Max smiled as he saw the five daggers flying toward him.
With his Three Dimensional Body skill active, he couldn't care less about these projectiles. He immediately shot forward, heading straight for Norman.
"Brother, you'll die quickly if you stand in the way of my daggers," Norman laughed crazily when he saw Max heading toward him, directly into the path of the daggers.
"Do it then," Max said, chuckling, as he soon reached the intersection of the five daggers.
Norman smiled and controlled his five daggers to attack Max.
Swish! Swish! Swish!…
The five daggers suddenly shot forward at an unexpected speed in midair. One aimed directly at Max's head, another at his heart, the third at his waist, and the last two came at him from either side.
Max quickly noticed the trajectories of the daggers while still in motion.
So, just as the daggers shot toward him, he swiftly dodged four of them with minimal movement. The one targeting his head, however, Max caught midair just before it struck.
"Good dagger," Max said, holding the dagger.
Meanwhile, Norman was stunned. He hadn't expected his daggers to be dodged so swiftly. It was as if Max hadn't even tried but still managed to avoid them all.
"You freak!" Norman shouted, recalling the daggers that had flown past Max.
Max saw this but wasn't going to let him have it so easily.
Using the power of 3 Draconic Essence, Max gripped the dagger tightly and aimed it at Norman's head.
With a smooth swing, he threw the dagger at him.
The dagger left his hand like a missile, its speed so fast that it was barely visible in midair.
"No!" Norman only saw the dagger when it was inches away from him and could do nothing to block it. He could only watch as the dagger penetrated his head and emerged from the other side.
A fine red glowing hole formed in his head before his body crumbled to the ground, vanishing into red particles.
The daggers that were flying back toward him fell midway once Norman died.
"One more to go," Max muttered as he entered the shining blue door and appeared in his cube.
He checked his Battle Realm status.
[Max] Explore stories at empire
– Number of Battles: [2]
– Wins: [2]
– Battle Coins: [200]
'So defeating someone at the same level in Novice Rank gives 100 points,' Max mused before heading out of his cube.
Outside, he saw a fuming Norman glaring at him with rage.
Max smiled at the sight but ignored him. He turned to the others around him. "I'm new here. Anyone want to battle?" he asked loudly.
Many pairs of eyes turned toward Max, their gazes sharp and scrutinizing. However, when they realized it was a young kid asking for a battle, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
Their expressions transformed into predatory grins, as if they were wolves sizing up easy prey.
"I'll battle you, kid," someone called as they approached him.
"Let me be your opponent," another joined in.
"Who are you two? I'm his opponent," someone else said, and before long, a crowd had gathered around Max, all requesting a battle.
Max was amused by this and randomly pointed at one of them. "You, you'll be my opponent." It was a young man with black hair, his body nearly three times Max's size, big and heavy.
[Do you want to challenge Helin Juck?]
"Yes," Max replied.
"Haha, kid, I accept your challenge. Let's go," the heavy-set guy laughed as he entered his cube.
Max smiled back and entered his cube as well.
"Is this kid an idiot or what?"
"I think he has a problem in the head. Instead of choosing any of us, he chose Helin."
"That kid must have been overwhelmed by so many of us challenging him and hastily chose the wrong opponent."
"Let's wait. They'll come out soon."
The crowd laughed and mocked Max for choosing Helin over them. They knew Helin would be tough to fight, let alone defeat, and yet the kid had chosen him.
---
On the plain battlefield, Max stared at his massive opponent, who was cracking his knuckles.
"Are you ready? I'll come at you straight," Helin shouted.
"Come," Max beckoned, gesturing with his hands.
Helin focused and took a deep breath. With that, his body shot forward like a spring, flying straight at Max with a powerful punch.
Max grinned and muttered, "2 Draconic Essence should be enough."
Using the power of 2 Draconic Essence, Max clenched his fist and threw a punch of his own. His fist collided with Helin's when he arrived before him.
BANG!
Helin was blasted backward, faster than he had charged. His body slowly turned into red particles before fully disappearing.
"Three down," Max smiled and nodded before heading back.
---
Outside the cubes, Helin emerged with a blank expression on his face. He still didn't understand what had just happened. He could recall their fists colliding and then everything went dark.
'One punch? That's all it took for him to defeat me?' Helin thought, drenched in sweat and a chill running down his spine. 'What kind of monster is this kid?'
"Helin, what's with that look? Don't tell me you lost?" someone asked when they saw his depressed expression.
"Nah, he probably must be thinking he killed him too quickly and couldn't enjoy the fight," another person added.
"No, I was defeated," Helin shook his head, staring at them.
"…"
"…"
Everyone was speechless. How could someone defeat Helin so effortlessly and quickly? The battle had barely begun—it had only been a matter of seconds—and yet Helin was already defeated, standing before them with disbelief written on his face.
"It took him only one punch," Helin continued, and his words sent a chill down everyone's spine.
The crowd was already shaken by the fact that a newcomer, a kid, had managed to defeat Helin so quickly. But when they heard Helin admit that he had been defeated with a single punch, a wave of disbelief and unease spread through the crowd.
Sweat beaded on their brows as they processed the implications.
Among everyone present, Helin was renowned for his incredible physical strength—his prowess was unmatched. Yet, he had lost miserably in the very area where he excelled the most.
---
Meanwhile, Max appeared outside the black cube and walked up to Grandma Yu and Alice.
"You're late," Grandma Yu scolded, her tone stern.
"Hehe, but I won all three of my matches," Max said with a grin.
Grandma Yu narrowed her eyes at Max, sensing his casual attitude. She touched the Battle Cube with her hand.
Immediately, a number of profiles appeared before them, one of which belonged to Max.
[Max]
– Number of Battles: [3]
– Wins: [3]
– Battle Coins: [300]
"Like I said, I won," Max said, smiling as he saw his stats.
Grandma Yu's sharp glare landed on Max, making him instinctively flinch and step back. Without a word, she tossed something toward him with a flick of her wrist.
Max caught the object mid-air and examined it closely. It was a square-shaped token, surprisingly light yet sturdy. On one side, an intricately detailed blazing phoenix was etched, its wings seemingly alive with fiery motion.
On the other side, his name, 'Max Morgan,' was written in golden letters that gleamed brightly under the light. Just below his name, the words 'Arcane Order' stood out in blazing red, radiating a faint, fiery glow that seemed to pulse with energy.