Zeal left the building and used a device to call a car. He waited a bit strategically, giving Leander time to arrive at the place first. Fifteen minutes later, he and Darian were already on their way to the city's central zone.
This area of the city was reserved for the Empire. Since all High Humans were agents of the Empire, they had access to certain facilities.
Zeal made a casual comment during the ride. The central region was where all High Humans went when they wanted to talk to members of other clans, close secure deals, or even challenge each other.
Simply training or resting in their free time was never enough for these people. Over time, due to the constant pressure to grow stronger and survive, they all developed an extremely aggressive and competitive mindset.
The truth was that the strongest among them became obsessed with constant evolution... those who didn't share this instinct died early.
If someone felt that training alone wasn't bringing the desired results, they'd start causing trouble for others, using confrontation as a means of pressure to advance.
Obviously, there were very strict rules for High Humans, and since they were constantly monitored, it was impossible to break them without eventually being caught.
Killing each other was forbidden, but what fun was a fight without consequences? That's why it was common for them to bet all their money or anything else of great, irreparable value. The goal was to cause maximum damage, practically condemning the opponent—without killing them directly.
Darian sighed. High Humans were incredibly difficult people to deal with. Besides their closest acquaintances, everyone had to treat each other as potential enemies... but he didn't have that problem. After all, he could see a person's karma, knowing if they were dangerous, along with many other details.
Darian had already understood that seeing people's dark pasts from previous lives didn't mean much. Even though almost everyone had done heinous things, the world wasn't completely overrun by evil people. What mattered most was what they were doing now. Making mistakes and changing at some point was quite common for some.
That's why he stopped worrying about it and only focused on those with very heavy recent karma. Of course, there could be exceptions—like Niara, for example.
A few minutes later, as he spotted a massive building ahead resembling a circular medieval arena, he asked:
"Who's Raon?"
"He's a bastard from the Red River Pact clan. He's at the same level and generation as the people in your group, but he's always chasing after a young mage from our clan named Veyle. One reason is that her blessing is a perfect match with his. The other… well… he's just a bastard who likes her. In short, he keeps causing trouble until she agrees to switch clans."
Darian sighed. Besides the struggles of a life filled with battles, High Humans still had to deal with these classic problems.
Zeal continued, "Veyle is still very young and was a bit naive before. But Rhea recruited her three years ago and taught her carefully. She chose to stay with us because she thought it was safer... but another reason was that Raon has a pretty bad history. He's the son of his clan's vice leader, one of the most powerful High Humans in the Empire. So, he basically does whatever he wants. His father does try—he constantly punishes him, and Raon was even expelled from the city to stop causing so many problems—but as you can imagine, a spoiled bastard never changes."
He explained this excitedly, then the car stopped, and he quickly opened the door.
The two entered without any physical impediment or guards. However, everything was monitored by hidden cameras, with artificial intelligence silently recording, evaluating, and analyzing every detail.
The stands had a capacity for thousands of people, but only a few dozen were scattered in small groups, chatting. At the center was a vast stage, hundreds of meters in diameter, currently empty. Around it, a subtle, translucent barrier was visible.
"This place was made for reconnaissance group battles," Zeal commented, then, seeing Darian's confusion, explained.
There were four types of groups among the High Humans, organized for mission purposes.
The most basic was the Reconnaissance Group, consisting of only five individuals, usually one from each class. They were designed to be compact and capable of handling any problem, meant for missions requiring efficiency with few people rather than direct battles.
One level above was the Hunting Group, formed in a more customized manner, with classes selected based on the mission's specific objective. The limit was ten members since a larger number could hinder efficiency.
Above them was the Invasion Group, composed of three to five reconnaissance groups combined. They were coordinated by well-trained leadership, usually made up of members from a single clan. They were designed for invasions into difficult locations, where they would be divided and organized for potential combat.
Finally, there was the War Group, intended for missions involving large-scale battles. These groups had no member limit and could include entire clans or even multiple clans and mercenaries working together.
As soon as Zeal finished his explanation, he pointed to a corner of the stage where two groups were entering from opposite sides.
"Hahaha! Leander acts like he avoids fights, but instead of forcing them to return, he joined the group!"
Leander's group had only four people. Besides Leander at the front, there was a tall, slender man with pale skin holding a long spear. Next to him stood a slender, sharp-eyed woman with long, tied-up red hair. She wore tight-fitting clothes and carried a sword at her waist.
Behind the three stood a girl who looked like she had just stepped out of adolescence. Short and slim, her wavy black hair framed a soft and beautiful face. She wore a richly ornamented outfit in shades of green and gold and held a staff that seemed to be made of wood but emitted a peculiar, eye-catching glow.
On the other side of the stage, a group of five people arrived.
There were four men and a blonde woman holding a simple staff. The only one who stood out was the leader, dressed in a black hooded cloak that kept Darian from seeing his face clearly.
As soon as both groups took their positions on the stage, a middle-aged man slowly walked to the center. Both teams looked at him with respect—he was clearly the judge.
"I'm going to repeat the agreement between the two leaders," he announced in a calm tone. "This will be a battle between the two groups, and the first to admit defeat will lose. The losing side must hand over all their registered Merit Points to the opposing team and, on top of that, pay a debt of 100 million within one month. Do both sides agree?"
In the stands, Zeal scoffed dryly, muttering:
"Raon must have done something really dirty this time. Losing all their points this close to the mission and still owing such a massive debt... that's basically a death sentence, leaving them with no way out. They won't have time to earn more, and they'll have to sell everything they own to pay it off. Even if they delayed going on a mission as much as possible, there's no way to make back even a third of that in a year. He probably set this up to force Veyle into joining his clan, wiping out the debt in exchange."
Darian felt strange. So the amount of points he had was considered unreal to everyone here.
On the stage, the hooded man, Raon, chuckled lightly: "Hehehe, yeah, all agreed. Let's get this over with."
Leander nodded coldly. "Agreed."
As soon as he spoke, the judge gave a slight nod and slowly stepped off the stage. At the same time, Zeal murmured:
"This feels like suicide. It's just an incomplete team of four against a full squad from the biggest clan… this… yeah, I get it now." He let out a heavy sigh. "Looks like Raon and his group really had something to do with Oliver's death. So they forced Leander into this fight, even though it's insane."
"What happened?" Darian asked as the judge calmly left the stage.
"Oliver was the group's former support. He died in their last mission. But no one really knows what happened. It was a mission that required two scouting teams, where the objective perfectly matched the skills of our clan's group and the Red River Pact's group."
"They joined forces, but of course, since Raon was the leader of the biggest clan's team, he took command of the mission. In the end, they completed it, but Oliver didn't come back alive. The little that was said was that they got cornered, and Oliver was just unlucky. Obviously, there's way more to it, but without proof, Leander and the others couldn't do anything."
"The rules only forbid outright killing someone… but, just like in the Divine Protection Universe, you have to be extremely careful with everything and everyone that isn't your closest allies."
Darian scoffed dryly.
Both sides stood silently on the stage, ready for a life-or-death battle. They waited for the judge to start the match. Until…
Raon raised a hand and pulled back his hood, revealing his face clearly…
"!"
In that instant, Darian's eyes widened.
Zeal immediately felt the shift in the air beside him. When he turned to Darian…
"WAIT!"
He barely heard the roar that erupted from Darian toward the stage.