One of the Experts mumbled.


    No one was complaining when the mysterious person dug his hand on the beast''s body. After he pulled his arm, his hand was already holding two crystalline objects.


    It was a Magic Cryst and Inner Core of the beast.


    The mysterious person flew away after taking those two materials.


    Then,


    Silence descended in the area. All the people who witnessed the fight had a loss in words.


    Inside the palace, Empress Elleanna and the others could not believe what they just watched.


    "Soldier, summon Mr. Sauro here," Elleanna asked the soldier in front of her.


    "Y-Yes! Your Majesty!" The soldier snapped.


    ''I needed to investigate this person,'' Elleanna thought. Who would have thought that another interesting human would appear inside her domain.


    But before that, she needed to meet that man.


    Currently, riding on his Enhance Fire Doll, Yman was following the direction to where Rea and the others went.


    In truth, he only wanted to retrieve his Scout Bee. It copied some useful skills that took his interest. That''s why he decided to go back. But after seeing the sorry state of the soldiers and guards. He decided to help. And of course, he wanted to test his new strength. Many times that the enemy almost beat him. Luckily, he won in the end. He won by a little margin though.


    But a win is a win. Especially that it was against a high-ranking beast.


    Another rumor about the mysterious person is bound to happen in the empire.

 Chapter 166: Sauro Browne

    Two days had passed since the fight against the Abnormality Beast.


    In the Encantasia Empire there was a gossip. It was a gossip about a mysterious young man veiled with a powerful black aura.


    But the gossip wasn''t just an ordinary gossip as there was a video to prove it.


    Every concerned individual started to question his identity. But beside of him being a human, nothing about his information was easy to gather.


    He''s like a mirage of lies and truth. He appeared and disappeared from out of thin air.


    In the Flamingo Town, inside the pub, a middle-age man was questioning the bartender for the same question that most tourists who visit the town would ask.


    "Did you say that it happened several days ago?" Asked the middle-age man while pushing a pouch of silver coins towards the bartender.


    The bartender made a squinted smile before opening his mouth. This kind of activity was a common deal if one needs an information. And there was no better place to gather information rather than the pub.


    Most people in the town would come and go here, to eat and drinks together with their families and friends.


    When the devilish effect of beer and rum started to turn their world upside down, everyone would start to bubble information from their uncontrolled mouths.


    It was an early hour of the morning, and in this time of the day the pub wasn''t as busy as it would be later.


    Inside the pub, a middle-age man was sitting in front of the counter. He came here for a mission given to him from Her Majesty Empress Elleanna.


    "Yes, kind sir. It happened not long ago. As you already heard, on the north of this town, there was supposed to be a cursed swamp..." the bartender noticed Mr. Sauro Browne was nodding his head.


    He then started explaining of how the swamp called a Cursed-Swamp and that many lives lost in their.


    "This town was used to be a small and lifeless town out of all the town in the empire; that wast still true until that person came and took care of the hiding monster in the deep of the swamp..."


    "Do you mean someone defeated the high-ranking beast that lurking in the deeps of the swamp?" Sauro Browne asked with great ineterest.


    "Yes, kind sir. In fact, no one know that it was the monster''s doing that many of the townpeople had lost their lives in the whenever they came near it. The curse about the swamp was only put in light after it was taken care by that person," said the bartender.


    "Can you tell me more about that person?" Sauro asked once again. But the bartender shook his head. This was the only information he could disclose. "I advice you to visit northern part or the Main Park of the town, kind sir," said the bartender.


    Sauro decided to walk out of the pub and proceedes to the Central Park of the town. There he saw a huge painting. Although it wasn''t as good as the painting painted by the popular Miss Ella, the painting was also a good sight. Probably, it was the main attraction of this town.


    Manytourists came to see the painting; not because it was a perfectly drawn painting, but because the subject of the painting was what took their interest.


    Like the other days, this day also, it was crowded by people. They came here together with their friends or families, and some even came alone. Many of the tourists took a picture with it as the background.


    "Excuse me! Excuse me...!" Sauro Browne made his way through the crowd of people.


    After coming in front of the painting his eyes widened in disbelief. Not only him, but also the others who came for the first time had similar reaction as him.


    Most of the people who come here today is of the same reason. To prove if the hailed Mysterious Black Knight of Her Grace Htraerea was the same person as the mysterious youngman who save the soldiers and the guards from total annihilation against the Abnormality Beast.


    As expected, everyone of them saw an identical black aura covering both of them. It only added more points to their hunch.


    After seeing the painting, Sauro asked the townpeople who were currently in the area. About the Mysterious Black Knight.


    But to no avail, everyone of them was telling him identical answers -- thst it was thanks to Her Grace Htraerea for sending her Valorous Black Knight to save the town from the curse.


    Aside from it being called as Black Knight by the residence, he could not get much information regarding his identity.


    However, here was a chance that they were the same person.


    Hah! He sighed. "Looks like it''s no good asking these people," he mumbled.


    He then decided to proceed to the northern part of the town.


    Around this time, in the western part of the empire, Yman woke up from the sudden slammed of the wooden door of the stable.


    He jolted up and glanced left to right just to see a beauty in her white dress and a white hat. She was standing near the door with an empty basket in her hand.


    But,


    KYAAAAAAHHHH!!!


    "Why you are naked?!"


    It was Rea.


    Sistela who was supposedly in a sleep mode near his face, jumped and put a fighting stance while shouting.


    Yman scratched the back of his head. "Good morning, Rea," he greeted casually.


    "What are you doing!? Wear your clothes!" She yelled and shut the door with a loud bang.


    He wondered what made her to cause a ruccus here in the early morning. But it looks like she just flustered after seeing him topless.


    After putting on clothes, she started saying how neglectful he was as a bodyguard. He should be the one who woke up early than the person he was guarding.


    "By the way, why are you in such attire?" He asked without minding her words.


    "A-Ahem! I will be going to the little market to take the herbs I ordered recently. And also, weren''t you looking for a good Synthesist? I know someone. I might as well reccomend him to you."


    He remembered that he truly told her that he wanted to learn how to synthesize a medicine.


    "I see. Then let''s go?"

 Chapter 167: Repeller Herb

    "Miss Ella!"


    *Oh! It''s Lady Ella!"


    "Miss Ella, good morning!"


    "Good morning, Lady Ella!"


    When Yman and Rea arrived at The Little Market, he wasn''t surprised anymore that most of the people in the market were greeting her.


    Because when he arrived at her manor, Yman almost dropped his eyeball at the magnificent mansion that stood in a plain, surrounded by canary fields.


    Not just that, a group of maids were lining up to greet them. And they were all calling her Young Lady.


    He started getting curious about her real identity.


    Nonetheless, when the people in the market saw Rea, they came to greet her. And those who could not come close had shouted just to say their regards.


    She was replying to them while putting a smile on her face.


    Yman found it bothersome if it was him on her shoes. So he admired her consistency of bringing up herself in front of the crowd without a slight change on her face. Maybe she was enjoying it? Or perhaps, she was used to it already. Yman thought so.


    Regardless, it amounted to his suspicion that she was living in a different world than him. What he meant with ''a different world'' was the family stature she was living. He couldn''t help feeling inferior around her.


    This was the same feeling he felt whenever he was around Almina Amulet. The disparity between rich and poor.


    But Yman felt that Rea was more than that.


    Nonetheless,


    He was at his normal human figure at the moment. With his messy brown hair that was gradually fluttering whenever the wind strokes it.


    Currently, he was standing slightly behind her.


    Before coming here she told him that it was fine if he was in his human form.


    So Yman didn''t bother disguising himself today. Just as she said, no one was bothered by his appearance. Some of them showed curious faces. But that might be because he was standing relatively close to Rea.


    Some of them raised a question about him and why he was together with her.


    Rea eagerly said that nothing was going between them and that he was just a friend of her. But it only made them more suspicious the way she decisively denies it.


    Yman remained quiet and put a gentle smile on his face. He wondered if she didn''t find it troublesome to be surrounded by many people. In any case, all he can do presently is to stand quietly.


    Sistela was on his shoulder overlooking the different kinds of Demihumans hoarding around them.


    He didn''t lower his guard and secretly sent a small bird to scout and some Fire Doll bees. He also let some enhanced ants and small spiders crawling around.


    When the people around noticed that she was holding an empty basket, most of them handed some of their products but she refused politely.


    After everyone did their greetings, they finally let her go.


    They walked towards their destination but before they reached it, "big sis!"


    "Good morning, big sis!"


    "Big sis, where are you heading at?"


    "Hey, young guys, how are you?" She said.


    Some children came to greet her.


    Rea had to bend her knees and stroke their head and made a mild conversation with them. He heard her chuckling a few times before the kids bid their farewell.


    Sistela stated.


    "Mhm!"


    She said with a teasing tone.


    "Haha, I guess I am," Yman replied. Wellthe place he came from was not the place where they raised him to become kind to children or people. It was a hellish place that taught him not to feel remorseful even when he took someone''s life.


    He was simply there waiting for her. Stood like the bodyguard should be. When the children left, he asked, "do you like children?"


    "Wha-what-what are you thinking about?"


    Yman''s mouth was hung open when Rea was overreacting to his question.


    "In any case, let''s proceed?" He asked right away to draw away the misunderstanding that might happen.


    After she nodded with a sigh, they immediately went to look at one of Rea''s friends.


    He forced a smile and followed closely.


    "Why haven''t you let one of your maids do the errand for you?" He asked.


    "I''m in the mood of going out. And... I miss strolling around this area."


    Yman glanced around him. The place wasn''t so big. The road was only as big as three carriages traveling side by side.


    And only a few stall vendors and consumers were strolling around. Just one would expect in a little market. But still, they numbered around one hundred or lower.


    "We''re here."


    He heard her.


    They stopped in front of the store with the sign of ''The Little Garden''.


    "Mhm!"


    "Let''s go then," Yman said and about to push the wooden door when something from inside made a dull sound.


    Based on the sound, it seemed like something from inside had fallen and broken. Then it was followed by a woman''s voice. "Please stop!"


    Yman and Rea glanced at each other before he deliberately pushed the door.


    "Oh there it is, you said you don''t have any of this kind," said a man''s voice.


    When Yman and Rea entered the room they saw a bearded man. It was a human of about 20-25 years old. Together with him were three other people. The other people were of different Demihuman tribes.


    In the human''s hand was a piece of an herb. It has a yellow color and the leaf formed like a three-leaf-clover. However, each leaf was an oval shape.


    The herb was as tall as his finger and the leaves of it were as big as the half of his finger.


    But his attention was taken by the slight aura that was exuding from it.


    The leaf was radiating a green luminous.


    Aside from the four men, they also saw a girl. Based on her feature, she was possibly as old as Yman and Rea.


    "Aspe!" Rea shouted.


    The girl who was picking up the broken pieces of the vase lifted her head when he heard the familiar voice.


    "Miss Ella?"


    Rea frowned upon seeing her on the brink of crying.


    "What happened?" She asked and trotted to her friend''s side.


    "So-Sorry Miss Ella, the-these people took the Repeller Herb��" Aspe said.


    Aspe has dog ears, and possibly from a Dogmen Tribe. Another type of Demihuman.


    After hearing her friend, Rea threw a glance at the person who was holding the herb.


    "Give it back!" Rea yelled.


    "Ufufu!" The guy chuckled. Together with his men. "Look, it is Miss Ella." Sarcastically said the man while making a bowing gesture.


    Rea raised a brow.


    "Miss Ella, before that, my young master asked me an errand to deliver you a message."


    "I don''t care, just give me the herb!" She yelled once again. More annoyed at these insensitive people.


    The herb was important to the whole village.


    Yman was standing at the back, listening to them. While Sistela was wondering why they were trying to acquire in their possession the piece of an herb.


    She asked while tilting her little head towards her partner.


    Yman squinted his eyes. He too was wondering about this so-called Repeller Herb.

 Chapter 168: A magician that interests him the most

    ''Maybe it is a rare herb,'' He replied. ''Regardless, can you appraise it, My Deity?''


    she said in a boastful and annoying tone.


    Not even a minute that had passed when the report from his Deity was transmitted to his vision.


    He then read it.


    [Monster Repeller Herb]


    ?A rare type of herb that can be gathered in selected places such as the place where the first ray of the morning sun embraces the ground and the last brush of sunset from the ground. It can also be gathered randomly in some other places.


    ?This kind of herb usually grows in fewer numbers.


    ?It repels higher level monsters. Especially the rank C - A monsters.


    ?Weeding out the herb is not an easy task as it may hide its glow whenever it feels someone''s intention to it. And if the glow from it disappears, it becomes a normal herb.


    ''It needed a high-level of cautiousness to gather it. What a weird herb.'' He thought so.


    After reading Sistela''s appraisal, Yman and Sistela realized that it wasn''t an ordinary herb.


    Though they both wondered why Rea needed it. Since it was a repel herb, hence it was helpful in hunting low-level monsters.


    And the group of men that were present inside the shop looked like hunters.


    So he guessed that they might be using it in hunting monsters. Yman did not mind it as the herb didn''t have any connection with him.


    His attention was easily taken by the man''s words.


    "Kukuku, you don''t need to be so decisive in your decision, Miss Ella. You want this herb, right? My boss might change his mind if you agree to his condition," said the human with a grin. The Demihumans with him sneered and chuckled.


    Rea on the other hand showed a disgusting expression towards them. But her eyes darted to the herb and the person at the backmost. For some reason, he was just standing there listening to their conversation.


    Rea thought, ''why is this person not even reacting?''


    Yman was wondering if it was natural in this village to find a human together with Demihuman.


    He saw Rea''s gaze to him. And he could even read through her gaze what she wanted to say.


    The five people looked at their back and saw a young human standing quietly. On his shoulder, an acute human deity was sitting. They were wondering about who he was. They didn''t even notice that he was there. ''What the heck this young man is doing?'' Thought one of them. But some of them also thought that he was just an extra who wanted to buy some herbs. Too bad his timing wasn''t good.


    They smirked and sneered at him.


    Seeing the other human, the man who was holding the herb raised a brow then said. "Get out if you don''t want your ass to get beaten by us."


    He wanted to show a little consent towards him as he was a human the same as him.


    "Hehe��"


    His friends started chuckling.


    Yman forced a dryly laugh.


    "No Miss Ella! Don''t be fooled by these people!" Rea''s friend reacted. It was Aspe. The girl with dog ears. She exclaimed while wearing a strong disagreement with the human''s words recently.


    Rea stared at Aspe and slightly nodded her head. Then she shot a piercing gaze to the group of people who took the herb.


    "I don''t care about your young master or boss. Just give me back the herb. The whole village will be endangered without it!" Rea''s voice was trailed with strong demand.


    After Aspe''s scream, they already forgot that he exists. The people who took the herb turned back their attention to Rea and Aspe.


    Seeing that these two girls could probably do nothing against them, "Mr. Thomas, let''s take her with us by force!" One of them suggested.


    Thomas was the human who was holding the herb. He squinted his eyes. Probably, interested in his pal''s suggestion.


    "Fufu, that sounds good." He said with a wide grin while staring at Rea.


    Rea was taken aback when she heard them. Aspe immediately stepped on the front. "I won''t let you harm my friend!"


    Aspe knew that she wasn''t strong enough to win against these people who were almost at False Path level.


    On the contrary, she was only a 4-Star herb collector. She only knew some auxiliary magic and didn''t have strong magic for combat. But her intention wasn''t to defeat them. She could at least create a commotion and it might take the people outside by surprise. If by chance a benevolence expert was passing by at that moment. He or She would possibly try to see if what was happening and might as well help them.


    The people in front of her jeered at her even after seeing the resolve on her eyes. Because her whole body was trembling in fear.


    "Hehehe, Miss Collector, you don''t have to force yourself if you are that afraid," said the guy with pig-like ears.


    "Haha, sorry Miss Collector but our boss doesn''t have any feelings towards you, haha!" Another one added.


    They started taunting her.


    "No Aspe, I can take care of them by myself," said Rea as she took something from her spatial ring.


    When they heard her words, Thomas and the others fell silent and narrowed their eyes. Then went into a full alert. After all, she was the popular Miss Ella. And she studied at the popular academy of Encantasia.


    Looks like Sistela noticed it on his face. "To all the magicians I''ve met, only her magic interests me the most. I could not help but be amazed by it," he replied honestly.


    "If Rea used her magic in a combat it could be very scary," he added.


    "Wait, isn''t it bad for us if that happened?" He just realized his role!


    Nonetheless, all his Fire Doll scouts were in position. But since he was in his real form. He might as well use his fist to settle these thugs.


    Yman scanned his Cyber Storage to get his [Black Killer Glove] and the [Black Chaos Gauntlet]. These are the names he chose for them.

 Chapter 169: A human expert

    In the right hand of Ella, a device materialized. She was even standing in a dignified posture, imitating her empress aunt whenever she declared something interesting to her people.


    Everyone in the room was awe-inspired at her majestic aura. She looks like a queen, standing in an aloft demeanor.


    However, when they noticed the thing she was holding, everyone''s eyes turned into dots. With their mouths hung open.


    Even the girl beside her had a face that didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. A big bead of


    sweat appeared at the back of her head.


    "Puwa��!" Laughter escaped from the mouth. It was from Thomas.


    Then,


    "...puwahahahahaha!"


    HAHAHAHAHA


    Following his lead, everyone in their group was batshit laughing.


    In Rea''s hand, Yman and the others saw an MTMD.


    But for some reason, Rea was maintaining her aloft demeanor even though the people in front of her were laughing crazily.


    "Hahaha, what that thing can do, Miss Ella?" One of Thomas''s men said.


    "Haha, Miss Ella, do you plan on calling the emergency hotline?" Asked Thomas.


    In truth, after the development of this device, not only humans could call the emergency team, even the Demihumans also had an emergency team that would rescue those who wanted their service.


    However, putting into account the distance. The emergency team would be late. Although the people from the emergency team at most a False Path Expert, their number wasn''t so big. On the other hand, no one knew where their station was located as they were always came late when one needed their help. Until only a few would bother to contact them.


    A second later, she tapped her device. Then they heard a ringing tone. A moment after the clicking tone was heard, a voice from the other side came in.


    "Hello, Merea? What''s up?"


    Said the person she was calling.


    Upon hearing her voice, Yman felt a chill running down his spine. Then he felt a bad premonition.


    Sistela screamed.


    Never would he imagine that Rea would be calling her aunt. The headmaster of the adventurers guild.


    ''In any case, why did she call her?'' He asked inwardly.


    "Aunt! This person is not protecting me!!!" Rea did not bother greeting the person on the other line and directly said her complaint.


    Yman and Sistela froze on the spot. It was unexpected even for him. Not good if their boss fired them!


    When Thomas and the others heard her calling the person on the other line as ''Aunt'', they burst into laughter once again. And even taunting her that she was like a kid asking for help from her aunt.


    Beside her, Aspe was gawking. She wondered why Miss Ella called her aunt in this situation. And what she meant by ''this person not protecting her?'' She doubted.


    They all thought Miss Ella would pull out an amazing Artefact from her spatial ring.


    However, she pulled something they least expected. How come a person with great magic and who was studying in a leading magic academy of the empire relied on her tool instead. It''s not even a tool for magic combat.


    Even Yman could not help but wanted to chuckle at her. But he held his chuckle as he was the target of that call!


    Rea disregarded their bewilderment and raised a brow at them. Then she shot a glare at the person who was standing quietly like an audience at the back.


    A bead of sweat appeared at the back of his head when he noticed her gaze towards him. Yman laughed inwardly in a descending tone while scratching his face.


    "Ufufu, tell him I will cut his salary if he let my Merea hurt��"


    The headmaster''s reply reverberated in his head. Yman''s mouth was left open with his eyes turned white.


    After her aunt''s words, she smugged at him with a "Hmph!"


    She looks like a spoiled girl.


    "....."


    He was looking forward to her amazing magic spell but for some reason, she pulled something very scary. At least it was for him.


    Sistela said with a scare which further dropped his shoulder.


    Hah! He sighed. And winked at Rea with a smile.


    Rea was caught off guard and was taken aback. She could not believe this guy had the time to tease her in such a situation they were in. Though her heart skips a beat.


    But she could not let herself be swallowed into this person''s actions. Rea decided to put a facade of an uninterested face. If someone knew exactly what she felt that moment, they would think, ''As expected of a princess, she was good at imposing an act!''


    She briefly stuck out her tongue in his direction.


    Before Yman could think to himself that he failed to tease her, a report from his ever-trusting partner came-in.


    Said Sistela in surprise.


    He too was surprised at this notification from his Deity but soon a grin happened on his face.


    He finally got a hang of this Attribute.


    No one noticed the little teasing exchanged between them.


    ''This girl loves being teased apparently,'' he thought so.


    While Aspe was still marveling at what to do in this situation, Thomas and his men waa still laughing crazily.


    (Until��)


    "Stop making fun of my girl��" they heard someone saying it. His voice was so calm and the tone was serious. He said it with a straight face like it was a natural thing to say.


    All the people inside the cramped shop of flowers and herbs turned silent. They all glanced at the cause of the voice. They saw the young man who they thought already went away.


    Aspe was puzzled by his words.


    But then, "Wha--! M-M-My....." Rea stammered her words while having a shocked face. Then fumes that seemed like volcanic fumes appeared on top of her head and her face slowly turned red, but she used her hands to cover her face after a semi-eruption.


    In her mind, it wasn''t because she likes him, it was just too embarrassing to hear.


    Sistela was once again reported.


    Yman looked at Rea with a sorry face. He was about to say ''My Boss'' but his tongue slipped.


    However, after hearing his Deity''s notification, it looks like he was right. This rich-beautiful-lass likes being teased.


    And on top of it, he already mastered the [Thick-skinned], [Thickface], or even reached the apex of [Shamelessness]! So he was least bothered by it.


    If this could help him to increase his friendly relationship with her, Yman would not think twice to use this card of teasing her until she became a friend to him. Right! He could use this Attribute to build a friendly connection to everyone else.


    "Fufu," he giggled upon finding the usefulness of his [Charisma] Attribute that he initially thought was least useful.


    ''If I can use it efficiently I might be able to befriend even the most influential person in the world,'' Yman pondered.


    On the other hand,


    Thomas and his Demihuman friends were wondering why he was still there.


    Wait, what he said again? My girl? Who is he claiming as his girl? Could it be the herb collector girl? They questioned in their mind.


    But sooner they knitted their brows at him when they saw him inserting his hand into a black glove and a gauntlet.


    The ruby chips on it gleamed briefly after he inserted his hand. It was the core of the Strength Category Magic Cryst he looted from the Noble Rat.


    Now that his Strength Attribute had increased a lot after his contract with the demon, these two items were more effective than before.


    "Damn it, let''s not waste more time! Thomas let''s take Miss Ella!" One of Thomas''s friends beckoned. Since they already have the herb, they must proceed. Miss Ella was just a bonus for their boss.


    "No, we can''t take her with us," after pondering for quite a while, Thomas thought that it wasn''t good to take her. It would be a big crime if they do. Miss Ella was a popular person in the Empire. To sum it up, it was daylight and many people would see them taking her away.


    But he changed his mind when his friend whispered into his ear.


    "You two take her! And you! Kick that nuisance," Thomas ordered his men.


    Without a warning, two of his men rushed towards Rea.


    And the other one reached out his hand to grab the young man at their back.


    But before his hand could grab the young man''s shoulder, his world went upside-down. He felt a throbbing pain in his stomach, then it was followed by a dull sound.


    Everyone glanced at the back.


    "What the--!" Thomas and his men were stunned for a moment when they saw the person lying on the floor.


    Never would he imagine that such a young man was able to defeat his men who already had many experiences in fights.


    "Get him!" He commanded the person beside him. "You two take Miss Ella right away!" He added. The two who paused resumed their advance to abduct Miss Ella.


    "I won''t let you!"


    Rea heard a yell, then it was followed by a sudden pull from behind her.


    "A-Aspe-!?" She saw her friend step in front.


    "Gentle Hands!" After she whispered it, Aspe''s hands were enveloped by glowing yellowish energy.


    Since it was so cramped inside the shop, it only took two steps to reach them.


    Aspe sent multiple glowing hand-stabbed to the approaching enemies.


    But it was easily dodged by them. Aspe grimaced at her failure to land a hit. Their combat capability was too wide of a gap.


    The two men of Thomas scoffed at her. They didn''t feel threatened by Aspe''s magical aura. One of them sent a strong glowing fist towards Aspe''s stomach. While the other went directly to grab Ella.


    Seeing it, Aspe and Rea grimaced.


    Aspe closed her eyes to brace herself for the incoming impact.


    However, after a couple of seconds, she didn''t feel any pain.


    "What is this?" She heard someone asked annoyingly.


    She slowly opened her eyes and saw the two enemies entangled by --- ''Black Threads!?'' Aspe exclaimed in mind.


    Then she saw two spiders on the ceiling. Their bodies were in black and crimson lines would trail occasionally.


    Their bodies were as big as the person''s head.


    "F-Fire Dolls��!" She heard Miss Ella''s mutter at her back.


    "???" Aspe was puzzled by it. But she had no time to ask her as she heard some cries from the back of the enemies.


    "H-How come this person was so strong��"


    Thud!


    "Fuck! You will pay for it kiddo!"


    The guy who was holding the herb screamed then rushed at the young man while sending a strong and hasty punch.


    Aspe widened her eyes when the young man caught Thomas''s punch.


    But not only Aspe who was surprised by it. Even Thomas could not believe it. He used at most 70% of his strength in that punch. And he was at the peak of Level 9. On the contrary, the person in front of him was a young man only! An academy first-year level based on his Deity''s appraisal to him.


    They saw the young man''s mouth form into a grin. "It''s my turn, Mister." They heard him said.


    Thomas felt a bad premonition and tried to retreat his fist. "What? I can''t take it!?" Thomas felt a chill when he noticed he couldn''t free his fist from his grip.


    ''Wait, he wasn''t in resonance with his Deity?!'' Thomas was at a loss after seeing the young man''s cute female Deity sitting on his shoulder.


    His intuition screamed for danger, but it was too late. His vision slowly turned dark when he felt a strong piercing pain from his abdomen.


    "Cough! Cough!" Thomas curled on the floor while coughing blood.


    "How did it -- wait�� could he be from the Top Great Families on the Outerworld?" Thomas muttered.


    Those families bred strong offspring. So it was natural that most of them were strong people even at a young age.


    It was the only conclusion that Thomas came up before a kick that took his consciousness landed on his face. But before his consciousness faded, he heard the young man said, "it''s a payment for dangering my payment��"


    Thud!


    ''What is this human expert doing in this village?'' Thomas''s last thought.


    (Faint~~~)

 Chapter 170: Apprentice

    "S-So strong��" Aspe uttered.


    She was astonished to see the young man, apparently as young as her; he was beating all the scary people with ease.


    "I couldn''t even land a hit to one of them. But that person singled out even their leader. And he beat him using his raw strength!" She exclaimed with a mixt of admiration.


    "Hey, girl! What did you do? Take this shit or you will regret it!"


    Aspe was startled when one of the two people who were currently entangled by the spider web yelled at her.


    She subconsciously jolted back. In any case, it wasn''t her doing. Those black spiders on the ceiling were the ones responsible for it.


    "Don''t get afraid. They can''t do anything now." Aspe heard Miss Ella said in assurance.


    "Y-You know him, Miss Ella?" Aspe asked.


    "Aaa-- ahem! Just a friend of mine," Rea replied out of a sudden but it only made Aspe doubtful of her as she sounded defensive. "Wait, wasn''t that person saying ''My Girl'' a while ago? Could it be��" Aspe remembered the young man''s words recently.


    "Uh, eh�� I think you misheard him, Aspe! Regardless, there''s nothing between us!" Rea strongly denied it. But the more she denied it, the others would find it more suspicious.


    "You guys! You heard it too, right?!" Aspe asked the two people who were entangled by the spider web.


    "We heard it very clear!"


    "Yeah! That person said, My Girl!"


    Rea''s eyes turned blank.


    "Right! And we will report it to our young master!"


    "Thomas help us!"


    ''Why do many people want to claim me as their property?'' Rea whined inwardly.


    Regardless, Aspe wanted to laugh at their call to their leader. "Uhm, sorry to disappoint you. But is that person who is lying on the floor like a corpse is your leader named Thomas?" She pointed out.


    They glanced back and saw all their comrades together with Thomas, all of them were lying on the floor like drunkards.


    "What the heck happened!?"


    They both exclaimed. They also noticed the young man bend his knee in front of Thomas. No, the young man was staring at Thomas''s Deity. Seeing his wide grin on his face. They could guess that he had a bad intention towards it.


    ''Poor Thomas��'' they thought. "Get up there, Mr. Thomas! That guy is eyeing your toy!" They screamed.


    Yman and Sistela disregarded their shouts.


    Sistela asked.


    Upon hearing her, the little Imp System Deity pressed himself to his unconscious owner.


    Yman grinned at it. "Do you need to question, Teacher?" He replied with a little tease.


    Sistela thought she overdid on teaching him. Now he was addicted to it!


    Based on one of their lessons with Miss Pai, the System Deity''s body is just a shell. So if one lost his System Deity, he just needed to buy another one.


    They already shared information through resonance. One only needed some verification to reuse his System Deity''s previous information.


    To be verified again, one needed fingerprints and face verification; he/she also needed to feed it with his/her mana and blood. All of these were needed together with signing to his previous account. Just then, the new shell of the Deity would start to verify the owner. If an existing account had matched the one being verified, then the DatS of the Deity would rebirth to the new shell. Though all his previous upgrades would be gone as the previous body was lost or stolen. Only the level remained the same as the level wasn''t from its shell. It was from the System Deity''s DatS or Soul Data.


    The most important thing about the pact was that the System Deity and the owner had the final say. It''s up to them if they wanted to partner again with their previous owner or Deity. If one disagreed to reunite, then the other one could not do a thing about it. It was the right time for them to find a new partner and started a new connection.


    If the connection or Like Value between them wasn''t so high, it was easy to breach the pact or the contract between the user and the System Deity. So one must be mindful of their Like Value.


    After Yman took the Imp System Deity, the green lights that were trailing on its body died down.


    Seemingly, it intentionally blocked his DatS.


    "Looks like this man was loved by his Deity," he muttered in regret. Although he looked like a thug, he must be following what his Deity likes.


    Sistela stated. They could sell some parts of it. Seeing that it was modeled into an Imp Series, the parts of it must cost a lot.


    But what excites him the most is the items inside his White Box. The White Box was the part where the main storage of it was located.


    After Yman took the shell of Thomas Deity, he also took all the spatial rings and equipment of the Demihumans he defeated.


    Aspe gawked at him while Rea looked away from him. She already expected that it would happen. She just needed to turn a blind eye to it.


    The two Demihumans who couldn''t free themselves from the spider web had quickened their heartbeats.


    As expected. They felt a strong force at the back of their neck which caused them to blackout.


    "Are you okay, My--"


    Rea shot a glare at him.


    "...Rea?" Yman said while scratching his face. He almost slipped again.


    However,


    "My-My-My�� Rea?" Aspe was the first one who reacted. Not just he called her ''My'', but he also called her in a name that only a person with a close relationship would do!


    "I-I know it! Miss Ella is truly dating him!"


    "Ehhhhh!" Rea cried out. "Noooo!"


    She wasn''t sure if he did it on purpose or not, but this person was just too mean.


    After several minutes, Aspe finally understood when Rea and Yman explained to her that he was her bodyguard. And what he said a while ago was just a little teasing. Aspe calmed down. Though she was still doubtful of the two.


    Right after everything was settled, the door of the shop made a creaking noise. They all glanced at the same time and saw a middle-aged person with dog ears come in.


    But soon he stopped and gawked when he saw some people lying on the floor. "W-What happened here��?" He muttered.


    "Father!" Aspe shouted.


    The middle-aged man looked to where the voice originated. He saw his daughter together with two young visitors.


    "Young Miss!" He called out to Rea upon seeing her.


    "Uh, Uncle Ronnie, sorry about the mess,'' Rea said with a sorry face.


    "Eh, anyway, are they from the Red Gargantuan Village?" Ronnie asked directly.


    "Perhaps, Father!" Aspe replied.


    After the village guards took the unconscious people, Rea introduced Yman to Ronnie.


    Ronnie stared at him.


    "Oh, so you wish to learn how to synthesize a medicine. Sure thing, I was looking for an apprentice but you must pass some test if you wanted me to accept you."


    He wasn''t expecting anything from this young man who looks like not the type who would wish to learn alchemy. But since it was the young miss who recommended him. He could at least show respect to her.


    Rea and Aspe sighed. They both knew that Ronnie wasn''t the type who easily took an apprentice. Many experts from the younger generation tried to apply as his apprentice but none of them were able to succeed.


    Well, it depends on Crimson now. Rea thought so. At this point, she could not help him anymore.


    Yman felt relieved when he heard him. Based on how Rea talked so-so about this man. He must be an expert Alchemist in making medicine. But he was a little skeptical.


    ''Wasn''t the Elder or Professor in the Magic Academy was the best-suited to teach the younger generation who wish to learn the way of mixing medicine?'' He thought.


    "Yes Mr. Ronnie," he replied calmly but they noticed he was a little skeptical.


    "Uhm, Crimson, Uncle Ronnie is a professor in the Encantasia Magic Academy," Rea told him.


    Upon hearing her, "Sorry for being a little doubtful to your excellence, Teacher! Please, accept me as your pupil," He bowed towards Ronnie a second after he heard her words.


    Yman could only grip his hands. It was regretful for him to show presumptuous action.


    "Hmm, even if I accepted you, I can only teach you on weekends. As I am mostly in the academy from Monday to Friday."


    Ronnie said.


    "Uhm, don''t worry about it, Uncle Ronnie��" Rea explained to him about Crimson.


    He understood Ella''s situation. He even knew her real identity. Ronnie could only turn a blind eye to their situation.


    Though he was surprised that this young man in front of him was a gold rank adventurer.


    Aspe was surprised as well. "No wonder he was so strong," she mumbled.


    "In that case, find me tomorrow in the academy lab," Ronnie said.


    "Uhm, teacher, should I buy the beginner Alchemy skill for medicine creation?" Yman asked.


    Though it was a beginner skill scroll, the price is mostly a thousand GP or 1000 gold royals in Empire''s currency.


    "No need, the academy will grant you for free."


    "I see."


    He felt relieved when he heard that it was for free.


    After the talk about being an apprentice was done. Rea handed the Repeller Herb to Ronnie.


    Yman asked Rea about the use of it. Although he already knew that it could repel monsters, what he wanted to know was, what they needed it for.


    However, instead of answering his question, she questioned him instead. "What do you think of the village?"


    Yman frowned. He wasn''t able to understand her meaning. "It was a peaceful village. That one can sleep unbothered," but he managed to squeeze a reply based on what he felt about the village.


    However, he noticed Rea''s change in her countenance. "That''s how it looks like before the Monster Repeller Perfume waned off."


    "Monster Repeller Perfume?" He repeated.


    It was the finished product of the Repeller Herb.


    "Apprentice, come here!"


    Before Rea could answer him, he heard Ronnie called out to him and beckoned him to follow to the next door.

 Chapter 171: Alchemy

    Yman followed Ronnie to the next door and left Rea with Aspe.


    Inside the room, it was dark.


    "Oh, looks like the lights are broken..." after Yman heard Ronnie said, he heard a flick sound next, then it was followed by flickers of fires that were dancing in the air.


    Four colorful fires that were as big as candle fires were spiraling to all the corners of the room. Then the room lit up when the fires touched the torches at the corner of the room and ablaze it simultaneously.


    Sistela gasped in admiration at the beauty of those flames.


    He wondered if it was a combination of magic and alchemy as he could smell some powders from it. Regardless, after the room was brightened, he saw some tools of different shapes and sizes that were lining everywhere. They were mostly made of glasses. And liquids of different colors were inside in each of the bottles. Ceramic jars were also present inside together with some equipment for mixing and grinding herbs. But most of them were scattered everywhere.


    ''A workshop.'' Yman muttered in mind after having a full view of the room. However, his mouth broke into a soundless laugh after noticing how mess up the room was.


    "Fufu, sorry for the mess. Come here apprentice, help me lift this thing." Said Ronnie as he was trying to lift the overturned wooden table that was lying on the floor.


    He came and overturned the table with ease like lifting an empty box of cartons. Ronnie was surprised to see him doing it. But he never shows it on his face.


    Although the table wasn''t big, it was made of sturdy wood and quite heavy.


    "Truly a gold rank adventurer," Ronnie mumbled.


    "What are we going to do, Teacher?" Although he asked, he had the gist after seeing the messy room.


    "I want you to stay close as I process the herbs. All you need to do is watch me doing it then remember each step so you have an idea when I give you the test. But before that, I want you to help me clean the room," Prof. Ronnie replied.


    Yman forced a smile. Looks like he was right.


    "I see. Okay, Teacher!"


    Together with Sistela, they picked up all the things that were lying on the floor, before sweeping the dust that was residing in the room.


    Ronnie was arranging all the equipment. Especially the mortars that are needed for grinding the materials. Then wiping the cylinder jars that would be useful in mixing and filling.


    Yman noticed that none of the equipment inside the room was touched for ages based on the thickness of dust that was sticking on each piece of equipment.


    "Teacher, are you perhaps always away from here?" Yman''s curiosity defeats him.


    "Fufu, although this village is quite far from the academy, I''m always here every weekend."


    "Eh, uhm, did you abandon this workshop?" His reply was unexpected for Yman.


    Ronnie chuckled. Seemingly, he expected such follow-up questions from him.


    "No, it just, when you reach a certain level of Alchemy, the need to use this equipment would be least."


    Ronnie said which further puzzled Yman as he had little knowledge about Alchemy. He asked Sistela but she too had no idea as both of them only knew the basic knowledge about it.


    Yman likes mixing and inventing things but compared to a professor like Prof. Ronnie he was like a little kid to him.


    "Don''t be bothered by it for now as it isn''t important at your current level. For now, all you need to do is to focus on the first step and learn the basics," Ronnie advised.


    "Yes, Teacher!"


    Sistela landed on his shoulder.


    After cleaning the room, Ronnie started giving a little lecture while also manually processing the materials.


    Yman saw Ronnie took the Repeller Herb. "Teacher, what kind of spell is that?" He asked him upon seeing Ronnie''s hands were being enveloped by yellowish energy.


    "Hmm, it was the Third-Stage of Alchemy spell. It''s called Gentle Hand. You can''t possibly process material such as this Repeller Herb without advancing your Alchemy Spell to the Third-Stage," Ronnie explained. Then he started explaining how useful the skill was.


    Yman was standing beside him while watching him gently grinding the herb without waning the glow that was enveloping the herb.


    He sometimes asked questions especially when something came up that was new to him and was puzzled by the process.


    While Yman was unblinkingly watching at Ronnie, from the Human City Zone 7, Almina and the others were busy with their training.


    Each day, they were learning step by step. Especially those from the Elite Section.


    Almina and Maena already mastered the First-Stage of the Perfect Breathing Technique. And now in the process of perfecting the Second-Stage. Both girls were talented and competent. So the two of them didn''t waste their time learning.


    In the early morning, they would be training physical combat from the instructors. And at 9 - 11 AM would be their lectures. Then the rest of the day would be their magic training.


    After their training, they would rest for a little then went to the dungeon and tried to advance their breakthrough level. And to earn money by looting the dungeon.


    Every day, their activities revolved around training and fighting monsters in the dungeon. Most of their levels were now level 8-9. On the other hand, Miss Ice held the highest level from all the Junior trainees.


    Looks like the Perfect Breathing was not only useful in fighting, it also helped the one using it to level up faster than normal.


    Almina and Maena were already at the peak. Sooner they would advance into a False Path Expert. This news of two fledgling trainees reaching the pinnacle of beginner''s level was worthy of big attention.


    So at the moment, all the academy faculties were in the mood. Especially Principal Mar. They even plan to celebrate the two. In truth, it wasn''t only for them, but also the appearance of the dungeon and the return of their Ace. And for the whole city that started to develop.


    They wanted to celebrate before the World Competition would start.


    "Principal Mar, do we need to invite some people from the other Academies?"


    Currently, inside the faculty room of Zone 7 Academy, Mrs. Aurellia was questioning the principal about inviting some guests.


    "Yes."


    Principal Mar nodded.


    "Are you sure about this Principal Mar? But..." Mrs. Aurellia and the others were skeptical about inviting some big shots from the other academies.


    Putting into account their bad results in the past years, most of them believed that no one would bother to accept the celebration. Especially those from the powerhouse academy.


    "Don''t forget that we still have our Ace. And that young lady from the Amulet family, I believe they are worthy of attention from the other academies. Besides, that girl already took much attention from the other academies after defeating higher level magicians."


    Principal Mar believed that many academies started to get curious about Almina. Especially her growth.


    In honesty, they needed to try getting allies from other academies to increase their connections. Not only the school would benefit from it, but even the city would also benefit greatly through trades if they gathered allies. Especially now that the city was developing.


    "Right. And we also have that young man from the Sun family."


    One of the teachers agreed to the principal.


    Ms. Pai who was also present inside was silently listening to them. She was fine whatever decision they came up with. Currently, she was thinking about Yman''s whereabouts. She lost contact with him after the Demon''s invasion.


    And she couldn''t leave to find him as she was tending his sister.


    She would rant at him if ever he showed up. She could not help but bite her lips while feeling unease.

 Chapter 172: Dungeon Exploration

    In the end, the faculties decided to invite some guests from another school for the celebration.


    Principal Mar believed that the Academy and the city needed associates if they wanted to improve further.


    Before the night veiled the world, Almina, Maena, Kesha, and Miss Ice, went to the dungeon together with their party members. They were composed of an all girls party and totaled 10 members.


    When they arrived, almost all eyes from other people who wished to enter the dungeon were stolen by their mere presence.


    "Look it was the goddesses," one of the people around pointed.


    "Weren''t they the one who reached the second deepest floor?"


    "Yes, it was their group!"


    "They were supposed to be the leading group who reached the deepest record, but these few days, an unknown group of people came and dominated the dungeon floors and surpassed it."


    "Looks like they want to reclaim their dominance this time."


    "No no, I heard that another group reached the same level as they."


    "Which group did you mean?"


    "Hmm, they called themselves ''The Strongest'' I think!"


    "The Strongest? That''s a bold name. Wait, I think the name rings a bell to me... Uhm... Isn''t it the group of that youngman from one of the great families on the Outerworld?"


    "Yes, he is from the Sun family. One of the Great Families on the Outerworld."


    "Oh, that guy! I know it! He''s not only a handsome young man but also a powerful one."


    "Yeah, there were even some talks about him being the next Ace of the academy."


    "And I heard he learned some truly powerful spells these past days."


    "And many girls had a crush on him!"


    "There was even gossip that the goddess Almina had a crush on him..." Whispered someone.


    "Really?"


    (Nod nod)


    "Deym! What a lucky bastard!"


    Many people were whispering around them.


    "B-Big S-Sister Ice, aren''t we going to enter already?" Almina asked in doubt after noticing that they were standing in front of the gate for a couple of minutes already. And they were surrounded by many people who wish to enter as well.


    "Ahhh, sorry Almina!" Ice suddenly said while wearing a sorry face.


    Almina and the others knitted their brows. "What do you mean Big Sister Ace?" Maena followed with a question.


    "I mean, something came up, the academy faculties wanted to send me an errand, but don''t worry! In exchange for me, some groups will be joining you this time."


    "Hmm... An errand?" Kesha asks in puzzlement.


    "Yes, yes! It seemed like they came up with the idea of celebration. And they wanted me to be the one sending the invitation personally."


    Ice said with a sorry face. Deep inside she wanted to travel to other places even for a little time. Being constricted inside the Underground Channel for long made her miss many things.


    It was the right time for her to enjoy herself while also doing an errand. She could also gather some data from the other academies. For sure many promising youths were out there.


    "I-Is that so? It is regretful that Miss Ice can''t be with us this time. But it''s not like we can do something about it. It must be the academy''s strategy."


    Almina said regretfully.


    Right after saying it, "Amulet!" Someone called out.


    They glanced to where it came from. "Are we late?" Said the handsome young man.


    "Kiko Sun!" Kesha exclaimed.


    Whispers immediately enveloped the surrounding.


    Together with his friends, Kiko arrived at the dungeon entrance.


    Almina did not say anything and darted her eyes away and shot a look to Miss Ice.


    Ice broke into a soundless laugh while looking away.


    Kiko pleaded her last time that he wanted to have a joint exploration. He said that with their two parties joining together, there was a big chance that they could reach the deepest floor and become the leading exploration group once again.


    Miss Ice declined because Almina''s group never aimed to become the leading group as the dungeon explorer. Their main goal was to improve themselves in combat and also to breakthrough by fighting monsters of different kinds inside. The dungeon was the perfect place for them to improve as the monsters became stronger every time they went down. Looting the dungeon was just a bonus for them.


    Though sometimes they also get a mission from the barracks about subjugating a group of monsters that run amok at the nearby village and towns inside the Human City Zone 7''s border.


    Seeing the skeptical face of the academy Ace, Kiko told her that he has some special feelings towards Almina. And he believed that Almina did too towards him.


    Miss Ice gawked. She believed that Almina had someone else in mind. She wanted to tell him that his thought might be wrong. But Ice thought that it would be mean of her if she did it.


    She decides to secretly assess Kiko''s strength by downloading his data from the academy. As expected, the guy in front of her was no ordinary person. In some aspects, he was ahead of Almina and some were behind. It is also right to say that the two of them were nearly as strong as the other. Though she could not say if who was stronger among them because the data they presented to the Academy wasn''t 100% accurate. But it''s probably about 80-90% genuine.


    This guy in front of her has this air that he was the kind of person who likes hiding his real strength.


    Ice thought that Almina and Maena might become more competitive when there was another strong person in the group besides them. It might help them to improve further.


    Since Almina''s party consisted of all girls, for safety measures, she also invited another group that consists of girls and boys.


    Kiko frowned slightly at Almina''s uninterested behavior. But before he could react, "are we late?!"


    Everyone heard a slightly big voice. It was coming from the back. But since the person who spoke was a tall person with a burly figure, everyone easily identified him.


    "Bob?!" Almina was slightly puzzled. Bob together with Chloe and their party members. Bob''s party members were compose of members from their section.


    Ice then explained to her that they too would be joining the exploration.


    After hearing her, Almina sighed in relief. She wanted to cancel today''s exploration after Kiko''s group showed up. But now that Yman''s friends were here as well, there''s no reason for them to postpone.


    Kiko knitted his brows. He didn''t expect this group of weaklings to come together with them. Not only did they come from the lowest section, but they were also from the circle of friends of that hateful person.


    "Miss Ace, will they not drag the whole team?" Kikoasked in a little annoyed tone.


    "Watch your mouth dude!" Bob exclaimed. He disliked Kiko''s tone. And the way he said it was seemingly looking down at them.


    After the appearance of the dungeon, most of the elites declined the mission of helping the surrounding village and prioritized the mission inside the dungeon because they could earn much money inside.


    The missions of helping the relative villages that were being hassled by the surrounding hostile monsters were pushed to the lower sections.


    Almost every mission that some of their members got injured. So Bob was a little dramatic when someone looked down at them. It was thanks to Miss Almina''s party for sending a few of their strong members to accompany them. If not because of them, they are mostly dead by now.

 Chapter 173: A summons from the headmaster

    So Bob was a little dramatic if someone looking down to the parties from the lower section.


    Especially that Kiko was insulting them on their faces.


    "Heh, " Kiko sneered at Bob. If not because of Miss Almina''s presence, he already taught this person a lesson.


    However, "Puwahahaha!" One of Kiko''s friends burst into laughter.


    It was the big guy who Bob fought in the duel before.


    "You''ve got guts for talking back against Kiko, Gorilla!" Said the person.


    ''Gorilla?'' Bob repeated in his mind. Then he grinned and rebutted, "said the Broken Boulder."


    The big guy twisted his face, he disliked Bob''s way of talking back; especially that their duel last time had ended in a draw.


    "Look, look! It seems like a fight is about to happen!" Pointed someone among the crowd.


    "Hehe, broken boulder? Is it a kind of insult?" Followed by other people.


    The big guy''s face was shaded by darkness upon hearing Bob''s insult. "Broken Boulder, huh! You want a ''go?!" He exclaimed.


    "Ooh! The baby is affected? Crying? Come to daddy I''m always ready to spank you!"


    "Puffft!" Someone from Bob''s team failed to hold the laughter.


    The big guy''s mood worsened because of it, and he walked to the front to confront Bob.


    A glint was visible in Kiko''s eyes. He used his hand to block his friend. "You have a sharp tongue."


    Kiko sounded cold. He was barely holding himself. If not because he was wary of Almina''s presence, he already charred this insolent fool.


    "Heh!" Bob snorted. He wasn''t afraid even though he knew how strong Kiko was.


    "Looks like things were going for the worst, " a random person stated.


    Kiko sent a sharp gaze to Bob which Bob received without stepping back. Beside him, Chloe hid behind Bob. "T-That''s, enough Bob��" she muttered. She didn''t like the events that unfold.


    Although his magical power was below from Kiko, he believed that this guy wouldn''t dare to persuade a fight in the presence of Miss Almina and Miss Ace.


    Miss Almina was the leader of all the Elite. Though there was a gossip about her liking this Kiko. If Almina turned a blind eye, he wished the Ace would help him. After all, she was the one who asked them to join this exploration team for this time. Also, Almina''s party was an ally to them.


    After Ice meddled, the argument immediately stopped.


    Amina sighed. "Big sis Ice, do you think it will be fine?" She whispered into her ears. Ice forced a soundless laugh. She too didn''t know. She just wished that it would. "Uhm, if you wish to postpone today''s exploration, you have the final say," Ice replied.


    Almina pondered for a second, but then she decided to continue. The next day everyone has free time because all the academy staff has some urgent matters to discuss.


    They entered the dungeon after Ice left them. Their group was as big as three parties that consisted of 8 - 10 members in each party.


    Their group gathered attention. The people around shouted for their success before they left.


    Around this time, Yman and Rea finally returned to the mansion. They were outside for the rest of the day.


    Yman proceeded to the stable where he was staying. When he entered, the two kids were already there. "Welcome back Big brother!" Yman was taken aback at the lively greeting from Mei, the sister of Moi. For some reason, he remembered his sister at Mei''s greeting.


    Sistela asked when she noticed her partner''s absent-mindedness.


    Mei tilted her head.


    "Yeah, I''m fine," he answered. "We''re home," Yman''s late reply to Mei.


    "How''s your date with Big sis?"


    "....."


    "D-Date?" Yman muttered after a second of being speechless.


    Yman''s mouth hung open. Sistela seemed to misunderstand Mei''s question.


    "It was a fine day," his reply.


    "Hehe, I see," Mei giggled.


    "Sister! Big bro, welcome home!" Moi greeted as well upon seeing him.


    "Mhm!" He nodded.


    "You''re at the right time! The food was cooked!"


    His stomach growled after hearing it.


    Then the children laughed at him. Yman chuckled a bit while scratching his face. Sistela on the other hand landed on his shoulder. She was wondering what they were laughing about.


    Yman was living together with the kids in the stable. It was about 250 meters away, south of the mansion and surrounded by a farm.


    The stable was just enough for them to live. From its left side, the horses and cows were sheltering the other stable. And on the right side was where the other livestock were being raised.


    After a little lively dinner, Yman was sitting on the wooden balcony.


    It was a good night, the moon shines brightly in the sky and some shadows of flying beasts would occasionally pass by.


    The night wasn''t warm and wasn''t cold either. Insect''s hum reaches his ears. Beside him, the two children were using his legs as pillows. They fell asleep after telling the story of a certain boy and his sister.


    His eyes landed on the insignia peeking from Moi''s tattered shirt. He wondered what it was. He about to lift his cloth but stopped, when realized that it was inappropriate.


    Sistela, who was currently sitting on his shoulder, asked him a question.


    "I can''t say for sure, but we must. My Deity, I''m looking forward to working with you," He said with a serious tone.


    Sistela proudly announced.


    "Mhm!"


    Yman nodded and glanced at her, based on what Ms. Pai said, Female System Deities were talented in Alchemy.


    However, after watching the Professor working, Yman and Sistela found out that it wasn''t an easy task to learn Alchemy. They needed to study and remember all the steps.


    Seeing the professor working, Yman couldn''t help but admire him.


    But he trusted his partner. He believed that Sistela could do it. He would do everything to heal his sister.


    Before that, he needed to contact his Sister. He missed her. It was already long enough since last he heard her voice. Looks like he needed to buy a new MTMD.


    The next morning, Yman and Rea together with Sistela rode on the gigantic Hell Chaser Bird early in the morning.


    "Rea, do you know the reason why the headmaster wanted to summon me?" Yman asked the girl who was sitting beside him.


    "I don''t know. But it must be important. Why don''t you have a communication device?"


    "I used to have one, but it was unexpectedly broke at my arrival here in the Empire."


    She wondered if he was the type of person who didn''t give importance to his property.


    Perhaps he was also the type of man who can''t handle a relationship. Or not giving importance to his girlfriend.


    Poof!


    Steam appeared on top of her head with her thought starting to wander away from the main topic.


    "Are you sick?" He asked upon noticing that her face was slightly red.


    "No no��"


    "No?"


    "I mean I''m fine!" She yelled.


    "....."


    He wondered why this girl started to act awkward.


    Several minutes later, the huge Hell Chaser Bird landed in front of the guildhall.


    The people around looked at it and on the people riding on it. It was an eye-catching bird because of its size.


    Yman had to catch Rea because of its height.


    But for some reason, she jumped away from him.


    "!!"


    ''Well, she was an expert as well and had a leveled-up body. So the concern was unnecessary for her,'' he thought. But he was puzzled because it was the first time that she refused him to catch her. He guessed that she felt embarrassed because many people were watching them.


    Well, he didn''t mind it.


    They then proceed inside.


    As always, inside the guildhall, many adventurers were loitering around. Some were checking the mission tab. Some were talking with friends.


    When they saw the people who just entered.


    "It was Crimson and the Headmaster''s niece."


    "Wait, wasn''t Crimson joined the competition?"


    "Yeah! But he suddenly disappeared after the first elimination round."


    "I thought he was defeated."


    "No! No one can defeat him!"


    "There are gossips that he got a huge reward after the first elimination round and decided to quit the next round."


    "Really?"


    "That''s what I heard in the pub."


    "In any case, I still could not believe that Miss Ella was then headmaster''s niece."


    "But damn! Crimson is too lucky! He was able to befriend her!"


    "I heard something also!"


    "What? Wait, cover your underarms man!"


    "Smell it, brother!"


    "In any case, what did you hear?"


    "That Crimson was promoted to a Gold Rank adventurer!"


    "Really?"


    "Yes!"


    "Wait! Wasn''t he a newbie?"


    "The newbie thing is just shit! What matter is he can beat-up into pulp the 5 Silver-Rank Adventurers!"


    "He even beat a Golden Rank adventurer!"


    "Really?"


    "What do you think of me! A liar!"


    Adventurers started to whisper to the people beside them.


    "Nevertheless, I''m so jealous of Crimson for being able to stand beside a goddess Miss Ella!"

 Chapter 174: Encantasia Academy

    Inside the headmaster''s office, Laura handed a brown envelope to Yman.


    He stared at the envelope for a second before asking "what is this?"


    "Open it."


    The headmaster urged him.


    He nodded and checked the inside. Inside it was data with the name Crimson Agila. And not just that, there was also an ID card inside.


    "False documents?" He whispered. They glanced at the headmaster. He noticed she smiled slightly then nodded her head.


    No need to ask further for what it was. He could already guess upon seeing all the things inside.


    But,


    "Uhm, headmaster, why the surname is Agila? Wasn''t it''s your surname?" Yman asked while scratching his face and wearing a soundless laugh on his mouth.


    "Hm, you will act as my adopted son."


    The headmaster went directly into the main point.


    Yman gaped for a second before a yelp escaped from his mouth, "eh!"


    "Wha--!" Not only him, but even Rea was also a little bit shock at Laura''s announcement.


    "You can''t possibly enter that Academy if you are a mere gold rank adventurer only," Laura explained.


    Now that the headmaster said it, Yman and Rea finally understood why it was needed.


    Since he would be going to the most prestigious Magic Academy in the Empire.


    And the Agila was probably wasn''t an ordinary clan in the empire.


    "MTMD BLACK Pro!?" Yman was surprised when he also saw the newest version of MTMD inside the envelope.


    It was so slim and elegant. With its new color of black. The surface was so smooth. And it has the latest processor. It was even capable of Super Night Vision!


    Yman gasped in admiration at the expensive device in his hand.


    even Sistela exclaimed at the sight of it.


    "Headmaster, is it a gift for me?" He asked.


    But Yman knitted his brows when he noticed the headmaster grinned at him.


    "The guild will take 20% from your payment in every mission you completed," said Laura.


    "....."


    Yman and Sistela were speechless.


    He glanced at the headmaster with a pitiful face. This thing will cost him his fortune! It was so expensive!


    He wanted to cry! Yman''s eyes turned white.


    Laura giggled. "Fufu, Merea was the one who chose it for you."


    "What?" He didn''t expect it.


    "Hmph, why you sounded like you are disappointed by it? I''m just concerned that you will choose to buy those old versions or second-hand ones that won''t last long. Uhm, Ahem! I - I''m not concerned just being practical for your good. It already had my email address so be glad that you are one of the people who had the chance to get it." Rea proudly said while raising a brow at him, but her face turned a little red at the end of her words.


    Yman can''t believe what he heard. Based on how she said it, it seemed like he owes her big.


    "Regardless, I''m more concerned with my wallet..." he mumbled. But he screamed deep inside and wanted to cry.


    Well, there was nothing he could do anymore. Looks like he needed to do extra missions and double his hard work.


    There were also some files inside the envelope. It must be the needed documents for him to attend the academy.


    Rea also handed him the uniform of the Academy. It was a white long sleeve, toppled with gray coat embroidered with green. And paired with green pants.


    Yman, Sistela, and Rea left the guildhall at exactly 7:30 AM; they directly headed to the Encantasia Magic Academy.


    Many students riding their glorious mounts arrived at the gate. They were the expensive mounts that only rich families could buy.


    Some were even had decorated their mounts with accessories just to make it more elegant. Befitting for the people would be riding it.


    The other mounts were dragging beautiful carriages. Everyone had different gimmicks just to show their family and clan''s uniqueness.


    But even with their elegance, none of the people around would bother taking a second look as most of the students attending this academy were from a rich and famous family or clan, together with the royals from different kingdoms.


    Just then every student glanced above when the sun was blocked by a figure of a flying beast.


    Above, they saw, "The Draconis Queen!" Someone exclaimed after seeing the huge figure of the beast. It was a dragon type mount. It''s not a simple mount as it also fired a beam from its mouth. And could even breathe flame.


    It has hard scales that gleamed in silver luster. And its claws were long and razor-sharp. Riding on it were two individuals, "the Princess Liya and her valkyrie!" A shout from someone below had reverberated into everyone''s ears amidst the noisy waving of its wings.


    The one in the front was wearing a silver full plated armor from head to toe. While the girl at the back was having long snow-white hair and was wearing a crystal-like body fit armor.


    The Draconis Queen landed on the ground with its four limbs. It looks elegant and powerful just by seeing it.


    Everyone immediately gathered around. After all, it was the princess of the whole empire that riding it. Together with the person with the title of Valkyrie. One of the strongest experts in the Encantasia Magic Academy.


    When the two landed their feet on the ground, they wave their hands. Simultaneously, the full-body armors that each of them were wearing glowed brightly and disappeared a second after.


    In exchange for the armor, both of them were wearing their academy uniforms just like the others.


    It was a white dress topped with a green and white coat. And paired with a checkered gray and green skirt.


    On the left chest of the coat, the insignia of the Encantasia empire was hanging.


    Everyone broke into whispers. Saying how beautiful and elegant the princess was. And that the Valkyrie was so cool.


    The Draconis Queen mount also disappeared after its whole body turned into silver brilliance. It went back into the ring Artefact.


    Just then, a group of students came forward towards the two.


    "Goodmorning, Vice President Liya, Lady Sally!" A beautiful girl with long blonde hair came to greet them.


    Inside the academy, no need to honor their status as princesses.


    "President Hannah, good morning too!" The one who greeted them was no other than the Council President of the academy. Together with the other members.


    "Good morning, President." Greeted the person next to Princess Liya. She has medium length of ash-gray hair. And a stoic-looking face. Even her voice was measured and firm.


    Hannah smiled.


    "Where are the others, President Hannah?" Princess Liya asked.


    "Already inside."


    "I see."


    "How about my cousin?"


    "She''s coming together with the new student," Hannah replied.


    "A new student? Do you mean a transferred?" Princess Liya repeated.


    "Perhaps."


    "Hmm, let''s talk while walking."


    After saying it, Liya and Hannah together with the others started walking towards the gate.


    "Mhm!"


    "By the way, why she''s together with the new student?"


    "Ah, she told me that the new student is a relative from her father''s side."


    "Hmm, a relative, huh. I see. Oh, by the way, did she mention the potions?"


    "Yes, Vice-President Liya. She''s bringing it with her."


    "As expected of my cousin. We can trust her. I hope we didn''t trouble her with her status, fufu," said Liya with a laugh.


    "Haha, it can''t be helped as she''s very popular. But if it''s for you Vice President Liya, I bet that Ella will never find it troublesome, hehe."


    "Fufu, don''t worry I prepared beforehand her favorite Super-Sunny Icecream."


    After saying it they chuckled.


    When Princess Liya and President Hannah went inside the gate, everyone followed after them.


    A few minutes after Liya and Hannah entered the academy, a gigantic flying mount landed in front of the gate.


    As expected, its size took everyone''s attention.


    "It''s Lady Ella!" Everyone present around had exclaimed after seeing her.


    ''I see, this mad lass artist who takes advantage of my desolate wallet is still popular even in the academy!''


    He thought.


    "Hey!"


    For some reason, she shouted at him.


    "Hm?"


    "Did you just thought bad of me?"


    "....."


    He wondered if this girl awakened her 7th sense.


    "Haha, of course not, My Beautiful Lovely Venerable Cousin...!"


    Sistela asked while question marks appeared on top of her head.


    ''Shuttap!'' Yman exclaimed. He was still not in good mood.


    "Look, who is he?"


    "I don''t know. It''s the first time I saw him around here."


    "He''s wearing our academy uniform."


    "A new student?"


    "Probably!"


    "Didn''t you notice he came together with Lady Ella?"


    "You are right."


    The people around them started asking the people beside them.


    Yman noticed that everyone was staring at them. Not only that, all of them were exuding an aura of rich people.


    He on the other hand, well, could blend. Thanks to his disguise though.


    "Let''s go!" Urged Rea.


    "Yes, maam!"


    Rea glanced at him.


    He looked away. Then a bead of sweat appeared on his head when he noticed her slowly approaching him.


    Yman was startled when she reached out on his collar.


    But contrary to his expectation, "be careful not to crease your uniform."


    She said.


    For some reason, he felt like, she was acting like a caring girlfriend.


    The other people around started to question if this new guy was Lady Ella''s boyfriend.


    Rea immediately back stepped when she noticed she did something she shouldn''t have.

 Chapter 175: A different town

    The Academy was located in the suburb of the Main City. It was built in an area with a radius of 3 kilometers of plain fields.


    The inverted logo of the Encantasia Empire''s insignia was distinct on the towering gate that was made of fine metal and was painted in green color.


    Some people were standing guard while wearing the uniform of the academy and was covered with a vest.


    ''They must be the sophomore or senior students,'' his thought upon seeing them.


    "Good morning, Lady Ella!" One of them greeted the girl beside him. Yman and Rea glanced at him. The guy was a tall Encan with trimmed red hair.


    The others followed after him and greeted Rea as well.


    "Good morning too, Senior Klien..." she greeted back.


    As expected they were the senior students. The guy named Klien felt proud of himself when Rea pronounced his name. But when she proceeded to greet the other guards as well with their names connected, his shoulders hung down.


    After greeting them, they about to continue walking when "wait!" Klien called out.


    "Uhm, what''s the matter, Senior?" He asked.


    "It''s the first time I see your face here. Are you a new student?" He asked at Yman then stared at the small figure on his shoulder.


    Yman wondered if it was against the rules to bring a human deity inside.


    "Senior Klien, is there a problem?" Rea asked.


    "Uhm, Miss Ella is this person your acquaintance?" One of the guards asked.


    Yman narrowed his eyes. And thought, ''is it important to know if he was her acquaintance?''


    "Mhm! H-He is my c-cousin..."


    She answered after a little ponder.


    After hearing her, Klien and the others noticed that Ella had snow-white hair while the guy beside her had white hair. So it was plausible.


    "I-Is that so, sorry for stopping him, Lady Ella," said Klien. "Okay, you can go."


    Yman was wondering if what it was all about. And just being her cousin, they change their thought.


    He found it weird. Regardless, he wasn''t sure of the reason they wanted to stop him.


    After the gate was opened, Yman and Rea continued walking inside.


    "....."


    But Yman and Sistela were stunned for a second. Inside was a different town! No, it''s a whole different world. It was what they truly felt upon stepping inside.


    "Where are we?" He asked subconsciously.


    "Inside the campus," he heard her reply.


    Yman gawked with slack-jawed. Even Sistela could not believe it.


    It seemed they just entered a new town.


    "This whole place was a campus?" He mumbled.


    "Mhm!" She nodded.


    He glanced around. But no matter how sees it, it was truly a whole different town from where they came from just a moment ago.


    Many students passed by ahead of them. Some were sending curious glances, while some didn''t mind and continue walking toward their destination.


    "Hey, w-what are you dazing off?" He suddenly felt a tap on his empty shoulder and heard a familiar voice asking.


    He glanced and saw the red-haired beauty with wolf ears. She was staring at him with a shy face. No, it an anxious face.


    "C-Cinder?"


    For some reason, her face turned red, and slowly approached his ears. He just stood there and did not react as he could not feel any malicious intent from her, "am I that stunning that you are stunned the second you see me?" She softly whispered in his ears.


    "....."


    Yman didn''t know if which was more stunning, the place or this girl''s boldness.


    Well, it was truly a different feeling seeing her now with the academy uniform.


    "Haha," he laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I am thinking that it''s weird to see you not in your underwear," he said with a straight face while his eyes landed on her chest unintentionally.


    He remembered that time when they were inside the cave, she was cuddling on top of him and in her underwear. And that two soft-round flesh of her that almost tempt him were like a curse that hard to get rid of his mind.


    "....."


    Now it''s Cinder''s turn to be speechless. A second later, her face becomes redder and she covered her chest with her hands.


    "P-Perv!" She lost control of her voice and yelled a little louder.


    "Humph!" His ears picked a not nice yelp. It came from beside him.


    He slowly glanced and saw Rea with her brows twitching and was wearing a pouty face.


    Yman scratched his face and thought, ''this is going to be troublesome.''


    Not only that, the people around that were walking at the same time with them had stopped on their feet the moment they heard the yell. Then they started whispering, "perv?"


    "There''s a pervert?"


    "Yeah, I heard someone getting molested."


    "What?!"


    "Really?"


    (Nod nod!)


    After it, everyone was started to panic.


    "No, a molester was able to sneak inside the academy!"


    A girl shouted.


    "Kyaaaaahhhh! Please catch the bastard!"


    "Call the Department of Security!"


    "No! Let''s call the Women Protection Squad!"


    "No, the Seniors are just outside, let''s call them!"


    For some reason, the news proliferates in an instance.


    A second later, a group of people with a red bandana that was tied on their right arm were flying towards the entrance to where the commotions originated.


    Each of them was riding a stick. No, it probably a staff. An item used to cast a spell. But it looks weird as a small magic array was visible to the front, back, and below of the stick.


    "Eh? Why they were riding it?" He mumbled.


    Sistela asked.


    "What did you say? Only witch will ride a broom. In all my knowledge, based on a few books I''ve read so far, it supposes to be a sword. Regardless, I felt a bad premonition of their presence!" He shouted.


    Sistela thought in puzzlement.


    Without minding her, ''Damn that disaster-bringer girl!'' He screamed inwardly.


    Without waiting for them to land, "let''s go away from here!" he grabbed Rea''s hand and dashed away from the crowd.


    "Hey! Don''t mindlessly rush forward!" Someone shouted. But he disregarded it and focus on escaping.


    "Who is--!"


    "I''m sorry, excuse me!" He forces his way. He knew that if they caught him, his unsullied name would be screwed.


    Even if he cleared his name, in the other''s mind the stain would remain! In this kind of thought, he chose to escape instead.


    "Hey! Watch your way!"


    A second later,


    "Where is the molester?!" The one in front shouted a question when their feet landed on the ground. His voice was loud, clear, and powerful.


    It was a stoic looking Encan person. He had long black hair that was tied in a ponytail. And a slight bears on his face.


    Together with him were 4 other people from different tribes.


    "The Senior Leader from the Department of Security is here!" Someone exclaimed.


    The people around, especially the girls, looked left and right. But no one claiming of seeing the molester.


    In the middle of the crowd, Cinder was staring at the girl in front of her with a blank face.


    "Uhm, Lady Ella, why are you here?" Cinder asked.


    The girl in front of her was no other than Rea.


    She too was wearing a blank face. "Ahem," she cleared her throat. "I want to ask the same thing with you," she said.


    "No, I mean... I saw him grabbed someone''s hand. I thought it was you..."


    "....."


    Rea didn''t know what to think. Her trusted bodyguard left her.


    "I also thought it was you Cinde..." she replied.


    "....."


    They stared at each other for a second. After a moment of silence, "pufft..." a chuckle escaped from Cinder''s mouth. She wanted to laugh heartily but she was too anxious being surrounded by many people.


    Never would she imagine that she would witness a day that Crimson would make a blunder.


    "It''s Lady Ella!" One of the members from the Department of Security exclaimed when they noticed her standing in the middle of the crowd.


    "Lady Ella, did you see the molester?" The Senior Leader asked her.


    Rea didn''t know how to reply. That person was just so unlucky. Everyone would probably think he was a molester if they caught him. Also, in this place, it would be hard for him to escape away from these people.


    "No, I didn''t see anyone who molested someone," she replied.


    The Senior Leader glanced at her for a couple of seconds before saying, "I see. Please be careful as many unusual things happening on the campus nowadays," after saying it, he glanced at Cinde and asked, "how about you, Miss?"


    "Eh, eh...?" She was startled for a second. "N-No one molested!" She said in an awkward loud voice. She immediately covered her mouth.


    "....."


    "I mean, did you see the molester?" The Senior Leader asked again.


    "N-No I didn''t..."


    He stared at her with little. But soon they left after asking the other students around.


    Rea frowned and sighed. She wondered if he would be alright. This place was as big as a town. "Let''s go together?" She asked Cinde who was fidgeting for some reason.


    Cinde nodded hastily after hearing Rea''s invitation. Although she rather walked together with Crimson, it was better than going alone.


    They then proceeded. They would find him later. She just wished he would not further trouble himself.

 Chapter 176: Seven

    After the people from the Department of Security failed to find the molester, they left and continued their search in other places -- To where some people saw a suspicious individual.


    Rea and Cinde didn''t know where to find him as he left in haste. They just wished that he wouldn''t further trouble himself.


    They then proceeded to their destination -- To the center of this town-like campus. In the center, a castle-like building could be seen. It was the main building of Encantasia Magic Academy.


    Yman entered one of the houses to hide. But sooner he learned that it wasn''t just a house. Some people were chilling inside while eating. The others were talking with the person with them. Most of them were sitting on the chairs in front of the table. And he also noticed a counter in the center.


    Some clerks were busy serving the customers while a person with an apron came out from the other room. On his hands was a dish of newly cooked food.


    Some people took a puzzled glance at him. They must be puzzled by their sudden intrusion.


    ''A pub?'' His initial thought upon seeing the inside. He wondered what was wrong with this campus. No, it is a town.


    But he noticed that all of the customers were wearing the academy uniforms.


    While he was running, he also took notice of some stalls and shops. There were also some buildings that looked like Inns.


    While he was thinking in a daze, "W-Wait..." his ears picked a seemingly exhausted voice from someone. But he didn''t recognize the voice so he disregarded it. No. The voice was a little familiar but he could not remember where he heard it. Wait, this is weird. They already ran quite a distance so why was he still hearing this voice? He questioned himself. He wondered if he was hallucinating.


    Together with the voice, the unusual tug on his neck from his deity was also felt by him. He disregards it a while ago as they needed to escape from the place.


    "Rea are you ok--" Yman''s mouth was left hanging when he looked behind him.


    He saw a familiar face. But it wasn''t the face he was expecting to see.


    (Huff, huff, huff...) she was breathing deeply.


    Yman was stunned on his feet.


    He saw his hand was holding hers. "What the heck?! How did it happen?!?" He exclaimed.


    Said Sistela with a tired face.


    Yman immediately released her hand and pondered about how it happened. He was sure it was Rea''s hand that he was trying to grab.


    "Ahaha, uhm, I''m sorry. How did you end up in my hand?" He asked anyway.


    "Eh?! Wasn''t you the one who grabbed me!" The girl yelled in a raspy voice, seemingly exhausted. "Aside from that, I appreciate your kindness of showing me the way, Mr," she said and bowed slightly.


    "Wait, you look familiar..." continued the girl.


    "Weren''t you the adven--"


    He didn''t wait for her to finish her words and immediately covered her mouth.


    "Sssshh, don''t mention it here," he said in a hush. He just released his hand that was covering her mouth after she nodded. "Regardless, aren''t you the girl that works in the guild bar?" He asked.


    If his memory served him right, it was the bunny girl that was working as the counter-girl in the adventurer''s guild bar.


    "Hah~! Yes, that was me." She replied after a deep breath.


    "Then, what are you doing here?" He asked.


    "I''m here to work as a part-timer!" She replied with an uncontrolled voice.


    "Wow, what a hard-working girl." He commented.


    Sistela nodded.


    "Wait, isn''t this place for royalties and families in higher echelon only?" He mumbled.


    "That''s... not exactly true," she said.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Hey, you two, don''t block the entrance!" Before Yman got an answer, the person from the counter shouted at them. It was a burly person and has a chocolate skin color; he has slight beards on his face and distinct wolf ears on his head.


    "Hey wait!" Yman tried to call the girl who suddenly scuttled towards the counter. "Mr. Barn, it''s me!" She shouted while raising her hand.


    "Hmm..." Mr. Barn tried to ponder who she was. "Oh, you are that girl named Seven who sent an application letter the other day?" He asked after he remembered.


    "Yes, yes, it was me!" She said exuberantly.


    "Good, you came at the right time." Said Mr. Barn while beckoning to the customers. They noticed that there were many customers inside. It was rush hour for them. Many customers around this time of the day were coming to eat and loiter.


    Seven immediately went to the back and changed to her uniform like the other worker.


    When she came back, she was already in her pub uniform. "It''s up to you now," Mr. Barn said, then handed the tray to her.


    "Aye! Sir!" She said enthusiastically.


    Yman on the other hand found himself a seat in front of an empty table. He decided to order some food as it was awkward to sit inside without doing anything.


    He saw the girl named Seven diligently working. She was serving the customers from left to right, unceasingly bringing them their orders.


    "Miss, one more Half-Grilled Limb of Silver Swan!" A man shouted.


    "Aye! Coming!" She replied.


    "Two cups of super black coffee with a creamy latte!"


    "Aye!"


    The customers shouted their orders one after another. And she was bringing them their orders without a hitch.


    Yman was sitting quietly, forgetting his intention of coming into the academy.


    "This pub is a good place to waste time," he muttered.


    "Mm... we must find her later."


    "I did, but for some unknown reason, I can''t transmit to any of them."


    "I don''t know, but there''s something weird in this place."


    "I can''t say for sure, but it is the same feeling when I''m inside Rea''s painting."


    "Perhaps." He replied while lifting the cup of tea towards his mouth. "I do feel a super wide-range spatial magic was being used here. But it was so thin that everyone would fail to perceive it."


    Sistela did not bother asking how he noticed it as he was having super-high sensitivity in magic. Or it was right to say, he had abnormally high perception.


    "Right."


    "Be at ease. I don''t think it will." He said after putting again the cup of tea on the small plate.


    "It was easy to figure. After all, the students in this Academy are from the most high-class families and clans. They designed it like this to avoid leaking some information to the outside."


    "Probably, it was a precaution."


    Sistela flew and her butt landed on the cup edge.


    with her index finger below her mouth, she was in deep thought.


    "Maybe she wasn''t just a rich girl with a pretty face or a popular person."


    "Mhm!" He nodded slightly. "It''s just a hunch," he added.


    Sistela stared at him. Although her partner was lacking in luck, his thinking process was commendable.


    Yman also was thinking that unlike before, not many Demihumans would take notice of his System Deity now. He believed one of the reasons was her appearance. Sistela was more like a fairy by now.


    (CREAK!)


    The chair in front of him suddenly made a creaking noise. Yman and Sistela glanced at the same time.


    "Phew!" Said the person who sat in front of them.


    It was the bunny girl.


    He laughed soundlessly at her. He glanced around him and noticed that the customers had calmed down finally.


    "If I''m not mistaken, you are Mr. Crimson right?" She said of a sudden.


    "Yeah," he nodded.


    "I knew it!" She exclaimed. "My name is Seven. Again, thank you sir for showing me the way in here," she added while slightly bowing her head. If she wasn''t wrong, Mr. Crimson was supposed to be a newbie adventurer. But he was promoted to a Golden Rank adventurer. She even heard that he beat Mr. Vince �� the well-known Golden Rank adventurer.


    Yman scratched his face. He didn''t do it on purpose. But anyway, "Don''t sweat it," he said. "Uhm can you tell me more about what you said a while ago," he added.


    Seven''s bunny ears danced slightly when she leaned forward towards him. "Uhm, is it about... entering here?"


    He nodded.


    "You see, Mr. Crimson sir, lower-status people like me can also enter here as a worker," she said.


    "Hmm, I see." Yman immediately. He already had a hunch that it was the reason.


    He narrowed his eyes and pondered. "Oh, by the way, did you quit your job in the guild bar?" He asked an unimportant question.


    "Ah, no-no! I''m still working there. As I already said, I came here to work as a part-timer."


    "I see."


    Their next conversation was just a friendly and unnecessary one. But felt he needed to do it. And he was intentionally wasting his time. He needed to calm down the issue about the molester before going out of the pub.


    He also asked her many things about the whole academy place. But it turned out her knowledge about the academy was only a little better than him.

 Chapter 177: Anti-magic

    After an hour of talking with Seven, Yman was about to leave, but suddenly a group of people came inside the pub.


    He went back to his seat and did not move as to not get anyone''s attention to him and even holding his breath.


    "Welcome--" Seven greeted the newcomers but stopped when she noticed they went directly to where Crimson was currently sitting like a statue. ''Hmm, I thought he already left.''


    She felt Crimson was a little mysterious. But it was kind of him to lead her here. Though it''s kinda weird that they had to run to come here.


    Crimson was stiffly sitting with beads of sweat noticeable on his face and the back of his head.


    "....."


    She wondered what''s going on.


    Yman on the other hand though, ''How did they figure that I''m here...?''


    Sistela flew and landed on his shoulder. She said in silence.


    ''Aren''t they looking for us?'' He replied with a half-opened mouth.


    ''My Deity, do you mean I am a molester?''


    "....."


    ''It was her fault!''


    He shouted while a face of grinning Cinder appeared in his mind.


    Said Sistela while turning her scarf into wings to fly away.


    (Whoosh!)


    But before she succeeded, she felt a tug on her dress.


    Yman smiled. ''Thanks, My Deity, but what are you planning to do? Don''t we share a strong bond and struggle together? If they put me in jail, you as well will come to me!''


    He said with a grin.


    Sistela tried to struggle but to no avail. Her partner''s grip was too strong. Like a child afraid of losing his new toy.


    ''Lier! You can''t find them in this place.''


    (Tap, tap, tap��!)


    "....."


    The two of them fell silent and froze on the spot when they heard the approaching steps.


    (Tap, tap, tap��)


    The noisy tapping of their shoes against the tiled floors only stopped when they arrived in front of him.


    In the hand of one of them, Yman noticed a paper. The person that seemed to be their leader stared at the paper then darted his gaze at his face.


    "Uh, how may I help you, respected people?" He tried to sound as natural as he could when he asked the question while lifting the cup of tea towards his mouth.


    He drank it but soon he realized that it was emptied already. He then returned the cup to the table with a blank face.


    Regardless, he was innocent! But he didn''t know the rules in this academy, so Yman could only act naturally.


    "It''s him��" the Senior Leader did not even bother replying to his question and directly said it on his face.


    Yman gawked. ''These people did not even try to ask if he was the person they are looking for!" He yelled inwardly.


    Then, the Senior Leader showed him what was on the paper he was holding.


    Yman''s eyes turned dots when he saw his face on it. He wondered how they acquired it. Though he could guess who was the traitor who sold him to these people.


    He also understood why she did it. That girl did not even put into account what would he feel after this!


    ''Damn!'' He cursed inwardly.


    "Mm, what do you need from me?" He asked in a very casual way.


    However,


    "Take him to the martial court!" Ordered the Senior Leader from the Department of Security.


    ''What the heck! Isn''t it for a serious crime?!''


    Yman could not voice out his complaint as he felt that it would only worsen the issue if he did.


    And besides, it only makes him more defensive and everyone would think that he was really who they claim he was.


    And he was sure that most people here would side with these people who he believed as some kind of law providers.


    "....."


    He fell silent. He knew it was unwise to go against them right now. And it''s better to clear his name as early as possible.


    Two people from both sides of him came to lift his arms.


    "You have the right to remain silent," said the Senior Leader.


    Yman gawked upon hearing it. ''Did I heard it right?'' He thought. For some reason, that phrase was familiar to him.


    "Stand up!" Yelled one of them.


    Yman wanted to say something but he knew that anything he would say at this moment could be used against him! So he remained silent.


    He complied and stood up. They then pulled his hand to his back and locked them with something.


    Yman felt weird. It seemed like his mana was being locked. He could not use mana?! He was surprised, wondering what it was they used to lock him.


    ''Anti-magic?'' He thought.


    Just last night, he was so excited to enter this academy. He was even making an oath to himself that this time, he would be living like a normal student. With a normal life. A very-peaceful every day. But on the very first day. He already caught himself in the trouble.


    Looks like he needed tremendous luck.


    "Wait!" Before they took him away, they heard a shout from someone.


    Yman glanced at where the voice originated, but he knew who it was.


    "Seven��?" He mumbled.


    "What?" Said the Senior Leader. "Do you know this man?" He asked.


    "Uhm, kind of," she replied. "May I know why you are taking him?" She asked.


    "This man is a molester!" The woman beside the Senior Leader was the one who replied.


    "Betty, stop! We can''t disclose any information regarding it until it''s proven," said the Senior Leader, but it was too late. The woman named Betty already blurted it, and everyone present inside the pub was able to hear it.


    They then started whispering. "A molester?"


    "A pervert?"


    "Indecent!"


    "Please Senior Leader punish that imbecile!"


    One after another, people shouted a complaint towards the person they deemed as a molester.


    "Hey, are you sure?" Seven, on the other hand, did not believe on the spot.


    In any case, Crimson was a handsome young man. And in the sense that he was wearing the academy uniform, he must be from a fine family or clan. So it was easy for him to get a woman if he liked it.


    Though, for her, he looked like he wasn''t the type of person who has a lust addiction.


    Well, that''s how she sees him.


    "Sorry, sir!" Said Betty. But the bullet was fired already so her sorry was useless.


    The Senior Leader nodded at her and glanced at Seven. "No, as I already said a while ago it isn''t proven yet," he replied to her.


    Although all the people were able to hear him, the stain on his face was already there. Yman knew that most people inside the pub would recall the issue whenever they saw his face later on.


    So this molester issue would become like a curse to him.


    He was certain that he could clarify this issue. But not from everyone''s mind.


    She glanced at Crimson and saw him smiled and said, "it was just a misunderstanding��" the people from the Department of Security took him with them after he said it.


    Seven sighed in relief.


    "It is weird if a Golden Rank adventurer turned out to be a molester," she mumbled. Then went to the kitchen.


    At the same time that Yman was captured, Rea and Cinde just entered the main building.


    "Miss Ella, I never thought you are that heartless to give his picture to them!"


    "Well, I figure it will be easy for us to find him if they caught him," she said. But actually, she was worried that instead of trying to escape, he would find himself in an unredeemable situation later. So it was better to clarify his name as soon as possible. And to do it, they must catch him immediately.


    Also, she was worried that he lost. After all, this place was a special place, which most of their higher-tier magic was restricted.


    "I see. So you did it just to find him, fufu. I feel sorry for him."


    "Said the person who was the cause," said Rea while side-glancing at her.


    "Eh, ah-erm, it''s not on purpose."


    The two of them went and entered the main building. Both of them were able to gather some looks.


    Most of them greeted Ella, while the others were curious about Cinde.


    Some of them even asked if she was a new student.


    Cinde on the other hand was fidgeting. She was so anxious about their stares at her.


    "Are you okay?" Rea asked.


    "I''m not an outside person."


    "What�� how did you live this whole time?"


    "By curling inside my room��"


    "....."


    Rea was speechless with this girl.


    "Hmm, I remembered there was a student who was absent since the first day. Could it be you?"


    (Nod, nod!)


    "....."


    She wondered what was the cause of her sudden going out from her cave.


    Cinde noticed a look of pity from Miss Ella.

 Chapter 178: The main building

    After entering the main building of the academy, Ella noticed that Cinde was still following her.


    "M-Miss Ella, can I come with you?" Cinde asked while furrowing her brows.


    "What are you a kid?" Ella said in haste. But she wasn''t angry particularly. Just had the urge to ask.


    She also remembered that Wolfmen was supposed to be a prideful and aggressive race. But it looked like there was an exception to it.


    "I can''t find my brother�� and I don''t have someone that I knew in the academy!"


    Cinde said with beads of tears, forming at the corner of her eyes.


    She noticed Ella was staring at her with a can''t be helped face while shaking her head. Then she sighed and stared at her.


    Never Ella imagined that she would be babysitting a lost wolf. She thought. In her eyes, Cinde was like a lost puppy.


    Cinde blinked her eyes like an adorable puppy.


    Ella touched her forehead. "Okay, let''s go to the Student Council first."


    Cinde was wondering, ''why Miss Ella want to go there?'' She thought. "Okay!" But then she replied enthusiastically.


    They then continued walking towards the Student Council room.


    "Uhm, are you a member of the Student Council, Miss Ella?" Cinde''s curiosity got the better of her.


    She noticed Miss Ella made a thinking gesture. "Hmm�� I can''t say I am one with them. Perhaps an irregular one."


    "Eh?"


    Ella noticed the puzzle face of Cinde from her reply.


    "I mean�� I used to hang out in their domain whenever I had free time."


    "Oh, does it mean�� you know someone in the Student Council?" Cinde asked. "Wait, aren''t Her Highness Princess Liya part of the Student Council?" She added after she remembered that she once heard it.


    "Mhm!" Ella nodded.


    "Woah! D-Did you often saw her?" After asking it, she saw Ella made a nod.


    "We even talk," Ella said.


    "....."


    Well, can''t be helped as Miss Ella was also a great figure in the empire. She even had the chance to meet the empress in person.


    Ella noticed the envy on Cinde''s face.


    While they were walking in the clean and spacious hallway of the main building of the academy, some people were nudging each other and pointed to the two beauties walking in the middle.


    Thanks to Miss Ella''s presence it lessened the anxiousness she was feeling.


    She admired her way of bringing her self. She had the presence of the mountain.


    Although she too was from a famous family, she was like an ordinary person compared to her. Perhaps because she was like a turtle in the shell-- or a snail.


    While Cinde was looking down on herself, from the other people''s perspective she was a goddess herself.


    The inside of the academy building has a serene ambiance. And it was spacious that they needed to climb the spiral snake-liked ladder to reach the second floor.


    They could also use the flying disc that serves as the elevator of the building. It was powered by flying magic using a complex array.


    The atmosphere inside was what would you expect in a fancy academy-- a peaceful and clean surrounding. The walls and floors were tiled with shiny slabs.


    It was natural that the ambiance was that of a castle. After all, it was an academy where the people from the highest echelon family in the empire were admitted.


    Inside the Student Council room, Hannah and Liya-- together with the other members were currently discussing the coming World Competition.


    Everyone was giving suggestions and their outlook from it.


    "The first part of the competition is the Resource War," Hannah said.


    "President, will it be a battle royal this time?"


    One of the members asked.


    "No, unlike before, this time it will be a two-way pattern. In the first round of the competition, the demihumans will be fighting the other demihuman academies; whereas, the humans will be fighting the other human academies. The top 10 demihuman and human academies are the only academies that eligible to attend the finals."


    Hannah explained.


    "Hmm�� so the higher-up committees decided to focus on the Resource War first?" Another of the members muttered.


    "There''s no decision about that as of now. The duel of the strongest students or the Aces may be held after the first round of Resource war. But actually, no words about it yet. Let''s just wait for further instruction from the committee."


    Princess Liya was the one who answered this time.


    "The Vice-President was right. For now, let just focus on choosing which among our experts are suited to enter the competition."


    "Shall we do a mock battle to see if who among our candidates are the best?"


    Princess Liya suggested.


    "Hmm�� that is a good idea Vice-President Liya," Said Hannah while glancing at the two people who were weirdly silent the whole time. It was weird to see them uninterested as they used to be the noisiest members. "What do you think of it, Jura, Nicholas?" She asked them.


    The two were seemed to wake up from a long dream.


    "Ah, ahem! I agree with the princess. It''s truly a wonderful idea," said Nicholas in haste as he glanced at Jura.


    Both of them could not forget the shame of getting killed in the first elimination round of the previous competition in the empire.


    It was like a nightmare for them. Even though no one was pointing about it, they knew that deep inside everyone was pitying them.


    Jura secretly gritted his teeth. If that guy showed his face in front of him, he would take his revenge.


    That shameless person even quit after getting a treasure chest. Jura was sure that inside the cheat was a precious treasure.


    "I also agreed with the princess''s idea. And we can also add a little twist on it."


    "Hmm�� what do you mean, Jura?" Hannah asked.


    Jura smiled and explained to them what he meant by a little twist.


    Right after this moment, the door of the room made some knocking sounds.


    "It must be Ella," Hannah said.

 Chapter 179: Miss Ella is a wise girl

    As expected, when the door was pushed open Miss Ella was spit-out from it.


    "Ella!"


    Hannah shouted excitedly while wearing a wide grin on her face.


    "Humph!" Ella pouted. "Good grief, you just made me your convenient errand-girl!" She joked out.


    "Haha, sorry about that, anyway Princess Liya has a present for you," Hannah announced with a wink.


    "Good grief, President Hannah. It was supposed to be a surprise," said Princess Liya with a sigh.


    "Waaah!" Hannah cried out. "Sorry, Princess!" She said her sorry immediately.


    Most of the people inside the room laughed at their president''s blunder.


    Although no need to call her with her status, most of them like calling her Princess than Vice President. Especially when they were inside the Student Council room.


    Ella glanced an eye to her cousin who was currently unwrapping a box.


    Nicholas, Jura, and the other male members of the Student Council gulped and acted like a true gentleman.


    After all, it was Miss Ella! The famous girl in the empire. Together with the empire''s princess, they got all the glory for being together with them inside the room.


    It was a dream come true for all of them. Even though some of them were princes from the other kingdom and leading families of the empire, these two were just beyond their imagination.


    When the smell of her favorite snack wafted to her nose, Ella beamed and scurried towards Princess Liya.


    "Waaaah! Super Sunny Ice cream, thank you, Liya!" She screamed and took a seat beside her cousin.


    "Haha�� Yosh, Yosh!" Princess Liya giggled and brushed Ella''s hair.


    "....."


    "Wha--!"


    Cinde gawked in disbelief. That Ella who was like a mountain a while ago-- acted like a pet beside the princess!!! In any case, they looked adorably close to each other. For some reason, the princess was acting like a big sister towards her.


    "What kind of magic is this!?" She thought.


    But she noticed something unbelievable, Cinde could not believe that the princess was so identical to Miss Ella! No, they looked like twins.


    They even have the same hair colors. Wait, wasn''t the Empress also had the same hair color as them? If her memories served her right, their kind originated from the Mangrove Kingdom. Could it be�� Miss Ella is a royalty!?


    Cinde gaped further. Unbelievable! Her thought. If she was royalty from the Mangrove Kingdom, technically, she was a princess in the empire too! After all, the current empress was her relative.


    No wonder she had this royalty aura around her. But even though she was a royal, she was still looking at her like they were of the same status.


    Compared to the Royalties, the great families were a step behind them in status.


    Right at this moment, they noticed a stunned wolf girl.


    "Oh, who is she?" One of the males asked.


    "Uhm, Rea, is she the new student?" Princess Liya asked her cousin who was about to take a dig-in from her Super Sunny Ice cream.


    "New student?" The male asked again. "No wonder it''s my first time to see her in the academy, fufu," he said while brushing his medium-length golden hair.


    "Yes, a new student is coming, but I don''t think it''s her Prince Damien."


    Hannah was the one who replied. She already knew who was the new student. But Ella was together with a different person. Hannah wondered.


    Seeing Cinde, Hannah could guess that she was from great families. The Lupine family of the Canine Sect to be exact. She even saw her in the recent competition.


    "Oh is that so? Fufu, then who is this lost puppy?" Prince Damien asked again while sending a wink to Cinde.


    On the other hand, Cinde was knitting her brows. She felt a piercing gaze from this person. A very unkind feeling.


    "She''s a friend of mine," Ella suddenly said to enlighten their puzzlement.


    Seeing Cinde wearing a troubled face, "Sorry Liya, Hannah, I have to go. That person, I mean the new student�� well, he was in trouble at the moment�� haha," Ella laughed listlessly.


    "Uhm, Miss Ella, who is this new student that you mentioned? And that friend of yours, I think it''s better if you left her here so that we can befriend her. What do you Nicholas, Jura?" Said Prince Damien as he asked Nicholas and Jura.


    Though they recognized her. "Isn''t she from the Lupine family? That Ember''s twin" whispered Nicholas into Jura''s ears.


    Jura knitted his brows upon seeing Cinde. ''This girl�� I remembered her being close to that person. Wait, aren''t the Lupine twins teamed-up with that person that time? I need to ask her if she knew about him,'' he thought with a grin.


    After seeing his nod, "I agree with Damien," Nicholas seconded.


    "Kuku looks like Prince Damien has an interest in your friend, Miss Ella. I don''t think it hurt someone to let them know each other," said Jura.


    "Right, I think it''s good to have more friends," said Princess Liya.


    Ella glanced at Cinde. Then she sighed after seeing her expression. "Uhm, the new student is a cousin of mine. And sorry Liya, this friend of mine is a shy girl."


    "Fufu, a shy girl, huh. It was the most adorable type," Prince Damien giggled.


    But,


    (Tok! Tok! Tok!)


    Another knocking sounds resounded.


    "Cinde, can you open it?" Since she was near the door, Ella decided to ask her.


    She nodded and opened it hurriedly.


    When they permitted the visitor, Ella and Cinde were stunned.


    "Crimson?!"


    "Eh?!"


    "Oh, it''s fancy to meet you two here," Crimson said after a quick scan inside the room. But in his mind, ''I''m safe!'' Now that Rea was present in the room, she could clear up his name.


    For some reason, after telling them that she was a relative of Miss Ella, they started to fly towards this place. At first, they didn''t trust his words. He showed them the Armor Artefact that she gave him. Still, these people thought it wasn''t enough proof.


    But after showing them his ID card, with the name Crimson Agila, they started to ask more questions regarding his relationship with Rea.


    Perhaps Agila was a well-known surname in the Empire.


    The Senior Leader of the Department of Security came together with his men and Yman.


    "Uh, good day, Council People." The Senior Leader greeted them.


    "Mhm, same to you people from the Department of Security. Rather, may we know of the reason for your coming here?" Princess Liya was the one who replied.


    The Senior Leader nodded and told them that he wanted to ask Miss Ella if the suspect with them was telling the truth.


    "Yeah, he''s my cousin, Senior Leader. Sorry to trouble you. I gave you his picture as I was afraid that he lost his way inside the campus. He was a new student who only came today. However, because of misunderstanding��" a brief pause, they noticed Miss Ella glanced at the Wolfmen girl.


    "...uhm it was my fault that the people misunderstood him as a molester!" Cinde continued Ella''s claim.


    After they heard Miss Ella''s words. The Senior Leader finally understood why she handed his picture to them. He was like a lost cat. Since their department was already looking for him, she took advantage of it by giving him his picture.


    The Senior Leader thought that Miss Ella was a wise girl for doing it. It isn''t like they could blame her. After all, it was their job to catch any suspicious individual inside the campus.


    It just happened that the other students were overreacting about it.


    Well, he could not blame them as there are some kinds of suspicious happening on the campus lately.

 Chapter 180: Money is life...

    "Aaah, I thought I''m a Gooner, hehe," they heard Crimson saying it while massaging his hands after they unlocked the anti-magic handcuff.


    The people from the Student Council were gawking upon hearing him and thought ''how bad is the luck of this person to find himself in trouble on his first day!''


    After he realized that the handcuff was prohibiting him from using his mana. Yman felt he needed to clear his name as soon as possible. If not, it would bring him trouble if his disguise would be canceled.


    "What with that handcuff, Sir Leader?" He asked.


    "....."


    The Senior Leader did not expect he would ask about it.


    "It is a special handcuff solely made to stall someone''s mana usage," he heard his reply.


    "So it''s a special metal?" As expected, it was dangerous to him.


    "No, the metal-- although sturdy and not easy to break, it isn''t particularly the reason."


    "Hm��" he could guess already that it was a spell inscribed in it with the addition of a compound array.


    "I see��" he replied disinterestedly. But in his mind, "Damn! This handcuff is a bane of all magic users! No, even the whole place is a bane for all experts leaning in magic!'' He grunted.


    The people from the Department of Security said they''re sorry for the trouble.


    Yman grinned at the woman named Betty. "Fufu, it was a big sin to accuse someone. I hope the Senior Sister will be so kind with her words. Or perhaps, I will ask my mother to send thousands of Gold Rank adventurers to punish the Senior Sister. And maybe some of the Platinum Rank as well," he whispered but intentionally increased the volume of his voice for everyone to hear.


    Rea gawked upon hearing his words. "This guy is so shameless to use my aunt''s status��" she mumbled.


    Cinde on the other hand doubted his words. ''Eh? Is he capable of that?'' Though she heard from Ella that Crimson was an adventurer and that she was hiring him as her bodyguard. Aside from it, she didn''t know anything else about him. ''Perhaps, he was just bluffing,'' she thought.


    "Eh--ehhh?" Betty stuttered. "P-P-Please forgive me!" She was flustered and was taken aback.


    Yman grinned. "Aaaah! I can''t forgive someone who fired the bullets before finding the faults��"


    She couldn''t believe he was still insisting, although she already said sorry. "S-Spare me��!"


    "I can only spare the Senior Sister if she spent a meal with me!"


    "A-A-A meal w-w-with you?" She said with a blank face.


    "....."


    "....."


    Rea and Cinder were speechless. They wondered what happened, but isn''t sorry is more than enough? Wait, is Crimson hitting on her? A meal? Could it be a��.. DATE?!


    Betty was a little older than them with long black hair that tied behind in a ponytail. A tall Encan woman and exuded an adult aura.


    Well, Yman just wanted to extort money from her for the trouble she caused in the pub. A meal might be not enough. Maybe he needed to extort money from her also.


    But no one knew Crimson''s reason. Cinder lent a little closer to him and whispered to him. "Uhm, Crimson, if you want a meal, I don''t mind spending a meal for you��"


    Yman blinked his eyes. He wondered why this disaster bringer girl suddenly wanted to pay for a meal for him. Maybe she was feeling sorry for causing him trouble.


    ''Well a free meal is a good meal,'' he thought, but he wanted to punish the Senior Sister.


    Before Yman could open his mouth, "Ahem!" Rea purposely cleared his throat. "Senior Leader thank you for bringing him here." The leader glanced and nodded at her. "Uh, Senior Sister, no need to take his words seriously. He''s just joking," said Ella while sending an eye to Crimson.


    "What?!" He believed Rea misunderstood him. "No, I''m serious!" Crimson abruptly said. He saw Rea sneering at him and Cinde beside him was furrowing. He wondered what was there for them to show such faces. "Money is life��" he mumbled.


    Yet,


    "Crimson, come here!" Rea said to him. No, her voice was ordering him in an overbearing tone.


    Yman, Cinder, and the others gawked.


    Princess Liya felt Rea was acting out of herself. This is not the Rea she''d known all along.


    "Haha," Hannah forced a laugh. "C-could it be��" she didn''t want to finish her words as it wasn''t proven right or wrong. Maybe she was overthinking it.


    Yman stayed on his feet and sighed when the people from the Department of Security said their farewell.


    Nonetheless, Jura and Nicholas seemed to find him a little bit familiar.


    ''Wait, could he be that person?!''


    Jura exclaimed in mind.


    Nicholas noticed the slight change in Jura''s countenance. "Could it be him?" Although that time, he was wearing a hood. But it wasn''t really difficult to recognize him.


    Also, in addition to the Lupine girl, his claim that he was that person wasn''t just a mindless one.


    ''Keke, you finally showed up! But wait�� he''s a cousin of Miss Ella?'' Jura pondered. But soon he decided that it was more important to redeem himself.


    He might as well get a favorable feeling from Ella if he defeated her cousin.


    (Creak!)


    The chair made a sudden noise and everyone turned their head towards the cause of it.


    "You!"


    Yman creased his forehead while his eyebrows curled upward. He wondered why the guy suddenly stood up and shouted while�� he was facing him?!


    He was puzzled and glanced around him. Maybe he wasn''t particularly sneering at him.


    Since the people from the Department of Security already left after saying they''re sorry to him, there was only him and Cinder left standing to where Jura was sneering.


    "Do you know him?" He asked Cinder.


    "Eh?" She was taken aback and shook her head in haste. "No idea, wait! He''s staring at you though," she replied.


    "Mm, a weirdo��" he mumbled.


    "Puffft��!" Crimson heard Cinder trying to hold her laughter.


    Prince Damien squinted his eyes. "Heh�� so she can laugh like that," he muttered after seeing the wolf-girl''s giggle. He stared at the new guy. ''Hmm�� I see so that guy must be the reason, huh. Fufu,'' he thought.


    Crimson stared back at Jura. "Uhm, are you speaking to me?" He asked him.


    ''This fool acting like he didn''t know what he did!'' Jura exclaimed inwardly.


    Dots appeared on top of Crimson''s head while waiting for his reply.


    "What a creep��"


    Cinder heard Crimson mumbled. "Ahaha..." she finally failed to hold her laughter. Her laughing voice reverberated inside the council room.

 Chapter 181: An assuming creep

    Jura and Nicholas raised a brow. That girl from the Lupine family knew that person. Now they are certain that it was him.


    Princess Liya and the others were wondering why Jura suddenly called out Ella''s cousin.


    They even noticed that Jura was kind of�� mad?


    Even Damien was wondering, but he found the situation interesting.


    Rea and Hannah had the gist of what was happening to Jura. Hannah knew that the man who eliminated Jura and Nicholas in the competition was no other than Crimson. Ella already told her beforehand. She even knew the reason why he was admitted to the academy.


    Well, it was for Ella''s sake so Hannah had to zipper her mouth and turned a blind eye about it.


    Jura remembered the recent topic and smiled. "You," he pointed him with his finger. "I want to challenge you in a simulation battle!"


    "Ha!?" Everyone was gawking at Jura''s sudden announcement.


    "Hey, is this person mistake me for someone he knew?" He whispered to Cinder.


    "....."


    She too didn''t know it was them that Crimson''s Grim Reaper beheaded in the recent competition as they were using their Transformation Artefact that time.


    Cinder raised her shoulders to emphasize that she didn''t have any idea.


    "That person was Jura Gorthalion, the son of General Beleggor Gorthalion. I heard from my brother that he''s a cunning person. And an aspiring soon to be Valiant General in the Empire like his father," Cinder whispered in his ears.


    "Hmm�� he sounds promising, but�� what''s the connection of it to me? I don''t even know him. Regardless, why does this guy want to challenge me? He''s like a dog who barks on the wrong tree. A simulation battle? What is that? Sounds like a mock battle," he asked, puzzled.


    Cinder raised her shoulders again after a chuckle. She didn''t know if Crimson wanted to make fun of Jura on purpose or he was just puzzled by it. She too had no idea of Jura''s sudden challenge invitation. It''s kind of childish, to be honest.


    "Jura, what are you doing?"


    Yman was surprised when one of the girls stood and asked the creep.


    "Long hair, Rea?"


    Cinder heard Crimson''s mutter. Both of them had the same reaction when they saw the princess but why does it sound funny when Crimson muttered it? She wondered.


    She didn''t know if what happened to Crimson but all that came out of his mouth made her want to cry while laughing. She wondered if it was the side effect of being caught by those people from the Department of Security.


    Right at this moment, Sistela came out from within his coat. She flew and landed on his shoulder.


    She hid inside her partner''s coat when the people from the Department of Security came to catch them.


    She glanced around her and noticed she was in a different place and with different faces also. Her initial thought was a prison but soon changed it. Oh, wait, Miss Cinder and Miss Rea were here! And�� Miss Rea''s clone too! she beamed joyfully. In truth, she didn''t know what happened after that as she went into hibernation mode for a couple of minutes while hiding underneath his clothes.


    He glanced at his Deity who seemingly just woke up from a good sleep. "Yeah!" he nodded. But his voice was enough for everyone to hear.


    "Hehehe," for some reason, Jura suddenly chuckled.


    Crimson and Cinder stared at each other. They both raised their shoulders as they didn''t have any idea why the creep suddenly laughed. Then they glanced at him, thinking if he lost his mind.


    "Now that you accepted the challenge. I will tell you the exact date of it!"


    "Eh?"


    "Eh! Accept? Ha?" Yman was stunned.


    Sistela was puzzled. Crimson and Cinder were surprised.


    "Why is this creep very assuming? He decided on his own?" He mumbled.


    "Sorry Miss Ella, Princess, but I wanted to challenge that person."


    Cinder wanted to question Crimson''s super luck. He continuously found himself in another trouble after trouble. He was truly one of a kind. She believed that Jura misunderstood Crimson''s ''Yeah'' reply.


    Yman scratched his face and glanced at Rea. "Wait, there are two Rea(s) in my eyes." He mumbled while rubbing his eyes. But after rubbing it, it was still the same. The long hair Rea was still there, standing beside the medium hair Rea.


    "Are they twins?"


    "She''s the Empire''s princess. And they are not twins," Cinder whispered.


    "Mm�� Empire''s princess��" he repeated. ''It would be weird if they are not relatives,'' he thought.


    After hearing her, Yman finally understood. And looks like his guess about Rea''s real identity was actually on the spot. Seeing that she was identical to the Empire''s princess, he believed that the two of them were close relatives. Regardless, he must clear the new misunderstanding.


    Princess Liya wanted to disagree with Jura''s challenge to Rea''s cousin but, "I don''t mind."


    They heard Rea said.


    "I mind!" Crimson said�� but soon he realized that Rea just wanted to end this unproductive talk.


    "But for now, let him finish what he needed to do. He''s yet to pass his requirements and choose his class. My cousin came here to enjoy the academy as he was away from the empire since he was a kid. Give him time as he''s a newcomer and doesn''t know the academy''s rules."


    He came to the academy to spy, (correction) to enjoy academy life and guard her while going to learn many things. Not to do some kid activities.


    Yman rather learns new things that might help him get rich and stronger in the future. He had a very serious goal in life-- his sister. So he didn''t have the time to waste unproductively.


    Well, fighting is learning too. But as long as in the right procedure. Not the kind of fight with a random sulking kid who he didn''t even know in particular.


    Everyone agreed with Ella. Crimson had yet to pass his requirements and choose his class.


    Cinder sighed in relief.


    They could not battle apparently if he wasn''t part of the academy yet.


    But everyone inside the room except Crimson and Sistela knew that their battle was unavoidable.


    Because that''s how this academy was ruled.

 Chapter 182: Departments

    With the help of Council President Hannah and Princess Liya, the process of passing all the needed documents was done smoothly.


    The only work left for him was to choose what class and department he wanted to join.


    Yman noticed that the academy community was comparable to a booming modern academy of the magical city like that of Human City.


    It even has more facilities than the HC Zone 7 academy. Probably because HC Zone 7 was a backwater academy. It didn''t have the resources to backup all the needed facilities. It might also be the reason why they had to train outside using ordinary methods.


    In the Encantasia Academy, it was more magical and was in the process of applying magic-based technology. Examples of it were the Artefacts -- also known as Magical Artefacts. They were using magic arrays to the different kinds of equipment and accessories and added an ancient technique which they can store: high-tier equipment, spirit beast, and even magic spells.


    In his hands, a pamphlet with a list of different kinds of departments could be seen.


    Yman was currently reading on it while sitting on a circular brick bench in front of the academy''s lobby. In the middle of the bench was a sakura tree with beautiful leaves falling now and then caused by the slight brush of the wind.


    Even in such a surrounding where he was surrounded by good scenery and beautiful girls, his focus was unfaltered.


    Sistela was currently in Hibernation mode as there''s no need for them to waste her battery.


    Well, he could always wake her up if a situation calls it.


    Cinder beside him was also holding a pamphlet but she chose to peek on the pamphlet in Crimson''s hands. Like him, she too did not belong in any departments. She was waiting for what department he would choose as she too would choose it. But she didn''t let them notice her plan.


    From time to time she would flip her pamphlet. But Rea noticed she wasn''t focused on it.


    Rea on the other hand was explaining to them the things they didn''t understand.


    "So, I can choose multiple departments?" Cinder asked.


    "Of course, just avoid conflicting your schedule."


    Rea replied.


    "I see. Well, it''s understandable," Crimson said.


    "Department of Knight and Magic��" he read.


    Cinder peek on it.


    "As the name implied, it was a department in which students were taught how to fight with their preferred styles using magic and weapons of choice.....(blah blah blah��)" Rea followed with an explanation without waiting for him to ask a question. Her explanation was long and detailed that Yman was wondering if she was a walking encyclopedia.


    "That department suits you Crimson," Cinder stated. She also wanted to join in it. As she needed to train her magic spells.


    They saw him staring at it for a couple of seconds, seemingly thinking.


    (FLIP!)


    Without even saying a word when he proceeded.


    "....." Cinder was curious what he thought about it. Perhaps, Crimson just wanted to check the other departments before choosing his preferred one.


    After flipping a page, "oh there it is!" Crimson said.


    "Did you already think of what department are you going to attend?" Cinder beside him asked him a question.


    "He will be going to attend the Department of Alchemy," Rea was the one who answered her.


    "A-Alchemy?! Crimson will...?" Cinder could not believe it. She expected he would be attending the Department of Knights and Magic. But maybe he would. However, these two departments had a time conflict so he could only choose one between the two.


    Without joining at their conversation Crimson opened his mouth to question. "What is this Magic Enchanter Department?" Although there were some descriptions in it, they were not vivid enough for him to have a good understanding.


    "In that department, students are taught to scribble magical essence to a weapon, armor, and accessories," Rea explained.


    They noticed he made a thinking-gestures. "Like the elemental equipment?" He asked after a little ponder.


    He saw Rea nodding her head.


    Yman placed his finger below his chin as he replied, "hmm...!" (Pondering��)


    "The Artefact-making team fall in that category and also the magic-array scribbler," Rea added.


    They noticed he was staring at it with interest.


    "Are you interested in it?" Cinder asked and checked the time. "Oh, they have different time sched��" she said. "Do you like carving magic arrays or sealing magic spells into�� wait! Aren''t your Fire Dolls works like that, Crimson?!" Cinder exclaimed when she remembered his awesome spell, the Fire Dolls. Those summons of him that were made in an out of ordinary procedure where he could implant some spells on them. In a sense, they work the same as making Artefact and enchanting the equipment.


    "Hmm�� you are right. But I can''t decide about it for now," Although he said it, he could see many benefits from this department.


    Yman continued flipping the book.


    From the windows, Hannah and Princess Liya were spectating at the group.


    "Look, Princess, Ella was wearing a know-it-all face," said Hannah, a little worried for the best friend. "She was even puffing her chest."


    Princess Liya thought that President Hannah was like a worried older sister. "Hahaha, let her be, she must be happy to see one of her relatives in the same academy. Perhaps, they were so close since childhood," although Princesa Liya said it, she never once heard about this cousin from Rea. Even when they were young kids.


    But in the mind of Hannah, ''no princess, you don''t know the whole story! That guy is not even her real cousin. But Miss Ella was acting like a dotting cousin to him instead of a person he was supposed to protect!''


    Hannah could only sigh.


    Some passersby would occasionally take a glance or two at their group.


    After closing the pamphlet. Yman finally decided which department he would be attending.


    No need to think about his first choice. It was of course the Department of Alchemy.


    The Department of Alchemy Headquarter was located in a separate building that could be seen at the back of the main building.

 Chapter 183: Department of Alchemy

    Rea led Crimson and Cinder to the Alchemy facility.


    Crimson and Rea were so surprised when Cinder announced that she would join the Alchemy Department.


    He wanted to ask if she would like to learn alchemy as well. But he decided not as everyone was free to choose their preferred departments.


    They walked around the main building and headed towards the back. Then they entered the woods that could be seen out there. They traveled about 100 meters away towards the northern part until they arrived at the clearing where a lone building was standing.


    When they arrived, both of them gawked at how rundown it looked. It was comparable to an exhausted old man. If Yman made an estimation, it has a total size of 50 square meters by looking at it from the outside.


    The door was made of wood. Some cracks and track of bugs were even visible from it. And the word Alchemy Little Garden was barely readable on top of the door.


    Smokes were oozing from the blackened chimney that could be seen on the roof, signifying that someone might be inside.


    The small glass windows were close, loosely. Perhaps they were broken already.


    Flashes of different colors of light illuminated from the inside to the windows. Probably, someone was doing some work inside.


    Nevertheless, it looks like a haunted house for some reason.


    A trembling tug from his left-sleeve took his attention but he chose to disregard it. Looked like Cinder was not resistant to ghosts.


    They also noticed a worn-out brown wool cloth hanging from the roof near the window. It must be placed out there to get rid of the sunray and rain from directly entering.


    The whole building was made of bricks. For all the buildings he saw after entering this town-like campus only this building that looks so-so.


    A bead of sweat was visible on his face. He remembered someone''s words the other day. He stared at the girl on his right. "Rea, are you sure many experts from great families and royalties failed the test?" He was doubting it after seeing the situation of the building. Looking at it, he could say for certain that no one wanted to work in such a place, especially the royalties.


    "A-A test?" Cinder repeated when she heard it. She didn''t expect that there would be a test coming.


    Rea suspiciously rolled her eyes away from them and fell silent.


    A second later,


    ''.....Waaaah!" He gaped with razor-sharp teeth. He wanted to bite her for fooling him. His eyes turned devilish while giving her a sharp gaze. He was even disregarding Cinder who was bothered by the test.


    ''Pufft��!" Out of a sudden, they heard Rea''s chuckle.


    Yman and Cinder stared at her with suspicion.


    Noticing their eyes on her, "Ahem!" She cleared her throat and turned back her eyes on them. "It''s true that many experts from the great families and royalties failed the test. But��.. it was when the Alchemy Department was still new. Now no one bothers to take the-- uhm sorry I mean��.. there was once a person who tried to take the test, and now she''s the sole member of it except the professor."


    "Sole member��" he repeated.


    Right after saying it, the door of the room made a creaking ghostly noise which made Cinder to hug and press her tempting smooth parts to his arm.


    Yman immediately kicked the nasty thought that tried to sneak into his mind. He must focus his mind, he thought.


    Then a small white hand reach-out the door frame.


    "Hiiii!" Cinder squealed and further pressed herself to him.


    Well, it looked creepy but he wasn''t bothered by it. He even had a demon inside him. And he could perceive the human presence from behind the half-opened worn-out door.


    In the next second, a pair of big eyes peeked from it. It looks creepy as black circles were visible below those eyes. Cinder finally shrieked with her ears and tail standing upright. Then she leaped behind him.


    Beads of sweats multiplied in Yman''s face.


    He thought, ''A wolf is supposed to be a fierce animal, but why is this girl so scared?''


    The eyes blinked several times, "Miss Ella��" she said in a cute voice before the door was fully opened.


    Ella smiled and nodded. "Good day, Airi," Rea greeted.


    Yman and Cinder were surprised to see the person. She was so short -- like a kid. Only as tall as their waist. She was wearing a long white coat over her academy uniform. And two raccoon ears were noticeable on her head. She has brown airy bangs and an elegant bob at the back.


    "A kid?" He mumbled.


    "Excuse me! I''m not a kid!" She protested in a little voice.


    "Eh?" Yman stared at her with a face that could not believe her claim.


    "Miss Ella, who are these people?" She asked Ella who was standing quietly while wearing a gentle smile on her face.


    "A friend and my c-cousin," she replied. "Is the professor inside, Airi?" Ella asked while peeking inside the room.


    "Oh, ah, he''s not here yet. He went to the backyard to gather an herb."


    Yman and Cinder were staring at her with curious faces. Cinder was currently peeking from his back.


    Airi blinked her round big eyes towards them. She was wary of their stares.


    "S-So cute��" Cinder muttered.


    "Eh!" Airi was taken aback.


    ''"Hey! You two stop scaring her!" Rea roared at them.


    "But we are not," Cinder protested. And Yman on the other hand scratched his face.


    "B-By the way, Miss Ella, why are you looking for the professor?" Airi asked while shifting her gaze to each of them.


    "We want to take the test, Miss Airi, oh, by the way, my name is Yma--" Yman stopped when he realized he was about to tell his real name. "Ahem, sorry," he cleared his throat. ''Crimson, My name is Crimson Agila," he said. "Rea''s cousin," he added and reached out his hand.


    Rea and Cinde glanced at him. The slight mistake didn''t escape from their ears.


    ''Ema?'' Cinde repeated in her mind. They already knew that Crimson was using a disguise. As he was human.


    ''So that''s the first syllable of his real name,'' Rea thought. ''Eyma��'' she repeated.


    Yman was unaware of their thoughts.

 Chapter 184: Body Tampering Elixer

    Airi shifted her gaze to his hand and his face, seemingly wary of him. But she noticed that the person in front of her seemed to be not bad. In any case, he was Miss Ella''s cousin.


    She reached out with her hand also.


    Although her hand was smooth and so tiny, Yman didn''t give much thought about it and shook her hand while trying to wear his gentlest smile he could muster as to not startle her.


    Cinder followed after him. "My name is Cinde Rayla, Miss Airi," she said with a wide smile.


    "Hello, Miss Cinde."


    "Cinde?" They heard Crimson''s mutter.


    "Mhm!" She nodded. "That''s my real name," Cinde stated.


    "Eh! Cinder is not your real name?" He asked with a surprised face.


    "Of course, not! Cinder is just a codename for the competition," she asserted.


    "....."


    Yman was a little surprised. No wonder Rea was calling her Cinde all this time. Though it wasn''t a big issue for him to take into account.


    Beside them, Rea was silent while sighing at him. ''This Eyma didn''t even bother knowing it��'' she thought.


    "Right. Miss Airi, where is the backyard you mentioned earlier?"


    He asked when he remembered her words awhile ago. He glanced around the building but he could not find him.


    "UH, Crimson, what she meant is to the mountain," Rea said while pointing to the far mountain that could be seen in the distance.


    "Hm, I see."


    Since the professor wasn''t there yet, Airi decided to tour them inside the lab.


    When they entered, he and the others were surprised that inside the rundown building was opposite to what they expected; although different kinds of materials that were needed for alchemy could be seen everywhere, they were well-arranged on the glass shelves and some on the table.


    He sighed in relief upon seeing it. At least he didn''t need to do a cleaning. It must be Miss Airi who arranged them, he thought.


    He saw different kinds of rare stones, metals, and herbs displayed on the wall, seemingly a collection for display. Although it looked like a rundown building outside, it looked fine and comfortable inside.


    A set of sofas was even in the corner. And a small glass table was in the middle of it.


    But what took his attention was the liquid in one of the glasses that were on the tabletop. It was shining like it was pulsifying, then different kinds of colors would surface now and then. He could also perceive magical energy from it.


    "Miss Airi, what are those?" He was mystified by it and decided to ask her.


    "Ah that, it''s my newly made magical drink!" She excitedly stated.


    "A magical drink? Could it be an elixir?"


    "Kind of��"


    "A Booster Elixir? Or healing? Or could it be an antidote?"


    "Eh? Uh, it doesn''t fall to any of that category."


    "What do you mean Miss Airi?"


    He was pondering if there was any other category besides those he just said.


    "Could it be the Elixir Of Resistance?" He muttered.


    "Nah�� not that as well."


    "....." Crimson fell silent. Aside from those he just said the other elixirs fell in the category of Healing Elixir -- like the Mana and Health Replenishment. Even the vitality and stamina fell to the healing category as well.


    Seeing the bafflement on his face, Airi said in hesitation: "I-it''s a Body Tampering Elixir."


    "Body Tampering��" he repeated while tilting his head. He tried to remember if there was an elixir with that category. But after a couple of seconds, he still could not remember any.


    "Miss Airi, what''s the difference for it, from the other elixirs?" Yman asked with a curious face.


    Seeing someone interested in it, Airi''s eyes started to shine as she started a passionate explanation about the Body Tampering Elixir of hers.


    After several minutes of explaining, "an elixir to evolve one''s body in which the one who''s using it can evolve in a more efficient and powerful outcome? This truly wonderful creation!" Crimson exclaimed.


    "Yeah!"


    However, this sounds familiar to him: "Hmm��.." he was pondering.


    ''Isn''t there some kind of ancient stories about it?'' If his memories served him right, on the AS continent, in the CH country, some story about cultivating one''s spirit or soul was once popular in the Lost Era.


    Based on the story, the body tampering was the beginning of cultivating one''s soul and spirit.


    ''Could it be Miss Airi used it as a reference?'' He thought.


    "Uhm, Miss Airi, do you��.. perhaps read an ancient human story about Soul and Spirit Cultivation?" Crimson asked with his fingers on his chin.


    "Soul and Spirit Cultivation? No, I don''t read any stories about it. I''m not even a fan of reading storybooks. I rather read some books about alchemy," she said in honesty.


    "I see," he replied and thought: ''Could it be a coincidence?''


    He noticed Airi''s doubtful gaze.


    "Regardless, is this elixir a perfect outcome, Miss Airi?" After asking it, he saw her disgruntled face as she sighed in dismay.


    "Ahaha��" he laughed descendingly. It looked like he overreacted after hearing the Body Tampering words. It made him excited and forgot those things were just a fantasy story from the Lost Era. And in actuality, there''s no such method to do it.


    ''Based on her explanation, perhaps, Airi named it as Body Tampering because of the permanent effect this elixir can bring to the user.''


    ''It truly a wonderful elixir if perfected.''


    ''Wait! A body tampering?''


    "Miss Airi! You said a while ago that it can reform a body?!" He exclaimed when it came to his mind.


    "Eh!" She was taken aback by his sudden exclamation. Even Cinde and Rea were baffled by his sudden outburst. They glanced at him with stunned faces. "Y-yes!" Airi replied after a stun.


    "What of it?" She followed a question.


    "So is it possible to bring back the broken Magician''s Seed to function?" He asked in haste.


    "?", Airi thought for a second, then said: "Sorry, I don''t think it can."


    "Sorry, I don''t think it can."


    "Sorry, I don''t think it can."


    Her reply reverberated for a couple of times in his ears.


    They noticed him suddenly turned glum. With his eyes lost their sheen.

 Chapter 185: Heaven Defying Medicine

    "Crimson?" Cinde who was currently sitting on the sofa together with Rea had muttered his name with a tinge of worry. And Rea was speechless from the shift of emotion he was showing at the moment. They were staring at him with identical expressions on their faces.


    It was new to both of them to see such a face from him. They were wondering why he suddenly mentioned healing a broken Magician''s Seed.


    And whose Magician''s Seed is broken? It''s impossible that Crimson''s Seed is broken.


    Before they could voice out what on their minds,


    "Uh, ahem!" He cleared his throat and force a smile. "Sorry I just remembered something..." he said and thought: ''Looks like only that medicine could help Yana. But it only has 40% of effectiveness that makes me skeptical to use it��''


    Yman was not able to ponder longer when the little Miss in front of him called out.


    "Uhm, Mister Crimson, do you have a broken Magician''s Seed?" Airi asked in wonder.


    Upon hearing her, "No, I don''t have. But the person close to me is," he said without a second thought. His voice was normal but they could feel a slight sadness from it.


    This made Cinde and Rea suspicious of the person close to him. "Could it be his relative? A friend? Or��.." they don''t want to think further about it but it made their heart pound a bit faster.


    "UHm��" suddenly, they heard Airi being skeptical with her word. Then she saw their gazes were on her. "Uhm, although it can''t directly heal a broken Magician''s Seed, it can indirectly help her or him��"


    "Indirectly? What do you me--"


    Crimson was not able to finish his words when Airi followed up in haste: "Because it can reform a person''s body and it can make him or her healthy in the process! Isn''t a magician who has a broken Magician''s Seed commonly has a weak body? And even most lost their ability to walk?


    He was listening to her every word with great interest while nodding his head in every question she fired.


    "In the empire, there''s a medicine called Heaven Defying. This medicine can heal a broken Magician''s Seed, but even with this medicine the percentage of recovery is very low��" she stopped and glanced at Crimson who fell silent.


    Yman knew about it, it was also the reason why he came to the empire as the ingredients needed to craft the medicine could only be found there.


    Looks like it was the only choice he had to heal his sister.


    "...but you know, there''s a high chance that the percentage will increase��" Airi added.


    "Eh? Really?" He asked with wide eyes.


    "Yes! If the person who has a broken Magician''s Seed is having a healthy body when he/she is going to use the Heaven Defying medicine," Airi explained.


    For a couple of seconds, he stared at her with his eyes shifted from left to right.


    Rea and Cinde were looking at him with tight lips and were holding their breaths -- thrilled by his reaction. Then a moment later, both of them sighed in relief when a smile appeared on his mouth and the vibrant in his eyes came back.


    "That Body Tampering drinks of yours, how many percent that it could make a cripple walked again?" He asked.


    "As long as it can be perfected, I believed it''s higher than 90 percent, Mr. Crimson!" she replied while puffing her unnoticeable chest.


    "I see," he said and smiled further. "Senior Airi, please let me help you in completing it!" Airi was taken aback when he suddenly changed the way of calling her.


    Even Rea and Cinde were stunned also.


    "In any case, I can''t let you help if you''re not even a member of this department," she said.


    Right at this moment, "ufufu, so you two already knew each other.''


    They heard someone laugh and chime into their conversation.


    They simultaneously looked at the door to where the voice came from.


    "Professor Ronnie! Welcome back!" Airi greeted immediately.


    "Good day professor!" Crimson followed after.


    The professor stared at him for a few seconds. He already knew this disguise of him. That time in his Herbs and Flower shop, Miss Ella explained to him about Crimson''s coming of the Academy and that he would be disguising himself.


    "Good day, Prof. Ronnie!" Rea greeted as well. And Cinde followed after her, but she suddenly felt nervous because of the test.


    "So are you ready?" Professor Ronnie asked him.


    Before he could reply, "Professor, I will take the test as well!" Cinde shouted but her shoulders were shaking. She was nervous!


    "Oh, another student who wishes to become an Alchemist, fufu. Do you have experience in alchemy?" Prof. Ronnie asked her.


    "N-no professor," she replied honestly.


    "Do you know if what is alchemy about?" He asked again.


    "No professor!" She replied again in honesty.


    Rea tapped her forehead.


    Professor Ronnie fell silent and wonder if this lass truly wants to join the Alchemy Department.


    Then he noticed her shifting towards the young man named Crimson. Looks like she just wanted to join because her crush was here!


    "Sorry lass we can''t bring someone who doesn''t have the love with Alchemy!" The professor beamed and thought: ''what this lass thought of my department, a dating site?''


    A tear was forming from both sides of Cinde''s eyes.


    Rea was tapping her head while shaking it.


    "Uhm, Prof. Ronnie, can you let her in the test? Maybe she has a hidden talent with it," Rea suggested. It''s as far she could help her. From here onward, it''s up to her luck. But Rea knew that it would be an impossible path for Cinde.


    "Hmm, I see, you have a point. Okay, you and the young man will take the test together," Ronnie agreed to Ella and beckoned to the two to follow him outside.


    "Good luck, Mr. Crimson, and you too Miss Cinde!" Airi cheered the two of them.

 Chapter 186: The Test

    Outside the lab, they saw two tables arranged beside each other, and placed on top of it were the materials required for the test: a mortar, herbs of different kinds, a book with half-inch thickness was there too, a magic scroll and etcetera.


    The scrolls were holding the power of the Beginner Tier Alchemy Skill, the ''Hand Of The Clumsy''. They must learn it first before the test begun.


    "I''ll give you 5 minutes to learn the technique in the scroll and another 10 minutes to review the book and study all the materials. After that, your test will start," after announcing it, Prof. Ronnie left and went inside the Alchemy''s Little Garden(lab).


    "Yes, Prof. Ronnie!"


    "Yes, Teacher!"


    Both of them shouted a reply.


    Yman and Cinde took the piece of cloth which was folded on the table. Then they matted it on the ground to which they sat in meditation posture. In front of them, they spread and laid the scrolls.


    It was the second time that he would learn a technique from a magic scroll.


    Just like the healing magic scroll, profound words were also visible on the alchemy skill scroll.


    After dropping a tiny bit of blood from the hexagram logo on it, the words seemingly came to life as they shone and floated then twirled around them like snakes.


    Golden energy then enveloped their body while the words spiraled around them.


    The two closed their eyes and accepted the golden energy together with the profound words that seemed like Hieroglyphs of ancient Egyptians.


    When the golden energy dissipates, the two opened their eyes. In front of them, the scroll became an empty scroll. The profound words that recently there, was now gone.


    Yman closed and opened his hand, he could feel the technique running through from within, like it was there originally. He tried summoning a bit of mana. Crimson energy with a mix of gold played on his hand. He then waved it to get rid and decided to get up.


    The two of them next studied the materials then read the books.


    Cinde stared at Crimson and noticed something about him, "Hmm, as expected he''s concentrating already," she muttered upon seeing his serious expression while fixedly staring at the book in his hands.


    The white strands of his messy bangs were slightly dancing in the air when the slight gush of wind brushed his hair.


    His eyes went from left to right, following every syllable of the words he was reading. Unbothered by his surrounding, he flipped another page of the book he was reading.


    ''So fast!'' Cinder thought while staring at him. Just a few seconds that had passed he already flipped some of the pages.


    "Uhm, Miss Ella, will Miss Cinde be okay?" Airi asked worriedly when she noticed that Cinde was wasting her time staring at the person beside her.


    She wanted to have other members in the department, it was alsothe reason she was cheering the two of them to succeed.


    Yet,


    They noticed she was lost in thought. Although she was holding a book, her attention wasn''t in there.


    "Haha, I don''t know what she''s doing. That girl, she forgot the reason she was there," Rea laughed listlessly and sighed. "She needs a hard knock on her head," Rea added. Then she waited for a couple of seconds. Yet Cinde was still in a daze.


    "Ahem, Cinde! Have you decided to quit?" Rea was not able to hold on and decided to call her and ask.


    After hearing her, Cinde was flustered and quickly flipped the next page of the book without reading the first page. Then she awkwardly flipped back the previous page.


    Rea and Airi were staring at her with blank faces. They wondered if she would be alright.


    After 10 minutes, Ronnie came out from the Little Garden.


    Rea secretly thought: "Cinde was in trouble."


    "Oh, are you ready?" He asked immediately.


    "Yes, Teacher!"


    "Huh? Eh?"


    Yman knitted his brows. "Are you okay?" He asked the girl beside him.


    "Uh? Y-Yes!" She replied with a flush of redness on her face.


    Yman wondered if she would be alright.


    "Okay, let''s start!" Prof. Ronnie declared. The first step is��" he then explained to them what they needed to do.


    Yman and Cinder started by grinding the herbs using the mortar. Then add liquid to filter and separate the soluble from insoluble.


    They do their work meticulously.The two continued for a couple or minutes until both of them finished their works.


    Last thing they did was to fillthe liquid into the bottle. Prof. Ronnie walked beside the table and took each of the bottles to check.


    The bottle on Cinde''s table, the measuring marks were barely crossed by the liquid''s quantity in it.


    While in Crimson''s bottle the liquid quantity easily passed the marks.


    "Okay, both of you passed the first round," said Prof. Ronnie with a satisfied nod. But he wondered how the girl able to do it. Maybe she was just lucky. Or perhaps a hidden talent?


    In any case, the test has just started.


    Rea and Airi sighed in relief while clapping their hands. Good thing that Prof. Ronnie went inside. She was able to replace the herbs in Cinde''s table with a bigger one. She knew that the first round of the test would be the quantity measurement.


    Yman didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at them.


    The next part was using their new technique the ''Handsof the Clumsy'' to enhance the quality of the liquid.


    At this point, they needed good control of their mana. Which someone like Cinder had the advantage.


    The Hands of the Clumsy was a spell that can enhance the quality of material.


    ''Sistela!He woke up his partner who was currently in sleeping mode.


    When Sistela woke up, he explained to her the current situation.


    she said.


    The two then went into resonance. Cinde and the others were wondering what Crimson was planning to do with his Deity.


    After their resonance, he let Sistela control his body. While he become the second person. Although Sistela was the one controlling his body, the others were unaware of it.


    When they started lifting the glass of liquid, their hands exuded golden color and with the mix of their own mana. In Crimson''s hand, it was a golden energy with the mix of crimson color.


    They holding the glass in both hands, trying to enhance its quality.


    They could see that the liquid inside was seemingly boiling.


    After a couple of minutes, the dirty color of the liquid was starting turning bright-green. Until it was clear enough that one could see through from it.


    Ronnie who was staring at the two the whole time, annouced: "Okay, that''s enough!" He said after checking the time.


    Yman and Cinde sighed and brushed their foreheads to get rid if the sweats on it.


    Ronnie first slightly shook the glasses to check for the waste particles from it. Waste particles usually rose and floated for a couple of seconds so it was easy to distinguish if one was a well-enhance or not.


    As expected, waste particles rose in the bottles of Cinde after Prof. Ronnie shook it.


    However, he widened his eyes in astonishment when he noticed that in Crimson''s bottle. It was so clear and so pure. Not even a little speck of waste particle was visible from it. Like it was done by a high tier spell the Gentle Hand.


    Sistela''s victory grinned.

 Chapter 187: Souls Domain

    It was one of the benefits that the resonance brings. The Deity could take over the user''s body for a limited time. This kind of shift control could lessen the stress and depression when the user was in a state.


    Yman''s and Sistela shifted position. However, a second after their shifting, he felt like he was sucked by something and found himself drifting in a black and white world.


    Not only that, he could not feel the weight of his own body.


    He felt like he was a drifting bamboo tube in the river, letting the current take him away.


    After sometimes that seemed like ages ago, he found himself in a vast lake that seemingly liked oceans.


    In the middle of the lake, he saw the familiar figure of a soul. "Demon of Position?" Yman muttered upon seeing him. Beneath the demon''s soul, a small area of crimson water was surrounded by black and white.


    It was easy to distinguish him, as he was the only one that had this bright crimson color in contrast to the colorless world.


    "Who is the noisy impudent?!!" The demon roared upon hearing someone talk.


    But it didn''t falter and even drift closer to it. "Hey! How are you?" Yman called out. He didn''t know what happened but it was good to see someone in this lonely world.


    "Tsk, you impudent little fly again!" The soul form demon grunted when someone tried to awaken him from a deep sleep. "Eh? Who are you?! You''re not that little fly?" But he stopped when he saw a different presence in front of him.


    "Little fly?" Yman asked in wonder.


    "The little fairy girl!"


    ''Could it be Sistela?'' He thought.


    "I see, that voice�� you''re that kid��"


    "Yeah."


    "Guehehehe! How did it happen that you are here? Uhm, wait! Look at that soul of yours, are you even a human?" The Demon said in shock.


    The soul form Yman squinted his eyes. "What did you mean?"


    "Why don''t you look at your reflection underneath you! Guehehe!" The demon beckoned him to look below them.


    Underneath them, Yman noticed the lake, and his reflection reflected on it.


    A black ball-ship soul flickered. "Eh?!" His stupefy expression escaped from his mouth.


    "Hehehe! Humans and Demihumans are supposed to have brilliant blue souls. However, you have black. Hahaha!" Laughed the demon. His crimson-colored soul was better and attractive compared to his dirty-looking soul.


    Yman was worried and didn''t know the reason.


    ''Could it be because of the experiment?'' He doubted.


    In any case, there was no good wondering of the uncertain things.


    "Regardless, what is this place, Mr. Demon?" He asked.


    The demon narrowed his eyes, wondering about the kid in front of him. He wasn''t even worried that he has a different soul. Aside from that, how did he arrive here?


    "Heh," he scoffed. "This place is your dantian. Or also known as Soul''s Domain."


    "Dantian? Soul''s Domain?" Soul Yman creased his brows. These two words sounded familiar to him. But he couldn''t remember where he read it.


    "Yeah, it''s where your mana was stored."


    "My mana? But I don''t have��"


    "Fool!" Yman was not able to finish his words when the demon bellowed at him. "Look below and see how vast the lakes! My crimson mana was like a little pond compared to it!" Said the demon in an annoyed tone. He could not believe someone with a vast amount of mana was borrowing on him.


    This person in front of him was like a greedy noble.


    Yman saw the demon pointing to the black and white lake around the crimson lake in the middle.


    Could it be the white is from his deity? And the black is his so-called Black Miasma? But whenever he activated it, it changed his appearance and gave a side effect to his body, diarrhea. On top of that! He was leveling so slow.


    "How did it happen that you have little mana compared to us, Mr. Demon?" He could not believe that a powerful demon had only this little mana with him. No wonder that experts who saw him would occasionally disdain him when they noticed his magical energy circulating within him.


    However, Yman believed that although he had little mana capacity, the mana was very powerful. It was very dense. So it was a battle between quantity against quality.


    "Kid just thought of how long I''ve been fighting against the Ice girl. I can only reinforce my mana in the dark territory. My mana goes little and little whenever you use it."


    "Oh I see, sorry about that, Mr. Demon," he said. "Regardless, is there a way to refill it?"


    "Hmm��.. refill huh, there is. But you need to travel into the Dark Continent. I can only refill mana in that place."


    "Hmm��.." Yman pondered. But he could not feel any malicious intent from him. Then again he was in a weird form at the moment. He didn''t even know how it happened.


    "Aside from that, kid. Why you''re not using that vast mana of yours, often?" Asked the demon in doubt.


    "Ahh, because it''s better to use someone else mana than my own."


    ''How shameless!'' The demon thought after hearing him, but he squinted his eyes. Seemingly aware that he wasn''t the 100 percent truth.


    Probably, the kid in front of him was wary against him. After all, they were in partnership for temporary only. But this kid''s mana give-off a bad feeling towards him.


    He might as well have to try to woe him to their sides before the destined war would start. He was sent into this world for an important mission. It was for the preparation for the upcoming war.


    However, instead of succeeding, he was caught in the battle against that woman.


    And now, here he was, sealed inside someone''s body. He had to agree to the contract as he would die and dissipate if he could not find a suitable body to possess. That time, he already wasted much of his mana. And his body was kidnapped by that woman.


    Sigh!


    He was in a bind.

 Chapter 188: The new casts

    "Uh, Mr. Demon, how to leave this place?" He asked in a voice that trailed with unease. He was worried as to what was happening outside. Sistela was currently in control of his body. It would be troublesome to explain to the others if she did some silly behaviors that were unlike his personality.


    He forgot to warn her of what she could not and could do.


    "Puwahaha!"


    However, what he got as a reply was a hearty guffaw.


    "....."


    Yman fell silent.


    "Young man, how unlucky! There''s no way to leave this place! Now you are a prisoner too just like me! Hahahaha!" Said the demon.


    The demon could roam the place, but could not leave the Soul''s Domain.


    Yman stared at him with a blank face.


    "By the way, who was in control of your body at the moment?" The demon asked.


    "My Deity," he replied truthfully.


    "Puahahaha!" The demon guffawed again upon hearing him. "You are so stupid, young man!"


    Screamed the demon.


    He wondered what this demon was saying.


    "Uhm, Mr. Demon, I don''t think it''s bad for me. But I do think it''s bad for you��"


    "Haha--- she?" The demon''s laugh suddenly stopped when he heard him.


    "Fufu, since it was my body, I don''t think living here as a soul was a bad idea. On the contrary, you will be trapped in here for eternity. And in the worst-case scenario, you might disappear��"


    He said with a mocking face. Then he remembered something. "Aha, now that I''m also trapped in here no one will seek to find your real body. Perhaps, Miss Ice let it rot in the corner of the smelly place��"


    When the demon heard it, Gulp! A gulping sound subconsciously escaped from his mouth as beads of sweat starting to pour on his face.


    But Yman continued saying, "...I think it is an adequate research-material. Many researchers would love to dissect a demon''s body to its very last bone." The demon''s face was like being poured by cold water after he heard it.


    "Geeeee!" He started to tremble and squealed as beads of sweat started to gush like raindrops from his face.


    ''This kid was right! Damn, how did I even forget it?! Humans are the real monsters!'' He shrieked.


    Yet, Yman was still not finished!


    "Then again��.. the most likely to happen is that they feed that body of yours to their pets after they get all the data they need. Tsk, tsk�� (he clicked his tongue while shaking his head.) Such a proud noble demon, but sadly will turn to become a pet food, pfft!" A chuckle unintentionally escaped.


    After hearing what he said, Pet food as a trigger! The demon''s aura rose as he said, "Brother! We can''t let that bully-Lolli-fairy do her thing!" He said in a panic.


    Yman was stunned. ''What kind of naming sense was that,'' he thought with white eyes. He wondered what Sistela did to this demon -- for him to become so contemptuous of her. Also, he could not believe that Sistela was visiting this place. Aside from that, why was he calling her a fairy? Is Sistela appearing here with that form? Isn''t she supposed to be a soul as well? Wait, System Deities would advance their ranks by using the Soul Advancement, however, do they have a real soul? Aren''t they a piece of metal c0rafted with the help of magic and technology?


    Regardless, a more pressing issue was in front of him so he must refrain from thinking further.


    "You must reclaim your body as soon as possible my brethren! Let''s help together to oust that conqueror! Curse to the bully-Lolli-fairy! Curse to the bully-Lolli-fairy!" The demon declared while raising what seemed like arms to him. However, since they were in their soul forms, it resembled more tails than arms.


    ''Regardless, who conquered who?!'' He didn''t know what happened anymore.


    Like a man that wanted to cheer-up his buddy, the Demon of Possession repeatedly chanted the word that only a commander before the battle would occasionally declare to encourage his men to fight and die in the sense of protecting their loved ones, families, and friends from a wicked dark villain.


    While saying it, a small image of Sistela surrounded by blinding light appeared in the Demon''s mind.


    Sistela was looking down at them with a wicked smile, wielding the Spear of Injustice in one hand while pointing the tip of it to them.


    This was what Yman could picture while listening to the Demon''s claim.


    He wondered if there was a new cast. This was supposed to be played by the duo with the same face as him. But for some reason, although the plot was the same, the casts were different! It was played by Sistela and the Demon. He wondered what happened to the two who occasionally quarreled in his mind.


    Yman stood frozen on his feet while wearing the face of a ghost.


    Outside, there was a panic that currently was happening. Rea and Cinde were worried about Crimson.


    "Crimson do you have a fever?" Cinde asked.


    On the other hand, Rea shook her head. ''Why this guy letting himself fall to a fever,'' she thought.


    ''Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Why did my partner not put into account his health!?'' Sistela who was currently in control of Yman''s body grumbled while sneezing terribly.


    A moment later, "Eh?" Yman came back but found himself surrounded by faces staring at him in worry.


    "Drink this, Mr. Crimson!" From the inside of Alchemy''s Little Garden, Airi came rushing with a glass of liquid that seemed like an antidote.


    ''Ehh? What happened?'' He thought.


    Sistela cried out.


    "....." Yman was puzzled by what was happening. Why Miss Airi holding a glass of antidote in her hands? And why was Cinde staring at him with a worried expression? On other hand, Rea was, well, he could not tell if she was worried or angry. This girl is just hard to figure.


    Sistela too was acting odd.


    "Who has a fever?" He asked. They all stared at him.


    After an awkward atmosphere dissipates and the misunderstanding has been settled with a lie, Yman found out that he was sneezing unstoppable a while ago. Perhaps the cause of it was that demon''s constant cursing of Sistela''s name. Yman laughed at them in a descending volume.


    He then asked Sistela about the result of the test.


    "Oh, so you succeeded?" He asked.


    she replied while puffing her chest.


    Sistela was currently flying in front of his face.


    Yman lifted his index finger and brushed her head. "Good job, My Deity," he said while smiling.


    He had high hopes that she would succeed. Good thing she did.


    After fooling the Demon of Possession, he told him the exit from that place. He said that Sistela would fly towards the centermost of the lake of mana to where a reverse flow of current was moving upward.


    After letting himself be dragged by it, he found himself in an awkward situation of being surrounded by a panic atmosphere.


    ''Hahaha,'' he secretly laughed in mind.


    He could only sigh in relief that nothing serious and unredeemable happened.


    They were currently sitting on a long wooden bench from where Rea and Airi were spectating at them a while ago.


    "Cinde, how are your results?" He asked the girl who was sitting beside him and was wearing a face that was easy to figure. But still, he wanted to ask to satisfy his curiosity.


    "Well, out of pity, the professor decided to let her join the department," Rea was the one who replied in a stern voice.


    "Ahaha, pity or not, what''s important is that I succeed to join!" She said shamelessly while raising her hands in the air.


    Rea sighed.


    "Uhm, the professor said that she might learn in the process. It''s not actually that she''s untalented in it, it just Miss Cinde''s interest is not in the alchemy as for now."


    Yman glanced at her suspiciously. He wondered why she decided to join if her interest was not here in the first place.


    A flush of redness was visible on her face. Cinde didn''t know what happened to herself either. She was puzzled. She suddenly had the energy to go out and visit the academy. Even though she disliked people''s stares at her, she still chose to go out and sacrifice her gaming hours.


    Sigh!


    Seeing Crimson''s confused face, "I- I also wanted to learn from now on."


    ''Geez, what happened to me?'' Cinde thought after declaring that she wanted to learn alchemy.


    He didn''t know if to doubt her words or not.


    "By the way, Senior Sister Airi, can you let me help you in making the Body Tampering drinks(aka elixir) now?"


    He remembered.


    "Uh, eh�� of course, by the way, congratulations to both of you! Finally, I have someone I can talk to."


    Said Airi. Although in alchemy, a superb concentration is a must, it also helps to have someone you can share ideas with.


    "Oh, apprentice, come here, help me with this!"


    Suddenly, Prof. Ronnie called out from the inside.


    He jumped on his feet and went inside. More or less, there''s only his goal in his mind.

 Chapter 189: Who is this man?

    After coming inside, the professor asked him to arrange the herbs. While doing so, he was also asking questions to the professor about each of them. He tried to remember every bit of information he could get. In fact, with the help of his Deity, it was easy to record them at the moment, then study them later.


    While Yman and Prof. Ronnie were busy arranging the herbs and plants that Ronnie gathered from the mountain which they called ''backyard'' in a habitual call, some people came knocking at their door.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    Everyone''s attention was pulled by it.


    "Professor, did you expect a visitor today?" Airi who was currently showing to Rea and Cinde her skills in mixing the medicine and other materials, asked the professor.


    Professor Ronnie tilted his head with a frown. "No I''m not expecting a visitor today," he replied. ''Who, might be the hell who came to disturb someone''s busy day,'' thought the professor.


    "Apprentice, kindly open," the professor pleaded him.


    "Mhm," he nodded without a tiny spec of dissatisfaction. He walked towards the door and reached his hand to the broken doorknob.


    But before his hand could touch it, he back stepped out of a sudden which caused the people who were staring at him at the moment to be puzzled by his action.


    However, a second after he stepped back, they were dumbfounded when the door fell in a dull sound of a heavy crash.


    They stared at the door which is now lying beneath at an inch away from his feet.


    Prof. Ronnie was stunned to see the door of his beloved little facility, lying on the floor. "Who the he��!" He was about to yell but stopped when a sudden intrusion came ahead. "Hehe, sorry about that!" The professor was not able to finish his words when a sudden laugh came intruding ahead of his words.


    Yman returned his gaze to the doorless entrance just to see several people in Academy uniforms. Most of them were wearing a training vest on top of it.


    His brow twitched slightly as he could not identify the people in front of him.


    "You people from Knights and Magic, what''s the reason for coming here and destroying my facility?" Said Prof. Ronnie.


    Yman finally learned that these people in front of him were from the Department of Knights and Magic.


    The one at the front step-in without waiting for the Professor''s invitation. "Such dusty place," grumbled the person.


    He was a tall person with wolf ears. His almond eyes have hazel color. A slight beard was on his face. And his distinct long red hair was nicely tied on his back.


    "Disrespectful lad!" Professor Ronnie yelled.


    The person was stunned to hear the professor. Then they saw him whisper to the person at his back.


    "Who said the professor wasn''t here?"


    "Oh, sorry about that, I didn''t expect either that he''s here. He supposed to be at the mountain at this hour," replied the person beside him.


    "Idiot!" He grumbled.


    Yman in front of them was staring at the five people with blank faces. ''What the heck, they barge in and destroy the door without knowing that the professor is here?'' He could not believe such an insolent act in the presence of one of the academy higher ups.


    But Yman sooner shut his mouth when the stranger in front of him opened his mouth again.


    "Nevermind, he isn''t a bigshot now and there''s a high probability that the higher-ups will kick him out of the academy," the person whispered his reply but Yman was able to hear him as he was standing closer to them.


    ''--Will be kicked out?'' The words the man mentioned repeated in his mind. ''What he meant by it...?'' Yman was doubting the person''s words.


    He was about to ask them a question but failed to do when, "Older Brother Czar?!" Someone inside the room called out in a voice with a mixture of surprise. They glanced to where the voice came from, their eyes gathered to the girl who was standing with a puzzled face and mouth that formed like ''o''.


    "Fufu, Cinde! You''re here," he replied.


    Cinde slightly squinted her eyes. She was surprised at this person''s way of talking.


    "Why are you here, Older brother Czar?" She initially wanted to ask if he was a member of the Alchemy Department, but got rid of the thought when because the professor already revealed their identities and they were wearing a vest with the logo from the Knight and Magic Department.


    Aside from that, this was the first time they had actual conversation. Even inside the family''s domain, they didn''t converse even for once.


    He used to be a quiet person in the family. Even in the family gatherings, he barely joined a group to chat. So seeing him here surrounded by people was kinda new for Cinde.


    She even once thought that they were the same, the anti-social type of person.


    Then why did they come here? Maybe they have something with the professor? Cinde thought so.


    However, his next words puzzled her further.


    "Did you finally decide to become serious with your magic training?" Asked the person with the name Czar. He was the same person who mentioned that the professor was about to be kicked out.


    Cinde blinked her eyes twice, wondering why this person asking about it. Her mouth twitched and said,


    "It''s not like that. Nonetheless, what''s your purpose for coming here?" She asked, though she was slightly annoyed by their entrance.


    "We came here because I heard that you returned to the academy and someone pointed us here when I tried to search for your whereabouts. As an older cousin, I cannot let my younger cousin who doesn''t know about the world would lose her way inside the academy." Czar replied with a smile.


    "Eh?" She wondered how this older cousin was able to find out about her coming to the academy. And what was the connection of it with him? To be honest, they had never been the close cousins'' eversense childhood. They barely talk in the family''s domain. Not just that, they only saw each other about twice or thrice. So he was almost a stranger to her.


    And what is this sudden acting close? Cinde could not believe the change of personality this person had. Then again, she didn''t know his real personality. Maybe he was always like this.


    Regardless, ''Could it be that Ember was the one who told him about me going back to the academy?'' She thought. One time she saw them conversing with each other inside the family domain.


    And yet! Everything is just too weird. The sudden appearance of this cousin of hers together with his friends and the coming here because of her. This gives her a bad feeling for some reason.


    Seeing the doubt in her face, "The uncle told it to me. He even asked me to bring you in the Department. Don''t worry, with me as your backer, it''s easy for you to join without the need for a test," said Czar while puffing his chest.


    "The boss was telling the truth!" The person at his back seconded.


    Yman and the others were listening to them. In his mind, ''so it was Cinde''s relatives,'' he thought. But he was still curious by his recent words; however, he could not find the right timing to ask.


    Cinde was more confused. ''How that guy who was supposed to be a silent and anti-social person now surrounded by people. And one of them even called him a boss?''


    "So, it was my father who told you about it. Regardless, what do you mean that my father had asked you to let me join your department?" Cinde asked with a can''t believe face.


    "Ah that, yes the uncle asked me no doubt," Czar replied.


    Cinde narrowed her eyes. ''Why did father do that?" She asked inwardly.


    Yman and the others just listen in silence.


    But, "hey you insolent kid! How dare you barge in and destroy my paradise''s door!" Prof. Ronnie bellowed, could not hide anymore his annoyance.


    "Paradise you say��"


    "....."


    "Puffft!"


    "Puwahaha!" They laughed.


    "Fufu, what''s there to be so dramatic about it, Professor? You should be thankful to me for helping you get rid of the trash."


    Said Czar with a grin that made the professor gulp and clears his throat. "How disrespectful!" He roared. He could not believe that such a young man had such arrogance towards him. "Get out of here!" He shouted.


    However, Czar and the others stood still on their feet. A moment later,


    Yman squinted his eyes.


    Professor Ronnie''s face twitched into an angry face. If not because of the academy''s rule he already slapped this fool. Then they noticed Czar opened his mouth again.


    "How ironic to see the mighty professor fell below. He is supposed to be the most famous person in the academy. But thanks to his being chossy, he lagged and fell to the ''pit of no improvement''. This whole Alchemy Department is just a load of trash now!" Czar purposely increased his volume at the end of his words, seemingly mocking and looking down at the alchemy department.


    His friends guffawed while shaking their heads.


    Yman was wondering. He glanced around him and saw their faces.


    He saw Airi''s worried and scared face. The professor was having an angry face. His face was changing color from pale to fuming red. Perhaps angry at the disrespect of these people towards him. But Professor weirdly fell silent while raising a brow.


    Cinde was the same as him. Puzzled at what was happening.


    On the other hand, he saw Rea seeping her tea, seemingly uninterested by what was currently happening. And Sistela was sitting on his shoulder, gazing at the people in front and listening to the conversation with great interest. She looked like someone who was watching a movie.


    Yman finally understood a little of the situation.


    "Hehe," he chuckled.


    Czar and the others laughing suddenly went to a stop when they heard the person in front of them chuckled.


    "You are so kind, Mister, for getting rid of the trash. Perhaps, you''re trying to apply as a housekeeper? But unfortunately, your work isn''t commendable. Tsk, tsk!" He said while shaking his head and sighing in regret.


    "....."


    Now, it was Czar, and the other''s turn to fall silent.


    ''Who is this man?'' Their thoughts.

 Chapter 190: Ranking System

    In front of them, they saw an Encan person with white hair. And he said something that was not pleasing in their ears.


    They could not identify who he was. It was the first time they saw him inside the academy. Although the academy was wide enough to accommodate a whole town, he knew most of the bigshots inside. He even knew many of the unnecessary extras. Yet, this man, he could not remember seeing him before.


    Perhaps the guy was just an attention seeker newbie. Unfortunately, it was the type of person that he hated the most. Also, he disliked Encans! They are so arrogant!


    He wanted to ignore him but the guy''s words won''t leave his mind. Czar''s eyes narrowed a bit. After advancing to his current position, no one had dared to mock him, especially in front of his friends. Not just that, it was in the presence of Miss Cinde, the young lady of the Lupine family. It didn''t take long for his anger to reflect on his face.


    He did all he could to rise to his current rank. Although outside the academy everyone thought he was nothing, an ordinary normie.


    Thanks to him being a member of the Lupine family, at least he was living slightly better than the ordinary noble. But that didn''t change the fact that in the Lupine family, he was like an extra.


    However, here in the academy, he was one of the respected personalities.


    If only those people outside knew his rank inside the academy, they would be licking his boots at this moment.


    Although the route for glory was a thorny path, he achieved to cross that path. All of it was because of that girl as his inspiration. He wanted to become someone worthy of the hand of the Lupine family''s young lady.


    Cinde was from the Main House of Lupine family, while he was from the branch.


    And because he was a shy person, he could not even open a conversation with her. One time that he had strengthened his resolve and decided to converse with her, but her twin brother came saying that she wasn''t interested in talking with other people. Not even he as her twin brother could open a conversation with her.


    Ember told him that Cinde once said that the man she liked was the strong and mysterious type. It happened when he was 7 years old. After hearing it, he isolated himself from the others and focused himself on the training, to control his fire magic and increase his magical energy. Now that he finally achieved the 5-Star False Path Expert, he had all the magic aura and full control of his fire spell.


    After coming to the academy, he joined one of the Knights and Magic Departments, the Mighty Solus Department. It was rank 3rd in all Knights and Magic Departments. The members consisted of all Wolfmen Demihumans.


    Because of his commendable performance in the department, his position in the Mighty Solus Department took a big leap. Now he was one of their captains.


    And no one dared to say bad things against him as it was inviting a direct challenge towards the whole Mighty Solus Department.


    "Is this guy sick in the head? Hehehe!" One of them uttered then chuckled after.


    "Hehe, let me teach this idiot when to open his mouth, Captain."


    Czar''s friends were shaking their heads towards the pitiful person in front of them. But Czar did not join their fun of taunting the person in front of him because the guy was wearing a grin on his face while looking at him with disdain.


    He wanted to wipe-out the shit out of his face. No, he wanted to erase the man''s face.


    Czar''s mouth slowly opened.


    "You-u, who are you-u?" He asked in a shaky voice. It was the kind of voice when a person was angry.


    The pressure around him started to become heavy. Some spec of dust hovered in the air, going away from Czar and his group. Even the temperature around him rose terribly.


    Yman could even see flames that started to dance on Czar''s right hand. His flame was a little identical to Ember but fiercer.


    Czar took a step forward; his feet broke the lying wooden door in an instant. Then the flame was now covering his hand.


    ''5-Star False Path Expert?'' Yman thought upon noticing the small wave of energy on his hand. But even with the little amount of magical energy(mana), he was using, it was already enough to shake the entire building of Alchemy''s Little Garden Department.


    His friends took a step backward while grinning at the white-haired Encan.


    "What a fool!"


    "Tsk, he tried to anger the captain. This guy is crazy."


    "Let me handle him, Captain! No need to waste your energy on someone like him," said the person who was standing close to Czar. But he didn''t reply.


    Czar''s friends started to mock the white-haired Encan. All of them were thinking that the white-haired Encan will wet his pants later on.


    Airi blinked her eyes warily. She was wondering what Crimson was doing. She glanced at Ella who was sitting on the sofa, in front of her.


    But Ella was wholly isolated herself by the current situation. She could not do a thing about it. This academy''s rule was different from the others.


    Even the professor was nothing against a student if the ranking between their departments were too wide of a gap.


    In Rea''s mind, ''too unlucky, Crimson didn''t know about this rule. Then again, he came here as her guard and not as a student.''


    After sending an eye to Crimson, she continued seeping her tea.


    Next, Airi glanced at Cinde who was sitting beside Ella. She was having a hesitant face. She must be at a loss of what to do.


    "This is bad, Miss Cinde, Miss Ella��" said Airi in worry.


    Ella just glanced at her and didn''t say anything.


    On the contrary, "Uh? W-What do you mean, Airi?"


    "Czar is a high-ranking member of The Department of Knight and Magic!" Airi exclaimed.


    "A high-ranking?" Cinde repeated in an unbelievable face. ''How was that person able to acquire such feats?'' She thought.


    Although she was absent since the first day, her brother would occasionally tell her his gallant success whenever he won a battle. He was a boastful person after all. So she had a little understanding of the academy rankings and departments.


    Airi knew about Czar. He was one of the leading members of the Knight and Magic Mighty Solus Department.


    In this academy, all the students could fight in the 5D Arena, it was also known as the 5th Dimension Arena. A virtual stage where students contest with their strengths. They could fight monsters in there or fight the other students. It''s up to their choices.


    However, for a student to fight there, they must have an appropriate amount of points. And those points would increase whenever a student beat their opponent.


    The students will rank based on their win rate and the number of points they hold. Thus, the student scores are also reflected in the Department''s ranking.


    Each department must show results for them to earn points. Every department could earn points through the battle by strength, minds, and even in research results. It was all done by the members only. The professors and instructors were only there to guide them.


    The academy was encouraging the students and even the professors and all the staff to become productive. Not even the student council was exempted by this rule or even the principal.


    Everyone could replace the other departments when the highest council deemed your department as unproductive. The worst-case scenario was being kicked out of the academy.


    And the Alchemy''s Little Garden Department was one of the departments that received a red tag.


    The red tag was a warning for disbanding.


    Before Yman could open his mouth, "Crimson, don''t!"


    Cinde shouted. She wanted to do something to stop them from fighting.


    When Czar heard it, he felt a conflicted feeling inside him. He stole a glance at Cinde and saw her looking in their direction. No, she was looking at the back of the person in front of him.


    The way she looked at him was different from the way she looked at others.


    It was written in her eyes.


    Also, why Cinde came to this place in the first place? She was best suited at the Knight and Magic Departments. Not in this Alchemy-shit department! Especially the Little Garden-shit department!


    Czar was grumbling and stared at the person in front of him.


    Airi was sweating, she glanced at the professor, but the professor was weirdly silent. And even Miss Ella did too.


    The professor was wondering about this young man that Ella trusted to become her bodyguard.


    "Heh!" Instead of feeling afraid, they heard him scoffed at Czar.


    Czar''s countenance going for the worst as more veins showing in his eyes and pulses appearing on his face.


    Airi and Cinde widened their eyes.


    In a split second,


    Thud!


    They heard a dull sound.

 Chapter 191: Intuition

    Czar sent a flaming fist to the face of the insolent man.


    With a little twist of his forearm, the fist landed with a dull sound.


    No one noticed when the punch was sent as it happened in an instant.


    Czar smirked. ''Fool!'' He thought after an impact was felt by his fist.


    Airi had a scared look, while Cinde blinked her eyes to process what was happening. She heard a dull sound and after that,


    "Wha--!" They all heard a surprised utterance from Czar''s mouth.


    Even his mates widened their eyes in shock that wiped the grin on their faces.


    Ever since Czar first showed in the academy, no one dared to catch his flaming fist.


    Even the expert with a rank higher than him would think twice to do it. They rather evaded it or try to counter with their attack.


    "Simone, d-do you think��.. something wrong with my eyes?" One of Czar''s mates asked the person beside him.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I''m seeing weird things. That person caught the Captain''s attack," said the person in a tone that couldn''t be understood if he was laughing or crying while brushing his eyes to clear his vision.


    But an unexpected reply came to him, "yeah, I also thought it''s a hallucination," Simone replied.


    "Dammit, how is that possible?!" The uncontrolled volume of his voice reverberated inside the Little Garden Department building.


    "That guy caught the fist of a 5-Star False Path Expert!"


    "Right, It''s hard to believe."


    ''Who in their right mind would do it, anyway. The 5-Star False Path Expert had different levels of strength. They could even unroot a huge tree with just bare strength. And on top of that, Czar was reinforcing his fist with his flame. Wait��'' Simone thought then stopped when he noticed something.


    Just then, "fufufu, crazy!" They heard Czar''s loud taunt.


    Cinde and the others wondered why he suddenly said so.


    Just then: "No, Crimson''s hand was on fire!" Airi shouted when she noticed the fire from Czar''s hand, slowly crawling on Crimson''s hand.


    "Hehe! You dared to catch my fist! Then take the recoil of your stupid action!" Czar laughed at him.


    "Oh right, there''s no way someone can block the captain''s fist without paying the price!" Simone said in excitement.


    When the smell of the burnt human skin wafted into their noses, most of them smirked at the white-haired Encan in front of them.


    Professor Ronnie knitted his brows and glanced at Ella. But Ella also had a frown on her face. In truth, she was bothered, especially when the burning smell reached her nose.


    Cinde was also frowning. She never thought that Czar was this strong. He could even burn Crimson''s skin even though he had high resistance to it. Cinde thought when she remembered Crimson burning himself inside the cave. She could also feel the massive amount of magical energy circulating inside Czar.


    ''He''s as strong as Roman?''


    ''Wait!''


    ''When did he become so strong?'' Cinder thought again in surprise.


    "Hehehe!" Czar grinned further. But soon he froze.


    Crimson was standing without moving.


    The pungent smell of smoke was carried by the slight gushing of wind into Crimson''s nose.


    But they noticed that he seemed to be unbothered by it as he was still gripping Czar''s fist.


    "What- how did you--!?" Czar was puzzled when he couldn''t pull off his hand.


    "What a jerk!" He yelled.


    "Sigh!" Then he heard him sighed unpleasantly. Czar knitted his brows while twitching his face. He wondered what his sigh meant to be. But the weirdest thing, this person''s countenance did not change the slightest even though his skin was burning.


    After a sigh, "My Deity," he called out.


    Just then, Czar and his mates noticed something on Crimson''s shoulder.


    ''A fairy?'' They thought. But when the person in front of him did resonance with the fairy, "No, it''s a human toy!" He changed his initial thoughts.


    ''"Unbelievable," One of Czar''s mates muttered. It was very unbelievable to see an Encan person using a human toy, so seeing him carrying one was out of the ordinary.


    Without releasing his grip on his hand, "Heh!" Crimson scoffed at Czar.


    Czar''s intuition screamed for a warning, then cold sweats started to pour on his back. ''Dammit! Am I feeling afraid of him?'' He couldn''t believe that he felt it to someone who wasn''t even known in the whole campus. No, it wasn''t because he was afraid. It was one of his passive skills that enabled him to sense danger.


    Although puzzled as to why he felt danger out of a sudden, without a second thought he summoned more flames to get rid of his grip.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t succeed, the grip was still firmly holding his fist while staring at him with a face without a change of emotion.


    The others were holding their breaths.


    Cinde shouted their names to stop. But to no avail. Airi was quivering, and Ella was sighing, wondering why he wasn''t using his Spell Canceller. ''Although this place will lower the effectiveness of it, I believe that Crimson can still cancel that flame of Czar,'' Ella thought. ''Perhaps, Crimson just wanted to hide that skill of him,'' she added.


    It was the reason that she felt so relax at first, even though the situation in front of her wasn''t a pleasant one. But looked like she could not relax anymore.


    The professor was stunned. As a professor, he wanted to calm them to not worsen the issue. But his curiosity defeats him.


    Czar had regretted not using all his strength when he punched him.


    He used his other hand to punch him again, this time he used most of his strength. The flame on it was fiercer than the first fire-fist.


    However, it was caught by Crimson again.


    Czar''s friends couldn''t understand what was happening. They wondered why that person was still catching their captain''s flaming hand!? Even though his flesh was burning. Wait! Something was weird! That person, could it be he had resistance with fire? They finally noticed.


    However, Czar''s flame wasn''t an ordinary flame. It could melt metal in an instance!


    After so much thinking, they heard Czar scoffed at the enemy. After it, more flame surged out from his body and enveloped both of them.


    The pressure of it destroyed a segment of the ceiling. Ronnie''s scream could not be heard by them anymore as his voice dissipated together with the noise coming from the surroundings.


    Cinde used her flame-shield to protect Ella, Airi, and herself. Ronnie on the other hand, protected himself and his rare materials using his alchemy magic. After all, his magic wasn''t a bit weaker against the students. But Ronnie''s magic was more on defensive and healing.


    Czar''s men stepped-back because they as well could not handle the pressure and temperature of his flame.


    Just when they thought that everything would turn to a cinder, the flames suddenly disappeared.


    "Cough! Cough! Cough��" then they heard coughing sounds.


    They glanced and saw Czar curled on the floor while holding his stomach. Blood was dripping from his mouth.


    Crimson on the other hand was standing while looking down at Czar.


    The wounds from the burn had already gone like there was nothing in there in the first place.


    Czar''s men fell into silence as they stared at their captain crawling on the floor while coughing blood.


    All of them could not believe what their eyes were seeing.


    They didn''t notice what happened at the last second as they tried to fight the pressure from their captain''s aura.


    A second later, they called out his name and ran to his side.


    "How dare you!" Simone roared at Crimson but when he noticed that Crimson was unhurt and no little wound on him, he almost chokes himself at the surprise. "How did you survive without getting hurt?" he was able to force a question while staring at him with knitted brows.


    At first, he wanted to kick his ass, but after what happened to their captain, he started to question this person''s strength. Or is he even capable of kicking him? Even their captain was mysteriously beaten by this person.


    From the back, "Crimson, are you okay?" Rea''s shout reached their ears. She ran to his side to check if he was fine.


    That burn smells awhile ago was just so awful. She expected him to be gravely wounded.


    But,


    "I''m fine��" he replied and glanced at her.


    When Rea saw his face, she was stunned for a moment. No sign of pain on his face. She then looked to his arms and hands. Yet, she could not find any wounds.


    Rea was puzzled about where his wounds went.


    "Hehe, I know it, don''t worry, Ella. Crimson is not easy to get hurt. He is a healer after all," Cinde who also came beside him suddenly said to Rea.


    Rea was surprised.


    "A-a healer��? Ngh! A mere healer...!" The one who repeated her words was no other than Czar who was currently trying to stabilize his breathing.


    ''How come a mere healer had defeated me?'' He could not fully agree with Cinde''s words.

 Chapter 192: Third version Ant-model

    "Crimson defeated him with just pure strength?!"


    "Hmm�� no wonder that Ella took him as her bodyguard."


    Airi and the professor were surprised at Crimson''s strength.


    Rea and Cinde were already used to Crimson''s weird strength. So they were not as surprised as the others about it.


    Rea was only surprised when Cinde said he was a healer.


    In truth, even Yman himself could not measure how strong he was at the moment as he noticed that this place was not only affecting his Magical Energy but also his strength.


    Maybe the demon inside him was greatly affected by the weird magical force that surrounded the whole campus.


    To block Czar''s attack, he sent in secret one of his Enhance Ant Fire Dolls.


    This Ant-model of Enhance Fire Doll was the third version that he created last night before coming into this academy.


    His first version was the Winged-Ant that sucked the enemy''s mana, the second was the Illusionist which caused illusion to the enemy, and this third version was called Enforcer.


    The third version was slightly bigger than the second version. Its design was so simple and plain. Just like an ordinary ant. Except for its hose-like mouth which was modeled from the first version and the red color horn on its head. But this version had no wings.


    Although it looks plain and nothing commendable about it except for its size, this third version was a very interesting version of the Ant-Model he created.


    Inside its body was the Booster Elixir that increased the person''s strength.


    Although he lost contact with his scout bird and scout bee after they crossed the range out of his perception, he noticed that he could still control his Fire Dolls as long as they were inside his perception range.


    While the guy named Czar was still talking with Cinde, Yman secretly hid one of his third versions of Ant-model Enhance Fire Dolls underneath his clothes.


    Just then, when he joked about applying as a housekeeper, he didn''t know this guy in front of him had a short fuse to get angry from a simple joke. Looks like this Czar was as impulsive as Kiko.


    He could only sigh at this type of people who like mocking the others, but when the other people make fun of them, they would settle it in a brawl. They were the type of people who were known as self-centered.


    The anger that Czar felt rose in just a second after he heard his words. Yman noticed it and he did not wait another second. He let the Enforcer Ant inject the elixir into him.


    Right after it injected him, the increase of his strength was immediately felt by his muscles.


    Then after Czar sent his flaming fist. It was caught by him. Thanks to the elixir, his strength was slightly stronger than him. Or maybe because Czar didn''t use his full strength as he originally thought that he would only be going to punish him.


    Unfortunately, for him, he made a big mistake.


    And that mistake of him, led to him crawling on the ground at the moment. A strong knee attack landed on his stomach which turned his world upside down.


    Still trying to gasp for breath, he summoned his strength once again to climb up on his feet.


    No, he wasn''t defeated yet. This guy in front of him just took advantage that he was using a little bit of his strength on his attack earlier. He could not admit that he was defeated by him. Especially in front of Cinde.


    ''What the heck, this person is a healer?'' Czar could not believe it as he felt this guy''s strength wasn''t that of a healer. He''s more likely from the Knight and Magic department.


    However, even if he denied that the person in front of him was a healer, he had no way to explain how his wounds disappeared without a trace.


    "Captain," Simone called out and tried to help him.


    "Back off!" While gritting his teeth, Czar slapped Simone''s hand that tried to reach him.


    Simone was taken aback. He knew that his captain was now annoyed. He would be going to get serious now.


    ''This is bad. If the captain will fight with his 100% strength, this whole place will turn to ashes anytime from now. And It will be bad for the Mighty Solus department if he did it. The department president would be having headaches.''


    While he was thinking about it, Czar''s body was already covered with the aura.


    Yman immediately pulled Rea to his back.


    "Stop Czar!" Cinde jumped in front of Crimson and Czar. Since Czar was her relative, she felt a little responsibility for his actions. "I won''t let you hurt my friends and I won''t let you destroy my department," She added.


    "What?" Czar was stunned to hear her. "Your department?" He asked.


    "Yes, I already joined the Little Garden department."


    Czar with knitted brows stood on his feet. Dry blood was visible on his mouth and his hand was massaging his stomach that was still aching from the knee attack.


    "What are you saying, Cinde!" Czar could not accept it! The Little Garden Department conflicted with the Mighty Solus department''s schedule.


    "Uh?" Cinde was a little flustered when Czar suddenly shouted. "I can decide on my own. And it''s too late to change my decision as the professor already accepted me as the new member of this department," she said resolutely.


    "No, I won''t let you join this department. I beg you to change your decision!" Czar yelled.


    "Eh? Uh--"


    Cinde glanced at Crimson with a bemused face. A bead of sweat appeared on his face.


    Cinde frowned at his disinterest behavior. Then a cheeky idea appeared in her mind.


    "M-my boyfriend wanted me to stay," she said as he leaped and grabbed Crimson''s arm.


    Not only Czar was stunned after hearing it, but even Yman and Rea were also frozen like statues.


    "B-b-boyfriend��?" Czar mumbled.


    After it, Yman received another challenge invitation.

 Chapter 193: A foreign feeling

    Cinde''s sudden announcement put additional weight on his shoulder after Czar left a challenge against him.


    Czar left the Little Garden with a heavy feeling. He opted to report it to the Lupine family leader and the elders.


    She couldn''t just have a relationship with another race.


    Rea was also reprimanding Cinde for her rash actions. After all, the Canine sect was known for its strict rule.


    They were prohibited to commit to a relationship with a different race. And Crimson was known as Encan. Although he was a human in truth, only a few knew about it. Rea was reprimanding Cinde for her good, but part of it, she disliked when Cinde announced it. She suddenly felt a foreign unpleasant feeling.


    Aside from that, the whole Little Garden department was facing a big problem.


    A challenge from a captain of a department would bring too much weight not only to him specifically, but for the whole department.


    The battle was against each department.


    Yman was in the dark about the rules regarding the academy.


    "So we are in trouble, huh," said Crimson while forcing a soundless laugh.


    "Don''t worry, Mr-- ah Crimson!" Airi almost slipped her tongue, she almost called him with ''Mr'' attached in his name. For some reason, after witnessing him defeating the captain of one of the most popular departments, she had the urge to call him with the utmost respect.


    But wait! She had the seniority over him at least in the department. Because she joined first and he later, so she needed to refrain from the thought of calling him with Mr.


    She paused for a moment and cleared her throat.


    "Uhm, I mean��.. I doubt that their department leader would target us. After all, we don''t even own a single point."


    "No single point?"


    Yman was wearing a blank face when he heard her. He didn''t know what she meant by it.


    "Mhm!" She nodded.


    While Airi was explaining to Crimson about the academy''s rules, Rea was still reprimanding Cinde. And Cinde was unceasingly nodding her head like a child.


    Professor Ronnie on the other hand was repairing some minor damages to his beloved Little Garden headquarters.


    The discussion with Crimson and Airi was far from ended. Although their mouths did not stop talking regarding the academy''s rules, their hands did not stop working, helping the professor with the house repair and arranging all the materials.


    "Did you say that each department was battling against each other to earn points?"


    "Yes!"


    Their topic proceeded.


    "Aside from that, we can''t buy good materials if our department doesn''t have enough points," Airi added.


    Crimson thought that this whole academy was modeled like a real-life empire.


    Did the empress prepare her people for the future of the Empire?


    In any case, the real issue was the challenge from that Czar. And the disaster-bringer girl was always bringing trouble to him!


    Well, they are comrades now, so he might as well help her. Although he didn''t like troubling himself from the other''s problem, he wasn''t unrelated to the current issue. He knew that even without Cinde saying it, that Czar guy would eventually come again to him for revenge. So what she did was doable. And he disliked that Czar guy''s way of talking.


    In any case, it looked like he joined the lowest ranking department! No, it wasn''t even the lowest, but a rankless department.


    He wanted to question his luck.


    Airi also mentioned that there are currently about 5 Alchemy departments. But, only theirs are pitiable. And one of those 4 alchemy departments belonged in the top ten highest-ranking departments.


    Yman could only sigh.


    Now two people are issuing a challenge to him.


    ''What the heck!'' The only words that escaped from his mouth. Looks like he needed to add some fire dolls.


    Aside from that, he needed to learn further about this academy'' system. He then started questioning her again.


    After several minutes, he finally understood that this whole campus was actually modeled from the real empire. His initial thought was right! Looks like the higher-ups or the higher council that supervising the academy was preparing their students for the empire''s future. ''Are they preparing forna war?'' He thought.


    Yman also mentioned the red tag. Or the warning for disbanding. Airi then explained to him the reason.


    He had a mix of feelings after learning that the department had only a little time left before the highest council order them to disband.


    "We can''t waste our time then," he said.


    Regardless, he came here to guard Rea. So he could not make a big fuss as it might reveal his real persona.


    Learning how to synthesize medicine was just her secondary reason. But it was the most important thing for him -- The reason Yman was so eager to learn.


    "Hah!" A heavy sigh escaped from Rea''s mouth after she threw herself and leaned back her tired back on the soft.


    She was tired of reprimanding Cinde. Although she was reprimanding her, she wasn''t angry with her. It just, she couldn''t understand herself. A foreign feeling was felt by her out of a sudden when she heard her.


    She sent a sharp glance to him. And noticed he was busy grinding some herbs.


    Looks like they resumed what they were planning to do before the people from the Mighty Solus department came.


    Cinde was also there, asking some questions while making a big nod from time to time.


    She sighed again.


    Ella decided to go to the student council, she needed to report the incident today. They perhaps could do a little help for them. But that person was also on the bad side with Jura.


    ''This Eyma easily get hated by others!''


    Aside from that, he seemed to be busy. He was supposed to be guarding her. But his focus was not on her. What a failed bodyguard. She thought.


    But before her foot made a step, "Where are you going?" She heard his voice asking.


    Rea glanced at him in surprise. His eyes were still fixed staring at the mortar in his hands, he was pouncing the materials repeatedly.


    Rea tilted her head with a frown, wondering if she was hallucinating.

 Chapter 194: Magic Array

    As her bodyguard, he needed to tail her from a safe distance.


    So wherever she went, he must be there around her. As long as it was inside his perception range, Yman could sense any malicious intent directed to Rea.


    After he leveled up, his sense and other attributes increased fairly high. And his previous battle in the competition helped him to increase his attributes. Now his perception reached the range of above 150 meters around him. But because this place has partially decreased his magical energy. The longest range his perception could reach was at 110 meters only.


    The defeat of Czar did not proliferate on the campus since it happened inside the Little Garden department and only a few people were witnesses of what happened. Also, everyone knew that he was only using a partial amount of his strength. And none of them were going all out in that little fight.


    But that defeat was like a curse to Czar. It haunted him and won''t let him forget. Also, he was defeated in the fight for love.


    One thing that bugs Yman was the challenge against other departments.


    Even though Airi told him that it was impossible to happen that one of the strongest departments would take into account their unranked department, he didn''t doubt that Czar would come again one day to issue a challenge with him. After all, it was easy to figure that Czar was having a special feeling towards Cinde. And that special feeling would be the fuel for his enmity towards him.


    2 days had passed since the fight with Czar. Yman busied himself as Rea''s bodyguard and as the alchemy department member. Together with Cinde, they learned from the professor the basics of Alchemy. Currently, they were tasked to create a normal tier health regeneration elixir.


    Airi was already 2 ranks higher than them in terms of alchemy. While they were Beginner Apprentice, Airi on the other hand was an Advanced Apprentice.


    At the same time that he busied himself in advancing the level of his knowledge with alchemy, he was also searching for a way to bypass the issue about his weakened abilities; Like for example the limit that his Fire Doll transmitted to him. If they flew away from his perception range, they would wander.


    But after giving it a deep thought and understanding, Yman finally found a good solution to guard Rea even if she was outside his perception range.


    The concept was just simple. Every one hundred meters, he assigned 1 scout bird. The scout bird would then act as his perception extension. Then another scout bird at another one hundred meters from the scout bird.


    With this concept, he could supervise her even at a distance of 200 meters or above away from her.


    Thus, those scout birds would then transmit their vision to one another and lastly to him.


    However, by doing it, Yman noticed a big downside. The vision that transmitted to him had a time-lapse of about a second or two. This difference in time was truly a big issue.


    Regardless, he chose the scout bird over the scout bee. Since the scout bird was quicker than his scout bee. If an emergency happened, he could control them to attack the cause. It might lower the time-lapse by 0.1 or 0.2. Much better though compared to scout bee.


    His scout bee had three purposes: to scout, attack, and copy. While his scout bird had 2 purposes only: to scout and attack. But it had better scouting ability and stronger attack than the scout bee.


    With all these concepts, his concentration to supervise Rea had reached 90 percent. And while the remaining was to supervise Sistela as she was controlling his body while learning the way of alchemy.


    In swapping with Sistela, it allowed him to travel across the Soul''s Domain. It also allowed him to converse with the demon if he likes it.


    He didn''t join another department as he didn''t have extra time for it, although he wished to join the Magic Enchanter Department, it looked like it was impossible for his current situation.


    Cinde on the other hand successfully entered another department. The Righteous Summoner from one of the Tamer Department.


    Their leader was a girl. Cinde chose it over the other Knight and Magic Department with the training time not in conflict with the Little Garden Department.


    One of the reasons she chose the Righteous Summoner was because Tiafel was there. The girl they met inside them world of a painting of Rea.


    They saw each other one time when Yman, Rea, and Cinde went to check the Training Pavilion.


    Although they could not train their alchemy skills in that place, they could train their fighting ability as long as they wanted. Even though they were in the Alchemy department, Crimson and Cinde did not want to leave behind their fighting abilities. After all, both of them wield unique skills.


    Many magician students were doing their training when they arrived. And one of them caught their attention because she was familiar to them.


    Cinde immediately called her name. When Tiafel noticed them, she rushed towards Cinde.


    Cinde and Tiafel had become closed inside in the competition. And she was one of the few people she conversed with.


    Tiafel wasn''t surprised to find Cinde in the academy as she already told them that she was a student also in the Encantasia academy.


    However, she was absent since the opening.


    Tiafel almost choked herself when she learned that the handsome young man together with Cinde at the moment was that Crimson! The same Crimson they met inside the painting.


    Yman just laughed soundlessly at her reaction.


    But then, Tiafel was at a loss, she wondered how Cinde and Crimson were together with Miss Ella!


    Well, it''s a long story so Tiafel did not bother the two for further explanation.


    They conversed for a couple of minutes before Tiafel recommended to Cinde to join The Righteous Summoner department. It was one of the departments under the category of Tamer Department. She recommended it to her when she remembered that Cinde had that little Xelestial Beast that she summoned at the last part of the first elimination round.


    The Righteous Summoner although not a top rank department, they have one of the best facilities. And it suited her as well, as the summoner department helped in understanding their summon creature. And build a good relationship with them.


    After Tiafel left them, they then started their practice inside the Training Pavilion.


    Even Rea was practicing her magic skills in this place.


    He was sitting on a bench outside the glass window, staring at the girl inside the closed door.


    Rea was currently sitting her legs. In front of her was an invisible canvas. She was accumulating magical energy on her hands, coating them with brilliant bluish colors.


    When her eyes slowly opened, like her hands, her eyes also brimmed in a bluish color.


    Then she slowly lifted her hands in the air and began writing.


    ''It''s not a painting?'' Yman mumbled in his mind when he noticed what she was doing.


    Inside the room, there was only him and her, but they were separated by a glass window. This room was only one of the many rooms inside the Training Pavilion. Cinde was in the room next to this room, training her magic against some dummies of different ranks.


    Each room had different qualities and training type. Like for example the room where Rea at, was soundproof. And it has a spell that increases the concentration level of the person who was training inside.


    The room where Cinde was, was a type of room which enabled them to fight dummies of different ranks and different types of dummies.


    Some rooms enable to increase a person''s strength, speed, dexterity, and etcetera.


    Yman chose to watch Rea over training himself. Because he was curious about her magic spell.


    Right now, she was showing something unusual.


    She inscribed in the air.


    Yman spoke to himself, so her magic wasn''t only about painting? But it was also about inscribing? Wait, is Rea part of the Enchanter Department?''


    His curiosity just adds up. He wanted to ask her about the world inside her painting. He had the intuition that it would help him understand better his illusion magic.


    Rea continued inscribing in the air. The words she was inscribing were unknown to him. He wondered what she was writing.


    First, she drew a circle about half a meter in radius. Then she followed by writing unfamiliar words around the circle. Each time her glowing finger moved, the bluish glow followed that seemingly like ink as it remained in the air. After writing several unknown words around the circle, she followed by drawing another circle around those words.


    She also drew some lines in between the gap of the words.


    Then proceeded by drawing a hexagram inside the first circle.


    ''A magic array?'' Yman muttered.


    It was the first time he saw an actual magic array creation.

 Chapter 195: Now its my turn

    Rea''s hand was so gentle and steady as she was drawing the magic array.


    After completing the array, it shone brightly and stayed in the air. Then she followed making another array in front of the first one.


    Sistela was surprised. Yman was as surprised as her. He wondered what she was doing. He was watching her intimately without averting his eyes.


    He was waiting for a vacant Dummy-fighting room, as all the Dummy-fighting rooms were in use at the moment. The last one was taken by Cinde.


    Although the Pavilion had 100 rooms in total, and half of them could be occupied by multiple people, the pavilion was still fully loaded with trainees.


    Looked like this pavilion was littered with experts that wanted to train every day.


    While he didn''t have something yet to do, he decided to spectate at Rea as she was doing her training. This girl made him curious for some reason.


    Good thing that she allowed him to spectate her.


    Sistela asked him out of a sudden.


    ''Hmm, now that you ask it, I always have this feeling that Rea is also a channeler like me. That painting world of hers is probably space-related magic. If she is a channeler like me, then her channeler magic is related to Space Modifying which is the same level as my Time Modifying ability.


    I always wanted to ask her about her magic, but whenever I had the chance to do it, my tongue would twist and my mind muddled up. It looked like there''s something purposely disallowed me to do it. Like a curse. No, the truth is, it''s akin to a feeling like asking a girl to date.''


    Sistela was surprised to hear her partner''s reply.


    Although he was shameless enough for it, he just said it from a normal person''s perspective.


    Rea made another array in front of the other one.


    However, he noticed the frown on Rea''s face before she completed the second magic array. Then after her frown, it was followed by a high-pitch sound akin to a glass that broke.


    He saw when the first array exploded into tiny pieces and disappeared a second later like dancing silver dust.


    Looked like she failed. Probably because it wasn''t easy to control the two arrays without losing one''s concentration. He felt sorry for her. However, she did not give up and rewrite again.


    In the other room, Cinde was wearing a tight red training suit. She was fighting two rank B dummies at the moment. These dummies were embedded by the monster''s core. It depends on the monster core, the strength of the dummy. If the monster core was from a rank A beast, then the dummies were also as strong as the rank A monster. The


    Even its abilities were identical to the owner of the core.


    At the moment, Cinde was fighting a dummy identical to a Husky Gnome. Husky Gnomes were known for their affinity with earth elements. They were also known for having dwarf bodies. Though the clones were similar to a doll. Only the skills of it were identical to the Husky Gnome.


    The dummies had a dark-gray body. And they had a body similar to a human. But after it rushed forward and gathered small pieces of earth spheres that spiraled on its hand, she immediately identified that she was fighting the Rank B Husky Gnomes.


    After all, the Husky Gnomes were known to be residing around the Mountainous Area near the northern border of the Empire.


    Cinde produced little fireballs on her palm and fired it to counter the earth spheres that one of the dummies fired.


    The two different elements collided with each other and exploded by the impact. The earth element was weaker against fire. But in total, it still depends on the caster''s strength.


    The second dummy transformed its hand into an ax and rushed to slice her. Cinde immediately jumped back to evade.


    Just after she evaded, the ax came slashing the space where she was standing about half a second ago.


    Her feet skidded a little on the floor while moving backward. Without wasting time, she created a bigger version of the fireball and fired it at the Dummy with an ax hand. The Dummy sliced the fireball in half but it exploded after, causing the Dummy to lose its hand.


    It made a low growl. Probably, replicating the growl of the Husky Gnome when it hurt.


    But a moment later, she noticed that its lost hand grew back. "What!" Cinde exclaimed and frowned after seeing it. Although she knew already that Husky Gnomes had such ability, it still surprised her when the Dummy did it as well.


    Looked like it was a well-made copy of the Husky Gnomes.


    Cinder had no time to be surprised, she immediately followed by firing her favorite Shapeless Flames.


    About 5 Shapeless Flames were fired towards the two dummies.


    Because of the strength of her favorite attack, the two dummies immediately turned to ashes in a second.


    When the two dummies were defeated, the magical circle that could be seen in the middle of the room glowed brightly. Then a few seconds later, another dummy materialized.


    It rushed towards her. Seeing the enemy wield claw knuckle, she reached out her hand to the weapon artifact in her spatial ring.


    A moment later, a sword materialized in her hand after the two weapons collided.


    However, the enemy disappeared a second later. Cinde was flustered as she glanced around her. But she could not perceive its presence.


    Then the next second, it appeared behind her. Good thing she managed to dodge before the claw caressed her neck.


    Cinde waved the sword to the enemy without a second thought. But it disappeared again before her sword hit it.


    ''Tsk!'' She clicked her tongue. Then alerted herself once again.


    The enemy was able to hide its silhouette and mask its presence to avoid being perceived. Such a difficult enemy. It was also right to say that her perception wasn''t enough to perceive her enemy''s presence. This was what annoyed her the most.


    The Dummy appeared again. This time it was above her.


    Cinde''s intuition screamed for danger. She wasn''t certain if she could trust it, but she chose to follow it by activating her Lupine Shield.


    After activating the Lupine Shield ability that their family passed down to its new generations, it was followed by a high-pitched sound from above.


    Cinde was quite surprised that her intuition saved her.


    Without wasting time, she summoned fire on her sword. Then brandished it to the enemy.


    The Dummy was sliced in half and its body was eaten by the fire until it was charred and disappeared.


    She was too happy to defeat it as it was a rank B+.


    Another monster showed up after it, then Cinde proceeded to fight it.


    After Yman and Rea exited the room someone handed him a letter.


    He read it and learned that it was a letter to challenge him in a duel.


    And the one sending it was no other than Czar.


    As expected, he would bug him again. And it was stated that they would be fighting in the 5d Arena. Where hundreds or maybe thousands of students were going to spectate.


    He even did it to blackmail him by using the department. It was stated in the letter that he would be going to escalate the issue into ruining the Little Garden department if he would not accept his challenge.


    In truth, it was the third time that Czar sent him a letter. But Yman disregarded it as he didn''t have free time for it. But it looked like he would never stop doing it until he accepted his challenge.


    Czar was no ordinary opponent. He was a fairly popular person in the academy. Whoever defeats him would gain popularity in an instant. Such a good way to become popular.


    But it has a downside. Except that he was a strong expert, It could also worsen the issue. And the Little Garden department was currently in bad standing. So he wanted to avoid any unnecessary things from happening.


    On top of that, if he lost, it reflected the department, and it might become the cause of the early disbanding of the department.


    But Yman knew that he could not avoid it for longer.


    "What''s your plan?"


    Rea asked him after seeing the frown on his face.


    He was busy with his training and other stuff.


    "I guess, there''s no use avoiding it now��" he glanced at her with a laugh. "Gotta do it," he added.


    Rea stared at him for a second. Her eyes were darting from left to right, seemingly reading her expression. "I see," she said after a couple of seconds.


    His eyes blinked twice as he thought, ''So that''s the only she can say, huh."


    After saying it, Cinde exited the Dummy-fighting room.


    "Why are you standing there?" She asked them.


    They glanced at her, "how''s the training room?" He asked.


    "It was a good facility no doubt, although I only managed to reach the stage where 2 rank A boss-type dummies were my enemies," she replied with a sigh.


    "Commendable! Only a counted number of experts were able to reach that stage. Now you are one of those few," Rea couldn''t believe that Cinde was able to achieve it.


    "Really!"


    They noticed her surprise yet she was wearing a happy expression.


    "Now it''s my turn." He said while lifting his sleeves higher.

 Chapter 196: Alminas Skill?

    After Cinde finished her training, Yman went inside to train himself too. Rea and Cinde were coming together with him to watch him in training.


    They were sitting inside the spectator area. The spectator''s area was separated by a glass window.


    He was waiting for the enemy to appear. Cinde already told him that the enemies would appear three minutes after he entered the room. Though there was no need for her to tell him as there was an instruction or guidelines beside the door.


    At the moment, Yman was standing about 5 meters away from the magic circle. Three minutes later, a rank D dummy materialized from it.


    It was the Dummy of the Pale Toad!


    "Why Crimson with that kind of face?" Cinde noticed something and asked Rea. But Rea just shrugged her shoulder as she too was wondering.


    Rea and Cinde noticed the stare on Crimson''s face. From their perspectives, he was staring at it with familiarity, like remembering something from the past.


    Yman''s mouth was hanging open. He remembered that time when he got his deity and skill.


    He ran outside the town to try accumulating combat experience and trying to loot for gold points. But unfortunately, it was spoiled when Kiko and his gang showed up.


    And now, he was facing its kind. The real and the copy was having identical color; the dummy had a plain gray color and the Pale Toad had a dirty white color.


    Also, its feature was a little identical to the real Pale Toad.


    After materializing, the dummy toad glanced left and right, seemingly looking for its enemy.


    But it immediately noticed the person standing opposite of him.


    The dummy narrowed its eyes at him, and without a warning, it rushed forward to attack the enemy.


    After huge strides, it leaped high in the air and sent a kick at him.


    Yman gawked at it.


    He never thought that the dummy Pale Toad had such ability. Well, when he fought the real Pale Toad on the pond outside the Sitona Town, it only used its tongue-whip and pound at him.


    "Why is Crimson just standing there?" Cinde asked again. Then again, Rea had no answer with it.


    But in the next second, the toad dummy''s attack was spoiled when he caught the leg and smashed it to the floor.


    The crash caused a loud bang that shook the entire room.


    Cinde and Rea gaped at him.


    "What a merciless man��" Rea mumbled.


    "Ahaha, I always knew that he was like that," Cinde laughed descendingly and agreed at Rea.


    In Rea''s mind,'' Is there a need to be merciless against it? Maybe this Eyma is a psychopath?''


    But Rea did not voice it. ''But this guy brings trouble to himself!'' Rea mumbled in her mind.


    After killing the first dummy in domineering performance, the next dummy followed after.


    But for some reason, Cinde almost dropped her eyeballs. On the contrary, Rea sighed at him.


    "This person unlocked the highest difficulty," Rea questioned.


    "Highest difficulty? What do you mean, Ella?" Cinde glanced at her and asked Rea about it.


    "When you kill the first dummy in such a way as he did, the highest difficulty will unlock by itself. It''s like a secret switch. But that psychopath smashed the pitiful dummy on the ground. Like he is having a huge grudge towards it." Rea explained while knitting her brows towards the guy who was currently grinning like an idiot inside the training room.


    She sighed at him. And Cinde giggled at her for calling him a psychopath.


    In front of him, ten rank C dummies materialized.


    They didn''t waste a second and directly raced towards him.


    Yman was wondering why it was different from what was written in the direction and from what Cinde told him.


    But, it was better for him.


    Yman slapped the incoming claw of the dummy that neared him first.


    He then followed with a straight punch using his other hand. The dummy was sent flying back when his fist had landed accurately on its face.


    When it crashed on the floor, the dummy already had it''s skull broken. It immediately turned into light particles and disappeared.


    The other one waved the mace in its hand towards him. He swayed his body and successfully evaded it. Then he followed by a kick.


    The dummy was sent rolling like a bowling ball. It turned to light particles after.


    A dagger user tried to stab him, but he caught the dagger in his hand and smirked.


    "He''s insane," Rea commented.


    Then he used his elbow to hit it in the jaw.


    Gwadar! The dummy copied a groan.


    He did not stop and continued getting rid of the other dummies, using his bare strength and basic fighting style.


    Based on their attacks and body structures, It seemed like these dummies were modeled from goblins. After all, goblins were known for attacking their enemy using their numerical advantage. And on top of it, the way they attack was so identical to it. And goblins were also rank C creatures. So Yman believed that these dummies were the copy of goblins.


    The goblin dummies fell one by one in his hand.


    One of them stepped on the other and leaped higher in the air while pointing its spear in hand towards him.


    Yman grabbed the other goblin dummy near him and threw it to the leaping one.


    In just a few seconds, he already cleared up all the goblin dummies.


    The next to appear was 7 rank B dummies.


    Rea and Cinde already fell silent with beads of sweat on their heads.


    They were wondering how he was still wearing a grin on his face even in the face of multiple enemies! Even Cinde had hard times dealing with two rank B''s. But this person was grinning in the face of 7 rank B!?


    "W-well, it''s Crimson after all," Cinde muttered.


    The seven rank B dummies sent multiple vines to bind him. He evaded it by twisting his body left to right.


    No need to guess what kinds of creatures these dummies modeled after.


    Sistela''s voice was heard by him.


    As he was evading their attacks, more and more vines keep growing from the floor ground.


    It wasn''t all, they also whip him with their vines. He jumped and managed to evade the 5 pairs of vines that they sent to him.


    When his feet landed on the floor, he sprints towards the enemies. He caught a glimpse of a little opening to one of the Trent dummies.


    Seeing him approaching hastily, from the dummy''s body, vines were coming out and formed into a big drill to attack him from above.


    He made a hasty leaped forward to dodge it. The vine drill passed at hairsbreadth distance away from his face.


    (Crissscrassss!)


    Yman skidded his feet. He used the friction of his shoes and the floor to balance himself, and to remain his stable footing.


    (Owoooooooorrr!) The dummy Trent howled.


    He found himself near the enemy. About 10 steps away from it. But it wasn''t alone. It was together with 2 other trends.


    He summoned a sword from his storage.


    "Fufu, let''s cut some woods," he said but except for him, there was only Sistela who heard him.


    Sistela stated. Sistela continued.


    He wondered why she took his words seriously. It was a joke though. He was just kidding.


    Anyhow, he continued charging to the nearest dummy. As expected, it reacted fast and sent a branch whip to him.


    Yman hopped and brandished the sword downward. It immediately sliced the branch in two.


    After cutting its branch, he proceeded to cut its trunk, but the other branch smashed into him.


    He stopped for a bit. He noticed the other dummies scurried towards him.


    Yman holds the hilt of the sword in both hands while pointing the tip of it towards the dummy with the cut branch.


    A moment later,


    "Sudden Charge -- Immediate assault!" He spoke the name of the skill.


    It was the same as what Almina used on the cliff when they were fighting against the mini golems.


    A large hole was visible on the dummy''s trunk. And Yman appeared at the back of the dummy.


    He created his version of that skill by executing his Rapid Leap skill together with his quickest charge.


    The accumulation of speed from his charge together with his Rapid leap had resulted in Almina''s technique. This was what Yman wanted to try.


    However, he noticed that it wasn''t as good as her.


    He also noticed the hole in the dummy''s trunk had been restored. Well, he already expected it to happen.


    Yman squinted his eyes, if only he could use freely the crimson mana, it was easy to defeat them all at once, by burning them to cinders. Unfortunately, he couldn''t waste that mana anymore.


    Crimson took his gauntlet and gloves from the Cyber Storage and wore them.


    "Fufu looks like he''s starting to get serious," Cinde laughed and commented when she noticed the slight change in his countenance.


    "Of course, those dummies are the copies of the trents. Their vine attacks are troublesome. Not even the like of Crimson can handle them alone without using his fire element," Rea added to Cinde''s words.


    Rank B creatures were not even his match. But it''s different when there are several of them. And when they were having troublesome abilities.


    Yman''s mouth extended to a smile.


    This time he will try adding more strength and speed. He thought.

 Chapter 197: Top rank

    Rea stared at Cinde. "What is that technique that Crimson used a while ago?" She asked.


    Cinde knitted her brows and tried to remember if she ever did see him using the skill before. But she could not recall. She glanced at Rea after a sigh. "It is the first time that I saw him doing it. Maybe his new skill?" Cinde said after a shrug. "I see," Rea replied then returned her gaze to Crimson. She wondered if he was inventing a skill. "Regardless, that still looks like a normal sudden charge. Though quicker," she added.


    Cinde nodded as she too agreed with Rea''s assessment of Crimson''s new skill. Then she also stared back at him. "Look, Ella, he''s about to use it again!" She pointed.


    He exuded the sword in hand with his Deity''s mana. Then he lifted it at chest level. He slightly bent his knee lower and his right hand was gripping the hilt. His left on the other hand was caressing the blade of the sword while pointing the tip to the target dummy.


    His right leg was stretched at the back while his left was supporting his body weight.


    Rea and Cinde were staring at him with curiosity. They both were wondering about his pose. It was different from what he did recently. Perhaps, he would be going to use different techniques this time.


    "What is he doing?"


    "This Eyma," Rea mumbled.


    Cinde glanced at her with a dumbfounded expression. She was able to hear Ella''s words. For some reason, the word she spoke was familiar to her.


    Regardless, they had the urge to scream for a warning when they noticed the three vine-drills were coming at him at a speed that was hard to perceive with normal eyes. Aside from that, Crimson was currently closing his eyes!


    After a brief moment, a loud crash invaded their ears.


    The two gaped as they stared at the now dusty and smoky part of the room to where Crimson was standing. The other dummies immediately stopped on their charge.


    When the dust and smoke cleared up: "Eh? Where did he go?" Cinde asked when he could not spot Crimson in his position.


    "What!" Suddenly, Cinde heard a surprise utterance from Ella.


    She glanced at her and followed to where she was looking. There, they saw him standing ahead to where the dummy who attacked him using its vine-drills was used to be in position. But at the moment, they could not find it! The vine drills also slowly turned to light particles.


    "What he did, Ella!?" Cinde was shocked to see the dummy suddenly was dispatched.


    They didn''t even notice him making a move from his position. He just did a weird pose that was different from before. However, seeing that he vanished and appeared ahead of the monster, they could guess that he used the same technique as what he did a while ago.


    But this time, it was more powerful! It even eliminated the Trent dummy which is known for its high restoration ability.


    It was crashed into tiny pieces that rendered its restoration ability to be ineffective!


    Cinde and Ella had their mouths agape while staring at him. They noticed him wearing a satisfied face. Looked like it was the result he expected.


    The other Trent dummies immediately rushed to attack him. They sent their vines to whip him.


    Yman dodges it by slightly waving his body. The vine whips passed at him at a little margin.


    He ducked to evade the vine that horizontally whipped at him. Then he leaped into the air. The dummies seemingly got excited as they screeched while summoning more vines from the floor.


    "Isn''t it a bad move?" Cinde asked. He knew that Crimson was strong. But leaping into the air while being sieged with multiple range attacks were putting yourself at a disadvantage. Because it would lower one''s mobility and become an easy target by the enemy.


    She glanced at Ella but she noticed no disagreements from his action. She wondered if Ella fully trusted him. After all, she chose him as her bodyguard. Her eyes were fixed staring at him. She suddenly felt a little flick of pain inside her. Cinde wondered why she felt it.


    In truth, Cinde wasn''t doubting Crimson''s decision. She just wondered what he was planning for leaping in the air and putting himself at the disadvantage.


    Maybe he would be going to summon his mount(bird-type) Fire Doll?


    Currently, the dummies were hoarding below him while sending their vines to reach him.


    However, right at this moment, they all noticed that he was posing the same pose he did a while ago.


    The next second, after a burst of white energy, enveloped his sword, he vanished again. Then it was followed by a louder noise of crashing onto the ground.


    The hoarding monster turned to pieces of light particles.


    "S-so strong!" Cinde commented.


    Rea was staring at him. He was standing in the middle of light particles. Showing a wide grin on his face while staring at the odd size sword in hand. "Could it be because of his sword?" She voiced her thoughts.


    "Uh? B-but it looks ordinary," Cinde replied. Rea wasn''t mean to ask her. She just subconsciously muttered.


    All of the remaining Trent dummies were defeated at once. Looks like he found a trusted technique. Not only for fighting a single opponent but also useful in battling multiple enemies.


    Suddenly, inside the room, they heard a weird sound. It was a sound to alarm every one of something going on.


    But then they noticed the magic circle glowed in red color.


    "Eh? What is it this time?!" Cinde exclaimed.


    "Could it be��" Rea wasn''t able to finish what she was supposed to say as his initial thought was proven right.


    "...unbelievable. Is this another level of difficulty?" She said in shock.


    "Another difficulty? I thought he''s already fighting the highest difficulty?" Cinde was puzzled.


    "I don''t know of what was going on," Rea claimed to be as puzzled as her but seeing the thing that came out from the red magic circle. It is probably a dummy of the monster of a higher rank creature. No, it wasn''t just higher. It was truly powerful.


    Yman was wondering, the instructions on the door weren''t telling the truth! Even Cinde''s words did not match what was happening.


    The enemy this time was a boss class already! It is supposed to appear at around 10.


    Cinde looked away when Crimson stared at the glass window, though he could not see her from the inside. But Yman knew that she was currently watching him.


    In any case, he could only move forward and fight:


    Without them knowing, outside the training room, many people were gathering and talking like buzzing bees.


    "Look someone reached the boss round in just a few minutes!" One of the Demihuman said while pointing to the monitor that could be seen inside the Training Pavilion lobby.


    In the monitor, all the trainees who had the best achievements were listed in it.


    Currently, they were in chaos, the name of rank 1 trainee who reached the boss stage in the fastest time was replaced by another name. And the new name recorded in it was... "The Mysterious!?" Some people shouted his name in a question.1


    "Who''s that?"


    Everyone was asking who was the person.


    "Aside from that, wasn''t Lord Gregor the one who resided in that spot the whole time?"


    "Lord Gregor is the deputy leader of Mighty Solus Department?"


    "What?"


    "I heard that he''s a prideful man."


    "Wouldn''t it be bad if he knew about it?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Idiot, someone just took the spot from him!"


    "Right, but��.. he can retake it back if he wanted."


    "Dumbass, look at that time of the new rank 1. Do you think it''s easy to achieve it?"


    "Eh? Y-you''re right."


    "Regardless, I''m curious who is The Mysterious person."


    "Wait, that name sounds familiar though!" Someone among the crowd said.


    "What? Do you know him?"


    "I mean, I feel like I already heard that name from somewhere��"


    "Wait, that name, I saw it in the recent competition in the Empire!"


    "You''re right! Now I also remembered��"


    People were starting to feel curious about him.


    "We can identify him if we will know which room is currently active."


    "No, most of the room is still active!"


    "Damn, I wanted to see the live battle!"


    "Me too!"


    "Unfortunately, the man is fighting in private!"


    All the people who were currently waiting for their turn to enter the training rooms were starting to wonder about the man who suddenly took the rank 1 position of the fastest who reached the boss stage.


    In truth, they were just waiting in silence while some were conversing with their friends when a sudden announcements came and broke the usual atmosphere inside the pavilion lobby.


    The announcer stated: [Congratulations to trainee The Mysterious for breaking the current record of the fastest person who reached the boss round! On behalf of the management of the Training Pavilion, we hail you as the new Rank 1 achiever! Once again congrats.]


    Then it was followed by the announcement of benefits that he could get as the rank 1 achiever.


    Yman gawked at the announcements. But he had no time for it, as the new enemy was eyeing for him!

 Chapter 198: A humanoid fish

    Despite all the chaos that currently happening inside the Pavilion Lobby, Yman and the others were unaware of it.


    Currently, he was locked in a staring contest with a stronger foe.


    The dummy in front of him stood on its two feet even though it had the head of the fish.


    "A humanoid Fish?" His first impression upon seeing it. He was surprised and doubted if there was truly a creature living in this world with such a form. Then again, there was even some deformed beast. So, what''s the point of getting surprised with the addition of this one.


    "Shokyo? Hmm��"


    Yman made a thinking gesture. This sounds like a word from the J-country, he thought. But Yman knew that Sistela wasn''t that.


    His brows twitched for a little. The name she spoke rang a bell to him. He tried to recall where he heard it. But he could not recall; however, its form made him think of a certain creature.


    "Could it be the evolved form of that cunning creature in the sea? The Bob-Head fish?!" He exclaimed.


    He almost couldn''t believe it.


    It has the tiny hands and feet of a human. And it has a giant head. But it usually grabbed its victim''s feet and dragged them in the deeper part of the water such as the ocean. It has strong arms especially underwater, its strength would increase greatly.


    However, they usually stayed underwater. And never came on the surface.


    Now it was standing on its two feet like a human. And its arms were long and slender. Though its head was still the same as the fish. But it looks more mature.


    And he could faintly perceive a strong aura within it.


    He grinned. Finally, a worthy opponent to test his new skill. What he meant was a new version of Almina''s skill.


    Yman felt weird at this enemy. It was standing in front of him without rushing mindlessly like the other monsters.


    It was seemingly waiting for him to ready himself. It was surreal to be honest, from Yman''s perspective.


    His mouth extended to the opposite side. The second he took the initiative and rushed forward by kicking the floor so hard.


    The room was fairly wide. It has a length of 150 square meters.


    In Rea and Cinde''s perspective, Yman''s image was blurring as he moved. He was so quick.


    Wielding the gladius sword in hand, he rushed forward to strike the enemy.


    Ting!


    A high-pitched noise resounded when Yman''s gladius sword met the enemy''s�� fin? Eh?


    The fish-head enemy summoned a sword fin on its forearm. It then used it to clash with his sword.


    Sistela warned.


    "Ok noted!" He muttered a reply.


    Yman tried to push it using his bare strength, but the enemy did as well. The two of them then locked in the contest of strengths.


    Creak! Cressssss!


    Sparks were flying caused by the friction of their weapons gritting each other''s edge.


    He then brandished it in successive strikes. The enemy did not lose as it did as well what he did.


    Ting! Ting! Ting!


    Their weapons repeatedly collided. More sparks were flying in all directions as the result of their clashes.


    Rea and Cinde were staring at it without blinking their eyes.


    "U-unbelievable��" A mutter unintentionally escaped from Cinde''s mouth.


    Rea, on the contrary, was focused on the battle, even though she was having a hard time perceiving their movements.


    She was watching them while knitting her brows. Yman noticed a stalemate was unavoidable in the current situation.


    He focused his strength in his hand and made a sudden push. The enemy reacted by doing the same as him. It summoned its strength as well.


    However, it wasn''t what Yman wanted to do in the first place. When his muscle felt the reaction from the enemy, he purposely stepped back and intentionally retreated his sword and rescinded his strength.


    Because of it, the enemy found himself moving along-side him. No, it was losing its balance.


    Without letting go of the chance, he sent a kick to its stomach. It bore deep into the enemy''s stomach and almost pop-out its eyes by the strength of the impact. The enemy was sent flying back with an explosive crash on the ground. Its body rolled several times before it went to a stop at the opposite side of the room.


    "Heh!" Yman grinned. No doubt that it was a strong dummy, but a dummy was still a dummy.


    No sense of thought. And since it was a dummy of a strong creature, it stood up once again. And he didn''t notice a reasonable effect of his attack.


    But he didn''t bother by it. Though he used much strength in that attack.


    Sistela exclaimed. She could not believe that it was still fine even after it received a kick from her partner.


    After standing up, the boss dummy summoned little spheres around.


    "Water spheres?" Yman squinted his eyes and stared at it in full alert.


    Rea and Cinde were looking at the fight with a fixed gaze. They couldn''t avert their eyes away from the battle.


    The spheres glowed in bluish color before the boss tier fired.


    Sistela warned him.


    The little spheres were seemingly like meteor showers as they shot towards atm aa t speed that was hard to perceive.


    At first, Yman was evading at it by using his speed. But after a couple of evading, one of the spheres had successfully greased his arm.


    But he had no time for it as more and more water spheres were kept coming to him.


    Rea frowned.


    "Why, Ella?" Cinde asked her in puzzlement when she noticed her face after taking a glance at him.


    "Those spheres are not ordinary. It can cause the poison to the enemy!" She said in a tone of worry.


    "Do you mean��.. Crimson is in danger?" Cinde prompted a question.


    ( Before Rea could say her reply��)


    Bang!


    They heard a loud explosion. The two of them simultaneously glanced at the cause.


    Cinde exclaimed.


    Rea and Cinde saw him standing in front of the boss tier dummy. The weirdest thing, the boss tier monster lost its arm!


    "How did he��..''


    They wondered what happened a moment ago. They lost their focus as they were conversing.


    While their focus was away from the fight, Yman used the enemy''s skill to push it into his trap.


    When one of the spheres finally hit him, the boss was seemingly excited. Especially when it noticed he was wobbling. It charged at him within a second.


    But instead of a weakened poisoned enemy, he was greeted by a sharp metallic object.


    The grin on his face had become broader as he stared at the boss tier monster.


    "Cinde, did you see what he did?" She asked the person beside her.


    "Uh, sorry, I didn''t notice," she replied.


    Rea bit her lip.


    The fight between Crimson and the boss was so fast-paced that if they didn''t look for a second, they would lose a good moment.


    The boss tier dummy immediately stepped back. And without waiting for the following upcoming from his enemy, it used its restoration magic to heal his cut-off arm.


    Yman was surprised to see it. It seemed it also could heal itself. And restoration to boot! Such an op skill. Yeah!


    The two of them engaged in a superfast exchange of attack once again.


    The people in the Pavilion Lobby were very curious about what was going on in the fight against the boss and the person named The Mysterious!


    Most of them were wearing an anxious face. Some were tapping their shoes on the tiled floor.


    of the pavilion. The others were tapping their elbow with their index finger while in cross arms.


    "Hey, what do you think is going with the fight of The Mysterious and the boss?"


    Some people were repeatedly asking the same question to the person beside them.


    On the other hand, the others were still looking forward to Lord Gregor''s reaction when he found out that his sweet spot was taken by someone.


    The spot on the top was so wholesome. It didn''t only bring benefits to the person''s departments, but also himself.


    Rea and Cinde believe that if the room doesn''t have a self-restoration system, it has already been destroyed. Because of how insane the fight was happening.


    And they noticed the unwavering grin on Crimson''s face.


    "Ugh, look at him, he''s showing that face when he''s in a fight against that kind of enemy."


    "Well, he was even fighting a strong berserk Boarman in the recent competition. And he did it in pure strength," Cinde said with a sigh.


    The two girls were doubting if Crimson was a battle-freak.


    "Right, if Crimson defeated the boss, the Little Garden department will surely get an earning��" suddenly said, Rea.


    "Eh?"

 Chapter 199: Contradiction

    "Go Crimson! Defeat that dummy!"


    Crimson was stupify.


    Cinde got excited from what Ella said and started cheering Crimson. Her voice was so loud that it reached his ears even though there was a sound absorption spell in the room.


    He was wondering what was happening to her. In any case, he needed to concentrate.


    The boss tier dummy created 4 spheres on top of its palm.


    Yman noticed something from it. Without waiting for a second, he secretly sent out one of his scout bees and let it hover above.


    The spheres on top of the palm of the boss were encircling like planets around the sun. The bigger sphere acted as the sun while the smaller ones were its orbiting planets.


    But Yman noticed something unbelievable about them. Those spheres were just bubbles! But they were not simple bubbles.


    Yman''s musing came to a halt when Sistela whispered a warning.


    The enemy threw the bubbles at him. He stepped back out of reflex but he regretted his decision.


    Because the bubbles didn''t proceed to him. It stopped in mid-air and hovered! Yman glimpsed at it with doubt.


    Weirdly, the bubbles stayed there without doing anything.


    Then his ears picked a slight sound of air movement. It was a kind of sound that was caused by a high-speed movement. Although Cinde was causing a loud noise, his concentration in the fight was unhindered. He quickly returned his gaze to the front.


    As expected the enemy was hastily dashing towards him.


    In a split second, another high-pitched sound resounded.


    Then it was followed by consecutive collisions of sword and fin.


    (TIIINNNGGG!!!)


    A louder collision rang out when both of them sent a much powerful strike.


    "Hmm, they both are physically equal��" Rea commented. She was wondering how Crimson got so much physical strength. After all, the boss tier dummy was physically strong.


    Seeing that they were equal in terms of strength, they both leaped back at the same time to cut the deadlock.


    Now they were 10 meters away from each other.


    He saw the boss dummy lift its other arm. Then another fin blade grew on its forearm.


    "Sistela, notify me when that object above us made a weird movement," he earnestly asked his Deity.


    After she nodded, he noticed the enemy was already rushing towards him.


    "Now it has two fin blades, eh," he thought then glimpsed on the gladius sword in his hand. The repeated collision caused its edge to be disheveled.


    Looks like he needed another one, huh. The gladius sword helped him a lot in his fights. But he knew that everything has a corresponding ending.


    Seeing that the enemy was now using two fin blades. He summoned a dagger in his left hand.


    Now he too was holding two swords. A dagger in his left and a sword in his right.


    Yman intercepts the fast-approaching enemy. In just a matter of split-second when another rapid collision of consecutive strikes enveloped the whole room.


    It was even fiercer now than before because both of them were wielding two weapons at the same time.


    Their blades cried out every time their weapons met each other.


    Cinde was already stopped with her cheering and now was gaping while watching the super fast-paced fight. Even Rea could not hide the bewilderment she felt.


    They could not even count for how many times their weapons had collided. And all their ears could pick was the repeated ear-piercing high-pitch tone of metal scrapping.


    "I wonder how Crimson had so much stamina to stay in the fight for long," Cinde suddenly commented.


    "Well, he''s a mysterious freak I guess," Rea replied.


    Cinde gawked at Ella''s reply.


    Behind the glass window, the fight was still ongoing. They too were wondering what those spheres were hovering in the air.


    For some reason, it stayed there for a minute already.


    The Dummy boss was waving its hand to slice his challenger.


    The blades on its forearms were seemingly gleaming every time it slashed the air. It had a bluish color that was seemingly made from ocean water.


    No, it is!


    He noticed his gladius sword turned rusty out of a sudden!


    ''Could it be, those fin blades aren''t just ordinary blades that are made of water?''


    Unfortunately, Yman''s gladius sword was just an ordinary sword and doesn''t have any resistance against it.


    At the moment, his gladius sword seemed like it took a big leap of time.


    Yman summoned the crimson mana and coated the gladius to extend its life for a little. And he summoned his Deity''s mana without permission to coat the dagger.


    "What, two types of mana? Crimson can use two different types of mana?"


    Cinde was dumbfounded when she saw the two different colors of magical energy coating his weapons.


    "Well, humans can use their Deity''s mana as well. And in addition to their own, it would be two types in total."


    "Ah, i-is that so?" She forgot that Crimson was a human and not a Demihuman like them.


    Yman kicked the floor and engaged in exchange once again.


    Ting ting ting ting ting��!


    Both of them received damages and cuts. But thanks to their healing ability. They healed in an instant the wounds they received.


    He bent his body backward to dodge the horizontal slash, coming from his left. Then he sent a kick, but the enemy was able to step back.


    Yman twitched his brow. The boss had become more careful.


    The next second,


    Sistela suddenly screamed.


    Yman took a quick glimpse and saw at the corner of his eyes that the sphere bubbles increase their size.


    A moment later, he noticed the boss hastily move away.


    Yman had a bad premonition about it. He wonde11red what it was. Regardless, he needed to stay away from it too.


    However,


    Sistela screamed.


    "What!?" Yman uttered in surprise. "A homing type?"


    Just after saying it, one of the spheres shot towards him. Then it was followed by the thunderous explosion. A cloud of smoke blossomed after.


    Cinde wasn''t able to hold herself and stood from her seat.


    "Calm down," Rea muttered. After all, it was only a training room. He would respawn outside the door when he died inside. After all, inside the room was a combination of high-level magic with the addition of restoration, illusion, and other high-level spells. All of these were prepared to make this training pavilion a safe training ground and a challenging one.


    However, Rea could not find Crimson outside the door. She was certain that he was hit by that explosion.


    Without waiting for the smoke to dissipate, another sphere came falling towards the cloud of smoke. Then it was followed by another one.


    Cinde was holding his breath.


    Rea was acting cool, but deep inside she was worried about him. She was even gripping the hem of her dress without her knowing.


    She only wanted to act aloft in front of him. After all, she was a princess! And that guy was just a poor thief who likes taking advantage of his victim''s belongings.


    And he was a battle freak. And sometimes he had random attitudes. And although he was a mysterious person that was masking his real self, she knew that he was a person she could depend on. Especially in her current situation in which random group of people was trying to abduct her.


    Sometimes, she wished to live as a normal girl. But Rea also believed that her Grace Htraerea would not give her this kind of life if she wasn''t capable of it. Since she was the intended one who possessed this body and soul. All she had to do was to overcome all the hardship that was coming to her.


    It was also the reason why she chose him over other stronger people in the adventurers guild.


    Because he was a person that only had an issue with money, and she didn''t feel any lustful thought from him towards her -- which she mostly felt from other people when they gaze at her. Though she started to feel down about it.


    For once, she wondered why she wasn''t happy that she could not feel any feeling of desire from him towards her.


    Maybe it was just her illusion. She denied the thought that she was starting to develop a passive feeling towards him.


    After all, he was the type of person who could easily lie. And he had no restraint of doing bad things for the sake of gaining money.


    She believed he wasn''t an ideal man. Although Rea was saying it in her mind, something within her was contradicting this thought of her.


    She didn''t know what was happening to her. Perhaps she misunderstood herself. Maybe it wasn''t a passive feeling.


    While Rea was busy musing and couldn''t come up with understanding to herself. Beside her, Cinde was stunned while watching the fight.

 Chapter 200: Upgrade version

    (Thud! Thud thud thud thud��)


    From the loud explosion, a different kind of noise about something was rolling reached Rea''s ears.


    She glanced to where the dumbfounded wolf-girl beside her was staring.


    A boss about 5 meters away from his back was standing without its-- ''head?!'' Rea exclaimed in shock.


    ''The boss was decapitated?'' In her mind. "How did that happen?" She asked.


    Cinde heard his stupify exclamations.


    "I think he used the same attack that he used to get rid of the Trent dummies," Cinde woke up from being stunned and replied to her.


    "Oh, that attack? I was expecting to see it again the whole time. But that person didn''t use it while he was engaging with the enemy, which was weird. And now that he used it, perhaps he was waiting for the right moment to kill the enemy in a single execution," Rea deducted in which Cinde agreed with her.


    "Right," she nodded. "But�� although it''s the same attack, it also felt different..." Cinde added.


    She heard Cinde''s confusing words. "Hmm, what do you mean?" She asked with a confused face.


    "I mean�� that technique had become faster and sharper��" It was what she believed upon seeing his attack.


    Rea wasn''t able to witness his execution. But seeing that the enemy wasn''t torn to pieces as what happened to the Trent dummies, she could not doubt Cinde''s words.


    Rea bit her lips and secretly reprimanded herself for averting her focus from the fight. Because of it, she missed a good part of the fight.


    She then decided to return her focus, though it looks like it was too late. The enemy already lost its head.


    Some smoke was still on Crimson''s body. It didn''t disappear on the spot but it was dissipating slowly.


    A moment later, they noticed his tattered clothing when the smoke finally went away. Even the sleeves were cut up to the part of his underarm. But they could not see any serious wounds on him, except for some little bruises.


    They also could not find his weapons. Maybe it was shattered from the explosion. And because his weapons were corroded, the durabilities had weakened considerably.


    In truth, he was hit by the explosion. He sacrificed his arms to shield his body. He even used his Spell Canceller ability. Though it wasn''t as effective as before. After all, he was weakened upon entering the campus.


    Yman believed that if he blatantly used Almina''s skill, it won''t be as expected as when he fought with the Trent dummies.


    The boss was so agile and careful. So for his execution to succeed, he must do a sneak attack using it.


    However, there was a problem. They were battling in an open area with nothing to hide. How come he sneak an attack in this regard? It was on his mind the whole time.


    So when the enemy created the bubbles. He expected it to be explosive. When the enemy fired it at him, he already formulated a plan. But his plan was spoiled when it stopped and didn''t continue towards him. It hovered in the air which was a very unexpected type of spell.


    It was also the reason he asked Sistela to monitor it. So that he could focus on engaging with the enemy.


    In truth, he could explode them by letting one of his scout bird or bee to suicide in the bubbles. But he chose not, as it might help him. Although his plan was insane, it was a success somehow.


    When the explosion happened his arms were immediately charred, but thanks to his third version bee. It injected the restoration spell in him. Thus the lost arms were immediately restored. But the tattered training suit did not.


    In truth, he could use his Time Warp to restore his body to its original form. But Yman was skeptical because of the weakened effect of the whole campus. And he was reserving the crimson mana. If possible, he would only use it if there was no other way for him to escape a tight spot.


    By fusing Sistela and the Demon''s mana, together with using his third version ants to inject speed and power booster elixir on him, he successfully executed an upgraded version of the Immediate Assault ability of Almina Amulet.


    Now it''s sharper and more agile.


    It was more effective in fighting agile monsters and strong opponents like the boss dummy. But if he was fighting a horde of enemies, Almina''s version was the better choice as it has a scattered impact that could damage multiple enemies at the same time.


    A glint was visible in Cinde''s eyes. She couldn''t help but be amazed by him. Whatever he did always surprised her.


    Yman sighed in relief. He finally��


    Before they could celebrate his victory, they noticed something weird.


    The boss was still standing without turning into light particles.


    He immediately stepped back as he felt strong fluctuations of magical energy coming from the enemy.


    "Could it be��"


    Crimson wasn''t able to finish his words as Sistela came ahead of him, telling him the same thing in his mind.


    "Heh, as expected of the boss�� Tsk! I forgot it," he said in honesty.


    It wasn''t part of his plan as he wasn''t expecting that it also had a Craze Mode.


    A moment later, a wave of magical energy erupted from the boss dummy''s body.


    Luckily, Crimson was already far enough from it.


    Then they saw the boss dummy''s head start to restore.


    "Tsk! I thought it''s dead! Crimson finish it!" Cinde started cheering once again. No, she was commanding him!


    "Don''t ask me!"


    Yman didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at Cinde''s sudden enthusiasm.


    He also noticed Rea fixedly staring at him like she was staring at something she didn''t want to miss. He wondered what happened to these two. They were acting so weird.


    However, he had no time to lose his concentration as the enemy was already rushing forward to attack him.


    After a huge leap backward, his foot landed on the ground. Then he kicked the ground once again to widen the distance.


    His sword and dagger already disintegrated after the explosion. Now he can only depend on his strength.


    Yman noticed the enemy''s color turned to reddish. And more Fin swords appeared from its back, forming like fin-wings.


    Sistela shouted upon seeing the enemy made a leap towards them, but to their surprise, it stayed in the air while fast approaching them.


    It''s form had changed. It''s looked fiercer than before. And more powerful based on the magical aura that was oozing from its body.


    Cinde stopped her cheering after seeing the new form of the enemy.


    "From a fish to a flying fish?" She mumbled.


    "Not only that, it looks dangerous as well."


    Around this time, in the Mighty Solus Department, the department deputy leader Lord Gregor received a call from a friend.


    "What do you mean someone broke my record? Are you fucking kidding me?!"


    "Fufu, relax Gregor if you don''t want to believe me, why don''t you come here to the Training Pavilion."


    "Fuck off, dumbass! Stop wasting my time with your jokes! I''m a busy man you know!"


    "Fufu, you still believe I''m joking, huh! Let''s see your reaction after the management of Pavilion notified you. Dumbass!"


    Lord Gregor turned off the call and shook his head, he could not believe what that idiot told him. ''Tsk! That idiot has the leisure to joke against me. Did he expect that I''ll fall for his nonsense? Dumbass.''


    Lord Gregor thought so. It never once came to his mind that someone was capable of breaking his record as the fastest to reach the boss.


    And besides, who would dare to challenge him? Only a psycho would do it.


    The benefits he got from being the fastest king was a wholesome reward that he could not give up easily.


    He smirked at the person who called him. If not only that he knew him. He already smashed that person''s face onto the wall.


    However, contrary to his expectation a few minutes later, a call from the management of the Training Pavilion did call him. Just like what the person who called him recently said. The management from the Training Pavilion had called him.


    After discussing the reason for the call, Lord Gregor subconsciously broke the MTMD in his hand.


    A glint of murderous aura exudes from his eyes.


    He would be going to punish the bastard who dared to challenge him, after retaking his throne!


    The call stated that they would cut off all the benefits for him as the rank 1 fastest trainee who reached the boss stage.


    Grrr! Dammit! Thud!


    He gritted his teeth and bellowed. Then he threw the device in his hand.


    "D-Deputy leader sir, i-is something wrong?" One of his men, one of the members of the department, warily asked him a question after seeing the anger on his face.


    But Lord Gregor shot him a look in which pushed him onto the wall.

 Chapter 201: Restoration spell

    Inside the Training Pavilion Lobby, people were kept coming. The news of someone had surpassed the record of Lord Gregor had reached the ears of many residents on the campus.


    Students kept coming to the Pavilion to secure the validity of the news. But upon arriving, everyone was surprised. They were as surprised as the other people that were already inside the lobby.


    In everyone''s face, the anxious expression of waiting could be discerned. Everyone was waiting for the result of the fight against the boss.


    Those who came later had to ask the people who came recently.


    Good thing that the Pavilion Lobby was spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of people or maybe thousand if they cram-up like fishes in the sardine''s can.


    The Training Pavilion was one of the most popular establishments inside the campus.


    And every day it was crowded with people who wished to train and some came to relax.


    Right at this moment, the lobby was noisy with people''s curious conversations.


    "What! 2 minutes and 45 seconds only!" A person with unique bunny ears exclaimed upon hearing the reply of the person next to him.


    "How could someone capable of that?!" Another person in the lobby asks in bewilderment.


    Almost every newcomer had identical reactions when they heard the news. But the more they ask the more curious they get.


    Some people were checking all the remaining dummy-fighting rooms that were currently in use. They knew that one of these rooms was being used by the new rank 1 trainee.


    The ones who came out of the room were ambushed with questions. The person could only gawk and be puzzled by the current situation.


    Just before they entered the rooms, it wasn''t as crowded. But now, it was seemingly they were waiting for a celebrity to come out of the room.


    But unfortunately, once they knew that it wasn''t them, they scattered like rats that saw a cat. Then the person soon joined the group of curious people.


    Around this time, Yman lost the ability to clash with the enemy''s fin blades. And he had only one option to avoid getting slashed by it, to dodge with all his might.


    The battle between them had become a chasing and catching game.


    "Looks like Crimson is at the disadvantage. He cannot engage in a fight against a fully equipped enemy. Especially that it was fairly agile and strong," Rea commented.


    "But I still believe in him!" Cinde said resolutely.


    "Eh? What are you-- a blind loyalist? Or his wife?"


    Rea said in haste. She could not believe this girl''s out of sense.


    "E-Eh? C-Can be both��?" Cinde said shyly while fuming in red.


    ''She''s not even denying it��'' Rea thought.


    Bang!


    The two immediately glanced when a loud impact created a loud bang that rang inside the room.


    They saw Crimson and the boss crashed to the floors away from each other. They wondered how it happened.


    But Rea noticed it at the corner of her eyes. While she was conversing with Cinde, her focus didn''t turn away from the fight.


    In truth, the enemy sent combos of attacks to Crimson, and he evaded it by twisting and waving his body.


    He crouched and successfully evaded the slash aimed to decapitate him.


    Then he backflipped to evade the attack that was coming from below. While he did the backflip, the enemy failed to notice the kick he sent to its jaw.


    Because of this, the enemy was sent flying back.


    (But��)


    Right after Crimson''s feet landed on the floor, the last sphere shot towards him. And it was the biggest one, so the explosion was stronger than the first three bubbles.


    He tried to dodge it by kicking the floor so hard and leaped back. But the impact of the explosion still got him.


    Rea and Cinde widened their eyes and their faces turned grim at Crimson''s current situation. Although it was training only, the pain that the trainee felt was very real. It was systemized like this for the trainee to have real feelings against the training dummy. It would be bland training if they could not feel the same pain as the real wounds.


    Crimson lost his arms and feet and light particles were gushing from the wounds. He was breathing heavily also.


    Even though he was on full alert the whole time, he was still hit!


    Sistela asked. But she knew that he wasn''t. That is if he was a normal person. However, her partner has a high pain tolerance. So she believed that he was fine. Their combined strength was weakened that they could not execute a strong attack. Because of this, their attacks barely damage their enemy.


    And the enemy''s restoration spell was kind of troublesome. If not by it, he already defeated it earlier.


    However, not only the enemy has it.


    An ant crawled to its neck and injected something in it. Then Crimson''s wounds were glowing for several seconds until all his wounds were slowly restoring.


    "He truly can restore his lost body parts!? Is he even a human?!" Rea mumbled a surprise. ''So, it was a battle between two Restoration Spell users!''


    Even Cinde was as surprised as her, to see him restoring his lost part. At first, they were skeptical to believe it. But now there''s no doubt anymore.


    In truth, there were two types of Third Version Ant-model Fire Doll he created. The first one was the Third Version Ant-model Fire Doll Type A �� this type of Fire Doll was the carrier of elixirs.


    And the second was the Third Version Ant-model Fire Doll Type B �� this was the type of Fire Dolls that was carrying a spell in their body. It had identical concepts to the Second Version Ant-model Fire Doll and the scout bee.


    The only difference that the Type A and Type B Third Version Ant has was their stomach size.


    After his full restoration, he sprung on his feet once again. The enemy did not waste another time and directly flew towards him.


    Sistela warned.


    The dummy boss threw the fin blades at him. Yman squinted his eyes at the fast-approaching fin blades that were spinning like boomerangs.


    He ran horizontally to get out at its trajectory. Oddly enough, it followed him like they had eyes of their own. He decided to continue running and tried to lose its trail.


    At the corner of his eyes, he took a glimpse of the boss. It was rapidly flying towards him while spreading its arms. Protruded on its back was a pair of fins.


    Its eyes were bloodshot and reddish energies were oozing from its body.


    "I wonder what Crimson will do? His path was cut off from both sides. But no matter what... Crimson you can''t lose!" Cinde asked, then shouted at him.


    Rea remained quiet and had her eyes at the fight. She was excited to see what he was going to do in his predicament. He could jump to the sides. Yet Rea shook the idea out of her head. If he did it there was a possibility that the situation would get worse.


    (gasp!)


    He gasped for breath.


    Beads of sweats were visible on his face. It wasn''t the first time that he was fighting such an opponent, though the situation right now was kind of different. There were some reasons why it was different from before.


    First of the reason was, of course, he was weakened. Second, he was restricting himself in using his other abilities such as the Time Warp because of a certain reason. The other reason was, he wanted to wear out his body in the training. Especially that he was fighting a strong opponent at the moment.


    Having a perfect 10 attributes at his breakthrough gave a huge increase in all his stats.


    Besides, even if he was defeated by it, he would never die as it was training only.


    From his back, the seeming boomerang fins were getting closer at him. And at his front was the boss that was hastily flying to intercept him.


    No doubt that the situation wasn''t in his favor.


    However, Cinde and Rea couldn''t find a tinge of worry from him.


    His face was tranquil. Like he was in deep concentration. Perhaps he was enjoying the fight. Rea thought so.


    Sistela notified him.


    ''Okay, thanks!'' He replied via thought communication. ''By the way, how many Type-A ants left and what kind of elixirs they are carrying?'' He asked as he had no time to memorize all his creations. That''s why he passed the job to Sistela.


    Sistela reported.


    "....." he remained quiet for a second but his feet never stopped kicking the floor.

 Chapter 202: Rampage

    (BAAANNNNNNGGG!)


    After Sistela''s warning, a loud explosion followed immediately which caused another cloud of smoke to erupt in an instance.


    Cinde and Rea stared at the smoke with wide eyes and mouth agape. Crimson was nowhere to be seen.


    Basically, inside the smoke.


    Rea glances at the entrance to check if Crimson had respawned. But the entrance was as empty as it used to be.


    ''He''s still alive even with that attack?'' Rea asked herself. ''The cause of the explosion��? Wait, what was the cause of it?'' She was baffled.


    In a sense, there wasn''t supposed to be an explosion. After all, it was a charging attack using blade-like fins and boomerangs.


    So the explosion was an out of place result.


    Just after she thought of it: "Ella, look! Someone was sent away from the smoke!" She heard Cinde was pointing in the direction of the smoke. A silhouette was sent away from the smoke after a thunderous explosion.


    They glanced at it but they could not discern who it was as it was charred and black.


    When it landed on the floor together with a dull sound, the body rolled several times before it went to a stop.


    Black fumes were oozing from its body.


    Rea and Cinde held their breaths. Then their ears picked some sounds of steps. It was coming from the smoke. They glanced and astonished in an instance with what they saw.


    "Crimson!?" Cinde exclaimed after having a clear view of the silhouette''s persona.


    When the smoke had fully cleared, they noticed him standing unscathed from the attack coming from his back and front.


    On top of it, they saw some electrifying spheres as big as golf balls around his body. It was the same spell that was used by the Abnormality with the form of a gigantic gorilla.


    It was also the reason why he came back at that time to retrieve his scout bee. Because it copied the spell of that monstrous creature.


    Now it was his to use. He combined Sistela''s mana and the crimson mana to create these little spheres of scattershot.


    Before the enemy and the boomerangs could hit him. He fired them all at once, hitting both the dummy boss and the boomerangs.


    However, Cinde and Rea had no idea how it happened.


    Though he copied it, he could not use it redundantly as he could not transfer the spell to him without his Skill Modifying ability. For him to be able to use it, he needed to use the Third Version Ant-model Type B Fire Doll to inject it into him.


    With this process, he could use the spell even if he wasn''t in his Black Magician mode.


    Sistela notified him.


    "Mhm!" He just nodded to reply.


    He just made a total of 5 ants carrier of Scatter Shot last night. In this regard, he could only use it 5 times. But of course, it was a different story if he could use his Skill Modifying ability.


    The enemy was blackened as it was hit in a close range. The boomerangs somehow had disintegrated immediately.


    He didn''t waste more time and shot himself towards the boss with his body surrounded by tiny spheres that were ready to fire whenever he liked it.


    The boss was still on the floor. But it was twitching and its body was glowing. Probably, started to heal itself.


    While he was advancing towards the enemy, he didn''t wait for it to fully heal and shot the valley of scattering shots towards it. Luckily, some of them were able to land on the boss followed by loud explosions.


    Another Type-B ant bit him. Then it was followed by the formation of another group of Scatter Shot around him. They were in bright reddish and sparks of lighting were visible on each of them.


    They were sticking on his body like they were glued on him.


    Rea and Cinde were holding their breaths when Crimson suddenly jumped into the cloud of smoke caused by the explosion of Scatter Shot.


    Then they felt a thunderous impact that shook the whole room. Not only once or twice, but it was also followed by a consecutive impact.


    They were wondering what was happening inside the smoke.


    The smoke seemed not going to dissipate anytime soon as they saw it thickening with the addition of dust.


    (Gyeeeeeeee!!!)


    They heard an ear-piercing shrill. Then it was followed by a silhouette that flew away from the smoke and crashed on the wall in a loud bang.


    Cinde and Rea had their mouths shut. But soon, Rea opened her mouth. "I-Is this how the training is supposed to be?" She asked the question while having a bewildered face. But even Cinde was wondering about it.


    The way Crimson fought with the training boss was like fighting it for his life.


    And not just that, their battle was so unbelievable that one might think that they were watching a fight between two monsters.


    Aside from that, Cinde noticed that Crimson was pulling some new skills that he never showed in the competition. Just how many spells Crimson can use? Cinde asked herself.


    Every time he fought, he would never fail to amaze her. Might be the reason she... wanted to befriend him? Or is it just like that? Cinde was asking herself some questions that she never asked before.


    She used to only care about playing virtual games inside her rooms and excluded herself from society. Every day she felt it was boring and only in the game that she found happiness, together with her online friends that she never met in real life.


    At night, she was tasked to train her magic. As the family''s successor of great magic, she could not even say no. It was also the reason that she felt life was boring for her.


    Every day was repetitive.


    But after meeting him. She felt there was more to life that she wanted to see.


    She felt curious about him. And everything he did always amazed her. Now, she wanted to get stronger too like him. Maybe she admired his strength. His being surreal for pulling some tricks that one wouldn''t expect. He seemed to be a mysterious person with so many surprises.


    She wanted to see more about him. She wanted to witness all the surprise he would pull.


    Cinde bit her lips when she felt her heartbeats had started to beat a little faster than normal.


    (She wondered why�� it has to beat like this��)


    Ahead of them, behind the glass window, Crimson shot another Scatter Shot to the enemy. He would never let the enemy until it turns to light particles.


    After he fired it, it was followed by a random explosion to where the enemy was. Then he shot himself towards it, like a rampaging monster.


    The enemy had no time to restore its charred body because of its unstoppable follow-up attacks. Crimson arrived in front of it. Then he was slowly lifting his arm. The enemy was stuck in the wall and couldn''t move. And in front of it, he was standing while pointing his fist.


    His eyes were hidden under his bangs of white hair. Then a toothy grin appeared on his face. A moment after a bead of sweat fell to the floor, he rained rapid punches to the enemy.


    The enemy tried to retaliate by shielding itself using its arms. But it was useless in the face of his onslaught. In addition to multiple damages that the enemy received a while ago, his life essence had finally waned.


    Until it''s endurance was not able to endure all the damages it received. Then a second later, it finally broke, and its body slowly turned into light particles.


    But even though it was turning into light particles, he did not stop until the last particle of light lost its flicker.


    Cinde gasped in disbelief while watching him.


    Rea, on the other hand, was silent while fixed staring at him on a rampage.


    Immediately, silence descended inside the room after the boss was killed. Just the heavy gasping of air could be heard inside.


    The training suit he was wearing was tattered all over. Even the room was littered with pits and debris, that seemingly acted as evidence of an intense battle that happened in the place.


    (Tap tap tap��)


    He walked towards the exit. But soon stopped when an announcement from the management of the Training Pavilion resounded inside the room.


    Yman glanced above and listen to the announcements.


    The first word that the announcer spoke was congratulatory towards him, for successfully defeating the boss of the first stage.


    "First stage?" Yman was surprised.


    [Yes, there''s a total of 100 stages to beat. If trainee ''The Mysterious'' wishes to proceed to the second stage he can choose to select the choices, or to give up and exit the training room.]


    Right after the announcer saying it, a box of the holographic screen appeared in front of him.


    Inside the box, the text asking to proceed or not could be read. He was asked to select one of the two choices inside it.


    "I wonder what Crimson will choose?" Cinde said with a big smile. She was happy that finally, their department would now earn points.


    "It''s good for him to rest--" Just after Rea said it, a notification saying [Welcome to the Jungle!]


    ''He continued! This person is insane!'' Rea exclaimed.

 Chapter 203: Second Stage

    After choosing the choices, the whole room lit up which caused him to be taken aback.


    The next moment after the sudden brightness, he found himself in a different place. Yman was stunned for a moment. His initial thought was he was teleported to a far place. In which tall trees and tall grass could be seen around.


    Different kinds of birds and nonhostile small animals were scuttering around.


    The ceiling of the training room was gone, in exchange, the leaves of tall trees were shading him from the sun.


    If not because of the glass window that separates him from the spectators, he would believe that he was teleported to a different place.


    He wondered if Rea was in collaboration with the Training Pavilion management. She was the only person he could think of that could create a domain such as this.


    Aside from the glass window a couple of meters away from his right side, he couldn''t find anything else, even the walls! Only a wide-range forest that he had no idea of how huge it was.


    Every stage has a total of 10 waves. In which the trainee would be fighting different dummies. The dummy''s power would increase as trainee advances.


    In an exchange with the floor, now he was standing on the soil. Dry leaves and branches could be seen around him. They were scattered all over the place to where he was currently bewildered by the things around him.


    It seemed like he went hunting in the forest out of a sudden.


    It was surreal. The experience was so surreal. No wonder that Encantasia Academy was one of the leading academies of magic in all the worlds.


    They have such facilities that enable their trainees to train as they like.


    Unlike the backwater academy of HC Zone 7. Due to the lack of facilities, the level of power that the trainees out there were way behind from the other academies.


    For example, if he compared the trainees from HC Zone 7 to the trainees from Encantasia Magic Academy, it was like comparing a child to a teen.


    Most of the trainees in Encantasia Magic Academy were at the rank of False Path expert. On the contrary, the trainees from HC Zone 7 were at most level 5 to level 8.


    If these two academies would battle, no need to guess who would win. It was clear that the academy of Encantasia wouldn''t fall a sweat in the fight against the backwater academy of HC Zone 7.


    Yman learned about this huge difference after coming to the empire. Especially now that he witnessed with his own eyes the quality of their trainees in this academy.


    Regardless, he could not find the magic circle on the ground. It was supposed to be the spawning area of the monster.


    ''Hm, could it be�� the monsters will spawn randomly?'' Yman thought so.


    Just after mentioning it, his ears picked some sounds of crashing. Based on the sounds it must be coming from dry branches and leaves.


    His head twisted to where the sound was coming from. To his right side, behind the bushes he perceived some presences, coming from there.


    He closed and opened his hand, trying to find if it was stiff. But he felt fine and his stamina was still good.


    Anyhow, after his battle with the Shokyo dummy, Sistela reported to him that his CE had increased 7%. It was quite low compared to his previous battle before he was in contract with the demon. Now in total, he had about 10% CE.


    He needed another 90% to break through to his current level and reach level 5.


    Looks like being in contract with the demon, also lowered the experience that he could achieve. It must be because of his abnormally high stats in which comparable to a False Path Expert.


    He also heard some news that the trainee would get less CE as he/she became stronger.


    It doesn''t matter, he just had to train repetitively if necessary. He got a strong power up but with the expense of his speed growth. Well, his growth was considerably low in the beginning. So no need to sweat it. He knew that it would happen in the first place. And he already made thorough thinking before he decided on the contract.


    His only way to break through a little bit faster was to engage himself in a hard-fought battle as often as he could. Though he didn''t mean to randomly pick a fight, just in training.


    His job as an adventurer was a dangerous path. And it was even more dangerous now that he became the bodyguard of a mysterious princess.


    So Yman could not slack off. He needed to find a way to become stronger as fast as he could.


    He had yet to succeed in curing his sister. And he was still not in the starting line either.


    His chest heaved up when he made a sigh and slightly shook his head and brushed his hair up to clear his thoughts from all the thinking he currently had in mind.


    He needed to concentrate on the coming fight. He first retrieved the scout bee that was still hovering above him. The crimson mana that acted as its veins were glowing faintly than before. It signifies that it almost dried out his mana.


    His mouth extended into a smile when he noticed something within it.


    But he had no time to be in a daze as the enemies had already come out of hiding.


    As expected there were multiple of them and he was surrounded from all sides. Theywere on the tree branches and some were below. They had grotesque figures that could only be seen in a horror movie.


    Sistela cried out.


    The dummies were modeled from the monster known as Dark Goblins. They were types of goblin that had fiercer looks and their bodies were in darker green. They had well-toned muscle and sharper claws and fangs that grew about 5 centimeters long. They had bloodshot eyes that had red veins visible on them.


    Dark Goblins were known for their endurance and strength. They mostly wield a cub in their hand. And they were ranked with double letters which were ranked BB.


    Just like the normal goblins, they also attack their victims in groups.


    Without a warning when one of them jumped off from the tree branch and brandished its cub towards him.


    The enemy was above him and at his front.


    He made a quick count of his enemies. There were a total of 15 Dark Goblins surrounding him.


    But before his eyes wandered around, he noticed the fast approaching cub on his head. It has countless nails protruding around it. One could imagine the grim outcome ever it hit them in the face.


    He evaded the attack by slightly moving his body to the left, then he followed up with an uppercut. His punch hit straight to the enemy''s jaw. It was sent back flying and collided with the huge tree trunk. It caused the tree to shake terribly which caused the dry branches and leaves to rain down.


    The other dummies glanced at their comrade''s before they raced to attack him.


    Some jumped off and directly smashed their cub onto him. Those who were already below waved their wave their weapon vertically.


    However,


    Before their weapons landed on him, a massive amount of aura burst out from his body. It was the Force Shield, one of the Elder Skeleton''s skills that he fought inside Rea''s world in painting.


    The ant that bit him immediately dissolved after it passed the skill.


    The Dark Goblins around him were thrown away from him when they collided on his Force Shield. But the Force Shield only lasted for a brief moment. It was a one time use only, if he wanted to use it again, he needed to summon one of the ant carriers to bite him and pass the skill to him.


    He kicked some dry branches on the ground and took some, using Sistela and the demon''s mana, he fortified it and shot tree fortified dry branches to the still lying enemies.


    (Ngh! Gwa! Gush!)


    Three cries followed after the three fortified branches pierced their skins. Next, he threw fortified leaves to the approaching enemies who managed to get them immediately. But they were greeted by the incoming sharp leaves that seemed like blades. It cut their skin in an instance. Though the damage wasn''t enough to kill them. They continued rushing forward, disregarding the damage they received. After all, they were not the real monsters, they were just copies of the original.


    In replacement of their muddy black blood, particles of light were gushing out from their wounds.


    The fight against the Dark Goblins continued until he dispatched all of them. Then another batch of dummies followed. Yman used every means he could use to defeat the enemies.


    Rea and Cinde were very amused by watching him.

 Chapter 204: Full moon

    Yman continued fighting every wave of dummies without a rest. Whenever his stamina went low, he would summon one of the Type-A Third Version Ant to inject Stamina Elixir on him.


    Though he couldn''t waste it as it was so expensive. Thanks to him being able to swindle the swindler vendor, the real price was cut to an affordable price.


    He jumped to the branch to evade the spear that was thrown to him by a Flying Goblin. This type of goblin wields a spear in their hand. And on their back, bat-like wings were attached. This was one of the many kinds of goblin around this world.


    In the Outerworld, there was only one type of goblin. So seeing these different types of goblin surprised him.


    But Yman had no time to be surprised. Again, he snapped a branch then fortified it with his Strengthening and Durability spells.


    After the branch was good enough, he used it like a javelin and threw it to one of the Flying Goblins.


    Just an instance that the branch javelin traveled the 20 meters distance from him and his target. The enemy let out a grieving howl when its grotesque face was pierced by it.


    It then fell on the tree before it proceeded to crash on the ground.


    Yman continued the pace of killing them one by one while evading their attacks at the same time.


    The fight had become a hide and seek. Both parties were throwing their weapon at the enemy.


    (Woosh!)


    Another fortified branch flew. It then dug in the stomach of one of the enemies.


    But the enemy, although it was pierced, it managed to fire the javelin in hand at the tree, to where the attack came from.


    "Dang it!" A cursed escape from his mouth when his foot slid before he managed to evade the attack.


    Yman let out a sigh when the javelin just grazed his face. That almost hit him in the face though. He wondered if he was saved by the slide or the slide caused him to be grazed by the javelin.


    Regardless, he didn''t waste another time and jump to the neighboring tree.


    The dummies saw a shadow leaping from tree to tree.


    Yman did not settle on one tree. He took another leap and another to confuse the Flying Goblins.


    He tied several branches on his back, using the vines that could be seen hanging around the place. He even used the vines sometimes to whip the enemy.


    When the opposite end of the vine entangled the target, he would pull them and drag them down.


    Then beat up the enemy once they were reachable by him. He then proceeded to hide and hunt the other dummies.


    Rea and Cinde understood the situation. The dummies were having a hard time catching him as he was easily able to slip from the bushes and to the trees.


    He was using a sneak tactic to confuse his enemy and shot them one by one when they were unaware of his presence. Though there were quite a number of them.


    However, they also noticed that the Flying Goblins were having difficulty in maneuvering. Especially that they were in the forest. They became easy prey for him.


    It didn''t take long when he wiped out all of them. Thanks to his area advantage and speed. But the fight wasn''t easy. After all, they didn''t die on the spot. And many times that they almost hit him.


    The Flying Goblins are the 8th wave of the second stage.


    Rea and Cinde were watching at the large glass window like they were watching at a large monitor. For some reason, they could not find him. But they believed that he was hiding somewhere, waiting for the 9th wave of monsters to show up.


    They understand why he needed to hide. The enemy was going stronger and their number was increasing every wave. Also, his stamina was depleting.


    Weirdly enough, once they thought that he was at his last stroke. He suddenly became energetic again the next second. Like his stamina was replenishing on its own. They didn''t notice him taking an elixir and drinking it.


    So it was weird to see him last long without taking any elixir. They even noticed sometimes that his strength and speed would suddenly increase. They just assumed that he was hiding his real strength.


    Rea and Cinde had no idea about his Third Version Ants. And their abilities. Though they already knew about his First Version which sucked mana from its target and helped them fly, they had no idea about the other version of it.


    It was also the reason why they were so amused at him.


    On the other side of the glass window, the scenery started to get dimmer. Rea and Cinde noticed the sun started to sink.


    "It even had that kind of effect?!" Cinde, who also had no idea about the academy''s Training Pavilion exclaimed in surprise.


    Rea beside her chuckled at her reactions. Actually, not only she was surprised at it.


    Even the one who was currently hiding around was gaping in shock.


    He wondered how they made this Training Facility. It just too advances. He remembered hearing that the Encantasia empire was leaning towards magic and Artefacts. So basically, this whole facility is not made by the modern facility. It was made with a combination of magic and artifacts.


    Such a facility, if only the Human City Zone 7 could have even one of it. He was sure that it''s easy for them to level up and become stronger.


    After all, humans love creating and combining spells. They could certainly produce awesome spells while at the same time advancing their breakthrough at a faster rate.


    Wait, could it be possible to combine artifacts, spells, and modern technology? A question came to his mind. But Yman shook because the things he waited for had finally arrived. He perceived some presence around him.


    Since it was started to get darker, he believed the next wave of dummies were modeled from nocturnal creatures.


    Just as he thought about it, red eyes were peeking everywhere.


    While the sun sunk, the moon rose. It was a beautiful full moon. It was Illuminating the whole forest with its brilliance. But they didn''t feel good about this moon.


    "It somewhat looks scary," Rea muttered while hugging herself.


    Rea noticed the girl in front of her having her eyes starting to turn red. ''This is bad!'' Her thought. She then sent a fist on top of her head.


    (Ugyuk!) A cry escaped from Cinde''s mouth when suddenly he felt an impact on her head. A big bead of tears was visible in her eyes. "Ella you are mean!" She shouted at her while crying.


    "....."


    "Humpf!" Rea pursed her mouth. "Are you an idiot? You almost transformed, you know��" she wondered if Cinde could not control her berserk mode. Canine people were very sensitive to the full moon. If they didn''t train their willpower. They would succumb to it. It was a must Attribute to the Canine people to control the bloodlust whenever they were under the caress of the full moon.


    "Sigh, s-shank you��" she said thanks to her, but her tongue slipped. Rea side glanced at Cinde. She noticed she was sweating. Looks like she was trying to fight the urge to transform.


    Thanks to Ella, she avoided turning into an ugly berserk woman. Cinde bit her lip to distract herself from the temptation of the moon.


    A moment later, the window color changed into greenish like a night vision. With this, it would lessen the burden to Cinde. She glanced at Ella and noticed she was holding a magical tool paintbrush and her eyes were glowing. It was clear that Ella did something to help her. Cinde snuggled onto her and said her thanks once again.


    Rea wondered if this wolf-girl was truly a cat?


    (Grrr!)


    Their attention went back to the battle behind the window when they heard the low groaning sounds. It sent chills to their spines. The furs on Cinde''s ears were standing straight, while Ella''s ears were twitching. Though she tried to hide the feeling of being scared.


    They knew that it wasn''t real, but thanks to the sinister ambiance of the surroundings, it gave them goosebumps. Especially when the red eyes were peeking from the darkness. They wondered what kind of monsters would come out this time. The waves from 1 to 8 were all different kinds of goblins. So this time, no doubt that it would be another type of goblins. But which one?


    Regardless, where is their prey? Rea and Cinde asked themselves. As they too could not find him.


    Rea even tried to search him using her magic. Now the glass window seemed like a TV screen as she tried to change the viewpoint of the window display. She looks like playing with the channel on the TV screen.


    Cinde was staring in amazement. She almost couldn''t believe Ella''s magic. It was wonderful and beautiful. Very ladylike. Not like hers. Her mouth extended into both sides. She wanted magic like hers. Then she felt a sudden heat coming from the spatial ring on her finger.

 Chapter 205: Melee battle against the Brutal Goblins

    ''Looks like this thing wanted to come out,'' she thought upon noticing her spatial ring''s sudden rise of temperature. However, she disregarded it.


    Cinde decided to return her eyes to the front. The dummies deliberately came out from the shadows.


    The illumination coming from the moon illuminated their figures.


    "The Brutal Goblins!" She heard Ella exclaim upon seeing the dummy''sfigures.


    "It looks scary!" Cinde cried out.


    "You know about it?" Ella asked her.


    Cinde didn''t know whether to nod or not, "I only heard about it from my parents when I was a kid. It was one of the elements used by my mother to scare me into sleep whenever I couldn''t fall asleep.


    She said that brutal Goblins were the fiercest among all many kinds of goblins. They had saw-like teeth, cone faces and pointed chin, and squinted snake-like eyes. Their skin color was dark blue, and jet black body hairs were all over their body. They could even grow their nails up to half a meter long. And they sent an eerie low growl that was so heart trembling when one hears it," she explained and described what her mother once told her.


    Everything her mother said before looks to be legit seeing the dummies in front of them now. Though they were dummies only.


    While Cinde was telling her what her mother once told her, in Rea''s eyes, there was an ounce of sadness.


    Looks like Cinde had a wonderful childhood for having a mother who took care of her and even told some tales just to make her fall asleep. Rea wasn''t able to experience such things from her parents.


    Her mother was sick even before she was born. When she gained consciousness, she was already lifting a huge responsibility on her petite shoulders.


    ''Looks like Cinde has a wonderful mother,'' Rea thought.


    While she was mulling about the past, Cinde continued her story without stopping.


    "...and then my mother once told me that if I won''t sleep early she will throw me and feed me to the Brutal Goblins��"


    "....."


    Rea fell silent. "I regretted telling that she''s a wonderful mother��" she muttered.


    "Eh, d-did you say something, Ella?" Cinde asked in puzzlement.


    "N-nothing, ahem!" Rea replied and cleared her throat. "In any case, it looks like it won''t take long for him to get out of his hiding," she added.


    Just as she said it, the Brutal Goblin dummies rushed at one point of the forest, in one of the huge trees that could be seen around. They surrounded it and slashed with their long sharp nails.


    (Gwar! Gwar! Gwar! Gwar! Gwar!)


    Their voices were so bizarre to hear. One''s hair would certainly stand upright just because of it. Also, their strengths weren''t ordinary. The large tree with a trunk of about 3 meters radius wide was cut in just a minute!


    Rea and Cinde caught a glimpse of a shadow leaped in a near tree.


    They wondered if Crimson didn''t know that this type of goblins had a high perception, especially under the moonlight.


    Just as they had thought, Crimson was currently cursing under his breath. He was well-hidden on that tree. But it seemed like the enemies knew already that he was hiding there.


    He wondered if they have a high perception? No, they should have! Seeing that they knew where he was hiding from the start.


    The tree was butchered and fell. Then they ran to other trees near it!


    "Dang, I knew it! They have a high perception!"


    Sistela notified him.


    "Tsk, so my guess is right on the spot, huh," he replied.


    Looks like there was no use hiding then.


    He also noticed some of the dummies started to climb up towards him.


    Yman fortified another branch and threw it to one of the dummies who climbed up.


    However, he gawked in disbelief when it was shattered by the enemy''s sharp nails.


    "These creatures look scary!" He whined.


    As expected the higher the wave and stage he reached, the stronger the enemies would become.


    And on top of it, his stamina was declining. And even his reserves were used up already.


    It wasn''t easy to fight multiple enemies consecutively especially that he used up all his spells with an area of effect. And he could not waste his mana also.


    What he would be going to do? Yman had tried thinking of some ways. Now that even his javelins were useless against these types of foes, he was down to only one option!


    Will he use that mana? No, if he fought them in a black magician mode, he won''t gain any combat experience. It would be a waste of effort in that regard. Right now, his combat experience has continued growing little by little while he was fighting.


    Yet he was down with his only choice was to engage them in a melee.


    The enemy this time was stronger. On top of that, there were quite a number of them. About 20 sinister-looking creatures surrounding him. Yman made a deep breath. He was currently standing on top of a tree branch.


    Rea and Cinde noticed one of the dummies shot itself to the relative tree. Its figure disappeared in the shade of countless leaves. Then it was followed by a loud impact.


    (Woosh!)


    They saw a figure sent flying. Because it was dark, they could only see a dark shade of it.


    Leaves and tiny branches were flying all over together with the figure. Then another impact could be heard when it crashed on the neighboring trees.


    The figure made a low groan.


    When Rea and Cinde could finally discern the figure, they saw the dummy who had recently leaped.


    Looks like Crimson managed to land a hit to it and caused it to send flying back.


    The other dummies hastily climb the tree. Using their nails in their hands and feet, they climb the 40 meters tall tree in just an instance!


    However, their target already leaped to the other side.


    The enemy could not do anything about it and had to chase after him. Everyone was leaping to the next tree.


    They were all moving pretty fast, chasing each other on top of the tree.


    The dummies in front were met with multiple flying fortified branches and leaves.


    Some of the dummies were able to pulverize the fortified branches and leaves. While some were unlucky and got hit by it. Some fortified leaves were able to wound them. But it didn''t cause any serious injuries to them.


    They continued chasing after him like hungry predators.


    For Yman though, having multiple targets was so convenient than targeting one enemy.


    "Fufufu looks like he was playing��" Cinde laughed at him.


    "But��" she stopped laughing when she heard Ella''s worried tone. A moment after Rea uttered the word, it was followed by loud consecutive explosions.


    Branches and leaves were flying everywhere again, but this time the cause was different. From the dummy''s mouth, a wave of energy was shot towards the person they were chasing.


    "What was that?" Cinde asked upon seeing the attack.


    "Shock waves. Brutal Goblins are known for having destructive abilities. They can fire shock waves from their mouths," Rea told her.


    Cinde gulped. Regardless, even if they butchered him, it was just training and he would never die for real. But she never wished to see such an outcome for him.


    She wondered why Crimson still wanted to fight. He could rest though. Or if he wanted to fight, he could come back later once his stamina was full again.


    Right now, they saw him trying to evade all the enemy''s attacks.


    But since there were multiple of them. It was clear that he was having big trouble.


    She gripped her fist. And stood up. Rea gaped at her. She wondered what this wolf girl was planning to do.


    A moment later, "Crimson, don''t lose!"


    "Eh?" Rea gawked when Cinde suddenly shouted and cheered at Crimson once again. But it was futile, Crimson could not hear them at this time that he was inside a separate dimension. It was different from the first stage.


    The enemies were so aggressive that he had no time to rest even for a bit.


    (Hum hum hum!)


    A sound of wind vibrating reached his ears. Without looking for the cause of it, he jumped down off the tree. Right after he jumped, the branch where he was standing the past a second ago turned to pieces.


    A bead of sweat trailed down his face.


    The other dummies followed after him. He kicked the ground and let the dry leaves and grass to cover up in the air together with a cloud of dust.


    Then he hastily waved his hand. Grabbing some of them.


    His hand briefly shone in bright crimson color.


    The next second another fortified dry leaves flew toward the enemies.


    Dust and torn pieces of fortified leaves formed like clouds of smoke that erupted in the air when the dummies slashed it with their nails.


    But some fortified leaves were still able to graze them.


    Yman flipped backward when a gleam of sharp nails came raining down on him.


    (Shining!)


    Five big scratched marks could be seen left on the ground after his successful evasion.


    Yman made three consecutive backflips to avoid the enemies follow up attacks. Seeing that their nails miss the target. They sent shockwaves from their mouths.


    Just right that his feet landed on the tree trunk when he backflipped. He summoned more force to his legs and jumped in mid-air to avoid the fast-approaching 5 shockwaves that fired at him from the five dummies.


    Then he followed up by using his Rapid Leap.


    He landed about 3 meters away from the enemy''s back. Before they could fully twist their bodies, a palm attack was felt by each of them. They were hit at their ribs.


    Two dummies were immediately sent and crashed to the ground.


    Yman did not stop even after hitting the two enemies.


    He rushed towards the nearest one and leaped with all his might to shorten their distance in the shortest possible time.


    In their eyes, he looked like a blurry image of a shadow as he was rushing.


    The battle continued.


    While he was busy attacking a few of the dummies, the other dummies were able to surround him.


    Yman was left standing in the middle, breathing heavily. It was clear that he was exhausted.

 Chapter 206: Battle Adaptability

    The fast-paced battle continued once again.


    Long nails came slashing at him at all sides. He had to evade to survive the enemy''s aggressive attack on him.


    His ears picked another sound coming from his side. It was a kind of sound like tearing the space. A bad premonition attacked him. Without glancing at it, he decided to roll without a second thought.


    A split second after he rolled, five slashed marks drew a line in the air where he was positioned a moment ago.


    Multiple killing intent was sent towards him. All of them were coming from around him.


    After the roll, he sprung using the force of his hand and feet.


    Long nails pierced deeper in the ground the moment he sprung away.


    Yman immediately sent a kick, his foot landed on the face of the dummy. It was late to react because it was struggling to unbury the nails in the ground.


    Face first when the enemy was sent flying away, it even crashed on the approaching dummy. The two of them rolled many times on the ground before it went to a stop a few meters away from him.


    He twisted his body to the left and able to dodge the attack coming from above.


    He was doing all he could to avoid getting skewered by the enemies.


    The moment the enemy came attacking him, he would react hastily while sending a counter.


    But the enemy was just too many, and some of them able to graze him. However, he would use his healing spell to heal himself. So the graze wasn''t a big issue for him. Or any wounds.


    Yet, while he was busy dodging the enemy''s attack at his front, another unavoidable attack coming from his side. If he dodged it, he would put himself in a more bad situation from the attack coming from the back and the enemy on the other side.


    He decided to brace himself and let the kick coming to his right hit him.


    He hardened his arm muscle to lessen the impact.


    When the kick arrived, Yman''s face twitched as his whole body was sent towards the other enemy on the other side. He collided with it and the two of them rolled on the grounds.


    Thanks to it for being his cushion, the damage wasn''t so awful.


    He noticed a fair amount of health points departed from his health bar.


    "Crimson," Cinde uttered his name. Although it was only training, she couldn''t help feeling worried.


    "It was fine. He did it on purpose to escape from being entangled by their encirclement," Rea followed up.


    Cinde eyes darted to Rea then turned back to Crimson and noticed he was released from being surrounded.


    "Y-you''re right, Ella!"


    Crimson did not wait to stabilize his footing, as the enemies were like hungry wolves racing after the prey in front of them.


    He noticed them already at his face, looks like while he was rolling, they didn''t freeze even a second and aggressively chased after him.


    Using the combination of Sistela and the demon''s mana, he coated his hands to increase the power of his hand''s attacks for a little. It also raised his defense.


    The fast-paced battle had resumed immediately. He had to engage them in an exchange of attacks.


    Yman was barely evading the enemy''s he even let the nonlethal attack land on him. As long as he avoided the approaching lethal attack. He immediately followed up with a counter.


    As the fight grew longer, Rea noticed that Crimson was barely moving around.


    ''Could it be, he was so tired?'' Well, it wasn''t surprising, to be honest. He was fighting with multiple dummies every wave. And each dummy was not an easy opponent.


    But she noticed that Crimson was barely receiving damage.


    "Don''t you think it''s weird, Ella?" She suddenly heard the girl beside her say the words.


    "What do you mean?" She replied with another question.


    "Crimson seemed like�� no, it seemed to me that he''s getting used to the enemy''s attack!"


    ''Getting used to the enemy''s attack?'' Rea repeated Cinde''s words. "Do you mean�� he adapted to the fight?" She asked while narrowing his eyes.


    "Mhm!" Cinde nodded.


    ''Could it be, the reason that Her Majesty Aunt Elleana is so interested in him��?'' Rea pondered.


    Right at this moment, the dummies were barely hitting him. While his attacks landed squarely on each of them.


    Cinde and Rea were so surprised to see him able to adapt quickly in a fight.


    Even though it was clear that he was exhausted already, he was still able to monopolize his enemies.


    His attacks became more accurate and his movements were so fluid that only a little twist of his body brought a huge impact on his dire situation.


    It didn''t take long that one after another, the dummies were screaming in agony. Although they didn''t die on the spot, the accumulation of damages waned their life essence until their health points reached zero percent.


    Just like the other dead dummies, their bodies turned to light particles. From hereon, the battle had become as easy as it was started.


    Although humans weren''t gifted with a high magical aura like the demihumans and they needed to use resonance with their Deities to stabilize the Hollow Cell within them, they were gifted with fighting adaptability.


    Most humans had unique talents of having high adaptation ability. It was also the reason why most humans increased their Attributes while they were in the battle. It was a sign of having the ability of high adaptability. And Yman was one of those people.


    Adaptability would be triggered when a person''s instinct and experience would activate together.


    And instinct would come in activation once a person screamed for survival within him. Mostly when he was facing a dire situation. The urge to survive was what drove him or her to minimally activate his instinct in the heat of the moment.


    It was also the reason why most experts would be skeptical to follow up with another attack when their enemies in the last stroke of their life. Because it was the moment that their instinct was at the peak. Well, not all but some are. Especially an experienced fighter.


    (So,)


    Even at the moment that he was fighting with the monsters, his Attribute points had increased now and then. But most of these points would be back to normal once he calmed down.

 Chapter 207: Fell Asleep

    Another minute of the clock had ticked. But at the moment, only one silhouette had remained standing in the clearing of the forest where large pits and destroyed trees were the only evidence of the fight that had happened.


    Rea and Cinde were staring at him with uniform expressions.


    Another notification appeared before him. But they noticed that he wasn''t even lifting his hand.


    He was just standing in the clearing in the middle of the forest. With eyes opened and was staring down.


    When he failed to select the choices, the countdown started to count.


    Cinde and Rea wondered what happened to Crimson.


    As the time reached zero, his body turned to light particles and materialized outside the door. And the room inside the training area turned to normal.


    For some reason, Rea was the first to arrive beside him.


    Cinde also rushed over, followed closely to her.


    They noticed his Deity flying beside his face, seemingly peeking on him with puzzled expressions.


    "What happened, Miss Deity?"


    "What happened, Sistela?"


    Rea and Cinde simultaneously asked Sistela when they neared them.


    Sistela replied.


    "Eh!!"


    "....."


    The two were surprised about what they heard.


    They decided to let him sleep on the bench where they were watching him behind the window glass.


    Outside, the people were anxiously waiting for all the dummy fighting training rooms. Their curiosity towards The Mysterious could not settle them.


    Among all the rooms only one room remains in use. And weirdly, it was already a couple of hours that had passed yet the room was still in use. And no more notifications after the last announcement when The Mysterious killed the first boss.


    Maybe he gave up already and left the room. He was probably one of those guys who exited earlier in one of the dummy-fighting rooms. Maybe he was shocked to see so many people asking about him and decided to keep it a secret. After all, what he did could earn enmity from the previous rank 1. Maybe he was afraid. It looks like, The Mysterious wasn''t that cool. Probably, he only got lucky for arriving at the boss stage in the fastest time.


    Most of the people find it weird that one of the rooms was still in use, but only a few of them think that it was The Mysterious. Since it was already long since the last notification about killing the boss.


    Everyone was in hype upon hearing it.


    Not only the mysterious person took the fastest to arrive at the first boss but also killed the first boss at the fastest time.


    With this achievement alone, he can be the new king of speed no doubt.


    People already left the lobby one after another.


    Still holding in their minds the curiosity about the person known as The Mysterious.


    Killing the first boss wasn''t a big achievement at all. As many students could do it. But killing it in the fastest time was a different issue.


    Yman woke up by the sound coming from around him. It was the sound of happy conversation from the three familiar voices. One of them was of course from his noisy Deity.


    He was surprised to find himself sleeping on the bench, surrounded by the three. Looks like his exhaustion got the better of him.


    No, it was because his strength and magical energy were weakened inside this campus. Looks like his body still was not used to the change that this campus gave him.


    And that earlier battle drained him for good. Yman was so surprised. It was the first time he fell asleep in the battle.


    He noticed the three staring at him with curious faces.


    "Goodmorning, Mr. Crimson," Cinde was the first to greet him in a joking manner.


    He scratched his head, "Haha, shall we go?" Yman laughed and asked them to go. Then it was followed by the rumbling of his stomach.


    When they left the room, only a few people were there. Since they had to pass the lobby before passing the exit, they gathered curious stares from the people who stayed and did not leave yet.


    Their whispers even reached their ears.


    They were saying that it was Miss Ella.


    "Maybe she had a personal meeting with those people. Sometimes they would rent one of the rooms here for their meeting together with the student council president and her highness Princess Liya."


    "But those two with her right now, they are not the president and the princess. And it''s the first time I see their faces around here."


    "Hm��.. yeah me too."


    "Do you think it is suspicious?"


    "I don''t think so."


    "....."


    People were conversing in an unrestricted volume but the group didn''t mind it. They proceeded to the exit.


    When night came,


    Yman was staying in the same Inn as Ella. Their rooms were just opposite each other. He needed to stay close to her every time.


    Cinde on the other hand was in a different Inn.


    In Yman''s room, he let his back fall on the soft bedsheet. He was lying in a ''T'' form. Stretching his arms to both sides.


    They were allowed to exit the academy and go home, but Rea was taking into account his situation.


    Although there was no need for her to do it since being exhausted also means he was at his peak. He could activate his Black Miasma if ever a situation calls it. Then again, Rea didn''t know this side of him.


    Yman sighed once again. He barely survived wave 9 of stage two. He didn''t even reach the second boss. But he gained a good amount of CE. So it was fine. And the reason why he failed to advance further than wave 9 was because of some significance.


    He fought without using his Time Modifying ability and only with his bare strength.


    So the result was doable.


    Aside from that, he was surprised to learn that the announcement about giving him some benefits turned out to be a legit one. His initial thought about it was only a gimmick to motivate the trainees.


    Sistela was currently in hibernation mode beside him.


    Before he went asleep, he decided to take advantage of his exhaustion. He needed to create new reserves to Enhance Fire Dolls.

 Chapter 208: Ranker

    The next day, The Mysterious name had become the flesh of some gossips, especially inside the lobby.


    In the headquarters of Mighty Solus departments, Lord Gregor was sitting in front of the oval wooden table together with his men, the captains under his division.


    "Deputy Leader, that person not only beat your record but also the boss." One of the captains said.


    A frown appeared on the face of Gregor. "I don''t care! Don''t forget that I also beat one before." Lord Gregor said in a cold voice.


    "Sorry, Deputy leader!" The captain hastily said his sorry. He could not anger the Deputy leader.


    "Deputy leader sir, the new rank 1 has a very minimal time. I think it almost impossible to beat without using your full strength." Another captain said with certainty. The record was posted inside the Training Pavilion lobby. And most of the trainees who came there to train had seen it.


    Lord Gregor knitted his brows.


    He knew that the captain was right. The amount of time the new beater had was just too exceedingly short. But he could not chicken out just because of it. He was once the owner of that title, and he would always be.


    "I will beat that record and reclaim my title again!" The Deputy declared in a crisp voice. All the captains knew that once the Deputy Leader resolutely declared, no one could change his mind. Perhaps only the Department Leader and the Professor had the chance to do it.


    But they believed that the department leader and the professor would never meddle in this issue. Wait! There is another one who might be able to change his mind.


    "However, Deputy Leader sir, that guy not only took the fastest record but also beat the boss. The boss which I believe you already know��" one of the captains suddenly voiced her worry. She was a wolf girl with brown long hair and narrowed eyes. She was beautiful and looked stern.


    The others creased their brows at this statement. They knew what this girl was pointing out. It was a thing that only the rankers knew.


    "San-San, I know what you wanted to say. But don''t forget that I''m also a beater of an irregular one," Gregor replied in a calm voice.


    "But sir, what if the next time to come out was a stronger one," they noticed the worry in San-San''s voice.


    There was even a gossip circulating inside the department about these two. But no one wanted to point out this as it was a very personal issue. And no one wanted to anger the Deputy Leader Lord Gregor.


    San-San was worried because the Deputy Leader was unlike most Wolfmen people. He wasn''t the duelist type. He was a caster. So if he encountered a warrior-type opponent with agile movement there was a big chance that he would lose. But in a group battle, everyone agreed that he was a god.


    (However,)


    That Dummy Fighting was a room for solo training. So he had to fight alone. Even though he managed to kill the irregular boss last time, it didn''t mean he would be lucky next time. The irregular boss he faced last time wasn''t an agile type. It was a big horned snail that was strong against physical attack and weak against magical.


    But even with that kind of enemy, it was a hard fight for him. Though in the end, he managed to end it that took him an hour.


    (Yet,)


    "Don''t mind it, I can defeat whatever boss will come out," everyone was surprised by the Deputy Leader''s confidence.


    Even San-San was looking at him with doubt.


    Then they noticed his mouth curled upward as his eyes showed a glint of excitement. A different feeling towards him, that was what they felt while looking at Gregor.


    It seemed like they were staring at a different person in a brief moment.


    Everyone gulped subconsciously when they noticed the glass of water on the table showed leaks.


    Right at this moment, everyone noticed something different in him.


    Everyone''s face suddenly lit up.


    "Deputy Leader sir, congratulations on your breakthrough sir!" One of the captains immediately congratulated the deputy leader. And the others followed after him.


    "This thing is worthy of celebration, Deputy sir!"


    Lord Gregor stared at them with a grin on his face.


    "I''m happy for your breakthrough, Greg," Said San-San with slight redness on her face. Gregor smiled at her.


    Gregor went into thought. ''The thing that the mysterious person did is worthy of attention especially to the rankers like me. Activating the boss so early doesn''t need good luck.


    What one needs is bad luck.


    Most of the rankers knew that the boss that will appear irregularly is much stronger than the boss waiting in the 10th waves.


    And most of the irregular bosses have high status and unique spells.


    On top of that, the irregular boss is random. This information about the real strength of the irregular boss is only known to the rankers.


    Normal students had no idea how strong the irregular boss was. So even if The Mysterious killed the boss, it wasn''t surprising for them. The most surprising for them was that he beat the record holder of the fastest.


    But it was different for the rankers.


    The real commendable part about his achievement was killing the boss. It will not only bring benefits to himself and to the department he belongs to, but he can also get sponsorships from the facility he''s currently in rank." Gregor narrowed his eyes as a plan came into his mind. It didn''t take a second when a smile leaked on his face.


    After the news about The Mysterious beating the boss had reached his ears, Gregor changed his plan. He initially wanted to try his strength, but change it.


    Especially that he had a breakthrough recently. And he also learned some awesome spells. Aside from that, he could not act recklessly, as he was one of the deputy leaders of the Mighty Solus department.


    (But first of all,)


    "Deputy sir, are we not going to investigate that person''s identity?" One of the captains asked him.


    "Hm, no need for that, I''m sure the Training Pavilion management will contact that person later on to publicize him."


    Gregor knew that this would happen, especially that person was able to beat an irregular boss. The management of the Training Pavilion would certainly reach their hands to that person. Just like what they did to him before.


    They would surely do something to get his favor. As the new ranker, his identity will surely come to light sooner. He just needed to wait.


    "Oh, I see, you are right, sir!" Said the captain while fixing his seat.


    Gregor could only wait for the right time to beat that guy''s record and dragged him out of his throne. And once again reclaim the throne for himself. The perfect timing for that was of course after that guy was officially announced as the new ranker.


    From being the ranker of the fastest time, to being the fastest ranker who lost his crown. ''Hehehe!'' Gregor chuckled inwardly at his wonderful plan.


    (Around this time,)


    A yawn escaped from Yman''s mouth while he was walking towards the Little Garden.


    He came together with Rea but she was summoned by the people from the council. They walked together towards there but she received another message, stating that she needed to come alone.


    Looking at her face, Yman guessed the message came from her cousin. He decided to let out two of his scout bird enhanced fire dolls to monitor her.


    Yman and Sistela went directly to the Little Garden.


    When he opened the door, he saw Cinde, Airi, and the Professor together with some unknown people.


    ''Visitors?'' Yman muttered in his mind upon seeing the other people inside.


    Two visitors were nice looking dresses. He was surprised to see them. He wondered who they were.


    Currently, they were all staring in his direction.


    A moment later, "Hey, apprentice, you are finally here. Come!" The professor beckoned him to come.


    Yman went directly. Then he was introduced by the Professor to their visitors.


    He learned that these people were from the Training Pavilion management.


    He needed to sign some documents to receive his rewards and the reward points for every department he belongs to. If he belonged to multiple departments, then the points would be distributed depending on him.


    They needed also to publicize him as the new ranker who beat the fastest record to summon the boss from the previous ranker who occupied the throne for a long.


    Airi and Prof. Ronnie were surprised to hear that Yman was able to steal a rank! It wasn''t common to see a record beaten by someone as most of the rankers at the moment who were occupying all the rankings were all commendable individuals and not easy to beat.


    They were asking how he did it. Cinde was the one who answered them.


    "Really? We will get points?" Airi beamed in excitement upon hearing the people from Training Pavilion''s words.


    "Yes, since the member of your department was able to occupy the ranking system in the Training Pavillion. As per the Academy''s rule, we will comply by sending monthly points to the ranker''s department.


    Last night, Rea explained to him about the ranking system inside the campus. That if he wanted his department to gain points and recognition, he could occupy the ranking position by beating the record of other rankers.


    The more ranking positions he occupies, the more points that the department he belongs to will get.


    And thus, he could use those points to buy the rights that the department would function much longer. Or bought some useful items to improve the facility.


    After hearing Rea''s explanations, his honest impression of the academy was that it was like a metropolitan city.


    Yman did not think long when he decided to agree with the terms and conditions of the Training Pavilion management.


    They just wanted him to publicly announce as the new ranker. He couldn''t find any problems with it.


    And most important was the benefits.


    Rather than that, something was bothering him.


    Who was the one who wrote the name-- The Mysterious?

 Chapter 209: The lost era and the present

    He signed the documents and presented his id card.


    "Crimson Agila?" One of the agents muttered upon reading his name. The name rang a bell in him. "No wonder he was able to beat the ranker," the agent muttered.


    "Eh? What is it?" The other agent together with him asked upon hearing his mutter.


    "No�� it''s nothing." After saying it, they said their farewell, while leaving the words that he would receive a summon from the higher-ups of the Training Pavilion any day of this week.


    Yman wondered if that was all.


    After the agents from the Training Pavilion left, he was fired with a barrage of questions from Airi and Professor Ronnie.


    Thanks to Cinde though for being his wall. She was the one who took the brunt of answering their curious question.


    After a couple of minutes, the two finally calmed down. "I see, so that''s what happened, huh," said the Professor.


    "Mr. Crimson, don''t be so reckless next time," Airi also said. Yman wondered why she still called him with a ''Mr'' attached to his name. But it wasn''t important so he just pushed it at the back of his mind.


    The group started what they were planning to do for this day. They were processing all the materials needed for their herb mixing.


    Cinde was tasked to practice her skill. She needed to create 10 normal-tier health Regeneration Elixir in the smallest bottle. While Airi was busy mixing different kinds of herbs. Prof. Ronnie was busy with what he was doing. And from time to time he would check their works. Commenting about the necessary issue that needed his attention.


    "What are you smiling at?" A sudden question that pulled him back from his mulling.


    "Eh?" Yman noticed that he was fixedly staring at her. "Nothing," he said.


    "Nothing? I bet you are just shy to say your thanks to me, fufu," Cinde mumbled but he heard though. He wondered if it was supposed to be a joke.


    But before he could open his mouth for a reply.


    "Apprentice, here is the note!" Prof. Ronnie called out and handed him a piece of paper. Yman took the paper and looked at the content in it. Sistela also took a peek. "Just follow what was written in there. And don''t forget to wear long sleeves!" Prof. Ronnie added.


    "Okay, teacher," he replied with a nod, then stored the paper in his Cyber Storage.


    Yman was tasked to gather some herbs at the mountain that could be seen far behind the Little Garden. It was also the mountain that Prof. Ronnie called the backyard.


    He proceeded after wearing a long sleeves jacket to counter the sun. A white and green colored jacket with the logo of their department, a bright hexagram with the test tube together with an herb in the middle.


    "Wait! Let me go with you?" Cinde suddenly shouted. Yman and Sistela went to a stop and glanced at her.


    However, "No girl, you need to practice your skill," Prof. Ronnie immediately said.


    "What? B-but---"


    "No buts, go back to practice. Your alchemy skill needed more improvement than the rest," Prof. Ronnie hastily added. He was well aware of this girl''s reason for joining the alchemy department. But he wanted them to focus on their training.


    With crestfallen, Cinde returned to what she was originally doing.


    Yman and Sistela proceeded to their task. He had to walk on the grassy field towards his destination. He didn''t need to learn every name of the herbs and plants that he needed to gather. Thanks to Sistela''s appraisal ability he could define the herbs easily, together with other information about them.


    On the road towards the place, he noticed some magical plants that looked familiar to him. It was the same plant that he saw on the Outerworld around Sitona Town.


    However, he noticed that most of the leaves of the plants seemed like they were eaten by worms. Only a few of the leaves remained untouched.


    The plant was known as The Bless Plant. Why was it called that? He had no idea. But based on what he heard from the locals there, this type of plant stores a little amount of magical energy. Well, most of the magical plants were the same though.


    So Yman just disregarded it as he could not find any difference between it from the other magical plants. He even once tried eating the leaves of it. He once thought that once he ate it, he would awaken his mana pool a bit earlier. But aside from its awful taste, nothing about it was noteworthy.


    Yman didn''t know how mana appeared in the world. He once heard from his teacher, that the world from the lost era was so different from the world today.


    He said, humans and animals at that time were normal beings only. Or even the plants and other things.


    The people could not use magic power, and there was no mutated beast, magical beast, or any monsters associated with magic. Though there were some paranormal rumors.


    No one even had solid proof of which comes first, the catastrophe or the magical energy. But most specialists at that time believed that the mana came after the catastrophe. Since after the catastrophe, magical and mutated beasts appeared from out of nowhere. And the main cause of their evolution was the so-called magical energy. It affected every living organism in the world, from plants to animals. Many living organisms lost their vitality in the process of evolution.


    But even with this reason, the conclusion was still as vague as the reality.


    Especially as time continued advancing and the older generation had fallen one by one. New generations started to replace.


    Aside from the ancient data that the lost era left, the newer generation was in the dark of the reality.


    While he was walking on the path leading to his destination, he saw many kinds of magical plants and animals that couldn''t be found on the Outerworld.


    But most of the animals he saw weren''t the hostile type. Which is good news. He could gather herbs without the hassle of dealing with hostile creatures.


    He also encountered some other students who he believed their reason for coming to the mountain was the same reason as him based on their attire.


    They were staring at the magical plants in front of them. Yet he noticed their worried faces, they looked like they were bothered by something.


    A frown appeared on his face when he noticed that the plant they were staring at had suffered the same thing as the blessed plant he saw recently. The leaves of the plant were eaten by insects.


    He decided to come near them and greet them but unfortunately, they were not as friendly as he thought. They were even whispering to each other. Perhaps saying not to socialize with him.


    The two girls and one boy looked younger which he believed were juniors and the two guys with them were seniors. There were a total of five of them, standing at the roadside.


    Such a large group for the task of gathering. Well, coming to the mountain together with friends must be an enjoyable experience for most. But Yman had never been a fan of exploring with friends. After all, he never had a friend in the first place. Although he met some people and able to converse with them, he could not just assume that they were his friends without knowing what they truly felt about him:


    After scratching the back of his head, he decided to not mind them. He passed by and continued walking towards his task.


    Sistela who was resting on his shoulder asked him.


    Looks like they have the same thought towards those groups of people.


    He too believed that they were the people from different alchemy departments. Perhaps they were seeing him as a rival. It explained the reason for their unfriendly attitude towards him.


    In any case, he had to focus on his task.


    "Uhm, wait��!" Yman was about to continue walking when one of the girls screamed out.


    Yman stopped deliberately and glanced behind him. He saw them staring at him. The girl with big eyes and a pair of raccoon ears was staring at him with a face that wanted to ask.


    He turned around and faced them. "Yes?" He asked.


    "U-uhm�� err��" looks like she wanted to say something but also having a second thought. He was staring at her, waiting for what she would say.


    But suddenly, "No need to bother him, Achan," said one of the slightly older male with the same raccoon ears. He had coffee black medium hair that combed on the side. His almond eyes had brownish pupils. And he had little thick eyebrows and a cone face. His hands were tucked inside his long jacket''s pocket.


    And aside from all of that, he was staring at him with a distrustful face.


    The other girl with them tried to pull the girl that they called Achan. They then passed by at him. Yman stared at their back that went farther every second.


    Achan briefly glanced at her back. Yman was puzzled though.


    He sighed and glanced at the magical plant that lost all its leaves. ''Must be the work of the gluttonous insects,'' he thought.


    Then he decided to continue walking.


    Yman arrived at the foot of the mountain at exactly 2 and a half hours of walking.


    He stopped and took the paper from his Cyber Storage. It was the paper handed to him by Prof. Ronnie. Written in there were different kinds of herbs and the description of the location where he might find them.


    The first herbs written in the list was the herb known as Teardrop Magical Herb. He wondered who named this herb.


    Stated in the paper that he can find it on the left side of the mountain. In the place surrounded by thorny plants.


    About 300 meters from the foothill and 100 meters left of the huge rock.


    Sistela asked when she noticed the confused face of her partner while staring at a piece of paper in his hands.


    "N-nothing this paper is messing with me."


    Yman disregarded the stupefy Sistela. He glanced around to locate the said huge rock. But based on his vision, he could not find it at his current location.


    He started climbing the mountain after a gulp of water.


    He had to walk around the mountain, without exceeding the given perimeter. Although he would not lose because of Sistela''s ability to map the area, the time would be consumed if he loitered away from the designated measure.


    Yman wondered and walked to the left side of the mountain. Following the direction stated in the paper of about 300 meters from the foothill.


    He asked Sistela to tell him if she found a huge rock.


    After almost another half hour of walking,


    He heard his Deity shouted. Although she shouted, her voice wasn''t big. After all, she was a tiny figure only.


    But her voice was clear enough for him.


    Out of reflex, he glanced to where she was pointing.


    Ahead of them, a huge rock was sitting stably on the mountainside.


    From thereon, he had to count about 100 meters towards its left.


    It was 9 a.m. and the sun rays were embracing him. He let the warm sensation caress his skin as he proceeded.


    It didn''t take long for him to arrive at the place where they saw the thorny plants.


    But Yman suddenly gawked.

 Chapter 210: Weird fire doll

    Sistela exclaimed.


    "This is bad!" Yman uttered as he sprinted towards the thorny plants. In his mind, ''what if the Teardrop Magical Herb suffered the same?'' With this in his mind, he quickened his steps towards it.


    "Sistela, please!" Sistela heard his yell. No need to ask what he meant by it. She already knows his meaning.


    (RESONANCE!)


    After their resonance, the holographic display that seemed like a monocle appeared on his left eye.


    In his vision, different kinds of data were popping out at each of every plant information that could be seen around him.


    When they arrived beside the thorny plants, one of the data took his attention. It was the data of an herb that was his reason for coming to the mountain.


    He heard Sistela''s voice.


    When Yman twisted his head and glanced to where she was pointing, his mouth hung open and was stunned at what he saw.


    Even Sistela screamed in shock.


    In front of them, the Teardrop Magical Herb was being devoured by the culprit!


    But what made Yman and Sistela to have such a reaction was the culprit! It has a body of black color and glowing crimson lines were visible on it, seemingly looking like veins. All in all, it was identical to a bee. No doubt, it was the scout bee-model enhanced fire doll of his.


    Sistela asked in a slightly louder voice.


    "Mhm," Yman was slowly nodding his head. But it puzzled him that it was here! "I am sure that I only summoned the bird-model scout today to guard Rea," Yman said in certainty.


    Sistela asked in surprise.


    She continued.


    Yman was contemplating, wondering what was happening. "Wait, could it be��" he said, a little skeptical.


    Sistela muttered in his ears.


    Yman did not follow up his words and close his eyes. A moment later, the scout bee stopped then glanced at them.


    He was trying to connect with it.


    (However,)


    The transmission with him and the scout bee was disturbed when Sistela suddenly screamed out. But he was sure that it was his scout bee. He was able to connect in a brief moment.


    Yman stared back at the scout bee. Now that he had a second look at it, its size was a little bigger than his normal scout bee.


    Regardless, some bees came and hoarded around it. Luckily, it stopped devouring the Teardrop Magical herbs.


    It glanced at the other bee around. The other bees did not do something and just stared at it. Wait, they looked like they were conversing at each other.


    Then all of them flew, climbing the mountain. And the one at the lead was his scout bee! He immediately rushed to take some Teardrop Magical herbs. Then he hastily followed after the bees.


    They flew in haste like they were rushing because of something.


    Yman had to leap to the tree branches. And jumped again to the closer branch.


    After a couple of minutes, he jumped to the bushes to hide himself.


    Sistela whispered inhim, but how could he answer her if he had no idea also ofwhat was happening.


    Ahead of him, he saw the bees led by his scout bee.


    Yman was at a loss, wondering how it survived this long. If he wasn''t wrong, this scout bee was one of the enhanced fire dolls he sent out to scout around the campus the first time they arrived here.


    But it was supposed to be dried out of mana already and was supposed to disappear by now. Yet, it was still here. Aside from that, it was acting so weird. And how did those other bees act friendly to it? How did that enhanced fire doll of him was able to move on its own without him transmitting his command ? He had so many questions inside him.


    But as of now, he could only monitor it from afar. He needed to see what those bees were doing.


    While he was peeking from the bushes, he saw them passingover the lake and proceeded inside the cave that could be seen not too far from it.


    Yman immediately followed sneakily. But he needed to cross the lake too. He summoned magical energy on his feet and jumped into the air. Then he followed by using his Rapid Leap. His figure made a sudden dash in the air. Yet, it wasn''t enough to cross the lake. If he didn''t do anything, he would fall on it. Weirdly enough, no tinge of worry was visible on his face. He summoned one of his Type-B third version ant and let it bite him. After it bit him, he used another Rapid Leap.


    He landed on the surface, with his back facing the lake, a step away from it.


    He was able to use two the same spell in a quick succession. It was a commendable skill. Thanks to his wild imagination of trying to improve the usefulness of his skills. He managed to widen his understanding on each of them. Actually, he could use his Air Dance as well, then followed by another Rapid Leap. But Air Dance needed more magical energy than using his Skill Bee. Yman decided to call it with this name rather than calling it with Type B Third Version Ant-model Enhance Fire Doll. It was too long compared to calling it with a shorter version. The Skill Bee!


    Right, using his skill bee was more conservative than using his Air Dance skill. After all, only a little of the crimson mana he used in making it, and most of the mana he used to make it was from his black mana.


    Without wasting more time, he rushed forward inside the cave, following the bees who went inside not long ago.


    Inside it was a narrower passage, Yman had to bend his body a little in order to pass it without a hitch.


    Sistela was asking a question that none of them could answer. So Yman decided to stay quiet and focused himself ahead of him. He widened his perception to alert himself of possible danger that might lurking aroundthem.


    If he wanted to transmit to his scout bee, he believed with certainty that he would succeed. But he chose not to do it as he was curious to what was happening. He was afraid that if ever he transmitted to his scout bee, the whole situation would be spoiled.


    He wanted to learn how this scout bee could act on its own without him transmitting onto it. And how it survived this long.


    Though he had a little gist of its survival. Perhaps the reason was the magical plants and herbs that it devoured.


    Since magical herbs and plants contain minimal magical energies. The scout bee was probably maintaining its vitality through it. Then again, how was it able to think of consuming it to extend its functionality? This was one of the questions that puzzled him at the moment.


    In order to satisfy his curiosity, he decided to follow them in secret. Who knows, he might discover useful information towards his fire dolls.


    With this in his mind, he advanced to the deeper part of the cave. Good thing that the deeper he went, the wider the space had become.


    Right now, there''s no need for him to bend while walking. And the space continued to become wider as he was advancing.


    The atmosphere inside was chillier than he thought. It was also darker and hard to perceive using one''s normal vision. But thanks to the new version of his System Interface, after Sistela''s update, the new program was added into it. And the new program was called Night Vision. The holographic glass that acted like a monocle, glowed in green brilliance.


    Yman''s vision became brighter a second later, after he activated his night vision.


    The greenish hue that in his surrounding was the effect of Night Vision''s activation. Actually he could perceive his surroundings using his high senses of high perception. But there were many things he needed to consider regarding it. Like for example, he couldn''t perceive non-living or any things that don''t have magical aura within them. Like ordinary stones, rocks, woods, and etcetera.


    He wasn''t an immortal god that could see the whole surroundings even closing their eyes. He was just a newbie magician who wished to become strong to live a peaceful life in the future together with his only family.


    In the distance, his ears picked some random noise. Like droplets of water, gushing wind, and echoing creaking noise.


    Sistela asked him.

 Chapter 211: The Feral Guardian

    They arrived at where the creaking sounds originally originated.


    Yman hid in a big chunk of rock, looking ahead of them, they saw the bees. All of them were facing a stone? Yman''s initial thought when he saw the thing in front of the bees. But he changed his mind when he had a clear view of it.


    (No!) It was a statue! A statute of a feral looking bird. It was spreading its wings that seemed ready to attack its enemy.


    It was on top of what seemed like a stone that looks like a giant mug. Inside it, he noticed the mysterious water dripping in it.


    The feral bird statue looked like it was scaring anyone who wanted to come near it.


    Because of the night vision he could not come up with what color it was. But he guessed that the statue was emerald in color.


    Anyway, the bees were surrounding it. Yman who was peeking from the chunk of rock was wondering what they were doing. And why his scout bee was together with them. Everything was surreal!


    As he was watching he noticed the bees were staring at it warily. And he also noticed some cracks on the statue of the feral-looking bird.


    The scout bee for some reason dove and landed on the edge of the giant stone mug.


    But after it did it, the statue broke and the shattered pieces of its stone body scattered everywhere.


    The bees and his scout bee flew away, trying to evade the scattered pieces.


    Then it was followed by, "KYAWWWW!!!" A wail that reverberated inside the cave. After the wailing voice, A semi-shockwave came next.


    "A guardian?" He muttered and took the piece of paper in his position that was handed to him from Prof. Ronnie. He was trying to find if there were some details in it regarding the cave and about the statue.


    But when he read it, he found nothing aside from the list of herbs he was about to gather.


    He decided to store it back inside his Cyber Storage and returned his eyes ahead, to the bees and the statue with a puzzled face. Curiosity rose inside him.


    There he noticed the bird statue turned into a living bird! Its gaping beak could easily gulp the bees if it wanted to do so. And its squinted eyes were in reddish color. Its claws were gleaming in sharpness.


    It hovered on top of the mug-like stone. Then it flapped its wings and rose upward. It stopped in mid-air and stared at the bees below it.


    Yman noticed his scout went to the front like a main character in the novel or movies.


    He was wondering what his scout bee was doing. Still puzzled towards it.


    The other bees hoarded behind him. Now it looks like his scout bee was protecting them. He didn''t know what to feel at the current situation. It seemed like he was watching a movie.


    Yman did not interfere and just silently watched them.


    The feral bird did not waste time and immediately rushed to using an aerial attack. Its target was his scout bee. The other bees flew away while the scout bee glided to its right and evaded the attack, but an invisible force hit the scout bee and was thrown away.


    Its body flipped and spun away, but it managed to spread its wings before it crashed on the ground. It didn''t waste time and sent a sting attack to the feral-looking bird.


    The bird''s eyes gleamed. Then it opened its beak and sent another wail.


    "KYAAWWWWWW!!!"


    The pressure caused by it was able to divert the sting trajectory. Because of it, the sting attack was not able to hit the target.


    But the scout bee didn''t lose its hope and it spun in rotation around the feral-looking bird.


    The speed of it was very agile. After all, it was an enhanced fire doll.


    However, the feral bird wasn''t an ordinary enemy as well. It seemed like an intelligent being. Must be a guardian of the place.


    It flew away.


    Maybe it perceived an unusual plan coming from the scout bee. As expected the scout bee was trying to rotate while trying to use the tactic of hitting the enemy while maintaining distance from it.


    It was useful against slower and melee type enemies. Yman was gawking while watching their aerial fight.


    As expected, the feral bird wasn''t the type of enemy to be a good target of this tactic. It suddenly quickened its movement and even used its wings to generate a mini gust of wind towards the scout bee.


    The scout bee dashes in and out to evade the gusts. The scout bee was losing the momentum of the fight before even their battle had started. The guardian feral bird was noticeably stronger compared to it.


    Yman was so amused watching them.


    He heard Sistela''s voice.


    "No, we don''t even know what the fight is for��" he wanted to know the reason first. He had so many questions about what was happening.


    The fight against his scout bee and the guardian feral bird continued. Although the scout bee was clearly at a disadvantage, it managed to escape in a little margin all the attacks that might end its existence.


    Once it successfully evaded, it immediately followed with a sting attack.


    Sistela started to make a fuse. She must be worried about the scout bee. Seeing it struggling against its enemy, a feeling of familiarity might have risen from within her towards it. Perhaps, she couldn''t stomach watching her comrade being beaten in front of her. Or maybe because it looks like a valiant hero who tried to shoulder the responsibility of protecting its alleys. Yman thought with Sistela''s reaction.


    But her real reason was that they could get some information from it. And she was afraid that if the scout bee was defeated, it would disappear and it would be a waste of information.


    Really, he could not deny the fact that his scout bee looked like a gallant knight main character at the very moment. But Yman was still waiting for the right timing. He wanted to see the extent of this scout bee''s intelligence.


    Woosh!


    The guardian feral bird hovered higher in which the scout bee followed after it. Seeing the weird looking bee at its tail, the guardian bird made a sudden turnover. Then it used its large wings to fan the scout bee using the wind pressure.


    The scout was hit by it and was sent away towards the mug-like stone.


    "Splash!"


    The scout bee was sent flying directly into the dripping water inside the mug-like rock.


    An exclamation point appeared on top of Yman''s head when it happened.


    He wondered what would happen to the scout bee after that.


    The other bees sent a sting attack as well towards the guardian bird. It then flew while dodging their attacks.


    Then used its wings to generate another stronger pressure wind. Some of them were sent flying. And even some of them crashed onto the ground and walls.


    Then it chased the others. Yman speculated that the guardian bird was protecting the water. But why didn''t it have any reaction after the scout bee was sent into it?


    The water in the mug suddenly glowed, which stopped the guardian from its onslaught against the other bees.


    Then all of them glanced at the magnificent looks of the water.


    A moment later, a pair of golden wings were surfacing from the water.


    Then it slowly went up. Yman gawked at what happened. "It evolved!!?" He thought. But he shook the thought a second later, because he noticed that it became colored gold not because it evolved but because the water inside the mug-like stone wasn''t made of ordinary water!


    A holographic display as big as a monocle glass appeared at his right eyes when he attempted to use the appraisal ability of Sistela.


    ?Rich in Magical Energy.


    ?Rich in Life Essence.


    ?Can Heal Minor damages to all the living things.


    ?etcetera��


    A list of information appeared in his vision after the appraisal ability able to gather information regarding it.


    "H��Heavenly water?"


    Yman said slowly. His voice had a tinge of hard to believe tone. After all, this water wasn''t easy to find. And it was very expensive to buy.


    He needed it for his Sister! Who would have thought that he could find it here. Yman almost couldn''t believe it. But the information of the appraisal won''t lie. So it was the real Heavenly Water!


    "Yes, My Deity, it was the major medicine that we needed in order to synthesize the medicine for her!"


    Sistela beamed in excitement upon hearing him.


    After hearing him, Sistela immediately asked him to get it.


    Yman narrowed his eyes. He knew that if he could acquire it, it would be easy for him to complete the medicine for his sister.

 Chapter 212: Will-O-Wisp

    The battle between the guardian bird and the scout bee had resumed immediately.


    Presently, the scout bee''s size grows bigger. And it was covered with glowing golden energy. It suddenly flew towards the guardian bird.


    The flapping of its wings was much fiercer than before. And the speed it was showing was the evidence of it.


    It darted left and right at a speed that was hard to follow. The guardian bird seemed to be confused as it stopped its movement the second the scout bee started its charge.


    From the guardian bird''s perspective, it seemed like he was fighting with multiple bees. Right, the golden bee suddenly multiplied its body.


    Yman was wondering what happened to the guardian bird. But soon gawked after seeing the stunned bird.


    Sistela on the other hand was still bugging him about the Heavenly Water, after all, it was their main goal for coming into this empire. Yet he remained on his feet.


    Although he wasn''t moving, he secretly sent two Spider-model enhanced fire dolls to secure the Heavenly Water.


    Yman continued watching the duel between his scout bee and the guardian bird. Presently, he saw the bird surrounded from both sides. But the guardian bird wasn''t an easy opponent, it didn''t back down.


    It flapped its wings to create a stronger gust of wind. This kind of attack has a high probability that most of the golden bees would be sucked by it.


    Seeing the incoming attack, most of the real bees flew and landed on the ceiling. And some stayed far so as not to become unlucky unintended victims. The battle between the golden bee and the guardian bird was not the kind of battle they could scoop with their strength.


    They all werewatching the battle while seemingly cheering for the scout bee. They flapped their wings in the noisy buzzing.


    However, contrary to the guardian bird''s expectation. The golden bees evaded the gust of wind in a hasty motion. It was very quick that in just a split second, they were already at a safe distance. No, some of the golden bees were hit by it. The guardian bird squinted its reddish eyes as it felt something was amiss. Although he saw when some of the golden bees were hit by it, none of them were sucked by it.


    Then again, the puzzlement felt by the guardian bird caused it to lag a little. With it as the reason, the golden bees were able to surround the guardian bird.


    Yman who stayed on his feet was watching the fight with wide eyes. He noticed something from within the golden bee.


    It was also the reason why he didn''t want to interfere with their battle.


    The guardian bird saw the golden bees fired sting at the same time.


    Multiple stings were raining towards the guardian bird.


    It tried to evade using its speed. It darted from left to right, evading in a hairsbreadth most of the sting.


    Yman almost could not believe the things happening in front of him. The guardian bird was hit from its back.


    Sistela suddenly commented.


    Yman grinned. "It used the illusion spell,'' Yman replied.


    He finally understood. The golden bee used the illusion magic that he planted in it. "The guardian bee must be seeing the illusion of the scout bee. It didn''t notice it was under it. Probably, it was facing the illusion and did not notice the real one was behind," Yman explained, to which Sistela replied with a big


    she shouted a cheer but only her partner could hear it as they were currently in resonance. Whoever controls the body, controls the voice.


    All of his scout fire dolls could use it to escape from unfavorable situations. Yman didn''t know what was happening after he lost control of it. The realistic outcome would be, it would dissipate after the reserve mana was used up. Like a toy having its battery emptied. But the nearest example would be a bubble that disappeared after it popped.


    To his surprise, the scout bee in front of him not only remained active, but it also engaged the guardian bird in a duel.


    Yman didn''t know whether to laugh or cry in this situation. However, it was a huge piece of information that might help him understand better about his skills.


    He concluded that the scout bee gained an unexpected powerup after it was thrown into the Heavenly Water. Since it was rich in magical energy, the scout bee who probably drank it had gained a power boost.


    After the guardian took a hit from behind, it spun around unstably, like a kite who lost its string, or an airplane who lost its control.


    The sneaky effect of the sting immediately took effect after it pierced at the back of the guardian bird.


    The scout bee didn''t waste time and followed up with another attack.


    Another sting pierced it. This time, it caused a burning effect.


    Yman noticed the health point on its life bar continuously decreasing. And because of the paralyzing effect, the guardian bird had no way to retaliate. It became an easy target for the scout bird.


    The decrease in the guardian bird''s health points stopped at 5 percent.


    Then it tried to swim to the Heavenly Water, but it bumped into something like a thread. The opening of the mug-like stone was covered by a spider web that was made of black solidified miasma. The cause of it was no other than the two spiders and that Yman sent.


    The outcome of the fight wasn''t the outcome that Yman expected initially. The guardian bird was defeated by his scout bee.


    After it defeated the guardian bird, the ordinary bees hoarded around the golden scout bee once again.


    Seeing the ordinary bees playfully flying around the golden scout bee while their wings buzzing everywhere, Yman believed that they were looking at the golden scout bee as their protector, or perhaps their king.


    But the real reason that made Yman very curious about the weird scout bee was the weird fluctuations of magic energy inside it.


    "It seemed like a drifting soul was sheltering inside it," he mumbled.


    He suddenly heard Sistela''s words.


    "A wisp?"


    "Do you mean��.. it possessed the scout bee?"


    Upon hearing Sistela''s words, Yman didn''t know what to believe. But, at the moment, it was the most realistic explanation they had about the current situation.


    After killing the guardian bird, the bees landed on top of the mug-like stone. But it was covered by black threads.


    The golden scout was about to attack, but Yman immediately interfered by trying to transmit into it.


    Weirdly enough, he heard a shouting noise in his head after trying to transmit his consciousness into it.


    "W-who are you?" Said the voice. This made Yman to be taken aback for a little.


    It was unexpected to find out that the entity sheltering inside it was able to make a conversation with him.


    Said Sistela.


    Looks like Sistela noticed his silence that''s why she pointed it out.


    "Yeah, could it be, a wisp is an entity similar to fairies or sprites?"


    Yman asked her.


    Sistela said sorry for being not helpful.


    ''No, don''t mind it. Even I have no idea about it. Although it isn''t the first time I heard the name (Wisp), I don''t have any idea about it, in the first place,'' Yman said through thought communication.


    Regardless, he needed to reply to the Wisp. He walked out from the big chunk of rock.


    "My name is Crimson, the owner of that doll you are possessing," Yman replied to the Wisp.


    Upon hearing his voice, the bees warily stared at him.


    "Crimson? And the doll? Do you mean this mass of magical energy?"


    The Wisp asked him while trying to struggle from his transmission.


    Sistela repeated.


    ''It meant the fire doll,'' Yman replied to Sistela.


    "Yes, that mass of magical energy was made by me. Will you tell me why you have chosen to possess it?" He asked.


    "No, I didn''t choose to possess it. On the contrary, it chose me to possess it," replied the Wisp.


    The Wisp''s reply further puzzled him. He wondered what the Wisp meant by it.


    His scout bee was the one who chose the Wisp to possess it?


    Unbelievable!


    Yman frowned. "Can you tell me what you mean by your words that it chose you to possess it?"


    Yman repeated the Wisp''s words in a question.

 Chapter 213: Big Beak Worm!

    "Ngh!" The Wisp groaned. A painful feeling must be attacking it because of the transmission he forced into it. "I-I was only drifting in the woods yesterday night when I heard a buzzing sound. After I looked behind me, this thing was already at the back. I tried to run away from it. But this thing followed me.


    While I was running away from it, I found myself staring at a fierce-looking creature. The creature was attacking the pitiful band of bees. Sucking them into its wide gaping beak. As a Wisp, I have no way to help them as I am a ghostly creature. I couldn''t touch any physical objects, nor could I interfere with them?


    Then this creature once again came rushing into me. And the unexpected happened when we crashed into each other.


    I found myself inside it!


    The weird thing is, I couldn''t escape from it as it was like a vacuum that prevented me from escaping.


    After a couple of seconds of struggling to escape. I found out that I couldn''t do it as this thing was slowly sucking my life force. To protect me, I created a thin layer of protection. Then I found myself suddenly in control of it!"


    Said the Wisp in a slight long explanation. "Then, after that��.. I obtained the ability to interfere with physical objects. At first, I was surprised.This thing didn''t only give me the ability to touch. It also gave me the ability to use some helpful skills!" The Wisp''s voice turned from pained to an enthusiastic one as it was telling its story.


    Yman and Sistela were listening to it without intervening as they were very amused by its story, although it was very unbelievable.


    He could not help feeling doubtful about it. Then again, what it said might also be true.


    In any case, none of them were knowledgeable about Wisp.


    But the words of the Wisp made him ponder. It was a realistic outcome, to be honest. One is a drifting soul without a shell, and the other was an empty shell. Though, Yman was puzzled as to why the Wisp attracted the scout bee.


    While Yman was pondering he noticed the Wisp was not finished with its explanation and it continued saying, "...I tried saving the pitiful bees and succeeded. After that, they appointed me as their savior.


    I didn''t think about myself, but it was a good feeling to help them.


    But then an unexpected problem occurred��"


    Yman''s brows slightly frowned."A problem? Can you tell me what you mean by it?"


    "Yeah, a problem. I found out that this thing was consuming my energy to remain in existence. And because of it, my existence was in danger of vanishing."


    Yman remembered the thing he saw, a while ago, when the scout bee or the Wisp sucked the Teardrop Magical Herb.


    He concluded that it must be refueling itself to remain in existence. "Are you the one responsible for devouring the plants and herbs outside?" Although his belief about it was strong, he wanted to make sure about it.


    "Hm? Do you mean those leftover leaves that look like they were eaten by worms?"


    Yman narrowed his eyes. The way the Wisp saying it was like it wasn''t it''s doing.


    "Yeah, you are the one responsible for it, right?"


    "Ngh, of course not!" The Wisp strongly denied.


    Yman frowned. He stared at it, trying to figure if it was lying or not.


    Sistela commented.


    ''Can we appraise the truthfulness of its words?'' he asked.


    Yman scratched his face. "But I caught you devouring the Teardrop Magical Herb."He said to the Wisp.


    "No, you''re wrong. I wasn''t devouring it. I''m just taking a little bit of magical energy from it. Getting a little amount of magical energy from the magical herbs or plants won''t affect them that much."


    "Hmm��"


    Yman went into deep thinking while staring at the Wisp. Now, it''s getting more mysterious. But Wisp''s words had a point.


    "I see, in that case��"


    Sistela suddenly exclaimed.


    ''Hmm, yeah. Why?''


    ''I think the Wisp was right with what it said ."''


    Yman said his thoughts. Sistela asked and thought that his partner was getting so trusting. It wasn''t good if they encountered a vile scheming person. Could it be, his wittiness shrouded after he became stronger? After all, some people who were leaning to strength would lose their ability to think rationally. They were prone to think, ''why waste their brain cells if they could settle everything using their unmatched strength?'' Sistela was bothered by these thoughts.


    But Yman''s next reply made her realize. ''I mean��.. that thing only devoured the magical energy and not the leaves itself. In this regard, the leaves would supposedly dry and lose a little of their vitality. But the leaves we saw had different outcomes. So it must be caused by a different reason,'' he said to his Deity.


    An "Aha!" The expression seemed like it rose inside Sistela after hearing her partner''s simple explanation. Sistela finally understood why his partner agreed at the Wisp. Looks like her partner was still the witty person he used to be. She was glad. Then again, she was still the slow Deity that could not measure her partner''s way of thinking.


    (Sigh!)


    She was supposed to be his source of guidance. But he was the one that mostly explained all the things that she failed to understand. She was starting to wonder if she was a defective Deity like what her partner used to tell her.


    This made her doubtful of herself for some reason.


    While Yman and Sistela were conversing. They noticed the Wisp continued saying, "I swear I''m not the one responsible for it. My friends can testify to me about it!" The Wisp shouted. Yman saw the bees seemingly nodding their heads while noisily buzzing their wings. Or maybe it was only his imagination.


    "Do you know the culprit?" He directly asked.


    "Of course, it was the same culprit who attacked these friends of mine! The wait can you stop transmitting to me! It''s painful, you know! Urgh!" The Wisp shouted and groaned. Its voice couldn''t be identified if it was a female or male, though Yman didn''t care about it.


    Yman remembered the Wisp line a while ago, it called the enemy with a wide gaping beak. "Do you mean the bird?" It was his initial thought upon hearing the word ''beak''.


    "No! It wasn''t a bird!"


    "Eh?"


    "It was a worm! A Big beak worm!"


    This further puzzled him. He never heard of such a creature before. Based on the name alone. It was already unbelievable. He stared at it.


    "Mister, if you don''t do something about those pests, they will become a big problem later on!" The Wisp suddenly added.


    "Didn''t you get rid of it already?"


    "Yeah, but I only defeat one there''s multiple of them!"


    "What?!"


    After hearing it, "WRING!", "WRING!", "WRING!"


    A noise coming from the direction of the entrance. "What was that?" He subconsciously asked.


    "No, they are coming!" The Wisp shouted. "Please, Mister, release me from this transmission, I will deal with them!" Said the Wisp.


    The Wisp couldn''t move as he was trying to take control of the shell which is the scout bee��his creation.


    Sistela asked. He planned to retrieve it.


    Yman chose not to answer Sistela and went to ask the Wisp, "Do you wish to free yourself from that thing?"


    "I-If I freed myself from it, what happened to this thing?"


    "Probably, it will dissipate," apparently he could avoid it by reinforcing it with his black mana, but he would only do it if that thing was able to copy some useful spells.


    And after hearing thee Wisp''s words, he thought that it would be fair to ask it first.


    When the Wisp heard his reply, "No, please, I don''t want to free myself from this thing!" The Wisp resolutely said. After all, being inside it gave many benefits to the Wisp. Especially the feeling of being able to touch a physical object. And most importantly, it could protect its new friends.


    Yman glanced at the mug-like stone. The opening of it was covered by a black web from his spider enhanced fire dolls.


    "Okay, it''s your choice," he said.


    "WRING!", "WRING!", "WRING!"


    The weird noise was coming closer.


    "Regardless, Mister, you need to escape now! Those creatures are very vicious. I couldn''t protect you if I fight with multiple of them!"


    "Aside from that, can you tell me about that thing over��"


    "No! They''re here!"


    He was about to ask about the mug-like stone but the enemies already arrived.


    Yman glanced behind and saw the enemies. Their reddish bodies were as big as the cat. And they were flying with transparent wings on their back.


    Their movements were not a bit slow compared to the scout bee and the guardian bird.


    Just like the Wisp said, in front, a big beak was noticeable.


    Yman''s mouth hung open.

 Chapter 214: Insanely strong spiders!

    Some of the words of Wisp were doubtful to him. Like for example when it mentioned that the scout bee was sucking its Life Force. He wondered if a ghost type creature had it. It prolly meant Essence of Existence.


    Though, it was a insignificant matter compared to the current situation. Three big worms with big beaks and a pair of transparent wings were flying in haste towards them.


    "Mister, hurry up! Release me!" The wisp screamed. "Holy, they evolved to such an extent!" The wisp added.


    Yman''s ears picked the words of the wisp. He guessed that these worms weren''t like that when the wisp fought one of them.


    He squinted his eyes and guessed that the reason for their evolution must be because of the magical plants and herbs they devoured.


    The only thing that wonders him was their reason for entering the cave? It''s not like there were magical plants inside.


    "Could it be they came here because of the bees?" He spoke aloud the words in his mind.


    "They came here for the Heavenly Cauldron!" The wisp responded upon hearing him.


    "What? Heavenly Cauldron?" Yman didn''t know whether he heard it right or wrong as he could not see a cauldron around.


    But when his eyes landed on the mug-like stone, he realised and believed that it meant about it.


    A second later, he noticed the other bees noisily buzzing their wings in synchronization with the weird flapping sounds of transparent wings from the enemies. Probably, they were bothered.


    The wisp tried to struggle when it noticed the person did nothing and just stood there. Perhaps he was scared. Then it stopped when suddenly struggling when two black spiders on the ceiling shot their webs to the three approaching enemies.


    "Eh?!" The wisp was surprised to see it.


    The webs constricted the giant worms immediately crashed on the ground after their wings had stopped flapping.


    He didn''t waste anymore seconds and went for the kill.


    Three fortified stones shot like bullets and penetrated the body of the giant worms.


    Muddy dark blood splattered from the wounds and stained the ground. He noticed that their health points did not empty on the spot. A little amount of its health points remained, but it didn''t last long and the blood continued dripping until the health points turned zero percent.


    The wisp went silent for a couple of seconds before it said skeptically, "Y-you''re strong, Mister!"


    The wisp remembered its fight against one of the worms. It was a hard fought battle. And it took longer to finish. Yet this person in front was easily dispatching the worms.


    Aside from that, those spiders on the ceiling were having the same colors at the creature the wisp currently possessing.


    "Mister, are those spiders your creation also!"


    Yman nodded before he canceled the transmission and walked towards the dead monsters. Perhaps he could gain some points by looting their bodies.


    Sistela said her assessment.


    ''Yeah, but�� we can least store some in the storage,'' Yman decided to cut each pair of the wings and stored them inside his storage. Aside from the wings. He took the beaks. In any case, he can throw them anytime if it turns out invaluable.


    He took a glove and tried to poke the body of the worms. Yman learned that it was made of a hard shell.


    From his back, the wisp came closer to them. "Mister, thanks for letting me have this body, but what are you doing?" It asked him.


    "No, nothing�� just taking some samples."


    "Samples? I see. However, Mister, what are you planning to do about the cauldron?" Asked the wisp. Because this man wqs covering the mouth of the mug-like stone with a black silk or black web, and he seemingly took it as possession.


    "Oh, right��" he stood and took off the gloves then stored it inside his storage. "Do you mean�� inside that stone is a cauldron?" He asked. After hearing the wisp calling the mug-like stone as a cauldron, he got to believe that the real cauldron was buried inside it. Regardless, it was surprising to learn that the wisp was able to converse without transmitting with it.


    It could send its own transmission to communicate with him without getting overcome by his control.


    "Yes, Mister!" Nodded the wisp.


    "Will it cause a problem if I took it with me?"


    After Yman asked it, he noticed one of the bees came closer to the wisp. It was buzzing near it. Looking at them, it seemed like the bee was whispering to the wisp. Then he heard the wisp saying, "Yes, Mister. It will create a big impact on the whole mountain. Especially to the magical plants, herbs, and other life forms who are getting benefits from it," replied the wisp.


    "Do you mean, the water from it was the source of energy that most of the life forms in here are depending on?" He asked.


    "Yes, Mister. But something happened the past few days��" said the wisp with an ounce of sadness within its voice.


    "What do you mean?" Yman and Sistela suddenly felt curious about what the wisp was saying.


    "According to my friends, a mysterious person came here and sealed the cauldron. Because of it, the water that was supposed to overflow and gush towards the near lake outside this cave had stopped functioning.


    There was supposed to be a river here towards the lake outside."


    Sistela thought so.


    Yman was surprised to hear it. Now that the wisp said it. He noticed something about the mug-like stone. It seemed like it was intentionally made using a spell and not by a potter. The seal meant by the wisp must be the Mug-like stone.


    He wondered if who was the mysterious person that the wisp told him.


    ''Looks like, we can''t just take the cauldron with us,'' Yman said in thought communication.


    Sistela was surprised that her partner planned to take it with them.


    He was planning to take it, and sell it for a huge sum of money after he succeeded in creating the medicine.


    "I beg you, Mister. Please don''t take away the cauldron!" Pleaded the wisp.


    A bead of sweat appeared at the back of his head. Then he sighed. "Okay, but I need to take a few amounts of water," he said with a slight smile.


    "Thank you, Mister!" The wisp beamed. And told him to take whatever amount he wanted. After all, the water would continue to overflow.


    He then walked towards the mug-like stone and uncovered the mouth of it.


    He took an empty bottle from his storage and dipped it inside until the bottle was fully filled.


    Before storing it inside his storage, he shook it and stared for a couple of seconds. It had a golden color and he could feel a dense energy from it. A feeling of delight rose inside him. He was delighted to gather it, unexpectedly. After all, he only came here to gather some herbs. But luckily, he found one of the necessary ingredients for the medicine he wanted to synthetize.


    Finally, he was at the starting line of his goal. He thought.


    Then suddenly,"kyaaaaaahh!"


    "What was that?"


    "What is����"


    They suddenly heard a loud yell. "It came from the outside!" Shouted the wisp.


    Yman and the others ran outside, and the two spiders were running ahead of them.


    When they reached outside the cave, "the worms!" Screamed the wisp.


    Near the lake, they saw a group of people surrounded by the giant flying worms.


    "Look, Mister! There are some people over there!"


    Yman stared at the lake and saw three people surrounded by 10 worms.


    Sistela seemed to remember their faces.


    "Yeah, they are," he replied. But he remembered they were together with two girls. And now, there were only three of them, and they were all boys.


    "Are they your friends?!" Asked the wisp. The wisp might have thought they were his friends since they were people like him, although they have different ears.


    "No, they aren''t my friends," he replied. He noticed the people fought back, but they were losing because of the weak magic attack they were firing. They must be a non combative type. Looks like his guess was right. That they were from the other alchemy departments.


    "Go!" He commanded his spiders.


    The two spiders rushed forthwith towards the lake and fired fireballs to the worms surrounding the three people. After all, the fire element was effective against bug type monsters.


    The fireballs hit and directly charred the unlucky enemies. When they noticed the danger, they flew towards the spider and opened their large beaks.


    From their beaks, they noticed an air vibration that was seemingly sucking up the spiders. However, before they could succeed, their beaks were shot by webs.


    The worm''s attacks turned useless when the webs were covering their beaks.


    Then the spiders followed by another shot of fireballs.


    The people they rescued were staring at the spiders with gaping mouths.


    "What are those?" One of the three asked but the other two had no idea as well.


    The other worms left them and attacked the spiders. But just like what happened to the first worms. They also suffered the same.


    "Mister, those spiders are insanely strong. Can you give me one of those?" The wisp suddenly said which made Yman to laugh soundlessly.

 Chapter 215: Dark side

    "Eh? What for? Do you wish to change your physical body?"


    He asked the wisp while scratching his face. It would be bad if the wisp was considering his Fire Dolls as something like clothes. In which the wisp could change it whenever it wanted.


    The wisp replied hastily, "No, Mister��"


    Upon hearing it, he glanced at the wisp, waiting for the continuation of its words. It continued saying, "...I want to give it to my friend!"


    "Your friend?" A frown happened on his face. (Ah, must be the bees with him.) Yman thought so. Then he opened his mouth and said: "But I don''t think bees can do what you can, and I don''t think they can use it the way you did."


    After saying it, question marks were floating above the wisp''s head. The wisp seemed to be puzzled by his words. "No, it''s not for them; it is for my other friend," the wisp told him in haste.


    "....."


    Yman went silent for a second before saying: "Oh, I see. Another wisp, huh," Yman muttered and pondered.


    No need to guess about the kind of creature the wisp''s friend was. Since the wisp seemed to know that aside from itself, the others could not possibly do the same thing as it did.


    (But,)


    A whisper came into his ears.


    Yman pondered again.


    ''Hmm�� you''re right, my deity. That certainly is a good idea,'' he replied to Sistela.


    Stardust Magical Flower is a kind of flower that is mostly found in a condition below the starry skies and rich magical energy soil such as this mountain. In fact, such a place wasn''t hard to find. So many people were able to gather it.


    Last time when Yman browsed the online market, he saw some people selling it. But the authenticity and freshness together with the expensive cost made him uncertain to buy the items.


    Although this kind of flower could be gathered easily, it was rated as a semi-rare flower. People could gather them in a said condition and mostly in a place near the river or lake. But the most troubling part of it, aside from the high demand from consumers, it also could only be gathered in selected months.


    Fortunately, the current month was one of them. Another cons of it was that it didn''t grow by bulk. This flower only grew in fewer numbers.


    "I don''t mind, really," he replied to the wisp. The wisp joyfully responded: "Thank you, Mister!"


    Then he continued saying: "In exchange�� if you happen to find the Stardust Magical Flower. Can you gather some for me?"


    "Stardust Magical Flower? Do you mean the Twinkling Flower?"


    Yman smiled and nodded. Twinkling Flower was the other name for it.


    "Okay, Mister!"


    Not far from them.


    The spiders finished off the entangled enemies using their fireballs.


    Yman and the others noticed the three people they rescued, they were warily staring at the spiders.


    He then called out both. The three people widened their eyes when the spiders obediently walked towards the young man. When they arrived beside him, the two immediately vanished.


    "So it was his summon?" The younger looking youth out of the three, muttered in disbelief.


    "Hey, bro, thanks for the help!" The younger youth shouted gratefully as they walked towards him. The three of them were from Raccoonmen race, one of the race of Demihumans.


    "No, biggie," Yman replied in a calm voice.


    (However,)


    "Tsk, no need to thank him. We could defeat them either way without his help," a thin and tall Raccoonman snapped.


    "Right!" A fat Raccoonman also agreed.


    The younger Raccoonman knitted his brows. "No, senior, it was clear that those creatures could not be dealt by our spells."


    "Shut up moron! It is because you didn''t do your practice very well that your magic is useless against those pests. Pwe!" The fat raccoonman bellowed.


    "Eh��!"


    The young raccoonman fell silent in the fair that the senior student would be mad at him.


    Sistela grumbled. But aside to her partner, no one else could hear her as long as he wasn''t permitting her to use the loudspeaker option.


    Yman didn''t know what to think of with his Deity''s remarks. It was what he was always talking about. It wasn''t only applied to humans, but also to Demihumans.


    Not all people have the same satisfaction as the others. Some were self-centered like the two in front of him. It was only to be expected as every person has different reasons and consequences in life.


    The type of surrounding they grew up in, would greatly affect each individual''s attitude.


    He noticed the dissatisfaction from the two. Yman was tired of this kind of behaviour that others showed towards him. Unfortunately for them, he wasn''t the old him who would fall silent in the corner at other''s shout.


    (Without a warning,)


    Woosh!


    "Wh-what��?"


    "Ngh! What ��is this!?"


    "!!"


    The two ungrateful Raccoon Men were looking at themselves, fell on their knees and unable to stand.


    "Ugh! What the hell!" The thin and tall raccoon man bellowed.


    A sudden pressure of invisible force poured onto them. They tried to struggle to get up but their struggle was in vain.


    "A-an Intimidation!" Exclaimed the younger raccoon man.


    "!!"


    "Intimidation?!" Repeated the fat raccoon man.


    "I-Impossible! How can he�� Ngh!" said the thin and tall raccoon man. He could not believe the claim of the younger raccoon man. Intimidation spell wasn''t easy to obtain.


    Apparently, everyone had their own intimidation ability. But it was only effective against the weaker opponent. So mostly, only from Hegemon tier experts that this ability could be executed to the full extent.


    And weirdly enough, the person in front of them doesn''t have a strong magical energy. He wasn''t even a False Path expert based on how they felt about him.


    Although most of the experts could hide their real strength, the expert in front of them doesn''t have the amount of magical energy equivalent to a Hegemon Expert.


    "Heh!" They heard a scoff coming from him. They stared at the person in front of them. He was a white-haired Encan person, and was looking down at them!


    The two senior raccoonmen knitted their brows.


    "Brother no need to find trouble with yourself," said the younger raccoonman. He was afraid that the seniors would beat him to death. Even though they were from alchemy departments, senior students were still wielding higher magical energy compared to them newbies. So if they fought with their spells and skills. There was a higher chance that the senior students would win against lower grade students.


    Although it wasn''t applied to experts who were born with great talent and a genius of their clans.


    He tried to smooth the things, but then he noticed a thing. "H-How come the seniors couldn''t do a thing?" Subconsciously muttered the younger raccoonman.


    Not only him was bewildered by the situation. Even the two people who were under his spell were sweating profusely while trying to free themselves from the effect of intimidation m. However, it was futile. They were locked for good and couldn''t move an inch.


    The two knitted their brows, then they noticed his mouth opened slowly. "I see, it seems like... the two of you don''t know how to spell the word ''thanks'' properly. Or do you wish for me to teach you how to spill it?" He said in a cold and serious tone while his mouth maintained a smug smile.


    He was tired of keeping up a good image for others to like him. And tired of hiding his inner evil that was built inside him from those days he was inside the facility.


    No one knew besides him of how hellish that place was. Everyday all he could see was the dark side of the world.


    He grew numb against pain and had a fake version of himself. All for the sake of protecting himself.


    A glint in his eyes and a smug on his face was deliberately surfacing.


    The two were puzzled as to why they could not break away from his spell. Then they froze while showing a scared look on their faces when they saw him walking towards them.


    For some reason, their instinct screamed for danger out of a sudden when a strong killing intent briefly appeared from within his eyes.


    "D-d-dammit��-!"


    "D-d-don''t come near us!"


    The two stammered their words and screamed within their lungs.


    With the intimidation he was using, the two raccoonmen were like wet chicks, waiting for the heaven''s judgement. In truth, Yman''s Intimidation ability wasn''t on its full extent, thanks this weird place seemingly nerfed his power.


    But it was enough to stale these two non combative students.


    Even the wisp and the younger raccoonman fell silent. Never would they imagine that this person was so dark! Though it was the fault of these two ungrateful dudes.


    They saw him pick a dry branch on the ground. They wondered what he was planning to do. Then he pinched the tip of it and made it sharp.


    Upon seeing it, a cold sensation was poured on their spines. A foreboding feeling rose within them.


    "N-N-no, please bro, forgive us, it''s our fault! Stop�� what are you planning to do��" the fat raccoonman started saying things that were out of order.


    On the contrary, "Dammit! Don''t come to me! I will report you bastard!" The thin and tall raccoonman angrily shouted at him. But his back was sweating in fear.


    Yman reached out his left hand and pinched the thin man''s cheeks until he had no way to close his mouth.


    They noticed the dry branch in his right hand enveloped by magical energy. They knew that he was using fortification ability.


    He lifted it and aimed at the raccoonman''s tongue.


    Everyone was stunned.

 Chapter 216: New creation

    He was aiming at the person''s tongue. His eyes had no ounce of pity.


    The hand was slowly pushing the fortified dried branch into his mouth.


    "Uhh--ugh--urgh!"


    The skinny tall raccoon man was struggling fiercely like a chicken who was about to taste the bitterness of life.


    However, no matter what he did, the struggle did nothing.


    Until the tip of the fortified dried branch touched the flesh of the raccoon man''s tongue.


    Blood started to drip, and saliva was gushing out and stocking in his mouth. But, since the person in front of him was uplifting his face with unbudging strength, it made the saliva gulp back into his throat and choked him.


    Yet, this thing just added to his predicament as he could not cough. His throat started aching and tears gushing from his eyes and even from his nose. It was torture to himself.


    Looking at his friend, the fat raccoon man had his eyes rounded into a ball with his body bathing in his sweats.


    His friend tried to say something, but no one could understand his words.


    "Hey, bro, stop that. You don''t know who that person is?" Said the fat man.


    The younger raccoon did not say a thing as he was afraid that this white-haired Encan would turn his attention to him.


    However, the fat raccoon man''s words were seemingly unheard by the person as he continued piercing the tongue of the fatty''s friend while wearing a cold-looking expression on his face.


    "ARRRGGG!"


    A shrill or howl escaped from the throat of the skinny raccoon man, but they could not understand his words.


    "Now, can you spell it?" he asked in a cold voice. It wasn''t a problem for him if they didn''t say their thanks as he wasn''t the type of person who would be bothered by it.


    But these idiots were acting high; so, Yman decided to teach them to be grateful.


    The skinny raccoon man nodded his head with blood spilling from his mouth. He regretted what he did.


    He retreated the pointed fortified dried branch, then stared at the person.


    "Ss--shank you--urgh!"


    Yman stared at it for a couple of seconds before he turned his gaze to the fat raccoon man.


    The fatty trembled when his eyes landed on him. He immediately said his thanks and sorry before even he could stab his tongue.


    However, the white-haired Encan didn''t show mercy at him and continued what he planned.


    Blood was dripping from their mouth together with tears and saliva.


    The fatty wetted his pants as he groaned in pain.


    Just then, everything returned to normal.


    The blood and wounds in their mouths suddenly disappeared.


    The skinny and fatty raccoon man noticed the puzzled face of the younger raccoon man while staring at them.


    "Eh, senior, what happened?" He asked them.


    He was wondering why suddenly the seniors went to their knees and murmuring some words he could not understand.


    Weirdly though, the fatty senior wetted his pants and looked like he was having difficulty breathing.


    And then, both of them were checking their-- mouths? The young raccoon man had question marks floating above his head.


    "Senior, are you okay?" He asked again. "Senior?" And again.


    The two simultaneously glanced at the white-haired Encan in front of them. They noticed him wearing a mocking face at them.


    After noticing that no wounds on their tongue and the younger raccoon man was acting differently a second ago, they concluded that what happened was just an illusion!


    They fell under this man''s illusion. No wonder they could not move!


    They wanted revenge, but they were wary that the things that happened a while ago would repeat.


    After sending a glare at him, they ran away and shouting: "Psycho! I will kill you!" Shouted the skinny while the fatty was dragging him away.


    "Pufft!"


    Sistela asked him.


    "Nothing, I''m just amused by my new creation!" He replied.


    "Mhm!" He nodded.


    From the neck of the two retreating raccoon men, insects flew away towards the direction of Yman and the others.


    The new fire doll modeled was a mosquito, and it held an illusion spell that could create a hallucination to the target.


    It''s up to him what kind of illusion he wishes them to see, though it was strenuous to the mind.


    He learned that the more he got used to the skill, the better his understanding would become.


    Yman did not waste more time and let out the spiders together with his bat-model enhanced fire dolls.


    He also let out two birds. The fire dolls rushed to the enemies after they went out from his storage.


    They bombarded them with fireballs while the enemies fired poison and vacuum-like force from their beaks.


    He gathered some stones and shot the enemies using fortification ability.


    "Bro, let me help you!"


    "Me too!"


    The raccoon man and the wisp offered their help. Even the bees shot stings at the enemies.


    The battle immediately broke out. Yman flicked three consecutive stones that landed and broke the enemy''s shell.


    Their blood stained the ground till their bodies dropped and crashed to the ground.


    He didn''t stop with just that and sent another barrage of attacks. Not far from him, his fire dolls were raining attacks on the enemies.


    As usual, the spiders shot their webs and fireballs, and also the bats.


    The enemies tried to evade, but there went the bird fire dolls. They used aerial attacks and abused their speed to outmatch the enemies.


    The wisp was able to defeat some enemies one after another. After all, it powered-up after he swallowed the Heavenly Water.


    The younger raccoon man was able to kill one of the flying worms with the help of one of the spiders.


    It took them about three minutes to kill all the enemies.


    On the other hand, the two raccoon men were already out of their sight. They ran away after they escaped from Yman''s hallucination, and no one knows where they went.


    After killing all the worms, another wave of enemies came after, and their number went higher than before.


    Yman rushed into melee and used the 1-meter fortified branch as his sword. With it, he slashed the enemies one after another, using his strength and speed.


    His fire doll''s source of existence was waning out as the fight prolonged. Another few minutes had passed before dispatching all the enemies.


    ''This is weird��'' he thought. "This is starting to get suspicious, " he muttered.


    Yman knitted his brows. "No, I don''t remember him mentioning it, " he replied.


    (Suddenly,)


    "Brother, we have a big problem!" Said the younger raccoon man while walking towards him.


    Yman glanced at him with a frown. He didn''t want to ask about the problem that he mentioned. In truth, it was easy to guess. "What do you mean?" He asked, anyway.


    "I mean, the place was littered by those worms. They keep coming on no matter how many we killed. It was also the reason that we were surrounded by them a while ago. We exhaust most of our magical energies in the recent fight.


    The seniors ordered us to retreat, but on the way, we encountered more of them. Not just that, some of them are stronger. Probably, the evolved version of them.


    They have a more developed body than those worms. Their wings are dark purple, and they flapped faster than those low ranking worms. Our spells were useless against their shells, and our weapons would just bounce back whenever we hit them.


    We tried to fight our way, but our spells weren''t as effective as they were to the normal one. We had decided to retreat, but the enemies already surrounded us.


    It was thanks to Achan that we managed to escape. But we got separated from each other after that..."


    His voice had a tinge of worry while saying the last line. Yman stayed silent. He could feel that the raccoon man in front of him hadn''t finished talking.


    He noticed the sadness from his voice. Regardless, the girl named Achan was the girl who called out to him a while ago, if his memory serves him right.


    As expected, he continued saying: "Please, bro, help me find my friends!" He was having a second thought if he would ask him. After all, his seniors said unpleasant things to this person. But after witnessing his unusual summons, he decided to thicken his face, all for the sake of his friends.


    Yman was not able to answer. He was contemplating if it was a wise choice to help him.


    (Just then,)


    Bzzzzzzzzzzz!


    A bee flew towards the-wisp.


    Several seconds later, "Mister, a countless number of worms and evolved ones are heading this way!" the-wisp reported.


    Yman knitted his brows; it looks like they had no time to rest.

 Chapter 217: A mysterious person with unmeasurable magical energy!

    The raccoon man was startled when one of the bees spoke. He stared at it and noticed that it was different compared to the other bees. It was exuding a golden aura.


    Although he was curious, he chose not to ask the person in front of him.


    He knew that the current situation was inappropriate for such a trivial question.


    Yman narrowed his eyes at the report of Wisp''s friend. No doubt that something was amiss in a weird situation that was currently happening.


    Mysterious worms were appearing in waves, and it was strange that they were coming to attack them.


    "For now, I guess, we need to hide," he said to them. It wasn''t a good idea fighting against the enemy with uncertain numbers. It would drain out their mana and stamina without proper achievements.


    "Bro, my friends are--"


    "Don''t worry; I''ll try to search for them, using my scouts."


    "Mister, how about the spider��"


    "Later."


    He said and sent two scout birds flying. He didn''t want to trouble himself with others'' problems, but Yman found it troublesome to argue with a desperate person.


    He just wished that this person would leave them be and would be going to look for his friends in another area. However, he thought that helping him now would bring benefits to him later on.


    Regardless, he sent two of the scout bees to assure him that he was searching. It would be troublesome if he kept annoying him about his friends.


    The raccoon man went silent after two of his birds went patrolling in the skies.


    However, right after his birds flew a few meters away from them, they transmitted their vision to him that caused him to be slightly surprised.


    About a hundred worms together with purple color insects that look like butterflies were coming to their location. Although they look like butterflies, he knew that they weren''t the same.


    Not only that, the creatures were gigantic, and they looked fiercer. Anything aside from that was just as the raccoon man had described a while ago.


    So he believed that it was the evolved form that the raccoon man mentioned.


    "This is bad," he subconsciously muttered.


    "What do you mean, Mister?" Asked Wisp.


    ''Wait, could it be--'' Yman thought as he glanced to his back.


    Sistela asked him.


    ''I''m not sure, but perhaps they were aiming to enter the cave.''


    Sistela was doubtinghis partner''s thought that those monsters were heading to the cave.


    Sistela mumbled as she was thinking.


    (The next second,)


    ''Yeah!'' He didn''t wait for her to complete her words as he felt that she already figured it out.


    Yman and the others headed to the woods not far from the lake. It was on the left side when facing the cave and their backs were facing the lake. In front of the woods was a lofty wall of the mountain.


    But he soon change his mind and rushed towards the cave entrance.


    "Where are you going, Mister?" The Wisp asked him.


    "Bro!"


    "Don''t follow me, you guys hide over there!"


    He pointed to the near forest.


    "But--"


    The raccoon man wanted to say something but he already sprinted towards the cave.


    "Mister, waaaaaiiiiit!!!" The Wisp screamed and rushed behind him. "What are you planning to do?" It flew beside him and asked.


    He could feel the doubt within its voice, but Yman disregarded it as there was a more important things.


    "I''m going to secure the cauldron," he replied. He had a bad premonition about those creatures.


    "....."


    The Wisp fell silent.


    "Don''t worry, I''m just going to transfer it to a safer place," he added to assure the Wisp that he wasn''t planning to steal it.


    "Uhm��" The Wisp seemed to notice his reason for doing it. "Don''t tell me those creatures are heading here because of the water?"


    Yman sent a glance at it while kicking the ground to rapidly rush towards the entrance of the cave.


    "Well, I''m not sure, just a hunch..." he replied.


    "Oh!" Said the Wisp as it landed on his shoulder. Probably, tired of flapping its wings.


    He estimated that the wave of worms would arrive in about 7-8 minutes. Just enough time to secure the item.


    When Yman and the Wisp arrived in front of the mug-like stone.


    He glanced around and saw a stone as big as his head. He picked and fortified it. Then he used it to smash the mug-like stone.


    POK! POK! POK!


    He did three successive smashes to it, but Yman was dumbfounded when nothing happened, even a little crack could not be seen.


    "Dang, it''s so hard. Is this even made of stone?" He whined.


    From his shoulder: "I see! It turns out my friend was telling the truth!" Suddenly exclaimed the Wisp.


    "What do you mean?" He asked with a frown.


    "The mysterious person who sealed it is a strong expert with unmeasurable magical energy. That''s what my friend had told me before," said the Wisp.


    "What?" He was surprised to hear it.


    A strong expert with unmeasurable magical energy? Yman repeated in his mind as he thought of the person''s identity.


    Could it be a Real Path Expert? Or perhaps a-- Hegemon?


    Yman was asking himself, but he realized that it was a waste of time so he decided to push the thought out of his mind.


    He decided to smash it again by using more strength.


    POOOOK!!!


    A dull sound reverberated inside the cave.


    "?" However, he noticed the stone in his hand was shattered to pieces. He stared at the mug-like stone and wondered what to do. It turns out that the person who sealed it was putting into account that someone might see it. He probably used a higher-level spell to toughen the stone to such a degree that even his demonic strength was useless against it!


    He felt a chill upon thinking such a powerful person was inside the campus!


    "....."


    He fell silent.


    "Mister, what are you going to do now?"


    He tried to push and kick the mug-like stone, but still, nothing had happened. His kick even did a recoil to him.


    He retreated and fell silent. Looks like his strength wasn''t enough to destroy it no matter what he did, and he could not use an explosive spell as he was afraid that the cave''s ceiling fell onto them. Also, he wasn''t sure that it would be effective against it.


    He did not respond to the Wisp''s question and directly summoned two spiders.


    Using their webs, he sealed the opening as he did recently. Then they rushed outside and also sealed the cave''s entrance with the web.


    "Mister, will it be fine?" The Wisp asked him again, but he wasn''t certain too.


    Regardless, it was better than none.


    "No, but it is the only thing I could do since this stone isn''t easy to break."


    After sealing the entrance, they rushed towards the forest to hide.


    "Bro, here!"


    The raccoon man called to him while waving his hand.


    When they arrived at the forest,Yman and the others climbed on the trees and they were peeking under the cover of the thick leaves.


    They were staring ahead, to where the lake was.


    (A minute later,)


    "They''re here!" Screamed the raccoon man.


    "Hey, lower your voice! " The Wisp yelled at him.


    "....."


    "Bro, don''t you think this bee is magical? Look, it can talk." He was finally able to ask the thing that kept bugging him. "I think you will get rich when you sell it."


    Yman scratched his head, wondering how to respond. It would be a long explanation if he tells him the truth that it wasn''t a bee, but a wisp.


    "Hey, watch your mouth!" The Wisp yelled at the raccoon man.


    "It wasn''t an ordinary bee, and it is dangerous to threaten so be careful because it can understand us."


    He said.


    A bead of tear appeared at the back of the raccoon man as he hastily said his sorry to the golden bee.


    "Hmmph!" The Wisp pouted.


    Ahead of them, they saw the monsters crossing the lake and marched towards the cave.


    "Oh no, there are about hundreds of them, " the raccoon man said.


    "Mister, they are looking this way!"Said the Wisp. Then it added saying: "Do you think they figured us out?"


    Yman knitted his brows and stared at it.


    (The next second,)


    "!!"


    The Wisp was startled when a grin appeared on his face. Then he lifted his hand to the Wisp.


    Waaii--


    The Wisp was not able to finish its words as he snapped it without a second thought. After grabbing it, he stored it inside his Cyber Storage.


    Sistela asked.


    Beside him was a stunned raccoon man. "W-why did you do that bro��?" He muttered worriedly. After all, he was the one who told him that it wasn''t good to anger the magical bee.


    But he rudely snapped it. He glanced around him, but he could not find anymore the magical bee.


    He wondered where this person threw the magical bee. Or did he hide it? He could not even see a spatial ring on him.


    Yman scratched his face. For some odd reason, Sistela and the raccoon man had the same question.


    "A precaution, I think they can sense it," he said.


    ''Yes!''


    Sistela said. She remembered when the Wisp jumped into the mug-like stone filled with Heavenly Water. Then it suddenly become stronger after that�� with golden aura that was exudingfrom its body.


    "Is that so��" the raccoon man didn''t know why the monsters would sense it, but maybe because of it being magical. "Oh, Look at them," Pointed the raccoon man. "They continued!" He added.

 Chapter 218: Lilia and Achan

    (Wreng wreng wreng��!)


    (Woosh woosh woosh��!)


    Rustle!


    Rustle!


    (Dugu Dugu Dugu��!)


    The rustle and noisy flapping of their wings enveloped the whole place when hundreds of monsters arrived at the cave entrance.


    Yman was pondering.


    He could send his first version of enhanced fire doll ants to suck the enemy''s magical power. But he doubted the idea because of the tough shells the enemies had.


    They were watching as the monsters tried to push their way to the sealed entrance. After a few minutes of no results, one of the evolved walked to the front and lifted its pointed limb to pierce the web.


    Yman narrowed his eyes, and from his left eye, a holographic monocle materialized. He used Sistela''s appraisal ability towards the enemies.


    Thanks to the improvement of Sistela''s Appraisal ability, it could now appraise the target''s data, though not the fundamental data, just the basics. It still could not read the exact strength of the target, but it could give him a fast evaluation, for example, its kind, name, and etcetera.


    After activating the Appraisal ability, a list of information appeared in his vision, arranged by columns and inside the flat squares and rectangles with glowing blue-green color.


    Based on their data, the flying worms have the name of [Flying Shelled-Worm], and the bigger ones have the name of [Young Mammoth].


    The Young Mammoth summoned more strength and stabbed the black web that was sealing the cave entrance.


    The black web stretched inwardly when the tip of the limb poked it.


    "Bro, what are they doing? Is that an entrance over there?" Asked in puzzlement the raccoon man beside him. He had no idea what was behind the sealing black stretchable object as he didn''t see it when the person beside him sealed the entrance using his spider summon.


    He glanced at the raccoon man and saw his curious face. Yman shrugged his shoulders and said: "They must be looking for some foo--."


    Brrrrrrt!


    Before he could finish his words, the sound of a tearing cloth reached their ears.


    "These ain''t good; those monsters are more powerful than I thought," he mumbled.


    Yman narrowed his eyes. "Hmm, I think it''s better to return to the Little Garden and report this matter; maybe the Professor can do something about it." For Yman, it wasn''t his problem to solve alone. He just came to the mountain to gather magical herbs and plants. Then, these things happened suddenly.


    He didn''t wish to throw himself in that horde of monsters with his current situation. It would be a suicide if he did it.


    He glanced at the raccoon man beside him. "Hey, where did you last see your friends?"


    "Ah?" The raccoon man was startled from his sudden call. "In the western part of this mountain."


    Just after saying it, they noticed the monsters already entering the entrance.


    He transmitted a command to his two scout birds and let them searched the western part of the mountain.


    The two birds flung their wings and rapidly flew over the area.


    The blue and cloudy sky transmitted to his vision. Even the birds of different species were shown to him. They were flying away from the mountain.


    Yman blinked his eyes as he wondered why a large number of birds flying away.


    However, when the bird''s vision darted below, he was greeted by a different view. An ominous aura of dark blue color was enveloping the western part of the mountain. A miasma? His thought upon seeing it.


    He also noticed that the ominous aura was continuing to proliferate.


    He heard his deity saying in his mind.


    Upon seeing the ominous aura, he knitted his brows. It was clear that the situation wasn''t an ordinary one.


    Something was happening in this mountain! His thoughts.


    When the two birds arrived at the area, they started scanning the place by flying at a considerable height for their search. But the dark blue miasma was hindering the visibility that they transmitted into him.


    Somewhere around the mountain, two girls were running towards the northern part.


    Just by looking at how deep their breaths were, anyone could tell that they were exhausted already. On top of it, they were running away from a dangerous entity.


    These two girls were from the race of Raccoon Men, one of the Demihuman tribes.


    No doubt that they were the friends that the young raccoon man mentioned to Yman.


    They were being chased by two fierce-looking monsters.


    They had squinty bloodshot eyes that most hungry predators had, and an ominous dark blue aura was oozing from their bodies.


    Their sharp fangs were peeking out from their large mouths, where sticky salivas were gushing out from them.


    And their usually slick white furs had now turned as dark as the night.


    Their long dexterous limbs with razor-sharp claws were kicking the ground with all their might, causing rattling noises.


    Their claws were leaving scratch-marks on the ground as they advanced at a blurry speed that was hard to follow with the naked eyes.


    The two girls were running as fast as they could. Sometimes they fired spells to hinder the enemies whenever they felt their breaths at their backs.


    Growl! Rawr!


    Their body hairs stood upright when the eerie low growl could be felt just behind them.


    "Wind Vortex!" One of the girls produced a mass of wind that spun in round. Without looking, she fired it at the back.


    Woosh!


    Seeing the incoming pillar of wind with a power that could pull everything around it, the two monsters leaped to their sides, opposite to each other.


    The Wind Vortex passed in the middle without hitting its goal target. But because of it, the distance between the girls and the monsters had increased.


    RAAAAAARRRR!!!


    The two fierce monsters roar in anger when the two prey can escape from their fangs and claws.


    But they didn''t give up and continued running after them.


    Those annoying prey, they will turn them into delicious meals!


    When the two ladies were able to lose their chasers, they decided to take a rest behind the gigantic rock near the forest.


    "Are you okay, Lilia?" Asked one of the ladies. She had long hair that tied in a twin-tail, almond eyes with beautiful green pupils, a hearty face, and a pair of pointed ears. Lilia was an Encan lady.


    (Hish��hush�� Deep breath.)


    "Somehow. H-How about you, Achan?" Lilia asked too. Achan was a raccoon lady with beautiful round eyes and golden pupils. She had a shoulder-length fringed hairstyle of brown color. No doubt that she was a cute lady.


    (Hish��hush! Breathing heavily.)


    "Yeah, I''m fine too, just tired. By the way, thanks to that Wind Vortex of yours, we managed to lose them," said Achan while letting her back rest onto the giant rock.


    "It''s nothing, how about your mana?"


    "I think I can still cast a few more," Achan replied while staring at her palm.


    Achan glanced around and noticed the place was unfamiliar to her. It was the first time that she saw the place.


    "Where are we?" She asked.


    Just then, Lilia also glanced around. Then frowned a second later after she noticed the place was also unfamiliar to her. "I don''t know��" she said while biting her lip.


    A worried expression was visible on their faces.


    "Looks like we ran too far��" said Achan in dismay. But the ray of hope that everything would be fine was still visible in her eyes.


    "I guess so," Lilian responded. Then she continued saying: "This is bad, this dark blue fog was hindering our vision."


    Achan knitted her brows. "What are we going to do now?" She asked in a worried voice.


    Lilian glanced at her and noticed something. "Hey, you have wounds!" She shouted.


    A horizontal wound was visible on her left shoulder. Based on the wounds, it looks like it was caused by a sharp object like a claw.


    "Ahn��! No, it is fine��" after saying it, she used a healing spell to herself.


    A green hue magical energy enveloped her body after she recited the spell. The wound at the back of her shoulder deliberately healed.


    However, after she healed her wound, from the top of the rock they were hiding, a figure jumped and growled.


    Out of reflex, they glanced above and were stunned immediately.


    Before they could make a move, the figure leaped and used its sharp claw.


    Woosh!


    Thump!


    It passed by in the middle of them and landed on the ground.


    But, it was followed by spurting blood when an arm was flying over.


    "AAAAAARRRGH!!!"


    Achan turned pale when she heard the grieving cry coming from Lilia. One of her arms was missing, and blood was gushing from its cut.


    "Go Achan, save yourself!" Lilia shouted.


    But Achan was still on her feet. She was too shocked to move.


    GROWL!


    The monster glanced at Lilia and without wasting time, it rushed to finish her.


    She wanted to fire a spell, but her wound distracted her concentration.


    "LILIAAAAAA!!!" Achan shouted. Though Lilia closed her eyes and waited for her fate.


    However, several seconds later, no piercing sensation or bite was felt by her. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the a headless monster in front of her.


    Beside it was a manstanding with his hand dripping with blood.

 Chapter 219: A lifeline

    With a ghastly face, Lilia was staring at the back of the person who suddenly popped up in front of her.


    ''A lifeline'' is what was in her mind the moment she saw it.


    A meter to her right, a friend of hers was staring at the same person with a dumbfounded face. Based on her gaze to him, Lilia was certain that Achan saw it when that person cut the head of the monster.


    After killing it, blood sprayed from the wound of the headless monster that was lying on the ground as a corpse.


    They could not believe that someone came in the right time to save them. If not, the one lying on the ground at this moment would be their corpses.


    "You are��?" With a skeptical voice, Achan muttered as she was staring at the person while wearing a can''t believe expression with the mixture of gratitude.


    Although she asked him, her voice had a tinge that the person in front of her was seemingly familiar to her.


    But instead of answering her, the person looked above, then a moment later, a large bird with the body of black color landed in front of them. Weirdly though, the bird wasn''t the typical bird that could be seen around. It didn''t have feathers. Just looking at it, anybody could tell that it had a smooth body.


    Then they heard him saying: "There''s no time, let''s go--!" He said but stopped his word when he glanced at the ladies and saw a grimace expression on their faces.


    Lillia was making a twisting face as she was enduring the pain of having her arms cut above her elbow; blood was gushing from it like a fountain.


    Arrrgh! She cried in pain while holding what came to be the remains of her slender arm.


    "Wait M-Mister, let me heal my friend first!" Achan ran to Lilia''s side. She was pointing her hand to Lilia''s wound.


    Although she could not regrow back her lost arm, she could at least heal the wound.


    Achan was about to use her healing spell; however, before the first word came out from her mouth, a warm hand landed on her arm.


    "Let me?" She heard him said in a calm voice.


    Achan stared at him with a skeptical face, and wearing a frown.


    Her mouth opened but all she could say was: "Uh--"


    For some reason, the feeling of wanting to save her friend and the feeling of wanting to believe and depend on him were clashing inside Achan''s mind and soul.


    "My friend was��" she tried to say something but he already walked in front of her.


    "Eh!?"


    Lilia had no way to say no as her mind was muddled up by pain.


    Her breathing feels deeper and hard to exhale and inhale. Her chest was in pain, and her vision was dimming.


    Achan was watching when the person beside her slowly lifted her hand and touched the cut part.


    From out of nowhere, something crawling from his hand.


    "A-Ant?"


    A black Ant was crawling towards the remains of Lilia''s arm.


    Although something was crawling on her, she felt nothing about it as all she had was a numbing feeling.


    "What are you doing?!" Achan shouted at him. Though he saved them, it was rude to bully a grieving person.


    After the black Ant bit her, it suddenly disappeared.


    ''What a heartless man!'' Her thought.


    But she changed her mind a second later because she noticed Lilian''s wound was glowing. Then the next thing that happened widened her eyes in disbelief.


    "Wh-What is happening!?" She shouted.


    After Achan had shouted, the cut was glowing and a new arm was starting to form.


    "It''s growing��?" Achan mumbled and stared at him with curiosity.


    The ashen face Lilian had a while ago was starting to regain its natural vibrant. Until the cut could no longer be seen and a new slender arm appeared.


    "Lilia, how are you?!" Achan asked in a panic.


    Lilia blinked her eyes and replied saying that she was fine.


    The two girls stared at him with dumbfounded faces. He on the other hand, did not even take a second glance at their dumbfoundedness. He slowly retreated his hand that was still holding the newly materialized arm.


    Lilia could feel the warmth from his hand. For some reason, after he took his hand, her hand was left hanging in the air, seemingly unwilling to depart from that warm.


    The ashen face she had a while ago, now had a rosy red bloom. Especially that they noticed he was a handsome young man with white hair. A young Encan to be specific.


    Aside from that, both of them remembered his face. He was the person they saw a while ago when they were walking towards here.


    A guilty feeling rose within them because they ignored him when he tried to talk to them.


    His mouth extended to both sides and formed a slight smile.


    Lilia opened her mouth and said: "Uhm! What is your n--!"


    "Let''s go," he said ahead of Lilia''s words. He had no time for ''a getting to know each other'' thing.


    "....."


    Lilia fell silent when he noticed his eyes were peering ahead to the direction where they came from a while ago.


    She felt that his eyes were looking at something that only he could see.


    ''Such a mysterious man,'' in Lilia and Achan''s mind.


    The two ladies glanced at each other and nodded.


    Again, from out of thin airs, another black colored bird without feathers had materialized.


    They were wondering what he did. They didn''t hear an incantation from him. If it was a summon, an incantation or magic seal is a must element to achieve it. Yet, this person just produced them on the get-go without any of those, not even a single word!


    The two of them were bewildered as they stared at him with awe.


    Although they saw many talented students on the campus, no one among them could summon a beast like this person did.


    Anyhow, they were skeptical to ride the bird because of its smooth surface, but after a growling sound that came closer was heard by them, the two immediately hopped on it, out of fear.


    Fortunately, there was a long whisker on the bird that seemingly functioned as the rope.


    Lilia who was on the front was gripping it with too much strength, probably, afraid to fall. On the other hand, Achan was hugging Lilia''s waist.


    After seeing them on top of the other bird, he jumped also on the second bird.


    Without wasting time, the birds flapped their large wings, and slowly ascended to the sky.


    Just right when they left, the two monsters that were chasing after them a while ago had arrived at the time rock.


    But all they had seen was the headless corpse of another monster.


    The two birds were flying beside each other towards the southeastern part of the mountain.


    The pressure of the wind made their hairs dance in the air and they had trouble looking straight, especially that the two girls weren''t used to flying.


    But the person riding alone on the bird beside them was keeping his silence while unbothered by the wind pressure. The silence among them was nauseating. "Ahem!" Achan cleared her throat to break the ice that was known as ''Silence''.


    He noticed that they were staring at him with a readable face. A face that wanted to ask him.


    After successfully grabbing his attention, "Uhm! May we know your name?" Achan braved herself and asked.


    "....."


    "Crimson��.. my name is Crimson Agila," he replied.


    "Crimson Agila?" Lilia repeated.


    "Mhm!" He nodded.


    Thanks to his scout birds that were able to find these two girls when they were running towards the northern part of the mountain while being chased by two fierce-looking monsters. Because if not, these two would be lying as cold corpses in that place.


    After his scout birds found them, he immediately summoned his flying mount enhanced fire doll, then flew rapidly towards the area with all the speed that this bird-model can offer.


    He even disregarded the call from the raccoon man he left behind without an explanation.


    Fortunately, he arrived just on time.


    "Uhm, Mr. Crimson��"


    "Crimson will do," he said immediately.


    "Uh-- okay. Uhm, Crimson, do you know something about the current situation?" asked Lilia.


    "Right, Mister! Did you find the guys who came with us to this place?"


    After Lilia asked him, Achan also added.


    Yman nodded and told them what happened.


    "What? The seniors did it?" Exclaimed Lilia.


    "Thankfully, Ran was fine," said Achan.


    Both of them replied differently.


    He also asked them about the current situation. However, he noticed the two girls went silent. He narrowed his eyes and thought they were acting suspiciously.


    Yman did not force them to answer as it would cause unfavorable reactions from them. The best thing to do at this point was to act as friendly as he could-- for them to willingly open-up to him on their own accord.

 Chapter 220: The Next Level Elixir

    They landed in the forest where the young raccoon man was hiding.


    "Ran!" Achan called out. "Good thing that you are fine."


    "Achan, Lilia, are you okay?" He asked when he noticed that the two of them were a little paler.


    "Mhm!" Achan nodded.


    Lilia exhaled and nodded also. Ran on the other was staring at them with a little doubt. Regardless, he was happy that they were fine and that they finally reunited.


    After saying his gratitude to the person named Crimson, they heard an earth-shattering howl.


    OOOOOHHHHHHHHRRR!!


    They simultaneously glanced to where the howl comes from. It was at the entrance. A humanoid beast with sickle-like arms. It was standing on its two limbs and was exuding the same golden aura as the Wisp.


    "Twin Scissor Adult Mammoth, " Yman read the data that could be seen in his vision.


    "They evolve again?" Ran exclaimed.


    "Now it''s more powerful than before?" Lilia also muttered.


    "We need to do something!" Achan said with a tinge of guilt.


    Yman narrowed his eyes at them.


    The other two went silent when Achan said it. "I think we need to tell Mr. Crimson about it," she added.


    Lilia nodded her head and Ran sighed. "Yeah, let''s be fair. After all, Mr. Crimson had saved us."


    The three had finally decided to tell him. However, Yman''s wasn''t on them anymore. He was staring at the cave entrance.


    More monsters were coming out of the cave, and most of them were exuding the same golden aura.


    He wondered if the Heavenly Water had such an effect on all of the beasts of monsters around.


    But it also puzzled him that those monsters seemingly knew about it from the start.


    Could it be that their smells guided them here? He asked in mind.


    However, how about the other insects, animals, or monsters around? Why were they not as interested in the Heavenly Water? And aside from it, the dark blue miasma at the northern part was also suspicious.


    It further puzzled him.


    While he was contemplating, he noticed the Adult Mammoth flapped its transparent wings with a frame of gold as its bone.


    A second later, it disappeared. His eyes went wide.


    "Dammit, we need to leave!"


    He hastily said.


    They could not loiter anymore in this place. The monsters had become stronger. If they kept hiding here, there was a high chance that they noticed them.


    "Okay."


    "Wait Mr. Crimson!"


    Ran nodded but Achan called out.


    "Hm?"


    He made a low moan sound, seemingly asking her ''what''s the matter?''.


    Then, Achan told him all that they were hiding about the current situation. Yman did not expect that it only took this early for them to blurt out their secrets.


    "An experimental specimen?" Yman repeated Achan''s words in disbelief.


    She told him that their alchemy department had made an elixir that forcibly evolved a person''s magical energy.


    When he heard it, he remembered the Body Tampering drink of Airi. The next word she said had made him understand why they were making identical elixirs.


    She said that the academy was promoting a contest to all Alchemy Departments, and the theme was Evolution.


    Back to the topic, Achan and her group succeeded in making the elixir which they called Next Level Elixir.


    To verify the usefulness of the Next Level Elixir, they used a worm as their subject for experimentation.


    Yman slightly widened his eyes upon hearing it. Then a hypothesis formed in his mind. He guessed that it was related to those weird worms.


    But he didn''t interrupt her as she continued telling him.


    At first, it was a tiny worm as big as the smallest finger of a person''s hand.


    When they dropped a little amount of Next Level Elixir onto it, there was no sudden reaction. They thought that the elixir was a failure. Since they made it at night, they decided to transfer the worm to the garden where they were keeping their other specimens.


    However, when they came back in the morning, all of them were shocked.


    The garden was in a mess.


    All the magical plants and herbs that they took much time to take care of�� had their leaves gone.


    Then they saw in the middle of the garden, a plump creature. It was a worm that was supposedly as big as the shortest finger in a human''s hand.


    It had grown into size as big as the pig!


    Everyone was stunned. Soon, they rejoiced. Everyone got excited. Although it wasn''t the expected effect they originally planned, the result was still a good start for their Next Level Elixir.


    A few days ago, they had taken it with them to the mountain. Before leaving, they had given it a name. They called it Devourer. The name was of course for fun only.


    They left it that day and they came back the next day.


    Then they noticed that most of the magical herbs and plants around the mountain had their leaves suffered the same as what happened to the magical herbs in the garden.


    No need to guess who was the suspect of it as they already knew the cause of it.


    Every hour they record Devourer''s growth. Not only its size and also its magical power. No doubt, it had tremendous growth. They could even say that the Next Level Elixir was half success. But they soon realized a big problem. If things continued like it was, the whole academy would suffer a lack of resources if Devourer continued devouring the magical plants and herbs in the mountain�� and all the resources that could produce magical energy.


    After all, any resources that could produce magical energy were the most important resources for alchemy.


    They started to feel worried about it and their professor demanded a meeting with all the department members.


    Their meeting took a long time because of some disagreements from the other members. Especially seniors.


    In the end, they decided to end Devourer''s life; otherwise, their whole department would be in danger of getting disbanded if the higher council or even the student council would know about it.

 Chapter 221: Adult Mammoth

    Yesterday they came to the mountain for the reason of hunting Devourer.


    However, something unexpected happened. No, they should have expected it to happen but their mind was so full that they failed to think about it.


    Yman remained silent as he was listening to Achan.


    She continued saying: "Devourer give birth to worms! Not only one but countless!"


    Yman narrowed his eyes. No doubt, those worms were Devourer''s offspring.


    It seemed like they failed to kill Devourer as it was able to hide. Not only that, its body was oozing with miasma.


    "I see, so that is the reason for that miasma on the northwest of the mountain," Yman said.


    "Yes! Mr. Crimson sir!" Achan nodded. "And because of it, together with its offsprings, we failed to kill it��" She said with a frown and clenched her hands.


    A worried expression was present on her face.


    "Please, Mr. Crimson sir! Help us kill Devourer!" Achan asked him.


    Yman stared at her while continuing his silence. The young raccoon man named Ran and the Encan girl Lilia were showing worried expressions. They probably worried that he would be going to tell it to the student council or higher council.


    A sigh escaped from his mouth. He finally understood Achan''s attempt to call him a while ago. Probably, she wanted to ask the same thing that she asked now. A faint smile briefly happened on his face. "In any case, we needed to go back. We can not deal with it without knowing the real effect of the Next Level Elixir you mentioned."


    After hearing his words, their faces had brightened up.


    "And we need someone''s help to deal with it. After all, their number isn''t a joke. Most of them had evolved tremendously. Even their power level cannot be taken lightly," He added.


    "Thank you, Mr. Crimson!" Achan shouted.


    He nodded slightly then summoned his mount bird-model fire dolls.


    "Sir Crimson��" before Achan hopped on the black bird Crimson summoned, she called out again to him.


    "Yes?" He glanced and asked.


    "C-Can you keep it a secret from the student council? Especially from Miss Ella."


    Looks like they were desperately trying to hide it. Not even Ella was allowed to know it. They seemed to know her being close to the Student Council.


    Anyway, it was troublesome not to tell that girl, and also, he needed her ability.


    Yman nodded at her.


    They then rode on his mount fire dolls. Lilia and Ran were riding on the other bird. Achan was with him as he needed to ask more things about the current issue.


    Though Lilia wanted to ride on the same bird as Crimson, however, Crimson chose Achan to ride with him as he thought that it was easy to converse with her.


    Especially that Achan was seemingly the type of person who was easy to read based on her reactions and expressions.


    Two birds flew away from the forest and rushed towards the east.


    "Crimson bro. There''s a monster ahead of us!" Ran warned.


    However, before they could leave, in front of them the Adult Mammoth blocked their way. The two birds tried to climb up higher. But with just a flung of the Adult Mammoth''s wings, it instantly appeared in front of them.


    "So fast!" Achan worriedly exclaimed.


    "Let''s go down!" Yman commanded and ran to lower their heights.


    The two black birds were free falling.


    The wind pressure was making it difficult to keep their eyes open.


    Even Yman had to close one of his eyes to give much comfort to the other eyes.


    When they arrived at the estimated height of 30 meters above the ground, they started to fly horizontally. Yman and Ran strengthened their grip on the bird''s whiskers as they increased the bird''s speed.


    Seeing the two escaping birds, the Adult Mammoth chased after them.


    Yman narrowed his eyes as he was wondering that it was chasing them.


    Sistela screamed a warning.


    "Watched out!" He shouted to Ran to notify him.


    The two birds glided to both sides. Just right that after they glided to both sides, a sharp crescent slash made of air element passed by in the middle.


    "Holy! What is that?!" Ran shouted.


    But he had no time to curse again as another wave of crescent slash was coming to them.


    The birds were moving from left to right to evade the barrage of attacks.


    While they were evading, the fire dolls didn''t slow down it increased their speed.


    "Darn!" Ran curses. It wasn''t good if one of its attacks unluckily hit them. "Bring it on!" He added and formed a water sphere on top of his palm.


    Needle-like water objects had rained towards the enemy when Ran fired it to his back.


    The Adult Mammoth used its speed to dodge the attacks.


    "TSK!" Ran clicked his tongue when he failed to hit it.


    The birds continued advancing while the monster was chasing them.


    An ant crawled on Yman''s hand. It was clinging onto him to not be taken away by the pressure of the wind.


    After it bit him, above his head, spheres of different sizes materialized.


    Everyone gawked because they didn''t notice that he chanted a spell. Yet, above his head, something had appeared.


    Little spheres were orbiting around a bigger sphere.


    No doubt this skill looked familiar. It was the skill used by the boss in the Training Pavilion.


    His scout bee successfully copied it.


    And now, he called it "Galaxial Bomb!"


    It was more powerful and more destructive compared to the boss. Thanks to his Black Miasma, he was able to double its power.


    Not only that, there were a total of 8 spheres around the bigger sphere.


    After he whispered the name of the spell, one of the spheres shot towards the Adult Mammoth.


    "!!"


    The Adult Mammoth was taken by surprise and was almost hit by it. Fortunately, it had a fast reaction speed.


    However, unlike the version of Fish-head boss, Yman''s Galaxial Bomb was in full control of him.


    Another sphere followed up after the miss.


    The Adult Mammoth grimaced at the fast approaching magical energy that shot like a sunray.

 Chapter 222: Galaxial Bomb

    The second sphere of the Galaxial Bomb hit the adult mammoth with a loud explosion.


    Yman''s mouth extended into a smile when he saw the health points on the enemy''s life bar reached zero percent. It was a smile of satisfaction for his new spell.


    The Galaxial Bomb spell was a damage-type spell that caused an explosion to the target upon impact. It shot to the enemy while leaving a trail that looked like a sunray, however, the focal point of attack was the sphere itself.


    Beside him, the three people were wearing a face of disbelief. They were surprised that the boosted monster died instantly. They even had difficulty defeating one of the Young Mammoth. And yet, he killed the stronger Adult Mammoth in just a blast of his spell.


    Besides, what kind of spell is that? It looks beautiful? The three thought while awe-inspiring at the Galaxial Bomb''s pattern.


    He disregarded the dumbfounded faces around him and sped up the enhanced fire doll bird. They continued to fly away from the mountain. He could not waste another time as he had a bad feeling about the current situation.


    However, before they could manage to escape from it, another monster appeared, and this time there were two of them.


    Two Adult Mammoth were coming to them from the front.


    Yman squinted his eyes as he was peering at the front. Not only that, but his perception also noticed another two presence from behind. They were chasing after them at a speed that could not be coped with ordinary eyes.


    He lifted his hand above. Then the remaining Galaxian sphere also went higher like a drone being controlled by the person in control. It hovered above, about two meters from his head.


    Achan and the others were looking at it in a trance. Both of them were curious about this spell of Crimson.


    From the front and back, four monsters in total were currently chasing to hunt them. Without letting them get near, the four spheres of The Galaxian Bomb shot simultaneously at each enemy.


    Boom!!


    A loud explosion happened in the air and it was followed by grieving cries.


    One of the monsters from behind was hit and the other one was able to avoid


    The same thing happened to the monsters in front.


    The monsters that were able to survive, after a little pause, proceeded to attack; however, before they flapped their wings once again, they were greeted by other spheres.


    Boom! Boom!


    Another explosion erupted in the air. The Adult Mammoth although fast, they were hit by surprise.


    Yman chuckled inwardly, seemingly fascinated at the spell. It was a good spell to fool the enemy. The first shot was to lower their guard and the second was to hit them by surprise. If the second failed to hit, there were third, fourth, fifth, and etcetera that would follow.


    Such a skill was truly fascinating. The charred bodies of the Adult Mammoths fell below after the explosion. Black fumes were visible from their bodies as they were falling.


    "Mr. Crimson, what spell is that sir?" Achan, who was behind him, asked in curiosity. It was the first time for her to see such a spell.


    "Galaxial Bomb," he replied in a voice that could only be described as ''calm''. Not even a tinge of worry was noticeable from it. In fact, he sounded like he was enjoying it. Probably, he was happy with his spell.


    Achan gawked at the thought. She started to wonder what kind of person Crimson was. He seemed to be calm. She also asked herself if it would be fine that she told him the truth about the current situation.


    Yman noticed the grip on his waist had become stronger, though he didn''t bother by it. He guessed that she did it subconsciously. Perhaps she was worried about the situation and for the future of their department.


    He decided to focus on piloting the bird.


    Although he didn''t show it, in truth, he was bothered by the situation in the mountain. After all, the resources in the mountain were very important to him.


    Somewhere around the mountain, a creature was peeking under the shrubs. It had the eyes of a predator.


    It was looking above towards the two birds flying below the clouds while speeding up towards the east.


    From inside the lab, Cinde was transferring liquid of newly mixed herbs. It was the 7th attempt she made. She already failed 6 times. So this 7th attempt was very crucial for her.


    It was the reason her focus was too deep. At the moment, she was at the final stage, transferring the finished product to the glass. The glass was as big as the index finger of her; even the shape was the same.


    It was easy for her now to grind and mix the herbs. However, the next part was too difficult, using the alchemy spell to harmonize the ingredients and slowly turned them into a real elixir.


    The higher rate of control to the spell, the better the result would come out.


    She was wondering how Crimson could easily control his Alchemy spell like he already knew it long ago. What an unfair world. She thought.


    But actually, she was only whining that she wasn''t able to come with him to the mountain.


    Cinde pursed her lips as she was deliberately transferring the liquid to the test tube.


    A very crucial moment for her.


    (However,)


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The room shook by together with the flapping sounds.


    Suddenly, the glass she was holding fell and the liquid fell on the table. The table then clattered noisily.


    Seeing her hard work had gone to waste, her brows curled upward as she rushed outside in a bad mood.


    Her eyes turned devilish and veins in a cross-shape appeared on her face.


    The cause of his predicament was of course the weird noise that was coming from outside!


    She grumbled. "The heck, we are busy here, you know!"


    She angrily opened the beat-up door. It was still the same door that Czar had beaten up when he came into the Little Garden together with his men to recruit Cinde. They reattached it using some old wooden woods to cover the holes and slightly remodeled it into a cruder looking door.


    Even Airi was wondering what the sound was that caused the room to shake.


    They even heard the professor saying: "Hey, you guys! What are you doing lass?!" He shouted in an annoyed tone. Probably, he was doing something important too in his room, where he usually did his important research and experiments.


    Airi chuckled soundlessly as she watched Cinde left the room with an annoyed face.


    "Who the hell are you��!"


    She shouted upon stepping outside. But soon stopped her words and turned into a happy smile. Because the person she saw was the person she was longing to see.


    However, she frowned when she noticed another person hugging him from the back while the two were riding on his summon creature!


    "What the hell, Crimson! You are tasked to gather magical herbs, not to gather beautiful girls!"


    Yman gawked from Cinde''s greetings. He glanced at her and saw her knitting her brows and was looking at him with suspicion. Her hands were on her hips as she bellowed at him. She looked like a wife who caught her husband in the act of doing something from her back.


    (Regardless,)


    What the heck is gathering beautiful girls? When did he become that popular? He thought inwardly.


    He was the guy with a pitiful Charisma. Though it was increasing little by little from the past few days.


    (On the other hand,)


    Achan was taken aback at the piercing gaze shot to her from the beautiful wolf girl.


    Yman scratched his face and wondered what Cindy''s problem was. He lifted his hand, in the next second, a handkerchief materialized in his hand.


    Cindy was surprised when Crimson used it to wipe the sweat on her face. She was stunned. Then slowly turned red until a fume gushed out from her head. And also, her heart was going crazy!


    Not only Cinde was stunned by Crimson''s action, even the people with him at the moment were stunned also.


    Crimson had a girlfriend already! They thought.


    He stopped only when he noticed their weird reactions. Well, he did wipe his sister whenever she was sweating.


    But he put aside the issue and directly asked her if the professor was inside in which Cinde answered by questioning him if ''who were the people with him''.


    He answered briefly by saying that he just met them in the mountain and that he had important things he needed to discuss with the professor.


    From Crimson''s tone, it seemed like something had happened.


    She then told him that Prof. Ronnie was in his workroom.


    A sigh of relief escaped from his mouth.


    "That''s good, thanks," he said to her and directly went inside.


    Airi was surprised to see Crimson together with some people that she assumed she recognized.

 Chapter 223: Problems

    Achan and the others were also surprised to learn that Crimson was part of the Alchemy department; especially, that he was strong and had a unique spell that could defeat in one shot astrong enemy like the Adult Mammoth.


    Now that they took another look at him. He was wearing long sleeves with the logo of Alchemy.


    Achan and the others glanced around. Based on the seniors of their department, the Little Garden department of alchemy was bound to get disbanded.


    Just looking at the place, it looks like the seniors were telling the truth. It was the oldest headquarters and also the smallest compared to others.


    Suddenly, Achan remembered something. He knew someone from this department. She glanced ahead and her eyes landed on a familiar figure.


    Airi was staring at the people together with Crimson. They were people from other alchemy departments. But why were they together with Crimson? She asked inwardly. Aside from that, she knew one of them.


    "Airi!"


    "Achan."


    Upon hearing them calling out each other''s name, Yman darted his eyes from the two. "Do you know each other?" He asked, slightly surprised.


    "W�� we are cousins," said Airi.


    Yman''s mouth opened in an "ow!", it was unexpected to him. He glanced at Achan and saw her nodding her head.


    Well, both of them had raccoon ears, though Airi was shorter compared to Achan.


    "I see, Airi can you entertain them for a while? I need to talk to the Professor," Yman asked Airi a favor. He could not bring them to the Professor''s workroom as the Professor would certainly get mad at him if he went with several people.


    He noticed Achan and the others were having worried faces. They probably worried about the Professor''s reaction and his action later on. Since all of the departments were competing with each other. Achan could only harden her resolve. She would take all the blame from her co-members if ever their department was disbanded.


    The most important for her was to resolve the issue.


    After Airi nodded, he sent one more glance to Achan and the others, he saw them nodding their heads. Just then, he proceeded to the Professor''s workroom.


    But he made a shortstop and glanced behind. "You come with me," he said while staring at Cinde. He needed her help too.


    Cinde was surprised that he called at her. She then jogged beside him with a broad smile.


    When Yman knocked on the door, he heard a loud yell coming from inside.


    Though he was already used to it.


    He pushed the door and went inside. He saw the Professor for filtering pinkish liquid. It must be for his new research.


    "How are you doing'' apprentice? Did you gather all the magical herbs in the note?"


    The Professor asked him immediately after coming inside.


    "Uh��" He scratched his head. "Sorry teacher, something happened��"


    "....."


    "So, you are not able to gather, huh."


    "I have the Teardrop Magical Herb only," he added hastily.


    The Professor slightly frowned. Cinde on the other hand was just silent listening to them.


    He started explaining to them the issue in the mountain.


    "What! Most of the magical herbs and plants were devoured by a gluttonous worm?" Cinde exclaimed.


    "Mhm!" He nodded.


    Professor Ronnie squinted his eyes. "Hm�� That''s certainly a big problem." The professor said while touching his chin.


    "Aside from that professor, that glutton worm gives birth to countless worms and they evolve at a fast rate.."


    "What?!"


    "Apprentice, tell more about all the details."


    Yman then told him all the things that Achan told him.


    "I see, so it was those bastards of the Ascension Alchemy Department''s fault. They truly did a mess this time." Professor Ronnie said while knitting his brows.


    Cinde blinked her eyes. "However, Crimson, you said you promise to keep it a secret from others," Cinde suddenly said to him.


    "Well, if you guys do me a favor of not pushing this issue to the councils, that is much better. But I believed it wasn''t necessary at all," he said with a sigh.


    "Hmm��"


    Ronnie went silent. He wasn''t interested in the other department''s issue, to begin with.


    Yman believed that Professor Ronnie was not the type of person who would take advantage of others.


    Although he wasn''t 100 percent sure, he had to believe somehow. Since this issue in the first place could not be resolved by him and Achan''s group only. He also believed that Professor Ronnie was the type of person who was more inclined in his research.


    "Crimson, what do you mean by not necessary at all?" Cinde asked once again which the Professor agreed with her question.


    They saw him open his mouth and said: "Sooner, those worms will come down and attack the academy," he replied to them.


    Professor Ronnie and Cinde widened their eyes and asked: "How can you tell?"


    Yman fell silent but his mouth extended to both sides, forming into a slight smile. He then took something from his Cyber Storage.


    Woosh!


    "Puwahh!" A sudden huge breath.


    "Mister! What did you do to me?!" Exclaimed the thing that came out from his Cyber Storage.


    "Eh?!" It glanced around in puzzlement.


    "Wait��.. where are we?"


    "Aren''t we supposed to be in the forest?"


    It was asking but no one was replying to it. Then the entity noticed a dumbfounded Oldman in front and a stunned lady on the side.


    "Eh? Who are you, Oldman, and you too lady?"


    The thing that he took from his Cyber Storage was the Wisp in scout bee form.


    Ronnie and Cinde gawked in disbelief. This was the first time that they saw a talking bee! "What a magical creature!" He cried out. Besides, it has different colors and it was shining in golden color!


    "Apprentice, what is this magical thing?"


    "A wisp."


    "W�� wisp? Are you kidding me?!" Professor exclaimed and gazed at him.


    Even Cinde was wondering if Crimson was joking to them.


    The wisp on the other hand was darting his eyes from them. "Oi, why are you ignoring me?" The Wisp asked them. But they were busy talking to themselves and had no time to answer.


    "Ahaha��" Yman chuckled descendingly to the Professor''s reaction while scratching the back of his head. He expected such a reaction from him. "It was truly a wisp," he added.


    The Professor squinted his eyes and stared at him for a second. He noticed that he was serious. Cinde on the other hand was fixedly staring at the Wisp.


    Yman then started explaining to them about the things that happened to the wisp before and after it became like that.


    "I see, so that happened?"


    "Eh��.. so this thing was inside your fire doll?!" Cinde asked with a face that could not believe.


    "Yes," Yman was nodding his head to both of their questions.


    "That was truly unbelievable. I think you are the type of person with the passive attribute of finding yourself meeting up extraordinary things in the world." The Professor said but Yman took it as a joke. Cinde agreed to Professor Ronnie''s words.


    "Aside from that, what''s the connection of it to your main reason for telling this secret to us?" Cinde asked him.


    "Ah, that�� same as the Wisp�� those worms are also attracted to magical energy. And because of it, they would come down here from the mountain after the excess Heavenly Water in the cave would be emptied."


    Professor Ronnie and Cinde widened their eyes once again. They finally understood his reason.


    In fact, even if Yman hid it from others, the issue would still be discovered sooner or later. Achan and her group just didn''t see it coming. They probably believed that this issue would only remain in the mountains, but no. It just a matter of time that those worms started attacking this area when the mountain could not settle their hunger.


    "Do you mean�� they will start attacking people?"


    Asked Professor Ronnie.


    "Exactly." He replied right away. "Since Demihumans were gifted with high magical energy.


    Professor Ronnie gulped. And then a bead of sweat appeared on his head. "It is a big problem indeed if that''s going to happen," he muttered.


    Yman nodded but he wasn''t finished. "In truth, teacher, not only the worms but also the other mutated beast will soon come to attack."


    "....."


    "....."


    "What! I thought you said that only the worms were the ones that were running amok on the mountain, Crimson?" Cinde was hasty with her question.


    "Exactly, but there''s a dark miasma that is currently proliferating around the mountain and it makes the non-hostile beasts hostile."


    "M�� miasma?!" Professor Ronnie repeated.


    "Right, teacher."


    Professor Ronnie stared at him for a couple of seconds before a sigh escaped from his mouth and said: "We need to do something!"


    "Alright, teacher."


    "Hey, Mister! Oldman! Lady! Why are you guys ignoring me?!" Shouted the Wisp.


    Around this time that Yman was in the face of a new problem, many people in the academy were already known him, especially those people who were frequent in the Training Pavilion.


    His name and the picture were being posted in the lobby together with his title and rank.


    While he was facing a problem, another problem was developing. One of them was Czar and the other was known as Lord Gregor. These two individuals from the Mighty Solus department had started planning to bout him.


    Apparently, not only them, but some of the influential figures in the academy also started to get interested in him.


    Some even started to question his real identity, not only his face and name but also his background.

 Chapter 224: He fall to a virus?

    Before Yman and Cinde left the professor''s workroom, the professor called out to him. "Wait, apprentice��.."


    Yman stared at him as he waited for his words.


    "Can you estimate when those creatures would come to attack?" Asked the professor.


    Yman made a quick ponder. Then he opened his mouth saying: "If not tomorrow��.. then the next day is the longest possible delay for them to come."


    "So��.. it''s either tomorrow or the next day, huh," the Professor mumbled as he massaged his temple.


    "Mhm!" He nodded in reply. "Uh, teacher��.. Can you do something about the miasma?" Yman asked the professor. It was one of the main reasons that he wanted to talk to the professor.


    "Hmm��.. miasma you say��" Yman nodded. The professor paused for a moment and went into deep thought. "I can''t promise I can, but if you can get me a sample of it..... then let''s see what I can do. And also��.. we need some important ingredients for it."


    ''So, it needed some ingredients, huh. Looks like it won''t be easy to deal with that miasma. Although it won''t affect me, the others might be affected by it,'' after a brief pondering. He continued: "I see, uhm�� what kinds of ingredients, teacher?"


    Professional Ronnie frowned then said, "Hm��.. filtered oilseeds and��.. vegetable oil of around a century old."


    "A century-old?" Yman made a thinking gesture. "Okay, no problem!" He said after a second. Then he turned around to leave but. "Wait, Apprentice!" He stopped after the call and glanced behind as he slowly turned around to face him again.


    "Hm?"


    "Fufu," Professor Ronnie chuckled. "You can''t possibly buy it," he added.


    Yman Knitted his brows. "Eh? What do you mean, teacher?"


    "Ahem!" Professor Ronnie Cleared his throat. "There''s a limit a department like us can buy��" he said in a voice that seemed like saying ''can''t be helped''.


    After hearing his words that there was a limit that their department could only buy, he remembered that this academy''s system was modeled after a meritocracy society. That they needed to win to gain, "Do you mean�� we need points to buy those ingredients?"


    He saw him nodding his head. Then the professor continued saying: "Aside from that our rank must enter the top 200 to buy those ingredients of such caliber. After all, those products cannot be wasted in lowly departments like us."


    "I see, that makes sense��.." Yman said while darting his eyes below, seemingly trying to think about it.


    "Mhm!" Ronnie nodded.


    "Uhm, Professor, is there a way for us to raise our rank?" Cinde who was silent for about 3 minutes now suddenly asked a question with an obvious answer, though no one was pointing about it.


    Cinde just wanted to break her ice for being silent for a couple of minutes already. It was hard for her to join their conversation as she wasn''t a socialists type of person. It was hard for someone like her to make a conversation flow naturally from her mouth.


    Yman side-glanced at her.


    Then they heard the professor saying: "Of course, have you heard about the weekly, monthly, and yearly contest to all Alchemy departments?"


    Yman suddenly remembered Achan''s words. "Do you mean��.. the contest with a theme of evolution?"


    "Oh, that one is a monthly contest. I see, looks like you know about it, Apprentice. Fufu," said Professor Ronnie and chuckled.


    Cinde glanced at him. ''This man, I wonder how he was able to gather such knowledge. Me on the other hand, have no idea about it,'' she thought.


    "....."


    Yman brushed his nose using the back of his hand and said, "Not quite." Then he soon frowned when he noticed that the shortest contest to arrive was�� a week?


    "Wait, teacher!" He called out.


    Professor Ronnie smiled with a nod. He could guess the apprentice''s reason for calling. The professor was certain that the apprentice had realized that there was no time for them to rise into the rank. For this reason, they could not prepare before the monsters would come to attack.


    "Don''t worry, Apprentice, actually there are also other ways to raise the rank without waiting for those contests." Yman was slightly surprised when the professor suddenly said without waiting for his words. It seemed like he already guessed his words.


    Anyhow, his words were great news to him, "Really, teacher? Then how?" He questioned in excitement.


    The professor stared at him. Yman also stared at him.


    Then the professor started telling them some ways to rise in rank.


    Yman and Cinde were silent as they listened to his every word. After his long explanation, Yman sighed and Cinde showed a wry smile.


    After several minutes, their talk finally came to an end. When Yman and Cinde went outside, "By the way, Crimson, why do you keep this conversation secret from them?" Cinde asked in a whisper while briefly pointing to Achan and other''s directions.


    "Ow, that��. hmm�� aside from the thought that the professor would get angry if an outsider stepped in his workroom, there''s also a big chance that they would feel down upon hearing my assessment of the situation��.." he replied in a whisper as well.


    "So, what''s your plan now? If your guess is right, then we only had a day or two to prefer��"


    "Yeah." He nodded. "For now, I need to ask Rea about something."


    "Something? Is it a secret?"


    "Hm��.. not really, but I cannot disclose until I am certain."


    "I see. Uhm��.. can I go with you?"


    "Uhm, how about your training?"


    "Done for today. Thanks to someone who ruined it!" She said with a pout while gazing at him at the corner of her eyes.


    A bead of sweat appeared at the back of his head as he scratched his face. Looked like he caused something bad to her. Aha�� haha. He made a wry laugh. "Sorry about that��"


    "Hmph!"


    "Let''s go?"


    "Uhm��.. how about them?"


    "We won''t take long. We are just going to bring Rea here."


    "Eh?"


    "What?"


    "You sounded like��.. Ella is your property!"


    "Whaaaat!" Crimson''s mouth hung open after hearing her reply. Did he sound so arrogant? He asked himself. How could someone like him be able to own someone like Rea? A princess and��.. a popular person.


    Never in his wildest dream that he thought about it.


    Perhaps, the way he said it wasn''t appropriate.


    In any case, he needed Rea''s help.


    After saying excusing themselves to Achan and the others, Yman and Cinde went to the Student Council room.


    Upon walking in the hallway, he noticed some curious gazes directed at them. But soon he realized that they were directed to him only! Although some might be looking to Cinde, most of the gazes were directed to him!


    This was unexpected, because of the time that they would be walking together with her, his presence was unrecognizable by others. He meant��.. only Cinde and Rea would receive such gazes from others. But for some reason, they are gazing at him today?!


    How did heaven overturn so suddenly? Wait did his charisma increase once again? Although he looked so handsome with his Encan disguise, "Ahem!" Yman intentionally cleared his throat, seemingly ashamed at his thought. He sounded arrogant. He thought in mind.


    Then he repeated in mind, Although he looked so handsome with his Encan disguise, it didn''t mean that he was the only handsome person in this academy!


    Most of the Encan people were born with exceptional beauty. So at the moment, it was common to see handsome Encan like him.


    "Ahem!"


    He cleared his throat once again. He was puzzled why it was so embarrassing to call himself handsome.


    Even though he was thick-skinned enough and shameless, the embarrassment of calling himself handsome was like being pierced by the Legendary Arrow of Orion. It penetrated his defense like it was nothing.


    So why they were looking at him? The only thing that came to his mind is that because he was handsome!


    "Ahem!"


    While Yman was pondering with unnecessary thoughts. Beside him, Cinde was stealing glances at him. She was wondering what happened to him. ''Is this guy letting himself fall to fever? He wasn''t feeling well!''


    Aside from that, she remembered he was coughing before when they first took their test to join the Alchemy department.


    ''Wait! Could it be��.. some kind of virus? Is Crimson fall to a virus?'' The thought of it scared her for some reason.


    "C�� Crimson, are you okay?" Yman was puzzled when he heard the girl beside him asked a question.


    "Yeah? Why?"


    "Eh! B�� because you''re coughing these past few days!" She exclaimed.


    "....."


    Yman fell silent. He couldn''t think of how he was going to explain to her the reasons for his coughing. He couldn''t tell her that it was Sistela who was coughing at that time. And now, it wasn''t really because of the fever!


    Yman chose to remain silent. Cinde on the other hand was suspicious of his health. She needed to find a doctor for him! A good magician doctor!


    While they were walking towards the Student Council room, suddenly, a group of people blocked their way.

 Chapter 225: Ways to rank up

    "You are Crimson Agila?" Asked the person in front.


    Currently, there were five people in front of them, blocking them intentionally.


    The person in front smiled and glanced at Cinde.


    Cinde, on the other hand, knitted her brows. This guy was the guy she saw when she went inside the student council room together with Rea.


    "My name is Prince Damian. Perhaps you remembered seeing me the other day inside the student council room," Damian added.


    Yman slightly nodded his head as a reply to his question. He was right, he remembered seeing him inside the student council room. "Is there a problem?" He asked.


    Damian''s mouth extended into a smile before opening it. "There''s no problem. It just happened that I saw you coming. I thought I have to say ''hi'' to a popular person."


    Yman was puzzled by his words. "Popular? Who?" He asked out of reflex.


    "Fufufu," Damian laughed. "You don''t need to act low key. Everyone here already knew about you."


    "....."


    "....."


    "Popular?" Not only Yman was puzzled about it, but even Cinde was also. "Yes, lost puppy," said Damian to her, with a wink.


    But Cinde did not notice it as she was staring at Crimson with admiration in her eyes.


    Upon noticing their expression that says they have no idea about it. "Fufufu," Damian once again chuckled. "It''s about you being the new ranker," Damian decided to fill them.


    After hearing Damian''s words, "Congrats, Crimson!" Although knew that Crimson wasn''t an ordinary person, she never thought that he would become popular in an instant. Who would have thought that once a person became a ranker they would become so popular inside the campus.


    Yman thought.


    ''Ranker�� could it be�� the Training Pavilion?''


    Anything aside from it, there was nothing else that he remembered connected to the ranking that he achieved these past days. But, was it that great of achievements that could cause him to rise in popularity? Yman doubted.


    "Hm�� I see. Do you mean the Training Pavilion?" He asked somehow to figure if his initial thought was right or wrong.


    He noticed the person who called himself Prince Damian nodded his head.


    "Regardless, I only came to meet you personally as a fellow ranker. With that achievement of yours, you can rejoice while you still can. Being a ranker give you so many benefits, but it also required you to participate in the Pavilion''s demands��"


    "What? Pavilion''s demands?"


    "Right."


    Yman didn''t know about it. Could it be�� they forgot to notify him about it? Wait�� since it was the Training Pavilion, perhaps they only wanted him to achieve another success by successfully defeating another stage. Yman assumed.


    But it seemed like Damian was able to read him. He added saying: "One of them, and the most common one is to accept a challenge from a challenger who wishes to challenge you in the Virtual Arena."


    Yman fell silent.


    ''So a duel again, huh.'' He thought.


    Honestly, Professor Ronnie told them that there was another way of gaining points and ranks at a faster rate. But it also endangered their rank and points at the same time. The other way to gain points and ranks for their department was to bet their rank and points in a battle. There was this facility that was called a Virtual Arena, in this arena, every ranker could battle to bet their ranks and points.


    They could choose either to fight in a duel, duo, and even a team of five players.


    Upon hearing it, Yman thought deeply. If he wanted to buy the ingredients that Professor Ronnie needed to help them solve the miasma, he had to gamble with it. After all, there was no ranking they could lose as they were not in the rank in the first place.


    So, the question is�� how he made a bet? Or what to do to increase their rank? It was what Yman wanted to figure out. It was also the reason why he came here. He needed Rea''s help.


    He glanced at the person in front of him. "I see, so a Virtual Arena, huh."


    Upon hearing his mutter, a glint briefly happened in Prince Damian''s eyes. "Itmust sound like a simple duel. But don''t forget that anyone that you will face there is the same ranker as you. Each of them are not easy opponents. In any case, if I were you. I started to prepare myself because the battle of the rankers is not just a child''s play. Fufu."


    After a chuckle, "Thanks for your time Mr. Crimson Agila. We shall leave you now as you look like you have an important business needed to do." Damian then glanced at Cinde. "See you, lost puppy."


    Cinde knitted her brows and frowned. Yman, on the other hand, just smiled wryly. He wanted to ask Prince Damian if Rea was in the council room, but he decided not.


    After Prince Damian and his friends left, Yman and Cinde continued to the Student Council room.


    From the outside, they could hear their voices. Looks like they have just finished discussing the future competition.


    Yman remembered he needed to return soon to the Human City Zone 7. The inside competition was about to begin in that academy.


    After Yman and Cinde knocked on the door, they heard someone''s permission to come in.


    Around this time, in Human City Zone 7, the academy staff were also busy planning the coming competition.


    The instructors were busy training their trainees. On the other hand, those who explored the dungeon still did not return. Mostly, exploration would take a week as the shortest possible days and longest was months.


    But Almina and the others just came out of the dungeon. It only took them 3-4 days as they needed to train in the academy. After all, they were still trainees.


    Each of them was exhausted as they came out, but everyone noticed that they matured somehow. Looks like some of them were able to advance to some level.


    It was noticeable also that their magical aura had raised considerably. Even Bob and his party members had a noticeable difference in growth.


    However, their exploration wasn''t a smooth one. Bob''s party and Kiko''s party argue a lot. It was thanks to Almina''s party that the issue did not go big and was always settled.


    If not because of Almina, a brawl between these parties were unavoidable.


    The most who have great advancements among them all were Almina, Maena, and Kiko.


    These three people have now reached level 10 or False Path expert.


    Kiko was very happy, there were occasions that he was able to converse with Almina.


    Although, when he tried to open up a conversation about her likes and such, she would occasionally divert the topic about their fighting styles, skills, monsters, and etcetera.


    He sighed. Anyhow, it was a good start to make a friendly conversation with her. However, he wanted to know if she truly likes him. Almina seemed to be not the type of person who was openly expressing her thoughts, especially about her love interest.


    It was so depressing for Kiko, he wanted to know her feelings towards him. But he could not force it on her. He wanted Almina to be the one expressing her feelings first to him.


    Upon realizing that Almina was not the type of person who would do that. He started to change his plan. Now he had to be friendly to her.


    As long as in the end she would fall into his hands, all his hard work would be worth it.


    Aside from the talk about love, Kiko''s other priority was to gain more influence in the Sun family. Now that he finally reached the first path of advancements, his influence in the Sun family would surely grow.


    If things kept going the way it was, all his dreams would be not just a dream. They would soon come into reality.


    No.


    He would make sure that it would come to reality. Especially that hateful person was already out of the picture.


    Kiko shook his head to get rid of that person''s name in his mind. That person was just an unnecessary extra that did not need to be mentioned anymore. Everyone already forgot that person existed.


    Kiko shook his head once again, he needed to clear his mind.


    He almost perfected his new ultimate skill, thanks to his advancement to a False Path Expert, it was easier to control his mana.


    When night came, Kiko went to the rooftop of the private building that his family bought inside the city.


    He sat cross-legged and started his meditation. His body was immediately enveloped by a brilliant magical aura. After it, he went into deep concentration.


    In his mind, the coming competition, he would make sure to come out as the new Ace of this academy.


    Around this time, Almina and the others also did their meditation in each of their homes. Almina and Maena finally mastered the second stage of Perfect Breathing, and now in the process of perfecting the third stage.


    The exploration helped them a lot to understand the first and second stages of it.

 Chapter 226: 5D-Seer, Citadel, Virtual Arena

    The next morning, Yman went to the Training Pavilion. He directly went to the second floor of it.


    Yesterday, he talked with Rea, and she agreed to his pleas.


    He asked Rea to be the one to buy the ingredients they needed. Rea agreed to help him and told him that he needed to pay with Department points. Yman then nodded. He could not ask Cinde to do it using her other department as she wasn''t a high-status member of that department.


    On the second floor of the Training Pavilion, could be found the facility known as Citadel.


    Inside the Citadel, people or Demihumans were usually visiting this place to contest their strength from other experts, especially the rankers.


    When he entered the room, he noticed that there were many people inside. Some of them glanced at him in wonder and curiosity.


    Seeing such a new face just pique their interests.


    "Wait, isn''t that the newbieranker?"


    "New ranker? Oh, so, he is the new ranker."


    "Mhm!"


    When one of them was able to recognize him, the others started to whisper at each other. After knowing his identity, they started to look at him differently.


    They were probably sizing him.


    Although many people inside were looking at him, most were not minding him.


    On the first floor no doubt that many people would recognize him on the spot, but on the second floor, it was different. He was more than a normal person on this floor.


    Most rankers are frequent in this room. After all, this room is the room for all rankers. Only rankers are qualified to enter this room. So seeing a newbie ranker wasn''t unexpected at all. They even show a mocking smile at him.


    Yman proceeded to the counter and disregarded their mockery. He came for an important reason, and he only has little time for it. So, he could not be bothered by them.


    In the first place, he didn''t even care about being a ranker nor being popular.


    The room inside was quite spacious, which he believed could accommodate about 250 people or more.


    He saw some big screens around, and some people were busy gazing at them, unbothered by their surroundings. The others were noisy yelling-- probably cheering to the two people fighting inside the monitor, which Yman believed as rankers who were dueling.


    Yman gasped in admiration at the place, much modernized compared to the HCZ7. Fufu, a mocking chuckle escaped from his mouth. It was a chuckle of mockery towards that place-- the HCZ7.


    Well, he wasn''t mocking it because he disliked it. It was just funny to think that the city of the people from a modern society was more backwater compared to this Academy.


    When Yman arrived at the counter, he was required to present his student ID together with contracts with the Training Pavilion.


    "Oh, newbie?" Asked the counter girl. Yman nodded his head as a reply.


    Then the counter girl gave him some documents that he needed to sign.


    Yman noticed the counter girl wrinkled his forehead upon her eyes landed on the department he belonged.


    After signing all the documents, the counter girl presented him with a level 1 membership card together with a triangular device that looks like MTMD.


    This device was known as 5D-Seer. Just like the MTMD''s, a holographic screen would appear once you activate it. You could toggle it to search for an available ranker to be the opponent.


    There was also the ranking list of the rankers. The winning rate was the basis for the ranking.


    Even his status as a ranker was also there. Yman proceeded to check the ranker in the ranking list.


    But their status and winning rate that displayed in it were so overwhelming.


    Yman went to read the FAQ. He learned that, through this device, anyone who received a challenge would get a pop-up notification, asking you if to accept the challenge or not.


    Through this device, their soul would enter the 5th dimension while their body went into a state of hibernation.


    It was highly recommended that whenever one accepts the challenge-- one must be in a safe place.


    Since he was already an official member of the ranker people, Yman decided to leave for now. But he stopped when he noticed the approaching person.


    "Yo'' Crimson!"


    Yman squinted his eyes. It was Prince Damian. Yman nodded with a smile.


    "Fancy meeting you here. Did you come to finalize your membership?" Prince Damian asked.


    "Yeah!"


    "Fufu, that''s good. Why don''t you try it?"


    Prince Damian said as he pointed to the monitor where two rankers were dueling.


    "....."


    Yman stared at the monitor. He noticed that each of the rankers was wearing overwhelming armor.


    The other one was wearing deep blue color armor with a pair of spiky shoulder pads.


    The second one was wearing dark red with dragon-like scales on the chest.


    Each of them was holding a sword as a weapon.


    The guy in deep blue armor summoned a blue aura and enveloped his sword. At the same time, the ranker in dark red armor also summoned a fire element and covered his weapon with fire.


    The ranker in deep blue armor took the initiative to attack. He waved his sword down. It was followed by a wave of magical energy-- shot towards his opponent.


    After seeing the incoming attack, the ranker in dark red rushed forward in a zig-zag.


    The crescent-moon-shaped magical energy passed at a hairsbreadth distance from the ranker in dark red armor.


    He then sprinted ahead as the dust was hovering behind him.


    He lifted his sword to stab the opponent with his fire sword.


    The ranker in deep blue armor jumped in the air while flipping. Before he landed, he condensed magical energy on his hand and fired it at his opponent.


    Electrifying energy in the form of a palm was crashing from above towards the ranker in dark red armor.


    The ranker in red armor was able to dodge at the last second by rolling on the ground.


    At the same time, the ranker in deep blue armor landed on the ground, the ranker in dark red armor also regained his ground. Then a wave of flaming burst from the sword towards the ranker in deep blue armor.


    From his left hand, a shield in bluish color materialized.


    It then blocked the fire. However, the shield was shaking terribly.z


    Yman could feel the pressure from that flame attack.


    After a flame wave, it was followed by fireballs. Consecutive fireballs were fired and collided to shield with loud bangs.


    The ranker in dark blue armor was hiding like a turtle in his shield.


    When he noticed the fireballs had stopped, he peeked and saw the charging opponent.


    "Overdrive!"


    After shouting the word, from the feet of the ranker in deep blue armor, a massive amount of magical energy burst out. Then his feet were covered by bluish magical energy. With a single kick on the ground, his figure shot like a comet to the approaching enemy.


    "Ultimate Discharge!" He shouted once again.


    WAAAAM!


    The ranker in dark red armor collided with his shield, and the impact caused a loud bang.


    Th ranked in red armor was sent flying and rolled like a ragged-doll on the ground.


    Without wasting time, he jumped in the air while raising his sword overhead.


    The ranker in dark red armor pushed his body. But he was hurt from that attack. He coughed several times.


    However, when he noticed the opponent in the air, he pierced the tip of his sword in the ground.


    Hum! Hum! Hum! Vibrating sounds reach their ears.


    Another electrifying magical energy came slamming on the ground to where the ranker in dark red armor was half-kneeling.


    WAAAAAAAAM!!! A stronger impact had generated a louder noise. After a loud impact, an explosion followed immediately.


    Yman slightly focused his eyes. The fight between the two rankers was truly impressive. Each of them was powerful.


    After the explosion, a cloud of smoke covered the surrounding. But soon after the smoke cleared, everyone who was watching at the moment was gaping.


    The huge Palm Strike was successfully blocked by the ranker in dark red.


    Then the two of them once again engaged with each other. Sparks were flying everywhere every time their swords met.


    Yman decided to leave, not because he was bored at their duel, but because he needed to start dueling as well.


    One of the reasons he left, he didn''t like talking longer with Prince Damian. Whenever that person talked, it seemed like he had a hidden agenda.


    Upon leaving, he also noticed some familiar faces. One of them was Gilion Gustav. He wanted to say ''hi'', but decided not as it would be troublesome if he kept pestering him to duel with him. It wasn''t like he was afraid of him. It just, that guy was so hard-headed. Defeating him would not bring good.


    After leaving the Training Pavilion, he transmitted to the scouts. He needed to check Ria''s safety.


    After confirming her whereabouts and that she was fine, he went back to his inn.

 Chapter 227: Virtual Arena

    When Yman arrived at the Inn, his latest model MTMD made a tone. It was a dry and normal tone to notify the owner of the new mail.


    He sat on the edge of the bed and quickly opened the device. He could guess who the sender was.


    If not Bob and the others, it was either his Sister or Miss Pai. At first, when he log-in to his old account in this new model MTMD, a flood of messages almost caused his device to overheat. Most of them were from his Sister, Miss Pai, and weirdly, from the anonymous person!


    The anonymous was asking about his location and what happened to him. But Yman disregarded it. As long as he didn''t know the real identity of the person, he could not disclose his whereabouts.


    He decided to call his sister as he was sure that she was worried about him by now. They had a heartfelt conversation later on. After all, there were only two of them as a family in this world. He learned that her health did not get any better. She also said to him to come back as she was worried for him. Yman just smiled and went silent. He could not say yes as he wanted to bring the medicine with him when he decided to come back.


    Next, he asked Yana to pass the device to Miss Pai. He wanted to ask about the academy.


    The news that Miss Pai filled him had surprised him. She said that the city was now developing. All was because of him!? And the others. He was puzzled as to why he was one of the causes. Miss Pai then told him everything he needed to know.


    Yman gawked upon hearing him. Never would he have thought that he was one of the people who would get a percentage of income in the dungeon.


    Put aside the latest talk he had with them, the current mail was as expected, it was from Anonymous! The message said:


    [_/]Anonymous:


    [Hi! Sorry for disturbing you again. Uhm�� I guess you are quite busy today�� Uhm�� (Thinking Emoji)... The truth is�� I successfully advanced to a higher level! (Cheer Emoji) Sorry for babbling nonsense and sorry for taking up spaces of your device with this random message of mine�� uhm�� (Shy Emoji) (Shy emoji) actually, the coming days will be the start of the inside competition in the academy�� I''m just hoping that perhaps, you could at least watch the event. See ya! (Doki Doki Emoji)]


    "....."


    Yman was dumbfounded at the message. Who could it be? He asked in mind. A secret admirer? He shook his head. That was impossible. He thought.


    Regardless, the anonymous talked about the inside competition of the academy. ''Could it be what this person meant was the competition in Zone 7?'' He was guessing.


    And why does this person like putting emojis in his/her message?


    Anyway, the competition in the academy of zone 7 will also start in the coming days. I needed to return then.


    But before that, there was also the summon from the empress of Encantasia. Based on the letter on the parchment, the exact date was the third day to come.


    "....."


    Looked like he would be going to have busy days this week.


    After closing his device, he gazed through the window. It was still early in the morning. Some people would pass by as they hurriedly flew away.


    Sigh.


    He let a sigh escape from his mouth. Then focused his attention and transmitted on his scouts that were currently scouting on Rea.


    One of them was parking on the branch of the tree, in front of the window of the student council room. The other one was crawling on the ceiling.


    He saw Rea talking cheerfully with the student council president and her beautiful cousin.


    From time to time, Rea would send glances in the direction of his scouts. Maybe she was anxious? Or maybe not. He could not read her thoughts, so don''t expect him to know!


    Sigh.


    After letting another sigh, He suddenly heard his Deity''s question. She was currently sitting on the bed beside him.


    "Nothing-- ugh!"


    Just the only word came out of his mouth.


    Yman held his head. For some reason, he suddenly felt a little dizzy. He wondered why it happened, maybe he was just tired.


    Sistela glanced at him


    "Ha? Uh�� Yeah!"


    Yman shook his head to clear his vision. Sistela on the other hand, tilted her head.


    When his vision was back to normal again, he took the 5d-Seer device in his pocket and positioned himself, lying on the bed.


    "My deity, please take care of me," he said and smiled at her.


    Sistela assured him as she flew on top of his chest.


    He then clicked the 5d-Seer device. Then a rectangular screen appeared in front of his face.


    Inside the screen, he could see the menus. He went to check his Ranker status.


    Ranker Name: Crimson Agila


    Ranker Codename: The Mysterious


    Ranker level: 0


    Ranker Point/s: 100


    Win: 0


    Lost: 0


    Total Fights: 0


    Winning rate: 0%


    Ranker''s Main Department: Little Garden Department of Alchemy.


    Department rank: unranked


    "....."


    Yman swiped the screen and went to the menu where he could search for available opponents. He tapped the option. After tapping it, the screen was changed to a loading interface.


    After a couple of seconds, a list of available opponents appeared.


    1- Level 1 Ranker Mr. Joker


    2- Level 1 Ranker Grimlord


    3- Level 5 Ranker Ilovehentai


    4- Level 2 Ranker Slayer


    5- Level 3 Ranker Magical Girl


    6- Level 2 Ranker Yamete


    7- Level 1 Ranker Kudasai


    8- Level 0 Ranker Special Girl


    9- Level 2 Ranker Abyssal Lord


    10- Level 1 Ranker Midnight


    ��


    About hundreds of Ranker code names appeared orderly together with their levels.


    Yman just had to choose one of them to execute a duel invitation.


    He pondered for a moment but for some reason, the other code name was just too weird. Looked like these people tolerated it as something like a video game.


    Yman tapped on the Ranker in number one. The name was Ranker Mr. Joker with the level of 1 as a Ranker. Probably a newbie Ranker like him.


    After tapping it, the additional information had appeared.


    Yman read the status of Mr. Joker.


    Ranker Name: XXXXX (For privacy!)


    Ranker Codename: Mr. Joker


    Ranker level: 1


    Ranker Point/s: 150


    Win: 1


    Lost: 0


    Total Fights: 1


    Winning rate: 100%


    Ranker''s Main Department: The Chaotic Department of Knight and Magic.


    Department rank: unranked


    ''I see, so the real name wasn''t shown for the Ranker''s privacy. Well, not all would want to reveal their identity. Some choose to remain mysterious. Anyway, this person was able to win in his first fight. He must be a strong Ranker," Yman pondered.


    In the end, he tapped the Ranker with the name Special Girl as they were both Level 0.


    He tapped the choices. Then it required him to choose the place of battle. Many choices appeared and there were even choices. But Yman chose the Plain Field as the place of their duel. It was followed by another pop-up.


    Yman chose the choices then it was followed by a loading interface.


    Around this time, inside Almina''s room, she was burrowing her face in the pillow. She just sent a notification to Yman. Although many of her mail had no reply yet, she was still sending mail to him without expecting a reply.


    Her Deity Cal was shaking his head. Looks like his owner still could not forget that person.


    Back in the inn, inside Yman''s room. A pop-up notification finally appeared.


    He immediately tapped the choices.


    After tapping it, Yman felt that his consciousness was being sucked by a strange wave of pressure.


    He found himself standing in the middle of the Plain Field. He scanned around and saw nothing but only Plain Fields!


    Even though it was stated in the FAQ section, he was still surprised to see himself in this field known as Virtual Arena.


    He scanned himself. At the moment, he was garbed in a brown sleeveless shirt. Just looking at it, he could tell that he looked like a commoner! Even his pants were of cheap fabric. His shoes weren''t even for combat. It looked like the cheapest shoes that the poorest person could afford to buy in this era.


    He scanned again, but anything aside from those things, there was nothing more.


    He looked like an ignorant kid as he was scanning himself. But he was unaware of it as he was overwhelmed by surprise.


    Without him knowing, he was the subject of mockery inside the Citadel.


    "Fufu, look at that person! He looked like someone who had just been born," Pointed the Encan person.


    "Haha, as expected of a newbie!"


    "So hilarious! Haha!"


    But their laughs were unheard of-- by him.


    A moment later, the enemy finally materialized in front of him.

 Chapter 228: A useless struggle!

    A young girl with a pair of wolf ears appeared in front of him. Like him, she too was wearing a flaxen-colored sleeveless shirt, paired with rusty-colored pants, and a pair of cheap-looking shoes.


    Her carmen-colored twin-tail hair was slightly dancing as the slight wind caressed them.


    However, unlike him, she was holding a short sword.


    He wondered how she was able to summon such a sword in this world. He guessed that he skipped reading it in the manual. He didn''t read the whole thing as it was too long and went to the most important indications.


    Regardless, after materializing, the girl showed the same reaction as him-- puzzled and in awe of the place.


    But when her eyes landed on him, they narrowed like the eyes of a hawk that wanted to devour its prey. Such as the eye of a predator.


    "Are you my enemy?"


    She asked as she pointed the tip of her sword to him. Her voice was, well, the voice of a person who was ready for a battle.


    Yman scratched his face.


    "W...Well, it wasn''t hard to guess, right?" He replied with a wry smile.


    He saw the girl squinted his eyes and directly posed in a ready to fight stan.


    Her right hand was gripping the hilt of the sword beside her face, pointing the tip forward; Whereas, the left hand was straight in front of her.


    He was wondering if she was a martial expert.


    Yman, on the other hand, was empty-handed. Not only that, his trusted Deity wasn''t on his side either. He had only his own at the moment.


    Out of all this downside, he noticed a positive side. No restriction in this dimension! He could feel his power again. The management of this Virtual Arena probably wanted them to fight with their heart''s contentment.


    While his enemy was in fighting stan already; he, on the other hand, was standing still. He was a man without a style, after all.


    However, all of the people in the Citadel had no idea about him. They were laughing and mocking him for being an idiot who did not buy a beginner''s supply. They could buy weapons, armor, shields, and etcetera in the Citadel.


    Each newbie had a starting point of 100. It was up to them how they spent it.


    And yet, that newbie with the codename of The Mysterious was mysteriously dumb!


    Hahaha!


    They laughed while shaking their heads.


    "Hey, what are you doing?!"


    "Nothing, we are just watching the two cheerful newbies on their debut!"


    "Really!? Hahaha!"


    "Yeah! Come join up!"


    "Pufft! Sure!"


    Such a noisy audience in the Citadel, but all of them were Rankers. People started to gather just to laugh and make fun of the newbie''s fight.


    Some of them were thinking that they looked like them when they were on their first time as well.


    Not far from them, one specific person was fixedly staring at the large monitor screen without being bothered by the noise coming from around him.


    "Gilion!" Suddenly, someone called out to him.


    Gilion didn''t bother looking behind and just stared at the monitor. He was aware of the person who was calling him. But he disregarded it as the person he was waiting for had finally arrived in the Virtual Arena. He knew that one day he would meet him again.


    A grin happened on his face as he muttered the word, "finally."


    Finally, he could get his revenge on him sooner. Hehe.


    "Yo'' Gilion!"


    Tap! Gilion felt a tag onn his shoulder.


    "Prince Damian."


    Although Gilion didn''t want to socialize with this person, he needed to show some respect. One of the reasons was because the other person was a prince of a kingdom.


    "Fufu, I thought you were a statue."


    Damian laughed.


    "....."


    Gilion didn''t engage with his joke and remained silent.


    Prince Damian, on the other hand, wasn''t bothered by it. Gilion was known as the type of person who always had a face of seriousness.


    Damian then noticed him staring at the monitor. He was staring at the exact person he wanted to watch.


    "Do you know him?"


    Gilio slightly frowned. "Not quite. But that person wasn''t someone you could look down."


    Prince Damian glanced at Gilion''s face and saw he was serious. "Oh, I see. That''s interesting," he said with a glint in his eyes but wearing a mocking smile on his face.


    Gilion did not say further as his focus was now on the monitor as the fight had finally started.


    Seeing the enemy empty-handed, Special Girl sneered at him. This enemy of hers seemed like a wimp, or maybe he was looking down on her.


    Again, it must be because she was a girl!


    "Tsk!"


    She was fed-up with this kind of reason. It was the type of person she hated. Nonetheless, it was fortunate for her that her first enemy didn''t choose a weapon. She would be going to teach him how important it was not to look down on a girl.


    It would be an easy win! She thought to herself. Then she rushed forward. With a single kick on the ground, her figure disappeared and reappeared in front of him.


    She was already in the pose of doing a slash.


    Shing!


    The slash drew a long diagonal scratch that remained in the air.


    However, the sound of a slash wasn''t the expected sound. It was a dull, unimpactful sound. No doubt that her attack only hit empty air.


    Special Girl was quite surprised because the enemy was still in front of her! Maybe she messes up with her estimation of the distance.


    In the Citadel, the Rankers who were watching them were laughing at them.


    "Hahaha, as expected of the newbies!"


    "Puffft! That girl needs some glasses!"


    In truth, Yman stepped back a little. It was hard to notice his movement because of his speed.


    Special Girl knitted her brows. She didn''t know how she missed the target, but he was in front of her!


    Her left foot stepped forward, then followed by a quick stab.


    Shing!


    "What!?" She exclaimed because her attack missed again, and her enemy was still in front of her, showing a meek face while scratching his face!


    "Urhmmm!" With knitted brows again, she growled while pursing her lips.


    Although she was wondering why her attack failed again, she didn''t waste another time and continued her attack.


    She waved the short sword in hand to the enemy.


    Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!


    She lost count of how many times she waved the sword, but she was certain that none of her attacks hit for once!


    She glared at him.


    "You!" She shouted. It was clear to her now that he was toying at her.


    It wasn''t because she messed up with the distance calculation; he was just too fast for her.


    Even the audience inside the Citadel fell silent as they narrowed their eyes to the monitor.


    It wasn''t hard to guess that the newbie with the code name of The Mysterious was purposely evading the attacks in a small margin.


    Gilion was clenching his fist. He knew that the gap in speed between the two was too broad.


    Prince Damian narrowed his eyes. "Hehe, I see." He mumbled, but who knows what he was thinking; even Gilion didn''t want to know.


    Suddenly, Gilion heard Damian say, "He was strong indeed, but only above average."


    Gilion gawked. He knew Damian had a special ability that allowed him to gauge the person''s magical power.


    However, this Damian didn''t see what he saw that day. Well, Gilion had no intention of pointing that out.


    Damian left after saying those words, and Gilion was left alone watching the continuation of the fight.


    Special Girl was annoyed!


    She summoned magical energy all over her body and to her sword. Then shot herself to the enemy. Consecutive strikes were raining down onto him.


    She even fired condensed magical energy in the form of a blade.


    But Yman was able to evade it by flipping his body backward. When his feet landed on the ground, he kicked them and rushed towards her. More magical blades were raining towards him. He moved in a zig-zag and avoided them all.


    He sent a sharp punch to her gut, which caused her to vomit.


    Everyone in the Citadel fell silent.


    Special Girl grabbed his pants. Yman, on the other hand, was staring down at her.


    She could not lose. This first battle was important for her. She needed to win.


    A grin appeared on her face. "I finally got you��" she said in a pained voice. After mumbling it, she mustered magical energy on her hand.


    Yman didn''t know what she was planning, but he could not feel any danger from her. In any case, he had to finish the fight.


    A raging fist came rushing down. Seeing the first, Special girl''s countenance turned grim. She bit her lip and pulled his pants forcefully.


    His pants tore and only underwear remained.


    Special Girl grinned, but she froze and subconsciously muttered the word, "Wow!" After she noticed the bulging front of his underwear.


    In truth, she expected him to feel shy and lost momentum; However, it was futile, the raging fist was still coming down onto her.

 Chapter 229: SoB(Soul Battery)

    (A/N: Chapter 232 was fixed. Please re-add the book to your library to refresh the contents.)


    The result of his first match was unexpected, not only by him but also with the other Rankers who were watching the fight.


    "I won! I won!" Said Special Girl as she was jumping high and low.


    The ranker named The Mysterious had mysteriously logged out. He disappeared in the middle of sending a finishing fist.


    Everyone in the Citadel gawked before a guffaw shook the whole room.


    "What the hell is that outcome!? Hahaha! Her opponent had logged out the instance she tore his pants!"


    "Wahahaha! These newbies are such comedians!"


    "That guy is surely afraid of the girl seeing his little thing!"


    Puwahahaha!


    While inside the Citadel everyone was batshit laughing,


    On the other hand, Yman was surprised to see himself back in his room. He blinked twice before he checked the result of his previous match.His mouth hung open when he saw it was empty. He believed helost by default after his disconnection.


    He glanced around him and saw Sistela was in hibernation mode.


    Yman scratched the back of his head and forced a wry smile. "It can''t be helped. Haha, look, who says she won''t let a single mosquito come near me?" he mumbled.


    Although he was lost, he wasn''t a bit disheartened.


    "Damnit!"He was too engrossed with many things in his mind that he failed to notice it was a 2% battery only before he logged in.


    "Hm�� Wait, how to recharge it? I have to check the manual��"


    "Damn, so damn��"


    "....."


    After reading the manual, a blank face was facing the ceiling.


    "It had a sensor that could absorb the soul of the fallen?"


    "What is this supposed to mean?"


    "Isn''t this an ordinary device--!"


    "Wait-- it isn''t ordinary at all! The fact that it could send me to that Virtual Arena was already out of the ordinary."


    Yman was mumbling alone inside his room. He was trying to understand the use of 5d-Seer.


    After reading the booklet, "I see, I needed to fuel it with the monster''s soul!"


    "....."


    "Souls? Souls are the main element to enter the 5th dimension?"


    "Unbelievable!" Yman exclaimed when he had a realization.


    The 4th dimension was very common in this era. It even was used in different ways. One of them was the Cyber Storage and the spatial ring; Whereas the 5th dimension was the most difficult to enter. Not even on the Outerworld that he heard of such a way to enter this fifth dimension.


    So upon realizing the real purpose of the 5d-Seer, he was beyond surprised.


    "Hehe! This Innerworld is truly a mystical place!"


    Even though he was mumbling it, he was still a little doubtful if it was truly the legit 5th dimension written in the old books.


    "Regardless, the monster soul it mentioned was the energy inside the inner core of the monster."


    "Phew! Good thing I stored some in my Cyber Storage," Yman sighed in relief as he remembered the inner cores of the Big Beak Worms he stored in the Cyber Storage. There was even that inner core from the Abnormality that he killed near the market.


    He did not waste another time and summon his Cyber Storage. He took one of the inner cores he looted from the worm.


    At the back of the 5d-Seer device, there was a part that looked like a camera and also a little vacuum. But it wasn''t like that. This thing was called Soul Absorber.


    He pointed the Soul Absorber to the inner core on his palm. After he did it, greenish energies were floating towards the camera-like parts of the device.


    "I see, it looks like mutated beasts have greenish soul color. Whereas, Humans and Demihumans have the same blueish. Demons, on the other hand, have red."


    The inner core unexpectedly crumbled and turned to dust after it was dried out.


    Then the 5d-Seer Device had finally rebooted; he noticed an additional 10% of SoB(Soul Battery).


    "Hm�� That inner core was only equal to 10 percent SoB?!" He exclaimed. "Unbelievable!"


    "Then again, I don''t even have any idea of its quality."


    "....."


    He took another one and pointed the Soul Absorber to the second inner core. Like the first one, the inner core was sucked dry.


    Another 10 percent of ''SoB'' was added.


    Yman took the third inner core. It was still the same inner core from Big Beak Worm.


    The next second, his 5d-Seer accumulated 30 percent of SoB.


    Yman furrowed as he was staring at his Ranker Status. Now it was tainted by a loss. Tsk! He could only click his tongue in dismay while starting at his 1 loss record.


    He shook his head.


    The device was able to absorb 30 percent of SoB, he believed that it would at least enable him to finish several battles before its battery emptied again.


    He noticed 50 of his points were gone. Now, he only left with 50 also.


    "....."


    He positioned himself again on the bed. Then scan for available opponents. Just like before, many code names together with their levels had shown up.


    After selecting his prepared enemy, he chose the choices for the battlefield.


    Inside the Citadel, one ranker was laughing together with his friends. They saw a hilarious duel just now. The guy had logged out after his enemy tore his pants.


    Right now, they are repeatedly chanting the name of the winner.


    Special Girl! Special Girl! Special Girl!


    She suddenly became popular because of that win. On the contrary, her enemy had become the laughing stock.


    They could not forget his codename. It was The Mysterious! Bwahahahaha! A man guffawed whenever he remembered him logging out after his pants were torn apart.


    He wanted to battle him for fun only. Unfortunately, he could not issue a battle invitation to him as he was already a Level 5 Ranker. Any newbies with zero level could not be invited by higher level than them. But the Level 0 Ranker could send a battle invitation to a higher level by their own accord.


    Most of the higher Level Ranker would wish to challenge a lower level Ranker. Especially, that it was fun toying with them. Overwhelming them with so much power.


    Higher-level Rankers had better equipment than the lower level. Not only because they already accumulated enough points to shop for items. But every better tier equipment needed a corresponding level to acquire.


    At the moment, the man was still in guffaw together with others. It was hard to forget that final scene.


    Ding!


    He stopped laughing when his 5d-Seer made a loud notification tone.


    "Fufufu, who could it be��" there was only one reason that this kind of tone would ring. It was to inform him of a new challenge invitation.


    He clicked on it to access the holographic screen.


    When the challenger''s name appeared together with the invitation, a chuckle broke from his mouth.


    He could not believe it! Hehe! He was so lucky! That man sent him a challenge!


    He ran to the private section of the Citadel.

 Chapter 230: Brother Don’t Cry

    "Where does Silent Killer go?"


    One of his friends asked the question when he noticed that he rushed away.


    "I saw him running towards the private room!" Said the other while pointing to the private section of the Citadel.


    The private section was where most of the Ranker who wished to battle would go. It was a comfortable, secluded room with an auto-adjust air conditioning system to adjust the temperature based on the Ranker''s body.


    A Ranker who wishes to use it would have their body floating above the single size bed. The bed was a magic-based item. It came up with different kinds of reinforcements spells. One could only experience a comfortable feeling while on it.


    Most of the Rankers who came to chill and loitered inside the Citadel would often use the private room whenever they received an unexpected challenge invitation or if they wanted to challenge someone they wished to fight.


    "Could it be he received a challenge invitation?" The third person in Silent Killer''s group of friends guessed.


    "Perhaps, because I saw him grinning broadly," replied the first person.


    "Holy guys! The one you are looking for is there!" The second person in their group pointed to the monitor in front of them. In one of the many channels in it, they saw Silent Killer materialized in the middle of the forest.


    "Fuck! Silent Killer''s favorite place!"


    "That guy will torture his opponent!"


    The second and first person in their group exclaimed with a can''t be helped expression on their faces.


    "Damn, another easy win for him!" Said his friend with his palm on his face.


    "That dude slipping in silent! Who could be his opponent this time?" Asked the third person.


    They were noisily conversing while waiting for the opponent to show up.


    Their wait for Silent Killer''s opponent to show up didn''t take long. But their eyes almost dropped on the floor when they saw who it was.


    "HIIIIMMMMM??!" A loud voice reverberated in the Citadel when the person was so shocked to control his voice. It was coming from one of the Silent Killer''s friends.


    "Dammit! That Silent Killer is so lucky!" followed another member of them.


    "Puwahahaha!" The third person failed to contain his laughter and burst out amid the crowd.


    The others glanced at them, seemingly curious about what the fuss was all about.


    Then they saw on the monitor 2 Rankers were about to face each other.


    Weirdly though, the other one was so obvious a newbie! And wait! Most of them recognized him!


    He was the newbie who fought with another newbie just recently.


    Everybody gawked in disbelief after realizing who he was. Then murmurs of different kinds of gossip and unintended insults were fired at him. Though, the person himself had no idea what was happening at the moment inside the Citadel.


    "How damn!"


    "That newbie has so many guts!"


    "Hahaha! He''s one of a kind!"


    "Pssshh! Let''s pretend he''s a level 100 Ranker!"


    "Puwhaha! Nice comment you have there, brother!"


    They were making fun of the newbie''s gallant challenge against a higher level Ranker. Everyone could tell that the newbie was the one who issued the challenge.


    Although many people inside the Citadel were making fun of the newbie, some of them were just riding the fun while some just didn''t care about the commotion and were watching another match at the moment.


    In the forest where Silent Killer found himself, a grin was uncontrolled on his face.


    "Hehe, now let''s wait for that idiot to pass by," Silent Killer said after planting a hidden trap.


    "This trap would be triggered when that person passed by��"


    "...and when the trap was triggered, it would cause an explosion that will take his vision."


    "After his vision is rendered useless, that''s when the fun stuff is going to happen. Hehehe!"


    Silent Killer planned out his ambush. As someone like him, who was adept in ambushing his enemy, the forest was a better place.


    But wait, why would he lay such a trap for a newbie enemy?


    The answer was simple. Silent Killer knew that the enemy, although only a newbie, had extraordinary speed and strength!


    In terms of equipment, no doubt his iron armor was more durable than his beginner''s garb. Even his two daggers were better than his barehanded.


    However, the fact that his enemy had an exceptional raw ability, was already a good reason for him to not take on him lightly.


    His armor had burst his defense, and his weapon increased his attack power. But his raw strength wasn''t as good as his enemy.


    Good thing that his 5d-Seer was able to consume a higher rank mutated beast. Its beast''s soul gave him a buff that increased his speed. It was a speed-type mutated beast with the rank of BB. A cat-like beast with yellowish eyes and a pair of two tails.


    The beast''s soul also gives him an additional 10% damage at any surprise-attack he did to the enemy. It was one of the reasons why he needed to ambush him.


    The trap was hard to discern using ordinary eyes. It was a coalition of magical energy that was hidden 1 foot below the ground, and it had a diameter of five meters.


    So whenever the enemy stepped around the range, it would trigger the trap. He named this trap of his as--


    "Woah! Look at that! Our brother Silent Killer is so cautious!"


    "Right! He was even laying his favorite trap. Wait, what he called it again?"


    "Oh, that technique of his?"


    "Yeah!"


    "He called it as-- Brother Don''t Cry!"


    "Dammmmn! So cooooool!"


    "Rip him! Brother Killer!"


    "Shred that presumptuous newbie!"


    "Too bad, you can''t even loot the newbie as it has trash equipment!" One person shook his head in regret. If only the newbie had expensive equipment. Brother Killer could loot his equipment.


    The gung-ho crowd was ever so silent inside the Citadel.


    It wasn''t only below the ground that Silent Killer planted his traps. Honestly, inside a tree, or even in its branches, the traps were lying. They were scattered all around the place.


    After his preparations were done, he hid in the bushes while waiting for his opponent to come. He made sure to lay the traps in the area where the enemy would have a high probability of passing by.


    To make sure that the enemy would pass by in the area of traps, he cut one of the trees around using a strong strike of Slicing The Heaven Technique.


    The technique was passed down to the descendants of his family. But not all would receive it. Only the select few would.


    Fortunately, he was one of the lucky descendants who received the technique. It enabled him to increase his attack and sharpen his blade for five seconds.


    Silent Killer waited for quite a few minutes. He even lowered his presence if ever the enemy could perceive magical energy from a person. However, the chance was low.


    Creak!


    Silent Killer squinted his eyes when he heard a cracking noise. His mouth twitched and formed a smile.


    He was peeking in the direction that he believed the enemy would come out. Not long after, the creaking noise becomes closer and closer. He readied the weapons in his hands. He would attack him the second that the trap takes its effect.


    Based on the sound, he believed that the distance of the enemy from his trap wasn''t far by now. ''A few seconds later, this newbie will be crying out of shame because of the things I planned to do to him! Hehe!'' He thought inwardly.


    While he was thinking of some funny outcome that his enemy would embarrass himself, later on, he suddenly felt a dull sound from his back.


    "....."


    A puzzled expression appeared on his face when his body fell to the ground. He was having a blank face while staring at the ground and-- feet


    For some reason, he could not move his body! Puzzled at what was happening, his pupils moved to the corner of his eyes, to glance upward.


    And there he saw the white-haired Encan starting down at him with an expression of---pity?!! Pity towards him!?


    ''Dammit! What was happening!?'' His eyes trembled as he shouted in his mind.


    "....."


    He could not even summon his strength to his body and limbs. It seemed like he could not feel his body at all!!!


    "What--?" His eyes turned white when a headless body fell on the ground beside him.


    Wait! He could identify the body! It was his body! But why was his body lying beside him?!


    Before his mind could process what was happening, a foot came stepping on his face.


    He wanted to shout-- out of pain, but no voice came out of his throat. The pain of having his skull crushed to pieces was felt by him in full.


    The next second, he found himself staring at the white ceiling. It was a familiar ceiling of the private room in the Citadel.


    How come?


    Ding!


    Just right after asking, a notification popped up in front of him. Saying that he lost in the match against The Mysterious Ranker.


    Eh?


    It wasn''t only him that was stupefied; everyone watching their battle was gaping in disbelief. Especially his friends. They suddenly fell silent with shocked faces.

 Chapter 231: Random Challenger

    Yman was surprised when he materialized on the battlefield. A sudden notification notified him that his armor increased 20% and his speed increased by 10%.


    The cause of the increase was the soul devoured by his 5d-Seer. He discovered that when his 5d-Seer consumed a monster soul, it boosted some of his stats.


    But it was only applicable inside the Virtual Arena.


    The boost in his speed also gave an additional effect on his Rapid Leap skill. The distance of his Rapid Leap had increased a few meters.


    Since his perception was already exceptional, it was easy for him to perceive a hidden enemy inside the two hundred diameters.


    Even the laid traps were very clear to him.


    Using his Rapid Leap skill, he was able to sneak the enemy''s back.


    Forming his palm into a chop, he beheaded the enemy before it even noticed his presence.


    It was an easy win.


    Silent Killer, on the other hand, was afraid to get out of the private room; he was defeated by a newbie! Not only that, it was a very shameful defeat!


    For sure, everyone was waiting for him to show up to make fun of him. Silent Killer decided to sneak out.


    Some of the Rankers who saw their fight had started to notice the Ranker with the codename The Mysterious.


    However, it wasn''t to the extent that they would feel wary of him. After all, it was only a single win and he even lost in his first match. Yman was unaware of their thoughts, and even if he did, he would never give care to it.


    He received 50 Ranker points and was promoted to level 1.


    He remembered reading in the manual that he could loot the enemy''s items. He then took the enemy''s dagger and armor before choosing to leave the battlefield.


    After his first win, he decided to search for a new opponent.


    A few seconds later,


    "Hey guys, it''s him again!" One of the audience pointed at the monitor. "Who?!" The person beside him, asked in wonder.


    "That guy!" He said as he pointed.


    "Oh, The Mysterious?!" Said the person upon realizing the Ranker''s identity inside the monitor.


    "Fuck! It''s his third time to duel!" Exclaimed the person while wearing a face that could not believe.


    "I know right!"


    "That person must be sick!"


    "In any case, who is the opponent this time?"


    "Fuck it! A level 6!"


    "What!?"


    They exclaimed noisily.


    Yman found himselfnear the river.He chose a random selection, and the 5d-Seer brought him here.


    He decided to stroll around while waiting for his opponent. A moment later, he received a notification that the enemy had successfully doveinside the arena.


    The arena for a duel had a total range of 4 kilometers. It was big for only two people. One needed a high perception to find their opponent.


    While he was strolling, he noticed a presence. About 150 meters away to his left, behind a tree, the enemy was hiding.


    It was unfortunate that he could not summon his Fire Dolls. He stored them inside his Cyber Storage but learned that the Cyber Storage was inaccessible inside the Virtual Arena.


    He could only use his real strength in this regard.


    He took some pieces of stones that were lying on the ground.


    Using the low-tier spell, he fortified the stones and used them to fire towards the hidden enemy. With the flung of his finger, the stones traveled like bullets. It all pierced to the trunk of the trees.


    "Ugh! What--!"


    A groaning sound was heard after that together with a puzzled exclamation.


    He fired rapidly to the tree. Making countless holes in it. He only stopped when a notification about his opponent surrendered the fight.


    "....."


    "Damn! What was that?!"


    "Is he a Demihuman or a monster?"


    "Who else could fire a stone like that?"


    "....."


    So many questions from the audience. But noneof them could present an answer.


    The reason why the enemy chose to surrender was to avoid the enemy from looting his items. Also, he was on the verge of death already.


    Yman sighed in regret. He wanted to loot the enemy. But the enemy was wise enough to surrender before having himself killed by him.


    After defeating the third opponent, he received an additional 50 points and his Ranker level was promoted to level 2.


    He could send a message to the Citadel to order specific items but he chose not to, for now. Because Level 2 wasn''t a good level to shop for items. At this level, he could only buy low-grade weapons made of stones. The same with armors.


    In the Citadel, those who had watched his fight were still talking about the recent match. They were wondering what kind of attack he used in that fight.


    It was the first time they saw it.


    Firing the stones like rapid bullets were just too hard to believe. If they didn''t witness it with their own eyes, they would say that it was impossible.


    Perhaps they were dreaming at the moment?


    It was surreal.


    Those who hadn''t able to watch the fight had started to feel curious because of random whispers from around them. Other Rankers had started talking about The Mysterious.


    "Hey, what are you guys talking about?"


    Some Rankers came and joined the conversations. But soon, they wondered if these people were sick in the head. Stones were fired rapidly like bullets of magic-based guns? Dammit! Who in their right mind would believe it?


    Most of the Rankers who just heard it had the same reactions as the others.


    At most, they could fire fortified stones for three consecutive. Even with that, they could not guarantee that it could pierce the tree branches. Maybe some genius could do it, but not to the level that they could inflict the whole tree with countless holes.


    A moment later, another notification resounded inside the Citadel.


    "Dammit! I got a challenge invitation from a random challenger.


    "Eh? Really?"


    "Yeah!"


    "Wait, aren''t you a Level 7 Ranker already?"


    "Dammit, who was the enemy?"


    "Check his Ranker Status!"


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    "What?! A level 2 Ranker?!!"


    "Puwahahaha!"


    "Hehe, a newbie!"


    "Lucky! Idiot! It must be a newbie who didn''t know how to operate the Seer and unintentionally sent a challenge invitation to you!"


    Not far from the noisy crowd of Rankers, some Ranker started to yell out of envy towards their friend who got a challenge invitation from a newbie.

 Chapter 232: The 4th match

    For the fourth match, Yman found himself in the middle of the desert. The temperature and windy weather brushed his skin.


    A second when he dove inside-- the enemy also arrived at the place. Both of them did not waste their time and began their strategy to win the match.


    As a member of the Land Lizardmen, Ranker Mr. Earth King found the battlefield to his advantage.


    Also, his 5d-Seer was able to consume a soul from the high-ranking beast. The name of the beast was Desert King. It was a territorial beast with the rank of BB+.


    It was a fierce beast that was impossible to deal with alone. The core of it was so expensive and impossible to buy with normal Demihumans.


    After consuming the soul into his 5d-Seer, it boosts his earth-elemental spells or any attacks related to earth.


    It also increased his physical and magical defense by 50 percent, a fair amount for its price.


    Not only that, it allowed him to use the Active Skill that enabled him to burrow underground. Such skill was very perfect on this battlefield.


    Ahead of him, Yman saw the sand lurched and moving towards him. It looked like a sneak as it moved from left to right. It was coming closer to him at a rapid speed.


    Behind his bangs that were dangling on his face, he squinted his eyes. As of the moment, he was wearing the looted iron armor from his second match, and on his waist, the two iron daggers were hanging to each side.


    Although the iron armor made him a little heavier, he didn''t take it off as he was wary of the sudden attack. For him, more defense means more lifeline, though it lowered his speed a little.


    Thanks to his buff, it increased both his defense and speed. The penalty of a slight decrease in his speed wasn''t noticeable.


    Inside the Citadel, some Rankers who started to have favorable feelings towards the Ranker named The Mysterious said their comments while watching the match.


    "Unfortunately, they are in the desert."


    "Yeah, it''s unfortunate for brother The Mysterious. He could not find any stones around."


    Just as they said, Yman couldn''t find stone around. His eyes could only see endless sand.


    Regardless, he perceived a presence in the lurching sand while heading towards him like bulldozing the land.


    He surmised that there was no use running away at this point. He could not find anything for a good hiding.


    Reflected in his golden eyes was an endless dry brownish sand going through towards the horizon.


    The smell of sand was rich in the place, invading his nose whenever he breathed.


    Planting his feet on the sand, he waited for the enemy to get close while on alert for the coming clash.


    He wielded the daggers in his hands while waiting for the enemy. He also fortified it using the crimson mana.


    His wait didn''t take long as the enemy was able to get close and leap out from the ground while sending its claws to shred him.


    A hair''s breadth away from him, the claws passed by while leaving a sharp sound in his ears. It was the kind of sound that was like tearing the wind.


    He immediately followed with a knee. But before Yman could land it, his instinct screamed of danger.


    From a knee attack, he decided to step back. Just right after he stepped a few steps to his back, from the corner of his eyes, a shadow was coming to his face.


    ''A tailwhip?''


    While thinking so, gripping the daggers in his hands, he hastily crossed them in front of his face.


    A long scaly tail of the lizardmen followed after his claws missed the target.


    Ting!


    A high-piercing noise was followed by a scraping noise when his daggers and the enemy''s tail collided.


    The clash only happened in an instant, but Yman felt the strength of his enemy.


    It seemed like this enemy this time was a lot stronger than the previous ones.


    He was about to strike, but the enemy dove in a sea of sand once again.


    The enemy, once again, burrowed underground. It moved in a circle around him, seemingly waiting that he dropped his guard.


    The next second, it attacked once again. The same thing happened. After its claws missed the target, it followed by a tailwhip.


    Yman decided to duck instead of blocking it using his daggers. A whooshing sound passed over his head after he ducked.


    The scale of the enemy flickered in his eyes when it passed by.


    He was about to stab it using his dagger, but the enemy had already sunk into the sand.


    Once again, the enemy was orbiting around him, looking for an opening to attack him.


    Yman noticed that the enemy''s movement had become quicker and quicker. Then it leaped out from the ground once again.


    However, before he could take action, the enemy already disappeared into the bottom of the sand.


    Whenever it leaped out of the sand, it was followed by hovering of dust and sand, forming like a cloud of smoke.


    The enemy was grinning while toying with his enemy. Even his friends in the Citadel were shaking their heads.


    It was almost impossible to beat Mr. Earth King in the desert. Most of his opponents would rather give up when the chosen battlefield was in the desert.


    Yman sighed, his opponent was so tricky. Hard to time him as he was using the sand to his advantage.


    While the enemy once again started to rotate around him, he decided to tail him.


    The enemy seemed to be confused about what he was doing. It tried to speed up to lose him. But Yman sped up as well. He followed the enemy wherever it went.


    ''What''s the problem with this man?!'' Mr. Earth King thought.


    However, no matter where he went, the enemy was still tailing him.


    ''Dumbass! If that''s what you want! Let''s see how persistent you are!''


    He increased his speed once more. But after he sped up, the enemy also did!


    The audiences in the Citadel were all staring while gaping at the two.


    "Shiiit!'' Mr. Earth King exclaimed and decided to make a turn. Then rushed to the tailing enemy for a head-on collision.


    Yman noticed the enemy slowed down. He too decided to stop and waited for his enemy''s next move.


    As expected he rushed towards him. "Hehe." A chuckle escaped from his mouth. He put his daggers back to his waist.


    "Dammit, what was he doing?"


    Said one of Mr. Earth King''s friends.


    "Probably he wanted to give up!"


    "Look, he must be exhausted as fuck now!"


    "What an idiot! That''s what he got for chasing after Mr. Earth King for quite a long time!"


    "Exactly!"


    "Hahaha!"


    Some were spitting insults while others just laughed and waited for that newbie to give up.


    "Tsk, if only my brother Mysterious could find stones. He could fire rapidly at the Lizardmen."


    "Yeah! But it was sad that they were in the desert."


    Some people in the Citadel, who started to have a positive impression towards him, clicked their tongue in regret.


    In the arena, after seeing the approaching enemy, Yman kicked the sand and stepped back.


    He noticed the enemy coagulate magical energy around his body.


    The next second, countless spikes were growing from the sand towards him.


    He narrowed his eyes.


    In his hand, he condensed magical energy and turned it into fire. Now his right hand was ablaze with crimson-colored fire.


    The enemy seemed to sense it as he was slowing down. Mr. Earth King knew that fire was stronger than the earth element.


    Dammit! Who would have thought that his enemy was able to manifest fire elements!


    Yman made a big leap at the back and fired a small crimson fireball at the spikes.

 Chapter 233: Hiding his real strength

    The small fireball blasted the incoming spikes and made the sand burst around, generating blackened dust.


    After the spikes were blasted away, Mr. Earth King leaped out of the sand and charged in towards his enemy.


    "!?"


    An exclamation point together with a question mark appeared on top of Mr. Earth King''s head when he noticed his enemy had disappeared.


    He looked left and right but he could not spot him.


    Maybe the enemy fled away? He thought. But then, he suddenly felt a grab from his tail. Also, his momentum stopped, and saw himself in mid-air.


    He glanced behind, but then he suddenly felt the world was twirling.


    "Dammit!" He spat after noticing that his enemy grabbed his tail and spun him around. "Dumbass! Let me go! Eek!" he hissed and tried to struggle but to no avail.


    A moment later, he saw his body fly upward. Damn! The enemy threw him into the sky! In any case, how did this man suddenly disappear and appear behind him?!


    Inside the Citadel, "How the heck did that happen? That person teleported at the back of Mr. Earth King!" One person shouted in disbelief.


    Mr. Earth King felt a foreboding feeling when he started to descend.


    Looking at the descending figure of the Lizardman, Mr. Earth King, a grin happened in the face of The Mysterious.


    "What was that guy planning to do?" Some random Ranker in the Citadel asked the question.


    "Probably, attack the descending Mr. Earth King with a strong punch, or let him crash into the desert." Another person replied to the former.


    "That''s impossible! Mr. Earth King had sturdy scales and he''s an earth Elementalist!" The former disagreed with the latter.


    Mr. Earth King wanted to summon a Sand Shield to fortify his defense, but he must be in contact with the sand or any earth-made objects to do it.


    His only option now was to envelop his body with a Magical Shield, a higher version of Mana Coating.


    With it, he believed that his defense was impenetrable.


    Seeing the shining body of Mr. Earth King, "I know it! Now it''s impossible to break his defense!" Shouted a person in the Citadel.


    However, everyone noticed the newbie Ranker gripping a dagger in his right hand. Then he summoned crimson-colored magical energy onto it.


    After summoning magical energy on his feet, he leaped in the air to launch an attack.


    His dagger drew a long vertical slash from below towards the sky.


    Everyone in the Citadel gaped while staring at the figure split into two.


    "How did it happen?" Everyone''s thoughts.


    It was so obvious that Mr. Earth King''s defense was so high. Also, the newbie enemy was only using a low-tier dagger. Whereas, Mr. Earth King''s armor alone was enough to block it. With the addition of his magical shield and hard scale, his survival rate was supposed to be higher.


    But how come that an iron dagger was able to split him in two in just a single strike? Everyone was baffled at the thought.


    In truth, it wasn''t only a single strike. Yman repeatedly used his Time Warp. In total, he struck the enemy 5 times. But because of its speed, the audiences only noticed one strike.


    However, it did not escape to the eyes of some real experts.


    Even the younger brother of the Gustav family narrowed his eyes. As expected, this Crimson was hiding his real strength.


    Before he left, Gilion sent another look to the person inside the monitor who was busy looting on his enemy.


    He needed to prepare himself. It won''t be long that person would rise to the rank where most Elite Rankers were.


    He would be waiting on that podium.


    Mr. Earth King materialized inside the private room of the Citadel. He was having a puzzled face. Still could not believe what was happening.


    Even his friends in front of the large monitor could only shoot a piercing look at the person who was storing the items he looted from their friend.


    And those who started to have a good impression of him were singing praises.


    "Woah! My brother Mysterious is truly a mysterious person!"


    "And he has mysterious powers that can defeat his opponent in mysterious ways!"


    "Haha! Right! Now it''s making me excited to watch his next fight! I want to add him to my friend list but I''m afraid that he won''t accept it."


    "Hmm, why don''t you follow him?"


    "Follow?"


    "Yeah! If you want to get a notification every time our brother fights, just search his Ranker codename in the 5d-Seer. Then, look at the upper-right corner of the holographic screen. An icon of a person with a plus was there. Click it to follow him. After it, you will get a notification every time our brother fights. You can also send a gift to him to show your support to our brother!"


    "Wow! Really? I didn''t know there was something like that!"


    "Oh man!" (Facepalm)


    "Sorry, I''m no good with devices. Anyway, thanks for the info brother." Said the person while wearing a sorry expression.


    "Just call me brother Gamebet!"


    "Is that your codename?"


    "Yeah!"


    "Woah! Cool! But our brother Mysterious is cooler!"


    "Haha, I know right!" Said Gamebet with a can''t be helped expression on his face.


    "Oh, by the way just call me Sweet Bun!"


    ''Sweet Bun? Sounds like a girl''s codename,'' Gamebet thought, but he could not tell if the other party was a girl, because he/she was wearing an oversized jacket and sunglasses on the eyes and a cap on the head.


    "I see, good knowing you Sweet Bun!"


    Sweet Bun nodded with a grin. The two of them were startled when the person next to them suddenly exclaimed. "Damn! I wish to battle our mysterious brother but I would rather watch him fight!" Said the guy.


    "Fufu, are you asking for a mysterious beating, brother?!" Said Sweet Bun.


    For some reason, some Rankers were talking about the mysterious newbie ranker.


    After his 4th match, he was left with a 7% percent soul battery. But even with such little battery left, he proceeded and searched for his fifth match.


    He needed enough points as soon as possible.

 Chapter 234: Collector

    After winning the 4th match, his Ranker level was promoted to Level 3.


    The good thing about defeating a high-level opponent was that, when you won, you got to loot their high-tier items and used them for your own.


    Weirdly though, he received numerous Ranker points. Also, he received lots of notifications, stating that Ranker X''s sent a gift to his account. The gift they sent to him was the Ranker Points, each with different amounts.


    He guessed that the more he defeated his opponents in a good performance, the more people would send him gifts.


    And the more gifts he received the faster he could gather enough points.


    Yman chuckled and found exciting traction. He just needed to perform well and people would give him gifts without the need of asking them.


    He also concluded that it was pleasing to the audiences to watch a low-level newbie Ranker beating a higher level Ranker.


    Yman could only put a wry smile on his face. He had so many things he needed to consider though, especially the demon''s mana.


    Although the demon''s mana was thinning inside him, he needed to not restrict himself from using it if he wanted to win every match.


    Inside the Virtual Arena, he could only depend on that demon''s mana.


    While scrutinizing the list of available opponents, Yman found the name Special Girl once again, and it looked like that girl had won consecutively as well.


    Well, his loss with her wasn''t counted as a total loss. It was just unfortunate that his 5d-Seer was emptied before he delivered the finishing blow.


    Once again, he chose a Ranker with a higher level as an opponent.


    The battle lasted for half an hour because the enemy was very careful. The battlefield was inside an abandoned old-style building. Yman had to be extra careful because of many conventional traps that were laying all over.


    He could not sense them because it wasn''t made of magical energy. Many times he had to use his Time Warp to dodge them at hair''s breadths.


    On the contrary, his enemy was able to maneuver unhindered by the traps. It was a raccoon man with a lithe figure. He could sense traps. So, it''s easy for him to mobilize inside.


    The enemy tried to ambush him in one of the rooms. However, instead of going for an ambush, the whole room was blasted by mini fireballs.


    The enemy tried to escape; unfortunately, the fortified stones came raining onto him.


    More audiences had started to have good impressions of him, and more gifts kept coming to his account.


    He also gained popularity, little by little. He also noticed his Charisma was increasing constantly.


    Just right after he defeated the 5th opponent, his soul battery had emptied.


    After logging out from the Virtual Arena, he saw Sistela resting on his chest. He got up off the bed and lifted her into his shoulder.


    Outside the window, the atmosphere was still the same, but he could feel something not ordinary in the direction of the mountain.


    Yman then got up on his feet. Then, he decided to eat first. After a good meal, he quickly planned his next move.


    Using his mount Fire Doll, he proceeded to fly towards the mountain, once again. He needed to get a sample of the miasma.


    Before he left, he saw the sun shone at a 2 o''clock angle, but when he arrived at the mountain area, the sun couldn''t be seen. It was hidden under the cover of the miasma that proliferated all over the mountain.


    Aside from that, his advance was hindered by different kinds of mutated monsters.


    Sistela asserted.


    As far as his eyes could see, the place turned so different from yesterday. When he arrived at the foot of the mountain, it seemed as though the whole mountain was floating in the sea of purplish miasma.


    Constant howls from the distance could even reach his ears even though he was currently flying on his mount Enhance Fire Doll, about 30 meters above the ground.


    "This is bad. If this kept going on like this, the whole campus would be in danger." He said his assessment of the current situation.


    He wondered if Rea had finished her preparation. But before that, he had to finish his reason for coming.


    KYAW!


    Something leaped from the woods and directly blocked his way. Looking at their figures, it seemed as though they were newly evolved beasts.


    They were bird type beasts that were supposedly non-hostile towards people. However, after inhaling the miasma, they became hostile and aggressive. He noticed the name Ghastly Bird above their heads.


    He had to fight some of them. He scattered his few bird Enhanced Fire Dolls and Bat Enhanced Fire Dolls. Also, he coagulated the Galaxial Bomb.


    The good thing about his Galaxial Bomb was that it won''t dissipate right away. At most, it would remain active for five minutes. It was a good spell to guard him.


    After getting out of his storage, his Enhanced Fire Dolls fired fireballs at the Ghastly Birds.


    The Ghastly Birds flapped their wings and fired a purplish gust. His Enhanced Fire Dolls scattered away to evade. While they were evading, they fired nonstop at the enemies.


    Continued explosions rang in the air. Because of their numbers, the Enhanced Fire Dolls were able to kill the Ghastly Birds.


    Seeing the falling charred body of the beasts, Yman summoned a weird-looking bird.


    No! It wasn''t a bird! It was a Big Beak Worm! It was better calling it Enhance Fire Doll Big Beak Worm. Although it was bigger than the original, the figure resembled the original.


    However, what was the purpose of this new model of Fire Doll?


    After getting out from his storage, the Enhanced Fire Doll Big Beak Worm chased towards the falling charred bodies of the Ghastly Birds.


    It flew hastily and used its beak to swallow the charred bodies of the falling beasts.


    This new model of Fire Doll was tasked to collect the fallen monsters, to loot them later on.


    It was his Collector!

 Chapter 235: Abandoned building

    After the Collector Enhanced Fire Doll swallowed the Ghastly Bird''s remains, it returned to him. He would loot them later for useful parts, especially the inner cores.


    He continued to the western part of the mountain. In that area, the miasma was most dense.


    But before that, he asked Sistela to transform into a mask, like what he did when he fought with terrorists in the Human City Zone 7.


    Although he had high resistance to miasma, it was better to take extra care.


    Just as what Yman believed, the higher council noticed the looming danger to the far mountain.


    In a skyscraper, with a height of hundred meters high, a wrinkled man with long white hair and braided whiskers was staring in the direction of the mountain.


    "Elder Morass, sir!" A young man with pointed ears and long black hair that was tied in a ponytail called out. On his waist, the delicate longsword in a dark blue scabbard was hanging. He was the Senior Leader of the department of security, who once caught Yman.


    The Elder remained unmoved, and eyes focused in the distance.


    "The untouched was tainted and will soon beset the fertile land��" said the Elder in a low voice, with his eyes still glued to the faraway land.


    "....."


    The Senior Leader slightly frowned after hearing the Elder''s words. His words were so profound to understand. He then peeked through the square window.


    A painting-like scenario of a mountain shaded in a dark hazy color could be seen in the distance. It was all reflected in the narrowed eyes of the Senior Leader.


    An understanding came to him about the Elder''s words. He thought, ''He probably meant that something was happening in the mountain.''


    Without turning his back, the Elder continued saying, "I plead on you to bring some of your men and investigate the stratum of the rising one..."


    The Senior Leader remained silent, but in his mind, ''The western part, huh,'' he thought so.


    Together with his men from the Department of Security, they rode on their flying wooden staves and headed to the mountain in the western area.


    Yman landed in the western area of the mountain. He chose this area because it was where the miasma was denser.


    He summoned his Cyber Storage and took a small glass empty bottle from it. This bottle was made from Alchemy and was known as Magic Bottle. It wasn''t good bringing an ordinary bottle to get a sample in something like the miasma. There was a high probability that a normal bottle would shatter from the miasma''s malicious aura.


    On the contrary, Magic Bottle was resistant to it and break-proof. It was also easy to gather the gaseous substance of the miasma as it would automatically gather it when the bottle detects the negative aura.


    It would automatically suck the miasma until the bottle was filled.


    Yman uncupped the bottle and let it sucked the miasma.


    He was in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by trees and bushes. But because of the miasma, he had difficulty in perceiving his surroundings.


    Howls and wails coming from everywhere reached his ears. He even perceived some presence not far from him.


    However, Yman gawked when he detected an ominous presence. He could not tell the exact distance of the creature, but based on the pressure it was exuding, it was in the level or above the Demonic beast they fought inside the world in the painting of Rea.


    Even Sistela gave him a warning.


    Yman summoned the Map section. At this state that his eyesight wasn''t helpful, it was adequate to use the Map Section of his System Deity.


    The holographic map could tell him the exact direction. Together with his perception, it was easy for him to figure the direction of the ominous aura.


    As expected, after summoning his Map, he learned that the ominous aura came from the northwest of the mountain.


    After collecting the needed sample, he summoned his mount Enhanced Fire Doll bird. He quickly jumped on top of it and soared away.


    But Yman went into a sudden stop in just a couple of seconds that had passed when he flew towards the direction of the strong presence.


    The reason for his stop was because one of his scout birds transmitted him something. Several people were flying in his direction.


    Estimating their speed anddistancefrom him, he believed that they would arrive at a minimum of 30 seconds; He quickly maneuvered the mount to hide in the sea of trees.


    He landed on the tree branch and waited for them to pass by. If he wanted to figure out their identity, he could control his scout bird to fly at a relatively close distance from them. But he decided to disregard the thought as most Demihumans had high perception ability, especially the people from the Canine sect.


    Even at 100 meters distance, his scout bird wasn''t safe from them. He knew someone from the Lupine family who had a perception ability that could reach 150 meters away.


    So, at the moment, he could only maintain the distance of 100 meters from them. With that distance, he believed that they would assume that his scout bird was just a low ranking beast.


    Just as Yman estimated, the people passed by after 31 seconds. Though, he gawked upon seeing them because he knew all of them. They were the people from the Department of Security!


    He was surprised to see them, but it happened only for instance. He could probably guess their reason for coming to the mountain-- to investigate.


    He also saw that woman named Betty together with the others. In the lead was, as expected, the Senior Leader.


    He then summoned his Dino Enhance Fire Doll and followed after them.


    It was better to follow them below because it was hard to perceive his presence because of the thickened miasma.


    The people from the Department of Security were unaware of his presence. They continued flying towards the west of the mountain.


    Yman, on the other hand, had to kill some of the monsters that tried to block him. Fortunately, most of them were only low-ranking beasts.


    After a couple of minutes, the people from the Department of Security spun in a circle above the seemingly abandoned building.


    Yman hid in the bushes a few meters away.

 Chapter 236: Surrounded

    It was surprising to see a building on the mountain.


    He wondered what the building used to be. But he believed that it was an abandoned building because of its rundown appearance.


    The people from the department landed near it. They glanced around, seemingly alerting themselves from possible attacks from the monsters.


    Yman, who was peeking from the bushes, saw the Senior Leader went inside with three people. The remaining four were guarding outside. There were a total of seven people in their group, together with the Senior Leader and Betty.


    Betty was left guarding outside together with three other people. On their waist hanging different kinds of weapons while storing their staves inside the spatial ring on their fingers.


    About a minute after the Senior Leader went inside, everyone heard low growls. Even Yman heard it. It was coming inside the building. The Senior Leader probably encountered mutated beasts or an evolved one inside.


    After the growls, explosions, and cries followed. Based on the sounds, Yman believed it was coming from the monsters.


    Regardless, he also perceived some presence coming from beasts around. He sneakily jumped to the tree branch and hid under the veil of its mass of leaves.


    He sent one scout bee to act as his eyes. With it, he could hide while also spying on them.


    A few seconds after he leaped on the tree branch, some mutated beasts and evolved ones came out of the woods.


    The battle immediately broke out when they rushed and attacked the people from the Department of Security.


    Salivas was dripping from their gaping mouths while growling eerily.


    Bang bang bang!


    The people from the Department of Security immediately summoned magical energies on their hands and fired them to the waves of monsters. It was followed by random explosions when their magical attacks hit the enemies and on the grounds.


    "Ow, what a show, hehe."


    Yman commented and laughed. He was about to reach the magical fruit dangling above him when he noticed it was affected by miasma. Then something came out from it and excreted something on his face.


    ''Dammit! A worm!''


    He exclaimed inwardly.


    It was fortunate that he was wearing a mask; who knows what might happen to him if not. He might have fallen to the ground before he could do anything about it.


    The worm was only as tiny as his pinky finger, and its hairy body had purplish color. On its head, he noticed a little horn.


    It quickly sunk back after tucking out its tongue to him.


    Sistela laughed at its cheeky behaviour.


    Yman''s brow was twitching. A second later, he snapped the fruit. He didn''t know what kind of fruit it was. But, anyhow, he would be going to punish thislittle creature, later on.


    "Thanks for the compliment."


    Sistela was making fun of him. But he had no time for jokes at the moment.


    When he was about to transmit to his scout bee, he noticed something unusual.


    Just right when she said it that he suddenly perceived multiple presences around him. He also saw multiple eyes peeking on him from the miasma. For some reason, he felt like-- they were glaring at him?


    "The heck!?" he grumbled and leaped into the air.


    Whoosh! Shing!


    The branch on which he stepped on a while ago was sliced in half! It was fortunate that he sensed a strong killing intent towards him.


    While he was still in the air, he used his Air Dance to make a quick maneuver;because from the corner of his eyes, he noticed some shadows.


    They were leaping to reach him. They probably wanted to attack him. ''Aggressive!'' he whispered in mind while making a flip, then used his Rapid Leap.


    He landed on the branch of the opposite tree. Then he made a quick scan of his surroundings. He learned that he was surrounded by different kinds of monsters.


    He was puzzled as to why the monsters were able to notice him. "My Deity, what happened?" Yman asked Sistela.


    Right now, they were all around him.


    Sistela quickly made a brief scan. A second later,


    "Eh?"


    "Eh? What debuff?"


    "Please tell all the details."


    He said while bending his body backward to evade the attack of a monster that looks like a crossbreed of a cat and monkey!


    It had the face of the cat and the body of the monkey. But it looks fiercer than the two.


    Shing!


    It drew marks of claws in the air when its attack hit nothing.


    Shing!


    It was followed by another one, but it was evaded too.


    Bang!


    The monster was sent flying went he sent a punch to its guts.


    The monster balled its eyes, and tears were visible from them when his attack landed to it.


    It then crashed on the tree. With it as the signal, the others started attacking as well. They were composed of different kinds of monsters that seemed like a cross breed of two mutated beasts.


    Their growls and roars enveloped the area.


    They were fighting in the middle of the woods, surrounded by purplish miasma.


    Yman took a branch and fortified it. He then used it as a sword and waved it to the two leaping enemies.


    His left hand materialized a small fireball and fired it to the one heading from above.


    After the mini-explosion, It immediately charred the enemy.


    Yman continued attacking the other monsters while dodging their attacks. From time to time, he had to leap to the other trees to escape from their entanglement.


    From the rundown building, the people from the Department of Security were showing puzzled faces.


    The monsters who came to attack suddenly retreated to the woods.


    "Tsk, it looks like something was amiss in this place, " Said one of their members.


    "Well, looking at this miasma, it wasn''t difficult to guess, really," Betty replied with a stern face.


    "And those monsters, didn''t you guys notice something from them?" Asked the second woman member of their group.


    "Aside from that, what do you think is the reason that those monsters suddenly retreated back?" Asked the fourth person.


    "Hmm... Beats me..."said Betty.


    But they stopped conversing when they suddenly heard and explosion coming from the woods.


    "!!"


    "What was that?"


    Asked Betty.

 Chapter 237: Gateway

    "Pardon?"


    Sigh!


    Yman sighed upon hearing it for the second time.


    "Thanks to my luck."


    He jokingly said while wearing a wry smile. No wonder the enemies keep on coming no matter how many he kills.


    So it was about that excretion, huh. He thought.


    Yman decided not to hold back. Using the 1-meter fortified branch as a weapon, he sped up on killing the enemies.


    The enemies were just low-tier beasts. With these levels of creatures, he could not gain much combat experience. At most 1% only, it also varied in the length of time that he battled and the difficulty of his enemy.


    So fighting in the Virtual Arena was better as he gained about 3-4% each match. Well, depending on his opponent. Whereas, in the Training Pavilion, he could gain 5-7% each stage.


    Most of the time, he would check his Combat Experience every time he was relaxing.


    He was tired of checking every time as it only disheartened him whenever he checked it. Even Sistela did not bother notifying him about the increase in his Combat Experience.


    The first time he became a trainee, he was so apprehensive about it.


    But after his contract with the demon, his stats increased to an unimaginable degree; however, in exchange, the already slow growth he had, had become more stagnant. It must be the exchange of gaining power in the wrong way. Even though he fought with tough opponents after coming to the empire, he didn''t breakthrough quite well.


    Regardless, as he could not waste more time, he killed as many opponents as he could.


    Betty and the others doubted the explosion they''d heard. One of them suggested going for a quick scan.


    As no more monsters were attacking them, Betty and the other two nodded their heads.


    "Just don''t go too far. The Senior Leader will be coming back soon," said Betty.


    "Watch out for the ambushes, Wis!" Said the other female member of their group


    "Okay!"


    He then summoned the flying stick and rode it towards where the explosion originated.


    Just after flying a few meters away, he already saw many dead bodies of the monsters below. He was surprised because it wasn''t far from the abandoned building.


    He also saw some weird-looking black creatures. They were devouring the dead bodies?! He was surprised to figure out what it was doing. Well, that''s how he sees it.


    He ignored it as it wasn''t his reason for coming. He needed to figure out what was happening.


    It didn''t take him long enough to see a human figure, leaping high in the air, then fired some spherical objects down below. Successive explosions followed after he fired them.


    "A summoner?" Wis mumbled to himself upon seeing the person summoned a bird type mount and rode away.


    He could not identify the person at his current distance as the miasma was hindering his vision.


    Below, he saw more dead bodies and some weird flying creatures devouring them. It was the same scenario that happened at his rear. They soon sprinted towards the direction to where the figure of a person flew away.


    Wis wondered if they were chasing to attack that person. In any case, it was as far as he could go.


    Betty and the others questioned when he came back. He answered with what he saw in which made them crease their brows.


    It wasn''t unexpected to find someone coming in this place, as most students would come here to gather herbs and insects. Some even came here to hunt beasts.


    However, with the current situation, it was unexpected that someone was still brave to come here.


    Not long, when Wis arrived, the Senior Leader with two others came out from the rundown building.


    But they noticed that each of them was wearing solemn faces.


    "Sir, how''s the gateway?" Betty immediately rushed and asked.


    A frown was distinct on the Senior Leader''s face. "It''s disastrous. We have to go back and issue a total lockdown on this mountain." The Senior Leader said forthwith.


    Yman felt the demon was calling at him. He asked Sistela to pilot his body. He then dove into his dantian, his mana storage.


    "Yo! What''s up, Mr. Demon?"


    "Hey, Kid!" the demon cried out, disregarding his greetings.


    "....."


    "I felt a strong demonic aura nearby! Not only that, but I also felt a strong connection to the Dark Continent!" The demon warned but also felt excited.


    "What��" Yman was surprised at his immediate words.


    "Are you sure?"


    "Of course, what do you think of me?!!!"


    "A demon."


    "....."


    He doubted the demon''s words as he could not perceive the presence of such an entity nearby.


    "Higher-ranking demons are good at concealing their presence." The Demon of Position said after he noticed the doubt in Yman''s face. "Aside from that, it''s a chance to refill my mana, kid!"


    ''Right. The demon also said about a connection to the Dark Continent.''


    "But, aren''t there so many demons out there?"


    "Of course, because that''s the demon''s territory."


    "Then I can''t go there��"


    In Yman''s mind, going there was like feeding himself to the beast. And it was the Dark Continent, the demon''s den!


    The demon squinted his eyes, seemingly understanding his worry. "HAHAHA!" the demon suddenly guffawed.


    "I knew what you were thinking, that the Dark Continent was full of hideous-looking creatures."


    The demon started telling him that the Dark Continent was different from what he initially thought. It was the same as the human and demihuman''s territory. Even the demon''s appearance themselves wasn''t far from humans and demihumans. Well, there were some exceptions. Especially the Demonic Beast, there were many of them there. But even in that place, they were the problem of most Civilized Demons.


    They only called demons because of the place. But most residents there were exiled from the other continents.


    Yman was surprised to hear it.


    But for now, he needed todeliver the miasma sample to the professor.

 Chapter 238: Mist

    The Collector Fire Dolls followed after him. After retrieving all of them, he sped up towards the Little Garden.


    When Yman arrived, he heard the bad news. He heard from the Professor that Achan and her friends fell sick.


    He already guessed the cause. The professor asked about him. He told him that he was fine. Though he coughed, it wasn''t terrible.


    Yman asked the professor about Achan and the other''s situation. The professor told him that they were in dire situations.


    Even he was coughing from time to time. After handing the sample to the professors, the professor immediately secluded himself to mix medicine to counter the miasma.


    When he arrived at the Little Garden, Airi wasn''t there; she must be tending with her cousin. Even Cinde wasn''t there as well. He wondered where that disaster-bringer girl went. The professor told him that she was summoned to her family.


    Yman coughed as he sat on the sofa in the corner of the Little Garden. He checked on his status and noticed some of his stats had grown, especially his agility, vitality, and strength stats.


    After closing it, he decided to go back to his Inn.


    He sat on the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes and transmitted to his scout bird that was spying on Rea.


    Rea was heading towards the student council. After entering an area that could not be reached by the eyes of his scout bird. Yman switched to transmit on his smaller scout bee and could mobilize inside the building. She was heading up through the magic-based elevator disc.


    As he could not perceive any bad intentions towards her, he returned his consciousness inside the Inn.


    Sistela landed on his shoulder after they canceled their resonance. Then she flew on the pillow and went to sleep mode after saying her good night, though it was still noon.


    Yman, on the other hand, glanced around and pondered.


    He needed to pay Rea''s department 5000 Points. He currently has 750 points. Thanks to the gifts from unknown people.


    Yman opened his storage and summoned the collectors. He let out one first. A black Big-Beak Worm that looked like a bird hovered in mid-air.


    From the large beak, it let out a dead body of the monster it devoured a while ago. The first body was the corpse of Ghastly Bird.


    He loosed the sleeves of his long sleeve-jacket before wearing a glove on each of his hands. Then, he took a clean cloth and covered his mouth and nose like a mask. Next, he took a knife and started dissecting it. Taking the valuable parts, for example, its feathers, beaks, skins, and even the bone and flesh, but this time, he only took the inner core.


    After wiping the inner core with a ragged cloth, it was gleamingwith crystal-like luster with a jet black color. He placed it on top of clean cloth on his bed, beside him.


    He didn''t take the other parts as the monster was bathed in the miasma. It was a sure thing that they would inflict ailments on the unprotected people.


    He proceeded on looting the other dead monsters. Each Collector Enhanced Fire Doll held about 5-7 corpses. Although they failed to collect all the corpses, it didn''t bother him.


    Next, he dissected the monster that looked like a crossbreed of cat and monkey. The name of the monster was Purple Face Cat. It was a rank CC monster based on Sistela''s appraisal when he fought it.


    The knife drew a vertical wound on the monster''s body after he stabbed it and pulled it downward. Although he was careful, the blood still spurted from the wounds and tainted the gloves on his hands. Some even sprayed on the cloth that was covering his mouth.


    Without minding it, he placed the knife away and dug his hand into the wound. His fingers scrutinized the inside until it touched a solid object.


    When he retreated his hand, it was already holding a rough solid object. He then took another cloth and started wiping it until it was gleaming with crystal-like luster.


    He continued what he was doing until more and more rough-round objects were amassing on his bed.


    He used his forearm to wipe the sweat on his forehead.


    To finish up his work, he cleaned up and placed the corpses back in the collector''s mouths.


    He stored the blood-stained clothes in his storage and would be going to burn them away later.


    When all the work was done, he sat again on the bed. Then took his 5d-Seer to feed it with souls coming from the inner cores.


    It didn''t take long for the 5d-Seer to absorb enough souls.


    After the 5d-Seer''s battery was fully-filled, he started playing on it. First, he checked on his Ranker stats.


    He leveled up to 3 for the first four matched but the last fight he had was not able to level him. Probably the higher the level he became, the lower he leveled up.


    After closing the Ranker Status panel, he received an unexpected notification in the form of a loud tone coming from his 5d-Seer.


    No need to ask what it was. Just based on its tone, it was easy to guess that it was a challenge invitation.


    However, Yman gawked upon seeing the rectangular box floating in front of him because there wasn''t only a single one of them. About ten challenge invitations came at the same time!


    Looks like he gathered popularity without him knowing. Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Or perhaps it was a normal occasion.


    His mouth broke into a wry smile before he scanned each of them. Most of them were of the same level as him, and some were low-level. He then checked their Ranker Status one by one. He wanted to fight a higher level Ranker, but oh well.


    After tapping the choices, it was followed by a rectangular box asking him to Dive in or Abort.


    Before clicking his desired choice, he first put away the other things on his bed and laid himself comfortably on the bed.


    A misty surrounding greeted him after choosing the Dive In choices.

 Chapter 239: A genuine gambler

    "White Plains?!"


    Screamed a person inside the Citadel. Her voice was so loud and resounded. It gathered everyone''s attention towards her.


    A moment ago, her 5d-Seer rang. It wasn''t a notification for a challenge invitation, but a notification about someone''s match. Seeing the name of the Ranker, she immediately rushed over here.


    "Yo! Sweet Bun!" Someone called out upon seeing her. She greeted back after noticing who it was. "I wonder if our brother Mysterious will be alright?" The person next to her asked.


    "I''m not too sure as well. But, this field will be a difficult test for him. What do you think, Mr. Gamebet?"


    "Hmm��" Gamebet put his fingers below his chin as he pondered. "I also think so. Let''s see how our brother will play in this fight."


    "Right. Regardless, the Citadel seems to be busy these days." Sweet Bun said as she noticed many Rankers inside. Not only that, many were coming as well. It wasn''t every day that this kind of crowd would gather inside the Citadel. Mostly, it only would happen when two High Rankers would clash.


    "Haha, looks like our brother gathers too much attention after his surprising performance," Said Gamebet with a laugh.


    Around them, people started talking about the Ranker with the codename of The Mysterious. They were talking about his last performance.


    Just then, they heard a guffaw coming from one of the Rankers in the crowd.


    "Yo'' sissies, what do you think is better with that Mysterious shit?!" He said in a crispy insult while holding his bulging stomach. He added, "That person ran away on his debut! Puwahaha! So funny! For me, Special Girl is the best!"


    "Who is he?" Asked Sweet Bun.


    "His codename is Falmouth, an old Ranker."


    "Old Ranker?"


    "Yes, I heard that he is the oldest Ranker, and his only reason for being a Ranker is so that he can gamble with other Rankers. After all, Rankers are rich with points, especially the higher levels." Gamebet told her.


    "Hmm�� I see." Said Sweet Bun while nodding her head.


    "This Falmouth! He started defaming our brother Mysterious!" Commented the person beside them.


    They knew that Falmouth was just a kind of person. Falmouth did not stop with his insult towards the Ranker The Mysterious.


    The other Rankers around him were fuming in anger towards him. But they could not do some unauthorized action inside the Citadel. There was a severe punishment if they did. They can talk shit to others, but they cannot hurt them physically.


    "Fuwahaha! If you still don''t believe me, then let''s make a bet!" Said Falmouth with a smug.


    As expected, Falmouth strikes once again. Most of the Ranker inside the Citadel knew Falmouth''s way of doing things.


    First, he would be going to trash talk the person favored by the masses. Then he would offer a bet when he felt the temperature was rising.


    He was a substantial troll.


    "Sure!" Everyone fell silent at the sudden intrusion. They glanced around and saw a person wearing a lousy jacket, a cap, and a sunglass. For some reason, they could not tell about the gender he/she had. Even his/her voice was indiscernible as he/she was wearing a mask that covers his/her nose and mouth.


    Falmouth narrowed his eyes and wondered who this person was.


    "S-Sweet Bun, a-are you sure you wanted to challenge him in a bet?" Gamebet said stammeringly with a bead of sweat visible at the back of his head.


    A grin appeared on Falmouth''s face. ''Sweet Bun, huh,'' he thought. Then he added, saying, ''let''s see how you will cry after you''ll lose the bet. Hehe,'' he smirked inwardly.


    "Fufu, why not?"


    "Uh--eh, I heard that he''s the son of the wealthiest merchant in the Paper Kingdom."


    Although all of them were from the most prestigious families of the empire, they were not as exaggerated as Falmouth.


    He probably converted real money into Ranker Points just to gamble.


    Most Rankers were prideful individuals. They would rather earn the points through battle in the arena. But the Ranker status wasn''t Falmouth''s goal in the first place. He became a Ranker for gambling purposes.


    Well, in truth, some of the Rankers converted real money also to Ranker Points-- to buy good tier and high tier items from the High-Level Rankers.


    Apart from the talk about money conversation, Falmouth was just the type of person who loves gambling.


    Seeing that someone took his bait, Falmouth''s mouth formed a toothy grin together with his trembling shoulders. He was chuckling silently at this person''s bone-headedness.


    "Oh, is that so. I don''t mind," Sweet Bun replied.


    "What?!" Gamebet was shocked at the reaction of Sweet Bun.


    "Hehehe." Falmouth chuckled sheepishly. "I will bet 100000 Ranker Points to Mist God''s win."


    Falmouth conferred.


    Woah!


    The crowd immediately broke into loud whispers. Such a bet was truly unordinary.


    "Damn, money was raining inside the Citadel." One of the Rankers inside chimed in upon hearing a large number of points being betted.


    "Kufufu��"


    Everyone immediately fell silent from the chuckle coming from the person in weird attire.


    "Don''t be stingy, Mr. Falmouth. I know that you are not as cheap as that. Why don''t we bet a million points in the get-go?"


    Said, Sweet Bun.


    "A-A million?"


    WHAT!!!


    Everyone almost dropped their mouths on the floor upon hearing the word ''Million!''


    Falmouth squinted his eyes. Never would he imagine finding someone so capable inside the Citadel. He wondered who this person was. In any case, this is what a genuine gambler was.


    Yman found himself inside the Misty Plain. Not long after he dove in, his enemy also arrived at the field.


    Briefly closing his eyes, he tried to sense the area around him. About 200 meters in diameter, he could not perceive a presence.


    As expected, the area was so vast.


    He proceeded walking as he could not perceive any presence around him. He noticed a swamp not far from his right.


    He stared at it for a brief moment, but he noticed nothing out of the ordinary from it.


    He then continued walking, calmly readying the Iron Dagger in his hand.


    Only his footsteps were discernible in the area.


    Suddenly, a grin appeared on the face of Falmouth.


    Just right after this, Yman''s instinct screamed for danger.

 Chapter 240: Mist God

    In the corner of Yman''s eyes, a gleaming metallic luster was fast approaching from his side. But before it reached him, he bent his body a little backward. The blade passed horizontally an inch away from his face.


    After noticing the enemy passed at him, Yman was about to brandish his dagger to pierce its unguarded side. But he skipped his plan and decided to step back one step when he noticed the grin from the enemy''s face that was gazing under his cloak.


    From the back of his enemy, under his cloak, Yman noticed the pointed tip of the blade was coming to stab him.


    ''A hidden weapon? No. He''s wielding two weapons,'' he muttered in mind.


    It wasn''t surprising to see a dual wielder opponent. Even Almina did it too.


    It was a tricky attack pattern; however, the enemy''s shock was unconcealed on his face after his second attack also failed to land and it also opened up his guard.


    Falmouth in the Citadel squinted his eyes. Displeasure was visible on his face. It was a great opportunity to finish the enemy fast but that Mist God was purposely prolonging the fight. TSK!


    After successfully evading Mist God''s second attack, Yman didn''t waste the opportunity and attacked with his weapon.


    But his dagger made a whooshing sound when it only hit empty air. No, his enemy suddenly disappeared! Or perhaps, it was more accurate to say that he blended into the mist.


    ''What a troublesome one��'' he thought.


    Although his enemy was of the same level as him, he was using higher tier equipment than his Iron Dagger and Armor. It was also the reason why he didn''t block the enemy''s attack with his dagger. There was a higher chance that his dagger would break in a frontal confrontation.


    Yman held the dagger in reverse positions while tightening his hold onto it. As he could not perceive his opponent''s presence, he decided to advance while maintaining his guard.


    He knew that his opponent was nearby waiting to strike.


    From time to time, Mist God would strike him from the blind spot, but Mist God noticed that while he was aiming his weapon at his enemy, the pointed edge of his enemy''s dagger was also aiming at him!


    Tsk! Yman heard a displeasure tongue clicking noise coming from his enemy.


    Mist God wondered how this enemy knew where he would be going to attack. Many times that he almost had himself fall as a victim instead. It was thanks to his fast reflexes that he was still alive until now. If not because of it, the match was already over for a long, long time.


    Although Yman could not perceive him, he could sense his killing intent. So hiding in the mist or turning himself as the mist was useless for him.


    The only problem of Yman was, whenever he was about to strike Mist God, Mist God would disappear in the mist. In which his weapon could not hit him.


    The audiences in the Citadel were so stale while watching the fight in full interest.


    The fight could only be described as one-sided in their perspective. But they were so puzzled as to why Mist God wouldn''t take advantage of his advantage.


    It was clear from their perspective that Mist God had the upper hand against his enemy.


    But why? Why does Ranker Mist God retreat every time he appears to strike The Mysterious Ranker? They were baffled.


    It seemed like he wanted to prolong the fight. Maybe he was taking pity on his enemy?


    ''This Mist God, he should have killed that shit already,'' Falmouth, who was crossing his arms across his body, thought while anxiously tapping his index finger against his elbow.


    He glanced at the person in disguise. He wondered what this mysterious gambler was thinking as of now. He could not read his/her emotion on his/her face as he/she was covering his/her face with a mask and sunglasses.


    Falmouth smirked. He wondered what this person''s reaction after Mist God decided to end the fight. ''But damn! This Mist God is enjoying himself toying with his enemy."


    No one knew Mist God''s predicament. It wasn''t like he was slower against his enemy. In truth, he came from a famed family of assassins. The reason he decided to retreat every time he was about to attack was, his enemy was sending off an unpleasant feeling to him.


    Mist God materialized once again after he noticed the unguarded back of Ranker The Mysterious. Then he saw the enemy''s hand raised and whipped towards him. He even noticed that the enemy''s head was a little late to glance at the back.


    Mist God believed that if he continued his attack, he could at least wound his enemy but. This enemy was sending off a feeling that he could also wound him!


    This was the reason why he was so reluctant to proceed with his attack.


    He wondered if this person had eyes at the back of his head and on the sides that he would know wherever he tried to attack him.


    Then again, that feeling of unease had struck him. He once again retreated. He would find another chance. He was a proud member of the renowned assassin family from the Paper Kingdom. His speed wasn''t so slow!


    The reason he was in the lower level as of now was because of the contract he had with Falmouth.


    Yet, this enemy of him was so weird! Whenever he was about to attack, an uneasy feeling would attack him.


    He could not describe the feeling that crept him. But it seemed like he was unsecured. It seemed like he would be the only one who would take damage.


    Damn! He needed to break this stalemate! And he needed to do something about this feeling of him.


    Mist God made a nice sudden breath. He resolved himself this time!


    Once again, he noticed the unguarded back and sides of his enemy. But this time, he would attack him at the front using his Cloning Technique.


    The audiences were dumbfounded when Ranker Mist God suddenly came attacking Ranker The Mysterious.


    "Oh my! That''s a popular technique of the Assassin family from the Paper Kingdom!"


    One audience exclaimed.


    This time, they saw multiple Mist God, coming to attack from all sides! All of them brandished their weapon at the same time.


    Yet.


    "!!"


    Everyone fell silent.


    They saw all the Mist God fell on their knees! A moment later, the clones were disappearing, revealing the real Mist God kneeling in front.

 Chapter 241: Mist Fusion

    A shocked expression was unconcealed on his face. Clenching his teeth, he tried to summon more strength on his legs. Damn it! He gritted his teeth forcefully that produced a scraping noise.


    He wondered why it seemed the gravity had suddenly fallen over him.


    In the Citadel, "Is that--" Gamebet said in doubt, but his words failed to finish as he wasn''t sure if it was what he thought it was. "Yes, that is an Intimidation ability." However, beside him, with glistening eyes, Sweet Bun continued his word confidently, confirming his initial thought to be right.


    Gamebet''s face lit up upon hearing her, "Woah! Brother Mysterious was able to produce a strong Intimidation ability!" he said in excitement. His voice was on the loose, making the other audience Rankers hear him. He was wondering if brother Mysterious was a Real Path Expert or maybe a Hegemon?! The curiosity to see him in person rose at a new height.


    Not only him, the other Rankers inside who were currently watching the match between Ranker The Mysterious and Ranker Mist God had started whispering at each other, especially when they heard Gamebet''s exclamation.


    Falmouth, on the other hand, was clenching his biceps subconsciously. "Dammit, intimidation! Who would have thought that this Mysterious shit had such an ability hidden under his sleeve!" he grumbled.


    He took a glance to his right, to where the mysterious gambler was staring at the monitor. Damn! One million Ranker Points wasn''t easy money! Still, he could not read the expression on this person''s face.


    He had the impulse to snap the mask and glasses from this person''s face! But sadly, he could not do such an unlawful act blatantly.


    Although it bothered him that the enemy could cast a strong ability such as Intimidation, it didn''t bother him for long before a smile returned on his face.


    Regardless, if Mist God found himself in a dire situation, he could always disperse in the mist with that technique!


    The Mist Fusion! Hehehe! It was the reason why Falmouth wasn''t so worried. As long as Mist God was in the mist, it was almost impossible to beat him.


    Everyone inside the Citadel fell silent the moment they heard a loud crashing sound.


    They focused their eyes on the screen and saw a figure buried in the pit!?


    Standing beside that figure was no other than Ranker The Mysterious!


    WHAAAT!


    "Dammit, how did it happen?!" Screamed the person who lost his focus on the screen after the person beside him kept bubbling about the intimidation ability of Ranker The Mysterious. When they heard the loud crashing noise, Mist God was already in the pit. It was regretful they didn''t see how Ranker The Mysterious did it! Wait, in truth, his eyes were darting to the screen and the person beside him.


    He even noticed when Mist God fell to Mysterious man''s Intimidation. Mist God tried to use the skill that enabled him to disappear in the sea of mist to escape.


    He didn''t see what happened after. Noooooo! He cried inwardly. He had the urge to choke to death this mouthy-person beside him. Because of him, he skipped the best part of the match. "Dammit! This blah blah blah��" he whined.


    "....."


    The person beside him fell silent. Afraid that he would gather more hate to himself from the annoyed person beside him. He failed too to see that best part where Ranker The Mysterious pounced his enemy to the ground.


    Just then, "The heck, how did Ranker Mysterious do that? Mist God had already disappeared. But the raging fist of Ranker Mysterious still hit him?" exclaimed the person from behind them.


    "What?! Brother, can you tell us more!" The person behind them started retelling what happened.


    Since Mist God was already in his mist form, his enemy shouldn''t be able to hit him. With the Mist Fusion ability, Mist God was difficult to hurt because not only he became invisible his body would fuse into the mist also.


    Most people inside the Citadel cheered in disbelief. None of them could explain why the result was like that.


    "Truly, our brother was truly a Mysterious man!" Gamebet exclaimed.


    "Fufufu!" A mischievous laugh came from Sweet Bun as she glanced at Falmouth, who was sweating at the moment.


    One million Ranker Points was not a joke! Upon noticing the stare from the mysterious gambler to him, Falmouth slightly trembled.


    ''Damn it!'' He grumbled inwardly and glanced around. But before he could find an opening to slip away, he was surrounded by the supporters of Ranker The Mysterious.


    His whole body started to sweat like a bucket of water splashed onto him. He shouted that Ranker The Mysterious was cheating.


    However, no one believed such a claim. It was impossible to cheat inside the Virtual Arena. After all, they could not bring any items from the outside world into the Virtual Arena and vice versa.


    ''It was Mist God''s fault! It was Mist God''s fault��" he repeatedly shouted.


    In the end, he paid one million Ranker Points to Sweet Bun. Falmouth left the Citadel with a heavy feeling.


    Many Rankers asked the Citadel''s staffto replay the last part of the battle between the Ranker The Mysterious and Ranker Mist God.


    The staff replayed the high several times. Everyone gawked upon seeing for many times the last part of their match. They couldn''t discover anything strange in his last attack.


    From the audience''s perspective, Ranker The Mysterious just did a normal Raging Fist.


    But those who already knew him knew that he used that ability-- that enabled him to cancel the magical energy usage of his opponent. The Mist Fusion had became useless.


    Gilion narrowed his eyes before he left the Citadel. He needed to practice. He must become stronger before fighting that person.


    Yman didn''t waste time and directly looted the dead body of the enemy.


    Although their soul would return to the real body the second after their defeat, the virtual body would remain in a min before it turned to light particles and disappeared.


    Yman was grinning from ear to ear. He was lucky that the enemy had much better tier equipment compared to him. Now it was his. Fufu, for some reason, this game-like simulation battle was so fruitful.


    Not only he could loot some items, but he could also gain combat experience.


    And it made him very excited to see different kinds of techniques. Unfortunately, he could not copy as he could not bring his scout bee inside.

 Chapter 242: Incoming danger

    After leaving the Virtual Arena, Yman woke up to his room. But weirdly, he received many notifications from his 5d-Seer.


    As expected, when he opened it, a smile was on his face. The number of people who sent him gifts had increased.


    "What!!?" One of them almost had his jaw dropped on the floor. "O-One hundred thousand Ranker Points?!" Yman exclaimed in surprise. His heartbeat started to pound faster than usual.


    He could not believe that someone would give such a huge amount. "Sweet Bun?" He read the name of the person who gifted him.


    Yman wondered who it was. He could not remember knowing such a person. Aside from that, based on the person''s name, Yman believed that she must be a woman and also a Ranker; because it was hard to believe that someone had a real name like that.


    With this amount of Ranker Points, he believed it was more than enough to pay the borrowed points from Rea''s department. Also, he got rich loot from that enemy he fought with just a moment ago.


    Fufu, Yman mischievously laughed. If he sold those items later, he would surely get rich amounts of points.


    Most of the gifts had the amount of five to ten thousand points. Only that one hundred thousand was different.


    Wait, Yman pondered. Perhaps someone bet on his match? That amount of points was just unbelievable to gift. He assumed and believed that it might be the reason.


    Aside from the notification coming from the gifts, he also received some notifications of challenge invitations.


    He took his MTMD and checked the time, 4:35 PM, as he saw it.


    After confirming the time, he stood up and picked his Deity, who was soundlessly sleeping.


    His scouts did not transmit any ill intent towards Rea. Yman connects his vision to one of them. He saw Rea coming out of the student council.


    After stretching his hands, he got up and left the room.


    A minute later, "Whoa--!!" Rea, who just got out of the building, was startled when someone jumped in front of her.


    "Relax, it''s me." Upon hearing his voice, she calmed down. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"


    "Not until I get the full payment of being your bodyguard." He teased.


    Tears were visible in her eyes. "Does that mean�� you didn''t care if I got a heart attack?" For some reason, he felt like Rea was taking his words seriously.


    "That''s a joke�� Of course, it''s better that you are safe from any illness." He said to ease her.


    "Hmph! Eyma��" Rea mumbled. "Haha��" Yman laughed descendingly at her reaction before he noticed something. ''Wait, Eyma?'' He thought while blinking his eyes. Then, he stared at her and noticed her pouty face. "Sorry for startling you," he added.


    Rea slightly widened her eyes. Never she expected to get a sorry from this man. "A-Ahem��" she cleared her throat. Her face flushed with slight redness.


    "What''s the matter?" She asked.


    "I''ve got enough points to pay your department."


    "R-Really?"


    She was surprised after hearing it. Although five thousand points wasn''t that big of an amount, it wasn''t easy to earn, especially that he was a newbie Ranker only.


    The two of them rode on his fire doll.


    Rea was surprised once again. "Where are we going?" She asked when she noticed they were moving in a different direction.


    "Ah, I feel hungry," he replied while touching his stomach.


    "Did the Inn not feed you!?" Rea asked in haste. That Inn was one of the luxury Inns and had expensive rent. But together with the expensive rent was the free buffet three times a day. Not just that, it was an eat all you can buffet. So it was surprising to hear that he was still hungry.


    "I mean�� I wanted to taste something different today. I accidentally found a great pub to eat at. They serve good food there��"


    "Wait, what was happening?"


    While Yman was telling her about the pub he found after coming to this Academy, he heard Rea asked in a worried voice.


    Yman stopped talking and glanced to where Rea was starting at.


    Ahead of them, they saw many people gathering below, and some were flying in a flock towards one direction, rode on their flying stick.


    "Department of Security?" He mumbled.


    "Yeah, they are the people from the department of security!" Rea seemed to hear him. "But why are they gathering? And they seemed to be in haste," Rea said with doubts.


    Yman squinted his eyes. "They must be taking measures about the incoming danger," he said. Rea glanced at him. "Do you mean�� They already knew about the mountain?" She asked him.


    Yman nodded in reply. "Wait, where are we going?" She asked when she noticed he changed their route.


    "Let''s find out first what they are planning to do." He said and tailed the people from the Department of Security. He was following them from a safe distance.


    Rea and Yman landed about a hundred meters away from where the people of the Department of Security had landed.


    "They are blocking the road?" Rea asked after.


    "Perhaps, they are restricting it!"


    Just then, Yman noticed something drifting not far from them.


    He turned away his eyes from the people of the Department of Security and directed them on the drifting object in the air.


    ''What is that,'' he thought.


    Suddenly, Sistela spoke while flying beside his face. "Ow, you''re awake." He said. He was storing her underneath his academy uniform and did not bother to wake her.


    Aside from that, he heard her saying a wisp. Rea looked at them. Sistela pointed out the direction of the Wisp.


    "What is that?" Rea asked.


    Sistela answered. she added.


    Rea saw a flying object chased by monsters that looked like a flying worm. But for some reason, those worms had beaks!


    "Okay!"


    After saying it, the two immediately used Resonance.


    Yman took some tree branches and fortified them. Without wasting time, he fired three branches enveloped by a bright crimson aura towards the big beak worms.

 Chapter 243: To resolve

    The branches knocked down the three worms and killed them. Yman was slightly surprised. He didn''t use much strength in that attack. Yet the monsters were dead on the spot!


    "Are those the creatures you mentioned to me?" Rea beside him suddenly asked.


    "Yeah." He nodded. Then he jumped out of the branch and landed near the Wisp. Rea followed and landed near the monster''s corpses. "Indeed, they look so unusual." She commented.


    "Yeah." He nodded again. "Regardless, don''t touch them. They were soaked in the miasma. I can''t do anything if you were caught with an illness unless the professor finished the medicine." Yman warned her then approached the Wisp. Rea immediately stopped. She''s about to poke it.


    Then he coughed several times. Rea asked him about his health. But Yman dismissed the topic by saying it wasn''t serious. Rea frowned and pouted. "Suit yourself, humph!"


    If he remembered right, the wisp who possessed his scout bee told him that it had a friend. The friend it mentioned must be this flicker of ball-shaped purplish flame in front of him.


    It was startled at first and tried to fly away, but Yman quickly caught it.


    "!?"


    He expected it to be hot as it looks like a sliver of a flickering flame. But he found out that his initial thought was wrong. He even felt a chill when touching it.


    "Hey! Do you know someone of the same kind as you?"


    "....."


    He asked it, but the wisp remained.


    "What are you doing?" Rea questioned him.


    Yman wondered why he could not converse with this one. On the contrary, the wisp inside his scout bee was talkative.


    He shrugged his shoulder from Rea''s question. "I know someone who might know it," he replied.


    Right then, Yman received a call from the professor. A smile appeared on his face.


    He took a peek back at the people of the department of security and saw them sealing the road, also known as the Narrow Pass.


    Since the road was in the middle of a steep mountain and forest, it won''t be difficult for them to seal it. But Yman also noticed the miasma was a few steps away from those people''s faces.


    Rea started to understand the situation upon seeing the approaching miasma. "How can you act so calm with this situation?"


    In the miasma, grotesque-looking creatures were racing towards the people from the department of security.


    Rea almost could not believe it. The way he was telling her about the situation was just like it wasn''t so serious.


    He heard her and noticed the grimace on her face. "Just calm yourself." Upon hearing his reply, Rea wondered if this person had the word of fear in his vocabulary. "Aside from that, I might be needing your help," he added.


    "....."


    After they left, rode on his bird fire doll, they heard explosions from the rear.


    Rea glanced behind and saw the people from the department of security preventing the advance of the monster''s horde.


    Magical spells were raining towards the opposing group. The people from the department of security were having a difficult time because of the miasma.


    Although the fight was still ongoing, it was so clear that their blockade wasn''t a success.


    Below them, Rea and Yman noticed more people coming towards the battle. They believed that they were the reinforcement of the people from the department of security.


    "Will they be okay?" Rea asked worriedly. But then she noticed the person beside her had no ounce of worry on his face. Well, she couldn''t blame him. After all, he wasn''t a Demihuman in the first place. After a while of no reply coming from the person beside her, "I-I think, I need to help them��" she said and glanced at his expression. But then again, no change on his face.


    On top of that, he sped up the mount. In Yman''s mind, he wondered if this mad lass princess heard his words a while ago. He already told her that he needed her help.


    Without replying to her, he sped up the mount.


    Ronnie handed the elixir sample to him when they arrived at the Little Garden. "It''s called Purification Elixir. So, what are you planning to do with it?" Professor Ronnie asked. Rea, besides him, glanced at him with curiosity.


    He didn''t answer immediately and stared at the clear liquid inside the transparent bottle.


    A second later, they noticed him extending his mouth to both sides to form a wry smile.


    "To resolve all the issues."


    "....."


    "....."


    Rea and Professor Ronnie didn''t know what he meant by his words, but after saying it, he didn''t say more.


    Professor Ronnie was wondering what the kid could do with such a little bottle of Purification Elixir. Although it looks so clear, like lake water, it wasn''t an ordinary elixir.


    However, the amount was so little for the amount they''d spent. So Ronnie doubted that he could do big with that one little bottle of Purification Elixir. At most, it could heal those apprentices who came yesterday.


    Ronnie did not expect that those students had inhaled so much miasma.


    Rea also doubted Yman''s claim. But, why did she feel so relieved when she heard him? Even though the situation was so bleak. She could even see more people flying and running towards the direction of the mountain. Looks like the situation over there had worsened. Perhaps, the higher council already noticed the situation.


    Rea was right. At the moment, the situation in the western part was already known by many. The news of countless creatures and miasma coming closer and closer to the mainland had proliferated.


    Many Demihumans had started to panic. Some were busily contacting their relatives through their MTMD''s.


    "Hey, where are you guys going?" Inside the Citadel a Demihuman with bunny ears asked his friends when he noticed them rushing outside.


    "We heard many evolved monsters were heading this way"


    "Really?!"


    The person nodded his head. "Don''t you think it was a good chance to gather a high-level Inner Cores?"


    They rushed to the place. But when they arrived at the Narrow Pass, they soon realized that the situation wasn''t an ideal one. It was a very bad situation.


    Some people fell on the ground, felt weak while coughing terribly.


    "M-Miasma?" They muttered.


    "Tsk! Help! I can''t heal them!"


    One of the healers shouted with a grimace.

 Chapter 244: Shining Purification Elixir

    "By the way, teacher, do you have extra empty bottles?"


    Professor Ronnie blinked his eyes at his unexpected question.


    "Yeah, do you need some?" Perhaps the apprentice wanted to mix another medicine. He thought so.


    "Did you come back here just to practice your alchemy skill?" Rea wanted to ask this, but she decided to remain quiet.


    "Yeah. I have something I need to use them for."


    "Hm, okay. What specific size are you looking for?"


    "Any will do��"


    "....."


    "I see. Go check at the storeroom. There was an old closet there. Although it must be filled with dust by now, most of them were usable."


    Professor Ronnie and Rea were wondering what he was planning to do with empty bottles. Especially in this situation.


    Although he could feel Rea''s curious look, he did not waste time explaining and directly went to the storeroom after canceling the resonance with his deity.


    Dust flew over after opening the beat-up door of the storeroom. Some of them invaded his nose. The smell of it was so awful.


    A piece of wood stumbled over and caused a disturbing noise, but Yman disregarded it and scanned the room.


    At the corner, he saw an old-looking closet. With traces of insects, sheltering on it for quite a long time. He then walked closer to it and touched the surface. He noticed his fingerprint left a mark on it. Damn dust! He thought so.


    Yman thought, ''Sistela would probably creep out if she was a real human or a real fairy or something��"


    "....."


    Sistela felt her partner was thinking something funny towards her. But she remained quiet.


    Yman crouched down on his knee and noticed the closet was locked. "My deity, can you ask the professor if he has the key."


    She then flew and passed by at Rea who came after them.


    "Uh, Miss deity, where are you going?" Rea asked when she noticed Sistela.


    "....."


    "I see."


    Sistela continued.


    Yman, on the other hand, "Damn, so dark," he grumbled.


    When he noticed Rea was behind him, he told her not to come inside as it was dusty. He joked that it wasn''t good for a young noble beautiful lady to dirty herself in such a place. She blushed. Besides, it was so dark inside. And he was thinking that she might creep out if an insect suddenly came out. "Fufufu." Rea squinted when she heard his chuckle.


    He laughed mischievously upon thinking what would be Rea''s reaction if she creeped out. However, upon hearing him, it made Rea a little doubtful of his words. She wondered if he was just caring or making fun of her.


    To show him that she wasn''t the type of person he was thinking she was. She went inside.


    However, after she took the first step, Rea stepped on the wood that fell a while ago. The wood rolled and made her lose her balance and stumble.


    "KYAAAH!" A deafening yelped startled Yman. He quickly glanced and saw her about to fall.


    Yman moved swiftly and was able to reach out her hand. He pulled her towards him. But because it happened so suddenly, he was pulling her in a little forceful way.


    Rea was pulled by him and crashed onto him.


    "Ngh!"A groan slipped from Yman''s mouth when something hit his middle part.


    "Aww!" Rea groaned as well.


    "Sorry, a-are you okay?" Rea asked shyly. It was her fault, to begin with.


    "R-Rea��"


    For some reason, he was calling her in a shaky voice.


    "What?"


    "No. Don''t move. I mean move. Wait, I mean don''t!"


    "What?!" Rea was puzzled by his words. She wondered if something happened to his head.


    Rea then clenched her hand. She felt like her hand clenched to something.


    "Ah��" Yman covered his mouth.


    "Hey! Why are you moaning? So lewd!"


    "I mean�� stop clenching my��"


    "Wait! Why is your hand twitching?" Rea asked as she tried to squeeze it.


    "Ah��"


    ''Deym!'' Yman shouted in mind. ''This is so not good!''


    "Wait. Why does your hand grow bigger and harder?"


    Rea was puzzled.


    "No Rea! That''s a wrong hand!" She screamed.


    "??"


    Just then, Sistela came in a rush. She heard a noise of a crash just now.


    She asked and summoned Map Screen to illuminate the room with the slight brilliance it was producing.


    "?!"


    Everyone turned speechless after what they saw.


    "Wawawawa��!"


    "KYAAAAHHH!!!"


    When Rea noticed what she was touching, her face turned as red as magma, and steam-exploded on her head like volcanic eruptions.


    Thwack!


    It was followed by a crisp impact on his face.


    Sistela muttered while having an innocent look.


    The three of them came out of the storeroom with red faces.


    On the other hand,


    Professor Ronnie noticed a palm mark on his face.


    "What happened?"


    "....."


    Rea glanced away with a flush of redness and a pouty face. But in her mind, she was wondering why it was so big. Would she survive if that thing��? Kyaaaahhh!


    Sistela shrugged her shoulders, indicating she had no idea.


    "A�� a bug," Yman said while rubbing his face.


    "I see. Oh, did you find the bottles?"


    "Yes, teacher."


    He didn''t waste more time and asked Rea to let him enter her world in painting once again. In the world of painting, after wasting up his stamina, he activated his black miasma.


    Whenever he activated his Black Miasma, Sistela would be sent to his dantian. She could only return when he canceled it.


    Once again, she found herself drifting in the lake of white and black. And the pitiful crimson.


    she shouted at the demon.


    "?!"


    "Damn it! Here she goes again!"


    The demon exclaimed and drifted away from her. But Sistela followed after him.


    Outside, Yman started creating fire dolls. This time he made countless Ant Fire Dolls. Each of them took a little sip of Purification elixir. After cleaning the empty bottles, the Ant Fire Dolls dove into it.


    Then they turned into gaseous like dark smoke. Although he called his Black Mana as Miasma, it wasn''t a bit like a miasma. It even raised the quality of the elixir. Thanks to its ability to modify skill. And since the ant fire dolls were originally made from a combination of skills, it turned the liquid purification elixir as part of it and became a skill in the process.


    Yman then started copying it. After understanding the skill, he could now use a purification skill.


    But it wasn''t his main goal.


    He then stored the bottles in a humid place. Vapors were starting to accumulate inside the bottles and the gaseous substance, mixing with it. A new liquid was formed after staying for a week inside the world of painting.


    Seeing that his experiment slowly showed results, Yman felt relieved. But he wasn''t finished. He knew it wasn''t enough.


    He then took the Heavenly Water and dropped little to each of the bottles. He made sure not to empty it as he also needed it for his sister''s medicine.


    A moment after the Heavenly Water mixed with the liquid inside. The liquid glowed. A smirk was visible on Yman''s face. He tried one bottle. After gulping it, as expected! The itchy sensation he felt in his throat had disappeared!


    Although he stayed a week inside the world in painting, it only took him a little time in reality.


    When he returned, the first thing he saw was Rea''s face. Still with a flush of redness. He guessed that she still could not get rid of the things that happened a while ago.


    Yman and Rea together with Sistela left the Little Garden.


    "Where are we going?" She asked, though her face wasn''t looking at him.


    "To the Hospital."


    When they arrived at the hospital, they saw Airi waiting outside the room. She was wearing an anxious face. Probably, worried for Achan''s safety and her friends.


    "Crimson! Miss Ella!" Airi called out to them.


    "Airi!"


    "How are they?"


    Rea called while Yman asked. They noticed Airi''s sad face.


    "What did the healers say?" Rea asked.


    "Miss Ella, they had no way to heal them," Airi said with tears forming at the corners of her eyes.


    Currently, they were outside the room where the three admitted.


    A moment later, the door opened and a healer in a full white suit like an astronaut came out of the room.


    "Doc, how are the patients?"


    The doctor sighed. "Their situations weren''t good. None of our healers could heal them."


    The miasma was so strong.


    Airi''s face turned pale upon hearing him. The doctors and other healers left them as they needed to find a way to cure the patients.


    "Miss Ella, what shall I do?" Airi asked with a crying face. Rea, on the other hand, brushed her hair to soothe her a little. She had no idea as well.


    Suddenly, Airi felt a hand on her shoulder.


    "M�� Mr. Crimson?"


    "....."


    "Let me see them��" he said.

 Chapter 245: The rise of Little Garden Department

    The doctors warned them not to enter the room as there was a tendency that the miasma would leak from the patient''s body, but he still went inside the room together with Sistela and saw Achan and the others. Their situation was very horrible. Not only that, their bodies were full of rashes. Also, they were coughing unusually.


    When Yman went inside, Airi asked Rea if what Crimson planned to do. But Rea had no clue as well.


    "Wait, wasn''t Crimson also bathed in miasma? Why does he look fine while the others look horrible?"


    Airi suddenly noticed. Rea widened her eyes after hearing her. Right, Airi was right. She thought. It was weird that only Crimson wasn''t affected by it.


    However, "I wonder as well. But that person, he wasn''t ordinary in the first place," Rea said half-jokingly. In truth, she was as puzzled as Airi. Whereas, it was also right that Crimson wasn''t an ordinary person.


    "C-Crimson?" When Crimson entered the room, Achan and the others were surprised to see him, they were shocked that he was here and looked so fine. Ran and Lilia looked so weak that they could not talk.


    He did not waste time and went directly to them.


    "Wait, C-Crimson. Don''t c-come near us. You might get infected��" Achan warned him, but it was too late. He was already beside her.


    "Don''t worry, it will be fine." He said with a smile. But Achan and the others knew that it was only to comfort them. Even though he didn''t need to do it.


    Just then, they noticed something shiny materialized on his hand.


    "Can you drink?" Since they have difficulty talking, he asked them first as he didn''t know how bad the miasma damaged their bodies. Well, if they lost the ability to gulp it. He had many ways to do it.


    ''Elixir?'' Achan thought upon seeing the object in the small bottle that was in Crimson''s hand.


    "Yes��" she nodded weakly.


    Fortunately, they were still able to gulp. However, doubt was visible on their faces. They wondered what Crimson was planning to do.


    Yman then lifted Achan''s head and let her drink the Shiny Purification Elixir. She wanted to say something but Crimson did not let her and pushed the opening of the bottle to her mouth.


    After drinking the elixir, magically, her complexion returned to normal just a few seconds. The purplish rashes on her body had gradually subsided. Until her coughing stopped and her skin color came back to normal.


    "What?" Achan was so surprised. Even Ran and Lilia widened their eyes.


    Yman smiled and nodded his head. Then he walked beside Ran''s bed and did what he did with Achan. He did the same thing too with Lilia.


    While Rea was still trying to comfort Airi, they heard the door was pushed open.


    They glanced at the same time but gawked with wide-eyes when they saw who was coming out.


    "Achan?" Airi whispered her name in disbelief. "Achan!?" Then she shouted out of surprise upon realizing that it was actually Achan she was facing at the moment.


    Airi moved and poke her boobs to figure out if she was the real Achan. Achan jerked back and covered herself with her hand while exclaiming Airi''s name with her face turned red with embarrassment.


    Then they heard Crimson laughed descendingly from the back.


    Rea stared at him. Although she knew that he had the purification elixir, she did not expect that it was so effective that it healed the illness in just a matter of seconds!


    In truth, the purification was enhanced two times, the first was from his Skill Modifying ability and the second from the Heavenly Water. So the effectiveness of the elixir grew to an unimaginable degree.


    "Achan? You''re fine?" Airi asked with a couldn''t believe face.


    At the back of Achan, they noticed her two friends and Crimson. Airi wondered how it happened. Just a moment ago Achan and her friends were in a bad situation. But now, they looked so healthy as though nothing bad happened to them in the first place.


    Achan shyly scratched her face. Then they started explaining what happened.


    "Crimson did!?" Airi exclaimed after hearing their explanation.


    Yman, on the other hand, beckoned Rea that they needed to depart first as he had something he needed to do first.


    But before they left, he told Airi and the others that whoever wanted the medicine, they just needed to come to the Little Garden to buy it through Department points.


    Airi was so surprised to hear it. With it, she believed that the Little Garden would soon rise to rank.


    The news about a medicine that could heal the illness brought by the miasma started to reach everyone''s ears.


    The doctors and healers were so surprised to see their three patients who fell ill from the miasma had recovered instantly.


    Although they looked so fine, the doctors demanded a double checkup for them. Although it was unnecessary anymore, they agreed somehow to the doctor''s, please. But the doctors could not find any out of ordinary from them. They were so healthy as though nothing happened to them a while ago.


    The doctors questioned Achan, Lilia, and Ran about how they recovered. Fortunately, Crimson already told them that if ever the doctors asked them about their sudden recovery, they were free, to tell the truth.


    Looks like Crimson already guessed that it would happen. He was a mysterious person. They thought so.


    As expected, many patients who were under the miasma were admitted after Yman and Rea left. They were the people who came to defend the Narrow Pass.


    Many Demihumans who came to defend the Narrow Pass had fallen victims to the miasma''s illness. Since no healers could heal the illness, they ran to the hospital to have the doctors check on them.


    Until the news about a certain elixir that could heal the illness caused by the miasma had reached everyone''s ears. It even reached the ears of the Higher Council.


    Most of them were skeptical at first. It was only to be expected since Little Garden had a bad reputation and was on a decline. That department was even in danger of disbanding.


    However, when their comrades were clinging to the last straw of their life, they had no choice but to try this so-called Shiny Purification Elixir. Yet after they tried it, everyone was so surprised because of its effectiveness.


    Not only did the Little Garden receive so many points by selling the elixirs, but their morale in the academy also increased together with popularity.

 Chapter 246: A real demonic beast

    The other alchemy departments tried to mimic their elixir, but none of them was able to succeed. After all, the process of making it was so profound and unusual.


    Because of the Shiny Purification Elixir, the threat brought by the miasma had lessened and the defense against the monster''s attack on the Narrow Pass had continued. More and more monsters came to attack.


    However, after the issue about the miasma''s illness effect was solved, many Rankers came to join the fight. The defenders were able to push back the monster''s horde.


    On the other hand, the commanders of the defenders, the Senior Leader of the Department of Security, asked some of his men to buy the elixirs in bulk.


    The Little Garden had become so busy in an instance. Yman was unceasingly making the elixir with the help of Rea and the others. Airi, Achan, and the others helped to distribute the elixir.


    When the night came, the monsters retreated to the mountain after they failed to break the defense of the defenders. The defenders were so lively after they succeeded in defending the Narrow Pass.


    Most of them were able to gather rich loot. Especially the monster''s inner core. Rankers needed it the most as it was used for their 5d-Seers.


    Although the monsters pulled back this time, none of the defenders left the Narrow Pass as there was a high possibility for the second wave.


    The Highest Council ordered to build a temporary settlement in the Narrow Pass in any case that the monsters would push back once again.


    In the Little Garden, Rea was pondering. She remembered Crimson''s words when Professor Ronnie asked him about the elixir. He said that he would resolve all the issues.


    And it was happening! The issue about Little Garden''s reputation and lack of points and the issue about the miasma. She was dumbfounded. He actually did it. Rea''s impression of Crimson had leaped another bound again. She wondered how he was able to reproduce the elixir to an unimaginable degree. Not only did he reproduce it, but he also increased the quality of the medicine.


    ''Right, how he did it?''


    Rea''s curiosity got the better of her this time. She asked Crimson how he did it and why he wasn''t affected by that miasma.


    Crimson smiled wryly. It wasn''t like he wasn''t affected by the miasma. In truth, he was affected by it, but not as grievely as the others. He had high resistance against it, thanks to the demon of possession. But Yman could not tell her about it so he only said that he had high resistance against it. He also explained what he did to increase the quality of the elixir.


    However, the next question of Rea stunned him. "Then, how did you reproduce it?"


    "....."


    He didn''t know how to answer her, or would she believe if he told her that he transformed the medicine into a skill?


    When Night came, Yman and Rea were Sitting in front of the flickering bonfire. After throwing some dry woods to the fire he felt someone''s gaze at him. "What?" He asked when he noticed Rea''s gaze.


    "N-nothing��" She said while looking away. He scratched his head. He guessed that Rea could still not forget about what happened this morning in the storeroom.


    He scratched his face and gazed at her. Rea was a lovely person. He thought. Thanks to her and Cinde, he learned many things.


    A smile subconsciously appeared on his face while gazing at her. He felt warm inside him, for the first time.


    Besides his Sister, it was the first time that he felt something like this to other people.


    "Uhm, Re��" He opened his mouth to say something to Rea but Achan suddenly came.


    "Uhm, Mr. Crimson��"


    Rea and Yman glanced at her. "Achan, is there a problem?" He asked.


    "Achan, come join us." Rea invited her as she took the kettle out of the fire. Inside it was boiled tea. She then took a cup and filled it, then handed it to Achan.


    Rea, Yman, and the others were not able to go back to the inn as they were busy. The Little Garden department received a request from the higher-council that if possible, they wanted the Little Garden to work overtime. Since they could not guess when the monsters would attack again. There was a higher possibility that they would attack tonight.


    Since only the Little Garden Department could supply the defenders with a cure against the miasma, they had no choice but to ask Professor Ronnie for his department''s cooperation.


    Achan sat in front of Rea and Crimson. In the middle of them was the flickering bonfire.


    Seeing her face, Yman could probably guess with certainty what she was about to say. Achan was wearing a worried and skeptical expression at the moment.


    She was skeptical to say it because of Rea''s presence. After a long breath, she resolved herself and asked him. It was already too late to hide their department''s fault at this point.


    Although it surprised Rea to learn the truth about the Devourer, she told Achan that she had nothing against their department, but advised her that it was better, to tell the truth, and accept whatever punishment the Highest Council bestowed them. However, Rea also told her that if she chose to hide it, she too would never speak about it ahead of them.


    Yman stared at Rea and secretly admired her.


    "What?"


    He heard Rea''s sudden question while staring at him. Actually, she noticed his gaze towards her.


    "....."


    "Uh�� nothing��"


    He glanced at Achan and told her that she agreed to Rea''s words. Rea blushed a little but hid it by looking away.


    If Airi did not tell her that Crimson and Rea were cousins, she would probably think that these two had a special relationship, seeing them right now.


    Achan fell silent. Then she remembered something.


    "By the way, Mr. Crimson, I heard that you came back to the mountain to collect the miasma sample��"


    Yman nodded slightly.


    "Did you perhaps see the senior students on your way there?" Achan hastily asked.


    After hearing her, he remembered those two idiots who ran away. He forgot that those two existed in the world.


    "Sorry, I didn''t notice. Haven''t they returned yet?" He asked.


    "No. The other members of our department told us that the two seniors were missing."


    Yman narrowed his eyes.


    "Wait, I think we can ask someone else," Yman said when he remembered something.


    "R-really��"


    Without replying to her, he asked Sistela, who was silently sitting on his shoulder, to get the Wisp.


    She said with a salute. Then flew inside the Little Garden. Wisp was currently resting in the artificial garden, inside the little garden.


    A second later, she came back while dragging the sleepy Golden Bee.


    "....."


    Yman and the others felt sorry for the Wisp. Sistela was just a bully.


    The Wisp annoyingly asked their business. Yman then took the other wisp from his storage. He forgot about this one. He wondered if it was still alive. Well, since it was an entity that didn''t require to breathe, he believed that it was fine to store it inside his Cyber Storage.


    "Friend!"


    The wisp in the body of the bee fire doll exclaimed after seeing the other wisp.


    Rea wondered how Crimson was able to meet such entities. Wait did he call such a bee as a wisp? She wondered as she had no idea about it.


    Yman did not waste more time and asked the first wisp to ask the second wisp if he found some demihumans in the mountain before he was chased by some worm monsters.


    Just then, they noticed the second wisp glow was blinking while the first wisp was nodding his head. It was what they believed after seeing the golden bee twitching his head.


    "My friend said that he saw two demihumans, but the two of them headed to the northern part, to where he felt the most dangerous presence."


    Said the golden bee.


    Dangerous presence? Could it be related to what the demon told him? Yman thought.


    However, they all glanced simultaneously when they heard footsteps coming closer. They saw three people who they believed were part of the defenders.


    "Good Evening, we need some elixirs the monsters were attacking once again." They immediately stated their intention.


    They noticed that they looked so exhausted. Probably, they rushed over here.


    Rea immediately rushed inside to get the materials.


    Yman, on the other hand, questioned them about the attack.


    With forlorn faces, they told him that it was more terrible this time. They have heavily injuredmen because of the appearance of a giant monster which they believed to be a demon.


    Yman widened his eyes.


    Not just that, the demon had the appearance of a giant worm. But on its head, there were two humanoid individuals.


    Yman felt curious at their words.


    Rea, together with Airi and the others, came out of the Little Garden with boxes of elixirs.


    The threeimmediately went back, rode on their flying sticks.


    Yman told Rea that he wanted to take a glance at the battlefield.


    "Let me go with you!" She immediately said.


    "No, you are safer here. Besides, I won''t take long," He told her.


    "Then, it''s fine if I came with you��"


    "....."


    He lost the words to decline her. In the end, he took her with him.


    They flew towards the Narrow Pass.


    When Yman and Rea arrived, they were almost stunned at what they saw. A giant beast that was as big as a three-story building.


    And on top of it, they could see two humanoid figures coated in what seemed like green stretchable cloth, or maybe it was skin. On their heads and backs, they were connected by what seemed like nerves.


    The monster shot something that looked like vines. It whipped the air towards the defenders.


    The ground was littered with blood and many bodies were lying on the ground.


    A real Demonic Beast?


    Rea whispered.

 Chapter 247: Demonic beast appearance

    Some people from the defender''s group were wriggling on the ground. They were bloody all over. Some ran to rescue them and evacuated for healing.


    The others were fighting against the smaller monsters. And some evolved creatures fought in the air against the other defenders who were on their flying sticks.


    Bang! A loud crash wafted the dust and debris.


    Although the attack failed to hit a single target, they were still thrown away by the shockwaves. About seven people rolled a few steps away from their former position.


    The cause of the crash was the squirming parts that looked like tentacles. They were everywhere around the Demonic Worm''s body.


    "Don''t stop! Cut the tentacles!"


    Yman and Rea heard a loud commanding voice coming from the Senior Leader.


    After his command, magical attacks were flying from everywhere towards the giant monster.


    The giant monster sent out a loud shrill that created an invisible shield, blocking their attacks before each of them landed on the monster.


    The shrill came from the two humanoids on top of the monster since the worm had no mouth.


    "Senior Leader, I think we need a high penetrative attack to break its defense!" Yman noticed the woman named Betty shouted.


    The Senior Leader squinted his eyes. Damn it, how did such a monster appear here? A demonic beast shouldn''t be able to pass it. The Senior Leader wondered.


    When they came to check the gateway, the seal wasn''t entirely lifted. Although low-level demons could pass through it, the demonic beast shouldn''t have.


    Then, how a demonic beast is here? Even if it came from outside the campus. It was impossible to enter the campus as it was hidden in a separate space. The Senior Leader pondered.


    He then ordered some of his men to fuse their magical energies to create a strong attack that could penetrate the outer shell of the demonic beast.


    "Wait, wait, wait, something doesn''t feel right." Rea suddenly said when she noticed something. Yman glanced at her. "Is something the matter?" Crimson asked her.


    "I mean�� There shouldn''t be a demonic beast here," Rea replied.


    "Because the entrance that connects this world from the outside wasn''t here. So if a demonic beast was able to enter here, it should appear to the southeast part of the campus because the entrance was there." Rea said with knitted brows.


    Yman stared at her, seemingly surprised by her words.


    "Entrance?" She heard Crimson mutter and repeated the word. Rea then nodded her head.


    Just then, he remembered the demon of possession''s words inside his dantian when he came to visit.


    "By the way, Rea, is it possible to sense the Dark Continent from here?" Yman suddenly asked her, which puzzled her further.


    The two of them were still riding on the enhanced bird fire doll, hovering in the air about 50-60 meters away from the ground.


    The battle was still ongoing, below them. However, they were at a safe distance from it.


    After hearing his question, she sent a glance. "What do you mean?" Then she asked him.


    "If there is a way to sense the Dark Continent from here."


    "That''s impossible! Of course not!" She hastily replied. Maybe Crimson thought that the Academy is a gateway to that despicable place. ''Wait, gateway��?'' Rea suddenly fell silent.


    "I see. Then that--"


    "A gateway!" Crimson was not able to finish his words when Rea suddenly yelled.


    His eyes narrowed a bit and glanced at her. Then he repeated her word. "A gateway?"


    "Well, I''m not sure if there''s one in here, but it''s the only possible reason for how the demonic beast was able to enter here. However��"


    ''A gateway, huh,'' he thought but he noticed Rea fell silent. "However?" He asked.


    "However, if there was truly a gateway, there should be uncivilized lesser demons right now. Yet, there''s only that thing."


    Yman remembered Rea knew more than him about demons.


    "Whenever the gateway is opened, lesser demons will come out first."


    He asked her if it was the common occurrence to which Rea nodded with certainty. He wondered if Miss Ice fought with the lesser demon also when the rift opened in the underground channel.


    "I see," he said.


    But then again, if the gateway was also not the reason. Then how that demonic beast was there.


    While Yman was pondering, his eyes landed on the demonic beast that looks like a giant worm. "Wait��" He uttered with widened eyes.


    "What?"


    "Fufu, I think I know the reason why there''s no lesser demon and how that thing appeared."


    "Really? How?"


    "The appearance of that thing and the absence of the lesser demons, the reason for it was�� it devoured all of them." He said with glinted eyes.


    "D-devour?!" Rea was surprised to hear him.


    She noticed Crimson nodded. "In the first place, that monster didn''t come from outside the campus or from another dimension. It was the Devourer worm from the Ascension Department''s experimental subject."


    Yman continued explaining. Perhaps this monster was able to evolve to such a degree of being capable of devouring even the lesser demon. After devouring the first lesser demon, it continued devouring the others also until it slowly evolved into a demon species and reached the point that it evolved into a Demonic beast.


    Rea was quite surprised but she could not disagree with his assumptions as it was the most logical explanation of how the demonic beast appeared on the campus.


    While Yman and Rea were conversing, the battle below was still ongoing.


    Magical energies in the form of shields were materializing in the air, blocking the super-strong attack of the demon.


    The tentacles on its body that looked like vines whipped rapidly to the defenders, creating crisp noises.


    The Senior Leader shouted for a counter-attack. But even with their joint attacks, the skin of the giant worm demonic beast was impenetrable.


    Although their attacks successfully landed on the enemy, they didn''t cause any damage even after fusing their magical energy and formed a massive javelin.


    The demonic beast sent a shrill once again. This time it was so strong that obliterated their magical shields.


    Many men from the defender''s group were sent flying away.


    "Nooo! Help!" One of the men cried out after the force coming from the monster''s shrill sent him tumbling on the ground; however, after it, another whip attack was coming rapidly towards him. It was wheezing from above.


    The person''s face turned grim as he was watching the fast approaching whip of the tentacle.


    Seeing that no one could help him, "No, he''s going to die?!" Rea cried out while looking at the person below. Even the other members of the defenders had given up helping him as it was impossible to help him.


    Yman noticed Rea''s hand was aiming at the person. He also noticed a half meter in diameter magical circle in front of it.


    He could not tell what she was planning but based on the expression on her face, she expected she won''t succeed.


    A loud crash that trembled the ground sent shivers on everyone.


    They were staringat the place where the person was supposed to be. Now it was engulfed in the clouds of dust.


    "Damn it!" A friend of the person uttered while gritting his teeth.


    Everyone was wearing a grimace on their faces, but when the dust wafted away. They saw a large crackon the groundcaused by the monster''s whip.


    However, they could not see the victim''s corpse.

 Chapter 248: Jet black transparent wings

    Everyone expected the person to flatten when the whip attack of the monster''s tentacle hit the spot where he was lying.


    Everyone was wearing grim faces. It was sad to witness one of their comrades suffer such a gruesome fate. But they all knew that on a battlefield, death is doable, especially against such a strong enemy.


    "Tsk, asshole! You will pay the price for what you have done to my best friend!" A person shouted and summoned his Artefact. A moment later, after a blinding light, his figure transformed from a plump beardy man into a huge four-winged lizard beast with a plump belly. Although he became huge after his transformation, his size was still three times smaller than the Demonic worm.


    Without a warning, from his large spiky mouth, he fired a strong greenish beam to the Demonic worm. The ground shook and the air vibrated because of the power that his attack brought.


    Everyone gaped while watching him discharging a super attack. Some tried to stop him but to no avail.


    His attack caused the other defenders to be thrown away because they were standing relatively close to the Demonic worm. The pressure of his attack was enough to push them away


    His beam attack had lasted about 5 seconds.


    "Such a strong attack!"


    "Damn it, it''s a super attack!"


    Everyone exclaimed.


    However, they were stupefied when the attack ended. Because aside from the slight burn on the Demonic worm''s body, they could not spot any serious damage on it!


    They all grimaced upon realizing that the enemy''s defense was to that extent. Even a super attack took no damage towards it.


    The Senior Leader himself creases his brow. "Betty called some back-ups! We needed some people from the top Rankers." While gripping the slim long sword in his hand, the sweating senior leader whispered to the woman beside him. This demonic worm could not be defeated with power alone. Even their strong penetrative attack could not put a dent in its defense. Perhaps some of the top Ranker had the means to penetrate the monster''s defense. This was the Senior Leader''s honest deduction of the enemy. After all, that attack just now was an attack coming from a Middle-tier Ranker.


    That man was known as Mr. FWL. Everyone thought that the meaning of it was Four-Winged Lizard. But the Senior Leader found out the truth when he followed him on his social media account. The real meaning of FWL is Female With Love! Well, the Senior Leader wasn''t a gossipy person so he did not put any thoughts about it. Actually, Mr. FWL was a good singer also. And the Senior Leader likes listening to his song whenever he wants to sleep. Yeah, he wasn''t a gossipy person. He just knew that Mr. FWL also had a gender problem.


    "Yes, sir!"


    Betty was about to leave but halted when the man who lost his best friend, aka Mr. FWL, was still not finished. "This shit! I said give me back my darlin-- I mean best friend!!!" (Fuck! I almost got a tongue-slip!) He thought inwardly in embarrassment but did not bother the puzzled faces of the people around him.


    When he transformed into a gigantic being, his voice became so loud and was heard by all of the people around him. Everyone who had serious faces a while ago had turned dumbfounded but no one laughed at him as they were in a serious situation at the moment.


    He charged forward in haste like a wriggling mosquito egg inside a jar of water. His figure wriggles in mid-air as he was rapidly flapping his four wings. However, "wait!" someone blocked him.


    The thought of losing his darling I mean best friend took over his rationality. He was about to make a courageous suicide for the love of his life but a concerned citizen blocked his way.


    The person who blocked him has a figure of a cow head and burly humanoid body and a pair of wings on his back. His whole body had seaweed color and his muscles were bulging like impenetrable stones. Seeing the person ahead of him, "Step aside, Cowhead!" With bloodshot eyes, the four-winged lizard shouted. He knew this person. Like him, he too was a Middle-tier Ranker.


    The four-winged lizard still proceeded on his charge, but he was like a tiny lizard with his figure crashed into an invisible shield, a large greenish transparent shield materialized in mid-air.


    "YOU!!!"


    The four-winged lizard, aka Mr. FWL, bellowed thunderously. But no matter how he pounded the magical shield in front of him, he could not get rid of it, especially after discharging a super attack. All of his stats had weakened because of the backlash.


    "Listen, Mr. FWL! I don''t think he''s dead!" Said Cowhead as he was standing in mid-air and his wings were flapping on his back, producing flapping sounds.


    Upon hearing him, Mr. FWL stopped and narrowed his eyes on Cowhead. "What do you mean, Cowhead? You saw it, right? When that shit slammed on him!" Said Mr. FWL thunderously.


    "If he was dead, then why was there no bloodstain on that pit?" Said Cowhead as he pointed at the large pit on the ground. "And where is the corpse?" He asked.


    Mr. FWL glanced to where he was pointing and realized that he was right. "Then where is he?" Just after Mr. FWL asked the question, they heard a loud yell. "What is that?!"


    They glanced to where the person was and saw him staring above. Mr. FWL, Cowhead, and the others also glanced above.


    There they saw the person who was supposedly dead, on his back was a pair of jet black transparent wings. "Wait! Something was dragging him?!" They were surprised to see a huge black insect on his back, dragging him upward.


    Just then, everyone felt something was growing on their back. Then a pair of jet black transparent wings like on that person also appeared behind them.


    They tried to get rid of it but to no avail. They soon were dragged to a safe area. However, they suddenly felt weak. They felt their mana was sucked from them.

 Chapter 249: Super Galaxial Bomb

    Everyone was wondering what these creatures were. Even Betty was caught by it. She tried to stab it using the sword in her hand, but she felt so weak that her attack could not get rid of it.


    Also, even though the sword had successfully stabbed the creature, she noticed no blood was dripping. Even after she took back the sword, she could not see a wound from it.


    It was fortunate for the Senior Leader to escape from it. Before it absorbed his mana, he already noticed a thin fluctuation of magical energy behind him.


    He discharged a sudden surge of mana all over his body to rid it, but the effect of his move was contrary to his expectation. Whatever was behind him, it did not disappear, in fact, he noticed that the fluctuation of magical energy grew bigger than before he discharged a sufficient amount of mana.


    "Tsk! It''s a mana-eater!" The Senior Leader concluded.


    A bad premonition suddenly crept on him, without wasting time, he took off his coat and threw it to the ground. He saw a fist-size ant sticking on it. It was black in color and gleaming crimson-colored veins were all over its body. He creased his brow and wondered what kind of insect it was. Wait, it could be a monster from the Gateway! He slashed with his sword and split the insect in two. Just then the insect turned to smoke.


    Upon thinking of it, he glanced around to warn the others of such creatures.However, he was too late to warn the others. When he was about to warn them, the black insects on everyone''s back had already expanded.


    "Kyahh!"


    The Senior Leader heard a yell coming from Betty, who was in the same situation as everyone. He saw her being dragged away.


    He was surprised to see the insects grew bigger than he imagined.


    "Betty!"


    He called out.


    "Sir, help!" Betty was asking for help while trying to get rid of the insect.


    He hastily ran towards her to help. He could have fired a long-range attack to get rid of it, but he pushed away the thought as he was wary of the insect. He had no idea what this type of insect could and couldn''t do.


    When he neared them, he leaped in the air and attacked it in a sudden strike. Yet, his sword only caressed an empty air. The black insect left on its own accord and fluttered away, leaving the exhausted Betty falling.


    The falling Betty was caught by the Senior Leader on his arms. Betty sighed in relief, but for some reason, she was very exhausted.


    Most of them were dragged to a distant place, away from the Demonic worm, just then, the creatures on their back freed them.


    All of the creatures flew in the sky to where they saw a black flying mount. It was a bird, and they noticed two people were riding on it. "Who are they?" They could not tell who those people were as they were far in the air. They could not discern their faces.


    They all gawked upon watching the flying black ants, almost covering the whole sky. They hoarded around those two on the bird mount.


    Although many of the people had their mana absorbed by those insects, not all of them fell to them. Many were able to get rid of it, and those who were flying in mid-air, fighting against the evolved monsters from the miasma, were also not part of those who were dragged by the flying ants.


    Mr. FWL and Cowhead were one of those who were able to get rid of the insect before it absorbed their mana. Mr. FWL hastily flew towards the person he thought was dead.


    It was so weird because even the healers were not one of those people who had their mana stolen from them.


    While the others were still busy fighting against the flying monsters from the miasma, those who had their mana stolen from them were gazing above. Ahead of them, the Demonic worm was wildly brandishing the tentacles on its body, slamming the ground. It must be angry that its playmates were taken from him by those insects. The ground shook at every impact and created large and long leaks on the ground.


    Betty and the others were staring in puzzlement. Their attention was on the flying black ants.


    "W-What are those creatures?" Betty asked.


    Like her, everyone also had the same question on their mind. Even the Senior Leader was also wondering about those creatures.


    "I''m not sure, but they absorbed mana. So probably a type of mana-eater insect."


    "Mana eater? I see, no wonder I feel so exhausted."


    They glanced around, then noticed most of their comrades were exhausted as well. Betty turned back her gaze above, but she was stupefied by what she saw. "Look, sir!" She pointed.


    When the Senior leader glanced, "what? They turned into spheres?" The Senior Leader exclaimed in surprise.


    "Not only that, they fused!" Betty added.


    Just like what Betty and the Senior Leader said, the flying black ants turned into spheres then fused to create a huge sphere.


    Around the huge sphere, they noticed eight smaller spheres orbiting around the giant sphere. In truth, even those eight spheres were gigantic in their eyes. But the one in the middle was so huge!


    They could even feel a strong magical aura from it. Beads of sweat were visible on their faces as they stared at it.


    Even those who were fighting against the evolved monsters from the miasma stopped their attacks and looked above them. Not only them, but even the monsters also stopped their attack as well. All of them glanced above in full alert.


    They all had uniformed faces that could not be described as they were staring at the gigantic mass of magical energies. Everyone was thinking, ''what are those?''


    Since the spheres were a fusion of mana from different people, the sphere''s color was also hard to describe. But seeing it from afar, it looks like a glowing black and white, together with different colors inside it.


    Before their eyes wandered around, the Demonic worm started to move its gigantic body, though its movement was sluggish. Perhaps, because of its size.


    He could not explain why, but the Senior Leader felt a foreboding feeling.


    He didn''t know if the people above were allied or enemy. But since they didn''t resemble a monster. He had a strong belief that they weren''t enemies. And if ever they were enemies, he could only pray for their life to her grace the goddess of nature Htraerea.


    The Demonic worm stopped its charge, it felt a dangerous aura. Then the two humanoid figures on top of it gazed above, seemingly sensing something was amiss in there.


    "!!" Everyone was surprised. From the mouths of the two humanoid figures, laser-like magical attacks were fired above.


    "Everyone! Be careful!!" He shouted.


    The demihuman immediately moved away from the Demonic worm when they heard the Senior Leader''s voice. Seeing the laser attack of the Demonic worm, everyone was horrified. In their minds, if such an attack hit them, not even their ashes would remain. After all, it was an attack coming from the Demonic beast. It could even dissolve a mountain.


    Right after everyone moved away, their eyes were stolen by something. In the corner of their eyes, they noticed a gleam coming from above.


    They saw a long beam?! It was coming from above! It directly collided with the laser magical energies of the Demonic worm. This beam was much stronger than the super attack fired by Mr. FWL.


    Although it was night, the world was seemingly turned morning in an instance, because of the colliding attacks. The next second a thunderous explosion happened in mid-air. The blinding lights hinder their visions and they felt like the world shook terribly.


    They noticed the laser attack of the Demonic beast was stronger because the beam attack disappeared first. However, just before they blinked their eyes, another beam came down and directly hit the Demonic worm. The Demonic worm wailed in pain. Yet they noticed the Demonic worm was able to materialize a magical shield in time.


    Just looking at the shield, everyone agreed that it was several times sturdier than the shield used by Cowhead.


    Everyone held their breaths as they were watching with their wide mouth open.


    Even Rea gawked at the person beside her. She knew this attack he was using at the moment. It was familiar to her. If her memory served her right, it was the super attack of the boss in the Training Pavilion. But how could this person learn it? It wasn''t even thought in the academy.


    Although some tried to copy it, none of them had succeeded. Yet this person, not only he copied it, he even improvised it to such degree!!!


    However, although the beam was so strong, everyone noticed that it wasn''t enough. Just when they thought that it was useless. The Demonic beast was just too strong, and this one was a Tank-type Demonic beast, spcialized in defense.


    Yet, what happened next, almost had their eyeballs left from their eyes. One after another, the other spheres started to shine and fired to the Demonic worm, leaving it no chance to fight back. The beam''s power increaseseverytime a new sphere fired.


    KEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!!!!


    They heard a weird wailing coming from the Demonic beast. Everyone noticed the shield started to desolve.


    "Hehe."


    "!?"


    Rea heard the person beside her grinned. The next second, the biggest sphere descendedand world turned white. Hewas so happy at the result of his Super Galaxial Bomb.


    Most of them did not know what happened next as their eyes could not handle the dazzling light. Only a few of them managed to see it when a person descended on top of the monters burnt body.


    "Tsk, even with such power, its still wasn''t enough to kill it." They heard muttered the words. Right they noticed the Demonic monster breathing heavily. Perhaps it was on death''s door already, but it was commendable that it was still alive, as expected of a Demonic beast. It wasn''t easy to kill.


    Aside from that, they were more curious of this mysterious person. He was able to defeat such a beast!


    After the mysterious person, that is Yman, landed on top of the monster, he weild a dagger and enveloped it with magical aura. Then he pierced the back of the beast. However, he stopped when he heard a moan coming from the two humanoid on top of the monster. Currently, they were a few steps away from him.


    Yman spun the dagger between his fingers. He slightly narrowed his towards them. "I see." He muttered, seemingly understanding the situation.


    He then returned his gazed below him, to where he saw the wound he caused on the monster''s back. He dug his hand in it. The monter tried to struggle by wriggling its body. But it was so weak by now.


    He wrinkled his forehead when he could not find the thing he as looking. He weilded the dagger once again and did a stronger slash, creating a wider wound. Just then, a smile returned on his face when he saw a gleaming object with metallic luster, though it wasn''t made of metal. After he took it, the monster''s body lost its vigor.


    Aside from the Inner Core, he also noticed a Magic Cryst. Finally, after so long, he was able to get a Magic Cryst once again. He thought so.


    Yman glanced at the two humanoid figures on top of the monster. He shook his head. Looks like he was right. They were the two Senior student from Ascension Department of Alchemy. He wondered how these two found themselves in such situation.


    "That Demonic beast used the negative energy from these two as its convenient fuel."


    He suddenly heard the voice of the Demon of Possession. "I see, so it feeds on negative energies?"


    "Yeah."


    When everyone''s vision return to normal, they only saw the back of a leaving figure.

 Chapter 250: Sleep together

    The senior leader widened his eyes upon seeing the person who jumped and killed the Demonic Worm.


    He knew the person. It was Miss Ella''s cousin, the new student that they caught recently in accusation of being a molester. Though, it was a misunderstanding only."Crimson Agila��" the senior leader whispered his name.


    "....."


    Betty, beside him, also had a can''t believe face. She never expected to see himagain. He was the person who asked her for a date. Wait, how did he have so much strength? Betty asked.


    Just then, some people started toidentify him.


    "Isn''t he the Newbie Ranker?"


    Asked one of the Rankers who happened to know him.


    "You mean�� the Ranker named The Mysterious?"


    "Yes!"


    "Dammit, this guy is so insane!"


    "Wait, how can he fire a super attack?"


    "Is he a Middle-Tier Ranker already?"


    "No way! I think he''s still a newbie."


    "....."


    Actually, there was a reason why their strength was lowered in this academy. Because they needed to levelup their Ranker level to slowly unlock their real strength while they were inside the academy.


    Those who reached the Middle-Tier Ranker had their 50% strength back to them, while the newbies had lower. But Yman had no idea about it. He just felt that his strength here had a great decrease upon entering the academy.


    This actually not only minimizes their strength but also maximizes them when they left the academy. It was a way for the Encantasia Academy to train their future warriors.


    The monster group had retreated to the mountain after the defeat of the Demonic Worm. Losing their leader had weakened their willpower.


    The defeat of the Demonic Worm did not cause any changes in the miasma. It was nonetheless proliferating around the mountain.


    Since everyone was exhausted, the senior leader ordered everybody to rest.


    Some wanted to pursue the enemies. However, they couldn''t disobey the senior leader''s command. Aside from their exhaustion, they also needed more supplies of Purification Elixir to counter the miasma.


    The senior leader strongly believed that the monsters would attack once again.


    The next morning, he went to report at Elder Morass.


    "How''s the casualty?"


    "Thanks to the healers, no one had died. Though, there were many men who got injured and two who were grievously injured."


    "Oh, who are they?"


    The senior leader then started his report.


    "I see, so something like that happened, huh. That''s too unexpected." Said Elder Morass dejectedly. "In any case, it was fortunate that they were alive."


    "Yes, elder!"


    "How about the giant?"


    The senior leader cleared his throat before answering him, "It was dealt."


    "Good job."


    "By a new student." The senior leader added which almost stunned the elder.


    "....."


    "What do you mean?"


    The senior leader didn''t know how to answer it as he was flabbergasted by that person''s attack. And those insects that absorbed their mana like the monsters from the miasma, he had no idea what were those creatures. "Sorry, Elder Morass, sir, but I can''t present a full report about that person this moment. However, most of us witnessed in our own eyes the things he did on the battlefield. If you wish for us to investigate him, I will send a person to do it as soon as possible."


    Curiosity was visible in the face of the elder as he narrowed his eyes towards the senior elder. "Hm�� please do, so that we can reward him fairly for saving many lives."


    Upon hearing his reply, "yes sir!" After leaving the elder''s office, he immediately contacted one of his men and asked him to investigate the person named Crimson Agila, and if possible, it would be great if they could invite him.


    The senior leader could not do it personally as he was needed at the frontline. The monsters were still trying to pass the Narrow Pass.


    They were evolved monsters, so it wasn''t easy to deal with them.


    When Yman and Rea back went back to the Inn, it was already 2 AM. However, Yman felt something wasn''t right. He noticed a bad intent coming from Rea''s room.


    When Rea was about to open the door, she was surprised when she felt a force. Yman pulled her towards him. She blinked her eyes in wonder and with a flush of redness on her face.


    Rea wondered what Crimson was planning to do. She expected him to ask her to sleep with him. Rea''s mind immediately turned highwire.


    Will Crimson force me to do that thing? B-b-but we are still so young. Her thoughts. And wait! What am I thinking?! She thought bashfullyespecially when she remembered the thick and hard thing shehappened to touchinside the storeroom.


    (O_O)


    Yman had no idea of Rea''sdirty thoughts. He immediately sent 4 mosquitoes.


    The mosquitoes went inside through the gaps on the door and the floor. He wanted to use his Version 2 Ant-model Enhanced Fire Doll, but it has a bulging belly. It would certainly be stuck in the gap. So Yman decided on the mosquitoes.


    His eyes shone lightly when he transmitted his vision to them. He could not discern their faces because the lights were off. However, it wasn''t a problem for him to figure out where they were hiding. They were hiding at every corner of the room.


    The two mosquitoes went to the other side and the other two were on the other side as well, each of them took a target. These Mosquito-model Enhanced Fire Doll were unlike his other creations. It was hard to perceive. It had a thinner presence than the rest.


    The people who were hiding in Rea''s room had no idea even after they were bitten by the mosquitoes. Yman just casually entered the room.


    Seeing the seriousness on his face, Rea felt that something wasn''t right.


    "I-is there a problem?" She asked.


    "There is��" he glanced at her and noticed that her face was so close to him. "Ah, sorry��" he slowly released her.


    "....."


    She didn''t know what to think of this Eyma. Just then, they heard a dull sound of crashing. It was coming from her room.


    "Is that the problem!?" She asked in haste.


    He smiled. "Don''t worry, it''s settled."


    "Eh?"


    Yman pushed the door, but damn! It was locked.


    "....."


    Looks like those people did not forget to lock the door after they went inside.


    "Do you have the key?"


    Rea was surprised when she switched the lights on the room. They saw 4 people lying unconscious on the floor.

 Chapter 251: Sudden surge of strength

    The four people fell under his illusion after the mosquitoes successfully bit them. They fought with Demonic beasts in their hallucinations and fell unconscious out of fear.


    Rea''s shock was apparent on her face. She was shocked to see these people and was surprised to see them lying unconscious on the floor


    She wondered how Crimson knew that there were bad people who sneaked inside her room. If not for Crimson, she would probably be in danger by now.


    "....."


    ''Thanks, Crimson...'' she said inwardly. But she was shy to say it out loud. In any case, he was her bodyguard and she paid him for his service. So it was fine not thanking him personally. Honestly, she was shy and her little pride as a princess won''t allow her to say it. Regardless, she was grateful that he did so well.


    Yman was unaware of her thoughts. He summoned his two spiders to tie the shady people.


    After tying them, Yman forcefully woke them up again to question. The four had uniform surprised faces after finding out their situation.


    "What? I am alive. Oh my goodness!" One of the four exclaimed.


    "Eh? I-I thought that d-demonic beast c-chewed my head?!" The other one said in a trembling voice. He probably suffered a nightmare in his hallucination. Well, they all suffered the same nightmare.


    Rea wondered what they were saying. Maybe their heads were intensely bumped on the floor.


    The other two were as well as surprised to find themselves tied on chairs. Their mind failed to connect the things that happened a while ago and the present.


    Yman learned that these people received a mission of abducting Miss Ella, the princess from the Mangrove Kingdom.


    Regardless, after learning the inn she was staying in, they easily sneaked in. But, they never expected that she would arrive so late.


    And now they are tied by a black sticky thick thread. They could not even move an inch. The hell with this thread! How is this thing so durable? They whined inwardly.


    "....."


    Yman also learned the identity of the person who was after Rea.


    It was the prince of Nara Kingdom!


    Damn it, he was dealing with a prince?! Come on, he was a lowly commoner only. Seeing Rea''s beauty, Yman guessed that it must be a love thing, the reason for that Prince to be so eager to abduct her.


    For some reason, a strong feeling of wanting to know if she also liked that person was bugging him.


    But he ignored the thought as it was easy to guess that she wasn''t interested in that prince. However, dammit, he wanted to ask somehow.


    And besides, Rea was also a popular person. Maybe that prince was a diehard fan of her.


    Nonetheless, he strongly believed that Rea didn''t like that prince. It was easy to guess. Because come on, what''s the need of a bodyguard if she likes him.


    Then again, something inside could not settle him. He felt like he was haunted by an invisible ghost from within. Is he a gossiper now? He doubted himself.


    "....."


    Rea noticed Yman''s gaze at her from time to time.


    "What?" She asked in wonder.


    "N-nothing��" he couldn''t ask!


    Rea glared at him with suspicion.


    "....."


    "Ah, Rea."


    Rea blinked her eyes, urging him to say what was in his mind.


    "Can you call for someone to detain them?" He asked her. ''So it''s only about that,'' she thought. She nodded and started dialing on her latest version MTMD.


    Some people from the department of security came afterward. Yman learned that these shady people would soon be sent outside the campus and be jailed in the empire.


    Speaking of the empire, he remembered that it was the day that the letter in the parchment stated(His prize in the competition, after opening the golden chest). It was written there that on the last day of the First Month of Autumn, the Empress invited him and the disaster bringer girl to the palace.


    But the disaster bringer girl wasn''t here. Weirdly though, he wanted to see her.


    Yman and Rea came out of the campus. They visited the Sunshine Village first, rode on his gigantic Hell Chaser bird.


    After they stepped out of the campus, he suddenly felt the change in his magical energy and physical strength. He was surprised to find out that his attributes grew noticeably.


    Rea noticed Crimson''s surprise. "What?"


    "Hm, this is weird."


    "Weird what?"


    "I mean, I feel like I have a breakthrough, though my level is still the same."


    Rea understood Crimson''s surprise. In truth, it was the natural reaction of someone coming out of the campus. They suddenly felt a surge of power from within. Even Rea herself also thought the same. It was the underlying effect of the lowered strength inside the campus. Whenever they entered the campus, everyone''s strength was nerfed. So every time they strengthened their progress they thought nothing dramatic about it. Since their mind is already familiar with this strength.


    However, when they stepped outside the campus, just then they noticed a dramatic change in their strength.


    Rea explained to Crimson.


    "I see, so it''s like tricking one''s mind," Crimson said after hearing Rea''s explanation.


    Moi and Meiwere currently feeding the chickens when suddenly a large shadow shaded them below. They glanced above and saw the familiar bird.


    "Big Sis! The big sis and big brother are back!" Moi shouted.


    "Welcome back, big brother Crimson! Welcome back, Miss Ella!" Meishouted. Yman and Rea heard their greetings while waving their hands.


    The Hell Chaser bird slowly descended.


    "Moi, Mei, how are you two?" Rea greeted them when they climbed down.


    "We are fine, Miss Ella," Mei replied.


    "Here!" Yman handed a bring home to Moi.


    "Wow! A B-tier San-San Bread!" Moi shouted while licking his lips.


    Sistela flew and sniffed the bread. She tilted her head from side to side. She can tell the smell and taste of it. But she couldn''t say if it was yummy or not. Since the taste and smell only appeared as data to her.


    Yman and Rea left right away. They proceeded to Rea''s mansion.

 Chapter 252: Empress

    When Rea and Yman arrived at the mansion, they heard a piece of bad news from the head maid.


    "A village guard reported that the repeller herb was stolen?"


    "Yes my lady," nodded the head maid.


    Yman noticed Rea''s expression was plastered with worry, and shefurrowed. She glanced at him, but he shrugged his shoulder. Even he could do nothing about it.


    "Miss Nere, are they from the Red Gargantuan village?" Rea asked her head maid once again.


    "Yes, My Lady."


    He noticed she knitted her browsand bit her lips. "Those people had never changed," she bellowed under her breath.


    "How about the Monster Repeller Perfume from last month?" She asked.


    "Uhm, My Lady, the village chief reported that it would only last till next month."


    Yman noticed Rea further creased her brows. He was currently standing beside her, in front of them was the head maid, giving her news to Rea, who was currently sitting on a comfortablesofa.


    "I see, next month huh," Rea sighed and said dejectedly.


    Yman and Rea did not stay longer in the mansion. The two went to the Empire''s market.


    After looting the core of Demonic Beast, Rea told him that there were many uses of it. Unlike the normal inner core from the low-tier monsters, the inner core from the Demonic beast was known as Demonic Core. And it comes from many uses. Rea did not recommend him to absorb it in his 5d-Seer because the buff effect will only be used inside the Virtual Arena.


    She explained to him that he could identify the item in the Cauldron of Identification. But he needed to buy the cauldron first.


    The cauldron and Demonic Core were new to him, so Yman had no idea about them. Thanks to Rea though, for explaining everything to him


    They went inside the store. His first impression of the store was an antique store. But it was actually a normal store. If there was not normal in the store, it would be the sales. Most of them were magical stuff.


    The store had a total of 30 square meters, and it was stuffed with different kinds of products. In one of the corners, they saw a row of cauldrons with different colors.


    Yman took the cauldron with white color, but Rea stopped him. "Hm?"


    "Every color has a different tier. The white one was the lowest. It also means that it had low chances that you''ll get a better tier item. And it also has a great chance that identifying the core will fail. If it happens, it also means that you''ll lose the core without gaining anything. Whereas the green is the second-worst tier. Next is blue then purple, and the best tier of all is this gleaming purple." Explained Rea as she was pointing at each of the cauldrons.


    "I see. So it was varied by its color huh."


    He stared at the cauldron where Rea was lastly pointing. It looks magnificent. But when his eyes landed on the price. He almost had his eyes drop on the floor.


    "5 million gold points?!!!"


    After buying, Yman and Rea left the store and went directly to the palace.


    The Hell Chaser bird landed in front of the towering gate where two armored guards were standing at both sides. They greeted Rea when they saw her. And she returned the greetings.


    Yman wasn''t surprised that Rea was known by them. Since she was the niece of the empire''s empress.


    When they entered the towering gate, they were greeted by a group of silver armored soldiers. Wait, he remembered these soldiers. They were the soldiers who came together with Rea when he saw her first time in the adventurer''s guildhall.


    "Welcome back Princess Merea Ella!" They greeted in unison. Yman was taken aback by the combination of their voice.


    She greeted back as well.


    "....."


    Yman remained silent. However, he admired these people''s patriotism in their duty, even under the heat of the burning sun.


    Rea sneaked a glance at him when they entered the palace. Yman was amazed by it. It was his first time stepping into a real palace. He once entered a palace inside Rea''s world in painting. But it wasn''t real. And when he entered the place, it was littered with battle marks.


    "Are you nervous?" He suddenly heard Rea''s question while they were slowly walking the palace corridors.Probably, he noticed her unsettled eyes."Of course not," he replied. ''Itwas more of an ecitement than nervous.'' He thought but did not voice out.


    Before they arrived at the door, a woman in a maid outfit approached them.


    "Princess, the empress is on the balcony," said the woman in a maid outfit.


    "I see, thank you," Rea replied. Then she urged him to follow. Yman''s eyes were still busy wandering around.


    Rea glanced at him and knitted her brows. "Hey!" She called out. Yman blinked his eyes. "Sorry, this place was so amazing that I can''t take my eyes away."


    Yman said honestly. Inside the palace was truly a sight to behold.


    Rea gawked for a second from his reply, before a chuckle escaped from her mouth. He stared at her. It was the first time he saw her laughing. Yman thought Rea looked so cute as she chuckled.


    When they arrived at the balcony, he saw a woman in a sky blue gown. She was standing with her back facing them.


    Yman strengthened himself, this woman in front of him was no doubt the most influential person in the empire, theEmpress of Encantasia empire. He could not believe to see her in person.


    He gasped in admiration when she turned around. She looked identical to Rea. Looks like the gossips were true. Royal family from the Mangrove Empire were truly exceptional beauties. And most of them were a little lookalike to each other.


    However, they looked more like sisters than aunt and niece.


    Empress Eleanna Encanta smiled at them. "Greetings," after saying it, she followed up by introducing herself. Crimson was surprised at the Empress''s friendly vibes. Rea bumped on his side. Honestly, never in his wildest dreams he expected to find himself in thepresence of a real empress in person. "Rea, Mr. Crimson, come join me," she beckoned them.


    For some reason, he felt like the empress wasn''t someone of an older generation. He felt like she was of the same age as them.


    Yman noticed the crown on her head, the diamonds on it were twinkling whenever it was hit with lights.


    In any case, he wondered why the empress wanted to see him in person.

 Chapter 253: In the palace

    And besides, Rea told him beforehand that it was the empress who asked her to change the reward inside the golden chest that he acquired after clearing the first elimination round of the competition.


    "By the way, where is that girl?" Immediately asked the empress. Yman and Rea looked at each other in wonder. Perhaps who she meant is Cinde. Yman thought.


    "Uhm your highness, do you mean the girl with wolf ears and red hair?"


    "Fufu, yes, the Lupine girl."


    Said Empress Eleanna as she giggled.


    "Uhm, she was summoned to her family, your majesty."


    Wow, it''s a dream come true to be able to exchange a word with an empress, in person! Yman thought.


    ".....", "Oh, is that so?"


    "Yes, your majesty," he respectfully replied.


    Yman noticed the slight change in the empress''s expression. She looked dejected. "Aunt, your majesty," Rea called out. Rea sounded worried. Something felt unnatural. The empress lifted her hand to say that she was fine and there was no problem.


    Though he felt it was suspicious.


    In fact, the empress''s summon was supposed to be more important and powerful in the empire. So why would Cinde wasn''t here? Her family probably knows that she received a summon from the empress.


    Upon pondering for a brief moment, he came up with the two possible reasons. One, something unexpected happened that disallowed Cinde to come, this made him worry for some unknown reason. Two, her family might have a bad relationship with the empress which was very uncommon. After all, the empress was the most powerful person in the empire. So, who would dare to oppose her? Wait, wasn''t her majesty wasn''t the real descendants of the Empire? She only took the crown after her husband, the emperor died?


    So basically, the real descendants might disagree with her. Yman was able to come up with such a conclusion just based on the many books he read before. There was a high chance that some families opposed the empress''s ruling. Possibly, they wanted someone from the real successor family to succeed the crown and not some Royalties from a different kingdom.


    Based on the books he read before, the empire could have a monarchy or democratic type of government. He was curious about it. However, even though he was curious, he could not ask the empress about it since he came here for different reasons. In any case, he would ask that disaster bringer girl when they saw each other again about the reason that she didn''t comply with the empress''s summons.


    While Yman was mulling,


    "Your majesty, the other guests have just arrived," the maid suddenly came and reported about the arrival of another guest.


    Yman, Rea, and the empress glanced and saw Cinde together with two other people.


    But, erm�� Yman remembered them. They were the two people with remarkable magical energy in the competition, if his memory didn''t betray him.


    "Oh, welcome!"


    The empress stood up with her hands embracing each other. She greeted them equally, with a bright smile on her face.


    Seeing Cinde, Yman thought that his initial thought was wrong after all.


    "Crimson? Miss Ella�� I mean princess!" Cinde stuttered after realizing that it wasn''t good to call Ella without honorifics outside the campus.


    Honestly, Cinde was surprised to see them. She never expected to see them inside the palace. She comprehends the reason why Crimson was here, to guard Princess Ella.


    Though it puzzled her that she was summoned together with these people from the other families. If the empress wanted to gather strong youngsters, it should be her brother Ember instead of her. Coming together with Hilion Gustav and Roman Hammerhelm is just out of a sense for Cinde. These two were known to have great talents.


    In any case, she was grateful that she came. After paying her respect to the empress, she ambered excitedly and sat beside, on the other side of Crimson.


    "Is it true that your family summoned you?" He asked her in a whisper upon sitting beside him.


    "Mhm," she nodded. "But don''t mind it. It''s just a family thing. Regardless, d-did you miss me?" She suddenly asked while fidgeting slightly.


    "....."


    Crimson fell silent while blinking his eyes, wondering if it was important to know if someone misses you. "I�� I��" he found it weird! He found himself unable to reply.


    Will he say yes? Or will he say no? Cinde was staring at him, waiting for his reply. But she turned bashful when she noticed Crimson slightly nodding his head.


    Roman and Hilion also took their seat. The two of them were secretly glancing at the person, sandwiched by two beautiful women.


    They wondered who this man was. It was the first time they saw him. Princess Ella and Cinde seemed to know him though.


    "Okay everyone��" said the empress to get their attention. Then she continued, "I know that you are wondering why I summoned you today. But before that��" the empress introduced each of them.


    "Crimson Agila?"


    "Yes, I''m an adopted son of the guildmaster from adventurer''s guild." He told them.


    "I see," Roman and Hilion nodded and also told their names.


    The empress made a clap on her hands after everyone was able to know each other. The next second, a group of maids came in, serving different kinds of foods.


    Yman and the others were surprised. Only Rea, who had a usual unsurprised face. She probably expected it already.


    Even Hilion and Roman did not expect that the empress prepared a grand meal for them.


    "Uh�� erm�� your majesty, I think it was too grand for us��" said Roman Hammerhelm.


    "Fufufu��" the empress chuckled. "Don''t restrain yourself, Roman."


    "Okay, thank you, your majesty," Roman cupped his hands at the empress.


    Although he came from a prestigious family, as part of his training, he could only eat good foods when he achieved a breakthrough or when he accomplished something great. Like for example, taming the Lightning Mayhem beast.


    Unlike the Hammerhelm family, the Gustav family descendants were blessed with good foods. They could eat what they want. However, even Hilion himself found the meal prepared by the empress to be so grand.


    "Uhm, your majesty, perhaps it will be a long conversation?" They suddenly heard a question, coming from Crimson.


    The empress was a little surprised. "Oh my, how did you know, Mr. Crimson?"


    "Because, your majesty, served the food beforehand."


    If they were going to have a light conversation, tea would be enough. Same as him, Rea also believed it was the reason.


    However, only Yman and Rea noticed it.


    But Yman suddenly paused for a moment when he noticed the amused face of the empress while staring at him. A bead of sweat was visible at the back of his head as he wondered about the empress amused expression towards him.


    It made him uncomfortable though, being stared at by the most influential person in the empire. However, the food was good, so sorry empress, no one could make him uncomfortable for long.


    "Truly a smart man," Empress Eleanna thought inwardly.

 Chapter 254: Abnormal Rifts

    The empress took their attention when everyone finished their meal.


    "Now let''s start, do any of you have an idea why the palace sponsored that competition?"


    Suddenly asked the empress.


    "Uhm, Your Majesty..." Cinde called out shyly."Yes, Young Miss of Lupine family?" The empress urged her to continue. "Wasn''t it for the empire''s annual competition to celebrate the empire''s founding anniversary?"


    "Hm, it''s one of the reasons. But it wasn''t the main purpose thistime."


    Empress Eleanna replied.


    "I�� see," said Cinde as she creased her brows and glanced at Crimson. She saw him shrug his shoulders.


    Yman had no idea about the empire''s celebration or whatsoever. After all, he came from the Human City.


    He too was wondering about the reason. After all, even though the empress knew that he was a human, she still summoned him. Rea just remained silent while sipping tea.


    Roman, on the other hand, was crossing his arms across his broad torso. Even though he was the champion of that competition, he remained quiet as he as well could not find an answer. It was easy to guess fromhis furrowed face.


    "Uhm, Your Majesty, could it be that the empire wanted to find new remarkable individuals?" Hilion, who was a smart person, said his answer.


    The empress chuckled and said, "You are a half-correct, Young man of Gustav family."


    She glanced at Crimson but noticed his silence. The empress proceeded to say, "The real reason for the competition was to find new experts with unique talents."


    "Unique talent?" Crimson repeated as he glanced at Cinde.


    "?"


    A question mark was floating on Cinde''s head.


    "Fufu, yes, Mr. Crimson." Said Empress Eleanna as she placed her right palm over her left that was resting on the table.


    "For example, Miss Cinde Lupine''s fire element,"


    Eleanna said as she darted her eyes to Crimson and Cinde. Hearing her name spoken by the empress, Cinde was surprised.


    Yman understood what the empress meant. She must have meant Cinde''s holy fire that could exterminate any dark enemies, like the undead or even the demons�� ''Wait, could it be��'' he realized something.


    He wanted to ask but he could not speak ahead of her. So Yman remained quiet about it and nodded.


    Roman and Hilion were a little puzzled by the empress''s words. They had no idea about Cinde''s fire. Of what was special about it. Wasn''t she using the same fire as her muscle brain brother? They spoke inwardly but did not voice out their thoughts.


    Yman guessed that the empress must be thinking that his fire dolls were special talents as well since she also invited him, even though he failed to proceed on the second elimination match of the competition.


    Actually, all of them were conflicted. It was their first time to talk with the empress in person, so they were skeptical about saying something.


    "Fufu, if you have something you want to say or ask, don''t feel reserved and speak out the words in your mind." Giggled the empress.


    Yman and the others were surprised at the empress'' non-aloof behavior.


    Suddenly he felt a tug on his collar. It was from Sistela, who was silently sitting on his shoulder. He slightly lowered his head to listen to her words.


    Sistela whispered.


    "....."


    ''This Sistela, what was she talking about? What''s a meta empress?'' Yman almost burst out laughing. He wondered why Sistela asked it out of the blue. But he had a guess the reason was because of the empress down to earth approach with her people.


    Regardless, he returned his gaze to the empress and listened to her words as he felt slight changes on her countenance.


    "Lately, there have been some rifts appearing at random. Most of the time, it was caused by demons. But this time, it was different. We sent some experts to investigate these rifts, but none of my people had returned yet��"


    The empress explained to them the abnormal appearance of the rifts. They could not get any information about it as no one that they sent inside had returned yet. And now the empire was wary to send another explorer.


    All of them were just listening with grim expressions on their faces as the empress came into details about these so-called Abnormal Rifts.


    Not only that, the residents who were leaving around the said rifts had reported that the soil around those rifts had turned black. It seemed like the rifts were eating up all the life force from those soil. Because of it, the normal and magical plants and herbs around those rifts had dried up in just a mere month.


    "Uhm, Your Majesty, may I know when this Abnormal Rifts had started to appear?" Yman felt interested and asked.


    The empress nodded. "The first appearance was about three to four months ago."


    Yman was quite surprised. Because it was also around those months that the demon of possession appeared from the rifts. He wondered if the demons were secretly the cause of it.


    And also, wasn''t that demon always talking about the coming war? He needed to ask him later. But one thing puzzled him. Because the rift that appeared in the Underground Channel of Human City Zone 7 was so different from those Abnormal Rifts mentioned by the empress.


    "Uh-uhm��" Cinde suddenly made an uncertain noise.


    "Ehh��" she was slightly taken aback when everyone''s eyes were on her. "Cinde, if you want to say something don''t be afraid. Her Majesty said it. You don''t need to feel so reserved," Rea said calmly to urge Cinde to say whatever bugged her and also to give her mental support by showing a warm smile.


    But in Rea''s mind, ''As expected of an introverted person.''


    Cinde could not say it straight. She stole a glance at Crimson and saw him nodding his head. "Uh-uhm�� Y-your Majesty, the reason for this meeting is�� to ask us to explore those Abnormal Rifts?" Fear was visible in her voice as she asked it.


    After hearing her questioned, everyone''s attention was on Empress Eleanna.


    Everyone knew that if Her Majesty wanted to ask them to venture inside those rifts, there was no way for them to disagree.


    Even Roman and Hilion were quite shaken at the thought. Actually, they already guessed that it was the case after hearing her majesty''s words. But the two of them could not find the right timing to ask it. Good thing that this Lupine girl questioned it.


    They noticed Empress Eleanna smiled. "You don''t need to worry about that. It''s true, the reason that I called you here today was for an important mission��" everyone felt a little nervous. After all, they were students only. And most of them were only False Path experts.


    "...but it wasn''t to ask you to venture inside one of those rifts."


    They sighed in relief upon hearing her. However, they froze at her next words.


    "But you will be sent as ambassadors to the other big continents."


    "....."


    "....."


    "....."


    "....."


    Yman didn''t know if something happened inside Sistela''s system. How the Empress becomes a Congress? And meta to boot! He wondered how Sistela came up with such a phrase.


    Welp, it''s better to ignore her and assumed he heard nothing.

 Chapter 255: Allrounder Ambassador

    "A-Ambassadors?" Just then Rea reacted.


    "Yes, Rea Honey," nodded the empress.


    "Uhm, Your Majesty, do you mean we needed to travel across the continents?" He was taken aback after hearing the Empress.


    The empress nodded again. "Mhm, uhm�� do you have something or someone to worry about?"


    "....."


    Rea and Cinde stared at him. They remembered Crimson had a person special to him, though that person had a broken seed. It must be the reason that he looked so worried after hearing that he had to travel away.


    "Uhm, Aunt, I mean�� Your Majesty. In truth, Crimson here has someone special to him that he cannot leave for long."


    Yman blinked his eyes at Rea''s unexpected words.


    "Oh, is that so?" Said the Empress as she stared at Crimson, Cinde, and Rea.


    The two girls had simultaneously nodded their heads. Crimson did too when the empress''s eyes landed on him.


    "Actually, Your Majesty, that person had a broken seed."


    "....."


    Crimson was surprised at Cinde''s follow up. How did these two know about it? A question on himself. Wait, it must be that time, inside the Little Garden Department. Yman showed a can''t be helped face after realizing.


    He was surprised that these two girls were remembering it.


    "I see, so that''s the problem?" Asked the empress. Yman nodded with a wry smile. He actually wanted to travel across this world. But if possible, he wanted to bring his sister with him.


    They noticed the empress paused for a moment. "Hm, broken seed, huh��" said the empress as she put her index finger below her mouth. Perhaps, in-depth thoughts.


    Yman''s mouth hung open when he remembered that the empress had the same habitual gesture as Sistela.


    Hilion and Roman were just silent while listening to them. But in truth, they were thinking about the empress''s plan of making them ambassadors. They realized that it was a good chance for them. An ambassador of the empire was a high position that someone like them could only dream of. Yet, the empress wanted to appoint them even though they were still too young for such a job. Perhaps there was a reason behind it.


    Regardless, if they become an ambassador of the empire, not only their status in their family would rise, most of their peers would be looking at them with envy.


    Though Roman wasn''t the type of person to mind about such trivial matters such statuses. But being an ambassador of the would increase, not only his status but also his family''s status inside the Fatbeardy Sect.


    Yman noticed the empress opened her mouth again. "I think I can help with that." His eyes blinked once, then widened a second later. "Y-your Majesty�� what do you mean�� with help?" While Yman was asking it, his hands trembled for a brief moment.


    Empress Eleanna grinned. "Actually, In the palace treasury, there is a medicine called the Heaven Defying Medicine." Upon hearing it, Yman stopped for a moment. It seemed like the time paused for him.


    It was the medicine he was looking for!


    Even Sistela who was sitting on his shoulder gasped in disbelief.


    When they heard the empress mentioned the Medicine''s name, Hilion and Roman had narrowed their eyes at Crimson as they thought that he was so lucky. They knew that Adventurers guild was a big company in the empire, but they did not expect that this person''s influence could even make the empress mention that legendary medicine.


    "Your Majesty!" Everyone was startled when Crimson suddenly stood up. "I will trade my soul, just sell to me the medicine!" He declared resolutely. Crimson knew that even though he had one of the major materials to synthesize the medicine, the other materials weren''t so easy to find either. It may take him a year to conclude the medicine if he was so lucky to find all the materials. But in reality, it was indefinite of when he will be able to find them all.


    That''s why upon hearing the empress talked about the medicine. His excitement spans ahead of his thinking.


    He even forgot that he didn''t have the money to buy it. The Heaven Defying Medicine wasn''t a medicine that could besynthesized easily.


    Cinde and Rea were speechless at him.


    "Fufufu��" Empress Eleanna chuckled. "I see�� let''s talk about it later��" she added.


    Crimson thanked the empress and hastily said a sorry to everyone before embarrassingly sat back in his seat.


    The empress asked them one by one if they had any questions. Hilion raised his hand and asked for further information regarding the ambassador thing.


    Empress Eleanna nodded and explained to them that they won''t be sent right away. They needed to undertake serious training first. They wondered why the empress wanted to send them as ambassadors and not the real ambassadors. But Hilion seemed to know of the reason. He continued the empress explanation by saying that the Empire of Encantasia wasn''t on good terms with the other continents.


    "In honesty, all of the major continents were in constant war against each other,"proceeded the empress. "Even at this moment, the war was still ongoing in the frontline. It is also the reason why we can''t send some soldiers to the other continent." Without a soldier to guard them, most of the current ambassadors refused to partake in the mission.


    Although if Empress Eleanna really wanted, she could send them even if it was against their will. But she was not the type of Empress who forced her people to commit something against their will.


    Left with no choice, she used the competition to find suitable individuals for the mission.


    She needed to find some experts who could be both ambassadors and could also protect themselves while


    at the same time act as undercover agents.


    Everyone was speechless at the empress''s words.


    In short, they must become an all-rounder ambassador who could adapt to any situation they were in.


    "....."


    Their meeting lasted for 5 hours, but the empress asked them to stay for a bit as she needed to grant them their real rewards from the competition. Excitedly, they followed the empress in the palace treasury.

 Chapter 256: Palace Treasury

    Inside the palace treasury.


    Different kinds of equipment from pieces of jewelry, weapons, armors, etcetera were hanging on the wall or if not, they were neatly displayed on the shelves.


    They gasped in admiration. As expected of the empire, most of the rarest equipment was stored here-- from plain-looking equipment to a shining one.


    "Everyone, choose your desired reward. Just put in mind to choose the equipment that suits your style and that may help you in your journey, " said the empress after everyone stepped inside.


    Their pair of eyes feasting the wonders in front of them.


    After a couple of minutes of looking back and forth at all the high-ranked equipment around them, Hilion finally was able to choose the equipment of his choice.


    He chose a pair of shining wristbands. Just looking at the gleaming surface, anyone could tell that it wasn''t an ordinary item. However, before he wore it, "be careful!" Her majesty warned.


    Hilion paused and all of them glanced at the empress, seeking an explanation.


    "That equipment was known as the [Wristband of Emerald God], a ranked 8 equipment. You needed to be at least a star-7 False Path Expert or higher to wear it. If not, it may put your lives in danger."


    "!!"


    Roman nodded his head. "Her Majesty was right, Hilion. Even my rank 7 Lightning Mayhem required me to reach a level of star-5 False Path Expert to tame it," Roman seconded, agreed to the empress.


    It was the first time for Hilion to get a hold of such a higher ranking item, so he had no clue about it. However, he was excited. Finally, high-ranking equipment was in his hand. As he was currently a star-5 False Path Expert, he just needed to advance two levels to reach the required level.


    Although it wasn''t an easy task, it wasn''t impossible to achieve. If he pushed himself to be so active in the Virtual Arena, he believed a breakthrough before their training to become an all-rounder ambassador would start.


    After saying his thanks to the empress, He grinned and faced Roman.


    "Roman, let''s duel when the time comes that we both can manifest our equipment''s real power."


    Hilion declared after storing the equipment into his spatial ring.


    He was looking at him as his rival. After all, he lost only in the competition in a little margin. If not because of Roman''s high-ranking Lightning Mayhem, there was a great chance that he would win over him in the championship.


    With this [Wristband of Emerald God], he could probably defeat him when times came.


    Roman sneered and walked towards the shining white and dark blue armor.


    A trace of lightning was visible on its surface. Probably, an elemental armor.


    "Looks like Roman was set on the [Scale Armor of the Lightning Sovereign]. It is a good item to wear, especially that Roman has a strong affinity with lightning elements. It won''t only deflect lightning attacks towards him, it will also increase his lightning prowess. On top of that, the [Scale Armor of the Lightning Sovereign] is enchanted with an autofit enchantment, and the one who did the enchantment was the popular enchantress of the empire��" said the empress.


    "Your Majesty, do you mean�� is Her Eminence Lady Gaia?"


    Asked Roman with a surprised face. Even Hilion and the others were having the same face. Only Yman had no idea who this so-called Lady Gaia was.


    But seeing their surprised faces, he believed that she was an awesome person.


    And the name Enchantress must be someone who had proficiency in enchanting. He believed.


    The empress nodded.


    Roman''s mouth broke into a grin as he thought that thisarmor was distined to him.


    When Roman touched the armor, a fluctuation of lightning was felt by his skin. The visible scale-like design of a fish was gleaming on its smooth surface.


    "Your Majesty, are you sure it''s fine for me to take this treasure?" Asked Roman in excitement.


    An uncontrolled pounding in his chest made his hand tremble slightly. It seemed like there was an invisible aura that was pulling him towards it.


    "Fufu. Feel free champ," said the empress in a little teasing manner. Then she faced Crimson who was yet to choose.


    Even Roman, who was said to be a man with a stone resolve could not help but blush in embarrassment from the empress''s teasing.


    However, Roman''s excitement was visible on his face. Together with Lightning Mayhem, his dream of becoming the Ruler of Lightning Element would soon be at hand''s reach. If he completed 7 equipment with lightning elements in the rank of 7-9, he would certainly become one. Right now, he has two of them, the Lightning Mayhem and the [Scale Armor of the Lightning Sovereign]. Five more to go.


    He secretly shook his head at Hilion, who had no idea that he was ahead of him. But same as Hilion, he needed to advance 2 levels before he could use it.


    Roman stored the armor in his spatial ring.


    "Uhm�� y-your majesty�� how about me?"


    Cinde asked shyly as she slightly raised her hand to take the empress''s attention.


    "Sure, feel free to choose. Uhm, I wanted to recommend something for you, Cinde Lupine."


    "Cinde Rayla Lupine, Your Majesty," Cinde hastily said to correct the empress but soon covered her mouth and bowed repeatedly while saying her sorry.


    The empress giggled at Cinde. Then asked her to follow her to the next room. Cinde and the Empress went to the next room.


    The palace treasury was heavily guarded, and no one could easily enter as it was littered with traps. But thanks to the empress, they easily entered.


    Yman was still busy looking around.


    "Crimson!" He suddenly heard Rea''s call. He glanced behind and saw her walking towards him. Yman blinked his eyes. "Having trouble in choosing?" She asked him.


    "Uhm��" He thought. It was certainly troublesome to choose when all of the equipment around him was extremely high ranking. But it wasn''t the reason why he was yet to choose. "All I want is the medicine," he said with a serious face.


    Rea stared at him, wondering how important that person to him. Well, the value of that medicine couldn''t be lost with the rank 8 equipment. Especially at the present, it was the only medicine known that could heal any illness.

 Chapter 257: Is it a kiss?

    Now that Rea thought about it, she had yet to know anything about him. Besides his real appearance, she didn''t know much about his identity.


    What if she asked him? Will he tell her the truth? Or tell a lie? Or perhaps ignore her.


    The longer they were together the more curious she was about him. What else Crimson was hiding? She wanted to know.


    Even his abilities were very unusual. And his crimson mana gave off a different feeling. He could even kill that newly transformed demonic beast that brings trouble to the Senior Leader''s group.


    Although that demonic beast was newly transformed, it wasn''t easy to deal with. But this man dealt with it so easily.


    That spell he used in defeating it, she remembered it was the same spell used by that fish head boss monster in the Training Pavilion.


    He copied it.


    No doubt about it.


    But how did he do it? If she was right, Crimson only saw it once. And that spell, he didn''t only copy it, he even beat the original in using it.


    Is he perhaps a genius in terms of magic spell? Rea asked no one but herself. She couldn''t help wondering about Crimson. Especially that he looks as young as her. Even her aunt, Laura Agila, said that Crimson was the youngest Gold Rank adventurer. Also, he was the newest member of the guild.


    Rea was staring at him while blinking her eyes.


    Yman scratched the side of his face. He wondered what happened to this overthinker-princess. For some reason, she suddenly fell silent and now was staring at him with such a face that seemed like dissecting him.


    A chill ran down his spine as the word dissecting came to his mind. It was a commonly used word in the lab.


    "Ahem!" He coughed intentionally to pull her back to her senses. It was still too early for her to be in a daze. He was successful though. Rea came back to herself and noticed she was staring at him for quite a few seconds already.


    With a sign of redness on her face, "Erm��" she cleared her throat and turned away her gaze. But at the corner of her eyes, she stole glances at him.


    In a pouty face, "I-I''m just curious what kind of item that someone like you will choose besides the medicine," she said.


    Upon hearing her, he touched his chin with his fingers and pondered. All of the equipment around him was 5-8 tier at most. "All of this equipment can boost my fighting capabilities. However, my only problem is that I ain''t proficient in any of these weapons. At most, I can only manifest 50-70% of its real power. So I can''t honestly tell you the answer you are seeking. I''ll rather train my spell than learning how to wield weapons," he said honestly.


    Some people were gifted by it. And some people were seriously training on it from their childhood until they were adults just to master their desired weapon. Yman, on the other hand, had nothing like that. If he had experience with wielding weapons, it was only to the degree that he was capable of swinging or shooting them.


    After hearing his answer, "I-I see��" Rea said. "But�� if I had to choose one of these items here, I think... I would rather choose an Artefact or jewelry to boost my defense."


    Rea stared at him and wondered if Crimson wanted to become a robust person. For some reason, a muscular Crimson lifting her with his muscular build was playing in her mind.


    Yman blinked his eyes in the wonder of why Rea suddenly turned red. With a "Humph!" She looked away. D-Did he says something bad? He asked himself.


    A minute later, Her Majesty Empress Eleanna and Cinde came back from the other room. A smile was visible on Cinde''s face but�� they could not see anything on her.


    Step step�� she ran towards them. "Guess what I got from her highness?" She suddenly asked the two.


    Yman guessed she stored it inside the spatial ring that was on her finger.


    "A jewelry?"


    Rea said her hunch directly.


    "Nope!" Cinde replied while closing an eye and bent forward to Crimson. "How about you, Crimson?"


    "..."


    He was certain that he would be wrong also, but he made a thinking gesture somehow before saying his guess.


    "Sigh�� I couldn''t think of any�� perhaps it''s a magical item?"


    "..."


    "Uhm, Crimson, there are so many kinds of magical items."


    Now that he thought about it. He and Cinde and Rea too were both not the type to carry a weapon. Based on his observation about Cinde''s style, she was a mage who likes spamming her spell.


    If there was an item that would be much helpful for her. It would be a magic staff or wand. But, as he was stated earlier, she was not the type who carried a weapon. So magic staff and magic wand were out of the picture and any other weapon.


    Besides, isn''t Cinde also had that Xelestial beast? Hmm�� he pondered then suddenly widened his eyes. Wait! There is that kind of item also. If he counted the perceptiveness of the empress. Perhaps, the empress gave her that kind of item but�� could the empress really give it to Cinde for free? In any case, is that item even here?


    They noticed Crimson''s curious and skeptical face. His mouth slowly approached Cinde''s ear. "I-is it a kiss?" Cinde thought with her face starting to blush and her heart was beating rapidly. A second later, Crimson whispered in her ear. "A mana stone?" Cinde sighed in defeat. Regretfully, it wasn''t a kiss. "How did you know?" She asked.


    "Hehe�� just a guess," he grinned. But in truth, he was surprised that it was actually a mana stone!


    Empress Eleanna asked Crimson for his choice. He answered directly that he only needed the medicine.


    Yman noticed the frown on the empress''s face. Roman and Hilion came to the empress and asked if it was fine to leave. Although they were curious about what type of item this person named Crimson Agila was going to choose, the two of them were in a hurry and had to leave. But in fact, they just wanted to grind for battle experience in order to breakthrough.


    The empress nodded, and told them that they would receive a letter about the special training.


    Yman asked for the specific time, but the empress told them that after the academy competition.


    Hilion and Roman left but the empress asked Crimson and Rea to stay. Cinde was skeptical to leave. But after the empress whispered to her, she snapped and also left.


    However, before she left, she told him that she would become stronger. Crimson nodded and smiled at her.


    He wondered what happened to her�� she suddenly became so eager to become stronger.


    Before she totally left, she said, "See you in the Academy, Crimson, Princess Ella," after saying those lines she waved her hand and left.


    Rea nodded at her.


    Yman wanted to say something but she had sprinted already. Looks like she was so excited to test the item the empress gifted her.


    Empress Eleanna asked Crimson and Rea to stay a bit longer.


    The empress took them to a more secluded room.

 Chapter 258: Heading back...

    After quite some time, Empress Eleanna finally released them. Now they are flying above the wide-range plain land, heading towards the Encantasia Campus. Yman needed to retrieve the 70 percent finished Body Tampering elixir of Airi.


    "By the way Crimson, why is it named Tampering instead of Tempering?" The girl beside him, Princess Merea Ella, asked with wonder regarding the name of the elixir.


    Yman glanced an eye to her. "The answer is simple. Because as the name suggested, it doesn''t make the body stronger or heal it. In fact, it makes the body worse and even the person who will use it will suffer a breakdown and severe pain��" he replied without explaining any further.


    "What?"


    Rea was stunned after hearing his reply. She wondered if Crimson and Airi had something in their heads for creating such a medicine. What are they planning to do with this elixir? It''s clearly dangerous! She thought.


    Noticing Rea''s stunned face, "It will get rid of the affected area by the illness, inside the person''s body, that could not be pinpointed even by the advanced technologies��" he continued saying but it only worsened Rea''s impression towards the elixir. She knew about the advanced technologies of humans, but even with such technologies, there were always unbeatable circumstances.


    "Hmm, getting rid? Do you mean the body parts? Won''t the patient be put in a bad situation? Or perhaps even die?" Rea with a frown fired multiple questions to Crimson.


    Still, he had an unperturbed face from her questions. "Mhm," he nodded. "Yes, the patient will be put in danger, however��"


    "....."


    Rea was having an unamused face. But Crimson wasn''t finished.


    "...it only will happen in an instant," he added. Then continued by giving an analogy, "It was the same as how a rotten fruit couldn''t be reverted back to its fresh state with conventional means. Therefore, the only solution was to throw it and get another one. Yeah, to reform the affected parts, such as blood, tissues, and etcetera, the healer must be beside the patient and ready to act right after the Body Tampering elixir took effect. Since the cause of the illness wasn''t by ordinary disease, the only solution was to get rid of the cause and the affected area."


    But even so, it didn''t give a good impression to Rea. "What the-!" She exclaimed. Then added, "Why does this sound like, if you are tired of your girlfriend, then break up and find another one! Hmph!" Crimson was stunned after hearing her. But in Rea''s mind, ''Is this guy for real?!''


    Crimson wondered why Rea was pursing her lips from his explanation. He was just giving an analogy though.Maybe he explained it wrongly? Regardless, why she was giving her own analogy? And it was about girlfriend to boot. He decided to ignore it as he was aninexperienced man.Oh, boy. Poor Crimson.


    "I mean�� you need to get rid of the unreformable parts to re��" he tried to explain more but he was stopped.


    "Yeah, yeah, I get it." She said, unwilling to listen furtherwhile trying toponder about his wordsbut her face still showed an unamused expression towards him.


    ".....", he fell silent, wondering if she was mad at him or what. Did he do something wrong? His thinking came to a halt when Rea opened her mouth once again.


    "So by destroying the affected area of the illness, it also opens a path for healing?"


    "Mhm."


    He nodded.


    "Still, this idea isn''t a good bet." Rea knew the danger of the person who took it. "What if��"


    Now, it''s Rea''s turn to get silent when Crimson suddenly interrupts her by saying, "Don''t worry, the Body Tampering elixir is not only about destroying the affected part without taking into account the safety of the one who consumes it." He knew her worry as he too was worried about the same thing. What if the person who took it died in an instant? It was in their minds while synthesizing the elixir. Of course, it wasn''t like Airi and Crimson made this elixir on a whim and without precaution. They tried it on various subjects until the success rate reached a favorablepercent while at the same time taking into account the safety of the consumer.


    "What do you mean?"


    Yman raised an index finger. "The Body Tampering elixir also preserves the soul, body, and mind of the person to avoid the direct effect(dying) of losing some critical parts of the body."


    Rea was surprised and fell silent as she was pondering once again. Indeed, if these three major components of the human aspect were sealed for a couple of seconds, there was a high possibility of avoiding the direct outcome of dying when a person took the Body Tampering elixir. With this, the healer had sufficient time to cast healing magic and reform all the affected areas in the consumer''s body.


    Perhaps Crimson and Airi used the negative effect of the elixir by overturning it to their advantage. Such as that. Hmm�� these two really��


    "Hold on tight!"


    "!!"


    PUSSSSSHHH!!!


    Rea''s pondering came to a halt once more when suddenly Crimson shouted a warning. Following it, the Hell Chaser Giant Bird dove, and a streak of yellowish magical energy passed overhead.


    "What?!" Rea reflexively muttered, out of surprise. Then she glanced behind them.


    "Idiot, don''t hit the princess! I said, hit the bird!"


    "I''m sorry boss��"


    Behind them, Rea noticed some people standing on a flying stick while chasing them. About 10 of them, all of them were wearing black clothes all over their body. Probably to hide their identity. Well, it was understandable since they were inside the empire.


    Though no need to guess who these people are.


    Yman just sent a glance behind then returned his guessed forward. Without looking back again, he lifted his hand and opened his Cyber storage, then let out some first model crimson-colored beefire dolls.


    The crimson-colored bees produced buzzing sounds as they came out from his Cyber Storage. They immediately flew and approached the chasing people in black clothing.


    "Boss, something''s coming!" Seeing the flock of insects that were hastily coming to meet them, one of the chasing people yelled out a warning.


    "Heh! Are you afraid of insects? Go home and eat shit, dumbass!"


    "Eh?!" The former went silent in a tight lip.


    The person in the middle, who was also in the lead, shouted annoyingly and gave a command while also firing magical attacks to the fast-approaching flock of insects.


    The bees dispersed in time and successfully evaded the lightning attack. It passed in the middle without hitting a single target.


    "Dammit, what with these insects!" Muttered the leader in annoyance. In any case, why they suddenly appeared from out of nowhere.


    Just then, his subordinates also start their attacks. Different types of magical energies of different elements were fired to the flock of bees.


    Some of the attacks were able to hit one or two insects. Well, bees weren''t scary tho. So none of them were serious enough to get rid of them.


    However, when the bees got close to them, they were bombarded by sting needles coming from the bees.


    "What��!"


    The leader groaned in astonishment, but it was already too late. Never they imagined that these bees could fire those needles.


    Yman once again glanced behind and saw the figures of the enemies falling from their flying staves.


    Looks like some low-level goons only. He thought. Then the giant Hell Chaser Bird howled and sped up towards the campus.

 Chapter 259: The Useless Prince

    A few days before Yman and Rea were called to the palace.


    Inside a grand-looking room, a young man with long pointed ears was anxiously resting his unbearded chin on his fingers of two hands that were entangled together, whereas his elbows were on the table.


    His white-skinned face showed an unhappy emotion, in which his long slender eyebrows were twitching to form creases on his flat forehead.


    His cold-looking eyes with ruby-red pupils were fixedly staring to the front. But his focus wasn''t there; it was beyond what was in front of him. And they were gleaming that full of hostility towards something.


    A pair of two long white bangs were framing the sides of his cone-shaped face, but the man wasn''t a white-haired man. He had long jet black hair, wrapped neatly at the back of his head


    The man was wearing a long elegant suit of maroon and golden color.


    Below the table, the heel of his expensive-looking shoe was repeatedly tapping the tiled floor, creating beats of unmelodious noise.


    Itwas easy to guess that he was anxious about something.


    In truth, he was glaring at the three people who were on their knees in front of him.


    "What did you say?" he asked in a cold voice.


    "Y-Your Highness, the first, second, and third groups failed to abduct Princess Merea Ella. Gulp!" Scar reported then swallowed his saliva in fright.


    In front of them was the third prince of Nara Kingdom, Prince Angus De Nara. And currently, they are inside the private room of the palace.


    Pang!


    The table made a crisp impact after the prince smashed his palm onto it. ''Ouch, dammit, it really hurts!'' He groaned inwardly. He was a person who had a broken Soul Container. Because of it, he could not use any mage craft spell. And because he had a broken Soul Container, he wasn''t as strong as other people who can cast a spell. In other words, he was useless.


    Soul Container was also known as Hollow Cell, Magician''s Seed, Dantian, and etcetera. Every country had a different naming sense, but all of them had the same meaning. Having a damaged Soul Container also means useless.


    He was a useless person despite being a prince of the Nara Kingdom.


    Two people out of three shuddered in fear upon noticing the unkind expression on the prince''s face. It was Scar and Fang, and the remaining person was Gath. The three of them arrived here a few days ago.


    Back to the prince. Although he was useless, could not cast a spell, no one was looking down at him inside the palace. After all, even though he was unable to cast a spell, around them, they could perceive a killing aura in the air. It was coming from around them.


    This whole room was under the watch of some elite individuals.


    Even Gath could not see them with naked eyes. But Gath''s intuition was telling Gath that the whole room was heavily guarded by strong people.


    But Gathwas guessing that these stealth people around them were the personal guard of the useless prince.


    They have the strength equivalent to Gath, or if not, they were stronger.


    But the biggest problem is the prince himself. Although he is a useless prince, he is a cunning person. It was Gath''s honest thought.


    "Are you an idiot that is incapable of thinking?" Coldly said the Prince after hearing their reports.


    Well, the first and third group failure wasn''t their fault


    "N-No, Your Highness, w-we did formulate a plan and successfully lured the princess but��"


    Scar stopped upon seeing the cold face of the useless prince while looking at him with a murderous aura.


    Noticing the lack of words of Scar, "We encountered a giant monster, Your Highness," Gath was the one who continued.


    The useless Prince squinted his eyes after hearing them. "Giant monster?" He repeated Gath''s words. However, his voice was as cold as ever.


    "Y-Yes, Your Highness, it was a giant gorilla. And before we knew it, we were already surrounded," Fang was the next who said it.


    "Right, Your Highness. Before we knew it, we were already surrounded by an unknown group of people," Scar added.


    The prince remained silent. However, the murderous aura he was gushing out a while ago had lessened.


    The useless prince wondered if these fools were telling the truth. Not only did they fail a simple mission to abduct the princess, but they also lost too many men. It wasn''t like he cared about it though. His only concern was to abduct the princess of Mangrove Kingdom. He could not wait any longer.


    ''Dammit!'' He grunted. He was wondering who those people were that Scar and his group encountered. Could it be, they were lying? No, no, he would know if they were lying or not.


    And since no reaction from his invisible guards, Scar and his men must be telling the truth. Aside from that, what do they mean by giant monster? Wait, aren''t there some rumors in the empire about a sudden popping out of a giant beast? So, perhaps it was related to it?


    The useless prince fell into deep contemplation. Regardless, he had no use for a useless person.


    "Y-Your Highness��"


    Scar and Fang trembled in fear when they noticed the murderous intent coming from the prince rose once again.


    Before the prince gave his signal to his invisible guards, the door was pushed open.


    A young man with medium-length wavy blond hair opened on his forehead came out of the door.


    He was wearing white long sleeves, topped with a black vest, and was paired with black slacks and shiny leather shoes.


    He was walking calmly amid a murderous aura inside the room. They were all looking at him. The only odd about him was that he was a human.


    The useless Prince squinted his eyes. "Who are you?" He asked when the young man arrived in front of him. Although he didn''t know this presumptuous person who suddenly barged in, he wasn''t a bit afraid of the person. His invisible was in every corner of this room.


    The young man then kneeled. "My name is Chad from the Human City Zone 1. Sorry for intruding--"


    Ting!


    Chad wasn''t able to finish his words as two figures suddenly materialized beside him. One of them was trying to kill him, while the other one was defending him.


    Scar and the others gawked in disbelief.

 Chapter 260: Eye of the midnight

    "What?!" A person in a ninja outfit uttered in surprise. Unexpectedly, his sneak attack failed. He was about to behead this insolent human after the useless prince signaled to him. But his sneak attack was blocked!


    The impact of their weapons produced a high-pitched sound that caught their attention. Gath and the others stared dumbfounded at the two figures who suddenly materialized beside the young human.


    Gath had already expected that invisible people were hiding in the room, but Gath was surprised when one of them came out to slash the human.


    Based on what he said a while ago, it seemed like he had no appointment with the useless prince. Gath admired this young man''s guts for intruding the prince''s chamber.


    The more that made Gath surprised was the other person who showed up without a warning and blocked the ninja guard''s attack.


    The one who blocked the ninja guard''s attack is a person in dark blue clothing. However, his face could not be seen as his back was facing Gath and the others. Weirdly, it came out from the shadow of that human, who called himself Chad. Aside from that, it was giving off a pungent smell, like the smell of a dead person.


    "The heck, who is this presumptuous bastard?!" Scar muttered angrily.


    "I beg your pardon, your highness. I came here not to be an antagonist against you but to offer a friendly relationship with you," the human, Chad, spoke calmly, disregarding the current situation.


    After hearing his casual tone, the useless prince''s face darkened. "Heh, do you think you have the right to--!!"


    "Eh?!"


    Ten ninjas came out of hiding, then one of them bellowed. "You bastard!"


    "Stop!"


    They all froze on the spot. The useless prince wasn''t able to finish his words because another person in dark blue clothing appeared behind him and pointed a blade on his throat. He then shouted at his guards to stop their attack.


    Gulp!


    The useless prince swallowed his saliva while beads of sweat were noticeable on his face.


    "I apologize for my misbehavior, your highness. But I need to defend myself."


    After hearing him. The useless prince sighed. But deep inside he was fuming with anger while insulting his useless guards. These fools were careless on their job!


    The useless Prince beckoned on his ninja guards to retreat. Though hesitant, they followed the prince without more talks.


    Their figure disappeared in an instance like fusing into the thin air.


    Fang wondered what kind of spell that was. But he guessed it was a high-level [Hide] skill. He could also use a [Hide] skill, though a low-level only.


    Most people who specialized in assassination would end up learning this kind of skill as it was a useful skill in this kind of profession.


    After the ninja guards disappeared, Chad''s mouth curved upward, then he snapped his fingers. After the clicking sound, the figures in dark blue clothing sunk back into the shadow. "As I said a while ago, I came here not to become your highness''s enemy, but to extend a cooperative relationship," Chad repeated his words a while ago, though he altered it a little. Without waiting for the prince to open his mouth, he produced something from out of thin air.


    Everyone saw him holding a small crystal ball. He presented it respectfully, still in a knee, to the prince. The useless prince signaled, then one shadow guard materialized and warily took the crystal from Chad''s open hands. Then he handed it to the prince.


    The prince took the crystal and observed it for a couple of seconds. It was a mixture of purple and black. And inside was like the night itself. ''Magic Cryst?'' His initial thought. But then, the prince''s eyes suddenly opened wide. "This is!"


    After the prince''s exclamation, Chad slowly smiled. "Yes, Your Highness, it was the valuable item, known as�� The Eye Of The Midnight!"


    "Eh? What is that?!" Scar and the others had no idea about this item. Gath, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes.


    The useless prince grinned.


    [Eye of the Midnight] was a mysterious item found inside the Margareth Ruins.


    The Margareth Ruins could be found in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Amazon, northwest of the Encantasia empire.


    This [Eye of the Midnight] contains a magical aura inside. If could be researched well, he might find good use of it.


    And if he was right, the value of this item was so high in the market and even in the auction houses. Although none was able to prove a better use of it, the useless prince was so happy to get it for free. He must study this well. No, apparently, he already had an idea on how he used it. Actually, there were only 3 known [Eye of the Midnight] that were discovered in the Margareth Ruins. But only a few knew about it.


    Gath felt uneasy about the item in the prince''s hand.


    The prince smiled from ear to ear. He needed to check if it was genuine.


    Later on, a friendly connection between the useless prince and Chad was formed.


    On the other hand, Scar, Fang, and Gath were able to avoid getting killed. The prince gave them another chance. But before that, they needed to gather more men.


    No matter what, he needed to get the princess of Mangrove Kingdom.


    Scar and the others were so happy when they left the palace. Then, without wasting time, they immediately went to a pub to recruit new members.


    ...


    One day before Yman and Rea visit the Encantasia palace.


    Empress Elleanna Encanta received a report from her spy. Stated in the report that he successfully invaded the enemy''s territory. Then, about the situation in the Nara Kingdom. That it was in a mess. Not only that, in the letter, a warning was written in bold letters. It was a warning of another possible abduction attempt on Princess Merea Ella.


    Then at the lower part of the letter, the name [Eye of the Midnight] was written in bold and italic letters.


    The empress grimaced after seeing it. Currently, she was in her chamber, sitting on her personal chair. Around her, the Royal Knights were standing closely, lead by Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal.


    The empress immediately took a blank parchment and a quill pen, then wrote hastily on it. A moment later, she rolled the parchment and tied it with a yellow ribbon before handing it to one of the royal knights.


    "Pass this to the messenger," said the empress.


    "Yes, your majesty!" After the royal knight bowed, he went out to find their trusted messenger.


    "No matter what�� we needed to tighten our guard on the border," said the empress in a tone full of worry.


    "Uhm, your majesty, is something wrong?" The Royal Knight-Captain Borge Bergal asked the empress curiously.


    The empress looked at the faraway distance. "Sooner or later, the blood of the neighbors will flood in the backyard."


    "....."


    The Knight Captain fell silent but he got the gist of the empress'' meaning.


    "A war huh��"

 Chapter 261: Temporary farewell

    After leaving the palace, Yman and Rea encountered some people in suspicious attire. But Yman dealt with them quickly, using his first model bee fire dolls.


    After the empress brought them in a more secluded room, their conversations became more serious. It was about the coming danger and a possible war.


    Yman was just listening to the empress. Thenhe noticed Rea was wearing a grimy expression. No need to ask the reason for the expression on her face as he could guess. She was worried about the war.


    Next, the empress warned them about the possible abduction attempts on Rea. Yman could only listen while the empress was telling them aboutthe additional information regarding it.


    Yman slightly admired the empress''s gathering of information. He wondered how the empress was able to acquire such information. Later, he shook his head. It was natural to send spies to the neighboring country to gather theinformations.


    Yman tried to ask for some advice regarding Rea''s safety. "Mr. Crimson, Rea honey, I think you should leave the academy temporarily," said the empress in low voice. It was certain that she was worried about her niece.


    Although she was an empress of the empire, she was fighting a war on all fronts, from the inside and outside.


    Looking at the other''s perspective, the empire looked harmonized. But in truth, the main family and the palace were secretly fighting.


    The house of Duke was plotting unceasingly towards the empress. So, even though she wanted to save Rea, she could not because her hands were full of all the empire''s crises.


    Even Yman noticed the empress predicaments just lookingon her face. Look, black circles were below her eyes. Although the empress was wearing makeup to hide it, it was still discernible when he focused his eyes on it.


    "Un, your majesty, do you mean�� the enemy had an inside access to the campus?" He asked.


    "Mhm!"


    "I see, so that''s why��" Yman said.


    "What do you mean, Mr. Crimson?"


    "Actually, this morning, about 3 or 4 AM, some people were able to enter Rea''s room, your majesty."


    "Really?" The empress exclaimed in surprise. "Then, what happened? How did you handle them?" Just seeing that Rea and Yman were present now and fine, it was easy to guess that they dealt with them.


    "We caught them."


    As expected, she was right.Then she asked about those abductors.


    "We had no idea, your majesty. Hopefully, those people from the Department of Security gave them a proper verdict."


    "I see. That''s good. Regardless, I''m more at ease if you hide for the time being. And stay away from the campus for a while."


    Yman thought.Staying close to the crowd could also help, but it wasn''t every time that he was beside her. So her majesty''s suggestion is also a good one. He glanced at the girl beside him, who remained silent. "What do you think?" He asked her.


    "Uh-eh?" Rea stammered. Then she sighed and nodded.


    Next, the empress handed a small golden box to him. No need to guess about the object inside.


    His hands almost trembled when he took it. This is it. The medicine that he was looking for long. He peeked inside and saw a golden object inthe form of a bean seed.


    ''It was glowing.''


    "Oh right, I remember, you need the Heavenly Water to use this medicine," said the empress.


    Yman nodded. "Mhm! I have it��"


    "...R-Really?!" The empress was surprised as it was a rare material. ''This man is really full of surprise,'' she thought.


    The empress handed him a bracelet. He asked about it, but the empress''s reply was only a shrug. Then, "A lucky charm," she said with a wink. Rea sighed while slightly shaking her head. Her aunt acted out of her age once again.


    "Haha��" Yman laughed descendingly while scratching the side of his face.


    After it, they finally left the palace. Rea asked Crimson if they could go back to the campus first as she needed to retrieve some of her stuff. He nodded.


    While they were traveling, riding his Hell Chaser Bird, he tried to ask her of someplace that she wanted to go after this.


    Rea told her some other places. But before that, they sped up towards the campus.


    After defeating the suspicious individuals who tried to chase them, they proceeded to their destination. Thus the two of them arrived at the campus.


    They first went to the student council and asked for a leave of absence for the two of them. Princess Liya and Hannah tried to question Rea. She told them her situation. Well, the two of them already knew her circumstances. Next, they asked her if she would come back. Rea nodded.


    "When?" They asked again.


    "It''s uncertain. Maybe, when everything''s calm down."


    "I see. Good luck."


    "By the way, your cousin will be absent too?"


    Princess Liya suddenly asked.


    "Eh, ah�� mhm��"


    She nodded.


    "....."


    They asked her where she would be going. But Rea and Yman had yet to decide about it.


    Rea temporarily bid farewell to her cousin and best friend with a sorry face. When she went out of the student council room. She saw Crimson talking with Damian.


    But when Crimson saw her, he walked towards her. "Let''s go?" He asked.


    The two of them went to the Little Garden next. When they arrived, everyone was very busy. Achan and the others were still helping in handling the Purification Elixirs.


    They heard that the monsters from the miasma were still attacking at the Narrow Pass.


    They also heard a piece of good news from Airi. "Really? The Little Garden Department managed to enter the rank 200?!" Rea asked in surprise. "Yes, yes, Miss Ella. It was thanks to Crimson!" Airi said in excitement.


    Yman scratched his head.


    Although rank 200 was the farthest, it was still better compared to their no rank status before.


    Rea chuckled. ''Well, this guy is full of surprise,'' she thought. Yman asked Airi about the professor. "He''s inside, Mr. Crimson."


    After Crimson left them, Airi asked Rea about Cinde. Rea fell silent and thought. "S-She will be coming tomorrow. I guess."


    "I see�� that''s good."


    Crimson, on the other hand, went to visit Professor Ronnie''s workroom. As expected, he was replicating the Purification Elixir. He felt bad that he could not help him.


    Though he already handed the recipe for that elixir. Since the professor''s alchemy''s skill already reached the Advance tier, Gentle Hand, it was just easy for him to replicate the elixir.


    Yman did not bother the professor and went to the Artificial Garden. He saw the golden bee and a spider sleeping in one of the trees. Inside the spider was the second wisp.


    Silently, he took a magical herb and plant then stored them in his Cyber storage. After collecting the herb and plant, he went back and saw Airi still talking with Rea on the sofa. Yman asked Airi regarding the Tampering Elixir. After getting the elixir sample and recipe. The two of them said their temporary farewell to Airi and the others.


    While inside the campus, his 5d-Seer continued ringing. Looks like many Rankers wish to challenge him. But Yman disregarded it. There was a more pressing matter that they were currently facing.


    They visited the adventurers guild next. Before they flew towards the destination of HCZ7. It was the destination that they chose.

 Chapter 262: The excitement of exploring

    "I see, so the empress herself told you that."


    "Yes, aunt," Rea nodded to Laura.


    "If that''s the case then you should do what she told you to do," said Laura as lent her back to the chair.


    "Mhm."


    "Oh, by the Crimson, since you will be going to that city, please hand this parchment to the barrack''s head," Laura took a piece of paper from the closet then handed it to him.


    "Okay, headmaster��"


    "Isn''t it supposed to be "okay, mother"? Fufu," Laura teased him. "Ahaha," Yman laughed wryly at the headmaster''s joke.


    "By the way, headmaster, what is this?" He asked out of curiosity while pointing at the parchment in his hand.


    "Ah, it''s a proposal."


    "Proposal?"


    "A co-op proposal."


    Yman was surprised when he heard her. "I see," he said.


    "Regardless, Good luck with your journey to both of you, don''t forget to contact me, Merea," Laura said then reached and caressed Rea''s face. She replied with a nod and a warm smile.


    "Thanks, headmaster!", "Okay, Aunt!"


    They replied at the same time.


    Wetwew!


    KYAAAHHH!!!


    After a whistle, a large figure landed in front of the adventurer''s guildhall in which two youngsters were standing outside.


    Yman glanced around him. Absorbing all the memories he had in the empire, from the first time thathe came here and until now. He met many people and did many things. It was a fun adventure, and he also learned many things.


    Sistela who was sitting on his shoulder said.


    "Fufu, are you excited?" Said Yman as he caressed Sistela''s hair.


    Rea beside him glanced at the two. "Uhm, who is Yana?" She did it. She asked him. He glanced at her and told her that she was his younger sister. Rea secretly sighed in relief upon hearing him.


    The giant Hell Chaser Bird hovered and flew towards the northwest.


    Laura was looking through the window at the figure of the huge bird going smaller. Another second passed, the figure of the bird disappeared from her eyes.


    Then the door of the adventurer''s guild was pushed open.


    "I''m back, headmaster!"


    "Welcome back. By the way, I''ll be counting on you once again," Laura said as she pushed the enveloped towards the other person.


    "Sureness!"


    After taking the envelope, "then, I will take my leave once again."


    "Fufufu, good luck."


    "Aye, aye!" Then the person''s figure disappeared into thin air.


    Laura sighed then darted her gaze to the paperwork in front of her. She took a pen and spun it on her fingers before she started scribbling in the paper.


    Since it was already sunset when Yman and Rea left the Encantasia Empire, it was already dark when they arrived near the Silent River. It was the same river where they took a detour when Yman and the other fledgling trainees first time traveled towards Human City Zone 7.


    He took camping materials from his Cyber Storage and built two tents beside each other. In front of it, Rea dropped some dry branches.


    "Is this enough?" She asked him.


    "Yeah, thanks."


    The two spider enhanced fire dolls beside her, started arranging the dry branches. After it, the bat enhanced fire dolls shot flame at the branches and immediately caused a fire. Thus the bonfire flickered and sent warmth around it.


    Then the bird enhanced fire doll arrived with a kettle between its beaks. It came from the river and fetched water.


    Two noble rat enhanced fire dolls were standing guard.


    While enhanced scout bees were scouting the perimeter, the enhanced scout birds were scouting in a wider area from up above the sky.


    Seeing the odd animals and insects working harmoniously, Rea could only let a dry laugh.


    This guy surely made convenient laborers in the form of spells. "Ah, how I wished to make some of them. Unfortunately, my magic wasn''t suitable for it." She could only use space and illusion-type magic. Rea sighed and found herself on a bench in the form of a tree trunk. It was carried here by a dino enhanced fire doll. Right, Rea remembered Cinde once created something like these creatures.


    Cinde succeeded in creating, but it took an abundance of time before he created one butterfly fire doll. This spell was only suitable for people with strong fire elements.


    "Crimson could possibly build a community with these creatures," Rea mumbled.


    The reason Yman decided to take a detour was that it wasn''t safe to travel at night. It could easily attract hostile creatures, especially nocturnal creatures.


    Around this time, in the Human City Zone 7, everyone was busy.


    The city was livelier than before. And even if it was already night, the street was packed with people going towards each destination. Most of them were moving towards the West District, to where the dungeon was located.


    Many people were attracted to the dungeon. Although there were artificial training facilities such as the Training Pavilion and Virtual Arena in Encantasia Academy, it was still different when you fought for real inside the dungeon.


    The excitement of adventuring inside it was more fun. Especially for those people who love live combat. They could not feel the chill and blood boiling in the modern virtual facilities.


    Whereas in the dungeon, although it was dangerous, the adventures were real, and the achievements were worth mentioning.


    Whenever night came, everyone, together with their friends, allies, or party members would occasionally come and enjoy the cheap, yet luxurious dine and liquor in the taverns. Together with their friends, the bragging about their adventures could not be stopped with just a single speech. It would repeat and repeat especially when the spirit of liquor took over each one''s consciousness. But that''s how it made the adventure inside the dungeon worthwhile.


    Because of the increase in people who wished to explore the dungeon, the Barracks, who mainly functioned as academy''s support, was now functioning publicly.


    Many aspiring explorers would come to join. They were originally from a neighborhood city, which migrated in the HCZ7.


    Thus far, the HCZ7 was rising rapidly. But this rise of one city causes the other cities to be antagonistic.


    After all, even though humans were in the era in which magical prowess was reality, still, humans were frail creatures. They could be tempted easily by the devil in the form of envy.

 Chapter 263: Almina’s unknown feeling

    Almina and the others were currently battling inside the dungeon.


    Slash! Slash! Slash!


    She waved her weapon, rapidly slicing the monster''s body. ACK!!! The monster let out one last cry before it fell on the ground, bathing in its muddy black blood. Without even giving a second glance to the monster, she ran towards the approaching monsters. Almina had no time to rest as more enemies came out from hiding.


    She jumped and flipped in mid-air. Then she rotated really fast, creating a semi-fire-wind tornado. The monsters who contacted it had their bodies shredded. Three monsters became the unlucky victims.


    Blood smeared the surrounding together with a blood stench.


    The other monsters became angry and attacked aggressively but multiple aurae flew and found their way to the target''s weak points.


    The monsters shrieked in agony. Although they did not die on the spot because of their high defense, a magical aura in the form of fireballs came raining from above and hit them at once. It was coming from the spellcasters of the party.


    The other vanguard of their party slashed the monster in front of her, but for some reason, her sword bounced back. "Even though it was an expensive sword. Why can''t they cut the damn!" She whined.


    She wondered how Miss Almina was able to kill these troublesome monsters easily. That''s why she was the Elite trainee''s leader.


    After the other vanguard failed to kill the monster in front of her, the other marksman in their group assisted by firing a magic-based pistol on the monster.


    Their party consisted of 10 people. So it wasn''t weird that some of their members would have the same roles. Although they were supposed to be 10 members, there were 9 of them at the moment. Kesha did not join as she was waiting for a delivery.


    Almina stopped and her feet landed gracefully on the ground.


    "Behind!"


    Someone shouted.


    "Eh?" Almina was surprised. Her eyes widened and at a loss. Her face turned pale.


    "Tsk!"


    Maena clicked her tongue. It was unusual for Almina to let her guard down.


    Woosh!


    Eek!


    The arrow flew and landed in the monster''s eye when Maena shot it from a distance of about 20 steps away from her, but the arrow landed where she intended it to land. As expected of someone who has high dexterity.


    The monster had a cat face, but on its forehead, a horn of the rhinoceros beetle could be seen. Not only that, while it has the cat''s agility, the body was covered by a tough shell. So it was a kind of monster specializing in speed and defense.


    Only the face and limbs were the noticeable weakness of it, but because of its agility, it wasn''t easy to deal with.


    This kind of monster was the bane of all people who specialized in melee combat. But it seemed to be not the case with Almina, who took the role of vanguard. Well, she was a special case.


    But for some reason, Almina almost had herself sorry.


    After Maena hit the monster''s eye, a shadow rushed forward in haste.


    With the two consecutive strikes, the monster let out a cry before it was sliced in four. The scout of the group followed up.


    "Good Job," Maena said to her.


    The scout nodded.


    "And�� What happened?" Maena asked Almina who in a daze.


    "S-sorry, I missed up."


    Hah! Maena sighed. "Regardless, don''t get yourself killed until I bet you in the duel."


    Almina frowned. Looks like Maena was still looking at her as a rival.


    "I-Is that the last Lennix?" Almina asked.


    Lennix was the name of the monster.


    "Yeah," a member of their party who took the role of a scout nodded in certainty.


    "I see, thanks and good job everyone," Almina to her party members.


    "Finally!"


    "W-we did it."


    "Haaah, I''m so emptied��" said their support.


    "Hahaha, thanks for the hard work, Maku," said one of their scouts as she handed her a bottle of water. Whenever Kesha wasn''t here, the role of support would fall on Maku. Maku was a transferee who originally came from the Human City Zone 101. She transferred to Zone 7 a few weeks ago, because for various reasons.


    "Thanks, Dianne."


    After killing all the monsters around, everyone felt relieved and happy. They finally have advanced this far.


    Currently, they are on the 29th floor of the dungeon.


    "The next room is the boss room right?" Maena asked. It was easy to guess based on their experience. As of now, every time they reached the 10th floor they would be battling a stronger monster sometimes it was in the form of a single monster and sometimes in a horde. But their strength was beyond the other monsters from the lower floors. Also, the monsters on every 10th floor had a high rank in power and high difficulty compared to the monsters from the floor below it.


    "Yeah," the scout nodded once again.


    "Hey, what''s your plan?" Maena asked Almina.


    Almina looked around her.


    "Let''s call it a day, everyone is on their limit," she said then checked the time. "Oh crap! It''s already night outside! My delivery will arrive soon!" She exclaimed.


    Everyone laughed wryly.


    "Dang! I''m sure the elders will reprimand us for not resting!"


    "Now that you said that, the inside competition will start tomorrow."


    "Crap! Crap! I needed to master the explosive combo!" A melee fighter exclaimed.


    "Wait, you learned another ability?" The person beside her asked.


    "I learned new things every day so what''s new with that." The fighter said smugly.


    The group chatted enthusiastically even though both of them were exhausted.


    Since no one disagreed with Almina after they rested they returned to the surface.


    But still, Maena was wondering why Almina almost made a blunder of herself.


    In truth, Almina felt something. She could not settle herself. She wondered why her heart was throbbing uncontrollably.


    Is she nervous? It seems it wasn''t the reason. Wait, is she excited? Yes, it seemed she was. But, excited for what? Ah, maybe for the delivery. After all, it was a limited armor made by a popular company. The Seeker!


    But, was it trulythe reason for her excitement?


    Around this time, in the silent river, Yman was sitting cross-legged in front of the magical cauldron.

 Chapter 264: Cauldron of Identification

    "First, throw the monster core inside. Then drop your blood. After that, let it absorb your mana. Just remember that the densest mana it absorbed the better the result. There is also your luck. If you are lucky, then maybe just maybe you''ll get the rarest result, and if not, then you''ll probably get the lowest quality," Rea was giving him instructions regarding the Cauldron of Identification.


    He was sitting on the ground matted with a checkered cloth. The blue cauldron was placed in front of him, and beside him was the flickering bonfire. He was listening with Rea while also following her instructions.


    Currently, he is in resonance with Sistela.


    "Hm, okay," then as she instructed, he threw one of the monster''s inner core inside the cauldron. The mouth of the cauldron glowed faintly. Then he cut a little on his fingertip and let the blood drop inside the magical cauldron.


    When the drop of blood hit inside the cauldron, the faint glow of yellowish color had turned into reddish and yellowish.


    "Now your mana."


    Rea said to remind him.


    "Mhm." He stared at the cauldron and did as he was told. He placed his hands on the sides of the magical cauldron and summoned his crimson mana with a mixture of white.


    "Keep going��"


    She said.


    He let his mana be absorbed by the cauldron. The tiny carves on the cauldron''s surface had glowed with bright crimson.


    While his mana was being absorbed, he heard a faint hissing coming from the cauldron. The next second, the cauldron was filled with... liquid? No. It wasn''t liquid, it was magical energy that seemed like liquid pouring the cauldron. It was rotating inside, like mixing everything.


    The process of letting it absorb his mana continued for a while until the pouring of magical energy subsided.


    "Focus on the mana density and not the quantity."


    Rea said it clearly and he did her instruction. Well, he was a masterat mana controlling so it was easy peasy for him. Even Rea secretly admired his mana control. She never saw a person who could control his or her mana as smooth as him. She wondered if it was his reason for his strength.


    In reality, Yman and the others in the HCZ7 mastered the mana controlling first, with this regard, they were good at this aspect. Unexpectedly, out of all the trainees out there, he was the first one who achieved it.


    He wasn''t bragging about this achievement. Besides, he had three types of mana within him. So it wasn''t a surprise that he could control his mana better than the rest.


    Mana was gushing out from his hand and crawled towards the magical cauldron. Just then, after a burst of brightness coming from the cauldron, together with a puffing sound-effect, Rea stopped him. "It''s fine now," she said normally.


    "Okay," then, he stopped. "Take it," she said. After nodding, he dipped his right hand inside the cauldron. Then his finger touched something warm and solid.


    Deliberately, he took it.


    When he retreated his hand, he was already holding a small object in the form of a ring.


    Yman put it on his palm and observed. He wondered how that inner core changed into this. Looks like this magical cauldron was something. Something beyond his comprehension. Ah well, it was magical, so be it.


    It just, the empire had much weird magical stuff. He probably means Artefacts. The ring had a smooth surface of emerald color.


    "Let me check," She asked him. He then handed it to her. After gazing at it for a couple of seconds, she sighed. "Nothing special. But it will increase your dexterity for a little."


    "How little?"


    "Hmm��.. about 1.5 percent?"


    ''I see, little indeed.'' He thought.


    Honestly, it was actually little. Although that inner core wasn''t from a high-ranking beast, it could earn him quite a sum of money if he decided to sell it raw. Because the price of inner core was quite high in the market recently. Oh, speaking of it. Yman finally understood the reason for its high demand. The empire was behind it. They had many artefacts that needed the inner core, such as the 5d-Seer and this cauldron.


    And no wonder, the empire was known for their artefacts.


    While Yman lost in thought, "If you are uncertain and felt doubtful with my words, you can also use your 5d-Seer to appraise it accurately." Seemingly because he did not reply, Rea thought that he doubted her words.


    "Uhm, I trusted you more than my words, eh," he said in haste and unintentionally caused a warm sensation on her face, though she tried to hide it by looking away. She wondered why Crimson said such words. "Uh, I mean��" realizing he said something that could be misunderstood, he wanted to explain but gave up in the end.


    "Sorry for the silence. I was thinking that this cauldron was an interesting device," he gave up rephrasing himself and said the reason for his silence. "Regardless, thank you for telling me, but can you teach me how to appraise it via 5d-Seer?" He said as returned his gaze to her.


    ".....", "Sure," she nodded and started explaining to him. After a minute, "I see, it''s only as simple as that. Hah!" He said and sighed. Then, he added, "I never thought."


    He took his 5d-Seer and his gaze landed on the time that could be seen in it "Ah, it was already late. I think you should rest. We are going to depart early tomorrow."


    "I-is that so?", "Mhm!" He nodded.


    She stared at him for a brief moment before opening her mouth. "O-okay��"


    After her reply, she stood up and skeptically turned her back towards him. But, "Uhm, Rea!" she stopped and glanced at him in a little haste. "What?"


    "Good night," he said while smiling. Rea inhaled a little deeper. "Okay. You too." She quickly looked away as she felt her face start to feel warm.


    Yman continued using the cauldron. He had no idea from what monster the inner core he was using as he had no time to check every detail of them when he fought them.


    It was the cores that his collector enhanced fire dolls had collected after defeating those monsters that surrounded him on the mountain near the Encantasia campus.


    He threw another core into the Cauldron of Identification and started identifying it by following the process of doing it.


    A moment later, he took a ring from inside the cauldron. Then place it on his palm. Like the first one, it was emerald color with a smooth-looking surface.


    Using his 5d-Seer, he faced the camera-like object on it towards the ring. The process of appraising it through 5d-Seer was just the same when he absorbed the soul energy from it to recharge the 5d-Seer.


    A moment later,


    ��- A piece of item ��- normal item �� Increase one''s defense by 1% �� no additional effect �� transformable.


    Based on the appraisal result, it could be transformed to any items. This ring form must be the default form of it. But the owner could transform it, depending on one''s desired item. Like turning it into a sword, armor, or any item. Though you needed to hire a professional to do it for you if you wanted to transform it to your desired item.


    Well, it could also be used as a ring, since it was already in the ring form. However, the only problem was the size. If it won''t fit then use it as a pendant right?m


    Such a thing��.. easy peasy.


    Regardless, this was the other use of inner cores huh. Very identical to Magic Cryst for some reason. In fact, Magic Cryst and Inner Core were almost identical to each other. Some even said that Magic Cryst is the Outer Core because most of the time, it was attached to the body surface. It formed through accumulation of combat experience of a monster or beast, while the Inner Core was the main source of its power and life.


    Hmmm��. he decided to continue.


    He continued identifying the other inner cores. But most of the time, the result wasn''t better than the first one.


    Until it came to the point that he lost interest in identifying the lower rank inner cores. The result of them wasn''t so good. Well, he could sell them later.


    Right, right, he also has that Demonic Core and the core from the Abnormality. Those two were on another level. But, he was a little skeptical after all it could be sold for a huge price.


    However, what was he skeptical for? He already acquired the medicine for his sister. His adventure to search for the medicine was already half-finished.


    But money though.


    Yman was a little skeptical and found himself wasting his time staring at the empty space. ''Dammit, it wasn''t good.'' He thought and slapped his face to awaken himself from a daze.


    He forced himself and threw the Abnormality inner core to the cauldron. But, ha? It was bigger than the cauldron''s mouth! However, before he could take it back, it was sucked inside. "!!", What the hell!" He was stupefied.

 Chapter 265: Opening of the inside competition

    The next morning, "What happened here...?" Rea had her eyes widened when she came out of the tent. The surrounding was in a mess, uhm no, saying it was in a mess was a lack of vocabulary, the thing was�� it was total destruction and she saw the lying corpse of a seemingly high-ranking monster not far from where she was standing.


    It had muddy-colored hairless skin, long muscular arms, long pointed nails, and razor-sharp long saw-like teeth. In short, it had a grotesque figure that you didn''t wish to encounter at night.


    Her chest could not settle as she ran in haste at the nearby tent.


    "Crimson!" With a shout, she lifted the tent just to see it empty.


    Rea''s chest pounded stronger. A heart-rending feeling started to worry her. She glanced around and time seemed to have stopped for a second when she saw him behind her in his usual calm demeanor.


    Yman blinked his eyes in wonder at the teary-eyed girl. No, it was weird to see the always composed princess be so agitated.


    "What hap��", "Eh?!" He was surprised. Rea jumped into his chest and hugged him out of a sudden. He could even feel the rapid pounding of her chest.


    He didn''t know what happened to her but this was so comforting. The fragrance of her gives off a refreshing feeling, and even the warmth coming from her body gives off a gentle sensation.


    Wait, at times like this. What would be the better response? Just then, he heard sobbing from her.


    He realized that she was worried. He lifted his hands to respond to her embrace.


    But right before he lifted his arms, his vision suddenly turned groggy. "Eh?" After a puzzled utterance, he lost his consciousness and fell on Rea.


    "What?" After realizing what happened to him, Rea repeatedly shouted his name.


    She checked whether he was breathing, she sighed in relief after knowing that he fainted only. Then, she took him inside the tent and let him rest.


    He must be very exhausted.


    Seeing the wreckage around her, Rea concluded that a devastating battle occurred. But how come she hadn''t awoken by it? Just then, she noticed a tiny black creature on her shoulder. And it was weird that only the tents were untouched despite the chaos around her. She realized that Crimson must be trying to protect her while at the same trying not to disturb her sleep.


    Why did he do that? She wanted to ask him but it was impossible in the current situation.


    ...


    In the Human City Zone 7, the streets were more lively today. More carriages were coming and fewer of them were leaving the city. It was also apparent that most of them were coming from other cities.


    On the roadsides, pedestals, establishments, and even on the street-walls, tarpaulins were everywhere to propagate the inside competition for the freshmen trainees.


    It was Mayor-Chan''s idea to let the competition be shown publicly. Although Principal Mar Marie tried to disagree, in the end, he yielded and agreed to the mayor. Especially that his reasoning was right at one thing, that the academy needed outside support from the bigshots in the business industry.


    Right.


    Even though the city is currently on the rise, the support the academy got from the municipality wasn''t enough.


    Therefore, to attract the bigshots from the business world and politicians, they must show it publicly.


    In short, they needed sponsors.


    However, this move was like a double-edged sword. If anything went wrong, it could also backfire on them. It was also the reason why the principal was skeptical about it.


    The city was so busy that even though the academy faculties and municipal personnel were joining forces, they were still overwhelmed by the influx of people, who wished to watch the competition.


    Inside the meeting hall for the admins of three major departments, sitting around the rectangular table was the three heads and their officials.


    Mayor Chan, Principal Mar, and Chief Henderson were having a briefing. This three personnel are the admins of their respective departments.


    Their meeting didn''t last long and was concluded momentarily.


    The municipal crew would guide the guests, and the military soldiers would take the role of city and people''s security. Then the academy personnel would help out in supervising the situation and act as supports for those two departments.


    Right now in the city plaza, a 30-meter radius circular stage was placed in the middle.


    It was surrounded by invisible barriers to protect the citizens from getting hurt from the stray attacks.


    "Bwahaha! Look at that! They are even placing a barrier! Very ambitious for a trash academy! Hahaha!"


    One young man, wearing a uniform of the well-known human academy guffawed heartily.


    "Haaaah��! I wonder if they have the strength to hurt their opponents��" said the second person in their while shrugging his shoulder and lifting his hands at both sides.


    "Puffft!" A young female tried to repress her laughter. She had slit eyes, narrowed eyebrows, and straight scarlet hair.


    "Hey, what are you guys saying? That barrier is for the safety of people!" A student who can''t bear a mockery expressed his displeasure.


    The man with piercings on his ears raised an eyebrow towards him.


    "Who is this filler?"


    Hehe!


    "Isn''t he an idiot sandwich?"


    Haha!


    "Hey, Mr. Security, sir there is a lost sandwich here!"


    BWAHAHA!!!


    The group laughs at him.


    The student who couldn''tbear a mockery gnashed his teeth. "Harley, don''t mind them. Let these fools laugh in their heart''s content! Later, they will eat their words," said the female student who was concerned at the student who couldn''t bear a mockery.


    "Heh!!!" The female with slit eyes scoffed at them. "Well, what can we expect of a bottom feeder academy. They are full of garbage, fufufu. Even their magicians are garbage."


    "What! Take it back, Hoe! You''re not even comparable to Miss Almina''s fingertips! Fueh!" Harley spat. On the other hand, the girl with him tried to drag him away as she felt a bad aura oozing from the girl in front of them.


    "H-Hoe?!" The slit-eyed girl repeated in a ghastly face.


    "Harley, that''s enough! Don''t you see their uniforms?"


    "Why do I care about their��-, ha? Wait, they are from..."


    "....."


    "Yep. They are from the Academy of Zone 20!!! The 9th place academy in last year''s competition!"


    "What��!!!"


    Suddenly, the temperature rose around them.


    "Uh-oh. This idiot sandwich is done for."


    "Yes, he''s done for."


    The other guy shook his head and smirked at the two students who were wearing the academy uniform of Zone 7.


    A second later, a mini-explosion erupted. Later on, two students were reported to have been injured. The reasons were hated arguments. The offender was someone from a well-known academy. They were under investigation but were released shortly.


    "Fufufu, as expected of garbage academy, they haveno balls!" Said the female with slit eyes.


    But then,


    "Ack!" She bumped into someone whilethey were walking back towards the plaza. The group stopped immediately because the female staggered and fell on her butt. Unfortunately, there was muddy water where she fell.


    And it splattered all over her.


    "Damn you!" She spat and glared irritably at the person who bumped her. But she knitted her brows when she noticed the person had suspicious attire. Two of them were veiled in a piece of cloth from head to toe.


    "Oh sorry, I didn''t see you," the person said and turned around. Based on the person''s voice, a young man was behind the cloth. "I knew it, you are still not fine," the otherperson withhim said in a low voice. It was the voice of a female. "No, I''m fine, really. Just a little sleepy," Said the man. "Hmph!"


    Seeing their nonchalant behavior, "Hey you!" The slit-eyed girl called out in ashoutand rose-up, then she summoned mana onto her hand then formed it into a fire. However, the two continued walking without minding her


    Some people around started to notice the commotion.


    "What is that?"


    "Eh? Someone''s quarreling again?"


    "Call the securities!"


    "Wait! Don''t call yet! It''s a commercial before the competition!"


    People magically gathered in an instance.


    The temperature rose up to such a degree that could burn everyone''s skin. Especially those who have low resistance against fire.


    "S-strong!"


    "Wait, look! Isn''t she wearing an academy uniform of Zone 20?"


    "What?! That academy who took the 9th spot last year?!"


    "Yes, yes!"


    "Awesome!"


    "Who is the person who caused her hostility?"


    "Maybe they are��" the person pointed to the two figures, walking leisurely, without minding the commotions behind him.


    "Damn, they looked suspicious. In any case, hide your children."


    "What the-! It was futile. He made the slit-eyed girl from the Zone-20 academy mad at him." Whispered the man with a pair of eyeglasses.


    Just then, the mana on her hand ablaze, forming into a vermillion fire.


    ''Fufu, another victim of Miss Vermi.''


    ''As expected of a trash City, there are no normal people here.''


    ''If you wanted to show your sorry, at least do a dogeza in front of Miss Vermi.''


    The guys with the slit-eyed girl known as Vermi said their comments behind their mouths.


    The last person shook his head while thinking, "what a shitty city."


    "Vermillion Haze!!!" She shouted. It was the bigger and stronger version of what she shot to the other students a while ago.


    Her irritations got on her head. That person only said his sorry then walked as nothing had happened.


    The vermillion-colored flame spiraled towards the person''s back. A haughty grin was visible on her face.


    The people around shouted, "watch out!!!" But it was already too late. The flame was fired.


    However, all of them were astounded.


    "What the!!!"


    "What happened?"


    "Where does the flame go?"


    The vermillion flame disappeared like nothing was there in the first place.

 Chapter 266: Intimidation vs Intimidation

    "Hey, don''t play with fire in a place congested with people," said the nonchalant man. Not even bothered that he was shot with vermillion flame.


    "Regardless, I never thought this place to be so different from how it used to��" then the man said to the person beside him, and they turned around again to continue walking like nothing happened, paying no mind to the dumbfounded crowd.


    "Eh?"


    "What happened?"


    "What the f##k happened?!"


    Vermi and her friends uttered idiotically. Those people were ignoring her? How could she let them be? She was puzzled about the disappearance of her attack but. Who cares?! She had more power in store!


    Vermi''s friends noticed that she was trembling in anger while gnashing her teeth.


    The surrounding people were in a furor once again when they saw another vermillion flame was shaping on each of her hands.


    "This is bad, Vermi was on the loose now��" muttered one of the guys together with Vermi.


    "Don''t overdo it, Vermi!" The other one called out. But it was too late.


    With veins in her eyes, she leaped in a rush and, "Who said you can leave just like that after what you did?!" She roared angrily and fired two Vermillion Haze attacks. Although she called it Vermillion Haze, it was actually a flame attack.


    Sensing the danger from behind him, the man in a cloth stopped on his feet and extended his hand behind him, pointing at the vermillion flames that were fast approaching towards them.


    But once again, when the flames contacted him, there was no explosion nor burning. The flames had disintegrated in an instance, turning them into light particles, and disappeared shortly.


    "What��?!"


    Then again, nothing happened. Her attacks were another failure. She followed another attack. But the result was still the same.


    Everyone agreed that this person was truly capable of canceling the vermillion flame.


    "Just who is he?"


    "How did he do that?"


    "I noticed a magical crimson shield in a brief moment whenever he canceled the vermillion flame attack."


    The people around were muttering in wonder.


    Then, they saw the person veiled in a cloth, he looked at Vermi. "Stop that. Or you will suffer," he said nonchalantly. He wasn''t threatening her, he was giving her a warning. "Bullshit!" But Vermi seemed to have no plan to back down.


    One of Vermi''s friends stepped forward. "Hey dude, you just wanted to walk away after what you''ve done?" Said one of Vermi''s friends. "I''m done saying my sorry. What else do you want?" Replied the man. "Wait! Let me��" suddenly, they heard the girl together with him.


    Everyone was looking at her in wonder as she was calmly walking towards Vermi.


    Her carefree behavior made Vermi to put down her guard. Then they all gawked when she handed a gold coin to Vermi. "Eh?" Vermi widened her eyes but soon darkened.


    "Wh, what do you think of meee! A beggaaar?!!!" She roared and threw the gold coin. She wanted to burn her but. The girl already retreated to the man''s side.


    Under the cover of the hood, the girl tilted her head innocently. "It''s not enough?" Asked the girl in wonder. "I don''t think it''s about that," the man replied to her.


    However, their nonchalant behavior only fueled the anger in Vermi.


    More magical energy was coming out from Vermi''s body, "Wait, Vermi,'''' one of Vermi''s friends called out to her.


    But Vermi''s unstoppable now. "Shut up, Greg!" She bit her lips and summoned a sword from out of thin airs. It was from her Cyber Storage. They were taught that whenever they visited other cities or territories, they must be in resonance with their deities the whole time because no one could guess when the danger would arrive. Especially in a crowded place.


    It was also the reason why no flying deities could be seen beside them, but on their neck, a half collar object could be seen.


    "Wait, look, there are gatherings of people over there." One of the securities that were patrolling nearby had noticed the commotion. "Let''s check it out!" Said his buddy.


    "?!"


    When they arrived, they saw a girl wielding a flaming huge sword. She was charging hastily towards the two people in shady outfits.


    The two security gasped wide-eyed and forgot their reason for coming. Though, even if they wanted to stop them, they were already too late. The girl was already blinded by her anger for having herself embarrassed.


    "Stop!" Yet, one of the securities managed to call out. But it was futile at this point. His voice blended into the noise coming from his surroundings.


    The girl brandished her weapon with bloodshot eyes but. Before her weapon hit the person in shady attire, "click!" they saw the shady person snap his fingers. Then the next second, something grew from the girl''s back.


    "What is that?"


    "W-wings?"


    "Black wings!"


    Exactly!


    They saw a pair of black wings. They never thought that this girl was so dope to summon such a pair of wings.


    Weirdly though, they noticed the bewildered expression on the girl''s face after the wings have materialized. Not only that, but she tried to struggle also.


    The people around were confused by it. Her friends had widened their eyes as they gawked while staring at Vermi with puzzled faces. They wondered where the wings came from.


    But a second later, they noticed that it wasn''t a pair of black wings. It was a giant insect! However, it was too late when they noticed it. The surging magical power from Vermi''s body had slowly disappeared like it was�� being sucked?


    "..."


    The insect grew in size and dragged her upward. Now she was dangling like a corpse. It was obviousthat she was exhausted based on her pale countenance.


    In just a matter of seconds, the energetic girl a moment ago was now dangling unhealthily.


    "M-monster��"


    "Monster!"


    "How was a monster able to enter here?"


    Some people muttered then shouted and started to panic. Even the two securities stepped forward with their weapons.


    To ease the people''s misunderstanding, the man in shady attire walked forward and announced that it wasn''t a monster but his summon beast.


    But still, their doubts couldn''t be lifted easily. He lifted his hand to show them that it was obedient.


    The surroundings calmed down a little bit, but not entirely. After all, he was more suspicious than the monster itself.


    Regardless,


    "F##k!" One of Vermi''s friends exclaimed then rushed to get rid of him. It was common-sense that in order to defeat the summoned beast, one must defeat the summoner first. Also, he needed to rescue her.


    But the man who rushed forward came to halt when the insect threw the exhausted Vermi towards him. He caught her. "Hey, Miss Vermi, are you okay?" He then stared daggers at the shady man.


    "How is she?" The other members of their group came to them. "Ngh�� I-I''m fine��" They breathed a sigh of relief when they noticed that she was fine and just exhausted.


    "Who are you guys?" A blonde with many earrings on his ears asked the man in shady attire.


    "....."


    They saw the guy scratched the side of his face. "Haha��" Then they heard a wryly laugh coming from him. "Is that a stupid question? Asking someone''s identity with this attire?" Said the person as he beckoned on his cloak.


    "Exactly!" One person in the crowd suddenly agreed with him. "At least read the mood dude!" And another one seconded. "Right, it was obvious that he was hiding his identity!" And another added.


    ''What?!''


    ''Are these people all idiots?''


    ''Looks like there are no normal people in this city!''


    He thought, then forced a laugh. "Ahaha�� sorry about that��"


    The blonde youth was trying to hide his anger. But his face was twitching. It was clear that he was forcing himself to laugh. A cross-shaped vein was visible on his forehead.


    "But��" suddenly, after saying it. The pressure around had started to become heavy. And the blonde youth''s eyes had turned cold. A gleam was visible in his eyes.


    "...sorry but I can''t just let you go after hurting one of my friends..."


    "..."


    The man in cloth fell silent. Seemingly noticing the change in the blonde youth''s tone.


    "Cri��-!" The girl with her wasn''t able to finish her words when he gently pushed her to the back.


    "I see��" he replied. Then whispered, "Looks like I have to deal with some shallow-minded people huh," the person in shady attire.


    The securities remained on their shaky feet as they noticed that the pressure from their surrounding had become heavier. Unfortunately, they were only volunteers. This blonde was beyond their capabilities.


    The people around already on the ground, trying to fight back the pressure. But it was futile.


    "I�� intimidation��?" One of the people that looks like an adventurer, muttered in disbelief. This ability was a high-tier! Everyone grimaced after hearing him.


    "Hehe��" the blonde youth grinned. Then, with a glint in his eyes, he commanded, "Now kneel��" but soon his words came to a halt and stupefied. "Eh!?" The blonde youth stared dumbfounded at the person in front of him.


    "WHY AREN''T YOU AFFECTED BY IT?!!" He shouted in disbelief.


    "Uh��erm�� what do you mean?" Again with his nonchalant attitude, the shady man replied casually. Even his reply was a big insult to the blonde youth''s high-level ability, the Intimidation.


    Actually, he felt a little pressure trying to push him down. He knew also that the blonde used Intimidation ability.


    "Hah!" They heard the man in shady attire sighed. Then he lifted the hood and revealed medium-length messy brown hair. But the person was a handsome young man. "If you mean to use Intimidation, let me show you how it''s done," he said calmly.


    "Eh?" The blonde youth was dumbfounded. Then he burst to laugh. "HAHAHA! Do you think it''s easy to use it? Are you fucking��eek!" He wasn''t able to finish his words as he already found himself squatted on the ground without resistance.


    "W,wha, what t-the f##k!!!"


    All of the people who saw it were at a loss for words.


    Who is this person? They questioned in their minds.

 Chapter 267: The competition

    Even the securities were wondering the identity of the person. Somewhat, he looked familiar to them. Anyhow, they had no idea why the blonde young man suddenly squatted.


    A while ago, they felt a strong Intimidation coming from that blonde young man. But after his opponent lifted his hood, the blonde young man squatted on the ground out of a sudden and canceled his Intimidation.


    "Wait, could it be an Intimidation as well?" One of the securities said in doubt. However, they could not feel any pressure like the pressure from the blonde''s Intimidation ability.


    The reason that the others could not feel it was also the reason why his Intimidation was stronger than the blonde''s Intimidation.


    He was using a Focus Intimidation!


    Once one mastered the use of one''s skill or abilities, one would come to learn the advanced use of it.


    It wasn''t only about Intimidation, it was also true to other abilities. That was why it was important to learn and master one''s ability.


    Regardless, when the strong pressure befell him, the blonde young man found himself unable to move.


    The others came to attack the young man in dark cloth, which is Yman in disguise. Two friends of the blonde came rushing to attack him while screaming, "I don''t know who you are! But die!" They summoned and enveloped their hands and feet with magical auras to boost their power and speed.


    Yet, they stopped on their feet and seemingly held their breaths. The others, who were watching the scene, had no idea what was happening. After that young man, Yman, snapped his fingers, the two approaching youths went to a sudden stop.


    Right, they were under his illusions. In their vision, they were drowning in the deep sea. On their necks, there were mosquitoes, injecting their host-like mouths into the two comrades of the blonde.


    They were the mosquito-model enhanced fire dolls and they were all over the place, always ready to suck their victims at his command. Well, for caution purposes Yman let them fly everywhere.


    Not only his mosquitoes, but also the bees, ants, and even the birds were scouting the whole place. They were everywhere.


    Any hostile intentions towards themwould be easily detected by him. Summed up with his high perception, he was like a super radar with high security. It was only natural to be socautioussince he was guarding an important figure of two powerful countries, the Mangrove kingdom, and the Encantasia Empire.


    So he couldn''t be careless with his guarding.


    A moment later, the two who were under his illusions had fainted. Although most of the people around could not understand what was happening to them, some were able to discern the reason.


    "I-Illusion?"


    "Yes, those two are probably under the illusion. It''s easy to guess just by looking at their reactions."


    "I-I see."


    Said some people around them.


    "In that case, did he multicast two abilities at the same time?"


    "Hmm�� multicasting two abilities are not impossible but. The problem is, he''s using two high-level abilities."


    The people around were whispering to each other. But none of them had realized that he wasn''t multi-casting.


    Nonetheless, the one who was under his Intimidation ability still could not move. The person tried to struggle but to no avail.


    The crowd of people noticed one thing.


    "He defeated these people from the top 9 academies with ease?"


    "He didn''t even sweat."


    "And look, he''s as young as them!"


    "Right. Just who is he?"


    Just then.


    "What''s happening here?!"


    Everyone heard a yell, asking for the reason for the commotion. They glanced and saw a group of young ladies.


    "Wait isn''t that Miss Almina and Miss Maena together with their party members?"


    "Miss Almina!" The securities went to Almina and her party, then reported what they saw.


    Almina glanced at where the involved party was and knitted her brows.


    "Eh, aren''t they from the Human City Zone 20?" One of the members in Almina''s party asked upon recognizing their uniforms.


    "Wait, that academy who took the 9th rank last year?" Another one asked.


    "Yes, yes, I mean that."


    They started talking about it.


    Almina narrowed her eyes. Even if they were from that city, they made a commotion here. "I see, so they were causing trouble to the people. They must be taken for questioning and be punished accordingly if they were proven guilty and such," she said.


    Maena, on the other hand, had remained silent.


    Since Almina and Maena were members of the Special Squad who monitored the perimeter of the city, they both had the authority. Also, both of them were quite popular in the city so most of the people around were able to recognize them immediately.


    "Okay, Miss Almina but��" they noticed the skeptical faces of the guards.


    "What do you mean, but?" One of the members of Almina''s party asked the patroller.


    "...I mean, the other person who was involved in the commotion had already disappeared��"


    He said in reply to the question.


    "What? Do you mean there was also another party that was involved in this commotion?"


    "Yes, Miss Almina!" The two guards nodded. Not even the people around noticed when he left.


    Then they started elaborating on what happened and described the other party''s figure.


    "So it was a young man with messy brown hair huh," one of Almina''s party members said understandably.


    Almina and Maena looked at each other''s eyes and froze. Looks like the two of them were thinking the same at the moment. There was only one person who fit the guard''s description.


    Almina''s heart started to palpate a little bit faster and stronger.


    Could it be him? Did he come here? But it was impossible. If he truly left this place at that time, it was nigh impossible that he could return in just a month after leaving this world.


    Many questions came to her mind and she wanted to rush to find that person immediately. But Almina stopped when the guards added that the person was able to beat those youths from the Human City Zone 20 with ease. Not only that, based on the guard''s words, that person''s ability was nothing like Yman''s.


    Almina sunk back then ordered the guards to pick those people who were a part of the commotion.


    They noticed the sudden change in Almina. It seemed like she lost interest. Even her party members noticed it and asked the other party members why she suddenly looked uninterested.


    Yet, none of them could tell. But Maena seemed to know of the reason because she too felt the same.


    The other guards came to help and picked the youngsters.


    "Let''s go!" Almina urged the others.


    "Okay!!!"


    They replied enthusiastically.


    "By the way, Miss Almina and Miss Maena, we are cheering for both of you."


    "Right, right, but we won''t be an easy opponent when one of you happens to be our opponent!"


    "Fufufu��" Almina giggled.


    "Wait Amulet, aren''t today that Big Sis Ice would return?" Suddenly asked Maena.


    Almina stopped with brimming eyes. Probably, excited.


    "You''reright Maena!" She shouted and hugged her.


    "Wait, get off of me Amulet! And don''t forget that I will settle our score this time!"


    "Eh?!!!"


    "Hehehe!"


    The others started to chuckle. Looks like Miss Almina went back to her playful action again towards Miss Maena. Besides Miss Kesha, she only showed such action to Maena. The other thought.


    "Then, let''s go!" Almina shouted. Inwardly, she thought that wherever he was, someday they would see each other again. But for now, she wanted to win the competition.


    The group went to get Kesha first, then continued towards the Plaza. To where all the participants of the competition would gather.


    Around this time, the plaza was already packed with people who wished to watch the competition. Even the big shot guests were already in their VIP seats.


    Everyone was thankful for Ice''s effort. It was thanks to her that the invitation was successful.


    Not only the big shots in the business world and politicians were present as guests, but there were also the leaders from other Human City Academies.


    Ice arrived on time as well. Well, she rushed here after all. How could she miss such an important event for her younger sisters? Since it was only competition for the fledgling trainees, she could relax while at the same time enjoying herself watching them in the competition.


    All the participants, already at the front together with their friends.


    Since it was a duel competition, there was a high chance that they would be facing their friend in the fight.


    Everyone was excited. After that duel in the training area of the academy, they trained arduously just for today, especially those who were defeated before. They would get their revenge this time. While those who won that time, also trained as much as the others. They didn''t want to become someone''s stepping stone. They wanted to win and win.


    Although the Human City Zone 7 was a booming city, the academy itself was the lowest-ranked academy. So none of the guests expect much about the competition.


    The politicians just came here to show some faces or public appearances. After all, the elections were nearing. While the businessmen''s reason for coming was the dungeon and the materials that the explorers looted from it.


    On the other hand, the leaders from the other academies came here to witness with their own eyes the young girl who suddenly became popular after defeating some high-level enemies who tried to run amok in the city.


    If she truly was a capable person, they would try to recruit her.


    After Mayor Chan And Principal Mar Marie''s speech, next was the introduction of the judges.


    And the one who took the rule of the referee was no other than Instructor Goki. But for some reason, he seemed to be unusually excited today.


    Above the stage, they could see a wide monitor. And in the monitor was currently displayed the schedule for the duels.


    Mr. Goki went to the stage and announced the rules.

 Chapter 268: Bruno VS Crimson

    (A/N: Pls. send your power stone to the book My Guardian System. Need help!)


    The Rules were simple. They just have to win against every opponent they would be facing till the last enemy.


    Since there were a total of 300 participants in the first elimination round, 150 participants would be disqualified and 150 would advance to the next round, and so on until 4 participants were left to fight for the championship.


    After his announcement, it was followed by noisy applause coming from the audience.


    Sitting in the judges'' podiums were Head Instructor Stone De Guz Man, Elder Paan, and Chief Henderson. His second in command would be taking his role as the head of the army for the time being.


    Although the energy in the plaza was rising, the people in the VIP room were talking about something, not related to the competition. Actually, they were more or less interested in the competition from a less popular academy.


    Their reason for coming wasn''t actually because of the competition. One of the reasons for coming was to meet with other bigshots in the same field as them.


    The other leader from the other academies showed a mocking grin at the back of Principal Mar. Especially the principal from Human City Zone 1, Principal Kim.


    He wondered what was in the mind of Principal Mar Marie for holding such an inside competition for his trainees. Hehe, what an unwise move it was. It would only drag them down to the bottom.


    These past days and weeks, he was bothered by the sudden rise of the Human City Zone 7.


    Although Zone 1 was always on the rise these past years, having a dungeon in their domain, like the Zone 7, was much fortunate. Because most of the merchants and big shot businessmen would be gathering to where there were resources.


    On top of that, the dungeon wasn''t part of the World Agreements. So all the resources that could be looted inside it, wasn''t part of the prohibition.


    It also means they could be exported away, from here to the other world.


    Principal Kim could only pinch his head between his hands out of envy. After all, the city could do everything with the resources that could be looted inside it. He could only salivate at this fortunate event that was happening in Zone 7.


    If given a few years, this city would rise to an unimaginable degree just by the appearance of the dungeon alone. Especially if it was well-managed by the admins of three major departments.


    It could also raise the future trainees to unimaginable strength. Real-life fighting where danger was apparent was the best to train a real fighter. Principal Kim wasn''t a fan of modern technology where everyone would be fighting inside the Virtual Arena. Although it helps them to breakthrough faster, the real sense of danger wasn''t there.


    And because of it, students or trainees would still be lacking a real combat instinct that a real warrior who experienced and survived through countless battles in which his/her life was on the line. Being high-level could make someone strong, but not stronger, and never be the strongest.


    Only those who experienced real life and death fighting would truly ascend to become stronger and might possibly become the strongest.


    He even dislikes the immortality effect brought by the resonance with the deities. The reason was as stated previously.


    That''s why he envied the people of Zone 7.


    Actually, he already got information regarding the possible appearance of a dungeon in this city.


    There was one time he visited this place to try to recruit the Ace of this academy at that time. But one of his escorts, a person with a high-level breakthrough sensed something underground.


    And that when he started to get interested in this city. Unfortunately, before he succeeded with his schemes of breaking this city, they discovered it. They discovered the dungeon.


    But even so, it wasn''t like there was no way for him to take over on this land.


    While Principal Kim was in deep pondering, the announcer Instructor Beth had started calling out the name for the first pair who would be coming on the arena.


    The fledgling trainees were oozing with fighting spirit. Everyone was excited to perform. Each of them wishing to show their 100 percent in this competition. Especially that some of them had recently been motivated after watching a crazy competition from the Encantasia Empire.


    And now, it''s their time to shine. They won''t be wasting such an opportunity to get sponsorship from the bigshots who were currently present today.


    Together with his circle of friends, Kiko had a calm expression on his face. This competition wasn''t only a mere inside competition for him. Because his bright future was on the line in this competition.


    Not only would he become the Academy''s Ace if he became the champion, but he was planning also to officially ask Almina Amulet to become his girlfriend.


    He didn''t even mind if she became his fiance. If being a girlfriend wasn''t enough for her, then he would be fine being her fiance.


    His eyes scanned the surroundings, then it landed on the specific girl. About 20 steps away to his right, Almina Amulet was staring at the large monitor in front of them, slightly above, while she was surrounded by her circle of friends. Kesha and the blonde were together with her. For some reason, Kesha was waving at him. Kiko smiled and nodded.


    Yeah, it would be a fun competition. As expected, his dreams had slowly become reality. Especially that the most hated guy by him wasn''t around anymore.


    But Kiko, silently said his sorry to Almina Amulet, because he couldn''t give her the number one spot in this competition because that number one spot was for the King only.


    And that King was�� ''wait, who is that weirdo?'' Kiko thought upon seeing a guy in a suspicious outfit. He scoffed. Most of the trainees here were wearing outfits that were comfortable to them.


    So most of them were wearing different clothing. There were some who chose to wear their academy uniforms and some who were wearing their training suit.


    However, that weirdo was wearing a cloak, covering his whole body from head to toe.


    "Hehe! Idiot!" Kiko muttered and shook his head. Regardless, he felt a weird feeling of dissatisfaction towards that person. Well, ''a nobody'' was not worthy of his attention. After Kiko darted his gaze away from the weirdo who was leaning his back on the wall near the entrance, he suddenly heard a loud war cry.


    "Oooohhh!!!"


    It was coming from that gorilla who always disapproved of his actions. That person who had the name of Bob. He was surrounded by his circle of friends as well, together with that meek-looking girl.


    Kiko shook his head and sighed. Then thought, ''another weirdo.'' He smirked and sent another glance at Almina Amulet. Unexpectedly, her eyes were still glued to the monitor. "Ahem!" Kiko cleared his throat and focused on himself. He was excited about the start of the competition.


    The surrounding was noisy. Meanwhile, they were in the waiting room backstage. Well, it wasn''t only an ordinary room. It was a grand hall. After all, there were a total of 300 of them.


    Everyone fell silent when they finally heard the voice of Instructor Beth. As she was appointed as the announcer, everyone immediately understood that the start of the competition was finally here after hearing her voice.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, good morning��" Instructor Beth first greeted everyone. The audience around the arena and even the participants in the back-stage were broke into a loud whistle. After all, Instructor Beth was oozing with heavenly sex-appeal.


    After greeting everyone else. She followed with a quick inspirational speech.


    Then lastly she called out the participating pair. "And now! Without further ado! Let''s welcome our first pair of competitors!"


    Everyone started at the large monitor, inside it, a pair of squares could be seen. And the letters ''VS'' could be seen in the middle of those squares.


    Inside the squares was the fast shuffling of profile pictures of all the participants.


    Everyone''s heartbeat was loudly beating while the shuffle continued rolling.


    After 5 seconds, the squares had finally stopped with the shuffle of profile pictures. Then, everyone widened their eyes.


    Finally, the pair who would be fighting first was revealed!!!


    "Now, let us call the participants on the screen!"


    "Woohooo!" One of Kiko''s friends shouted happily upon seeing his newly hair-cut picture on the screen.


    "Hehe, congrats, Bruno!"


    "Break the leg! Dude!"


    "Sure thing, dude!"


    Before saying anything to cheer his friend, Kiko glanced at the monitor first. Bruno''s opponent was that weirdo. He didn''t know who was behind that cloth. Since they were asked to register their nicknames instead of real names in this competition, he had no idea who was behind the cloth. He glanced around and saw the other members of the elite. Kiko believed that except for those from the Elite classroom, only a few that could be counted with the fingers in one hand had a chance to defeat Bruno.


    Especially that Bruno had a considerable improvement this whole month. He was more adept now in using his wind magic and the other element.


    Bruno had the nickname of Void, while his enemy was�� ''Crimson? Pufft what a joke. That name sounds so nothing special,'' Kiko chuckled. "Finish it faster than 10 seconds!" Kiko just said it. Then the two did a fist-bumped. "Alright, it will be done in just 5 seconds!" Said Bruno confidently.


    Almina was feeling conflicted. She couldn''t settle for some reason. "That person, just who is he?" She mumbled while staring at the back of the person who came to the stage first.


    ''Crimson?'' She uttered in mind while reading the nickname of that person.


    Now the two contestants were facing 20 meters away


    from each other.


    "Dude, don''t you feel hot with that outfit?" Bruno asked sarcastically. But his enemy remained silent and he got no reply.


    Just then, "Start!"

 Chapter 269: The real boss in defense

    Some people who were currently looking at the person in a dark cloak narrowed their eyes. Ice, the Ace was one of them. She could feel something from that person.


    In backstage, Keremi also narrowed his eyes towards the same person. Then his mouth extended at both sides, forming a smile.


    Bob and the others had their eyes focused on the large monitor. Beside him was Chloe. Most of them were already in their resonance state. They already upgraded the battery of their System Deities to the latest version, so most of them wereable to stay in resonance for straight three days without canceling it.


    "Who do you think that person is?" Suddenly, Bob heard Chloe''s question.


    "Hmn�� no idea. Perhaps, someone from a different section." He replied honestly.


    "I see. By the way, who do you think will win?" Chloe asked once again.


    "That''s hard to say. Especially that we don''t know who''s the person behind that cloak."


    "You''re right."


    "However, against that bastard Bruno, that person will certainly have hard times to win. Especially Bruno''s tricky skills," said Bob.


    "Yeah, and he''s specialized in the defense too." Chloe agreed to Bob.


    "Exactly. Well, let''s see how that person will handle someone like Bruno."


    "Mhm!"


    Bob and Chloe knew exactly how hard to win against Bruno. The skill of his wind element was a hassle to most enemies.


    Not far from them, Mai and Brai also had the same conversation. They were guessing who would win in this fight. But the two had the same guess. That Bruno had a high chance of winning.


    Almina and Maena could not tell if who had a high chance of winning between the two. More or less, they didn''t want to guess as they had no idea of the other person''s identity. They also noticed that most of the trainees from the Elite classroom were still present backstage, and those people they believed had a chance of winning against Bruno were also present in the room. So far as they didn''t know what kind of ability or techniques that person had, they couldn''t tell with certainty if who among them would win.


    The moment after they heard the word ''START!'', everyone fell silent, and all of the attention was on the stage.


    They saw Bruno materialized a longsword in hand then hurried towards his opponent. He also summoned wind barriers around him. These barriers were his special ability. With these barriers, his defense was firm and he could only focus on offense.


    Seeing that his opponent was yet to make a move, he snorted. "Heh, slow!" Bruno muttered without stopping his feet. In just a span of 3 seconds, he already traversed the distance between them. The previous 20 meters away from each other was now nowhere near 3 meters.


    "Kuku, such an easy win," Kiko muttered with a mocking grin.


    "What a lucky bastard! Haha!" Marco laughed with a little envy. He wanted to be the first to show off his skills as well. Especially that Miss Almina''s group was all here.


    Everyone heard a loud yell. "Die, dude!!!" It was coming from Bruno who was raising his weapon overhead. He noticed his enemy was lifting his arm to punch him. But Bruno only snorted at it. He was surrounded by wind barriers. Such an attack would never reach him. It was useless! In his mind, what an easy fast win. Forget 5 seconds this match would end in just 4 seconds!


    The audience was lively cheering. Some of them even bet on who would win.


    In backstage,


    "Uh-oh, you can''t just stand there and do nothing while facing Bruno," Kesha commented. Everyone agreed with her. After all, they already witnessed Bruno''s abilities several times. Especially when they had a joint exploration inside the dungeon. Bruno''s ability was very helpful at that time.


    That''s why. Everyone gawked in disbelief when they heard a loud, yet dull impact, then they saw Bruno staggering back.


    A moment later, he fell on his butt with empty eyes while staring at his enemy. "Y-you��" he muttered with a disbelieving expression on his face. Not just that, his knees lost their strength. Then his vision was murky.


    "What? What happened?" Kesha wondered and so the others.


    "Bruno was knocked down?!!"


    A solemn arena.


    Everyone has to process what is happening on the stage.


    "How is it possible?!" Marco questioned with a tinge of deep emotion.


    Kiko, on the other hand, was staring still at the monitor. Even he could not understand. He was sure that Bruno used the Wind Barriers around him, out of precaution.


    So how did that punch landed?


    Although a straight punch was faster than a downward strike of a longsword, the problem lies in the Wind Barriers. By using it, it was almost impossible to land a hit on Bruno since whatever attack would be slowed down because of the Wind Barriers.


    Yet, not only that person''s punch hadn''t slowed down, but it also hit on Bruno''s jaw directly.


    Now his health points dropped to 75 percent.


    Everyone was slack-jawed staring still at the monitor. Only the lively audience around the arena was noisy at the moment. Those in backstage and even in the VIP room were all staring at the fight in puzzlement.


    Meanwhile, in the arena, that person in a dark cloak did not follow up with another attack. He was staring down at his opponent who was having difficulty standing. Bruno managed to stand somehow, though with shaky legs. He gritted his teeth. He was supposed to end the fight in 5 seconds. Unfortunately, the result of their first clash, he was the one who fell on his butt in just four seconds after the match started! How embarrassing!


    Bruno peered in front of him. For some reason, his enemy was standing still without finishing him. Looks like this person was looking down on him! Bastard!


    Then Bruno widened his eyes when his vision came back to normal because under the hood was a familiar face.


    "Toad..." He uttered. But suddenly, that person''s figure suddenly became blurred and disappeared, asecond laterhe reappeared in front of him!


    "What?!"


    Out of reflex, he brandished the sword to the front. But the enemy dodges with ease which caused a grimace on Bruno''s face.


    However,it was enough time for him to retreat.


    Bruno, without wasting time, decided to leap backward. At the same time, he summoned the Wind Barriers once again.


    Then again, he was hit by something. He felt a strong impact from the back. He staggered in front. Then found himself on all fours.


    Inside the backstage were so silent. Kiko was gnashing his teeth. Everyone was flabbergasted. All of them had a wrong assessment of the fight. They all thought the fight would be easy in favor of Bruno.


    Yet, how the f##k the situation was different to what most of them had been expected! Right. It was an easy fight, but the situation was the opposite of what was in their minds.


    The other trainees darted their eyes to Kiko''s group. He didn''t like those stares coming from them. It was so painful to bear.


    In the stage, Bruno fired multiple wind vortexes. However, the enemy just stood up there without evading or dodging his attack.


    Weirdly though, Bruno''s attack disappeared before it touched the target.


    And why was the enemy just standing there? He was letting Bruno attack him. From other people''s perspective, it looks like he was showing who among them was the real boss in defense. After all, Bruno was almost untouchable in his every fight lately. But now, faced with an opponent who could hurt him and couldn''t be hurt by him. Bruno lost in his mind. He was shouting while repeatedly throwing his magical wind and earth attacks. But to no avail.


    The surrounding turned silent. Now, not only those people backstage had fallen silent, even those in the VIP room, and the audience in the arena. "Who the hell is that monster?" No one noticed who among the people in the VIP room said this. But at the moment, everyone was wide-eyed staring at the same person.


    Even Principal Kim could not believe that there was someone in this academy who was like that. "Is that even a person?" Even though the attack coming from the other guy wasn''t strong enough, it was still unbelievable that someone would come out untouched by those relentless attacks. Yet, those attacks did not even reach him!


    Principal Kim glanced at Principal Mar Marie who was sitting beside him. But Principal Mar just shrugged his shoulders, emphasizing that he had no idea.


    "Hmm, interesting��" The Ace Miss Ice muttered. She wondered who it was.


    "How was someone unaffected by those attacks?" Each of them had questions in their mind.


    The only noise at the moment was the lashes of words coming from Bruno who seemingly lost his mind while non-stop throwing his useless attacks.


    "Damn you! Die die die! Fucking toad! How did, why are you herrrrre!!!"


    After hearing his lashes of words,Kiko narrowed his eyes as he muttered. "What? Toad? Could it be��?"


    Then they noticed him slowly approaching Bruno.


    Seeing his figure casually coming closer and closer,Bruno stopped shooting and pointed the tip of his weapon at the enemy while charging towards him to stab him.


    A second later, everyone heard a dull sound. Then something flew and rolled on the stage.


    Standing behind the person in dark cloth was the headless Bruno. His head rolled many times on the arena floor. Everyone saw Bruno''s health points reach zero percent.


    A hand chop cut off Bruno''s head.


    BZZZZZZZZTTT!!!


    [WINNER CRIMSON!]


    Just then, the audience started to shout his name!


    "Woah! Whatta fight!"


    "Now I''m your fan!"


    Crimson! Crimson! Crimson!


    Yman took off his hood and glanced around him. Then he slowly walked towards to get off of the stage.


    When he revealed his face, everyone backstage felt like the time stopped, especially to a specific girl. Upon seeing his face, the world seemed to have stopped moving.

 Chapter 270: Feelings

    His hair grew a little longer, but it suits him better. Unlike the thin and sickly-looking face before, he was more manly now and he looks more handsome. His height, even from afar, she could tell that he was taller now. More about him had changed. But Almina knew, she knew it was him!


    Her heartbeat was faster than normal as her longing eyes glued at the figure, who was calmly walking towards the backstage, to where all of them were waiting.


    Until she couldn''t wait anymore and let her feet drag her. Everyone was staring at her back as she rushed the exit towards the stage.


    The surrounding noise was nothing to her. The only noise she was hearing at the moment was the noise coming from his footsteps and noise inside her.


    Before Yman arrived backstage, he was surprised at the sudden figure.


    "EEEEHHHHHHH!!!"


    Everyone exclaimed when suddenly, a familiar figure rushed and leaped then hugged him out of a sudden.


    Yman widened his eyes. The first thing that came to his mind was that he regretted that he let his guard open. He wasn''t expecting that even in this competition someone would come to ambush him. Wait, why him though? It was supposed to be Rea since she was their target. So, why did they come to ambush him?


    Hmm, maybe they wanted to dispatch him first so that no one would protect Rea anymore.


    Sigh! He wondered how they knew that he was herprotector.


    What a blunder.


    He made a blunder to himself.


    He never expected that such an enemy that even his high perception ability failed to perceive would come to ambush him. He was too young to die. Why now? Why this time that he already healed his sister? It was supposed to be the start of his happy life together with his sister and friends.


    Yet,


    The time had come. He closed his eyes and waited. He waited for his demise. He waited for the stab. It would be painful for sure.


    However,


    "I-I�� I miss you��" he heard a sob voice of someone.


    However, it was inappropriate in his current situation. Maybe the almighty creator was teasing him? Because he would die as a virgin? And no girlfriend since birth.


    Actually, he met some lovely people this past month. And most of them were friendly to him.


    He made few friends. But why was her voice he was hearing for this last moment?


    Just then,


    "I miss you��(hic)!"


    "..."


    Yman fell silent when he heard her voice again. Right after that, he realized the soft and warm sensation. And the fragrance of someone that was pleasing in his nose.


    He slowly opened his eyes and gawked. IT WAS HER!!! Never did he imagine that it was Miss Almina who was the assassin!


    (Hic)!


    ''Wait, something was off. She was sobbing��? And why was she hugging me? Wait, wait, wait, this was too sudden! But fortunately, I feel so happy.'' He didn''t know what was happening as his mind was still murky.


    After defeating that super strong enemy at the riverside, he lost his consciousness. Then he woke up a few minutes later. He only managed to regain a little of his stamina. They immediately came here in a rush as he was excited to see his sister and everyone.


    But then, something happened when they were walking in the street. They encountered a group of youngsters. Because of it, he had to waste the little stamina he had.


    It wasn''t easy fighting with a little bit of stamina while at the same time controlling his enhanced fire dolls.


    After the fight was settled, they immediately went to Miss Pai''s hotel. Because his sister was staying there.


    Then again, he wasted another amount of his stamina in completing the elixir and medicine.


    As he could not directly heal other people. He used his special enhanced fire doll to act as the healer.


    First, he let her sister drink the Tampering Elixir made by Airi and him. Then, the special enhanced fire doll did its job right after the Tampering Elixir took effect.


    The process was so heart-rending. But he remained calm. He could not make a little mistake.


    After his sister''s countenance showed change. He took the bean-like medicine! The Heaven Defying Medicine!


    Fortunately, it was a success! Though it was a success, he prohibited his sister from using mana for a few days as she was newly healed. Even though he felt the excitement in her, he prohibited her from using her mana for a couple of days. As expected, his sister was blessed with an abundance of mana.


    When her broken Hollow Cell came together, a sudden influx of mana burst out from her that knocked him for 5 minutes.


    Then together tmwith Rea and his sister,the three of them came here as he was a participant also. Speaking of Rea, he felt strong killing intent from his back towards his direction. He wondered why Rea was sending such intent.


    Meanwhile, he was in a situation where he didn''t know what to do.


    Could it be, just a dream?


    It certainly was just a dream. It was impossible that someone like Almina Amulet would come to hug him, right?


    Wait, although his mind was murky at the moment, he could tell that it was real.


    He stared at her and was at a loss for words. In this kind of situation, in which he didn''t know why she was hugging him while saying sweet-sounding words.


    Could it be a friendly greeting? Hm, but he noticed some tears in her eyes. So it''s probably not just a friendly greeting.


    ''Almina is�� she is more beautiful than usual��'' he thought as he wiped her wet eyes. Yman smiled at her and slowly approached her face.


    Feeling his warm hands wiping her tears, Almina felt the heat on herface. She knew that at the moment her face was redder than red.


    In one of the private rooms, Miss Ice was covering her mouth while staring at Almina and that person with who she was familiar. She knew it! She already noticed it the first time he was gone. Almina that time was at a loss.


    Ice''s guessedthe cause of her sadness was the disappearance of that person.


    Almina felt happy. Her heart was pounding like crazy. Especially when he touched her lips and was slowly approaching hers. She waited.


    Then,


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    Plop!


    Before their lips could touch each other, he fainted.


    Darkness greeted him.


    Almina repeatedly called out his name. But to no avail. She panicked and shouted for help. The stunned crowd just then started to move once again. Like when you pushed the pause button in a movie then play again.


    A group of people came onto the stage with two stretchers. One was for Bruno who had his head flown away, but after the resonance with his deity was canceled, his head was intact once again. Then, the head that flew away had turned to light particles.


    The other stretcher was for Yman, who lost his consciousness right before a sweet moment.


    Almina worriedly followed the unconscious Yman.


    Inside the backstage,


    "That''s Yman, right?"


    "Yes, it''s him?!"


    "Waah! He''s back!


    "He changed a lot!"


    "And he looked so handsome now!"


    "Kyaaaahh!!"


    "Not only that, he''s damn strong!"


    "Wait, did you see Miss Almina''s reaction towards him?!"


    "She hugged him!!!"


    "And they almost k-k-kkisssssss!"


    "So sweeeeet!!"


    "Could it be! They are dating?!


    "What? They secretly have a relationship?"


    "Oh, noooo! Our goddess Miss Almina!"


    Everyone had different reactions a moment after Almina left.


    However, amid the crowd''s craze, Kiko was gritting his teeth, with his eyes full of killing intent.


    He never thought that guy would show up once again. Not only that! What the f##k Almina was doing?! Isn''t she in love with him? Why she approached and hugged that guy.


    And t-t-they almost kisssssss!!!?


    A fierce glint was noticeable in his eyes. In his mind, he repeatedly chanted the word, ''i will kill you! I will kill you! I will kill you! I will kill you! I will burn you! I will crash you! I will kill you! I will burn you! I will crash you! I will kill you! I will burn you! I will crash you! I will kill you! I will burn you! I will crash you! I will kill you! I will burn you! I will crash you! I will kill you! I will burn you! I will crash you! I will kill you! I will burn you! I will crash you! I will kill you! I will burn you! I will crash you!


    TOOOOAAAAAADDDD!!!


    His anger made him lose his mind. And the only words in his mind at the moment was to kill him. To kill that hateful guy. Just by appearing, that person destroyed his everything.


    He will surely, certainly kill him.


    In Almina''s group, her party members still could not process what just happened. They never expected that Almina�� would do it.


    Kesha was the most dumbfounded among them all.


    While the others were still dumbfounded at the unexpected event, the competition continued without a hitch.

 Chapter 271: Yana

    (A/N: Pls. send your power stone to the book My Guardian System. Need help!)


    When Yman woke up, it was dark with only the light coming from the moon through the window that illuminated the room.


    ''Night huh,'' he thought.


    ...Zzz


    His ears caught a soft snoring. Someone sleeping beside the bed where he was lying. She used her arms as her pillow.


    He wondered where he was. But when his eyes scanned the room, he noticed that he was inside a hospital?


    Slowly, he pulled himself and sat on the bed. He brushed her hair using his hand. He smiled. Finally, he was able to succeed in curing his sister''s illness. Now, he could focus on how to become rich.


    Seemingly, noticing the warm hand brushing her head. Yana twitched and slowly opened her eyes. Yman stopped immediately. Looks like he disturbed her sleep.


    "Bro?"


    She asked after clearing her eyes. "Mhm," he nodded with a can''t be helped expression on his face. "Sorry if I disturbed you," he added.


    "Nn��" Yana shook her head while wiping the tears in her eyes. "I''m so worried when you passed out!" She said as she held his hand.


    Yman''s mouth stretched to both sides to form a warm smile. He touched her face. "Sorry to worry you."


    Suddenly, Sistela came out from Yana''s other hand. Looks like she was holding her while he was asleep.


    She asked.


    "Yeah, I''m fine, my deity."


    "....."


    For some reason, the two of them went silent. Then he noticed a solemn expression on their faces.


    "Uhm, bro! Did you experience some coughing and also fainted these past days?!" Yana immediately asked. Her face was painted with worries. He frowned in wonder. He wondered why Yana looked so worried.


    "Bro?" Yana asked once again after he failed to reply.


    "Uhm, yeah but that was because of miasma. And I feel better now��"


    Upon hearing him, Yana sank with unease. It was noticeable on her face.


    Yman felt something wasn''t right. "Yana?" He called her.


    "Actually bro, the doctors found something in you. You have a serious illness��"


    "What?!


    Yman gawked. "Ahaha," then he laughed descendingly. "How could that be��" upon saying it, he suddenly felt dizzy and felt a piercing pain in his head.


    "Ngh!" He groaned. He peered in front of him and saw the crying voice of Yana. She was yelling but he could not hear her. Sistela was yelling also, but he could not hear her as well.


    ''What the hell was happening?'' Yman thought. Then he fainted once again.


    The next time he opened his eyes. It was already morning. But somehow, there were so many apparatus connected to him.


    Looks like they did some serious checked upon him. Looking at his situation, they probably tried to revive him. With so many hoses connected to him.


    "....."


    Yeah, it seemed that way. He felt weak and dizzy. He couldn''t even feel his whole body.


    He wondered what was actually wrong with him. He heard a sobbing sound coming from outside.


    It was coming from multiple people. One of them was his sister. It seemed like they were talking to a doctor.


    The doctor said his body gradually losing strength and started to weaken because of the constant use of strong mana. In fact, the doctor found it weird that he was still able to survive even though his body was a mishmash of flesh inside.


    Yman''s thought was in confusion. He could not believe this sudden development. Those sudden headaches and having his vision turned hazy, must be the symptoms. Since the first timeit happened was when he hadbathed in miasma, he was in the wrong belief that the cause of it was the miasma.


    Because he was ina contractwith the demon, themiasma shouldn''t have an effect on him. That''s why it was wrong tobelieve thatthe cause of his dizziness was the miasma.


    He was wrong, certainly.


    Outside, he could hear Sistela''s voice. Looks like they were questioning her. He could also hear Rea''s voice. But she didn''t talk much.


    Now that he thought about it. Hecould not protect her anymore.


    While thinking about it. He felt sad for some reason. It was an enjoyable short adventure huh.


    That morning, before Rea woke up, he was tempted to kiss her beautiful face. For some reason, that scene was seemingly familiar to him. But he could not remember. Regardless, he stole her kiss! ''Well, her sleeping face was so tempting. So don''t blame me.''


    It was just a kiss after all. Wait he wasn''t a maniac! It was just a kiss on her face. He wondered what would happen if the future husband of Rea knew about it. Maybe he would be going to kill him. When that time happened, he wondered if he was still alive.


    He actually felt guilty for what he did. He would certainly say his sorry when he had a chance. He wondered what her reaction would be. She probably thought he was gross and yelled at him. Then, fired him on the spot.


    Well, it''s too late now. With his current situation, Yman didn''t know if he would last long.


    He also heard Almina''s voice huh. Right, he almost kissed her that time, but it was just a dream.


    Wait, was it a dream? He could not tell anymore. His head was muddled up, even until now. Now that he thought about it. If ever, it was real. He would be happy but�� it would also be a complicated feeling.


    Ah, what was he thinking about? Could it be, he was about to die?! He wasn''t prepared though. He wanted to beg for a little more time. He wanted to spend a little more time with his sister.


    Damn! He became so dramatic. Was it the effect of having your life on the verge of dying?


    "....."


    After contracting the demon, he already expected that there was a side effect of it. Since it was stated in the grimoire that contracting with the demon would bring demise to oneself. So it must be talking about it huh. He was left with no choice that time. He believed without it, he would never get a chance to meet the empress, and he would never get the Heaven Defying medicine. So, even though he was in a bad situation at the moment, he wasn''t regretting his decision that time.


    Also, his body was a leftover from a long time experiment so it must also be one of the reasons that he fell ill.


    "....."


    The door was pushed open. Then he saw multiple figures coming inside. The first who entered was Yana, then Almina and Rea. Why was Almina here? He asked himself.


    Aside from that, he saw Sistela on Yana''s shoulder. All of them were wearing gloomy faces. Why did they look like someone was about to die? Wait, he was still fine.


    "Bro?" Yana called out then ran beside him.


    "Yman?" Almina too.


    "Crim��"


    Rea fell silent then followed them.


    "....."


    "W-what�� h-happened?" He was having a hard time just by talking huh.


    His health had deteriorated quickly. Looking at their faces. Yman could probably guess that his situation wasn''t good.


    Regardless, seeing both Rea and Almina in the same room was just hard to describe. Looks like Almina knew her huh. She was sending glances at her. But Rea on the other hand was wary of Almina. He wondered why.


    Nonetheless, all of them were wearing solemn expressions. Especially his sister.


    "..."


    While Yana and Almina were asking him about his feelings, Rea, on the other hand, was silently sitting. She sent glances at him. ''What the�� if you wanted to ask something, say it!'' He wanted to yell. But of course, he couldn''t. He was even having a hard time saying a straight word at the moment.


    Almina told him that the contest was still ongoing. The second elimination will be held tomorrow. Looks like she won outstandingly.


    Since Yman could not fight anymore, he probably would be disqualified. Almina was talking and talking to him about many things. He never expected that she was as talkative as this.


    Although she looked shy, she tried her best. On the contrary, Rea was still silent. Probably because she got a dying body guard.


    "....."


    Wait, what?! Almina told him that she sent multiple emails to him! When did it happen?


    Since, he could not talk clearer, it was hard to communicate.


    Uh��huh.


    Looks like his luck wasn''t so great huh.


    "Brother, let me join the contest in your stead!"


    "Eh?"


    A dumbfounded yelp escaped from his mouth upon hearing his Sister''s remark.


    "W, what, are, you, talking, about?"


    "Let me join the competition!"


    He wanted to disagree. Then again, he couldn''t talk properly. Forcing a word to come out of his mouth was already a hard try.


    Dammit!


    Why does it have to happen?


    Why was his life so bad?!


    He wondered why Yana was so eager to join?


    "If I�� if I win, I will ask to bring you outside this world to be healed by the most popular doctor!" She said firmly with tears flowing from her eyes.


    She was a kid after all. Though he was only 1 year older than her.


    Even if he said no. It was useless now. If he dies today or tomorrow. He would rather die without her seeing him. So, it was fine also.


    He nodded.


    Then, he had to invalidate the pact between him and Sistela.

 Chapter 272: Body interference

    Everyone around him was trying to cheer him up. Yman felt it from his sister and Almina. It was goodthat someone other than his sister treat him nicely.


    Rea, on the other hand, was barely talking, even though she was always there beside him. Could it be that she was worried about him? She wasn''t even mentioning their situation. The situation about him as her bodyguard. Whenever he tried to converse with her about it, she would look away and only made a sad expression on her face.


    It was weird.


    Her response towards him, whenever he opted for a conversation, was always reserved with only yes or no. It seemed like she didn''t know how to make a conversation with him. Oddly, he felt so foreign towards her.


    Although he tried to converse with her, the only voice that came out his mouth was inaudible. So maybe it was also the reason that she putaway his advance for a conversation.


    However, he could not get rid of the feeling that she wasn''t on her usual self. It was his honest feeling at the moment.


    He was gazing outside looking at the people flying everywhere on their transport bird, some were alone and some with pairs.


    In truth.


    Every night and day, Almina and his sister would come to visit him, telling him about the competition.


    7 days had passed, his situation had never become better and worse and his stamina was always so low. It seemed like the time had stopped specially for him.


    This day was the championship of the competition. However, he had no news about it lately. His sister and Almina seemed like they were avoiding mentioning it.


    Whenever he tried to ask about it, they would drift the topic away.


    Weird.


    The first time he noticed that something wasn''t right was after his sister asked to join the competition in his stead.


    After that, he felt excluded. And although he felt weak, his mind was very active.


    It seemed like his illness was only in his body and his mind wasn''t affected by it.


    Isn''t it weird? He thought. His instincts were screaming that something wasn''t right in the current situation he was with.


    Yet, another three days had passed. The sky had started to dim once again. He wondered if his sister also felt the same way he felt right nowwhen she was in this kind of situation. For some other reason, their situation had reversed.


    He wanted to go out and do things he usually does. In fact, there were many things he wanted to do but�� in his current situation, those things were impossible now huh.


    "Brother, good night," said Yana.


    "Mhm!" He could only nod.


    After his nod, she turned off the light in the room.


    Tonight, there was only him again in this hospital room.


    Although he was currently lying on the bed, his eyes were gazing at the dim sky through the glass window curtained by a thin white cloth. So even if there was a curtain, he could still see the tiny twinkling stars in the skies.


    Those stars are the same stars he was gazing with the other night.


    Well, it wasn''t like stars would run away right? Wait!


    Wait, wait, wait, isn''t it weird? Those stars are in the same position as yesterday and the other days.


    And also, he noticed something out of ordinary!


    These past days, there were only stars in the skies. If he wasn''t wrong, there should be Transport Birds going everywhere this time around. But why the hell they only showed in the daytime? And in the nighttime, not even one!


    Since he was frequently gazing from the window the first time they arrived in this city, the first thing he noticed whenever he was gazing through it was that around this time several transport birds would pass by from time to time. People tend to travel this time of the night.


    And yet, he could not even spot even one. It was easy to notice a transport bird as they were tied with blinking lights whenever they flew at night.


    It was also why I liked gazing at them at night. They were like passing fireflies in the sky.


    ''It can''t be��'' he thought.


    Yman pulled himself upward and sat on the bed. He gazed at his hand.


    Now that he thought about it. In the morning, he occasionally heard the conversation of Yana, Almina, Rea, and the doctor. But never even once that he saw his doctor''s face.


    Also, it was impossible that Miss Pai did not come to visit him.


    C-could it be��?


    Yman while gazing at his hand, he tried to summon his Crimson mana. A moment later his hands glowed in crimson.


    He was right!


    He was right!


    He was right!


    There was something amiss in his current situation! He was under some kind of interference.


    To further confirm his suspicion, he opted to activate his black mana. Yman was sweating profusely while thinking about it. Even his chest could not settle. After all, if his notion was wrong, there was a high possibility that it backfired to him. Either the mana would end up eating his soul and turn him into a ruthless demon, or he would die on the spot. Since he already canceled his contract with Sistela in this world of illusion. It also meant that he had no more blessing from his deity. And because of no blessing from his deity, it would certainly be a dangerous move to take. Well, there was also the possibility that he would be fine. Since he had the demon''s karma. After all, he had unusually high physical and mental attributes.


    Regardless, he had to do it! And also he had a strong feeling that all these things weren''t right! What was currently happening to him was too absurd. In fact, even if contracting the demon had a backlash on him, it should never like this.


    In any case, he resolved himself and activated his black mana.


    ��.. yet, after a couple of tries, nothing happened. His black miasma did not activate��..


    And because it did not activate, it also meant that his suspicion was right.


    He was under a strong spell!


    The possible explanation that his black miasma did not activate, was because his body was in good state. And this current situation was just an illusion! Right, he was under a strong illusion.


    Yman could not remember when he was being attacked. Could it be from those youngsters from another academy? Or could it be from that monster he fought within the riverside?


    There was no way Bruno was the cause of it!


    Yman was in deep contemplation. He tried to remember the cause of his current predicament. Whoever it was, it was a super-strong illusion that could interfere directly with the target''s physical body.


    His mind was still able to think clearly so he assumed that this illusion wasn''t able to interfere with his mind. Maybe because of his high resistance to mental interference.


    At his current state, it could also be considered that he was under the illusion of someone capable of interfering with his five senses.


    Such a strong spell! He shuddered in fright. The first time that he felt a chill running down his spine after he contracted the demon.


    So, the question is�� who was the caster?


    Who was the illusionist?


    There was one person he knew that was capable of such a high ranking illusion. But he wondered if she would use it against him. And if ever she did, for what reason though.


    Hmm��.. Yman went silent once again as he was trying to figure out something. Uhhhhh! No! It was impossible to be her. In fact, she could not use her illusion unless the target was inside her domain.


    Well, since I couldn''t tell if who is the caster, it''s better to see for myself. And the heck! I''m so bored being under this illusion! I couldn''t talk normally to Rea! Almina was acting weird and fake! My sister is��


    Yman stopped when he realized something. No way! Hethought.


    Currently his situation was still no better. Yman, who was currently sitting on his cross legged, closed his eyes and concentrated. The next time he opened his eyes, "Hey, Kid? What are you doing here?" The Demon of Possession asked in surprise. Did not expect to see a visitor in this domain.


    "I wantto ask you something��"


    The demon narrowed his eyes towards him.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Let me use 70% of your power!"


    "Are you kidding me?!"


    The demon howled.


    "..."


    Yet he noticed the soul in front of him did not falter.


    Seeing the resolute soul, he sighed. "Okay�� but don''t come blaming me if something wrong will happen," he agreed.


    "I won''t!"


    "Thank you, Mr. Demon!"


    He then broke one of the Soulchains that was binding the soul of the demon.


    After it, a strong burst of crimson mana enveloped his body that seemed like trying to explode the whole building. Then a moment later, he heard a sound similar to a broken glass.


    Yman slowly opened his eyes, then a familiar ceiling greeted him. But this time, it was different. The pain that he was feeling recently was already gone.


    He summoned the Cyber Screen and checked the time and the current date.


    "10 hours only!?"


    He was surprised to know that it had only been 10 hours since he passed out in the arena.


    Looks like one day in that illusion was equivalent to 1 hour in real life.


    Then he heard a soft snoring sound.

 Chapter 273: The most gifted child in the history of mankind...

    HE pulled his body and saw his sister sleeping in the same position she was before. Beside her was his deity, Sistela.


    Yman reached his hand to brush her hair. A second later, her head twitched and slowly moved upward.


    "B-Brother?" He said in a startled voice. Seeing her reaction, only proved that he was right. "Yana, your spell was so strong!" He said in excitement with twinkling eyes. Yman knew that his sister had an abundance of mana. But he never thought that she was capable of casting such a spell.


    "..."


    Yana fell silent for a second from her brother''s reaction. Then her face turned to a face that was guilty.


    "B-B-Brother�� a-are you angry?" She asked him in a quivering low voice.


    "..."


    "Hehe," she heard a light chuckle from him. "Of course, not. Why would I get angry at my cute younger sister�� no way that would happen��" he said while maintaining a smile on his face. She glanced at her brother''s eyes. Then she sighed in relief after noticing that he was serious. "S-Sorry, bro, for what I did." She said with a sunken face.


    Sigh.


    He sighed.


    Then he glanced in her eyes with a serious face. Yman knew that just by saying that he wasn''t angry could not abate the guiltiness his sister was feeling at the moment. "Regardless, can you tell me why you did that?" He said while crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.


    Looking at him, Yana was taken aback. She could feel that he was a little mad at her. In a half-crying face, she opened her mouth. "B-because, I''m afraid that bro will leave me again��"


    "..."


    Yman fell silent for a second.


    "Silly!"


    Flick!


    Aw!


    He said and flicked her forehead. Yana tapped it out of reflex, to where he flicked her. Although it wasn''t a strong flick, it caused pains that could not be ease so easily.


    Even Though it was dim inside, the illumination coming from the moon was enough to discern the expression on his face. She saw him in a mad expression. "Eh?" Yana yelped and sank back. A bead of tear was forming at the sides of her eyes. Especially that it was the first time that she received such treatment from her bro.


    Looks like she made him mad at her after all. Yana wanted to cry. No, she was probably holding her tears from bursting.


    However, she heard his brother saying, "There''s no way I will do that!"


    "Eh?"


    She stared at him and saw him shaking his head while caressing it with his hand. "There''s no way I will do that��" he repeated. Then continued, "If I planned on doing that, I would have never come back here in the first place��" he reached out and caressed her face.


    "But��" Yana said while looking straight into his eyes. But she seemed to falter.


    "Hmm?" He sought for the continuation of her words.


    "Y-you already have some girls that you like... W-When time comes, y-you will leave me regardless��"


    "..."


    Yman blinked his eyes. Then he sighed. "Yana��" he called out calmly and his mouth extended to both sides. Seeing her eyes on him, he opened his mouth once again. "That future is indefinite��-"


    "Even though you almost kiss someone?!" She suddenly interjected which made him gawk.


    Right. His sister was on the audience podium at that time.


    "Ah, it''s in the heat of the moment only�� hehe, like that��" he said while looking away, trying to scan for a better way to escape from this entanglement. "And I''m not the one who made the first move�� ahem!"


    "You like her, right?"


    "Eh?"


    ''How the hell I''m the one being questioned,'' he exclaimed inwardly. But seeing her seeking eyes, he sighed once again. "M-maybe��"


    "And you stole a kiss from Miss Rea! Not only that, but you also grope the wolf girls'' bo��!"


    "Guwah!" Yman fell from the bed with his face hit the floor. "Y-Yana�� h-how did you know that?"


    "I can''t only interfere with the person''s body that under my illusion, I can also peek what''s on their minds."


    "The heck! What kind of op ability is that. Unfair you know. Your brother here has to suffer some hell just to get a little stronger."


    Yman wanted to shudder from what he heard from his sister. Probably, her ability could read what her target was thinking while her target was under her illusion. But she could only read what was on their minds when she was peeking into it. And depending on what the target was thinking at that moment, it was the memory she could read from the target.


    Maybe that time when he was in hysteria. He thought the almighty creator punished him for doing those bad things. First, whenever, he saw Cinde sleeping he would try to poke and grope her tempting boobs. Well, out of curiosity only. Not for lewding. Actually. Maybe. Perhaps.


    The second was that time when he stole a kiss on Rea''s face.


    Dammit! Having your secret known by your sister was so embarrassing. A white soul came out from his mouth and was being sucked into heaven.


    Suddenly,


    "Bro, don''t change the topic! Humph!" She said in a pout.


    Fortunately, though, Yana did not seem to read the part when he was thinking about the demon. Regardless, her ability wasn''t good to be known by the masses.


    Well, she could also be an agent.


    He pulled his body and did a dogeza on the floor. "Sister, please keep it a secret from everyone until I say my sorry to them!" He said with his head on the floor. Yana sighed and nodded. Good grief. She thought.


    Then she saw her brother suddenly turn serious. "And besides, you''re the only family I have. So no matter what happened, I won''t leave. There''s no way that will happen."


    "P-promise?"


    "Mhm! Promise��"


    Tears finally fell from her eyes. "Sorry for my selfishness bro! Waaaah!!!" She jumped and hugged him.


    Yman had to comfort her for a couple of hours.


    "Uhm, Yana��"


    "Ha?"


    "I hope you''ll never use that ability of yours in a reckless way."


    "Uhmm��."


    "I don''t want something bad to happen with you again."


    Seeing his eyes, Yana could feel that he was serious.


    "O-okay."


    "And also�� please don''t speak to others about my secret."


    "..."


    Looks like it was fine this time not to say a promise. So that she could use it against her brother whenever he tried to do something again she disliked. Nonetheless, she trusted him. After all, she could feel that her brother was different from an ordinary person. She wondered what happened to him after the two of them were separated.


    That time she broke her mana container after discharging super-dense mana. She did it to help him from their parents, who tried to sell her brother to those people.


    Their parents were former Magic Soldiers working under the government. At first, they lived so happily. But everything had changed when their parents became addicted to gambling. They started doing illegal means and even went to the extent of repeatedly hurting their children. Her brother would come to take all the beating just to exclude her. They were just children at that time. Their bones weren''t strong enough to handle the beating of their parents.


    There came a time when she saw her brother faint and blood was gushing out of his mouth, nose, eyes, and even ears. He was so weak and she knew that he was on the verge of dying.


    Luckily, her strong desire to save him enabled her to awaken her mana much earlier. She was able to save him.


    She was recorded as the most gifted child in the history of mankind. The first child who awakened her mana earliest among the rest. Her name was even recorded in the Book of Extraordinary Feats.


    Her parents were so proud of her. They looked at her like they were looking at the most expensive jewel in the world.


    She was happy, because of it they would stop hurting her brother anymore. But she was wrong. She was naive. Yeah, they stopped beating him. But they excluded him from the family. Especially when the day of celebration that was known as the Turning Point or also known as The Awaking Month. It was a full month celebration. Where children who were yet to awaken would do some light training. The goal of it was to awaken the children.


    She was excited for her brother.


    However, after a month, when most of the children had finally awakened, her brother was one of those who didn''t make it.


    Being the brother of the most talented child in history, most people were expecting great from him.


    However, he became the center of jokes from all of them. Even their parents had started to lose interest in him. No, actually, they excluded him from the family.


    Because of the praises, she got from the people around her, she lost sight of her brother. She forgot about his consequences.


    There was a time when her brother didn''t come home. It was one night, in which fierce dogs were hassling the town.


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Chapter 274: Unsettled feelings

    ��Poke!


    "!!"


    "Br, bro?"


    A poke on her forehead had pulled her back to reality.


    "Sigh, I''m sorry, I thought something happened to you. You''re not answering me."


    "Eh? S-sorry, I was just lost in thought."


    Yana said.


    "Hehe." Yman chuckled.


    <Uhm, Partner? Sister Yana?>


    Suddenly, his trusted Deity woke up and called them.


    Sistela wondered what happened. Her partner was embracing his sister. But she could feel that some kind of drama was happening. So she opted for a retreat.


    <Ah, nevermind, I''m still sleepy.> She said and about to curl back to sleep again, however. She felt someone''s hand was reaching out on her, then grabbed her.


    "!!"


    Sistela jumped in the air to evade. But it was futile. Her partner''s hand was so reflexive, however!


    She unfolded her wings and flapped them. <Hehe, you can''t catch me!> she thought after her tiny figure evaded the hand of her partner. But, it was still useless. Her partner''s hand was too fast to get lost.


    And like that, she was still caught in a second. Well, she too had a breakthrough. Regardless! She just wanted to test her speed by using her partner as her training dummy. PUWAHAHA! In the mind of Sistela, she was standing on the slope of defeated enemies, overlooking everyone beneath her while she was laughing like a hero.


    <?> No, nothing really. She just wanted to use him as a training dummy and annoy him a little. There''s not so much bonding lately.


    In any way, she wanted to challenge that bug sprite. This time! She''s going to beat the shit out of that bug! Puhehehe. Sistela''s thought.


    Then again.


    She was hugged by Sister Yana. Unfortunately, her cuteness made the people around her awe-struck to her. Good grief. With the addition of puppy eyes, she believed that no one could defeat her cuteness!


    SISTELA''s cuteness level reached MAX level!


    Whooooo!


    Sistela was on fire. But her self-indulging was shattered in pieces after her partner announced something.


    "My deity, it''s time to use that Imp-model skin."


    <What?>


    (x_x) <Rest my poor soul��> Sistela fainted with a background sound of ''Plop!''. Yana, on the other hand, was giggling at the two.


    Nonetheless, Yman focused his mind. A second later, he sighed in relief. Looks like she was fine.


    He transmitted to one of his scout birds who was scouting Rea from above. At the moment, she was on the rooftop, practicing her magic.


    He believed that it was the rooftop of the hospital. She maybe couldn''t sleep and decided to use the time to practice her magic.


    Yman smiled.


    "Bro, by the way��"


    "Yes?"


    "Uhm, Miss Rea is��"


    He touched her head. "Mhm! I know, she''s on the rooftop, right?" Yman then stood up and stretched his body.


    "No, I mean�� she''s worried about you��"


    "Wait up, Yana. I will return in a second."


    Thump.


    Yman wasn''t able to hear her words as he already left the room and shut the door.


    "....."


    "And also bro, I saw the girl from your childhood��" Yana whispered in the air.


    Yman went to the rooftop and looked for Rea. He saw her in the middle of the rooftop emitted a brilliant aura all over her body while standing in focus.


    Rea disliked the fact that she didn''t notice the battle that happened between Crimson aka Yman in the riverside. Because of it, he almost endangered his life.


    While she was sleeping, unknowingly, the battle was happening beside her.


    She bit her lips. Frustrated at the fact that she was useless. She knew that it was his job to protect her but. But she felt frustrated for unknown reasons.


    What if�� what if the one who was lying as a cold corpse that time when she exited the tent was... Crimson? Although she already learned his real name, she preferred calling him Crimson, out of habit.


    Wait up. The thought of him lying as a corpse made her uncomfortable and she couldn''t understand her feelings.


    But one thing she was certain��


    She didn''t like it.


    Yes, she didn''t like it!


    That''s why she wanted to train. She wanted to notice when something not right was happening around her.


    She didn''t like to be a useless person like a side character. And also, she was mad! She was mad for no apparent reason. Wait, she was mad at Crimson, or maybe she was mad at that girl who approached him.


    Hump! Why did that guy let himself be approached easily by other...? What if that girl was an assassin. He would be killed easily! Rea stomped her feet in annoyance. Wait, she wanted to focus, FOCUSSSSS!!!


    "....."


    Yman who was watching silently at the back of Rea had a stupefied face. He wondered what she was doing. Just recently, the aura she emitted was very pure and tranquil in which you could be at ease just standing near her. However, a second later, it suddenly became darker. Maybe his eyes were tricking him? Look, she emitted a malicious aura while repeatedly stomping her feet like a child, throwing tantrums. Then she shouted, "I''m beautiful as wellll!!!"


    "....."


    "Is she fine?"


    He whispered.


    He decided to let her be. Looking at her, it looked like she was fine, just acting weird, for some reason. It''s better not to get involved this time. Well, he saw nothing. It wasn''t Rea. Yeah, it wasn''t her. Yman repeatedly told himself.


    In one of the residential areas for female trainees, Almina was unsettled as well. She was walking back and forth.


    "....."


    Kesha looked at her with a stunned face. Until now, she couldn''t believe her best friend. Never came into her mind that her best friend likes that person. No, it wasn''t just a simple liking. She was in love with him!


    It was awkward. As she was lashing bad words to him in the presence of her.


    She wondered what her best friend felt about her after she heard all the bad words she said to that guy.


    Regardless, Kesha still couldn''t believe it. In terms of looks, well, she agreed that person changed a lot that even she�� would agree that he looked handsome this time but.


    But in terms of wealth, power, and connections, he was far behind the prince charming-like Kiko.


    All these times she thought that her best friend had a crush on Kiko. But looks like she was wrong. Still, it was unbelievable that the school goddess fell to that peasant.


    "....."


    Seeing her best friend who was unsettled as she walked back and forth in the room, she wondered to what extent she loved that guy. It could also be puppy love, you know. If that was the case, there was a chance to turn her back to the right path.


    But seeing her face that was both wearing an immeasurable happy and worried expression, Kesha could only shake her head. In truth, they already went to the hospital if not five, then seven times.


    Aside from that, is this lovestruck girl had no plan of going to sleep? It was already very late, you know!


    Earlier, inside the barrack''s pub, Bob, Chloe, and Mai were talking about Yman''s change. They almost could not believe his huge transformation. Not only in looks but also in power.


    They couldn''t tell his exact strength, but defeating Bruno in such a domineering performance was very hard to believe. None of them could say in the certainty that they have a chance of defeating that person. In fact, Bruno was one of the feared to face in a match by most trainees because of his unusual ability that could slow and kill his opponent''s velocity. Truly, it was a cunning ability.


    The only ability that could defeat it was the ability similar to that of Kiko''s explosive, destructive ability.


    However, not only Yman didn''t use an explosive or destructive ability in their match, but he also faced him in a melee, it was very unbelievable because the fight was contrary to their expectations. Well, it wasn''t actually wrong either as most of them thought that the fight would be one-sided. In which the enemy could not land a hit or two. However, although the result was as they pictured in mind, the expected person to come out victorious was the opposite to their expectations.


    And who would have thought that it was Yman!!! That friend of theirs suddenly disappeared after the Demon incident. He finally came back! And with a huge surprise. He probably secluded himself to train arduously this past month.


    "Well, isn''t it understandable that he left and secluded himself?"


    "What do you mean, Miss Mai?"


    Mai suddenly said and Bob threw a question a second after hearing her. Chloe was looking at Mai, waiting for her reply.


    In front of them were their deities, sitting on the table.


    "I heard that only Yman who didn''t receive apprenticeship from the elders and instructors."


    "..."


    "For real?" Bob asked with both frown and surprise.


    "Mhm!"


    "That is�� unreasonable��" mumbled Chloe.


    "Exactly!" Bob agreed while crossing his arms across his broad torso.


    "Isn''t it suspicious?" Mai asked.


    "It is." Bob nodded.


    "Well, in truth, I also heard someone was pulling something behind the scene. It might be the reason why it happened," Mai blurted.


    "Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean, Miss Mai?" Bob aksed in haste.

 Chapter 275: Second Elimination round

    (A/N: Chapter 274 was fixed. Please re-add the novel in your library to refresh the content.)


    Bob and Chloe had their eyes fixed on Mai, waiting for her next words.


    "Well, even without that, it''s easy to guess that there''s something amiss about it."


    The two fell silent.


    "W-well, you''re right Ms. Mai. And perhaps, it''s that guy who did it!" Said Bob while tapping the table in a little forceful way.


    The deities were quite startled when their bodies bounced from it. Bob immediately said his sorry to them. It was an out of reflex and in the heat of the moment response.


    Mai laughed wryly. Chloe, on the other hand, fell silent. She noticed that Mai intentionally diverted the topic.


    Mai said a while ago that she heard something. Then suddenly said that it was easy to guess.


    Regardless, she immediately grabbed her deity Jazz, who was startled by Bob''s reaction.


    While the three of them were talking about Yman, On the other table, some people were talking about Almina, and the thing she did in the arena. They were sadly talking about how their goddess got someone she likes.


    It was unbelievable. They were planning to sabotage that person. When he fought, they would cheer to his opponent.


    The other mercenaries who were currently watching the replay of the competition''s first elimination round had their eyes fixed on the monitor.


    "Isn''t that Rat Slayer?"


    A person pointed.


    "Wait, what?" Upon hearing his nickname in the barracks, Vortex asked in haste. Then glanced at the monitor. In front of him was mercenary Ultima, who also had his eyes on the monitor.


    As a mercenary, the two of them were quite busy these past days, especially after the appearance of the dungeon. Right now, they were here to chill, they just came back from a long exploration inside the dungeon.


    Many dungeon explorers would come to pay for their assistance. Especially Mercenary Ultima, who became famous after that time when he helped the Academies Ace and Rat Slayer''s party.


    Though it was unlucky for him to be possessed by that Demon. In the end, he was saved by them.


    Nonetheless, he also received a reward for partaking in subjugating the demon. Well, it was what was written in the article but in truth, it wasn''t like that. They just did it so that the public won''t question his participation.


    Regardless, Mercenary Ultima and Mercenary Vortex were staring at the monitor. It was that time when Almina showed up and hugged the familiar person.


    "I knew it!"


    Mercenary Ultima suddenly exclaimed.


    "What are you talking about, Ultima bro?" Asked Vortex, who couldn''t catch what he meant. The two of them had become closer after going on the same exploration a couple of times already.


    "I mean about RatSlayer and Miss Almina. I suspected it from the start."


    "Oh? Hmm�� I say. When you put it that way, it was weird that Miss Almina came to help him that time unless the two of them had a deep relationship. Right?"


    Said Vortex.


    "Mhm!" Ultima nodded. "RatSlayer is truly hard to comprehend. I have this feeling that he has this unreachable deep within," Ultima added.


    "What kind of idiom is that, Ultima bro?"


    "No, don''t mind it."


    Said Ultima.


    "Regardless of their love life, what can you say about it?" Suddenly asked Vortex.


    "What is��"


    "I mean the match."


    "Uh, you mean that��'''' said Ultima, then he creased his forehead while thinking. "...hmm, I think, it was an easy fight. As expected, he wasn''t ordinary at all��" said Ultima after awhile.


    However, his reply surprised the other person. "What? That''s it?"


    Ultima narrowed his eyes towards him. "What else? Uh, right. He''s as ruthless as he is huh. Haha. He truly was the Rat Slayer I knew."


    "NANI��!!" Vortex immediately covered his mouth.


    Mercenary Ultima suspiciously looking at him. "Bro, are you from the J-Country?"


    "Ehp, no-no! Though I visited once in that place to buy a hugging toy. My kind originated from I-Country."


    "I-Is that so?"


    "Mhm."


    "I see."


    While they were talking and talking, their topic diverted far away until they arrived at one point. The two of them decided to watch tomorrow''s competition. After all, they needed to relax. It wasn''t good to overwork oneself.


    ...


    Maena found herself woke up from a nightmare. Found herself waking up in the deep of the night. Sweating profusely, and her chest rapidly heaving.


    "Again? Why? Why did I have to be reminded again from that time?" She pulled herself and sat on the bed, trembling.


    She looked at the time and noticed it was quarter three in the morning. She wanted to glance outside but she was afraid. Maena sank back to her bed. And forcibly closed her eyes. Then an image of that person came into her mind. She was puzzled as to why she suddenly thought of that person.


    It wasn''t like she had a feeling toward him. That certainly is not the case. Hm�� never that would happen! Even though he looked different now, and that he looked strong, Maena believed that she and the others were still stronger than him.


    If there was anything commendable about him, it was his way of thinking. But still, she disliked it. She disliked him. Yeah, she disliked him. He wasn''t great. Many trainees could defeat that Bruno guy. She believed that she could defeat that Bruno with ease. So, for Maena, it wasn''t surprising that Yman defeated Bruno. No, she hateshim! Wait, why was she hating him again?


    Hasn''t she told herself that she would be nicer towards him when she saw him again?


    Maena was flabbergasted. She hated him, regardless. She will show him what real power is��


    Wait��


    She suddenly felt better. The fright she felt a while ago had suddenly vanished. Looks like hating that person gave benefit as well.


    She hated Almina too.


    "..."


    With no apparent reason.


    When the sun rose, the roads were already crowded with people. The elimination round yesterday gave a good impression on the citizens. Even the guests were starting to notice some promising youths. One of them was the businesswoman Sunday Sarake.


    She was one of the big shareholders in the popular company of the game Newtendo.


    After the first elimination round yesterday, the other businessmen approached her. They wanted to talk about business for sure.


    Mayor Chan gave them reservations in the most luxurious hotel in the city. Not only that, it was heavily guarded as well. Although guards were unnecessary as she had her personal guards. But anyhow, it was only for showing good etiquette. She knew that.


    Regardless, in front of her was a glass table. On top were some data. They were the data of some trainees who took her interest from that recent round.


    "Hmm�� these two looks familiar," said the person in front of her.


    "Yes, Jack. These two were from the Great Families."


    Jack peered on the documents. "Hm, so they are from the Sun and Amulet family?"


    "Yes!" Sunday nodded.


    "I see, no wonder they are strong," said Jack. He had well-trimmed blond hair and wore eyeglasses on his eyes. "So, are we going to select between them for the next promotional video of our company?"


    Sunday looked at him. "Hmm�� what do you think of them?"


    Hearing her question, Jack made a thinking gesture while looking at the documents in his hands. "Well, as expected of the descendants of great families, they are more talented than their peers," Jack replied then pushed another document towards the sophisticated woman in front of him. "Also, this golden-haired girl, she''s a top-notch student as well. Don''t you think?" He asked.


    Sunday stared at the pictures for a couple of seconds.


    "Hm�� a foreign huh," said Sunday after seeing the document. "She''s a beautiful young woman and strong but��" Sunday paused.


    "But?"


    "She seemed to be agitated by something," said Sunday.


    "She is?" Asked Jack.


    Sunday nodded.


    "I say," Jack said. In his mind, he was admiring her discerning eyes.


    Jack also showed the other documents. The two of them talked about them and gave their thoughts.


    Half an hour later, "How about that person, Madam?"


    "Who do you mean?"


    "The person who fought in the first match."


    "Oh, you mean him��"


    "Yes, madam."


    "Hmm�� how should I put it�� he seemed to be rather Mysterious."


    "M-Mysterious!?"


    "His ability to cancel the enemy''s magical attack and be unaffected by the enemy''s barrier, don''t you think it is a weird ability?"


    "Yeah, it is."


    "Regardless, did you get information about him?" She asked.


    Jack sighed. "Aside from having a sister, I couldn''t get more about him."


    "I see�� that''s unexpected."


    "Yeah, sorry for my incompetence."


    "No, don''t mind it."


    Sunday said. But in her mind, she felt it was rather suspicious that Jack could not get i formation about him. After all, Jack was a well-known person in information gathering.


    "Right, the second elimination round is about to begin. Let''s go!" Said Sunday. Then she stood up and walked towards the door.


    The three admins of major departments were happy at the result of the first elimination round. It had average feedback from the guests. Well, being average was better than below average. Also, it was the first elimination round only. During this second elimination, they were hoping for more positive feedback from the guests.

 Chapter 276: Monopolizing the ranking...

    Kiko and his group were having a solemn atmosphere around them. Not only one of their members were defeated in the first elimination round, but they also witnessed something bitter, especially Kiko. Never did he imagine that Almina would suddenly hug that person.


    How? When? Kiko repeatedly asked himself. For all this time, he thought that Almina was in love with him. But why? Why did she suddenly show up on stage and hug that person?


    No. He knew the answer. He wasn''t a dense person after all. But he couldn''t accept it.


    Kiko was so angry about it. He was so angry with what Almina did and that person. He felt cheated. Kiko was accumulating hatred, and his friends were so angry as well and didn''t like the things that were happening, especially yesterday''s first elimination round.


    They bowed to reach the final elimination together with all of their party members monopolized the ranking. No, they knew that it was impossible to attain because of those elite trainees. But at least they wanted all their members to reach a good height in the ranking.


    That''s why the first match of the first elimination round was a big slap on their faces. Their member, who they least expected to lose, was the first to get eliminated in the competition. Not only that, his enemy was that hateful person. The person who they hated from the start.


    Who would have thought that he would come back after his disappearance for long? He should have gone for good without coming back. The academy was a very good place without him!


    Nonetheless, that guy was truly a nemesis of their group! So, in this second elimination round, whoever among them had a chance to face that person would show no restraint against him, they would teach him his place and forcefully taught him that it was better if he hadn''t come back.


    They would be going to defeat him like stepping on a toad!


    In the group of instructors, Yman had also become their topic. His return was very unexpected to them. If they remembered correctly, he was the trainee who was supposedly the weakest among them all. That''s why that fight he showed in the first elimination round was truly surprising.


    The happiest instructor among them was Instructor Goki. He admired that person from day one. He was so looking forward to his next fight. That match of his yesterday was truly unexpected. Even in the instructor''s circle, most of them agreed that Bruno was one of the hardest to deal with among the trainees.


    But that young man did it! He dealt with him so easily like telling all of them that they''re all wrong.


    Hehe, Goki chuckled as he was excitedly waiting for the start of the next round. Right, he didn''t expect that the young miss was affectionate to that person. It would be bad if the Master and Madam of the Amulet group would find out about it. Well, he could only let the young miss decide and turned a blind eye about it.


    That person had truly unexpected luck huh. Goki thought. Well, he would be secretly cheering for them on the sideline. Nonetheless, he was so excited for the next round. A spatial ring on his middle finger gleamed. His deity was stored in it. He checked the time and saw just another 30 minutes for the start, and he also noticed that the plaza was already packed with the audience.


    Even Principal Mar and Chief Henderson were trying to recall him. Right, they remembered, he was the trainee who was about to face Almina Amulet in the duel that time in the training ground.


    Wait, wasn''t he also the person who left the academy? Principal Mar questioned no one but himself.


    He was trying to contemplate. Regardless, he didn''t know the reason for that person''s sudden leave. But since he didn''t announce that he would drop out, then no matter how long a trainee was absent, they could not expel him from the academy.


    It wasn''t a normal school or academy. These Human Cities were administered by magical power. In hindsight, it also acted like a normal school, but its focus was learning about magic and helping the trainees or students gain some combat knowledge both in terms of magic and hand-to-hand combat.


    Bob and Chloe were heading to the venue together with their party members when they saw Mai and Brai heading in the same direction as them.


    "Miss Mai!"


    Bob called out with his loud voice. They glanced and saw them. The four of them succeeded in advancing to the next round.


    Well, for someone like Brai, it was easy for him to win. Bob, Chloe, and Mai, on the other hand, had to fight with all their strengths to win.


    Fortunately, Bob was able to learn some good ability while being under Instructor Torr. And he leveled up quite well in exploring the dungeon. He also learned an advanced level of body strengthening ability. But even with so many improvements, he wasn''t confident that he could defeat that big guy in Kiko''s party.


    Although he wasn''t confident, it didn''t mean that he just let himself be defeated.


    "So, both of you, how''s your training?"


    Asked Mai.


    "Uhm, I''m not confident that I can win the second elimination round."


    Chloe replied honestly.


    In the first round, she almost lost to the opponent with the same style as her. Her opponent was also using a magic-based pistol like her. On top of that, her opponent could summon a light shield and shoot paralyzing rays.


    If by chance those paralyzing rays hit her, Chloe was certain to lose. It''s a good thing that her opponent was distracted by her new ability. The upgrade version of her purple shockwave. Because of the opponent''s little hesitation, she was able to hit her with her magic-based pistol. And that''s the deciding factor of their fight.


    Mai, on the other hand, although she also faced a strong opponent, she was able to win in the end.


    Mai and the others cheered up Chloe. Only Brai was silent within the group. He knew that cheering the others was unnecessary at this point where there was a high possibility that they would be facing each other later.


    "Regardless, I still could not believe that Miss Almina had a thing to Yman," suddenly said, Mai.


    "Right. It surprised us too."


    Chloe was the one who agreed.


    "Well, although my bro is an infamous person, it didn''t mean that he''s bad. It''s just that some people made him look bad. In fact, my bro is better than that crazy Kiko. That guy is an outlandish self-centered idiot!"


    Bob''s unrestrained words came out of his mouth. It was his honest feeling. Though he truly envied his brother Yman. That guy almost kissed the Academy''s goddess! For sure it wasn''t only him who envied him at this moment.


    If he saw him, he would certainly ask him if what was his secret. So that Bob could have a chance at the cute little girl from the elite class. Well, only his height was little, but in truth she was of the same age as them.


    ''Wait, what is her name again?'' Bob thought.


    For some reason, his mind diverted from the coming second round.


    The group arrived at the entrance of the hall. It was the hall they used as the waiting room.


    But they noticed a crowd of people in the entrance.


    "What is that?"


    Mai asked as she pointed ahead of them.


    "A commotion?"


    Chloe replied.


    "Wait, aren''t they the participants who advance to the next round?"


    "Right."


    "I wonder what they are crowded at."


    "Let''s go and see!"


    Mai urged them then dragged Chloe with her. Bob and Brai sighed then followed the two. They forced their way in the crowd and in the middle they saw Yman on his academy uniforms of HCZ7. He looks troubled though.


    They wonder what it was.


    Then they saw Kiko and his group in front of Yman. Wait, isn''t it a bad situation?! They thought.


    It wasn''t a secret that Kiko had feelings for Almina. It was easy to guess just looking at him. At first, most of them thought that Miss Almina also liked him.


    That''s why they wondered why Kiko and Almina weren''t dating yet. They just thought that maybe Miss Almina was just a type of person who didn''t give importance to her own feelings. And she seemed to be dedicated to her training.


    But after yesterday''s happening, all of them got a wake up slap on their faces after Almina ran to the stage and hugged Yman.


    Looks like they were wrong all this time. It wasn''t just because she was dedicated to her training in the academy. Rather, she had someone else that she likes.


    And no one had an expectation of who it was. That''s why it was a huge surprise to all of them.


    At this moment, Kiko was staring at Yman with a cold expression. Bob was about to step forward as he thought that Yman was endangered. They knew how strong Kiko was, and he was even much stronger now.


    Yman, on the other hand, had a nonchalant face.

 Chapter 277: Out of the blue confession

    Looking at Kiko''s face, it wouldn''t be surprising if he suddenly went and bit Yman. Bob thought so. He was about to step forward but stopped on his feet when Kiko chuckled.


    "..."


    Yman was wondering how Kiko could act shamelessly.


    "Kuku, good to see you again, my friend," he said while spreading his arms open. "Really, I did not expect that you would come back. Most of us thought that you have already transferred to a normal university. But it seems we are all wrong huh."


    "..."


    While Kiko was talking like a dork, Yman, on the other hand, felt ashamed in his stead. Deep inside, Yman was wondering if this Kiko turned abnormal after a month of training. This guy looked so pitiful that he was having a second thought as to whether to end him or not.


    Did this guy haven''t noticed that he acted so embarrassing just now? Yman wondered. Regardless, he had no time to deal with Kiko. He could also feel how plastic this person was. He acted friendly in front of other people while he was barely hiding his killing intent.


    Yman had no idea why this Kiko treating him like he was someone who did a grave sin towards him. In fact, it was he who did a fault towards him. Before, he was afraid to face him. But, not now.


    Even if he lost, he had already succeeded in his mission of healing his sister. So he had no regrets now whatever was going to happen with him.


    "Back off��"


    Yman said in a cold voice. His eyes were fixed on Kiko''s eyes.


    "Wha��!"


    Kiko was taken aback. Never he expected such a reply from this toad in front of him. He expected him to try to find ways to divert the talk. Or to indirectly attack him using his words. Kiko knew that Yman was capable of defeating him in words.


    But his main reason that he acted in front of this person was, he purposely wanted this person to provoke him. So that, the other trainee could testify for him if ever he did an exaggeration in their fight later on. Yeah, he wasn''t planning to end their fight without giving this person so much pain.


    Though he wasn''t sure if the two of them would come to face each other in the arena. After all, there were many strong trainees, especially those in the elite class.


    Not only Kiko was stunned.


    And everyone has had their mouths gaped in disbelief upon hearing his words. The time seemed to have stopped on them.


    Even Bob and the others did not expect such a reply from Yman. But, Bob likes it. However, would it be fine for Yman to provoke Kiko? It wasn''t like his usual way.


    Bob and the other''s view on Yman were capable of a calm decision. He wasn''t the type who provoked his enemy blatantly.


    That''s why they were slightly surprised at his reply to Kiko.


    "What did you say?" Kiko''s tone immediately turned cold.


    "Yman bro!" Bob called out and stepped in the middle. "Back off Kiko!" He said. Bob felt a bad intent coming from Kiko.


    "Go away, Gorilla." Anger was noticeable in Kiko''s commanding voice. Although Bob was in front of him, his eyes were fixed on the person at the back of Bob.


    Even though Bob knew that he had no chance of winning against Kiko, he remained on his feet. He had no plan to step aside. He could not let this bully do something bad to his friend!


    Kiko''s friends were sneering at them.


    "Uh, Y-Yman, let''s get going?!"


    Chloe stepped beside him and urged him to go. Chloe felt the situation wasn''t good. It was clear that Kiko was getting provoked already. It''s a matter of time before he did something bad.


    However, contrary to their expectations, Yman did not move. Or did not leave. Bob felt a hand on his shoulder.


    "Heh, don''t get too cocky, Kiko. No one''s afraid of you."


    They all heard a scoff from Yman. Then he further provoked him.


    Kiko widened his eyes in anger. On the contrary, the person he hated the most had a smug on his face.


    Kiko could not understand this person. But it wasn''t important anymore, he clearly stepped on his land mine. ''Hehehe,'' Kiko chuckled inwardly. He was too annoyed by this person. He got on his nerves.


    This toad, he would be going to kill him in this competition! After all, it was Kiko''s main reason. He wanted this toad to provoke him! And yes, he did it!


    Now, there''s no need to hold back. He would be going to defeat him in a more painful way.


    "Tttooooaaadd!!!" Kiko''s raspy, cold voice as he called out on Yman. His bloodshot eyes were clearly stating that he was so mad by now.


    However, while Kiko was so angry at Yman''s reply, Yman himself was chuckling at his reaction.


    Aside from Bob and Chloe, everyone was wondering why Yman felt so proud of himself. They originally thought that he changed a lot and he looked more mature than before. But looks like they were wrong.


    This guy probably felt so proud after defeating Bruno. He had no idea that Kiko was far stronger than Bruno.


    If he thought that he could win against Kiko, everyone around them wanted to laugh at this thought.


    Kiko was deemed as the strongest male trainee in the academy. Contrary to him, this person, although something about him had changed from before, it wasn''t to the point that he could defeat the natural-born strong person like Kiko, never! Everyone thought so.


    Most of the trainees around were shaking their heads.


    Why did Miss Almina choose this self-indulging person over a charming prince like Kiko? They could not understand and they could not believe it.


    Yman felt that just a little more and Kiko''s fuse would be turned on. He was about to open his mouth when Almina and her group suddenly arrived.


    "Hey, what are you guys doing��! Eh?!"


    "Y-Y-Yman?!"


    Almina exclaimed stammeringly upon seeing who was in the middle of the crowd. Her face instantly turned red.


    Yman sighed.


    Then greeted her.


    "Hello, Miss Almina," He said and smiled.


    Kiko showed a bitter expression. "Almina, if I were you, I wouldn''t talk to this guy!" He said as he pointed at Yman.


    "Eh-uh�� erm��"


    While Kiko was telling something, Almina''s mind was already blank. She failed to hear Kiko''s words.


    "Hey! What did you do?" Kesha was the one who asked and looked at him. But he disregarded it and acted like he didn''t hear her. In truth, he had no time to waste for Kiko and his crew, and also for this bitter girl.


    Yman turned around, but he stopped and glanced behind. "Let''s go, Bob!" He said then continued walking inside. "Eh! Wait, bro!" Chloe and Bob followed after him.


    "Wait! Yman!" Suddenly they heard Almina''s call.


    He stopped and looked behind him. "Mhm?!"


    Not only him, everyone had stopped and looked at her.


    "C-can I come too��" she asked shyly.


    "Mhm!" He nodded.


    Almina smiled and ran towards him.


    Seeing Almina running towards that person, Kiko felt a bothering pain. "Wait, Almina!" He called out, out of reflex.


    Almina stopped at the sudden call and glanced to where the voice came from.


    "Uh? What''s the problem Kiko Sun?"


    She asked.


    "That guy��" Kiko gritted his teeth.


    Almina blinked his eyes while frowning.


    "Don''t go with him!" He shouted.


    "???"


    She wondered why Kiko said it.


    "Uhm, is there a problem, Kiko Sun?"


    "That, person, he is not suitable for someone like you!"


    "?!!"


    Almina could not follow up on what he wanted to say.


    "What do you mean by it?" She asked with knitted brows but her face was as red as rose.


    Kiko clenched his teeth. He knew that if he wouldn''t do something, everything that he dreamed of would be gone for naught.


    "I-I like you from the start, please be my girlfriend!"


    And so, he said it. He said the word that could not be taken back. It wasn''t on his plan. But he felt like he needed to say it.


    Everyone fell silent. Almina and the others were included. Even Yman himself gawked. Suddenly, he remembered that there was gossip about Almina, being in love with Kiko. He forgot about it after going to the empire. Well, it wasn''t like he was interested in it.


    Ah, it must be the reason why Kiko came to face him.


    Actually, he was still wondering why Almina did it that time. Wasn''t she supposed to be in love with Kiko?!


    It probably was the reason that Kiko came to him this time. He believed that it was the case.


    Regardless, what was this out of the blue confessions? Yman asked himself.


    The other trainees around them were blushing, especially the girls. Kiko''s crew was grinning victoriously.


    Kesha was conflicted, she wanted to cheer him, but she felt sad at the same time.


    Maena was surprised as well. but she wondered why she wanted Amulet to accept the guy''s love towards her.


    Wait! Isn''t it too embarrassing to say your feelings in front of everyone? Looks like this Kiko was a commendable person.


    On the other hand,


    Maena thought and glanced at Yman. She wondered what his expression was like. Wait, why would she want to know his expression by the way?


    The other girls giggled and thought that Almina and Kiko Sun were more suited than that other person. Some of Almina''s party members wanted her to accept Kiko''s love. And some were just meh.


    Everyone was waiting for her reply.

 Chapter 278: The 1st match of the second round

    "S��!"


    BZZZZZZTTT!!!


    Almina''s reply was obstructed by the sudden buzzing sound coming from the announcer''s podium.


    Everyone glanced in the direction of the stage. "Looks like the second round is about to begin!" Someone shouted among the trainees.


    "Let''s go!?"


    However, no one wanted to move. All of them were curious about the confession and Almina''s reply.


    Unfortunately, the buzzing sound came at the same time as her reply. They only heard the ''S''. So, they didn''t know if she meant ''Sure'' or ''Sorry''.


    "....."


    Everyone was having a question mark on top of their heads. The time seemed to have stopped. Then they heard stepping noises going far and far. It was from Yman. Even if he left, most of the trainees didn''t care about it. It''s better that he left already. As he was an eyesore in their eyes. Nonetheless, there was a good scene in front of them. Kiko''s confession to Miss Almina was very charming and sent giggles to the girls.


    Even Yman himself had no time for this confession in which he wasn''t part of it. Though he was a little curious about Amulet''s answer.


    It''s better to prepare for the competition. He wanted to win somehow. It would be bad if he lost. The academy would have to kick him if that happened. Wait, wasn''t he a student of Encantasia academy as well? So whether he won or lost in this competition, there''s still an academy for him to return to.


    Actually.


    He was also concerned by his sister''s magic. He had no idea how she did it. How she was able to cast an illusion spell on him. She shouldn''t have been able to cast a spell without a resonance from a deity because it was dangerous. Wait, why did he just realize it?! But his sister seemed to be fine even after casting it, so she probably was fine right? Hoping�� she was. What a reckless little sister.


    Maybe because she was gifted with an abundance of mana that''s why she was fine even after casting a spell without the deity''s resonance. Or it could also because of a different reason.


    "..."


    Right, what if it wasn''t his sister who cast an illusion spell and it was their enemy? He would be dead by now for certain. He needed to find a way to counter it. It''s always better to think ahead. Not only from his sister''s ability. Even Rea''s ability was a scary thing for him if used in bad motives.


    Sigh.


    After Yman left, Bob and Chloe followed after him. Then, they heard fast approaching steps from behind.


    He glanced and saw Almina walking rapidly towards them. "Sigh. W-why did you leave without me?" She said while frowning and a pouty face. Yman gawked for instance. He did not expect that Almina would still choose to come even after her crush confessed to her.


    "Wait, what about the confe��" he wanted to ask about it but decided to stop as he felt a gloomy atmosphere surrounding Kiko, who was still yet to move.


    Right, at this moment, Kiko was standing still with a heavy feeling. His friends around him had shocked faces. Not only them, even the other students. Kesha was looking at Kiko with pity. She wanted to approach him, but she knew it wasn''t the right time for it. She felt happy and sad at the same time. She then decided to go after her best friend who went to chase that hateful person.


    Not far from them.


    A man smiled while looking at Kiko''s solemness. Then he took an MTMD from his wallet.


    He dialed from it. Just a moment after the ring, a voice from the other side came in. "Hello, what''s the matter?"


    "Hehe, Principal Kim, something interesting happened here��" The man was one of Mr. Kim''s assistants. He reported and summarized the event that happened.


    Regardless, the buzzing noise from the stage howled once again. Then the trainees immediately ran inside the waiting hall, leaving Kiko standing alone. They felt pity for him. All of them were wondering why Miss Almina rejected him. Kiko was almost perfect! If it was them, they would certainly have said ''yes''.


    An inexplicable feeling started to surge out from within Kiko. He clenched his fist. Then he started mumbling words. ''It''s because of that toad! That toad! That toad! That toad! That toad! I will kill him! I will kill him! I will kill him! I will kill him! No matter what! I will kill him��!" Kiko repeatedly chanted. He felt like heaven fell upon him. It was an unpleasant feeling.


    Kiko remained on his feet even after his friends tried to call him.


    Following behind Almina was the blonde who had for some reason a snobby face towards him.


    "..."


    Then he heard the word ''lier!''. That softly whispered to him when she passed by.


    "???"


    Lier? Yman repeated the word while knitting his brows. Could that word be for him? He blinked his eyes. But soon he pushed the thought at the back of his head as the second elimination was about to start.


    When they arrived inside he saw Keremi and the other members from Elite class. Keremi then greeted him, calling him by the usual name.


    Kiko and his friends also arrived inside. But their gazes were like gazes of some hostile predators.


    A bead of sweats was forming at the back of Yman''s head as he felt a strong intent towards him. Well, Kiko''s blunder was made by him alone. The only thing that he could not understand was that their bad intentions were mainly focused on him! What is he?


    The successor of their animosity? That whenever they felt angry they picked him as their target.


    "..."


    He was speechless at the unreasonableness of these people. Yman smirked to irritate them further. When he noticed their eyes turned colder and colder while looking at him, he chuckled.


    Regardless, the second round had finally started. The first pair who came up on stage was a girl with a heavyweight figure. He remembered her, she was in the same class as him.


    "Good luck, Julie!"


    Looked like her name was Julie. Her full name was Julie Brown. The girl who shouted her name was the girl who was seated next to Julie.


    Regardless, her enemy was a male trainee. He was using the nickname Clawmaster while Julie Brown was using Julie only. Both of them were already in resonance with their deity, so after the bell produced a loud high-pitched tone, they summoned their weapons.


    "I-it wasn''t my brother?" Yana who was sitting in the audience podium muttered regretfully. She was expecting her brother to come out first like yesterday.


    Rea glanced at her and smiled. "The selection was random," she said.


    "Ah, I see. Uhm, Miss Rea�� will my brother be alright?" She asked with a worried face.


    "Uh, he will. It''s only competition and those little deities with them are convenient human devices. Because of it, I bet they won''t even suffer a slight injury. Besides, your brother is a person that is hard to comprehend. He''s not someone that could be described with simple words. And also��"


    ".....also?"


    "Uh, eh, nevermind! Regardless, the fight is about to start," Rea said to change the topic.


    Yana tilted her head. She wondered why Miss Rea suddenly turned redder. Right. She was also wondering about the relationship her brother has with Miss Rea.


    Could it be she was his girlfriend? She wondered. And why was she hiding her face with a hood? She wasn''t even ugly. In fact, Miss Rea was a beautiful lady.


    On the stage,


    Clawmaster summoned a pair of knuckles with claws and lightweight armor. Julie, on the other hand, used a pair of red wristbands and fitted red leather armor. The silver metal was protecting her chest area.


    The audience was cheering but not so lively. The reason must be because it was only the first match and the pair who were battling on stage weren''t their preferred contestants.


    In the VIP room, some of the VIPs were casually talking about businesses and other matters. It was clear that the audience wasn''t so hype. Most of them were waiting for their favored contestants to step on the stage.


    But their attention was soon glued to the stage when the two contestants engaged in a brawl in the center of the stage.


    The two of them traded punches. Clawmaster used his speed advantage while raining combos of attacks on Julie.


    Everyone gawked. They did not expect such a blood boiling fight.


    Seeing that she was at the disadvantage, Julie used her arms to shield her face. Her eyes were peeking at the gaps. Like a predator who was waiting to devour her opponent.


    Although her body was full of wounds and bruises, it didn''t weaken her defense.


    Right after her enemy slowed down, she used a hidden ability that strengthened her body and toughen her muscles. All the wounds healed in an instance. After her hands caught her enemy, she didn''t let it go until the person turned to light particles. She repeatedly smashed it to the ground. It was supposed to be a gruesome death if not because of their resonance.


    And so the match was decided that was followed by earth-shaking applause after a slight stun.


    Some audience started to chant Julie''s name. She gained quite a fan. Not bad for someone who came from the lowest class.


    The next match followed immediately.

 Chapter 279: Defensive type

    Looking at the current pace of the competition, it wouldn''t take till night for this elimination round to end. For all the recent matches, the only match that took longer to finish was Bob''s match. He was paired with a trainee who similarly had high vitality like him. Their endurance was put to a test if whoever among them could endure the fight longer than the other. The battle was somewhat blood-boiling and it took the audience by surprise.


    After a thunderous howl, Bob finished his opponent using earth crashing body-slam.


    "I wonder why Bob didn''t engage him in a face-to-face confrontation?" Chloe asked with a confused face. Although Bob won the match, it wasn''t with a result that she expected. Especially that Chloe was kind of familiar with his style.


    "Might be because the enemy was more agile," Almina was the one who answered. Then she glanced at the person beside her. "What do you think, Yman?" She asked him with a flash of redness. The memory of that time when they fought the demon had a brief flashback in her mind. That time when they held each other''s hand, it was somewhat one of the unforgettable moments for her. Almina subconsciously glances at her hand then looked at his hand that was on his side.


    Her hand slowly approached his. But she paused when she heard him. Almina quickly retreated her hand and hid it behind her. She cleared her throat and listened to him.


    "Hm�� yeah, I also think it was the case but. I guess it wasn''t only because of that��" he replied.


    "Can you specify your reason?" Unexpectedly, the blonde interjected. Yman looked at her. But then he remembered something. ''Wait, didn''t she tell me once to call her by her real name?'' Regardless, it wasn''t important as of now. Yman opened his mouth once again. "Although the enemy was more agile than Bob, it was not a big issue��"


    "Why not?!" Although he wasn''t finished with his words, the blonde interjected once again, causing him to pause for a moment. His mouth extended to both sides to form a wry smile. "Because mostly, the person who is used to fighting in a melee will be tempted to engage in a face-off battle. For this reason, he/she will subconsciously forget his/her advantage in other aspects, especially when the enemy has similarity to him or herself. Then the deciding factor of their match will still be in the aspect of endurance," Yman explained.


    "oh, I see��'' Almina and Chloe were nodding their heads. On the contrary, the blonde had a face that was not fully convinced by his explanation. "Well, it''s not always true but. It was what happened to Bob''s fight," he added.


    "Hm�� I see��" The blonde finally showed an agreement to him. "Is that the reason that he won that fight?" She asked once again. "But it was clear that he was at the disadvantage of their fight," the Blonde added while looking straight at him.


    Yman glanced at her. He thought that maybe this girl, I mean Maena(He changed the way she called her), thought that he gave Bob tips beforehand. "No, the reason he won was because of pure luck only," Yman said honestly. It was the truth. And it was clear just by looking at Bob''s current situation. He looked more beat up than his opponent.


    The enemy transformed into a full-blown beast. He looked like a werewolf. On the other hand, Bob used his trademark ability. The body strengthening. His body grew bigger and his muscle hardened like stones. More like, he turned his whole body as hard as stone. Yman felt happy that Bob leveled up to such a degree in just a month and few days.


    Truly, it was an outstanding advancement, especially that the HCZ7 Academy was a backwater academy. Seeing Bob''s power-up, he believed that he already graduated from his beginner tier in controlling his metal element. Right, he remembered Bob''s strongest elemental affinity was metal. Then again, he heard many good things about the so-called dungeon. He was yet to see it in person.


    It must be the reason that Bob and the others were able to advance quite fast. Yman felt excited to try this so-called dungeon. Regardless, one of the reasons that Bob was at the disadvantage in his fight was because the enemy used an expensive item. He used a pair of knuckles that boosted his attack and attack speed. Bob, on the other hand, only had a cheap leather armor to slightly increase his defense. It was the reason why Bob did not engage openly. He was waiting patiently for his opponent to loosen his guard.


    Luckily his patience had paid off. The enemy rained relentless claw attacks on Bob. The person thought that his victory was definite after seeing Bob''s situation. After all, Bob was shredded all over his body. However, a mistake brought his downfall.


    When he thought that Bob could do nothing anymore, he was caught by Bob''s firm hands. Then Bob well-executed a combo of grapple attack. He never let the enemy escape until he turned to light particles.


    His win muted the lively audience. It was a different kind of fight compared to those who came up before him. Maybe Bob was secretly a successor of an ancient technique.


    "Haaah!!!" Bob came back with a huge sigh. "Congrats Bob��" Yman and the others said their congratulatory remarks. "Thanks bro!" He replied with an exhausted face.


    The next who came up on stage was the big guy in Kiko''s group. Since Yman and co were standing near the entrance to the stage, the guy passed by on them. But the person sent a sharp gaze towards the. Then he sneered at Bob. "Weak..." he said to Bob. Bob, who was still exhausted from his fight, returned a sharp gaze. "All talk��" Bob replied. Yman and the others just remained quiet.


    Not far from them, Kiko was staring at him in a gaze that wanted to devour him alive. But he disregarded it.


    The big guy in Kiko''s group had the nickname of Destroyer. After hearing Bob''s reply, he looked at him coldly. Their duel before was a draw. He was so mad at the result. That''s why the next time they would be facing again, he would make sure to defeat Bob in an overbearing victory.


    For some reason, his enemy was also a defensive type. It was identical to Bob''s fight a while ago.

 Chapter 280: Adam Praeter

    The audience widened their eyes in surprise when Destroyer and his enemy started their match. The first 30 seconds, their battle seemed like a boring match. It was not as heated as Bob''s match. The two used their strength and toughness. Destroyer summoned vines to bind his opponent. As he was a wood Elementalist defensive type, summoning vines and woods was easy for him.


    Yet his enemy was also a defensive-type and an earth Elementalist. Whenever he tried to bind him, his enemy would summon a rock-hand and punch him below. He could even use an earth element to cover his two arms and increase his damage.


    The two of them already received considerable damage from each other, but their health points that could be seen on the large monitor were still at 80% and above. It was the evidence that their vitality and endurance were not for show.


    Although it was another blood-boiling battle like Bob''s, it was easy to feel bored in it, especially that they already saw the same kind of action before it.


    However, everyone was dumbfounded after a couple of seconds. Destroyer took something from his storage, it was a ring.


    But Yman felt familiar with it. "An artefact��" Almina and the others glanced at him.


    "Do you know about it, Yman?" Almina asked him.


    "Yes, it is a common magical item in the empire," he said.


    "E-Empire? Do you mean the Encantasia Empire?" Almina asked in haste.


    Yman glanced at her and noticed that everyone was staring at him. He nodded in reply.


    "How did you know about it? Have you been there before?" It was Maena who asked him this time.


    "I am. In fact, I just came back from that place."


    "..."


    Suddenly, everyone fell silent. "W-What do you mean?" It was Almina who asked him. The expression on her face was both surprised and curious.


    Yman blinked his eyes twice. "I mean, I went there after the fight against the demon��" he said.


    Now that Yman mentioned it, he suddenly remembered Miss Pai''s words. That he could get some benefits as his reward for being one of the people who defeated the demon. And it was not just a simple reward, it was truly a huge sum of money! He could become rich from it.


    He also heard that the black magician could also get a 2% share. His total share then reached 5%! Though no one knew that he was the black magician. He could hardly believe it. If only it was not Miss Pai who said it, he would certainly not believe it.


    Regardless, he needed a good plan for that money. If he spent it badly, his dream to become rich will probably just be an unreachable dream. Now that he had the source of income, next he needed a good plan. An investment might be a good move at this moment. But what kind? Well, it was not the right time to think about it.


    "???"


    Question marks floating above his head when he noticed the dumbfounded faces of the people around him.


    "You went to the Encantasia empire?!" Almina and the others asked it at the same time. Yman doubted if it was a coincidence or if they practiced it. Regardless, he nodded in reply.


    "Fufu, as expected of My Prince," Keremi who was silent the whole time suddenly interjected with a laugh.


    Then, Yman heard Almina say, "W-Why didn''t you tell me?"


    ''Eh?'' Yman was quite puzzled by her words. Why did he need to tell her in the first place?


    "....."


    Even the others looking at Almina in wonder. Looks like Miss Almina''s feelings towards Yman were not just a simple one. All of them thought so.


    Nonetheless, after that time she ran to the stage and hugged him, most of them already suspected that the two of them were in a relationship. It truly astonished them. Never would they imagine that Yman was so lucky. But Yman''s action and the way he acted even now, told them that it was not the case. Maybe he did not like her? Or maybe Yman was just a super dense person that even though Miss Almina''s feeling towards him was as clear as day, he still could not tell.


    Kiko, on the other hand, had his cold eyes fixed on Yman and Almina. While Kesha was just silent beside Almina. Around them were their party members together with party members of Bob''s party. They were listening to the group''s conversation, while the others had their eyes fixed on the large monitor screen.


    "It was an unplanned departure��", after saying it, they suddenly heard a loud howl. It was coming from the stage. All their eyes simultaneously went back to the monitor. And there they saw the figure of Destroyer; he had already transformed into a large humanoid monster.


    "A transformation artefact huh," Yman muttered.


    From the VIP room.


    "Wait, could it be�� A Minotrent Monster?" Surprised, Sunday Sarake said with widened eyes.


    "That high-level monster?" The information gatherer Jack asked with a ''can''t believe'' expression on his face.


    "Yes, it is," Said Sunday while nodding her head. "But it puzzled me how he did that?"


    "Fufu, he combined the earth elemental ability to the power of transformation artefact," they suddenly heard the person beside them saying it.


    When Sunday and Jack glanced at him, they widened their eyes. The person looked familiar to them! If they were not wrong, he was the person from the Praeter Family. One of the heads from the great families!


    His real name is�� Adam Praeter?! The man who was said to be sitting on the apex of the business industry! One of the owners of the most popular Seeker Association! How did the HCZ7 able to invite such an important person?! Sunday, who was also one of the owners of the popular company, could not help but gasp in admiration towards the venerable man beside them.


    Although Newtendo company was also a popular company, it was like a child compared to the Seeker Association. It was the biggest and most successful Association.


    No one wanted to be on their bad side. Sunday and Jack frost for a moment.

 Chapter 281: Kikos declaration and the elites trend

    A loud rumbling took everyone''s attention by surprise. It was coming from Destroyer. The big guy from Kiko''s party. He ended up his opponent after transforming into a Minotrent. A high-ranking beast.


    After defeating his opponent, he reverted to his original human self. Then walked casually down the stage as nothing happened. After stepping down the stage, he smirked at Bob, who was still in shock of the fight, then sneered at Yman. He opened his mouth. "A weakling and a Toadling, hehe," he jested. "Pffffft," But soon he knitted his brows when he heard a chuckle from the Toadling he was calling. The chuckle was unexpected to him. This toad who used to be afraid of them had the guts to laugh now. He stared coldly at Yman. It was the kind of stare that wanted to chew him alive.


    The idiot probably thought that he was strong enough after defeating their friend Bruno. Thanks to that person so much dependent on his wind ability, he learned least compared to the rest in the group.


    "If you want a fight, I''ll give you a fight that you will never forget," he declared a challenge on Yman.


    But Before Yman could say something, Bob''s interjection came ahead of him. "Oi, are you so afraid of me that you wanted to challenge someone else and mot me, huh!?"


    Bob suddenly interjected in a loud voice. Bob knew it was not easy after watching the fight just now, but he disliked being looked down upon by these people. Chloe and all the members of Bob''s party frowned while looking at the big man in front of them. Even Almina and Maena also did.


    "Bert!" Suddenly they heard a not-so-loud call, but it was enough for all of them to hear it. There was a coldness in his voice. When they looked at where it came from, they saw Kiko was staring at them with cold eyes.


    "Let these fools think that they have a chance to win in this competition��" Kiko added. As he was saying it, his eyes darted from Yman to Almina. "I have decided that none of them shall win in this competition," he declared. He did not care if the other members of the Elite class heard him. Or if he sounded arrogant to them. His main goal was always to reach the top. So, he did not care if he sounded like he was challenging everyone in this competition. It was the truth. They are welcome to try to defeat him if they can.


    "Ha-Ha, big words! I will wake you up from that lucid dream of yours, Mr. Ego." One of the demihumans laughed and reacted to Kiko. "You are welcome to try," Kiko replied with a smirk.


    Yman forced a soundless laugh at Kiko''s remarks. He thought, maybe Kiko lost his head. Now he is making enemies to all the trainees here.


    The big guy named Bert returned to Kiko''s side. After his match, another pair came up on stage. But they were disqualified for failing to defeat their opponent before the time limit. It was followed immediately by another pair. The fight only lasted for a minute. The trainee won by luck.


    The next pair who will be going to fight was unexpectedly the smiling guy, Keremi. "Good luck, Kereboy, don''t die!" Bob cheered on him. "Haha, thanks��" he said as replied to Bob. Then he glanced at Yman. "My Prince, I will go first��" he said when he passed by on Yman. Then the two of them bumped the back of their hands.


    "Mhm!" Yman nodded. "Good luck," he whispered. To all the trainees, only on Keremi that Yman was more curious. He never once saw him in a tight spot from the training and fight he had before.


    All the audience fell silent once again when they saw the next competitors.


    After a few seconds, a lonely gush of wind passed by the stage. The fight only lasted for 3 seconds. Keremi ended his opponent in a blink of an eye.


    It was also recorded as the fastest match to finish and beat Yman''s 4 seconds when he won against Bruno.


    After Keremi''s win, the other students from the Elite class thought that it would be cooler if they won in a shorter time too. With this in mind, they tried to follow his lead. Thanks to it, the elites created a new trend. They finished their fight in a much shorter time.


    Though it was unfortunate for the non-elite trainees. They had to suffer a quick loss. Because of the fear that they would experience the same ending as the others, most of the lower section trainees who happened to face a member of the elite class chose to distance themselves right after the signal to start the fight.


    However, even if they ran away, they were still defeated in an instance. The disparity in magical and physical power was just too wide. So in the end, it was unfortunate to them. Even the audience started to feel pity for those trainees. However, seeing the trainees from the elite class showing off their power, made the audience boiled in excitement.


    Even Maena also followed the trend. He shot her enemy using the upgrade version of her Arrowbite technique. Three arrows flew towards her enemy, who couldn''t decide if he charged in or ran away from her.


    As a person who was using a sword as the main weapon, he should be fighting her in melee combat, however. Because of the trend, he found himself unable to move. He could not decide what action best to take in his situation.


    In the end, it was too late already when he decided. Three arrows pierced his body and took all his health points in the green bar that could be seen in the large monitor.


    She defeated her opponent in just 2.5 seconds. Because of it, she was now the record holder for the competitor who finished her opponent in the shortest time.


    "Congrats, Maena," She was taken aback when Yman congratulated her when she came back in the waiting hall. She even saw him still clapping his hand.


    "I-It�� hah!" Maena was flustered for a second. She wanted to say that there was nothing to congratulate her for as it was an easy fight. But she decided to not say it. "Nevermind!" She said then look away with a smug face.


    "....."


    Yman wondered if she was mad at him. He just wanted to congratulate her. Looks like this girl was still as cold as before huh. Maybe Maena still dislikes him. He thought.


    Maena turned her face away from him. Then, she faced Almina, who was standing beside Yman. "Beat it if you can��" she said at her.


    "....."


    Right after saying it, the next pair was selected. And it was unexpectedly Almina!

 Chapter 282: Superhero

    Almina''s opponent was a girl from Section B+. It also means that she was pretty powerful. Before going to the stage, she stopped in front of him. "Uh��" Yman noticed Almina trying to say something but skeptical. He had no idea what she wanted to say, but she was looking at him.


    "Good luck��" he said before she could say something.


    "��.."


    "Almina��" he added.


    After Yman called her name, a flush of redness was visible on Almina''s face, "I will!" Almina replied enthusiastically. Then she climbed up on stage. After Almina left, Bob and Chloe asked him about his relationship with Almina.


    Yman, who had no idea what they were talking about, tilted his head. "I think we are considered as friends��" Beside him, Maena sighed, and Keremi, who was standing behind him, chuckled at him. "As expected of my prince," he whispered.


    Bob and the others gawked at his reply. Kesha and some members of their party glared at him. Although he could feel their piercing glances, he chose not to be bothered by it.


    When Almina went to the stage, everyone felt silent. The onlookers, the other participants, and even those in the VIP room.


    As expected of Miss Almina, her presence could take away everyone''s attention.


    Rea, who was in the audience area together with Yana, was looking at the familiar person on the stage. It was the girl who suddenly hugged Crimson.


    She wondered what their relationship was. She forgot to ask him about it. Also, she could not bring herself to ask him regarding it. She felt shy for some reason.


    This girl with the nickname of The Black Princess, she was well, not bad. Now, let''s see about her strength. Rea thought.


    Beside her, Yana noticed her unease as she was staring at the stage. "Uhm, Miss Rea, are you okay?"


    "?!?"


    Rea was slightly startled after hearing her name mentioned by Crimson''s sister. "Uh, eh, yes, yes!" She replied while repositioning herself.


    Yana blinked her eyes. Her brother told her that Rea was an important person. Regardless, she must do as her brother said, not to lose her sight of Miss Rea.


    "Miss Rea, do you know here?" Yana asked once again.


    "Uh, wh-who?"


    "That person on stage��" Yana asked her while pointing to Almina. She also peeked on Rea''s face, to see her reaction.


    Bead of sweat was visible on Rea''s face. She wondered why Yana asked her about that girl.


    "Uh, no��"


    She was about to reply when a person beside them suddenly called out to them.


    "You two!"


    Yana and Rea glanced at the same time. They saw an old lady. She was on Yana''s left side. She was sitting with a slight curve back.


    When the old lady noticed their eyes on her, she continued talking. "Are you acquaintances of Miss Almina?" The old lady asked.


    "Almina?" Rea repeated with a frown.


    "She was talking about her," Yana answered while pointing to the girl on the stage. She knew about Almina''s name because she came to visit her brother in the hospital together with other girls. Though, she could not remember all their names.


    Rea and Yana shook their heads at the old lady''s question towards them. "No, we aren''t, Aunt," said Yana. She said Aunt with respect towards the old lady. Yana''s voice was soft and respectful.


    "I see��" said the old lady. Then, she told them about Almina. She told them how Almina saved the city together with the Ace of the academy. And how she defeated those high-level bad guys who were causing harm in the city''s surrounding areas.


    While they were listening to the old lady''s words, the image of Almina in their minds had started to change. She seemed like a superhero who was wearing a blue costume and red cape.


    For some reason, Rea wanted to chuckle. Regardless, this Almina wasn''t an ordinary person based on the old lady''s words.


    On the stage, Almina and her opponent were already staring at each other.


    "Miss Almina, before we start our battle, can you tell me why you didn''t agree on Kiko Sun''s declaration of love?" Said her opponent.


    "..."


    Amina did not expect such a question from her opponent. "Sorry, but I have no obligation to answer it," she replied with a nonchalant face.


    After hearing her reply, her opponent''s brow was twitching. Anger was visible on her face. "Don''t be so haughty just because everyone was praising you!" Her opponent barked.


    Almina stared at her opponent and wondered why she suddenly became angry. She even implied that she was acting haughty, which Almina could not understand how she was like that. She didn''t answer her because it wasn''t worth her time.


    Seeing no reaction from Almina, her opponent summoned a bow. "I am going to defeat you!" She bellowed.


    Maena, who was watching from the waiting hall with the others, had narrowed her eyes. She wondered how Amulet was going to deal with someone using the same weapon as her.


    After her opponent summoned a bow, they saw Almina materialized a sword. It wasn''t an ordinary sword, though.


    It was her fire elemental sword. Well, in a real battle, you couldn''t say that your opponent was cheating by using a better weapon. A strong individual was both strong in strength and wealth. So if your opponent has better equipment than you, you only have yourself to blame, and you couldn''t excuse yourself saying it wasn''t fair after you lost the battle.


    Because in a real fight, there were no rules!


    After the signal to start the fight, everyone''s eyes were on Almina. After all, she was the most popular fledgling trainer in this city''s Academy. The person who could defeat higher-level opponents than her. No other than Almina Amulet!


    Her figure disappeared in an instance after the signal.


    "Eh, where is she?"


    While everyone was astonished at the sudden disappearance of Almina Amulet, Yman eyes widened in disbelief. ''She can use Rapid Leap successively,''


    "..."


    Sistela, who was currently in resonance with him, suddenly interjected. "Well, as expected of her. She was the elite class leader, after all."


    After saying it, they heard the buzzing sounds. Most of the onlookers had their mouths left open and their eyes balled.


    "Two seconds, she defeated her opponents in just two seconds!" Shouted the announcer.

 Chapter 283: Short break

    "When the signal to start the battle was issued, Almina''s figure disappeared on her spot. The next time she appeared was already at the back of her enemy, about five steps away from her.


    It was a quick downward attack that sliced her enemy vertically. Her enemy could not even release an arrow as her target already disappeared from her sight. Then in an instance, a long-vertical wound appeared on her enemy''s body. It was an instant kill.


    On the contrary, although Maena''s attack also killed her enemy on the spot, her enemy was able to last with an additional half-second."


    Yman explained to the others, who were confused as to why Miss Almina''s attack had less time than Miss Maena''s arrow. "And the best reason about it was because her attack hit the critical spot on her enemy, which caused her to die instantly," he added, which lit the bulb on the other''s head.


    "I see, so it is because Miss Almina hit the critical part of her enemy," Bob said while pumping his fist on his palm. It was a gesture when someone realized something.


    "Could it be coincidental that she hit the critical part of her opponent?" Chloe asked in curiosity.


    Yman fell silent and made a thinking gesture. The first time he saw her fighting on the cliff, he already had a suspicion that Almina had a special ability. It was a special ability that enabled her to peek at her opponent''s weak points. After all, her damage was just too much. It wasn''t ordinary at all. She could even one-hit those golems when they were still at low-level at that time, which is an impossible feat if one thought of it logically.


    "Maybe it is��" he said in reply to Chloe''s question. Anyhow, he could not disclose such assumptions. He wasn''t even sure if it was right or not.


    "Tsk��" Maena clicked her tongue in annoyance. She couldn''t believe that Almina was able to beat her records just because she was lucky to hit the critical part of her enemy.


    The audience was already shouting her name. Some even shouted to marry her and any other affectionate remarks. Probably, most of them were admiring her. Not only because of her appearance but also because of her skills.


    Even Rea and Yana were surprised at her. They just blinked their eyes then the fight was already finished.


    "See?" Said the old lady beside them as she was puffing her chest. Looked like a grandma who was so proud of her granddaughter.


    Rea secretly frowned. This Almina was truly admirable. On the other hand, she could not still perfect the spell she was studying.


    In the VIP''s they were talking about Almina''s win.


    "Ohoho! It looks like the hype about her wasn''t just for show. Truly admirable and a coming Ace," said one of the big shots in admiration.


    "Well, what would you expect of the daughter of the Amulet family?"


    "However, it can also be because she had a weak opponent."


    "Right, it was still early to assess her."


    Everyone had different reactions regarding Almina''s win. Now far from them, Sunday glanced at the person sitting close to them. It was Adam Praeter. If she wasn''t wrong, the Amulet family had strong relations with the Seeker Association. She wanted to see his reaction. She wanted to know his assessment on Almina Amulet. Sunday suspected that the reason Adam came here was to see Almina Amulet''s growth.


    However, since Adam Praeter was wearing sunglasses, she could not see the reaction in his eyes.


    Everyone congratulated Almina for her win. Then after her fight, it was followed by five other pairs before a one-hour break.


    "I see, a break huh," Yman sighed then glanced around. He did not expect that there was such. Since he was yet to fight, he had to come back later. Well, it was only natural that there was breaktime, especially that there were so many participants.


    After they announce the break, the announcer Miss Beth, also announces that everyone could dine with delicious snacks and foods while waiting for the competition to resume, they could buy them at affordable prices. After saying it, a group of trainees from the Academy came to the audience with a basket of foods and drinks in their hands.


    They consisted of Fish Roll and Fried Whole Egg. There were also cold drinks and yummy milk. Everyone could choose whatever they like.


    Yman glanced at the audience podium, "I have to go," he muttered to himself and was about to live when Almina called out to him. "Yman!" He looked behind him and saw Almina with her friends. Then he noticed she opened her mouth again. "If you want�� you can come with us��"


    Everyone stopped on their feet. It was an offer coming from Almina, and she was asking that person to come with them?!


    Unforgivable!


    They all wanted that offer. After all, Miss Almina''s party consisted of beautiful girls. But how come she was asking that person only!


    Kiko glared at Almina and Yman before he left with his friends. ''Just you wait, you will crawl under my feet, later on��'' he thought with a glint in his eyes.


    Yman stared at Almina. "Uh, I''m with my sister and��"


    He noticed that everyone was staring at him. Wait, how should he explain about Rea. He couldn''t reveal her identity to everyone. He couldn''t be reckless and had to be careful.


    Almina remembered about Yana after Yman mentioned her. Right, it was surprising. The last time she knew, his sister was having an illness that could not be healed by normal means. C-Could it be related to Yman''s reason for going to the empire? Almina suddenly thought. He wanted to ask him, but she noticed that Yman still wanted to say something.


    He sighed. "Sorry, I can''t go with you. I have something I need to do��" he decided not to take the risk.


    "I see. Then, see you later, Yman," Almina replied dejectedly.


    Bob and the others also did not try to ask Yman to come. But they felt suspicious of him. He seemed to be hiding something.


    Yman went directly to where Yana and Rea were.

 Chapter 284: Sulking Sistela

    "Bro!"


    Yana called out to him when she spotted him heading in their direction. Rea immediately glanced and saw him. She also noticed his deity sitting on his shoulder.


    "Let''s go and grab something to eat?" He said upon arriving at them.


    "Yay!" Yana responded enthusiastically.


    Rea just nodded slightly.


    While they were walking towards the nearest pub, he noticed Rea''s silence. "Are you okay?" He whispered to her.


    She blinked her eyes and glanced at him. "I''m fine," she responded. But Yman noticed her unmotivated aura. He wondered why she was acting so glum. "Uh, do you want to rest?"


    Rea glanced at him and wondered why this guy was acting so caring. It was very out of his character. The Crimson she knew was a type of person who didn''t give a damn about his surrounding. Yet, this man beside him just offered her a rest.


    ''Wait, is this the same Crimson she used to know? Or is this a fake Crimson?''


    Currently, Sistela was in Yana''s hand. Also, Sistela wasn''t in the mood. She was mad at her partner. At the moment, she wasn''t in her cute fairy-like appearance. Her partner had forcefully equipped the Imp series shell on him. It was the Imp series he stole from that guy they beat in the Little Garden Herbs and Flower shop of the Professor''s daughter, Miss Alfe.


    <Sister Yana, look, I''m so ugly now!>


    Right now, she believed that she looked so ugly, with green and black skin and round big green eyes, plus a pair of fangs and a little horn. Even her wings turned the same as the bat. She had a tail too. She wanted to cry because of this disgrace. Her partner was so mean to her.


    Beads of sweats were visible on Yana''s face as she was hearing Sistela''s complaints.


    Yana was trying to soothe the sulking Sistela. "Don''t worry Sister Sistela, you still look so cute even with that��" Said Yana as she lifted her to her face.


    <Really?>


    "Mhm!" She nodded.


    Sistela was looking at her with teary eyes. Then suddenly, she snapped. <Still! I must file a partner''s abuse against my partner!>


    Yana was stunned for a second before she laughed descendingly. "A-ha-ha��" Looks like Sister Sistela''s disapproval toward her appearance right now wasn''t just a light one. But her brother told them that he wanted the additional skill of the Imp series. With this, after equipping the Imp series, the additional skills from her previous appearance would be unavailable also.


    Nonetheless, she glanced beside her and saw her brother and Miss Rea staring at each other. Yana''s mouth formed like a big oh! But she remained quiet. She wanted her brother to become happy. As a supportive sister, she would do everything for her brother''s happiness!


    She knew that her brother had suffered a lot. He even went to a far place just to find the medicine for her. She was truly blessed with a kind brother.


    Regardless, why are they just staring at each other? They were in the middle of the street you know!


    Rea stared at him because Yman seemed so out of character today. Yman, on the other hand, was staring at her out of worry for her silence.


    In truth, after Yman healed his sister. He became so free like he felt so successful. Before, his mind was only about how to heal his sister. He was always worrying about that thing. That''s why, after he succeeded, he felt so free from the worries. It also caused him to become more perceptive around him. It must be also the reason that he noticed her silence on the get-go.


    "Uhm, brother, Miss Rea, I think we are in front of what seemed like a pub��" they suddenly heard a familiar voice beside him. Yman and Rea snapped. They saw Yana staring at them with her big round eyes. On the contrary, he noticed her deity was staring at him like he did some unforgivable sin. But she must be annoyed with her new appearance, he thought. Well, it was temporarily only.


    The two glanced around and noticed that they were in the middle of the street. Around them, many people were passing by, heading back and forth.


    They also noticed the other trainees together with their circle of friends. Most of them were heading to the nearest cafeteria or pub. Yman noticed that most of the topics were about the competition and the best person.


    Suddenly, Rea noticed something. "What are those?" She asked as she pointed to something.


    When Yman and Yana glanced to where she was pointing, they saw a tarpaulin with a handsome picture on it. It''s no other than, The Mysterious Black Magician!!!!!


    Yman''s mouth was left hanging when he saw his face on it. Thanks to its colors and so on, he was barely recognizable.


    "Wait, wasn''t that the Mysterious Balck Knight who appeared in the empire a couple of weeks ago?" Rea remembered. There was even a time when her aunt the empress asked her if she knew someone like that.


    But who would expect that she would see that person''s picture in here?


    "Ah, him? I heard that he was a mysterious person who is blessed with wholesome handsomeness," Yman puffed up his chest as he said so. Rea wondered what was the reason for that smugness on his face.


    However, Yman''s cheekiness was broken in an instance when his trusted partner blurted something.


    <Ah, that person, I heard he wasn''t so great. He''s a bad person who forced his unwilling partner to wear something weird. I also heard that he was a great offender who stole a kiss on a sleeping princess and poke someone''s breast��>


    She paused for a moment and sighed. <Hah��>


    Yman froze on the spot and thought he was dead. He underestimated his deity''s anger. Looks like he needed to soothe her later to avoid having her Like Value reaches the threshold. But before that, he needed to do something to her right now! She was revealing his dark secret!!!


    <I don''t know what''s great about him besides helping his cute little��>


    "Uh, you guys!"


    Sistela failed to finish her words when someone suddenly called out.


    They glanced in front of them and saw a person in a brown cap and brown long dress. For some reason, he looked like a detective.


    "Eh, that''s��" Rea seemed to know him.

 Chapter 285: Womanizer!

    Rea pulled the hood to cover her face. Yman briefly glanced at her, then turned back his eyes to the front, to the approaching person.


    "Uhm, is there something that we may help you with, Mister?" Yman asked calmly when the person approached them. It was a middle-aged man based on how he saw him.


    The man briefly glanced at Rea and Yana before his eyes focused on him. "Ah�� before that, my name is Sauro Browne. A beast-men from the empire." Sauro Browne knew that it was always good to show equity before asking questions to a stranger.


    Yman was quite surprised upon seeing his pair of beast ears. He sent another glance at Rea before introducing himself as well. Since the other party introduced himself, he too had to respond to it. Though, it wasn''t necessary at all.


    After himself, Mr. Sauro Browne opened his mouth again. "I just wanted to ask if you know that person in the tarpaulin."


    Yman narrowed his eyes. He did not answer right away and stared for at most 2 seconds at Mr. Sauro Browne before he responded. "Sorry, Mister Browne, we have no idea as well. As you can see, the city is also trying to uncover his identity," he replied with a straight face.


    Sistela was wondering if her partner was a natural-born liar. She just found it not long. It was when she was the one piloting his body. She learned that whenever her partner uses the Black Mana, she would lose her senses and become a full-fledged AI.


    After Sauro heard Yman''s reply, he nodded. "I see, fair enough. Okay, thanks for your time, Mister Yman," Sauro thanked him before excusing himself.


    "No, it''s nothing, Mister," after saying his reply, both of them proceeded to their original plan.


    Sauro Browne went away to find some source of information regarding the Mysterious Black Knight. Well, he was called the Mysterious Black Magician in this city. But he believes that they were the same person.


    Yman wondered why a person from the empire was looking for him. After getting themselves a table in one of the corners of the pub, he whispered to Rea if she knew Mister Sauro. Rea just nodded. Yman did not ask further as they were currently in the presence of many people.


    Meanwhile, they were sitting near the window. Rea and Yana were beside each other. In front of them were Yman and Sistela.


    He rolled his eyes around the pub. It was lively. But he wasn''t surprised about it as it was only natural since it was lunchtime. His only concern was his sister. It was her first time around many people. But after looking at her, he noticed no displeasure from her. It looks like his sister was the type of person who could easily adjust to her surroundings.


    "Yana, are you okay?"


    Even though he noticed no dissatisfaction from her expression, he wanted to confirm it by asking her.


    Yana stared at her brother for a second, then tilted her head. "Yes bro, I''m fine," she nodded her head repeatedly.


    "Okay��" Yman smiled at her sister and nodded.


    After doing it, someone came to their table and asked enthusiastically. "May I take your order, sir!?" The group glanced in reflex. But Yman was stunned after seeing who it was. No wonder the voice seemed familiar to him.


    "Y-you?!" He called out of surprise. It was Seven. But how did she get here? Isn''t she working in the pub in Encantasia Academy?


    Then how and why is she here? He wanted to ask her but he remembered that he was in human form right now. So Seven would probably not know him.


    Seven noticed the dumbfounded face of Yman. She tilted her head in wonder. "Uhm, Sir, did I meet you before?" Yman was taken aback by Seven''s unexpected question. "No, no, no, probably not!" He denied it strongly, but it only caused suspicion from Rea, who was staring at her with cold eyes.


    He wondered why Rea looked so mad at him. Could it be that he was the reason for her silence a while ago? Did he do something bad to her? Yes, he did! Could it be, she figured out what he did to her? Yman felt a cold sweat running down his back. It would be bad if Rea filed a report to him. He would certainly be massaging the cold iron bars inside the prison if she did it.


    However, Yman''s reaction only made Rea feel more suspicious of him. Could it be�� this pub girl is his g-g-girlfriend? Wait! Could it be that Crimson was the type of person who is not content with one woman? Rea asked herself while her face under the hood started to feel hot. How despicable!? Womanizer! She bellowed in mind.


    In Yman''s mind, he repeatedly chanted the words I''m not guilty, I''m not guilty, I''m not guilty�� I''m just curious!


    Yana and Seven blinked their eyes towards the two who suddenly fell silent while staring at each other. Sistela, on the other hand, was not in the mood to mind the people around her. She was squatting on the table.


    "Uhm, uh, errr�� may I take your order��?" Seven asked in a skeptical voice.


    Just then, Yman and Rea snapped back to reality. But when Yman sent a glance at her, she pouted and looked away. Looks like he needed to prepare for the worst. Yman thought so.


    The group ate their lunch in silence. Around them, the other customers were noisily talking about the competition. Some asked who were their best contestants. And some made a guess for the last pair to come out in the final. Yman focused his ears. He wanted to know if some people would choose him.


    Unfortunately, he was disappointed when no one chose him. The majority of people inside choose Almina, Kiko, Keremi, Brai, and the other trainees from the elite class.


    There were also those who chose Bob and Destroyer. But how come no one chose him?! Yman was so furious. He wanted to beat those guy''s asses. Just you wait! He thought annoyingly.


    While Yman was whimpering inwardly. Someone called out. "Hey!"


    Yman and the others glanced to where the voice came from.


    Suddenly, "Another woman!?" Rea subconsciously muttered upon seeing the silver-haired beaut, who was walking towards their table. It was easy to tell that the target of her call was Crimson as she was staring at him with smiling eyes.

 Chapter 286: Academys Ace

    "Miss Ice?!"


    After hearing the name Ice, the other customers turned their heads around them. "Oh, it''s the Ace," someone whispered as he saw her. Then it was followed by another whisper.


    "Woah."


    "She''s even prettier in person."


    "I heard that she''s single��"


    Murmurs coming from the boys and girls had immediately proliferated inside the pub upon seeing the Academy''s number one trainee. The Ace of HCZ7 Academy!


    Ice was currently laced in a white and gold dress. She looked so pretty in her attire. And her trademark headdress was on her silver head.


    "I knew it! It''s you��" said Ice when she arrived at their table.


    The other customers started asking the people around them if those people were acquaintances of Miss Ace.


    In front of Yman, Yana was staring at Ice with sparkling eyes as she thought of something in disbelief. ''Woah, so many beautiful people know my brother. I can''t believe it!'' Beside her, Rea was sighing heavily. She wondered if Crimson was popular in this city. Rea frowned when Ice suddenly sat beside Crimson. But it seemed Crimson was unbothered by it. He even greeted her.


    "Uhm, hello Miss Ice, long time no see. How are you?" Yman greeted her. He couldn''t believe that Miss Ice still remembered him.


    "Fufu, no need to be so polite at me, you know," Ice said and laughed lightly.


    "Oh, I see, okay. Regardless, Miss Ice, you look so much better now than the last time I saw you��"


    "Oh, r-really?" Said Ice bashfully as she tried to remember their last meeting. It didn''t take her long enough to remember it. She made an ''aha'' expression on her face before opening her mouth once again. "Right, that time�� well uh, you know, I made a huge blunder of myself that time, hahaha..." She laughed but it only made her look so cute.


    The surrounding people were captivated by her laugh. And stared at her with flowers around them. This must be just everyone''s imagination.


    Rea stared at Yman. But noticed that he wasn''t charmed by it. She sighed in relief.


    Yman was surprised that Ice was not bothered by that incident in the Underground Channel. He wondered if this person was not afraid of dying.


    "Well, isn''t it about money?" He said with a little tease after remembering her dumb reason for sealing the demon and did not ask for help before dealing with it.


    Right, this Ace of the HCZ7 Academy was just that kind of person.


    Though he too was the same in about money, on his part, he would rather take measure first about his safety before going to deal with his enemies. On the contrary, this person beside him had no sense of danger, based on how he looked at her past endeavors.


    It must also be because she was confident with her strength. He couldn''t even measure the extent of it. As expected of someone who was deemed as number one in the Academy. Sealing the demon for three months, was already beyond what a strong magician could do. Right, Ice wasn''t just strong. She was special. Yman wondered if the other Ace''s from another human city were also as strong or maybe stronger than her. Although he wasn''t the type of person who was bothered by it, he was curious somehow.


    Their conversation was put on halt when Seven arrived with their orders on her hands. She placed the foods carefully on the table. Still, Yman was wondering why she was here. Wait, maybe Seven had twins, he doubted.


    Regardless, he felt a tingling feeling inside him. It is probably his tenant, the Demon of Possession. Looks like that guy kept his anger towards Ice. He was probably keeping a negative feeling towards her.


    He needed to suppress the killing intent that the demon was oozing.


    "Ahaha��" Ice laughed descendingly after hearing the Yman''s teasing on her. "Regardless, you look so much different as well from before. I almost could not recognize you��" said Ice with scornful eyes.


    "I-Is that so?" He asked while scratching the part of his face.


    "Yep!" She nodded with smiling eyes. Yman was surprised at Miss Ice''s friendly aura around her.


    But Yman suddenly felt an ominous aura coming from the girl in front of her when Miss Ice leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear. He wondered if Rea was still angry at him.


    "Hey, are you cheating on my cute little sisters?" She suddenly asked while glancing at the two people in front of them.


    Question marks were floating on his head at first before she noticed that she meant Rea and Yana.


    "Ehhh�� this is Yana, Miss Ice. She''s my sister. And the other one is my�� She''s Rea. My friend��" well, he guessed they were friends.


    "Ouh, she''s your sister? She''s so cute and pretty. My bad, I thought she''s your lover��" Ice''s said with sparkling eyes.


    "L-l-l-lover of big bro��?" Yana stuttered as her face turned red.


    "Right, right," Yman replied, agreeing to Ice''s words of how cute and pretty his sister was. But they wondered why he showed a proud face.


    Yana was grateful to Ice''s words. Yman then introduced Miss Ice to them. Ice whispered to Yman and asked if why Rea wasn''t showing her face. He replied she was shy.


    In front of them, on the table, Ice''s deity was poking on the lying Sistela. Her deity showed a puzzled expression as she was wondering what it was that lying on fours on the table. Sistela wondered who this annoying little fella was.


    A bead of sweat was visible on Yman''s face when he noticed the sorry state of his deity. Regardless, he was surprised at Miss Ice''s deity. It was modeled from a snow sprite.


    Sistela crawled like a worm. However, after noticing her move towards the edge, the snow sprite deity of Miss Ice pulled her tail.


    Sistela who had a poker expression continued crawling. But Miss Ice''s deity was trying to save her. She must be thinking that this odd-looking deity was trying to commit suicide.


    Sistela successfully fell to the edge of the table but she was caught by Yana.


    Yman and Ice talked more before they left the pub. She said her good luck to him. But also told him that her younger sisters would be the champion of this competition.


    He smiled and told her that he just wanted to have fun in this competition and that he wasn''t aiming to become the champion or the next Ace for the first year.


    After Ice left, Rea asked him why he was close to her. Yman blinked his eyes twice and marveled if why Rea had to ask it.

 Chapter 287: Encan girl and human device

    When Yman came back inside the waiting hall, Bob detonated a bomb that alerted the rest, especially Almina.


    "Yman, bro! Who was that person together with you and your sister? Looking at the figure it must be a girl, right?!" Asked Bob in a thunderous voice when he saw him approaching them. "Eh?!" Almina yelped after hearing it. Then she stared at Yman with curious eyes.


    Out of a sudden, Yman felt a weird atmosphere that started to proliferate inside the hall. They looked at him with discerning eyes like he was a liar or someone who couldn''t be trusted. Disgust was visible on their faces. Looks like Bob was once again released something he shouldn''t have. Though, Bob only asked him about someone. He probably meant Miss Ice or Rea. He didn''t notice when Bob saw them. Nonetheless, it still couldn''t explain the weird atmosphere at the moment.


    Even Almina was looking at him, wait! Why did she look so worried? And Maena, she was knitting her brows at him. All of them were seemingly waiting for his reply. He also noticed Kiko with a wide grin on his face, similar to his friends.


    Yman was puzzled at the unusual situation. He tried to remember if he did something, but nothing came to his mind. Regardless, he could choose not to reply to Bob''s question. But he couldn''t find faults from it.


    "A friend of mine��" He replied nonchalantly in a voice that was only a little louder than a whisper. "A friend?" He did not expect to hear Almina repeat his word. He nodded in reply.


    "Is it true that she''s a friend only?" For some reason, she asked again. And this time, he noticed a slight suspicion in her voice. Nonetheless, why did Almina and the others come back here? They were free to go and rest since they already finished their match for today. Bob and Chloe too. Only Keremi wasn''t inside at the moment.


    Perhaps they wanted to spy on their potential opponents. Yman''s guess about the presence of Almina and the others inside the waiting room.


    Right after he nodded, the buzzing sound rang once again, signaling the resume of the competition. The audience burst into excitement once again.


    The first to come up on stage was Brai. His opponent was someone from the lower section.


    Although he didn''t follow the elite''s trend to defeat their opponents in a shorter possible time, he still ended his match in a short time. One of the trainees that Yman noted who was hiding their real strength was Brai. He was the type of person who liked boasting to others, but he wasn''t as excessive as Kiko.


    His boasting was just his way of trying to join up with others'' conversations. Also, Brai would remain quiet if he wasn''t comfortable with the people around him. So, most people who were not familiar with him would think that he was a quiet and serious type of person. But in reality, he was a ''tsundere'' person.


    Mai was the first to congratulate him when he climbed downstairs. It was followed by Bob and the others.


    The next who came on stage was someone from Kiko''s group. The battle lasted for about 2 minutes. It was a win from Kiko''s friend.


    Though, there were several times that his enemy almost won the battle. The next person to fight was from Kiko''s friends once again. It was Marco. The person closest to Kiko. And his opponent was someone from the same room as him.


    Marco won overwhelmingly against his opponent. He wasn''t even using any equipment as he was fighting. Probably, looking down at his opponent. When he passed by Yman and the others, he gestured a thumbs down towards him, signifying that Yman was nothing and that he would be going to knock him down if an opportunity presented itself.


    Yman showed smug but did not say anything. It was enough to show that he wasn''t afraid of Marco and even to Kiko.


    The next pair was called on stage. It was the beautiful Encan girl from the elite class.


    Rea was surprised upon seeing it. Although she knew that there were some Demihumans who went to study in Human City, it was the first time that she saw it in person.


    Since Crimson already told her about this competition, she knew beforehand that it was a competition related only to the students. So all of these participants were students of the academy in this city.


    Rea noticed the audience turned noisy when the Encan girl came up on stage.


    Rea sighed.


    "Miss Rea, are you feeling bored?" She suddenly heard Yana ask her. Maybe Yana thought she was bored because of the sigh.


    "Nn��" she shook her head slightly. "I-It isn''t like that��" Rea replied.


    She sighed because the encan girl was bringing up with her the human device they call a deity. She didn''t know if this encan girl was a pure Encan or not, but. Once you were born as an Encan, you could easily manipulate mana like it was the norm. That''s why there is no need to use the human''s deity.


    Rea learned from Crimson that those devices were made to pacify the mysterious mana within them.


    But since Encans or other beastmen were gifted by magical energies from Her Grace, the goddess of nature, they do not need to use those tools to pacify their mana.


    Nonetheless, she couldn''t understand why this Encan girl and those beastmen who came before her were using those tools. Maybe it was a requirement to be admitted to the human academy?


    Looks like she needed to ask Crimson about this. She wanted to know the reason for those beastmen.


    While Rea was mulling, the fight already started. She had to admit that the Encan girl was strong. She had dense mana and used powerful attacks to overpower her enemy. But Rea could not tell if it was because of her resonance with the device. Or was it because of her innate talent?


    The battle ended well. Although not as fast as the other, it was yet another overwhelming won.


    The next to compete was Kiko, and his opponent was...

 Chapter 288: The other academies

    BOOOOOM!


    A loud explosion turned Kiko''s opponent into dust and masked the stage with a cloud of smoke. Not long, a body reformed at the same spot together with his deity. But the person had a stupefied face before it turned into a fright.


    Not only him, but all of the people inside that were also watching the competition had stunned faces. The moment the battle started, everyone heard a thunderous explosion that shook the entire arena.


    The opponent could not even take a step forward because a blinding light already took over his vision. Then, a deafening explosion took his hearing. When his consciousness came back he noticed he already materialized beside his deity.


    "What happened��?" The only words that came out of his mouth as he was sitting with a blank face on the stage floor, staring at the back of Kiko as he was walking away from his starting position.


    The battle ended in a mere 1.5 seconds. Kiko casually walked down the stage. Like a king who just finished his speech. "You are next," he said to Yman when he passed by at them.


    "..."


    Yman wondered why these people had to say a line before going away. He didn''t know whether to laugh or cry as a response to them.


    Before the big monitor screen above the stage could announce his win, another thunderous noise came first. But this time, it was cheering noises coming from the audience.


    Whooooo!


    "That''s liiiiitttt!"


    "Incredible!"


    "Hey! What is your name?!!"


    "Damn! That was what a performance should be!"


    "EXPLOOOOOSSSIIOOON!!!"


    A young girl wearing wizard attire and an eyepatch shouted in excitement.


    "Hehehe," a chuckle from a young man with medium-length scarlet hair that was tied at the back. The earring on his right ear gleamed briefly. His right hand was supporting his chin as he was watching the fight inside a room together with some other people. All of them were wearing an academy uniform from one of the Human Academy.


    These people were the elite students of Human City Zone 5 Academy.


    "I never thought there are some students that are worth looking forward to in that academy��" said the scarlet-haired young man.


    "Hmm�� just in case, what is the winning rate if the two of you will be fighting one on one, Tim?" A stoic-looking girl beside him asked the person with scarlet hair. She was wearing glasses on her eyes and her long emerald hair was tied at the back.


    Upon hearing her question, the other people with them also glanced at the person named Tim. But his full name was Tim Kruz. From one of the well-known families back on the Outerworld, the Kruz Family.


    "Good grief, are you asking for an impossible answer, Miss Mariemai?" He responded with a lazy face. "Since he only did that one attack, I can''t tell the exact power that person has. Therefore, it''s impossible to gauge the winning rate among us," Tim Kruz stated.


    The stoic girl beside him was twitching her eyebrows after hearing him. A cross-shaped pulse was visible on her face. She opened her mouth once again.


    "You lazybum, I''m asking about your advance appraisal ability!" She yelled.


    "Ehehe, yeah, yeah, I know, I''m just kidding, you know," Tim replied with a grin. "Don''t worry. Although that attack just now was truly incredible, it isn''t enough to penetrate my mana armor ability, but. It''s different if that person is hiding his real strength. Although my appraisal ability is of an advanced tier, it is still limited to the surface only. In this regard, my appraisal cannot appraise any hidden abilities that my eyes are yet to see."


    Mariemai glanced at him before she opened her mouth once again. "I see. That''s good enough."


    "Regardless, it''s easy to figure out if who among them are the elites of that academy," one of the elites stated.


    The others also said their comments until all of them started conversing about the Zone 7 Academy.


    "I wonder why we are watching a competition from a backwater academy?" A pink-haired girl asked in wonder.


    "Oh, you didn''t know?" Responded the boy next to her.


    "What? What? Did I miss something?"


    "That city is on the rise recently."


    "For real?"


    "That''s true," said Mariemai.


    "Really, Miss Mariemai?"


    "Well, yes. It''s something that I heard only from those guys in the faculties. Right, Tim?"


    "Yeah, she''s right, Melliady."


    "I see. But I saw a few people with promising strength among them. Most of them are still weak."


    "Although it''s true, isn''t it a little mean, Melliady?"


    "Hahaha!" The others laugh.


    "I also heard that Zone 7 will be part of the Western Camp for the coming training camp next week," Mariemai suddenly added.


    "Oh, wait. Western Camp?" Tim Kruz repeated.


    "Isn''t that the same camp as us?"


    "Not only us. The 5th academy in last year''s competition will be part of it as well."


    "The 5th rank, huh. The Zone 2 academy!" Tim said with a glint in his eyes. Zone two was their target to beat in this year''s competition.


    Not only the trainees in Human City Zone 5 were currently watching the competition in Zone 7 through a large projector. The other neighboring Human Cities were also watching it. Especially those in the western part.


    Everyone had different reactions regarding it. Not only about the trainee''s power but also about the inside competition itself. Most of them thought that it was a reckless move of the admins in that City. Showing their trainees power before the real competition started was like letting their weaknesses be known by everyone.


    On top of that, Zone 7 wasn''t even in the rank of last year''s competition. In fact, gossip was proliferating about the decline of Zone 7. Yet, what kind of reckless move they were pulling this time? They could make it private but they dared to publicize it. In fact, they did it intentionally.


    "Well, since Zone 7 was recently on a decline, they have a hard time getting sponsors from the outside. But still, this move was a reckless one. Especially that they are not even a powerhouse academy," said a girl with long brunette hair to the other people around the long rectangular table.


    "Exactly!" Another girl agreed to her assertion.


    "I heard that in Zone 7, there''s a strong sophomore."


    "Ah, you mean the Ace?"


    "Uh-huh."


    "Well, having a few strong players isn''t good enough in the Resource War."


    These people were the 10 elites of the first year of Zone 9 Academy. They just finished their meeting about their prospect plan when one of the members suddenly reported that he received news about an inside competition that was currently happening in one of the Human City. Most of them laughed upon hearing it.


    They were wondering why now. Why did they hold such an absurd event in this time of the year in which the World Competition was coming closer?


    "Look, the last pair are being called out."


    While the others gave their comments about the competition, one of them reminded them that the last pair was about to come on stage.


    "Crimson?"


    Muttered the girl with long brunette hair as she was reading the contestant''s name.

 Chapter 289: A speed-type Jugo

    "Good Luck, Jugo! Finish it quickly!" The Encan girl Rei-Rei, who just finished her match, shouted to the person with wolf ears.


    "Don''t worry, it won''t take a second," Jugo replied to Rei-Rei. Like her, he was a beastman too. The two of them were part of the same party and also part of the elite class. "I... will be the fastest participant to beat his opponent in this competition, hehe!" Jugo declared as he walked in front of his opponent,


    Jugo remembered that this opponent was the weakest student in this Academy.


    Although he defeated his opponent in the first round of elimination, it wasn''t enough to prove his strength. Also, his enemy was not even part of the elite class.


    Jugo scoffed.


    "Finally, it''s Jugo''s time to stun all," said a male with a pair of rabbit ears.


    "But look at his disappointed face," another person from the beastmen party interjected. It was a female student with a pair of raccoon ears and also part of the elite class.


    "Haha, he''s disappointed that it isn''t Kiko, the opponent he is facing, Sonya."


    "You''re right, Miss Rei-Rei."


    "Heh, I will be the one to defeat that Kiko. He was so lucky that we didn''t face each other today," another guy with a pair of wolf ears said with a glint in his eyes.


    "Fufu, chillax, Klein. There''s another time, " Said Sonya. "Regardless, Miss Rei-Rei, can you beat that Almina?"


    Upon hearing it, Rei-Rei glanced at Almina. That girl has currently had her eyes focused on the large monitor.


    They didn''t care about Almina''s love life. But Rei-Rei disapproved that Almina was considered the most powerful female student in the Academy.


    "I will defeat her as long as you defeat that blonde��" replied Rei-Rei.


    "Fufu, it''s a deal then," Sonya giggled.


    "Isn''t this round a bit lacking in action compared to yesterday? We couldn''t even see a real fight. Those guys in Elite class ended their opponents in a single strike. Although the audience liked it, most of the VIPs seemed to find it boring to watch." Principal Mar felt troubled after Principal Kim mentioned it.


    He was right. Since the VIPs much like watching a heated fight than a boring fight that ended in just a few seconds. Principal Mar felt he made a big mistake for not warning those guys to showcase each talent. In this case, the VIPs would think that only the students in the elite class were worth watching. In this regard, this whole competition would become useless if they failed to get at least one sponsor.


    On top of it, there was only one pair left! And that last pair was against a Demihuman from the elite class! And his opponent-- ''Oh, no! It''s him. He was the student who was reported as the weakest student among the trainees this year.'' A bead of sweat trailed down principal Mar''s face after seeing that it was Yman.


    "Miss Aurellia, from which class that student belonged?" Principal Mar whispered to Miss Aurellia, who was currently sitting beside him as his Secretary.


    Seeing the principal pointed to a human contestant on the stage, Miss Aurellia quickly scanned the tablet in her hands. It didn''t take long for her to find Yman''s details.


    "Class D, from Teacher Pai''s class, " she replied to the Principal.


    The Principal showed a grim expression upon hearing it. All the hope seemed to leave him.


    Although that student managed to show a good fight in his recent match, it was different against those students from the elite.


    He should have warned the elites not to be so excessive against the lower class. When Principal Mar glanced at the bored faces of the VIPs, he wanted to run to the stage and advise the half-beast half-human student to give pity to his opponent to prolong the fight even for a little.


    "Kukuku," seeing the pitiful expression of Principal Mar, Principal Kim chuckled. "Are you okay, Principal Mar?" He asked, trying to sound worried. But the scornful expression on his face betrayed it.


    "Y-Yeah, I am. Ahaha��" Principal Mar forced a laugh.


    He could only grit his teeth and pray that Yman would last a little longer. If the fight ended sooner, then it would become a worthless promotion, and probably the VIPs would start to leave tomorrow.


    Not far from them, "That''s him, right?" Sunday asked Jack.


    "Yes, that''s him. The student who I failed to gather his information," said Jack dejectedly.


    "Don''t get disappointed in yourself; Regardless, he is not part of the elites?" Sunday said, a little surprised.


    Jack stared at her with a puzzle and a surprised expression on his face. "H-How did you know he wasn''t part of the elites?"


    "Look at the profile of him on the screen. The elites have that elite badge on their picture. His enemy has it too," Sunday pointed.


    "Oh, you''re right."


    Jack never noticed that it was there. "So, his enemy is from the elite class? And he''s not?" Jack muttered.


    "Fufu, so another worthless fight," suddenly, a person from their back interjected.


    When they glanced behind them, they saw a man in his 30s. This man was the popular youngest senator.


    "Senator Bajj!" Jack exclaimed inwardly


    On the audience podium, the onlookers were shouting for a fast defeat. The ordinary audience had a different perspective than the VIPs. After all, the VIPs wanted a fighter that was worth investing in, not just for entertaining.


    That''s why they rather saw a fight in which everyone showcased their talents. Not the type of one strike one kill type of battle. They couldn''t gauge their skills in this kind of match.


    Yman was facing the human with a pair of wolf ears. The person was staring at him with a dejected face.


    It was easy to tell that he was looking down at him. In the waiting hall, Kiko couldn''t hold his chuckle. Although he wanted to be the one to crush that hated guy, it also good to see Yman getting beaten by a-- nobody, especially in front of Almina.


    He wondered what Almina would feel, later on, when that person gets beaten by a dog.


    "Hehehe��" Kiko laughed secretly. Then, focused his attention on the screen.


    "Will Bro Yman be alright?" Bob asked worriedly.


    "He won''t be alright," unexpectedly, it was the blonde who replied to him. Bob wondered when Yman became acquainted with this pretty snobby blonde. Aside from Almina and Keremi, he never saw this blonde talk with anyone else. But, a while ago, she often talks with his best friend. On top of that, his best friend got a free legendary hug from Miss Almina! What a lucky man!


    While Bob was mulling in envy, Maena continued saying, "Especially that beast-man... he''s a speed type. Among the elites��" she paused for a moment and glanced at Almina. Then she sighed. Bob wondered what with that sigh. "Only Almina could compete with him��" Maena ended her words with a poker face.


    ''Ahaha�� If it pained you to say it, better shut your mouth, you know,'' Bob thought. Although he was the type of person who wasn''t minding his words, there was a rare occasion that he would rather not voice out his thoughts as he could feel his life ending if voice it.


    Regardless, after hearing the blonde''s words, Bob and the others thought Yman was in a bad situation. After all, no one among them forgot his deal with Kiko. Even the always cool-looking Almina was clamping her hands, like praying, as she was gazing at the large screen. Her face showed a worried expression.


    "W-Well, let''s just pray he wouldn''t end up dying in a second, hahaha��" Bob forced a laugh. He also prayed that his friend would last a little longer and not be the one who gets defeated in the shortest time.


    No one replied at him, probably tense at the coming fight.


    While everyone was tense at the coming battle, the referee, Instructor Goki, stepped to the center.


    "Start!"


    He shouted to start the fight.


    After hearing the signal, Jugo''s figure disappeared on his position.


    An upgraded version of Rapid Leap?! Everyone was surprised.

 Chapter 290: Innocent

    ZSSSSSSHHH!!!


    BANG!


    "!!"


    "Eh?!?"


    "What?!"


    "What was that?"


    After Instructor Goki signaled the start of the battle, Jugo''s figure disappeared without a warning from his position. An air-reaping sound followed immediately; though it happened only in a brief moment before a loud impact took over and caused some inevitable utterance from the audience.


    They also noticed a transparent barrier emerging, encasing the circle stage to form like a giant cylindrical tube with an estimated height of 50 meters high. And it had a size as big as the stage. It was only natural that it had the same size as the stage because it was built surrounding the stage edge.


    For some reason, the barrier shook terribly. It was supposed to be an invisible barrier, however, whenever something or someone crashes onto it, the barrier will materialize and reveal its form. Just like now, the shield emerged which had been invisible the whole time. Likely, because someone had crashed into it.


    No one had any idea of what happened in the first second because everything happened so fast that their eyes failed to follow the scene.


    They only noticed that the moment the participant with a pair of wolf ears disappeared from his position, in just a second, they heard a thunderous impact. They had their eyes fixed to the stage. But, all of them gaped in puzzlement, and question marks were popping out on their heads along with confused expressions.


    "Eh? What happened?" Asked a bewilder audience.


    "Why did that wolf guy crash himself into the barrier?" Another one whispered a question.


    Yet, no one could give them a proper answer as most of the audience was as confused as them.


    It didn''t take long when everyone realized that something funny had taken place, everyone burst into a guffaw.


    Haha!


    It started with a chuckle until it turned into guffaws.


    HAHAHA!


    "What the hell was that?!"


    "Damn, is that supposed to be a joke?! It''s funny!"


    "Hey, hit your enemy and not yourself!"


    The audience started jeering at Jugo.


    "Look, his enemy was just standing in his position without moving an inch! Hahaha!"


    "Damn! I like that innocent expression on his face!"


    HAHAHA!


    "How did it happen?" The blonde, Maena, asked.


    "I don''t know. I thought he was hit by that attack. Thankfully, he''s fine," Almina replied. Maybe her prayer saved him.


    "D-Did Yman bro manages to pull a Mega Lucky Card?!" Bob exclaimed.


    "Idiot��" Kiko''s grin a second ago froze upon seeing his hated person still standing in his current position. On the other hand, the demihuman had himself crashed into the barrier.


    Even Rei-Rei and her friends could not understand.


    "That''s impossible��" Rei-Rei muttered.


    "Miss Rei-Rei, did you notice what happened?" Sonya asked.


    "No," Rei-Rei shook her head.


    "Tsk, what did Jugo do? Did he want to embarrass himself that much?" Klein muttered after clicking his tongue.


    They glanced at the person with a pair of bunny ears. All of them noticed him having a serious face. "Ban, did you notice what happened?" Rei-Rei asked.


    Ban had heightened sensory ability. So everyone was seeking an answer from him. "I''m not certain, but. I saw Jugo charged straight on his enemy��" said Ban with a frown. He couldn''t understand why Jugo''s enemy wasn''t hurt by his attack.


    "So do you mean�� the enemy evaded it?" Sonya was the one who asked this time.


    Ban shrugged his shoulder as he could not explain. It was very quick that even his advanced sensory failed to perceive it.


    Seeing that Yman was still fine, Principal Mar sighed in relief. But he realized that it was also bad for the image of elites to make a blunder of themselves


    Most of the VIPs that were currently here were just normal humans only, so they also had no idea what just happened. It was funny though. That half-beast person crashed himself onto the wall. Some of them chuckled and shook their heads.


    Everyone chuckled further when they heard Yman ask his opponent.


    "Uh, are you okay? How''s the barrier? Is it durable? Dang, that surprised me. I never thought that you have little trust in it. We can ask the referee to check it to make you comfortable," He asked in a worried and innocent tone.


    Instructor Goki, who was standing near the stair, gawked in disbelief after hearing his words. Haha. This kid was as shameful as before. It was clear that he was making fun of his enemy''s blunder.


    Although most of the people who were currently watching had no idea what had just happened, it didn''t skip at the eyes of the experts. Especially those with higher-level.


    He noticed Yman''s figure disappeared in a split second right before his enemy hit him. ''This kid. What kind of trick did he pull this time?'' Goki thought. He could not explain how he did it.


    The noisy jeering and laughter had slowly died down when they saw the person with wolf ears stood up and shook his head. Likely, a little bit dizzy.


    "Dammit!" He mumbled. "Damn you! How did you do that?" He disregarded Yman''s question and directly asked him.


    "Eh? What do you mean?" Yman replied with a puzzled face.


    In the audience, Rea sighed, she knew that Crimson was just fooling with his enemy. Beside her, although worried at her brother, Yana couldn''t help but laugh at her brother''s innocent face.


    "Haha-haha!"


    "Yana, is your brother always like that? A bully?


    "Ha?" Yana immediately stopped laughing when she heard Rea''s question.


    Rea noticed Yana''s face turned serious. "I-is something wrong?" She asked worriedly.


    Yana noticed that she made Rea worried. "Ah no-no, sorry, Miss Rea. Uhm�� actually�� er��" she wasn''t sure if to tell her or not that her brother was the one who was always bullied by others.


    But since she felt that her brother trusted Miss Rea, she had the urge to tell her the truth.


    "It''s fine�� you don''t have to tell me. I wasn''t serious with that question, anyway��" Rea added after noticing the skeptical Yana.


    "The truth is my brother was the one who got bullied every time��" Yana decided to tell her.


    This surprised Rea.


    ''That Crimson had become the subject of bullying?!''


    She couldn''t believe it. Who dares to bully that person?


    "Uhm, Yana, you''re joking, right?" She asked her.


    "Nn," Yana shook her head gently. "My brother was born as a normal person. A person without mana."


    Rea was stunned at Yana''s words.

 Chapter 291: Special type of magic

    Jugo was so mad that his first attack ended in a failure. And he was even madder that more seconds already passed. His intention of defeating his enemy in a second was just empty words now.


    He proudly declared to his friends that he would become the participant with the shortest time in winning the round, and yet! He made a blunder to himself for failing to accomplish what he declared. He disliked to admit it, but. He became a man of no one word. Because of it, the trust value they had to him would be lowered considerably. As a man from a prideful race, the wolfman, this blunder brought a huge impact on himself. Rei-Rei and the others knew about it. They believed that Jugo was thinking along that line at the very moment. It was useless even if they would tell him that they were not thinking like that at him. The only way to lessen the negative feeling he had at the moment was to redeem himself by winning. Though it would never totally lift the heavy feeling he had, at the very least, it could subside a little.


    He knew he could not take back what he already spat. But to redeem himself from the embarrassment from his failure, he must defeat his opponent in a single attack!


    Regardless, his opponent did not take advantage when he was in a slight daze. Jugo thought that maybe this opponent of his knew that even if he did it, it was still useless. Their gap in magical and physical strength was just too vast.


    The others, especially Instructor Goki, found it weird as well that Yman did not take advantage of the situation. He knew how clever of a person Yman was. But soon, they noticed the natural smile on Yman''s mouth.


    ''Damn! Is he looking down on me?!'' Jugo asked himself, full of anger. Even a pulse in cross-shaped emerged on his face. Never had anyone dared to look down on him. As a prideful wolfman, it was a big provocation to him. Anger surged up from within him.


    If his main goal a while ago was to finish his opponent in an instant, now it is different. He wanted him to suffer a bit of pain.


    "YAAAHHHR!!!" Dense mana burst out from his body along with a warcry.


    In just a blink of an eye, his figure disappeared once again. Everyone saw claw marks left in the air, from his previous location towards his opponent. The audience held their breaths in a second before a loud cheer reverberated.


    WOOOOOHHHH!!!


    "Finally, done��" muttered the second wolfman in Rei-Rei''s party.


    After seeing the quick and powerful attack of Jugo, they expected that it was a sure-win attack. They also saw Jugo''s enemy frozen in his position. It was those types of scenes that the animation of getting sliced came late. Jugo, on the other hand, skidded a few steps. But when he stopped, they noticed a puzzled expression on his face while staring at his hand or perhaps he was staring at his claws. But why is that?


    "Eh? Why does he look like that?" Sonya asked.


    Rei-Rei widened her eyes, "Wait, could it be��" she muttered. Right after saying it, they saw Yman run towards Jugo. It wasn''t a strong or fast punch but it connected on Jugo''s face!? They couldn''t believe it!


    Bang!


    Crissssss�� Crasssss!


    Jugo was sent sliding and rolling on the stage floor.


    "How that weak-looking punch had so much power to send his opponent flying!" Sunday exclaimed. Everyone around her turned silent and glanced at her. "Uh�� Lady S--"


    Jack tried to call out at her, but Sunday already noticed she reacted overly. "EH? S-sorry��" she bowed and said sorry. Everyone was as curious as to her. They also wondered how that young man was able to survive that quick attack from his opponent. It wasn''t only once, but twice already. Could it be that the wolfman had bad eyesight? But even if they had bad eyesight they could reinforce it using their high sensory in sniffing.


    "What just happened?"


    "I thought I saw it when the wolfman clawed his enemy."


    "Me too."


    "I thought it was the end of the fight."


    The audience was noisily whispering to each other.


    Inside the security room, Ice was narrowing her eyes before a smile broke out from her mouth. "I am right, he wasn''t an ordinary person. It must be the reason why his deity looks like that."


    Ice was currently in charge of monitoring the surrounding area. Currently, she is surrounded by monitors. And displayed in the monitors was the surrounding area of the city. The instructor who was supposed to be in charge of this task was called out by her favorite Elder, Elder Paan. And so, that old hag asked her to take the role for a time being. Ice could only cry as Elder Paan dragged her by the collar when she tried to escape. Well, what can she do against an elder? It was like comparing a baby to an adult. All the same though.


    Although Ice realized how Yman was able to avoid his opponent''s attack, it still puzzled her. He knew Yman was using the skill of his deity, the One Second Invisibility! Exactly as the name implied, it turned the user invisible but for a second only. Imp was known for being a great illusionist. They are one of the rulers of dark power.


    But even if Yman used the invisibility ability, he should still be hittable by his opponent. It didn''t turn him into air or erase his physical body or bring him into a different dimension; the invisibility ability could only hide his figure which was still capable of getting hurt.


    "He used his Time Warp ability in a split second after his figure turned invisible," Rea explained to Yana who was puzzled as to why her brother wasn''t hurt by the enemy''s attack.


    Yana was staring at Rea with a surprised face. "T-Time Warp?" She could not believe that her brother could use such an ability that only the special magicians could use. C-could it be her brother was one of the Mo-moderators? Moderators are individuals who could use special types of magic such as Time, Space, Illusion, Creation, Distraction, and Manipulation. Although it was long ago, she could still remember the words of her personal instructor at that time.

 Chapter 292: Furious Jugo

    (A/N: There is a mistake in the last chapter. Yana meant to say Moderator instead of Channeler. I edited it already.)


    Yman did something awesome for landing a hit to his elite opponent, however, most of the trainees thought that it was a lucky hit. Chloe and Bob also thought the same. If not lucky what else could it be? Even if Yman had become stronger after his disappearance, it was unthinkable that he surpassed an elite so suddenly. It was impossible. There was a reason why those elites were elites. They have exceptional growth compared to those non-elites.


    Yana had no idea what her brother was like inside the academy. But she did not need to see it with her eyes to know. She could feel that her brother was not doing good in the academy just by looking at his beat-up face whenever he came back from it. Furthermore, she was surprised as well that her brother could still fight an opponent that she heard was a student with a higher potential than him.


    But if ever her suspicion about him was right, about being one of the Moderators, then perhaps he could win. She had no idea how strong an elite student was. But she was certain that her brother had low physical strength. So, to win the fight, he needed to depend on his special ability, the Time Warp that Miss Rea spoke of.


    But for Yana, no matter what happened, Yman was the coolest big brother she ever had, and she was proud to have him as her brother.


    "Big bro�� Fight!"


    "Eh?"


    Yana cheered and Rea was slightly surprised. She glanced and saw Yana cupping her hands on her chest. She must be praying for her brother''s success. Rea smiled at the warm feeling that transpired. She was happy that Crimson has a lovable sister.


    "Don''t worry, Yana. There''s no way that guy will lose," Yana suddenly heard Rea say. Yana was surprised at Rea''s words because it brought a feeling that Rea was certain that her brother, Yman, would never lose for certain. She had no idea what relationship his brother had with Miss Rea, but the way Rea said it told her that the two of them had an understanding of each other.


    Yana was so happy that her brother found a friend that trusted him, no wonder he looks different now.


    While Yana was contemplating, the audience cheered once again. On the stage, Jugo launched another attack on Yman. This time he did not use a charging attack, instead, he engaged him in a melee. Jugo, although most of the time acting like a muscle brain, would quickly gear up when he thought something was amiss. Especially that it was already two times that his attack was evaded by this opponent of his.


    He was not looking at him equally or highly, rather, he was looking down on his opponent. Just that, his wolfman instinct was telling him that he needed to change the way he was fighting, if not, it might be a huge, unredeemable blunder if he keeps messing up.


    "Yar, yar, yar!"


    Jugo sent multiple slashes that could tear his opponent to pieces if ever one successfully hit. Fueled by hype coming from the audiences, Jugo increased his speed. It was like the air was raining with scratch marks. More and more scratch marks were accumulating in the air. Before the first one disappeared, one or two came marks came ahead. After a few seconds, the noise coming from the cheers was gradually diminishing. Everyone held their breath from the intensity of Jugo''s attack.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! Slashing sounds were noticeable at the very moment.


    But, despite Jugo''s relentless, rapid attack, they noticed something weird. Even the VIPs in the VIP room and participants in the waiting hall were puzzled as to why Jugo''s attacks were continually missing. Even the most unperceptive type of person, Bob, noticed it.


    "Do Jugo''s attacks slow or what?" Bob asked in a voice a little louder than a whisper. Though he knew that it was an absurd question since it was obvious just by looking at the fight that Jugo''s attacks were not a bit slow. They were so fast that one would doubt if they saw when he lifted his hands.


    However, no one mocked Bob''s question as they also had the same feeling as him towards the fight. They were as surprised and doubtful as him. They doubted how in the weird chance that Yman was still intact?! How he managed to evade and dodge those fast-paced and sure kill attacks.


    Noticing the weird outcome, Jugo increased the magical aura that was exuding on each of his hands. He did it to increase the power and speed. The more magical aura they summon the more powerful they become. They only needed to hide it when they had to act stealthily or when they were reserving their magical aura. Even so, none of his attacks ever land on his enemy. How is this possible? All fell silent that even the fall of a needle can be pretty much perceivable.


    Jugo himself had started to feel something was not right. It was already almost a minute that he threw relentless fury of slashing attacks, yet. His enemy seemed to evade it luckily. No! Everyone could tell that Yman dodged it skillfully.


    "I-Impossible��" One of Kiko''s friends muttered with eyes. Although they were not admiring Jugo''s skills. But his speed was no joke.


    Bang!


    The next thing they noticed; they all heard a dull sound.


    Then they saw the figure of Jugo slowly fall. A second later, they saw him groveling on the floor.


    "W-What had just happened?" Sonya asked in wonder, puzzled as to why it was Jugo again who looked so pained.


    Rei-Rei and the others narrowed their eyes at Jugo''s opponent. How was that guy able to outfight the furious Jugo? All of them had the same question in their minds. Not even those high-level monsters inside the dungeon were a match on Jugo. But this person was able to corner him that much. In fact, it was like a child trying to throw inaccurate punches. Not even them could evade five of Jugo''s rapid attacks.


    Even though still in pain, Jugo did not wait for the enemy follow-up attack. He forced his body to stand. His feet subconsciously leaped backward when he noticed the approaching punch of his enemy. However, although he avoided getting hit by it, it did not make him happy. How can he be so happy after his shameful retreat?

 Chapter 293: Not strength or power, but intelligence

    A shameful retreat against a weak opponent!


    "Dammit!" Jugo bellowed and took something from his storage.


    It was a pair of golden bracelets. But Jugo wore them on his legs, a little above his ankle.


    Not only that, he took another pair. This time he wore them on his wrist. After doing it, the bracelets glowed brightly.


    "Woah! What was that?"


    "Artefacts?"


    "He looked so majestic."


    Some amused utterance could be heard from the audience.


    Yman widened his eyes in surprise. Those bracelets. He saw some of those inside the palace treasury. It must be a high-tier artefact!


    Jugo sneered at him before saying: "Now, prepare to die," he spat the words in a cold voice.


    After saying it, he grinned. Then his body warped.


    "S-so fast!" An audience exclaimed. The next second, Jugo finally landed a hit on his enemy. Yman was thrown a few steps away. Though he managed to stay on his feet.


    However, when he looked at his opponent, Jugo was no longer in his position. A second later, a figure materialized on his side.


    Bang!


    A kick managed on his side. Luckily, he was able to block it using his right arm. But even though, he was sent crashing on the floor and slid several meters away.


    Yet, Jugo wasn''t finished. Before Yman stopped sliding, another impact on his back. Yman was thrown in the opposite direction. However, Jugo did not stop with just that. After his body warped, he materialized beside him and kicked him like a soccer ball.


    Yman''s body bounced in all directions.


    "Y-Yman��" Almina muttered in worry.


    The audience became so silent, however, they screamed a second later.


    "Whooo! What kind of speed is that!"


    "My gosh! My eyes can''t keep up the fight!"


    "Go, Wolfy! Beat your enemy!"


    "Bwahaha! Don''t let him live!"


    "Kill him!"


    For some reason, some audience members started cheering loudly. Weirdly though, they were cheering for the Jugo and they wished for Yman''s defeat.


    "Kill him and free our Princess Almina from his CLUTCH!!!" Another member of the audience stood up and shouted the words. The person had a white bandana on his forehead. Written on it was "For Almina''s Sake, Kill Him!".


    After he shouted, the others people beside him started chanting randomly: "Kill him!", "Defeat him!"


    "Kill him!"


    "Defeat him!"


    "Kill him!"


    "Defeat him!"


    "Kill him!"


    "Defeat him!"


    The chant started random and scattered until everyone said it in unison. Now they were in sync with each other, turning the scattered voice into one powerful voice.


    "KILL HIM!"


    "DEFEAT HIM!"


    "KILL HIM!"


    "DEFEAT HIM!"


    "These fools!" Almina inside the waiting room wanted to flame those fools. She wondered why they wanted Yman''s defeat. "Yman, be careful. And stay strong��"


    She whispered in a voice that seemed a little beyond crying. Besides her, Maena didn''t know how to react to those people''s chants. Looks like that guy had a natural talent to garner hate for himself. She glanced at Almina and shook her head. Almina was pursing her lips.


    Maena sighed. ''This girl has no clue that she is the reason��'' she thought.


    Some students inside the waiting hall also shouted the chant, followed after the audience. But once Almina threw a fierce look at them, they went silent, awkwardly.


    It would be bad news if they angered the Cool Princess that was loved by everyone.


    Kiko grinned. "Finally, a good beating. Hehe," he chuckled. Though he wanted to be the one who did the beating on Yman.


    Regardless, he felt an inexplicable joy and anger when he saw the sadness in Almina''s face while staring at the monitor.


    He was happy that finally, Almina noticed the weakness of the guy he chose. But Kiko was also sad. Sad that Almina''s feelings for that guy were genuine. It was easy to tell that she loved him just by looking at the expression on her face.


    Kiko didn''t like it! He hoped for more beating for that guy. Yman shall be as good as dead. If it was him, he wouldn''t let him say the word "Surrender!".


    Bob and Chloe''s face turned bitter. They wished for Yman''s success. But the reality was just too much, asking a win against an elite student was too much.


    "Looks like Jugo wasn''t fighting him seriously a while ago��" Chloe muttered.


    "Yeah, but still, I want him to win!" Bob announced with a glint in his eyes.


    "Bwahaha, that''s impossible!" Not too far from Bob and the others, they heard someone interjected.


    They glanced and saw another person with a pair of wolf ears. They knew who it was. It was the other person from the Beastmen Party led by Miss Rei-Rei. More on that, all of their members were from the elite class. Nonetheless, they were all present at the moment. This was the strongest party in the academy. Their party was even stronger than Almina''s party. And they had the highest record of explored floors in the dungeon.


    "Give up giving your hopes high. That friend of yours will never win against Jugo," the wolfman added.


    He was saying it while his eyes were fixed on the monitor.


    Bob wanted to disagree, but this wolfman just said the truth. Bob gritted his teeth. It was unfortunate that Yman and he were both born weak. They could only lament their lack of power.


    Well, as long as they graduated from this academy, everything would be fine. They only need to get a degree and later get a better job. That was all that mattered to them.


    "I don''t think Yman will lose��" while Bob fell silent, they suddenly heard a familiar voice. The word came from Miss Almina Amulet.


    "Eh, how can you be so certain that he won''t lose?" The person who replied to Miss Almina was no other than Miss Rei-Rei!


    Now everyone was staring at the two. "Because he is the person with lots of surprises," Almina replied. ''And he is the person I trusted the most��'' she continued in mind. Also, Almina believed that Yman could find a way to win the fight. Not through strength or power, but intelligence.


    Rei-Rei knitted her brows before she raised a brow on Almina. "Heh, say it before he becomes a good soccer ball of Jugo." Rei-Rei mocked.


    "What!"


    They suddenly heard a surprised utterance. It was from the stage. It came from Jugo. They immediately glanced and saw Yman holding Jugo''s leg.


    Yman sighed.


    ''Ah, those kicks are so weak. Not even half as strong as that monster��'' he thought nonchalantly. The monster he mentioned was the monster he fought near the Silent River.


    Actually, he just wanted to test Jugo''s strength. He felt excited after seeing the artefacts. He admitted that Jugo became faster and stronger. But it wasn''t to the extent that could one-hit him. Unfortunately, he was a self-healer magician. So damaging him little by little was useless.


    "Dammit, release me!" Jugo struggled to release his foot. However, he noticed that he could not free it. He had no choice. He needed to punch him. But before his punch landed on Yman, Jugo felt a strong impact on his side. Jugo was sent crashing on the floor.


    Everyone was staring with blank faces.

 Chapter 294: The rumors

    Once again, Jugo was sent crashing on the ground. his face twisted in pain as he tried to get up, baffled as to what had just happened. How was that guy able to fight back? Jugo asked himself in wonder. He could not believe it. Does it mean he still has more strength even after receiving that consecutive attacks?


    What was more suspicious, it was an attack from Jugo himself. He could not believe it. A trainee from the lower class was able to withstand his attack. Did his strength become so weak that even someone from the lower class survived from it? Of course not! Not even those monsters in the floor 20 and above inside the dungeon were able to survive his attack. He did not train for nothing. He trained arduously and diligently almost every day. His skills along with his strength rose remarkably.


    But why? Why was this enemy still able to survive? No, he must be lucky only. Perhaps his attack failed to hit the critical parts of the enemy. Right, it must be the reason.


    He tried to find excuses as he could not bear seeing his enemy in good shape after his fury.


    Jugo once again stood up. But a glint in his eyes was noticeable. His face showed a bitter expression when his eyes landed on the timer that could be seen above. It was passed one minute already and his declaration of defeating his enemy in a second had long since become history.


    While Jugo was in deep pondering, the audience had random conversations.


    "Hey, what had just happened?" Asked one of the audiences.


    "Why are you asking me? Don''t you see this puzzled face?" Replied the person beside him while pointing at his face, similarly flabbergasted as him.


    "��.."


    Behind them, "Hey Ultima, that RatSlayer, is he always that tough?" Asked Vortex, who was sitting beside Ultima. He was surprised that even though the RatSlayer just got a good beating, he was still able to retaliate against his enemy. Upon knowing that RatSlayer''s opponent was from the elite class, Vortex could only laugh drily and thought, ''RatSlayer''s luck isn''t good. He would certainly lose in the match like those other participants who lose in a few seconds.'' Yet, it had already passed a minute but RatSlayer was still active on the stage! It was surprising!


    He could only ask mercenary Ultima as the two of them had once teamed up in a Rat-killing mission. Ultima did not answer right away. He tried to remember if there was a chance that Yman suffered in their mission before then survived.


    "Well, I don''t remember him being in such a situation before. But honestly, if there was anything most noticeable about him, that is, he could maintain a cool head even in the face of dire situations," Ultima replied honestly. "And also, that guy, he was so merciless that you would doubt if he was another person��" Ultima added after he remembered what Yman did on those Evil Rats they encountered in the former Underground tunnel.


    "Eh?" Vortex stared at Ultima with a frown. "RatSlayer is a merciless person?" He asked, could not believe what he heard. ''Is the RatSlayer really a merciless person?'' He repeated in mind. He noticed Ultima nodded with a serious face. Vortex returned his eyes on the stage. Could not believe that the RatSlyer was such a guy. Look, that person looks like someone who could not hurt even a bug.


    Right, it was true that he changed a lot, he grew taller, and his face became handsome, probably because of leveling up, however, the meek and warm aura around him was still the same. So even though he changed a lot, it was still easy to recognize him. It was the kind of aura that was mostly picked up easily by bullies. An aura that could be found in a person who is mostly the subject of bullying.


    Ultima sighed upon noticing the expression written on Mercenary Vortex''s face. He could read what he was thinking. He knew it was hard to believe him. But it was the truth. He was fooled also by that gentle face of Yman. However, that person was hiding a monster inside him. It was the merciless dark side of him.


    "He is. He was merciless against those rats in the tunnel," Ultima replied. Then, returned his gaze to the stage.


    Regardless, they came here to watch RatSlayer''s match. Ultima was curious about Yman''s growth. That guy suddenly disappeared after the incident regarding the Demon of Possession.


    He had to thank him. Lady Ice, Miss Almina, and Miss Maena told him that it was Yman who did a big part in defeating the demon. Ultima was surprised upon hearing it. Not only that, it was Yman who rescued him from the Demon''s clutches.


    That time, among those who came in the Underground Channel, Yman was the weakest. Yet, Lady Ice and the others all said that Yman was the one who defeated that frightening enemy?! Unfortunately, he had no idea what happened that time as he was possessed by the demon.


    Also, there was no way the three of them would lie. Miss Ice was already in bad shape when they arrived. And Yman did some astounding performances when they fought those other monsters before they arrived at the deepest part of the Underground Channel. So, Ultima could only believe that it was thanks to Yman.


    When he regained consciousness in the hospital, Yman had already left the city. He tried to ask his whereabouts from Miss Almina and the others, but. None of them had any idea where he went. Most of them speculate that he came back to the surface, beyond this world. Ultima regretted that he wasn''t able to thank him. That mission, he benefited a lot from it. And all of it was thanks to Yman.


    Regardless, time went by and he slowly forgot about Yman. The city changed a lot in just a month. Aside from him and the others, there was also another person who did great help in defeating the demon, the mysterious black magician who once saved a group of second-year trainees. That person was so mysterious that he would suddenly arrive and out of a sudden disappearance. Everyone was wondering about his identity. However, no one succeeded in unveiling him. Some rumors are stating that he already left the city. Moreover, there were some rumors of appearances of a mysterious black knight from the other city, specifically in the Encantasia Empire.


    Everyone wondered if they were the same person. Those rumors were of course carried from the mouths of some merchants.


    While Ultima was pondering, on the stage, Jugo was once again preparing another attack. This time, he would use another tactic.

 Chapter 295: Prime State

    Upon getting up, the audience expected another clash right away, but surprisingly, Jugo remained in his position and did not charge on the guy with the alias of Crimson. This action of him surprised everyone.


    He most of the time took the initiative to charge on his enemy. Yet, this time, he chose to remain on his feet!


    Even Jugo''s friends were baffled by it. Rei-Rei and the others were asking about Jugo''s action. None of them could give definite conclusion, though they were certain that Jugo was planning something. But still, it was not like him that he remained standing.


    In their minds, Jugo was the type of person who was very adamant in attacking his enemy. No matter how strong his enemy, he would never give up in persevering. If his attack failed once, he would attack with a more furious next�� more furious and more powerful. Jugo was just that type of person.


    And so, why did Jugo give up on taking the initiative this time? Is his enemy that strong? No way! No way! His friends started to question inwardly.


    Looking from others'' perspective, it seemed like his enemy''s attack wasn''t so strong, typical of a person in a lower class. Since Yman''s attack was done so naturally, casually, with no flashy moves, most of the audience thought it was a normal attack only that lacked power. In truth, they were puzzled as to how those weak-looking attacks were able to send Jugo away. Those attacks didn''t even look powerful in the audience''s eyes.


    But it was different from Jugo''s perspective, only Jugo knew the power behind those normal-looking attacks. Even now, his body was aching. He was just enduring the pain, to put up a brave face. He was about to faint a while ago. Thanks to the resilient body of being a wolfman, his tolerance against pain was quite higher than most of the other races, especially humans.


    Damn, this enemy of his was so weird. He looked like someone who could not squash a fly. Yet, behind that nonchalant face of his was a scary strength. Jugo didn''t want to admit it, but his enemy wasn''t ordinary. Especially after surviving that combo of attacks from him. No weak person could come out unscathed with that attack of Jugo.


    Also, how was this person able to catch him? His speed wasn''t only for show. Even in the Elite Class, only Miss Almina Amulet could contend with his speed. But this opponent was able to land a hit on him like it was a natural thing!


    He wanted to vomit blood.


    Jugo had to say this, ''The scariest enemy was those with a nonchalant face. It''s difficult to read them, and difficult to guess what they do next. Ptui!'' Jugo thought then spat bloody saliva.


    Regardless, he started to question whether this guy was the same person who was mocked by the other humans.


    "You''re all wrong. Jugo was hurt by those attacks from his opponent," Rei-Rei and the others suddenly heard one of them say.


    "W-What do you mean, Ban?" Asked Sonya.


    "Admittedly, that enemy of his isn''t just an ordinary guy. Though his attacks looked so normal, the power behind those attacks could rival the power of the elite students."


    "What!" Everyone exclaimed in shock upon hearing the bunny man, Ban. Among all of them, Ban had the most acute sensory. So, they believed his assessment.


    "Wasn''t that person who couldn''t even light the bulb on the first day of the test?" Asked Rei-Rei.


    "Oh, now that you mentioned it, Rei-Rei. I remember him now!" Sonya exclaimed. "Wait, it was surprising that Miss Rei-Rei remembered that person��" suddenly added Sonya in a little teasing tone.


    Rei-Rei sighed and did not give a serious response to Sonya''s words. However, in her mind, ''Is it the reason that Almina Amulet was so into him?'' She started to build a suspicion. He looked at Yman and squinted her eyes.


    "So, that person was hiding his strength the whole time?" Klein, the other wolfman in their party, suddenly interjected.


    "Looks like that, however, no matter how strong his enemy, Jugo would never lose!" Replied Ban with a determined face.


    After hearing his reply, the others fixed their eyes on Jugo''s figure on the monitor. At this moment, Jugo was standing still with his hands in front of his lower torso. His right hand was slightly curled facing down, while underneath it was his left hand facing upward.


    "C-Could it be��" Rei-Rei muttered.


    "Hehe, yeah, he was about to activate his Prime State!" Ban grinned and announced.


    "Prime State?" Sonya asked.


    "It is a strong technique that increases all the user''s stats, giving the user peak condition!" Klein was the one who replied.


    The bracelets in Jugo''s arms and legs started to shine once again. Then a second later, in the middle of his hands, a spec of scarlet magical energy materialized.


    The scarlet magical energy became bigger and bigger until a chain-like scarlet color appeared around him, but everyone noticed the chain showed cracks the next second. Everyone gaped. Seconds later, the scarlet chain broke and dissipated, but in exchange, a strong scarlet aura burst out from Jugo''s body.


    Even the invisible barrier shook terribly with just the pressure from the aura alone.


    "What is happening?" A random audience asked in confusion a little worried that the barrier would break.


    The scarlet aura swallowed Jugo''s figure. However, when the scarlet aura disappeared, Jugo was still in his current position. Though at the moment, a glimmering, scarlet set of armor was apparent on his body. He was now clad in scarlet armor.


    "Now, that is unexpected, that person must be from the Sanguine Family��" Yana suddenly heard Rea mutter.


    "San...guine family?" Yana repeated.


    Rea glanced at her, "It is the third family of the Canine Sect," she replied.


    "Canine sect?" It further confused her. It was the first time that Yana heard of such a family. "Is it a famous family?" Yana added.


    Rea gaped before opening her mouth once again. "Yes, the Sanguine family is well-known in the empire."


    Yana knitted her brows. It further confused her. "Uhm, Miss Rea, do you mean the Encantasia Empire, right?" Yana asked once again. Miss Pai once mentioned to her about it. She noticed Rea made a nod. "Is Miss Rea from the Empire?" Rea didn''t answer directly, but later, she nodded. She noticed Yana wearing sparkling eyes while staring at her.


    She was a little opposite to Crimson. Rea thought.

 Chapter 296: Amused VIPs

    Regardless, it puzzled Rea why a descendant of a well-known family in the empire chose to come to this academy. Though no laws were prohibiting them to choose an academy they wished to join. But still, it was unusual for Rea.


    Jugo in his Prime State technique was now standing aloft while facing his enemy with too much pride. He believed with his current state he could defeat his enemy with ease.


    While he was clad in scarlet armor that formed from his mana alone, the bracelets in his hands and legs were shining in gold color.


    Yman squinted his eyes as he was gazing at Jugo. He was quite surprised by the scarlet armor that Jugo was currently wearing.


    "How did you do it?" He asked.


    "Heh!"


    Upon hearing him, Jugo just sneered at him but did not answer. But soon he opened his mouth again. "Even if I tell you, there''s no way you can understand," replied Jugo in a cold voice. It was their family''s secret technique.


    After hearing his reply, Yman made a silent laugh. He knew that Jugo was looking down at him just based on how he looked at him. Besides, Yman had a notion that the scarlet armor was made the same way he made his Fire Dolls. But the process of making it what made Yman so curious about it.


    While Yman was pondering, Jugo was gathering mana on both hands. Then it slowly formed into spheres. From a little sphere to a sphere as big as volleyball.


    Sneak-like sparks were trailing around it. They were like electric spheres. Yman''s intuition told him that they weren''t simple spheres. Before he knew it, Jugo already threw one of the spheres at him. Yman evaded by running to the side. He succeeded in evading it and the sphere hit where he was standing just a second ago.


    Creeeek! BOOM!


    A bead of sweat trailed down on Yman''s face when he glanced and saw the sphere explode after an electrifying sound and animation.


    Yet he had no time to have his attention occupied by it as his perception perceived a coming danger. Yman dove and rolled to his side. Just right after doing it, the other sphere passed by at him at an inch distance away from his face. Like the first sphere, it also exploded after an electrifying noise and animation.


    He could feel the power of it based on the explosion alone. It was dangerous. He thought. But soon, Yman gawked when another sphere came towards him. "Eh?!" He uttered in surprise. ''How come he already summoned another one?'' He asked inwardly. ''Wait! Is there no time lag in his attack?'' Yman started to doubt.


    It looks like this wolfman was not an ordinary opponent. Yman smiled inwardly.


    On the other hand, Rea was wondering why Crimson chose to evade them. He was called Crimson Canceller in the guild for a reason. But looked at him now! He was avoiding those attacks. Rea wondered.


    On the stage, Yman did his best to evade. On the contrary, Jugo was amusingly raining long-range attacks at him. "Now, stop running and die!"


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    While he was evading the enemy''s attack he noticed his enemy was throwing spheres faster and faster. ''Could it be�� some kind of passive ability?'' Yman suspected while running in a circle around the enemy.


    Jugo was now standing in the middle of the stage while unceasingly sending electrifying spheres to Yman.


    Yman increased his speed as he noticed Jugo''s attack speed kept on increasing.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Scattered explosions reverberated on the stage. Some even hit the barrier and shook it. Fortunately, the barrier was strong enough to endure the power caused by the explosions.


    "What kind of battle is this?" One of the VIPs asked subconsciously.


    "Oh, I never thought this match would become so exciting," another VIP said in an amused tone.


    "Who are those students?"


    "Wait, is that wolfman just activated a secret technique?"


    "Regardless, the human student did a good job evading those relentless attacks."


    "Exactly!"


    The VIPs started to ask and comment.


    Principal Kim sent a sharp glance at Principal Mar. ''Is this old wench purposely hiding his trump cards for this last match of the day?'' He asked suspiciously. Principal Kim frowned, then unwarily wore a bitter expression on his face.


    He knew that because of this fight, the VIP would start to look ahead of the future fights. ''Damn this old fart!'' He insulted inwardly. Especially that the VIPs already had a little peek of the members of Elite''s strength. Their curiosity would soon be seeking another interesting match.


    Principal Kim calmed himself and was scrutinizing his brain. Wrinkles were noticeable on his forehead as he tried to seek some ideas to prevent the VIPs from sponsoring the academy of this city.


    But soon a smile leaked on his mouth. If the wolfman who is a member of the elite class won this match, he could find a way to turn the Vip''s attention away from their curiosity. It was easy for him to throw some dirt to the Zone 7 academy for the VIPs to lose interest in this City''s academy and its students. Hehe. Principal Kim chuckled secretly. Now he just needed to wait for the wolfman to win. He glanced at the human student''s profile, right, there was no Elite Emblem. He grinned further.


    However, Principal Kim wasn''t the type of person who just was content with a little information. He took his MTMD and sent a letter to his agent.


    He needed information regarding the human participant named Crimson. A second later, his MTMD vibrated, notifying him about a new mail.


    When he read it, there was a thumb''s up icon in the message. Now, he just needed to wait.


    Jugo''s attack bears no result. He started to get annoyed at this enemy. How the fu#* this person was able to evade his attack in a hair''s breadth distance at all times?! He couldn''t believe it.


    Yman noticed his enemy combined the two spheres into a much bigger sphere. It was oozing with power. But he was certain that he could evade it.


    Unfortunately, Jugo made a wise decision. Yman was caught in surprise when Jugo did not throw the giant sphere directly, instead, his figure disappeared and reappeared above his enemy. Yman widened his eyes.


    He wanted to run but it was too late. Jugo shot the giant sphere at a point-blank range. BOOOOOM!


    A strong explosion took over immediately and enveloped the whole stage with both smoke and dust along with the debris.


    The referee Instructor Goki was staring with a stupefied face. Even he who was an instructor of the academy couldn''t help but be amazed at the power of that attack. Regardless, Goki wondered if Yman was fine. Wait, no way he would be fine after receiving that attack from zero range distance. Perhaps, Yman''s whole body turned to ash. Though, he would be reviving soon.


    But Goki felt regretful. Yman did so well in this fight. He was even secretly cheering for Yman. ''So, in the end, it was still impossible to defeat a person in the elite class, huh. Sigh!'' Goki thought, then sighed.


    The smoke did not dissipate right away because of the barrier. The smoke could only climb above but it also meant that the smoke would never dissipate faster. With a nonchalant face, Jugo''s figure slowly descended into the smoke.


    Everyone was staring at the stage with their mouths formed in a letter ''o''.


    However, not long after Jugo descended in the cloud of smoke and dust, they heard a dull sound then a figure was sent away.


    "....."

 Chapter 297: A challenge for melee battle

    "Eh?!"


    Everyone saw a figure fly away from the smoke. Then it bounced on the ground and rolled. When the roll stopped, they saw Jugo lying flat on the ground like a lizard.


    "It''s Jugo?!"


    "What happened?!"


    Rei-Rei and Sonya exclaimed confusedly. Why was he thrown away again? And how did it happen? Don''t tell... that person was still fine? The smoke had slowly blown away, and the stage had gradually become clearer to see.


    WWWHHHAAAT!? He was fine even after that attack?!


    A late reaction from the shocked audience.


    Cough! Cough! Jugo deliberately pulled his body while coughing blood. "Damn, it!" He spat.


    After he descended, a strong impact on his stomach greeted him. He had no idea if it was a punch or a kick. Regardless, it was his fault for letting his guard down.


    Never did he imagine that person was still fine even after receiving that attack from him! How did he do it? Is he some kind of grass that whenever you get rid of, they come back many? Well, that analogy was kind of far off. But he felt that way about this opponent.


    He seemed to be an undying grass, or maybe a persistent pest! "Damn it!" He tapped his knee a little forcefully and push his body up. He peered in front of him and saw his enemy�� without even a slight wound or bruise?! He was stunned.


    Exactly as Jugo stated. Yman was standing a few steps away from him without even a slight crease on his clothes. In addition, he didn''t even look tired.


    Is it for real? Jugo asked in suspicion.


    Actually, not only him, but everyone found it suspicious. Even the second-year trainees who were watching the current match were starting to question the development of the match. Jugo wasn''t a bit weak. He was strong, as one would expect from someone in the elite class.


    If there was anything weird in the current match, it''s his opponent. Honestly, it was already unbelievable that he succeeded in evading Jugo''s relentless and rapid-fire recently. Not even them as second-year trainees could say for certain that they could evade 20 percent of those attacks. Honestly, aside from Miss Ace Ice, only a few of the second year were strong.


    Everyone had started to think that there was something wrong with this match. Kiko knitted his forehead. He wasn''t even listening to Marco beside him, who was talking at him.


    Although he already finished his match and was free to go, he chose to stay as he wanted to see Almina''s reaction when that Toadman embarrassed himself.


    Unfortunately, how did that man still fine and active on the stage? What kind of joke is happening right now?!


    Kiko secretly gnashed his teeth. He was indignant from Almina''s reply to his feelings. He wanted to run and hide, but he chose to stay and put on a front that he wasn''t a bit bothered by her. Someone like him must not show a sliver of weakness.


    There was still a chance to make Almina his lover. Right now, he had to become the man sitting at the top. When that happened, not even Almina Amulet or her family could say no to him. Hehe!


    Kiko chuckled inwardly.


    On the stage, Jugo noticed his armor broke to where he felt pain. Also, the broken part was in the shape of a shoe. So it was a kick, huh. Jugo thought so.


    Jugo faced his palm to the broken part. Then he summoned his mana to restore it. The restoration took him a few seconds only.


    He had no time to waste. He noticed his enemy took a black color knuckle and glove from his dimensional storage and wore it on his right hand.


    Jugo narrowed his eyes. The action of his opponent, he knew what it meant. He was inviting him to settle the match in a melee battle. Jugo smiled wolfishly. Whereas a pair of long pointed teeth were peeking from his mouth.


    "I see, you really have a death wish, huh," Said Jugo. Nonetheless, he was from a prideful race. This blatant invitation, he would never back out against it.


    YAAAAHHH!!!


    Jugo made a war cry while summoning more mana on his body and hands. Then long pointed nails grew on each of his fingers.


    Without wasting time, the two of them rushed towards each other. It only took them a split second to arrive face to face. Jugo did not waste time after nearing his opponent. He immediately clawed him with a rapid swipe from both hands. It was quick and hard to perceive.


    His opponent, Yman, countered Jugo''s attack. The two exchanged multiple attacks while in each other''s faces.


    Punch and claws were flying rapidly. All the onlookers were dumbfounded at their speed.


    "Wait, is that the same person we used to taunt?"


    "S-Strong��"


    "How did Yman could fight like that?"


    "Is he the same person who always fainted in the training?"


    "Eh?!"


    The other trainees were astonished at the fight. But they were more intrigued by Yman. Especially that he was the person who used to be the weakest in the academy. Yet, look at him now. He was fighting on equal footing against an elite student. Moreover, it was Jugo. The student with the fastest speed of all the male students.


    Also, since the match had started, they never once saw Yman summon his mana. Well, they already knew that he was a person known as Manaless. A person who couldn''t summon his mana. Perhaps he was a defective one.


    A person who was able to form a contract with a deity would never be a normal person. So, the reason why he couldn''t summon his mana was not that he had no mana, but maybe because he was yet to learn how to summon it. Or maybe there was something wrong with his mana output.


    A surprise kick from Jugo was able to find its way to Yman''s chest. Jugo grinned but soon froze upon noticing that Yman was able to block it by crossing his arms. Though, he skidded back a few steps away.


    With a twitching face, he followed with another attack by swinging his claw to Yman.


    "Die!" He shouted.


    Yman swayed left and right, but he fell short and one of Jugo''s attacks hit him on the chest.


    "Big bro!" Yana exclaimed worriedly.


    "It''s fine," Rea immediately said. "Don''t worry, he can heal himself," she added.


    Right, she once heard from his brother that his first magic was a self-healing magic!


    Inside the waiting hall, Almina was tightly gripping her hands in front of her chest. She was worried about Yman, but. She trusted that he would never lose. Even though everyone said he was the weakest in the academy in terms of strength, for Almina, Yman was the most reliable person.


    Beside her, the blonde, Maena, was staring at the monitor with great interest. She was wondering how Yman was able to keep up against a student from an elite class.


    However, no matter how strong he became, it was still impossible for him to defeat an elite student. The evidence of it was the wound on his chest.


    Just then, everyone was stunned, along with Maena, when the wound on Yman''s chest disappeared without a trace.


    "Healing magic?!" Sunny asked in exclamation.


    "Seems like that��" Jack seconded.


    "Hmm, that young man... is an interesting person," unexpectedly, they heard Adam Praeter speak.


    Sunny and Jack glanced at him and nodded.


    Seeing it, Jugo''s already twitching face, had a further twitch.


    "You cheater!" He bellowed, then attacked once again. This time, he will make sure to end his enemy. A long double slash formed into a huge letter X in the air. But, where is the target? Yman disappeared from his position. The next second, Jugo felt someone prodded his shoulder.


    He glanced behind him. But he was greeted by a fist. Out of reflex, he tried to evade it, but it was too late. Jugo was sent spinning to the side like a human propeller.


    WHAT!


    All the onlookers were dumbfounded. They were staring with wide eyes open and agape.


    WHAT KIND OF POWERFUL PUNCH WAS THAT!!!


    Everyone shouted in their minds.


    "Wait, Chloe, am I dreaming?" Bob wondered if it was a dream. There''s no way that his best friend Yman would be that strong. Besides, it was only a month that they didn''t see him. So it was impossible for everyone to become that strong in just that little time.


    Chloe opened her mouth but did not say anything. She was uncertain what to say. Like the others, she also found it hard to believe. In fact, Chloe already fell silent when Yman evaded Jugo''s first attempt to finish him in an instance. She already suspected that there was something different at the current Yman.


    10��


    9��


    The referee Instructor Goki already started counting as Jugo was yet to get up.


    8��


    7��


    6��


    Goki continued counting. He was so stunned. How did this supposedly non-fighter type person be able to punch like that?!


    5��


    4��


    3��


    2��


    1...

 Chapter 298: Three times slower

    Before the countdown hit zero, Jugo was able to stand up. But it was noticeable that he was forcing himself.


    Jugo stared at Yman with a twitching face. His vision was still dizzy. And that punch shook his head like it was going to break.


    How did it happen? Is he going to lose against a lower-class opponent? He could not believe it. And it was unacceptable! What would Miss Rei-Rei and the others say if that was going to happen? He would be losing face to show. Damn! How did it come to this? Why was he at a disadvantage?


    He already activated the secret technique of their family. But still, he was on the losing side? He could not take it!


    Whenever he wounded him, he would heal it using his healing ability. Damn! If he wanted to defeat him, he must slice him to pieces or break him apart.


    Yman was staring at Jugo with a slight smile. But Jugo didn''t like it. It seemed like he was looking down at him.


    Jugo made a hasty inspection of his body. Aside from his aching face and broken tooth, he seemed to be still fine.


    No! He must do something! Right! There was still that! Jugo exclaimed in mind.


    Yman noticed his enemy took something from his storage. This time, it was a ring.


    ''A ring artefact?'' Yman asked in mind while narrowing his eyes. He wondered what it was this time. What kind of power his ring artefact was holding?


    After Jugo inserted his finger into it, Yman heard a loud pulsating sound. And the source of it was Jugo.


    "Eh? What is that sound?" Asked a student inside the waiting hall.


    "Look!"


    Shouted another student while pointing to the monitor. Specifically, he was pointing to Jugo, who was crouching slightly like a boxer.


    Da-Dhak!


    While they were watching him, they noticed Jugo''s figure was bulging. His back grew broader.


    Yman wondered if it was a shapeshifter artefact. But he took back his words because Jugo''s figure did not change. Instead, his size doubled.


    <Growth Artefact!> He suddenly heard Sistela''s voice.


    ''My Deity, do you have details regarding it?'' Yman asked his deity.


    <Yes!> She was still mad that her partner changed her figure, but in any case, they were still partners. So, she must do her job. <Do you prefer visuals or hearing it out?>


    ''I will hear it," he had no time to read as he was in the fight. So, hearing it was more convenient this time.


    Sistela began explaining about the Growth Artefact.


    ''In short, it increases all his stats in another fold?'' He said after Sistela finished telling him.


    <Yes! Hmph!>


    ''Ah, My deity, what with that smug?'' A bead of sweat trailed down on Yman''s face. Perhaps, Sistela was still mad at him.


    <.....>


    She fell silent once again.


    ''That''s suspicious��''


    Regardless, his enemy had so many power-ups! It''s unfair.


    <Although you are ranting about it, your face sported an excited expression! That''s creepy! Hmph!>


    "Eh?!"


    Yman was startled by Sistela''s sudden holler. She was mad, right? Yman asked in mind but decided not to give much care about it. Yeah, she was still mad about her appearance. Look, she was bombing his vision with angry emoji. Wait, why Sistela turned like the Anonymous sender who persistently sent him emails?


    Yman shook his head. He wondered if it leaked to his face. Exactly as Sistela stated. A smile was visible on his face.


    In front of him, Jugo was howling while his body was in the process of turning into a giant.


    Yman was quite amused looking at him. Look, that scarlet armor was about to tear apart. However, it shocked him when it remained intact.


    Right, it was made of mana. So, it is probably stretchable and could be overhauled depending on the wearer''s size. Damn! He wanted that kind of armor. He wondered if the scout bee was able to record it.


    He remembered that it also increased a fold of his stats. And now he''s using the Growth Artefact that increased another fold of his stats. Yman wondered how strong he would be if it was him.


    Nonetheless, Jugo already finished his transformation. And now, his scarlet armor is gleaming. Stone-like muscles were trying to rip it. Those muscles were even much bigger than his head!


    Bang! A step from Jugo shook the stage.


    "Woah! A red Hulk!" Shouted a fanatic audience.


    "Damn, powerful!"


    "Hey, don''t break the stage!" (Lol)


    "I wonder if he can be a good center in basketball?"


    Yman didn''t know whether to laugh or cry from those comments coming from the audience.


    Hehe, a chuckle of excitement escaped from Yman''s mouth. This is what he was looking for. He wanted to engage in a brawl with a strong opponent.


    Just with it that his stats would increase. Also, he was a little away from leveling up. That''s why Yman did not use any skills except the One Second Invisibility from the Imp-Series Skill and the Time Warp.


    Well, he believed no one noticed his Time Warp ability since he used it after turning invisible to hide it. Looking from the other''s perspective, he was like Mock Teleporting.


    Jugo is now fuming all over. After a step that broke the stage surface and caused some cracks, it was followed by another step.


    This time, not only the audience was stunned at Jugo''s transformation, even the other students were gaping with wide eyes.


    Then, he disappeared once again.


    After his disappearance, everyone was startled.


    BANG!


    A much stronger collision reverberated somewhere in the stage. But, where is it? Where are the two participants? Their eyes could not follow!


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Three consecutive collisions. Yet, their figure was still hidden from the audience.


    "Slowed the video two times!" Ordered the director of the recording department.


    "Yes, sir!"


    After the video in the monitor was being slowed two times, just then, they saw the two participants on stage move at the same time and punch at the same. Their punches cause an explosion. Must be the reason for that loud sound.


    But even with two times slower video, their figure was still hard to follow. The director decided to slow it three times.


    Although it was played three times slower, in the video, it seemed like a fight between two fledglings running at their best speed.


    Everyone had their mouths left hanging. These two''s speeds were already beyond what most second-year students could muster.


    "What kind of speed was that?" Everyone''s thoughts.


    Because the video was played in a slow-mo, the event in it was by far later than the actual happenings on stage. But, what can they do? They could not follow their speed.


    Everyone in the waiting hall was shocked for a different reason. It was Yman. How was he able to move like that?

 Chapter 299: End of the second round of elimination

    There were only seconds left for the match to end. Yet, no one among the two contestants had the intention of giving up. After a hard to perceive speed that they were demonstrating, now they are contesting with strength.


    The two of them were clasping their fingers while trying to push back the other. But in truth, it couldn''t even be called clasping. Jugo''s fingers were too big to grasp.


    Impossible! Jugo is starting to wonder how this person was not in Elite Class.


    In the VIP room, some VIPs were asking Principal Mar about Yman. "Is he truly not in the Elite Class?" They asked him repeatedly. Principal Mar had to keep on nodding.


    Inwardly, Principal Mar was sighing in relief. Thanks to the current fight, the VIPs were starting to get interested in the competition.


    Honestly, he was as surprised as them to find out that Yman had such a talent. Regarding his not part of the elite class, Principal Mar could guess the reason.


    Although Yman had inexplicable strength and speed, he remembered he was the known student who could not muster his mana.


    They were selecting the elites based on both mana capacity and attributes. Since they had yet to see Yman using a Mana-based ability, they assumed that his mana capacity was as the rumor said that he could not muster his mana.


    Even in this fight, they had yet to see him using his mana. Honestly, they knew that Yman used the One Second Ability skill, but it wasn''t his. It was his deity''s skill, so the mana used in casting it was his deity.


    In this match, Yman only showed unbelievable strength and speed, but not spell or ability.


    So even if he had attributes in speed and strength, he was still not qualified to be part of the elite class.


    However, Principal Mar could not explain it to the VIPs, especially that they finally showed interest in the competition.


    Aside from Yman, some of the VIPs also showed an interest in Jugo. Some were starting to get curious about the other members of the elite class, especially Almina Amulet and Kiko Sun. These two were said to be the strongest male and female in this Academy.


    It was only natural that they started to get curious about the others just looking at the current match.


    If Kiko was the strongest male, automatically, he was more potent than those two on stage! With these thoughts, everyone was looking forward to the next round.


    Meanwhile, Kiko was creasing his forehead while wide-eyed, staring at the monitor.


    Is this a dream? Who is that person on stage?


    It''s impossible to be him! The TOAD! It must be an impostor. There is no way that Toad can fight like that. But no matter how Kiko denies it, it was the reality.


    On the other hand, Almina and the rest were awestruck, staring at the monitor. Never they imagined that Yman''s physical attributes were this high.


    On the stage, Yman and Jugo were throwing punches at each other. Both received damage.


    Around them, the evidence of intense battle was noticeable. The debris from the broken segment of the stage was flying.


    Everyone was wondering if this match was the championship. The audiences were noisy, cheering loudly. Some were yelling Jugo''s codename, and some were Yman''s.


    Everyone was wondering if it would become a draw. It would be a bad result if it came to that.


    The two of them will be disqualified for failing to defeat their opponent. It also meant that they were incapable of winning the competition. Therefore, they were not fit to continue.


    The two participants both staggered back when their punches hit each other''s faces.


    "Ugh!"


    "The fuck! Are you a robot?" Jugo asked boisterously.


    "Heh, said someone who has the body of a tank," Yman mocked.


    "....."


    The audience didn''t know whether he was complimenting his enemy or insulting him.


    Jugo suddenly exhaled. Then attack once again. Yman noticed the scarlet armor on Jugo started to tear apart.


    He believed that it was the time limit. Or maybe it reached the limit of damage that it could handle.


    Yman sent a kick to counter the fast-approaching Jugo. But it was blocked by crossed arms. But, it was faint. His real aim was to use him as the foothold and jump in the air. Then he flipped once before sending a super-strong downward kick.


    "Eh?" It was too late for Jugo when he realized it.


    "Meteorite Kick!" Yman shouted his newly thought name.


    The kick landed on Jugo''s head. He felt his eyes were about to pop out of the socket. Also, because of it, Jugo felt dizzy.


    Yman did not waste the opportunity and send combos of powerful attacks.


    Kicks, punches, elbows, and knees all landed on Jugo. He tried to cover using his arms, but it was futile. His size was an easy target of Yman.


    Thanks to his Knuckle and Gloves, his strength rose to such an extent that even the Prime State Jugo and using the Growth Artefact was still hurt.


    Jugo, who noticed his guard was useless, decided to attack. No matter what, he must not lose. Though it was too late, the Prime State was already at the limit.


    The scarlet armor crumbled to pieces. Because of it, Jugo''s attributes lost the boost. Well, there was still the boost from the Growth Artefact. But against Yman, it was useless.


    Yman gathered mana in his hand, then punched him while shouting, "Raging Fist!" It was the technique he learned while fighting in the 5D arena.


    Finally, the gigantic Jugo fell on the floor, face first. A loud thud reverberated. The fall caused the dust and debris to be wafted away.


    Everyone was silent as most of the present people never expected this result.


    Breathing heavily, he was standing in front of the lying Jugo, who had his back facing the blue sky.


    A second later, they heard a buzzing sound. The time was right at the corner. If Yman was late a second to knock Jugo, the result would have been a draw. But since Jugo fell right before the time limit, Goki excitedly announced Yman''s victory.


    "Woah! Yman bro won!" Bob exclaimed, could not believe the result. But he was happy.


    Maena glanced beside her and saw Almina with teary eyes. Then she returned her gaze to the monitor, to the person who remained standing in the middle of the stage and was gasping for air. She couldn''t believe that she used to look down on him. Maena bit her lip.


    Although it was only the second round of the competition, it seemed like the championship for most.

 Chapter 300: A different person

    When Yman went back to the waiting room, the room was so silent. Together with their deities, their curious eyes were on him.


    In his mind, they must be wondering how he was able to fight like that, especially since he was the person who always fainted in their exercises.


    Right, Yman wasn''t only popular for being the person who could not muster his mana, he was also the infamous person who had the lowest stamina.


    Well, that was a thing in the past.


    This fight of Yman surprised all the other trainees. His first match, against Bruno, did not have much impact on them. It even came to the point that most of them forgot how he won that match. After all, everyone was so excited about their own match.


    But in this match, against an elite student, most of the trainees started to be wary of him. It was unthinkable that someone from the lower class was able to defeat a trainee in the Elite Class.


    While looking at him, most of them felt Yman had transcended to become a new person. Now that they thought about it, he certainly looks very different from before. It was not just a slight change. It was an overall change.


    Although most of the trainees were now feeling wary of him, some were surprised and happy at the same time for this great change of him.


    Almina stepped forward. "Uh, C-Congrats on winning. That surprised me��" she said bashfully, yet did not forget to muster a warm smile.


    He nodded and said his thanks. When he was about to add something, Almina stopped him while saying he needed to rest. Well, he looked so tired.


    Jugo wasn''t an easy opponent. After using his Prime State and Growth Artefact at the same time, most of his stats already surpassed Yman''s. Although he won in the end, it was a hard-fought match.


    But there was no worry in his expression, nor fright. There was only satisfaction. He wanted to win this competition, but more than that, he wanted a match that would enable him to exceed his limits. Just with that, his attributes would show an increase.


    The blonde, Maena, looked away, she had conflicted feelings at the moment. The reason for it was because she used to look down on him. Honestly, she wanted to ask how he became that strong, physically. This win of him against an elite surprised her greatly. But still, she wasn''t the type to openly show it on her face. Maena tried her best to remain as normal as she could be in front of Yman.


    Bob and Chloe said their congratulations as well. It surprised them also that Yman was this strong now. That fight was not just a simple fight. The hardened stage was in a mess. It had been broken all over.


    Most of the trainees were now looking at him differently, but not all.


    "Heh! Look at this guy. Feeling strong? Haha!" Kiko snorted, then asked tauntingly as he walked forward with a chuckle. Following behind him was his gang. "That''s not even a good fight. That''s just a boring brawl of two muscle brains. Don''t think you are so awesome because of that. Just wait when you face up with me. I''ll burn you to a cinder," Without waiting for Yman''s reply, Kiko and his gang left after saying it. He couldn''t wait facing him on the stage.


    It angered him that Yman''s match became the hot''s. He was the one who finished his opponent the fastest even among the other elites. He should be the flesh of everyone''s convo. He expected that everyone would be talking about his fast win. But this Toadman was yet again the topic of everyone''s talks.


    Grr!


    For Kiko, Yman and Jugo''s match wasn''t a big deal. Although Jugo was strong both in physical and magical power, he was more into physical. So in the elite class, Jugo had the weakest magical power. Compared to him and the others, they could easily defeat Yman with their magical prowess. He would be going to show him what real power was when they faced each other.


    But Kiko doubted it. He doubted Yman would advance further in this competition. He should have just dropped dead and left the academy. It was more peaceful without him. Well, he was itching to teach this guy true despair and what real power was.


    Yman just scratched his face as he watched the figure of Kiko going farther.


    "Don''t mind him. Regardless, you look so tired," Almina told him.


    "No, I''m fine, actually," Yman replied. Although he looked so beat up, he wasn''t as wimpy as before. Even a single percent of stamina left would not be enough to faint him.


    Almina blinked her eyes as she stared at him. "Are you sure?" She asked.


    The others also doubted Yman''s words. After all, that match just now was so insane.


    However, he only nodded. "I''m really fine," he said after a smile. Then he told them that he had to go first as he had some errand he needed to accomplish.


    He noticed Almina sighed, but Yman chose not to mind it. The headmaster gave him a mission of handling a letter to the Barracks.


    Before Yman left the waiting hall, his body glowed briefly. He canceled his resonance with his deity.


    When everyone saw Sistela, Bob and the others were quite surprised. Jazz flew beside Sistela and gazed at her. Maybe she was wondering if it was the same deity she knew or different.


    Both Almina and Maena showed an understanding look at Yman after a brief stunned upon seeing his deity.


    "So it was the Imp-Series with a One Second Invisibility ability," Maena muttered.


    Yman nodded.


    "Is this the variant of the Imp-Series?" Almina asked upon seeing that Sistela''s color was green. The standard Imp-series had only red and blue. Both colors had additional illusion ability. But the green one was a little special. It had One Second Invisibility ability.


    "....."


    Sistela didn''t like being stared at in her current form. She tried to hide behind her partner''s head.


    "Yeah, it is a variant of the Imp-series," he nodded.


    "Is that the reason why you were able to dodge Jugo''s leaping attack?" Suddenly, someone interjected. When they glanced at where the voice came from. They saw a beautiful girl with pointed ears.


    "Miss Rei��" Almina muttered while narrowing her eyes.


    Rei-Rei together with the others in her party were moving towards them.


    "Who knows��" his reply was just simple. He had no obligation to explain. Joining this competition was just for fun, actually. And also, to get some experience.


    But before Yman could leave, Almina insisted on coming. He also noticed Bob and Chloe wanted to tag along.


    Yman pondered briefly if it was fine to let them come.

 Chapter 301: Rea versus Almina

    Once again, he had to say no. But since they only wanted to tag along, he couldn''t shoo them away.


    He pondered for a second before nodding. "Okay��"


    Well, the more people also meant more people could protect Rea. Also, Almina was very reliable. Moreover, he had something he wanted to talk about with Bob.


    After he nodded, Almina showed a bright smile. But actually, she was curious about Bob''s words recently. About the so-called friend of Yman. She then moved closer to Yman.


    Kesha sighed. Her best friend was beyond help. Even if she urged her not to bother herself with him, she wouldn''t listen to her. She still could not believe that she was into this man, Yman. Kesha still felt sorry for Kiko after Almina rejected him, but she could not dictate her best friend''s decision. Especially regarding personal feelings. Also, it might be her chance to become closer to Kiko.


    She still felt Kiko was far better than Yman.


    Rea and Yana blinked their eyes upon seeing Yman with more people with him.


    They knew who they were. These people were also participants in the competition.


    But why was he with them? Does this man forget about her situation? Or, he just wanted to be with that girl, who was standing so close to him?! Rea thought with a twitching brow as she stared at Almina before sending a sharp glance at Yman.


    Yana, on the other hand, thinks they looked familiar.


    They were the people who came to visit their hotel room when her brother traveled to a faraway place. And right, they were also the people who came to visit the hospital yesterday. But those times, mostly she wasn''t looking straight in their eyes as she was self-conscious because of her situation. So most of the time, she was staring down while shyly replying to their questions about her brother.


    Yman felt the cold yet sharp stare towards him. And it was coming from Rea. A bead of sweat was taking shape at the back of his head. He wondered if he did something wrong.


    "Brother, are they your friends?" Yana asked excitedly. She never thought her brother had so many friends.


    Yman didn''t know how to answer her. Well, he could probably consider Bob, Chloe, and maybe Almina too as friends. But the rest was still unconfirmed.


    Honestly, he had no idea why they came along as well. Especially this girl named Kesha. This girl seemed to have had natural-born hate towards him. This unkind feeling she was sending towards him was kind of bothering. He could say it, or rather, he could sense it.


    Actually, he tried to refuse them for tagging along, but Almina, with puppy eyes, asked him if Kesha and the others could tag along as well. He tried to reject, but. He remembered a saying stating that an enemy was more dangerous when they were away because they could plot behind your back.


    So it is better to keep them close. So that you can check every time they attempt something bad.


    Well, it wasn''t the actual quote but it was something along those lines.


    On the contrary, the blonde was hard to perceive. That''s why he didn''t want to become so presumptuous in claiming they are friends. He had no understanding of how she saw him. And it still puzzled him that she came along. Perhaps it was because of Almina. And yes, there was an occasion that they fought together in a mission, so it wasn''t new to him to have her come along.


    But the main reason that he agreed to them to come along was because of Almina.


    Yman shrugged his shoulders in reply to Yana''s question.


    "Woah! Bruh, I never thought your sister was so pretty!" Bob suddenly exclaimed. It was the first time Bob saw Yana in a close quarter and well-dressed and also, looking upright. Even Almina and the rest were as surprised as him. They were nodding their heads in agreement with Bob''s words.


    "Eh?" Yman uttered as he was looking at Bob warily.


    The next second, "Damn! Get your dirty eyes away from my sister!" Yman yelled in devilish eyes before sending a chop.


    "!!"


    Thud!


    "Awww!"


    "...", Almina and the rest were startled. But soon they laughed.


    Bob cried out in pain when a hand-chop landed on his head. Out of reflex, he rubbed his steaming head.


    "Hahaha! Bro, you''re so mean to your friend," Yana giggled as she wiped the tears in the corner of her eyes. It was the first time she saw her brother act like that. She never thought her brother was like that around his friends.


    Almina and the others were awestruck with glimmering eyes as they stared at the cutesy of Yana as she giggled.


    Amina''s party members wondered why this person had a very angelic sister! Even Kesha thought so.


    Unbelievable!


    Wait, maybe he kidnapped her and raised her to become his sister. Almina''s party members thought suspiciously at Yman.


    Regardless, who is the other person on Yana''s side? Also, the person looked suspicious in that get-up. A long cloak that covered the figure entirely.


    Rea sighed and thought, ''Now, what''s the purpose of hiding in this get-up? This guy was so reckless!'' She decided to reveal. She already had enough in hiding inside this cloak.


    Rea deliberately lifted the hood. With slow-mo effect, all of their eyes were on her. Even Almina was looking with great concern. After all, she didn''t forget Bob''s words a while ago. It was about Yman having together with a girl, which Yman claimed as his friend.


    Everyone gasped after Rea lifted the hood on her head. Revealing her porcelain beauty, with jade-like skin and shoulder-length snow-white hair. A pair of beautiful eyes and an angelic face.


    Yman fell silent and stared at her with a gaping mouth. He wondered what she was trying to do. But he had a gist. She wanted to reveal her face. Perhaps Yman also felt Rea had enough of hiding under the hood. He didn''t show it outside, but he was concerned about her.


    It was also one of the reasons he agreed to Almina''s group to come along.


    "....."


    Everyone fell silent.


    Rea blinked her eyes beautifully.


    Right, she''s no other than Merea Ella! A princess with the beauty befitting of two countries she represented.


    Now commoners, kneel! Rea thought. But soon, she noticed their weird reactions.


    "A big mole on her nose?" Said one of Almina''s party members.


    "Eh?" A question mark floated above Rea''s head.


    "Rashes all over her face?" Another one added.


    "Wha--!"


    "Super thick eyebrows?"


    "No way!" Rea exclaimed worriedly. She frowned, then hastily touched her face.


    Most of them were staring at her with a condescending look while Almina and some were looking at her with pity in their eyes.


    Ah! She didn''t like it! Please, anyone but not this girl! She didn''t like the idea that Almina was looking at her with pity.


    However, upon touching her face, Rea could only touch her smooth skin. She hurriedly produced a mirror from her spatial ring.


    Rea sighed in relief.


    She was even more beautiful now! What are these people talking about? She thought. There''s no mole, rashes, or thick eyebrows.


    But then she took a glimpse of Yman who was looking away while whistling.


    SUSPICIOUS! Rea exclaimed inwardly. And sent a devilish glare at Yman.


    However, she felt a warm tug on her shoulder.


    It was from Almina!


    Then Rea saw her mouth open in slow motion.


    "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."


    (0��0)


    She felt an arrow hit her straight in the heart. Though Almina didn''t mean bad with her words. But it was different for Rea.


    It was an outright message that she was ugly!


    Rea''s eyes turned white. Her knees lost strength and she fell to the ground. She hugged her knees in defeat while tears flowed like rivers from her eyes. Her hand was writing a death message on the ground.


    In Yman''s mind, ''It was for her safety.''


    *Whistle!*


    *Whistle!*

 Chapter 302: Sending a parchment mission

    "R-RatSlayer��?" A skeptical whisper from someone.


    "What? That person is the RatSlayer?"


    "Yes, yes! It''s the RatSlayer!"


    "Woah! RatSlayer, long time no see!"


    "How have you been!"


    "Dammit! RatSlayer will be exterminating rats once again!"


    "What! The RatSlayer came back?!"


    "Hide rats baby! The slayer will be hunting y''all!"


    The barracks suddenly became lively. The loiters greeted him with enthusiasm, some with a mix of sarcastic remarks. However, Yman wasn''t a bit bothered by it. He was used to these fellas.


    But it was different to Yana and Rea, who were both surprised at the sudden uproar coming from the people inside.


    "RatSlayer��?" Yana muttered. It was an unusual name to call someone. And that someone was her brother. When she glanced at her brother, she noticed no dissatisfaction from him.


    She sighed.


    If ever her brother showed a little displeasure, she would be going to punish these people. Although she was crippled for a long time, she still remembered all those abilities she learned from her childhood.


    Regardless, Yana never thought many people knew her brother.


    Regardless, Yman noticed the atmosphere inside was livelier than before. The ambiance had improved a lot. Not the usual haunted house vibes it used to be when he first came to register together with Bob and Chloe.


    Even the painting inside was now more pleasing in the eyes compared to before. They were now using light-colored paint on the walls. Even the tiled floors were shinier, not the usual yellowish and brownish. Now, three new ceiling fans are rotating on the ceiling, producing fresh air below it. The chairs, desks, and tables were new as well.


    Yman was surprised by the improvements. Though, the arrangement was still the same as before. The counter was still at the center, and there was still the pub on their left side.


    But when he rolled his eyes, Yman was dumbfounded. Almina and Miss Ice''s poster was everywhere, together with him. Specifically, it was the picture of the mysterious black magician.


    Almina turned red when she noticed Yman''s eyes looking at her pictures.


    "Uh, err, It wasn''t what you think. I''m not doing a modeling side job!"


    Yman just smiled. "That''s�� a good picture��" After saying it, he proceeded to the counter.


    Almina was left standing with fumes coming out on her head.


    "Hmph!" Rea pursed her lips at Yman''s remark.


    Yman handed the parchment to the counter. He was about to leave after handing, but the counter employee called out to him.


    "Wait, sir!"


    Yman glanced back, "Yes?" The counter girl was a new face. So it was understandable that she didn''t know him. He was the famous RatSlayer in this barracks, so most of the old counter people knew him. But this girl was different.


    "Uhm, it was a sealed parchment��" said the counter girl while pointing to the golden ribbon, used to tie the parchment.


    "Uh, what of it?" Yman asked nonchalantly as he looked at her.


    "With this kind of important letter, the identity of the messenger was important to know," she told him.


    "I see," Yman understood.


    Almina was about to say something but stopped when Yman walked near the counter while pulling something from within his coat.


    He was a member of this barracks as well, so it wasn''t necessary to get to know him. But then again, it was different for this new employee.


    "G-Gold rank!?" Exclaimed the counter girl inside the barracks upon seeing his adventurer''s badge. He was about to pull his barrack''s badge but looked like he forgot to bring it.


    "Gold?!" Everyone stared at Yman in suspicion.


    "Wait, Yman, you joined the adventurer''s guild?" Almina asked in surprise.


    "Mhm!" He nodded. "Well, I need money to live, " he added while wearing a light smile.


    He noticed their gaping mouth as they were looking at him with uncertain expressions.


    "I-Isn''t adventuring a dangerous job?" one of Almina''s party members asked in a mutter.


    "Yes, it is."


    "Regardless, isn''t a gold rank an awesome rank?"


    "Really?"


    They started talking about it. But Yman did not join.


    Rea was silently standing beside him, still hiding in her hooded cloak. After what he did, there''s no way she chose to be mocked again. It''s better to hide her face. But she would surely make a comeback to him for this humiliation she suffered. And to that Almina too!


    "....."


    Yman did not loiter longer, he left the barracks right after handing the parchment. Now it''s up to them to contact the headmaster if they need something. But before Yman could step out of the barracks, someone stepped forward to block the door.


    "Oh, a gold rank adventurer? Really? You? Fufufu," A person said in suspicion. With his tone of speaking, it gave off a hint that he was unsatisfied with Yman as a gold rank adventurer.


    It was Abel, the junior trainee, who was sponsored by the Sun family. Of course, he worked under Kiko.


    Yman squinted his eyes and stopped on his feet. He looked at him. "Junior, do you need something?" He asked calmly.


    "Fufufu," Abel chuckled. "How did you fake that golden badge?" Abel asked with a smirk.


    "Fake? Sorry, Junior, but this thing is a real one," Yman replied seriously.


    However, he noticed the other party twitched his brow.


    "Pwe!" Abel spat. "Don''t act foolish!" For some reason, he suddenly yelled which caused the others to become wary of him. "I don''t mean that. What I mean is how did you cheat your way to get a gold rank in adventurer''s guild?!"


    Yana knitted her brows. If this guy tried to touch even the hair of her brother, she would make sure to make this guy regret his action.


    Well, Yman knew what he truly meant, but he acted he didn''t. "Oh, I see, so that is what junior meant. Kuku," Yman smirked. "Well, I did work hard." It was a simple answer.


    "Work hard my ass!" Yet again, Abel bellowed. Abel knew that working normally like doing chores would never raise one status in the adventurers guild. One needs to complete mission after mission to rise his/her rank. And also, the higher rank an adventurer had, the more difficult mission he/she had to participate in.


    Yet this guy in front of him was a gold rank adventurer? What kind of miracle this man encountered? Perhaps he cheated or fooled his way to step up in the rank.


    Maybe he had a high-ranking party member and carried him along. Unbeknown to Abel, the person in front of him knew what is currently running in his mind.


    Yman peered at him, but he wasn''t actually staring straight at Abel, he was assessing him. Or analyzing him. A moment later, a smile appeared in his mouth.


    "So, what the junior wanted to say?" Now his voice wasn''t that of someone who was fooling. He was serious with a glint in his eyes. Also, his question had an underlying meaning. He was inviting him to try him if he wasn''t convinced that he was a gold-rank adventurer.


    Abel narrowed his eyes and fell silent.


    Almina and the others had no idea about the significance of gold rank adventurers. Among them, only Rea and Yman had an understanding of it. And the importance regarding this rank.

 Chapter 303: Advance Resonance

    "Hah!" Out of a sudden, Rea sighed that caught everyone''s attention. "Crimson, why are you wasting your time with this envious lowlife?" Rea suddenly interjected in a stern voice, directly insulting Abel.


    Everyone gawked upon hearing her. Almina and the others did not expect that coming from Rea. She seemed to be someone who had a shy personality. And why was she calling Yman Crimson? It is just his codename for the competition. Even Maena and the others find it weird but did not give much importance to it.


    Yman noticed Rea''s annoyed tone. Not only that, when he glanced at her. He saw her aloft demeanor.


    Bob was nodding his head in agreement with Rea.


    "E-Envious?" Abel muttered while frowning. No one had dared to insult him before. "What did you say?!" He added while raising his voice towards Rea.


    Veins popping out on Abel''s face as he stared at the group with bloodshot eyes. He wasn''t afraid of this person known as Yman. He already received permission from Young Master Kiko. That it was fine to cause hassle to this person.


    Honestly, he wasn''t planning to make a direct attack towards him. Not yet, not now. The academy would blame him for sure and punish him. That''s an unwise move. But this girl in a cloak just insulted him! He could not let it pass. It was also a perfect reason to openly show he''s antagonistic towards Yman and his group. Right, it would be weird of him if he suddenly showed up and went against their group for a shallow reason. But with this insult, he could use it as his reason to go against them.


    ''Hehehe, I''m so bright! They fall to my trap! Now, I just need to beat him up!'' Abel laughed inwardly after an out of nowhere realization. Even if Miss Almina took this person''s side, he had the Young Master on his side too. So not even Miss Almina could do something about it.


    "Resonance��" A surge of mana burst out from Abel''s body after whispering the word. Then, the winged lizard deity that was resting on his shoulder the whole time glowed and spun three times around Abel before it leaped towards him and fused to his body.


    The action of Abel was so sudden and caught them off-guard. Out of reflex, Almina and the others used their hands to cover their faces.


    The burst of mana caught the other people''s attention who was currently inside the barracks. All of them glanced.


    "What was that?"


    Said a loiter.


    "Trouble?"


    "Oh, it''s RatSlayer and Miss Almina''s party. And who is the other person?"


    "That''s Abel!" Exclaimed another loiter.


    "Abel? You mean the second year who is rumored to be talented but did some shady business?"


    "Shh, tone down your voice, idiot!" Warned the other loiter.


    "Hey, what is the meaning of this?" Almina questioned. She had no idea who this person was who suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. Though, there were some occasions that she caught a glimpse of this person sitting in some corner of this barracks. Even Yman caught a glimpse of Abel before when he was still actively exterminating rats in the Underground Channel. Though, they never talk even once.


    This man seemed to be the same as those normal loiters who like wasting time inside the barracks. But all that image towards him shuttered right now.


    A second after Abel fused with his deity, right now, his figure was covered with bluish scales that served as his armor.


    "An advanced resonance?" They suddenly heard Maena muttering with wide eyes.


    Upon hearing her, they understood what she meant. Advanced resonance was a higher level of resonance. It also gave additional effects. Mostly, those from the second year and third could do it.


    Not only the scales, but they also noticed a tail on Abel''s back, and his face was covered in the same scale, forming like a mask. Abel looked like his lizard deity.


    Not all second and third-year students could achieve such a feat. Only those with great talent and higher Trust percent between the deity and the owner could achieve it.


    Even Yman could not help but be amazed by it. Miss Pai already gave a lecture about it. But it was the first time that he saw it in person.


    It truly was an amazing resonance.


    Seeing their wide-eyed reactions, Abel snorted. Then he summoned dense mana all over his body, it brought pressure to those around him.


    Rea''s hood was lifted away, revealing her face.


    "Puwahaha! The f***! This b**** is so ugly!" Laughed Abel.


    Rea''s face turned red in anger. She was about to say her rebuttal, but. "Hey! You can''t just judge a person''s beauty by their physical appearance! It''s important to look at their personality as well!" Almina suddenly stepped in front of Rea and said her thoughts.


    Her words were outright saying that everyone was beautiful in their own way. She meant well with it, but it had an opposite effect to Rea, who at the moment looked ugly in the eyes of others because of Yman''s illusion.


    Rea''s eyes turned white once again. And her soul was preparing to depart from her mouth.


    While laughing, *Thud!* Abel suddenly felt a strong impact on his stomach and sent him staggering back a few steps away before he fell on his butt.


    The surrounding mana dissipated and Abel gawked, staring with an empty expression on her face.


    ''Eh? What had just happened?'' Abel thought? Then he noticed Yman''s leg stretching that formed a kick.


    ''Did this guy just kick him?'' Abel asked in mind.


    No! It was obvious!


    "YOU!"


    Abel grunted.


    He could not believe that this person just kicked him without a warning!


    For Yman though, since the other party already showed his fangs, there was no need for a warning when you attack them. It wasn''t an official match in which there were rules and referees. It was a mindless brawl ruled by hate towards each other.


    So a warning was unnecessary. It wasn''t being a coward. It was through experience in life. If he showed weakness, the others would take advantage of it.


    And also, it was easy this way.


    Bang!


    Before Abel could stand up, another kick hit the side of his face. The kick came from his back! How did Yman suddenly appear behind that person?! Bob and the others were dumbfounded.


    Yman was even faster now than his match with Jugo!


    On Yman''s neck, a third version ant-model enhanced fire doll was injecting booster elixir into him. It boosts his speed and strength.


    Abel was sent flying and bounced on the ground. But before he stopped rolling, a raging punch caught him and smacked him directly to the ground. The ground cracked, but soon it broke and debris came flying. A large pit was created and Abel was lying unconscious in the center of it.


    Those who saw it shut their mouths as they stared with wide eyes.


    M-Merciless indeed!


    Someone muttered.

 Chapter 304: Are you proposing to me?!

    "I think that''s beyond being merciless, ahaha, " Ultima laughed descendingly, responding to Vortex.


    Currently, the two of them were staring from one of the corners of the room.


    When they saw Yman, they were about to call him. But they quickly changed their minds against it as they noticed he was together with some people.


    However, it was unexpected that someone blocked the door when Yman''s group was about to leave the barracks.


    Well, it was Abel.


    Ultima and Vortex failed to hear their conversation as they were quite a distance from where the door was.


    The next thing they noticed, Abel was already in resonance with his deity.


    Ultima stood up as he felt something wasn''t right going on.


    Even though Miss Almina was together with them, Ultima felt the need to intervene. After all, he was acquainted with Yman. On top of that, he was a Junior student. So it was only natural to try to stop the other junior from bullying the freshman student.


    And Ultima disliked the idea of bullying.


    However, before his foot took a step forward, he froze on his feet. A dull sound of impact reached his ears, then Abel was knocked away.


    After delivering a powerful punch, Abel''s figure was stuck in the ground, seemingly unconscious.


    ''Strong��'' Ultima commented inwardly before replying to Vortex.


    Not even the likes of Abel were able to fight back, even with his advanced resonance.


    After defeating Abel without a sweat, Yman walked back, still wearing a cold expression on his face. He left Abel lying on the ground, in the center of a web-like crack.


    Abel''s deity was sitting on top of him, seemingly anxious at his situation.


    <That''s unusual of you, Partner.>


    He heard a whisper from Sistela, who at the moment was in resonance with him.


    ''What do you mean?''


    <You didn''t plunder on that guy''s belonging, especially his deity that is composed of excellent parts.>


    ''There''s no way I do that in front of my sister!'' He exclaimed in mind.


    After canceling his resonance with Sistela, Yman walked towards the dumbfounded group.


    Bob and the others were once again reminded that Yman was very different from before. Not even a junior trainee was able to fight back.


    Yman''s physical strength truly became a beast. In just a month, how did he acquire so much power? Maybe, he found some valuable item that boosts his strength while he was traveling in the Encantasia or he got to meet a master who taught him some ancient techniques.


    Almina, on the other hand, was showing a warm expression towards Yman. She guessed that Yman left the city for a month to find a way to become this strong. After all, he was in a tight bet against Kiko. She was so happy for him.


    She noticed Yman stopped in front of Miss Rea. Then he gazed at her. No one could see her real face except him, Yana, and Rea herself.


    He used an illusion spell that everyone inside the range of 100-meter radius around Rea would be seeing a different face of her.


    The center of the spell was Rea herself and not the people around him. Rea was unaware when a mosquito-type enhanced fire doll bit her a while ago. It was another version of the mosquito model.


    He called it, Mr. Mask Quito-- the illusion master.


    Well, it was just another version of a mosquito enhanced fire doll.


    Rea glanced at him with teary eyes. Perhaps, she was mad that everyone was looking at her like she was so ugly. And also, it crushed her pride as a princess of two countries.


    Nevertheless, she understood that it was for her safety that he did it. Still, she was mad for some reason.


    Especially whenever Almina Amulet showed pity on her. Don''t get her wrong. She wasn''t mad at her because she disliked her. She was mad for an inexplicable reason.


    Everyone was staring at him as she slowly fixed Miss Rea''s hood to cover her head. The expression on his face was already calm. "It''s getting hot. Not good for your skin��" after saying it, he smiled.


    Everyone showed a ''0'' expression on their faces as they glanced at them. Even Yana did as well. But it was much better if her brother said comforting words to Miss Rea.


    "Tsk, that didn''t make me happy," Rea mumbled while looking away. But Rea understood what he meant. As someone who has also had a little knowledge about illusion spells.


    She understood that sunlight could weaken the spell.


    The group proceeded without giving a second look at the lying Abel. After all, it was all Abel''s fault.


    "Yman," Almina called out while leaning forward to look at his face. "Mhm?" He made a low guttural sound.


    "Are you angry because that guy insulted Miss Rea?" She whispered.


    "Well, that''s one part of it��" he replied. In truth, Yman didn''t care about the insult. It wasn''t even true. When they saw her real image, everyone would be gawking towards her now. Also, he was half to blame for Rea''s situation. So, if there was someone at fault that she got mocked, it was Yman himself.


    "I, I see��"


    "Regardless, don''t you need to rest?" It was Yman''s turn to ask.


    "Uh, eh, err��" Almina was skeptical and everyone was looking at her. She wasn''t even tired. She felt like she could walk miles of distance without resting.


    "Right, right, we need to rest!" Kesha, who was silent the whole time, suddenly interjected.


    She probably thought it was dangerous to stay around Yman.


    "Wait! Best friend! I''m not tired!" Almina reasoned.


    "It''s not about being tired," Kesha responded while dragging Almina away from Yman. Yman and the others gawked as they were staring with blank eyes at the comedy that was happening in front of them.


    "It wasn''t about not being tired. If Elder Paan knew that you didn''t rest after today''s round, you would get a good punishment," Kesha explained.


    Almina gaped. Her face indicates that she just remembered something.


    Yman also noticed the blonde trembled slightly upon hearing Kesha''s words.


    Maena was skeptical to leave, but her MTMD rang. When she glanced at the caller, she dashed away like a scared cat while shouting, "Amulet!!! Wait!"


    "....."


    Yman, Bob, and the others looked with dumbfounded faces. In just a matter of seconds, Almina''s group, together with their deities, disappeared from their sight.


    "W-well, I heard Elder Paan was a strict mentor towards her students! Not even Miss Ice had the guts to disobey her��" Chloe mumbled.


    The others showed understandable expressions after hearing her.


    Now, there were only Yman, Rea, Yana, Bob, and Chloe left.


    They continued walking towards their next destination, the city''s municipality. Yman needed to present himself to register himself as one of the people who have the right to get a share in the dungeon. Almina and the others also went through the same. But since Yman wasn''t here at that time, he had to do it now.


    Yana was so excited and proud of her brother''s achievements.


    "Congrats, bro!" Yana shouted when Yman came out of the municipality. With him was a new ID. It also means that he was one of the pensioners in this city.


    In this case, he would receive money every month, depending on the total income of the Dungeon.


    Although Rea was from the empire, she understood Crimson''s achievement. Also, it was common knowledge even in the empire that whoever discovered and secured a dungeon would get a share from it.


    The ownership of the dungeon would fall to the city. But if it happened in a country ruled by the royal family, the ownership would automatically be the royal family. The city lord would get a percent and the people who discovered and secured it.


    It took Yman an hour to register.


    The group continued walking. When they reached an intersection, Bob decided to go first as his dorm was located in the opposite direction. But before he left, Yman called to Bob and handed him a pendant. A ring pendant.


    "Bro, are you proposing to me?" Bob asked with teary eyes.


    "You want a beating?!


    Gulp!


    If his bro Yman said it to him a month ago, he would just laugh and thought he was just joking. After all, Bro Yman was as weak as a bug at that time. But right now, it made Bob sweat profusely. Yman''s strength now is not something to joke around!


    Yana and Chloe snickered and Rea sighed. She never thought Crimson would have this kind of conversation with a friend. He seemed to be someone who didn''t care about other people. But it looked like she was wrong. She wanted to know more about him.


    "I, I''m just kidding bro!" Bob cried out.


    Hah.


    Yman sighed.


    "Regardless, that item is an Artefact the same as that guy," Yman''s head made a slight movement to the side as he said it.


    Bob widened his eyes, but soon his expression turned serious. "That guy? You mean�� Kiko''s lackey?"


    When he noticed Yman''s nod, Bob''s hand that is holding the Artefact quivered. He wanted so much to defeat that person.


    However, he realized something. ''Wait, an Artefact? Is that what Yman bro said just now?'' He thought then his face slowly turned into a shock.


    "B-Bro wasn''t this item so valuable?! I can''t afford it even if I sold all my kidneys!" Bob shouted that caught the passersby''s attention, but soon they continued walking as though they heard nothing.


    "....."


    "Don''t worry, I will give it to you for free," Yman replied nonchalantly, as though it wasn''t an issue to him.


    "Eh? Are you sure?" Bob could not believe it. After all, Yman was another poor individual in this academy. The other is him. To be specific, the two of them were the poorest students in this academy!


    "As long as you give a good beating on that guy, that is good enough payment to me. Hehe!"


    Rea wondered why these two sounded so shady. The Crimson she knew had once again shown his true color.


    Bob had no idea how Yman got this item. But he believed his bro wasn''t the type of person who took someone else''s belongings. (Teacher Sistela is grinning in the background.)


    "Okay, I will beat him!" He firmly grasped the Artefact. His eyes were full of fighting spirit.


    Seeing it, Yman grinned. "Hehe. Okay, First, train how to control it."


    "Hehe, I will!"

 Chapter 305: New home!

    "By the way Chloe, how was Bob''s advancement?" Yman asked Chloe after Bob was gone from their sight.


    Chloe glanced at him and put her finger below her mouth. "Uh, Uhm," Yman noticed that Chloe did not change. He still talked shyly. "A-After you left, I remembered he leveled up quite a few times. The opening of the dungeon truly helps a lot. Not only to us but also all of the trainees in the academy."


    "I see, that''s good for him��"


    "A dungeon?" Rea suddenly repeated the word. The others looked at her. Rea wondered if it could help her advance. Maybe she needed such a place to help her get motivated in her training. These past days, the spell she was trying to learn came to a standstill. She couldn''t advance. She felt there was something she was lacking. That there was something she needed to understand.


    "Yes, Miss Rea," while Rea was pondering, Chloe nodded her head.


    Beside them, Yana''s eyes were gleaming. "Miss Rea, Brother, Miss Chloe, what is a dungeon?" Although she heard it quite a few times, she never saw it once. However, based on their conversation, it seemed like an exciting place.


    The three looked at her. "Well, even if you asked me, I never saw one before. But, I read about it in a book. It was a monster-dwelling place," Yman replied to his sister while starting to walk. The others also followed him.


    "I-It''s a dangerous place," Chloe added after Yman.


    "Crimson, when you have free time, can you take me


    there?" Rea asked.


    Yman stared at her eyes. After being with her for quite a long time, he became familiar with her. He could tell if she was serious or not through her gaze. And even in her mundane gestures.


    He noticed that she was serious. Before giving his reply, he glanced at Chloe, "What do you think, Chloe?" Although Yman was quite confident with his current strength, he wasn''t the type of person who took it to the head. Being confident could also be a bad habit. Much worse when a person becomes overconfident.


    Rea was different from them. She didn''t have the deity''s immortality buff from the resonance. Whenever they found themselves in a blunder, they still had a chance to survive. On the contrary, Rea had only a chance.


    So he could not just nod at her. After all, her safety was his priority.


    "Uhm, don''t worry, the first few floors have only low-rank monsters. I think, with your strength now, it would be easy for you to walk around in that room. But, once you reached the 10th floor, you would be facing a boss-type monster," Chloe replied.


    "Hm, I see. By the way, has no one killed the boss yet?" Yman asked in wonder. He was wondering why Chloe was still mentioning the boss on floor 10th. Was it not natural that the boss would disappear once it was defeated? Since Chloe was still mentioning it, then the boss was still alive. And since it was alive, it means no one had managed to defeat it. Perhaps the boss in the dungeon was overly powerful.


    But Yman took back his thoughts at Chloe''s reply.


    "It''s not like the boss on the 10th floor is overly powerful,'''' answered Chloe.


    Yman stopped on his feet and gazed at her. "N-Not powerful?"


    He noticed Chloe nodding her head. "Yes, the boss on the tenth floor can be easily dealt with. However, because of some inexplicable reasons, on every 10th floor, there was no lack of boss-type monsters. Whenever a boss died, another would take its place, replacing the previous one."


    "What!"


    "Really?"


    "?!"


    Yman, Rea, and Yana were both surprised by Chloe''s explanation.


    "Yes," Chloe nodded.


    "I see," after saying it, he went silent and pondered for a moment.


    "Uh, how about the mobs?" He asked. Mobs are the cannon fodder monster. "Are there an unlimited number of them too? Or they are the same as the boss-type monster too."


    "Hmm, the mobs were the summons of the bosses. So as you imagined, there were almost non stops for them in the dungeon."


    "....."


    "That was surprising," Yman mumbled. He never expected that a dungeon was such a mysterious place.


    Chloe had to say her farewell as well.


    Yman, Rea, and Yana had to find a new place to stay. They needed a much bigger house. A house that was able to accommodate three people.


    Rea insisted on renting a room from a luxurious hotel, but one of Yman''s scout birds spotted a house and lot for sale. It was near a river. The place was nice. There was a backyard and enough space for a garden.


    The only downside was the house itself. It was so rundown. Green algae were sticking on every corner of the outside walls.


    The glass windows were broken and some cracks were on them. Even some parts of the ceiling were broken.


    But Yman was grinning broadly. The price was reasonable. It was cheap! Cheaper than the usual price. For only 25,000 gold points he acquired his land with 400 square meters. And all was done in the legal process.


    The owner sold it because their family transferred to the West District. In that area was where the dungeon was located and the center of business in the city.


    So naturally, everyone would rather live there. Yman''s new home was located in the Riverside District. About 3 hours away from the West District when traveling using the horse-pulled carriage.


    These three hours were already a big difference for a business person. So instead of wasting time traveling, most of the merchants rather migrated to the area near to their source of income.


    But such a distance wasn''t a problem for Yman. Riding his massive Hell Chaser Bird, it did not even take him 10 minutes to arrive at the place.


    Well, not all people could afford such an expensive flying mount. And also, it wasn''t easy to tame one. And they were difficult to capture.


    Though, Yman''s mount was very captivating.


    Yana was enjoying the flight. It was her first time riding on it, after all. It was also her first time having a view of the city.


    Regardless, they had more work that needed to be done. Especially in renovating the house.

 Chapter 306: Stargazing

    "B-Brother, what are those?!" Yana exclaimed. In front of them, some strange-looking creatures were doing the chores of cleaning. They had different forms that resembled the monsters. And on their bodies, there were lines of gleaming crimson that seemed like veins.


    Yman stared at her. "Right, It is the first time that Yana sees them," he whispered to himself.


    <They are his weird creation, Sister Yana,> Sistela took the initiative to reply while pointing to Yman.


    "They are not weird; they are my lovely dolls!" Yman retorted when Sistela called his dolls weird.


    <Right, right> replied Sistela, sounding uninterested.


    Yman''s shoulders dropped as he sighed. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed Rea chuckle.


    On the contrary, "Woah!" Yana''s eyes were gleaming in amazement as she dragged Sistela with her and followed the working enhanced fire dolls.


    "Eh, this one looks like an ant. Ah, that one is a spider, right? Woah! There''s a flying one too! Sister Sistela, what are those?" Yana was like a kid who just saw new toys.


    <Yes, Sister Yana, that is...> Sistela started answering her question while puffing her chest.


    "By the way, are they safe to touch?" Yana asked.


    <Of course, don''t worry they are under control.>


    <Watch.>


    <Hey, you!>


    <Come''re!>


    Sistela called out to one of the bees. Upon hearing her, the bee glanced and flew towards Sistela and Yana. Suddenly, Sistela mounted it. <See?> she declared with a smug face.


    "Woah!" Yana clapped her hands and stared with unblinking, gleaming eyes. "S-Smooth!" She exclaimed upon touching it.


    The bee then started gliding in the air with Sistela on its back.


    Yana was very amused.


    The fire dolls helped them with cleaning and keeping away the trash and unnecessary objects. So Rea and Yana did not need to do anything. Though they insisted on helping, he rejected it. He asked them to rest first.


    Yman didn''t want her sister to force herself. Although the Heaven-Defying Medicine healed her completely, she wasn''t in perfect condition. She needed at least a month and two of resting. That''s why he prohibited her from using any kind of spell or ability that consumed her mana.


    Also, Yman was still wondering why Yana was able to invoke such a high-tier illusion spell without the help of a deity. On top of that, she got out of it unscathed. That''s so reckless of her.


    Yman pondered for a moment. "Right, I need to ask someone who knows this matter," he whispered. He didn''t want to see his sister back in that state once again.


    While Yman was pondering, he didn''t stop scrubbing the walls. From behind him, he heard footsteps coming closer in his direction. When he glanced he saw his sister standing behind.


    "Yana?"


    "Uh, bro, why did Miss Rea''s face suddenly turn different?" She asked him. She was wondering about this the whole time.


    He did not expect such a question from her. Yman stared at her for a couple of seconds. He noticed his sister was puzzled by it.


    Whenever Yana peeked under the hood of Rea, a beautiful face greeted her. But a while ago, after lifting her hood, it was a different face from what she used fo see. She was puzzled by it, but did not voice out as she felt there was a reason behind it.


    Yman stopped scrubbing and smiled at her. Then he started explaining to her.


    "A-A princess?!" Yana exclaimed then hastily covered her mouth. Although her brother told her once that Miss Rea was an important person, she did not expect that she was actually a princess!


    Yman nodded and beckoned her to look again at Rea.


    Yana gasped. There, Rea was sitting cross-legged on a sofa while sipping her tea. Her face wasn''t the ugly face a while ago. But the beautiful face of a princess.


    Rea felt someone''s gaze at her. She looked around and caught Crimson and Yana gazing at her. Yman looked away while showing an innocent face. On the other hand, Yana was walking back towards her.


    However, she looked stiff. "P-Princess, we''re so-sorry for being rude!" Yana stuttered. She bowed in front of Rea. Rea wondered what happened. It surprised her! Even Yman did not think Yana would suddenly do it.


    Rea glanced at Yman. She saw him nodding. "Nn, raise your head. In fact, your brother should be the one saying it," Rea said while looking away, but her eye was peeking at him.


    Yman gaped for a second before continuing his work. He needed to finish cleaning it. Although his stamina was quite low at the moment, he didn''t stop working. Next, he repaired the broken roofs and windows.


    The house had enough space for the three of them. Yman planned to slowly renovate it when he had time.


    Buying a house and lot in this city, especially in this world, wasn''t easy and cheap. So, he was fortunate to be able to buy it.


    Thanks to his fire dolls, they were able to finish the cleaning and repair in time. His fire dolls were truly a big help.


    Meanwhile, together with Sistela, Rea and Yman were stargazing on the wooden balcony. The sky was unusually bright tonight. There were more stars than usual. They were gleaming like jewels.


    Yman was the type of person who found peace of mind while gazing at the stars.


    Looking at the millions of blinking jewels, Yman''s mind lost in a deep mulling. It still bugged him, and couldn''t believe that it was a world deep inside the other world. Especially that no one had ever proven it. All just a rumor. But since there was also no proof to solidify his suspicion, it came to a stalemate.


    Regardless, he wasn''t an astronomer. He was just curious and didn''t have the drive to unearth the truth.


    Suddenly, he felt someone''s gaze on him. Yman looked beside him and caught Rea hastily averting her eyes.


    He wanted to ask her how her day was but stopped when he remembered what he did to her.


    "Sorry��"


    Rea gawked upon hearing it. She looked at him with a surprised face.


    Yman''s mouth extended to both sides from her reaction. "What?" He asked.


    Honestly, she didn''t expect Crimson would say it. She wondered if he was alright. This person said sorry?! Unbelievable! Perhaps something impossible is going to happen tomorrow!


    Is he the same Crimson she used to know?'' Rea asked in mind.


    After hearing his question, Rea pursed her lips. "I, I don''t want your sorry, hmph!" She said while pursing her lips.


    "Haha, I see," Yman laughed dispiritedly.


    "Erm."


    He cleared his throat and stared at her.


    "What can I do to get your forgiveness?" He asked with a serious face.


    "Eh!" Rea was at a loss for words. Her eyes were glued to him and her mind turned blank from his question. What does she like him to do for her?


    "T-Then, tell me, what is your relationship with that A-Almina?"


    Yman blinked his eyes several times.

 Chapter 307: Third round of elimination

    The others already asked him the same question. Why was everyone curious about it? It wasn''t like there was something special between him and Almina.


    He was about to reply, but, "Brother, Princess, here I made some drinks!" His sister came with a tray. On it were glasses filled with colorful juice.


    "Ah, did I intrude at the wrong time?" Yana asked suspiciously upon noticing her brother and the princess was staring at each other. The princess had a slight red on her face though.


    "What are you thinking? Of course not," Yman said in his usual casual tone. "Thanks for it," he added while taking two glasses. He handed Rea the other one. Yana smiled. "I, I see. Good work for today, bro!" She said to her brother while brimming with a smile.


    With a slight redness on her face, "He''s right. Uh, Yana, call me like the way you called me before," Rea insisted.


    "Eh? I-is it fine?" Yana asked shyly.


    "Mhm! I preferred it, and besides, it also helps us if you call me that way."


    Yana remembered her circumstances. "Okay, Miss Rea!"


    Yman smiled at them.


    <Woah! Everyone, look!>


    Suddenly Sistela shouted. Under the veil of night, reflected in their eyes the rare phenomena, the meteor shower.


    Everyone was looking at it in awe.


    In other places, some people were taking a video using their devices.


    The small animals in the woods glanced at it. And the insects on the leaves and branches looked up.


    No matter what species, this rare phenomenon was a sight to behold and took every living thing''s attention.


    Yman took his new MTMD. It was an expensive one and had the highest Megapixels in all the recording devices that were currently invented.


    However, before he began capturing it, his MTMD rang. It was an email. When he checked on the sender, his brows knitted. ''That anonymous again?'' He thought this person already gave up sending messages to him.


    Yman opened it and noticed that it wasn''t just a message. It was a video of the meteor shower just now. Also, the video captured the place below. Yman slightly widened his eyes. He knew those buildings.


    It was from this city! So, whoever this anonymous was, this person lived in this city.


    At the end of the video, there was a cute message [Good luck with tomorrow''s competition. (Heart emoji) (Thumbsup) (You can do it! Gif)]


    Yman chuckled.


    Almina just finished sending a video clip. She wanted to ask him what he was currently doing. But she had a feeling that he was resting by now. Of all the matches this morning, only his match was so intense and a close call. She believed Yman was so spent. Better not disturb him further.


    She stared at her device and smiled. She was about to close it, but suddenly, it made a tone.


    Bling!


    Almina opened it casually. After all, around this time, there were only her party members who would contact her.


    But after Almina saw the sender.


    From: (heart)[MYman](heart)


    Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! The loud noise coming from her chest almost stunned her for a second. She clumsily opened the message, "Kyah!" She almost dropped it. Almina holds it with both hands.


    [It''s a beautiful night... (Wink!)]


    Although the message was so simple, Almina blushed and hugged the device while letting her body fall on the bed. "Hehe��" she giggled.


    The next morning, the third elimination round started at the usual time.


    There were only 75 participants left. So the competition most likely was more worth watching than yesterday''s matches. Everyone was already in their seats. Even Rea and Yana were in their usual seats along with the audience.


    If there was something unusual in today''s round, it would be�� today was livelier than the past days.


    Many people were watching and the seats were fully occupied.


    Oooohhhh!!


    A thunderous cheer resounded in the arena when two participants walked on the stage.


    After the signal to allow the start of the match, the two participants did not waste time and took their weapons.


    Both participants were using the same weapons, the daggers. Then they clashed in the middle of the stage.


    Each of them performed well. And used their fast-paced attack. Sending combinations of techniques while avoiding their opponent''s attack at hairsbreadth.


    But it didn''t take long when one came out dominating the fight. Until the other one could not retaliate anymore and was defeated after receiving an attack coming from both sides.


    The student raised his hand with a wide grin.


    The next who came on stage was Chloe. Yman and the others said their good luck.


    However, Chloe wasn''t so lucky. Her opponent was a student from section A. The scout in Almina''s party.


    Almina had to cheer on both of them. She didn''t want to become biased. Especially that Chloe was a friend of Yman. Also, there were several times that they were acquainted, especially when their parties went on a team exploration.


    Chloe''s enemy was Jami, a member of Almina''s party, and took the role of scout.


    When the two arrived at the center of the stage they bowed to each other.


    "P-Please take care of me, Miss Jam!" Said Chloe nervously.


    "Let''s have an exciting battle, Chloe," replied Jami.


    She knew that even though Chloe was a little awkward, her talent in wielding a magic-based pistol was top-notch. So, she had to be careful. Also, according to her insight, Chloe was only a level below her.


    Although she looked clumsy and shy, she was the most dedicated person in terms of training. But it seemed like no one had noticed it.


    For Jami, Chloe was one of the most mysterious students in the Academy.


    After coming in the middle of the stage, each of them wielded their best weapons and used their best armor in the form of artefacts.


    An artefact was a piece of equipment mostly in the form of a ring, pendant, or any small accessories.


    An artefact was more convenient to carry. You just needed to activate it and it would automatically attach to your body. One of the best examples of it was the armor in the form of a ring. Although it was a ring, once it was activated it turned to armor and automatically wrapped your body to form a set of armor.


    Most artefacts looked the same, but it was easy to distinguish them from real accessories and spatial rings.


    The real artefact wasn''t the ring/pendant itself but the small stone on it. It is also known as a magic stone.


    Though, there were many kinds of artefacts. And this accessory type was just another type.


    Regardless, back to the match. After the signal, Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Chloe took the initiative; she fired consecutive shots at Jami. Her hand was so quick.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Another round of bullets flew. A speed-type Jami could only retreat and dodge. Not only that, but the speed of Chloe''s shots also increased.


    Oooooh!!!


    The audience started cheering once again. But it was still early to judge the battle.


    However, Jami found herself trapped. She was surrounded by a purple vortex! Never she imagined that Chloe was capable of doing it.


    Even Yman was surprised by it. Last time, Chloe was only capable of shooting with her magic-based pistol and using a low-level purple shockwave. Yet now, she was even capable of trapping a speed-type opponent.


    It wasn''t easy to do it. Especially that her opponent wasn''t a weak opponent based on how Yman sees it.


    By the density and amount of mana Jami was releasing every time she used a leap to avoid a critical spot, Yman could guess that Jami was a higher level than those two before. And even higher than Chloe.


    Perhaps she was at level 8. Two levels below a False Path realm. Once she reached level 10, it was also the start of her journey in a False Path realm. Then it was followed by 1-star False Path, 2-star False Path, 3-star False Path, and so on. Until he reached the highest star in the False Path realm. Then it continued to the Real Path realm.


    Meanwhile, Jami found herself in a tight spot.


    "Miss Jami! Fight!" Shouted Dianne, one of their party members.


    "Fight! Fight!"


    The others also cheered!


    "Chloe fight!"


    "Fight! Fight!"


    Bob''s party members did not lose in cheering.


    At the tip of Chloe''s pistol, mana was gathering in spherical form.


    "Spherical bomb?" Yman whispered upon seeing it.


    "Yman, do you mean the mass destruction attack?" Almina, beside him, asked upon hearing his whisper.


    "Yeah, but I think it wasn''t that one," he said. On second glance, it wasn''t the Spherical Bomb he knew. It wasn''t only gathering a mass of energy, but also absorbing the lights around it.


    Yman wasn''t surprised that Almina also knew about the spherical bomb, after all, the first user of that skill was an Amulet. One of the founders of the Seeker''s Association. Almina''s grand-grandparents. Yman only knew this much. Well, it was recorded in the book.


    "Photon Blast!"


    After the mana-sphere at the tip of Chloe''s pistol grew as big as the volleyball ball, she fired it.


    A purple mass of destructive energy was shot like a meteor towards the trap Jami.

 Chapter 308: Ninja skill

    A rare explosion like a flashbang followed when the Photon Blast of Chloe exploded, masking the whole stage with blinding lights.


    All of the onlookers had to cover their eyes and shut them. Along with the explosion was the deafening high-pitched hum.


    "What!"


    "Cover your eyes!


    "So strong!"


    "My eyes!"


    "What kind of attack was that?"


    Every confused onlooker spat the words.


    When everything went back to normal, they noticed a ripple in the space, but it only happened for a second before everything went back to normal as though nothing had happened.


    "What was that?"


    An audience member who got a glance at it asked with a confused face.


    "What are you asking?" Asked the person beside him.


    "No, nothing��" there''s no need to chase after his question as the ripple is already gone.


    Then, they heard some utterances coming from the other audience around them. "Is it already over?"


    "LovelyGirlScout was down!" The announcer, Instructor Beth, shouted in front of the microphone.


    Jami was using the nickname LovelyGirlScout.


    "Chloe, good job!" Shouted a friend from their party.


    Yman glanced at Bob, who was standing beside him. Feeling his friend''s eye on him, Bob smiled soundlessly.


    "It''s the first time I saw her using that kind of spell, " he said to his friend. Well, even when they were exploring in the dungeon, Chloe would only fire her pistol without using some flashy spell, except her purple shockwave.


    Though, there were occasions when out of a sudden, she increased the firepower of her attack. But that''s when she found herself in a bind. So, Bob only thought that it must be her secret weapon to escape from danger. He never thought that Chloe was more capable than he imagined.


    Beside him, Yman smiled. "Looks like the fight is about to get interesting."


    Bob wondered what his bro meant by it. Jami had already knocked to the floor. It would be over soon after Chloe ended it with another attack. Though, he didn''t question his bro regarding it.


    Jami was yet to move. As Bob said, Chloe did not waste the opportunity. She pointed her hand to the lying Jami.


    The hand of Chloe shone brightly as she gathered her mana on it. She has purplish mana.


    But she stopped her plan and everyone was stunned.


    The figure of Jami suddenly burst into countless petals.


    "Flora Dance!"


    From the back of Chloe, she heard a whisper. She felt a bad feeling about it.


    Without looking behind her, Chloe docked and rolled away.


    Shing!


    Just right after she did it, a gleam from a curvaceous blade drew a long slash image in the air.


    "Hehe, not bad, Chloe," laughed Jami while throwing the blade slightly in the air and catching it in a second, seemingly playing with it.


    Oooohhhh!


    Wetwew!


    Some audiences whistled from the thrill of the match.


    "You two, do your best!" Another audience shouted.


    Bob had widened his eyes. "I, Illusion?"


    Yman smiled. "No, it''s a distraction type ability," had said.


    Bob wanted to ask him further regarding it, but he heard another gunfire on the stage.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Chloe narrowed her eyes to Jami''s words. She kicked the floor and leaped backward, then fired multiple shots at Jami. Jami''s figure turned to countless petals and vanished from sight.


    It was her [Flora Dance] technique. It was another type of distraction type spell. Although it could also be considered as an illusion, it wasn''t like the genuine illusion spell. It uses countless petals to distract her opponent and at the same time hide from her opponent''s focus.


    In Chloe''s perspective, Jami vanished in her sight after her body turned to countless petals. But in the onlooker''s perspective, Jami casually leaped away from her position.


    That''s why it''s more of a distraction than an illusion.


    Chloe was able to evade Jami''s attack at hairsbreadth. She distanced herself right away while sending multiple shots to Jami. However, the same thing happened. Jami''s figure turned to petals and disappeared from her sight. The next second she appeared was already at her blind spot.


    Chloe knew that if this keeps on going, it only a matter of time that Jami would succeed in hitting her.


    Chloe gathered mana on her right hand while at the same time using her left to fire a volley of shots to Jami. Her feet didn''t stop kicking the ground. She knew that if she stopped moving the match would be over for her.


    Jami was strong and had the advantage in speed and power. No, she had the advantage in all aspects. Chloe clenched her teeth. She wanted to win. She wanted to fight in the world competition.


    If she failed today, her wish to join the competition would be just a wish.


    Jami grinned.


    This Chloe was a tenacious opponent. She wondered if it was luck or what-- that on Chloe''s side, but her attack kept on missing at an extremely short distance.


    "Dancing Blade!"


    After whispering, about four blades appeared around Jami. They were spinning in the air like drones.


    After waving her hand, they shot towards Chloe.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Chloe grimaced at the sight of it. She hastily summoned mana on her feet and ran around the stage.


    But, she further grimaced when the spinning blades didn''t stop, instead, they chased after her like they had the will of their own.


    ''A homing type!'' Chloe cried out inwardly.


    The onlookers had uniformed faces. All of them were wearing a face that formed like ''0''.


    Not only that, they move faster than her. In just a matter of seconds, they would be going to shred her to pieces.


    She tried to shoot them down.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "What?!" Chloe exclaimed she noticed the blades spiraled. It seemed like they were evading her attacks.


    Never in her life has she witnessed such a technique.


    While skidding backward, she focused her right hand on them. However, in the corner of her eyes, to her right side, she saw Jami rushing towards her.


    Her right hand was pointing in front while her left, she pointed the muzzle to her right, focused on the approaching Jami.


    Apparently, at the tip of the muzzle, there was a gathering of mana.


    Yman narrowed his eyes. ''A purple shockwave to knock the flying blades, and a Photon Blast to the approaching opponent. Not bad,'' He thought.


    It was only a guess, but if Chloe did it there was a high likelihood she could escape from Jami''s entanglement.


    If his guesses were right, then it would give her a big chance to turn around the tide of battle.


    But Yman and the others did not expect what happened next.


    In front of the flying blades, a mass of magical energy took the form of a mirror.


    It materialized right in front of the chasing blades.


    On the contrary, behind Jami, the same thing happened. It materialized right behind her.


    However, the next second, the blades were gone inside the mirror and went out from the other mirror behind Jami.


    Jami''s grin froze on her mouth and was replaced by wide eyes.


    Then she staggered for a couple of steps forward.


    Confused, she looked behind. On her back, the four blades were stuck.


    "H-how did it happen?"


    Chloe gasped for breath as she was staring at Jami who fell on her knee. Her blades stabbed her in the back.


    Though Chloe also felt her knee wanted to give up. That technique drained out her mana. It was an advanced spell that was able to create a semi portal.


    The [En and Ex Purple Dimension] spell. The only downside of this spell was, it has a limited range. And also, it needed lots of mana. Chloe was yet to master it. But for now, it was the craftiest spell she had.


    Fortunately, the Water Goddess Light Armor she was wearing at the moment enabled her to regenerate a portion of mana every second. So she just needed to wait at least 5 seconds to fire a decisive shot.


    Right, her magic-based pistol won''t shoot without feeding it with mana. She didn''t want to come near Miss Jam. After all, even if she was injured, her level was higher than her.


    One single mistake could put Chloe in danger. Chloe was only cautious. She wanted to secure her victory. Thanks to Yman. Because of him, her resolve to defeat a higher-level opponent didn''t waver. Before she knew it, he became the figure she wanted to follow as an example.


    She wanted to fight like him. She wanted to defeat a much stronger opponent.


    Yman and Bob smiled warmly at the figure of Chloe who struggled to maintain her stance. But both of them knew that she was barely able to stand. That spell must exhaust her for good. It was easy to guess just looking at how deep she was breathing.


    She pointed the muzzle of her pistol to the kneeling Jami.


    Whoosh!


    Unexpectedly, before Chloe could pull the trigger, she felt a stab from behind her.


    "Eh!" Chloe uttered.


    "Sorry, Chloe, it''s my win," she heard Jami''s voice behind her ears.


    "But�� How come��?"


    Ahead of her, the kneeling Jami gradually turned to smoke.


    "A ninja ability. A cloning technique," Jami replied.


    Chloe fell on the ground and was followed by a loud siren, signaling the end of the match.


    "End of the second match! The victor, LovelyGirlScout!"


    Instructor Beth announced.

 Chapter 309: Section D

    Chloe had lost against Jami, but her performance was admirable.


    "Looks like there are many talented students in the lower section this year," Principal Mar said after Chloe and Jami''s fight.


    Principal Mar was in a good mood. Thanks to Yman''s performance yesterday the VIPs find the competition entertaining. Though it left a bad aftertaste that one of the elites was defeated by a student from the lowest section.


    He almost couldn''t believe that Yman and Chloe were from section D.


    Right, he remembered that aside from them, other students from Section D managed to reach the third elimination round.


    On the stage, another pair of participants went on stage.


    It''s Julie Brown against an opponent from section B. Julie was one of the students from section D.


    Her opponent was a male student who chose a spear as his main weapon.


    The enemy scoffed after seeing his opponent. After all, Julie was from the lowest section. This fight would be easier compared to his last fight. Julie''s enemy thought inwardly.


    He sent fast and furious attacks at Julie.


    Heyaaahh!


    Julie increased her defense while crossing her arms across her broad torso. Although she was a girl, her body was broader than most males in the academy. And she was investing in vitality. All her training methods were focused on increasing her endurance. That''s why only her vitality attribute improved more often.


    Although she had high defense, Julie still received wounds over her body from receiving her enemy''s fierce attacks. However, thanks to her high defense, the damage wasn''t so serious.


    The onlookers had ashen faces. None of them was as masochist as Julie. They would rather avoid getting stabbed by the sharp tip of the spear.


    Yet, Julie let herself take the stabs. But it was apparent on her face that she was enduring the pain.


    "Hahaha! Die die die die!" The enemy shouted while laughing, amused at Julie''s predicament.


    But, he noticed that Julie was still alive. She remained on her feet while wounds were all over her body.


    Her enemy wondered why she had to endure so much. Regardless, ''How come a person has so much resilience?'' Julie''s enemy thought in wonder.


    ''No. This one is not a human!'' After saying it, he leaped backward and summoned more mana on his spear. Now his spear was brightly shining like a high enchantment weapon.


    He felt Julie was meaning to say that his attack wasn''t enough to defeat her. How dare she! He spun the shining spear which generated a humming sound.


    Then he leaped high in the air. "Furious Gaping Dragon!"


    It was a technique in which the user jumped high in the air and suddenly dove towards his enemy while pointing the shiny tip of the spear at his enemy.


    The tip of the spear transformed into a gaping dragon head.


    "Now die! Gorilla!!!"


    He shouted with all his might.


    After hearing it, Julie''s eyes shone brightly.


    There was a taboo when insulting Julie. Triggered by the word ''Gorilla'', mana burst out from her body.


    Julie''s body turned into the color of a reptile. Scales surfacing, covering some parts of her body. Not only that, the wounds on her body disappeared. It was also noticeable that her body swelled, turning her like a genie from the golden lamp.


    She caught the enemy''s spear with her bare hand. Then smashed him flat on the stage.


    Everyone was dumbfounded. He was defeated on the spot. Not only the audiences outside, even the VIPs thought that she was a real beast.


    The other students gulped. They never thought there was another beast in section D.


    Julie won overwhelmingly against a higher section opponent.


    Those students in section D had the lowest mana capacity compared to the other sections. However, it didn''t mean they were weak. If trained arduously, even a worm could evolve into a dragon.


    A thunderous clapping resounded.


    Julie went to the corner of the waiting room upon returning and sat down before she canceled the resonance with her deity. Unexpectedly, her deity looks like a genie.


    Everyone was warily staring at her. But in their minds, ''What, she is already capable of advanced resonance!?'' They were surprised upon seeing that Julie''s deity was a genie series.


    Once a person managed to pull off an advanced resonance, they could transform into their deity''s physical form.


    It also greatly increased their attributes. Julie had trained harder to pull it off.


    After she transformed into a genie, her physical defense rose to an unimaginable degree. Because of it, her enemy''s attack had lowered greatly. Though, it also depends on how high the enemy''s attack.


    Nonetheless, Julie''s defense won this time.


    After Julie''s match, another pair came on stage. The match ended in a draw after both of them failed to defeat their opponent in a given time.


    The next pair came up right away. But the match ended faster than most of the previous matches. It was an overwhelming victory by a person from section A. His opponent was from section C.


    His opponent tried to pull off a miraculous win like those students from section D, but it did not happen. The participant from section C was defeated when two shining swords carved a big wound in the form of ''X'' on his body.


    The next who came up on stage was Ban, the bunny man from the elite class and a member of Rei-Rei''s party. His opponent was someone from Kiko''s party.


    Kiko''s friend did a good job in their match, but in the end, he was defeated. Ban was faster and stronger and had a higher mana capacity. Everyone agreed that it was a predetermined result.


    Kesha was the next one who came up on stage. Almina was cheering at her. Especially their party members.


    "Miss Kesha! Good luck!"


    Kesha''s opponent was someone from class A.


    Her opponent was able to showcase her talent. However, she was defeated in the end. Kesha won the match after one and a half minutes.


    It was followed by a boring fight. Both participants were from section C. It took almost 3 mins before the fight was concluded with no actions that are worth watching.


    After several pairs of participants, one by one the students from the elite also finished their battle.


    Almina and Maena finished their match faster.


    Among the elites, only Kiko was yet to come on stage.


    Yman was also waiting for his match. Now, only a few of them were yet to come on stage.


    Like yesterday, there was also a 30 minutes break today. Everyone went to get their snacks. The main character of everyone''s conversations was the students from section D. They showed good performance in this competition. Most of the time, this section was deemed worthless by the other class. But today the other class began to have a different view towards them.


    After the break, the competition resumed right away.


    Now the next fight was announced.


    It was Bob. His opponent was the Big guy in Kiko''s party.


    The two of them stared at each other with electricity trailing in their eyes.


    "Hehe, finally. It''s time to beat the shit out of you!" Declared Kiko''s friend.


    This was the fight he was waiting to happen. Fortunately, the time has come. He would surely defeat Bob. Fuck off that draw result before! He would make sure no more draws this time.


    Bob was also itching for this moment. Now the two of them were standing, facing in the middle of the stage. Both were defensive types and had almost the same build.


    "Hehe! Let''s see who will be crying later on!" Bob did not back down and threw back a taunt.


    When the signal was given, the ground shook as two big men rushed over towards each other.


    Bang!


    The ground shook when two opposing forces collided like a collision between two high-speed trucks.


    Both of them clasped each other''s hand and was trying to push away the other party.


    Veins were popping out from the surface of their skins.


    However, the two of them seemed to be equal in terms of bare strength.


    Bang!


    A knee attack hit Bob on the stomach. He staggered a little but was able to send a comeback attack. An uppercut finds it''s the target. The enemy was hit on his jaw.


    Then it was followed by a fast exchange of powerful attacks.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Both of them received damage and staggered quite a few times. But it seemed no one wanted to back down.


    Bang bang bang!


    Another series of exchange attacks followed.


    Bang bang bang bang!


    Smash smash smash smash!


    Kick punch kick punch elbow!


    Each of their attacks was flying towards each other.


    But the fight was still far from the end. Actually, they were just warming up. None of them were using their full force yet.


    However, the audience was already so hype.


    The fight was like a battle of two titans.


    A solid punch landed on Bob''s face but he was able to counter with a hawk punch.


    Oooooohhh!!!


    The audience roared.


    The smell of blood was on their mouth.


    "It''s time to end this!"


    Said Kiko''s friend.


    Bob grinned. "This is the first time that I am going to agree with you."


    Glint was visible in their eyes.

 Chapter 310: Disagreement

    Aside from simple "enjoy the fight" words, Yman did not say more to him, but Bob already understood what Yman wanted when he gave him such a valuable item.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    A series of exchange blows from the two bigfoots in the academy shook the stage.


    After he took a strong hit on his face, his uppercut succeeded to land on the enemy''s jaw. Bang! The two of them had staggered once again.


    OOOOOHHHH!!!


    The more they exchanged blows, the more the audiences cheered loudly.


    "Damn you!" With a bloodied mouth, Bert charged again. It was a shoulder tackle.


    Bob lowered his center of gravity by crouching slightly. Then he also charged at the charging enemy. Another loud impact followed after their collision.


    BAAAANG!


    The two staggered back.


    "Looks like our boy was slightly at a disadvantage in physical strength. What do you think, My Prince?"


    Yman, who just came back from the infirmary, checking on Chloe, heard a comment from the person beside him. Unexpectedly, it was Keremi.


    Yman wanted to retort, "what do you mean our boy?!", from Keremi''s words.


    But he chose to remain indifferent towards it. Better not to take it seriously. He looked at the monitor and saw Bob''s health points in the green bar left with 91 percent. On the contrary, Bert had 92 percent left.


    "Yeah," Yman nodded in agreement with Keremi.


    Almina and Maena, together with their party, just listened to their conversation. She arrived together with Yman.


    "Though it isn''t a big difference, it could be a big factor in a fight if Bob would not be careful," Yman added.


    The others agreed with him. Kesha, on the other hand, raised her brow. She wanted to disagree with his every word. But she could not find a loophole to seize. Also, she was wondering why Miss Maena and Keremi too like talking with this guy.


    She understood Almina since she was charmed by this guy. Right. She refused to believe that Almina liked Yman on her own accord. Perhaps this guy charmed her best friend. It was just too out of a sense that the young miss of the well-known Amulet family was head-over-heels on this somewhat ordinary guy.


    Kesha''s understanding of Almina was a dignified young lady who was hard to approach by ordinary men.


    Yet, whenever this person was around, Almina transformed into a meek shy girl.


    What else could it be if not possessed by a bad spirit?


    This aloft best friend of hers degenerates to such an extent just by standing beside this person.


    Kesha could only tap her forehead while shaking. She took a glance at Kiko and saw him glaring at Yman.


    ''Go Kiko beat this man to a pulp so that Almina wakes up from this possession called Yman,'' Kesha secretly cheered at Kiko.


    Yman glanced at the back and caught Kesha glaring at him with knitted brows.


    The two fighters on the stage stood about several steps away from each other.


    Bert summoned more mana from within his body.


    "Wooden Totem Golem!"


    He announced after his body transformed into a golem with the body of the wood.


    Seeing his opponent turning into a wooden golem, Bob grinned. Looks like this enemy was still looking down at him. He expected Bert to use his artefact to transform into a Minotrent right away.


    Currently, Bert''s body grew taller and bigger after his transformation into a Wooden Totem Golem.


    "Heh!" Bob snorted. "Since that is what you want, then��" he added. Then, he summoned mana all over his body.


    The next moment, Bob''s body sheen in a metallic luster. He also grew as tall as the Wooden Totem Golem Bert.


    Bob''s wall body turned into metal. It was the only elemental affinity he had.


    Whoooh!!!


    Coooooool!


    The amused audience yelled on top of their lungs after seeing the two golems on the stage.


    "Now, this is a well-balanced match," commented Adam Praeter in the VIP''s room.


    The Wood Golem Bert and the Metal Golem Bob collided in the middle of the arena. It was a powerful collision that shook the ground. The impact of their collision generated a shockwave and disturb the space, revealing the invisible barrier once again.


    There was even a spiderweb crack on the ground where the two of them collided.


    However, one of them clearly had the advantage. The Metal Golem Bob had the upper hand! The Wood Golem Bert staggered back.


    His health points in the green bar that was displayed on the monitor had decreased by 5 percent. Bob, on the other hand, took 3 percent damage only.


    "Fufu. That''s foolish. You can''t just hit metal with wood," Keremi chuckled as he commented.


    "Haha, right," Yman chuckled from Keremi''s statement. It was logical and sensible. "In this regard, Bob has the advantage in the element," he also commented.


    "Yes, My Prin--..."


    "But it doesn''t mean he''s dictating the fight!" Yman and Keremi fell silent when someone suddenly interjected.


    They didn''t need to glance to know who it was. It was Kesha, the girl in Almina''s circle.


    "Regardless, My Prince, what do you think of this fight?" Keremi asked.


    "Hm��" Yman pondered and looked at the monitor.


    The fight was still ongoing. Bob and Kiko''s lackey, Bert, was rumbling in the middle of the stage, sending another exchange of attacks.


    At this point, the two of them already made several exchanges of powerful attacks. Bob''s health points were at 78 percent, while Bert''s health points were 68 percent.


    It was a big difference. Yman thought.


    On the stage, Bob was proudly boasting that his strength was the real deal and even mocking his enemy. "Is that all you''ve got? Huh!"


    Now, it''s time for him to say a "weakling" remark to his enemy, but Bob did not say it as he was afraid that it might jinx him.


    Bert''s face turned ugly as he coldly replied to Bob''s taunt. "What did you say, Gorilla?"


    Yman chuckled. "I think Bob will come out victorious in this fight. No. I think he is already victorious," he said confidently and even rephrased his words after noticing the twitch on Bert''s face.


    "Pufft! Haha, what an idiotic judgment��" they once again heard a reply from the third party. This time, not only Yman and Keremi, but also Almina and the others noticed it.


    They noticed Kesha was disagreeing with Yman''s every word.

 Chapter 311: A bet

    "Uh, Kesha, it''s rude to insult someone," Almina said, trying to sound as gentle as possible to not offend her friend.


    "Sorry, best friend, it''s just a slip of the tongue," Kesha replied.


    Almina sighed and nodded. Then she looked at Yman. "Uhm��" when he noticed that she was about to say something, Yman smiled at Almina and thought, ''It must be hard to have a friend like that.''


    He didn''t wait for Almina''s words as he already had a gist of what she was going to say, "Don''t worry, it''s nothing, actually," honestly, he didn''t even care about Kesha. She was free to say and free to think whatever she wanted. "In fact, she was just voicing her disagreement, which is normal," he added.


    Though it was strange to intrude in a conversation you''re not part of. But Yman did not voice it out. "Regardless, I wonder what she thinks about the match on the stage," he continued while sending a glance at Kesha.


    "I don''t care about the match. That''s what I would say, however. Your friend will lose this match. You will know the reason later, so don''t ask me why, hmph!" Kesha outright stated while looking away.


    After hearing it, Yman''s eyes glinted. "Oh, interesting. Hehe. So Miss Kesha wanted to make a bet with me, huh," he said in a depressing tone.


    "When did I say that?!" Kesha exclaimed. She wondered how this person came to conclude that she wanted to bet against him.


    Kesha glared at him. However, she noticed Yman''s mouth extended to both sides, "Since we have opposite opinions? So, Miss Kesha has no confidence in her words, huh," Yman said in an asking tone while shaking his head in disappointment.


    "Wha--!" Kesha gawked. For some reason, she disliked that expression on his face.


    While shaking his head, "Although it was fine to disagree with someone else''s opinion, it was rude to intrude into a conversation while stating your fact which you can''t uphold," Yman said in a mutter, but it was loud enough for them to hear.


    "T-That''s true!"


    Everyone glanced at the person who suddenly exclaimed in agreement to Yman''s words.


    "M-Maku��?" Kesha called her name.


    Unexpectedly, it was one of Almina''s party members. The girl who took the support role in their party and the transferred students. It was the first time Yman saw her. So he had no idea who she was.


    Even Maku herself had no idea about Yman. Though, she had now. Especially when their leader Almina hugged him that time. It surprised her. Her initial thought was, Yman was Almina''s close relative.


    But now she understood. He was Miss Almina''s lover!


    Aside from Almina, the others in the party seemed to dislike him. When one time she asked about him from them, she got a weird reply. Not one of them was talking good about him. Especially Miss Kesha.


    Yman looked at Maku. There was some holy aura around her. Maybe it was only his feeling, but she was exuding a holy spirit aura. Like someone who studied the teaching of the church.


    "Well, this time, I also think he had a point. Sorry, Miss Kesha."


    "Dianne too," said Kesha in surprise.


    "Fufu! Isn''t it exciting! Let me in, in that betting!"


    "Jami too?!"


    "Wait, Jami, why are you here?" Almina exclaimed with her face formed like this (>_<), and her arms and hands were flapping at both sides like bird''s wings.


    "Haha, sorry Leader, but I''m fine now," said Jami while forcing a laugh.


    "Geez!"


    Amina sighed.


    Kesha didn''t like the turn of events. But she had to admit that he was right. If she turned tail in this bet, it also meant that she was only spouting nonsense a while ago. Like hell, she let that happen!


    He glared at Yman and saw him raise his brow like a typical villain. She hates him! She hates him very much!


    Hah! She sighed. "Okay, let''s have a bet!" Kesha succumbed. Although she said it, deep inside, she felt like she fell into a deep pit, like falling into his trap. Especially, when she saw a victorious grin on that person''s face! She wanted to punch him! Kesha shouted in her mind.


    "Let''s see if you can still grin after this!" She bellowed at him.


    Yman chuckled slightly.


    "Since you don''t have money, If your friend loses the match, I want you to stay away from my best friend," Kesha suddenly announced.


    "Eh!" Almina wailed.


    "Oi," Yman wanted to oppose Kesha''s first line, but he remembered she was right. He just bought a house and lot so his Cyber Wallet was empty at the moment.


    "Then, I want to bet too!" Suddenly, Almina raised her hand and announced also.


    "Ah best friend, what are you going to bet? And which will you choose?" Kesha asked.


    "If Bob loses the fight, I-I want Yman to co-come with me��"


    "....."


    "....."


    "....."


    Yman and the others fell silent and thought, ''Is Miss Almina a dork?''


    "Uh, best friend, isn''t that a complete opposite of my bet?" The others nod their heads in agreement with Kesha''s words. "Also, you choose the same side as me, so it is an invalid bet. Choose another bet."


    "Ehhh!" Almina with teary eyes cried out.


    Maena, on the other hand, was shaking her head while touching it, seemingly having a headache from Almina.


    Yman''s mouth opened to form a voiceless laugh. He didn''t know what to say about it.


    "She''s right, Almina," Yman said calmly. "Since your friend already stated first, it''s not right to contradict her bet when you are on the same side."


    Amina sighed. "T-Then, if Bob loses the fight, I- I want you to grant my single wish��" Amina said shyly with her face turned red.


    The others thought it was suspicious.


    "I see. As long as it won''t contradict your friend''s bet and as long as it is beyond my capability, I will do as you wish," Yman replied and smiled after.


    Almina turned red further.


    Kesha sighed and shook her head. Her best friend was beyond help!


    "Okay, so, what is your bet?" Kesha asked him while raising her brow.


    Yman grinned.

 Chapter 312: Destroyer and Disaster

    Yman looked at the girl who was waiting for his reply while raising a brow. He had nothing against her. Yman did not care if Kesha was unfriendly towards him. They were not even that close in the first place to be bothered by it.


    It just so happens that they have a different conclusion towards Bob''s match.


    Contrary to most participants in the waiting hall, she wasn''t in resonance with her deity. He stared at the deity on her shoulder.


    "Hey, what are you planning? State what you want already! Well, I don''t truly care since you''ll never even win." Annoyed, she urged him.


    Yman sneered.


    "If Bob won the match, I want you to do a headspin on the ground while in the middle of the crowd," he replied to her urging.


    "What!" Kesha exclaimed, dumbfounded.


    "H-headspin?!" She repeated loudly.


    He shrugged his shoulders.


    "Yman, a-are you serious?" Almina called out and inquired.


    Around them, everyone was gaping. Although it was a simple task, it was very embarrassing, especially for girls.


    Yman''s mouth stretched to both sides, "Yes, I am," he replied to Almina''s question.


    "....."


    Almina thought if she ever did it, wouldn''t she look like an idiot? She wondered if Yman likes to see her do a breakdance in front of many people. In her mind, Almina did some incredible stunts which are very embarrassing for her.


    Around them, everyone showed stunned faces. ''How heartless!'' They thought.


    He glanced at Almina and noticed her troubled expression. Perhaps he needed to make an exception about it. "For Almina, a meal is fi--"


    "Really?!"


    Yman could not even finish his words as Almina suddenly became excited.


    "Fufu. As expected of my prince. All his decisions were very amusing and unexpected," Keremi laughed.


    "Regardless, please allow me to join this fun game," Keremi pleaded. Yman nodded. "Of course. The more the merrier. They said." Yman finished his words with a smile.


    Kesha and Almina didn''t care at all. Kesha was sending a sharp glance at Yman while Almina was already in her world.


    Since no one opposed him, Keremi stated his bet and his outlook on Bob''s match.


    "Then, if the result of the match is a draw, I want my prince to have a private time with me. Kuku."


    "What!" Almina was the first to react with blank eyes.


    Kesha and the others felt something was weird and glared at Keremi.


    A bead of sweat appeared at the back of Yman''s head. Keremi''s request was suspicious. But he felt more suspicious of his conclusion of the match.


    Yman glanced at the stage and saw Bob and Bert still running wild on the stage. Their match was like a battle between two titans.


    Right at this moment, Bob''s health points were barely 60 percent while his opponent was barely 30 percent.


    Yman was well aware that the number of health points wasn''t significant in this kind of match. Many variations could change the pace of battle. Especially that the two of them were yet to use their full strength.


    Yman glanced back at Keremi. "Well, that''s not a problem," he said in reply to him.


    Although Almina also agreed, she secretly sent a kill sign to Keremi. Keremi understood what she meant. The cool princess will murder him if he ever crosses the line. Keremi pushed it at the back of his mind and did not give much thought to it.


    Aside from Keremi, most of Almina''s party members also joined the betting, except Maena and Maku.


    On the stage, almost no more stage. It needed an immediate repair! But the fight must go on. Only after their match could the organizers repair the stage using their advanced ability.


    When Bert''s health points descended at exactly 25 percent, something unexpected happened.


    Branches protruded from the back of the Wood Golem Bert. Then from those branches, shining apples sprouted.


    Everyone was dumbfounded. Even Yman himself did not expect it.


    Bert fetched one of them, then ate. After eating, they noticed his health points returned to 65 percent!


    "See? That''s what I told you!"


    From his back, Yman heard Kesha''s smug words. Sounded like, she knew it would happen.


    He decided to let her be.


    Yman wondered if it would be profitable to sell those shining apples. Kidnapping him and letting him produce more apples must be a shortcut to get rich. Not only that, but he could also cut those branches and sell them. Fufu. Yman chuckled inwardly.


    "Hehe," Bert laughed. "Surprised, Gorilla?" Bert mockingly said to Bob.


    Bob snorted at him. "Who cares if you can grow apples. I just needed to bash your head and cut those branches."


    After a momentary break, the two of them had once again rushed towards each other.


    What happened next was another earth-shattering exchange of attacks.


    Although Bert could heal himself, it didn''t change the fact that he was still at a disadvantage in terms of the element. Therefore, he had to eat apples again and again. Yman noticed that the more Bert ate the apple, the less effective it became. And fewer health points would regenerate.


    Not only that, maintaining those apples must be so taxing in terms of mana.


    But Yman was anxious about something.


    Boom!


    A loud impact took Yman''s attention back to the stage.


    "Woooh! A crispy punch from both Disaster (Bob''s codename) and Destroyer (Bert''s codename)," the announcer shouted.


    Both Bob and Bert''s punches landed on each other''s faces which staggered both of them at the same time.


    Their health points were all at 20 percent. While breathing heavily, the two of them glanced at the timer.


    About 1 minute and 32 seconds left. Both frowned after seeing it. They could not let another draw result this time.


    Bert smiled sinisterly.


    "Alright. I''m tired of playing around. Let''s end it now. Or should I say, I will end this shit now? Haha!"


    After declaring it, Bert produced an artefact in his hand. "Hehe!" He chuckled as he sneered at Bob.


    With this Artefact, he could become 10 times stronger.


    It was the artefact that let him transform into a Minotrent monster. A high-level monster!


    Bert was already set to finish the fight. In his mind he was thinking; it was unfortunate of Bob for being so poor. He could not even afford to buy a low grade potion, what''s more an artefact such as this? He said in his mind while clasping in one hand the pendant artefact that looks like a pendulum.


    After feeding it with mana, it shone blindingly bright. Then, the light erupted.


    The next second he transformed into a Minotrent figure.


    Kiko and the others frowned. He didn''t like that Bert prolonged the fight. He could have ended Bob in a second if he used his artefact first and foremost.


    But right at this moment, Bob was silently grinning while clasping in hand the artefact that his best friend Yman gave him.

 Chapter 313: Deciding moment

    "What!?"


    Bert the Destroyer exclaimed after a surge of mana burst out from Bob''s hand that shone intensely in the next second.


    The light grew bigger and bigger until it covered all his figure.


    After the striking sound of mana gushing, they heard loud successive pumping noises. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* In which followed by a loud howl.


    Ooooooooooohhhh!!!


    Smoke arises not because of a bomb explosion nor volcanic eruption, but because of a strong pressure coming from Bob''s burst of mana.


    Everyone was dumbfounded staring at the trembling stage with their eyes unblinkingly glued on the figure shrouded in smoke.


    After a few seconds of waiting, the smoke gradually diminished and a gigantic figure could be seen hopping and landing in front of his opponent in a thunderous thump.


    When the smoke had all subsided, a monstrous figure revealed its appearance.


    It wasn''t a rare type of monster or a rated high creature, but the metallic sheen on it made the monstrous figure one of a kind. Like a new breed of high-level beast.


    "A gorilla?" Someone in the VIP muttered in surprise. It was the information gatherer, the stupefied Jack.


    Looking at its figure, it seemed like an ordinary gorilla aside from the size and the metallic skin it has. It stood in front of its opponent like an indomitable fortress, simply because of its luster and size.


    Aside from Yman, no one knew the origin of Bob''s shapeshifting artefact. Not even Bob himself.


    It was the Abnormality Yman defeated in the Encantasia Empire.


    But, even Yman was a little surprised that Bob was successful in merging his affinity element. It looks more overwhelming now that it turned to metal.


    "Truly surprising," Yman muttered in excitement. He was so looking forward to how Bob could utilize its potential.


    Bert the Minotrent forgot to breathe as he gasped for several seconds, stunned by what he saw in front of him.


    Never he imagined that Bob was hiding such a trump card!


    The stage broke further after Bob stomped on it.


    "Hehe, call me the Metalloid Gorilla!" Bob proudly announced in a boisterous voice.


    In a slow-mo effect, the Minotrent Bert twitches in an ugly expression as he shouted, "Damn you, bastaaaarrrrdd!"


    Countless vines sprouted around the Minotrent. They were coming to attack the Metalloid Gorilla.


    Seeing the Minotrent''s attack, *Boom! Boom!* The Metalloid Gorilla pumped his chests.


    Before the vines could reach him, the Metalloid Gorilla hopped high in mid-air while clasping both his hands forming like a hammer to directly attack the Minotrent.


    Bang!


    An earth-shaking attack shook and cracked the stage towards the surrounding areas. The crack even went outside the barrier and crawled like a snake towards the audience podium.


    Some audience members, especially girls, screamed in panic, afraid that the cracks continued towards them, but they didn''t. Fortunately, it didn''t.


    Chief Henderson immediately ordered some of the soldiers to stand in front of the audience podium in case a much intense crack happened that could reach the audience podium.


    If only the stage was big enough, the Metalloid Gorilla would not choose to directly attack the Minotrent. But because of their gigantic figure, there wasn''t enough space for the two of them. Even the audience noticed it.


    So, Bob had only a choice, to attack it directly.


    The Minotrent unexpectedly blocked the Metalloid Gorillas'' attack by using his vines to form a shield in front of him.


    It was a technique Bert called, Vine Shield!


    However, the Vine Shield was shredded to pieces. Noticing the Minotrent at a hand reach distance, the Metalloid Gorilla tried to grab the opponent''s head.


    On second thought, he changed his initial plan when he noticed a massive sword materialized in the hand of the Minotrent. It wasn''t a high-grade sword nor made of high-grade stone or metal.


    It was a vine sword. The Metalloid Gorilla used his arm to block the attack.


    Ting!


    Thanks to his metal skin, the attack wasn''t enough to cut him. Though, it still caused damage to him.


    After the two of them transformed into monsters, their toughness increased for several folds.


    Bob and Bert used all that they had to beat the other party. They needed to end the fight with one of them as the winner.


    In terms of abilities, the Minotrent had the upper hand, but in terms of physical defense and power, the Metalloid Gorilla was clearly above the Minotrent.


    The loud rumbling caused by two monstrous beings on the stage had continued for several seconds.


    Bob finally managed to grab the Minotrent and did a suplex on it. But the Minotrent was able to avoid the impending danger using his vines once again. A drill made of vines protruded beneath the Metalloid Gorilla.


    Bob was hit in the stomach and sent rolling away. However, before the drill hit him, he was able to smack the Minotrent on what seemed like remnants of a broken stage.


    Now standing at the opposite end, the two of them are glaring at each other with their chest heaving deeply, clearly tired.


    "Hah! Hah��!" The Minotrent breathed deeply. "Let''s finish this!" Said Bert.


    "Heh!" Bob snorted. Though, even normally breathing was a difficult task in his current situation. "It will be my win!" Bob replied.


    The Minotrent made a huge javelin. He used [Mana Coating] on it to convince himself that it was sufficiently solid. He needed to break and penetrate the hard skin of Bob.


    On the other hand, Yman noticed that Bob still did not use the Abnormality Gorilla''s Scatter Shot ability.


    "Although it surprised me that your friend hides a trump card, looking at their current situation, it was apparent your friend is at a disadvantage."


    Yman suddenly heard Kesha say. He squinted his eyes towards the monitor before opening his mouth.


    "Right. The Minotrent could shoot long-range attacks," he said, agreeing to Kesha''s words. "On the contrary, Bob can only attack in melee. Even throwing concrete is out of the options," he continued.


    "So, do you agree and accept that your friend will lose this fight?"


    "No. I still believe Bob will win this fight," Yman said before smiling.


    "Hard-headed delusional..." Kesha muttered.


    The remaining time only had 10 seconds left. But, the participants on stage were already in the last stroke of their strength.


    "Fufu. This is the deciding moment, My Prince," Keremi chuckled.


    "....."

 Chapter 314: End of Bob and Bert’s match!

    The javelin shot like a comet!


    Seeing the fast-approaching javelin, Bob did not waver and ran towards it.


    Yman smiled.


    Before the javelin could hit the Metalloid Gorilla(Bob), it suddenly disappeared.


    "Wha--!"


    Yman heard a shock utterance from the girl beside him.


    He already expected it to happen. Even before Bert used his artefact, he already wasted too much mana by eating those shining apples and reproducing.


    He wasn''t even a person who was gifted with lots of mana. His mana was only a little above Bob. But because Bert was an idiot, he didn''t notice that it could lead to his demise.


    Right. Bert exhausted his mana. So while Bert was making over his vines into javelin, Yman noticed that it wasn''t a perfect transformation. It lacked mana. In short, Bert had a mana shortage in his javelin.


    Bert widened his eyes when his javelin suddenly turned to light particles and disappeared. Even Bert himself did not expect it to happen. He soon grimaced upon seeing the approaching opponent.


    Bob leaped into the air to shorten the distance much faster. Then he attacked him using his hammer punch.


    After receiving Bob''s attack, the Minotrent was buried under the debris of the remains of the stage.


    Dust arises, blanketing the broken stage.


    Then everyone heard consecutive pumping noises coming from the stage.


    Yman''s mouth broke into a voiceless laugh. "Looks like Bob is celebrating his win, fufu," he chuckled.


    "....."


    However, the girl beside him remained silent. Fufu, probably shy to speak. Yman wanted to mock her. But since it was unprofitable, he decided to let her be.


    But,


    Let''s see what her reaction will be: anger, shyness, fluster? Fufu.


    "Uh, Yman, what are you smiling at?" He suddenly heard Almina calling at him.


    "Eh?" Yman touched his face and noticed that he could not figure out if he was subconsciously smiling. "Uh, no-no. Just happy for Bob," he said in his casual voice.


    "Oh, I see��" Almina said.


    "Honestly, it surprised me when Bob pulled out such an item."


    Yman noticed that Almina wasn''t a bit worried that she lost the bet. Aside from that, she looked happier instead.


    Girl.


    That''s a weird reaction after you lost a bet! Yman thought inwardly. Though, he didn''t voice it out.


    The smoke was gradually dissipating and the loud pumping noises had already stopped.


    When the smoke fully subsided, everyone was dumbfounded.


    Bob and Bert were lying on the broken stage.


    Yman himself gawked in disbelief. How the hell did that happen?! He wanted to shout.


    The referee Instructor Goki announced the result of the match.


    And yes�� it''s a fucking��- DRAW!!!


    Yman shook his head.


    No need to count if they could still stand up. No matter if they could continue the fight or not. The timer already hit zero.


    Beside him, he heard a chuckle. "Fufu. Looks like it''s my win, My Prince."


    No need to guess who this is coming from.


    Yman could only fall silent. Not only him, but Kesha also fell silent.


    Unexpectedly though, Almina finally showed an expression befitting of a loser.


    She wanted to shout�� NooooOOOOO!!!


    It was her chance to have a date with Yman. Why does Bob have to die?!


    She wanted to run to the stage and beat Bob or Bert to wake them up. Whoever among them would win is also a win for Almina. But it''s against the rules to come up onstage to beat them so Almina could only lament in silence.


    Seeing Almina''s expression that looks like a dead fish, Maena shook her head.


    Yman sighed. "Well, that was unexpected��"


    He wondered if it was a coincidence or what�� that Keremi was able to guess right.


    "Tsk! That damn Bert," Kiko clicked his tongue.


    Some people ran to the stage with stretchers in their hands.


    After retrieving the two of them, they brought them to the infirmary.


    After knowing that the next match was not his, Yman went to check for Bob.


    When he arrived at the infirmary, Bob was already awake, though still weak and barely able to move.


    He learned the reason why Bob lost consciousness.


    It was an idiotic cause that Yman had to cover his face with a palm. He didn''t want to accept Bob''s reason. Bob said he suddenly felt weak after pumping his chests.


    But Yman believed the real reason that Bob lost consciousness was that he was yet to have a perfect control on the shapeshifting ability of the artefact. Also, their fight was so intense. So it was reasonable that he was exhausted. It was just unfortunate that it happened a second before the referee announced the winner.


    However, the intensity of Bob and Bert''s battle put a smile on some of the VIP''s faces. Not because they were amused by them, but because they found potential from them.


    Controlling the shapeshifting artefact was not an easy task. It needed lots of effort and concentration. Also, if one''s mentality wasn''t high enough, there was a high tendency that the beast''s soul on it would take over the wearer''s body instead. So it was a risky gamble to use. Not all would be willing to use it. Especially that it was only an inside competition. There wasn''t much merit against the demerit.


    But of course, it was a different talk if one was able to control it flawlessly. Shapeshifting was truly a powerful ability. It was a shortcut to becoming stronger. Though as already stated, not all were compatible with it. So not all were willing to use it because of the harm that it may cause to the incompatible user. One could only decide if they were compatible or not after using it.


    So you need to risk first to acquire its power. Fair enough. After all, there were no shortcuts to acquiring true power without risking something in return. Also, Artefact was truly too expensive for ordinary students.


    In this case, the Growth Artefact of Jugo was much safer compared to the Shapeshifting Artefact.


    Regardless, the result of Bob''s match raised the morale of those from low section participants. These students from section D were truly unexpected. How did they do it? Regardless, how was Bob able to acquire such an expensive item? No one knew.


    When Yman came back, Kiko had just finished his match in an overwhelming and flashy victory against an opponent from section A.


    Most of the students in the waiting hall were talking about Kiko''s strength, singing praises to it. Like some bootlicker followers.


    Now Yman''s time had come. And his opponent was, unexpectedly, Marco. Kiko''s closest friend.


    "HEhe," Marco grinned menacingly. HE could finally send the frog to where he belonged.

 Chapter 315: Confuse everyone

    "Sorry, Kiko bro looks like this is my lucky day. Hehe," Marco said to Kiko, then laughed. He was meaning to say that Yman was good as finish in his hands.


    Kiko knitted his brows. "Hah!" He sighed. "I wanted to be the one to finish that toad. Unfortunately, the opportunity was elusive to me."


    Kiko was at a loss.


    "Or maybe that toad was just so lucky to avoid facing me. Tsk!" he added and clicked his tongue at the end of his words.


    If only the opportunity to face the toad befalls him, he would make sure to burn him like firewood, until Almina lost her feelings for him.


    Regrettably, he could only sigh inwardly.


    "Don''t worry, my friend. I''ll make sure to take good care of him. Fufu," said Marco with a menacing laugh.


    "Kill him if you have the opportunity. Do it like it was an accident."


    Kiko believed that no matter how strong Yman had become, he was still from the lower section. A trash section. Although some of them showed good matches against their opponents, in Kiko''s eyes, they were still trash. Nothing more.


    On top of that, he wasn''t born with an abundance of mana. That''s why, no matter how strong his physical strength was, he was still the toad they used to know. Jugo was just an idiot. He did not use his brain. He could have defeated Yman if he used his advantage efficiently.


    "No, problem."


    After learning who his opponent was, Yman just smiled.


    But before he could take a step forward, Almina and the others cheered him.


    On the stage, Marco opened his mouth, "Don''t you ever think that you can win against me. You won''t be as lucky today as when you faced Jugo and Bruno. A frog-like you can only shine in a tiny pond, so be grateful to me because I''m planning to send you there, to where you belong. In that smelly pond of yours! Ptui!" Marco spat.


    "Heh��" Yman sneered. "Don''t eat what you can''t chew, sissy hypocrite! Fufu."


    "S-sissy hypocrite?!" Marco darkened his vision from Yman''s words. "No one ever dared to call me that, you know that?! You dumbshit!" He bellowed.


    "Oh? Then, I dared to call you that. Fufu, the name sounds good to you, Sissy."


    Marco never thought that this frog was so pretentious for provoking him! "F**k off!" He yelled.


    "You two, don''t forget you''re here to duel not to banter," Goki meddled when he noticed the two participants'' words had some crispy element on them that might lead to a worst-case scenario.


    "Okay, fight!"


    Yman walked towards Marco who was preparing a strong Ice element attack. The Ice Blades resembled different kinds of blades. There were knives, daggers, spears, javelins, arrows�� etcetera.


    They rained towards him without showing an ounce of mercy.


    "Haha! How about starting to beg now, frog. Maybe I''ll change my mind!" Marco laughed confidently.


    Together with his good control of the wind element, the blades were dancing around them like a snowstorm.


    Woah!


    Ice element and wind element!!


    Weren''t ice elements a rare element a magician could have?


    Yeah!


    There were only a few of them that were recorded to have an affinity for it.


    And look at that! He could also muster the wind element! Which in total combined to form a snowstorm!


    A-Amazing!


    The audience was screaming in amazement.


    However,


    "The Match is over!"


    Amid everyone''s amazement, they heard an unusual announcement.


    The referee Instructor Goki was waving his hand, saying that the fight was already over.


    What?!


    Everyone was puzzled, even the VIPs were no exception.


    This announcement was too surprising.


    Wait, did the referee make a mistake?


    Sure enough, that should be.


    Everyone had almost identical thoughts at this moment.


    But sooner, they heard a dull impact. Along with it, was a gushing fountain of blood that turns to light particles before falling to the ground. It should have been a gruesome scene if not because of the Photonocules element to replace the blood.


    With a shock, a shock expression, a head fell from its torso.


    From the noisy whispering, the crowds fell silent as they had no idea what was going on or what had happened.


    "The winner of the match, Crimson!"


    Instead of a loud cheer, there was only staleness in the air as he left the stage without caring for their dumbfoundedness.


    Goki, on the other hand, was staring at his back while showing an imaginable admiration. ''Truly a mysterious kid!'' He thought inwardly. Even Goki himself had no idea how it happened. He just noticed that in the monitor above, the health points of Marco were already at zero right after he announced the start of their match. At first, he thought there was a bug.


    However, he caught something at the corner of his eyes, a thin string of crimson mana dissipated right before Goki caught sight of it. It was done so quickly that even someone like him who already reached the 3-star False Path failed to see it.


    If Goki''s estimation was right, the fight ended in 0.5 seconds.


    To abate the confused crowd, in the monitor, they started replaying what happened. Everyone could tell that the video was done in a super slow-mo effect.


    Right after Goki, announced the start of the fight, like a lightning speed, a streak of crimson thread whipped��-


    However, the monitor screen went blank before the viewers could see what truly happened.


    Then there was an announcement that followed after. It was an order from the elders to not show any further than that.


    Inside a room, the three elders had widened their eyes.


    "How was that kid able to use that? That''s already a super-advanced level that can only be taught for the third year!" Said Elder Gatan as he sounded confused.


    "Wait, that''s the kid who has hazy black mana in the preliminary test right?" Asked Elder Paan.


    "Now that you''ve mentioned that, it was him, Mr. Coolman," added Elder Nitan.


    "Mr. Coolman?" Elder Paan asked with a frown.


    "No, no, it''s nothing special, it just so happened in the past demonstration��"


    The three of them were watching the competition through a very large monitor. Like, watching inside a cinema stadium.


    At this moment, something leaped out from the glass of water that was in front of Elder Gatan.


    SPLOOSH!

 Chapter 316: He must erase him!

    "It''s Maria!" Exclaimed Elder Nitan when he noticed the blue-haired sprite who suddenly leaped out from the glass of water.


    "Oh, it''s unusual for Maria to come out!" Elder Paan said in surprise.


    The sprite, Maria, flew directly to the widescreen monitor and stopped about several human steps away from it. Then she stared at the figure of the person who was in the video.


    Elder Gatan squinted his eyes. "Maria, are you interested in that boy?" He asked calmly. It was unusual for her to come out suddenly without him asking her.


    On second look, Elder Gatan could still remember that boy on the monitor. He was the student Maria handed a paper to on the first-day appraisal ceremony. It was an appraisal ceremony to check the student''s elemental affinity.


    Right. As everyone stated, it was the boy who got a hazy black response on the giant bulb. That giant bulb was a magic tool that could amplify mana and convert them to their elemental affinity.


    Regardless, he noticed an excitement in Maria while she was staring at the figure of that boy. Elder Gatan''s mouth slowly bent upward to form a smile.


    "She seemed happy to see that kid," Elder Gatan muttered.


    After defeating Marco, Yman calmly stepped down the stage. Marco wasn''t the type of person worth wasting his time. He could not earn points regardless. So Yman decided to end the match faster.


    When he arrived at the waiting area there were only dumbfounded faces and a furious glare from Kiko and his friends. In response to it, he grinned. That grin had a lot of meaning. Kiko knows about it. Yman was indicating that he wasn''t afraid to face him. He was willing to face him whenever he wanted. Just looking at his eyes, Kiko knew that the current Yman was full of confidence.


    "You!" Kiko gnashed his teeth. "I will wipe that smug on your face!" He muttered in a cold voice. Although his voice was so low, it reached Yman''s ears.


    He wondered if Yman had been thinking that he was only a little stronger than Marco and the others.


    ''This shit!''


    Before walking away, Yman shrugged his shoulders. This manner of him insulted Kiko. It seemed like Yman was telling him "well, whatever". Kiko could not let this insult go any longer. However, what can he do? He could only wait for his chance to come. Tsk!


    To Kiko''s additional adversity, "Congrats Yman!" Almina''s cheerful greeting reverberated that caused a twitch in Kiko''s brow. The heavy feelings he had towards Yman were piling up. It should have been him that Almina said congratulations to if only Yman did not come back in this city, or if he did not exist. He needed to erase him in the picture.


    He also heard Almina saying, "Don''t mind him, Yman." It left a bitter taste to Kiko. She must be talking about him.


    He must erase him!


    That person made many sins to him. About this time, Kiko''s MTMD made a vibrating noise.


    He took it from his pocket and checked the content. ''A mail,'' his thought upon seeing it.


    "What?!" Kiko exclaimed with a shocked face. It was from Abel. ''How did Abel lose to him?'' Kiko asked himself in exclamation. Abel wasn''t just a mere junior trainee. He was more powerful than most of the second-year students.


    Yet, it was in the message that Yman defeated him without even being able to fight back? How the fuck did that happen? Did this toad do something uncanny? Cheating? Perhaps Abel wasn''t in his peak condition.


    Tsk! A cross-shaped pulse appeared on Kiko''s forehead.


    Regardless, it wasn''t in the message the content of their match. So Kiko had no idea how they fought. Nonetheless, it was Kiko himself who ordered Abel to punish Yman a little. It was a little payback for the rejection he suffered from Almina. After all, it was Yman who was the cause that he got rejected.


    Even after noticing Kiko''s exclamation, his friends remained silent.


    Before storing back his MTMD, it made a vibrating noise once again. ''Tsk, who could it be this time?'' He thought as he checked it with a frown.


    But soon Kiko squinted his eyes. The sender was anonymous. He checked the content of the message out of curiosity. However, he further frowned upon checking it.


    Kiko then walked towards the exit after storing back his MTMD into his pocket.


    "Kiko, dude, where are you going?"


    Bruno asked when he noticed he was about to leave.


    "Don''t follow me!"


    Kiko''s reply was short and direct. Bruno and the rest of Kiko''s gang stopped on their feet upon hearing him.


    Yman noticed an intense glare coming from around him. When he glanced around him, he saw Kiko passing by them with a cold glare. He briefly stared at Kiko''s back, who was heading to the exit before he returned his gaze to the monitor.


    Those who had won their duel were instructed not to leave the waiting area first. They were instructed to rest and wait for the final match.


    As there were 75 participants in this elimination round, there was one odd number. The final participants who had yet to come up on stage would be given the privilege to choose their opponent.


    In the VIP room, the Principal of Human City Zone 1, Principal Kim grinned menacingly when he received a message.


    ''With this, the fall of Zone 7 is nearing,'' thought Principal Kim.


    The text mentioned the arrival of the parcel. He already sent a message to his subordinate to pick it up.


    ''Now, it''s up to him to persuade that person. Hehe!'' Principal Kim chuckled inwardly.


    Kiko went to the back alley, about half a kilometer away, northwest, of the public square where the competition was held.


    He went inside without caring about his surroundings. No one would dare to question him anyway. Soon, he would become the most popular person in this city, more popular than Almina and the current Ace, Miss Ice.


    Kiko peered in front of him. The alley was kinda dark. He had no idea why that person who chatted to him chose this area as the meeting place.


    But who cares. The most important thing was the item they mentioned in the message.

 Chapter 317: The Divine Sinner’s Blood

    Right, it was the item that interested him. After entering the alley, Kiko was now facing a person in a black robe. Because of the cloak, he could not identify the person''s identity.


    Kiko squinted his eyes. Such attire was so suspicious. However, he understood the reasoning behind such a getup. Prolly because of the item with him or her or perhaps because of the kind of job he/she had. "Are you the one who contacted me?" He asked right away without beating around the bush.


    Kiko could not see the person''s face because of the hood on the person''s head, but he saw his mouth break into a smile before opening it. "Yes, I am," the opposite person answered him in a calm voice, yet feminine. He was quite surprised and did not expect that the opposite person was a female. Regardless, it wasn''t a big deal to him.


    "Where is the item you''ve mentioned?" Kiko is being honest with himself. He hates meaningless talks. He knew that the opposite party was rather suspicious, but he wasn''t concerned about it. He only needed the item and figured out if it was real or just a sham.


    However, if the other party was fooling him, it was a very bad move to pull out against him because he would certainly kill them.


    Without even moving a single finger, a fire flared in front of Kiko when the robed person did not answer him within several seconds. It was to show her his dominance. Unexpectedly, Kiko frowned when the person remained unperturbed, unflinching from his threatening aura.


    And soon, the person chuckled. "Fufu. My, you don''t have to be so rash, you know that? I have the item, but. Are you capable of wielding its power?" She asked.


    "Tsk!" Kiko clicked his tongue while knitting his brows. He disliked getting looked down. "That''s not your concern!" He said in a powerful voice in which the fire ablaze further. It looked more threatening now. A heavy pressure swooped towards the other party. He could even notice a slight tremble from the person in front of him.


    Although she was shuddering, the other party secretly grinned.


    "Alright, you win. Well, if anything happened, you only have yourself to blame," she said. Then she produced an item in her hand. It was a small glass with glowing scarlet liquid in it. It wasn''t any kind of healing potion. However, it was a powerful potion.


    But looking at the item, Kiko narrowed his eyes. Probably knew what it was. "Tainted Angel''s Blood, The Divine Sinner''s Blood," Kiko muttered.


    Just as Kiko said, it was an angel''s tainted blood or also known as The Divine Sinner''s Blood.


    There used to be a tale that there was once an angel who committed an unforgivable crime in the palace of white and mirage where the angels resided.


    The angel was caught and punished. Through anger, she took her own life and let the blood rain down to the world below.


    The whole world was blanketed in a scarlet sky, seemingly grieving. It was so eerie that every living being shuddered in fright.


    It was followed by heavy rains that lasted for a decade.


    The phenomenon was then called Rain Of The Glowing Scarlet and the Prelude of Mana.


    A group of people claimed this was the beginning of mana. Whereas, many also claimed that it was false. After all, each race had its own history for the root of mana.


    Those living beings who were hit by a drop of it gained an unimaginable power be it animals, plants, insects, or humans. But it also caused a hideous side effect to some of them who failed to control the power.


    Thus, turning them into hideous-looking monsters. This is said to be the origin of magical monsters and the start of mutation to all the living.


    Nonetheless, such cases and gossip were of no value to Kiko.


    He stared at the item for a couple of seconds. He could tell that the liquid inside it wasn''t the real thing. Kiko didn''t mean that it was a fake, however. It wasn''t the pure Divine Sinner''s Blood.


    To prove his assumption, the person in a black robe spoke once again. "Yeah. It is as you see. The Divine Sinner''s Blood. Don''t worry, it''s purified to at most 75 percent. So it is safer to consume. With this, I can''t fully imagine just how far your power will leap. Hehe. You might either advance your level faster than your peers."


    Kiko produced a pouch of gold. The main currency used in the Outerworld was Virtual Gold Points. But in some parts of the Innerworld, they were still using gold coins.


    Kiko threw the pouch of gold points towards her, in exchange she did the same to the item. the Divine Sinner''s blood. She threw it towards Kiko.


    The person in a black robe disappeared into the shadows after receiving the payment. Kiko also left the place and went back to the Waiting Hall with a huge grin on his face.


    When he arrived, there were only three remaining participants that had yet to battle. However, the match that was currently on the stage had just ended.


    Two of the remaining three went up on stage to fight.


    The fight ended after one of them was cornered in a cage-like wall that was made of hardened wood.


    The winner was a student from section A, whereas his enemy was from the lower section. The difference in mana capacity and fighting capability was too broad. So it was understandable that he won.


    Now, it''s time for the last participant to choose his desired opponent.


    "Calling the last participant to come up on stage!" A loud call using a mic resounded.


    The last participant was called on stage to be given the privilege to choose his opponent, not to the defeated participants, but to those who''d won their match, except for those who were injured to fight.


    However, many of the remaining participants had their feelings sink after knowing the last participant''s identity. Especially those in lower sections.

 Chapter 318: An old antagonist

    It was a student from section A. Except for the elite class, there was section A who had the highest mana capacity.


    So everyone, especially those in the lower section, had their brows knitted and frowned, hoping that the person would not choose them. It added more intimidation, the identity of the last participant.


    He was a guy who was known for his delinquent acts.


    "I-it''s Roberto Arturo!" One of the students inside the waiting hall shouted the last participant''s name.


    There were many reports about this Arturo guy. He once beat up a student from a lower section.


    After Instructor Goki handed him a mic, many of the participants in the waiting hall made a distinct gulping sound, seemingly nervous, most of which were those in the lower section.


    They noticed a grin on a person''s face before announcing the name of his chosen opponent.


    "Yman Talisman of section D or also known as Crimson!"


    "What!"


    "Sigh, thankfully, it wasn''t me. That guy was so scary."


    "....."


    Many of the remaining participants sighed in relief after hearing that it wasn''t their name.


    On the other hand, they glanced at the owner of the name.


    Yman was being showered by their gaze. However, he wasn''t a bit worried about it.


    "Yman, be careful," Almina whispered to him. She had no idea why most of the students around were so nervous, but she needed to remind him to always be careful. There was no obligation regarding it, but she felt she had to say it. She felt something hard to explain regarding this match.


    Must be an intuition.


    Also, the other participants around them were talking about that person.


    That he was a delinquent and already did some vile acts.


    Yman nodded at her and continued towards the stage. He had no idea why this man chose him as his opponent, but after coming up on stage and facing the said person, he finally understood why he chose him.


    He remembered this guy. It was the guy who pushed him in the auditorium during the inauguration ceremony.


    Right. It was the guy who was the cause that he bumped into Chloe, who at that time was behind him.


    Yman wondered if this guy had natural hate towards him. Regardless, he wasn''t a bit concerned about it. He was not the type of person who was easily triggered by simple provocation.


    ''So this man''s name was Roberto Arturo,'' Yman thought while facing his old antagonist.


    "Okay, you already know the rules so there is no need for me to repeat. If you are ready, then there is no reason to delay it. Okay, Fight!" Announced the referee Instructor Goki.


    With a grin on his face, Roberto Arturo produced a massive amount of mana all over his body. Then he rushed towards him. While he was at it, he produced a shining shortsword in his left hand and exhibited a straight bolt approach.


    It was a quick movement. And looking at his figure that envelopes with a shining aura, everyone could tell that he was strong. They could not believe that he wasn''t chosen as part of the elite, just with the density of his mana alone.


    Kiko, in the waiting hall, grinned menacingly. This toad had no idea who Roberto Arturo was. He was the son of a renowned military officer. He was a young genius with an unbelievable amount of mana. However, that person purposely suppressed.


    He disliked being in a class full of geniuses. He rather went to a class where he was the one above the rest.


    With an ear-to-ear grin on his face, Roberto Arturo leaped to shorten the distance faster. There was only a step away from the two of them. Roberto Arturo raised his sword.


    Swiing~!


    He swung it!


    However,


    "What happened?" A surprise question coming from someone. Even Roberto Arturo himself had widenede his eyes.


    "Nothing happened?"


    "It did not hit?"


    Someone in the audience exclaimed.


    "No! Look!" Another guy pointed out.


    Just then, they heard a dull sound which was followed by a metallic noise. When they glanced at the cause for it, they saw an arm holding a shining sword a few steps away, behind Roberto Arturo.


    "Aaarrrrggh!"


    It was followed by an ear-piercing scream. It was from Roberto Arturo.


    Everyone in the waiting hall had uniformed stunned faces. Especially those from section A.


    They wondered what happened. They could not believe that Roberto Arturo was now crying in pain. He was the guy who bossed them in the classroom.


    It seemed as though Roberto Arturo was a boss inside their classroom. Most of the students in that section were afraid of him.


    There was once a time that a student tried to stand in front of him to relinquish his dominance in the room. However, that person got a good beating in return.


    Most of them had any suspicion about his true strength. But no one was daring enough to report him. Without proof, it was only a baseless accusation and might be used against them.


    Thus, his dominance in the section continued even until now. However, Roberto Arturo was now screaming in agony. On second look, they noticed he lost his arm.


    How did it happen?


    Most of the students questioned it. As none of them could follow. Only those in the elites and the experts who were in the False Path saw it.


    However, most of them fell silent as they wondered how Yman could execute such a quick attack that only those in the False Path could execute.


    When they read his statistics, it was recorded there that he was only a level 5 magician?! How did it happen?


    Wait. Wasn''t he a level 4 just yesterday? So he just leveled up? Still, it could not explain his action. His attack was not something that someone at the lower level could perform.


    Regardless, they noticed Yman produced a chakram, a type of throwing weapon, using crimson-colored mana? They wondered when he had such mana.


    On top of that, creating something using one''s mana was considered an advanced technique.


    Aside from others, Roberto Arturo himself did not expect what was happening. It was already too late when he noticed that person threw it.


    At the moment, Yman was forming another chakram on his hand.


    Without wasting time, Roberto Arturo produced a vial of red liquid and drank it while at the same time leaped back, distancing himself from him.


    Yman secretly chuckled.

 Chapter 319: Chakram versus Chakram

    Using a potion in the battle wasn''t prohibited. In the real fight, it was normal to always prepare for the worst. Also, wealth was another symbol of power. So, healing the damage via potions was allowed.


    After drinking the potion, Roberto Arturo''s cut arm regenerated right away. He also did not forget to pick the sword while he was in the act of backing away. The arm that was holding it had already disappeared after turning to light particles.


    Even the health points that could be seen in his green bar are already full once again.


    However, Roberto Arturo was quite surprised. How was this turtle able to slice him? Yes, this man used to be a turtle. He was that slow guy who could not keep up with his speed that time in the auditorium.


    However, Roberto Arturo was shocked when he failed to notice his attack.


    But he had no time to waste as he noticed two crimson objects were flying rapidly towards him.


    Two chakrams!?


    Roberto Arturo exclaimed in mind after noticing what it was. He rolled to evade it. The two chakrams passed overhead him and went directly, hitting the ground and explode like a bomb. Luckily, he succeeded in dodging it. However, *Bang!*


    *Gwah!*


    Although he successfully evaded the two chakrams, he was caught with a follow-up kick attack.


    Roberto Arturo was sent flying away along with his sword.


    The audience briefly turned silent before a loud cheer resounded.


    Woooooohhhh!!!


    Crimson! Crimson! Crimson!


    The audience chants his competition name.


    The ordinary audience had no idea of Yman''s circumstance in the academy before. So they have no idea how weak he used to be.


    In the waiting hall, most of the students were reminded once again of Yman''s new strength. He was very different from his old self. He changed a lot. They thought so.


    Not only that, they have noticed another unusual thing about him.


    In the eyes of the three elders, Yman seemed to be an irregular one. Based on their perception, he had unusually high stats even though he was only a level 5 magician.


    Level 5?


    How did someone have a low level, yet was able to defeat those higher-level opponents?! How did a level 5 person have the attributes comparable to a False Path expert?


    Even they could not explain it. They never had encountered such a case like this. Also, they noticed he was using a technique used by that beastman student. In Yman''s case, he didn''t form his mana into armor, but he shaped them into a weapon! This kid was so talented! Thought the elders.


    Regardless, isn''t his mana also strange? It was unusual to see a human wield crimson-colored mana. Not only the elders but also the other students and most of the people in the VIP room, and even those in the audience podium thought so.


    In a desolate room, the beautiful ace of the academy narrowed her eyes when she saw the crimson chakrams of Yman.


    On the stage, Roberto Arturo performed consecutive strikes with his sword. That kick just now almost took his consciousness. Thankfully, he managed to negate a small amount of damage.


    He immediately drank another potion. Then get up right away. He didn''t waste time and attacked Yman right away. He could not let himself be trashed by this weakling.


    It was fortunate to Yman that he let his guard down. Yman was so lucky to hit him. Right. It was a lucky hit only! But never again. Roberto Arturo screamed in mind as he was brandishing his weapon to the left and right.


    Yet, the onlookers noticed something wasn''t right. None of Roberto Arturo''s attacks were able to land on his opponent.


    They wondered if Roberto Arturo had an issue with his vision. The next second, another dull impact could be heard. Then Roberto Arturo was sent flying to the side, having his face skidded on the floor.


    "How did that scary delinquent Roberto Arturo be beaten up like a kid?!" Most of the students in the waiting hall wondered.


    Regardless, "This Roberto Arturo had so many consumables! Damn rich bastard!" With envy, many of the students screamed in silence.


    Roberto Arturo was able to get up again after drinking another potion.


    They wondered if Roberto Arturo was storing many dozens of potions inside his Cyber Storage.


    They noticed he didn''t only drink a health-restoring potion but also another type of potion. At this moment, he took another vial of potion but the color was different from the health-restoring potion.


    "Wait. That is a booster elixir, right? A student asked."


    "Damn! Even a booster elixir?! Is this Roberto Arturo a pool of money?!"


    "I heard he was a spoiled kid. So his parents were probably giving him all that he needed."


    "Dammit! Lucky bastard." Some envious utterances from the other participants reached the ears of many people.


    "Wait, what was Roberto''s opponent doing?" Suddenly, someone asked.


    When they glanced at Yman, they saw him take the same item as Roberto Arturo. As though mocking him, in Yman''s hand was also an elixir.


    It was a strength booster elixir.


    Roberto Arturo knitted his brows. "Tsk! Show off!" He spat. Then he produced a magical element in his hand. It was the element of wind. Like mocking Yman''s chakrams, he also produced chakrams made of wind elements. Not only one or two, but he produced five of them.


    "Hehe, do you think you are the only one capable of such a technique, huh!" He howled before throwing all the wind chakrams to Yman.


    One after another, the chakrams flew towards him in a hard to perceive motion.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Looking at the fast-approaching wind chakrams, Yman just sneered.


    "What is he doing?" Maena asked with a frown when she saw Yman walk towards the approaching chakrams.


    Even the other people were baffled as to what he was planning to do.


    However, all of them fell silent when the wind blades dissipated into thin airs upon touching him. And Yman continued walking as though nothing happened.


    "What happened?!" Surprised, many of them could not comprehend what had just transpired.


    Why did the chakrams disappear? Where did they go? Many questions in their minds but no one could give them the answer.


    Roberto Arturo widened his eyes. "What the f**k did you do?!" He bellowed.


    Regardless, even after a shock, Roberto Arturo sent another wave of wind chakrams. But still, none of them were able to damage his opponent. Yman was walking casually towards him as though he was taking a stroll only.


    Then he created his own crimson chakram. This time, he did it slowly for everyone to see. All of them saw when a crimson mana exuded out on his hand and took a form on his palm. It gradually took the shape of chakram like a wriggling jelly. After several seconds, the crimson chakram was finally completed.


    However, Yman did not throw it right away, he inforced it with more crimson mana. The chakram turned bigger and bigger until it reached the size of a 1-meter radius.


    A gleaming 1-meter radius crimson chakram!


    Roberto Arturo threw more and more wind chakrams towards Yman. However, Yman also threw his giant crimson chakram.


    Roberto Arturo''s face changes color when his wind chakrams turn to light particles whenever the giant crimson chakram hits them.


    "What with that chakram! You bastard!" He grunted with bloodshot eyes. He could not believe that even his wind chakrams were no match against his one big chakram.


    Before losing his mind, Roberto Arturo leaped sideways to evade the rapidly approaching giant crimson chakram, however, it still managed to graze the skin on his face.


    It was followed by a loud explosion behind him when the giant crimson chakram crashed on the floor of the stage.


    Boom!


    While Roberto Arturo was distracted by the explosion, Yman took the chance and charged towards his opponent. A punch landed squarely on Roberto Arturo''s face. Roberto Arturo was once again sent flying away. His body rolled several times before stopping.


    "Ugh, dammit!" He whispered in annoyance.


    In his green bar, there were only 65% of health points left. But Roberto Arturo casually took another potion from his Cyber Storage and drank it.


    Yman''s mouth extended to both sides to form a smile. He wondered how many potions this man had inside his storage. If only it was a real fight and not a competition, he could loot it. Unfortunately, he could not do it in this kind of fight.


    Hehe. Yman chuckled under his breath. He was happy to see his improvement. And finally, he was able to make this idiot pay for what he did in the auditorium.


    In this world where money and strength were the very basis of one''s status, he believed that someday he would rise to power and become a rich person.


    Roberto Arturo''s health points went back to 100 percent again. Yman sighed. This kind of fight would never boost his attributes.

 Chapter 320: End of the third elimination round

    Roberto Arturo took a ring artifact. After activating it by feeding his mana into it, the ring turned to armor. The armor had a simple design. It was a light type armor that was usually used for fighters who had high agility.


    This armor did not only increase his defense but also increased his agility by 20 percent. With this, he believed he was faster than his opponent now.


    "Bastard turtle!" He roared while rushing like the wind to his enemy. To further increase his speed, he summoned a wind element on his feet. Then his figure shot like a blurred shadow.


    Wielding in his hand was a shining sword with one edge.


    It only took him a split second to traverse the distance between him and Yman. He swung his sword right away to cut the imbecile opponent.


    However, the opponent was still able to evade it! Roberto Arturo frowned as he believed he was faster enough.


    Yman, on the other hand, didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at this opponent. Did this guy haven''t watch his match against Jugo?


    After evading Roberto Arturo''s attack, Yman followed up with a kick. It connected to his face.


    Roberto Arturo was sent back, skidded on the floor once again. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose. He wiped it using the back of his hand. Then he stared at Yman with both knitted brows and annoyed expressions. Without wasting time, he took another potion. However, before he could drink it, the bottle exploded and the liquid in it splattered on his face.


    A pulse cross-shaped appeared on Roberto Arturo''s face.


    This dumbass would not even let him drink it! He shouted in his mind.


    But, he cried out when he was hit on his shoulder by something. Before Roberto Arturo could figure out what it was, another one struck on the opposite shoulder.


    Ugh! He groaned.


    Then his opponent fired more and more. Roberto Arturo was hit on every part of his body. On top of that, most of them were focused on his limbs.


    The only thing that Roberto Arturo could do at this moment was nothing but endure the pain. He already lost the strength to lift his hand. Even his legs lost strength. His opponent was hitting the exposed part of his body.


    Though at the moment, Yman was frowning. He didn''t approve of his accuracy. It still needs a lot of improvement. His dexterity was still low.


    The audience was staring with wide eyes. It was the first time they saw such an attack. Reflected in their eyes the crimson-colored object that the participant Crimson was firing through flicking with his fingers.


    How did he do it? Most of them have the same questions. Whenever he flicked his finger, an object came flying like a stone. Although they never saw him picking a stone, it must be made through mana.


    If not only because of the Photonocules, Roberto Arturo would be bloodied all over by now.


    Whenever Roberto Arturo tried to move, another crimson object came flying to pierce his exposed body parts.


    Dammit! What the hell does that idiot do?! Useless! Inside the Waiting Hall, Kiko was gnashing his teeth while cursing under his breath.


    Before the start of Yman and Roberto Arturo''s match, he secretly made a deal with Arturo. He handed him the Divine Sinner''s Blood that he bought from a mysterious dealer.


    Kiko wasn''t an idiot to let himself be the specimen of that dangerous elixir. He told Arturo that it was an elixir that could boost his power to an unimaginable increase.


    Roberto Arturo was the type of person who hates losing, so Kiko knew that even if he disagreed with him, he would still use it whenever he found himself in an unfavorable situation.


    However, the current situation was just�� shit!


    It was the only kind of situation that could avoid Arturo from using the elixir.


    Kiko wanted to punish Yman by using Roberto Arturo.


    "This f**king Arturo! If he only drank the medicine beforehand, He would never be in such a situation now!" Kiko groaned inwardly.


    Dammit!


    He wondered if Yman did it on purpose. But it was impossible. He probably was just lucky. With the current situation, there was no way for Roberto Arturo to fight back. He was like a live target for the frog. Who would have thought that this frog was capable of such a long-range attack!


    With this, Kiko understood that the frog''s physical strength was beyond his initial estimation. If he was capable of such a destructive flick. Then his strength was already beyond the first stage. Prolly, his strength was as strong as the False Path Expert. Kiko believed so.


    He needed to revise his plan against Yman.


    There was no way for Arturo to win now. Even if he asked his deity to pilot his body, it was still useless, he was already stationary. The frog did a good job of piercing his limbs. Roberto Arturo could only crawl now. It was better for him to give up. Kiko thought upon noticing the expression on Yman''s face.


    That expression on his face was the expression of someone without mercy towards his opponents. He probably intended to torture Roberto Arturo from the start. This frog was so heartless!


    As an aspiring hero who was destined for greatness, he needed to be the one to destroy this villainous frog.


    Kiko shook his head. He had high expectations of Roberto Arturo, but it seemed like Roberto Arturo''s strength was so low. He probably focused on increasing his agility. Regardless, the frog wasn''t only about strength. Even his speed was worth noting.


    Tsk!


    He did not expect that this frog had improved to this extent for just a little time. How did he do it? Kiko asked in his mind. No matter how he thought about it, there was just no way to improve in that minimum time.


    Perhaps this frog got a chance of an artifact that enabled him to improve his strength and agility to such an extent.


    Tsk! This is bad if this keeps going. He wasn''t afraid of Yman, actually. Kiko still believed that he was stronger than Yman. But he wasn''t an idiot. Even though he believed he was stronger, it didn''t mean that he would neglect his opponent''s strength. Although it wasn''t written on his face, Kiko was actually a cautious person. Without waiting for the end of the match, Kiko walked out of the Waiting Hall. There was no point in waiting until the end of the match. It was already clear who would be the winner.


    Roberto Arturo could not revert the match anymore. If only he drank the Divine Sinner''s Blood, there might be a big chance for him to win. But regardless, there was no point regretting it now.


    Upon seeing Kiko walk away, his friends followed after him.


    Just as Kiko said, there was no chance for Roberto Arturo to revert the match. In the end, he was tortured by Yman by slowly depleting his health points, causing more pain to him.


    Roberto Arturo gave up in the end. He could not bear the pain any longer.


    Even the audience had a chill run down their spine as they were watching the state of Roberto Arturo. They believed it was a wise decision that he gave up the match.


    In the end, Yman won in an overbearing performance. Be it with chakrams, speed, or strength, he dominated all these categories. The scary delinquent of section A had become an easy target of a student from the lowest section. Everyone could not believe it.


    Finally, the third elimination round ended. Only few participants were left for the fourth elimination round.


    Yman won two times in the round, all in an overwhelming performance.


    With this victory of his, most students from the elite class were now wary of him. He was now one of their competitors. His strength, speed, and his strange way of invoking his mana, all of these, they needed to prepare for them.


    "Leader, Is your boyfriend always that strong," asked Jami with an innocent face. She had no direct opposition towards Yman. Jami was more focused on her training than minding everyone else''s business.


    But, she heard many things about Yman. Most of those were of course bad. That''s why she was baffled as to why the others were mocking him even though he was this strong.


    Unbeknown to Jami, Almina''s mind is already in the cloud after hearing the word boyfriend from her.


    "W-what are you saying, Jami. Hehe!" Almina giggled while touching her blushing face with both hands.


    "....."


    Maena and Kesha sighed at the same time towards Almina.


    After the third elimination, every student went back to training, especially those from the lower section. Their motivation was those guys in the lowest section. If even they were able to win against those strong opponents, then they too could probably do it as well.


    Maybe they just needed more training or learned new abilities that are unique to them.


    While everyone was busy training, Yman had to comply with his promise. He lost the bet. So he had to accompany Keremi.

 Chapter 321: Night Date

    Wearing a dark blue polo shirt and black jeans pants, paired with black sports shoes, he walked inside a luxurious Hotel and Restaurant in the city, the Caramel Hotel.


    He looked so handsome tonight in his attire. Summed up with his calmed demeanor, he was exuding an attractive aura. Even some of the female attendants had to take a second glance at him.


    When Yman stepped in, he was greeted by a relaxing ambiance. The pillars, floors, walls, and even the ceiling, all were tiled with shiny vibrant colors.


    Even the chandeliers on the ceiling that were giving off yellowish light were made of crystals. Though, it was only the reception area.


    There weren''t many people inside. Probably because not so many people could afford such a luxurious hotel just for a meal or for a night stay.


    Keremi already mailed him to where he needed to go. His destination was the 5th floor of the building. Yman went to the elevator. This building was one of the tallest establishments in the HCZ7.


    He remembered there was only the third floor for the tallest building in this city when he first arrived at this place. But it looks like some building was able to have an extension. Truly, this city had improved a lot in just a short time that he was away. All of it was because of the appearance of the dungeon. Yman was quite surprised by the big changes that a dungeon brought into the city.


    When he arrived at his destination, he saw Keremi in one corner of the room. He was wearing a white suit. It looks good on his gentle demeanor.


    "My Prince!"


    He called out while raising his hand upon seeing him, though his eyes were still close. He wondered how Keremi could see with those eyes closed. But no matter how many times he asked it to himself, it was still one of the mysteries he could not solve.


    Yman also noticed that aside from them, there were no other people around. Looks like it was a private room. He squinted his eyes. ''It wasn''t a date, right? A thought flashed in his mind that worried him.


    Since he could not feel any malicious intent from Keremi, it could only mean one thing. Perhaps he wanted to talk about something important.


    After taking his seat, "Oh!" Yman was amazed. He had to praise Keremi for choosing a good spot. It was near the glass window where they could oversee the night city view. He could see the beauty of the night city from where they were sitting.


    "Fufu," Keremi smiled upon seeing the amazed expression on his face. "My prince, you look more handsome tonight," he said.


    "....."


    Keremi''s greeting stunned him for a couple of seconds. "Hearing it from a guy didn''t flatter me," Yman answered him. He truly felt a chill run down his spine after hearing it from him.


    Yman fixed his seat before his attention was stolen by the cake and drinks in front of him. It looks delicious!


    Keremi noticed a gulp from him. "Help yourself, My prince," Keremi beckoned him as he gestured to the food.


    Yman was a little skeptical. But since it was in front of him, it should have been alright to eat, right? Who knows how expensive this food was. He wasn''t actually a glutton, but he was hungry at the moment. Creating Fire Dolls drained him for good. He needed to restock them every night. Even now, he is very exhausted. But since he lost the bet, he had to comply with Keremi''s demand.


    After hearing Keremi''s words, Yman forgot about proper etiquette. He took a slice of cake and stuffed his mouth. Then he drank the hot chocolate in a cup. After it, he glanced at Keremi. "So?" He asked.


    Keremi stopped briefly before a chuckle could be heard from him. "Fufu. You''re honestly an awesome person, my prince."


    Yman''s eyes turned dot. "Yeah, yeah, let''s cut the compliment."


    Clang. He carefully placed back the pork on a small plate, to where another slice of cake was. Then he adjusted his sitting position and wiped his mouth with a tissue.


    Keremi noticed a small sigh escape from Yman''s mouth as he waited for his words. Yman wasn''t in the mood for small talk and flattery. He just wanted to lay on a bed, whether it was soft or not. As long as he could rest his tired back comfortably.


    Keremi''s shoulder trembled slightly along with a voiceless chuckle. "You know, my prince--"


    "Uh, is it related to that?"


    Keremi wasn''t able to finish his words as Yman already cut him.


    "What do you mean, my prince?"


    "That��"


    Keremi frowned for a second before a smile returned in his mouth. "As expected, you''re truly a one-of-a-kind person, my prince."


    "....."


    He remained quiet as he waited for Keremi''s next words.


    "Yeah. It is related to it."


    At Keremi''s words, Yman narrowed his eyes. He already guessed it. The way he called him wasn''t normal at all. How could a person just call you a prince out of the blue?! At first, he just thought that Keremi mistook him for some prince? But he later shook the thought out of his mind. It was difficult to mistake a person into a prince. Especially someone like him. He wasn''t a bit like a prince. Perhaps Keremi is just making fun of him. Yman had no understanding of Keremi''s character. Therefore, he just thought that it was his way of making fun of him.


    But later, he noticed that it didn''t seem like he was just making fun of him. The way he called him ''my prince'' seems so real. Maybe Keremi got used to calling him that. But still, there was a weird feeling that bugged him. It seemed as though it was natural for Keremi to call him like that. So Yman suspected that there might be a reason behind it. In any case, it was not important at all. Or so he thought it was the case, but at Keremi''s next words, Yman was stunned.

 Chapter 322: The facility

    Yman noticed the change in Keremi''s countenance. The benign smile he usually has could not be found anymore.


    "Are you familiar with the name ARENHU?" He suddenly asked him, which made Yman''s eyes shake and widen the second upon hearing it.


    It seemed as though there was a lapse in time the moment Keremi mentioned it. Yman blinks his eyes twice, seemingly absorbing what he just heard. Did he hear it right? Did Keremi just mention that forsaken word?


    Out of the blue, "What did you say?!" Yman threw his own question in a slightly raised voice. His voice had a tinge of surprise. However, instead of a reply, he noticed a frown from Keremi.


    The atmosphere between them turned serious suddenly after Keremi mentioned the word, wafting the calm and relaxed ambiance inside the room.


    "ARENHU��" After Keremi repeated the word, there was an awkward silence visiting the two.


    After a slight pause, Yman finally opened his mouth, "Could it be�� you are one of them?" he threw another question again. But this time, his voice was not his usual calm voice. It was tense and threatening.


    Even Keremi could feel the pressure from it. This surprised him. His close eyes even made noticeable movements. He had no clue how far Yman had improved after he disappeared for a month in the academy. But the person in front of him now was very different from the person last month.


    Keremi suddenly came into a deep pondering. He was puzzled by Yman''s sudden increase in power.


    Yman knitted his brows. How can he forget that name? ARENHU�� The ARENHU Facility where he was raised and became a lab rat for many years. Yman thought with a hidden frustration.


    Could it be Keremi was one of them? Dammit! So they already knew where he was? Yman subconsciously balled his fists that were resting on his thighs under the table.


    Noticing the threatening aura from Yman, Keremi raised his head, "It''s not what you think, my prince," he said while raising both his hands in front of him.


    Gesturing a surrender stance. Yman stared at him with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?"


    Keremi''s corner of his mouth extended to both sides. He thought that this conversation would never advance if they kept asking each other.


    "The truth is��" Keremi said as he slowly opened his eyes.


    When Yman saw it, his eyes widened as he was looking at Keremi.


    When Keremi completely opened his eyes, it seemed the world stopped at them.


    Yman was stunned for a couple of seconds before he was able to summon his voice again.


    ''No wonder��'' What he meant was, No wonder Keremi could see even though he was closing his eyes. He already suspected his eyes. But just now that his suspicion got proven right. They really aren''t ordinary eyes.


    "Are you one of the enhanced?" He asked.


    He noticed a slight nod from Keremi.


    ARENHU, or Artificial Enhanced Human. Based on the name alone, everyone could probably guess what kind of facility it was.


    After that, Keremi told him everything.


    Yman came back with loads of thoughts in his mind. It was still hard for him to believe all that Keremi told him. No, it was unbelievable. But it also makes sense.


    Yman stopped in the girls'' room, where his sister and Rea were probably sleeping.


    It was already about 10 pm. It was a time in which most people were probably in deep slumber. He wanted to check them. But Yman realized that it was inappropriate to intrude in a girl''s room this time of night.


    He closed his eyes and increased his perception, he could sense two familiar presence breathing soundlessly. He breathed a sigh of relief.


    After hearing Keremi''s words, he was bugged by something. Even though his scout fire dolls were guarding the whole house, Yman was still attacked by anxiety.


    He turned around and pushed the door opposite from theirs. His room was just in front of the girl''s room.


    Unbeknown to Yman, when he left, Rea opened her eyes. She sighed in relief. She could not sleep for some reason. It wasn''t like she was scared of something. It''s just hard to describe her feelings at the moment. Regardless, she felt relieved when he came back, finally. She wanted to come with him, but that guy refused her. He said he was meeting a male friend.


    However, it was rather suspicious!


    This thought lingered in Rea''s mind and prevented her from sleeping. In Rea''s mind... C-could it be he was cheating on her?! How despicable! Wait, they were not even in a relationship!


    On the other hand, Yman laid his back on the bed after changing his clothes. "I have to get a lot stronger," he muttered while he was gazing at the ceiling. However, his mind was beyond it.


    Before he left, he made sure the house was surrounded by enhanced fire dolls. It would not put him at ease knowing that only his sister and Rea were left here.


    Sistela was in hibernation mode when he left, so he left her in his sister''s care.


    Tomorrow was the 4th elimination round of the competition, so he needed Sistela to be in a good condition. Also, he had many bodyguards with him, so it wasn''t a problem if he found himself in trouble. He was confident that he could escape if something was going to happen.


    However, after hearing Keremi''s words, Yman realized that he was so naive. He became so confident in himself. This is bad. Yman knew that he made a big error in his decision.


    He needed to stop this kind of thinking. He needed to be on high alert every time. Although he had many ways to escape from his enemies, it was still better if he had extra cards up his sleeve.


    Yman pondered until he fell asleep.


    The next time he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sunbeam that came through the gap in the window.


    The 4th elimination round started at the same time as yesterday. There were fewer participants left. And most of the remaining participants were the stronger ones.


    Most of the remaining participants were students from section A and the elite class. So most of the onlookers were looking forward to this round.


    There were noticeably more onlookers today than yesterday.


    The remaining participants were full of energy. Each one of them was looking forward to their match. They wanted to win. No, they must win against their opponent!


    Yman also arrived right before the round started. As expected, he could not find Keremi around.


    Keremi''s revelation stunned him for good. Even until now, it was still hard for him to believe.


    "An artificial human, huh," Yman muttered.


    "Yman!" While Yman was in deep thought, he suddenly heard a familiar voice calling his name. When he glanced, he saw Almina and Maena moving towards him along with their friends.


    "What?" Maena asked him when she noticed his eyes were on her. She also noticed the look in his eyes looked different from before.

 Chapter 323: Two elites

    He blinked his eyes before saying good morning to the ladies. "Good Morning too�� Yman," Almina returned the greetings with a slightly red face.


    Although there''s a slight pause in calling his name, he did not put any meaning into it.


    ''But why is Almina''s face slightly red again today?'' He wondered.


    It surprised him when some other girls in Almina''s party also greeted him. Most of the time, they just ''meh'' to him.


    However, of course, not all greeted him. There is still one girl who had a cold shoulder towards him. Yman already stopped caring about this one. He just assumed Kesha was a statue or even an air.


    Nonetheless, both of them lost the bet. So no hard feelings towards each other.


    And Yman didn''t want to talk with this girl. If possible, he would rather stay away from her.


    But for Almina''s sake, he chose to stay. He didn''t want to look bad in her eyes. The reason? He had no idea. He just felt it.


    Maybe because of all the girls in this academy, aside from Chloe, she was the only one who came to talk to him and even went to the trouble of inviting him to their party.


    He was honestly happy about it. But at that time, he felt it would be bad to leech on her and her party. After all, he was weak and only knew a self-healing spell. Also, it brings him no good from the others if he would stay closer to the most popular person in the academy. He would surely become the center of envy.


    Yman felt someone''s gaze at him, but he chose to ignore her and returned his gaze to the monitor in which the first pair of participants were currently battling.


    After hearing Keremi''s words, there''s something he wanted to ask her, but it wasn''t the right place for it.


    Maena was puzzled. Yman''s gaze to her a while ago seemed like there was a meaning to it. But this guy suddenly switched his attention and now his focus was on the monitor.


    The first pair''s battle ended in an unexpected draw.


    The second pair came onto the stage and it was followed by the next pair and so on.


    The round that morning ended with all the participants able to battle with all their might. It was a good round and most of the audience was so happy to watch it.


    The highlight of the match was the elites. Yman''s opponent was someone in section A. It wasn''t an eventful fight. Honestly, it was the most boring fight of all the fights he had.


    The onlookers were looking forward to seeing his chakrams again, but unfortunately, the match ended without him using any of those.


    Of all the participants, the onlookers were so looking forward to his fight. Especially that he was from the lowest section and he was able to win against higher section opponents. His win against Jugo, a student from the elite class, is still lingering in their minds. They wanted to see that kind of thrilling battle.


    However, Yman ended his opponent in the most normal attack. It was a punch in the gut. It took his opponent''s consciousness directly after receiving it. Everyone was reminded again that he had a monstrous physical power.


    Aside from Yman, there was another interesting person who had monstrous physical attributes like him. However, instead of power, this other person had monstrous defense and power. She was in the section as him.


    Some students in the academy were afraid to throw mocking words at her. Even though in their minds they wanted to spit the word ''Gorilla!'' at her.


    However, with just a look from her, every student would rather stay away from her.


    Regardless, the person in question was named Julie Brown. The girl from section D who has won her every match.


    Appearance-wise, she didn''t look beautiful physically. However, she had a beauty of her own that was unique to herself. She had a masculine body and could be considered as a tank in particular because of her build.


    She even looked as big or not bigger than Bert and Bob.


    "Congrats, Julie!" Some of the onlookers in the audience podium shouted to congratulate her after winning against an opponent from Section A.


    "Truly, it was surprising to see two students from the lowest section showing good results in their match." The VIP Adam Praeter commented.


    "Yes, Mr. Adam Praeter, sir," Sunday agreed to him.


    After all, it wasn''t a common occurrence that such a person could compete against someone with higher mana capacity.


    If Sunday was right, each student was evaluated through their mana level. The more mana a student has in their body, the higher section they belong to. On the contrary, the least mana a person has, the lower section they would be attending.


    Mostly, there had been no record in any Academies that a person from the lower section won against a person from the higher section. But in this competition, the VIPs were so intrigued to witness some students showing good results against their opponents from a higher section.


    This news proliferated to the other world beyond this world. This was also the reason why more and more VIPs came to watch the competition.


    The three major departments that supported the city were so busy as of now. They had to tend every one of these VIPs and secure their safety.


    The head of the academy, Principal Mar, was so lively. The competition was showing good results.


    Somewhere in the corner of the VIP''s room. One person had a better expression on his face.


    "Dammit, how did this happen?"


    He gritted his teeth. If this kept ongoing, it would be hard for him to shut this city down.


    Perhaps he needed to make another plan. But, he shook his head. He knew that his current plan was still active.


    ''Once that person used it, that''s the end of this city,'' Principal Kim thought while secretly grinning.


    Some skilled students were not lucky enough when they were matched up against the students from the elite class.


    One of them was Mai. Her opponent was Sonya. The girl with a pair of raccoon ears. She was from Rei-Rei''s party.


    Mai was defeated easily. It wasn''t even a match. Sonya was so strong. On the other hand, Mai was only capable of transforming her arms and legs. Although she moved so fast, it was useless against Sonya who uses a force shield all over her body. Also, she almost had unlimited mana like most of the elites.


    However, Miss Sonya was one of a kind. She wasn''t only had an abundance of mana, she was also good at trapping her enemy. And so Mai found her sturdy wall in the form of Sonya.


    One of Almina''s party members wasn''t so lucky as well when she faced Rei-Rei on the stage. It was Dianne. The support of their party. She could not even deal damage to Rei-Rei. It was an utter defeat.


    After defeating Dianne, Rei-Rei declared that Almina would be her next victim.


    Almina did not budge and stood straight. She was wondering why Miss Rei-Rei wanted to target her. She could not remember that she did something worthy of getting angry. Honestly, she wanted to be friends with her, and she even asked her one time to join her party. But Rei-Rei refused her outright.


    "Don''t mind her, best friend. Let me handle her. I will make sure to defeat her," said Kesha.


    Almina shook her head. "Well, if the chance of facing her befalls you, then that''s fine. But I will face her if it is granted to me��" Almina replied.


    After all, it still depends on the match-up and it was random, so anyone could be anyone''s opponent.


    Maena snorted. "Don''t forget that we still have a score to settle," she said to Almina.


    "....."


    The last battle was between Brai and Kiko.


    The atmosphere suddenly became intense as two students from the same Elite class were facing each other on stage.

 Chapter 324: Weapon enchant

    ''Now, this is an interesting pair,'' Yman thought.


    Everyone was so tense as they were waiting for the start signal from the referee. Finally, two students from the elite class were facing each other on stage.


    What would be the outcome? Who among them would win this match? Everyone had such thoughts in their mind.


    Even the VIPs in the VIP room were excited to see the outcome. These two, after all, come from known families.


    "Ah, so it''s between the Sun and the branch of the Crescent family. Fufu, interesting," Adam Praeter commented.


    "Crescent family? Mr. Adam sir, do you mean the Crescent family who ruled over the north of the country?"


    "Yes, yes, Mr. Jack."


    "Do you have some information regarding them, Jack?" Sunday was curious.


    "Among all the top families in the P-country, the Crescent family has the biggest members. They lead some major departments in the country. They also have many branches, and also, the Crescent family is known for their body transformation technique which originally comes from the western continent," Jack explained.


    "So their ancestor was someone from a western country, is that what you mean?"


    "Yes, Madam Sunday," Jack nodded.


    "Perhaps it is an intercross among two different genes?" Adam interjected.


    "Wait, isn''t that prohibited by the law, Mr. Adam, sir?"


    "Actually, it is," said Adam. Then he added, "In the lost era, such a thing was a common occurrence. But, after the appearance of mana, intercrossing between two different countries was banned in all countries due to the risk of leaking each country''s abilities. However, it only applied to major families. Common people are exempted from this law. Also, their intercrossing might have happened before the law was implemented."


    Sunday was nodding her head. "I see��"


    While they were talking about Brai''s family origin, on the stage, the start of the battle was declared.


    Chloe is now sitting together with Yana and Rea in the audience podium. On the other hand, Bob was still resting in the hospital.


    After Referee Goki announced the start of the battle, an intense aura burst out from the two.


    Kiko was grinning. He already planted all his invisible bombs in every corner of the stage in a matter of seconds.


    Kiko was a direct descendant of the Sun family. He could have all the resources he needed to advance faster than his peers. His family was very attentive towards him. After all, he was born as a genius of one of the major families in the country.


    There''s no way he would lose against a mere branch family. No matter how good Brai was. That''s why, Kiko was so confident that he would win in this match, otherwise. Not just because he was from the direct descendants of the Sun family. But because he had advanced control in his abilities.


    Regardless, based on his knowledge, the branch families had limited resources compared to the main family.


    So since Brai was from the branch of the Crescent family and Kiko was from the main lineage of the Sun family gave Kiko the upper hand in this battle.


    There''s no way the top families let their branch families excel than the main family. It wasn''t an issue of the country, but an issue inside the aforementioned family.


    Brai made the first move. He unsheathed his sword then let it absorb his mana.


    "An enchanting ability?" Sunday muttered in surprise.


    "A weapon enchanting ability. I heard the Crescent family also owned a blacksmithing firm," answered Jack.


    "I see. No wonder."


    "Fufu, you''re a very knowledgeable, young man," Adam Praeter chuckled slightly as he complimented.


    "J-Just my job, sir," Jack answered shyly while rubbing the back of his head.


    Adam Praeter slightly narrowed his eyes before returning his gaze to the stage. They were looking at the competition from a higher plane. It was inside the third floor of a relatively closer building where they could oversee the stage without a problem.


    Inside the room, there were also some big monitors where they could watch the match. So, it''s up to them to choose where they are comfortable to watch.


    Their attention was drawn by the series of explosions coming from the stage. They saw the glowing sword of Brai concentrated bluish mana on its edge. Then, it magnified all the mana and discharged as a bluish energy wave. Three waves of bluish energy were fired successively.


    Hum! Hum! Hum!


    They made humming sounds as they flew towards their target. A second later was another series of explosions. They exploded and created trenches on the stage.


    "Oh... Such a highly concentrated energy wave could easily kill its opponent when hit. Even Kiko understood it, huh," Instructor Musk commented.


    "That''s why he had to evade," Instructor Torr also added.


    The two of them were currently watching the match in the corner.


    "Tsk!" Kiko clicked his tongue.


    It was the first time after coming to this academy that he had to defend himself from an attack. He is usually the offensive type. But Brai''s attack was just too dangerous. Even for him.


    Currently, it was Brai who was dictating the match. Kiko was on the defensive. Yet another wave of a highly concentrated mass of energies was fast approaching him.


    But a grin did not leave on Kiko''s face. Before they reached him, "Don''t get too cocky!" He bellowed, the next second, the incoming waves of energies bloomed and exploded and disappeared after.


    It seemed as though they hit an invisible wall.


    The stunned audience was wondering what had happened.


    Now it''s Kiko''s time to direct the match. He did not waste more time and shoot multiple fireballs. They spiraled towards Brai like multiple fireworks.


    Pew! Pew! Pew!


    Seeing the incoming fireballs, Brai calmly exhaled while closing his eyes.


    Then he summoned mana from within his body until his body was enveloped by bluish energy. As expected of a person who was in a False Path stage, he has bluish mana. Everyone understood it just based solely on the color of his mana.


    Brai''s figure suddenly disappeared from his position. They saw him leaping towards the incoming fireballs. Instead of avoiding Kiko''s fireballs, Brai chose to approach them!


    "Hehe, show-off��" Kiko chuckled. Brai had no idea that those fireballs were actually not ordinary. They were explosive fireballs that would explode when touched. Also, there were about 10 of them!


    However, Kiko was stupefied when Brai easily cut his fireballs like cutting fruits. They split in half then disappeared into thin air without exploding.


    "Wha--!" Kiko couldn''t believe.

 Chapter 325: Enchantment

    "Bastard, what did you do?" Kiko gnashed his teeth.


    Brai sneered.


    He whipped his sword before inserting it back to its sheathe. It was a curvy sword commonly called Katana from the lost era.


    A humming sound generated after the whip. At the same time, he was giving his reply to the confused Kiko.


    "Just a simple enchantment, young master Sun." Brai''s reply had a tone of mockery.


    He knew that Kiko was looking down at him. In general, he was looking down on all his peers who were beneath his status. So no need for friendly remarks towards each other. Besides, he believed that Kiko also felt the same way. After all, they were all rivals here.


    Though, Brai still held a little respect for him for being part of a noble family. Kiko did not truly show direct hostility towards him. Of course, they were also not friendly towards each other. Maybe the two of them just weren''t compatible enough to become good buds.


    Kiko frowned. He had no idea how the hell Brai did it, but he heard that the Crescent family was also good in enchantment as they even owned a blacksmithing firm in the country. Perhaps the light that was covering Brai''s weapon was the cause of it.


    "Dammit!" Kiko swore silently.


    However, even though his explosive fireballs failed to explode, these did not stop him from throwing another explosive fireball at Brai.


    Just as expected, it also did not explode like the others.


    "W-Will Kiko bro be defeated by that show-off?" one of Kiko''s friends muttered in worry after seeing that none of Kiko''s fireballs was able to blow up.


    However,


    Thud!


    "Aray!" A sudden expression when he received a jab on his head.


    "Idiot! What are you talking about!? There''s no way Kiko will lose against him!" Bert angrily barked at his friend''s face.


    The next second, there is a cross-shaped band-aid on the swelling part of his friend''s head. They were watching the match along with the other onlookers.


    All of them were defeated already, so each of them wasn''t in good condition. Especially Bert, who once again had a draw result against Bob. Marco and Bruno weren''t in a good mood as well, after all, the two of them were defeated by that hated person.


    They could only lament their results. It was truly regretful and embarrassing. They could not even put up a good fight against him. Marco and Bruno sighed inwardly while secretly cursing Yman under their breaths. They wished Yman lost more embarrassingly.


    Regardless, they could only cheer at Kiko from the corner. The defeated ones had no right to enter the waiting hall while the competition was still ongoing.


    Back to the match.


    Kiko created a bigger fireball and fired it. He saw Brai unsheathed his weapon then held it in front of him while gripping the hilt in both hands. He was placing his left foot behind his right. He looked like a samurai from the lost era.


    The next second, more bluish mana surged up, enveloping the whole sword.


    The big fireball continued to spiral towards Brai, but it suffered the same fate when Brai swung his katana downward. It splits in half and dispels into the air like smoke.


    Weirdly though, there was no disappointment in Kiko''s face. In fact, he showed a toothy grin. It seemed like he was expecting this result. Even Yman noticed the grin on Kiko''s face. Perhaps Kiko already figured out what to do to counter Brai''s enchantment ability.


    Yman somehow had little knowledge about enchantment ability. But he still had to ask the person beside him who knows better than him.


    It was Almina. She was explaining to Yman about the enchanting ability. As a person born in a family who was using sword arts, she herself knew about it. It was after all the first ability taught to them by their family elders. Though, there were many types of enchantment abilities.


    "I think he''s using the [Defusion Enchantment]. It is a kind of enchantment that could erase the enemy''s magical spell."


    "Erase? Not disarming?" Yman was quite intrigued. Erase and disarming had a far different meaning. While |disarming| could be used in a more specific way, |erase| was a stronger word compared to it.


    "Yeah, look!" Almina nodded at him and beckoned him to look at the monitor.


    On the stage, a much bigger fireball was cut in half by Brai. It disappeared again after getting sliced in half.


    "I see," Yman muttered in understanding. Looking at it, it looked like it erased the spell. But, in reality, it only dispels it.


    A person who had a high perception ability could easily distinguish that it didn''t actually erase the spell itself. But it erases the hidden effect of the spell. So that''s the reason why Almina said it could erase a magic spell.


    Even after having his fireball disappear, Kiko had the opposite reaction towards it. He muttered while grinning. "Heh, you better pay for it."


    Then he summoned mana from within his body. It was the same bluish mana but darker if compared to Brai''s. It also meant that Kiko was at a higher level than Brai.


    The higher the level one was, the darker their mana gets. It was common knowledge to most people with mana. Even some of the common folks knew about it.


    Brai did not remain on his feet, he rushed towards Kiko.


    But he suddenly stopped, because right at this moment, more fireballs materialized around Kiko. About 25-30 of them. And the number was continuously increasing.


    "Oh, what a monster?!" Announcer Beth commented excitedly. "Now, everyone, see the mighty power of Kiko of the Sun family. This is utter overkill!" She added in a shout.


    In Kiko''s mind, if one or two wasn''t enough, then let''s do with a hundred of them!


    Brai finally surfaced a frown on his handsome face.


    "This Kiko, is he trying to erase the whole arena?" Vortex, who was currently watching the match along with Ultima and friends, could not help but expressed his thoughts.

 Chapter 326: Two methods of enchantment

    Contrary to everyone''s expectations, Brai continued advancing towards Kiko. He was coming closer and closer to him.


    "Oh, so you are persisting, huh! Interesting! Come and seek your death then!" Kiko scoffed. He initially thought it would be enough to intimidate Brai. But looked like it wasn''t as Brai still coming towards him. Kiko raised his hand in the air while impishly laughing.


    Hehehe!


    "Now, take this!"


    "Fireball Barraaaaaage!"


    Kiko shouted in an overbearing tone. The hand he raised suddenly flung forward, pointing two of his fingers towards Brai''s direction.


    Fwoosh~ fwoosh~ fwoosh~


    As though the fireballs received his command, they spiraled one after another, like missiles, to where his fingers were pointing, towards Brai''s direction.


    Seeing the multiple fireballs flying in his direction, Brai held his breath. Then mana erupted from his feet. A geometrical pattern materialized below him.


    All of the onlookers noticed a sudden increase in his speed after it. He became agile and moved like a blurred image.


    Everyone questioned what that was. That geometrical pattern.


    Even Yman wondered. "Is that an enchantment as well?" He asked in a calm voice but with a tone of doubt.


    Hearing it, "Yes." Almina nodded to confirm his guess.


    "On his shoes?" He asked once again.


    "Nm~!" She shook her head. "On his feet."


    Her reply was unexpected to him. It confused and slightly stunned him. Based on his knowledge, enchantment could only be applied to gears and equipment. So, Almina''s reply drew a frown on his face.


    "Uhm, Yman. There are two different methods of enchantment��" Almina exuberantly started explaining. After noticing his eyes were on her, she had the urge to continue explaining. This is her chance as well to have a casual conversation with him. So Almina felt motivated to answer all his questions and explained them explicitly like an experienced tutor.


    Due to her habitual gestures when explaining, she unfolded her smallest finger as she started saying, "The first one is the [Enchantment Mark Method] which is mostly used for the current era. Also known as the modern method. The Enchantment Mark Method could only be applied to modern gears and equipment. No matter if they are costume-made or magical gears and equipment that drops from monsters and magical beasts, enchantment marks can be applied to them."


    Yman was staring at her as she was explaining in high spirit. Around them, the others seemed like they understood why Almina was in such a condition. Only Yman did not put any meaning into it. However, there was a mysterious pleasing feeling while listening to her. Though he could not explain what it was or how to express it.


    For some reason, his mind suddenly veered away from Almina''s words. He was attracted to her lips as she kept on explaining.


    Yman slightly shook his head to get rid of the foreign thought that was trying to lure him away from his focus. "I see. How about the second method?" He asked again when he noticed Almina had finished explaining the first method. He wasn''t being greedy, he was just hungry for information.


    Since Almina knew better than him in regards to it, he had to take advantage. After all, an information broker charges a lot. Though he could also learn it from books. But he had to search for them first. Maybe in the library, there was. He had to spend some time reading then if ever he had a spare time.


    While Almina started explaining the second method, their eyes were already on the monitor. They saw Brai rapidly cutting all the fireballs that came in close contact with him. And also dodging some of them.


    Almina once again unfolded another finger. "The second method is [Enchantment Spell Method]..."


    Although Yman''s eyes were on the monitor, 50% of his focus was on Almina''s words. Also, he asked Sistela to record all her words if ever he missed something important.


    All of them were already in their resonance, so none of their deities could be seen leisurely sitting on every part of their body, usually on their shoulder, head, hands, and sometimes floating beside them.


    Almina continued her explanation while the battle on stage became so heated. There were even some audience members who stood up from their seats while cheering.


    "Contrary to the first method, the second method is also known as the ancient method. And it can only be applied to the person''s body."


    "Hm, that is new to me," this is truly new to him. Yman had no idea that such a method existed. It was also the reason that he was baffled when Almina told him that Brai cast an enchantment on his feet and not on his shoes.


    She glanced at Yman then continued her explanation. "This method is difficult to master and required to recite the complex spell."


    "Does that mean the modern method is much better?" Jamie, who became interested in their topic, suddenly chimed in.


    Almina shook her head. "Honestly, if I give my honest opinion, the second method is more practical to use and much better for me."


    "Oh, why is that?" This time, Jami and Yman asked the same question at the same time.


    The two glanced at each other and smiled. Yman, on the other hand, had a bitter smile.


    Almina sighed. "Because the ancient method can be activated with less mana needed than the modern method."


    "So, the ancient method is better, then," this time, it was only Jami who said it. Yman had different thoughts.


    Almina showed a bitter smile. "Uh, Jami, I said it''s only based on my opinion. But it doesn''t mean that everyone will agree to it. Remember that each method has pros and cons. Although the ancient method needed less mana to activate, it was also much slower to cast compared to the modern enchantment in which there''s no need to recite a spell. The equipment or gears with enchantment marks engraved to it just needed to eat your mana to activate whatever kinds of enchantment ability was in there."


    "I see, thank you for explaining, lead. You''re the best!" Jami said sorry while at the same time hugged Almina from the back.


    Yman noted that Jami was someone with a high-spirited personality. But he had to admire Almina. Although sometimes she seemed like a dork, on some affairs she was knowledgeable. No wonder she was chosen as the leader of the elite class.

 Chapter 327: The strongest in HCZ7 academy

    More and more fireballs came to attack Brai. Some of them were able to graze him. But it wasn''t enough to cause noticeable damage to him.


    He slashed the fireball on his right and continued stabbing the incoming one.


    After successfully defusing it, he stepped away and evaded the fireball coming to his side. It was followed by a thunderous explosion. Though Brai did not even spare a glance at it. He proceeded in defusing the others who he felt were unavoidable.


    He looked like he was performing a dance on the stage while he was brandishing his sword around.


    The audience gasped as they were watching the match.


    If not because of the gleam on his sword, the onlookers will have a problem perceiving where he was brandishing. His movement was so quick that only a blur image could be seen.


    Shing! Shing! Shing!


    The rapid slashing noises of his sword against the wind reach their ears. Everyone was watching in awe.


    Even Yman had to admire him. If he was his old self, he would have trouble perceiving all those movements. But he was different now. It wasn''t a problem for him to follow Brai''s movements. Even if he closed his eyes, he could feel them. But is this really the extent of Brai''s strength? A thought lingered in his mind. There was some doubt in it.


    Also, Kiko, although he was using a spell that needed a lot of mana, he didn''t seem affected by it. It just meant that he was blessed.


    ''As expected of a person born in a top family. They have an abundance of mana.'' He thought. If it was his old self, he would feel envy. After all, he could not even activate his black mana properly. But the further he leveled up the easier he could activate his black mana than before. That''s why Yman had to level up.


    Regardless, he was curious as to what Kiko planned. All his attacks just now seemed useless against Brai. ''Let''s see what the almighty Kiko does in his predicament,'' Yman sneered at Kiko''s bitter expression on his face. He was creasing his forehead while noticeably gnashing his teeth.


    ''Fufu.''


    He secretly chuckled. He was amused to see Kiko having a troubled expression. He wasn''t someone who felt pleasure from someone''s trouble, but if it was Kiko, he didn''t need to feel bad. Also, it was a good change that the always grumpy little master of the Sun family had such an expression on his face.


    Kiko raised a brow after finding out that none of his fireballs was able to accurately hit Brai.


    "This is unexpected everyone!" The sexy announcer, Instructor Beth, shouted with her round bosom jiggled(Boing! Boing!).


    Her MTMD''s camera was facing her. She was video live streaming herself while announcing. As a part-time job, she was also a streamer with millions of followers.


    "Contestant Red(Brai''s codename) skillfully handles the fireballs!"


    "Wonderful!"


    OOOHHHHHHH!


    Her screams fueled more excitement to the crowd which caused them to scream as well, shouting the word, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" while pumping their hands in the air. Everyone was so high-spirited. It was the best battle for this round.


    The stage couldn''t be described anymore. Some fireballs were able to hit the floor and exploded like a bomb, causing damage to it.


    "Oh, that''s unexpected. Just how did you train that kid, Instructor Must?" Instructor Torr asked the person beside him while crossing his arms around his broad torso.


    "Kuku, to be honest, I didn''t do much. That kid, he''s strong from the start."


    "Hm, do you mean��?"


    "He was hiding his real strength the whole time."


    "Fufu, what a dangerous person!"


    "Mhm! Mhm!" Instructor Musk nodded. He was the one who personally trained Brai. However, there was only little he could teach him.


    "But��" suddenly, Instructor Torr muttered. Then he said, "I don''t think Kiko will lose this match!" He said with a puff.


    On the stage, Kiko was clicking his tongue in annoyance.


    Tsk!


    He never expected that Brai was this strong. But, although Brai already dissolved 30% of his fireballs, many were still left.


    Kiko grinned once again. Since Brai could truly handle them well, he changed his strategy. This time, he would be firing all the remaining fireballs at the same time!


    Even Brai widened his eyes, upon noticing that he was surrounded at all sides. He did not expect that Kiko was capable of controlling all of them at once.


    It needed a lot of control and concentration to pull it off. He knew Kiko was strong, but not at this point. His image of him was a spoiled young master who was commonly messing up with friends.


    Who knows that he actually had this level of control!?


    Being surrounded by 60-70 fireballs, there was only the sensation of burning in his skin. His vision was covered by them. He could not even peek into the sky. All he could see was fireballs! Fireballs all around.


    All the people who were witnessing such a scene gulped in disbelief. How could one survive in that situation? No doubt, there''s only demise as a result. This Kiko�� was truly the strongest in the HCZ7 academy!


    Kiko secretly laughed.


    He was reserving this technique to torture that frog and burn him to crisp. But he did not expect that Brai would be the first victim. Well, there''s nothing he can do as Brai was so persistent. Also, his enchantment ability was so annoying.


    "Let''s see if you can still look at me stoically after this! Hehehe!" Kiko muttered, then broke into a guffaw.


    Most of the remaining participants narrowed their eyes while their focus was on the monitor.


    As expected of someone deemed as the strongest male student in the academy of HCZ7, he was truly cut above the others.


    They wondered if they could do something about it. Perhaps they just give up before feeling the sensation of burning in their skin.


    Right now, most of them thought it''s better if Brai just gave up the match.


    Although most of the students thought the same, some had different thoughts regarding it.


    However, everyone agreed that this time Brai was in the odds.

 Chapter 328: Super elite

    "Hehe, that''s what you get for being so persistent," Kiko muttered after Brai''s figure disappeared in the myriad of fireballs.


    Meanwhile, it seemed as though a smaller version of the sun descended on the stage. Everyone who was looking at it could not help feeling worried.


    Is the barrier able to protect them? Such thoughts linger in their minds. Those fireballs looked so intimidating. As though it would blow up the whole city just looking at it.


    Out of a sudden, a blinding burst of light erupted.


    But a second later, the victory grin on Kiko''s face froze on the spot.


    The stage went back to normal. The myriad of fireballs vanished on stage. As though they were just illusions from the start.


    On stage, there was only the shocked Kiko. And Brai, who is now in a set of shiny silver armor. That armor, everyone believed, was enchanted as well.


    But how did a set of armor take care of those fireballs? None of them could explain, but they guess Brai did something.


    A second later, a drop of water fell. Then it was followed by another. Though, it is weird that the rain only happened on the stage.


    "I see. So, it''s elemental armor," Yman muttered.


    "Yeah," Almina agreed to him.


    The others looked at them as they began discussing it. In this Academy, only a few students had possession of it. Since Brai showed him, he''s one of those few now.


    It wasn''t easy to own such equipment. Besides the cost, it was a super rare piece of equipment. The items for crafting it were hard to gather by normal means.


    Regardless, Yman had no idea how the rain generated and how Brai vanished all the fireballs.


    Almina, too, could not explain it. They guessed that Brai used his enchantment ability along with his elemental armor.


    Nonetheless, the glow on Brai''s armor slowly fades away. It also means he could not use the skill he used a while ago.


    He needed to wait another minute to use it again.


    From the air, Kiko came rushing towards Brai. "Bastard!" He gave up the long-range attacks and went for the melee. A big flat sword materialized in his hand. Kiko, who was wielding it in both hands, brandished the sword on Brai.


    "Earth-Shattering!" He shouted.


    The last time Yman witnessed it, it was already strong. But now, it is a lot stronger. Spider-web cracks appeared beneath Brai, who was receiving Kiko''s attack.


    Another second, the cracks became bigger until the debris flew away, revealing a broken stage.


    "Receiving that attack is just too much, isn''t it?" Almina asked with a frown.


    Yman nodded while revealing a bitter smile. "Yes, of course. But I think Brai wanted to parry it. Just that, it went wrong. Maybe Brai did not expect the power of Kiko''s attack." He said his thoughts to reply to Almina.


    Also that Earth-Shattering attack of Kiko generated an invisible force. Yman did not mention it. However, he believed that it was the reason that Brai was now flying away like a bowling ball after receiving Kiko''s Earth-Shattering attack.


    Almina agreed to Yman''s deduction.


    There was a noticeable decrease in Brai''s health bar that was in the large monitor.


    If not because of his armor, the damage might be a bit higher. Still, it wasn''t able to prevent the invisible force that knocked him away.


    After a slight cough, Brai immediately stood up and rushed to attack Kiko.


    The two exchanges strike in the middle of the broken stage. They weren''t ordinary strikes, they were strong and heavy strikes.


    Kiko had the upper hand in the strength category, but Brai''s talent in wielding his katana made up for it.


    He was able to deal minor cuts to Kiko. Likewise, Kiko also deals minor damages to him.


    Brai''s armor is strong against fire element attacks and physical attacks. So it was good armor to fight Kiko, who was using the fire element and physical attacks.


    However, the battle took a big turn when Kiko suddenly used wind and water elements to attack Brai.


    Brai got flustered for a second. Probably not expect it. He should have expected that Kiko also had the affinity of multiple elements like him.


    Since Kiko was only using Fire and Physical attacks this whole time, it might have been lost in his mind that Kiko could also manifest the other elements.


    Taken by surprise, Brai had once again received a good amount of damage. Though, it wasn''t enough to knock him unconscious.


    Kiko, who was grinning the whole time, was waiting for Brai in the middle of the stage. He frowned when he noticed Brai canceled his elemental armor.


    He wondered if Brai wanted to give up. Although it was good, there was dissatisfaction in Kiko''s mind. He wanted to make Brai suffer a little bit more for making a mess in him. He was wounded all over. And his figure looks unsightly.


    But second later, the grin on his mouth resurfaced again when Brai activated his advanced resonance.


    However, wasn''t it idiotic? That armor was a big help for defending against Kiko''s deadly attack. Most of the onlookers thought so. Even some of the VIPs and students thought the same.


    Kiko was thinking the same.


    "I see. Since that is what you want, then suit yourself!" He shouted to Brai. Regardless, Kiko believed he would never lose.


    At the moment, Brai was now wearing a red loose robe. It was also the costume of his System Deity. His System Deity was a samurai cat. So currently, there were whiskers on Brai''s face, a cat tail behind him, and cat ears on his head. For some reason, he looked like a beastman in his current form.


    A samurai Catman.


    Everyone misinterpreted Brai''s decision. He gave up the elemental armor as he was planning to go all out on offense.


    Sensing the immeasurable increase in Brai''s power, Kiko flicked his tongue. Tsk!


    To match up with Brai, he activated his advanced resonance as well.


    A cool-looking armor suddenly wrapped around Kiko''s body. On top of it, there was a pair of wings. And there was a blazing fire on his reddish, scaly tail.


    "A-a salamander��"


    Yman muttered.


    Around him, the other female students were already shouting Kiko''s name. Kesha also cheered. Well, most of their party members already knew that Kesha had a positive feeling towards Kiko. So, they could only silence and enjoy the match.


    Only Almina was unaware of it. Regardless, her focus was on the current match. Whoever among Brai and Kiko win, there was a high chance that she would face one of them.


    These two were both strong. No need to argue about it. As expected of someone from the elite class they are on another level.


    So anyone in the elite class could be the winner of this competition. Everyone agreed to it after witnessing Kiko and Brai''s performance.


    There was no way for the other class to defeat the elites. They were at a disadvantage already in terms of equipment. The elite''s equipment was truly expensive and powerful. Aside from it, they were capable of advanced resonance.


    So even if some of them still remember that Yman had defeated one of the elites, they still believe that Yman won''t survive in this competition. Especially that each of the elites wields different kinds of special powers.


    Comparing Jugo from others, Jugo seemed to be lacking in many aspects.


    Most of the onlookers started to compare Jugo to the other elites. It looks like Jugo was the weakest among them.


    If Jugo was an elite, then that makes the others as super elite.


    Regardless, the match between Kiko and Brai was yet to end.

 Chapter 329: Fire and water

    Now in their advance resonance, Kiko and Brai had once again clashed.


    Swoosh~


    While wielding the heavy flat sword in his hands, Kiko bolted like a cannon bullet in Brai''s direction.


    Brai confronted him with his Katana.


    Although it was daytime, sparks were visibly flying every time their weapons clashed.


    Ting! Ting! Ting! Such rapid high pitched tones could be heard. And all of these were happening quickly, like a fast-forward of a movie scene.


    There was a noticeable increase in both party''s attributes. Brai had become faster, and Kiko''s attack had become more powerful.


    The battle entered the last minute. Everyone could not utter a single word as they were so engaged watching the current match.


    Feeling the pressure of the match, even Kiko could not utter a single mockery while trying to parry all of Brai''s rapid attacks. He was so absorbed in defending himself.


    A thrust coming from his side almost hit him, but Kiko was able to block it using the flat side of his sword as his shield.


    TIIIING!


    A much higher tone reverberated when their weapons came across each other once again.


    Ohhh!


    Some audience members groaned in excitement, most were wondering how this match was going to end. Any of the two could be reasonable to win.


    After the attack was blocked, Brai did not stop with just that, he shifted his body''s center of gravity and spun around along with a horizontal strike.


    "F*ck!" Kiko groaned inwardly.


    Strands of hair flew in the air. Fortunately, Kiko was able to duck. If not, it would be his head that would be flying at the moment.


    Brai''s attack was sharp and fast. Every thrust was accurate.


    Grr! He gnashed his teeth in annoyance. The hair he tended carefully was cut so easily. Fortunately, only a tiny bit of it was cut. Still, Kiko''s pride could not take it. He disliked being on the receiving end. However, Brai''s relentless attacks could not give him a margin.


    He didn''t want to admit it, but Brai was the greatest opponent he encountered. Still, he believed it wasn''t enough to defeat him.


    While believing he was unbeatable, something rose beneath him.


    "!!"


    When Kiko noticed it, it was already too late. He was thrown, spinning in the air. It was a gust of wind that suddenly materialized under his feet. Kiko was now inside it, spinning like he was inside a washing machine.


    Brai surprised Kiko with a sudden use of his wind element. Kiko was now spinning in the air, looking somewhat vulnerable.


    ''Tsk! I never thought this Brai had so much to show,'' Kiko thought both in annoyance and for his failure to comprehend Brai''s action.


    Three wind blades were closing to finish the spinning Kiko in mid-air.


    The wind blades were bigger and looked powerful than any other wind blades that the other participants showed in this competition.


    Unexpectedly though, before the wind blades could reach him, they exploded. Then Kiko''s body was engulfed by flame. His spinning suddenly stopped and now he''s floating in mid-air with wings spread open.


    "Majestic!"


    The announcer Instructor Beth could not help but exclaim in excitement upon seeing Kiko''s magical form. After all, he was in his advanced resonance, and he had the looked of a salamander with his fiery armor.


    Most of the people around shared the same thought as Instructor Beth. Kiko truly looked magical in his current form. Especially with the addition of flames around him.


    On the contrary, there was a sharp invisible aura circulating Brai. It was sharp like the edge of his sword.


    Brai squinted his eyes. He wondered what those flames around Kiko could do. They seemed to be not ordinary flames.


    Well, since guessing was useless anyway, he decided to shoot a water ball at Kiko. Kiko easily avoided it.


    At the moment, Kiko was in mid-air, while Brai was below, standing on the broken stage.


    When his first attempt bore no result, Brai fired a volley of it. Kiko did not evade this time. But Brai''s attack disappeared when they touched Kiko''s flame.


    Seeing that they turned into white fumes before disappearing, there was only one explanation for it.


    Everyone was wondering how Brai''s water element lost against Kiko''s flame.


    "Well, the reason is simple. Kiko''s mastery degree in his fire element was higher than Brai in his water. Although the water was strong against fire, it only applied if the two elements were to the same degree. Although Kiko''s other element isn''t weak, his fire element cut above his other elements. Well, it was only natural since Kiko was focusing all his training to deepen his understanding of his fire element. The other elements were only for his support."


    Acting so smart, Kesha explained to the others what she believed was the reason.


    In Yman''s mind, he agreed to her. In short, Kiko''s control in his flame was far stronger than Brai''s control in his water. So as a result, Brai''s water lost its form and disappeared like vapor.


    While everyone was yet to say something, it was Yman who said something first.


    "Hee~, so Miss Kesha knows a lot about Kiko."


    "Humph!" It was the reply that he so much expected. "What are you saying? Of Course, since Kiko is popular. Unlike some infamous someone who could not even stay conscious for five minutes in the training!"


    "....."


    Yman fell silent for a moment. Well, he had nothing to rebut against it as it was true.


    "Uhm, Kesha, isn''t that a bot too rude?" Almina came to the rescue. "Also, did you forget that Yman''s physical attributes are far higher now, you know? I even heard the elders talking about his unusual physical stats."


    "Wha��!"


    Yman was surprised to hear it. "Uh, Almina. Is it true?" He asked her in a serious tone.


    "Yep, yep, I heard it yesterday when I went to Elder Paan''s office after the third elimination round."


    "Oh," Yman was curious. He did not expect that the elders were talking about him. For some reason, he felt worried. What if they discovered that he was contracted with the demon? They would probably seek him out of the city. Or worse if they send him to rot in jail. This is getting worrisome.


    While Yman was worriedly pondering, Kesha opened her mouth again. "Still, that physical ability is useless against Kiko''s dazzling fire!"


    "Look how majestic he looks!"


    ''Wow, she''s fangirling!'' Yman thought.


    Some members of Almina''s party also shared the same thoughts as Yman. Looking at Kesha, she looked like an avid fan of Kiko. But they understood her since Kiko was popular with the girls in the academy. However, Jami and the others were more loyal to Almina.


    "Well, I wouldn''t say for sure," Yman muttered a reply to Kesha''s statement a while ago.


    Kesha, who happened to hear it, sneered at him. She wondered if this person wanted to become a charred potato.


    "Regardless, Yman, i-if the time comes that you will be facing Kiko on the stage, no matter what happens I will cheer for you!" Almina said with her face beet red.


    After hearing it, Kesha''s expression turned bitter. ''That''s my best friend for you! She''s blinded by this person''s unfound attractiveness,'' she thought while shaking her head in dismay.


    She was still wondering why Almina rejected Kiko.


    To Almina''s words, Yman smiled gently. "I see. Thank you for the support then."

 Chapter 330: End of the 4th elimination round

    The match between Brai and Kiko came to an end.


    Brai''s speed dominated Kiko, but Kiko''s power and element control brought him to victory.


    Unfortunately, Brai''s [Advanced Resonance] came to an end before the match ended.


    It was one of the causes of his defeat.


    "Well, that was unfortunate for Brai," Yman muttered with a wry smile.


    "Hm, looks like he has yet to master the technique," unexpectedly, it was the blonde, Maena, who followed up with his comment.


    "Uh, can you do it as well?" He was curious if all the students in the elite class knew how to use the [Advance Resonance] ability.


    Maena side-glanced at him for two to three seconds before replying.


    "Of course, what do you think?" The way she answered sounds like she was mad at him. But he understood that it was her usual.


    They were at least a little closer to each other now. They even call their names without honorifics, like a true friend. But maybe it was only Yman himself who thought they were closer.


    After the talk with Keremi, Yman had something to ask her in private, but he decided to delay it. Maybe when his relationship with Maena was a bit better than the current.


    "No, nothing. Good for you all. Hm, I wish I could as well."


    Yman muttered in a slight despondent tone.


    "T-then, if you want to learn I can hel��"


    "Yman, you have yet to learn the [Advanced Resonance]?"


    Yman noticed Maena had something to say, but Almina interjected. Also, she was saying it in an inaudible voice that was barely able to pass as a whisper.


    "Mhm!" He nodded to Almina''s question.


    "Eh?! Is that true?"


    "Well, it can''t be helped as I was away," Yman replied.


    But even if he didn''t leave the Academy that time, he doubted he would ever learn it.


    Almina showed an expression that she understood him. Then the next second, her expression changed to that of someone who had realized something.


    "Ah, i-if you want, I can help you with the training," Almina suggested with her face beet red.


    Yman looked at her for a couple of seconds. He wondered how strong Almina was when he used the [Advance Resonance]. He was so looking forward to see it.


    The other girls around them had their mouths formed like ''o'' upon hearing Almina''s suggestion.


    "Will I not be a bother to you? Besides, there is also a chance that we come across in this competition. What if I use it to defeat�� y��"


    "....."


    Yman suddenly became silent when he noticed the expression on the other girl''s faces, as though they were saying, "can he even defeat Miss Almina?" But maybe it was only his bad interpretation.


    Regardless, it was his fault for jumping to conclusions. It wasn''t even certain that he could learn it. While Yman stopped and mulled for a second, "I don''t mind, you know," Almina said to him. "Also, even if you learned a thing or two, it won''t be enough to perform the skill so easily. At most, I can help you with the basics. It actually took us a month to learn the [Advance Resonance]."


    He noticed the other girls were nodding their heads. So it must be the reason for their weird expressions a while ago. Only Kesha had an unfriendly expression on her face.


    ''Right, Almina had a point.'' Yman realized.


    "But, will I be able to learn even though I am below the False Path stage?"


    "Sure you are." One of the girls around raised her hands while saying it with an amiable smile. Yman remembered her. It was Jami. The girl who defeated Chloe. "You say, I can use it, even though I''m level 8 only," Jami said while pointing to herself.


    "I see," Yman muttered. Then she returned his gaze to Almina, who was waiting for his reply.


    In the end, Yman agreed as it was beneficial to him anyway.


    "T-Then, I''m sorry if I''m going to bother you," he said while slightly bowing his head.


    Yman had no idea how happy Almina was at this moment.


    "You are not! Definitely not a bother!" She exclaimed that surprised them.


    Maena secretly left without anyone noticing. Well, Yman noticed her. But he just thought that maybe she had something she needed to do.


    Not far from them, Kiko was staring at the group with cold eyes.


    He just came back after winning the match. He expected a lively welcome for him after winning against Brai.


    However, aside from no one was there to welcome him and sing praises for his win, he also had to witness Amulet talking bashfully with that person.


    "Tsk! Just you wait. I will kick your ass later on," Kiko muttered in annoyance.


    Just then.


    "Congrats on the win. That was a wonderful match," a girl came to congratulate him. It was Kesha.


    Kiko smiled and said his thanks. "It''s no big deal." He wasn''t even using his full power in that match.


    Regardless, he would be more than happy if it was Almina who came to congratulate him.


    There were only a few participants left: 2 people from section D, 5 from section A, and 6 for the elite class. There were supposed to be 10 students in the elite class, but two of them were already defeated, one dropped the competition. Whereas there was one who didn''t participate.


    Everyone was talking about the championship. Most of them were guessing who would become the champion.


    Each of the finalists did wonderful in this competition. They showcased their abilities and showed that they were worth investing in. So, each one of them was worth betting on.


    Tomorrow there will be no elimination round. It was their one-day rest. They needed to be fully recovered for the final that will be held the next day.


    The elites easily became the cake of everyone''s conversations, especially after Brai and Kiko''s performance. Truly, the elites were just higher in all aspects. No wonder they were called the elites.


    Aside from their high attributes, they have better control in their mana which easily gave them the advantage against the lower section.


    Speaking of the lower section, two students garnered everyone''s attention. They were not only from the lower section, they actually come from the bottom section.


    Two students from section D were able to enter the final?!


    It was astonishing news. Those who hadn''t watched the competition but heard the news were starting to feel curious about these two.


    They would surely come to watch the final.


    Even the adviser, Miss Pai, herself was stunned when she heard it. She was too busy with paperwork and could not find spare time to have a glance at the competition.


    And now, more work was coming as everyone in the faculty was interrogating her.


    They were asking her what kind of secret knowledge she taught to her students.


    "Of course, I don''t have any of that sooooorrrrt!" She shouted in fury. But in her imagination only. Currently, she was being overwhelmed by their questions and could not utter a single word.


    "Okay, everyone, that''s enough. don''t bully my cousin too much."


    "Lona��" Miss Pai called out in a somewhat exhausted voice.


    "Fufu, that kid sure has grown up, huh."

 Chapter 331: Picnic

    "!!"


    "Leader, what happened to you?!" Jami, along with Maku and Dianne, exclaimed upon seeing Almina first thing in the morning.


    All of them were having stunned expressions on their faces.


    Almina slowly gazed at them, like a scene in a horror movie. "N-nothing��" she said like a zombie. At her reply, the three girls shuddered in fright. A black circle was noticeable below Almina''s eyes.


    She could not fall asleep. Her mind was bothering her and preventing her from sleeping. In truth, she was just super excited.


    "W-will you be alright seeing your dream boy like that, Miss Almina?" Maku, who usually had a taciturn personality, followed up with teasing words.


    "Uh, Eh�� Ehhh!" Almina got flustered and turned red from Maku''s words. "Maku, please heal me!" Almina sought help from Maku, who had a high aptitude for healing ability.


    "She didn''t even deny it!" The three girls exclaimed simultaneously in their minds.


    Almina''s party was the biggest in the Academy. They have lots of members, thanks to Almina''s popularity.


    However, along with Kesha, the five of them were the main squad of their party.


    Maena was an irregular member of their group. Most of the time, she went solo. But with Almina''s constant bothering her, she joined in some of their adventures inside the dungeon and even outside the city for some missions. So Almina listed her as the irregular member of their group.


    At Almina''s pleas, "O-okay," Maku replied with a worried expression. She was about to cast a spell to help Almina recover from being infected.


    But suddenly,


    "Maku, don''t spoil her," from the back, Kesha also came.


    "Eh!"


    "Meanie Kesha!" Almina screamed with teary eyes.


    There''s a cross-shaped pulse on Kesha''s face as she was enduring his pent-up frustration. Though, she remained quiet and let a sigh expired from her mouth.


    "....."


    Everyone fell silent when they saw Kesha. Like Almina, there were also black circles under her eyes.


    "Wait, why are you guys here?" Almina noticed something unusual.


    "He-he!" Jami grinned. "We wonder about that��" she said while putting on an innocent face.


    "....."


    Maku was fidgeting while Dianne was suspiciously looking away.


    SUSPICIOUS!


    Almina exclaimed in mind.


    ��


    After stretching up and warming his body, Yman jogged at the nearby hill from their house. Along with him was Rea. Unexpectedly, they had many visitors this morning.


    Almina came for personal training that they agreed. However, he did not expect that Jami, along with Maku, and Dianne, also came along. He was able to know them, thanks to being acquainted in the competition.


    Although he wasn''t sure if they could be considered as friends or just acquaintances. But there was no ill intent against each other. So Yman did not really mind.


    He also invited Bob and Chloe. But Bob could not train as he was still recovering. It looks like the toll from using the shapeshifting artifact did a good amount of damage to his body. Fortunately, it was treatable. For now, he just needed more rest.


    Along with Chloe and Yana, they were waiting at the top of the hill. They climbed there using the Hell Chaser Bird of Yman.


    Seeing the gigantic figure of Hell Chaser Bird, the little monsters scuttled away.


    Meanwhile, Yman and the others were jogging towards the top of the hill.


    As expected, Almina wasn''t even gasping for breath. She had high stamina compared to other girls.


    Aside from Almina, there was also Jami who fairly had good stamina as well. When Yman tried to increase his speed, only Almina and Jami were able to catch up to him. Although Dianne also acted as a scout and vanguard in Almina''s party, she seemed to have less stamina compared to Jami.


    On the contrary, Rea and Maku were already far behind them.


    "Wait! Crimson!"


    She called out. Currently, she was wearing a tracksuit like the rest. It was convenient to wear especially when you are exercising and training.


    From the other''s perspective, Rea was a human. Although not as pretty as all of them, she was a kind person.


    Based on Yman''s story, he happened to meet her while he was traveling in the empire. The two of them become acquainted. And went on some missions as an adventurer.


    While they were jogging, their deities were flying beside them. Only Sistela was not in the mood to fly, he was sitting on his shoulder while showing a bored face.


    She was wondering why her partner was yet to return her cute figure.


    She didn''t want that sleazeball to see her at her current appearance. Sistela had a strong rivalry towards the water sprite who bullied her the first time she arrived at the academy. She wanted to beat her.


    Yman just put a wry smile on his face from Rea''s call. In his mind, she needed a lot of exercise. Not because she turned fatty, but because it could help her to stabilize the circulation of mana within her.


    He noticed Rea having a hard time controlling her new spell. Although he wasn''t showing it, it actually bothered him.


    So Yman asked Almina if it was fine if they did their training in his place. He also told her that there was a hill nearby which he thought was perfect for jogging.


    Almina quickly agreed. She even shouted in her room, "Yes! I can visit Yman''s house!" At the same time, she jumped on Kesha and hugged her out of excitement.


    Kesha tried to struggle while saying she couldn''t breathe.


    "B-b-best friend��" Kesha called out her name weakly.


    But Almina was already in her own world. She couldn''t hear Kesha even if she screamed.


    Because of it, *Plop!* It was already too late when she noticed she was hugging Kesha with a bit of force.


    Kesha''s soul already left her mouth while waving a white flag, and teary eyes.


    Almina''s excitement was the reason they couldn''t fall asleep. Kesha was only an unintended victim though.


    Regardless, Yman was surprised that even though Rea was already exhausted, she didn''t give up and still tried to chase after them.


    It looked like she did better than him before he left the academy. That time, Yman could not even last 5 minutes. He would stumble on the ground while breathing deeply. He was a frequent customer of the medical team.


    "Y-Yman!"


    Almina, who was running beside him, called out his name.


    "Yes?"


    "As expected, you didn''t collapse this time."


    She said that almost caused Yman to trip down.


    "Ahaha," he laughed wryly. "Well, I trained every morning. So, my stamina now is better than before."


    "I see. Good for you!"


    When they arrived at the top of the hill, "Congrats everyone!" Yana greeted them with a big smile.


    Then a happy picnic on top of the hill followed after.

 Chapter 332: Initial stage

    "Brother," sitting beside him, his sister suddenly whispered at him.


    Yman glanced at Yana while making a "hm?" expression.


    "I''m so happy that you don''t look lonely anymore."


    He blinked his eyes several times as he could not get her meaning.


    Noticing his befuddled face, "I mean, my brother has many friends now."


    His mouth curved upward. "I see��"


    In his mind, ''So, in Yana''s eyes, he looked like that before, huh.'' But the reason for his smile this time wasn''t for himself.


    He was happy that he was able to make his sister happy.


    As the only family he had, Yana was very precious to him. So, seeing her having a fun day was godsent for him.


    If not because of her, perhaps he was already a deadly weapon at the moment, whose sole purpose was to take human lives. At least, there was still humanity left in him.


    "I also noticed my brother was frequently smiling these past days."


    "Did I?"


    "Yes, bro!" She brimmed with a smile.


    Yman smiled at her and nodded slightly.


    Perhaps he is.


    After their picnic, Yman and Sistela began their training for Advanced Resonance.


    Just as Almina said, Yman realized that it wasn''t easy to learn. Well, that was the case for most of them, but. Most of them widened their eyes when Yman showed an early sign of learning it. Even Bob and Chloe who had yet to learn it was no exception.


    "H-he already unlocked the initial stage on the first day of his training?!"


    "Forget about a day, it''s not even an hour since they started."


    "On top of that, he didn''t even receive the proper lecture regarding it."


    "And Miss Almina only gave him the basic information."


    Jami, along with the others, were dumbfounded as they were looking at Yman''s figure envelope by brilliant mana.


    Currently, Yman and Almina were sitting, back to back, under a big tree.


    Everyone noticed Almina''s red face, but none of them were pointing it out.


    "P-Perhaps, Miss Almina was a good trainer."


    Chloe muttered. Beside her, Rea, who was watching in silence, furrowed her brows.


    "Miss Rea, here!"


    Yana came with a cup of tea in her hands. She handed it to Rea.


    "Thanks."


    In Rea''s mind, ''That Crimson didn''t even try to help her a while ago. What an ungrateful bodyguard! Yet, look at him, having a good time with that girl. Humph!''


    She thought and pouted.


    To reply to Chloe''s mutter, "Isn''t it because My Bro is motivated to learn because it was Miss Almina herself who''s teaching him?" Bob said with a wry smile.


    Since Bob''s voice was louder than necessary, all of them heard it, except for Almina and Yman, who were currently in deep concentration.


    For some reason, after hearing Bob''s words, Rea felt a displeasing feeling deep inside. But, she could not tell what it was. Especially when Yman''s back and that Almina girl''s back were touching each other. She felt an inexplicable feeling regarding it.


    Jami and the others were awe-staring at Yman''s figure while muttering dumbfounded comments.


    It took her several days to master the initial stage of Advance Resonance ability. Yet, Yman was able to do it in a few minutes when they started their training.


    "Isn''t the initial stage involving mana controlling?" Dianne asked out of a sudden. With a face that seemingly she just remembered something.


    "Yeah. What of it?" Jami asked with a befuddled expression. Even Maku was looking at Dianne, with a face demanding her for her reason for mentioning it.


    "I mean, isn''t Yman also the first person who was able to control his mana in our first assignment with Elder Nitan?" Dianne explained.


    "Eh, is that true?" Maku asked. She didn''t hear it as she was yet to transfer at that time.


    Jami, on the other hand, pumped her fist against her palm. "Right! I remembered it now!" She exclaimed.


    "Oh, I see. So, Yman bro was actually a talented person," Bob muttered while touching his chin.


    Since the initial stage of Advance Resonance involves mana controlling, it was easy for Yman to pass it.


    Behind him, Almina was shocked to learn that Yman was already able to break through the initial stage of Advance Resonance. She almost lost her concentration. It would be bad if it happened as it would damage both their mana output.


    Using her own mana, Almina was guiding Yman''s mana. However, while she was doing it, there was an uneasy feeling that Almina could not explain what it was.


    It seemed as though a ferocious beast was hiding within him. But Almina could not describe it. Sweats were dripping all over her face, towards her body.


    Even Yman noticed her back starting to wet like it was being poured by water. But he chose to ignore it because Almina instructed him not to lose his focus no matter what happened.


    Even Jami and the others were wondering what happened. Why was their leader dripping with sweat? They could not help but feel curious about it.


    There should have been a great difference in their amount of mana, especially that Yman was still under the False Path stage.


    Among those who succeeded the Advanced Resonance, Almina was one of the fastest who learned it. So it should be easy for her to guide Yman''s mana which is a newbie at the moment.


    Honestly, as talented as she was, everyone already expected it.


    Regardless, while staring at Yman''s glowing mana, they noticed something weird.


    "Why was his mana gray in color?!" They thought.


    His first day of training ended with a positive result. But, even though he learned the initial stage, it wasn''t helpful to him in the final stage of the competition.


    "Too bad. If only Yman was able to train the Advanced Resonance a bit earlier, he might learn it before the final round of the competition," Jami said to others.


    "Well, it can''t be helped," Dianne replied.


    "Miss Almina, are you okay?" Suddenly, Maku asked Almina after noticing she was silent the whole time.


    Currently, they are heading back, riding Yman''s Hell Chaser Bird.


    "Y-yeah, I''m fine."


    Although she said she was fine, she failed to hide her puzzled expression. It seemed as though her mind was floating somewhere.


    The next morning, the plaza, where the final competition was going to be held was already full of people, who wished to watch the final round.

 Chapter 333: A good opener

    "Ladies and gentlemen, good morning!"


    "My name is Mora Liz! Your announcer for this round!!!" A new female announcer shouted at the mic.


    "Mora Liz?"


    "Wait, that name sounds familiar!"


    "What are you talking about, idiot?! That''s Miss Mora Liz! The popular announcer!"


    "Right! That''s her!"


    "That''s her?"


    "Yes, that''s her!"


    "Woah! Miss Mora Liz!"


    Whoooooo!!!


    The onlookers pumped their fists in the air when a cute bunny girl took the mic and began announcing.


    "Woah, am I dreaming?"


    "Is it truly Miss Mora Liz herself?"


    "Damn! I''m so in love!"


    The audiences were going crazy, especially the men.


    Those who recognized Mora Liz knew how popular she was.


    "Today, we will witness the final round of the competition!"


    "Who among our participants is going to become the champion?!"


    "If you have someone in your mind, then shout their names!"


    Almina! Almina! Almina!


    As expected, most of the audience shouted her name first. Then it was followed by the names of other participants, especially the elites. They didn''t even shout her code name. It looks like her popularity could not be belittled.


    There are a considerable number of people who shout Kiko''s names, though not as many as Almina''s.


    Unexpectedly, Kiko knitted his brows when many of the audience shouted Yman''s Crimson name.


    Even Yman himself was surprised as well.


    "I never thought there would come a day that my brother would receive other people''s recognition," Yana suddenly became emotional. Although they weren''t shouting his real name as they did to Almina, it was still a good achievement for her brother.


    "Hmm, yeah, not bad for him," Rea followed while rubbing Yana''s head to soothe her. But in Rea''s mind, ''Isn''t it only natural? It''s clear as day that Crimson was the strongest participant.''


    She wondered why Crimson was still hiding his real strength till now. Perhaps because of his duty as her bodyguard.


    She also wondered why these people could not see the difference of Crimson power from the others.


    It''s Crimson''s fault, though. If he only showed his real power, these people would be shouting his name only. Rea strongly believed it.


    The VIPs are already in a special viewing room. At this point, most of them already had a student they felt was worth investing in.


    "The first battle will be��!" Mora Liz announced the start of the first battle.


    It was Jami against Josie Finn. A classmate, who uses a saber as a weapon.


    "Good Luck, Jam!"


    "Miss Jami, win it!"


    "You can do it!"


    You can do it!!!


    She gathered some cheers from Almina and the others. Though, they noticed something weird from Jami.


    Wielding her two daggers in hands, Jami''s figure instantly disappeared after the bell.


    Her enemy was strong. She defeated all her opponents with little effort. She could not belittle her. But, she needed to defeat her quickly. Jami thought.


    "Weird," suddenly, Dianne muttered.


    "Why, Miss Dianne?" Maku asked.


    "It isn''t her style to just rush over without gauging her enemy''s strength first," said Dianne in a worry.


    The two of them were currently watching along with their friends and the ordinary audiences.


    Dianne was defeated by Rei-Rei last round, and Maku chose not to continue for personal reasons.


    Dianne felt a foreboding feeling about Jami''s action. She also noticed something unusual at Jami before her fight. But she could not tell what it was.


    Without moving an inch, Josie Finn was calmly standing in her original position while her hands were ready to unsheathe her sword anytime that Jami appeared. Her eyes were closed. A scar was apparent on her left eye. Though, there was a strange aura around her.


    Unexpectedly, Jami appeared behind her.


    "A sneak attack to finish her enemy quickly!" Mora Liz announces.


    "HeYah!" Jamie screamed out as she attacked from her enemy''s blind spot.


    Swoosh~


    Ting!


    "It''s blocked!" Liz announced.


    Then it was followed by a rapid exchange of attacks on the stage.


    Ting! Ting! Ting!


    Everyone noticed that the stage was much larger than the previous one. It was two times larger. Perhaps they did it because, in this round, it was between the strongest students in the Academy.


    Swoosh~


    A strong horizontal swing surprised Jami. Luckily, she was able to block it by crossing her daggers.


    Their weapons collided.


    There was a grating noise when they tried to push back each other. In terms of strength, Jami was clearly at a disadvantage. So Jami was slowly getting pushed back.


    Seeing that her struggle was useless, she intentionally let her body be dragged by that force.


    Jami distanced herself.


    "Hehe, is that all you''ve got, My dear cousin?"


    Josie Finn chuckled before she asked Jami with a mocking smile.


    "What? They were cousins?" Dianne and the others were surprised to hear it.


    Even Almina, inside the waiting room, was as surprised as them. Though, she didn''t really mind it. Her mind was still floating somewhere. After yesterday''s training, there was something that was bothering her.


    Their match lasted at the last second. In the end, Jami lost. Though she didn''t suffer much. Everyone could see that her cousin''s technique was the complete counter of Jami''s technique.


    It seemed as though her cousin trained those techniques for the sole purpose of defeating Jami.


    Even her Advanced Resonance was useless. Her cousin''s Advanced Resonance was also a good counter to her.


    So.


    It was an understandable defeat. And Jami fought hard even with such a disadvantage. Actually, she almost defeated her cousin, but she ran out of time before she gave her last attack.


    No one was unconscious and the two of them remained standing on the stage. However, it wasn''t a draw. There was a new rule to avoid having a draw result.


    If the two participants remained standing on stage after the time''s up, the one with higher remaining health points would be declared as the winner.


    It also applied when the two fell unconscious or knocked down at the end of time.


    Unfortunately, her cousin''s health points were 5 percent higher than hers. That''s why she lost and her cousin was declared the winner of the first match.


    That said, Bob was sighing heavily. He wondered why they just implemented such a rule. He would surely win against Bert if it was implemented in early rounds.


    Clapping sounds resounded from the audience. No matter what, it was a good opening for this finale.


    After Jami''s match, it was followed by another pair.

 Chapter 334: All out defense

    Loud thuds silenced the audience. It was the sound of the footsteps from a female participant, who would not lose in size against Bob and Bert.


    She immediately gathered everyone''s attention upon stepping on stage.


    "I-it''s Julie Brown!"


    One of the students shouted.


    "Eh, what kind of armor is that?"


    "Ugh! That seems heavy!"


    Everyone said their thoughts upon seeing her in a heavy modeled red armor made in a thick-looking kind of metal.


    "Isn''t it hindering her mobility?" Chloe asked in a worry. After all, even if they were not acquainted, Julie was no doubt one of their classmates. So, she wanted her to win as one of Section D''s representatives.


    "I-I guess it will," Bob said wryly, agreeing with Chloe''s suspicion. Then he added, "but I think she isn''t the type who is bothered by it."


    "Mhm, since Miss Julie isn''t the agile type, right?" Chloe inquired.


    "Yes," Bob nodded. Then he said, "nonetheless, let''s cheer for her."


    "R-Right."


    Chloe and Bob agreed to cheer for her in this match.


    Beside them, Yana suddenly felt curious upon listening to their conversation. "Uhm, do you know her?" She asked them with a curious look.


    "Yes, she''s in the same classroom as us," Chloe replied.


    "Ohh, so she''s a classmate of my brother. Woah!"


    Yana looked amazed after knowing that Julie was in the same classroom as her brother. Now, she too was secretly cheering for her.


    Next to her, Rea was looking at the stage with a bored expression.


    Almost all of the onlookers were dumbfounded at Julie''s armor.


    Regardless, her opponent was a student from the elite class.


    The person calmly walked in the middle of the stage and stopped opposite Julie.


    "Ugh, Klein looks so small compared to her," Ban, the Rabbitman, commented upon seeing the size difference of Klein and his opponent.


    "Haha, I''m pretty sure Klein would get annoyed if he hears it," Sonya laughed before saying it.


    As a Beastman with a pair of wolf ears, Klein could only be said as an unusual case. Canine people mostly had larger builds. But in Klein''s case, he had an unusually small body.


    He was garbed in a light leather suit, suitable for mobility. A complete contrast for his opponent which is clad in a full-set red heavy-modeled armor.


    If there was anything common between them, it was that both of them were empty-handed.


    Right.


    Both Julie and Klein had no weapon in their hands. Perhaps their weapons were inside their Cyber Storage.


    "Heh!" Klein threw a scornful look at Julie. "Just make sure that your body is strong enough for the beating." He spat an insulting line at her. He wasn''t a bit intimidated by her size.


    Julie''s brow knitted from hearing it. "Give your best shot, dwarf." Even in the face of an elite student, Julie replied with a spicy line of herself.


    The tension immediately rose upon receiving each other''s spicy remarks.


    "Chu!" Klein threw a spit to his side from Julie''s words.


    It didn''t take long after coming in front of each other that the signal was issued.


    Magical energies burst out from their bodies upon hearing the bell notification.


    Klein''s figure disappeared from his position and reappeared in mid-air, above Julie. Now with shining razor-sharp claws on each of his hands. He swung them down in Julie''s direction.


    Three waves shot in haste to Julie.


    Fwoosh~! Fwoosh~! Swoosh~!


    Bang!


    An explosion happened. However, there was a noticeable displeased expression on Klein''s face.


    "Those waves were made of wind elements. They are sharp and could easily slice a common metal.


    That said, it shouldn''t have usually exploded. And there shouldn''t have been an explosion in the first place. It must be because those waves suffered an obstruction that they exploded. Meaning, those waves failed to slice his opponent. It''s the reason for his displeasure," Yman narrated for Almina and Maena to understand.


    Both girls were wondering why Klein showed such a displeased face after his attack hit his opponent.


    Almina was standing on his right side, while Maena took his left side.


    Because of the explosion, a cloud of smoke rose, obstructing everyone''s vision of Julie''s figure.


    At the same time that Klein''s foot landed on the stage that the gathering smoke on Julie cleared.


    "Woah! Sweetchocobo is unscathed!" Mora Liz jovially announced.


    Some audience members were dumbfounded at hearing the word Sweetchocobo. It was Julie''s new codename for this competition. Contrary to her looks, she was truly fond of cute things. In this world, there was a small shiny mythical bird known as Chocobo.


    Regardless, just as Mora Liz said, Julie was standing still in her original position, unhurt. But, there was a peculiar shine on her armor.


    "That''s--"


    Maena muttered but stopped.


    "Mhm, Fortification, right?" Almina followed.


    "Yes, that''s exactly a Fortification ability," Yman confirmed. He also knew how to cast it, but Julie''s Fortification ability surprised him. It was on a whole different level. Those wind attacks could not even scratch her.


    Che!


    On the stage, Klein spat on his side before his face twitched. "Kuhaha," he laughed. "Not bad, not bad!"


    "However��"


    "That''s only a mere test!" He said as he lifted his hand while grinning.


    No one doubted his words as he was from an elite class. But, it''s weird that Julie''s health points remained 100%! It only meant that she completely blocked Klein''s attack.


    "Heh," Julie scoffed. "Come on, Dwarf!" Then she challenged him to attack more.


    "W-what did you say, grr!" Upon hearing her, Klein gnashed his teeth and his face turned dark, out of anger.


    Julie secretly grinned as her provocation succeeded. The next moment, Wind Waves were raining unceasingly on Julie.


    Klein continuously slashing his claws in the air, creating sharp Wind Waves that shoot rapidly to the immobile Julie. She was receiving all those Wind Waves.


    It was a terrifying onslaught. Everyone gawked at the scene.


    While leaning on the wall, Kiko secretly sighed. He thought Klein was an idiot. It was clear that his enemy was provoking him. And he took that bait without a second thought. Well, he wasn''t concerned about it. He just wanted their match to end faster because he was itching to fight-- that guy. His line of sight turned to Yman as he thought it in his mind.


    While Kein continuously rained Wind Waves to Julie, they suddenly heard a rumbling noise. Then the stage was seemingly vibrating.


    "What is that?!" Mora Liz shouted when she noticed a round shadow inside the smoke to where Julie was.


    The shadow rolled out of the smoke and shot like a cannon bullet towards Klein''s direction. At this moment, Klein already stopped attacking and stared at the fast-approaching shadow with wide eyes.

 Chapter 335 - Everyone’s Conjectures

    As expected, Klein easily dodged it. However, Julie''s attack surprised all the people present. Klein himself was included in it. No one had expected Julie was capable of such an attack. No wonder she used such heavy armor in this match. So that is her aim from the start.


    After Klein evaded, he was surprised again.


    "What?! She stopped her momentum just like that?!" Klein grimaced upon seeing Julie''s figure stopped just a few steps away from him, as though her rushing-attack a moment ago was just an illusion. ;


    Where is the inertia!!! He wanted to question the law of physics regarding it. Regardless, they are magicians who are capable of opposing the law of science, so it was useless to question it.


    Julie curved in a ball shape once again and started rolling in his direction.


    "F*ck this boulder!" He bellowed. Then he summoned more mana and fired vortexes to the approaching enemy.


    The rolling Julie evaded it by moving in a zigzag manner.


    Woohoo!


    The audience''s spirits rose as they shouted cheerfully. They never expected that it would turn out to be an interesting match. They originally thought it would be an easy fight, especially that it was a match between a D class and an Elite class.


    "Looks like it''s really true that there''s gold in a pile of garbage, fufu," one of the VIPs muttered and laughed. He was staring at Julie with gleaming eyes.


    Somewhere in the corner of VIP toom, ''Tsk!'' Principal Kim secretly clicked his tongue while anxiously gripping his MTMD in hand. Looking at him, he seemed restless.


    On the stage, Julie continued chasing after Klein, who is so nimble in evading her approach.


    But, right at this moment, Klein grinned. Then it was followed by a dull sound of a crash.


    Thud!


    Ehhhhh!!!


    Everyone looked at the figure of Julie who bumped into something.


    "Gyahahaha! Hehehe!"


    Klein suddenly guffawed. ;


    "It was an Invisible Wall!" The commentator Mora Liz announced.


    Just as she said, Klein secretly created the Invisible Wall somewhere on the stage to block Julie''s route.


    Thanks to her armor and Fortification ability, the collision did not damage her greatly. However, with those Invisible Walls on stage, her rolling ability would become useless.


    Julie shook her head to get rid of the dizziness she was currently feeling after the collision. She did not expect that this idiot was a sly one.


    She looked around. For some reason, her opponent suddenly disappeared from her sight.


    "Hey, hey, muscle woman, are you looking for me? Unfortunately, I know what you''re aiming for. You want to provoke me to waste my mana, huh!"


    "Haha, I never thought this idiot had the brain to figure it out," Kiko smugly laughed, emphasizing that he figured it out much sooner.


    Almina and Maena glanced at Yman. "Is it true?" Almina asked him. She wondered if Yman thought the same. However, Yman shook his head. "No, it isn''t her plan," he said in a calm voice. But it was enough for Kiko to hear.


    "What, you bastard, did you mean my conjecture is a mistake?" Kiko suddenly got angry. He thought that Yman was saying nonsense just to embarrass him.


    "Haha," Yman chuckled wryly from Kiko''s question and thought Kiko was an idiot. He had no reason to explain to this man. He''s not even talking to him. But for Almina''s sake, "I don''t mean that. I don''t mean that your conjecture is wrong. I mean, it''s also one of her reasons, but her real intention is not that," He said nonchalantly.


    On the other side of Almina, Kesha was wondering what Yman was trying to say. It was clear that Miss Julie was aiming to exhaust Klein''s mana.


    Rei-Rei and the others were just listening to them in silence. It was more beneficial to them if they quarreled. Not that they cared about it. But, for some reason, she was intrigued by Yman''s words.


    "Ows? Then, if my conjecture is right on the spot, will you be so kind to leave this academy?" Kiko suddenly pulled out a game of betting.


    "That''s! What are you asking?" Almina was the first to react which caused a twitch on Kiko''s brow.


    Though, Yman just laughed at it. "So, did you forget our initial bet?" ;


    Kiko''s face turned red in fury upon remembering it. Right, they already had betted that whoever lost in this competition would leave the academy. Their only chance was to win the championship.


    While trembling in fury, Kiko gave up. "I see. Just make sure you will leave after this."


    He believed that there''s no way for Yman to win this competition. Kiko would make sure that he would be the champion.


    Just a little more time.


    He could not lose his cool. Kiko fell silent once again. But he still believed that his conjecture was right. ;


    Wait. In this case, if his conjecture was right, then Yman would still embarrass himself later on. So it was still good for Kiko.


    Hehe. He laughed.


    Seeing that Kiko already backed down, Yman did not pursue the topic and returned his gaze to the monitor.


    On the stage, Julie immediately tenses upon hearing Klein. She looked to where the voice came from and saw Klein jumping in the air. ;


    "Waaaaawww! Littlegiant is using Invisible Platform to maneuver in mid-air! Such a high-level ability! As expected of a person from the beastmen tribe!" Mora Liz was amazed as she shouted Klein''s new codename in this match.


    Truly, everyone was greatly anticipating the current match.


    Unbeknown to Klein, boulders were flying in his direction.


    "Wha-whaa-what!!!" He clumsily dodged those boulders.


    He also heard Julie shout the words Boulder Bullets.


    Perhaps, it was her ability. Looks like Julie had the affinity of earth elements.


    One boulder coming his way was impossible to dodge. "Dammit!" He swore under his breath. Then flung his claws to the approaching boulder. The boulder split in two and disappeared like dust.


    Their battle continued and both parties threw their attacks. Julie continued provoking him to fire high-level attacks, then she countered them using the little advantage she had.


    Well, in truth, there wasn''t even an advantage in terms of power and mana. She was greatly at a disadvantage in this match. It was only natural since she was fighting against an opponent from the elite class. That''s why instead of focusing on improving her low agility, she decided to max out her defense as much as she could because her only chance in this match was to provoke her opponent and lose his focus.


    But even so, it was still a difficult task to defeat such a strong opponent without a miracle.


    Yman who was watching the match understood the situation. That''s why he secretly admired Julie''s resolution. Even with such a gap in their mana capacity, she was able to corner Klein several times.


    Thanks to his nimbleness and tricky abilities, he was able to escape from Julie''s grasp.


    Their battle continued and the time was clicking every second, nearing its end.


    Julie''s figure at this moment was now littered with wounds and bruises. But even after receiving such insanely strong attacks, her health points remained above 50 percent. Though, it''s currently decreasing little by little.


    If only she had the same mana capacity as Klein, she would have a great chance of winning. But, the disparity of D and Elite was just too great. Most of the onlookers who understood it felt regret. The two of them did a great job in the match. They show unique abilities and that was the first time they saw it.


    It was a feast in the eyes and most of the audience were delighted with it. Thankfully they came to watch this competition. They initially had no high hopes for this competition as it was competition from a backwater academy. But now everyone was delighted that they chose to watch it.


    Nonetheless, it wouldn''t change the fact that Julie was losing the match. That''s why everyone was dumbfounded when the match ended after the timer hit zero.


    "The winner, Sweetchocobo!"


    WHAAAAAAAT!!!


    Looking at the monitor, no doubt Klein the Littlegiant won in terms of health points. His health points were still 100 percent while Julie''s health points were 15 percent left. She even barely remained standing. On the contrary, Klein was lying on the ground, exhausted.


    "Ugh, that''s what he got for escaping his training."


    Rei-Rei mumbled regretfully. In their party, Klein was the laziest one. He barely trained his body, that''s why his stamina wasn''t so good. ;


    Although his mana and abilities were no doubt of elite rank, his stamina was only comparable to C-class. More on that, executing high-level ability was very taxing in stamina.


    Subconsciously, Rei-Rei''s line of sight wandered to a specific person inside the waiting hall.


    Julie''s real intention wasn''t to exhaust his mana, but to exhaust his STAMINA?!!


    It also meant Yman''s conjecture was right! ;


    Did he see through it? How scary! Reid-Rei''s thoughts.


    Sonya and Ban were wondering why Miss Rei-Rei was staring at Yman. ''No way! No way! Did Miss Rei-Rei fall in love with him?'' Sonya thought with a red face.


    Kiko felt he just swallowed a bug. ;


    Almina, on the other hand, felt so proud for some reason. Beside her, ;Maena secretly admired him.


    Kesha didn''t say anything. Fortunately, she remained quiet. She glanced at Kiko and noticed his bitter and embarrassed expression.


    Yman just remained quiet.

 Chapter 336 - A Speck Of Light

    Yet another elite fell to the hand of the student from the lower class. It was a very unexpected result. Even Yman himself did not expect it. But no doubt that it was Julie''s win.


    The reason that Yman was able to see through Julie''s real plan was because of Klein''s extremely high mana capacity. No matter how many times he wasted them, the time limit just wasn''t enough to dry out the elite''s mana like Klein.


    Still, it was out of the question that there was an elite who was negligent in his training. On top of that, it was from the race which he believed to have a superior body.


    "The result of the match garnered different kinds of impressions from the audience, huh," Almina muttered.


    "Well, I could not blame them. It''s unexpected for an elite to lose against someone from the lower section," Maena replied to her.


    "Exactly. But, Yman had also defeated an elite." Almina glanced at Yman''s face as she said it.


    "That''s true," Maena nodded at her.


    "Uhm, will it not affect the elite class reputation?" Yman''s line of sight was on Almina as he asked.


    She shook her head slightly. "Nn~"


    "I mean... a little only since we already had a bad reputation initially. That''s why it won''t do much if something like this happens." Yman noticed no discomfort on her face as she said it, even though she was the leader of that class.


    "Also, it''s already the final round, so it won''t affect the elite class reputation that much. Besides, the match was truly entertaining," Maena added, which stunned Yman for a bit. Is it only him or something has changed in her? She used to be a lofty person who didn''t give a f*cking care beneath her.


    Seeing his expression, Maena shot a glare at him.


    "What?" She asked with knitted brows, but there was slight redness on her face.


    "Nothing," he replied with a wry smile. Then turned away his line of sight from her. Maena secretly frowned when he looked away.


    Regardless, the match between Klein and Julie ended in an unexpected result.


    The competition proceeded and everyone was able to fight against their opponent.


    Kesha was defeated when she faced Rei-Rei in the first half. Sonya won against an A-class opponent. Ban did not proceed to join the final for personal reasons. Almina and Maena won against their A-class opponents. Kiko also won against his A-class opponent in an expectedly overwhelming victory.


    He charred his opponent when the bell notification resounded. Some audiences even gave him the Firegod title attached to his name.


    Kiko secretly threw a cold glare at Yman when he passed by. Yman did not cower and received his glare with a nonchalant face.


    Yman walked towards the middle of the stage and stopped a few steps away from his opponents.


    His opponent was from A-class. He remembered this person. He was one of the students who laughed at him whenever he passed out in the training session.


    Right now, that guy was grinning broadly while looking at him with a face full of confidence. As though he was certain of his win.


    Well, Yman could not blame him if he acted like that. Since he reached this round, it means he had the strength to defeat his opponent. Yman wasn''t an exception.


    "Well, then, I can''t be careless. I need to win this match," he muttered.


    "Hey, you! Strong guy, hehe!"


    "....."


    For some unknown reason, his opponent was calling him a strong guy while donning a mocking face.


    It must be his way to make fun of him. Such a low-quality taunt, Yman thought. Or rather, this low-quality taunt is usually very effective in some ways.


    "Don''t shy out and come at me in full strength, okay?!"


    "....."


    Yman didn''t know how to react to this person.


    "I see, then okay," he said with a poker face.


    "Just don''t pass out, okay!?" His opponent said with a grin.


    "....."


    He heard Sistela''s question at the back of his mind.


    "No, or rather, even if I know, I still say no."


    <Eh? So what exactly?>


    "Well, it''s a real no."


    <.....>


    While Yman and Sistela were secretly conversing, his opponent continued provoking him.


    Right at this moment, Mora Liz announced the start of their fight.


    "Now is the final match of the first half! Crimson versus King Aggressor!"


    "NOW! FIGHT!"


    Ting!


    ''Hehe, like hell, I will give him a chance to attack!'' King Aggressor thought inwardly.


    <Let''s kill him on the spot, My master!> said his deity.


    ''That''s my plan all along,'' King Aggressor replied with a hidden grin.


    <Just be careful, my master. Your opponent did well in his previous match.>


    "What? My opponent did well in his previous match? Who cares? I did better, you know," he muttered with unwavering eyes.


    He even believed that he could become a champion in this competition if he gets lucky.


    If even that gorilla girl from D-class a while ago was able to defeat an Elite-class, he believed he too could do it. Or rather, he had a better chance to do it.


    Well, his opponent right now is someone from D-class only, so it is an easier opponent compared to those elites in the waiting hall.


    After the bell, he kicked the slab floor of the stage as he accelerated towards his opponent.


    Regardless, he could not be careless. He summoned his flying knives around him.


    They remained in mid-air, beside him, and followed him like drones.


    <Be careful, my master. Something is approaching.>


    He heard his deity''s warning.


    Right at this moment, he noticed a speck of crimson light floating in the air. It was unhurriedly approaching him.


    He squinted his eyes without stopping his rush.


    But such a tiny light that is only as big as the child''s fist, what can it do against him?


    Nonetheless, he needed to be careful. He could not let any misgivings.


    [Reinforcement Shield!]


    [Defensive Light!]


    He used his defensive abilities.


    After he traversed half of their distance from each other, the speck of light also arrived in front of him.


    He could choose whether to evade it or get rid of it.


    However, before he could decide, he heard a finger-clicking noise. Then the speck of light shone blindingly. And that''s the last thing he remembered.


    After a thunderous explosion, silence descended in the plaza, where the competition was being held.


    Everyone had a uniform expression. They had their jaws dropped on the ground and their eyeballs about to leap out from their eye socket.


    And in everyone''s mind,


    WHAT THE F*CK! HALF OF THE STAGE DISAPPEARED?!!


    They were all screaming deep inside.

 Chapter 337 - Almina’s Feelings And Declaration

    The match concluded in an instance. It''s not even a few moments that have passed since it started.


    Just what kind of attack was that?! Everyone was wondering with their mouths hanging.


    Even the commentator Mora Liz gawked and forgot to announce the end of the match.


    Right at this moment, King Aggressor was lying unconscious on the ground along with his deity.


    "I-I don''t know what happened. B-but, as you can see, the match is over. Ehehe..."


    She sounded terrified as she announced the end of the final match of the first half.


    Almina and the others had their mouths widened as well. Even Rei-Rei and Sonya were flabbergasted.


    Kiko had a bitter expression at the moment. Who knows what was running in his mind at this very moment. But one thing for sure, he was bothered by that power.


    <Uh, eh, partner, wasn''t that a bit overkill?>


    For some reason, he heard Sistela sounded skeptical. Well, he could not blame her as it was truly a bit overkill.


    He looked at his hand. Perhaps he was too anxious after hearing Keremi''s words last night. He failed to gauge the power behind that attack.


    Yman could only display a wry smile at his failure of controlling his skill.


    Regardless, there''s nothing he could do about it. He calmly walked back towards the waiting hall.


    In the VIP room, "What was that?" Sunday asked with a noticeable shock in her voice. That was truly shocking.


    Jack adjusted his sunglasses. "It seemed like a small version of that devastating spell."


    "Hm, devastating spell?" Sunday asked.


    "I mean, the Spherical Bomb," Jack replied with a serious face.


    "That spell that can devastate a mountain in one go?"


    "Yes, though it was smaller and weaker compared to it. Still, being a first-year academy level, it was almost impossible to be able to cast such a strong spell."


    Jack and Sunday fell silent as they wondered how such a first-year academy student was able to cast it. Also, he was from a backwater academy.


    He truly was a mysterious kid. Even Jack could not get information about him. Just who is he? Why was he not in the elite class?


    Sunday''s curiosity towards Yman grew stronger.


    Out of a sudden, she realized something. "Then, if he fired it to all his opponents from here on, won''t it be a sure win for him?" Sunday asked upon realizing it.


    "Well, that... might be so," Jack replied.


    While Sunday and Jack were conversing, they suddenly heard a chuckle.


    "Fufu."


    The two simultaneously glanced at where the chuckle came from.


    "Mr. Adam?" Sunday called out while blinking her eyes in wonder.


    "Ah, sorry. It''s nothing," Adam excuses for his sudden chuckle.


    "Uhm, could it be you also felt surprised at that contestant''s spell, sir?" Jack asked.


    "Hm, to be honest, yeah. I think most of the people who have witnessed it feel the same. It''s truly surprising to see a first-year academy student used it."


    Sunday and Jack nodded their heads in agreement.


    However, Adam Praeter wasn''t finished yet. He opened his mouth once again. "Regardless, based on my little knowledge, that spell is what they called Elemental Burst Compression."


    "Elemental Burst Compression, sir?" Jack repeated Adam''s words with a blank expression. Elemental Burst Compression?'' It was the first time he heard it.


    "Yes. And it''s indeed powerful as you see it. But, it has the most complex condition to meet to use it. However, this kind of place is the most desirable place to meet its condition."


    "C-conditions? What do you mean, Mr. Adam, sir?"


    Sunday was silently listening while Jack was questioning Adam.


    "Indeed. Conditions. That spell is the gathering of excess elemental energies. Those elemental energies are the lingering energies that are left around."


    Jack knitted his brows from Adam''s explanation. He could not catch up with what Adam meant to say.


    Right at this moment, Sunday joined in their conversation.


    "Uhm, Mr. Adam Praeter, sir, do you mean the elemental particles that were left behind?"


    Adam side-glanced at her and nodded. "Mhm! Exactly. Those are the elemental particles from the other participant''s attack. It was the needed recipe to cast the spell. Without them, it''s impossible to use that spell."


    "I see. So that''s the reason of it''s complexity."


    "Right. Regardless, that kid secretly gathered those energies by creating a vacuum-like pressure in his hand right after stepping the stage. After that, he compressed them and then coated them with [Mana Coating] ability to avoid diffusion."


    Sunday touched her chin as she looked below. Probably, understanding where Adam going about with his words. "I see. And those elemental particles inside will be coiling, thus causing the sudden temperature rise. Then it cause an explosion at a slight impact," she analyzed.


    "Right. And since the elemental particles are almost weightless, it travels so slow. It was the reason why that speck of light traveled like in slow-mo."


    "I see. Now I get it," Sunday muttered. ''As expected of a person who is one of the leaders of a giant magician association, the Seeker, he knows a lot regarding spells,'' she complimented him inwardly.


    Adam continued explaining. "That said, since it travels so slow, one could easily evade it if he or she already knew the danger about it, which I think everyone is already aware of from this moment. Also, the difficulty of meeting its condition made it impossible to cast again and again. Once those element particles are used, they are no longer usable again."


    "I get it. For that reason, he could no longer use it again, right?" She concluded.


    Without nodding, Adam chuckled. "Fufu, as expected of the manager of a big firm, you''re smart," he complimented her.


    "Compared to you, sir, I''m more like a baby."


    "Now, now. No need to become so humble, you know. We are from a different field of business after all."


    Adam meant that it was only natural that he knows a lot more than her regarding magic spells because it was in the line of his work.


    "I can''t deny that. Thank you very much for telling us such information, Adam, sir!" She bowed slightly in his direction.


    "Fufu, such a thing. It''s not a big issue."


    Jack, on the other hand, was whispering, "I see, I see. So that was the reason, huh."


    ''Still, that young man is cut above the rest in terms of magic spells.''


    Adam Praeter thought.


    When Yman came back to the waiting hall, he noticed everyone was looking at him like he was a big sinner in their eyes.


    Well, in regards to Kiko, it wasn''t new to him. Oddly though, the others were looking at him with the same expression.


    Slowly, he saw Almina approaching him with a shadow overcast on her face. He could not tell what expression she was making at the moment.


    However, he felt a bothering feeling. She stopped right in front of him. Everyone was silently looking at them. They were wondering what Almina was planning to do.


    He noticed Almina unhurriedly opened her mouth without lifting her face to look at him. "J-just this time��" she said in a low voice and paused. Then she opened her mouth once again. "J-just this time I will forget my feelings. I will defeat you, okay!?" She finally looked at him as she said it.


    Yman was quite surprised. It was a challenge invitation.


    He understood.


    To begin with, it was a competition, everyone there was an opponent they needed to beat. She wanted to disregard their friendship while facing each other and face him seriously.


    It could also be comprehended that she wanted him to fight her seriously without holding back.


    She also emphasized the words ''just this time''. So, it meant they would be back as friends again after their match.


    Although she declared it right at his face, her face was as red as a tomato.


    Yman smiled wryly.


    "Yeah, I won''t hold back either when the time comes. Best regards then."


    From here on, they were competitors.

 Chapter 338 - Online Betting

    Although Yman was slightly off about the feeling Almina spoke of, he still got the gist of what she wanted to convey.


    They were given half an hour of rest before the start of the second half of the finals. While the contestants were resting, the organizers were repairing the stage using a much higher grade artifact. They also upgraded the invisible barrier.


    They needed to take proper precautions as it was a battle between the strongest in this competition.


    Everyone was eagerly waiting with excitement in their eyes.


    Each of the audience was anticipating the final match. Who could it be? Who among them will be the champion? Everyone was excited to know the result.


    The weather was a bright sunny day. Some birds and carrier birds were flying in the sky. They''re hovering in and out of the clouds.


    Sitting below is the booming city of Human City Zone 7.


    However, the streets were strangely empty even though it was a city. But, if you move to the plaza, you can see lots of people crowding the whole area.


    Most of the people in the city were watching the finale.


    Meanwhile, there seemed to be betting going on.


    "100 Gold Points for Miss Almina!"


    "100 only? You poor! Getaway your ass here! I''ll bet my house and my cheating wife!"


    "Dammit, who wants your wife! Get outta here before I kick your ass! I''m going to bet my grandma, she''s a virgin!"


    "Brooo!"


    "Shut Up! We''re not siblings!"


    "''I''ll bet 15,000 Gold Points for Miss Almina!"


    "I''ll bet 7,000 Gold Points for Miss Blonde! Wetwew!"


    "I''ll bet 10,000 for Miss Rei-Rei!"


    "I''ll bet 20,000 for Mr. Fire God!"


    "I''ll bet my whole career on Miss Julie!"


    "I''ll bet on Miss Sonya!"


    "I''ll bet on Miss Josie Finn!"


    Some people were shouting enthusiastically to bet their money to their favored contestants.


    In that instance,


    "I''ll bet 10 Gold Points to Crimson!!!" An old man shouted with all his might that immediately silenced the noise around him. However, after hearing his shout, most of the people around looked at him with pity in their eyes.


    Actually, he just arrived in this city. He was that old man from before, who bet on the Mysterious contestant in the recent competition held in the Encantasia Empire.


    After hearing about the competition in this city, he did not think twice to travel towards this city. Fortunately, he was able to arrive here before the finale ended.


    He had no idea about the other contestants. The only contestants he saw were the contestants who fought in the last match of the first half, so he decided to bet on him, using his leftover money.


    That''s why it can''t be helped if he only had 10 GP left in his wallet.


    *Huush~!* He sighed.


    Out of a sudden, "50,000 for Mr. Kiko the Fire God!"


    "..."


    Everyone felt like they heard an unbelievable thing in their whole life. They gawked for a second before a late reaction.


    WOAH! 50k? SO RICH!!!


    Everyone exclaimed in amazement and looked at the person. It was the complete opposite reaction towards the old man recently.


    As expected, the guy who betted 50k, looked like someone��- wait! Isn''t he Mr. Brando? Everyone said in their minds upon seeing the person.


    Right, it was him. The rich merchant, Merchant Brando! Wow, he actually pulled out such a huge amount!


    Everyone was getting livelier when the merchant named Brando bet a huge amount on Kiko.


    Right at this moment, *TOIINNNGGGG!" They heard a loud noise that seemed like an echo from the mic. It instantly canceled all the noise as though someone accidentally pressed a pause button.


    "Attention everyone. Listen Up! We have bad and good news on our hands!"


    Everyone''s ears stood upward when they heard a sweet and cute-sounding voice. The voice was none other than Miss Mora Liz''s voice!


    Their attention was snapped in a second. They looked at the big monitor where the image of Miss Mora Liz was being displayed. She truly was a cute bunny girl with different colors of pupils in each eye.


    Wetwew! Someone whistled at that.


    "First is the bad news. Because some of the participants dropped out in the contest, there are only eight of them left. Then, the good news. Rejoice! Our VIPs wanted to join in the fun with you lots. They wanted to bet as well. Remember, these people were the VIPs, so it''s right to assume a much higher bet from them!"


    The audience felt like they heard an unbelievable thing for once.


    WOOOHHH!!!


    They pumped their fist in the air as their shouts reached the sky.


    This is great. It only means more prizes they could get. Low bet, but higher return. Who would not feel excited at that?!


    "Then. Since the VIPs are joining the betting, the betting process will be done through online betting because we can''t reveal these VIPs'' identities in the public."


    "Now, everyone, look at the monitor, follow the instructions displayed on it on how to bet."


    "If you are ready, then take your gadgets and start betting your favored contestants!"


    Everyone immediately took their gadgets and followed the instructions displayed on the wide monitor.


    "While you are at it, we will be displaying the list of names of the remaining participants in case you forgot their competition names!"


    Commentator Mora Liz continued announcing.


    The audience then started fiddling with their gadgets.


    On the wide monitor screen, beside the list of the participant''s names were the total amounts of bets that they gathered.


    Currently,


    Almina has 75,000 GP; Maena has 45,000 GP; Rei-Rei has 50,000 GP; Sonya has 40,000 GP; Julie Brown has 30,000 GP; Josie Finn has 25,000 GP; Kiko has 150,000 GP, and lastly, Crimson has 6,010 GP.


    "..."


    It was the 6,010 GP from the old man and someone else. But, it was only the bets coming from the audience outside and wasn''t the final amount. The amounts were still increasing every second. The VIPs were yet to send their bets. They must be letting the bystanders first.


    "Still, Yman only got 6,010 GP?" Chloe asked. "Isn''t that a bit strange after what he showed in the final match of the first half?" Bob and Chloe could not understand why Yman only had 6,010 GP. 5k of that was from Chloe, 1k was from Bob, and the 10 GP was from the old man.


    It was strange.

 Chapter 339 - Everyone’s Excitement

    Initially, everyone was bothered by that destructive spell that Yman demonstrated in his last match. Even Kiko was bothered by it. Well, who wouldn''t feel anxious about it after witnessing such a sure kill power?


    However, each of them receives a message from a different source.


    A grin finally came back on Kiko''s face.


    "I see. Then there''s nothing to worry about, huh. Heh!" Kiko''s eyes glinted as he muttered the words with a grin.


    The others had the same reaction as him. Only Almina and Maena didn''t show the same reactions as the others. They have the means to counter that spell of Yman.


    But still, it bothered them a little because there is no one hundred percent that they would survive unscathed from it if Yman fired it at them.


    So when their MTMD rang, a sigh of relief escaped their mouths after reading the message.


    Almina or either Maena is dead set on winning this competition.


    That''s why Almina was putting aside her feelings for now. She desired to win as she had something she wanted to prove.


    Each of the remaining contestants was given time to concentrate, along with their deities. They could use the time to plan their next move or casually use the time to have a peaceful rest.


    Well, since they were with their deities, they could also use that moment to chat along and deepen their friendships to increase their Like Value. It could help to avoid unnecessary disconnection while in the middle of the match.


    While the contestants were taking advantage of their solitude, they heard a loud noise coming from the audience area.


    Most of them wondered what it was, but probably the audience was just too excited to watch the second half of the finals.


    But, it seemed like Kiko knew what was going on.


    He was actually monitoring the betting activity that was currently happening within the audience.


    Kiko could not help but smirk at the current standing of the betting odds.


    Of course, he was at the top of the betting poll. He was even higher than Almina Amulet, who was favored by most.


    These past days he made some connections with some well-known merchants and businessmen in the city.


    So Kiko already expected that he would be at the top of the betting poll.


    A chuckle escaped from his mouth when he noticed the one at the bottom-most of the list.


    "Haha, look at that frog!"


    Kiko mumbled in contempt while sneering at Yman''s name on the screen of his MTMD.


    He would make sure that the frog would have to leave the Academy after this competition.


    In truth, he wasn''t fond of this Academy. If not because of Amina Amulet, he would have chosen a much better academy than this one. The training facilities in this Academy were old and trash. Even their training method was way inferior compared to the other academies. This academy needs a decade to improve for the better.


    However, if he became the ace of this Academy, he would make sure to live a good life.


    No.


    He would make sure that he would become the next ace of this Academy.


    Although there were several elite students left, he wasn''t a bit bothered by it, though it would become an exciting battle.


    Everyone would be looking at him as he tramples all his opponents. In Kiko''s mind, he was standing at the top of the podium while being showered with stares of envy.


    "Hehe," he laughed-- excited for that moment to come.


    That is indeed the most desired outcome for him. Even Almina would be crying with envy. And later on, she would come on her own accord to let herself fall into his hands.


    "Hehe," Kiko secretly grinned like someone with loose screws in the head. Well, no one knew what was running in his mind at this very moment.


    In Rei-Rei''s room, there are some people along with her.


    "Thanks for the work, Ban," Sonya said to the Bunnyman in front of them.


    "Nah, don''t mention it. I''m glad to be of help to Miss Rei and Lady So."


    "But you had to quit the competition," Sonya said with a sad expression on her lovely face.


    "No. Don''t mention it, Lady So. Even if I did not quit the competition, I would never win, nonetheless."


    "I see. Then, we have to depend on your ability again, Ban," Rei-Rei suddenly said.


    "Yes, let me handle it. I will make sure that Miss Rei will face Almina, and Lady So will be facing the blonde in the final," Ban replied with a determined look. "By the way, how about Kiko?" Suddenly, Ban asked.


    They all fell silent.


    The reason that Rei-Rei''s group was able to avoid fighting their members was that Ban was manipulating the whole match-up.


    It is also true in Almina''s group.


    Their main goal was to match Sonya against the blonde and Rei-Rei versus Almina in the final. Klein should be fighting Kiko in the final, but.


    "Well, that is an unexpected result. Although Ban can manipulate the match-up, he can''t dictate the result of the fight," Rei-Rei said in regret.


    "Right," Sonya agreed to her.


    It was unexpected to them that Klein lost in his match.


    "Well, let him be. There''s nothing we can do about it. Let''s defeat him if he is lucky to arrive at the championship," Rei-Rei announced.


    "Okay," Ban nodded. "I''ll make sure that Miss Rei and Lady So will be facing those two humans."


    "Thank you, Ban."


    Reid-Rei and Sonya expressed their appreciation.


    Meanwhile, Yman was busy creating new [Fire Dolls].


    "....."


    "Yes, they are."


    <.....>


    <WAIT!>


    <Isn''t it better to practice the second stage to learn the advanced resonance ability?!>


    "No. That is draining. We can''t do that right now."


    <Hmm��>


    "The second stage needs a complete mana synchronization. Do you think we can do that easily with that demon''s mana?"


    <Hah~ >


    He heard Sistela sighed.


    <Right. That would be hard.>


    "Exactly. And we must avoid any reckless accidents at this point. Don''t worry, we can do it after the competition."


    <Al...right��>


    Around this time, *WOAH!!!* they heard a sudden shout of amazement from the audience.


    "!?"


    <EH? What was that?>


    "I don''t know. Looks like something interesting was happening outside."

 Chapter 340 - The Unexpected Buzzer

    Almina was sitting cross-legged in her room. She was concentrating. Bluish magical energies were circulating all around her.


    She had a serene countenance and was unbothered from the noise happening outside.


    The magical energies continued swirling around her like fishes swimming all around her.


    At this moment, only Almina herself knew what she was doing.


    The same thing was happening in the room next to her. The person inside it was Maena. She was also in such a situation like Almina.


    In the other room, Julie was silently waiting for the competition to resume. Josie Finn was currently wiping her weapon.


    Everyone was doing different stuff while waiting for the competition to resume.


    Outside, the betting was still ongoing. Around this time, the bets had already reached a few hundred of thousands of gold points.


    The bystanders were the most excited about it.


    WHOOOOO!!!


    The excited bystanders pumped their fists towards the sky. Their eyes had already turned into gold coins at that instance.


    The current betting poll was led by Kiko followed by Almina, Rei-Rei, Maena, Sonya, Julie, Josie Finn, and Yman, who only got 70,000+ in total. The others already reached hundreds of thousands of gold points.


    Regardless, the betting was ever-increasing. And the audience had started cheering for their chosen contestants.


    "Damn boys! We''ll be getting rich after Kiko the Fire God won this competition!"


    "Of course he will!"


    "Go Kiko! Win it, champ!"


    "You can do it, my man!"


    "Nooo!" One person strongly denied it. Then he continued saying, "Miss Almina will be the champion!"


    On the other corner,


    "Go Julie, my love! Show them your muscle baby!"


    "Miss Rei-Rei will win it for sure!"


    "You can do it, Sonya, you can do it, Sonya!"


    "Josie Finn! Josie Finn! Win it!"


    "Crimson, fight. Achoo! Cough! Cough!" The old man tried to cheer, but he coughed instead. He used to be a rich merchant in the empire, but his friends took advantage of him. Now, he lost his capital money and also lost his business. Aside from that, he lost all his friends as well, even his wife left him along with their child.


    "Shut up, dying old man! Kiko will kick that person''s ass!"


    "Kiko is the strongest. Everyone should bet on him too!"


    "Fool, if everyone bet on him, then how can we win, Dumbo?!"


    "..."


    Somewhere in the corner, Mercenary Vortex and Ultima were laughing wryly at the hype coming from the other audience. Both of them chose to bet on Almina and Crimson. They already expected that Yman would get fewer bets from the audience as he wasn''t as popular compared to Almina and Kiko. However, they did not expect that Kiko would come at the top of the betting poll.


    In the VIPs room, almost everyone had their bet on their favored competitors.


    "Mr. Adam, sir, aren''t you going to bet on Miss Almina Amulet?" Sunday curiously asked Adam Praeter, who was silently waiting for the match to resume.


    She noticed that among all the VIPs inside, only him who has yet to bet.


    "No, I didn''t come here to play. I''m just a spectator this time," he replied with a wry smile.


    "I see. Though, that''s unfortunate. To think Kiko would gather the most bets, it was unexpected that he beat Almina on that."


    "Well, I couldn''t really blame those who voted for him as he really showed a great performance in his previous matches."


    "Yes, you''re right, Sir Adam."


    After saying it, they finally heard the most awaited announcement.


    "Everyone! Have you all already betted on your favorite contestants?!" Mora Liz asked in a cheerful voice.


    YEAAAHHH!!!


    The crowd responded in a thunderous voice.


    "That''s good! Then, let''s start the countdown to officially close the betting!"


    WOOOHHHH!!!


    Again, the crowd shouted.


    "Wooow, I never thought it would be as exciting as this!" Yana exclaimed with glimmering eyes. It was her first time to be in such a place. And to witness this kind of scene. She was very thankful for her brother for giving her a chance to experience this kind of scenario.


    For all of her life, she was only lying on her bed, or if not, she was in her wheelchair. But she didn''t regret it. Because, in exchange for it, she was able to save her brother.


    So, if the same thing is going to happen again, she would never think twice to repeat what she did before.


    Regardless, she was so happy at the moment. The hype from the crowd gave an indescribable feeling to her.


    Regarding the betting poll, she wasn''t a bit concerned about it. It was already enough for her that some people believed in her brother. Albeit not as many as the other contestants.


    Based on what the announcer said, if her brother would win the competition, those who betted on him would get more winning prizes than those who betted the top contestants in the betting poll, that is because the huge sum of winning prizes would be divided by few people only compared to those in the top list, the prizes would be divided by many people.


    Nonetheless, of course, Yana is one of the people who betted on her brother.


    Rea, on the other hand, was silently sitting, waiting for the competition to resume. She was excited to see what Crimson would do in his next fight. She was also interested in that girl''s match, Almina Amulet.


    "Princess, ah, I mean, Miss Rea, won''t you bet as well?" While she was mulling over what was Crimson and that Amulet girl''s relationship, suddenly, Yana asked her.


    "No, not interested."


    "I see."


    Secretly, Yana was admiring Rea. Although she was a princess, she didn''t bother sitting along with commoners like them. Yana could not help but giggle at the thought that the people around them were unaware that they were so lucky at this moment, to be able to sit along with a real princess.


    And not just an ordinary princess, because Miss Rea was a princess of two nations!


    Everyone would have to shed blood to see a real one in person. They were the entities who were guarded by personal knights.


    After all, princesses are the symbols of a nation''s beauty.


    While Yana was mulling, the countdown to officially close the betting had already reached the last count.


    2, 1��


    "Oh wait, oh wait! I''m sorry, there is a sudden announcement!" Mora Liz suddenly halted the countdown. Then, she continued saying, "According to the mayor, those who come at the top of the betting poll will be rewarded as the most popular contestant! Thus, he would be privileged to receive a special reward!"


    WOAAAHHHH!!!


    "Kiko is going to receive that reward!"


    "Wow! Congrats in advance, Kiko!"


    "Wooooohhh! That''s ma'' man!


    Kiko''s supporters shouted in elation after hearing the announcement.


    Kiko, who was currently monitoring the event in the arena, could not help but feel excited.


    "Hehe!" He laughed in excitement.


    "Sorry for the slight pause, everyone!"


    No, it''s nothing!


    Right! It''s fine!


    We love you, Miss Mora Liz!


    The audience tried their best to respond.


    "Now, let''s continue the countdown from 3!!!" Mora Liz shouted.


    2!!!


    1!!!


    Tooorrrrrt!!!


    Before the countdown reached zero, it was halted by the sudden cry of the buzzer.


    It was a notification when someone sent a huge amount of bets.


    Just then, everyone fell silent with their eyes almost popping out from their eye sockets upon seeing the amount registered in the betting poll.

 Chapter 341 - Betting Poll

    Finally, the start of the second half of the final round was about to start.


    Yman and the others were already marching towards the stage to represent themselves as the finalists.


    Everyone was full of determination to win. Their eyes were on fire. Though, only Yman had a usual calm demeanor.


    Kiko, on the other hand, had an unusual grin on his face. Most of the audience was shouting his name a while ago when he was monitoring the betting event. Though, his MTMD battery got emptied a second before the countdown hit zero. However, he was certain that no one could surpass the bets he received.


    Even Almina was far behind him.


    While they were walking towards the stage, they noticed the atmosphere was kinda unusual. Just a while ago, they could hear the lively shouts of the audience. But now, why did everyone suddenly fall silent? They wondered why it seemed as though the plaza was deserted.


    But when their feet stepped on the stage. They noticed the plaza was full of people. However, everyone''s gaze was not on them.


    Suddenly,


    "Hehehe��"


    They heard a chuckle. Yman glanced at where the chuckle came from. It was from Kiko. He wondered what this idiot was so happy about.


    The others also wondered why Kiko suddenly chuckled. On the contrary, everyone else was wondering about the strange atmosphere around the audience.


    Then, Kiko glared at Yman. "Didn''t you hear the recent announcement?"


    He asked. His eyes were scanning all of them. He wasn''t only asking Yman, but all of them.


    Yman and the others frowned as they did not hear any announcement. They were so focused on their stuff inside their private room.


    Still, the audiences were having stunned faces, though they heard some whispers like "unbelievable��"


    However, their attention was on Kiko, who suddenly walked ahead of them. "I see. You didn''t hear the announcement, huh," Kiko said with a smug.


    Meanwhile, most of the audience''s attention was not on them.


    Kiko continued saying, "There was an announcement recently, saying that whoever comes out at the top of the betting will receive the most popular award and have the privilege to receive a special reward!" Kiko''s face was facing below and his shoulders began shaking when he started to chuckle.


    The others had an expression of "o" upon hearing it. Right, they didn''t hear it.


    "Yman, do you know about it?"


    Almina stood beside him and asked him. But it was also the first time he heard it. He shook his head.


    "No," then threw back the question. "How about you?"


    Almina also shook her head. "Same. I don''t either."


    "I see. Well, looking at the others, it looks like none of them knew about it as well��" he paused for a moment and asked the person on his other side. "How about you, Maena?"


    "Uh?!"


    Maena was quite surprised. She did not expect her name to be called by this man.


    "Uh��eh, I��!" Maena bit her lips when she noticed she got flustered, then secretly reprimanded herself. ''Tsk! Why do I sound so flustered? Damn self! He will think I am weird.''


    She heaved a deep sigh.


    Yman and Almina were staring at her, wondering if she was fine. She looked like she was troubled by something, though.


    Then they noticed she slowly opened her mouth. "I don''t either��" she replied in a cold voice, though it sounded forced.


    "I see," Yman said with a bead of sweat at the back of his head. "It looks like the others too hadn''t heard it. Probably only Kiko hears it."


    "Right," Almina agreed to him.


    "R-Regardless, a special reward, what could it be?"


    Maena added.


    "Money?" Almina whispered.


    "I don''t think it is," Maena shook her head.


    "Well, based on Kiko''s tone of speaking, it looks like they did not announce it. Perhaps to add spice and entice the audience to support their favored contestants more," Yman said his speculation.


    "I see. That must be it." Maena and Almina agreed to him.


    While the three of them were talking, Kiko secretly sent a glare at them.


    ''Just wait, frog!'' He whispered in his mind in a cold voice.


    "Now, everyone! Look at the betting poll!" Kiko said as he raised his finger, pointing above, to where the large monitor was hanging.


    There was a sadistic grin on his face as he did it.


    In Kiko''s mind, ''Ehehe! Now, show me your sweet envy!'' He was delighted at these fools.


    After Kiko did it, they followed to where he was pointing. Just then, everyone instantly gawked.


    "What!"


    "How!"


    "For real?!"


    "OMG!"


    Even Yman, who always acted calm, had his jaw dropped on the ground. It was just surreal!


    Now, they finally understand why the audience was showing such similar expressions.


    "Hehehe��" Kiko secretly loves the expressions on their faces.


    At that moment,


    "O-one million��?" A mutter was carried by the wind and reached Kiko''s ears.


    ''What? One million?'' Although he managed to gather many connections from rich people in the city, he did not expect that they would bet such a huge amount. At most, he estimated it would reach 500,000. But, one million? That''s beyond his expectation.


    Regardless, wasn''t it much better? Kiko thought so.


    Then he chuckled. "Hehehe!"


    However, everyone''s attention was on the monitor.


    "Now! Everyone! Don''t feel envy��-"


    "Congratulations Yman! You got the top spot!" Almina suddenly exclaimed.


    "Wha��!" Kiko froze on the spot upon hearing it. Then he hastily glanced at the monitor.


    Just then, he transformed into a block of ice. "H-how did it happen��?" He muttered in disbelief. But no one heard it. Everyone was saying their congratulations to Yman. They already forget Kiko existed. However, what the hell was happening!!!


    He wanted to shout.


    In truth, it''s not only Kiko who was surprised by it, even Yman himself was surprised as well.


    But he could guess who was the person behind it.


    A while ago, before the countdown hit zero, someone betted 10,000 Imperial Coins. Since one Imperial coin was equal to 100 gold points, it was 1,000,000 gold points in total. However, everyone was wondering who was the rich person who betted such a large amount of money.. Even the VIPs turned pale at the amount.

 Chapter 342 - Hunter Twin Beasts

    Rea was silently sipping cold drinks as though unbothered by everyone''s astonishment.


    "Okay, everyone! These contestants on the stage are our finalists!"


    "Please give them a round of applause before we start the second half of the finale!"


    OOOOOH!!!


    CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!


    Thunderous applause resounded in the plaza right after Mora Liz announced it.


    "Because we are coming so close to the end of our competition, I would like to announce that starting now, there''s no more time limit! Everyone could fight for their heart''s content!"


    "The contestants could still choose to give up if they wanted to. But, I doubted that they would do that, especially at this point of the competition."


    "Now, everyone! Without further delay let the fun resume!"


    OOOOOH!!!


    Another thunderous cheer erupted towards the sky.


    Then it was followed by the audience''s cheerful chants for the name of their favored contestants.


    Meanwhile, the atmosphere had become so tense. Everyone was anticipating who would be in the first match.


    On the monitor, the shuffle had once again played. But hiding from everyone''s vision, A person was manipulating the matching panel.


    And so, the first pair was decided when the profiles of two contestants appeared on the monitor.


    "Crimson versus Miss Realist!"


    Commentator Mora Liz shouted at the first pair to fight.


    Kiko clicked his tongue.


    The commentator then asked the others to step down off the stage and wait for their turn.


    Yman and Josie Finn were left standing on the stage while the others stepped down.


    The two then walked in the middle, standing 20 meters away from each other.


    They respectfully bowed at each other before the signal was announced.


    Actually, she knew a little about Yman. He was the person who always fainted in their exercise. He had the worst evaluation as well.


    That''s why she was as shocked as the others when he fought and won against Jugo, a student from the elite class.


    Josie remembered Yman''s recent fights. She must be wary of his unusual strength. If she assessed his physical strength, it would be at the level of False Path.


    She must be careful.


    She wondered how he transformed from a wimpy dull-looking person to a physically strong person in a short amount of time.


    She wanted to ask him, but alas, they were not even close.


    Now that he was seeing him from a close distance, even his looks had a great change, huh. He looked quite cute, to be honest. Though, it didn''t mean that she had a crush on him. She was just surprised at his unbelievable transformation.


    Regardless, she needed to defeat him.


    When the bell rang, it signified the start of the battle.


    Josie Finn hastily unsheathed her sword after the bell rang. Next, she summoned her mana, then her sword emitted a strong dark bluish aura.


    She waved it in Yman''s direction. A bluish wave of magical energy flew at a hard to perceive speed.


    Yman easily evaded it by jumping to his side. There was an explosion that happened far behind him after he evaded it.


    Josie Finn narrowed her eyes. She already expected that her enemy could dodge it. But seeing that he easily evaded it, it pained her pride a little.


    She noticed Yman coming to approach her.


    Without letting him cut their distance, she fired another wave of energy by brandishing her sword.


    Swoosh~ swoosh~ swoosh~


    Three waves were coming at him one after another. Yman moved in a zigzag and avoided all the attacks at ease.


    CEH!


    Josie Finn clicked her tongue. Yet, she didn''t stop attacking. She fired a barrage of it. Still, none of those attacks were able to land a hit on her target. Right, she knew that his speed was also extraordinary.


    In that case, "Take this!"


    She summoned two beasts. They were identical to tigers. One of them has smooth white furs and blue lines from its eyes to its back on both sides, and the other has black furs and red lines from its eyes to its back.


    Though, unlike normal tigers, they have long and pointed ears. Even their tails were longer.


    The most striking thing about them was that their bodies were radiating magical elements.


    The white-furred was exuding water element while the black-furred was exuding fire element.


    Yman remembered those two beasts. It was her summons, the Hunter Twin Beasts, which she used when she fought against Jami.


    They were also the reason that Jami could not execute her illusion abilities. Those beasts can break illusions. Or more accurately, they could not be put under illusion spells. Probably because of their high perception. Truly befitting of their name the hunter.


    Moreover, their sizes which are triple the size of a normal cow were truly intimidating.


    Even Yman would not dare to engage with them head-on. Especially, that he used lots of his mana in creating his new fire dolls.


    Yman already cut half of their distance, but he had to stop going further. If he mindlessly charged forward without knowing those two beasts'' capabilities, it might have caused him to lose in this battle.


    He created two chakrams, one on each palm.


    "There it is! The unbeatable chakrams!" One of the audience shouted excitedly. Then it was followed by a cheer.


    At that moment, the beasts were racing towards him in zigzag movements to confuse him.


    Their charge caused the stage to vibrate.


    However, without even a second thought after the two chakrams were created, he threw one of them right into their directions in a straight line.


    "That''s useless," Josie Finn muttered with scorn.


    As expected, the beasts dodged the chakram without difficulty.


    After throwing the first chakram, he ran to his left and threw the second one. But this time, he didn''t throw it in a straight line. Instead, he threw it to his right where there was no enemy.


    The audience wondered if he made a mistake.


    However, after the first chakram was evaded by the beast, Josie Finn widened her eyes.


    The chakram continued towards her. Josie Finn realized that his target wasn''t her summoned beasts in the first place, but her!


    She ran to her left to avoid it, however. Her ears caught an air-tearing sound from that side. When she glanced, she noticed another chakram.


    "Ha?!"


    Her face turned pale at that instance.

 Chapter 343 - Drone

    "Oh no! Will the match end so fast?!" Mora Liz shouted.


    Bam! A huge explosion happened at Josie Finn''s position right after Mora Liz asked.


    Everyone stared with anticipation. However, when the smoke dissipated, all of them were surprised by what they saw.


    "Woah! This is unexpected! Josie Finn avoided the difficult situation with the help of the black hunter beast!" The amazed voice of the cute commentator resounded in the plaza.


    Just as the commentator, Mora Liz, said, the black hunter beast disappeared in its position and reappeared in the position where Josie Finn was, a while ago. It looks like it could swap their positions.


    However, because of its action, the black hunter beast suffered injuries when the two chakrams exploded on it.


    Everyone responded with a loud cheer.


    Yman didn''t expect that one of the beasts would have that kind of ability.


    "Kai, are you okay?!" Josie Finn shouted asking the black hunter beast.


    Goar!


    It responded with a low growl, seemingly in pain.


    [Heal!]


    Josie Finn did not wait for Yman to follow up his attack. She used a healing spell on her beast.


    Yman narrowed his eyes.


    The wounds immediately healed right after Josie Finn used a healing spell.


    The beast stood up once again and squinted in Yman''s direction. At the same time, gnashing, showing its razor-sharp teeth.


    The two hunter beasts retreated on Josie Finn''s sides. They were staring at their opponent, who was standing several steps away from them.


    Josie Finn bit her lips, she had to admit that Yman wasn''t only about strength. He''s a clever opponent as well. Aside from that, his abilities were not ordinary as well.


    ''Tsk, he almost got me!'' thought Josie Finn.


    Nevertheless,


    She couldn''t lose this match!


    "Now! Attack!"


    At Josie Finn''s command, the two beasts produced a massive ball of water and fire on their mouths.


    Josie Finn noticed Yman did not move on his position. He probably didn''t want to do reckless moves. Also, it was apparent on his face that he was maintaining his vigilance.


    The two hunter beasts didn''t take long to produce the massive balls. It only took a second, then fired simultaneously at Yman.


    Looking at the two massive balls of fire and water, everyone agreed that it was a sure-kill attack. Yet, they noticed Yman did not move an inch on his position.


    "Hmm��" Josie Finn felt suspicious at his gesture.


    It only took a second for the two elemental balls to traverse the distance between them and Yman. All of the onlookers saw it when the two elemental massive balls hit him. Then an explosion stronger than the previous explosion happened at that moment.


    BOOM!


    WOOOOH!


    The audience exclaimed. There was a tremble after the explosion. It looks like the ground trembles from the power of the explosion.


    Josie Finn remained calm and her focus was in front of her. She couldn''t tell what happened to her opponent because of the thick smoke that was covering the area where he was standing. There was lots of smoke. It is probably because it was a combined attack of water and fire.


    Josie Finn didn''t lower her guard. At least not until the announcer declared her victory.


    She got excited when she heard Mora Lizz''s voice.


    "Everyone! The two hunter beasts finally showed their might! Those massive balls are no doubt one of the most powerful attacks that were shown in this competition. Sadly, because of the smoke, we can''t be sure of what happened to the opponent, Crimson!"


    "However, believe me, or not! Something unbelievable was currently happening!"


    Upon hearing Mora Liz''s words, the majority was wondering what she meant by unbelievable words of hers.


    Even Josie Finn was wondering what she meant by it.


    To fill up everyone''s puzzlement, Mora Liz pointed her finger to the large monitor above while saying, "Crimson''s health points are still fullllll!!!" Her voice echoed as she shouted the last word.


    Everyone''s eyes were lured towards the monitor, they glanced at it simultaneously. Then, at the same time, they exclaimed.


    WHAT?!


    All were surprised. Then they heard an unusual noise. When they looked back to the smoke, the smoke was no longer there. And standing still in his original position was the contestant named Crimson.


    "How did he do that?"


    "Eh?!"


    "What was that?"


    Everyone was wondering when they noticed something around him.


    "Everyone, Crimson is surrounded by three little objects that look like small aircraft! Those three little aircraft went to V formation and produced a magical shield!"


    "However, it seems like the shield they are generating isn''t just a normal shield! It''s so powerful that even the powerful attacks from the hunter beasts failed to shatter it! Unfortunately, I can''t explain how the smoke suddenly disappeared! But I have a feeling that the ones responsible for it are those little aircraft!"


    Yman called them Defensive Drone Fire Dolls.


    Unfortunately, since it wasn''t the enhanced version, those drone fire dolls were not perfect. The spell canceller ability has a delay effect. Fortunately, he added a strong anti-explosion spell in it.


    Chloe and Bob have the same amazed reaction. "Woah! I never thought Yman could do that," said Chloe.


    "Aside from that, aren''t those aircraft too overpowered?" Bob said as well.


    On the other hand, Rea and Yana, who knew about Yman''s fire dolls, had the same reactions.


    "Fufu. Your brother surely loves creating weird stuff, Yana," Rea chuckled as she said it.


    "Ahaha. My brother is like a kid," Yana chuckled as well.


    Most of the onlookers had astounded and surprised reactions when they saw Yman''s drone fire dolls.


    Even Almina and the others could not believe Yman had something like that.


    On the stage, Josie Finn frowned. In her mind, it looks like her opponent wasn''t only a clever opponent but also a tricky one.


    But, it didn''t lower her determination to win this match.


    ''Then let''s see how far those toys can last!'' Thought Josie Finn.


    After squinting her eyes, she signaled an attack.


    RAWR!


    The two hunter beasts roared a deafening roar before they attacked again.

 Chapter 344 - A Sentry

    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Relentlessly, the two hunter beasts were shooting water and fireballs at him.


    Then again, because of the combination of fire and water, every time they exploded produced a large amount of smoke. Yman''s figure was engulfed by it, hindering everyone''s vision of him.


    The commentator Mora Liz held the microphone near her mouth.


    "Surprising! Very surprising! Competitor Crimson''s health points remained the same even though he''s being bombarded with such powerful attacks!" Shouted Mora Liz.


    Everyone instinctively glanced at the huge monitor and saw Crimson''s health points still at 100 percent.


    Tsk!


    Josie Finn clicked her tongue.


    "What kind of monster is he!?" She mumbled.


    Josie Finn activated her advanced resonance. She could not wait any longer. Her enemy was so weird!


    She was planning to defeat him using her normal resonance only. But, she was too naive for thinking she could defeat him with just that.


    Josie Finn''s figure glowed after activating her advanced resonance. Her appearance immediately transformed into something closely identical to her tiger-like deity.


    "Take this!" Josie Finn immediately fired multiple waves of energy.


    Now, not only the hunter beasts but also Josie Finn.


    They finally saw him jumping out of the smoke.


    "No wonder, Jami was defeated by her," Dianne muttered while being engaged in watching the match.


    "Will he be alright?" Maku asked.


    "Well, let''s see what he will do," Dianne replied.


    They were talking about Yman.


    The drones did not leave his side. They were like part of his body. Wherever he went, the drones also came along with him, catching all the powerful attacks the enemies fired at him.


    "Woah! Those drones look so reliable!" Bob commented.


    "However, they looked like they would not last long," Chloe followed up.


    Just as Chloe said, the shield was finally dwindling.


    "Uhh~ right," Bob said, slightly regretful. "Tsk! Those two beasts were giving Yman bro a difficult time. He could not even get close to Miss Josie Finn."


    "Yeah," Chloe agreed. "And now, there are three of them that are attacking him at the same time."


    "W-will he be alright?" Bob asked in worry.


    "Hmm�� that�� we can''t be sure," Chloe could not lie about it.


    "Don''t worry, Miss Cloe, Mr. Bob, I''m sure my brother will do something about it," they heard Yana''s words.


    They also noticed Rea nodding her head, agreeing with Yana.


    "Is he hiding some trump card?" Bob got excited.


    "Haha, I hope he did." And so, Yana said it with an innocent smile.


    Bob slightly blush, but soon slapped his face slightly. They wondered why he did it. Regardless, it looks like even Yana herself wasn''t so sure. "Let''s cheer for him, then," he suggested. "Yman bro! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Bob''s loud voice overwhelms all the noise in the plaza.


    Following Bob''s lead, they began cheering.


    Chloe was admiring Yman that he managed to remain unscathed even in the face of such overwhelming attacks.


    After leaping away from the smoke, Yman ran away from it. Naturally, Josie Finn and the hunter beasts'' eyes followed him.


    They fired less this time. Yman was so fast. They could not fire aimlessly. It would empty their mana for no reason.


    While running away, Josie Finn noticed Yman produced another chakram on his hand. He threw at them a second later.


    Before the chakram could get near them, she fired a wave of energy from her sword to confront it. It wasn''t her usual wave of energy.


    The wave energy of Josie Finn successfully hit the chakram of Yman. They exploded upon contact. Both disappeared in a matter of seconds.


    "Oh no! Miss Josie Finn was very careful! Yman bro''s chakram exploded!" Bob exclaimed when Yman''s chakram exploded along with Josie Finn''s wave of energy.


    "Miss Josie Finn knew that Yman''s chakram was full of surprise. So, she made sure to get rid of it by increasing the power of her energy wave," Chloe explained.


    "Right."


    Bob and the others agreed to her.


    Another chakram came tearing the space while bringing up the fast-spinning noise.


    Wriiiing!


    Yet, it exploded when Josie Finn''s powerful energy wave hit it.


    Boom!


    Yman slightly squinted his eyes.


    ''As expected of someone who could summon two beasts at the same time,'' thought Yman.


    He continued running away as another water and fireballs were coming at him.


    Boom!


    They exploded behind him. But Yman is already far away from getting hit by it.


    Another chakram materialized on his hand. But this time, there were three of them.


    Looking at it, "That''s useless!" Josie Finn exclaimed while accumulating more magical energies on her sword.


    She fired those energies at the same time Yman fired the chakrams. Like before, they exploded in contact.


    But a smile leaked at Yman''s hidden face. The next second, they heard another explosion which was followed by an unusual scream.


    GUWAAARR!


    Wha��!


    The audience exclaimed.


    Josie Finn hastily glanced beside her. She saw one of her breasts writhing in pain while lying on the ground.


    "Kou!"


    She called out the name of her beasts. It was a beast with a water element.


    There was a wound on its side. And it was currently smoking.


    "How come?" A mutter escaped from her mouth the second she saw her beast. "Where did the attack come from?" She was certain that she got rid of all her enemy''s chakrams.


    In fact, it was not only her who questioned it. All of the onlookers had the same question.


    "Look! There''s something in the smoke!"


    One of the audience pointed to the smoke where Yman came from. Since the smoke in that area was so thick, it didn''t dissipate right away. At the moment, it slowly cleared. They could even see a shadow within.


    Everyone was curiously staring at it. The second later, the smoke finally disappeared. They could finally identify the object.


    "A��Mechanical Bat Sentry?!" Mora Liz said that sounded like a question.


    Right. It was a Mechanical Bat Sentry that usually could be found in heavily guarded establishments.


    But they noticed it wasn''t made of special metal, instead, it has the same color as those chakrams.


    They all gawked in disbelief.


    After seeing it, they realized what happened. Yman used himself as a decoy while leaving a sentry in the smoke.


    When Josie Finn and her beast''s attention was fully seized by him, the sentry fired and hit one of the beasts.


    "What a cunning move by Crimson!" Mora Liz shouted.


    Rea showed a smug and proud face.. Deep inside, she wanted to shout-- that''s my guard! But she had to stop herself from doing it.

 Chapter 345 - Unusual Calmness

    Josie Finn was about to heal her beast but stopped when she noticed a shadow of an object coming at high speed towards her. She leaped away without a delay. At that moment of leaping, she noticed a chakram passed by an inch away from her face.


    Wring!


    That caused a chill on her spine. If she was late by a second, her head would be flying by now.


    When her toe touched the white slab of the stage, she followed up with another leap backward to distance herself in haste. She understood Yman''s motive. He was preventing her from healing her beast. She shot a glare at him and saw his evil smile.


    "Tsk! What a villainous man," she mumbled. At that moment, a realization came into her mind. He wasn''t merely trying to prevent her from healing her beast, he was also using it as a hostage. ''Such a vile and cowardly tactic!'' Josie Finn thought.


    "Kai!"


    She called out to the other beast that responded to her with a roar, seemingly understanding her.


    GWAR!


    After a brief roar, It rushed towards the sentry without needing further instructions.


    Swoosh~


    The sentry fired beams at it. The hunter beast evaded those beams by leaping to the sides.


    "Ohh! Even with its size, the black hunter beast is unexpectedly agile!" Mora Liz commented.


    The cheers from the audience continued. While the beast was trying to cut its distance from the sentry, on the other hand, Josie Finn confronted Yman, who managed to close in on her.


    Ting! Ting! Ting!


    A series of impact rang in the air when Yman sent a combo of attack to Josie Finn.


    She received his attacks using her sword. Sparks, along with high-pitch tones, were flying every time their weapons clashed.


    Yman was using his black knuckle and gauntlet. He was attacking her with powerful punches.


    Josie Finn parried each of his attacks. Her pupils were steady, but she instinctively followed his attacks. Soon she groaned when one of the punches managed to land on her face.


    Ugh!


    She has been knocked away. Her figure rolled on the stage. But it wasn''t enough to defeat her. She stabbed the tip of her sword on the stage floor to kill her rolling momentum. Her action caused a long scratched mark on the stage.


    Ninety percent remained in her health points from that hit she received. That punch caused her to lose 10 percent.


    Thankfully, she managed to negate the damage by twisting her head a little. If not because of it, the damage would be higher for sure.


    She was found half-kneeling on the stage, breathing heavily, with her sword supporting her. Yet, she didn''t have time to rest as she noticed another chakram coming towards her.


    Josie Finn immediately went back on her feet and evaded the chakram.


    At that moment, there was a change in Josie Finn.


    Yman did not chase her and just stood, looking at her warily. He noticed something unusual in Josie Finn.


    Instead of distancing herself from him after coming back on her feet, she launches herself at him. This was an unexpected action coming from Josie Finn. Even Yman could not hide his surprise. It was also the reason he didn''t chase her as she was the one who was offering herself to approach him.


    "Yah! Yah! Yah! Heyaaa��!" After reaching him, she directly went on the offensive, sending combinations of sword strikes.


    He evaded and launched some counter at her. Sometimes he used his knuckle to block an attack. Yman was fortifying his knuckle and gauntlet to increase its endurance and toughness. If not because of this skill, he would surely have lost his arm by now.


    The audiences were watching in silence.


    While contestant Crimson and Miss Realist were engaging in a melee attack, another pair was engaged in their own battle as well.


    The black hunter beast was also dealing with the mechanical bat sentry.


    Since it wasn''t an immobile sentry, the hunter beast had it difficult. The black hunter beast confronted its beams by firing fireballs at it.


    Looking at the development of their confrontation, no one will get down anytime soon.


    Around this time, "Fufu. He''s pulling out surprises every next second, huh. And here I thought Miss Josie Finn would be dictating the match in the whole event. Who would have thought that he was hiding something in the smoke? Such a clever person��" she paused and glanced at the person on her right side. "Hey, what do you think will be the outcome of this match, Jam?"


    Jami, who just came back after a short rest in the infirmary, received such a question from Dianne.


    Since she was the person who had experience fighting against Josie Finn, Dianne found her a good target for that question.


    Jami had a faint smile. "Fina was clearly above Yman in range attacks, but Yman excelled in melee combat. His execution of underhanded tactics could be regarded as skillful��" she breathed out before opening her mouth again. "Truth be told, never did I imagine that Yman is so talented in that category. I salute him with that perk of him. But, although he did a good job in putting pressure on Fina, it wasn''t enough to defeat her. I think she didn''t use her real strength when she fought me."


    She was calling Josie Finn Fina.


    After saying it, the people around them suddenly burst into an exclamation.


    Woooh!


    Yman''s punch sent Josie Finn away. However, she blocked it with the flat side of her sword. Still, the power of his fist sent her skidding away. He did not follow up with another attack. Instead, he remained standing in his position with his fist still in the air.


    There was a strange calmness around her which brought uneasiness to Yman.


    In the next second, Josie Finn stood straight. Her left foot was behind her right. Then, she closed her eyes as she held her sword close to her. The tip of it was facing the sky while the hilt was pointing at the white slab floor of the stage. She was holding it with both hands.


    Then a moment later, mana exudes, enveloping her whole body, crawling towards the sword.


    There was also a change in the atmosphere. Yman noticed the pressure around him becoming heavier.


    "I-Is that what you mean, Jam?" Dianne once again asked while pointing at Josie Finn.


    "I don''t know. But perhaps it is," Jami replied.


    Maku was just silently listening to them.


    All of the onlooker''s eyes were on the stage as they waited for the development of the match.

 Chapter 346 - Is This A Checkmate?

    Quite a massive amount of mana was gathering on the sword, turning them into magical energies.


    He had no idea what she was doing, but he couldn''t just wait for her to complete what she was planning. He summoned a chakram on his palm, then fired it to Josie Finn. The chakram traverses the space between them in a split second.


    But he gawked at the result; that chakram had disappeared like smoke upon reaching her vicinity.


    Yman couldn''t hide his surprise. ''That fearsome chakram disappeared just like that?'' It was truly unbelievable.


    "Quite troublesome," he mumbled while squinting his eyes. He sent another chakram, but the result was still the same as the other one. "As expected, those energies are too much for my chakrams," he frowned and exercised his fingers which turned stiff.


    He couldn''t risk charging in without knowing what she was planning. He had a suspicion that she was planning a super-powerful offensive strike.


    Since he could not get careless, he decided to relax his breathing. At any rate, calming oneself was a weapon that could not betray one''s trust.


    All of the people around were astonished when the one-meter sword in Josie Finn''s hands grew tall.


    But on second look, it wasn''t the sword itself that grew tall. The gathering magical energies formed like an extension of it.


    Every onlooker exclaimed in excitement as they felt it wasn''t just a simple extension.


    "Look, everyone! The sword in Miss Realist''s hands transformed into a more overbearing one! It has a smooth and brilliant surface, and magical energies are swirling around it! Just looking at it, I can feel the overwhelming power of it!"


    Mora Lizz shouted in excitement.


    At first, Yman wondered whether she could lift it at ease, but he widened his eyes when he noticed it was coming in high-speed at him. He could only flee away from his location. His enemy swung the massive sword that is now five times longer than before, without difficulty!


    Bam!


    That attack caused a long and deep trench on the stage. Luckily, he reacted at the right time.


    Yet, before Yman could make an action against it, she was already aiming the sword at him. Another strike was coming!


    "Unbelievable!" Mora Lizz exclaimed.


    Bang!


    "Woah! That almost hit him. Good thing he leaped away at the right time," Mora Lizz continued narrating their match.


    But,


    "Wha-!?" Yman exclaimed with slightly widened eyes.


    Josie Finn was already on his tail. She hasn''t given him a chance to regain his ground.


    There was a mystical gleam in Mora Lizz''s eyes when she held the microphone close to her mouth.


    "This is an unexpected turn of events! Contestant Crimson was being overwhelmed without a chance to overturn the situation!" Her voice echoed from the two big speakers that were placed above the stage at the sides of the floating monitor.


    Yman continued escaping away from Josie Finn. And Josie Finn was relentlessly chasing after him. At any rate, he must avoid getting swallowed by her momentum.


    A high-pitched tone echoed from the two speakers which was followed by Mora Lizz''s chuckle.


    "Fufufu. How ironic. If before Crimson was trying to close their gap, now he''s distancing himself from Miss Realist," commented Mora Lizz.


    She was right. The current situation was exactly the opposite of a while ago.


    Hum!


    The humming sound reached his ears when the brilliant massive sword passed a centimeter away from his hair. He evaded the attack by ducking his head.


    "Fuh~!"


    A sigh of relief subconsciously departed from his mouth.


    But here comes another strike!


    He leaped backward. The sword passed below him, almost cutting off his legs.


    At that moment of leaping, he threw a chakram to delay her chase. But Josie Finn easily cut it. The chakram split in two and disappeared after getting sliced.


    Heh~


    She sneered at him. And then she kicked the floor. Her figure shot towards in an instance.


    He squinted his eyes. ''This is weird,'' he thought.


    Although her sword grew longer and bigger, she didn''t lose her speed. But instead, she became faster.


    Even Yman had difficulty in distancing himself from her. Perhaps the technique she was using wasn''t just powering up her weapon but also boosting his stats.


    A while ago, when she was still gathering her mana, he heard her whisper the word�� Release.


    He wondered what she meant by it. But after mentioning it, there was a massive increase in her power.


    He guessed it was some kind of sealing technique. Though, as he said, it was only his guess. He wasn''t sure about it. Only Josie Finn could tell and those who knew about it.


    The effect of it was still vague to him, but looking at her, it must be an all-around boost, not


    only to her weapon but also to her body.


    If only he knew that she was hiding this kind of trump card, he would try to copy it. But it is impossible now.


    Yman''s feet landed on the floor and skidded slightly. Without wasting time, he leaped to his right to dodge. The massive sword was swung vertically and sliced him in half. Fortunately, it was only his afterimage.


    ''An opening!'' He yelled inwardly. A raging fist came hastily towards her face. But that opening turned out as a trap.


    Guh!


    A kick on his gut sent him away. His vision turned blurry in that instance, and there was a noticeable loss in his health points.


    His body crashed and rolled on the ground, causing minor injuries at that moment.


    Now his health points have 73 percent left. That kick dealt a good amount of damage on him.


    Everyone has a different kind of expression. Some were surprised, some fell silent, and some were hype from it.


    Damn, he never thought to fall into such an obvious trap. He thought in regret.


    He was groaning in pain while trying to get up. But then, he noticed a shadow overcast him. It was coming from behind him. When he glanced behind, he saw a familiar figure.


    The black hunter beast! It was raising its front limb. Well, no need to guess what it''s gonna do next.


    Moreover, in front of him, Josie Finn was raising her massive sword to finish him.


    Is this a checkmate?


    Most of the onlookers thought so.

 Chapter 347 - The Reason He Lost

    The black hunter beast seems to have been able to defeat his bat sentry.


    "Now Crimson is in a dangerous situation. Is this the end of the match ?! " Mora Lizz''s voice echoed from the microphone she was holding.


    Josie Finn and her black hunter beast attack simultaneously to put an end to the fight. Everyone gasped at that moment. Almina and the other remaining contestants focused their attention on the ongoing match.


    "That''s what you got, fool ..." Kiko whispered while staring at the monitor. There was contempt that could be seen in his eyes.


    Almina just stared at the monitor with no visible change in her reaction. But in her heart, she wished that nothing bad would happen to Yman even if he lost the match. Suddenly, she realized something. ''Eh, wait, if Yman loses the match, I might have a chance to comfort him later, right?''


    ''That''s right!''


    Almina''s cheek blushed a little as she thought about it. But later, she sighed and shook her head slightly. She stared back at the monitor and suddenly whispered, "Fight, Yman," she preferred to see him win this match.


    While this is what runs through Almina''s mind, in the mind of most people watching the match is different. Most of them wished to see Crimson''s defeat. They want him to lose the match. Because if he happens to lose this match, it just means that they will have a big increase in what they can win in their bet because he has the highest stakes.


    Unfortunately, his defensive drones are also gone. So he has no way to defend himself against the opponent''s pincer attack. Even if he wants to summon drones again, he doesn''t have time to do so.


    But who says that''s all he has?


    Before their attack could hit him, Yman quickly pushed himself with his feet to slide his body towards the bottom of the black hunter beast. Because of it, he avoided being hit by Josie Finn''s attack. Only the floor of the stage was hit by her attack. Beads of white slab flew and scattered away when Josie Finn''s powerful attack hit the empty floor of the stage. The spectators hold their breath at that moment.


    But, Yman did not expect what the black hunter beast did. It did not continue its attack. Instead, it jumped slightly into the air. "Dammit!" Yman inadvertently cursed when he noticed this. He quickly released three defensive drones again when he saw what the hunter beast was planning to do. It looks like it intends to crush him with its big leg.


    Just as Yman expected, it stomped him hard. Fortunately, the drones'' defensive shield worked at the right time. However, it was still destroyed and still hit him. A powerful kick hit his stomach.


    The reduction in his health points that can be seen on the big monitor is noticeable. The spectators heard a loud moan at that time. The moan of course came from Yman.


    Fortunately, the strength of the beast''s stomp decreased when it hit the defensive shield. Somehow, the damage he sustained was also reduced. The stage floor behind Yman cracked, proof that the black hunter beast''s attack force was not trivial.


    Inside the monitor, it can be seen that the red bar has less than half the color of his life. Now, there is only 47 percent left. His life is less than the life left of his opponent.


    Although his life is only at 47 percent, it is still not enough to declare the fight over. Josie Finn needs to drain the remaining 47 percent of Yman''s life.


    Josie Finn''s mouth curled up when she saw the opponent''s situation. She did not waste the opportunity. She immediately followed the attack with another attack like a hungry monster. She is hungry, very hungry to win this battle.


    The black hunter beast raised one of its legs again to immediately follow the attack and finish Yman. Josie Finn, on the other hand, aimed her large sword at him.


    The spectators were excited to see the end of the match. Yman''s friends just shook their heads. They didn''t think Miss Josie Finn was so strong. In terms of strength, she can be compared to elite students. It looks like Yman will be defeated at this point.


    In one corner of the plaza, a half-human and a half-wolf, Klein, crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced at his fellow man next to him. "That weak man beat you?" He asked with mixed frustration.


    Jugo secretly clenched his fists. He also wanted to tell his comrade that he had no right to be disappointed with him because they were both defeated by the opponent who was from the lower class. However, Jugo thought it was useless if he kept up with him. So, the only thing he said was, "their fight isn''t over yet��"


    At that moment, they heard a strange sound, like the sound of wind leaking. In an instant, thick smoke enveloped the area where Yman and the black hunter beast were.


    The black hunter beast frowned. But it continued to attack. A loud thud rang out at that moment. Josie Finn, on the other hand, quickly jumped away from the smoke.


    Moments later, they noticed something spewing very fast from the smoke. It was noticeable that it hit the surface of the stage and slid quite a distance. The surface of the stage collapsed because of the impact of the collision and probably because of the size and weight of that object.


    Puwahahaha!


    A loud laugh grabbed Klein''s attention. Klein looked at the person next to him in shock.


    "Are you losing your mind?" He asked him.


    Even though the question was a bit insulting, it seemed like the person next to him just ignored it. Instead, he replied, "Now, open your eyes carefully, because now you will know why I lost to that person! " Jugo answered him.


    Klein''s eyes narrowed from what Jugo had said before returning his gaze to the stage.. But, as soon as he observed the object spewing from the smoke, he was startled and exclaimed, "What !? How did that happen !?" Klein exclaimed when he saw the large black hunter beast submerged on top of the stage.

 Chapter 348 - Scary Schemer

    The black hunter beast can be seen prone on the stage. After a while, the thick smoke that suddenly appeared gradually disappeared. That smoke was made by Yman himself. One of his new creations.


    The image of Yman can be seen standing upright where he had fallen before. But everyone noticed something strange. He was calm as if the fight was just about to begin.


    Most of the spectators looked with mixed surprise. They could see it from both of their eyes when he was beaten by the black hunter beast. But how could he stand up already as if nothing had happened?


    You could see the joy on Almina''s face when she saw that Yman was fine. Contrary to her, Kiko''s frown was noticeable. The blonde Maena was silently watching the fight. She was standing next to Almina. And not far from them, Rei-Rei and Sonia could be heard talking about the fight. Julie, on the other hand, was also quietly observing the match.


    They were all waiting for the fight to end. In a few moments, their turn will come soon.


    "What? He is already standing!?" Panic questions could be heard from the audience. Their frustration is also obvious based on the tone of their voice.


    As everyone can see, Yman was standing right on the spot where he was attacked by the black hunter beast. But no scratches or even any injuries could be seen on him. When they noticed this, it seemed as if some kind of magnet had moved their eyes to peek at the number of his life inside the floating monitor above.


    Unexpectedly the eyes of the viewers widened, even more, when they realized that his life was full!


    "How did that happen?"


    "What kind of phenomenon is this !?"


    "Impossible!"


    Individual reactions were heard from the spectators.


    The black hunter beast seems to have been thrown away because of Yman''s attack. But after a while, it rose again. When it got up, it shook itself slightly to get rid of any debris sticking to its furs. After shaking itself, it stared angrily at Yman as its sharp fangs glared.


    On the other side of Yman, Josie Finn''s shocked stare was noticeable. But it did not last long and she immediately calmed herself. She remembered her opponent had a self-healing ability. However, his self-healing ability is only a low tier of healing ability. It cannot heal anyone except himself. But, this does not mean that it can be underestimated. Somehow this ability is of great benefit to the person who owns it.


    Josie Finn also has a healing ability. But her healing ability only works for her summon beasts. It cannot heal herself or anyone else. The healing ability of the two is really the exact opposite of each other.


    Yman is currently in the middle of Josie Finn and the black hunter beast. They observe each other''s actions. Remarkable crimson color energy was coming out of Yman''s body.


    When they heard a sharp whistle, it seemed to signal another battle. The whistle was coming from Josie Finn. This seems to be a signal to her hunter beast to be motivated to attack the opponent.


    When the black hunter beast heard this, it quickly dashed to attack Yman.


    Yman could do nothing but face the black hunter beast. The black hunter beast aggressively attacks. It waved its sharp nails one after another.


    While her opponent is busy confronting her summoned beast, Josie Finn swiftly flees to approach her other summon, the white hunter beast.


    Swoosh ~


    But before she could get close to it she noticed a strange noise coming from behind her. Based on the sounds, they are like the sound of a propeller spinning rapidly.


    She quickly looked behind her and saw that three drones were following her. They came in the direction of her opponent. Her eyes narrowed at the sight. She also noticed that these drones have a different shape and design compared to the defensive drones her opponent summoned earlier.


    Defensive drones look like small flying discs, while the drones behind her resemble mini aircraft, with propellers visible on each side, as well as behind them.


    The spectators shouted when they saw them.


    "New drones!?!"


    Everyone''s eyes widened, as did Josie Finn''s when they suddenly fired beams. Compared to the beam fired by the bat sentry, the beams fired by these drones are smaller and look weaker.


    But no matter how weak the beams they fired, they were still dangerous if they hit her. That''s why Josie Finn didn''t hesitate to evade. She was almost too late to dodge, fortunately, she was able to block the flat side of her sword.


    When she noticed an opening, she immediately attacked them, but the drones quickly fled. They flew in different directions and easily avoided getting hit by her attack. After evading Josie Finn''s attack, they regrouped again and attacked her at once. The spectators were overjoyed as they watched the current match reach its climax. While Josie Finn was fighting the drones, the black hunter beast confronted Yman alone.


    However, if you compare the strength of the black hunter beast with the monsters that Yman has already fought, the black hunter beast is much weaker. So as a result, Yman had the upper hand in their duel. Add to that his healing ability that even if he was hit by an enemy attack, or injured, his life count only returns. The other contestants couldn''t help but feel anxious about Yman''s ability. If most people used to ridicule his self-healing ability, now they are worried.


    "Oh, my grace! That ability of his is scary," Jugo couldn''t help but comment.


    "But how did it happen that he was able to restore the number of his life in full? Shouldn''t he be able to heal only some percentage? " Klein''s question.


    "You''re right," Jugo agreed with him with a frown. He just noticed it.


    They were not the only ones who were confused about it. Almost all students or even instructors, or most of the spectators, were also confused. There was another reason why Yman''s healing ability was rated low because his healing ability could only heal a certain percentage. Not like high-tier healing abilities that can heal one hundred percent. Even the remaining contestants who are currently waiting for their fight to end are also confused as to how Yman was able to heal himself to such a degree.


    Before Josie Finn could defeat all the attacking drones, Yman already defeated the black hunter beast.


    So in the end, the two of them still faced each other. Due to fatigue and declining stamina, Josie Finn could do nothing at Yman''s speed as if he was not running out of stamina. It is inevitable for everyone to think that the former weak and lame trainee who was ridiculed by many is now the big obstacle that hinders their success in this competition. Yman was eventually declared the winner when a series of solid attacks hit Josie Finn and she could not fight back anymore. Her big sword did nothing to help her win.


    "It seemed like he was reserving his strength all along��" Elder Paan muttered.


    "And use them when the enemy is a little bit spent," Elder Natan followed.


    "What a scary schemer he was," said Elder Gatan, who was watching the match along with other elders.


    "Fufu. I know right."


    The two elders agreed with him.

 Chapter 349 - Two Beauties

    The medics lying on the side responded quickly to check the unconscious Josie Finn. After seeing that there was no serious injury, they quickly supported her and laid her on the stretcher. On the other hand, Yman returned to the Waiting Area, where the others were. Almina immediately greeted him with a sweet congratulation. Although a bit strained, he also heard Maena''s greeting. Kiko threw a sharp look at him, but Yman didn''t pay attention. The two Demihumans just stared at him with curious gazes.


    Inside the VIP room, Adam Praeter could not restrain himself from commenting. "That match was good. Even though the young man was superior to his opponent in terms of strength, this did not cause him to be overconfident. You can see that he was careful with his movements. It seems that everything that happened was orchestrated in his hands��" it was inevitable that he would feel goosebumps in that match. Even at this age he never thought he would be excited about his next match. That young man was simply too precious. His way of fighting was worth watching. There was a mysterious glint in his eyes as he thought, ''Let''s see how the Young Miss handles someone like him.''


    Sunday noticed the amazement from Adam Praeter''s face as he was muttering those lines. But before she could respond, their attention was caught by the announcement for the next fight. They turned their eyes back to the stage. The competition became even more exciting as it got closer and closer to the final. They are excited to see the next battles.


    The next fight is for Julie. But, her opponent is Kiko. Suddenly the area around the stage where the spectators were present became noisy again. They shouted the names of the two participants, but it was clear that Kiko had more supporters than her.


    Though, the number of supporters is not the basis for winning the match. It still depends on their strength and fighting skills to win the battle. The two stood in the middle of the stage while waiting for the signal to start the match. Seeing them, the audience became excited.


    "Looks like this fight is going to be great! I think Julie has a good chance of winning again! "


    "Yes. Based on the previous match, the chances of Julie winning are really high. Kiko only knows about attacks. He''s not thinking of a good plan to win. "


    "What are you talking about!?" An angry shout from someone around, who supported Kiko Sun.


    "Yeah. Besides, Kiko doesn''t need to think to win. Just one strong attack is enough to finish off all his opponents."


    "Exactly!"


    Kiko''s eyebrows rose as he glared at the would-be opponent. In his mind, ''Tsk! What kind of species is this one? It''s ugly, it looks like a gorilla. I never thought there would be such a person in this era. Maybe this one is a crossbreed of a Monkey and any kind of mammal.''


    "If you think you will win this fight with me, that is your biggest mistake. Don''t compare me to that useless dog you just faced. I''m not as stupid as that one!" Kiko suddenly said to Julie before their fight started.


    "The f*ck are you sayi''n!" From the spectator''s area, Klein shouted when he heard Kiko''s remark." A noticeable cross-shaped pulse was apparent on his face. However, neither Kiko nor Julie was paying attention to him.


    Julie''s eyes narrowed as she looked at Kiko without blinking. Julie didn''t even say a word about Kiko''s arrogance. She was calm as one could see.


    Soon their fight began. As usual, Julie used her unmatched defense against Kiko. Maybe because of his attitude, most of the spectators expect Kiko to compete with Julie through strength. But, this time, Kiko was unusually careful in the fight. He rained flames on her while keeping his distance. Soon, Kiko''s advantage was noticeable.


    Julie defended herself. But, her resilience did not last long. Her magic defense wasn''t as high as her physical defense. And Kiko''s fire attack was truly splendid. Julie showed a good performance. But still, the match ended faster than the match between Yman and Josie Finn.


    Kiko''s adjustment to his fight was impressive. Many admired him in this fight. As a result, he received loud applause from most of the spectators.


    Julie lost the fight. It was an overwhelming performance by Kiko. He was displaying his unstoppable dominance. Given Kiko''s overwhelming win, it has become increasingly difficult to predict who will become the champion.


    "Who said my Idol Kiko only has pure power, huh!?" A grumpy fan of Kiko suddenly shouted.


    "Yes! Who said that!? Don''t be shy. Fight your fighter with our fighter to become Crispy Pata just like that gorilla! HAHAHA!"


    As the stage was being prepared for the next match, the spectators became heated.


    "Your next!" Kiko said as he threw a glare at Yman after he returned to the Waiting Area. Yman briefly smiled. "You''re welcome to try," he muttered a reply. The two stared at each other for a moment before Kiko continued to stand on the side of the room.


    "Why is Kiko Sun''s treatment of you so bitter?" Almina asked. Yman shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea of that person''s issue with him.


    During this time, they heard the announcement for the next match. Seeing their names on the monitor, Maena and Sonya stared at each other. Moments later, Sonya suddenly smiled. "Let''s have a good fight," Sonya told her. Maena simply lowered her gaze in response and didn''t say a word.


    "I know you can do it." When Maena heard it from Almina, her only response was, "Humph!" She glanced at the man next to Almina for a moment. When Yman noticed this, he gave her a slight nod in response.


    Maena and Sonya walked up to the stage together. When the two stood on stage, teasing whistles rained down from the male spectators. While waiting for the signal of the fight, a smile can be seen on Sonya''s lips.. Maena, on the other hand, is calm.

 Chapter 350 - Dexterity, Agility, And Powerful Attacks

    When the two heard the go signal they stepped together. Maena immediately fired arrows with her trusted weapon. Five arrows flew quickly towards Sonya''s whereabouts. On the other hand, vortices appeared in the air as Sonya waved the one-meter-and-a-half stick she was holding. The position of the vortices is in the very path of the arrows.


    Thus, when the arrows hit the vortices, the arrows disappeared like bubbles. The vortices also disappeared along with the arrows. But, the next moment, the vortices reappeared in the air, slightly above where Maena was.


    The vortices!


    Maena''s mind screamed when she noticed it above her vision. Her eyes narrowed and her plan to follow up her attack was forgotten. Her sense of danger rang when she saw them. She immediately jumped into the air. It was an acrobatic move. Her body spun in the air. Right after Maena jumped away, something came out of those vortices.


    When she glanced at the objects spewed out by the vortices her eyes widened a little. The arrows?! Her suspicion was correct. The arrows eaten by the vortices came out of those vortices. This was the exact technique that made Sonya''s opponents miserable.


    Maena used her hand to support her body while holding the arrow in her other hand. She did another quick tumbling to dodge those arrows. Five arrows pierced the surface of the stage in a row. It was good that she was quick to react. If not, those arrows will surely be buried in her body.


    As her body rotated in the air, Maena fired arrows again. Three consecutive arrows flew in Sonya''s direction.


    Swoosh ~


    Sonya responded quickly. She made vortex traps again to catch the arrows again. As before, vortices appeared in the path of the arrows. But, instead of eating the arrows, the unexpected happens. The vortices are the ones disappearing!


    Maena sneered at Sonya when she landed gracefully on her feet.


    Sonya noticed that these arrows were different than before. They are covered in the ice attribute!


    Sonya''s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected attack. She did not expect that even in such a situation Maena was quick to think of a countermeasure to her attack. Sonya''s feet lit up and she suddenly disappeared from her stand.


    It was like teleporting but that''s not what really happened. She just increased her speed using the wind attribute to get away quickly. She decided to avoid them. The arrows fired by Maena sank into the surface of the stage.


    The two stopped the attack for a moment and stared at each other. In the first second of the match, they immediately witnessed intense action. The spectators seemed petrified at that moment before the screams rang out.


    OOOOHHH!


    "Very exciting!"


    "That''s the action! Action immediately, no more shyness! "


    "I love you both!"


    The spectators shouted because of the intensity of the fight in the first few seconds.


    "Gosh, I''m the one who is nervous in their match," Dianne couldn''t help but wipe the bead of sweat off her forehead.


    "R-Right. Miss Maena is good�� and Miss Sonya is good too. T-they are both good," Maku stammered.


    Jami just nodded without removing the focus of her eyes from the stage. The beginning of their fight was really very intense. The two immediately demonstrated dexterity, agility, and speed of mind. They really deserve to belong to the elite class.


    After a second of staring, the two acted together again. Sonya quickly rotated the stick she was holding before pointing it at Maena. Wind Blades appeared around her and they flew towards the arrows Maena fired.


    The arrows and the Wind Blades collided and they both disappeared. In this case, the result looks fair. Both the arrows and the vortices disappeared. It seems Sonya also boosted her vortices so that they don''t disappear in case Maena''s arrow with the ice attribute hit them.


    Their exchange of attacks continued before the two decided to take the fight seriously. The two used Advanced resonance at the same time. Now their fight has become even more intense. They unleashed stronger magical attacks.


    Maena fired a large arrow with an ice attribute to finish off her opponent. But when Sonya saw it, she also immediately cast a large Wind Spear into the air to counter it. Their actions are quick as well the delivery of their attacks, both are at a different level compared to others. These two seem to be accustomed to this kind of battle.


    A loud explosion occurred when they collided. While it seemed to be hailing on the stage due to the explosion of a big Ice Arrow and a big Wind Spear, the two fighters didn''t seem to care about what happened. Their fight continued as if there was no end.


    Both are trained in distance fighting. So they don''t have to cut their distance to beat their opponent. It just depends on the two of them who are lucky enough to land a solid hit.


    Maena jumped to her right and left her position. After she did this, there appeared a large vortex under her feet where she was standing a moment ago.


    Again, the two unleashed powerful combinations of attacks. All the spectators held their breath without blinking their eyes. Even the two fighting on stage were holding their breaths. Just a slight delay of their movement is possible to cause their defeat.


    As the fight went on, Sonya''s advantage in the fight came to light. The tired look on Maena''s face was noticeable. After unleashing intense attacks, she seems to be running out of mana. Sonya obviously has more mana compared to her. Being a demihuman is a big help for her because those like them are gifted with a lot of mana compared to humans.


    Maena''s attack became less and less. She was very tired and was just conserving her energy. Sonya, on the other hand, continued raining attacks on her. Until it got to the point that Maena had nowhere to run. She was surrounded by vortices!


    "Hehe, it''s time to give up. You did well, but�� no matter what you did�� you''re no match against me," Sonya''s voice resounded.


    A bead of sweat fell from Maena''s face.

 Chapter 351 - Super Tier Elemental Spell

    "Hah~! I thought she was strong, but. I am wrong. It seems that the standard of trainees in this area is really low," Rei-Rei said in a tone of frustration. She deliberately raised her voice a little to reach Almina. Based on what she said, there was no doubt that she meant it to Maena.


    "....."


    Even Yman heard it too. He secretly glanced at Almina. However, she didn''t even react to what Rei-Rei said. Her eyes were still focused on the large monitor.


    For Yman, Maena is not weak. In fact, she was strong. It''s just, Sonya really has more Mana compared to her. In the battle where their strength was equal, it will depend on their mana reserve. So in the end, the one with the higher mana has the upper hand. Especially if one does nothing to reverse the situation.


    So if this continues, there is no doubt that Sonya will win. Maena''s fight was also impressive. It''s just that her situation is dangerous. She''s on the edge in this battle. In addition, if Maena does nothing to reverse the situation, it will be the end of their fight and Sonya will definitely win.


    Yman glanced again at the girl next to him. But, he didn''t see any concern on Almina''s face. Maybe she just doesn''t really care about others'' matches. But, it doesn''t seem like that on her face. He noticed something on Almina''s face that seemed to be eager to witness something. So it must be the reason why her attention was so focused on the monitor.


    Yman''s eyes narrowed and curiously returned his gaze to the monitor. He saw Sonya''s closeup face. She has a gentle face, in fairness. Her lips slowly curved upwards.


    The next moment, a loud voice rang out. "Hahaha!" Sonya suddenly laughed out loud and lost her gentle face a while ago. "What now!?" She asked with a shout. "Is that all you can do, ha!!?" She said while at the same time pointing the staff she was holding in Maena''s direction.


    Maena, on the other hand, remained silent as she bit her lip.


    When Sonya didn''t get an answer from her opponent, she frowned. "Then I''ll finish you off." Sonya''s tone suddenly became cold. It looks like this is the end of Sonya and Maena''s fight.


    The end of Sonya''s staff lit up where the round crystal could be seen. At the same time, there was bubbling air around Sonya. The air pressure was increasing based on what they saw. Gradually, it took shape like a whirlwind. Then, it soon became a complete whirlwind.


    Sonya was in the middle of the whirlwind, but, based on what they saw, she didn''t seem to be affected by the wind and its pressure. Around the whirlwind, the cracked grains of the stage hovered in the air.


    Scattered grains of ice on the surface are also mixed with it. These ices are from Maena''s attack that exploded when their attacks collided. They were powdered and scattered around. They looked like smoke when Sonya''s whirlwind blew them away.


    Large cracks of the stage also flew. But when they touched a tentacle of that wind it suddenly split as if struck by a sharp blade. In a few moments, it was also powdered.


    What�� !! The audience cried out in their minds.


    Everyone noticed the gradual darkening of the surroundings. Everyone looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was covered with thick black clouds. Lightning can also be seen drawing on those clouds.


    The people watching were just amazed. Even those in the VIP room could hardly believe it. Even Yman and the others inside the Waiting Area widened their eyes as their mouths opened wide.


    But the reason why Yman was surprised was different. The spell used by Sonya is without a doubt a high type of elemental spell. But�� Can her body handle the necessary mana for this spell?! Yman had already witnessed the usage of mana that was higher than the caster''s body could handle. The result was disability. That''s right. What he was referring to was what happened to his sister.


    But, Yman suddenly thought. ''Maybe Sonya will be fine because of the resonance.'' He also knew that the fight would be stopped if it became dangerous.


    Inside the room where the three elders were watching,


    "Ooh ~" Elder Nathan muttered slightly at what he saw while brushing his long white beard. The expression on his face was the expression of the person amazed at what he saw. "A super tier spell! Haha! Great! " he said in a satisfied tone.


    Elder Gatan''s expression was contrary to his. He didn''t seem happy with what was happening. "Is it okay for us to continue this fight? If this continues, it can cause a serious illness that is difficult to cure," he said in a tone of concern. "They are just new to the first Path of their evolution. So the Mana outputs they have in the body are not very strong yet. There is a high probability that they will explode and cause their disability. Even modern Magitech cannot help it," Elder Gatan stated his concern.


    But, Elder Nathan was quiet and obviously pleased with what he saw. Elder Paan, on the other hand, was quietly sipping coffee. But soon, she opened her mouth.


    "Elder Gatan is right. And she can also lose control and cause a tragedy," Elder Paan said suddenly. But, before she could finish her speech she added, "but��" she said. "I trust that girl," Elder Paan ended her speech with that.


    Suddenly the two elders looked at her. They seemed to know who she was referring to.


    This time, everyone felt the slight movement of the ground. The ground seems to be affected as well. The super-tier spell is really on another level.


    Soon Sonya threw her strong whirlwind. It was fast heading in Maena''s direction.


    From the high floor, there was a beauty who was currently watching the match. This person is none other than the famous Ace of Zone 7 Academy, Ice. Her calm face could be seen. For a moment, her lips curved upward and she whispered in the air, "Now, my sister. Show them what you learned��"


    After saying this, the dark surroundings and the dark sky suddenly turned white.

 Chapter 352 - Amazing Technique

    The temperature suddenly dropped. And everyone felt cold. It''s been a bit windy lately. And it seemed to rain. But why did the dark clouds suddenly disappear from the sky and turn white? "Huh? What happened?" Question of a confused spectator.


    "Wait, what are those flying white things that mix with the whirlwind? Are they snows?" Another person asked.


    Everyone is confused by the incident. But even before their questions could be answered they heard a shout from another spectator. "Look!" They immediately turned their gaze to where the person was pointing.


    Everyone saw that Maena was surrounded by blue energy. As if they were dancing around her. They also noticed that her eyes were closed and her breathing was calm.


    "Impossible!" Rei-Rei said in disbelief as she knitted her brows. A while ago, the blonde seems to be falling into exhaustion due to fatigue and mana exhaustion. But, why is she now surrounded by mana?! Rei-Rei''s question in her mind.


    Yman glanced at the person next to him and noticed that Almina''s lips curved upwards. ''Maybe this is the reason why she has been quiet until now,'' he guessed.


    "Secret weapon?" Yman whispered to himself after returning his gaze to the monitor. But it did not escape Almina''s hearing.


    "It''s called the Perfect Breathing Technique."


    Yman didn''t expect Almina''s answer. So he looked at her again when he heard her speak. Inevitably, their eyes met.


    "Perfect breathing technique?" He repeated in a questioning tone. First time he heard it.


    "Yes��" Almina nodded and she started to explain to Yman about this technique.


    Yman finds out that Almina''s brother originally invented this technique. Then Miss Ice imitated it and she also taught it to Maena and Almina.


    The Perfect Breathing Technique is a type of technique in which the caster absorbs the mana from their environment to replenish the mana in their bodies. The mana they can use depends on the amount of mana around them. In addition, it also eliminates body fatigue. In other words, anyone who uses the technique is given the opportunity to relieve tired feelings and restore physical, mental, and magical strength. Yman couldn''t help but be amazed by this technique.


    After hearing Almina''s explanation, Yman suddenly realized something. ''Maybe the reason why Miss Ice lasted three months fighting inside the Underground Channel against the demon was maybe because of the Perfect Breathing Technique. This ability is truly a huge benefit.''


    As Almina said, the tiredness that was obvious on Maena''s face was gone. Now she looks like when their fight was just beginning.


    Although Sonya was also shocked by what was happening, it did not deter her from continuing her attack.


    "Whatever kind of surprise you have prepared to turn the tide, it''s too late!" Sonya shouted, at the same time, releasing the mana in her body.


    The whirlwind that was fast approaching Maena grew stronger and bigger. The tiles over the stage crumbled. They flew and mixed in the whirlwind. Whoever is hit by it will definitely have only one fate. That is definitely death. But, before the destructive whirlwind could reach Maena, she suddenly opened her eyes again. Her pair of blue pupils glistened. After she opened her eyes, the snow flew even more on the stage which immediately mixed with the destructive whirlwind.


    Where did those snows come from? Everyone''s question. They also noticed that the surface of the stage around Maena was gradually covered in snow.


    "Look! Sonya''s whirlwind turned white because of the snow! But! Can this be avoided ?!" Mora Lizz asked. Her voice was mixed with anxiety.


    But, at this point, Sonya noticed something. Her eyes widened. "What?!" She asked in a tone of surprise.


    Sonya looked at the staff she was holding, it was still glowing at the end. Then, she focused the end of it again on the raging whirlwind. But, there seemed to be question marks appearing on Sonya''s head.


    "Why can''t I seem to control my whirlwind?" Sonya asked herself confused.


    Everyone seemed to notice Sonya''s confusion. ''What could have happened? Why does Miss Sonya seem confused?'' Although this was on most people''s minds, no one was able to ask because they also noticed the unexpected cessation of the destructive whirlwind in the middle of the stage. In the ensuing seconds, they noticed that it slowly crawled back in the direction of�� Sonya?!


    What!!


    The spectator''s jaws almost dropped when they noticed it. An old man did not notice when his dentures fell and landed on the shoulder of the person sitting in front of him.


    "What happened?!" Sonya cried as her eyes widened. Her whirlwind was heading in her direction. Sonya bit her teeth hard as she tried to regain control of it.


    "What did you do!?" She shouted a question to the opponent.


    There was no change in Maena''s facial expression. But this time, she answered Sonya.


    "You are too self-conscious. You don''t know that the world is big and mysterious. "


    ''I''ve also been very self-conscious once. I thought no one could beat me in my batch. Until I got to the point where I met that girl. That''s when I found out my big mistake. Then it was added at the time that I was almost doomed to the low-ranking monster. And the person who saved me was none other than the weakest of all��'' Since then, Maena has realized her mistake.


    Maena slowly moved both hands in the direction of the whirlwind that was slowly advancing towards Sonya''s direction. Moments later, mana surrounded her hands.


    "Blizzard!" She whispered.


    After saying it, the whirlwind has become a complete blizzard. And it was much powerful.


    "What are you saying!? It can''t be!" Sonya screamed angrily as she tried to stop the very powerful blizzard that was now in front of her.


    Aaaaaaah!!!


    She cried out very loudly as if intending to break their eardrums. But, soon she was swallowed whole by it.


    Everyone was silent before the loud buzzer was heard. Mora Lizz has also started announcing. But, her satisfaction with this good fight could not be hidden.


    "This is one of the best fights I''ve ever witnessed in this competition! Friends, let''s give our two contestants a round of applause!"


    Suddenly, loud applause erupted after hearing what the cute announcer said.

 Chapter 353 - The Last Pair

    Maena and Sonya had a good fight. But, in the end, only one of them wins. Everyone noticed the magnitude of the damage of the stage and the invisible shield surrounding it. So there was a few minute breaks to fix them.


    After a more than ten-minute break, "Thank you so much for waiting everyone!" The bored viewers were suddenly aroused when they heard the cute voice of the famous announcer Miss Mora Liz.


    Toinnnng!


    "Now we can continue the fight of the last remaining pair!"


    WOOOOOOOHHH !!!


    The spectators shouted. Even stronger than the previous battles. Everyone looks so excited to witness the next match.


    As Almina and Rei-Rei stepped on the stage, the screams of the spectators became even louder, like a volcano that suddenly erupted.


    WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH !!!


    At the same time, is the repeated calling of the name of Almina and Rei-Rei. Yman''s mouth opened at the viewers'' unexpected warm greeting to the last two pairs.


    The two walked towards the middle of the stage to face each other. Almina held her two elemental swords in her hand. While in Rei-Rei''s hands, she was also holding two weapons. A pair of daggers were in her hands. There was also noticeable purple light that seemed to creep into her daggers. Yman also noticed the round crystal at the end of the handle of the daggers. They are also purple. He wondered about those crystals. ''Perhaps, they were just for decoration,'' He thought.


    When they reached the middle of the stage, their fighting spirit was obvious. Rei-Rei''s eyes narrowed as she stared at Almina. She didn''t expect Sonya to lose against the blondy. Throughout the fight of the two, it was obvious that Sonya was the one who was dictating the fight. ''But why is the result of the match like that ?! Tsk!'' Rei-Rei couldn''t help herself and just pressed her tongue between her teeth.


    Rei-Rei suddenly aimed one of the two daggers in Almina''s direction. When Almina saw this, her eyes narrowed slightly. She also noticed Rei-Rei''s mouth opening. Almina calmly waited for what Rei-Rei would say. "I''ll make sure you lose this match!" An open declaration from Rei-Rei.


    Almina just sighed when she heard this. And she couldn''t help herself from commenting on what Rei-Rei had said. "Those words are so much of a cliche! Is that the only thing you want to say?" Almina shrugged her shoulders as she said this.


    Rei-Rei''s cheeks flushed with obvious anger at Almina''s reaction. "Humph! Just make sure you don''t cry after the fight! "


    "..."


    Honestly, Almina felt like crying and laughing from Rei-Rei''s reactions. It''s good that she has high self-control. If not, she would probably be guffawing at this instance. Almina just sighed.


    "Let''s just do our best in this match." Almina just replied calmly. She knew that Rei-Rei was not an easy opponent. She was strong. And she respects the strength of whoever she faces. It would be better for her to just focus her full attention on the coming fight.


    Soon, the two heard the signal for them to start the fight. Suddenly the spectators fell silent.


    At the same time, the two disappeared from their position. The next moment, everyone heard a clash of weapons.


    Ting!


    But, because their movements are so fast, it is difficult for the spectators to follow them.


    Ting! Ting! Ting!


    Consecutive collisions occurred. But only the tone of their clashing weapons could be heard by the spectators.


    "Wha��?! How��!? "


    Almina''s eyes widened slightly in shock. She didn''t think Rei-Rei could keep up with her speed.


    Rei-Rei''s mouth curved upwards as her white teeth peeked out.


    "Surprised?" Rei-Rie shouted. "Get ready Amulet because I have many more surprises ready for you!" She added. After saying this, Rei-Rei attacks again.


    "Bring it on," Almina replied briefly before she met Rei-Rei''s attacks.


    Yman was also surprised by what he saw. He didn''t think Rei-Rei was this fast. He remembered her past fights. All her opponents were defeated by powerful destructive spells. She even had a fight where she used a staff like a weapon Sonya used.


    ''Hm, it looks like she''s capable of using different types of weapons,'' Yman thought. ''Could it be that she''s an all-rounder?!'' His eyes narrowed as he guessed.


    Yman''s forehead furrowed when he tried to follow their movements. At that moment, he noticed something from Rei-Rei.


    ''I see. So, that''s the reason,'' he whispered to himself as he glanced at Rei-Rei''s feet. That seems to be shining. ''She seems to be using a strange ability that can increase her agility. '' Yman suddenly remembered something. ''Miss Sonya also used such an ability. But, in her situation, what she used was the element of air. And in Rei-Rei''s situation, she used a different ability. However, if she can match Almina''s speed, there is no doubt that it is a high level of ability!"


    Of all the participants, there was no doubt that Almina was the fastest. Even Yman would have a hard time matching her if he only relied on his agility. However, in the current fight, Rei-Rei seems to have proved that Yman was wrong.


    The two fighters met in the middle of the stage as their weapons crossed. The high-pitched sound of metal rang out again and again. With their strength, each one tries to push each other.


    The spectators seemed to hold their breath and stiffen their fists and jaws as if they were the ones fighting at these times. When Almina and Rei-Rei noticed that their strength was just equal, the two simultaneously separated by jumping on their backs. Again, the two stared at each other in the middle of the stage. They are only fifteen meters away from each other.


    There was a slight delay before the audience erupted into a loud cheer.


    WOOOOOOOHHH!!!


    The two stared into each other''s eyes before their figure disappeared once again.


    Their weapons collided and they exchanged positions. After the collision, they jumped away at the same time. Now Almina was standing where Rei-Rei had been standing a second ago. The same thing happened to Rei-Rei. She has been standing in Almina''s position lately.


    It''s only been a few seconds but they have already released many strikes. Though, none of them took damage yet. It was as if they were first measuring the strength of the opponent.


    At that moment, Almina raised the ice elemental sword in her left hand. The next thing that happened, she slammed down the sword. Suddenly a large part of the stage surface turned to ice. It reached as far as Rei-Rei''s position. Because of this, Rei-Rei had to jump away.


    She gnashed her teeth as she stared at Almina.

 Chapter 354 - Surprise!

    After the ice covered a large part of the stage, Almina immediately struck again with her sword with the ice element. But at this point, it was in Rei-Rei''s direction that she struck it. When Rei-Rei saw the flying Ice Javelins in her direction, her eyes narrowed.


    The technique Rei-Rei used on her feet was a kind of ability that increased her speed and reaction speed. But it was useless when her footsteps were slippery, especially since she wasn''t used to fighting on this platform. If she was not careful it might lead to her defeat. Especially since she moves fast. It was hard to balance her body in this regard. And she was prone to slipping if she made a mistake to gauge her motion.


    However, before the sharp javelins hit her, she wasted no time and immediately retreated. She noticed she could not advance because of the icy stage. The sharp ends of the Ice Javelins sink into the surface of the stage where they hit. Fortunately, she was able to dodge them.


    Almina also wasted no time and fired Ice Javelins again to corner the opponent. One of the javelins almost hit Rei-Rei''s head. Luckily, she was able to twist her head a little. But still, red liquid flowed from the shallow wound on her cheek, though it turned to light particles a second later. It looks like one of then managed to graze her cheek a little. She failed to dodge them all.


    From the floating monitor above them could be seen a slight reduction in her health bar. "You!" Rei-Rei scolded Almina.


    But Almina ignored her and she fired another batch of Ice Javelins. "Tsk!" Rei-Rei clicked her tongue while avoiding the flying Ice Javelins. She disliked the expression on Almina''s face as if she was underestimating her. Did this woman think she could beat her? Never! Rei-Rei bellowed inwardly.


    Rei-Rei retreated again to dodge the Ice Javelins. However, Almina did not leave her alone. She fired Ice Javelins again. On top of that, everyone noticed that every time the Ice Javelins hit the surface of the stage it also turned to ice the area around the javelins. So the space that Rei-Rei could move was getting smaller. Soon her situation became even worse because she had nowhere to escape. She found herself at the very edge of the stage from her successive retreats.


    "Friends! Miss Rei-Rei has nowhere to run! Miss Almina is truly very strong! Is this the end of their match?!" Miss Mora Lizz shouted as she asked the audience, who couldn''t hide the mixed expressions on their faces.


    Suddenly, the comments of the spectators rang out. Most of them are in favor of Almina. That''s only natural because she was one of the most popular female students in the academy of Human City Zone 7. And most of the viewers are from the academy.


    Regardless, her being able to defeat a higher-level opponent wasn''t just a baseless heresy. Principal Kim thought as he was watching the match. Almina was truly cut above her peers. She was more suited to the Zone 1 academy. It was Principal Kim''s honest thought.


    Although Rei-Rei was also famous, she was not as popular as Almina. Not only that, Almina has more friends too compared to her. So, it''s no wonder that most viewers were shouting Almina''s names.


    Miss Almina!


    Cool Princess!


    Black Princess!


    The expression on Rei-Rei''s face became even more bitter when she heard the noise from the spectators.


    Out of a sudden,


    Hehe!


    Rei-Rei suddenly laughed.


    "If you think you can beat me with your repeated attacks, that''s where you''re wrong!" As she rebuked it, the gleam returned to Rei-Rei''s eyes. This time, the expression on her face suddenly became serious.


    Everyone heard it and the famous commentator shouted. "Woooh! Friends! A spicy declaration was made by Miss Rei-Rei to Miss Almina. It looks like the Encan girl has no intention of giving up! " Mora Liz shouted. Suddenly the spectators screamed when they heard this.


    "Fight!"


    "Miss Almina! Defeat her! Beat her!"


    "Good luck, Miss Rei-Rei!"


    The shouts from the audience reverberated. Rei-Rei''s declaration did not provoke Almina. She remained calm as she raised her ice elemental sword. She would end her opponent based on her plan. After raising her sword once again, multiple Ice Javelins appeared around it.


    Almina has not even moved from her position since she used Ice Javelin ability. "You''re done!" Almina announced as she swung her sword in the direction of the opponent. Ice Javelins flew hastily towards Rei-Rei. If you look closely, it is true that Rei-Rei has no way to escape. Soon a strong impact was heard by everyone.


    Suddenly, everyone fell silent and they just focused their sight on where the explosion happened. White dust emerged from the crushed ice. At that moment, not everyone immediately noticed what had happened to Rei-Rei who had received the attack. However, most were surprised because the explosion seemed to have happened just above Rei-Rei and not right at her position. As most have noticed, the explosion occurred in the air before they hit their target. Beads of Ice Javelins spewed around. The surroundings became white for a few seconds before it cleared again.


    The first thing everyone noticed when the surroundings became clear again, was that Rei-Rei was standing right where she was. There was no visible scar on her body or even any indication of injuries.


    "I know it! She was not hit! " Dianne suddenly cried out in a tone of regret.


    But, aside from being safe from Almina''s attack, Jami also noticed something else. "Look! Her weapon is no longer the daggers!" Jami pointed.


    "S-Staff?" Surprised, Dianne and Maku spoke at the same time.


    As they noticed, the weapon Rei-Rei currently held was no longer the daggers. She replaced it with staff. Same as the weapon Sonya used. Just the design is different.


    Even Almina widened her eyes slightly. She didn''t expect what Rei-Rei did. She suddenly changed weapons before being hit by the Ice Javelins. After changing her weapon, she greeted Almina''s Ice Javelins with the power of fire molded into a ball shape. There was no doubt that those were fireballs.


    Noticing her opponent''s surprised expression, Rei-Rei grinned before saying, "I told you, I have many surprises prepared for you."

 Chapter 355 - Different Race

    Yman watched closely as Almina and Rei-Rei fought seriously. The two show their ability to beat each other.


    After Rei-Rei changed her weapon, the Ice Javelins that Almina was throwing are no longer an obstacle to her. All of that was caught by her Fireballs.


    This time, from being an assassin her profession changed to mage. It''s not easy to be an all-rounder because it is hard to master each profession. But it didn''t seem to drag her. She was still able to keep up and put Almina in a precarious situation and reduce her health points. Rei-Rei''s talent is undeniable.


    Rei-Rei unleashed a powerful flame attack. Although Almina was able to escape, the flame successfully melted the ice on the stage surface. As a result, the obstacle that hindered her movement had disappeared. Now she can move smoothly again.


    She grinned and the gleam returned to her eyes. "Get ready for your defeat Almina Amu��!"


    Even before she finished what she was going to say, Almina immediately unleashed a powerful attack made of fire and ice. "Tsk! How rude! Let me finish what I am going to say!" Rei-Rei protested as she quickly struck the weapon horizontally to counter Almina''s attack. A very hot Flame Wave caught Almina''s fire and ice.


    Almina didn''t know that Rei-Rei was a bit talkative in the fight. "I''m sorry but I have no intention of gossiping while fighting!" She replied. All she wanted was to win the battle.


    Rei-Rei frowned. ''What is this woman saying? Who told us to gossip?'' She exclaimed in her mind.


    "Dear Almina, we''re not friends! Kyaaah! Ugh��!"


    There was a deafening explosion in the air where their attacks collided. Smoke covered the area and it looked like a volcano had erupted. But, at that moment, Rei-Rei backed away and sprang slightly due to the pressure brought on by the explosion. The health points seen in her health bar were also slightly reduced.


    Now Almina''s life number is a little more than hers. Almina didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at what Rei-Rei was saying. Even before Rei-Rei could regain her balance, Almina wasted no time and immediately rushed to attack again.


    From the corner of her eyes, Rei-Rei noticed her. To counter her, Rei-Rei immediately attacked her even though she was still in an awkward situation. "You will not succeed!" Rei-Rei shouted while releasing the fireballs. But, Almina''s action was agile and she easily avoided the opponent''s attacks with her Successive Rapid Leap. Her figure disappeared in an instance like a mirage.


    In a blink of an eye, Almina arrived in front of Rei-Rei. Rei-Rei''s eyes widened as Almina slammed down one of her weapons to finish off her. However, everyone heard a loud, sharp sound that sounded like colliding irons.


    "What?!" Almina asked in shock when she saw the large object made of steel and currently blocking Rei-Rei''s body.


    A round shield blocked Almina''s attack. "Hehe. I told you that I have many surprises prepared for you so don''t be surprised!"


    Shing!


    Rei-Rei suddenly attacked. But, even before her revenge hit could reach her, Almina already jumped away from her. Only the wind was hit by Rei-Rei''s sword. Rei-Rei held a metallic shield and sword in her hands.


    After successfully avoiding her enemy''s attack, Almina did not hesitate to attack again. Rei-Rei wasn''t scared either and greeted her head on. The two met in the middle of the stage and a series of crisp crashes were heard by everyone when their weapons rapidly clashed.


    Ting, ting, ting!


    Almina''s weapons danced in the air as she quickly struck the opponent with the flaming and icy weapons. They look very nice while drawing in the air and leaving shiny marks.


    Using a round shield and a one-handed sword, Rei-Rei was not afraid to confront her.


    Rei-Rei''s movement is polished while Almina''s movement is very agile. Her every move was hard to follow. Even those like her on the False Path stage find it difficult to follow her actions. As a result, during their fight, Rei-Rei gradually retreated to defend herself.


    "Wooh! This is the real battle! " Vortex exclaimed excitedly. "Miss Almina''s speed is truly impressive," exclaimed Ultima. The two men said their comments about the match.


    Due to the pressure of their attack the stage slabs swelled and flew away. There was no stopping and the two just kept on exchanging attacks. Yman was just silently watching their fight. Everyone noticed the invisible shield vibrating and reappearing. It seemed to crumble, however, the two stop and use advanced resonance at the same time before it happens.


    It looks like they intend to end the fight. Suddenly, their forms changed. Rei-Rei''s image looked like a wood spirit when she used her advanced resonance. Her hair has grown longer and is now silky green. Her armor changed as well. It already has a unique wooden-like design. On her head, there is also a strange crown coiled. Two pairs of wings grew on her back that resembled large and thin types of leaves.


    Almina, on the other hand, turned her clothes black. A one-piece dress overlaid with shiny black armor from her feet to her head. And on her back, there is a pair of large wings that resemble butterfly wings. The two clashed again. But this time it happened in the air.


    "The help that advanced resonance brings is really huge," Yman whispered to himself as he watched the fight between the two. His voice was mixed with envy.


    Only a handful of students can use it. Not everyone has the ability to learn it. Yman noticed strange auras surrounding their body when they activated their advanced resonance.


    They collided again. All the spectators looked up. At this point, it is difficult to say who is at a disadvantage and who is at a disadvantage. They seemed to be equal. And each one of them equally had an advantage and disadvantage.


    Two mechanical devices flew and followed the two. These mechanical devices that look like flying buses are actually the drones that are recording the fight.


    "Friends! The two participants from different race are fighting in the air. Just by the expression on their faces, I can tell that no one wants to lose. They are relentless! This fight will definitely last until their last breath.. Who will be the winner in the end?" Commentator Liz asked the spectators.

 Chapter 356 - Totally Opposite Styles

    Yman was watching the match attentively. Currently, he is alone. Though, he felt some piercing gazes from his side. He didn''t need to guess from whom it was from. There''s only one person currently in there besides him. It''s no other than Kiko.


    "..."


    Regardless, there was only silence in the waiting room at the moment. Although he didn''t mind Kiko''s presence, it was still awkward that only he and Kiko were left inside. Probably because of those strong hate aura that Kiko was sending to him.


    Yman just laughed inwardly. There''s no need to be so heated since there are only a few of them left in this competition. It''s better to enjoy the current match.


    It was better if Maena was here so that he has someone to converse with while watching this exciting match. However, Maena was... well, she was being treated by the medics. Using the Perfect Breathing Technique might have a toll on her body. They would be deciding if she could still fight for her next match or not.


    He also can''t disturb Sistela because she is currently in hibernation mode. Yman didn''t waste the opportunity to let her rest. Especially since he doesn''t know when the people with malicious intent will attack Rea. He still has to do his job as Rea''s bodyguard.


    At that moment, "Yoohoo!" Yman felt a slight tug on his shoulder. Along with it was a familiar voice. Instinctively, he glanced to where he thought the voice came from. And in that instance, he gawked for a second.


    "M-Miss Ice?!" He called out, a little bit surprised. He was surprised that he failed to notice her presence. Miss Ice was truly a mysterious person. Yman could not fathom her strength.


    "Fufu," she giggled from his reaction. "Congratulations for reaching this round," she said while smiling.


    "Haha, thanks. I am just lucky to win all my matches," Yman remained humble with his reply.


    "Hehe!" Ice chuckled. "No need to be so humble, you know," she reminded him.


    Kiko narrowed his eyes. He didn''t expect Ice to show up here. And never expected that these two looked so close the way they converse. He frowned. Then he casually approached them. "Miss Ace��" he called her. Yman and Ice looked at him at the same time.


    Yman didn''t expect Kiko to approach them. He wondered what Kiko was planning. But, perhaps just to greet Ice. After all, Ice is the Ace of the academy. Everyone for sure knew her and wanted to build a good connection with her.


    "Oh, Kiko Sun, congratulations as well for entering the final," without wiping her smile, she replied to Kiko.


    "Well, it''s no big deal," the way Kiko replied seemed like he was telling them that it was only natural for him to enter the final.


    Just then, Ice remembered something. It was about Almina''s feelings. She secretly grinned.


    Almina and Rei-Rei already reached the climax of their match. Each one of them executed their skills skillfully. It even got to the point where Almina and Rei-Rei had to use their ultimate technique.


    In Almina''s case, she used the same technique as Maena. And in Rei-Rei''s case, she used a technique she called Perfect All-Rounder.


    Yman did not know what the effect would be. But when he looked closely at their fight, he noticed that Rei-Rei was able to combine the two professions. Like now, she uses a sword in one hand while gloves with a strange orb on the other. In this situation, Yman can say that Rei-Rei is an absolute magic swordsman. While she was confronting Almina''s swordsmanship with her own learned sword art, she also used spells that only people proficient in casting spells could invoke.


    Like Almina when she activated her Perfect Breathing Technique, there is also a noticeable strange aura surrounding her body. But, in Rei-Rei''s situation, Yman believes those are not mana from the surroundings. But it was only a result of her skill called Perfect All-Rounder.


    "Of all the matches I''ve witnessed in this competition, this is probably the match that I can say is the most unique," Ice suddenly commented.


    The two looked at her. "Is it because of the strength of the two?" Yman asked.


    Ice shook her head slightly. "It''s not only because of that. Certainly, both have talent and both are gifted with an abundance of mana. What differentiates this match from other matches, is that the two players have totally opposite styles. Almina is no doubt focused on her style as a swordswoman. On the other hand, her opponent is an all-rounder. The result of this fight can change the mindset of some people with style like them," explained Ice.


    "I-I see��" Yman slightly nodded his head.


    WAAAM! BOOM!


    At that moment, the whole park seemed to shake when the two met again in the air. A deafening collision from their weapons ensued. The two retreated at the same time. Then they unleashed powerful attacks at the same time as well.


    Rei-Rei threw a big ball mixed with different elements at Almina. She called it the Giant Elemental Sphere. Just by looking at it, everyone could say without a doubt that it was very strong and could cause a lot of damage to Almina if it hits her.


    Almina''s eyes narrowed as she lifted the two elemental swords. Once the Giant Elemental Sphere entered her range, she struck the two swords at the same time. A big bright ''X'' appeared in the air where she swung her swords. The bright X continued until it collided with Rei-Rei''s Giant Elemental Sphere.


    BOOM!


    Once again, there was a deafening eruption in the air. And again, it looked like a volcano had erupted due to the thick smoke that came out following the eruption. The spectators shouted in extreme excitement. The fight they were witnessing at this moment was comparable or might be better than the fight of Kiko and Brai.


    There is no doubt that these two girls are the best female students in the HCZ7 academy. This is currently on the minds of many students from other academies who are currently watching the competition live through their monitors.


    As everyone was watching, in the waiting room, "By the way, who do you think will win this match?" Ice suddenly asked the two people with her.


    "Of course, it''s Almina!" Kiko answered right away while Yman remained nonchalant with his eyes fixed on the monitor.

 Chapter 357 - Final Four

    While watching the match, he thought about the speed of improvement of Almina and the other students. Everyone''s level rose really fast. Especially their ascent of the False Path. However, based on his knowledge, the faster one reaches the False Path stage, the harder it is for them to reach the Real Path. So most experts are stuck on the False Path. It took a year or two for a lucky person to ascend to the Real Path. Well, not all are lucky enough. Most of the people failed to ascend and remained in the False Path for the rest of their lives.


    He, on the other hand, until now was still at level 5 while his contemporaries are leaving him behind. Yman could not help but feel bothered by it.


    "..."


    Nonetheless, regarding Miss Ice''s question about who they think will win the current match, this question is not easy to answer. So his only answer was silence. He also did not want to give an answer without a solid basis. When Ice noticed his silence, she reiterated her question.


    "Eh? Yman, what do you think? Kiko Sun said he was sure that Almina would win. Based on his answer, he seems to have a lot of trust in Almina. Isn''t he very sweet?"


    Yman didn''t know why Miss Ice''s questioning seemed to have been seasoned with something else. She sounded like she was teasing or maybe testing him. Looks like she has something else she wants to convey. But, Yman did not pay attention to it.


    A large sweat drew to the back of his head. After letting air into his mouth he laughed dryly. "Haha��" In his mind, ''Sweet my ass!'' He didn''t really care about Kiko''s comments. Yman said, "Well, I can''t help it because the match seems equal. Any of them can win this match." Ice frowned at his answer. Probably not satisfied or maybe she wanted to hear more. But Yman remained true to his thoughts about his vision of the current match. Kiko raised a brow and snorted at him.


    "Eh~"


    He heard Ice sounded disappointed. Well, it doesn''t really matter to him. After all, he can''t blame Miss Ice either. Because honestly, if you look at the match properly, you can see that Almina is a little at the advantage. However, he was waiting to see something before he says who he thinks will win this battle.


    "Then you don''t have confidence that Almina will win?"


    "....."


    Yman suddenly fell silent at this question from Miss Ice. He didn''t know why Miss Ice insisted about it.


    "Heh!" Kiko snorted. "Don''t waste your time with that dumb. That is not worth wasting time. That dumb can''t answer that question because it doesn''t know how to look at the match." Based on the tone of Kiko''s words, he seemed to avoid saying that he was referring to Yman as a person.


    This was a huge insult coming from Kiko. Of course, Yman didn''t like what Kiko said. Although he wanted to ignore him and treated Kiko as something like air. This time, he glanced at him with a momentary gleam in his eyes. Even Ice was a little bit surprised by Kiko''s remarks.


    But, the situation seems to have become even more interesting. Instead of reprimanding Kiko for his unpleasant behavior, Ice kept quiet as she waited for Yman''s response to what Kiko said.


    Ice knows about Almina''s feelings. So she wants to know which of the two she thinks is better suited to her considered younger sister. Ice secretly giggled at the current situation. Like a teen who has watched a drama scene of two males quarreling for their love for the same girl. Kiko was obviously showing his affection to Almina, though it wasn''t the case for Yman. It was also the reason why Ice tried to figure out Yman''s real feelings towards Almina.


    Well, Ice heard that Kiko asked Almina in public. But Almina refused him. Such a poor guy. Though, she admired Kiko''s guts. Even though he was rejected, he was wearing an air that seemed to say the battle wasn''t over. Looks like the rejection did not bother him that much. He was probably waiting for Almina to change her mind, or maybe he was planning something to forcibly change her mind.


    This is probably the reason why Kiko''s treatment of Yman is not good. Ice was sure of this reason. She was also sure that Almina loves Yman. Ice saw it when Almina ran to the stage and almost kissed him. She was on the edge of her seat when that happened. She thought Almina would do it. Ice never thought that her younger sister was so bold to do it.


    Although she was waiting for Yman''s response from Kiko''s spicy remarks, she couldn''t help fueling the fire. "Hm, I think Yman is just afraid of making a mistake in his prediction about the outcome of the match, or maybe he just doesn''t really have confidence in Almina''s ability." Ice''s voice was sad as she said the last line. From Kiko, Yman turned his gaze back to Ice.


    He frowned. "It''s not that I don''t have confidence in Almina''s ability. I knew she was strong�� uhm one of the strongest students in the academy. However, I also have no idea of her opponent''s ability. It''s hard to predict if you only look from one side and you know nothing about the other," he explained his reason for remaining silent.


    Yman had high respect towards the people in this world. They were gifted with an abundance of mana. He already fought against some of them. So, he knew that they weren''t someone to belittle.


    Also, just looking at the match, Yman could say that Almina has high respect for her opponent''s strength. She was careful not to make a single mistake.


    "....."


    Ice fell silent from his reply. There''s nothing she could rebut him because Yman has a point. She wants to know if Yman knows how Almina feels for him, but Yman was so composed. Sad to say, if she kept insisting on this issue, Yman might think she was irritating. It was obvious from his answer that he felt that way. Probably because of Kiko''s insult.


    "Well, the match is about to come to an end. Let''s just hope Almina will come out as the winner," Yman added to lead their focus back to the match. Instead of bothering himself with Kiko''s old-style taunt, he rather not waste this opportunity to witness a very interesting match. "Also, the match is on a good part now."


    Kiko knitted his brows with a frown on his face and Ice just sighed but agreed to Yman. Just as he said, the two participants unleashed an attack at the same time. However, Alminas'' attack came up superior to Rei-Rei''s.


    The match has been decided after that. Almina came up victorious. Rei-Rei lost the match. Miss Mora Liz announces Almina''s victory and the end of their match after Rei-Rei''s health points reached 0%.


    The cause of Rei-Rei''s defeat was her lack of power in her finishing moves. Although she learned many techniques, she forgot to give more time to master her ultimate move. So when they used the ultimate move at the same time, it turned out that Almina was stronger.


    They used the same technique. Rei-Rei imitated Almina''s style. She also held two swords. And she copied when Almina combined her weapons. Their weapons turned to a very long sword that seemed to pierce the clouds in the sky. Then, that happened, they simultaneously unleashed their attacks. They attacked at the same time, which was followed by a loud noise and explosion in the air where they were floating. Everyone gaped with wide eyes when that happened.


    Rei-Rei''s figure shot back to the stage. After figuring that she was unconscious and Almina was still fine, the match was immediately declared as over.


    Finally, four participants were left!

 Chapter 358 - The Strongest In The Academy

    Almina''s win caused thunderous applause from all the audience. That fight has not been easy for her. This was everyone''s notion based on what they saw. Although she eventually won, traces of a fight can be seen that can be described as a close fight. She also has less than half the points of life left inside her health bar.


    Thanks to her unparalleled focus that can be noticed on her when she was in the fight. This was one of the things that Yman admires about Almina. Almina''s concentration is high when she''s in combat and she rarely makes beginner''s mistake movements which almost all of them inevitably do.


    That''s why most of the trainees admire her the most. There is no doubt that Almina''s experience is high compared to everyone else. It was what most of the people around her thought of her. However, only Almina knew about it.


    Although she was expressing a happy and satisfied expression on her face, deep inside she seemed not so satisfied with her result.


    When Almina returned to the waiting area, "M-Miss Ice?!" Almina exclaimed in surprise.


    "Hehe, good job for the win! That was a very challenging fight," Ice winked and sent a thumbs up. But Almina slightly frowned.


    Ice, who noticed it, immediately threw herself to Almina. "Geez! Why do you look so unsatisfied even though it''s your win!" Ice came to embrace her to cheer her which caused Almina to turn into a body pillow with a nonchalant face.


    "Besides, you have all the right to celebrate for this win and reflect whatever shortcomings you think you have in that fight. Then, improve later!" As expected of the Ace, she could give radical advice like it was normal to her.


    Kiko was having a gawking face on the side, seeing his crush being embraced by another beauty. In his eyes, Almina was exuding all the charm he was looking for in a person of the opposite gender. That''s why he could not give up on her even though she rejected him already.


    Hah~


    Almina sighed. The thing she was so downed about was that she felt the match wasn''t so satisfying. She had no idea how the others felt about it, but Almina herself felt so lacking in her performance. She was way below compared to her brother in his time.


    Regardless, Ice was right.


    "Cheer up! Cheer up!" Ice continued while rubbing her face between Almina''s bosoms!


    "Eh?!"


    "....."


    Almina turned like a statue. She knew Ice was just trying to improve her mood but isn''t it too much?! Especially in the presence of other people!


    She believed so.


    Regardless, she looked around her and failed to find the people her eyes wished to see. She saw Kiko giving his sweetest smile at her and said, "That was a good performance, Almina Amulet. I know you can win it," he said while showing off his white teeth.


    "Mhm," Almina just slightly nodded her head and smiled slightly. She said, "Thanks."


    She noticed Kiko wasn''t so down even though she rejected his confession a while ago. Well, that''s good because she didn''t want to be bothered by it.


    Almina frowned when she couldn''t find Yman and Maena inside the waiting area. She was so looking forward to what they would be going to say about her match.


    Perhaps Maena was still resting and Yman, where is he? Hmph! Almina pouted inwardly. Perhaps he didn''t watch her match. At that moment, with Ice still clinging onto her, they heard some footsteps coming closer and closer.


    Almina glanced in haste. She saw Yman approaching them. In his hands, she noticed canned bottles of drinks. Perhaps he went out to buy them at the nearest vending machine.


    "It wasn''t so much but it might be a good replenisher to recover from fatigue," he said as he tossed a bottle towards Almina. She easily brushed away the clinging academy''s ace and caught the canned drink.


    "What an incredible power of love!" Ice exclaimed under her breath. Though it seemed Almina and the rest did not hear her.


    With a bright, happy face, she said, "Thanks!"


    "Heh~ so my younger sister can smile like that just in the presence of a person," Ice sounded like she wanted to retort.


    "Eh? W-what are you saying Big Sister Ice?!" Almina stammered embarrassingly and with a slight reddening face.


    "?"


    Yman approached Ice and handed her the other can bottle. "Thanks, Yman. So you are this thoughtful. No wonder Almina became even more infatuated with you. Hmm," He just smiled and nodded slightly at her.


    "..."


    Yman didn''t know what Miss Ice was saying.


    Tsk!


    Kiko clicked his tongue upon seeing Yman scoring a point by giving a drink to the girls. Though, it wasn''t Yman''s attention, actually.


    ''Enjoy your remaining seconds in the city, bastard,'' Kiko thought with narrowed, pissed eyes. No one knew what he was thinking at the moment. Well, since no one was paying attention to him.


    Yman said, "Actually I went to check on her and saw a vending machine on my way back. I decided to grab some��"


    "You didn''t have to explain, you know," Ice said as she moved closer to him.


    "Eh! R-really?" Yman blinked his eyes in wonder. He wasn''t actually explaining to them because he was guilty of something. He just wanted to tell them out of his own volition.


    <I think she''s right, partner.>


    Sistela, who was just awoken from her hibernation, chimed in their conversation. She flew and landed on his shoulder.


    "I see."


    "Oh, good day, Miss Deity!" Ice greeted her.


    <Yes, good day.>


    Yman thought Sistela sounded like a granny. Regardless, he looked at the monitor. There were only four of them left, huh.


    "By the way, Yman," he looked at Almina who said this. "You said you came to visit Maena, right?" She asked. Yman responded with a nod. "How is she? Will she be able to fight the next matches?"


    "Yes, don''t worry. She was just resting for a little."


    "I see, thank god." Yman noticed Almina sighed in relief.


    While they were conversing, the announcer Mora Liz was announcing the current stats of the competition.


    "Now we''re down to the last four contestants. These four are undoubtedly the greatest! The coming matches will surely shake heaven and earth when these four come up on stage in the race for the championship title��!"


    Although it was an overstatement, no one denied that the remaining four were undoubtedly the strongest students in the Zone 7 academy.


    From her words, the audiences threw their fist into the air as they shouted the names of their favored contestants.


    "It looks like Miss Mora Liz really knows how to hype the crowd. No wonder she''s very famous in that department," Bob commented in admiration.


    "I never thought that Yman would be one of those four contestants."


    "Right right! Me too," Bob agreed to Chloe.. Well, since at the beginning of the month Yman was deemed to be the weakest trainee.

 Chapter 359 - Hatred

    After the 15 minute breaks, the competition would resume. The shouts of the spectators for their chosen participant grew louder.


    While Rea was just quietly and calmly watching, Yana, on the other hand, joined in the shouting. She shouted for her brother to win. Even though her voice was overwhelmed by the loud shouts of other spectators, it did not shake her and she shouted repeatedly like the others.


    "Big brother! You can do it!"


    "Big brother! You can DO IT!"


    "Big brother! YOU CAN DO IIIIT!


    Her voice grew louder. The three next to her were a bit surprised. Even Rea was impressed with the support she gives to her older brother. Because of her dedication, Bob shouted out as well in support of his friend.


    Rea and Chloe remained just silently watching. However, that didn''t mean they weren''t excited about the next fights. Rea was getting interested somehow. Especially since her stakes are the biggest.


    But, ''Hmm�� if Crimson loses the competition I will charge him,'' Rea thought.


    Although she was very confident that Yman would win, she still couldn''t help but be open-minded to what might happen. Not because she thinks the other participants were strong, but because a lot could happen in the fight. For example, what if Yman''s stomach suddenly hurts before their fight. That''s just one of the unexpected phenomena that could happen that will lower his success rate.


    Well, honestly, she also could not deny that the others have strength as well. Especially that Almina Amulet. In fairness, she was not only pure beauty, but she also had the strength to be proud of. In the fight earlier, Rea secretly cheered that the Encan lady, Rei-Rei, would have won. Not because they were of the same race origin, but because she wanted to see Almina lose the match. However, Almina is just really strong.


    Rea secretly sighed at Rei-Rei''s defeat. ''Well, kudos to Almina. She is good in fairness,'' Rea admitted. In fact, she has nothing against her. She was just curious what kind of face Almina would be showing once she lost.


    Inside the VIP room could also be seen that everyone was excited about the coming matches. Although they all have big stakes in this competition, they were more concerned about what would happen next. The stakes were just a filler to add excitement to this competition.


    While everyone was to see the coming matches, the smile on Principal Kim''s lips was different. In his mind, ''Finally! The one I''ve been waiting for has finally arrived,'' he exclaimed inwardly.


    Before the competition started again, Kiko''s MTMD rang out. He received a message from an unexpected person.


    He hurried out of the waiting area and went to the back, to the alley, where the person who had texted him was waiting.


    Right when he came back, the selection of who would fight for the next fight had already begun. The smile on Kiko''s face was somewhat different. Each of them was in a different room to give them space to concentrate in preparation for their upcoming biggest match in this competition.


    Contrary to Kiko''s expression, Yman''s complexion was pale and gloomy. His stomach was frequently growling. As though a pact of hungry beasts were inside. He went back and forth on the toilet. He did not know why his stomach suddenly hurt. He didn''t eat anything that he thought was the cause of his stomach ache. And why does it have to be now when the match is about to begin! Such bad timing.


    GRR!


    Again, his stomach thundered, so he hurried back to the comfort room. Yman has a bad feeling about this.


    When he returned to his resting room,


    Well, I''m not as you can see," he replied lazily and honestly to Sistela''s question.


    <Oh no! The battle is about to begin! Take medicine first, fast!>


    "....."


    "If I had to leave to take medicine, I might not be able to enter the fight. Especially since the selection of the first pair has already begun. "


    "Besides, if the medics find out about my condition, they might just stop me from participating."


    Sistela realizes that what her partner said was right.


    <Oh no, the fight hasn''t started yet but it looks like we''ll lose right away!> Sistela shouted in panic.


    "Well, let''s just pray that I won''t be the first to enter the match��"


    GRRR!


    "Tsk! Again?!" He swiftly went back to the toilet.


    Honestly, that was his only hope so that he could take the medicine first. He had elixirs stored in his Cyber ??Storage, and he also had healing ability, but those were not cures for his condition right now, so they are all useless this time.


    Unfortunately for Yman, "It''s decided!" Mora Liz''s voice resounded loud and clear when the selection stopped and two profiles appeared on the floating monitor.


    WOOOAAAAAHHH!!!


    The spectators made a thunderous howl upon the appearance of two contestants'' names.


    "Friends! The first fight for the final four is between Crimson and the Fire God! Let''s give our brave warriors loud applause as we call for their presence to bless the stage!" Mora Liz shouted on top of her lungs.


    The plaza seemed to be vibrating from the loud cheering of the audience. A flock of tiny colorful birds nesting at the nearby chapel scattered away in the sky as though startled from the sudden roar of the spectators.


    At that moment, the noise all at once disappeared when they heard footsteps coming from the two passages of the waiting room. The two contestants did not pass through the same passage this time. They passed through passages from the opposite sides.


    Upon standing in the middle of the stage, everyone immediately noticed the overflowing confidence in Kiko''s face. But deep inside, his hatred towards Yman continuesly growing every second.


    "Now the toad can taste the bitterness of my friend''s revenge!" Bruno shouted. He added, "Beat up that worthless person Kiko my dude!"


    "Right! Embarrass that frog to all the spectators and in front of Miss Almina!" Marco also shouted following Bruno.


    Upon seeing their friend, Kiko''s friends started to make noise. They shouted their resentment feeling for their most hated person.


    Contrary to them, Yman''s friend and those who were acquainted with him fell silent when they saw Yman''s complexion.


    "Eh? Why does my brother look sick?" Yana asked with a frown.

 Chapter 360 - Final Four— Yman Versus Kiko

    "Eh, what happened to my best friend?!" Bob asked while tapping his head with both hands.


    Chloe frowned and Rea narrowed her eyes. She wondered why Crimson looks so exhausted. He looked like he was having a terrible health condition. Perhaps he really is. Looked like Rea''s worries had come true!


    "Yana, is your brother alright?" Rea asked. Her face was somewhat calm but deep inside she was worrying. Before Yana could reply, "Is he sick? Or does your brother have a hidden illness?" Rea continued asking.


    "Uh, eh no Prin�� I mean Miss Rea. My brother is just fine this morning and the other day but looking at him right now, he seems to be in a bad condition." Yana almost called her with her status.


    Rea clasped her mouth and slightly squinted her eyes. Perhaps Crimson was hit by bad luck. She thought so.


    What she couldn''t understand was why Crimson didn''t forfeit the fight now that he had a bad condition.


    Other viewers were also surprised by Yman''s weary condition. They also noticed his health points on the health bar was only at 65%. However, even if they want to ask him why he looks like that, that is not possible because the fight is already about to begin and most of the spectators are now eager to see the fight begin.


    A big grin could be seen on the face of the rich merchant Mr. Brando. Especially when he saw the condition of Kiko''s opponent. "Hehehe. Who is the brainless idiot who betted on that boy that much?! Imperial coins huh. Hehehe. It looks like I will win a lot in this competition. More than winning a lottery! I didn''t expect that I could earn that much while just watching this competition. Whoever bets 10,000 Imperial Coins will definitely go home in tears later! Hahaha!"


    Merchant Brando laughed out loud. Brando knew that Kiko was the strongest male trainee in the academy. That''s why he immediately made a connection with him.


    Regardless, the old man who betted 10 gold points to Yman scratched his head. It looks like he would be losing his last penny. Well, that''s really how life is. How did his life end so messed up just when he got older. Where will he go after this? He wanted to be with his family until he could no longer get up of his bed.


    However, it was all too late. Even if he wins the bet, what he can win will not be enough for him to be able to start a new business again. "Hah~" he just let out a sigh. And again his gaze returned to the arena.


    A big smile can be seen on Kiko''s face. "Oi! Are you so nervous about our fight that it seems like you haven''t slept in a month? Hahaha!" Kiko''s cocky remarks. "Or maybe you''re planning to back out of the fight, huh!" He continued to tease. Deep inside, in Kiko''s mind, ''Tsk! I''m not going to let you back out of this match moron!''


    He really wants to beat this frogsh*t until he looks like a grilled frog! He would make sure to unveil how weak Yman was against him!


    "....."


    Yman did not answer and remained stationary. It would be better for him to conserve his strength than to make noise in vain. Besides, her stomach might get upset again.


    "Uhm, Sistela. Are you sure it worked?" He asked his partner.


    <Let''s see. Maybe I guess.>


    "....."


    "Wah, that is awful��"


    <Well, there''s nothing we can do about it. Let''s just hope.>


    "Hah~ We can only do that then."


    <So��well�� goodluck to us partner!>


    At that moment.


    The countdown to start a fight already reached 3 seconds.


    Kiko showed a toothy grin. ''This is it!'' He thought.


    ''I can finally torture him without getting punish! I am so waiting for this moment, bastaaaard!'' At the end of his line, the timer hit zero. Flame burst out from Kiko''s body at the same time when Miss Mora Liz shouted the word, "Begin!"


    Kiko accumulated a high temperature flame in his hands, in front of him, facing his opponent.


    "He was fast!" In the VIP room, Sunday exclaimed. She never thought Kiko would take the initiative to attack right after the countdown hit zero.


    Everyone gasped in that moment as they were watching the accumulation of flame on Kiko''s hands. The grin on Kiko''s face grew wider. He wasn''t an idiot who would lower his guard and feel pity for his opponent just because his enemy looks like he is in a terrible health condition.


    In fact he knew about Yman''s ability to cancel his opponent''s spell. Kiko was repeatedly rewatching Yman''s matches from day one till now. Not because he thought Yman was a worthy opponent, but because Kiko didn''t want any consequences.


    He had no idea how Yman acquired that ability, but Kiko doesn''t care about it now. He already learned the weakness of that ability through some source of information. He was a genius after all. Planning is just a childlike game to him. He''s smart and he can easily outwit his opponent. Kiko believes so.


    Anyway, wasn''t a one-shot kill the coolest win befitting to him? Yes. Kiko planned to one-shot this frog!


    "Now! Die!"


    "Flamesho��-!?"


    Thud!


    "Ekh!?"


    Kiko''s words stopped right before mentioning it and a groan escaped from his mouth at the same time.


    The flame he accumulated instantly disappeared. His vision became blurry as his pupils in the eyes were trembling. His knees were losing strength too as well as his legs and arms. All that because of a strong impact he felt from the back of his neck.


    "W-w-what the f-f-f*ck is h-ha-happening��"


    Thud!


    He fell on the floor upside down. All the noise instantly disappeared as though a divine being descended from the sky. All the onlookers were dumbfounded at what happened.


    "DOOOWN!" Mora Liz''s voice resounded loud and clear.


    "....."


    WHAT THE HELLLLL!!!


    Merchant Brando and Kiko''s friends shouted in their minds.

 Chapter 361 - I Can’t Lose

    "Down? Kiko is down?" One of Kiko''s friends asked incredulously.


    "What nonsense is this!"


    "It can not be! It''s impossible for this to happen! "


    Kiko''s friends couldn''t accept what they saw. Honestly, they were not the only ones who couldn''t believe it. Kiko''s fall surprised almost all spectators. Everyone was stunned staring at the stage. Most of them think that the fight will be easy for Kiko because of his abilities, as well as the mana capacity he has. This development surprised them.


    Even before Kiko could fire the flame he was


    accumulating in his hand, something appeared behind him.


    Suddenly, there was a murmur in the audience as they watched the thing appear behind Kiko which was the reason for his collapse.


    "What is that? "


    "Monster?"


    "Wait! Is that a Noble Rat? "


    "Right, that''s a Noble Rat! Though it has a different color."


    "Right right!"


    Just as viewers say, the one standing behind Kiko is from the monster species often seen in canals and tunnels, the Evil Rat. However, what is behind Kiko is its evolved form, or better known as the Noble Rat. It already belongs to the wanderer class. This means that it does not settle in a single location as it often does. It roamed around looking for better food. Anyway, Noble Rat belongs to the rank D+ monster. Honestly, it was considered the weakest rank in the wanderer category.


    "Eh! What-- how�� How did a Noble Rat get in there? " Bob asked curiously. It was both funny and disturbing that a monster suddenly appeared on the stage. But for Bob, Kiko''s fall could only be seen as a funny situation.


    "Haha. No one knows I guess. Anyway, what will happen in the fight?" Chloe asked. Due to the sudden appearance of the Noble Rat, the fight might be postponed.


    Although the Noble Rat belongs to the lowest rank in the wanderer class monster categories, its strength cannot be ignored. It could harm innocent people in the venue.


    Like Chloe, everyone''s concern was also the same. Suddenly, Chloe and Bob heard a faint laugh. "Hehe!" It was from Yana. "Don''t worry. That monster is not real," Yana said. Upon hearing her; Bob and Chloe gawked.


    "Eh?!"


    "Not real?"


    Chloe was shocked to hear it and Bob repeated Yana''s words. Yana nodded. "Yes. That monster is not real. My brother created that from his Modifying Ability."


    "M-Modifying ability?!" Chloe asked in confirmation.


    "Mhm!" Yana responded with a nod.


    "Eh! Is that true, Yana?" Bob asked.


    "She was right," Rea herself replied to confirm what Yana said. "Using his modifying ability��.." Rea then explained Yman''s ability. Bob and Chloe listened intently to what she was saying. After a few seconds of explaining, Rea finally said, "And those things are what he calls Fire Dolls."


    The two could hardly believe what they heard. But fire element? This is really shocking. Although Yman was no doubt a person with Hollow Cell symptoms, he was known as a manaless student. This means that he could not manipulate his own mana and just borrowing from Sistela. Almost no difference with a normal person. Moreover, Yman has no affinity with any element based on their knowledge. But now he can use the fire element!? It''s really shocking.


    "I see, so that''s why the color of that Noble Rat is crimson like the color of the drones that Yman used in his fight with Miss Josie Finn," said Chloe after hearing Rea''s explanation.


    "So are his chakrams," Bob added.


    After knowing about it, the two were even more amazed at Yman. The person who was previously said to be the weakest by all has found a way to improve himself. And now, he was able to smack the guy who was said to be the strongest male student in the academy. Ironic isn''t it? Bob and Chloe believed so.


    "It''s good that he became my friend!" Bob shouted.


    Yana and Chloe laughed a little. Rea nodded with a proud face.


    "Uhm, Miss Rea, why do you look so proud?" Bob pointed out when he noticed the expression on Rea''s face.


    "Uh? Eh! I-I''m not!" She said with a flush of redness.


    Bob and Chloe looked at her suspiciously while Yana widened her eyes as she smiled from ear to ear.


    "Hmm�� sus��" Bob mumbled as he squinted his eyes.


    Rea straightened her back. "Look, the enemy is still conscious." She pointed to the stage. Partly, to distract them.


    Regardless,


    With Kiko''s strength capacity, it''s easy for him to defeat a monster like Noble Rat that is only ranked D+. However, what happened was a sneak attack.


    Kiko was unaware of its sudden appearance behind him. So he couldn''t defend himself.


    Kiko''s trembling eyes widened as he looked up behind him. He saw the Noble Rat staring down, straight to Kiko''s eyes. He didn''t like the position. It seemed as though the rat was looking down at him.


    "Tsk! Grr!"


    Kiko gritted his teeth loudly while he was clenching his hands that were resting on the floor.


    ''It can''t be!''


    ''I can''t lose!''


    ''I can''t lose!''


    I can''t LOSE! ''''


    Red veins floated in Kiko''s eyes as he repeated those words.


    Kiko was just lucky because the Noble Rat''s attack hits the collar, or the System Deity''s form when in the resonance state. There wasn''t even slight damage on the collar. It was not easy to break because it was made of a special metal, the Gram metal. Thanks to the collar, Kiko''s consciousness remained even after being hit by a strong impact on his nape. But, the attack still caused damage to Kiko.


    His knees became weak and he had difficulty standing. He also tried to fight the dizziness to not faint.


    The only thing Kiko couldn''t accept was to be beaten this way! It was so embarrassing for him. Kiko became more agitated when he heard Bob''s loud laugh.


    "HAHAHA! Good job Mr. Rat! Defeat that idiot!"


    Damn it! He would surely kill that gorilla! Kiko wanted to beat Bob. Regardless, why is there a monster here?! Kiko wanted to retort but he didn''t have the leeway to do it now.


    At that instance, all the color left Kiko''s face when he saw the rat raise its claws.


    No matter what�� he can''t lose! Kiko shouted. Not to the rat! And much more not to Yman!

 Chapter 362 - Turning The Table

    The Noble Rat Fire Doll disappeared as soon as the intense mana pressure that burst from Kiko''s body hit it. Suddenly, the spectators fell silent and everyone stared at the stage with dumbfounded faces. Everyone also felt the shaking of the stage as if an earthquake had passed. It was only then that everyone knew how strong the mana that Kiko suddenly released was. However, what Kiko did could have also caused harm to him. It was a reckless move!


    Kiko knew the danger posed by what he had done. But it was more important to him to win this battle than losing in an embarrassing defeat. Kiko can''t stand being beaten like that.


    What he shouted was exactly the name of his System Deity who looked like a salamander. His shouting was a signal for them to use their advanced resonance.


    At that moment, everyone saw that Kiko was already standing. And at this point, everyone has noticed that he was in his advanced resonance state with his deity. His fire-colored wings could be seen as if he was a Fire God. Kiko''s supporters were excited again when they saw him in this form.


    "Oryahhh!"


    "Let''s go man!"


    "Beat that bastard!"


    Again, his friends were yelling. As if the end of the match was in sight. As everyone expected, Kiko wasted no time.


    "Get ready now!" Even though his body was surrounded by fire, his voice was so cold that he seemed to want to swallow his opponent whole.


    Yman''s eyes narrowed the moment he heard what Kiko said. It''s a pity because his Fire Doll failed to finish Kiko. He secretly sent it earlier using a kind of carrier model Enhanced Fire Doll to surprise his opponent.


    Well, he didn''t really expect that his simple surprise could beat the hell out of Kiko. Yman just did it to buy him some time. Unexpectedly, that Fire Doll accomplished more than he expected.


    While thinking of such things, Yman prepared himself for Kiko''s next move. Just as Yman predicted, Kiko didn''t waste time, he rushed forward.


    Earlier, Kiko had felt Yman''s mana from the Noble Rat monster. He had a strong hunch that... that Noble Rat was not a real monster. He felt no killing intent or bloodlust coming from it that most hostile monsters like the Noble Rat have. For Kiko, that was questionable.


    But, at this time, he had a strong hunch that the Noble Rat was one of Yman''s creations. He had no idea how Yman made those things. But remembering those drones he used from his previous matches, Kiko believed that Yman was capable of creating or summoning those things using his mana. He had no idea how that one was able to sneak behind him, but as long as he was careful, he believed that none of Yman''s toys could hurt him.


    In fact, the power of that Noble Rat just now wasn''t enough to end him. Kiko believed that Yman''s toys weren''t as strong as the originals. In this case, if he avoided his sneak attack, Kiko was certain that Yman and his toys weren''t a match to him. His victory in this match is absolute! Kiko thought.


    Also, Kiko learned something from that Noble Rat; Yman''s toys weren''t unbreakable. His figure shot at unimaginable speed towards Yman.


    Fwoosh~


    In just a matter of seconds, he arrived in front of Yman. Kiko swung his massive sword in a fast vertical strike. No matter what happens he would be going to beat this bastard!


    His sword was surrounded by flames. So if this attack hits his opponent, there''s only one outcome! A certain victory.


    "Yahhh!" Kiko shouted loudly.


    Yman knew the danger that Kiko''s attack posed. He did not hesitate. He jumped to his right. Suddenly the place where he was standing half a second later exploded.


    Boom!


    The stage shook once again. The power of that attack was undoubtedly destructive. Bob and the others felt a chill run down their spines. One could only imagine the worst fate when hit by it.


    "Tsk! The bastard had managed to escape!" Marco commented with a click of his tongue.


    Kiko noticed Yman''s shadow at the corner of his vision. He already knew that his attack failed to hit. Without letting his opponent distance him, Kiko made a full horizontal swing. "Die!" He shouted.


    Woosh!


    The blade of his sword passed a few inches away above Yman''s head. He ducked at the right time. Yman felt a burning sensation on his scalp. That must be the heat from Kiko''s blade. Fortunately, he avoided those flames from burning him.


    Kiko used the momentum of his attack to send a kick with his left foot. Yman barely avoided it by leaping away.


    His three consecutive attacks failed to hit his target. Kiko clenched his teeth in frustration. But it only happened for a second. He believed that Yman was just lucky.


    Kiko turned and faced Yman, who was standing a few meters away from him. "Let''s see how long your luck can save you!" He declared. Kiko then summoned more flames around him.


    He fired multiple fireballs at Yman. Yman had to evade. Even though he had high resistance to fire elements, the pressure from the explosion could still deal damage to him.


    A grin appeared on Kiko''s face when he noticed Yman was like an escaping rat, running away while dodging his onslaught with all his might.


    Consecutive explosions happened on the stage as Kiko fired destructive fireballs nonstop.


    In just a few seconds of the start of their fight, the stage was already in a mess. It was perforated and smoky from Kiko''s fireballs. It seemed as though a rapid rocket launcher was fired continuously.


    "Hahaha! Kiko will definitely win. You see. His opponent can do nothing," commented one of the VIPs who had a big bet on Kiko. It was only natural for him to think this because it was obvious to everyone that Yman was almost helpless.


    He could only dodge. If he stops running even for a moment, he would definitely get hit with Kiko''s very powerful fireballs. Bob and the others also understood Yman''s dire situation. That''s why, they fell silent. It''s a pity that Kiko managed to turn the table.. He was now the one dictating the match.

 Chapter 363 - An Elite Was Still An Elite...”

    Honestly, this was the kind of fight most spectators expected to see in this match. What happened to Kiko earlier was a huge surprise for them. They never expected to see Kiko fall and almost lose just seconds after Miss Mora Liz gave the signal to start the fight. It would have been a great upset if Kiko really lost a while ago.


    They did not anticipate the sudden appearance of that monster. However, what happened earlier was no longer important. The most important thing was that Kiko was able to recover and is now dominating his opponent.


    Woosh woosh woosh!


    The fireballs kept raining on Yman. He could do nothing but tried his best to dodge all of them.


    It was actually entertaining to watch your favored participant dictating the match. Look, his opponent could hardly fight back. The arena immediately turned noisy from Kiko''s supporters.


    WOH!


    Some spectators pumped their fists in the air, while some excitedly shouted Kiko''s competition name.


    "Yeah bro! Beat him!"


    "Beat him!"


    "Finish him!"


    Fire God! Fire God! Fire God!


    Many people chanted his name, giving hype to the match. The grin on Kiko''s face grew even wider.


    This is it. This was what he expected in this match. Everyone was shouting his name. In terms of popularity, Kiko knew that he was way above Yman. In fact, Yman was nothing compared to him in every aspect. Be it face, talent, wealth, power, etcetera. He was undoubtedly ahead of him in all aspects.


    However, there was one thing that Kiko could not understand. Why did Almina reject him? At first, he strongly believed that she felt the same towards him. Perhaps Almina was just playing hard to get. But, Kiko could not see it like that because Almina wasn''t a normal girl. She also came from a family with a prestigious background.


    Kiko shook his head to clear his mind! It wasn''t the right time to think of unnecessary things. He needed to finish the fight before his opponent could find a way to turn the table, though he doubted it. But he needed to be extra careful.


    While Yman was evading Kiko''s relentless attacks, Rea wondered why he chose to dodge and did not cancel them instead. She believed those fireballs could pose no threat to him. But why did Crimson choose to evade them instead?


    However, knowing him, Rea believed Crimson was up to something.


    "The hell are you doing?! Why didn''t you use that ability to cancel your opponent''s attack!" Everyone snapped from Kiko''s sudden revelation. It caused some questions from the audience.


    "What does he mean with his words?"


    "Eh? I don''t know."


    "Wait, now that Mr. Fire God said it, I remember the first time contestant Crimson fought. He canceled his opponent''s ability that time."


    "Really?"


    "Yes yes!"


    "It''s true. I also felt it when we fought. " Bruno, who was just listening, couldn''t help himself to confirm that what Kiko said was true. He himself experienced this when he and Yman fought.


    "Then that animal isn''t serious yet?" Marco asked in an angry tone.


    "Maybe?"


    "Damn! I don''t believe it! Do you mean that the frog is underestimating Kiko?! " Marco''s voice grew louder which caused the spectators around them to look at them.


    "....." Bruno gawked and fell silent. Fortunately, Bert interjected.


    "Ceh! What are you two saying? Don''t you see that the opponent can''t retaliate because of the pressure from Kiko''s volume of attacks? Kiko is one of those people with hard-to-read gestures. Any opponent will have a hard time fighting him. Even if we say that what you say is true�� regarding the unique ability of that man. I''m sure right now he''s having a hard time using it against Kiko. It is not easy to cancel Kiko''s attacks because he''s throwing countless of them. Even if we say that he canceled one or two of them, there are still more that he needed to cancel."


    "Hmm�� So what you mean is��" it seemed Bruno was able to realize what Bert wanted to say.


    But before Bruno could finish his word, Marco interjected. "That it depends on the enemy''s mana. That''s what Bert wanted to say. I bet the frog doesn''t have as much mana as Kiko," Marco said with a grin. Although the frog beat them, he believed that Kiko would definitely avenge them.


    A smile returned on Marco and Bruno''s face. It actually bothered them when Kiko fell a while ago.


    "R...right! That''s right! There''s no way for Kiko to lose this match!" Bruno exclaimed. Marco nodded his head in agreement and Bert sighed as he crossed his arms across his broad torso. Finally, these two had finally enlightened.


    The majority of the spectators were also talking about it. However, the person who was the subject of their conversation remained silent.


    If you look at the match from the other''s perspective, no doubt that Yman was having a hard time retaliating against the attacks that were raining at him. Or more clearly to say that he could do nothing against Kiko''s attack. The only thing he could do was dodge them. If not, he would definitely lose. But with his current situation, it would be difficult for him to turn back the table.


    While everyone was thinking the same thing, Kiko, on the other hand, continued provoking Yman.


    "Haha okay! Eat all that sh*t!" Kiko unleashed more attacks. They were fast and powerful. Looking at the fireballs that seemed like meteor showers, he grinned. "Hehe. Just a little more, just a little more..." he repeatedly mentioned. He was excited to see Yman''s defeat.


    Like Kiko, people who have big bets on him are just as excited as him. Therefore, almost all viewers are excited to see Yman lose. Well, no one could blame them because Yman was like an expensive fish. He had the biggest money bet on him. If he loses the match, all the winners will definitely have a big share.


    "Go on! You can do that, Fire God!" An excited spectator shouted at the top of his lungs. After him, many spectators also shouted to encourage Kiko.


    With the number of fireballs Kiko fired, many of them hit Yman. Everyone heard his scream. They saw his body thrown away several times like a soccer ball. The fire consumed his whole body. Everyone also noticed the rapid decrease in his health points on the floating monitor.


    Finally, Kiko stopped his onslaught and gasped for breath. He stared at his enemy who was still lying upside-down on the stage. His body was on fire and his health points continued decreasing.


    "Heh!" Kiko snorted. "Now you''re dead," he said coldly as he waited for Yman''s body turned to light particles. Well, looking at his current condition, it won''t be long.


    Many of the spectators stood up as they shouted in excitement and some clapped their hands.


    YEAH!


    "B-brother��" Yana called out in a weak voice.


    Bob knitted his brows and Chloe bit her lips as they sympathize Yana. They thought Yman could perhaps win against Kiko since he once won against Jugo, a trainee from the elite class. But it seemed like Kiko was just on another level. Yman wasn''t even able to fight back.


    Inside the VIP room, most of the VIPs were talking excitedly. They said that Kiko was truly a talent that needed more attention. Some of them were already mentioning about sponsoring him.


    Although he came from a famous and rich family, having sponsorship was still a big benefit for him in many ways.


    "I see. So an elite was still an elite huh..." Adam Praeter whispered disappointedly. He thought perhaps this Crimson was someone like a dark horse in this competition. But it seemed like he was wrong.


    After saying it, "Wait! Look!" Adam Praeter suddenly heard a shout from the person beside him. It was coming from Sunday. She was pointing at the stage.


    Instinctively, everyone who heard her returned their gaze to the stage. Adam Praeter was one of them. All conversations immediately stopped at that moment when they noticed the person they thought was done for, slowly got up on his feet.


    "What?!"


    Kiko exclaimed with a frown when Yman suddenly stood up. Although his body was still on fire, they could not find any wounds. Also, they noticed his health points rose once again.


    "The heck is happening!?" Kiko shouted in disbelief.. The onlookers were as dumbfounded as him.

 Chapter 364 - The Big Gap

    "Dammit! Dammit, that healing ability!" Kiko curses.


    He just remembered that Yman could heal himself. The self-healing ability! Damn that ability! Without it, he would have won already!


    "Hehehe!"


    Kiko''s eyes widened in disbelief when he heard Yman''s chuckle. His kind of chuckle seemed to be mixed with contempt. Kiko took this as a huge insult to him. He noticed that Yman was looking at him while slightly raising his right arm in the air. He also noticed his lips curved upwards.


    "What the f*ck!"


    Laugh? Is this bastard really laughing and taunting him? Kiko asked himself in a furious tone.


    "What are you laughing at, huh?! You''re crazy?!" Kiko asked with a twitch of brow as a cross-shaped pulse appeared on his forehead. Did Yman think he could belittle his attacks?! Naive. Haha. Kiko chuckled slightly.


    However, instead of answering his question, Yman also chuckled. "Hehe��" then he said, "Is that all you can do, Mr. Fire God sir?" It sounded so provocative. "I wasn''t even hurt by that attack. Hehe. Weak. It''s just too weak," Yman said in a tone of dismay. At the same time, he was shaking his head.


    "What!? Shameless!" Kiko''s expression turned bitter the moment he heard it. The onlookers started murmuring as well.


    Kiko Sun''s attack is weak?! The so-called Fire God is weak? Is it really weak? But, if you look closely, they can''t really blame Crimson if he says that because there''s really no damage to him!


    In a flash, the wounds and injuries that had recently been seen all over his body disappeared as if everything was just an illusion. No one could contradict him as if their tongues were receding. If Kiko was that strong, Crimson would have already been defeated by now. Right, it should have been.


    But, is it really just that?! Some others question in their minds.


    "Woah! Big bro!" Yana suddenly brightened up when she saw that her brother was fine.


    "I know it��" Rea whispered. But, she seems to have noticed something strange about Crimson. It seemed he was intentionally provoking his enemy. Perhaps to buy time. But why? Only Rea realized this.


    Bob and Chloe sighed when they saw that Yman was okay. They thought the fight was over.


    "Bro! Don''t scare us like that!" Bob shouted.


    "Woohoo! You can do that Mr. Crimson!" Not far away, the old man who betted him shouted. The old man thought it was the end of his last money. Fortunately, this Crimson has some reliable abilities!


    "Fufu. It''s surprising, "Jami couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "He really has a lot of surprises," Dianne followed up.


    "Do you think this is the reason why Miss Almina is so infatuated with him?" Maku suddenly asked from out of nowhere. The two looked at her and chuckled at the same time. For some reason, their conversation about them sounded repetitive.


    "Hehe! Maybe," they replied together.


    The hatred on Kiko''s face could not be hidden. "Don''t be haughty or you''ll just regret it!" He shouted loudly whilst creating several fireballs.


    At this moment Kiko''s eyes could be seen gleaming. His big grin also returned to his lips, especially when he noticed that Yman''s health points in the monitor were at 70%. It only meant that he wasn''t in his top condition. He wasn''t able to completely heal his injury.


    ''If Yman thought he was out of danger, that is where he was mistaken. I''m not even serious about that attack. Hehe. Okay. Celebrate all you want like a fool because next time I attack I''ll make sure you get powdered!'' Kiko''s face suddenly zoomed in on the monitor. Looking at his expression, as if he had a secret plan.


    "Let''s see now how much you can laugh!"


    While saying this, Kiko buried the tip of his weapon on top of the stage. Then, Kiko spread his arms open.


    "Now take this!"


    The fireballs spiraled towards Yman at the same time. Once reaching him, a series of explosions bloomed on the stage.


    Boom boom boom!


    But Yman remained standing in the middle of that explosion with his hand pointing in front. Looking at him, everyone noticed that he wasn''t using his so-called canceller ability, but instead, he was reinforcing his body with multiple layers of [Mana Coating] ability.


    Of course, Yman was still hit and received damage that also reflected on his health bars. However, even before his health points exceed 50%, he uses the healing ability. So his condition does not get worse.


    "If this continues. It just depends on which of them has more mana. But since Kiko is from the Elite Class, there is no doubt that he has more mana compared to Crimson. However, in the course of the match, it seems Kiko is releasing more mana compared to his opponent who only uses healing ability," Adam Praeter suddenly commented.


    It was common knowledge that healing abilities demanded less mana consumption.


    "Besides that sir Adam, Crimson''s healing ability looks like self-healing ability," Sunday pointed out.


    "Hm ..." Adam suddenly thought and narrowed his eyes as he looked with discerning eyes at Crimson while rubbing his chin. He sees that Crimson''s body barely glows white every time he uses the healing ability. After a while, "You''re right. His healing ability is a Self-healing ability. In that case, it saves more mana. But, it can never fully heal his injuries."


    No wonder he notices that it can only restore up to 70 percent of the health points displayed on the monitor.


    Even though his attack seemed to have no effect, the big grin on Kiko''s face didn''t leave his face. He kept raining fireballs on Yman.


    "Hm... The ability that Kiko used no doubt requires a lot of mana. However, since Crimson uses two kinds of abilities at the same time, it''s also hard to say that he has the advantage in mana consumption, especially when taking into account their mana capacity. Kiko is no doubt on the False Path stage. And Crimson�� wait! How was he able to defend himself from the attack of someone like Kiko?" It was only then that Adam noticed the huge gap in the level of the two.


    "Eh?" Sunday and Jack looked around at Adam Praeter and the young man Crimson. They noticed that the mana that Crimson released wasn''t as condensed as Kiko''s mana. It just means he is not yet on the False Path. They finally realized that something was amiss.


    This battle has a huge level gap!


    The others also noticed. Most viewers began to wonder. What is this phenomenon? How come he hasn''t lost yet when the gap between the two of them is so big. Maybe it''s true that Mr. Fire God is really weak.


    Kiko twitches his brow. He didn''t like what was heard from the audience. It can''t go on like this! He needed to do something!


    "Huah!" Kiko screamed. All the fireballs suddenly disappeared as if they were just an illusion. From Kiko''s mouth, it could be seen that there was steam coming out.


    He glared at Yman before clasping his hands and shouting, "Explode!"


    Boom!


    A loud explosion followed. The explosion happened right where Yman was standing. Everyone''s eyes widened and fell silent.


    The invisible barrier was shaken hard and soon it cracked. The force of the explosion was beyond the reach of the invisible barrier.


    "Friends! What our two finalists did was amazing. However, the strength of our participant Mr. Fire God is undeniable. A huge explosion shook the stage. Even the invisible barrier did not survive. I think the fireballs he fired earlier were just to hide his true purpose. He secretly planted his invisible bombs around while Mr. Crimson was busy defending himself from fireballs. An impressive and cunning move was displayed by Mr. Fire God!"


    Because of Miss Mora Liz''s comment, everyone''s attention returned to the fight. She received a message from principal Mar Mari. She needed to hype the audiences so they forget the big hole in this competition.


    "As you can see. Mr. Crimson was lying on top of the stage. There were visible major injuries to his body. With the force of that explosion, it was a miracle that his body was still intact. But, I don''t think Crimson can still fight!" Right after saying it,


    "Wha��!"


    Mora Liz suddenly stopped announcing when she saw Crimson trying to stand up. If you look at his condition, it seemed like a miracle that he was still conscious. But, how come? How was he still able to stand even with the degree of his injury? Crimson''s right hand was lost while many parts of his body were injured. Mora Liz and most of the onlookers could hardly believe that Crimson was still able to stand up in that condition.


    But, even if he is still standing�� Can he still fight? Maybe he''d better just give up. For Mora Liz, it would be better for Crimson to just give up because he would only suffer if the fight continued. The gap in their level was just too big. There''s no way he could win against the Fire God. Honestly, Crimson was just prolonging his suffering.


    However, her eyes widened when Crimson''s body suddenly lit up and his wounds healed again. Even the lost arm came back as well.


    "What kind of person is he!?" She could not restrain herself from questioning. Honestly, almost all viewers could not believe what happened. Crimson stood up again as if nothing had happened. There was even a smile on his face.


    "Impossible!" Kiko murmured.

 Chapter 365 - Quick-witted War God

    A wide grin was on Yman''s face. He stepped forward while lifting his hand.


    "Don''t look at me like that Miss Kiko Sun. I haven''t even attacked you yet, but it looks like you''ve received more damage already. Fufu."


    ''T-this fucker dared to make fun of me?!'' Kiko gnashed his teeth. Soon he realized something. ''Wait�� Miss?''


    "The f*ck! Who are you calling Miss?" Kiko barked.


    Yman''s mouth opened into a laugh. "Ahaha. My bad. You look so scared that I mistook your gender."


    "....."


    Grr!


    Kiko trembled in anger while gritting his teeth. Like hell he would believe that! He was certain that Yman intentionally said it! Veins were popping on Kiko''s face, but. He needed to calm down. He knew that Yman was intentionally provoking him to lose his focus.


    ''Ahem! I can''t lose my cool,'' Kiko whispered to himself and controlled his breathing. Yman was an idiot. He wondered what''s the connection between scared and woman.


    Huff! Hah~


    He must defeat this idiot to instill common sense in his brain. Honestly, it surprised Kiko when his Invisible Bombs failed in finishing the bastard.


    He had no idea how or what Yman did, but perhaps he was just lucky. ''In that case, I will use a much stronger one,'' Kiko thought and began generating mana on his hands.


    Wait!


    But before Kiko could finish preparing for his next attack, he froze on the spot. "What the heck are those?" He mumbled when he noticed something was appearing around Yman.


    ''Tsk! The drones.''


    Kiko recognized them right away. Five crimson-colored drones materialized around his opponent.


    The only thing that baffled him was the way Yman summoned them. He couldn''t find any signs of summoning spells. He also didn''t notice Yman using mana. So there was only one conclusion regarding it.


    ''I see. They were items that he stored inside his Cyber Storage.'' Kiko deducted. Regardless of what it is, he just needed to destroy them.


    The drones flew towards Kiko as they fired beams. Tsk! He clicked his tongue as he jumped in mid-air. He also flapped his wings to remain in there. The beams passed by a few inches away from him. He successfully evaded them by flying around.


    From Kiko''s hand, he summoned three fireballs that were moving in a circular motion. He called this technique [Circular Flame]. He fired them at the front. While he was evading the beams that were coming nonstop at him, he also fired his Circular Flame. The fireballs on it scattered away and went towards the beams.


    Then they collided and explosions happened.


    Boom boom boom!


    Thanks to it, Kiko got a chance to attack the other drones. While holding his massive sword, he sped up towards one of the drones. With a flap of his wings, Kiko''s figure bolted straight.


    He swung his sword upward in a diagonal motion and successfully sliced one of the drones in two. The other drones scattered right away after Kiko destroyed one of them.


    They were trying to surround him, but Kiko reacted quickly. His figure darted from one place to another like a startled fish in the river.


    The drones could not even catch his speed. Kiko was truly a high-level person. His speed is the evidence.


    Everyone saw Kiko''s figure appear at the back of one of the drones. The next second, the drone was split in two and disappeared like a wisp of smoke.


    Kiko narrowed his eyes. At first, he was wondering why these drones didn''t explode after destroying them, but now he finally understands the reason. These drones weren''t made of machines. They were made of pure mana. But, how come he stored them in his Cyber Storage? It was the biggest question.


    Uh well! Kiko shook his head. Since it was a spell from a trash person, aka Yman, Kiko didn''t admire it. Also, it wasn''t good straining his mind regarding it.


    Kiko''s figure disappeared once again and the next time he appeared, it was beside one of the drones. Another drone was split in half. It only took him a minute in eliminating all the drones.


    Now standing in midair, Kiko was looking below him, straight to the new batch of drones. Another five drones were coming towards him while firing beams.


    Kiko just stood there like a War God. He had no plans of evading this time. Kiko lifted his free hand. He pointed it to the fast-approaching beams.


    But before the beams could hit him, a mirror-like barrier protected him. Everyone''s mouth turned into an "o" when the beams failed to penetrate it.


    Beams supposedly have high penetration force, yet Kiko''s barrier was able to stand against it. The beams even bounced when they hit the surface of the barrier.


    "A genius idea!" Mora Liz screamed. "Friends! As you can see, Kiko used his water element to create a mirror-like barrier. As most of us already know, mirrors are the best counter for beam attacks! Kiko Sun is truly a quick-witted person! A genius!"


    YEAH!


    The spectators cheerfully pumped their fists in mid-air as they repeatedly shouted Kiko''s name. A smile finally resurfaced on Kiko''s face. Fueled by everyone''s cheering, Kiko''s self-confidence grew higher.


    Especially when a cute and popular announcer like Mis Mora Liz was saying praises to him.


    ''Now, now, let''s end this farce,'' Kiko thought as he summoned mana on his hand. A symmetrical pattern emerged in front of his palm. From the pattern, flames with immense heat burst out, raging towards the approaching new batch of drones. The drones were engulfed in the raging fire and disappeared right after.


    Seeing the fate of his drones, Yman leaped away. He sensed danger. The raging flame proceeded towards him.


    Rea narrowed her eyes at that moment. Why is someone like Crimson afraid of flame? She wondered. She knew that Crimson has high flame resistance.


    Kiko grinned upon seeing Yman running away. Rat! He thought. For him, Yman was like a panic rat, escaping for his dear life. He flew towards him. In just an instant, he arrived above him. Hehe! He grinned. Without wasting time, he lifted his weapon above his head.


    Yman glanced above with wide eyes.


    "Now die!" Kiko yelled as he swung his weapon down towards him. However, "Wait!" Yman shouted while pointing behind Kiko. Kiko grinned. He would not fall for such a petty trick. Kiko knew it was an attempt to divert his attention. But too bad for Yman. Kiko wasn''t an idiot. He knew Yman was just desperate.


    Unfortunately, before his sword hit his opponent. Kiko suddenly felt a strong force from his side. He was sent away like a human propeller. His body slides a good distance upon touching the surface of the stage.


    Everyone fell silent with dumbfounded faces and a clear indication of shock. Yman, on the other hand, was shaking his head.


    "Well, I did warn him," he mumbled and sighed. He was seemingly sympathizing with his opponent, but for some reason, it also seemed like he was making fun of him.


    "....."


    Mora Liz felt like something was blocking her throat. "W-Well, friends. I-it''s seemed like Crimson was very lucky to land a surprise attack again," Mora Liz said in a stuttering voice.


    "Ugh," Kiko''s body twitched as he groaned in pain. It seemed like he was about to die.


    Although Yman wanted to finish him, he decided against it when he noticed that there were still about 68 percentage points in Kiko''s life bar. Perhaps if it wasn''t because of his advanced resonance, his health points would be at most 30-40 percent by now.


    "Eh? Why did Yman bro just stand there? It''s a good chance to finish the arrogant bastard!" Bob was wondering.


    "Right. But maybe he was just being careful," Chloe followed up.


    "Hmm��" Yana was making a pondering gesture, but she could not find a word.


    Looking at their expressions, Rea opened her mouth. "Well, it can''t be helped. Crimson could not mindlessly approach him. There was a saying about a dying person being the most dangerous one," she said.


    Honestly, she wasn''t sure if it was the correct phrase but it should be along those lines.


    "Ah��" Bob nodded his head.


    A figure stood beside Yman. "A-Another Noble Rat!" Vortex exclaimed upon seeing it.


    "Right," Ultima nodded.


    "W-well. Perhaps after killing thousands of them our dude becomes the leader of their group��"


    Ultima wasn''t sure if Vortex was joking. But thinking about it. Yman was the one and only Rat Slayer. So probably, he had a better understanding of them.


    Although dizzy, Kiko was able to stand up with a little struggle. He felt like he had been hit with a bat in the face. His vision cleared up right away after a shake of his head.


    "Damn��" he gnashed his teeth as he peered around him. He saw his opponent and a familiar figure beside him.


    "The f*ck?!" Kiko gawked, but soon he gnashed his teeth. "The heck. That bastard tricked me!" Kiko clenched his fist. "This is unforgivable."


    There''s a gleam in his eyes as he stared at Yman with anger. On the other hand, Yman was doing a high-five with his Noble Rat Fire Doll.


    "Wahahaha!" He laughed while resting both his hands on his waist. "I''m good! I''m good!" He laughed while repeatedly saying it.


    "Eh?"


    Those who have been acquainted with Yman gawked.


    Rea facepalmed. She was wondering why she felt something was different in Crimson.. Now she finally understands why.

 Chapter 366 - Level 5?

    Ptui!


    Kiko spat out blood.


    "This Yman is a freak! The idiot is ridiculously laughing at me!"


    "This animal really pisses me off!"


    "Get ready now! You''re exhausting my patience!"


    Kiko mumbled in frustration.


    Using his wind element, his weapon flew into his hand. The anger was clearly visible on his face. After standing up, he rushed again like a mad berserker.


    YAH!


    His movement was quick. Whoever faced Kiko at this moment might tremble in fear. On Yman''s face, you can see the "o" expression. He didn''t think that Kiko couldn''t take a joke. Even though it was his fault that he was hit in the face with a painful kick. If he only believed him, he might avoid the rat''s attack.


    Fufu.


    "Go!" Yman ordered his bodyguard Noble Rat. It nodded at him before running in Kiko''s direction. The Noble Rat used Air Dance. It was jumping in the air, causing the two to quickly approach each other.


    From above, the Noble Rat used the Brilliant Kick ability. Its foot shone as it was aiming to attack Kiko.


    Fearlessly, Kiko fluttered his wings and flew to meet the rat''s attack. He used [Smite] ability into his sword. Now it was gleaming in purplish color. Then, he swung it in the direction of the opponent. Intense light exploded from their simultaneous attack.


    Fwoosh ~


    A round object flew away. It was the Noble Rat''s head! Thud! It fell on the stage and rolled. But before it turned a wisp of smoke. From above, Kiko stepped on it directly.


    Kiko''s action resulted in the shaking and collapse of the stage. Suddenly Noble Rat Firedoll''s head was crushed and disappeared.


    The crushed parts of the stage flew past Kiko''s face. His eyes were full of anger as he loudly gritted his teeth like an angry cat. He was staring directly at Yman at that moment.


    No time wasted. He shot like a cannon bullet and went straight towards Yman. Yman ran in the other direction to distance himself.


    As Kiko said, after a few seconds, he caught up on Yman. Anyway, Kiko was faster than him because he was flying.


    But it was still surprising that it took a few more seconds before he reached Yman. The viewers began to wonder about Yman''s true level. His speed was comparable to False Path level.


    "Is he really just low-level?" Adam Praeter couldn''t help but ask this.


    "Well, according to the data I gathered, he''s only at level 5."


    "L-Level 5?!" Adam Praeter could not restrain himself from shouting at what was heard.


    Jack nodded.


    "That was even lower than I expected," Adam said. "Only level 5 but that strong? What kind of miracle is this? "


    As the two talks, the fight between the two participants on stage continues. Kiko used a fireball.


    Boom!


    Yman jumped to the other side to dodge. His avoidance was successful. However, Kiko was already waiting there.


    Hayah!


    Kiko thrust his weapon.


    "Wha��!" Yman''s eyes widened slightly.


    Swoosh ~


    It''s good that he rolled. Because otherwise, his head might roll. Kiko''s sword just went over his head. Yman immediately stood up and avoided Kiko''s next successive attacks.


    "Die!"


    Slash!


    "Die!"


    Slash!


    "Die!"


    Slash!


    Each time Kiko struck his weapon, he shouted. In Yman''s mind, ''This Kiko is going crazy! He seems to have lost his sanity because of what happened to him earlier. Maybe the rat''s attack shook his brain and now he lost his mind. ''


    After dodging Kiko''s Horizontal Strike, Yman kicked a boulder.


    Yah!


    It flew towards Kiko. But before it could hit him, Kiko used fast multiple strikes. The boulder was shattered into a hundred pieces. With the sharpness of his sword, the boulder becomes like cheese.


    Yman just backed away. But he noticed that he had already reached the far side of the stage.


    "Now you have no way to escape," Kiko said in a cold voice as he slowly stepped closer to Yman. A bead of sweat dripped down Yman''s cheek.


    Why does this Kiko seem like a 3rd-rate villain when he talks? Yman wondered.


    "Uhm..." he opened his mouth. "L-let''s calm down and talk about it, okay?" The viewers didn''t know if they would laugh at what Yman said.


    At that moment, Mora Liz''s voice resounded again.


    "Friends! Looks like Crimson has no way to escape! Mr. Fire God is really very capable and very strong. Perhaps it is the end of the match! "


    After hearing Miss Mora Liz''s comment, the atmosphere turned noisy once again.


    "Cut the crap!" Kiko shouted, causing a mini shockwave to generate around him. Dust flew away suddenly.


    Kiko immediately raised the weapon. He kicked the stage floor hard to finish Yman quickly. In just about half a second, he was immediately in front of him. "Now, it''s your end," Kiko declared. But, before he could strike the weapon, Yman signaled behind him again. Kiko frowned and immediately turned around.


    Even though Kiko wanted to disobey, his head moved deliberately as if there was some magnet moving it. But, when he turned around he saw nothing.


    "The fuck!" Kiko exclaimed.


    He turned around again and was met by a fist. It was as if the world turned dark when Yman''s fist sank into his face. Kiko was sent flying away again. There was a visible decrease in his health points.


    The jaws of the spectators almost dropped. Alias ??Fire God fell to another simple trick!


    Is he really a God? Why does he look so stupid? Now some spectators started to doubt Kiko''s cunningness.


    When Kiko flew away, several pieces of teeth also flew away. They also noticed blood and tears gushed out. This time Yman didn''t hesitate and immediately released some Crimson-colored Spider Firedolls. They crawled towards Kiko. These spiders can release spider webs to tie their target.


    About five spiders are coming closer and closer to Kiko with the intention of tying him up. Now Yman just has to wait for their mission to succeed. Yman chose not to send the Crimson Bee Firedolls because he knew Kiko''s resistance to the fire element is also high. So, the hot stings of the Crimson Bee are not so effective against Kiko.


    "Hehehe��" Yman grinned.


    The spiders quickly crawled closer to Kiko. However, before they could get close to him they suddenly exploded.


    "Invisible Mines," Yman said suddenly. It looks like his spiders stepped on Kiko''s invisible mines.


    "Bastarrrrd��" Kiko''s angry voice. He slowly pushed himself to stand up.


    When Kiko stood up everyone noticed the swelling on his cheek. His formerly handsome face turned ugly. He even lost some teeth.


    When Kiko stood up he became unusually quiet. He drew strength from his whole body. This time he will make sure he finishes Yman.


    The darker blue mana radiates from head to toe. The stage seemed to shake due to the increasing pressure around. Yman also becomes wary.


    The viewers are once again focused on the stage, waiting for what will happen next and what the two players will do next.


    With the current course of the match, it''s hard to predict the outcome of it because of Crimson''s effective surprise attacks. Even if everyone says that Kiko was higher in level, there is no denying that Crimson''s provocative taunts were very effective. If this continues, Kiko is in danger of losing.


    Grains of the crushed part of the stage flew in the air. Kiko can be seen suddenly raising his right hand in front of him. Then he used the wind element again. After using his wind element, the sword that he had unintentionally released from his grasp a while ago flew directly into his hand like a gentle cat.


    "Now, get ready," there was a gleam in Kiko''s eyes as he said this.


    Kiko held the hilt with his two hands. He held it close to his face where the tip was pointing at the sky.


    Suddenly, steam came out from his mouth as he slowly opened his mouth. "Acceleration!" After shouting this, his figure suddenly disappeared from his position. He could be seen rushing fast towards Yman.


    The expression on Yman''s face suddenly became serious when he noticed he couldn''t follow Kiko''s movements.


    Looking at Yman just standing there like an idiot, a victory grin appeared on Kiko''s face. Kiko noticed Yman''s eyes barely following him. He knew that Yman was now having difficulties following his speed using his eyes.


    He wanted to use this technique when he was up against Almina. But since Yman strained his patience, he decided to use it.


    Yman ran away from Kiko, but Kiko easily outran him. He appeared beside Yman. Yman glanced in his direction. But before Yman''s head could fully turn around, Kiko already appeared behind him.


    Jami and the others fell silent. They admitted that Kiko''s ability surprised them. They never expected that he was very fast. Right at this moment, Kiko''s speed was unparalleled even for Yman. Maybe if Yman mastered the advanced resonance, he could have a chance against Kiko''s speed.


    In one corner of the audience stands, a young girl with lavender hair sneered at the figure of Yman.


    A smile appeared on her face when she noticed Kiko easily cut his arm. Blood flew away where the cut was. Yman frowned.


    "Go Kiko! Defeat him! It''s your chance! Don''t let that guy regain his ground!" She cheered at Kiko.

 Chapter 367 - I-is The Fight Over?”

    "Kiko is now dominating the match!" A cheerful voice came from Marco. Like him, satisfaction can be seen on the faces of his comrades.


    BLAGH!


    A kick to the stomach sent Yman stumbling away.


    KREUSH!


    He landed on the stage. Yman felt his vision turn hazy. 15 percent was subtracted from his health points.


    His severed arm was no longer bleeding. But everyone wondered why his severed arm did not return when he used the healing ability. It remained broken. They remembered that when Yman first used the healing ability, his severed hand came back. But why didn''t it restore this time?


    Only Yman can answer it.


    Kiko did not give him a chance to rest. Another attack was coming at him. Yman''s eyes opened slightly when he saw the sharp part of Kiko''s sword approaching him at unperceivable speed.


    If it hits him, he would say goodbye to himself. Yman thought.


    But before Kiko''s attack hit, Yman used Rapid Leap. Immediately, his figure disappeared from his position. Another wind was hit by Kiko''s attack.


    Tsk!


    Kiko clicked his tongue at what happened.


    "The animal still managed to escape."


    Kiko was very upset because it was his chance to finish him. This bastard annoys him so much. His anger at Yman already pierced the sky.


    When Kiko saw the reflection of his face on the flat side of his sword, he wanted to cancel his resonance immediately so that his handsome face would return immediately. If it wasn''t for his desire to get revenge on Yman, he would have done that.


    But before he can do that, he must first end the worthless man! Kiko summoned mana on his feet.


    "Acceleration!"


    His image also disappeared from his position. He chased after Yman.


    Rapid Leap was a singular instant movement. The distance it can reach depends on the proficiency of the one using it. On the other hand, Acceleration was 3 seconds of continuous movement.


    Within 3 seconds his speed will become 2 times. So it is obvious who is superior to them in terms of speed.


    As expected, Kiko caught up with Yman. He immediately swung his sword. The target of his blow was Yman''s head.


    Yet again, only the sound of the wind came to Kiko''s ears. He also doesn''t feel any impact from his attack. It only means one thing. Once again, his attack failed.


    Yman dodged it again.


    Immediately, he followed up with another attack. As he retreated, Yman dodged Kiko''s successive strikes.


    Yman could only get away from him if he uses Rapid Leap. But, Kiko will use the Acceleration ability to chase him.


    Only one expression could be seen on the faces of the viewers. They were all astonished by their match.


    SHING! SWAANG! KUSSSH!


    This is probably the toughest fight in this competition. Because of their level gap, they never thought it would be this good. They also did not think that the fight would last long. Even more, they didn''t think that Kiko would be challenged so much.


    The fledglings were the most flabbergasted in this match. They knew Yman''s history within the academy. Especially in their early days. How he was called useless or trash.


    They never thought this person would become this strong. That even the so-called strongest male first-year trainee took a long time to beat him. They didn''t know if Kiko Sun just intentionally prolonged their fight, but even if Yman loses this match, it is already imprinted in everyone''s mind that he is now one of the strongest students in the academy.


    The fight between the two continues as if rats and cats are chasing. Kiko''s attacks are still consecutive, which Yman avoids as best he can. They already went around the whole stage.


    Yman also retaliates with an attack. He''s not just pure avoidance. Sometimes he hits Kiko, but his attack is not that strong. In addition to that, Kiko uses a basic ability that increases his defense.


    The two of them took considerable damage.


    It can also be seen that Yman is being hit hard. His movement seems to be slowing down. And because of Kiko''s Acceleration ability, his speed remained better than Yman''s. So Yman is obviously at a disadvantage in this fight.


    Thanks to his Mana Coating ability and basic Strengthening ability, his defense somehow increased a bit.


    The old gambler couldn''t stop himself from swallowing the saliva that was blocking his throat. Although he looked like he would lose his money, he did not regret watching this fight and betting on Crimson because it was a very exciting match.


    A loud noise woke everyone up.


    KRUSSSSHH!


    Yman''s body landed again on top of the broken stage when he was hit by a strong horizontal kick in the back.


    Blood gushed from his mouth and stained around.


    "Gahaha!"


    Kiko grinned as he approached the lying opponent. He dragged his weapon in his hand. The tip of it was drawing a straight scratch on the stage surface.


    If you look at Yman''s situation, he seems to have lost consciousness. He fell motionless. His deep breathing can also be seen.


    "I-is the fight over?" Marco asked excitedly.


    In Bob''s group, the expressions on their faces both seemed to be someone who ate rotten food. Only Rea has an indifferent and calm expression.


    Everyone thought the fight was over, but they saw Crimson suddenly move. He tried his best to get up. But, before he succeeded, a kick hit his side.


    Guh!


    Yman''s body rolled away. A few seconds later, he tried to get up again.


    "Oi! Are you still fighting? "


    "Hehe!"


    "Good then!"


    Kiko likes what''s going on. He hoped to end the fight immediately. However, he thought it would be more fun for him to make this bastard''s life a little bit harder first.


    Because his face was humiliated, he will also make him suffer a bitter experience. He will torture this frog hard. Kiko repeatedly kicked the weakening Yman.


    BLAGH! BLAM! WAM!


    "Don''t lose consciousness!" Kiko yelled while grabbing Yman''s hair. Yman looks pitiful.


    He pulled him into the middle of the stage. Yman seemed like a corpse. It can also be seen that he is hurt. This adds even more fun to Kiko.


    ''This is it��''


    Kiko whispered to himself.


    When they reached the middle of the stage, Kiko suddenly released his grip on Yman''s hair. As a result, his head hit the solid stage.


    Kiko rudely rested his right foot on Yman''s back. He turned up. He looked on the floating monitor where their health points could be seen.


    He saw that Yman still had 17 percent left in his life while he still has 55 percent.


    ''17 points are just right,'' he thought. He still has a lot to do that will make Yman even more miserable.


    Kiko turned around. He saw almost every spectator shouting his name. They throw their fists in the air while saying to finish the opponent.


    But Kiko has no intention of giving in to them. He will not finish the opponent quickly and painlessly. He wanted Yman to suffer first. If he ends the fight right away, it would be okay if he dies for real. But no. Yman''s body will only return to its original state due to the effect of the Photonocules.


    Kiko stopped to look where the camera was. And he smiled menacingly. It was obvious from his smile that he had bad intentions.


    He knew that she was currently watching. What kind of expression is on her face now? Kiko was curious.


    Inside the waiting area, Almina was stunned, staring at the monitor. Her hands trembled. Beside her, Maena was also silently staring. She had the same expression as Almina.


    Kiko returned his gaze to his weakened opponent. But upon looking at him, his eyes widened.


    "Huh?"


    ''Where is he?!''


    Yman had disappeared at his feet. He was there just now, underneath his foot, lying on the ground with almost no life.


    SWAB!


    Suddenly Kiko felt a penetrating pain in his stomach. He turned down and saw his sword stabbed right into him.


    "H-how?"


    Blood flowed from his mouth. He turned to his hand. The sword he had just held was gone. Kiko is confused. He no longer knew what had happened.


    At that moment, space suddenly seemed to ripple. It seemed he was in another dimension. Moments later, Kiko''s eyes widened. There was something strange around him. It wasn''t the look of the place around him just a moment ago. The volume of stained blood on the stage and crevices. They were different from a moment ago.


    Confused, he turned around. He glanced at the floating monitor. The health points of the two are displayed there.


    Ha?


    Kiko''s eyes widened even more at what he saw.


    The opponent''s health points are not 17, but still at 55 percent? "How?" Kiko''s health points on the contrary are rapidly declining.


    45 hp�� 40 hp�� 35 hp�� 30 hp�� 25 hp...


    ��...Kiko fell when it reached 5 percent.


    He could not explain what had happened.


    On Kiko''s neck sat a mosquito with strange crimson veins.

 Chapter 368 - Spirit Form

    With his face on the cold canvas of the stage and a sword protruding on his back, Kiko was lying on a pool of blood with his hazy eyes looking somewhat exhausted.


    He wondered how everything transpired in a weird turn of events.


    Kiko was confused, couldn''t understand, and could not believe what had just happened.


    In these seconds, his vision started to blur. Blood continued dripping out of his mouth and of the wound where the sword was still piercing.


    His consciousness was fading. But before his consciousness faded away, he looked up at Yman''s face. The guy had bruises on his face.


    Oddly though, the bruises on him weren''t as severe as he knew they were.


    Kiko remembered Yman''s face was in a more gore state than this after he repeatedly beat him just a moment ago. It was a satisfying feeling. But how come it seems like a dream only.


    What the hell? The bastard was barely moving a second ago. Yet!


    With hazy eyes, his mind tried to reassess what truly happened.


    C-could it be�� what happened a second ago is just an illusion? Is this man capable of using it?! Impossible! That is impossible! Illusion is a high-tier ability. Not a mere person like Yman could hope to learn it.


    Although Kiko wanted to deny it, he could not find a rather factual explanation to deny it. But still, it could be something else. Kiko still chose to not believe it even though deep inside there''s a part of him that agreed that it was an illusion ability.


    When? When did it happen?


    Kiko then noticed Yman''s arm. ''T-the cut was still there?!'' He concluded that if perhaps it was an illusion ability, it happened after he cut his arm. It may have been that time when they were clashing as they moved around the stage.


    However, what good it brings in knowing out when and how he got himself under Yman''s farce. His state right now is grim. In just a matter of seconds, his fate of losing will be concluded.


    Looking at his enemy, Yman smirked. The almighty Kiko looked so small finally. Yman didn''t mean his literal size. He meant his ego. He moved closer to Kiko''s head.


    Kiko was barely moving, but there was displeasure in his face when he noticed Yman''s action.


    "Hm," Yman pondered. "I think it''s the perfect time to crush his pride." After muttering this, he lifted his foot in front of Kiko''s swollen and bloody face.


    Kiko''s eyes slightly widened.


    In fact, what Yman plans to do could put him in danger. Maybe one of the VIPs will report it to Kiko''s family. It will surely enrage the whole Sun Family.


    Kiko wondered if Yman lost all his common sense. This guy wanted to challenge his family?!


    But Kiko kicked the thought out of his mind when he noticed a sadistic smile on Ymans''s face. The current Yman seemed not bothered by it.


    Kiko felt frightened.


    He would lose�� he certainly will lose�� he, the son of the prestigious Sun family, will lose to a mere person who had zero backing or not from a known family! The thought of it put a bitter taste at the tip of his tongue.


    He summoned the last bit of his strength, trying to crawl away.


    "Fufu," Yman seemed fascinated by his actions.


    The spectators, especially Kiko''s friends, could not believe what was happening.


    Kiko stopped moving suddenly. "W-What the hell am I doing?" He asked in a quaky lamenting voice. "I, the son of the great Sun Family, was trying to run away from his opponent?" He asked, bewildered with his action. "When did I become such a pussy?"


    "T-This action is a big disgrace to the Sun Family! No. No matter if I lost or not, I can''t turn my back towards my enemy. That was a cowardly act."


    Moreover, he tried to run away from HIM?!!


    The mere thought of it put a sting in his stomach. In short, he could not stomach it!


    Yman stopped for a moment as he heard Kiko mumbling. But soon his eyes widened when suddenly his sense of danger kicked in.


    He leaped away without a second of delay.


    BOOM!


    An intense wave of mana burst out from Kiko''s body. It hurled Yman away even though he already jumped a good distance from him.


    Everyone stared at the stage with wide eyes and agape.


    What happened? This is in everyone''s mind. But before they could voice out their thoughts, there, they saw Kiko in an enigmatic state, standing once again. He was surrounded by an intense surge of mana at the moment. Weirdly though, the sword was still sticking on his back. But it seemed like he wasn''t bothered by it. Kiko''s eyes were all white either. He was screaming, "I can''t lose! I can''t lose��" repeatedly. His voice was strange, not the usual him.


    Yman, on the other hand, his body was carried by the intense pressure towards the invisible barrier. He bumped there like a gecko on the wall.


    "This is��"


    In the VIP room, Adam Praeter muttered with a clear indication of great surprise and bafflement.


    "Sir, that�� do you think��" Sunday called out, but her words could not finish, and it seems she wasn''t certain of what to say.


    Principal Mar Mari felt something was unusual. Beside him, Principal Kim was grinning secretly.


    ''Hehehe. He finally drank it. That''s good Kiko Sun. Now, it''s time to wreak havoc! Hahaha!''


    As Principal Kim said, Kiko drank the Divine Sinner''s Blood.


    His grinning face turned broader when suddenly, *Toot!* He received a message. There was a dark shade on his face when he pushed upward his seemingly gleaming eyeglasses with his fingers. But, it was truly a reflection of light coming from his MTMD.


    The stage around Kiko collapsed, making an evolving crater.


    Yman fell on the broken stage. He got up and glanced ahead of him. There was a surprised expression on his face. He didn''t expect that the enemy still had so much to show.


    Kiko''s muscles started to swell, shredding his garb. It seemed like he grew bigger as well, undergoing an unexpected transformation.


    After a few seconds, his figure was completely different now. His blonde medium hair becomes long and the color is like the color of fire. His eyes were all white. His body was stone-like in color. The most striking factor in him is the power he was exuding. It seemed as though he was a completely different person.


    "What the��!" Yman''s words stopped at his throat because of the sudden appearance of Kiko in front of him.


    He just blinked once, yet Kiko was already in front of him!


    Before Yman could move, his intuition was telling him to raise his guard. A strong backward slap sent Yman away, like a cannonball.


    His body rolled and bumped on a piece of erect slab. It was a destroyed part of the stage. Yman''s figure stuck on it Like a sculpture.


    Fortunately, he raised his guard at the right time. Still, his only arm bent in the wrong direction. A great amount of blood spurted from his mouth.


    Yman unstuck himself. And wiped the blood on his face. Even though he was badly hurt, you couldn''t find a pained expression on his face. As though he was a robot that couldn''t feel pain. But in truth, he could feel pain. Just that, he didn''t know how to show it on his face because the one controlling his body right now wasn''t Yman himself. It was Sistela.


    To get rid of the cause of his stomachache, Yman turned into spirit mode and wandered inside his body.


    He was killing bacteria in the form of monsters. They weren''t ordinary bacteria as normal bacteria would not survive inside a body of a person with mana. They were mutated bacteria.


    Everything in the world mutates with the appearance of mana. That of course includes bacteria. Well, they needed to adapt too to their new environment.


    While Sistela was facing Kiko, Yman was also facing a very big bad bacteria.


    He already got rid of many small ones on his way here and now he was in front of a very big one. It must be the boss.


    The bacteria in front of him had a long slimy body like a worm. It has three heads and each of those heads fires different types of acid. There''s no doubt that it was the cause of his stomach ache.


    Thanks to the spiritual form that he acquired from that contracted demon, he could visit inside his body like it was his domain. Unexpectedly though, it was Sistela who proposed such an idea to him.


    Nonetheless,


    WRING!


    Yman summoned a giant chakram and threw it towards the boss bacteria. A rapid spinning sound echoed. Any damage they cause could be restored later on by Yman''s healing ability as long as he got rid of the cause of his disease.


    The giant chakram completely beheaded one of the heads. It was the head that could fire Toxic Splash.


    From the cut, purple color blood sprayed away like a fountain.


    Two heads remained.

 Chapter 369 - Black Flame

    GWEEE!!!


    The Boss Bacteria screeched after one of its heads was cut.


    It moves as if dancing. But he knew the reason was that the enemy was hurt. As the large chakram flew towards him, Yman noticed that the mouth of one of the heads lit up. The shining head has what looks like whiskers on either side of its head. It''s like a long ear.


    While waiting for the chakram to return to his hand, he noticed that the mouth of the shining head had opened wide. Yman felt that the opponent was planning to do something. He was right. A second later, from the enemy''s open mouth, purple objects were forming. Those things are sticky and like gelatine.


    Some could be seen leaking below. "Purple mucus," Yman muttered after seeing it. His eyes squinted, but the expression on his face was still calm.


    Yman concluded that mucus has a bad effect on the body. It can cause bothersome illnesses such as cold, headache, fever, and so on.


    Nonetheless, he needed to raise his guard. As he expected, the monster shot purple mucus that looked like a laser beam. But it is not made of any solar or what energy.


    Instead, it was a purple mucus beam.


    Although he was capable of avoiding it, he realized that it might cause even more damage to his body if he did that.


    Luckily, his big chakram returned at the right time. Yman caught it and immediately blocked the incoming Mucus Beam. The hole in the middle of the chakram closed and it now looked like a shield.


    BLAM!


    The Mucus Beam splattered on Yman''s Chakram Shield. They overflowed and spread in different directions.


    He was pushed back slightly due to the unexpected force of the Mucus Beam. Yman braced himself. Then, he used Strengthening ability and was accompanied by other basic skills that strengthened and gave him extra strength.


    The beam only lasted a few seconds. When the beam ended, Yman immediately created a new chakram. Thanks to his experience, it is easier for him to make Firedolls or weapons such as Chakrams or drones without needing to undergo the process of storing them inside his Cyber Storage or by activating his Black Mana. His ability in creating them seems to have improved quite well. Of course, his skill in controlling mana helped a lot.


    It only took a second for him to mold a new chakram. He created a smaller one, then threw it without a second delay. It almost hit the head that released the Mucus Beam but was blocked by the other head.


    Klang! Ping! Pong!


    Surprisingly, the skin of that head was very hard. Sparks flew right away in their confrontation. Their rivalry lasted a few seconds before Yman''s chakram returned in defeat. After the chakram returned in his hand, Mucus Beam immediately fired at him. Yman could do nothing but block it again with his Chakram Shield.


    BLAM!


    His feet receded again due to the impact. It is even much stronger now than before. Good thing he succeeded in blocking it. Again, he immediately released the smaller chakram to cut the head that releases Mucus Beam.


    This time, he used the Fortification ability on the chakram to make it stronger and faster. Yman noticed that the spinning noise of the chakram was more intense this time. However, a metallic scraping noise was what reached his ears. The other head was still able to block his chakram.


    Like before, it did not succeed in cutting the head with whiskers.


    "Hm, it looks even harder than I thought," Yman whispered in dismay.


    But, something worse happened. His chakram even broke. Again, the opponent unleashes a Mucus Beam.


    Fwoosh!


    Still the same. He needs to catch it with his shield. The only problem is that if it continues, he might eventually lose in this battle.


    BLAM!


    Yman felt the beam is a lot stronger this time. He didn''t know that such powerful bacteria were living inside his body. This is probably the reason why his stomach hurts and sometimes he feels dizzy.


    Whatever happened, he needed to get rid of it.


    He noticed that the mucus had spread around him. "It''s not good. Since I am in spirit form now, the mucus does not affect me. But, that''s a different matter to my physical body. This mucus can certainly have a bad effect on my body. And it might hinder Sistela''s fight against Kiko," Yman thought worriedly.


    While Yman and Sistela were engaging in different matches, some of them were sharing news about their fights. It was through mind communication. Well, they could do it as they were in resonance after all.


    After a few seconds of struggle against the Mucus Beam, he was once again successful in defending himself. But Yman wasn''t sure if he would last if it continued like this. He noticed that the opponent''s attack was getting stronger.


    But if he would not do something with the tough head, he''ll have a hard time finishing off the head shooting the Mucus Beam.


    ''I must do something with that tough head,'' Yman thought. Out of the blue, while he was pondering, something came to his mind. ''Wait. Now that I think about it. Since I am in my spiritual form, there is a chance that restriction in my physical body may not apply to my spirit form.''


    Yman''s pondering came to a sudden halt when at the corner of his eyes he noticed something was gleaming in red. He looked at it and saw that it was the eyes of the tough head that was gleaming.


    His sense of danger told him that something was about to happen. Yman''s sense of danger was spot on. A second later, something was moving in the purple mucus around him.


    Then one by one, hairy long oval-shaped purple objects came squirming towards him. They were crawling towards him.


    He stepped back and summoned Bat and Bird-type Firedolls one by one. Yman was able to create five Bird Firedolls and ten Bat Firedolls. They shot Fireballs and Flameshots towards the squirming little bacterias that looked like hairy slugs.


    The battle against his Firedolls and the hairy slugs took place around him. Looking at the battle, the Firedolls were in the advantage. The hairy slug tried to spit mucus from their tube-like mouth. But the Bird Firedolls easily evaded them.


    But since the Bat Firedolls weren''t as agile as the Bird Firedolls, some of them took damage. The sticky mucus clings to their body. However, since they were not alive in the first place, they continued shooting flames.


    But that didn''t last long because they found it difficult to fly because of the number of sticky mucus clinging to them.


    One by one, the bat firedolls fell. Every time a Bat Firedoll fell, it was immediately attacked by hairy slugs. The Bat Firedolls are slowly disappearing.


    While the Firedolls fought, Yman confronted the Bacteria Boss. It still releases the Mucus Beam which further adds to the mucus around. Yman is already surrounded by them. And from that mucus, hairy slugs tiny bacteria crawled towards him.


    Thanks to his remaining Firedolls, they hit the slugs approaching him. Their flameshot attack seems to be effective. Hairy slugs die directly when hit. But there is a problem. More and more hairy slugs are coming out of the mucus.


    It got to the point that the Firedolls could no longer handle their numbers. Especially since even if they kill one, there will be ten or more to replace them. And they also seem to have no end because the surroundings are almost filled with mucus. It''s like a sea of ??mucus.


    Yman knew the situation was not good. In addition, their defense is strong. His Chakram is also unable to injure the stubborn head that blocks whenever he attacks the head releasing the Mucus Beam.


    The situation started to annoy him.


    Soon the Firedolls could no longer defend him. The hairy slugs bacteria also started crawling on his body as if swallowing him whole.


    He tried to escape, but he had difficulty moving because it was so sticky. It only took a couple of seconds before Yman was swallowed in the tide of hairy slugs. Following it, soon the remaining Firedolls disappeared one by one like a wisp of smoke.


    After a minute of silence,


    KEEEEE!


    The giant bacteria screeched so loud. Perhaps to celebrate his victory. However, a second later, the area where Yman was engulfed by the hairy slug tide lit up. From small gaps, beams of lights penetrated. This was followed by the blaze of strange black flame.


    All the gathered hairy slugs were swallowed by it as well as the surrounding mucus. They all disappeared as if hit by a powerful solar flare.


    Emerging from the scene was the figure of Yman in black hair. He was surrounded by black energy that resembles black flames. A wicked smile was on his lips. And a new determination was in his eyes.


    In the competition, the evolved Kiko was strangling Yman, whose body is currently in control of Sistela.

 Chapter 370 - Sistela’s Crisis

    Sistela tried to free herself from Kiko''s clutch. But she couldn''t budge Kiko''s grasp.


    Her opponent seems to have leveled up several times due to the intensity of his new strength. Sistela did not know why this arrogant person suddenly transformed. She thought she could beat him.


    She would have been excited to announce her victory to her partner if she won. She was also excited at his reaction. But, sigh. Now it is even difficult to escape from her opponent''s grasp.


    Sistela is curious about what has happened to her partner during these times. She has contacted her several times, but for the past few minutes, she has not received a response from him.


    <Tsk! Let go of me you''re ugly.> Sistela thought. He wanted to shout it but she couldn''t talk because of Kiko''s grip. <Tss!> Sistela clicked her tongue, but only in mind.


    A big grin could be seen on his opponent''s thick face. After his body thickened, his head also became bigger, and after his head became bigger, of course, his face also thickened. This is what Sistela believed.


    Mark of pulses surfaced on Kiko''s body as if there were snakes inside him. This is a sign that he was using more strength to strangle his opponent.


    The seemingly unintelligent growl could also be heard from him. Weird because he sounded like a monster.


    While Sistela was struggling to free herself from Kiko''s grasp, her opponent suddenly brought her face closer and shouted, "You''re going to die, you piece of sh*t!"


    Even though Yman''s body was having a hard time breathing at these times, Sistela could still smell the foul odor of the opponent''s mouth.


    <Tss! I seem to suffocate first with the stench of his breath and not with his strangulation in the neck.> Sistela whimpered. But she didn''t voice it out as it was impossible in her current situation.


    In the VIP''s room,


    Principal Kim was gripping tightly his MTMD. In his mind, ''Just a little more, j-just a little more. Kiko Sun just needed to defeat that student. After that is the grand finale. Hehehe." He seemed excited about something to happen.


    On the stage, Sistela wasn''t affected by the lack of oxygen. So even though Kiko strangled her, she wasn''t affected by it. However, there was a big problem. The body she was piloting still needs it to live. So, at the moment, Sistela was still in trouble. In big, big trouble. She could not let her partner''s body die.


    The remaining health points in the health bar had only 25 percent displayed in it and continued decreasing bit by bit. Thanks to the armor that her partner wore, it took most of the damage from the enemy''s deadly attacks a while ago.


    Sistela secretly used her Appraisal Ability on Kiko to see if something can help in her current situation. There was something written in there about human beings being weak against nut-cracking attacks.


    Sistela wondered what the Nut-cracking Attack was. Then Information regarding nut-cracking suddenly appeared in her vision. After that, she didn''t hesitate and immediately kicked Kiko on his lower part.


    Kiko winced like a flat tire. The expression on his face looks grim.


    Her attack seemed effective because she noticed her enemy slightly loosened his grip.


    It wasn''t only Kiko who reacted that way. Even the spectators also reacted out of instinct. As though they were the ones who received Sistela''s attack.


    <Woah!> Sistela moaned in excitement. She was trying all sorts of attacks a while ago but none of them seemed effective against this enemy.


    <Such a normal-looking attack but very effective!> Sistela muttered. But since she was piloting her partner''s body, the voice that came out of her mouth was of course the voice of her partner.


    That attack took at least 5 percent of Kiko''s health points. However, after his transformation, Kiko''s health points reached 200 percent, so the decrease of 5 percent wasn''t so much. But, it is still better than none.


    Even if Sistela was in the body of Yman, there were some abilities she could not use. Examples of it were Yman''s Time Warp and Skill Canceller,


    Sistela used the opportunity to use her healing ability. She quickly used the Self-Healing Ability. Her health points returned to 50 percent. However, although her health points returned, the exhaustion of Yman''s body accumulates. It is also the reason why her attack is now lower compared to before.


    Kiko''s face was twitching as he glared at his enemy in anger. "Damn you!" His voice was very different from before. It was louder and raspy.


    After finding a way to damage her opponent, she seemed to have found a new confidence. "Bring it on!" She taunted him.


    The two of them attack at the same time. Sistela''s aim was Kiko''s crotch. It only took them a second to arrive in front of each other.


    Sistela noticed Kiko''s defense was wide open. <A chance!> He exclaimed in low volume. She didn''t waste the opportunity and sent a strong and fast kick she could give.


    But Kiko''s figure suddenly disappeared in front of her. It was weird that such a massive size could move at that speed.


    Sistela''s eyes darted from left to right, but she could not spot him.


    At that moment, a big figure seemed to appear behind her. She quickly leaped away. As she was retreating, everyone noticed an arm fly in the air along with a fountain of blood.


    Still, in her indifferent expression, Sistela quickly distanced herself. And used healing ability to stop the bleeding.


    The arm was hers or more like Yman''s. Now she lost both her arms. Since her self-healing ability could not restore what was lost, she had no way to restore the cut parts.


    Sistela was in a more disadvantageous situation now. The reason she was able to restore her lost hand when she was hit by Kiko''s Invisible Bombs was due to Yman''s Enhanced Firedoll that could use Restoration Ability.


    But the problem is, there was only one of those and Sistela already used it. So there was nothing more that could help her. Due to stomachaches, Yman wasn''t able to create more.


    Kiko grinned even more.


    Although Sistela already lost both of her hands, the expression on her face was still indifferent.


    The spectators wondered if Crimson couldn''t feel pain. Well. They can actually. But, Crimson, he was a little odd. His pain tolerance is abnormally high. Sistela has five senses function, so she was capable of feeling pain as well.


    The reason she can remain her poker face even with such injury is that in their current state, it wasn''t Sistela who was receiving the pain. It was Crimson. So the one who was suffering at the moment was Crimson.


    Thanks to their Self-Healing Ability the pain Crimson felt didn''t even last long. As long as the wound clot, the pain subsides on the spot. Summed up with his high tolerance of pain, it wasn''t even a challenge to him.


    Nonetheless,


    It was clear who was winning the match. Sistela could only run away from Kiko. But Kiko was even more agile now than before his transformation. Escaping from him seemed impossible.


    "Now everyone! Mr. Fire God is now going to finish the match!" Mora Liz''s voice resounded once again when they noticed Kiko walking towards Sistela.


    Kiko''s supporters started yelling again.


    Finish him! Finish him! Finish him!


    While walking calmly like a king, he raised his hand above his head. His sword came out from the rubbles and flew directly in his raised hand. Kiko caught it with ease. The sword that was supposedly massive looked small in his hand. After getting his sword, his figure disappeared.


    Sistela readied herself. No matter what happens, she can''t lose before her partner comes back.


    Kiko''s figure disappeared once again. Since staying on her feet brings no difference. Sistela chose to run this time. At least she could gain momentum.


    However, just a few steps after she ran, Sistela felt she was falling. <Uh?> At that moment, she noticed one of her legs had disappeared. Blood sprayed from the cut. Before she fell, she quickly used Self-Healing Ability.


    <Dammit! Partner, please come back pretty fast!> With just a leg, she kicked the broken stage and used Rapid leap to distance herself.


    Right after Sistela''s figure disappeared from her position, a long trench happened in the area along with a rumbling noise.


    Yana had teary eyes as she stared at his brother''s figure having lost three of his major limbs. On top of that, most of the spectators were shouting to finish him.


    She didn''t like it. There was a dark shade on her face as she looked down and prayed for her brother''s wellness. No matter how others shun him, she would remain her brother''s ally.


    <Uhm�� this ugly is so annoying��> Sistela whimpered.


    Kiko knitted his brows when his finishing attack failed to hit his target. But it only happened for a second before a grin returned to his face when he noticed his opponent''s situation.


    "Hehe," he chuckled. "What a nice sight to behold," Kiko said with a mocking face.


    The image of Yman trying to escape away from him gave a wonderful feeling to Kiko. "It''s futile to run, trash," he said as he licked the sharp edge of his sword.


    <Damn! He''s noisy.> Sistela murmured.


    Kiko said, "You lowly trash! Accept your Destiny!"


    <.....>


    My next attack will be the last," Kiko muttered. Kiko was about to attack again to finish his opponent, but.


    He suddenly stopped and�� "No way!" Kiko clenched his head as he shouted. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"


    For some reason, he held his head as he shouted like a madman. Everyone gawked at that moment as they asked themselves why Kiko suddenly acted like that.


    Kiko was exuding suffocating bloodlust. And it seemed his vision started to get murky. Heinous thoughts started creeping into his mind.. It seemed a devil advocate was whispering beside him to do vile acts.

 Chapter 371 - ‘Let Me.’

    Kiko breathed deeply. Steam gushes out from his mouth. He resisted the thing that seemed to command him to do whatever things it was commanding.


    He gritted his teeth. "It can''t be! I am Kiko Sun! No one can dictate me!" Kiko shouted and released strong energy out of his body.


    Eh?


    The audience was surprised at what he did.


    "What happened to our friend? Is he okay? Why did he stop? The fight is going to be over!" Bruno asked. But his friends were as confused as him.


    Sistela wondered what happened to the opponent, but it''s good for her because she''ll be given enough time. If her partner still couldn''t get back to those times, it was their defeat. She has nothing else she could do in her situation. All she could do was use Self-Healing and Rapid Leap abilities.


    Since she only has one leg and no arms, she lost her ability to attack and defend. All she could do was run away and try to prolong the fight even for a little. If only her partner''s physical attributes weren''t high, she would have been defeated already.


    Viewers didn''t know what happened to Kiko. Just one more attack and he was sure to win.


    At that moment,


    Hah! Hah! Hah!


    Everyone heard loud breathing. It was from Kiko. He was breathing deeply.


    Principal Kim was anxiously biting his fingernail. He didn''t think that Kiko still hadn''t lost control of himself. He seems to have underestimated Kiko''s willpower.


    Kiko''s pride still seemed to prevail. He turned to the sky and suddenly laughed like crazy. Kiko knows the danger posed by Divine Sinner''s Blood. He didn''t wish to use it. He just brought it with him for extra caution. Also, even though he didn''t want to admit it, he felt threatened by Yman''s high physical attributes. And it turned out he was right to bring it.


    His laughter lasted for about ten seconds before slowly turning to the opponent. He saw his ridiculous condition. A grin surfaced on his face.


    "I see, so you''re still alive, huh," he said in a cold voice. He will end him now.


    After drinking that thing, Kiko felt that everything seemed so light. He felt so strong. It was a good feeling. He believed he can take down a hundred of Yman at the same time.


    "Now is the time to end this match. It already took so long," Kiko whispered.


    Everyone noticed what seemed to be electricity creeping out on Kiko''s body.


    "Lightning attribute?!" Some spectators exclaimed when they saw it.


    "What! Breakthrough in battle!?"


    The audience was shocked by the sudden appearance of the Lightning Element on Kiko.


    Inside a room where the VIPs are currently watching the match through a big monitor, shock expressions can be seen on their faces.


    "This is one of the very rare cases of breakthrough," said Adam Praeter.


    "You are right, Mr. Adam sir, "Jack agreed.


    Behind them, Principal Mar Mari put the MTMD he was holding back into his pocket.


    He has been feeling bad for a while now. It was as if something was bothering him. He had a bad feeling about Kiko''s transformation. Kiko''s change of appearance doesn''t seem normal. Principal Mar was certain that it wasn''t from any Shapeshifter Artefact.


    In fact, he should have looked like a High-Ranked Beasts in case he used a Shapeshifter Artefact to change his form. But, Kiko''s current appearance seems not from any high-ranked beast. So that means, it could be a new species or not a Shapeshifter Artefact.


    But, the problem is, other than the Shapeshifter Artifacts, he couldn''t remember any item that could transform a human form. He was about to contact the elders but stopped when Principal Mar Mari noticed that no one other than him had questioned the matter, and he had not received a message from the elders, so he put back his MTMD in his pocket.


    He checked his MTMD several times in case the elders contacted him. They are the only ones who know better what is going on. But no, he received no message.


    Now, something even more shocking has happened. Kiko suddenly made a breakthrough. To his knowledge, Kiko''s element affinity is Fire, Water, and Wind. So the appearance of the Lightning element is without a doubt a breakthrough.


    This is great. The academy will finally have a student with four elements! This is big news by any chance.


    Earlier he was nervous when Kiko almost lost to student Y�� Yman! That''s right. If Yman had won earlier it could have caused a reverse-effect in this academy competition.


    What he means by the reverse effect is that the already low prestige of the academy will further plummet because the non-elite are simply beating their Elite students.


    The defeat of the two elite students from the Canine race will not have much of a bad effect on the academy because in fact, they are not legitimate students of the academy. They are exchange students only.


    The prestige of the school would be even better because they were defeated by a legitimate student of the academy. But in case Kiko from the elite class is defeated by Yman, it will have a bad effect on the academy.


    This is also the reason why he asked Miss Mora Liz to Hype Kiko. The real purpose of the competition is to promote the elite students of the academy.


    He wasn''t siding on Kiko. All he wanted was for the academy to rise in prestige. Because by chance, more investors and sponsors will come to offer partnerships with them. The city will definitely grow and as the city grows, the academy will definitely rise. It''s that simple.


    The emergence of the dungeon is the first step for many possibilities. Supposedly, this is the first step of Human City Zone 7 to rise.


    If they want to advance the city as much as Human City Zone 2, they need proper management and good planning.


    This is also the reason why Principal Mar Mari said that this Inside Competition can be compared to a double-edged sword.


    Well, he can breathe easily now. Kiko only needs one attack and he will definitely win. If Kiko wins the match, there will be only three of them left. And since they all belong to the elite class, whoever wins is acceptable.


    Principal Mar Mari smiled slightly when he saw the image of Kiko standing in the middle of the dilapidated stage. Orange electricity was crawling on his body. He could also hear the shouts of the spectators.


    WarGod! WarGod! WarGod!


    Almost everyone calls Kiko War God and no longer his Fire God competition listed name.


    It added more smiles to his face. He also saw the VIPs around him. They all seem to be amazed at Kiko''s breakthrough.


    ''Hm, okay then. It looks like the academy will be having a great year,'' Principal Mar speculated.


    Everyone is focused on what Kiko will do. They are excited about its new power.


    "Please WarGod finish that Moneybag!"


    One spectator could not restrain himself from shouting.


    But, the old gambler who betted on Crimson seems to know him.


    "Doro!"


    The old man called.


    Doro turned to the right of his back where he heard someone calling his name.


    He was surprised at who he saw but his shock lasted only for a second. "Oldman! You''re here too! Hahaha!" Doro said with a smirk at the old man.


    "You scam!" The old man shouted. Doro was one of his former friends who cheated on him.


    Doro just sneered at him. "Don''t say you''re here to bet too?" Doro suddenly asked. He didn''t even pay attention to what the old man said.


    "What now if I bet!" The old man replied in a loud voice.


    "Heh!" Doro scoffed. "Atleast it looks like you''re in luck. That WarGod looks strong, "said Doro. Doro believes the old man betted on the WarGod.


    "I bet on the opponent!" The old man shouted in reply.


    "....."


    Doro was silent for a moment before laughing very loudly.


    "Hahaha! You''re really in bad luck, Oldman. I think you should blame your misfortune! Hahaha!" Doro said in mockery.


    The old man just sighed and quietly returned to his seat. Well, if you look at the match, there seems to be no hope of winning.


    Hah~


    He let out a sluggish breath. Doro, on the other hand, could hardly stop laughing.


    Kiko heard the screams of the people. They were calling him by the name he thought suited him best.


    ''Okay.''


    ''Looks like I have to give what they are asking.''


    He looked at the person he hated. There was nothing he could do anymore. He looked like a chicken with one foot, waiting for someone to butcher him. Yman could only restore up to 30 percent of his health points even if he tried to use his Self-Healing ability a few more times. The effect of his skill seemed to have weakened due to the accumulated fatigue of his body. Kiko assessed.


    Hehehe!


    Kiko''s mouth curved upward. Then his figure disappeared as if he had warped. Only the spark of Lightning was left in the air.


    Lifting his sword upward, he looked straight at the enemy''s widened eyes. Kiko felt his speed had increased again, maybe because of his breakthrough. He felt excited. With this breakthrough, no one can wish to defeat him!


    Before he could strike the sword to finish his opponent, the opponent suddenly disappeared in front of him. He knew he used the Rapid Leap ability.


    "It''s futile!" Kiko muttered in the air. His figure disappeared as well. Then he overshadowed his opponent from behind.


    "Now!" He screamed, at the same time, he swung his sword.


    Sistela closed her eyes.


    She knows this is it. She already did all she could.


    <Sorry partner. That''s all I have.> She whispered in dismay as she waited for her end.


    At that moment, ''Let me,'' Sistela suddenly heard the familiar voice.


    But,


    "DIE!!!" Kiko shouted loudly as his sword struck the poor opponent.


    Most of the spectators stood up. "The battle is finally over!" They shouted in unison.


    But,


    WOOSH ~


    It seemed like a gust passed and suddenly everyone fell silent when the image of Crimson suddenly disappeared from his position. Only his shadow was hit by Kiko!


    This was immediately followed by a strong impact.


    BAM!


    Kiko''s huge body sprang up. It landed on the broken stage and bumped several times on the large rubbles of concrete floors that were scattered around.


    "....."


    Suddenly everyone fell silent as if they had swallowed their own tongues.


    In their minds,


    WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED!!?

 Chapter 372 - Let’s See Who Is The Real Monster In Speed.”

    When Kiko was thrown, all the noise suddenly disappeared as if the place was empty. Maybe if someone farted they would quickly find out who the culprit was because of the extremely deafening silence. All viewers have only one expression displayed. They were staring at the stage with dumbfounded faces.


    Everyone thought it was the end of the fight, but it didn''t seem to be.


    Thump!


    Their attention was distracted by the sound of feet touching over the stage. They saw participant Crimson calmly land. Everyone thought something seems to have changed in him. They wondered what it was because he still looked the same. His hands were still cut and he has a foot only. But everyone had a strong feeling that something had changed in him.


    His aura seemed to say that he had just arrived. Right! That''s how they feel about him. He was exuding that kind of demeanor.


    Although his appearance did not change as much as what happened to Kiko, the expression on his face had a noticeable change.


    He used to be like an expressionless robot. Now someone could see a smile on his lips. One side of his lips was raised. They wanted to shout, what is happening?! How did he survive WarGod''s very fast attack?! What surprised them the most was when they saw that it was Kiko who was thrown to the rubbles.


    First of all, they are not the only ones with questions. Even Yman was wondering about his condition. He was shocked to notice his situation. A large bead of sweat dripped down his cheek.


    Guh! He groaned involuntarily. ''H-How does my body look like this?!'' It seemed all the colors left his eyes. Only white remained. He didn''t know whether to cry or laugh. There was also a white object that escaped his mouth and started to ascend to the sky where a beam of holy light descended from the sky. But of course, it was all his imagination only.


    Nonetheless,


    Why does he seem like a seahorse?!!


    He would have liked to ask his dependable partner. But wait, on second thought, is she really a reliable partner? Well, since she was able to stay alive until he came back, maybe it was fine to say that his partner was reliable.


    Just that, what happened to him was truly tragic.


    Even if he wanted to ask Sistela about this matter, there was nothing he could do. Especially when he notices the collapse of large pieces of rubble where he thinks the opponent has flown.


    Thump! Thud!


    The noise immediately grabbed all the attention around. The image of Kiko appeared from there. An angry expression could be seen on his face.


    Yman was shocked at the opponent''s appearance. But even though his appearance had changed a lot, he immediately recognized it was Kiko because of the degree of anger and killing intent he unleashed. And all of that was focused only on Yman. Only Kiko has that kind of anger towards him.


    While watching what his opponent would do next, he suddenly heard Sistela''s voice.


    <Be careful, partner. His strength and speed raised so much.>


    "Hm, okay."


    After saying this, he heard the opponent''s loud shout.


    From the rubbles, Kiko shouted as he rushed as fast as lightning. "Basssstaaarrrd!" Gums showed out when his mouth opened largely. As he shouted, snake-like lightning crawled over his body.


    Kiko was surprised that the bastard still had strength left. But for Kiko, that wasn''t a wise choice for Yman. If only he allowed him to end his life, he would never experience pain again. Because of what Yman did, he made himself even more miserable. It seemed like he wanted to die slowly and suffer more pain than dying in an instant with only a brief pain.


    Even if they didn''t actually die and their body would just return to the original state after the resonance is deactivated, the pain they felt in the fight was no different from the real thing.


    Due to the intensity of the force his legs have, in his jump, the rubbles he left behind were crushed even more. Its parts flew away due to tremors.


    Kiko''s supporters were encouraged to shout again when they saw his dash.


    WarGod! WarGod!


    None of them worried that the fight might take a big turn. Even though they can''t explain what happened earlier, they still strongly believe that it was just One Last Attempt of Kiko''s enemy. It was already impossible for the opponent to win at his condition. Maybe he was just lucky earlier because Kiko lowered his guard. However, it was obvious who was still winning in this battle.


    They wanted to ask, "What can he do with just one foot?" Anyone who had commonsense could prolly guess what the outcome would be of this match.


    Just like what Sistela said, Kiko''s new speed was truly amazing. Yman had no idea how Kiko gained that boost. However, there seems to be something wrong. In Yman''s face, there was no sign of worry.


    In an instant, Kiko arrived next to him. That was how fast he became. Kiko immediately unleashed a blow.


    Fwoosh!


    Although Kiko didn''t use all his strength in that blow, there was no doubt that his strength wasn''t superficial. Any low-level person who gets hit by it would definitely faint on the spot.


    However,


    "Ha?!"


    A question mark and exclamation point floated over Kiko''s head. He didn''t feel the impact?! His punch didn''t hit his target?!


    Kiko''s mind was startled. It was a good thing he didn''t use his full strength in that blow, otherwise, he would have fallen because of the momentum.


    The reason for Kiko''s shock was that Yman disappeared from his position again.


    ''This is impossible!'' Kiko shouted in his mind.


    He quickly glanced at his sides. When he could not find Yman on either side, he quickly turned around. But, before he could turn around, he felt a strong kick right in the middle of his legs.


    Ugyok!


    Kiko moaned from the familiar pain. And for a moment his body swayed like a flat tire. He felt severe pain accompanied by a cringe.


    Kiko endured the pain and slapped one of his arms towards his back, where he believed the opponent was. And again, he didn''t hit anyone.


    Kiko frowned at what had happened. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the shadow of the opponent. Even before he could turn in his direction, his hand reached out to grab him. However, the result was still the same. The opponent disappeared again and he could only touch the air.


    Kiko was confused and surprised by the incident. For him it was impossible! Why can''t he hit the bastard?!


    He suddenly saw Yman a few meters away from his side.


    How did he arrive there? Kiko wondered if he lost his mind. He seemed to be seeing impossible right now.


    ''C-Could it be an illusion again?'' Kiko couldn''t help but think it was the case.


    "This sh*t!"


    Kiko didn''t hesitate and rushed towards Yman immediately. But same as before, he disappeared before he could hit him. He turned around and found him. But, to his surprise, he was in the position exactly where Kiko came from!


    "Wha��!"


    All the spectators could not believe what was happening.


    "What happened? Why can''t Kiko dude hit him?" Bruno asked as if he swallowed a bitter bug.


    Why did Yman suddenly disappear and appear everywhere? Bruno and the rest were baffled by Yman''s weird movements.


    What made Kiko even angrier was the mocking smile that could be seen on Yman''s lips that seemed to belittle him.


    ''Wow! The courage!'' Kiko exclaimed in his mind.


    "Bastard, you have a lot of courage to look at me that way." Kiko didn''t know if he would laugh or cry at him. ''This bastard thinks he can win?''


    ''Did this idiot think he was better than me?!'' Kiko asked in his mind. ''That''s crazy!'' He asked and answered his question.


    Honestly, Kiko hasn''t shown his full strength yet. But now he will use it all! He didn''t have to prolong the fight. He''s going to end this bastard because it''s boring to look at his face!


    "Heyaaahh!"


    Kiko shouted. As he did so, intense electricity crept through his entire body.


    He saw the opponent ahead, standing on one foot while looking at him as if he was still waiting. "Dammit!" Kiko can no longer handle Yman''s contempt.


    He was furious, but Kiko suddenly remembered, "Wait! I should not fall to his taunt." He was sure that Yman was just messing with his mind. "Tsk!" He almost fell into his trap.


    Huff! Hah~


    Kiko took a deep breath and let out the air in his mouth. He did this three times while not lowering his guard.


    Looking at Kiko, Heh~ Yman smirked.


    He was having fun watching his opponent in dilemma. ''Did he think I was trying to trap him?'' Yman wanted to laugh but stopped because, in the blink of an eye, Kiko immediately disappeared from his position. He appeared right behind him. Yman immediately noticed that Kiko''s movement was faster now and looked stronger as well.


    However, a smirk was on Yman''s face.


    "Let''s see who is the real monster in speed," he muttered.

 Chapter 373 - The End Of The Longest Match

    Kiko attacked again. His movement is now faster. He crossed a few meters of their distance in just an instance. His hand was already a centimeter away from Yman''s face.


    Kiko grinned at that moment. ''Now! It''s your end!'' Kiko seemed to be celebrating in his mind for his victory. He knew he just needed an attack. An attack that hits the opponent. If he managed to hit Yman even once, he was sure to win.


    But, the grin on Kiko''s face disappeared again as if water had been poured and erased it. His hand touched just wind again!


    This time, Kiko saw it when Yman''s body that had been in front of him suddenly disappeared. Kiko''s eyes widened. He couldn''t understand what kind of ability Yman was using.


    After failing to his target, *Bam!* Kiko received a strong kick again. This time, it was on his side that he was struck. Kiko staggered back and bent on his knee.


    He felt the weight of that kick. He winced in pain and seemed to be vomiting. Although hurt, Kiko still forced himself to stand up and attack again. He could not accept that his attacks had failed one after another.


    However, just like his previous attacks, instead of hitting the opponent, Kiko receives the attack. His health points are gradually declining.


    Kiko stood up again. He could already taste the taste of his own blood in his mouth.


    As he stood up, before he could start moving, Yman disappeared again from his place. Kiko was slightly shaken. A moment later, just as he feared. He was hit again. And this time, the attack is from above. Kiko was hit in the head by a strong kick. It looks like something exploded where he was. But it was only Kiko who was hit by Yman''s strong kick.


    The crushed parts of the stage emerged that looked like dust. Kiko''s body sank into his position like a human nail.


    Though hurt, Kiko immediately left the hole where he had sunk. At this point he is confused and unable to think correctly. He can''t attack properly either.


    Inside the VIP room, Adam Praeter narrowed his eyes. ''My suspicion is correct. That young man is not just ordinary,'' Adam said to himself. As he continued to watch the match, Adam couldn''t help but whisper what was on his mind, "This is bad for Kiko Sun," Adam Praeter muttered. Although he didn''t say it out loud, Sunday and Jack heard it.


    "W-why sir?" Sunday''s curious question. Jack also looked at him.


    When he noticed their eyes on him, "He hesitated to attack because he thought there was nothing he could do. He seems to have gradually become discouraged because of his series of failed attacks. Other than that, he can''t even follow the opponent. In his mind, even if he attacks, it seems useless because his opponent suddenly disappears," Adam replied.


    Sunday and Jack understood what Adam wanted to say. In short, Kiko Sun started to cower. But she had another question. "Sir Adam, do you think it is possible for a level 5 to move that fast? Isn''t Crimson just hiding his true level?" Even Sunday started to doubt Yman''s level because of his unperceivable speed.


    Sunday noticed Adam''s slight smile. But he did not expect the veteran old man''s reply to her question. "Move?" Adam asked instead. But, Adam followed up by saying, "You are mistaken. He did not move or run." Adam slightly shook his head.


    "Ha???"


    Question marks seemed to float over Sunday''s head from Adam''s reply. "H-How come Crimson didn''t move, Sir?" Noticing the doubt in the expressions of the two, Adam opened his mouth again.


    "What Crimson did was going back and forth to where he was a few seconds or minutes ago."


    The shock and can''t believe expressions on the faces of the two were obvious.


    "I-If so�� a Time Warp?" Adam smiled and nodded slightly on Sunday''s follow-up. Sunday and Jack, on the other hand, seemed shocked by what they learned.


    Kiko''s supporters this time around were super quiet. They saw Kiko constantly receiving attacks and there was nothing he could do to retaliate.


    This was not what they envisioned to happen. This was contrary to their expectations. This was not how they thought of this battle. This was the opposite of their imaginary battle. Kiko should be the attacker and his opponent should be the one beaten.


    But why is Kiko being beaten by the opponent? Viewers didn''t know what to feel. They don''t know whether to feel sorry, angry or laugh at Kiko''s plight of being beaten by an opponent with only one foot and no hands.


    "The f*ck am I seeing! A One-foot-man beating a WarGod?" Huge sweat can be seen on Doro''s face as he asks it in the air.


    In the perspective of the spectators, Kiko was beaten by the opponent with only one foot. But, from Kiko''s perspective, his opponent seems to have a hundred feet.


    It was a very one-sided battle. Kiko could hardly retaliate. His face was also swollen. Occasionally, he tried to catch Yman. But, the result is still the same. He couldn''t even do anything.


    What''s even more discouraging, every time he tries to retaliate, his defense gets more and more open, so he gets hit in the parts of the body where his defense is weak.


    So now Kiko is skeptical.


    Although Yman''s damage was not that powerful enough, Kiko''s health points were decreasing continuously. If this goes on, Kiko will definitely lose sooner or later.


    While hiding in his arms like a turtle in his shell. "Uhm, you are pitiable. Why didn''t you just give up to end your suffering?" Kiko heard the seemingly concerned tone of his opponent.


    Kiko''s brow twitched and his face contorted in a butter expression.


    ''Pity? Is this bastard pitying me? Me? I am Kiko Sun! Do I need pity? Never!''


    ''An insignificant fool is looking down on me!?''


    ''I can''t take it!''


    ''Never! Never! Neveeeeeer!''


    ''No one has the right to look down on meeeee!!!''


    Kiko finally snapped out of anger. At that moment, a gleam started to light in his eyes. The gleam seemed to blaze like a surging fire. Every moment, it becomes more intense.


    Orange-like electricity started to crawl all over his body once again. Along with it, was a surging flame. Now, Kiko''s body was exuding both lightning and fire.


    Seeing this, Yman immediately retreated by using his Time Warp ability. His decision was just right on time because after he retreated, an explosion happened with Kiko in the center.


    "Self-destruct?" Yman whispered. However, a second later, he noticed Kiko was still standing in the middle of that explosion. He was unhurt!


    Kiko spread his wings and flew in the air, then countless balls of fire emerged around Kiko. They seemed like they were covering the sky. Beads of sweat appeared on Yman''s face.


    "Ooh!" Adam Praeter''s eyes gleamed in excitement upon seeing Kiko''s figure in mid-air. "This is exactly a good move," He added. Without delay, Kiko fired the balls of flame.


    Although they were made of flame, Yman noticed a lightning element in them. If one of them could hit him, he would be in big trouble. No lies.


    The balls of flame mixed with lightning rained down rapidly.


    Truly, with this kind of attack, Yman would have no chance to counter him. A grin appeared on Kiko''s face. In his mind, since he had no way of retaliating to his opponent, he would rather burn the whole stage instead. This is such a wonderful plan. He was truly a genius!


    Looking at it, Principal Mar Mari immediately called the instructors to strengthen the barrier.


    Along with Instructor Turr, Instructor Mus, and Instructor Beth, Instructor Goki immediately went around the stage, outside the invisible barrier. They faced their palm on the barrier and summoned mana.


    Actually, they have another assignment. It was to stop the fight immediately when Crimson''s health points reached zero percent.


    But still, "Tsk!" Goki clicked his tongue. "This is bad. There is a high chance that Yman will get hurt seriously. Or worse, if we interjected late. Yman will seriously get killed if that happened," Goki knitted his brows. He didn''t like this careless decision from the councils. Yman was like a younger brother to him. That''s why he cared for his safety. It''s fine if he loses as long as he survives. Goki thought with his honest feelings.


    Right after the instructors reinforced the barrier, a series of random explosions happened, destroying the stage further.


    The defeated contestants felt a chill run down their spines. Initially, they regretted losing the match, but now they are glad after seeing Kiko''s out-of-sense barrage of attacks.


    Who would survive in that kind of attack?! They exclaimed in their mind. It seems like doomsday is currently happening.


    The spectators covered their ears because of the deafening explosions. On the stage, they could only see smoke and flames blooming, overcoming the entire stage.


    About Yman or Crimson?! Who cares about him at this point?! He would surely not survive in that kind of attack. No, more accurate to say, no one in the entire Fledgling class can survive that attack. Not even the second year could hope to survive it. Perhaps even the third year could not come out unscathed. Kiko was just talented! He was no doubt the strongest elite male student!


    This is what is in most students'' minds at the moment.


    Kiko''s figure could be seen laughing in mid-air as he conducted his balls of flames like an orchestra conductor.


    "Fire! Fire! Fire!"


    "Kill the bastard!"


    "Pity huh!"


    "Now pity yourself!"


    "GAHAHAHA!"


    He guffawed.


    After about a minute of a barrage, Kiko''s attacks finally stopped. The stage had gradually brightened as smoke left the stage. They noticed rubbles everywhere and the stage is hardly known as a stage anymore. It''s more like a ruin now!


    Everyone gasped in disbelief at the outcome of Kiko''s attack.


    A second later, *TOOOIIIIINNNGGG!!!* Everyone heard a loud siren. This was the siren to signal the end of the match.


    Finally! The longest match came to an end! Most of the spectators, especially Kiko''s supporters, shouted cheerfully.

 Chapter 374 - How He Won?

    "Finally! The match came to an end!" The voice of Mora Liz resounded.


    Upon hearing her, everyone shouted as they threw their fists in the air.


    WOOOHHH!


    Out of excitement, some of the spectators took off their clothes and waved in the air while shouting,


    WarGod! WarGod! WarGod!


    Kiko''s supporters at the moment are already clamoring. They shouted that word over and over again as if the volume of their voices reached outer space.


    Like most, Doro also joined in the shouting. In his mind, he said, ''Finally, the fight is over. This is probably the sh*ttiest fight and sh*ttiest competition. And this is also the most unexciting battle. The opponent is weak. Hehe. That''s why�� the strong still prevailed at the end�� puwahaha!'' Nonetheless, he won. Doro glanced at the old man. He saw him just silent while his face was still facing the stage. But, the expression on his face was the expression of a person who was surprised.


    "Hehe��" Doro blocked his mouth with his palm while grinning. He whispered in his mind, ''Poor old man,'' as he thought about it, Doro shook his head. "Tsk, tsk."


    For the VIPs, the match was good. There are many insane events like Kiko''s breakthrough in the middle of the fight as well as Crimson''s use of the unique Time Warp ability. This match is the most they will never forget in this competition.


    The spectators, especially Kiko''s supporters, continued shouting his alias. Everyone is excited and happy. But the main reason that Kiko''s supporters are so excited is because of the amount of what they can win.


    Everyone immediately fell silent when the microphone from the announcer''s podium echoed loudly.


    TIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!


    A deafening sound that grabbed all attention resounded.


    This time, the image of Kiko can still be seen floating in the air. And, Crimson? They could not find his body. Maybe he was covered in rubbles scattered around. They needed to hurry to rescue him because he definitely has injuries due to Kiko''s barrage of attacks.


    If ever, it would be a pity if he couldn''t fight anymore because of serious injuries. Well, they hope he''s okay. Although he probably lost, there was no doubt that he was strong somehow. Even the strongest Kiko took so long to defeat him.


    However, in the end, there are winners and losers. It was part of a game.


    When all was quiet and there was not even the slightest noise, Miss Mora brought the microphone closer to her mouth. "The winner of the match is��"


    Before she could finish what she was going to say, Marco shouted, "OF COURSE HE WON!!!" Bruno followed suit. "YEAH, DUDE !!!" He shouted while throwing a fist in the air. Although very happy, Merchant Brando suppressed the urge to scream. He just smiled slightly. Well, he already expected that the result of the match would be like this. Not only because he has a lot of trust in Kiko, but also because of the third party.


    The spectators also shouted, "WOOOOHHH !!!"


    Even though most of the spectators were already noisy even before she finished her announcement, Miss Mora Liz continued her task to announce the winner of the match. She repeated what she had said. "The winner of the match is.... CRIMSON!"


    Everyone seemed to be just waiting for Miss Mora Liz to say that. But wait��... there seems to be something wrong.


    """""The winner is Crimson???!!!"""""


    "..."


    Everyone asked and suddenly fell silent. They seem to be hearing wrong.


    "Miss Liz! There seems to be something wrong with what you said!" Doro couldn''t stop himself from shouting that.


    "Right!"


    "Your announcement is wrong, My Idol!"


    Not only ordinary viewers were surprised in hearing it, but some VIPs were also surprised.


    "Kuku, looks like even the famous advertiser made mistakes in events like this, huh," said someone in the VIP room.


    Even Goki doubted what he heard. He did not know if what he heard was right or if what he heard was wrong.


    Jami, Dianne, and Maku looked at each other.


    "Is it true that I heard that Yman is the winner?" Dianne asked as she tilted her head.


    "So it seems I''m not the only one who heard that," followed Jami.


    "Me too," Maku added.


    The three of them look at each other. Looks like all of them heard the same thing. Not far from them, Bob also asked. "What? I-is it true that my bro won?!" He asked in a quivering voice.


    "That''s also what I heard." Chloe seconded.


    Yana''s face brightened, but she remained silent because she might have just misheard it. Only Rea is calm at these times.


    Almina and Maena''s expressions formed like "o".


    Kiko''s friends couldn''t believe the announcement. Bruno wanted to shout, but everyone fell silent when one of the spectators shouted.


    "Wait everyone! Look at the monitor!" He pointed.


    When they heard what he said, everyone turned to the monitor at once. And then, they saw that Kiko''s health points were 0%. Yman''s is at 50%.


    """"What?!!"""" At once, everyone was shocked and could not believe what they saw. They looked up at where Kiko was floating. There was a frown on their faces because they saw that Kiko was still floating in the air.


    However, everyone was dumbfounded when Kiko''s body suddenly fell. The kind of his fall is like that of the unconscious person. With Kiko''s fall, a silhouette was left behind where Kiko was a while ago. And that''s when their eyes widened even more.


    Almina couldn''t help but draw tears in her eyes when she saw who the figure was. She thought Yman would lose the match. But how could he have defeated Kiko? Due to the thickness of the smoke from Kiko''s attack, the whole stage was covered, obstructing their visions, so no one noticed what Yman did.


    Moreover, how did he get there? In addition, he was right behind Kiko! Before that, everyone also noticed that his hands and feet were now restored.


    At that moment, Kiko''s body crashed to the ground. Dust and small debris were immediately scattered around.


    Suddenly, blood spread as if he was bathing in his own blood. They also noticed a large hole in Kiko''s body.


    The blood didn''t last long. They lit up and gradually became light particles. So is Kiko''s body.


    Kiko''s supporters were devastated.


    "H-He lost? Kiko lost?" Marco whispered in disbelief. Bert and the others were stunned.


    "I-It can''t be!" Merchant Brando couldn''t accept the result of the match. But, no matter what he would say there is nothing he could do to change the outcome.


    Contrary to them, a loud shout suddenly rang out. "WOHOOO!" Shouted the old man who bet on Crimson. A big smile could be seen on his face. When he noticed Doro''s gaze on him, he glared at him.


    "Bleeeh!" The oldman tucked his lips.


    In the next moment,


    Clap, clap, clap...


    Everyone heard faint applause. It came from Yman''s classmates. In the next second, the applause grew louder.


    At first, they were hesitant to support him because his opponent was Kiko. Other than that, they were overwhelmed by Kiko''s supporters. So they just kept quiet. But now that he has won, they have no reason not to support their classmate.


    Everyone saw Yman slowly descend to the ground. And as he descended, the applause grew louder and louder until someone started shouting,


    Crimson�� Crimson��


    At first, it was still weak. But, Bob could not restrain himself; he shouted too.


    CRIMSOOOONNN !!!


    With the strength of his voice, he even defeated the shouts of many. Since then, more and more people shouted his name and their screams grew louder.


    CRIMSON! CRIMSON! CRIMSON!


    Chloe and Yana also joined in their shouting. The grain of tears could be seen in Yana''s eyes. He was happy with his brother. And she was proud to be his sister.


    "It can''t be! This is nonsense!" Merchant Brando could not accept Kiko''s defeat.


    He stood up and shouted that the result was a lie.


    Honestly, even Mora Liz couldn''t believe the result especially because of her duty of hyping Kiko. But no matter how she looks, the result can''t be changed because Kiko has lost consciousness already and the resonance between him and his deity has also been canceled.


    To enlighten all spectators on what happened in the last seconds of that match, the floating monitor replayed what happened in the last seconds of their match.


    On the monitor, everyone saw Yman alias Crimson standing on the stage while staring above where Kiko alias FireGod was floating. In Yman''s eyes reflected the countless Lightning Flame Balls that Kiko had made.


    When Kiko fired the Lightning Flame Balls, before they hit Yman, everyone suddenly saw four large Chakrams form on top of Crimson. These served as his shields. They caught all the Flame Balls that should hit Crimson. Oddly enough, upon touching those big chakrams, the Flame Balls disappeared like a wisp of smoke.


    Yman leaped in the air. The spectators immediately understood that he used Air Dance. It was the same ability from the Noble Rat.


    While he was ascending, trying to cut their distance, Yman''s cuts gradually restored. At the time when Yman''s body was fully restored and his distance from Kiko shortened enough, his whole figure suddenly covered in crimson mana. Then his figure shot towards Kiko like the speed of light.


    It was the ability he mastered at the Training Pavilion. It was the upgraded version of Sudden Charge - Immediate Assault. He went straight on Kiko and pierced his body.


    Silence once again descended after seeing the replay.

 Chapter 375 - Rivals And Friends

    After watching the replay, everyone had different expressions on their faces. Some showed bitter expressions and the others showed awe.


    However, it was now clear to everyone who won the battle. So the only thing everyone could do was accept the truth.


    "Hah~" Klien sighed. "Now I''m good after seeing Kiko lost. Hahaha!" He seemed to be in a good mood now.


    Although he didn''t have a good feeling towards Yman, he hated Kiko more than anyone. The reason for his hate towards Kiko was mainly because he disapproved that Kiko was the strongest male trainee in the first-year elite class.


    Jugo''s mouth opened in a voiceless laugh. He knew it! That Yman was truly a beast! Jugo thought.


    More and more people shouted Yman''s alias after seeing the replay of how he defeated Kiko. Yman, on the other hand, calmly went down the stage.


    Honestly, he almost lost in that match. If he was late in coming back they would definitely lose. Kiko''s breakthrough in the middle of the fight and his transformation were not in the scope of their plan.


    Fortunately, he was still able to win.


    The reason he was able to restore his broken parts was because of the Enhanced Mini Firedolls he left inside his body. After he defeated the big bad bacteria, he left two classes of Enhanced Mini Firedolls inside his body before taking over the control of his body.


    The first Enhanced Mini Firedolls have the ability to heal any injury. The second has the ability to further strengthen his body. These Enhanced Mini Firedolls are from his Modifying Ability using his black mana.


    Since they are just Mini Firedolls, Yman knows that their effect is not that strong. As a result, he left a lot inside his body. He spreads them like bacteria.


    Their form he also imitated in the form of bacteria. But their color is just like his other Enhanced Firedolls. So it can be said that they are his new type of Enhanced Firedolls, the Bacteria-Model Enhanced Firedolls.


    They are even more effective than any vitamins that can be bought at any drugstore. Bacteria-Model Enhanced Firedolls also help to maintain safety and order within his body.


    Because of this, Yman strongly believes that any anomaly within his body can be resolved quickly. Not just for the bad bacteria, but also the good bacteria.


    Inside the VIP room, Principal Mar Mari massaged his temple. ''It''s bad. It looks like my fears will come true.''


    Beside him, Principal Kim''s hand was shaking because of the strength of his grip on his MTMD. He gritted his teeth loudly while in his mind he was going furious.


    ''It can''t be! Tsk! Worthless! Worthless!''


    ''I never thought the elixir failed to control Kiko''s mind!''


    ''Besides, it even became a way for him to breakthrough! Dammit! ''


    ''Tsk! Where did I go wrong? Could it be... the elixir has been replaced? ''Principal Kim doubted.


    Later, he opened his MTMD and pressed on it.


    ''There was nothing I could do anymore. In that case, it would be better to just destroy this whole city and kill all the officials.''


    Principal Kim knew the weight of what he was going to do. But, for the country he represents, he has to do it. All he had to do was an ironed plan that would not involve him in case his plan failed.


    There was a mysterious glint in Principal Kim''s eyes as he thought about what he was going to do. Principal Mar Mari didn''t even notice what the person next to him was thinking because his brain was also busy with worries at the moment.


    On the stage,


    Kiko was immediately taken by the medics along with his System Deity. There was a few minutes delay for the next match. They have to rearrange the stage now that only a few pieces are left due to the strength of Kiko''s last attack.


    Even a high-level skilled-mage would take some time to repair the damage.


    While everyone was waiting for the start of the last pair, the viewers were busy conversing about the fight between Yman and Kiko.


    "Arrgh! I should have put my bet on Crimson!"


    "Me too!"


    Some spectators regretted that they didn''t place their bets on Crimson.


    Many of the viewers regretted not betting on Crimson. Aside from Yman, Kiko was also one with the highest bets on him in this competition. So, with his defeat, the winners will definitely still have a big winning share.


    When Yman returned to the Waiting Area, Almina greeted him with a sweet smile. "Congrats on your win, Yman." It was a cheerful greeting.


    Yman nodded and smiled as well. "Thanks," it was a simple reply.


    Maena also followed. "I-It''s a great fight," she said skeptically.


    Yman looked at her and nodded, "Mhm!" He also said, "By the way, uhm, good luck with your match. I''ll be happy to face whoever among you will be my opponent," he said with a slight grin.


    The two girls gulped down their saliva after hearing it. They also noticed that he didn''t seem to be so tired. The current him was far from his old self. But, even though a lot has changed in him, Almina could still feel the light feeling he was exuding.


    Now Yman just has to wait for his next opponent. Maena had to admit that he seemed so different now. Especially after beating Kiko who was said to be the strongest male trainee in the academy.


    Almina and Maena looked at each other''s eyes. "This is it, Almina Amulet," Maena sounded so serious all of a sudden. Looking at the expression on her face, it seemed like she didn''t plan to back out in this match. It was a long-awaited match she dreamed of, after all.


    Almina''s lips curled upward. "Yeah, bring it on."


    Yman noticed a blazing fire in the eyes of Almina Amulet and a cold glint in the eyes of Maena Hex.


    The two girls seemed so fired up. Yman was unaware that the reason Almina and Maena were so fired up was because of him. After watching his match, it inspired them. Now they are both eager to give all that they have in their match.


    After a couple of minutes, Almina and Maena were finally called to the stage. Although the two can be called rivals. No open hostility can be seen in each other. Maybe the reason of it was because they were both rivals and friends.


    When they stepped on the stage, the whole plaza was almost shaken by the loud screams that came from the spectators. It was even louder than the screams of Yman and Kiko''s fight.


    The audience can''t be blamed because two of the Academy''s best students are currently on top of the stage.


    And both were idolized by the majority. Although she was not like Almina who was very open to making friends with other students and was mostly quiet, there was no doubt that many students in the academy also admired her. Aside from their beauty, they were also the strongest female students in the academy, so it was only natural that many admire them.


    The two immediately readied their favorite weapons. Maena used her bow and Almina wielded her two elemental swords. They also immediately used armor. Maena''s armor was silver in color and Almina''s armor was black.


    "Miss Almina! Miss Maena! Good luck with your match!".


    "Yes, good luck!"


    "Good luck!"


    Dianne, Jami, and Maku shouted their support to the two.


    The shouts of the people soon subsided when they heard the sound of a bell signaling the start of the fight.


    Twang! Twang! Twang!


    Maena immediately fired three consecutive arrows. Each of those arrows was coated with an ice element.


    Instead of dodging, Almina ran towards it. She needed to cut their distance as soon as possible. Dodging or evading them was not an option. Without blinking her eyes, Almina easily took down all the arrows after she struck them with her swords. After getting rid of the arrows, she leaped in a blink of an eye using her Rapid Leap ability.


    But soon Almina halted her advance suddenly. A wall of ice appeared after an arrow flew and landed a step away in front of her.


    Almina quickly ran to her left, but, before she could take a step forward, another wall of ice appeared. He turned to the right, but there was also a wall of ice, as well as to the back.


    Seeing the battle, "Wow! Just wow! The Cool Princess is trapped inside the wall of ice!" Mora Liz screamed.


    Almina slightly widened her eyes. Although she already expected that Maena was well-prepared for this match, she didn''t expect that she would be so quick.


    Her attention was lured by whooshing sounds coming from above. When Almina looked up, she saw ten or more arrows coming down towards her.


    "What a well-calculated offensive attack coming from the Ice Goddess!"


    "I wonder what will the Cool Princess do in this predicament!" Mora Liz continued narrating their match.


    "Ow! Look, everyone! The Cool Princess pointed his ice elemental sword above!"


    "I don''t know what she was planning to do, but I think it''s better to use fire against ice!"


    "Nonetheless, after she pointed her ice element sword towards the approaching rain of arrows, something was shaping at the tip of it."


    "Wait!"


    "What is that?"


    "An�� an umbrella!"


    After saying this, the arrows hit the thick surface of the Ice Umbrella.


    KRUSH! KRASH! TSOK! TSOK!

 Chapter 376 - Almina Versus Maena

    Almina''s Ice Umbrella caught Maena''s Arrow Rain attack. The Ice Umbrella shattered at the same time when the arrows from the rain of arrows exhausted.


    At that moment, Almina suddenly felt a bad premonition. She immediately jumped out of the Ice Wall. After she did that, an arrow penetrated the hard Ice Wall. Almina was shocked. She believed that it was Arrowbite. One of Maena''s skills.


    It has a high penetrative force so it can do that feat to penetrate the thick Ice Wall. Maybe if she hadn''t jumped out of the Ice Wall right on time, she would have been hit by then. So her jump was just right.


    Almina was impressed with Maena''s superb setup. Even Almina could not have avoided that kind of attack if by chance she did not jump.


    Almina was surprised again when she came out of the Ice Wall, she was greeted by the icy surface of the stage.


    "What?" Almina just asked herself out of shock. Maena seems to know that was what she was going to do, or maybe because that was all she could do.


    ''She''s good,'' Yman, who was watching their match, couldn''t help but said his compliment. Yman was very impressed. Maena seems to have calculated her action so well. She was well-prepared in this match.


    Because of what Maena showed in the fight, it seems that what Keremi told him was right.


    Although Almina was surprised, there was a smile on her face. While in the air, Almina''s feet glowed. In the next second, from under her feet, an Ice Snowboard had materialized. Almina skied fast towards Maena. Looking at it, Maena frowned. Yet, she hastily collected herself. She aimed her bow and shot Almina.


    Twang! Twang! Twang!


    Another three arrows pierced through the air and flew straight to Almina, but Almina easily evaded them by waving her body left and right. The arrows flew past a few inches away from her.


    Maena did not stop attacking. She fired several arrows again. Sometimes Almina avoids them and other times she uses her weapons to defend herself.


    At the speed of Almina''s dash, she immediately landed in front of Maena. She immediately attacked her by striking her with her weapon. Maena quickly jumped backward. Her evasion was successful because she avoided Almina''s attack.


    The two exchanged a couple of quick attacks. Maena tried to distance herself, but Almina did not let her. The spectators stood up and cheered cheerfully because of the intensity of the action of their fight.


    While watching the fight between the two, Yman remembered what happened on the cliff. It was these two who saved him that day. A smile appeared on his face.


    As Yman was watching the match, he suddenly heard a whisper from his deity.


    After saying this, a holographic screen appeared in Yman''s vision. The holographic screen was divided into 4 panels. Each panel displayed a different scene. They were the views that his Scout Enhanced Firedolls shared with him.


    In each panel, he could even monitor each of the scout''s remaining energy that was displayed in each panel. Those energies are their lifeline.


    Since they weren''t directly connected to him, they could remain active even without him supplying them with mana as long as the mana in their bodies wasn''t emptied.


    Nonetheless, they were the Scout Firedolls tasked to monitor Rea''s safety. Each of them viewed a different angle. And Rea was in each of those views.


    Even without the help of the panels, Yman would still be able to see whatever his scouts see because each one has been modified to have a direct link to his eyes. All he had to do was intense concentration. The only downside was that he could only see one by one. He couldn''t check them at once. Other than that, he had to focus his full attention on the Scout Enhanced Firedolls he had chosen to preview.


    It wasn''t the same in the holographic monitor, in which all the visions of his Scout Enhanced Firedolls were arranged in panels. He could easily monitor them.


    Nonetheless, there was another reason why Sistela showed the panels. Although on each panel Rea could be seen with Yana, Chloe, and Bob, Yman noticed something strange in each of those panels.


    Suspicious people wearing black clothing could be seen on each panel displayed on the holographic monitor. It was also possible that they are just travelers. But Yman had a bad feeling about it. "For now, let''s just monitor them."


    <Are you sure?>


    "Well, we can''t go there directly and confront them without enough proof."


    <Oh, you have a point. Okay then.>


    At this time, in a dark alley, not far from where the competition was taking place, four people wearing long black robes were currently conversing through whispers. Even their faces are hidden in the black hood.


    Moments later there was a sudden sound.


    Bzzzzzt!


    "What''s that?" A question whispered from the person with the spade logo on the person''s hood. The sound seemed to come from the vibration of the object inside the pocket of one of these people.


    "Wait, it''s mine," replied the person with the Diamond logo on the person''s hood. Based on the person''s voice, it seemed like the person behind the robe was a man, the same as the person with a spade logo. He reached into his pocket after saying that.


    An MTMD was taken out of his pocket. He turned on the display and he immediately noticed that there was a new message received. Looks like he was right. That vibration just now came from his MTMD.


    "Hey, Spike, what''s up?" Questioned the man with the clover logo on his hood. He was looking at the person with the Diamond logo. Based on his voice, he was a male also.


    The man called Spike did not answer. However, he smiled broadly and reached both ears. "Hehe��" his comrades looked at him and their eyes narrowed. They feel that Spike has something more to say. Based on his smile, it looks like this was what they had been waiting for.


    "I have received the signal. We can now start the fun. Hehe!" Spike said with great delight.


    Suddenly, their eyes that were peeking out from under their hoods gleamed when they heard what Spike said.


    "Okay!"


    A shout of the man with the clover logo.


    Spike looked at his companions. "You know what you''re going to do?" He asked.


    "Of course," said the man with the Spade logo.


    "I don''t have a problem," replied the person with the heart logo. It seemed like she was the only female in this group, based on her voice.


    The person with the clover logo also replied. "Tsk. What do you think? Of course, that''s for sure. "


    Spike smiled again. His eyes became serious. "Then start now!" After saying this, one by one his companions disappeared.


    When his comrades left, Spike immediately pressed his MTMD. After he did that, his figure slowly merged into the darkness.


    "Now�� let the real fun begin��" he whispered with a sinister smile.


    On stage, Almina and Maena continued their fight. The health points seen on the floating monitor were 70 percent for Almina and 71 percent for Maena.


    It seems that in the current course of the match, their match was just equal. But still, everyone felt that they still had more to show. It looked like the two were just warming up. None of them had used advanced resonance yet, so it''s really obvious that they still had hidden aces up under their sleeves.


    Even though they had not yet used their true strength, their exchange of attacks was already very intense. The two were full of surprises. Their fight was very entertaining to watch because of the unique techniques that they had only shown in their fight. There was no doubt that the two did not want to lose.


    People were excited about the fight. They shouted the name of the two, especially those who know them at the academy.


    Rei-Rei and Sonya just let out a sigh as they watched Almina and Maena''s match from the monitor inside the medical center where they were taken for treatment. Well, their injuries weren''t worse. Even cheap elixirs could cure them, but not their accumulated fatigue. So they still need to rest somehow.


    "Hmm�� they seem to have a complete grasp of each other''s abilities," Rei-Rei suddenly whispered. The bed next to her, Sonya was lying.


    Sonya heard what Rei-Rei said. She took a deep breath and released it at once out of her mouth. "I feel frustrated," she said in a tone that sounded disappointed.


    Rei-Rei side-glanced at her. "Why?" She asked, then continued saying, "I was also defeated by Almina."


    "Because I feel like Maena didn''t use all her abilities when we fought," Sonya replied like a child.


    Rei-Rei made a thinking gesture. "Hm, I don''t think that''s the reason. I saw your fight so I know that she had a hard time fighting against you."


    Sonya seemed surprised as she glanced at Rei-Rei in a hurry. "Eh? How can you tell, Miss Rei?"


    "Don''t compare the fight between you and the blonde and the fight between her and Almina. Of course, your style is different and Almina''s style is different too. It''s not a wonder that the blonde''s fighting style changes depending on who her opponent is. Honestly, I don''t think this is the first time those two have fought. Look at them. You can tell, right? That they seem to have a full grasp of each other''s movements," Rei-Rei explained. Honestly, she was also frustrated with her defeat against Almina. But well, that''s part of the game. She just needed to train harder and come back strong next time.


    "Hm��.. I see.. You''re right, Miss Rei."

 Chapter 377 - The City Is Under Attack

    "By the way, Miss Rei, that Crimson... Uhm, erm.. how to say this��" Sonya suddenly made a thinking gesture. Rei-Rei, on the other hand, perked up her ears, seemingly hearing something of her interest. Sonya, upon realizing what she wanted to say, continued saying, "Uh, right, I think he is truly the legitimate dark horse in this competition. He even beat the guy who is said to be the strongest male student in the Academy," said Sonya, out of the blue.


    Then, suddenly, "R-Right?!" Sonya was taken aback by Rei-Rei''s sudden enthusiastic reply. She also noticed her eyes were sparkling bright.


    Rei-Rei continued saying, "He is like the main character in the books��" Rei-Rei was suddenly mumbling words. "From weakest to strongest�� yes, yes, he''s like that..." she continued and continued. A bead of sweat emerged on Sonya''s face. In her mind, she thought, ''W-What''s wrong with her?''


    ''Wait! D-Don''t tell me��''


    ''No, it can''t be!''


    While Sonya was denying what was in her mind, Rei-Rei, on the other hand, spoke continuously about how Yman resembled the main character in a storybook.


    As Almina and Maena''s fight continued, Yman noticed the strange behavior of the people in black who were not far from where Rea and his sister were.


    Of all the people there, they were the only ones who didn''t seem to be going along with the screams of the people around them. They also looked around as if they were waiting or expecting something to happen.


    Yman thought of sending a message to Rea to warn her about the suspicious people around them. However, he immediately objected because Rea and the others might become anxious and make mistakes. Also, he was still unsure of his suspicion and he was confident in Rea''s disguise.


    Although Rea''s disguise was not that perfect, Yman believed that the only people who could discover her disguise were people with high sensing ability and or if they used appraisal skills on her.


    But that was impossible to happen in this situation. With so many people around, it would be hard for anyone to concentrate to find one by one who was Rea among them. Even so, his desire to warn Rea still prevailed. Yman thought that she had a right to know about this matter.


    After sending a message to Rea, he also started to take countermeasures in case his suspicion comes true.


    While watching the fight between Almina and Maena, Rea suddenly felt the vibration of her MTMD inside her handbag.


    She immediately thought that someone had texted her. But who might have messaged her? Rea wondered who possibly messaged her. Curiously, Rea grabbed her device and activated the holographic screen. Seeing the registered name, she seemed a little shocked.


    ''From Crimson?'' Although the expression on her face was calm. Deep inside, she was lively and excited to read whatever was in the message.


    After reading the message, the expression on Rea''s face suddenly became serious. In her mind, she wondered if the people chasing her had found out about her. Even though Yman told her to act normally, Rea still couldn''t stop herself from secretly peeping at the people mentioned in the message.


    ''It''s true!'' Rea shouted in her mind when she saw the people that Yman mentioned in the message. She followed what Yman said in the message; she didn''t inform others about the suspicious people.


    If it was just Rea, Yman was confident that she would act accordingly whatever it takes, so that their possible opponents didn''t notice their awareness of them. Yman wasn''t sure what Bob and Chloe''s reaction would be, so he tells Rea not to let them know first. He was also sure that his sister would be worried to the point that it might not stop her from acting not accordingly, so he also suggested to Rea not to let Yana know either. At this point, they were the only two who were aware of the suspicious people.


    To make Rea less worried, he said to her that he was already making preparations for countermeasures if by chance a fight broke out.


    Although worried about the situation, it didn''t hinder a smile to emerge on her nonchalant face.


    As Yman continued to monitor Rea''s surroundings, one of the panels revealed a more alarming incident. Twenty people in black clothing were running and jumping on the roof of the buildings.


    Sistela said suddenly.


    Yman didn''t answer, but his eyes narrowed slightly. He noticed that the direction they were heading to was towards the city''s single skyscraper with 7 floors. It was just across the street from the plaza where the competition took place. When they arrived at the last building, they suddenly jumped off the roof.


    About seconds after they jumped,


    *BOOM!*


    Fires suddenly erupted from four parts of the city. The force of the explosion shook the whole city.


    KYAAHHH!!!


    The people watching the competition were shocked. They felt that the source of the loud explosion was not from the stage. Some people fell and others were lucky enough to cling to the iron bars in front of their seats.


    Kiyah!


    Yana also cried out in shock. But Rea quickly supported her when she noticed her about to fall. Almina and Maena were also stunned. They stopped fighting because the intensity of the earthquake was alarming.


    When the earthquake finally calmed down,


    "What''s that?"


    "What happened?"


    The two asked as they looked around. They saw the confused people around them. Like them, most were also asking what happened and what the loud explosion was.


    Yman saw what happened. Now he was sure that those people were not travelers.


    Seconds before the explosion took place, two soldiers guarding the gate of the city''s tallest skyscraper noticed people in black clothing running fast in their direction.


    "Stop! Who are you?!"


    One of the soldiers shouted. They immediately pointed their magic-based guns at them. But, they did not answer and proceeded to dash.


    The two guards frowned. "I repeat! Stop!" However, instead of stopping, they accelerated even more. They also noticed the smile of the person in front. Aside from that, they also noticed that they took a weapon from under the black cloth wrapped around their bodies.


    When they saw the weapons they were holding and they had passed the warning point, one of the guards immediately shouted.


    "Tsk! Fire! "


    Pewpew Pewpewpew!


    They fired rapidly at them.


    The arm of the person in front gleamed as he summoned mana on his hand. He shouted, "Metal Shield!" In the next moment, a large square metal emerged on his arm. The rest of his companions immediately hid behind him. They ran in a queue.


    Although the Metal Shield looked heavy, it seemed nothing to the person who carried it.


    Mana Bullets hit the Metal Shield and carved it. However, none of them penetrated. The frontman seemed to have a lot of confidence in his metal shield. It never stopped running and continued.


    When everyone felt the slight stop of the guns. Those who hid in the back immediately retaliated. They rained down daggers made of wind and sharp spikes made of water to the two guards.


    The guards quickly hid on the wall and pole. However, the other opponents with high Agility Attribute quickly beat them.


    Before the weapons they were holding could be fired again, they both felt the cold metal sink into their skins.


    One of the guards immediately lost consciousness when his throat was cut with a sharp knife. The other was still able to slowly turn around. But he was greeted with a menacing laugh. "Hehehe�� sleepwell folks." While saying this, at the same time, he pulled out the blades that sank into the body of the guard. The guard felt his blood gush out and soon he could see only darkness until he lost consciousness.


    The last thing he mentioned was, "Honey�� I''ll be coming late tonight��" a tear dropped from his eyes.


    Fwoosh!


    The man who stabbed the guard flicked his weapon into the air to remove the blood that had stuck to it. His weapon was a metallic claw. It has three blades that were about 10 inches long for the blade in the middle and 9 inches for the two on the side.


    "Let''s go!"


    Said the man using the Claw Weapon. When they heard what he said, everyone immediately nodded. They broke down the big gate and immediately entered.


    Inside the VIP room, all the VIPs were also amazed at the sudden tremor and the loud explosion earlier. They felt that the explosion was so intense. That explosion was even louder than the explosion on stage.


    "What''s that, Jack?" As she held her head, Sunday asked after the earthquake.


    "I think something exploded. And I think they come from different places."


    "They?!"


    Sunday exclaimed.


    "Yes, Madam Sunday. I think not just one but more exploded at the same time. More on that, I think the explosions came from different areas."


    "What?!"


    Principal Mar Mari took his MTMD and called the chief. However, upon calling the military chief the only sound he heard was, Tooot! Tooot! Tooot!


    A busy tone.


    It seemed like he was in another call at the moment.


    In Chief Henderson''s office, he received a call from one of his men.


    (Hello sir! The city is under attack!)

 Chapter 378 - Enemy’s Position

    [Alright!]


    It was Rea''s reply before the explosion happened.


    A few minutes after the explosion, in some parts of the city, people were screaming for help. Some buildings fell down and some were on fire. Smoke rose towards the clouds, turning the citizens into a state of panic.


    After receiving a call from his men, Chief Henderson immediately ordered his soldiers to respond immediately. In the next hour, gunfire could be heard in various parts of the city. The people were running in panic. Other soldiers arrived with some medics to secure the security of civilians and the injured people.


    In the southeastern part of the city, Fifteen Peon Birds landed on the rooftop of a building.


    A high-ranking military officer climbed down a Peon Bird along with several soldiers. The Peon Bird was a carrier bird like the Hell Chaser Bird. Because there were no mechanical vehicles in this world, so only Beast Mounts and chariots pulled by various animals or beasts were their source of transportation.


    The soldiers wore black grey camouflage military uniforms. And on the chest of their uniform could be seen the insignia of the country they represent. The sun with eagle wings. This is the insignia of the P-country.


    When he saw the officer, a soldier immediately greeted him. "Captain Salmon!" The soldier immediately made a military salute upon arriving in front of the captain. The captain just nodded and immediately asked for a summary of the current situation without beating around the bush.


    "Give me a quick summary of the situation. But before that, let''s go to a safe room first."


    "Aye, sir! Please follow me!"


    They went down and went inside one of the rooms in the building. The other soldiers waited outside while the soldier who greeted them entered the room with the captain and some crew.


    After entering the room, the soldier immediately laid a map on top of a rectangular table with a glass surface and a metal frame. The map shows the layout of the buildings in the area where they are located.


    After the map was laid out, the soldier immediately gave a brief report. "We haven''t confirmed yet if the enemies are members of a terrorize group or a rebel group. But according to our intel, there are currently 20-30 hostile men hiding in this building here��" he pointed to a specific square in the map with his finger. "And here ... this is the building where we are currently at."


    Captain Salmon noticed that the building where the opponents were hiding was just across the street. As the soldier gave the report, they also heard a series of exchanges of gunfire.


    Pewpewpew! Pewpewpew!


    "As you can hear, sir, our troops are currently exchanging attacks with the enemy. In our analysis of the situation, we learned that the opponents are trying to secure this road."


    The soldier''s index finger was pressed against the straight line in the map that the captain thought represented the main road. The captain narrowed his eyes.


    "Hmm��" Captain Salmon made a thinking gesture. "So it seems their main target is in this area, huh." The captain said while at the same time, drawing a red circle on the part of the map on the other end of the straight line.


    Suddenly, the expression on the captain''s face turned bitter. "C-Could it be�� their main target are the VIPs?" The captain speculated. Upon realizing it, "Ugh! Dammit! This is even more critical than I initially suspected." The captain groaned.


    He faced one of the soldiers beside him and said, "Faster! Contact the chief and relay my message. The rest of you! Go help the others and purge the enemies. We need to take over this area no matter what happens!" The soldiers hastily ran out of the room.


    Inside Chief Henderson''s office, his communication device rang one after another. His men relaid reports consistently.


    One of the reports came from Captain Salmon''s group. The chief found out that the opponent seemed to be trying to prevent the soldiers from entering the area where the competition was taking place. VIPs from Outerworld were also in this area. Other than that, all three main roads connecting the area were currently besieged by opponents. So there was no doubt that their target was in that area.


    Chief Henderson quickly made an outline so he could quickly see the position of all the opponents and his men.


    On the southeast main road, there was Captain Salmon''s group. On the northeast main road, Captain Seaman''s group was there. And on the west side, Captain Fisher''s group was currently heading in that area.


    At this time, they still do not have clear information about the real objective of their opponents. But he had a suspicion that it was the VIPs.


    What he didn''t understand was how the opponents got through the city''s security without getting found out by his men who he sent to observe the whole area.


    At the highest Skyscraper, there was currently an ongoing exchange of gunfire.


    "What''s that?!" The VIPs were shocked when they heard it.


    Feeling something wasn''t right, Principal Mar Mari stood up and shouted. "Soldiers!"


    From outside the room, two soldiers entered and gave a report.


    "Principal Mar, some suspicious people have attacked the city. I also received a call that the guards on the ground floor were currently exchanging attacks with some individuals in black attire.


    "What? What did you say?" So it seems the principal did not hear his report or maybe he just could not believe what he heard.


    Nonetheless, The soldier repeated his report.


    When they heard what the soldier said, the VIPs immediately stood up. They took their devices to contact their respective bodyguards.


    Principal Mar''s face could be seen frowning. "Why is this happening now when the competition is about to end?" He said while holding his forehead.


    In the plaza, where the competition was held, there was also chaos. Suddenly the people in black attacked the people around.


    "Try to do something against our wishes and we will definitely break these people''s skulls."


    The man in black clothing said to the other people around them. Along with his men, each of them pointed their portable Magic-based gun at the head of some people around them. One of them pointed his gun directly at Bob''s head. Bob clenched his teeth as he felt a chill run down his spine. He was scared, of course. After all, it was a real gun. Also, a dead body of a person was already lying not far from where he was. It was when one of these people in black tried to warn the guy, but the guy ignored their warning and attacked one of them. In the next moment, his skull was pierced by a beam.


    These people suddenly pulled out a gun after the explosion. Even Instructor Goki could do nothing to fight back because the opponents had hostages. Or more specifically to say, they hostage all those around them.


    "Dammit! Who are these people?!" Goki gritted his teeth as he mumbled those words. Like him, the other Instructors also could do nothing in the current situation.


    Almina and Maena had already stopped fighting when they noticed the commotion. But even so, the two of them didn''t know what to do at these times.


    "All of you! Go back to your seat. Do not try to make any move that is not in accordance with our wishes. You know what will happen if you disobey us!" Command of one of the people in black.


    There was nothing they could do. Even the magicians around could do nothing but follow their commands. Even mercenaries like Ultima and Vortex could do nothing as well.


    Even though it was against the will of most of the people there, they followed what the people in black said. They returned to their seats like gentle puppies.


    They could do nothing because their guns were pointed at some people''s heads. If they try to fight back, it might be the cause of the death of the hostages. Well, in their situation now, they were all hostages. No different from the others.


    "Tell me! What is your purpose in doing this?!" Goki couldn''t stop himself from asking. But, instead of answering, he was shot in the shoulder.


    Bwam!


    "Guh!"


    The seeming beam bullet of the magic-based gun penetrated his shoulder. Goki groaned and backed away before kneeling. Blood flowed from his wound. Goki frowned as he held his shoulder.


    "You do not need to know. You better just shut up your mouth!" The voice of the man in black was cold. Based on the way he speaks, it was obvious that he was accustomed to killing.


    Goki could do nothing but keep quiet and try to stop the blood from gushing out of his wound.


    "Hey, boss!" One of the people in black shouted and approached the person who shot Goki. Upon arriving beside his boss, he whispered in his ear.


    "Blah blah blah��." Whispered the guy.


    The person who shot Goki, who was called boss with that other person, grinned after hearing his companion''s whispers.


    "Heh~ your suggestion is good," replied the boss.


    Almina''s eyes widened at what had happened. But, like others there, she could do nothing to help and retaliate. Other than that, they were inside the Invisible Barrier. So they also couldn''t help the people around them unless the barrier was canceled. She and Maena just stood on the stage not knowing what to do. Suddenly, she heard Maena''s faint call to her.


    "Psst! Amulet "


    She turned around and looked at her. "Why?" She asked.


    Maena signaled that they had to leave. Almina seemed to understand what Maena meant. If they could get out of here, they could come up with a plan to try to save everyone.


    But, before they could move,


    "Hey! You two beautiful young ladies on stage! If you don''t want us to kill the people here one by one, start your fight again!" Suddenly the man who shot Goki shouted.


    "What!"


    Almina and Maena exclaimed.

 Chapter 379 - Hostages

    "Mr. Goki!"


    "Sir Goki!"


    His Co-Instructors and students shouted when the person in black clothing shot him. Thankfully, he was in resonance with his deity, so he was still out from real danger.


    But still, they worried. After hearing the boss of the people in black clothing''s command, Almina glared at them.


    Seeing the two girls not moving, the leader of the group twitched his brow and shouted again. Did these two think he was joking? The leader thought.


    With a cross-shaped pulse on his forehead, "Hey, hey! Do you want us to shoot these people around us? If you don''t want them dead, then it''s better if you start your fight already!" As he said these, he pressed the barrel of his gun in Bob''s face.


    Feeling the cold sensation of metal right on his face, beads of sweat appeared on Bob''s face. He wanted to cry. Why did he have to suffer like this? Of all the people around them, he was the one who was pointed by that gun! Truthfully, he wanted to smack these people. But nevermind. Not even the higher-level around could do something. The only good thing was�� it seemed these people didn''t realize that most of the Magicians around were currently in resonance with their Deities.


    Almina narrowed her eyes. These people�� she wondered who they were and what was their goal. But seeing their attire and actions, everyone could tell that they were up to something not good.


    At that moment,


    Fwoosh!


    Almina heard a sound that seemed like something was traveling at a fast speed, cutting through the air. Based on the sound, it seemed like it came from her side, to where she thought Maena was. She tilted her head instinctively. Just right when she did that�� an arrow passed an inch away from her face.


    Almina widened her eyes in surprise. She hastily glanced at Maena. "Maena?" She called her name, but her reply put a frown on her face, "Sorry, Amulet. But we have no choice. Also, I think it''s good as well. At least, we can settle our score," Maena said as she pointed her bow at Almina. For Maena, it was a good chance to see who among them was stronger.


    "Wait, Maena, this is not the right time for that! We need to��"


    "Shut up! Do you think we have a choice?" Maena cut Almina''s words.


    "Listen, Maena��" Before Almina could finish her words, another arrow came flying towards her. She had no choice but to defend herself.


    She swung her fire elemental sword at the arrow.


    Woosh! Klang!


    Almina successfully got rid of it. After she did that, she threw a glare at Maena. She noticed Maena''s mouth curled upward.


    "Now, let''s continue what we''ve started, Almina Amulet!" After saying this, Maena fired three arrows at the same time. She seemed amused that Almina was defending herself.


    Looking at Maena, Almina knew that it was no use now trying to convince her. Maena was now in full battle mode.


    Tsk! Maena you''re an idiot!


    Almina clicked her tongue and shouted in her mind as she tightened the grip on the hilt of her swords. She needed to survive first from Maena''s attack.


    In just a blink of an eye, the arrows appeared in front of her.


    Ting! Ting! Ting!


    Sparks flew away when Almina slashed the arrows to defend herself. The arrows fell on the floor after that. She was again successful in getting rid of them.


    While she was defending herself, in her mind, she needed to find a way to get out of this predicament. There must be a way! No, there should be a way to solve this situation.


    After seeing Almina defending herself, Maena had become more motivated to attack. She summoned mana on her hand. After doing it, her hand glows in bluish brilliance. Then a gleaming arrow emerged on her palm. It was bigger than the conventional ones. Looking at it, it seemed like it was oozing with cold smoke.


    That arrow was made from Maena''s mana, so Almina was sure that it had extraordinary perks. Moreover, it seemed like it was an Ice elemental arrow.


    Almina squinted her eyes. She believed Maena was planning to release a higher-tier skill. Almina was uncertain whether she would attack her first or not.


    She wanted Maena to listen to her. However, the idiot Maena seemed already convinced in fighting her. Almina could only grit her teeth as she hardened her jaws in frustration.


    "Damm it," she muttered as she once again readied herself from the coming attack. Unexpectedly, instead of aiming at her, Maena aimed her bow to the sky.


    "What?" Almina muttered in puzzlement. She wondered what Maena was aiming over there.


    But Almina still didn''t lower her guard. Her eyes were fixed at Maena''s bow.


    Maena was using a "split finger" style or Mediterranean Draw in holding the arrow. Since she wasn''t using a sight, she placed all her 3 fingers below the arrow, which brought the arrow closer to her eye. Her thumb was used to support the back of the arrow and keep it straight.


    After aiming towards the sky, Maena released the arrow without a second thought.


    Almina saw the arrow pierced a cloud. Then a moment later, that specific cloud thundered as lightning could be seen trailing around it. Really, she was puzzled as to how that arrow was able to climb that high! For such an arrow to reach the cloud, Almina found it hard to believe.


    But nonetheless, it truly happened.


    However, it wasn''t the most pressing issue right now. Something more alarming was brewing up above. That specific cloud started to burst out something.


    A moment later, that specific cloud rained down countless Ice Spikes. Looking at it, Almina''s countenance turned pale.


    She shouted. "Wah! Damn you Maena!" Almina panicky searched for somewhere to hide. But after finding out she had nowhere to hide, Almina gritted her teeth in frustration.


    ''Damn Maena you''re an idiot idiot idiot idiot��'' she said repeatedly the word "idiot", though in mind only.


    At the corner of her eyes, she noticed Maena gasping for breath. It seemed like that ability drained a good amount of stamina from her. Looking at her, it looked like she wasn''t capable of initiating a sneak attack while Almina was going to tend to the Ice Spikes.


    KRUSH!


    Almina''s feet slid a short distance when she suddenly stopped on her. "Looks like I have no other choice, huh," Almina muttered. Since there was no way out of this unless she took her head-on. She finally decided to take on Maena. Since Maena didn''t want to cooperate, she had no choice but to take her on.


    Almina stored back her Ice Elemental Sword inside her Cyber Storage. After storing it, only the Fire Elemental Sword was left in her hand. She then held the hilt of the Fire Elemental Sword with both hands.


    Even knowing that the Ice Spikes were coming down at her at a speed faster than raindrops, Almina stood straight while closing her eyes.


    There was strange calmness around her as she did it. After closing her eyes, the Fire Elemental Sword burst out with more flames.


    At that moment, the Ice Spikes were already above her. In a split second, they would surely hit her. But, at that instance, Almina drew her sword upward in the blink of an eye.


    Flame Wave!


    A massive amount of flames engulfed the Ice Spikes. In the next second, the Flame Waves and Ice Spikes disappeared at once.


    Like Maena, Almina also gasped for breath. "Damn, that was so draining," she murmured as she shifted her gaze towards Maena.


    Looking at the exchange of high-tier abilities, the leader of the black clothing people in the plaza nodded in satisfaction.


    He tapped Bob''s shoulder and said. "Be glad, kid. Those two beauties just saved your life."


    After saying it, Bob sighed in relief. But soon he froze again at the leader''s next words. "However, it doesn''t mean you''re literally safe. If someone here tried to act against us, your skull would be the first to burst."


    ''Oh no. Why does it have to be me!?''


    If only there were no hostages around them, Bob would have already retaliated even though there were about 20 of them at the moment. He believed he was capable of taking two or three of them.


    Looking at these people, Bob believed they weren''t full-blown magicians like them, who trained and studied in the academy. Aside from the person they called leader or boss, it was the person who was aiming a gun at him, the others seemed to be genetically modified. It was a process to instill the hollow cell in a normal person.


    However, Bob didn''t hear good things about that experiment. Based on what he heard, those people who were genetically modified weren''t near as strong as the real magicians. They were only capable of activating a magic-based weapon. They couldn''t even use real magic abilities like them.


    Sitting beside Bob, Chloe and Yana and Rea were obediently quiet. They avoided making a single noise.


    Suddenly, they heard the leader of the group say, "Right. All of you, surrender your System Deity!"


    "The heck!?"


    Everyone was astonished upon hearing it.

 Chapter 380 - New Skill

    They heard the leader of the group say, "Right. All of you, surrender your System Deity!"


    "The heck!?"


    Everyone was bewildered upon hearing it.


    If they surrender their System Deity to these people it was as if they had also surrendered their lives. What these people were asking for was not easy. All the Magicians in the venue were stunned to hear what the leader of the people in black had said.


    The other members of the people in black seemed to notice the unpleasant atmosphere that suddenly oozed around them. Beads of sweat dripped down their bodies as they nervously looked around and at their leader.


    One of them approached their leader and whispered. "B-Boss�� I-I don''t think they want to follow your command," said a man in black to their leader. However, he was obviously nervous as he said it.


    The leader''s face wrinkled. Maybe he also noticed the strange aura, oozing from the people who could manipulate mana.


    The leader again pointed his gun barrel at Bob''s head and without hesitation he used the gun handle to hit on Bob.


    Thud!


    Guh!


    Bob''s eyes seemed to pop out at that moment. He suddenly felt as if his head had been hit by something hard. His body also suddenly lost strength and his vision suddenly seemed to block out.


    The next moment,


    Thud!


    Bob fell down and everyone was surprised at that moment, especially those who sat next to him.


    "Bob!" Chloe exclaimed. Yana, on the other hand, turned pale. Rea was also surprised and gasped for breath.


    The other people around immediately fell silent. Great shock could be seen in the expressions on their faces.


    "Oi oi! If you are planning something against us, you better think it over!" The leader said coldly, indicating that he was serious with his words.


    Other people around, especially students in the academy like them, could do nothing but grit their teeth loudly.


    Because of the number of people who could die if they disobeyed the order of these people, they still could not do anything. They could only follow their demand, albeit it was infuriating.


    All the students who lost the competition had not been able to use resonance with their deity except those who gave up. Although there was an elixir that could speed up their recovery, none of them thought of drinking it because of the price of the said elixir. And one more thing, none of them expected such a tragedy to happen today.


    Like everyone else, Bob was also currently not in resonance with his System Deity. So his sustained injury from the enemy leader''s attack was a legit injury really. Due to the leader''s sudden attack on him, Bob suddenly fainted.


    When he lost consciousness, the leader picked up his System Deity which was sitting on the back of the upside down Bob.


    A big smirk could be seen on the leader''s face. In his mind, ''Hehe. It looks like I can make a lot of money with their System Deities.''


    "Hehe," the leader laughed as he looked at Bob''s System Deity which looked like a gorilla.


    From under the black cloth, the leader grabbed a small object only the size of a coin. Its shape is hexagonal and has a strange red crystal on its surface. The object was known as the Neutralizer Crystal.


    After it was glued to Bob''s System Deity body the Neutralizer Crystal suddenly lit up. Bob''s Deity, on the other hand, suddenly became sluggish as though its power source was slowly sucked dry. A moment later, it seemed it ran out of battery. This was the effect of the Neutralizer Crystal.


    Seeing that the System Deity was no longer moving, he passed it on to his companion. He looked again at the people around him. "Now! If you don''t want me to kill this young man and the other people around! Or even yourself! You better give up your System Deities!" Said the leader in a louder and colder voice.


    ��


    More than a minute after the groups of people in black defeated the two guards at the gate of the city''s tallest skyscraper, a gigantic bird landed right in front of the two unconscious guards.


    Currently, the two were bathed in their own blood. From the gigantic bird, a young man with black hair jumped. His body was surrounded by what seemed to be black smoke. This young man was none other than Yman and his Hell Chaser Bird.


    He looked at the two guards. He saw that they were no longer breathing and there was no sign of life from them. It looks like they were already dead.


    Even though knowing that these two were already dead, there was no pity, sadness or any expression on his face. These two died bravely just to serve their duty,


    Since they were upside down, Yman flipped one over. His face was calm and it seemed it wasn''t the first time he saw lifeless bodies in his life. It even looked like he was used to seeing them.


    First, he summoned one of his Third Version Bee Enhanced Firedoll to cast [Restoration Ability] on the corpse exterior by biting on it. The wounds and any visible injuries were immediately restored. Though, they were still dead.


    After doing so, next, he pointed his palm at the mouth of the corpse. From his hand, those black objects that seemed like smoke entered the mouth of a corpse. This black smoke was actually his overflowing mana. It only becomes active if he activates this state that other people call Black Magician.


    Honestly, for him, the name sounds so cringe. But he doesn''t know any good names for this state of him. So maybe Black Magician Mode was fine.


    He was not really picky about names. Nonetheless, in this mode, he alone has control over his body. Sistela couldn''t even peek at what he was doing because she was sent straight to her Soul Domain every time Yman activates this state. The Soul Domain was the dimension where his mana was and where the Demon of Possession was confined.


    After the black mana enters inside the corpse''s body, suddenly, a different holographic screen appeared in front of Yman''s eyes. This time, it''s no longer bluish-green, but yellowish-orange.


    Inside the holographic screen could be seen the DatS (Soul Data) of the corpse and other details. DatS was the data about the soul within the human body.


    Yman was a little surprised when he read the DatS of the corpse. Although his heart and other major organs had stopped functioning, he found that his soul force was still active in the body.


    He seems to be right in his suspicion that even if a person dies his Soul Force will still remain for a few seconds, minutes, hours, days, or months. He didn''t know the exact length of time the Soul Force will remain active but that doesn''t matter at the moment.


    Yman came here because he just wanted to try something. After fighting the bad bacteria inside his body, he suddenly thought about a skill that he thought could work. Though, he was not sure. He wanted to test on these corpses so he could see if what he thought was possible.


    According to the corpse''s DatS, it looks like its brain was still working as well. Even the memories of the corpse were still there. It seemed that what he knew before was right. To his knowledge, the human brain remains active for 10 minutes after a person''s death. So, in this case, that seems right.


    The heart has stopped functioning. Of all the vital parts within the human body, these two are the ones Yman could say were the most important.


    As long as the brain remains active, Yman believed he could try to reactivate the heart''s function through his [Modifying Ability].


    Yman also notices that the Soul Force of the corpse weakens every second that passes. So he wasted no more time and using his [Black Mana], he summoned microorganisms inside the corpse body.


    Thanks to the data he learned when he fought the bad bacteria, now it was no longer difficult for him to summon microscopic living organisms because he already had a model inside his mind.


    That''s right. What inspired him for the new skill he thought of was the bacteria.


    To repair the interior damage of the corpse, he made sure that every single one of those living microorganisms was able to use [Restoration Ability]. This was to restore the interior parts to their healthy condition.


    At this moment, Yman spread Microorganisms Enhanced Firedolls inside the corpse body. In his Black Magician Mode, it was easy for him to control his mana.


    After spreading all the Microorganisms Enhanced Firedolls inside the corpse, Yman simultaneously enabled the [Restoration Ability].


    Some numbers in the corpse''s DatS started to show changes.


    In the monitor,


    Nervous System: 100% Healthy


    Brain: 100% Healthy


    Heart: 100% Healthy (Mal)


    Kidney: 100% Healthy


    ...etcetera��


    All the major parts of the human body finally showed 100% health. However, he noticed that the corpse still not awakened and some of them showed (Mal) status which represents Malfunction. Also, from [Dead] status, it was now had [Preserve] Status.


    Yman finally furrowed.


    Although he was successful in restoring the external parts and internal organs'' conditions, it seemed some of his internal parts showed Malfunction status.


    He wondered what was lacking.

 Chapter 381 - Making Impossible Possible

    Yman finally furrowed.


    Although he was successful in restoring the external parts and internal organs'' conditions, it seemed some of his internal parts showed Malfunction status.


    He wondered what was lacking.


    Yman pondered. But then he noticed that although the body was already in good condition, the blood hadn''t yet circulated throughout the body. So in this case, the reason for it was the heart. No wonder it showed (Mal) status.


    Since the heart has malfunctioned, it was only natural for the other parts to not function as well.


    To make the blood circulate in the person''s body, the heart needs to function first. And to make it function again, that was the problem he needed to solve first.


    "Hm," Yman pondered. "So it seems I needed to stimulate the heart," Yman muttered. ''Right. The heart needed a stimulus to pump again.'' At that moment, he already knew what he needed to do.


    Yman placed his hand on top of the body''s left chest. He could use a slight shock to stimulate the heart, but the problem was, he couldn''t use even a spec of a lightning element. It would have been much easier for him to stimulate it if he had that element. Because if he had that element, he could summon slight electricity in his hand, then let the heart take an electric shock with enough amount.


    He believed it would be the best way to stimulate it. Nonetheless, even though he couldn''t use that method, Yman already thought of something else.


    After placing his hand on top of the body''s right chest, Yman gathered a minimal amount of mana on that hand.


    Honestly, he was uncertain what would be the result because of blood loss. But he needed to figure it out. Inside the holographic screen, the person''s DatS showed Blood: 65%. He had no idea what that number could do. Though, he had a strong belief that it was still enough for a person to live, especially someone with mana.


    Regardless, he needed to continue what he wanted to do.


    A moment later, in an instant, he summoned a minimal shockwave by releasing a sudden force. The force was only enough to create a weak shockwave for the body to handle.


    After doing it, the body jerked from that sudden force. It seemed the heart received a pumping force. It reacted slightly, and in that instance, Yman heard a slight beat coming from the heart.


    Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump!


    But the heartbeat only lasted for a short time and stopped again. It seemed like his first try did not fully succeed. However, a smile that looked more like a grin appeared on Yman''s face. That first try showed the result he expected.


    He already expected that the first try would not be enough to stimulate the heart completely, but that couple of heartbeats was more than enough for him to believe he did the right thing.


    Without wasting time, he once again summoned another shockwave. He did it repeatedly until the stimulus was enough for the heart to continue beating. Even after the heart was beating again, the person didn''t awaken right away. He understood that the blood must first circulate all over the body. He just need to wait for a little while.


    After a while, just then, in the holographic screen, Yman saw the (Mal) status of the heart had finally disappeared. A moment later, he noticed the person''s eyelids twitched. Yman''s mouth turned in a semi-grinned smile.


    Although he was showing such a carefree reaction, he was actually happy deep inside. After all, it was a huge success! He could really revive a dead person! He wanted to shout and laugh, but well, he didn''t want other people to think he was an idiot who was laughing by himself.


    "Eh?"


    The guard muttered as he closed and opened his eyes in wonder. His eyesight was a bit blurry the first time he opened them. But after rubbing and opening and closing them, his eyesight became clearer.


    He wondered what happened. Why was his eyesight blurry? At that moment an influx of memories appeared in his mind. He remembered they were attacked by some people in black clothing while they were guarding the gate.


    "What?!"


    His eyes shot wide-opened at that moment. And at that moment also, he noticed someone staring at him. A pair of red eyes were staring straight at him. "Huh? Who ar��!" He was about to ask him about his identity. But soon he quivered when he noticed the person was all black!


    The first thing that came to his mind was, ''Enemy?!'' Out of fright, he was about to get up. But Yman only said, "Rest assured. I''m not an enemy. And please refrain from making unnecessary movements yet. You''re just healed. I don''t know if there is a side effect or not." His voice was calm.


    After hearing he wasn''t an enemy, the guard sighed in relief. But, "H-Healing?" He repeated his words. That surprised him. Apparently, he already expected he would die after he took a hit from one of the enemies. He even felt his blood gushing out from his belly where his wound was.


    Suddenly, the guard got up and sat. He quickly touched his body, especially his belly. But soon, his vision turned hazy and he was suddenly attacked by a headache.


    "Ugh!" He groaned.


    Noticing it, ''Hmm, a symptom of Hypovolemic shock? Well, after losing too much blood and fluid that result is to be expected,'' Yman thought. It was fortunate that he wasn''t an ordinary person.


    "I didn''t die?" The guard asked in surprise. It was very surprising indeed. The magnitude of blood on his body and the ground was already enough for a person to think that he couldn''t live with so much blood loss.


    Yman heard the guard muttered. But the guard gawked at Yman''s next words. "You died."


    "..."


    The guard fell silent as he was wondering if this person was fooling him.


    Although it was unbelievable to believe that he was still alive after losing so much blood, it was more unbelievable to hear that he died even though he was alive right now. There was no way for a person to live again after he died.


    "Ahaha." The guard forced a tired laugh, then said, "Is that a joke?"


    The guard was a modified human or better known as an Artificial Magician. He didn''t need resonance with a System Deity to summon mana. So it was also true that, unlike the legitimate Magicians, he had no second life. Once he died, there was no way to revive him just like ordinary people. So this man was surely just fooling with him.


    "....."


    Yman shrugged his shoulders. He didn''t answer him. But instead, he beckoned him to look at the opposite side. The guard''s eyes immediately widened when he saw his comrades, lying in a pool of blood. Right, he remembered one of the enemies slit his comrade''s throat.


    "Carl!" He shouted, then ran beside the body of his comrade. As he thought, his comrade was now a corpse. His face contorted in a bitter expression in an instance.


    "F*ck!" He smacked the ground with the side of his clenched hand. His eyes were hot and teary. At that moment, he felt a slight tug on his shoulder.


    "Move aside."


    He heard that person say. He looked at him and furrowed. He wondered what he was planning to do. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like this person was just a young man. But something with this person was bugging him. The guard wondered what it was that bugged him.


    The next second, ''Right! He looked familiar!'' The guard exclaimed in mind.


    He tried to remember where he saw him before but to no avail. He could not remember. Maybe the reason was that his mind had loads of thinking at the moment, that was why he could not focus his mind. And he felt so weak even after the young man healed him.


    Nonetheless, he saw the young man place his palm on top of the corpse''s mouth.


    "Wait, what are you doing?" The guard asked.


    Without saying a word, Yman summoned mana and let them enter the corpse''s body. The guard was just staring with wide eyes. He wanted to ask about those black things that looked like smoke. But after sensing that it was actually mana, he was speechless.


    How did someone have that color of mana?!


    At that instance, the guard seemed to realize something.


    "Wait!"


    "Y-You''re��"


    "I''m Black Magician."


    Yman didn''t wait for the guard to finish his words. He thought it would be much better to tell him this. Since Black Magician was a mysterious person, he didn''t need to explain how he made the impossible possible.


    They only need to know that The Mysterious Black Magician was capable of making the impossible possible. In reality, it was only because of his [Modifying Ability] along with better understanding.


    After hearing his words, the guard widened his eyes with his mouth formed like ''o''.


    "B-Black M-Magician��" he mumbled.

 Chapter 382 - Yman’s Speculation

    ''T-That''s right! He''s the Mysterious Black Magician!''


    Upon hearing what Yman said, the guard immediately remembered about the mysterious Black Magician whose poster of his face was scattered in different parts of the city.


    The story about his heroic deeds was also known in the city. Several times he had saved the city from enemies who planned to sow havoc in the area.


    ''Wait, then��'' because of his prestige, the guard thought that Black Magician might not be fooling about what he said earlier.


    Yman ignored the dumbfounded guard beside him. Maybe he finally realized that he wasn''t joking when he said earlier about his death. Yman turned his focus to the lying corpse in front of him.


    After the black mana entered the body of the corpse, Yman imitated what he did earlier to the guard beside him. He once again created countless microorganisms inside the corpse''s body and spread them throughout the body.


    This time, he simultaneously used [Restoration Ability] on the outside and inside of the corpse body. Then, he immediately looked at its DatS as he did with the first guard.


    And like the first guard, the status of most parts of his body has become 100% condition rate. Still, the status (Mal) could be seen in other parts of the body, especially the heart.


    He also noticed that only 35% of the blood was left in the body. ''Very low,'' Yman muttered. This one''s situation was very critical compared to the first guard.


    But Yman still tried to save it. This time, he let the Microorganisms Enhanced Firedolls be the ones to stimulate the heart to pump again.


    In that process, Yman believed that it was more effective than he himself would stimulate. As he expected, after the whole process, the corpse''s pulse returned. He could feel and hear the heartbeat, albeit so weak.


    When the person''s eyes moved, the eyes of the guard next to him seemed to come out of its eye socket. What he was witnessing at the moment could be considered a miracle. ''Black Magician is truly able to bring a dead person to life!?''


    Although the life of the dead person had returned, there was another problem. The person''s blood was too low for it to move. Even opening his eyes was still difficult for him.


    But, Yman already thought of a way for it. There was only one way to restore its lost blood to the body. That was through drinking a healing potion. The healing potion is known to not only close wounds and heal small injuries, but it can also restore the body''s lost blood depending on its tier.


    Yet, again, there''s another problem. It seemed the victim had no strength to swallow any medicine at the moment because of weakness.


    When the guard saw the sudden rise of the Black Magician, the gawking guard next to him returned to his consciousness.


    "U-Uhm, Black Magician, sir," he called out in a weak voice.


    Yman ignored his call, but said, "Quick, call rescuers or medics if you want to save your companion. Even though I can return his life to him, I can''t return the lost blood."


    Upon hearing what he said, the guard immediately snapped. "O-Okay, sir!" He replied. But before he could run away to find help, just then, *Gorrf!*


    "Gyah!"


    Suddenly, the guard jumped in a panic because of the sudden loud growl from the giant-like monster.


    "Uh, right. Take this," Yman ignored his shock. But he handed the guard something.


    Although the guard''s attention was on the giant-like monster, he still accepted without hesitation the thing the Black Magician handed him. He noticed that it was a healing elixir in a small bottle.


    With beads of sweat on his face, "Uh, thank you very much, sir!" The guard bowed slightly, and at the same time, said his gratitude. However, his eyes were still wandering to the giant bird that was five meters away from the Black Magician''s back.


    After taking the healing elixir, he heard the Black Magician speak again.


    "Drink that to replenish your blood." He heard Black Magician tell him while turning away. After saying this, the Black Magician approached the gigantic bird monster.


    The guard was shocked when the gigantic bird just bowed down like an obedient puppy. It was only then that he noticed that it was a Hell Chaser Bird. But, it was way bigger compared to the ordinary Hell Chaser Bird.


    Although these types of creatures were known to be non-hostile creatures, the guard can''t help but cringe because of this one''s size. And yet, it seemed like it was nothing to Black Magician.


    ''He really is a mysterious person!'' Shouted the guard in his mind.


    "Okay. Go away and seek help before your friend dies again." When he heard this, "Yes, sir! Uh, thank you for reviving us!" The guard ran away after thanking him again. He would be quicker to find help when he was alone than when he was carrying his companion.


    After the guard left the area, tears burst out from his eyes. In truth, he was preventing it the whole time. He was very happy after knowing that the Black Magician revived him.


    He thought he would never see his wife again. Thank god! The Black Magician came and revived them!


    "THANK YOU SIR BLACK MAGICIAN!" He shouted as he dashed away.


    Yman''s mouth stretched to both sides.


    After the guard left in a hurry, he focused his attention around. He did not feel any bad intentions nearby. If there was, it was coming from far away. Before leaving, Yman sent one last glance at the lying guard. He thought he seemed okay. Since most parts of his body were now at a 100% rate, he had a high chance of surviving.


    Yman immediately jumped over the Hell Chaser Bird.


    The Hell Chaser Bird immediately fluttered its wide wings. In an instant, it flew under the clouds. Yman saw the whole city from above.


    He could see that the explosion earlier had not just come from one area. Based on the smoke that rose, he realized that the explosion was from four parts of the city.


    The attack seems to have been well planned. Nonetheless, as a result, he learned that Rea was not the target of the attack. Because if Rea were their target, Yman strongly believes that this would not be their way of attacking.


    However, it was still not good not only for them but for everyone. While looking at the situation below, Yman wondered about the possible cause of this attack.


    While above, he could hear unceasing shots from below. They were coming from magic-based guns based on their sounds.


    If Yman thinks about it, it seemed easy to say what their purpose really was. The enemy blew up the routes linking the main district and other parts of the city. They blew up the main roads so that the military could not immediately send back-ups. It was easy to say that their main target was in the main district, where he and the others were.


    In fact, he even saw the people who attacked the guards at the gate go inside the skyscraper where the VIPs were. So probably, their main target was the VIPs. Or, they could also be just part of their real plan. Yman speculated.


    ''Those people couldn''t be simple criminals right?'' He thought. ''They must be members of an organized army.''


    Yman believed the attackers were members of a criminal group led by someone with great influence. His reason was because of their weapons. No ordinary criminal groups could get a hold of those high-end weapons. In fact, the source of those weapons was not from this world. So, with this information, he believed that someone instigated this attack.


    Nonetheless, he had a more important thing he needed to do. He needed to fulfill his mission. He had to protect the princess.


    Yman summoned a holographic screen. In that holographic screen, several panels could be seen. They were the visions shared by his Scout Enhanced Firedolls that were monitoring Rea and his sister.


    Yman''s eyes narrowed when he saw what was currently happening at the venue of the contest. He saw when a member of the criminal group shot a man. The man immediately fell on the floor and the blood flowed from his wound.


    Since the whereabouts of the murdered man were not far from Rea''s and the other''s whereabouts, he immediately noticed the widening of his sister''s and Rea''s eyes.


    The next moment, he heard the shouting of the people around. Fear and apprehension immediately registered on everyone''s faces. Yman quickly flew the Hell Chaser Bird towards the venue.


    Meanwhile, in the plaza, the criminals were very busy collecting the System Deity of the Magicians around. They handed their deities unwillingly.


    Although some of them wanted to fight, most were discouraged. Especially since they weren''t sure they could rescue all the hostages around.


    "Hehe boss, it looks like we''re all in this together," said one of the criminals to their leader.


    "Yeah," the leader said as he glanced around. When his eyes landed on Rea and Yana, he noticed the rings on Rea''s hands and the necklace on Yana''s neck. They seemed to be no ordinary jewelry. "Hey! You two! Come over here!" Called out the leader.


    Yana and Rea looked at each other and remained on their feet.


    "The f*ck are you waiting for?!" The leader became angry when the two of them didn''t follow his command.


    Chloe, who was checking on Bob''s condition, looked at Yana and Rea.. ''This is bad,'' she thought.