Chapter 117: Kaelen Challenged
The blood mist had barely settled when Alex turned his attention back to the safe zone. His newly elevated soul perception swept across the remaining participants like a tide. Most avoided his gaze. So trembled visibly. Others simply stood frozen, uncertain whether to flee or stay.
Alex didn’t bla them.
He had just slaughtered over three thousand candidates in the span of a few breaths. The snow beneath him had turned crimson. The air still carried the tallic scent of blood. And yet, he sat there as calmly as if he had rely swatted away insects.
"Jaros, Mira, everyone, follow
from now on," Alex said, his voice carrying the sa casual tone one might use to invite friends for dinner.
Jaros exhaled slowly. The tension in his shoulders eased slightly, though his eyes remained cautious. He had seen Alex’s power grow exponentially over the past day. What had once been a promising but reckless newcor had transford into sothing far more dangerous.
"About ti you said that," Jaros muttered, stepping past the barrier. Snow crunched beneath his boots as he walked toward Alex. "I was starting to think you’d forgotten about us."
Seraphina followed close behind. Her expression remained guarded, but she offered Alex a small nod. "You’ve beco... different."
"Different how?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Stronger. Colder." She paused, searching for the right words. "More like soone who has already seen the end of this trial and is simply going through the motions."
Alex didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, he stood slowly, brushing snow from his clothes. Ember rested against his shoulder, its crimson edge catching the pale light.
"Maybe I have," he said finally. "Or maybe I’m just tired of playing gas."
The others erged from the safe zone one by one. Ares approached with obvious hesitation, his earlier bravado completely deflated. The man who had once mocked Alex now walked with his head slightly lowered, as if afraid to et his eyes.
"You’re ranked number one now," Ares said quietly. "The system updated. You passed everyone in points."
Alex glanced at his status screen.
Current Rank: 1
Points: 10,147,000
Reputation: 3100
He had accumulated ten million points from that single engagent. Combined with what he had earned previously, his total had crossed the threshold needed for significant purchases. But ten million was nothing compared to what the top treasures would cost.
"Man, you are sothing else," Ares continued, forcing a nervous laugh. "You ca here yesterday and reached rank one. What kind of monster are you?"
Alex turned to face him fully. Ares flinched.
"A monster mocked by Ares," Alex said with a faint smile.
The words hung in the air. Ares’s face flushed with sha. The others watched in silence, curious to see how this would play out.
"Look, man, I am sorry," Ares said sincerely, eting Alex’s gaze for the first ti. His voice carried no trace of his earlier arrogance. "I was wrong about you. I let my pride get in the way. If you want
to leave, I will."
Alex studied him for a long mont. The sincerity in Ares’s eyes seed genuine. More importantly, a man who had been humbled was often more useful than one who had always been loyal.
"Then work properly from now on," Alex said. "Create a network hub. This trial field has millions of candidates, and if I am not wrong, this is just one region of a single multiversal cluster. I think there are other multiversal regions as well."
Ares blinked. "Other regions? You an—"
"This trial ground isn’t just for our multiversal cluster," Mira interjected, stepping forward. Her silver hair swayed gently in the cold wind. "I’ve suspected it for a while. The scale is too large. The number of participants is too high. And the rewards... they’re ant to prepare candidates for sothing bigger."
"Then start small," Alex said. "Map out this region first. Identify the major powers, their territories, their leaders. Find out who can be recruited and who needs to be eliminated."
"And what will you be doing while we handle intelligence?" Seraphina asked.
Alex’s smile returned. "I’ll be making friends."
No one laughed.
---
Far away, in a realm that existed outside the boundaries of space and ti, grand thrones floated in an endless void. Each throne radiated power that dwarfed entire universes. The beings seated upon them were not gods,gods were rely their servants. They were sothing far greater.
Supremacies.
rlin stood among the attendants behind one particular throne. His aged hands rested on a crystalline staff, and his eyes remained fixed on a floating projection that displayed Alex’s recent battle. The image showed the mirror dinsion collapsing, the blood mist expanding, the souls being devoured.
"He grows faster than anticipated," rlin murmured.
The young man seated on the throne before him chuckled softly. His appearance was deceptively simple,dark hair, sharp features, eyes that held the light of countless dying stars. But his presence made even rlin feel small.
"rlin, that last candidate you chose is interesting," Supremacy Alexander said, his voice carrying the weight of ages. "Do you think he has the capability to challenge the Grand Multiversal Tournant?"
rlin placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly. "It is his honor to be noticed by you, Your Majesty. But I think we should observe him more. The trial has just begun. The true candidates haven’t yet started showing their colors."
"That’s correct," Alexander nodded, though his eyes never left the projection. "But there’s sothing different about this one. He doesn’t fight like soone who wants to survive. He fights like soone who wants to conquer."
From across the void, another voice interrupted.
"Supremacy Alexander, this ti your hundred universes have produced so potential candidates. Want to bet with
about who is going to win the trial this ti?"
Supremacy Leon leaned forward on his throne. His appearance contrasted sharply with Alexander, wild red hair, eyes like burning coals, a perpetual smirk that suggested he found everything amusing. Behind him, attendants in crimson robes stood at attention.
"Supremacy Leon, what kind of bet are we talking about?" Alexander asked.
"Let’s bet three Chaos grade treasures," Leon proposed. "After all, we are betting on the future candidates who will represent us in the Grand Multiversal Tournant. We will give one treasure to the winner. How about that?"
Alexander’s eyes glead. Chaos grade treasures were rare even among Supremacies. Each one contained enough power to reshape reality on a fundantal level. Three of them was an astronomical wager.
"Okay. I bet this boy will win the tournant," Alexander said, gesturing toward Alex’s projection.
"I bet Sofia will win the tournant," Leon countered imdiately.
"Hey, that sounds interesting. Let us in."
Other Supremacies began chiming in from their thrones. So supported existing candidates. Others nominated their own champions. The void filled with the sound of cosmic powers gambling on mortal lives as if they were pieces on a ga board.
rlin watched silently, his expression unreadable.
"Alex, you boy have caught the eyes of our Supremacy,"he thought. "Perform well. The true test hasn’t even begun."
---
Back on the frozen battlefield, Alex felt a strange chill run down his spine. For a mont, he had the distinct sensation of being watched by sothing far greater than himself. But the feeling passed quickly, replaced by the imdiate concerns of survival.
"Of course, brother, I will," Ares was saying confidently. "I was just afraid to conduct myself openly before. Now that I have a thick thigh like yours to stick to, I don’t fear anything."
Alex resisted the urge to sigh. Ares’s personality had clearly swung from arrogant to sycophantic. Neither was particularly useful.
"Now, tell ," Alex said, redirecting the conversation. "Do you have information on other geniuses? The real ones. Not the pretenders I just slaughtered."
Ares opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, the temperature dropped.
Not literally. The ambient cold remained the sa. But every person present felt a sudden chill pass through their souls, as if a predator had erged from the shadows and fixed its gaze upon them.
Alex turned.
Kaelen stood at the edge of the blood-soaked snow.
He hadn’t been there a mont ago. There had been no sound of approach, no distortion of space, no warning whatsoever. He had simply appeared, as if he had always been standing there and everyone had only just noticed him.
The fourth-ranked candidate,now fifth, after Alex’s ascent,radiated an aura of absolute calm. His dark hair moved slightly in the wind. His eyes, deep purple like twilight, held no emotion whatsoever. He wore simple black combat robes that seed to absorb light rather than reflect it.
He took a single step forward.
And appeared half a ter away from Alex.
"Let’s fight," Kaelen said. His tone was the sa calm, asured voice one might use to order tea.
Alex’s ntal domain scread warnings. Every instinct he possessed told him that this man was dangerous in a way that Valerius had never been.
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