MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

A fairly large arena buzzed with chatter, as close to two hundred individuals sat in the stands, some focused on one of the two entrances while others chattered in fervor about the incoming battle.

At the forefront of the stands, a duo could be seen standing. A tall female adorned in silky white robes with a veil covering her face only revealing her icy blue eyes, which were fixated on the entrance on the right side.

By her side stood a younger girl with a petite physique yet a face with alluring beauty.

"Senior Sister, I know that Master Aeon is admirable with his sword skills, but why would he accept a battle of pure strength to the death with the Ogryn brothers, where he can't use any of his gifts besides physical strength."

"I understand that he is very strong, but surely he cannot be stronger than those two ugly brutes," The younger girl said, her voice filled with worry.

"Qin, I told you many times to stop doubting me, and doubting my love is worse than doubting me, so get your head straight before you make me angry," The beauty spoke, in a quiet yet cold tone, her eyes not leaving the entrance even for a moment.

At the forefront of the left entrance, twenty individuals, ten on each side, pulled out large drums and began to create a symphony as they sang a war hymn.

The show went on for close to a minute before they began to slow down, and their war symphony began to deepen before finally, a beastly roar tore through the war symphony as two giants walked through the left entrance, their mouths open wide, with veins on their necks bulging as they screamed their lungs out.

The Ogryn brothers were four-meter-tall giants of pure muscle, their refined and chiseled frames left exposed.

Their upper bodies lay bare, showing hundreds of small and large scars covering their mountain-like frames, and despite their identical height and appearance, there was a clear difference between them.

One of the brothers was less muscular, appearing lanky compared to the other hulking giant, yet in no way was he small.

The other difference was the scars, as the bulkier one barely had any part, including his face not covered in cuts or wounds from old battle, while the lankier brother had much fewer scars in comparison.

The Ogryn brothers stood before the entrance with their arms raised wide smiles stretched across their faces as they bathed in the cheers of the audience.

"Clowns"

"Senior Brother is coming," The young girl said with a mix of excitement and worry as she shifted her focus to the entrance on the right side.

Aeon walked out, a man adorned in pitch-dark robes with a pristine white badge shaped like a shooting star attached to his chest, five smaller crystals surrounding the main larger crystal.

Aeon's face carried no emotions, his abyss-like eyes calmly staring at the hulking duo in the distance, making barbaric noises as they flexed their muscles for the audience.

"My love, show them why you are unmatched in the entire sect," The veiled beauty cheered, her sweet voice cutting through the chaos.

Aeon's entrance was welcomed with many cheers, with the loudest being the beauty behind the veil, and as the crowd's energy shifted, tension thickened the air.

"Both parties know the rules, so follow them, and I will not need to intervene," A calm voice sounded, as a handsome figure appeared out of thin air in the sky, adorned in a similar dark robe but one with seven stars.

The muscular Ogryn brother walked forward while the other one slowly began to circle, approaching Aeon from the side.

"They all think we challenged you because we are jealous of your rank being higher than ours or because you are being courted by Lady Yue Xiuying," The hulking Ogryn said, his voice hoarse and breaking.

"It's none of that."

"We challenged you because of your record-tying score in the trial of strength, and while we have not agreed to it, if we brothers win, we want to learn how you grow your strength to that level," The Ogryn said before he charged toward Alex, the solid ground cracking under his heavy strides.

Once the Ogryn was only a few meters away from Aeon, he swung his hammer-like fist on the ground, sending a shockwave that shook the entire arena.

Aeon remained motionless, not even flinching as the lanky Ogryn appeared behind him and caught him in a bear hug, while the other Ogryn bent backward, the muscles in his right arm clenching and bulging as he prepared to throw a powerful punch.

Aeon shrugged his shoulder to break out of the iron hug of the Ogryn before spinning around and throwing a punch fueled by pure strength and nothing else.

As his fist connected with the massive chest of the Ogryn, it created a sound like a pulse going off, only to be drowned out by the tearing of flesh and bone as his fist tore through it.

There was sudden silence accompanied by gasps of shock as the audience saw how easily Aeon had dealt with the Ogryn, but none was more surprised than the Ogryn himself, who had his heart destroyed before he could even react to it.

The hulking Ogryn, seeing his brother at death's door, moved forward, his massive form blurring as he appeared before Aeon in an instant. Without a moment's delay, he swung his fist with such speed and strength that it created a sound similar to a pulse cannon going off.

There was a massive explosion that shook the entire arena, generating a cloud of dust and rubble. When it settled, it revealed Aeon standing with his right foot planted over the arm of the Ogryn, who was drowning in his own blood.

The Ogryn's head was gone, splattered on the floor in a flurry of blood, bone, and brain matter, while his headless torso spewed torrents of crimson blood like a fountain.

Aeon, drenched in the blood of the two Ogryn, curved down to pick up the two law tokens from the bloodied floor, left behind by the two who were already taken to the void to be healed.

------------

While Aeon was growing inside the Starfall Sword Sect, at the same time inside the icy caves of the death tundra located within the Magi Empire, stood a man 6.6 feet tall, his physique muscular yet much more suited for an assassin or a mage with some decent strength.

The man wore a plain, dark, faceless mask with no slits for eyes or mouth, while he was adorned in a dark robe that flowed around him like a shadow.

He was trailed by three figures, one of whom was a towering giant with a lanky build, standing well over three meters tall. Clad in a loose-fitting red robe, the most striking feature about him was the gas mask covering his face, with cables and pipes attached to his neck and bald skull, disappearing beneath his robe.

The second figure was a hulking figure standing close to seven feet tall, with a hunched back and facial and physical features resembling that of an armadillo beastman.

The last member of the party was a gray-haired middle-aged figure, adorned in a white Battle Exoskeleton that clung to his body, with two daggers strapped to his back.

"Captain Hidden One, are you sure the four of us are enough to face Jotunfrost Skollgar?" The armadillo said in a quivering voice, eyeing his surroundings with palpable unease.

"Skrel, you are supposed to be our tank, so show some spine and have faith in our captain's abilities," The human said, his voice dripping with authority.

"In my assessment, our probability of prevailing against the great beast stands at 31%. However, this calculation is based on the limited data I have on the captain's capabilities and the general assumption on the abilities of the beast, rendering it unreliable in my eyes," The cyborg-human stated in a monotone tone devoid of emotion, his words precise and mechanical.

"Don't worry, guys. We're going to hunt down the six-eyed wolf and earn a solid amount of honor points," Hidden One uttered calmly, his tone relaxed and easygoing, projecting a sense of quiet confidence and reassurance.

If one could peel the veil away, and put some physique to his thin face, they would find how Hidden One looked, exactly like Aeon, and how the two of them looked like replicas of Alex's avatar.