Boram’s fight with Igurd had reached its peak. After the opening phase and the battle of might, what was left was the conclusion. That conclusion was Boram tethering on the brink of defeat.

Boram was strong but Igurd also had a unique quality about him. He was among the strongest opponents that Boram had faced so far.

The battle had gone on for too long. As he was taught by his master, Boram aimed for a quick battle. Which meant he was going hard in the early rounds. Yet he failed to finish off Igurd. Worse, Igurd possessed an ability that made him stronger the longer he was in battle. As things stood, Boram was like a boxer who entered the last round exhausted.

Igurd attacked him like a furious gale, unceasing. Boram only lasted so long thanks to the boon of his half-giant physique. The main thing was he couldn't find an opening and Boram found himself constantly on the defensive. As his master’s hammer, his biggest stat was strength; his speed was far above the average earth Pathseeker but not enough to contend with Igurd and his momentum.

His skin got slashed, his bones cracked, both were harder than rock.

Yet he didn't panic. Not even he knew how many times he had balanced life and death in his master’s virtual reality and on the island of giants.

He quietly and calmly invoked a forbidden Arte.

Igurd’s attacks began to hit the air. This was because Boram saw him move in slow motion. Boram stepped in, waving through Igurd’s bone spear. A heavy punch seemingly carrying the weight of the land fell down on Igurd’s gut. The second attack came from behind, an elbow at the spine.

There was a sound like a humongous tree got its trunk split in two. Utterly brutal.

Igurd only felt a single attack. That was how fast Boram was.

Igurd fell and Boram remained standing.

This was a special Arte that his master taught him—Sandevistan.

His brain and body were temporarily heightened to the extreme, allowing him to perceive the world in slow motion and move at super speed. His master called this ‘bullet time’ or something.

Boram could use this Arte only for four seconds. More than that, then his brain would burst and his nerves snapped, permanently turning him into a vegetable. This time he stopped at two seconds and the moment he stopped, his brain got flooded with pain signals from all over his body. His muscles were torn and he suffered an ungodly headache.

Boram recalled Master Avel’s words in his mind.

Remember, this is a really dangerous Arte, use it with extreme care. A buddy of mine, a certain David Martinez, taught this to me. Now I teach you this so you might survive your battles, in honor of his memory. Never cross your limit.

The Arte, Sandevistan, was the improved version of the Super Synapse Arte. An Arte that he once taught Jaime Sigley in the Book World. This new version was stronger in every way because he added many formulas from myriad Artes he got from soul search.

Boram fell on his butt beside Igurd while bleeding from his nose, but the other kid had it worse.

“Faah… fuahh… huuuf… that was… too close,” Boram wheezed. “Too damn close.”

Somewhere nearby, a vent of gas emerged from the earth, as if signaling the end of the battle.

“...What are you waiting for? Finish it.”

A weak voice entered Boram’s ears. Who else could it be but Igurd? His body lay broken and battered as he gazed at the sky hollowly.

“...You regained your sanity,” Boram said warily, looking out for signs of a desperate attack. There were none.

The other boy didn't say anything, fully accepting the fate of the loser.

“How did you see my memories? Mind-reading?”

No answer again.

“I won. Tell me.”

It was a childish reason, and for that, it worked.

“...The ones I fought, their experience bled out to me.”

Igurd’s beast-like traits from earlier were because of the monsters he fought to survive on the volcano. Their traits smeared on him like splattered blood. Naturally, such things were not a complete memory like an extensive soul search, only bits and pieces of the past.

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“I see.”

“I’m tired. Kill me.”

“No.”

“Ha? Why not?”

“You’re not my enemy.”

Despite their fight, Boram didn't have any animosity towards Igurd. He felt kinship instead as fellow slaves. The only difference between the two was that Boram was luckier.

“Pity? I hate you.”

“I don't hate you,” Boram replied tiredly. “Why do you want to die so much anyway?”

“Slaves like me have no future. Better die now than years later. Life’s good for nothing.”

“Then… wanna come with me?”

Igurd stopped looking at the sky filled with red clouds to Boram. He saw the boy extending his hand.

“I used to have no purpose either. Master helped me find one. He can do the same with you. He'd be happy to welcome you ‘cause you’re strong. Everybody wins.”

Igurd was silent for a good amount of time, overwhelmed by the kindness from Boram and the pureness of his eyes. How long had it been since he got offered a helping hand?

Too, too long.

“I hate you.”

Tears flowed from the side of his eyes.

Slowly, the small hand reached out.

It fell midway.

The words ‘thank you’ remained unsaid.

“...Igurd?”

Igurd’s face had a tiny smile and a hollow gaze. Unmoving, unbreathing.

Boram, realizing what was happening, lowered his head. Pain and grief filled his eyes.

“We could have been friends…”

***

“Trash. Failure, until the very end. Disappointing.”

Marvin closed his fist, crushing the floating slave seal to fragments, just like that, the execution was delivered.

“Now, where was I?” Marvin rubbed his hand a few times as if to clean dirty hands, Igurd was already erased from his mind. “Ah yes. You’re a slippery prey, I’ll give you that… Er, what was your name again?”

“It’s okay if you don't know. No need to remember it either.”

Marvin along with his knights were standing facing Viers. It had been days since they searched for Viers but he didn't make it easy for him, but now they had come face to face.

The reason was the lake of lava behind Viers. He was protecting it, like an animal protecting its young.

“So this is what you’ve been protecting. A snake-woman… If I remember correctly, she’s called a lamia. Not many of them are left. Marvelous, simply marvelous.”

In the middle of the lava geyser from the middle of the lava lake, Clarissa’s sleeping soul could be clearly seen.

A few days ago, Croix began climbing the mountain and Marvin started to hunt for Viers. He placed Clarissa here for therapy and hid the location with a barrier. Sometimes, he led the hunting party on a wild goose chase before returning.

However, that barrier had been broken. The reason was the eruption of the lava lake itself. The whole area around the Archion Volcano underwent a change and the ambient mana spiked. It stimulated Power Spots like this one and temporality improved their quality. The Rank 4 Power Spot was on par with a Rank 5 site now.

It got even better for Clarissa but the energy of the site was too much for Viers, resulting in the collapse of the hiding veil. Now the wolves were at his gates.

Viers wasn't surprised this happened. In fact, he predicted this would happen. He also predicted the changes were mostly likely caused by Croix. Perhaps he pulled a legendary sword from a stone or something.

At any rate, his role was clear, protect the sleeping beauty. It was that simple, as such, there was no hesitation, no doubt whatsoever.

“Who is she to you, fatty?” Marvin asked, eyes never moving from Clarissa. A gaze of lustful desire.

“My responsibility,” Viers replied.

Marvin walked closer.

Viers made a slashing motion with his bare hand and a long horizontal line was created on the ground. The black knights moved to guard their prince.

“That line is a line of no return. Beyond that line is a place of blood and carnage. This is your only warning.”

Viers didn't raise his voice, his killing intent, or his soul power. Yet his calm action conveyed a sense of foreboding, like staring into a dark abyss.

The Level 3 knights instinctually felt that it was no empty threat. A few among their numbers that searched for Viers on the prince’s orders were never seen again. There were dangerous elements here, not only monsters and dangerous Power Spots but most likely it was the doing of the masked man staging in front of them. The fact it happened ran warning bells in their head.

Alfred and Harper overlooked the confrontation from a distance. The Level 4s were still enemies and restrained each other without coming to blows. While some might argue Alfred should help Viers since he was outnumbered, Viers didn't protest.

This was his matter. Alfred removing the other Level 4 piece from the board was already enough.

The presence of Viers just standing there was enough to intimidate the battle-hardened veterans of the Black Shield Knightly Order. One of them involuntarily stepped back.

“Get out of my sight, trash.”

The knight was stabbed through the chest from behind with a sword, armor and all. Prince Marvin then tossed the man to the side like a rag.

“Who are you to demand anything of me?” Marvin said with utter confidence. “When I see something I want, I’ll take it. When I want to eat something, I’ll eat it. When I see a woman I want, I’ll bed her. Everything in this world exists for my amusement. All of them are rightfully mine and nothing can stop me!”

Marvin crossed the line with a fearless stomp.

Yellow lightning coiled Viers’ body; his pupils elongated like a snake and his eyes turned iridescent green. That gaze was unmistakably those of a ruthless predator.

“It's not every day that I choose violence, but when I do, I do it with impunity.”

Viers’ fighting intent exploded.