Ryonen shook his head in disappointment as he walked off the field.
Behind him lies his opponent wailing in pain on the ground. One of his arms is deformed in a strange direction while his left shoulder was missing. The referee was busy treating the wounds while the audience seemed to have gained some tolerance to such gore thanks to previous two shocks.
It took only two moves in a few seconds to determine this match's outcome.
Ryonen didn't see the duel prompt so he was very unmotivated. In order to end this quickly and not to disable the opponent permanently he held back his punches yet it seems the guy was a bit too fragile. Must have been slacking in his training.
Anyways, he would go back and keep comprehending the modules of strength rule. His comprehension talent was a bit dull originally but thanks to the numerous rewards from winning the duels he has already made up for it.
In the VIP box, the S-rank strongmen and politicians were silent.
It seems that none of the disciples who performed has anything related to how a D-rank should perform. It was more as if some A-rank was taking action against the D-rank rookies.
They glanced at Orion from time to time while wondering where he even found this bunch of monsters. The three disciples were already subverting their cognition so the remaining two shouldn't deviate.
This much is already understood by them.
It was evening and it was Irilea who entered the field for her match.
Seeing her pretty face and otherworldly beauty, her opponent didn't have any time to appreciate it nor had any thoughts about it. Her background was already known to him and the previous three matches especially the one where the opponent died was still haunting his mind.
He didn't think that his strength was greater than the defeated ones. This is why he had a solemn expression when facing her. He had already decided to admit defeat after exchanging a blow. As for winning? Forget it, he wouldn't daydream about such a thing.
All those who were chosen as Orion's disciples have proven to have strength far greater than their own ranks so he obviously figured it out that the opponent he was matched with wouldn't be much different than the previous three.
Why didn't he admit defeat even before the fight began? His status as the disciple of a S-rank adventurer wouldn't allow such a disgraceful action in the public eye. He at least had to exchange a move and pretend to have figured out the gap before admitting his shortcoming.
That way he will be able to save face for his master.
Irilea, on the other hand, didn't know that her opponent had so many thoughts. She was more concerned about the crystal goat head. She has been tinkering with it but still hasn't found any clue that could prove its use.
She had shown it to Esmeria back when she first found it and according to her the blood veins might be the key to figuring out its utility. The blood veins which throbbed on it absorbed Cosmium to keep itself active and when the concentration of Cosmium increases it might show some changes or so she guessed at that time.
Irilea thought her guess might be the one with the most accuracy so she later asked that commoner where Cosmium concentration was highest in this secret realm. To her dismay it turned out to be towards the center of the continent which is currently occupied by the Demon Lord's army.
Humans have scarce information about the interior of such a forbidden place after the Great Catastrophe.
"Hmm, after reaching the Final Stage of Level 1 going to that place for some investigation has become a must. It just so happens that the empire plans to thoroughly clean up the unstable factors and occupy this secret realm for its unprecedented hundred times difference in time flow with the Cosmic Sea. But to do all that, let's get the quota for that labyrinth first."
She narrowed her eyes slightly and took off her wooden bow. The referee has just given the start signal as she performed the action. Her unhurried pace indirectly brought more pressure to her opponent who was already thinking wildly about how to gracefully surrender.
The Royal Weapon in his hand was a battle axe. The F and E-rank uses Magic Weapon, items and elixirs or potions while D and C-rank uses Royal Weapon and such. B and A-rank uses Imperial Weapons while the S-rank uses the highest quality Holy Weapons and the things of that category.
On weekdays he had great confidence in his axe wielding art but facing the current opponent he felt that his body was as stiff as a stone. He only took a step forward before he realized that something was wrong.
When he saw her pretty eyes narrowing he only thought that she must be focusing on his movement for her archery but the sudden difficulty in mobilizing his body made him clear that he was attacked by a skill immediately.
It was indeed so as traces of electric arcs flashed on his legs which momentarily paralyzed his nerves.
He could only stand still and watch blankly as Irilea calmly nocked an arrow on the bow and violent lightning coursed through her body before flowing into the bow and arrow. The simple arrow turned into a thunderbolt and the sheer amount of mana fluctuation it gave was the evidence of how much power it packed in it.
"I surrender!! I surrender!!!"
He hurriedly shouted after finding no way to break free from the paralysis.
Given the present situation, let alone exchanging a blow he will be vaporized if he took such an "arrow" while standing still like a statue. Deflecting it with the axe? That's even more impossible as he already understood from the mana fluctuation that this was no longer something a D-rank should face.
Hearing his shout filled with panic nobody thought he was disgraceful whether it be the audience who watched from the stands or those S-rank strongmen in the VIP box. The two A-rank adventurers who just started fighting had to pause when they felt the mana trembling in the air and funneling towards the eastern direction of the field.
Seeing the thunderbolt they took a deep breath to calm their trembling heart.
They asked themselves if they dared to catch it and found that even if they didn't die they would be seriously injured from it and the next arrow would definitely harvest them. For a second the way those eyes looked at Irilea, a D-rank adventurer, changed drastically. It seems that even if they treated her as an A-rank it wouldn't be an overreaction.
"What a monster…"
The master of her opponent muttered in a low voice. His incredulous eyes were filled with the figure of Irilea who seemed to have turned into the incarnation of thunder.
Hearing the shout of surrender Irilea took back the lightning and returned to her previous state. The path of thunder she took was inspired by the gold tree in her soul. When she was about to choose her evolution path the moment she thought about the thunder path there was a strong reaction from it.
Given the symbiosis she had established with it she chose this path without much hesitation. Her decision proved to be correct as her later breakthroughs in levels were so easy and fast that she became the most outstanding prodigy of the current generation of Stellar family.
The thunder path is not only known for its speed which is second only to the light path but also for its destructive power as well as easy binding and sealing capability. Thunder path also has a strong counter effect against anything that could be rationalized as "evil" in the truest sense.
Because she had the rare affinity with light element the thunder path became one of the available choices back then.
Irilea walked off the field and the paralysis effect from the electric arcs that petrified her opponent also disappeared as she turned around. Her slim back which gave the illusion of fragility to others was a strong contrast to her overwhelming strength.
Today's competition has opened the eyes of these half a million people. Not only them but the S-rank strongmen and the top influential politicians were doubting where such talented adventurers had been before.
They already investigated and found that the family background of the five disciples were blank, presumably covered up by Orion himself. Now, they were more eager to know all the past details and any small information of such adventurers who would absolutely reach S-rank as long as they don't die prematurely.
"Orion, we might have to discuss with you about the protection of these seedlings."
"Yeah. After today's competition their fame would reach the other countries and the hidden traitors might make some drastic moves. There are also those hostile NPC faction agents. There are too many enemies who might take action."
"This trip to the labyrinth will definitely be the opportune time for them to take action."
Everyone in the VIP box was convinced that they would have five more S-ranks in the coalition in the future. Though they haven't seen the last disciple in action, they knew beforehand that Xar Umbra was the leader of the Drifting Cloud party.
Someone who could be recognized as the leader by those four monsters would definitely be on par with them. That's why everyone instinctively counted five more S-rank as their future comrades.
"I would be very grateful if we have a proper discussion about it. As you all can see, reaching S-rank is definitely possible for them so the obstacles on the road would be equally harsh. If they were targeted then something terrible will happen so I hope that everyone would lend a helping hand."
Orion also solemnly replied to their concerns. His words about something terrible happening was interpreted by them as him later being vengeful for having his disciples targeted. The truth is actually the punishment he would receive from the five nobles for being annoyed yet again just like those assassins ambush.
"It's a pity that we can't see your last disciple's performance. I heard that he is a swordsman."
"Since he can convince the other four as the leader of the party then his swordsmanship must be very extraordinary."
"No rush, you will get to see it in the global competition next month." Orion replied while also lamenting for not being able to see the superb swordsmanship of Lord Umbra. He also saw the longsword he carries so he guessed that he had taken the path of the sword.
As a commoner he is naturally unqualified to learn any additional information about the five nobles. So even though he had taken the identity of master, his own understanding of those five is actually very similar to the locals in this realm.
Whatever has been shown is what he knows.
As for why everyone was lamenting for not being able to see Xar's performance it was because the matched opponent would definitely give up even before fighting and the entire domestic competition would follow this trend when matched with those five.
If before others stubbornly wanted to at least try if they could exchange a blow then after four consecutive matches where their worldview got constantly refreshed and the overwhelming dominance displayed by the four as well as the miserable situation of the opponents in public the fifth match would definitely be avoided as long as the other side hasn't got any brain damage.
The actual situation was also the same as their expectation.
When it was time for Xar's match it was already night time. He didn't even have to show up in the field. The referee of the match directly announced that the opponent gave up the match by admitting defeat. The audience booed but not because they thought the guy was a coward.
They wanted to see the moves of the party leader of Drifting Cloud.
The general information of the previous four and their party name as well as the party leader has been searched up from the internet by the excited audience. There was a large group of fans who were attracted by the looks and strength of those four.
They had also seen the registered photo of Xar's profile in the basic database of coalition adventurers.
Seeing the consistent but unique handsome faces that all male members had, many fans who were attracted by the looks were hoping to see the man in flesh while those who were attracted by the strength wanted to broaden their horizons from his swordsmanship. Unfortunately, the opponent gave up without even showing up.
It's a pity for the fans.