Michael's eyes lingered on the two descriptions.
To most awakeners, these two battlefields would probably be among the worst possible choices.
Simply existing inside either environment would constantly consume their energy. Their movements would gradually become sluggish while their vitality slowly weakened.
Yet for Michael, the exact opposite was true. He himself cultivated Death Energy. His undead practically thrived on it. Inside such an environment, they would feel as comfortable as fish returning to water.
It might not be enough to make them overwhelmingly stronger, but fighting in a place naturally filled with compatible energy was always preferable to fighting somewhere completely hostile.
After only a brief moment of consideration, Michael made his decision.
"The Land of Eternal Death and the Frozen Rain Expanse."
[Battlefield Created Successfully]
Name: Deathfrost Rainlands
Description: A world where endless freezing rain falls beneath a sky consumed by death. Dense Death Energy and Yin Cold Energy permeate every corner of the battlefield.
Living creatures continuously suffer the erosion of both vitality and warmth, while beings aligned with negative energies naturally recover and become more active within the environment.
The instant he confirmed his choice, the surrounding darkness trembled. The battlefield selection panel disappeared. Space distorted.
Then the world changed.
An endless gray sky stretched overhead. Black clouds covered the heavens completely.
Drizzle. Drizzle.
Cold rain descended endlessly from above. Every raindrop carried a faint trace of gray Death Energy mixed with biting Yin Cold.
The earth beneath his feet had long since frozen solid, yet instead of white snow, the entire landscape was covered in black frost.
Dead forests stood silently in the distance. Not a single leaf remained upon their twisted branches. Gray mist drifted lazily across the frozen ground, making the entire world resemble a realm abandoned by life itself.
Michael slowly inhaled.
The surrounding Death Energy naturally entered his body. Rather than discomfort, he felt his condition improving slightly.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"This place will do."
A final panel appeared before him.
[Battlefield: Deathfrost Rainlands]
[Match Status: Active]
[Ranking Challenge Participants]
Defender: Michael Norman
Rank: 198
Level: 75
Realm: Aurora
-
VS
-
Challenger: Varek Dros
Rank: 206
Level: 100
Realm: Ironpeak Realm
[Victory Conditions]
Eliminate the opposing participant.
Opposing participant voluntarily surrenders.
Michael looked around. There was no one in sight. Only the endless frozen wasteland and the ceaseless black rain.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"So we've been placed separately…"
The match had already begun. Both participants had entered the same battlefield, but they would have to find each other first.
"I wonder if it will work."
Michael's first instinct was to test the earlier notification that stated one could not remain in the void with the existence of environments.
If that restriction also affected teleportation, his mobility would be greatly reduced.
Without hesitating, Michael focused on a jagged cliff rising several hundred meters away.
Space around him distorted.
Whoosh!
His figure vanished. A fraction of a second later, he appeared atop the cliff overlooking the frozen wasteland.
"…It worked."
Michael turned to observe his surroundings. He looked down at his own hands before silently sensing the surrounding space.
"So that's what it meant. The battlefield hadn't prohibited teleportation itself. Instead, it prevented participants from remaining inside the void."
Michael understood the theory immediately. His own teleportation only involved momentarily passing through the void before emerging almost instantly.
The time spent there was practically negligible.
However, there were spatial abilities that allowed users to hide inside the void or even launch attacks from that hidden dimension.
Those techniques were most likely what the Origin Will had restricted seeing as the surface level of the void was still accessible.
Michael nodded inwardly.
"That makes far more sense."
Otherwise, countless spatial talents would have become almost useless the moment a ranking battle began.
Instead, the battlefield only prevented participants from abusing the void as a place to hide or continuously move through.
It wasn't a restriction on spatial abilities. It was a restriction on using the void itself as part of the battlefield.
After confirming this, Michael slowly surveyed his surroundings from atop the cliff. The visibility wasn't particularly good.
Gray mist drifted endlessly across the land while black rain continuously fell from the heavens and dead forests stretched toward the horizon, broken only by scattered mountains and frozen valleys.
Even from this height, he couldn't see another living figure.
"It seems we were placed quite far apart."
Michael wasn't surprised. If both participants were dropped beside each other, there would be little purpose in creating such an enormous battlefield.
Searching for the opponent was clearly intended to be part of the challenge itself.
His perception spread outward. Within the Deathfrost Rainlands, his senses felt noticeably sharper than usual.
The drifting Death Energy almost seemed willing to carry information back to him. Still, there were no signs of another living being within range.
Michael's gaze shifted toward the endless dead forest in the distance.
"If I were the challenger…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…I'd probably head for higher ground first as well."
With that thought, Michael stepped off the cliff.
Instead of falling, he teleported repeatedly across the frozen landscape, each spatial jump carrying him several hundred meters closer to the heart of the battlefield, while he continuously searched for the Level 100 Rank Four Awakener who was, at that very moment, undoubtedly searching for him as well.
However, what Michael hadn't expected was his opponent to reveal their own location openly.
Standing atop another mountain several kilometers away was a massive skeletal dragon.
Its wings stretched well over thirty meters. Its eye sockets burned with ghostly emerald flames.
Standing upon its skull was a broad-shouldered man clad in armor forged from black bone.
Even from several kilometers away, Michael could clearly sense the aura of a peak Rank Four Awakener.
"…"
Michael's expression stiffened. His lips twitched involuntarily.
"So that's how it is. Oh, what a great home advantage."
His gaze slowly shifted from the rider back to the bone dragon beneath him. Then toward the countless wisps of Death Energy drifting throughout the battlefield.
His lips twitched again.
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