Chapter 263

Since this was called the first phase, it was only natural that a second—and even a third—would follow.

Originally, Kanzaki Rei had planned that after completing his Death Priest advancement, he would immediately push his Warrior class forward as well.He had even finished preparing the dungeon sacrifices in advance, intending to complete the promotion and then fulfill the Warrior’s creed.

But Ansu’s sudden appearance had completely disrupted his plan.

Otherwise... he would already be a Level 5 Warrior by now.

What he hadn’t expected even more was that combat against the others would come so soon.

He couldn’t predict the pattern behind these rules at all.

Winning allowed you to seize the opponent’s score.

But what exactly were these scores for?

So far, everyone had already received rewards in the first round—effectively cashing in their scores once.

Which implied something important:

Scores would still have major use going forward.

That was the logical deduction.

But—

This entity operated on chaos.

There was no guarantee it followed logic.

What if the score system was just something it came up with on a whim?

What if, in the end, the scores meant absolutely nothing beyond appearances?

An unpredictable existence was always the most troublesome.

At this moment, everyone’s appearances were fully revealed.

Among the fourteen present—including himself—ten were completely unfamiliar faces.

Aegmesar’s form began to churn.

Though its exterior didn’t visibly change, Kanzaki Rei sensed something subtle—

As if its inner layer had flipped outward, like mist being turned inside out.

It spoke again:

"However... the elimination phase will not occur during the challenges."

"Those who lose in battle will only lose their points."

A low, eerie chuckle followed.

"All of you here are inheritors of some higher existence."

"I imagine... you will meet again in the real world soon enough."

Within the black mist, finger-like shapes intertwined.

"The next short period of time... is yours."

"You may converse freely."

"If anyone is eager to challenge someone, simply state their name to me."

"Oh—and one more thing."

"Each person may issue only one challenge."

"After all, there is no penalty for challenging. If you were allowed to challenge endlessly, it would become rather... troublesome for the one being challenged."

With that, Aegmesar’s presence began to fade.

It dissolved into a formless gray mist... and vanished from sight.

Very quickly, everyone realized—

They were now the protagonists of this stage.

Not Aegmesar.

Kanzaki Rei narrowed his eyes slightly.

Silently, he pushed his God-Tier Talent: Unsolvable Enigma further.

At this moment—

Although he still held the highest score...

No one remembered his name anymore.

Even those who had known it before—like Yelia and Rhine—had already forgotten.

The inheritors glanced at one another.

But no one spoke.

No one broke the silence.

Rhine looked left and right—

Only to realize that everyone’s gaze had unconsciously gathered on him.

His lips twitched.

Sure, he was usually outgoing...

But this was clearly not a lively situation.

Being pushed forward like this—

He scratched his head helplessly and stepped out.

"Uh... hello everyone? I’m Rhine, from the Church of Fortune—"

Before he could even finish—

The man ranked thirteenth, Xie Chen—now rendered as Shane—pointed directly at him.

"I challenge you."

"Aegmesar. I want to challenge this guy. That’s allowed, right?"

A faint will echoed from the gray mist:

"State the target’s name clearly."

Shane crossed his arms, chin raised with pride.

"I challenge—Rhine."

The gray presence responded:

"Confirmed. Rhine, you have been challenged."

"...Huh?!"

Rhine’s face twitched.

"Hey, man... we don’t have any beef, do we?"

Shane stretched his arms, his muscles coiling like steel cables.

"What are you talking about, ’beef’?"

"I just want to fight!"

"You look like the strongest one here—I want to fight you!"

Rhine sighed.

Strongest?

Where exactly did he get that idea?

Scores didn’t equal strength, did they?

"That score was inflated," Rhine tried to explain.

Boom—

There was no time for explanations.

The battlefield expanded instantly.

The small plaza transformed into a vast arena, as large as a city.

A faint barrier of light formed between heaven and earth.

Outside the barrier, Kanzaki Rei and the others floated in the air—

Watching from above.

Aegmesar’s voice echoed through the world:

"The challenge has begun."

Kanzaki Rei observed from above.

A dedicated battlefield... and even spectator stands?

Interesting.

But what interested him more—

Was their true strength.

Especially Rhine.

In all his prior future simulations, he had never once truly seen Rhine fight.

Rhine sighed again.

"I’m really not good at fighting..."

BOOM!

Before he could finish—

A violent shockwave exploded from Shane’s position!

In the next instant—

Rhine was struck head-on!

A straight punch slammed into his face!

CRASH—

Rhine spun through the air like a launched top, spiraling as he was blasted into the distance!

"I surrender!"

WHOOSH!

Just as Shane chased forward, preparing to unleash a storm of follow-up attacks—

Rhine surrendered.

Shane’s pursuing punch slammed down—

But black mist surged forward, stopping his strike mid-air.

BOOM!

In the distance, the ground collapsed into a massive crater.

Cracks spread for dozens of kilometers.

"The battle is over."

"Shane—you win."

"These 200,250,000 points now belong to you."

FLASH!

Rhine’s score dropped to zero—

And instantly transferred to Shane.

Rhine rubbed his face.

"Hiss... that hurt."

Shane stared at him coldly.

"...Why didn’t you fight back?"

"If I can’t beat you, why would I fight?" Rhine replied matter-of-factly.

Anger flared in Shane’s voice:

"If you can’t win, you don’t fight? What kind of logic is that?!"

"If I wanted to kill you, would you just stand there and let me?!"

Rhine sighed helplessly.

"I surrendered because I didn’t want to get killed."

Shane’s hair seemed ready to stand on end.

"Why won’t you fight?!"

"I’m not good at fighting—how am I supposed to fight?" Rhine shot back.

"How can someone in this world not be good at fighting?!" Shane retorted.

"Why does being in this world mean you have to be good at fighting?" Rhine argued. "Some people just aren’t suited for it!"

Rhine felt like there was no reasoning with him.

But from above—

Kanzaki Rei found Shane’s words... somewhat reasonable.

In his previous life, perhaps it wouldn’t matter.

But in this world—

Where monsters roamed freely...

Where Rhine himself was a chosen inheritor of a god—

Saying he couldn’t fight...

Was like standing in a mathematics olympiad and claiming you couldn’t do arithmetic.

It made no sense.

Regardless—

The result was already decided.

Rhine had lost.

All his points were gone.

And just as that challenge ended—

Another voice rang out from above:

"Aegmesar—I challenge him."

"I challenge the one called Shane."

Kanzaki Rei followed the voice—

And saw that it was Yelia.

Oh?

So it begins.

This time—

There’s no way it won’t turn into a real fight.

Let’s see...

Just how strong they really are.

Yelia stepped into the center of the battlefield.

Before Shane could even speak—

A burst of golden light detonated right in front of him!

Blazing holy flames engulfed his entire body in an instant!

A sword flash followed—

Clean.

Effortless.

Like slicing through tofu—

It cut through Shane’s seemingly indestructible body.

This strike—

Was fast.

Unbelievably fast.

And impossibly sharp.

So sharp that it left no room to defend—

Only a stunned expression...

And the afterimage of Yelia’s blade—

A single, decisive slash that cleaved straight through him.