An evaluation of Kai's strength and Moraine's doubtful thoughts

Within the Mirror Dimension, Kai and Hadoken stood some 100 ft apart from each other.

The bonfire roared stupendously to their right, and on their left was the crowd of Contestants, with their utterly disdainful looks, eying Kai with hideous mockery in their eyes. Behind Contestant Hadoken, some hundred meters far were the four empty high-back chairs, and the three Protectors were standing in front of them.

The air smelled of erupting tension.

Kai observed everything, and then he observed more, his hazel pupils seeing the hidden meanings and reasons for everything.

He distinctly remembered that this Contestant, wearing Karate gi, had shown no interest in him and his doings until Moraine had given him the meat of a Common-graded magical creature.

'A leech,' Kai reflected, giving Hadoken a nickname. 'He must be pursuing Moraine's affection. Or else there was no reason to get worked up over insignificant things. This also means that Moraine and Hadoken belong to the same System, Chaos, if she wasn't lying to me. Moreover, seeing the expression of the other two, they must belong to Order or at least the System opposite to Moraine. Such balance couldn't have been maintained otherwise.'

In Kai's mind, this analysis didn't even take a fraction of a second, letting him see the truth of the situation.

Kai wasn't some pure and sacred man, either. One could even say that his lust for mature women was greater than most men's desire for power. The only thing that set him apart from everyone was that he wasn't a puppet of that lust.

To Kai, Indulgence never came if he did not desire it.

His ability to direct his lust toward completing his goals and manipulating women was one reason that had let him survive in his previous life. It had become a habit, then, but this was one of those habits that Kai didn't think was bad enough for him to discard.

So, when Kai sarcastically sneered at others upon seeing them lose sense and reasoning for the opposite sex, he didn't feel even a bit narcissistic about showing his contempt toward them.

"Are you sure about this, young lad?" the old man asked, licking his lips. "He is a 6th-floor Contestant and a Protector. Don't fall to his schemes. I can tell he wants to humiliate you. Nothing more."

Since the beginning, the old Contestant had been standing near Kai, advising him to not go through with this mummer's farce.

Kai ignored him, the false prideful smile never leaving his face.

If one followed the norm, then Kai had already obtained 13 Attribute Points (-with 3 unassigned-) out of his 2nd Set Quota of 50 APs by now. This had already made him a true low-level 5th-floor Contestant. Such qualifications and divisions only considered one's Attributes, and not Items, Titles, Skills, and Abilities, for there were just too many possibilities and variations among those.

Then there were 15 Attribute Points he had gotten from the Tournament of Worth so far.

These 15 points didn't come under the 2nd Set Quota, making a discrepancy in Kai's true capabilities and what he should have possessed by now.

The total of 28 APs that he had obtained after ascending to the 2nd Set had brought Kai infinitely near to the Top-level 5th-floor Contestants. With his Abilities, Items, Glitch, and experience, Kai could even face off against mid-level 6th-floor Contestants. Not to mention, if he were to use Selene, then he could even attempt assassinations of high-level 6th-floor Contestants.

In the history of the Primordial Tower, only those who possessed Blessings from Deep Ones could hope to achieve such feats. Even then, they could only hope, for Kai had a Glitch, something truly absurd on the scale of the Systems.

But what truly made Kai stand out wasn't the above-mentioned. It was the fact that he was Kai Stormborn. His Glitch was only a reflection of his Worth, which, in turn, reflected his Self.

So, there was no reason for him to back down from a challenge from the Contestants of the 6th-floor.

However, Contestants like Hadoken weren't ordinary, either.

They were Protectors, the best of the best. Moreover, these four had been to the ToW. They couldn't have obtained as many APs out of the 2nd Set Quota as Kai had, but they still had gotten a few. It was already enough for them to look at all other Contestants, even on their level, with disdain.

Then there was the fact that no Contestants of their caliber just relied on the Attributes alone.

Contestants, much less the Protectors, had their own Items, Skills, Abilities, and Titles to boast of.

It all made comparing Kai and the other higher-floor Contestants directly an illogical task, for there were just too many factors involved in it.

There was just one way for Kai to know who was better, and what was the extent of a Protector's powers.

Fight!

A head-on challenge. Nothing else could accomplish Kai's goals other than that. This was the only reason for him to provoke the Contestants, forcing the Protectors to take action.

Hadoken's actions, though unexpected, were still in Kai's favor.

There was just a tiny problem.

Kai wanted these four Protectors to act out originally, letting him have a measure of their powers. The showdown was coming, and he couldn't afford any uncalculated factors, no matter if the Protectors were known to not affect others' missions.

But, if he were to go with the current flow, then the other three Protectors wouldn't go out of their way to show the danger they posed to his plans.

Now… Kai couldn't have that, could he?

'There's only one way,' Kai thought, nodding to himself. 'Only one way to force the other three to lose their composure.'

Only a few moments had passed since Kai and Hadoken had taken their position, but the wind had already picked up, making the tongues of fire whip at the surrounding with a grudge of their own.

"I won't take advantage of you, boy," Hadoken said, bringing out a wave of laughter from the other Contestants. "I will give you three chances. If you can land even a single hit on me, then I will admit defeat. But after each chance, you will have to take an attack from me. Don't worry, I will be lenient. Haha!"

"Beat him to a pulp, Mr. Hadoken…"

"3 chances are too much…"

"Make this glutton vomit all the food…"

"Mr. Hadoken… Just force him to show his true appearance…"

"I just want his pretty face to be covered in blue and black marks…"

As long as the Night of Truce served its purpose of entertaining the Contestants, making them forget about their usual worries, then there was nothing prohibited. Not to mention, the lead-Protectors weren't here, so Hadoken's decision couldn't be challenged.

The other three Protectors wouldn't step in, either, for Hadoken was one of them, and a strong Contestant to boost.

Even if Hadoken was a 282 ranked Contestant in the ToW, Kai didn't look down on him.

Moraine's rank was in the Top 100, but that didn't necessarily mean she was stronger than Hadoken. Tournament of Worth's ranking system didn't work like that, to begin with.

Being ranked higher than Hadoken only meant that Moraine had greater chances of survival than her counterpart. Not everyone was like Kai, who had just toppled the entire world in the 1st Stage. Nor was there anyone who had gotten a VF Random World in the 2nd Stage.

That's why, whenever a major Organization recruited Contestants based on these rankings, they were asked to reveal the theme of their ToW along with it.

"Come, then," Hadoken said, beckoning Kai with his hand. "Don't waste my time."

The sea sent a gale, sweeping the hat off the heads.

Kai pressed down on his torn straw hat and stepped toward Hadoken. The crowd went quiet for once, and eyed Kai with pity, using the same gazes with which they eyed Hadoken with respect.

90 ft…

70 ft…

30 ft…

Kai kept taking one step after another, his eyes planted on the brawny Contestant.

Hadoken seemed to be in his early thirties, had a square but handsome face, and his hair was short. There was a bluish glint in his brown eyes, and he was a head taller than Kai, who was already taller than the men of his age. [-officially, Kai's height ~5' 11", still growing-]

Kai didn't use Selfless Breathing Art. Nor did he take out his Items. For now, Kai decided to gauge Hadoken's powers and the source of his confidence that had let him proclaim those words so openly.

Not everyone could see the reason for Kai's slow walk, though.

"Tch! He's just trying to be mysterious…" the butt-slapped female tsked, sneering at Kai.

"I just want to see Mr. Hadoken sending him flying…" another female Contestant whispered under her breath.

Kai frowned as he entered the distance of 20 ft away from Hadoken. He still couldn't see any change in the expression on the man's face. Even his eyes were shut as if he couldn't have cared less about Kai.

This was blatant disdain. Nothing else.

The Protector Blade Singer still had her bowl of tea in her hands, seeping it now and then. Contestant Aloof was standing to Blade Singer's left, but his eyes were just lost, planted on the distant sea.

Only Moraine's brows were pressed together, and the more Blood Demon approached Hadoken, the deeper her frown became. She didn't know why he had not taken out his swords or had used those Blood flames, but she could guess the reasoning behind his actions. The thing that made her frown wasn't Kai's gait, but a doubt.

Moraine couldn't help but think that there was something more to Blood Demon's actions, something vile. To her, he wasn't a nobody, despite having a weaker appearance and him being not a well-known Contestant. Even if Blood Demon wasn't her match, he was at least a mid-level 5th-floor Contestant and had Items potent enough to pose a threat to her. This meant that there was a major organization behind him, supporting his growth.

Then there was the image of a speckle of blood point engraved in her heart.

Moraine didn't know how Blood Demon had avoided her slash. She couldn't find out if the Mirror Dimension had broken because the time had run out, or because of something else, either. She had collected info on Blood Demon later, and couldn't help but think that his lecherous appearance just didn't match the decisive battle experience he had shown during their fight.

For Moraine, Blood Demon was becoming a greater mystery every time she met him. It wouldn't be wrong to say that she was truly interested in knowing more about him and his origins. So, despite knowing that Hadoken's actions were wrong and not according to what they had decided, she was among those who were looking forward to this challenge the most.

It could even be said that she had purposefully incited Hadoken for her selfish purpose.

And as Blood Demon entered the 15 ft mark, even her heartbeat sped up.

It was then Hadoken opened his eyes.

It was then Kai stopped.