Chapter 96 - Challenge

After the other party's figure came into view, Randy was able to look closely at their appearance.

Despite their odd appearance, Randy could still tell that the other party was a man with disheveled but long black hair.

They had on brown sunglasses and a black leather coat that fluttered along with the movement of the wind.

At this moment, the man had his hand in his pocket as he continued to walk towards Randy with a nonchalant expression.

Looking at the approaching sunglasses man in the distance, Randy scowled further as his gaze focused on the surroundings of the sunglasses man.

And shortly after, he displayed a confused expression while carefully observing the surroundings.

'Could it be that I was wrong or…? Maybe they are hidden somewhere around the two buildings… Or behind that man… no, but that can't be right, there is no one but this man in this alley right at this moment.'

Randy deeply pondered for a brief moment, and then his expression gradually became serious as he continued to look at the man with a cautious gaze.

The sunglasses man also noticed that the young man in front of him was not even paying attention to him, causing him to narrow his eyes to observe the young man's actions.

He realized that the young man was instead looking around him as if to find something.

Observing his actions for a while, the sunglasses man instantly understood and then inwardly praised him and said: "Brat, your senses are not bad for a stupid brat that is. You seem to notice that there are more of us judging by how you have been looking around so frantically."

And then he paused for a moment, revealed a confident smile before saying: "But it's no use; no matter how good your senses are, you cannot possibly discern the location of my subordinates in this place."

"This place…" Randy muttered words when he heard the sunglasses man's words, and then he immediately fell into thought.

'So that is what I was feeling since earlier…? Just like I thought, something was indeed wrong with this place. The moment I arrived here, I felt like I walked through some thin barrier before entering this alley.'

'I can't tell what it is, but it felt like we are no longer in the same location or space and yet at the same, we are in the same location. This truly is a strange feeling… Wait, don't tell me…'

Randy suddenly thought of one possibility, but he could not complete his thoughts as the other party started to speak again.

"Well, enough with the talking, I heard from the young lord that you seem to have something akin to their bloodline ability… beatification. So, why don't I have you show it to me? Hmm? I am quite very interested in what could attract that arrogant bastard's attention." The sunglasses man bluntly said to him.

"What are you talking about? And who sent you?"

Randy chose to speak this time however, he tried playing ignorant even though he could essentially tell who was behind this.

"Little brat, no need to ask too many questions, I don't particularly like talking too much with my prey. Just do as told, and this situation would swiftly come to an end. I might even consider letting you go after this, so what do you think?" The sunglasses man said to him as he showed a not so gentle smile.

Randy was silent for a moment as he looked at the other party, and then he instantly understood that he had no choice but to fight this one out.

Although there was a chance that he might lose his life during this event, nevertheless, since he had already decided to change his previous lifestyle, so there was no turning back at this point.

Unlike before, where he had to endure every single humiliation thrown at him without saying anything or fighting against it, this time, he will be facing the opponents' attack head-on and aiming to win.

Other than that, he was willing to bet his life on the line fighting off these people who thought he was an easy target without any hesitation.

At this moment, this is a challenge that he must take on to prove to himself that this path that he plans to continue walking in the future was the right one and not just him spouting nonsense to feel good about himself or newfound strength.

With conviction, Randy clenched his fist tightly as he peered at the man in the distance who suddenly stopped when he was a certain distance away from him.

Using his senses, Randy was able to tell that apart from the sunglasses man standing in front of him, there should be others beside him.

That was because his base senses had grown sharper and keen after he had broken through to the first realm in his psionic energy cultivation.

While still using his senses since earlier, he was able to deduce that those people might not be as strong when compared to the sunglasses man in front of him, but he cannot rule out the possibility of them having some strange abilities.

With that thought in mind, he did not let his guard down as he prepared for any random attack from the front and the top of the buildings.

Also, he could vaguely tell that the sunglasses man in front of him might have a combat prowess akin to an A-rank's power level at most, but that was when he compared it to that burglar that he encountered a few days ago.

Since that burglar was also an A-rank in terms of combat prowess, Randy was able to use his power fluctuations to estimate this opponent's strength in general.

"So how about it, have you made up your mind?" The man spoke upon noticing that the other party seemed to not respond to his words and instead appeared to be thinking about something else.

"…"

Randy still did not respond to him, which then annoyed the other party.

And then he questioned in an impatient tone: "Brat! Are you going to show me your transformation or not?! If not, then you leave me no choice but to beat you up until you're willing to do so."

"…"

Randy remained silent as he stared at the other party. He was not willing to give in so easily to them. 

To be more precise, he was thinking about how to execute his attacks without incurring the wrath of the other party's subordinates.

Thinking about that, he remained vigilant as he prepared to active his skill depending on the situation.

Looking at him being so cautious, the sunglasses man remembered something and then said: "Oh right, do not even think for a second that you'll be able to defeat me as you did with my subordinate the other day.

And he continued with a cold tone of voice: "You should know, I was quite shocked that a mere brat of the academy managed to defeat one of my strongest subordinates. And judging from the state he was in when we found him, and also his recount of what happened, it seemed that he could not even put up a fight before he was easily defeated by you."

"That got me interested, and so, to redeem my gang's reputation in these parts, I came here to deal with you myself. You should feel very honored that you're receiving this kind of treatment from me."

After saying that, the man with long black hair and brown sunglasses readied himself as if he was about to dash toward the other party at any moment.