" Hey guys, I sense some presence ahead. "

" Let's go. They should be the four people who are training here from that so-called Grandmaster Zither's group. "

...

Athan was still comprehending the next level order of Force of Glittering River, but he suddenly opened his eyes as he sensed something. He got the call from Ayurin two hours ago about additional people entering but didn't expect to meet them so soon.

" Sen, Tealery and, Arcued. Pause for a bit as we have some guests here. "

Hearing Athan's voice, They paused their training and gathered around Athan while looking in the north direction.

A group of eight people was approaching them on foot.

Kazia was in the lead with the red skin and horn man as they seemed to act as group leaders.

Their group stopped five meters away from Athan and others, and one of them laughed loudly, " Hahaha. Only one of them has a peak-stage Tier-3 order base, and we were told that we would lose if we fight them? What a joke. "

Kazia stepped forward with a serious expression and spoke, " Before coming in here, We were a bit insulted and doubted of our strength. For our own satisfaction, We desire a one versus one battle with you. Do you dare to accept this challenge? "

" Hehehe. Of course, we dare to accept. But why such stiff expression? Relax a bit. " Sen spoke with a chuckle after seeing Kazia's serious expression.

But Tealery feined a startled expression and spoke, " What are you saying Sen? She is a tree-girl, so obviously she would have a stiff expression on her face. "

" Pfff..." Arcued couldn't contain his laugher hearing that, and even Athan could help but shake his head with a faint smile.

Kazia's face turned stiff, but even the group of her people found it funny as they tried to hold back their laughter.

Athan observed Kazia's expression to check if she will get pissed off by such a small thing, but she just took a deep breath and asked, " Who will come to fight from your side? "

" You go first, Arcued. Go all out, and don't worry about injuries. Even if your limbs are cut off, I will heal them. " Athan spoke with a carefree smile as he looked at Arcued.

' Damn...Instead of caring for my wellbeing, you are displaying a carefree smile while talking about my limbs cutting off? '

Arcued was speechless and shrank his neck timidly, " I am the weakest and...honestly, I-I don't think I'll win. "

From the group of eight, The one with red skin and horns snorted, looking at Aruced, " Humph, A coward. How did you even manage to become a winner in the tournament? "

Sen looked surprised and asked, " Are all eight of your also winner in the tournament and picked the opportunity of Chaos Monolith Hills? "

" Of course. Honestly, You all don't look that impressive. Especially, That pretty boy. "

" Hehehe, We heard there's a mad devil here? But none of you resemble even close to that. "

Hearing them speak, Sen, Tealery, and Arcued looked at Athan, ' Well...There is indeed one here, but you can't judge a book by its cover. '

" Go Arcued. Do you want to let them mock you like this? Is this all that amounted to your pride? You are going to lose at most, not die. So, go all out and fight. "

Hearing what Athan said, Arcued gulped and thought, ' That's right. I swore after returning that I will strive to become like Athan. You can do it, Arcued. Some pain needs to be endured to become strong.'

He then took a deep breath and walked forward with a solemn expression, " Who will fight me? "

Kazai spoke with an indifferent expression, " Opak, You go. You are also the weakest of our group. "

Opak was a mid-stage master order elite since his order base was mid-stage Tier-3...Just like Arcued. So, order-base-wise, They were equal.

A buffy man with a bald head and dark green scaly body stepped out from the group. He also had a tail, and his eyes were vertical.

Suddenly, Athan spoke with a grin, " Why don't we make it more enjoyable and thrilling? You two...go in that chaotic Geyser area and fight there. If you are not careful, you might die, but not if you constantly cover yourself with defense technique and order force. This way, You will reveal your management of energy control and other expertise. "

Arcued's widened as he thought, ' Dear devil, Why are you making things difficult for me? '

Others were surprised at this proposal as Kazia asked Opal, " What do you say, Opak? Are you up for that challenge? "

Opak looked at the geyser area that sprouted watery snakes with red sparks and long antennas every few seconds. He revealed some hesitation for a few moments, but then he turned determined, ' This challenge came from the other party. We can't afford to reject it if we want to prove that we are superior to them. '

Thinking of that, He nodded at Athan, " No problem but..." pausing there, he sneered at Arcued, " Why don't you ask your own teammate? "

Athan smiled and didn't even look at Arcued before saying, " No need. Now go and start fighting without wasting time. "

He proposed fighting that area for this reason as well: Time-saving. They will run out of gas faster if they fight in that area and also have to finish the battle fast.

Arcued sigh, but he accepted and also determined, ' You can do it, me. I should be confident of my own ability even if I am not a genius. I will show them the worth and resolve of an average person. '

Both of them jumped into the middle of the chaotic geyser area and covered themselves in a barrier of order force.

They stood ten meters apart from each other.

Arcued took the initiative as he dashed forward with his claws weapons.

On the other hand, Opak took out a staff with a blue stone that had green patterns on it before waving in forward to release an order technique.

" Organto Aqvine. "

Two thick and whirling water vines materialized before they shot towards incoming Arcued.

Arcued put his hands in crossed shape in front of him as he used defensive body order technique, " Crimson Shield. "

Thick blood came out from the pores of his hands before forming into a round shield with black patterns.

Though at the same time, Two chaotic snakes attack Arcued from behind him, while Opak was also assaulted by a chaotic snake that came out from a geyser hole near him.

Arcued tensed up, but he ignored the snakes after strengthening the part of the barrier on his back.

Seeing this, Athan shook his head and spoke, " He shouldn't have wasted his order force to strengthen that barrier. At most, He will be only slightly injured, and that injury won't affect him much as long as he can endure the pain. "

Although Opak also slightly strengthened his barrier even though there was only one chaotic power snake attacking him.

" Both are a lost cause. " Kazia shook her head and commented.

Athan looked at her and asked, " What would you have done if two snakes attacked you? "

Kazia looked at chaotic watery red snakes and sensed their power before saying indifferently, " I wouldn't strenthen the barrier and choose to ignore the injuries and pain since we have to conserve order force to block more powerful attacks from the opponent. "

Hearing that, Tealery chimed in with a chuckle, " Though Athan wouldn't put an order force barrier in the first place. "

" Hehehe, True. " Sen giggled and nodded in agreement with Tealery.

...

After Arched blocked both attacks, He released his order technique while dashing, " Blood Sun Cross. "

He slashed his claws in the air as two cross projectiles of hot blood with dark orange sparks shot towards Opak with great speed.

Opak turned serious as he had no time to dodge this fast strike and hurriedly used his defense order technique by slamming his staff on the ground while instantly channeling order force in it, " Sprouted Wall. "

A bluish-green vine wall sprouted from the ground to block the attack, but he knew that Arcued had also reached him, and he would soon attack him, ' Hehehe. I'll set up a trap. He will either come from the front after breaking the wall or most likely from the sky. '

He channeled more power into the staff as he executed another order technique.

But Arcued noticed that the wall also blocked the sight of Opak of him and suddenly had an idea, ' That technique...Although I only learned it to its beginner level, It should be helpful here. '

Arcued had reached Opak's wall as his Blood Sun Cross failed to break past the defense, and instead of jumping up, which was his plan at first, He abruptly stopped and used an order technique, ' Underground Earthflowers. '

Instantly, Below the ground of Opak, Several earth flowers of metal grey colors released and bloomed before released sharp shards.

Right after that, Arcued Jumped up to attack from above after Opak panicked seeing the Underground Earthflower attack.

But when he realized that this attack was not that powerful, It was too late as he saw Arcued jumping upon him with sharp shining claws.

Though at this moment, Three chaotic watery red snakes attacked Arcued from behind him.

Seeing that, Opak was ecstatic, and instead of preparing the defense order technique as he first intended, He released an attack order technique.

Arcued panicked and cursed his bad, ' DAMN! Why at this time? What should I do? I don't want to lose. I really don't want to lose! '

Out of the corner of his eyes, He saw a glimpse of Athan's calm face, and in that short period of a single instance, He remembered his adventure with him in the tournament and how ruthless he acted towards both him and his enemies.

' Two seconds. Opak's attack will hit me in one second, and the snakes will hit me in one second. FUCK! I'll do it. If Athan can endure pain, then I can too. '

He didn't have time to turn around or anything since he was mid-air. Two snakes were behind him, and he needed to get close to Opak before two seconds, or He will release his order technique.

Taking that into consideration, He released his weakest body order technique that he learned at his earliest, " Gust Force. "

Gust Force released from his hand, and since his hand was in front of him, He was pushed back and hit the snakes earlier before instantly shooting downward at a faster speed.

" Arghhhh...." A shout of pain released from his mouth, but his resolve didn't diminish as he used the ability of his 3-star claws.

The claws shined as they became sharper and materialized countless small swirling needles and pierced the chest of Opak while the claws penetrated the stomach of Opak.