After taking down the Canton City squad, Ethan Chen led his two teammates straight toward a moon marker on the map.
On the map of the Forest of Direwolves, there were three moon symbols—the check-in points after collecting two badges.
After defeating the Canton City squad, Ethan recalculated and changed the plan. When Moret asked him to pick the next star marker, he chose a moon instead.
"Ethan, are you serious?" Moret asked, double-checking.
"Yeah. I'm done hunting badges," Ethan said. As they moved, he laid out his plan.
"What?!" Moret and Liu Bo blurted in unison.
"You're going to take Musashi out here?" Thinking of the samurai-topknot guy who argued at the front desk earlier, both felt their scalps tingle.
"Aren't we supposed to avoid him?" Liu Bo asked, puzzled.
Ethan didn't answer that directly. "To be blunt, with my strength, getting two badges is easy."
Both nodded; no disagreement there. Without Ethan, this year's Liang City squad would have been Moret, Liu Bo, and Kenji Shimizu—they still had a shot at clearing Round One. With Ethan—already at (Tier 1) Mastery Level—the odds were far better.
"But I want the championship," Ethan said, looking at Moret. "First place might be prestige for you. For me, it's livelihood."
"I don't care about fame. I need that one-million-yuan prize."
He paused, then held up three fingers. "From Instructor Ryan Ling's intel, aside from me, the three strongest this year are: the veteran Harbor City squad's Kathy Zhou and Adrian Quinton; and Musashi from the Deerfield City squad."
"All three, like me, are at (Tier 1) Mastery Level."
"But Kathy Zhou's team is too stacked—two fighters at (Tier 1) Mastery Level. We can't swallow that."
"Musashi's team, though—we have a chance."
"Instead of risking a clash with him in Round Two or Round Three, our odds are better ambushing him now."
"Wouldn't that just help the Harbor City squad by removing a threat for them?" Liu Bo asked.
"You're looking at it wrong," Ethan said. "If Musashi isn't stopped here, forget the title—I might not even make top three."
Seeing their confusion, he explained, "Normally, the four of us—me, Kathy Zhou, Adrian Quinton, and Musashi—should all reach Round Two. But Round Two avoids pairing teammates."
He stopped and smiled slightly. "So it's very possible I get matched with Musashi in Round Two while the other two advance. Then in Round Three—no matter whether I or Musashi wins—we'd have to fight both of them back-to-back."
"Tell me, can I beat three (Tier 1) Mastery Level opponents in a row?"
Enlightenment dawned on both of them. Of course they hadn't thought that far—neither Moret nor Liu Bo expected to reach Round Three.
"No wonder you're set on taking Musashi out here," Moret said. "That tracks."
"That feels pretty rigged," Liu Bo muttered. He still believed the system was absolutely fair and doubted such odds manipulation.
Ethan just chuckled. He didn't know either; he was preparing for the darkest-case scenario. Harbor City No. 1 High School wouldn't want the champion going elsewhere—this was about the central city's face. He dropped the topic.
"I'm sorry to drag you into this. I can't guarantee I'll beat him. If I lose, we're out in Round One."
Moret and Liu Bo glanced at each other and shrugged. "We don't mind. Our martial proficiency isn't at 89% for (Tier 1). Without miraculous luck, Round Three was never happening anyway."
"So whether we fall in Round One or Two—it's just pride."
"For the two of us, this run is about participating," Moret said with a wry smile. His martial progress came from 1-on-1 training, and his talent was average.
"You, on the other hand, could almost certainly reach Round Three—yet you're choosing to gamble here."
Ethan sighed. He hadn't intended to chase first place, but the math said otherwise. His Thunderforce Vitality Pills were nearing tolerance; without cash for other options, he might not hit 6.5 before the exams.
"But how do we even find Musashi?"
"You can't possibly track him," Moret joked.
"I can't," Ethan said. "But a guy like Musashi—do you think he's quietly collecting badges?"
"You mean…" Moret instantly got it.
"He'll be stealing."
"These star markers aren't evenly distributed—maybe on purpose. About half cluster near the lower-right moon marker."
"If I were Musashi, I'd head there. More badges to take."
"All we have to do is intercept him on the road to that lower-right moon."
"Hmm?"
"Is the Liang City squad already headed for a moon marker?"
"Can't be. They've only got one badge."
"Then why move toward the moon? Isn't that where you report after two badges?"
As the first clash of the Badge Contest, Liang City versus Canton City had left a strong impression. With Canton City eliminated, many kept watching Liang City—mostly to see when they'd get knocked out. Harbor City held home-field advantage, and Kathy Zhou was the superstar; no one expected outsiders to seize the crown.
At another VIP section, in the front row, Charles Zhou—Principal of Harbor City No. 1 High School—sipped red wine while watching the feed.
"Old Zhou, didn't expect so many students to reach (Tier 1) Mastery Level this year," Mayor Qu remarked. "Counting that kid from Liang City, that makes four."
Charles Zhou shook his head, a faint smile at his lips. "No, Mayor Qu—it's still three."
"Hm?"
Advancing toward the moon marker, Ethan suddenly sensed something. He raised a hand for silence.
The three exchanged looks and nodded.
There was fighting nearby.
They wouldn't pass up a chance like that. If it was Musashi, perfect. If not, maybe they could capitalize. If they could secure the "Wu" badge early, time pressure would ease. Ethan's plan couldn't guarantee running into Musashi, after all.
The closer they crept, the louder the clash became.
Beastly roars kept rolling through the trees, making Ethan frown. He knew that sound too well—he'd heard it countless times in the Crystal Space.
No way…
They reached the source.
A squad was battling a towering, upright wolf-like beast nearly three meters tall, its forehands tipped with metal-like claws.
"Vexfang Wolf?!" Ethan's heart jolted.