Thorn’Shield was around Martin’s age, but his face carried a much wilder look. He had chosen white hair for his character and added a fake scar running down his face, and when he flashed a broad smile, he truly looked the part of a wild man.
Martin, by contrast, had changed nothing. His untouched appearance gave him a completely different presence that felt calm and composed.
The contrast between them was impossible to miss. Players moving through the Light Tree Hub slowed their steps, and more than a few stopped when they recognized the nas facing each other.
Thorn’Shield was known for sitting at the top of the Hidden Level One Dungeon rankings. He had climbed that far mostly alone, carrying the kind of confidence only solo clears could build. He was a tank, a bruiser, and a mber of Night Espresso.
Martin stood opposite him in the sa role, but a different kind of reputation followed him. He had not risen alone. His na had been built with teammates at his side and runs people still talked about.
Martin had built himself into a wall for a party, while Thorn’Shield looked like the kind of man who trusted only himself.
"You want to duke it out between tanks?" Martin asked with a wide grin.
Crimson Halo blinked adorably. My... that’s the competitive side of him Alex told about. It’s so genuine that it puts to sha the pitiful display of wildness this Thorn’Shield is trying to pass off.
Her eyes narrowed a little.
The man had so nerve.
Thorn’Shield spoke as though Martin’s place could simply be taken, as though the shape of that party could be rearranged on his whim. The thought irritated her far more than it should have.
How unpleasant...
Martin was the one she had been observing, testing, and trying to understand, and she had no desire to see soone else step into that place.
Thorn’Shield nodded. "Yeah. It won’t end fast, that’s for sure, but I’m not doing this just to put on a show. I’m challenging you for the tank spot in your party. If I win, you’ll step aside and let tank for Chaosgraphy, NukEncore, and Kill Clause. If I lose, I’ll give up my orange-graded sword."
Martin’s eyes ran over Thorn’Shield in a quick, practiced sweep.
The stance was loose, but not careless. His grip was relaxed in the way of soone who trusted his own timing, and the confidence in his smile did not look borrowed from rumor alone.
He’s serious.
Around them, the flow of the Light Tree Hub began to change.
Players slowed, then stopped.
A few took a step back without even realizing they were doing it, and the open space between Martin and Thorn’Shield widened on its own.
Martin froze.
No answer ca. He simply stood there, confused and almost lost. The stakes of the challenge felt too high.
He had gotten used to them faster than he wanted to admit.
Chaosgraphy had her presence. Encore had her tempo. Clause had those dangerous little swings between sweetness and nace.
They had slipped into his days before he even noticed it, and now the thought of losing that place beside them hit far harder than it should have.
And now this man was trying to force his way into their chemistry and take his place?
It was infuriating. The thought alone was enough to make Martin’s blood boil, but that heat quickly twisted into sothing uglier. Worry and fear pushed in before he could stop them.
What if Thorn’Shield had a trump card, a new class, or was simply much better than him? He could lose everything he had in a single battle.
That’s loser thinking... but... I don’t want to lose them in such a la way. I can’t even decide this on my own. It’s not like Chaos, Encore, or Clause are mine... this is wrong.
Just then, a to smacked Martin in the face and snapped him out of his confusion.
When he turned his head, he saw Crimson Halo staring at him with clear rage written across her face.
Her words ca through voice chat so that only the two of them could hear.
[Crimson Halo: Fight him! Don’t let this guy use your teammates as bargain chips!]
[Emperoar: If I agree to this battle, won’t I be using my teammates as bargain chips too?]
[Crimson Halo: You will, but there’s a difference between you using them and this man trying to use them. You can do it. You’re their tank. You’re the man of this party! And trust , won love that. We love it when the man we trust steps up, makes the hard call, and wins. Don’t show such a lost expression. Smile. Show that wild smile and go teach that man a lesson. Now!]
Martin clenched his hands and looked at Crimson Halo with genuine sincerity.
Her heart skipped a beat.
It was not only the thanks. It was the way his whole face had changed. The office-worker calm was still there, but sothing rougher had risen beneath it. That change made him look less like a man caught off guard and more like a man who had finally been given a reason to step forward.
A faint heat gathered low in her stomach.
Crimson Halo kept her chin high, but her fingers had tightened around her to before she noticed it.
That annoyed her.
She was not supposed to care this much about the outco of so public challenge.
And yet the thought of Martin stepping aside for this man felt so wrong that it almost offended her.
There was that expression again...
His eyes had hardened, and his mouth had drawn into that dangerous half-smile. He looked far too convincing in what she kept insisting was only an act.
"Thanks," he said aloud, without using voice chat.
When he turned back to Thorn’Shield, an easy stillness settled over his shoulders, and it felt more dangerous than any display could have. The grin on his face looked certain. It was not wide or flashy, and that only made it worse.
For a mont, Martin did not look like a man dragged into a public challenge. He looked like soone who had already decided how it would end.
He wore the sa expression he used to have as a delinquent right before he broke the noses of the people bothering him. It was that look that left Crimson Halo breathless. She could still swear he was acting, but she could no longer tell whether it truly was an act or not.
Martin spoke to his new enemy. "I’ll make an example out of you. I’m the tank of this party, and nobody’s replacing ."
Thorn’Shield’s grin held for a second, then tightened at the edges.
He rolled one shoulder and shifted his stance, his boots scraping lightly against the ground as though Martin’s answer had landed harder than he wanted to show. His fingers flexed once around his weapon, and the wild confidence on his face sharpened into sothing more focused.
He was still smiling, but now he looked less like a man putting on a show and more like soone bracing for a real fight.
At once, the Light Tree Hub erupted with shouts, murmurs, and cheers. Heads turned from every direction, and players slowed down or stopped as word spread in seconds.
A real fight between players was about to happen in the Forest Hidden Monster Hunter Academy, and no one nearby wanted to miss it.
Martin summoned his shield.
The sound alone was enough to wipe the last trace of noise from the space imdiately around them.
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