Under the barrage of Gatling gunfire, Kaelum’s figure turned into white light and disappeared from the duel space.
The next second, Mike’s figure also vanished.
Kaelum reappeared, covered in black soot, with dozens of bullets falling off him.
Cain and Ethan were both shocked,
“Kaelum, what happened to you…?”
Anderson nodded slowly, “He lost.”
Following Kaelum, Mike appeared, looking completely unscathed, not even a scratch on him.
Anderson glanced at Mike, wanting to say something but ultimately choosing not to.
Kaelum shook his head with a wry smile, “Mike taught me a lesson.”
From the [Vortexarchon Crystal] to hiding the cd of [Wind’s Reach], and various close and long-range attack methods, Mike had prepared thoroughly for this.
To be precise, Mike was always prepared for any battle.
Talent, class, attribute panel, skills…
These were just theoretical statistics, completely different from actual combat performance.
If victory could be decided by theoretical statistics alone, then during battles between the two races, they could simply determine the winner by comparing their stats.
But is that possible?
No, it’s not!
No matter how good the theoretical data is, the actual performance depends on on-the-spot execution.
Winning against stronger opponents, winning with fewer numbers.
Such examples have been common over the past century.
Kaelum’s opinion of Mike rose another notch in his mind.
“It’s a pity Mike only has a D-level talent. If his talent grade were higher…”
Thinking this, Kaelum pulled Mike aside and whispered, “Mike, when you reach level 199, don’t rush into the nineteenth floor!”
Mike looked puzzled, “Huh?”
“There’s a bug exploit method I’ll tell you later.
If you’re lucky, it can help you reach 80% Exploration Rate, and with [Explorer], you can get an SS rating!”
Kaelum whispered, “At that time, you must choose a second job. With a second job, your future potential will be much greater!”
Mike nodded, “Got it.”
Kaelum patted Mike’s shoulder,
“Mike, I’m really starting to admire you more and more. If I manage to stay back a grade, we could be classmates!”
Kaelum had no airs of a senior, able to take things in stride.
Even after being defeated by Mike, he adjusted his mindset and didn’t forget to talk to Mike about the class change.
Anderson suddenly spoke, dashing Kaelum’s hopes, “Unfortunately, your credits are full.”
Kaelum was stunned, immediately understanding Anderson’s point.
With Mike’s impressive performance so far, Kaelum wouldn’t just stay back a grade; he might even graduate early!
He smiled wryly, waving it off, “No big deal.”
The morning’s sparring test took less than half an hour.
In fact, most juniors were no match for their seniors.
Even with attributes and levels capped at 60, the gap in combat experience was insurmountable.
In the entire C district, only a few managed to defeat their seniors: Mike, Ethan, and Jessica. Ethan won because he and his senior agreed to only use melee combat, and both stuck to it. Because of this, Ethan’s senior got a severe scolding from the instructor.
Jessica won against Elena mainly because her summoned roc wasn’t level-restricted.
Meanwhile, Elena’s machines needed on-site assembly and couldn’t use ores or other enhancements.
With these constraints, Elena narrowly lost.
After the sparring test, the instructor blew the whistle,
“Everyone, gather!”
“Those who have joined Wolf’s Den, gather on my left!”
“United Corps, stay in the middle!”
“Mercenary Corps, gather on my right!”
Those who stayed in the summer camp for a week were at least as strong as a tier Battle Soldier.
While completing the Battle Soldier test, they naturally chose their respective factions.
Cain stayed in place, while Mike, Ethan, and Jessica moved to the Wolf’s Den side.
An instructor was responsible for explaining the mission details to them.
Students from different factions had different tasks and assessment criteria.
As for their seniors, they had their own tasks to complete.
…
Leaving the training hall, Anderson glanced back and called out, “Senior?”
A mysterious voice responded in his ear, “You know the rules.”
Anderson nodded, “I know.”
Guardian Shadow members were fined 10,000 gold coins for each unauthorized word spoken
to their protectees.
Anderson took out a black card with 1 million gold coins.
Accepting the 1 million gold coins, the shadow’s attitude softened considerably, “Speak,
what’s the matter?”
Anderson whispered, barely audible, “Is there a Guardian Shadow near Mike?”
“That’s not a question you should be asking.” The shadow replied irritably, “I’m just Shadow Twenty-Eight. If Shadow Nine punishes me, I might become Shadow Thirty-Eight.”
Their conversation had already cost 340,000 gold coins.
Anderson silently handed over another black card with 1 million gold coins.
“Yes.”
Shadow Twenty-Eight provided a number, “Shadow 8008, at a general’s level. Is this kid
special, worth your concern?”
Anderson spent 2 million gold coins just to get one piece of information!
Even a Battle Lord couldn’t be so generous.
Anderson shook his head, saying something cryptic, “Maybe I misheard.”
Kaelum called out, “Anderson, hurry up! My nephew and Battle Lord Maxen are already here!”
“Coming!”
Anderson joined Kaelum, asking seriously, “Do you remember you owe me 2 million gold
coins?”
Kaelum: ???
“When did I borrow money from you?”
“You must have forgotten. Maybe think about it again?”
Kaelum thought Anderson must be joking, but he seemed serious.
…
In the training hall, standing in line, Mike suddenly heard Shadow Nine’s voice. “Someone
just paid to investigate your information.”
Mike’s eyes lit up, “Is there a cut for me, Shadow Nine?”
Shadow Nine replied irritably,
“Anderson spent 20,000 gold coins to find out about your Guardian Shadow. I had Shadow
Twenty-Eight tell him it’s [Shadow 8008].”
With that, a gold card appeared in Mike’s pocket, with a balance of 8,000.
Shadow Nine was ‘fair’,
“This money was earned because of you. We [Guardian Shadow] follow the rules. What’s
yours is yours, no one can take it.”
“Thanks, Shadow Nine.”
Accepting the 8,000 gold coins, Mike calculated.
Shadow Nine said it was 20,000 gold coins, but there must be some markup.
Anderson probably spent 200,000!
No, Mike should think bigger.
Anderson might have spent 400,000 gold coins!
…
[Rescue Professor Gregory] team assembly point.
Two ninth-tier Battle Lords were already waiting, but one looked pale and exhausted.
Joseph sneered, his tone mocking, “Oh, isn’t this Maxen? How did you get so weak in just one
day?”
Maxen snorted,
“Who was it that, after reaching ninth-tier Battle Lord, arrogantly challenged everyone and
got killed in one strike? Spent ten years training with no progress, but your bragging skills
improved, boasting you could take two hits.”
Joseph looked disdainful.
Surviving two strikes from Shadow Nine was indeed something to brag about!
Maxen lifted his shirt, revealing scars, patting his chest,
“Come, count them, see how many hits I took!”
“Nine hits!”
“Shadow Nine couldn’t kill me with nine hits. Can you do that?!”