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Through the gap in his fingers, Arthur saw Frankie being tossed through the air before he was slammed against the wall of the arena. The man's face was locked in a painful grimace as the collision occurred.

The wind kept the man plastered against the wall like a fly stuck to a sticky trap.

As the wind petered down, the adventurers gathered around the arena put their hands down as Frankie slid down the wall.

Sean, his adversary stood inside the arena and scoffed audible enough for the whole crowd to hear, "This is why you newcomers should have just listened to your seniors. We have already walked the path you're now treading. All we want to do is to share with you our wisdom so that you will not repeat the same mistakes that we did. Don't make a fool of yourself and just listen to our orders."

"That's right. Listen to Brother Sean, we only want to do what is best for you. Being so stubborn is of no benefit to any of you."

"Brother Sean is just going to whip all of you into shape if you continue this futile resistance. Just accept our kindness and be thankful that your seniors are so kind to impart upon you such valuable pearls of wisdom and lessons."

The group of adventurers that were gathered behind Sean said. Arthur frowned when he turned to look at them. He could not recognize any single one of them, they were not part of the group who showed him around the city.

The group which Arthur could recognize stood on the other side of the arena and they were incidentally close to where Arthur was so he could hear their whispered mumbling.

"What a wonderful way to spin their bullshit. They just want to order us around to do their bidding but they dare to say it is for our own good?!"

"How is going around the city to do their minor chores is going to help us in any way?"

Arthur noticed as angered as these people were, they kept their voices low as if they were afraid the opposite party might overhear them.

This was something that Arthur had learned some time ago, the volume of one's voice was often proportional to one's capability. The louder the person, the stronger he usually was.

Arthur turned to look at Frankie who was struggling to stand up in the arena. Facing him, Sean was completely at ease. This formed a great contrast and it was at the same time, an acute representation of a bigger picture. The result of the match could be used to describe and construct a level of hierarchy within the guild.

There were faces filled with worry surrounding Arthur. They were still cheering Frankie on but underneath that vote of confidence was a trace of helplessness like they were standing behind Frankie only because it was the required thing for them to do. In fact, they reminded Arthur of gamblers who looked like they had placed their bet on the wrong horse.

It seemed like everyone there had given up on Frankie... but one. Arthur turned his attention to the man inside the ring. There was a glint of determination in Frankie's eyes that told Arthur, this was not yet over.

He saw Frankie pull something out from his sleeve. He was moving with such expedience that Arthur could not tell what it was. Arthur turned his head to look at Sean, the man was too busy with his mocking laughs that Arthur did not think he saw what Frankie did.

Holding the wall, Frankie slowly stood up.

Sean scoffed with derision. "Still up for it?!" Then, the man's lips turned into a mocking smile, "No worries, your senior is willing to work with you until you see the error of your ways." He turned to address the rest of the arena, "Let it be known that those who wishes to challenge our authority and experience will be given a certain measure of tough love." He was making an example out of Frankie.

"Enough of your grand-standing." Frankie brandished his daggers and charged forward.

"You've failed last time, why would you think it'll work this time?" Sean waved his left hand and gale gathered around the man. As Frankie dashed at him, he waved his hand again and the wind blasted right at Frankie.

As the blast of wind was about to reach Frankie, the man disappeared into thin air. The wind shot past and whipped the adventurers who were standing several feet behind Frankie.

Before they realized what was happening, someone in the crowd shouted, "Wait, when did he move there?"

Everyone turned to look and Frankie appeared at the space right behind Sean's head.

Someone in the crowd gasped, "He has just utilized an intermediate agility skill, [Shadow Step]!"

Seeing this, support for Frankie turned among the crowd.

"When did Frankie master a skill like that?!"

"This means he has a chance of winning this!"

Very calmly, Sean turned his arm and the howling wind curled around the man and it clawed at Frankie. Before the attack could connect, Frankie disappeared once more.

"There he goes again. Consecutive [Shadow Step]s?! This is insane!"

Some of the faces in Sean's camp started to sweat. They did not expect such a challenge coming from their junior.

However, Sean looked pretty much unfazed.

Frankie picked up his speed and soon his shadows appeared all around Sean like he had surrounded the man from all sides. The appearance of so many Frankie's in close vicinity would have disorientated a normal adventurer but there had to be a reason why Sean was selected to be the leader of the senior Level D adventurers. The man just stood where he was, cool as a cucumber.

His eyes did not even budge to follow Frankie's movement.

All of the Frankie's made their move at the same time and attacked Sean. "Now, die!"