[Killing Grounds]
Facing the final boss of Floor 10, Caelan still held his sword in one hand.
Behind him, Alyssa stood like a puppet with its strings cut. The blankness on her face was no longer re shock—it had turned into deep confusion.
The kind of confusion that scread:
Who am I? Where am I? What am I even doing?
Opposite Caelan, two identical Lizardfolk awakeners were rapidly... lting.
They possessed an extrely rare class—[Shapeshifter]—capable of fully transforming into another race or monster in a very short amount of ti.
Caelan narrowed his eyes, excitent flashing through them.
It was his first ti fighting a [Shapeshifter].
Honestly, the skill was pretty interesting.
He even found himself looking forward to what those two Lizardfolk were about to beco.
The next instant—
Viscous sli churned and surged, and two massive dragons materialized inside the giant bubble!
"Holy—so you can actually turn into a dragon?!" Caelan’s eyes widened in surprise.
Then he lifted his sword and launched a clean, decisive attack—again.
The dragons ford from the Lizardfolk were enormous, with terrifying attack power. But their sheer size also restricted their movent.
So Caelan closed the distance with almost no pressure at all.
Sword up—sword down.
BOOM!
One dragon’s gigantic head was severed in a single slash!
The dragon let out an enraged roar and spewed scorching dragon breath.
Caelan had no intention of tanking it. Sure, he could withstand it—but his equipnt durability might not.
These were gold-coin-bought items, after all. He had to treat them with so respect.
So he activated [Flashstep], vanishing from the battlefield in a blur.
But the two dragons—despite having their heads cut off—still possessed horrifying vitality.
They thrashed violently, unleashing pure, destructive chaos on everything around them!
Even outside the giant bubble, the spectators could feel the overwhelming devastation that [Shapeshifter] could bring.
At this mont, the stands were strangely... harmonious.
Whether human awakeners or the foreign awakeners led by the elves—
Everyone’s brain had been filled with the sa two words:
Holy shit.
Was soone this strong really "just" an awakener?
Was it possible that the Chosen One the myriad races had searched for over a thousand years...
had finally, truly appeared?
...
Elf Territory — Secretwood
This was the seat of the elven council, and the highest decision-making body of the entire elf race.
A full twelve councilors sat around a round table, watching the events inside [Killing Grounds] with intense focus.
When they witnessed Caelan’s outrageous performance, they all turned their eyes toward the seat of the Council Speaker.
At this mont, the Speaker’s expression was grim to the extre.
He had watched a human awakener clear from Floor 1 all the way to Floor 10.
This was far beyond his expectations.
And the truth was—this human awakener wasn’t unfamiliar to him.
Because the Speaker rembered clearly:
This young man nad Caelan was the very one they had long suspected to be the Chosen One.
Even an 8-star titan race awakener had failed to kill him—and instead died by his hand.
The elven Speaker’s face darkened, terrifyingly so.
He was weighing whether, after [Killing Grounds] ended, they should pay any price to kill this Chosen One before he matured.
Strangle him in the cradle—before he fully grew.
For maintaining the elves’ transcendent status, it was an obviously critical decision.
But the problem was...
Could the elves really kill Caelan?
Even the elven Speaker didn’t dare claim certainty.
Because the strength Caelan had displayed had already surpassed the Speaker’s predictions by an enormous margin.
To put it bluntly—even the Speaker himself couldn’t guarantee that, within the entire elf race, there was anyone who could definitely kill Caelan.
Even the hidden old monsters... those super-star awakeners...
it still wouldn’t be "foolproof."
So...
Should they act?
Once they moved, it would beco a fight to the death.
But if they didn’t... the elves’ status would take a severe blow.
For the first ti in his life, the elven Speaker tasted what it ant to be truly torn.
For thousands of years, the elf race had been so strong that whenever they disliked soone, they simply crushed them—never once needing to hesitate.
But Caelan’s appearance shattered that habit.
After thinking in silence for a long ti, the Speaker finally made a decision.
"Send the order imdiately. If that human, Caelan, truly defeats the [Shapeshifter]..."
"Then once he exits the Instance, invite him to et face-to-face for negotiations."
At those words, the councilors beside him all wore expressions of shock.
Negotiations?
With a lowly human?
What was there to discuss?!
So of the more fanatical elves imdiately voiced opposition.
"Great Speaker, I believe we should be stronger and harsher toward humans! So what if he’s the Chosen One—does he dare beco the enemy of the entire elf race?"
"Our elf race has countless powerhouses. Killing one Chosen One is not difficult at all!"
"..."
Hearing those argunts, the elven Speaker could only sigh heavily to himself.
The truth was—
The elf race really was too proud.
For several thousand years, they had been the undisputed strongest race. Even humans had to settle for second place.
That long-standing superiority had made the elves forget what "danger" felt like.
Perhaps the arrival of the Chosen One was, for the elf race, a genuine trial.
The Speaker wasn’t a pessimist.
But he understood clearly: the weight of the entire elf race rested on his shoulders.
So he could only choose the most prudent path.
With that thought, he let out a soft sigh and said coldly,
"Enough. I’ve made my decision."
"Your job is to execute my orders."
"And yes—the elf race is proud."
"But we are not blind, arrogant fools who think we’re above everything."
"If any of you believe the Chosen One is nothing special, then get out there and challenge [Killing Grounds] yourselves."
"Whoever can clear all ten floors— I’ll hand over my position as Speaker to you on the spot!"
The mont the Speaker truly flared up, the elven high council imdiately fell silent.
Even though many of them still felt unwilling in their hearts...
They also knew Caelan had beco a terrifying existence—one that was not easy to deal with.
One councilor swallowed and asked carefully,
"Speaker... if the negotiations fail, what should we do?"
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