Novel Full Chapter 899: A Bout
Chapter 899: A Bout
After Director Lin, the name of the female elder, found something for Michael to cover himself and secured the surviving elves from the wreckage of his manor, a sight that left him quietly guilty, she led him to a location he had never been to before.
He could tell it was a place reserved for academy staff. And though the location and intent were different, Michael couldn’t help noticing how similar it was to the training space where he had once fought Rynne.
A familiar structure stood at the center, and though he hadn’t stepped inside yet he could already tell the space within was probably of a higher grade than the one he knew.
He had a guess as to why Director Lin had brought him here. He just wasn’t sure how he felt about it yet.
Director Lin said nothing immediately. She could barely contain the questions building up inside her, but there was one she couldn’t stop thinking about above the rest. Michael’s actual combat power. And what better way to find out than to see it directly?
With her level of strength there was no risk of things going wrong on her end, and against her Michael could push himself without holding back. She would see exactly how far the boy had come.
What Michael didn’t know was that the moment the two of them entered the alternate space inside the facility, four figures appeared outside.
Had Michael been there he would have recognized all of them. The other four Rank 4 powerhouses who had stood with him during the tribulation.
Two elders stood with their arms crossed, gazes fixed forward. The third remained quiet, almost blending into the background despite the weight of his presence.
And then there was Arven.
He stood slightly apart from the others, dressed in a loose long shirt layered over a short crop top. The combination should have looked odd. Somehow it didn’t. It suited him, casual and deliberate without exposing anything unnecessary.
His eyes flicked toward the sealed space where Michael and Director Lin had entered.
A faint smile appeared. "You lot really aren’t even trying to hide it, are you?"
No one responded.
Arven clicked his tongue lightly. "Four Rank 4 powerhouses gathering just to spy on a kid." He let out a quiet laugh. "That’s a bit embarrassing, don’t you think?"
Silence.
One of them shifted slightly, clearly irritated.
Arven didn’t stop. "If word gets out, what happens to your reputations? People might start thinking you’ve all grown old and bored."
Finally one of them reacted. "Says the one standing here with us." The voice was low and unamused.
Arven blinked once. Then his smile widened. "Oh, I’m just here for entertainment."
One of them exhaled sharply. "You talk too much."
"And you lot don’t talk enough. It balances out."
That was when it happened. One of them, clearly fed up, spoke without thinking.
"Aren’t you the oldest among us anyway?"
The words left his mouth and the air changed immediately.
The man who spoke froze. The expressions of the other two stiffened and all three quietly created distance from Arven without making it obvious.
Arven’s face had gone still. He stared at the three of them, whose bodies had gone rigid, without any readable expression.
Their reaction was not inappropriate. Arven was unpredictable at the best of times, and unfortunately for everyone around him he also happened to be extraordinarily powerful.
They didn’t call him the closest thing to a demigod in Aurora for nothing.
None of the three were weak, but in a real fight, even if they somehow managed to kill Arven, at least one of them would not walk away.
Fortunately Arven did not go the direction they feared. Instead he shifted his gaze back toward the alternate space.
What the three didn’t know was that he had considered it. He simply chose not to.
To Arven himself he was perfectly sane, even if he remained very self-aware of his instability. But something had shifted in him since the incident with Michael, when the boy had made clear he would rather face death than seek help from him. That moment had broken something loose inside Arven. Without realizing it, he had started wanting to be someone children didn’t run from.
Arven’s gaze lingered on the sealed space a moment longer. Then his eyes flickered slightly. "Looks like we’re about to get company."
The others felt it too without him needing to say it. Multiple presences approaching from several directions.
One of the elders clicked his tongue. "Nosy."
Arven chuckled lightly. "Can you blame them? After everything that just happened? Of course they’d come running."
"They’re almost here," one of them muttered.
Arven stretched lazily. "In that case we should leave."
His gaze shifted slightly upward and all four of them vanished. They reappeared high above the academy grounds, and from below not a single person noticed.
Figures began arriving one after another. Teachers first. Then students, and not ordinary ones. Elite. They gathered around the training facility with their eyes fixed on the sealed space, low murmurs spreading through the crowd.
"I heard Director Lin went in with him."
"That monster?"
"Are you stupid? That was obviously Michael."
"Are you sure?"
It couldn’t be helped. Michael was already well known within the academy and anything involving him drew attention. With Director Lin personally involved, there was no way people would simply walk past.
The reason none of them had rushed in immediately was out of consideration for Director Lin. After what had just happened outside the manor, they already had a reasonable idea of why the two of them were there.
Meanwhile Michael, who had no idea what was happening outside the alternate space, was busy observing his surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was that the space felt tighter than the one where he had fought Rynne. Simply put, he doubted he could force his way out of here with brute strength alone. That alone confirmed his suspicion. This was a space built for higher caliber individuals, constructed to contain power that would have torn through the previous one without much effort.
Unfortunately the scenery left something to be desired.
It was just a lonely looking desert.
Michael swept his gaze across the empty expanse and his eyes narrowed slightly before shifting toward Director Lin.
"...What are we doing here?"
"...Don’t play stupid." Her tone was calm.
Michael scratched his cheek lightly. "...I’m not."
Director Lin let out a soft breath, almost amused. "Good."
She took a few steps forward, her boots sinking slightly into the dry sand. "This space is reinforced to withstand Rank 4 level combat." Her gaze returned to him. "Do you understand what that means?"
Michael didn’t answer, but his eyes sharpened slightly.
"It means you don’t need to hold back," Director Lin continued. A faint pressure spread from her body. "Use this opportunity to gauge your strength and gain control over it. Before you destroy something else."
Her lips curved faintly.
Michael winced slightly at that. "...You want to spar."
"Fight," she corrected casually. "Call it whatever makes you more comfortable."
Michael stared at her for a moment. "...You’re serious."
Director Lin tilted her head slightly. "Do I look like I’m joking?"
She added something else almost as an afterthought. "And if I’m satisfied, I might overlook the cost of rebuilding your manor and pay for it myself."
Michael wasn’t sure he heard that correctly. "...Seriously?"
Director Lin shrugged lightly. "Maybe. If you’re worth it."
Something in Michael shifted. The earlier reluctance faded, replaced by something sharper.
"...Alright."
Director Lin had barely finished speaking when a fist appeared directly in front of her face.
It stopped just short of contact.
But the space behind her did not survive as cleanly. The shockwave from the movement alone tore through the ground, sand and compressed air erupting outward in a violent ring that carved a deep furrow into the desert floor several meters behind where she stood.
Director Lin had not moved. She had frozen the space directly in front of her face, a thin layer of solidified air sitting between her and Michael’s knuckles like a wall.
Michael immediately created distance, pushing back several meters. "...Rank 4 really are something else," he muttered under his breath.
He had moved at several times the speed of sound and she had still reacted in time.
What Michael didn’t know was that the hand Director Lin had kept behind her back was trembling slightly.
A thought had formed in her mind and she was actively refusing to finish it. After all, Michael had only just ascended. Yes, he was several levels ahead thanks to circumstances only he would know about, but that didn’t change the fact that he had just ascended to Rank 3.
However that punch.
That punch just now.
That was not something a Rank 3 should be capable of.
*
A/N: Thanks for reading today’s Chapters! I appreciate the continued support!