Chapter 192: A Special Advancement Opportunity

Cain’s eyes lit up when he read the description of these items.

"A Mana potion?"

Mo Xuanye nodded.

"Where did you get these?" Cain asked as he turned the vial in his hand.

"Orbs."

Mo Xuanye pointed toward Tang Ziyue.

"Though, she was the one who opened them."

Cain looked at her with interest.

Mo Xuanye continued.

"We noticed that she obtained restoration-related items more often when we barely obtained one or two through some luck."

"So we thought that it would probably be because of her skills, since she possessed a few healing skills."

He looked toward the vial as he continued, "Naturally, it’s not guaranteed. But at least the probability seems higher."

Cain raised an eyebrow as he actually had never seriously considered that.

Orbs provided items randomly, but at the same time, it sometimes gave items compatible toward them or people around them.

At least, that’s what his experience had ever been so far in opening Orbs.

His group usually allowed whoever obtained an Orb to open it.

Sometimes they handed particular ones to people who needed equipment.

But Evelyne and Doctor Owen rarely participated directly in combat.

As healers, they seldom acquired Orbs themselves.

Cain had also tended to give them Scrolls when he wanted to improve their healing capabilities.

The possibility of deliberately letting healers open Orbs had never become a priority.

"That’s useful information."

Cain looked toward Mo Xuanye.

"Thanks."

Mo Xuanye merely nodded in response.

Cain actually couldn’t wait to test this, but for now, the two Mana potions solved the immediate problem.

Cain turned toward Ron, then Dmitri.

"So?"

He continued with a smile.

"You heard him, right?"

Cain shrugged as he spread his hands.

"The Mana problem is solved. What are you waiting for now?"

He looked between them with a mocking smile.

"Unless one of you is afraid, that is..."

Ron immediately pointed his spear at Cain.

"You bastard! Don’t you dare underestimate me."

Lightning flickered around the weapon as he glared at him.

"I know enough to be afraid of fighting you seriously."

Cain smiled faintly in response as he thought to himself that at least Ron was self-aware.

Ron then continued as he jerked his chin toward Dmitri.

"But this little bear?"

He added with a sneer in contempt.

"Why the fuck would I be afraid of him?"

Dmitri rolled one shoulder, the veins across his arm became more visible.

After that, he turned away as he snorted.

"Come with me, little rat."

Ron immediately froze for a moment, then he laughed out loudly while grinning with a vicious smile.

"Little rat?"

Lightning crackled around his body.

"Oh my–my.... You’re dead."

He followed Dmitri toward the open plaza.

Cain whistled.

Ron glanced back.

Cain merely raised an eyebrow with a faint smile.

Ron squinted his eyes, as if asking him if he was sure with it.

Cain simply nodded, his faint smile turned into a vicious one.

Ron laughed heartily before continuing forward.

Evelyne had been watching the exchange.

She became curious and walked closer to Cain.

"What was that?"

"Huh?"

"That thing between you and Ron."

Cain shrugged.

"Just a boy thing."

Evelyne’s cheeks puffed slightly.

"What does that even mean?"

Cain responded with a light chuckle.

He had simply told Ron to take advantage of the situation.

Ron understood him well enough to ask whether Cain was confident with it.

Cain had confirmed it. So, there was no reason to explain all that.

Cain stood up and the others followed.

Aurelia looked amused as this was going to be the first time she would watch the rankers’ true strength.

Mo Xuanye walked beside Tang Ziyue.

Viktor shook his head but followed as well.

A few minutes ago, everyone had been preparing for a battle that could determine their world’s future.

Now they were gathering around two idiots who wanted to fight because of something stupid.

Cain found that strangely relaxing.

The center of the ruined plaza had been cleared.

Ron stood on one side.

Dmitri faced him from the other.

The difference in their physiques was obvious as Ron had the lean build of a sprinter, while Dmitri looked much bigger.

His shoulders were broad and his arms were thick enough that the halberd in his hands did not seem particularly large.

The other humans formed a loose circle around them.

Nobody stood too close as a serious fight between powerful 2nd Echelons could easily spread beyond the area they intended.

Ron spun his spear once.

"Before we start..."

"What?" Dmitri frowned.

"Let’s make it interesting by placing a bet on it."

Dmitri narrowed his eyes.

"What kind?"

"Up to you." Ron rested the spear against his shoulder as he continued, "I’m going to win anyway."

Dmitri’s expression darkened.

Ron continued.

"So choose something you can afford to lose."

He then pointed toward himself.

"Whatever you put down, I’ll match the value."

Dmitri simply stared at him as he thought to himself about it.

This was exactly the kind of thing Cain had expected Ron to do after their earlier exchange.

A few moments later, Dmitri smiled.

"A Yellow Scroll."

Ron’s eyes lit up as he knew just how valuable it was.

When he saw Ron’s reaction, Dmitri crossed his arms.

"You said you’d match it."

Ron slowly looked toward Cain as every resource their group had obtained were in Cain’s hands and it could be said that he was the only one who could call the shots for something like this.

Naturally, Ron didn’t think much for something like the Yellow Scroll even though it was valuable, purely because Cain had given him the Red Scroll and he just thought of this as a small repayment for the Red Scroll he had obtained.

Cain met his gaze and simply nodded as he believed in Ron and his own judgement after looking at their information.

A broad smile appeared on Ron’s face as he looked back at Dmitri.

"My sponsor has already agreed."

Dmitri removed a Yellow Scroll from his belongings.

He held it up high enough for everyone to confirm what it was.

Cain took another from his Inventory, then tossed it toward Ron.

Ron caught it and held it up high too.

"See?"

He grinned at Dmitri.

"Don’t cry after losing."

Dmitri tightened his grip on the halberd.

"You talk too much."

The two prepared to move toward the center before immediately stopping when they heard the notification from the system.

[Ding!]

Ron blinked his eyes.

A translucent screen had appeared before him.

Across the plaza, Dmitri’s expression changed at the same time.

Ron looked at Cain.

"Hold on..."

"What is it?" Cain raised an eyebrow.

Ron did not answer as he read the notification before his eyes.

[Special Advancement Opportunity detected.]

[Two eligible 2nd Echelon beings possessing active 3rd-Echelon Advancement Missions have mutually agreed to a direct combat challenge.]

Ron’s eyes widened as he read the following information that appeared right away after that.

[Your current 3rd-Echelon Advancement Mission has been temporarily modified.]

[Previous Objective:]

[Kill one of the designated subordinates of the Youngest Prince of the Zombie Race.]

[Assistance may only be received from beings at the 2nd Echelon or lower.]

[Temporary Objective:]

[Defeat Dmitri in the mutually acknowledged sparring match.]

[The battle must be completed without outside interference.]

[Victory will be recognized if your opponent admits defeat, becomes unable to continue, or is otherwise conclusively defeated.]

[Upon victory, your 3rd-Echelon Advancement Mission will be considered completed.]

[Upon defeat, the temporary objective will be removed and your previous Advancement Mission will be restored.]

[Mission Progress: 0/1]

"No fucking way."

Across from him, Dmitri was reading his own screen.

His expression went through the same change.

Cain walked closer, his expression filled with curiosity when he saw that both seemed to have received the notifications from the system considering their reactions.

"What happened?"

Ron looked at him.

"My mission changed."

Cain’s eyes lit up.

"Huh? To what?"

Ron quickly explained.

When he finished, Cain became silent before looking toward Dmitri.

"You too?"

Dmitri nodded as the system had given him the mirrored objective.

Defeat Ron.

If he won, his Advancement Mission would be completed.

If he lost, he would return to the previous requirement involving one of the Youngest Prince’s subordinates.

Cain’s interest grew rapidly.

"So the System can do this..."

Cain rubbed his chin.

This completely changed their situation.

They had been preparing to enter the Central Base with several 2nd Echelons on their side still needing to kill the Youngest Prince’s subordinates.

That created competition for a limited number of targets as they didn’t know how many subordinates were there.

Not only that, the advancement mission itself was already dangerous, but if the System could temporarily replace those missions through recognized sparring matches between eligible humans...

Cain smiled slowly.

"Interesting."

He then looked around.

If the System offered the same opportunity under the right conditions, they might be able to create additional 3rd Echelons before entering the Central Base.

That would massively change the balance of power.

Cain looked toward Mo Xuanye.

Naturally, the Heavenly Demon knew what Cain was thinking about and he also had reached the same conclusion.

"This could be useful."

Cain nodded, then grinned as he continued.

"If the System allows it more than once..."

"We can test it."

Mo Xuanye glanced toward Ron and Dmitri.

"After these two finish."

"Yup." Cain nodded with a smile.

Viktor crossed his arms.

"So now this stupid argument might actually help us."

Ron looked offended.

"Stupid?"

Dmitri pointed toward him.

"It started because of —"

Before Dmitri could finish his sentence, Cain cut him off as he rubbed his forehead.

"Shut up and just fight."