69 Challenging Ilnora's Hamlet(1)

Seeing Aaron's nod, a smile appeared on Max's face, but he promptly fainted afterward.

For a second, Aaron wondered whether he was faking it, but the healer who had been carried away shouted, "He still needs food even though I healed him! It puts a burden on the body!"

He was in the back, where he had been placed, so he had to shout loudly after spotting what had happened.

Aaron wondered what to do, but after thinking for a bit, he turned to Anissa and asked, "Can I trust you to keep an eye on him when he is unconscious? Just keep away."

Anissa had been looking for an opportunity to redeem herself, so she nodded right away.

Aaron already knew this. It was like a baby fox wanting to prove itself after failing when given an opportunity to hunt. The zeal would be present to show that it wasn't useless, and he had detected the same thing from her.

Besides, he was now confident of dealing with Max, as the guy had already exposed all of his tricks. If there was anything else, it would have been shown in that pursuit, and there was also the cuff which should work now.

The main reason Aaron was doing this was that he wanted to get the Ascender Challenge over with when this guy was unconscious, and besides, he had realized that he was actually…itching for a fight.

At this moment, he paused and studied this feeling. Why was it so? Typically, he would never want to fight in the jungle, unless it was for food, or shelter. It would just be a waste of energy, and no one cared whether you defeated a Tera or not in the forest.

After thinking for a bit, he found the answer.

It was because it was safe!

Indeed, all Ascender Challenges had inherent rules that stopped anyone from getting into a situation where they would die. A Challenger would never be at risk of dying as the Settlement Leader would control themselves, and even Teras would never be killed in battle. A Healer was always mandated to be on standby, and they would rush in if they were needed.

These rules were given in the book that Aaron had obtained after his Initiation.

After identifying the reason, Aaron realized that he actually loved Ascender Challenges.

In the forest, it was always life and death. At almost each and every moment and in every fight, there was always a risk that something untoward would happen, and that they would be put in a situation where they would have to fight teeth and nail to escape certain death. This was tiring, to be frank, so just the prospect of going into a battle with the goal only being to test one's power and win if possible brought such a massive amount of relief that he felt like holding back and getting into multiple battles here, itself, so that the both of them could get a clear idea regarding what changes had happened due to the formation of the Bond.

Sadly, that wouldn't work, as he wanted to be done by the time Max woke up.

Hence, looking at the tall man, Aaron said, "Let's have a Challenge Battle right now, when he is asleep."

The tall man looked like he was a bit taken aback, but he nodded and said, "As you wish. Everyone, let's go to the dueling area! And you two, get the bed and the supplies from Barry's room. Max can't be far away."

Pointing at two people in the crowd, the tall man said this and began leading the way inside the gate of the small Hamlet.

Aaron waited until Anissa conjured the Giant Eagle to pick up Max, and then followed.

The people gasped when they saw her Tera, and he had noticed that they had been surprised before, too. Yet, they didn't say anything, and they even looked away quickly when Daisy glanced at them.

A few minutes later, they were standing at a familiar spot.

The layout of this Hamlet was the same as what he had seen in Skystead. After entering, there would be a small open area followed by rows of houses, and crossing those would bring one to a large ground where a round arena would be marked out using ropes.

After reaching it, the tall man said, "I am Kalidor, Hamlet Chief of Ilnora's Hamlet. This is a Hamlet higher up on the list that Ascender's need to challenge because I'm more powerful than typical Chiefs, so we don't get too many Challengers. Can I have your Ascender Card so that we can begin the fight?"

Before Challenges, the Ascender Card had to be shown as proof of identity, and to confirm that the Ascender had reached the requisite level to Challenge that settlement.

Aaron wasn't surprised that this was the Chief, as it had been evident in the way he had commanded the others, and spoken up for them.

Taking it and verifying that everything was normal, the tall man said, "Everything is in order. Ascender Aaron, are you ready to begin the Challenge?"

These words seemed to contain a confidence that Aaron hadn't seen in the man before, and as he nodded again, the tall man walked into the ring, himself, and said, "Very well. Choose the Tera that you wish to use, and have it enter the Arena. I am a Body Practitioner, so I will be the one fighting. Good luck, Ascender."