A Rival?

"So, what do you think?" Kanaria asked Jay.

"I don't see a problem. But would it be fine for you, Clovis? How is your shoulder?"

"Yeah. I've got the feeling back. It should be fine during the competition." Clovis assured him that he would be fine. 

"In that case, let's register our group." Kanaria pumped her fists, getting excited.

"By the way, how much money do you need to prepare for the competition, Kanaria?"

"Well, I'm thinking about resupplying my special bullets. Do you want it as well, Clovis?" Kanaria asked. She thought that it would be impossible to buy Clovis's special bullets with their current fund, but her bullets were less expensive, so she thought about buying them for him as well since Clovis used them a lot previously. 

"Will our budget be enough? I don't have a lot to buy, so I can contribute about fifteen thousand. Is it enough?"

"More than enough. But aren't you…" Kanaria frowned, feeling something weird. It looked like Clovis wanted a lot of money, but in the end, he actually gave most of his money to her for their supply. She thought Clovis wanted to get all the money and save it for something else, but it seemed that she had misunderstood him. 

"That's good then." Clovis smiled and asked her to show her chip so that he could transfer the money. "We should go to register now and spend the rest of the day preparing ourselves." 

"Sounds good." Jay didn't think much about Clovis's willingness to invest all his money back into the group. 

But if he were like Kanaria, he would have noticed that Clovis simply had sold so much essence that there might not be enough essence for him to use. 

Then again, Clovis looked confident that he could catch up to them. It was weird. 

'Seriously, this guy… Where does his confidence come from?' Kanaria was purely concerned because Clovis had to increase his pace to catch up with their progress since both she and Jay's evolution progress was already quite high before meeting him. 

The group went to the military camp where they held the competition. As expected, there were a lot of explorers who signed up for the competition.

"Hurry up!"

"Have you finished the registration?"

"Here is the badge." 

The people were going back and forth around the area. When Clovis's group entered, the people's focus instantly shifted, not because of Kanaria or Jay, but because of the people behind them.

"Oi! Isn't that…" One of them noticed, alerting the others while pointing his finger.

"You're right! Are they also participating in this competition?"

"No way! Then, the first place is already taken."

Clovis and the others couldn't help but furrow their eyebrows, wondering who they were talking about. 

They found a group of four people: one male and three females. The young man had short brown hair and an innocent but confident face. He had a bright atmosphere around him, and it was even brighter with the women around him. 

The one on his right had long red hair tied into pigtails. She was wearing a big smile, but it didn't seem that genuine. 

The one on his left was a little more mature, but her age didn't seem to be that much different. Compared to others, she felt more seductive and manipulative. 

But the one that should be wary about was the girl behind him. She had a shield as big as her body on her back, but she seemed to carry it without any problem. Her expression was calm and collected as if she were observing everything around her. 

"To think that he would be here…"

"Yeah. There's no mistaking it. They are the Dragon Devourer Group. The leader is the genius of the Drake Group, the man who is said to have a talent surpassing the leader of the Drake Group. With his 99% evolution rate, he is instantly becoming a captain of the Drake Group."

"It's said that in just one month, he is already close to Tier 1."

"Then, is he coming here to evolve into a Tier 1 human?"

"It must be for those women!"

"He is bound to be the face of this city sooner or later. Damn, look at those women, each of them is of high quality. I wish I could be him."

The people were shocked by his appearance. Only Clovis's group remained silent. In fact, Clovis asked Kanaria, "Do you know them, Kanaria? Your face is scary."

Jay whispered, "Of course. You might not know this, but this guy is known to be the hero of the younger generation. He is the most talented person in this base right now. Not only is his evolution rate the highest, but it seems that he has aptitude in martial arts as well. 

"Oh." Clovis nodded in understanding.

"Isn't this Miss Kanaria?" Suddenly, a gentle voice echoed in their ears.

Clovis couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows when he saw this so-called genius suddenly come to their side. 

Kanaria's expression became cold.

"I can't believe that I can meet you again here. Are you going to participate in the competition? If that's the case, would you like to join my party?" He smiled gently and talked politely as though he were clueless about the glares on his back.

Clovis couldn't help but lean on Jay, asking, "Do they have a story together?"

"For someone as popular as him, many are trying to make connections."

"Like those women?"

"Yeah. They are sent in order for this so-called genius to make an 'accident' and rope him in. However, he is like a pushover most of the time. If not for the fact that he is a genius, he won't be able to survive in this world."

"What about his connection to Kanaria?"

"They got awakened together. During his awakening, Kanaria was there and also caused a ruckus, making him think that it was fate." 

"So, her family is matching them together?"

"Nope. Has Kanaria told you about it after knowing about your name?"

"Oh… That's the problem." Clovis nodded his head in understanding. 

"There you have it. Besides, Kanaria doesn't like pushovers. She is a weird girl who likes mysteries. If I'm not an oddball, we would never get this close with our current relationship."

"So, you're aware that you are weird?"

"If I'm weird, you're insane." Jay snorted.

Clovis noticed that they ended up ganging up on Kanaria, especially the one with the pigtails. 

"It seems that you are the same as always, Kanaria. I heard that the group that your family created pushed you away. I pity you." She had a sad expression, but her words were as sharp as a knife.

Clovis glanced at Jay, wondering why she was that mean. 

"Her name is Lovelia Rusth. Her family has been opposing Kanaria's family, so when Kanaria doesn't take the chance, her family sends her. It seems that she has fallen for him for real.

"The mature beauty is quite talented as well and from the same group as him. She is probably the one monitoring this guy and reporting back to their Drake Group. Her name is Elina Woo. 

"The last one, Vina, is pretty strong. It's said that she can fully block a Tier 1 beast with her shield."

"Hmm…" Clovis observed them but didn't feel any spark from them. It wasn't because they had joined another group, but because they felt a bit empty. 

In his group, each of them had their own desire. Jay might be an oddball, but his desire to improve his strength was unparalleled. Kanaria might not look like she had a big ambition, but there was no way someone who was adept in both combat and logistics only did it without any interest. She simply hadn't told them about her goal. 

"I think we should stop them now." Jay was ready to step up to help Kanaria. 

To his surprise, Clovis waved his hand, stopping him. Instead of walking to Kanaria, Clovis slipped away into the crowd as if he had another plan.

When Jay saw the place he was going, he almost laughed.

"If you only want to invite me, then please leave. I have come with my own group." Kanaria shook her head, politely refusing them. 

"What?" The man was shocked and saw Kanaria turning her head to the side as if trying to show her teammates, only to find Jay standing alone.

Even Kanaria was surprised. Her gaze was questioning Jay about Clovis's whereabouts.

"Haha! It's only Jay?" Lovelia laughed as if she were mocking them. 

Kanaria thought that Clovis was able to solve the issue pretty easily as their captain, but he was gone. 

"If there is only him, then I don't mind letting both of you join my group." The guy smiled, insistent on recruiting Kanaria. 

Kanaria asked Jay about Clovis with only the movement of her mouth. Jay simply shrugged while pointing his finger to the side. 

"Huh?" Kanaria followed the direction and saw a metal tag flying toward her. The one who tossed it was none other than Clovis.

Vina couldn't help but hold her shield on the back as if she were about to draw it while turning around. She didn't realize that Clovis was already behind her. 

Clovis glanced at her for a second before smiling at Kanaria. "Thanks to you guys grabbing these people's attention, we don't have to line up to register our group. Group 24th. We'll have to go to the west gate before 7 tomorrow. Let's go back and buy some stuff."

"Pfft." Jay couldn't contain his laughter anymore. 

Kanaria swiftly took advantage of it while showing the metallic tag. "There you have it, I already have my group." 

The guy was completely speechless as Kanaria was already walking away with Clovis. Even Jay had a nonchalant attitude as if everything was just an amusement for him.