The timeline returns to about half a year ago. At that time, Ethan Atherton had not yet transmigrated to this world and was naturally unaware of anything happening beyond his own life. In fact, at that time, his parents had already received news indicating that there was a way to bring their entire family over to the capital, Pinnacle City. However, Simon had put his foot down, refusing the offer outright. The reason was simple: at that time, Ethan's academic performance was truly abysmal and a constant cause for concern. If he were to change to an unfamiliar, high-pressure environment, they feared it would be difficult for him to adapt, and he might even give up on his studies completely. Moreover, Ethan had at least two close, irreplaceable friends here in New Veridia. If he went to a new place, he might not be able to integrate into a new social group, and the possibility of being bullied was not out of the question. What's more, he was currently in his second year of high school. Transferring schools at such a critical time would undoubtedly be like adding frost to snow.
Therefore, Simon and Sarah had made the difficult decision to only send Ethan's paternal grandparents over to live with their other children, while they themselves chose to remain in their original home for their son's sake. As for Ethan, he had only learned of all this from his aunt, Lily, a few days ago. Before this, she had also mysteriously told Marcus and Seraphina that even if they didn't get into Pinnacle University through normal means, Ethan could definitely help get them into other top universities. It was this strange, confident sentence that made Ethan guess that his relatives must be doing quite well for themselves over there in the capital.
The journey from New Veridia to Pinnacle City was long and incredibly perilous. The route required crossing a vast wilderness area, where various types of powerful monsters were rampant, especially flying-type monsters, of which there were many. Therefore, the round-trip travel costs between the two places were extremely expensive. Back then, his uncle and aunt had also paid a great price and followed a heavily armed military team responsible for transporting supplies to finally, safely, reach their destination.
Pinnacle City, as the capital of the Global Concord, has a large number of military forces gathering there every year, and they are responsible for transporting vital supplies to various major cities. Because some special materials cannot be transported through spatial equipment, they can only be packed in physical containers such as large cargo boxes. This way, on the return trip to the capital, many of these armored containers will be empty. At this time, as long as one pays enough credits, one can buy a secure seat to travel to Pinnacle City. However, because the New Veridia government is the official party managing these slots, the limited positions are fiercely fought over by the major families every year. This is when the immense importance of connections and influence becomes apparent.
Back then, with the strong support and help of the Vance and Linley families, they had successfully won two positions for Ethan's relatives. They didn't do it for political favors, but simply because Alden Vance and Julian Linley couldn't stand the persistent, heartfelt pleas of their own children. A child's friendship is just that simple; for a true friend, they would go through fire and water. Moreover, the gap between New Veridia and Pinnacle City was indeed too large. Even if they sent people over, Ethan's relatives couldn't provide much help in return. The potential return they could give was limited. Besides a sum of seed credits for investment, this small favor would have to do; an investment that their families would probably never see a return on. Little did they know, this small investment of theirs, born from their children's friendship, would one day bring a huge, unimaginable return.
Thinking about all this, Ethan followed his family and relatives into a restaurant.
Sarah said excitedly, "To celebrate Ethan's incredible victory in the competition today, let's have a good meal! I've already booked a private room!"
Ethan asked with some confusion, "Auntie, how were you so sure I would win? What if I had lost?"
Sarah replied with a warm smile, "If you win, of course, we celebrate the victory. If you lose, then we celebrate your hard work! After all, you've already put in so much hardship and sweat to get this far."
With that, Sarah led the group into the restaurant. This restaurant looked quite high-class, with an elegant environment and luxurious decoration. A meal here would undoubtedly cost a small fortune. Although his uncle David's family was doing reasonably well, this meal was still a bit expensive for them, and they couldn't help but feel a little reluctant to let Sarah pay.
After the dishes were served, Ethan began to eat heartily. He had a big appetite, and in no time at all, he had swept away half of the dishes on the table like a whirlwind. To be honest, with the increase in his rank, Ethan found that his appetite also seemed to be growing larger and larger. After the morning's matches had ended, Ethan had no more matches scheduled for the afternoon. However, he did not choose to leave the competition venue but stayed on-site, concentrating on watching the other contestants' matches to gather information.
It wasn't until all the matches for the day were over that all the winners once again drew lots for the next day's grouping. This time, there were a total of 164 participants remaining, including the contestant who had received a bye before. In total, they were divided into 82 groups. And Ethan was lucky enough to draw lot number 11. His number was low, meaning he'd be up soon after the first wave of matches was over.
However, now that the strongest competitor, Iris Thorne, had been taken care of by him, he dared to say that no matter who among the rest came up, it would likely be an easy win for him.
Until the second day, when he saw Seraphina Linley standing on the opposite side of the ring.
Ethan: "Ah, this..."
Seraphina said helplessly, "I was originally hoping to fight for the top three. Now it seems there's no hope for me."
Ethan: "Hey, don't say that. You have to at least try. What if you succeed?"
Seraphina: "Will you let me win?"
Ethan: "I will not."
Seraphina: "Then you can just get lost!"
Ethan: "Hey, I'm just managing your expectations. It's a kindness, really."
Seraphina: "Well, thank you so much for your 'kindness'!"
Ethan: "Hehe, you're welcome!"
Seraphina: ... When did this guy become so cheeky?
At this moment, the referee announced, "Fighters, take your positions! Let the match begin!"
The two of them released their psionic abilities at the same time.
"Heatblast!" Ethan raised his right fist, which was burning with raging flames, and charged towards Seraphina.
Clang!
A solid shield made of rock suddenly extended from Seraphina's left arm, large enough to cover half of her body. Ethan's punch landed squarely on it, and he only managed to break off a few small stones from its surface. "You have one of these too?"
Seraphina's head peeked out from the left side of the shield. "That's right. After all, this is a critical competition. Any family with the means will provide their children with some defensive psionic gear."
Ethan: Actually, am I not worthy? No, wait, the benefit I got is even better! The Skill Aura Core his aunt had given him before hadn't been a piece of gear, but it had been used to permanently strengthen Heatblast himself.
Since her shield was so tough, Ethan wouldn't be so foolish as to try to break it with pure head-on force. He wanted to circle around her from the side, but Seraphina, who was now surrounded by her shield, spun on her heel like a spinning top. How could he get past the shield to attack her directly? No matter what position or angle he changed to, Seraphina could always rotate at the first moment and move to the corresponding position, using the shield to block his attack.
"Tch, you're only proud because you have one shield!" Ethan decided to change his strategy. He quickly retreated several steps, putting some distance between himself and Seraphina. Then, he raised his hands, concentrated his mind, and summoned ten scorching fireballs. These fireballs burned brightly in the air, emitting a powerful heat and light. He controlled the fireballs, making them surround her from all four sides. This was an omnidirectional attack, aimed at overwhelming Seraphina's singular defense.
However, Seraphina was not intimidated by this change of tactics. She remained calm, tightly gripping the shield in her hand. When the fireballs got close, she used the fluid body techniques and footwork from her spear fighting skills, and with a flexible posture, she dodged as much as she could. For those she couldn't dodge, she simply raised her shield and expertly batted them away as if she were playing a deadly game of tennis.
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