“How dare you!” accused the tiger-dressed man. He had not stopped conjuring his energy, forming the visage of a great tiger, ready to pounce upon Zephyr. ‘Heh, this thing’s worth ten thousand points!’ Zephyr thought as he collected his kill, quickly igniting Lightfoot to get away. He successfully dodged the man’s attack, appearing some thirty feet away.

“You f*cking brat, give us your scoreboard now, and we might let you live!”

“How dare you steal the prince’s points! Are you not afraid for your clan? Your town? The Ahi aren’t so forgiving!”

The group chased after Zephyr, while the tiger-dressed man tried to stop him with his energy.

‘These guys are good, but that tiger dude’s bad news! I can’t let myself be caught!’ Zephyr thought, his gears shifted as fast as his footwork in his brain. He summoned his scales’ energy, channelling the Might, and prepared to go all out. With the roar of a dragon signalling his cue, Zephyr looked as if he himself became a dragon, his speed doubled, and immediately disappeared from their sights. This left his pursuers in the dust, with mouths agape at such a display.

“Holy f*ck!”

“The f*ck?!”

No one had expected a mere Strength of level eight to have escaped like that. The one with the fiery hands was especially annoyed. Not only was a partner killed, he had also wasted his precious sleeper gem, how could he not hate the thief?

“That b*stard’s dead! He’s too good, he must’ve followed us earlier, how else would he have gotten such an opportunity to snatch our kill?!” the tiger-dressed man shouted. “After him! That’s ten thousand f*cking points! Go! Go! Go!” the man continued, enraged.

‘It seems I’ll be contending with the Ninth prince. That group knows what I look like… Guess I’ll be having business with the royal family after all!’ Zephyr thought as he ran. “The prince has nine teams, nine squads… if they worked together, nobody else in this Tournament would stand a chance!” He said out loud.

Suddenly a loud boom came, and it came fast and strong. He felt the air around him solidify. Zephyr could not help but huff at the sudden pressure. He gave his all, trying to move his body. Suddenly, a sharp pain came from his upper torso. Right on cue, a long arrow hit a nearby tree, shattering the tree upon impact. ‘Such skill!’ Zephyr thought. The arrow must have pierced through his defenses, if it had hit him, no doubt would he be mortally wounded. Zephyr became worried knowing he had to face such an archer.