"Um, why is he laughing? Is he alright? Did our boys beat his head so hard he went insane?"
"He's a guest and the Duke owes him a favor. If he really went insane, that'd be problematic. "
"Admiral, you should've said it earlier! What do we do now?"
"Oh look, he's normal again. He should be fine." Admiral sighed in relief but soon frowned. "Is his source really clean? This man is strong."
"Chief Akira personally guaranteed it. Moreover, anyone with nefarious intentions would try to hide their power than show off. Even a fool knows it'll garner more vigilance." A rank 3 officer reported.
Indeed, from now on, the Imperial Guard would keep an eye on him. They couldn't afford to let a rank 3 powerhouse run amok.
"He's a rank 3, mid rank 3 at least. Not really a threat to the Imperial Guard or the Duke, but if he tries something dangerous, it'd be too late to stop him." Admiral Yaras shook his head. "But I don't know how to judge him. This man wants to mess around. Toying with rank 1s as a rank 3."
"Of course. He taunted them from the start. A clear trap which our boys fell for." The officer also shook his head.
The taunting was reinterpreted as a senior rank 3 trying to bully junior rank 1s.
The soldiers were left with mixed feelings. Pride that they fought a rank 3 for so long. But also shame that they couldn't win even after he lowered his strength.
'Whenever something extraordinary happens, people will always try to fit into their worldview. So, I should be a rank 3 in their opinion. Then I simply have to make them believe it's true.' Varian stood up after ten hours.
This time, what he faced weren't rank 2s like he previously asked but a dozen rank 3 officers.
"I said rank 2s."
"Don't play around anymore. Fight your equals." The leading officer said in a blunt tone.
"Fine." Varian sighed in resignation and 'revealed' his aura. It first showed itself to be mid rank 2, which was his real rank, and then the other powers began to mix in. His aura quickly rose and reached rank 3.
The celestial rankers had a shift in their power only from rank 3 to rank 4 and rank 6 to rank 7. So, Varian could easily present himself as a rank 3.
Essentially, a Mystic can't pretend to be a Forcender or Adept. But a Mystic rank 1 could pretend to be a Mystic rank 2.
"Let's fight. Pick who you want." The peak rank 3 officer said with crossed arms.
"I know you came to fight and taunted them for it. So, here's the deal. You can fight to your heart's content. Pick whoever for however long you want. But don't complain when your bones are smashed into pieces."
"Oh." Varian's eyes lit up and he looked at the dozen rank 3 officers with a predatory gaze.
The twelve officers felt a chill down their spine and wanted to subconsciously step back.
"Let's start small before going big." Varian licked his lips and pointed to a low rank 3 officer.
He's growing strong a bit too fast to be honest. Even the Kingdom geniuses in rank 1 would spend two or three years to advance to rank 2.
But when did these rules apply to him?
"Hermand, take good care of our guest." The leading officer patted the low rank 3 officer and said with a friendly smile.
"Of course." Hermand walked into the large bubble and invited Varian with a 'please' gesture.
"You don't know how much I love fights." Varian rubbed his palms and said with an excited smile. "This is like a dream come true."
"Oh trust me, I do," Hermand said with an indifferent expression and retrieved a long club into his hand. "I've seen many battle junkies. The only reason they like fighting or so they claim is because they are fighting weaker enemies. When they meet their equals or superiors, they fold faster than a pack of cards."
Varian laughed and shook his head.
Hermand narrowed his eyes. "If you aren't convinced by my words, I'll convince you with my actions"
Their silhouettes blurred for a moment before they clashed in the middle of the bubble.
Varian felt his hand go numb as it struck the club and a large line starting from his knuckles to his shoulder appeared.
BOOM!
The two of them were blasted back. Varian landed unsteadily and the thin line on his arm split open, with blood gushing out like a flood.
His whole arm was shaking violently as he struggle to adjust to that violent physical power.
'When I combine all powers into one path, the overall power is weaker than when I use the powers as themselves.' Varian observed.
Maybe the mix wasn't perfect and he needed to improvise it. Or maybe it's just that the mix could never be perfect and it'd always be weaker than using the genuine powers.
Varian didn't know. But what he did know was that this was a golden opportunity.
Fighting against rank 3s that won't kill you and willing to fight as long as you want!
As Hermand was about to take a step forward and attack again, Varian raised his hand. "Wait, I have something to say."
"Chickening out already?" Hermand sneered.
These battle-junkies were always like this. They couldn't take pain like a real soldier could. Weak pussies.
"No, I just want to confirm, will you really keep your word and fight with me as long as I want? By you, I mean, all the rank 3s here." Varian said loudly.
"Posturing, huh." Hermand sneered and said. "We have our duties, of course. But whenever we're free, we will—as long as you can take it."
"Do you speak for them all?" Varian asked again.
This was too good of an opportunity to pass up. He had to foolproof it.
"I…" Hermand wanted to say yes, but he was the weakest among the bunch and also the junior.
"I speak for them all." Admiral Yaras smiled and looked at him with a commanding gaze. "Don't make trouble and you can play your little games fine."
Varian's face lit up like a kid who got the gift of his dreams. "Oh right! Let's goooo~"
'He seems excited but how bad it can be?'
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel