Chapter 9: Mastering Three Gray Skills?
Sumir still had over 20,000 dollars in savings. He planned to use that money as leverage to move a substantial amount of wealth and help himself soar to new heights!
He quickly made his way through the training room, but suddenly collided with someone. Anderson, who had been enjoying the company of two young women earlier, was now walking toward him shirtless.
"Hmm?"
"Hmm!?!"
Anderson had been about to pass Sumir when he suddenly turned back, his expression one of disbelief.
"This guy!!!"
Anderson's pupils contracted.
He had just spotted something that made his blood pressure skyrocket—there was a hickey on Sumir's neck!
Anderson feared Medis deeply but also coveted her intensely. He didn't have the courage to pursue her directly, but when it came to humiliating or hurting someone close to Medis, he had no qualms about it.
Earlier, Sumir hadn't paid much attention, as each time he left Medis's room, his body would be cleaned, and no trace of the strange fragrance that clung to her would remain. But just now, Medis had leaned down to lick Sumir's neck, leaving behind a mark, and she hadn't taken any steps to erase it before leaving.
That immediately caught Anderson's attention.
He quickly considered a possibility.
"No! It can't be." Anderson thought to himself. "How could Medis be interested in such a lowly person?"
He tried to reassure himself, but there was a flicker of bloodlust in his eyes.
No matter how he justified it, Sumir had gotten under his skin…
So…
Would he dare kill him?
A beating should be fine, right?
"Sumir." Anderson suddenly spoke.
"Before the dungeon projection, I want to warm up. Want to spar with me?"
"1,000 dollars. You in?"
Anderson offered a high price, a sign of respect for Medis—he couldn't just attack someone connected to her for free.
But Sumir remained indifferent, continuing to walk forward.
"Not interested? Then… five thousand!"
Anderson's mind flashed to the image of Medis embracing Sumir, and his blood boiled in anger.
"Five thousand, huh?" Sumir turned around, a smile curling on his lips. This was the benefit of having power—people actually offered you money willingly!
In the non-registered players' phase, with a white skill of registered players' strength, unless Sumir encountered someone deliberately avoiding the player trial who had pushed their physical stats to three or four points, he was practically invincible!
Sumir had been lost in thought, considering how to manage the resources for the next Synthesize process. He didn't respond to Anderson immediately, and to his surprise, in that moment of distraction, he had stumbled upon an opportunity—a chance for a 5,000-dollar sparring match!
Anderson? Not bad, after all.
"Alright, let's head to the arena."
Anderson wore a cold smile, attempting to add a bit of intimidating flair to his presence.
But to Sumir, the young master's smile felt as warm as a spring breeze. A generous benefactor, indeed.
Five thousand dollars! That was enough to buy another bottle of Physical Enhancement Diluent.
Even though Sumir could Synthesize resources, selling them would take time—at least a few days, if not up to ten days or half a month. Anderson's 5,000 dollars could solve his immediate problem!
Seeing Sumir's genuine joy, Anderson's expression darkened even further.
The two of them—one cheerful, the other frowning—made their way back to the training room, heading toward the arena.
Moments later, Anderson's eyes lit up when he saw a crowd gathered. The earlier incident with Medis giving Sumir a gray item had drawn attention, and now the room was filled with onlookers.
For Anderson, the more people watching when he pummeled Sumir, the better.
The crowd, sensing something was off, exchanged confused glances, but as soon as they saw Anderson, they quietly made way.
…
Before long, both Anderson and Sumir stood at opposite sides of the arena.
Anderson swiped his card, and a mechanical voice chimed in:
"The arena is now open. It will remain active until one party concedes."
Four arcs of electrical energy shot up, forming walls that sealed off the arena completely.
The spectators suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation.
"What's going on? Why is Young Master Anderson fighting Sumir?"
"And it's a formal arena match??"
At first, they were a bit taken aback.
"Oh no... Sumir is in trouble now!"
"Young Master Anderson's physique is already at level one, and he knows three gray skills!"
"This is a formal match—he won't be able to escape! Is Sumir going to get crippled?"
There was a distinct tone of schadenfreude in their voices.
The crowd analyzed the situation:
Sumir's physique was likely also at level one, making him on par with Anderson. But Anderson had mastered three gray skills.
Gray skills were all passive, but Anderson had strong body techniques, basic footwork, and basic fist techniques.
The Strong Body Technique was simple and brutal—it granted an additional 20% to his physique, up to a maximum of three points in physique. The Basic Footwork enhanced agility, improving movement and pursuit abilities. The Basic Fist Technique increased strength and vitality when delivering punches.
With these three boosts, Anderson was practically unstoppable in the non-Registered Players stage!
Several other clubs outside of Lone Wolf Club had already experienced Anderson's prowess firsthand—those who fought him in the arena were easily defeated.
The crowd was even more certain now that Sumir would be defeated horribly in this battle.
In a formal arena match like this, no items could be used.
The items Medis had given him earlier were useless here!
Even if, hypothetically speaking, the two gray items Medis had given him were the most precious skill books among the items, he still had one less skill than Anderson.
Sumir's disadvantage was enormous!
Just someone had multiple gray skills didn't automatically mean they were strong. Because the effects of those skills could conflict with each other. But Anderson's three skills didn't conflict—they complemented each other perfectly!
His three skills were definitely more powerful than Sumir's two skills combined!
In other words, even in the best-case scenario for Sumir, he would only be able to struggle with Anderson for a while before eventually being taken down.
But... were the items Medis gave him really the most precious skill books among all the items? And did she really give him two of them?
Impossible!
Sumir was bound to lose even worse than what the theory predicted!
…
Everyone in the crowd looked on, waiting eagerly for the fight. They had scattered around the arena, their feet almost skipping with excitement.
Normally, the crowd might have supported Sumir, cheering for the underdog. After all, an upset victory against a stronger opponent would make for an exciting spectacle.
The wealthy young heirs especially disliked Anderson, whose financial power clearly outstripped theirs. They were already tired of his smug attitude.
But now, Sumir was the one they hated more.
Medis, a beauty and powerhouse, was showing so much favoritism toward him.
At this point, the crowd just wanted to see Sumir get beaten up!
…
"Anderson, you can go first."
Sumir was very polite. After all, Anderson was the one paying, so it was only right to let him make the first move.
Anderson, without hesitation, coldly fixed his gaze on Sumir, already imagining the scene where this "lowly" opponent would be bloodied and battered. In his mind, Sumir's physique was less than 0.5—he believed he could easily crush him.
In an instant, Anderson's footfalls were swift. The Basic Footwork kicked in, and he closed the distance with remarkable speed.
He reached Sumir's side in the blink of an eye and threw a punch. His muscles swelled as his fist surged forward with tremendous force, enhanced by the Basic Fist Technique.
In that moment, Anderson's strength, agility, and physique were all rapidly increasing.
"Yes!"
"Perfect!"
"Kill him!"
The crowd cheered with excitement, their voices a flurry of brief exclamations as they urged Anderson on.
Yet, what seemed like a sure-hit punch...
The wind from the punch howled!
The speed of the fist was astonishing!
But Sumir dodged effortlessly with a strange, unpredictable step. He even managed to evade the punch by the slimmest margin, his body blending perfectly with Anderson's trajectory, and he emerged unscathed!
In an instant, the two figures swiftly passed each other. At that very moment, Sumir swung a jab with his opposite hand.
He didn't have any formal boxing skills, and his fighting techniques were nowhere near Anderson's level. However, Sumir now had a 2.5x agility bonus, making his speed incredibly fast. It was enough for him to take Anderson head-on!
Sumir had also learned the basics of combat and how to generate force during his training sessions at the institute.
His jab didn't have any added power, but it was enough to maximize his own output!
Bang!
A dull thud rang out.
The two figures completely crossed paths.
Sumir's punch came so quickly that many of the onlookers didn't even realize he had thrown a punch. They only saw—
Anderson on the offensive!
Anderson triggered his passive skill!
Anderson threw a punch!
Then…
Bang! Another dull thud!
It was supposed to be…
Anderson hit Sumir!!
Was this the end of the fight?
"Good hit, Young Master Anderson!"
One of the support workers shouted with passion, but before he could finish his sentence, he noticed the others around him gasping in shock!