Chapter 132: Carbon [1]

"Did you hear?"

"Are you talking about Aurelius?"

"Oh, so you already know."

"Yeah. Someone found him passed out in his room. They say all colour had drained from his face, pointing to signs of Spark drain."

"Mm. What do you think happened to him? He only just returned from his first mission. Do you think it had something to do with that?"

"Most likely."

Word was spreading about Aurelius’ collapse, and fast. When Adam heard about it, he was momentarily surprised. There was only one thing that could leave him in that state.

The gryphon.

The origins of that beast were unknown. Yet that boy had been hellbent on taming it. But whether that was the true cause of his collapse had nothing to do with him.

When evening came, Adam wasted no time disappearing from the academy under a different face. Reaching the city, he paid a visit to a few gambling halls, walking away with more than a million.

That much money could have drawn a lot of attention, but Adam got around it with his tech abilities. This was something he could have always done whenever he wanted, and there would be no one to stop him.

Naturally, one of the houses tried to steal the money, but Adam disappeared like he was never there.

At Battle Clash later that evening, Adam managed to convince the workers to see the chief of operations.

"For someone unknown, you sure have the means." The chubby man behind the desk observed keenly. "So what is this proposal you wish to make? And no, you can’t pay your way to the top."

"No, it’s nothing of the sort," Adam assured with a faint smile.

"Then I’m all ears."

"Something important came up for me, and I will need to be away for about a week. I was hoping there was a way to get around that without losing my quota." Adam stated in one breath.

"Hmm. Your situation isn’t all that unique. I’ve had a few of those. But they’re usually reserved for our most capable stars. You have nothing to your name, Dante." The chubby man replied as he swayed in his chair.

Adam, or rather, Dante, did not relent.

"I’m sure there must be something that could be done, right?" Dante probed gently.

"Hmm..."

The chubby seemed to fall into thought. Although Adam had proven his means, they weren’t really lacking in money. The man’s eyes seemed to sparkle after a few moments of thought.

"There’s this event we’ve been planning and would introduce into the tournament later on. But this is as good a time as any. Say yes, and that one-week break is yours."

Adam did not immediately reply. He didn’t know what it was, but since it was related to the tournament, it was probably fine.

"Okay... What is this event about?"

"Excellent, Dante. Of course, the condition is that you come out victorious." The chubby man added with something akin to a sinister grin.

***

[Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back to Battle Clash!]

The announcer’s voice echoed all the way to the waiting room.

[Tonight, we’re introducing something special. Something that will keep everyone on their toes in excitement!]

Adam sat on a bench already dressed in an outfit, a black mask with a blue stripe running down the left eye. He let out a sigh as the announcer continued getting the crowd ready for the event.

’This is just crazy.’

When the chief of operations had made the proposal, he had thought it was some kind of Battle Royal. And although true to an extent, it was designed to make just one opponent suffer.

And in this case, he was the unfortunate opponent.

’Fighting five people all at once, huh.’

Had it been just five random people, it wouldn’t be too much of an issue. The problem was that he would be fighting a team of Second Realm awakeners. The premise here was that a team composed of individually weaker opponents would stand against a stronger singular opponent.

Adam sighed again and rose to his feet, making his way to the stage. The announcer had already called for the team. It was now his turn to step into the limelight.

[And their opponent, ladies and gentlemen. I give you the sophisticated, the newly ordained master of copies, Carbon....!]

Adam chuckled as he walked into the cheering and booing limelight. The name sounded silly, but it was the best he could come up with, and it directly hinted at what he was capable of as Dante.

As the bright lights swallowed him whole, Adam opened his eyes to a massive crowd of thousands, their cheers and boos deafening. The arena had more than enough room for people at the Second Realm.

And on the other side of the arena were his five opponents who were dressed in matching outfits. Adam counted three guys and two women, all of whom were looking at him like he was dead meat.

[Alright, ladies and gentlemen, get ready to witness a clash of teamwork against overwhelming odds! Will the team come out on top, or will the solo contender sweep the floor with them?!]

"This might be over sooner than we anticipated!"

"Yeah. That Carbon guy looks way too weak. There’s nothing intimidating about him!"

The criticisms were already flying, as Adam looked way too plain to put up a fight. It was only natural, as Adam was a nobody going up against five people.

"I bet the poor guy is regretting his life decisions!"

"My money is on the Stormbreakers! There’s no way a copy could ever beat the originals!"

While the criticisms and commentary went on, the announcer turned to the fighters.

[Are you ready?!]

The Stormbreakers gave their signal.

Adam was already doing some bouncing footwork to get into the mood. He gave his signal to the announcer as well, taking a deep breath to use an element he hadn’t had the chance to use before.

’Alright, Adam. Don’t end this fight too quickly. Make it as flashy as possible.’ He reminded himself as he bounced on his toes. ’It’s also the perfect opportunity to practise my martial arts style.’

[Fight!]

The signal finally came.