Nellieās face suddenly went stiff. She bit her lip and clenched her fists.
She was a genius of the Wycliffe Family, but not the most powerful one. She didnāt have a Legendary Rank item. The best she had was an Epic Rank item.
"Itās just a Legendary item. No big deal!" she said to herself.
"Besides, Aidenās level is low. Heās just a Magic Apprentice. Even if he had a Mythic Rank item, he still wouldnāt beat me!" Nellie took a deep breath and kept telling herself that.
She slowly raised her hand and gently touched the white energy around her body.
In an instant, the energy exploded. A bunch of white light thorns appeared quickly and swung wildly.
Just touching the ground, the thorns shattered the hard floor, leaving deep marks.
Nellie sighed lightly, lifted her chin, and said confidently.
"Relax. I just want to show you what a real genius is. Iāll hold back later and wonāt hurt you badly."
Aiden nodded. His eyes flickered slightly, and a small smile appeared on his lips.
He didnāt like Nellieās arrogance and confidence, but he had to admit, that very arrogance and confidence could be useful.
"This fight is too simple. Letās add a bet," Aiden said with a smile.
When she heard this, Nellie didnāt think much. She was about to nod when Garethās voice suddenly cut in.
"Wait."Garethās eyes were sharp. He frowned, looking at Aiden.
"What do you want to bet?" he asked, feeling something bad. He had a feeling that Aidenās idea of adding a bet wasnāt that simple.
Aiden calmly replied, "If I win, it means Iām stronger than her. Then I can choose the prize first."
"Also, based on what she said earlier, she has to follow my orders and canāt disobey. Otherwise, I can kick her out of the team anytime."
"Of course, if she wins, Iāll follow those rules too."
Nellie let out a cold laugh and said, "Those demands arenāt too bad. I thought youād come up with something impossible to accept, just to avoid the fight."
Gareth looked thoughtful, staring at Aiden.
"It seems like Aiden really wants something from the competition prize. Maybe itās guidance from a divine powerhouse, or a Legendary Rank item?" He thought for a while but couldnāt figure it out.
To him, Aidenās demands made sense. They didnāt seem like a trap.
The Wycliffe Family sent Nellie to the global Reclasser Exchange Competition for two reasons: one was the mysterious treasure map fragment, and the other was to prepare for the familyās official emergence.
After all, most people on Earth didnāt even know about hidden families like the Wycliffes.
After thinking it over, Gareth finally nodded to Nellie.
The main reason was that he had full confidence in her strength. Aiden was smart, but he didnāt know how powerful the Wycliffe Family was.
If he knew more, he would never have wanted to fight Nellie.
Because the only result for him would be defeat.
"Okay, I accept your terms. Can we start the fight now?" Nellie said, clearly eager.
Aiden waved at Nellie, telling her not to rush.
He turned to Victor, Jade, Vespera, Jordan, and Cici and said, "Of course, I wonāt take all the prizes for myself. Iāll give you some compensation later. What do you think?"
When they heard Aidenās words, Victor and the others looked thoughtful. But Vespera didnāt hesitate at allāshe just nodded.
Even if Aiden took all the prizes, she wouldnāt be upset at all.
"Helping Aiden would be great," Vespera thought to herself.
Victor and Jade exchanged a glance and also nodded in agreement.
But Victor spoke up, "If possible, I have one request."
"After the Global Reclasser Exchange Competition, I hope you can spend some time fighting me properly."
"After all, weāve never really fought, and we havenāt decided whoās stronger."
It was clear that Victor still felt upset about not beating Aiden in the College Testing.
Jade thought for a moment and added, "Me too."
For geniuses, nothing was more exciting than fighting other top-level talents to test their strength.
As for Jordan and Cici, they looked hesitant, unsure.
Jordan felt that Aiden was more confident than Nellie. The Global Reclasser Exchange Competition hadnāt even started, and Aiden was already thinking about how to divide the prizes.
That kind of confidence wasnāt arroganceāit was the kind of confidence that came from knowing exactly what was going to happen.
Jordan rubbed his bald head and said, "I think we should wait until we actually win the championship before talking about that."
"Of course, if you contribute more than the others, taking the best prizes first isnāt a problem."
Cici didnāt say anything, but she nodded shyly.
Aiden saw this and was very satisfied.
With his current four-dimensional stats and all his powerful skills, leading Victor and the others to win the Global Reclasser Exchange Competition should be no problem.
After all, all the competitors were no higher than level 55.
"Hmph, daydreaming," Nellie said, rolling her eyes.
She thought Aiden would be defeated in just a few seconds, and then heād regret saying all that.
"Can we start now? You can go first, so no one says Iām bullying you," Nellie urged.
Aiden smiled and shook his head, directly refusing her request.
If he were to go first, Nellie might not say anything after being defeatedābut what about Gareth? It was hard to tell if he would come up with an excuse or not.
"Once youāre ready, the battle will begin," Aiden said, raising The Abyssal Flame Demon staff in one swift motion, aiming it directly at Nellie, ready to unleash a powerful skill at any moment.
But in the next second, Aidenās pupils slightly contracted.
He saw the white light surrounding Nellie quickly wrapping around her body, moving at an astonishing speed.
In an instant, a blinding white light enveloped her.
As the light faded, a Thorned Crown rapidly formed on Nellieās head. At the same time, she was holding a long whip made of thorns in her hands.
"Crack!"
With a flick of her wrist, Nellie, like a queen, swung the thorned whip with ease, producing a thunderous sound.
Where the whip passed, the air itself trembled.
Eira, watching from the sidelines, immediately widened her eyes. As the Empress of the Great Shaw Empire, she could feel a sudden surge of dignity and power radiating from Nellie.
"This... is the Mythic Rank class of The Radiant Thornqueen?" Eira murmured.
Gareth smiled and nodded."Exactly. According to the Mythic Rank Class Rankings from The Oracle House, The Radiant Thornqueen is ranked 130th."
"The Oracle House?" Eira blinked in surprise. She had never heard of that name before.
What was The Oracle House? And what was this so-called Mythic Rank Class Ranking?
Garethās eyes flashed with a hint of contempt, but he still explained a little.
The Oracle House was similar to a hidden family, but unlike them, they werenāt isolated from the outside world. Instead, they had agents all over the world who gathered information and maintained a vast network of intelligence.
Besides the Mythic Rank Class Rankings, there were also Mythic Rank Pet Rankings, Mythic Rank Equipment Rankings, and countless other obscure listsāinformation that only the hidden families and the top-tier powerhouses of humanity were privy to.
Of course, The Oracle House was far more than just a record-keeper of power. Their most mysterious and feared aspect was the Oracle House Curatorāa position held by individuals who possessed the ability to foresee the future.
"Foreseeing the future?" Eira suddenly widened her eyes.
Jamesās expression was equally shocked.
"Yes," Gareth said, his tone grave. "Each Curator of The Oracle House has the power to see into the future."
"When the world is on the brink of a major crisis, The Oracle House will inform the hidden families and give them time to prepare and act."
"Since a thousand years ago, when the game and reality completely merged, The Oracle House suddenly appeared and helped humans survive several world-ending crises.."
"This time, however, the message from The Oracle House is vagueāwhich means the crisis approaching Earth is far more difficult to overcome."Garethās expression turned serious.
James and Eira instinctively exchanged a glance, both seeing the same worry in each otherās eyes.
At that moment, Nellieās voice cut through their thoughts.
"Aiden, come on!" Nellie raised her chin proudly, her Radiant Thorns Crown glowing brilliantly.
With a slight tightening of her grip, the thorned whip transformed into a blinding streak of light, whistling toward Aiden.
As it flew, the whip morphed into a massive, glowing serpent made of thorns, its body twisting and writhing with unnatural agilityāunpredictable, deadly, and terrifying.
Aiden didnāt hesitate. He immediately activated his defensive skill: Blacklight Ward.
A massive black light sphere suddenly materialized, encasing Aiden in an impenetrable shield.
The thorned serpent crashed into the shield with a resounding explosion.
Boom!
The impact sent a shockwave through the battlefield, and everyone instinctively turned toward Aiden.