Chapter 169: Chapter 169 - Fighting Rank 99
Theo slowly nodded to himself.
’Yeah,’ he thought. ’I’ll do just that.’
Though only those within 10 ranks of him were required to accept a challenge.
If one far above him accepted, it’d save an insane amount of time.
’My hopes aren’t high for it,’ he thought. ’But there’s got to be, like, one dumbass who wants to prove himself.’
With that in mind, Theo immediately went back to the registration desk.
As he got there, the clerk had a hint of depression on his face.
’’Congratulations,’’ he said, tapping away at a betting site. ’’You really fought that battle fast.’’
Theo couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
’’A betting site?’’
The clerk immediately turned his screen away slightly.
’’Research purposes,’’ he said, his face turning red.
’’Right.’’
For a moment, silence fell between them.
Then Theo tapped the counter lightly.
’’I want to put out multiple challenges.’’
The clerk looked up again.
’’How many?’’
Theo pointed at the leaderboard beside the clerk.
’’Everyone from rank 144 to rank 1.’’
The clerk nearly choked.
’’...What?’’
’’You heard me,’’ Theo said, smiling. ’’I want to challenge all of them.’’
The clerk stared at him for several long seconds.
Then he slowly turned back to the leaderboard.
’’You do realize most people don’t do it like that, right?’’
’’Why not?’’
’’Because they have no idea how much stronger others are, and they don’t wish to look arrogant...’’
Theo paused for a moment, his head tilting slightly.
Then he shrugged.
’’Ok. But I don’t mind either of that.’’
The clerk’s eye twitched.
’’Are you being serious?’’
’’Yes.’’
The clerk’s face slowly started turning red again.
’’Do you have any idea how freaking much work that is?!’’
Theo just stared at him for a moment.
After a moment, the clerk finally raised his hands.
’’Alright,’’ he said. ’’I’ll do it, I’ll do it.’’
Without another word, he began entering the requests.
As the notifications were being sent out, a few people standing nearby glanced at the registration desk.
’’It’s that guy from earlier...’’
’’Did you also get a notification?’’
’’Yup...’’
Their expressions slowly shifted.
’’Is he just challenging everyone then?’’ someone asked, clearly irritated.
’’Looks that way,’’ another answered slowly.
Slowly, irritated expressions began spreading amongst them.
A rare couple, however, just took steps back, completely ready to watch the show.
’’F*ck this,’’ a young man with bright red hair shouted. ’’I’ll take him on and teach him a lesson.’’
Several people smiled slightly, already moving toward the arena.
’Look at that, someone else is going to test the waters.’
’From the fight earlier, that guy was pretty good. Glad some dumbass actually accepted.’
Everyone Theo looked at practically had the same thoughts written on their faces.
That’s when the clerk’s voice echoed out behind him.
’’Rex Donovan, are you sure you wish to accept this challenge?’’
’’Yes,’’ the red-haired young man nodded, fire burning in his eyes.
’’Alright,’’ the clerk nodded.
The screens all throughout the arena shifted.
’’Rank 154, Theo Lane VS Rex Donovan, rank 99.’’
Theo raised an eyebrow, reexamining his opponent for a moment.
’This guy is ranked 99th?’
That’d give him a huge jump from where he was now.
But more than that, Theo felt curious about the strength of such a person.
’’Hey, you!’’ Rex Donovan shouted, pointing at him. ’’You’re not going to chicken out now, right?!’’
Theo snapped out of his thoughts immediately.
’’Of course not,’’ he said, smiling.
Then he gestured to the arena.
’’Let’s go, we only have five minutes after all.’’
Rex let out a grunt as he crossed his arms over each other.
’’You better be half-decent,’’ he muttered under his breath. ’’Or I’ll make sure to beat you to death outside the arena too.’’
Theo stared at him for a moment.
Then he slowly nodded.
’Yup,’ he thought. ’This is exactly the type of person I wanted to accept.’
Without another word, he walked toward the arena grounds.
Rex followed closely behind him, grumbling the entire way.
As they reached the weapon area, Theo picked up his trusty training umbrella again.
But as he looked at Rex, he couldn’t help but be surprised.
’Are those... claws?’
No, that wasn’t it either.
His left hand had a simple gauntlet with chains wrapped around it, while only his right hand had five long claws.
’Someone with a unique combat style,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes.
There weren’t many chances to fight people like that in a training duel.
That only made one thought pop up in his mind.
’I won’t go all out from the start with this one.’
A couple of minutes later, both of them were guided to the arena.
Compared to before, the stands had become noticeably more crowded.
Many had come after receiving challenges themselves, but tons of regular students had now also appeared to watch the spectacle.
Regardless of the reason, several hundred eyes were already focused on the arena.
’’Such a rank gap... don’t see that often.’’
’’Yeah and no, that umbrella dude was seriously skilled in the battle before.’’
’’Could be a really interesting fight...’’
Whispers echoed throughout the stands.
But as the ordinary students really noticed Theo, their eyes narrowed.
’’It’s that guy,’’ one muttered.
’’Yeah! He’s the one who called us weak!’’ another followed up.
’’That guy isn’t even in the top 100, and he called us weak?!’’
The outrage was clearly audible.
Even the most oblivious pre-admission students had now heard about Theo’s so-called arrogance.
Meanwhile, Rex seemed completely unaffected by them.
The moment he entered the arena grounds, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck loudly.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
’This guy really likes fighting,’ Theo thought.
Unlike Mason, Rex didn’t seem nervous in the slightest.
If anything, he looked excited.
The judge quickly stepped into the middle of the arena.
’’Participants, please take your positions.’’
Theo calmly walked toward one side.
Rex headed toward the other.
The chains wrapped around his gauntlet rattled softly as he moved.
Once both of them came to a stop, the judge glanced between them.
’’Both participants ready?’’
’’Yeah,’’ Rex answered immediately.
Theo simply nodded.
The judge raised his arm.
As the arena fell completely silent, he slashed his arm down.
’’Begin!’’
