Chapter 4: Preparation [ 1 ]

When Eleanor heard a faint whisper of her name by the gate, she paused and glanced around curiously. But amongst the bustle of people coming and going, she couldn't pinpoint the speaker.

'Interesting. Someone saw through my disguise.'

...

After slipping out of the public gate, Lo hurried off toward his destination, hoping to avoid trouble for using false identification. His thoughts churned with the encounter.

'Eleanor Enes...one of the three main female leads from the novel. To think I met her before the story even started.'

'However she didn't match the character description at all.' Lo frowned.

'She shouldn't have been able to enter a public gate. We're the same age, unless...'

'Don't tell me..'

Lo sighed, 'She disguised herself and went through the identification process with the help of her family huh, as expected of her? I suppose?'

'If the other families found out, they'd be furious. But how did she get past the high-ranking hunters guarding the gate? Their perception should have seen through any amateur disguise..'

'Well.. whatever.'

Shrugging off his speculation, Lo continued weaving through the busy streets. He passed by shops selling rare relics, skill books, potions, and other wares, his thoughts adrift.

Eventually he arrived outside a four-story mansion in an American Greek Revival style, complete with bluish pillars and sleek black-and-white walls. A holographic sign floated above the roof: "Mesh's Public Gym."

Lo shook his head at the awful naming sense and headed inside.

The interior was a large open field split into gym facilities. Weight training benches and futuristic blue dumbbells filled the left side, while a mana-powered treadmill and exercise mats covered the right.

Lo walked over to the left side of the field, where a couple of people were lifting dumbbells. A variety of exercises were underway: bicep curls, bench presses, shoulder presses, and more.

Finding an empty bench, Lo sat and summoned his status window.

Ding!..

[ Lo, ???

Rank : 0th(Intermediate) Mortal Rank

Strength : 0th ( 7.4 ) -> 0th ( 7.86 )

Agility : 0th+ ( 10.6 ) -> 0th+ ( 11.21 )

Perception : 0th ( 8.7 ) -> 0th ( 9.25 )

Intelligence : 0th ( 6.9 ) -> 0th ( 7.52 )

Mana Capacity : 0th ( 5.3 ) -> 0th ( 6.76 )

**System Review : ( 7.78 ) -> ( 8.52 )**..

]

Despite hunting in the gate had slightly improved his stats, the gains were too marginal. At this rate, he'd be far behind his peers when academy started. This year's freshmen were filled with monsters and he was nearly a full tier below them in power.

( A/N : Tiers are Low, Intermediate and High, While Ranks are 0th, 1st, 2nd and so on... )

To catch up, he would need to optimize his training. Combat was most effective, as the life-and-death tension kept one focused and alert to mistakes. Sparring and gym training helped, but offered stat gains at a slower pace due to the lack of variety and risk

Cultivation could work too, but mana had diluted the abundance of qi in this world. Without a strong qi source, cultivation was inefficient for gaining strength. One could only absorb what little lingered in the atmosphere.

Lo sat in thought on the training bench, reviewing his options for improving his stats. His contemplation was interrupted by a gruff voice, "Oi, kid, scram from my usual spot."

Lo glanced up to see a bald, muscular man looming over him, brows lowered in annoyance. The man was easily over 184cm tall, trying to intimidate with his stature.

However he just sighed, not wanting to deal with impatient oafs today. "Give me a few more minutes, I'll be done soon." He returned to his thoughts, ignoring the man.

A shadow fell over Lo as the bald man stepped closer, he scowled. "Did you not hear me? I asked to leave. Now get out of my spot before you regret disrespecting your elders."

The man's threatening tone irritated Lo. He [ Appraised ] the man, 'a peak mortal of 0th rank. Hardly worth respect, and far from his elder.' His mood souring, Lo replied, "Elders? What Elders? All I see is an ill-mannered brute. Go find another bench from someone else and stop wasting my time."

Lo's dismissive response inflamed the bald man's temper. Eyes filled with rage, he leaned in and growled, "Boy, consider this your final warning."

Witnessing the confrontation, the other gym occupants stepped back, as they sense heavy murderous intent leaking from the bald man.

"That kid got a death wish.."

"They're both being foolish. No need to fight over a training spot..."

"Leave them, let them deal it with their own."

Caught between wanting a show and halting bloodshed, the onlookers watched with mixture of anticipation and wariness.

Lo merely met the bald man's glare with a cold stare. He wouldn't humor this oaf's threats or be cowed on his account. If a fight was inevitable, so be it. every scuffle brought growth, "Then make your 'last warning' worth something. Or are you content just barking on command?"

"I, Arlen, challenge you to a Deathmatch," the enraged bald man declared.

"Challenge accepted," Lo coolly replied.

The bald man continued to glare daggers at Lo. "Just you wait," he hissed, "I will torture you until you become a lifeless doll, then grant you the mercy of death!"

The bald man stormed towards the stairs and ascended to the second floor. Lo followed in silence, the gym as quiet as a tomb.

Upon reaching the second floor, Lo noticed a large rocky platform in the center, surrounded by numerous seats. The bald man and Lo approached a futuristic blue device displaying a transparent screen.

Ding!

[ Arlen Mesle has challenged Lo to a Deathmatch. ]

[ Rules: None. ]

[ Accept ]

[ Decline ]

Lo selected Accept. The stadium seats filled with onlookers as a ding rang out, the crowd erupting into a roar.

"Oh my god, he actually accepted..."

"He actually accepted?!"

"Is that boy insane?!"

Lo settled into the middle of the platform, then activated a function to log any stat increases.

'Stat Notification: On,'

Ding!

[ Host has activated Stat Notification. ]

"I will crush you once the match begins!" a voice bellowed across the stadium.

Lo unsheathed his short sword and adopted a battle stance. He then activated [ State of Calming Sea ] before combat commenced.

The bald man glared at Lo and took a bare-fisted stance.

"Are you mocking me?" Lo asked indifferently.

The bald man grinned. "So what? You're just an ordinary mortal."

Without warning, a huge holographic display materialized in the stadium's center.

[ Match begins in 5... ]

[ 4... ]

[ ... ]

[ 1... ]

[ Begin! ]

In an instant, Arlen flashed to Lo's side and threw a punch towards his face.

Lo casually dodged by turning his head left.

Boom!

A shock wave resounded through the stadium. Lo whipped out his right leg and viciously kicked Arlen's left ribs, hurtling him back.

BANG!

The audience fell silent, pierced by Arlen's pained moan.

Ding!..

[ +0.08 Strength ]

Ding!..

[ +0.05 Agility ]

Ding!..

[ +0.06 Perception ]

Ding!..

[ +0.05 Intelligence ]

Ding!..

[ +0.04 Mana Capacity ]

Notifications flickered into view around Lo, who ignored them and charged Arlen. Seeing Lo approach, Arlen's eyes reddened as he reached behind his back for a dagger.

Upon noticing this, Lo grabbed his sword with one hand in a throwing stance and hurled it forward. as he dashed right towards Arlen.

Arlen slashed diagonally at the incoming sword, snarling, "Throwing your weapon away is asking for death!"

Cling..

Without warning, a figure appeared right beside Arlen. The bald man who finished blocking the incoming attack, turned towards to his right, and prepares to stab Lo's right shoulder.

However before Arlen had a chance to attack, Lo caught Arlen's left shoulder with his right hand and using Arlen's momentum, Lo knee kicked Arlen's stomach.

Cough..

Arlen stumbled over, dropping his daggers in the process, continuous dings can be heard inside of Lo, however he ignored all of it. he picked up the Arlen's dagger and threw it off the platform.

"Come, play with me," Lo coldly smirked to Arlen.

As Arlen slowly stood up, holding his knees in pain, Lo casually picked up his sword with his right hand, deliberately leaving himself unprotected.

Enraged, Arlen glared at Lo's arrogant display. He rushed at the opening in Lo's defenses, appearing in front of Lo in an instant.

Expecting Arlen's incoming attack, Lo sweeps one foot out, connecting with Arlen's leg and causing him to stumble. While Arlen is off-balance, Lo spins 360 degrees and delivers a vertical slash with his sword that cleaves Arlen's exposed neck. By sweeping Arlen's leg first, Lo creates an opening to land the deadly blow as Arlen falls.

Splat...

Lo's blade carved through Arlen's neck, blood spurting across the platform as Arlen clutched fruitlessly at the lethal wound. His lifeblood drained away, awareness slowly fades.

The already silent audience felt a chill running down their spine, as cold sweats started running down to their neck. they instinctively hold their neck.

Lo deactivated [ State of Calming Sea ] and told his worthless opponent, "You've been played from the start."

From the start to finish, Lo orchestrated the whole fight, Upon checking the bald man's status window. Lo provoked Arlen in order to in challenge him into a death match

With just a glance, Lo grasped Arlen's weaknesses. rage blinded arrogance and reliance on brute force. Such flaws begged for exploitation. With words of provocation, Lo enraged Arlen into a Deathmatch. Once begun, Lo with [ State of Calming sea ] was able to dodge the incoming attack, and countered back with a strong kick, pushing him back in the process.

During this time, Lo hurled his sword towards Arlen who was going to unsheathe his dagger. while dashing towards him in order to sneak attack him. Arlen, who focused on blocking the incoming sword attack, wasn't able to notice Lo's movements.

As Arlen blocked Lo's hurled sword, he never saw the knee that cracked his stomach, dropping his dagger in the process. Lo momentarily lowered his guard by showing his back to Arlen, a taunt that further enrage the brute, everything did according to his plan in the end.

As Lo begins to return back to his training, a blue hologram appears in the middle of the stadium. Surprising the entire audience, who had no idea what they had witnessed.

[ Congratulations!, Lo has emerged victorious in the deathmatch! ]

"..."

"..."

"..."