Chapter 32 Preliminary- Part Two
Zane was quickly surrounded by the group, yet they didn’t attack him recklessly. Despite their numbers, they knew better than to underestimate someone who had made it this far alone. A cornered beast fights hardest, and none of them wanted to be the sacrificial pawn that got knocked out first.
The three strongest of the group—Eron, Finn, and Bryce—stood further back, clearly planning to hold their strength until the others had softened Zane up. Meanwhile, Niagara Everfall lounged even farther away, arms crossed, watching it all unfold with a passive expression.
Zane’s gaze briefly landed on him, and his eyes narrowed.
He might be interesting... he whispered under his breath.
Alright then. I’ll deal with the small fry first. Then I’ll entertain myself with him.
He wasn’t particularly worried about Eron, Finn, or Bryce. The one who piqued his curiosity was Niagara. Zane had a gut feeling the guy was from a Super-family or a Noble bloodline. That didn’t matter much—but it was something to keep in mind.
Suddenly, the floor lit up. Several runes activated, erecting glowing barriers that enclosed them all in a compartment—isolating their battle from the rest of the arena.
The moment the barrier formed, weapons came out—longswords, broadswords, wooden staves, spears. Five charged forward, weapons raised, while another seven flanked Zane from behind, aiming for a classic pincer attack.
It was a tactic they had used earlier with brutal efficiency—enough to eliminate five capable opponents. Their confidence soared. To them, this was just another overconfident fresher who would crumble under pressure.
Zane, however, was done playing around.
He poured mana into his core and activated Divine Radiance, instantly boosting all of his core stats by +5. The system promptly displayed the updated status window in the corner of his vision: