Max found himself standing in a plain region filled with grass, but not a single tree could be seen around. 'A good place for a fight,' he thought, glancing at Tim, who appeared just a short distance away from him.

"Everyone should be watching our battle from the outside, so I'll make it quick," Tim sneered, drawing a sword before his figure slowly disappeared into the void. "Remember, all I need is one move."

Only Tim's voice could be heard from somewhere around him.

"Going invisible, huh?" Max muttered, glancing around as he activated his Three Dimensional Body.

Almost instantly, he saw everything from an omniscient perspective, revealing even the tiniest details of everything around him.

This included Tim, who was cautiously moving toward him, hidden behind a veil of invisibility.

'So that's what he meant by a single move… using a sneak attack to kill me?' Max mused, pretending to look around, turning his head here and there in search of Tim.

Soon, Tim closed in and stabbed his sword toward Max's heart.

'He doesn't think it would be this easy to kill me, right?' Max wondered, amused, as he reached out and caught the sword with his bare hand before its tip could touch him.

"How? How can you see me?!" Tim exclaimed in shock, attempting to retreat. However, he quickly realized that his sword was stuck in Max's hand, and he couldn't pull it back no matter how hard he tried.

"What? Is that the one move you were talking about?" Max sneered.

"Damn!" Tim cursed, gritting his teeth. He retreated without his sword.

A moment later, Tim became visible again, his face clouded with ugly rage.

"How did you see through my invisibility?" he demanded, frustration evident in his voice.

Max smirked. "I don't know what you did, but you didn't become invisible to me, at least."

Tim took a breath and calmed himself before speaking again. "I underestimated you and became careless, but I won't make that mistake now. I'll use my full strength."

As he said this, he clapped his hands and shouted, "Shadow Shackles!"

Max immediately jumped back when he saw his shadow begin to stir, but it was useless. The shadows transformed into tentacles and wrapped around his legs, dragging him down.

"What's this?" Max muttered, frowning. His legs were ensnared by the shadowy tentacles, and soon his hands and even his entire body were entrapped by tentacles formed from his own shadow.

"Die!" Tim shouted, appearing with a shadow sword and stabbing it toward Max's heart.

Seeing that, Max unleashed the power of five Draconic Essences and broke free, tearing through the shadowy tentacles binding him.

Just as Tim's sword reached him, Max reacted quickly, grabbing the shadow sword with his right hand before it could touch him—just like last time.

But unlike before, Max didn't give Tim a chance to retreat.

After catching the sword, he punched straight at Tim's gut, destroying a chunk of his body. However, no blood spilled. Instead, red dots began to flow out of the wound.

"You're a monster," Tim gasped, looking at Max in disbelief. He couldn't believe that it only took one punch to nearly destroy his body.

Max dropped Tim's disintegrating body to the ground, which then dissolved into red particles and disappeared.

"It's done," Max muttered, looking around for a way out of the battle region. Just then, a shiny blue light appeared before him.

He walked into the glowing door and disappeared from the battlefield, reappearing in the hall. But he was alone—no sign of anyone else.

"Oh, they're fighting," Max mused, his attention caught by the big screen in the hall, which displayed two ongoing battles. One showed a figure with a round shield fighting a man with a gun, shooting various types of bullets at the enemy. The other battle piqued his interest.

It was a fight between two women, Anna Hails and Lyra Dusckshade. What caught Max's attention was that Lyra effortlessly fended off every attack Anna launched—whether it was her summoned wolves or shadowy hands.

Every one of Anna's attacks was easily dealt with by Lyra, as if it were nothing.

'Whoever this violet-haired girl is, she seems to be hiding her true strength, just like me,' Max thought, noticing that Lyra's fighting style resembled his own—responding only to attacks, while being passive throughout the fight.

---

As Max absorbed the details of the two battles displayed on the screen, those gathered outside the Battle Realm were shocked to their core.

It wasn't because of the battles unfolding on the screen, but because of the battle that had already ended. They had expected the fight to be quick, and it was—but the result was completely unexpected.

"Damn, what was that? His punch destroyed Tim's body with just one blow."

"Yeah, a punch was all he needed to end Tim."

"Most importantly, his strength is only at level 6, and he killed a level 10 like it was nothing."

"Yeah, who is he anyway? Why haven't we heard of him?"

"It seems people from the general quarters shouldn't be underestimated."

The crowd erupted after Max's battle with Tim, completely stunned by the outcome. Everything—the result, how the fight played out, Max's strength—was far beyond their expectations, leaving them in shock.

"This guy… he became too strong after not seeing him for a month," William said with a sigh, shaking his head.

"Hmph, he had me worried for nothing," Zixi grumbled, complaining.

General Foster, on the other hand, raised his brows, noting Max's strength. He would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised. The physical strength Max displayed was rare, and what shocked him even more was that Max was only level 6. To have such strength at level 6 seemed extraordinary.

'This kid… he's interesting, to say the least,' General Foster mused, glancing at his daughter, wondering how she had gotten to know someone as formidable as Max.

"Damn you, damn you, damn you…" Tim muttered under his breath as he heard the crowd. He hadn't expected to lose—no, he hadn't even considered the possibility. Now that he had lost to Max, he felt regretful and cursed his bad luck.

Who would expect someone at level 6 to possess such monstrous strength?

"Look, it seems the other two battles are about to end," someone shouted, drawing everyone's attention.

On the screen, it was clear that the man with the round shield and sword had closed the distance between him and the gunslinger, preparing to deliver the final blow. Meanwhile, on the other screen, Anna Hails had admitted defeat, unable to land a single blow on Lyra.

"We've seriously underestimated Lyra Dusckshade. She didn't even attack once and still made Anna admit defeat. She's too strong."

"True, she's too strong. Also, Eren Volfire easily defeated Thomas without much effort."

"You know, all three of the winners defeated their opponents easily, if you notice carefully."

"You're right. Now I can't wait to see who among the three is the strongest."

The results of the other two battles didn't surprise the crowd, but they were amazed by Lyra's strength. To make someone admit defeat without attacking at all was no easy feat, and not everyone could do it. It showed that her strength far surpassed Anna's.

---

Lyra Dusckshade entered the hall after her battle ended, visibly surprised to see Max standing there. Her deep violet hair cascaded down, and a full moon mark adorned her forehead.

"Tim lost?" She seemed to be taken aback by Max's presence instead of Tim's.

Just then, Eren Volfire also entered the hall and froze upon seeing Max like Lyra.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay