Chapter 185: A Challenge to the Protagonist!

’Dragonpiercer! Tch...think about naming it so grand.’

Soren thought, looking at the name in the panel. Isolde must have loved her craft a bit much to name it like this.

After all, it was made up of the spine of a draconic being containing a trace of Dragon bloodline. Let alone piercing the Dragon, it wouldn’t be able to stand its aura alone.

’But I have to say, she made it look quite elegant and perfect for a C-rank.’

Soren gave the praise where it was due.

Looking at the weapon in its bow form, the fossilized spine of the fallen ThornScale Drake he himself had killed now curved into a smooth yet predatory arc, pulsing with a sinister glow in his hand. It gave off a different kind of noble feeling.

Maybe this was what a hunter should feel? Soren didn’t know, and he did feel a bit proud nonetheless.

"Wow...this looked so awesome. Hey, is that aura effect?"

Not only him, but Sylvia, Aria, Aurelia, and even Evan found his bow extraordinary, as they looked at it in awe.

While Evan’s sword was also good-looking, Soren’s looked a bit more mystical, full of the draconic aura of a level 60 being.

After all, it was entirely made up of spine, unlike Soren’s. Not to mention, Soren had allowed Isolde to use even the Mana Core and blood of the ThornScale.

To be honest, looking at its aura, just its presence alone might scare away a low-level beast. Fortunately, it could be hidden easily with just a thought.

"Looks cool, right?"

Soren heard Evan and gave a smile, showing off his bow.

"Yeah...and it seems to belong to a draconic monster above level 50. Just...where did you even get all this?"

Evan was confused. He could feel that his sword was made from the refined bones of the same monster.

But where did Soren even get such materials? Even ignoring the level, just the draconic origin alone made them extremely valuable.

He didn’t think Soren had such connections.

"Don’t mind where I got it. That’s not important. Rather, don’t you want to test that sword of yours?"

Soren changed the topic and suddenly asked, signaling toward the sword in Evan’s hand.

"Hmm? Oh...yeah. Of course I want to. Just...here?"

Evan looked around, feeling that using a sword inside their base camp might not be a good idea.

"Don’t worry. I have a place. Let’s go."

But Soren suddenly smiled mysteriously before asking everyone to gather around.

Then, to Evan’s absolute surprise, he directly teleported all of them into the forest outside the camp, where he had previously placed an Anchor.

The good thing about his S-rank Artifact,

Dimensional Anchor

, was that as long as someone remained within a certain radius, he could teleport them together.

Although the mana expenditure and cooldown would increase, it was still an extremely useful feature.

*Swoosh!*

"This..."

As soon as Evan abruptly found himself inside the forest, he turned toward Soren in shock.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say at all.

Even if he could tell Soren was doing this because of the unknown prism in his hand, it still didn’t lessen his surprise.

If anything, it only made him frown more as he felt that Soren was becoming increasingly strange.

’This doesn’t make sense.’

It really didn’t.

He knew who Soren used to be, and precisely because of that, he found this drastic change even harder to understand.

"What? Don’t you want to test your sword? I also want to test my new bow. So...how about we spar?"

Soren suddenly asked with a smirk after noticing Evan’s gaze, his hand tightening around the bow.

He hadn’t teleported here just so Evan could test his sword. He wanted to test his own weapon as well.

More than that, he wanted to fight this protagonist.

The thought had appeared in his mind only moments ago, yet now he couldn’t shake it off at all.

Instead, a strange thrill suddenly surged through him, his eyes gradually igniting with the fire of challenge.

To be honest, Soren knew that if he fought Evan normally without using any cards, he would lose instantly without the slightest doubt.

But what if he used his cards?

Or rather, just how many cards would he need to defeat Evan? Would his high level alone be enough, or would he have to rely on the GAP stat as well?

Evan was the protagonist of this novel after all.

Of course Soren wanted to know.

"Oh?"

Evan was clearly surprised by the suggestion and quickly replied,

"Spar? Why not? But..."

He paused for a moment before giving Soren an awkward smile.

"Are you sure? I’m not looking down on you or anything, but you’re an archer and I..."

He didn’t finish the sentence, yet everyone understood what he meant. And honestly, he wasn’t wrong.

Due to the difference in their classes, this spar could never be completely fair. Soren was a ranger, while Evan specialized in close combat.

How were they even supposed to fight properly like this?

The moment Evan managed to close the distance, the match would practically be over. And if Soren was allowed to keep a large gap from the start, then it would feel less like a spar and more like Evan was simply being tested instead.

"Don’t worry. I already have the perfect idea for this. So...are you ready or not?"

But Soren merely gave a mysterious smile before asking once again.

After all, Evan’s reasoning would have been correct if Soren were a normal archer. Unfortunately for him, Soren wasn’t.

For one, Evan still had no idea that Soren’s level had already reached 49, higher than anyone present here. That alone was enough to make up for a considerable handicap.

Besides, unlike what Evan believed, Soren wasn’t completely helpless in close combat either.

Sure enough, Evan also sensed the unusual confidence radiating from Soren and slowly straightened his posture, his expression turning solemn.

To be honest, even though he didn’t show it outwardly, he was just as excited for this spar as Soren himself.

There was no way he would refuse now.

Still, the confidence pouring from Soren felt both unsettling and slightly disrespectful to him.

After all, he was a powerful swordsman.

"Okay then. Let’s spar."

Evan gave a handsome smile, his overwhelming confidence clashing head-on against Soren’s steadily rising aura.

If Soren truly believed that his recent increase in strength was enough to defeat him, then he was thoroughly mistaken.

Evan admitted that he couldn’t match the overwhelming, destructive power behind Soren’s arrows. But a real fight was about far more than sheer power alone.

An attack held no value if it couldn’t hit its target.

And he, Evan Alarion, was confident he could cut through any attack Soren launched at him.

Even...

Even that

Helios Piercer

!