As Theo made his way down, Owen couldn’t help but shake his head.
"It’s always the sa with that guy," he muttered. "Pulling sothing crazy like that..."
Iris didn’t say anything.
Her gaze remained fixed on Theo’s back.
Finally, she turned slightly.
"Owen," she said quietly.
He tilted his head faintly.
"...Was it all true?"
Owen didn’t hesitate.
He nodded calmly, glancing back at the arena.
"Yup," he said, letting out a soft breath. "And it wasn’t the only bad experience we had with those rich bastards either."
Iris fell silent.
Her fingers tightened slightly against her arm as many thoughts ran through her mind.
She glanced at the Whitmores on the other side of the arena.
Finally, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"...I see."
She didn’t say anything else after that.
Both just kept their eyes locked on the arena, just like everyone else.
Minutes passed slowly as whispers of anticipation went through the entire arena.
Finally, two doors on opposite ends of the arena trembled faintly.
"Look!" soone shouted.
"It’s starting!"
The screens above the arena lit up imdiately, all caras aid at the doors.
Slowly, they shifted open.
David stepped out first.
A confident smile rested on his face as he walked forward without hesitation.
But the mont the crowd got a clear look at him—
They froze.
"...What is that?"
"I thought this was supposed to be a fair match..."
"Of course... this was to be expected."
Murmurs spread like wildfire.
Shining armor covered his entire body, a thin earth-like mana surrounding it.
Countless other artifacts lined his arms, each radiating different kinds of mana.
Even the sword in his hand looked extraordinary.
David stopped at the center of the arena, casually resting the blade against his shoulder.
His gaze fell on the opposite side of the arena.
There, Theo walked out calmly.
A simple robe hung loosely around his body.
Two weapons were strapped to his back, a deep blue umbrella and a bright yellow spear.
A few confused whispers spread through the crowd.
"An umbrella...?"
"Why did he take that with him?"
So frowned while leaning forward.
Others just quietly glanced down, anticipation building inside them.
David’s eyes also swept over Theo.
For a mont, he said nothing.
Then he let out a short laugh.
"...You’re serious?" he said, tilting his head slightly.
His grip on the sword relaxed as he took a few slow steps forward.
"I thought you were just putting on a show up there," he continued. "Didn’t expect you to actually walk in like this."
His gaze lingered on the umbrella again.
An amused smile spread across his face.
"What is that supposed to be?" he asked. "Planning to block my attacks with it?"
He shook his head, chuckling.
"What a fucking idiot," he said. "Are you really that desperate to beco my dog?"
Theo remained silent.
He just stared at David, scanning all the equipnt he was wearing.
’I don’t even know what half of those are,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes. ’At least there’s a bronze-core limit on usable abilities.’
That ant no artifact could release power far beyond his level.
But weapons and armor were a different story.
’As long as they don’t rely on active abilities... any rank goes.’
His gaze settled on David’s armor.
’Stormguard Armor,’ he thought. ’Lightning-resistant... gold-core durability.’
He’d looked into armor just to see if he could resist his own lightning with it.
But...
’That doesn’t matter since I wasn’t planning on using it anyway.’
David raised an eyebrow, watching him closely.
"...What’s wrong?" he asked. "Why did you go all quiet now?"
A wide smirk grew on his face.
"Or did you finally realize how outmatched you are?"
Theo lifted his gaze.
His expression didn’t change one bit.
"I was just thinking," he said calmly.
David tilted his head slightly.
"About what?"
Theo t his eyes, smiling faintly.
"How I’m going to break your nose again."
David’s smile froze.
For a mont, silence fell in the arena.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"You’re dead," he said.
Letting out a chuckle, Theo took the umbrella off his back.
Water gathered around it instantly, forming a thin, swirling layer.
David’s eyes widened imdiately.
"Water?!" he exclaid. "But you awakened lightning—"
A voice echoed through the arena, cutting him off.
"Participants ready."
Theo just looked at him with a smile.
"Who said that?" he asked.
The chanical voice echoed again.
"Begin in three..."
David’s grip tightened around his sword.
His gaze snapped up for a split second before returning to Theo.
"...I was there," he said, his tone lower now. "I saw you get that shitty D-rank lightning."
Theo didn’t answer.
His full attention lay on the chanical voice.
"Two..."
David snapped out of his shock too.
A thick fla appeared around his sword in an instant.
"One..."
Both leaned forward.
"Begin!"
The instant the word sounded, Theo shot forward.
David’s eyes widened, his body tensing as he swung his sword forward on instinct.
But it was too late.
Theo had already closed the distance.
He swung his umbrella toward him.
One of the rings on David’s fingers lit up imdiately.
A thick earthen barrier surged up around his body.
BOOM!
The impact echoed as the strike slamd into the barrier.
Water surged forward, sending cracks throughout it.
David staggered back a few steps, waving his sword in front of him.
Theo lowered his umbrella slowly, water still swirling around it.
"...So that’s really how you’re playing it," he said calmly.
The earthen barrier vanished slowly.
At the sa ti, the ring around David’s finger cracked.
David’s expression changed.
"What the hell?!"
He glanced back at Theo, his eyes wide.
Without wasting another second, one of the rings on his hand lit up again.
A massive burst of purple flas shot forward.
Theo quickly jumped back, snapping his umbrella open.
BOOM!
The flas exploded against it, swallowing Theo completely.
David let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face.
"How do you like that?" he shouted.
The flas continued raging for a mont.
Then steam began rising from within them.
SIIISSS!
Water poured over the fire everywhere, extinguishing it completely.
Theo stepped through the fading steam, completely unhard.
"That’s it?" he asked, a large water shield in front of his umbrella.
His water shield slowly pulled back, swirling around his umbrella again.
Theo watched David with narrowed eyes.
’Those flas are his father’s?’ he thought, tilting his head. ’They are far stronger than normal flas at least.’
David stood a few yards away, his chest rising and falling heavily.
The visible confidence in his eyes had faded completely, now replaced by panic and doubt.
Even so... he raised his sword.
He pointed it at Theo, gritting his teeth.
Crack!
Theo felt the ground beneath him shift.
He moved instantly.
BOOM!
A small fire pillar burst out of the ground behind him.
Theo landed lightly, his gaze already shifting.
Another crack echoed from the ground.
He stepped aside.
BOOM!
A second pillar shot up where he’d just been standing.
At the sa ti, David moved forward.
He swung his sword wildly, showing no technique or control at all.
Theo didn’t retreat.
As the blade ca down, his umbrella snapped open.
CLANG!
David’s sword shot back up into the sky.
Theo stepped in imdiately.
His umbrella closed, water gathering around it.
BAM!
The impact hit David in his chest.
His body lifted off the ground instantly, flying through the air.
He crashed hard across the arena floor, skidding several ters.
Theo lowered his umbrella slowly.
’One hit,’ he thought.
David didn’t get up imdiately.
He coughed, rolling onto his side as he pushed himself off the ground.
His shining armor was still unscathed... yet dirt had completely covered it.
"You look much better like that," Theo said, nodding slowly. "All covered in dirt like the vile creature you are."
David staggered to his feet, one hand pressed against his chest.
"...You—" he started, his voice shaking.
But he quickly cut himself off.
His gaze flickered down.
This ti, his bracelet lit up in a murky gray color.
Several sharp tal spikes floated up from his pocket.
They turned to Theo—
And shot off.
Theo narrowed his eyes.
He didn’t even create a shield this ti.
Instead, he calmly swooped his umbrella through the air.
The water around it surged forward in an instant.
Before the spikes could even reach him—
They stopped.
The water swallowed them whole, crushing them inside through sheer pressure.
Theo couldn’t help but smile a little.
’Just artifacts,’ he thought. ’That’s all he has.’
Without another thought, he dashed forward again.
David’s eyes widened, a hint of denial showing in them.
The last ring on his fingers lit up in a deep brown color.
A large earth wall shot up out of the ground in front of him.
Theo jumped aside, but found another wall rising there.
"Tsk," he let out, taking a step back.
’Earth and tal spells on those artifacts,’ he thought. ’Did he really prepare all that for my lightning?’
The ground trembled again.
Walls rose around him one after another, completely boxing him in.
David stood outside of it, breathing heavily, his arm still extended.
"Let’s see you dodge this," he muttered, his voice shaking slightly.
A fireball ford in his hands, growing to nearly twice the size of his body.
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