Bab 199: Kaelum, shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?
In the archive room, Mike withdrew his gaze.
He understood Terenas's motive for betrayal and acknowledged the fact of his betrayal.
As for why his subsequent actions were so puzzling, that remained another mystery.
The records in the archive were a mix of truth and falsehood.
"Terenas's death and the rebirth of his remnant soul as Michael also involved Apollo."
Based on the information at hand, Mike silently analyzed, "Apollo, Shadow Nine, and the strong members of Guardian Shadow... they all focus on soul element. Are they trying to resurrect someone or heal a soul?"
Shadow Seven had once told Mike that all Battle Lord-level powerhouses in Guardian Shadow funded research in Soul Element.
Many of them were Soul Element experts themselves, like Shadow Two and Shadow Nine.
One or two people doing this could be understood, but when over a hundred Battle Lords did it, there had to be a special reason!
Mike buried this question in his heart and turned to leave.
Shadow Nine had helped him cover his tracks, allowing Mike to sneak into the archive room. In exchange, Mike could only look at one person's file.
The rest would have to wait for another time.
Under the cover of the black mist, Mike didn't alert anyone and returned to the training hall.
As soon as he got back, Cain greeted him enthusiastically, "Mike! We're so lucky, the new supplies just arrived. Here, this is your share!"
Cain handed Mike a storage ring.
With just a glance, Mike could tell something was off.
The storage ring contained extra items.
These were supposed to be Cain's share.
That guy had secretly taken them out and quietly put them into Mike's storage ring, pretending nothing had happened.
But Cain would never have guessed that Mike had anticipated his move!
The supplies given to Cain were already much more than others, perfectly offsetting what Cain had given to Mike.
Mike couldn't help but sigh, "Ah, when will interactions between people be simpler?"
It wasn't long before Kaelum and Anderson arrived at the training hall.
"Mike, more good news!"
Kaelum said excitedly, "Do you know about the number one in Wolf's Den, StarLone Wolf, ninth-tier Battle Lord Maxen?"
Mike: "I know, he's the godson of two Supreme Beings."
Kaelum's enthusiasm was suddenly dampened. He had planned to boast about Maxen, but Mike's simple statement had shut him down.
All the boasting about Maxen couldn't compare to the simple fact of being two Supreme Beings' godson.
Mike pointed to Cain, helplessly saying, "He's a die-hard fan of Maxen. He even got an autograph."
Listening to Mike's explanation, Kaelum nodded, "Did you hear? Maxen is truly admirable. To join the mission to rescue Professor Gregory, he used a special method to lower his level. He's now only level 980!"
With Maxen at level 980, the human team's lineup for this mission was clear.
On the surface: Maxen leading, Joseph bringing many Supreme Being seeds, entering the small Abyssal Plane to rescue Professor Gregory.
In secret: Thor and Shadow Ten in action.
One overt, one covert, ensuring nothing went wrong.
With the news confirmed, Mike sighed inwardly. The Dorakos he had made for Stone wouldn't be needed for now.
However, he still intended to collect the cost.
Mike remarked, "As expected of two Supreme Beings' godson, easily doing what we can't!"
"Let's change the subject."
Kaelum's face lit up with a mischievous smile, "Mike, according to the rules, we have a sparring match next. Let me explain the rules."
At this moment, Anderson called Cain over, pointing to Kaelum and indicating Cain should listen carefully. Anderson rarely spoke himself when someone else could do it.
"First, we'll enter the duel space in the Tower of Truth, not fight in reality."
To avoid injuries, fighting in the Tower of Truth was the best choice.
The duel space was a private space of a Battle Lord-level powerhouse, open to others.
Kaelum continued, "In the duel space, our levels will be capped at 60. Mike, you've changed class, right?"
Mike nodded, "I changed class last night."
"As for attributes, we'll have 1000 free attribute points to distribute as we like. The base stats are the same for everyone..."
Kaelum explained the details.
Although it was a senior vs. junior sparring match, many aspects were made fair.
Kaelum and the others had more combat experience than Cain and his peers.
Even under equal conditions, with more class templates and skills, they could easily win.
After explaining the sparring rules, Kaelum patted his chest and promised, "Mike, this is a man's duel. I'll only use Wind Element against you!"
Before Mike could react, Anderson spoke up, educating Cain,
"This is a very foolish behavior. Don't learn from it."
Cain nodded, somewhat understanding, "Okay."
Even if Cain wanted to imitate Kaelum, he didn't have the means!
Moreover, from Anderson's tone, it seemed he had no intention of holding back in his sparring with Cain!
Kaelum patted Cain's shoulder, his eyes full of pity, "Anderson is very principled in everything he does. Even in sparring, he hits hard... I hope Lady Luck is on your side."
Mike sighed helplessly.
Kaelum, shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?
Soon, an instructor came to organize the discipline, and everyone lined up to enter the duel space.
Of course, these duels couldn't be watched.
The process involved personal privacy and trump cards, so it couldn't be made public.
Mike had already asked Shadow Nine.
Shadow Nine could enter the duel space with him, so Mike had no risk of exposing his identity.
What he needed to consider was how to reasonably defeat Kaelum.
Anderson and Cain went first, starting their duel.
One second later, they returned to reality.
Cain looked bewildered, his hands flailing in the air, unable to form a complete sentence.
As soon as they entered the duel space, before they could even create distance, Anderson charged at Cain with incredible speed.
The ground shattered, unstoppable, and Cain was sent flying, taking massive damage.
Feeling dizzy, Cain lost without even understanding what happened.
In the end, Cain could only give Anderson a thumbs-up, "Strong."
Cain's idol ranking: Anderson < Maxen << Ares
Each one stronger than the last.
"It's our turn!"
Kaelum was eager, filled with excitement, "I have a feeling you'll come up with something new!"
Mike rolled his eyes, helplessly saying,
"You misunderstand me. Essentially, I'm a very honest person with no bad intentions."
Ethan, hearing this, turned his head.
"Honest" "No bad intentions"
Ethan felt like he didn't understand these words anymore.
Setting their attributes, a white light flashed, and the two entered the duel space.
"Let's begin, Mike. Show me what trump cards you're hiding!"
Kaelum didn't attack immediately but watched Mike from a distance.
If it were Anderson, who was ruthless and silent, he would have attacked already.
Only someone like Kaelum would do this.
Under Kaelum's gaze, Mike leisurely took out a crystal and casually crushed it.
[Vortexarchon Magic Crystal]: A failed product made from the ashes of a wind element demon god. Grants Wind Element damage immunity for 10 minutes.
Note: Usable only below level 70.
After crushing the crystal, a green light covered Mike, granting him temporary Wind Element damage immunity.
Mike waved at Kaelum, sincerely saying,
"Alright, come at me!"