The stadium was filled with shouts and chatter even minutes after the end of the fight. It seemed that the various civilizations not only came here to spectate fights, but also to hang out, making this situation look like it wouldn’t end for a good while.

  “Is everyone here as strong as those two?” Jack murmured as he looked at the sea of people around him, who didn’t seem shaken at all.

  The earlier fight left a deep impression on him, adding to it was the fact that nobody else seemed to be affected, as if such strength wasn’t worth being discussed.

  He sighed. “If that’s the case, then… we might need to reevaluate our previous thinking.”

  Nova patted his friend’s shoulder and said, “Then why don’t we go check out another arena and see if everyone is just as strong?”

  Jack looked at Nova and slowly nodded his head. “You’re right. I can’t make assumptions based on just one fight.”

  “Good.” Nova smiled at him, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared, heading toward a different arena.

  Throughout the day, they jumped from arena to arena, witnessing tens of fights. Most were one-on-one, with only a few involving more than two warriors at the same time. From this experience, the two of them came to two very different conclusions.

  All of them have at least reached the initial stage of Force, some the middle stage, and even fewer the late or peak stage. As for the second stage… only Astrah has reached it, Jack thought quietly.

  While the average warrior is stronger than I expected, they’re still nothing compared to the strongest ones.

  His eyes narrowed. Our first fight will come down to luck.

  Meanwhile, Nova replayed every fight he had witnessed so far and thought, ‘Despite their greater comprehension of Force, it still looks weak and raw compared to the calligraphy in the Spear King’s letter…’

  Then, as he thought about Astrah and the gentle swipe of his finger, he couldn’t help but mumble, “That guy, though, his Force must be among the best in this place.”

  “Did you say something?” Jack heard the mumble but the loud chaos around him drowned out the words.

  “Nothing, nothing. I was just talking to myself,” Nova said before adding, “We should meet with Erevan and tell him what we found out, just to be sure.”

  Jack nodded, and with the system’s assistance, the two teleported back to the town.

  /////

  Erevan sat relaxed on a sofa, smiling at Nova and Jack, who were seated on another sofa across from him.

  “It’s been hours since we arrived here, and I thought you were avoiding me, but here you are. What did the two of you want to talk about?”

  ‘We can’t really avoid each other in this portal, though,’ Nova thought before clearing his throat and briefing him on the various arena fights.

  Erevan listened without so much as a frown crossing his face. Only when Astrah’s Force was mentioned did he raise a brow and say, “Interesting.”

  Jack, seeing the lackluster reaction, asked, “Aren’t you worried we might end up meeting someone just as strong in our first fight? While I do think I can win against the average ones, I’m still too weak to go against someone like him.”

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  “Not really.” Erevan shrugged. “I can see why you’d be worried about it, but you should relax. That Astrah must be someone from a higher civilization who’s here to train quickly, and as I already said a year ago, there are a few like him here, but not many.”

  “Considering the number of civilizations present in this place, the chances of us being matched against one of them are so slim that they aren’t even worth mentioning. And…”

  Jack leaned forward as he saw Erevan’s smile grow.

  “Even if we are matched against someone like him, so what?” Erevan laughed lightly. “It might be even better if we are.”

  “Better?” Nova chimed in.

  While he agreed with Erevan that they shouldn’t worry too much about being paired with such monsters, he couldn’t see how it would be a good thing to face them so early on.

  Even if we win, so what?

  Their own strength would be publicized to everyone, and if the other civilizations started digging into their background, they would sooner or later find out there were only four of them present.

  It was vital that no one discovered this until they had gained a solid foothold in the portal. Otherwise, in the next pairing, any leading civilization could set the maximum number of warriors to hundreds, perhaps a thousand, and overwhelm them with sheer numbers.

  Yet it seemed as though Erevan had no such worries at all.

  “Mhm, better.” Erevan nodded before explaining calmly. “Say, if you had someone that strong, someone who could win any fight, in your civilization, then how much would you bet each fight? And if that civilization wasn’t picked as the subordinate but as the leader, what would be the highest number of warriors you’d allow to join?”

  “If I had someone like Astrah…”

  It wasn’t Nova who answered, but Jack, whose eyes gleamed with understanding.

  “I would bet as much as I could while also restricting the number to one. Whether we were the subordinate or the leader wouldn’t matter. Once the opponents know who they’re facing, they might not even be willing to risk losing more than one warrior, or place any bet at all.”

  Jack then looked at Erevan and asked, “But the question still remains. Even if they only allow one person to join, do we have someone who can win against a person like Astrah?”

  Whether it was Slade, Jack, or Nova, none of them knew exactly how strong Erevan was. If they were made to guess, they would each give a different answer, which only showed how difficult it was to pinpoint the kind of person he was.

  Nova looked intently at Erevan, waiting for his answer. Although Erevan had said it was a good thing to meet someone so strong early on, implying the confidence he had in himself, Nova couldn’t tell whether that confidence came from true strength or mere arrogance.

  Although, he leaned more on the former rather than the latter.

  Erevan shook his head slightly and sighed.

  “You’re right. Do we have someone who can win against him?” Erevan repeated the question, looking deeply at the two of them.

  Then his lips curved into a mysterious smile, and he said, “Maybe?”

  Nova shrugged and slouched back on the sofa, while Jack’s serious expression fell as he thought, I can’t believe he’s in the mood for jokes even in this situation.

  Seeing their reactions, Jack’s in particular, made Erevan laugh out loud. “Sorry, sorry.”

  He waved a hand apologetically and continued, “But what’s the point if I tell you the answer? Aren’t we all here to become stronger? You should stop thinking about who’s going to win against our next opponent. Instead, think that you’re going to be the one participating, and winning.”

  “If you become more worried about our opponent and neglect your training, then…” Erevan stopped smiling, his face turning solemn. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

  Jack’s pupils dilated as he stared blankly at Erevan’s serious face in front of him.

  Have I been so worried about others’ strength that I stopped believing I can win against anyone?

  “We’re going.” Nova’s voice rang out at that moment, snapping Jack back to his senses.

  Jack turned his head to look at his friend, only to see him already standing and looking down at him as if asking, “Aren’t you coming?”

  Nodding slowly, Jack stood up but, before leaving, he glanced back at Erevan and said, “I’ve been so caught up in this portal, seeing everyone’s strength, that I forgot why I came here in the first place. Thanks for reminding me.”

  Then, without waiting for a reply, Jack left.

  Nova shrugged and turned to follow, but Erevan’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

  “At least he realized it. As for you… I don’t know how much you’ve grown, but from now on, you should focus solely on training. It’s best if Jack does the same.”

  Nova didn’t turn his head. He side-eyed Erevan and, before leaving, said, “If you’re curious, you can watch my fight next time.”

  Erevan watched him stroll out of the room and muttered, “Can’t wait.”

  Right then, a system notification rang in all four of their minds, catching them completely off guard.

  [Your civilization has been drawn]

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