Second World

"F*ck me! All that trouble and one freakin healing potion to show for it! This is clearly a fraud!" Jack cursed.

"Hey, hey! Lower your voice, man! You want to get kicked out for dishonoring this place?" Paytowin warned.

"Oh… Well, the reward is indeed very disappointing!"

"It's not a true reward, it's a complimentary reward…"

"Whatever. How are we going to get more scores after those three hours? Trying to survive is already a stretch."

"So, you don't want to enter anymore?" Paytowin asked.

"Of course I want!" Jack uttered. Despite the unfair requirement and the lousy reward, the place was still a treasure trove to learn mana manipulation. He thought he had a better grasp of the understanding already. He just needed to see those mythical knights in action again.

"But let's do it again tomorrow after the matches. It is night now, we should rest," Jack said.

"Yes, I'm also tired already. Come, I will send you out," Paytowin said.

As Paytowin led Jack out, they passed by a large indoor garden. There was no roof above this indoor garden, moonlight shone down and gave the beautiful garden a serene feel. Jack saw four people sitting on benches inside this garden. Callan, Pallas, Myson, and a golden-armored draconian youth.

Jack never saw the youth before, but he was surprised to see three of this faction's high-rankers gathered together in the garden. These four people also looked over when Jack and Paytowin passed.

Paytowin made a slight bow at them, Jack copied his gesture. They nodded back for a reply.

When the two outworlders went out of view, the golden armored youth said, "Sir Pallas is right, that Paytowin's friend has the mark of the creator."

"Hm… I can't sense this mark as the three of you do. But if it is so, then perhaps the time of turmoil is indeed coming," Myson muttered.

"The mark is not only with him. There is another participant who bears the same mark. A participant from the Sangrod Empire called Leavemealone," Pallas said.

"Those two are not only carrying the marks, but they also possess divine treasures within them," Callan said.

"Divine treasures?!" The other three were taken by surprise.

"I've had the closest connection to our God, so I can sense it better if it is something to do with the divine," Callan said. "That being said, I am still unable to contact our God. With the appearance of the marks and my inability to communicate with the God of Courage, I am afraid it is as Myson said, the time of turmoil is enclosing."

"Are they worthy of the divine treasure?" The youth uttered.

"If they didn't carry the mark of the creator, perhaps they are unworthy," Callan said. "But since they do, then I say it is fate. As is decreed to us, we must aid those that carry the marks, even if indirectly."

"Is that why Your Holiness told me to let him use the Ancient Battleground when my apprentice came with his request?" Myson asked.

<br/>Callan nodded. "Under normal circumstances, our facility is not open to outsiders, whatever the reason. If Paytowin asked for another outworlder to enter the battleground, let them, as long as the one that bears the mark enter as well. The outworlders are known to become even better when they work together. I am interested to know how far they can make it in the battleground."

"So far they haven't shown squat," Myson said.

"Let them get used to it first. The battleground is not easy for our youths as well," Callan said. "But of course, if Paytowin requests for another to join, you still have to charge them fees. We can't be too obvious in helping them."

"Yes, Your Holiness," Myson said.

Callan turned to the youth, "Mihos, you have very high potential. Unfortunately, you are still young. If the time of turmoil is indeed approaching, you need to grow faster. Will you not consider being the companion of one of these outworlders? If you receive their ability to level-up faster, it will help you better prepare."

The youth called Mihos didn't give a reply.

"How about becoming the companion of my apprentice? He is a trustable outworlder," Myson offered.

"I'm not interested in weakling," Mihos uttered.

"If you are interested in a strong one, you will have the chance to test them yourself at the end of the tournament," Pallas said.

"I hope they don't disappoint," Mihos said.

*

The next morning, everyone gathered at the roman theater again. Unlike yesterday, Domon and Leavemealone were on the spectator seat even though they did not fight today. The reason was that Wong was fighting today. Although Leavemealone had fought Wong before, Domon still wanted him to watch Wong's fight.

Jack also didn't have a match today, his match would be on the day after tomorrow, in the fourth match against the team who won today. Yet, he also decided to come and watch the matches. He was curious about the other participants, especially the two other heavenly enforcers who were fighting today.

Aside from that, he had no problem doing his mana manipulation training while watching the show. His talent, Hundred Synchronous Thoughts, allowed him to divide his attention.

The words in the sky showed the first match of the day.

*

Knight Section Match 2

Rodney, level 46 Avenger (dwarf) Vs Darkrod, level 45 Paladin (ethereal)

*

Rodney and Darkrod took their place in the arena. Pallas gave the sign, "Begin!"

Darkrod activated Divine Armor and Sacred Flame right off the bat. He was holding a cleaver and a shield. His cleaver was now alighted with white flame. With enhanced protection and damage, he did not shy away from direct confrontation.

Rodney didn't back down, he held his large two-handed hammer. He lunged forward and made a wide swing. The blow was enhanced using Power Strike.

Darkrod used Knight's skill, Endure and Enhanced Block, to resist the Power Strike's pushback effect. His cleaver then slash forward, utilizing Rodney's defenseless condition since he was using two hands for his assault.

Rodney suffered the slash, receiving additional damage from Sacred Flame and suffered the Burn effect. An avenging orb appeared on his body after the slash.

Darkrod attempted another slash. Rodney didn't just let him, he swayed away to evade as he spun his large hammer trying to land a blow, which landed on Darkrod's shield instead.

The two continued to exchange blows. Jack could see both were decent martial artists. They were also proficient in using their game skill mechanics. But after some time, Darkrod appeared to be in advantage. Even though all the hits Darkrod landed were scrapes, no high damage hit, these small damages still piled up. There was also Burn damage from Sacred Flame. While for Rodney, every time he tried to attack, Darkrod's shield got in the way.

"It seemed like the ethereal paladin will win this match," Paytowin said. He was again sitting next to Jack.

"I'm not so sure," Jack said.

"Why? That dwarf had less than half his life remaining. The paladin's HP was still almost full. It will be difficult to turn things around while he has so much trouble landing a single hit."

"He hasn't used any of his avenging orbs," Jack mentioned. Currently floating around Rodney's body were ten avenging orbs. The maximum an avenger could have. The orbs had been there for some time but Rodney was still not using them.

"You think he is saving it for a big hit?" Paytowin asked.

"Are you familiar with Avenger's skills?" Jack asked. Peniel had informed Jack of the standard skills of all the elite classes, so Jack was aware of them. "I think he will make his move once his HP was down to thirty percent."

Rodney did even further than Jack's prediction, he intentionally gave an opening for Darkrod to stab. The clean stab caused Rodney's HP to fall below 30%. He activated all four available Avenger's skills then, Counter Strike, Raging Strike, Righteous Fury, and Last Stand.

Last Stand was Avenger's level 45 skill which could only be activated when the Avenger's HP was below 30%. At level 1 it increased all damage by 30%, Defense by 100%, and damage reduction by 50% for the next thirty seconds.

Righteous Fury was Avenger's level 40 skill. This skill could only be activated with at least three avenging orbs. All avenging orbs were sacrificed during the activation of this skill. At level 1, for the thirty seconds, the avenger gained +5% damage, 10% defense, and 5% damage reduction for each orb sacrificed. Additionally, if the avenger was hit again during these thirty seconds, one hit would generate two avenging orbs instead of one.

Since Rodney had ten avenging orbs, these two buffs increased all his damage by eighty percent, meaning all his attacks in the next thirty seconds were almost double. That was even if Rodney didn't level up any of these skills.

Raging Strike was an active attack. An Avenger's level 35 skill. It dealt 300% physical damage with a 100% chance of causing a dizzy effect. It also had a strong knockback force similar to Power Strike. If Avenging Orb was sacrificed for this skill, each orb increased the skill damage by 30% instead of 10%. But Rodney had sacrificed the orb when he used Righteous Fury, so this skill only produced its initial 300% physical damage.

Yet, with the two buffs combined with Counter Strike, which took a part of Darkrod's damage from the last stab, Rodney's Raging Strike was boosted a great deal. His large hammer was covered by red energy which was the characteristic of Raging Strike. It slammed down onto Darkrod's shield.

Due to the enormous damage, Darkrod still received overspill damage despite the parry. The high damage also boosted the knockback force. Darkrod's shield was smashed to the side.

The sudden spike took Darkrod by surprise. He didn't receive the Dizzy effect because he had blocked the Raging Strike using his shield, but the strong knockback's force unbalanced him. Using this opening, Rodney swung his hammer again and struck Darkrod's knee.

If this was the real world, Darkrod's knee would have been broken by the blow. But even if his body was protected by the game system, the pain he felt was still as if his knee had been broken. Darkrod screamed from the pain, which opened him up for another attack.

Rodney swung his hammer upward in an uppercut move. The hammer connected with Darkrod's chin. Darkrod's body was lifted high into the air from the blow. That last chin attack yielded critical damage.

Rodney finished the match by making one last blow by smashing Darkrod who was still in the air. Darkrod's body was brought down hard onto the floor with one hard smash. His HP bar emptied by then.