Michael enjoyed his meal.
He didn’t gobble it down like a starving beast but savored every bite of the juicy meat and the vegetables rich in origin energy. The whole meal was a combination of nutrition, origin energy, strong medicinal effects, and exceptional taste.
It was much better than the big plates he received for being a member of the Limit Breaker course!
Michael felt a warm and soothing feeling spread through his entire body. It invigorated his cells and stimulated their growth and regeneration.
Unfortunately, he was still hungry after he emptied the plate of food. Hence, he walked back towards the cafeteria staff and ordered the special meal reserved for participants of the Limit Breaker course.
Michael walked over to them and sat down next to Kaleb without a second thought.
“Where are the others? Did they enter the Origin Expanse, or did they leave the course?” Michael asked when he noticed that Frederik, Kaleb, Jacqueline, and another young woman were the only ones feasting on the jumbo plates.
“Didn’t you run away just like them? Because you were too afraid to challenge me head-on?!” Frederik provoked the moment he realized that Michael had returned.
Michael raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on Frederik’s nonsense.
“The others have already left. They said that they couldn’t keep going like this. Apparently, their bodies won’t allow them to move anymore after they attended the lesson after the Limit Breaker training session,” Kaleb answered Michael’s question, without looking up from the plate.
“Their willpower was not strong enough for the Limit Breaker course!” The young woman seated next to Kaleb declared loudly, proud that she made it this far.
‘Who was this girl again? One of Kaleb’s bootlickers?’ Michael tried to remember, but he gave up quickly.
Kaleb and Frederik were about to finish their jumbo plates, while Michael had yet to begin.
He didn’t say anything else and focused on the jumbo plate in front of him. Michael inhaled the aroma of the food and finished the meal before Jacqueline or the unimportant bootlicker of Kaleb were done.
As he devoured the food, Michael noticed that Kaleb’s eyes drifted to him every now and then. His eyes were filled with contempt, which was totally understandable.
‘To think that Kaleb can get envious. It’s such a simple thing as well,’ Michael chuckled but kept his thoughts to himself.
He understood that Kaleb wanted to manifest his War Rune and enter the Origin Expanse at last. However, he was not yet 18 years old, and he was surrounded by Elyra’s strongest Lords of the youngest generation.
This fueled his envy, but also his motivation to strive for more strength.
In the last few days, Kaleb learned a lot about the competition and his shortcomings. The limit of his body was only one of those things.
He also learned that mankind had many unique Lords, who had overcome great ordeals, the lack of a powerful Soultrait, and various obstacles to make it into the Saphirelake Military Academy.
Many Lords were like Frederik Kolbenheim and Jacqueline Orlando, children of strong Lords. They were in possession of resources, techniques, the best training methods, and means to expand their territory quickly without harming the territory’s foundation by expanding too fast.
However, there were also many no-names and Lords, who had hidden themselves until the aptitude assessment. They possessed many secrets and were hiding the true extent of their power very well.
Michael was such a Lord in Kaleb’s opinion.
Kaleb had no idea how Alice and Michael got to know each other, or why his sister was so interested in him. However, Kaleb could also tell how he felt as well.
At first, Kaleb hated Michael to the core. He considered Michael the crux of all his problems. But that was just him being delusional. Kaleb realized that Michael had never really done anything to be worth his hatred.
Before the archery competition started, he learned that Michael had been bullied. His classmates didn’t like that he was a nobody without any special background. They thought he was not worthy of being in the Elite Class. Their bullying grew worse when he ranked first in the first semester.
Kaleb knew that, but he could have never thought that Michael would use his archery competition as a way to take revenge on the fools who were brazen enough to bully him in the past.
At that time, Kaleb didn’t think much about it. He felt provoked because a ‘nobody’ had accepted his challenge, and he didn’t realize that something was off when Michael put a Tierless Epic Weapon Artifact into the betting pot.
He had accepted the bet and rightfully lost because he had overestimated himself. There was no reason to hate Michael. However, Kaleb couldn’t accept it at that time. His pride didn’t allow him to accept that he made a fool of himself by grossly underestimating Michael’s power, and craftiness.
Finally, after the terrifying training sessions of the past few days, and his encounters with Michael and other ‘no-names’, Kaleb began to understand that his pride was worthless in the face of life and death.
Michael and the ‘no-names’ had to put their lives on the line whenever they entered the Origin Expanse. Being prideful couldn’t bring them anything. Being crafty, on the other hand, may ensure their survival more often than one might think.
“Now that you’re back, you should join today’s training session,” Kaleb murmured in a low voice before he got up from his seat.
He put his plate away and left the cafeteria. It was almost time for today’s Limit Breaker training session.
Michael stared at Kaleb’s retreating back, his right eyebrow lifted in surprise. Then he nodded his head and followed the young Zenovia.
“I am so pumped! Let me beat the shit out of you today!” Frederik exclaimed from behind, causing Michael to sigh deeply.
“You can do it, babe!!” Jacqueline screamed.
Hearing that, Michael could only shake his head.
‘These idiots really don’t learn. Is it normal for couples to share one brain cell, or is that unique to these idiots?’
**
Three hours later, the Limit Breaker training session ended.
Michael’s face was bruised black and blue, but he still managed to stand firmly on the ground.
He towered above the writhing figures of the Barbaric Couple with a deep frown on his face.
“Is that what you meant by saying ‘Let me beat the shit out of you’? To me, it seems like both of you grew weaker. How about you take this more seriously from tomorrow onward?” He snarled coldly, his eyes void of pity.
Everyone wore the same heavyweight combat suit for the Limit Breaker course. However, the configuration was different for everyone.
A whopping 360 kilograms weighed down on Michael after he used Lesser Enhancement on the combat suit. Yet, even such a heavy weight wasn’t enough to drag him down or slow his movements. On the contrary, Michael felt as if the heavyweight pressured him to exceed his limits and to use the full potential of his body.
Looking at the bloodied faces of the Barbaric Couple that was writhing on the ground, staring at him in confusion and disbelief, Michael could tell that today’s battle had been a little different.
Something felt off.
‘Did I complete the first stage of the Berserker Physique?’ Michae wondered, feeling like his entire body was overflowing with power – and that too despite having attended a long and grueling training session.
However, Kaleb could only stare at Michael with slight surprise gleaming in his eyes.
‘What happened to him in the Origin Expanse?’
Even Silverian Schild couldn’t help but spare a second glance at Michael.
He knew that Michael didn’t win against the Barbaric Couple by sheer luck, or by reaching the next stage of his body refinement technique. His physical standards might have improved a little bit, but it was not enough to overpower the Barbaric Couple.
Frederik and Jacqueline were arrogant, narcissistic and a little bit stupid as well but they were also hard-working and talented.
It was easy to tell that they had been trained very well for more than ten years.
That was also why it was so surprising that Michael was able to defeat them.
Usually in a two-versus-one face-off, the lone fighter was supposed to block and evade attacks. Michael shouldn’t have counterattacked, in the first place.
However, while enduring the Barbaric Couple’s punches, Michael prepared a series of counterattacks. He deflected the punches before starting to deliver fierce and relentless punches himself.
It almost looked like a fierce undying beast had been fighting against the human couple.