?1 more chapter after 30m.
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“After Mr. Renji helped take care of Nova last time, I’ve been wanting to find an opportunity to invite Mr. Renji out to properly thank him, but I got too busy and forgot. I never expected that when we met again, it would be in such a situation, sigh.”
Nova’s mother, with a face full of self-reproach and regret, sighed towards Renji, then quickly composed herself, her purple dragon eyes, just like Nova’s, fixed intently on Renji.
“Mr. Renji, I can feel you’re very strong, but I won’t lose. After experiencing the arena for over half a year, I’m sure now there’s something I must do.”
From Renji’s perspective, he had only gone through two matches, watching one, but in the actual dream story, more than half a year had passed since he first joined as a gladiator. 𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ
Nova’s mother hasn’t changed much, if anything, maybe it’s her eyes. Far from being defeated by the cruelty and darkness of the arena, Renji saw even brighter light in her eyes than before.
But Renji glanced at the spectator seats, and with 86’s help, easily locked onto a petite figure among the vast crowd.
In just half a year, Nova had grown from a little girl into a graceful young lady, a testament to the faster growth rate of demihumans compared to humans.
Now looking like a young girl, Nova was visibly tense and struggling, as if unsure whom to cheer for, or perhaps, not wanting either side to get hurt.
“Ms. Noya, is this thing you must do referring to winning the championship?”
“Yes, I must win this championship.”
“Understood.”
Renji nodded, and then under the enthusiastic commentary of the host, the match officially began.
Noya’s was indeed very powerful, Renji initially estimated it to be at least of a disaster level, and her mastery of the flame sword technique was so refined it could found a school of its own.
After a few moves, Renji noticed that Noya showed skills similar to what Nova would learn in the future. He saw the basic versions of these skills in Noya, but performed even more skillfully.
Clearly, Noya must be Nova’s first teacher.
After fighting with Noya for a while, Renji now faced two choices,
Win against Nova’s mother, or intentionally lose?
This was probably an important crossroad, especially involving a key figure in “Dragoness’s Dream” Renji’s choice here could affect the direction of the dream narrative.
After a brief consideration, Renji still chose the former. He had a premonition that the significant change in Nova’s character was absolutely related to her mother winning this championship.
With that in mind, even knowing all this was a dream’s past, Renji still wanted to prevent it from happening. He decided to win the championship in place of Nova’s mother.
Knowing his own strength wasn’t enough, Renji directly had Suthia intervene. In the face of the absolute power disparity, even Nova’s mother’s formidable combat skills quickly succumbed to the nun’s holy light.
“*cough cough cough*.”
“It seems I’m still not strong enough, it’s like this again.”
“Mr. Renji, could I greedily ask you for one more favor?… No please forget what I said *cough cough*”
Kneeling on one knee, using the sword in her hand to barely support her body, Nova’s mother, after losing to Renji, was full of desolation and regret. She seemed to want Renji to do something for her but eventually hesitated and fell silent, no longer speaking.
Soon, the dream changed again, and this time…
“My Lord, be careful.”
Suthia furrowed her brows, stepping directly in front of Renji, while 86 and Cn. One also prepared for battle, protecting Renji from both sides.
Just then, the previously bustling arena, with not a single empty seat in the spectator stands, now became eerily empty.
At the same time, many corpses started appearing around Renji in the arena. Judging by their attire, they were all gladiators of the arena, and from the manner of their deaths, those fatal slash marks, only one person, no, two people could have made them.
Renji’s gaze shifted to the end of the arena.
It was also where all the corpses, before dying, seemed desperately trying to get close to.
There was a throne made of blood and bones.
And on this throne sat a female, a young Dragonkin woman. (image in chapter 01)
Clearly, she was not Noya.
But the adult Nova Renji was familiar with.
No.
Compared to the Nova in reality, her eyes were colder and more ruthless, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. Though her dragon eyes were purple, looking into them felt like peering into a bottomless dark abyss.
This is one of the five Tainted Miasma Master of Dream Zero, the Evil Dragon.
It seems Renji’s choice was wrong, leading to a failed trial. The dream story could not continue and was forced to end, directly causing the Evil Dragon herself to appear.
The Evil Dragon on the throne, after turning her hollow gaze towards Renji and the others, spoke.
“Gladiators, are you here to seek revenge on me?”
“To avenge your Noya against me?”
The Evil Dragon’s words took Renji aback.
The Evil Dragon corresponds to Nova, and Noya is the name of Nova’s mother, but now the Evil Dragon is talking about them seeking revenge on her, avenging Noya?
Before Renji could react further, the Evil Dragon had already descended from the throne of the arena, a flaming long sword appearing in her right hand, instantly confronting the leading Suthia.
The ease with which the nun had previously dominated the witch seemed ineffective here. Even if the Evil Dragon was just a false illusion of Nova, Suthia couldn’t withstand her attacks. The young nun was forced to retreat by the Evil Dragon. Although not defeated, it was clear that the Evil Dragon’s strength was above Suthia’s.
No wonder, Nova was originally the strongest among “them” In terms of one-on-one combat, the Vanguard class is far superior to the other four.
Although Suthia felt very frustrated, unable to defeat even a false illusion of Nova, she followed Renji’s advice. They no longer hoped to kill the Evil Dragon but quickly retreated, leaving the Evil Dragon’s area.
The nun might not be able to defeat the Evil Dragon, but protecting Renji and the others while fleeing was manageable. They didn’t need to run far, just leaving the area of the arena was enough for the Evil Dragon to stop chasing, returning to her throne, as if quietly waiting for the next person coming to seek revenge on her.
Returning to the entrance of the Gulase base, the entire dream seemed to reset, starting over from the beginning.
Standing at the entrance, Renji frowned in thought, sorting through the information obtained from the Evil Dragon, while Suthia beside him also came to her senses, very confused.
“Milord, I’m a bit confused, why did that illusion of Nova say we were seeking revenge for Noya against her?”
“Shouldn’t Noya be Nova’s… mother?”
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