《Divinity》 Chapter 1: Alex Minima Before I¡¯m able to react, he picks me up by the throat. I grab his arms and try my best to get free, but he¡¯s not letting go. I¡­ I can¡¯t breathe! ¡°I warned you.¡± ¨C Kuro His fist moves straight towards my chest. It¡¯s like I¡¯m seeing it in slow motion, but¡­ I can¡¯t move my body! Isn¡¯t this what people say happens when you¡¯re about to die¡­? His fist slowly inches towards me, but I¡¯m completely helpless. Am I actually going to die? When the fist is just a few centimeters away from me, I close my eyes. I guess this really is the end¡­ ¡­ --- It all started in a small village called Minima. It was a poor village like most others. It¡¯s scolding hot for most of the year, and it rarely rains, so the harvest is very small. Many farm animals die because we don¡¯t have anything to feed them with. Luckily, my big bro is our hero. He is a hunter from The Red Knights guild, and he¡¯s incredible! At only 24 years old, he has already managed to become a C-rank hunter! Every month he comes back to the village with different valuables we can sell for food. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. However, recently this has changed¡­ He hasn¡¯t come home for over two months now, and people are starting to go hungry. It was my 16th birthday the other day, meaning I¡¯m finally old enough to take the hunter exam! The only way for the people in our village to not starve, is if we get another hunter, and that will be me! --- ¡°Mom, I¡¯m going to be a hunter just like big bro, and you can¡¯t stop me!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No way, Alex! It¡¯s way too dangerous!¡± ¨C Mom I know it¡¯s dangerous, most hunters die before they even get to rank up from F-rank. But¡­ ¡°I know, but people are starving!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯m not having this discussion with you, Alex. It¡¯s not happening. If you want to help out more, then help out with the farming!¡± ¨C Mom ¡°You can¡¯t keep treating me like a child, Mom. Big bro hasn¡¯t come back for over 2 months, if he doesn¡¯t return soon then we¡¯ll all be in trouble¡­¡± ¨C Alex Just when my mom is about to respond, I interrupt her. ¡°Wait, do you see that?¡± ¨C Alex I say as I point out of the window. ¡°It¡¯s a guy on a horse. Maybe it¡¯s big bro? Has he finally come back?!¡± ¨C Alex I run outside, right towards the mysterious guy on the horse. He¡¯s holding some sort of flag, but I can¡¯t quite make out what it is. As I get closer, I can just barely see what it is. It¡¯s The Red Knights flag! So it is big bro after all! I run towards the horse, shouting- ¡°BIG BRO!¡± ¨C Alex But as I get closer, I start to notice that it isn¡¯t him¡­ If not big bro, then who? Finally I¡¯m right next to the unknown hunter, he looks about the same age as big bro. Could he be his friend? ¡°Who are you?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yo! I¡¯m Victor Lepus, but you can call me Vic. You¡¯re Leo¡¯s little brother, right?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yes, do you know him?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I sure do! We¡¯re very good friends.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°You¡¯re one of his hunter buddies, right?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yup!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°But¡­ Why didn¡¯t he come back with you?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°He¡¯s¡­ On a very important mission, and probably won¡¯t be back for a while¡­¡± ¨C Victor I see¡­ That explains why he hasn¡¯t come back in so long. ¡°You¡¯re actually the reason why I¡¯m here.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Huh? Me? Why?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, he told me that since he won¡¯t be coming back for a while, the village will be in desperate need of another hunter. He talks about you quite a lot. He even mentioned that you¡¯ve always wanted to be a hunter just like him. You look up to him quite a lot don¡¯t you?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I do!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, you also turned 16 recently, right?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Then that means you¡¯re old enough to become a hunter! Well, if it wasn¡¯t obvious enough, I¡¯m here to train you!¡± - Victor --- Vic also brought some gold that the village could sell; enough to sustain us all for a good while. We went back to my house to tell my mother everything. As expected, she was against the idea of me becoming a hunter, even when Vic explained the situation¡­ He then asked if he could talk to her alone for a few minutes. They eventually came back and¡­ She changed her mind! I have no idea what he said to her, but it doesn¡¯t really matter anyways. All that matters is that I can finally become a hunter! We walked into the forest north of our village. ¡°This is where we¡¯ll train. First of all, do you know anything about Divinity?¡± ¨C Victor Chapter 2: Victor Lepus ¡°This is where we¡¯ll train. First of all, do you know anything about Divinity?¡± ¨C Victor Divinity? I know it¡¯s some sort of energy that hunters use, but not much more¡­ ¡°Not really¡­ It¡¯s what the hunters use, right?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s right, but it¡¯s a lot more than just ¡®what the hunter use¡¯. Before I can train you, you¡¯ll need to fully understand what Divinity is.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°What? Can¡¯t we just start training now?¡± ¨C Alex Vic sighs¡­ ¡°You know what, I¡¯ll just show you what you can do with Divinity.¡± ¨C Victor As he says that his fists start glowing. ¡°Watch this!¡± ¨C Victor He says as he throws a punch at the closest tree. The tree was not small at all, its radius was about 1 meter. But that didn¡¯t matter. The moment his fist hit the tree, a big chunk of the tree was blown away. The top part of the tree slammed against the stump, and started falling towards me. But before I could even react, he sent the rest of the tree flying with a single flick. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex I was in shock, and couldn¡¯t say a word. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°This is what a D-rank hunter looks like.¡± ¨C Victor He says with a smirk on his face. That¡¯s what a D-rank hunter can do? How incredible is my big bro then? ¡°But if you want to be able to do this some day, then you¡¯ll first have to learn about Divinity.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Alright¡­ I get it¡­ I¡¯ll do whatever you say.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Good, then listen carefully. Divinity is a type of energy that exists within everything. It¡¯s said that it¡¯s what God used when he created the world. Everything is made out of Divinity. I¡¯m made out of divinity, and so are you, and all other living creatures. But it¡¯s not only living things, every rock, every drop of water, even the sun itself and the heat it gives us. It¡¯s all made of Divinity. The job of a hunter is to learn how to control this energy so that we can succeed in whatever mission we¡¯re currently on.¡± ¨C Victor I see¡­ ¡°Absolutely anything can be done with Divinity. It¡¯s all just a matter of how good you are at controlling it. The most basic form of Divinity control is called ¡®Basic Divinity Manipulation¡¯ or BDM for short. It¡¯s crucial for every hunter to master this.¡± ¨C Victor So I guess BDM is what I¡¯ll be learning first then. But that begs the question, what¡¯s the next step? ¡°BDM is about strengthening your body. You manipulate the Divinity inside you to make yourself stronger, faster, and more durable. When I hit the tree, I used BDM to make myself stronger. If I were to hit it without using BDM, then I would probably break my hand¡­ When compared to BDM, muscle power is worthless.¡± ¨C Victor He chuckles as he finishes his explanation. ¡°There is also, ¡®special divinity manipulation¡¯ or SDM for short, but I¡¯ll tell you more about that later. Let¡¯s focus on BDM for now.¡± ¨C Victor Hmm, this was more interesting than I thought it would be. Why hasn¡¯t anyone told me about this before? Could it have been my parents not wanting me to get more interested in becoming a hunter? ¡°Alright! Then let¡¯s start learning BDM!¡± ¨C Alex He takes a deep breath then continues explaining¡­ ¡°Well, it¡¯s not as easy as I made it out to be. It¡¯s different for everyone. I can tell you how I first learned it, but I can¡¯t guarantee that it will work for you. You¡¯ll just have to keep trying until you get a hang of it. The hunter exam is in about six months. It won¡¯t be easy, but if you¡¯re anywhere near as talented as Leo, you¡¯ll make it. The gold I brought with me should last for almost a year, so you don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°A year?! You brought that much? But, this isn¡¯t even your village. Why would you give us that much?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Because you¡¯re gonna pay me back as soon as you become a hunter yourself.¡± ¨C Victor He laughs while saying it, but I can tell he¡¯s serious¡­ A year worth of food for an entire village? That¡¯s gonna take ages to repay! Chapter 3: Basic Divinity Manipulation ¡°Anyways, how my teacher taught me how to use BDM was to sit down and meditate. While meditating you¡¯ll try your best to feel the Divinity inside you. Once you¡¯re able to do that, you can try moving it around. You¡¯ll have to do this for a while until you get a hang of it. Controlling it freely is no easy task. But¡­ Controlling it while meditating, and while moving around, are two very different things. Being able to do the former does not mean you¡¯ll be able to do the latter. But, the first step is to it while meditating, so let¡¯s focus on that for now.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°But how exactly am I supposed to ¡®feel the Divinity inside me¡¯? Not to mention manipulating it¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You remember how I said everything is made of Divinity right?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yeah?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, you can think of it as a muscle inside your body. You just need to figure out how to flex that muscle. How exactly you do that, sadly isn¡¯t something I can tell you; you just need to figure it out on your own. That¡¯s the only way.¡± ¨C Victor After he says that, I nod, and sit down. I close my eyes and try to imagine flexing a muscle in my body that isn¡¯t really there. Nothing is happening¡­ --- A few hours have passed, and I haven¡¯t made any progress yet. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. It doesn¡¯t seem possible. How can I flex a muscle that isn¡¯t there?! It just doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­ ¡°Ugh! This is impossible!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Victor Wow¡­ Here I am working my ass off, while Vic is sleeping¡­ ¡°Victor!¡± ¨C Alex He shoots up and with a confused look, he scans the area around him. ¡°Huh?!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I said, it¡¯s impossible!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°What?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s clearly not impossible, you saw me do it just a little while ago.¡± ¨C Victor Haha, very funny Vic¡­ ¡°You know what I mean. I¡¯m sitting here and trying to flex a muscle that isn¡¯t actually there, just like you said, but it doesn¡¯t work¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s not what I said. That ¡®muscle¡¯ is there. You just don¡¯t know how to use it yet.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°That¡¯s pretty much the same thing.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, not really. If I told you to flex the muscles in a third arm you would never be able to do it, because it¡¯s not there. But flexing the muscles in your other two arms is very much possible, even if you for some reason didn¡¯t know you had them. So don¡¯t think of it as flexing a muscle that isn¡¯t there, but rather a muscle that you just didn¡¯t know was there.¡± ¨C Victor I sit down again. Maybe if I try to flex all muscles in my body I¡¯ll accidentally also ¡®flex¡¯ the Divinity? --- Another couple of hours passes. I have been trying many different things the last few hours. I tried flexing my entire body. I tried imagining my hand was glowing like his did. I tried moving the air around in my lungs. I tried hitting a tree and just hoping that my body would instinctively protect itself by strengthening my hand. That clearly didn¡¯t work, and my hand is bloody¡­ I asked Vic if he could lightly flick me while using BDM to make my body more used to the feeling of Divinity. Nothing seems to be working. This is much harder than I expected¡­ After a few more hours of trying out everything I could think of, it¡¯s finally night and it¡¯s time to go to bed. Maybe I¡¯ll have better luck tomorrow? The day was long and I¡¯m absolutely exhausted. I instantly fell asleep... Chapter 4: Dream As I¡¯m sleeping I have a weird dream¡­ It¡¯s a dream I¡¯ve had many times before. Everything is pitch black so I can¡¯t see anything, but I can hear a loud growling noise. But¡­ It¡¯s unlike any animal I¡¯ve heard before¡­ Every time I wake up I always forget about the dream, but whenever I have it I can remember every other time I¡¯ve had it. I¡¯m totally lucid and know I¡¯m dreaming, yet I can¡¯t control it in any way. I¡¯ve had these dreams for as long as I can remember. Could it actually mean anything? Probably not, right? I mean, it¡¯s just a dream¡­ It¡¯s normal to forget your dreams, I forget most of them. It probably doesn¡¯t mean anything. Right¡­? --- ¡°Alex! Are you gonna sleep all day or what?!¡± ¨C Victor I wake up to Vic yelling¡­ As I wake up, the memories of the dream instantly fade away. ¡°Ughh¡­¡± ¨C Alex My body still aches from yesterday. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna learn BDM while sleeping. Come on, let¡¯s go into the forest again.¡± ¨C Victor --- If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°So, I know you weren¡¯t able to do much yesterday, but that¡¯s to be expected. You know, usually kids start learning this stuff when they¡¯re young, then the villages send the ones with the most talent to take the F-rank hunter exam. For most people it takes years to be able to learn BDM. And that¡¯s just ones that actually do learn it¡­ Most people don¡¯t even get past stage one.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Wait¡­ YEARS?! I thought you said I could do it in six months! We don¡¯t have that kinda time!!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s most people. Your brother is more talented than you could ever imagine. He started learning BDM when he was 14, only two years younger than you are now. That was ten years ago. But it only took him eight years to reach C-rank from when he started learning BDM. 99.9% of people never even get anywhere near C-rank, but the people that do get there take about 50 years on average. He is massively talented, and I believe you¡¯re the same.¡± ¨C Victor Wow¡­ It takes most people 50 years? How amazing is he? ¡°So, you¡¯ll definitely be able to learn BDM within six months. Or so I hope at least¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Wow, I never knew he was that talented¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°He really is. But enough about that, time for you to get back to training, ok?¡± ¨C Victor Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t really know that much about big bro¡­ I knew he was a C-rank hunter, but not much more¡­ I knew he was massively talented, but I didn¡¯t know to what extent¡­ ¡°Can¡¯t you tell me more about big bro?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll tell you more about him when you¡¯re good enough to use BDM while fighting. Deal?¡± ¨C Victor I guess I¡¯ll have to earn more information by training¡­ --- A few more days of training go by. About a week has passed since Vic came to our village. I¡¯ve learned a lot since then. I¡¯m not sure how I did it, but while training on my fifth day I somehow used BDM! Vic noticed that my left hand was shining for just a split second. I haven¡¯t able to replicate it though¡­ I did it while meditating normally, so that¡¯s what I have been doing ever since. Suddenly my hand starts glowing again¡­! ¡°Oh?¡± ¨C Victor I can hear that Vic noticed, but I have to stay focused. Last time I did it I opened my eyes to look and that was enough to break my concentration. Vic understand exactly what I¡¯m thinking so he goes quiet and just observes. I just want to maintain it for now. Keep the ¡®glow¡¯ there for as long as possible. A few minutes passes and it¡¯s still there. Somehow I¡¯m able to do it, I¡¯m able to keep manipulating the Divinity! But¡­ I worry that if I break it I won¡¯t be able to do it again for another couple of days. ¡°Wow¡­¡± ¨C Victor I hear Vic very quietly talking to himself. After I successfully used BDM last time he told me that it took my brother about one month to be able to maintain it. It¡¯s only been a week. Does that mean I¡¯m even more talented than my brother? Or am I just lucky¡­? It feels like I can keep it there forever now. Should I open my eyes and look? But I still don¡¯t want to break it. Ahh! What to do? Chapter 5: Training Alright, I¡¯ll try to open my eyes. I want to see it for myself. At some point I¡¯m gonna have to be able to maintain it in my entire body all at once while moving around, so if I can¡¯t even keep it there while opening my eyes, how am I ever going to be able to do that? I open my eyes slowly. The glow is still there. Vic looks me in the eye, then quickly back to my hand. I¡¯m gonna try moving my hand. I move my hand very slowly up. It¡¯s still there. I move it around a bit more. It¡¯s still there. Looks like I¡¯m actually able to maintain it now¡­ Should I try slamming the ground? It would be nice to find out how strong I currently am when using BDM. Alright, I guess I¡¯ll try it. If it breaks, it breaks. Although I¡¯m still not quite sure how I managed to start using it, I¡¯m easily able to maintain it. I slowly raise my hand, then clench it into a fist. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Then I very quickly slam the ground as hard as I can. As my fist connects with the ground, I can feel it lightly shaking. The dirt was compressed where my fist landed, leaving a tiny crater in the ground. It wasn¡¯t big, not even as big as my hand. But¡­ I could never do something like that normally¡­ Vic starts clapping. ¡°Well done! To be able to do something like this in just a week¡­ That¡¯s incredible¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I¡¯m still not able to use BDM whenever I want though, and my power is nowhere near yours¡­¡± ¨C Alex He scoffs the moment he heard that. ¡°Alex¡­ This is way more than I could do after a week of training. It took me months to be able to even use BDM for the first time, it only took you 5 days¡­ And by day seven, you¡¯re able to do what your brother was able to do after a month of training, and what I could only do it after almost two years of training. You¡¯re gonna be a very successful hunter, Alex. There¡¯s no need to get impatient.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°¡­ Thanks!¡± ¨C Alex --- Almost a month has passed since I was first able to maintain control over the Divinity in my hand. I¡¯ve improved a lot since then. I can start using BDM on command. I can maintain it for pretty much however long I want. Not to mention my power has increased significantly as well. We have done all kinds of training since then too. The most tough training must have been the combat training. Obviously, he didn¡¯t go all out on me, but I had to learn how to maintain control while fighting. That was really difficult¡­ He also made me run for ten hours straight without stopping. That was insanely difficult at first, but when I got better at using BDM, it got much easier. I don¡¯t get tired nearly as fast anymore. That¡¯s because I¡¯m not really using my muscles to run, BDM is doing all the hard work. My speed has also significantly increased. It¡¯s been a while since I last tested it, but last time I did, I was faster than Vic¡¯s horse. Now that I think about it, why does he even use a horse¡­? If even I¡¯m faster than his horse, Vic certainly is¡­ Not to mention the horse should also gets tired way faster¡­ Maybe it¡¯s just so that he could carry all the gold he brought? No¡­ That doesn¡¯t make any sense either¡­ Weird¡­ In any case, I¡¯ve improved a lot in the past month. The combat training wrecked me, but it was really effective. I have no problem using BDM anymore, even if I¡¯m fighting. As I said before, he¡¯s not using his full power, but his blows still hurt a lot less than they did at the beginning. ¡°Hey Alex. I think it¡¯s time I tell you more about your brother and SDM.¡± ¨C Victor Chapter 6: Special Divinity Manipulation ¡°Like I explained when you first started training, there are two main types of Divinity manipulation. Basic Divinity manipulation and special Divinity manipulation. BDM is about strengthening your body, making you stronger, faster and more durable. It¡¯s essential for all hunters. But SDM is different¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°How so?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, it¡¯s a lot more individualistic. Divinity can be manipulated to do whatever you want, it¡¯s all a matter of how good you are at manipulating it. If a person wants to create water, then all that¡¯s stopping them from doing that is their own skill. However, every single person has their own specialty. Something they are uniquely good at. Theoretically anyone could do anything with SDM, but it¡¯s so much more difficult than using your specialty, that it¡¯s practically impossible. Even B-rank hunters are rarely able to use SDM that isn¡¯t their own specialty.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I see¡­ Well, how do I figure out my specialty then, and when are you gonna teach me it?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Figuring out what your specialty is not an easy task at all. First of all, SDM is much harder than BDM. It¡¯s not even comparable to anything you¡¯ve done so far. So even if you¡¯re trying to use your specialty, most people won¡¯t be able to do it before they¡¯re at least E-rank. Although there are cases of highly skilled F-rank hunters using SDM, it¡¯s very rare. Your brother was one of those cases. But back to what I was saying, finding your specialty is much harder than you¡¯d think. Your specialty could be anything¡­ It could be creating water, creating fire, hypnotizing people, cloning yourself, and so on and so on. It could be absolutely anything, so how would you ever know what your specialty is? How would you even begin to learn it?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Those are great questions, now tell me the answer.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Heh¡­ Well, there are two main ways of finding out. The first method is doing it on accident. Yeah, one of the two ways is just getting lucky and accidentally using it either while training or fighting. This is a very unreliable method of figuring out your specialty, but it¡¯s possible.¡± ¨C Victor This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Right¡­ What¡¯s the other method then¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°The second one is using what¡¯s called a ¡®specialty finder¡¯. Most guilds have one. A specialty finder is a person whose specialty is finding other peoples specialties. It can be done in many ways. Some specialty finders do it by looking into the future, some are directly able to see other peoples specialties. Just like anyone else, their specialty could have been absolutely anything. But, for those people, it just so happens that it ended up being one that can be used to find other people¡¯s specialties. The Red Knights have their own specialty finder. Her prices are very high, and she won¡¯t help anyone below E-rank. That¡¯s because she feels like it¡¯s a waste of time, considering how hard it is to learn. That being said, she will be best way for you to both figure out what your specialty is, and how to use it. I will not be teaching you SDM.¡± ¨C Victor That¡¯s a lot to process¡­ He won¡¯t teach me SDM? That¡¯s a bummer¡­ Also¡­ You can use SDM to do anything? Wow¡­ Wait, I wonder- ¡°Vic, what¡¯s your specialty then?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°My specialty? Well, I can show you!¡± ¨C Victor Is he gonna show off just like he did when he first showed me BDM¡­? Vic never misses an opportunity to show off, huh¡­ He looks around, he¡¯s looking for something. What¡¯s could it be? Suddenly he starts running towards a large boulder. ¡°Over here!¡± ¨C Victor He¡¯s right next to the boulder, entering a combat stance. His fist start glowing, but it¡¯s much brighter than last time. Is he going all out¡­? He uses his entire body to wind up a big punch. He swings his fist towards the boulder at an insane speed. It¡¯s moving so fast that I can barely even see his fist. The instant it connects, it cracks up the entire boulder and a large hole is made in it. But this is just normal BDM¡­ What¡¯s his specialty? Just as I finish my thought, the boulder suddenly starts cracking up even more. More and more holes appear out of nowhere. It shatters, and small pieces fly everywhere. I get hit by some of the fragments, and I start to bleed where I was hit. Had I not learned BDM, that could have been deadly¡­ ¡°So, do you get what my specialty is?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Uhh¡­¡± ¨C Alex He sighs. ¡°I can make my hits repeat after initial impact. Currently I can only make my hits repeat five times. So essentially, whenever I hit anyone, I actually hit them six times.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°You¡¯re incredible, Vic!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I know right!?¡± ¨C Victor Chapter 7: Leo Minima ¡°I can make my hits repeat after initial impact. Currently I can only make my hits repeat five times. So essentially, whenever I hit anyone, I actually hit them six times.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°You¡¯re incredible, Vic!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I know right!?¡± ¨C Victor Whenever he attacks anyone, he effectively hits them 6 times? So his specialty makes him six times stronger¡­ That must be massive advantage in combat! ¡°You must be almost unbeatable in combat with other D-rankers, right?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Heh, I wish¡­¡± ¨C Victor Wait, even with an ability like that, he¡¯s still not on top?? ¡°There are a lot of monsters out there, Alex. Although my specialty isn¡¯t anything to scoff at, it¡¯s not even a drop in the bucket compared to some people. Even when your brother was D-rank like me, he could easily beat me.¡± ¨C Victor He could¡­? And easily too?! ¡°What¡¯s big bro¡¯s specialty then?!¡± ¨C Alex He takes a big breath then starts to explain. ¡°Compared to my specialty, Leo¡¯s is actually really simple. He has the ability to create and control fire. If he wanted to, he could burn down this entire forest in the time it would take me to destroy a single tree¡­¡± ¨C Victor The entire forest?!! ¡°I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against him even when he was a D-rank hunter. Why? Compatibility. His specialty gives him the range and defenses needed to negate mine altogether... I have no way to fight back in long range battles, so that¡¯s a no go. But that¡¯s not all¡­ If I somehow were to get close to him, I¡¯d still lose. He can wrap himself up like a cocoon with his fire. If I attack him when he¡¯s like that, it¡¯d be more dangerous for me than him¡­¡± ¨C Victor Stolen novel; please report. How would you even beat someone like that? You cant fight him at close range, and you can¡¯t fight him at long range either? ¡°But it¡¯s important to keep in mind that no one is unbeatable, except for maybe the Emperor¡­ If he fought someone with a specialty that directly counters Leo¡¯s or someone that is just exponentially stronger than him, even Leo wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything¡­¡± ¨C Victor So strength isn¡¯t all there is to a fight then¡­ Compatibility and strategy is just as important it seems. No one is unbeatable. There will always be someone that counters you. When I figure out my specialty, I¡¯ll need to keep that in mind. But¡­ What could my specialty be? Maybe something similar to big bro¡¯s? ¡°If big bro¡¯s specialty is making fire, does that mean mine will be something similar?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, not necessarily. There are cases of family members having similar specialties, but it¡¯s very rare. Your specialty is most likely something entirely different.¡± ¨C Victor Dang. Controlling fire would have been awesome! ¡°But like I explained earlier, high ranking hunters are sometimes able to use SDM for things other than their specialties. It¡¯s quite possible that controlling fire would be easier for you to do than something entirely different, as a secondary ability.¡± ¨C Victor Oh? So, I might be able to learn it in the future! I¡¯ll keep that in mind too! ¡°It¡¯s only about five months left until the hunter exam, so you¡¯ll have to continue training your BDM. If you¡¯re lucky you might accidentally learn SDM, but don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Wait, how have I not asked this question yet, Vic¡­¡± ¨C Alex He looks at me confused. ¡°How does the hunter exam even work?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hmm. Well, it¡¯s different every time so I can¡¯t really tell you any details. How it works is that you will complete a series of tasks. Sometimes there are many, sometimes there are few. Those tasks could be combat related, theory related, or anything in between. Usually there is at least some combat involved in one way or another though. But what you need to understand is that in reality, it¡¯s all based on performance. When the exams are over the different guilds will choose who they want to invite. You may only join one guild so if you get multiple requests you will have to choose which one you want to join. Even if you ace every task given to you in the exam, it¡¯s still possible that you don¡¯t get any invitations¡­ If that happens, you fail¡­ So make sure to not just do the bare minimum, you need to impress the people watching.¡± ¨C Victor I see¡­ If there isn¡¯t a set list of tasks I need to complete, then I¡¯ll have to prepare for anything¡­ ¡°Also, joining a guild is what makes you a licensed hunter. You start at F-rank, and there are yearly exams for people to rank up. They¡¯re run by the government and people from all guilds take part in them. They¡¯re very similar to the F-rank hunter exam that you¡¯re training for now.¡± ¨C Victor Chapter 8: Leaving Minima Around six months have passed since Vic first arrived here. I¡¯ve learned a lot in that time. Using BDM I can run many times faster than a horse, and last time I checked I was able to keep this up for almost 2 days straight. Unless I really push myself, I get tired from lack of sleep way before I get tired from moving around. My punches can also easily shatter boulders. Before learning about Divinity, this would have seemed utterly impossible. Even though I have achieved the impossible, I¡¯m still not able to use SDM. It¡¯s a lot harder to learn naturally than I would have thought. I mean, I have been trying every single day for months and months, yet I haven¡¯t progressed even a little bit. It seems like the only way is to use a specialty finder, but before I do that, I first have to join a guild and become a hunter. The exam starts in only a few days, so I¡¯ll be leaving today. I hope I get to join The Red Knights just like big bro and Vic¡­ ¡°So, Alex, are you looking forward to the exam?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll do my best and I¡¯ll definitely join The Red Knights if they invite me!¡± ¨C Alex This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Heh. The Red Knights are actually one of the stronger guilds, they don¡¯t invite just anyone.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ You¡¯ve told me this like 1000 times¡­. But like you¡¯ve also told me 1000 times, I¡¯m very talented, so I¡¯ll do it!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You¡¯re right, you are very talented. More so than anyone else that I know, maybe even Leo. He learned SDM very early on, but your growth rate in BDM is unimaginable¡­ HOWEVER, do NOT underestimate other people just because you¡¯re talented. That¡¯s a sure-fire way to get yourself killed¡­ Like what if there is someone there with almost as much talent, but that has trained their entire lives¡­?¡± ¨C Victor He¡¯s right¡­ I need to be careful, and not be too cocky. Although it¡¯s hard when I have no one else to compare myself to except for Vic¡­ --- Later that day. ¡°Be careful, Alex! And¡­ Good luck!¡± ¨C Mom ¡°Thanks¡­ And yes, I will be. There¡¯s no need to worry about me, I got this!¡± ¨C Alex I¡¯m not lying when I said I¡¯d be careful, but I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t at least a little scared. Earlier today I wasn¡¯t that nervous, but now that I¡¯m actually leaving¡­ I¡¯m starting to feel it¡­ I¡¯ve never left Minima before, and now I¡¯m attempting an exam that kills people every year¡­ But before I leave, I have to ask Vic one thing. There is something that has been bugging me for a while now. Ever since he first got here, there has been one thing that hasn¡¯t made any sense¡­ ¡°Vic, can I ask you something¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°When you first got here you were riding a horse¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°But¡­ You¡¯re WAY faster than a horse, I mean, even I am! At first I thought that maybe it was just because you were carrying so much stuff, but that¡¯s not it either. Although you were carrying a lot, it wasn¡¯t so much that you couldn¡¯t carry it all by yourself. I know this is a strange thing to ask, but it has just been bugging me for so long¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ahh¡­ Well you see there is one very obvious reason that you seem to be forgetting¡­¡± ¨C Victor What? Obvious? I¡¯ve been thinking about this for ages. Am I just that dumb? Can the horse also use BDM maybe¡­? No¡­ No way. ¡°I¡¯m lazy and I wanted to sleep on the way here!¡± ¨C Victor ¡­ What. Chapter 9: The calm before the storm It¡¯s now been three days since I left the village. I just got to the place where the exam is held. It¡¯s surprisingly barren here though. There are no buildings, no trees, no mountains, nothing. It¡¯s just a large flat area with nothing there¡­ There are a bunch of other people here though. I¡¯m not quite sure how many, too many to count. If I were to give an estimate it would probably be around 500 or more. I was mostly expecting there to be people around my age, but there are all sorts of people here. There are men, there are women. There are young people, there are old people. There are even some people missing arms and legs. It seems like everyone wants to become a hunter¡­ Wait¡­ What¡¯s that? Suddenly a stone pillar rises from the ground. There is a woman on top of it. ¡°QUIET EVERYONE!¡± ¨C ??? Who is she? ¡°My name is Leanne Aqua, I¡¯m a B-rank hunter from the Venomous Snakes Guild and I¡¯m the one that will be holding the exam this year.¡± ¨C Leanne B-rank?! Wow¡­ That means she¡¯s even stronger than big bro, and way stronger than Vic¡­ ¡°Every year the exam is different, and this year is no exception. This year¡¯s exam will only have a single stage, a fight for survival.¡± ¨C Leanne A fight for survival? Vic mentioned that there are times when the exam is almost purely theoretical, so I guess this one is more hardcore. Just my luck¡­ ¡°Before I go into more details, I will give the people who do not wish to enter this year¡¯s exam a chance to leave. HOWEVER! The rules have changed a little this year¡­ If you fail the exam, which you will if you decide to leave, you will never be able to take it again. If you still wish to leave then go ahead, now is your chance.¡± ¨C Leanne Huh? If I fail, I will never be able to take it again?! What kind of a rule is that?! I better make sure I don¡¯t fail then¡­ If I don¡¯t become a hunter our village won¡¯t be able to sustain itself. I have no choice but to go through with this year¡¯s exam, even if I have to risk my life¡­ I haven¡¯t talked to anyone else here, so I don¡¯t know their reasons for wanting to become a hunter, but since most people are staying, I assume they must have a good reason¡­ Or maybe they¡¯re just confident that they¡¯ll pass? Anyways, not too many people left. Surprisingly few actually, considering the kind of test it is¡­ ¡°So, you all think you have what it takes then? You think you¡¯re ready to take this exam? Well sorry to burst your bubbles, but most of you won¡¯t make it. Maybe if you had someone else as your exam organizer, but I won¡¯t go easy on you. It¡¯s important that the quality of new hunters are high, so I won¡¯t allow anyone subpar to become one.¡± ¨C Leanne This is making me even more nervous¡­ Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. There is a real possibility that I won¡¯t survive this¡­ Should I just leave? No¡­ I can¡¯t. I¡¯m already here, and if I don¡¯t become a hunter then Minima is screwed! Leanne raises both her arms, and a ginormous stone colosseum raises from the ground. Is this this her specialty? I never would have imagined it would be possible to make something this huge¡­ It¡¯s probably more than 100 times larger than all of Minima! I suppose this is why the testing ground is so flat¡­ ¡°Inside here is where you will be spending the next 24 hours. I will randomly assign you into teams of three. If there isn¡¯t enough people and someone ends up on a team with only one or two people in it, then tough luck.¡± ¨C Leanne She then raises both her arms again and stone pillars form under all of us, pushing us up. She then connects some of the pillars with a vertical one. It¡¯s like a giant web of stone pillars connecting us together. I guess this is how she sorts us into teams of three, huh¡­ She didn¡¯t just pick the ones who were standing closest either. It seems my teammates are both quite far away from me. ¡°Before you go and meet up with your teammates, I will explain the rules of the exam. For the next 24 hours you will be locked inside that colosseum. In there you will be fighting for survival with your teammates. If anyone on your team dies, you all fail and will never be able to take the exam again. The goal is simply just to survive. The ones who do will get the chance to get invited to a guild.¡± ¨C Leanne So, we don¡¯t really have to fight then? Hiding seems like the best option then¡­ ¡°I can already tell some of you are thinking of just hiding¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡­ ¡°Unfortunately, It won¡¯t be that easy. The hunter exam is always ultimately based on performance. The guilds will invite anyone they think would be a good addition to their guild. If you just hide through the entire exam, then they won¡¯t have any idea of how good you are. Why would they want to invite you then? The ones who will get invited are the ones who are able to prove themselves, prove that they are strong, and worthy of joining their guild. Fighting is the only option if you truly want to become a hunter.¡± ¨C Leanne Tsk. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be as easy as just hiding¡­ I hope my teammates are strong. If anyone of them dies I won¡¯t pass? So, worrying about my own safety, and my own performance isn¡¯t enough¡­ I also have to worry about them? This is gonna be much more of a hassle than I thought¡­ I assume the best way to prove yourself would be to kill people, but¡­ I don¡¯t want to do that. Murder is wrong, no way around that. I¡¯ll have to prove myself without doing that¡­ Aghhh¡­! They¡¯re not making it easy for me, are they?! ¡°The test starts in ten minutes. Go meet up with your teammates and get ready.¡± ¨C Alex I guess I¡¯ll go meet up with them then. I really hope they¡¯re reliable¡­ The web of pillars connecting people is pretty complicated; it¡¯s not easy to tell who my teammates are¡­ On my way there I hear lots of people talking. ¡°You can¡¯t retake the exam if you fail? That¡¯s bullshit!¡± ¨C ??? ¡°You guys, let¡¯s form an alliance!¡± ¨C ??? ¡°God damn that colosseum is big¡­ The one in Dolor is nothing in comparison¡­¡± ¨C ??? After about 20 seconds of walking, I can finally see who my teammates are. It¡¯s two guys, one with white hair and one with black hair. They both look around my age. The guy with the Mr. White Hair is in the middle, so me and Mr. Black Hair are both walking towards to him. We both get there at the same time. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Alex Minima, nice to meet you!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yo! I¡¯m Shin Magnum.¡± ¨C Shin So, the white-haired boy¡¯s name is Shin. That¡¯s a strange name, never heard anything like that before. ¡°Oh, cut it with the formalities would ya¡¯¡­¡± ¨C Mr. Black Hair What¡¯s with the attitude¡­? ¡°We¡¯re all here for one reason and one reason only, becoming hunters. No need for this friend bullshit. Just don¡¯t be a burden to me¡­¡± ¨C Mr. Black Hair What the deal with Mr. Black Hair? He¡¯s so rude¡­ ¡°Oh god¡­ Just tell us your name and get it over with. No need to be such a dick about it.¡± ¨C Shin Couldn¡¯t have said it better myself¡­ Even if we¡¯re just going to spend 24 hours together, I would still like to know his name. Mr. Black Hair sighs loudly. ¡°It¡¯s Leon Adamas¡­¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Adamas?!¡± - Shin Adamas¡­ That¡¯s the name of the capital city¡­! Is he really from there? That¡¯s where the Emperor lives¡­ While training, Vic told me a lot about the outside world. The world is divided into three parts. The outer area, the middle area, and Adamas¡­ The outer area is where I¡¯m from. It¡¯s a large area with loads and loads of small and medium sized villages. Most of them are poor, just like mine. Then you have the middle area. That¡¯s where the larger cities are. If I¡¯m not wrong, I think Magnum is a city in the middle area. Then finally, you have Adamas¡­ It¡¯s a mega city where the most rich and powerful people in the world live. Even the Emperor himself¡­ Despite it¡¯s large size, there¡¯s not actually that many people that live there. Only the rich, the powerful, the royal guard, and their families. He¡¯s probably the kid of a royal guard then¡­ The royal guard are all amazingly powerful hunters. Vic told me that even the low ranked royal guards are around the same level as a C-rank hunter. That means even the weakest of them are around big bro''s level¡­ This might be one of those cases Vic warned me about¡­ Due to his connections, he has probably gotten intensive training since an early age, with excellent teachers. Even though I¡¯m talented, I don¡¯t know if my 6 months of training with a D-rank hunter can compare to someone like him¡­ It seems like my teammates aren¡¯t half bad after all, at least not him. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m from Adamas. You got a problem with that?¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Heh, no. I just didn¡¯t expect to meet someone like you, that¡¯s all.¡± ¨C Shin Shin sighs and runs his hand through his hair. ¡°I guess this will be a lot easier than I would have expected then. With you and me here, it doesn¡¯t really matter how strong Alex is.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Hey! I¡¯m no weakling either!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Is that so? Well, that¡¯s good!¡± ¨C Shin Shin says with a smirk on his face. I¡¯m not sure if he genuinely means it or not, but I¡¯ll trust him for now¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky now, comparing yourselves to me is setting yourself up for failure.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Heh. We¡¯ll see about that¡­¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 10: The colosseum As we enter the colosseum, Leanne creates a platform under each team; splitting us up. I guess she doesn¡¯t want the exam to turn into a massive brawl right from the get-go¡­ There are stone buildings all over the place; some small and some big. She created an entire city in here¡­ Another pillar rises from the ground in the middle of the colosseum; she¡¯s standing on top like usual. ¡°ALRIGHT EVERYONE, LISTEN UP! AS SOON AS THIS PILLAR FALLS, THE EXAM WILL BEGIN, SO GET READY!¡± ¨C Leanne As she says that a vertical pillar comes out of the first one, just like what happened when she connected us earlier. She walks out using that pillar, then disconnects it from the one she made in the middle of the arena. The first one falls and slams into the ground, destroying a row of buildings in the process. The exam has now begun¡­! ¡°I¡¯m not planning on holding back. I won¡¯t be hiding, and I won¡¯t be relying on you guys. Just don¡¯t die, you hear me?!¡± ¨C Leon As soon as he said that, he runs away from us. ¡°Hey, wait! If you die, we¡¯re screwed as well!¡± ¨C Shin Shin starts sprinting after him. ¡°Alex, don¡¯t fall behind!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Right!¡± ¨C Alex I start sprinting after them too. They¡¯re surprisingly fast. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. If the exam had started just a couple months earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep up with either of them¡­ Especially Leon¡­ I caught up to Shin, but Leon is getting further and further away from us. We see a team in the distance, but Leon is quickly approaching them. They have weapons, and armor¡­! I didn¡¯t even think about that¡­ I should have prepared more¡­ ¡°Be careful Leon! Don¡¯t attack them alone! There are three of them, and they¡¯re all armed!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leon They enter their fighting stance, preparing for combat. The moment Leon enters their range, they go on the offensive. One of them tries to stab him, but Leon just grabs the sword, stopping the attack entirely. ¡°What?! He caught my sword!¡± Leon¡¯s hands start bleeding¡­ Oh god¡­ He is already hurt, less than a minute into the exam! But¡­ Leon doesn¡¯t seem to care. Despite the fact that they¡¯re all wearing helmets, Leon decides to headbutt the guy who¡¯s sword was caught. The helmet instantly breaks and the guy¡¯s skull is cracked open¡­ ¡°YAHAHAHA!! That hurt!¡± ¨C Leon Blood gushes out from Leon¡¯s forehead. ¡°W-what the hell?! You¡¯re a monster!¡± ¡°Damn fucking right! Ahaha!¡± ¨C Leon The two remaining people drop everything, and desperately try to run away as fast as they can. With a psychotic smile on his face, he chases after them with everything he¡¯s got. In almost no time at all, he catches up to them¡­ ¡°Ahh!! Get away from us!¡± While still running, he shoves his already bloody hands through their chests like it was butter. They scream at the top of their lungs; a truly harrowing scream that¡¯ll keep me up at night for years to come¡­ ¡­ Shin makes a little whistle noise. ¡°Impressive.¡± ¨C Shin He says it with a somewhat sarcastic tone, like he¡¯s hiding his true feelings¡­ ¡°Like I told you, you don¡¯t have to worry about me. Just don¡¯t die, and let me do my thing.¡± ¨C Leon Before we even get a chance to respond, he runs away. This time, we don¡¯t chase after him¡­ ¡°He¡¯s¡­ Strong. We can split up and we¡¯ll be fine¡­¡± ¨C Shin What I find more impressive than his strength or speed, is his complete lack of humanity¡­ How can he kill three people, just like that? No hesitation, no remorse¡­ I don¡¯t get it¡­ ¡°Alex¡­ Let¡¯s go look for people too. If we don¡¯t hurry up, Leon might get to them all before we get a chance to prove ourselves¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright, but I need to say this now. I don¡¯t plan on killing anyone, it¡¯s not right. If you don¡¯t like that, you can do the rest of the exam by yourself.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Heh¡­ You think you can become a hunter without killing? How childish.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Childish?! Th-¡± ¨C Alex Before I get to finish my sentence, he cuts me off. ¡°Unfortunately for me, I¡¯m also childish¡­¡± ¨C Shin What¡­? ¡°I¡¯m not gonna kill anyone either, Alex. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Alex I guess not everyone here is a psychopath like Leon then¡­ Chapter 11: Lett Lepus --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] In another part of the colosseum, far away from Alex and his team. ¡°Lett! Don¡¯t fall behind!¡± ¨C ??? ¡°I know, Rin, but I can¡¯t just let this guy bleed to death!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Who cares? He¡¯s not on our team anyways.¡± ¨C Rin How can she be so heartless? I don¡¯t care if he is on our team or not, I can¡¯t just let him die for no reason! I rip off a piece of his shirt, then die it tightly around the wound. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be okay. I¡¯ve stopped the bleeding.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­ Why are you helping me?¡± ¨C Injured man ¡°Come on Lett! Dan is getting further and further away. We need to catch up!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°I know, Rin. Just one second.¡± ¨C Lett I don¡¯t have time to watch over him, but I stopped the bleeding at least. He should be fine if I can just make sure nobody finds him. I pick him up and quickly carry him into a nearby building, hiding him in a spot where he probably won¡¯t be found. ¡°Just stay here and you¡¯ll survive, ok? Becoming a hunter isn¡¯t worth it if you die in the process.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Thanks¡­¡± ¨C Injured man ¡°No worries!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Injured man I think he passed out. He should be fine though; just needs some rest. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Come on Lett! We gotta go, now!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m coming!¡± ¨C Lett Me and Rin both start running towards Dan. Oh no¡­ He¡¯s getting ambushed! ¡°DAN! WATCH OUT!¡± ¨C Lett The ambusher jumps right towards him from the top of a building. With a dagger in his hand, he tries to stab him as hard as he can. Luckily, Dan has a shield. He blocks the attack, and goes for a counter attack. Just as quickly as he arrived, he runs away. ¡°I owe you one, Lett!¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Don¡¯t relax yet, his teammates must be somewhere around here!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Right¡­ Both of you, stay behind me.¡± ¨C Dan Dan is a big guy. He¡¯s over two meters tall, and has well developed muscles. Although muscle-strength is worthless to high-ranking hunters, it¡¯s certainly noticeable at our level. He¡¯s definitely the strongest on our team. Suddenly a volley of arrows comes raining from the sky! The guy from before and ones of his teammates charges at us from different directions. Their teamwork is so good¡­ They¡¯re attacking us from all sides! Dan could easily defend against any one of them, but he can¡¯t do all 3 at once. ¡°Dan, focus on the guy with the dagger, I¡¯ll take care of the arrows!¡± ¨C Rin Rin is fast, like seriously fast¡­ She isn¡¯t strong, she probably couldn¡¯t even hurt Dan without a weapon. But¡­ Her speed is just insane¡­ ¡°And Lett, you take care of the last guy!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Okay!¡±- Lett Right before the arrows hit us, she jumps up to deflect them. In the time it took them to move just a few centimeters, she managed to swat them all away. Every. Single. One¡­ I don¡¯t know how many there were, but way too many to count. I¡¯ve never seen him go all out before, but from what I¡¯ve seen, she might be almost as fast as my brother¡­ And he¡¯s a D-rank hunter! Just as she got rid of the arrows, another wave comes raining down. She deflects them all with no problem, but it keeps her occupied just long enough so that she can¡¯t help out against the other attackers. The last guy on their team has a spear, and is charging right towards me! I¡¯m not as fast as Rin, and I¡¯m not as strong as Dan. But I¡¯m way more well-rounded than them. I can do this¡­! The spearman is close. Really close¡­ He tries to stab me, but I just barely manage to dodge. This is my chance! I grab the spear, temporarily stopping his attack. I¡¯ll get closer to him and attack him while he tries to get his weapon back. ¡­ What¡­? He just let go¡­ I expected him to at least try to get it back, but he just let go without any hesitation. What is he thinking? Rin is busy swatting the endless number of arrows away, and Dan is stuck defending against the guy with the dagger. Suddenly, the guy with the dagger jumps back. And¡­ BANG! The spear explodes! ¡°Aghhh!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Ugh.¡± ¨C Dan Rin is really fragile, even though she was the furthest away from the explosion, she is still badly hurt. Looks like Dan is mostly fine¡­ Huh? Oh¡­ Oh god. My arm is gone¡­ Chapter 12: Leon Adamas --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] Sigh. This is such a hassle. I really hope those ¡®teammates¡¯ of mine are half as strong as they seem to think they are¡­ If one of them dies, I¡¯m screwed! If I want a shot at joining that guild, then I can¡¯t waste my time protecting them. I must join it¡­ It¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll ever achieve my goals. Anyways, I need to look for more people. I heard an explosion a little while ago, so it seems like people are starting to die already. How many did my father say I had to kill? A hundred? Tsk. I need to get up higher, it¡¯s easier to find people that way. I hop on top of a building, then leap to the next. Right there! There are two teams fighting just around the corner, all 6 of them are still alive. Good. I jump down from the roof, landing right on top of one of them, slamming them into the ground. He¡¯s still alive, so I quickly stomp on his head, crushing it instantly. ¡°AAAH!!!¡± ¨C His teammates ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give you a quick and painless death.¡± ¨C Leon The two teams stop fighting and turn towards me. They instinctively all understood that if they wanted to live, they¡¯d have to work together. ¡°Five versus one? That¡¯s not fair! ¡­ You need way more than that if you want a shot at beating me.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°You little¡­!¡± One of them charges towards me, pointing his sword forward. Should I just grab it again? Nah, my hands are injured enough already. I easily dodge his attck, then grab him by the neck. ¡°W-wait! Please stop!¡± ¡°No.¡± ¨C Leon I slam him down into the ground as hard as I can. All his bones instantly shatter, and he dies before he even gets to feel the pain. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± ¨C Leon A big guy starts slowly walking towards me. With every step he takes, the ground under him breaks apart more and more. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. That guy looks a lot more interesting than the rest of them¡­ ¡°That guy was on my team you know.¡± ¨C Big guy ¡°Okay? And?¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Now, I¡¯m not going to become a hunter. My village will starve, and it¡¯s all because of you¡­¡± ¨C Big guy ¡°Boohoo! Ready to die?¡± ¨C Leon ¡°How ironic¡­ To think those will be your last words.¡± ¨C Big guy Hah, pathetic. None of these clowns stand a chance against me. I dash towards him and swing at him as hard as I can. He blocks my attack¡­ ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Leon How? I jump back a little. How could he survive that punch? I punched as hard as I can, and I¡¯m even decently injured! He slowly walk towards me. I try to attack again, a flurry of blows with all my strength behind hits him on every part of his body. He¡¯s¡­ Unharmed¡­! ¡°I hate it when brats like you get cocky and think they¡¯re stronger than everyone else. It¡¯s time for you to learn how big the world really is.¡± ¨C Big guy ¡°Heh. I¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re stronger than anyone I¡¯ve faced before, but don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself. Even if you trained for 1000 years, you¡¯d still lose to me.¡± ¨C Leon The difference between me and these losers isn¡¯t just that I¡¯m stronger and faster than most of them. I can do something no one else here can. I¡¯ve learned SDM¡­! In Adamas there are loads of specialty finders. My father, a middle ranked royal guard made sure to get one of them to find mine. I¡¯ve seen lots of powerful specialties while training, but none have quite as much potential as mine¡­ My specialty is simple. The more damage I take, the stronger I get. It seems like the damage I intentionally took from those first guys isn¡¯t enough to beat him¡­ I need more! ¡°I¡¯ll prove it to you. One arm is all I need.¡± ¨C Leon I reach up to him with my left arm. ¡°Break it.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake.¡± ¨C Big guy He grabs my arm with both his hands and squeezes as hard as he can. Every bone in my arm is shattered to pieces. ¡°GHHHHAAAA!!¡± ¨C Leon God damn that hurt! Unless I find a healer, I¡¯ll never be able to use it again¡­ But that¡¯s fine. I can feel the power rushing through my veins. My eyes start glowing crimson red. ¡°Huh, not so tough now!¡± ¨C Teammate of big guy ¡°Get back! Somethings not right!¡± ¨C Big guy It seems he noticed. The other idiots don¡¯t seem to know that I can use SDM, but I think the big guy figured it out. He¡¯s not only strong, but also smart. He would have been an amazing hunter, it¡¯s a shame this is when he dies. I yet again punch him as hard as I can. ¡°Ugh!¡± ¨C Big guy He blocks with both his arms, is pushed back, and almost falls over. He¡¯s still alive though¡­ Impressive. ¡°You¡¯re stronger than before, but you¡¯ve still got a long way to go, brat.¡± ¨C Big guy He¡¯s right¡­ It seems like he¡¯s still stronger than me. Well¡­ For now. I violently bite my lip, then punch myself in the stomach, knocking me down on my knees. ¡°GhhhA!!¡± ¨C Leon That hurt like a bitch! The more hurt I am, the more my eyes glow. Earlier on, he was just slowly walking towards me. He obviously wasn¡¯t taking me seriously, but now he is¡­ He rushes towards me as fast as he can. Even though I¡¯m on the ground, with enough injuries for anyone to pass out, he¡¯s still not stopping. He intends to kill me. Good, it¡¯s more fun that way! ¡°What¡¯s with that smile¡­?!¡± ¨C Teammate of big guy ¡°THIS IS A LOT MORE FUN THAN I EVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE! HAHAHAHA!¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Die you psycho!¡± ¨C Big guy He throws a massive punch, just looking at it travel through the air is enough for me to know that getting hit by it means instant death. I throw a punch of my own back, putting every ounce of strength into it. Our fists clash, and a shockwave is felt through my entire body. My eyes start glowing even more intensely, and I feel yet another surge of power flowing through me. With the amount of damage I¡¯ve taken, there¡¯s no one here who could tank my hits The big guy is no exception. My fist starts digging into his, burrowing through it until I¡¯ve completely pierced even his shoulder. ¡°AGHHHH!¡± ¨C Big guy He doesn¡¯t give up. Without any hesitation he swings with his other arm, but it¡¯s too late. I duck under his swing, then with a swift kick, his head comes flying off. That was a lot of fun! ¡°What was his name.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°¡­¡± ¨C The other people ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat myself.¡± ¨C Leon One of them starts pissing themselves, while the others are paralyzed in fear. ¡°Marc! I-I don¡¯t know where he was from, b-but his name was Marc!¡± ¡°Well, Marc. You were a worthy opponent. I¡¯ll remember you.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°PLEASE! D-don¡¯t hurt us!¡± Hah. Did they really think they¡¯d get off the hook that easily? Hilarious. ¡°Weaklings like you have no right to be here.¡± ¨C Leon One of them tries to run away, but he¡¯s so slow I could catch up to him in my sleep. I grab one of the other guys and throw him at the guy running. They crash into each other at such a high speed that they¡¯re both turned to a mist of blood. ¡°Now it¡¯s just you left.¡± ¨C Leon He¡¯s crying, begging me not to kill him. Pathetic. They all had a chance to leave before the exam started. They did this to themselves. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything, just don-¡± I pierce the guy¡¯s heart with a quick jab before he can finish his sentence. That¡¯s six more, only 91 left then. Chapter 13: Shin Magnum --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Less than half an hour has passed since the exam started. Me and Alex have been running around for a little while now, but we haven¡¯t come across anyone yet. It seems like the number of people are already starting to dwindle¡­ At this rate, we won¡¯t be able to show of our skills enough! Just as I finish my thought, Alex taps my shoulder and whispers something to me. ¡°Shin, look! There¡¯s a team over there.¡± ¨C Alex He points at them, they¡¯re right outside a large stone church. They look around for a few seconds, then enter. They¡¯re probably trying hide. Good thing we noticed them¡­ ¡°Alex, listen. We haven¡¯t been able to show off what we can do yet, and at this rate we might not be able to, so we need to make the most out of this opportunity. We can¡¯t just walk through the front door and beat them up, that¡¯s not enough. Let¡¯s show off a bit more!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh? What are you thinking?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°We¡¯ll destroy the church!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex Leanne said the exam is based on performance, she never said it had to be against other people. ¡°You¡¯re right. Destroying it will be a good opportunity to show off our strength. Let¡¯s do it!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Okay, how about this. I destroy the building, then you take on all of them alone. Does that sound fair?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Alex Nice. Working with Alex has been easy, he¡¯s good at cooperating. I doubt someone like Leon would ever want to share like this¡­ I¡¯m a little curious about Alex though¡­ He said earlier that he¡¯s no weakling, but he doesn¡¯t look particularly strong. He just looks like a normal 16-year-old boy. I¡¯ve never heard of Minima either; it¡¯s probably just some small village in the outer area. People from the outer area usually aren¡¯t very strong either. They don¡¯t have access to nearly as many resources as someone like me or Leon has. Villages in the outer area tend to be extremely poor, so even the kids need to work. He can¡¯t have trained nearly as much as I have. Yet¡­ He was able to keep up with me earlier when I was chasing after Leon. Although I wasn¡¯t going at my absolute max speed, I wasn¡¯t exactly going slow either¡­ Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. He¡¯s a mysterious one indeed. ¡°Okay, Shin. Are you ready?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yup!¡± ¨C Shin I start charging up my attack. If I¡¯m going to destroy a large stone church like this, it won¡¯t be enough to just throw a normal BDM powered punch. I have to put everything I got into this. Just like I was a kid and was just learning to use BDM, I¡¯ll stand still, gather as much Divinity as I can, then just before I lose control, I¡¯ll release it all in a single powerful blow, My fist starts glowing blue. Ahh, I haven¡¯t done this in a while. Wait¡­ Waiiiiiit¡­ ! Now! I throw the punch and most of the building is blown away. The rubble goes flying everywhere, destroying multiple smaller buildings in the distance. ¡°Now, Alex! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¨C Shin I made sure to not destroy the lower parts of the building, otherwise I might have accidentally killed them. We jump up on what¡¯s left of the wall. ¡°What the hell?!¡± ¨C A girl from the team inside the church ¡°All up to you now, Alex.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Right!¡± ¨C Alex They look terrified. They must have thought no one saw them go into the church, and now someone comes and busts down the entire building¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not here to kill you. We just need to beat you up a little, so we pass the exam.¡± ¨C Alex There he goes again. It¡¯s admirable how committed he is to not kill. He¡¯s just like my sister¡­ She was a member of The Red Knights Guild when she was still alive¡­ While she was clearing a dungeon with her team, a Reaper came¡­ She and her team were all D-rank hunters, but the Reaper was C-rank. They didn¡¯t stand a chance¡­ She knew that, but still decided to fight him so her team could escape. She gave her life so they could live¡­ She didn¡¯t deserve that¡­ All her life, she was nothing but kind to everyone around her. The Red Knights has an extra condition you must meet before they¡¯ll let you join, something other than just being strong¡­ You must have had the opportunity to take a life, yet still not have done it. They only want the pure of heart to join. After all, what¡¯s the point in being strong if all you use your strength for is killing? That¡¯s what she would have said at least¡­ I don¡¯t know if I can say that I truly believe it¡­ There are disgustingly evil people who don¡¯t deserve to live. The world isn¡¯t a utopia. Not even remotely so¡­ We were both born in one of the largest cities in the middle area, Magnum. We¡¯re both privileged. We have always had food on the table, we had access to almost any training resources you could think of, we got an education, and we had loving parents. But it¡¯s not like that for everyone¡­ In the outer area almost everyone is poor. There are countless villages where people starve to death, simply because they don¡¯t have access to their basic necessities. Most of these village rely on having a hunter for income, but being a hunter is a dangerous job¡­ It shouldn¡¯t be necessary for someone to feel the burden of having the lives of everyone in their village on their shoulder, all while risking your life doing the most dangerous job in the world. But¡­ That¡¯s how it is. I¡¯d say about half of the people taking the exam today are poor people from the outer area who are risking their lives just to give their family a shot at life. That¡¯s why so many people stayed even after Leanne warned us¡­ The middle area, but especially Adamas, didn¡¯t get so rich for no reason¡­ As if these people didn¡¯t already have it bad enough already, evil people continue to exploit them for their own gain. In exchange for becoming life long slaves, they¡¯ll give the victims¡¯ families resources. When those resources eventually run out, they¡¯ll come back and do it all over again. It¡¯s unforgivable! My sister would never kill anyone, no matter what. But I¡¯m not like her¡­ If I saw one of those bastards, I don¡¯t think I could control myself. Strength isn¡¯t only useful for protecting others, it¡¯s also useful for ridding the world of the human filth that is slave owners. Alex hops down from the wall and walks towards the girl. She¡¯s crying. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t want to do this, but I have to.¡± ¨C Alex He punches her in the stomach, just hard enough to knock her out. She¡¯s not dead, but she¡¯s definitely not waking up for a little while¡­ The last two guys pick up their weapons and charges right towards Alex. They swing with all their might, but Alex swiftly kicks their weapons out of their hands. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll have to hurt you too. It¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll be able to become a hunter. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find a good place to hide you.¡± ¨C Alex Alex lifts both his arms up, pointing one arm towards each of them. What is he doing? Is he gonna¡­? ¡­ He flicks them both in the forehead, and they go flying into the wall behind them at supersonic speeds. What the hell?! He did that with just a flick?!! That¡¯s some serious power¡­ Good thing I¡¯m on his team¡­ He wouldn¡¯t be an easy opponent to beat. He didn¡¯t lie when he said wasn¡¯t weak. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Alex. They¡¯re not dead. Let¡¯s follow through with what you said. We¡¯ll find a good spot to hide them so that they won¡¯t get killed while unconscious.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Alex Chapter 14: Hiding --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I held back a lot, but it seems I still overdid it. I feel bad for them. If they don¡¯t find a healer, they might deal with those injuries for a long time. But at least they¡¯re not dead I suppose¡­ Had it been Leon that found them instead of us¡­ Well, we found a good hiding spot for them. We hid them under the rubble of a destroyed building; I think it was one of the building that got hit by the debris from the church. I don¡¯t think anyone will find them there. At least I hope so¡­ It sucks, but we have to look for more people. Next time I will make sure to hold back even more. ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad, Alex. They knew the risks of entering this exam, and we even spared their lives.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yes, I know, but shouldn¡¯t that be a given? Why is it that NOT killing someone is so commendable?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin I know Shin didn¡¯t mean it like that¡­ He seems like a good guy; he didn¡¯t want to kill them either. ¡°Take this as a learning opportunity, Alex. You probably haven¡¯t sparred with many people before, right?¡± - Shin ¡°Yeah?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Right, so you probably didn¡¯t really know how strong other unranked people were. Next time you will know to hold back a bit more.¡± ¨C Shin This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I guess¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Chin up, Alex! We¡¯ll get through this.¡± ¨C Shin Although we haven¡¯t known each other for very long, when you¡¯re in a situation like this with someone, that¡¯s when true colors are shown. Shin is a good guy. --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] Huh? Oh¡­ Oh god. My arm is gone¡­ ¡­ I didn¡¯t even notice. I think I¡¯m going to faint¡­ That other team is working together so well. Attacking us from every side, and even baiting me to grab the spear they rigged with explosives¡­ ¡°Lett!¡± ¨C Dan Dan screams and goes on the offensive. He violently slams his shield into the guy with the dagger, knocking him down on the ground. The guy who baited me into taking spear runs towards me. Rin is still busy with the arrows and Dan is fighting the guy with the dagger. The spear guy runs up to me and punches me in my chest before I¡¯m even able to react; knocking me on the ground. Normally I would have no problem blocking that attack¡­ But I¡¯m right on the cusp of passing out. It seems the enemies aren¡¯t that strong, but the way they¡¯re making up for that with teamwork. I need to stop the bleeding¡­ Or else I¡¯ll¡­ Wait? Up there¡­! On top of that building¡­ I can see the person shooting the arrows! It looks like it¡¯s an old woman. I guess it makes sense. She¡¯s probably not strong enough to fight anyone head-on, so she fights at long range instead. ¡°Rin, look! The archer is up there! Stop her!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C Rin It seems Dan has already knocked the dagger guy out completely. The spear guy tries to stomp on my head while I¡¯m on the ground. ¡°You¡¯re dead meat!¡± ¨C Spear guy ¡°Oh no she isn¡¯t!¡± ¨C Dan He throws his shield at him, hitting him in the temple, knocking him out cold. ¡°Is he okay?!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What? He just tried to kill us!¡± ¨C Dan ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Lett I don¡¯t know¡­ But¡­ Dan¡¯s right. Right now, my priority should be to survive! First, I¡¯ll have to stop the bleeding. I rip off part of my dress, I¡¯ll use this as a tourniquet. Using the one arm I have left and my teeth, I tie it around the stump as tight as I can. ¡°Aghh¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Are you ok, Lett?¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m fine, it just hurts. That¡¯s all.¡± ¨C Lett The pain is just now starting to set in¡­ The next 23 and a half hours won¡¯t exactly be fun¡­ ¡°Dan, I¡¯m okay now, go help Rin take out the last person.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± ¨C Rin She¡¯s back already? ¡°Taking out that old hag was a piece of cake!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Oh¡­ Are you hurt?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Nope! I¡¯m all good. No need to worry about me!¡± ¨C Rin That¡¯s good¡­ I-I¡­ I think I¡¯m going to pass out¡­ ¡°Hey, Lett! Don¡¯t pass out just yet!¡± - Rin ¡°Let¡¯s find a safe place to hide for a little while first.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I think she already passed out, Dan.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Quickly, let¡¯s go find a good place to hide before anyone finds us.¡± ¨C Dan Chapter 15: Siblings --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] That¡¯s three more. Only 30 more to go now¡­ My left arm hurts like a bitch, but the power this gives me is letting me clear through this way faster than before. It¡¯s only been about three hours since the exam started, but I¡¯ve already found and killed 70 people¡­ This is already more than enough to prove I¡¯m worthy of joining just about any guild. Except for that shitty guild Red Knights, and of course the one I want to join; The Reapers¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize every time you hit someone, Alex¡­ The last few times you even managed to control your power and you didn¡¯t knock them out.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex I know I don¡¯t have to apologize, but I just feel bad for them. They¡¯re so weak, it feels like I¡¯m bullying them. On top of that, every time they lose a fight, it just makes them that more unlikely to get invited by a guild. They all have their own reasons for risking their lives to become a hunter, and I¡¯m crushing those dreams¡­ ¡°We¡¯ve probably already done enough, so let¡¯s rest for a little while. We can continue again later, okay?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah¡­ That would be nice.¡± ¨C Alex We walk around for a little bit before we find a nice hiding spot. It¡¯s a medium size house at the very edge of the colosseum. No one is going to come here. We open the door, and enter the house. ¡°Let¡¯s chill on the second floor.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Alex We walk up the stairs, but¡­ As soon as I get to the top, I get pushed. I fall, but I¡¯m able to land on my feet. ¡°Oh god¡­ Rin! Someone is here! Take Lett and leave, I¡¯ll fight them off!¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Hey, wait! We¡¯re not here to fight.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s true! If you don¡¯t trust us, we can stay down here on the first floor. We just wanted to stay out of trouble for a little while.¡± ¨C Shin Wait, holy shit¡­! What the hell happened to her arm?! ¡°Is she okay? What happened?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s none of your business, just stay down there!¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Wait¡­ I heard an explosion a while ago¡­ Was she¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Dan This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Is there anything we could do to help her?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You could stay away!¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Dan¡­ What if they¡¯re not lying? What if they actually want to help? Remember, if Lett dies, then none of us gets to become hunters, that might as well be death for people like us¡­¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Tsk. Fine.¡± ¨C Dan ¡®Might as well be death for people like us¡¯¡­? Are they also from small, starving, villages? ¡°You with the black hair, keep applying pressure to her arm.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°And you with the white hair, go with Rin and find some water.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Kay!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯ll stay here and protect Lett.¡± ¨C Dan The injured girl starts coughing. ¡°Lett! You¡¯re finally awake again!¡± ¨C Dan Lett¡­ Now that I think about it, I feel like I¡¯ve heard that name before. I¡¯m not exactly sure when though¡­ ¡°Who¡¯s that guy?¡± ¨C Lett She starts coughing more. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s here to hurt you, Lett.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°It¡¯s true, I¡¯m not going to hurt you. I came here because I wanted to get away from the violence for a little while.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m Alex! Alex Minima!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Minima¡­ Wait, isn¡¯t that where my brothers buddy is from?¡± ¨C Lett Hold on¡­ I think I remember now! ¡°Wait, are you Vic¡¯s little sister?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You know my brother?!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Wowowow, hold on here. You guys know each other??¡± ¨C Dan I knew I¡¯d heard that name before¡­ While training, Vic liked talking about his family and home. Lepus is a small town in the outer area just like Minima. Vic is Lepus¡¯ only hunter, just like big bro is our only hunter. Just like my brother, he¡¯s very rarely home¡­ And when he is, it¡¯s never for long. He¡¯s always on missions, giving most of what he earns away so the people of Lepus don¡¯t starve. The way he talked about her made me think she was a little kid, but she¡¯s the same the same age as me¡­ Her arm is completely blown off¡­ Now I really want to help her. It¡¯s the least I can do after all Vic did for me. ¡°No¡­ Not exactly. I know her brother, Vic. He¡¯s my brother¡¯s friend, and my teacher. He came to my village six months ago to train me to become a hunter. He taught me all sorts of stuff about the world, including BDM.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re Leo¡¯s brother¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Do you know my brother?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No, not really. All I know is what I heard from Victor. He¡¯s a C-rank hunter and can control fire, right?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Yup.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Wait, hold on¡­¡± ¨C Dan ¡°What?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You said he came to you six months ago to train you to become a hunter, right?¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Well, you made it sound like you started learning BDM six months ago¡­¡± ¨C Dan ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What? That¡¯s not possible¡­ It usually takes years just to learn BDM. But not only have you learned it, you¡¯re really good at using it too. When I pushed you earlier, that wasn¡¯t just a normal push¡­ If I did that to a normal person, their ribs would shatter. You were even surprised when I pushed you, so you didn¡¯t even have time to prepare for it and defend.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s not possible to reach that level in six months. It¡¯s just¡­ not.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you¡­ Vic said I was talented, is it really that big a deal?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Talented? No amount of talent can give you these kinds of results in just six months! Lett, he¡¯s lying to us. I don¡¯t think he is who he says he is!¡± ¨C Dan I don¡¯t even know what to say¡­ ¡°I-¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Dan, it¡¯s fine. I trust him, okay?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°How can you though? He is clearly lying! He¡¯s trying to trick us!¡± ¨C Dan ¡°If he wanted to hurt me, he could have done it ages ago. Like you said yourself when I woke up, he¡¯s not here to hurt us. He¡¯s even helping me by putting pressure on the wound!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­ Fine! I don¡¯t trust him, but¡­ I¡¯ll put my trust in you.¡± ¨C Dan I don¡¯t know what more I can do to prove I¡¯m not here to hurt them¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s talk about something else¡­ Alex, what guild do you want to join?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°The Red Knights! Just like big bro and just like Vic!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Same! Hehe¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What about you, Dan?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Tsk.¡± ¨C Dan He looks away and crosses his arms. ¡°Come on, Dan, don¡¯t be like that. Answer him!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°To me it doesn¡¯t really matter, I just need the money.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°But what if everyone invited you, who would you choose?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°First of all, that¡¯s not happening. But IF it did happen, I guess I¡¯d choose¡­ The Dwarfs. They¡¯re known for their ability to clear lots of dungeons quickly. That would make it a lot easier to earn lots of money¡­ I guess¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great choice, Dan!¡± ¨C Lett Dan blushes a little. ¡°The Dwarfs¡­ They¡¯re also one of the guilds with the most members in it. Although quality is important, when it comes to clearing out a bunch of weaker dungeons, quantity is definitely also very important.¡± ¨C Lett CRASH! Suddenly Shin comes flying through the wall. He¡¯s carrying Rin, she¡¯s hurt. ¡°Quickly! We need to get away from here!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shin! What¡¯s happening?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s Leon! He tried killing Rin, but I just barely managed to get her away from him in time. I¡¯m not sure exactly what happened, but he¡¯s very injured too. If he dies then¡­ Whatever, we don¡¯t have time to worry about him now. He obviously won¡¯t kill us, that would only be a hindrance to himself. But¡­ He might still hurt us if we try to stop him.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯m not gonna leave them here to die!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯m not either! Come on, grab the girl! We need to leave! NOW!!¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 16: The hunt --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] That little shit! Shin is on my team, yet he is helping some random girl?! Does he not realize what kind of exam this is? We¡¯re not supposed to team up with anyone else, were supposed to fucking kill them! When I find him, I¡¯ll make sure he pays¡­ I¡¯m won¡¯t kill him, but I¡¯ll make him suffer¡­! I¡¯ll slice the throat of that girl right in front of him, that¡¯s what he gets for helping the enemy! Agh, my arm is killing me¡­ I can deal with a busted lip and some cuts, but my arm¡­ After the adrenaline disappeared, it started hurting so much more than before¡­ I¡¯ll just have to endure this pain, the strength it gives me is invaluable. Look at that building! Looks like someone jumped right through the wall, it must have been Shin warning the others¡­ They can¡¯t have gone far. But which way¡­ Tsk. I only need three more kills now¡­ I could find three other people somewhere else, but this is about more than just getting the kills required to join The Reapers¡­ That little shit protected some random girl that¡¯s not even on our team in a deathmatch! That other guy, Alex, was it? He¡¯s probably with Shin, helping the enemy too. Those two will suffer for going against me! The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I got around 21 hours to find them, that should be more than enough time. There are only two things they could be doing right now. They are either running, or hiding. If they hide, I will eventually find them. So, hiding is no good. But running is no good either! They¡¯re carrying at least one injured person; that girl I attacked. When I find them, they won¡¯t be able to run away while carrying her. They¡¯ll have no choice but to drop her, or fight me. No way they¡¯ll be able to run away from me on their own. Shin and Alex are both fast, but the others? No way. The only other strong person I¡¯ve found so far was Marc, the rest have all been PATHETIC! Where could they have gone¡­ That building over there is quite tall, from there I¡¯ll be able to get a good view. I run over to the tall building, and with a single leap I jump all the way to the top. Wow¡­ I can already spot two teams running around over in the distance; killing them would put me over the 100 kills required to join The Reapers. But¡­ I don¡¯t care about that right now, all I want is to find Shin! Ugh! Where are they?! Hold on¡­ Over there! I see him! Alex is there too! It seems that they¡¯re not helping just that one girl, but an entire team of three. Perfect! I¡¯ll just kill those three then! Another one of them is injured too. Lucky! I jump down and sprint towards them as fast as I can. They don¡¯t know that I¡¯ve found them yet, that gives me the advantage. When they see me, they¡¯ll obviously try to get away, but for now, I¡¯m just getting closer and closer. Eheheheeee! They¡¯re right there! Just 50 more meters! ¡°HE FOUND US! RUN!¡± ¨C Shin Wow, this is pathetic¡­ Shin is carrying the two injured girls and Alex is carrying that large guy. Ahahahaha! They¡¯re trying to protect someone so useless that they can¡¯t even run by themselves! It¡¯s like they¡¯re trying to stop me from stepping on ants! What should I do when I catch them? Should I break their legs so they can¡¯t walk? Maybe poke their eyes out? Or, maybe I¡¯ll just wait and kill them right after the exam ends! It¡¯ll be so much fun! But¡­ I have to actually catch them first¡­ I¡¯m running as fast as I can, yet I can¡¯t catch up to them, even though they¡¯re carrying people. My SDM only gives me more power, not more speed. If it gave me speed too then catching up to them would be no problem. Right now, I¡¯m around 20 times stronger than when I¡¯m not injured at all. Getting a speed amp like that too would be sick! But¡­ That¡¯s unfortunately not how this ability works. My injuries are slowing me down enough that that it makes up for all the extra weight they¡¯re carrying. It seems that we¡¯re about equal in speed right now. I¡¯m not getting closer, but they¡¯re not getting further away either. This is a battle of stamina! Right now they¡¯re carrying people, which will drain their stamina a lot faster, but¡­ I¡¯m injured. All those injuries make my body feel heavy, and the pain makes my head spin¡­ We¡¯re both slower than normal, and we¡¯re both draining our stamina quicker than usual. This is getting interesting¡­ However, I will not be the one losing today. I am going to kill those three, no matter what it takes. Chapter 17: Leanne Aqua --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Shit! I didn¡¯t expect him to find us this fast. Dan isn¡¯t fast enough to run away from Leon on his own, and Lett and Rin are injured. If it wasn¡¯t hard enough to escape from him normally, we also have to carry these people! But we can¡¯t just leave them to die either¡­ Had Leon not been so injured himself, there would be no way for us to get away. But how did he get so injured? All the people we¡¯ve met so far seem to be so weak, what happened to him? ¡°Stop running away! I¡¯ll catch you sooner or later anyways! If you hand over those people, I¡¯ll let you go!¡± ¨C Leon That¡¯s not happening. Lett is Vic¡¯s sister; I have to protect her! Dan and Rin are her allies, so they¡¯re my allies too. But he¡¯s right¡­ We won¡¯t be able to keep this up forever. It seems inevitable that there will be a fight. Should we stop now before we run out of stamina? Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I look over at Shin and it seems he¡¯s thinking the exact same thing. We both come to a sudden stop, then carefully dropped the people on the ground behind us. It¡¯s time to face Leon¡­ --- [Leanne¡¯s perspective] This year¡¯s exam is exciting! We¡¯ve got quite a few interesting characters down there. Especially that one team¡­ Shin Magnum and Alexander Minima, they¡¯re both tremendously powerful. Their level of control over BDM is insane for being unranked¡­ They¡¯re both around the level of a high F-rank hunter. Maybe even E-rank¡­ Alexander started learning BDM just six months ago too¡­ That level of talent is almost unheard-of. There has only ever been a handful of people to have achieved that level of control in such a short amount of time; those people have all ended up becoming hunters worthy of being written down in history books. I can¡¯t wait to see what becomes of him in the future. One day, he might even become an invaluable asset for us¡­ But Shin is no joke either. He¡¯s way stronger than I was when I took my first exam¡­ Just like very few people pass the F-rank hunter exam, very few people pass the exams after that too. In fact, there are more F-rank hunters than there are E, D, C, B, A, and S ranked hunters combined¡­ Not everyone has it in them to become a high ranked hunter. But¡­ They are both more talented than me, and I was able to reach B-rank¡­ It¡¯s possible that one day they might even be able to reach A-rank¡­ Who knows, maybe Alex will one day reach even higher heights¡­ Even I have my doubts about that though¡­ S-rank hunters are the truly incredible; they¡¯re the guild masters after all¡­ There is one more interesting character this year. Leon Adamas. Adamas¡­ The Adamas¡¯ never disappoint, and this time it¡¯s no different. Well, that¡¯s not quite true¡­ This Adamas doesn¡¯t just not disappoint, he¡¯s on an entirely different level altogether. Leon has already learned SDM, that¡¯s almost as impressive as reaching Alexander''s level of mastery over BDM in six months. The last time that happened was with Alexander¡¯s brother¡­ And before him? Well¡­ Never. At least not in the 150 years I¡¯ve had this job¡­ I¡¯ll make sure to keep an eye on them; I¡¯m very curious where they¡¯ll all end up. Nobody knows what lies ahead, not even me¡­ But¡­! Whatever it is, I won¡¯t miss it. Chapter 18: Leon VS Alex & Shin --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] We both come to a sudden stop, then carefully dropped the people on the ground behind us. It¡¯s time to face Leon. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us, okay? I¡¯ll take the girls and run away while you two deal with that guy.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C Alex If we¡¯re gonna fight off a guy as strong as Leon, we can¡¯t have those three around to worry about¡­ Dan obviously realized that. Despite his looks, he¡¯s actually pretty smart¡­ ¡°Not so fast there!¡± ¨C Leon Shit, he just ran straight past us! ¡°Ugh! Let go of me, dumbass!¡± ¨C Leon Nice! Shin managed to grab his arm. Leon turns around to hit Shin. I can tell his attacks are deadly, even if I haven¡¯t seen him fight seriously before¡­ Shin looks pretty calm and collected, unlike Leon. He swings wildly at him like he¡¯s an enraged beast. Shin ducks under his swing just in time. Had Leon been calmer it might have been a different story¡­ ¡°Oops, you missed me!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You little-¡± ¨C Leon Before Leon is able to finish his sentence, Shin strikes back with a kick to the jaw. ¡°Gah!¡± ¨C Leon Leon coughs up blood. Wait, what is that? Leon¡¯s eyes¡­ They¡¯re glowing red. Why? ¡°Heh...¡± ¨C Leon Why is he smiling¡­? Shin lets go of Leon¡¯s arm and tries to jump back, but Leon grabs his reverses the roles by grabbing Shin¡¯s arm instead. Leon leans back and prepares a headbutt. Oh no¡­ He tries to pull his arm back, but Leon isn¡¯t letting go. Leon is overpowering Shin so easily¡­ This is a problem¡­ I have to help him! ¡°AAAAGH!¡± ¨C Leon Leon screams as he launches his headbutt. I dash towards them with all I got, I have to stop him! Just before his attack connects, I manage to hit him in the side of his head, sending him flying. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Some of the skin on his arm gets ripped off while sliding on the ground. His eyes start glowing even more intensely than before. Why is that happened? Could it be that¡­? No¡­ That¡¯s impossible. But¡­ He¡¯s not getting up. Did he get knocked out? ¡°Heheheheeehehheeeee!¡± ¨C Leon Of course not¡­ I really wish he stayed down¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll let you guys in on a little secret¡­¡± ¨C Leon A secret? ¡°You¡¯re probably wondering why my eyes are glowing red, right?¡± ¨C Leon I look over at Shin. He looks terrified¡­ Does Shin know why? If it¡¯s something that terrifies even Shin¡­ What could it possibly be¡­? ¡°You guys will never beat me, and it¡¯s because of just one simple reason. I know SDM!!¡± ¨C Leon He knows SDM?! Shit. This is going to be a lot more trouble than I thought¡­ ¡°The more I get hurt, the stronger I get. Every time you attack me, you make the situation worse for yourself.¡± ¨C Leon I guess that explains why he decided to just grab those swords earlier¡­ ¡°Alex, we can beat him¡­ I have a plan.¡± ¨C Shin He does?! ¡°Oh, do you now? Do tell¡­¡± ¨C Leon ¡°We¡¯ll knock you out¡­ It¡¯s not without its risks of course, but where would the fun be if there wasn¡¯t some risk?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Risk?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°The only way we¡¯ll have enough power to knock him out is if we go all out, but if we do that, we might accidentally kill him¡­ If he dies, we fail the exam. But if we don¡¯t stop him, even more innocent people will die.¡± ¨C Shin I see¡­ Like he said, it¡¯s risky¡­ But we have to protect Lett and the others! ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hah! Good fucking luck!¡± ¨C Leon Leon lunges towards me. ¡°TRY NOT TO DIE!¡± ¨C Leon Oh no¡­ He¡¯s too fast, I won¡¯t be able to get away in time! I¡¯ll have to defend. His hand is wide open, he¡¯s not going to punch me¡­ He¡¯s going to claw me! His attack connects with my side and his fingers tear right through my flesh like it¡¯s nothing. ¡°AAAAGH!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex!¡± ¨C Shin This power! It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s unreal! I did all I could to defend¡­ I even concentrated fully on hardening the area he was attacking! Even though I did all that¡­ He still effortlessly overcame it with his power. And he¡¯s just going to get stronger every time we hit him¡­ This is bad¡­ Really bad! ¡°Are you okay Alex?!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡­ I¡¯m not okay¡­ I¡¯m bleeding a lot, and I¡¯m starting to get a little dizzy. We need to end this now. I look over at Shin; that one look was all he needed. He understood exactly what I was planning¡­ We need to both hit him with all we got at the same time. It¡¯s the only way¡­ We both immediately start charging up our attacks. No normal BDM powered attack will be enough, only a charged attack. We¡¯ll build it up for as long as possible, then at the very last moment, we¡¯ll unleash both our attacks at the same time. As expected, Leon goes for Shin this time. If he actually kills us, then he won¡¯t be able to pass the exam either. He just needs to hurt us enough to stop us. But¡­ If he¡¯s not careful, a single attack could be lethal, even if he doesn¡¯t intend for it to be. I run towards Shin too. He¡¯s standing still and concentrating on charging up his attack. This one attack will decide if we win or if we lose. If he dies, we¡¯ll fail the hunter exam. If he¡¯s still standing, our friends will die. The only way to win this is by threading the needle, hitting him with the exact power needed to knock him out. No more, no less¡­ He¡¯s finally within attacking range, however¡­ That means we are too. He opens his hand and swings it towards Shin. He¡¯s going to use a clawing attack just like he did against me. We launch our attacks, and just mere moments before he hits Shin, our attacks connect. Shin¡¯s fist hits the right side of his head, mine hits the left. The power reverberates through his skull, sending it right back. Our fingers break, but we push through the pain. ¡°Gah-¡± ¨C Leon His jaw breaks and his eyes start glowing again. The intensity is far beyond anything we¡¯ve seen before. ¡°AAAAAAH!¡± ¨C Alex and Shin We scream as we continue to push as hard as we can. We have to do this! If this doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯re screwed! I don¡¯t even want to imagine how powerful he¡¯ll be if this isn¡¯t enough! Finally, after a few more seconds our attack is finally ends, and Leon drops to the ground¡­. An attack like this would without a doubt kill anyone else in the exam, including both me and Shin¡­ We have no other choice than to pray it won¡¯t do the same to him¡­ Leon isn¡¯t getting up¡­ Shit. Is he dead¡­? Wait¡­ No¡­ ¡°Oh no¡­¡± ¨C Shin Oh no¡­ No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! His eyes light up yet again¡­ The crimson glow dyes the entire street red like it¡¯s drained in blood. He stands up¡­ His entire body is shaking, but he¡¯s up¡­ This is the worst case scenario¡­ ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!¡± ¨C Leon His jaw is completely crushed, yet you can still make out a psychotic smile. He¡¯s enjoying this¡­ With his current power, a light touch could be deadly¡­ We can¡¯t escape either, that would make everything we¡¯ve done meaningless¡­ ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!¡± ¨C Leon Leon starts screaming, as he prepares to attack. ¡­ Huh¡­? He stops screaming, and before he even gets to start the attack, he falls to the ground. He¡­ Passed out¡­ The damage he took was too much, even for him. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s getting up again¡­ Not for a while. ¡°Whew¡­ That was a close one¡­¡± ¨C Shin You don¡¯t say¡­ Chapter 19: The final hour --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] There¡¯s only five minutes left of the exam. After beating Leon, we tended to his most serious wounds, then hid him somewhere he wouldn¡¯t get found. If he died while unconscious, we would fail the exam. After that, we met up with Lett and the others. Dan was the only one of us who wasn¡¯t injured. We were all fine with our performance, so we decided to bunker down for the rest of the exam. Dan had his doubts, but he didn¡¯t want to go out alone, so he stayed with us. We treated our most serious injuries and stopped all bleeding; we¡¯ll all survive as long as we take it easy. It still hurts like hell though¡­ Me and Rin got some pretty serious injuries, but¡­ Lett got it worse than the rest of us; she got her whole arm blown off¡­ Poor girl. I understand now why mom didn¡¯t want me to become a hunter¡­ --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] Ughhh¡­ My whole body aches¡­ Where am I? Wait. SHIT! I lost to those little fuckers¡­ How could I lose when they don¡¯t even know SDM? This is ridiculous! They¡¯ll pay for this¡­ Suddenly I hear a voice, it¡¯s Leanne. ¡°There¡¯s only one minute left of the exam now. If anyone hurts anyone after the exam ends, you will fail no matter what.¡± ¨C Leanne ONE MINUTE? I still need three more kills! Most people are probably just hiding now, waiting for the exam to end. I¡¯ll never find that many people in just a minute if I have to check each and every building¡­ I can only think of one way to find and kill that many people in that short of a time¡­ There is no guarantee it will work, but it¡¯s the best I can do. I¡¯ll destroy as many buildings, along with everything inside it, as I can¡­ Hopefully there are some weaklings hiding in some of them. Luckily, my injuries makes it much easier to destroy that many buildings. There¡¯s only around 50 seconds left now! I run out of the house as quickly as possible. I¡¯m stronger than I thought. A single hit is enough to completely pulverize multiple buildings at once. However, this colosseum is massive, and there probably aren¡¯t many people left. I have to accept the reality that there is no guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to join The Reapers¡­ I¡¯m sprinting at top speed through the city, destroying as many buildings as I can. ¡°There are 30 seconds left of the exam.¡± ¨C Leanne Shit, I need to destroy even more! More, more, more! MORE! ¡°Only ten seconds remain.¡± ¨C Leanne I¡¯ll prepare a huge attack, and launch it right before the exam is over. ¡°Five.¡± ¨C Leanne Not yet. ¡°Four.¡± ¨C Leanne Not yet! ¡°Three.¡± ¨C Leanne This attack will be massive¡­ The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Two.¡± ¨C Leanne But not massive enough! ¡°One.¡± ¨C Leanne Come on¡­! I can feel it, I¡¯m almost there! ¡°Z-¡± ¨C Leanne NOW! I launch the attack, completely vaporizing the building it hit. A massive shockwave shoots out, ripping apart hundreds of buildings behind the one I physically hit. ¡°-ero. The exam is now over. I repeat, the exam is now over. If anyone attacks anyone else now, they will be disqualified, and I¡¯ll deal with them personally¡­ It¡¯s now safe to leave. Please return to the entrance.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡­ I really fucking hope I did it¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°It¡¯s finally over¡­¡± ¨C Rin ¡°We did it, Rin!¡± ¨C Lett Lett jumps over to Rin and hugs her. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to those two¡­¡± ¨C Dan He points at me and Shin. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¨C Dan ¡°It¡¯s no biggie.¡± ¨C Shin He says smugly¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah!¡± ¨C Lett We get out of our hiding spot, and start walking over to the gate. Leon is there, right in front of us¡­ He looks angry. If it was anyone else, I¡¯d try to make up with them. But not with him¡­ Leon is actually a psycho, I don¡¯t want to associate with him in any way. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s in a mood to talk right now anyways¡­ We walk out the gate, and wait a few minutes for the rest to come. Not many people returned alive¡­ Only one full group, two people alone, and one group of two people. We went from a large group of hundreds and hundreds of people down to only fourteen¡­ That¡¯s so sad¡­ ¡°Congratulations to everyone that survived! As a reward, we will heal all your injuries for free.¡± ¨C Leanne Someone steps forward. ¡°This man is a talented healer from The Red Knights Guild. You¡¯re all in good hands.¡± ¨C Leanne The Red Knights¡­ I really hope they invite me¡­ He walks up to each of us, and with a single touch, all our injuries are healed. Lett¡¯s arm even grew back¡­! ¡°Now then¡­ First of all, I will call out the people who did not pass the exam due to their teammates not making it. William Canis, Laura Cultro, Joseph Annuum, and Kite Dolor¡­ All of you have failed the exam.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°That¡¯s bullshit! We went through hell, just to get denied because some random people I¡¯ve never met before died?! It¡¯s not fair!¡± ¨C Kite ¡°Like it or not, those were the rules.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°But!¡± ¨C Kite ¡°No ¡®but.¡¯¡­ You fail, end of story. You may leave.¡± ¨C Leanne He looks frustrated, but he doesn¡¯t continue to argue. He can tell by the look in Leanne¡¯s eyes that she¡¯s not someone he should mess with¡­ ¡°To the nine people remaining, you all passed the exam! Congratulations, that is by no means an easy task. That being said, there were some of you who did not get invited by any guilds. Passing the exam is irrelevant if nobody invites you. Benjamin Lutum, Tiki Caelum, and Nora Glacies. You may all leave.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°But why?! We passed the exam! Why didn¡¯t anyone invite us?!¡± ¨C Tiki Leanne sighs, she¡¯s probably tired of people arguing with her. I bet this happens every year¡­ ¡°After witnessing how brutal the exam was with your own eyes, you hid yourself for the remaining 23 hours and 55 minutes¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Tiki ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re all free to leave now.¡± ¨C Leanne They might not have become hunters, but at least they survived¡­ ¡°Now for the rest of you, you have all passed the exam, AND at least one guild has invited you. I will call out your names, and you can step forward. I¡¯ll list out the guilds that invited you. For those of you who got invited by multiple guilds, you may still only join one. Other than that, you can accept whichever one you like the most. You can also deny all of them if you so choose, but due to the special rule I implemented this year, you will not be able to partake in the F-rank hunter exam ever again. So if you deny every invitation, that¡¯s it.¡± ¨C Leanne It''s just the six of us left¡­ That means all of us passed! That¡¯s awesome! ¡°Rin Nox, please step forward. The following guild has invited you; The Dwarfs. Do you wish to join The Dwarfs, Rin?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Alright, go wait over there. A representative from The Dwarfs will soon come and get you. Now, onto the next person. Dan Terra, please step forward.¡± ¨C Leanne He may try to hide it, but I can tell he¡¯s nervous. Lett leans over to him and whispers something I can hardly make out. ¡°Good luck!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°The following guild has invited you; The Dwarfs. Do you wish to join The Dwarfs, Dan?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Yes, I do.¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Yay!¡± ¨C Lett I¡¯m so happy for him, that¡¯s the guild he wanted to join! ¡°Alright, go wait over there with Rin. Now for the last person of this team¡­ Lett Lepus, please step forward. The following guilds has invited you; The Dwarfs and The Red Knights. Which guild do you wish to join, Lett?¡± ¨C Leanne The Red Knights¡­! That¡¯s awesome! ¡°I would like to join The Red Knights, Ma¡¯am.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Very well, go wait over there. A representative from The Red Knights will soon come and get you.¡± ¨C Leanne She did it, she joined The Red Knights¡­ Just like her brother! ¡°Now onto the next team. Shin Magnum, please step forward. The following guilds have invited you; The Dwarfs, The Red Knights, The Venomous Snakes, Mercury, Atlas, The Dragons, White-Point Star, The Beast Hearts, and last, but certainly not least, Demon Egg.¡± ¨C Leanne Wow¡­ That¡¯s a lot of guilds¡­ Rin and Dan were only invited by The Dwarfs. Dan told me that The Dwarfs is one of the largest guilds. He said it¡¯s because they invite almost anyone who passes the exams. The reason they want so many people to join their guild is because they care more about quantity than quality. With higher numbers, they can clear many more lower ranked dungeons than other guilds can. Even low ranked dungeons give good rewards, The Dwarfs Guild is earning lots of money doing this. ¡°Which guild do you wish to join, Shin?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Hmm. I guess I¡¯ll join The Red Knights.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright, go wait over there with Lett.¡± ¨C Leanne Both Lett and Shin joined The Red Knights¡­ If I get invited too then, we can all stay together! ¡°Next is Alexander Minima. Please step forward.¡± ¨C Leanne Here we go¡­ ¡°You got this, Alex!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°The following guilds have invited you; The Dwarfs, The Red Knights-¡± ¡°YES!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Sorry, continue¡­¡± ¨C Alex They invited me! Whew¡­ That¡¯s a relief¡­ ¡°- The Venomous Snakes, Mercury, Atlas, The Dragons, White-Point Star, The Beast Hearts, and lastly, Demon Egg.¡± Leanne It¡¯s cool that I got invited by so many guilds too, but I already knew which one I would want to join. ¡°Which guild do you wish to join, Alexander?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°The Red Knights!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright, go-¡± ¨C Leanne Before she even gets to finish her sentence, I run over to Shin and Lett. ¡°Heh, I suppose I didn¡¯t need to say it again. Well, anyways. On to the last person. Leon Adamas, please step forward.¡± ¨C Leanne Leon still looks angry, but more than that, he looks nervous¡­ Why? ¡°The following guilds have invited you; The Dwarfs, The Venomous Snakes, Mercury, Atlas, The Dragons, White-Point Star, The Beast Hearts, Demon Egg, and finally, The Reapers¡­¡± ¨C Leanne As soon as she said ¡®The Reapers¡¯, Leon¡¯s nervousness instantly faded away and another psychotic grin covered his face instead. ¡°The Reapers¡­!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­ Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¨C Shin Weird¡­ There¡¯s something he¡¯s not telling me. I¡¯ll ask him about it later, now is not the time. ¡°Which guild do yo-¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°The Reapers.¡± ¨C Leon Leanne looks a bit surprised after he cut her off like that. ¡°Alright¡­ Go wait over there, a representative from The Reapers will soon come and get you.¡± ¨C Leanne Shin is clenching his fists and looks pissed off. He then takes a deep breath and calms down. Something must have happened to him in the past, something to do with The Reapers¡­ Chapter 20: The Red Knights Guild Not long after we chose which guild to join, the representatives came. The representative from The Red Knights was a B-rank hunter called Ruby Rubrum. ¡°Congratulations! You guys are now official F-rank hunters! The representatives will now take you back to your guild headquarters. The headquarters are all in different places, and some are very far away. So¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Leanne raises her arm and clenches her fist. As she does that some stone wagons appear. ¡°¡­ Your representatives will take you back with this!¡± ¨C Leanne What¡­ Are they literally going to drag us there? We have legs you know¡­ ¡°Well then, what are you waiting for? Get in.¡± ¨C Ruby Shin jumps in and gives a sigh of relief. ¡°Ahh¡­ Finally, this is over¡­ I need a shower¡­¡± ¨C Shin Me and Lett gets in shortly after. ¡°Alright! Hold on tight, we¡¯re gonna go a lot faster than you¡¯re used to!¡± ¨C Ruby I mean she is a B-rank hunter, so I guess it would be faster. But, she¡¯s still carrying not only our weight but also the wagons weight, so it can¡¯t be that much faster than my top speed rig¡ª ¡°AAAAAHHH!¡± ¨C Alex, Shin and Lett Holy shit! We¡¯re going so fast that I¡¯m not even able to perceive our surroundings! Everything around me is just an ever-changing blob of colors. If we were to fight, she would knock me out before I even get to move a single muscle¡­ B-rank hunter are way out of my league¡­ --- A couple minutes later we reach our headquarters in the city Bellator. This is a trip that would have taken days even if I ran at max speed, and we got here in mere minutes¡­ But what¡¯s more impressive is the size of the guild hall! It¡¯s way larger than the colosseum, and the colosseum was so massive that it could probably fit more than 100 of Minima inside it! The building is surrounded by countless Red Knights flags. They¡¯re just like the one Vic brought with him, just much larger. And although the guild HQ is by far the largest building here in Bellator, it¡¯s still just a small part of the city itself. So, this is what a large city in the middle area is like¡­ Everyone in Minima knew each other, but that can¡¯t possibly be true here¡­ There must be millions that live here! We walk up to the front of the building. There are no doors, the front is wide open. I guess there is no needs for doors in a building of this size¡­ Infront of the ¡®door¡¯ there are a bunch of guards, probably to keep people that aren¡¯t members out. ¡°Well, what do you guys think? It¡¯s pretty impressive, right?¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex and Lett Lett and I just stand there in shock. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s even bigger than the Mercury guild HQ, right?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Correct. This is actually the second largest guild HQ, only behind the Dwarfs. The Dwarfs got by far the most members, so it makes sense for them to have the biggest building.¡± ¨C Ruby The second largest¡­ The Red Knights are amazing! ¡°You¡¯ve seen other guild HQs before, Shin?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah, Mercury has their guild HQ in Magnum, the city I¡¯m from.¡± ¨C Shin If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll give you a tour of the guild hall. You just need to get your Red Knights ¡®tattoo¡¯ first. Otherwise the guards won¡¯t let you in. The person who will give them to you is actually my older sister, Rose Rubrum. She¡¯s a B-rank hunter just like me!¡± ¨C Ruby Rose arrives shortly after. Ruby and Rose look very similar to each other; you can tell they¡¯re siblings. The biggest difference is that Ruby has short red hair, while Rose has long red hair. ¡°Welcome to The Red Knights guild!¡± ¨C Rose ¡°You see, my sister has a very neat specialty. It lets her create ¡®runes¡¯. She can engrave certain designs into any surface and put divinity into it. It might not sound impressive, but it can be a very scary ability to face in combat, and it has countless uses outside of combat. Each pattern has its own effect. Using different patterns, she can create explosions, fire, or anything else you could think of! They can be activated manually or when someone touches them, so they make for good traps. The most scary one is the one that-¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°Shush! They don¡¯t need to know about that one!¡± ¨C Rose ¡°Right¡­ Sorry. Anyways, what we¡¯re using her specialty for right now is to make your ¡®tattoos¡¯. The Red Knights used other forms of authentication to prove membership before, but now that they have Rose, they don¡¯t need that anymore. When two of those ¡®tattoos¡¯ touch, they both light up. On top of that, Rose is the only one who can make them. This makes them very effective for authentication. When you want to enter the guild hall, you just put your ¡®tattoo¡¯ on one of the guards. If they start glowing, then they know that you¡¯re a real member!¡± ¨C Ruby So, The Red Knights take advantage of their members specialties for the benefit of the guild and all its members. That¡¯s smart! Rose walks up to me. ¡°Give me your hand.¡± ¨C Rose ¡°R-right!¡± ¨C Alex She draws a symbol on my right hand; but to me, it was over as soon as it started. She¡¯s so fast¡­ Just as fast as her sister. I couldn¡¯t even see her fingers move when she drew it. If they hadn¡¯t explained how it worked beforehand, I might have thought it just appeared out of nowhere¡­ ¡°Damn, you¡¯re fast!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well, she is a B-rank hunter after all!¡± ¨C Lett She quickly makes one for Shin and Lett too. ¡°Let¡¯s test it out!¡± ¨C Lett Lett puts her tattoo on top of Shin¡¯s, and sure enough, they both start glowing. ¡°Sweet.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll show you around inside the guild hall.¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way then, see you later Ruby.¡± ¨C Rose We walk up to the guards, and they gleefully greet us. ¡°Welcome to The Red Knights guild!¡± ¨C Guard ¡°Thank you!¡± ¨C Lett We put our tattoos on theirs, and they start glowing. ¡°All right. Enjoy your day!¡± ¨C Guard This building is so huge¡­ It¡¯s almost like there is a whole city in here¡­ ¡°Over there to the left is the sleeping area. You all get your own room. Your ¡®tattoo¡¯ works like the key and only you can open the door to your room. Just go over to the reception to get the number for your rooms later.¡± ¨C Ruby Rose¡¯s specialty really is handy, huh. ¡°Over there is the mission wall.¡± ¨C Ruby She points to a large wall with countless flyers on it. ¡°Missions are how we make a living. People who want a specific job done, can write down a description of what it is, and the reward for doing it. They can then give it to one of the guards outside, and they will hand it over to the receptionists. The receptionists will then grade it based on how difficult it is. The grades are based on the rank system, so an E-rank mission will be most suited for E-rank hunters. Any time there is mentioned a recommended party size, it¡¯s based on the strength of an average person of that rank. Most of the missions are from people who want our help, but some are from the guild itself. Those are for clearing dungeons. Clearing dungeons is the most important job for a hunter. They pay the most too!¡± ¨C Ruby I see¡­ ¡°We¡¯re F-rank hunters, so that means F-rank missions are most suited for us, right?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°Are we allowed to do missions higher than our own rank?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You are, but whenever you want to take a job you need to confirm it with the receptionist first. If they deem it to be too dangerous for you, then they have the right to deny you from taking it.¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°I have a question too¡­ How do we rank up?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Heh, already thinking about that, huh?¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°It¡¯s another exam, right?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yup! It works similarly to the F-rank hunter exam. There is an annual exam held that you yourself can choose to enter. If you pass the exam, then you rank up. The biggest difference is that they are not performance based like the F-rank exam, all you need to do is pass them. These exams tend to be much more dangerous than the F-rank exam is, so we don¡¯t want people to enter them before they¡¯re ready. We have our own recommendation system where we look at your performance during missions, especially in dungeons, and then decide if we think you¡¯re ready to take the exam this year or not. Obviously, my opinion is that you should follow the recommendation system. If you don¡¯t, it will almost certainly end very badly for you¡­ But ultimately, it is your decision. Most of the people we recommend to take an exam ranks up, while almost none of the people that we don¡¯t recommend, but that still choose to attempt it, rank up. The system is there for your own safety.¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ok¡­ So, when is the next exam?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You¡¯re really eager to rank up, huh?¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°I suppose.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°It¡¯s in about three months from now, but you should know that it usually takes years before most F-rank hunters to become skilled enough that we recommend that them take it.¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ whatever¡­ I haven¡¯t met an E-rank hunter yet, but me and Alex were both significantly stronger than all the other people in the exam. If the average person in that exam was anywhere near the level of an average F-rank hunter, then we should be fine.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright¡­ Just don¡¯t come crying to me when you get yourself hurt due to your own recklessness¡­ Anyways, last but not least, that area over there is for the A-rank hunters. Like with most other things in here, you must authenticate yourself to get in. Only A-rank hunter can get in there. Don¡¯t ask me what¡¯s in there though, I¡¯ve never been there either. The A-rank hunters¡­ They¡¯re really something else¡­ I¡¯ve been a B-rank hunter for almost 200 years now, and I¡¯m still nowhere near being recommended to join the A-rank exam¡­¡± ¡°200 YEARS?!!!!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes. 200 years¡­ Do I not look my age?¡± ¨C Ruby ¡°Uh-¡± ¨C Alex I don¡¯t even know what to say¡­ 200 years??? How is that even possible¡­? ¡°Alex¡­ Did you not know that BDM slows down your aging? That¡¯s like the biggest reason why most people want to learn it¡­¡± ¨C Shin What? Why didn¡¯t Vic tell me about that?! ¡°No¡­ My teacher didn¡¯t tell me about that at all¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Right! His teacher is actually my brother, Victor Lepus! Do you know him?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Victor? Yeah, of course! I was the one that brought him here his first day, just like you guys. He¡¯s a good kid. He probably just wanted Alex to learn BDM for the right reasons.¡± ¨C Ruby She¡¯s right¡­ If my motive was corrupt, it could hinder my true goal. Thank you, Vic. You were a good teacher! Chapter 21: Mission #1 Ruby showed us around a bit more last night, before we went back to our ¡®rooms¡¯ for the night. It was way more than just a ¡®room¡¯¡­ That ¡®room¡¯ was bigger than the house I live in¡­ I guess it makes sense though, the guild HQ is ginormous. The bed was really comfy too! I haven¡¯t slept that well in a long time. Since we joined at the same time, our rooms were all right next to each other as well. We¡¯re staring at the mission wall, looking for a good first mission to go on. ¡°What about this one?¡± ¨C Lett It¡¯s an F-rank mission from some small village in the outer area. Apparently, some houses there burned down in an accident, and they need help to rebuild them. The pay isn¡¯t great, but that¡¯s expected considering it¡¯s from a poor village in the outer area. ¡°Nah. There are only three months left until the E-rank exam. We should go for something harder, so that we can prove that we are worthy of taking it. What about this one?¡± ¨C Shin That one looks more interesting¡­ ¡°It¡¯s just an F-ranked dungeon, but the recommended party size is 20 people. That should be a good enough first mission.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah, seems good.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lett. I know you want to help those people, and I do too! But we need to go for something harder if we want to get recommended to take the exam. Besides, I¡¯m sure someone else will take it!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I suppose¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Well then, I guess it¡¯s decided. We¡¯re gonna take on this 20-man, F-rank dungeon!¡± ¨C Shin You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. We take the flyer and walk over to the reception. Shin hands it to the receptionist. She looks at it for a second then looks back at Shin. ¡°This is a 20-man dungeon, you¡¯re just three people.¡± ¨C Receptionist ¡°And?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Receptionist With an annoyed look, she looks into Shin''s eyes for a second before responding. ¡°Look. I¡¯ve seen cocky newbies like you get hurt way more times than I care to count. It¡¯s not going to end any differently this time.¡± ¨C Receptionist ¡°It¡¯s just an F-rank dungeon, okay? We got this.¡± ¨C Shin She lets out a sigh; I get the feeling she¡¯s tired of arguing. ¡°Fine¡­¡± ¨C Receptionist The receptionist has a different ¡®tattoo¡¯ on her left hand. She puts it in the middle of the flyer, and the mark gets burned into the paper. ¡°All of you, put your guild marks on there.¡± ¨C Receptionist We do it one by one, and each time it lights up a little. ¡°The mission has now been assigned to you three. You¡¯ll receive your rewards when you come back.¡± ¨C Receptionist ¡°Thanks!¡± ¨C Lett We walk outside. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get going. The dungeon is about eight hours of travel from here.¡± ¨C Shin We start running, but just moments later, we realize that Lett can¡¯t keep up. We run back to her. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I can¡¯t run as fast as you guys can. I can stay behind and do other missions if I¡¯m just going to hold you back¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t worry about it, okay? You¡¯re coming with us¡­!¡± ¨C Shin He casually picks her up and throws her over his shoulder like she¡¯s a sack of potatoes. ¡°Ah!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°There we go, now we¡¯re ready to leave!¡± ¨C Shin --- Several hours has passed since then and we are finally at the dungeon entrance. It¡¯s a large cave in the side of a mountain. Without any hesitation, we walk straight in. It¡¯s dark in here, but luckily, we made some torches on our way here. That was actually Lett¡¯s idea. When we got a little deeper into the dungeon, we started hearing some weird noises. ¡°What was that?!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Dunno.¡± ¨C Shin Out of nowhere a skeleton appears. It has a stone club, and it swings it at me. I block it with my right arm, and then counterattack with my left. A single attack was enough to destroy it. The swing did hurt a little though. I¡¯d say it was about as strong as the attacks of the people we fought in the exam. We get a little further in and three more skeletons appear. They¡¯re exactly the same as the first one; stone club and all. This time Shin steps in and destroys them all before they even get to attack. ¡°This is way too easy¡­ Even for an F-rank dungeon¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I agree¡­¡± ¨C Alex We continue going in a little further. ¡°Look, the walls!¡± ¨C Lett There¡¯s an abrupt change in materials for the walls, ceiling, and floor. Earlier in the cave, just as you¡¯d expect, it was all made of stone. But here¡­ It¡¯s all metal! It doesn¡¯t even resemble a cave in the slightest. It¡¯s like we¡¯re walking through a metal box. The skeleton noises start to get louder and louder¡­ We walk around the corner and¡­! It¡¯s a large room, lit by torches all over the walls. There are large piles of bones everywhere. That¡¯s creepy¡­ Out of nowhere we hear an ominous voice. ¡°Welcome.¡± ¨C ??? Chapter 22: The hooded figure Who was that?! ¡°Show yourself!¡± ¨C Shin At the end of the room is a large staircase; a hooded figure holding a staff suddenly appears at the top. ¡°Looks like there are finally some brave hunters who were willing to take on this dungeon¡­¡± ¨C Hooded figure ¡°Who are you?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh, me? That¡¯s not important. Right now, your priority should be to survive.¡± ¨C Hooded figure As he says that, he raises his staff up, and swings it forward. The staff glows yellow, and the bones start linking together. The bone piles turn into skeletons, just like the ones we fought earlier. This time however, there aren¡¯t just a couple of them. There are at least 100 of them! They don¡¯t have any stone clubs, but they do have weapons made of bones. ¡°There may be a lot of them, but this should still be easy!¡± ¨C Shin Shin runs in and just like he did earlier, he destroys the skeletons with a single punch. Me and Lett are just watching, if they¡¯re as weak as the other ones, he can do it himself. Shin dashes around quickly and destroys them one by one. Some of them go flying into other skeletons, destroying them both on impact. They swing their weapons, but they¡¯re not nearly fast enough to hit him. It didn¡¯t take more than a few seconds before he destroyed them all. ¡°Impressive! Let¡¯s turn up the difficulty a little.¡± ¨C Hooded figure He swings his staff again, and all the bits and pieces of the destroyed skeletons come back together. ¡°Heh. You think that just putting them back together again will change anything?¡± ¨C Shin All the skeletons start charging towards Shin. Instead of running towards them and destroying them one by one like he did earlier, he starts charging up an attack instead. Just when the skeletons get in range to attack him, he releases his attack, creating a huge shockwave that destroys every skeleton instantly. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Just moments later, without the hooded figure waving his staff, the skeletons regenerate back again. Shin sighs. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you putting them back together again is pointless?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh? Is that so?¡± ¨C Hooded figure It¡¯s annoying that they keep going back together, but they¡¯re weak, so we should be fine. I guess it¡¯s time for us to help as well. If we can stop that guy, then the skeletons will probably stop regenerating too. ¡°Shin, let¡¯s destroy these skeletons then go beat that guy up.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Aye, aye, captain.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯ll help too!¡± ¨C Lett The hooded figure starts laughing. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re all going to fight, then I guess I should stop holding back.¡± -Hooded figure He swings his staff again; it glows even more intensely than it did before. The bones of all the skeletons suddenly grow thicker. ¡°Ooh! Are they stronger now? Let¡¯s test them out!¡± ¨C Shin Shin rushes towards them. One of them swings their bone weapon and Shin dodges. That attack was much faster than before, but still not fast enough to hit him. Shin counter attacks, and yet again breaks the skeleton in a single hit. ¡°Heh, it may be stronger and faster, but it¡¯s still far below me.¡± ¨C Shin But there is one more thing that is different; the speed at which they regenerate. Before the bones even hit the floor they reassemble into another skeleton. The guy on the staircase didn¡¯t even have to do anything. That¡¯s quite troublesome¡­ The skeletons still outnumber us by a lot, and they start surrounding us. Each time one of them gets close, me or Shin destroy them with a single punch, but every time we do, they just regenerate again. It¡¯s a stalemate¡­ They can¡¯t harm us because they die the moment they get close, but we can¡¯t keep them down either¡­ ¡°We¡¯re not going anywhere if we keep this up. Alex, take Lett with you and go chase down that weirdo. I¡¯ll stay here and deal with the skeletons. It¡¯s good endurance training too!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Shin, create an opening for me and Alex to leave. The moment they get destroyed we run up those stairs before the can regenerate.¡± ¨C Lett Shin nods. He charges up an attack, just like earlier. When the skeletons get close, he releases, and all the skeletons are destroyed. ¡°Now!¡± ¨C Lett Me and Lett both start sprinting towards the stairs. I get to the stairs right before the skeletons can regenerate, but Lett wasn¡¯t quite fast enough. Some of the bones landed on the bottom of the stairs and they reformed before she was able to go up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Alex. Just go! I¡¯ll join you in a moment.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Okay!¡± ¨C Alex The other skeletons grow back and run towards Shin. Lett just has to deal with that one skeleton; she should be able to do that. --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] The skeleton swings its bone weapon and I jump back. Damn, it¡¯s so fast. I was barely even able to dodge it¡­ Yet, Shin and Alex didn¡¯t seem to have any problem doing the same¡­ Are they monsters, or what¡­? The skeleton runs towards me. He swings, and I dodge to the side. I counterattack it by punching it in the jaw. It gets knocked back a little, but it doesn¡¯t even fall over. It dashes towards me again, even faster than before. Is it mad? It swings its weapon so fast that I¡¯m not able to dodge it in time. I have no other choice; I block the attack with both my arms, and a loud cracking noise follows¡­ ¡°OUCH!¡± ¨C Lett It just broke my left arm! ¡°Are you fine over there, Lett?!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry!¡± ¨C Lett I¡¯ve been in worse situations before. My arm breaking is nothing compared to my arm literally exploding! The skeleton lifts its weapon up and swings yet again. This time I was able to roll away before it hit me. The swing hits the metal floor and the weapon breaks. But just like the skeletons themselves, the broken pieces just fly back, repairing itself almost instantly. It¡¯s embarrassing that I¡¯m having this much trouble with just one of them¡­ Even though we haven¡¯t known each other for long, we¡¯ve already become friends. I want to continue working with them, but to do that, I¡¯ll have to get much stronger than I am now¡­ Chapter 23: The fight continues --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Just before I reach the top of the stairs, the hooded figure swings its staff yet again. The glow is almost blindingly strong. ¡°You two were a lot stronger than I had expected. If both of you fight me at the same time, you might actually win¡­ There is no way in hell I¡¯m letting that happen!¡± ¨C Hooded figure I hear Shin say something and I turn around. ¡°What the hell¡­¡± ¨C Shin All the skeletons except for the one that Lett is fighting fused together, forming one giant skeleton. ¡°Behold, the ultimate skeleton! The skeleton golem will destroy him, and there is no doubt in my mind about that. If you want to go help him, then go do that. I¡¯ll be waiting in the other room, hahahaha!¡± ¨C Hooded figure Damn it! What should I do? No¡­ Why am I even thinking about this? I trust Shin, I know he can deal with that big lump of bones. If I don¡¯t deal with that weird guy, it won¡¯t ever stop regenerating anyways. It¡¯s decided then! --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Okay, I didn¡¯t expect that¡­ It may be big, but I won¡¯t let that stop me. The golem lets out a roar and throws a punch right towards me. I instantly jump back, and the impact of its fist makes a large hole in the metal floor. It¡¯s way stronger than the normal skeletons! Not to mention the speed¡­ What the hell was that speed? It makes sense that it¡¯s a lot stronger than before, but how can something this big be that fast? If I get distracted for even a moment, I¡¯ll get hit¡­ The golem lifts its leg up and tries to stomp me. I barely dodge it in time by rolling as soon as I saw the attack coming. Before I get a chance to get back up, it throws a jab at me. The jab connects and it sends me flying into the wall. ¡°GUah!!¡± ¨C Shin The impact was enough to make me cough up blood. I get back up, but¡­ If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. That hurt me a lot more than I expected¡­ It¡¯s like the whole world is spinning, and I feel like I¡¯m going to throw up. Even so, the golem doesn¡¯t give me a break. It starts sprinting right towards me and prepares an attack. It launches its fist and I luckily get away just in the nick of time. Not only does its fist penetrate the wall, but so does his entire arm. It¡¯s stuck! This is my moment! I jump up on its should and hit it right in the temple. The head wobbles a little, but it doesn¡¯t even take any damage¡­ It quickly turns its head and tries to bite me. I launch myself backwards to avoid it. I¡¯ll take the opportunity to charge up an attack for a few seconds while it tries to get out of the wall. The moment it gets out, it charges right at me. It¡¯s relentlessly chasing after me without ever stopping¡­ It goes for a kick, but I release my charged attack just in time, blowing the leg off. The golem falls over, but even as it¡¯s falling, it¡¯s still on the offensive. Given its weird positioning, dodging wasn¡¯t that hard. The fragments of the bones that used to make up its leg starts flying back. Damn it! I can¡¯t let it regenerate! I sprint behind the golem as fast as I can, making it just in time; any later and the golem would have regenerated. I hit the bones, sending them flying to the other side of the room. They keep flying back, but that¡¯s fine. As long as it¡¯s missing a leg, it can¡¯t get up; I just need to make sure it doesn¡¯t get to regenerate. I smack the bones away a few more times, but just as I¡¯m about to do it again, I notice something¡­ The golem is crawling towards me! It quickly catches up to me and continues to relentlessly attack. I dodge the attacks, but at the cost of letting the bones fly back to it. The legs grow back, it stands up and lets out another roar before charging at me yet again. Tsk. This dungeon is a lot more troublesome than I thought it would be¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I¡¯ve been running for a little while now, but I still haven¡¯t caught up to him. Where did he even go?! There aren¡¯t any lights here either¡­ Luckily, I haven¡¯t ran into any monsters either though. ¡°Ugh! Can you just come out already?!¡± ¨C Alex And the exact moment I shouted that, the torches start burning; lighting the entire corridor up. I go through a door and¡­ The entrance behind me closes! There¡¯s no way out¡­ The room is a lot bigger than the one Shin is in. There is no staircase at the end either, instead there is a throne¡­ Atop the throne sits the hooded figure from before. He starts clapping. ¡°Well done! You¡¯ve made it here. You abandoned your friends just to chase after me, and it¡¯s just going to end with all of you dying.¡± ¨C Hooded figure As if! ¡°Who am I you ask?¡± ¨C Hooded figure What? ¡°I didn¡¯t ask-¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s fine to tell you since you¡¯re about to die anyways. I¡¯m the boss of this dungeon¡­¡± ¨C Boss As he says that he takes his hood off and reveals his face. ¡°I¡¯m the skeleton king!!¡± ¨C Skeleton king He¡¯s a skeleton too¡­ How unexpected¡­ ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who, or¡­ What, you are. I¡¯ll destroy you right here and now!¡± ¨C Alex I charge right at him; he points his staff at me. Insanely fast and sharp bones shoot towards me. I run and jump to the side, desperately trying to dodge; all while he just sits there, following my movement with his staff from afar. There¡¯s a continuous beam of bones shooting out of his staff; there¡¯s no way for me to get close! The moment I try to get closer, I¡¯ll just get hit¡­ The bones that flew past me come together forming new skeletons. Looks like it¡¯s just those small and weak skeletons, but that¡¯s still annoying¡­ A couple skeletons get close to me; I grab them and use them as a shield to close the gap between us. ¡°Ooh! That¡¯s an interesting strategy.¡± ¨C Skeleton king Right after he said that, he turns the skeletons back into bones. That includes the one I used as a shield¡­ It takes a moment for me to react, that moment was all he needed¡­ Three bones fly right through my left arm. ¡°Aghh!¡± ¨C Alex I got a bit closer, but now I¡¯m back to just running from side to side again. ¡°I guess turning them into skeletons won¡¯t work against you¡­ That¡¯s okay.¡± ¨C Skeleton king This continues for a few seconds, until he suddenly stops shooting. He must have run out of stamina! This is my opportunity to get closer! Just as I start running towards him, he raises his staff high into the air and a thick bone wall forms in front of him. The wall quickly grows to the size of the entire room; bone spikes cover every inch of it. What the- Suddenly, it shoots forward at an incredible speed. It¡¯s headed right for me¡­ The entrance is no longer there, so I can¡¯t run back. There is nowhere to hide, and nothing to block with either¡­ The wall will hit me...! Chapter 24: Regeneration --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] I¡¯m so pathetic¡­ Shin is fighting that beast over there, yet I¡¯m here struggling against a single skeleton¡­ Those guys are on a level of their own¡­ No¡­ This is not the time to be thinking about that stuff, I can save that for later. For now, I have to focus on actually beating this thing. The skeleton rapidly swings its bone weapon around, but I manage to hop away from the attacks. It ends the combo by doing one powerful overhead swing, and I roll away. The swing yet again hits the floor and the weapon breaks. Hold on¡­ What? The weapon isn¡¯t regenerating back like before. Wait¡­ That¡¯s not it. The broken pieces fly towards the golem. I see¡­ It seems like only the golem is regenerating, not the skeletons. This skeleton was the only skeleton that didn¡¯t get turned put into that golem. I¡¯m assuming that¡¯s because only broken skeletons were used for creating the golem. This skeleton regenerated before the other ones and was fully formed when the golem was being made. But what this all means is that I just need to beat this skeleton once and I¡¯ll be able to go help Alex. It looks like Shin is having a hard time as well, and I feel bad for just powering up the golem even more by killing this skeleton¡­ But I believe in him. The skeleton no longer has a weapon, so that should make it a little easier at least. I still have to be careful though. It already broke my left arm. But¡­ If I can¡¯t even do this, then I don¡¯t even deserve to be a hunter at all! The skeleton charges forward headfirst. I want to finish this quickly. I run towards the skeleton too. Right before it hits me, I sidestep it and kick its feet with all my might. Yes! It tips over and faceplants on the ground. This is my chance; I won¡¯t hesitate to take it. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I lift my leg up high, then slam it down on its neck. The neck breaks and the skull gets detached from its body. The skull then goes flying over to the golem. Did I do it¡­? ¡°Agh!¡± ¨C Lett It grabbed my ankle! It pulls my leg, and I fall over. I won¡¯t be able to get out of this one without any sacrifice. I pull my leg back as hard as I can and rip its hand straight off. However, my ankle also broke in the process. I jump back a little on my one foot, then when there is some distance between us, I start charging up an attack. The skeleton gets back up on its feet and it continues to chase after me. My left arm and my right foot are broken. I won¡¯t be able to dodge, and I won¡¯t be able to block. It all rides on this one attack. I¡¯ve seen Shin and Alex charge up attacks like this many times before, but I haven¡¯t done it myself outside of training. As the skeleton gets closer and closer, I get more and more nervous. The skeleton is now within attacking range, but I will keep on charging for as long as possible. The skeleton throws a punch straight for my stomach. ¡°GAH!¡± ¨C Lett It throws another one on my broken left arm. Then another one in my face. And another one. And another one. It¡¯s giving me an all out barrage, but I¡¯m just taking all the hits. If I fail this attack then I will lose anyways. I don¡¯t care how much it hurts me, I need to make sure I finish it off! All that matters is that I win! It throws one more punch straight for my chest, but right before it connects, I finally release the attack. This power! I didn¡¯t know I had it in me. My fist hits the headless skeleton and the point of contact gets pulverized. All the joints in its body breaks and the bones fly everywhere. Immediately after, they all go flying into the golem. I did it¡­ Now I can go help Alex! --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Nice! Lett was able to beat that skeleton. She can finally go help out Alex. Now I don¡¯t have to worry about the golem suddenly deciding to attack her instead either¡­ I can finally go all out too! But¡­ I know one thing for certain. I won¡¯t be able to win against the golem no matter how hard I try. It¡¯s simply just because it keeps regenerating. The best I could do is distract it until Alex kills the boss. There¡¯s no doubt in my mind that I¡¯ll be able to do that; I won¡¯t lose to a big pile of bones! I start running away from the golem, and it chases after me. When reach the end of the room, I stop for a moment to let it catch up. Right before it reaches me, I use the wall as a jumping pad; launching myself behind it. While still in the air, I hit it as hard as I can in the back of the head. The speed it was running at combined with the force of my punch made it impossible for it to slow down. It violently crashes into the wall, shattering parts of its body. It¡¯s yet again stuck in the wall, just with its head this time. I immediately take this opportunity to destroy its knees and shoulders. It¡¯s no longer able to get out, but this will change the moment it regenerates. To buy as much time as possible, I start punching the bone piece away, just like earlier. But there are just too many pieces; I know I won¡¯t be able to keep this up for long. The golem regenerates and gets its head unstuck. That however does not mean I¡¯ll let it get the advantage back. I jump on top of its right shoulder and completely rip its arm off. It tries to swat me with its other arm, but I jump away, and it destroys itself in the process. I run as far away as I can before it can start regenerating, while still carrying its torn off arm. I jump on top of the arm, and it starts flying back to the golem. While riding the arm like a flying skateboard, I charge up an attack. There won¡¯t be enough time to make it that strong, but the speed I¡¯m moving at will make up for that. The arm flies back to its socket, and I fire off the attack straight at its head. The skull shatters into a million pieces; painting the room with bone dust. I¡¯m yet again on top of the golem, baiting it to attack itself. Without any hesitation, it takes the bait and destroys itself even more in the process. What a dumbass¡­ The head regenerates back together and comes flying back. I kick the head away like it¡¯s a football, and it yet again breaks into a bunch of pieces. Like always, I¡¯m not able to stop all of them from reaching the golem, and eventually it regenerates back. It lets out yet another roar, this time even louder than before. Agh, my ears¡­ While still shouting it rips its own arm off. What the hell?! Why did it do that, and why is it not regenerating back¡­? ¡­ Oh¡­ The arm reshapes itself; turning into an insanely sharp longsword. ¡°Shit.¡± ¨C Shin --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] I¡¯ve been moving down this dark hall for a while now, how far away is he? ¡°Ouch!¡± ¨C Lett What the-? A wall? It¡¯s a dead end?! I moved all the way here just for there to be a dead end?! Wait¡­! I can hear them fighting! But¡­ I can¡¯t get to him¡­ I can¡¯t help him¡­ So, all I¡¯ve done so far is make the golem stronger? ¡­ I¡¯m so useless¡­ Chapter 25: Mission #1 over --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I will get hit, and there is no way for me to avoid that. If only my left arm hadn¡¯t been pierced by those bones, I might have been able to stop the wall¡­ I don¡¯t think I can do that with just a single arm. If I don¡¯t do anything, those bones will pierce through every part of my body. It¡¯ll be instant death¡­ I have no choice¡­ ¡°I¡¯m gonna be honest. I actually expected more from you after seeing how easily you could destroy my powered-up skeletons earlier. But now¡­ It seems you¡¯re going to get crushed by the wall. Oh well.¡± ¨C Skeleton king The skeleton king lets out a disappointed sigh, but then¡­! CRASH!! ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Skeleton king I bust right through the wall, mere moments before I would have gotten crushed. But I couldn¡¯t do it without any sacrifice¡­ My right arm¡­ Since the wall was covered in spikes, there was no way for me to destroy it without getting hurt. But¡­ I had no other options. It was that or get crushed. As I punched the wall, one of the spikes pierced right through my hand went up my arm. Both arms are hurt now¡­ I could have used my leg instead, but then I would have no way to reach him. I¡¯m also not fast enough on one foot to dodge his bone projectiles, hell, I¡¯m barely fast enough with both my legs! So, sacrificing a leg was not an option. Busting through the wall like that was clearly not expected. Finally! This is my chance to get close to him¡­! --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] If I get hit by that sword, I¡¯m screwed! It leaps into the air and raises its sword above its head. As it falls towards me it swings the sword down with full force. I jump away to the side, but the sword doesn¡¯t just hit the ground like I expected¡­ Right before it hits the ground, he just suddenly changes the momentum of the sword completely, and it goes flying right towards me again. I jump up, but he does the same. Shit! Jumping up was a mistake. If I¡¯m on the ground I can still dodge it, but while up in the air, there is no way for me to dodge. Just before it slices me in half, I¡¯m able to push myself away from it by hitting the side of the blade. But¡­ The golem is just as merciless as ever and changes the momentum yet again. ¡°GAH!!!¡± ¨C Shin Since I had my arm extended from pushing myself away, it was too close to the sword¡­ Four of my fingers are cleanly cut off¡­ Fighting this thing is pointless! Whenever I hurt it, it just regenerates back again, and now I can¡¯t even get close to it! I don¡¯t think there is anything I can do besides running away, and avoiding its attacks¡­ I¡¯ll have to trust that Alex and Lett are able to take care of the boss¡­ Hopefully soon at that! --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I sprint toward the skeleton as fast as I possibly can. Stolen story; please report. I won¡¯t get a chance like this twice! As I get a little closer, he gets back to his senses. He points his right at me; getting ready to shoot. I¡¯m so close his staff is almost touching my stomach¡­ He starts shooting, but before the bone had fully formed, I twist my body so that his staff is no longer pointing towards me. The bones shoot out at the same incredible speed as before, but it¡¯s all for nothing! I¡¯m in melee range now, his staff is useless. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± ¨C Skeleton King I punch him in the head as hard as I possibly can. His head turns to dust and scatters all across the room. The rest of his body turns back into a pile of bones. Heh¡­ I did it¡­ The entrance opens back up. ¡°Alex! Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Y-¡± ¨C Alex Before I get to answer she cuts me off. ¡°I heard a lot of noise in there! What happened?¡± ¨C Lett She lets out a gasp. ¡°Look at your arms!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ You look pretty hurt yourself, but right now we need to go back and make sure Shin is fine too.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Right! That golem was pretty intense¡­ If I were in his place, I wouldn¡¯t even stand a chance¡­¡± ¨C Lett She looks sad¡­ ¡°Hey, cheer up! We¡¯re both alive, lets focus on that, okay? Besides, we have to go help Shin out. There isn¡¯t time to be sad.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Lett --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] This is bad¡­ I¡¯m just barely able to dodge these attacks. Ever since he created that troublesome sword, his entire fighting style has changed. Not only are those movements absolutely insane, but it seems to have gotten much faster as well. Not to mention how much more deadly it is due to having that weapon¡­ ¡°Shin! Alex did it, he killed the boss! It shouldn¡¯t regenerate anymore now!¡± ¨C Lett They¡¯re back! ¡°Got it!¡± ¨C Shin Heh. This changes everything! It¡¯s strong for sure, but the fact that it could instantly regenerate was always the biggest problem! ¡°It¡¯s finally time for us to have a fair fight, boney!¡± ¨C Shin Time for me to start attacking again! ¡°Shin, I¡¯ll help you!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No, back off! I want to do this myself!¡± ¨C Shin I can¡¯t have Alex killing the boss, AND the golem¡­ I rush towards it, and it shoves the sword forward to try to stab me. Just before it hits me, I dash to the side and continue running towards it. As expected, the sword instantly change directions and comes flying towards me. This time, it¡¯s aimed at my head! There is no point in dodging in advance when it can change directions and follow my movement like that. Right before my head is sliced straight off, I duck and I launch myself forward. Yet again, without any delay, the blade follows right after me. Heh, finally¡­ I¡¯m in a position where I can do that! Just before it hits me, I grab the sides of the blade with both arms and legs. The golem tries to slice me, but it just can¡¯t; I¡¯m clinging to the blade too hard! It keeps swinging the sword around, but to no avail. It finally understands that it needs to change strategy; slamming me into the ground and cutting me in half as a result becomes the new plan. Before its able to go through with the plan, I use all my strength to crush the sword. The sword isn¡¯t regenerating! I run towards it; it drops the sword handle and tries to hit me instead. I jump on top of its arm, and run up to its shoulder. This is it! With all my might, I throw a punch right into the head. The bones scatter all across the room, and the golem finally falls down¡­ It¡¯s not regenerating¡­ It¡¯s not getting up¡­! Finally! ¡°Good job!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Well done!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Heh, it was no biggie.¡± ¨C Shin As if¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] A few minutes passes, and the group is now outside the dungeon Right after we leave the dungeon, the entrance suddenly vanishes. There is no trace of it¡­ Just a normal mountainside¡­ ¡°Huh? Why did it just disappear like that?¡± ¨C Alex Shin sighs. ¡°I know you grew up in a small village in the outer area and all¡­ But have you really never encountered a dungeon before?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I haven¡¯t¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Dungeons aren¡¯t physical like everything else is. Dungeons are structures that manipulates the space they occupy, so they can be much bigger than it would look like on the outside. They can appear at any time, and in any place. They must be taken care of, or there is a risk that the monsters will find their way out. If there are people living nearby, then that can end very badly¡­ That¡¯s exactly why we need hunters to take care of them. Why do they exist? Why do they disappear after the boss is beaten? Nobody knows, but it doesn¡¯t really matter anyways. Just beat the monsters inside, and we¡¯re fine. Besides, they¡¯re a great way to get stronger!¡± ¨C Shin I see¡­ I am a little curious as to why they exist though¡­ Could a dungeon just randomly appear in Minima whenever? That¡¯s terrifying¡­ But I guess that is just another reason to get stronger! If there is ever a dungeon that appears near Minima, I need to be prepared for it. ¡°Guys¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not going to stay with you anymore¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What? Why?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You know why¡­ All I do is hold you back¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°IT IS! I COULDN¡¯T DO ANYTHING IN THERE!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Lett¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°At the beginning when you guys were fighting a horde of skeletons, I was just standing there¡­ You guys had to protect me! Later on, I could barely even defeat a single one! I got hurt while fighting just a single skeleton! You guys were effortlessly destroying so many of them, yet I could barely defeat a single one¡­ I¡¯m too weak¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Lett¡­ You¡¯re not¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Stop. You¡¯re just being nice to me. I was supposed to help you fight the boss, but I couldn¡¯t even do that¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°The entrance was blocked off, there was nothing you could do!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh, you know that¡¯s not true! If our positions were swapped¡­ If I was the one fighting the boss, and you were the one locked out, you¡¯d break through the damn wall!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I COULDN¡¯T EVEN FUCKING RUN HERE ON MY OWN! Shin had to carry me the whole way ¡­¡± ¨C Lett Tears stream down her face; this has really gotten to her¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°As long as I am this weak, I¡¯ll only hold you back! I want to stay with you¡­ I really do¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Then stay! If you want to stay, then stay. We¡¯re friends, right?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t. Like I said, I¡¯m not leaving because I don¡¯t want to be with you guys anymore¡­ I do¡­ I¡¯m leaving BECAUSE I want to stay with you!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°We might not have known each other for very long, but I still care about you guys a lot. The problem is that I¡¯m too weak right now¡­ so¡­ I¡¯ll just have to get stronger!¡± ¨C Lett She wipes her tears with her sleeve, and Shin starts smirking. ¡°I¡¯ll leave and go train¡­ When I come back, I¡¯ll be stronger¡­ Way stronger! Three months¡­ The E-rank exam is in three months. I¡¯ll be there, and I¡¯ll be more than worthy to take it! You guys just wait, if you don¡¯t work your asses off, I¡¯ll catch up in no time!!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Alright, you bet. But don¡¯t go and disappoint us now!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± ¨C Lett She turns around and starts running back to Bellator on her own. ¡­ ¡°Gah! My arms¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°How long were you holding that in?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shut up¡­¡± ¨C Alex Shin chuckles. ¡°Well, let¡¯s head back. We¡¯re all in desperate need of a healer visit.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 26: Luna Luna --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] It¡¯s been a few days now since we completed the 20-man F-rank dungeon. The trip home was long and painful. My arms were badly hurt, and I might have bled to death if it wasn¡¯t for Shin¡­ He had to carry me all the way home, because I kept almost passing out. We need to be more careful¡­ If we were to get hurt like that in a place even further away from the guild, then we might not make it back¡­ The healers in this guild are brilliant, but it won¡¯t matter if we die before we get back¡­ After we healed up, I went to Lett¡¯s room to check up on her, but she wasn¡¯t there. I tried knocking on her door this morning too, but she didn¡¯t answer. It¡¯s like she just disappeared¡­ She didn¡¯t even take her share of the reward. I assume she¡¯s out training somewhere, but she didn¡¯t need to completely cut us off like that¡­ Anyways, it¡¯s time to go on another mission now. ¡°Alex, you know the best way to get stronger is with combat training, right? We can¡¯t let Lett overtake us that easily, so let¡¯s find another difficult dungeon.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Sure!¡± ¨C Alex We both look around for a bit longer, then¡­ ¡°Hey, Alex! What about this one?¡± ¨C Shin 3-man E-rank dungeon¡­ ¡°Are you sure about that? We struggled in the F-rank dungeon¡­ This one is E-rank!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah, buuuuut¡­ that was a 20-man dungeon, and this is only a 3-man. That should balance it out right¡­?¡± ¨C Shin Not at all¡­ Even I know that an E-rank mission is far harder than an F-rank mission¡­ But¡­ He¡¯s right. If we can¡¯t even do this, then how will we pass the E-rank exam? Not to mention, if we complete an E-rank mission, they¡¯ll definitely recommend us to take the exam! ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± ¨C Alex Shin leans forward to grab the poster, but just before he takes it, a tall woman snatches it right from his grasp. ¡°Hey! We were going to take that one!¡± ¨C Shin This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Ok? Should have taken it before me then.¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°¡­ Come on, don¡¯t be like that. Give it back to us.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°No.¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°You¡­!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°How about we make a compromise?¡± ¨C Alex Both of them look at me. ¡°Hm?¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°We can all do it together!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Now that I think about it, I can¡¯t seem to remember seeing you two before. Are you new?¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°Yup! We joined a couple days ago.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°So, you¡¯re trying to tell me that I should drag along two newbies to an E-rank mission? Hah! As if.¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°We¡¯re not weak.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°We¡¯re not weak!¡± ¨C Tall woman She says in a mocking voice¡­ ¡°They all say that¡­¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°It¡¯s tru-¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You know what? I have an idea. I¡¯ll let you tag along under one condition.¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°What condition?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I get to keep the entire reward.¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°What? No way! Let¡¯s just take another one, Alex.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay. We accept your condition.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Huh?!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shin, this is the perfect opportunity to see an E-rank hunter in action!¡± ¡°Gah¡­¡± ¨C Shin He lets out an annoyed sigh. ¡°Fine.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Great!¡± ¨C Tall woman She smiles and quietly claps. We walk over to the receptionist and hand over the flyer. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s you two again! I warned you last time that you would get hurt from that 20-man F-rank dungeon. ¡®It¡¯s just an F-rank dungeon, okay? We got this.¡¯ What a load of bull¡­ You guys were injured from head to toe! I¡¯m not letting you two enter an E-rank dungeon! Not happening.¡± ¨C Receptionist ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re with me. I¡¯ll keep them safe, okay?¡± ¨C Tall woman ¡°Tsk.¡± ¨C Receptionist She looks pissed off. It¡¯s understandable though¡­ She did warn us, but we just ignored her, and now we¡¯re going for an even more dangerous mission¡­ ¡°Fine! But only because it¡¯s you, Luna¡­¡± ¨C Receptionist Luna? That¡¯s a pretty name. The mission is assigned to us, and we leave the building. ¡°I guess we should introduce ourselves. I¡¯m Luna Luna, an E-rank hunter!¡± ¨C Luna Luna Luna? Her first name is also based on the town she¡¯s from? ¡°I¡¯m not ordinary E-rank hunter though¡­¡± ¨C Luna With a smug smile on her face, she continues on. ¡°I¡¯ve actually already been recommended to take the D-rank exam!¡± ¨C Luna Wow¡­ So, she¡¯s nearly on the level of a D-ranker? That means she might be a match for Vic! ¡°Seems like you got yourselves some pretty serious injuries on your last mission, but¡­ Did you really clear a 20-man F-rank dungeon all on your own?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Wow¡­ Not bad! That might be difficult even for most E-rankers! Maybe you¡¯re not too bad after all¡­ Anyways, I¡¯ve introduced myself, now it¡¯s your turn.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I¡¯m Alex Minima, nice to meet you!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Minima? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of that place before, where is it?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just a small village in the outer area. I¡¯m not surprised you haven¡¯t heard of it before.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I see. What about you then?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Shin Magnum.¡± ¨C Shin He looks like he¡¯s still a bit annoyed about earlier¡­ ¡°Ooh, Magnum! Magnum is a really nice place! I was there on a mission once¡­ Oh, right! I almost forgot to ask about your specialties! It¡¯s important to know about your allies abilities, ya know.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°We can¡¯t use SDM.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Huh?! So, you¡¯re telling me that two fresh F-rankers cleared a 20-man F-rank dungeon alone, without even knowing SDM?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Well technically there was a third person but¡­ Yeah.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hmm¡­ You two are much more interesting than I first gave you credit for. Well, I guess I¡¯ll tell you about my specialty then. I can transform myself into practically anything. It can be my whole body, or just part of it. It has uses outside of combat, but combat is where it excels. If I¡¯m attacking, then I can do this¡­¡± ¨C Luna Her arm turns into a giant hammer that¡¯s even bigger than us¡­ ¡°Or this¡­¡± ¨C Luna Her other arm turns into a spear. ¡°And so much more. I combine it with my BDM to amplify my attacks and make them much stronger than a normal punch would be. It also lets me take advantage of different attacking styles. Some monsters are weaker to cutting attacks, some are weaker to blunt attacks, and some are weaker to piercing attacks. Whatever it is, I can adapt. But that¡¯s not all! I can also use it defensively like this.¡± ¨C Luna Her arms turn into two large shields; they look like they could handle any attack. ¡°It¡¯s limited to inanimate objects though; I can¡¯t transform into humans or animals. Well, anyways. Let¡¯s head to the dungeon already, I¡¯m getting bored just standing here!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C Alex Chapter 27: The endless dungeon After travelling for a while, we finally arrive at our destination. An E-rank dungeon¡­ I¡¯m excited, but also a little scared. The entrance was quite hard to find, but in the end, we did it. The other dungeon¡¯s entrance was a large cave-opening in the side of a mountain, but this¡­ It was just a hole in a tree¡­ Not only was it significantly smaller and less noticeable, but it was also on a random tree in the middle of a forest¡­ If we didn¡¯t already know beforehand roughly where it was, we would have never found it¡­ When Shin said they could appear anywhere, he wasn¡¯t lying¡­ Dungeons are so strange¡­ I wonder how they work, and why they exist. It¡¯s inside a tree¡­ Not even a particularly large tree or anything, just a normal tree. We haven¡¯t entered yet, but I would assume that it¡¯s significantly larger on the inside. ¡°Now remember, this dungeon is going to be significantly harder than your last one. I¡¯m confident in my abilities, that¡¯s why I was originally going to clear it alone. It won¡¯t be that easy for you guys. If you¡¯re ever in danger, I¡¯ll protect you. Just make sure to stay close.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Kay.¡± ¨C Shin The opening is very slim, so we can¡¯t just walk in normally. Squeezing our way in sideways is our only hope. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. It was harder for Luna than it was for us because of¡­ Well¡­ But it was hard for us too. ¡°Wow¡­¡± ¨C Alex This dungeon is a lot different from the other one. Right from the get-go, we¡¯re inside a huge forest, even larger than the one on the outside. No¡­ It¡¯s not a forest, it¡¯s more of a¡­ Jungle! The trees are absolutely massive, they must be at least 200 meters tall. There¡¯s a giant network of vines connecting the trees. It¡¯s impossible to see the sky, or the roof rather; the leaves cover it all up. There isn¡¯t a light source in here that I can see, but it¡¯s still completely lit up. The weirdest thing however is how silent it is¡­ The swooshing of the wind¡­ The birds chirping¡­ It¡¯s all missing. When I think about it logically, it does make sense. Why would there be wind here? Why would there be birds here? I know that, but¡­ It just feels weird. ¡°Alright, time to go find the boss of this place. Stick with me, and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Kay.¡± ¨C Shin We run around for a while, but we never even see any signs of life. Could it be that¡­? ¡°Is it possible for there to not be any monsters in a dungeon, Luna?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Of course not. We just haven¡¯t found them yet. This dungeon is most likely an endless dungeon.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°An endless dungeon?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah, there are some dungeons that are unfathomably large, to the point where they might as well be endless. Usually with those dungeons, there is some sort of puzzle that you have to complete to find the boss.¡± ¨C Luna Puzzles?! ¡°Endless dungeons are usually the hardest ones. I¡¯m confident in my fighting abilities, but if I can¡¯t even get to the boss, then what use will that be? Figuring out the mystery of how to reach the boss room is our priority. Have you guys seen any clues or anything like that?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I don¡¯t think s-¡± ¨C Alex Before I get to finish my answer, Shin cuts me off. ¡°Ahh¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Hm?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Ehh¡­ No?¡± ¨C Alex Shin sighs. Shin walks over to one of the large trees. ¡°What about now?¡± ¨C Shin Me and Luna look at each other; we¡¯re both just as clueless as the other. ¡°We¡¯re not gonna get anywhere by just running around on the ground, we gotta climb!¡± ¨C Shin Luna looks defeated¡­ Then she whispers to herself: ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that¡­¡± ¨C Luna We all start climbing up. --- In another part of the dungeon ¡°They figured it out faster than expected. This is getting exciting!¡± ¨C Sun ¡°How can you be so excited about this, Sun? Man, I just wanna get back to sleep. Can you handle this on your own?¡± ¨C Hypno ¡°Sure!¡± ¨C Sun ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not getting away that easily! You can sleep after the intruders have been taken care of.¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Come on, Freya. It¡¯s just a couple of rookies. Sun can take care of them.¡± - Hypno ¡°That¡¯s an order.¡± ¨C Freya Hypno sighs and looks annoyed. ¡°Fine¡­¡± ¨C Hypno Chapter 28: The start of yet another conflict --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Just a few more meters aaaaaaaand¡­ Huh¡­? This is not what I expected¡­ Shin looks over at me, and I can tell he¡¯s thinking the same. There are three small arenas next to each other. They¡¯re no more than a couple meters long and wide. The ¡®ground¡¯ is totally flat and stretches further than the eye can see. Is it infinite¡­? Just like down below, there are no light sources, yet somehow, everything is fully lit up. There is no visible ceiling either, it just fades into total darkness. ¡°Looks like you were right, kid.¡± ¨C Luna Shin smirks. Not long after, we hear a voice¡­ ¡°Yo!¡± ¨C Sun We all turn towards the sound of the voice. There are three ¡®people¡¯ running right towards us. ¡°Get ready to fight, you two.¡± ¨C Luna Luna enters her combat stance. It¡¯s only a matter of seconds before they reach us. Luna charges right at one of them. The guy Luna is charging towards looks like a hybrid between a monkey and a human. It looks mostly human, but it also has some monkey-like facial features, much more hair, and a tail. It¡¯s also carrying some sort of staff on its back. It quickly pulls it out and points it towards Luna. Luna swings her fist towards the monkey, but the moment she does, the monkey¡¯s staff stretches forward and blocks her attack. ¡°Calm down, we just arrived. We¡¯ll get to the fun part soon, don¡¯t worry!¡± ¨C Sun Luna jumps back. Other than the monkey, there is also a guy who looks just like a human. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. He¡¯s swaying back and forth and looks like he¡¯s just about to fall asleep. The last person in the group also looks like a normal human. She very serious, unlike the other two. She¡¯s carrying a sword in a sheath on her left hip. She steps forward and loudly says¡­ ¡°Listen up! Each of you choose an arena right now. If you don¡¯t do it, you will die. You have five seconds.¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Sorry sweetie, but we¡¯re not listening to you.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Five.¡± ¨C Freya The three monsters start walking over to the arenas. ¡°Four.¡± ¨C Freya Luna yet again charges towards them. ¡°Three.¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Let¡¯s just play along, Luna. Who knows, it might be fun.¡± ¨C Shin He says it in a joking way, but the moment after he finishes his sentence his face becomes dead serious. It¡¯s like he knows what¡¯s about to happen¡­ However, Luna doesn¡¯t stop. ¡°Two.¡± ¨C Freya The monkey yet again stretches out his staff in order to stop Luna from getting close, but it doesn¡¯t work this time. She bends down, dodging the staff, continuing to charge forward. Suddenly, the staff expands in size, knocking her down to the ground. ¡°One.¡± ¨C Freya Me and Shin quickly move over to the closest arenas. By the time Luna has gotten up again, everyone is now at the arenas except for her. ¡°Zero. Do it now, Sun.¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Okee!¡± ¨C Sun Sun snaps his fingers, and suddenly, at an absolutely mind-blowing speed, the trees, and also therefore the ¡®ground¡¯, just vanishes. It¡¯s like a wave moving from the horizon towards the arenas. ¡°Oh shit!¡± ¨C Luna She understands that if she doesn¡¯t immediately get over to one of the arenas, she will fall all the way down to the ground. We¡¯re extremely high up, so no matter how you look at it, you won¡¯t come out unscathed from a fall like that. She might survive if she transforms, but she wouldn¡¯t be able to get back up again. That would leave me and Shin alone, and she won¡¯t let that happen. She transforms her feet into springs and shoot towards the arenas. I¡¯m on the first arena with sleepy guy, Shin is on the second one with the woman with the sword. On the third arena is the monkey, all by himself. Luna flies right towards the arena where I am, but it¡¯s like there is some sort of invisible wall around it that she bounces off of. Can there only be two people on each arena? By now, the trees are all gone, and therefore the ground is also gone. All except for the trees that the arenas are on¡­ She starts falling, but quickly transforms her right arm into a whip. She swings her whip forward as fast as she can, and it wraps around the monkey¡¯s staff. It doesn¡¯t resist, and she is able to pull herself over to the arena. We all made it¡­ She lets out a sigh of relief. ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding, huh.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Of course not, this is not the time for jokes. Had it not been for your ability, you would be dead right now.¡± ¨C Freya I must admit, I was worried there for a second¡­ When she told us about her ability, she mostly talked about the different combat applications, so it totally slipped my mind that she can also use it for utility. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s not waste more time. As you all just saw when that woman was making her way over to the arenas, there are invisible walls around them. They activate when there are two alive people on it. They¡¯re impossible to break in to, or out off, so don¡¯t even think about escaping. You won¡¯t be able to help your allies either. The invisible walls disappear once one of the two people are dead. In other words, you¡¯re all stuck until you defeat your opponent. This will be a death match, and at this point, you have no choice but to participate.¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Also, remember to have fun while fighting!!!¡± ¨C Sun ¡°Sun¡­! This isn¡¯t the tim-¡± ¨C Freya ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I know, I know.¡± ¨C Sun Freya looks pissed off. ¡°Could you just be serious for once?!¡± ¨C Freya This visibly ticked him, it¡¯s almost as if his personality did a complete 180. In a calm, but at the same time threatening voice, he responds. ¡°Freya, don¡¯t step out of line¡­¡± ¨C Sun Freya looks shook. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Guys, can you stop fighting all the time? It¡¯s so exhausting to listen to¡­ Let¡¯s just get this over with already. ¨C Hypno Chapter 29: Tough opponents --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] They sure seem confident¡­ Let¡¯s see if that confidence is warranted¡­ Freya pulls her sword out and points it at me. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to die.¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Heh. I¡¯d like to see you try.¡± ¨C Shin Freya dashes towards me and swings her sword. I just barely manage to duck under it. Damn, she¡¯s a lot faster than I expected. She¡¯s definitely faster than the golem, but I¡¯ve improved since then as well. She launches a flurry of sword strikes, but I dodge every single one of them. She¡¯s using a weapon, so her range is a lot longer than mine. Getting close enough to attack her won¡¯t be easy. I need to wait until I get an opening. And just as I thought that, the opening comes¡­ She swings her sword in a wide left to right motion. I duck under, and leap forward. I manage to grab her waist and she falls over. She tries to stab me in the back, but I pin her arm down so she can¡¯t use her sword. ¡°You¡¯re not bad, kid.¡± ¨C Freya I throw a massive punch to the side of her head. The blow lands, but¡­ She¡¯s doesn¡¯t even react when it hit her. It didn¡¯t hurt her¡­ ¡°Did you think you managed to get this close because of your own strength? How arrogant. It was all for this moment. All so that I could get you close!¡± ¨C Freya Oh shit¡­ I try to jump away, but she grabs my arms. She pulls me in and¡­ ?!?!?!?!? She kissed me on the forehead¡­????! Without any more struggle, she lets go of me. Is she just fucking with me?! ¡°What the hell was that for?¡± ¨C Shin She picks up her sword and puts it back into her sheath. She crosses her arms and just stands there¡­ Smirking. That¡¯s when it kicks in¡­ This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°GAHH!¡± ¨C Shin A massive wave of pain erupts from my forehead. It feels like every single nerve is on fire! ¡°AAH!¡± ¨C Shin I fall to the ground, and she starts laughing. ¡°How long did that take? A few seconds? How cocky can you be to enter a dungeon at this level then die in just a few seconds?¡± ¨C Freya The pain is inescapable; it¡¯s clouding every part of my mind. It¡¯s hard to even finish a thought¡­ What the hell did she do to me?! But just as quickly as it came, the pain fades away¡­ Where she kissed me, where the pain was, a mark appears. Was that it¡­? She seemed so sure that I would die, but it was just pain. She could have killed me while I was on the ground, but she missed her opportunity. I won¡¯t let her do that to me again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but it won¡¯t be that easy.¡± ¨C Shin She starts laughing uncontrollably. She continues talking as she wipes away the tears in her eyes. ¡°Ahaha¡­ Ahah. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just so funny that you think you stand a chance, when you¡¯re so weak. I might as well be fighting an insect.¡± ¨C Freya That smug bitch. She pisses me off¡­ I run up to her while she¡¯s still standing still and laughing. I get to her side, and punch her as hard as I can in her stomach while using the force to push her into the invisible wall. The impact is massive, and even she¡¯s hurt by it. ¡°AH!¡± ¨C Freya That shut her up¡­ ¡°Just kidding! Ehe~!¡± ¨C Freya She winks and throws a peace sign. How did that not hurt he- ¡°GAAAAAAH!¡± ¨C Shin Before I get to finish the thought, I fly back at an incredible speed, slamming into the wall behind me. I cough up blood and fall to the ground. It feels like a hole was punched through my stomach. She didn¡¯t even touch me¡­ What¡¯s going on here? ¡°You see, this is the reason why you¡¯ve already lost. If someone with that mark attacks me, the damage is reflected back at them. You¡¯ll only get out of here by dealing a killing blow to me, but by doing so you¡¯ll kill yourself too. Not that you¡¯ll get that far anyways.¡± ¨C Freya ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°Looks like Freya has already started. Guess it¡¯s time to get this over with already.¡± ¨C Hypno He slowly walks towards me while swinging from side to side. Just as slowly as he walks, he raises his arm and points it towards me. Why is he moving so slowly? I run up to him and kick him in the side; he crashes into the wall, but seems unmoved¡­ He just gets back up like nothing happened and continues to slowly walk towards me. I continue to attack him. First a kick to the side of the head, then a punch to the stomach, and after that a leg sweep. But he just continues to get up after each attack. I once again kick him, this time sending him flying to the other side of the arena. I jump back, and we¡¯re now at opposite sides. He continues to slowly walk towards me. We¡¯re as far away from each other as we can. That means I¡¯ll have some time to charge up an attack. If normal attacks aren¡¯t enough, then I¡¯ll just have to use some more powerful ones. The moment comes and I throw the punch. The impact blows him back at an insane speed. That should have been enough to shatter every bone in his body, but¡­ He yet again just gets up like it was nothing. What is this guy made of?! Charging up attacks like that takes a lot of concentration and effort. It tires you out quickly, so it¡¯s not something you¡¯re supposed to do many times in a row, but I have no choice¡­ I continue to charge up attacks to their absolute maximum, but he just keeps on getting up. After hitting him with a dozen charged attacks, I¡¯M the one who¡¯s in the worst shape¡­ He hasn¡¯t attack me a single time, yet I¡¯m the one that¡¯s losing. As I stand there trying to catch my breath, something happens to him¡­ He no longer has that tired facial expression, and his entire posture changes. With a psychotic smile on his face that rivals even Leon¡¯s, he finally goes on the offensive¡­ I just blinked, but that was enough time for him to get within range. ¡°It¡¯s my turn to attack now!¡± ¨C Hypno He grabs my arm so I can¡¯t get away¡­ That¡¯s when he launches his attack. His punch soars through the air just as quickly as he approached me, but right before it connects, his entire personality seems to change once again. He goes from having a psychotic smile, to a completely serious expression. I can¡¯t get away, so I try to block with my other hand. I succeed in stopping it from hitting my body, but in doing so I sacrificed my hand¡­ ¡°GAAAH!¡± ¨C Alex Every bone in my hand breaks, as it¡¯s crushed by the force of his attack against the indestructible wall. I manage to get my arm loose and I throw a counter punch, but just before it hits him he once again changes. This time he goes back to how he was originally; a tired expression, eyes that look like they¡¯re fighting stay open, and a posture that could only be described as limp. My attack hits and he¡¯s knocked away, but just like earlier, he just stands back up with no injuries. He¡¯s incredibly durable, to the point where I can¡¯t even hurt him. He¡¯s so fast that I can¡¯t even react to him if I¡¯m not paying full attention. And he¡¯s also strong enough to shatter my bones with a single attack. He has me outmatched in every area¡­ This is bad¡­ Chapter 30: Luna’s turn to fight --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] ¡°Looks like the others have already started¡­¡± ¨C Sun ¡°Yet our ¡®fight¡¯ will be over before theirs.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Yup!¡± ¨C Sun Sun cracks his knuckles, then his neck. I do the same. ¡°I just want to let you know; I don¡¯t plan on holding back.¡± ¨C Sun ¡°Good. It wouldn¡¯t be any fun if someone weaker than me was holding back.¡± ¨C Luna Sun smiles. I make the first move by charging in. The second he¡¯s within my range, I throw a regular punch. He grabs my fist, stopping the attack completely. I throw a left hook, but he manages to stop that too. He throws me back, but I land on my feet. ¡°Come on! I saw that you could transform earlier, why are you only throwing regular punches?¡± ¨C Sun ¡°Because I don¡¯t need anything more to beat you.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Pretty pleeeeease!!¡± ¨C Sun ¡°Do you have a death wish or something¡­?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Like a wise woman once said: ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be any fun if someone weaker than me was holding back.¡¯ Don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¨C Sun Heh. ¡°Fine. No holding back.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Well then! Let¡¯s get started for real this time!¡± ¨C Sun I yet again charge at him. I transform my right arm into a gigantic metal drill. I try to slam it into his side, but his staff suddenly becomes much wider, and it blocks the attack. He hops on top of his staff, then jumps high into the air. Seems like there is no ceiling in this arena, only walls. He extends his arm, and the staff comes flying up towards him. As soon as it reaches him, he grabs it and changes its form back to normal. Without any time to lose, he points the staff at me and extends it as fast as he can. It shoots towards me at a speed that most E-rankers would not be able to deal with. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. But¡­ I¡¯m not ¡®most E-rankers¡¯¡­ I jump away before it hits me, completely avoiding his attack. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that is all you can do¡­¡± ¨C Luna ¡°It¡¯s not!¡± ¨C Sun He shrinks the staff a little, aims it at me, then extends it again. It¡¯s a relentless barrage of ranged attacks, but I dodge each and every one of them. His staff can be used for both defense and offense. It works just as well at long range combat as it does in close range. That¡¯s annoying¡­ But annoying isn¡¯t enough. The moment he starts falling, he stops attacking, puts the staff between him and the ground, then jumps off it again. He can effectively fly. ¡°You sweating?¡± ¨C Sun ¡°Not at all.¡± ¨C Luna Him being high into the air won¡¯t stop me. I don¡¯t have any attacks with as much range as that staff of his¡­ That just means I¡¯ll have to get close the distance between us! I turn my legs into springs and jump straight up towards him. He quickly shrinks his staff, then extends it again towards me. He¡¯s probably thinking that since I¡¯m in the air I can¡¯t move around¡­ And he would be right¡­ But, dodging the staff isn¡¯t my only option. Right before the staff hits me, I extend my right arm and I turn it into a shield. His attack is deflected, and he has no way to stop me from reaching him! As I get closer, I undo the shield transformation. I then transform both may arms into a singular large hammer. ¡°HEAVY HAMMER!!!!!!!!¡± ¨C Luna He stretches out his arms and legs to try and block the attack, but it¡¯s pointless. He¡¯s slammed into the wall, and I clearly hear the sound of bone being crushed. He falls to the ground, landing face down. ¡°Sigh¡­ I told you that our fight would be over quickly¡­¡± ¨C Luna Anyways, I want to go test something out. I want to see if it¡¯s possible to destroy the walls. If it is, then I can go help the others. It¡¯s worth a shot at least. I jump out towards the nearest arena- ¡­ ¡°Ouch¡­¡± ¨C Luna Huh?! Weren¡¯t the invisible walls supposed to disappear when we killed our opponent? Did those little shits lie?! ¡°Hey! Not so fast. It¡¯ll take more than that to beat me¡­¡± ¨C Sun His arms are crushed and he¡¯s coughing up blood. It looks like he¡¯s just barely able to even stand. ¡°That wasn¡¯t enough for you? You want to be beaten up even more?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°You¡¯re the one- GAH!¡± ¨C Sun Does he really think he can fight in his condition? He should have just stayed down and pretended to be dead. He couldn¡¯t even finish his sentence without being interrupted by his own body coughing up blood. ¡°¡­That¡¯ll go down!¡± ¨C Sun ¡°Well then¡­ I hope you¡¯re ready die, monkey.¡± ¨C Luna --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I have a theory, but I¡¯ll have to test something out to confirm it¡­ I stretch both my arms out to the side, leaving me open to attacks. He doesn¡¯t miss the opportunity and dashes right towards me at that same mind-blowing speed he showed earlier. It¡¯s just as I thought¡­! It wasn¡¯t just his expression, but his posture, and the way he moves too. It¡¯s like his whole personality changes. I move my arms back to stop his attack, but he¡¯s too fast. He instantly strikes me countless times, and I fly back into the wall. But¡­! It didn¡¯t damage me at all! I mean it hurt, but that¡¯s all. It¡¯s totally different from that earlier attack. I¡¯ve figured it out! The secret behind his insane strength, durability, and speed is that he has three ¡®modes¡¯. He has an attack mode, a defense mode, and a speed mode. Whenever he switches mode, his entire personality also changes. The personality switch happens slightly before his stats change. Taking advantage of that short lag when he switches modes is the key to victory! I just have to pay careful attention to which mode he enters, then adapt to whichever one it is¡­ Other than the corresponding stat that his ¡®mode¡¯ increases, he seems quite weak. An easy way to put this would be to say that my speed, durability, and attack are all five out of ten. All his stats are two out of ten, except for the stat that is boosted by the mode he is currently in. That stat is a ten out of ten¡­ If he¡¯s in attack mode, I need to dodge. If he¡¯s in speed mode, I can block or take the hits, then try to counterattack. If he¡¯s in defense mode, then I can get some free hits in on him. I think the reason why he didn¡¯t switch over to attack mode when he hit me just now, was that he knew I would be able to block if he lost his speed. If I use my brain, and get the timing right, I can win! Chapter 31: Impossible situation --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] She¡¯s just standing there with her arms crossed and a cocky smirk plastered all over her face. I need to figure out her ability¡­ There has to be some kind of weakness¡­ Some way to attack her without getting hurt myself, right? Right¡­? I walk up to her, but she doesn¡¯t make a move. I throw a light punch at her, and sure enough, that same light punch is reflected right back at me. I slap her face, and it feels like I was slapped back. It left a mark and she even flinched when I did it. She is clearly taking damage too¡­ It¡¯s not like the damage is reflected and she¡¯s unharmed. I don¡¯t ¡®just¡¯ take damage either¡­ When I hit her with that massive punch earlier, I didn¡¯t just take the damage that she took. It was more like the punch itself was thrown at me. I was launched backwards; that wouldn¡¯t happen if the only thing that was reflected was the damage she took. Every aspect of the attack seems to fly right back at me. Maybe there¡¯s a ghost that copies my attacks or something¡­ If that¡¯s the case then I might be able to block, or dodge. I throw another light punch at her, and immediately put up my guard to defend the same spot I hit her. Ouch¡­ Nope. Can¡¯t be blocked¡­ I throw another one, then jump backward as quickly as I can, but the attack was reflected yet again¡­ ¡°It¡¯s pointless. No matter what you do, you can¡¯t attack me without getting hurt yourself.¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Yeah, right. Obviously, you would say that.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well then feel free to experiment as much as you want. As we¡¯ve already seen, I¡¯m more durable than you, so any attack you throw at me will just end up hurting yourself more than it hurts me. Your only option is to kill me, but like I said; you¡¯ll also die if you do that.¡± ¨C Freya The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Only if you¡¯re telling the truth¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Heh, well then go ahead. Kill me. Do it! ¡­ Scared?¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Scared? Of you? Nah.¡± ¨C Shin I may act tough, but I can¡¯t act recklessly¡­ If she¡¯s telling the truth¡­ If I really will die if I kill her, then¡­ No¡­ There has to be some sort of weakness, some way to get around her ability. I¡¯ll have to stall for as long as possible; every second is valuable. If she starts attacking me again, that¡¯s when I¡¯m in serious trouble¡­ Sure, I might be able to dodge, or block, for a while¡­ But¡­ If I can¡¯t counterattack without hurting myself, I¡¯m doomed. Eventually she¡¯ll get a lethal hit in, and when she does, it¡¯s all over. I can¡¯t afford to attack her recklessly either¡­ The more hurt I get, the harder it will be to avoid her attacks, which will just mean she¡¯ll kill me that much faster. Not gonna lie, this isn¡¯t looking too good¡­ I jump back, sit down, and put my hands together. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Are you meditating¡­? Still trying to ¡®figure out my ability¡¯? Well good luck, there is nothing to figure out.¡± ¨C Freya Yeah, that seems like the most likely option at this point¡­ I¡¯m not actually meditating. I¡¯m just buying time. I¡¯ll stay like this for as long as she lets me. If I can¡¯t win by fighting her then¡­ Not fighting is the best option! How¡¯s it going with the other two? Alex¡¯ fight seems to be relatively even, but Luna¡¯s fight¡­ Damn. She¡¯s stronger than I thought. She¡¯s absolutely dominating him! She wasn¡¯t recommended for the D-rank exam for nothing¡­ But never mind them¡­ If I can¡¯t figure out a way to counter her ability, or get out of here somehow, then¡­ AHHHH! This is so frustrating! I might only have one option¡­ Kill her and hope I don¡¯t die¡­ But¡­ That¡¯ll be my last resort. --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Okay, here¡¯s the plan¡­ If I attack him normally, it won¡¯t work. He¡¯ll just go into defense mode. So, I¡¯ll have to catch him off guard. If I can hit him while he is either in speed mode or attack mode, then he should get hurt. I¡¯ll wait for him to attack me. If he continues to attack while in speed mode like last time, then I¡¯ll just stand my ground and take the punches while I throw my own. If he switches to attack mode, I¡¯ll duck then counterattack. Alright¡­ Let¡¯s try¡­ He runs at me, just like planned. He attacks the same way he did last time. He throws a barrage while still in speed mode. I take all the hits head-on and throw a counter. Taking all these hits hurts like hell, but I¡¯ll survive! Just before the counterattack lands, he turns back into defense mode. The hit connects, but the damage is negated. I make sure to pull my punch the moment it hits, so that he won¡¯t be knocked away. While he¡¯s still in defense mode he can¡¯t really attack me. His attacks won¡¯t hurt, and he can¡¯t even throw a barrage of them like he can in speed mode. I grab his arm, and I slam him down to the ground. If he wasn¡¯t in defense mode, that would have done significant damage to him. If I can just keep putting pressure on him like this, then he won¡¯t be able to fight back. I start stomping him with my right foot; over and over and over again¡­ They¡¯re not really hurting him, but the moment he switches, they will. He¡¯s stuck! ¡°So, you¡¯ve figured out my ability, huh? Sigh¡­ That¡¯s annoying. I hate having to put effort into winning a fight¡­ I¡¯m not like Sun. He loves fighting, but it just isn¡¯t for me. I¡¯d rather just sleep all day. I guess the sooner I finish you off, the sooner I can go back to sleep again.¡± ¨C Hypno He switches to attack mode, then break out of my hold. He tries to grab my foot, but I get a couple stomps off before he is able too. His nose, and several teeth break. But¡­ He manages to grab my leg before I get to pull it away. This is bad¡­ He grabbed my leg in attack mode¡­! He¡¯s too strong! I can¡¯t get my leg out, and- ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!¡± ¨C Alex He snaps my leg like a twig¡­ I jump back to get some distance between us, and he stands back up. My left hand is broken, and my right leg is snapped¡­ ¡°Ahhh!!¡± ¨C Alex It hurts so goddamn much¡­ Shit! Dodging him wasn¡¯t easy before, but now I¡¯ll have to do it while hopping around on one leg¡­ That¡¯s impossible¡­ Chapter 32: Expansion --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Dodging will be next to impossible when he¡¯s in speed mode, so I have no other choice than to block, or take the hits head-on. If he switches to attack mode, I can still duck under some attacks, but my movement is severely limited, so I probably won¡¯t be able to get away if he goes for a follow-up attack. Those stomps I got off on him while he was in attack mode will be the deciding factor. Depending on how much damage he took from them, I might be able to still win even with my injuries. If I can just get a couple more good hits like that in, then I think I¡¯ll be able to take him out. He switches to speed mode and runs right at me. When he gets close, he switches things up. The other times, he threw a barrage of punches in speed mode, but now he just continues to charge right into me. He grabs me and holds tightly. As we start falling over, I throw an elbow strike to his neck, but he manages to switch over to defense mode before it connects. We land, and he switches over to attack mode. He starts clenching me even harder. It¡¯s like I¡¯m getting crushed! I use my leg to knee him in the nuts, but he¡¯s yet again able to switch over to defense mode right before it hits. It didn¡¯t even hurt him¡­ But I use this opportunity to try to push him off me. He¡¯s not strong enough to fight back while in defense mode, so he loses his grip. I follow up with a kick that sends him flying to the other side of the arena. That clench of his was more serious than it looked¡­ Even breathing is hard now¡­ With every exchange of blows and attacks, he is always the one that ends up on top. It¡¯s always one step forward, then two steps back. I¡¯m not sure if I can beat this guy¡­ Entering an E-rank dungeon might have been a mistake¡­ --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Looks like it¡¯s just going worse and worse for Alex. We¡¯re both in shitty situations. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The only one handling this dungeon well, is Luna¡­ ¡°Okay, times up. I¡¯m not gonna let you just sit there forever. It¡¯s clear that you¡¯re just trying to buy time.¡± ¨C Freya Obviously, that wasn¡¯t going to work forever. Still annoying though¡­ I wish I¡¯d have gotten a little more time at least. She pulls out her sword again and she charges right at me. She wildly swings her sword around, and I just barely manage to avoid taking any lethal damage. She might be more durable than me, but I¡¯m faster! Although, that doesn¡¯t mean I could entirely avoid all her attacks. If I had more space to move around, I might have been able too¡­ A cut here, and a cut there¡­ Still nothing lethal, but she¡¯s slowly chipping me down. Bit by bit, I¡¯m getting closer and closer to defeat. She doesn¡¯t even have to hit me to wear me down, dodging all these attacks drains my stamina quickly¡­ By just continually attacking me, she¡¯ll eventually win. I might have to do it¡­ I might have to kill her¡­ Thought¡­ That¡¯s easier said than done. I landed some massive attacks on her earlier, yet she didn¡¯t seem to take any damage at all¡­ Those were the same hits that were absolutely demolishing the bone golem. Even without her ability, she would be a tough opponent¡­ But, I have no choice¡­ I¡¯ll have to go for the kill! --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] It¡¯s basically over for him. He¡¯s in a terrible shape. He was annoying before, but still easily manageable. With wounds like that¡­ It¡¯s only a matter of time before I win now. ¡°I¡¯ve never had this much fun fighting before¡­¡± ¨C Sun Since his arms are crushed, he can¡¯t hold his staff. He walks over to the staff, then steps on it. ¡°But the fun is over¡­ The fight ends now!¡± ¨C Sun Suddenly the staff starts growing in height at an explosive speed. It¡¯s not stopping. He¡¯s so high up in the air that I can¡¯t even see him¡­ I turn my legs into springs again and jump as high as I can. But¡­ Oh shit¡­! His staff stops growing is just height¡­ It¡¯s expanding in all directions! If I don¡¯t do something quickly, I¡¯ll be crushed between the staff and the walls. There¡¯s no way I can get all the way up to him before I¡¯m crushed. I can¡¯t break through those walls either. I have only one choice¡­ I¡¯ll have to destroy the staff itself! It took some pretty heavy attacks earlier without even getting a scratch on it, so it won¡¯t be easy¡­ It¡¯s like he was made to fight in this arena! I turn both of my arms into a large, singular, hammer. With everything I got, I slam the hammer into the staff. ¡°HEAVY HAMMER!!!¡± ¨C Luna The staff isn¡¯t destroyed, but the force was enough to stop it from growing further, if only for a few moments¡­ Okay, maybe this will work¡­ I turn my arms and legs into long needles. ¡°PIERCING NEEDLE!!!¡± ¨C Luna Yes! ¡®Piercing needle¡¯ was able to dig it¡¯s way into the staff! But¡­ The staff has already started expanding again. It won¡¯t be long before I¡¯m crushed¡­ This has to work¡­! I turn my arms and legs into giant spiked balls, ripping the staff apart from the inside. Huge pieces break off, and it even snaps in half. The moment when the staff breaks, it instantly reverts back to its original shape. It¡¯s just a small staff snapped in half with some small chunks missing. I don¡¯t think it works anymore¡­ I land on the ground safely. It took some time, but eventually the monkey also comes falling down. He lands on both his feet, but¡­ He looks angry¡­ ¡°You little shit! What did you do that for?! Fighting is supposed to be fun! How dare you break my weapon?!¡± ¨C Sun What the hell is wrong with him¡­ This is a fight to the death, and he tried to crush me with it¡­ Did he think I would just let him kill me¡­? ¡°I might not have my staff anymore, and I might not have my arms either¡­ But I¡¯ll make you pay¡­! I¡¯ll crush your skull with my legs! If you break them too, I¡¯ll bite you in the throat! If you break my jaw, I¡¯ll headbutt you! I won¡¯t stop until you¡¯ve paid for what you¡¯ve done!!!¡± ¨C Sun He charges at me, somehow, even faster than before. But this fight has lasted long enough¡­ It¡¯s time to end it. I transform my arms into a giant pair of scissors. ¡°AAAHHHHHHHHH!¡± ¨C Sun He screams as he runs, but there is no point¡­ ¡°SLICING SCISSORS!!!!!!¡± ¨C Luna ¡­ His head is severed from his body, ending the fight there and then¡­ Chapter 33: The end of the endless dungeon --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been in a worse situation than the one I am in now¡­ I¡¯m outclassed in every way. Every time we clash, I end up more and more hurt. My right leg was snapped in half, and every bone my left hand was broken. Yet¡­ He barely even has a scratch on him¡­ How am I supposed to beat an enemy like this?!! --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Go for the kill¡­ It¡¯s my only option right now. It won¡¯t be easy though. Any attack I throw at her will just be reflected back at me. But she¡¯s also strong¡­ Like seriously strong¡­ Even without her ability, she is still outclassing me. I¡¯ll have to use my brain to come up with some sort of plan that will let me kill her in one shot. I can¡¯t just beat her to death, that won¡¯t work. All the damage she takes will come right back at me, and I¡¯ll get knocked out before I can land the finishing blow. The only way to do it is by finishing her off with a single powerful strike. Even if I can somehow find a way to do this, it¡¯s still a massive gamble¡­ It could very well be that even death is reflected¡­ I have no other options though. Either I go for this gamble, or she will eventually kill me. The choice is obvious! --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] ¡°Well fought¡­¡± ¨C Luna Although I was clearly the superior fighter, that last attack had me worried for a second¡­ Let¡¯s make sure that the walls are gone. I reach my hand out, and sure enough, it goes right through. Nice! Shin and Alex are very clearly struggling hard¡­ Now that I¡¯m free to do whatever I want, I can try to charge up a massive attack and see if that¡¯s enough to destroy the walls. If I can get inside, then I can help them. No walls can ever be truly indestructible, so if I give it my all I might be able to do it. I stand on the edge of the arena and I transform both my arms into giant needles. ¡®Piercing needle¡¯ is the attack most suited for this job. I take a deep breath and start charging up my attack. I feel the Divinity from the air around me surging through my arms, making them shine brightly. Concentrate¡­ Concentrate¡­! After a few seconds, I feel the Divinity becoming more and more unstable. I can¡¯t handle any more. It¡¯s like the surface tension making sure the water won¡¯t spill out of a glass. If I continue to pour more water into the glass, then eventually it will break and the water will overflow, leaving me with less water than I had before. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Technically I can absorb more Divinity, but in doing so, I won¡¯t be able to manipulate it as efficiently, leaving me with a less powerful attack. Now¡¯s the time to release it all! I swing my fully charged up attack towards the invisible walls in arena next to mine. ¡°PIERCING NEEDLE!!!!!!¡± ¨C Luna The needles fly forward towards the walls and- What¡­?! They phase right through the walls like there was nothing there. How can that be?! Even if the walls were incredibly weak, I would still feel it when my attack connected. The only explanation is that they must have disappeared! ¡°What?! Did you destroy the wall?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shit.¡± ¨C Freya I didn¡¯t expect to just fly right through, so I fell flat on my stomach¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Freya I quickly stand back up, and brush off some dust on my shirt. I point my finger at his opponent. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Shin. I¡¯ll handle her for you. But first, I want you to explain what¡¯s going on with these walls! You said that they would only disappear if one of the fighters died. Naturally, the walls on my arena disappeared, but why these walls too?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Could it be¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Ugh, that damn Sun¡­ I never expected things to end like this¡­¡± ¨C Freya What is she talking about?? ¡°While it¡¯s true that the walls will disappear if one of the fighters inside are killed, that¡¯s not the whole truth. If the one who made the walls in the first place died, then they would all disappear. These walls are just another one of Sun¡¯s abilities, so when you killed him, they were undone. I never expected him to lose though¡­ Me and Hypno put together wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat that guy¡­ He isn¡¯t the boss for nothing¡­¡± ¨C Freya I see¡­ If he was the boss, then that means we¡¯ve completed the dungeon. I just have to get rid of those two first. ¡°Hypno! These aren¡¯t enemies we could ever hope to beat. That girl¡­ She¡¯s on another level. We¡¯ll be killed for sure, so try to take that guy down with you before she can get to you! I¡¯ll hold her off!¡± ¨C Freya ¡°Got it.¡± ¨C Hypno Shit! Alex clearly isn¡¯t in a good condition; I have to save him! Hypno changed into speed mode and charges at Alex, then starts releasing a massive barrage of attacks, while Alex is desperately trying to defend. I jump towards his arena, but Freya blocks the path. ¡°You¡¯ll have to get through me first!¡± ¨C Freya She thrusts her sword right towards me, but I easily catch it and break it. ¡°Get out of my way, ant.¡± ¨C Luna I transform my right hand into a large sword and slice right through her. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± ¨C Shin The mark on Shin¡¯s forehead disappears. I jump over to Alex¡¯s arena as fast as I possibly can. Hypno sees me and stops his barrage. He clenches Alex, then jumps off the edge. ¡°NO!¡± ¨C Luna Alex is struggling, trying his absolute hardest to push him away, but he¡¯s not strong enough. ¡°Aaaah!¡± ¨C Alex If he hits the ground, then he won¡¯t survive. Not from this height. Especially not when he¡¯s unable to get a good landing. He¡¯ll be smashed headfirst into the ground¡­! I turn my left arm into a chain with a large iron ball on the end. I swing it down towards them; the power and speed of my attack, combined with the heavy weight of the iron ball, means that it catches up to them in no time. I turn the iron ball at the end into a claw, and I latch it onto Hypno. They stopped¡­ But I¡¯m not done yet! Alex is still getting crushed by his bear hug. Once the claw is buried deep enough into Hypno, I turn it into a large block of metal, instantly crushing him from the inside. Alex is finally free! I turn my whole arm into rope, then wrap it around him, and I pull him up. He¡¯s safe. They¡¯re both safe. They¡¯re hurt, especially Alex, but they¡¯re safe. That¡¯s all that matters. ¡°Holy¡­ Shit¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°We didn¡¯t even stand a chance against them, yet you dealt with them that easily¡­¡± ¨C Alex --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] This is just like back then¡­ Just like our first mission¡­ At the time, Lett was the one that couldn¡¯t keep up with us. We could do things that would be impossible for her. I finally understand how she felt¡­ The helplessness¡­ The realization that my life could end at any moment, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it from happening. We didn¡¯t just rely on our friends, but we required them¡­ Had me and Shin entered this dungeon on our own, we wouldn¡¯t have made it out alive¡­ I¡¯ve been so confident in my strength up until now. Sure, I¡¯ve had tough battles, but nothing that I couldn¡¯t overcome. This has been one hell of a reality check¡­ I can¡¯t get complacent; that¡¯s a mistake that could very well take my life one day. I¡¯ve severely underestimated the difference between myself and an E-rank hunter. This dungeon was measured to be at a level where three average E-rank hunters would be enough to beat it. We weren¡¯t even close to that¡­ Even completing the E-rank exam probably wouldn¡¯t be possible right now. But¡­ I want to catch up to big bro and Vic. I can¡¯t afford to slow down. We¡¯ll participate in the E-rank exam as soon as possible, just like we planned. I¡¯ll just have to get stronger¡­ There are about three months left until the E-rank exam starts, that¡¯s plenty of time. ¡°Ahhhh¡­¡± ¨C Shin He lets out a massive sigh of relief and sits down. ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Hey, get up! We still have to leave this place and get back. Look at Alex! He¡¯s seriously injured, we need get him fixed up ASAP!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°You¡¯re seriously powerful, you know that? I couldn¡¯t do shit to that girl, yet you just sliced her up like it was nothing¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah-yeah. Just get up already¡­¡± ¨C Luna He looks at her for a second, then out of nowhere, he starts laughing. ¡°What is it?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Ahahaha! It¡¯s just that one liner of yours¡­¡± ¨C Shin Shin looks into my eyes, and the look on his face becomes dead serious. ¡°Get out of my way, ant! Ahahahahahaa!!!¡± ¨C Shin Luna starts blushing, and Shin starts rolling around on the ground while laughing hysterically. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Luna Luna grabs his arm and pulls him up on his feet. ¡°Stop laughing, or I¡¯ll push you over the edge!¡± ¨C Luna Shin stops, then turns towards Luna and salutes her. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± ¨C Shin He tries to be serious, but starts cracking up just moments later. Luna turns her left arm into a long rope, then ties Shin up tightly. ¡°Hey! Let me go!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alex, get on my back. I¡¯ll carry you down.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hang on tightly, It¡¯ll be a rough ride.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Hey! Why did you tie me up, but not Alex?!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Because you¡¯re being annoying.¡± ¨C Luna The rope then extends and now also covers his mouth. ¡°mmMMmmmMMM!!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Did I hear something? Hmm¡­ Must have been my imagination¡­¡± ¨C Luna ¡°MmMMMMMMmmMMMM!!!!¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 34: Dolor --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Almost three months later We still haven¡¯t seen Lett since our first mission together¡­ I wonder what she¡¯s been up to¡­ She promised that she would meet up with us at the E-rank exam; I really hope she¡¯ll be there¡­ It¡¯s just a week until it starts now, time really flies. ¡°Shin, maybe we should just skip out on missions and just head straight to where the E-rank exam is being held.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I was thinking the same thing. It should take about two days for us to get there, so we can explore the city or just relax for a few days before it starts.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Dolor, right? You ever been there before?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Nah, but I¡¯ve heard about it. Apparently, it¡¯s known as the ¡®city of pain¡¯.¡± ¨C Shin City of pain¡­? ¡°Despite its name, it¡¯s supposedly a pretty peaceful and prosperous city in the middle area. I think it came from the ancient days, but I¡¯m not too familiar with its history. The thing it¡¯s most famous for nowadays is the colosseum where gladiators battle it out for massive rewards, and entertainment.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Colosseum? Like the one from the F-rank exam?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Maybe, I¡¯m not too sure myself.¡± ¨C Shin It might not seem like it at first, but Shin sure knows a lot. Is this the kind of stuff that people from the middle area learn in school? ¡°Well, anyways, you ready to go?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yup!¡± ¨C Alex With nothing left for us to do, we left immediately. The terrain on the way there was quite unusual. We had to cross a river that was so long it take weeks just to get from one end to the other. There were mountains that were said to be so high that the air at the top was so thin you couldn¡¯t even breathe it. Luckily there were tunnels¡­ The hardest part of the journey was when we had to walk through a vast, but also empty desert. It was so hot, I felt like I was about to pass out the entire time. The desert was surrounded by large rain forests. That by itself was fine, but they reminded me of the jungle in that dungeon we did with Luna back then¡­ But in the end, we arrived at Dolor! It¡¯s a beautiful place with people all around. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Anywhere you look, you¡¯ll find something interesting. There are shops that sells anything you could imagine. There are large parks where kids are playing, and old people are feeding ducks. Everyone looks so happy. It¡¯s nothing like Minima¡­ Compared to the cities in the middle area, Minima is so small and poor. The people here are walking around without a worry in the world, while in Minima people are struggling to stay fed. In Minima, people can go days without eating, and they do nothing but work all day. The difference is like night and day. Why is it like that¡­? ¡­ But enough about that, for now, let¡¯s just enjoy ourselves! We¡¯ve got five days until the exam starts, so we might as well spend our time having fun! After walking around for a few hours, checking out various shops and stuff, we find the colosseum that Shin talked about. ¡°Look! Over there, behind those buildings! It¡¯s the colosseum that you mentioned!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Sure is! Wanna check it out?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah!¡± ¨C Alex We run over there, and right outside is a crowd of people. ¡°Only 200 seats left! First come first serve!¡± ¨C Man at the gates of the colosseum The crowd rushes inside. ¡°Just 100 seats left!¡± ¡°Alex, lets head inside.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Right!¡± ¨C Alex We squeeze our way through the crowd and manage to get in. There is a receptionist right at the entrance. ¡°You two, go to section B, row 4.¡± ¨C Receptionist Section B, row 4? I look over at Shin, and without saying a word, he understands exactly what I¡¯m thinking. He shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Get moving already!¡± ¨C Receptionist ¡°S-sorry!¡± ¨C Alex We walk around for a bit, confused as to where to go. I walk up to a woman in front of us and ask: ¡°Sorry, we¡¯re new here. Do you happen to know where section B, row 4 is?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh, that¡¯s where my seat is as well. I¡¯ll take you there.¡± ¨C Woman ¡°Thanks, we appreciate it a lot!¡± ¨C Alex She takes us there and¡­ Wow¡­ There are so many people here! It¡¯s fully packed. Every seat on every row, around the entire colosseum¡­ You couldn¡¯t squeeze in any more people even if you tried! I¡¯ve never seen this many people in one place before. ¡°You said you¡¯re new here, are you tourists?¡± ¨C Woman Before I get to answer, Shin interrupts. ¡°Something like that, yeah.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Nice! I¡¯m actually just visiting this place myself, but I¡¯ve been here a couple times before, so I¡¯m familiar. It¡¯s a beautiful place, right?¡± ¨C Woman ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m Alex by the way, and that¡¯s Shin.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh! Right. I forgot to introduce myself¡­ Hehe. I¡¯m Lily, nice to meet you!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Nice to meet you, Lily!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Is the colosseum usually this packed?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I think so, at least it was every time I¡¯ve been here. Although, I¡¯ve heard there is going to be a hunter competing this time!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Is it not normal for hunters to compete? I mean, they¡¯re the strong guys.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh no. Hunters don¡¯t tend to compete here; they have way more important stuff to do. The gladiators are mostly normal people. Some of them do know how to use Divinity, but that¡¯s just the top guys.¡± ¨C Lily I suppose that makes sense. Although it¡¯s not an official requirement, you need to be proficient at BDM to be able to become a hunter. That itself takes years and years of training for most people. Out of the hundreds of people who took the F-rank exam, only a handful of us passed. ¡°Oh look, it¡¯s the announcer!¡± ¨C Lily A man enters the main part of the colosseum. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we present you with three thrilling battles! The first is weaponless men vs hungry lions! If they survive, then they will win a lifetime supply of bread from the more than 100 bakeries that sponsor us! Right after that, there will be a free-for-all set up by the rich parents of a beautiful young woman. The winner will become her husband!¡± ¨C Announcer ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Hmm?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°He said the match was set up by her parents. I sure hope she also consented to this¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Who knows¡­ Arranged marriages like this isn¡¯t exactly uncommon around these parts. They see it as some sort of business deal, where they both have something to gain. More specifically, the parents have something to gain. There obviously are cases where the bride also wants it, but I can¡¯t imagine that would be the majority¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°That¡¯s awful!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Damn right¡­¡± ¨C Shin Shin looks annoyed. ¡°And last but certainly not least, the main event today will be a head-on clash between two legendary fighters! The undefeated champion of the colosseum has been challenged to a duel by a hunter! Unlike the other fights, there is no reward for the winner here. The thing that is on the line, is the fighters pride!!!¡± ¨C Announcer Chapter 35: Gladiators ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more of your time, it¡¯s time for round one to begin!!!!!¡± ¨C Announcer Five men walk into the arena. Like he said, they don¡¯t have any weapons. I expected them to have some armor, but they don¡¯t. ¡°How are they supposed to win again lions without any weapons or armor, when they can¡¯t use BDM?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°They¡¯re not¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°This is just entertainment for the people of Dolor. What fun would it be if there was no blood spilt? Besides, their sponsors would lose a lot of money if the gladiators won.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Fun?! How is it fun to watch people die? I thought this place would just be people competing for titles and such!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°People from all over the world come here to watch colosseum battles, the brutality is what the people find fun. Isn¡¯t that why you guys are here?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°No, we¡¯re actually here because of the¨C¡± ¨C Alex Shin cuts me off again. ¡°We¡¯ve got some business to attend, and thought it might be fun to check out the colosseum beforehand.¡± ¨C Shin Why does he keep cutting me off like that? Is telling people that we¡¯re hunters not something we should do? Hmm¡­ Maybe if the wrong person finds out, it can lead to unwanted attention? ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m also here for ¡®business¡¯.¡± ¨C Lily Could it be that¡­? I look over at Shin, and he looks over at me. We¡¯re both thinking the same thing¡­ But there is one other thing that is bugging me about this whole colosseum ordeal¡­ ¡°Lily, why would anyone want to fight here if they know that it¡¯s very likely that they will die?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You should know better than anyone else, Alex¡­ Risking your life for the sake of your loved ones¡­ Risking your life so they can live happily¡­¡± ¨C Lily So she is one! Lily is here for the E-rank exam, just like me and Shin! ¡°A lifetime supply of food? Getting wealthy by marrying into a rich family? Isn¡¯t it reasons exactly like this that you became a¡­ you know? Why else would anyone choose to live a life like this?¡± ¨C Lily Lily¡­ I understand¡­ The reason why I became a hunter in the first place was because the people back home were starving. Big bro used to bring most of what he earned back to the village, but since he had to go on that important mission, he hasn¡¯t had time to come back home. If I hadn¡¯t become a hunter myself, then I don¡¯t know if everyone back home would still be alive¡­ This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°That being said, not all the gladiators that fight here chose to do so themselves¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°What?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Some of the gladiators are people from the outer area who struggle economically and use this as an opportunity to help their families. But¡­ Most of the fighters here are slaves¡­¡± ¨C Lily SLAVES!?! ¡°You look shocked, did you not know that slavery is common?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°No¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Minima, a small village in the outer area.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That makes sense then. The villages in the outer area are all really cut off from the rest of the world, so it¡¯s not surprising that you hadn¡¯t heard of it¡­ yet¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Yet?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, it¡¯s just a matter of time. When your village is so poor, and the people are struggling so much that they just can¡¯t go on anymore, that¡¯s when the slave traders show up to ¡®save the day¡¯.¡± ¨C Lily ¡­ So if I hadn¡¯t became a hunter, then my village wouldn¡¯t actually have starved¡­ They would have been sold as slaves instead??? That¡¯s a fate worse than death¡­ ¡°When people are desperate enough, they will even sell themselves so that their families can live. But the money they get won¡¯t last forever¡­ When it runs out, the slave traders will come back for more¡­¡± ¨C Lily As we continue to talk, Shin progressively looks more and more pissed off. His fists are clenched, and his leg is violently shaking. It¡¯s like he can barely contain his anger. ¡°Here are the five gladiators who will be fighting in round one!!¡± ¨C Announcer The gladiators walk in, and the audience starts cheering loudly. After the cheers die down, the announcer starts speaking again. ¡°And next, the five hungry lions who will be their opponents!!!¡± ¨C Announcer The lions are brought in while still in their cages. The cages are pushed by multiple men with long metal rods, probably so the lions won¡¯t bite or claw them. They look very angry, and they try to get out, but the metal bars keep them in. You can tell the gladiators are getting scared, but they¡¯re trying to hold it in. The cages are pushed all the way to the middle of the arena. ¡°The match will begins now!¡± ¨C Announcer The announcer runs away as quickly as he can. The people who pushed the cages carefully enter the key into the lock. They twist it around, then run away themselves. The entrances into the arena are blocked off, and it¡¯s now impossible for any of the fighters, including the lions, to get out. The lions bust open the doors, and immediately start charging right towards the gladiators. They enter a fighting stance, getting ready for what¡¯s to come. But they don¡¯t stand a chance¡­ The lions all jump on the same guy at once. He¡¯s instantly knocked down by the lions jumping him, and without even bothering to kill him, they start eating him alive. The other gladiators are all in shock, like the reality of the situation they¡¯re in just hit them. They¡¯re not winning against a pack of lions. It just won¡¯t happen. Even if they all worked together and somehow managed to take down one of them, they¡¯d quickly be killed by the other four. They panic and try to run away. They run up to the now blocked off entrances and start banging on the doors. ¡°LET US OUT!!! PLEASE!!!!!¡± They scream and shout, but the doors won¡¯t open. The audience starts laughing as the gladiators break down crying, begging to be let out. The lions finish eating up the poor man, leaving only a mutilated corpse behind¡­ The lions turn towards the other gladiators, and without any delay, they run towards them. ¡°HEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!¡± The audience breaks out into laughter again. I hear a guy sitting next to Shin shouting. ¡°IF YOU CAN¡¯T HANDLE THOSE BEASTS, THEN WHY DID YOU EVEN ENTER THE COLOSSEUM IN THE FIRST PLACE, FUCKING DUMBASSES!! HAHAHAHA¡± I instinctually look over at him, but¡­ What¡­?! Shin isn¡¯t there! ¡°What the hell is that dumbass doing?!!!¡± ¨C Lily I look back towards the arena and¡­ There he is! Shin is standing right in front of the gladiators. ¡°WHAT IS THAT GUY DOING IN THERE? DOES HE HAVE A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?! HAHAHAHHAHA¡± ¨C Audience The lions run towards him. He raises his arm, and when the first lion gets close enough, he slams it down as hard as he can. The lion¡¯s skull is crushed between his fist and the ground. The floor is shattered by the impact of his attack. A large part of the rocky floor is pulverized and the true ground beneath is revealed. ¡°That idiot just got himself in so much trouble!¡± ¨C Lily Lily hands me a mask. ¡°Put this on!¡± ¨C Lily I put it on, and she quickly puts on one herself. She grabs my hand, and she jumps into the arena, dragging me with her. The other lions turn around and run away in fear after seeing what Shin did to one of them. We run up to Shin, then Lily hand him a mask as well. ¡°PUT THIS ON!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°T-thank you! Thank you for saving our lives!!¡± ¨C Gladiators With a smile on his face, Shin turns around and looks at them. ¡°No worries!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this, let¡¯s get out of here! Quickly!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°R-right¡­¡± ¨C Shin We run up to the entrance. Lily reaches the door first. She touches the door with her right palm, and the wooden door shrivels up and falls over. ¡°Wow! Did you just use SDM?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Let¡¯s just get out of here!¡± ¨C Lily Chapter 36: Tricky situation We quickly get outside, but the guards are right behind us. ¡°Hey! Stop!!!¡± ¨C Guards ¡°Don¡¯t look back, just run!¡± ¨C Lily We continue to run, completely ignoring the guards. We¡¯re much faster than they are, so we get away relatively easily. We continue to run for a little while until we reach a back alley with no people in sight. Finally, we can settle down¡­ ¡°Why the hell did you do that?!!!!¡± ¨C Lily Lily yells at Shin. ¡°Do you have any idea how much trouble you¡¯ve gotten yourself into?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I-¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Not to mention dragging us into this mess as well!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°You could have just stayed in your seat if you wanted to¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Are you serious?! You obviously have no idea what kind of mess you¡¯ve gotten yourself into, I couldn¡¯t just sit there and do nothing!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Just like I couldn¡¯t just sit there and do nothing!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lily Lily takes a deep breath. She¡¯s visibly frustrated but is trying to hold it back. Although, she¡¯s not doing a great job at it; it¡¯s painted all over her face¡­ ¡°Look. Almost any hunter out there could single handedly temporarily stop the colosseum fights, just like you did. But¡­ There is a reason why no one does. The colosseum has some powerful people backing it. They even have connections with the royal guards¡­¡± ¨C Lily The royal guards?! ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You see now?! You see how much trouble you¡¯re in now?! You see why no one messes with the colosseum, even in the most brutal of moments?!¡± -Lily ¡°Yeah, I guess. Well, I¡¯ll figure something out. It¡¯ll all work out in the end.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± Lily is stunned. ¡°How can you be so calm about this?!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°What¡¯s done is done. There¡¯s no point in worrying about something you can¡¯t control anyways.¡± ¨C Shin Lily looks over at me. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this guy¡­¡± ¨C Lily She points at Shin. ¡°What kind of sheltered life must you have lived up till now for that to be your reaction? You know your parents aren¡¯t going to save you, right?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Yeah, yeah. Just don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ll be fine. You guys had masks on so you¡¯re fine too.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I-¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Lily, I¡¯m not a kid. I¡¯m a hunter, I can look out for myself. Besides, I still have my guilds protection, right? I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I give up¡­ You do you man. But you¡¯re right about one thing. Me and Alex had masks on, so we should be fine at least¡­ I hope. I¡¯ll have to destroy those masks though¡­ That sucks, I liked them.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Oh, right. I was thinking earlier, why do you have so many masks with you, Lily?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s none of your business, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¨C Lily The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. None of my business? I guess, but like¡­ Why keep it secret? There is some important reason for it¡­ I¡¯m even more curious now! Well, I¡¯ll respect her wishes and try to keep my nose out of it. ¡°Ugh, this is gonna be annoying¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°What is?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I have to get back into the arena, I was there for a reason.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Oh?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s the same reason you were there, right? The hunter is probably another contestant in the E-rank exam, so I figured I¡¯d gather what intel I could before it started.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex and Shin ¡°You guys didn¡¯t know that there would be a hunter fighting¡­? Why were you even there then?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Oh, we were there just for fun.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Fun???¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Yeah, we thought it would be more like a sport. I didn¡¯t think it would be that brutal¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°So you were honest back then¡­ I thought you were just pretending because you didn¡¯t want to give away your true intentions, just like me. Anyways, I need to get back. If someone competing in a hunter exam is willing show off like this, they must be really confident in their abilities. Learning anything I can about them might be crucial in taking them down.¡± ¨C Lily Yeah, she¡¯s right. Apparently it¡¯s very rare for hunters to compete in colosseum fights, and now there is one right before the E-rank exam starts? They¡¯re either a participant or it¡¯s a crazy coincidence. ¡°Whatever their reason may be, I¡¯m not gonna pass up a golden opportunity like this.¡± ¨C Lily True, knowing what the other contestants are capable of is a huge advantage. But¡­ Shin can¡¯t go back there, so unfortunately, we can¡¯t tag along. I¡¯m not going to leave him alone when there might be people looking for him. ¡°Do you guys want to join?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Huh?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Did you already forget what I did over there, or what?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°No¡­ I have most certainly NOT forgotten! But¡­¡± ¨C Lily She lets out a deep sigh. ¡°I guess there is no point in hiding it anymore¡­ You¡¯ve already seen it after all.¡± ¨C Lily Seen what? Oh¡­ Right! ¡°I can use SDM. My specialty allows me to absorb moisture with my right hand and put it back with my left.¡± ¨C Lily So that¡¯s what she did back then¡­ ¡°But how is that going to help us sneak back in?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ahh, I see¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Seems like Shin gets it.¡± ¨C Lily ¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll use my ability on us, absorbing some of the moisture in our skin. It¡¯ll make us look old and wrinkly, allowing us to sneak back in.¡± ¨C Lily I see! What a useful ability! ¡°But before that, we should also change clothes. They know we¡¯re hunters, so they know having some sort of ability that lets us change our appearances isn¡¯t impossible. If they see someone entering the colosseum that sort of look like us, and are wearing the exact same clothing, they¡¯ll put the piece together instantly. So first of all, we need to get some new outfits. Just wait here and I¡¯ll go buy something. You can pay me back later.¡± ¨C Lily Yeah, she¡¯s right. When it comes to hunters, you can never let your guard down. Anything can be a specialty. Being able to change your appearance isn¡¯t anything out of the ordinary. Even Luna can do it to some degree. Lily rushes off to buy us some new clothes. --- Not long after, she returns. Shin was a little worried that she ditched us, but luckily she came back. ¡°Damn, this is fancy.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not what I expected.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°We need to look as different as possible.¡± ¨C Lily She bought a black suit for me, a white one for Shin, and a light blue one for herself. We quickly put them on. ¡°I¡¯ve never worn a suit before¡­ It fits perfectly!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It suits you.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Pfft.¡± ¨C Lily His terrible pun even managed to bring a chuckle out of the oh-so serious Lily¡­ ¡°Alright, now I just need to make us look old. Look.¡± ¨C Lily She touches her face with her right hand, and most of the moisture is almost instantly drained away. Her skin looks exactly like how I¡¯d imagine it¡¯d look like at 80 years old. ¡°When we¡¯re done, I¡¯ll do this.¡± ¨C Lily She touches her face again, but this time with her left hand. Her skin quickly turns back to normal. ¡°See?¡± ¨C Lily She makes herself look old again. ¡°Alex, you first.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Alex I walk up to her, and she touches my face with her right hand. Just like with her, my skin now looks like it belongs to an old person. Right away, she does the same to Shin. ¡°Oh, and I almost forgot. While I was buying those suits, I figured that new clothing wouldn¡¯t be enough. Sooooo, I also bought these!¡± ¨C Lily She bought two wigs with gray hair, and a¡­ Is that a¡­ She puts on one of the wigs herself. It¡¯s a wig with long gray hair, and it completes her look as an old woman perfectly. She hands me the other wig; this one has much shorter hair. I put it on, and my costume is complete. ¡°This last one is for you, Shin.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°What even is that??¡± ¨C Shin ¡°It¡¯s a bald cap.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°¡­ Why didn¡¯t you just buy me a regular wig too?¡± ¨C Shin She just laughs instead of answering. I guess this is her way to get revenge on him for getting into this trouble in the first place¡­ Shin puts the bald cap on and¡­ ¡°I look ridiculous.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Naaaah, you¡¯re fine. Don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s just go before it¡¯s too late.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¨C Shin Shin doesn¡¯t look pleased. But¡­ Heh. Not gonna lie, it¡¯s kinda funny. ¡°Oh, and Shin¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Hmm?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I have something I want to talk to you about after the exam.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°After the exam?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Lily Huh? I wonder what it could be about¡­ --- A few minutes later We arrived at the colosseum, and we even managed to get back in, just like we planned. The disguises worked! In fact, it all worked out better than we had planned. We thought we would have to sneak in, but we didn¡¯t. Apparently, some people in the audience got scared after Shin interrupted, and they left. Maybe they thought he was going to attack them? Who knows¡­ But whatever their reason was, it meant that there were seats ready for us, meaning we got in the legit way. The second round just ended, so we got here just in time. Chapter 37: Champion vs Hunter ¡°It¡¯s the round you have all been waiting for!!! The fight between the undefeated champion, and the mysterious hunter who challenged him!!!¡± ¨C Announcer I wonder how strong he is¡­ If it turns out he actually is one of the E-rank exam contestants, then we might have to go up against him. ¡°The man who is best known as ¡®the undefeated champion¡¯. A man who has fought in the colosseum for years, with no other reason than just for his own entertainment¡­¡± ¨C Announcer He fights for his own entertainment¡­? I guess not all fighters are do it out of necessity or because they¡¯re forced to then. ¡°His first battle was when he was still a young man, only 18 years old. That was over ten years ago now¡­ He has fought lots of strong people. People who would otherwise be known as the best¡­ But this gladiator¡¯s very existence takes that title away from them. He bested every beast that has been thrown at him, human or not. Do you want to know what is the most impressive thing about all of this? He did all of this without ever getting hurt. Not even once. ten years of constant fighting, yet no one has managed to land a single strike on him that has left a wound. It¡¯s the unstoppable, the unbreakable, the undefeated champion of the colosseum!!!!!!¡± ¨C Announcer A man walks in into the colosseum. That¡¯s him! That¡¯s the ''undefeated champion¡¯. The way the announced talked about him makes me curious about him too¡­ Is he really as strong as he makes him out to be? The man continues walking in until he reaches the middle. Just like all the other contestants we¡¯ve seen so far, he¡¯s not wearing any armor, nor does he have any weapons. ¡°And now the challenger¡­ As we all know, hunters are the ones at top of the food chain. Their strength is unparalleled and is incomparable to us mere humans. Even the weakest of hunters can rival the peak of humanity. This is due to their control over Divinity. With Divinity under their control, they are no longer limited by their own physical body. Their strength comes from the universe itself! A natural disaster would be an unavoidable event whom none could ever think to overcome. This is not the case for hunters¡­ For they are the natural disasters! With the world itself on their side, they can overcome any obstacle. This is the kind of person today¡¯s challenger is. It¡¯s the mysterious challenger, the F-rank hunter from the Atlas Guild!!!¡± ¨C Announcer The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. This announcer sure knows how to hype things up¡­ The hunter enters the colosseum from the other entrance. He¡¯s big¡­ It¡¯s hard to tell from here, but he looks like he¡¯s almost three meters tall! He¡¯s not lacking in muscles either¡­ It¡¯s like every single muscle in his body has been honed to perfection. He¡¯s built like a monster! It might just be my imagination, but it feels like with every step he takes, the ground itself shakes¡­ But what¡¯s weird is that¡­ Muscles aren¡¯t all that relevant when it comes to hunters. Sure, they make you physically stronger, and a person with well-trained muscles would dominate a regular person in a fight. But¡­ There is a limit to how much strength they can give you. I¡¯m still just an F-rank hunter myself, but I¡¯m already way past the regular human limit. Muscles just cannot compare to Divinity. So obviously he must be competent at BDM. But¡­ Getting muscles like that takes an insane amount of hard work. I can¡¯t even imagine how much time he must have spent to get to where he is¡­ It¡¯s not something you can just build in a few months. Training while using BDM makes it so that your muscles themselves aren¡¯t pushed to their limits, but rather it¡¯s your concentration, and how well you¡¯re able to manipulate the Divinity. Meaning, to build muscles you, must train without the use of BDM. Getting to the point where you have muscles like that, it would take years of constant hard work. But that¡¯s not the end of the story¡­ The upkeep would be insane too; stopping his training for even a short while would set him back ages. How does he have the time to train BDM as well?!! I don¡¯t get it¡­ The way I see it now, there are two possibilities. One option is that he is actually pretty weak for a hunter because he¡¯s not good at BDM. He could have gotten lucky with his F-rank exam, and that¡¯s how he passed. The other option is that his appearances is due to some sort of specialty. Maybe a transformation type specialty? Any F-ranker who can use SDM is incredibly impressive. Basically, I can¡¯t see him being anything other than either extremely weak, or extremely strong. This will be an interesting fight¡­ ¡°And now, let the final battle, the battle between the undefeated champion and the F-rank hunter begin!!!!!¡± ¨C Announcer ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C Champion ¡°I need no such thing.¡± ¨C Hunter ¡°Heh. Like every other person I¡¯ve fought, I¡¯ll quickly turn that confidence into despair.¡± ¨C Champion The champion rushes towards the monstrous hunter. The hunter just stands there in a neutral stance; he¡¯s not getting ready to counterattack, and he¡¯s not putting up his guard either. What is he doing? When the champion gets close, he launches a powerful strike with a visible smirk on his face. That punch¡­ I can tell that it¡¯s dangerous¡­! His fist is drilled into the poor hunter¡¯s stomach, sending him flying into the wall behind him. A large hole shaped just like him is left behind in the stone wall. He¡¯s strong¡­ He could be a hunter if he wanted to. No doubt about that! I wonder why he keeps fighting in a place like this¡­ ¡°AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE CHAMPION HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!!¡± ¨C Announcer I guess it was the first option then¡­ ¡°Wait¡­ Am I seeing things, or is¡­¡± ¨C Announcer ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¨C Hunter ¡°HE¡¯S BACK ON HIS FEET AGAIN, THE FIGHT ISN¡¯T OVER!!!!!¡± ¨C Announcer Chapter 38: And the winner is…! He¡¯s okay?! I totally thought the fight was over¡­ ¡°You look surprised, Alex.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Obviously the fight wouldn¡¯t end in just a single hit. How embarrassing would it be to call yourself a hunter, then go down in a single hit? No way.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Are you dumb?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°What?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°A fight isn¡¯t about ¡®not letting someone knock you down¡¯ or whatever. It¡¯s a brutal situation where nothing but the skills of the combatant¡¯s matter.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Yeah, but come on¡­ Why fight publicly like that, if you¡¯re weak?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible that he was just cocky? I mean, look at his body. You don¡¯t get like that without putting in an insane amount of effort, specifically training your muscles. We both know that muscles are worthless.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Look, all I¡¯m saying is that clearly, he was strong enough to survive that hit. So, I was right.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Sure, the outcome was correct, but your reasoning was flawed! It could have very well been the opposite.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Maybe so, but¡­ Nah¡­ This isn¡¯t a matter of reason. I can feel it¡­ There is just¡­ Something about him¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡¯Something about him¡¯? What is that even supposed to mean?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ All I know is, he¡¯s not your average hunter¡­¡± ¨C Shin The hunter slowly walks back into middle of the arena. ¡°I was worried for a second there¡­ If hunters can¡¯t even put a scratch on me, then who can?¡± ¨C Champion ¡°I won¡¯t put any scratches on you either.¡± ¨C Hunter ¡°Yeah, I figured. You¡¯re just like the rest of them.¡± ¨C Champion ¡°Only being able to scratch someone is a sign of weakness. My muscles will tear right through your pathetic body.¡± ¨C Hunter ¡°Hahahaha!¡± ¨C Champion Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The champion rushes up to him again and throws another punch. Just like last time, the hunter doesn¡¯t even attempt to defend. He just stands there¡­ The gladiator continues to strike him over and over and over again¡­ He doesn¡¯t budge¡­ His punches aren¡¯t weak either¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to take a barrage of hits like that head-on without being seriously injured¡­ ¡°What the hell?¡± ¨C Champion ¡°These muscles will not submit to a mere human.¡± ¨C Hunter He lifts his arm for the first time, and closes his fist¡­ Just the force of him closing his fist was enough to make a shockwave strong enough to make my hair blow in the wind. The champion looks visibly scared and tries to jump back. Before he¡¯s able to get away, the monstrous hunter grabs his throat. ¡°Not so fast.¡± ¨C Hunter The champion¡¯s look¡­ It¡¯s exactly what the other gladiators looked like when they were about be eaten by lions¡­ It¡¯s sheer terror! The hunter lifts the gladiator up high, still holding him by his throat. He can¡¯t breathe! He¡¯s trying his best to get free, but his grip is too strong. There is nothing he can do¡­ ¡°What is going on here?! The undefeated gladiator himself is in a tight spot!!!! Will he be able to get out?!¡± ¨C Announcer The hunter prepares his strike, then¡­ He¡¯s not human¡­ In a single, POWERFUL punch¡­ His fist pierces right through the champion¡¯s body. ¡°I knew it¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I figured it out.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Figured out what?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh my god¡­ Can you just say it??? Stop sitting there acting like some sage who just discovered the meaning of life, and just spit it out already!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin Shin was clearly taken back by that comment. I can¡¯t say I disagree though¡­ I also want to know what he figured out. ¡°AND THE FIGHT IS OVEEEEEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE UNDEFEATED CHAMPION HAS BEEN DEFEATED!!!! It turns out that hunters truly are at the top of the food chain after all! With the power of the universe, Divinity, he has defeated the one who stood atop all else!¡± ¨C Announcer ¡°It¡¯s his muscles¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Muscles?¡± ¨C Alex The hunter jumps up to the place where the announcer is sitting and grabs his microphone. ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken. I am not borrowing anyone¡¯s power. Whether it be allies or the universe itself, I will not accept it. True power can only come from within¡­ Divinity isn¡¯t TRUE power.¡± ¨C Hunter What is he talking about? Divinity is the source of all hunter¡¯s power, including his¡­ Right¡­? ¡°I rely on MY strength and MY strength alone. So don¡¯t compare me to anyone who relies on mere party tricks like Divinity manipulation.¡± ¨C Hunter ¡°His power doesn¡¯t come from BDM, it¡¯s his muscles¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°But¡­ That¡¯s impossible¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I didn¡¯t want to believe it myself at first either. But it¡¯s undeniable. I can¡¯t sense him using any Divinity to strengthen himself.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°So that explains why his muscles are like that¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Right. I¡¯m sure we were all thinking the same thing; he was either weak due to not focusing on BDM, or incredibly strong due to being an SDM user. But it appears there was a third option that none of us considered.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°His muscles are the source of his power¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°But¡­ That can¡¯t be true, right?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°There are limits to how strong one can get by training your muscles¡­ Yet, somehow it¡¯s true.¡± ¨C Shin Me and Shin look at each other. It clicked for the both of us at the same time. ¡°If there is a limit to how strong you can get with muscles¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Then that means he must have broken those limits¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯m Kuro Velox, the man who will show the world what true strength is.¡± ¨C Kuro Chapter 39: The E-rank exam --- A few days later, the day of the exam After the final battle in the colosseum, we went back to where we had previously hidden to talk about what happened. Apparently, there are people out there, or at least one guy, who is strong enough to be a hunter with muscles alone. None of us had ever heard of something like that before. Is it really as it seems, or is there some other explanation behind it¡­? After discussing it for a while, we couldn¡¯t come up with a satisfying answer, so we went our own ways. She had a couple things she wanted to do in preparation of the exam anyways. She returned us back to normal, and that¡¯s the last we¡¯ve seen of her. People might be looking for Shin now, so we tried to lay low until the day of the exam. He couldn¡¯t be seen by anyone, but above else, we needed to stay out of trouble. If they found him¡­ Who knows what would happen¡­ Anyways, it¡¯s the day of the exam now. We¡¯re at the spot that we¡¯re supposed to be, but the host doesn¡¯t seem to be here yet. Everyone is here, except for the host¡­ It was supposed to start an hour ago! How can they be late to something this important??? People are getting annoyed and it¡¯s very understandable. There seems to be around 200 ¨C 300 people here. Not quite as many as in the F-rank exam, but still a lot. We tried looking for Lett, but the crowd was a bit too large. I hope she showed up¡­ No¡­ I shouldn¡¯t think like that. I KNOW she is here. We promised each other to meet here. She¡¯s not the type of person to break a promise. ¡°Sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to be late; I had some urgent business to take care of!¡± - Host It¡¯s¡­! ¡°I¡¯m Leanne Aqua and I¡¯m the one who will be the host the E-rank exam this year!¡± ¨C Leanne Why does she have blood on her hands¡­? What kind of ¡®business¡¯ did she ¡®take care of¡¯? ¡°Again, sorry I¡¯m late. Let¡¯s not waste any more time, I¡¯ll explain the rules right away. The E-rank exam this year will be made up of two major parts.¡± ¨C Leanne Two parts¡­ The rules of the F-rank exam are different each time, so I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s the same for the E-rank exam too. The F-rank exam had just one part; the survival game. Now it¡¯s two parts¡­ ¡°Round one and two of the exam will have different rules. I¡¯ll explain the rules of the second round when we get to it, so for now I¡¯ll only be explaining the rules of the first round.¡± ¨C Leanne So, we won¡¯t know what the rules of the second round of the exam is until we actually get there¡­ This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Maybe it¡¯s to prevent strategizing? Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not sure. ¡°Essentially, the first round will be a capture-the-flag-esque game. Hidden inside that massive forest are ten flags. The goal of this game is to find one of them and return here. But like I said, there are only ten flags in total, meaning only ten people can pass the first round.¡± ¨C Leanne Only ten people?! We¡¯re weeding out the numbers very quickly with this first game apparently¡­ ¡°Obviously you don¡¯t have to be the one that actually finds the flag. Stealing it from someone else is just as valid. All that matters is who returns with a flag. Also, you¡¯re not allowed to return with multiple flags. If you do, you¡¯ll be disqualified. There is no time limit in this game. We will wait here until ten people have returned, no matter how long that may take. There are lots of talented young hunters here though, so I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t take long.¡± ¨C Leanne She¡¯s right. I can¡¯t get too comfortable thinking that I have all the time in the world. If there are other people on the same level as Kuro here, then I¡¯ll fail without a doubt if I get too complacent. I won¡¯t let that happen¡­ ¡°Before we start, I also need to let you know one other thing. All injuries will be healed after you either pass or fail the exam. Not before, not even between round one and two. If you¡¯re injured to the point where you¡¯ll die if you don¡¯t get healed, then just drop out of the exam and try again next year. It¡¯s not worth it to die for this.¡± ¨C Leanne So, if I want any shot at passing the second round, I need to come out of the first round with as few injuries as possible. ¡°Anyways, that¡¯s enough talking from me. The exam starts now!¡± ¨C Leanne Everyone rushes into the forest as quickly as they can. ¡°Come on, Alex! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Right!¡± ¨C Alex We follow after, and rush into the forest. A few people start fighting immediately, but most people just scatter. We run for a short while, then¡­ ¡°This is as far as you guys will get.¡± - ??? A group of four people jump us, kicking us before we have time to react. They coordinate their kicks in such a way that me and Shin are knocked away from each other. Two of them go towards me, two of them towards Shin. ¡°So, you want a two on one, eh? Come on, you need more than that!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky now, bitch! We¡¯ll smack the shit out of you!¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to see you try.¡± ¨C Shin They run at Shin, both attacking at once. They¡¯ve clearly worked together as a team for a while, their movements are all synced up. He blocked their punches with his hands, then they both kick him in the side. ¡°Gah!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Not so tough now, are ¡®ya?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget about us!¡± ¨C One of the two that ran towards me They try the same move that they used against Shin, but learning from his mistake, I react to it differently. Instead of blocking each punch with a hand of my own, I duck down and counterattack. I throw a right punch and one of them goes flying. The other one takes the opportunity to kick me while I¡¯m ducked down. I lose my balance and fall over. He immediately tries to stomp me on the chest while I¡¯m down, but I block it. I grab his leg and I throw him towards Shin. ¡°Uaaahh!¡± ¨C The guy being thrown Shin quickly steps back, and the guy crashes into his allies. They all fall to the ground, then Shin stomps on their backs. As I stand back up, I get hit in the back of my head and almost fall over again. I thought he was gone for good¡­ I guess that guy was stronger than the rest. The punch hurt, but I¡¯m fine. He goes for another punch in the back of the head while still behind me, but I duck down, grab his arm, then throw him over me, down to the ground. ¡°Stay down.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°AS IF!¡± He tries to get back up, but before he¡¯s able to I kick him in the face, knocking him out cold. I think Shin broke those guys backs after stomping them. They¡¯re all unable to move, we can finally continue our search. ¡°These guys were clearly on an entirely different level from the guys back in the F-rank exam.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah. Although they clearly weren¡¯t a match for us, their attacks could still hurt us. The only one who could do that in the F-rank exam was Leon¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°These guys were probably on the weaker side too¡­ They obviously knew about their lack of strength and tried to make up for it with teamwork.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°We need to be careful from now on. I got hit a few times because I got distracted looking over at you.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah, I can handle myself, if a group attacks us like that again, make sure you focus on yourself.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I can¡¯t afford to make a mistake like that against a stronger opponent¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I obviously didn¡¯t deal with their coordinated attacks very well either. We clearly both have a lot to learn when it comes to different combat situations than what we¡¯re used to.¡± ¨C Shin Suddenly, we hear a loud voice. ¡°The first contestant has returned. Only nine flags remain.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Already?¡± ¨C Shin It literally just started¡­ Only a minute or so has passed since the exam began¡­ Who could possibly find a flag, and get all the way back that fast? They must have gotten lucky¡­ Right? ¡°Alex¡­ I think we should split up.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°If people keep returning at this pace, we won¡¯t be able to find two flags in time.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Right¡­ If we split up, we could cover twice as much ground.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah. We won¡¯t be able to find each other again though, so when either of us finds a flag, that person should just return immediately. Don¡¯t go looking for the other.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I guess we just have to believe in each other then¡­ Trust that the other person is able to find a flag in time.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to worry about me. I got this, ok?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Same! I¡¯ll even be back before you!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oooh, getting competitive now, are we? How about this¡­ The person who returns last, must pay for all the food the other person eats for an entire week.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Deal. Can¡¯t wait for all the free food.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Same.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 40: Leon vs… A giant? --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] ¡°The first contestant has returned. Only nine flags remain.¡± WHAT?! How?! We literally just started! I won¡¯t let anyone else get back before me, no way. If I can¡¯t even beat these losers, then what does that make me? I¡¯ll be the second one back, no matter what. I continue running around for a little while, then¡­ What¡¯s that noise? It¡¯s like¡­ A giant? It sounds like a giant walking. The ground is shaking, the wind is blowing, and the loud thuds of its footsteps are resonating through the forest. As I continue to run, the sound just gets more and more intense. Even the trees are shaking. I¡¯m getting closer and closer to the source with every passing moment, until I see something¡­ Is that? Is that him? He¡¯s tall, and extremely muscular, but¡­ He¡¯s not nearly heavy enough to create shockwaves like that just from walking¡­ Is he purposefully stomping the ground as hard as he can? Is this some sort of intimidation tactic? Pft. Whatever. He won¡¯t scare me. I jump towards him, right from his blind spot. Ahaha, he¡¯s gonna die without ever knowing what happened to him!! !! The attack connects, but¡­! Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°What the hell?¡± ¨C Leon The man turns around. He looks me in the eye. What the fuck? I just hit him as hard as I could, yet he came out completely unscathed¡­ ¡°Did you think an attack of that caliber would work?¡± ¨C Kuro Who does he think he is?! ¡°Die, dumbass!¡± ¨C Leon I bite my lips and they start to bleed. My eyes glow red and I throw another punch straight at him. He stops my attack with his hand but is pushed back. How the hell did that only push him back?! ¡°Not bad. Not bad for a Divinity user that is.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°What the fuck do you mean ¡®for a Divinity user¡¯?¡± ¨C Leon ¡°True strength is not something you can get by borrowing your power from the elements. I¡¯ll show you true power.¡± ¨C Kuro He slowly walks up to me. Is he dumb? Does he really think I¡¯m just going to let him attack me? He continues to slowly walk up to me, and when he gets within striking range, he throws a punch. I duck under it and dash towards him; following it up with a barrage of attacks to his stomach. He doesn¡¯t seem very hurt¡­ Before I¡¯m able to get away, he manages to grab me. Shit! I quickly rip my shirt off, setting me free. I need more power. This isn¡¯t enough! I bite my left hand and another surge of power flows through me. This should be enough. I throw a massive punch straight towards him; he counters it with a punch of his own. Our fists clash, and¡­! ¡°GAH!¡± ¨C Leon He overpowers me, sending me flying away. How is that even possible?! Ugh¡­ I feel like¡­ My consciousness¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ --- A few minutes later ¡°AH! Where am I?¡± ¨C Leon God¡­ That punch of his knocked me the fuck out¡­ I¡¯m still in the forest, but I have no idea where¡­ Which way is the way back again? Uhh¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­ I was there, and I was hit that way. I think¡­ Okay. I think I know the way. But whatever, I need to focus on getting a flag first. That guy though¡­ Who the hell is he? He¡¯s a fucking monster¡­ He said something about¡­ Muscles? I don¡¯t get it. He¡¯s probably another SDM user, just like me. This isn¡¯t the F-rank exam¡­ There might not be many, but there are bound to be more SDM users like me. They¡¯re the ones I need to keep an eye on the most. I don¡¯t ever want a repeat of what happened in the F-rank exam ever again¡­ Those little shits¡­! If they¡¯re here, then I hope to God I run into them. They embarrassed me and I won¡¯t forgive them for that. We¡¯re not on a team anymore either, so I don¡¯t have to hold back on them. Ooooh, just imagining their faces smashed into the ground brings a big smile to my face. If I see that muscle guy again, I¡¯ll bash his face in too. Standing there talking about ¡®true strength¡¯ when he doesn¡¯t know shit. If I hadn¡¯t underestimated him, I would have crushed him. I know myself, and I know could have overpowered that punch if I was hurt enough. Some cuts or a few broken bones and he¡¯d be dead. But whatever, I¡¯ll get my chance eventually. Either I destroy them in the second round, whatever that may be, or they lose in round one. It¡¯s a lose-lose for them, and a win-win for me. So, no need to think too fussed about it. Now, all I need to think about is finding a flag. Getting sent all the way over here might be a good thing. I doubt many people have been all the way over here. If there is a flag in this area, it should still be here. She said the flags are hidden, so they probably aren¡¯t in plain sight. Maybe on the top of a tree? Or under a rock? Let¡¯s just check everywhere. I run around as quickly as I can, checking every single spot. No rock is left unturned. It took a little while, but sure enough, in the end I did find one! Hahahaha, what a dumbass! Sent me flying right to where one of the flags were hidden. That¡¯s so fucking funny! Well, anyways¡­ Round one is as good as done. I just need to get back, then I¡¯m good. Chapter 41: The key --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] A while has passed since Shin and I split up. I haven¡¯t found a flag yet, but at least it doesn¡¯t seem like anyone else has either, other than that first person¡­ At least no one has returned with one since then. But¡­ Who was that? Who could have found one and gotten back THAT quickly?? They must have just gotten lucky, right¡­? Anyways, what I need to focus on now is finding one myself. I feel like I¡¯ve looked everywhere; under rocks, on top of trees, in the rivers, and even under the bark of some trees¡­ This forest is just too damn big! How am I supposed to find one when they could be literally anywhere? Hmm¡­ There must be some kind of trick to it; this is a test after all. But what are they testing? Ability to search for stuff? Our speed? Maybe our intelligence? What if they aren¡¯t hidden just anywhere, but there is some kind of pattern behind it? When I think about it, she never specifically said that they could be hidden anywhere, just that they were hidden¡­ I feel like I¡¯m reading into her exact words a bit too much¡­ Gaaah! What could it be?! --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] I¡¯m guessing Alex is losing his mind right about now¡­ I hope he figures it out. The trick¡­ It¡¯s so simple, so obvious¡­ Maybe too obvious¡­ If he doesn¡¯t figure it out, he will very likely not pass¡­ Oh! There¡¯s a guy there. Why is he running like that? Could it be that¡­? I sneak up on him without making a noise. As soon as he¡¯s within range, I shove him as hard as I can. ¡°Uah!¡± It caught him off guard, making him stumble forward, dropping something¡­ This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. It¡¯s a flag! I knew it! Before he manages to get up on his feet, I quickly grab the flag, and run away. ¡°Hey! Give that back!¡± ¡­ Does he think I¡¯ll give it back just like that? Just because he asked¡­? ¡°Sorry mate, I need it.¡± ¨C Shin Now I just need to make my way back, and I¡¯ll win my bet with Alex! ¡°Not so fast there!¡± He quickly catches up, and grabs my ankle making me fall over. ¡°I won¡¯t let you get away that easily.¡± I try to get back up, but he kicks me down again. ¡°Gahhh!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You may have surprised me with that sucker punch, but in a real fight there is no way you could defeat me. Had you been faster, you might have gotten away, but you lost your chance.¡± ¡°Are all hunters this cocky? Not that I¡¯m one to talk¡­ Anyways, this¡¯ll be a good warmup for the second round. Tell me your name.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯m Lucas, not that that matters. I¡¯ll get my flag back, no matter what.¡± ¨C Lucas I stand back up. ¡°How about this¡­ We fight, the winner gets the flag. Simple.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay, but if you pull anything, I¡¯ll show no mercy.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t need your mercy.¡± ¨C Shin I put the flag down on the ground and step forward. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Always.¡± ¨C Shin Lucas chuckles. ¡°You¡¯re right, this will be a good warmup. I haven¡¯t had a challenging fight yet in this exam, maybe you¡¯ll be my first.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°I¡¯d be honored, Lucas.¡± ¨C Shin --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] AAHHHHH! I¡¯m going crazy!! What¡¯s the trick? What¡¯s the trick?! What¡¯s the trick?!! What¡¯s the trick?!!! Gaaah!! I give up¡­ Shin has probably figured it out already, he¡¯s so much smarter than me¡­ I only have one option left; steal a flag from someone else¡­ --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] I run up to Lucas and throw a right hook. He ducks under it, then does a sweeping attack with his leg; trying to trip me up, but I manage to jump over it before it lands. He takes advantage of the fact that I¡¯m suspended in mid-air and kicks me in the stomach. I can¡¯t dodge, so I have to block. The kick is surprisingly powerful, and it launches me backwards at an enormous speed. ¡°GUAH!!¡± ¨C Shin I fly right through tree after tree, only stopping after colliding with a rock wall. This guy is no joke¡­ He¡¯s nothing like the others I¡¯ve fought here so far. So, this is the level of real E-rank contenders¡­ I get back up and walk back over to him while brushing dirt off my shoulder. ¡°Not bad, it seems I underestimated you, Lucas.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh? I intended to break your ribs with that kick, but it seems you¡¯re mostly fine. I may have underestimated you too.¡± ¨C Lucas He rushes towards me as soon as he finishes talking. I stand still and charge up an attack that I can use to counter him when he gets close. He gets just within my range, and I punch as hard as I can. My fist drills into his stomach; that should mess him up quite a bit! BAM! He punches me right in the jaw, making me almost pass out. Before I¡¯m able to get back my balance, he hooks his foot around the back of my head, then slams me down into the ground. ¡°GUH!!¡± ¨C Shin My nose is bleeding so much I barely breathe¡­ What just happened? That punch I threw at him connected! It should have sent him flying¡­ Yet¡­ How was he not affected? Wait¡­ I have a theory¡­ I get back up on my feet, but my vision is blurry, and my balance is off. ¡°Still able to continue, eh?¡± ¨C Lucas I spit some blood out then respond: ¡°Of course!¡± ¨C Shin I think I understand what happened, but I need to make sure that I¡¯m right before I can figure out a way to beat him. I dash towards him and slam my fist down on his shoulder. He moves his shoulder down ever so slightly, making it slide right off. He perfectly deflected the attack; it technically hit him, yet it dealt no damage. I throw a second punch with my other arm towards his face. My fist smashes his nose. Or that¡¯s what it looks like¡­ But I saw it! I saw what really happened. My theory was right. What happened just now was that he moved his head back just the tiniest amount. Just enough for it to look and feel like the attack connected, while in reality it just barely scratched the tip of his nose. That¡¯s what he did earlier too. He sucked his stomach in just enough for the attack to connect, but not enough for it to deal any damage. It¡¯s like he has perfect control over every single movement he does. No matter how small, no matter how weird. If the movement is possible, then he will do it. It¡¯s a perfect defense. My hits won¡¯t ever be able to deal any damage to him, and every time I try, I will just end up putting myself in a compromising position¡­ He can take advantage of even the smallest opportunities because he¡¯s not limited by normal movements. Is this a specialty? No¡­ It¡¯s more like¡­ A martial art? That doesn¡¯t feel quite right either¡­ I¡¯m not sure what the mechanism behind it is, but at least I know what he¡¯s doing now. Even a perfect defense can be overcome. Everything has a weakness. Everything¡­! I just need to figure out what it is. Chapter 42: Returner --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] Now that I have a flag, I just need to get back. If I hurry up, I can still be the second person to return. Someone may have taken the first place already, but I won¡¯t allow anyone to take the second. That would just be embarrassing¡­ Now then, let¡¯s hurry back! I continue to run through the forest for a little while, but I don¡¯t recognize anything. Shit. Don¡¯t tell me I ran in the wrong direction¡­ Let me think¡­ When I woke up, I was at the base of a large tree. The bark on the tree was destroyed right at the place where I woke up. That makes sense considering I was sent flying. So logically, the way back should be in the same direction that the destroyed bark is facing, right? That¡¯s the direction I¡¯ve been running in, yet I still haven¡¯t returned to where we fought¡­ Could someone have picked me up and moved me while I was unconscious? I guess it¡¯s possible, but why would anyone do that? I could understand searching me for a flag, but why move me to some random spot? That by itself already makes no sense, but considering there was a flag right there, it must be something else¡­ Is it possible that I hit some trees or other obstacles on the way that changed the path I was flying in? That¡¯s certainly possible, although I would have assumed I¡¯d get scratched up all over if that was the case¡­ Something is weird going on here¡­ I¡¯m not sure what though. Am I overthinking this? Maybe the answer is super simple and I¡¯m just missing it¡­ I keep running while I think about it. Some more time passes, then eventually¡­ Wait¡­ This is it! This is where we fought. So, my first thought was right; the way back was the same way the broken bark was facing. But that means¡­ ¡­ How fucking far did he launch me?! What the hell kind of monster is he¡­ This exam will be much more interesting than the last one, that¡¯s for sure. The only thing that could make it more interesting now, is if those shitheads from the F-rank exam are here¡­ I start running directly back to where we started. A short while passes and I finally get there. It¡¯s less than 100 meters away. ¡°EH!¡± ¨C Leon This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. What the hell?! A guy just tackled me out of nowhere! Wait, he took my flag! ¡°Thanks, loser.¡± ¡°Get the fuck back or I will crush your skull¡­¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Nah.¡± You little¡­ He starts sprinting towards the camp, but I quickly get up and chase after him. He¡¯s just a few meters away, but I manage to jump forward and grab his ankle, making him fall over. I drag him back towards me. ¡°Uaaah, let go of me!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ ¡®Nah.¡¯¡± ¨C Leon He tries to get out of my grip but realizes that he isn¡¯t strong enough. He throws the flag away, in an attempt to make me go after that instead, but I don¡¯t stop. ¡°I told you I would crush your skull if you didn¡¯t stop¡­¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Please! I¡¯m sorry! Just take the flag!¡± ¡°You should have liste- SHIT!¡± ¨C Leon There¡¯s another guy right there, going for my flag. Fuck! I let go off the guy and run after the flag instead. I manage to grab the flag before the other guy does, but the one that tackled me got away. Tsk¡­ Lucky bastard¡­ The other guy that tried to steal the flag from me runs away too, he probably figured I was too strong from how I dealt with the guy that tackled me. I guess I¡¯ll just head back¡­ I walk the few meters that are left, then Leanne comes up to me. ¡°Congratulations! You¡¯re the second person to pass the first round of the E-rank exam.¡± ¨C Leanne Directly after that, the loud voice that called out the first person returning comes back. ¡°The second contestant has returned. Only eight flags remain.¡± ¡°You can go wait over there with the other person who has returned.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Leon I walk over to the place she pointed at. There¡¯s a person laying on that bench, are they sleeping? As I get closer, I realize who it is. ¡°Ho¡­ Ly¡­ Shit¡­¡± ¨C Leon --- [Shin¡¯s Perspective] ¡°The second contestant has returned. Only eight flags remain.¡± Not good, more people are starting to return. I need to figure out how to beat this guy before it¡¯s too late. If I don¡¯t get this flag, then that will mean only seven will be left. Alex will obviously find one, meaning that unless the person who just returned was Alex, only six flags will remain. That¡¯s just over half. There is a very real possibility of not finding another one at that point¡­ I need to get this flag! Lucas runs up to me and throws a barrage of attacks. I focus on dodging and blocking, none of the attacks deal any serious damage. Maybe he is worse at dodging certain attacks? I throw a kick to his side. What the¡­! It literally connected with him, but he used the momentum of the kick itself to spin himself around and roll off it. Like when you spin a ball on your fingertip and slap it; you¡¯d expect it to go flying, yet it only spins faster. While my leg is still in the air, he quickly turns back around throws a punch at it, but I was able to retract just in time. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any weaknesses¡­ I¡¯m totally unable to deal any damage to him¡­ I hate to do this, but I only have one choice now¡­ I keep hopping backwards while he follows me. I jump up and try to slam my leg down on him, but as expected, he dodges. He takes the opportunity and punches me. ¡°Ah!¡± ¨C Shin I block, but it still hurts. I get sent flying, but¡­ This is all a part of my plan. I positioned myself in such a way, and baited him into attacking me, that I¡¯d fly towards the flag on the ground. ¡°I hate to do this, but it seems like I won¡¯t be able to beat you right now.¡± ¨C Shin I grab the flag on the ground, then run away. He chases after me while yelling. ¡°Hey! Get back, coward! You¡¯re the one that suggested this fight, don¡¯t back out just because you¡¯re weak!¡± ¨C Lucas He¡¯s right¡­ I am a coward. God¡­ I hate having to do this, but I can¡¯t afford to lose right now. ¡°I can¡¯t give you the flag, but I¡¯ll make up for it in the second round!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°HAH! No way! You¡¯re not getting away with the flag, asshole!¡± ¨C Lucas He speeds up and is slowly catching up to me. This is bad¡­ He¡¯s faster than me, it won¡¯t take long before he catches up. It would be too humiliating if I pulled something like this, then get caught¡­ No way! I push myself even further and manage to speed up a little. ¡°GET BACK!¡± ¨C Lucas As he yells, his pace increases. I had just managed to push myself as far as I could, it was just enough to overtake him in speed¡­ Then he just goes even faster¡­ This guy is insane¡­ He¡¯s slowly creeping up on me, but I won¡¯t give up. I just need to make it back! It¡¯s not that far! ¡°The third contestant has returned. Only seven flags remain.¡± Shit! Unless one of them is Alex, that means only five flags would be left if I lose this one. It just gets worse and worse¡­ I can¡¯t let him catch me, no matter what! I continue to sprint as fast as I possibly can, but he¡¯s just getting closer and closer by the second. I¡¯m so close, the camp is right there! He¡¯s right behind me, he caught up¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve got you now!¡± ¨C Lucas We¡¯re just a few meters away from the entrance. He lunges forward with all his might. He wraps his arms around my stomach, and we fall to the ground. ¡­ ¡°Congratulations! You¡¯re the fourth person to pass the first round of the E-rank exam.¡± ¨C Leanne Huh¡­ ¡°WHICH ONE OF US PASSED?!¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°The one in the white suit. He¡¯s the one holding the flag. Sorry kid.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Are you kidding me?!¡± ¨C Lucas I did it¡­ He managed to grab me, and we fell to the ground, but it was too late¡­ I just barely got past the finish line. I was the one holding the flag, so I was the one who passed. That was WAY too close¡­ We both stand up. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t want to do that either. I hate to admit this, but you¡¯re stronger for me. You would have definitely beaten me¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ Whatever¡­¡± ¨C Lucas He looks bummed out, and for good reason¡­ He puts his hands in his pockets and walk away. He¡¯ll find another one, I just know it¡­ I¡¯d hate for him to be my enemy in the second round, whatever that might be¡­ Chapter 43: Strength --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] a few minutes ago ¡°It¡¯s you¡­¡± ¨C Leon What the hell happened?! THIS is who was faster than me?!! How!!? ¡°You¡¯re that useless bitch who had to be saved by MY teammates.¡± ¨C Leon She opens her eyes and sits up. She looks over at me with an empty expression. ¡°This ¡®useless bitch¡¯ still managed to get back before you.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You little¡­!¡± ¨C Leon She chuckles before lying back down and closes her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go back to sleep, so don¡¯t bother me.¡± ¨C Lett I can¡¯t stand weaklings like her being cocky¡­! I raise my hand, then slam it down towards her. WHAT?! What just happened?!!! Right before my fist hit her, she suddenly disappeared¡­ What the fu- ¡°GUAH!¡± ¨C Leon Out of nowhere, her knee is clobbers me in the side of my head, making me fall over. She casually walks over to the bench and lays back down. ¡°I said don¡¯t bother me, I¡¯m trying to sleep.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You fucking bitch!¡± ¨C Leon I throw another punch, this time as hard as I possibly can. But¡­ ¡°No fighting between rounds.¡± ¨C Leanne Before I¡¯m able to hit her, Leanne has managed to grab my arm. ¡°Tsk.¡± ¨C Leon I walk over to some other benches a bit further away. It makes my blood boil having to admit this, but she¡¯s no weakling anymore. She¡¯s strong¡­ --- A few minutes later Oh¡­ Another guy is returning. Little does he know tho¡­ Aaaaaaaand¡­ There we go. The guy who tackled me earlier continues to try the same trick on other people, and now he finally succeeded. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. He grabs the flag and manages to get in before the guy can get the flag back from him. That¡¯s what would have happened to me too if I was weakling like him. Leanne walks over to him and congratulates him for passing the first stage. I doubt he¡¯ll go far in the second round; someone who has to resort to tricks like that to pass is bound to fail sooner or later. The guy who got his flag stolen storms off in a fit of rage. Heh. --- [Kuro¡¯s perspective] ¡°The fourth contestant has returned. Only six flags remain.¡± Hmm. Six is plenty. That¡¯s five more than I need. I suppose it¡¯s time for me to go get one. I¡¯ve been messing around for too long; this is getting boring. I¡¯ll pick up the pace. If another person comes back before me, I¡¯ll do 10000 push-ups. Should I find one myself, or take one from someone else? Hmm. I¡¯ll take one from someone else, looking for it myself is a waste of time. Any extra time I spend here, is time I could have spent working out. If I haven¡¯t returned within five minutes, I will do 5000 squats. I run around for more than four minutes, but I see no other people, let alone anyone with a flag. But then, just as I jump over a large boulder, I see a woman with a flag. She¡¯s sitting on the ground, with an injured leg, trying to hide. I walk towards her. ¡°Please don¡¯t take it, I need it!¡± ¨C Woman ¡°That will unfortunately not be possible.¡± ¨C Kuro I continue to walk towards her. The moment I got within two meters of her, she stands up. ¡°If you won¡¯t listen to me, I¡¯ll have to do this the hard way!¡± ¨C Woman I¡¯ll let her attack me once. If I flinch, I will do 1000 sit-ups before I pursue her. I continue to walk towards her, and eventually she attacks. She throws a straight kick, right on my kneecap. She¡¯s wearing heels, extraordinarily sharp heels in fact. They were probably supposed to be a secret weapon, but the heel just snapped in half instead. I didn¡¯t flinch, so taking the flag right away is fair game. ¡°Uhh¡­¡± ¨C Woman She jumps up on top of the large boulder and attempts to run away, but falls to the ground due to a broken heel and an injured leg. I quickly go after her and before she¡¯s able to get back on her feet I have already grabbed her arm. I lift her up; she tries to resist by punching me in the face with her free arm, but they¡¯re too weak. I take the flag, then put her back down. ¡°Oh, five minutes have passed.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Woman I hold the flag tight in my right hand, then start doing squats. ¡°One, two, three, four, five, six¡­¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°What the¡­¡± ¨C Woman It doesn¡¯t matter what situation I¡¯m in. If I give myself a condition, I must complete it. Otherwise, I will never achieve true strength. ¡°¡­ 240, 241, 242, 243¡­¡± ¨C Kuro She takes the opportunity she¡¯s given and attempts to take the flag back. ¡°GAAAAAH!!¡± ¨C Woman She pulls as hard as she can, but my grip is too strong. ¡°¡­ 823, 824, 825, 826¡­¡± ¨C Kuro She figures out that it¡¯s useless to try to take it directly, so she goes on the offensive. She punches me, she kicks me¡­ I don¡¯t flinch. ¡°¡­ 2838, 2839, 2840¡­¡± ¨C Kuro She pulls my hair, she chokes me. I don¡¯t react. ¡°¡­ 4555, 4556, 4557¡­¡± ¨C Kuro She even tries to kick me in the balls, but it¡¯s all for naught. Her attacks have no effect on me. She lacks true strength. No¡­ She¡¯s just weak. ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU MADE OF?!¡± ¨C Woman ¡°¡­ 4998, 4999, 5000. There we go.¡± ¨C Kuro She takes a step back, assuming I will attack her. I don¡¯t. Instead, I choose to go back to where I came from. There¡¯s no reason to step on insects¡­ She continues to attack me a few times while I continue to walk. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you fighting back?! Is it because I¡¯m a woman?!!!¡± ¨C Woman She runs around me and stops right in front of me. I walk up to her but stop right in front of her. She pokes me with her finger. ¡°So, you¡¯re not going to fight back, huh!¡± ¨C Woman ¡­ But if that insect is in my way, I have no choice. I lift my hand, preparing to attack her. ¡°You trying to scare me? If you were going to hit me, you would have already don- GUAHHHHH!!!¡± ¨C Woman I swat her away with the back of my hand. Without wasting any more time, I continue to walk forward. A little while later, I get back. Leanne was already waiting there at the finish line. ¡°Congratulations!! You¡¯re the fifth person to return! Feel free to sit down while you wait for the others.¡± ¨C Leanne Sit? ¡°That will not be necessary.¡± ¨C Kuro I walk over to a spot where I¡¯m not in the way, then start doing exercises. ¡°Oooh, you¡¯re training while waiting? That¡¯s smart. Why are you doing physical exercises though?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°To build muscles of course.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°R-right¡­ Well good luck with that.¡± ¨C Leanne I continue for a few seconds, while she watches. ¡°Actually, I could help you with that.¡± ¨C Leanne She raises her arms and large stone dumbbells are formed out of thin air. ¡°Use those.¡± ¨C Leanne Hmm. Divinity may not be the key to true strength, but it looks like it can be helpful in obtaining it. Chapter 44: New players --- [Vaman¡¯s perspective] In another part of the forest ¡°The fifth contestant has returned. Only five flags remain.¡± We¡¯re halfway done already?? I feel like we¡¯ve just barely started¡­ If we continue at this pace, I might not find one¡­ No¡­ I can¡¯t allow that to happen. Not after the embarrassment I faced earlier¡­ I can¡¯t believe I let that guy get away from me when he had a flag¡­ He wasn¡¯t even that fast, I just¡­ Ugh!! That was NOT the time to trip over and fall¡­ After failing the exam last year, I can¡¯t afford to fail again. That would be way too embarrassing¡­ My buddies would never let me hear the end of it¡­. No way. Not happening! I¡¯ve gotten stronger since last time, I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll be honest, I was not ready last year. The exam last year only had one round, but it was¡­ Brutal¡­ We were divided into two groups and sent into a large room. The contestants would fight until only one person was left standing. Only the last person standing would pass the exam; meaning only two people passed. There were three ways to lose. You got knocked out. You gave up. Or¡­ You died. In the room I was in, there was monster¡­ I¡¯ve never seen anything like it, and I¡¯ve even been in an E-rank dungeon once¡­ No boss I¡¯ve ever fought was on the level of that guy. I don¡¯t know how a guy like that could be an F-rank hunter; even E-rank seems too low for him¡­ Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Did he just train for years and years without even trying to rank up? Why would you do that though? Anyways, for the first few minutes he just stood there; like he was observing everyone. Eventually when he decided that it was time to make a move, everyone close to him, weak and strong, all died¡­ That was no natural death either¡­ He was too fast for me to track with my eyes, but the people he attacked were all turned into red mist¡­ No body to bury, just blood. I knew that he was way out of my league and no matter how hard I tried, I would meet the same end if I stayed. I ran out of the room as fast as I could. I¡¯m not sure if there were any other survivors left, I didn¡¯t look back. I was a bit nervous when I signed up for the exam this year¡­ What if there was a monster like that here? Some unstoppable beast that I couldn¡¯t even dream of fighting back against? I kept thinking about that stuff, but after training for a whole year, I couldn¡¯t just back out¡­ As I was running around searching for someone with a flag, lost in my own thoughts, I bumped into someone. ¡°Geh!¡± ¨C Fei ¡°Ah!¡± ¨C Vaman Ugh, I bumped into some girl because I wasn¡¯t paying attention¡­ ¡°You wanna fight, huh?!¡± ¨C Fei She doesn¡¯t even have a flag, this is a waste of time. ¡°Not really¡­¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°Well too bad, dumbass. I don¡¯t care if you have a flag on you or not, you¡¯ve pissed me off.¡± ¨C Fei ¡­ I just bumped into her¡­ We¡¯re in the middle of an exam where we can be killed, and this is what gets her mad? ¡°Hey, this is a waste of time for both of us. Let¡¯s just move on, okay?¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit if it¡¯s a waste of time or not. I need to let off some steam anyways. There are too many small fries here, it¡¯s so frustrating. What¡¯s even the point of this shit if there is no challenge?? You¡¯ll probably just end up being like everyone else though¡­¡± ¨C Fei As she finishes her sentence, she lunges towards me. I manage to step out of the way, and I take the opportunity to slam my fist down on her back. ¡°GUH!¡± ¨C Fei Did she pass out? Oh¡­ She stands back up with a big smile on her face. ¡°Hehehe!¡± ¨C Fei While still laughing she goes for another attack. She tries to punch me in the face multiple times, but I dodge them all; after more than a dozen attacks, I see an opportunity to counterattack. I grab her arm and attempt to throw her over my shoulder. In the middle of the throw, she manages to grab the back off my head, smashing my head into the ground. However, I did not let go off her, so she gets slammed into the ground too. ¡°GUAHH!¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°UGHGH!¡± ¨C Fei We were both hurt by that. She gets up yet again and continues to attack. She managed to get a good kick in on my side which made me stumble a bit. While almost falling over, she takes the opportunity she¡¯s given and knees me in the jaw. From that attack, I fall to the ground. ¡°HAHAHAHA! That was a lot more fun than the other fights so far!! Obviously, you were no match for me, bu-¡± ¨C Fei I stand back up and spit some blood out. ¡°Ooooo!!! I thought for sure that would have knocked you out!¡± ¨C Fei Looks like she¡¯s happy that I¡¯m still able to fight. This chick is strong. This time, I¡¯m the one that goes on the offensive. I run up to her and try to uppercut her, but she grabs my arm and twists it. Instead of trying, and probably failing, to get out of the twist, I use my other hand to grab her throat. My arm is getting twisted, she¡¯s getting choked. Whoever gives up first is the loser. ¡°AHH!¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°Ggghhhh¡­¡± ¨C Fei If I can just endure this pain, she¡¯ll pass out. As I thought that, she suddenly puts even more power into the twist. ¡°GHHHHHHHHAA!!!¡± ¨C Vaman If I let this continue any longer, my arm will break! I put everything I have into my grip; it feels like I¡¯m crushing her throat, yet she¡¯s still standing. ¡°If this doesn¡¯t end, we¡¯ll both end up too hurt for the second round!¡± ¨C Vaman She looks into my eyes. ¡°Stop twisting my arm and I will let go!¡± ¨C Vaman She keeps staring for a moment, but even she knows that she¡¯s at a disadvantage here¡­ My arm may break, but that can be fixed. If she doesn¡¯t get any air soon, she will die. She hesitates for a few moments before letting go. I promptly do the same. She falls to her knees and starts gasping for air. That was close¡­ My arm was just about to break¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s¡­¡± ¨C Fei She struggles to get the words out. ¡°¡­ Finish¡­ this in the¡­ next round¡­¡± ¨C Fei ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Vaman She may not be a monster like that guy from last year, but she¡¯s certainly strong¡­ Chapter 45: Victory --- [Fei¡¯s perspective] I continue to breathe heavily while that guy walks away. Everyone I fought before him were all weak, so I thought the level would be low¡­ He got lucky though, I could have beaten him if I had been more careful¡­ I was just about to break his arm, but I might have died in the process¡­ Although it¡¯s not like me to back out of a fight, I¡¯d rather not die just to break some random loser¡¯s arm. If we get an opportunity to fight in the next round, I¡¯ll show him what I¡¯m really made of! I won¡¯t make any dumb mistakes next time! It takes a few moments, but eventually I catch my breath again. Alright, time to get moving. Seems like this exam is at a much higher level than I thought, so there is no need for me to run around and fight all the weaklings. The sooner the second round starts, the sooner I get to fight the strong people. So instead of wasting time on the small fry, I¡¯ll just get a flag as quickly as I can. The most efficient way to look for a flag is not by searching for it yourself, but rather by taking it from someone else¡­ ¡­ Is what most people would say. Although it is for the most part true, why only do one of them, when you can do both? I¡¯ll run around looking for people with a flag, while also searching myself. Checking the more obscure hiding spots; like under rocks, would be inefficient. But I might as well be looking around on the ground, in the trees, or even change my movements in such a way that I maximize my chances of finding a flag. Kick leaves while running to see if there is a flag under them, climb up every hill to get a better view, jump from tree to tree¡­ There are so many ways to make the search for a flag more efficient. I continue to run around for a while, both searching for a flag myself, and for someone carrying a flag, but to no avail¡­ Ugh! Can I just find a flag already?! Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. And before I even get to finish the thought, I spot a flag hidden in the leaves of a tree. Nice!! I jump up and grab it. Hell yeah! Now I just need to get back, and I¡¯ll move on to the second round. I immediately start running back, but not long after, I hear someone shouting. ¡°GUYS! FLAG! SHE HAS A FLAG!¡± A large crowd of people suddenly come out of nowhere. They block my path and start surrounding me. ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± ¨C Fei How are there so many people in one group??? I can understand a couple friends grouping up, but this is way too many people¡­ It¡¯s too many for me to be able to see with just a single look, but it looks like it¡¯s at least 100 people. Most of them are armed too. ¡°Just give us the flag and we¡¯ll leave you alone!¡± ¡°HAH! As if dumbass! If you want the flag, you¡¯ll have to take it from me!¡± ¨C Fei ¡°You heard her boys, take it!¡± Five of them split off from the group and runs towards me. One of them runs straight towards me and continually tries to stab me with a dagger. I dodge his stabs by hopping backwards, but another one of them comes from behind and tries to smash me with a maul. Instead of continuing to dodge the guy with the dagger, I instead leap towards him. I crash into him, and he drops his dagger. My forwards leap also let me dodge the swing from the guy with the maul. Only two of the five guys are currently attacking me, but this changes quickly. One guy tries to slash me with a sword from the right side, and another one tries to kick me from the left side. I grab the arm of the guy that crashed into me, and I throw him into the sword of the guy to my right. The sword pierces his chest and they¡¯re both sent flying from the impact. I manage to grab the foot of the guy kicking me before it connects. He loses balance and falls over, but before I let go, I throw him away as far as I can. While doing so, his leg snapped like a twig. All while this is happening, the last guy prepares his attack. He comes leaping at me from above and attempts to impale me with a trident. The guy with the maul swings yet again, but instead of dodging, I instead stop the swing my bare hand. I snatch the maul from him and use it to block the trident by swinging it with all my might into the tips. The trident is shattered, and the guy falls down towards me. I grab him by the neck, and I slam him as hard as I can into the ground. The person who used to have the maul looks terrified, he clearly didn¡¯t expect me to deal with four of them so effortlessly. He starts backing off, but I won¡¯t let him get away that easily. ¡°Here, you can have this back!¡± ¨C Fei I throw the maul right at him. It connects directly with his face, caving his head in. That entire interaction lasted less than a second. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C The crowd ¡°You still want the flag?¡± ¨C Fei The guy who spoke earlier speaks up again. ¡°Five might not have been enough, but can you handle 120?!¡± The entire group runs towards me at the same time. ¡°120 ants are not enough to beat a tiger!¡± ¨C Fei I wait until they get within range, then I attack. Some of them I grab, throwing them into other people. Other times I dodge and let their attacks hit their teammates. Sometimes I grab their weapons and use them myself. But no matter how I chose to fight, it would all lead to the same conclusion¡­ Victory. It was a bloodbath. Most of them died, some were only knocked out, and a few managed to run away. At some point throughout the battle, I took a metal bat from one of them. Turns out, I¡¯m pretty good at using it. I think I¡¯ll keep it. With a pile of corpses behind me, I walk away with a flag in one hand, and a bat in the other. It doesn¡¯t take long for me to make my way back. ¡°Congratulations!! You¡¯re the sixth person to have finished the first round of the exam, meaning we have finally gone past the halfway point.¡± ¨C Leanne As I walk over to one of the benches, some guy speaks to me. ¡°Oh my¡­ Look at all that blood. It doesn¡¯t appear to be yours¡­¡± ¨C Leon Chapter 46: Ambush --- [Vaman¡¯s perspective] ¡°The sixth contestant has returned. Only four flags remain.¡± Only four left, huh? The first round is getting close to ending now, I need to pick up the pace. Every time someone makes it back now, my chances of passing the first round gets exponentially lower. I got an idea for how I could find one though. If I return to the place we started, but hide in the bushes, I could ambush whoever comes back with a flag, then steal it. The risky part is that I¡¯ll have to fight off people who were strong enough to get a flag and return with it in the first place. I¡¯m confident in myself though, I can do it. Additionally, I¡¯ll have the element of surprise on my side. Attacking people when they don¡¯t expect it is a huge advantage. Even if it¡¯s someone stronger than me, if I¡¯m able to get the flag, then that¡¯s as good as it. There are only a few meters between where I would attack them and the finish line. While thinking of the plan, I started running back. ¡°GUAH!¡± ¨C Vaman Suddenly, I get kicked in the head, and I fall to the ground. Uahh¡­ I¡¯m all dizzy after that¡­ ¡°Hand it over.¡± A small group of people, three to be exact, are standing before me. The one who was talking seems to be the leader. ¡°You¡¯re running back, clearly you have a flag on you. Now hand it over!¡± ¨C Leader My head is throbbing with pain, and my vision is blurry. I try to stand up, but I get kicked down as soon as I tried. ¡°Hand it the fuck over!¡± ¨C Leader ¡°Give him the flag, or you won¡¯t be leaving this forest alive.¡± ¨C Underling One ¡°Yeah! Give him the flag or you won¡¯t be leaving this forest alive!!¡± ¨C Underling Two Underling One looks over at underling Two. He hits him in the head then says: ¡°That¡¯s literally what I said, dumbass. Stop copying me.¡± ¨C Underling One ¡°Sorry¡­¡± ¨C Underling Two The leader turns around and looks at them both. ¡°Can you guys just shut up?¡± ¨C Leader ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Underling One and two What the hell is this group dynamic? Is this some sort of joke? Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. As they squabble, my vision is slowly returning to me, and the dizziness fades. ¡°Sorry guys, I don¡¯t have a flag on me.¡± ¨C Vaman The leader gets right into my face. ¡°Oh, is that so? Guess we¡¯ll just have forcefully take it from you then.¡± ¨C Leader He moves his head slightly back, then goes for a headbutt. This time I manage to avoid his attack. I roll backwards, then get back on my feet. I guess I need to deal with these guys first, it doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯ll leave me alone. The leader looks annoyed that I dodged. ¡°Get him, boys.¡± ¨C Leader ¡°Gladly.¡± ¨C Underling One ¡°Gladly!¡± ¨C Underling Two ¡°Can you please come up with your own one-liners!?¡± ¨C Underling One ¡°JUST GET HIM FOR FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± ¨C Leader They immediately drop their feud and start running towards me. It doesn¡¯t look like their chemistry is any good, I might be able to exploit that. Underling One is using a longsword, while Underling Two is duel wielding knives. The leader doesn¡¯t have any weapons. U1 tries to stab my in the chest with his sword, but he¡¯s slow, so I easily dodge. U2 jumps up and tries to stab me while still in the air, but he¡¯s also slow. I step backwards and he hits the ground. His knives get stuck for a moment, and that moment was all it took. I kick him in the head while he¡¯s pulling them out, and he goes flying. He¡¯s not getting back up from that one¡­ U1 looks visibly upset. ¡°You little¡­!¡± ¨C Underling One Maybe he does care for him after all? He screams while rushing towards me. ¡°Get back!¡± ¨C Leader It seems the leader understood that I¡¯m too strong for them, and tried to get him to retreat, but it was too late. He thrusts his sword forward, unable to stop his momentum. I step away from the thrust, then slam his head down into the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I held back. They¡¯re not dead.¡± ¨C Vaman The leader cracks his knuckles while approaching me. He gets more and more angry the closer he gets. Eventually, it¡¯s like he bursts. ¡°YOU¡¯LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THEM!¡± ¨C Leader ¡­ They¡¯re so goofy¡­ He runs straight at me, much faster than they were. Those kicks earlier also packed quite a punch. He¡¯s obviously not as weak as his underlings were He throws a few punches, but I block them all. I throw one back, but he jumps backwards and avoids it. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¨C Vaman He quickly rushes forwards and continues his barrage. He¡¯s pretty fast. I¡¯m able to either block or evade all his attacks, but he¡¯s not giving me an opportunity to counterattack. Eventually one punch slips past my defense, hitting me right in the face. ¡°Gehhh!¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°THAT ONE WAS FOR ROGER!¡± ¨C Leader He manages to hit me with a follow-up attack as well. ¡°AND THIS ONE WAS FOR TATE!¡± ¨C Leader I get knocked back a little, and my face hurts. Those attacks didn¡¯t hurt as much as the kicks before though. Being prepared for an attack makes all the difference. This guy isn¡¯t bad, not at all. But¡­ He¡¯s nothing compared to the girl I fought earlier¡­ Sooner or later, I¡¯ll beat him. He runs back up to me and goes for another barrage. It won¡¯t work this time, not when I¡¯m serious¡­ I duck under his punches. He sees me do it and attempts to knee me right in the face, but I grab his knee before it connects. I push him backwards, and he falls over. Before he¡¯s able to get back up, I put my foot on his chest. ¡°Stop.¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leader He understands that he lost. If I wanted to, I could kill him right now. Not that I¡¯m going to of course¡­ He sighs deeply. ¡°Fine, you win¡­¡± ¨C Leader I step off him, and he continues to just lie there; he doesn¡¯t try anything sneaky. ¡°I guess we weren¡¯t cut out for this after all¡­ We hadn¡¯t been recommended to join the E-rank exam, but we still tried.¡± ¨C Leader ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°Milo.¡± ¨C Milo ¡°No hard feelings, Milo.¡± ¨C Vaman I turn around and start running back to camp, I need to continue with my plan. ¡°Wait!¡± ¨C Milo Before I¡¯m able to get away, he yells at me to stop. I go back, and he sits up. ¡°Here.¡± ¨C Milo He reaches into his pants, and takes out a flag. ¡°Take it.¡± ¨C Milo ¡°What?! You had a flag all along? Why are you giving it to me? You could have returned with it!¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°Tate and Roger are in no condition to fight. What¡¯s the point of this if we can¡¯t all rank up together?¡± ¨C Milo ¡­ So, he wanted to help his friends get flags too, even though he already had one himself? He¡¯s a good guy. ¡°Just take it, take it and continue into the second round.¡± ¨C Milo ¡°Thanks¡­¡± ¨C Vaman He gives the flag to me. ¡°Now don¡¯t you dare fail!¡± ¨C Milo ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t.¡± ¨C Vaman We both laugh, but I quickly get going again. I return without any more disturbances. Leanne was standing there at the finish line, waiting. ¡°Congratulations!! You¡¯re qualified for the second round now!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Awesome.¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°You can rest anywhere you like while waiting for the last few people to get back.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Will do!¡± ¨C Vaman I walk over to one of the benches, but¡­ Wait¡­ Is that? It is! It¡¯s the girl from before. I almost didn¡¯t recognize her; she¡¯s covered in blood¡­ What happened to her after we parted??? Anyways, it¡¯s good to see that she was the one who managed to return and not some random person. Maybe we¡¯ll get the chance to have a re-match¡­ Chapter 47: Suit --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] ¡°The seventh contestant has returned. Only three flags remain.¡± Damn, just three left?! I need to hurry hell up! If only that dude hadn¡¯t done me dirty like that¡­ Gaaaah! I guess it¡¯s my fault for believing him in the first place¡­ He¡¯s was under no obligation to tell the truth. We¡¯re supposed to do anything we can to get a flag, and he did. He tricked me, that¡¯s it. Let¡¯s just move on, and get a new one. There are still three left. That¡¯s plenty¡­ ¡­ WHAT AM I THINKING?! THAT IS IN NO WAY PLENTY!!! THAT LITTLE SHI¡­!!!!! I take a deep breath. Ok¡­ Let¡¯s just calm down¡­ I need to hurry up and find a flag already. No more bullshit. I continue to run for a few minutes, but I don¡¯t find anyone at all. Where are everyone??! It¡¯s not even that I¡¯m not finding anyone with a flag, I¡¯m not finding anyone at all¡­ The numbers have obviously been reduced significantly since the start, but I didn¡¯t think they would be reduced this much. I run for a little while longer, before eventually spotting someone. What the¡­? The guy who fucked me over earlier was wearing a white suit. It seemed a little strange, as that kind of clothing isn¡¯t exactly the best suited for combat or running. I thought that maybe he was just a weirdo, but now¡­ That guy over there is wearing a black suit. What is going on here? Are they friends? I run up to him, but before I get close enough to attack him, he spots me. ¡°Hey! Do you have a flag, if so, hand it over!¡± ¨C Alex PAHAHAH! Is this guy serious?? If only he knew¡­ ¡°Sorry kid, I don¡¯t have one.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Oh, alright then. Good luck.¡± ¨C Alex Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ?????????????????????? ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You¡¯re just gonna accept my answer? What if I was lying???¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Well¡­ Are you lying?¡± ¨C Alex How trusting is this guy? Or is he just tricking me? Maybe he wants me to think that he doesn¡¯t have a flag so that I¡¯ll let him go. ¡°Only one way to find out, right?¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°I advise you to tell me the truth. I¡¯m stressing out because the flags are starting to run out, and if you do indeed have one, I will get it from you, even if I have to get violent.¡± ¨C Alex He¡¯s not exactly lacking in confidence¡­ We¡¯re in a bit of a weird situation now. I think he¡¯s being sincere; I don¡¯t think he has a flag. But¡­ He might. If it did turn out he did have a flag, I wouldn¡¯t exactly be surprised. I already got fucked over by another guy in a suit earlier, if I let myself get fucked over again, then that would be an entirely different level of embarrassing. So, I can¡¯t let him go. But¡­ If we assume that he is indeed being sincere, then he can¡¯t let me go either. All because of how I responded. I was a bit taken back by how trusting he seemed, so the way I responded made it seem like I might have a flag after all. He needs it too, so he can¡¯t let me go. So, we¡¯re in a situation where most likely none of us has a flag, we¡¯re both running out of time, yet we¡¯re also about to deliberately waste it on fighting each other. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this fight over with, I don¡¯t have time for this.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Same.¡± ¨C Alex He runs straight to me and immediately throws a punch to my face. I move my head back a little, so it just barely touches the tip of my nose. I don¡¯t hesitate and throw a counter punch right towards his stomach, but he manages to jump back before it connects. This guy is pretty good too. He¡¯s seems to be about on par with Mr. White Suit; if not maybe even a little faster¡­ That should be no problem though. I was completely outclassing him. They¡¯re not able to get any good hits in on me. My perfect muscle control is too effective. He quickly gets back to me and starts wildly kicking and punching from every direction. Not one of the attacks connect. He¡¯s starting to get visibly frustrated. Just when the time is right, I throw a counterattack, a kick to his side. It connects and he is sent flying. ¡°Gueahhh!¡± ¨C Alex He coughs up some blood, but quickly gets back on his feet and rushes straight for me. He¡¯s not giving up. He throws a hook towards my temple, and I easily dodge it, but¡­ What the¡­! The hook was just a fake out! The moment I moved my head back, he lunged forwards and wrapped his arms around me. There was no possible way for me to escape. He figured out a way to counter my perfect muscle control! As he tackles me, I fall to the ground. He¡¯s doing a bear hug. My arms are still free, so I continuously slam my fists into his back, but he¡¯s not budging. ¡°GhhHHHAaaH!¡± ¨C Lucas He¡¯s not letting go! He knows that if he frees even one of his arms to punch me, I¡¯ll be able to escape. I¡¯m being squeezed! I continue to hit him as hard as I can, and every time he¡¯s hit, he groans in pain. But¡­ He. Is. Not. Letting. Go! Regular attacks won¡¯t work. I¡¯ll be crushed before he¡¯s forced to let go. I need to charge up an attack. I take a deep breath, then essentially just go limp. I put all my focus, all my concentration into my fist. I¡¯m no longer fighting back against his bear hug, meaning I¡¯m going to pass out even sooner. I can feel my consciousness fading¡­ One of my ribs crack¡­ Just a single moment before I pass out, I unleash my attack. My fist connects with his side. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGG!¡± ¨C Alex He screams out in pain and gets sent flying away. He crashes through a bunch of trees, but they don¡¯t stop him; his momentum is too high. His body hits a hill, but not even that immediately stops him. He burrows deep into it. I get back on my feet and run over to him. Ahh¡­ Running with a broken rib hurts like hell¡­ He¡¯s just lying there¡­ Lifeless¡­ Did he die? ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¨C Alex He survived¡­ He picks himself up and gets back on his feet. ¡°Wow¡­ That one hurt.¡± ¨C Alex What the hell? Is he ok?! He doesn¡¯t even seem that hurt¡­ A hit like that would have killed most people¡­ Yet, he didn¡¯t even get knocked out¡­ As I get ready to attack again, I suddenly get interrupted by a strange voice. ¡°PLEASE DON¡¯T HURT ME! JUST TAKE THEM OKAY!!¡± We both look over and see a guy who is hiding behind a rock, crying. He¡¯s holding two flags¡­ ¡°JUST TAKE THEM, I DON¡¯T NEED THEM! JUST PEOPLE DON¡¯T HURT ME! JOINING THE E-RANK EXAM WAS A MISTAKE!!!¡± Wat¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lucas and Alex No way something this conveniently lucky just happened¡­ ¡°How the hell did you get your hands on two flags if you¡¯re weak?!¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Uhm¡­ I¡¯m just lucky, I guess¡­? I found them earlier, but I was too scared to run back with them. I saw some monster lady massacre a crowd of over 100 people all by herself! I didn¡¯t want to just give them up¡­ but¡­ going back would mean I¡¯d most likely run into more monsters like her¡­¡± ¡­ Had I punched him in the other direction, we wouldn¡¯t have run into this guy. What the hell kind of luck is this??? It¡¯s like the cosmos itself is paying me back for what happened earlier¡­ The guy stands up and hands us a flag each. ¡°Here, take them. Just don¡¯t hurt me, okay?¡± He wipes away his tears before promptly running away. ¡°Huh¡­ I guess that works too¡­¡± ¨C Alex Chapter 48: Reunited at last! --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] On the way back, Lucas told me his name, and I told him mine. We walked back together, but we didn¡¯t really speak all that much. I¡¯m still in disbelief over what happened¡­ As we walk in, Leanne congratulates us. ¡°Oh, you found a flag in the end, Lucas! You¡¯re the eighth person to return. Alex, you¡¯re the ninth. Congratulations to you both!¡± ¨C Leanne It seems Lucas stepped in a moment before me, I hope the return order doesn¡¯t matter for the second round¡­ Before I¡¯m able to finish the thought, I spot Shin sitting on a bench. Nice, good to know he was able to find a flag too. ¡°Hey Shin!¡± ¨C Alex He looks towards me and waves back. Lucas spots him. ¡°Oh God¡­ So you ARE friends with him¡­¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Huh? Do you know Shin?¡± ¨C Alex Shin walks up to me and Lucas. ¡°Oh¡­ Uhm¡­ Hi.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Why are you guys acting so weird? What happened? Do you know each other??¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Uhhh¡­ It¡¯s a long story¡­¡± ¨C Shin They look at each other for a few seconds. There¡¯s an awkward silence. Finally, Lucas breaks it. ¡°Anyways, see you guys later, I guess. I¡¯ll go get some rest before the second round starts.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Alright, see you later, Lucas!¡± ¨C Alex Lucas walks off, while me and Shin head back towards the bench he was sitting on. Wait¡­ Is that??? ¡°LETT?!¡± ¨C Alex I run up to her, she¡¯s laying on the bench next to where Shin was sitting. ¡°It¡¯s just like you said, Alex. Lett was here.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Heyooo!¡± ¨C Lett She gets up from the bench I give her a big hug. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°It¡¯s so nice to see you again!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s nice to see you too!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You just disappeared for so long, I was starting to get worried¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I was training! I had to catch up to you guys, you know?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Yeah, but couldn¡¯t you have at least talked to us every once in a while? I never even saw you around.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ah, yeah that¡¯s because I was training in a special place.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°A special place?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°After I left you guys, I was thinking about how to go about getting stronger. Doing normal training wouldn¡¯t be good enough to catch up with you guys in that short of a time, so I only had one option. Special Divinity Manipulation¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°YOU LEARNED SDM?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yup! I went to the specialty finder in our guild, but they told me that that they wouldn¡¯t help me before I reached E-rank. Apparently, it¡¯s too hard for most F-rankers to learn SDM, so they don¡¯t even bother.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Then how did you learn it? Did you do it on your own?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Nono, of course not! Apparently, that rule doesn¡¯t apply if you just nag them for long enough. Haha!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You were being so annoying that they decided to break their own rules?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Essentially yeah.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Wow¡­ That¡¯s¡­ actually kinda impressive.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Show us! I want to see it!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Neh.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What? Why not?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I want to keep it hidden for now. You¡¯ll see it eventually. Probably sooner than later.¡± ¨C Lett What a tease¡­ ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask¡­ What is up with your outfits???¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­ Uhm¡­ Basically¡­ I¡¯m a wanted criminal now.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°HUH?!¡± ¨C Lett --- [Lily¡¯s perspective] ¡°The ninth contestant has returned. Only one flag remain.¡± Ugh¡­ Only one left!! I need to hurry the heck up! I¡¯ve fought lots of people here, but none of them posed much of a challenge. I just need to grab them with my right hand for them to lose. If you don¡¯t know about my ability, then winning is almost impossible. One wrong move, and you¡¯ve lost. Yet throughout all those battles, I still couldn¡¯t find a single flag. I run for a little while longer, then I see something interesting. It¡¯s a large group of people, they¡¯re all fighting among themselves. I¡¯m not sure how many there are, but it looks like it could be upwards of 50 people. It¡¯s a huge free for all. Why? Could it be¡­? I get a little closer to investigate, while still staying hidden. It¡¯s just like I thought! There¡¯s a flag right there. The final flag! It¡¯s lying on the ground, in the middle of the crowd. Looks like they¡¯re all fighting for who gets it. I¡¯ll wait for the numbers to dwindle down before I engage. There is no point in me jumping into a crowd of 50 people when I could just wait until someone tries to run away with it, or when there are only a couple people left. I don¡¯t want to fight more people than necessary. I need to conserve my stamina for the next round. The fight is so chaotic¡­ One guy tries to pick up the flag, then someone stabs them before they¡¯re able to get away. The stabber tries to take it themselves, but they¡¯re knocked out before they can pick it up. While this is happening, there are some people who are fighting in one-on-one, and others that are running around and attacking everyone in their way. It¡¯s such a mess¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°Oh, by the way, you remember that bet of ours, Alex?¡± ¨C Shin Ughhhhhh¡­ I hoped he had forgotten about it¡­ After acting so cocky, I go and lose, just like that? Aghhh¡­ ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Heh. Well, I¡¯ll make sure to abuse the hell out of that. Ahahaha!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ No need to rub it in¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What bet?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°We-¡± ¨C Alex Shin interrupts me. ¡°We bet on who would return first. The person who lost would have to pay for the other persons food for a week.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Ooh¡­ Can I join in on that bet?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I came back before both of you, so I win! You guys have to pay for my food.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Huh?!¡± ¨C Shin Shin was acting waaaaay too smug when he told her that he won. Time to get some payback¡­! ¡°That sounds like a great idea, Lett. Me and Shin will pay for half of your food each. Since you¡¯re the winner, I won¡¯t be paying for Shin¡¯s food obviously.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait¡­ We did not agree to this!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You lost, Shin. Accept it.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Yeah Shin, just accept it.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ughhhhhhhh¡­!¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 49: Round 1 comes to an end --- [Lily¡¯s perspective] The numbers keep dwindling. People are getting knocked out, harmed to the point where they¡¯re unable to continue fighting, or just straight up killed, at an insane rate. People have stopped going for the flag itself too. They know that the only way to win it is to eliminate everyone else there. Picking up the flag and attempting to run just puts you in even more danger than before. I guess it¡¯s about time I get in there. There are eight people left. It looks like five of them are part of a group, while the other three are all alone. Looks like they¡¯re about equal in strength, so the group of five will obviously win. It¡¯s best to join the fight now while there are still three others to help me take them down. I don¡¯t doubt that I could take on the entire group myself, but why make it harder on me than it needs to be? I reveal myself, and jump into the battlefield. ¡°Ugh! More people are coming to take the flag!¡± ¨C Boss ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Boss! I¡¯ll take care of her!¡± ¨C Guy One So that guy is the boss then¡­ The guy who said he¡¯d take care of me wiggles his way out of the fight, and goes to attack me instead. He has a wooden club with a bunch of iron nails sticking out of it. He swings his club at me, but he¡¯s painfully slow. After dodging a few of his swings, I grab the club with my right hand and it immediately withers away, making the nails all drop to the ground. ¡°W-what the hell?!!¡± ¨C Guy One He backs up a little, he¡¯s obviously scared of me. ¡°BOSS! THIS ONE KNOWS SDM!!¡± ¨C Guy One ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Boss He looks over at me, and it¡¯s like he¡¯s contemplating whether it¡¯s worth it to fight me or not. After thinking for a moment, he finally comes to a decision. ¡°Guys, you can take of her, and I¡¯ll deal with these three guys myself!¡± ¨C Boss ¡°Yes boss!¡± ¨C Guy Two ¡°Roger that.¡± ¨C Guy Three ¡°K.¡± ¨C Guy Four Just like the guy before them, they follow his command, and goes to attack me. What a coward¡­ He¡¯d rather fight those three randoms than me, an SDM user. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Hopefully gets taken out by the other three¡­ The guy who used to have a club picks up one of the spears he found on the ground. It¡¯s made of metal, so my ability won¡¯t work on it. That¡¯s okay. That just means I¡¯ll use it on him instead¡­ He runs forward, screaming, trying his best to stab me. His teammates follow up and try their best too, but they¡¯re all so slow. I could dodge all their attacks while half asleep¡­ As expected, I effortlessly avoid their attacks. There¡¯s no need to prolong this. Let¡¯s just get it over with before anyone who¡¯s actually strong comes along. I dodge all their attacks while getting closer to them. To absorb their moisture, I need to touch their skin. If I touch their clothes, then it¡¯ll just be their clothes that rot away. Some of them are wearing armor, but they¡¯re all wearing clothes. The only places where they have exposed skin is their hands and faces. The guy with the spear rushes forwards, and I grab his hand. One down. Another jumps at me from behind, but I grab his hand before he¡¯s able to stab me. Two down. The two remaining ones attack me both at the same time, one from the left and one from the right. I avoid their attacks, then grab the face of the one attacking me from the left. Three down, only one left Unfortunately, the last one is wearing gloves and a helmet. Since he doesn¡¯t have any exposed skin, I¡¯ll have to finish him the good ol¡¯ way. I throw a massive punch right into his chest, breaking his armor and sending him flying. He¡¯s not getting up from that one any time soon¡­ While I did this, the boss managed to take down one of the three guys he was fighting, but he has taken quite a bit of damage himself. ¡°Walk away, and I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± ¨C Lily They all listen, and flee immediately. ¡°Not you.¡± ¨C Lily I¡¯m not letting the boss go that easily; cowards like him deserve a beating. I quickly catch up to him and drain him of all his moisture, just like his underlings. ¡°Hey! You said you¡¯d let me go!¡± ¨C Boss ¡°Stop being so dramatic. I didn¡¯t absorb enough to seriously hurt you.¡± ¨C Lily I look over at his underlings. ¡°If you guys promise to run away, I¡¯ll heal you, okay?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C Guy One, Two and Three I then look over at the boss. ¡°And as for you¡­ If you apologize for being such a coward to your buddies, I¡¯ll heal you too. Deal?¡± ¨C Lily The boss stays silent for a little while, then finally responds. ¡°FINE! I¡¯m sorry, okay?!¡± ¨C Boss ¡°Sorry for what?¡± ¨C Lily His teammates all chuckle a little. The boss struggles to get the words out, but eventually he does it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being a coward!¡± ¨C Boss ¡°Ahaha! That¡¯s good enough.¡± ¨C Lily I restore them one by one, and they all run away, just like they promised. The last person I help is the boss, I went in the order I took them down. He stands up, but doesn¡¯t run away. ¡°Go!¡± ¨C Lily He looks angry¡­ He ignores the promise and rushes towards me. ¡°How dare you humiliate you like that!¡± ¨C Boss ¡­ ¡°No second chances.¡± ¨C Lily I touch him, and I absorb everything. It was an instant death, painless. I pick up the flag, then head back to camp. --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°Oh look, it¡¯s Lily!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Who?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Just a girl we met before the exam started. She helped us out quite a lot.¡± ¨C Alex We walk up to her, Leanne is already congratulating her. ¡°Hey! Nicely done, Lily!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Thanks.¡± ¨C Lily She gives a little smile. ¡°Looks like both of you made it back too.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Shin The voice that calls out when people return comes back for the last time. ¡°The tenth contestant has returned. No more flags remain. Anyone who did not return with a flag has failed the exam, and you may now leave.¡± The first round is finally over now. I wonder what the second round will be about¡­ ¡°Gather up, everyone!¡± ¨C Leanne The other contestants slowly walk over to her. Oh¡­ That¡¯s Leon¡­ I wasn¡¯t paying that much attention to the other contestants; I was so focused on catching up with Lett that I didn¡¯t even see him¡­ Looks like the guy from the colosseum fight also made it. ¡°First of all, I want to congratulate you all again for finishing the first round. That¡¯s no easy feat. The one who managed to get back first was none other than Lett Lepus!¡± ¨C Leanne She was first?! Why didn¡¯t she say anything? I guess she didn¡¯t want to brag¡­ But like¡­ Wow. How strong has she gotten? Was it her specialty that allowed her to do it so fast? The first person who returned, came back just mere moments after the exam had started! She¡¯s certainly not the same person she was back then¡­ ¡°The second person to return was Leon Adamas. After him was Jack Cultro. The fourth person to return was Shin Magnum, and the fifth was Kuro Velox. The sixth was Fei Glacies, the seventh Vaman Album and the eighth Lucas Nix. The ninth person to return was Alexander Minima, and last, but not least, was Lily Sol. Congratulations to you all for passing the first round. I will now be explaining the rules for the second round¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 50: Tournament --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°The second round will be a tournament.¡± ¨C Leanne A tournament? Okay¡­ More fighting then. That¡¯s to be expected of course. Combat ability is the most important thing for a hunter. ¡°The tournament will consist of a series of one-on-one matches, five of them to be exact.¡± ¨C Leanne Just five? It¡¯s not a bracket type tournament then¡­ ¡°Two of you will be randomly selected to be team leaders, you will then alternate between choosing your teammates. The one who goes first is randomly chosen too.¡± ¨C Leanne Okay, so it¡¯s a team game then. That means me, Shin and Lett can be on a team together! Well¡­ Unless two of us are chosen to be team leaders¡­ ¡°You will win your match if your opponent is either unable to continue fighting, or they surrender. There are no rules against killing your opponent, so if you feel like you¡¯re in danger, just surrender. If you don¡¯t stop when your opponent surrender, I will stop you myself¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Although I hope it doesn¡¯t come to that, I must admit it would be cool to see a B-rank hunter in action¡­ She¡¯s higher ranked than Vic. Higher than even big bro¡­ I haven¡¯t even seen Vic go all out, let alone a B-ranker¡­ ¡°The winning team, so the team that has three or more wins, will have a chance to rank up.¡± ¨C Leanne Chance? Winning isn¡¯t enough? ¡°Not only do you need to be on the winning team, but you also have to win your fight. If you meet both of those criteria, you rank up. Meeting only one of them is not enough; it must be both. So, make sure that you pick powerful teammates, you can¡¯t win on your own.¡± ¨C Leanne Interesting¡­ So just being on the winning team isn¡¯t good enough. Even winning your own match isn¡¯t enough either. You have to do both¡­ That means only between three and five of us are going to rank up, the rest will stay F-rank. That¡¯s half of us at most. The odds are certainly stacked against us¡­ We have to make sure that all three of us gets on the same team, if we don¡¯t, then it¡¯s impossible for all of us to rank up¡­ ¡°After the teams have been chosen, the matchups will be randomly decided. Does anyone have any questions, or are you all ready to go?¡± ¨C Leanne She waits for a couple seconds, but no one seems to have any questions. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s begin.¡± ¨C Leanne She lifts her hands, and a stone wheel raises up from the ground. Using her finger, she starts inscribing our names on the wheel. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s see who the first team leader is.¡± ¨C Leanne She spins the wheel¡­ ¡°Aaaaaaaaand¡­ Shin Magnum, you¡¯re one of the team leaders.¡± ¨C Leanne Shin¡­ Okay¡­ Please just don¡¯t be me or Lett next¡­ A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Please¡­! She spins the wheel again, and as it slows down, my anxiety rises. It¡¯s hard to tell, but it looks like it¡¯s going to land on my name¡­ ¡­ But¡­! ¡°And the second team leader will be Leon Adamas!¡± ¨C Leanne I let out a heavy sigh of relief. My name was right before his, it just barely landed on his instead of mine. It¡¯s like a gust of wind in the wrong direction could have slowed it down enough for it to land on me¡­ She makes another wheel and puts only Shin and Leon¡¯s names on it. ¡°This one will decide who goes first.¡± ¨C Leanne She spins it and quickly enough we get the answer. ¡°And it looks like the person who will be starting is Leon.¡± ¨C Leanne The two team leaders step forward and look back at the rest of us. ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡± ¨C Leon Who is he going to pick? ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go with Kuro first, that strength of yours is nothing to scoff at.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Alright. Kuro, you¡¯re on Leon¡¯s team. It¡¯s your turn now, Shin.¡± ¨C Leanne He looks a bit conflicted. I can understand why thought¡­ Does he pick me? Or does he pick Lett? ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much about it, Shin. Just pick Alex first, then me next round.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­ Alright. I¡¯ll go with Alex then.¡± ¨C Shin Leon looks over at me and Shin, and says something very worrying¡­ ¡°Sorry guys, but I actually want to win this.¡± ¨C Leon He¡¯s not gonna do what I think he is¡­ Right? ¡°It hurts my pride knowing I wasn¡¯t the first to return, but I suppose she was able to do it for a reason. My second pick will be Lett.¡± ¨C Leon ????!!!!! That little¡­! He separated us! We can¡¯t all rank up now, it¡¯s literally impossible¡­ It¡¯s either me and Shin, or Lett¡­ Not all three. ¡°Leon!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What?¡± ¨C Leon ¡°¡­!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Now now¡­ Leon can pick whoever he wants, Shin. Don¡¯t forget that. Lett, you can get behind Leon now.¡± ¨C Leanne She looks over at us, then hesitantly walks to Leon¡¯s side. ¡°Fine. If that¡¯s how you want to do things Leon, then so be it. Mark my words, you will not be ranking up today Leon. Sadly, that goes for you too Lett.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Heh. Sure.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Lucas, come over here.¡± ¨C Shin Shin is serious¡­ He¡¯s not joking when he¡¯s saying that he¡¯s going to crush them¡­ Splitting us up like that must have pissed him off too. There are only four people left. Jack, Fei, Vaman and Lily. The only one I really know anything about is Lily¡­ Jack came in third place, so I suppose he might be powerful too. ¡°Now then¡­ Who will I be picking next?¡± ¨C Leon He looks around for a bit, then eventually it looks like he comes to a decision. ¡°I guess I should have some faith in my fellow guildmates. Fei, I¡¯m picking you.¡± ¨C Leon She¡¯s also from The Reapers Guild?! So, they¡¯re from the same guild; the guild that is infamous for their assassins and mass murderers¡­ I heard they have an extra requirement for being invited, and it¡¯s the exact opposite of The Red Knights¡¯ requirement! During the F-rank exam, they must kill at least 100 people, otherwise they won¡¯t get invited. She¡¯s covered in blood too¡­ She might be trouble¡­ ¡°Okayyy!¡± ¨C Fei She walks over to him before Leanne gets to even say anything. ¡°Alright, I guess you guys know what to do now¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Shin looks over the last choices, but the pick is obvious. ¡°Lily, you¡¯re with us. Help us win.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I wasn¡¯t planning on losing.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I forgot your name, but you can join my team.¡± ¨C Leon He points at Vaman. He looks a bit annoyed that he forgot his name, but he walks over to him nonetheless. ¡°Vaman, it¡¯s Vaman.¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°Right, Vaman¡­¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Jack, you¡¯re the last person, so you will automatically be assigned Shin¡¯s team.¡± ¨C Leanne Jack walks over to our side. I feel a little bad for him, he was the last one to get ¡®picked¡¯. ¡°Just so you guys know, even thought I was the last remaining, don¡¯t take me lightly!¡± ¨C Jack ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Shin He doesn¡¯t sound very sincere¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll construct the arena now.¡± ¨C Leanne She raises her hands yet again, and a stone arena comes out of the ground. It resembles the colosseum we met Lily at. It¡¯s a little smaller though. I suppose we don¡¯t need that big of an arena for just a couple one-on-one matches. I know size isn¡¯t an issue for her though¡­ That colosseum from the F-rank exam was something else¡­ ¡°The walls have been reinforced, so you won¡¯t be sent flying through them. You can fight to your hearts content. Now then, get to your own team¡¯s seats.¡± ¨C Leanne There are three areas with seats. There is a large bench on opposite sides, and a chair in between them. I guess the benches are for us, and the chair is for Leanne. We walk over to our side and sit down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry guys, we got this. The other team might have some big players, but we do too.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah! I¡¯ll win for sure!¡± ¨C Jack ¡°Right¡­ Well anyways, I know my own strength, and I also know that Alex is even stronger than me¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I-¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s fine, we both know you¡¯re stronger at this point. Your rate of growth is unprecedented, I¡¯ll catch up to you for sure when we learn SDM, but for now you can be the stronger one between us.¡± ¨C Shin I don¡¯t want to seem cocky, but I think he¡¯s right. Vic told me many times that my growth was happening insanely fast, and they even said the same in the F-rank exam, but I didn¡¯t fully understand it until later. When we did the endless dungeon with Luna, me and Shin were equals, but that has since changed. It¡¯s not that he hasn¡¯t grown stronger since then, it¡¯s just that I¡¯ve grown even more than him. For some reason, I just pick up on BDM much faster than most other people. ¡°Anyways, the point is: I¡¯m going to win my fight, meaning Alex is definitely going to win his. That¡¯s two wins already. I¡¯ve fought Lucas myself in the first round, and I hate to admit it, but I don¡¯t stand a chance against him. He¡¯ll win his round for sure. That¡¯s three wins.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Damn right I am¡­¡± ¨C Lucas So they fought¡­ I fought him too, and in all honesty, I don¡¯t know if I could beat him either¡­ The bear hug was the only idea I could come up with to attack him, he seems to be able to avoid any and all hits you throw at him. But the bear hug is a very flawed plan¡­ It just opens me right up to his attacks. That charged attack he did on me messed me up bad¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t forget about me.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I¡¯m not. I was just about to get to you. You¡¯re one of the very few people here who can use SDM, and from what I know, your specialty is insanely strong.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°SDM?!¡± ¨C Jack ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re our backup. If by some miracle me, Alex or Lucas somehow lose, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to make up for our loss. But let¡¯s all do our best, four wins is doable.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Four? You mean five, right?¡± ¨C Jack ¡°Right¡­ five¡­¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 51: Round 2, begin! ¡°Now then, let¡¯s find out who will fight who.¡± ¨C Leanne She creates two new stone wheels. On one she writes all the names of our team, and on the other all the names of Leon¡¯s team. She spins them both at the same time and soon enough, they stop spinning. ¡°In the first round, we will have Leon vs Jack.¡± ¨C Leanne You can see Leon smiling psychotically all the way from the other side. Jack suddenly gets very nervous. ¡°Shit. Anyone but that guy¡­¡± ¨C Jack ¡°You guys will be fighting shortly, but first, let¡¯s figure out the rest of the matchups.¡± ¨C Leanne She spins the wheels again. I didn¡¯t think about it much for the first spin, but¡­ What if I end up having to fight Lett? I¡¯m not sure what I would do in that situation¡­ I don¡¯t want to hurt her, and I definitely couldn¡¯t fight with all my strength against a friend. Even if it turns out she is stronger than me now, I just don¡¯t think I would be able to do it¡­ But at the same time, if I don¡¯t give it my all, that would screw over my own team¡­ Imagine if I take away not just my own, but also Shins promotion, just because I didn¡¯t want to hurt her¡­ Not to mention that it would be very disrespectful to Lett if I held back against her. It¡¯s a tricky situation. Let¡¯s just hope it doesn¡¯t come to that¡­ ¡°And in the second round we will have Lucas vs Vaman.¡± ¨C Leanne Me and Lett still haven¡¯t been picked¡­ Please¡­ Leanne spins the wheels again, and the third round is decided. ¡°After that we get to see Shin vs Fei.¡± ¨C Leanne It¡¯s looking worse and worse every round¡­ It¡¯s fifty-fifty now¡­ She spins the wheels again, and my anxiety skyrockets. ¡°And for the fourth match, we will have Lett vs¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Please, please, please¡­ PLEASE! ¡°Lily.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡­ Okay¡­ Good. That was way too nerve-racking¡­ ¡°Obviously that means the final round will be Alex vs Kuro.¡± ¨C Leanne The worst crisis has been averted, but¡­ Lett vs Lily¡­ That¡¯s another matchup I¡¯m conflicted on. Who am I supposed to cheer for? My good friend who is on the enemy team, or the person who helped us out when we were in a terrible situation, and who is also our teammate? I¡¯m not sure¡­ I think I have to stay neutral on that one. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Whatever happens, happens. ¡°Now then, time for the first battle to begin, Leon vs Jack. Good luck to both of you.¡± ¨C Leanne Jack is looking even more scared than he did when the match was first announced. It¡¯s like he¡¯s just now fully understanding the reality of the situation. By the way he has reacted, he probably has some history with Leon himself. Maybe it was something from before the exam, or maybe it was something during the first round. I don¡¯t know, but clearly, he knows how strong Leon is. Back during F-rank exam, it took Shin and me giving our all just to barely win against him. Even now, after getting much stronger, I still wouldn¡¯t feel very confident if I had to go against him alone¡­ His specialty is just so strong. If he isn¡¯t knocked out or killed, he just gets stronger and stronger and stronger. Eventually, you won¡¯t be able to block his attack; they¡¯ll all be lethal. One misstep and you¡¯re dead. That¡¯s the kind of guy he is. ¡°Come on Jack, where¡¯s all that confidence of yours from earlier?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You don¡¯t understand man, that guy is something else¡­¡± ¨C Jack ¡°Oh, I understand perfectly. I¡¯ve had to deal with that guy before.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Then you should understand why I-¡± ¨C Jack ¡°Just surrender then. If you¡¯re that scared, just surrender. Like I was saying earlier, our team has more than enough strong people on it already. I wasn¡¯t planning on you winning anyways.¡± ¨C Shin Jack looks a bit frustrated. ¡°No¡­¡± ¨C Jack ¡°No, what?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°No. I won¡¯t surrender. I will give it my all, no matter how small the chance is for me to win.¡± ¨C Jack ¡°How heroic of you¡­ Just don¡¯t die. There¡¯s no need to give your life for this.¡± ¨C Shin Leon jumps from his seat and into the arena, then starts yelling. ¡°Come on! Can you hurry up?!¡± ¨C Leon ¡°¡­ Wish me luck¡­¡± ¨C Jack ¡°Good luck, Jack. If you ever think you¡¯re in danger, just surrender. Please.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Jack He jumps down too. --- [Jack¡¯s perspective] I need to make sure not to get pinned down like last time. He¡¯s obviously stronger than me, so if I can focus on dodging his attacks and staying safe, then I might have a chance. Don¡¯t take too many risks, just get safe hits in and focus on defense¡­ I can do this! Come on! Leon just stands there with his hands in his pockets. ¡°Come on, do something.¡± ¨C Leon Is he so confident that he will win, he¡¯ll let me attack him? Or is this some sort of trick? I need to be careful, but if he¡¯s legitimately giving me an opportunity to get free hits in, then I need to take it. I slowly walk towards him while keeping my guard up. He¡¯s still just standing there. I get within attacking range, but I don¡¯t hit him immediately, I need to make sure this isn¡¯t a trick. He suddenly leans forward, like he¡¯s inviting me to hit him in the head. ¡°Hello??? Are you gonna do something soon? If not, I¡¯d be more than welcome t-¡± ¨C Leon BAM! I hit him with a right hook. I can¡¯t give up this opportunity I was given, I need to follow up. I throw a punch from the left, then an uppercut. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have underestimated me!¡± ¨C Jack I continue to throw a barrage of attacks; they¡¯re all hitting him directly in the face. He fucked up! No one can stay standing after getting hit this many times! I throw one last punch with all my might that hits him directly on the nose. ¡­ ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¨C Leon What?! How is he still standing?!! ¡°I knew you were weak, but come on¡­ This is just pathetic. Here I was thinking you could power me up, but you couldn¡¯t even hurt me¡­¡± ¨C Leon He looks¡­ Disappointed¡­ ¡°Power you up? What do you mean?¡± ¨C Jack ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered wasting my breath on telling you.¡± ¨C Leon ¡­ ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to end this already. If you¡¯re not going to be any fun fighting, then I might as well get to the good part already.¡± ¨C Leon The good part? What does he- Before I get to finish the thought, he tackles me. He doesn¡¯t even bother to pin my arms down, so I try to push him off, but it doesn¡¯t work. Shit! This isn¡¯t good. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. There is no escape now. I have only one choice, I need to surrender¡­ It will be embarrassing to walk back to the others so soon, but it is what it is. ¡°I s-¡± ¨C Jack Before I get to finish my sentence, he cuts me off by shoving his left arm into my mouth. What the hell? He¡¯s not letting me surrender! ¡°You¡¯re not getting away that easily¡­ No¡­¡± ¨C Leon ¡­ His smile¡­ What the fuck is wrong with this guy?!! He leans in and whispers into my ear. ¡°Do you remember what I told you earlier? Back when you tried running away with my flag¡­¡± ¨C Leon What he told me earlier? I¡¯m not sure¡­ I shake my head. ¡°I¡­ Will¡­ Crush¡­ Your¡­ Skull!!¡± ¨C Leon His smile gets even more twisted. He¡¯s drooling, and breathing heavily. I need to get him the fuck off! I need to surrender! I try my absolute hardest to shake him off, but he¡¯s not budging. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! He raises his other arm and starts charging up an attack. He¡¯s actually going to crush my fucking skull!!!!! I start violently shaking my entire body, kicking, punching, and anything else to get him off, but it¡¯s not working. I try to poke his eyes out, but he just moves his head back, avoiding my attack. Quick, think¡­ What can I do?! Shaking him off doesn¡¯t work. Punching him and kicking him doesn¡¯t hurt him enough for him to move. I can¡¯t reach his eyes¡­ I bite his arm with all my strength, and my teeth penetrate his skin. Maybe he¡¯ll get off now! His eyes start glowing red, it¡¯s so bright I can barely see him. What is that? ¡°There we go! I can feel the power surging!¡± ¨C Leon What did I just do¡­? The bite didn¡¯t get him off either. What can I do? Quick, I need to¡­! ¡­ ¡°Round one over, the winner is Leon.¡± ¨C Leanne --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] That bastard¡­!!! He just¡­ Crushed his head¡­ There was no need for that! He was clearly trying to surrender, but he didn¡¯t let him. Why didn¡¯t Leanne stop him? Was it because he didn¡¯t say the words?! How awful¡­ Leon isn¡¯t right in the head¡­ How is someone like him able to walk around freely? He should be in prison! He¡¯s an absolute menace to society¡­ Chapter 52: Lucas Nix --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] The first round ended so quickly. It wasn¡¯t even a fight¡­ Now it¡¯s already my turn¡­ ¡°Now then, the fighters for the second round, Lucas and Vaman, may get ready.¡± ¨C Leanne There¡¯s nothing for me to prepare for, I just need to do what I do best¡­ Fight. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Thanks.¡± ¨C Lucas I jump down into the arena, and Vaman does the same. ¡°Alright, it seems both fighters are ready. Let the second match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne --- People first started noticing that something was different about me when I was still a small child. When the other kids learned to crawl, I would walk. When the others walked, I would run. It was like I was one stage of development in front of everyone else. By the time the other children could run, I was on a different level entirely¡­ While playing, when the other kids would try to touch me, I would instinctively move away. Even if it was something simple like trying to hold my hand, I would always retract. I didn¡¯t mean anything by it, I just did it. But that¡¯s not how they saw it¡­ They thought I didn¡¯t like them, that I didn¡¯t want to play with them, or that I was too good for them. None of that was true. This led to me losing more and more of my friends over time. One time, a group of kids wanted to pick on me by throwing stones at me. As they continued to throw the rocks, they eventually noticed something¡­ I was standing there crying, but none of them were hitting me. It¡¯s not like their aim was bad, I was just instinctively avoiding every single rock. Every, single, one¡­ This just creeped them out further, and the distance between me and my peers grew. In my mind I was just like any other kid, but that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth¡­ I felt so lost. Why doesn¡¯t people like me? What did I do wrong? Those kinds of thoughts filled my mind, and was all I could think about. From that point onwards, my parents finally tried to figure out what was ¡®wrong¡¯ with me. Turns out the reason why I was doing the things I was doing, was because I have three separate rare conditions that interact with each other in a weird way. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! I have unnatural levels of awareness over my body, I have hyperactive reflexes, and I have unheard-of levels of spatial awareness. The combination of those three is what resulted in me being me. My awareness over my own body allows me to move it in ways that other can¡¯t. The most noticeable thing is how precise my movements are. I can move my body exactly how much I need to for a given task. No more, no less. Like for most people, if you make a fist, it¡¯s incredibly hard, if not impossible, to fully extend your ring finger, without also moving your other fingers. Other people also struggle with changing their tongue into certain shapes. Even something like your hands shaking a little bit when you try to hold it perfectly still. Whatever it may be, it¡¯s not a problem for me. I have absolute control over my body. My hyperactive reflexes would make me react even when I didn¡¯t mean to. So, when someone tried to grab my hand, my body would interpret this as a threat, and instinctively retract it. I don¡¯t mean to do it, it just happens. Fighting these instincts is almost impossible for me. Letting someone touch me, feels like putting your hand on a hot stove, and not pulling it back. Your body just reacts. The third thing that was ¡®special¡¯ about me, was my spatial awareness. I am always aware of exactly where my body is in space, and its relation to everything else around me. Most people could make a decent estimate of how big the distance is between two objects; I know exactly how big is. If someone throws a ball, most people could get a pretty decent estimate of where it will land. I know exactly where it will land, how many times it will bounce, and how far it will roll. All down to the millimeter¡­ The combination of these three conditions is what allowed me to avoid all those rocks that were thrown at me. I was perfectly aware of every single stone that was flying towards me. I knew exactly how close they were, and how long it would take for them to hit me. I could move my body in any way possible that could allow me to dodge them. But¡­ That alone would not have been enough. I was standing there crying, wondering why they were being so mean to me. I wasn¡¯t trying to dodge at all, I was just standing there. This is where my reflexes came in. Even if I didn¡¯t try to dodge, I would automatically do it. It¡¯s a perfect defense. Nowadays I tend to just call it ¡®perfect muscle control¡¯. The only way to land an attack on me is if it¡¯s physically impossible for me to avoid it, or if I have no way of knowing it¡¯s coming. After learning what was ¡®wrong¡¯ with me, my parents decided to send me to therapy. I needed to learn to control my reflexes. It took years and years of hard work, but eventually I learned to somewhat control it. When I say it¡¯s like leaving your hand on a hot stove, I¡¯m not lying. Not pulling my hand away when someone tries to touch, it physically hurts. It¡¯s pure agony. But I learned to cope with it, so that I could live a relatively normal life. By the time I was 12 years old, most people would see me as a normal kid. For the first time in many years, I finally had friends. My life had gotten significantly better compared to how it was when I was little. Or¡­ At least that¡¯s what I told myself¡­ When I became a little older, my parents would make me work. I needed to start earning some money for the family. I tried working in the shop that my parents owned for a while, but my performance was so bad my own parents fired me¡­ I tried working some other places too, but nothing really worked out for me. It was all because I was suppressing my reflexes. It hurts¡­ It really, really hurts. When I just went to school, I would at least have half a day to rest and recover. Having to suppress them at school, only to then also suppress them at work, was just too much. I couldn¡¯t concentrate during class, but more importantly, I could barely even function properly at work. Even the most basic tasks became these monumental challenges that I had to put my all into to overcome¡­ There was a professor that I was somewhat close with, and I opened up to him about my issues. It turns out he was an ex-hunter. He had worked as a hunter for many years in his younger days, he even reached E-rank! The reason he stopped as because he had seen one too many of his close friends meet an early end, it was too much for him. It was like something clicked in my mind. I knew that I could never be a productive member of society doing normal jobs. Being a hunter was different though¡­ It was a place where not only would I not have to suppress myself all the time. I could let loose, and truly be myself for once. Never being touched, and by extension, never being hit, is just a positive in this field of work. It was a place where I could not only function¡­ I could thrive! This was the only thing I could ever see myself doing, no matter how dangerous the job might be. The professor was hesitant at first to teach me BDM, but eventually I convinced him. I would try even harder in school, and as a reward for getting good grades, he would teach me more. This started when I was 15, and by the time I was 20, I had finally become an F-rank hunter. Five more years have passed since then, and I¡¯m now trying to become an E-rank hunter, the same rank my professor once was¡­ This is the one place where I can be the best, where I can live to the fullest, and where I can be myself. I won¡¯t let anyone get in my way. Chapter 53: Loser --- [Vaman¡¯s perspective] ¡°Alright, it seems both fighters are ready. Let the second match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne He¡¯s standing still, he¡¯s clearly ready to attack, but he¡¯s not getting closer. I guess I¡¯ll have to approach him then. I slowly make my way towards him while making sure to keep my guard up. I¡¯m just slightly outside of my attack range, so I quickly step forward and throw a jab to his face. I had hoped that it would somewhat take him off guard, but he effortlessly dodges it. His reaction speed is on point. I throw a couple more punches towards his head, but he avoids all of them. Eventually I see an opportunity, and I throw a right hook towards his cheeks, and it connects! Or¡­ What the-? It connected, but¡­ He turned his face to the side, making my fist slip right off without dealing any damage. That attack put me in an awkward position; he takes advantage of it and drills his fist into my stomach. ¡°GUEAH!!¡± ¨C Vaman I get knocked back a little, but I manage to stay on my feet. He runs to up to me and goes for a follow-up attack. I throw my own punch, attempting to make our fists clash. He seems to be very good at dodging, but I might still be able to overpower him when it comes to a contest of strength. My fist connects with his, but¡­ It¡¯s like his arm turned to jelly. The instant our fists clashed; it went completely limp. It¡¯s too late to pull back now, so I follow through with the punch, but it¡¯s essentially just like I pushed his arm a little. Stolen story; please report. He managed to yet again avoid all damage. At the same time, he throws another punch with his other arm. It hits me before I¡¯m able to defend; I get knocked back and I lose my balance. I stumble over and fall to my knees. He yet again doesn¡¯t hesitate to follow up. Before I¡¯m able to get back up, he comes in with a knee to my face, knocking me down. ¡°AHHH!!!¡± ¨C Vaman I think he broke my nose¡­ I hear someone yelling from the seats. ¡°What are you doing?!! Were you always this pathetic?!!! Beat him up!!¡± ¨C Fei It¡¯s Fei¡­ I guess she¡¯s mad that I was doing so well against her, but I¡¯m getting beat up by him. She seemed to hate the idea of being weaker than others, and seeing someone who did so well against her getting beat up is an indirect way of saying he¡¯s stronger than her too¡­ It¡¯s not like I¡¯m not trying my hardest. I really am. This guy¡­ He¡¯s just¡­ Something else. I don¡¯t want to fail again, but this guy is like a mountain. A mountain I need to climb to rank up. The problem is that he¡¯s an insanely large mountain with nothing to hold onto¡­ But it¡¯s still just a mountain. I can climb it. I know I can. As long as I don¡¯t give up, I will eventually win. And I won¡¯t give up¡­ Effort and persistence always pays off; it¡¯s time for mine to do just that¡­ --- All my life, I¡¯ve been a bit of a loser. I was never particularly good at anything. Some kids would be good at math, some at history, and others at science. Extraordinary kids would be good at all of them. I was good at none¡­ Some kids would be good at music, some with sports, and others at art. Only a genius would be good at all of them. I was good at none¡­ However, this was never much of a problem to me. I had a loving family and great friends. I was happy. But the final year of school, I had a rude awakening¡­ I failed my exams, so I couldn¡¯t graduate. I had to redo the final year. This set me further back in life than I could have ever imagined¡­ My parents were disappointed. School isn¡¯t cheap, and we weren¡¯t the wealthiest family either¡­ This was the beginning of how my relationship with my parents started to break apart. My old friends moved on to the next stage of life, and I saw them less and less. The things that made me happy was suddenly taken from me. All because I failed one exam¡­ I didn¡¯t want to be set back even further, so I determined not to fail again. I studied harder than ever, and I gave up everything else. In the end, my hard work paid off. I passed the exams by a hair. It was time to move on with my life. Get a job, get a career. But my complete lack of talent worked against me here too. I got fired from four jobs, all because of incompetence. This was the nail in the coffin for my relationship with my parents too. Although they obviously still loved me, they saw me as nothing more than a failure. I didn¡¯t know what to do anymore, I was so lost. If I couldn¡¯t keep a decent job, how would I be able to support myself? I only had two choices left. The first, and the easiest one, was to get a job so mind numbingly simple that even I couldn¡¯t fail. But I didn¡¯t want to spend the rest of my life working a job I would hate every second off. I could never do that. So, there was only one real option left. Find a job that I couldn¡¯t get fired from. Jobs like that are essentially non-existent, but there is one¡­ Hunters¡­ Hunters can¡¯t get fired. Once you become a hunter, you stay a hunter. The only ways out are by quitting, or dying¡­ I didn¡¯t plan on quitting. I had to become a hunter. Chapter 54: Determination --- [Vaman¡¯s perspective] And so, I decided to become a hunter. The first step was to learn Basic Divinity Manipulation. Without it, you can¡¯t become a hunter. Like with everything else in life, it didn¡¯t come easy to me. Most of my time was spent working random shitty jobs that I would get fired from within a few weeks. But I had to do it to survive; I couldn¡¯t rely on my parents financial support anymore. I spent what little free time I had on training, but it wasn¡¯t enough. I couldn¡¯t work less, so the only other thing I could cut back on was sleep. I reduced it significantly to make sure I got a couple more hours of practice in every day. This was my life for a few years, but even so, I showed no sign of progress¡­ Learning BDM is hard enough by itself. Add sleep deprivation, little time to practice, and no talent into the mix, and it¡¯s exponentially harder. After getting fired from yet another job, I decided that it was time to change things up. I left town and started living by myself in the wilderness. I would hunt for food and spend the rest of my time training. At first, this was brutal. Just getting enough food to survive was a momentous task by itself. My life had never been harder, every day was pain. The sleep deprivation was worse than ever before, and I was constantly hungry. But after a couple years, it started to pay off. I was getting the hang of BDM, and hunting was now significantly easier. That meant I had more time to train, and sleep. My mental health was getting better every day, and it accelerated my growth exponentially. Eventually I decided it was time. I was finally going to take the F-rank hunter exam! ¡­ ¡­ I failed. After all my hard work, after all the effort I put in¡­ It still wasn¡¯t enough. I was more than outclassed by everyone there. My complete lack of talent was still haunting me. I went back to training. Back to spending every single day hunting and practicing. The next exam came around, and I had improved since last time, but¡­ I still failed¡­ I still wasn¡¯t good enough. I was about to give up, I didn¡¯t feel like there was any pointing in continuing. Clearly, I was bound to fail at anything I tried. But¡­ That¡¯s when something clicked deep within me. If I was going to either fail, or be miserable, no matter what road in life I decided to walk down, why not give my absolute all to the one that could make me happy? If I fail, I fail. I had nothing to lose anymore. In my mind, I had already lost, so I couldn¡¯t go any lower. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I was already at rock bottom. I could only ever go up from there. My training got more and more intense. It was like my life depended on it¡­ And it did. I tried the exam again. I failed. Again. I failed. I tried yet another time, but I still failed. Five times in a row¡­ I failed FIVE times in a row. But I did not give up. On my sixth try, I passed¡­ I did it! I finally became a hunter! It was like a dream come true. I was finally able to live comfortably, I was finally happy again. I could earn a reasonable amount of money with a reasonable amount of work. I could even return to society. After all these years, my relationship with my parents was finally starting to get better. They no longer saw me as a disappointment, I was now their pride and joy. I managed to become a hunter, a job very few were able to get. I started making new friends in the guild. Life has been fantastic ever since. That was when something clicked deep within me for the second time¡­ After all these years, after all that hard work, I was finally happy again. I want nothing more than for things to stay like this forever. But the only way to go about doing that is by getting stronger. I can¡¯t repeat what happened back in school; I need to keep up with my friends. If they keep ranking up while I stay as F-rank, we¡¯ll eventually drift apart. I also want to help support my parents financially because they are starting to get old, and I earn more by doing higher ranked missions. I failed the E-rank exam last year because of that monster, but that won¡¯t happen this year. It turns out I was wrong. I wasn¡¯t completely talentless. There is one thing that I am better at than almost everyone else, and that¡¯s determination¡­ My determination is so great that it makes up for my lack of talent in every other area. I have faced bigger hurdles before; I won¡¯t let this guy stop me. He might be stronger than me, and he might be more talented than me, but my determination will overcome that. It will overcome anything life throws at me. The winner of this match was decided the moment I was picked. I will win! --- Back to the match He knocked me to the ground and is going for a follow-up attack. I¡¯m not going to be able to get up in time¡­ He lifts his foot and slams it down towards my chest, but just moments before it hits, I manage to roll to the side. Before I¡¯m able to stand back up, he goes for another kick and sends me flying into the wall. ¡°GUAH!¡± ¨C Vaman This wall is no normal wall¡­ It looks and feels like stone, but it¡¯s much harder. The impact doesn¡¯t even make a dent in it¡­ Colliding with it feel like I¡¯m getting kicked my him again. Before he¡¯s able to get over to me, I¡¯m finally able to get on my feet. I¡¯ve taken a lot of damage, but I¡¯m still able to fight. As he sprints towards me, I notice something¡­ It looks like he has some broken rips. The way he runs¡­ He¡¯s clearly in a lot of pain. I can take advantage of that! He was able to avoid all of my attacks earlier, but if I attack in a way where moving that part of his body is the only option, then he might not be able to. It¡¯s worth a shot at least. If I can ever land an attack in that spot, then it would do significantly more damage than normal. Let¡¯s do this! I go for a punch straight to his chest, but he moves back ever so slightly so that it doesn¡¯t hit him, then goes for a counterattack. He hits me in the face, and I get knocked back, but I¡¯m still on my feet. I go for yet another attack, but he avoids and counters just like before. I throw a barrage of punches, none of them hit him. I try to kick him from the side, but he jumps over my leg and lands on my face. He jumps off from my face, knocking me right down to the ground yet again. Before he¡¯s able to get back to me, I stand up. I¡¯ve taken a lot of damage; my movements are getting slower¡­ I throw another punch, but he easily dodges it. He punches me in the stomach and fall to my knees. He doesn¡¯t hesitate to follow up on his attack, and kicks me in the side of my head. ¡­ Ughhhh¡­ I feel like I¡¯m about to pass out¡­ I lay there on the ground for a little bit without moving, and he stops. He probably thinks he has already won¡­ No¡­! I¡¯m not giving up. I get back on my feet, but he¡¯s still just standing there. My knees are wobbling; I¡¯m just barely able to stand. ¡°You fought well, but it¡¯s time to give up. You can¡¯t win.¡± ¨C Lucas I start laughing. He looks confused. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare underestimate me. I¡¯m not giving up that easily.¡± ¨C Vaman ¡°Taking that many of my attacks must hurt, you¡¯re clearly in a lot of pain. I¡¯ll knock you out quickly, ending this once and for all.¡± ¨C Lucas Tsk. He¡¯s still acting like he¡¯s going to win. I will overcome this, just like I have overcome everything else. I was at rock bottom, and I climbed my way to the top. This hurdle is nothing! He slowly walks towards me, and I get ready to attack. As soon as he gets within attacking range, he throws a quick jab to my face, but I miraculously manage to dodge it. Before he¡¯s able to follow up, I throw a right hook of my own, but he ducks under it. He throws yet another punch to my stomach, but this time he goes even harder, launching me up into the air a little bit. While still in the air, he throws a barrage of attacks, breaking almost every bone in my body, and sending me flying in the wall. ¡­ ¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] He didn¡¯t scream after that attack¡­ That can only mean two things. He either died, or was instantly knocked unconscious¡­ Poor guy¡­ He didn¡¯t even stand a chance, yet he kept on trying his very best until the end. Wait¡­ Did he just¡­? He just moved! ¡°Not¡­ So¡­ Fast¡­¡± ¨C Vaman He¡¯s still not giving up?! He somehow manages stand back up, even after an attack like that¡­ How is he doing that?! That shouldn¡¯t be possible, yet¡­ He¡¯s actually doing it¡­ He lifts his leg and tries to take a step forwards, but he can¡¯t do it. He falls over. Just before he hits the ground, Leanne suddenly appears and catches him. ¡°Good job, Vaman. You did well.¡± ¨C Leanne She carries him back to his team and calls for the healers. They come right over, and they fix him up. His physical injuries were healed, but he¡¯s still unconscious. That fight must have taken a massive toll on his mind too. He was standing, almost walking even, in a condition where that should not have been possible. I¡¯ve never seen someone with as much determination as him before¡­ He may have failed the exam this year, but it¡¯s obvious to anyone with a brain that he will become a great hunter one day. ¡°The winner is Lucas. The score is now one to one.¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 55: Shin vs Fei --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Everything is going according to plan. Jack lost and Lucas won. Just as I expected. After I win my match, we will be two for one, and we¡¯ll only need one more win. There is no doubt in my mind that we¡¯ll get it. ¡°Good job, Lucas! But did you really need to go that far? He could have died¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Thanks. He wasn¡¯t going to stop any other way. It had to be physically impossible for him to continue.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°I see¡­ The way he was standing up, even after it shouldn¡¯t have been possible for him to, was very impressive. He certainly has a strong mind. Ultimately, you were the stronger one though¡­¡± ¨C Alex It really was¡­ That guy would be a very scary opponent if he only was a little stronger¡­ Determination like that isn¡¯t something you see every day. ¡°That was a great match, but it¡¯s time to begin the next one. The fighter from team Leon, is Fei. Her opponent will be the leader of team Shin, none other than Shin himself.¡± ¨C Leanne Leader¡­ She¡¯s making it sound like I¡¯m somehow greater than the rest of my team just because my name was randomly chosen¡­ Fei is the first one to jump into the arena. She¡¯s covered in blood and is carrying a metal bat. ¡°Hurry up pretty boy, I don¡¯t have all day!¡± ¨C Fei Alex puts his hand on my shoulder. ¡°Good luck. Try not to get too hurt.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Heh, don¡¯t you worry. I got this.¡± ¨C Shin I jump into the arena. ¡°Alright then, let the third match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne Fei wastes no time and rushes straight towards me. She swings her bat right towards my head, but I duck under it. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. As I duck under, I move in and go for a tackle. She tries to kick me, but I dodge it and my tackle lands. She falls to the ground, and it clearly hurt her back. I quickly get on top of her and pin her arms down. She¡¯s wriggling back and forth, trying to get me off, but it doesn¡¯t work. I move my head back, then quickly slam it down towards her. Just before my headbutt connects, she somehow managed to knee me in the balls. That paralyzes me for just a moment; but a moment was all it took to push me off of her. ¡°Ghhhhhhhhh¡­!!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Hahaha! It never fails to amuse me when I take advantage of that dumb weakness men have.¡± ¨C Fei She picks up her bat and tries to hit me with it while I¡¯m still on the ground, but I resist the pain and get back up in time; just before she hits me. ¡°It won¡¯t work twice.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Sure¡­¡± ¨C Fei We¡¯re back to square one. None of us has gotten any serious hits off on each other yet. She¡¯s not bad, not bad at all. She¡¯s about as fast as I am, and she thinks quickly too. This might be a more interesting fight than I had imagined. Although I guess that¡¯s to be expected from the finalists. This time, I¡¯m the one approaching her. The bat gives her more range than me, so to counter that I make sure to get as close as possible. I go for a punch to her stomach, but she swings at me at the same time. ¡°GUEH!¡± ¨C Shin and Fei Both of our attacks connected. She is knocked back a few meters from the impact of my punch. Her bat hit me right in the shoulder. I think it¡¯s dislocated¡­ I pop it back into place, but it still hurts. I think it still works though, and that¡¯s all that matters. ¡°Is that all you got? Do you even know BDM?!¡± ¨C Fei She¡¯s taunting me, trying to get me angry. That might work on someone like Leon, but not me. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t hurt, then you won¡¯t mind me doing it again, right?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Try your best, loser!¡± ¨C Fei As she says that, she starts running. She¡¯s running with her bat pointing towards me like a lance. She¡¯s not expecting an attack like that to hit, right? Just like I thought, before her attack could connect, I easily stepped out of the way. I take the opportunity and throw an attack at her. She quickly drops her bat. Just before I hit her, she manages to grab my arm. She jumps towards me and wraps herself around my arm. So this was her plan¡­ ¡°GHHHHA!¡± ¨C Shin She starts pulling on it with all her might. She¡¯s gonna rip it off! ¡°I¡¯m not gonna let you do that!¡± ¨C Shin I start throwing punch after punch. Her head is well protected so I can¡¯t get any good hits on it. The best spot to hit her is in her side. She¡¯s taking the hits surprisingly well. It¡¯s clearly hurting her, but she¡¯s not letting go! ¡°Oh yes you will, dumbass!¡± ¨C Fei She screams as loud as she can and pulls with all her might. These punches aren¡¯t enough, I need to use a charged attack. I stop punching for a moment and charge up a punch. I let it go and I feel her ribs shattering. But just as my punch connects and her ribs shatters, she manages to rip my arm off¡­ Since she was wrapped around it, she falls to the ground. She gets back up and backs off. ¡°GUAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!¡± ¨C Shin HOLY SHIT! IT HURTS SO MUCH! FUCK! MY ARM!! I¡¯m bleeding heavily, I need to finish this quickly. ¡°Oh my god¡­ Shin! Just surrender and let the healers fix you up! It¡¯s not worth it!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Shut up! ¡­ Ah!! ¡­ I told you, I got this!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex I need to end this¡­ Now! I look over at Fei, and she¡¯s clearly hurt too. With her rips shattered like that, her movements will be heavily restricted. Even with just one arm, I¡¯m the one who would win if we were to clash now. Meaning this is a battle of attrition now. Will I pass out from blood loss, or will I catch her? Whichever one happens first will decide the winner. Chapter 56: Fei Glacies --- [Fei¡¯s perspective] ¡°Do you know why The Reapers is best guild?¡± ¨C Fei ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this shit!¡± ¨C Shin He charges towards me, but I continue to talk. ¡°It¡¯s because they¡¯re the only ones who can truly save the weak and oppressed.¡± ¨C Fei --- The Reapers¡­ They¡¯re a heavily misunderstood guild. They¡¯re always seen as the bad guys, but that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. To understand why, you first need to know how they operate. The Reapers only accept two different kinds of missions. They obviously do dungeons, just like all other guilds. Clearing dungeons is an integral part of being a hunter. The other mission type is one that is generally looked down upon¡­ Assassinations. Not many other guilds accept them, and the ones that do, only do so under specific circumstances. We¡¯re not like that. We accept all assassination requests, no questions asked. Assassinations and dungeons are the hardest mission types, so only the strongest and most capable hunters are allowed to join. This is why the guild has a 100-kill rule. If you¡¯re not strong enough to do that, you¡¯re not allowed to join. If you¡¯re not willing to do that, you¡¯re not allowed to join. We can¡¯t have people that hesitates to kill join a guild that focuses on assassinations¡­ Assassinations, like all other missions, is a service. A needed service. There are bad people out there, people that don¡¯t deserve to live. If someone wants them gone enough, they can do it. The price is hefty, but it¡¯s possible. It being expensive is important. You have to truly hate a person to be willing to scoop up that amount of money to kill them. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. If someone hates you THAT much, there must be a good reason¡­ --- When I was young, there was a powerful man living in our town. He was a rich man who had connections with a lot of hunters. He wasn¡¯t from our town originally, he moved in later in life; just a few years before I was born. The first thing he did after moving in was buying up local businesses. He was willing to pay to quite a lot of money, enough for the previous owners to retire. It didn¡¯t take long before he owned the entire area. Things didn¡¯t change much though, all that happened was that he now took the cut that the previous owners used to take. It didn¡¯t affect the workers at all. Over the years, he started expanding. Instead of keeping his earnings, he invested in new businesses. He¡¯d buy a shop here, get partial ownership of another there. He was always expanding. It never stopped. It started with the area he lived, then the areas next to it, then the areas next to those, and so on. By the time I was six years old, he owned the entire town. Every single business was his. Although things hadn¡¯t changed much before, this didn¡¯t last very long¡­ Whenever someone tried to start up something new, he¡¯d make sure to outcompete them. No new companies were created after that. It was a total monopoly. He owned everything¡­ He started taking bigger cuts of the revenue, reducing wages, increasing work hours¡­ Anything he could do to earn more money. It didn¡¯t matter what he did, because he owned everything. Eventually he decided that just having complete control over the economy wasn¡¯t enough, he also needed political power. He became a mayor candidate, and of course he won. Had the people not voted for him, he would have made sure to make their lives worse. Honestly, he might have just taken the power for himself anyways¡­ It¡¯s not like we could fight back. The Emperor, the ultimate being who controls the world, has made rules for how the guilds can operate. He has not made any other laws¡­ Every city must figure that out on their own. Since there are no real laws, that man now had full control over our town. He already controlled the entire economy, but he was now the ¡®mayor¡¯ too. In reality, he was just a dictator. He¡¯d change the our laws whenever he felt like it. If he wanted something done, he could do it. Nothing could stop him. By the time I was 10, he was already like a god. Although most people saw him as the devil¡­ He could now do whatever he wanted. And he did. The people were getting poorer and poorer, while he was getting richer and richer. It got to a point where people barely even had food on the table. Men were paid little, but women were paid even less. Why? Well¡­ My father died from illness when I was young, so my family consisted of just me, my mom, and my older sister. In exchange for certain ¡®favors¡¯, he¡¯d give women a little extra money. My mom and my sister both did those ¡®favors¡¯ for him. Without it we would have all starved. It wasn¡¯t until almost two years later that I found out what those favors were¡­ It was prostitution. He would do unspeakable things to them in exchange for enough to pay for food. They were doing it for me. Above all else, they wanted me to be able to eat a good meal every day. They didn¡¯t want to do those things with him. They had no choice. It wasn¡¯t really prostitution; it was just rape. This wasn¡¯t something that only happened to my family, but many others too. Eventually, they had enough. They started collectively saving as much money as they could, they¡¯d even skip out on meals for it. People died in the process, but eventually the people had saved up enough. They sent an assassination request to The Reapers Guild, and just a few days later, it was all over. He was dead. He could no longer control us. Our town went back to how it used to be, and it all turned out great in the end. But that would not have been possible without The Reapers¡­ Sure, some sacrifices had to be made on the way, but an entire town was saved from just a single mission. Just one. That was when I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I had to become a Reaper too. Every single mission I go on could have that big of an impact on someone¡¯s life! That¡¯s who the Reapers are! We save people by killing the bad guys. No other guilds do what we do. We are important. We are needed. Chapter 57: The Reaper --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] ¡°It¡¯s because they¡¯re the only ones who can truly save the weak and oppressed.¡± ¨C Fei I stop rushing towards her. ¡°Are you fucking serious?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°It¡¯s true. Without us, there would still be so many bad guys roaming free.¡± ¨C Fei ¡°One of you motherfuckers killed my sister!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°She obviously must have deserved it then!¡± ¨C Fei ¡°Wha-!!...¡± ¨C Shin ¡°If she didn¡¯t deserve it, why would anyone pay large sums of money to get rid of her?¡± ¨C Fei ¡°Lexa was the best person I¡¯ve ever known! She kinder than anyone, and she did NOT deserve it¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well, there must have been a good reason. Like I said, no one would pay that much to kill a good person. You clearly didn¡¯t know her as well as you thought.¡± ¨C Fei ¡°You¡¯ve actually deluded yourself into thinking you¡¯re the good guy¡­ You¡¯re not. The real ¡®bad guys¡¯ are not the innocent victims like my sister¡­ They¡¯re the ones who see good people like her as a threat¡­ Something that needs to be eliminated¡­ Money isn¡¯t an issue to them. They do whatever the fuck they want. That includes hiring people like you, to kill people like her.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Fei ¡°Reapers are scum.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°That¡¯s not true! I know the Reapers are the good guys. Without them, my entire town would still be run by a fucking power-hungry rapist!¡± ¨C Fei ¡°Maybe they get some bad guys every now and then, I¡¯m not going to deny that, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that they also kill plenty of innocent people. The Reapers are evil. There is no doubt about that.¡± ¨C Shin She gets visibly upset, it¡¯s like she¡¯s taken over by rage. She stops speaking and she now charges at me. Her movements are clunky, her broken ribs are holding her back a lot, but she¡¯s not stopping. It seems I¡¯ve struck a nerve. I don¡¯t know anything about her life, but it seems like the Reapers helped her when she needed it the most. She has properly convinced herself into thinking they¡¯re good guys. Be it a trauma response or brainwashing, she properly believes it¡­ If that belief is ever challenged and she starts to doubt herself, her entire worldview would crumble. She can¡¯t let that happen, so she responds with anger instead¡­ She gets within attack range, and throws a volley of wild blows, but I avoid them all. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Her movements aren¡¯t as slick as before. I¡¯m starting to lose a lot of blood though¡­ I need to knock her out quickly. She continues to throw punches at me, and I continue to dodge, but she doesn¡¯t stop. She doesn¡¯t stop, and she can¡¯t stop. She¡¯s not herself right now. There are no thought behind her attacks, it¡¯s just pure rage. I wait for an opportunity, then I throw my own punch. It connects and she¡¯s knocked down. However, she immediately gets back up and continues to attack me. I keep getting more and more dizzy. I¡¯m getting slower too. I¡¯m losing too much blood¡­ Some of her punches connect, and it just makes things worse. It¡¯s not looking good right now¡­ How do I put her down? Every time I hit her; she shrugs it off. Every time she hits me; I get one step closer to death. This is bad¡­ I¡¯ll try charging up an attack. ¡°Guah!¡± ¨C Shin She hit me in the face while I was charging, and it completely disrupts my concentration. It¡¯s no use. She¡¯s not letting me use charged attacks. I have no choice but to end this with a normal attack. We continue to exchange blows for a little while, but she¡¯s with the upper hand. It¡¯s getting harder and harder by the second to stay awake. Can I even do it? Am I going to lose? This would all be over if I just surrendered¡­ The healers would save me, and Alex could still pass if we win the next two matches¡­ Do I do it? ¡­ No¡­ I can¡¯t give up yet¡­ As I thought that, she hits me in the jaw, and I fall over. Before I¡¯m able to get back up, she puts pressure on my shoulder, squeezing out blood. ¡°AAAAGHHHHH!!!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°The Reapers aren¡¯t evil!¡± ¨C Fei ¡°AHHHGHGHHH!!!!¡± ¨C Shin It hurts so goddamn much! I can¡¯t do it anymore¡­ I have no choice; I need to surrender¡­ ¡°Just surrender, Shin! It¡¯s fine! Surrender!!¡± ¨C Alex Alex¡­ No¡­ What am I thinking? I can¡¯t give up just yet. My team relies on me, if I lose here, their chances to pass will be significantly reduced. I won¡¯t let them down¡­ I grab her leg, and with all my remaining strength, I pull it. I need to get her off me, otherwise I¡¯ll pass out from the pain before the blood loss. I pull it with everything I got. But¡­ It doesn¡¯t work¡­ I don¡¯t have enough strength left in me. Her leg doesn¡¯t budge. I can¡¯t do it¡­ I¡¯m actually going to lose¡­ ¡­ ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!¡± ¨C Fei Just as I thought that, something materializes in my hand. It¡¯s a¡­ Sword? It¡¯s a cold sword. A sword made from ice materializes in my hand, and it pierces her stomach. The area around the stab wound is frozen solid. She steps off me, and she falls to the ground. The impact of the fall shatters the ice and she¡¯s left with a large hole in the stomach. I get back up on my feet. She doesn¡¯t. Before I know it, the sword is gone. What was that¡­? Was it¡­ My specialty? Did I just use my SDM? ¡°The match is over, Shin won.¡± ¨C Leanne I won¡­ I did it¡­ ¡°Healers go fix them up, quickly!¡± ¨C Leanne I really did it¡­ Just when I thought I was going to lose. If it wasn¡¯t for¡­ For¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ --- ¡°Wake up! Shin, wake up!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where am I?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You¡¯re finally awake!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What happened?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You passed out from blood loss, but the healers saved you. Apparently, they don¡¯t have anyone who is capable of regrowing lost limbs here, so you¡¯ll have to wait until we get back home before you get your arm back.¡± ¨C Alex I let out a sigh of relief. I won, and I¡¯m alive¡­ That¡¯s all that matters. So, what if I have to wait a few days to get my arm back¡­ Maybe I¡¯ll even get a badass scar¡­ Wait, but¡­ ¡°What happened to Fei?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°She¡­ She didn¡¯t make it. The healers more or less restored her body, but it was too late¡­ She was already dead. I know you didn¡¯t mean to kill her, your specialty activated on its own. And if you hadn¡¯t done it, she would have killed you. I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re alive.¡± ¨C Alex I killed her¡­ That¡¯s the first person I¡¯ve ever killed. Why do I¡­ Feel fine? I shouldn¡¯t feel like this¡­ Just because she was a Reaper doesn¡¯t mean she deserved to die. She had obviously experienced some pretty traumatic things; she could have been saved¡­ Yet¡­ I feel fine. I took a life and I feel fine. ¡­ Chapter 58: Specialty vs Specialty --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°The score is now two to one for team Shin. One more win and their victory is all it takes. But I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not going to be that easy. The person from team Leon who is participating in this match will be the person who finished first, last round. With all these strong F-rank hunters around, that is certainly impressive!¡± ¨C Leanne Lett vs Lily¡­ Although I¡¯m closer to Lett than Lily, Lily is on my team. This is the one match I¡¯m not sure who I want to win. From a neutral perspective, this could be a very interesting fight. This is the only match where both fighters know SDM. Lett didn¡¯t want to tell us what hers was, but it must be something good. She had already returned with a flag just moments after the round started. What could possibly let her do that¡­? Lily shouldn¡¯t be underestimated either though. Her ability to absorb moisture is extremely deadly. She doesn¡¯t need to be strong to win, all she needs to do is touch you. I don¡¯t think Lett is aware of her ability either, which makes it even more dangerous. This could go either way¡­ ¡°Anyways, time for the fourth match to begin. Lett, Lily, get into the ring.¡± ¨C Leanne --- [Lily¡¯s perspective] I¡¯m fighting the one who returned first¡­ I¡¯ll need to stay on my toes. What makes her so special? How did she return first, and how did she do it so incredibly quickly? Is she exceptionally strong? Exceptionally fast? Does she know SDM like I do? Or could it just be dumb luck? Alex taps me on the shoulder just before I jump down into the arena. ¡°Be careful, and please don¡¯t kill her. She¡¯s our friend.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¨C Lily I jump down into the arena; Lett is already there. ¡®Be careful¡¯¡­ He sounded so sincere. He wouldn¡¯t have said that if she didn¡¯t have something up her sleeve, right? If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Let the fourth match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne She¡¯s standing still, waiting for me to make a move. I slowly approach her while staying on guard. I just need to get one good touch on her, and I win. I get within attacking range, and I throw a right hook. She blocks with her left arm and throws a punch of her own. I can¡¯t use my ability yet. My right hand is touching her shirt, so if I used it now, it would just absorb the moisture from her shirt, and leave her unharmed. That would let her know what kind of ability I have. I block her punch before it hits. She¡¯s weak¡­ I haven¡¯t worked a lot on my attack power after learning SDM, but I¡¯m still stronger than that. She¡¯s not that fast either; we¡¯re about even. Assuming she didn¡¯t finish first because of luck, that only leaves one option. She knows SDM too¡­ I need to finish this quickly¡­ Who knows what her ability might be¡­ I continue to throw punches at her, but she either dodges, blocks, or the attack hits her clothing. I could try to grab her face, but that¡¯s not an attack that would usually be effective; meaning that if it doesn¡¯t land, she would know that a touch is all I need. I need to make sure that I know my grab will connect before I go for it. This is a battle of information. She¡¯s keeping her specialty a secret too¡­ We continue to throw punches and kicks at each other for a little while until I finally see an opportunity. As she threw her punch, she stepped forwards a little and leans towards me. I can take a few of her hits, so I just ignore it and move in. I reach my hand towards her face, and I activate my ability. I feel the tip of her nose in my palm, it¡¯s draining her moisture. Finally, now my victory is guarant- What?!! She just disappeared! Where did she go? ¡°Gueh!¡± ¨C Lily Suddenly I get kicked in the side of my head, and I stumble over a little. ¡°That was a close one.¡± ¨C Lett I look over at her, she¡¯s touching her nose. ¡°The skin on my nose is all messed up. You only touched it with your palm for a moment¡­ Had I let you touch me for any longer, I would have lost. But now I know your ability; I can¡¯t lose anymore. I won¡¯t let you touch me again, not even once.¡± ¨C Lett Tsk. She may not know exactly what my ability is, but she has a good enough idea. I won¡¯t hold back anymore. Even if I just touch her clothes, I¡¯ll still use my ability to make them wither away; it¡¯ll make it that much easier to touch her skin the next time. Even if she has to be stripped completely naked before I manage to touch her skin, I¡¯ll do it. ¡°You really think you can avoid every single attack?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You sure are confident¡­¡± ¨C Lily But her confidence might not be totally ungrounded¡­ After I touched her, she just disappeared. That must have been her specialty, but what exactly did she do? I¡¯ll have to figure that out if I want to win this. I dash towards her, reaching my right arm forwards and aiming for the biggest target, her torso. Right before I touch her shirt, she disappears again. I turn my head to the right to look for her, and before I¡¯m able to react, I get hit in the face with a kick. ¡°Gueah!!¡± ¨C Lily She¡¯s in the air; she must have jumped. I can¡¯t let her land and get away. I try to grab her leg, but yet again, she just disappears. Although she isn¡¯t very strong, I can¡¯t just let her kick me in the face repeatedly. The damage is already starting to accumulate. I duck down in anticipation of another kick, but suddenly I¡¯m hit with a leg sweep and I fall over. Did she kick me in the face after disappearing every time to condition me into thinking that¡¯s what she would do now too? She tries to stomp me on my chest, but I roll to the side before it hits. She just looks at me while letting me get up again. ¡°I used to be weak. Really weak. The only reason I passed the F-rank exam was because of Shin and Alex. On our first mission together, that was when I saw how pathetic I really was. I couldn¡¯t do anything. There were monsters they were beating entire groups of with a single hit, yet I could barely even win against one of them. I mean for God¡¯s sake, they had to carry me to the dungeon because of how slow I was¡­ After that I promised them, and I myself, that I would change. And I did. I learned SDM, and I improved my BDM a lot too. I¡¯m not going to let you beat me here. If I did, how could I ever face them again? I heard from them that you helped them out before the exam started, and I¡¯m grateful for that, but that doesn¡¯t mean I will go easy on you. I¡¯ve finally gotten strong; now it¡¯s time to prove that I¡¯m worthy of being their ally. I¡¯ll do that by beating you.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Nice speech princess, but you¡¯re not winning this one.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett Chapter 59: Lily Sol --- [Lily¡¯s perspective] Sol¡­ It¡¯s a small village in the outer area, and it¡¯s where I grew up. It¡¯s not a very wealthy village, but I didn¡¯t care, it was all I had ever known. Everyone I cared about lived there, and that was all that mattered. I remember the times when I used to go fishing with my dad. Whenever I got the biggest fish, I would be so happy. Mostly because the one who got the biggest fish didn¡¯t have to do dishes¡­ We didn¡¯t have a proper school in Sol, so my mom would teach me instead. She taught me everything I know. I didn¡¯t appreciate her for it as much as I should have back then, but I do now. I thought her lectures were boring and I wanted to play with my older brothers instead. Of course now that I¡¯m older, I understand how important they really were. My brothers are a lot older than me. One is 10 years older, and the other is 12 years older. But I didn¡¯t mind. They always came up with something fun for me to do with them. Our grandma lived with us too. Grandpa died when I was just a baby and she was too old to live on her own, so she moved in with us. Whenever I was hanging out with her, we would always paint together. No one sold any real paint in Sol, so we would go into the forest and find inedible berries, then use them as paint instead. She was an exceptionally talented artist. I wasn¡¯t¡­ But I had fun, and that was all that mattered. That was our entire family. I didn¡¯t have any aunts or uncles, they all died before I was born. One day when I was outside playing alone, I saw some strangers come to our village. They were travelling in a caravan that was being pulled by two horses. They stopped right outside of our house. I was a little curious, so I stopped playing and decided to spy on them instead. They knocked on the door and my mom opened. When she opened the door and saw who it was, she started crying. The thing I remember most clearly is how confused I was. Why would she start crying just because someone knocked on the door? They continued to talk for a little bit, but I was too far away to hear what they were saying. They pulled some materials out of the caravan and gave them to my mom. It was just some basic stuff; leather, cloth, rope, and even a little bit of food etc. She goes back into the house, but she doesn¡¯t close the door. A minute later, she comes back with my grandma. My grandma gets into the caravan, and they drive away like nothing ever happened. They close the door and that was that. I didn¡¯t know what just happened. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I was just seven years old at the time, of course I didn¡¯t understand. I kept thinking about it all day, but I just couldn¡¯t figure it out. Why did she start crying? Why did grandma go with them? Later that night, when we were having dinner, my mom says that she has something important to tell us. ¡°Lily, as you can see, grandma isn¡¯t eating with us tonight. Unfortunately, while you were out playing, she had a heart attack and passed away.¡± ¨C Mom ¡°That¡¯s not true, I saw her drive away with those men with the cute horses.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°What?! You saw that¡­? Lily¡­¡± ¨C Mom That¡¯s when she told me what was really going on. We were a lot poorer than I thought. So poor that we could not survive on our own. My grandma was sold as a slave¡­ She was the one who chose to go herself. She basically gave up her life so that we could live. Apparently, they had been there many times before. My grandpa didn¡¯t die, he sold himself for the sake of our family, and now my grandma did the same. My mom told me that she did it because she wanted to see her husband again, but I now know that was total bullshit. The chances of the slaves being sold to the same place is very slim, and that¡¯s assuming he was even still alive¡­ Slave owners aren¡¯t exactly known to be the gentlest¡­ They then went on to explain that grandpa wasn¡¯t the first to go. My aunts and uncles were. They lied about them dying too. My entire family knew what was going on, my brothers included, but they tried so hard to keep it all hidden from me. They wanted me to have a happy childhood, and when the time came, they would tell me. Me seeing them that day ruined their entire plan. Nothing was ever the same after that. I couldn¡¯t sleep at night; all I did was cry thinking about my grandma. I missed her so much¡­ When I did get some sleep, I would always wake right up from nightmares about the rest of my family being sold too. I was constantly scared. And rightfully so¡­ Just one year later, they returned. My dad was the next one to go. I tried to stop them from taking him, but my mom held me back as they took him away. My dad kept shouting that everything would be okay, but I knew he was lying¡­ They gave us even less stuff now than last time too. My mom explained to me how horrible they truly were¡­ They gave us less and less each time, making us dependent on them; all so that they would eventually get us all¡­ They never intended to fairly compensate us, as if any price would ever be enough¡­ They knew we were desperate. We either sold ourselves or starved. There were no other options¡­ They kept coming back over and over again. My mom was taken next, after that it was my eldest brother. At 10 years old, I only had one brother left. If he was taken, my entire family would be gone¡­ This wasn¡¯t living¡­ This was hell. My happy childhood was long gone. Most of the time I would forget that I had ever been happy in the first place. My brother had it just as bad¡­ He was experiencing everything I was, except he was also filled with the existential dread knowing that once they came back, he would be next¡­ His, and he knew that once they came back, he would be next¡­ After that it would only be a matter of time before they took me too. He didn¡¯t want to let that happen, so the only thing we could do, was fight¡­ He came up with a plan. When they came back, he would ambush them. We¡¯d take everything they had on them, and escape. If we could make it to another village, we might be saved. This wouldn¡¯t be easy though. There were many things wrong with this plan. First of all, there were two of them, and only one of him. They had proper weapons too, he didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t allow me to fight with him, so he would have to fight them both off alone. But that wasn¡¯t all. Even if he somehow did it, and survived, it would be next to impossible for us both to get to another village on foot with what little supplies we had. Apparently, the closest village was about a three week walk away. After taking their supplies, we might have enough food to keep one of us alive for a week or two¡­ It would be next to impossible for just one of us to get there, let alone both. But that didn¡¯t stop him. We continued with the plan. It was our only choice. I hid in the bushes and watched over him. They knocked on the door, and when he opened it, he stabed the first guy in the stomach. He tried to stab the other guy, but they managed to grab his arm. Due to malnutrition, he was much stronger than my brother was. He took the knife out of his hand with ease and threw it away. He grabbed my brother by the throat and started choking him. I ran out screaming, telling them to stop. ¡°Now that the little girl is here, we don¡¯t need you anymore.¡± ¨C Slave trader One He continued to choke him, and I ran towards the knife. I picked it up and I tried to stab him in the leg, but the guy my brother stabbed gets back up and kicks me away. He walked over to me, and took the knife. He went back to my brother, who was being choked by his partner. ¡°This is what you get for stabbing me!¡± ¨C Slave trader Two He stabbed my brother in the stomach over and over again¡­ The guy choking him let go, and my brother fell to the ground. ¡°NO!!!¡± ¨C Lily He wasn¡¯t moving¡­ The slave trader who got stabbed did some first aid on himself, while the other guy walked over to me. He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me towards the caravan. Just when I thought it was all over, both their heads suddenly fell off¡­ ¡°Shit, am I too late?¡± ¨C ??? That was the last thing I heard before I passed out. I woke up the next day in a room I¡¯d never seen before. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your brother is fine.¡± ¨C ??? They then explained everything to me. He was a hunter from an organization known as ¡®The END¡¯. He carried me and my brother back to their base. Luckily, they had healers there who could save him. After that, they started training us to become hunters ourselves; so that we would never have to worry about being sold as slaves ever again. I¡¯m more than strong enough to not have to worry about that now, but I still need to get stronger. I need to repay my debt to The END. No¡­ That¡¯s not quite it. I believe in their cause, and I want to make sure they succeed. They¡¯re going to save the world. But that can only be done through strength. I need to get stronger, strong enough to save the world from¡­! Chapter 60: A clash of abilities --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] She has a dangerous ability, but I can do this. After all that awful training, I¡¯ve finally become someone that Shin and Alex can rely on. I¡¯m not the same person I was back then, and I¡¯ll prove it to them. I¡¯ll beat her for sure! She rushes towards me and reaches her right hand towards me. Before it touches, I teleport behind her and throw a punch. Before my punch lands, she turns around and tries to stop it with her right hand. Just as she¡¯s about to touch me, I yet again teleport behind her. ¡°Guah!¡± ¨C Lett She pre-emptively kicked behind her, and I teleported right into the kick. She¡¯s getting more used to my ability; I have to end this as quickly as I can. She tries to follow up on her kick by turning around and reaching for me. I avoid her attack by teleporting a few meters backwards. She immediately starts running towards me, and I do the same. As I move my left leg forwards to take a step, I teleport into the air right in front of her, and the momentum carries into a powerful kick right in her face. ¡°GEEH!!¡± ¨C Lily Blood is gushing out of her nose, and she is knocked backwards. Without any hesitation, I teleport right on top of her and follow up with another kick to her stomach. As if she was expecting me to do that, she grabs my leg and activates her ability. The cloth on my ankle quickly rots away, and her ability starts messing up my leg. I managed to teleport away before I was seriously hurt, but my leg isn¡¯t looking too good. I can¡¯t feel it, and it¡¯s hard to stand on. I seriously can¡¯t let her touch me again, especially not with her right hand. Her ability is too dangerous. I need to be extra careful; she might be tricking me into thinking she can only use her ability with her right hand. She gets back up; she¡¯s clearly hurt too. Maybe knocking her out as fast as I can isn¡¯t the best strategy. To do that, I have to take risks. If I can instead whittle her down, bit by bit, I¡¯ll win eventually. I just need to avoid her right hand at all costs. ¡°What was that about not letting me touch you even once?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Yeah yeah¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Your leg isn¡¯t looking too good. You¡¯re lucky you got away. Had you stayed for even a single moment longer, you¡¯d have lost already.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Good thing I didn¡¯t then¡­¡± ¨C Lett Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! I teleport right behind her with my arm over her shoulder and my face close to her ear. ¡°¡­ Because I¡¯m not going to lose to you.¡± ¨C Lett She¡¯s obviously startled, and it takes her a moment to react. Before she can touch me, I teleport into the air above her. I put my hands together and try to slam her from above. Before I can hit, she reaches her arm up towards me. If I hit her, she¡¯ll touch me. Right before I hit her, I teleport down to her legs, and I slam my hands down on her left foot. I can feel some of the bones in her foot crack. She¡¯s quick to counter, so I teleport away before she hits me. This is how I¡¯ll win. Little by little, I¡¯ll wear her down. ¡°That¡¯s payback for my leg.¡± ¨C Lett Looks like I can win without using that. Just as I teleport to her, she starts spinning around in circles. She¡¯s spinning around as fast as she can, all while waiving her arm around like crazy. She grazes my chin, and I teleport back. She doesn¡¯t stop spinning¡­ There are no openings; I can¡¯t get through to her. No matter where I attack her from, she¡¯ll be able to touch me too. So, although I could hit her if I wanted to, the exchange would favor her. Her attacks are much more dangerous than mine. This is a form of ultimate defense. If she keeps this up, It¡¯s a stalemate. I can¡¯t attack her without losing, but she can¡¯t reach me while spinning around. How long will she be able to keep this up though? Eventually she¡¯ll get tired or dizzy; when she does, that¡¯s when I strike. She continues spinning for a little while longer. ¡°How long do you plan on keeping this up?¡± ¨C Lett She doesn¡¯t respond. Is she waiting for me to attack her? Hmm¡­ I have an idea¡­ I teleport into the air above her, then repeatedly teleport upwards. After reaching hundreds of meters high, I let myself fall. I relax my entire body and concentrate as hard as I can on channeling Divinity into my fist. While falling down towards her, I charge up an attack to be as powerful as I can get it. Her attacks might be more dangerous normally, but if I hit her with a fully charged up attack, she¡¯ll be lucky if she just gets knocked out. She understood what I was doing, and before my fist connects with her, she stops spinning and moves away. If I teleport, I¡¯ll lose my charged attack, but that¡¯s fine. All I wanted to do was to make her stop spinning around. I teleport to her side an- ¡°GHHHHAAAA!!!¡± ¨C Lett She predicted where I would go, and grabbed my side with her arm. My skin starts rotting away, and I feel my insides start to break down. Luckily, I managed to teleport away before things got deadly. ¡°I¡¯ve adapted to your teleportation. I more or less know where you¡¯re going to attack from, and it¡¯ll only get easier the longer the fight goes on. The damage I¡¯ve taking is relatively minor compared to yours.¡± ¨C Lily She¡¯s right¡­ After that last attack, it¡¯s hard to even stay awake¡­ ¡°The thing that actually seals the deal though is my defensive spinning. Right now, I can stall until you eventually pass out from all the damage you¡¯ve taken. The only way for you to effectively attack me is with a charged attack from above, just like you tried before. But you¡¯ll never hit me with that. All you do is let me perfectly predict when you¡¯re about to teleport, just like what happened just now. It was a good fight, but it¡¯s over now.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ It is over.¡± ¨C Lett I take a deep breath and look her deep in the eyes. She realizes that I¡¯m not giving up, and she starts spinning. I¡¯ll have to use that after all. I don¡¯t like doing it though¡­ It tires me out so much I can barely stand afterwards. If it doesn¡¯t work, then she¡¯ll win. It¡¯s risky, but it¡¯s all I can do right now. I take another deep breath, then teleport right behind her. I teleport again. And again. And again. And again. And again! And again!! Faster and faster! Usually when I teleport somewhere, I have to visualize exactly where in I¡¯m going and how my body should be positioned in space. This technique works differently though. I¡¯m not putting any thought into how I¡¯m teleporting, I¡¯m just doing it. Over and over and over again. The reason I¡¯m not putting any thought into it isn¡¯t because I want to confuse my opponent or anything like that. It¡¯s simply because I can¡¯t. I teleport faster than I my brain can keep up with. While doing so, I¡¯m swinging my arms and legs around wildly. The point is that although most of my attacks will be nowhere near the enemy, some will¡­ If even I, the one who is doing the teleporting, don¡¯t know where I¡¯m going, then there is no way for her to know either. While teleporting around I get many hits in. A kick in her thigh, a punch on her shoulder. She¡¯s getting pummeled from all directions. But¡­ So am I¡­ Her spinning is insanely effective. I keep randomly teleporting into her right hand. This is another one of the downsides of this attack; I can¡¯t dodge their attacks either. I can¡¯t stop though. This is draining too much of my stamina. The adrenaline is all that¡¯s keeping me going at this point. When I stop, it¡¯s over. I¡¯ll be too tired to fight back. Whoever gives in first loses. I hit her in the chest with a punch, she touches my ear with her right hand. Who¡¯s going to lose first? I kick her in knee, she touches my leg. Who will go down first? I punch her in the jaw, she touches my shoulder. We keep going for a little longer, then suddenly¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°And we have a winner! Congratulations to L¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 61: Kuro Velox ¡°And we have a winner! Congratulations to Lett!!!!¡± ¨C Leanne I did it¡­ Lily is on the ground, she passed out from her injuries. Just a moment later, I fall down myself. The healers come in and help us. They quickly heal her injuries, but for some reason, they can¡¯t heal mine. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work when you guys do it.¡± ¨C Lily She stands up like nothing happened and walks over to me. She puts her left hand on me, and suddenly my injuries heal. ¡°I absorb moisture with my right hand, and I can put it back with my left. Only I can heal those injuries.¡± ¨C Lily Before I¡¯m able to thank her, she walks back to her team. Although she healed my injuries, I¡¯m still so tired after using that attack, I can¡¯t move¡­ How ironic, the winner is the one who seems to be in the worst condition¡­ Leanne picks me up and carries me back to my team. ¡°That was an amazing fight!! The score is now two to two! The next fight will decide which team wins! Will it be team Leon, or will it be team Shin? I can¡¯t wait to find out! Anyways, let¡¯s get on with it already! Kuro and Alex, you may get into the arena.¡± ¨C Leanne --- [Kuro¡¯s perspective] There was a time in my life when I didn¡¯t know what true strength was. ¡­ I¡¯ve always been naturally strong, stronger than anyone else around me. For better or worse, that¡¯s just how it¡¯s always been. My mother died giving birth to me. I was simply too big; the only way to get me out was to cut her open. It always made me stand out. When I was only five years old, I was already 150 cm tall, and I had the strength of a grown man. Although I don¡¯t remember it very well myself, my father loves to tell me stories about how I would break all my toys. I was apparently too strong for them¡­ Although my life had been pretty unusual up until this point, it was only at the age of seven that it really started being a problem. As I was playing football with some other kids at the playground, a kid on my team passed the ball to me. I was close to the goal, and he saw the opportunity for me to score. I didn¡¯t want to let him down, so I kicked the ball as hard as I could. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The enemy goalie lunged himself towards the ball and stuck out his arms in order to catch it. I saw the ball connecting with his hand, and I knew he caught it¡­ Disappointed in myself, I turned around to apologize to the teammate that passed to me, but for some reason he looked like he had seen a ghost¡­ I apologized, but he didn¡¯t respond. Confused, I asked what was wrong, but he just ignored me. I walked up to him to ask him once again, but before I could get to him, I heard loud screams come from behind me. I instinctively turned around. It was the goalie¡­ From the looks of it, as he had caught the ball, the force was so strong that his shoulder dislocated, and his fingers broke. That was the moment when I realized how strong I was¡­ I wasn¡¯t like the other kids, I was¡­ Different¡­ As time went on, I started using my strength more and more. I used it to get what I want, and no one could stop me. I started thinking I was better than other people, simply because of how I was born. My strength gave me everything. Power, money, freedom¡­ Anything I wanted; I could get. The power had totally gotten to my head. It was like I was blessed by the Gods! Well, at least that¡¯s what I thought until I found out how much bigger the world really was¡­ After years of this, someone had finally had enough. The older brother of one of my victims was a hunter. A strong F-rank hunter who was even said to be on par with some E-rank hunters. He beat me up so badly I couldn¡¯t walk straight for over a month¡­ He showed me that my idea of strength was wrong, it wasn¡¯t something you could get with muscles alone. Divinity is the power of the Gods, the very essence of this world. Nothing could ever hope to surpass it. But after such a humiliating defeat, I was only motivated. If I ever wanted to get back to where I once was, the strongest around, I had to master Divinity manipulation. I started spending every day and night training. Progress was slow at first, but soon enough, I got the hang of it. I started getting stronger and stronger. After years of training, I was way stronger using BDM, than I had ever been before. The next step was to become a hunter. I did the F-rank hunter exam, and I passed with flying colors. I joined The Dwarfs Guild and started doing some missions. After a few more years, my progress started stagnating¡­ The higher ranked people were still so unimaginably far away, and I was already starting to reach my peak¡­ As it was starting to sink in that I would never get back to where I once were, I fell into depression. For a large portion of my life, I was strongest man around. There was no one around me that could even hope to challenge me. My strength gave me ultimate freedom. Everything was perfect¡­ I wanted to get back to where I once was, but I couldn¡¯t. No matter how much I trained my BDM, I would never get as good at it as some others¡­ There was a time in my life when I didn¡¯t know what true strength was. This was that time. I quit the guild and stopped being a hunter. I was mistaken, I didn¡¯t need to master Divinity at all. My loss to that hunter had clouded my mind. My younger self was the one that was right about everything. Well, all but one thing that is¡­ I wasn¡¯t blessed by the Gods at all, for I was the one who would surpass even the Gods themselves. The only way to surpass the Gods, is by surpassing the power of the Gods. That power is also known as Divinity¡­ I started training as hard as I possibly could. Every. Single. Day. My training with BDM couldn¡¯t even compare. In only a few months, my physical strength had surpassed my strength using BDM. A couple more, and I was stronger than I would ever get using Divinity. The only thing left to do now was to beat the man who once beat me. I tracked him down and challenged him to a fight. It was now many years since our first fight, and he had ranked up¡­ Last time he was merely compared to E-rank hunters, now he was one. That however, was not enough to stop me. Three blows¡­ That was all it took for him to die. The man who had once led me astray using the power of the Gods, had been defeated by my own strength. I re-did the F-rank exam, and I obviously passed. The Dwarfs did not invite me back, so I joined a different guild instead; Atlas. I could have passed the E-rank exams whenever I wanted to; there was no rush. The only reason I didn¡¯t enter before was just because I was too busy training. This year however, I was able to make it. My strength is ever growing; it¡¯s nothing like it was back when I beat that E-rank hunter. These F-rank hunters are mere ants compared to me. There is no doubt that I will win the final match. Chapter 62: Alex vs Kuro --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°Alex and Kuro, you may now get into the arena.¡± ¨C Leanne Kuro doesn¡¯t hesitate at all and jumps in as soon as Leanne said we could. ¡°Go get him, Alex.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I won¡¯t let you down.¡± ¨C Alex He gives me a smug smile. ¡°Good. Imagine how embarrassing it would be for you if you lost when both me and Lett won our matches.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Heh, well you don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯ll beat him so convincingly that you¡¯ll be embarrassed by your close call.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hey! I won, okay?! That¡¯s all that matters!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ugh¡­ Just kiss already.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°W-what?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No thank you.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°It was a joke¡­ Wait¡­ Are you¡­ Blushing?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°No?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Not you, Ale-¡± ¨C Lily Before she gets to finish her sentence, I cut her off. ¡°A-anyways! I need to get going. My match is starting!¡± ¨C Alex Immediately after saying that, I jump down. ¡°Now then, let the final match begin!!!!!¡± ¨C Leanne Let¡¯s just focus on the match. I saw him fight a little back at the colosseum, but that¡¯s it. His power is quite mysterious¡­ He¡¯s supposedly using only his muscles, no Divinity at all¡­ There have been lots of other strong fighters here, so I can¡¯t afford to take him lightly. Even Shin almost lost¡­ ¡°I have one piece of advice for you, kiddo.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°What?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Surrender.¡± ¨C Kuro Huh? Why would I just surrender like that? Is he right in the head? ¡°Surrender, or you won¡¯t be leaving this arena alive¡­¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me, buddy. You should worry about yourself instead.¡± ¨C Alex This guy¡­ ¡°I warned you¡­¡± ¨C Kuro He starts slowly walking towards me. With every step he takes, the whole arena shakes. I rush at him, punch him in the stomach, and he goes flying into the wall. He then casually starts walking towards me like nothing ever happened¡­ This is exactly what happened when he fought in the colosseum¡­ He let himself get sent flying, but ultimately, he was fine. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°See? Your power is nothing compared to mine. True strength can not be achieved with Divinity. I¡¯ll show you that you were foolish to ever think you could take me on.¡± ¨C Kuro This is all happening exactly like how it did back then¡­ What was the next thing that happened again? Oh, right¡­ He pierced his opponent¡¯s chest with ease¡­ Kuro clenches his fist, and it makes a noise loud enough to be heard from hundreds of meters away. He raises his arm and continues to walk towards me. But it¡¯s not gonna end like it did against the gladiator¡­ I start charging up my own attack. I concentrate as hard as I can, putting every ounce of strength into this attack. When he gets within attacking range, he launches his attack, and I launch mine. BOOOOM!!!!! Our fists collide and the shockwave is deafening¡­ ¡°Hmm. Not bad.¡± ¨C Kuro What?!! He¡¯s still standing?! I put everything into that attack! He casually pulls his arm back. It doesn¡¯t seem like he has taken any damage. ¡°Was that your full strength?¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, then I guess I was right. You will die after all. Just now, we clashed equally, but¡­ I couldn¡¯t throw a weaker punch even if I tried. I¡¯ll show you what a real punch looks like now.¡± ¨C Kuro He throws yet another attack towards me. I don¡¯t have enough time to fully charge up an attack like last time, so I jump backwards to get away instead. His punch misses, and I make it out in one piece. He¡¯s¡­ He¡¯s a monster¡­ When charging up an attack, you need to put all your concentration into it. You can¡¯t move around when doing that. It¡¯s like when you first learn BDM; you can¡¯t move at all while using it, because any movement will break your concentration. That¡¯s the catch, but the pay-off is that your attack will be significantly stronger than usual. However, that¡¯s not an issue for him; he doesn¡¯t use Divinity at all. My normal attacks don¡¯t hurt him, and my charged attack only matched him. That alone would be enough to make it almost impossible for me to win, but¡­ If he¡¯s not lying when he says that he was barely putting in any effort for that punch, then I¡¯m truly doomed¡­ How the hell can there be a monster like him among the F-rank hunters??? But¡­ The bigger question, the more important question, is¡­ How do I beat him?! Because I¡¯m not giving up. Not yet. I¡¯ve been at deaths door before, and I didn¡¯t give up then. Even back in that dungeon with Luna and Shin¡­ I fought a monster who was stronger than me, faster than me, and more durable than me. But¡­ I NEVER gave up! I couldn¡¯t slay the monster on my own back then, but I will now. Even if he breaks my bones, I won¡¯t stop. I want to catch up to my brother, and winning this match is how I¡¯ll do it! Maybe I¡¯ll awaken my specialty just like Shin did! Wait a minute¡­ I think I know how to beat him! Charged attacks is my only option, that much is clear. I¡¯ll need to be creative with how I use them. I can¡¯t move around while using them, so I¡¯ll need to make the most of the one attack I get. If he stops it, I can¡¯t throw another one. I can¡¯t guarantee that he¡¯ll let me jump away like that again either. I¡¯ll have to strike him somewhere sensitive so that I can maximize the damage I do. If I can hit him with a charged attack in the temple, the jaw, or maybe even the balls, he may get knocked out. He should at least be shaken enough for me to get another hit in, or at least get away from him. If I have to do it multiple times, it¡¯ll be easier for him to counter, so I hope I don¡¯t have to¡­ But how do I make sure I can hit him with my charged attacks again? Wait¡­ I got it! I¡¯ll take a page from Lett¡¯s book. I jump as high into the air as I possibly can. When I start falling, I yet again put my full focus on channeling Divinity into my fist. He doesn¡¯t seem like the type of person to dodge. He¡¯s too proud, too cocky. I won¡¯t have to worry about him moving away from where I¡¯m landing. I continue to charge up my attack. My concentration is so deep that I even forget to breathe¡­ When I get close to the ground, I release all the energy I¡¯ve built up, all in one ridiculously powerful attack. I swing my fist and aim right for his temple. He throws his own punch, but¡­ Suddenly he stops, and pull his arm back. Why? Why is he not counterattacking? My punch slices through the air and lands straight on his temple. Even after the punch landed, I continue to put my all into it. Every fiber of my being is fully focused on doing as much damage as possible; an attack like this would not be possible while thinking of the consequences of potentially taking a life. It¡¯s exactly the kind of power I need to knock him out yet¡­ He doesn¡¯t budge¡­! He¡¯s completely unscathed¡­ ¡°Silly me. I almost counter-attacked on instinct. There¡¯s no need for me to do that against a mere love tap.¡± ¨C Kuro What the hell is this guy made of?!!! I¡¯m breathing heavily; charging up multiple attacks like that drains your stamina a lot. ¡°Anyways¡­¡± ¨C Kuro For the first time ever, I see him actually run¡­ He runs straight towards me. Before I¡¯m able to react, he picks me up by the throat. I grab his arms and try my best to get free, but he¡¯s not letting go. I¡­ I can¡¯t breathe! ¡°I warned you.¡± ¨C Kuro His fist moves straight towards my chest. It¡¯s like I¡¯m seeing it in slow motion, but¡­ I can¡¯t move my body! Isn¡¯t this what people say happens when you¡¯re about to die¡­? His fist slowly inches towards me, but I¡¯m completely helpless. Am I actually going to die? When the fist is just a few centimeters away from me, I close my eyes. I guess this really is the end¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± ¨C Leanne Huh? I open my eyes, and Leanne is standing right in front of me. She stopped his attack¡­ She stopped his attack with just her index finger¡­ Chapter 63: The end of the E-rank exam! --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°That¡¯s enough. Put him down.¡± ¨C Leanne He looks a bit annoyed, but he doesn¡¯t argue. He puts me down, and I fall to the ground, gasping for air. ¡°Tsk.¡± ¨C Kuro He turns around and walks back to his team like nothing happened¡­ ¡°And we have a winner! Kuro from team Leon won the final match!!!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡­ I lost¡­ Our entire team failed, and it¡¯s all my fault¡­ I was so confident that I could win, but¡­ He absolutely crushed me¡­ I didn¡¯t even stand a chance. I¡¯m so pathetic¡­ I jump back up to my team, but right when I¡¯m about to apologize to them, Shin cuts me off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, buddy. That guy was a monster; I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone here that could have beaten him. Don¡¯t blame yourself for losing, there was nothing you could have done. You got unlucky, that¡¯s all.¡± ¨C Shin He puts his hand on my shoulder and tries to comfort me. ¡°Shin¡¯s right, it isn¡¯t your fault.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°There¡¯s always next year. Let¡¯s train hard so we pass next time! I think it¡¯s time to learn SDM, don¡¯t you?¡± ¨C Shin SDM¡­ He¡¯s right. If I knew that, then maybe¡­ I¡¯m not strong enough as I am now, but I¡¯ll make sure that changes. By this time next year, I¡¯ll make sure that we are E-rank! ¡°Thanks, guys.¡± ¨C Alex Shin smirks. ¡°That concludes this year¡¯s E-rank exam!!! What a wonderful event. This year¡¯s contestants were extraordinary!¡± ¨C Leanne Lett¡¯s looking over at us. She looks both happy and sad at the same time. Happy that she made it, but sad that we didn¡¯t¡­ ¡°Out of the hundreds of people that joined the exam, only 10 incredible individuals reached the second round. Vaman Album from the Dwarfs, Lucas Nix from Mercury, Shin Magnum from The Red Knights, Lily Sol from White-Point Star, and Alex Minima from The Red Knights. I want to congratulate you all for making it this far. I would say the same to Fei Glacies from the Reapers and Jack Cultro from the Dwarfs, but they sadly passed away ¡­ They were both amazing hunters themselves.¡± ¨C Leanne The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I look over at Shin. As soon as she mentioned Fei, he suddenly started looking more distant. I can¡¯t imagine what he¡¯s feeling¡­ She died because of him, but he didn¡¯t mean to do it¡­ ¡°But more than anything, I want to congratulate the three people that passed the E-rank exam and managed to rank up!! Leon Adamas from the Reapers, Lett Lepus from the Red Knights, and Kuro Velox from Atlas, you may all come down here.¡± ¨C Leanne All three of them jump down to Leanne. ¡°From this moment, you three are officially E-rank hunters!!!!!¡± ¨C Leanne She reaches her hand forward and tries to shake hands with Leon, but instead of taking her hand, he puts his own in his pockets instead. ¡°Nice. Can we leave now?¡± ¨C Leon ¡°U-uhm, I suppose?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°K.¡± ¨C Leon He turns around and walks away. He doesn¡¯t take her hand; he doesn¡¯t thank her. He just walks away. Kuro does the same. Out of the three winners, only Lett remains. Leanne looks confused; she obviously didn¡¯t expect the winners to just walk away. Lett sees the confusion on Leanne¡¯s face and grabs her hand in Leon¡¯s place. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Oh, uhm, yeah.¡± ¨C Leanne At the same time, I see that Lily taps Shin on the shoulder. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Remember how I said I had something I wanted to talk to you about after the exam?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Yeah?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¨C Lily Right. I forgot. She starts walking away, and Shin follows after her. I follow Shin, but Lily immediately stops me. ¡°Not you.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Sorry¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a moment.¡± ¨C Shin They walk away, and I jump down to Lett. --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] ¡°Why couldn¡¯t Alex come with?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lily She just ignores me while we continue walking. After a little while, when we¡¯re relatively far away from the rest; she stops. ¡°What is your opinion on the Emperor?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°The Emperor? What kinda question is that?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Could you just answer?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Not the biggest fan I suppose.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What if I was a part of the royal guard? They would have you killed for saying that.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Uhm, are you?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°No, but that¡¯s beside the point.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Then what¡¯s the point?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You express your opinion without fear, not many people can do that.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I see, but what was it that you wanted to talk to me to all the way back before the exam even started?¡± ¨C Shin She sighs. ¡°You intervened when those guys were about to be killed. You stopped it from happening. If the leaders of Dolor wants to, they could report you to the royal guard. If that happens, you very well may become a wanted man. Enemies of the royal guard, and by extension the Emperor, will NOT live long¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°What are you getting at, why are you telling me all this?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You¡¯re not stupid, I know that. You knew exactly what you were doing when you saved them. You knew the risk you were taking perfectly well. Yet you still did it¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°There¡¯s a way to keep you safe.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Oh?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°There¡¯s this group, this organization¡­ They¡¯re filled with people like you, people who¡¯d risk it all to fight against the injustice in this world. I was saved by them once, and they could save you too. Come with me, and I¡¯ll guarantee that the government won¡¯t find you.¡± ¨C Lily I think about it for a moment before replying. ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I can¡¯t accept.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What? Why?!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Because I want to stay with my friends.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What if I let them come too?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I would love nothing more, but I know they wouldn¡¯t do that. They have their own goals they want to achieve; going into hiding wouldn¡¯t exactly help them achieve those goals.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°But if you don¡¯t, there is a high possibility that you¡¯ll die!¡± ¨C Lily I chuckle a little. ¡°What? What¡¯s so funny about that??¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who just praised me for risking my life for the things I believe in?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Besides, I still have the protection of my guild. They won¡¯t let anything happen to me.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What about when you leave to go on missions?!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine. Okay?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Oh, by the way, what¡¯s the name of the organization?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°The END.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°The END? What an ominous name¡­ Anyways, thanks for the offer.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Let me know if you ever change your mind, okay? Seriously.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 64: Gaia the specialty finder --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] A few days later ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you managed to hijack our bet and turn it against me¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What was that? Did a measly F-rank hunter try to speak to me just now?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°My god you¡¯re insufferable¡­ I¡¯ll pay the bill, alright¡­¡± ¨C Shin Lett starts laughing. Me and Shin split the bill, then get out of the restaurant. ¡°So, what are we doing now? We haven¡¯t gone on a mission since returning from Dolor.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You can go on a mission by yourself, I have other plans.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m not going to fail next year¡¯s exam; no way. I¡¯ll take a page from your book and learn SDM first. Luckily for me, I already know what my specialty is!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oooh, good idea! I should do that too. But¡­ I¡¯ll need to go to the specialty finder first; I have no clue what mine is.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°They say you need to be E-rank first, but you can easily get past that rule by just being reeeeeeeeeaaaaally annoying.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What did you even do? You never told us.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Weeell, I¡¯d rather not talk about it to be honest¡­ But! I¡¯ll take you there if you want to!¡± ¨C Lett She¡¯s making me really curious¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll stay; I already know what my specialty is.¡± ¨C Shin Lett bursts into laughter. ¡°What?¡± ¨C Shin She explains as she wipes away her tears of laughter. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy¡­ She can explain it a lot better than I can, so I¡¯ll leave that to her, but just knowing what your specialty is, isn¡¯t enough. She is both the specialty finder, and the person who will train you. Without her, you¡¯re not going to be able to use your specialty in just a year.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin --- A few minutes later, we knock on the specialty finder¡¯s door Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± ¨C Specialty finder Lett opens the door and enters first. ¡°Oh my god¡­ It¡¯s you¡­¡± ¨C Specialty finder We enter right after her. ¡°What do you want?!¡± ¨C Specialty finder ¡°I want you to train my friends, just like you trained me.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Aren¡¯t those the rookies that tried to take the F-rank exam before getting a recommendation, then failed? Yeah, no. Not happening.¡± ¨C Specialty finder Lett walks up to her and leans forwards. Her face is just a few centimeters away from hers. She stares deeply into her eyes, and says: ¡°I¡¯ll do it again¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°FINE! Okay, okay. Fine¡­¡± ¨C Specialty finder What the hell did she do¡­? ¡°Perfect!¡± ¨C Lett She smiles and walks out of the room, closing the door behind her. ¡°See you later boys!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Soooooo, you¡¯re the specialty finder, huh?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Just call me Gaia.¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°Nice to meet you Gaia! I¡¯m very thankful that you¡¯re willing to teach us SDM even though we¡¯re not E-rank yet. I just have one question¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Spit it out.¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°What did Lett do?¡± ¨C Alex She looks annoyed just thinking about it. ¡°I¡¯d rather not talk about it¡­¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Alex NOW I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT SHE DID EVEN MORE!!! AAAGH!! ¡°I¡¯ll teach you SDM, but before that, I need to make sure you understand how Divinity Manipulation actually works. First of all, do you know how BDM works?¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°I mean, I think so, but I wouldn¡¯t mind you explaining it again.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright. The way BDM works is by absorbing the Divinity in the space around you, then channeling it throughout your body. By channeling it through your skin, your skin hardens. By channeling it through your muscles, your muscles get more powerful. Whatever body part you channel it through is empowered. However, it¡¯s not easy to maintain this. It takes a lot of concentration. This is the reason why you need to train so hard to maintain it. A slight break in concentration and you¡¯ll let go of the Divinity. The better you get at manipulating it, the bigger amounts of Divinity you¡¯ll be able to manipulate without losing control. Charged attacks are sometimes referred to as a window into your future. You take in as much Divinity as you possibly can, then mostly focus it on one part of your body. Like your fist for instance. You can¡¯t move around while using a charged attack because you¡¯re at the limit of your concentration. The reason why charged attacks are sometimes called a window into your future is because with enough training, you¡¯ll eventually be able to control that much Divinity all the time. Obviously, that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t use charged attacks anymore, it just means that what used to be a charged attack is now your default. Your new charged attacks will be even more powerful. The last important thing about BDM is slowed aging. The reason why you even age at all is because when your dying cells divide, sometimes tiny errors will happen. Those errors build up over time, and lead to your body slowly breaking down. By constantly channeling Divinity through your entire body, each individual cell will be strengthened. This makes you age slower for two reasons. The first reason is that your cells will live much longer. If it takes ten times as long before your cells have to divide and create new ones, then you will live for ten times longer. The other reason is that your strengthened cells will be able to more accurately replicate themselves. If the chance for an error occurring is a tenth of what it usually is, then you will on average live ten times longer. Combine both of those, and you will live for 100 times longer. Now the exact numbers will greatly vary based on how good you are at BDM. But even at your level, unless something unnatural happens to you, you¡¯ll essentially live forever. As you may know, this is the main motivation for a lot of people to learn BDM.¡± ¨C Gaia Chapter 65: I remember… --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°I see¡­ But what about SDM?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, SDM is very different, but it is similar in one way; you still need to infuse yourself with Divinity. The thing that makes it so different, and so much more difficult, is that it¡¯s not your body that you¡¯re channeling it through.¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°Huh? Not my body?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Nope. In order to use SDM you need to channel the Divinity through your soul.¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°My soul?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes. You channel the Divinity through your soul. The result is based on ¡®the shape¡¯ of your soul. You can think of your soul as a lock, and Divinity as the key. In order to open the lock, you need a key that fits. This is the reason why using SDM is so hard; everything you need to do to use BDM, you have to do with SDM, except you have an additional step on top of that. You have to change the shape of the Divinity itself so that it can pass through your soul. Changing the shape of Divinity is incredibly difficult, and will take you a lot of training, even with my help. This is why I usually don¡¯t help F-rank hunters; they won¡¯t be able to do it, and it will simply be a waste of time. You guys are a special case. I¡¯m only doing this because I would rather waste my time, than have her do that again¡­¡± ¨C Gaia At this point I¡¯m more interested in learning what Lett did, than actually learning SDM¡­ ¡°My specialty lets me see the shape of other people¡¯s souls. This will allow me to see exactly what your specialty is. With my help, it will make it a lot easier for you guys learn how to change the shape of the Divinity.¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°I have a question. I¡¯ve heard about people being able to use SDM for things that isn¡¯t their Specialty. If the result of the SDM is based on the shape of your soul, how is that possible?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°The answer is simple; you have to change the shape of your soul itself. Now this is way beyond hard, very few people below A-rank can do this. A way to visualize this is by imaging a person who has a ¡®circular¡¯ soul and a person who has a ¡®square¡¯ soul. When the person with a circular soul changes the shape of the Divinity and passes it through, fire will be created. When the person with a square soul does the same, water will appear. If the person with a circular soul wants to create water, they will first need to change the shape of their soul into a square, change the shape of the Divinity into a square, then pass it through. You have to go through three steps that are all exponentially more difficult than the last. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Now souls aren¡¯t actually shaped like circles and squares, this is just to help you understand the theory behind it all. The bigger the adjustment you have to make to your soul, the harder it is to use it. For that reason, even learning how to change the shape of your soul doesn¡¯t mean you can use any specialty. Just the ones that you get by slightly altering your soul. Your soul will naturally go back to its original shape when you stop manipulating it, so you can¡¯t change your specialty. This is also why it¡¯s called a ¡®specialty¡¯. Each soul is unique, so you¡¯re more or less going to be the only person who can do that specific SDM without needing to change your soul. Now there are a few cases of relatives using the same ability, but it''s incredibly rare. In reality, relatives will have at most a similar ability, but even that is unlikely.¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°I see¡­ I wanted to learn my big bro¡¯s specialty too, but I guess that might be a lot more difficult than I first thought¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Who knows what will happen in the future, but you can just forget about it for now. Anyways, you should be happy that I¡¯m even teaching you SDM at all!¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°Of course! I¡¯m very thankful!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well then, I guess it¡¯s time to check out what your specialties are.¡± ¨C Gaia Gaia walks towards Shin. ¡°Actually, I already know mine. I accidentally used it in the E-rank exam when I was pushed to my limit.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°That¡¯s good to know, but it¡¯ll be a lot easier for me to teach you if I know the shape myself.¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°I see, go ahead then.¡± ¨C Shin She grabs his hands and closes her eyes. ¡°Mhm¡­ Okay. That¡¯s for sure a useful specialty in battle! You¡¯re lucky.¡± ¨C Gaia ¡°True. It was the deciding factor in winning my battle.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright then, you¡¯re next.¡± ¨C Gaia She says while looking at me. I put my hands forwards, and she grabs them. ¡°What the?!!!¡± ¨C Gaia She quickly lets go of my hands, and stumbles backwards. The moment she touched me and looked into my soul, it was like a shock of electricity ran through my entire body. My consciousness is starting to fade, and¡­ And¡­ ¡­ ¡­ --- Everything is pitch black and I hear a loud growling noise¡­ It¡¯s that dream again! The dream I¡¯ve had all my life. Every time I have it, I remember every other time I¡¯ve had it, yet I can¡¯t remember a thing when I¡¯m awake. I haven¡¯t had it in a while; the last time was when Vic was still training me. I used to just shrug it off, but¡­ It can¡¯t just be coincidence. The moment she looked into my soul, she jumped back, and I passed out. I passed out, and I ended up here¡­ Does this dream have something to do with my soul? As I think that, I feel myself waking up. No! If I wake up, I¡¯ll just forget. I need to somehow communicate this to them. Gaia might be able to help me figure out what¡¯s going on. As I feel myself waking up, I start repeating a single word over and over again. --- ¡°Hey, wake up!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°DREAM!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Dream?¡± ¨C Shin Huh? Did I just say that? ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m not sure why I said that¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Uhh, I think so?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Gaia freaked out, and you suddenly passed out right after. What happened?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°There¡¯s something abnormal about you. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before¡­¡± ¨C Gaia Chapter 66: The important mission --- [Victor¡¯s perspective] One year ago, three months before he met Alex ¡°Vic, are you going to finish that or what?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Here, just take it.¡± ¨C Victor I give her my last slice of cake. ¡°Hehe, thank yoooou!¡± ¨C Lexa She giggles like a kid while eating it. ¡°Oh, by the way, Leo told me that we should meet up with him in the main hall later. I think it was something work related.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Can you stop talking with food in your mouth?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°No, don¡¯t wanna.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Victor This woman¡­ I swear¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go meet up with him after you¡¯ve finished then.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Okiii~¡± ¨C Lexa --- Five minutes later ¡°There you are, do you know what this is about?¡± ¨C Leo ¡°She said it was something work related, but that¡¯s it.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I see¡­ There have been some reports of monster sightings near Lutum recently. The witnesses weren¡¯t the most reliable; they were extremely drunk when they supposedly saw them, and no one has gotten hurt yet, but there is a known dungeon close by. The dungeon was graded as a 2-man C-rank dungeon. Me and Seth already accepted the mission, but I was wondering if you two wanted to tag along.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Sure. The experience of being in a real C-rank dungeon is invaluable.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I¡¯m in. This just gives me more things to brag about to my dumb little brother.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Haha, perfect.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Nice! Before we leave, I¡¯ll tell you the plan. First, we¡¯ll scout the area and make sure there are no monsters there. If there are any, it won¡¯t be many. You guys can take care of them if there are any. After that, we¡¯ll clear the dungeon itself. Sounds good?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yup.¡± ¨C Lexa --- A little while later, at the dungeon entrance ¡°Okay, Vic, you can come with me. Lexa, you go with Seth. We don¡¯t want either of you to ever be alone. This is meant to be practice for you guys, we don¡¯t want you to be in any real danger.¡± ¨C Leo This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Got it.¡± ¨C Victor Lexa runs off with Seth. ¡°Okay, they¡¯re going that way, so we¡¯ll go this way.¡± ¨C Leo We run around scouting the area for a while, but we can¡¯t find anything. There are no signs of monsters here. Not even any footprints. Maybe Seth and Lexa found something, but honestly, I doubt it. Although it does happen, it¡¯s still rare for monsters to escape their dungeon. Especially for a dungeon as new as this one. On top of that, the witnesses were unreliable. They probably just imagined it. It¡¯s still good that we checked though. Better safe than sorry. If there actually were any monster around, that could be disastrous. Even the weakest monsters in a C-rank dungeon could kill countless people if there are no one around to stop it. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re clear, should we head back to the dungeon entrance and meet up with the others?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Leo As we run back, we continue to scout for monsters in case we missed any. We got back before Lexa and Seth did, so we decided to just sit down while we were waiting. Luckily, we didn¡¯t have to wait for long; just 10 minutes or so. ¡°Did you find anything?¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Nope.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I see. Good. All clear then, let¡¯s head into the dungeon.¡± ¨C Leo The entrance is on the ground; it¡¯s like a hole in the earth. Leo jumps in first, then Seth and I quickly follow after. Lexa hesitates for a moment, but eventually she jumps too. ¡°AhHH!!!¡± ¨C Lexa After jumping in, we just kept falling. It was quite far, but we eventually landed. A fall isn¡¯t enough to hurt a hunter at our level, but Lexa was still screaming the whole way down¡­ ¡°God, I hate heights¡­¡± ¨C Lexa Before we get to look around, we¡¯re already getting attacked. Three giant spiders shoot webs at us. I get ready to jump away, but it wasn¡¯t necessary. Leo waves his hand, and a large wall of fire is created. The webs are instantly burned to ash the moment they hit the wall. He shoves his hand forwards, and the wall is pushed deep into the dungeon. Just like their webs, all that remains of the giant spiders is ash. Wow¡­ I¡¯m shocked every time I see him in action. C-rank hunters are beasts¡­ ¡°Leo, can¡¯t you turn down the heat a little? We just entered the dungeon, and I¡¯m already sweating¡­¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Let me and Vic take care of the next ones. If we¡¯re in trouble, then you can help.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Fine.¡± ¨C Leo I¡¯m not gonna complain, but I do agree¡­ His fire is almost unbearably hot¡­ We continue to walk further into the dungeon. There are no lights here, so Leo creates a tiny flame that he uses as a torch. He walks in the front, while Seth is in the back. This is to make sure we don¡¯t get ambushed by any strong monsters. It seems like this dungeon is very large. We haven¡¯t seen too many monsters yet. As soon as I finish the thought, two more giant spiders come crawling around the corner. One is walking on the ceiling, while the other is on the wall. ¡°Eww!¡± ¨C Lexa They crawl quickly towards us. ¡°Alright then, take care of them.¡± ¨C Leo I run towards the one on the wall, but when I get close, they both decide to shoot their webs at me. ¡°I got it!¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Alright!¡± ¨C Victor I ignore the webs and continue to run towards it. The webs are heading right for me, but just before they hit, a volley of weapons slice them apart. I jump towards the spider, and punch it straight in the head. Boom, boom, boboboboom!! My hit repeats five times, and the spider is crushed. The one on the ceiling jumps down towards me. ¡°You got the other one, this one is mine!¡± ¨C Lexa As she said that, she waves both her hands around, creating an army of weapons. She pushes her arms forward, and they all go flying towards the spider. Before the spider can reach me, it gets impaled by countless weapons, instantly killing it. Lexa¡¯s specialty is very powerful. She can create a whole bunch of weapons, then control them as she likes. Swords, spears, knives¡­ You name it. Ranged types like her are always handy to have by your side. Actually¡­ When I think about, I¡¯m the only one here who prefers to fight in close quarters¡­ ¡°Good job, both of you!¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Hehe, that spider was nothing!¡± ¨C Lexa Chapter 67: Sea --- [Victor¡¯s perspective] We¡¯ve been slowly making our way deeper and deeper into the dungeon. We¡¯ve still only encountered the same giant spiders. Is that the only type of monster in here? It almost seems like the dungeon was misevaluated. Me and Lexa are able to deal with the spiders just fine. Two D-rank hunters are clearing a 2-man C-rank dungeon by themselves¡­ Something is wrong. It shouldn¡¯t be this easy¡­ ¡°Am I going crazy or is this cave getting bigger and bigger?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Hmm, I think you¡¯re right. The ceiling is getting higher, and the walls are getting further apart. It¡¯s not by much, so it¡¯s hard to notice, but it is slowly getting bigger the further in we get.¡± ¨C Leo Another spider comes crawling at us from around the corner. ¡°I got this one.¡± ¨C Lexa She creates a large spear, and impales the spider with it. We walk around the corner that the spider came from, and¡­ ¡°What the-?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°!!¡± ¨C Victor It¡¯s an absolutely gargantuan room, filled to the brim with spiders! This is nothing like what we¡¯ve seen so far. There were only ever a couple spiders at once, but this time there are¡­ Who knows how many! Millions? Billions? ¡­ Trillions??? I have no idea; all I know is that there are too many to count. They¡¯re still the same kind of spider that we¡¯ve been seeing all this time. Did they all come from here? ¡°Get back.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Let us handle this, this is too much for you guys.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°It¡¯s fine, we can help!¡± ¨C Lexa Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°No. You can take on a few of them, but this¡­ This is way too much. It seems this dungeon isn¡¯t rated as a C-rank dungeon because of particularly strong monsters¡­ It¡¯s due to the insane number of enemies.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°We can protect you from a few strong monsters, but this? If just a fraction of them gets past us¡­ Just stay back, okay?!¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°You too Vic. Stay back!¡± ¨C Leo ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Victor We both back off. He¡¯s right though¡­ We could take on a couple just fine, but there are way too many of them¡­ Leo and Seth moves in. The spiders notice them, and they all starts charging towards us. They run further into the large room; distancing themselves from us even more. Countless webs are being shot at them, but Leo burns it all up with his fire. Seth raises his hand high into the air, then slams it down towards the ground. As he does that, a sea of thunderbolts rain down from the sky, electrocuting thousands of them. He reaches both his hands forwards, and lightning is shot out from his palms. The electricity travels between the spiders, instantly frying them. The fire that Leo used as a torch grows bigger and bigger. It becomes a fireball, tens of meters wide. He launches the fireball towards them, burning a giant hole in the sea of spiders. The fire burns through everything; not even smoke remains. It¡¯s known as the fire that incinerates all¡­ Despite their continued assault of attacks, their numbers have barely been reduced at all. If someone had asked me if there were more spiders now, or when we first got here, I wouldn¡¯t be able to answer¡­ There¡¯s just too many of them¡­ Leo creates another wall of fire, and just like before, he pushes it through the room. But due to the sheer magnitude of spiders, the wall fades away before it¡¯s able to even make a dent to their numbers¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be able to help them even if I tried¡­ The difference between the level of strong C-rank hunter like them, and a D-rank hunter like me, is clearer than the difference between night and day. Even though it looks hopeless, they continue their barrage of attacks. Seth makes it rain thunderbolts yet again. This time it¡¯s even more than last time. It¡¯s so loud! I¡¯m covering my ears, but it still feels like my eardrums could explode at any moment. Giant swarms of spiders are ripped apart by the sound alone. Leo shoots out countless tiny fireballs all over the place. They¡¯re nowhere near as hot as the big one he used before; the spiders are still moving even after getting hit. But since they don¡¯t instantly vaporize their targets, that means there is something left to spread it. All spiders near the ones he hit ignite. It quickly spreads to the ones close to them too, and in just a moment, a sea of fire emerges. It¡¯s so bright! It feels like looking directly at the sun. No¡­ It¡¯s even brighter! I quickly close my eyes, but they still sting. All my senses are getting overloaded by their attacks; they¡¯re blindingly bright, and deafeningly loud. I couldn¡¯t help them even if I tried; not even because of how many enemies there are, but because I can¡¯t see or hear what¡¯s going on! They¡¯re unbelievable¡­ They might even be close to the level of B-rank hunters! After a little while, the fire dies down, and the lightning stops. Did they do it¡­? I open my eyes again, and peek inside. ¡­! They did it! There¡¯s not a single living spider left. The room is full of bits and pieces of charred spider corpses, ash, and webs. Leo and Seth are both breathing heavily. Continually making large attacks like that drains a lot of stamina. We run up to them. ¡°You did it!!¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Y¡­¡± ¨C Leo He takes a few deep breaths. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Leo Seth lays down and spreads his arms and legs. ¡°Ahhh¡­ Man that was exhausting¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Leo Leo sits down. They take a few more deep breaths before saying anything. They¡¯re both drenched in sweat. It¡¯s probably from the combination of extreme heat produced by their abilities, and the intense fight they just had. Their opponents weren¡¯t hard to kill, there were just so many of them that they had to continually use their abilities at max output for a relatively long time. Leo points to the end of the room. There is a giant closed door. ¡°That¡¯s probably where the boss is.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Let¡¯s take a little break before entering¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Leo Chapter 68: The spider queen --- [Leo¡¯s perspective] ¡°So, this is what C-rank dungeons are like, huh?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°I was starting to think I was getting close to C-rank, but maybe I¡¯m not¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°You¡¯ll get there eventually, buddy. Your specialty has a lot of potential; even more than mine.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°You¡¯re just being humble. No matter how many times my hits ¡®echo¡¯, I¡¯ll never be able to clear hordes of enemies like that.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Maybe mine is better at clearing large amounts of enemies, but yours is better at defeating powerful opponents. I¡¯ve never encountered as many enemies at once as we did today. Usually it¡¯s a few strong enemies, in which case, yours is more effective.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°He¡¯s not lying, Vic. Keep honing your skills and you¡¯ll reach C-rank sooner or later.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Your ability isn¡¯t half bad either, Seth.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°True. I wonder how it would fare against Leo¡¯s¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I like mine a lot too. Being able to fight at long range is very nice.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°It is indeed.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I¡¯m the only close-range fighter here¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Haha, that¡¯s true.¡± ¨C Seth We continue to chat for a little while. ¡°Wait, you guys all have younger siblings around the same age, right?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Yeah¡­ That¡¯s right. I never really thought about it before, but we should introduce them to each other.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°As long as you make sure those boys don¡¯t hit on my little sister, I¡¯m fine with it.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Shin isn¡¯t into that sorta stuff.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°I see. Well then, I guess when they become hunters, they¡¯ll be like a little baby version of our team.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Alex isn¡¯t becoming a hunter¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Hmm?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Being a hunter is a dangerous job, every mission could be your last¡­ I don¡¯t want anything to happen to him. Heck, the only reason why I even went for this job in the first place is because our village is too poor to sustain itself. I just happened to be good at it.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°I see¡­ Well, that¡¯s understandable I guess.¡± ¨C Victor Suddenly, everything became very awkward¡­ Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have said it like that¡­ Lexa tried to break the silence by asking Seth a question. ¡°You don¡¯t have any siblings, right?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Nope.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Aha¡­¡± ¨C Lexa This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡­ But the awkward silence came right back¡­ I started this, so I should be the one to end it. ¡°Anyways, are you guys ready to do the boss?¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yup.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡± ¨C Leo We get back up and walk towards the door. It¡¯s a large door; must be at least a few hundred meters tall and wide. ¡°You guys can stay outside. We¡¯ll take care of the boss. I know you didn¡¯t get to do a whole bunch, but this dungeon is a whole rank above yours.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Just look at this like a learning opportunity.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Sure. I never really expected you guys to let us fight the boss anyways.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to even if you did let us! Even I¡¯m not stupid enough to think I stand a chance against a C-rank boss!¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°I see¡­ Well then, let¡¯s do this.¡± ¨C Leo Vic and Lexa back off, while Seth pushes the door open. As he opens the door, I immediately shoot a ball of fire in there to light up the room. ¡°CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!¡± ¨C Spider queen There¡¯s absolutely enormous spider in there! It¡¯s hundreds of times larger than the regular ones, and they weren¡¯t exactly small themselves¡­ The echoes of its screech are almost deafening. Me and Seth push in. The boss charges straight at us. Seth uses both hands to summon a large thunderbolt, and it strikes the spider down. It falls to the ground but gets up again just as quickly. It spits out clumps of web right towards us. ¡°You take care of the webs; I¡¯ll take care of her.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Got it.¡± ¨C Leo As Seth continues to shoot an endless stream of lightning at it, I create large fireball that engulfs the webs. But the webs don¡¯t burn away that easily¡­ Not only is each string significantly thicker and more durable than the ones the regular spiders produced, but since it¡¯s rolled up into a ball, it becomes exponentially stronger. I¡¯ll have to increase my output. I create another large fireball, but it¡¯s much hotter than the last one. I charge it up as much as I can. Instead of shooting it towards the webs, I let the webs hit it. The webs are burned up, and I throw the fireball at the spider queen. She screeches in pain as it hits her, but she doesn¡¯t go down that easily. She jumps right at us, and we¡¯re forced to dodge. Seth gets a clean hit on one of her eyes, instantly blinding it. This enrages her even more, and she focuses all her attention on him. It throws a barrage of attacks with its front legs; Seth is just barely able to dodge them all. He doesn¡¯t have any time to counterattack at all. I take the opportunity to damage her as much as I can, but she just ignores all my attacks and continues to go for Seth. I see that Seth stumbles a little and almost falls over. That slight lapse in concentration was enough for him to not be able to dodge the next attack. She launches her front leg right at him. ¡°Shit!¡± ¨C Seth I don¡¯t like doing this, but I have no choice. I cloak myself in my own flames; flames that I¡¯ve turned up to the highest degree that I can. I quickly dash forward with all my might, and right before she pierces him, I grab her leg. I push her leg away just enough for it to miss Seth, but her insanely sharp leg hairs pierces my palms. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it!¡± ¨C Leo The leg I touched burned off; making the boss lose balance. I turn off my fire cloak. I¡¯m for the most part immune to my own fire, but when I cloak myself like this, even I get some minor burns. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t like using it. That being said, it¡¯s a very effective technique; especially in close quarters. Her hairs pierced my hands, but I quickly cauterize my wounds with my own fire to stop the bleeding. ¡°It¡¯s time to end this.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°I agree.¡± ¨C Seth While the boss is stumbling around trying to get its sense of balance back, we jump to the other side of the room. I reach both my hands into the air, and create a massive ball of fire. I don¡¯t use my regular fire, however¡­ ¡°Hellfire¡­¡± ¨C Leo The fireball turns into a dark-red flame; it¡¯s almost black. Hellfire is significantly stronger than my normal flames, but it also drains my stamina a lot quicker. Seth shoots an unimaginable amount of electricity into the hellfire. It merges together and forms an entirely new substance. We both have control over it, so we both push our hands forwards. The ball goes flying towards the boss. By now, the boss has adapted to losing a leg, and has already started rushing towards us. She¡¯s not an intelligent monster; she doesn¡¯t seem to be capable of sensing danger. She runs straight into the massive fireball, and it burns a massive hole right through her. Her entire body and head turned into nothingness. All that remains are her legs. They fall over and signals our victory. We defeated the boss with only some relatively minor injuries. Chapter 69: Thundergod’s wrath! --- [Leo¡¯s perspective] ¡°You did it!!! Congrats!¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned ¡®hellfire¡¯ before, but I¡¯ve never seen it in person. I wouldn¡¯t wanna be on the other end of that¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°It certainly does the job, but good god does it tire me out¡­¡± ¨C Leo Even standing up straight is a hard¡­ There has never been a foe that hasn¡¯t been defeated by hellfire, but after using it, it¡¯s hard for me to continue fighting. I only use it to finish off bosses and such. ¡°Maybe I need to learn a special attack like that too¡­ Hmm¡­¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Same. But¡­ What could I even do? Just more echoes?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s your problem. You figure it out.¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¨C Victor They seem inspired, that¡¯s good. ¡°Good job guys. We made it to The END¡­ of the dungeon.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Yeah!¡± ¨C Lexa Wait¡­ What did he just say? Am I just imagining things? I look over at Seth to confirm my suspicion. ¡­ He¡¯s staring right into my eyes with a dead-serious look on his face. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Anyways, should we head out?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Victor, come over here for a second.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°¡¯Victor¡¯? You never call me that.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Just do it.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± ¨C Victor Vic walks over to me. While he walks over, I continue to maintain constant eye contact with Seth. I whisper something into his ear. --- [Victor¡¯s perspective] ¡°What?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Just do it, okay? Promise me.¡± ¨C Leo Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°But-!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°PROMISE ME!¡± ¨C Leo Leo never shouts like this¡­ He¡¯s serious¡­ ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Now go.¡± ¨C Leo I walk over to Lexa and grab her arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Huh? What happened? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°We¡¯re leaving. Now!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Okay¡­? But could you at least explain what¡¯s going on?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Now!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lexa --- [Leo¡¯s perspective] ¡°So, you know what this is about then¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I knew my past would catch up to me eventually, but¡­ I didn¡¯t expect it to be you. I thought we were friends.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°We are! We are friends!¡± ¨C Seth ¡°You¡¯ve been lying to us all this time about who you really are!¡± ¨C Leo ¡°To be fair, so have you¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°You know what¡¯s going on here. Let¡¯s just cut to the chase¡­ All I¡¯m asking is for you to join us.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°¡­ So that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t use it. You have your own finishing move, just like my hellfire¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°It¡¯s just insurance, I don¡¯t intend to use it.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I can¡¯t believe this¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Leo! I don¡¯t want anything to happen between us! We¡¯ve been friends for years now.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°A friend would never do this¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°I already told you I don¡¯t want anything to happen here. I-¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Then why did you not use your special attack?!¡± ¨C Leo ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ insurance¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Right, ¡®insurance¡¯¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Leo, I just need you to join us; join The END. That¡¯s it. Nothing needs to happen here.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I don¡¯t want to join your crazy club of revolutionaries; I just want to live my life!¡± ¨C Leo Seth starts nervously laughing. ¡°Leo¡­! We¡¯re not just a ¡®crazy club¡¯, we¡¯re fighting for the future! For the greater good of the world¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight, Seth. You know that.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Sometimes you have to.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°It seems I do¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Seth Seth is starting to look frustrated. ¡°I¡¯m serious, I don¡¯t want this to escalate.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Then let me go.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Leo¡­ You know I can¡¯t do that¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Of course you can¡¯t¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Leo¡­ Just-¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Look. I just want to be a farmer. A fucking farmer! I want to spend the rest of my life with my family. I don¡¯t want any of this. I only do it because I have no other choice¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Then that¡¯s even more reason for you to join us! We don¡¯t want anyone to ever feel that they need to put their lives at risk just to be able to live.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Listen to yourself¡­ Do you not see how hypocritical you¡¯re being? You¡¯re asking me to do exactly that!¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Come on¡­ You know that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Then what did you mean?!¡± ¨C Leo ¡°I just¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°You don¡¯t get it, huh¡­¡± ¨C Leo Seth takes a moment to collect his thoughts. ¡°Are you sure this is the road you want to go down?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I am.¡± ¨C Leo Seth sighs out of frustration. ¡°Leo, you¡¯re special. You know why I can¡¯t just let you go¡­ You¡¯re the-¡± ¨C Seth I interrupt him before he gets to finish his sentence. ¡°I know.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Seth Seth takes another deep breath. ¡°Well then, it seems I have no other choice¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°So it seems¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°As your friend, I wish you good luck. As your enemy¡­¡± ¨C Seth He closes his eyes¡­ ¡°¡­ I also wish you good luck.¡± ¨C Seth As he says that, he opens his eyes again. Electricity is shooting out in every direction from his eyes. ¡°Thundergod¡¯s wrath!¡± ¨C Seth --- [Victor¡¯s perspective] Back at the guild hall Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! I start nervously biting my nails and shivering. ¡°VIC! What the hell is going on?!!!¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°It¡¯s Seth¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°What about him?!!¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°He¡¯s not who we thought he was¡­ Him and Leo are fighting¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Fighting?! Why?!!¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Because Leo isn¡¯t who we thought he was either¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°What does that even mean? Can you just explain?!¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°I-¡± ¨C Victor I cut myself off. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ It¡¯s sensitive information. I don¡¯t have the right to tell anyone. Only Leo and his little brother has that right¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Alex? What does he have to do with anything?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Well, is there anything you can tell me?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°I don¡¯t have all the information, but from what I gathered, Seth is part of some terrorist organization that is currently hunting Leo.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Do you know why they¡¯re hunting him?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°¡­ But you can¡¯t tell me why they¡¯re hunting him?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¨C Victor Lexa takes a deep breath, and sighs loudly. ¡°Fine¡­ But I hope there¡¯s a damn good reason for that¡­¡± ¨C Lexa Chapter 70: The end of one journey, and the beginning of another --- [Leo¡¯s perspective] Seth reaches up towards the ceiling. Lightning keeps spilling out of his eyes. He quickly slams his arm down on the ground, and a lightning dragon crashes down towards me. I¡¯ve never used done it twice in the same day before, but I have no choice¡­ ¡°Hellfire!¡± ¨C Leo Hellfire forcefully erupts out of my body and blocks the dragon. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡± ¨C Seth Seth keeps screaming as he pours everything he has into the attack. My hellfire is getting pushed back¡­ I can¡¯t let that happen. I need to increase my output. My entire body starts violently shaking as I use up every last drop of stamina I have left. My hellfire continues to grow and grow, but the dragon keeps piercing through. ¡°AHHHHHH!!!¡± ¨C Seth ¡°AHHHHHH!!!¡± ¨C Leo The lightning is so bright that it feels like my eyes are burning up. My fire grows even more, and shortly after, it consumes his lightning. The moment the dragon is stopped, my fire fades away. I fall to my knees and start coughing up blood. Seth is breathing heavy, but he¡¯s still standing¡­ ¡°I knew you were strong, but I would have never imagined that you could stop my Thundergod¡¯s wrath in that condition¡­ I could never beat you in a fair fight.¡± ¨C Seth He¡¯s not gonna be able to use that anymore, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s over¡­ He doesn¡¯t hesitate at all; he sends a thunderbolt right at me. I can¡¯t stop it in time¡­ ¡°GHGHGHGHGHGHH!!H!G!H!GH!!!!¡± ¨C Leo I fall down on my stomach. I¡­ It feels like I¡¯m losing my consciousness¡­ No¡­! I need to stay awake! He walks over to me, and pick me up my hair. My body is limp; unable to move. ¡°Goodbye, Leo.¡± ¨C Seth He launches his arm straight towards my chest. No¡­ Not yet¡­ !! Alex¡­ I¡¯m sorry. ¡­ His arm pierces right through my heart¡­ With my last breath, I give it my all. I grab his face with my hand, and I push my index finger right into his left eye. ¡°Hellfire¡­¡± ¨C Leo I use up my remaining life force, using hellfire once again. He screams in pain and drops me. The fire fades away, but he¡¯s still alive¡­ The left side of his face is completely charred, and his eye is gone. Even if there was one here, not even a B-rank healer could heal him. That scar will stay with him forever. But¡­ This is the end for me. Alex, I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t be there for you anymore. I know a lot of hardships await you now, and I desperately wanted to keep you away from this, but I can¡¯t anymore¡­ I pray for your safety. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I pray for your wellbeing. But more than anything else, I pray that you¡¯ll live a good life. Find yourself friends that you can trust, people you can love. I don¡¯t have any more time, but that¡¯s okay¡­ I trust that you¡¯ll take it from here. Goodbye, lil bro. --- [Victor¡¯s perspective] back at the guild hall ¡°He should have been back by now¡­ This can only mean one thing¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°You don¡¯t mean¡­?¡± ¨C Lexa I look her in the eyes, but I don¡¯t say a word. She understands¡­ Tears start flowing uncontrollably out of her eyes. ¡°No¡­ NO!!!¡± ¨C Lexa People start staring at her, but no one says a word. We¡¯re all hunters; they know¡­ I get up from the table. She grabs me with one arm, and wipes away the tears with the other. The tears don¡¯t stop flowing, so she gives up trying to wipe them away. ¡°Where are you going¡­?¡± ¨C Lexa ¡°I¡¯m gonna talk to the guild master¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°What¡­? The guild master?¡± ¨C Lexa The guild master isn¡¯t someone that you can just go and talk to whenever you want. She understands that it has something to do with what Leo told me; what I couldn¡¯t tell her. She lets go of my arm, and I walk away. --- Almost three months later I¡¯ve tried my hardest for a while now to get a meeting with the guild master, and it¡¯s finally happening. I need to inform him of what Leo told me; he¡¯s the only person I can trust with this information. I¡¯m outside the guild master¡¯s room. There are no guards, no locks, no seal made of Divinity to keep people out. Nothing¡­ But it makes sense, he¡¯s not someone who needs to be protected. I knock on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± ¨C Guild Master I open the door, and enter the room. He¡¯s sitting right there in front of me¡­ I¡¯ve never seen him in person before. Not that I can see much now either¡­ He¡¯s sitting in a tall chair facing away from me. ¡°I heard that you needed my help, Victor. I¡¯m sorry it took so long before we could set up a meeting, I¡¯m a busy man.¡± ¨C Guild Master He knows my name? ¡°I understand, there is no need to apologize, Master.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°So, what did you want?¡± ¨C Guild Master ¡°I have a request.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Oh?¡± ¨C Guild Master ¡°There is someone I need to train, and I need your permission to bring an A-rank hunter to watch over him while he trains.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°An A-rank hunter just to watch over someone while you train him? Do you understand what kind of request you¡¯re making right now?¡± ¨C Guild Master ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Guild Master ¡°His name is Alex Minima, he¡¯s the younger brother of Leo Minima.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°The C-rank hunter who sadly passed away after another one of our C-rank hunters betrayed us¡­¡± ¨C Guild Master ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I understand wanting to help the family of fellow guild mates, but I can¡¯t just send out A-rank hunters like that. You know that¡­¡± ¨C Guild Master ¡°He told me something before he died¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°What did he tell you?¡± ¨C Guild Master --- Right before Leo and Seth started fighting ¡°Victor, come over here for a second.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Victor? You never call me that.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Just do it.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± ¨C Victor He continues to maintain eye contact with Seth while I walk over to him. He leans towards me and whispers into my ear. ¡°Victor, if I¡¯m not back at the guild hall within two hours, that means I¡¯m dead.¡± ¨C Leo What? Dead?! What¡¯s going on?! ¡°Seth is a part of an organization called ¡®The END¡¯, and they¡¯re hunting down both me and my brother.¡± ¨C Leo ¡°What do you mea-¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Just listen!¡± ¨C Leo He¡¯s serious¡­ ¡°If I don¡¯t return, I need you to go train Alex. He¡¯s defenseless as he is now. If it comes to that, you can¡¯t let him know I¡¯m dead. It would break him¡­ Make sure everyone in the guild knows, he can¡¯t find out. Not yet at least¡­¡± ¨C Leo ¡°Don¡¯t talk like tha-¡± ¨C Victor ¡°VICTOR!¡± ¨C Leo ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°The reason why they¡¯re coming after us¡­ The reason why all of this is happening¡­ I¡¯ve never told anyone this before. Not even Alex knows¡­ But I¡¯m going to tell you. I trust you. There¡¯s only two people you can share this information to. It¡¯s the Guild Master and Alex himself. No one else, not even Lexa. Me and Alex, we¡¯re both¡­¡± ¨C Leo --- Back in the Guild Master¡¯s room ¡°I see. Then I guess there is no other option. I¡¯ll send an A-rank hunter there right away. He¡¯ll arrive there before you, but that¡¯s ok. With him there, you have nothing to worry about. No one will be able to harm either of you.¡± ¨C Guild Master ¡°Thank you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Victor. I¡¯m sure Alex will be a great asset for our guild soon. Knowing what I now know, it¡¯s in everyone¡¯s best interest that we do this.¡± ¨C Guild Master Finally! I was so worried about Alex that I had to check up on him a couple times myself while waiting for my meeting with the guild master. I watched over him from a distance, but I never made contact. They haven¡¯t gone after him yet, but there¡¯s no way to know when they might¡­ --- The day Victor meets Alex ¡°Absolutely not! Alex is not becoming a hunter. It¡¯s way too dangerous!¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother I let out a deep sigh. ¡°Alex, can you wait outside. I need to talk to your mother alone for a minute.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Okay¡­?¡± ¨C Alex He walks outside, and I close the door behind him so he can¡¯t hear us. ¡°You should sit down.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I¡¯ve already told you, I won¡¯t let him become a hunter!¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother ¡°Just sit.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°¡­ Fine.¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother We both sit down, and I look into her eyes. I don¡¯t want to drag this out any longer; I¡¯ll have to be blunt about it. ¡°Your son is dead. Leo¡­ Leo is dead.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Wha¡­ What?¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother She looks more confused than anything; it¡¯s like she can¡¯t process what I just said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. He was my best friend, I cared for him a lot.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°No¡­ Nononono¡­ NO! NO!!!¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother She starts hysterically crying. ¡°Listen¡­ I know it¡¯s hard to hear, but it¡¯s the truth.¡± ¨C Victor Her sadness quickly turns to anger. She stands up and she slaps me. ¡°HOW DARE YOU COME HERE AND TRY TO CONVINCE ME TO LET ALEX BECOME A HUNTER WHEN YOU KNOW JUST HOW DANGEROUS IT IS! I WON¡¯T LET MY OTHER SON DIE TOO!¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother ¡°I understand, but-¡± ¨C Victor ¡°BUT? BUT WHAT? I DON¡¯T CARE IF WE¡¯RE POOR, I DON¡¯T CARE IF WE¡¯RE STARVING! WE¡¯LL FIND A WAY! I WON¡¯T LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO HIM!¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother ¡°That¡¯s not why¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°THEN WHY?¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother ¡°Leo didn¡¯t just die, he was killed¡­ And the people who killed him WILL go after Alex one day too. It¡¯ll happen sooner or later, nothing can prevent that. His only hope of survival is to become strong enough to defend himself.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°¡­ But¡­¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother She sits back down and her anger fades away. She once again starts crying. ¡°This was Leo¡¯s last wish¡­ He made me promise to train Alex, and I will follow through on that promise no matter what¡­ Trust me, I won¡¯t let anything happen to Alex. Right now, there is an A-rank hunter looking out for us. He¡¯ll stay here until Alex is ready to become a hunter himself.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother ¡°I know this next part will be hard, but¡­ You can¡¯t let Alex know about Leo. He told me that too¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°What? But¡­¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother ¡°Your job for the time being will be to pretend like everything is fine. I know it¡¯s hard, but you have to do it. Even now¡­ You¡¯ll wipe away your tears, and act like nothing happened. If he asks why you suddenly changed your mind, make up an excuse. He cannot know. Okay?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Okay¡­ I understand¡­¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother I give her a minute to collect herself. She wipes away her tears and washes her face. He can¡¯t find out that she was crying. When she feels like she¡¯s ready, we open the door. ¡°Alex, I¡¯ve got good news!¡± ¨C Victor We both walk over to him. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll allow you to become a hunter.¡± ¨C Alex¡¯s mother ¡°Really?!!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yup!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°AWESOME!¡± ¨C Alex --- Divinity: Part 1 THE END Chapter 71: 2 years later… --- Divinity: Part 2 --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Two years after the E-rank exam ¡°Watch out!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got it.¡± ¨C Shin A giant lion slams it¡¯s paw right on top of Shin. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh no¡­¡± ¨C Lett Is he okay?!! Shit! Wait¡­! Suddenly, an ice sword pokes out from the top of the paw. The lion screams in pain and tries to pull it¡¯s paw away. Before it¡¯s able to pull it back, the sword travels through the paw, splitting it in two. Shin stands up in the middle of the split paw. ¡°I told you I got it!¡± ¨C Shin The lion yet again tries to get away, but Shin cuts off the entire limb. It loses balance and falls. ¡°I¡¯ll take it form here.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Aight.¡± ¨C Shin Illian rushes towards the head of the lion. The lion opens its mouth and starts breathing fire; the fire accompanied by a deafening roar. I quickly get in the way and point my palms towards the flames. A dark void opens up in my palms and the fire is absorbed into it. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Thanks, but I could have survived it on my own. I had my ¡®shadow clone¡¯ up.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I see, but there¡¯s no need to blow your one clone of the day on something I can easily deal with.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¨C Illian Illian continues to rush towards the lion¡¯s head. The beast opens its mouth in an attempt to breathe more fire, but Illian is close enough to stop it. He kicks it in the jaw, instantly shutting the mouth. The teeth slamming into each other breaks a few of them. He follows up his attack and kicks it as hard as he can in the nose. The lion realizes how much danger it is in and starts panicking. It flails its limbs around and starts breathing fire around uncontrollably. A claw catches Shin off guard, but Lett quickly teleports in, pushes him out of the way, then teleports out again. Illian stands in the fire while charging up an attack. Normally, any of us would die from a direct attack like that, but not him. All damage he takes is redirected to his ¡®shadow clone¡¯. It¡¯s only when he would have taken enough damage to kill him, that the clone vanishes, and he is once again vulnerable. He releases his charged attack, slamming his leg into the lion¡¯s head. The kick is so powerful that the lion instantly dies on contact. The flailing and fire breathing stops¡­ The fire would have killed him, but the shadow clone took all the damage instead. The clone is destroyed, and his unnaturally large shadow shrinks back to normal. ¡°Good job, guys!¡± ¨C Lett There were some hick-ups here and there, but overall, it went pretty smoothly. This was a 6-man E-rank dungeon, and we took it down with only four. We¡¯ve improved a lot these last couple years¡­ After failing the E-rank exam, me and Shin started learning SDM. It was rough, but we eventually got decent enough at it. We took the E-rank exam that was held the year after, and we both passed. After becoming E-rank hunters, we met Illian while looking for a mission. He had a 3-man E-rank mission he wanted to do, but didn¡¯t want to do it alone. He saw us looking for a mission ourselves and asked if we wanted to join him. We accepted and he turned out to be a cool guy. We continued to team up a few times and he quickly became our friend. Since then, he has been with us on every mission. We went on one mission with Luna too, but she ranked up, so she has been very busy doing D-rank missions instead. She¡¯s the same rank as Vic now¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the guild.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Shin --- We get back to the guild and accept our reward ¡°How about a two day break before we go back to work?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Sounds good.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yup!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go continue my training then.¡± ¨C Alex Shin looks at me and sighs. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever want to take a break? Just chill for a while?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Fine¡­ But just this once, okay? We can¡¯t get complacent if we want to rank up any time soon.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yay! Let¡¯s go get some dinner then. You guys tagging along?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Why not.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m starving!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Alright then.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 72: Back to work --- Somewhere else ¡°Stage one of the plan has been completed. The bait has been placed, it¡¯s now only a matter of time¡­¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Good.¡± ¨C ??? --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] A few days later, the group is looking for a new mission ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Shin picked the last one, so it should be your turn to pick now, Alex.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Don¡¯t pick anything too difficult, okay? I¡¯m tired¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You should have thought about that last night when you decided to stay up so late¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I know, I know¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I feel your pain, buddy. I think I had a bit much to drink¡­¡± ¨C Illian I let out a sigh. ¡°¡­ Do you want to wait until tomorrow instead?¡± ¨C Alex Shin and Illian make eye contact for a second. It¡¯s as if they¡¯re sharing their thoughts. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Just pick something chill and we¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll let you pick for me next time, alright?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Fine.¡± ¨C Alex Now then¡­ What will I pick? There are so many options. There¡¯s a 5-man E-rank dungeon not too far from here. Hmm¡­ No, that¡¯s probably a little too hard for them in their current condition. There¡¯s a 2-man E-rank dungeon too, but the pay on that one is really low. Split between the four of us, and we get practically nothing. I have an entire village I must provide for after all¡­ If only Leo could return soon¡­ It would make everything so much easier. Oh well! I know that the mission he is on is very important, so this is the least I could do while he¡¯s away. Anyways, what other missions are there? Hmm¡­ That one looks interesting¡­ Cleanse a well that was cursed by a monster¡­ Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! I guess a monster must have escaped from a dungeon nearby and attacked the village. Its ability was probably what ¡®cursed¡¯ the well. That sounds perfect. I¡¯m sure I could absorb it with my specialty. I reach up and pull the flyer off the wall. ¡°This one.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hmm¡­ Isn¡¯t that maybe a bit too easy? You could probably do that on your own.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Probably, but it pays well. We¡¯re always together, so I see no reason to suddenly split up now. I don¡¯t mind sharing the reward with you guys even if I do all the work.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Aight, I don¡¯t mind it being a quick mission. It¡¯s more fun to tag along with you guys than staying here alone anyways.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡± ¨C Alex We walk over to the reception, and they accept us taking on the mission. --- A couple of hours of travel later We¡¯ve finally reached Phasma village. It¡¯s bigger than Minima, but it¡¯s still a fairly small village. I wonder where a village of this size in the outer area got the money to pay for a mission like that¡­ They must be really desperate to get rid of that ¡®curse¡¯¡­ We walk around for a few minutes, exploring the village. ¡°Comparing this village to the large cities in the middle area is like night and day¡­ Is this what Minima is like?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Minima is actually even smaller.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Wow¡­ I can¡¯t imagine living in a place that small. No offense¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Heh, none taken.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s wild how big the difference actually is; why is it that some people get to live in mega cities where their every need is met with a snap of their fingers, while other people have to work their asses off just to survive?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yeah¡­ If I could help, I would, but the underlying issues are too deep rooted for someone like us to be able to make a difference¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Anyways, no need to be all doom and gloom. We should visit your hometown some time, Alex.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°There isn¡¯t that much to do there; I don¡¯t think you¡¯d like it very much.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s fine. If you show me around there some day, then I¡¯ll show you around in Magnum. Deal?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Alex We continue walking around for a while, until we suddenly hear a voice. ¡°Hey you! Are you the hunters we hired?¡± ¨C Man ¡°Yup!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I see, it¡¯s nice to finally meet you!¡± ¨C Man He shakes our hands as he greets us. ¡°I¡¯m Edward, I¡¯m the one that made the mission request.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Edward! I¡¯m Lett, and this is Alex, Shin, and Illian.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Yo!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Nice to meet you, Edward.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. Whatever the problem may be, you¡¯re in good hands.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I see, that¡¯s certainly good to hear!¡± ¨C Edward Edward points behind him with his thumb. ¡°The well is that way, I¡¯ll explain on the way.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Aight.¡± ¨C Shin He turns around and starts walking; we all follow him. ¡°This all started a few weeks ago¡­ While out picking berries in the forest, one of the villagers noticed a dungeon. They reported it to the authorities, and the authorities reported it to a guild; in this case The Red Knights.¡± ¨C Edward Okay, this just sounds like standard procedure for now¡­ ¡°But for whatever reason, maybe because we¡¯re just a small village in the outer area, it took a while for the authorities to report it to the guilds, and by the time The Red Knights had made it a mission, it was already too late¡­ Although it was just one, a monster had escaped the dungeon without anyone knowing. A few days later there was a group of hunters that accepted the mission and cleared out the dungeon. They did a good job, but the problem was that they, just like the rest of us, didn¡¯t know that a monster had escaped¡­¡± ¨C Edward I see¡­ It¡¯s as I thought; it was an escaped monster that did it. ¡°The monster eventually made its way here, and it started wreaking havoc¡­ By sheer luck, it all happened right after the hunters left. They heard what was going on, and they rushed back to the village. We¡¯re only alive to tell the tale because they were so close, and we¡¯re eternally grateful for that. However, our village did not come out unscathed¡­¡± ¨C Edward Wow¡­ Imagine if those hunters had left just moments earlier¡­ So many people could have died¡­ ¡°The monster wielded a large greatsword, and its swings left behind a trail of darkness. A few villagers ended up touching it¡­ All of them died. Unfortunately, one of its targets was our water source; the well. The darkness remained in the water, even after the monster was defeated. It¡¯s undrinkable now, and it has been like that for too long. People will die if this keeps up¡­ We need you to save us, get rid of whatever that darkness is.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Edward. We got this. You have my word.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Thank you¡­¡± ¨C Edward Chapter 73: Darkness ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here¡­¡± ¨C Edward I walk up to the well and look down. ¡°It¡¯s so deep¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot.¡± ¨C Edward He walks over to me and hands me a torch. He pulls out a match and lights up the torch. ¡°There we go. It would probably be too dark to see anything down there without it.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Thanks.¡± ¨C Alex I hop on top off the well and just as I¡¯m about to jump down, Edward asks me something. ¡°Isn¡¯t anyone else going to join you? Will you be fine alone?¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Yeah yeah, no worries.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°He¡¯s got it.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I see¡­ Well then, I¡¯ll let you get too it then.¡± ¨C Edward He turns around and walks over to the rest of the group. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a sec.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Illian I jump down and start free falling. It¡¯s so deep¡­ It feels like I just keep falling. Eventually, I see the bottom approaching me. The well is pretty tight, so I break the fall by sticking my legs out. Right before I touch the water, I fully stop. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ What do we have here¡­¡± ¨C Alex I move my torch closer to the water to see better. There it is¡­ There¡¯s a streak of cloudy darkness in the water; some of it even stretches into the air above. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. It doesn¡¯t look like it has mixed into the water in any way. It¡¯s like it¡¯s just¡­ There. Now that I think about it, how did it even get down there? The monster must have jumped down, slashed its sword, then climbed back up. Strange¡­ Anyways, let¡¯s get rid of it. I activate the void in my hand; the void capable to absorbing anything created with Divinity. The instant my hand touches it, it gets sucked inside. Nice! It all disappeared. Just to make sure, I put my hand in the water and move it around a little; sucking up any remains that might be there. I cup my hand so that I can pick up a sample of the water. I¡¯ll have to test it just in case. I drink it up and¡­ It tastes just like normal water. Nice. All done then! Time to go back up then. I start climbing back up, but it¡¯s nowhere near as fast as jumping down. I don¡¯t want to destroy the walls, so I have to be very careful. Just as I¡¯m about to reach the top, I hear a scream. ¡°ALEX!!!!!!!!!¡± ¨C Lett I grab the top of the well and quickly pull myself out. ¡°What is it?!¡± ¨C Alex She¡¯s breathing heavy and sweat is dripping down her forehead. ¡°What happened?!¡± ¨C Alex Wait¡­ Shin and Illian are missing¡­! Just as she¡¯s about to respond, I interrupt her. ¡°Where¡¯s Shin and Illian?!!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s Edward¡­¡± ¨C Lett She¡¯s having a hard time talking; her breathing is too frantic. Is she having a panic attack? ¡°Edward?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Edward took them¡­¡± ¨C Lett What? ¡°I don¡¯t get it. What do you mean Edward took them?¡± ¨C Alex She takes a moment to calm herself down before answering. ¡°Everything was a lie, Alex. There was never any escaped monster here¡­¡± ¨C Lett Does that mean that¡­ ¡°As soon as you jumped down, Edward knocked out Shin and Illian. They had no time to react, he attacked them from behind. Just as he was about to do the same to me, I was just barely able to teleport away in time.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°So-¡± ¨C Alex Before I get to finish my sentence, she cuts me off. ¡°I tried to save them! I really did! I swear!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I believe you, Lett.¡± ¨C Alex She starts crying and falls to her knees. ¡°He picked them up and was about to run away, so I teleported back in to stop him. As soon as I did that, he summoned a large greatsword and held it against their throats. He told me if I got any closer, he would kill them¡­ I just froze, and watched as he ran away with them.¡± ¨C Lett Shit! What the hell is going on?! Why would he do that? Who is he? ¡­ No. None of that matters¡­ ¡­ ¡°Lett¡­ Which way did he go?¡± ¨C Alex She points in the direction that he ran. ¡°Get up. We¡¯re going after them.¡± ¨C Alex --- Somewhere else ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Arthur and Alice ¡°Yay, I won again!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°That you did¡­¡± ¨C Arthur Someone knocks on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± ¨C Arthur The door opens and a man enters. ¡°Stage two has been completed. We got two of his friends locked up. There was a third, but she had a tricky ability, so unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t catch her.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°I see¡­ Good work Edward. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be here soon enough, so go prepare for that.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Edward He walks out and closes the door behind him. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°What?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Are you fucking serious, Arthur? This shit again?¡± ¨C Alice She stands up and starts walking away. ¡°Alice¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Just accept it already!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°You know I can¡¯t do tha-¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°I DID!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d do this¡­¡± ¨C Alice Chapter 74: Chained --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°Let¡¯s go get them, Lett.¡± ¨C Alex She stands up and wipes away her tears. ¡°Right¡­!¡± ¨C Lett How could he do this? We were here to help them, then they betray us like this? If they¡¯ve hurt them¡­ My anger feels almost uncontainable. My teeth are clenched together so hard that a piece of my tooth breaks off. My entire body is shaking. ¡°Alex¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s just fucking go.¡± ¨C Alex Right after finishing my sentence, I dash in the direction she pointed. I¡¯m running at max speed, I need to catch up to them as fast as possible. I¡¯m faster than Lett, but she¡¯s able to keep up by using her specialty. --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Ughh¡­ My head¡­ I open my eyes and¡­ ¡°Wait? What? Where am I?¡± ¨C Shin What¡¯s going on?! Am I in a¡­ Jail cell? ¡°Alex?! Lett?! Illian?! Hello?¡± ¨C Shin Where are they? Alex jumped into the well, and now I¡¯m suddenly in this place¡­ ¡°Shin? Is that you?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Illian!¡± ¨C Shin He¡¯s here too. What about the rest? ¡°Do you know where Alex and Lett are?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°No clue. I just woke up here a minute ago. What the hell is going on?¡± ¨C Illian Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I try to walk forwards, but I¡¯m unable to. I¡¯m chained to the wall. My head is so fuzzy I didn¡¯t even notice¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s break out of here!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­ It¡¯s useless¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°What?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯ve already tried. These chains won¡¯t break no matter how hard I try.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¨C Shin I pull with all my strength, but¡­ Nothing¡­ ¡°These can¡¯t be normal chains¡­ It must be a specialty.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Correct.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°It¡¯s just little old me.¡± ¨C ??? From what I can see, there is a large corridor with many cells in it. Illian is in the one next to mine. Whoever she is, she¡¯s getting closer. The echoes of her footsteps sound so ominous¡­ She continues to talk as she slowly approaches. ¡°It¡¯s my specialty to be exact.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Let us out of here, or you¡¯ll regret it.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Oh my¡­ I will? Do you really think you¡¯re in a position to make demands?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Our friends will definitely try to save us, and when they do, you¡¯re done for!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Well duh! That¡¯s the plan. Except for one little detail you got wrong¡­ It¡¯s you who will be done for.¡± ¨C ??? She walks past my cell and stops at Illian¡¯s. I hear the sound of the metal bars bending, and she walks into his cell. ¡°Hey! What do you think you¡¯re doing with that?!¡± ¨C Illian Just moments later I hear him scream at the top of his lungs. ¡°AHHHHHHHHH!!! STOP!!!!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Hey! What are you doing to him?! Stop it!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh? Would you like to take his place instead?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Don¡¯t you dare hurt him!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°GAAHHHHHH!!!!¡± ¨C Illian He continues to scream until we hear a familiar voice. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him now, Cat.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m just having a little fun with him.¡± ¨C Cat ¡°Alright, just be careful. We can¡¯t let our bait die on us.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Okiiii.¡± ¨C Cat Is that¡­? ¡°Is that you, Edward?¡± ¨C Shin He walks over to my cell and stops. He stares right at me with his hands in his pockets; so casually you might think he¡¯s looking at a wall. He¡¯s wearing different clothes, but that¡¯s unmistakably him. ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Edward What¡¯s going on here? Is he the one that knocked us out? Without saying another word, he walks away like nothing happened. Wait a minute¡­ Did he say that we were bait? And that woman, Cat¡­ She said that Alex and Lett coming to rescue us was part of their plan¡­ Shit. This was all a trap. They want something from one of us¡­ Wait¡­ Since Edward is in on it, the entire mission must be fake too¡­ If it was Me or Illian they wanted something from, then they would have taken it already. So, it has to be either Lett or Alex they¡¯re after. But¡­ For them to set up all this, they must have some way to ensure that their target accepted the mission. I don¡¯t see how that could possibly be the case for Lett, but Alex however¡­ The mission was strangely perfect for him¡­ They must somehow know about his ability. I don¡¯t know how they could possibly know that though¡­ There¡¯s only a handful of people who¡¯ve ever seen it. What¡¯s going on here¡­? --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] We¡¯ve been running for a while now¡­ Luckily, Edward¡¯s footprints are still clearly visible. He should have been more careful and hidden them better. He¡¯s not getting away¡­! We continue to follow the footprints, but suddenly they come to a stop. ¡°Wait, Alex. Look.¡± ¨C Lett She points to a boulder. ¡°It¡¯s a bit strangely placed, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¨C Lett She¡¯s right¡­ I walk over to it and push it away. ¡°Lett, look.¡± ¨C Alex There¡¯s a door under it! I pull the latch and it opens right up. Right under the door is a staircase. ¡°This must be where they are!¡± ¨C Alex We carefully and silently walk down the stairs. As we reach the bottom of the stairs, we suddenly hear a voice. ¡°Welcome. We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± ¨C ??? What the- ¡°And yes, before you ask, this is where your friends are being held.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°You better not have hurt them¡­!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°They¡¯re fine. For now¡­ But now that we have you, we don¡¯t need them anymore.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Alex, go save them. I¡¯ll take care of her.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Got it.¡± ¨C Alex Chapter 75: Sins --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Let¡¯s be honest¡­ Does it really matter? We¡¯re obviously not gonna stop no matter what our motivation may be, and you aren¡¯t either, so in the end it doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s just skip all off this and get on with the fighting already.¡± ¨C ??? Outside of exams, this will be my first fight against another human¡­ There are no referees to stop the match, there are no healers to take care of our injuries. This is an actual life or death fight¡­ It¡¯s not against some mindless monster, but a real person¡­ She¡¯ll try to kill me, and I¡¯ll have to¡­ No¡­ I¡¯ll try not to go that far. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll tell you my name before I crush you. I¡¯m Cinder, the sin of lust.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°The sin of lust?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­ You¡¯ll find out soon enough. Assuming you¡¯re not weak that is.¡± ¨C Cinder These people have given themselves titles¡­? Okay¡­ That¡¯s a bit strange¡­ ¡°Anyways, enough of the chit-chat. Let¡¯s hope you don¡¯t break too quickly.¡± ¨C Cinder She dashes right at me with speed that easily surpasses my own. I can¡¯t block or dodge in time, so I have to teleport away. As I teleport, I snap my fingers. I didn¡¯t want to have to reveal my specialty this early, but I had no choice. I wasn¡¯t prepared for her to be that fast. I yet again snap my fingers as I teleport behind her and kick her in the side of the head. She gets knocked away but manages to stay on her feet. ¡°Ooh, that¡¯s an interesting ability you got there. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that you were fighting me, you might have had a shot at winning.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Oh, I would never! It¡¯s just that when I activate my specialty, it won¡¯t matter anymore. The moment I activate it, you lose. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡± ¨C Cinder Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Do it then.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Nah¡­ I want to have some fun before I win. If I can¡¯t beat you without it, then I¡¯ll use it. But only then.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°I¡¯ll make you regret not having used it earlier.¡± ¨C Lett Instead of responding, she just chuckles and smiles at me. She has full confidence in her ability. What could it possibly be? --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I¡¯ve been running through these halls for a minute, but I can¡¯t seem to find anyone; let alone Shin and Illian. How big is this place¡­? But almost as if the world itself was listening to my thought, a boy peeks out from around the corner. He sees that I noticed him, and quickly pulls back. ¡°Hey! You! Tell me where the fuck my friends are!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh no! He noticed me! What do we do Miki? He seems really pissed off!¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Don¡¯t worry Shiki, I¡¯ll handle him! YAHAHAHA!¡± ¨C Miki A young girl hops out from around the corner. She looks no older than 10 years old. ¡°I¡¯ll take you on! YAHAHAHA!¡± ¨C Miki The boy peeks again. Now that I get a second look, he doesn¡¯t look much older than 10 either. ¡°What are you kids doing here? Get out.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ugh! Another dumb adult that underestimates us just because of our age!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Yeah! Don¡¯t underestimate her just because of her age!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Us! Don¡¯t underestimate US!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Right. Us!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Right¡­ Anyways, could you tell me where my friends are being kept?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°How rude! He just did it again!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Yeah! How rude!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Listen dummy, we¡¯re a part of this just like the others. If you keep underestimating us, you¡¯ll regret it!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Yeah!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Now then, prepare to die! YAHAHAHA!¡± ¨C Miki She runs towards me with a clenched fist. ¡°Hey! I really don¡¯t want to fight kids, stop it!¡± ¨C Alex I wave at her to get her to stop, but she just keeps on running. By that point, it was already too late to dodge. Oh crap! She hits me with all her might right in my stomach. But¡­ Huh? I could barely even feel it¡­ ¡°Teehee! Scared ¡®ya there didn¡¯t I? YAHAHAHA!¡± ¨C Miki She takes a step back while continuing to laugh her ass off. ¡°I¡¯m actually super weak! YAHAHAHA!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Right¡­ Anyways, if you¡¯re not going to tell me where they are, I¡¯ll go look for them myself.¡± ¨C Alex She lifts her arm and blocks my path. ¡°Like I said, we¡¯re not letting you go.¡± ¨C Miki She looks me straight in the eyes with a serious look on her face. Where¡¯s this coming from? ¡°Look, you just admitted you¡¯re weak, you¡¯re no match for me.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°And yet we¡¯ll still beat you.¡± ¨C Miki She¡¯s serious. She won¡¯t let me go, but there¡¯s no reason for me to fight a couple of kids. I¡¯ve wasted enough time with them. Let¡¯s just ignore them and run past them. I start walking past her, and she kicks me in the shin. Just like earlier, her attack was incredibly weak. I continue to walk past her, then the other kid goes for a punch. He¡¯s probably just as weak as h- ¡°GUAH!!¡± ¨C Alex His punch lands right in my stomach and it makes me hunch over in pain. ¡°I told you you¡¯d regret it if you underestimated us¡­¡± ¨C Miki She¡¯s right¡­ Normally, I could take a punch like that without it hurting me too much, but I didn¡¯t expect him to be that much stronger, so I let my guard down. These kids might be bigger trouble than I had initially thought¡­ Especially that one¡­ I have no doubt that I could beat him if I really tried, but he¡¯s just a kid¡­ I can¡¯t just beat up a kid¡­ But¡­ I can¡¯t just ignore him either. He¡¯s too strong for that. What do I do¡­? ¡°I think it¡¯s time to get serious, Miki.¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. Let¡¯s show him what we¡¯ve got! YAHAHAHA!¡± ¨C Miki He runs his hand through the wall like it¡¯s butter, grabbing a large piece. He then¡­ Eats it? What? He just ate a piece of the wall¡­ The moment he swallowed he suddenly grew a little bigger. ¡°I¡¯m Miki, the sin of pride.¡± ¨C Miki ¡°And I¡¯m Shiki, the sin of Gluttony.¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°You¡¯ll soon learn why you shouldn¡¯t have looked down on us.¡± ¨C Miki Chapter 76: Teleportation --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] Let¡¯s show her what I got! I dash towards her, and she does the same to me. I throw a punch with my right arm, then snap my fingers with my left. I teleport right behind her. She expected it so she started to turn around right before I teleported. Before she gets to turn all the way around, I snap my fingers yet again and teleport above her with my feet facing upwards. My punch finally connects, and it hits her right in the face as she¡¯s still turning around. Her head bounces back a little, but she quickly recovers and reaches up to get me. I quickly snap my fingers and teleport away again; this time I¡¯m on the ground. I grab her ankles and pull as hard as I can, making her fall over. I immediately throw a punch, snap my fingers, and teleport right next to her. The punch lands straight in her stomach and she is visibly hurt by it. I snap my fingers and teleport away from her. ¡°You can¡¯t defeat me. Now give up and show me where my friends are being held.¡± ¨C Lett She stands back up and pulls her shirt up to look at the wound. ¡°Like I said¡­ No matter how the situation may look right now, the moment I use my specialty is the moment you¡¯ve lost. That being said, I¡¯d be willing to let you live if you become my subordinate. Being able to teleport around anywhere you¡¯d like, orienting yourself however you¡¯d like, and keeping the momentum of your movements is an excellent ability. All of that with just a snap of your fingers. You¡¯d be a great asset.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°¡­ Are you serious? That¡¯s obviously not happening!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I thought you¡¯d say that¡­ Well then, lets continue.¡± ¨C Cinder She cracks her neck and knuckles as she slowly walks towards me. Suddenly, she sprints right at me, much faster than before. I try to snap my fingers, but before I was able to finish, her attack connects and it launches me backwards. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°GuAH!!!!¡± ¨C Lett I slam right into the wall, and I start coughing up blood. ¡°Your ability is strong, but not unbeatable. Unlike mine¡­ If I can hit you before you¡¯re able to snap your fingers, it¡¯s pretty much useless.¡± ¨C Cinder She has totally fallen for it! Every time I¡¯ve teleported thus far, I¡¯ve snapped my fingers. I even took that hit on purpose, all to convince her that I can¡¯t teleport without snapping. I¡¯ll take advantage of that. Beat her while she¡¯s off guard. I kick as hard as I can, then snap my fingers while teleporting. My foot is only a few centimeters away from her face, when I yet again snap my fingers. She notices and quickly moves her arms to where she thinks I¡¯ll teleport, but instead¡­ BAM! My kick connects with her face. I can¡¯t let this opportunity go to waste. Before she¡¯s able to recover I throw a barrage of attacks from every direction right at her. I finish the entire combo by stomping her left foot, breaking every bone in it. ¡°GHHHA!!!¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Like I said¡­ Give up.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You¡¯re a tricky one¡­ You conditioned me into thinking you¡¯d teleport every time you snapped your fingers, but of course there is nothing forcing you to actually teleport. You can just snap your fingers normally. It was a good plan; you got some solid hits in. You even broke my foot¡­ But now I know. That trick won¡¯t work again.¡± ¨C Cinder I start smiling. ¡°Why are you smiling?!¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Oh, nothing special. I just foresaw how this fight will end. That¡¯s all.¡± ¨C Lett That same trick may not work again, but it just further convinced her that I need to snap to teleport. All of that was just to set up for this moment¡­! ¡°Oh really? If you did, then you wouldn¡¯t be smiling like tha- GHUAAHHH!!!¡± ¨C Cinder While she was still talking I suddenly teleport behind her, kicking her in the side of her head. She falls to the side, but I immediately teleport over and her kick her again. In the moment it took her to realize that I¡¯ve been tricking her all along, I got countless hits in on every part of her body. There¡¯s no way she¡¯ll be able to stay awake after that. She falls to the ground; she¡¯s as unconscious as you get. I walk over and check her pulse¡­ She¡¯s still alive. Good. Even if she¡¯s a bad person, even she was one of the people that kidnapped my friends, she still deserves to live¡­ Anyways, time to go help Alex out. As I start to walk away, I hear a faint voice¡­ ¡°Wait¡­¡± ¨C Cinder What?! She¡¯s awake? How? She should have been knocked out for a good while¡­ She tries to get back on her feet, but she just keeps falling. Her arms and legs are wobbly and she keeps forgetting her left foot is broken, making her slip every time she puts any pressure on it. ¡°I won, okay? You¡¯re clearly in no condition to fight. You can¡¯t even stand up! For your own good, just stay down¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°No¡­¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°What?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°No! I¡¯m not letting you get away¡­¡± ¨C Cinder This is pointless. ¡°Right¡­¡± ¨C Lett I turn back around and start walking away. ¡°You were much trickier than I thought¡­ That entire time¡­ You did all of that to convince me that snapping was how you teleported, when in reality you can do it on command. I didn¡¯t stand a chance¡­ Well, until now that is¡­ It¡¯s finally time for you to see my specialty!¡± ¨C Cinder I stop walking and turn back around again. I don¡¯t know what her specialty is, but she seems very confident in it. I¡¯ll knock her out again before she¡¯s able to use it. The moment I finished my thought, I teleport right over to her. She¡¯s still on her knees; she hasn¡¯t even been able to stand up yet. I go for yet another kick to her temple; this time kicking as hard as I can. Just before my kick connects she suddenly starts yelling. ¡°Stop!¡± ¨C Cinder ¡­ ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C Lett I immediately put my foot down; stopping the kick just in the nick of time. ¡°Good girl.¡± ¨C Cinder Chapter 77: Growth --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] The boy runs at me and goes for a punch. This time I¡¯m prepared for his strength, so I¡¯m able to easily block it. However¡­ He¡¯s stronger now. After he ate a piece of the wall, he grew a little larger and became a little stronger. ¡°Eat more, Shiki! You need to get stronger!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C Shiki He yet again grabs a piece of the wall, then stuffs it down his throat. He grows a little bigger¡­ How much stronger did that make him? He goes for another punch. I grab his fist with my hand, completely stopping it. He¡¯s still not strong enough to overpower me, but the difference is definitely noticeable. If I don¡¯t do anything, he may very well grow stronger than me. If that happens, it might be too late¡­ But¡­ I can¡¯t just beat up a god damn kid either! ¡°Listen kid, I¡¯m clearly stronger than you. Just give up right now and I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You¡­! How many times do I have to tell you?! Don¡¯t underesti-¡­ Whatever. You won¡¯t listen anyways. We¡¯ll just show you instead!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Shiki!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Yes?!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Eat more! I¡¯ll distract him!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Okay!¡± ¨C Shiki Shiki starts shoveling down bits and pieces of the wall. While he does that, Miki runs towards me and starts punching me over and over and over again. Shiki continues to grow bigger and bigger. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°MORE, SHIKI!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°OGEI!¡± ¨C Shiki His cheeks are stuffed full of ¡®food¡¯¡­ I can just ignore the girl, she¡¯s incredibly weak after all. He might become a problem though, so I¡¯ll have to stop him as soon as possible. Wait¡­! I quickly turn my head and look down at the girl. She continues to throw her barrage of punches. After I looked down, she punches me exactly one more time before I decide to jump away from her. ¡°What the¡­?!¡± ¨C Alex Am I just imagining things? No¡­ Each and every hit of hers is stronger than the last. ¡°You finally get it, huh? YAHAHAHA!¡± ¨C Miki It¡¯s not just the brother that is growing stronger, she is too¡­ He finishes eating his food then walks over to his sister. He¡¯s much bigger than before. His muscles are swollen up to an insane degree, and his skin is¡­ Blue? ¡°My brother can turn any non-living thing into food that makes him stronger for a short duration when he eats it.¡± ¨C Miki ¡°And my sister will get stronger and stronger every time she hits someone, but only against that person.¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°There is no limit to our growth.¡± ¨C Miki ¡°You either beat us now, or never.¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Although it may already be too late for you¡­¡± ¨C Miki Shiki dashes forwards and throws a punch. I need to know how strong he is¡­ I grab his fist just like last time, but¡­ He¡¯s able to push me back! He pulls his fist back and throws another punch. He¡¯s definitely strong enough to hurt me now; I need to start dodging. I jump backwards, easily avoiding his attack, but¡­ I feel something hit me in the back¡­ It¡¯s Miki! ¡°TAKE THIS AND THIS AND THIS!¡± ¨C Miki She got three more punches in. Her third punch even makes me stumble forward a bit. The boy quickly follows up by trying to uppercut me, but I jump to the side, evading his attack. I can¡¯t keep doing this¡­ I have to fight back! They¡¯re a big enough threat for me to be unable to ignore them any longer. It feels weird having to fight kids, but there are no other options. I¡¯ll hold back just enough to not kill them, but other than that, I¡¯ll have to fight seriously¡­ ¡°More, Shiki! Eat more!¡± ¨C Miki He¡¯s tall enough now to reach the ceiling, so he grabs a bunch of pieces and quickly swallow them. I dash over to him and throw a punch straight at his jaw. ¡°Watch out!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Huh? GAHH!!!¡± ¨C Shiki He goes flying across the room. That should be enough¡­ I look over at the girl. ¡°Sorry about that, but you left me no choice. You were right, I couldn¡¯t just ignore you.¡± ¨C Alex She looks scared, but she tries not to show it. She puts her hands up, entering her fighting stance. ¡°Come on then! I¡¯ll take you on myself!¡± ¨C Miki She¡¯s really short, so throwing a punch is a hassle. I instead go for a kick. She tries to duck under my kick, but she¡¯s not fast enough. !!! Just as my kick is about to land, I feel my body being crushed. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt my sister!¡± ¨C Shiki That didn¡¯t knock him out?! I turn my head around and¡­ He¡¯s even bigger and even bluer than before. There¡¯s a large hole in the floor where he landed. He must have eaten even more¡­ He wrapped his arms around my entire body and is squeezing as hard as he can. Just as I¡¯m about to break out, he lifts me up and slams me down headfirst into the ground behind him. ¡°GUAHHH!¡± ¨C Alex He lets go of me and I fall down. Miki quickly runs over and starts kicking me while I¡¯m down. Her kicks are getting heavier and heavier. Her final kick launches me into the wall and almost breaks my arm. She¡¯s about as strong as he is now¡­ Shit! I let it go on for too long¡­ My specialty is useless here too; there is nothing for me to absorb. What do I do¡­? --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] ¡°Help me stand up, darling.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¨C Lett I help her get back up on her feet. Why was I fighting her again? She¡¯s so¡­ Beautiful. Chapter 78: Beauty --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] I¡¯ve never seen anyone as beautiful as her before¡­ Just a minute ago I was feeling so many terrible feelings, but now¡­ I¡¯m all good now. All the hate, anger, and fear¡­ It¡¯s all gone. All because of her! She¡¯s perfect¡­ I love her! ¡°Now what should I do with you¡­ Should I kill you, or make you my pet maybe? What do you think?¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°I can be helpful to you! You said earlier that you thought I had a strong ability, right? I¡¯ll use it for your sake! There¡¯s no need to kill me, let me help you!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Hmm¡­ The problem is that as soon as I turn off my specialty, you¡¯ll go back to normal. If you do, you¡¯ll just beat me up again. We can¡¯t have that happen, can we?¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°I would never hurt you! My feelings are genuine! They won¡¯t disappear no matter what, I swear!¡± ¨C Lett --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°I¡¯m strong now, I¡¯ll handle him for a bit. Eat up!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Okay!¡± ¨C Shiki Miki rushes towards me while Shiki is stuffing pieces of the floor and walls down his throat. He¡¯s a LOT larger than normally now; that includes his hands. The amount he¡¯s able to grab and swallow is a lot more than it was at the start of the fight. Not only is he continuously getting stronger and stronger, but the rate at which he grows is growing too. Just like his sister¡­ ¡°Hiya!!!¡± ¨C Miki She jumps up and tries to hit me in the face, but I get out of the way and her punch hits the wall, cracking it up. Her arm got stuck in the wall for just a brief moment after hitting the wall, but that brief moment is all I need. This is my chance! ¡°Sorry!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Huh?!¡± ¨C Miki I grab her arm and slam her down into the ground. ¡°Miki!¡± ¨C Shiki He drops everything he had in his hands and hurries over. Every step he takes leaves a foot shaped hole in the floor. ¡°You little¡­!¡± ¨C Shiki His giant fist comes soaring through the air; it¡¯s like I¡¯m fighting a mountain. I duck under it, and it burrows into the wall. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He quickly goes to punch me with his other fist, not letting me counter him like I did with his sister. I jump back and dodge his attack. As he pulls his arm out of the wall, he takes the opportunity to eat even more. ¡°Ugh¡­ My head¡­¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Yeah¡­ I think so¡­¡± ¨C Miki She¡¯s awake already?! What are these kids made of?! ¡°Okay, that¡¯s the final straw! We¡¯ll take you out for real now! Let¡¯s do it Shiki!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s do it! Let¡¯s take him out!¡± ¨C Shiki Do I actually have to¡­ No¡­ As they run towards me as fast as they can, it finally hits me. I know what I have to do¡­ --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] ¡°GUAAAHH!!¡± ¨C Illian Ever since she showed up, she has been relentlessly torturing me. She doesn¡¯t seem to care about Shin. Shin tried making her stop multiple times, he wanted to take the burden from me, but she never budges. My screams and Shins begging must sound like music to her ears. I swear¡­ When I get out of here, I¡¯ll beat the shit out of that sadistic bitch! The sound of confident footsteps echoes through the halls. ¡°Cat.¡± ¨C Edward It¡¯s Edward again¡­ He¡¯s back. ¡°What?¡± ¨C Cat ¡°Arthur called for you.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°He did? What does he want?¡± ¨C Cat ¡°I don¡¯t know, go see for yourself.¡± ¨C Edward And before I knew it, he left again. ¡°Ugh¡­ I guess this is it for now. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¨C Cat With a psychotic grin on her face, she slashes me one last time before walking out of my cell. The instant she steps out of my cell, a man suddenly crashes into her. They both fall to the ground. Is that¡­? ¡°Oww¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Huh? Is Alex here?¡± ¨C Shin Suddenly the chains and bars disappear. Alex stands back up. ¡°Oh, hi.¡± ¨C Alex Did she just pass out from the impact of him colliding with her¡­? Both me and Shin step out of our cells. ¡°Wait, what happened to you? Are you okay, Illian?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ Anyways, what¡¯s going on? Why were you running like that?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Well, you see¡­¡± ¨C Alex --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] less than a minute ago As they run towards me as fast as they can, it finally hits me. I know what I have to do¡­ I turn around and start sprinting away from them. ¡°Hey! Get back!¡± ¨C Miki They¡¯re both quite fast, but I¡¯m faster. Each and every second the distance between us increases. I don¡¯t ever want to kill anyone, but especially not a child¡­ If I can¡¯t fight them properly without fear of killing them, then I no choice but to get away. ¡°Shiki! We can¡¯t let him get away!!!!¡± ¨C Miki Their speed suddenly increases; they¡¯re finally going all out. The distance is now slowly decreasing between us. I¡¯ll have to go faster myself, or they¡¯ll eventually catch up. I put all my focus into running, any turn I take is happening purely on instinct. I can¡¯t afford to think about anything else. As I let go of all other thoughts, my speed drastically increases. Like a flash of light, I blitz through the halls. Not even a second later, I¡¯ve already outran them. Just as I¡¯m about to slow down, I suddenly crash into someone. ¡°Oww¡­¡± ¨C Alex I was going too fast for my own good; I didn¡¯t even notice that a person was standing there¡­ My head hurts¡­ ¡°Alex?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Huh? Is Alex here?¡± ¨C Shin Wait, what? Is that¡­? I turn my head towards the voice. It¡¯s Illian! ¡°Oh, hi.¡± ¨C Alex They step out of the rooms they were in. My head was still spinning from running into her, so I didn¡¯t notice at first, but Illian has cuts and bruises all over him. ¡°Wait, what happened to you? Are you okay, Illian?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ Anyways, what¡¯s going on? Why were you running like that?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Well, you see¡­¡± ¨C Alex --- A short explanation later ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Anyways, thanks. You saved us there.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°We couldn¡¯t break out of the chains, so we were stuck in those cells.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Chains?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes, her specialty is the ability to make and manipulate insanely durable metal. You knocked her out, so the chains and bars disappeared.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Alex I walk up to them and give them a hug. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re both safe. I was really worried when I found out Edward kidnapped you¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Where¡¯s Lett?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°She stayed behind to fight a woman at the entrance while I went to get you.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I see¡­ We¡¯ll then, you¡¯ve got us. Let¡¯s go help her.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C Alex Just as we¡¯re about to leave, we hear a voice from behind us. ¡°Not so fast¡­!¡± ¨C Cat It¡¯s the woman I ran into. She¡¯s awake again. As she gets up on her feet again, Illian suddenly gets a serious look on his face. ¡°You guys go help Lett, I¡¯ll deal with her.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°These guys are strong, let¡¯s team up two and two together.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No.¡± ¨C Illian He cracks his knuckles as he steps closer to the woman. ¡°I want to deal with her myself¡­¡± ¨C Illian Shin looks me in the eye and nods. ¡°Alright. When we¡¯ve made sure that Lett is safe, we¡¯ll come back for you.¡± ¨C Alex Chapter 79: Madly in love --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Aight.¡± ¨C Shin I take a final look at Illian before we take off. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be okay, but if she¡¯s anything like those kids, it won¡¯t be easy. As we run down the hall, Shin notices that I¡¯m worried about him. ¡°Those cuts and bruises¡­ She¡¯s the one that gave them to him. She tortured him.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Alex I immediately halt my running, then turn around to run back to him. ¡°That little¡­!¡± ¨C Alex Just as I¡¯m about to take my first step, Shin grabs my arm. ¡°Let him deal with her. This isn¡¯t your fight. We need to check on Lett, remember?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You go check on her, I can¡¯t just leave him alone after finding out something like that!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex! ¡­ Trust him. Let him to it.¡± ¨C Shin ¡­ ¡°Fine¡­ But as soon as we¡¯ve made sure Lett is safe, I¡¯m going back for him.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°And I¡¯ll be right there with you.¡± ¨C Shin Just as we pick up the pace again, the twins suddenly show up. ¡°There you are! Let¡¯s get him, Shiki!¡± ¨C Miki Ugh, I don¡¯t have time to deal with them. ¡°Shin, just ignore them. Keep running!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Kay.¡± ¨C Shin Miki has a look of disbelief on her face as we run away from them. ¡°You¡­! How dare you run away from me again?!!!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Yeah! How dare you!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°After them, Shiki!¡± ¨C Miki As they chase us through the lair, I notice that Shiki is shrinking. It looks like the effects of his specialty is wearing off. With every passing second, he gets smaller and smaller. His skin goes back to normal too. ¡°Stop playing dirty! You can¡¯t just run away until the effects wear off, that¡¯s not fair!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Sorry kid, I still don¡¯t intend to fight you.¡± ¨C Alex You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°You¡­!!!!!!!!!! Agh!! Just get back here!¡± ¨C Miki Her anger fuels her; increasing her speed even further. But it doesn¡¯t matter. Just as that happens, we finally find Lett. ¡°Lett! You¡¯re safe!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°She is.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Wait, what¡¯s going on here? Weren¡¯t you supposed to be fighting?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Why would I fight her?! She¡¯s the love of my life!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­?¡± ¨C Alex and Shin What? ¡°She¡¯s your what?¡± ¨C Shin Before she gets to answer, the twins catch up. ¡°There you are! I won¡¯t let you run away anymore!¡± ¨C Miki As she¡¯s about to attack me, the woman Lett was supposed to fight interrupts her. ¡°Stay away, Miki. Leave them to me.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Hell no! He¡¯s my prey!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Miki! He¡¯s not your ¡¯prey¡¯. You know why he¡¯s here. He¡¯s for Lord Arthur and Lady Alice, not you. Now go away and let me deal with them.¡± ¨C Cinder Miki looks really annoyed but she doesn¡¯t argue. ¡°Fine! Let¡¯s go, Shiki.¡± ¨C Miki She crosses her arms and storms off in a fit. Her brother follows right after. ¡°Now then, where were we¡­¡± ¨C Cinder She puts her arm around Lett and softly whispers to her. ¡°How should we deal with them?¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Alex and Shin are my best friends; they¡¯re strong too. They can be helpful to you, just like me. Let them work for you!¡± ¨C Lett What¡¯s going on here? Why is she acting like this? ¡°What have you done to her?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Done to her? Oh¡­ I haven¡¯t done anything.¡± ¨C Cinder She says it with a smug smile on her face. She¡¯s so punchable¡­ ¡°It must be a specialty of some sort. A form of mind control maybe?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Ding, ding, ding! Well, to be exact, I can make anyone I want fall madly in love with me, no matter what gender they are. So, when I activate my ability, you lose. You wouldn¡¯t hurt the person you love the most, would you?¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Anyone, huh?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yes. Anyone.¡± ¨C Cinder Actually¡­ Now that I¡¯ve gotten a good look at her, I think I finally understand¡­ She¡¯s an angel! I slowly walk towards her, Shin does too. ¡°You¡¯re the most beautiful person I¡¯ve ever met¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯ve heard.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°He¡¯s right. You really are¡­¡± ¨C Shin She chuckles as she gives us a slight smile. She lifts Shins chin with her finger. ¡°See? I told you I could make anyone fall madly in love with me.¡± ¨C Cinder Shin puts his hand on her cheek. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Shin He leans towards her. ¡°RIGHT!¡± ¨C Shin As soon as he finishes, he slams her head down into the ground with immense power. She¡¯s instantly knocked out, and her power wears off. ¡°What the¡­? What just happened?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°How? How were you not affected?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°How? You know how. I¡¯m not interested in that stuff. Now go check on Illian. I¡¯ll stay here and deal with her when she wakes up.¡± ¨C Shin --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] ¡°Other than Alex, we only need one of you to be alive. I¡¯m sure Lord Arthur won¡¯t be too mad about me killing you now. Especially since you¡¯ve escaped and seem determined to hurt me.¡± ¨C Cat ¡°Kill me? You? You kill me? Right¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Well, only after I break you of course¡­¡± ¨C Cat A knife appears out of thin air in her hand, and she runs her tongue up the sharp edge. Her smile, her eyes, the way she talks¡­ It all points to the same thing. She is fucking insane¡­ A batshit crazy sadist. Well, she won¡¯t be hurting me anymore. It¡¯s finally time to activate my shadow clone. The damage I¡¯ve already taken can¡¯t be retroactively transferred to my clone, but from now on, she won¡¯t be able to put even a single scratch on me. ¡°Your shadow¡­ It just grew. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s somehow related to your specialty.¡± ¨C Cat ¡°Who knows.¡± ¨C Illian Time to give this bitch a taste of her own medicine. I rush towards her, and she creates another knife. She tries to stab me, but I drop down to the ground and slide past her. I grab her ankle and pull it to make her fall. She throws her knives at me, forcing me to let go so I can avoid them. I quickly move back before she¡¯s able to stand back up. Just as I¡¯m about to attack her, she creates a large tower shield to block. Her metal is insanely hard, so I¡¯d rather not directly attack it. I pull my punch right before hitting the shield. We stand back up and we¡¯re back to square one. --- [Arthur¡¯s perspective] ¡°Alice¡­ I promise, I¡¯ll make up for everything I¡¯ve done. But for now, I can¡¯t afford to be the good guy. I tried that already¡­ I really did¡­ But we both know it doesn¡¯t work. This is the only way¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Then there¡¯s no point.¡± ¨C Alice ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°If this is what you have to do to save me, then I would rather die. I¡¯m not special, my life isn¡¯t worth more than theirs. Please, just let them go. You¡¯ve already gone too far, and I¡¯m afraid you might go even further¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°To me you are¡­¡± ¨C Arthur Chapter 80: Sin of envy --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I¡¯m getting tired of running through these halls¡­ Back and fourth and back and fourth¡­ What¡¯s next? The twins show up agai- ¡°YOU!¡± ¨C Miki ¡­ ¡°You¡¯re not getting away this time!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Yeah! You¡¯re not getting away this time!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Lett, could you take care of them? I¡¯ll go check up on Illian.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Just watch out for their specialties.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hey! Wait, don¡¯t tell her! That¡¯s unfai-¡± ¨C Miki ¡°The girl grows stronger each time she hits you. The boy grows stronger too, but he does it by eating. Anything non-living that he touches will turn into food. Also¡­ He turns blue.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Blue?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Blue.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Blue¡­ Ok¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Aaaanyways, I¡¯ll meet up with you again soon. Don¡¯t let them grow stronger.¡± ¨C Alex As I pick up the pace again, Miki interrupts. ¡°I thought I told you you¡¯re not getting away this time!¡± ¨C Miki She and her brother both tries to block the hallway; they won¡¯t let me pass. ¡°You said it was unfair for me to know your abilities? Well then, let me show you mine.¡± ¨C Lett She teleports right behind them, and pushes them both to the side. I take the opportunity she¡¯s given me to run past them. ¡°Thanks!¡± ¨C Alex --- [Cat¡¯s perspective] ¡°You¡¯ve got some skills; I¡¯ll give you that. But don¡¯t delude yourself into think that will be enough. A few minutes from now, you¡¯ll be nothing but a pile of skin and bone.¡± ¨C Cat ¡°Ooo! Scary!¡± ¨C Illian This kid¡­ He¡¯s about to know what true pain feels like. Oooooh! I can¡¯t wait! I create two flails, one for each hand. ¡°Given up on knives already?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°No, these are just more effective at breaking you. Don¡¯t worry¡­¡± ¨C Cat I lean in and whisper¡­ ¡°¡­ You¡¯ll get the knife later.¡± ¨C Cat I start swinging the flails around, picking up lots of speed. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. If I get a clean hit on him with these, he¡¯s down. He calmly walks towards me. What¡¯s his plan? It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll just take him down in one hit! I swing my flail, but he ducks under. I immediately follow up with the other one, but he dodges that one too. He tries to close the distance by launching himself towards me, but I counter with the first flail, forcing him to back off. He¡¯s fast¡­ I shouldn¡¯t let this go on for too long, using my specialty drains a lot of stamina. But there¡¯s something I need to figure out¡­ His shadow¡­ It¡¯s somehow connected to his specialty, but I don¡¯t know how. I can¡¯t let him hide it any longer, if he gets a surprise attack off it could be bad for me. I¡¯ll force his hand, right here, right now! The flails go faster and faster. They¡¯re swinging around so quickly and unpredictably that he can¡¯t get past them. I dash towards him while keeping up the momentum of the flails. He tries to get behind me by hopping to the side, but I cut him off with one flail. Thinking I¡¯m not fast enough to counter, he takes the opportunity to rush straight towards me. He quickly closes the distance between us, but then¡­ BAM! I slam my other flail straight into his back, knocking him down to the ground. He¡¯s on the ground; not moving. That attack probably broke his spine. Is he dead? I crouch down in front of him and pick his head up by his hair. ¡°Seems like you couldn¡¯t beat me, the sin of envy, after all¡­¡± ¨C Cat I look into his dead eyes and spit in his face. Well then, time to go find out what Lord Arthur wanted from m- ¡°GUAHH!!!¡± ¨C Cat What the hell? He just uppercut me, but how? I thought he was dead¡­ He should have at least been unconscious! But more than that¡­ How is he standing up?! It¡¯s like he was never hit in the back in the first place! Is this his specialty? While I¡¯m still on my knees, he kicks me in the head, knocking me into the wall. He wipes the spit off his face and runs straight at me. ¡°Get the fuck away!¡± ¨C Cat I create a large, spiked shield. I hide my entire body behind it, so he can¡¯t get to me. He can¡¯t even touch it without getting pierced by the spikes! My head is all fuzzy after those hits¡­ I can¡¯t fight him in this state, I¡¯ll have to hide here until I recover. Just as I finish my thought, the shield caves in, and his fist pierces right through the shield. ¡°GehhAAh!¡± ¨C Cat I lose my grip, and he throws the shield away. ¡°What the¡­?!¡± ¨C Cat He¡¯s not bleeding! He hit the shield as hard as he could, but he somehow hasn¡¯t been pierced by the spikes. That¡¯s impossible! He returns the favor by picking me up by my hair. ¡°I couldn¡¯t give away my ability when you were torturing me earlier. But now that I¡¯m out, none of you motherfuckers are putting a single scratch on me.¡± ¨C Illian He lifts me up even higher, my feet are just above the ground. My arms and legs are dangling lifelessly; unable to move. ¡°The world won¡¯t miss scum like you.¡± ¨C Illian Wait, is he?! ¡°No, please! Please don¡¯t kil-¡± ¨C Cat Before I get to finish my sentence, he slams my head down towards the ground at full speed. Just before impact, I remember something¡­ Is this what they mean when they say your life flashes before your eyes when you¡¯re about to die? I thought it would be more¡­ Complete? There¡¯s only one memory. It¡¯s the memory of that day¡­ The day I met Lord Arthur for the first time¡­ --- It was about 15 years ago. A monster had escaped from a nearby dungeon, but no one noticed before it was too late. The monster ravaged through the town, killing anyone in sight¡­ Old and young. Man and woman. Good¡­ And bad. It didn¡¯t spare anyone. Just as I was about to meet the same fate, he showed up. He simply touched the monster, and it fell to the ground. It was dead¡­ There were three others with him: Lady Alice, Edward, and Cinder. Lady Alice reached for me. I took her hand and got back up. I¡¯ve been with them ever since. Despite my twisted nature, they accepted me for who I am. I didn¡¯t understand why at the time, but I didn¡¯t really care either. They became my new family. --- I didn¡¯t think this is how my story would end, but here we are. Any second now, my head will get slammed into the ground, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I just hope Alex is the one¡­ The one who can save Lady Alice¡­ --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] ¡°The world won¡¯t miss scum like you.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°No, please! Please don¡¯t kil-¡± ¨C Cat I don¡¯t like killing people, but she¡¯s a lost cause. She¡¯s a psycho to the core, the world would be a better place without her. I quickly slam her down into the ground as hard as I can. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± ¨C Edward Or so I thought¡­ Just before her head touched the ground, Edward managed to stop me. He just showed up out of nowhere and grabbed my arm! He¡¯s so strong¡­ I let go off her and quickly pull my hand back. He catches her before she hits the ground, and safely puts her down. ¡°Rest. I¡¯ll deal with him.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Ok¡­¡± ¨C Cat She passes out only seconds later. Edward stands back up and looks right at me. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± ¨C Edward Chapter 81: Necessary evil --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] My shadow clone is still up, but it won¡¯t survive much more damage. Getting into another fight right now is risky, but it doesn¡¯t look like I have a choice¡­ ¡°I empathize with you and the situation you¡¯ve been put in, but I can¡¯t overlook you attempting to kill one of us. No matter the reason.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Empathize? You literally kidnapped us¡­ You¡¯re just as sick in the head as that psycho.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to understand, but it¡¯s true. We¡­ No¡­ I, would not have done it if I didn¡¯t deem it necessary.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Well, I don¡¯t give a shit if you ¡®deem it necessary¡¯ or not. You kidnapped us, tortured us¡­ You even tried to kill us! There¡¯s no point in trying to justify it. You¡¯re evil.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Edward Even though he¡¯s still got that deadpan look, I get the feeling that he¡¯s genuinely listening to me. ¡°You¡¯re right. What we¡¯ve done is evil. However¡­ That doesn¡¯t make it any less necessary¡­¡± ¨C Edward He slowly steps towards me; he¡¯s done talking. It¡¯s time to fight¡­ He moves his hand behind his back, and as if he was unsheathing it, he summons a large sword. It¡¯s big¡­ It¡¯s both longer and wider than me. The edges look sharp enough to cut through anything. I must avoid it at all costs. As he continues to approach me, I prepare by entering a flexible stance. No matter how he tries to swing it, I can dodge. After that, all I need to do is counterattack. ¡­ --- 1 minute later Or at least that¡¯s how I thought it would go¡­ As soon as he got in range, he swung his sword. It was so much faster than I expected, taking me completely off guard. The sword sliced through me like it was nothing, and I fell to the ground. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He immediately turned around, picked up Cat, then walked away like nothing happened. Luckily for me, he wasn¡¯t aware of my ability. The damage transferred over to my half-dead clone, and I was completely unharmed. I just had to lay on the ground pretending to be dead until he walked away. That guy is a monster¡­ I won¡¯t be able to pull that trick on him again; I can only summon one shadow clone per day. I¡¯m without a specialty right now, so if I¡¯m forced to fight him again, I¡¯m dead¡­ I don¡¯t know how much better the others would fare either¡­ He¡¯s too fast and too strong. The only one of us who might be able to deal with him is Alex¡­ --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] ¡°That¡¯s it! I¡¯m so done with him running away all the time! We¡¯ll beat you, then finally get him!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Yeah!¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°Listen, kids. I don¡¯t particularly want to fight you, but you¡¯re both so strong that I don¡¯t think I have a choice. You, however, do have a choice. Just go away and leave us alone. If you do that, no one will be hurt.¡± ¨C Lett The girl clenches her fists and grinds her teeth. ¡°I¡¯m so tired of you dumb adults always ordering us around! Stop underestimating us!! After we¡¯re done with you, we¡¯ll beat the crap out of the other big dummy too!¡± ¨C Miki She leaps right at me; I should probably get out of the way. He said she gets stronger each time she hits me, so I should avoid that at all costs. Luckily for me, that won¡¯t be a problem. Before she¡¯s able to touch me, I teleport away to the other side of the corridor. ¡°Gah! Get back here!¡± ¨C Miki She continues to chase after me, but to no avail¡­ ¡°Help me out here, Shiki!¡± ¨C Miki ¡°Oh, right!¡± ¨C Shiki He looks around frantically for a bit, it¡¯s like he wasn¡¯t even paying attention until she called for him. He turns around and runs his hand through the wall like its butter. Just as he¡¯s about to put it in his mouth, I teleport over to him and grab his wrist. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna let you eat that.¡± ¨C Lett I shake his hand and all the food falls on the floor. His ability is just like hers; he also grows in strength. Although the mechanism is different, it has the same end result. I won¡¯t let any of them grow stronger. With my ability, I can keep them both in check. ¡°Ugh! You¡¯re so annoying!¡± ¨C Miki She tries to hit me again, but just like every other time, I¡¯m easily able to teleport away. The brother keeps trying to eat, but I stop him every time. They¡¯re not getting anywhere. I could keep this up forever, but I don¡¯t have time for that. The others are in danger¡­ I need to wrap this up immediately, then make sure they¡¯re all okay. Getting us all out of here in one piece is my number one priority. Being indecisive here is not an option. If I waste my time here, something bad could happen to my friends, and I won¡¯t let that happen. Even if they¡¯re just kids, they¡¯ve clearly made their choice. I can¡¯t talk them out it, so I¡¯ll have to get a little rough with them. ¡°This is the end of our little fight.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Huh?! What do you mean? Are you finally gonna fight bac-¡± ¨C Miki Before she gets to finish her sentence, I teleport behind her and chop her on the neck. She passes out and falls to the ground. ¡°Miki!¡± ¨C Shiki He runs over to her and checks her pulse to make sure she¡¯s okay. He lets out a sigh of relief, before turning towards me. ¡°Wait!¡± ¨C Shiki Just as I was about to do the same to him, he stops me. ¡°I won¡¯t chase after you or your friends, okay? Just let me take care of my sister.¡± ¨C Shiki ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t do that. If I let you take care of her, she will just wake up sooner. The moment she does that, she will be chasing after us again. I gave you the opportunity to give up, but you didn¡¯t take it.¡± ¨C Lett Just as he¡¯s about to reply, I do to him what I did to her. If he starts pleading, I might change my mind. That can¡¯t happen. My friends are too important to me to risk their lives on a gamble like that. Being nice isn¡¯t an option right now¡­ Chapter 82: Luck of the draw --- [Shiki¡¯s perspective] Luck plays a big part in everyone¡¯s life, all the way from birth. Some people are born in rich cities; we were not¡­ Some people are born into loving families; we were not¡­ Ever since we were born, the odds were stacked against us. Even as toddlers, our parents would beat us regularly. Any time we did something ¡®wrong¡¯, they would beat us. When we got a little older, Miki started protecting me. She would take the beatings meant for me for herself. Why? Because she thought it was her job as the older twin¡­ There was an incident once; I spilled some soup on the floor. For whatever reason, my father was even more angry than usual. Maybe he had been drinking more? I don¡¯t know why, be he was. He went to hit me, but he didn¡¯t hold back at all. He swung his fist as hard as he could, and Miki got in the way. She took the hit head-on and was instantly knocked out. She flew across the room and banged her head into a table. Blood started pouring out. I thought she was dead, we all did¡­ My father had just murdered my sister because I spilled some soup¡­ How did he react? Certainly not with regret or remorse. He just got even angrier. That was the moment when something snapped inside me¡­ I picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the stomach. My mother started screaming at me, telling me she wished she never gave birth to us. She tried to hit me, but then I¡­ I¡­ I did to her what I did to him. A bowl of spilled soup was the reason why my entire family died. Well, at least I thought they were all dead. Miki survived¡­! Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Soon after, we ran away from home. This all happened when we were just five years old¡­ No one should ever have to experience anything like that, but especially not children. While living by ourselves in the wilderness, we learned to take care of ourselves. That was until we randomly met a group of travelers. ¡°What are you kids doing out here?!¡± ¨C Alice Lord Arthur, Lady Alice, Edward, Cinder, and Cat¡­ They took us in, and we¡¯ve lived with them ever since. They taught us that even someone like us, someone who had experienced nothing but terror our entire lives, could still be happy. Nothing could ever let us repay the debt we owe them¡­ Well¡­ Almost nothing. Alex is our only hope of saving Lady Alice. If we could just capture him, make him help her, then that might just be it. But it looks like it¡¯s over for us now¡­ That girl, she knocked out Miki, and is about to do the same to me. By the time we wake up, it will all be over. Either Lady Alice has been saved, or they¡¯ve escaped. Either way, we¡¯re out of the game. All we can do now is put our faith in the other sins¡­ But¡­ As long as Edward is still standing, it will all end up working out in the end¡­ --- [Cinder¡¯s perspective] ¡°Ugh¡­ My head¡­¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally awake.¡± ¨C Shin Oh, shit! He has a sword at my throat. If I move, I¡¯m done for. ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± ¨C Shin What? What is he even talking about?! Why is he asking me that? ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look so confused, I¡¯m just messing with you!¡± ¨C Shin He pulls the sword away from me, and steps back. The sword was cold; like it¡¯s made of ice. That must be his specialty. Wait, now is my chance! I¡¯ll control him with my ability! ¡°Why are you grinning like that?¡± ¨C Shin I stand back up. ¡°Put the sword away.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Shin And sure enough, it disappears into thin air. He¡¯s already under my control, that was fast. ¡°Explain what happened earlier. One of you managed to attack me, even after I had already activated my ability, but I can¡¯t quite remember what happened.¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Oh, right. Well, uhm¡­ I pretended to be under your control, then slammed your head into the ground.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Pretended to be under my control? Were you not effected?!¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°No, of course not.¡± ¨C Shin What does he mean ¡®of course not¡¯??? There isn¡¯t a single person out there it doesn¡¯t work on! Anyone, regardless of sexuality, regardless of gender¡­ Everyone is affected. He takes a few steps towards me. ¡°Oh, and by the way, I thought you might want to know this. I¡¯m not under your control now either.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°You said your ability is to make people fall in love with you, obviously that wouldn¡¯t work on me. I¡¯m not interested in that stuff. Simple as that.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Not interested? But¡­ My ability literally makes you interested!¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Nah¡­ Not me.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I don¡¯t get it¡­¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°What is there not to get? I already explained¡­ I¡¯m not interested in you, or anyone else for that matter¡­ Now let¡¯s stop talking about this shit, and just get on with the fight. My friends need me.¡± ¨C Shin Fight?! How am I supposed to fight him in my current condition? My head is still spinning after all the blows I¡¯ve taken. I can¡¯t even use my specialty! ¡°This isn¡¯t fair! I¡¯m in no condition to fight and-¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°Fair? Who the hell said this would be a fair fight? You¡¯re the ones that kidnapped us, remember? You¡¯ve already given up your rights to a fair fight.¡± ¨C Shin He looks pissed¡­ For good reason too¡­ He summons two ice swords, one in each hand. Due to my dulled senses, he has already reached me by the time I¡¯m able to react. The edge of his sword is already on my throat, with the other one behind my back. If I move forwards, my throat will be slashed. If I move backwards, my back will get stabbed. I can¡¯t move¡­ A single move is all it took to put me in checkmate¡­ ¡°Do you surrender?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yes! Please, don¡¯t kill me!¡± ¨C Cinder ¡°K.¡± ¨C Shin He steps back, and one of his swords disappear. ¡°Lay down on the ground.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Huh? Why?¡± ¨C Cinder He sighs loudly. ¡°Just do it!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay! Okay!¡± ¨C Cinder I get down on my knees. Just as I¡¯m about to lay down on my back, he gives another command. ¡°On your stomach.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C Cinder After laying down, he grabs my legs and puts them together. He squeezes his sword between them, and they freeze together. ¡°Gaaah!¡± ¨C Cinder Shit! It hurts! ¡°Stay still! If you don¡¯t, I might freeze more than intended.¡± ¨C Shin After freezing my legs together, he does the same to my arms. At the end, he freezes both my arms and legs together, rendering me unable to move. ¡°There we go. Now you won¡¯t be causing any more trouble. Well then, my friends are waiting for me. See ya never.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 83: Escape --- [Cinder¡¯s perspective] Compared to the others in my new family, my life has been great. They have all experienced so much suffering, so when I compare my problems to theirs, I almost feel guilty¡­ I was born into a rich family in the middle area. While some people out there are starving, my every need was met. So many people out there don¡¯t have time for anything other than work, yet I could spend all my time on my hobbies. I had good friends, and I got a good education. It was everything you could hope for. I was the exact person society was built for. Everything was going exactly the way I wanted it to¡­ Until a few months after I turned 17. My father was the owner of the largest food production company in my city. I was going to inherit it when he retired, but those plans quickly changed when he got a certain offer¡­ Another gigantic food production company from a different city got in contact with him. They wanted to merge, making it one giant mega corporation that spans multiple cities. The terms of the deal were as follows: After the merger, only our name would remain, but they would be the ones in charge. On top of this, my father would get a massive payout and 50% of what it earned every year for as long as he lived. The decision was easy for him. He was already starting to get old, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to manage the company for much longer anyways. Getting this much money, while also keeping his legacy, was a best case scenario for him. I didn¡¯t particularly mind the deal either. I was his only child, so I would eventually inherit all the money. With that, I would never have to work a day in my life. No, not just me¡­ The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. But my entire bloodline for generations to come. We would be one of the wealthiest families on the planet, without having to do any work. But¡­ There was one more condition to the deal that I wasn¡¯t aware of until the merger happened. The owner of the other company had a son around my age. We would have to get married¡­ They had many reasons why it they deemed it ¡®necessary¡¯. It was to symbolize the merging of our companies! It was to justify them remaining the owners! But, they were all bullshit reasons¡­ The real reason? The son thought I was cute, and wanted to own me¡­ Just like every other spoiled rich kid, he couldn¡¯t bear the thought of not getting everything he wanted, so his daddy made sure he wouldn¡¯t have to. They gave us an absolutely insane deal, and it was all so that I could be his¡­ My father accepted the deal without even telling me about that part. Why? He probably knew I would refuse if I had a choice, so he made sure I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t love him¡­ I didn¡¯t even know him! The rest of my life would be spent with some rich douche who thought women were objects to be owned. I couldn¡¯t bear the thought of it, so I ran away. I abandoned my family, my friends, my wealth¡­ Everything was left behind. Naturally they came chasing after me, but I never stopped running. There was one time when they got especially close to catching me. That was the day I met them¡­ Just as I was about to get caught by the agents they had hired, a group of just three random people stopped them. They saw what was happening, and they intervened. Those people turned out to be Edward, Lady Alice, and Lord Arthur; my new family. Even though what they had experienced was much worse than what I had, even though I was a spoiled rich kid¡­ They still accepted me. They still treated me the same as everyone else. --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] They¡¯re all alone now. Illian is fighting that crazy woman, Lett is fighting the twins, and Shin is taking care of the woman at the entrance. We¡¯ve split up too much. After I find Illian and make sure he¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll meet up with the others and get the hell out of here. ¡°And who do we have here¡­¡± ¨C Edward It¡¯s¡­ Edward! ¡°You¡­!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you, Alex.¡± ¨C Edward ¡­ ¡°Get out of my way.¡± ¨C Alex He doesn¡¯t move, instead he just stares into my soul with those dead eyes. It almost feels like there¡¯s no one in there¡­ ¡°You know I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°I¡¯m saying this for your own sake¡­ I¡¯m afraid of what I might do to you, knowing you¡¯re the one who kidnapped my friends.¡± ¨C Alex Before responding, he takes a deep breath while maintaining eye contact. ¡°Alex, we need your help.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Oh, fuck off.¡± ¨C Alex Is he serious?! Me help them¡­? After all they¡¯ve done to us? Hah! What a joke¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not joking, Alex. We need your help¡­ And we will get it¡­¡± ¨C Edward He¡¯s¡­! No. I need to calm down. I take a deep breath and focus only on the air going in and out of my lungs. I can¡¯t afford to make any dumb decisions clouded by anger. Not when my friends are in danger¡­ ¡°Your ability is exactly what we¡¯ve been looking for all this time¡­ It¡¯s what we need to save Alice.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Look¡­ I don¡¯t give a shit about you and your buddies. You kidnapped my friends! You hurt them¡­ You fucking tortured them! Now let us go, and leave us alone.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex¡­ Please. If you just willingly help us out, we¡¯ll let you all go. We won¡¯t hurt you or your friends any more than we already have. No more of your friends will have to die¡­¡± ¨C Edward ¡°More¡­? D¡­ Die¡­?¡± ¨C Alex His dead look gave it all away. He¡¯s serious¡­ The thing I just tried to avoid, letting anger cloud my judgement¡­ It all went down the drain. He killed one of them¡­ That¡¯s unforgivable. With every passing moment, the anger just continues to grow. It¡¯s taking over every fiber of my being. Edward needs to die! Chapter 84: Help --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] I¡¯ve never felt like this before¡­ The feeling of wanting to kill someone so badly¡­ My own thoughts are disturbing me, yet I still think them. A part of me is telling myself that no one deserves death, not even someone as awful as him. But¡­ I just can¡¯t bring myself to believe it. Not anymore. They kidnapped and tortured my friends. He even killed one of them! And for what? Because he needs my help? They could have just asked¡­ It¡¯s not like I would have refused¡­ Instead, they decided it would be better to try to force me into helping by using my friends as hostages. Well fuck that! I am NOT helping them, no chance. I will get the rest of us out of here¡­ Alive. But¡­ Not before Edward is brought to justice. I have a major advantage in this battle; I can kill him, but he can¡¯t kill me. He needs me. If I die, everything goes down the drain. Killing me isn¡¯t an option. I rush towards him, prepared to kill. Instead of dodging, he instead tries to block. His guard is strong, but my attack goes through. He is knocked back, and his arms suffers some damage. I continue my rush by following right after him. Before I¡¯m able to get there, he summons his sword. He slashes the air in front of him, leaving a large streak of darkness behind. I figured he would try that, unfortunately for him, I already know about his ability. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The darkness in the well was created by him, and Lett saw him summon the sword when he abducted Shin and Illian. I dealt with the darkness then, and I can do it now. I activate the void in my right hand and swipe it across the darkness. It gets absorbed with no problem. He tries to stab me with his sword, but I block it with the palm of my left hand; absorbing the entire sword as it moves deeper into the void. His specialty is completely useless against me. ¡°I figured this is how it would turn out¡­¡± ¨C Edward He doesn¡¯t seem to bother making a new sword, he knows it will only unnecessarily drain his stamina. ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve fought with my fists, so excuse me if I¡¯m a bit rusty.¡± ¨C Edward He says while jumping backwards to avoid my attack. I follow after him and throw another punch. He throws one of his own, and our fists clash. Our bones rattle from the shock, but they don¡¯t break. He¡¯s impressively strong, easily stronger than Shin, Lett, and Illian. But after a moment of both of us giving it our all, I overpower him. He¡¯s yet again knocked back, but this time I make sure to not give him any time to defend. I follow up with an immediate punch to the stomach. He falls over a bit, just enough to lose balance. I follow through with the punch, launching him up into the ceiling. Parts of the ceiling fall off from the impact, and a clear human shaped hole is left there. As he falls, I prepare to hit him again, but he does everything he can to stop me. He summons his sword and swings it around wildly. It doesn¡¯t hit, but it forced me to absorb it instead of continuing my attack. He gets back on his feet and brushes some dust off his clothes. ¡°You¡¯re quite tough¡­ Beating you without my specialty, all while holding back so I don¡¯t accidentally kill you¡­ It won¡¯t be easy, but¡­ I will do it. It¡¯s for my dear friend after all.¡± ¨C Edward He runs towards me, ready to attack, but is quickly stopped by an unknown voice. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± ¨C Arthur Without any hesitation, Edward completely stops. ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Edward The way he walks¡­ The way he talks¡­ There¡¯s an air of authority to him like none other. Who is he? ¡°I¡¯ll handle the rest, Edward.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°You sure? He¡¯s tough, but I could handle him.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°I¡¯m sure. I don¡¯t want to see any more of you get hurt. Cat was almost killed, Cinder has been frozen in place, and the twins have been knocked out. Only you, me, and Alice are left unhurt.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°I see. You do you then, Arthur.¡± ¨C Edward He walks towards me. There¡¯s just something about him that has me completely frozen. ¡°Hello Alex, I¡¯m Arthur. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex He reaches his hand out, and I instinctively grab it. As we shake hands, he continues to introduce himself. ¡°I¡¯m Arthur, the sin of greed, and the so called ¡®leader¡¯ of the seven deadly sins.¡± ¨C Arthur While still holding my hand, he leans in. ¡°I like to think of us more as a family though.¡± ¨C Arthur He lets go of me, and I take a step back. My mood has changed completely. Just seconds ago, I was overwhelmed with rage, but now¡­ Is this¡­ Fear¡­? Just looking at him is sending shivers down my spine; I don¡¯t know why. There¡¯s just something about him that is instinctively making my body react. It¡¯s like it knows he¡¯s trouble¡­ He reaches his hand out again, but¡­ He lowers it down, pointing it towards the floor. He takes a step forwards, and I react by taking one backwards. Just as my foot touches the ground behind me, I slip and fall. ¡°Do you need help getting up?¡± ¨C Arthur His hand¡­ It¡¯s right there¡­ Right there for me to grab. It¡¯s like he knew I was going to slip¡­ I grab his hand and I get back up. ¡°So, here¡¯s the thing, Alex. We need your help. In fact, you¡¯re the only one that can help us. A life is on the line. The life of someone very important to me.¡± ¨C Arthur My mind is finally starting to clear, and the fear is slowly fading. Since he arrived, I haven¡¯t been able to speak up, but that is no longer the case. ¡°No¡­ I already told Edward. I¡¯m not helping you. After what you guys have done to us? No way. I have a different proposal. If you leave us alone from now on, I might let you live.¡± ¨C Alex Arthur lets out a deep sigh. ¡°I thought you might say that.¡± ¨C Arthur Suddenly my entire body cramps up and I fall over. ¡°Ghaa!¡± ¨C Alex It hurts! What the hell is happening to me? Chapter 85: Alex vs Arthur --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] The cramps let up, and I¡¯m finally able to stand. What¡¯s going on? This can¡¯t all be coincidence; it must be his ability. But how¡­ First I fall over, then all my muscles cramp up. What kind of ability is that? ¡°Since you won¡¯t cooperate, we¡¯ll have to use force. Don¡¯t worry though, I won¡¯t kill you. Although¡­ I can¡¯t promise the same for your friends. Unless you help us that is.¡± ¨C Arthur Should I just help him and get it all over with? No¡­ There¡¯s no reason for me to believe him. If he¡¯s okay with killing, he¡¯s not above lying¡­ I run up to him and throw a punch directly towards his stomach. It¡­ Connected? ¡°Guahrgh!¡± ¨C Arthur He coughs up blood and goes flying into the wall. ¡°Arthur! Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¨C Arthur He starts coughing intensely. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m fine¡­¡± ¨C Arthur I thought he would dodge, or at least try to block¡­ He catches his breath and wipes away the blood on his lips. He rushes towards me, ready to attack. Just like I did, he¡¯s aiming for my stomach. Right before he reaches me, I suddenly can¡¯t feel my legs anymore. It¡¯s like they suddenly fell asleep. ¡°What the-¡± ¨C Alex I fall down to my knees, and his fist is planted directly into my face. ¡­ It barely even hurt¡­ He steps back, and puts his hands in his pockets. He wasn¡¯t aiming for my stomach, he somehow knew I would fall down. ¡°Just give up already, you¡¯re not beating me. Not ever. Help us out, and I guarantee you and your friends¡¯ safety.¡± ¨C Arthur Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You¡¯re pretty fast, about as fast as Edward I¡¯d say. But that won¡¯t be enough to beat me. All you¡¯ve got going for yourself is that ability of yours. You¡¯re somehow weaker than most F-rank hunters¡­ Once I figure out how to deal with that nasty specialty, you¡¯re done for.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°True¡­ If you were to figure out how to counter it, there¡¯s no way you¡¯d lose. But¡­ That¡¯s easier said than done.¡± ¨C Arthur He¡¯s right¡­ Right now, I don¡¯t even really know what it does¡­ Things just seem to¡­ Happen¡­ There doesn¡¯t seem to be a pattern to it either. First I slipped, then I got cramps, and lastly my legs fell asleep. My body just malfunctions out of nowhere¡­ Can my body malfunction in any way at all? Can other things happen? Can he activate it on command? Is there a requirement to trigger it? Can I somehow ¡®absorb¡¯ it with my own specialty? So much is still unknown, but I¡¯ve got to figure it out. The feeling in my legs is slowly returning, and I stand back up. ¡°So, you¡¯re still not giving up then?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°No.¡± ¨C Alex I take a step forward. ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C Arthur The joint in my knee suddenly jumps out of place and I yet again fall over. ¡°Gah!¡± ¨C Alex What the hell?! He walks up to me and picks me up by my throat. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to beat you up a little then.¡± ¨C Arthur Perfect, he¡¯s within my range! He¡¯s very weak, so a good hit could instantly knock him out. I swing my fist as hard as I can, aiming right for his temple. ¡°GuAah!¡± ¨C Alex !!! My fist swung right past his face and into my own! How could I miss like that? ¡­ His ability¡­ It can even make me miss. He slams me down into the ground with all his might. If he wasn¡¯t so weak, that would have done some serious damage to me¡­ My own hit hurt me more than that¡­ He takes another step back, and puts his hands back in his pockets. I pop the joint in my knee back in its place, and stand back up. ¡°You see now? His ability is truly fearsome. He¡¯s not the kind of person you want as your enemy, so just do as he says, and help us.¡± ¨C Edward These guys are so persistent! They don¡¯t take no for an answer. So annoying¡­ I yet again try to close the distance between us, but just like every other time, something happens that stops me. Both my legs start spasming, making me unable to stand. ¡°Agh! So annoying!¡± ¨C Alex Just like every other time, I yet again get up. I run towards him again, and¡­ Nothing is happening to me¡­? Once I get close to him I go for another attack. For the first time, he actually dodges. I¡¯m faster than him, so he barely makes it. He puts his hands on my chest, and tries to push me away, but isn¡¯t able to. I go for a follow-up attack, but then¡­ ¡°Guah!¡± ¨C Alex My fist yet again swings right past his face and hits my own. Why did his ability not activate earlier, but it did now? Wait¡­ I think I got it! It¡¯s touch¡­! His ability only activates once he has touched me. It seems like it can only activate one time per touch too. He was forced to dodge because he had already used it when he made my legs spasm. I stumble backwards as I recoil in pain from hitting myself in the face. He takes the opportunity to yet again punch me in the face. Just like every other time, he steps back, and puts his hands in his pockets. I start grinning. ¡°Hm?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Touch.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I see. So, you¡¯ve figured it out then¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°I have. You¡¯re now one step closer to being defeated!¡± ¨C Alex He looks at me for a second before answering. ¡°Nah. Knowing doesn¡¯t make a difference. This cursed power of mine won¡¯t be that easily defeated.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°You sure about that?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes. Knowledge is useless when there¡¯s nothing you can do about it. I can prove it if you want to.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Prove it?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah, I can just explain exactly what my specialty is. I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¨C Arthur What? He¡¯s just gonna explain it? ¡°You¡¯re right that it activates on touch, but you probably don¡¯t how it actually functions.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°It makes my body malfunction.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes¡­ But not really.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What really happens is that after we touch, you¡¯re destined to get into an accident.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Destined to get into an accident?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes. When I was younger, I couldn¡¯t control my ability very well, but that isn¡¯t the case anymore. The accident could be anything, and it could happen at any time. But right now, I¡¯m able to control exactly when it happens, and the severity of it. For now, I¡¯ve kept the severity on the lower side.¡± ¨C Arthur It can get even worse¡­? ¡°I could make your heart stop at any moment, and there is nothing you can do about it.¡± ¨C Arthur Chapter 86: Death --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] He could make my heart stop at any moment?! Is he bluffing? Is his ability really that powerful¡­? Either way, he needs me; he¡¯s not going to do it to me. But if he really can do something as insane as that, I need to be careful. He may not kill me, but he could probably cripple me in other ways. The problem is, I can¡¯t damage him without touching him. If only Shin was here¡­ He¡¯d make quick work of him with his swords. Wait a minute¡­ Could I¡­? ¡°How long are you just going to stand there? If you won¡¯t come to me, I¡¯ll come to you!¡± ¨C Arthur I have to try it, it¡¯s now or never. He sprints towards me at full speed with both his hands stretching forwards as far as they can. All he needs is to touch me, power is irrelevant to him. I lift both of my arms, preparing myself for a collision. He runs right into me, his palms touching mine. However, not before I used my specialty¡­! ¡°Oh¡­ Smart. I¡¯m genuinely curious to see if it works or not!¡± ¨C Arthur We both take a step back and lower our arms. ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± ¨C Alex If this doesn¡¯t work, I don¡¯t think I can win against him, so it doesn¡¯t matter if he got a free hit on me now. ¡°Now then¡­ What kind of accident will you be in¡­¡± ¨C Arthur He thinks for a moment, then: ¡°Ah! I got it. Let¡¯s have you¡­ Sneeze!¡± ¨C Arthur That¡¯s it¡­? A few seconds passes, but nothing happens. It worked! Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. My specialty can absorb his. That means as long as I use my palms, I can touch him. He¡¯s not that durable, so palm strikes should be more than enough to take him out. ¡°That certainly makes this a lot more interesting¡­ Let¡¯s see how long you can avoid being touched anywhere other than your palms.¡± ¨C Arthur Just as I¡¯m about to go on the offensive, I hear footsteps rapidly approaching. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± ¨C Edward They walk around the corner and¡­ It¡¯s¡­! ¡°Oh, just me.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shin! You¡¯re okay!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Of course!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I was worried¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Why? No need to worry about me, I wouldn¡¯t let these losers beat me.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shin¡­ He¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Now then, who do we have here? Edward and¡­?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Arthur.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°So, you¡¯re the boss around here, or¡­?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°That I am.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°I see¡­ So, you¡¯re the one that needs a good beating then.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Heh¡­ I suppose.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Shin, you¡¯re better suited for fighting this guy than me. His ability is dangerous, but it only activates when he touches you. You¡¯ll easily take care of him with your swords.¡± ¨C Alex As he walks towards me, Edward steps between us. ¡°I won¡¯t let you do that. Arthur told me to let him deal with Alex, he never said anything about you.¡± ¨C Edward They won¡¯t let us swap opponents¡­ Smart, it would only be an advantage for us. ¡°Edward.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Yes?¡± ¨C Edward ¡°¡­ Go for the kill. If Alex submits, then you can stop.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Got it.¡± ¨C Edward Edward summons his giant sword and points it toward Shin. ¡°We don¡¯t want to kill you guys, but you¡¯re refusing to submit. We have no choice but to take drastic measures. When Alex sees how big the difference is between me and you, he¡¯ll definitely give up.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Alex, don¡¯t do it. Not ever. Even if you think my life is at risk. Don¡¯t ever help these scum. Besides, he¡¯s got it all wrong. When you see how big the difference is between me and him, you¡¯ll be even more confident. I¡¯m going to beat him. No matter what.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a cocky one, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Yes, and for good reason.¡± ¨C Shin Edward scoffs at what Shin said, as if it wasn¡¯t all true. ¡°We¡¯ll see about that¡­¡± ¨C Edward ¡°I fully believe in you Shin but watch out. He¡¯s strong. He even¡­ He¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Spit it out.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°He killed one of them¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What¡­?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know who it was, but he killed one of them. Lett or Illian¡­ One of them is dead.¡± ¨C Alex The look in his face and his entire attitude changes when he heard it¡­ Shin is pissed¡­ ¡°Is it true? Did you kill one of them¡­?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Of course. They were about to finish off one of my own allies, so I stopped them. Simple as that.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°This could have all been avoided of course. If you had just-¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Who was it?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°The boy.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Illian¡­ I haven¡¯t known him for as long as I have with the other two, but he was still a beloved friend¡­ He was a good guy with his entire life ahead of him, and you took it all away¡­ This is¡­ Unforgivable!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°So, I hear you use swords too. Let¡¯s see who¡¯s the better swordsman.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Enough with the jokes! You¡¯ve crossed a line you can¡¯t ever uncross. You¡¯ll pay for what you¡¯ve done¡­¡± ¨C Shin --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] These halls¡­ They just go on and on, seemingly forever¡­ Wait¡­ I hear something. Who is that? I run around the corner, and¡­! It¡¯s Illian! ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°There¡¯s so much blood¡­ Is it¡­?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It¡¯s mine. But don¡¯t worry, I used my specialty. I¡¯m not hurt.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Edward¡­ I met him earlier. He¡¯s strong¡­ Too strong¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone other than Alex could deal with him, and that¡¯s only because of his ability.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Is he really that strong?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Yes. He¡¯s a monster¡­ One attack was all it took. He finished me off in an instant. If it wasn¡¯t for my specialty, I¡¯d be a dead man. Luckily, he didn¡¯t know about it, so I managed to trick him into thinking I was dead. But more importantly, we need to find Shin and Alex. If they run into him, they¡¯re in big trouble¡­¡± ¨C Illian Chapter 87: Burning wrath! --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] He crossed the line¡­ He killed one of my dear friends¡­ He¡¯s irredeemable; he¡¯s just like all the other scum that deserves to be eradicated. His existence is actively making the world a worse place, I can¡¯t allow him to live any longer. His story ends today. An ice sword appears in each of my hands, I¡¯m ready to fight¡­ ¡°Ooh! So you duel wield¡­ Interesting.¡± ¨C Edward I dash towards him and swing with both swords in the same direction, but he blocks them with his own. I push as hard as I can, but he¡¯s not budging. His sword isn¡¯t freezing either! Why not?! ¡°Huh¡­ Your swords aren¡¯t withering away¡­ Strange.¡± ¨C Edward Could it be that¡­? ¡°Could it be that your ice is counteracting my darkness?¡± ¨C Edward ¡°And your darkness is counteracting my ice¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What a strange interaction¡­ But no worries, this means our swords abilities won¡¯t be the deciding factor of this battle. Strength, speed, and technique will. Good thing I¡¯m quite confident in all those areas.¡± ¨C Edward As he finishes his sentence, he gives a good push and launches my attack away. He immediately follows up with an attack of his own. It¡¯s fast! Too fast to dodge. I have no choice but to block. I slam both of my swords into his as hard as I can, but it¡¯s barely slowing down. He follows through with his swing, and I get launched across the room. Darkness traced his swing, leaving a streak of dark clouds behind. That¡¯s the stuff Alex absorbed when we first got to Phasma. I should avoid it at all costs. His sword is passively radiating small amounts of darkness too. When our swords clashed, that small amount was enough to cancel out my freezing. I don¡¯t want to know what would happen if I were to touch the real deal¡­ Or¡­ Do I¡­? I¡¯m curious; how destructive is it really? Of course, touching it would obviously be a bad idea, but¡­ What about my sword? Creating ice swords drain a decent amount of my stamina, but I haven¡¯t used them that much today. It shouldn¡¯t be an issue if I sacrifice one for the sake of information. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Information is the key to winning after all¡­ Without thinking about it for any longer, I chuck one of the swords at the cloudy darkness. The part of the sword that touched the darkness is instantly disintegrated; it happened in an instant too¡­ The pieces of the sword that didn¡¯t touch it fall to the ground and shortly after, disappear; I no longer had any reason to use my stamina to maintain them. ¡°Experimenting now, are we? Did you figure anything out?¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Yes. Your specialty is as destructive as your influence on the world.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Ouch¡­¡± ¨C Edward So my initial assessment was correct¡­ Avoid the darkness at all costs. ¡°Well, experiment all you want. In the end, it won¡¯t matter. I, the sin of wrath, will not lose to someone like you. Not when Alice¡¯s life is on the line¡­¡± ¨C Edward They¡¯re all so cocky¡­ Why does no one ever think they¡¯re able to lose? No one¡­ Not ever. Well¡­ I guess I¡¯m not much better myself. Although there is a big difference between me and him. I¡¯m right. If I use that, then he will lose. There¡¯s no doubt about that. But¡­ Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that¡­ ¡°Well then, I guess it¡¯s my time to go on the offensive.¡± ¨C Edward Without wasting any time, he immediately rushes towards me. He thrusts his sword forward at maximum speed. If it wasn¡¯t for the distance between us, I might not have been able to get away from it in time. I hurry up and make a new ice sword before he can continue his attack. He swings his sword to the side, but I jump back just in the nick of time. Instead of yet again rushing towards me, he slows down his pace. He slowly walks towards me while wildly swinging his sword around. The darkness is spreading to every corner of the corridor. It¡¯s impossible for me to get to Alex now, there¡¯s a thick wall of darkness between us. Edward himself seems to not be affected by it, he just walks through it like its air. Is he trying to cut off my escape paths¡­? If I have nowhere to go, it certainly won¡¯t be easy to dodge¡­ He¡¯s stronger than me too, so overpowering him won¡¯t be an easy task either. He¡¯s not as dumb as he looks¡­ ¡°You see? Do you finally understand why can¡¯t beat me? If I hit you, you die. If you dodge, then there will only be more darkness for you to avoid in the future. I¡¯m filling up the room, soon you¡¯ll be forced to fight me head-on, and we both know that won¡¯t end well for you¡­ This will be my final time telling you this¡­ Give up.¡± ¨C Edward ¡°Fine¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Huh¡­? I¡¯m gonna be honest, I didn¡¯t expect you to actually give up¡­ Well then, I gues-¡± ¨C Edward ¡°I¡¯m not giving up on the fight, you damn brute. I¡¯m giving up on holding back¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Holding back? If you¡¯ve got more to show me, then be my guest. It won¡¯t make a difference.¡± ¨C Edward The first time I used my specialty was in my fight against Fei in the E-rank exam. I subconsciously created an ice sword, just when I was about to lose¡­ Not long after, we started training to learn SDM for real. During my training I figured something out¡­ I was wrong about my specialty; it is not creating ice swords¡­ It¡¯s creating elemental swords¡­! It happened one day when I was on the brink of passing out from exhaustion, just like what happened during the exam. Instead of creating a regular ice sword, I created a fire sword¡­! I was shocked, but the shock didn¡¯t last long¡­ As soon as I made it, I passed out. When I woke up, it was three days later¡­ Since then, I¡¯ve been training hard to increase my stamina so that I can use it in real combat. Right now, I¡¯m at the point where I can stay awake after creating a fire sword, but that¡¯s just if that¡¯s the only thing I¡¯ve done that day¡­ That is not the case right now¡­ I¡¯ll be able to maintain it for maybe a minute at most, after that I will pass out. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to use it; I won¡¯t be able to help the others anymore if I do. But¡­ There doesn¡¯t seem to be any other option. This will be my final contribution in this battle! I throw away my ice swords and before they hit the ground, they vanish into thin air. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna use your swords? Hmm¡­¡± ¨C Edward Unlike my ice swords, it doesn¡¯t instantly appear. The fire sword slowly forms itself in my hands. I¡¯m barely able to make one of them, let alone two¡­ I guess I¡¯ll wield it with both hands. I can feel the heat on my skin, but it doesn¡¯t hurt. Just like Edward and his darkness, I seem to have natural immunity to my fire. The same applies to my ice swords. It would be very hard to use if I wasn¡¯t¡­ ¡°Interesting¡­ You can make swords of different elements. Well then, let¡¯s see if it makes a difference or not!¡± ¨C Edward I lift the fully formed fire sword high into air, and swing it down towards him at full speed. He quickly tried to block with his own sword; a clash of strength is where he has the advantage after all. But to his surprise, his efforts were futile. The fire passed right through his sword, rendering his block completely useless. ¡°What the¡­!¡± ¨C Edward He didn¡¯t have any time to get away, the sword was too close. The fire passed through him, scorching his entire body. His hair burned, his skin charred, and his insides melted. After a fight between swordsmen, you would think the loser would be covered in cuts. Yet, he had none¡­ Nevertheless, he was dead. The fire passed through his body, instantly killing him. One slash was all it took¡­ His darkness disappears, clearing the hallway. I try to make it back to Alex, but¡­ But¡­ Ahh¡­ My head is spinning¡­ I guess I won¡¯t make it¡­ It¡¯s all up to you now, Alex! Chapter 88: Rest in peace --- [Edward¡¯s perspective] Oh shit! I messed up! His sword passed right through mine¡­ The fire¡­ It¡¯s so hot. It¡¯s just like that day¡­ --- I was just a kid, playing with a magnifying glass in the forest. The sun shined brightly, almost too brightly¡­ It didn¡¯t rain much there, so the ground, the trees, and the leaves were all very dry. All it took was a tiny spark, and a fire was started. It spread fast; mere moments was all it took for the entire forest to be engulfed in flames. I was lucky I even got away in time¡­ It continued to spread until it reached the village. The villagers immediately started doing everything they could to stop it, but it was already too late. Farms, houses, cattle¡­ It was all consumed by the never-ending flames. The only reason the village even survived was due to the river that divided it. One side utterly destroyed, while the other was untouched¡­ Maybe it was karma, but I was one of the people living on the ¡®wrong¡¯ side of the river. My house was turned to ash along with all my belongings. Not that I had much in the first place¡­ The most devastating effects of the fire was all the people we lost. Among those who passed were my parents¡­ It was early in the morning, so they might have been still sleeping. I can¡¯t imagine what they must have felt¡­ Well¡­ I guess I do now¡­ ¡­ From that point onwards, I was an outcast. Shunned by everyone else, I grew up alone. It messed me up in more ways than I can count. Life felt like it wasn¡¯t worth living, I had no place in society. Or at least that was how I felt until I met Arthur and Alice. They were outcasts just like me; shunned by society and hated by everyone. They accepted me¡­ No. They loved me. And I loved them. Arthur, Alice¡­ This is the end for me, and I know it. But¡­! You will be the winners here; I just know it! Even if I won¡¯t be there to see it happen, I still believe in you with all my heart. Arthur¡­ Save Alice, and live long, meaningful lives together. Goodbye¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°The darkness¡­ it¡¯s clearing out. Was Edward¡­ defeated¡­?¡± ¨C Arthur Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Of course he was, his opponent was Shin after all!¡± ¨C Alex The look on Arthur¡¯s face took a sudden turn after he said that¡­ It¡¯s like he¡¯s finally realizing how serious the situation is and that he can¡¯t mess around anymore. Just as he¡¯s about to approach me, a voice suddenly calls out for him. ¡°ARTHUR!¡± ¨C Alice Who is that? ¡°Alice¡­?¡± ¨C Arthur She takes a second to catch her breath, before continuing to berate him. ¡°I told you to stop so many times! Why won¡¯t you listen to me?!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ This is for your own good.¡± ¨C Arthur He rushes towards me, faster than ever before. ¡°Arthur!¡± ¨C Alice He tries to touch me with both his hands, attacking from both sides. With the void in my hands active, I cross my arms and stop his attack. He doesn¡¯t waste any time and continues his attack. I stop them all, just in the nick of time. He¡¯s not giving me any room to counterattack. If I slip up even once, my loss would be all but guaranteed¡­ He¡¯s that dangerous¡­ ¡°Arthur!! Listen to me for God¡¯s sake!¡± ¨C Alice He continues to ignore her while relentlessly attacking me. ¡°Arthur!!! Stop it!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± ¨C Arthur The desperation in his eyes¡­ I see it so clearly. He¡¯s going faster and faster, doing everything he can to touch me. The rate at which he¡¯s attacking is so fast that I can¡¯t even comprehend the movements. My body is just moving on its own. I dodge what I can dodge, and I block what I can block. ¡°Oh my god¡­ Is that¡­?¡± ¨C Alice As the barrage continues, my brain is slowly catching up. He¡¯s pushing me to the point where it feels like I¡¯m evolving. Slowly but surely, I¡¯m starting to read his movements. ¡°¡­ Edward¡­?¡± ¨C Alice I¡¯m no longer acting on pure instincts. If I want any hope of counterattacking, I need to be able to read him; I¡¯m slowly getting there! Wait¡­! I see it! An opening! ¡°Edward¡­ He¡¯s¡­¡± ¨C Alice I take the opportunity and throw a palm strike with all my might. Suddenly, his movements change. Shit! He saw it coming¡­ It¡¯s too late to pull back now, I¡¯ve got to follow through! ¡­ His finger just barely touched the back of my hand as he hopped backwards to evade my attack, but¡­ He did it¡­ He touched me in a place where I couldn¡¯t activate the void¡­ My life is in his hands now¡­ He lifts his hand up, and points right at me. ¡°This is the end, Alex. I wi-¡± ¨C Arthur Alice interrupts him by grabbing his arm. ¡°Arthur¡­ Stop it¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°I¡¯ve done it, Alice! I touched him, he has no choice but to listen to me now. He¡¯ll save yo-¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°No!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Don¡¯t you get it, Arthur?¡± ¨C Alice ¡°What¡­ Do you mean?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Edward! He is dead because of you!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°I told you to stop, so so so SO many times! But you didn¡¯t listen¡­ And look what happened. Our best friend¡­ No¡­ A family member died, all because of your stupid obsession! I¡¯ve already accepted my fate long ago, why can¡¯t you?!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Alice! I can¡¯t just let you die!¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Do you think this is any easier for me to accept? Don¡¯t you think I want to live? Of course I do! It¡¯s just that¡­ I¡­ I want to live a life worth living¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Alice¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°If I have to sacrifice those dear to me¡­ If I have to sacrifice innocent people¡­ Then there¡¯s no point.¡± ¨C Alice ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°You tried so hard to save me, you all have¡­ And I appreciate that, but¡­ it ends now. You went too far. You kidnapped these people, these INNOCENT people! You hurt them, tortured them¡­ Killed them?! They fought back, and for good reason. But what was the result of all that? Edward¡¯s death¡­ Well, no more. No more! I can¡¯t let you continue, even if it means I¡¯ll die¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Arthur He takes a breath, and wipes away his tears¡­ ¡°Ok¡­ I¡¯ll stop¡­¡± ¨C Arthur He takes a step back and looks me in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m sorr¡­ No¡­ I don¡¯t get to apologize and pretend everything is fine, because it¡¯s not. Instead, I¡¯ll leave you with this¡­ Some final words before we part forever. Watch out¡­¡± ¨C Arthur Huh? ¡°There¡¯s a group out there looking for you. Ever wondered how I knew about your ability? Well, I know because I¡¯m a part of that group. I wasn¡¯t supposed to make contact with you, or rather¡­ I wasn¡¯t allowed to. But once I heard about your ability from them, I couldn¡¯t stop myself. I¡¯ve tried everything, but there isn¡¯t anyone in the world that can save Alice. Except for¡­ maybe you¡­¡± ¨C Arthur Woah woah woah¡­ What is he saying? ¡®A group¡¯ is looking for me¡­? ¡°I had to get you to come to me, because they would never let me get close to you. So, we made up a mission that was designed specifically for you. It was also a good opportunity to see your ability in action. If you couldn¡¯t absorb Edward¡¯s darkness, then there wouldn¡¯t be any point continuing, and we¡¯d let you all go. But you did it, so we continued to follow the plan. We¡¯ve tried asking nicely in the past, and it never works. Not for people like us¡­ Outcasts¡­ So, we did it the only way we knew how¡­ With force.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Listen¡­ Edward killed one of my friends. I don¡¯t care what your reason was, that is unforgivable. You can¡¯t guilt me into helping you, or whatever the hell you¡¯re trying to do.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No, that¡¯s not it¡­ I was just explaining¡­ Whatever. You¡¯re right, it doesn¡¯t matter why. Anyways, let me at least tell you this. I don¡¯t know why that group is after you, I¡¯m not privy to those details. But you should watch out, I get the feeling they¡¯ll come after you sooner rather than later. For all I know, they might have already found you¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°What kind of group is this?? Why are they after me?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t know why they¡¯re after you. But if you want a name, you can have it¡­ The END¡­ It¡¯s a group that-¡± ¨C Arthur Just as he was about to continue explaining, Alice suddenly coughs up a ton of blood. ¡°Alice! Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Arthur She wipes away the blood on her face with her sleeve. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ Alex, grab your friends and leave. You¡¯re free now, so go.¡± ¨C Alice She continues coughing up blood. Due to the shock of everything that just happened, I just stare at her. ¡°Go!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°O-ok¡­¡± ¨C Alex I run over to Shin and check on him. He¡¯s fine, but he¡¯s totally unconscious¡­ He must have used his fire sword, even though it takes a large toll on his body. I continue thinking about everything he told me while I run through the halls, when I suddenly hear a voice¡­! ¡°Alex!¡± ¨C Lett It¡¯s Lett! And¡­ Illian too!? ¡°Wait, you¡¯re both alive? Edward said he killed one of you¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I tricked him with my ability.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re both fine¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What about Shin?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°He¡¯s fine, just unconscious. I think he used his fire sword.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I see¡­ Well then, let¡¯s get the hell out of here already!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yes¡­ A¡­ Ah¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex? Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Achoo!!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Are you sick¡­?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°No, it¡¯s just that Arthur touched me so¡­ You know what? Whatever. Sure.¡± ¨C Alex Chapter 89: The cursed child --- [Arthur¡¯s perspective] I have always been¡­ Different¡­ I am one of the very few rare cases of someone having a ¡®passive¡¯ specialty. Passive specialties are ones that are permanently active, usually since birth. Some people refer to these specialties as blessings. Mine however¡­ I¡¯d rather call it a curse. When my mother got pregnant, my parents were so happy. They had been trying for years, but without any success. They almost gave up hope, but it finally happened. They were finally going to have a baby. Grateful couldn¡¯t even being to describe how they felt; apparently, they even referred to me as a blessing. Ironic, I know¡­ The day I was born was supposed to be their happiest day ever, and it probably was¡­ But¡­ It was also their last day ever¡­ Naturally after I was born, they held me, hugged me, kissed me. My ¡®curse¡¯ activated, and that was it¡­ My mother was the first to go. Mere minutes had passed since I was born, the ceiling suddenly came crashing down on her, instantly crushing her. In that moment, she was still holding me, but miraculously¡­ I survived. My father grabbed me and ran to get help. The neighbors helped getting the rubble out of the way, but it didn¡¯t matter. Even if they had cleared it all the moment it happened, she would have still died. At least her death was quick and painless¡­ Shocked, confused, heartbroken, enraged¡­ My father didn¡¯t know what to do with himself. His wife, whom he loved more than anything, had just passed before his very own eyes. Just moments after I was born¡­ He took me to his sister¡¯s house; she was obviously more than happy to let us stay with her for a while. Overwhelmed with grief, he spent the rest of the day crying in the guest room all by himself. She brought him some bread and told him he should eat. At first, he didn¡¯t want to. Not because he wasn¡¯t hungry, but because he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do anything. His wife was gone¡­ He felt like everything was meaningless. What was the point if she was no longer there? You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. His sister convinced him to eat, he wouldn¡¯t get any better just lying there. And besides, he needed to live¡­ For my sake¡­ His first bite of that bread was his last¡­ It got stuck in his throat, suffocating him. Nobody noticed anything until hours later, in the middle of the night. They heard me crying and so they went to check on me. My father lying dead on the floor was the last thing they expected to find¡­ After that, my aunt and her husband decided to adopt me. Since my parents were no longer around to take care of me, they would. The entire situation was seen as a terrible tragedy, but over time, that view started to shift. My uncle fell down the stairs and broke his arm only a week after they adopted me. My aunt was blinded on one side by a twig that was picked up by a random gust of wind. Things like that just kept happening. Over and over and over again¡­ By the time I was old enough to be in daycare, my uncle was dead, and my aunt was paralyzed from the waist down. People started to see me as the curse I really was. Even as a toddler, people would stare at me, call me names, some would even try to hurt me. But¡­ Can I really blame them? The people around me would all end up getting hurt¡­ One of my first memories was me playing on a playground. The parents wouldn¡¯t let their kids near me, so I was there all alone. A kitten came, and I remember thinking it was the cutest thing I¡¯ve ever seen. I ran up to it and petted it; I was so happy. Dark clouds started forming in the sky¡­ The owner saw me petting it and got anxious. They got some food and lured it away from me. While it was running back to its owner, a lightning bolt struck it, instantly electrocuting it¡­ The clouds faded away, and the clear blue sky from a minute ago was back. All my life I¡¯ve been plagued by this curse¡­ Anything I touch will be in some kind of accident. I couldn¡¯t control what it would be, or when it would happen. It ruined my life. Everyone hated me; even my own family resented me. I had nothing, I had no one¡­ By the time I was 15, I was like a mere husk of a person. I was alive, but not living¡­ You¡¯d expect someone in my situation to think something along the lines of: ¡®All I want is to be loved!¡¯. But I didn¡¯t¡­ There were plenty of times when I thought about ending it all, but I couldn¡¯t even be bothered to do that¡­ I truly was empty¡­ ¡­ Until that day¡­! There was a family in our village that got insanely wealthy through gambling when I was only a few years old. The money got to their heads, and they became a big pain in the ass for everyone. They acted like they were better than everyone else, even when it was obvious that they were all douchebags. They had a daughter around my age, but her life had been nothing like mine. She was a spoiled brat who had everything she could ever hope for. She had the best education in the whole village, her parents would buy her anything she wanted, everyone wanted to be her friend, and her family loved her¡­ She was the exact opposite of me. Like most days, I was just sitting by river watching the fish. It¡¯s not like I had anything better to do¡­ I heard a scream in the distance, and I ran over to see what was going on. It was her, the rich girl¡­ A group of teenagers had surrounded her. They were demanding that she gave them everything she had. My first instinct was to turn back. I mean, she had practically infinite wealth; they clearly didn¡¯t. Even if they took everything she had on her a thousand times over, it wouldn¡¯t even make a dent on her family¡¯s fortune. But for them, that could be a life altering amount of money. I would have turned back then and there, but then they pulled out knives¡­ That¡¯s going way too far. I wouldn¡¯t care if they took her possessions, but she didn¡¯t deserve to get hurt¡­ Or worse¡­ They didn¡¯t seem like the most mentally stable bunch either, I don¡¯t think the knife was just for show. I walked up to them and made sure they heard me. ¡°Enough.¡± ¨C Arthur The moment they saw me, they ran away. Just like everyone else in the village, they were afraid of me¡­ Out of nowhere, the girl ran up to me and hugged me. It was my first hug since I was a newborn¡­ ¡°Thanks for saving me! I owe you one!¡± ¨C Alice I pushed her away from me. ¡°What the hell are you doing?!¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°¡­ What¡­?¡± ¨C Alice She looked confused and upset. It¡¯s like she didn¡¯t understand why I pushed her away. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me! Only bad things happen to those who do¡­¡± ¨C Arthur What happens to her now is up to fate¡­ Will she live? Will she die? Will she be blinded, paralyzed, or break her arms? Maybe she¡¯ll trip and scrabe her knees. Even I can¡¯t tell, but now that she has touched me, anything could happen to her¡­ Suddenly, I see it happening¡­ A large tree suddenly falls right towards her. ¡°Watch out!¡± ¨C Arthur I tried to warn her, but it was too late¡­ There was nothing anyone could do to stop it from hitting her¡­ I close my eyes and look away; I don¡¯t want to see another person die¡­ I¡¯ve seen more than enough death already¡­ ¡­ Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I open my eyes, and¡­ ¡°Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Wha¡­ How are you¡­ fine?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Listen, I know who you are. Everyone does. They say you¡¯re cursed. ¡®Touch him and you¡¯ll die¡¯ is what I¡¯ve been told. The thing is¡­ I¡¯ve always been exceptionally lucky. My parents say I¡¯m blessed¡­ Don¡¯t worry, your silly little curse won¡¯t cause me any harm. I¡¯m simply too lucky.¡± ¨C Alice This was the day it all changed. The day I met her¡­ The only person in the world I could touch. Chapter 90: The blessed child --- [Arthur¡¯s perspective] ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Arthur and Alice ¡°Hehe!! I won again!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is a little unfair?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Unfair? How so? It¡¯s all up to chance!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Arthur I don¡¯t really know how it happened, but we started hanging out. Alice wasn¡¯t who I thought she was. At first, I thought she was just another spoiled rich kid, but that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. As we continued to hang out, we learned more and more about each other. I remember clearly the day she opened up to me. We were playing rock, paper, scissors, just we always did, then she suddenly asked me something I¡¯ve never been asked before¡­ ¡°Hey Arthur¡­ We¡¯re friends, right?¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯ve never really had a friend before, so I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Anyways, I just want to tell you something. Something I¡¯ve never told anyone before.¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Okay¡­ Go on.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°When you look at me, I can tell you¡¯re hiding something. You¡¯ve never said anything, but I can tell you don¡¯t really like me. Maybe it¡¯s because you¡¯re lonely, so you tolerate me because I¡¯m better than nothing. Or maybe¡­ Whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter why¡­ I just want you to know, whatever image you may have of me, it¡¯s not true¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Uh¡­ I¡­ Uh¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°I think we¡¯re more similar than you realize.¡± ¨C Alice When she said that, my first thought was that she had gone mad. We were total opposites. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She was as privileged as you could get, while I was hated by God himself. But¡­ The more she continued to explain, the more I understood what she meant. ¡°We were both born with passive specialties; so-called ¡®blessings¡¯¡­ Yours makes anyone who touches you get into an accident, while mine makes me unnaturally lucky. Your life has been hell as a result of your specialty. Although I¡¯d never say we¡¯ve had equally bad lives, I think we could relate to each other¡¯s experiences more than anyone else in the world¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Explain¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°I was born into a loving family; both of my parents were great. They didn¡¯t have much, but they worked their asses off every single day to bring food to the table. They did their absolute best. For me, and for each other. However, from the moment I was born, they noticed something was different about me. I never got sick, I never got hurt, and I never ever lost in a game of chance¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°You¡¯re not exactly helping your case here¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Just let me finish, okay¡­?¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Fine¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°When I was about three years old, we travelled to a large city in the middle area. They scraped together everything they had for us to make it there. When we got there, the first thing they did was bring me to a casino. With me there guiding them, they won and won and won. They¡¯d win a bunch of money, get kicked out, then do it all over again at another casino. After just a few days, they had already earned enough for us to live off for the rest of our lives. But the money got to their heads¡­ They got greedy. Being rich wasn¡¯t enough for them, they wanted more.¡± ¨C Alice ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°The money corrupted them. It¡¯s like I was no longer their daughter. I became a tool for them to use and abuse. If I didn¡¯t do everything they told me to, they¡¯d hurt me. They quickly moved on from gambling, and got into investment. I told them what to invest in, and without fail, they¡¯d win big every single time. But it¡¯s not like it was just my parents that were exploiting me¡­ I¡­ I¡¯ve never had a real friend before.¡± ¨C Alice ¡°You¡¯ve¡­ never had a¡­?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°No¡­ All my life, I¡¯ve constantly had people try to make ¡®friends¡¯ with me. But it was never because they cared about me. They all just wanted something from me¡­ Some wanted to be my friend for my wealth, others wanted my luck all for themselves. I¡¯ve never had a real connection with another human before¡­ No one sees me for who I am, I¡¯m just a tool to them. There are times when I forget I¡¯m even human¡­¡± ¨C Alice No matter how skeptical I was at the beginning of the conversation, I couldn¡¯t deny it any longer. She was right. What she had gone through was eerily similar to what I had gone through, even if the circumstances where completely different. She was the exact opposite of me, yet also the exact same¡­ I was the only one who could relate to her, the only one who saw her as a real person. She was the only one who could relate to me, the only one who could touch me. We were the only people in the whole world who truly understood each other. It was like our souls bonded on a deeper level than I could have ever thought was possible. She was my other half, and I was hers. Her family however¡­ Did not like that. Just like everyone else, they feared me. They didn¡¯t want me anywhere near her. Not because they were afraid I¡¯d hurt her, but because the more time she spent with me, the less time she could spend making money for them¡­ They¡¯re truly disgusting people¡­ They wanted me out of the picture, and with their wealth, they had the means to do so¡­ They turned to The Reapers Guild, and hired someone to assassinate me¡­ Chapter 91: Arthur and Alice --- [Arthur¡¯s perspective] It started out like any other day¡­ I woke up with a big smile on my face. In the past I was always miserable, but after I met Alice¡­ Well, nothing was ever the same since then. All I could think about after waking up was how excited I was to meet her again. I never went to school, so I didn¡¯t have anything to do. I went to the river and waited for her like I always did. When she finished her home schooling for the day, she¡¯d immediately run to the river. She¡¯d always talk about how much she wanted to ditch school and just hang out with me instead, but we both knew that was a bad idea. We knew her parents didn¡¯t like me, so we didn¡¯t want to add fuel to the fire. I mockingly asked her what she¡¯d learned, and she answered with some stupid joke. She¡¯d talk for hours about how annoying her teachers were, and I was happy just listening to her ramble. While we were talking, we would always pay rock, paper, scissors. Obviously, she¡¯d win every time. But it made her happy, so I didn¡¯t mind. We continued like this for hours, not knowing this would be our last time talking by the river¡­ Her parents hired a D-rank hunter from The Reapers Guild to take me out. ¡°Hey there!¡± ¨C ??? We turned around and saw someone neither of us recognized. ¡°Sooooo, the thing is, I¡¯m here to assassinate that young man. Alice, be a doll and step away from him for a moment.¡± ¨C ??? Neither of us had done any Divinity Manipulation training by then, so we were for all intents and purposes normal people. Normal people don¡¯t stand a chance against a D-rank hunter. He could beat us both in his sleep; the difference between us was simply insurmountable¡­ ¡°Well then, bye!!¡± ¨C ??? He pointed his finger at me, and a beam of some sorts shot out of it. It was too fast for either one of us to react to, it was all over¡­ Or it would have been if not for out specialties¡­! Alice jumped in front of me, taking on the blast with her own body¡­ How did she make it in time? Just got ¡®lucky¡¯ I suppose¡­ ¡°Shit! You weren¡¯t supposed to do that!¡± ¨C ??? That beam would have instantly killed me, yet somehow¡­ You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. She survived it¡­! Had it hit me, I would have decayed away in the blink of an eye. Yet¡­ It didn¡¯t seem to affect her. Her luck really was enough to overcome all odds¡­ We got lucky one final time in that confrontation. He wasn¡¯t told about my ability; Alice¡¯s parents didn¡¯t think it was necessary. After all, he was so much stronger than us that it shouldn¡¯t have mattered¡­ I ran up to him, and due to his big ego, he didn¡¯t move. I punched him right in the face and all he did was laugh. ¡°Ahahaha! That¡¯s it?!¡± ¨C ??? His laughter quickly ended though¡­ For the first time in my life, I was able to control my ability. I could feel it; the power to change his destiny. His heart stopped and he died before he could hurt us any more¡­ The first thing we did was run to the nearest hospital to stop the bleeding from her wound. I couldn¡¯t afford to stay there any longer; they would just hire someone else to assassinate me. Alice was more than happy to run away with me; it¡¯s not like she had any attachments to her family. And so, we escaped. We lived by ourselves in the middle of nowhere for a little while, then Alice¡¯s health suddenly took a turn for the worse¡­ Turns out, that beam did affect her. Her body was decaying, just like mine would have, it was just happening much slower. We decided to travel around the world, looking for someone who could help her. There wasn¡¯t a doctor on earth who could save her, but that didn¡¯t stop us. On our journey, we met some people from an organization called ¡®The END¡¯. They promised to do everything they could to save her if we joined them; and so, we did. They threw all their best healers at her, but nothing worked¡­ The END isn¡¯t the kind of organization you can just leave once you¡¯ve joined, so although we haven¡¯t done much work for them, we¡¯ve been members ever since. We were grateful for their training though, it proved to be very helpful in the future. But once we realized they couldn¡¯t keep their promise, our journey continued. Along the way we found outcasts just like us; people who had been rejected by society. We grew closer and closer until we became the closest thing I¡¯ve ever had to a real family¡­ One day, I heard of a guy called Alex Minima¡­ I heard about him from some other members of The END. They were very interested in him for unknown reasons, but all I cared about was his ability. He could be the one¡­ He could be the one to save her¡­! With his ability, he might be able to absorb the remnants of the specialty that hit Alice. But¡­ I knew that I could never make contact with him. If I ever did, The END would make sure stop me. They couldn¡¯t afford to mess up whatever plan they had for him, so they were very strict about us not being allowed to make contact with him. If I broke that rule, the punishment wouldn¡¯t exactly be a slap on the wrist¡­ But I couldn¡¯t let an opportunity like this go to waste. I had to somehow get him to help us, and it had to happen quickly too. The moment they figure out I¡¯ve made contact with him, it would be over for me. The only plan I could think of would be to force him into helping us by threatening him and his friends¡­ It wasn¡¯t a plan I was proud of, but it was something that had to be done. Or at least I thought it had to¡­ Alice¡¯s speech changed my mind. I was getting so obsessed with saving her, I never stopped to think about what I was willing to do to achieve my goal¡­ Alex has people that he loves just as much as I love Alice, taking those people away from him would be beyond cruel. Life is cruel, but that doesn¡¯t mean I have to be¡­ --- Back in Arthur and Alice¡¯s room ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Arthur and Alice ¡°Yay, I won!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Hmph¡­ You just got lucky, I bet you won¡¯t win next time!¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Oh, let¡¯s see about that!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Rock, paper-¡± ¨C Arthur and Alice Before we could finish, she suddenly vomited an alarming amount of blood. ¡°Alice!¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°¡­ Scissors!¡± ¨C Alice I grab her hand. ¡°You¡¯ll be ok. I swear¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°You forgot to choose, so I win by disqualification. Let¡¯s play again!¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Yeah¡­ Let¡¯s play again¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Arthur and Alice She starts looking a little dizzy. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Arthur and Alice She throws up more blood. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Arthur and Alice She¡¯s struggling to open her hand¡­ ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Arthur She didn¡¯t say it¡­ ¡°Hey, Alice! Are you okay?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Y¡­ eah¡­¡± ¨C Alice She¡¯s struggling to sit upright and is swaying back and forth¡­ ¡°You can lay down on my lap.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Ok¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡­ I can feel her breathing slowing down. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ Play one more round¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Rock, paper, scissors¡­¡± ¨C Arthur She didn¡¯t say it¡­ ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Sorry¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡°It¡¯s okay, just rest.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Ok¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡­ ¡°Are you there?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡­ ¡°Are you there?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¨C Alice ¡­ ¡°Are you there?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡­ ¡°Alice¡­ Are you there?¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Alice¡­¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Goodbye¡­¡± ¨C Arthur Chapter 92: The Battle Festival --- [Arthur¡¯s perspective] ¡°Goodbye¡­¡± ¨C Arthur Before it gets to sink in what just happen, I hear a knock on the door. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time¡­¡± ¨C Arthur The door opens, and an unknown voice talks back to me. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± ¨C ??? I quickly turn around. ¡°Who are you?!¡± ¨C Arthur He wasn¡¯t with Alex, who is he? ¡°I¡¯m Seth. I¡¯m a fellow member of The END.¡± ¨C Seth Shit¡­ ¡°You know very well what you¡¯ve done, and it is unforgivable. Did you not think we¡¯d know that we¡¯d know?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°I did, I just didn¡¯t care about the consequences.¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Riiiight. I heard about you, you¡¯re the one that wanted to save that lucky girl, right? Well, looks like you failed¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°You¡­!¡± ¨C Arthur I carefully lay Alice down on the floor, then stand up. ¡°We¡¯ve been monitoring Alex carefully, everything is going according to plan. But you jeopardized everything for the sake of that silly woman.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°She¡¯s not just some silly woman! How fucking dare you¡­!¡± ¨C Arthur ¡°Right, how fucking dare you!¡± ¨C Seth He lifts his hand up into the air, and I rush towards him. But¡­ He¡¯s too fast. Before I¡¯ve even managed to take a step, he lowers his hand and¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°What was that noise?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Was that¡­ Thunder?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It sure sounded like it¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Who cares, let¡¯s just get the hell out of here!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­¡± ¨C Alex Stolen novel; please report. --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] one month later I still haven¡¯t told any of them what Arthur said to me¡­ ¡®The END¡¯ is after me¡­ I have no idea what that entails, but I¡¯ll be careful. I don¡¯t want my friends to worry, so for now, I¡¯ll keep it to myself¡­ ¡°Could you pass me the juice?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Shin Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice. ¡°Are you guys enjoying your breakfast?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Luna! Long time no see!¡± ¨C Lett She sits down next to us. ¡°How have you been, it¡¯s been so long since we last saw you!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯ve been training a lot recently. Gotta prepare for the battle festival, you know?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Battle festival?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°What¡¯s the battle festival?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh¡­ You haven¡¯t heard?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Nope.¡± ¨C Alex Am I supposed to know what that is? Is this yet another case of the poor outer area kid not knowing anything¡­? ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard of it either¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Really?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It¡¯s basically this big tournament that is held once every 100 years.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yeah, and it¡¯s only eight months away too! I¡¯m so excited! What about you guys, are you going to sign up?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°We can¡¯t. We¡¯re still only E-rank, you know? The battle festival has a D, C, and B-rank division, but no E-rank.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well yeah, but there¡¯s only still two months until the D-rank exam. Take it and rank up.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°It¡¯s not that easy¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Well of course not, but it¡¯s worth a try, right? Come on, I¡¯ll help you guys train!¡± ¨C Luna She¡¯ll help us train?! ¡°I¡¯ll be your sparring partners for the next few months. I can even help you get better at using your specialties!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I mean, if you¡¯re willing to put aside your own training to help us, I don¡¯t have an issue with it. Why would you though? I thought you needed to prepare for the battle festival yourself¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°It¡¯ll be much more fun if I have some friends with me. Remember, the battle festival is one of the only times you¡¯ll get to fight without it being a life-or-death situation. There¡¯s no killing, it¡¯s just friendly competition.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Alright, I¡¯m down. Regardless, even if we fail the exam, it¡¯ll still be valuable experience to train with a D-ranker.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What about the rest of you?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Oh, I¡¯m down too!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Me too!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Same, I guess¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°It¡¯s decided then!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Just curious, are there any rewards for winning the tournament?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Already thinking about winning, eh? Don¡¯t get too excited. I¡¯m the one who¡¯ll win!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Oh no, I was just-¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m just teasing you.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°But yeah, there are two rewards you get for winning. The first one is a classic; just a big sum of money.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°¡­ How big are we talking¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Hmm¡­ About as much as 100 or so high paying E-rank missions.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± ¨C Alex 100 high paying missions?! Minima could live off that for years and years¡­ ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s a lot.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°You said there were two rewards¡­ What¡¯s the other one?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°The other one is a bit unique¡­ The winners of the battle festival get to do something almost no one ever gets to do¡­ Or rather, they get to meet someone¡­¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Meet someone? Spit it out already!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Well¡­ The winners get to meet the Emperor himself.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Alex and Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin and Illian ¡°The Emperor?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yup. The one and only.¡± ¨C Luna In my mind, the Emperor is like a legend; he doesn¡¯t even feel like a real person. He¡¯s only ever talked about as this infinitely powerful man whom no one could ever even dream to rival. He rarely ever shows himself, yet has ultimate authority over the entire world. His power, wealth, fame, and influence is incomparable to any other living human. Yet¡­ He¡¯s just that. Just another living human. He¡¯s a real, living, breathing person, and the winner of the tournament gets to meet him¡­ ¡°Who cares about the Emperor? The money however¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°True. Meeting that old fart is nothing compared to the prize money!¡± ¨C Illian ¡­ ¡°Anyways¡­ When are we starting?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°How about now?¡± ¨C Luna Chapter 93: Sparring --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] at the training grounds ¡°Alright, listen up. Before we can start training for real, we¡¯ve got to figure out what you need to train. There are only two months until the D-rank exam starts, so time is limited. Therefore, we should try to focus on the areas that need improvement the most.¡± ¨C Luna Smart. If we don¡¯t have enough time to improve all our skills, focusing on the parts that are lacking the most will yield the best results. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all capable of self-reflection and can give me a lot of insight into what areas you need to work on the most, but first of all, I just want to see you guys in action myself. We¡¯ll do some quick sparring matches so I can get a good idea of your capabilities myself. After that, you can share your thoughts.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°We¡¯re sparring you already? Well, I¡¯m ready any time.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh no, you¡¯re not sparring me just yet. You¡¯ll be sparring each other at first. It¡¯ll be a lot easier for me to get a good grasp of your skillset when you¡¯re fighting someone on your own level.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright. Alex and Shin, you two can spar first. After that, it¡¯s Lett and Illian¡¯s turn.¡± ¨C Luna I¡¯m fighting Shin¡­? I don¡¯t want to hurt him, but¡­ ¡°Oh, and Alex, don¡¯t be worried about hurting him. You¡¯re all going to get hurt while training with me, that¡¯s just how it¡¯s going to be. You won¡¯t grow stronger if you can¡¯t even properly spar with your own friends.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Let¡¯s just get to it, Alex. Not gonna lie, I¡¯ve wanted to spar with you for a while. I wonder which one of us is stronger¡­¡± ¨C Shin Before I get to respond, he charges at me. He throws a barrage of blows, but without too much trouble, I avoid or block each and every hit. I throw one back, and he puts his guard up to block it. He gets pushed back a little, but is otherwise fine. We continue to fist-fight for a little while, but I start to clearly overpower him. Stolen novel; please report. For every hit he lands on me, I land several on him. For every bit of damage I take, he takes several times as much. In terms of BDM mastery, I¡¯m clearly superior. I¡¯m faster, stronger, and more durable than him. He knows he can¡¯t win without using his specialty, yet he still hasn¡¯t used it¡­ I bet he¡¯s deliberately not using it to more clearly show our strengths and weaknesses to Luna. If he immediately used his specialty, it might not have been so obvious that I¡¯m better than him at BDM. ¡°I guess it¡¯s finally time to show off my specialty¡­¡± ¨C Shin He summons two ice swords; one in each hand. As soon as he started using SDM, the fight immediately got much harder. Although I could block his regular attacks with no problem, I can¡¯t do the same with his swords. Just getting touched by them is dangerous. At best I get a cut, and at worst a large part of my body is frozen. I can¡¯t get careless. He starts getting the upper hand, and I¡¯m no longer able to get any significant hits in on him. ¡­ But I¡¯m just doing exactly what he was. I¡¯m letting him show off his specialty to Luna so she can better evaluate us. It¡¯s time to fight back for real. I activate my specialty, and a dark void appears in both my palms. ¡°Ooh¡­ What¡¯s that?¡± ¨C Luna We¡¯ve worked together a little bit in past after we became E-rank, but not much. She never got an opportunity to see my specialty. ¡°Just watch.¡± ¨C Alex Shin tries to stab me, but I block with my palm, absorbing the entire sword. ¡°How annoying¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Luna He summons another sword to replace the old one, and continues to attack. He continues to swing his swords, but since he knows what my ability does, he tries to avoid my palms. The issue is that I¡¯m faster than him, so he can¡¯t get past my defense; he¡¯s just continually swinging, but then just as quickly pulling back to avoid having them get absorbed. I should go more on the offensive; I can¡¯t win without taking any risks. Just as I¡¯m about to rush in, he suddenly throws both his swords at me. !!! I put my palms in their paths, preparing to absorb them. He quickly summons two additional swords and rushes in before the swords have even reached me. Oh no¡­ I can¡¯t absorb the swords he threw and stop him at the same time. Only one of them is possible¡­ But¡­ I can¡¯t let either of them happen¡­ If I do, I lose. He made sure to throw his swords in such a way that I can¡¯t dodge both. One? Sure. But not both. Damn it! I have to just go for it¡­ I dodge to the side, avoiding one of the swords, while the other deeply cuts into my shoulder. My right shoulder freezes, and my arm is hard to move properly. He continues charging in, but before he gets to slash me, I manage to grab his swords, absorbing them both. Before he can get away, I grab his wrist. ¡°Oh shit.¡± ¨C Shin I could knock him out if I really wanted to right now, but I don¡¯t need to go that far. Instead, I slap him in the face, leaving a visible mark. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Ouch¡­ How¡¯s your shoulder?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°It¡¯s fine. I definitely need a healer though¡­¡± ¨C Alex Luckily there are healers present at all times at the training grounds. Luna signals one of them to come over, and he starts healing me. Seems like he¡¯s an E-rank hunter just like us. Attacks caused by SDM can often be hard to heal, especially if they¡¯re caused by someone at the same level or higher than the healer. He struggles with getting rid of the frost damage at first, but I help him out by using my ability to absorb it. It leaves an open and bleeding wound, but that¡¯s no problem for him. He fixes me up, then gets back to his post right after I thank him. Chapter 94: The way forward --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°I think I¡¯ve got a good grasp of your abilities now. Alex, you¡¯re very good at BDM, so you could easily overpower him in a fistfight. Your specialty doesn¡¯t seem to have any offensive capabilities, but it¡¯s defensive potential is extremely high. Is that right?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about it. My specialty is very versatile and allows me to counter a lot of other abilities, forcing us into hand-to-hand combat. My BDM prowess will then allow me to get the upper hand against most opponents.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°But since you can only use your specialty in your palms, you struggle to absorb many things at once.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Correct.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I see¡­ A way to fix that issue would be to learn how to activate your specialty on other body parts, but fundamentally changing the way you use your specialty can be extremely hard. It¡¯s definitely something to strive for in the future, but with the relatively short time you have to train now, I don¡¯t think this is the best course of action.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°What do you suggest I do then?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°This is one of those few cases where I don¡¯t think making up for your weaknesses is best way forward. Rather, I think you should double down on your strengths. Get even better at BDM. If you get even faster than you already are, that could make up for your biggest weakness by letting you absorb things faster, instead of absorbing more things at once. But that¡¯s not it, getting better at BDM will also increase your strength and durability. With more durability, you could take more risks without putting yourself in too much danger. As you saw in your fight against Shin, taking risks, and letting yourself get hit, is sometimes necessary to win. And as your strength grows, you¡¯ll be able to finish the fight quicker, meaning you¡¯ll have to take less risks to win.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I see¡­ That¡¯s a good plan. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve ever told you before, but the reason why I¡¯m even so good at BDM in the first place is because I just naturally pick up on it a lot faster than other people.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°He¡¯s right. When we first met, we were equally good at BDM. The difference however was that I had been training my entire life, while he had only trained for six months¡­ Since then, the gap has only grown bigger and bigger.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Perfect! Even more of a reason for you to focus on improving your BDM even further. Alright, we have a plan then. Now as for you Shin¡­ I got the feeling that you were still holding back, is that true?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°It¡¯s true. In addition to ice swords, I can also summon fire swords.¡± ¨C Shin This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do it then?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Because they drain my stamina like crazy. After using them, I¡¯m lucky if I can even stay awake.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I see¡­ Working on that will probably be number one priority then. Not being able to use your ability properly and always having to hold back is a massive disadvantage. Whether it¡¯s through limiting the output of your fire sword, increasing your stamina, or both, that should be your focus for the next two months.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Agreed.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well then, I guess it¡¯s time for Lett and Illian to spar.¡± ¨C Luna --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] ¡°Good luck!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You too.¡± ¨C Illian Without wasting any time, she immediately goes on the offensive. I haven¡¯t even had the time to summon my shadow clone yet! Just as I¡¯m about to create my clone, she teleports in, and kicks me in the back, making me stumble forwards. The pain makes me momentarily unable to focus enough to create my clone. She takes full advantage of that fact and continues to attack. A kick to the face, a knee to the stomach, a punch on the nose¡­ Her barrage is brutal, but she knows she can¡¯t stop. The moment I get my shadow clone up, it¡¯s over. Even if she knows I¡¯ll be fine due to my specialty, she would never be able to ¡®kill¡¯ her friend just to get rid of my ability. If I had just used it before the match started, this fight wouldn¡¯t be nearly as difficult as it currently is¡­ All I need to do is use my specialty, but at this rate, she¡¯ll knock me out before I get to do it. As long as she keeps attacking me, I can¡¯t use it, so I¡¯ll have to get her to stop somehow¡­ Wait¡­! I think I know how! As she continues to thrash me, she suddenly calls out to me. ¡°Just give up already!¡± ¨C Lett I can tell that Luna is just about to stop her; but that¡¯s to be expected, she doesn¡¯t know that the tide of battle is about to turn. All she sees is me getting my ass beaten¡­ ¡°Neve-¡± ¨C Illian Just as I¡¯m about to respond, she hits me square in the jaw¡­ I let myself fall to the ground and lie there lifelessly. ¡°¡­ Did I go too far?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s not dead, just knocked out. One of the healers can fix any potential injuries he may have gotten.¡± ¨C Luna Just as she finishes her sentence, she calls one of them over. My shadow grows¡­ ¡°Wait¡­ You little!¡± ¨C Lett Finally, I was able to activate my ability. ¡°You just pretended to get knocked out!¡± ¨C Lett I get back up on my feet, and the healer looks confused. ¡°Uhm, are you okay, sir?¡± ¨C Healer ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Oh, ok¡­¡± ¨C Healer ¡°Pay attention Luna, I believe this is the first time you¡¯ve seen my specialty.¡± ¨C Illian Lett immediately starts attacking again. She teleports around quickly and attacks me from every angle. None of them face me. A kick to the face, a knee to the stomach, a punch on the nose¡­ Yet I¡¯m not taking any damage! They¡¯re not causing any bruising, they¡¯re not making me stumble, and no blood is drawn. All the damage I would have taken goes straight to my shadow. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± ¨C Luna Time to finally fight back. As she teleports around, I try to attack her, but she¡¯s too fast¡­ I have to predict where she¡¯s going, otherwise I¡¯ll never catch her. As she continues her attack, I slowly start to pick up on her patterns. Although the way she teleports around may look random at first glance, it really isn¡¯t. The more time that passes, the closer and closer I get. Until¡­ ¡°Uagh!¡± ¨C Lett I finally managed to land a hit on her! She tries to continue her barrage, but my attack clearly affected her a lot more than she¡¯s letting on. Her reaction time is considerably slower, and not long after, I hit her again. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough.¡± ¨C Luna Chapter 95: Toughness --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] That was a good fight, but I can¡¯t help but feel bad for Lett¡­ She was fated to lose that match from the beginning¡­ ¡°I¡¯m curious, how exactly does your specialty work? Your shadow grew, and suddenly you didn¡¯t take any damage. What are the exact mechanics behind it?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°When my shadow grows, that¡¯s because I¡¯m creating what I like to call a ¡®shadow clone¡¯. It¡¯s basically a clone of myself that lives in my shadow. The only indication that it¡¯s there is that my shadow gets bigger. It can¡¯t move on its own, fight, or anything like that, but it does have one very interesting property¡­ Whenever I take any damage, that damage will instead be transferred over to my clone.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I see. That¡¯s a very powerful ability. Are there any other conditions to it?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°It has the same durability as me, so when my opponent has dished out enough damage to have killed me, the clone will disappear instead. Naturally, after it goes away, I¡¯ll be vulnerable again. I can also only use it once per day. So, when it dies, I¡¯m effectively without a specialty.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Right, so you were going to win from the moment the matchups were decided. Lett is a nice girl; even though she knows you¡¯d be fine since you were using your ability, she could never hurt a friend to the point where they would actually die. Essentially, you were unstoppable, and you took advantage of that fact.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Exactly.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°That¡¯s just how it goes. Matchups are very important to take into consideration when going into battle. Especially when it comes to abilities. The way specialties interact is often the deciding factor in a battle. Had you been fighting Alex or Shin instead, you probably wouldn¡¯t have won. Alex could have absorbed your shadow, then forced you into a fist fight where you¡¯re clearly outmatched. Shin¡¯s swords and rationality would have let him easily take out your clone, leaving you without your specialty, while he still has his.¡± ¨C Luna This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Right.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I think I know the best way for you two to improve. Illian, your training should be focused on SDM. Although a real opponent wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill you, the ability to take attacks without being hurt is extremely powerful. You could rush at your opponent without any worry, then knock them out before they¡¯re able to stop you. This will most of the time be your greatest win condition. The problem is that you can only make one clone per day. If your opponent is especially powerful, manage to take you off guard, or you have to fight multiple times in the same day, that plan no longer works. If by the time the D-rank exam begins you¡¯re able to use it two or three times per day, you¡¯re already going to be a much more terrifying opponent.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I see. Thanks for the insight. I definitely agree. So many times in the past when my clone has been killed, I have felt nothing but powerlessness. I don¡¯t ever want to experience that again¡­¡± ¨C Illian Illian¡­ ¡°Now onto you Lett!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°From what I¡¯ve gathered, your biggest problem seems to be your BDM. You¡¯re simply just not strong enough to put your opponent down in a reasonable number of attacks. Your durability is severely lacking too. You might get dozens off hits on your opponent before they get to hit you back, but that single attack might deal just as much damage as all of your attacks did combined. That¡¯s a huge problem, and definitely what your training should be focused on addressing.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Alright! BDM was what I already thought I was lacking on, but it¡¯s nice to get a second opinion on it regardless.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°At least you can be proud of your SDM; you¡¯re very skilled at it. Moreso than any of your friends in fact.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¨C Lett Her smug smile clearly annoys Shin¡­ ¡°So to recap then! Alex and Lett, you two will be training to improve your BDM. Meanwhile Shin and Illian, you two are going to train to improve your SDM. To make things easy, we can split up into two teams. One team for BDM training, and another for SDM training.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Aight.¡± ¨C Shin --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] a few days later The training is going well. Although they haven¡¯t had any noticeable improvements yet, that¡¯s to be expected. They¡¯ve only been training for a few days after all. But considering how much time and effort they¡¯re putting into their training; they¡¯re bound to see results sooner or later. ¡°Again¡­¡± ¨C Lett I hit her in the stomach, and she keels over in pain. ¡°Ghhh!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Again¡­¡± ¨C Lett I yet again hit her in the stomach, and she falls to her knees. Lett was actually the one who suggested we do this kind of training; not me. It feels cruel to hit her over and over again when she¡¯s clearly in a lot of pain, but truthfully, it is an effective training method¡­ Her durability will surely increase if she¡¯s able to keep this up. ¡°Again¡­¡± ¨C Lett Chapter 96: Beyond my limits --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] a few weeks later With each day that passes, I get closer and closer to being able to maintain the fire sword for extended periods of time. For the first week or so, I mostly worked on my stamina. Day after day, I kept pushing myself to the utmost limit¡­ And beyond. I summoned ice sword after ice sword¡­ I¡¯d maintain dozens of them for hours on end. Other times I let them fade away instantly, and constantly produce new ones without stop. It was incredibly hard work, and sooner or later, I¡¯d always pass out from exhaustion. There wasn¡¯t a day where I didn¡¯t. But my hard work was rewarded. Even if it wasn¡¯t by much, I could feel my stamina growing. I was getting closer to my goal! But¡­ It wasn¡¯t that simple. Although it¡¯s true that my stamina was improving, it was by too little. If I kept that training up until the D-rank exam starts, I could probably use the fire sword once without passing out. Any more than that though would not be possible¡­ What if I¡¯m forced to use it multiple times? I had to change my strategy. Luna came up with two different ways to reach my goal of being able to use it more freely. I could either build up my stamina to the point where I¡¯m able to handle using it more, or I could try to reduce the output. I already know now that building up my stamina isn¡¯t going to cut it given the tight timeframe we¡¯ve got. So, I¡¯ll have to go with the other option instead; I need to learn how to weaken my own ability! That too is easier said than done though¡­ I¡¯ve been going at it for a while now, but without much success. It¡¯s not something I¡¯ve noticed before since weakening your own specialty isn¡¯t something you¡¯d normally want to do, but it seems like there is some sort of baseline¡­ This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. A lower limit of how weak your ability can get, while still functioning. The lower limit to my ice swords is significantly lower than my fire sword. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so hard to maintain; the lower limit is simply too high for me. I can¡¯t just ¡®use less Divinity¡¯ or whatever. If I do, it just won¡¯t work. The sword just fades away before even forming properly. Counterintuitively, I¡¯ll have to increase my control. With even better control of my ability, I can go below that limit. It¡¯s effectively the exact same thing as training to make your ability stronger, just with the opposite effect. After the exam however, I¡¯ll have to get back to working on my stamina. I can¡¯t keep using a weakened ability, but it¡¯ll do for now¡­ --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Focus¡­ Focus¡­! Just like when I first started learning BDM, I¡¯m meditating. When using a charged attack, you put all your concentration into it to make it as strong as possible. The catch is that you can¡¯t really move around while doing it. If you do, your concentration will break, and you¡¯ll essentially just go back to how you usually are. Meditation is like that, just to an even higher degree. I¡¯m not focusing on an opponent. I¡¯m not focusing on throwing my fist. I¡¯m not even focusing on standing up. Every bit of concentration is used on controlling Divinity. While meditating, you are at your peak. The highest high your current self can possibly reach. It¡¯s obviously not something I can do in combat, but that¡¯s not the point of this training. All I want is to get a better feel of how it is to control that much power. The more I get used to it, the less I¡¯ll have to focus to reach it. Eventually, with enough training, I¡¯ll be able to use it in a real fight. Since I pick up on BDM faster than most other people, I¡¯ll be able to do it in a much more reasonable amount of time. Sure, by the time the D-rank exam starts, I probably won¡¯t be at the same level of control in a casual scenario as I am when meditating now, but it might be close¡­ In fact, I can already feel myself getting stronger. The physical gap between me and my friends is continually widening. It doesn¡¯t seem to stop¡­ I wonder if I¡¯ll ever¡­ No¡­ No time for thoughts like that. I need to focus again; I got sidetracked. Focus¡­ Focus¡­! --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C Illian While breathing heavily, I celebrate my small success. ¡°Good job!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Tha¡­ Thanks¡­¡± ¨C Illian For the first time ever, I managed to make two shadow clones in a single day. It disappeared after only a few seconds, but it was there¡­! With this, I know that it¡¯s possible to improve my ability. It¡¯s all a matter of time now. Luna keeps moving between us. We¡¯re all training in different places after all. I don¡¯t know exactly what she¡¯s doing with the others, but with me, she¡¯s the one that attacks me to get rid of my first shadow. Since the amount of SDM training I can do is very limited, it¡¯s usually the first thing we do in the morning; the rest of the day I spend training BDM. I¡¯m usually very tired after my SDM training though, so I¡¯m not improving that much in the BDM department. It¡¯s better than doing nothing though. When we first started training together, she was a little hesitant to attack me seriously. Logically, she knew that any amount damage would be transported over to my shadow¡­ But she didn¡¯t really believe it. After a day or two, however, it sank in. No matter how hard she hit me, I didn¡¯t take any damage. Eventually she got comfortable enough to start busting out her big moves. She¡¯s extremely strong¡­ One hit is all it takes to ¡®kill¡¯ me when she gets serious. After she hits me, and my shadow disappears, I spend the rest of my stamina trying to make another one. Before today, I couldn¡¯t do it; I was starting to worry that it simply wasn¡¯t something my specialty was capable of. All doubts are now gone! I can get stronger too! Chapter 97: Almost time --- [???¡¯s perspective] A few days before the D-rank exam, in The Dwarfs Guild HQ The D-rank exam is being held in only a couple days. I didn¡¯t feel ready last year, but now I do. The battle festival is happening soon too. I need to rank up if I want to enter it. The prize money is too high to pass up on! But I wonder¡­ ¡°Babe, what do you think about the D-rank exam coming up? You gonna participate?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°I thought I told you to stop calling me that, Jade!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Aww, but you¡¯re so cute!¡± ¨C Jade ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯ll be there.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Awesome! I didn¡¯t think you would, you became E-rank so recently.¡± ¨C Jade The last E-rank exam was held only a couple months ago, that¡¯s when she was promoted. Ranking up from E to D in only a few months would be almost unheard of¡­ But if there¡¯s anyone who can do it, it¡¯s her¡­ ¡°Even though we became hunters at the same time, you have totally eclipsed me¡­ I¡¯m still F-rank, and now you¡¯re going to take the D-rank exam¡­¡± ¨C Dan ¡°Chin up! You¡¯ll catch up one day, Dan. Once you learn SDM, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll rank up immediately!¡± ¨C Rin Dan lets out a sigh. I know exactly what he¡¯s thinking¡­ Not everyone can have a specialty as perfectly suited to them as you do, Rin¡­ --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] The D-rank exam is coming up soon¡­ Should I take it or not? I¡¯ve been thinking about participating in the battle festival too, but I haven¡¯t made my mind up yet. On the one hand I need to take the D-rank exam now if I want to be in it, but on the other hand, the exam itself comes with a lot of risk. There will be strong people there, and killing might not be off the table. On top of that, my SDM is still lacking. I guess my perfect muscle control makes up for that though¡­ Gah! Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I don¡¯t know¡­ ¡°What¡¯s with that look? Worried about the exam?¡± ¨C Kate ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°What? Worried you¡¯ll fail?¡± ¨C Kate Before I even get to respond, she immediately follows up. ¡°Well don¡¯t be. We both know how strong you are. You¡¯re a freak of nature. Literally¡­¡± ¨C Kate ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. Go for it!¡± ¨C Lucas I know I¡¯ll probably be fine, it¡¯s just that¡­ What if there¡¯s a monster like him there? What was his name again¡­? K¡­ Kuro¡­ I fought Alex myself; I know how tough he is. Despite that, he didn¡¯t even stand a chance against him. It was almost like watching a toddler fight an adult. He was in another league entirely. Honestly, even now, more than two years later, I still don¡¯t know if I could win against the version of him that Alex fought¡­ No¡­ No! What am I thinking?! I already decided I wouldn¡¯t let anybody hold me back. Being a hunter is the only thing I¡¯m good at, I can¡¯t let the potential of a really strong opponent appearing be the reason I don¡¯t take the exam. I¡¯ll simply have to overcome them! --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] The exam is only a few days away now¡­ The past few months flew by in the blink of an eye. Despite us all being so close, and despite us all training for the same goal, we¡¯ve barely even spoken to each other. Training is all we¡¯ve done; there was no time to waste on chatting. We were all certainly strong E-rank hunters, but that doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re ready to become D-rank. Not even remotely. To prepare as well as we could for the upcoming challenge, we had to devote our lives to the pursuit of strength. Even so, there is no guarantee we¡¯ll pass. The D-rank exam¡­ It¡¯ll be unlike anything we¡¯ve faced before. During the first exam, the F-rank exam, I was way stronger than my opposition. The only people who could compete at the time were Shin and Leon. During the months leading up to the E-rank exam, we all grew in strength, but none more than Lett. By the time we were competing in it, we were already stronger than most of the people there. There were some strong people for sure, especially the 10 of us that reached the second round. However, this time, I¡¯m not so sure it¡¯ll be the same. The thing that weighs us all down¡­ The thing that has finally caught up to us all¡­ Time. Time has finally caught up. Most people end up hitting a plateau early on in their career. Most hunters never make it past F-rank. Out of the ones that do, most of those never make it past E-rank. This is true for all ranks. Every rank contains only a fraction of the people from the last. When Vic first came to my village to train me, he told me about how long it takes for people to rank up. To reach C-rank like big bro, it takes 50 years on average. While it¡¯s true that this is the D-rank exam we¡¯re talking about and not C, the point still stands. Me, Shin, and Lett all became hunters at the same time; that was about two and half years ago now. And now, time has finally caught up. We¡¯re going to enter an exam that we really don¡¯t have any business participating in for at least a few more years. Despite the odds, we¡¯re all going to try our best. Our training was brutal, but it was worth it. We¡¯re stronger now than we ever thought we could be by this point. The idea of passing the D-rank exam went from a fleeting dream, to real possibility. It¡¯ll be hard, but we can do it! --- [Leanne¡¯s perspective] At the office of a high-ranking royal guard in Adamas ¡°Sir, I¡¯d be honored to be the host for the D-rank exam this year. Please let me do it.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°I don¡¯t have a problem with you being in charge of the exam, Leanne. I¡¯m just curious¡­ How come you¡¯re suddenly so interested in the D-rank exams? I mean, for over 150 years, all you¡¯ve hosted were F and E-rank exams.¡± ¨C Zeke I can¡¯t let him know my real reasons, not when I¡¯ve hidden them for so long¡­ ¡°I¡¯m just growing tired of only hosting exams with low ranked people. I want to experience more specialties in action for myself.¡± ¨C Leanne It looks like he¡¯s buying it¡­ ¡°And besides! When I first took this job, I originally wanted to host middle ranked exams, but you told me I needed experience hosting lower ranked ones first.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Very well. You have shown yourself to be more than capable. Your exams are tough, but fair. The ones who truly deserve to rank up, almost always do. That¡¯s better than I can say for most other hosts¡­¡± ¨C Zeke ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 98: The D-rank exam --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Day of the exam After all this hard training, it¡¯s finally time. The D-rank hunter exam is finally here! It¡¯s not being held outside Dolor, but the terrain is similar. There¡¯s a vast forest that goes as far as the eye can see. The ground is bumpy; it¡¯s covered in small hills. Up and down, and up and down. It almost looks like waves. Is this natural, or has the terrain been altered somehow? The place we were supposed to meet up was right on the outskirts of the sea of trees. There¡¯s a large open area with no trees, and no hills. The more I look at it, the more I¡¯m convinced this place didn¡¯t originally look like this. It was probably shaped like this by somebody¡¯s ability; specifically made for exams. There are considerably less people here than in any of the other exams so far. It¡¯s few enough that I can easily count them. 38. That¡¯s it. It¡¯s a handful for sure, but nothing compared to the hundreds and hundreds of participants in the previous exams. I don¡¯t recognize most of them, but there are a few familiar faces¡­ Lucas and Rin. Lucas is strong, I¡¯m not surprised he¡¯s giving a shot at the D-rank exam, but Rin¡­? I got to admit, I did not expect to see her here. Back during the F-rank exam, she wasn¡¯t particularly strong. She must have come a long way since then. Good on her. The exams so far have all been very different, but¡­ The one constant between them all is the host. Yet again, it¡¯s Leanne¡­ This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Is she the host for all exams, or is it just a coincidence that we¡¯ve had her every time? It¡¯s strange, but who cares. She does a good enough job, I guess. ¡°Alright, I think that¡¯s everyone. The exam was actually supposed to start two minutes ago; I just wanted to make sure everyone was here. Let¡¯s not waste any more time.¡± ¨C Leanne Everyone gathers around her. We¡¯ve all done this before; we know how it works. ¡°For this year¡¯s D-rank exam, I have prepared three rounds.¡± ¨C Leanne Three rounds¡­ That¡¯s more than the previous exams. ¡°As you probably already know, I will only inform you of the rules of the first round now. The other ones will be explained when we get there.¡± ¨C Leanne As expected; she did the exact same thing every other time too. ¡°The first round of the D-rank exam will be a team-based capture-the-flag game. There will be five people on each team. The winning team will all proceed to the next round.¡± ¨C Leanne A team-based game? I suppose that¡¯s sort of like the tournament back then, but there were still individual matches where the outcomes directly affected our results. ¡°Bases have already been set up in the forest for you. Only one game of capture-the-flag will be played at a time. So, you¡¯ll have to wait for your turn.¡± ¨C Leanne I hope we go first, that¡¯ll give us more time to recover our stamina¡­ ¡°How it works is that you will go to the enemy base and try to steal their flag. If you¡¯re able to take it and carry it all the way back to your own base, you win. However, your own flag must already be there. If you return with their flag, while they have yours, you don¡¯t win. Essentially, you need both flags.¡± ¨C Leanne I see. So we can¡¯t just focus on offense; a good defense is just as important. Some of us will have to stay behind and defend, while others will have to try to steal their flag. I¡¯m sure Shin will be able to come up with a good strategy. If we¡¯re on the same team that is¡­ If they¡¯re are randomly chosen, that¡¯ll be a massive problem. ¡°And of course, you¡¯re not allowed to run away with your own flag, or hide it. I will be watching at all times. If anyone is caught cheating, your entire team will be disqualified.¡± ¨C Leanne Don¡¯t cheat. Got it¡­ ¡°Lastly, the way teams are chosen will be quite different from what you¡¯re all used to. Teams are generally chosen at random, but this time, that¡¯s not the case.¡± ¨C Leanne Does that mean¡­! ¡°You can choose your teammates yourself. As long as you¡¯re five people, you¡¯re good.¡± ¨C Leanne Yes! That means all four of us can team up! We just have to find one last person, and we¡¯re good. Perfect. ¡°But watch out! There are only 38 of you, meaning there are two people less than what¡¯s needed for a fourth game. The games will not be compromised in any way; there won¡¯t be a match with only four people on each team. What does that mean? Eight of you will automatically fail. You better be quick.¡± ¨C Leanne As she says that, the crowd starts panicking. People are voicing their opinions, but she¡¯s having none of it. They think it¡¯s unfair that eight of them will fail before the exam even starts, but she doesn¡¯t care¡­ And so, they scurry around trying to find teammates. ¡°We¡¯re already four, guess we only need to find one more then.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Who should we take with us? Everyone here should be strong, right? Should we just take the first person we can get?¡± ¨C Lett A guy runs up to us and begs us to let them join our team, but Shin hesitantly declines. ¡°I want that guy¡­¡± ¨C Shin He points to Lucas. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Someone we met during our first attempt at the E-rank exam. He¡¯s very strong.¡± ¨C Alex We walk up to him, and before we even get to greet him, Shin just gets right to the point. ¡°Join our team.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¨C Lucas What is he thinking for? He knows were strong. ¡°Nah.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°What? Why?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I don¡¯t know about that guy, but I know the three of you are strong.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Then why won¡¯t you join?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well, that¡¯s precisely why.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°???¡± ¨C Shin I¡¯ve never seen Shin look this confused before¡­ ¡°I want to win with my own strength. If I just rely on others, can I really say I earned it?¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 99: The fifth member --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] So Lucas won¡¯t join us then¡­ Alright, we¡¯ll just have to find somebody else. But who¡­? The only one I really knew how strong was, is Lucas. Other than that, everyone else here is on equal ground. Although I suppose since we already know Rin, we might be able to work better as a team with her compared to total strangers. It seems Lett and Shin were thinking the same thing; we all head over to her. ¡°Long time no see!¡± ¨C Lett Next to her is a tall and muscular woman. Her abs though¡­ ¡­ Are they friends? ¡°Oh! You cuties know, Rin?¡± ¨C Jade Shin visibly shudders and mutters to himself¡­ ¡°Eugh¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh¡­ I know those three.¡± ¨C Rin While pointing at me, Shin, and Lett, she continues explaining. ¡°We met during the F-rank exam. She was my teammate and those boys helped us out.¡± ¨C Rin Rin¡¯s friend starts patting our heads. ¡°Thanks for helping my little Rin out!¡± ¨C Jade Shin immediately yanks away her hand. ¡°Oh, my bad!¡± ¨C Jade Shin takes a step back and coughs before getting to the point. ¡°Anyways! We came to ask you if you wanted to join our team, Rin. But it seems you¡¯ve already found someone else.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yup. I¡¯m sticking with Jade¡­¡± ¨C Rin Jade smirks, but it quickly fades away as she hears what she has to say next¡­ ¡°¡­ Unfortunately.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Hey! What do you mean ¡®unfortunately¡¯?!¡± ¨C Jade ¡°Eh.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°!!?¡± ¨C Jade Jade picks Rin up by the back of her shirt; she just hangs there lifelessly like a sack of potatoes. She doesn¡¯t resist and just goes with the flow. ¡°Let¡¯s go find some teammates!¡± ¨C Jade She walks away while still carrying her. Rin turns around waves us goodbye. ¡°It was nice seeing you again!¡± ¨C Rin Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C All of us What was that¡­ ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to find somebody else then¡­¡± ¨C Lett From the looks of it, most teams are already starting to be fully formed. We don¡¯t have much time to spare. Before it¡¯s too late, we need to find someone¡­ Anyone¡­ We franticly look around, but we can¡¯t seem to find anyone who is alone. We should have just accepted that guy from earlier¡­ We¡¯re already four, and most people seem to have already found at least one teammate. Do we need to start breaking up teams to try and fill our last spot¡­? Illian taps me on the shoulder while pointing away from the crowd. ¡°Look! She¡¯s all alone!¡± ¨C Illian There¡¯s a girl standing all alone far away from the rest. Why is that? As we get closer to her, I start to notice how nervous she looks. ¡°Yo! Join our team.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Uhh¡­ Uh¡­ Are you¡­ Uhm¡­ Sure?¡± ¨C Nervous girl Lett puts her hand on her shoulder and tries to calm her down. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡­ Uhh¡­¡± ¨C Nervous girl She doesn¡¯t look any of us in the eye, and constantly fidgets with her sword. ¡°We need a fifth member, and that¡¯ll be you.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Oh¡­ Okay¡­¡± ¨C Nervous girl Why is she so nervous? Is she afraid of the exam? If she¡¯s so scared of it, why did she sign up¡­? ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Isabella¡­¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°Hi Isabella, I¡¯m Lett! That¡¯s Alex, that¡¯s Illian, and the dumb looking one is Shin. Nice to meet you!¡± ¨C Lett She tries to lighten the mood by cracking some jokes. Shin picks up on it and tries to get back at her, but she quickly interrupts him. ¡°Anyways! Now that we¡¯re five, we can head back.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin He looks a little annoyed¡­ She got him good, heh. --- A few minutes later ¡°Alright! Looks like the teams are all formed then.¡± ¨C Leanne The groups are all separated, but still near Leanne. There are seven full groups, with three people left over. Those three already know what is going to happen; their defeated looks say it all. ¡°You three in the back! You already know the drill. You failed to form a full team in time, so you fail. Better luck next time!¡± ¨C Leanne They slowly walk away as an aura of disappointment exudes from them so clearly you can almost see it. I knew they¡¯d have to leave, but there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m not entirely sure about. There are seven full teams here¡­ That means there is one team too many. I know she said she wouldn¡¯t compromise on the games, so she wouldn¡¯t allow a four vs four match. Maybe her words influenced me, but in my mind, I foresaw two teams of four being left, and them both having to leave. But instead, there was an additional team of five, with only three extras¡­ Will one of us have to leave¡­? If so¡­ Who? Leanne points at a team, seemingly at random. ¡°You guys¡­¡± ¨C Leanne They look confused. ¡°You¡¯re out.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Guy ¡°There¡¯s one team too many, so one of you have to leave.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Why us?!¡± ¨C Guy ¡°Why not?¡± ¨C Leanne He looks dumbfounded; he doesn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair!¡± ¨C Girl ¡°Okay¡­ And?¡± ¨C Leanne Just like him, she¡¯s completely dumbfounded too. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Leanne just stares at them while expecting them to leave. ¡°Come on then! Go! You failed.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C The entire team ¡°Oh my god¡­ Fine. If you won¡¯t leave yourselves, you leave me no choice.¡± ¨C Leanne She flicks her finger up, and a column of rock rises from the ground below them. A cocoon of stone grows around them, making them unable to escape. The pillar suddenly grows horizontally so quickly my eyes can¡¯t even follow it. It carries the cocoon with it, and in the blink of an eye, they¡¯re God knows where¡­ I suppose the cocoon was there to protect them and make sure they didn¡¯t fall off the pillar while it was moving so fast. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be seeing them again any time soon¡­ ¡°Right then¡­ We¡¯re finally able to continue¡­¡± ¨C Leanne She thinks for a second before explaining further. ¡°Isabella, John, Lucas, Jade, Samantha, and Hector. You¡¯re the leaders of your respective teams. The title doesn¡¯t mean anything, it¡¯ll just make it easier for me when deciding your matchups.¡± ¨C Leanne She raises her hand, and a stone wheel rises from the ground. I see¡­ So it¡¯s just like that other time then. The names of the leaders are already inscribed into the stone. ¡°The first match will be between¡­¡± ¨C Leanne She spins the wheel, and the first name it lands on is Isabella. So we¡¯re up first¡­ ¡°Team Isabella, and¡­¡± ¨C Leanne After saying her name out loud, Isabella looks even more nervous than before. All the work we did to calm her down went down the drain just like that¡­ ¡°Team Hector! You guys will be the first ones up.¡± ¨C Leanne Isabella whispers to herself. ¡°Hector¡­ That sounds like the name of someone strong¡­ Oh no¡­¡± ¨C Isabella After crossing off our names, Leanne spins the wheel yet again. ¡°Team Lucas vs¡­ team Samantha! That means the third and final match will be between team John and team Jade. I¡¯ll follow you all to your respective bases, just wait for me here. Oh! And, like usual, your injuries won¡¯t be healed until the end of the exam, or you when drop out. So be careful everyone.¡± ¨C Leanne Leanne walks over to us. ¡°You five, let¡¯s go.¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 100: The plan… --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] After showing us where our base was, Leanne ran back to get the other team. On the way there, she explained that she¡¯ll clearly signal when the match begins. She didn¡¯t say how though¡­ I hope we don¡¯t miss it¡­ ¡°Alright, what¡¯s the plan?¡± ¨C Illian He turns and looks at Shin. Just like him, me and Lett do the same. We all know Shin¡¯s the smartest one here; I¡¯m sure he can come up with a good plan. He sarcastically turns around and pretends to not know we¡¯re looking at him. When he turns back around, he covers his mouth with his and pretends to be shocked. ¡°Oh¡­ Me?!¡± ¨C Shin Lett shifts her gaze over to Isabella. ¡°See what I mean?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°No but for real though¡­ He might look dumb, act dumb¡­ Actually you know what, maybe he is a little dumb too¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Hey¡­ Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re taking it a little too far¡­?¡± ¨C Shin She completely ignores him and keeps going. ¡°But believe it or not, deep down he¡¯s actually a pretty smart guy. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll come up with a plan for us to win.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°O-okay¡­¡± ¨C Isabella She looks back at Shin. ¡°So then genius, how do we win?¡± ¨C Lett He puts his hands in his pockets, drops his dumb act, and starts explaining. ¡°First of all, we need to know what your specialty is, Isabella.¡± ¨C Shin Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Oh, uhm¡­ I use this¡­¡± ¨C Isabella She holds her sheathed sword out. ¡°Is it a real sword you channel your specialty through somehow, or is the sword itself your specialty?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°The latter¡­¡± ¨C Isabella He picks the sword up and starts inspecting it. ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m actually a sword user myself. I can summon elemental swords.¡± ¨C Shin While explaining his ability, he tries pulling the sword out of its scabbard. It doesn¡¯t budge¡­ He tries pulling harder, but no matter how hard he pulls, it won¡¯t come out. She quickly takes it back from him. ¡°It won¡¯t come out¡­ Why is that?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°Can you pull it out?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isabella Even more than usual, she¡¯s lost for words. It¡¯s like she doesn¡¯t know exactly how to describe what she¡¯s thinking or feeling. ¡°Is that a yes, or a no?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I just don¡¯t want her to come out right now¡­ okay¡­?¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°Her?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isabella She doesn¡¯t respond¡­ ¡°Okay¡­ Anyways, you should probably know what our abilities are. As I already explained, I can summon elemental swords. Alex over there, he can absorb anything made by an SDM, Lett can teleport short distances, and Illian can transfer all damage he takes over to his shadow.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°Now then, onto the actual plan. I think our best bet would be for Lett to teleport in and grab their flag without them noticing. We shouldn¡¯t underestimate our enemies though, so we can¡¯t count on it going that smoothly.¡± ¨C Shin Lett nods in agreement. ¡°Instead, I think someone should go with her. Lett teleports in, grabs it, then teleports out as quickly as she can. The enemies will start pursuing her and try to get the flag back by any means necessary. In doing so, they¡¯ll obviously use their abilities. That¡¯s why the one who should accompany her is Alex. While she runs away with the flag, Alex will stay behind and stall them. His absorption will prove itself to be useful against a wide range of abilities.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright, sounds good.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh, and Alex¡­ Don¡¯t hesitate to run away yourself. You just need to stall them for a moment; just enough for Lett to get away. Don¡¯t put yourself in unnecessary danger.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Got it!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What about the rest of us then?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°We¡¯ll stay behind to protect our own flag. I¡¯ll scout the area and look out for enemies. If any approach, I will hold them off. We don¡¯t want them to get anywhere near our base. Isabella, you should do that too.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°As for you Illian, you¡¯ll stay here. If the enemies somehow manage to get past us, you¡¯ll be our last line of defense. Your specialty allows you to take hits like none other, all while never putting yourself in any real danger. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to hold them off until either Lett returns with the enemies¡¯ flag, or until me or Isabella comes back to help you.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Sounds like a plan!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°And everyone¡­ Just¡­ Please be careful. These people are all D-rank candidates, we can¡¯t afford to take them lightly.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°We won¡¯t! Let¡¯s all do our best. Good luck everyone!¡± ¨C Lett An insanely tall stone pillar rises high into the sky. It¡¯s so huge you could probably see it from anywhere in the whole forest. That must be Leanne¡¯s doing¡­ Just a few seconds later, the pillar tips over. I was wondering what the signal would be, but this has to be it. The pillar slams into the ground, and with a deafeningly loud bang, the first round of the D-rank exam has begun. Chapter 101: … Doesn’t work! --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Me and Lett have been running through the forest quickly, but silently, for a little while now. We know the general direction of their base, but we don¡¯t know exactly where it is. Since we¡¯re trying to sneak in, we can¡¯t afford to be seen or heard by them. Finding the base, not being noticed, and doing it quickly¡­ There¡¯s a lot to juggle, but we¡¯ll manage. Lett taps me on the shoulder to signal me to slow down. She whispers into my ear¡­ ¡°Alex, I think I see them.¡± ¨C Lett She points far into the distance. It¡¯s hard to see, but I think she¡¯s right. There appears to be a small stone structure far away, resembling the one Leanne made for us at our base. We slowly make our way over, making sure not to alert them. The closer we get, the surer I am. She was right! That¡¯s their base! We stay in hiding as we discuss our course of action. ¡°There are two of them there, but that¡¯s only the ones I can see. There might be more.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°If there are any more, don¡¯t try to fight them. Two is the limit, and even that is pushing it.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I won¡¯t¡­ Do you see the flag?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡­ No. I can¡¯t tell from this angle. Their base looks the same as ours, so the flag should be in the same spot, right?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I hope so¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s a little risky, but I think we just have to go for it. It¡¯s hard to find a better view without being too out in the open.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°True. But before you teleport in, I can run in there myself to grab their attention. It¡¯ll give you a little more time to find the flag in case it¡¯s not there.¡± ¨C Alex This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Lett We get as close as we can without them noticing us. ¡°In three¡­¡± ¨C Lett She holds up three fingers and puts down one every second. Three¡­ Two¡­ One¡­ Go! I bolt towards their base, making no effort to hide myself. ¡°Hector! One of them is approaching!¡± ¨C Carl ¡°Carl, stop him! I¡¯ll stay with the flag! There might be more of them!¡± ¨C Hector ¡°Alright!¡± ¨C Carl He runs towards me, and as he does, a beam of high-pressure water shoots out of his right hand. I activate the void in my palm and absorb the water. Another beam shoots out of his left hand, but I absorb that too. His beams are constant, and he moves them around quickly to try to catch me off guard, but I trace their paths perfectly, allowing me to absorb it all without taking damage. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do this two months ago; the speed I gained from my training is already paying off. ¡°He¡¯s absorbing all my water, let¡¯s switch positions!¡± ¨C Carl ¡°Okay!¡± ¨C Hector Perfect¡­! Carl turns around and runs back into the base. At the same time, Hector comes running out. There¡¯s a short period of time as they cross each other¡¯s paths that none of them are protecting the flag. Lett doesn¡¯t hesitate at all, and quickly teleports in. She grabs the flag, and teleports back out. Carl saw her do this, and immediately starts shooting at her. ¡°Hector! A girl just teleported in and took our flag!¡± ¨C Carl ¡°Shit!¡± ¨C Hector Suddenly, Hector grows exponentially in size. It¡¯s hard to tell exactly how large he is, but he¡¯s at least 30 meters tall! Lett can only teleport relatively short distances at a time, so it isn¡¯t impossible to catch up to her. Especially given his size¡­ He¡¯s still just as fast as he normally is, except now his legs are much longer. Her specialty isn¡¯t best suited for running away, it¡¯s for combat. If I don¡¯t do something soon, he¡¯ll catch up to her before she can get back¡­ In a split second, I change my course and run straight towards the goliath. Water boy notices, and takes advantage of it. He stops aiming for Lett, and instead directs his shots at me. I don¡¯t have time to turn around and absorb his attacks¡­ If I do, Hector will get her. I dodge with everything I got, but it isn¡¯t easy. Although he hasn¡¯t hit me yet, he¡¯s slowing me down enough to make me unable to catch Hector. Shit! This is all going horribly! --- [Isabella¡¯s perspective] That Shin boy¡­ He said we¡¯d have to patrol the area to scout for enemies. I hoped we could stay together¡­ I don¡¯t want to be alone¡­ What if someone comes?! Aagh! This is all too much¡­ I should never have come. I¡¯m not ready yet. Why did she have to threaten me?! Hurting me will only hurt her too! She doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­ I can¡¯t stand her! I hold my sword in front of me, and grip it tightly. ¡°This is all your fault! If anything happens to me, you¡¯re screwed too!¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°Who the hell are you talking to¡­?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Eek! Who¡¯s there?!¡± ¨C Isabella There¡¯s a voice, hiding in the woods. Someone is here! Why did it have to be me¡­ Why me?! From behind a tree, a fearsome creature steps out! It¡¯s a woman with long, sharp, claws, instead of fingers! ¡°Oh, just me.¡± ¨C Woman with claws She sees how scared I am and tries to walk past me. I stick my sword out, blocking her path. ¡°Oh¡­ So you want to fight then. You did not give off that impression¡± ¨C Woman with claws ¡°I-I¡­ I can¡¯t let you pass!¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°What¡¯s your name, little one?¡± ¨C Woman with claws ¡°Isabella!¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°Nice to meet you Isabella! I¡¯m Jennifer. I¡¯m sorry, but if you won¡¯t let me pass, I¡¯ll have to get violent with you.¡± ¨C Jennifer Oh no¡­ Chapter 102: Finally --- [Isabella¡¯s perspective] What do I do?! Should I fighter her? Maybe stopping her was a mistake; it¡¯s not too late to let her pass, right? While lost in thought, she slashes me with her claws. Five long gashes on my upper arm are ripped open. Luckily, cuts were shallow. It hurts like hell, and blood is running down my arm, but I¡¯m fine. I can¡¯t afford to get lost in my own thoughts like that again; I need to concentrate! ¡°Do you understand now, miss? Let me pass, and I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± ¨C Jennifer ¡°No!¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Jennifer For a moment, she looks disappointed. It¡¯s like she¡¯s annoyed that she has to ¡®deal with me¡¯, even if she sees me as inferior. But then that disappointment quickly goes away as a smirk forms on her face. She licks the blood off her claws, and gets ready to fight. ¡°Very well then¡­ If I have to waste my time fighting someone like you, I¡¯ll make the best it.¡± ¨C Jennifer As soon as she finishes speaking, she launches her attack. A wild combo attack with seemingly no rhyme or reason behind it ensues. With a combination of intense focus and a lot of luck, I manage to dodge her attacks by the skin of my teeth. She mixes up her attack pattern by switching away from rapid attacks, to a methodical wide swipe that cuts everything in its path. Trees, rocks, and even the ground¡­ Nothing is safe once it touches her claws. She simply cuts through it all. It¡¯s so hard to find an opportunity to strike back when I know a single hit from her is all it takes¡­ Mentally, I can¡¯t get myself to do anything other than focus on defense. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Should I let her out? No¡­ Not yet. She keeps attacking me, and I keep hopping backwards to get away. But eventually¡­ ! My back is against a wall¡­ She led me to the side of a small hill. With nowhere left to go, I¡¯ve been cornered. Every attack she threw at me was designed to make me dodge in just the right way¡­ All to lead me here¡­ She was controlling me like a puppet this entire time. If I want to survive, and I do, then I¡¯ll need to take some risks. No longer can I just avoid her attacks. I need to block them, then counterattack. It¡¯s the only way¡­ ¡°Goodbye.¡± ¨C Jennifer She swings her claws at me one last time. With my sword still in its scabbard, I put it up in the path of her attack. ¡°Heh! What good is that going to do? I¡¯ll just cut through that too!¡± ¨C Jennifer Her all-powerful claws that can cut through anything clash with my scabbard and¡­! ¡°Augh!¡± ¨C Jennifer Her claws all snap in half; her attack was stopped! Taken aback by it all, she takes a few steps back. ¡°What the hell? Is that thing indestructible?!¡± ¨C Jennifer ¡°Well¡­ Yes.¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Jennifer Nothing can even put a dent in it; not the scabbard, nor the blade inside it. It is fully and completely indestructible. She takes a few seconds to collect herself, before letting out a chuckle. ¡°Well, that won¡¯t stop me. I might not be able to cut through your weapon, but I can still cut through you!¡± ¨C Jennifer Like nothing ever happened, her claws regrow, and she once again starts attacking me. It¡¯s fiercer than ever before, but luckily, I at least got away from cliffside. I dodge what I can, and block everything else. Despite that, some of her attacks land¡­ A scratch here, and a cut there. Nothing deadly so far, but with each one she lands, she slowly wears me down. Whenever she¡¯s sure that her attack will get blocked, she slows it down as much as possible to keep her claws from breaking. I suspect regrowing her claws drains her stamina quite a bit, so preventing it from happening is crucial. She¡¯s not trying to end me in one big attack anymore¡­ She¡¯s trying to outlast me! I can¡¯t even land any attacks on her¡­ At this rate¡­ I¡¯ll have to do it¡­! I start pulling my sword out¡­ ¡°Oh! You¡¯re unsheathing it¡­ Finally time to get serious, eh?¡± ¨C Jennifer --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] I¡¯ve yet to come across anyone¡­ Does that mean I¡¯m lucky, or unlucky¡­? If I don¡¯t meet anyone, that just means it¡¯s up to the rest of the team to deal with them. Besides the new girl, I completely trust them. They can handle whatever life throws at them. Although, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not itching to test my abilities in real combat. The training was harsh, maybe too harsh¡­ But in the end, it was worth it. I¡¯m not the same as I was back then; it¡¯s not even comparable. The days of passing out after a single use of the fire sword are over. I can finally fight for real now. ¡°Look, there¡¯s only one of them.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Let¡¯s take him out, then get the flag.¡± ¨C ??? Someone¡¯s here! Two in fact¡­ I know I wanted to test out my abilities, but that¡¯s a little more than what I asked for¡­ I can¡¯t take them lightly¡­ If I can¡¯t beat them alone, I¡¯ll have to drop my pride and retreat to base so Illian can assist me. ¡°Hi there! I¡¯m Shin, and who do we have here?¡± ¨C Shin They look at each other, like they didn¡¯t expect me to talk to them. ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Oh, because I¡¯d love to know the names of my first two victims.¡± ¨C Shin No matter how I actually feel, presenting myself as confident is crucial. It¡¯ll make them more careful, giving me more time to come up with a plan to defeat them. If I¡¯m lucky, my cockiness might piss them off too, making them make rash decisions I can take advantage of. ¡°Do you hear this guy? Who does he think he is?¡± ¨C ??? She looks at her teammate and scoffs. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m Nellie and this is James. There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding. You¡¯re not beating us. Why? Well, it¡¯s pretty simple actually. We¡¯re strong.¡± ¨C Nellie Chapter 103: Truth --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] ¡°What¡¯s your specialty?¡± ¨C James ¡°I can summon swords of various elements. I might be able to expand on this in the future, but for now, I can only make swords of fire or ice.¡± ¨C Shin What?! Why did I just say that? I didn¡¯t¡­ ¡°Do you have any allies nearby?¡± ¨C James ¡°No. I was scouting this area alone.¡± ¨C Shin What¡¯s going on?! Is this his ability? I don¡¯t mean to respond, I just do. I cover my mouth with my hand. ¡°That won¡¯t work, buddy. Do you actually think you could beat both of us at the same time, or were you faking it?¡± ¨C James I move my hand away, and promptly answer. ¡°I was faking it, but I¡¯m still going to try my best.¡± ¨C Shin ¡­ Well, there goes that plan¡­ This is bad. His ability doesn¡¯t seem to directly make him stronger, but information is crucial in battle. I need to take him out before I let anything else important slip. If they figure out our plan, it could all be over. ¡°Your ability never ceases to amaze, James.¡± ¨C Nellie ¡°Thanks¡­ What do you think, Shin?¡± ¨C James ¡°Your ability is very dangerous; I plan on taking you out first.¡± ¨C Shin Shit. ¡°Well, now we know who he¡¯s going for¡­¡± ¨C Nellie What do I do? Should I continue with my original plan of taking him out first? I mean, he¡¯s probably the most dangerous one. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. But at the same time, now they know¡­ It might be better to switch targets. But¡­ Gah! His ability is so annoying! Fuck it! I¡¯m going for him first! ¡°Do you intend to switch targets now that we know who you were going for originally?¡± ¨C James I start rushing towards them, and I summon an ice sword in each hand. ¡°Nope! You¡¯re still going down first!¡± ¨C Shin Nellie steps forward and opens her mouth. A pink gas surges out; I got a feeling I shouldn¡¯t get near that¡­ I stop my attack, and makes sure it doesn¡¯t touch me. Luckily, the gas doesn¡¯t go very far before fading away. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s dangerous to touch it, or only breathing it in. Heck, I don¡¯t even know what it does. But I sure as hell don¡¯t want to find out. While I¡¯m still facing down Nellie, James starts circling around me. They¡¯re going for a pincer attack! They start slowly closing the distance, but they¡¯re careful. Other than her gas, which probably has some sort of cooldown period, I have the range advantage. I point one sword towards each of them, signaling them to keep their distance. They ignore my warning and keep walking. They¡¯re thinking things through carefully, and slowly approach¡­ Slowly¡­ Slowly¡­ !!! Suddenly, they dash as quickly as they can! I start spinning around, slashing in every direction, making them unable to reach me. Nellie once again breathes out that mysterious pink gas, forcing me to move away. James takes advantage of that and hits me square in the jaw. My vision is blurry; I stumble backwards and land on my ass. Wow¡­ So this is the power of a potential D-ranker¡­ Without hesitating, Nellie follows his attack up by once again breathing gas at me. I roll away just in time, but it just puts me in an even worse position. James kicks me in the side, launching me into a nearby hill. I can¡¯t afford to conserve my stamina anymore, fighting two people at once is too much. My ability isn¡¯t meant to be used like this, but¡­ I throw my swords at them, but they dodge them with no problem. They start rushing towards me yet again, but before they can reach me, I make another pair of ice swords. Just like before, I throw them right at them. They probably thought when I threw my first pair of swords at them that it was a desperate last-ditch maneuver, so when I so quickly did it again, it took them off guard. Put that together with the fact that they were running right towards me, it made it almost impossible to dodge. Despite this, they managed to get away without being seriously injured. The swords cut their sides, and froze the wound before they could start to bleed. I throw another set of swords at them, but this time they¡¯re prepared. The swords miss¡­ I¡¯ll have to fall back on plan B¡­ I quickly get back up, and run away in the opposite direction from them. They chase after me, and due to the damage they dealt to me, they¡¯re ever so slowly catching up too. ¡°Where are you going?!¡± ¨C James ¡°Back to base. I need backup!¡± ¨C Shin --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] Sitting here all alone is a little frustrating¡­ There is still no sign of friend or foe. Lett hasn¡¯t returned with the flag, but the enemies haven¡¯t come to attack either¡­ I feel useless¡­ I know my role is just as important as everyone else¡¯s, but it feels like I could contribute more by being with them. If only¡­! ¡°ILLIAN!!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shin?!¡± ¨C Illian Shin is running as quickly as he can towards the base. Behind him are two enemies. ¡°Help me out here!¡± ¨C Shin The enemies who were just mere centimeters behind him, suddenly come to a halt. ¡°Shit¡­ We couldn¡¯t catch him in time. Now we have to fight two of them!¡± ¨C Nellie Seems like now that they have two opponents instead of one, they¡¯re being a lot more careful. ¡°Illian, listen¡­ That guy can force us to tell the truth any time he asks us a question.¡± ¨C Shin Force us to tell the truth¡­? Oh no¡­ That¡¯s bad¡­ ¡­ What if he finds out¡­? ¡°We have to take him out.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yeah, I know! That¡¯s why I ran back for help. I can¡¯t beat them by myself.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 104: Secret --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] ¡°You already know about his ability, but you need to know about hers too. She can breathe out a pink gas. I don¡¯t know what happens if you touch it or breathe it in, and I don¡¯t plan on finding out. Just try to avoid it.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Got it.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°You, with the black hair¡­ Illian, was it? What¡¯s your specialty?¡± ¨C James Shit, they¡¯re gonna find out¡­ I guess it was inevitable though; with an ability like his, you can¡¯t expect to keep your specialty hidden. ¡°I can make what I like to call a ¡®shadow clone¡¯. Any damage I take is transferred over to it, leaving me completely unharmed. Once I would have taken enough damage to kill me, the clone dies instead.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°There has got to be some kind of limitation to it, otherwise you¡¯re unstoppable¡­¡± ¨C James ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. I can only make three of these clones in a single day. After that, I¡¯m left without a specialty.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I see¡­ Thanks for telling us. We appreciate it a lot.¡± ¨C James ¡°I can assure you, I didn¡¯t do it of my own free will.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C James We can¡¯t let more information slip, it¡¯s time to fight back. This time I¡¯m not alone. I couldn¡¯t win against both of them by myself, but with Illian here, we can. However, we still need to be careful. They have a big advantage here; we¡¯re fighting in our base. Their goal isn¡¯t to beat us, it¡¯s to steal our flag. If we get too reckless, they might be able to snatch it right under our noses. We should try to keep them as far away from the flag as possible. Instead of letting them come to us, we¡¯ll go to them. As I rush in, an ice sword appears in each hand. I try to attack James, but as expected, Nellie lets out her mysterious gas. I get out of the way, but Nellie tries to follow up her attack. She predicts where I¡¯ll dodge, and attacks there. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. At the same time, James attacks me from my flank. Had I been alone right now, this would have been extremely dangerous. Luckily, I¡¯m not. Illian blocks James¡¯s attack, letting me avoid Nellie¡¯s. For the first time in a long time, we¡¯re fighting as a team. Illian holds James off, but it doesn¡¯t seem easy. From the looks of it, they¡¯re roughly equally skilled in hand-to-hand combat. While he holds him off, I launch an array of attacks at Nellie. A swing, a slash, a stab, and a chop. Despite trying my hardest, she managed to avoid them all by the skin of her teeth. Just then, her ability is ready to be used again. She doesn¡¯t waste any time, and immediately tries to get me with it. I quickly leap away from it, but I don¡¯t have time to think about landing, so I crash into the ground face-first. I brush the mud off, and get up on my feet. Instead of going after her again, I go for my real target. Finally, me and Illian are both able to go after James. They were evenly matched before I entered the picture, so everything quickly fell apart for him. A cut here, and a punch there¡­ He tries his best to avoid our attacks, but it¡¯s inevitable for him to get hit by some. ¡°Why are you going after me instead of her?! We already know your specialties; my job is done! She¡¯s the one with a combat-oriented specialty!¡± ¨C James ¡°Because I want to avoid leaking any more of our plan.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Because I can¡¯t risk Alex finding out.¡± ¨C Illian What? Alex finding out what? The hell is he talking about? ¡°Watch out!¡± ¨C Nellie I turn around and see a cloud of pink smoke quickly approaching. She¡¯s trying to use it on us to get us away from him. Just before it touches me, I let my body go limp, and drop down to the ground. Illian however decides not to dodge it. Or rather¡­ He doesn¡¯t have time to. Instead, he grabs James¡¯s arm, and braces for whatever is about to come. ¡°Oh shit!¡± ¨C Nellie She tried to warn James to get out of the way, but it was a double-edged sword. While he was warned, we were alerted. Illian pulls James in; they¡¯re surrounded by smoke. James instantly dozes off, yet Illian remains unaffected. He lets go of his arm, and James collapses to the ground. ¡°How¡­ How are you still awake?!¡± ¨C Nellie ¡°Like I said, any harm that befalls me is transferred over to my shadow instead. For it to go away, that damage needs to be enough to kill me. Sleep is not deadly.¡± ¨C Illian We got him! It¡¯s both of us against her now, and her ability is useless against Illian. This will be a piece of cake! ¡­ However¡­ That¡¯s not really what I¡¯m interested in anymore. Illian has a secret; something Alex can¡¯t know. I need to figure out what. --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] It won¡¯t be long before he catches up to me¡­ I can¡¯t keep this up; I¡¯ll have to fight! I shove the flag into my pocket and get ready to attack. ¡°So, you¡¯ve decided to fight instead of running away like a coward!¡± ¨C Hector ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ If I can¡¯t run away, I¡¯ll just have to beat you up instead.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Hah! Good one! I¡¯d like to see you try.¡± ¨C Hector He swings his massive fist at me; if it wasn¡¯t for my specialty, it would have been unavoidable¡­ Normally when you think about giants, you think about strong, but slow, creatures. This guy is nothing like that¡­ He¡¯s just as fast as he is normally, except his fist is more than 10 times larger. It¡¯s like if a dozen people all attacked at once! His ability is undeniably strong, but the potential of teleportation is endless! Even if his attacks are unavoidable for regular E-rankers, it isn¡¯t for me! Right before his fist connects with me, I teleport on top of his arm. As I climb up his shoulder, he tries to swat me away. Yet again, I teleport before his attack lands. I appear right in front of his face. ¡°Hi.¡± ¨C Lett I kick him in the nose, and he instinctively flinches, closing his eyes. I continue to dish out attack after attack to his nose until it¡¯s broken and bleeds. I¡¯ve gotten a lot stronger these past few months. My attacks can even hurt a giant like him! Chapter 105: Headless --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] Like an insect, I keep slipping away from his swats. He may be fast, and he may be huge, but that isn¡¯t enough. I punch him in the chin, kick him in the back of the neck, and knee him in the balls. A bombardment of strikes from every angle¡­ ¡°Gah!¡± ¨C Hector It¡¯s hurting him, but he¡¯s enduring; he won¡¯t go down easily. After yet another failed attempt at catching me, he gives up¡­ Or rather, he changes plans. He tried and failed many times already to catch me normally, but he couldn¡¯t. Knowing when to give up on losing strategies is important; he has good instincts. He squats down and curls himself into a ball. Every vital area is protected; defense is his number one priority. I continue my barrage of attacks, but with each and every hit, they feel lighter and lighter. Not because I¡¯m getting weaker, but because he¡¯s getting stronger¡­ Is he¡­! He¡¯s charging up Divinity! This technique is usually used for charged attacks; attacks significantly stronger than normal ones. But he¡¯s doing the opposite; focusing as hard as he can to increase his durability. I¡¯ve never seen anyone do that before¡­ Clever, but now he¡¯s essentially just a sitting duck. Charging up Divinity for a massive attack would be simple, but¡­ I¡¯d rather just run away! My goal here isn¡¯t to beat him, it¡¯s to return to our base with their flag. I had to fight him because I couldn¡¯t get away from him, but if he¡¯s just sitting down like that, then there¡¯s nothing stopping me. ¡°See ya!¡± ¨C Lett Just as I turn around, I feel an incredible force slamming into me. Like when touching hot stove, I reflexively teleport away. Had that gone on for a single moment longer, my spine would have snapped in half¡­ Or worse¡­ That was his plan all along¡­ He charged up Divinity to get as strong as he possibly could, then just as I was about to run away, he launched himself at me like a spring. Even if I saw him coming, I doubt I¡¯d be able to react in time to teleport away¡­ If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I¡¯m lucky I¡¯m even alive right now! While still in a state of shock, I let him run back to me. ¡°Oh shit!¡± ¨C Lett Wait¡­ He¡¯s not attacking. ¡°What are you panicking for? You know by now that I can¡¯t catch you normally. Why would I waste energy trying to, even though it¡¯s hopeless?¡± ¨C Hector He squats down next to me. ¡°Go ahead, run away. But remember, if you do, I¡¯ll catch you and force you to fight. Of course, we could just cut to the chase and start fighting right now instead. But then-¡± ¨C Hector ¡°You¡¯d sit down and do exactly what you just did again¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°There we go! You¡¯re getting it now. If you do the most optimal thing, this is an eternal stalemate. If you don¡¯t, you lose.¡± ¨C Hector He¡¯s right, if we continue like this, we won¡¯t get anywhere. That¡¯s what he wants of course. All he cares about is not letting me get away with the flag, while waiting for his teammates to return with ours. But there is one major flaw in his plan¡­ ¡°Alex! Let¡¯s swap opponents!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Okay!¡± ¨C Alex --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] While making sure to absorb every drop of water, I slowly make my way towards Lett and the giant. Lett passes me, and takes over the fight against Carl. He knows he can¡¯t keep shooting at me, so he starts targeting Lett instead. Finally, I can move freely! I run over to Hector, ready to fight. He looks a bit¡­ Disappointed? He lets out a sigh¡­ ¡°You know, this isn¡¯t going to end any better for you guys. You have an interesting ability and all, but it won¡¯t help against me. There is nothing for you to absorb.¡± ¨C Hector He sits down, crosses his arms, then continues explaining. ¡°Your chances were better before. That girl could force a stalemate against me, and you would probably have beaten Carl eventually. If after that, both of you teamed up against me, you could probably win. Now it¡¯s just a contest of strength. My specialty doesn¡¯t just make me larger, it also makes me stronger. Do you really think you could beat me despite that?¡± ¨C Hector ¡°Yes. If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m confident in, it¡¯s my strength.¡± ¨C Alex He lets out a chuckle; he doesn¡¯t believe me. ¡°Right¡­ Well, I guess we¡¯ll see.¡± ¨C Hector He stands back up and throws a punch at me. I reach out my hand, casually stopping his attack. ¡°What the hell?!¡± ¨C Hector ¡°Come on, man. I could tell you were half-assing it. Punch me for real.¡± ¨C Alex With all his might, he launches his colossal fist at me. I throw one back of my own, and our fists clash. He pushes as hard as he can, while I gauge his power. ¡°Eh. You¡¯re strong, but nothing out of the ordinary. Lett could have beaten you.¡± ¨C Alex He jerks his arm back in pain, and I jump up to his face. One quick strike to the temple, and he¡¯s knocked out cold. After passing out, he returns to his original size. ¡°I can hold that guy off while you run back to base.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright!¡± ¨C Lett --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] We switch places again, and I start heading back to base. We haven¡¯t seen each other that much since we started training with Luna; we were all too focused on ourselves. What the hell has Alex become these last few months¡­ He¡¯s so strong¡­ It¡¯s almost unbelievable how much he progressed in that short of a timeframe. Right before defeating Hector, he said I could have beaten him too. I¡¯m not sure about that¡­ Is Alex so strong now he¡¯s starting to get out of touch¡­? --- A few moments later ¡°Lett! You¡¯re back!¡± ¨C Shin There¡¯s a guy on the ground over there, and a girl still fighting them. I guess they weren¡¯t that far away from beating their opponents. Now that I¡¯m here though, it¡¯s over. I don¡¯t even need to fight her, I¡¯ll just teleport over to our flag, and we¡¯ll win. She takes a few steps back, and lowers her guard. ¡°God damn it. Well, I give up. You guys win.¡± ¨C Nellie Or she won¡¯t even try to fight us¡­ I guess that¡¯s fair, I wouldn¡¯t want to fight three of them at once either. I walk over to our flag, and take theirs out of my pocket. Suddenly, Leanne appears in front of me. ¡°Congratulations! Team Isabella wins!¡± ¨C Leanne She takes the enemy flag, and puts it in her pocket. ¡°Just wait a second, I¡¯ll put this back where it belongs, and find all the other contestants.¡± ¨C Leanne Like a flash of light, she instantly disappears. B-rankers are so fast¡­ Just moments later, she returns with Alex and Carl. ¡°Yo!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Hey. All good?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yup. No major injuries here.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Great. Same here.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Give me another second. I¡¯m just going to pick up the last ones before we return to camp.¡± ¨C Leanne Before I realized she was gone, she had already returned with Hector. She carefully put him down on the ground before going off again. --- [Isabella??¡¯s perspective] Suddenly, the host appears before me. ¡°Time to go back. You won.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°I see.¡± ¨C Isabella?? She looks down on Jennifers decapitated head¡­ ¡°Rest in peace¡­¡± ¨C Leanne I put my sword back in its sheath. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn, Isabella.¡± ¨C Isabella?? Chapter 106: Specialty upon specialty --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] The pillar falls, and the match begins¡­ We¡¯ve already laid the plan; we¡¯ll split our team into two groups. An offensive group, and a defensive group. Me and one other guy are on the offensive group; our job is to infiltrate the enemy base. Meanwhile, the defensive team will stay behind and protect our own flag. Having three people in the base will make it extremely hard for the enemy to steal our flag. Even if they have some super strong people on their team, they should at least be slowed down enough for us to get back with theirs first. None of us have a specialty that allows us to sneak in and take the flag without them knowing, so we intend to just bulldoze in and take it with force instead. To do that, we assigned the two strongest people on our team to the offensive team. That ended up being me and this guy called Issac. His specialty is¡­ A little strange. I¡¯m not sure I fully grasp it. He can ¡®sacrifice things¡¯, or something¡­? Maybe he just explained it badly, but I don¡¯t really get it. In the end though, it doesn¡¯t really matter. He should be strong, that¡¯s all I need to know. ¡°Wait.¡± ¨C Isaac He blocks my path with his arm. ¡°I hear someone¡­ I think they¡¯re close.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s stick to the plan. We take them out before we go for the flag. Let¡¯s not get greedy.¡± ¨C Lucas We slowly make our way closer to the enemy base; trying not to make a sound. Ah, there they are! They¡¯re all standing around their flag, guarding it closely. One, two, three, four¡­ There are four of them. Interesting¡­ Beating four of them won¡¯t be easy when there are only two of us, but at the same time, that means the last guy has to fight three people at once to take our flag. I like those odds. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. There¡¯s no time to waste. I look at him, and he looks at me. We don¡¯t say a word, but we both know what the other is thinking. He nods, then both of us take off at full speed. ¡°Guys! Someone¡¯s coming!¡± ¨C Man ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s get into position! Tiffany and Samantha, you two will be our first line of defense. Jacob, stay behind and make sure they don¡¯t grab the flag if they somehow manage to get past us.¡± ¨C Woman ¡°What about you, June?!¡± ¨C Jacob ¡°I¡¯ll be right behind Tiffany and Samantha, supporting them at range.¡± ¨C June ¡°Alright!¡± ¨C Jacob June reaches her arms out, and a green light shoots out from her palms. The rays hit the two women in the front, and they start glowing in the same shade of green. What is she doing to them? She mentioned she¡¯d be supporting them at range¡­ I guess her specialty must be some kind of support ability then. Is it healing? We¡¯ll see¡­ While still a few meters away from them, Samantha throws a punch. Her arm stretches towards me, but I slip away from it before it can hit me. I try to grab her arm, but it quickly snaps back. She clicks her tongue in frustration. ¡°You¡¯re slippery. How annoying¡­¡± ¨C Samantha ¡°That I am.¡± ¨C Lucas Before we get to close the distance, she throws yet another attack. She stretches her arm out and swings it in a wide cone. Her attack is at waist level, making it hard to duck under, and hard to jump over. For me however, that¡¯s not a problem. I lean to the side, balancing myself on the ground with my arm. Her whip-like arm just barely misses, it even grazes my shirt. Isaac, however, couldn¡¯t dodge it. Instead, he decided to block it. It slams right into him, but he holds steady. He¡¯s pushed back, but in the end, he¡¯s okay. Just like me, he tries to grab her arm, but it quickly snaps back before he¡¯s able to. Before she can attack us again, we dash at them as fast as we can, finally closing the distance. Close quarter combat is where we both shine. I swing my fist at the stretchy girl, but the other one quickly steps in and blocks my attack. The instant my fist touched her skin, I started feeling dizzy. Is this her specialty? Ugh¡­ My head is spinning. All that from just a touch. She tries to grab my hand, but I swiftly pull it back before she touches me. ¡°Watch out for her, Issac. Touching her makes you dizzy.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Got it.¡± ¨C Isaac Not long after, the dizziness fades away. ¡°I¡¯m good now. It doesn¡¯t seem to last very long.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Isaac The situation might not look good from an outsider¡¯s perspective, but that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. We already know exactly what two of their specialties are, and we know the third is some kind of supportive ability. The only one we don¡¯t know anything about is that guy in the back. Meanwhile, they still don¡¯t have a clue what ours are. We can take advantage of that. Additionally, they might start thinking my perfect muscle control is my specialty. My real specialty will take them off guard even more when it activates if that¡¯s the case. ¡°Lucas, look. That girl, Tiffany¡­ Her forearms are heavily bruised after blocking your attack. I bet she won¡¯t do that anymore! My guess is that she thought she¡¯d be able to grab you, but due to your dodging specialty, you got away.¡± ¨C Isaac !! Good one, Isaac! He thought the exact same thing I did, and is playing right into it! He knows what my specialty really is; I told him before the game started. So he¡¯s trying to trick them into thinking my specialty is related to dodging! I haven¡¯t known him for long, but I can already tell he¡¯s a reliable teammate. I hope I get to work with him in the future. We both attack at the same time. They try to get away, but we don¡¯t let them. My kick drills into Samantha¡¯s stomach, and his punch dislocates Tiffany¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Gah!¡± ¨C Samantha ¡°Fuck!¡± ¨C Tiffany ¡°June! Some more power would be nice!¡± ¨C Samantha ¡°Yeah, these guys are strong as hell!¡± ¨C Tiffany ¡°I only have so much power to give, okay?! I¡¯m already giving you guys as much as I can while staying stable. If I increase my output too much, I¡¯ll end up losing control. You know what happens then? You don¡¯t get any power!¡± ¨C June ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think we can beat them like this.¡± ¨C Samantha ¡°And we don¡¯t even know what that guy¡¯s specialty is!¡± ¨C Tiffany ¡°You¡¯ll have to risk it, it¡¯s the only way!¡± ¨C Samantha ¡°Fine!¡± ¨C June With an annoyed look on her face, she increases the output of her ability. The green light gets more and more intense; you can tell their power is increasing just from looking at them¡­ Oh boy. Chapter 107: Power --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] ¡°Go get them already! I can¡¯t keep this up for long; my concentration could break any second!¡± ¨C June ¡°Right!¡± ¨C Samantha Her arm shoots right towards my face at an insane speed; it¡¯s so much faster than before! I roll my head to the side, and her fist slips right off. Her arm continues to stretch for dozens of meters before it finally snaps back at explosive speeds. When her arm snapped back before, it was already too fast for me to catch¡­ But now¡­?! I couldn¡¯t even see it; it just happened. The shockwave from the snapback was deafeningly loud, and I could feel the gust it created just as well. If she could somehow aim her attack in such a way to hit us with the return stroke, she¡¯d knock us out cold with a single attack. I need to be mindful of that. At the same time as she attacked me, Tiffany launched herself at Isaac. She doesn¡¯t try to use her enhanced strength to beat him up, but rather takes advantage of how fast she is to more easily use her ability on him. After all, why go through the effort of landing big hits when just touching someone is enough to take them out? Just a slight touch is enough to make him so dizzy he can¡¯t fight properly for a few seconds; if she could get a hold of him, it¡¯d be over¡­ He clearly struggles to dodge her attacks, but he¡¯s just barely holding on. Samantha throws another punch, but just like all her other attacks, it slips right off me. She grumbles to herself; clearly annoyed that she can¡¯t get a hit in. ¡°This guy¡­ His specialty is so infuriating¡­¡± ¨C Samantha I take advantage of her miss and get a good hit on her. She flinches, but ultimately, she¡¯s fine. ¡°Huh¡­ Your specialty is pretty neat, June. I¡¯m so much tougher than before.¡± ¨C Samantha ¡°I know! Now finish them already!¡± ¨C June She¡¯s the one making them so strong¡­ Should I try to get past them, and take her out first? No¡­ They¡¯ll never let me. They¡¯re too fast for that. ¡°Uhm, are you guys sure you don¡¯t want me to help?¡± ¨C Jacob ¡°Yes! We still don¡¯t know what that other guy¡¯s ability is. If it¡¯s something that could let him get past us, he¡¯ll take the flag and run.¡± ¨C June This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Oh, ok¡­¡± ¨C Jacob Luckily for us, none of our specialties let us do that. They¡¯re one fighter down for no reason. Isaac hops back, temporarily halting Tiffany¡¯s assault. He takes a deep breath, like he¡¯s preparing himself for something¡­ Suddenly, the fingers on his left hand twist and bend in every direction. To say they¡¯re broken is an understatement¡­ ¡°What the hell?¡± ¨C Tiffany With his other fist clutched, he calmly walks up to her. She can instinctively tell that something is different about him, and doesn¡¯t want to engage. ¡°What are you doing?! Don¡¯t back off, my ability could break at any moment. If that happens, we¡¯re screwed!¡± ¨C June ¡°B-but¡­¡± ¨C Tiffany ¡°No ¡®buts¡¯! Get him!¡± ¨C June She launches herself at him, doing everything in her power to touch him. She manages to grab his broken fingers, but before her ability can properly kick in, he bashes her in the face with all his might. Despite the massive boost from June¡¯s ability, she¡¯s knocked out cold in a single hit. ¡°Shit¡­!¡± ¨C June So that¡¯s what he meant by being able to ¡®sacrifice things¡¯¡­ I guess he can sacrifice parts of his own body to give himself a power boost. Seems very strong, but also risky¡­ ¡°Good work, Issac. You can step back; I¡¯ll finish off the other one.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°All right.¡± ¨C Isaac I quickly close the distance, slipping away from all her attacks at the same time. A punch to the face, and another to the ribs. I can tell she¡¯s in pain, but neither attack injure her. Just like before, I yet again try to hit her in the face. The difference, however, is that now she understands that my attacks won¡¯t hurt her. Instead of trying to block, or dodge, she decides to go all in on offense. She wants to tank the hit in hopes of finally landing an attack of her own. Her plan fails horribly¡­ The moment my fist clashes with her skull, she¡¯s propelled backwards. Her brain bounced around in her head so much she passed out before she was even aware she was hit. If a healer doesn¡¯t tend to her soon, she might die¡­ Shit¡­ I didn¡¯t intend to hit her that hard¡­ My specialty is strong, but also unpredictable. Every now and then, my attacks will ¡®critically hit¡¯. It can¡¯t be controlled; it¡¯s completely random. Sometimes my attacks are exponentially stronger than normal, and I have no way of knowing if it will happen or not until it lands. ¡°You two. Drop out from the exam and take your teammates back to the healers.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Never!¡± ¨C June She turns around and uses her specialty on the only remaining teammate here. The light shoots toward him, and he starts glowing. ¡°Get them, Jaco-¡± ¨C June And before either of them gets to do anything, Isaac swiftly knocks her out with a chop to the back of the neck. ¡°Do what he said.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Y-yes, sir!¡± ¨C Jacob He picks up all three of them and runs back to camp. ¡°Well then¡­ Time to head back to base.¡± ¨C Lucas He grabs the flag, and we quickly make our way back. ¡­ ¡­ ¡°What the hell happened here?!¡± ¨C Lucas All three of our teammates are knocked out, and our flag is gone¡­ ¡°Same thing that happened to them, I suppose¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°But there was only one person left on their team¡­ How could one guy do all that?¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°What now? Should one of us stay behind with the flag, or¡­?¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°No¡­ If he could take out three people at once by himself, he¡¯s too strong for either of us to take on alone. Let¡¯s take the flag with us and fight him together.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Alright. He¡¯s nowhere to be seen here, so there¡¯s only one place he could be¡­¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°At their base¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Exactly. We probably finished our fights at roughly the same time, meaning we both arrived at our respective bases only to find our flags missing.¡± ¨C Lucas We yet again cross the forest, and return to their base. There he is¡­ He¡¯s just sitting there, fidgeting with our flag. He spots us, and gives us a smile while waving at us. There¡¯s no point in trying to sneak up on him anymore, he has already seen us. As we approach him, he starts talking to us. ¡°I had a feeling you¡¯d be back soon. By the way, what happened to my teammates? Where are they?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°We had one of them carry the other three back to camp. They dropped out so they could be healed.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Ah, I see. Hope I don¡¯t need a team for next round then¡­ Anyways, you guys must be pretty strong if you could take all of them on by yourselves!¡± ¨C ??? ¡°You¡¯re the impressive one here¡­ We did it as a team, you did it by yourself.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Ah, but that¡¯s not surprising¡­ I¡¯m me after all!¡± ¨C ??? This guy¡­ I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s pride or narcissism or cockiness, but whatever it is, he can probably back it up¡­ He already took on three people by himself¡­ ¡°Oh! How rude of me, I forgot to tell you my name! I¡¯m Ace. I look forward to fighting you guys!¡± ¨C Ace Chapter 108: Ace --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] He puts the flag down, and gets up from his seat. With his hands behind his back, he nonchalantly strolls towards us. There¡¯s a smile on his face, and not a worry on his mind. ¡°Soo¡­ I guess it¡¯s time to fight then!¡± ¨C Ace With his hands still behind his back, he leans forward; inviting us to attack. This very well might be a trap¡­ If his specialty has something to do with getting hit, then attacking him is exactly what he wants. At the same time, neither of us can beat him without physically attacking. I¡¯ll take him up on his offer. I smash my fist into his face, and he recoils in pain. ¡°Ow, ow, ow!¡± ¨C Ace ¡­ What. ¡°That really hurt¡­ Remind me not to do that again, ok?¡± ¨C Ace This guy¡­ There was no plan, he just wanted to test our strength¡­ Imagine if my specialty activated there¡­ The fight might have been over already! This level of confidence isn¡¯t something you get without the ability to back it up. His specialty must be incredible¡­ ¡°I let you hit me once, now it¡¯s my turn!¡± ¨C Ace He lousily swings his fist at me; anybody could have dodged that, let alone me¡­ ¡°Hey! No fair! I let you hit me!¡± ¨C Ace He swings again and again and again, but none of his attacks connect. No special movements were needed to get away, I simply just took a few steps back. His form and speed are both so bad¡­ It¡¯s like he isn¡¯t even trying to hit me. He took my attack head-on earlier, he should be better than this. Is he just toying around, or is this somehow part of his ability? Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Hmm¡­ This isn¡¯t working. What to do, what to dooo¡­¡± ¨C Ace He holds his chin and looks up to the side; like he is making a stereotypical ¡®thinking face¡¯¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­ Ah, I got it! If I can¡¯t hit you directly, then I¡¯ll just have to counter-attack you when you try to hit me!¡± ¨C Ace He looks genuinely proud of himself, as if broke the code to a complex mystery. ¡°Alright, go ahead, attack me again!¡± ¨C Ace I look over at Isaac, he seems just as confused as I am. Is this all an act, or¡­? I anxiously take a step forward, slowly inching my way towards him. ¡°GuAH!¡± ¨C Lucas Suddenly, it¡¯s like I¡¯m assaulted from every angle. I¡¯m knocked around and my nose is broken. What the hell just happened?! ¡°Ahahaha!!¡± ¨C Ace He literally falls to the floor, laughing hysterically with tears in his eyes. ¡°Enough.¡± ¨C Isaac He confidently strides in his direction. As he gets close to him, Ace flicks the air. Isaac looks a little confused at first, but he doesn¡¯t let his antics stop him. He takes another step forward, before suddenly hunching over in pain. Ace burst out in laughter yet again. Isaac takes a few steps back while trying to recover from whatever hit him. ¡°It¡¯s like he flicked me in the nuts just now¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Uahahaa!¡± ¨C Ace He composes himself, wipes away the tears, and gets back on his feet. ¡°That¡¯s because I did, silly!¡± ¨C Ace He blows us a kiss, and signals us to get closer. Isaac looks over at me, he¡¯s not ready to approach him yet, so he wants me to do it instead. I brace myself for impact, and make my way over to him. As I walk towards him, he takes a few steps back, but continues to wave at me to get closer. !! ¡°Wah-¡± ¨C Lucas What was that? I just felt something on my cheek¡­ ¡°I can send attacks into the future; they don¡¯t have to connect with you to hit. Well, technically it¡¯s not strictly limited to attacks. Like that kiss just now!¡± ¨C Ace He gives me a wink before continuing to explain. ¡°So, do you get it? You won¡¯t beat me, that¡¯s just¡­ Not happening. Hand over the flag, and you boys won¡¯t get hurt.¡± ¨C Ace With a smug look on his face, he holds his hand out, waiting for us to give him the flag. Isaac scoffs. ¡°Not happening.¡± ¨C Isaac He looks a little disappointed. ¡°Aww¡­ What a shame.¡± ¨C Ace I guess the fight is finally starting¡­ For real this time. At least now we know what his ability is. He told us in an attempt to get us to give up; that was a big mistake. His carefree attitude will be his downfall. I look at Isaac, and he looks at me. We¡¯re ready¡­! I rush directly towards our opponent, meanwhile, Isaac circles around him. Even he will struggle to defend against us both when we attack from opposite sides! Before we can reach him, he throws a barrage of attacks in every direction. Obviously, none of them hit us, but that¡¯s not the point. He¡¯s sending all his attacks into the future, making it hard to reach him. All of his attacks just now were punches at head and chest level. I take advantage of that, and tackle him by the legs instead, avoiding all his future attacks. ¡°Uah!¡± ¨C Ace He falls to the ground, and tries to wiggle his way out of my hold. ¡°Quickly, grab him! I can¡¯t hold him for long!¡± ¨C Lucas It¡¯s not that he¡¯s too strong for me to hold, the problem is my ¡®perfect muscle control¡¯. My body naturally moves away when someone tries to touch me, or when I touch them. To not do that, I have to suppress my reflexes. Doing so hurts. A lot¡­ Hitting someone is fine, it¡¯s just a very brief moment of contact, but holding someone¡­ That¡¯s an entirely different story. It¡¯s like all my nerves are on fire, screaming at me to let him go. I try to suppress it, but without realizing it, I find myself no longer holding him¡­ Shit. Before Isaac can reach him, he throws a ton of consecutive punches in his direction, forcing him to stop. At the same time, he attempts to kick me further away, but I suck my stomach in, just barely avoiding his attack. Both me and Isaac take a step back, and Ace stands back up. ¡°Whew¡­ That was close¡­¡± ¨C Ace Isaac gives me a frustrated look. ¡°What the hell dude? Why did you let go?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡± ¨C Lucas Chapter 109: Sacrifice --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] Lucas told me about his condition before we started. He said he would essentially automatically dodge any attack headed his way, but he didn¡¯t go into details about the downsides of said condition. He dodges because his body doesn¡¯t want to get touched, so I guess the same applies the other way around too; his body will automatically let go of someone if he tries to hold them. It¡¯s unfortunate, because we could have gotten him just now, but it is what it is. I can¡¯t blame him for something he can¡¯t control. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll beat him soon enough anyways.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°You think so?¡± ¨C Ace ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I see¡­ Let¡¯s get on with it then!¡± ¨C Ace He rushes at Lucas, attempting to hit him in the face. Lucas bends his neck a little to the side, avoiding the attack. Ace throws another punch with his other hand, baiting him into bending his neck back. Lucas knows he sent the last hit into the future, so he can¡¯t move in its path. He ducks down, dodging the second punch too. With a sweeping motion, Ace goes for a kick, but Lucas lets himself fall to the ground, avoiding the attack. Ace follows up by attempting to stomp him, but he rolls back. He successfully dodged all his attacks without ever crossing the paths of the previous ones. He¡¯s getting more and more used to his ability; he¡¯s adapting! While Lucas is still on the ground, Ace throughs a couple kicks his way. He didn¡¯t intend for them to land, but rather just to keep him away. Then while Lucas focuses on getting back up without intersecting the path of his kicks, Ace switches targets. Now it¡¯s my turn¡­ I can¡¯t dodge as well as Lucas; I doubt I could do what he just did. That¡¯s a problem, I don¡¯t think I could beat him in regular hand to hand combat, but¡­ I have a theory¡­! He said he can send his attacks into the future, right? That¡¯s very different from his attacks sticking around in the air, waiting for him to activate them. Meaning, when he attacks, he probably has to decide how far into the future it goes. If that¡¯s true, then he¡¯ll have to predict our movements for his ability to be useful. In that case, unpredictability is the way to counter him. I can do unpredictability. But first, I need to confirm my theory. He could have been lying about his ability, but he doesn¡¯t seem like the type of guy who¡¯d do that. Just like he did against Lucas, he throws a punch towards my face. It takes everything I got, but I barely manage to get my head out of the way. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. As he pulls his arm back, I immediately move my head back to where it just was, back into the path of his attack. ¡­ I¡¯m fine! I move my head away again, before I get hit for real. That confirms it! He has to choose exactly when his attacks will arrive, meaning as long as he can¡¯t predict my movements, his ability is essentially worthless! He understands that I figured out his weakness, and it clearly confuses him. The way he was talking before¡­ I don¡¯t think this guy has ever lost a fight before. He doesn¡¯t know the taste of defeat, the feeling of having all your hard work overcome in the blink of an eye. ¡°How¡­¡± ¨C Ace He stops attacking, a deep sense of fear washes over him. His usual cheerful and animated act drops, and he¡¯s left with the dread of knowing he might lose. ¡°Even someone with an ability like yours can be defeated. You¡¯re not all-powerful.¡± ¨C Isaac He thinks to himself¡­ God-knows-why, but soon enough, he¡¯s back to his usual self. With a smile as bright as the sun, he lets out a hearty laugh. ¡°I see¡­ You think you could beat me with unpredictability? Not a bad plan, I almost started to believe it myself. But¡­ Nah. Do you know why?¡± ¨C Ace ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Because I can be unpredictable too, dummy!¡± ¨C Ace He quickly throws a jab at me, it doesn¡¯t land, but I don¡¯t think he intended it to. ¡°How far do you think that jab went, huh? One second? Five seconds? A minute maybe? Who knows. I won¡¯t even bother trying to predict your movements anymore. As the fight rages on, more and more attacks will be sent into the future. Meaning¡­¡± ¨C Ace ¡°Nowhere is safe¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Bingo!¡± ¨C Ace Without wasting any time, he throws a flurry of attacks in every direction. ¡°Good luck getting close to me!¡± ¨C Ace He stands still, and takes a deep breath. Is he¡­ ! He¡¯s charging up an attack! We can¡¯t stop him either; if we get too close, we might get hit by some of those attacks he threw. This is bad¡­ I take a few steps back; I can¡¯t be anywhere near him when he does that. If I get hit by a charged attack from him, I¡¯m out. Even if I don¡¯t get hit, it¡¯ll get sent into the future¡­ I need to be very careful not to ever cross its path, no matter what. Wait a second¡­! He put our flag down earlier¡­ Should I go and grab it? No¡­ He probably set up a trap while he was waiting for us to get here. If I get too close, I¡¯ll probably get hit by a barrage of attacks sent from the past. Even if I don¡¯t, he¡¯ll just stop me anyways. We need to beat him before we can consider going for it. I assume knocking him out will make all his ¡®future attacks¡¯ go away. I think it might be time¡­ I don¡¯t see any way forward without it. It¡¯s time to use my own ability¡­ My specialty allows me to ¡®sacrifice¡¯ something in exchange for temporary power. How much power, and how long it lasts depends on how valuable the thing I sacrifice is to me. I can choose to sacrifice something temporarily, or permanently. When permanently sacrificing something, the power boost will be significantly greater. Earlier, I sacrificed the fingers on my left hand to beat Tiffany. It was a temporary sacrifice, so they¡¯ll heal in a few days, meaning after the exam ends. My physical body is not all I can sacrifice; I can sacrifice every part of my being. Body, mind, and soul. Anything can be used for power. But what should I sacrifice¡­ It needs to be something valuable if I am to overcome him¡­ If I sacrifice more of my own body, that will severely hinder my chances later in the exam¡­ Meaning it¡¯s a very good candidate. But¡­! I got it! I know of something super valuable, especially when it comes to team-based games like this¡­ Communication. Being able to talk to each other is essential. Without it we wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell each other our abilities, formulate a plan together, or let each other know when we figure things out. The host said there will be three rounds, but we don¡¯t know what the next two are yet. If they are team based too, then sacrificing my ability to talk will undoubtedly make it borderline impossible to pass. Especially since the competition is only going to get stronger from now on¡­ ¡°Lucas, stay back. I¡¯ll finish him.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Alright¡­¡± ¨C Lucas Okay¡­ I change the ¡®shape¡¯ of the Divinity, and channel it through my soul¡­ I think about my ability to talk, and my specialty activates. To make sure it worked, I try to talk. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac I can¡¯t do it¡­! I can¡¯t even make a noise. It feels so strange¡­ It was just a temporary sacrifice, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll go back to normal in a few days, but¡­ The power! I feel the power coursing through my veins; there¡¯s so much of it! It won¡¯t last long, probably just a few seconds. I¡¯ll have to make the most of it! As quickly as I can, I sprint his way. He turns towards me, and prepares to launch his charged attack. As I get close, I feel the attacks he threw earlier hit me. They don¡¯t hurt. Seeing me take all those hits without flinching takes him off guard, messing up his concentration. His lapse in focus weakens his charged attack, but he has no choice but to throw it like it is anyways; I¡¯m way too close now for him to have time to regain the lost power. With all his might, he throws his final punch. It hurt like hell, but I blocked it with the palm of my left hand. Had it been any stronger, my arm would have probably broken. Before he has time to get away, I quickly counter-attack. My fist drills into his chest, breaking his ribs, and sending him flying away. And just like that, I feel the power boost fading away¡­ Leaving me mute for the rest of the exam. Chapter 110: Rin and Jade --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] Holy shit¡­ What was that power just now? He stopped a charged attack¡­ ¡°What the hell did you sacrifice?¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac Why isn¡¯t he responding? ¡°Wait, can you not hear me?¡± ¨C Lucas He shakes his head. ¡°Was that a no?¡± ¨C Lucas He nods. ¡°Wait¡­ No as in you can¡¯t hear, or no as in you can hear?¡± ¨C Lucas He neither nodded nor shook his head to that; he just looks confused. Honestly, so am I. He points to his ear, and gives me a thumbs up. I think that¡¯s supposed to mean he can hear¡­ I think¡­ He can tell I¡¯m still somewhat confused, and just gives up. ¡°Wait, I know! If you can hear, give me another thumbs up.¡± ¨C Lucas And he promptly does, but still gives me a weird look. ¡­ ¡°Is that code for ¡®how the hell would I respond to your first question in the first place if I was deaf?¡¯¡± ¨C Lucas He slowly nods. ¡°Well for all I know, you could have just been good at reading lips!¡± ¨C Lucas Yeah, that¡¯s a stretch¡­ I¡¯m dumb. ¡°I guess that means you gave up your ability to speak then.¡± ¨C Lucas He yet again slowly nods his head. Alright, I get it. ¡°Let¡¯s just go get the flag already¡­¡± ¨C Lucas We pick it up, and head back to base with it. With both flags now here, we¡¯ve officially won. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Suddenly, the host appears before us. ¡°Congratulations, you guys won!¡± ¨C Leanne --- [Jade¡¯s perspective] A few minutes later, just before the next round begins ¡°So, everyone understands the plan then?¡± ¨C Peter ¡°Yup! We all wait here until the enemies come, then take them out together. After that, when their numbers are low, we launch our counterattack.¡± ¨C Lucy ¡°Perfect!¡± ¨C Peter I won¡¯t say anything, but I have a feeling that¡­ Whatever¡­ We¡¯ll see soon enough. The giant pillar of stone finally starts falling. And with a loud bang, the third and final match of the first round begins! ¡°Wha-?!¡± ¨C Peter He reaches his hand out, trying to stop a certain someone¡­ ¡°Where the hell are you going?! What about the plan?!¡± ¨C Peter Yup. Just as I thought; Rin completely ignores the plan and does her own thing instead. I start running after her¡­ ¡°Hey! Not you too!¡± ¨C Peter ¡°Sorry!¡± ¨C Jade ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Peter And just like that, the plan has already been rendered irrelevant. It¡¯s just like her to do something like this¡­ She never follows plans, and always does things her own way. It reminds me a lot of the time we first met¡­ --- It was shortly after she became a hunter¡­ I heard there were two new members, and like always, I went to greet them. I love meeting new people, so whenever people choose our guild, I get excited. The higher ups are not too picky with who they invite, so that usually works out great for me. Since they know I like talking to new people, they tend to assign me the job of showing the newcomers around. There are some bad eggs every now and then that makes it annoying, but for the most part, I love that job. The two new hunters that year were Dan and Rin. The most talkative one was Dan. He¡¯s a truly kind person, and we¡¯re still good friends to this day. However, the one who captivated me the most was Rin. While I was giving them a tour of the guild hall, I suddenly noticed she was missing¡­ Our HQ is very large, the largest out of any guild in fact. If you don¡¯t know where you¡¯re going, you¡¯re bound to get lost. We went looking for her, but it wasn¡¯t easy finding her. She¡¯s small and nimble, combine that with being lost in a place she¡¯s never been before, and it was practically impossible to find her. Eventually though, we did find her¡­ She had somehow made her way to the janitor¡¯s closet of housing bracket C¡­ Confused as to where the place she was looking for was, combined with being tired from the exam, she decided to go to sleep. Not far away from there was the public indoors area for that housing bracket. There were sofas she could have slept on there, but she stayed in the closet instead. When we found her, she was curled into a ball on one of the shelves¡­ I later found out the reason why she stayed there was because she found the public area too loud¡­ When we woke her up, she told us where she actually wanted to go¡­ The mission board. She didn¡¯t want to waste any time, even if she had just finished an exam, she wanted to go on a mission. She felt she was too weak to be a hunter; apparently, she had gotten a lot of help from people other than her teammates during the exam. Even though I hadn¡¯t finished the tour yet, I dropped it to go clear a dungeon with her. There was just something about her that made me not care about anything else¡­ Was it her infectious smile? Her adorable attitude? Her weird quirks? I don¡¯t know¡­ But since then, I¡¯ve been stuck to her like glue. I tend to flirt a lot with people I find cute, she¡¯s not an exception. That¡¯s just how I am. It doesn¡¯t really mean anything, I just think it¡¯s fun. But with her¡­ I think there might be something more to it¡­ Sometimes she seems oblivious to how I really feel, and other times not. She will in one breath tell me to stop flirting with her, then in the next seemly get jealous when I do it with other people. I can¡¯t really get a good read on her, but maybe that¡¯s why I find her so intriguing¡­ She doesn¡¯t care about conforming to society or changing her ways to better fit in with people. She¡¯s just¡­ Herself. Like it or not, Rin is Rin. I couldn''t do that¡­ Because despite flirting being in my nature, if she ever told me to stop doing it with other people, I¡¯d listen. Chapter 111: 1v3 --- [Jade¡¯s perspective] After running for a little while, I finally caught up to Rin. The enemy base is right around the corner, yet she stopped to wait for me¡­ Why? I expected her to run in and fight them on her own. Is something wrong? ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°What¡¯s up? What are you waiting for? ¨C Jade ¡°Oh, just to tell you not to interfere! I haven¡¯t had the chance to fight other hunters in a while, only dungeon monsters. I wanna test out my abilities, so just stay back while I deal with them. Okay?¡± ¨C Rin Yup, that¡¯s the Rin I know¡­ ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Jade --- [Rin¡¯s perspective] There are three of them in base, meaning two went to take our flag. Three shouldn¡¯t be an issue. Let¡¯s not waste any more time, it¡¯s time to attack! I run into their base and announce my presence. ¡°Hi!¡± ¨C Rin Clearly startled, they stumble around while preparing to fight. I don¡¯t think they expected anyone to show up all alone and give their location away like that; it took them by surprise. I could have used that element of surprise to get the upper hand, but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m here for. I¡¯m here to test out my powers on real people. People who can fight back intelligently with their own powers, come up with plans, and use teamwork to overcome their foes. It¡¯s nothing like fighting dungeon monsters¡­ They¡¯re mostly mindless beasts, but even the ones who do have some resemblance of intelligent thought behind their actions are missing the secret ingredient that makes combat fun¡­ The human element. The struggle, the triumph, the desperation, the hope, the despair, the imperfections, the luck, and the sheer emotion¡­ All of that is missing when fighting monsters. ¡°You two! Take her out, I¡¯ll protect the flag!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Before they know it, I¡¯m on the other side of the room, waving around their flag. ¡°You mean this?¡± ¨C Rin ¡°What the?!¡± These guys are so slow¡­ How am I supposed to have any fun if they can¡¯t even react to me? ¡°Don¡¯t let her get away with that!¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I put the flag back down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t run away.¡± ¨C Rin Let¡¯s see what they¡¯re made of. The one who was supposed to guard the flag activates his ability. A set of stone armor wraps itself around him, protecting every part of his body. I try to hit him, but all it does is hurt my hand. ¡°Heh! This brat might be fast, but she¡¯s weak as hell!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ Without my specialty, I¡¯d never get through your armor.¡± ¨C Rin He tries to hit me, but there¡¯s no use. It¡¯s like his fist moves in slow motion. Again and again, he continues to throw blow and blow, but the result is still the same¡­ His fist will never reach me. Even while the stone armor guy is actively trying his best to hit me, I get bored and ask the next person about their powers. ¡°What about you? What¡¯s your power?¡± ¨C Rin ¡°¡­¡± None of them respond, it¡¯s like they¡¯re in shock. Seeing me dodge all his attacks like it¡¯s nothing must seem impossible to slow creatures like them. This is yet another moment I could have taken advantage of to take them all out, but I chose not to. I don¡¯t want to win before even knowing what their specialties are. They quickly snap back to reality and realize that they have to work together to defeat me. The one I spoke to earlier points his palm at me, and shards of ice shoot out of it. He unsuccessfully tracks my movements, and the shards pierces right through the walls of the base. They¡¯d probably do the same to me if they ever hit¡­ Luckily, they won¡¯t. The last guy puts his hands together and activates his ability. I can¡¯t immediately tell what it is, but I know he¡¯s using it from the glow in his eyes. Mere seconds later, I trip over and fall. ¡°What the?!¡± ¨C Rin I try to get back up, but I¡¯m unable to. It¡¯s like the circuitry in my body is all jumbled up! The guy with the ice shards points his palms at me, and shoots. As the projectile slowly approaches me, I desperately try to get back up, but to no avail. I try grabbing the ground and pulling myself away, but instead I lift my arms into the air. The shards get closer and closer¡­ I try kicking myself away with my right leg, and instead end up curling my left. It¡¯s almost here! I try using my core to lift myself up, but all I do is push myself down into the ground. I need to get away! I desperately try moving, but nothing seems to work¡­ I try to reach my left arm forward, but instead my right arm goes backwards. Wait¡­ I get it! My movements aren¡¯t jumbled up, they¡¯re inverted¡­! Right before the shard hits me, I carefully concentrate on doing the exact opposite of what I want. It wasn¡¯t easy, but I barely managed to roll away in time. Just as I got away, I see another ice shard shooting towards me. Had it not been for my speed, it¡¯d be over by now¡­ I need to take out the guy messing with my movements first. Standing up in this condition would be almost impossible, let alone running. I need to take him out while still on the ground. Having had some practice with it already, I roll towards him. I slowly and carefully move my arm towards his leg. He doesn¡¯t pull his leg back, or attempt to get away from me in any way¡­ It seems his specialty only works if he¡¯s concentrating on that, and that alone. I straighten out my fingers, then carefully make them touch his leg. As I activate my ability, a coat of lightning envelops my limbs. Despite it being lightning, it doesn¡¯t shock people. What it does do however is cut! I yank my arm back, and a deep gash appears on his ankle. The pain takes over, and he quickly steps back on instinct. Due to the wound, he¡¯s unable to stand up, and falls over. His ability fades away, and before the ice shard can hit me, I get back up. ¡°Phew¡­ That was close.¡± ¨C Rin He screams in agony as blood gushes out from his wound. ¡°Stay down and I won¡¯t hurt you any more than I already have.¡± ¨C Rin He repeatedly nods as he desperately tries to stop the bleeding. ¡°Next is you.¡± ¨C Rin I dash over to the guy with the ice powers and shove my fingers deep into his palm before he¡¯s able to shoot again. The bleeding is just as intense, and he too gives up just as quickly. The last guy however is a little different¡­ He seems confident I won¡¯t get past his armor. Just like before, he tries to hit me, but none of his punches are even remotely close to connecting. I slash him from every side, but I can¡¯t seem to break through. I could easily just grab the flag and leave¡­ Should I¡­? No¡­ That¡¯s no fun! I obviously can¡¯t get through his armor by any normal means, so I¡¯ll have to get creative. Instead of attacking from every angle, I go for the same spot repeatedly. Slowly but surely, I slice deeper and deeper into his armor. It doesn¡¯t take long for him to realize what is happening, and he accepts the inevitable; I will get through. Be it smart or cowardly, he lays down on the ground and surrenders before I can hurt his real body. ¡°You win, okay?! Please don¡¯t hurt me!¡± ¡°Okay!!¡± ¨C Rin I have no problems hurting someone in a fight, but that¡¯s not the reason why I like fighting. I like it because I like it; it¡¯s just fun! If they admit defeat, there¡¯s no point in hurting them. ¡°Thanks for the good fight! I had a lot of fun!¡± ¨C Rin Chapter 112: Complete opposites --- [Jade¡¯s perspective] After a surprisingly long time, Rin finally emerges from the enemy base. ¡°There you are! Took you longer than expected.¡± ¨C Jade ¡°One of them had a troublesome ability.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°I see¡­ Well, you got the flag! Good job!¡± ¨C Jade I pat her head while congratulating her. ¡°That flag looks heavy, want me to carry it for you?¡± ¨C Jade She raises her eyebrow and gives me a weird look. ¡°It¡¯s not heavy¡­ It¡¯s a flag.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Jade Well, that didn¡¯t go like I hoped it would¡­ ¡°A-anyways! Let¡¯s head back before they steal our-¡± ¨C Jade Before I get to finish my sentence, one of our opponents suddenly show up with our flag. That was quick¡­ Rin tries handing the flag over to me, but I don¡¯t take it. ¡°Jade, take it. Hold it while I take care of him.¡± ¨C Rin She keeps insisting, but I still don¡¯t accept it. ¡°Go back to base, Rin. I can¡¯t let you do all the work!¡± ¨C Jade She looks a little disappointed, but she doesn¡¯t argue. ¡°Fine.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Not so fast. I¡¯m not gonna let you get away. That flag belongs to me.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Heh! You better catch me then.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°That won¡¯t be an issue.¡± ¨C ??? In a contest of speed, there are very few, if any, other E-rankers who could match Rin¡­ By the time he took his first step in her direction, she was already out of sight. What a showoff¡­ She really used her max speed just to prove a point, huh¡­ Clearly shocked, and struggling to process what just happened, his jaw dropped along with the flag. He quickly snaps out of it and picks it back up. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Fast, eh?¡± ¨C Jade ¡°¡­¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Well, let¡¯s just get on with it already. We¡¯re gonna have to fight for that flag eventually, might as well just get it over with.¡± ¨C Jade The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He shoves the flag into his pockets. ¡°Before we begin, I¡¯d like to know your name.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°It¡¯s Jade.¡± ¨C Jade ¡°I see. I¡¯m Ethan. I hope our fight will be just as memorable as the one with your teammates.¡± ¨C Ethan As he tells me that, he rubs his hands together. Me and Rin like to fight in completely different ways, yet it stems from the same thing for the both of us; we take advantage of our strengths. She utilizes her insane speed combined with the cutting power of her specialty to take down her opponents as quickly as possible. I, however, tend to take more risks and trade blows since I¡¯m very hard to put down. With that in mind, I rush towards my opponent hoping for a direct confrontation. He does the same. Our fists clash, but I very clearly overpower him. He backs off and tries to take advantage of his comparatively smaller stature by moving around quickly, dodging my attacks, and throwing his own at my blind spots. I¡¯m used to Rin, the master of that tactic, so it¡¯s not very effective. Just as quickly as he dropped his previous approach, he abandoned this one too. He doesn¡¯t seem to have any problem changing his fighting style on the fly; adaptiveness seems to be one of his biggest strengths. However, that alone won¡¯t be enough. He¡¯s a jack of all trades, but master of none. I¡¯m confident I¡¯ll beat him if this is all he¡¯s got. He steps back, and lets out a sigh. ¡°I guess, I won¡¯t be able to beat you without my specialty after all¡­ I was getting tired after using it so many times in a row in my previous fight, but I guess I don¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¨C Ethan He starts rubbing his hands together again¡­ Does his specialty have something to do with that, or is it just one of his mannerisms? Yet again, he runs up to me, and tries to hit me. The difference however is that this time it was a palm strike, and not a regular punch. I counter it with an attack of my own, slamming my fist into his palm. The force is strong enough to fracture the bones in his hand, yet he keeps holding on. He wraps his hand around mine and holds on as tightly as he can. I try to get it free, but his strong hold slows me down just enough for him to grab it with his other hand too. As my fist is held tightly between his palms, he pushes them together. Like there was nothing in the way, his hands come together, completely disintegrating everything in-between. The shock and pain took me caught me off guard for just a moment. He clearly knew it was coming, and so he was prepared to take advantage of it. He reaches out for the elbow on my other arm, and lightly claps his hands together with it in the middle. Just like before, everything between his left and right palms ceases to exist, and my forearm simply falls to the ground. I grit my teeth so hard a few of them break to keep myself from screaming. I¡¯ve endured a lot of pain before, but this takes the cake. Despite that, I refuse to show any sign of weakness to my enemies. ¡°The fight is over. Don¡¯t come after me.¡± ¨C Ethan He turns around, and just as he¡¯s about to go fight Rin for the other flag, I stop him. ¡°Wait.¡± ¨C Jade He stops, but doesn¡¯t bother turning around to look at me¡­ ¡°Do you have a death wish or something? You lost. Accept it.¡± ¨C Ethan ¡°Your specialty is strong, I¡¯ll give you that¡­ I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before. You know what¡­ I think it deserves a round of applause!¡± ¨C Jade He lets out a chuckle. ¡°Good one. Even in the face of extreme danger, you¡¯re still able to joke about your injur-¡± ¨C Ethan Before finishing his sentence, he quickly turns around as he hears the sound of clapping. ¡°Joke?¡± ¨C Jade The look on his face as he realizes I¡¯m completely unharmed is priceless. ¡°B-but how?!¡± ¨C Ethan I crack my neck as I slowly approach him. ¡°Well, it¡¯s simple really. You just got unlucky. I don¡¯t doubt that you could beat most people here in a one-on-one fight, but not me. You see, compatibility is just as important as individual strength. I¡¯m the worst possible matchup for you.¡± ¨C Jade With desperation in his eyes, he once again rushes at me. He places his palms on opposite sides of my abdomen, then completely atomizes it. His worst nightmare comes true as he watches it grow back just as quickly before his very eyes. My specialty is a direct counter to his; as long as he doesn¡¯t get my head, I¡¯ll regenerate any and all damage he deals to me. Of course, it drains my stamina, so I can¡¯t do it forever, but considering he was already tired before our fight even began, he¡¯ll be the one to run out of gas first. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s finish this before Rin gets impatient and returns to finish you herself.¡± ¨C Jade Chapter 113: Roxy Stella --- [Jade¡¯s perspective] He punches me in the stomach, I punch him in his. He kicks me in the shin, I kick him in his. Every time he goes for an attack, I completely abandon all defense, and instead focus on getting in an attack of my own. Dodging and attacking at once is borderline impossible, so for every hit I take, he takes one too. Not only am I stronger than him, but my specialty also negates all damage he deals to me. It¡¯s completely one-sided. Every now and then he uses his ability to erase large sections of my body; obviously I can¡¯t deal that much damage back to him, but his stamina is drained more from dishing out the attack than mine is from regenerating back. Everything he does is useless. He understands that and gets desperate. The only way for him to beat me is if he kills me before I have time to regenerate. If he can use his specialty on my head, that would be enough, but it¡¯s also the only way¡­ Since that¡¯s the only way for him to win, all I need to do is make sure he can¡¯t pull that off. The tricky thing about dodging or blocking in the middle of combat is that you never know what is coming until they attack, meaning you have to rely on your reflexes. This is not the case now. Since I know the only way for him to win, avoiding it is trivial. It doesn¡¯t take long before he¡¯s out of breath, his movements become sluggish, and the accumulated damage is too much. His body eventually gives out, and his face is planted firmly into the ground. Even at the very end, he never gave up. He only stopped fighting when he was physically unable to continue. I don¡¯t know his story, or why he¡¯s seemingly so desperate to rank up, but I¡¯m sure he must have a good reason. Any reasonable person would have given up the moment they knew defeat was inevitable, but he didn¡¯t. I wish the hunters who¡¯ll have to deal with him next year good luck¡­ I put my hand in his pocket, and take the flag¡­ As I get back to base, the first thing I see is our allies seriously wounded. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. They have chunks of their arms and legs ripped out, and they¡¯re desperately trying to stop the bleeding. This must be Ethan¡¯s doing¡­ There¡¯s also the last remaining person on the enemy team passed out on the ground. He must be the one Ethan attacked our base with; I guess he wasn¡¯t as tough. Out of nowhere, the exam host appears and congratulates us on our victory. --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] A few minutes later back at camp ¡°The first round is finally over, and the winners have been decided. The winning teams were team Isabella, team Lucas, and team Jade. Congratulations to all of you for passing, that itself is no easy task. Unfortunately, three people from team Jade had to drop out due to their injuries, so the 12 of you are everyone who will go on to the next stage.¡± ¨C Leanne Seems like both Lucas and Rin passed then, good for them! ¡°Now then, let me explain the rules of round two. This round will be very different from the last. There won¡¯t be any teams, and no direct fighting. Instead, it will be an objective measure of your strength. It¡¯s true that not everyone specializes in pure strength, and you can still be effective in combat even if you¡¯re relatively weak. That, however, is the exception and not the rule. The further you get as a hunter, the more vital raw strength becomes. The point of this round is to weed out the weakest among you.¡± ¨C Leanne Interesting¡­ So, they¡¯re somehow going to measure our power, and the strongest will be the ones who pass¡­ I know she said strength is vital, and to a certain extent I agree, but I still can¡¯t help but feel that it¡¯s a little unfair. Someone like Lucas isn¡¯t a terrifying fighter because of his strength, it¡¯s his insane ability to dodge almost anything that is thrown at him. The same could be said for Lett¡­ Sure, they might not have as much raw power as me, but that doesn¡¯t make them any worse fighters¡­ I hope they can pull through¡­ ¡°To assist me with this I have brought with me another hunter from my guild. Introduce yourself before I continue explaining.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Right! Hi everyone, I¡¯m C-rank hunter Roxy Stella from the Venomous Snakes guild. It¡¯s nice to meet you all!¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°You see, Roxy has a unique ability, one that is perfectly suited for this task. Who better to explain it than her?¡± ¨C Leanne She takes a step back, and lets Roxy take over for a bit. ¡°Yes, uhm¡­ You see, I¡¯m able to tell exactly how strong an attack is just by looking at it. It works for people both stronger and weaker than me. Additionally, I can assign an exact number to it. With these numbers, we can objectively rank the power of your attacks.¡± ¨C Roxy I see¡­ I was thinking we would have to destroy something, or maybe attack Leanne herself or something to tell who was strongest. It might not seem like it at first, but her ability is extremely powerful both in and out of combat. She can never be surprised by the power an enemy¡¯s attack, she can provide vital info to her teammates, and it¡¯s very helpful for training and testing purposes. Interesting. ¡°We planned to let about half, eight to be exact, of the people who passed the first round to go on to the third and final round. Despite three of the round one winners already being out, this number will not change. That means only four of you are guaranteed to fail this round.¡± ¨C Leanne Eight will pass, four will fail¡­ The one I¡¯m most worried for is Lett, but with numbers like that, her chances aren¡¯t half bad. She¡¯ll pull through, I know it. ¡°However, it won¡¯t be quite as simple as the eight strongest passes, and the others fail. Another thing that is just as important in combat as strength, if not more so, is durability. After you¡¯ve thrown your attack, Roxy will throw one the exact same level back at you. If you can¡¯t stay conscious after taking your own attack, you¡¯re disqualified. What that means is that you might have to hold back your power to make sure you stay awake.¡± ¨C Leanne Oh¡­ That throws a massive wrench into things¡­ Charged attacks are pretty much off-limits then since they¡¯re way above what you¡¯re normally capable of. We also don¡¯t know what the third round has in store for us, so we can¡¯t risk getting too injured either. At the same time, it can¡¯t be too weak either, or you won¡¯t pass. It¡¯s a massive balancing act. This round might be a lot more interesting than I first imagined¡­ Chapter 114: Power level --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°Like always, I¡¯m going to pick the order randomly by spinning a wheel.¡± ¨C Leanne Like so many times before, she lifts her hand, and a stone wheel rises up from the ground. She inscribes our names in it, then spins it. ¡°The first one up is Jesse Equus. Remember, you can only attack once, so make it count.¡± ¨C Leanne He walks up to Leanne and Roxy, but seems a little lost. ¡°So, uhm¡­ What am I supposed to attack?¡± ¨C Jesse ¡°Just hit the air. It doesn¡¯t matter what you attack, I can always tell how powerful it is.¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Jesse Enters his stance, takes a deep breath, then unleashes a punch. ¡°2766.¡± ¨C Roxy I have no idea if that¡¯s a lot or not since I have nothing to compare it to. From the looks of it, it was a decent punch, but nothing spectacular. I¡¯ll have to wait and see though. Roxy walks up to him and looks him in the eye. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C Roxy He braces for impact, and she shoves her fist into his stomach. He doesn¡¯t budge¡­ Is he just that durable, or did he undershoot by too much? By the look on his face¡­ I think it might be the latter. ¡°I¡­ Can I try again?¡± ¨C Jesse ¡°No. Now get back, it¡¯s someone else¡¯s turn.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Jesse She spins the wheel yet again and¡­ ¡°Rin Nox, you¡¯re up next.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Okay!!¡± ¨C Rin She doesn¡¯t waste any time, and quickly does her thing. A shroud of lightning envelopes her arms, and she slices the air in front of her. ¡°4948.¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Hmm¡­ Not bad.¡± ¨C Rin Higher than the last guy, but it still didn¡¯t look all that powerful. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. However, if I were to guess, her attacks are probably considerably more deadly than the number might suggest. Cutting attacks concentrates all their power on a very tiny area, meaning you can cause quite a lot of damage even if the power is relatively low. Since cutting seems to be her expertise, that puts her at a disadvantage. Just like last time, Roxy walks up to her and wishes her good luck. The punch knocks her over, and she struggles to get back up for a second. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s the best at taking hits¡­ From what I remember, her speed was what made her stand out. In the end though, she doesn¡¯t seem to have taken any major damage, so she¡¯s good to go for round three. Leanne yet again spins the wheel. ¡°Next is Lucas Nix.¡± ¨C Leanne As he gets ready to attack, he mumbles something to himself¡­ I can¡¯t quite make out what he¡¯s saying, but I think I heard word ¡®please¡¯. He clenches his fist and gets ready to let loose a massive blow. It rips through the air, and without even hearing the exact number, I can tell his attack was considerably stronger than the previous ones. He¡¯s not the kind of person to hold back¡­ ¡°11549.¡± ¨C Roxy Wow¡­ Okay, that¡¯s more like it! Compared to what came before, he¡¯s on an entirely different level. Despite that¡­ He seems a little disappointed¡­ Like he was expecting it to be higher. Or rather¡­ Like he was expecting something to happen¡­ Could it somehow be connected to his specialty? I don¡¯t know¡­ What I do know is that he should be proud of himself, there¡¯s no way he doesn¡¯t make the cut with numbers like that. Besides, now comes the hard part¡­ Not only does he have to take that hit head-on, but he also has to suppress his reflexes at the same time¡­ Dodging isn¡¯t an option here. As Roxy stands before him, ready to attack, you can tell he¡¯s concentrating with all his might. Her fist makes contact, but only for a split second before he¡¯s launched backwards. Wait¡­ Did he¡­!? I might be wrong, but it looked like he intentionally made his body as limp as possible to disperse the power throughout his body. So while he had to suppress some aspects of it, he was still able to use his perfect muscle control to somewhat lower the damage! He gets back on his feet, and although he¡¯s clearly hurt, he¡¯s still conscious! ¡°Not bad¡­¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Well then, onto the next person!¡± ¨C Leanne She spins the wheel and it lands on none other than¡­! ¡°Shin Magnum, you¡¯re next.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Aight.¡± ¨C Shin I wonder¡­ Is he going to use the fire sword? I know he has trained to lower its output so that he can use it more than once without passing out. But if he¡¯s not careful, he might still produce an attack so powerful he can¡¯t withstand it. It¡¯s a risk, but¡­! It¡¯s one he¡¯s willing to take! A flaming swords appears out of thin air, and he casually swings it in front of him. ¡°14226.¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Oh boy¡­¡± ¨C Shin Lucas¡¯s attack was weaker, and he was able to disperse some of the damage, yet he was still clearly hurt¡­ Shin might be in trouble¡­ ¡°Come on, Shin! You got this!¡± ¨C Alex He does everything he can to defend, but as her fist drills itself into his stomach, all of it goes out the window¡­ He falls down face-first into the ground. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin Is he¡­? ¡°Ouch¡­¡± ¨C Shin !! He¡¯s conscious! He did it! His legs shake as he stands up; he almost falls on his way back to us, but he gets here in the end. ¡°You should rest until the next round begins. Sit down.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Right¡­¡± ¨C Shin He¡¯s struggling to even get the words out¡­ ¡°You good?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Is ¡®yeah¡¯ codeword for no¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Shin That punch really took the wind out of him¡­ But he¡¯ll be fine. He¡¯s lucky he was one of the first ones to go; he gets a couple minutes to rest before the next round begins. ¡°Next is Nora Piscis.¡± ¨C Leanne She points her index and middle fingers at a tree, and the entire thing is ripped up from the ground, roots and all. As she moves her arm in an arc around her, the tree follows the same path into the air. She quickly moves her hand down, and the tree slams down in front of her. ¡°4820.¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Damn it!¡± ¨C Nora That¡¯s just slightly less than Rin¡­ That could be the difference between going to the next round or not, so it¡¯s understandable that she¡¯s pissed. Just like every other time, Roxy throws a punch of the exact same power level at her. It¡¯s enough to make her take a step back and groan in pain, but she walks it off without any injuries. Telekinesis¡­ That¡¯s an interesting ability, but I guess it¡¯s not best suited for raw power output¡­ Chapter 115: Overwhelming power --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] About half of us have had their turn, and so far, Shin is on top. The damage he suffered for it wasn¡¯t insignificant, but it has at least secured him a spot in the top eight. ¡°Isabella Gladius, you¡¯re next.¡± ¨C Leanne Like always, she seems very nervous. Lett taps her on the shoulder, and gives her some encouraging words. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you¡¯ll be fine! Just do your best!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Oh¡­ Okay¡­¡± ¨C Isabella As she gets in position, she notices everyone staring at her, and gets embarrassed. Well, she notices everyone except for one unexpected pair of eyes¡­ Leanne¡¯s¡­ Why is Leanne giving her such a weird look? Did something happen between them? For a moment, Isabella just stands there, not doing anything¡­ Be it out of embarrassment, nervousness, or something else, she takes her time. Just as Leanne is about to tell her she to get a move on, she enters her stance. With the scabbard still on, she confidently swings her sword. ¡°6510.¡± ¨C Roxy Hey, that¡¯s not bad! There are already three people with a lower score than her. Just one more and she¡¯ll pass! Roxy delivers the blow, and it knocks her down on the ground. She gets back up and seems to be mostly fine. It looked like it hurt quite a bit, but there was no real damage done. ¡°Well done!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Thanks¡­¡± ¨C Isabella Leanne spins the wheel¡­ ¡°And the next one up is Isaac Lux!¡± ¨C Leanne With a confident stride, he makes his way to the spot all the previous contestants were at. For a moment, it looks like he¡¯s considering something, but then shakes his head and rejects the idea. He clenches his fist, and gets ready to throw a punch. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. It looks like just a regular old punch, no specialty involved. Maybe the thing he was considering using his specialty¡­? He launches his attack, and it¡¯s clearly powerful. ¡°8851.¡± ¨C Roxy I might be imagining things, but to me, his punch seemed very calculated. He knew roughly how strong the attacks that came before him were, so he made sure it was stronger than the four weakest, but he didn¡¯t give it his all to minimize the damage he¡¯ll take from Roxy. That¡¯s exactly how this game is supposed to be played. Roxy hits him, and it puts him on his knees. He¡¯s probably in a lot of pain, but he took it really well. While he walks back to the crowd, Leanne spins the wheel. ¡°Lett Lepus, you¡¯re up.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Good luck!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got this!¡± ¨C Lett That¡¯s the spirit! It might be by a tight margin, but she can make it! Unlike everyone else here that used a physical attack, she doesn¡¯t punch. Instead, she spins around and unleashes a powerful kick. Before finishing her motion, she teleports all around, building up momentum¡­ Finally, she comes to a complete stop and whips her leg through the air. Now, for the moment of truth¡­ How much? ¡°5195.¡± ¨C Roxy Okay! Not bad! That¡¯s enough to put her above three other contestants; she¡¯s not out yet. She makes her way back to us, and the look on her face tells me she¡¯s not satisfied with her results¡­ ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Lett The dissatisfaction quickly turns to disappointment in herself¡­ ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry about it! You¡¯re not out yet, Lett!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No, but my chances aren¡¯t great¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Oh, cheer up! You¡¯ll make it. Who knows, maybe Alex trips and falls flat on his face when he tries to punch!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You know what? I could see that happening.¡± ¨C Lett While we were talking, Leanne had already spun the wheel. Just as I was about to respond, she calls out the next person¡­ ¡°Alexander Minima¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Oh, guess it¡¯s my turn now.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Try not to trip.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± ¨C Alex How much power should I put into my attack? I know I¡¯m stronger than most of the people here¡­ There are also some people with pretty low scores; I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have much issue getting a higher score than four other people. I suppose reducing the amount of damage I¡¯ll take as much as possible should be my priority. Going into round three with a healthy body might be the difference between winning and losing. With the plan set, it¡¯s time to show them what I got! Without much of a stance, I throw a basic straight. My score probably won¡¯t be that high, but it should be enough to get me into the top eight. ¡°What the hell¡­¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Uhm¡­ That was a 38944¡­¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Alex How? I could maybe believe it if I tried my best, but¡­ I was holding back so much¡­ ¡°You know you¡¯re not really supposed to use charged attacks, right? You have to be able to take your hit too.¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°That wasn¡¯t¡­¡± ¨C Alex Roxy worriedly looks over at Leanne; she doesn¡¯t say a word, but her smirk says it all. It¡¯s like Leanne knew this was going to happen; that my score would be this high. ¡°Are you sure you want me to hit you with that much force? You can drop out of the exam, and I won¡¯t do it¡­¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Are you sure the number is accurate?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Roxy If that¡¯s really true, then taking the hit shouldn¡¯t be a problem¡­ I knew I was strong, I was even confident enough in it that I thought I could make the top eight while holding back, but this¡­? Although it has been a while since me and Shin were equal in strength, I didn¡¯t think the gap had grown this large¡­ ¡­ Well, it is what it is. If the numbers are right, then there¡¯s no denying it. My perception of myself was way off, and that¡¯s not good. I can¡¯t let that happen again¡­! What if it was the other way around? What if I thought I was stronger than an enemy, only for it to turn out they¡¯re powerful enough to take me out in one hit? That could be disastrous¡­ But there¡¯s no point in dwelling on it any further. At least I¡¯m aware of it now. I¡¯ll try my best to be objective from now on. ¡°Go ahead. Hit me.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°If you say so¡­¡± ¨C Roxy She hits me with the exact same force I just dished out. As I originally planned, it didn¡¯t cause any damage. Besides some stinging sensation, I¡¯m as good as new. I make my way back to my friends, but all I¡¯m met with is silence¡­ They clearly didn¡¯t expect me to be that strong either¡­ Chapter 116: Both ends of the extreme --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°And the next one up is Illian Draco.¡± ¨C Leanne Before he walks away, Illian turns around and gives us a cocky smirk. ¡°Watch this.¡± ¨C Illian What is he planning? While on his way there, he cracks his neck and knuckles. I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s going to do, but he¡¯s very confident in himself. He gets into position, but instead of unleashing his attack, he just stands there¡­ Is he¡­?! He totally is! ¡°Wow, wow! Are you sure you want to use a charged attack?!¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian Of course he doesn¡¯t respond; his concentration would break if he did. Roxy turns to Leanne. ¡°Should we stop him?¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Nah. It¡¯s his choice what kind of attack he wants to use. Let him do his thing.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¨C Roxy The crowd is totally silent; everyone has their eyes set on him. Most of them seem confused as to what he¡¯s doing, but I think I¡¯ve got it now. His specialty¡­ It¡¯ll let him survive an attack no matter how powerful it is. With a fully charged attack, his score might shoot right to the top! We have no idea what the next game is; I bet he¡¯s banking on there being some kind of reward to finishing with a higher score. He¡¯s stronger than Lett, so he could easily make the cut by dishing out a regular attack, but he¡¯s shooting for the top¡­ Even if he has learned to use his specialty more than once per day now, using it like this is still extremely risky. It might be the difference between passing or failing next round¡­ But at the same time, if getting a higher score makes next round easier, it will be well worth it. It¡¯s a risk, but one he¡¯s willing to take. Knowing him, he might also be doing it for bragging rights¡­ After a long, tense, moment of waiting, he finally throws his punch. This is the absolute maximum power his body currently allows him to produce. I wonder how much it is¡­! ¡°52144¡­¡± ¨C Roxy The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. That¡¯s¡­ Not as high as I thought it¡¯d be¡­ I reckon I could reach that with a regular attack if I put some effort into it¡­ Still, as I¡¯ve learned, when it comes to raw power, I shouldn¡¯t compare myself to them. The reality is that I pick up on BDM a lot faster than other people; I don¡¯t know why that is, or if there even is a reason, I just know it¡¯s true. His fully charged attack is roughly 10 times as powerful as Lett¡¯s maximum output for non-charged attacks. When viewed that way, it¡¯s pretty impressive. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°I won¡¯t need any.¡± ¨C Illian He puts his hands in his pockets, and without putting any effort into defending, he takes the hit flawlessly. The instant her fist connects, his shadow shrinks back to its regular size. That hit was strong enough to kill him, but due to his specialty, he survived without a scratch. Leanne looks at Roxy¡­ ¡°See?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Roxy As he gets back to us, you can tell he¡¯s satisfied with his results. ¡°Not bad, eh?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°We¡¯ll just have to wait and see if your gamble pays off or not¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well then, there are only two people left¡­¡± ¨C Leanne She spins the wheel¡­ ¡°Next up is Eva Lapis. That means the final contestant to get tested is Jade Amor.¡± ¨C Leanne There aren¡¯t a lot of people left now, and there are still only three people with a score lower than Lett¡­ If one these next two contestant don¡¯t get a lower score, she¡¯s out¡­ Like the rest of us, she put in a crazy amount of effort to get stronger these last few months. If she doesn¡¯t pass¡­ No¡­ I shouldn¡¯t think like that. I¡¯ll believe in her until the end. She can do it! Eva gets in position, and like many others, she doesn¡¯t appear to use a specialty for her attack. There are lots of specialties that can¡¯t directly cause any damage; people with specialties like that will obviously be at a disadvantage. She appears to be aware of that, and doesn¡¯t exactly to exude confidence¡­ She punches the air in front of her¡­ Come on¡­! ¡°3767.¡± ¨C Rexy ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C Alex ¡­ Oops¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to say that out loud. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± ¨C Alex I was just so happy for Lett. She¡¯s guaranteed to pass now! Roxy hits her back with her own power, and she stumbles backwards and loses her balance. She falls flat on her back, and lays there for a moment before bothering to get back up. She knows it¡¯s already over for her; only one other person has a score lower than her. I don¡¯t blame her for losing motivation¡­ ¡°Alright, Jade, it¡¯s just you left now. Good luck.¡± ¨C Leanne That¡¯s Rins friend¡­ She looks pretty strong, I bet she¡¯ll make the cut. I feel bad for Rin¡­ She¡¯s the only one of the people I already knew who won¡¯t pass¡­ Me, Lett, Shin, Illian, and Lucas have already made it into the top eight. Not Rin though¡­ She got extremely unlucky with this game; lack of power is her biggest flaw, and this game tests exactly that¡­ But to be frank, for her to even be here at this exam after how terrible of a fighter she was back during the F-rank exam, her progress must have been insane. I have no doubts she¡¯s a competent hunter, but the rules are very much not in her favor. It is what is¡­ I hope she doesn¡¯t take it too badly, and instead works on herself so that she can hopefully pass next year! There¡¯s no shame in failing the exam. Jade stretches her arm out in front of her¡­ I guess she¡¯s about to use her specialty, whatever that may be. I¡¯m very curious as to how high her score will b-!! What?!! Did she just¡­ ¡°Wait¡­ Was that a mistake?¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Nope.¡± ¨C Jade ¡°But¡­ You just¡­¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Mhm.¡± ¨C Jade She just flicked the air¡­ She didn¡¯t even appear to use BDM, it was just a regular old flick¡­ Why? ¡°So, are you going to give me my score, or what?¡± ¨C Jade Roxy, just like me and everyone else watching, is completely stunned. She never expected her to throw away her one and only chance like that¡­ ¡°Uhh¡­ 1¡­¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Hmm¡­ Could be worse.¡± ¨C Jade ¡°Actually, it literally could not¡­ Anything below a 1, registers as a 1. You got the lowest possible score¡­¡± ¨C Roxy ¡°Ouch¡­ No need to rub it in like that. Anyways, you¡¯re supposed to hit me, right?¡± ¨C Jade Roxy looks over at Leanne; she doesn¡¯t say a word, but you can tell she¡¯s asking if there¡¯s any point. Leanne just shrugs. ¡°Go on.¡± ¨C Jade Roxy listens, and flicks her back¡­ As Jade gets back to Rin, I overhear them talking. ¡°Why?!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Well, it was either you or me. There were only three people below you, so if I gave it my all, you would have failed.¡± ¨C Jade ¡°And?! I would have failed because I clearly didn¡¯t deserve to pass!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Honestly, you¡¯ve got a better shot at passing the final round than me anyways.¡± ¨C Jade ¡°That¡¯s not true, you¡¯re an excellent hunter!¡± ¨C Rin Instead of responding to what Rin said, she completely ignores it and continues where she left off. ¡°But don¡¯t you dare mess up this chance I¡¯ve given you!¡± ¨C Jade ¡°I won¡¯t¡­¡± ¨C Rin Chapter 117: The eight --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°And with that, the second round of this year¡¯s D-rank exam is over! Before we move on to the next round, I¡¯ll do a quick recap of everyone¡¯s scores.¡± ¨C Leanne So, we all made it to the final round then. Well, everyone except for Jade¡­ She gave her spot to Rin; they must be very close¡­ ¡°In twelfth place, we have Jade Amor with a score of 1. You did not make the cut. In eleventh place, we have Jesse Equus with a score of 2766. You did not make the cut. In tenth place, we have Eva Lapis with a score of 3767. You did not make the cut. In ninth place, we have Nora Piscis with a score of 4820. You did not make the cut either¡­ You¡¯ve all failed the exam, but you¡¯re welcome to try again next year. Good luck. You may now leave.¡± ¨C Leanne Like always, the people who fail have to leave the examination area. If they don¡¯t go willingly, Leanne will use force¡­ ¡°See ya later, Rin! Let¡¯s meet up at the bar we talked about when you¡¯re done.¡± ¨C Jade Without a single scratch on her body, and clearly much left to show, she peacefully takes off¡­ ¡°Okay!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Now then, only the winners remain. I¡¯ll finish up the recap before we resume the exam. In eighth place, we have Rin Nox with a score of 4948. In seventh place, we have Lett Lepus with a score of 5195. In sixth place, we have Isabella Gladius with a score of 6510. In fifth place, we have Isaac Lux with a score of 8851. In fourth place, we have Lucas Nix with a score of 11549. In third place, we have Shin Magnum with a score of 14226. In second place, we have Alexander Minima with a score of 38944. And finally, in first place we have Illian Draco with a score of 52144. Congratulations, you¡¯ve all passed the second round!¡± ¨C Leanne I wonder what the final round will be¡­ The first one was a team game, the second was a strength contest. It¡¯s probably going to be something entirely different, but I don¡¯t know what¡­ Well, I¡¯ll find out soon enough. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time, it¡¯s time to explain the rules of the third, and final, round of the D-rank hunter exam¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Shin looks like he¡¯s still in a lot of pain, I hope he¡¯ll get some more time to recover¡­ ¡°The third round will without a doubt be the most difficult¡­ To pass this round, you¡¯ll have to prove without a shadow of a doubt that you¡¯re worthy of being D-rank¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Oh? ¡°I brought with me eight D-rank hunters¡­ Each of you will be paired up against one of them; if you win your fight, you¡¯ll pass. Otherwise, you¡¯ll fail. Some of these guys are people who passed the exam as recently as last year, while others have significantly more experience. Your scores in the previous round will not affect who you¡¯re matched up against, it will be random like always.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian So he wasted a shadow clone for nothing then¡­ Shin almost lets out a little chuckle, but just barely manages to hold it back¡­ ¡°Hold on, they¡¯ll be here in a second.¡± ¨C Leanne She flicks her wrist, and a cocoon of rock soars towards us from the horizon. She makes sure to carefully put it down before letting it disappear. Eight unknown hunters emerge from within¡­ ¡°Vincent Fortuna, Noah Anima, Jin Umbra, Hazel Sanitas, Zoe Petra, Volkan Ignis, Lia Ludus, and Iggy Lignum. They will be your opponents.¡± ¨C Leanne So we¡¯ll have to defeat actual D-rankers in combat¡­ That¡¯s no easy task¡­ They¡¯ve already proven themselves to be worthy of the title, and some of them have even had years of experience afterwards too¡­ It sounds insane, but this is probably the perfect test. If we win, there really is no argument to be had if we deserve to rank up or not. It won¡¯t be shameful for them either¡­ Since we rank up by defeating them, it just means they lost to a fellow D-ranker. It¡¯s simple¡­ It¡¯s brutal¡­ But it¡¯s perfect. It¡¯s every man for himself. Win or lose, we are the only ones who are responsible for the result. One of the D-rankers walks up to us, he doesn¡¯t look happy¡­ ¡°This scrawny bunch is who we¡¯re fighting? Come on, you brought up all the way here just for this?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Stop complaining, Volkan. You¡¯re getting paid for this¡­ And if they¡¯re so weak, prove it when your turn comes.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­ Fine.¡± ¨C Volkan Leanne raises both her arms, and an arena made of stone rises up from the ground. It¡¯s very similar to the one she made in the first E-rank exam I took. In fact, I think it might be the exact same one¡­ ¡°This will be where you¡¯ll fight. There is a bench on each side; one for the exam participants, and one of the D-rankers. Also be aware that I¡¯ve made sure the stone is so hard there¡¯s no chance any of you will break it by any normal means. I¡¯d advice against hitting it directly¡­ Now then, go to your seats.¡± ¨C Leanne We hop into the arena, then make our way over to the correct bench. She makes two more stone wheels, then writes our names on one of them, and their names on the other. ¡°Without any further ado, let¡¯s figure out who¡¯ll be fighting in the first round!¡± ¨C Leanne She spins their wheel first¡­ ¡°For of the D-rankers, the first one to fight is Zoe Petra!¡± ¨C Leanne A woman with a mask covering her face jumps into the arena¡­ ¡°And the one who will be her opponent is Shin Magnum!¡± ¨C Leanne It¡¯s his turn already¡­ He has barely had any time to recover¡­ He¡¯s clearly still in a lot of pain from the previous round. I hope he¡¯s able to overcome it¡­ ¡°Good luck, Shin. Do your best!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Only if she makes me.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 118: All-seeing eyes --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] I can act tough all I like, but that punch really took the wind out of me¡­ Of course I had to go first too¡­ Well, there¡¯s no use in complaining about it. I have one job, and that is defeating the person standing before me. It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m hurt or not, and it doesn¡¯t matter if she¡¯s hurt or not. It is what it is, and we just have to deal with it. Overcoming impossible odds is essential for a hunter. In a real fight, being hurt isn¡¯t an excuse, so why would it be now? When I fought Edward, nothing mattered except winning. This exam is meant to prove if we¡¯re worthy or not of ranking up, so if I can¡¯t beat her, then I¡¯m simply not worthy of becoming D-rank yet. ¡°Now that both fighters are ready, let the match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne I need to get a feel for her fighting style, and if possible, figure out her specialty, before I reveal too much. Normally, this wouldn¡¯t be an issue, but with the damage I¡¯ve taken, I can¡¯t afford to take any unnecessary hits. Even if it gives me an informational advantage¡­ Especially when my opponent is a proper D-ranker. An ice sword materializes in each hand¡­ I¡¯ll use these from the get-go; it¡¯ll make fighting her significantly safer than just using my hands. At the same time, I¡¯m still not revealing everything I¡¯m capable of. If I can catch her off guard, my fire sword will hopefully be enough to finish her. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± ¨C Zoe Let¡¯s put some pressure on her; I need her to reveal her specialty as quickly as possible. I rush in and frantically swing my swords around in an unpredictable fashion. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Somehow, she dodges every slash. Even with a mask on, I can still clearly see her eyes tracking the paths they take. She¡¯s so fast¡­ There¡¯s no doubt that she¡¯s a proper D-rank hunter. I tried not to let it happen, but she found an opening between my attacks. With no hesitation, she steps into the paths of my blades, but delivers a quick blow to my chest before she¡¯s hurt. The punch knocks me backwards, but she quickly follows up by grabbing my arm and swinging me over her head, slamming me down into the unbreakable ground. I cough up blood, and it feels like my body is falling apart. She lets go of me, thinking I¡¯d give up¡­ That¡¯s a mistake she¡¯ll soon come to regret! As I swung my swords at her earlier, I noticed something¡­! She doesn¡¯t seem to have any peripheral vision with that mask on. She¡¯s always turning her head to look directly at my sword before dodging it. I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s wearing that mask, but if I¡¯m lucky, I might be able to win by exploiting the weakness it gives her. It takes all the strength I have left in my body, but I manage to get up on my feet again¡­ ¡°You¡¯re not surrendering?¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°Of course not! Why would the winner give up?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­ Listen man, you¡¯re just an E-ranker¡­ You should give up before you sustain any more injuries. It¡¯s in your best interest.¡± ¨C Zoe Instead of wasting my time responding, I instead for the second time rush directly at her. With my left arm, I hook my sword around her, and swing it diagonally downwards, making it almost impossible for her to get away. She realizes that, and promptly turns her head to look directly at the tip of my blade. As she faces the completely opposite way, I try to stab her with my other sword. She can¡¯t dodge both attacks, it¡¯s simply not possible! Just like with every other attack I threw at her before, she just barely dodges the slash¡­ The stab on the other hand¡­! It¡¯s hurtling right towards her, with no chance of her getting away. Just as it¡¯s about to make contact, she puts her arm in the way, protecting her body. With all my power, I push it into her arm as deep as I can¡­ Four millimeters¡­ That¡¯s all. After just a mere four millimeters, the sword completely stops¡­ Not only is she fast, but she¡¯s also extremely tough! Just as the freezing effect is about to take place, she quickly pulls her arm away, and kicks me across the arena. ¡°I see¡­ It seems fighting you with the mask on will be more trouble than it¡¯s worth.¡± ¨C Zoe She takes her mask off, and her eyes turn into what looks like diamonds. ¡°You see, I can¡¯t manually turn my specialty off; it¡¯s quite draining. The only way to turn it off is by restricting at least 80% of my field of view.¡± ¨C Zoe My legs shake, and my breathing is heavy, but I still get up again¡­ ¡°I assume your eyes turning into diamonds means it¡¯s active.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Correct.¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°I see¡­ Would you mind explaining what your specialty is then?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh, sure.¡± ¨C Zoe ¡­ What¡­? I didn¡¯t expect that to actually work¡­ ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to win now that I¡¯ve activated it anyways.¡± ¨C Zoe We¡¯ll see about that¡­ First, she hesitates to finish the fight when I¡¯m down, and now she gives up vital information¡­ I¡¯ll make sure she doesn¡¯t get away with making dumb mistakes like that. Underestimating me just because I¡¯m not D-rank yet will be her undoing. ¡°My specialty gives me perfect vision.¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°Perfect vision?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°360 degrees vision, the ability to see through obstacles, viewing the world in slow motion, and more. Basically, there is no way in hell you¡¯re ever hitting me.¡± ¨C Zoe Wow¡­ Well, it sure won¡¯t be easy getting through all that, but¡­ Everything has a weakness; everything can be exploited. I just need to figure out how¡­ Chapter 119: Inferno --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] How do I get past her eyes? How¡­? How? How?! Maybe I should¡­ No¡­ Let¡¯s calm down. She doesn¡¯t seem to mind giving away information since she¡¯s so confident she¡¯ll win. I¡¯ll take advantage of that and pry out some more. ¡°So essentially, it¡¯s impossible to catch you off guard then.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°No matter where I attack from, you¡¯ll see it coming. On top of that, your perception of time is much quicker than mine, meaning you¡¯ll have no issue figuring out the best way to defend either.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Yup!¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°I guess this is what you might refer to as a perfect defense¡­ I have some experience with it, but that doesn¡¯t make it any less troublesome.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Indeed¡­ Well, let¡¯s not waste any more time. You seem quite adamant about not surrendering even though it¡¯s in your best interest. I can respect that, but ultimately, it¡¯s just going to end in a world of pain for you.¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°Right¡­ Well, I¡¯m sorry to tell you this, but you¡¯re wrong. You shouldn¡¯t have opened your mouth; you might have won if hadn¡¯t¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°While you were blabbering on, leaking all kinds of sensitive information, I was doing everything in my power to find a way to defeat you. Not to toot my own horn, but I¡¯m quite smart you see. You let me stall for too long, and now I know your weakness.¡± ¨C Shin She looks slightly worried, but at the same time, I don¡¯t think she quite believes me. ¡°I don¡¯t have a weakne-¡± ¨C Zoe I interrupt her just as she¡¯s about to finish her sentence¡­ ¡°You do.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°There¡¯s no point in pretending otherwise. I know your weakness just as well as you do. Your eyes¡­ They aren¡¯t as all-powerful as you make them out to be.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Zoe I think¡­ I think she fell for it! I¡¯m bluffing, of course I am! I have no clue what her weakness is, or if she even has one¡­ It was a gamble for sure, but it looks like it might have paid off. If only she was a little weaker, I might have been able to brute force my way past her ability, but unfortunately, she isn¡¯t¡­ The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The way I am now, there¡¯s no way I beat her in a regular fight. The only course of action is mind games. If she really does have a weakness, I can take advantage of that, even without knowing what it is. She just needs to think I know. She¡¯ll overcompensate for her weakness, leading to sluggish movements that are easy to take advantage of. Even if it¡¯s just for a moment¡­ Just a single misstep¡­ That¡¯s all it takes. If I get a good hit in on her with my fire sword, it¡¯ll be as good as over. ¡°How¡­ How did you figure it out?¡± ¨C Zoe I let a chuckle escape, as I put on a smug smile¡­ ¡°Like I said. I¡¯m clever.¡± ¨C Shin The absolute confidence she once exuded is nowhere to be seen. I¡¯ve successfully done everything I can to prepare for our final confrontation. Now I just need to nail the landing¡­! ¡°Being clever won¡¯t be enough¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter if you know my weakness or not. You still won¡¯t get past my eyes!¡± ¨C Zoe ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± ¨C Shin As soon as I finish speaking, I throw both of my ice swords at her. Yet another time, I rush towards her. On my way there, I create another set of swords, then throw them just as quickly. I do it again¡­ And again¡­ And again! A bombardment of projectiles that could freeze her with just a touch rocket towards her. She dodges some and deflects others, but not a single one of them lands an effective hit on her. Just as she¡¯s within range, I use what¡¯s left of my stamina to create the most powerful fire sword I can. I¡¯ll try not to kill her, but I can¡¯t afford to hold back! If I do, I don¡¯t stand a chance. With all my might, I cleave it through the air¡­ A combination of shock from seeing a flaming sword appear out of nowhere, and expecting me to exploit her weakness instead of attacking her normally, leads to her being slow to react. She tries jumping away, but I simply follow after her; she might see the world in slow motion, but that doesn¡¯t make her body any faster! With only one option left, she tries to block the attack with her arm, but the sword simply passes right through, scorching it from the inside. There¡¯s no way for her to get away now! She knows that as well as I do, but suddenly her pupils dilate so much her irises are no longer visible. Her eyes frantically shuffles around in their sockets, looking for any kind of possible way out, but there simply isn¡¯t any. Those menacing eyes completely halts, and locks in on one thing, and one thing only. Me. Like she¡¯s staring into my soul, she concentrates as deeply as she possibly can. With no hesitation, and no care for her own safety, she uses the only healthy arm she has left to counter-attack with every ounce of power she¡¯s got. Before her fist can connect, my sword passes right through her chest, yet¡­ She doesn¡¯t stop! She grits her teeth, and follows through with her attack. Oh shi- ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Shin! Shin! Are you okay?! Shin!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ughh¡­ My head¡­¡± ¨C Shin Who¡¯s that guy with the green light¡­? Wait¡­! I shoot right up, and frantically look around. ¡°Where am I?!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°You¡¯re right here, in the arena.¡± ¨C Alex Oh¡­ Right¡­ I was participating in the D-rank exam¡­ ¡°She got you good kid, it¡¯s not a surprise you¡¯re a little confused after waking up from that¡­ You should be fine though; I¡¯ve made sure of that myself.¡± ¨C Healer It¡¯s all coming back to me now¡­ Right at the end of our fight, we both hit each other. My sword burned its way straight through her chest, while she slugged me in the jaw with all her might. I must have instantly passed out, but¡­ ¡°What about Zoe? Is she okay?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°She¡¯s fine. Just like I did with you, my colleague started healing her as soon as the winner was declared.¡± ¨C Healer ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Well then kid, you should be as good as new now. You fought valiantly, but it wasn¡¯t enough.¡± ¨C Healer ¡°Does that mean¡­¡± ¨C Shin He gets up and starts walking off, leaving me with a final message¡­ ¡°Better luck next year.¡± ¨C Healer ¡­ ¡°I lost¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¨C Alex All that for nothing¡­ Months of the most intense training I¡¯ve ever endured, only to fail in the final round¡­ ¡°Hey, don¡¯t feel so down¡­ There¡¯s no shame in losing to a D-ranker!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin I know she¡¯s trying to make me feel better, but it¡¯s not exactly helping. I look over at the opponent I just lost to¡­ Even though she got immediately healed, there is still a large scar across her chest. I know wounds caused by SDM are significantly harder to fully heal than regular BDM enhanced attacks, but it¡¯s still weird to think about. Those healers are how strong? C-rank maybe? Yet they still can¡¯t fully heal a wound caused by a mere E-ranker like me¡­ ¡°Lett is right, there¡¯s no shame in losing to a D-ranker. You got damn close to beating her too!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Shin Illian¡­ He has a secret, something he can¡¯t let Alex find out about¡­ Now that my match is over, should I ask him about it? Chapter 120: Chance --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] These D-rankers are no joke! Even if just by a hair, she beat Shin¡­ When Shin gets serious, he¡¯s terrifyingly powerful¡­ Yet she overcame that. I think I¡¯m finally starting to understand just how strong Vic and Luna are. Last time I saw Vic was the day I left for the F-rank exam. At the time, he was still so vastly stronger than me that I had no hope of comprehending how big the difference really was. Despite training with Luna recently, she never showed her full power. So, despite knowing two D-rank hunters very well, I didn¡¯t fully understand how strong they were until now. For some reason, I get the feeling she¡¯s not the strongest one of them either¡­ ¡°That was a fantastic first match, but it¡¯s time to move on to the next one!¡± ¨C Leanne Just like last time, she spins the enemy wheel first¡­ ¡°Representing the D-rankers in the second match will be none other than Vincent Fortuna!¡± ¨C Leanne Unlike the person before him, he gives off an entirely different aura¡­ He seems excited; happy even. ¡°And as for the D-rank candidates, it¡¯s Rin Nox¡¯s turn to fight!¡± ¨C Leanne --- [Rin¡¯s perspective] Me already, huh. Alright, I¡¯ll get it over with quick so I can meet back up with Jade. I jump into the arena, and he follows right after. ¡°Now then, let the second round begin!¡± ¨C Leanne Just as I¡¯m about to attack him, he lifts his arms up, indicating that he¡¯s not going to attack. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t start yet!¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Why?¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Watch.¡± ¨C Vincent Stolen novel; please report. A comically large six-sided die materializes in front of him¡­ It doesn¡¯t seem to be affected by gravity; it¡¯s just floating there. ¡°You see, my specialty is a bit different from the ones you normally see. I can¡¯t shoot beams, I can¡¯t enhance my senses, and I can¡¯t manipulate the elements. All I have is this die¡­¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Enough talking. I don¡¯t care.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Wait, wait, wait! Listen!¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Give me one good reason.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Because listening might be the only way for you to beat me.¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why tell me whatever it is you¡¯re about to say?¡± ¨C Rin ¡°I¡¯ve already been paid, and so has everyone else here. That won¡¯t change, regardless of what the outcome of our fights are.¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Why not just surrender then? Why risk getting hurt if it won¡¯t affect your pay?¡± ¨C Rin ¡°I don¡¯t know most of these people, so for all I know, some of them might do exactly that. My intuition is that that won¡¯t happen though¡­ Pride? Duty? Those are both perfectly valid reasons! For me however, it¡¯s something entirely different¡­ Fun. Just plain old fun. I like fighting.¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°I see¡­ We got a lot in common then. I¡¯ll let you finish, but make it quick.¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Certainly. I don¡¯t want to stall any more than you do.¡± ¨C Vicent He takes his eyes off me, and starts inspecting the floating die in front of him. ¡°There are two things in life I enjoy more than anything else. Fighting, and gambling. I¡¯m far from the only one who enjoys those two things¡­ But I am one of the very few who get to combine them. No two fights are the same for me, and it all stems from my specialty.¡± ¨C Vincent He raises he hands up, and the die follows suit¡­ Suddenly, it starts unpredictably spinning around in every direction. ¡°Every time I fight, I can roll it once. Whatever it lands on determines my power level. If it¡¯s a three, nothing changes. Anything higher, and I¡¯ll get exponentially stronger. But at the same time, anything lower than a three, and I¡¯ll get exponentially weaker. If I roll a six, nobody here except Leanne herself could beat me. If I roll a one, everyone here could beat me without breaking a sweat. It¡¯s a gamble, but one I¡¯ll happily take every time.¡± ¨C Vincent As he was talking, it was gradually slowing down¡­ Everyone is mesmerized by it¡­ The Emperor himself could past us, yet not a single soul would notice him. Our eyes are glued to the die, eagerly anticipating what¡¯s to come¡­ Suddenly, it comes to a complete halt. Every single number fades away, and a new one takes their place. It¡¯s the same one on every side¡­ ¡°A three¡­ Alright, I can work with that.¡± ¨C Vincent A three, huh? If I recall correctly, that means nothing changed¡­ That¡¯s boring. It¡¯s essentially like I¡¯m fighting somebody without a specialty then. ¡°Rin, I know what you¡¯re thinking¡­ ¡®just a three? It¡¯ll be too easy!¡¯¡­ I can promise you it won¡¯t. I need to make sure I can defeat my opponents regardless of the outcome of the dice roll, so pretty much all I train is my BDM skill. I need to not only make sure my strength is as high as possible when I roll a high number, but also that I¡¯m strong enough to defend myself when I roll a low number. Because of that, my regular self is nothing to scoff at¡­¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Hmm, alright. I believe you. I¡¯ll still win though.¡± ¨C Rin He smiles¡­ ¡°You will?¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Yup. It doesn¡¯t really matter how strong you are if you can¡¯t catch me.¡± ¨C Rin Without any warning, I blitz past him with everything I got. With lightning coated arms, I managed to make a shallow cut to his hip. ¡°Woah¡­ You weren¡¯t lying, you are fast¡­¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°I know.¡± ¨C Rin I try to do the same maneuver again, but as I run past him, he grabs my arm¡­ ¡°How?!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°You¡¯re severely lacking experience if you don¡¯t think speed can be overcome. I had a feeling you¡¯d attack me the same way again, so all I had to do was hold out my arm and wait for you to run into it. If your movements can be predicted, speed is almost irrelevant.¡± ¨C Vincent Chapter 121: Rin Nox --- [Rin¡¯s perspective] Ever since I was little, I¡¯ve always been fast¡­ I took my first steps when I was two weeks old. I outran an adult when I was three years old. Inversely, I¡¯ve always been unnaturally weak too¡­ I always struggled carrying my books back and forth from school; even a full water bottle felt incredibly heavy to me. I have no idea why this is the case¡­ Is it my physiology? My spirit? I don¡¯t know, but be it with pure physical strength, or with the help of Divinity, there has always been a massive mismatch between my speed and my strength. As a kid, I¡¯d always get picked on because they knew I could never fight back. Even kids multiple years younger than me were far stronger¡­ Even so, I always aspired to get strong. I have an uncle who¡¯s a hunter; I always looked up to him. To a kid who knew nothing, his power seemed so unimaginably vast, that nothing could ever compare. No matter who picked on me, I always knew they couldn¡¯t compare to him. If I could become like him, then all my problems would go away. At first, my parents were hesitant to let me learn Divinity manipulation. They knew I wanted to become a hunter, but they also understood how dangerous it was. Even though I was very young, I was also very adamant. They settled on a compromise and enrolled me in a martial arts school. I gave my all for a few months, but eventually I had to quit. I simply wasn¡¯t cut out for it¡­ Throwing people was out of the question; there was no way I could lift another person. Even the simplest of moves were almost impossible for me to do correctly. My abnormally weak body was holding me back too much. This obviously made me really sad, making my parents feel sorry for me. Shortly after, they agreed to let me learn BDM with my uncle, but only when he had time, and only after I did my homework, and finished my chores. He was more than happy to help, so training began right away. Before my first lesson, I was informed on how hard learning to manipulate Divinity really is, and how long it usually takes. It wasn¡¯t something I could get good at immediately; I¡¯d have to work my ass off for years and years before I could expect to see any progress. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. That did not detract me. Whenever he was not on a mission, he¡¯d come home to teach me more, and track my progress. I¡¯d spend all my free time meditating alone in my room. Every evening on weekdays; every hour on weekends. It wasn¡¯t until I was around 10 that I was first able to feel it, many years after I started learning. I couldn¡¯t maintain it if I moved as much as a muscle, but after so many years of no progress, it gave me boundless motivation to continue learning. At the same time, I had completely given up on my social life. Everything revolved around training¡­ My parents had wanted me to make some friends for years, but I never cared enough to waste my time on that sort of stuff. It was only when my uncle agreed that taking some breaks would help my progress rather than hinder it, and that making friends would become an important skill once I became a hunter, that I agreed. However, making friends was not an easy task. I tried getting to know my classmates more, but friend groups had already been long established, and nobody really wanted to talk to me. My parents suggested joining a club, so I did just that. But I was quickly faced with a dilemma; which club should I join? There were many options, but since there were no clubs related to hunters or Divinity, none of them matched my interests. It¡¯d be hard making friends if I had nothing in common with them, so I decided to join a club dedicated to something I¡¯d at least be good at¡­ Running. On my first day, we were doing some simple 400-meter sprints. Some kids would run it in two minutes, others in one and a half. From what I recall, the fastest kids there could complete a lap in around 70 seconds. This was the first time in my life where I didn¡¯t feel inferior to others. At the dojo, I was so weak I had to quit. Yet here¡­! I was only 12 years old at the time, yet I shattered the world record for the Divinity-less 400-meter sprint with a time of only 25 seconds. It was only then that people started taking my commitment seriously. It¡¯s like nobody had ever truly believed in me, not even my parents or my uncle. They thought I¡¯d eventually give up when I released how difficult mastering BDM really was, but seeing me perform this incredible speed feat without even being able to enhance myself with Divinity, turned that around completely. My uncle completely dedicated himself to teaching me, and my parents worked extra hard so they could provide for him too while he wasn¡¯t working. All that bullshit about making friends was immediately thrown out the window, and all I did for years on end was train, train, and train some more. It was all I ever wanted. I dedicated everything to learning, and it paid off. It still took time to improve, but not nearly as long as before. By the time I was 18, I finally felt ready to take on the F-rank exam. I passed, but¡­ I didn¡¯t feel like I really deserved it. Alex and Shin helped me so much, without them I would have never passed. The thing that was holding me back, was the thing that had been holding me back my entire life. My weakness¡­ Despite being faster than anyone there, even Alex and Shin, I still couldn¡¯t do anything. I simply couldn¡¯t produce enough power to effectively take people out, and at the same time, almost anyone there could take me out with relatively little effort. The mismatch between my speed and my strength was just too great. I was lucky I even passed¡­ I went on a couple missions, hoping I¡¯d perform better, but I never did¡­ At that point, I knew my condition would never improve. I¡¯d always be a step behind everyone else¡­ Unless¡­ Unless my specialty somehow lets me circumvent my weakness! Reaching E-rank would never be anything more than a dream without it, so I reached out to the specialty finders in my guild and told them about my situation. They agreed to teach me SDM, and so, I dedicated myself to that completely. I only ever went on missions out of necessity after that; after all, I had to pay for food somehow. The rest of my time was either spent training or resting. Eventually, I finally learned to control my specialty¡­ At that point, I had achieved nothing as a hunter. I had barely completed any missions, I hadn¡¯t improved my BDM, and I hadn¡¯t attempted to rank up. Yet suddenly, I was filled with confidence! My specialty was everything I ever dreamt of! It gave me a way to effectively attack, even if I was weak. I could coat my limbs in lightning; it wouldn¡¯t shock, but rather cut. The thin layer of electricity at the tips of my fingers was sharp enough to cut through almost anything. Combine that with my incredible speed, and the combo was deadly. I cleared the E-rank exam with ease; a stark contrast to what happened at the F-rank exam. And now, finally, I am in the last round of the D-rank exam¡­ If I win this match, I¡¯ll rank up. If I don¡¯t, I won¡¯t. It¡¯s as simple as that. Although I have a feeling this match won¡¯t last very long¡­! Jade, I¡¯ll make sure your sacrifice wasn¡¯t in vain! Chapter 122: Thunderclap --- [Rin¡¯s perspective] Earlier when I did the same move twice in a row, he managed to overcome the speed difference by correctly predicting my movements. I can¡¯t let him do that again¡­ He let me go, but if he really wanted to, he could have ended it then and there. I need to fight more unpredictably, so that I can take full advantage of my speed. In terms of strength and durability, he¡¯s easily got me beat, even if he rolled a three. There are probably even regular F-rankers who are better than me in that regard¡­ But that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t win; my strengths far outweigh my weaknesses! I activate my lightning and get ready to pounce¡­ Before he can react, I¡¯ve already made my way over to him, and slashed him across the stomach. He tough, so it was very shallow, but still enough to make him bleed. I quickly run around him while maintaining skin contact. I finally come to a stop after having circled all the way around. Blood gushes out from every side, and just when he¡¯s about to grab me, I back off. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± ¨C Vincent You¡¯d expect him to be angry, or embarrassed, or panicked after getting hurt like that, but no¡­ He¡¯s elated¡­! I too love fighting, but not in the same way as he does¡­ What I like about fighting is proving to the world that all the effort I¡¯ve put into my training was worth it, by going head-to-head against someone who¡¯ve done the same. The despair you feel when being in a hopeless situation, and the sense of triumph that engulfs your entire being after overcoming it¡­ The tactical aspect: having to figure out what your opponent¡¯s specialty is, and how to take advantage of their weaknesses¡­ The quick thinking needed to know how to react in any given situation, and how to adapt to whatever circumstances you find yourself in¡­ These are all aspects of combat that I absolutely adore; nothing in the world is more fun to me. We both love fighting, but there seems to be a huge difference in why we love fighting¡­ There is so much I love about battle, but none of it is simply the act of hurting others or getting hurt myself. I don¡¯t want to hurt others, and I don¡¯t want to get hurt myself either; it¡¯s just an inevitable consequence of battle. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The way he smiles even though he¡¯s bleeding¡­ The way he let me go instead of winning when he had the chance¡­ He wants to drag out the fight for as long as possible. I might be wrong, but¡­ I think he might be both a sadist and a masochist¡­ He seems very nice and relaxed on the outside, but on the inside, there is something else entirely going on. He¡¯s dragging out the fight for as long as possible so that he can enjoy it for as long as possible. I won¡¯t play into that; I¡¯ll end it here and now. I dash past him, cutting his leg¡­ Before he can turn around, I quickly slice him from the bottom of his back to the top. My attack doesn¡¯t stop there; I sever the tendons on his left foot and cleave him across the chest. A brutal combo falls upon him as I make my way around him, picking up more and more speed. He¡¯s done for! ¡­ !!! It all comes to a stop¡­ He bangs his elbow backwards, and due to how fast I was moving, I couldn¡¯t stop in time¡­ I ran right into it, and it almost knocked me out. Before he could follow up, I got back up on my feet, and put some distance between us. I¡¯m so¡­ Dizzy. The world is spinning¡­ If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that my adrenaline was pumping, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to see him hurdling towards me¡­ I try to get away, but my feet won¡¯t listen to me, and I fall over. Before I hit the ground, he kicks me in the side, launching me across the arena. My body crashes into the impossibly hard wall, and I feel some of my ribs cracking¡­ Is this it? Have I lost¡­? ¡°Hey, get up! It¡¯s not over yet!¡± ¨C Vincent He takes my hand, and helps me get up. I struggle to keep my balance at first, but he doesn¡¯t let go until he¡¯s sure I can stand on my own. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make my way to the other side. When I¡¯m there, the fight will resume, so get ready.¡± ¨C Vincent He¡¯s bleeding from every part of his body; his clothes are stained red. He shouldn¡¯t be able to stay awake for much longer, yet he isn¡¯t ending it. I don¡¯t think he intends to end it until he literally can¡¯t go on any longer. It might not be long, but one more hit and I¡¯m out. He has this situation completely under his control. I could try running away¡­ I¡¯m faster than him, and if he bleeds out, I¡¯ll automatically win. But¡­ I doubt it¡¯d work. Right now, I¡¯m not exactly in the best condition. One misstep and I¡¯ll trip¡­ If that happens, it¡¯s over¡­ No, what I have to do now is not run away, I must confront him directly. I¡¯ll clash with him one last time and end it all. A regular attack won¡¯t do it though¡­ It¡¯s practically impossible to control, so I don¡¯t like using it, but¡­ I¡¯ll need to use my ¡®thunderclap¡¯; it¡¯s the only way¡­ I take a deep breath, then slowly let it out as I take my stance. With both hands on the ground, one leg extended behind me, and the other at my center of gravity, I¡¯m ready to take off¡­ ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C Rin He smiles, and welcomes me with open arms¡­ I channel all the Divinity I can through my legs, like a charged attack. Exactly when I feel that I¡¯ve reached my limit, I kick off¡­ In one moment, I feel my leg pushing against the ground below me, and in the next, I come to a complete stop as I crash into the wall on the other side. My nose is broken, several bones are split apart, and there¡¯s a crack in my skull¡­ ¡°And we have a winner!! Congratulations, Rin Nox!¡± ¨C Leanne Just before I pass out, I look behind me, and see his torso split open¡­ My arm had passed right through him, instantly ending the match¡­ ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what I did¡­¡± ¨C Rin ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ I open my eyes¡­ ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I am.¡± ¨C Rin She gives me a hug. ¡°That final move¡­ It was incredible!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It all happened so fast; it was over before I knew it¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What even was that?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Just like how you all can charge up attacks to make them much more powerful, I can do that to get even faster. I call it ¡®thunderclap¡¯. The problem is that it¡¯s too fast¡­ even for me. When I use it, I¡¯m completely unable to process what is happening; it¡¯s just simply too fast. I don¡¯t like using it in general, but especially not in enclosed areas like that arena¡­ I could have killed myself running into the wall at that speed¡­¡± ¨C Rin ¡°I see¡­ I have a similar move myself, actually.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Well get ready to use it, because these guys are strong¡­¡± ¨C Rin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett I glance over at Vincent, and just as I do, he sits back up. He survived¡­ Those healers are incredible. Chapter 123: Dominance --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] So far, both fights have been exceptionally close; either fighter could have won¡­ Are us D-rank candidates really that strong, or did Leanne pick out relatively weak D-rankers for us to fight? Had it been Luna or Vic in the ring, I doubt it would have gone the way it did¡­ Even now, I still don¡¯t think I could beat either one of them. ¡°Enough stalling, let¡¯s find out who¡¯s fighting next!¡± ¨C Leanne Just like before, she spins the D-rankers¡¯ wheel first. ¡°Oh¡­ Him already, huh?¡± ¨C Leanne What¡¯s up with her reaction¡­? ¡°For the third match, the person representing the D-rankers is none other than Jin Umbra himself!¡± ¨C Leanne She¡¯s giving him a much more extensive introduction than everyone before¡­ Is he a big deal? ¡°As I said when I first explained the rules, some of the D-rankers here are as fresh as they get, while others have significantly more experience¡­ Jin is on the higher end of that spectrum. He¡¯s well known amongst other D-rankers, and might even be ready to take on the C-rank exam soon¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Is he their strongest fighter then? I feel bad for whoever gets matched up against him¡­ Leanne spins our wheel¡­ ¡°And the unlucky candidate who¡¯ll have to face him is¡­ Alexander Minima.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡­ Okay¡­ That¡¯s not exactly ideal, but if there¡¯s anyone here who might stand a chance, it¡¯s me. One of the D-rankers stand up, I can only assume it¡¯s Jin. He activates his specialty, turning his entire body into dark smoke. As he steps forward, I expect him to hop down into the arena, but instead he glides through the air, over to our side. He stops right before me and reaches out his hand. ¡°You¡¯re Alexander, I assume.¡± ¨C Jin Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Alex. Yes.¡± ¨C Alex I try to shake his hand, but it passes right through instead. He lets out a little chuckle before deactivating his ability, then grabbing my hand for real. ¡°Just so you know, I wouldn¡¯t blame you if you surrendered right away.¡± ¨C Jin ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s nice to hear.¡± ¨C Jin Just as he finishes his sentence, he takes a step backwards, and glides down into the arena. I jump right after him and get ready to fight. ¡°Right then! Let the third match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne I¡¯ve already got a decent grasp of his specialty since he so carelessly flaunted it. He turns himself into dark smoke which makes him intangible and lets him fly. I could probably bypass it with my own specialty, but I¡¯ll hold back on it for now and experiment a bit first. I run up to him and clobber him on the chin. As expected, my fist passes right through him. I kick him in the stomach, and try to tackle him, but every single time, my attacks phase through his body. ¡°Heh, it won¡¯t be that easy kiddo.¡± ¨C Jin He throws a punch of his own, and instead of it passing through me, it¡¯s as solid as rock. It hurts, but I power through it, and end up not taking any serious damage. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a sturdy one! Is that your specialty?¡± ¨C Jin ¡°Who knows.¡± ¨C Alex So, when I attack him, my attacks phase through him, but not when he attacks me? Does it really only go one way¡­? No¡­ That¡¯s not quite right. I think it¡¯s more likely that he¡¯s materializing the moment his fist connects. If he can touch me, I can touch him. He follows up with another punch; at the same time, I kick him in the knee. His attack connects, mine doesn¡¯t. So, he doesn¡¯t have to materialize his entire body at once then; he can choose which parts turn back to normal and which don¡¯t. If that¡¯s the case, then the only time he¡¯s vulnerable is when he¡¯s attacking, and only with whatever body part he¡¯s using to attack. If he punches me, I can only damage his fist. If he kicks me, I can only damage his leg. Additionally, he could most likely just turn himself back into smoke if he suspects he¡¯s in danger of getting hurt. Counterattacking won¡¯t be easy, but it¡¯s the only way to go forward¡­ At least for most people that is! My specialty absorbs and disables others¡¯; with it, I can fully bypass his defense. It¡¯s a perfect defense, and probably the reason why he¡¯s considered to be so strong¡­ But as long as I attack with my palms, it¡¯s completely worthless. I¡¯ve felt his power, and it¡¯s nothing compared to mine. The outcome was decided the moment I was chosen as his opponent. I attack him a couple more times, and with each move, he grows more and more confident he¡¯ll win. I try to grab his arm, but it passes right through. I try to poke him in the eyes, but my fingers pass right through. I make myself look as desperate as possible, lulling him into a false sense of security. Just as he¡¯s completely sure it¡¯s over, I try to grab both sides of his head. ¡°When are you going to learn¡­ You can¡¯t touch m-!!¡± ¨C Jin Right when my palms make contact, I activate the void, giving him no chance to react. His head turns solid, and a look of panic and confusion drowns out the cocky demeanor he once had. I quickly shove my knee into the air, as I slam his head right into it. With no time to defend, he¡¯s instantly knocked out. His body materializes again, and he falls to the ground¡­ The crowd goes silent¡­ My side looks mostly confused. Like they don¡¯t believe it could end that quickly. Leanne went on and on about how powerful he was, only for him to lose faster than anyone else. The D-rankers however¡­ They look more shocked than anything. They knew exactly how strong he really was, and how hard it is to get through his specialty, yet I did it with such ease. The look in their eyes¡­ It¡¯s like some of them see me as a monster, while others are annoyed that I had a specialty which perfectly counters him. ¡°And just like that, it¡¯s already over¡­ Congratulations, Alexander. You won¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 124: Stalemate --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°We¡¯re now going into the fourth match, almost halfway through the final round of the exam. The D-rank hunters have proven why they deserve their rank by showing off their incredible power, but at the same time, the candidates are not to be taken lightly either. Who knows what will happen next! Let¡¯s not waste any more time and get right into it!¡± ¨C Leanne She spins their wheel¡­ ¡°And representing the D-rankers is Noah Anima!¡± ¨C Leanne As soon as his name is called out, he makes his way into the arena. ¡°And as for the candidates, the next fighter is Lucas Nix!¡± ¨C Leanne He too makes his way down into the arena¡­ --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] Noah walks up to me and reaches his hand out, wanting to shake hands before our match. Obviously, I can¡¯t do that. ¡°I won¡¯t bite!¡± ¨C Noah ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lucas He extends it even further, pressuring me to take it. I still don¡¯t¡­ ¡°Aaaalright¡­¡± ¨C Noah He retracts it, and an awkward silence takes over until Leanne interrupts it. ¡°Let the match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne I dash towards him, and bombard him with jabs. He dodges most of them, and blocks the rest. I don¡¯t let up, and suddenly, one of them slip past his defenses. Rocked in the jaw, he takes a step back. I try to follow up, but he starts going on the offensive too. His fist rolls off my face, and his leg doesn¡¯t reach. After evading all his attacks, he starts looking a little annoyed. ¡°You¡¯re a slippery one, aren¡¯t you? Is this your specialty?¡± ¨C Noah ¡°Who knows.¡± ¨C Lucas If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Secretive¡­ I like that. Telling me about your specialty can only ever hurt you.¡± ¨C Noah Our assault against each other goes on for quite a while¡­ As expected of a D-rank hunter, he¡¯s better than me at BDM. He¡¯s stronger, faster, and more durable. Most of my attacks don¡¯t hit, and the ones that do don¡¯t really hurt him all that much. At the same time, due to my perfect muscle control, his attacks aren¡¯t landing either. It¡¯s pretty much a stalemate, except none of us has revealed their specialty yet. I can¡¯t activate mine on command; I just need to get lucky. The power of my critical strikes is immense, but only if the original attack is too. I can¡¯t afford to waste it on weak punches. Every hit counts; they all have to be as strong as possible. I have no idea what his specialty is, and he has given me nothing to work with either. There¡¯s no way for me to figure it out right now; I need more information. He hasn¡¯t used it yet, so he might want to save it until he really needs to use it. If I can land a critical strike to his vitals, he¡¯ll either immediately lose, or be forced to use it. I switch up my attack pattern; instead of attempting to land any hits at all, I focus on his weak spots. ¡°I see what you¡¯re doing¡­ It won¡¯t work. You were already struggling with getting any hits in before, do you really think you¡¯ll land any now?¡± ¨C Noah ¡°Yup.¡± ¨C Lucas I continue to only go for his vitals, but with no luck. Out of nowhere, I switch it up, and hit him in the arm instead. If he figured out my attack pattern that quickly, I can¡¯t stick to one thing. If my specialty activates on some random punch, then so be it. It seems I can¡¯t be picky. Suddenly, he manages to grab my hand¡­ Shit! I think he knew I wouldn¡¯t stick to my plan of only going for weak spots, and goaded me into attacking his arm, just so he could grab me. It hurts so much! I need to get him off of me as soon as possible. I try to pull my hand away, but he doesn¡¯t let go. He clenches his hand as hard as he can, making it impossible to get away. I desperately start hammering his arm over and over again to make him stop, but despite it clearly hurting him, he doesn¡¯t let go. While I¡¯m busy trying to make him let go, he gets ready to throw a massive attack with his other arm. I can¡¯t get away while he¡¯s holding me; if I¡¯m not quick, he¡¯ll hit me! He throws his punch, but just before it hits, my fist slams into the arm holding my hand with a critical hit. His arm snaps in two, and the shock and pain make him step back. ¡°Gahhh!! Fuck!¡± ¨C Noah ¡­ So close¡­ Had his punch connected, he probably would have knocked me out¡­ Now he¡¯s down an arm, his gambit failed. ¡°What was that? Your power¡­ It grew exponentially there for a second.¡± ¨C Noah ¡°We already went over this. I¡¯m not telling you anything.¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Right¡­¡± ¨C Noah The fight is pretty much over. It was even before, but now he¡¯s down an arm. There¡¯s no way he wins¡­ Or at least that¡¯s what I¡¯d like to think. He still hasn¡¯t revealed his specialty¡­ I have no idea what it could be, but I have to be prepared for the worst. I could play it safe, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good call right now. Physically, I¡¯m in a better spot right now. Instead of giving him time to use his ability freely, I should just try to end it quickly. I rush in yet again, and throw a bunch of attacks at him. With only one arm, he¡¯s not nearly as good at defending as he was before. A ton of hits land, and his body is slowly getting broken down. His nose breaks. His eye is swollen. His body is bruised. With every hit, he¡¯s getting closer and closer to defeat. Yet, he¡¯s still not activating his specialty¡­ What is he waiting for? Could it be that¡­?! ¡°Do you not know how to use SDM, or what?¡± ¨C Lucas He smiles¡­ ¡°Oh, I do.¡± ¨C Noah As soon as the words come out of his mouth, my body suddenly feels stiff. I¡­ I can¡¯t move a muscle! I fall backwards; completely unable to move. What¡¯s going on?! Chapter 125: Paralysis --- [Lucas¡¯s perspective] Why can¡¯t I move?! This has to be his specialty¡­ But¡­ Why didn¡¯t he use it sooner? Shit! He¡¯s getting closer¡­ What the hell am I gonna do? ¡°Sorry bud, but you lost. It¡¯s already over, so I¡¯ll explain my ability to you. I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¨C Noah No¡­ It¡¯s not over¡­ Not yet! I try my best to regain control of my body, but I simply can¡¯t¡­ ¡°You see, my specialty is incredibly powerful. It allows me to completely paralyze someone for one minute straight. Not even the strongest person in the world could break free. You¡¯re completely under my control.¡± ¨C Noah What the hell? With an ability like that, how is he only D-rank? Wait¡­ He might be lying. No¡­ He is lying! There¡¯s no way anyone could have an ability as powerful as that, especially not at our level. There must be some way to break free¡­ But how? ¡°I know you can¡¯t exactly speak right now, but I know exactly what you¡¯re thinking. No. I¡¯m not bluffing. It really is that powerful.¡± ¨C Noah I don¡¯t believe him¡­ There¡¯s has to be a way out¡­ ¡°There is a catch however¡­¡± ¨C Noah Well duh, but whatever it is he¡¯s about to explain, I doubt it¡¯ll be of much help. He obviously won¡¯t explain how to break free, so I can¡¯t stop trying myself. ¡°There are certain conditions for it to activate. Four of them in fact. The first one is that our hands need to stay in contact for three consecutive seconds or longer. That¡¯s why I went for a hand shake before the fight began. You didn¡¯t take it, so I had to improvise. I made it look like I grabbed your hand to get a powerful punch in, but that was merely a distraction.¡± ¨C Noah Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Conditions¡­? Oh no¡­ If it has steep conditions to activate, it might really be as powerful as he claims it is¡­ If that¡¯s the case, then¡­! ¡°The second condition is that I have to ask you question, and you have to answer. You might have noticed that I was pretty talkative throughout the fight, and kept asking questions. This is why.¡± ¨C Noah Not even talking is safe¡­? ¡°The third is the inverse of the second. You have to ask me a question, and I have to answer. This is usually the most tricky one. Luckily for me, you asked me if I could use SDM or not right at the end. Had you not done that, you probably would have beaten me.¡± ¨C Noah ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lucas ¡°Oh, right! I mentioned a fourth condition too. The fourth one is pretty simple. All of those other conditions has to have been met within 10 minutes of each other. If we shook hands last week, that wouldn¡¯t count.¡± ¨C Noah He gets even closer, and crouches down next to me. ¡°Now then, lets end the fight before time¡¯s up.¡± ¨C Noah While I lay there defenselessly, he uses his finger nails to make a very shallow cut to my throat. It¡¯s not deadly, but it sends a message. He stands back up, and looks at Leanne. ¡°That¡¯s enough, right? He can¡¯t move, and if I wanted to, that cut would have been lethal.¡± ¨C Noah ¡°Sure, that¡¯s enough. You win.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Nice.¡± ¨C Noah The healers come down and fix us up. --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] That guy¡¯s ability is insane¡­ Completely paralyzing someone for a whole minute is crazy, regardless of how difficult it is to clear the conditions. But I wonder¡­ If it had been me, would my specialty have countered it? Could I have negated by activating mine? I¡¯m not sure¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s jump right into the next match! As usual the D-rank fighter will be chosen first.¡± ¨C Leanne She spins the wheel¡­ Before she even gets to call out their name, they¡¯re already celebrating getting picked. ¡°Hell yeah! Finally it¡¯s my turn! Just watching is so boring, bring it on!¡± ¨C Volkan ¡°¡­ As you might have noticed, the hunter representing the D-rankers, is Volkan Ignis.¡± ¨C Leanne That¡¯s the guy who called us weak earlier¡­ ¡°And as for the candidates, the next one up is Isabella Gladius!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Oh¡­ Oh no¡­¡± ¨C Isabella Volkan and Isabella are like complete opposites¡­ Isabella is very meek, and constantly afraid. Volkan on the other hand seems to hold boundless confidence, and is itching to fight. I¡¯d like to see her win, but honestly, I don¡¯t think she will¡­ If even Shin and Lucas lost, there¡¯s no way someone like her can win¡­ Volkan jumps right into the arena, and without any hesitation, shows off his specialty. Massive flames engulf his fists, and he slams them together. ¡°Get down here, girl! Let¡¯s fight!¡± ¨C Volkan --- [Isabella¡¯s perspective] Should I run? Or maybe just surrender? I don¡¯t want to fight him¡­ Gah! I can¡¯t! She will be furious! I need to stay strong¡­ I can do this! I hop down into the arena. Before Leanne even gets to say the match has begun, he already starts running towards me. In the blink of an eye, Leanne appears before him. ¡°The match hasn¡¯t begun yet.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Who cares! You would have said it in a few seconds anyways!¡± ¨C Volkan He tries to get past her, but she firmly grips his burning fist. The difference between them is too great; a D-rank hunter¡¯s fire couldn¡¯t even dream of hurting a B-ranker like her¡­ ¡°I said stop. This is your last chance.¡± ¨C Leanne He understands the severity, and backs off¡­ ¡°Fine¡­¡± ¨C Volkan He gets back to his side of the arena, and Leanne gets back to her seat. Usually, she would have told us to begin by now, but she¡¯s stalling¡­ I get the feeling she¡¯s doing it just to spite him¡­ Another couple of seconds pass before she finally speaks up. ¡°Alright, let the fifth match begin.¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 126: Isabella and the sword --- [Isabella¡¯s perspective] Without any hint of hesitation, Volkan rushes directly towards me. He reaches his burning hands forward and tries to grab me. I step back and although my sword is still in its scabbard, I still swing it at him. He catches it and is completely unhurt¡­ The flames rage on, growing massively both larger and hotter. It¡¯s so hot it hurts just being near him. I let go of my sword and take a few steps back. The fire only gets more and more intense as he tries to melt it. ¡°What the hell is up with this thing?! Why is it not burning?!¡± ¨C Volkan He grabs it with both hands and puts all his power into it. It¡¯s blazingly hot; nowhere in the arena is safe. Even the audience must feel the intense heat¡­ He tries his hardest, but no matter how much he puts into it, the sword and scabbard both remain unscathed. He wraps his hand around the hilt and attempts to pull it out¡­ ¡°What the?! It doesn¡¯t burn, and it doesn¡¯t come out? What is this thing?!¡± ¨C Volkan I take a few more steps back, and suddenly the sword disappears from his tight grip, and appears in mine. Confused as to where it went, he looks around, before notices it¡¯s back in my grasp. He looks pissed¡­ His all-powerful flames couldn¡¯t even put a scratch on my weapon. His eyes meet mine, and he locks in¡­ I can¡¯t do this by myself¡­ There¡¯s no way I beat him without her help¡­ Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Sabrina, it¡¯s your turn.¡± ¨C Isabella I unsheathe my sword¡­ --- When I came into this world, so did my sword. From the moment I was born, it has always been there with me. I guess this is what people usually refer to as a ¡®passive specialty¡¯. It has always been, and always will be, there with me¡­ Just as I was born, it appeared in my hands. My parents were obviously confused, and tried to take it away from. Not sure of where it came from, how it got there, or what to do with it, they decided to put it on a shelf on the other side of the room. As my father was on his way there with it, it suddenly disappeared from his grasp, and went right back to mine. No one could see it move; it just teleported right back to me. They tried putting it away a couple more times, but quickly understood that it was pointless. It was physically impossible to get the sword more than three meters away from me. Any time it happened, it appeared in my hands again, no matter what. We lived in a relatively poor village in the outer area, so they weren¡¯t very knowledgeable about Divinity. But, they weren¡¯t dumb either; they figured it had to play some role in it, even if they didn¡¯t understand the exact mechanism behind it. They gave up trying to fight it, and instead accepted the circumstances for what they were. At the same time, there was something else that was very unusual about me; nobody noticed, not even me, for many years to come¡­ The sword was just as big and heavy when I was born, as it is now. As a toddler, it was simply too heavy for me to lift, let alone unsheathe. However, as I grew older, I eventually got strong enough to pull it out. Most parent don¡¯t let kids near knives or even scissors, let alone swords¡­ They obviously didn¡¯t want me to take it out as it could be very dangerous. They tried getting rid of it once and for all, but all their attempts failed. When they threw it into the river, it would simply appear right back in my hands. When they gave it to the blacksmith, he couldn¡¯t melt it no matter how hot the flames were. They even tried bathing it in acid, but it was all for nothing. It wouldn¡¯t go away; it was completely indestructible. And so instead, they decided the best course of action would just be to pay extra close attention to me at all times. If I ever tried pulling it out, they¡¯d stop me. It worked, and they kept me safe, but this was also the reason why it took so long for anyone to notice the other thing that was so unusual about me¡­ One time when I was around four years old, I woke up in the middle of the night. I didn¡¯t make a sound, so my parents stayed asleep. The sword had been with me since birth; I had never known a time without it¡­ Yet they never let me take it out. I was curious, and a took the opportunity to finally do it. As I pulled the sword out, I could feel myself losing control of my body¡­ I could still see, hear, and feel, everything that was going on, but I couldn¡¯t move at all. I was really scared, and didn¡¯t understand what was happening. ¡°Wow¡­¡± ¨C Isabella?? Words came out of my mouth, yet I was not the one who spoke them. I kept falling over¡­ Whoever, or whatever, was controlling my body, didn¡¯t seem to know what they were doing. The constant tripping ended up making so much noise that my parents woke up. They saw the sword unsheathed on the ground, and quickly put it back in. When they did, I finally regained control again. I immediately started crying¡­ Scared, confused¡­ I had no idea what just happened, but it had something to do with that sword¡­ Chapter 127: Isabella and Sabrina --- [Isabella¡¯s perspective] Even as a kid, you naturally get more and more independent as you grow older. By the time I was six years old, my parents couldn¡¯t always watch me anymore; they couldn¡¯t stop me from pulling out the sword. Every time I unsheathed it, someone else entirely took control of my body. When she was out, I could only watch. When I was out, she could only watch. She¡¯s not just an alter ego, she¡¯s literally a different person. From birth, there have been two people stuck in the same body. Neither one of us is the ¡®real one¡¯, we¡¯re both equally real. The one who suffered from this the most was her. Due to the nature of our existence, she could only come out when the sword was out too. Walking around with an exposed sword isn¡¯t exactly the most socially accepted thing; especially as a kid¡­ Due to that, she was forced to ¡®stay inside¡¯ for most of the day. She couldn¡¯t speak, she couldn¡¯t move, she couldn¡¯t communicate in any way. She was just stuck¡­ Always watching¡­ At home, I¡¯d always want to let her out because I felt so bad for her, but my parents were opposed to it for the most part. Obviously, they didn¡¯t want me around an exposed blade, but more than that, they didn¡¯t really believe she was a real person. They saw me as their real daughter, while she was just some delusion¡­ They sent me to every doctor and therapist in the village, but none of them could help. They thought there was something wrong with me; maybe it was a trauma response or something¡­ But no¡­ There¡¯s genuinely another person in my head. They tried getting rid of her, but obviously, it didn¡¯t work. Experiencing all this as a child¡­ Not being loved by her parents¡­ It really messed her up. She resented our parents a lot, and I couldn¡¯t help but sympathize. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. I was the only one who understood her and recognized her as her own person. I am Isabella, and Sabrina is Sabrina¡­ Between always carrying around a sword, the constant doctor visits, and being viewed as crazy, I¡¯d get bullied a lot. Everyone would pick on me¡­ They¡¯d call me names or refuse to play with me. Constantly having everyone look down on me made me really timid; although I try my best not to, it still affects me to this day¡­ When Sabrina watched me, the only person who cared for her, get bullied, she¡¯d grow more and more bitter. She was furious at the bullies for what they did, and she was annoyed at me for not standing up for myself. Whenever I¡¯d let her out at school, she would always immediately go chasing the bullies and threaten to hurt them if they didn¡¯t stop. This only made the rules more strict¡­ Soon enough, I was never allowed to let her out. Not at school, and not at home. The only time she¡¯d get to be in control was when I was in my room behind locked doors. She¡¯d never tell me, but I could tell she felt lonely. All she wanted was to be understood and accepted. Not just by me, but by the world. Together, we decided we wanted to become hunters. There might not be anyone in our exact situation, but there are still so many hunters out there with weird stories like ours¡­ If there is anywhere in the world her wish could come true, it would be in a hunter guild. Maybe, just maybe, we could even find friends¡­ I¡¯m not sure we have, at least not yet, but over the years we¡¯ve been hunters, we¡¯ve gained a lot of allies we hold dear. People who I know will have our backs, even in life-or-death situations¡­ When we started training to become hunters, we were still children. I trained as hard as I could in the little spare time I had, but it wasn¡¯t enough to get as strong as I¡¯d need to pass the F-rank exam¡­ Sabrina on the other hand¡­ She had nothing but time. Despite us living in the same body, we are still different people. We have our own thoughts, personalities, desires¡­ That applies to our Divinity manipulation skills too. All the time she spent stuck in our head, she was training her concentration; the most essential skill to get better at both BDM and SDM. She grew so much stronger than me that I couldn¡¯t really compete with her. When we finally decided to take on the F-rank exam, I could have been beaten by almost anyone there. Yet the moment she took over, nobody could stop us. Not only was she stronger than me, but she had another big advantage too¡­ She had access to the full capabilities of our ability, the sword. I can only ever use it sheathed; that¡¯s never how it was meant to be used¡­ Sure, in its scabbard or not, it¡¯s equally indestructible, but that¡¯s not all there is to it. The edge is sharper than anything else I¡¯ve ever encountered. Very little force is needed for it to cut through even the hardest materials. Combine that with its indestructible nature, and Sabrina¡¯s overwhelming strength, and it¡¯s practically impossible to defend against. I might not be strong enough to beat Volkan, but I have no doubts Sabrina is¡­ --- [Sabrina¡¯s perspective] Volkan rushes at me, just like he did to Isabella before. With the sword itself in my right hand, and the scabbard in my left, I¡¯m ready to take him on. I block each and every one of his strikes with the scabbard. ¡°This is the guy who gave you trouble, Isabella? Really? Quit slacking on your training!¡± ¨C Sabrina ¡°Who the hell are you talking to, crazy bitch?¡± ¨C Volkan ¡°Like you¡¯re one to talk¡­¡± ¨C Sabrina Like a beast, he continues to swing his arms at me in a wild and unpredictable manner. Every time his fist gets close to me, the flames flare up. It doesn¡¯t go far, but the fire shoots out of his fist every time. He doesn¡¯t have to hit me directly hurt me¡­ Luckily, he¡¯s as slow as a snail. Deflecting his attacks is no issue. He grows more and more frustrated with every attack, but he still is not reaching me. ¡°Let¡¯s end this.¡± ¨C Sabrina I know Isabella doesn¡¯t like seeing this next part, so I close my eyes for her. With one quick slash, his head is severed from his neck¡­ His body falls to the floor, and his head rolls to the side. I put the sword back into its sheath, giving control back to Isabella. ¡°Congratulations Isabella, you¡¯re the winner.¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 128: Games --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Isabella just killed that guy¡­ She decapitated him with no hesitation¡­ As soon as she pulled her sword out, it¡¯s like her entire personality changed¡­ I¡¯ve completely misjudged her; I never thought she¡¯d do anything like that. That guy didn¡¯t exactly seem like the nicest person ever, but he didn¡¯t deserve to die¡­ ¡°That was a short, but intense match¡­ Let¡¯s find out if the next one will be just as exciting!¡± ¨C Leanne She spins the D-ranker wheel¡­ ¡°And the one who will be fighting this time is Lia Ludus! Oh¡­! This match will definitely be exciting!¡± ¨C Leanne Her reaction is strange again¡­ Just hearing her name excited her¡­ What does she know that we don¡¯t? ¡°And the one who¡¯ll go up against her is Lett Lepus!¡± ¨C Leanne --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] So it¡¯s finally my turn then¡­ ¡°You got this!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I know.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Hey, don¡¯t get too cocky now. If you underestimate them, you¡¯ll lose in a heartbeat.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I know that too¡­¡± ¨C Lett The D-rankers have proven their worth by beating both Shin and Lucas, but if I go into the match thinking I¡¯ll lose, that is exactly what will happen. I¡¯ve trained harder these past few months than I ever have before; I¡¯ll show them all that it was worth it. I hop into the arena at the same time as my opponent. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C Lia She¡¯s wishing me good luck¡­ Is she genuine and nice, or is she looking down on me? I can¡¯t tell, but either way, I won¡¯t make it easy for her. ¡°Let the sixth match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne I should try to knock her out as quickly as possible; I won¡¯t hold back, even at the very beginning of our match! This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I teleport right behind her, and kick her in the side of the head. She stumbles over, but before she can recover, I immediately do it again from the other side. She¡¯s hurt, but still conscious¡­ ¡°I challenge you to a game!¡± ¨C Lia ¡­! Right when she said that, I suddenly found myself bound to a chair. I put all my strength into it, but I can¡¯t get free. I try teleporting out, but for some reason, my ability won¡¯t activate¡­ What¡¯s going on?! ¡°Calm down. I can¡¯t move either, see?¡± ¨C Lia She¡¯s tied to a chair of her own right across from me¡­ What kind of ability is this? I can understand it holding me down, but why her too? ¡°While in these chairs, our Divinity manipulation is sealed. We can¡¯t use BDM or SDM. There¡¯s no way to break free. You can only get out if you follow the rules of my ability, so listen to what I have to say.¡± ¨C Lia ¡°Fine¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Great to hear that you¡¯re being cooperative! It makes everything so much easier for the both of us.¡± ¨C Lia It¡¯s not like I have a choice¡­ If I can¡¯t get out, I can¡¯t win. ¡°After I challenge someone to a game, these chairs instantly appear from underneath us, and tie us down. Like I said, our Divinity manipulation is sealed, so escape is impossible. The way we get out is by agreeing to play a few games. Three to be exact. I make up the rules for the first game, you make up the rules for the second game, and the final one is always the same. It¡¯s a best of three where the loser gets a massive penalty.¡± ¨C Lia ¡°And what if I refuse?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°If after five minutes one of us still hasn¡¯t picked a game to play, that person will be considered the loser. The loser will fall asleep for one full hour, with no chance of waking up before that. Basically, whoever loses the games, loses the match.¡± ¨C Lia ¡°What if I don¡¯t follow the rules and just beat you up instead?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You¡¯re free to try, but breaking the rules will also reward you with the loser penalty. Additionally, if the rules of the game you decide are too unfair, it will also be considered cheating. That means you can¡¯t make a game where the winner is the one whose name is ¡®Lett Lepus¡¯. Do you understand?¡± ¨C Lia ¡°Yes¡­ I think so¡­¡± ¨C Lett I¡¯ve never encountered an ability like this before¡­ I need to make up a game? I put so much time and effort into training, all for it go down the drain as soon as my opponent was chosen¡­ Without fighting her, I can¡¯t truly prove my worth¡­ Even if I somehow win, it won¡¯t feel like I earned it¡­ Should I make my game combat oriented to counteract that? But she knows my ability now; I won¡¯t be able to catch her off guard like that again. There¡¯s no guarantee I beat her¡­ I can¡¯t make a game completely unfair, but I can still rig it heavily in my favor. Should I go for a game that maximizes my chances of victory, or one that proves my worth as a hunter? ¡°Perfect! Then I¡¯ll tell you the rules of my game while you think of yours. The first game will be similar to the second round of the exam; we¡¯ll both throw an attack with as much power as we can possibly muster. Roxy over there can measure them for us. She can¡¯t hit us back like in the actual exam round, so there¡¯s no reason not to use charged attacks. Whoever hits the hardest, wins the round.¡± ¨C Lia Another strength test?! I get that she knows about the different tests in this year¡¯s exam since she¡¯s part of it, but she wasn¡¯t here during the second round. She couldn¡¯t possibly know that I was one of the weakest ones here¡­ Is she just that confident in her strength¡­? No¡­ She does know¡­ Before she used her ability, I directly attacked her. Even if she was caught off guard and my attacks therefore hurt her more than usual, she still got a pretty good idea of how strong I am. Attacking her was a mistake¡­ ¡°What about yours then? What will your game be?¡± ¨C Lia I highly doubt I¡¯ll beat her at her own game, and I still don¡¯t know what the final game will be. I can¡¯t afford to pick a combat-oriented game just to soothe my ego. I will win, no matter what it takes! ¡°Yes, and it¡¯ll be a very simple game. A race. A race from one side of the arena to the other. Leanne can give us a countdown. Is that allowed?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It¡¯s allowed. Had it not been, you would have already been asleep by now.¡± ¨C Lia The games have been decided, and the chairs disappear¡­ Chapter 129: Equality --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] The games have begun¡­ The winner of the first game is whoever can hit the hardest. We¡¯ll both use charged attacks to hit as hard as we possibly can. I can¡¯t remember the exact number, but my score in round two was roughly 5200. I didn¡¯t use a charged attack though, so I can push that number a lot higher. Illian did however use a charged attack¡­ What was his score again¡­? 50000? 51000? Something along those lines. That¡¯s considerably higher than mine, but that was his full power; I still haven¡¯t shown mine. Alex is the one who¡¯s score was the most unexpected¡­ He didn¡¯t even use a charged attack, yet his score was almost 40000¡­ How did he get so strong, so quickly¡­? Anyways, let¡¯s get this over with. ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything about who goes first. I¡¯ll do it, if that¡¯s okay.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Fine by me.¡± ¨C Lia She might have an edge over me, but that doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t try my best! Just before I close my eyes, I notice Roxy looking directly at me, ready to measure my strength. I take a deep breath and relax every muscle in my body as I take my stance. My breathing stops, and my heart slows down¡­ Not a single muscle moves, and almost all bodily functions shut down. My mind, body, and soul, dedicate themselves to one thing, and one thing only¡­ Gathering and controlling as much Divinity as possible! I instinctively know when I reach my limit; any more and it¡¯ll overflow¡­ My arm moves on its own, releasing a devastating blow. ¡­ And just like that, it¡¯s over. I open my eyes, and take a few breaths¡­ Now, what¡¯ll my score be¡­? ¡°41473.¡± ¨C Roxy I see¡­ Illian is still stronger than me then. Not exactly unexpected, but good to know¡­ But never mind that, it doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m stronger than Illian or not. Right now, it¡¯s me versus Lia, not Illian. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¨C Lia Stolen story; please report. Just like me, she closes her eyes and gathers as much Divinity as she can. After a short while, she releases it¡­! ¡°72659.¡± ¨C Roxy ¡­ It wasn¡¯t even close¡­ So this is the power of a D-ranker¡­ ¡°I won the first game, let¡¯s move on to the second. But let me remind you, if I win this too, I win it all.¡± ¨C Lia I know that very well, but regardless of how powerful she is, there¡¯s no way she beats me in a short race. My specialty isn¡¯t suited for long distances, but I can easily teleport across a relatively small arena like this. She has already seen my ability; there¡¯s no way she thinks she¡¯s actually winning¡­ ¡°I know. Let¡¯s get it over with.¡± ¨C Lett She simply nods, and we walk up to the wall. ¡°First person to get to the opposite side, wins.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Right. Leanne, start the countdown.¡± ¨C Lia ¡°Okie-dokie!¡± ¨C Leanne She clears her throat, and begins counting down. ¡°Five. Four. Three. Two¡­¡± ¨C Leanne I breathe out, and prepare to use my ability¡­ ¡°One¡­ Go! And we have a winner!¡± ¨C Leanne The moment she said ¡®go¡¯, I instantly teleported to the other side, winning the race before Lia could even take her first step. She knew she stood no chance, and doesn¡¯t look very upset by her loss. Her ability is powerful, but the fact that her opponent gets to choose one of the games makes it almost certain that she¡¯ll lose one round. Now that I think about it, despite her ability specifically only working on one person at a time, I don¡¯t think one-on-one fights is where it shines the brightest¡­ I don¡¯t know anything about her as a person, or what guild she is part of, but if she¡¯s an assassin, having her on the job along with someone else would make failure almost impossible. If she uses her ability on someone, that person is tied down to a chair that seals their Divinity manipulation. They¡¯re defenseless¡­ With a teammate, they could easily take their targets life¡­ Despite it not being best suited for one-on-ones, she has no other option. She might be stronger than me, but my specialty more than makes up for it. With no ability of her own, she¡¯d likely lose if we fought head-on. ¡°Now then, onto the final game. We¡¯ve both won one game each, meaning whoever wins this, takes it all¡­¡± ¨C Lia ¡°Are you finally going to explain the game then?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Of course! As you might have noticed, my ability is all about fairness. Breaking the rules, be it me or you, will result in a loss. As will not cooperating, or not explaining. Since we decide the rules of one game each, we¡¯ll obviously choose a game that is advantageous to ourselves. Because of that, I almost always end up in this exact situation; one win each. Like everything else, the final game is as fair as it gets¡­ A game of chance!¡± ¨C Lia A game of chance?! I don¡¯t know what I expected, but that¡¯s certainly not it¡­ When I think about it though, it does make sense¡­ ¡°The final game is always a best of five in rock, paper, scissors. Whoever wins three times takes it all. You know the rules, right?¡± ¨C Lia ¡°Of course¡­ Who doesn¡¯t?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Great! I was just asking in case you didn¡¯t!¡± ¨C Lia Rock, paper, scissors¡­ So it¡¯s all up to chance then? Or¡­ Could there be some sort of strategy? It¡¯s possible, but I¡¯ve never thought about it before. She has obviously done this many times before; if there is a reliable strategy, she knows. If it almost always comes down to this final game, she must have put a lot of thought into how to maximize her chances of success. Even if it¡¯s just exploiting her opponent¡¯s faulty strategy and not some foolproof way to win, there must be something there¡­ I doubt even Shin could make up a strategy that would give him better than 50% odds against someone like that¡­ My chances are at best 50%, but likely lower. There is however one thing I can do to maximize the likelihood of me winning, and that is giving up on finding a strategy. If the best it can get for me is 50%, then why not embrace that? If all my moves are random, there¡¯s no strategy in the world that could give her an advantage. Selecting my moves as the game is being played will likely lead to my subconscious not letting me pick a truly random move; I need to decide on all my moves now¡­ I still remember my score from the first game; it was 41473. There are no zeroes in it, so I don¡¯t have to worry about that. Without it, there are nine digits; one through nine. If I divide them into groups of three, I can perfectly map them onto the three moves. One, two, or three, and it¡¯s rock. Four, five, or six, and it¡¯s paper. Seven, eight, or nine, and it¡¯s scissors. Meaning my first five moves will be: paper, rock, paper, scissors, rock¡­ But what if it goes beyond five moves? It¡¯s possible that we get a few draws, so I need to prepare more moves¡­ I can¡¯t just repeat the same ones either, she¡¯ll definitely catch on if I do. I know¡­! If I give myself a math problem I have no way of knowing the result of before I calculate it myself, the result is as random as it can possibly get. 43 times 71 plus 23. Uhm¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­ It should be¡­ And then¡­ So¡­ Aha! 3076. It has a zero in it though¡­ Let¡¯s just get rid of it; that leaves me with 376. Meaning the next three moves will be: rock, scissors, and finally paper. That¡¯s eight moves; eight digits¡­ I doubt I could keep track of any more than that¡­ If I¡¯m forced to come up with any additional moves after that, I¡¯ll just have to wing it. This is as close to random as it can get. ¡°I¡¯m ready, let¡¯s begin.¡± ¨C Lett Chapter 130: Rock, paper, scissors! --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] 41473 then 376. 41473 then 376¡­ 41473¡­ 376¡­ I think I¡¯ve got it; I remember the numbers clearly. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia I threw paper, she did too. The first round is a tie; that¡¯s fine. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia Next up is rock, she used scissors. One in my favor then. Nice! Next is another four, that means paper. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia Just like the first round, we both threw paper, making it another draw. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia The number this time was a seven, meaning my first scissor. She threw another paper, giving me yet another victory. Come on¡­ Just one more! ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia The final number in my score was a three, making my move this time rock. For the third time in a row, she threw paper¡­ We¡¯re two to one now¡­ Did she figure out my system, or is she just throwing paper over and over again? I don¡¯t know, but I can¡¯t abandon my plan. She wants me to start strategizing around her moves, that¡¯s how she wins. I need to stick to my guts¡­ Besides, the next three moves are completely unrelated to my score, there¡¯s no way she can predict them. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia The next number was a three, meaning another rock¡­ For the fourth time in a row, she threw paper¡­ Our score is even now; we both need just one more win¡­ The next number in the sequence is a seven, which means my next move is scissors. If she¡¯s intending to only throw paper, that¡¯s a perfect counter. At the same time, she has thrown it so many times in a row that she might expect me to pick scissors, and go for rock instead. Should I instead go with paper to counter her? Paper or scissors¡­? Paper seems like the logical choice, but¡­ What if she knows exactly what I¡¯m thinking? Me deviating from my random sequence of moves could be what gives her the victory¡­ Paper or scissors¡­? Paper or scissors? Paper or scissors?! ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia I couldn¡¯t make up my mind in time, and used scissors on instinct¡­ ¡­ It worked out! She threw scissors herself, predicting I would go with paper. It¡¯s a tie, but at least I didn¡¯t lose. Had I gone with my own strategy, it would have been over by now¡­ I need to trust my strategy; randomly picking my moves is the only way. Next up is six, meaning paper. I won¡¯t change my move, but¡­ This is my last prepared move, what do I do after that if I don¡¯t win? I don¡¯t have the time to solve a math equation like last time¡­ Well, let¡¯s cross that bridge when I come to it. For all I know, this next round could be the last¡­ ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia I threw paper; she did too¡­ Another tie, and I¡¯m all out of moves! What do I do?! ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia Out of panic, I forgot to open my hand, meaning I used rock. She did too¡­ Tie after tie after tie! I don¡¯t have time to solve another math problem, but there are other semi-random numbers I can use to pick my moves for me! For it to be random, I can¡¯t pick and choose; whatever string of numbers I first remember is the one I¡¯m going with! But what string¡­ Uhh¡­ Oh! My age! I can use that. 19¡­ That means rock, then scissors. What about after that? I could use the ages of the boys too, but they¡¯re all the same age as me¡­ I¡¯d rather not use the same two moves over and over again; that¡¯s far from random. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia Both threw rock¡­ Yet another tie! This is getting so annoying! I¡¯ve only got one more move prepared, and I can¡¯t think of any strings of numbers! The pressure is making it impossible to think! ¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡± ¨C Lett and Lia I threw my final move; scissors¡­ ¡°Shit.¡± ¨C Lia She instantly falls asleep, making her fall over. Her final move was paper¡­ ¡°Congratulation Lett, you won!¡± ¨C Leanne I teleport back up to the other D-rank candidates, and the healers heal the minor injuries she sustained at the beginning of the match. ¡°Well done!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Thanks.¡± ¨C Lett I won, but¡­ I didn¡¯t have to physically fight my opponent like everyone else here has to. Did I really deserve it¡­? I don¡¯t know, but either way, I¡¯ll make sure my new rank doesn¡¯t go unearned. I won¡¯t stop growing stronger. By the time the battle festival rolls around, I¡¯ll prove to everyone I¡¯m no less worthy of my title than anyone else there! ¡°What a fantastic match! I knew we were in for something special the moment Lia was chosen. But never mind that, we still have two more matches to look forward to!¡± ¨C Leanne She spins the D-rankers¡¯ wheel¡­ ¡°Iggy Lignum! You¡¯re up next.¡± ¨C Leanne Like most of these people, I¡¯ve never heard of him before. Next, she spins our wheel. There aren¡¯t exactly all that many options left; only Illian and Isaac. Who will it be¡­? ¡°And as for the candidates, Illian Draco!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°I was getting worried I¡¯d be last¡­¡± ¨C Illian Before we get to wish him good luck, he jumps into the arena. I guess he doesn¡¯t want us to jinx it¡­ Me and Alex won our matches; Shin lost his¡­ What about Illian? How will his match turn out? Chapter 131: Endurance --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] Before we started training for this exam, Luna helped us figure out our weaknesses, and what we needed to improve on the most. In my case, it was the fact that I could only use my ability once per day. It¡¯s powerful, but anything that can only be used once has a major flaw. Once my shadow clone is destroyed, that¡¯s it¡­ I¡¯m left with just BDM; it¡¯s like I never even had a specialty in the first place. So my training mostly focused on trying my best to increase that limit as much as possible. I succeeded. Now, my limit is three clones per day. If I were to use them all in a single fight, my opponent would have to kill me three times before they could even start hurting me for real. By that time, they¡¯ll probably have sustained enough damage to be out of commission. Trading blows is what I do best. I hit them, they take damage. They hit me, I do not. That¡¯s how it goes. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve already used up one charge during the second round, but two should still be enough. If I can¡¯t finish the fight by the time I¡¯ve gone through two clones, I would have probably lost either way. ¡°Let the seventh match begin!¡± ¨C Leanne With no time to waste, I charge right at them. At the same time, my shadow grows larger and larger; there¡¯s no point in waiting to use my ability. He reaches out both his hands, like he¡¯s trying to grapple me¡­ I slug him in the face¡­ He makes no effort to dodge it, and instead grabs my waist with both hands. Nothing seems to happen¡­ Is he using his specialty? If so, what is it doing? I¡¯m not sure, but whatever it is, it¡¯s not affecting me right now. As both his hands are holding me, he can¡¯t defend¡­ I attack him over and over and over again. His nose breaks, one of his ribs snap, and a tooth shoots out of his mouth¡­ Just when I¡¯m about to hit him once more, my shadow clone suddenly fades away, and a violently intense burning sensation emanates from his palms. ¡°GUahH!¡± ¨C Illian I quickly push him away from me, but that short moment was all it took to completely sear the sides of my body. It even left some of my skin boiling and melting away¡­ This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°What the fuck was that?!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too¡­ I held onto you for so long, yet you were completely fine. I was starting to think my ability wouldn¡¯t work, and was moments away from giving up¡­¡± ¨C Iggy So that¡¯s what he was doing to me this entire time¡­ I couldn¡¯t feel it because my shadow clone was absorbing all the damage, but eventually it accumulated too much and disappeared. So this is an endurance match then¡­ Can my next shadow clone hold long enough for me to knock him out, or will he take it out before then? He already tanked so many hits; I really don¡¯t know who will end up on top. I bet this sort of thing happens to him a lot, so he has probably tried to increase his stamina and durability as much as possible. Well, let¡¯s not waste any more time. The more time he gets to recover, the worse my chances are. I activate my last shadow, and yet again rush at him. He grabs my ribs, and I yet again start whaling on him. I desperately try to hit him as hard and as fast as I possibly can, knowing any second that overbearing heat might return¡­ He grits his teeth and does everything he can to stay awake¡­ ¡°GUAAHHH!!¡± ¨C Illian It¡¯s back! I desperately try to get myself away from him, but he uses all the power left in his body to dig his fingers into me, holding me tight. The skin touching his palms has already evaporated, my ribs are starting to melt, and the entire surrounding area is getting fourth degree burns. If this keeps up for even a second longer, I will die! I kick him as hard as I can in his stomach, and out of pure desperation, it¡¯s somehow many times stronger than usual. He coughs up blood as he¡¯s launched away from me. It lands on my face, but wiping it away is the least of my worries¡­ I kneel over in pain; desperately gasping for air. Should I just call it¡­? I look over at him, and his entire body is shaking. He has taken so many hits he¡¯s barely even conscious¡­ No¡­ Not yet! If I can land just one more solid hit, he¡¯s out for sure. I get back up, and yet again rush towards him. I can¡¯t make any more clones, so I¡¯ll have to take him out before he gets his hands on me. I muster all the strength left in my body, and spend it all on one last attack. It¡¯s so slow¡­! The pain is simply too much; I can¡¯t concentrate at all, making it impossible to manipulate Divinity¡­ That punch is just a regular punch¡­ Before it can land, he grabs it with his left hand. I try to pull back, but without Divinity, it¡¯s like I¡¯m a toddler fighting an adult. The moment he grabs my arm with his other hand too, the burning begins. So it only works when both of his hands are in contact at once¡­ Unexpectedly though, it doesn¡¯t hurt nearly as much as before¡­ It starts out as a light warm feeling, but it quickly ramps up and gets hotter and hotter for every moment that passes. Very quickly, the pain becomes too much. I have no choice¡­ ¡°I surrender!¡± ¨C Illian He doesn¡¯t let go. Wait¡­ Can he not hear me?! He¡¯s not even looking at me. I think his head is spinning so much from all those hits he took that he¡¯s staying awake through sheer willpower. I try to get him to stop by screaming even louder. ¡°I SURRENDER!¡± ¨C Illian He still doesn¡¯t let go. The panic sets in as the skin on my hand is starting to scorch¡­ Suddenly Leanne appears! She forcefully pulls his hands away from me, and looks at him with an angry expression. ¡°He surrendered already.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Iggy As expected, he¡¯s unable to respond. Just moments later, his body stops being able to support itself, and gives out. Leanne signals the healers to come, and they quickly start healing us both. I feel myself passing out¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Alex, Shin! He¡¯s awake!¡± ¨C Lett They rush over to me¡­ ¡°Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Alex I look down¡­ The healers managed to mostly fix me up, but large swaths of my body are still scarred from the burning. It stings a little, but I think I¡¯m okay¡­ ¡°Yeah¡­ I think so. How long has it been?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Almost 30 minutes.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Is the exam over?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Nope. The final fight hasn¡¯t begun yet. We¡¯re still waiting for the results of your match.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Wait what? Why? I surrendered¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Right, but the opponent also broke the rules by not letting go. That¡¯s grounds of disqualification. If that happens, you might win by default.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Oh, you¡¯re both awake! I¡¯ve had some time to think about what happened, and I¡¯ve made my decision¡­ Illian, you surrendered by your own will while the match was still ongoing. Iggy, you didn¡¯t let go even after he did. Had this been a match between two candidates instead, I would have ruled this match as a loss for the both of you.¡± ¨C Leanne That seems fair, but he¡¯s not a D-rank candidate¡­ What¡¯s the ruling then? ¡°Considering Iggy was on the verge of fainting and could not let go even if he wanted to, the fact that Illian surrendered before the match was over, and that Iggy gains nothing from neither winning nor losing¡­ I will consider Iggy the winner, and Illian the loser.¡± ¨C Leanne I see¡­ That¡¯s fine. When I surrendered I did it knowing I would lose. And honestly, had she disqualified him and given me the win by default, that would just feel worse. I want to earn my rank, not get it handed to me for free. I suppose I¡¯ll return with Shin next year! Or at least I would if it wasn¡¯t for that¡­ Chapter 132: Isaac Lux --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] ¡°With only two people left now, the final match will be between Hazel Sanitas and Isaac Lux!¡± ¨C Leanne I¡¯m going into this fight hurt¡­ In the first round, I had to use my ability a couple times to beat my opponent. The fingers on my left hand are broken, and my ability to speak is gone. Luckily, none of the later rounds were team based. Had they been, not being able to speak would make strategizing almost impossible. Having my fingers broken is enough of a handicap though¡­ It won¡¯t be easy, but I¡¯ll do anything it takes to win! We both jump into the arena¡­ ¡°Good luck!¡± ¨C Hazel ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac Now that I think about it, not being able to speak does mean I can¡¯t surrender if I find myself in a situation where I need to¡­ Honestly, that¡¯s probably a blessing in disguise. If I can¡¯t surrender when I¡¯m in trouble, it just means I¡¯ll have to try even harder to win. ¡°Let the final match, begin!¡± ¨C Leanne --- All three of us were friends from birth. It¡¯s only natural considering our parents were too. Before we could even crawl, they¡¯d make us play with each other. We literally grew up together. We went to the same kindergarten, the same school, and never went more than a few hours without seeing each other. We might as well have been living together, because for most of our lives, it felt like it. Since our parents were such good friends, they made sure to live close to each other. Our houses were directly next to each other; it only took a few seconds to get from one to another. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. We were all so familiar with each other that we could walk straight into any of them without knocking, and nobody would bat an eye. There were times I slept in Gael¡¯s bed, other times in Iris¡¯. They¡¯d do the same with mine, and for no reason other than we could. I wouldn¡¯t even really think of ¡®my¡¯ bed as mine. It was only ¡®mine¡¯ because it was in the home my parents owned. Me and Iris would sometimes play in Gael¡¯s room while he took a nap in one of ours. To us, sharing everything was the most natural thing in the world. There were no secrets between us, and no judgement. We were as close as you could possibly be¡­ There was an incident once when we were about six or seven years old. A dungeon opened in the middle of our village. It was only an F-rank dungeon, and only a single monster escaped from it, but that was more than enough to wreak havoc¡­ It slaughtered dozens of people, destroyed just as many homes, and hurt so so many more¡­ Calling it catastrophic would be an understatement¡­ Luckily for us, we lived on the outskirts, so none of us, nor our families, were harmed by the time the hunters arrived. They swiftly dealt with the monster whom none of the villagers could even scratch, then went on to just as easily clear the dungeon. Despite it not physically affecting us, it still made a huge impact on us, along with so many others. Almost every kid in the village now set their aim on becoming a hunter so that they too could be a hero just like them one day. Us three were no exception. Between everything else going on in our lives, we¡¯d train tirelessly to learn to manipulate Divinity. Like always, we¡¯d do it together. In this case, it wasn¡¯t even just because it¡¯s what we were used to, but because it helped us keep our motivation up. When we held each other accountable, we would always try our best to not disappoint the others or fall behind. Our training would progress nicely for many years to come. Everything stayed the way it had always been, until we were 17¡­ ¡°Guys, I¡¯ve been thinking¡­¡± ¨C Gael He struggled to get the words out, but he got there in the end. ¡°I want to go see the world! See everything it has to offer¡­ The people, the cultures, the nature¡­ There¡¯s so much more to be seen than what our tiny village has to offer.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°You wanna do this before or after we become hunters?¡± ¨C Iris ¡°Before.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Alright, I¡¯m down.¡± ¨C Iris ¡°Same.¡± ¨C Isaac To anyone else, the idea might have seemed crazy. To suddenly leave everything behind, and put everything you had been working for all your life on pause, just so you could go on an adventure¡­ But not to us. We were born together, lived together, and trained together¡­ We spent so much time with each other our thoughts were practically identical. Without any hesitation, without any second thought, both me and Iris were ready to leave everything behind and go with him on a journey across the world. But, the conversation didn¡¯t go the way we thought it would¡­ ¡°I¡­ I know we¡¯re always together, but I think this is something I have to do on my own¡­¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¨C Iris ¡°I don¡¯t have the words to explain it, but I just know this is something I have to do. I need to experience the world by myself before I¡¯m ready to become a hunter.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Iris ¡°But don¡¯t worry! This doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m abandoning our dream or anything! Sooner or later, I¡¯ll be back. When that times comes, I¡¯ll be more than happy to take on the exam with you guys! If you haven¡¯t already done it that is¡­¡± ¨C Gael It was hard to wrap my mind around¡­ For the first time in our lives, we would go our own ways. Gael would go on a journey all by himself, while Iris and I stayed at home. Despite how big of a change it would bring to our lives, we took it surprisingly well. ¡°Then you better get on with it! We won¡¯t stop training just because you¡¯re no longer here, so if you don¡¯t get back soon, you¡¯ll be left behind!¡± ¨C Isaac Chapter 133: Our dream --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] The day after he told us his plans, Gael left on his journey. He woke up early that morning, and by the time we were up, he was already gone. We didn¡¯t have an opportunity to say goodbye, but we didn¡¯t mind. We knew he was coming back one day anyways¡­ Like we promised him, me and Iris continued our training. By the time he left, we were all quite proficient with BDM. If we really tried, we could probably pass the F-rank exam already. Despite that, we held it off on it, and focused on our training instead. Since we were kids, we had always wanted to become hunters together, so we didn¡¯t mind waiting for him to get back before entering the exam. Weeks went by and we heard nothing¡­ Makes sense I suppose, if he really wanted to see everything the world had to offer, it would take more than a few weeks. Months went by, still no word from him¡­ We didn¡¯t expect him to be back in just a few months either, so that wasn¡¯t very unexpected. He could have sent letters, but there could also be all sorts of reasons why he didn¡¯t. The seasons changed, then changed again, yet he was still nowhere to be seen¡­ We weren¡¯t exactly worried about him; we knew he could handle himself¡­ But the hole left by his absence grew larger and larger as time passed. The dynamic we once had was starting to fade. We had always been so similar to each other, but him not being here anymore affected me and Iris in very different ways, and it made those small differences between us more and more noticeable. It was weird, but it wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. Years went by, and our hope for his eventual return was getting slimmer by the day. Did something happen to him? Did he abandon us? Is he dead¡­? We didn¡¯t know, and it was haunting us¡­ More than two years had gone by since he left, and we finally decided it was time to give up on becoming hunters together. We had no idea if or when he would come back; we couldn¡¯t just set our dreams on pause forever. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Every day that went by was another day where dungeons were left uncleared. We couldn¡¯t just let what happened to us, happen to others, so we took the exam without him. Of course, we passed with flying colors. We had been ready to take the exam for years after all. Another few years went by, and in that time, we finally achieved what we had set out to accomplish. Iris and I cleared tons of dungeons, potentially saving thousands of lives. Of course, we never once went on our own. Every single mission we ever did was done together. We lost our other half, and instead of breaking us, it brought us together even closer¡­ I lost Gael, I couldn¡¯t afford to lose her too. She lost Gael, she couldn¡¯t afford to lose me too. Our bond was tighter than ever before; nothing could separate us. That¡¯s when it happened¡­ That¡¯s when we finally heard from him¡­ His parents sent us a letter, telling us he was back. To this day, she was still holding out hope, even though mine had faded long ago¡­ It made her ecstatic; I have never seen anybody that happy before. Of course, I was happy too, but not in the same way she was. After having lost hope so long ago, having him suddenly come back, just confused me more than anything. To her, it was like a massive weight had been lifted. To me, it was like the dead had come back to life¡­ With no delay, we immediately went back home. I had already made peace with him never coming back¡­ A part of me still didn¡¯t believe he was back, but there he was, in the flesh¡­ A million things were going through my mind¡­ Will our life go back to how it was now? Does he still want to be a hunter? Why did he never write us a letter or stop by for a visit? He said he was tired and would tell us everything in the morning, and so for the first time in years, all three of us slept in the same bed. There was something so comforting about knowing he was not only alive, but back¡­ That was the best night of sleep I¡¯ve ever had. No, not just the best, but the last good night of sleep I¡¯ve ever had¡­ There hasn¡¯t been a night since where I haven¡¯t been terrorized by awful nightmares of what happened next¡­ I woke up feeling perfectly well rested, and my eyes did not feel heavy in the slightest. Usually it would take a few minutes before I was able to get out of bed, but not that time. The sun was shining on my face, and it felt like I could get up at any point. But that¡¯s not all I felt¡­ There was this uncomfortable, wet, substance all over me and the mattress. My first thought was that one of us somehow pissed themselves¡­ I turned around, and the first thing I was greeted with was the sight of blood¡­ Iris¡¯ throat was slit so deeply her head was barely even attached to her body anymore. She had already completely bled out by the time I woke up, so there wasn¡¯t a single drop of blood leaking out of her massive wound. The sight was so horrifying that to this day I still see it just as clearly every time I close my eyes. I was paralyzed in shock and fear; I didn¡¯t know what was going on. I thought it was just a nightmare, but the scene was so dreadful that even though I ¡®knew¡¯ it was ¡®just a dream¡¯, it still shook me to my core¡­ The very next thing I see is Gael standing beside the bed. Snot and tears were uncontrollably streaming down his face. He tried wiping it away over and over again, but just seconds later, his face would be just as big of a mess. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­! I¡¯m sorry! I had to!¡± ¨C Gael Before I could even comprehend what was going on, he fled the scene¡­ Reality quickly hit me¡­ This was not a dream. Iris is dead. Gael killed her. After having lost him, and finally made peace with it, he came back. Then just as he came back, he took everything away from me¡­ He killed the one person I cared more about than anything else in the world. And for what reason? What reason could he possibly have that could in any way justify what he did?! I have no idea what happened to him while he was away, but it changed him. He was no longer the same Gael he was in the past. In my mind, I still think of them as separate people. I can¡¯t help it¡­ My Gael died the moment he left us, and what returned was a monster. Our dream as kids was to become heroes who would exterminate the evil monsters who threaten the lives of innocent people. That is still my dream. By any means necessary, that monster must be exterminated¡­! Chapter 134: Life or death --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] Her approach to battle is different from most other people here. She doesn¡¯t rush in, she doesn¡¯t do anything flashy, and she doesn¡¯t reveal anything. All she¡¯s doing is keeping her guard up. I haven¡¯t even approached her yet, but she¡¯s already defending. I can already tell she plans on taking this fight nice and slow. Does her specialty have some sort of condition that requires her to fight like this, or is it purely a tactical choice? I guess I have to be the one to make the first move since she clearly isn¡¯t going to. I slowly make my way towards her, watching out for any sudden movements¡­ She holds her stance firmly. I¡¯m taller than her, and my reach is longer, so as soon as I get within an arm¡¯s length of her, I hit her with a quick jab. She¡¯s unfaced, but doesn¡¯t retaliate. While holding my distance, I hit her with a couple more jabs, before suddenly feeling the force of a dozen strikes all at once. ¡°¡­!¡± ¨C Isaac What was that?! She didn¡¯t move, yet I somehow took damage¡­ Is her ability an invisible ghost or something? Is there a pattern? Can I avoid it? I need to figure out her ability if I¡¯m going to win this¡­ I take a few steps back as I analyze her. She still isn¡¯t moving¡­ She¡¯s in the same spot she was in when the match started, and her guard is still up. Nothing seems to be hitting me¡­ Why not? Is it because I¡¯m further away now? I take a small step towards her, then another. Slowly inching closer to her¡­ Her guard is firm, and despite easily being within her range of attack, she isn¡¯t letting it go. No hits from invisible ghost men either¡­ Guess that theory is dead then. What else could it have been then? Wait¡­ I ease my arm towards her; she¡¯s still guarding. I lightly tap her on the shoulder, and she starts smirking. ¡°So, you figured it out then¡­ No worries, you still won¡¯t beat me.¡± ¨C Hazel As if that didn¡¯t already confirm it, just a couple seconds later, I feel that very same light tap on my shoulder. So she reflects ¡®damage¡¯ then¡­ That¡¯s her ability. Does she intend on only relying on that? Is she not going to even attempt to hit me? I guess she wants to make this an endurance competition. Like with all other specialties, I¡¯m assuming her ability is dispelled the moment she loses consciousness¡­ Will I be able to knock her out, or will my own power catch up to me first? Before I can come up with a strategy, I need to get a good grasp of how sturdy she really is¡­ Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. From my earlier hits, and that tap, it seems that the damage is reflected to the same body part that was attacked. I can¡¯t afford to mess up any part of my body that is still usable, so I¡¯ll have to hit her the place it¡¯ll least affect me. This is gonna suck real bad, but¡­! I clench my fist, and throw a punch with almost all my might right into her left fist. It obviously hurts her, but her bones are fine. Oh god¡­ This is going to hurt like a bitch¡­! Suddenly, all that power comes right back at me, and lands on the very same spot she was attacked. My already broken fingers on my left hand get completely mangled, leaving it disfigured mess¡­ Shit! Fuck! The pain is too intense¡­ I can¡¯t even think straight¡­! I should have attacked her anywhere other than there¡­ It might have messed me up a little, but honestly, I¡¯d take that over this! I take a few moments to collect myself, and let the pain subside. It¡¯s not completely gone, but the initial wave is over; I can deal with it now¡­ At the same time, she continued to just stand still. She didn¡¯t even attempt to attack me¡­ I would have asked her if I could¡­ Admittedly, it¡¯s just a guess, but I¡¯m assuming the reason why is simply just that she¡¯s weak, slow, or both. She¡¯s at the level she is at because of her specialty and durability; attempting to attack normally might just be a waste of time and energy. If that¡¯s the case, then she¡¯s actually pretty similar to that other girl who fought earlier¡­ What was her name again¡­? Rin? She was absolutely mindbogglingly fast, but even with a specialty that made her attacks more potent, she was still at the bottom of the list of the candidates that passed the second round. She might only have passable power, but her speed is what makes her so strong. Similarly, Hazel here is probably only a D-ranker due to her ability and defense. She has yet to show off her actual power or speed, but given that she hasn¡¯t even bothered trying, I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s on the level of an F-ranker at most. Her defense is second to none though¡­ It¡¯s going to be hard to break through, but I don¡¯t have a choice. I need to knock her out with a single hit, otherwise it¡¯s all going to come right back at me. I could make a big sacrifice, but it might be easier to simply use a charged attack¡­ I walk up to her, and make sure I¡¯m at the perfect distance by reaching my arm out. Right before it¡¯s fully extended, it touches the side of her head. I practice my swing a couple times before actually going for it; if she¡¯s not going to move, I might as well make the most of it. A charged attack right to the head could very well be lethal, even to someone as sturdy as her¡­ Despite that, I don¡¯t have any other choice. If I don¡¯t put my all into it, I can¡¯t be sure that she¡¯ll be knocked unconscious. If she isn¡¯t, then whatever injuries she suffers, I¡¯ll experience something many times worse. If she¡¯s scared that she¡¯s not going to survive, she better surrender¡­ Enough stalling, time to start gathering up Divinity¡­ I take a deep breath and completely clear my mind. Every worry, every thought¡­ It all fades away as I put my mind on one thing, and one thing only¡­ Making this the strongest attack I¡¯ve ever produced! Right before I¡¯m ready, I notice that she closes her eyes and relaxes her body¡­ She¡¯s doing it too! She¡¯s charging up, except in a defensive manner. I mean, she¡¯s not moving anyways, so she might as well try, right? But¡­ If we¡¯re both doing it, she¡¯s most likely going to end up on top¡­ She could take more than I could produce normally, it¡¯s likely going to end up being the same when we¡¯re both fully charged up. I¡¯ll have to use my specialty too¡­ Normally that would be fine, but if she somehow stays awake after this, I¡¯m done for. There is no way I¡¯m surviving the combined power of a charged attack, and the power gained from a sacrifice¡­ This is literally life or death, but¡­ I¡¯ll do it! If I can¡¯t even beat her, then I¡¯ll never be able to beat Gael¡­ What¡¯s something that is valuable to me? The rest of my left arm? No¡­ It¡¯s irrelevant to the outcome of this fight, the boost would be minimal. I need something else¡­ I know¡­ My vision! If she notices and moves away, I¡¯d have no way to know. My attack would miss, and there would be no way for me to beat her. It¡¯s risky, but it¡¯s exactly the kind of risk I need to take right now. I sacrifice my vision, and the world turns dark¡­ It¡¯s a temporary sacrifice, but the power it gives me is unlike anything I¡¯ve felt before¡­ I hear something¡­ Is that¡­ Leanne? She¡¯s whispering something¡­ ¡°Get ready, I think something big is about to happen.¡± ¨C Leanne I¡¯m guessing she¡¯s talking to the healers¡­ Whatever, that is of no importance. This power won¡¯t last long, I need to make use of it while I still have it. I absorb and manipulate every drop of Divinity I can before it feels like my body is about to explode. I let it all out in one violent motion, completely ignoring the practice swings I did earlier¡­ It feels like an eternity as my fist is piercing through the air¡­ If this doesn¡¯t land, the fight would be over, and I won¡¯t rank up. If I don¡¯t rank up, I can¡¯t participate in the battle festival. It¡¯s a public event with tons of eyes on it; it¡¯ll definitely be the best way to get his attention and find him¡­ Right when I¡¯m starting to lose hope, I feel my fist banging into her head. It¡¯s insanely hard, but I feel my fist digging into her skull. It all happened so fast that only a small crack was able to form before she was launched across the arena, slamming into the wall on the other side. Was that enough¡­? I can¡¯t see, so I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s still awake or not¡­ These next few seconds might be the most intense seconds of my life¡­ She¡¯s either unconscious, or she¡¯s not¡­ The answer to that decides whether or not I¡¯ll die¡­ ¡°The final match is over, Isaac Lux is the winner!¡± ¨C Leanne Before she even gets to finish her sentence, I feel a healer already tending to my wounds; I assume another one is doing it to her¡­ I didn¡¯t have to wait; she called the match immediately¡­ Those grueling seconds never came to be. Although I couldn¡¯t tell exactly how badly damaged she was, Leanne could. I guess this is why she got the healers ready beforehand; they had to be able to get in as soon as the match was over. ¡°What the hell, why aren¡¯t your wounds healing?¡± ¨C Healer ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Answer!¡± ¨C Healer ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Can you not speak?¡± ¨C Healer I shake my head¡­ ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Healer He fixed some of my minor injuries, but the broken fingers on my left hand, my inability to speak, and my lost vision, are all still there. Only time can heal those wounds. They were all temporary sacrifices, so sooner or later, I¡¯ll be back to normal. Can¡¯t tell him that though¡­ Chapter 135: The end of the D-rank exam --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°And with that, this year¡¯s D-rank exam is over!¡± ¨C Leanne With no one else there, Leanne jumps into the middle of the arena. ¡°Out of the eight contestants who reached the final round, a total of five won their matches. All five of you are now officially D-rank hunters!¡± ¨C Leanne I did it¡­ I¡¯m D-rank now¡­! The same rank as Luna and Vic! It doesn¡¯t feel real¡­ Not too long ago, I was just a weak kid who wanted to be like my brother. Now I¡¯m the same rank as my teacher¡­ I¡¯ll get to participate in the battle festival! Too bad Shin and Illian won¡¯t be there though¡­ Oh well! I should be happy that Lett made it at least. None of us even thought we stood a chance before our training with Luna, so it¡¯s to be expected that not all of us would make it. They won¡¯t get to participate in the battle festival, but they can still cheer us on! Oh, and I can¡¯t wait to rub it in that I¡¯m higher ranked than Shin now¡­! ¡°Rin Nox from The Dwarfs, Alexander Minima from The Red Knights, Isabella Gladius from The Dragons, Lett Lepus from The Red Knights, and Isaac Lux from The Beast Hearts¡­ Congratulations on becoming D-rank hunters! As for the rest of you¡­ You all did incredibly well. I hope you¡¯ll give it another shot next year, because you all have what it takes to rank up!¡± ¨C Leanne I make my way over to Rin; I haven¡¯t gotten the chance to properly talk to her yet. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I tap her on the shoulder, and she turns around¡­ ¡°Congrats!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh! Thanks! You too!¡± ¨C Rin ¡°So, now that you¡¯re D-rank¡­ Are you planning on joining the battle festival?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I am actually!¡± ¨C Rin Just as I¡¯m about to continue the conversation, she cuts me off. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯d love to talk, but Jade is waiting for me. Let¡¯s catch up another time, okay?¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Uh, sure! Anytime.¡± ¨C Alex And just like that, she blitzes away, over the horizon¡­ I should probably check up on Lucas too¡­ --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] ¡°Illian, can we have a word?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Huh? About what?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Oh, nothing special! But let¡¯s go somewhere a bit more private¡­¡± ¨C Shin It¡¯s finally time to ask him¡­ Ever since the first round, I haven¡¯t been able to get it off my mind. I decided against asking him in the middle of the exam, but I can¡¯t postpone it any further. As we make our way away from the crowd, I pick out the exact words I want to use¡­ ¡°So¡­¡± ¨C Shin He gives me a confused look¡­ ¡°During the first round, we faced off against that guy who could force people to answer his questions truthfully. It was a troublesome ability for sure, but¡­ You said something that made me really curious.¡± ¨C Shin He¡¯s trying to hide it, but I can tell he¡¯s getting a little nervous. It¡¯s like he¡¯s putting on a confused look, but I can tell it¡¯s all an act. His pupils are dilating, he¡¯s fidgeting with his hands, and a bead of sweat trickles down from his forehead¡­ ¡°We both agreed to take him down first, and when he asked us why, we both gave different answers. I said I was focusing on him because I didn¡¯t want to leak our plan, you however said something really interesting¡­ Do you remember what you said, Illian?¡± ¨C Shin He hesitates for a second before opening his mouth. ¡°Uhh, I-I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I believe your exact words were: ¡®because I can¡¯t risk Alex finding out.¡¯¡± ¨C Shin I look him in the eye. ¡°Am I wrong?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°O-oh! Right¡­ That!¡± ¨C Illian He lets out a nervous laughter¡­ ¡°I forgot, ehehe¡­¡± ¨C Illian Why is he lying? Should I just be blunt with him, or is it better to keep playing ¡®good cop¡¯? I want to get some information out of him, but at the same time, if it isn¡¯t anything important, that could put a big dent in our relationship. He¡¯s one of my best friends after all, I should have some trust in him¡­ ¡°Look. Cut the bullshit. I know you¡¯re hiding something. We¡¯ve been friends for a long time now, you can talk to me about anything. I won¡¯t tell anyone, okay? Your secrets are safe with me.¡± ¨C Shin Many times over, he starts talking, only to cut himself off immediately¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a little embarrassing, so you¡¯ve got to promise not to tell anybody, okay?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I already told you I won¡¯t. You have my word.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright, well¡­ The thing is that¡­¡± ¨C Illian He stumbles for a moment before finally letting it all out. ¡°I have a crush on Alex, but I don¡¯t want him to know because I¡¯m scared it will ruin our friendship! He-¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Ok, ok! I¡¯ve heard enough¡­ I don¡¯t want any part of this¡­¡± ¨C Shin So it wasn¡¯t anything shady then¡­ If he¡¯s telling the truth that is¡­ Chapter 136: Three doors --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] A few days later, back in the guild hall For the past few days, we haven¡¯t gone on any missions. After having trained like mad men for hours and hours on end for months, then gone through a hunter exam, we decided we deserved some rest. It¡¯s been very fun just hanging out and not having to worry about anything. I even took the opportunity to visit home as I haven¡¯t been able to do that for a while either. Apparently big bro still hasn¡¯t visited them¡­ I know he¡¯s on an important mission and all, but like¡­ It¡¯s been more than three years since I last saw him. I hope he¡¯s okay¡­ ¡°So, now that we¡¯re D-rank¡­ Or some of us are at least¡­ Should we go on our first D-rank mission?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Will they let us tag along though?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I¡¯m sure they will if we keep the difficulty low. Like if we stick to a 1 or 2-man D-rank mission, I doubt they¡¯ll say no.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Sure, no harm in trying.¡± ¨C Shin There are quite a few options to choose from, but we narrow it down to three different missions that fit our criteria. The first is a 1-man D-rank mission from a wealthy politician who wants a bodyguard for his speech. It pays well, but it seems like from the way he worded it that he specifically wants one bodyguard. Having three additional people tag along might not be the best move. The second mission is a 2-man D-rank dungeon. The pay is decent, but nothing spectacular. It¡¯s right outside Bellator though, so we won¡¯t have to travel far. The third is a 2-man D-rank mission from an academy wanting experienced hunters to hold a few lectures about their experience as hunters. It¡¯s a pretty unique mission; I¡¯ve personally never done anything like that. It could be fun, but I doubt it¡¯s something Shin is interested in, and the pay is low to boot¡­ ¡°How about the dungeon? I think that¡¯s our best option.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Was thinking the same thing myself. Been a while since we¡¯ve cleared a dungeon too. I¡¯m starting to miss it a little¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯m down for anything, to be honest.¡± ¨C Illian Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Well then, it¡¯s settled! Dungeon it is!¡± ¨C Lett --- Not long after ¡°Guys, I found the entrance!¡± ¨C Lett She yells at us to come over, and we do. As we get to her, we¡¯re greeted with a tiny opening in the branch of a tree. Lett teleports inside, and waits for us as we squeeze ourselves in. Had it been any tighter we would have been stuck outside¡­ Right at the entrance, there are three doors. ¡°Where do we go? Split up, maybe?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No. Remember, it might only be a 2-man dungeon, but it¡¯s still D-rank. If we get caught alone, it could have disastrous consequences¡­ We should stick together.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I see¡­ Any clue which door is the correct one, then? Is there even a correct door?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No idea¡­¡± ¨C Shin He looks around for hints, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be any. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to pick one then¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°How about the one in the middle?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It¡¯s as good as any¡­¡± ¨C Shin We look at each other for a moment before opening the door¡­ ¡°Who wants the honor of being the one to open it?¡± ¨C Shin Illian steps forward, and his shadow grows, showing us he activated his ability. ¡°I¡¯ll do it. If there¡¯s a trap on the other side, I¡¯ll take the hit. With my specialty, I won¡¯t be in any danger. The same can¡¯t be said for you guys.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Good thinking. Let¡¯s step back while he opens the door.¡± ¨C Shin We get away from the door, and he grabs the door handle. He opens it up, and¡­! Nothing. No trap, just a hallway¡­ ¡°I think it¡¯s safe¡­¡± ¨C Illian He gets inside, and a part of me had an inkling the door would automatically close, but no¡­ There¡¯s nothing out of the ordinary. It¡¯s just a door¡­ We walk deeper and deeper into the dungeon, but there¡¯s seemingly nothing here. After walking for a solid 10 minutes, we finally catch a glimpse of something¡­ There¡¯s a bright light around the corner, at the end of the hall. We peek around the corner, and¡­! A giant wall of deep blue flames spans from wall to wall, and floor to ceiling. There¡¯s no way around it¡­ I can hear some faint monster sounds on the other side, but it sounds like they¡¯re pretty far away. Suddenly, the hallway behind us completely seals itself off, leaving us stranded here. There¡¯s no way back, only forward¡­ We¡¯ll have to somehow make our way through the fire, but how¡­? Even from here, dozens of meters away, the fire burns so intensely that it hurts to look at it. If it wasn¡¯t for BDM making us tougher, we would have probably already been turned to ash¡­ ¡°What do we do?! Should I try to teleport past it?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°No¡­ We can¡¯t tell how deep it goes from here. What if it stretches further than you¡¯re able to teleport? You¡¯d be stuck right in the middle of it. Even if you teleport back right away, you¡¯ll be left with horrible burns. Maybe even worse than the ones Illian got from his match, considering we have no healer here¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Alex, could you try absorbing it?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I can, but I¡¯m not sure how effective it¡¯ll be¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s alright; it¡¯s worth giving it a shot at least.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Right.¡± ¨C Alex As I get closer, the heat just keeps exponentially rising. Standing right next to it evaporates all the sweat my body produces, and looking at it instantly dries my eyes out. I quickly activate the void in my hand, and swipe my arm across it. Sure enough, I¡¯m unharmed. All the fire touching my hand got sucked in, but just as I thought, it didn¡¯t really do much. The wall is simply too big for me to absorb all of it, and the small pieces that I could get rid of, just grew back again moments later. My ability is worthless here¡­ No longer wanting to feel that intense heat, I make my way back to them. ¡°How the hell are we going to get past that?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I think you do¡­¡± ¨C Illian Shin gives him a concerned look¡­ ¡°With my ability, I¡¯m completely indestructible.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yes, but only for a short time! The moment your clone dies, your real body will bear the blunt until you get to make another one. How many clones can you even make now? Three? What if it¡¯s not enough?!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What other choice do we have?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­ I¡­ I¡¯ll think of something, okay?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I agree with Shin, it¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Guys¡­ Stop underestimating me. This is exactly the kind of task I was born for. During the exam, I already dealt with heat far worse than this. I promise I¡¯ll be fine, okay?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin He lets out a frustrated sigh¡­ ¡°Fine! But if you¡¯re doing this, you¡¯re doing it properly!¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 137: The fire trial --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] ¡°¡¯Doing it properly¡¯? What do you mean?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°To maximize your chances of crossing it, we need to give you some sort of head start.¡± ¨C Shin Head start? What is he thinking? ¡°My first thought was that Alex could clear away as much of the flames as he can, then you enter at that spot. It wouldn¡¯t be much, but it would help. However, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the best use of his abilities¡­ Alex is fast, but more importantly, he is strong¡­¡± ¨C Shin Where is he going with this? ¡°As silly as it may sound, I think if Alex carries you, builds up speed all the way from over here, then right before hitting the wall, he chucks you in there with all his strength, you¡¯d go way further than just moving on your own. Of course, if that isn¡¯t enough, you¡¯ll have to run the rest of the way on your own two legs.¡± ¨C Shin He''s right¡­ That is silly! But it might just work¡­ ¡°Also, I want to test something first¡­¡± ¨C Shin He makes his way over to the wall; it¡¯s clearly affecting him much more than it did Alex. His breathing is heavy, and it looks like he might pass out from heatstroke¡­ He gathers his strength and summons two ice swords. As he swings them through the inferno, the flames themselves briefly freeze, before thawing out. The swords melted away after just one slash, so if he wanted to go on, he¡¯d have to summon more of them. He hastily gets away from the flames, and back to us. ¡°Just as I thought¡­ With my specialty, I can even freeze the flames themselves. It doesn¡¯t last long, but that¡¯s fine. Before Alex throws you in, I¡¯ll freeze a column on the left and right. He¡¯ll throw you between them. You¡¯ll be moving past them quickly, and it won¡¯t stop the flames your inside of, but it¡¯ll help, however little it might be. It¡¯s all to maximize your chances of survival.¡± ¨C Shin Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°What about me? How can I help?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but I think you¡¯ll have to sit this one out. I¡¯m sure your skills will come in handy later.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Got it¡­¡± ¨C Lett It must feel bad not being able to help, but I¡¯m sure she understands. ¡°So, are you ready then?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll get.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Shin Alex picks me up, and shuffles me around as he finds the best way to hold me to maximize how far he can throw me. Shin makes his way back to the wall¡­ ¡°Ready?!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°We¡¯re ready!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright, then start running!¡± ¨C Shin Alex kicks off into a sprint, moving so much faster than I could on my own. Shin looks behind him, and just before we reach the wall, he makes two fresh ice swords, and quickly slices the fire. The frozen flames form a clear path. Shin rolls away, making way for Alex. While still in a sprint, just mere centimeters away from the wall, he throws me into wall of fire with all his might. I doubt he was able to stop in time, and probably dipped into the flames himself, but I don¡¯t have time to worry about that now; I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fine, Alex is tough. As I fly across the endless blazing sea, I orient my body, preparing to land. Before reaching the ground, my first shadow fades away. It only takes an instance to make a new one, but that instance was all it took to burn away my clothes, my hair, and leave even more severe burn scars across my body than what I experienced in the exam¡­ It hurts so much I¡¯m barely able to think, but I have to push through! There¡¯s no way back! According to plan, I land on both feet. Without stumbling, I quickly start running as fast as I can. Moments later, my second shadow clone dies. Just like last time, the fire chars my entire body. It feels like I¡¯m being cooked alive¡­ I make my third, and final, clone¡­ This is it. If the clone dies before I make it through, I¡¯m dead. I push myself as hard as I can, sprinting faster than ever before. Right when it feels like it¡¯ll fade away, the sweet relief of fresh air touches my skin. I made it through! And with one shadow clone still intact too! I make as much distance between myself and the wall as possible to cool off, while I investigate my surroundings. There are burning torches and patches of fire all over¡­ Suddenly, a hellish creature ambushes me. I hit it on the side of the head, but it goes on fighting. It doesn¡¯t punch, it doesn¡¯t kick. Instead, it claws at my skin, and bites me on the shoulder. It tries to dig its teeth into me, but my specialty redirects all the damage to my shadow. After a short struggle, I manage to kick it off me. While it¡¯s still on the ground, I put all my power into a powerful stomp, instantly crushing its skull. That creature is probably the source of those noises we heard earlier¡­ As I make my way down the corridor, more of those creatures appear. This time, I¡¯m more prepared. One here, and one there. They all go down, one after the other. However, by the time I reached the end of the corridor, I¡¯m left exhausted. They might not be all that powerful by themselves, but having to fight so many of them still took a toll on my body. Not to mention the intense burning I just experienced¡­ Every part of me aches, but the show must go on. At the end of the corridor is another door, except this one is huge. Is the boss behind there? My shadow clone is still alive, but just barely. I don¡¯t know if I can take on a boss by myself¡­ There doesn¡¯t seem to be any way to get rid of the flames though, so it doesn¡¯t seem like I have a say in the matter¡­ Chapter 138: Fire demon --- [Illian¡¯s perspective] After taking a short break, I think I¡¯m ready to continue¡­ I open the door, and I¡¯m greeted by a gigantic demon-looking monster. The moment it notices me, it immediately starts spewing flames. They¡¯re fast, but due to the large distance between its mouth and I, I have more than enough time to get away. As I move deeper into the room, the door closes behind me¡­ It swings its giant claws at me, but I avoid that too. How tall is it? 50 meters? 100? I have no idea, it¡¯s too large for me to tell¡­ It breathes fire towards me, but I leap to the side. Out from its own fire, the palm suddenly appears. It surprises me; I didn¡¯t expect it to touch its own flames, but I suppose it makes sense that it wouldn¡¯t be hurt by them. It almost catches me, but I just barely manage to get away before it fatally wounds me. It still cut me, but it¡¯s pretty shallow. The damage transfers over to my shadow; it¡¯s hanging on by a thread now¡­ Any more damage, and it¡¯ll fade away. I take the opportunity to climb on top of the demon¡¯s hand. I ascend the arm, making my way up to the shoulder. It unsuccessfully tried to shake me off the entire way up, but now that I¡¯m here, it won¡¯t be that easy. I latch myself onto the cheek, burrowing my hands beneath its skin. As I climb higher, it shrieks from pain. It desperately tries to get me off, but is unable to control itself properly from the overwhelming agony. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I shove my arm deep into the single large eyeball it has, instantly blinding it. It screeches so loudly my eardrums might have ruptured if it wasn¡¯t for my specialty¡­ It starts shaking its head around fiercely, and unable to hold on any longer, I go flying across the room. Due to now being blind, it can¡¯t exactly locate me, but it still tries to finish me off. It flails its arms all around; getting close to it without being slashed in half by his claws will be a challenge. At the same time, it¡¯s also erupting with flames; lighting up almost every inch of the room. I manage to land safely, but I¡¯m just lucky that the fire didn¡¯t hit me; I wouldn¡¯t have been able to dodge mid-air¡­ It¡¯s badly bleeding and will probably die sooner or later, but I don¡¯t have time to wait. By the time it¡¯s dead, I¡¯ll probably have gotten hit multiple times already, leaving me as nothing more than a pile of ash. I need to take it out! I quickly make my way back to it, but I avoid making contact. As long as I don¡¯t touch it, it won¡¯t be able to tell where I am. While standing right behind it, I charge up Divinity. With it, I launch myself far into the air. I yet again latch myself to its head, except this time, it¡¯s in the back. I quickly, and with all my power behind it, shove my arm into the head. Avoiding the bones, my hand reaches all the way into the brain. It tries to kill me, but the angle is weird, and all it¡¯s able to do is slash me across the chest. My shadow fades away, but before it can attack again, I move my arm around, destroying a large part of the brain, and instantly killing it. The moment it dies, all the fire vanishes and the door opens back up¡­ The lifeless body falls to the ground with me still hanging onto it. The demon¡¯s body cushions the fall, leaving me unharmed. Had it not been for my shadow, I probably wouldn¡¯t have survived that fight¡­ It was my final one too¡­ But I guess all that matters is that I did survive in the end. Seconds later, Alex, Lett, and Shin show up. I guess the moment it died, the giant wall of flames disappeared too¡­ ¡°Oh my god! Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°No, you¡¯re not! Your entire body is charred! We need to get you back to a healer ASAP!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I agree. I¡¯ll carry you back to the guild; Alex and Lett can finish the dungeon by themselves.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Wait, was that not the boss I just killed?!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°There were three doors, Illian¡­ I doubt going through just one of them would be enough.¡± ¨C Shin So I did all of that, and I didn¡¯t even clear the dungeon for them¡­? ¡°Then we¡¯ll come back! After my injuries have been healed, we¡¯ll go straight back to the dungeon. Don¡¯t you dare fight the real boss without us!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°We won¡¯t, I promise!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Good¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°You better be quick!¡± ¨C Lett Due to all the pain and exhaustion, I slowly feel my consciousness fading away¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ --- In the healing ward at the guild HQ ¡°Aaaaand, done! He should be fine now.¡± ¨C Healer ¡°Thank you.¡± ¨C Shin I sit up, and observe my surroundings. ¡°You¡¯re awake! How do you feel?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I feel great.¡± ¨C Illian There are some more scars left from the intense burning my body endured, but it¡¯s mostly gone. On top of that my body feels as good as new! I¡¯m still more or less naked, but it seems like after I passed out, Shin wrapped his shirt around my waist, covering my privates. ¡°I¡¯ll go grab a new set of clothes real quick, I¡¯ll be right back!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Aight. I¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 139: The water trial --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] After walking for a while, we¡¯ve finally made it back to the entrance. Just like before, there are three doors and nothing else. It didn¡¯t appear like anything had changed either, but the moment we all stepped outside, the door in the middle disappeared. I guess the way to find the boss is to complete whatever challenges are beyond those next two doors as well. ¡°Where do you want to go next?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I don¡¯t think it matters.¡± ¨C Lett She shrugs and opens the door on the right. Yet again, there¡¯s a long hall inside. We make our way to the other side, and when we finally reach the real room, the hall closes up behind us. This is where the similarities end¡­ There¡¯s a large pool of water stretching deeper than the light can reach. If this is anything like other room, we¡¯ll have to make it to the bottom¡­ But who goes¡­? Me? Her? Both of us? I¡¯m faster than her; that is true both on land and in water. Assuming we can hold our breaths equally long, I will be able to swim down farther. But¡­ Her teleportation ability very well might make up for that. It¡¯s generally not suited for travel since she can¡¯t teleport very far, and she has to imagine exactly where and how she¡¯s teleporting, giving it a small delay. But this isn¡¯t as big of a problem under water¡­ There is no terrain to navigate, she just has to go downwards. Additionally, her swimming speed is way lower than her running speed, but teleportation is always teleportation. The downsides of using her teleportation to travel quickly are all severely reduced. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The more I think about it, the clearer the answer becomes¡­ She should be the one to go down there. But it¡¯s her ability after all, maybe I¡¯m missing something. I should check with her to make sure¡­ ¡°So-¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex Okay¡­ I guess that answers it¡­ ¡°With my specialty, I¡¯ll undoubtedly get much deeper than you could.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too. Good luck¡­¡± ¨C Alex --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] With no time to waste, I take a deep breath, filling up my lungs to the brim with air before diving into the dark waters. I immediately start teleporting downwards as quickly as I can. It doesn¡¯t take long before it¡¯s completely dark¡­ The pressure builds up and becomes more and more intense the deeper I get. Without BDM making me tougher, my body would have been crushed long ago¡­ I start hearing some strange noises, but I can¡¯t make out what they are, or what is making them. The biggest problem however is not the water pressure, or the creepy sounds¡­ It¡¯s breath! I¡¯m almost out, and I have no idea how much deeper I need to go. It could be 10 meters, it could be 10000; it¡¯s simply too dark to tell the difference. I wasn¡¯t prepared for how deep it would actually be¡­ I¡¯m sure I could have gone faster if I really tried¡­ I need to get back up and catch my breath before it¡¯s too late. I¡¯ll do better next time. The moment I start teleporting upwards, strong currents swirl the water around in every direction. They¡¯re powerful enough to drag me with them, flipping me around many times over and completely disorienting me¡­ The light from the ground doesn¡¯t reach this far, and I can¡¯t tell up from down anymore¡­ Shit! What the fuck am I gonna do?! I can¡¯t breathe! As the panic sets in, the tiny amount of air I¡¯ve got left is being used up that much quicker. Just then, I feel something wrapping itself around my ankle, dragging me down with it. It startles me, and in an attempt to scream, I only exhale the air left in my lungs. I¡¯m out¡­ But now I know which way is up! With no hesitation, I teleport upwards as quickly as I can, but the currents get even more intense and even more chaotic. I¡­ I can¡¯t get up¡­! I feel the sea creature¡¯s slimy and gross limbs wrapping around my ankles yet again, but instead of using my specialty to go back, I instead teleport right towards it. It won¡¯t be long before I drown, and it¡¯s impossible to go back up, so I have to take some chances¡­ It¡¯s too dark to locate it, so I¡¯ll have to let it come to me. Suddenly, I feel it take a bite out of my left shoulder. The sharp pain, the blood loss, and the lack of air all make me almost pass out, but I persevere! I grab the creature and start ripping it apart. It tries to hold me down and eat me, but I¡¯m easily able to get away with very short distance teleports. It wraps its tentacles around me one last time, but I finally manage to rip a large chunk of its brain out, instantly killing it. The grip loosens, and they fall off me before I even have time to teleport away. I feel my consciousness slipping away, and instinctively try to breathe in. The water fills up my lungs and the worst terror nature can produce is all I¡¯m left with. Just then, as all hope is lost, the water vanishes. The deep dark pool of water I was stuck in, the water that filled my lungs, and even what my clothes and hair absorbed, leaving me completely dry. I gasp for air, and almost pass out from my incredibly high heart rate alone. But¡­ I¡¯m fine¡­! I survived! When Illian beat that demon looking thing, all the fire disappeared, and the hallway opened back up. The same was true here¡­ It was what I hoped for, but if it wasn¡¯t the case, if there was some other condition to clear this trial, I would have been dead¡­ A giant spiral staircase comes out of the wall, and I hear Alex hurriedly sprinting down them. I¡¯m just going to rest for a minute until he¡¯s here¡­ Chapter 140: The earth trial --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] When we arrived back at the entrance, the door vanished just like last time. Only the door on the left remains¡­ In the first room we had to cross a sea of fire so hot our skin would melt in seconds, then defeat an infernal demon. In the second room we had to swim to the bottom of an almost endlessly deep pool of water, where the only way to get back up was to defeat the kraken at the bottom. What will we have to go through this time¡­? We enter and walk through the long and familiar hall. When we step into the main room, the hall yet again closes behind us, forcing us to complete the challenge before moving on. It looks like we¡¯re outside, but I know we¡¯re not. There¡¯s a forest, a mountain range, and even what appears to be the sky. The thing that stands out the most is that one mountain over there¡­ It¡¯s so big the clouds obfuscate its real size. On top of that, it¡¯s so steep it almost resembles a wall. There¡¯s nothing to hold on to. I guess we¡¯re supposed to climb up to the top¡­ For most people, including me, it would be difficult¡­ But with Lett¡¯s ability, it would be all too easy. I think she¡¯ll have to be the one to complete the trial again. ¡°How is your stamina looking? Do you think you have enough to teleport all the way to the top?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You sure?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Absolutely.¡± ¨C Lett She might be putting on a tough face, but I have to trust her. If she says she can do it, I believe her. She starts repeatedly teleporting straight upwards, completely ignoring the difficult-to-climb terrain. --- A few minutes later Oh, she¡¯s back! Wait, but¡­ The corridor hasn¡¯t opened back up yet, were we not supposed to climb to the top? ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did we get it wrong?¡± ¨C Alex Wait, what happened to her hands? They¡¯re covered in bruises¡­ If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°What happened?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°There¡­ There was a thing up there¡­ Probably the thing we¡¯re supposed to defeat to move on, but I couldn¡¯t do it¡­ No matter how hard I hit it, it would shrug off all my attacks. When it comes to brute force, you have a lot more of it than me. I think you¡¯ll have to climb up there yourself¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Alex I¡¯m glad she didn¡¯t push herself too far and instead decided to rely on me. I¡¯m here for a reason; there¡¯s no need to do it all by yourself. As I start climbing the mountain, it dawns on me how difficult it¡¯ll really be. There is nothing to hold on to¡­ No crevasses, no ledges, no holds. To get up, I have to force my fingers into the mountain itself, but that is no easy task¡­ This place isn¡¯t natural; nothing about dungeons is. The ¡®stone¡¯ the mountain is made of is significantly harder than normal. Even for me, it takes a considerable amount of force to get my fingers in there. But it¡¯s my only option. One hand after the other; I slowly but surely climb higher and higher. 100 meters. 200 meters. 300 meters. It feels like it goes on forever. After roughly one kilometer, something unusual happens¡­ The mountain itself starts shaking. Keeping my fingers lodged in becomes harder and harder as the shaking gets more and more violent. It¡¯s an earthquake, but it¡¯s contained within the mountain. The higher I get, the more intense it gets. Every time I pull my fingers out to move them up, the shaking almost makes the fingers on my other hand slip out. On top of that, I¡¯m getting dizzy from all the shaking¡­ At the two-kilometer mark, another strange phenomenon starts occurring¡­ Large boulders made of the same hard rock come tumbling down the side. They only seem to fall near me¡­ When they get too close, I¡¯m forced to let go of one hand to deflect it. If they were to hit me head-on, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on. Especially not with all this shaking¡­ The further up I get, the more frequent the boulders become. At the same time, the air is getting thinner and thinner too. By itself it¡¯s not too bad, but not being able to breathe properly on top of all the other stuff I have to deal with?! This climb is horrible, and it¡¯s getting worse the higher I get, but I¡¯m holding on¡­ Another couple of kilometers go by, and this hellish mountain starts throwing more challenges at me. As if not having anything to hold on to, having to push my fingers through hard rock, the intense shaking and the dizziness that follows, the falling boulders, and the thin air wasn¡¯t enough, the mountain is now starting to curve¡­ It¡¯s not even something Lett could have warned me about, the mountain itself is bending¡­ Before, I was climbing up a straight line. That was hard enough, but now I¡¯m slowly getting to the point where I¡¯ll have to climb upside down¡­ After a few close calls, and what seems like an eternity, I finally make it to the top¡­ The shaking stops, the falling boulders are no more; there is even flat ground to stand on! I have no idea how tall the mountain was; I lost count after the first nine or so kilometers¡­ On foot, that would be nothing, but under conditions like these, it was one of the most grueling tasks I¡¯ve ever done¡­ Like Lett promised, there¡¯s a creature here. It¡¯s a clear golem with a slight tint of blue, like it¡¯s made of diamond. Knowing this place, I doubt its regular diamond¡­ It isn¡¯t aggressive like most monsters either; it¡¯s just standing there, waiting¡­ I walk up to it and hit it with about as much power as I¡¯d expect Lett could produce with a charged attack. Just like she explained, it shrugs it off¡­ I guess I¡¯ll just have to hit it harder then. Can I destroy it in a single non-charged attack? I hit it with almost everything I¡¯ve got, and a large crack forms in its body. I guess not¡­ Finally having experienced something that could hurt it, it stops being so passive. I hop away from it, and it slowly walks toward me. It might be sturdy, but it¡¯s slower than even most F-rankers¡­ I could probably take it out with a couple more regular punches, but where¡¯s the fun in that? Just climbing the damn mountain was so insanely difficult I felt like I was about to lose my mind at least a dozen times¡­ I want to obliterate it¡­! As it makes it way over to me, I charge up a massive attack. Just when it gets within attack range, I launch the attack, instantly shattering it into a million pieces. Just like how the fire was extinguished after the demon was killed, and the water disappeared after the sea monster was killed, the mountain itself suddenly disappears the moment the golem dies. I start freefalling from God knows how high up¡­ I have to brace for impact! As I quickly pierce through the air, I orient myself so that I¡¯ll land on my feet. When the moment comes, I make sure to focus on BDM to make myself tougher. With one loud bang, I make it¡­ A perfect landing. Chapter 141: The elemental --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Just like before, the door disappeared the moment we stepped back into the main room. With every challenge now completed, the dungeon changes¡­ The walls spread apart and reveal another large door hidden behind them. That must be where the boss is¡­ We promised Shin and Illian we wouldn¡¯t fight it without them, and I don¡¯t plan on breaking that promise. Waiting for them will be a good time to get some rest and recover our stamina. --- A little while later ¡°Yo!¡± ¨C Shin They¡¯re back! ¡°You look so much better, Illian! How do you feel?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Great! The healers worked their magic; I feel better than ever before!¡± ¨C Illian During his fight in the D-rank exam, his body got severely burned by his opponent¡¯s specialty. Even experienced healers struggle to fully heal damage caused by other specialties. It seems the burning he experienced in this dungeon is no different. Even while fully clothed, we can still see the scarring¡­ There are marks on his face, hands, neck, and probably everywhere else too¡­ He might not show it, but I bet it hurts¡­ I can¡¯t keep letting him put his life on the line for us like that. It¡¯s not fair to him. I¡¯m the strongest one of us, I should act like it too. I won¡¯t let him get hurt any more¡­ Next time, I¡¯ll take the burden, so he doesn¡¯t have to. ¡°Anyways, are you guys ready?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Yup.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Same here.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°You know I am.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go then.¡± ¨C Illian We walk up to the gigantic set of doors, and push them open. Behind them is a large room with dim lighting from burning torches and candles. Despite clearly being inside, with visible walls, ceiling, and all, there is hilly terrain. Behind the terrifying screeches of the boss, I can hear the calming melody of a flowing river. The entire room is like a combination of all the challenges. Fire, water, and earth¡­ And so is the boss. It¡¯s like a whirlwind of all three elements. It reaches its arm out and a wave of flames shoots towards us. At the same time, boulders start raining from the sky. We dodge, but it forces us to scatter. It forms a tsunami so scalding hot most of it evaporates before it even reaches us. I absorb it all with my specialty, but as soon as I¡¯m done, magma erupts from the ground, spreading across the room. Lett teleports out of the way, and Shin freezes it with his ice swords. Illian, however, is out of clones¡­ He has no way to defend against it¡­ I rush over to him, and quickly absorb it before it hits him. This boss is putting us under constant pressure with every element at its disposal. We need to start fighting back! Lett teleports over to it and hits it with a barrage of attacks. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. It quickly shifts the elements in its body around, only letting her attack water. Her fists simply pass right through, leaving it completely unharmed. Shin tries using his ice swords on it, but just like with Lett, it moves the elements around. Every time he strikes it, all he hits is the rock-solid earth. It¡¯s probably just as hard, if not harder, than the golem at the top of the mountain. His swords snap, and with every strike, he¡¯s forced to create a new one. ¡°Lett, lets hit the same spot at the same time!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay!¡± ¨C Lett She hits the boss, and the spot becomes water. At the same time, Shin stabs it with his ice sword, freezing it. It lets out a cry; that clearly hurt it. He tries doing it again, but it shifts over to earth, snapping his sword in half. Instead of creating another one made of ice, he creates a fire sword. He slices the earth, and it starts melting away. It yet again screams, and before Shin can do it again, it moves the elements around, making his sword hit a fire part instead. Fire can¡¯t burn fire, so it doesn¡¯t cause any damage. While this was going on, me and Illian made our way over to the boss too. It tries to get us away by shooting out a concentrated beam of every element, but I absorb it all, letting the others focus on offense. As soon as I get the chance to, I start trying to absorb parts of the boss itself. As I swipe my hand through the water and flames, parts of it disappear. It tries to block by only letting me hit earth, but I actually have the power to break through it. With every punch, chunks are broken off. As we all work together, we¡¯re slowly but surely whittling it down. The way it responds is the same every time, so fighting it almost feels like a routine. After doing it for a while, we start getting comfortable. Out of nowhere, it completely changes the way it fights. Instead of trying to defend by shifting the elements around to whatever suits best, it forgoes all defense, and focuses purely on offense. It knows spreading its attacks around too much won¡¯t work as shown before, so it picks a target and goes all out on them. I don¡¯t know if it could intelligently pick out the best target, or if it was random, but it goes for Illian. With the sudden shift in behavior, he isn¡¯t able to react in time. I notice it, and I put myself between him and it. The attack is large and uses all three elements at once; I try to absorb it, but it¡¯s simply too big. It slams into my body, breaking my left arm. Luckily, Illian is unharmed. Right as this was happening, Shin and Lett took the opportunity to damage it as much as possible. Most of the earth melted, and the water is almost completely frozen. It tries to move, but it can¡¯t. It¡¯s barely even still alive. With all my power, I break the last pieces of earth, and shatter all the ice. With only fire remaining, it quickly fades away¡­ I guess it needed all three elements to live. ¡°Are you okay, Alex?! You didn¡¯t have to do that¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry!¡± ¨C Alex He looks sad¡­ Sad that I got hurt trying to protect him. Just like he did for us¡­ ¡°Hey, cheer up! We beat the boss! We finally completed our first D-rank mission!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Illian He looks like he has a lot on his mind¡­ I wrap my arm around his shoulder. ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s fine! Don¡¯t worry about it, okay? You put yourself in danger for us, it¡¯s only fair I do the same for you.¡± ¨C Alex I look over at Shin and Lett. ¡°And you two! Good work. Had you stopped attacking to help Illian too, we would have missed our biggest opportunity to beat it. You put your trust in me instead.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Shin Lett nods along. After a short rest, just as we¡¯re ready to leave, Illian says something¡­ ¡°Guys, we¡¯ve all been through a lot. Not just today in this dungeon, but in general. We¡¯ve fought side by side for a long time, and I consider you all my closest friends¡­ There¡¯s no good time to say this, but¡­¡± ¨C Illian He stops and thinks for a moment. What is this about? Where is all this coming from? Does it have something to do with me getting hurt to save him? ¡°Actually, can I tell you a story?¡± ¨C Illian He looks me directly in the eyes. ¡°Uhm¡­ Sure? Go ahead.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Once upon a time, there was a poor boy in the outer area. The village was small, and they didn¡¯t have much. Not that different from the one you grew up in, Alex¡­ The boy and his family struggled just getting enough food to eat. It was a daily struggle, and they were barely scraping by. As it turns out, ¡®barely scraping by¡¯ wasn¡¯t good enough. Something as simple as bad weather for an extended period was enough to tip the scales. They could no longer feed themselves. That¡¯s when the bad men arrived¡­ They took the little boy¡¯s father away in exchange for food. The boy objected, but he had no power to fight back. For the price of giving up a loved one, you¡¯d think they¡¯d at least get enough to live off for a long time. They did not. It didn¡¯t take long before they were yet again on the brink of starvation. That¡¯s when the bad men reared their ugly heads once more. They took the mother, and as compensation, the boy was given two loaves of bread. Only the boy and his older sister remained. They were both still kids and did not have the necessary knowledge, nor the means, to operate the farm on their own. It did not take long before those loaves were gone. That¡¯s when the bad men showed up for the third, and final, time. They took his sister, and in return, they gave him one loaf of bread. The boy didn¡¯t care about food. All he wanted was his family. He ran away and swore that one day he¡¯d get them back.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Illian¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡¯m so sorry you had to go through that¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex¡­ This story was not just about me, but millions of kids around the world. People in poor areas are preyed upon, and sold as slaves for the benefit of the rich and powerful. Every single day that passes, dozens of kids meet the same fate I did. Some have it even worse¡­ You know, not every parent is kind enough to sell themselves first¡­¡± ¨C Illian I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say¡­ Should I comfort him? Help him? Stay quiet¡­? His somber tone fades away, and determination is all that¡¯s left. ¡°Alex. I want this to end. More than anything else in the world!¡± ¨C Illian He grabs my hand, and holds it tightly. ¡°Do you? Do you want it to end?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I¡­ Of course! What you went through was horrible. Nobody should have to experience that.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Good¡­ Good.¡± ¨C Illian He lets go and takes a step back. At the same time, he takes a deep breath¡­ ¡°I¡¯m going to be completely honest with you. For the first time ever¡­¡± ¨C Illian He glances over at Shin¡­ ¡°What do mean?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯m part of a certain organization¡­ ¡®The END¡¯ is what it¡¯s called.¡± ¨C Illian The END? Isn¡¯t that¡­? Isn¡¯t that the one Arthur warned me about?! The ones who were after me? Illian, who are you¡­? ¡°The END¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Do you know them?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No, I¡­¡± ¨C Shin Before he gets to explain, Illian chimes in. ¡°We¡¯re a group filled with people whose stories are like mine. All we want is an end to all the suffering. An end to the war on humanity itself. An end to¡­ well¡­ the Emperor.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°The Emperor?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes. He¡¯s the one behind it all. The root of almost all suffering. The most evil man in all of history. And Alex¡­ You¡¯re his son.¡± ¨C Illian Chapter 142: Son of evil --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°The Emperor is¡­ My father?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes. Throughout the countless millennia he has been alive, he has only ever had two children. You, and your brother.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°How¡­ I¡­¡± ¨C Alex My thoughts are all jumbled¡­ Speaking is hard, and thinking is harder¡­ ¡°I never knew my father. Mom said he died before I was born, while big bro was still little¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°She was either lying, or maybe he altered her memories. I don¡¯t know, but he is definitely your father. And he is definitely still alive¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°How¡­ How do you know?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯m an important member of The END. It¡¯s my job to know.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex I need to ask him¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve encountered someone from The END once before¡­ Arthur, the man who orchestrated yours and Shin¡¯s kidnapping¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Before he let us go, he told me something¡­ He told me he was part of The END. They forbid him from making contact with me, but he broke the rules after he learned what my specialty was. He also told me that the same group was after me, and that for all he knew, they might have already found me. I suppose he was referring to you¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex¡­ It¡¯s not like that¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Illian. Who are you?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯m your best friend.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Nothing will ever change that¡­ But I am also part of The END. Nothing will ever change that either.¡± ¨C Illian I can¡¯t get a good read on him¡­ Everything I thought I knew¡­ All down the drain. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s a difficult question. I suppose my ultimate goal is killing the Emperor. And¡­ I know your stance on killing, and I agree for the most part, but¡­. That man¡­ He¡¯s not someone to whom you can afford any mercy.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°You thinking killing is okay? Who even are you anymore¡­¡± ¨C Alex He gets visibly frustrated¡­ ¡°Oh, come on! You don¡¯t actually believe that, Alex.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I do.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I do. Killing is never justified. Never.¡± ¨C Alex He looks me in the eye and shakes his head. I can tell he doesn¡¯t believe me, but it¡¯s the truth¡­ ¡°Then why are still friends with Shin?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°What?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I wasn¡¯t there, but I know what happened during your first attempt at the E-rank exam. Shin activated his specialty for the first time, and stabbed his opponent in the stomach. She bled to death before the healers could save her.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°But¡­ T-that was an accident.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What about when he burned Edward to death?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°That¡­ That was self-defense!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Sounds an awful lot like you¡¯re justifying killing.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I saw the way you looked at Isabella after her match¡­ How come you didn¡¯t think the same after she killed her opponent in the D-rank exam? Was that not self-defense?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°And where the hell are your excuses when it comes to actual victims?! The Emperor is causing so much pain and suffering on a daily basis that any form of retaliation is self-defense! You¡¯re a hypocrite, Alex.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°What the hell do you want from me?¡± ¨C Alex He scoffs. ¡°Quit preaching, I don¡¯t want to hear it. Just tell me what you want.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I want you to join me, Alex. Join The END.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Join you¡­? Why would I do that?¡± ¨C Alex Suddenly, he has an outburst of emotion. ¡°Because you¡¯re my best friend! And it¡¯s either that or¡­¡± ¨C Illian He takes a moment to calm down, reflecting on his choice of words. ¡°Please¡­ We¡¯re fighting for a good cause. I asked you if you wanted to end all the meaningless suffering, and you said yes¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°That was before I found out you were part of some strange organization that has been stalking me for God knows how long! Before I found out who you really are.¡± ¨C Alex If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°But that changes nothing!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Illian¡­ You¡¯re asking me to kill my father.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I don¡¯t know his side of the story. I¡¯ve never talked to him. Hell, I¡¯ve never even seen him. I know nothing about him as a person, yet you¡¯re expecting me to just take everything you say at face value? You¡¯re the ones who have members willing to kidnap innocent people for their own gain. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s been lying and manipulating me into thinking you¡¯re my friend. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s justifying murder. You¡¯re the one whose ultimate goal is taking someone¡¯s life. How could I possibly trust anything you say¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex¡­ I am your friend. All of it was real. Do you think me diving into a sea of flames was to trick to you?!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I can¡¯t know. That¡¯s the point.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°My body is covered with scars from the intense burning I endured for you guys. Even now, it hurts like hell, but I don¡¯t regret it! If I could do it again, I would. In a heartbeat.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Please.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Or what?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¨C Illian ¡°I asked you why I should join you. You said ¡®it¡¯s either that or¡­¡¯¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Or what?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Listen¡­ We¡¯re nearing the battle festival, and you¡¯ve got a good shot at winning it. Do you remember what the reward for winning was?¡± ¨C Illian He¡¯s not talking about the money¡­ ¡°¡­ Meeting the Emperor.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Right¡­ Alex, the reason why you¡¯re so much more talented than everyone else is because you¡¯re the Emperor¡¯s son. One day, you¡¯re undoubtedly going to become one of the strongest men alive. You meeting the Emperor is dangerous¡­ He¡¯s manipulative, and we can¡¯t afford to let you become another one of his pawns.¡± ¨C Illian ¡°Are you saying what I think you¡¯re saying?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian Wait¡­ No¡­ Please, it can¡¯t be true¡­ ¡°Where is Leo, Illian? Where is my brother¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian For the first time in this conversation, I no longer feel any confusion or betrayal. All that¡¯s left is anger. It bursts out, I¡¯m unable to contain it. ¡°WHERE THE FUCK IS MY BROTHER?!¡± ¨C Alex I grab him by his collar, and lift him up. ¡°Answer!¡± ¨C Alex Tears start uncontrollably pouring down his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex I let go, and he falls to the ground. He doesn¡¯t pick himself up, and instead continues crying on the ground. He covers his face in shame. ¡°His name is Seth. He¡¯s the one who did it¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­ Why?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Illian I kick him in the side of the head with just enough restraint not to kill him. He doesn¡¯t try to defend, he just accepts it. ¡°Alex!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Answer me! Why did he do it?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Because he refused to join¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°They had been friends for years; fought side by side in countless battles. But when the day came for Seth to explain everything to him, he refused to join, just like you¡­ He didn¡¯t want to do it, but he felt he was forced to. He couldn¡¯t let Leo join the other side¡­¡± ¨C Illian ¡°So that¡¯s your plan then?! I either join you, or you murder me. Did you just pretend to be in trouble back then as well? All so the boss could hurt me enough for you to be able to win?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°NO! I would never! I would never repeat his mistakes¡­ I get why he did it, but I could never bring myself to do the same.¡± ¨C Illian This little piece of shit snake¡­! I don¡¯t believe a word he says! With every passing moment, my anger grows more and more intense. Pure hatred flows through my veins as I think about the horrible shit he and his cult have done. They took my brother from me¡­ The person I loved the most. Vic must have known all along¡­ There was never any ¡®important mission¡¯, it was all bullshit to protect me. He has been dead for over three years, all without me knowing¡­ Does mom know¡­? ¡­ Something snaps within me. Anger? Hatred? None of those words can accurately describe this¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ I remember¡­ Those dreams I¡¯ve been having all my life¡­ I remember them. The last time this happened was when Gaia, the specialty finder, looked into my soul. She said there was something ¡®abnormal¡¯ about me¡­ Something she had never seen before¡­ I know what it is now. Those noises I hear when I have the dream¡­ The deep growling unlike any animal or beast¡­ I know what they are. I hear it¡­ The creature from my dream is talking to me¡­ ¡°Do you¡­¡± ¨C ??? Although I know it¡¯s not there, I can vividly see it, like it¡¯s right in front of me¡­ ¡°¡­ Want power?¡± ¨C ??? It reaches out its hand, and I reach out mine¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Alex reaches out his hand, pointing it towards Illian. He looks at him, and accepts whatever is coming for him. What the fuck is going on?! What is happening to him?! The void in his hand spreads, crawling up his arm. It¡¯s no longer confined to his palm¡­ At the same time, it stretches out into the air itself. It wraps itself around Illian¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¨C Illian And in the blink of an eye, the void disappears¡­ But Illian is not there¡­ Alex turns around, heading for the door. ¡°Wait! Where are you going?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex He stops, turns around, and looks at us¡­ ¡°I¡¯m going to meet the Emperor. I¡¯ll see you at the battle festival.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin and Lett --- A few hours later, in Lett¡¯s room We¡¯ve been sitting in silence for what seems like an eternity, unable to process what just happened. To my own surprise, I suddenly burst out laughing. ¡°What? What is it?!¡± ¨C Lett I take a few seconds to collect myself as I wipe tears from my eyes, before responding. ¡°I could have stopped this¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°During the first round of the D-rank exam, there was an enemy whose ability was forcing people to tell the truth. He came with one of his allies, and she had a combat-oriented specialty, yet both me and Illian came to the conclusion that taking him down first should be our priority.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°And?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°He asked us why, and due to his ability, we both answered truthfully. I said it was because I didn¡¯t want to leak any more of our plans, as it could put the whole match in jeopardy. Illian said it was because he ¡®couldn¡¯t let Alex know¡­¡¯. It was suspicious, and of course I confronted him about it after the exam ended¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°He was hesitant to tell me at first, but he eventually admitted it was because he had a crush on Alex. I didn¡¯t really believe him, but I didn¡¯t want to pry any further¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have let it go¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Shin¡­ It¡¯s not your fault¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°What if I found the guy who could make people tell the truth, and forced Illian to come with me? I could have at least tried a little harder getting the truth out myself¡­ Maybe none of this would have happened then¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Then Alex would have just confronted him, and it would all have ended the exact same way. That group¡­ The END, they killed his brother, and Illian was part of them. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t have come out today, but it would have eventually. It¡¯s not your fault.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Lett¡­ I get that you¡¯re trying to cheer me up, but you¡¯ve got it all wrong. It¡¯s true that no matter what, Alex would find out the truth eventually. His feelings would be hurt, and he¡¯d grieve the loss of his older sibling. I know that pain all too well¡­ But that¡¯s not what this is about.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Then what is it?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°It¡¯s about saving Illian¡¯s life!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Had I found out, I would have told him to leave us alone, and never come back. Even at the bitter end, he never put his hands on Alex. He never intended on doing what Seth did. He would never hurt Alex¡­ He really was our friend... And he could have still been alive had he left instead of confronting him.¡± ¨C Shin Tears start welling up in her eyes¡­ ¡°What happened to us¡­? Just this morning, everything was perfect. We were all healthy. We were all happy¡­¡± ¨C Lett I get up, and grab the door handle. ¡°Where are you going¡­?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have someone I need to talk to. I won¡¯t be back for quite a while¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Please, don¡¯t leave¡­ Not you too¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I don¡¯t want to be alone¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¨C Shin --- [Seth¡¯s perspective] ¡°Seth, we have news on the operation.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Oh? Spill it.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Illian¡­ He failed. Alex refused to join, and took his life.¡± ¨C ??? ¡°I see.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Are we going on to plan B, then?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Should we send out scouts to find him?¡± ¨C ??? ¡°No need. He¡¯ll show up soon enough¡­¡± ¨C Seth --- Divinity: Part 2 THE END Chapter 143: The Battle Festival begins! --- Divinity: Part 3 --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] Six months later, in Adamas where the battle festival is held ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the day has finally come!¡± ¨C Announcer The crowd cheers loudly, and excitement is through the roof. ¡°The once in a century event is finally here! We have contestants ranging from D-rank all the way to B-rank! You¡¯ll never again in your life see an event as big as this, an event with more hunters gathered in the same place than any other!¡± ¨C Announcer ¡°Damn right! And they¡¯re all gathered here for the same reason¡­ To win the ultimate prize!¡± ¨C Second Announcer ¡°That¡¯s right! Now, why don¡¯t you go ahead and explain the rules of this first round to all the fine folks watching, Barbara?¡± ¨C Announcer ¡°Will do, Bob! As you all probably know, the main event is a 16-man tournament where the winner takes it all. To make it fair, it¡¯s split up by rank. The first tournament will be for all the D-rank hunters, followed by the one for the C-rankers, and at last, the one for the B-rankers¡­ But the problem is that there are too many contestants! So, before the main tournament is held, we¡¯ll need to weed out the weak! The hunters will be divided into 16 teams. Each team will have massive free-for-all battle, where the winner gets to compete in the main event!¡± ¨C Barabara ¡°Awesome! With the help of a hunter working with the organizers, they have set up massive screens that let you see the battle more clearly! It¡¯s all thanks to his amazing power! He can even show things in slow motion or replay the most exciting moments! Now let¡¯s stop wasting time and get show started already!¡± ¨C Bob Once again, the crowd cheers so loudly you could probably hear it from the neighboring cities. They yell, they chant, they clap, and they stomp. The once-in-a-lifetime show is about to start¡­ But all I can think about is Shin and Alex. I know it¡¯s not saying much since the crowd is so insanely large, but I haven¡¯t seen them all day. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Alex said he¡¯d be here before he left on that day, so I have to trust that he¡¯ll show up¡­ Shin however¡­ He failed the exam and couldn¡¯t rank up, so he¡¯s still E-rank. He can¡¯t participate, but I hoped he would show up to watch us at least¡­ I haven¡¯t seen him since that day either. After finding out Illian betrayed us, it was already the worst day of my life. Then everyone left me¡­ I don¡¯t know where they are, what they have been up to, or if they¡¯re even still alive¡­ They just¡­ Left. If it wasn¡¯t for Victor and Luna, I¡¯d have no one. But I know I have to get over it¡­ They both promised they¡¯d return, and I believe them! They wouldn¡¯t abandon me forever, they just wouldn¡¯t! ¡°Guys, let¡¯s get a move on! They¡¯ve opened the gates to where the preliminaries are being held.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Right!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Luna It¡¯s been months since I ranked up, but it¡¯s still mind-blowing to think that I¡¯m the same rank as them now¡­ My brother whom I¡¯ve looked up to since I was a kid¡­ I¡¯m on equal ground with him now! The same applies to Luna. She was always so much stronger that I couldn¡¯t even dream of competing with her, but today might be the day when we¡¯ll know for sure if that¡¯s still the case! We get into the room, and immediately see 16 doors, each leading to a different area. With a soulless voice, one of the employees explains what to do next. ¡°Go pick a random team from that urn over there, then go through the corresponding door¡­¡± ¨C Employee There¡¯s a giant urn with thousands of folded pieces of paper, all with numbers written on the inside. One by one, we all draw from it. ¡°I got 10, how about you guys?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°11.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°7 here.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Good. None of us are in the same group, that means all of us has a chance at reaching the main tournament.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Chance? Speak for yourself! I¡¯ll make it no matter what!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± ¨C Luna She walks through the 10th door without even saying goodbye to us¡­ ¡°Well then, you better make it too! Let¡¯s meet again in the finale!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°May the better sibling win!¡± ¨C Lett We make our way to our respective doors and push them open¡­ Behind mine is a road leading to one of the many arenas. I get to the arena, and hundreds of other hunters are gathered here, with more pouring in every second. To think this is just a fraction of the total number of contestants is insane. A few minutes pass, and eventually people stop coming. The doors to the arena close, and the announcers start talking again. ¡°Now then everyone¡­ As stated before, you will now fight in a massive free-for-all! But remember, this event is for fun! It¡¯s a chance to show off your skills, win massive rewards, and entertain millions! Killing is not allowed. There are high ranking hunters always watching over you to make sure it doesn¡¯t happen, don¡¯t forget that. Other than that, don¡¯t worry about being a little rough! There are dozens of healers stationed at every arena. After the preliminaries are over, everyone will get healed, even the winners! Again, this is NOT life or death, so relax, and do your best!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°And with that said, let the preliminaries begin!¡± ¨C Barbara Chapter 144: Preliminaries --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] As soon as the preliminaries began, the fighting commenced. An all-out brawl broke out. Projectiles of all kinds flew left and right, teeth scattered across the ground, and the overwhelming noise of hundreds of combatants screaming was slowly dying down as the numbers dwindled. With each defeat, a healer comes running in and carries them out. With my specialty, I can easily dodge their attacks and keep my distance. There¡¯s no reason for me to fight all of them. Instead, I¡¯ll let them fight amongst themselves. A few other people had the same idea as me, but most were unable to keep themselves out of the way long enough for it to be effective. Now, only four hunters remain¡­ Two fearless brutes who took on everyone they could, one guy with a camouflaging ability, and of course, me. The brutes start battling it out, but quickly stop. I don¡¯t know what he said, but one of them said something to the other one¡­ Something that could even make someone like him stand down. As I ponder what it could be, they yell out¡­ ¡°Come out you two! Pussies who run and hide don¡¯t deserve to make it to the main tournament! We won¡¯t fight each other until you guys are out!¡± ¨C Brute 1 My plan was to wait until only one other person remained, then knock them out while they¡¯re exhausted. I guess that plan¡¯s gone down the drain now¡­ Still, I¡¯m in a much better condition than they are. I¡¯ve got a good shot at beating them. The chameleon turns off his ability and approaches them. He doesn¡¯t attack, and neither do they. ¡°You too.¡± ¨C Brute 2 We¡¯ve all seen each other¡¯s abilities by now, so there¡¯s no point in trying to hide it. I teleport down to them¡­ ¡°Hey chameleon, how about a truce? We take down these guys before going for each other?¡± ¨C Lett Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Sure, but my name is Johnny, not chameleon!¡± ¨C Johnny ¡°Works for us!¡± ¨C Brute 1 As he says that, he charges at me. Before I¡¯m even within range, he already throws a punch at me. The moment his arm is fully extended, a clump of magma identical to his fist comes shooting out. I teleport out of the way, but it melts the ground behind me. While still far away, I throw a punch of my own, before teleporting right next to him, slamming my fist right into his left cheek. He stumbles backwards, but remains standing up. At the same time, the other brute flexes his muscles, turning his whole body into metal. Based on what I observed earlier, he becomes almost indestructible when using his ability, but his movements are pretty limited. Johnny tries to punch him while still in his metal state, but instead of his fist breaking like I expected, he instead sends his opponent flying away. He¡¯s strong¡­! ¡°Wow¡­ Had I not used my hardening there, I would have been a goner! Not bad, boy!¡± ¨C Brute 2 He gets up, and immediately charges at him. Johnny enters his stance, ready to unleash yet another blow. ¡°Keep your eyes on your opponent!¡± ¨C Brute 1 A blob of magma suddenly appears mere centimeters away from my face! By the skin of my teeth, I teleport away just in time to not get cooked alive¡­ I need to focus; I can¡¯t let the other two distract me anymore! A flurry of strikes comes my way, and with each and every attack, a deadly dose of molten rock follows. Despite how dangerous they are, to me, this guy is actually the easiest opponent to beat. My ability lets me avoid them without much trouble, making victory almost certain. However¡­ I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s true in the case of the other two. I¡¯ve grown a lot stronger these past months, but physical strength is still the area I lack the most in. Getting past the other guy¡¯s iron skin won¡¯t be easy¡­ Additionally, Johnny is more of the same. His specialty might not have anything to do with making himself tougher, but it doesn¡¯t have to be. From the way he¡¯s handling his opponent, I can tell he¡¯ll be hard to take down. I might have to fight dirty¡­ As I keep dodging his projectiles, my opponent grows more and more frustrated. The speed and ferocity of which he sends them out increases with every miss. I telegraph my moves, and teleport behind him. He knows exactly where I am, and instantly grabs me. Just as I planned¡­! For a few moments, I pretend to not be able to teleport away while he¡¯s holding me. He takes the bait and throws an absolutely massive attack at me. Just before the magma hits, I teleport away¡­ It flies right into the other brute¡¯s back, instantly taking him out. His massive body blocked the view, making Johnny unable to see what hit him. He clearly didn¡¯t expect it, and in that moment of confusion, his defenses were lowered. I teleport into the air behind him, and kick in the side of the head with every ounce of power in my body. His lights are instantly shut off, and the healers quickly arrive to carry them out. That leaves only me, and magma-boy¡­ ¡°You sly woman! Didn¡¯t you two agree to a truce?!¡± ¨C Brute 1 ¡°Nah. This is a free-for-all, remember?¡± ¨C Lett If I want to make it to the main event, I can¡¯t afford to hold back in any way. With anger burning brightly in his eyes, he does everything he can to hit me with his ability. However, the result is still the same; I teleport away from every blob of lava that comes my way. When he least expects it, I teleport right above him, slamming my heel into the top of his head. He staggers, and before he¡¯s able to fully recover, a flying knee clobbers him in the face, knocking him out for good. Just as quickly as before, the healers take him out to heal all his injuries. One of the high-ranking hunters that watched over us comes down and congratulates me on my victory. At the same time, another healer arrives. They do their thing, and despite me not having any injuries, they recovered all my lost stamina. ¡°The other groups should be done soon. For now, just wait here. When your name is called out, go through that door over there.¡± ¨C High-ranking hunter He points to a door that I can only assume leads to the main stage. The time has finally come¡­ The battle festival is starting for real now! Chapter 145: Contestants --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] ¡°And with that, the preliminaries for the D-rank hunters are all done!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°That¡¯s right, Bob! I¡¯m sure the audience is tired of waiting, so how about we go ahead and introduce all these wonderful fighters already?¡± ¨C Barabara They sure don¡¯t like wasting time; you would think they¡¯d draw it out as long as possible considering this event is only held once a century, but I guess not¡­ ¡°In all of history, only one man has ever participated in the battle festival more than once. The first time he entered he was a young man, but that is no longer the case¡­ Despite that, he is stronger than ever! During his first attempt, he lost in the first round. On his second attempt, he lost in the semi-finals. He keeps doing better and better each time¡­ Will the third time be the charm?! From group 1, we have none other than Bennett Vetus!¡± ¨C Bob If this is his third time, then that means he¡¯s well over 200 years old at least¡­ I didn¡¯t think there were D-rankers who were that old. Someone his age should have ranked up long ago¡­ He must have reached his limits, unable to progress any further. But that doesn¡¯t mean I can take him lightly¡­ At his age, he must have an insane amount of experience; especially for a D-ranker. ¡°There are a lot of people in the world¡­ Because of that, it¡¯s almost impossible to be the best at something; there will always be someone better¡­ Well in this case, that is not true! Out of every hunter I¡¯ve ever encountered in my life, there is no one else quite like her¡­ From group 2, we the most elegant fighter in the world, Charlotte Bellus!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡®The most elegant fighter in the world,¡¯ huh? I wonder what that entails¡­ ¡°Out of everyone here, this man is the one who was in by far the worst shape after the preliminaries. Yet despite that, he never stopped smiling! His love for both combat and gambling alike is second to none! He¡¯s not one to avoid taking risks, and although that often ends up with him in desperate need of a healer, the thought of how far he¡¯d go if he hit the jackpot sends shivers down my spine¡­ From group 3, the man who very well might be the dark horse of this tournament, is Vicent Fortuna!¡± ¨C Bob Wait, that name sounds familiar¡­ Isn¡¯t he the one that fought Rin back during the D-rank exam? Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I could be misremembering, but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s him¡­ So one of them made it into the tournament as well then¡­ ¡°Every one of these fighters has a spark in them, something they believe in, something they fight for¡­ She, does not. Every one of these fighters felt some combination of thrill, anxiety, and passion, as they fought their way through the hundreds of other contestants¡­ She, did not. Never once did she indicate any sign of emotion. Is there something deep down that she¡¯s not showing, or is this her true self? Only she knows. The most mysterious woman here is the winner of group 4, Chloe Ratio!¡± ¨C Barbara Lots of strange characters here¡­ I know only four people have been called out so far, but I really hope Alex made it¡­ I haven¡¯t seen him in so long, and I have no idea where he would be if not here¡­ ¡°This man is hailed as one of the strongest D-rank hunters around¡­ Had the battle festival been held a few months later, he might have been competing with the other C-rankers instead! With a tricky ability like his, there aren¡¯t many people who can defeat him! According to experts, he¡¯s one of the combatants who are most favored to win! Representing group 5 is Jin Umbra!¡± ¨C Bob Wasn¡¯t he also one of the D-rankers we had to fight in the D-rank exam?! I¡¯m pretty sure he was Alex¡¯s opponent¡­ Alex dealt with him without much trouble, but it might have been because his ability countered his. He can turn his body into dark smoke, making all attacks slip right through him. It¡¯s not an invincible ability, but it¡¯s troublesome for sure¡­ I¡¯ll have to watch out for him. ¡°Every contestant here faced some difficulties in the preliminaries¡­ Not this man! Every hunter on Earth uses Divinity as the source of their power¡­ Not this man! Where does his power come from? How can he be this strong without Divinity? Nobody knows the answers¡­ Yet, his strength is undeniable! He took out more than 300 people in the preliminaries, all without breaking a sweat! The undeniable champion of group 6, Kuro Velox!¡± ¨C Barbara Kuro¡­ Kuro¡­! It¡¯s him! It¡¯s the man who beat Alex all the way back during the E-rank exam. To think he¡¯d show up here¡­ Back then, Alex couldn¡¯t do anything to him. He was rendered helpless when faced with his overwhelming strength. The power he had back then might even be enough to contend with us in the present¡­ I can¡¯t even begin to fathom how strong he must be now¡­ I pity whoever has to go up against him¡­ But now comes the moment of truth¡­ Victor was part of group 7¡­ Did he make it¡­? ¡°There are many strong fighters here, but when it comes to power, there is one man nobody should mess with¡­ A single punch was all it took to take out his opponents. Not one of them could remain conscious after taking a hit head-on! The man I¡¯m talking about is the winner of group 7, Victor Lepus!¡± ¨C Bob Yes! He did it! I can¡¯t even begin to imagine how embarrassed he¡¯d be if I made the cut while he didn¡¯t¡­ ¡°In contrast to the other contestants, this man is not the strongest, nor the fastest. He is not the toughest, and he does not have the most powerful specialty. In many people¡¯s eyes, he might seem ordinary compared to the monsters gathered here tonight¡­ That could not be further from the truth! What is the most important characteristic of a born winner? Is it the things I listed before? This man would argue no! To become a true winner, you need an unbreakable spirit! From group 8 we have the man who refuses to lose, Diego Spes!¡± ¨C Barbara That¡¯s it? An ¡®unbreakable spirit¡¯? ¡®The man who refuses to lose?¡¯ That¡¯s all of us! If that¡¯s all he brings to the table, there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll go far in the tournament. But¡­ He was the last man standing in group 8¡­ Chapter 146: The strongest D-rank hunters --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] ¡°How quickly the contestants were able to defeat their opponents varied a lot. Some faced stronger competition than others, therefore, it took them more time to take them out. Some tried harder than others, therefore, they wasted less time. Among many other factors, this explains why it took some people a lot longer than others. But is that really all there is to it? No! Regardless of any outside factors, the person who cleared the preliminaries the fastest would always be the same. The one who beat their opponents first is by far the fastest hunter here! The group 9 winner, Rin Nox!¡± ¨C Bob Rin is here too?! Well done, Rin! She has grown so much since we first met. I hope I get to fight her myself! ¡°If there¡¯s any hunter here I¡¯m envious of, it¡¯s her¡­ She¡¯s powerful, she¡¯s fast, she¡¯s versatile, and she¡¯s beautiful! Name a trait, and she¡¯s probably got you beat in it. There are jacks of all trades, but masters of none, and there are those who are master of one¡­ Well, this woman can only be described as the master of all trades! Putting your money on anyone else is a blunder! The unmistakably strongest fighter from group 10, Luna Luna!¡± ¨C Barbara Yes! Luna made it too! That means all three of us passed the preliminaries. Only Alex remaining then¡­ Wait¡­! Oh no¡­ I¡¯m next! They keep praising us so much¡­ It¡¯s fine when it¡¯s other people, but god¡­ I don¡¯t want to listen to them do it to me! You know what¡­ I hope Shin isn¡¯t here after all. If he is, I¡¯m never going to live down anything they say about me. He¡¯ll tease me about it forever! ¡°As kids, everyone dreams about what specialty they would have if they became a hunter. Some want to fly, others want to become invisible. Some want to breathe fire, others want telekinesis. But there is one power that stands above the rest¡­ One power desired by everyone in the world! Well, this woman has it! From group 11, we have the woman blessed by fate itself! Lett Lepus!¡± ¨C Bob Ugh¡­! I¡¯m cringing just listening to it! The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Is teleportation really that desired, or is he just making things up to rally the crowd? As instructed, I open the door on the opposite side of where I entered. Behind it is a set of stairs, taking me up to the main stage. All the other contestants are lined up, standing shoulder to shoulder, ordered from group 1 to 10. I stand next to Luna, and she whispers in my ear. ¡°Well done!¡± ¨C Luna Just as I¡¯m about to reply, the announcers start introducing the next contestant, drowning out my reply. ¡°For the first time in history, one person has defeated every single opponent they faced in the preliminaries. There were hundreds and hundreds of people in each group, yet even for the strongest and fastest people out there, they aren¡¯t able to defeat them all by themselves. Maybe not because they can¡¯t, but because their opponents will fight amongst themselves and defeat each other before they get to do it themself. Yet with her, it was different¡­! The moment the battle began, every single person set their sights on her. Her aura alone was so terrifying that they didn¡¯t think they would stand a chance against her without banding together. Turns out they were wrong¡­ Even hundreds of people at once are not enough! She already made history, and very well might do it again! Remember her name, because the one representing group 12 is Valentina Odi!¡± ¨C Barbara Moments later, she gets to the main stage, coming from a different entrance than I did. She places herself next to me. I think I saw her blushing a little¡­ She¡¯s probably embarrassed by the high praise they gave her. I know how it feels¡­ ¡°If there¡¯s one thing we all love, it¡¯s an underdog. Seeing someone succeed against all odds is the most satisfying thing in the world. Well¡­ This is not that type of story. To her, everyone else is an underdog. She is the odds they¡¯re up against, the wall they have to climb! To defeat her requires nothing short of a miracle! But as well know, miracles are not real¡­ Group 13 fostered a demon, Quinn Rex!¡± ¨C Bob Like everyone before her, she gets on stage, and stands next to the last person who entered. Only three people left now¡­ Come on, Alex! ¡°The most important rule for the battle festival is that killing is not allowed. These rules make the event more fun for everyone, with no major downsides. However, this is not the case for this woman. She¡¯s likely the deadliest hunter here; her sword can seemingly cut through anything. To her, the rules are shackles, keeping her from using her full strength. I pity anyone who has to go up against her. She¡¯s the winner of group 14, Isabella Gladius!¡± ¨C Barbara Isabella made it too! Wow¡­ I didn¡¯t see that coming! There are so many familiar faces here, yet one is still missing¡­ ¡°After watching the preliminaries, there is one hunter who surpassed all expectations. At first, he didn¡¯t seem like anything special¡­ There were monsters in his group, all of whom deserved a spot in the main tournament. It¡¯s too bad they were up against him¡­ Despite not being anything special for the first half, he suddenly grew in power, and took them all out with ease. After seeing that, I understood how dangerous he truly is¡­ If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m sure of in life, it¡¯s that if he unleashes that on anyone here, the match is over. From the penultimate group, group 15, we have Isaac Lux!¡± ¨C Bob Isaac too, huh. With so many people I already know here, Alex not showing up would be one hell of a cruel joke. Please¡­ ¡°There is one thing every contestant has in common; they are all human. With him however, I¡¯m not so sure¡­ To put it succinctly, he is simply better than everybody else. Every attack thrown at him was shrugged off like it was nothing. Be it a punch, or a ball of fire. His blows were mighty enough to break every bone in his opponents¡¯ bodies. Had healers not been on standby, it would have been a massacre. One look in his eyes, and you could feel the determination. He is here to win! To him, this competition is simply a means to an end. There is nothing that can stop him from reaching his goal. The sovereign of group 16, Alexander Minima!¡± ¨C Barbara YES! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I never should have doubted him! As he walks up the stairs, my heart sinks¡­ There is something different about him; he¡¯s not the same Alex I once knew¡­ His hair is long and unkempt¡­ His air of optimism he used to exude is long gone¡­ And¡­ He has the eyes of a killer¡­ Chapter 147: Bennett vs Charlotte --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] ¡°We¡¯re almost ready to begin, everyone! We just need to get the rules out of the way, so we know everyone is on the same page.¡± ¨C Bob ¡°This is a single-elimination tournament. What that means is that the winners will advance to the next round, and the winners will then face the other winners to decide who gets to advance even further. This goes on until we have one, final, winner! You¡¯ll be matched up against each other based on which group you were from. That means group 1 will fight group 2, group 3 will fight group 4, and so on.¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°That makes the full bracket this: Bennett vs Charlotte, Vincent vs Chloe, Jin vs Kuro, Victor vs Diego, Rin vs Luna, Lett vs Valentina, Quinn vs Isabella, and lastly, Isaac vs Alexander.¡± ¨C Bob ¡°And remember! Killing is not allowed! If you kill your opponent, you will be disqualified.¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get this thing started! Everyone except for Bennett and Charlotte, go back to the testing grounds you came from.¡± ¨C Bob As I get back, I notice that they¡¯ve set up a screen for me to watch match on. I assume they¡¯ve made one for everyone. The reason why there wasn¡¯t one from the start was probably so it wouldn¡¯t get destroyed in all the chaos of the preliminaries. I wish I had some time to talk to Alex. I¡¯d love to catch up with him on where¡¯s he¡¯s been. I don¡¯t think the people who host the event would appreciate me interrupting the show to have a conversation with him though. We¡¯ll talk soon enough though, it¡¯s all good. The fighters stand on opposite sides of the arena, and get ready to fight. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! The time has come! Are you ready for the first match of the first round?!¡± ¨C Bob The crowd cheers with all their heart. ¡°I said, are you ready?!!¡± ¨C Bob They erupt in an even louder cheer, shaking the stadium with the sheer volume. ¡°Alright, then let the first match begin!!¡± ¨C Bob None of them are moving¡­ Bennett leans forward, reaching his hands out, ready for her to attack.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. At the same time, Charlotte just stands there¡­ Her back is straight, her head is held high, and her shoulders are relaxed; her posture is perfect. ¡°Will you not go on the offensive?¡± ¨C Charlotte Bennett doesn¡¯t respond; he¡¯s keeping to himself, not letting anything slip. ¡°Then it appears I will have to take on the role of the aggressor.¡± ¨C Charlotte She starts slowly approaching him. With each step, her feet perfectly roll from heel to toe. Her arms sway opposite ways, but in perfect union. Every time she sets her feet down, her arms reach the end of their path. Her walking speed is constant, like she¡¯s following a metronome. The way she walks, her demeanor, her posture¡­ It¡¯s all perfect. There¡¯s not a single flaw in the way she presents herself. Is this what they meant when they called her ¡®the most elegant fighter in the world¡¯? When she gets within attack range, she raises her arm, and flicks her wrist. Bennett was prepared and tries to block, but it¡¯s almost like her arm is liquid¡­ It slips right past his defense, and with no wasted movements, she lightly pokes him in the chest with her middle finger. Suddenly, he keels over, letting out a painful cry. Like nothing happened, she just stands there with the same perfect posture she showed at the beginning of the match. What the hell did she do? That must have been her specialty, but what exactly happened? She could hurt him that much with a simple touch¡­ She looks down on him¡­ ¡°I advise you to surrender.¡± ¨C Charlotte He gets up on his knees. ¡°No¡­¡± ¨C Bennett ¡°That lapse of judgement will be your downfall.¡± ¨C Charlotte He chuckles confidently; he¡¯s hiding something¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve been alive for a long time, dear. I¡¯ve fought plenty of people like you¡­ Young hunters with powerful abilities that lack experience¡­ You¡¯re a dime a dozen. I¡¯ve already analyzed your movements. Your tricks won¡¯t work on me anymore!¡± ¨C Bennett Short blades suddenly grow out of his elbows. As he stands up, he spins around, becoming a living whirlwind ready to cut down anything in his path. Before he¡¯s able to hit her, she takes a step back, with the same cadence as before. The blades just barely miss her; it¡¯s like she knew exactly how far she had to move back¡­ He rushes toward her, swinging around his arms wildly. His attacks are fast, even with my teleportation I¡¯d probably still have trouble not getting hit, yet¡­! She¡¯s absolutely fine. Not a single cut, not a single bruise. The way she¡¯s moving¡­ Is she¡­? Her eyes close, and her arms start methodically moving around. She totally is¡­ She¡¯s dancing! He desperately tries hitting her, but he¡¯s wasting his time. Even with her eyes closed, he can¡¯t reach her. She starts humming to herself. The melody and dance resonate with each other, pushing her movements beyond perfection. He continues to attack, but accidentally gets too close. Her finger graces his shoulder, dislocating it instantly. Her palm brushes against his jaw, separating the joints. By this point, the fight is pretty much over already, but she decides to finish it with one last move¡­ As the final move of her dance, she presses her index finger against his forehead. His eyes snap wide open, and just quickly, his body goes limp. And with a graceful curtsy, her dance ends. Not a single drop of blood was spilt by either fighter, yet her victory was as decisive as it gets. ¡®The most elegant fighter in the world¡­¡¯ A couple of healers carry Bennett away, and she starts walking back to her area. ¡°What a thrilling match!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°As expected of the most beautiful and elegant hunter around! Not a single movement was wasted!¡± ¨C Barbara A cacophony of cheers and boos drown out the commentators. I guess the people who bet on Bennett are frustrated that he lost¡­ ¡°I love hearing the audience all riled up! Let¡¯s keep going while the energy is high!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Vincent and Chloe, come on out!¡± ¨C Barbara Chapter 148: Vincent vs Chloe --- [Vincent¡¯s perspective] ¡°No more waiting, let the second match begin!¡± ¨C Bob She¡¯s the emotionless one, huh? I can tell¡­ Her expression is completely neutral; it almost looks like she¡¯s bored¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this. Just use your specialty already.¡± ¨C Chloe She¡¯s just going to let me use it? Wonderful! ¡°You¡¯re in for a treat!¡± ¨C Vincent A large six-sided die materializes in front of me. It isn¡¯t affected by gravity and is floating in front of me. I raise my hands, and it ascends higher. Suddenly, it starts spinning around uncontrollably in every direction. My opponent lets out a sigh, making me take my eyes off the die, glancing over at her instead. She isn¡¯t even looking at it¡­ She¡¯s staring right at me, completely ignoring the die. ¡°Are you done?¡± ¨C Chloe ¡°Almost!¡± ¨C Vincent She sighs again¡­ It finally comes to a stop¡­ ¡°Four¡­ Not bad.¡± ¨C Vincent During the preliminaries I got a two. It made winning significantly harder than it could have been, but who doesn¡¯t love a good challenge, eh? ¡°You see, the outcome of the dice roll decides how strong I am. A three is my regular self, anything higher makes me stronger, and anything lower makes me weaker.¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Ok.¡± ¨C Chloe I can¡¯t help but let a grin form¡­ Cocky types like her are just the best! It¡¯s going to be so much fun destroying her! Seeing them go from unrivaled confidence to utter despair¡­ It¡¯s so addicting! And the best thing is that people like her usually tend to have some strength to back up their confidence too.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Oh¡­ I can¡¯t wait to feel her tear me apart¡­! This battle is going to be so thrilling! Unable to contain myself any longer, I dash towards her. The look on her face is neutral, and she¡¯s not taking any particular stance. I can¡¯t read her; she¡¯s not giving away any information about her fighting style at all¡­ Just as I get within range, I throw my first punch of the tournament. With one quick swipe, she parries my arm, making me stumble. She quickly follows up with a lightning-fast blow to my chest, breaking one of my ribs, and launching me backwards. Oh¡­ That felt so good¡­! With no time to waste, I go back in. I throw another punch, but she parries that just as easily. I try again and again, but to no avail. She¡¯s got a way to counter everything¡­ I drop down, then launch myself forward, trying to tackle her. Just before I can reach her, she knees me in the face, breaking my nose. She tries to follow up by kicking me away, but I push through the pain, and duck under. I use the momentum to propel myself forward, and wrap my arms around her legs. She starts falling, but quickly hits me with an elbow to the back of the head, forcing me to let go. As she stabilizes herself, she takes a step back to assess the situation. I bet she thinks that attack of hers knocked me out¡­ Well, it didn¡¯t! I pick myself back up, and with a crooked nose and a bloody smile, I get ready to engage once again. This pain¡­ It¡¯s so wonderful, she should feel it too! ¡°Chloe seems to be taking the lead, but Vincent isn¡¯t giving up either!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°I really thought he was out there for a second!¡± ¨C Barbara I try rushing back in, but she completely changes up her style. Instead of only fighting defensively, she sends a barrage of jabs at me, forcing me to keep my distance. It¡¯s impossible to slip through all those attacks¡­ Oh well! I power through, taking dozens of jabs head on, but just about manage to grab her shirt. She grips my hand tightly and uses all her power to crush it. Despite that, I don¡¯t let go¡­ She bombards me with blows from her fist, elbow, shin, heel, knee, and palm. Yet none of it make me back off¡­ With every blow, the pleasure skyrockets. It¡¯s euphoric! Now, she just needs to know what it¡¯s like too! I prepare to throw a punch with all my power behind it, and she raises her hand up in the air as a response. Is she finally going to use her specialty?! I can¡¯t wait to see it! Right before my attack lands, she unleashes the most devastating blow so far, finally forcing me to stop¡­ ¡°I surrender.¡± ¨C Chloe ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Vincent How could she?! We were just about to get to the good part! I didn¡¯t even get to strike her once¡­ ¡°Why?!¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Because I would have needed to use my specialty to win.¡± ¨C Chloe ¡°And?!¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¨C Chloe ¡°Why would you sign up to a public event like this if you want to keep it secret? Did you think you could win with only BDM?!¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨C Chloe ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Vincent This woman¡­ I can¡¯t believe it¡­ ¡°What about the prize money? Are you just going to give up on it like that?¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Stop asking so many questions. I don¡¯t care.¡± ¨C Chloe The healers arrive and do their job. And just like that, my body is back to normal. She leaves the stadium altogether, and I start heading back to my designated area. I can¡¯t let the next fight end prematurely too¡­ I¡¯ll take my time with her and savor every bit of it¡­ ¡°What an unexpected outcome! The one who was in the lead suddenly surrendered, giving away her chances at the grand price!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve ever seen anything like that in the history of the battle festival before, Bob!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°I sure haven¡¯t!¡± ¨C Bob On my way down the stairs, I see Jin getting ready to get up on stage. I¡¯ve actually wanted to fight him for quite a while¡­ He¡¯s strong, so I¡¯ll likely get that wish fulfilled. He puts his hand on my shoulder¡­ ¡°That was rough¡­¡± ¨C Jin He snickers to himself¡­ ¡°Imagine if she didn¡¯t surrender¡­¡± ¨C Jin ¡°I would have still won.¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°Oh yeah? Well then, make sure to win your next match too. I¡¯ll see you in the semi-finals.¡± ¨C Jin ¡°Don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself, you need to beat that big guy first.¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°I¡¯ll make short work of him. Watch me.¡± ¨C Jin Chapter 149: Jin vs Kuro --- [Jin¡¯s perspective] ¡°After the massive upset in the previous match, I¡¯m sure the crowd is craving more! Jin and Kuro, get on stage!¡± ¨C Bob Instead of walking up the stairs, I fly up using my specialty. I got up first, but I can tell he¡¯ll be here soon too¡­ He¡¯s tall enough for me to see the top of his head despite being at the bottom of the staircase. But that¡¯s not even why¡­ With each step he takes, the arena quivers¡­ No, that¡¯s not it¡­ It¡¯s the whole stadium¡­! As he gets up, it settles in how abnormal his build is. I¡¯ve never seen anyone as tall as him before, and I¡¯ve definitely never seen anyone with muscles like him before. The announcers said something along the lines of him not using Divinity¡­ That can¡¯t be true, right? There¡¯s just no way¡­ ¡°Seems the fighters are ready! Let the third round begin!¡± ¨C Bob He doesn¡¯t move. He doesn¡¯t guard. He doesn¡¯t attack. All he does is stand there, looking down on me¡­ I know how strong I am, I know I¡¯m going to win, but¡­ Something about him just sets off all the alarm bells in my body. I need to be careful; I can¡¯t approach him without using my ability first. My specialty activates, turning my body into dark smoke. Right now, all physical objects pass right through me. If it¡¯s true that he doesn¡¯t use Divinity, then that means he doesn¡¯t have a specialty either. If that¡¯s the case, then all he has is physical attacks. He can¡¯t touch me. The problem of course is that just like his attacks will phase through me, mine will phase through him. I¡¯ll need to selectively materialize parts of my body when attacking.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I just need to be careful and make sure he can¡¯t take advantage of that. As I inch myself closer to him, I get ready to attack as soon as I get within range. His eyes follow my every movement, but he shows no sign of moving himself. Just when I get within an arm¡¯s length of him, I throw a punch, materializing my fist just a few centimeters before contact. The attack lands cleanly, but¡­ Nothing. He isn¡¯t hurt. He isn¡¯t pushed back. He doesn¡¯t even flinch. To him, it makes no difference whether I attack or not. What the hell is he made of? How can he possibly be this sturdy? Is he really a D-ranker?! I myself will probably rank up next time the exams roll around¡­ An average C-ranker would not take a hit from me nearly as well as he did¡­ Could he be beyond even that¡­? No¡­ No! He¡¯s a D-ranker, just like the rest of us. He¡¯s not out of reach, and he¡¯s not unbeatable. I¡¯ll just have to hit him harder! I throw another punch, this time with even more power behind it than before. Suddenly, I see his fist approaching me¡­ It¡¯s so big and intimidating that it feels like it¡¯s taking up my entire field of view¡­ He intends to clash fists with me, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯m risking that! I turn my arm back into smoke, and his fist passes right through me. ¡°Won¡¯t be that easy to beat me!¡± ¨C Jin ¡°Hmm.¡± ¨C Kuro He extends both arms, almost like he¡¯s trying to grab me. Then he¡­ He¡­ What¡­? He just let himself fall forward, catching himself on the ground with his extended arms. Then just as he landed, he started doing push-ups¡­ ¡°One, two, three, four, five¡­¡± ¨C Kuro What the hell is he doing?! We¡¯re in the middle of a match! ¡°145, 146, 147, 148, 149¡­¡± ¨C Kuro Well, if he¡¯s going to do something stupid like that, I¡¯ll make sure he¡¯s punished for it. Even if he¡¯s not focusing on the match, that doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t! As he keeps doing his push-ups, I throw a barrage of attacks at him. ¡°4866, 4867, 4868, 4869, 4870¡­¡± ¨C Kuro It¡¯s not working¡­ I¡¯ve attacked him hundreds and hundreds of times, yet none of them could put a scratch on him. On the flip side, my limbs are getting more and more damaged with every hit. Attacking him feels like punching a mountain! No matter how much I throw at him, it will never be enough. ¡°7641, 7642, 7643, 7644, 7645¡­¡± ¨C Kuro As I breathe heavily from exhaustion, I put together the little energy I have left, and throw one last attack. On contact, the bones in both my fist and forearm shatter¡­ ¡°GUAAAH!¡± ¨C Jin ¡°7998, 7999, and 8000.¡± ¨C Kuro He gets back up and dusts his hands off. ¡°I¡¯ve given you a chance to prove yourself, but now it¡¯s my turn.¡± ¨C Kuro With every step he takes, the ground shakes. He sets down his foot for the final time, and the shockwave alone is enough to make my hair blow in the wind. As he clenches his fist, I hear his muscles contracting¡­ He pulls his arm back, then quickly launches it right at me. The fear of what¡¯s going to happen completely paralyzes me, making me unable to activate my specialty. As I watch his fist approach me, I feel something wet trickle down my leg¡­ I close my eyes, and instinctively look away. Suddenly, a massive gust of wind knocks me over¡­ But¡­ I¡¯m fine. He pulled his punch right before hitting me¡­ ¡°Why¡­?¡± ¨C Jin ¡°Because it¡¯s against the rules to kill.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°I see¡­¡± ¨C Jin He knew I¡¯d die if I was hit, so he had no choice but to stop himself¡­ I can¡¯t beat him¡­ I don¡¯t know if anyone here can beat him¡­ There¡¯s no point, he¡¯s simply too strong. ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Jin I take a breath, disappointed in myself for losing in the first round. ¡°I surrender¡­¡± ¨C Jin Throughout our match, he threw exactly two punches. The first one passed right through me thanks to my specialty. The second one stopped before hitting me. Despite not having laid his hands on me even once, his victory was decisive¡­ ¡°You¡¯re way too strong for a D-ranker, it can¡¯t all be from BDM. Is your specialty the source of your power?¡± ¨C Jin ¡°I use no such thing.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡± ¨C Jin ¡°True strength comes from within. It is not something that can be achieved with borrowed power.¡± ¨C Kuro This guy is crazy¡­ Chapter 150: Victor vs Diego --- [Victor¡¯s perspective] Finally my turn to fight¡­ To be honest, I¡¯m a little nervous. To Lett I¡¯m the stronger older brother, and to Alex I¡¯m his teacher. If I lose¡­ No, I can¡¯t let that happen! No matter what, I¡¯ll make sure to win! ¡°Next is one of the matchups I¡¯ve been looking forward to the most!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°The man who knocked out all his opponents in a single hit, up against the man who refused to go down no matter what! Victor vs Diego!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°Let the match begin!¡± ¨C Bob I can tell just from looking at him that there¡¯s a fire in his eyes. The determination is radiating from him; I don¡¯t think everything they said about him was empty praise¡­ Before I can make a move, he¡¯s already charging straight towards me. As he¡¯s approaching, he¡¯s yelling out, making everyone in the audience gaze at him. Putting no effort into feeling me out first, he instead goes right on the offense. As soon as I¡¯m within range, he swings. Like the announcers said, he doesn¡¯t seem to be greatest in terms of physicals; dodging his attacks is trivial. Yet after every miss, he just throws another punch. It¡¯s an endless barrage of blows, yet all of them are blocked, parried, or dodged. Eventually, I see an opportunity to strike back, and I take it in a heartbeat. My fist drills into his chest, knocking him over. As he¡¯s about to stand up, my specialty kicks in. Ten echoes, all equally strong as the initial hit, repeatedly dig into his body. By the time it¡¯s finished, multiple rips are broken, leaving him in terrible shape. Back when I trained Alex, my limit was a lot lower. I could only make five echoes, but now, that number has doubled! This is why I could knock out all my opponents in the preliminaries in one hit; landing one punch means ten more will follow shortly after. I¡¯m essentially just 11 times stronger than anyone else at the same level of BDM as me¡­ And I¡¯m no slouch when it comes to BDM either! He¡¯s in horrible shape, but he still gets up. ¡°Is that all you¡¯ve got!?¡± ¨C Diego With seemingly no regard for his injuries, he rushes towards me yet again. Despite having multiple broken rips, his movements don¡¯t seem to have slowed down at all; he¡¯s still at full power. Of course, that¡¯s not enough.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Just like before, I stop all his attacks in one way or another; none of them land cleanly. ¡°You¡¯re not winning this. Give up before your injuries become so severe the healers can¡¯t help you.¡± ¨C Victor It¡¯s honest advice, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll heed it. I know I wouldn¡¯t¡­ As expected, he doesn¡¯t halt his attack, but his reaction is still strange¡­ He didn¡¯t get mad, and he didn¡¯t get motivated¡­ No, he simply laughed. It¡¯s like my advice was just a joke to him and doesn¡¯t fuel him in any way. He already had his mind set on winning, and nothing I say can sway him. Not for the better or worse. If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll simply have to beat it into him! Instead of waiting for an opening like before, I decide to take one of his hits head-on, and deliver a counterattack at the same time. His attack hurts, but it isn¡¯t enough to slow me down; not in the slightest! I shove my fist into his stomach and propel him into the air, making him cough up blood. Before he begins falling to the ground, my hit repeats. He gets launched higher and higher into the air with each echo. All of them deliver significant damage; I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some of his organs got ripped apart. He slams back into the ground, and the crowd goes silent. ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± ¨C Barbara As he lays on the ground lifelessly, it looks like the announcers have come to the conclusion that the match is over. ¡°And the winner is-¡± ¨C Bob Before he can finish his sentence, Diego gets back up on his feet. ¡°Not¡­ Yet!¡± ¨C Diego With the same look of determination and confidence he had before, he yet again charges right at me. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! He¡¯s still able to fight!¡± ¨C Bob He shouldn¡¯t be able to stand, let alone fight! The announcers might not see it, but I do¡­ His condition is really bad. They should just call the match off already¡­ But there¡¯s something I¡¯m still confused about¡­ ¡°Why are you not using your specialty?!¡± ¨C Victor He willingly answers as he continues his assault¡­ ¡°Because it has no combat application!¡± ¨C Diego !! A specialty can be absolutely anything; it¡¯s a complete gamble. Because of that, there are many cases where the specialty turns out to not be combat oriented at all, or at least are very hard to utilize in combat. That in and of itself is not uncommon, but to think he made it all the way to D-rank¡­ He¡¯s not even all that strong¡­ Is it really all because of his determination¡­? Either way, it doesn¡¯t matter. I need to put an end to this before it goes too far. A solid hit to the head should knock him out; determination alone can¡¯t stop that. Just as before, I take another one of his hits to land one of my own. Somehow, his fist feels heavier this time¡­ Despite all his injuries, he¡¯s even stronger than before! However, it still is not enough to stop me. My fist lands right on his temple, but instead of stopping there, I follow through with the attack and smash him down into the ground. The hits repeat, and his skull starts cracking up more and more. That should not only have knocked him out, but given him a solid concussion as well¡­ I didn¡¯t really want to go that far against a guy who could barely even hurt me, but he left me no choice¡­ ¡°Is that it?!¡± ¨C Diego ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Victor How is he still awake?! He gets back up, but his whole body trembles. His eyes look unfocused, and he doesn¡¯t appear to even be looking at me. His legs wobble as he yet again rushes at me. No matter what I throw at him, he just simply refuses to go down! If I really wanted to, I could kill him, but I¡¯m obviously not going to do that¡­ Not only because it would be wrong, but it would also defeat the purpose of doing it all together; if I kill him, I get disqualified. How am I supposed to win?! ¡°You better surrender already, because there¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m losing!¡± ¨C Diego I punch him in the shoulder, dislocating it. I kick him in the knee, snapping his leg. I grip his hands, crushing his fingers. Despite all of that, he¡¯s still fighting¡­! I¡­ I can¡¯t win¡­ He just simply does not go down¡­ No matter how many injuries he suffers, no matter how much pain I inflict¡­ He refuses to lose¡­ The determination in his eyes burns just as brightly as before; the only way for me to put him down is by killing him, and that¡¯s not happening. He¡¯s going to win¡­ ¡°That¡¯s enough! Victor, you advance to the next round.¡± ¨C Bob What¡­? For the first time ever, he finally stops his attack. He looks directly over at the announcers, and starts yelling at them. ¡°What do you mean?! The fight wasn¡¯t over yet, I didn¡¯t surrender!¡± ¨C Diego A healer shows up and tries to heal him, but he slaps away their hand. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± ¨C Diego ¡°I¡¯m sorry Diego, but this is our call. We¡¯ve deemed you unfit to continue.¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°This is bullshit! I would have won!¡± ¨C Diego ¡°Please leave the stage.¡± ¨C Bob The healer forcefully grabs him, and doesn¡¯t let go. I don¡¯t know what their rank is, but it¡¯s clearly higher than ours; Diego can¡¯t break free. They pick him up and carry him away, healing him while walking. He tries resisting, but it¡¯s futile against someone that much stronger. All while this transpires, I¡¯m just left here in awe of what just transpired¡­ I would have inevitably lost, either from surrendering, or accidentally killing my opponent while trying to knock him out. Yet they called the match in my favor before that could happen. Wow¡­ Chapter 151: Rin vs Luna --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] Victor won his match, so no matter what, I¡¯ll have to do the same. My opponent is Rin Nox; I¡¯ve heard about her from Lett. Apparently, they¡¯ve met a couple times during exams. From what I¡¯ve gathered, she¡¯s incredibly fast but equally weak and fragile. Her specialty compensates for that by letting her coat her limbs in lightning to let her cut her opponents. If all that is right, then one or two solid hits should be enough to win. The issue is actually landing those hits¡­ If she really is as fast as Lett and the announcers make her out to be, then that might become a problem. Still, there¡¯s no doubt I¡¯ll win. It might just be a little tricky, that¡¯s all. ¡°And now, for a match between the fastest person here, and the most well-rounded person here! Rin vs Luna! Begin!¡± ¨C Bob As soon as he finished his sentence, I start bleeding from my shoulder, and Rin is behind me. Wow. They didn¡¯t lie¡­ Suddenly, another cut appears on my other shoulder, then one on my hip. She¡¯s dashing past me faster than I can perceive, leaving shallow wounds each time. They might not be dangerous individually, but if this continues, I¡¯ll eventually pass out from blood loss. I transform my arms into longswords, then spin around, making it almost impossible to approach. As expected, she¡¯s keeping her distance, not wanting to take any major risks. I try moving toward her while spinning, but she easily outmaneuvers me by circling around me and running to the other side of the arena. It¡¯s not that wide, so I can stop that from happening. The swords grow longer, making my wingspan just long enough to make it impossible to run around me. Suddenly, another cut appears on my thigh. ¡°Too slow.¡± ¨C Rin Did making my swords longer slow me down that much¡­? I knew it would affect the rate at which I was spinning, but I didn¡¯t think it would be enough for her to take advantage of¡­This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Blood spurts out from my flank as a new wound opens. I need to change strategy; this isn¡¯t working. My arms change into two large tower shields and place them together in front of me. I make them grow out, circling around me. I¡¯m fully protected, the only place she can attack me from is above, but I doubt she¡¯s dumb enough to try that. After all, when she¡¯s in the air, she has no contact with the ground, so running away from me is impossible. ¡°Are you planning to stay like that forever?¡± ¨C Rin ¡°Of course not, come in!¡± ¨C Luna I move the shields away from each other, making just enough room for her to enter. If she¡¯s confident enough in her speed, she can try to attack me now. But if she can¡¯t get in and out fast enough, I¡¯ll catch her. If that happens, the fight is over. Now what will it be¡­ Will she attack, or not? I wait a little while, she doesn¡¯t attack. I taunt her, she doesn¡¯t attack¡­ I even widen the gap, but she still does not attack! She obviously knows it¡¯s a trap, and doesn¡¯t want to risk losing just to prove how fast she is. If I was in her position, I¡¯d do the same. But the problem now is that we¡¯re in a stalemate. She can¡¯t attack because she knows she¡¯ll likely lose the moment she does, and I can¡¯t stop defending, or she¡¯ll continue to get more hits on me. Or at least that¡¯s what it looks like¡­ She has already hurt me quite a bit; I have several open wounds leaking blood. At this rate, it will still take a few minutes before it becomes a problem. But if she¡¯s willing to wait it out, it doesn¡¯t matter how long. I¡¯m the one who needs to make a move, and she knows it. But how should I do it? I could try making my hands into whips, and violently lash them around. That could work, but if she manages to dodge them and close the distance, I¡¯m screwed. By the time I¡¯ll be able to transform my arms into something more suitable for close-quarters combat, she¡¯ll have already cut me to pieces. It could work, but it¡¯s risky; I¡¯ll save this as a last resort. What else? Wait¡­! This is risky too, but I think I¡¯ve got it! I¡¯m bad at transforming many individual parts of my body, especially into small things, so there¡¯s a limit to how well I can pull this off¡­ Under my clothes, where she can¡¯t see, I transform certain parts of my body into knives, giving me sharp edges. If she attacks one of those spots, she¡¯ll end up cutting herself up. I undo the shield transformation, and instead turn my arms into spiked maces. She zips past me, leaving behind yet another wound. I swing one of my maces after her, but she is already gone by the time I attack. She didn¡¯t hit one of the knives, but I still need to continue attacking her. I can¡¯t let her know anything weird is going on; she has to think I¡¯m just desperately trying to hit her with light, but powerful, weapons. Just like before, she slits my skin and gets away before I can get to her. She does it again. And again. And again¡­ If only I could make more knives¡­ If I could cover my entire body in sharp edges, she¡¯d have no way to attack. Her assault continues on, brutally messing up my body. All my clothes are stained with blood; even my hair¡­ Breathing starts feeling more and more difficult with every passing second, and I¡¯m starting to lose focus. Just as all hope is lost, she hits one of the knives¡­! ¡°Agh!¡± ¨C Rin As she tried to cut me, the edge of the knife got between her ring and middle finger. Due to her immense speed and low defense, it split her hand in two, all the way down to her wrist. The shock and pain put her off guard for just a moment, but a moment is all I need. I slam both maces into her back, and I feel her spine cracking. As she falls to the ground, the announcers call the match, and the healers arrive to help her. Not even a second later, she¡¯s back to normal. Just as quickly, they close all my wounds, making me as good as new. ¡°Good fight.¡± ¨C Luna Instead of responding, she clicks her tongue. She¡¯s clearly annoyed that she lost¡­ We walk down the stairs and enter our respective waiting rooms. As I get in, I see a woman waiting for me. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°You¡¯re covered in blood. In a tournament like this, that¡¯s not uncommon. I¡¯m here to clean the contestants up when that happens. With my specialty, it¡¯ll only take a second.¡± ¨C Woman Chapter 152: Lett vs Valentina --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] Victor and Luna both won their matches¡­ Time for me to do the same! ¡°Now it¡¯s time for a match between the woman with the power everyone wished they had, and the woman who made history by defeating everyone in the preliminaries singlehandedly! Lett vs Valentina!¡± ¨C Bob I should do like I¡¯ve done before; trick my opponent into thinking my specialty has conditions that it really doesn¡¯t. It¡¯s a really effective way to catch them off guard. The best case scenario is winning the match then and there, but even if it doesn¡¯t quite go that far, I¡¯ll still get a solid hit in. That can be enough to tip the scales in my favor. I clap my hands, and the moment I do, I teleport behind her. I punch her in the back of the head before she realizes what happened, making her fall over. Stopping now would be a mistake; I can¡¯t wait for her to recover. Before she can get back up, I slam my foot into her back, making her shriek in pain. I try the same maneuver again, but she rolls away, making me miss. She grabs my leg, but with a swift clap of my hands, I¡¯m out of her hold and instead standing on top of her. I dig my heel into her stomach, making her yet again yell out. She takes a swing at my legs, but before she can hit, I clap my hands and teleport away. She expected this to happen, so she used the momentum of her attack to get back up. So far, the fight is going well. She¡¯s not weak by any means, but not nearly strong enough to defeat hundreds of D-rank hunters by herself¡­ How did she do it? ¡°Teleportation, huh? The announcers were right; that is a power everyone has at one point or another in their life wished they had. But is that enough to beat me? We¡¯ll see about that¡­¡± ¨C Valentina Suddenly, her eyes start glowing and my body starts tingling¡­Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡®Is that enough to beat me?¡¯ What an arrogant bitch. Who does she think she is? I¡¯ll fucking show her that it¡¯s more than enough. Without clapping, I teleport right her and throw another punch to the back of her head. She foresees this and moves her head away while slamming her elbow backwards, right into my stomach. How dare she dodge! I grab her arm and dig my nails into her, making her bleed. She throws another punch, but instead of teleporting away, I take the opportunity to land one of my own. Her fist crashes into my chest, breaking a rib. Unlucky for her that mine does the same. I teleport into the air above her and throw a kick to her head. She sees me, and grabs my leg before it lands. That little¡­! With my other leg, I throw another one, but she grabs that too. I put my hands together and prepare to smash her head in, but before I¡¯m able to, she slams me down to the ground. The impact makes me cough up blood, and completely whiff my attack. ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you for that!¡± ¨C Lett --- [Valentina¡¯s perspective] After using my specialty on her, her mind is filled with rage and hatred for me. She has no sense of rationality, and only wants to kill me. She forgoes all defense and all strategy, and instead strictly focuses on taking me out. Against certain people, that can make them harder to fight. Especially really passive people, and those who tend to hold back. I can undo my specialty at any time, but then I¡¯m left with only BDM. Luckily, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case with her. When the fight began, she was clapping every time she teleported. After using my specialty on her, she immediately stopped. I suppose she was trying to trick me into thinking she needed to clap to teleport so that she could catch me off guard later on. Honestly, it probably would have worked¡­ But now she has completely abandoned that strategy. Well, not just that strategy, but all strategy. All she does is attack. There¡¯s a problem though¡­ She¡¯s strong and can still use her specialty offensively. We keep trading blows¡­ Overall, that¡¯s probably good for her. With her current mindset, she won¡¯t let some measly injuries slow her down. What I did in the preliminaries was impressive for sure, but it¡¯s all thanks to my specialty. My ability does one more thing; the thing that made that crazy feat possible, but still doesn¡¯t help me here¡­ The more people are affected by my specialty, the stronger I grow. I¡¯ve never used it on hundreds of people at once before today; the power I got from it was beyond my wildest imagination. If I could access some of that now, taking her out would be a breeze¡­ Alas, I¡¯m stuck with this¡­ Suddenly, she starts wildly teleporting around; punching and kicking everywhere. The speed at which she teleports is insane. Most of the time her attack nowhere near me; it¡¯s like she has no control over where she¡¯s going¡­ A kick lands on the back of my neck. A punch to my knee. An elbow to my face. Although most of her attacks miss, many of them land. And I have no way to fight back! Suddenly, I feel an attack landing just in the wrong spot, making my consciousness start fading away¡­ ¡­ ¡­ --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] I¡¯ll fucking kill her! I¡¯ll fucking kill her! I¡¯ll fucking¡­ Wait¡­ What am I thinking? As she passes out and falls to the ground, I suddenly come to my senses again¡­ What was that all about¡­? After her eyes started glowing, it felt like my mind went completely blank. All I wanted was to kill her¡­ What kind of specialty is that¡­? ¡°And just like that, after a whirlwind of blows, Lett knocks out Valentina!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°What a turn of events! After seeing Valentina¡¯s display of power in the preliminaries, I was sure she¡¯d win! I guess Lett is a lot stronger than we thought!¡± ¨C Bob Chapter 153: Quinn vs Sabrina --- [Isabella¡¯s perspective] Ugh¡­ I didn¡¯t even want to be here, but Sabrina insisted. I swear, if something happens to us because of this¡­! Maybe I¡¯ll keep her locked in as punishment! No, that¡¯s mean¡­ I suppose the reward money is nice, and it¡¯s cool to see some of my teammates from the D-rank exam again¡­ If Alex wins his match, he¡¯ll be our next opponent. After that, if she makes it that far, it¡¯ll be Lett. ¡°Now, for the penultimate match of the first round¡­ Quinn vs Isabella!¡± ¨C Bob With no time to waste, I pull out my sword. --- [Sabrina¡¯s perspective] Quinn vs Isabella¡­ She¡¯s not even the one fighting¡­ Her name is attached to everything; I never get any credit. I let out a sigh¡­ Whatever. It is what it is. Let¡¯s just focus on beating that Quinn girl first. ¡°We¡¯re similar, you and I.¡± ¨C Quinn ¡°How so?¡± ¨C Sabrina ¡°We both have to hold back to not get disqualified. You can¡¯t decapitate your opponents, and I¡­ Well, you¡¯ll see.¡± ¨C Quinn ¡°Stop with the excuses. If some simple rules are all it takes for you to not be at your best, then you¡¯ll never get far. I won¡¯t let the no killing rule affect my performance. Not one bit.¡± ¨C Isabella ¡°I like your attitude. Try to not die!¡± ¨C Quinn As soon as the words leave her mouth, she rushes right at me. With the sword in one hand and the sheath in the other, I enter a defensive stance, ready to take on her assault.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. As she gets close, she stretches out her arm as far as it goes, trying to grab me. I swiftly slash down on her forearm before she can reach me, but instead of it cutting right through, it gets lodged. She¡¯s durable as hell¡­! I pull the blade out, leaving behind a deep wound. Before she can reach me, I slam the tip of the scabbard into her hand to force her to keep her distance. She grabs it and throws it away, but it quickly teleports back into my hand. ¡°Interesting¡­ That¡¯s clearly not a regular sword you¡¯ve got there. I should probably get rid of it.¡± ¨C Quinn Suddenly, a powerful explosion detonates on top of my blade. Surprisingly, I¡¯m completely unharmed. She must be controlling it, making sure it only affects a tiny area. If she let loose, she could probably end up accidentally killing audience members too¡­ Her intended target was my sword, but of course, it¡¯s as good as new. It doesn¡¯t matter how powerful her attacks are, it is completely indestructible. ¡°Really¡­?¡± ¨C Quinn She looks genuinely shocked. ¡°That wasn¡¯t enough to destroy it? Did it even leave a mark?!¡± ¨C Quinn ¡°Unfortunately for you, no matter how hard you try, you will never even put a scratch on it. You¡¯ll have to defeat me the old-fashioned way.¡± ¨C Sabrina The most pressing matter now though¡­ How did she create that bomb? Can she just make anything explode whenever she wants? Is it something she has aim? Are there any conditions? Without knowing how her specialty works, she¡¯s extremely dangerous. I need to either figure it out quickly, or¡­! Just defeat her! With all my might, I attack the same spot I did before. Due to her arm already being damaged and dumbfounded by my sword being intact, I cleave her limb off. ¡°Aaghhh!!!¡± ¨C Quinn She lets out a cry of pain and clutches what¡¯s left of her arm. ¡°You bitch! You¡¯ll pay for that!¡± ¨C Quinn Suddenly, the blood on my sword starts glowing, before erupting into an even bigger explosion than before. Naturally my sword is fine, but my hand is charred. So it¡¯s her blood that explodes¡­ She whips her now severed arm around, sprinkling blood into the air all around us. All at once, it detonates. I managed to deflect most of the blood with my scabbard, so none of it hit me directly, but it still caused quite a lot of damage. At the same time, I hear screaming from the audience. It seems her blood went way too far and ended up hurting some of them. Where did all that control go? After I severed her arm, she completely lost her cool. It¡¯s like she¡¯s consumed by rage. Is she actually trying to kill me? ¡°The match is over! Quinn, you¡¯re disqualified for harming audience members!¡± ¨C Barbara The healers all jump into the crowd to help them. Despite the announcers saying the match is over, she doesn¡¯t stop. She picks up her lifeless forearm, and crushes it, making her blood erupt all over the stadium. The hunters working here are all busy protecting the audience members; there¡¯s no one other than me who can stop her¡­ They already called the match, and she¡¯s a danger to everyone, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem if¡­! Before she can detonate her blood, I take a deep breath, and grip the handle with both hands. With one swift slash, I decapitate her. As her head falls to the ground, I whip her blood off the blade. I look directly up at the announcers. ¡°I assume that was okay, right?¡± ¨C Sabrina ¡°Y-yeah¡­ You¡¯re good¡­¡± ¨C Bob From the looks of it, there doesn¡¯t appear to have been any casualties in the audience. Good. As I walk down the stairs and head back to my waiting area, the crowd starts cheering for me. If Isabella was out right now, I bet she¡¯d be really embarrassed¡­ I sheathe the sword again, giving control back to her¡­ Chapter 154: Isaac vs Alex --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] The preliminaries were a little rough, but I got through them. Some of the people there were exceptionally strong; they could have easily made it far into the main tournament themselves. If it wasn¡¯t for my specialty, I wouldn¡¯t be here right now¡­ It cost me my entire left arm, but it was enough to get me through. With only one working arm, winning this thing won¡¯t be easy, but it had to be done. The healers can¡¯t heal my sacrifices, even the temporary ones. What state will my body be in at the end¡­? ¡°Sorry everyone! It took longer than usual to get the final match ready due to the fiasco in the previous one. We¡¯re finally back on track though!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°We¡¯ve also set up extra security measures to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show everyone!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°And with that, let the final match of the first round begin! Isaac vs Alexander!¡± ¨C Bob Alexander¡­ Alex¡­ That¡¯s one of the guys from the D-rank exam, and an acquaintance of Lucas. He beat his opponent with ease, despite him supposedly being the strongest D-ranker there. I shouldn¡¯t take him lightly. If I recall correctly, he had some sort of absorption or negation specialty. Even though his opponent was supposed to be intangible smoke, he was able to touch him. I don¡¯t think his ability will be relevant in our fight, but you never know. Do I feel him out, or should I just go for the win immediately? Both have their own pros and cons. If I go for the win right away and it turns out his ability can somehow negate my powerup or he can hold out for long enough for it to run out, I might just lose then and there. But if I feel him out first, he might end up beating me before I get a chance to go all out.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. This is a tricky situation, but¡­! Before I get to decide, he comes rushing towards me at an incredible speed, and before I know it, he¡¯s already here. He unleashes a massive blow, just looking at it I can tell I¡¯ll lose if that makes direct contact¡­ Since my left arm is temporarily paralyzed, I can only block it with my right. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll successfully block an attack like that with only one arm. There¡¯s no getting away either; he¡¯s way too fast for me to dodge. I need to use my specialty, now! But what do I sacrifice¡­ Quick, I need to come up with something valuable right now! Uhm¡­! My ability to see clearly! Suddenly, my vision turns blurry, and his fist becomes a blob of colors. Shit¡­ Maybe that was too much¡­ How am I going to win the next few matches like this? It¡¯s not going to go back to normal until long after the battle festival is over. But at the same time¡­! This power! There¡¯s so much of it! I try to grab his fist, but due to my terrible vision, I end up missing, and blocking regularly instead. Despite getting this massive powerup, he still has enough strength in him to push me back. He follows up with another punch, and I throw one right back at him at the same time. His punch lands on my left shoulder, dislocating it. Luckily, it¡¯s already paralyzed along with the rest of the arm, so I don¡¯t feel it. My fist digs into his body, but he stands firm. He is completely unharmed. At best, it¡¯s going to leave a bruise¡­ How is he so strong¡­? For the first time, he opens his mouth. ¡°If this is all you¡¯ve got, just surrender. It¡¯s for your own good.¡± ¨C Alex There¡¯s something about the way he said it¡­ This isn¡¯t just your regular warning or cocky delusion. He¡¯s serious. If I don¡¯t surrender, things will only get worse for me. But¡­ ¡°Sorry, bud. Can¡¯t do that. No matter what it takes, I will win this thing. It¡¯s my best shot at finding him¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex Despite getting this massive boost, I¡¯m still too weak. I need more¡­ To hell with my body, I just need enough power to beat him! Just then, I temporarily sacrifice all feeling in my right arm too¡­ The power I got from my last sacrifice is still there, but it won¡¯t be long before it goes away. Now, with the added boost of a second large sacrifice on top, it should be more than enough to take him out! But I¡¯ve only got one shot; one attack is all the time I¡¯ve got. With both arms paralyzed, I can¡¯t just throw a regular punch¡­ I lean back, preparing to launch a powerful headbutt. He locks eyes with me, realizing how serious I am. I bite down as hard as I can and put every bit of power I¡¯ve got into this single attack. He casually lifts his hand, preparing to stop my attack with it. ¡°That won¡¯t be enough!¡± ¨C Isaac I ram my head into his hand, but instead of him getting blown back with a broken and bruised body, he just stands there. He stopped my attack¡­ ¡°Surrender.¡± ¨C Alex His hand didn¡¯t even break¡­ It took no effort at all for him to stop that¡­ What is he¡­? But¡­ No¡­ I still can¡¯t give up! I need to win! I don¡¯t like doing it, but I think it¡¯s time to start using permanent sacrifices¡­ ¡°No. I won¡¯t surre-¡± ¨C Isaac Before I get to finish my sentence, I feel his fist ramming into the side of my head¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°And it looks like he¡¯s finally awake, ladies and gentlemen!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Now sit tight everyone, round two will begin in just a few minutes!¡± ¨C Barbara I lost¡­ Right when I was about to start making permanent sacrifices, he knocked me out¡­ We¡¯re both still on stage, so I doubt I was out for very long. ¡°Sorry sir, but it looks like I¡¯m unable to heal your arms.¡± ¨C Healer ¡°I know, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Healer With no arms to support me, I struggle getting up for a second before Alex helps me out. ¡°Can I talk to you for a second?¡± ¨C Alex Chapter 155: Kindred spirits --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] ¡°Can I talk to you for a second?¡± ¨C Alex Talk to me? What does he want to talk about? ¡°Uh, sure?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Great.¡± ¨C Alex We walk down the stairs, and enter my area. ¡°It¡¯ll be nice and quiet here.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Right¡­ So, what did you want to talk about?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Your determination resonated with me¡­ Could you tell me about this person you¡¯re looking for?¡± ¨C Alex Right with the personal questions¡­ He can tell from the look on my face that it¡¯s a bit of a sore topic. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, that¡¯s fine too. I¡¯ll escort myself out.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No, no. It¡¯s okay.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Without going into too much detail, my best friend betrayed me¡­¡± ¨C Isaac The look in his eyes¡­ It¡¯s like he understands me¡­ Before I know it, I end up giving out more than I initially planned¡­ ¡°Me, him, and this girl called Iris, all grew up together. I don¡¯t think it would be accurate to just call us best friends¡­ We were family.¡± ¨C Isaac Why am I telling him all this? ¡°At some point he ended up leaving us to go on a journey of his own. For a long time, we thought he was dead¡­¡± ¨C Isaac Why do I seem to trust him so much? ¡°But eventually, he came back. Everything seemed normal at first, but he had changed¡­¡± ¨C Isaac I¡¯ve never told anyone this before¡­ ¡°He killed her. He said he ¡®had to,¡¯ but it¡¯s all bullshit¡­¡± ¨C Isaac Alex, who are you¡­? ¡°I didn¡¯t know it at the time, but after years of looking for him, I¡¯ve gathered some information. Apparently, he joined an organization known as ¡®The END¡¯ during his days of solo adventures.¡± ¨C IsaacUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Suddenly, he gets a serious look on his face¡­ ¡°They changed him. He wasn¡¯t himself anymore. He would never kill her¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Gael Lux.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Gael¡­ I¡¯ll remember that.¡± ¨C Alex He seems genuine¡­ ¡°Why are you looking for him? Revenge?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well¡­ As kids, the three of us promised to become hunters so we could exterminate the monsters that hurt people. Turns out, dungeon creatures are not the only monsters out there¡­ Whatever it takes, I will eradicate him like the filth he is¡­!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I see¡­ We¡¯ve got a great deal in common then.¡± ¨C Alex What? We do¡­? ¡°How so?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°To cut a long story short, my brother was betrayed and killed by one of his closest friends. The same almost happened to me, but I took care of him¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that¡­¡± ¨C Isaac He doesn¡¯t respond to what I said at all, and instead continues explaining. ¡°They were both members of The END too.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Isaac Is what happened to him somehow connected to what happened to me? ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I know very little about him; not even what he looks like. But I do have a name¡­ Seth.¡± ¨C Alex Seth¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll let you know if I find him.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Right¡­ Thanks.¡± ¨C Alex Just as he says that, he walks back to the door. ¡°The next fight will probably start soon, so I¡¯ll have to get back.¡± ¨C Alex He opens it up, and steps out. Just before he closes it, he leaves me with one final message¡­ ¡°I¡¯m glad you told me. I promise you¡¯ll get your revenge.¡± ¨C Alex To think there¡¯s someone else like me out there¡­ Who are ¡®The END¡¯¡­? What could they have possibly said or done to him to change him like that¡­? --- [Victor¡¯s perspective] Alex¡¯s growth is unimaginable¡­ I remember when he was just a wimpy little kid¡­ I know he¡¯s the Emperor¡¯s son, just like Leo, but it¡¯s still so insane. When I trained him, he learned BDM faster than anyone in history as far as I know. After just a mere six months, he went from a normal kid to almost E-rank level. Now, just three years later, he¡¯s defeating the strongest D-rankers around like it was nothing. I might end up facing him in the finals¡­ Heh, he might have been my student, but I won¡¯t go easy on him! If he does win though, and that¡¯s a big if! But if he does win, he¡¯ll get to meet his father¡­ Neither of them are normal, so I doubt it¡¯ll just be a regular father-son reunion, but¡­ I hope it goes well¡­ --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] Alex¡­ You¡¯ve grown so much stronger since I last saw you. You were already reaching unimaginable heights back then, but you¡¯ve surpassed even that now. I thought I had improved a lot these past six months, but I think the gap has just widened even more¡­ I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone here who can stop you. Not me, not Victor, not Luna¡­ At this rate, it¡¯s not a question of if you¡¯ll win the tournament, but rather how far you¡¯ll be pushed. ¡°Testing, testing¡­ Oh! Looks like the sound system is up and running again!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°The wait is finally over! After eight historical fights, we¡¯re ready to enter the second round of the battle festival!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°The first match of the day was between the legendary Bennett Vetus, who had competed twice before, and Charlotte Bellus, the most elegant fighter in the world. To the surprise of many, the one who came out on top was Charlotte. Now you all know not to underestimate her! Please give a round of applause to Charlotte Bellus!¡± ¨C Bob As she walks up to the arena, a mix of lackluster claps and boos emanates from the audience. I guess they¡¯re still mad she won¡­ It seems like most people put their money on the other guy. ¡°In the match that followed we had the dark horse, Vincent Fortuna, facing off against the most mysterious person here, Chloe Ratio. She stayed true to her reputation and surrendered before she revealed too much. Vincent advanced, and this will be the match that proves whether it was deserved or not! Give a round of applause to Vincent Fortuna!¡± ¨C Barbara Just like last time, the crowd is mixed. People are pissed that he was declared the winner when in their eyes he didn¡¯t really deserve it. I guess this is a match between the two people the audience dislikes the most¡­ Chapter 156: In control --- [Charlotte¡¯s perspective] ¡°Now that both fighters are on stage, let the first match of the second round begin! Charlotte vs Vincent!¡± ¨C Bob That guy¡­ His specialty was rolling a big dice; the outcome of which decides his strength. I could let him use it¡­ If he rolls a low number, winning will be trivial. It¡¯s tempting¡­ But no. It¡¯s not worth the risk. He said his regular self is equivalent to a three. What he rolled in the previous fight was a four, and I could easily beat him in that state. If that¡¯s the case, why not just end it before he has a chance to roll? And just like that, the plan is decided. With grace, I rush towards him. He tries summoning the dice, but I quickly brush my hand on his torso, making him keel over in pain instead. With my specialty, a simple touch is all I need to win. Most of the other hunters here rely on brute force, but that can only get you so far. Eventually you¡¯ll hit a wall; when faced with an opponent with even greater strength than you, you¡¯ll inevitably lose. That¡¯s just an innate disadvantage of basing your combat prowess on strength. My specialty allows me to entirely bypass that¡­ If I so choose, any hit will deal internal damage. No matter how little force I apply. I could stop his heart with touch¡­ That attack earlier completely destroyed some of his organs. That should be enough to make him surrender; if he¡¯s even able to talk in his condition¡­This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Ouch¡­ That hurt, you know?¡± ¨C Vincent What?! As he stands back up, the dice appears. He¡¯s smiling¡­ ¡°You should take responsibility for that.¡± ¨C Vincent Shit! This is exactly what I tried to avoid! ¡°Oh, I know how you can make up for it!¡± ¨C Vincent His smile turns to a grin as any sense of normalcy about him fades away¡­ ¡°How about you do it again?¡± ¨C Vincent ¡­ What the hell is wrong with him? He wants me to destroy his organs¡­? The dice starts spinning¡­ Whatever, I need to take him out before it stops! In rapid succession, I tap him all over his body, making sure it¡¯s barely not enough to kill him. He coughs up blood, but never once screams¡­ ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± ¨C Vincent How is he still standing?! Half his bodily functions must have shut down, and the pain should be enough to knock him out in an instant! The dice slows down and quickly comes to a halt¡­ I failed to stop him before he could use it¡­ Now fate will decide the outcome of this battle¡­ The results are out¡­ ¡°Oh, we¡¯re gonna have so much fun!¡± ¨C Vincent He got a five¡­ Although he could somehow stay up after getting hit, he wasn¡¯t strong or fast enough to defend himself. Not that he even wanted to defend himself¡­ Looking at his performance in the previous round, a four isn¡¯t that much of a step up from three; I could beat him at a four. What about five? Is the difference in power between four and five roughly the same as the difference between three and four? Maybe the difference is bigger? It could be smaller too¡­ There¡¯s just no way to know without actually seeing him in action. --- [Vincent¡¯s perspective] My specialty is¡­ Unique. I¡¯ve never encountered anyone with an ability that can literally make the user weaker before; as far as I know, I¡¯m the only one in the world like that. There are lots of people with useless specialties, and there are lots of people with specialties that are only marginally helpful in battle. But, there are very few, if any, that are straight up negative. On the flip side, my specialty can also make me overwhelmingly more powerful. It¡¯s all up to luck¡­ The dice my specialty uses to decide the outcome is a standard six-sided dice. Let¡¯s ignore six for now, and only look at the other numbers. A three makes no difference; it makes me just as strong as I am regularly. Right above that is four, and right below is two. Four makes me considerably stronger, while two makes me considerably weaker. The combat capabilities I get from getting a four is probably about roughly the same as, or maybe a little bit less than, the average specialty for a D-rank hunter. Meaning if I were to fight someone who is equally as strong as me without the use of SDM, we¡¯d still be roughly equal if they used their specialty, and I rolled a four. On the flip side, if I roll a two, it¡¯d be like getting a ¡®specialty¡¯s worth¡¯ weaker. It¡¯s roughly as difficult to fight someone using their specialty while I don¡¯t, as it is to fight someone who doesn¡¯t use theirs while I roll a two It puts me at a big disadvantage, but it¡¯s not impossible to overcome. A one and a five are different¡­ If I were to roll a one, I doubt there is any D-rank hunter out there I could beat. Honestly, I¡¯d probably struggle beating most E-rank regulars too¡­ But when I roll a five¡­! I could probably count the number of D-rank hunters who could beat me on one hand. The jump between numbers is exponential. Me with a three is much closer to me with a four, than me with a four is to me with a five. Of course, the same is true for one and two as well. All that to say; there is no way in hell she¡¯s beating me. I¡¯m in full control. When I want to win, I will win. For now though, let¡¯s have some fun! Chapter 157: Sadomasochist --- [Vincent¡¯s perspective] Just like before, she tries to attack me. Despite being in the middle of combat, her moves are just as elegant and graceful as they are outside of it. I can¡¯t wait to break her down until she can¡¯t keep it up anymore! She reaches her finger towards me, but before she can touch me, I smash my fist into it. Her finger bends backwards and snaps in half. The surrounding fingers point in opposite directions, and her wrist snaps out of place. Her entire hand is disfigured, and the pain gets to her. She lets out a scream unlike anything I¡¯ve ever heard. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s used to getting hurt like that¡­! Lovely! Her specialty seems to make her able to hurt people without applying a ton of force, but I guess even that has a limit. After rolling a five, I didn¡¯t just get stronger. My physicals increased in every area, including durability. A slight crack formed across my knuckles, but I suspect she intended to deal a lot more damage than that. Luckily it still hurt! I¡¯ll leave her other hand alone for now; can¡¯t completely disarm her if I want the fight to continue after all! A fire lights up in her eyes; her determination to win is clear as day. She tries attacking, but with my now superior speed, I grab her wrist before she can touch me. I slam my other fist into her stomach so hard she would have gone flying if it wasn¡¯t for my tight grip. She coughs up blood, staining my shirt. I¡¯m wearing proof of our wonderful battle! Before she can recover, I hit her just as hard in the same spot. Yet again, her entire body starts flying backwards, but due to holding her wrist, she doesn¡¯t go anywhere. This time however, her shoulder can¡¯t handle the pressure, and dislocates. She falls to her knees, and her entire body goes limp, yet I¡¯m still not letting go.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Seeing her go from completely determined to utterly broken in mere seconds¡­ Ahh, it¡¯s wonderful! I slap her across the face. ¡°Come on, get up!¡± ¨C Vincent She still isn¡¯t moving, but I know she¡¯s alive; I can feel her pulse. I slap her again with the sole purpose of causing pain. She finally lifts her head¡­ ¡°Why¡­ Why aren¡¯t you finishing the fight¡­?¡± ¨C Charlotte ¡°Why would I end it when the fun has just begun?¡± ¨C Vincent I throw her arm over my shoulder and grab her sides. ¡°Here, let me help you get up.¡± ¨C Vincent Her legs are wobbly, but she can stand on her own. I let go of her, then take a few steps back. ¡°Are you ready to continue?¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Charlotte She tries approaching me, but she almost falls over with every step. Maybe I should have held back a little more when I hit her earlier¡­ It¡¯s no fun if she can¡¯t fight back. ¡°We¡¯re not allowed to kill, and there¡¯s no time limit either¡­ So come on! Let¡¯s break each other!¡± ¨C Vincent For the first time, she looks genuinely scared¡­ What a beautiful look! Since she¡¯s so slow, I guess I¡¯ll have to approach her instead. In the blink of an eye, I¡¯m right beside her. Despite standing no chance against me, she still hasn¡¯t given up. I can¡¯t help but let a smile stretch across my face. She slowly reaches her hand out, but I don¡¯t stop her. She pokes me on the collar, and as she lets her finger slide down my body, I feel my insides being torn apart from top to bottom. Mmm! ¡°More.¡± ¨C Vincent The dread in her eyes grows, and she tries to retract her arm. Just like before, I grab her wrist. Using her finger like a paint brush, I slide it across my body. My bones break, my muscles tear, and my organs rip open. I¡¯m barely clinging onto life, but the pain¡­ It¡¯s euphoric! Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think I can keep it up much longer¡­ If I don¡¯t end it now, I¡¯ll die before a healer can fix me up¡­ It¡¯s unfortunate, but it is what it is. I raise my fist, preparing to launch my final attack. Right before I get to throw it, she utters those despicable words my last opponent did¡­ ¡°I surrender!¡± ¨C Charlotte Why¡­ Why end it right before the climax?! I let out a sigh, before letting her go. The healers rush in, and without much issue, they heal all our injuries. With us now being as good as new, the pain and pleasure is all gone¡­ Hopefully the next match won¡¯t end the same way¡­ The next two fighters¡­ Kuro and Victor, was it? From the looks of it, Kuro was more than capable of taking a massive beating, meanwhile Victor could dish one out just as easily. No matter who wins, I¡¯m certain my next match will be even more fun! ¡°What a match! At first it looked like Charlotte was in the lead, but then the tables quickly turned after Vincent used his specialty! Despite overpowering her, she held on for a long time! She was a formidable opponent, but the winner was clear. Vincent proceeds to the next round!¡± ¨C Bob Just as we get off stage, they immediately start introducing the next fighters. ¡°In his first match, he fought Jin Umbra¡­ A man many believed would be the winner of the entire tournament. Despite that, he won with ease! Honestly, even that is an understatement¡­ While in the middle of a fight, he did 8000 push-ups¡­ That¡¯s unheard of! His potential is near limitless, and he doesn¡¯t plan to let it end here. Please give a round of applause to Kuro Velox!¡± ¨C Barbara His heavy footsteps make the entire stadium echo. Even after getting to the top of the stairs, my ears still ring¡­ ¡°In the preliminaries, he knocked out all his opponents in a single hit. He would have done the same in the first round if it wasn¡¯t for his opponent¡¯s endless determination. We were close to ending the match you just saw, but Charlotte surrendered on her own before we had to step in. This was not the case with Diego. For the first time in centuries, we had to step in to end the match early despite there being no disqualifications. And who was it that created this situation in the first place¡­?! Please give a round of applause to Victor Lepus!¡± ¨C Bob With both fighters now on stage, the next round is about to begin. Chapter 158: David vs Goliath --- [Victor¡¯s perspective] ¡°And with that, let the next match begin! Kuro vs Victor!¡± ¨C Bob I had a little chat with Lett between rounds, and apparently this guy beat Alex a few years back. It was during the E-rank exam, and Alex has gotten a lot stronger since then, but he probably has too. I need to watch out for him; I can¡¯t take him lightly. Especially not after seeing how convincingly he beat his last opponent. One misstep and it might be over¡­ ¡°You ready to get this over with, big guy?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Do your best.¡± ¨C Kuro He¡¯s just standing there¡­ No guard up¡­ It¡¯s like he¡¯s inviting me to attack him. If he thinks he can bait me into getting reckless, he¡¯s very wrong. He knows how strong I am; the announcers made that abundantly clear¡­ He¡¯s not gonna want to take my hits head-on, so he must have a plan in mind. I stay back for a little longer, studying his demeanor and looking for true openings. ¡°Letting you go first was a mercy. If you won¡¯t take the opportunity I¡¯ve given you, then I¡¯ll finish this here and now.¡± ¨C Kuro So cocky¡­ He clenches his fist, and due to his massive body, one long step is all it takes to get in range. As he throws his punch, I¡¯m surprised by how fast it is. Despite his bulky frame and unnatural height, he¡¯s still significantly faster than me¡­ All this while supposedly not using Divinity? Impossible. That literally cannot be true, he must be lying. It takes all I¡¯ve got, but I barely dodge his punch in time. Taking an attack like that head-on would not be good¡­This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. This might be a case where the first person to land a solid hit wins. So, who will it be¡­? Who lands their punch first? ¡°You dodged¡­ Not bad. I was sure I¡¯d win after one punch. I guess the correct answer was two.¡± ¨C Kuro This guy¡­ Really, who does he think he is? If he was an F-rank hunter at the same time as Alex and Lett, then there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to lose to him that easily. I¡¯ll show him how strong a real D-ranker is¡­ ¡°You seem confident¡­¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Of course. Confidence comes naturally when you can back it up.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°¡­ But when push comes to shove, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve got it in you. Let me make a prediction. You will lose this match.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°I¡¯m afraid your prediction is wrong.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°We¡¯ll see about that¡­!¡± ¨C Victor Before he can put his guard back up, I slam my fist into his chin as hard as I can. Instead of getting blown away, he simply stands there¡­ He¡¯s tough, but¡­! ¡°That¡¯s it¡­?¡± ¨C Kuro A smirk stretches across my cheek. He doesn¡¯t know about my specialty! ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± ¨C Victor I put my hands in my pockets as I wait for the echoes to repeat. Moments later, all ten of them repeatedly hit him in the face. The force of my punch hitting him ten times in a row turns his head sideways¡­ And that¡¯s it¡­ He turns back and looks at me with the same expression he has had the entire fight. ¡°Was something supposed to happen?¡± ¨C Kuro How is he unharmed¡­ That was the equivalent of 11 full power punches straight to his face¡­ I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before¡­ Do I really need to use charged attacks to even put a scratch on him¡­? Who the hell is this guy?! ¡°Ants think they¡¯re strong because they can pick up breadcrumbs many times their size. If they ever met a tiger, they¡¯d know their confidence was unfounded.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°Do you really see this as a tiger fighting an ant?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°No. I see this as pest control.¡± ¨C Kuro He clenches his fist once again, but this time I can tell he¡¯s putting a lot more power into it than before¡­ He¡¯s not planning on letting me get away¡­ The muscles in his arm bulge out as he flexes them. Here it comes¡­! Before he throws it, I quickly calm myself down, and take a deep breath¡­ Like my life depends on it, I channel as much Divinity as I can. I don¡¯t have time to make a fully charged up attack, so this will do. We throw our attacks at the same time, and our fists clash. The ten echoes quickly kick in, but it¡¯s all to no avail¡­ His overwhelming power is simply too much¡­ In the blink of an eye, my arm turns to a mist of blood, painting the arena red. ¡°GHHAAAA!!¡± ¨C Victor Had that hit my actual body¡­! This guy is a monster¡­ I understand why Alex lost now¡­ He should not be a D-rank hunter¡­ Nobody here can beat him. ¡°I surrender¡­¡± ¨C Victor A healer jumps in and immediately starts regenerating my lost arm. ¡°Holy crap! Did you guys see that?! Kuro¡¯s power was strong enough to make Victor¡¯s arm explode!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°I can¡¯t believe my eyes¡­ That man is unstoppable! Kuro advances to the semi-finals!¡± ¨C Bob There¡¯s no doubt in my mind he¡¯ll win the next round too¡­ In all likelihood, the finals will end up being him against either Luna or Alex. Before then, I should try to figure out the secret behind his strength. I might not be able to win anymore, but they still have a chance if there¡¯s some sort of weakness¡­ For their sake, I need to know how he got that strong. Before walking away, he takes one final look at me. ¡°Like I said¡­ Two punches.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Victor After the healer finishes, I run after him. ¡°Wait! Can I ask you something?¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°How are you so strong as a D-rank hunter? Is it connected to your specialty?¡± ¨C Victor He lets out an annoyed sigh. ¡°Don¡¯t compare me to you bumbling fools who rely on the power of the Gods. True strength comes from within, boy!¡± ¨C Kuro Chapter 159: No holding back --- [Lett¡¯s perspective] ¡°During the introductions, I claimed putting your money on anyone other than her was a mistake. Last round she proved me right! Despite being matched up against the fastest hunter here, she adapted, and overcame her. Watch her reach even higher heights in the second round! Please give a round of applause to Luna Luna!¡± ¨C Barbara The crowd goes wild as she enters the stage. They¡¯ve taken a liking to her¡­ ¡°Luna sure is impressive, but don¡¯t even for a second overlook her opponent! She defeated Valentina Odi, the only person in history to take out everyone in the preliminaries all by themselves! As far as I¡¯m concerned, she¡¯s already a legendary fighter! Please give a round of applause to Lett Lepus!¡± ¨C Bob As I get to the top of the stairs, our eyes meet. I¡¯m fighting Luna for real now¡­ We¡¯ve been on many missions together and fought side by side. We¡¯ve worked our asses off training and sparring. But this will be our first real fight. No more holding back. No more fighting for the sake of learning, training, or anything like that. Now, we¡¯re fighting to win. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Do your best.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°And without further ado, let the next match begin! Luna vs Lett!¡± ¨C Bob Immediately, without trying any tricks, I teleport right behind her and kick her in the back of the head. She already knows exactly how my ability works, so there¡¯s no point in trying to hide it from her. That¡¯s the problem with fighting your friends, your usual tactics won¡¯t work against them. But on the flip side, hers won¡¯t work on me either! Right as the kick connects, she leans forward, negating some of the impact. She quickly turns around and tries to grab my leg, but I make sure to teleport away before she can catch me. Her hand¡­ She transformed it into some kind of spiky contraption¡­ Had she been able to grab me, several of them would have instantly pierced into my leg, rendering it completely useless.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. She knows she can¡¯t hold me down, so her aim must be to deal as much damage as possible, in as short of a timeframe as possible. I¡¯ll have to be extra careful and make sure she doesn¡¯t catch me. I tend to fight with my legs a lot more than my arms, and she knows that. Maybe the best course of action would be to switch it up a little. I yet again teleport behind her, but before throwing any attacks, I teleport right in front of her. She expected me to go behind, so she slammed her elbows backwards as soon as she saw me disappear; now, she doesn¡¯t have time to defend! I throw a punch with everything I got and it lands square on her jaw. She staggers, but quickly recovers. She transforms her right arm into a giant needle, and thrusts it forward as fast she can. ¡°Piercing needle!¡± ¨C Luna It all happens in the blink of an eye, leaving me barely able to react in time. The tip of the needle digs roughly a centimeter into my abdomen before I teleport to safety. I appear above her, outside her field of vision. I clutch her hair, then use a combination of gravity and my own power to pull her down to the ground. She lands on her back, and before she can counterattack, I teleport back up and stomp her face as hard as I can. My boots crush her nose and knocks out a tooth. Before I can follow up yet again, the pain from her stab kicks in. ¡°Ghhha!¡± ¨C Lett I¡¯m bleeding¡­ A lot¡­ I¡¯ve gotten some solid hits on her and I¡¯m sure they hurt, but she¡¯s still kicking. She¡¯s so tough! It won¡¯t be long before I pass out from blood loss. How do I proceed from here? My attacks clearly aren¡¯t affecting her as much as I hoped. They still hurt her though, so with time, I can eventually knock her out. The problem is that I don¡¯t have time! The clock started ticking the moment she stabbed me. It¡¯s not looking good for me right now¡­ Do I¡­ Do I go for a charged attack? No¡­ That¡¯s way too risky¡­ Right? There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll land a charged attack on her; she¡¯d never let me do that. But at the same time, what other choice do I have? I don¡¯t have enough power to knock her out with my regular attacks before it¡¯s too late. It¡¯s a Hail Mary, but it¡¯s all I¡¯ve got¡­ I teleport into the air repeatedly, making sure to go high enough that I have time to charge up an attack, but not so high that she¡¯s gone by the time I land. As I start falling, I let go of every useless thought. All that matters is making this attack as strong as physically possible! She¡¯s still laying on the ground, recovering from the stomp. Good. I gather the Divinity¡­ Manipulate the Divinity¡­ Concentrate it all in one spot: my fist! Just when she¡¯s within attack range, I finally throw the punch. It races down towards her, and she panics as she tries to get away. Just in the nick of time, she manages to roll away, and my fist slams down into the ground instead. She doesn¡¯t let the opportunity go to waste and uses her spikes to crush my arm. Normally I could have gotten away, but the blood loss seems to have worsened my reaction time¡­ She finally gets back up from the ground, and enters a defensive stance. Her arms turn into large shields covering almost her entire body. I¡¯ve seen them before; they¡¯re sturdy as hell. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m breaking through them¡­ All she has to do is hold out for a little longer, and her victory is secured. Not like that will even be a problem¡­ It¡¯s checkmate. She won. ¡°I surrender. You win, Luna.¡± ¨C Lett Just as those words leave my mouth, two healers arrive to fix us up. They quickly stop the bleeding in both my abdomen and arm, and I instantly feel much better. They fix her nose, and her tooth grows back. ¡°And the match is over!!! Luna takes the win, yet again!¡± ¨C Barbara The result ended up being what I thought it would, but at least I tried my best. For as long as I¡¯ve known her, she has always been a lot stronger. To be honest, I did a lot better than I expected. I¡¯ve improved a lot! Assuming Alex wins the next match, that means he¡¯ll be the one fighting Luna next¡­ She was always stronger than him too, but is that still true¡­? Chapter 160: A wall so tall --- [Isabella¡¯s perspective] Sabrina will face off against Alex this round¡­ We were teammates in the exam, but none of that matters now. We¡¯re all here to win, and we can¡¯t let something like that get in the way. He¡¯s a terribly powerful man though, so she can¡¯t afford to get reckless. ¡°We¡¯re now heading into the final match of the second round, and it looks like we¡¯re ending on a banger! When her opponent went berserk and refused to back down even after we called the match, she ended up putting everyone here in danger. Her blood had already been spread everywhere and could explode at any time. The hunters that work here had no choice but to guard the audience, meaning there was nobody left to take her out. Well¡­ Other than her that is! She neutralized the threat herself, saving countless lives. She¡¯s not just a strong fighter, she¡¯s a hero! Please give a massive round of applause to Isabella Gladius!¡± ¨C Bob Before I even open the door, the audience is already going wild. Cheering, clapping, screaming, chanting¡­ Right when I open the door and the audience sees me, they just get even louder. I¡¯m sure even the people of the neighboring towns can hear them. As I walk up the stairs, I feel all their eyes on me¡­ It¡¯s so embarrassing! I didn¡¯t even do anything; it was all Sabrina. We didn¡¯t become hunters for fame or fortune, and although she might not admit it, I bet it feels good knowing that they¡¯re all cheering for her! All of those people love her and are grateful to her. She earned that! ¡°When I first introduced him, I expressed my doubt that he¡¯s even human. During the preliminaries he just seemed so much stronger than everyone else to the point where it was almost unbelievable that he could be a D-rank hunter. Well¡­ In the previous round, he proved his superiority. The other contestant didn¡¯t stand a chance¡­ The outcome of this century¡¯s battle festival might have been decided the moment he decided to participate. Please give a round of applause to Alexander Minima!¡± ¨C Barbara As instructed, the crowd gives him applause too, but not nearly as much as they did for Sabrina. The look in his eyes¡­ There¡¯s something so menacing about him¡­ He wasn¡¯t like this before. I wonder if something happened to him these past six months¡­ The match is about to start, so I better hand over control to Sabrina. I whisper a few words so quietly only she can hear them. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C IsabellaStolen novel; please report. As I pull out the sword, I feel myself losing the ability to move my limbs. I¡¯m now just a spectator¡­ She whispers back¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t need luck to beat him. Trust me, I got this.¡± ¨C Sabrina ¡°Now then, who will win? The hero who saved us all, or the monster who seemingly knows no equal?! Let the fight commence! Isabella vs Alexander!¡± ¨C Bob --- [Sabrina¡¯s perspective] He wastes no time, and immediately rushes towards me. His movements are so linear¡­ Despite undoubtedly being faster than me, with some effort, I could definitely stop his attacks. I don¡¯t know if this is just how he fights, or if he¡¯s so cocky that he doesn¡¯t think he needs to put much effort into winning, but it doesn¡¯t matter to me. I¡¯ll take every opportunity I can to win. I firmly grasp the hilt and swing the sword straight towards his fist. Before he can reach me, the blade touches him¡­ His arm will split open taking it head-on like that¡­ Or that¡¯s what I thought would happen¡­! He simply grabbed the sword his fingers¡­ How is that even possible?! The level of strength and precision required to do that is almost unbelievable. Most C-rankers probably couldn¡¯t even deal with it that cleanly¡­ What the hell is this guy?! Using only the grip between his fingers, he yanks the sword out of my hands even though I¡¯m holding it as hard as I can. He tries throwing it away, but it instantly teleports back into my hands the moment he does. It takes him slightly off guard, and I use that opportunity to slash him across the arm. Despite intending to completely sever his arm, it only leaves a shallow cut¡­ He¡¯s substantially faster than me, he¡¯s incomparably stronger than me, and he¡¯s tremendously more durable than me¡­ He¡¯s strictly better than me in every way, and he hasn¡¯t even used his specialty yet¡­ What his specialty again¡­? Oh, right! It was some kind of absorption ability. That luckily shouldn¡¯t be of much use against me. His gaze locks onto my sword, and without being able to do anything to stop him, he takes it away from me. This time, he makes sure it doesn¡¯t get too far away from me. In the palm of his other hand, he activates the all-consuming void¡­ Wait¡­ No¡­! I usually think of my sword as a physical object, but it isn¡¯t really. The sword itself is my specialty, and I remember Shin saying his ability could absorb anything made by SDM¡­ That means he can absorb my sword! That¡¯s bad¡­ Really bad! Me and Isabella¡­ Our existence itself is tied to that sword! When it¡¯s in its scabbard, Isabella has control. When it¡¯s outside, I do. What happens to us if he absorbs the sword or the scabbard? Will one of us be stuck inside forever with no way to communicate? Will one of us die? I have no idea, but I absolutely cannot let him do that! Before he can absorb it, I quickly throw myself backwards, making the distance great enough that it teleports back to me just in the nick of time¡­ That was way too close¡­ I can¡¯t allow him to do that again. He rushes towards me yet again, but instead of throwing a punch like he did at the start of the match, he simply tries to absorb the sword again. I can¡¯t exactly blame him; he doesn¡¯t even know I exist¡­ To him, all he¡¯s probably thinking is that if he gets rid of the sword, I¡¯ll have no way to fight back. I pull both the sword and the scabbard away from him, but in doing so, it leaves me completely defenseless. He hits me in the stomach so hard, and I fly out of the arena and crash into the walls down below. I cough up blood, and fall to the ground. His attack was powerful, but for some reason, I¡¯ve got the feeling he was still holding back¡­ I don¡¯t think all the bones in my body would still be intact if he didn¡¯t¡­ Luckily there¡¯s no ring out rule, so I¡¯m not out yet. As I walk up the stairs, our gaze meets once more. Seeing him from down here makes him look so much bigger than before¡­ Despite getting closer with each step, he never shrinks back down¡­ Is this¡­ Fear? Looking at him makes me feel so small; he¡¯s so far beyond me that I simply don¡¯t stand a chance¡­ If I know I can¡¯t win, should I just give up? But Isabella¡­ If she could speak to me right now, I know she¡¯d cheer me on and tell me I could do it. But¡­ I just can¡¯t. There¡¯s no way for me to beat him. On top of that, simply fighting him is a massive risk in and of itself. If he absorbs either the sword or the scabbard, things could end really badly¡­ By continuing to fight, I¡¯m not just putting myself at risk. I¡¯m risking Isabella¡¯s life too¡­ It¡¯s not worth it; it just isn¡¯t. Before getting to the top of the stairs, I simply stop. As he looks at me, he knows what I¡¯m about to do. ¡°I surrender.¡± ¨C Sabrina Chapter 161: Talk to me --- [Sabrina¡¯s perspective] ¡°That¡¯s it! Isabella surrenders, making Alexander the winner! He really is proving himself to be unstoppable!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°Well then everyone, let¡¯s take a short break before the semi-finals. Make sure to be back within 10 minutes!¡± ¨C Bob I was completely, and utterly, defeated¡­ I was so confident I could win, yet I didn¡¯t even stand a chance. I never fought him directly during the D-rank exam, but I know he wasn¡¯t that strong back then. Sure, he defeated his opponent without much issue, and his score was only beaten by someone who used a charged attack, but this is different¡­ Back then, I¡¯m sure he could have confidently beat most people there if he really tried. Now though¡­? Well, now he¡¯s easily beating his peers. While still holding back too¡­ How could someone possibly improve that much in such a short time? Since Isabella is usually the one who has control of our body, I spend most of my time on the inside. Meditating is pretty much the only thing I can do there. And so, I do. Almost every waking hour is spent training, yet despite that, I¡¯m not improving nowhere near as quickly as he is. There¡¯s something different about him¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was too weak¡­¡± ¨C Sabrina I slide the sword back into the scabbard, and give her control again. The moment she regains control she smacks our face with both hands. I might not be in control anymore, but I can still feel everything¡­The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ouch¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t say that! You did your best, and that¡¯s all that matters! If I was the one out there, I wouldn¡¯t have even made it past the preliminaries, so be proud of yourself! I certainly am!¡± ¨C Isabella Proud? How could I be proud if I lost¡­? ¡°You might not have won, but all those people out there still cheered you on from beginning to end. You saved countless lives in the first round, and they all see you as a hero!¡± ¨C Isabella ¡­ It¡¯s like she can read my thoughts¡­ ¡°So stop sulking just because you lost one fight. If you¡¯re that frustrated, then just make sure you¡¯re strong enough to win next time!¡± ¨C Isabella She¡¯s too kind¡­ If I had control now, I might have shed a tear or two¡­ Not like I¡¯m ever telling her that though! --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] I open the door to Alex¡¯s room, and sure enough, he¡¯s right there. We haven¡¯t talked in so long¡­ ¡°Yo.¡± ¨C Luna He turns around and looks at me. ¡°Hey.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You alright?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¨C Alex I didn¡¯t expect it to be this awkward¡­ ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Luna I hesitate for a moment; it¡¯s a tough subject matter to bring up. ¡°I heard about what happened from Lett. I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Well, if you ever wanna talk or something¡­ I¡¯ll be there.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Alex He really isn¡¯t himself¡­ He seems so apathetic and unwilling to open up. It¡¯s affecting him a lot more than he¡¯s letting on. I grab his hand. ¡°I¡¯m serious, you know? I¡¯m here if you ever want to talk. We all are! Betrayal and losing someone close to you are some of the worst things a person can go through, but that doesn¡¯t mean you have to do it alone.¡± ¨C Luna He puts on a clearly fake smile before replying. ¡°I appreciate it, but I¡¯m fine.¡± ¨C Alex My heart aches for him¡­ He must be in so much pain, and although he still has good friends who are there for him, he doesn¡¯t seem to truly understand that. Is he scared we¡¯ll betray him too? Is he trying to distance himself so it won¡¯t hurt as much if something were to happen to us too? I don¡¯t know, but whatever it is, with everything he has gone through recently, I totally understand him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get going; the matches will resume soon. But remember, I¡¯m here for you.¡± ¨C Luna He simply nods and drifts back into his own thoughts as I walk away. Right as I¡¯m about to close the doors, I think of something¡­! ¡°How about this! If I win our upcoming fight, promise me you¡¯ll have that talk with me. Okay?¡± ¨C Luna For the first time in a long time, it looks like he¡¯s genuinely happy. A slight smirk forms, and he lets out a barely audible chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Luna. If that¡¯s the case, then you¡¯re not getting that talk anytime soon.¡± ¨C Alex Ooh¡­ He¡¯s getting cocky¡­! ¡°Is that right? Well, you better keep in mind that I¡¯ll do anything to help my friends, and I think that talk will do you a lot of good. If I¡¯m fighting for the sake of my dear friend, I can¡¯t afford to lose, can I?¡± ¨C Luna --- [Vincent¡¯s perspective] It¡¯s almost time for my next match already. I have a good feeling about this one¡­! My opponent is clearly strong, but that looks to be about it. He¡¯s a muscle head, nothing more. Luckily for me, if there¡¯s one thing I won¡¯t lose at, it¡¯s a battle of pure strength. Of course, that relies on me getting a highroll, but I get the sense that that won¡¯t be an issue this time around. Oh baby, I¡¯m feeling lucky tonight! Chapter 162: Ultimate power --- [Vincent¡¯s perspective] ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally arrived at the penultimate round, the semi-finals!¡± ¨C Bob The crowd erupts in jubilation. ¡°The first fight will be between two legendary fighters who have proved themselves to be the strongest again and again! But there can only be one winner¡­ Who will it be?!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°Will be Vincent Fortuna, the man who with enough luck can overcome anything?! The man who with a dice roll of five showed such immense superiority that his opponent didn¡¯t even stand a chance! The man who even at deaths door will keep on smiling!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Or will it be Kuro Velox, the man with the most mysterious power in the world?! The man who could afford to train in the middle of a match! The man who has yet to get a scratch on him!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°They were both so powerful all their opponents had to surrender when faced with the reality of how mighty they were!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Give a round of applause to Vincent and Kuro!!¡± ¨C Barbara As we walk up the stage, I can tell how strong he is just from being near him. Oh, this match will be so much fun! ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time! Let the match begin! Vincent vs Kuro!!¡± ¨C Bob Despite the match having already begun, he just stands there¡­ He probably wants me to make the first move. That¡¯s okay with me! I summon my giant dice, and watch it as it spins around. Kuro doesn¡¯t even look at it¡­ His gaze is fixed on me; it¡¯s like my specialty is completely irrelevant to him. As it comes to a halt, my excitement skyrockets¡­ ¡°Six¡­!¡± ¨C Vincent I crack my neck from side to side, then roll my shoulders as I get ready to fight. It¡¯s been a while since I got a six¡­ I almost forgot how overwhelming it felt! When I roll a three, it¡¯s exactly like I never even used my specialty in the first place.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It¡¯s the same as just using BDM. Getting a higher number will make me stronger; with the power increase growing exponentially as the number increases. A four makes me roughly as strong as an average D-ranker using their specialty. A five makes me one of the strongest D-rank hunters in the world, and undoubtedly strong enough to let me pass the C-rank exams too. But if a five lets me reach into C-rank levels of power, what about a six¡­? Oh, it¡¯s so much more than anything Kuro¡¯s tiny mind can comprehend! Right now, I could even compete in the C-rank division of the battle festival! I walk up to him, yet even while standing directly next to him, he still doesn¡¯t attack. He¡¯s really committing to letting me go first, huh¡­ Well, he¡¯s the one who¡¯ll end up regretting it! I get ready throw a punch¡­ ¡°Try not to die.¡± ¨C Vincent I should probably hold back a little, if I actually kill him, I¡¯ll be disqualified¡­ As my punch lands, his body is pushed back, and the look on his face does a complete 180. He clearly didn¡¯t expect me to be this strong, but¡­ Even if I held back, that punch should have been enough to send him flying! Despite that, he only got pushed back a little¡­ What is he made of?! He wipes some dust off his abdomen, exactly where my fist landed. ¡°You¡¯re different from the rest¡­ You might even be worth fighting somewhat seriously.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°Was that supposed to be a compliment?¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°From me, that is the biggest compliment you can get.¡± ¨C Kuro Oh¡­! I love cocky people like him! Soon enough, he¡¯ll be on the ground, begging me to stop. Watching him as all his confidence fades away when faced off against someone who can utterly destroy him at his own game¡­ Ahh! I can barely contain myself! Now knowing he can take a hit, I throw another punch. This time, I don¡¯t hold back¡­! I punch him in the same spot, and it pushes him back even further than before. I can tell it hurt, especially after being hit in the place twice in a row. It looks like he¡¯s about to double over in pain, but he forces himself to stay upright. He¡¯s not letting any sign of weakness show. ¡°Impressive, to think what you threw at me earlier wasn¡¯t even your full power¡­¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°If you think that was impressive, the fight is already over. I¡¯m just getting started!¡± ¨C Vincent As if he was completely ignoring what I said, he just continues speaking. ¡°¡­ You might even be able to survive one punch.¡± ¨C Kuro Out of sheer ridiculousness, I can¡¯t help but break out into laughter. His pride is on a whole other level! ¡°Come on then. You let me hit you, now it¡¯s time for me to return the favor.¡± ¨C Vincent Without any hesitation, he throws a punch at me in the exact same spot I hit him. I brace myself for impact and¡­! ¡°BuaH!¡± ¨C Vincent The force of his fist clashing with my body knocks me off the arena, making my body tumble down the stairs, unable to recover. As I get to the bottom and finally come to a stop, I try to move, but it feels like I have the weight of the whole world on top of me. My body is a total wreck! The pain¡­ Ahh! It¡¯s better than anything I¡¯ve ever felt before! Despite not being able to stand up just a moment earlier, I push through and do it anyways. I need to let him feel this pleasure too! With every step I take back up the stairs, the entire audience gasps. Why is that? As I get to the top, I finally look down¡­ My left femur sticks out of my leg horizontally¡­ Ah, so that¡¯s why. That¡¯s ok; it won¡¯t stop me. ¡°It¡¯s like I said, you managed to survive one hit.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Vincent ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about the next one though¡­ I¡¯ll try my best to keep you alive.¡± ¨C Kuro As soon as he finishes talking, he rushes towards me so quickly I don¡¯t have a chance to react. The world moves in slow motion as his fist approaches the side of my head. Oh no¡­! Chapter 163: Revenge --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] ¡°And we have a winner!! Kuro claims yet another victory!¡± ¨C Bob The healers rush over to Vincent¡¯s seemingly lifeless body. I doubt he¡¯s actually dead; Kuro doesn¡¯t seem like the type of guy who¡¯d make a silly mistake like that. He¡¯s probably not waking up for a while though¡­ But I¡¯m curious, why is Kuro even competing with us? He seems way too strong; he could easily be in the C-rank category instead. Has he held back on getting promoted just to secure the prize money? It¡¯s scummy, but I guess it¡¯s possible. He seems so prideful though; would someone like him really do that¡­? In the end though, it doesn¡¯t matter. Whatever his motivations may be, it doesn¡¯t change anything. I will still try my best to beat him after I beat Alex! ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the penultimate match?!¡± ¨C Bob The crowd yells out in excitement. ¡°Whoever wins this will get to face the mighty Kuro in the finals!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°Our first contestant is the greatest all-rounder! She¡¯s strong, she¡¯s fast, she¡¯s durable, she¡¯s smart, and her specialty is versatile enough to let her deal with any kind of opponent! Time and time again, she has proved her superiority! When faced with a master of speed, she persevered. When faced with the most wanted specialty, she yet again persevered. No matter what kind of niche her opponent exceeds in, she will always find a way to push through! Her name is Luna Luna!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°Our second contestant is no pushover either! All his opponents were defeated with ease, regardless of how strong they were. Nobody seems to be able to put him down, and that very well might continue to be the case! With his unique ability to absorb and negate specialties, he can reduce almost any match into a hand-to-hand combat scenario¡­ Exactly where he shines! He won¡¯t let his opponent fight on their terms; he¡¯s the one who decides, he¡¯s the one who rules! His name is Alexander Minima!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Give a round of applause to them both!¡± ¨C Barbara The audience listens and welcomes us both as we get on stage. I reach my hand out for a handshake, and he accepts. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°You too.¡± ¨C AlexThe tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Seems like the fighters are ready. Let the match begin! Luna vs Alexander!¡± ¨C Bob Back when he started training for the D-rank exam, I could easily beat him without much trouble. Toward the end, he had improved a lot, but I could still beat him 10 out of 10 times if I put my back into it. I know times have changed, and he won¡¯t be such an easy opponent anymore. If I don¡¯t go all out right from the get-go, I will without a doubt lose. Even then, I know my chances are slim¡­ Anyhow, I¡¯ll still give it my all. I transform both arms into a singular large hammer. I spin around to build up some speed, then smash it into him at max strength. ¡°Heavy hammer!¡± ¨C Luna He reaches out his hand, and with the palm of his hand alone, he stops the attack. Wow¡­ I knew he was strong, but¡­ That¡¯s unreal! If I tried doing that, my arm would shatter into 1000 pieces¡­ Whatever, I need to keep going! I quickly pull back before he can follow up, then transform my arms into a huge pair of scissors. It¡¯s large and sharp enough to cut through almost anything! His arm is still extended, yet he doesn¡¯t every try pulling it back¡­ With his arm now between the scissor blades, I force the blades together with all my might. ¡°Slicing scissors!¡± ¨C Luna ¡­ Nothing. Not even a cut. ¡°Do you get it now? Do you get how big the difference between us truly is?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I know your intentions were good, and I do truly appreciate that you¡¯re here for me, but no amount of talking can make things right. My brother was murdered, and the man who did must be punished for it. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡± ¨C Alex He grabs both blades and shortly after activating the void in his hands, the transformation is undone. But not only that¡­ That transformation is undone too¡­ Shit! I quickly pull my arms back, and hide them as I transform them again. It all happened so quickly, and it was just my arms¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone noticed. Or at least I hope so¡­ I can¡¯t risk him undoing it again, especially not in front of the whole world¡­ He¡¯s also right, the gap between us is simply too big for me to overcome. I get that now. I had no winning chances to begin with. ¡°I understand, but as your friend, it¡¯s my job to make sure you don¡¯t go down a path you¡¯ll end up regretting. You¡¯re all but saying you¡¯re going to murder someone. A year ago, that would be unthinkable to you.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I¡¯m not ¡®all but saying¡¯ I¡¯m going to murder someone; I am saying it. I will find and kill Seth.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I understand, but-¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Luna, you¡¯re not going to change my mind.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Fine¡­ But, I have a question. If you¡¯re so determined to kill that guy, why are you even here? Shouldn¡¯t you be out there looking for him?¡± ¨C Luna Instead of giving a direct answer, he just responds with another question. ¡°Do you know why he killed my brother?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡­ No¡­¡± ¨C Luna ¡°He was part of some psycho group dedicated to killing the Emperor, and was scared he might one day join his side. With a reason like that, I sure as hell need to know the Emperor¡¯s side of the story too.¡± ¨C Alex And one of the prizes for winning is getting to meet the Emperor¡­ I get it. He¡¯s not an easy man to get in contact with; this is pretty much his only chance. Before we get to continue our conversation, the announcers interrupt us. ¡°Hey! We can¡¯t hear what you guys are talking about down there, so either speak up or get back to fighting!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°If he wasn¡¯t clear enough, emphasis was on the fighting part. Less talking, more fighting.¡± ¨C Barbara There¡¯s no point in continuing. No matter how hard I try, I won¡¯t beat him. On top of that, every time he touches me, I risk exposing myself. His mind seems pretty set in stone too. Even if I could somehow beat him, and I got to have that conversation with him, I doubt I¡¯d be able to change his mind that easily. He¡¯s on the path of revenge, and that¡¯s not something you can get talked out of. Honestly, it¡¯s not even my place to try to talk him out of it in the first place. His brother was murdered, and he¡¯s well within his right to be angry about that. Whatever he goes on to do is his choice, and his choice alone. I just need him to know that no matter what path he decides to go down, he¡¯ll always have friends who care for him¡­ ¡°I surrender.¡± ¨C Luna Chapter 164: Luna and Ulric --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] ¡®As a child, I was different from the other kids.¡¯ A tale as old as time for us hunters¡­ Honestly, are there even any ¡®normal¡¯ hunters out there? After all, you must be insane to subject yourself to the harsh training required to become one¡­ Whatever the case may be, I was still not your average kid. I never really got along well with the other boys. I wasn¡¯t very interested in playing with them, and much preferred hanging out with the girls instead. Of course I was seen as a little strange, but all kids have something weird about them that they¡¯ll eventually grow out of, right? That feeling never went away¡­ I could never properly explain how I felt, but there was always this sense of not belonging¡­ That feeling mostly manifested as curiosity, and at the age of 12 I finally decided to do something about it. While my parents weren¡¯t home, I decided to try on some of my mother¡¯s clothes. I was still really short at the time, so most of her clothes were way too big for me. Despite none of them fitting properly, I still had fun. Well, until I realized my mistake that is¡­ Turns out, I wasn¡¯t home alone. My parents caught me, and to say they weren¡¯t happy would be the understatement of the year. They were absolutely furious. ¡°What are you doing, @$#%&?!¡± ¨C Mother ¡°Boys shouldn¡¯t behave like that!¡± ¨C Father That same evening, they had already decided to send me to Ulric. Ulric was infamous among all the kids of our town. He¡¯s a retired hunter who went back to his hometown and opened up a service where he ¡®fixes¡¯ troublesome kids. Everyone who got sent to him came back as entirely different people, so many parents even used his name as a threat to make their kids behave.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. My parents weren¡¯t lying; they really were sending me to him. ¡°He¡¯ll teach you how to be a real man, @$#%&.¡± ¨C Mother They met up with him and organized everything. Just a week later, I would be stuck with him for the next six months. Of course I was dreading it every second. I kept begging my parents to cancel, and I apologized profusely for what I did, but they wouldn¡¯t listen. No matter what I said or did, their mind wouldn¡¯t change. I was going to stay with him whether I liked it or not. The week went by, and I was hit in the face with reality. I was now stuck with Ulric. My parents left, but they barely even said goodbye. It¡¯s like they couldn¡¯t wait to get rid of me¡­ I was a mess. Tears were streaming down my face, snot running down my nose, and I was sobbing so much I could barely breathe. I was abandoned with a monster¡­ ¡°Hey kid, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¨C Ulric ¡­ His voice was kind. He had a smile on his face, and he reached out his hand to help me get up. ¡°Let¡¯s get you cleaned up, alright?¡± ¨C Ulric He led me to his kitchen, then handed me a box of tissues. ¡°Everyone that gets here acts like you in the beginning. It seems I¡¯ve built up quite the reputation among the kids! Ahaha!¡± ¨C Ulric His laughter had no malice behind it. Was he really a monster like everyone made him out to be? ¡°Your parents gave me all the details when they booked me¡­ I need you to know that you¡¯ve done nothing wrong.¡± ¨C Ulric My crying immediately stopped. I was confused, relieved, happy, and lost. So many emotions were whirling around in my head I could barely understand what was happening. I had spent a week dreading this moment. I had spent a week begging to stay home. I had spent a week apologizing for my actions. In my mind, I had even started thinking what I did was actually wrong¡­ When the moment finally came, it turned out to be nothing like what I had foreseen. ¡°During my time as a hunter I met a ton of strange folks. Compared to a lot of them, you¡¯re honestly pretty normal! Ahaha!¡± ¨C Ulric Every time he spoke, I calmed down more and more. ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll ask you again. What¡¯s your name, kid?¡± ¨C Ulric ¡°If my parents told you everything, you should already know it.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°I want to hear it from you. Tell me, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¨C Ulric I remember all I could think of in the moment was how disgusting the sound of my name made me feel. I didn¡¯t want to say it. ¡°Just use my last name, please.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Luna it is then!¡± ¨C Ulric There was no judgement. He let me decide, and that was that. Afterwards he showed me around his home. His house was big, and his yard was bigger. He had two adorable kittens, and a lovely dog. It didn¡¯t take long for me to settle in. Once I did, the only bad thing about the six month limit was that it would one day be over, and I¡¯d have to go home again. The day after, everything just seemed so¡­ Normal¡­ We started the day by eating breakfast, and playing with his pets while chatting. ¡°You know, I rarely get kids like you sent here, Luna.¡± ¨C Ulric ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°When I was a kid, I used to cause a lot of trouble. Luckily I had someone in my life who helped me get back on track. He taught me a lot, and I definitely turned out a lot better because of him. I loved being a hunter, but the reason why I quit was because I always wanted to be like that man. I wanted to be someone who could help troubled kids get on the right path in life. Those are the kind of kids who I¡¯m usually tasked with helping. Troublemakers, bullies, and brats.¡± ¨C Ulric The rumors made him out to be a monster, but that¡¯s only because all the troublemakers who were sent to him always returned as well-behaved kids. To other kids that was seen as uncool, but in retrospect, he was doing so much good. He¡¯s one of the kindest people I¡¯ve ever met. ¡°And again, I need to reiterate this. You did nothing wrong, Luna.¡± ¨C Ulric Chapter 165: Finally myself --- [Luna¡¯s perspective] The first week at Ulric¡¯s place was chill. We ate breakfast, he taught me the things I¡¯d learn at school, I played with his pets in the garden, we ate dinner, then went to sleep. That¡¯s pretty much how every day went. It was like being at home, except with a parent who didn¡¯t hate or judge you. On the seventh day, he asked me something¡­ ¡°You know, since you¡¯re not like the kids I usually take care of, I don¡¯t have much to do. I feel bad taking your parents money when I¡¯m not doing anything special. So, how about this¡­¡± ¨C Ulric I listened carefully as he explained. ¡°How about I teach you Divinity manipulation? I know it¡¯s not for everyone, but I think you¡¯d enjoy working as a hunter. If you want to meet others like you, and people who don¡¯t judge, then that¡¯s definitely the path to go down.¡± ¨C Ulric My idea of a hunter was some heroic warrior who spent all their time fighting monsters. I couldn¡¯t see myself as someone like that, so it wasn¡¯t something I had considered before. But the way he explained it made me more than intrigued. ¡°I¡¯d love to!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Awesome! But be aware that it¡¯ll require a ton of hard work and determination!¡± ¨C Ulric That day, he started teaching me. As expected, I didn¡¯t really see any results. Learning BDM takes time, no matter how talented you are. Despite that, I kept on practicing. As time went on, we grew closer and closer. There were times when I even wished he¡¯d adopt me. I didn¡¯t want to go back, but alas, the day where I had to was rapidly approaching. Over the six months I spent with him, my parents didn¡¯t visit me even once. That alone told me everything I needed to know¡­ I still had some hope they cared about me deep down, but the day they arrived, they didn¡¯t even seem happy to see me. If anything, they were just more excited about the thought of me finally becoming a ¡®real man¡¯.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. When I got into the carriage, Ulric left us with some words I¡¯ll never forget. ¡°You¡¯ve got a great kid. You should be grateful for how they turned out.¡± ¨C Ulric Of course, they understood this as how I turned out after my visit with him, but I know that¡¯s not what he meant¡­ To him, I was always great; even before I ever knew him. On the way home my parents would interrogate me about the time I spent with him, but all I told them was some generic stull like ¡®I learned a lot from him¡¯ or something. They went home hopeful that I¡¯d be just like the other boys, while I went home more confident than ever before. It didn¡¯t take long for them to see that I hadn¡¯t changed. They went back to him, this time without me, and were furious because I wasn¡¯t the man they thought I¡¯d be. I wasn¡¯t there so I don¡¯t know exactly what went down, but I spoke to Ulric once about what happened. Apparently they were shouting and flailing insults at him left and right. All he told them was this: ¡°Sir, ma¡¯am, there was nothing wrong with your kid. Nothing for me to ¡®fix¡¯. Instead, I taught them the basics of BDM.¡± ¨C Ulric Of course, they were still angry, but what was done was done. They couldn¡¯t change the past, so they decided to take things into their own hands instead. When they got home, they bombarded me, saying everything they could to try to convince me to act differently. They said I¡¯d never find a wife. They said nobody would want to hire me. They said people would think I¡¯m weird. They said the way I acted was unnatural. Nothing phased me anymore. Ulric gave me the confidence I needed to finally stand up for myself. I shot down their every claim. ¡°I won¡¯t get a wife? I don¡¯t want one anyways. Nobody will hire me? Hunter guilds only care about competence. People will think I¡¯m weird? There are tons of weirdos among hunters. The way I act is unnatural? It¡¯s not unnatural to be myself.¡± ¨C Luna After that is when I started taking my training more seriously. More than anything, I wanted to be a hunter. I wanted to get away from my parents, and away from this city. If only I could start my life over somewhere I wasn¡¯t judged, then all my problems would be solved. My motivation was high, and I pushed through all the hardships of the overwhelming training needed to become a hunter. Over the coming years, I grew stronger and stronger. By the time I was a young adult, maybe 19 or 20 years old, I was finally strong enough to take on the F-rank exam. I could make my dream come true then and there, but¡­ I didn¡¯t¡­ As the years passed, my body changed a lot. I felt disgusted by my own skin, and my name was just as revolting. Sure, it¡¯s possible that if I became a hunter people would accept me for who I am, but that didn¡¯t mean I would¡­ I hated myself more than anything else. I felt embarrassed simply being seen by a stranger; everything about me was vile. My voice made me want to rip out my tongue. My face made me want to poke my eyes out. My body made me want to hide from the world. All the confidence I once gained from Ulric was gone as I was left with the reality of being stuck in a man¡¯s body¡­ When I was at my absolute lowest, I accidentally awakened my specialty¡­! They say a specialty is based on the shape of your soul; well, I guess my soul knew exactly what it needed. I held onto the feeling I felt when I accidentally used it, and it let me freely shape myself into anything I liked. I did a full body transformation, and picked up the pieces of an old mirror I had shattered. What looked back at me wasn¡¯t the flesh creature I used to inhabit; it was me. The me on the inside. The me I always felt like. I had finally become myself! That¡¯s when remembered my time with Ulric¡­ Back then, he used to just refer to me as ¡®Luna¡¯. It¡¯s the name of the city I lived in, and therefore also my last name, but it felt nice. I was myself on both the inside and outside now; I should have a fitting name too. It was the only name I¡¯d ever been called that didn¡¯t make my skin crawl, so I made it my first name too. And thus, Luna Luna was born. Chapter 166: Rematch --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] It¡¯s not long until my match with Kuro begins¡­ Way back during my first attempt at the E-rank exam, I had to fight him. He was significantly stronger than me back then, but times have changed. I¡¯m not the same person I was back then. Still, he has shown himself to be quite powerful throughout his matches. Even now, I still get the feeling it won¡¯t be an easy fight. Suddenly, the door opens, and three familiar faces show up. ¡°Hey.¡± ¨C Lett It¡¯s Lett, Luna, and Vic¡­ ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°How you feeling? Nervous?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Not particularly.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I see. You¡¯ve become so strong now that even an opponent like him doesn¡¯t scare you.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Yeah¡­ I have.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett The silence is so awkward¡­ It¡¯s been so long since I last talked to them it feels like I¡¯ve forgotten how. Just when I think that, Vic breaks the silence with a joke. ¡°So the student has finally surpassed the master then¡­ Even I couldn¡¯t have beaten Luna that easily!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Implying you could have even beaten me in the first place¡­¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Well of course I would.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yeah, right!¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Honestly, it would be pretty fun to see a fight between the two of you¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Then how about we have a match when we get back?¡± ¨C Luna ¡°Sure, I¡¯m down!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Alex, you¡¯ll come watch, right?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex I¡¯d love to go back home to the guild, but I can¡¯t just yet¡­ Not while Seth is still out there.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t be going back anytime soon. I hope you¡¯ll understand.¡± ¨C Alex They all look a bit bummed out. ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s okay¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Well, when you get back, you should greet Shin for me.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lett Hmm? Why is she acting like that? Suddenly, Luna¡¯s voice gets all serious. ¡°Alex, Shin hasn¡¯t been back since that day. He left shortly after you did.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°¡­ Why?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I don¡¯t know. He said there was someone he had to talk to.¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Who?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¨C Lett I wonder why he left¡­ He didn¡¯t go chasing after me, right¡­? No, it can¡¯t be that. If that was the case, he would have just said so. Where are you Shin, and what are you doing¡­? ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the match you¡¯ve all been waiting for is finally here!¡± ¨C Bob As the announcer starts talking, we all instinctively turn our heads toward the screen. ¡°Oh, looks like it¡¯s starting soon.¡± ¨C Luna ¡°We better get going then¡­ Good luck!¡± ¨C Lett ¡°Don¡¯t you dare lose, kiddo!¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Yeah, especially not after beating me!¡± ¨C Luna I let out a small chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t lose.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright then, see you later!¡± ¨C Luna As they leave, the announcers start introducing us. ¡°In hindsight, the final match could not have been between anyone other than these two. Usually, there are tons of close matches, and whoever gets to the finals will often depend on whoever gets the easier matchups. This time, that is not the case! These two hunters are unarguably the strongest ones here; they might even be the two strongest D-rank hunters in the world! None of their matches were even remotely close. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they could take on the rest of the contestants by themselves!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°A match between these two won¡¯t feel like a match between D-rankers at all; they¡¯d fit more into the upcoming C-rank tournament! If only the schedule wasn¡¯t so tight, I¡¯d have loved to see a match between the winner here, and one of the C-rank contestants!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Couldn¡¯t agree more, Bob. But at least we¡¯ll have this match to satisfy us!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Well then, our fighters need no more introduction. You¡¯ve all seen them decimate their opponents time and time again. Their actions speak for themselves. Please give the biggest round of applause you can to Kuro Velox and Alexander Minima!¡± ¨C Barbara I guess that¡¯s my queue to go on stage. The crowd is unbelievably loud; all other sounds are drowned out by them. Well, except for one that is¡­ The all-too-familiar rumbling Kuro sets off after each step he takes is still as clear as day. He¡¯s a behemoth of a man, but his power is so great even his unbelievable stature is dwarfed by it. For the first time in almost three years, we¡¯re face-to-face. ¡°Long time no see.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I don¡¯t usually accept rematches, but I suppose I don¡¯t have a choice this time.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°Why do you not accept rematches? Are you scared of losing to someone you¡¯ve already beaten?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No. I just don¡¯t want to waste my time with someone I¡¯ve already proven myself to be stronger than.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this match won¡¯t turn out the same as our previous one. Forget everything you thought you knew about me, or you¡¯ll come to regret it.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Losers tend to have delusions of grandeur to cope with the fact that they¡¯re weak. You¡¯re living proof of that.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°Seconds from now, that statement will be incredibly funny to look back at¡­¡± ¨C Alex He¡¯s as cocky as ever¡­ Well, that doesn¡¯t change anything. We can talk as much shit as we want, but in the end, strength is all that matters. ¡°It seems the fighters have exchanged some words and are now ready to begin. Let¡¯s not hold them back any longer! Kuro vs Alexander, let the final match begin!¡± ¨C Bob Like he has done in all his previous matches, he stands still and doesn¡¯t approach me. In fact, he¡¯s inviting me to go first. Don¡¯t mind if I do! I charge right at him and attack him head on with most of my power. He¡¯s launched backwards from the impact of my fist, sending him across the entire stadium, and crashing into a wall. As he collides with the impenetrable stone wall, his eyes widen in shock and he coughs up blood. For the first time in a very long time, Kuro has suffered significant damage. Chapter 167: The winner --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] He picks himself up, but the shock of finally meeting another D-ranker who can keep up with him has visibly shaken him to his core. As he walks back up the stairs, I can tell his mind is racing with a million thoughts per second. ¡°It seems I¡¯ve miscalculated. Even I, Kuro Velox, won¡¯t be able to win while holding back so much. Impressive.¡± ¨C Kuro Seems his arrogance is still intact¡­ Time to show him it wasn¡¯t just a fluke! I swing my fist towards him yet again, and he quickly retaliates by doing the same. Our fists clash, and to my surprise, we¡¯re dead even¡­ I throw another punch, then yet another. Each and every time, he hits back with equal force. It almost feels like fighting a copy of myself! He wasn¡¯t kidding¡­ He really was holding back earlier. We continue to trade blows, but neither of us are giving an inch. His power is undeniable, but so is mine! While still fighting, I ask him a question that¡¯s been on my mind for a while¡­ ¡°Why are you still D-rank? You¡¯re nearly as strong as I am, so I know you could make it to C-rank without much trouble. I haven¡¯t done it myself because I just reached D-rank during the most recent exam, and the C-rank one hasn¡¯t been held yet. You weren¡¯t there though, which means you became D-rank before me. So why haven¡¯t you taken it?¡± ¨C Alex As I continue to talk, I continue to put more pressure on him. The time between my strikes is getting shorter and shorter. ¡°Is it because you thought you could get an easy victory against the D-rankers? Are you really that petty?¡± ¨C Alex Most people would not be able to answer properly in a situation like this, but Kuro is far from ¡®most people¡¯. ¡°Of course not. I was simply busy that day.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°Busy? What could possibly be more important than a hunter exam?¡± ¨C AlexSupport the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°The fact that you even asked that question is proof that I¡¯m stronger than you.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°What? How so?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I was training.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Do you really think you could ever hope to achieve true strength with a weak mindset like that? You¡¯ll never reach the true heights that humanity is capable of if you think so little of your training that you¡¯re willing to abandon it for a mere exam.¡± ¨C Kuro What¡­ If anything, an exam is much better training than whatever he was doing. You get to seriously fight other people on a similar level to you; that¡¯s invaluable. Observing other people fight, and having to come up with ways to counter various specialties gives you experience more valuable than dozens and dozens of training sessions combined. I think I get it now¡­ He¡¯s just a lunatic. Well, I think it¡¯s time to win. I¡¯ve entertained him for long enough. Our clash continues, yet slowly but surely, I start getting the upper hand. Aside from charged attacks, I¡¯m now finally using my full strength. Every blow has maximum output behind it. With each hit, his body gets more and more bruised. I even land one critical hit that cracks one of his ribs. It won¡¯t be long before the match is over now. ¡°After an intense even exchange of blows, it looks like Alexander is finally getting the upper hand!¡± ¨C Bob Unlike all the previous matches, the crowd is completely silent. They¡¯re all watching closely, completely entranced by our fight. After slowly whittling him down, I throw one last blow expecting it to topple him. ¡­ My fist shatters. ¡°What the hell?!¡± ¨C Alex I punch him yet again with my other one; that one shatters too. What?! How is he suddenly so strong? Hitting him feels like hitting Earth itself! He¡¯s like an unbreakable wall. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve had to go all out.¡± ¨C Kuro What is going on?! ¡°I thought you said you stopped holding back earlier!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I said no such thing. I simply stopped holding back to such an immense degree.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡­ Do I really need to resort to charged attacks?! But how? How the hell am I supposed to pull that off?! I snap my fingers back in place, and forcefully clench them together to form a fist once more. I don¡¯t know how, but I¡¯ll have to pull it off somehow. I need to meet the Emperor¡­! Just as I finish the thought, I jump back to the other side of the arena, and instantly start charging up Divinity. He knows how powerful I am, and doesn¡¯t waste any time to chase after me. I didn¡¯t get to charge it up for long, but it¡¯s better than nothing. I throw the punch with all my might, but as it approaches him, he grabs my wrist with his large hands and snaps it. He suffers the full brunt of my attack on his palm, but it was still an advantageous exchange for him. Shit! This is starting to look like our last match¡­ I can¡¯t allow it! Not this time!! With my entire body and soul behind it, I throw one last punch with my only remaining hand. The desperation behind the attack enhances it to another level, making it go far beyond anything I could normally achieve. He grits his teeth as he prepares to block the attack. My fist drills into his forearm, breaking the bone and tearing the muscle. But that¡¯s it¡­ He successfully defended¡­ Without giving me any time to recover, he grabs both my arms, and uses his full force to rip them right off. ¡­ It¡¯s over. It¡¯s really over¡­ In a few seconds I¡¯ll pass out from blood loss, and there¡¯s no way in hell he¡¯ll I¡¯ll be able to defeat him with just my legs. How¡­ How did it end up the same way again?! Ever since Illian betrayed us, I¡¯ve gone through harsher training than I ever thought was possible. All for the purpose of winning this event, and beating Seth¡­ But even now, I¡¯m still not strong enough to beat Kuro¡­ What was even the point then? Why did I leave? I was so sure I could win¡­ I was so sure¡­ ¡°I surrender.¡± ¨C Kuro Chapter 168: True strength --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°I surrender.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¨C Alex Did I hear that right? ¡°Barbara¡­ Are my ears deceiving me? It sounded like he just said he surrendered¡­¡± ¨C Bob ¡°No, I definitely heard the same thing¡­¡± ¨C Barbara What is going on?! Why? Why?! The healers quickly arrive and start healing our injuries. Mere moments later, my arms grow back, and the horrible pain fades away. I try to get the words out, but the shock leaves me unable to. Despite that, Kuro can tell what I¡¯m trying to ask even if my mouth won¡¯t open. ¡°I¡¯ve already achieved what I set out to achieve.¡± ¨C Kuro Suddenly, he jumps up to the announcers¡¯ booth. Security quickly arrives. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not here to hurt them.¡± ¨C Kuro The announcers tell them to step down, and they do. He grabs one of their microphones and starts speaking. This clearly isn¡¯t how things are usually done, but they just roll with it. After an upset like that, they all want to hear from the man himself. ¡°My name is Kuro Velox. I am not here for money. I am not here to meet the Emperor. I am not even here for fame. I am simply here to show the world what true strength is. Even the strongest Divinity user amongst the D-rank hunters gathered here today was no match for me in the end. I will continue to climb the ranks, and one day, there will be no one left who can match me. If any of you fools listening dream of ever achieving a fraction of what I will in my lifetime, then you better be ready to abandon the Gods. Divinity is a sham. True strength can only be achieved from within. If you don¡¯t believe me, then watch as I obliterate every opponent I¡¯ll ever face without using even a drop of it.¡± ¨C Kuro He jumps back down into the arena, and lands right next to me.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I still don¡¯t get why he would surrender¡­ ¡°Why?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I just told you. I just told everyone.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°You¡¯re not interested in the rewards for winning, fine, but why surrender? Couldn¡¯t you just not accept it?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°My next training session is scheduled a few minutes from now. Dealing with the higher ups of the event would surely take more time than that. Winning would simply be a waste of time.¡± ¨C Kuro ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex And with that, he takes off¡­ ¡°Well, uhm¡­ I¡­ I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before¡­¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Same here¡­ When working in this field, you¡¯re trained to deal with any situation. I¡¯m supposed to have something meaningful to say no matter what occurs, yet this has left me completely speechless¡­¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°I suppose the only thing to say now is¡­ Well¡­ Congratulations. Alexander Minima, you¡¯re the winner¡­¡± ¨C Bob The audience seems almost as confused as me¡­ You¡¯d think there would be cheering unlike anything we heard before after the winner was declared, or in this case, maybe boos since I didn¡¯t really deserve it. But, no¡­ They don¡¯t know how to react, and so they don¡¯t. It¡¯s dead silent¡­ After a few more awkward moments of nobody knowing what to say, the announcers finally break the silence. ¡°Well, anyways¡­ Uhm¡­ A representative of the battle festival will come get you shortly, just go back to your waiting room for now.¡± ¨C Barbara I go back immediately, and the moment I open the door, I find Luna, Lett, and Vic waiting there for me. ¡°Congratulations!¡± ¨C Lett She runs up to me and gives me a hug. ¡°Good work out there.¡± ¨C Victor ¡°Thanks¡­¡± ¨C Alex Luna puts her hand on my shoulder. ¡°Hey, I know what you¡¯re thinking. A win is a win, okay?¡± ¨C Luna She¡¯s right. Besides, I didn¡¯t want to win out of pride or because I had something to prove. I wanted to win because I need to meet the Emperor¡­! Regardless of how I won, I still did. Soon enough, I¡¯ll finally get to meet my father; the man that crazy cult hates so much they killed my brother. Like the announcers promised, the representative didn¡¯t take long to arrive. ¡°Congratulations, Alexander. Winning the battle festival is no easy task.¡± ¨C Representative ¡°Yeah¡­ Thanks.¡± ¨C Alex He looks over at the others. ¡°You guys are gonna have to leave, it won¡¯t be long before the C-rankers arrive. You¡¯re more than welcome to watch from the stands with the rest of the audience, we¡¯ve made sure to have enough seats for the contestants.¡± ¨C Representative He flicks his hand in a motion telling them to hurry and leave, and without arguing, they take off. ¡°Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark, and I¡¯m the one who¡¯ll escort you to the Emperor and give you your prize money.¡± ¨C Mark He bows as he introduces himself. ¡°If you¡¯d be so kind as to follow me, I¡¯ll take you to waiting area.¡± ¨C Mark Without saying a word, I follow after him. We exit the stadium, then take a short stroll across the district. Mere minutes later, we enter a small building not far away from where we came from. There¡¯s a screen just like the one from our rooms in the arena. ¡°Right, so this is how things are going to go. A few minutes from now, the preliminaries for the C-rank tournament are starting. After the contestants have been decided, there will be a tournament just like the one participated in. When that¡¯s done, I¡¯ll escort the winner here like I did with you. This same process will repeat for the B-rankers, and when all three of you are here, that¡¯s when I¡¯ll escort you to the Emperor. I don¡¯t have permission to stay at his palace, so after I drop the winners off, I¡¯ll head back and prepare the prize money. When your meeting with the Emperor is over, come back to this building to receive your money. Did you get all of that, or do I need to explain it again?¡± ¨C Mark ¡°I got it.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Great. It¡¯s a shame you won¡¯t be able to watch the matches in person, but we¡¯ve set up a screen here for you watch them remotely at least.¡± ¨C Mark ¡°It¡¯s all good.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Good to hear. Right, I¡¯ll be off then. See you soon!¡± ¨C Mark Chapter 169: Unexpected encounter --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] The C-rank contestants sure are impressive. I could definitely beat some of them, but there are others I¡¯m not quite so sure about¡­ Simply watching their matches isn¡¯t enough; I¡¯d have to fight them myself to find out who would win in the end. However, even from here, I can tell some of them are definitely above my pay grade¡­ It seems like C-rank is my current limit then¡­ If the C-rank exam was held tomorrow, I¡¯d easily pass. However, if I were to enter the B-rank exam, I¡¯d get crushed¡­ At least for now¡­ The higher end C-rank hunters are simply too far ahead. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Hey.¡± ¨C ??? Out of pure instinct, I shake him off, and quickly turn around to see who it is. Woah, his face¡­ The entire left side is covered in burns far worse than anything Illian had, and the eye is missing. That¡¯s not the kind of face I¡¯d forget. If I knew who he was, I¡¯d recognize him. Who is this man? He could be an organizer or maybe a representative like Mark, but if that was the case, why didn¡¯t he say anything? Can¡¯t be another contestant either, they¡¯re not done yet. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh, no one special.¡± ¨C Mysterious man Why won¡¯t he answer? ¡°I just wanted to have a little chat before you leave.¡± ¨C Mysterious man How did he even know I was here? When Mark led me around the city, he made sure we wouldn¡¯t be seen. Besides, everyone is in the stadium watching the battle festival.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. We didn¡¯t encounter a single person on our way here. Why is he not, and why does he want to talk to me? ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this. Just answer me¡­ Who are you?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Woah! Calm down. No need to get so worked up!¡± ¨C Mysterious man He¡¯s refusing to tell me who he is, he was able to track me down despite Mark doing his best not to let that happen, and he specifically wants to talk to me¡­ Is he a member of The END?! I need to be ready in case he attacks me. The familiar feeling of the void opening in my palms returns once more. He puts his hands up in the air like he¡¯s surrendering. ¡°Woah, woah! No need to get so aggressive!¡± ¨C Mysterious man ¡°Answer me. I¡¯m not fooling around.¡± ¨C Alex If he thinks I¡¯ll go soft on a cult bastard like him, he¡¯s sorely mistaken! ¡°I told you, I¡¯m no one specia-¡± ¨C Mysterious man I throw a punch at him with all my strength behind it, and his laid-back attitude quickly fades away. In the blink of an eye, he maneuvers around me, completely dodging my attack. Before I can react, he grabs my wrists then forces me down on the ground. As I lay on my stomach with my hands behind my back, he puts his knee on the back of my neck, completely pinning me to the ground. I try to break free from his hold, but it¡¯s pointless¡­ This guy is way too strong¡­ He neutralized me in a single moment, seemingly with almost no effort too. This guy is not ordinary in any sense of the word. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll drop the act. We haven¡¯t met, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard my name by now. I¡¯m Seth Cor, Leo¡¯s best friend.¡± ¨C Seth He¡¯s Seth?! Shit! I¡¯ve been looking for him for so long, and now that I finally get the chance kill him, I blunder it by getting myself into this ridiculous position! I need to break free! ¡°Simmer down, kid. I¡¯m not letting you go that easily.¡± ¨C Seth Argh! Why is he so strong! ¡°Let go of me you bastard! I¡¯ll fucking kill you when I get the chance!¡± ¨C Alex Suddenly, an intense shock of electricity runs through my body, almost completely paralyzing me. ¡°Calm down! We can¡¯t talk if you¡¯re gonna act like such a brat.¡± ¨C Seth Ough¡­ My body won¡¯t move anymore¡­ Even thinking is hard¡­ That really did a number on me¡­ That must be his specialty. ¡°Have you calmed down yet?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Good.¡± ¨C Seth Despite having now calmed down, and barely able to move, he still isn¡¯t letting me go. He¡¯s very careful¡­ ¡°Take it back¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Take what back?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°You said you were big bro¡¯s best friend, take it back.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Why would I? It¡¯s true. I was just as close to him as he was with Victor and Lexa.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°If you truly were his best friend, you wouldn¡¯t have taken his life¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°If I had another choice, I wouldn¡¯t have had to.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°There¡¯s always another choice.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Then why did you kill Illian?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s different¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh¡­! It¡¯s different! I see! My bad.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°You¡¯re mocking me, but it¡¯s true. He betrayed me; it was self-defense.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh, come on¡­ Stop lying to yourself. I wasn¡¯t there, so I don¡¯t know exactly how everything went down, but I knew Illian. He was a good kid. I seriously doubt he¡¯d hurt you; he never had it in him. Tell me it¡¯s not true.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex I was so confused and filled with rage that I barely even remember what happened¡­ Now that I think about it, did he ever lay his hands on me¡­? ¡°That¡¯s why they picked him, you know? I was just that tiny bit more committed to the cause, and I clearly failed. They thought maybe he could do it since he was different, but in the end, he failed too.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Failed?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes. We both failed. The entire point was to bring you to our side, not to take your lives. That was just a safety measure I unfortunately had to go through with.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°That doesn¡¯t excuse what you did. He was innocent, and you killed him. Illian may have been right; I was na?ve in thinking killing is always wrong. When it comes to bastards like you, you deserve no mercy.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­ Answer my question. Did he ever lay a finger on you?¡± ¨C Seth Chapter 170: Again --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°¡­ Answer my question. Did he ever lay a finger on you?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°No¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Then it wasn¡¯t self-defense. Quit it with the half-assed excuses.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Well, he was still part of your psycho cult, the same cult who were behind the murder of my brother! He was still guilty.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°So you think it¡¯s okay to take the lives of the guilty then?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°In your case, absolutely.¡± ¨C Alex Slowly, my strength is coming back to me. Despite that, I don¡¯t try to break free. If even my full power wasn¡¯t enough, there¡¯s no way my current power is. He¡¯ll just shock me again, leaving me in an even worse state than before. I need to wait until I¡¯ve fully recovered, then break free when he least expects it. ¡°Well, the Emperor is the guiltiest man of them all. He has committed more heinous crimes than any other person in history. He has destroyed more lives than you could possibly imagine. I agree, the guilty need to be punished. In his case, that punishment needs to come no matter the cost.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°You guys keep telling me that, but I¡¯ve yet to see any proof that he¡¯s this big monster you claim he is. It¡¯s true that there¡¯s a lot of evil in the world, but he¡¯s just one man. He couldn¡¯t possibly be the cause behind it all, neither could he stop it all himself.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Did you just say ¡®the Emperor can¡¯t¡¯? That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. The Emperor can do absolutely anything he wants. That¡¯s the privilege of having ultimate power. I assure you, he¡¯s exactly who I¡¯ve said he is.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Well, I¡¯ll find that out soon. When the battle festival is over, I¡¯ll meet him and decide for myself.¡± ¨C Alex Seth lets out a small chuckle. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not happening, kiddo. The only way I¡¯d let you meet him is if you were there to take his life.¡± ¨C SethUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. This is exactly like what Illian said¡­ He said the Emperor was manipulative and that if I ever meet him, I run the risk of becoming his pawn, so he couldn¡¯t let that happen. It¡¯s not surprising that Seth¡¯s stance is the same. ¡°Alex¡­ You¡¯ve killed one of your best friends. You¡¯ve also admitted that killing can be okay if the person is guilty. Don¡¯t let your hatred of me cloud your judgement; you¡¯re so close to seeing things for how they are. Come with me, and I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Fuck you.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Fuck you for implying I¡¯m anything like you. I will never be on your side. Never. You got that?¡± ¨C Alex He lets out a disappointed sigh. ¡°Do you know why I came here, Alex?¡± ¨C Seth ¡°To stop me from talking to the Emperor. Probably by killing me.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No. I¡¯m here because I wanted to give you a second chance. I took no pleasure in killing Leo; he really was my best friend. I don¡¯t want to kill his little brother too¡­ but you¡¯re making that really difficult. If you¡¯d just give me a chance and come with me, I won¡¯t have to hurt you.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°No.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Are you sure? You know what will happen if you refuse.¡± ¨C Seth ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. You might have become someone special one day.¡± ¨C Seth He raises his hand in the air, and a lightning bolt starts to form. He might be stronger than me, but my specialty can overcome the difference. Kuro doesn¡¯t use SDM, in fact, he doesn¡¯t even use Divinity at all. He is a pure strength fighter, my worst possible match up. Seth is not like that. The chances may be slim, but I can beat him. No¡­ That¡¯s not quite right. I must beat him, is more accurate. If I tap into that power again, anything is possible. Just as I¡¯m about to use it again, the lightning bolt comes crashing down much earlier than I expected. I won¡¯t be able to defend in time! ¡­ ¡­ I¡¯m¡­ Alive? ¡°Get off him.¡± ¨C ??? That voice¡­ I can¡¯t turn my head and look, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve heard it somewhere before¡­ Could it be¡­? Seth lets out another disappointed sigh. ¡°Ugh, fine.¡± ¨C Seth Without a question asked, he lets me go. I turn around, and just like I thought, it¡¯s really her! ¡°How have you been, Alexander?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Leanne!¡± ¨C Alex Why is she here? Why did Seth listen to her? Why did she save me? ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got a lot of questions¡­ Save it. First, I¡¯ve got to deal with this rebel¡­!¡± ¨C Leanne He puts his hands in the air, surrendering for real this time¡­ ¡°No need to act like that. You know I can¡¯t hurt him as long as you¡¯re here.¡± ¨C Seth Even someone as strong as him cowers in the face of a B-rank hunter¡­ ¡°Then leave.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°I seriously don¡¯t get you Urielites¡­¡± ¨C Seth Urielites? ¡°Leave!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Fine! Okay! I¡¯ll leave!¡± ¨C Seth As he walks out the door, he looks back at me¡­ It¡¯s like he¡¯s telling me we¡¯re going to meet again one day. Bring it on! The next time we see each other, I¡¯ll be way stronger than him! ¡°That was close¡­ I barely got here in time¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Right¡­¡± ¨C Alex I¡¯ve got so many questions I don¡¯t even know where to begin¡­ ¡°How do you know Seth? How did you know I was in danger? How did you know I was here? Why did you save me? What¡¯s a Urielite? Why-¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Okay, okay! I can¡¯t answer a hundred questions at once, so I¡¯ll answer the most important one¡­ I¡¯m a member of The END too¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Chapter 171: Nearing the end --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] What¡­? Leanne is part of them too?! How many members are there?! Wait¡­ Is this why she was the host for every single exam I¡¯ve taken part in? I thought it was just coincidence, or maybe there weren¡¯t that many examiners, but was she actually just watching over me the entire time? Now that I think about it, the first time I fought Kuro, he was just about to kill me before she stopped him at the very last moment¡­ She didn¡¯t do that for any of the other contestants¡­! Okay¡­ I can understand why she saved me back then, it was before Illian was tasked with convincing me to join them, but why did she save me now? I have chosen to oppose them, and Seth was just about to take my life for it¡­ Why did she stop him? If she¡¯s with The END too, shouldn¡¯t she be on his side? They didn¡¯t seem very friendly either¡­ What did he call her again? A ¡®Urielite¡¯? I¡¯m not exactly sure what that means, but it probably has something to do with why they¡¯re so hostile towards each other. ¡°I know you¡¯ve got a ton of questions, but now is not the time nor the place. I have no intention of stopping you from seeing the Emperor; you¡¯ve got a mind of your own, and free will. Do whatever you like. I just want you to know that we aren¡¯t the horrible and evil villains you think we are¡­¡± ¨C LeanneYou might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Leanne¡­ I appreciate that you saved me just now, but don¡¯t delude yourself. You are horrible and evil villains. Your cult is responsible for killing my brother, for spying on me and tricking me, and just minutes ago attempting to take my life.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I understand¡­ Until the event is over and you¡¯re ready to leave, I¡¯ll stay in the area to make sure Seth doesn¡¯t come back. After that, if you have any questions, I¡¯ll be more than happy to answer them. You can meet me at spot the F-rank exam was held; I¡¯ll be there for a week.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex I have nothing more to say to her. I¡¯m happy she saved my life, but The END is my enemy. It doesn¡¯t matter who they are or what they do, nothing can change that. --- [Rose¡¯s perspective] a while later, right before the finals of the B-rank section of the battle festival ¡°The D-rank tournament had two exceptionally strong hunters that bulldozed their way through the event until they clashed in the finals. It ended in a way nobody could have expected, and for that, it will be remembered for the rest of time!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°The C-rank tournament however had fiercer competition than I¡¯ve ever seen before! Every single match was nail-bitingly close! Any one of them could have ended up the winner if the wind blew the other way!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°Both of them were great, but now ladies and gentlemen, we¡¯ve finally reached the ultimate match of the entire battle festival! The outcome of this battle will be the most important piece of news for the next 100 years to come!¡± ¨C Bob ¡°Her specialty is so incredibly versatile and powerful that she has single-handedly changed the entire security system of her guild! Her existence alone is enough to give The Red Knights a leg up on everyone else! But as she has proved time and time again today, she¡¯s just as capable in battle! She¡¯s a once-in-a-generation hunter, and someone who might even reach A-rank one day! The first finalist is none other than, Rose Rubrum!¡± ¨C Barbara ¡°But her opponent is no weakling either¡­ He embodies the values of The Dwarfs Guild more than anyone else in the world! In fact, there¡¯s not a soul alive today who clears more dungeons than him! How many does he clear, you may ask? Well, his daily average sits at a staggering two dozen! That¡¯s more than most hunters clear in a month! It¡¯s almost hard to believe he¡¯s human! Our second finalist is none other than, Aaron Pugna!¡± ¨C Bob Having seen his previous fights, he¡¯s not the kind of person I can afford to hold back against. Luckily, I¡¯ve been able to keep my ultimate rune hidden; unless he has done some thorough research on me beforehand, he shouldn¡¯t know about it. ¡°Please give a massive round of applause to the finalists!¡± ¨C Barbara With every step I take, the audience just gets louder and louder. As I reach the top of the stairs, the audience reaches the climax of their applause. Every single one of them is giving their all for this once-in-a-lifetime event. ¡°Good luck, Rose. I¡¯m actually looking forward to seeing which one of us takes it!¡± ¨C Aaron ¡°Me too. I¡¯ve been fairly certain I would win all the previous matches, but I¡¯m not so sure this time.¡± ¨C Rose ¡°Alright, looks like the fighters are ready! Let the final match of the battle festival begin!!!¡± ¨C Bob Chapter 172: Rose vs Aaron --- [Rose¡¯s perspective] The moment the match begins he points his index fingers at me, and two energy beams shoot towards me. They¡¯re incredibly fast, but he has opened every fight like that, so I manage to get away in time. His ability is simple, but incredibly effective. His first match ended as soon as it began; the opponent couldn¡¯t get away in time, and was pierced by the beams. She would have bled out in mere seconds, so she opted to just surrender immediately instead. The second match was longer, but not by much. They dodged the initial beams, but was hit right after. The match ended the exact same way; they surrendered. His third match was more taxing on him; his opponent was clearly a lot more powerful than his previous ones. She dodged a few shots, blocked some other ones, and even got some solid hits off on him¡­ But in the end, it ended the exact same way¡­ With a massive hole in her chest. Sure, there are tons of healers here to help us after our matches are over, but it¡¯s not that simple. Wounds made by specialties can be very tricky to heal, especially at our level. They may have survived, but their careers as hunters are likely over¡­ Despite how decisively he has beat his opponents, I could tell he was still holding back¡­ There are two main reasons for that, and I don¡¯t think either one has anything to do with wanting to keep his power secret, like I have. No, the real reasons have everything to do with the fact that if he were to go all out, the audience would be at severe risk.Stolen novel; please report. First of all, he needs to be extremely careful where he aims. One tiny slip up, and they¡¯ll go flying right into the crowd. He obviously can¡¯t let that happen. Second of all, this entire stadium was created by a fellow B-rank hunter. Sure, to all the D and C-rankers who fought before us it must have seemed completely indestructible, but to us¡­? Not so much. It¡¯s sturdy for sure, but if we were to go all out, it would quickly fall apart. That too would put the audience at risk. I run across the arena, dodging his bullets while quickly sketching trap runes on the floor. He desperately tries hitting me, but none of the beams hit the mark. If I take advantage of the fact that he can¡¯t use his full power and has to be extremely careful where he aims, I can win! I have yet to show my death rune or the less deadly variations of it, and I¡¯d love to keep it that way, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to win without it. As I try my hardest to dodge his bullets, I continue to engrave rune after rune across the arena. I¡¯m not exactly being subtle about the fact that I¡¯m making them, but that¡¯s fine. All they need to do is restrict his movement. My runes are extremely versatile. Based on their design, almost anything can happen. I have runes that can produce lightning, runes that can create explosions, runes that can make fire, and more. These days I¡¯m probably most known for the authentication system I¡¯ve put in place with them. It takes a ton of experimentation to find designs that do anything at all though, it¡¯s not something that I just intuitively know. To produce the desired result of the given rune, they can either be manually activated by me, or someone has to physically touch them. Generally speaking, that is¡­ There are some runes that have stricter restrictions on them; usually the most powerful ones. That includes the death rune¡­ My death rune does exactly what the name implies; it kills the target. If that was it, that would be great, but sadly, it¡¯s a lot harder to activate it than any other rune in my arsenal. That includes the variations of the death rune too; like the sleep rune. Both have the exact same restrictions and conditions. He continues his assault, and with every shot, he gets closer and closer to hitting me. I need to get this going soon, or I¡¯ll end up like all his previous opponents¡­ There are three restrictions¡­ The first one is that I can¡¯t directly put it on any living creature. If I try, it¡¯ll be nothing more than a drawing with no power behind it. I pull out my sword and engrave the sleep rune into it. I rush towards him, and he tries to get away, but he¡¯s unable to because of all the traps I¡¯ve laid. The second restriction is that it can not be activated manually; it has to be touched. I reach my sword out as far as I can, and I just about manage to give him a shallow cut on his shoulder. ¡°Guah!¡± ¨C Rose A thin energy bullet pierces through my leg¡­ To hit him, I had to let my guard down slightly¡­ The rune flares up, but nothing happens to him. As he hops away, he continues his endless barrage of deadly lasers. The third restriction, which may perhaps be the most important one, is that the opponent has to touch the rune three times before it activates¡­ Chapter 173: The end of the battle festival --- [Rose¡¯s perspective] He has already touched the rune once now, only two more times and this match is mine¡­! As the next round of bullets come at me, I try to get away, but due to the hole in my leg, I¡¯m not able to dodge them in time. This is risky, but I have to do it¡­ I quickly draw reflection runes all over my body, and the moment the beams hit me, they bounce right off. They scatter, going flying in every direction. Some right into the ground, others into the air. There were some close calls, but luckily none of them hit the audience¡­ Had any of them been hit, I would have been in a whole lot more trouble than just facing disqualification¡­ No need to dwell on what could have happened, everything ended up fine. On top of that, it bought me enough time to engrave a life rune onto the bullet hole. The hole closes up, and the bleeding stops. That rune is really useful in situations like these; it creates organic material that can quickly fix me or allies up if there are no proper healers nearby. The downside is that the material doesn¡¯t adapt to whoever it¡¯s used on and is completely its own thing. It only takes a few hours before it ¡®dies¡¯ and reveals the hole it used to fill again. I still need a real healer after the match is over. I take off at full speed once again, and try my best to reach him, but he does everything he can to get away from me. He might not know what the rune on my sword does, but he has seen from all my previous matches that they can be extremely deadly.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Besides, he¡¯s got the advantage at long range, so getting away from me would be the best course of action for him either way. I continue to chase after him, but getting close without getting hit is hard¡­ As the hunt continues, he gets more and more obsessed with hitting me. Annoyed that the fight is taking a lot longer than the previous ones, he gets reckless. He seemingly forget about the positioning of the runes I placed earlier on, and gets really close to them. Before he actually steps on any of them, I manually activate them all. Dozens of large bursts of flame shoot into the air around him, forcing him to stop running so as to not walk into them. Although it was only for a moment, it gave me enough time to hit him once again. The tip of my sword stabbed him in the forearm, and the rune flared up once more. Just one more time¡­! Desperate to get me away, he shoots a much wider beam than ever before. I get away just in time, but in doing so, I also had to get further away from him. The ray digs unfathomably deep into the ground below us; it was clearly a lot stronger than before too¡­ I only need to hit him once more, but that¡¯s a lot easier said than done¡­ He¡¯s willing to put a lot more power into his shots than before, so dodging will be harder than ever. On top of that, all the runes I drew have been used up. I won¡¯t be able to make new ones if he keeps fighting like this either¡­ There¡¯s no safe way to guarantee my victory, I need to take some risks¡­! I leap into the air, and make sure my body faces him the entire time. As I hurl towards him, I quickly draw reflection runes all over myself. As expected, he tries to shoot me, but the beams all bounce back towards him. He shoots some of them to cancel them out, while dodging others. As soon as I get within range, I fiercely swing my sword towards him. He gives his all and shoots one final shot. He aimed at my chest, but in the final moment before it hit, I twisted my body just enough so that it hit a less deadly spot. The beam pierces cleanly through my left shoulder, and at the same exact time, my sword hits him for the third and final time. The exact moment it hit him, the rune flared up one final time, before disappearing. At the same time, he goes completely unconscious and falls into a deep slumber. He won¡¯t wake up for a while. He lays there on the ground for a few seconds while the crowd is in complete silence. ¡°I¡­ I guess we have a winner!¡± ¨C Barbara The crowd erupts in cheers as the winner of the final match has been decided. --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] a few minutes later The door opens¡­ It¡¯s Mark; he¡¯s with the third and final winner. The winner of the B-rank bracket turned out to be another member of The Red Knights. Rose Rubrum¡­ She¡¯s the one who made the security system for our guild with her specialty. I¡¯ve only talked to her once; it must have been when she engraved the rune into our hands. That was all the way back when we first joined the guild¡­ It¡¯s been a while; I wonder if she remembers me. She must see a lot of new faces due to her responsibilities. ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here, let¡¯s not waste any more time. I¡¯ll take you all to the Emperor right away!¡± ¨C Mark Chapter 174: The palace --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Mark is here to escort us to the Emperor¡¯s palace, but to be honest, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible to go the wrong way¡­ The palace is unbelievably large. So large that no matter where you are in Adamas, you can still see it. I¡¯ve only felt this sense of awe twice before in my life. The first time was before the F-rank hunter exam when Leanne created a colosseum 100 times bigger than Minima, and the second time was when I first saw the guild HQ for The Red Knights which was significantly bigger than even that¡­ The Emperor¡¯s palace dwarfs even that¡­ Someone could probably live there their entire life and still not explore it all. I obviously can¡¯t see around the corners, but it looks like there are guards stationed evenly around the entire perimeter, with a heavier concentration around the outer gates. They¡¯re all dressed in the same uniform, the uniform of the royal guard. As we approach them, the guards shout out a few commands at us. They¡¯re probably just following protocol. ¡°Halt! Name and intention!¡± ¨C Guard ¡°It¡¯s Mark. These are the winners of the battle festival. They¡¯re here to visit the Emperor.¡± ¨C Mark ¡°Prove you are who you say you are!¡± ¨C Guard He snaps his fingers and sparks fly out. Unless you have an identification system in place like the one Rose made for our guild, looking at his specialty is probably the best way to make sure he is who he says he is. ¡°Access granted; you may enter.¡± ¨C Guard They open the gates, and we step into the largest building in existence¡­ Wow¡­! How is this place even real? When I look to my left, I see a gigantic golden statue that is also a fountain. When I look to my right, I see a garden with the greenest grass I¡¯ve ever seen, and one of every flower. As we go through the halls and navigate our way to the place we were supposed to meet, the incredible sights continue.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. There¡¯s a swimming pool so large I could mistake it for the ocean. Hundreds of different restaurants, containing every cuisine in the world. A theater with at least 100000 seats. A diamond the size of an elephant. Training fields so extensive they could be used for any form of training imaginable. And so much more¡­ Yet¡­ Almost all of it is completely empty and devoid of people. The only people here besides us, are the guards. Nobody is using any of these mindbogglingly beautiful attractions. Generally, people aren¡¯t even allowed in here, so the world doesn¡¯t even know most of this exists¡­ Why is there so much wealth concentrated in one place if nobody is here to enjoy it? ¡°This is it.¡± ¨C Mark After a long walk, he finally stops. ¡°This is as far as I can go.¡± ¨C Mark The place we stopped appears to be a lounge of some sort. Of course, like everything else in this place, it is way bigger and more elaborate than it needs to be. ¡°Howdy!¡± ¨C ??? Another guard approaches us. ¡°That¡¯s my que to leave. I¡¯ll go prepare the money reward right away. After you¡¯re done here, just come back to the waiting spot to get it. I¡¯ll see you soon!¡± ¨C Mark He waves us goodbye, and just like that, he¡¯s gone. ¡°I watched your matches, you¡¯re all wonderful hunters! I¡¯m sure we¡¯d all love for you guys to one day join the royal guard!¡± ¨C ??? He sits down and points to the couches. ¡°Sit. I insist.¡± ¨C ??? We all listen and do exactly as he says. ¡°My name is Freddy, I¡¯m a middle ranked royal guard who works here at the palace. You¡¯ll all get to meet the Emperor soon, but before that, I have some rules I¡¯d like to go over. First of all though, I¡¯d love it if you could introduce yourselves. I know the announcers said them many times, but I¡¯m terrible at names, so forgive me for not remembering.¡± ¨C Freddy He points at me. ¡°Since your rank is lowest, let¡¯s start with you.¡± ¨C Freddy Not really sure what to say, I stumble around looking for the right words. ¡°Uhm¡­ I¡¯m Alex Minima. I, uh¡­ I¡¯m a D-rank hunter from The Red Knights. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Nice to meet you, Alex!¡± ¨C Freddy He looks at the next person. ¡°I¡¯m Casey.¡± ¨C Casey ¡­ He didn¡¯t have much to say¡­ ¡°Nice to meet you, Casey!¡± ¨C Freddy Finally, he looks over at Rose. ¡°I¡¯m Rose Rubrum. I¡¯m a B-rank hunter, and also from The Red Knights. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Freddy.¡± ¨C Rose ¡°Nice to meet you too! Well then¡­ Alex, Casey, and Rose¡­ There are a few rules you should be aware of before going in there¡­¡± ¨C Freddy He points backwards with his thumb to the door behind him. I guess that¡¯s where the Emperor is¡­ He¡¯s so close¡­ ¡°First of all, don¡¯t speak unless spoken to. He¡¯ll let you know when it¡¯s your turn to talk. Second of all, kneel. We are less than him; you are not an exception. Show it. When you are in his presence, kneel. Third of all, unless you have a death wish, don¡¯t look directly at him. Being allowed to be this near him is already an honor, so don¡¯t push it. Compared to him, we are all lesser beings. The key takeaway is this; be respectful.¡± ¨C Freddy Those are some intense rules¡­ I¡¯m not even allowed to look at my own father¡­? ¡°There are only a handful of people in the world who have the authority to enter that room on a regular basis; two of them are in there at this very moment. They¡¯re two of his most loyal servants. Two high ranking royal guards who have served him for thousands of years. Even they follow those rules¡­¡± ¨C Freddy With a series look on his face, he looks us all in the eye. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¨C Freddy We all nod in union. ¡°Alright¡­¡± ¨C Freddy He stands up and opens the door behind him so that he doesn¡¯t see anything. The door opens just enough for us to squeeze in there, but not any further. As we get in, we immediately kneel and look down. I can¡¯t see him, but I can still feel his presence¡­ Despite having never been in the same room as him before, the aura he emits is unmistakable; had he ever appeared before me in the past, I would know it¡¯s him without anyone telling me¡­ This is strongest man in the world. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Emperor Chapter 175: The Emperor --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] All three of us are kneeling, looking at the ground, and staying quiet¡­ We¡¯re all waiting for him to make the first move. This might be the only chance I¡¯ll ever get to talk to him; I¡¯m not going to screw it up by breaking the rules. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so formal. Raise your heads.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡­ What? This goes directly against what Freddy told us¡­ Is it some kind of test¡­? ¡°I¡¯m not joking.¡± ¨C Emperor Despite him saying that, we all hesitate, and continue to look down. ¡°Look at me.¡± ¨C Emperor Despite our earlier hesitation, we all instantly look up at him. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the way he said it or what, but it¡¯s almost like he physically commanded our bodies to move. We simply couldn¡¯t disobey. ¡°Now stand up.¡± ¨C Emperor And just like that, we all stop kneeling. ¡°You¡¯re my guests, you don¡¯t need to follow those silly ¡®rules¡¯. The guards made all that up themselves anyways!¡± ¨C Emperor He bursts out laughing; it¡¯s like all their fear and admiration is just a joke to him. ¡°Alexander, Casey, and Rose¡­ You¡¯re here to talk to me, so let¡¯s talk.¡± ¨C Emperor He knows our names¡­ He points at Rose. ¡°What do you want the most in the world?¡± ¨C Emperor She¡¯s clearly shocked that he spoke directly to her. All the confidence she used to exude is gone, and she¡¯s completely lost for words. ¡°I¡­ Uhh¡­ Uhh¡­¡± ¨C Rose ¡°Speak up. There¡¯s no need to be so nervous.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± ¨C RoseUnauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°That¡¯s okay. There are plenty of people who don¡¯t have anything in particular they¡¯re striving for and are content with what they have.¡± ¨C Emperor He looks at Casey. ¡°What about you then? What do you want the most?¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°For you to die!¡± ¨C Casey What?! Why would he say that!? Saying something like that is beyond suicidal! Suddenly, the head of one of his high-ranking guards roll towards us on the floor. The other guard looks ready to attack, but the Emperor speaks up. ¡°Stand down!¡± ¨C Emperor He complies, and goes back to kneeling, but instead of looking at the floor, he glares at Casey. ¡­ What just happened? What happened to the guard¡­? ¡°Like I said, you are my guests. You ought to treat your guests with respect. I don¡¯t care how many thousands of years he served me; if you disrespect my guests like that, you forfeit your right to life.¡± ¨C Emperor Wait¡­ Am I understanding this correctly? Did the guard try to kill Casey for what he said, but the Emperor stopped him himself? It all happened so fast¡­ I couldn¡¯t see any of it¡­ From what I¡¯ve heard, low ranked royal guards are roughly equivalent to a C-rank hunter, while middle ranked royal guards are roughly on the same level as B-rank hunters. These are high ranking guards¡­ They¡¯re supposed to be as strong as an A-rank hunter, right¡­? It¡¯s no wonder I could perceive any of it¡­ But to imagine the Emperor could take out an A-rank hunter like it was nothing¡­ How strong is he¡­? ¡°I don¡¯t care if you take my life. I am simply here to tell you that it won¡¯t be long until your downfall. The Emperor Needs to Die!¡± ¨C Casey I can tell the remaining guard wants to take him out more badly than anything else, but he¡¯s containing his wrath¡­ ¡°You¡¯re brave, young one. I¡¯ll give you that!¡± ¨C Emperor Just like before, he yet again bursts out laughing. Despite someone telling him to his face that they wish death upon him, he¡¯s not affected in the slightest. Is he just that used to death threats, or is he beyond all that? I mean¡­ It¡¯s not like a C-rank hunter could pose a threat to him anyways¡­ ¡°You¡¯re laughing now, but soon enough, that¡¯ll change¡­ Mark my words!¡± ¨C Casey He stops laughing for a moment and looks him in the eyes¡­ ¡°I look forward to it.¡± ¨C Emperor Right after the words leave his mouth, he goes back to laughing. After calming down again, he leans forward and looks at us intensely; almost like he¡¯s analyzing us. ¡°Well then, do you have any questions? Is there anything you want from me? Anything you want me to do? Anything you want to know? This is your one and only opportunity to speak to me, and all you guys have said is that you want me dead!¡± ¨C Emperor He looks around, but nobody says anything¡­ ¡°Nothing¡­? Really?¡± ¨C Emperor I have plenty of things I¡¯d like to ask him, but I¡¯d rather do it in private¡­ That might not be possible though¡­ ¡°If you¡¯re scared to talk, if that¡¯s really it, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Little Casey over here told me he wanted me dead, and when my loyal guard who had been serving me for many millennia tried to attack him, I didn¡¯t hesitate to end his life. Right now, you are my guests. Nothing bad will happen to you. Don¡¯t let yourselves be held back by fear. Speak your mind.¡± ¨C Emperor Rose takes a deep breath and steps forward. ¡°I¡¯ve only met The Red Knights guild master once in my life¡­ That was the day I became a B-rank hunter. To me, he seemed so impossibly strong¡­ So strong that no matter how much I trained, I¡¯d never reach his level. As the strongest man alive, how big do you think the gap is between him and you? Do you think he thinks the same when he looks at you, as I do when I look at him?¡± ¨C Rose The Emperor looks up at the ceiling and ponders for a moment. ¡°You never know with Idris! He has a fire in him that burns more brightly than most. Although he might not admit it, I suspect that deep down, he believes he¡¯ll reach my level one day. That¡¯s just the kind of person he is.¡± ¨C Emperor He chuckles slightly before continuing. ¡°As for how big the gap between us is¡­ Well, it¡¯s the same as the gap between me and anyone else. Be it Idris, you, Casey, or Alexander¡­ You¡¯re all the same to me.¡± ¨C Emperor Chapter 176: Like father, like son --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] We¡¯re all the same to him¡­ Being the winner of the C-rank bracket, Casey would likely win against me just as easily as Seth did. As the winner of the B-rank bracket, Rose would absolutely humiliate Casey. Compared to us, the guild master is in another world of power. He¡¯d make even Rose look like an ant. Yet¡­ To the Emperor, we¡¯re all the same¡­ How is that even possible? My mind can¡¯t even fully grasp it; it just doesn¡¯t make any sense. How is he that strong? ¡°Does that answer your question, Rose?¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¨C Rose He looks around again. ¡°So then, was there anything else you guys wanted to know?¡± ¨C Emperor I stay quiet for a few seconds, and nobody says anything. I guess now is as good a time as any¡­ ¡°Emperor¡­ I¡¯d like to talk to you alone, if possible¡­¡± ¨C Alex Rose turns to me in shock. ¡°I know the deal was for all of us to meet you at once, but¡­¡± ¨C Alex I look him in the eyes¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sure you know why.¡± ¨C Alex He nods. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure we have lots of things we need to discuss.¡± ¨C Emperor Rose gives me a confused look; she clearly doesn¡¯t know¡­ ¡°Well then, on you go.¡± ¨C Emperor He flicks his wrist, signaling Rose and Casey to leave. They don¡¯t hesitate to follow his command, and promptly leave. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Emperor He looks at his guard.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Did you not hear me? Leave. Me and Alex will talk in private.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°But-¡± ¨C Guard ¡°Leave.¡± ¨C Emperor The killing intent is so intense you could probably feel it from the other side of the world¡­ The Emperor isn¡¯t messing around; he¡¯s serious¡­ Without even replying, the guard immediately gets out, leaving just me and him. There are so many things I want to ask; I don¡¯t even know where to begin! I guess the first thing should be¡­ ¡°Are you really my¡­ father?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Absolutely.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°Then why? Why were you not there? Why were we not with you? Why didn¡¯t I know until a certain someone told me?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alexander¡­¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°Call me Alex.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex¡­ Everything I do is for a reason. I believe that in the end, you¡¯ll end up much stronger by living your life the way you have, than you would if you were here with me.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°But life isn¡¯t all about strength¡­ Had we been with you from the start, Leo might have still been alive¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡®That¡¯s right¡¯¡­? What does he mean by that? And¡­ Now that I think about it¡­ ¡°My mother always told me my father died shortly before I was born. Has she been lying to me my whole life?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No. I altered your mother¡¯s memories; she doesn¡¯t even know I¡¯m the father of her children.¡± ¨C Emperor Isn¡¯t that¡­ Cruel? She deserves to know who our father is. She deserves to live without the false grief of having lost her husband¡­ I¡¯m not sure I fully understand the point of it either¡­ He thinks I¡¯ll end up stronger? So what? The only reason I want strength in the first place is so that I can provide for my village and get revenge for my brother. Had we been with him from the start, I wouldn¡¯t have even needed to be strong¡­ I don¡¯t get it, but maybe he knows something I don¡¯t¡­ Whatever, I need to move on. I don¡¯t know how much time I¡¯ve got, and there are other important questions I need to ask him as well. ¡°Everything I¡¯ve ever heard about you has been awful. I¡¯ve been told you¡¯re the root of all suffering, the most evil man in history, committed more heinous crimes than anyone else, destroyed more lives than I could possibly imagine¡­ I know this can¡¯t be true, because I know the true nature of the people who said those words.¡± ¨C Alex He leans forward and looks directly at me. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know about them. They¡¯re a terrorist organization, or cult, or whatever¡­ They call themselves ¡®The END¡¯. They¡¯re the ones who killed my brother. They¡¯re the ones who tried to do the same to me¡­ And it¡¯s all because of our relation to you¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What are you asking?¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°I¡­ I guess what I¡¯m asking is¡­ Why? Why are they like that? Why are they so desperate? Why would they go so far as to take big bro away from me¡­¡± ¨C Alex He lets out a sigh before answering. ¡°Alex, there is one thing you need to understand¡­ They¡¯re not wrong.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°¡­ What¡­?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I am the root of all suffering. I am the most evil man in history. I have committed more heinous crimes than anyone else. And I have destroyed more lives than you could possibly imagine. They are right about all of it.¡± ¨C Emperor What¡­? I¡­ What? That can¡¯t be true. It just can¡¯t¡­ ¡°If you¡¯re the evil one, why would they take Leo away from me? Why?!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Because they¡¯re scared, Alex. They¡¯re scared of me. They¡¯re scared of what he could do if he ended up like me. They¡¯re scared of what you could do if you end up like me.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°No¡­¡± ¨C Alex I fall down on my knees, and tears start uncontrollably streaming down my cheeks. ¡°No¡­ That¡¯s not true¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It is.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°No¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°NO!¡± ¨C Alex I let out a wild scream as burst of emotion overcomes me. The windows shatter, and the guard opens the door to check what is happening. ¡°Stay out!¡± ¨C Emperor He reaches his hand out, and the doors slam shut on their own. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Take my hand.¡± ¨C ??? It¡¯s that thing again¡­! This is just like that time with Illian¡­ ¡°Who are you? What¡­ are you?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Take my hand.¡± ¨C ??? It¡¯s not listening¡­ Why won¡¯t it answer? ¡°You won¡¯t beat that man on your own, so take my hand!¡± ¨C ??? Chapter 177: What next? --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] The void in my hand activates¡­ It crawls up my arm, and my whole body tingles. I point my hand towards the Emperor, and the void stretches out and wraps itself around him. Just a moment later, it disappears¡­ But¡­ He¡¯s still there! This is exactly what happened to Illian, except he was somehow absorbed by it¡­ Why didn¡¯t it work on him?! ¡°Good. You have potential for sure.¡± ¨C Emperor The void slithers further up my arm, and over the shoulder. It goes up my neck, and down my chest. ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯re still 1000 years too young to even think about challenging me.¡± ¨C Emperor He slaps me across the face, and the pain is so intense my power deactivates instantly. Even with the power of that thing, I still didn¡¯t even stand a chance¡­ ¡°Go on¡­ Hate me. Grow strong. Then one day, when you¡¯re ready, come back. When that day comes, let¡¯s have a real fight.¡± ¨C Emperor He opens the door and points at his personal guard. ¡°Escort him out of the palace. Make sure he¡¯s safe.¡± ¨C Emperor ¡°Aye, sir!¡± ¨C Guard My head¡­ It¡¯s spinning¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ --- One hour later I shoot back up. ¡°Where am I!?¡± ¨C Alex I scan the area¡­ Looks like a hotel room of some sorts¡­ I look out the window as I walk up to it.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. I¡¯m near the palace¡­ The last thing I remember was freaking out over what the Emperor told me, then the creature from my dreams appeared again. I think I tried to fight him, but even with the creature¡¯s power, he was still way too strong. After he knocked me out, they must have carried me here. My head still feels so fuzzy; what did he say again? That he is the evil one? How can that be? He¡¯s not the one that killed my brother. He¡¯s not the one that kidnapped my friends. He¡¯s not the one that attempted to kill me. They did that, not him¡­ Was he lying? But what for? Why would he paint himself as the villain when he¡¯s not? To motivate me? No¡­ That doesn¡¯t make any sense either¡­ Nothing makes any sense! I want to go back and talk to him, but there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll let me in. Actually, no¡­ There¡¯s no point in me going back anyways. I don¡¯t know why, but he¡¯s lying. He has to be. If I were to go back now, he¡¯d just spew the same bullshit as before. Whatever his reasons for making himself out to be the villain are, he¡¯s not going to completely change his mind about it just because I go back for a second conversation. I might not know why, but what I know for certain is that he is good, and they are bad. It has to be true. Because if not¡­ If The END aren¡¯t evil, then¡­ Then¡­ My entire body starts quivering and my knees give out. I fall to the floor and tears start welling up in my eyes. If they¡¯re not evil, then¡­ Then¡­ Then I took my best friend¡¯s life for no reason¡­! I slam my fist into the floor and grit my teeth as I wipe the tears away. No! I can¡¯t go thinking stupid shit like that! Illian was evil, Seth is evil, everyone from The END is evil! They¡¯re all evil! But¡­ What about Leanne? She saved me multiple times; even from Seth himself¡­ No! Her too! She must be trying to trick me or something, it¡¯s the only thing that makes sense. It¡¯s all a ploy to lure me out somewhere where they can take my life too! But¡­ What if I¡¯m wrong? What if the Emperor wasn¡¯t lying? What if Leanne wasn¡¯t lying? What then? Am I just going to live with my delusions because I¡¯m scared of the truth?! ¡­ I stand back up and look outside the window. The palace is so big¡­ Everything a person could ever need and more is in there. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if I brought my mom here and we lived there with my father? She would never again have to work a day in her life. She wouldn¡¯t have to worry about food or water or when I will return with money ever again. I could quit being a hunter, and just live a peaceful life with her. She wouldn¡¯t even have to worry about my safety! Imagine that¡­ That would be nice¡­ ¡­ But I can¡¯t. Seth killed my brother; justice needs to be served. I can¡¯t allow myself to give up until then¡­ But also, what if Leanne is right? What if the Emperor is just as horrible as I¡¯ve been told? Am I just going to let him continue his reign of terror while knowing I might be the only one who could do anything about it? I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe? I never wanted any of this¡­ I fall down once more, and tears start properly running down my face, making it hard to even keep my eyes open. I just want my friend and big brother back! ¡­ Why me? Why do I have to be the one who carries the grief of losing his loved ones, and the burden of revenge? Why does the well-being of so many others have to lie on my shoulders? What did I do to deserve any of this? Why¡­ ¡­ Me? I take a deep breath and once again wipe away the tears. I don¡¯t know what to think, and I don¡¯t know what to feel. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m right, and I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m wrong. All I know is that I need to get my shit together and figure it out! Leanne said she¡¯d stay at the place the F-rank exam was held for a week¡­ I guess my first course of action should be to meet her there and listen to what she has to say. Chapter 178: Where are we going? --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] A little while later, at the place the F-rank exam was held ¡°Alex! I¡¯m so glad you came!¡± ¨C Leanne It looks a lot different here from what I remember¡­ Probably because the colosseum is no longer there¡­ After having a bit of a breakdown earlier, I didn¡¯t really know what to do. Honestly, I still don¡¯t know if meeting up with her was the right choice, but I can¡¯t just sit around either¡­ If the people from The END aren¡¯t as bad as they¡¯re claiming, I need to know. Of course, everything they say could be a lie, but that¡¯s for me to decide. The Emperor seemed to imply they were telling the truth, but he could be lying too. There¡¯s just no way to know for sure at the moment; I need to know more. This could all be an elaborate trap, and Leanne intends to kill me now that there are no one here who can stop her, but so be it. It¡¯s a risk I¡¯ll have to take. Sooner or later, they¡¯ll come for me anyways. Seth was already too much for me to deal with, so what if they send someone even stronger next? Worst case scenario, I¡¯m dead no matter what I do. At least there¡¯s a chance I¡¯ll gain some valuable information, something that might even save me, if I go with her¡­ But more than anything, I just want to know the truth¡­ ¡°You haven¡¯t killed me yet¡­ I¡¯ll take that as a good sign.¡± ¨C Alex She laughs playfully, thinking I was just joking around¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened between you and the Emperor that convinced you to come, but it¡¯s good to see that you still have a sense of humor!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Right¡­ Well, now that I¡¯m here-¡± ¨C AlexUnauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Before I can finish my sentence, she cuts me off. ¡°Wait!¡± ¨C Leanne She holds her hands up, telling me to stop with both her words and body language. ¡°I know, I know¡­ You came all the way here for me to answer your questions, but I can¡¯t answer them just yet¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Seriously¡­? ¡°Why?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°There¡¯s something I want to show you first. A place¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Is it really that important? Can you not wait until you¡¯ve answered my questions?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It can¡¯t wait, sorry.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Why?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You¡¯ll understand when we get there.¡± ¨C Leanne I let out a sigh¡­ Maybe this was a mistake after all¡­ She sees my expression change and tries to convince me to come. ¡°Look¡­ Like you said yourself, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. You trusted me enough to come here, so trust me just one more time. Please.¡± ¨C Leanne I have a bad feeling about this¡­ ¡°Fine.¡± ¨C Alex She raises her hand and a cart of stone appears. ¡°It¡¯s pretty far away; it¡¯ll go much faster if you sit here and I drag you along.¡± ¨C Leanne I reluctantly hop into it, and she grabs the handles. ¡°Ready?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Yea- uaaah!¡± ¨C Alex I try my best to hold on for dear life as she suddenly takes off. She¡¯s running so quickly my brain can¡¯t even comprehend the surroundings! Suddenly, after what felt like forever, but in reality was only a few minutes, we find ourselves in the middle of a forest¡­ ¡°Where are we?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°In the middle of nowhere.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¨C Alex Oh no¡­ Following her was a bad idea¡­ Should I run? No¡­ There¡¯s no point; there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to get away from a B-ranker¡­ I need to stay cool. Remember, if she intended to kill me, she would have done so ages ago. ¡°Here! Come!¡± ¨C Leanne She waves for me to come. I go after her, and she continues to go deeper into the forest. Suddenly, she stops¡­ ¡°What is it?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leanne She looks around. Suddenly, her face lights up. ¡°Ah, there!¡± ¨C Leanne She walks up to an ordinary tree and starts tapping it in a specific sequence all over. After she¡¯s done, she leans in and whispers something to the tree. Has she gone mad¡­? Suddenly the ground opens up besides the tree, revealing a set of stairs¡­ She starts going down them, then stops when she notices I¡¯m not following her. ¡°Come!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°What is this place? Where are you leading me?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh my goodness¡­ Just come! You¡¯ll see in a moment.¡± ¨C Leanne It¡¯s not like I really have a choice anyways¡­ With more than just a grain of hesitation, I go after her. As we go down the stairs, lights automatically turn on right ahead of us, so we always see where we¡¯re going. After just a few meters, the ¡®ground¡¯ on top closes up, hiding the stairs from the world above¡­ These stairs are so long¡­ How far down are we supposed to go? Whoever built this must have been out of their mind; the architecture isn¡¯t even consistent! We¡¯re going down a regular straight staircase for a few hundred steps, then suddenly it turns into a spiral staircase for a few hundred more, then L-shaped stairs, then circular ones¡­ At times, we¡¯re even walking straight ahead on a flat plateau. But after a tiring amount of walking, I finally see some lights that aren¡¯t the ones right above¡­ ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡± ¨C Leanne We take the turn around the corner and¡­! Wow¡­ It¡¯s an underground city! Chapter 179: Solis --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] The architecture and design of the city is just as chaotic as the stairs. There are dirt roads that lead into concrete that lead into gravel. There are wooden houses next to apartment complexes made of bricks next to restaurants made of stone. There¡¯s a river flowing right through the city stretching as far as the eye can see, and bridges that cross it in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Unlike most places in the world, there is no coherent style, no planning, no rules¡­ It¡¯s almost like every single person that lives here built their homes on their own, with whatever materials or specialties they had available to them. It may look like a mess, but there¡¯s a certain charm to it¡­ Not gonna lie, I kinda dig it! ¡°So, what do you think?¡± ¨C Leanne She smirks as she can tell from the look on my face what my answer would be. ¡°So this is what you wanted to show me? It¡¯s cool, but¡­ Why? Why couldn¡¯t you answer my questions where we agreed to meet up?¡± ¨C Alex She steps forward and looks back at me as she throws her arms wide open. ¡°This Alex¡­ This is Solis!¡± ¨C Leanne She lowers her arms and grabs my hands. ¡°This is our hideout; everyone in The END is welcome here. Inversely, everybody outside of The END are not welcome here¡­ If the higher-ups find out I brought you here without permission and I don¡¯t get any results to show for it, I¡¯ll likely be executed¡­ I hope bringing you here is enough proof of my sincerity. I genuinely want to help you, Alex.¡± ¨C Leanne She lets go of my hands and starts walking along the path while signaling me to follow. She says that, but there¡¯s no way for me to know if she¡¯s telling the truth or not¡­ That could easily be a lie too, and her life isn¡¯t in danger at all. But¡­ For some reason, I get the feeling that she¡¯s telling the truth¡­ For now, I¡¯ll cautiously trust her¡­ ¡°Where are we going now?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°To the bakery. There¡¯s someone I want you to meet there.¡± ¨C LeanneA case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Who?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You¡¯ll see!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡­ Still not answering everything then¡­ ¡°Come on, Mom! We need to hurr- Ah!¡± ¨C Kid Suddenly, a kid runs into Leanne while her head was turned the other way. She was holding an ice cream, but when she bumped into her, it fell on the ground. ¡°Sally!¡± ¨C Mother She runs up to Leanne to see if she¡¯s okay. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! She¡¯s so reckless and never looks where she¡¯s going!¡± ¨C Mother She grabs her daughter¡¯s arm and pulls her back. ¡°Apologize to the lady!¡± ¨C Mother ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¨C Sally Leanne squats down gently, lowering herself to meet the child¡¯s eyes. She puts her hand on her head and pats her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, kid. I¡¯m not hurt.¡± ¨C Leanne She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a strange looking coin. ¡°Here, take this and buy yourself a new ice cream, okay?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Oh, we¡¯re fine! You don¡¯t have to. It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± ¨C Mother ¡°Don¡¯t worry about.¡± ¨C Leanne The mother takes the coin from the kid¡¯s hand and tries to hand it back to Leanne, but she just walks away without looking back. The mother looks over at me, and tries to hand it to me instead. ¡°Give it back to her, would ya?¡± ¨C Mother I shouldn¡¯t take it; Leanne clearly wanted the kid to have it. ¡°Sorry, gotta go!¡± ¨C Alex I quickly catch up to Leanne again, leaving the two of them behind. ¡°What was that?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What do you mean? The kid?¡± ¨C Leanne I didn¡¯t expect there to be kids living here considering it¡¯s the hideout for a terrorist organization, but that¡¯s not it¡­ ¡°No, the coin.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh. Right. We use an entirely separate currency here from the rest of the world.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Why?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°So that we aren¡¯t dependent on anything in the outside world at all. The world is so corrupted and poisoned that we don¡¯t really want anything to do with it the way it currently is. Not everyone in The END are hunters or Divinity users. Sure, I and many others fight to make the world a better place, but what are people like that mother and kid supposed to do? They¡¯re just regular people. They likely joined us to escape the horrible conditions of wherever they came from, and just want to live in peace.¡± ¨C Leanne So there are regular, everyday people, living here too¡­ Just like me and my mother before I became a hunter¡­ As we walk around the corner, I see a gigantic wall in the middle of the city. It¡¯s completely straight and goes from the floor to the ceiling. It looks so unnaturally placed, like it was just plopped into a living, breathing, city. We¡¯re underground, so if that was just where they stopped digging, I¡¯d expect it to just be dirt and rock. It was intentionally placed there, but why? ¡°Curious about the wall, eh?¡± ¨C Leanne I nod. ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®the wall of separation¡¯. The other side is where the Raguelites live. Don¡¯t worry about it too much, we¡¯ll stay on this side.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Raguelites?¡± ¨C Alex Seth mentioned something about ¡®Urielites¡¯ too¡­ ¡°Does ¡®Raguelites¡¯ have something to do with ¡®Urielites¡¯?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ll explain that part fully as soon as we get to the bakery.¡± ¨C Leanne More waiting¡­ As we continue walking through the city, I get to experience more of the strange architecture. We had to cross the river once more, and rather than just jumping over it, she made me walk up a set of stairs only to take a slide down to the other side¡­ The street we needed to get to was on the other side of a long row of buildings. Luckily, there was a shortcut. There¡¯s a bar with a door to the other side, so we just went through there instead. Of course, like everything else here, it couldn¡¯t just be a normal bar¡­ The building looked like it was upside down; it even had a ¡®roof¡¯ on the ground¡­ It¡¯s silly, but I guess that¡¯s just what this place is like. ¡°There it is!¡± ¨C Leanne She points to a small shop on the other side of the road. The pleasant smell of freshly baked goods would have let me know where to go even if she didn¡¯t say anything. The door is tiny; almost like it¡¯s made to be the perfect height for young children. We crouch down and squeeze ourselves through to get inside. ¡­ Is that¡­? ¡°You¡¯re back sooner than I expected, Leanne.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Ugh, I told you we should have ordered already!¡± ¨C Lily Chapter 180: An old friend --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] In Lett¡¯s room, right after Illian¡¯s betrayal ¡°Had I found out, I would have told him to leave us alone, and never come back. Even at the bitter end, he never put his hands on Alex. He never intended on doing what Seth did. He would never hurt Alex¡­ He really was our friend... And he could have still been alive had he left instead of confronting him.¡± ¨C Shin Tears start welling up in her eyes¡­ ¡°What happened to us¡­? Just this morning, everything was perfect. We were all healthy. We were all happy¡­¡± ¨C Lett I get up, and grab the door handle. ¡°Where are you going¡­?¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have someone I need to talk to. I won¡¯t be back for quite a while¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Please, don¡¯t leave¡­ Not you too¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I don¡¯t want to be alone¡­¡± ¨C Lett ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¨C Shin With no hesitation, and without looking back, I close the door behind me as I leave. If I looked back at her, I might not have been able to leave her¡­ But it has to be done; I need to go talk to Lily. After the E-rank exam, she wanted to talk to me alone. She told me she was part of an organization that fights against the injustices in the world, and that after seeing me defend those gladiators, she wanted me to join them. On top of that, she thought they could offer protection in case they decided to send someone after me since I disrupted the colosseum games. The name of that organization she talked about¡­ There¡¯s no doubt in my mind¡­! It¡¯s the same one Illian was from; the same organization that was behind the murder of Alex¡¯s brother¡­ What¡¯s the connection between him and Lily? Did Lily ask me to join just to get to Alex? No¡­ I don¡¯t think so. She seemed to genuinely want me to join, while being completely uninterested in Alex. There are so many questions¡­ Lett will be fine. Her brother and Luna are still here; they¡¯ll take care of her.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I need answers. I need to find Lily¡­ She even told me to contact her if I ever changed my mind about joining. But¡­ Where is she? She could be anywhere. I guess the only way to find her is to go to her guild and wait for her there. Wherever she is, she¡¯ll be back there eventually. She¡¯s in White-Point Star, right? That¡¯s all the way over in Stella if I recall correctly¡­ Ugh¡­ --- A while later in Stella, at the HQ of White-Point Star I¡¯ve never seen their guild HQ in person before, only in books¡­ It¡¯s a lot more beautiful than it looked in the pictures. Outside the entrance are guards, just like with our guild. I approach them, and they immediately shout out commands. ¡°Identify yourself!¡± ¨C Guard I hold up my hand, showing the tattoo all Red Knights members have. ¡°I¡¯m Shin Magnum from The Red Knights guild. I have some business with Lily Sol, is she around?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Wait here. We¡¯ll ask someone who might know.¡± ¨C Guard One of the guards disappear into the building¡­ After roughly 10 minutes of waiting, he finally returns. ¡°She¡¯s currently out on a mission and is expected to return in two or three days. When she returns, we¡¯ll let her know you asked for her. There¡¯s a hotel down the road. If you stay there, she¡¯ll know where to find you.¡± ¨C Guard ¡°All right, thanks for the help.¡± ¨C Shin They were¡­ Surprisingly helpful. No bullshit, they just did everything I needed them to, huh¡­ --- Loud knocking abruptly wakes me up from my sleep. Is it Lily? They thought she¡¯d be back in two or three days, but it has already been four¡­ I really hope it¡¯s her. The knocking continues. ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± ¨C Shin I unlock the door, and before I even get to open it myself, the person on the other side does so instead. Just as I had hoped, the one knocking is none other than Lily Sol. ¡°Finally! I¡¯ve been standing here knocking like an idiot for almost five minutes!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Sorry¡­ I was asleep.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Must¡¯ve had a good dream if it took you that long to wake up then¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Shin Did she really knock for that long¡­? ¡°Anyways, I was told that you wanted to speak to me. Is it about¡­ you know what?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Yes. Well¡­ Kinda.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay¡­ Let¡¯s go somewhere private then.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Right, come on in.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°No. I mean somewhere more private than a hotel room. You never know who might be listening in a place like this.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Right¡­¡± ¨C Shin --- A bit later, outside the city ¡°So did you change your mind then? Do you want to join The END?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I¡­ I have some questions I need to ask you.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Of course. Go ahead. I¡¯ll tell you anything.¡± ¨C Lily There are many things I want to ask her, but I guess the first thing I should ask is¡­ ¡°Did you know about Alex from the start?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alex? What do you mean? What about him?¡± ¨C Lily Does she really not know? ¡°Him and his late brother have both been the target of The END for a long time now¡­ I need to know if you¡¯re involved in that.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What?! Why? No!¡± ¨C Lily She shakes her head and looks genuinely confused. ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything; I swear.¡± ¨C Lily As I assess her reaction to see if she¡¯s lying or not, the cogs start turning in her head¡­ ¡°Wait¡­ Is he¡­?¡± ¨C Lily I know I shouldn¡¯t really be telling anyone about this, but if it¡¯s her, I guess it¡¯s fine. ¡°Yes. Alex is the Emperor¡¯s son, and so was his brother. Someone had pretended to be his brother¡¯s friend for years, before eventually betraying him and taking his life. The same recently happened to us, except it ended up the other way around instead; Alex was the one who took his life.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I swear, I had no part of this! I¡¯m a fairly low ranked member, so I don¡¯t have the privilege to know about this sort of stuff. I knew the Emperor had children, but that¡¯s it. I didn¡¯t know Alex was one of them¡­¡± ¨C Lily My intuition tells me she¡¯s telling the truth¡­ ¡°Besides, my faction would never do anything like that! It has to be those damn Raguelites!¡± ¨C Lily Faction? ¡®Raguelites¡¯? What¡¯s that about? ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve heard anything about factions. Elaborate.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Oh, right¡­ Makes sense. Well, to cut a long story short, the two founders of the organization, Uriel and Raguel, had a big disagreement a long time ago, which led to the organization splitting in two.¡± ¨C Lily Chapter 181: On your side --- [Shin¡¯s perspective] Later that day, in Solis This place¡­ I¡¯ve never seen anything like it¡­ I¡¯d love to see Alex and Lett¡¯s reactions to seeing this mess of city! I let out a little chuckle, forgetting that I¡¯m in the middle of a conversation. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Oh, nothing. My bad, continue.¡± ¨C Shin She sighs; clearly a little annoyed I wasn¡¯t fully paying attention. I mean, how could I? This place just took me by surprise, that¡¯s all. ¡°Like I was saying¡­ I¡¯m a Urielite, and the ones behind the murder of Alex¡¯s brother are almost certainly Raguelites.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°How can you be so certain?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I don¡¯t want to make this a big history lesson; there are others more qualified for that. All you need to know is that the disagreement between the leaders that lead to the organization being split in half was a disagreement in philosophy, goals, and ethics.¡± ¨C Lily As we get to the top of the stairs, she points to a door at the end of the hall. ¡°That¡¯s where I live.¡± ¨C Lily She unlocks the door, and steps into her apartment. ¡°You haven¡¯t officially joined us yet, so you probably shouldn¡¯t be out in public too much. If I get caught in smuggling you in here, things could end very badly for me.¡± ¨C Lily She sits down on her bed and signals me to sit down on the chair next to her desk. ¡°I feel confident that you¡¯ll join us though, so I¡¯m not too worried about that.¡± ¨C Lily She has a lot of books¡­ I didn¡¯t take her for the type who likes to read. ¡°Uriel and Raguel founded the organization because they wanted to kill the Emperor; this is, always has been, and always will be, their primary goal. Their disagreement came from a difference in opinion on what to do with those who were close to the Emperor¡­¡± ¨C LilyYou might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. She lays down and continues to talk while looking up at the ceiling. ¡°Uriel thought those who were close to him were only there out of fear. By staying close to the Emperor and sucking up to him, they wouldn¡¯t be targeted by him. If their only crime was being on the Emperor¡¯s side, they were still innocent in his eyes. He only saw them as his enemies if they used their connection to him as a way to commit evil themselves.¡± ¨C Lily She sits back up and lets out a sigh before looking me directly in the eyes. ¡°Raguel however¡­ He saw them all as his enemies. Anyone associated with the Emperor had to die, unless they specifically decided to rebel against him. His view is twisted, but he¡¯s at least somewhat reasonable¡­ He always gives them a choice. If they join the fight against the Emperor, he¡¯ll forgive anyone.¡± ¨C Lily There¡¯s a painting on her wall¡­ I think it¡¯s supposed to be Lily and her family. She¡¯s so small though, it must be old. ¡°Urielites, the ones in Uriel¡¯s faction, have the same view as him. Raguelites, the ones in Raguel¡¯s faction, have the same view as him. The Emperor has never had any children before, so the situation we find ourselves in now is uncharted territory. Although Alex and his brother clearly weren¡¯t associated with the Emperor in the traditional sense, them being related to him is enough to make them persons of interest. Us Urielites would never have taken his brother¡¯s life just because he¡¯s the Emperor¡¯s son. I have no doubt that the Raguelites would though¡­ If he refused to join their side, they¡¯d mercilessly kill him just like anyone else associated with the Emperor.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Even then¡­ I don¡¯t think they¡¯re all bad. Illian, the man who ¡®pretended¡¯ to be our friend, only to betray us¡­ I don¡¯t think he was just pretending. We went through way too much for that to be the case. Even at the very end, when Alex¡¯s rage took over, he never once put his hands on him¡­ His last words¡­¡± ¨C Shin His last words¡­ I take a deep breath to collect myself; I can¡¯t start crying now. ¡°His last words were: ¡®I¡¯m sorry.¡¯¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Right before Alex took his life, he simply apologized.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡­ Of course¡­ Not all Raguelites are bad, and not all Urielites are good. I¡¯m sure your friend was a great person. In the end, we all want the same thing. We¡¯re all part of The END after all. All any of us has ever wanted is to make the world a better place. There¡¯s so much unnecessary suffering¡­ I know that all too well¡­¡± ¨C Lily She lays back down, but not out of comfort¡­ I think she wants to hide her face¡­ ¡°Shin. You saved those people in the colosseum from certain death, despite the risk. Not even I had the courage to do that, and I¡¯m in an organization that is dedicated to doing exactly that! You may like pretending to be this cold and calculating cool guy, but really, you have a heart of gold unlike anyone else I know.¡± ¨C Lily She gets up from the bed and walks over to the painting of her family. As she reaches out to it, and her expression changes as a wave of emotion washes over her. She retracts her hand and forms a fist¡­ ¡°Join us, Shin. With our help, you can accomplish so much more than you ever could alone. And with you on our side, we can accomplish so much more than we ever could without you. Please¡­ We need you.¡± ¨C Lily We look at each other in complete silence for a few seconds before I answer. ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Okay?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I¡¯ll join.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Just like that?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Just like that.¡± ¨C Shin Chapter 182: Truth or consequences --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] In the cafe That¡¯s¡­ ¡°Excuse me! We¡¯d like four cups of coffee!¡± ¨C Lily ¡°I told you, Alex doesn¡¯t drink coffee.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Right¡­ Sorry, three coffees and one soda!¡± ¨C Lily That¡¯s Shin¡­ Why is he here? Why is he with The END?! Leanne sits down and picks up a menu. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± ¨C Leanne I take a step back; shocked by the sudden appearance of Shin. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°I¡­¡± ¨C Alex I don¡¯t even know what to say¡­ Has he¡­? Always been with them? Is he a spy just like Illian?! ¡°Sit down. We need to talk.¡± ¨C Shin This is all too much¡­ I feel sick¡­ ¡°Alex, come on. We just want to talk.¡± ¨C Lily Lily¡­? I was too focused on Shin, I didn¡¯t even notice her¡­ Are all my friends with them?! ¡°Alex¡­ Sit. Down.¡± ¨C Leanne Her tone¡­ Is she threatening me? I think I fucked up; I should never have come here. But as long as she¡¯s here, I have no choice but to do whatever she says. She could kill me in the blink of an eye if she wanted to¡­ I sit down, and moments later, the waiter serves us our drinks. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¨C Shin He takes a sip, then puts his hands together as he looks directly into my eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s just get straight to the point. I know you well, so I know what you¡¯re thinking. No, I was not always a part of The END. No, not everyone you know is out to get you. Even Lily, who actually was in The END from before we met, didn¡¯t know you were the Emperor¡¯s son. I know it may sound convenient, but it¡¯s true. Please¡­ Please trust me.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Everything he¡¯s saying is true, I promise. Everyone on this side of the wall are Urielites, we weren¡¯t involved with anything that happened to you or your brother.¡± ¨C Lily There¡¯s that word again¡­Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Leanne never explained what that meant. ¡°What¡¯s a Urielite?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°You didn¡¯t explain on the way here?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°No, I wanted Shin to be present when I did. I think knowing his closest friend decided to become one even after seeing what happened with Illian, and knowing what happened to his brother, will give my words way more credibility than they would have otherwise.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°I see, makes sense.¡± ¨C Lily I mean¡­ If Shin wasn¡¯t part of The END from the moment we met, and he actually did join them after everything that happened with Illian, then he must have had a damn good reason¡­ ¡°The END is split in two. Rather than one ginormous organization, we¡¯re more like two smaller ones with the same name. We have the same end goal, killing the Emperor, but the means by which we intend to accomplish that goal couldn¡¯t be more different.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°The Raguelites want to kill anyone associated with the Emperor, unless they join their side. It¡¯s all so that they can weaken the opposition, and maybe bring some people over through fear.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°The Urielites however only want to kill the Emperor. He¡¯s the root cause behind almost all evil in the world, everyone else is just a victim. Unless they¡¯re directly fighting for him, or causing massive amounts of harm themselves, they¡¯ll leave anyone else alone.¡± ¨C Shin So Illian and Seth are both Raguelites? Shin, Lilly, and Leanne aren¡¯t on their side? ¡°So the Urielites didn¡¯t have anything to do with the plan to recruit me and my brother?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Correct. We had nothing to do with that. We were also not aware of their plans, so we unfortunately couldn¡¯t help either. I know about most of the prominent Raguelites, but I can¡¯t know everyone. That¡¯s especially true for the lower ranked members and non-hunters. Illian was likely a relatively new member; someone they knew I wouldn¡¯t know was in The END. They were obviously aware that I was watching over you during the exams, so they probably picked him to be the person to recruit you partly because I wouldn¡¯t know he was a mole.¡± ¨C Leanne She couldn¡¯t help even if she wanted to¡­ How convenient. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between what you¡¯re doing right now, and what they did? You¡¯re literally trying to recruit me while threatening me.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Threatening you? When did I ever do that?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Your tone when you told me to sit said it all.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­ Alex¡­ I just wanted you to sit down, that¡¯s it. You looked like you were freaking out over seeing Shin, so I didn¡¯t want you to leave before we could even explain ourselves. I¡¯m not holding you hostage. If you want to leave, then leave.¡± ¨C Leanne She could be telling the truth, and honestly, it seems like she is¡­ But also, she could also just be trying to get me to lower my guard, while fully intending to kill me the moment I exit the building. Regardless of which option is true, staying is in my best interest. If she¡¯s telling the truth, then I should stay to get as much info out of them as possible. If she¡¯s lying, then I should stay for my own safety. ¡°Why are you called ¡®The END¡¯?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°It¡¯s to remind ourselves of why we do what we do; something the Raguelites seem to be forgetting these days¡­¡± ¨C Lily ¡°¡®The Emperor Needs to Die.¡¯ It¡¯s our chant, our motto, our goal, and our promise.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Once that human blight is gone, the world can finally start healing.¡± ¨C Leanne It always comes back to him¡­ ¡°What has he even done? Why do you think he¡¯s as absurdly evil as you claim he is?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Are you not aware of the rampant amounts of poverty, starvation, and slavery? It¡¯s almost exclusively affecting people from the outer area, and it¡¯s because he wants to concentrate all wealth into Adamas, and certain large cities in the middle area. I mean, he¡¯s the one who divided the world into different ¡®areas¡¯ in the first place.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°But how do you know he wants this? Why would he? At the end of the day, he¡¯s just one man. Even if he did want to change things, it would probably be too much for even him.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex¡­ The Emperor can do whatever the hell he wants. He has supreme authority over the entire world, and it¡¯s all because of his unparalleled might. He is without equal. He can not, and should not, be compared to mortals like us. If he wanted things to change, he could do it with a snap of his fingers. The fact that he isn¡¯t, means he wants it to continue.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°But why would he? There has to be some reason, right?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Because he¡¯s evil. That¡¯s the only explanation we need. Whatever other motive he may or may not have, it doesn¡¯t change a thing. He¡¯s still allowing so much suffering to occur on a daily basis.¡± ¨C Shin Just as I¡¯m about to open my mouth, Lily interrupts me. ¡°Before you say anything else, could you answer one of my questions?¡± ¨C Lily ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Why do you think people aren¡¯t fighting back?¡± ¨C Lily I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Because the royal guard are the ones enforcing it. They protect the slave traders by going after anyone who threatens or hurts them. They make sure wealth stays in Adamas and the middle area. They create conditions where most people in the outer area don¡¯t even have the opportunity to learn Divinity manipulation; the only way to fight back in the first place. I think you already know who the royal guard work for¡­¡± ¨C Lily Chapter 183: Conditions --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°So you brought me here to recruit me so that I can do what? Kill the Emperor? Kill my own father?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡­ There wasn¡¯t even a moment of hesitation or thought before her reply. She clearly isn¡¯t trying to hide her motivation¡­ She wants me to be the one who kills the strongest man in the world¡­ ¡°If your potential is anywhere near your father¡¯s, you may be the only one in the world who actually stands a chance against him.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°What if I say no? What then? If nobody else stands a chance against him, how are you planning on defeating him? I assume this organization has been around for at least a few centuries, right? In all that time before I was born, what was your plan?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex, you don¡¯t seem to understand. It¡¯s not that we want the Emperor to die, it¡¯s that he needs to die¡­ Whatever it takes, we will find a way. With you on our side, or not. Of course, it would be a lot more achievable if we had you with us though¡­¡± ¨C Lily That just sounds like wishful thinking¡­ There¡¯s no such thing as a person that ¡®needs¡¯ to die; it¡¯s all human desire. No matter how strong their desire is, it won¡¯t manifest itself unless they have the means to do so. If it¡¯s true that I might one day be a rival to even the Emperor himself, then they need me on their side. I assume big bro could have done the job too, but he¡¯s no longer around¡­ I¡¯m the only one left who can accomplish their goals. They can¡¯t kill me; if they do, they¡¯re doomed for failure. That means I¡¯m the one in power here¡­ I¡¯m the one making the rules.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Honestly, if the Emperor really is as evil as they claim, I have no qualms with taking his life. I¡¯ve already realized that my old ideals were foolish; taking a life is sometimes necessary. I could temporarily join them, putting my trust in Shin for now, while looking into things myself to confirm whether they¡¯re telling the truth or not, and if their goal is worth pursuing. At the same time, since I¡¯m the one in power, I can bargain with them¡­ I¡¯ll agree to join them, but only under certain conditions. If they can fulfill those for me, then I¡¯m killing two birds with one stone; I¡¯m getting myself safely out of this situation, while also getting my wishes granted. Perfect¡­! ¡°To be completely honest, I¡¯m not sure I can fully trust you guys. Everything you¡¯re saying sounds nice, but it¡¯s all a bit too convenient¡­ I recognize that you very well might be deceiving me, but I¡¯ll choose to put my trust in Shin¡­¡± ¨C Alex Leanne¡¯s face lights up as the words leave my mouth. ¡°Does that mean¡­?!!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll join The END, specifically the Urielites¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes! Thank you!¡± ¨C Leanne She excitedly leans forward and gives me a big hug. ¡°I knew you would listen to reason, Alex.¡± ¨C Lily ¡°But I have two conditions¡­¡± ¨C Alex She lets go of me, scared of what I might say next. At the same time, I catch Shin hiding a smirk. Negotiating like this is definitely something he¡¯d do if he was in my position. ¡°W-what is it¡­?¡± ¨C Leanne I clear my throat and prepare to raise my voice; they need to know how serious and uncompromising I will be about this. ¡°One! You will hand over Seth to me. He killed my brother, and for that, he will die. Two! There¡¯s another member of The END, I assume he¡¯s a Raguelite just like Seth¡­ His name is Gael Lux. He can¡¯t be allowed to live either. Except it won¡¯t be done by my hands, but rather a friend of mine. Is that clear?¡± ¨C Alex Leanne looks down, disappointed¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we can¡¯t do that.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Then I won¡¯t join. Goodbye.¡± ¨C Alex Without hesitation, I get back up walk straight towards the door. ¡°Wait!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Will you do it?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No¡­ Even if they¡¯re Raguelites, we¡¯re all still part of The END in the end¡­ There are strict rules about hurting other members, and infighting. If we want any chance at completing our goals, we can¡¯t afford to fight amongst ourselves. Please understand¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°That won¡¯t do.¡± ¨C Alex I duck down and squeeze myself through the small door. Damn. I really thought they¡¯d accept my conditions¡­ They seemed so desperate to have me on their side, yet they won¡¯t even give up a measly two members? I hear someone knocking on the window from inside¡­ It¡¯s Shin. He waves his hand, signaling me to come back inside. Fine¡­ I¡¯ll go back inside, but if they¡¯re not complying immediately, I¡¯ll leave for good. I yet again duck down, squeezing myself through the laughably small door. ¡°But¡­!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Quiet. Let me take care of the negotiations.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°I¡¯m not here to negotiate. Just tell me, will you comply, or not?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yes, but I have a few conditions of my own to make things fair. Now sit down.¡± ¨C Shin Since it¡¯s Shin, I¡¯ll hear him out¡­ But even if he¡¯s my best friend, I won¡¯t tolerate any significant deviations from my requests. I sit down and take a sip of my drink. ¡°Alright, what are your conditions?¡± ¨C Alex Chapter 184: Negotiation --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] ¡°Leanne made it very clear that there are strict rules about hurting other members and infighting, none of us have the authority to override the rules of the organization itself. Unfortunately, the leaders aren¡¯t present to make any exceptions, so we¡¯ll have to follow the rules.¡± ¨C Shin He just said he¡¯d comply with my requests¡­ This is ridiculous, I¡¯m leaving. Just as I¡¯m about to stand up, Shin reaches over the table and grabs my wrist. ¡°Sit. I¡¯m not finished talking.¡± ¨C Shin I yank my hand back, breaking free from his grip. ¡°Fine¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Like I was saying, there are certain rules that we need to follow. No getting around that. But¡­ There might be a few loopholes¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Wh-¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Shush!¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Loopholes? What kind of loopholes is he talking about? ¡°The rules clearly state that fighting amongst ourselves is forbidden, but thing is¡­ You¡¯re not a member yet. The rules don¡¯t apply to you.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°What are you getting at?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Leanne can talk to Seth and let¡¯s say¡­ ¡®strongly suggest¡¯ that he meets with you. I mean, even that might not be necessary¡­ He¡¯ll likely want to meet with you again of his own free will anyways.¡± ¨C Shin Now you¡¯re talking! Shin hasn¡¯t changed one bit! ¡°When you do meet, that¡¯s when you can do whatever has to be done. Of course, there is one downside¡­ One condition¡­¡± ¨C Shin ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Whatever happens, we can¡¯t help you. It¡¯s possible that he¡¯s so devoted to the cause that he¡¯ll let himself be killed if it means you¡¯ll join The END¡­ But it¡¯s also possible that he¡¯ll fight back. If that¡¯s the case, then you¡¯re on your own. All three of us are members, so we can¡¯t harm him in any way. If you¡¯re willing to face that risk, if you¡¯re willing to face him on your own, then consider the deal done.¡± ¨C ShinIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Sounds good to me. Honestly, I never expected them to help me kill him in the first place, so this doesn¡¯t change anything. I think Shin knows that, and came up with the loophole excuse as a justification. But this is still only my first condition¡­ Isaac went through almost the same thing as me; he was betrayed by his closest friend, and he took his other closest friend¡¯s life¡­ He has been dedicating himself to getting revenge, and I understand why all too well¡­ I promised I¡¯d help him get his revenge and I don¡¯t intend to break that promise. ¡°What about Gael?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Why do you even want him in the first place? I understand why you want to get revenge on Seth, but why him? Who is he to you? You mentioned something about a frien-¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! He has two conditions, and I intend to fulfill them both. Now please¡­ Just stay quiet and let me take care of this.¡± ¨C Shin He gives Leanne a frustrated look. He knows how close I am to accepting the proposal, and he doesn¡¯t want her to accidentally say something that could make me walk out again. Lily has stayed quiet the entire time we¡¯ve been negotiating; she clearly trusts Shin a lot. ¡°I assume the person you mentioned who will be the one to take Gael¡¯s life isn¡¯t a member of The END, right?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Correct.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright, then the same applies to him. I don¡¯t know who this Gael person is, or how strong they are, but I¡¯m sure Leanne can handle talking to him too.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Everything is in order then¡­ They¡¯re complying with both my demands. I just¡­ ¡°I just have one last question¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Ask away.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°If I join right now, none of what we¡¯ve been discussing will hold true. I can¡¯t fight Seth if I¡¯m a member. That means I¡¯ll have to defeat him before I join¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Correct. You will only become a member after your fight with Seth.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°But then¡­ What about you three?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What about us?¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Leanne explained earlier that letting non-members into Solis is strictly forbidden. You¡¯ll be executed if I leave before becoming a member¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Only if they find out.¡± ¨C Shin ¡­ That¡¯s so him¡­ Always willing to take a risk if it means accomplishing his goals. ¡°Besides, I doubt it¡¯ll happen. Other than high-ranking hunters, pretty much no one here knows what ¡®the Emperor¡¯s son¡¯ looks like. Lily is a perfect example of that. Even as an E-rank hunter, she did not have the clearance to know, and only found out because I told her. That means the only people who know a non-member is in our hideout are the people in this room. Me, Lily, Leanne, the waiter, and the chef. We¡¯re regulars here and good friends. They won¡¯t snitch. As long as you don¡¯t run into the wrong person on the way out, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Right¡­ In that case, I¡¯ll wear something that covers my face on the way out.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Don¡¯t. It¡¯ll only make you stand out more. Just act normal, and don¡¯t wander around. Go straight to the exit.¡± ¨C Shin ¡°Alright, we have a deal then.¡± ¨C Alex I reach my hand out, and we shake on it. ¡°When and where will I meet Seth?¡± ¨C Alex Now that the negotiations are over, Leanne lets herself speak again. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I saw how your last fight went¡­ You got beat pretty badly. You¡¯re not ready to fight a strong C-ranker like him yet.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°So I¡¯ll have to do some more training first then.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Right. I can help you with that.¡± ¨C Leanne Leanne will train me¡­? The only people who have trained me before are Luna and Vic¡­ Both of them are D-rank; the same rank as I am now. If a B-ranker like Leanne trains me personally, how quickly will I progress¡­? Chapter 185: The most important exam of my life is a joke --- Somewhere far away, during the C-rank exam ¡°Congratulations Julian, and congratulations Daisy! You¡¯ve both made it to the fourth, and final, round of the C-rank exam! Unfortunately, only one of you will have the opportunity to pass the exam¡­¡± ¨C Host ¡°Of course¡­ There¡¯s always a twist at the end¡­¡± ¨C Julian ¡°That¡¯s right, wouldn¡¯t be any fun otherwise!¡± ¨C Host ¡°Just tell us the rules already. We¡¯re not here to have fun, we¡¯re here to win.¡± ¨C Daisy ¡°Right¡­ Well, you see, the C-rank exam is often where the royal guard exam is held too. Low ranked royal guards are expected to be on the level of a C-rank hunter, so holding the exams together is killing two birds with one stone. While you were off fighting in the earlier rounds, the royal guard candidates were competing in their own exam simultaneously. Just like with you guys, there are only two of them left¡­ Both of you, come here!¡± ¨C Host --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] That¡¯s our cue. Right as we enter the building, my gaze meets theirs. I can tell from just a look that they¡¯re a pair of weaklings. Whatever this final task is, it¡¯ll be easy. ¡°These are the royal guard candidates, Leon and Molly.¡± ¨C Host He points to us, and the exam participants give us an awkward greeting out of what feels like obligation. I don¡¯t do the same back. These idiots will be on the floor, bleeding out, soon enough anyways. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s get to the point. Out of the four of you, only one will leave having accomplished what you came here for. First, the two royal guard candidates will fight. Then, the two exam participants will fight. The winners will then clash at the end. Whoever remains victorious will pass their respective exam. Is that clear?¡± ¨C Host ¡°Yup.¡± ¨C Leon The others nod along.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Good. Then we can start right away. Leon, Molly, get in the ring.¡± ¨C Host In the middle of the room is a ¡®ring¡¯ resembling one you see in boxing and other combat sports. ¡°To spice things up and make it more fun, there will be some rules. First of all, if either of you step foot outside the ring for any reason, you¡¯ll be disqualified. Additionally, if you¡¯re knocked down to the ground three times, you¡¯ll immediately lose the match. When you¡¯re down, you will have ten seconds to stand up again. If your opponent attacks you while you¡¯re down, they will be disqualified. The same applies to the person lying down. Other than that, anything goes. Got it?¡± ¨C Host ¡°Yup.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Same here.¡± ¨C Molly We both lift the ropes and step onto the canvas. I saw her fight a little in the earlier rounds; she won¡¯t be an issue. She lifts her fists, entering her combat stance. Just as she¡¯s about to rush towards me, the host yells out. ¡°Wait!¡± ¨C Host She quickly halts and looks over at him. ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Molly ¡°I almost forgot¡­¡± ¨C Host ¡°Forgot what?¡± ¨C Molly ¡°There¡¯s one more rule¡­ A special rule. To make things even more fun, there will be a randomly selected special rule unique to each match. I prepared a bunch of them earlier today! Just think of it as the unpredictability of a real-world scenario¡­ Or something.¡± ¨C Host This guy¡­ He¡¯s obsessed with making the matches more fun for himself; the bit about ¡®real-world scenarios¡¯ was clearly a last-minute justification he came up with on the spot. I bet he took this job because it¡¯s an opportunity to make hunters weaker than himself dance to his whims. We¡¯re his personal entertainment, he doesn¡¯t care about the exam. But¡­ I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m here to win; that¡¯s all. I don¡¯t care what the rules are, one way or another, I will find a way to be the last man standing. This is the day I become a royal guard! He fiddles around in his pocket for a few seconds before pulling out a curled-up piece of paper. He straightens it out and reads it to himself while a grin slowly forms. ¡°Ahh, this one! That¡¯ll be fun!¡± ¨C Host The two C-rank exam contestants walk up to him and read it over his shoulder. ¡°Really¡­?¡± ¨C Daisy ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re gonna have to fight under dumb restrictions like these too¡­¡± ¨C Julian ¡­ What the hell does it say?! I wasn¡¯t really worried before, but they¡¯re hyping it up a lot¡­ Well, as long as it applies to us both equally and I keep my agency, I should be okay. ¡°I call this rule ¡®turn-based combat¡¯. You will take turns attacking your opponent, and they will not be allowed to dodge or block. All attacks will hit your opponent directly in the chest. Charged ¡®attacks¡¯ will not be allowed; neither offensively nor defensively. Breaking that rule will result in instant disqualification, so don¡¯t even think about it. Lastly, the person who goes first, is whoever is shortest. Which in this case is¡­ Well¡­ It¡¯s you, Leon.¡± ¨C Host Is he mocking me¡­? Well, whatever. At least I get to go first. For once in my life, I will gladly throw away my pride if it means winning. I will take any advantage I can get, no matter how insignificant. If I don¡¯t win, then¡­ ¡­ No, I¡¯ll win. No doubt in my mind about that. ¡°Well then, for real this time, are you ready?¡± ¨C Host ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Give me your best, Leon.¡± ¨C Molly Chapter 186: Leon vs Molly --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] These rules are so strange¡­ We take turns attacking the other person without being able to defend¡­? This is so far removed from anything even remotely relevant to being a hunter; he has got to be doing it purely for his own entertainment. But whatever, I¡¯ll do anything as long as I can win. And besides, these rules probably favor me anyways. Her specialty lets her summon a giant hammer; that¡¯s it. Sure, it¡¯ll increase her power, but nowhere near as much as my specialty will increase mine. If she could make a spear or a knife or anything like that, then it would have been an entirely different story. Since I can¡¯t dodge or block, I¡¯m forced to let her hit me. If she pierced my heart, it would be over in an instant. Since she can¡¯t do that however, she has to resort to blunt attacks, which I¡¯m just simply better at. But even then, I can¡¯t afford to get cocky. Not this time. Everything I¡¯ve ever done has all been for this moment¡­ The chance to become a royal guard has finally come. Molly is a fellow Reaper, and she probably wants to become a royal guard just as desperately as I do. She¡¯s not dumb; she knows I have the advantage here. But she will still do everything she can to win, so if I slip up for even a moment, I could lose it all in a moment. ¡°Go on then, hit me!¡± ¨C Molly We were all healed after the previous round, so my specialty currently isn¡¯t active. I could bite my tongue or cheek to cause myself some damage, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it. I doubt I¡¯ll be able to beat her with a single hit anyways. At least not with only some minor injuries. I¡¯ll instead just work with whatever damage she deals to me. That means my first attack will be relatively weak, but I can¡¯t hurt myself when I know I¡¯m not allowed to defend against her attacks no matter how dangerous. Hopefully, the power boost I get from her first attack is enough to let me finish the match with my next.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I clench my fists and take a step back. I take one last breath before stepping forward and slamming my fist into her chest as hard as I can. She plants her feet firmly on the ground and grits her teeth. Despite giving it my all, she completely absorbed the impact of the blow¡­ I knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough to finish her off, but it barely even hurt her¡­ She¡¯s so much better than me at BDM¡­! I did the very thing I swore I wouldn¡¯t¡­ I underestimated her! She summons her hammer and wields it with both hands. We may not be allowed to use charged attacks directly, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t do other things to increase our power output. She starts spinning around, accelerating like crazy. Taking advantage of that speed, she can produce an attack significantly stronger than normal. She intends to take me out with her first attack¡­! I need to brace for impact, or I¡¯m done for! I plant my feet firmly, grit my teeth, flex every muscle in my body, and try to make myself as small as possible; anything to help reduce the impact even the tiniest bit. Finally, she hits her maximum velocity¡­ She extends her hammer just enough for it to hit me directly in the chest with all the power she has built up. It sends me flying backwards into the ropes as I hear my ribs shatter from the impact. I bounce back to the middle of the ring, and fall down on my knees while coughing up blood. ¡°Leon is down! You have ten seconds to get back up!¡± ¨C Host He starts counting down from ten, but I can barely make out what he¡¯s saying due to the loud ringing in my ears. She never showed this kind of power in the earlier rounds¡­ She must have been holding back¡­ ¡°Six! Five! Four!¡± ¨C Host I try to stand up, but my knees give out and I fall back down. I can feel the pieces of shattered rib rubbing against my organs every time I move, and the spikes of pain are almost unbearable. As I look down, I see that my chest is literally caved in; the shape of the hammerhead is imprinted on my body¡­ Holy shit, this isn¡¯t good¡­ I can¡¯t take another hit like that¡­ But¡­! The power, oh the power! This next punch will be the strongest one I¡¯ve ever thrown! ¡°Three! Two! O-¡± ¨C Host Just as he¡¯s about to finish counting, I force myself to stand up, momentarily pushing through the pain. Sooner or later, I will collapse, so I can¡¯t afford to take my time. As soon as I get back up, I shove my fist forward. The immense power from my specialty makes my arm pass right through her just as easily as the air in front of her. As I pull it back, it leaves behind a large hole in her chest. She¡¯s bleeding profusely, and a significant portion of her right lung has been destroyed. I wi-! Instead of giving up, she immediately swings her hammer at me! No windup. I try to brace myself, but the damage I¡¯ve taken is simply too great for me to be able to. Right at the moment of impact, I let my body go completely limp, allowing the force to distribute evenly across it. She yet again slings me into the ropes, and I fall to the ground. ¡°Ooh, this is getting intense! Ten!¡± ¨C Host If I can just get up, I win. She¡¯ll bleed out in a few seconds, but she might be able to hold on long enough for the countdown to be over, which would disqualify me and give her the win. ¡°Nine! Eight! Seven!¡± ¨C Host After every other round, and every other game, he has made sure healers heal us. I bet the same is true here. That means as long as she can hold on for a few more seconds, she still has a chance to not only survive, but also win the whole thing. I can¡¯t let that happen! I let out a labored yell as I desperately try to force myself back on my feet. ¡°Six! Five!¡± ¨C Host I keep slipping, I keep falling, but I keep trying. ¡°Four! Three!¡± ¨C Host Finally, one foot is stable. ¡°Two!¡± ¨C Host I won¡¯t be able to stand up normally in time¡­! With both hands, I shove the ground, pushing myself into the air. As I fall down, I straighten my legs, and land directly on them. I¡¯m standing! ¡°Molly, are you good to continue?¡± ¨C Host ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Molly She isn¡¯t answering¡­ She¡¯s unconscious. I won! ¡°Healers!¡± ¨C Host They rush in and immediately start treating her injuries, but it¡¯s all for nothing¡­ ¡°She¡¯s already dead¡­¡± ¨C Healer ¡°I see¡­ Well then, treat the boy instead.¡± ¨C Host She died standing up, giving it her all until the very end. I didn¡¯t know her very well, but as a fellow Reaper and royal guard candidate, I¡¯m proud of her. Unfortunately for her, I was the better Reaper. Chapter 187: Julian vs Daisy --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] These healers are great. Even after all those horrendous injuries, I don¡¯t feel even the tiniest smidge of pain. But I wonder why the host insists on healing us up all the time? He¡¯s clearly not doing it to avoid death; he didn¡¯t really seem to care after Molly died. In all the other exams I¡¯ve taken, we don¡¯t get healed until we either pass or fail. That way, we¡¯re forced to be more careful and take less risks, just like on real missions. This guy clearly doesn¡¯t subscribe to that train of thought¡­ ¡°Why do you make sure we¡¯re healed after every round and every fight?¡± ¨C Leon ¡°Because I want you at your best. It¡¯s no fun watching you fight at anything less than full power.¡± ¨C Host ¡­ So yet again goes back to him using this job as a source of entertainment¡­ Well, so be it. After the terrible injuries she caused me, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to fight the winner of the next match. If not for his unusual healing policy, it would have all been for nothing¡­ ¡°Alright you two, are you ready?¡± ¨C Host ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Daisy ¡°Always.¡± ¨C Julian ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s find out what your special rule will be!¡± ¨C Host He puts his hand in his pocket and stirs the notes around before pulling one out. ¡°Ooh! I¡¯ve never gotten this one before in any of my previous exams. It¡¯ll be interesting to see how it goes!¡± ¨C Host So this idea of a ¡®special rule¡¯ is something he has done before then?The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I got the impression that these were ideas he came up with on the spot earlier today, but I guess he has put a lot more thought into them than I previously believed¡­ ¡°I call this rule ¡®a shot in the dark¡¯. You will both be fighting with a blindfold on. If it¡¯s taken off, or if it falls off, or if it¡¯s destroyed, that person is disqualified. That means if you manage to somehow remove your opponents blindfold, you win. Of course, all the regular rules apply too. It¡¯s still a fight, after all. Oh, and one last thing. Before you begin, you¡¯ll have to rapidly spin around until I tell you to stop. This is so that the match doesn¡¯t end immediately with a powerful attack aimed straight forward.¡± ¨C Host ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¨C Julian Fighting with blindfolds¡­ That¡¯s gotta be annoying, but at least getting some experience fighting in the dark can be nice. I don¡¯t clear dungeons that often, so I haven¡¯t encountered it myself, but I imagine that scenario must happen fairly often. There¡¯s some justification for this rule beyond just it being entertainment for him at least¡­ They enter the ring, and the host doesn¡¯t waste any time¡­ ¡°Spin!¡± ¨C Host They start spinning around as quickly as they can; they¡¯re probably afraid of accidentally breaking the rules by slowing down. Unlike with Molly, I have no clue what either of their specialties are. I¡¯m going to have to fight one of them in the next round, so it¡¯s best that I pay close attention to learn as much about them as possible. The only bad thing is that since they¡¯re fighting with blindfolds on, they¡¯re probably not able to use their abilities to their full potential, meaning there might still be some unknown even after seeing them in action. ¡°A little more¡­!¡± ¨C Host I can tell from the way they¡¯re wobbling that they¡¯re starting to get dizzy; honestly, I¡¯m getting a little dizzy just watching them¡­ ¡°And stop!¡± ¨C Host They quickly come to a halt, but they¡¯re completely disoriented. They stumble around, trying as hard as they can to figure out where their opponent is. Julian wanders deeper into the ring with his arms extended forward, while Daisy is holding onto the rope trying not to fall over. Her plan fails. She immediately trips and lands on her face. ¡°Daisy is down! Ten! Nine!¡± ¨C Host She has already gone down once¡­ Right from the get-go, she¡¯s in a worse position than him. She takes her time on the ground; might as well use those seconds to recover. What she doesn¡¯t see however, is that Julian is closing in on her¡­ When she fell, she made enough sound for him to locate her. Right when she stands back up, the host stops counting, letting Julian know the match is on again. He immediately hits her in the face as hard as he can, and she falls backward onto the rope behind her. Luckily for her, she manages to hold onto the rope, so it doesn¡¯t count as a knockdown. ¡°Ow!¡± ¨C Julian He quickly retracts his arm and waves it around as a pain reflex. He was the one that punched her, so how did he get hurt? Is she just that tough, or is that part of her specialty? Just like how he was able to locate her based on the noise she made when falling, she manages to locate him due to his shriek. She steps forward and grabs his throat. Right at the moment of contact, his entire body starts convulsing. He fights through it and grabs her arm and tries to force it away from him, but the moment he touches her arm, he instinctively lets go out of pain. Just moments later, his entire body goes limp. She lets go, and he falls to the ground. ¡°Ten! Nine! Eight!¡± ¨C Host Chapter 188: Sheer luck --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] ¡°Seven! Six!¡± ¨C Host Is he out? ¡°Five!¡± ¨C Host Oh¡­! His finger twitched. He¡¯s still conscious. ¡°Four!¡± ¨C Host But will he be able to get up in time¡­ He might be present mentally, but if his body is totally wrecked, that doesn¡¯t matter. ¡°Three!¡± ¨C Host His strength is slowly returning, and he even manages to balance himself on his palm slightly. It¡¯s cutting it close though. Will he make it? ¡°Two!¡± ¨C Host He lets out a violent roar and pushes himself beyond his limits. Despite his body barely functioning after taking the full force of her attack, he wills himself up on his feet again. The match isn¡¯t over yet! Seemingly out of nowhere he spits at her. After a snap of his fingers, the spit bursts into flames. So that¡¯s his specialty then¡­ Unfortunately for him, while he was down on the ground, she made sure to move somewhere else in the ring so that he wouldn¡¯t know where she is. She might not have been able to see the flames, but if even I could feel the heat on my skin all the way over here, she definitely could too. She might also not know the exact mechanics of his specialty, but it¡¯s not exactly a leap in logic to assume he can create fire or lava or something similar. She¡¯ll have to be careful. Or so I thought¡­ Instead of acting carefully, she instead tries to end the match immediately. She rushes right at him, and just like before, she grabs him and makes sure he won¡¯t get away. As soon as Daisy touches him, his body starts convulsing again. Knowing he probably can¡¯t tank another hit like that, he immediately lets himself fall to the ground. ¡°Ten! Nine!¡± ¨C Host If he falls down one more time, the match is over. Taking that risk is probably better than the alternative though. Had he tried to fight back, he could have very easily passed out before he could make her stop. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. She¡¯s tricky¡­ If she ends up winning, I¡¯ll have to face her next. I need to know how her specialty actually functions if I¡¯m going to beat her. Sure, whoever she touches starts convulsing and is in a lot of pain, but why? What is she actually doing? I think the only way of finding out for sure, is by fighting her myself¡­ That is all assuming she¡¯s even the one who wins though¡­ Julian crawls away from the spot he fell down before standing back up. The mistake he made before was getting up exactly where he went down. That made it so that Daisy knew exactly where he was, while he didn¡¯t know where she was. To be fair, his main priority at the time was just getting up in the first place; he probably didn¡¯t have time to move elsewhere even if he wanted to. Just as he stood up, I expected him to try spitting at her again, but he does something different¡­ He instead rips out a clump of his own hair and throws it in every direction. Like before, he snaps his fingers, and every individual strand of hair is ignited. The omnidirectional fire catches her off guard, and even sets her blindfold on fire. He knew she probably moved again after he fell down, so by using an attack like that, he made sure he hit her. Clever. She realizes her blindfold is burning, and so to make sure she doesn¡¯t lose on the spot, she does something risky¡­ She rips the piece of her blindfold that is burning off to make sure it doesn¡¯t spread, leaving just the part that covers her eyes. With her left hand, she holds the piece in place. If she ever lets go, she¡¯s disqualified. This is getting intense; the match could go both ways¡­ It seems my initial assessment of Julian¡¯s specialty was off. He can ignite more than just his spit; he can also do it to his hair. I¡¯m glad I saw that now instead of having to figure it out during our match, if he ends up being the winner. Although, if he can set fire to both his spit and his hair, it¡¯s possible he can do even more¡­ He very well might still not have revealed his full capabilities. Just like before, Daisy tries to end the match quickly. She can¡¯t let him hit her with another attack like that, and as long as she¡¯s forced to hold the blindfold in place, she¡¯s very vulnerable and could lose from the tiniest mistake. She runs around the ring with her right arm extended looking for him. It didn¡¯t take long for her to find him. She grabs his shoulder, and just like before, he starts convulsing. If he falls once more, the match is over¡­ ¡°Fuck it!¡± ¨C Julian He snaps his fingers, and his shoulder erupts into flames. She obviously can¡¯t see the fire, so from her perspective, her hand just suddenly started burning. Purely as a biological reaction, she retracts her arm, stopping her attack. However, the fire doesn¡¯t go away. Her arm, and his shoulder, are both burning! So if I understand correctly, it seems like he can set fire to any part of his body; regardless of whether that part is still attached to him or not. The downside is that he doesn¡¯t seem to be immune to his own fire, unlike most other fire users¡­ Since it¡¯s still there, he also doesn¡¯t seem to be able to put out his own fire either¡­ It¡¯s a powerful ability, but a double-edged sword for sure. He immediately spits at her. It lands on her cheek, and with another snap of his fingers, it lights up. Unbeknownst to him, the burning cheek is extra effective. It¡¯s not only affecting her cheek, but since she¡¯s forced to hold her blindfold in place, it¡¯s also burning her hand. She has to resist the urge to move her hand, or else she¡¯ll instantly lose. She tries to put out the fire on her cheek with her other hand, but since it¡¯s burning too, it just makes things worse. Her flesh starts melting, and large portions of her body are getting charred. Desperate to end the match, she tries grabbing him, but he keeps running away. If only she could see, she could easily catch him¡­ ¡°AwwghhhhAAahgh!!¡± ¨C Daisy As she waves her limbs around, the fire spreads to other parts of her body. She won¡¯t be able to hold on for long at this pace¡­ She punches and kicks with all her heart, but nothing is landing. They¡¯re both just blindly shuffling around the ring; one trying desperately to catch the other, while the other desperately tries getting away. Suddenly, out of sheer luck, one of her attacks finally connect. Ordinarily, a simple attack wouldn¡¯t be enough to turn the match around, but luck really is on her side today¡­ One of her desperate kicks landed right at the back of his knee. The force of her attack combined with the momentary convulsion caused by her specialty, bends his knees enough for them to give out for just a second. He falls¡­ ¡°That¡¯s three times now, Daisy wins!¡± ¨C Host The healers rush in and quickly snuff the flames out. While Julian¡¯s shoulder is severely burned, he¡¯s mostly fine on that front. Daisy however¡­ Even with the help of a great healer, she probably won¡¯t ever fully recover from those burns¡­ Too bad for her, I¡¯ll take any advantage I can get! Chapter 189: Spotlight --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] A few minutes have gone by since the end of Julian and Daisy¡¯s match. The healers tried their best, but like I predicted, even they couldn¡¯t fully heal her. Injuries caused by other specialties tend to be really tricky to heal, so the fact that they even managed to do as well as they did speaks volumes about how talented these healers are. Her stamina should be recovered, and the pain is probably minimal. It¡¯s possible that if I target her scars, it¡¯ll hurt more than other spots though. I should keep that in mind. ¡°Daisy and Leon, huh¡­ No matter who wins, I know this fight will be fun! Are you guys ready for your special rule?¡± ¨C Host ¡°Just get it over with.¡± ¨C Daisy Just like before, he rummages through his pocket, making sure to stir well before drawing one. He opens the crumpled paper and reads it to himself¡­ ¡°Ahh, this one is always a hit!¡± ¨C Host ¡®Always¡¯? I guess he has gotten that one multiple times before then. Some rules have never been chosen while others are chosen frequently. Is it really random¡­? ¡°I call this rule ¡®tick tock¡¯. My specialty lets me create light. I can make this light originate from anywhere within my field of view, or any spot on my body. I can make this light however bright I want, whatever color I want, and whatever shape I want. In this case, I will use it to create a spotlight that illuminates the ring. The light will then slowly shrink until it¡¯s so small you¡¯ll basically have to hug to both fit there. If you ever step outside this light, you¡¯re disqualified. Got it?¡± ¨C Host Interesting¡­ That means the further we get into the match, the closer we¡¯ll have to get. I¡¯m not sure who that benefits the most¡­ I¡¯m exceptionally strong, so if she can¡¯t get away, I can very quickly end the match. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. But at the same time, her entire thing is grabbing people and not letting go. If I can¡¯t get away from her when she does that, the match might be over on the spot¡­ Well, regardless of who benefits the most, I will be the victor. We step into the ring, and a spotlight shines down on us. The radius is large enough to cover the entire ring, but I know that won¡¯t be the case for long. ¡°Alright! Let the final match begin!¡± ¨C Host --- As the son of a middle ranked royal guard growing up in Adamas, I didn¡¯t have what most people consider a normal childhood. I¡¯ve heard about how kids in other places spend their childhood playing and socializing, without any worries or responsibilities. I¡¯m glad mine wasn¡¯t like that. What a waste of time¡­ My parents made sure to teach me the harsh truths of this world and prepare me as well as they could from an early age. From the moment I could walk, they taught me how to fight. From the moment I could talk, they taught me how the world works. Their many lessons were repeated again and again until I not only understood them, but also memorized them. They made sure I got the perfect education. ¡°The idea that all humans are worth the same is not only silly, but also an evil and rotten way of viewing humanity. The natural order dictates that those with power will sit at the top. They are literally given permission and authority to rule by the universe itself. Going against that is going against everything that is.¡± ¨C Father The person I¡¯m the most thankful for in my life is my father. Without him, I wouldn¡¯t be the person I am today. I don¡¯t even want to imagine what life would be like without him. Luckily for me, it was my destiny to be where I am. The moment nature decided that I would be their child, my future was already set in stone. ¡°Hierarchy is everything. When the strong are at the top and the weak are at the bottom, the world is at peace and balance is achieved. At the top of the hierarchy is the Emperor. As the ultimate power, he is also the ultimate authority. It is our duty as lesser creatures to serve him, just as it is the duty of commoners to serve us.¡± ¨C Father My duty is to serve the Emperor. If I¡¯m not doing that, then my life is pointless. The best way of serving him is by working under him as one of his royal guards. But the journey to get there is by no means easy. Only those who truly deserve it get there. First, you need to learn Divinity manipulation. To do so, you need to put yourself through hellish training over long periods of time. Second, you need to pass the F-rank hunter exam. Out of all the hundreds of people that take the exam, you need to be one of the few exceptional ones to pass. Third, you need to be invited by one specific guild; The Reapers Guild. The Reapers have a special connection to the royal guard, so the royal guard recruits are almost exclusively Reapers. They have their own requirements for inviting people though; you need to take 100 lives during the F-rank hunter exam. Fourth, you need to get strong enough to rival even C-rank hunters. Out of the few that complete the previous steps, only a handful manage to do this one. Everyone has a certain limit; a level where no matter how much more they train, they will never surpass it. For most people, that limit is significantly lower than C-rank. Fifth, you need to pass the royal guard recruitment exam. Just like now, it¡¯s normally held at the same time as the C-rank hunter exam. Once all those steps have been completed, you can finally fulfill your life¡¯s mission¡­ Serving the Emperor. I¡¯m so close¡­ I only have one step left¡­ I will not allow myself to fail. Chapter 190: With everything on the line, I vow to succeed --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] As soon as I could walk, I was taught how to fight. I was too young to comprehend Divinity training, so it was more the basics. You know, choking, blinding, biting, stabbing and the like. The stuff that is more appropriate for a one-year-old. At the time, it was all training and theory. I had never gotten to put any of it into practice. That changed when I was around three years old. Our family owned two slaves: a male and a female. The male apparently used to be the female¡¯s husband before we bought them. They exist to serve us, so naturally, we didn¡¯t give them much. Just enough for them to survive. The female had complained to the male about how hungry it was, and so the male decided to steal some food from us. It wasn¡¯t much, in fact, it was so little we didn¡¯t even know it had happened for over a month. The way we found out was because our neighbor¡¯s slaves saw it happen, and they decided to snitch. As a reward, they were given the same amount of food our slaves stole as a treat by their owners. As for our slaves, theft can¡¯t go unpunished. The male was to be put to death for its defiance, and since I was already three years old, they let me be the one to do it. They let me decide how it would be done, so using what I had learned, I figured the most effective method would be slitting its throat. As they were chaining it up so it couldn¡¯t get away, I went into the kitchen and took out a knife from the drawer. I¡¯ve always been short, and especially all the way back then. Because of that, I couldn¡¯t reach all the way up to where the sharper knives were stored. I settled for duller one that usually wasn¡¯t used for killing, but it did its job. It took a few more slices to break through its skin than it would have with a normal knife, but in the end, the result was still the same. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. That was the first time I took a life. Shortly after that was when they started teaching me Divinity manipulation; the first step to becoming a royal guard. My father was the one who taught me how. Between eating, sleeping, and the general education he gave me, he¡¯d teach me BDM. It¡¯s what I spent the majority of my time on until I actually became a hunter. Breakfast, then training. Lunch, then training. School, then training. It was exhausting, but more than anything, it was rewarding. With every ounce of progress, I knew I was one step closer to fulfilling my life¡¯s goal. It must have been around the time I was 10 or 11 years old that he finally decided it was time for me to learn SDM. He found a specialty finder willing to teach a child like me and got to work. For the next few years, I cut back on my regular BDM training significantly. It was more important for me to train with her so that I could master my specialty. Roughly by the time I was 15, I had nothing more to learn from her, so I went back to BDM training. At the same time, my father was getting more and more busy with his job as a royal guard. I don¡¯t know the exact details, but he had either gotten a promotion or been restationed or something. Due to that, he wasn¡¯t around as much anymore, and therefore couldn¡¯t personally teach me every day like he did before. He had another royal guard he used to work with train me from then on. When you¡¯re 16 years old, that¡¯s when you¡¯re old enough to take the F-rank hunter exam. This teacher however was extremely strict¡­ He settled for nothing short of perfection, and so, he didn¡¯t let me take the exam the first year I was eligible. He felt like I wasn¡¯t strong enough to guarantee getting invited by The Reapers. For the next year, I trained harder than ever before in my life. It paid off, and the next year, he agreed that I was ready. The exam went swimmingly for the most part. I was working my way towards the 100 kills requirement that The Reapers have, but then those two bastards had to get in my way¡­ They were supposed to be my teammates, yet they tried to stop me. Luck wasn¡¯t on my side that day, and the only two people there who could even somewhat fight me were them. When fighting together, they were almost on my level, despite not knowing SDM. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I had to hold back in order to make sure I didn¡¯t accidentally kill them, I wouldn¡¯t have lost to them. I was knocked out, and only woke up moments before the exam ended. I still hadn¡¯t taken 100 lives, so I was desperate. Luckily, with no time to spare, I did it. Naturally, I passed the exam and I joined The Reapers Guild. From that day, I have been constantly doing everything in my power to reach the level I am at today. I¡¯ve only taken the most difficult and dangerous missions I could. All to push myself to the point where I had no choice but to evolve. Of course, I kept up my regular training too, but that is no substitution to surviving life threatening situations during missions, and all the experience that comes with it. It has been around three years since I became a hunter now, and through sheer willpower, I have finally managed to become strong enough to achieve my dreams. During every important exam and moment in my life, I¡¯ve always thought back to something my father once told me¡­ ¡®If you ever fail, you never deserved to succeed.¡¯ I have stayed true to his word. Never once have I failed an important exam. The Emperor would never accept a failure to work for him. Now all that remains for my life to be complete is beating Daisy. One fight. That¡¯s it. My ego will not get in the way. My arrogance will not get in the way. My pride will not get in the way. I will win, and I will serve the Emperor for as long as I live. Chapter 191: The final obstacle between me and my destiny --- [Leon¡¯s perspective] ¡°Alright! Let the final match begin!¡± ¨C Host As soon as he announces that the match has begun, the light starts slowly closing in on us. In a fight like this, where time is limited, you¡¯d think she¡¯d attack me right away, but she isn¡¯t¡­ She must want it to be smaller. I suppose it makes sense given what I know of her ability. Touching her makes you convulse and will seriously hurt you. Being in contact with her for just a few seconds too long can turn deadly quick. I need to figure out what her ability actually does if I¡¯m going to beat her, and the only way to do that is to experience it for myself. I rush towards her, but she just continually hops away from me. She¡¯s trying to stall for as long as possible¡­ Eventually, after an annoyingly long time, I manage to corner her. I throw a regular punch at her, and the moment it connects, I retract it on instinct¡­! I hadn¡¯t taken any damage yet, so the punch wasn¡¯t really strong enough to seriously hurt her. But there¡¯s no mistaking it¡­ The moment I touched her, I was zapped by a large amount of electricity! So that¡¯s what her specialty does¡­ It continually sends out waves of electricity to anyone who touches her. A quick touch will hurt, but that¡¯s it. Prolonged exposure will destroy you¡­ She must be waiting for the ring to get small enough for there to be no escape. If I can¡¯t get away from her, she can just throw herself at me and endure any potential hits I may or may not be able to throw at her while she quickly electrocutes me. I can¡¯t let it get to that; it¡¯s way too risky. Let¡¯s finish this now. I bite my lower lip, splitting it open. The familiar taste of my own blood calms me down as I concentrate as hard as I can on catching her. She may have the advantage when the ring is tiny, but right now, it¡¯s just big enough for her strategy to not be viable, while also being small enough for her to be unable to easily get away from me! The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I throw an empowered punch at her; knowing she can¡¯t dodge it, she tries to catch it instead. The power is too much, and her hand is knocked back and her fingers snap in half. The quick surge of electricity runs through my entire body and makes my muscles spasm. She takes advantage of that small opening and tries to grab me with her other hand. I quickly lean away, and using the momentum to my advantage, I manage to kick her in the face. As I pull my foot away, I make sure to run the soles of my shoes across her burn scars to cause maximum pain. ¡°Yaghha!¡± ¨C Daisy The charred skin being ripped off and the wave of agony that follows makes her stagger for just long enough for me to follow up. Naturally, the moment I touched her, I got zapped, but that works in my favor. The more hurt I am, the stronger I get! Using all my strength, I hit her in the side of the head, and a part of her skull fractures. She falls to the ground, and groans in pain. Somehow, she¡¯s still awake. ¡°Ten! Nine!¡± ¨C Host Seeing that the light is rapidly approaching her, she immediately gets back up on her feet. I could try to push her out of the light¡­ Just with the damage I¡¯ve currently taken, I¡¯m definitely strong enough. The problem is that a shove requires longer exposure to her specialty than a simple punch. Is that a risk I¡¯m willing to take? Alternatively, I could try to knock her out, or knock her down twice instead. Honestly, I don¡¯t think I have time to knock her down two more times. It won¡¯t be long before the ring is so small it¡¯s impossible to avoid her. My only real alternative is straight up knocking her out or killing her with a single powerful attack. It¡¯s not like that is without its own risks either though¡­ If it doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ve wasted too much time and the ring will be too small. Shit! I don¡¯t know what to do! Suddenly, she lunges towards me¡­! Fuck!! I wasted too much time thinking instead of doing! I should have just punched first and asked questions later! She manages to wrap her arms around me, and the unimaginable amount of pain it causes becomes the only thing on my mind, as what feels like getting struck by lightning a million times per second destroys me from the inside. S-s-s-s-s-s-shi-i-i-i-it! I can¡¯t think! I try to control my body, but it¡¯s completely impossible. ¡°Gotcha!¡± ¨C Daisy Every muscle fiber in my body is torn to shred, my heart is on the verge of collapse, and my organs feel like they are on fire. With what might be my last breath, I put all my hopes and dreams, everything I¡¯ve ever fought for, and the reason I was born in the first place on the line as I try to retaliate. My limbs are completely uncontrollable, so a punch or a kick is off the table. Instead, I simply try to resist her clench. With the overwhelming power granted to me from my specialty by being on the verge of death, her arms literally turn into a mist of blood from that simple motion alone. I fall down, unable to move my body. ¡°Ten!¡± ¨C Host Before the host has time to count down any further, she accidentally steps outside of the light due to the shock of what just happened to her. ¡°The match is over, Leon is the winner!¡± ¨C Host The light disappears, and healers quickly arrive. It doesn¡¯t take long for them to get us back to normal. From the verge of death to as healthy as can be in mere moments¡­ Healers are something else¡­ Daisy obviously didn¡¯t mean to step outside the light, but honestly, it was probably a blessing in disguise for her. Had she waited those ten seconds it would have taken me to get disqualified, she might have bled to death before the healers could save her, just like Molly. But whatever¡­ No need to think about it anymore. It¡¯s over. I won. Like I was destined to. I am a winner, after all. Suppressing my ego for so long was painful. All I wanted was to humiliate those pitiful opponents, but I just had to force myself to take things seriously¡­ If I ever meet her again, I¡¯ll make sure she knows she never stood a chance in the first place. ¡°Unfortunately for you, Daisy, you fail the exam. You did well though, so I¡¯d love to see you try again next year!¡± ¨C Host She walks off with an annoyed expression. ¡°As for you, Leon¡­ You passed. You are now officially a low ranked royal guard. You should head back to Adamas immediately; they¡¯ll inform you of what to do next there.¡± ¨C Host Chapter 192: Improvement --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] 1 month later, where the F-rank exam was held ¡°Maintain it! Come on! Just a little more!¡± ¨C Leanne My arms tremble; any minute now, my concentration will break. The void in my palms disappear and I fall to the ground in exhaustion. ¡°Four hours and 35 minutes. That¡¯s a new record!¡± ¨C Leanne For the last few hours, I¡¯ve been constantly maintaining the void in my hands to absorb an endless stream of rocks she¡¯s firing at me. This is probably my least favorite training exercise¡­ It¡¯s insanely time-consuming, and extremely exhausting. It is necessary though. Stamina is just as important as everything else. Not only for drawn out fights, but it¡¯ll let me use a higher output without running out of steam too quickly. When she first started training me, I was only able to do it for about two hours. That means my stamina has more than doubled since then. ¡°Take a 20-minute break, then let¡¯s move on to BDM training.¡± ¨C Leanne In between my heavy breaths, I try my best to answer. ¡°O¡­ K¡­¡± ¨C Alex She isn¡¯t giving me much time to rest, but I don¡¯t mind. I want to get strong, and I want to get strong now. The thought that Seth is alive when my brother isn¡¯t, makes my blood boil every waking hour. I don¡¯t have time to rest, not when he¡¯s still around¡­ Every day that passes is another day he got away with his heinous crimes. So, her style of teaching is perfect. --- A few minutes later ¡°Alright, time to get up! We¡¯ll do rock smashing with the usual rules.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Got it.¡± ¨C Alex I stand up after my short rest and get ready attack. ¡°Level one.¡± ¨C Leanne She summons a boulder, and I immediately smash it into a million pieces. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Level two.¡± ¨C Leanne She summons another, and yet again, I easily destroy it. During this exercise, I¡¯m not allowed to use charged attacks. We do train that as well though, just not during this exercise. ¡°Level three.¡± ¨C Leanne She summons yet another boulder, and just like before, I destroy it with a single punch. ¡°Level four.¡± ¨C Leanne Another one appears out of thin air. I shake my wrists, making sure my joints are loose. I take a deep breath, then punch the rock with almost everything I¡¯ve got. Yet again, it¡¯s destroyed by a single attack. Level four is as far as I went when we first started training. A level one boulder is designed to be roughly so hard that an average C-ranker could destroy it with one punch if they gave it their all. Every level above that is twice as hard as the one below. When we first started training, I could destroy up to level three with a single attack, while level four took multiple. That means I was roughly four times stronger than most C-rankers. That tracks. Even back during the battle festival, I could tell I was strong enough to beat some of the weaker C-rank contestants. Yet, I didn¡¯t stand a chance against Seth, who¡¯s also a C-ranker. The thing is, each rank has a wider range of variance in strength levels, than the last. The difference between the weakest F-ranker and the strongest F-ranker is much smaller than the difference between the weakest C-ranker and the strongest C-ranker. ¡°Level five.¡± ¨C Leanne I destroy it with one punch. ¡°Level six.¡± ¨C Leanne I destroy it with one punch. It took every ounce of strength in my body, but I did it. I destroyed a level six boulder with a single attack¡­ That¡¯s three levels higher than when we first started. Doubling my stamina in a month is already impressive, but it pales in comparison to my power¡­ I¡¯m now roughly eight times stronger than I was just a mere four weeks ago¡­ Yet¡­ I know I¡¯m still not strong enough to challenge Seth. The variance is simply too high when it comes to C-rank and above. I¡¯m dozens of times stronger than an average C-ranker, yet I still can¡¯t compete with him¡­ Since I¡¯m the Emperor¡¯s son, my growth rate is significantly higher than his. If we both kept training endlessly, I would one day surpass him, there¡¯s no doubt about that. However, even for me, my progress will start slowing down eventually. It might only take a few more months until I surpass him, but it could also take years if I¡¯m unlucky. My progress has been significantly faster than usual since I¡¯ve been training with a B-ranker, but that novelty will wear off soon. I can¡¯t stand the thought of him still breathing, so I¡¯d rather not potentially waste years trying to catch up to him. That¡¯s why Leanne and I agreed to this¡­ We would train for a month, and if in that time I ended up being strong enough to fight him, we¡¯d arrange the fight then. But that clearly didn¡¯t pan out. Not that either of us expected it to¡­ There have been two times before when I¡¯ve suddenly grown significantly stronger, and that has been when I got help from that thing inside me¡­ If I can learn to tap into that power at will, I could beat him a heck of a lot faster than if I just trained normally. So from now on, my training will shift away from all-around training, and focus entirely on learning to master that power. That¡¯s not the end of the story though¡­ Just like I want Seth dead, Isaac wants Gael dead. I already made Leanne agree to help set up the fight between him and Isaac as one of the conditions for joining The END. We were planning on arranging both fights at the same time if I somehow did get strong enough to fight Seth by the end of the month, but that didn¡¯t happen. However, it would be unfair to Isaac to make him wait any longer when I have the means to arrange the fight at any point. That¡¯s why we agreed that no matter what, his match would still be happening. Today is the last day of the month, so tomorrow, we¡¯ll be momentarily setting my training on pause. Leanne will go back to Solis to find Gael, while I¡¯ll go find Isaac. We figured a week should be enough time to find them, so a week from now, we¡¯ll meet back up here again, and Isaac can finally get his revenge. Chapter 193: The other side --- [Leanne¡¯s perspective] The next day The hidden passage down to Solis opens up, and I start going down the stairs. Alex¡¯s progress this past month is unbelievable¡­ If I recall correctly, it took his brother roughly eight years to become a C-rank hunter from when he started learning Divinity manipulation. That itself is impressive, but it¡¯s nothing compared to Alex¡­ He started learning Divinity manipulation roughly three and half years ago, and although he¡¯s not technically a C-rank hunter, he is already way stronger than most of them. Did he do it that much faster than his brother because he has more incentive and motivation to get strong, or is he a natural talent beyond just simply being the Emperor¡¯s son? His progress is simply unheard of. There have been cases of people quickly climbing the ranks due to having exceptionally strong specialties, but Alex doesn¡¯t even need his specialty to be at that level. He¡¯s just that strong¡­ One day, I know he¡¯ll become a crucial asset to The END. But it all hinges on him actually joining us¡­ We¡¯re so close to getting him on board, but we need to fulfill his two conditions first. He wants two specific members dead, but more importantly, he wants them dead by his and his friend¡¯s hands. He isn¡¯t quite ready to fight Seth yet, so for now, let¡¯s focus on finding the other guy. I walk around the corner and see the beautiful underground city once again. If I¡¯m going to find that guy, I guess I¡¯ve got to go over to the other side¡­ Ugh. I¡¯ve only been there once before, but I swore I¡¯d never go back¡­ It¡¯s a nasty place, and I¡¯m obviously not welcome, but it¡¯s the only choice I have¡­ Should I ask any higher-ups for permission? No¡­ If I do, I¡¯ll have to explain why, and if they find out I brought a non-member into Solis, I¡¯m done for. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Even if it is Alex¡­ And I mean¡­ It¡¯s technically not against the rules to cross over to the other side, so I probably won¡¯t get in trouble for it. As I stroll through town, I look around. This is home. Although the place on the other side of the wall is also called Solis, it¡¯s not the same¡­ Solis used to be one massive city, but after the organization was severed in two, a massive wall was erected to separate us. The more time passes, the further we diverge from each other. It¡¯s been nearly 300 years since I last stepped foot on the other side of that wall; nobody can predict how much may have changed since then¡­ After walking for a while, I finally made my way over to the wall. I drag my hand across it, feeling the rough material on my skin. As I look up, I can¡¯t help but admire the sheer size of it. It¡¯s several hundred meters tall, and kilometers across. ¡®The wall of separation¡¯ eh¡­ Just from a simple touch, I can tell that no matter how hard I tried, even I couldn¡¯t put a dent in it. It was made by one of the higher-ups in the Raguelites. You¡¯d have to be at least on the level of an A-rank hunter if you wish to break through this dark crystal material. Although¡­ I suppose Alex could do it with his absorption. To him, how tough the material is or how strong the opponent is, is irrelevant. As long as he can touch it, he can absorb it. His ability is absolute, and as far as I know, nothing can bypass it. It truly is a terrifying power¡­ ¡®The door¡¯ should be around heeere¡­ Ah! There. Along the entire wall, there is only one ¡®door¡¯ to pass through to the other side. ¡®Door¡¯ might not be the best word to describe it¡­ Really, it¡¯s just a boulder patching up the one singular hole. You have to push the boulder out of the way to get through, but that¡¯s easier said than done for most people. On top of being highly durable, the dark crystal that the wall and the boulder are made off is magnetic. Very magnetic. To itself, that is. Pushing the boulder out of the way is impossible for anyone who isn¡¯t at least on the level of a C-rank hunter, so only a few select people are even able to cross to the other side. Then the moment you stop pushing, it¡¯ll just roll right back, sealing the hole again. Civilians couldn¡¯t cross through even if they wanted to. Shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me though. ¡°Here we go¡­!¡± ¨C Leanne I push it out of the way, and squeeze through to the other side. ¡­ I don¡¯t know whether I should be surprised or not¡­ The Urielites side of Solis today is nothing like it was 300 years ago. It¡¯s an ever changing, ever evolving, city. Full of character. This place¡­ It¡¯s exactly like I remember it. Every house, every street; it all looks the same. There are large open fields with people training in them. There are barely any civilians walking around, and certainly no children. I guess the Raguelites only recruit people to have them fight for them, never just to let them escape the horrors of the outside world. There are always strings attached with them¡­ It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t train people either, we do, even children. But it¡¯s never against their will. If someone wants to just live a peaceful life in Solis, they are free to do so. I can¡¯t imagine that¡¯s the case on this side¡­ Everyone is training¡­ I sneak around the corner. I was wrong¡­ There are children here, they¡¯re just all training too¡­ There¡¯s a large pack of them gathered in one place; looks like they¡¯re meditating. I guess they¡¯re being taught Basic Divinity Manipulation. Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder. ¡°Excuse me, did you just come through the passage?¡± ¨C Woman Chapter 194: Where the hell is he?! --- [Leanne¡¯s perspective] Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder. ¡°Excuse me, did you just come through the passage?¡± ¨C Woman I¡¯ve been found already¡­ Whatever, I had to reveal myself sooner or later anyways. Let¡¯s just hope she isn¡¯t too antagonistic¡­ ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m looking for someone called Gael Lux, do you know him?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°I don¡¯t but¡­ I¡¯ve got to report this! As far as I know, there were no cross-faction meetings scheduled.¡± ¨C Woman Damn it! If she reports me, I might be forced to tell the truth about why I¡¯m here. Or worse, they throw me back to the other side¡­ To them, I don¡¯t really have any business being here. ¡°There¡¯s no need. As soon as I find the person I¡¯m looking for, I¡¯m out of here.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°No can do. The higher-ups are going to want to know about a Urielite crossing the passage.¡± ¨C Woman Already off to a bad start¡­ ¡°Listen¡­ I can¡¯t explain why, but you¡¯ve got to trust me. I am doing what¡¯s best for everyone, okay? If you snitch, you¡¯re putting bigger things at risk than you would believe. I swear, as a fellow member of The END, if you let me go, the Emperor is already one foot in the grave.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Yeah¡­ No. You¡¯re coming with me!¡± ¨C Woman She grabs my wrist and tries to drag me away, but it¡¯s hopeless; I¡¯m way too powerful for her. ¡°¡­ Rank?¡± ¨C Woman ¡°B.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Fine.¡± ¨C Woman She lets go, and immediately storms off. Based on her grip strength, she¡¯s probably around the level of a C-rank hunter. Maybe D. She knew there was no point in trying to force me to come with her; a hunter of her caliber could never make me move. She¡¯s probably still going to tattle on me though¡­ I¡¯d like to stop her, but there¡¯s no way for me to do that without breaking the rules. Be it knocking her out, or just using my specialty to temporarily trap her, it¡¯d be seen as attacking another member. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I have no choice but to let her go. That means I¡¯m on a timer. Sooner or later, higher-ups will find me, and when they do, this little infiltration mission is over. I need to find him¡­ Quick! But where do I even begin? I know nothing about him other than his name. What does he look like? What rank is he? Is he well known? How long has he been a member? Where does he live? Are there any places he frequents? I just don¡¯t know enough about him¡­ If it was Seth, I could probably find him without too much issue, but Gael¡­? I don¡¯t even know who he is! Gah! This is annoying¡­ I have no choice but to start asking around. That lady saw me crawl through the door, that¡¯s how she knew I was a Urielite. Once I move further into the city, they¡¯ll have no reason to think I came from the other side. Unless I run into someone who knows me that is¡­ I might not be a higher-up, but I¡¯m still a B-ranker. If I stay here for long enough, I¡¯m bound to eventually run into someone who knows who I am. I need to move quick, but also lay low. Okay¡­ Let¡¯s think. Where could he be? I have no clue¡­ But! He¡¯s likely training somewhere like most of them. If I ask the instructors, they might know who he is, and where he¡¯s training, but it¡¯s risky¡­ The first time I came here was right after I became a B-ranker. There was some meeting happening, and they wanted me to go so that I¡¯d get to see the other side of the city for once. One of the Raguelites in the meeting was another B-ranker, and an instructor. I remember that at some point he mentioned that all their instructors are B-rank. Seeing how little their side of the city has changed, I doubt this has either. What that means is that if I ask one of the instructors about Gael, and it goes wrong and they recognize me, I won¡¯t be able to get away that easily. Getting away from a C-rank hunter is no problem, but another B-ranker? Nope. Can¡¯t risk that. But¡­! There might be a way to indirectly ask them instead! I walk around for a bit, until I find myself in a shady alleyway. There¡¯s a suspicious looking individual there¡­ Perfect. As soon as they see me coming, they immediately start packing up their stuff. ¡°Wait! I¡¯m here to do business.¡± ¨C Leanne They stop and look back at me. I pull out my wallet; money talks. A crooked smile stretches across their face. ¡°You should have just said so from the start!¡± ¨C Suspicious individual Their eyes are glued to the cash, and they¡¯re not even trying to hide it. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¨C Suspicious individual ¡°I want you to ask the instructor over there if he knows where Gael Lux is.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Sure. They¡¯re busy training right now, but they should be finished for the day in about an hour or two.¡± ¨C Suspicious individual ¡°That won¡¯t do. I need you to ask them now.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯ll cost extra.¡± ¨C Suspicious individual ¡°How much extra?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Double.¡± ¨C Suspicious individual This is all I have¡­ I don¡¯t like doing this, but¡­ ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Leanne I put my hand in my back pocket, and carefully construct a bunch of coins identical to real ones. Using my specialty to make counterfeit money is nasty, but I can¡¯t help it. I can¡¯t find Gael without their help; especially not when the higher-ups might find me any moment now. I hand over everything I have; I hope they don¡¯t notice they¡¯re fake¡­ ¡°That should be enough, righ-¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Why did you not have them in a pouch, like with the rest of your money?¡± ¨C Suspicious individual Oh no, they might be catching on! ¡­ No, calm down, Leanne¡­ You made them perfectly; there shouldn¡¯t be any flaws that¡¯ll give you away. ¡°Oh, no particular reason. As you can see, I didn¡¯t have much space left in my wallet, and didn¡¯t have another one at home. I¡¯m just here to do business, and knew I might need a little extra¡­ My back pockets work just fine for carrying some extra change.¡± ¨C Leanne He looks me in the eye, trying to sus me out¡­ ¡°Give me a minute, I¡¯ll be right back. And don¡¯t even think of stealing anything. I know exactly what I have. If you take even a single hair, I¡¯ll know.¡± ¨C Suspicious individual ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Leanne He bought it! Phew¡­ Chapter 195: Bickering --- [Leanne¡¯s perspective] I stand around anxiously waiting for a few minutes, praying the higher-ups won¡¯t find me before he comes back. After what feels like forever, he¡¯s finally here. ¡°So?! What did he say? Did he know him? Did he know where he was?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Slow down!¡± ¨C Suspicious individual ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯m just short on time.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Right¡­ Well, he wasn¡¯t happy that I interrupted his class. That¡¯s for sure¡­¡± ¨C Suspicious individual ¡°Okay, but did he know?!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°More or less. He said he usually trains in the K-12 area, but he does train elsewhere on occasion too, so I can¡¯t guarantee that he¡¯ll be ther-¡± ¨C Suspicious individual I cut them off and immediately start running. ¡°Thanks!¡± ¨C Leanne K-12 isn¡¯t far from here. As soon as I get out of the alley and out on the street, I slow down. Running might put more eyes on me, and I¡¯d rather avoid that. Especially when I¡¯m this close to finding him! I quickly walk over to the K-12 section, all while making sure I don¡¯t stand out. There they are¡­ There¡¯s a whole crowd of them, how am I supposed to know which one Gael is?! There¡¯s gotta be at least 40 or 50 people training, plus their instructor. Do I have to find someone else to talk to them for me again? I can¡¯t just sit around and wait a few hours for them to finis- Wait¡­! They¡¯re scattering! Why? Do they finish earlier than the other group, or is it maybe just a short break? I¡¯m not sure, but this is my opportunity to go talk to them without the instructor noticing. Lucky! I go up to a random one of them. ¡°Excuse me, do you know who Gael Lux is?¡± ¨C Leanne If Gael is here, he should know. ¡°You¡¯re talking to him.¡± ¨C Gael !! Lucky!! ¡°Would you mind having a quick chat?¡± ¨C Leanne --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] If I recall correctly, Isaac is in The Beast Hearts Guild, right? Where is their HQ again¡­? Oh no¡­ Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I¡¯m sure Leanne told me, but¡­ I forgot. ¡­ Uhh. Wait¡­ It¡¯s on the tip of my tongue! She made a terrible pun using the name, but what was it?! It was only a couple weeks ago, I got this! Come on, remember! I asked where The Beast Hearts were located, and said I¡¯d probably find him there. Then she said¡­ Uhh¡­ She said something like¡­ ¡®So that¡¯s where you¡¯re going.¡¯ No, that¡¯s not quite right¡­ ¡®So you¡¯re going to¡­ there.¡¯ No¡­ Wait! ¡®So you¡¯re saying you¡¯ll find him in¡­¡¯ That¡¯s it! Ursa! Her terrible pun was ¡®so Ursa-ing you¡¯ll find him in Ursa¡¯! Damn¡­ That really was a horrible joke¡­ --- The next day, in Ursa, outside the guild hall Just like The Red Knights, The Beast Hearts also have guards outside their entrance. There¡¯s two of them right there, I guess I¡¯ll just go ask them if they know where he is. ¡°Sorry if I¡¯m intruding, do you guys happen to know where someone called Isa-¡± ¨C Alex One of them interrupts me and starts talking about something completely different; they clearly weren¡¯t listening¡­ ¡°You there! We need your opinion on something.¡± ¨C Guard 1 ¡°I¡¯m telling you Paul, you¡¯re going to regret this!¡± ¨C Guard 2 ¡°Oh hell no. You¡¯re the one who¡¯ll regret it, Phil!¡± ¨C Paul ¡°We¡¯ll see¡­¡± ¨C Phil What are they even talking about¡­ ¡°So listen, we have a huge disagreement, and we need your help to settle once and for all who¡¯s right!¡± ¨C Paul ¡­? What? ¡°Phil over here seems to think that a high-ranking royal guard could beat a guild master in a fight!¡± ¨C Paul ¡°Oh, stop it with the disingenuous framing! We¡¯re not talking about any ol¡¯ high-ranking royal guard, we¡¯re talking about the four lords!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°Whatever, same shit! I wouldn¡¯t get my nickers in a twist if you referred to the guild masters as ¡®just¡¯ S-rankers, so why do you get so mad when I call them ¡®just¡¯ high-ranking royal guards?!¡± ¨C Paul ¡°Come on! That¡¯s not the same thing!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°Yes it is!¡± ¨C Paul ¡°No it isn¡¯t! Other than the guild masters, you could count the number of S-rank hunters on your hands! Meanwhile, there are tons of high-ranking royal guards!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°¡®Tons¡¯? Really?¡± ¨C Paul ¡°Okay¡­ Maybe not ¡®tons¡¯, but there are a lot more of them than there are S-rankers! Most high-ranking royal guards are only around the level of an A-rank hunter, so pretending like the four lords are the same as them is disingenuous as hell!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that they¡¯re the same rank. If they truly were as strong as the guild leaders, or the S-rank hunters in general, then why don¡¯t they have their own rank?¡± ¨C Paul ¡°They¡¯re only the same rank by technicality! In reality, everyone knows the four lords are on an entirely different level compared to the other high-ranking royal guards!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°But clearly not on such a high level that they need an entirely new rank! The guild masters are all S-rank. Do you know what S-rank is?! An entirely new rank to differentiate them from the A-rankers!¡± ¨C Paul What is going on here?! Why are they squabbling like children, and why did they bring me into it? ¡°Listen, I just want to know if yo-¡± ¨C Alex ¡°So who¡¯s right?! Who would win in a fight, a guild master, or one of the four lords?!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°I don¡¯t know, and as I keep trying to say, I just want to kn-¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh my god! Why are you even here if not to help us settle this?!¡± ¨C Paul They¡¯re really starting to get on my nerves! ¡°If you¡¯d just LISTEN, you¡¯d know!¡± ¨C Alex Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice¡­ ¡°Alex? What are you doing here?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡­ Thank God he showed up¡­ Now I don¡¯t have to deal with those useless guards anymore¡­ I try turning around, but just as I do, one of them grabs my shoulder and pulls me back. ¡°Answer us! Who¡¯d win?!¡± ¨C Phil Isaac steps in, he¡¯s clearly used to their bickering. ¡°Please don¡¯t be rude to Alex, he¡¯s a friend of mine. Catch me up on what you¡¯re debating this time. I¡¯ll answer for him.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Good idea!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°Isaac? Really? He¡¯s so biased! He always sides with you!¡± ¨C Paul ¡°That¡¯s not true! He has sided with you plenty of times as well!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°Not nearly as often as he sides with you!¡± ¨C Paul ¡°Hey! Just tell me the topic, I¡¯m busy, okay?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Fine¡­ We¡¯re talking about who would win between one of the guild masters and one of the four lords.¡± ¨C Paul ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¨C Isaac I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s pretending or not, but he seems to be genuinely thinking about the answer. ¡°It has to be the guild masters, right?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Exactly! See? I¡¯m right!¡± ¨C Paul ¡°Right? Hell no! He always sides with you!¡± ¨C Phil ¡°Don¡¯t try flipping it around now, sore loser! You and I both know he almost always sides with you!¡± ¨C Paul Isaac grabs my arm and quietly gets us away from them before they notice we¡¯re gone. Finally, some peace and quiet¡­ I was starting to get a headache from their constant shouting¡­ ¡°You deal with them a lot?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Oh yeah¡­ There isn¡¯t a day that goes by where they aren¡¯t yelling at each other. They¡¯ve been going at it for years¡­ When I first joined, I wondered how someone like them could get assigned as guards. They clearly aren¡¯t paying as much attention to their surroundings as a guard should. But it didn¡¯t take long before I realized why¡­ Nobody wants to hear their constant bickering, so they were stationed outside where people won¡¯t have to deal with them as much¡­¡± ¨C Isaac I let out a chuckle. What a pair. ¡°I answer their silly questions almost daily. Funny thing is, they still haven¡¯t caught on to the fact that I alternate who I side with. Yesterday it was Phil, so today it¡¯s Paul!¡± ¨C Isaac Chapter 196: Everything I’ve ever wanted… --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] As we¡¯re strolling through town, the small talk begins. ¡°So what brings you here? A mission? I assume you¡¯re not here for me haha!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I am, actually.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Really? How come?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Well, you see¡­¡± ¨C Alex You know what? No reason to beat around the bush. We can make small talk later; he deserves to know immediately. ¡°I¡¯ve found some people in The END that I consider trustworthy.¡± ¨C Alex He comes to a complete halt. ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¨C Isaac He looks at me with pure confusion in his eyes. With¡­ With a hint of betrayal¡­ I am the only one he has ever told about his past trauma, his trauma with The END. He related to me, and I related to him; I understand why he might feel betrayed. ¡°Listen. It¡¯s not as bad it looks. I¡¯m not on their side, I just know couple people on the inside.¡± ¨C Alex He completely ignores what I said. ¡°Alex¡­ Why would you even associate with them? You know how bad they are better than most!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I know! I know¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Then wh-¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°We¡¯ve found Gael.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac He¡¯s speechless. ¡°Or at least, we¡¯re going to find him soon¡­¡± ¨C Alex ¡°What do you mean?!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I made a deal with them. One of my conditions for accepting the deal was that they would find him, and hand him over to you. I know how horrible what you went through must have been¡­ When we last talked, I promised you you¡¯d get your revenge. I never intended to break that promise. You deserve it.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alex¡­¡± ¨C Isaac He¡¯s an open book; you can tell what he¡¯s feeling from just a glance. Happiness. Excitement! Dread¡­ And fear. He¡¯s a whirlwind of emotion; I mean, who wouldn¡¯t be? The thing he desires more than anything else in the world is about to come true; he¡¯ll finally have a chance to set things right. He takes a deep breath and swallows all the complicated emotions. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°So¡­ Uhm. When? Where?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°There¡¯s this place, nowhere special. We¡¯re supposed to meet them there in about a week¡¯s time. If you have anything you need to get done before then, do it now. We¡¯ll leave as soon as you¡¯re ready.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Right¡­¡± ¨C Isaac --- The day of the meeting We¡¯ve been here a few days now, and Leanne still hasn¡¯t showed up. No big deal; today is the day we planned to meet, not before. Although¡­ If she could have returned earlier, I don¡¯t see why she wouldn¡¯t have¡­ But let¡¯s stay hopeful. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be here soon. The day just started, after all. ¡°Today¡¯s the day, right?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Yup.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Alright¡­ Just checking.¡± ¨C Isaac We¡¯ve talked a lot these past few days, but I¡¯ve tried to keep it positive for the most part. I have no idea how strong this Gael guy is, for all I know, he could be a monster¡­ If he¡¯s a B-ranker like Leanne, it doesn¡¯t matter how much he wants his revenge. He will lose. Isaac probably has a rough idea of how strong he is, and normally I¡¯d think he, or anyone else for that matter, wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to engage in a fight to the death with someone they know will beat them, but¡­ Well¡­ I fought Seth, didn¡¯t I? Few things will cloud your judgement like when revenge is on the table¡­ ¡°Hey, listen¡­¡± ¨C Alex How should I say this¡­ ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I know what your answer will be, but I just need to make sure¡­ If anything were to happen, do you want my help?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°No.¡± ¨C Isaac That¡¯s what I thought¡­ If it was Seth that was coming back right now, I wouldn¡¯t want him to interfere either¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter if I have a better chance of beating him with Isaac¡¯s help; killing Seth is something only I¡¯m allowed to do. ¡°Alright¡­¡± ¨C Alex I will respect his wishes. No matter what. Even if he¡¯s about to be killed, I won¡¯t step in. This is his fight. ¡°I know it¡¯s clich¨¦, but¡­ Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve got this.¡± ¨C Isaac I¡­ I don¡¯t know if I believe him¡­ ¡°There¡¯s simply too much on the line for me to lose. No matter what it takes, by the end of today, Gael will be dead.¡± ¨C Isaac --- [Leanne¡¯s perspective] Right after Leanne found Gael ¡°Get lost. I¡¯m busy.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Please. Just give me a minute, you¡¯ll want to hear this.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Fine, but make it quick. Our break is only 15 minutes.¡± ¨C Gael You and me both¡­ Any time now, the higher-ups could come storming after me¡­ ¡°You see¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Wait¡­ How do I even explain this?! ¡®So there¡¯s this guy that wants to kill you, please come with me.¡¯ Aghh!! I was too busy worrying about finding him, I didn¡¯t really give it a thought! There¡¯s no good way to explain this. Just from this short interaction, I can tell he¡¯s the ¡®no bullshit¡¯ type. If I don¡¯t give him a good reason, he won¡¯t come with me. But if I tell him the truth, he definitely won¡¯t come! ¡°Hello?¡± ¨C Gael Shit! I need to say something, quick! But¡­ Gaaah!! ¡°If you¡¯re just gonna waste my time, why bother me¡­?¡± ¨C Gael Just as he turns around, I grab his shoulder. ¡°Wait! It¡¯s important¡­¡± ¨C Leanne Saying anything is better than nothing¡­ ¡°There¡¯s this guy who wants to meet you¡­¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Who?¡± ¨C Gael ¡°He¡¯s¡­ A friend of a friend.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°What? Just spit it out already!¡± ¨C Gael Saying his name is risky¡­ He might not want to meet him. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s over the moment I say the name ¡®Isaac¡¯¡­ But, I don¡¯t think I have any other choice. If my next words are too vague, he¡¯ll just leave, and he won¡¯t look back. ¡°Isaac. Isaac Lux.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°I¡­ W¡­¡± ¨C Gael He scans his surroundings. ¡°Come with me.¡± ¨C Gael He grabs my arm and pulls me into a nearby alley. ¡°How do you know Isaac?¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Like I said¡­ Friend of a friend.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Look. I¡¯ve promised to set up a meeting between the two of you. I would really, really, appreciate it if you cooperated.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°What does he want?¡± ¨C Gael I can¡¯t tell him¡­ Let¡¯s just make up some random reas- ¡°And don¡¯t lie. Tell me the truth, or I¡¯m leaving. I know Isaac better than anyone, I¡¯ll know if you¡¯re lying.¡± ¨C Gael ¡­ Shit. It¡¯s risky to tell him the truth, and it¡¯s risky to not. Can he really tell if I¡¯m lying? Maybe¡­ I don¡¯t know. Whatever I do, there¡¯s a chance we¡¯re all screwed. If Alex doesn¡¯t join The END, we likely won¡¯t ever be able to stop the Emperor. To hell with it! I¡¯ll tell him the truth! ¡°He wants you dead. I¡¯m here to arrange the match.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Gael ¡°As another member of The END, I¡¯m not allowed to lay a finger on you, and I promise, I don¡¯t intend to break that rule. To be honest, I don¡¯t really care whether you live or die. This entire situation is bigger than either of us. Finding you is just a part of a deal I made. A deal that¡¯ll have bigger consequences on the future than you could imagine.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Listen¡­ I don¡¯t need your entire life story, ma¡¯am. I¡¯m coming with you.¡± ¨C Gael ¡­ He¡­! He agreed! Yes!! ¡°When is it? I¡¯m a little busy right now, but-¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Right, I¡¯m actually in a bit of a hurry myself! Meet me on the surface outside in six days. Is that enough time to get ready?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Plenty.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Great! We have a deal then!¡± ¨C Leanne I give him a thumbs up, then quickly start gunning for the door to the other side. Chapter 197: Today’s the day --- [Alex¡¯s perspective] Almost midnight, on the day of the meeting Where is she?! She should have been here by now! Did something happen to her? Argh! Where are you!? ¡°It¡¯s getting late¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I know, but don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll be here any minute now. Trust me.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, man. Are you sure you can trust them? They are members of The END after all¡­¡± ¨C Isaac Honestly, I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯d like to think so, but¡­ ¡°I¡¯m positive. You have nothing to worry about. They¡¯re just running a little late, that¡¯s all.¡± ¨C Alex Come on! Come back already! I really don¡¯t want to let him down, not after giving him so much hope¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t trust them, not after what they¡¯ve done¡­ But I¡¯ll put my trust in you, Alex. I sincerely hope you¡¯re right¡­¡± ¨C Isaac I can tell he¡¯s getting anxious, even more than me¡­ How can I get him to calm down? ¡°Do you remember Leanne?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Leanne? As in Leanne Aqua, or¡­?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Right. She was host of the D-rank exam we both took. She¡¯s the one that¡¯s coming back with Gael any moment now.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Wow¡­ I never thought she¡¯d be one of them¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°You and me both¡­ She had been the host for every single hunter exam I¡¯d ever taken. I was starting to think she was just the one responsible for exams, or that maybe it was just a coincidence, but no, neither of those were true. All this time, she had been watching over me. Whenever she found out I was about to partake in an exam, she made sure she was host.¡± ¨C Alex Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Why?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°To protect me. Exams aren¡¯t any less deadly than real missions, so she wanted to make sure I was safe.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Why would she do that? Are you somehow related?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°No, I¡­ I¡¯m¡­¡± ¨C Alex I can¡¯t tell him¡­ Me being the Emperor¡¯s son is top secret; even I didn¡¯t know until recently¡­ It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust him, but if I tell him, and he tells someone he thinks he can trust, it could very quickly spread. If it ever goes public, I have no idea what the repercussions might be¡­ Besides, I have no idea how he might react to finding out. Telling him the truth will just make more trouble than it¡¯s worth. ¡°Anyways, we can trust her. She kept me safe for years, so we know she¡¯s a good person. She¡¯s a B-rank hunter, so we know she has the means to bring him back. And she wants something from me more than anything else in the world, and the only way to get that is by upholding her end of the deal, so we know she¡¯s trustworthy. She¡¯s a good person, she has the means, and she¡¯s trustworthy. She¡¯ll be here soon.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°If you say so¡­¡± ¨C Isaac He knows I dodged the question, but he isn¡¯t pressing me for an answer. He¡¯s clearly aware of when to let things go¡­ ¡°Have you thought about how you¡¯ll react when you see him?¡± ¨C Alex He locks his eyes onto the horizon. ¡°Strangely enough, no. Every time I picture him, I just get so¡­ Angry. I can¡¯t keep my thoughts straight. I have no idea how I¡¯ll react, no idea what I¡¯ll say, and no idea what I¡¯ll do. Will I lash out at him? Will I get cold feet? Will I ask why he did it? Will I break down in tears? I don¡¯t know¡­ Only time will tell, I suppose.¡± ¨C Isaac I get it¡­ He¡¯s been through things nobody should ever have to go through. He was backstabbed by his closest friend and lost the person who he loved the most. It¡¯s horrible¡­ ¡­ ¡°You should know that no matter how you react, I understand, and I support you. You will get your revenge, Isaac. We both will.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Damn right.¡± ¨C Isaac Suddenly, Isaac¡¯s stomach starts rumbling. ¡°Hungry?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°A little.¡± ¨C Isaac We¡¯ve been eagerly waiting for Leanne to return for a while now, so we haven¡¯t had anything to eat since breakfast. He¡¯ll be fighting soon, and he should be in peak condition for it. Now¡¯s not the time to be running on an empty stomach. ¡°Go take a bite while you still can, they could show up any second now.¡± ¨C Alex We only packed a week¡¯s worth of food, so we¡¯re starting to run a little low. There¡¯s more than enough for him if I skip this meal though. I start rummaging through my bag, looking for whatever is left. ¡°Here, take this. You¡¯ll need as much as you can get.¡± ¨C Alex He grabs it and immediately starts shoveling everything that¡¯s left into his mouth. Earlier he seemed very unsure of whether he believed me when I said Leanne would be returning, so I doubt he¡¯s eating so quickly because he fears they¡¯ll be back soon. He¡¯s probably a lot hungrier than he lets on¡­ Now that I think about it, he hasn¡¯t eaten much these past few days. The nerves must be getting to him¡­ Wait¡­ What¡¯s that? I see something¡­ !! ¡°Look!¡± ¨C Alex From the horizon, I see two people rapidly approaching. I can¡¯t quite make them out, but that must be Leanne and Gael! ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac He puts the food down, and takes a deep breath. It¡¯s happening. Mere seconds later, they arrive¡­ ¡°Sorry for being so late! We were just about to leave whe-¡± ¨C Leanne I put my hand on her shoulder, and she shuts up. Whatever she had to say, it¡¯s not important anymore. We take a few steps back, and let them do their thing. ¡°Hey¡­ Uhm¡­ How have you been?¡± ¨C Gael Chapter 198: The final battle --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] ¡°Hey¡­ Uhm¡­ How have you been?¡± ¨C Gael ¡­ What do I even say to that? Why would he greet me like that? Does he think we¡¯re friends or something? I¡¯m not here to ¡®talk it out¡¯ with him or whatever, I¡¯m here to kill him. ¡°Frankly speaking, I¡¯ve been miserable, and it¡¯s all your fault.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Are you serious? ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯? I don¡¯t know what Leanne told you to get you here, but if she said I wanted to make up with you, she lied. You¡¯re here for one reason, and one reason only¡­ To die.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I know¡­ She didn¡¯t lie about anything. I just wanted to tell you while I still could.¡± ¨C Gael ¡®While I still could¡¯? What is that supposed to mean? Is he letting himself be killed, or¡­? Or is that a threat? Does he think he¡¯ll beat me? Not a single soul could stop me from killing him. Not Alex. Not Leanne. Not the Emperor. Not even God himself. I rush up to him and hit him as hard as I can in the chest. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Gael He looks down on me and doesn¡¯t move a muscle; the punch didn¡¯t even faze him¡­ How did he get so strong?! I try hitting him again, but he catches my fist with seemingly no effort. ¡°Ahh¡­ Why did you have to go and find me? Why couldn¡¯t you have just left me alone?¡± ¨C Gael The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°¡­ Seriously?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Yes¡­ If you had just stayed away, I wouldn¡¯t have to break my heart again.¡± ¨C Gael ¡­ This piece of shit¡­! ¡°How dare you¡­ How fucking dare you?! You¡¯re the one who killed Iris! You did that of your own free will! You came here of your own free will too, so don¡¯t act like it¡¯s somehow my fault for seeking you out!¡± ¨C Isaac I punch him in the chin. I kick him in the shin. No reaction. ¡°There¡¯s no point in explaining myself, you¡¯d never understand anyways¡­ Leanne¡­¡± ¨C Gael He looks back at her. ¡°She might¡­¡± ¨C Gael ¡°There¡¯s nothing to understand. The Gael I once knew died the moment he left to go on a journey. What returned was some fucked up creature pretending to be him. There is no justification for what you¡¯ve done. There is nothing to get or understand. You are everything that¡¯s wrong with the world stuffed into one body.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Like I said, you wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± ¨C Gael I didn¡¯t think he could possibly piss me off more than he already did, but he somehow did it¡­ All three of us used to be inseparable. There was nothing in the world that could come between us, yet somehow, he turned out like this¡­ There¡¯s no point in asking how, or why. It must have been there from the start; deep inside. It¡¯s the only thing that makes sense. To think we once considered him family¡­ But¡­ But even then¡­ Even if I know there¡¯s no point in asking, even if I know I won¡¯t get a satisfying answer¡­ I still want to know¡­ He took Iris from me¡­ Even if his reasoning is twisted and illogical, I want to know what it is¡­ ¡°Then help me understand. Why did you do it¡­?¡± ¨C Isaac He chuckles¡­. ¡°Was that¡­ Funny to you?!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°No, absolutely not. I was just thinking about how ridiculous it would be to try to sum it all up in a single, easy to digest, response. There is no combination words that can properly explain why I did it. If I could talk to myself in the past, there is no string of sentences that could convince myself to kill her. To get to where I am now, I had to live it. I had to see it.¡± ¨C Gael I knew it¡­ Why did I even bother asking¡­ Of course he¡¯d just say some cryptic bullshit and pretend like if only I knew this super-secret nebulous ¡®it¡¯, I¡¯d somehow understand. I try hitting him some more, but it¡¯s pointless. My attacks aren¡¯t even putting a scratch on him. I can¡¯t fight him without using my specialty; he¡¯s simply too strong. I¡¯ll temporarily sacrifice all my fingernails. The moment I think that, a searing pain flames up under my nails. They quickly rot away, leaving the sensitive flesh underneath exposed and unprotected. That familiar sense of power I get when making a sacrifice surges through my body. It won¡¯t last long, so I need to make the most of it. Just like before, I hit him in the chest with everything I¡¯ve got. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Gael He doesn¡¯t even flinch. I try again and again, but nothing¡­ Before I know it, the power boost runs out, leaving me just as helplessly weak as I was before. It¡¯s not enough, I need to make a bigger sacrifice! I¡¯ll temporarily sacrifice the fingers on my left hand! Suddenly, they start bending and breaking and twisting in every direction. The pain is intense, but that couldn¡¯t be less important right now. He doesn¡¯t seem to be fighting back, at least not yet. I can take advantage of that! While the power boost from the sacrifice is still active, I start charging up an attack. Before he notices what I¡¯m doing, I slam my fist into his body with so much power it would blow me to pieces if I was on the other end of it. ¡°Enough.¡± ¨C Gael ¡­ What the hell?! He¡­ He didn¡¯t take any damage¡­ ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ It¡¯s over, Isaac.¡± ¨C Gael Chapter 199: The world is beautiful… --- [Gael¡¯s perspective] Me, Isaac, and Iris used to be inseparable¡­ Our dream had always been to become hunters who¡¯d save people by exterminating monsters; especially the creatures that had escaped their dungeons. We had already been training for a long time and were starting to reach the level needed for us to pass the F-rank hunter exam, when I started getting cold feet¡­ I didn¡¯t want to become a hunter just yet¡­ Becoming a hunter would be a new beginning for us; it would be when we could finally start repaying the hunters who saved our village way back when. We¡¯d be busy clearing dungeons every day, so I wouldn¡¯t have time to do the one other thing I had always really wanted to¡­ Experience the world! The village we had lived in our entire lives was so tiny and secluded. We hadn¡¯t seen anything. We didn¡¯t know anything. We hadn¡¯t experienced anything. The world is big and so beautiful, yet we hadn¡¯t seen, known, or experienced even a fraction of what it had to offer! I wanted to take this opportunity before we became hunters to change that! But¡­ I knew I had to do it alone. With them there, I¡¯d just be a burden on them. Sure, they might have been happy to tag along at first, but how long would that last? A week? A month? Who knows. Sooner or later, they¡¯d want to go back and continue where they left off. That would inevitably have led to either conflict or resentment, which would just totally ruin the entire point of the journey¡­ I wanted to experience all the beauty and joy the world had to offer! And I wanted to take my time doing so. So, I was left no choice; for the first time in our lives, we would go our separate ways. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Of course, we planned to reunite eventually, but when that time would come, nobody knew. And so, I left. It was my first time leaving Lux, and honestly, it was scary. But¡­! Even more so, it was exciting! Throughout my entire journey, from start to finish, I never ran. I walked. As I walked across the world, I could better admire the landscape. Everything from the beautiful mountain ranges in the distance, to the lush jungles that stretched further than the eye could see, to the mindboggling vastness of the ocean. When I walked, I could fully enjoy those magnificent views to their fullest. Oh, the way my immediate surroundings slowly changed into the very scenery I had been staring at for hours, only for horizons to shift and evolve into something entirely different alongside them! It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before! To imagine that all of this beauty had always been there, and would always be there, was so calming. It was all there long before I was born, and it will stay there after I die. I felt so lucky I had the privilege to experience it. But the world had so much more to offer! While hiking up mountains, I¡¯d find berries that tasted unlike anything I¡¯d ever eaten before! While camping in forests, I¡¯d find fruits sweeter than the candy I ate as a kid! Not to mention all the delicious meats that were nowhere to be found in Lux! But as if that wasn¡¯t enough, there was still more! The wildlife¡­ Oh, the wildlife! That was something different! Had I never left, I would have never seen how many adorable little critters there are! I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re called, but the ones that stored nuts in their mouths and the ones with spiky backs were so cute I didn¡¯t know what to do with myself! I had read about them in a book before, but seeing a lion up close was something else. They¡¯re so majestic; how did nature even come up with them? Oh, and birds! Wherever I went, there were always birds. I never knew there were so many kinds! Although I rarely got to see them up close, I cherished the experience just as much as seeing every other animal. The thing that stood out the most to me, however, was their songs. So many tones, so many melodies! They were a constant throughout my entire journey, and I always looked forward to hearing the local birds singing when I came to a new area. But this¡­ This was all just nature. Even after having experienced all this wonderful stuff, the biggest thing was still ahead of me¡­ People. No matter the climate, no matter the biome, there were cities, and towns, and villages, and settlements, and camps. People had conquered the world! Wherever there was land, there were people. Despite that, I had stayed away for a while. I wanted to see what nature had to offer first. But when I finally started dipping my toes into humanity, it was just as exciting! First, I travelled to the big cities. There were more people densely packed together than I had ever imagined could be true. There were people out and about anywhere you looked. Shops, restaurants, and parks around every corner. The libraries had so more to offer than the one back home. Stories of genres I didn¡¯t know existed, more knowledge than a single mind could ever contain, and biographies of long-gone people that would have otherwise been forgotten to time. The architecture was completely different. The food they ate was completely different. The way they dressed was completely different. Even the toys the children played with were completely different! It was so tempting to stay in one of these mega cities after my journey was over, but I knew I couldn¡¯t. However nice it was, in the back of my mind, I knew I still wanted to stay with Isaac and Iris for the rest of my life. This journey was just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discard every worry I ever had, and just¡­ Live. But my journey was still far from over, I still had all the smaller towns and villages in the outer area left to explore! Chapter 200: … But not everywhere --- [Gael¡¯s perspective] After having visited all the major cities in the middle area, it was finally time to explore the outer area. The first towns I visited were very similar to Lux. It was mostly pretty quiet, and people went about their day without much trouble. They didn¡¯t live as extravagantly as the people in the major cities, but it was still nice. They had everything they needed, and there was a strong sense of community. It felt nostalgic. Walking around at night in those villages felt so calming; it even made me feel homesick for the first time ever. I could feel that my journey was nearing its end; it was almost time to go home. But not yet! There was still more to see. I visited this one village called Antiqua. Antiqua was a strange one¡­ Unlike everywhere else I¡¯d visited, there were no children running around and playing. There were playgrounds, but they were all overgrown or broken down. It was a fairy large village, bigger than Lux I reckon, but¡­ There were barely any people around. Everywhere else, you¡¯d see people strolling around, or working. Not here. There were no lights on in the houses. There were no people working in the shops. There were barely any people there at all. I stayed for around a day, yet I don¡¯t think I ran into more than a dozen or so people. Strangely enough, the citizens were all old. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Every single one. I remember asking if it was an abandoned village and everyone had moved elsewhere, but they denied it. I asked if there had been an escaped monster from a dungeon that had attacked them, but they denied that too. So many houses, yet so few people¡­ There had to be a reason, but everything I could think of was wrong. The day after, I visited another ¡®strange¡¯ village; Morbus. It seemed normal at first, at least after what I had seen the day before, but I quickly realized something was wrong¡­ There was a man missing a leg whose only mobility aid was a frail stick. There was a woman working at a bakery while clearly having a high fever. There was a kid with a nasty scrape on their knee walking around with no treatment. All of this was shocking enough, but my jaw dropped when I saw their ¡®hospital¡¯. It was just an open field with dozens of people lying on the cold hard ground. From what I saw, none of them were ever treated with anything other than water and torn pieces of cloth. It didn¡¯t even look like the ones who looked after them knew what they were doing. All those sick people, yet no medicine, no doctors, and no healers, to be seen. They deserved so much better¡­ Seeing all that horrible stuff and knowing I couldn¡¯t do anything about it made me feel sick. I couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, and left. I felt like a coward, but I just couldn¡¯t deal with it. I was about to head home right then and there, but on my way back, I ran into another village¡­ Mors¡­ Just moments after entering the village, I could tell something was off. How? The smell¡­ Nowhere I had ever been before had had such a strong and foul smell. No matter where you were, you could smell it. It was impossible to avoid, and it overpowered everything else around. It didn¡¯t take long to find out why¡­ At first, it looked like they had a homelessness crisis there. Everywhere I looked, there were people sleeping on the streets. But I was wrong¡­ There was no homelessness¡­ All those people¡­ They were dead. Their rotting corpses laid around every corner, every alley, and outside every building. In the heart of the village, there was a large pile of bodies. There were mostly just bones and ashes left¡­ It was like an above-ground graveyard. But why were there bodies all around town? Why were they not moved to the large pile with the rest? I never asked why, I simply wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Despite never asking though, I think I know why¡­ To me, it seemed like they simply stopped caring¡­ There were simply too many bodies, so eventually, they stopped bothering to move them. But there was another question that haunted me¡­ The bodies around town looked like they belonged to recently deceased people, so how come there were so many of them? Was there suddenly a massive influx of deaths? Why? The question wouldn¡¯t leave my head, but I had already decided to leave. I just couldn¡¯t take it anymore. My journey had been going so well for so long. It was everything I had ever dreamed of, then suddenly, those last few days had sullied everything that came before. How come there are so many places where people live like this? The middle area had cities with so much wealth my mind was constantly blown. Yet here¡­ I had enough; I had to go home. Back to Isaac and Iris. Back to the only place in the world that might make me forget what I¡¯d seen. Just when I was about to leave Mors, I ran into a man who¡¯d completely change the trajectory of my life. Chapter 201: Greed --- [Gael¡¯s perspective] Just when I was about to leave Mors, I ran into a man who¡¯d completely change the trajectory of my life. Throughout my entire journey, I had always walked, but now, for the first time, I ran. I started running out of the village, and since I was already pretty good at BDM, I ran significantly faster than any normal human could. That man saw me and figured I was a hunter. He instantly caught up to me. ¡°Wait!¡± ¨C ??? He stood in my path, but I just wanted to leave. I ignored him and tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my hand to stop me from leaving. ¡°Are you a hunter?¡± ¨C ??? My mind was in a haze at the time, so I answered only to get him away from me. ¡°No. Now let me go!¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Of course, I just want to ask you one simple question before you leave¡­¡± ¨C ??? ¡°What?¡± ¨C Gael ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re not from around here¡­ Did what you saw here in Mors bother you?¡± ¨C ??? The question took me aback¡­ Of course it bothered me! It would bother anyone! I didn¡¯t know how to answer, so, I didn¡¯t¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Gael ¡°If so, then do you want to do anything about it?¡± ¨C ??? He said it with such conviction, I couldn¡¯t help but take him seriously. He let go of my hand; I was free to leave, but I didn¡¯t. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¨C Gael That was the first time I met him. Xavier Sanguis. I heard him out; I wanted to know if there truly was something I could do to make a difference. ¡°I¡¯ve met many young folks like you¡­ They travel the world, and in doing so, they discover what it¡¯s truly like. Some have a breakdown, some run away, while others try, and fail, to make a difference. You¡¯re no different from them.¡± ¨C Xavier Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He was so blunt, but also completely right. I was about to run away and pretend like what I saw never happened. Ignore all the suffering of those around me so that I can be happy¡­ ¡°If you try to help, you¡¯ll only end up getting yourself killed. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll have to live with that constant nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you could be doing something, but you aren¡¯t, for the rest of your life. Either way, once you know what the world is truly like, things will never be the same ever again.¡± ¨C Xavier I know myself better than anyone, and what he¡¯s saying is true. If I really did just run away, I would never stop thinking about it. I could be out there clearing dungeons with Isaac and Iris, and while they would feel happy that we cleared it before monsters escaped and anyone got hurt, I¡¯d be there knowing people were suffering anyway. If I never went on this journey, if I never saw how horrible the world truly was¡­ ¡°What you¡¯ve seen is merely the tip of the iceberg.¡± ¨C Xavier That sentence has been stuck in my mind since that day. Even after having seen what I saw, I instinctively knew it was true. I went with him, and we continued talking. ¡°There are villages where people resolve themselves to never have children because bringing innocent people into this horrible world will bring them nothing but pain and suffering. There are villages where people are so poor they can¡¯t afford any medical supplies, so they¡¯re forced to live their lives in constant pain. There are villages where starvation is so rampant that the inhabitants drop like flies.¡± ¨C Xavier What he said resonated with me; what I had seen lined up perfectly with what he described. But it¡¯s what he said next that shook me to my core¡­ ¡°This is what happens to those who refuse to sell themselves into slavery. All of these villages get weekly, if not daily, visits from slave traders who offer to solve all their problems. The only catch is that they¡¯ll have to give up their freedom. Many people are desperate enough to accept, but it¡¯s a horrible slippery slope. They never actually permanently solve their issues; it¡¯s always just temporary relief for their constant suffering. Soon enough, they¡¯ll be back for more. Those who refuse their offers have no choice but to deal with the consequences.¡± ¨C Xavier They¡¯re given an impossible choice; become a slave or die. I can¡¯t blame anyone for going with either choice. They¡¯re both equally horrible. Eventually, after we had talked for a while, I asked him why the world was like this. ¡°Have you ever visited any of the large cities in the middle area or Adamas?¡± ¨C Xavier ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Then I¡¯m sure you noticed how extravagant those cities are. There is so much food, most of it is thrown away. There is so much wealth, luxury is a bigger concern than necessities. Anything you could ever want is there. Do you think this is a coincidence? Do you think there just happened to be a lot of wealth concentrated in one part of the world, while the other lives in massive poverty? Of course not! The reason why is simple. Those in power want the world to be like this. By artificially making life worse for those in the outer area, they can take advantage of them by having them become their slaves. There is no better way of increasing your own wealth than having others do free labor. It all goes back to greed, and the man behind it all, is the Emperor. So I ask you again, do you want to make a difference?¡± ¨C Xavier ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Then come with me. I¡¯m part of an organization called The END. Everyone there is working towards the same goal; killing the Emperor, and liberating the people.¡± ¨C Xavier I was supposed to go home, but I couldn¡¯t. Not yet. If I could make a difference, if I could help make sure these people wouldn¡¯t have to live like this, I had to take that opportunity. Our dream since that monster attacked our village was always to become hunters so that we could help people and stop what happened to us from happening to others. Killing monsters to save lives¡­ Slaying the Emperor and liberating the people¡­ It¡¯s all the same, except by joining The END, I could help deal with the bigger evil first. Isaac and Iris could wait, this was more important. Chapter 202: Sacrifice you --- [Gael¡¯s perspective] After joining The END and becoming a Raguelite, I started taking my training more seriously than ever before. They have huge facilities with all equipment you could ever need. There are dozens of experienced hunters who specialize in teaching. Each group is huge; with so many people all training for the exact same purpose, it¡¯s very easy to stay motivated. Additionally, there are countless sparring partners. Be it someone who specializes in speed or strength, someone who is skilled or unskilled, someone who aggressive or defensive, big or small, smart or simple¡­ Any kind of sparring partner imaginable is there for you to train with. But that¡¯s not all¡­ They also have specialty finders¡­ However, I didn¡¯t have access to them at first. Although I was competent at BDM, I was only roughly as strong as a lower end F-rank hunter. Trying to teach someone like that BDM would just be a waste of time in most cases. So instead, they made me train my BDM skills for the first few years I was there. The training was more intense than anything I¡¯d ever done back home, but it was worth it. I was progressing at a much quicker pace than before, and within a year or two, I was already strong enough to be an E-rank hunter. But I didn¡¯t stop there¡­ Since the momentum of my progress was still going strong, I continued my BDM training. After another year or two, I had gotten to the point where I could probably beat most D-rank hunters in a fight, and I hadn¡¯t even learned SDM yet. I thought things would stay like this, but it was around that time when my progress suddenly halted¡­ Before, I could noticeably feel myself getting stronger from week to week. But now, I would sometimes even feel as if I had regressed from month to month. I hit my ¡®wall¡¯. This was about as good at BDM as I¡¯d ever get. Over long periods of time, I could probably make marginal improvements, but nothing substantial. I hit my peak. Usually, you don¡¯t reach your limit as quickly as I did; for most people it happens slowly over time. But my progress was going unnaturally fast due to The END¡¯s intense training regimen, so I also hit my limit equally as fast. It was finally time to learn SDM. At that point, I was more than skilled enough to learn it. I had already been recommended to learn it long ago, so when I finally asked to see a specialty finder, they arranged the meeting on the same day. When I got there, he created some sort of mist. After we both breathed it in, we became temporarily connected to each other. He could see into my soul, and I could see into his. All his deepest thoughts, all his most authentic feelings, all his biggest insecurities, and all his dreams and desires, were on full display. I could see everything. Including his specialty. He didn¡¯t need to explain how it worked, because the moment we were connected, I just knew. The same was true the other way around as well¡­ ¡°Interesting¡­ You don¡¯t have to learn your specialty, you already know it.¡± ¨C Specialty finder Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¨C Gael ¡°You have what is called a ¡®passive specialty¡¯. It¡¯s rare, but it does happen. People with passive specialties have their specialties permanently active since the moment they were born. The same is true for you.¡± ¨C Specialty finder ¡°I see¡­ But¡­ What is it? What does my specialty actually do?¡± ¨C Gael ¡°¡­ You see¡­¡± ¨C Specialty finder There have been a few points in my life that I could consider ¡®turning points¡¯. Moments that have changed the course of my life for the better or the worse. One such moment was when the dungeon monster escaped and wreaked havoc in my hometown. Another important moment was when I decided to leave Isaac and Iris to go on a journey by myself. The third was when I learned the horrible truth of the world, and joined The END. When my ability was explained to me, that was the fourth and final turning point¡­ Honestly, it shouldn¡¯t even be lumped together with those other three; this one was so much more important than anything that came before. Since I found out what my specialty was, my life can only be categorized into two periods of time; before I learned what ability was, and after. ¡°Your specialty allows you to sacrifice others for a permanent boost in power. Essentially, every time you take a life, you get stronger. But it¡¯s not quite as simple as that¡­ How large that boost in power is depends heavily on how much you personally care about the person you kill. If you kill a stranger, the boost will be pretty insignificant. If you kill a family member or close friend, it¡¯ll be enormous¡­¡± ¨C Specialty finder The moment I found out what my specialty is, I knew what had to be done¡­ After learning the truth of the world and how much unnecessary suffering is happening to millions of innocent people every single day, I dedicated myself to stopping it by any means necessary. With only BDM, the limit to how strong I could get was around that of a D-rank hunter. I¡¯m not delusional; a D-ranker could never make a change. I need to get stronger. It¡¯s the only way to make a difference¡­ Isaac and Iris¡­ I care more about them than I do my own life¡­ If I kill them¡­ ¡­ I knew what had to be done the moment I learned what my specialty was, but I couldn¡¯t admit it to myself¡­ The thought was so horrible that I locked it away and tried my best not to think about it. It couldn¡¯t be true. It just couldn¡¯t¡­ But¡­ Every single day, the nagging feeling of knowing I would have to take their lives one day would pester me constantly. Every day that passed where Emperor was allowed to live, was another day where millions would suffer. I couldn¡¯t lie to myself any longer; I had to go through with it¡­ I went back home to Lux, and as expected, they were nowhere to be found. They had long since decided to fulfill their dreams; becoming hunters who¡¯d slay dungeon monsters so that what happened to us wouldn¡¯t happen to anyone else. When they heard of my arrival, they quickly came back. I wanted to tell them everything that had happened, and I wanted them to tell me everything that had happened to them. But knowing what I was about to do, I just couldn¡¯t¡­ The guilt was too much. The thought of acting friendly with the people I was about to kill was so revolting I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it. I was already a sick sick person for going through with it in the first place; I didn¡¯t want to stoop even lower. I genuinely believed that in the end, what I was about to do was the right thing, but that didn¡¯t make myself any less deserving of hell¡­ Regardless of whether or not it¡¯s the right choice¡­. Regardless of whether or not it¡¯ll bring about peace¡­ Regardless of whether or not it¡¯ll ease the suffering of millions¡­ Taking the lives of those you love the most is still evil. I know it is, but unfortunately, it¡¯s a necessary evil¡­ We went to bed, and while it didn¡¯t take long for them to fall asleep, the same couldn¡¯t be said about me. There¡¯s no way I could sleep knowing what I was about to do¡­ Before I came back home, I didn¡¯t have a plan for how or when I would do it. I knew I had to, but that¡¯s it. Any time I tried putting any thought into the specifics, I¡¯d feel nauseous and unable to come up with anything. In that moment when I saw them sleeping there so peacefully, I knew¡­ I knew how it had to be done. The first sacrifice would be Iris. Why her? Because she was closest¡­ I love them both equally; there could never be any reason other than a practical one for who would be the first victim. While she was still unconscious, I slit her throat so deeply she¡¯d instantly die without waking up. Even though she had to die, she didn¡¯t have to suffer¡­ That¡¯s when reality hit me¡­ I just killed Iris. I just killed Iris. I just killed Iris¡­ That wonderful person who had been nothing but great to me my entire life was dead. I would never get to hear her laugh again. I would never get to see her smile. All her dreams were gone. Everything she had spent her life working towards was for nothing. She was dead¡­ I was supposed to kill both of them, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn¡¯t. Isaac was all I had left, I couldn¡¯t kill him too¡­ I stood there for the rest of the night, trying desperately to convince myself to do it, but I just didn¡¯t have it in me. Iris could at least go peacefully without suffering, but due to my cowardice, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Isaac. He¡¯d wake up to Iris lying dead right next to him, knowing I was the one who did it. He¡¯d have to live without the person he cared for the most for the rest of his life, all while knowing the one who did it was the other person he loved the most. He didn¡¯t deserve any of it, but I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to kill him too¡­ I tried my best to do it for the rest of the night, but after he woke up, I knew it was too late, and I ran away. Shortly after this, the most vile and disgusting thought I¡¯d ever had entered my mind¡­ Due to all the despair and suffering I caused Isaac, I could feel myself caring more and more for him than ever before. The empathy I felt for him and what he was going through was killing me, but it just led me to the most awful conclusion¡­ Not killing Isaac, and instead making him suffer, was good. My specialty makes me stronger when I kill people; the more I care for them, the stronger I get. After making Isaac go through hell, I now care for him more than I ever thought was possible¡­ Killing Iris instantly made me as strong as the strongest C-rankers in the world; maybe even borderline B-rank. I can¡¯t even imagine how strong I¡¯d get if I kill Isaac now¡­ Chapter 203: Sacrifice me --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] ¡°Enough.¡± ¨C Gael ¡­ What the hell?! He¡­ He didn¡¯t take any damage¡­ ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ It¡¯s over, Isaac.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°The hell it is!¡± ¨C Isaac I try hitting him again, but he easily catches my fist. It¡¯s stuck! I use all the power I can muster to try to free my hand, but his grip is too strong. ¡°I could end the fight in the blink of an eye if I wanted to. You fucked up Isaac¡­ You really shouldn¡¯t have looked for me.¡± ¨C Gael Again, I try my best to pull my arm back, but it¡¯s pointless. Suddenly, he lets go and I trip and fall. Just as I¡¯m about to get up, he shoves his boot into my chest, pinning me to the ground. Ghh! It¡¯s hard to breathe! I try pushing his leg away, but it won¡¯t budge. Genuinely, how did he get this strong¡­? Back before he left on his journey, we were all equals. Our progress had always been exactly the same, just like everything else in our lives. But now, he has completely left me behind¡­ I can¡¯t even put a scratch on him¡­ How the hell am I supposed to kill someone like that?! No¡­ Don¡¯t think like that! He¡¯s mortal just like everyone else. With my specialty, I can overcome anything! If this is my final fight, I think¡­ I think I¡¯d be okay with that. To hell with temporary sacrifices; it¡¯s time to fight for real! First, I need the power to get him off of me. I¡¯ll permanently sacrifice my hair, and the ability to breathe through my nose. Suddenly, my hair falls out and my nose feels completely blocked. This power! I¡¯ve never done a permanent sacrifice before, but my god! This is far beyond anything I¡¯ve ever experienced! I grab his ankle, and using every ounce of strength in my body, I manage to slide his foot off my chest. I stand up, and as soon as I do, I feel my strength leaving my body¡­ It¡¯s gone¡­ The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Two permanent sacrifices just to move his foot¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m making it out of this one¡­ ¡°What was that?¡± ¨C Gael ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°For a moment there, your power suddenly spiked. Were you always that strong?¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Mark my words¡­ This fight won¡¯t end the way you think it will.¡± ¨C Isaac I need even more power than before¡­ Those sacrifices barely made me strong enough to move him a little; that¡¯s nowhere near enough to seriously hurt him. The more valuable the thing is, the more power I get from sacrificing it. Let¡¯s sacrifice something more valuable! If he ever figures out what my ability does, he could just try to take me out in the downtime between sacrifices. Him finding out would be a disaster¡­ Meaning keeping it to myself is extremely valuable! I¡¯ll permanently sacrifice the ability to keep my specialty a secret; if anyone ever asks me what it is, I¡¯ll be forced to answer against my will. !! Holy shit! As soon as my specialty activated, the surge of power hit me like a bolt of lightning. I feel like I can do anything! I charge forward and unleash a straight right with all my might. He puts up his guard and blocks; he doesn¡¯t appear to take any significant damage. Come on, more! I throw another punch, then another, then another¡­ I can¡¯t break through his guard! I throw one last punch, but right before it lands, the power boost runs out and I¡¯m back to my regular self. ¡°¡­ Why was that punch so weak?¡± ¨C Gael He¡¯s so close to asking about my specialty, I can¡¯t let that happen! Quick, make another sacrifice to shut him up! Without thinking, I permanently sacrifice the ability to chew solid food. I quickly rush in and throw a barrage of attacks from every direction. I need to keep the pressure up to stop him from talking! Suddenly, he grabs me and slams into the ground. ¡°GUAHH!¡± ¨C Isaac I cough up blood and almost pass out from the impact. Had he done that when I didn¡¯t have my power boost, I would have been crushed¡­ And just like that, it runs out¡­ ¡°Isaac!¡± ¨C Alex On instinct, he starts running over to me. Leanne quickly stops him. ¡°Alex, you can¡¯t interfere!¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Alex He calms down. ¡°Thanks¡­ I wasn¡¯t thinking straight¡­¡± ¨C Alex Despite having agreed beforehand that he wouldn¡¯t interfere no matter what happened, he almost did it. He¡¯s a good guy. ¡°How come you¡¯re sometimes strong, and sometimes weak? Is that connected to your specialty?¡± ¨C Gael Shit! He asked¡­ I try to, but I¡¯m completely unable to contain the words; he¡¯ll find out everything¡­ ¡°My specialty lets me temporarily or permanently sacrifice any part of myself, whether physical or mental, for a temporary power boost. The more I value the thing being sacrificed, the bigger the boost. The same goes for choosing to sacrifice something permanently rather than temporarily.¡± ¨C Isaac Well, now he knows¡­ He¡¯ll be able to strategize around my specialty now; yet another massive disadvantage for me¡­ On the bright side, I don¡¯t have to worry about him finding out anymore. I can put all my focus into winning! ¡°Is that so¡­? That¡¯s¡­ Almost creepy.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Creepy? How so?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°It¡¯s creepy how eerily similar our specialties are. You¡¯re an innocent and kind man, and my most beloved friend. I¡¯m a killer. If our specialties are that similar, then that could only mean the shape of our souls must be incredibly similar too. Does that mean if you were in my position, you¡¯d make the same choices as me¡­? If that¡¯s true, then that¡¯s a comforting thought¡­¡± ¨C Gael How dare he compare us¡­! We¡¯re nothing alike! No matter what happened to him, no matter what he saw, no matter what he experienced, if I had been in his shoes, I would never have killed Iris. Never¡­ I know that; there¡¯s no need for me to waste my time even thinking about it. As long as I can defeat him, nothing else matters, so focus on that! Let¡¯s see¡­ He said our specialties were similar¡­ If he was intent on keeping it a secret, he¡¯d never have revealed that. It¡¯s possible that he¡¯ll tell me what it is if I ask. If he does, that would even out the match significantly! ¡°Our specialties are similar? How so?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I can ¡®sacrifice¡¯ others for a permanent power boost. The more I personally care about them, the bigger the boost is.¡± ¨C Gael ¡­ So he took Iris¡¯ life just for that?! Just to make himself a little stronger?! That¡¯s even worse of a reason than I thought¡­ He truly is evil¡­ But¡­ If that¡¯s true, why didn¡¯t he also kill me? He was willing to kill Iris to make himself stronger, but not me? It doesn¡¯t add up; there must be something I¡¯m missing. ¡°Why did you let me live then? Why Iris, and not me?!¡± ¨C Isaac He looks down at the ground for a few seconds before answering¡­ Is he looking for the right words? Does he even know why himself? ¡°All these years, I¡¯ve been living with an unimaginable amount of guilt. I killed my best friend, and ruined the life of my other one. I can¡¯t even imagine what it must have been like for you¡­ To go from having everything, to losing it all. And for it to be done by my hand no less¡­ Every single day, all I can think about is how to make things right. How to fix things. You¡¯re the only person left in the world that I truly love, and I ruined your life¡­ I guess what I¡¯m trying to say is¡­¡± ¨C Gael He takes a deep breath. ¡°I now value you more than ever before.¡± ¨C Gael ¡­ Has he¡­? ¡°I know you understand what that means. If I were to kill you now, the power I¡¯d get would be on an entirely different level altogether. Maybe¡­ Maybe it¡¯s finally time to cash in¡­¡± ¨C Gael Chapter 204: Sacrifice her --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] Up until now, he hasn¡¯t been fighting even remotely seriously. He could have ended the fight whenever he wanted, and the only time I could stand up to him even a little bit was when I made big permanent sacrifices. It sounds like he¡¯s finally about to fight seriously¡­ He also knows about my specialty now. The moment the boost runs out, I¡¯m dead. I need to make sure that doesn¡¯t happen. ¡°Goodbye, Isaac.¡± ¨C Gael As soon as he says that, I permanently sacrifice my ability to count past 10. Suddenly, he rushes in and hits me in the chest. I¡¯m blown back, but the boost is enough to let me live. He doesn¡¯t stop and instead rushes in again to follow up with another attack. He grabs my arm to stop me, then immediately hits me in the stomach. To make sure I don¡¯t go flying again, he doesn¡¯t let go of my arm. That punch hurt even more than his last; the boost is about to run out¡­ Before it does, I permanently sacrifice my ability to have children. He tries hitting me again, but I manage to block the attack with my other arm before it can deal any significant damage. At the same time, I pull my arm out of his grasp. I try hitting him, but he parries the attack with ease. The boost is running out again¡­ He throws another punch, but just before it connects, I permanently sacrifice the vision in my left eye, gaining just enough power to not suffer significant harm. I quickly retaliate with a kick to the side, completely ignoring the damage I just took. I don¡¯t care what happens to me, I just need to take him down! The kick makes him flinch, and I take advantage of that by throwing a punch straight to his face. It missed¡­ My sense of depth is all screwed up after that last sacrifice¡­ But the show must go on! The boost will run out again, I need to refresh it. I permanently sacrifice the ability to move my left arm. It immediately goes limp, and all the pain I felt in my broken fingers goes away. I rush in and grab the back of his head, then slam his face into my knee as I jump up with everything I¡¯ve got. Before I know it, he has wrapped his arms around my body. He slams me down into the ground, and intense and sharp pain shoots through my spine. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°GHAUHA!!¡± ¨C Isaac His face¡­ It¡¯s completely unharmed. The knee to his face didn¡¯t even make him bleed from his nose. How¡­ He lifts his foot up and prepares to stomp me. In real time, I can see his movements accelerating; the boost is running out again! This is so annoying! But I have no choice; it¡¯s the only way I can even remotely compete with him. Before his foot reaches me, I permanently sacrifice the extended lifespan you get from using BDM, then roll away. I grab his ankle, then yank it forward as hard as I can, making him lose balance and fall. I quickly get on top of him then repeatedly hit him in the face with every ounce of power in my body. It¡¯s not enough, I need more! While my previous sacrifice is still active, I permanently sacrifice my ability to naturally heal. I clench my fist, grit my teeth, then¡­! No, not yet! I need more! I permanently sacrifice the ability to move my left leg. More! I permanently sacrifice my sense of smell, the hearing in my left ear, the ability to sleep more than one hour at a time, and every physical sensation other than pain! The power is so intense it feels like I¡¯m about to explode! I clench my fist so hard my arm starts violently shaking, and my nails dig into my palm, before letting it all go and slamming it directly into his face. ¡°DIEEE!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Gael Is it¡­ Is it over? ¡­ Suddenly, he pushes me off of him. His nose is bleeding¡­ What a cruel joke. ¡°That hurt.¡± ¨C Gael How¡­ How is he still alive?! I thought I was roughly on par with him after a single significant permanent sacrifice, and now I did half a dozen¡­ Was he always that strong? Was he really holding back by that much, even after he decided he¡¯d kill me? ¡­ I never even stood a chance¡­ I¡¯m sorry Iris, I failed¡­ I couldn¡¯t kill him¡­ I¡¯m sorry! --- 16 years ago ¡°Ahhh! So cold!¡± ¨C Iris ¡°We told you it would be cold! Why would you jump into the pond in the middle of January?!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Seriously¡­ Are you crazy?!¡± ¨C Gael ¡°Oh, come on! It¡¯s not that big a deal! Join me!¡± ¨C Iris ¡°What?!¡± ¨C Gael ¡°No way!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Aww¡­¡± ¨C Iris --- 12 years ago ¡°Gael¡­ Could I copy your homework? I forgot to do mine! Sorry!¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t care.¡± ¨C Gael ¡°No way! You need to do it yourself; it¡¯s the only way you¡¯ll learn the material!¡± ¨C Iris --- The present What are these memories¡­? Is this what happens when you know you¡¯re about to die? Your life flashes before you, and you remember all the tiny moments throughout your life you thought you had forgotten? ¡­ I don¡¯t want to die¡­ Not¡­ Not before I beat him at least! I don¡¯t care what it takes; for Iris¡¯ sake, I¡¯ll even make the ultimate sacrifice if it means winning. --- 3 years ago ¡°Isaac¡­¡± ¨C Iris ¡°Hm?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Do you ever think about Gael¡­?¡± ¨C Iris ¡°¡­ Of course¡­ How could I not?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I¡­ I just want to know if he¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t need him to come back, he has his own life and I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a good reason for why he hasn¡¯t returned, but¡­ But I just need to know that he¡¯s safe! Every single day¡­ It¡¯s the only thing I can think about¡­ I ju-¡± ¨C Iris ¡°Iris! He¡¯s dead¡­ You need to accept it already! I miss him just as much as you do, so I understand, but¡­ You can¡¯t continue living like this! Wondering whether or not he¡¯s still alive causes you nothing but pain and suffering. If he truly was still alive, you know he wouldn¡¯t want you to hurt like that.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Iris --- The present The ultimate sacrifice, huh¡­ I really have no other choice¡­ Wow¡­ I tried so hard to use everything else at my disposal, but it wasn¡¯t enough. To overcome a gap like this, nothing else could ever do it. The ultimate sacrifice¡­ The thing I value the most¡­ Iris¡­ Tears start swelling up in my eyes, making it even harder to see properly. I¡¯ll permanently sacrifice Iris. Every memory we¡¯ve made together. Every moment we¡¯ve spent with each other. The joy of knowing you, and the agony of losing you. The impact you¡¯ve had on my life is immeasurable; who knows what I¡¯ll become when this is over¡­ But¡­! Every waking moment of my life since I lost you has all been for this. This is it; this is when I finally set things right¡­ The power¡­ I can¡¯t feel it¡­ Did it not work, or¡­? He picks me up by the throat. ¡°For real this time¡­ Goodbye. I promise I won¡¯t let your sacrifice go to waste.¡± ¨C Gael He squeezes as hard as he can, but I can barely even feel it. I can breathe just fine¡­ While trying to make him let go, I grab his wrist. But¡­! The moment I touch it, I completely pulverize it. It worked; the power is there. But why can¡¯t I feel it? Is it simply so much that my body can¡¯t comprehend it? ¡°GUAAAOHH!! What the-?!¡± ¨C Gael I reach out to him, and put my palm on his chest. ¡°Goodbye, Ga- G- ¡­¡± ¨C Isaac What¡¯s his name again¡­? I push my hand forward, and it passes through his chest as easily as it goes through air. His heart is gone. Most of his left lung is gone. ¡°Isaac¡­¡± ¨C Gael My name is his final word¡­ His body tips backwards, and he lands on the grass below. He¡¯s dead. It¡¯s over¡­ But¡­ ¡­ Who was he? Why did I want to kill him again? Chapter 205: The aftermath… --- [Isaac¡¯s perspective] My hair is gone. I can only breathe through my mouth. I can¡¯t see through my left eye, or hear from my left ear. I can¡¯t feel or move my left arm and leg. My sense of smell is gone. But worse than all of that, the only thing I feel is the aching from all the bruises I got during the fight. I can¡¯t feel the grass I stand on, the breeze blowing against my skin, or even an annoying itch on a spot I can¡¯t reach. Just pain¡­ That¡¯s not even accounting for the half-dozen other permanent sacrifices I made¡­ And what for?! I don¡¯t even know who I was fighting, or why¡­ Did I sacrifice those memories, or were it part of his abilities somehow? Either way, my life will never be the same again. I¡¯m permanently disabled both mentally and physically; I hope it was worth it, because it sure as hell doesn¡¯t seem like it¡­ Alex runs up to me and gives me a hug. ¡°You did it! You really did it!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨C Isaac He¡¯s so excited for me, but why? What¡¯s there to be excited for? I took the life of some random man I don¡¯t even remember, and all it took was my physical and mental well-being?! Fuck that! ¡°Now you can finally go back to being a regular hunter and save lives! Just like you always dreamed of!¡± ¨C Alex ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Isaac I don¡¯t even remember ever wanting that¡­ Who even am I¡­? I feel like my life itself is all scrambled. What was my childhood like? Who are my friends? What do I desire? I don¡¯t know¡­ I can only recall bits and pieces of my life; none of it makes any sense. I feel so¡­ Lost¡­ I want to go back, back to whoever I was before. No matter how terrible it may have been, it can¡¯t have been worse than this¡­ I try to take a step forward, but with only one functioning leg, it¡¯s almost impossible, so I slip and fall on the wet grass. ¡°Are you okay?!¡± ¨C Alex The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Alex¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Yeah?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Please, can you just help me get home¡­¡± ¨C Isaac He looks over at Leanne and waves her over. ¡°Of course.¡± ¨C Alex He sees that I can¡¯t move my leg, and so he wraps his arm around me and helps me get up. Leanne waves her hand and a wagon of stone appears. He helps me get onto it, then grabs it. ¡°Lux, yeah? I haven¡¯t been there before, so you¡¯ll need to guide me there.¡± ¨C Alex ¡°Sure¡­¡± ¨C Isaac Do I even remember the way there¡­? I¡­ I think I do, but¡­ ¡°Move.¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Hm?¡± ¨C Alex ¡°I know the way, and I¡¯m much faster than you. I¡¯ll take him home.¡± ¨C Leanne --- Back in Lux, right outside my parents¡¯ house She helps me out of the wagon, then creates a stone cane out of thin air. ¡°Take this.¡± ¨C Leanne She tries to hand it to me, but my left arm is paralyzed as well, and there¡¯s no point in using it with my right. ¡°My left arm, it¡¯s¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°I see. What about this then¡­!¡± ¨C Leanne She raises her hand, and a stone wheelchair comes out of the ground. ¡°That¡¯s better!¡± ¨C Leanne She helps me get into it, then the wagon and the cane suddenly disappear. ¡°Now listen, when I next go to sleep, that wheelchair will disappear, so you¡¯ll have to find a real one sooner rather than later. Okay?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Sure¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Alright! You may not have known Alex for long, but he cares about you a lot. Make sure to visit him every now and then, okay?¡± ¨C Leanne ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be off then!¡± ¨C Leanne Before I even get to say goodbye, she¡¯s already gone. I remember Alex¡¯s name because we were in an exam together, and we fought at the battle festival, but that¡¯s about it¡­ She¡¯s acting like we¡¯ve bonded over some shared trauma or whatever, but that never happened. Or did I just forget that too¡­? I roll up to my parents¡¯ house. Or at least I think, this is where my parents live¡­ I have some vague memories of living in some of the nearby houses as well¡­ I guess I¡¯ll knock in case it¡¯s the wrong house. ¡°Coming!¡± ¨C ??? I hear a woman¡¯s voice, but I¡¯m not sure I recognize it or not¡­ She opens the door and¡­! It¡¯s my mother! I remember her¡­ ¡°Oh my god! What happened?!¡± ¨C Mother Right¡­ I probably wasn¡¯t in a wheelchair last time we spoke¡­ I hear a voice from inside the house. ¡°Who there, honey?¡± ¨C Father ¡°It¡¯s Isaac! But he¡¯s¡­¡± ¨C Mother He rushes to the door as soon as he hears my name. ¡°Son, what happened?! Are you okay?¡± ¨C Father ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Come on in, we were just about to eat dinner.¡± ¨C Mother --- Half an hour later, just after dinner I¡¯m hungry¡­ We had soup, but I had to spit out all the solid bits. When I tried chewing, I physically just could not make myself do it¡­ That must be another thing I permanently sacrificed¡­ I¡¯m sure her cooking is great, but with my sense of smell gone too, it tasted bland¡­ ¡°You said you¡¯d explain after dinner, so please, tell us what happened.¡± ¨C Mother ¡°Honestly, there isn¡¯t much to tell. I fought some guy, I don¡¯t even know who he is, and I ended up giving up everything to defeat him. My quality of life will never be what it once was, and I¡¯ll never truly know why I did it.¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Why not?¡± ¨C Mother ¡°Because I¡ªor at least I think it was me who did it¡ªpermanently sacrificed large swaths of my memories. Whoever I was before is dead. I don¡¯t remember who I fought, I don¡¯t remember why I was so desperate to win, I don¡¯t remember anything¡­ I barely even remember you two¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Oh, Isaac¡­ Dear¡­¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Could it have been¡­?¡± ¨C Father He looks at mom. ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¨C Mother What are they talking about? Do they know something? ¡°What?¡± ¨C Isaac ¡°Do you remember Gael and Iris?¡± ¨C Father Gael and Iris? I¡­ I don¡¯t think so; it doesn¡¯t ring a bell. ¡°No.¡± ¨C Isaac As soon as she hears that, my mother lets out a whimper and tears immediately stream down her face. Were they important to me somehow? Is that why she¡¯s crying? ¡°Since birth, you three were always close. You were best friends, and seemingly nothing could separate you. One day, Gael left on a journey all by himself, and he was gone for so long we all thought he was dead. When he eventually came back, he had changed¡­ He murdered poor Iris in her sleep, and since then, you promised to get revenge on him no matter what it took.¡± ¨C Father ¡°His betrayal made a wound so deep in your heart that you were willing to do anything make things right, even if it cost you your own life. Of course, we never approved; the last thing we¡¯d want was for you to get hurt as well. But it¡¯s not like we could ever stop you¡­ The person you fought was probably him, and if you really did kill him, like you said you did, then you won. You accomplished your goal¡­¡± ¨C Mother So I did it for this Iris girl? I fucked myself over for life for a dead woman? I¡¯m so fucking stupid. If she really cared for me, I doubt she¡¯d want me to go through with it if this is what it would take. If this is what I¡¯d end up like¡­ And for God¡¯s sake, I can¡¯t even remember her! All the memories we made together are gone. It¡¯s like she never even existed. How the hell is that honoring her? How the hell is that ¡®making things right¡¯?! I¡¯m so fucking stupid! I could have lived my life to the fullest and honored her by remembering her, by telling others funny stories about her, or by writing about her so that she wouldn¡¯t be forgotten when I one day die. But no¡­ Instead, I erased her and ruined my life¡­ I¡¯m so fucking stupid¡­