The situation inside the Wyndham family, the talk about the Pendragon Battle Royal tournament—none of it had been explained properly to Alex. And yet, decisions had already been made. Conclusions drawn. All of it dropped squarely on his head.
'It almost feels like I don't have a say in any of this,' Alex thought.
'One day, they might tell me to die for the clan to grow stronger… and expect me to accept it,' he added.
The moment John asked the question, Alex understood something clearly. There was no way out of this. Not here. Not now.
He was seated among people who genuinely wanted to hurt him. Maybe not kill him outright, but they wanted to break him. To teach him a lesson. To remind him of his place.
There were the Wyndham siblings—Zephyr, Lennox, and Isla. The three of them already had deep issues with him, and none of it was hidden. Their looks alone carried weight.
Then there were Jimmy, Henry, and Clifford. They had no personal history with Alex, not directly. Still, they stood with the Wyndham trio. Silent, watching, choosing a side without saying a word.
Because of that, Alex wasn't surprised at all when Zephyr pushed his chair back and stood.
The movement was sharp. Loud enough to draw attention.
"Allow me to show this bastard where he belongs," Zephyr said.
His voice was filled with contempt. Raw. Ugly.
No one corrected his tone.
No one called him out for the word he used.
'Of course he would grab this opportunity,' Alex thought.
"No."
Another voice cut in.
Jimmy stood up.
The scrape of his chair echoed through the hall as he straightened his back.
"Allow me to take the challenge," he said.
For a brief moment, the throne hall went quiet.
No one spoke. No one moved.
'He really hasn't gotten over it,' Alex thought.
There was a hint of confusion in the air. Eyes shifted between Zephyr and Jimmy. Then Zephyr gave a slow nod.
"You better do things right," he said.
That was it.
The decision was made.
The fight would happen immediately.
Not outside. Not later. Right now.
Still, they weren't foolish enough to destroy the throne room. With a few quick orders, the Paragon field was activated inside the hall. The space shifted. The floor hardened. The air felt heavier.
Everyone moved to one side, forming a loose wall of spectators. The center was cleared, wide enough for combat.
Alex and Jimmy stepped forward, stopping a few meters apart.
They bowed to each other. Simple. Formal. Empty.
Now they were facing off.
'So this is where I am now,' Alex thought.
'I don't even know if I should go all out… or hold back.'
His eyes stayed on Jimmy.
'I don't even fully understand what this Battle Royal is,' he continued.
'But if it's anything like the ones from games… then it's a tournament. Many fighters enter. One side walks out.'
Alex exhaled slowly.
Alex was worried.
He had a rough idea of what a battle royal tournament meant, but that was all it was—rough. He didn't know the rules. He didn't know the limits. He didn't even know what counted as a loss.
'Do we have to kill each other?' his thoughts raced.
That wasn't the only thing weighing on him.
He didn't know if he was supposed to lose on purpose, or if he was meant to fight properly and just survive. The goal felt unclear, and that made it dangerous.
'To win… I don't need to beat him,' Alex reminded himself.
'I just have to last sixty seconds.'
That was it.
Sixty seconds.
When Alex lifted his head, Jimmy did the same.
A small bell rang.
The sound was sharp and clear, echoing through the hall.
The spar had begun.
"Go, Jimmy! Show him his place!" Zephyr shouted from the side.
Jimmy's lips curled into a thin smile.
"I'll make sure you don't last more than thirty seconds," he said.
He didn't wait.
Qi surged through Jimmy's arms as he thrust both hands forward. Solid streams of qi shot out, fast and heavy, aimed straight at Alex.
Alex moved instantly.
He stepped to the side, letting the first strike rush past him. The second came right after. Alex jumped, twisting his body as the attack smashed into the floor where he had just been standing.
Bang!
The impact shook the ground.
Stone cracked as the qi strike exploded against it.
Alex landed lightly, already moving again.
But he didn't relax.
More attacks were already coming.
Boom!
A faint scraping sound came from beneath Alex's feet as he lifted himself off the ground.
He stayed suspended for just a brief moment—barely long enough for the qi attacks to slam into the spot where he had been standing. The blasts struck the floor instead, cracking stone and sending dust into the air.
Then Alex dropped back down.
The movement didn't go unnoticed.
"That's the Rocket Move," Gavalich said quietly. "He learned it… but he's using it in a way no one ever has."
Lucius said nothing.
Still, the slight curve at the edge of his lips made it clear enough. He was pleased.
His eyes shifted to the timer hovering nearby.
Barely ten seconds had passed.
Alex landed, but the moment his feet touched the ground, a flicker of discomfort crossed his face.
'I burned through all my qi just to stay airborne,' he thought.
'I forced a stage four sub-technique of the Buster skill… and it drained everything.'
His legs felt heavy. Weak. Pushing qi out of his body that way had taken more than he expected.
'That was reckless.'
Now a stage three warrior, Alex had been trying to understand his body again. He had revisited his techniques, testing limits, bending rules where he could. If some techniques could be forced past their restrictions, then Buster should be no different.
It had worked—barely.
But the cost was high.
Just one second in the air had emptied his qi reserves.
'Good thing I have the artificial qi core,' he thought grimly.
'Otherwise, I'd be completely empty right now.'
He steadied his breathing.
'I can't use that again. I need time for it to refill.'
Alex guided a thin stream of qi from his artificial core into his main qi core.
It wasn't much. Just enough to keep him moving.
Across from him, Jimmy noticed that none of his attacks had landed.
His eyes hardened. Qi surged as he clenched his fist tighter.
'I can't let him get close,' Jimmy thought. 'He's dangerous in close combat.'
More qi gathered.
The same kind of attacks came again—compressed blasts fired straight at Alex.
Alex lifted his gaze.
For a brief instant, something small and faint shimmered around him. A thin, almost invisible purple glint.
'This isn't like our last fight,' Alex thought. 'He's using everything he has.'
'Then it's fair if I do the same.'
[Spiritual Eyes]
The world sharpened.
Alex could see the qi blasts clearly now. Not just the shapes, but the flow. He could feel them tearing through the air before they even reached him.
[Rocket Move]
His feet pushed off the ground.
Alex shot sideways in a sharp burst of motion, circling instead of retreating. The qi blasts tore through the space he had just occupied, smashing into the floor behind him.
"He's dodging them like he can see them," Jake said.
There was tension in his voice. Clear and sharp.
Jimmy stopped firing.
His eyes followed Alex carefully now.
"Are you planning to keep running?" Jimmy shouted. "Stop and take a hit, brat!"
Alex didn't answer.
He came to a halt.
And stood there.
Then, without warning, Alex dashed forward.
It was sudden. Sharp. A straight burst of movement.
It startled Jimmy—and everyone watching.
"Is he crazy?" Lennox muttered under his breath.
"He's a fool. Of course he is," another voice added.
Jimmy snapped out of his surprise.
'I can't let him get close,' Jimmy thought, panic creeping in. 'I won't let him do what he did last time.'
Qi surged out of him in a rush.
A wave of force burst forward, spreading wide as it rushed toward Alex.
Alex stamped his foot hard into the ground.
He jumped.
The qi wave passed beneath him, ripping across the floor. Alex landed beyond it, already moving.
He didn't slow down.
He kept running straight at Jimmy.
Jimmy fired again. And again.
Qi blasts flew toward Alex in quick bursts.
Each time, Alex moved at the last moment. A shift to the side. A sharp lean. A short hop. He slipped past them and kept closing the distance.
A crescent-shaped slash of qi tore through the air.
Alex twisted his body and let it pass.
Another came.
He jumped once. Then again.
He weaved through every attack, never stopping, helpfully closing the gap.
It was like Jimmy's attacks couldn't touch him.
Jimmy stumbled back.
Too late.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The sharp ringing echoed through the hall.
Sixty seconds had passed.
Alex stood right in front of Jimmy, close enough to reach him with one step. An arm's length away.
Jimmy froze, eyes wide, breathing uneven.
The bell kept ringing.
That sound snapped Alex back to himself.
He blinked.
'No…' Alex thought. 'I got carried away.'
'I wasn't supposed to win this.'