With the death of Derek, this competition which was supposed to be exciting suddenly became somber.
Esmeria went on to qualify for the next stage and the matches continued uninterrupted despite the death of a competitor. With the backing of a S-rank adventurer she didn't have to face any repercussions nor any small tricks from the other side.
This is also one of the reasons why the empire will always send someone to investigate and penetrate the local hierarchy of a secret realm. Many troublesome matters can be dealt with or directly avoided by planting hidden agents within the authority.
Time passed and soon it was noon.
Wuryan walked on the field and stood opposite of his opponent. His entry also attracted attention from the crowd. As a noble from the Five Founding Families he naturally had an exquisite face and a strong sense of aloofness when facing outsiders.
"Oh! This is… Wuryan, right? Another disciple of Orion."
"Hmm? What a handsome lad! I have to say Orion's five disciples would be very popular if they ever go into the entertainment industry."
"Say, did you accept disciples while not only looking at the talents but also the face?"
Some S-rank strongmen discussed and questioned Orion after recognizing Wuryan. As disciples of the contemporary strongest adventurer all of their available public information has been collected by most of the interested party. Even those who were uninterested before had to remember the five disciples' basic information lest one of their juniors offended the five to death.
No one wanted to be at odds with him. The deaths of three S-rank were still vivid in their mind.
"..."
Orion kept silent. He really didn't want to answer any more questions regarding those five. He was worried that he might say something offensive unintentionally. The fact that a commoner like him was disguising the identity of a master to five nobles already gave him a huge pressure.
If time could turn back then he would definitely let someone else from the advanced team take the role of S-rank backer. Now, he really regrets it!!
On the field.
Wuryan nodded at his opponent in greetings and waited for the referee's signal. His opponent was a chubby guy with a huge mace. He also wore light armor. Seeing his greeting, Randy also nodded back.
Unlike Derek who was just an acquaintance of a S-rank adventurer's relative, Randy was different. His father is a S-rank strongman in the coalition. Because of this he had already been informed of Wuryan's background.
One of the five disciples of Ghost Spear Orion!
He naturally heard from his father about Orion's recent achievement of killing three S-rank consecutively. Someone who could be accepted as a disciple from such a fierce man must be very talented and full of potential.
That blond beauty's unreasonable strength and ruthlessness also flashed in his mind. For a second he couldn't help but get nervous. He then decided, don't provoke the other party in any words or form!
That dead guy was the best example.
You only have one life and if you lose it for provoking others then it would really be a huge joke. The most tragic thing is that after your death the murderer wouldn't even face any punishment. Damn, that guy really died a pitiful death.
As soon as the referee gave the signal for the start of the match Randy sprinted forward with his mace raised above his head. He has already deployed the Mana Barrier and was vigilant about any incoming spells.
According to the information, Wuryan was a mage. Though no one hasn't seen him in action the spells a mage profession could cast were well-known to anyone and not to mention even though he might be very talented but the ultimate weakness of a mage that is close combat would still be subjected to him.
Randy naturally wanted to take advantage of it and force him in close quarters from the get go.
It was indeed a sound plan but reality was very harsh.
When Wuryan heard the signal he waved his wand and ten fireballs condensed in front of him. The shocking thing is that the size of those fireballs were as big as a washbasin. The speed of condensation and the launch speed were even more outrageous.
Swish! Swish!!
When the ten fireballs condensed in a second and shot forward at Randy's location with a sonic boom, in the VIP box Randy's father instantly got up from his seat in shock and hurriedly casted a Mana Shield.
Orion only glanced without stopping the other party. If he dared to show any intention to attack the noble then he would have taken action immediately and executed the offender on the spot.
Randy's face showed deep horror when the ten huge fireballs condensed. Just as he was about to shout his surrender he was stunned for a second when those fireballs disappeared from the spot. Before he could understand what was happening a translucent spherical shield enveloped him out of thin air.
The next moment his vision was filled with raging flame that seemed to drown him from all directions. The Mana Shield casted by a S-rank actually fluctuated from the sheer impact and high temperature of those fireballs but it still withstood the bombardment without showing any sign of collapse.
Randy collapsed on the ground after seeing the scene. He completely fainted when he realized that he was so close to death.
In the VIP box, Randy's father took a deep look at Wuryan. He then looked at Orion and wanted to say something but the other party took the initiative, "Don't misunderstand. He wasn't actually trying to kill your son. Look over there."
He pointed at the field.
Wuryan was frowning. He didn't expect that even when he tried to limit the power at the lowest possible point he still almost killed his opponent. After reaching the Initial Stage of Level 1 in this secret realm he hasn't fought with anyone.
When he was ambushed by those assassins he only casted a Metal Dome for defense while Xar dragged them all in an illusion. Because he didn't have any opportunity to test his strength with the natives he misjudged the other side's capability.
Usually this weak attack was supposed to be a probe to see the opponent's next methods but who would have thought that let alone dodging it and making a move the guy just stood there without being able to react to it.
"Well, that's a blunder. I subconsciously compared this guy's next reaction to how humans in the empire would deal with it. Should I have paid attention to the previous matches?"
He reviewed the mistake in his mind. The ongoing matches could naturally be viewed in the waiting room's tv where the competitors are in stand by. The five of them were actually holed up in their own rooms and doing their own things.
Wuryan guesses that since the other four are true geniuses unlike a faker like him who relies on the task panel and adds points to get through they must be understanding the rule modules of their respective paths. The true geniuses are more hardworking than others could imagine, or so he always thought.
Seize every minute and opportunity to better themselves.
Because he earned some points in the previous Hobgoblin extermination quest he added points in the chosen path of five elements. The previous incomprehensible rule modules suddenly became easy for him to comprehend. This is also the reason why he didn't watch the matches to pass the waiting time.
He was comprehending those modules.
Starting from Level 4 one must understand the cosmic rules of their chosen path. Wuryan chose the five elements as his path on the journey of evolution. The five elements of fire, water, wood, metal and earth are obviously inspired from his past life on earth.
In the empire there is actually no precedent where someone chose five elements as their path. Since humans developed and reached the peak of the Cosmic Sea they naturally had their own set of understanding and structure about cosmic rules and evolution path that one should choose.
There were evolvers who chose fire rule as their path or maybe some chose water rule. There are also ambitious ones who chose two or three rules as their path but none was as ambitious as Wuryan who chose five rules at the same time. He was obviously persuaded by the family not to bite more than he could chew.
If not for his cheat and the past life memories about the theories of five elements available on the internet he would really not make such a difficult choice. But now that he had such an option then obviously he would make the best of it.
The Human Evolution Codex has many modules of rules made by the Saints so humans could have a general guidance in this aspect. The cosmic rules one understands will always be unique and no amount of explanation from a higher realm would be able to make someone's attainment higher in it.
But giving a basic outline in the form of modules is very effective guidance that could speed up and help avoid detours in it. That being said, it is only useful for humans as the way humans perceive rules is different from aliens. This is also the reason why Five Founding Families dare to publish the rule modules in this way without having to worry about strengthening opponents after leakage.
It could also be said that it is an open conspiracy as any alien that dared to learn from those modules would definitely go astray in their rule comprehension thus cutting off their future path.
"Sorry about that. I misjudged the strength."
Wuryan apologized in an awkward tone after seeing the chubby guy fainting. As for the shield that appeared earlier he understood that one of the S-rank adventurers had taken action to prevent death.
His apology however silenced the audience.
The matches on the other three sides of the field also stopped in their tracks. The violent mana fluctuation after the S-rank casted the Mana Shield had already frightened them and seeing that shield actually fluctuating from a D-rank's attack have refreshed their worldview.
In the VIP box, Randy's father was stunned after hearing such words. His mouth twitched as he looked at Wuryan and then his son Randy who was lying on the ground in disgrace.
Are these two really in the same D-rank?
Orion, on the other hand, looked calm and his expression showed that this should be the case. When he arrived at Azure Planet he could also sweep the same rank and fight against higher ranks easily. He was at Level 7 and the other five commoners who came with him were at Level 6 of evolution.
The five nobles, though weaker in level compared to them, still have a similar higher realm vision. Not to mention, as valued geniuses from the Five Founding Families they had taken many rare herbs and exotic treasures since childhood.
Their body has undergone fundamental changes in quality and in addition, they have the blue blood from Saint's bloodline running in their veins which gives them an overall terrifying advantage in everything physical, mental, spiritual and cosmic rules related.
With such a starting line that could make others go crazy from envy, it really is nothing when someone from this little planet collapses on the ground from the mental shock of his casual attack.
Orion sighed a little as he watched Lord Sol leave the field in the astonished gazes of the crowd below. Whether it be here or on the Cosmic Sea, nobles like them are always the focus of attention.
He, however, was very aware of his own position so instead of envy that he used to feel when he was still a young man now he only felt admiration and awe towards them. The higher your strength is, the more you know and the more you feel the transcendence of these nobles who rule the human race.
"Will it be the same near death experience for these locals?" Orion amusedly pondered about the next three matches.