"Next ti, I will kill you."
Mirabella’s voice was like a blade of ice, cutting through the heavy atmosphere. She didn’t spare a second glance for the cratered earth or the fallen warrior. Entering the tower, she moved with the practiced indifference of a queen, her team following her in a tight, disciplined formation. To them, Ethan was no longer an obstacle; he was a footnote in the history of Mirabella’s ascent.
Eve blinked, the silver light in her eyes flickering as she drew back her energy. The sheer weight of the power she had just witnessed left her montarily breathless:
"Let’s go!" she commanded her battered squad. Sensing a rare opportunity for safety, she followed Mirabella inside, her team clinging to the Dragon Academy’s wake like shadows.
Outside, Zach stood speechless. His earlier bravado, his "Young Master" status, and his legendary sword all felt profoundly small. He exhaled slowly, sheathing his blade with a trembling hand, and walked toward the trench where Ethan was slowly pushing himself upright.
Ethan shook his head, his eyes unfocused. "Shit!! She is lucky!!" He spat, jumping to his feet with a jerky, unnatural agility.
"Lucky? Why did you block such a person?" Zach asked, his brow furrowing. He was a swordsman by birth; he understood the weight of a strike, and what he had just seen didn’t align with "luck."
"What? You said I should stop them!" Ethan snapped.
"Yes, but then I didn’t know that was Mirabella." Zach sighed, turning his gaze toward the looming triangular tower. "What should we do now?"
"What else? We continue to the second round and wait for the Captain to return," Ethan said, already walking toward the entrance. "I thought this Mirabella was strong... she is weak."
Zach watched him go, a chill running down his spine. ’Weak? I am a swordsman, and I know that attack didn’t even have 1% of her true strength.’ He followed silently, his mind racing.
’I wonder why she spared us. Killing us now would have crippled our Empire’s ranking points. Is she arrogant, or is she playing a much longer ga?’
___
[In The Tower.]
The interior of the tower was a cavernous hall of polished obsidian, illuminated by the rhythmic pulse of a glowing gateway at the far end. Mirabella stopped abruptly and looked over her shoulder at Eve and the trailing Eagle Academy team.
"Thank you for dealing with them," Eve said, offering a curt nod of professional gratitude.
Mirabella completely ignored her. Her gaze didn’t even linger on Eve’s face as she walked toward a lavishly upholstered sofa near the wall and sat down, crossing her legs with regal poise.
"....?!"
Eve and her group stood frozen, trapped in a state of confused awkwardness.
"Uh... Shouldn’t we be heading to the second round?" Eve asked, her voice echoing in the silent hall. "The gateway is active."
"And why are you bothered about my team?" Mirabella asked back, her voice flat and her gaze uncomfortably cold. It was a clear dismissal—a boundary drawn in the sand.
Eve blinked a couple of tis, her face flushing with a mix of embarrassnt and frustration. She waved her hand to her teammates. "Co on, let’s go." Without another word, she led her group into the shimring light of the gateway, their forms vanishing instantly from the hall.
The Dragon Academy team watched them go, then turned their collective attention to their Captain.
"Why aren’t we—" Aurelia began, her hand twitching toward her weapon.
"We still have 3 hours before the ti runs out. They won’t start the second round if one academy team is missing," Mirabella cut her off, her eyes sweeping over the nine. "Use this ti to balance your levels. You’ve just received a massive influx of energy; if you don’t stabilize your cores now, you’ll collapse when the real fighting begins. Return to your peak."
"Alright, Captain." They all nodded, the logic of her command overriding their impatience. They moved to various corners of the hall, sinking into ditative trances.
__
"Big Sister, I have a question."
Mirabella turned to Carl, who remained standing beside her. While the others were focused on their internal spiritual energy flow, Carl’s expression was one of deep confusion.
"What is it?"
Carl pointed toward Hitachi, who sat with his eyes closed, a faint red aura radiating from his skin. "He is Lv200, while I am Lv90. Why are we both called God level, when he can easily kill ?"
Mirabella looked at Hitachi, the "Monster of the Dragon Academy," and then back at Carl.
’Couldn’t he compare himself with soone else? Hitachi was a powerhouse even before the level-up surge...’ She looked closer at Carl:
’Carl isn’t proficient with spirit energy control yet. I should guide him.’ She coughed lightly, covering her lips with her fist.
"Carl, there are four stages in the God levels—knowledge you won’t hear from just anyone. Listen up."
As she spoke, several mbers of the team opened their eyes, their ears perking up at the ntion of high-level secrets.
"These are the four stages and the level gaps," Mirabella explained, her voice taking on the tone of a seasoned ntor.
"First, fighters from Lv70 to Lv99 are all Early God level fighters. Second, those from Lv100 to Lv299 are all Mid-God level fighters. The third are fighters from Lv300 to Lv399... Which are known as Late God level fighters..." She smiled lightly:
"...And the last..." Mirabella nodded at him:
"The fighters in that final tier," she continued:
"Are the true powerhouses. Peak God level fighters are the ones who dictate the fate of empires, Lv400 to Lv500, there are a total of six stages. Do you understand?"
Carl thought for a mont, his brow furrowed. "Ok, if the levels are broken down like that, are individual levels still valid?"
"Of course. Take you and Hitachi, for example. You are Lv90, while Hitachi is Lv200. Both of you aren’t Early God level fighters, and due to that huge level gap, Hitachi possesses more raw energy and physical density. He can easily kill you because he is further along the path."
"Hmm... That makes sense." Carl paused, his expression shifting from curiosity to sothing darker and more existential. "Another question."
Mirabella looked up at him, sensing the weight of his next words:
"What about the people from Earth? Only seven hundred plus were taken from the first server... But Earth has a population of billions."
".....?!"
The question hit the room like a physical weight. The silence that followed was absolute. Precious opened her eyes and stood up. "Yes, I also want to know the answer to this question," she yelled, her voice filled with a sudden, desperate edge. Kent nodded in agreent, the three Earth-born teammates staring at Mirabella as if she held the keys to their lost world.
Mirabella was frozen for several seconds. She looked at their expectant faces and finally spoke.
"The answer is..."
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