System's POV

The ugly incident between the two best friends during the Special Event in the Deserted Island was known to nearly everyone around the world.

The only ones who probably didn't know about it were those who were currently in Solterra and those who lived under a rock, all of whom couldn't be updated regarding the recent happenings in the outside world.

Even Derek, who was seated beside Roland, was already a second away from grabbing hold of Roland's arm to stop him from attacking the Sage of their Party.

"Betray you?" Joshua snorted. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Roland's face was already livid with anger.

"I don't," Joshua commented before eating another popcorn. "I joined this tournament to win. I don't have a loser mentality like you. You gave up, I didn't. That's the difference between us."

"Why you!" Roland stood up from his chair but was immediately grabbed by Derek from behind.

"Calm down, Roland!" Derek shouted.

"Stand down, Roland," Diana said as she also stood up, facing the young man whose hand was already at the hilt of his sword.

However, Derek was holding his sword arm firmly, preventing him from drawing the blade.

"Can't the two of you calm down for cripes' sake!" Mildred shouted in annoyance. "Stop acting like god-damned kids!"

"I'm not acting like a god-damned kid, you know?" Joshua commented.

"You shut the fuck up!" Mildred pointed at Joshua, making the latter chuckle.

Shana, who was seated beside Erica, lightly tapped the Sorceress's shoulder.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" Shana asked.

"Why?" Erica asked, ignoring the commotion inside their VIP Room and focusing on the match in the arena.

"I mean, it would be bad if the two of them really fought, right?" Shana explained.

"Eh? Let them fight." Erica shrugged. "The two of them won't go far as to kill each other, so it's all good."

"… How can you treat this matter so lightly? What if the one Roland's trying to hurt is Zion? Will you just stand and watch from the side?"

Erica blinked once then twice before shifting her attention to the Saintess.

"Well, I won't stand and watch from the side," Erica replied, making Shana pat her chest in relief.

However, before the Saintess could truly feel relieved, the Sorceress' next words made her do a double take.

"I'm going to call an ambulance," Erica stated. "Are you kidding? The only time Roland will challenge Zion is if his head has been kicked by a donkey. Have you forgotten what happened in the Temple of Courage?"

Shana, of course, hadn't forgotten what happened in the Temple of Courage.

She was simply testing if Erica would choose to side with Zion over Roland, which would make her understand their current relationship.

However, the Sorceress' answer was very neutral, which meant that she wouldn't take any sides if the two fought.

Though it still didn't change the fact that Erica believed that Zion would win against Roland if the two of them were to fight.

Shana also believed so deep in her heart, which made her feel complicated.

Just as the tension inside the Hero Party's VIP Room was increasing, the battle in the arena was also getting intense.

Zion, who had no idea that Roland and Joshua were about to butt heads against each other, was focusing on the battle in the arena.

'Terence is not half bad,' Thirteen thought as he watched the young man clash against Clark repeatedly, using everything in his power to keep him within his sword reach.

But there was a difference between the two fighters.

One was fighting with a determined look on his face, while the other was fighting in a carefree manner.

At least, that was what Clark showed on the surface, seeing that he had the leeway to smile as he exchanged blows with Terence.

This caused Terence to feel pressured because his opponent seemed to deal with his relentless attacks with ease.

Knowing that he needed to end the match as fast as possible, Terence activated the special ability of his sword, which immediately burst into flames.

"Flame Burst!" Terence roared as he slashed against Clark's sword with the intention of detonating his blade at point-blank range.

But instead of blocking the attack, Clark seemed to use minor teleportation and blinked a few meters to his right side.

The moment Terence swung his sword, it exploded mid-strike, sending a powerful blast of flames that blew away the mists around him.

Terence had used this move in actual battles, and he fully understood how deadly this strike was when used at the right moment. Find adventures on empire

However, the moment his sword was coated with flames, Clark immediately knew that Terence was planning something, so he didn't hesitate to use the skill imbued on his boots that allowed him to instantly teleport once every hour.

It was one of his life-saving trump cards, which he usually didn't use unless absolutely necessary.

Clark hurriedly backed away, but the powerful blast had pushed back the mists around Terence, allowing him to see things around him more clearly.

"You're not getting away!" Terence shouted as he lunged at Clark.

Instead of replying, Clark opened his lips and unleashed a breath attack with the white powder that he had used against Roland.

Terence didn't falter and thrust forward, casting Flame Burst at the tip of his sword, which dispersed the powdery substance, dispelling it completely.

But at that exact moment, three projectiles entered Terence's vision, forcing him to dodge to his right side.

The first two projectiles, which looked like shurikens, passed harmlessly. However, the third one managed to graze his shoulder.

Immediately, Terence felt a stinging pain in the place where he was wounded. However, this pain wasn't the pain that was coming from his wound.

It was a pain that came from something else, which made his face turn grim.

'Poison!' Terence cursed internally before pressing his blade over his wound and searing it completely with flames.

Thirteen, who was watching this battle, couldn't help but cross his arms over his chest as he pondered what Clark's ability was.

During his battles, the young man often used tricks like poison, paralyzing powders, and other debuffs that would hinder his opponent from fighting effectively.

In fact, Thirteen believed that Clark's real ability was the ability to strip his opponents of their senses, making them unable to fight him properly.

'Perhaps he is resorting to these tricks in order to prevent others from truly knowing what he is capable of,' Thirteen thought.

The teenage boy believed that Clark had other trump cards, which he didn't plan to show during the tournament.

And he was right.

Clark had hidden his true abilities so well that even his parents didn't know what it was.

Seeing that the poison was now starting to take effect against his opponent, Clark started to use range tactics against his opponent.

Darts, shurikens, and throwing knives rained at Terence, giving the latter no time to deal with the poison spreading inside his body.

The more Terence moved his body, the faster the poison was spreading.

The poison wasn't lethal, but it could paralyze those who were affected by it, allowing Clark to give the finishing blow without any danger to himself.

Five minutes later, several darts were sticking out of Terence's body.

The young man was only able to stand because he was using his weapon to prop himself up, preventing his body from collapsing.

Truth be told, Terence was betting on Clark approaching him to knock him unconscious.

If that really happened, he would resort to detonating his sword at point-blank range, dealing damage to the two of them.

But Clark was a very meticulous person.

Although he didn't know what Terence was thinking, he knew that a cornered animal would bite back out of desperation.

Because of this, he continued to throw darts and shurikens, hitting the non-vital areas of Terence's body, making the latter glare at the shameless Scion of the Ashford Clan who was still playing safe!

In the end, Terence was no longer able to endure and collapsed unconscious in the arena.

"Winner, Clark Ashford!" Thirteen declared before asking the medics to give first aid to his pitiful cousin, who suffered under Clark's relentless attacks.

Clark glanced at the teenage boy on the stage and mouthed something.

Thirteen nodded, informing the young man that he received his message.

Clark smiled faintly before walking out of the arena, feeling as if all the chains weighing him down had melted away.

He only spoke two words to Thirteen, but it was heartfelt and sincere.

"Thank you."

He thanked the teenage boy for telling him to fight, preventing him from having any regrets in his life.

Claude looked at his son, who was walking away from the arena with a conflicted expression on his face.

For some reason, he felt like his son had received some kind of enlightenment because he seemed very different from his usual self.

There was a spring in the young man's steps, and he was even humming as he left the arena surrounded by the cheers of the audience, who witnessed an exciting match that held great importance to those who knew what it represented.