A light mist rose from one of the Bone Lakes, drifting past Adam's calm, relaxed eyes.
Strange as it may seem, due to a series of circumstances, he had ended up here with Sarka, who was thoroughly enjoying the local hot springs.
Instead of just relaxing at the edge, she was swimming in the middle of the lake, completely unashad despite being completely naked.
However, if Adam didn't have Silvana and were looking for a girlfriend, this scene wouldn't have made him look up.
For the past few minutes, he'd been staring at his reflection in the water, which rippled from ti to ti as Sarka's arms parted the water in wide strokes.
"Hey! What are you thinking about? If you go into battle with that mindset, it won't end well for you! Hahaha!" Sarka laughed as she floated on her back in front of him.
Then, Adam took a deep breath, shaking his head.
"Kaerno is gone, just like Valleyn." He looked at Sarka, into her unusually large blue eyes. "Do you know anyone who could be my opponent?"
"Hmm… Let think." Sarka touched her chin thoughtfully.
She swam back and forth for a while until she began to curl her fingers.
"There's one big guy, Batar. He's from the do pillar. I've only seen him fight a few tis over the past couple of years, but he possesses imnse strength. Every blow of his is powerful enough to create an explosion or level a hill!"
Adam nodded, pondering her words.
"So he's strong and tough, but I guess he's not that fast?"
Sarka nodded in agreent. "Yeah, speaking of speed… There's another girl. I think her na is Narha. She's like Batar from the do pillar, and unlike him, she specializes in speed and rapid attacks."
"So… Just those two?" Adam asked, confused.
From Kaerno's words, he understood that in the Hollow Lands, there were at least a dozen fairly strong unranked monsters who weren't afraid to fight any Fang.
Sarka was silent for a mont until her pupils dilated.
"Right! That bitch!"
'Hmm?' Adam raised an eyebrow. 'Is she talking about Narha?'
Sarka turned to him, gesturing animatedly to convey her thoughts and emotions more clearly.
"Kelya! She's probably the strongest unranked monster in the Hollow Lands! But I hate her! She thinks she's better than everyone else, and I can't beat her! Tsk! She's too strong!"
Her reaction was the best proof that it was true.
"Kelya… Huh," Adam muttered to himself.
Then, he glanced at Sarka.
"If Kelya, Batar, and Narha were to clash in battle, who would erge victorious?"
Without hesitation, Sarka replied:
"Of course, Kelya. If Batar is strong but slow, and Narha is fast but lacks enough destructive power, then Kelya is two in one. As far as I know, her only weakness is the rate at which she expends her energy."
Adam narrowed his eyes. "Go on."
"Well, she can't fight for too long. She's in a rather unusual situation. Her abilities and energy are far more powerful than her body, so twenty, maybe thirty minutes is her limit. But I've never heard of her fighting for more than five minutes."
After listening to Sarka, Adam rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He had finally received so concrete information, rather than vague hints.
'So one of these three will be my opponent? Most likely, there are plenty of other monsters that could give a decent fight, but Sarka nad only the three strongest.'
A smile was about to appear on Adam's face. He hadn't won yet. The battle was still ahead, but he was glad that now he at least knew who his opponent would be. That way, he could prepare and know what to expect.
'Wait…'
Suddenly, his expression changed as he froze.
Everything Kaerno had told him, all his words, rushed through Adam's mind in a powerful torrent.
'Even if they're the strongest, I don't see anyone worthy of such a high opinion from Kaerno. He said I'd need several lives, but if Kelya is the strongest of the three, that just doesn't make sense!'
Adam touched his temple while his pupils trembled.
'Our fight will be over in twenty, maybe even ten minutes! Why would I need several lives in that case?'
Perhaps Adam was wasting his ti, and Kaerno decided to scare him or joke around, but Adam didn't think so. He was certain it was a hint, the only one Kaerno had given.
"Sarka!"
She spun around abruptly, confused. "Y-Yes? Did sothing happen?"
"You ntioned Batar, Narha, and Kelya's nas because you consider them the strongest among all unranked monsters, right?"
Sarka nodded. "Yes. I thought that was obvious from the start."
Adam bit his lip. "Right. If you were to fight them, would you lose? Could you put up a decent fight against them? Answer honestly."
In any other situation, Sarka would already be shouting that she could easily defeat all three of them with one hand, but even she could act serious sotis.
"Agh… I would have lost. Are you happy now? But! I would have fought them like a true warrior! And," she puffed out her cheeks, muttering, "if it matters to you, I would have lasted longer against Batar and Narha than against Kelya."
Then, her expression changed abruptly as she slamd her fist into the water.
"One day, I'll definitely surpass every one of them! I'll reach the Lord Level before they do, you'll see!"
Adam smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
But, for so reason, Sarka felt uneasy. Adam's eyes grew darker as he stared at her to ask another question.
"Batar, Narha, and Kelya. I'll rember those nas, but Sarka, is there perhaps soone else you've forgotten? Maybe so mysterious warrior? Soone who can make you feel nothing but fear and crush your will to win right from the start?"
In an instant, Sarka's face paled as her heart began to race from the fear that washed over her.
That was more than enough for Adam.
'So that one will be my opponent. That's not good.'
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