Chapter 355: Fighting a Sage

As Leon stood in the center of the massive red arena, suddenly the voice that had been making announcements shifted—and he recognized it immediately with a cold shiver of dread.

No. Not him.

The memory of terror was still painfully fresh in his mind, where he’d nearly been executed by this man just for looking at some books. Leon’s eyes tracked upward toward the top of the giant stairs where the voice originated.

Of course, he’s the one announcing. Of course.

He didn’t understand what was being said in their harsh language, but the announcement ended abruptly. Then suddenly, many Pyrrhan warriors started jumping down into the same arena from various positions.

THUD! CRASH! BOOM!

Some leaped directly from the sky, dismounting from their flying companions mid-flight. Others descended from the higher stairs—from the top level or one below. A few even stepped back cautiously as they eyed each other with competitive assessment.

What?! What’s happening?!

For a terrifying moment, Leon panicked completely. Does he have to fight all of them at once?! That would be impossible—certain death!

However, as he watched more carefully, he noticed how they were eyeing each other warily rather than focusing on him. The realization clicked.

Oh. I have to choose which one I’ll fight. It’s my decision.

That seemed generous at first, but looking at all of them more carefully made his blood run cold.

They all seem incredibly strong. I’m not even sure if I could win against a single one of these seven people now standing before me.

Just then, out of nowhere, Leon heard a voice speaking as he was frantically going through each warrior’s status information on his transparent golden system screen, trying desperately to determine which one to choose.

All of them were at fucking Sage rank.

Sage rank. Every single one. I’m so screwed.

The voice that interrupted his analysis was coming from far too close. He freaked out internally—his spatial awareness hadn’t picked up how this person had arrived here without detection.

How did he—?!

It was the same overwhelmingly powerful bastard from before—the terrifying man who’d nearly killed him.

Standing right beside Leon now.

The man looked at him with those deep crimson eyes and said a few words in his language, then gestured toward the seven warriors standing in formation.

"Vel’kresh mandor sikara. TOR."

Leon wanted to seriously slap this arrogant man. His attitude—saying those words with such supreme confidence as if Leon would obviously understand them, when he clearly didn’t know their language at all.

Speak normally! Oh wait, you are. Damn it!

However, one thing Leon had managed to guess from context: the man was asking him to choose his opponent from among these seven warriors.

Most of them looked genuinely eager, shifting their stances and gripping their weapons tighter, but it was obvious to Leon that their eagerness was not coming for him but due to the presence of the terrying man.

They want this fight. They want to face me.

Leon desperately wanted more time to investigate thoroughly and analyze each warrior’s abilities before making this critical choice. However, the piercing gaze from the psychotic freak standing beside him pressured him to make the decision immediately.

Faster. Choose faster, or this monster might get annoyed and decide to fight me himself instead.

That was absolutely the last thing Leon wanted.

All seven warriors standing before him radiated terrifyingly strong presences—much, much stronger than anything he’d ever faced before in combat. Even the Coreborn Morpheus seemed relatively weak compared to these absolute monsters.

But even then... even with all seven of them being terrifying... the most dangerous person here is still the man standing beside me right now.

So Leon made his decision quickly, his survival instinct overriding his desire for thorough analysis.

The information he’d managed to detect through his system about these seven warriors was limited but crucial: all of them were around level 60, solidly in the Sage rank cultivation realm, and every single one possessed two affinities—Fire and Taming—exactly the same combination.

Fire and Taming. Their racial affinities, probably.

He wanted desperately to see more detailed information about their skills and techniques, but he simply hadn’t had enough time because of the monster standing beside him, watching with those burning eyes.

Choose. Now.

Leon made his final decision and pointed directly at a tall red-haired woman standing slightly to the side. Her hair was noticeably the lightest shade of red out of all seven warriors—still red, but different was too obvious.

Her.

Leon had observed through his system that she possessed the highest level out of all of them—level 61, one above the others.

However, what was genuinely different and significant about her was this: every single other warrior had Rank 6 Fire Affinity as their primary element. Their Taming affinity ranks varied from 4 to 6, but Fire was consistently Rank 6 across the board.

Except for her.

She had only Rank 5 Fire Affinity—one full rank lower than her peers.

Her level might be the highest, but I’m betting on the fact that Fire affinity is absolutely fundamental to their race’s combat style somehow. One rank lower might give me an opening.

So he chose her based on that strategic calculation.

Also, she looked the least menacing and intimidating out of all seven options. She stood around five feet six inches tall. There were three other women in the lineup, but they all looked noticeably tougher and more battle-hardened.

But my main reason for choosing her is definitely that she is one rank lower in Fire affinity. That has to matter.

After his choice was made clear, the crowd had an intense, explosive reaction—though Leon couldn’t tell if it indicated his decision was considered good or foolish.

"KRESH! MANDOR! VEL SIKARA!"

The roar was deafening, making his ears ring.

The arena floor rapidly emptied. Now, only the chosen woman, Leon, and the terrifying announcer man remained in the vast space.

The man said something in his characteristically deep voice, the words traveling clearly to every edge of the massive arena through some kind of sound amplification.

"VEL’KRESH MANDOR SIKARA TOR KALA!"

After his announcement, the woman hefted a massive red greatsword—almost exactly the same height as her entire body—and looked calmly toward one corner at the far end of the arena.

The speed at which she arrived there made Leon break out in cold sweat.

What the—?!

She almost completely vanished from his sight for a fraction of a second, even when he was actively covering the entire arena with his spatial awareness at maximum sensitivity.

That speed is... insane.

Seeing her take position, Leon also moved to the opposite end of the arena. But unlike her casual movement, he immediately activated his strongest combat form without holding anything back.

His Transcendent rank Mana Body Enhancement surged to maximum power, flooding his muscles with overwhelming energy. Raijin’s Descent activated simultaneously, lightning crackling across his skin.

CRACKLE! BUZZ! HUMMM!

Not only that, but he immediately activated his Elemental Surge technique right then—not saving it for later, but deploying it from the very start of combat.

WHOOOOSH!

His affinities surged from Rank 7 to Rank 8 instantly; the power increase was dramatic and intoxicating.

I feel much stronger than when I fought the Coreborn, because of my level increase.

But still, looking across the arena at his opponent, he truly wasn’t confident he could defeat her.

This is bad. Really bad.