Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Not Necessarily the Strongest, but Definitely the Toughest

The area around was already chaotic, but upon hearing the name Charles, the entire entrance of the guild became a frenzy.

Charles glanced around at the crowd with a sense of resignation and sighed internally, "Indeed, the moment I became strong, the whole world changed."

A long time ago.

When he was cornered and beaten up in the bathroom by Robert, not a single person dared to speak out in his defense. In fact, many joined Robert's group to bully him, eager to curry favor.

Almost overnight, those who had mocked and bullied him fell silent, replaced by compliments and praises. The number of 'friends,' 'old acquaintances,' and 'fellow countrymen' around him gradually increased.

Ignoring the noise around him, Charles simply nodded gently to Aurora and entered the guild through the VIP corridor.

Clack!

The moment the corridor door shut, the clamorous noise was finally left outside.

Charles checked his bank account and soon received a text message.

[Dear Customer, your bank account ending in 9527 currently has a balance of: 0 gold coins, 13 silver coins, and 900 copper coins.]

"Just this much money left?" Seeing his dwindling savings, Charles looked pained.

He hadn't anticipated that in just a week, he would nearly go bankrupt.

Indeed, being a Beast Master is an expensive profession; just the alchemy for Mousie and Max has cost dozens of silver coins recently. How will I survive once I get to the imperial capital for university?

I've heard that the cost of living there is outrageously high, with many items starting at one gold coin...

After spending nearly half an hour at the guild's front desk filling out forms, I finally listed almost all the unnecessary ferocious beast materials from my storage space, leaving only some of the beast meat I like to eat. I wasn't too upset about it; as long as I keep battling ferocious beasts, I'll continuously obtain more materials.

Because the materials were exceptionally fresh due to the time-sealed nature of the [storage space], especially the ferocious beast meat, they were immediately in high demand when I posted them on the guild's notice board!

Sitting in the VIP lounge, my account kept receiving payments, and my phone was constantly vibrating, bringing a smile to my face.

"Now that I have some money, I should buy some alchemy ingredients. It's going to be a busy night again, prepping for the journey to the imperial capital. I'll probably need a lot of miracle drugs on the way." After wrapping up, I checked the time; it was already afternoon.

By the time I reached the guild's main entrance, the crowd had thinned out somewhat, most likely drawn to the martial arts field ahead.

This martial arts field was much larger than the one at the celebration dinner, and it was surrounded by energy barriers, presumably to protect the spectators from any stray attacks.

In a nation that revered martial prowess, such martial arts fields were abundant in Genosha; Lsengard alone boasted no fewer than ten large ones, facilitating exchanges among Beast Masters.

This particular field was the largest in Lsengard, already crowded with thousands of spectators. From a distance, I could see familiar figures like Daniel and Aurora.

With the recruitment ceremony approaching, everyone wanted to gauge each other's strength. However, I wasn't too interested; my time was precious, and there would be plenty of opportunities to spar at the recruitment ceremony.

"Charles, are you interested in a match with me?" I turned around to see a muscular, dark-skinned young man slowly approaching, who suddenly chuckled, "Oh, never mind. Let's not spar after all. I heard you cheated, and it wouldn't be good if something happened to you from one punch, haha!"

Thomas didn't hide the scorn in his eyes.

Although Charles had proven his strength at the celebration dinner, some still doubted him. After all, Carlos wasn't particularly strong, and even Charles's victory over him hadn't dispelled some people's suspicions.

Charles's face showed no change in expression: "I know you're jealous because I'm handsome, and you always want to fight me to catch the attention of the girls around. But let me tell you something... even if you win, no girl will be interested in you!"

This comment elicited laughter from the other boys around, and Thomas's face instantly darkened.

Hearing that Charles was around, several girls gathered around him, looking infatuated, with a few shyly asking for his contact information.

Seeing this scene made Thomas's expression even more sour.

Before Charles arrived, he had been the star of the martial arts field, but now, Charles had stolen all the attention that should have been his!

Forcing himself to calm down, Thomas managed a very strained smile: "Didn't realize you had such a high opinion of me. Why don't we stop talking and go up on stage to show what we've got?"

With his back to Thomas, Charles waved his hand dismissively, clearly uninterested, as he was in a hurry to get back to his alchemy.

Thomas saw Charles's attitude as cowardice. He mocked Charles's retreating figure, and a few others joined in, hurling insults at Charles.

Amidst the jeering, a stout figure slowly stepped forward, standing in front of Thomas: "Thomas, I'll fight you. Do you dare?"

Hearing this voice, Charles halted mid-step, turning around.

It was Daniel, a young man with golden blonde hair and a slightly plump build, who had now stepped onto the martial arts field with Thomas. During their time in the ferocious beast mountains, he must have also developed a grudge against Thomas, unable to swallow the mockery aimed at Charles.

However, Charles was genuinely worried about Daniel's strength.

Daniel had only recently advanced to a level two Beast Master and was considered quite weak among his peers. Thomas, on the other hand, was a top contender among level two Beast Masters!

Not just Charles, everyone around thought the same: With such a disparity in strength, Daniel was undoubtedly doomed!

But before Charles could dissuade him, Daniel had already entered the martial arts field. After each summoned their mystical beast, the big screen in the arena displayed their basic stats.

Daniel - [rock turtle] (Lv.12)

vs

Thomas - [lightning demon ape] (Lv.17)

As the two level two Beast Masters began their match, the already buzzing martial arts field erupted with even more excitement. More spectators flocked to the event, eagerly watching the duel. However, upon seeing the big screen, some expressed disappointment with the anticipated outcome of the fight.

"No way, Qin Shao is really brave, huh? Taking on a Lv.17 at Lv.12, he probably doesn't even know how he's going to get beaten!"

"Hey, you don't understand, they almost came to blows back in the ferocious beast mountains. This has been brewing for a long time; it's old grudges and new grievances all in one!"

"Holy smokes, from what you're saying, today's going to be quite the show, but I think Daniel's going to get thrashed. Revenge is all about strength..."

The crowd overwhelmingly supported Thomas, given the clear disparity in their levels; the outcome seemed a foregone conclusion.

The referee pressed a button, and a 10-minute countdown timer appeared in the center of the arena. Just as the clock hit 9:59, Thomas had already charged towards Daniel.

"Boom!"

A dull thud resounded as Thomas unleashed his skill [arc swing], his fist crackling with electrical sparks as it heavily struck Daniel's chest.

The large body arced through the air like a cannonball, then slammed heavily against the energy barrier at the edge of the arena.

Just from watching, Charles could feel the pain.

Amid the crowd, a wave of jeers broke out, clearly uninterested in such a one-sided fight.

"Holy crap, he took Thomas's full-powered hit and he's still able to stand up?" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, Daniel shakily stood up, his body turning the color of granite. Charles immediately recognized that Daniel had activated his defensive skill [petrified skin].

However, less than a second after he stood up, Thomas's fist slammed into his face again, the electrical sparks turning his golden blonde hair into a charred black.

Daniel fell down once more.

But then—

He quickly stood up again!

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Daniel's body was being slammed around the arena by Thomas like a basketball. Each time everyone thought he was defeated, he would shakily stand up again.

This scene not only stunned the onlookers, but even Charles was astonished! He finally understood why Daniel was the sole survivor of the first squad...

0:09!

0:08!

0:07...

The countdown on the big screen relentlessly ticked down, and panic began to show on Thomas's face!

In the final second before the countdown ended, Thomas charged at Daniel again, his fist carrying a whistling sound as it crashed into Daniel's chest.

Daniel staggered and fell to the ground, his chest visibly deformed.

Then... under everyone's gaze, Daniel stood up once more!

"Time's up, it's a draw!"

As Daniel, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, slowly walked to the edge of the arena, there was a brief moment of silence around, soon followed by deafening cheers!

A newly promoted level two Beast Master had just drawn with Thomas, ranked third on the scoreboard?

This was truly dramatic!

"Lv12 vs Lv17, and it's a draw! Brother, I didn't let you down, did I?" Standing in front of Charles, Daniel wiped the blood from his mouth, his face breaking into a goofy smile, then he puffed and collapsed in front of Charles.

Charles quickly fed Daniel some [Hemostatic powder], glancing at his deformed chest, estimating a few broken ribs.

Thomas really didn't hold back; with a rib broken, just [Hemostatic powder] might not be enough, an ambulance needed to be called to take him to the hospital.

At that moment, Thomas walked over, like a victor, burning with jealousy upon seeing Aurora helping Charles. He sneered, "If you ask me, you two brothers are quite the pair, both turtles; one tougher than a turtle shell, and the other a shrinking turtle too scared to fight."

Charles ignored Thomas, merely lifting Daniel onto a stretcher and helping him into an ambulance.

Injuries during sparring were common, but Thomas had clearly intended to seriously harm Daniel, necessitating immediate hospital care.

Watching the retreating figures, Thomas was seething with rage, grinding his teeth. Having just drawn with Daniel, he was already fuming, but Charles's disregard felt like punching into cotton, leaving him unable to vent his anger.

What he found even more intolerable was Aurora's closeness with Charles. Watching their departing backs, Thomas's face turned a shade of purple: "Charles, you're nothing but a country mutt who lucked out in the tests by using dirty tricks like [strengthening pills]! You better stay away from Aurora, or at the recruitment ceremony, I'll make sure you meet an ugly end!"

Hearing Thomas's words, Charles didn't even bother to respond; he found it almost amusing. Facing away, he raised a middle finger, then boarded the ambulance.

Aurora turned back, giving Thomas a look of extreme disdain, glaring at him as if he were something filthy, then followed Charles into the ambulance. Sёarch* The NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Seeing how close Aurora was with him, Thomas felt a pain as if his heart was being torn apart.

With a roar, he punched a nearby lamppost. The steel casing of the lamppost actually bent and snapped, emitting sparks. He looked up towards the direction the ambulance was heading:

"Charles! Three days. In three days, I'll make you join Daniel in that hospital..."