Chapter 90: Forbidden Technique.

After finishing his lunch, Max agreed to meet the two at Practice Arena 7 and left the food court. His plan was to take a brief rest in his room before preparing for the next fight. He was also planning to perfect his Reversal technique since the last one had made his opponent suffer a lot.

"Marlak, why do you think this Basic Healing Magic Reversal is so powerful? Even a small amount seems very dangerous," Max asked while walking towards his room.

"I am not familiar with these kinds of attacks, but it has to do with the Life Force. When your life force attacks the opponent's Life Force, there should be some conflict or fight between the two Life Forces to dominate the other. So, that fight causes more damage, along with excruciating pain." Marlak speculated on how the Reversal technique worked and why it was so effective even in a small amount.

"Uh, that kind of makes sense. Two Life Forces fight each other to dominate," Max muttered. The book he had read for this technique gave a different kind of explanation. The life force would eat away at the individual's life force, but simply eating it up couldn't make this technique very effective. As Marlak said, there should be something else happening at the time of contact. That could be what Marlak speculated, or something else, or it could just be what the book explained simply as eating up the enemy's life force. Whatever the case, he quickly needed to learn to control and use it accordingly.

After arriving at the assigned room, Max knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, a guy opened it. The tall guy was not present in the room; only the other four remained. As for when their group battle was scheduled, Max did not know. He simply chose a spot on the elevated platform to sit down, relaxing without any thoughts in his mind, his eyes closed.

While he was in a meditation-like position, Max sensed someone approaching him. Opening his eyes, he tilted his head and saw one of the guys standing in front of him with a grim expression.

Max raised his eyebrows and gave a questioning look to the guy who had suddenly come to talk to him.

"Why did you use the forbidden technique?" he demanded. "The elders explicitly told you not to."

"Forbidden technique?" Max muttered with a bewildered expression. 'Is he talking about the Reversal Technique? That seems to be the case, and it is considered some forbidden technique in this world. Or this guy named Yorick Lakemeier must have learned something similar to his Basic Healing Magic Reversal, and these guys think it is the same. Oh, this Dungeon clearly devised a plan for him here and made him someone who had the same traits; why in the world would this damn Dungeon do this to him?'

"In order to win, you have to use everything at your disposal. What good or bad would happen to us that hasn't already happened if I do or don't use some forbidden technique? At the end of the day, I defeat the enemy. That's all that matters to me," Max said.

Hearing this, the guy's face turned red as furious rage erupted. He ground his teeth so hard that the sound could be heard from that distance.

"Vilmos, calm down. Why would you care about him? Whether he dies from using that forbidden technique or not doesn't concern us. We should focus on our own battle." Suddenly, one of the guys who still sat on the opposite side called out to the guy who stood furiously in front of Max.

Hearing this, the guy called Vilmos calmed down a little, gave Max a disgusted look, and walked away with a scoff.

Max sat there silently without much reaction on his face, but inside, he was thinking about what the guy had just said. A forbidden technique, and using it would potentially kill him. Well, he wasn't sure if Basic Healing Magic Reversal was forbidden in his world.

However, if he thought about it now, considering how no one talked about it, how the academy wasn't teaching it to students, and how he had suddenly found the book in the library, there could be a chance that this technique was forbidden and he was somehow using it without any permanent side effects, except that he would become a dried fish if he used all the life force in his body. Then he would have to use a potion for slow recovery or use [Salvation] to heal himself.

"Does using this Reversal have a hidden backlash?" Max suddenly thought. He quickly stood up, walked towards the bathroom, and locked himself inside.

"Marlak, what do you think? These guys were not talking about Basic Healing Magic Reversal, right? There must be a similar technique that the guy, Yorick, must have learned?" Max whispered.

"There are chances. The other guy must have learned some forbidden technique that matches your technique," Marlak whispered.

"I don't understand why the Dungeon would send us here. What does the Dungeon need us to achieve? Was reaching the upper Division the goal, or is there anything higher than that?" Max asked.

"I don't think Dungeons have consciousness to make decisions. Considering everything that happened in the Hidden Dungeon, how it was never cleared before, and the unusual strength of the Dungeon monsters, everything points towards some third party being involved in this Trial-like process of yours. This location is no longer considered a dungeon, but you are currently going through a Trial, as far as my knowledge goes," Marlak explained using his 400 years of knowledge.

"A third party and a Trial? That doesn't seem to be good situation," Max muttered.

"Marlak, explain this third party. Who could that be?" Max asked.

An official publication page carries this chapter, but the text shown here was taken without the author's permission.

"I don't have much knowledge. I used to hear these things while I was bound to the Dungeon. I have no extended knowledge about it," Marlak said.

"A third party!" Max muttered again. Who could this be, putting them through some weird things? What did this third party achieve from this, and what did he gain from it? If it was a trial, didn't that mean he would gain something from it?

Max silently thought for a while, and he realized that it was too early to understand everything since they had just entered this place. Ultimately, he would come to know whether he liked it or not, so worrying about things would lead him nowhere. Hence, he quickly discarded his other thoughts and started practicing the Reversal technique, trying to perfect its size.

---

After completing the quick training, Max rested until it was time for his second fight of the day. The other guys had already left the room for their own scheduled group fight.

Max left the room and walked towards Practice Arena 7. All the practice arenas were located around the colosseum, so it wasn't hard to find.

As Max entered, he was greeted by a large crowd, and the stage was already busy with a fight. Two middle-aged men were battling each other, and judging by their condition, the fight had already reached its climax. The guy who wore gauntlets had the upper hand and was likely to win, while the guy on the other side had a shield. Though it was a better match-up, both men had equal strength, and it would be hard to predict the outcome until the end. The fight had already reached its end, and the winner was the guy with the gauntlets.

Every seat in the stands was filled, and the spectators cheered for their chosen fighters, whom they had bet on, while some who had fighting knowledge had already come to a conclusion about the fight. Those who had blindly bet based on the previous record or reputation of the fighter were still believing their chosen fighter would win.

The man with the gauntlet quickly closed the distance and swung an attack, and the tired shield guy lifted his shield to counter the punch. The gauntlet-clad fist landed on the shield with great force as the guy used all his remaining strength to punch, and it worked. The force of the punch instantly shattered the shield into pieces, and the remaining impact landed on the shield guy, forcing him to fall to the ground and stop moving.

The gauntlet man stood up in victory, celebrating with newfound energy. It was definitely a close match, and he had come out as the victor. Following that, the spectators who had bet on the gauntlet man sprang to their feet as they celebrated their earnings. A few of them were disappointed by the result of the battle since they had bet on the shield guy. Soon, the stage was cleared and ready for the next fight, and it was Max's.

Max quickly walked in and showed the slip to register his arrival. The arena manager took the slip and gave Max a quick look. After checking the details, he stamped the slip. Max took it, put it into his sleeve, and walked onto the stage; his opponent had yet to arrive. The crowd stayed behind, eagerly discussing things as soon as Max entered the stage.

Max looked around to see whether the two men from Pirelli were present. As his eyes moved, he noticed a signal; it was the same guys raising his hand and giving a thumbs-up. Looking at their faces, however, he saw that they were under great stress. They must have heavily invested in this fight, and now they were nervous. Max quickly signaled them back and waited silently for his opponent to arrive.

He didn't have to wait long for the official fight to begin; a group of people entered the arena. The guy leading the group was a young man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties, wearing a very fancy and expensive-looking outfit. As the group entered, their eyes darted towards the stage where Max was standing, and Max instantly noticed the contempt their looks carried. As Simon had already mentioned earlier, the news of a Kempen guy beating someone from Roden had spread, and it showed in their looks.

Looking at the appearance and grand entrance of this group, Max guessed these guys were from some prominent country or this same Blaver country. The guy came to a stop near the arena manager, and as usual, the arena manager stood up from his chair to greet him. He bent his back to take the slip, meticulously punched the seal, and returned it. The lackeys who stood behind him quickly removed the long furry coat he was wearing and handed him a long sword.

The guy took the sword and entered the stage. When he came to a stop on the stage, it was exactly 4 in the evening, and it was time for the battle.

'A perfectionist,' Max thought.

Surprisingly, this guy was also a sword user, similar to the one he had faced earlier. Compared to the previous opponent, this guy looked stronger, so he might have to struggle a little to win the fight. The fighters were ready, and the crowd in the stands sat silently in their chairs without discussing anything. At that time, Max heard a single bell sound.

Ding!

The next second after the single bell sounded, the guy who held his sword in his left hand unsheathed it and delivered a horizontal slash. The sword let out an eerie-looking black phantom sword aura that went towards Max. Max, who had already experienced a surprise attack earlier, was ready to move away from the attack. He released mana throughout his whole body and quickly moved away from the position where he stood.

However, before he could even catch his breath, the guy sheathed and unsheathed his sword once more, releasing another black sword aura right where Max had moved. Max swiftly maneuvered away from the attack yet again. Measuring roughly 10 by 10 meters, the stage provided Max with sufficient space to dodge and run around.

Currently, the guy was continuously employing this unique attack style of sheathing and unsheathing his weapon, leaving Max unaware of what other techniques remained in his arsenal. Consequently, Max felt rather reluctant to close in for close-range combat.

Since rumors regarding him using a forbidden technique must have also spread throughout the colosseum, his opponent was merely testing him. He shouldn't be fooled by a single attack of normal speed, either. Therefore, Max felt the need to test what his opponent was truly capable of, quickly unsheathing his own sword and swinging it.

[Heavenly Cleave]

A skill of his own, producing a similarly eerie black sword aura that surged across the stage toward his opponent. Seeing the incoming attack, the guy sent out a horizontal sword aura to counter it. The two sword auras collided right in the middle of the stage, and a massive shockwave erupted with a loud explosion.

Max was slightly surprised by this event. Given that the current proficiency of his [Heavenly Cleave] was only 16%, it had actually neutralized his opponent's attack. That told him the guy wasn't being serious and was merely testing the waters, or his [Heavenly Cleave] was strong enough to counter the sword attack, which he highly doubted.

"This battle is going to be hard to win," Max muttered, as his opponent seemed very calm, collected, and tactical. Most of all, he wasn't acting like some high-and-mighty noble who asked him to kneel and admit defeat. That much told him the guy was very clever and wasn't underestimating his opponent. This kind of opponent was something Max never liked, since it also pushed him beyond his limits, but without pushing his limits he wouldn't grow, so he prepared himself for a grueling battle.

[Heavenly Cleave]