As soon as he finalized the challenge, Theo smirked and muttered, "I guess this is the first step. It's not like I need to go on a mission currently. Better to use that time to get an artifact to increase my power."
After saying those words, Theo fell silent, thinking, 'Still, my opponent is almost one hundred levels above me. He's also deemed to be an S Rank Talent, so he must be above normal people. If I fight him with my spear, I have some confidence in defeating him, but I'm using a sword right now.'
Theo took a deep breath and shook his head. 'No. I need this kind of pressure.'
He recalled all the times when he was forced to 'evolve' under big pressure, like when he faced the magma monster in the Arkahan Volcano.
Since he had agreed to this fight, he returned to the mansion to prepare himself for this fight.
…
Star Battlefield.
This small field in the middle of the complex had been used for any kind of sparring among the people who lived in this area.
Because this place was filled with important people of the Star Group, they created this place with just plain hardened sand. After all, the destruction caused by those people would be massive, so they used this to reduce the maintenance cost.
A few hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Theo and Mark stood in the middle of this 5000 square feet field, staring at each other. The field was protected by a barrier that stopped some shock waves and attacks from hitting the buildings around. If a Mythical Rank Expert didn't seriously attack this barrier, it could still block anything.
Mark saw Theo's concealing his face as well as his hair, making him more mysterious. He felt a bit displeased not to know his opponent's face, but that didn't matter in front of the big bet they had.
Theo, on the other hand, looked at this black-haired man with interest. There were many expectations placed on Mark, and the reasons were clear. Unlike other people, Theo could feel the fierceness behind his gaze.
"So, you're Joker." Mark opened his mouth. "What are you? An edgy kid? Hiding your face doesn't make you cooler."
"Giving advice to someone doesn't make you wiser." Theo shook his head, snorting.
Mark's eyebrows twitched and confirmed Theo was the person he chatted with earlier. He truly had a foul mouth.
After a momentary silence, both Mark and Theo suddenly released their Magic Power to the surroundings, preparing to fight.
The fluctuation of the Magic Power didn't escape the sense of the Mythical Rank Experts who lived in this area.
Two of them suddenly came out of their houses to witness what had happened.
"Oh? You're here, Kain." A middle-aged woman waved her hand with a smile, walking toward a man that appeared to be around her age. They both were standing on top of the roof of the man's house, so they didn't bother anyone.
"I'm just curious since the Magic Power fluctuation is weak." Kain nodded with a calm face. "But I guess this is to be expected from two Supreme Rank Experts. But I'm surprised that you're quite interested in this battle, Emma."
"You know my son, right?"
"Yeah."
"He took the admission test of the Star Group two days ago."
"Did he get accepted?"
"Yeah."
"Congratulations."
"Thanks, but that's not important. I heard from him that someone exceptional had come. He was supposed to receive S Rank Evaluation, but because he skipped the last two tests, he only got B Rank."
"!!!" Kain widened his eyes and looked at Theo. "Him?"
"Yeah. His level is supposed to be 521 though."
"Isn't this bullying?" Kain frowned. "Should we stop them?"
"Let's just watch them for a bit. I'm a bit curious what kind of stuff he can show us. After all, there's no information about him." Emma shrugged.
"Still, his opponent is Mark."
"Ehecatl, huh." Emma squinted her eyes. "Aztec Mythology, God of Wind, Ehecatl."
"And with that level gap, I don't think this will become a decent fight." Kain nodded, having no trust in Theo.
"Whatever. We can stop the match if it's a bit dangerous. For now, let's just watch the two youngsters fight it out."
Kain fell silent and eventually agreed to her decision.
…
Meanwhile, Theo and Mark had been releasing their power for a minute. Mark thought Theo would be a little scared if he showed him some of his power, but there was no movement from him this entire time.
"Let's see whether you can still have that calmness after I beat you up." Mark suddenly disappeared, leaving a small shock wave from the wind.
Theo's expression turned serious as he ducked down.
Mark suddenly reappeared above him, waving his hand. If he didn't lower his body, his neck would have gotten chopped.
Theo also noticed the black gloves Mark used. There were multiple sharp objects around the gloves, so the moment those gloves touched him, he might get sliced.
Theo's blue ring turned into a sword as he spun his body and slashed upward, trying to cut Mark.
*Cling!*
A clicking sound echoed as Mark's right hand blocked the sword. As Theo expected, the gloves were not just an accessory.
When their weapons clashed, Mark released his wind to push his body down, resulting in him pinning Theo to the ground.
But Theo wasn't a pushover. His Telekinesis rose from the ground and pushed the wind back.
As soon as the Telekinesis neutralized his wind, Mark felt something was wrong and immediately used the force from Theo's sword to launch him away, regaining some distance.
"Didn't you say you can crush me with one hand? Why are you running away then? I'm here." Theo chuckled.
"Your mouth is truly dirty!" Mark was genuinely pissed this time. He lowered his body a bit and pushed his right hand forward.
Suddenly, the air around his hand flew forward. The hardened sand cracked, and some particles were kicked up into the air.
But Theo's main concern was the powerful air pressure coming toward him.
"Boom!"
********
What will Mark become later?
A) A Friend
B) A Slave
C) An Enemy
D) (Add answer)