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ch34- Arena Encounter

Despite being called an arena, the space was as large as a basketball court and resembled a sealed box. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all made of a uniform bluish stone, creating an enclosed battlefield. 

In the vast space, Alex stood face-to-face with a middle-aged man who seemed just as bewildered as him. The man, dressed in a sharp business suit, spoke first. "You're a student, right? Which outpost are you from?"

Not one to rush into action, Alex answered casually, "Yeah, I'm a student at Haven High. Our school is one of the outposts."

The businessman's eyes lit up with excitement at the response, and he quickly walked toward Alex. "That's great news! My daughter goes to Haven High. I've been worried sick these past couple of days. She's in Year 2, Class 6. Do you know her by any chance?"

Alex raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Really? I'm from Year 2, Class 5. What's her name? Maybe I know her."

"She's named Grace. Do you know her? If you do, please, pass a message to her for me!"

As the man reached out to shake Alex's hand, a sudden glint of metal flashed. Hidden in the man's sleeve was a sharp weapon, which he quickly thrust toward Alex in an attempt to catch him off guard.

But Alex, who had been quietly observing, found the man's theatrics amusing. Thanks to his enhanced agility and anticipation, he easily dodged the man's sneak attack.

Stunned that Alex had evaded his carefully planned ambush, the man barely had time to react before Alex's purple-bladed sword came down in a swift arc.

-400!

A pale purple slash sliced through the air, and the businessman's shocked face twisted in disbelief as a bright red number floated in the air. Before he could process it, he was returned to reality.

Back in a spacious office filled with sharply dressed professionals, the businessman reappeared, disoriented. A group of his colleagues rushed over, eagerly asking, "Boss, how'd it go? Did you win?"

Still reeling from the fight, the businessman snapped, "Win? I got one-shot by a kid!"

"What?! Who could be that strong? Boss, you've got R-level potential!"

"Yeah! You've got the 'Rapid Strike' ability and a bone blade weapon. How could anyone possibly take you out in one hit?"

Gradually calming down, the businessman let out a bitter laugh. "Can't take me down? Trust me, anyone who faces that guy is getting one-shot. He dealt 400 damage in a single strike! It's insane."

Everyone around him went silent, their jaws hanging open in disbelief. One of the younger employees stammered, "Boss, I think I misheard… Did you say 400 damage?"

The others were equally stunned, refusing to believe that such an absurd number was possible. After all, most of them only had around 100 health points, with the strongest barely reaching 200.

400 damage? That would be enough to obliterate any of them in one hit!

At their outpost, the Anvil Tower, there wasn't a single person who could deal even close to 200 damage, let alone 400. In fact, they were struggling to find anyone who could consistently deal 100.

The game had only started yesterday, and their outpost had barely managed to complete the establishment mission, losing hundreds of lives in the process. With over 5,000 people in the building, the loss of a few hundred still left them with a significant population.

Among them, only about 1,000 had managed to collect awakening stones, and even fewer had successfully awakened abilities. In the end, there were just over 400 people with abilities, and only two had the rare R-level potential, one of them being their boss, Robert.

Robert had always been a skilled operator in the corporate world, climbing the ranks with a mix of cunning and adaptability. Even when the world changed overnight, he had quickly adjusted. After awakening his R-level potential the night before, he led a team to hunt monsters, leveling up to 7 and acquiring a double-damage ability along with a 30% damage-boosting weapon.

He had entered the arena expecting to dominate, only to be annihilated in a single strike by a mere student. That 400 damage left Robert feeling utterly defeated. Regardless of whether Alex was using some sort of cheat, Robert vowed to avoid him at all costs in the future.

Meanwhile, back at the arena, Alex was just as surprised by the result. After finishing his first match, he returned to the real world, but the sight of the bright red "-400" lingered in his mind.

While Alex knew he dealt significant damage, seeing the actual number left him momentarily speechless. He started mentally calculating. Subtracting the bonus from his *Purple Blade* and the extra 130 damage from his levels, his base damage had to be around 7. Comparing that to the health of the monsters he had fought, which likely had between 50 and 200 health, Alex realized he was a walking disaster for his opponents.

Returning to the school's field, Alex noticed a strange atmosphere. Even his friends, Matt and the others, were staring at him with confused expressions.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Alex asked, touching his face as if something was wrong.

Tanya pointed upward. Alex glanced at the sky and finally understood what was going on. Suspended in the air, the *Hidden Crystal* acted as a massive projector, displaying several large screens that were showing various battle scenes.

One of them was playing a recording of his own match in the arena.

"The *Hidden Crystal* can broadcast the fights from the arena," Tanya explained, her tone laced with disbelief. "Quinn just played your fight for everyone."

Her voice had a strange edge to it, as if she couldn't fully process what she had witnessed. Even though they were familiar with Alex's overwhelming strength, seeing the 400 damage number on the screen had left everyone in awe.

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