Lahn was still on her knees with a shocked expression. She looked up at Clyde.
They stared at each other for a few moments before Lahn finally sighed. She shook her head with a helpless expression.
"Shit. I thought I was a bit close to your level," Lahn said. She then took out a chuckle that sounded sad.
What Clyde saw in Lahn made him feel sorry too. But he could not give the girl any comfort.
Clyde opened his mouth to say something. Yet he immediately closed his mouth again because he realized there was nothing he could say to her at this time. After he shows the reality of their powers.
Clyde felt regret for saying what he said earlier.
Wayne gritted his teeth as he looked at Lahn who looked pathetic. He knew how proud Lahn was when she realized that the Mana in her body had awakened.
However, what happened a few seconds earlier seemed to be a hard slap that made Lahn realized that she is still nothing.
Lahn stood up and walked away without another word. She didn't even look at Clyde as she walked away.
Wayne follows her like the loyal friend that he was.
Clyde's eyes followed Lahn who keep walking farther and farther. A sigh escaped his mouth.
"Am I being too harsh?" Clyde asked.
"Well," Samuel said. "Maybe. You don't have to say what you said at the end."
He thought. 'I would also feel the same anger and frustration if I went through what Lahn went through.'
"But I have to tell the truth," said Clyde. And then he shrugged. "Whatever. There's nothing I can do about it."
Clyde decided to dismiss the thought and turned to Samuel. "Let's begin our training."
Samuel eyed Clyde for a few moments to calm himself from the sudden rush of emotions.
When he saw Clyde defeat Lahn easily with his overwhelming power, Samuel suddenly imagined that he was in Lahn's position. As a helpless victim before Clyde's strength.
Especially after that, Clyde said that was the difference in their strength. Those words would surely make him even more angry and frustrated.
"Hey," Clyde called out because he saw Samuel looking at him dreamily. "What's wrong?"
Samuel shook his head, then smiled. "Nothing. Let's start. But I hope you're not too harsh on me. Haha." Samuel tried to laugh amidst his nervousness.
"Don't worry about it," Clyde replied. "You want to fight using weapons or hands?"
"Let's start hand-to-hand first," said Samuel.
"As you wish."
The two of them started to get into a stance. Samuel was channeling the Mana he had enhanced with the substance he got from Vernik.
Samuel felt a greater strength than he would normally feel coursing through his body. The sensation made him shudder for a moment. But Clyde didn't have time to realize it because Samuel immediately controlled himself to end his shuddering as quickly as possible.
"Are you ready?" Clyde asked.
Samuel nodded. Then charged with incredible speed toward Clyde. In the blink of an eye, Samuel was already in front of Clyde and immediately swing a fist that was strengthened by the momentum of his dash.
Clyde who was not ready for Samuel's speed widened his eyes for a few moments. 'How did he get that fast?'
But that doesn't mean it's a problem for him. Clyde tilted his head to the side, dodging Samuel's fist.
Clyde could even feel the pressure of the wind as the fist passed his face. Shows how strong that fist really is.
Realizing that his initial attack had missed the target, Samuel sent another fist toward Clyde. In Clyde's view, this second fist also became faster than the previous one.
Clyde chose to duck and then kicked the ground to jump backward and create some distance from Samuel.
'He developed quite rapidly in the time of a few days. What is going on?' Clyde wondered in his heart.
However, Samuel did not give Clyde the opportunity to ponder over it. He dashed, and his eyes let out a flash of red light. From where he was standing, Clyde could see that Samuel's eyes were full of hostility.
Frowning his brow, Clyde decided to approach Samuel and sent his blows.
*BWOOSSHH!*
Clyde and Samuel's fists clashed. The impact between the two of them sent shockwaves in all directions, knocking over the trees and grass around them.
"You've gotten stronger," said Clyde.
Samuel gritted his teeth seeing that Clyde didn't look the least bit troubled after he exerted a lot of his force behind that fist. 'Does this mean I can't keep up with him yet?'
Samuel didn't answer, he chose not to waste time and attacked again.
Samuel sends a kick toward Clyde, which Clyde manages to block with one hand. Samuel continued to be aggressive and gave Clyde a round kick to the head.
The two of them engaged in hand-to-hand combat that was fast and deadly. Their movements only appear as motion blur to those who see them.
Lahn and Wayne were among those who saw the fight. Their eyes showed almost the same admiration and frustration.
Wayne turned to Lahn. Her anger, which had been surging uncontrollably like a fire burning dry leaves, has now subsided.
Lahn realized that she was still far from Clyde and Samuel's level. So instead, of feeling frustrated and angry, Lahn realized that she should focus more on practicing the Mana she awakened.
"What do you think, Wayne?" Lahn asked.
"What do you mean?"
"They look so strong, right? How long do you think it will be until we reach their level of strength?"
Wayne sighed as he stared at the fight again. "I don't know. Years, maybe."
Given their conditions, what Wayne said was not an exaggeration.
"Let's spar again!" Lahn said and grabbed her sword.
Wayne knew that the best way to recover Lahn's feelings was to practice obeying him.
"Yeah." Wayne nodded and grabbed his own sword.
~~~
Flashes of fire, lightning, and all kinds of other elements filled this place. The powerful beings called Celestials were observing the fight from a distance with restless faces.
They seemed to have forgotten their true identity as Celestials in front of the strange black creatures that came out from within the walls.
The Celestials did not immediately charge into the battlefield ahead. Instead, they sent their warriors to fight the black creatures.
So far, their warriors alone were enough to slaughter all the black creatures that came out of the walls without taking any casualties. However, even after seeing the obvious results, the Celestials still couldn't rest easy.
They felt this dread feeling lingering in their hearts. It was as if they knew that sooner or later, their warriors would not be enough to hold back the black creatures and they would have to intervene themselves in the fight.
Agatha sat on a black rock that towered like a pillar, some distance from the Celestials and definitely from the black wall.
She was already holding her dark purple scythe in cold sweaty hands. Be prepared for whatever is about to happen.
"Shit, I hope nothing weird happens here," Agatha muttered in an uneasy voice. Her eyes stared at the battle below and were the same as before, when she looked at the Celestials Agatha saw the same anxiety she felt.
Even though she wasn't near them, Agatha could feel it.
She cursed her Chief for sending her here and of course, Luccio, who threw her under the bus so the Chief didn't hesitate to decide on that.
After the Selection Stage ended in chaos due to their betrayal, Luccio became furious because he once again failed to get what he wanted.
Agatha's situation was not much different from his. She also felt shocked, angry, and disappointed because all of her plans were crumbling before her eyes. Meanwhile, the four men came victorious after betraying Clyde.
However, they can not do too much. Because betrayal like that is bound to happen at the Selection Stage.
They just didn't think it could happen to Clyde. With his strength that is overwhelming and dominates everything in front of him.
They didn't think that these people would betray, take the time when Clyde was weak, and stab him in the back.
In the end, Luccio and Agatha had to swallow disappointment because they failed to get Clyde.
But it turns out it wasn't just the two of them. Several Celestials who were waiting for Clyde to come out also had to swallow disappointment. They had gone to great lengths to recruit him but in the end, he didn't show up.
What's worse than that was Luccio blaming her for not realizing it sooner and preventing everything.
Upon hearing his words at that time, Agatha almost summoned her scythe in front of the Chief to slash Luccio's head. But she soon realized that she couldn't do that and could only stay silent to quell her anger.
And now, she's here, doing the tedious task of observing what's going on in this place.
Agatha suddenly realizes something strange with the black wall.
"What the hell is that?"
There's a strange ripple in the wall. An enormous ripple.
~~~
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