Another day went by, and like clockwork, Earth was once again fighting for the third consecutive day.

  While that was common for bigger and stronger civilizations, it was all too rare for one that had only four people and had just started to make a name for itself.

  And, this time, standing in the arena was Erevan.

  /////

  “It seems like Earth plans to buy something from the auction. Who do you think will win?”

  “Who? You should be asking how long this fight will last. After winning against two civilizations in the top 10,000, they must’ve gone mad and decided to challenge someone in the top 5,000. They’re too reckless.”

  “I agree. I had high hopes for this dark horse, but I admit that no one in their right mind would willingly jump almost 5,000 ranks after just two fights.”

  The spectators’ stands were filled with a myriad of murmurs, each expressing a different view on the matter.

  Was Earth doing the right thing by jumping ranks so quickly and challenging civilizations far stronger than the last two it had faced?

  There were too many differing opinions on the matter, but most of them weren’t positive.

  Those who supported this decision were the ones who wanted the higher ranked civilizations to lose and feel the same way they did every time a stronger civilization challenged them. They projected their own situations onto Earth, thinking that if Earth won, then they did too.

  The rest, however, thought Earth was biting off more than it could chew.

  There had been multiple instances of civilizations that, right after entering the portal, made a big splash by climbing the ranks in one fell swoop.

  Those civilizations were the ones that had waited several decades before entering the portal. They always had many individuals who could singlehandedly prop up an entire civilization on their own.

  And the spectators were aware of that.

  But whenever that happened, it wasn’t gradual.

  Usually, as soon as such civilizations entered the portal, they would quickly gauge the average strength of the higher ranked civilizations and, right after winning their first three matches and gaining a ranking, they would begin challenging those in the top 1,000 without hesitation.

  That, along with the warriors registering their strength, made those civilizations skyrocket in both rankings and fame.

  If one wasn’t keen on the details, they might think Earth was one such civilization, but they couldn’t be more wrong. As things stood, Earth’s rank had barely gone past the 50,000 mark after the last two fights.

  To the most knowledgeable spectators who’ve seen Slade and Nova’s fight, that meant Earth had only a handful of strong individuals.

  It was clearly a civilization that hadn’t waited until the very end of the trial before entering the portal.

  /////

  Nova sat in the stands along with Jack. The two, both curious, had taken time out of their training to come and witness Erevan’s strength, which was still an enigma to them.

  “Say, late or peak first stage?” Jack asked offhandedly as he stared at the screen where the countdown was still running.

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  In his opinion, and knowing Erevan’s origin, there was simply no way his Force was lower than late first stage.

  Nova, also staring at the screen, replied, “It depends.”

  “It depends?” Jack echoed, turning his head toward his friend.

  “Mhm.” Nova nodded but didn’t elaborate. Right now, he felt too lazy to explain the conclusion he had reached about Forces. All he wanted to do was watch this fight and then go back to training. “We’ll see soon enough.”

  Jack eyed him for a moment longer before turning back to the large screen.

  The timer had now reached zero.

  /////

  Erevan slowly walked toward the middle of the arena as soon as the barrier faded, his expression as peaceful as ever. No one would’ve been able to guess he was about to fight just by looking at him.

  On the other side, not too far from him, a tall man who looked to be in his late twenties was also making his way to the center without an ounce of worry on his face.

  “Go on, make your move.” He said casually. He was looking at Erevan, yet it felt as though he wasn’t looking at him at all.

  Erevan didn’t move. Instead, he asked, “Don’t you want to sign a contract? I’ve heard that’s a pretty common thing to do during the auction period.”

  Yesterday, while Nova was fighting, he and Jack had been spectating from the stands. There, they learned that it wasn’t just Earth that had been offered a contract. It was simply a common practice among stronger civilizations to ensure that neither side would seek revenge after the fight, as these matches were mostly about wealth.

  No one wanted to gamble their lives for money, at least not when they were sure they could make it back.

  “A contract?” The tall man repeated, baffled. “Did that little bit of fame go to your head after beating the bottom of the top 10,000? A contract is only made between civilizations that stand as equals.”

  “We,” he said, pointing first at Erevan and then at himself, mocking, “are not equal.”

  Erevan smiled. We indeed aren’t.

  “What are you smiling for? Didn’t you hear what I said?” The tall man frowned. He couldn’t understand why someone would smile after being called inferior.

  “No reason,” Erevan shrugged, then continued, “Since you don’t want to sign a contract, we should start now.”

  Without waiting for the man to react, Erevan, with a step as light as a feather, dashed toward him.

  Halting right in front of his opponent before the latter could react, Erevan pointed a finger at the man’s chest and, in a voice as quiet as a whisper, said, “Should’ve signed a contract.”

  The tall man’s pupils shrank. He couldn’t believe what had just happened.

  One moment, Erevan was standing a few meters in front of him, and the next, he was pointing a finger at his chest.

  Erevan’s words had barely registered in his mind when, just as he tried to move away, he felt his chest burning.

  Panicked, he tried to circulate his mana to alleviate the heat, but not only did it fail to stop the pain, it grew hotter and hotter, so intense that he felt like an ordinary person being roasted alive. It was excruciating to say the least.

  How can it be this hot…

  That was his last thought, though he wasn’t even aware it was his final one.

  If only he could have seen his situation from a third-person perspective, he would’ve noticed the small fireball at Erevan’s fingertip, no bigger than a fingernail. When Erevan touched his chest, the fireball had torn a tiny hole in his body, but it was so hot that even his nerves had been burnt to ashes and hadn’t registered it.

  In the blink of an eye, the fireball devoured everything, leaving nothing but ashes behind.

  Top 5,000… nothing much, Erevan thought as he was soon sent back to his town.

  /////

  Meanwhile, in the spectators’ stands, where several tens of billions of people had gathered, there was pin drop silence.

  Nobody could make head or tail of what had just happened.

  A representative of a top 5,000 civilization hadn’t even had time to scream before he was reduced to ashes.

  They remembered how, earlier, they had been mocking Earth for challenging civilizations it shouldn’t have, and now only awkwardness remained.

  It was several seconds before one of the spectators finally broke the silence.

  “Is this really happening?”

  Nobody answered. They were too shocked by what had just happened to spare any thought for such a small detail.

  /////

  Nova and Jack didn’t linger in the stands for long. As soon as the fight ended, they, almost in silent agreement, left without a word.

  Even back in town, they didn’t speak to each other and went straight to their own houses.

  There, Nova slumped onto the sofa, his mind replaying the fight over and over, analyzing every movement. His focus was mostly on the fireball at the tip of Erevan’s finger.

  ‘It doesn’t seem to have reached the second stage yet, but its strength is clearly at the second stage. Even stranger, it doesn’t exhibit many aspects of Fire Force, yet its strength is undeniably beyond its stage.’

  ‘A Force that is stronger than normal while not encompassing several aspects…’

  He subconsciously replayed the conversation he’d had with Erevan about Force, and after going over it a few times, he found the answer.

  “Bloodline. Erevan’s bloodline must be of the fire attribute,” Nova murmured to himself.

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