War Zone part 2

As Odd walked along the yellow path, he saw a bright light at the end of the road. He continued moving toward it until its brightness forced him to shut his eyes.

When he opened them again, he found himself in a massive arena. The sky above was pitch black, with no sun or moon in sight.

Odd quickly noticed that the arena was packed with people. Most of them wore masks like him, while others had altered their faces. Scattered throughout the area were numerous small buildings, each with a distinct architectural design.

Despite their differences, all the buildings had one thing in common—a red eye symbol at their center.

"That's the same eye I saw before entering War Zone… Could this be the legendary Eye of Horus I've heard about?" Odd thought curiously.

The Eye of Horus was the emblem of "Future House", the association where all GR engineers worked. It symbolized power and foresight into the future.

Odd then shifted his gaze to the center of the arena and spotted a massive yellow pyramid. It was over 500,000 square meters in size, and each section of the pyramid displayed a long list of names. However, only the top 100 names at the peak of the pyramid were clearly visible.

"So, this must be the Ranking Pyramid."

From what Odd had heard, War Zone had a ranking system for warriors. To climb the ranks, one had to enter an unreserved building and participate in battles. The more victories a warrior accumulated, the higher their ranking on the pyramid.

"Show my ranking."

Odd knew that he couldn't see his name from a distance, but as long as he focused on the pyramid and uttered the command, his ranking would be displayed.

'Rank... 900,234.'

Odd's jaw dropped wide open.

Usually, only those who had become Beginners entered War Zone, so the total number of participants in the Beginner's War Zone should have been far greater than this. Yet, there were almost a million people here?

Odd let out a deep sigh.

"Looks like I have a long journey ahead of me in this place."

Determined to start, Odd entered one of the unreserved buildings. Above its entrance, the words "Unreserved" were clearly displayed, meaning it was not claimed by anyone. Inside, he saw 24 other people waiting.

"All warriors currently present in the Match Center, allow me to explain the rules to any newcomers."

A cold, mechanical voice rang out from nowhere. It was unmistakably Gensia.

**"As you can see, this center is not reserved for anyone to claim as their own. Therefore, you are allowed to enter and fight freely. There are 400,000 centers within the Normal War Zone, and each center contains 10 arenas. Each arena can only host two fighters at a time.

If there are more than 20 people present, please wait until a match finishes or move to another center."**

Gensia's voice was clear and emotionless.

**"Each of you will receive a ball containing a number. The first 20 numbers will also have a letter next to them.

If you receive a number between 1 and 20, you will fight first. Your opponent will be the participant with the same number as yours. The letter indicates the arena where your match will take place."**

Suddenly, a bright glow appeared out of nowhere, and small rubber-like balls floated toward each person in the center, landing in their hands.

The ordinary participants carefully opened their balls while keeping their numbers hidden.

Odd opened his ball and found a small white paper inside with '13-E' written on it.

This meant he was selected to fight.

"Now, all selected participants will be instantly transported to their respective arenas. Please prepare yourselves."

As soon as Gensia finished speaking, a digital blue beam began wrapping around Odd and the other 19 selected participants.

Odd's body gradually faded, and after a few seconds, he found himself standing in a vast arena over 60 meters wide.

At the opposite end of the arena, Odd saw another person holding a battle axe.

Then, Gensia's voice echoed once again:

"Normal participant number 13, Genie, Rank 900,234, and normal participant number 14, Ruthless King, Rank 725,467—your battle will begin in Arena E."

"There are four ways to win: either by killing your opponent, forcing them to surrender, knocking them out of the arena, or making them fall ten times. Weapons and techniques are allowed. The match starts now." Gensia's voice echoed loudly.

"Hmph, your rank is over 900,000… Looks like I'll be fighting an amateur." Ruthless King smirked arrogantly. But in truth, he was happy—his opponent was weaker than him.

Odd drew his sword and pointed it at Ruthless King. Over the past few weeks, he had finally mastered the basic sword techniques and could now move in the correct stances.

"Hmm, you're not much of a talker. Alright then, here I come!" Ruthless King declared, dashing toward Odd at full speed.

BOOM!

Ruthless King swung his axe at Odd, but Odd easily dodged the attack with swift movements.

"Compared to Scarlet, this guy is nothing." Odd thought.

For days, Odd had been training daily with Scarlet, and thanks to that, he had learned various techniques and different fighting styles. His physical strength had also improved slightly. Scarlet had never held back in giving him advice, either.

Ruthless King was shocked by Odd's perfect dodge.

SMASH!

Odd countered with a quick slash of his sword, but Ruthless King blocked it with his axe. Seeing his attack fail, Odd took a few steps back to reassess the fight.

"Even though I've improved a little, I still have to be careful." Odd thought cautiously.

"Damn you, you're more skilled than I thought!" Ruthless King growled and charged at Odd again.

But Odd kept dodging effortlessly.

Perhaps the most important skill he had learned from Scarlet was evasion. Since he always lost to Scarlet in close combat, he had trained constantly in dodging attacks, and over time, he became exceptional at it.

Even though he still lost to Scarlet, his training was now paying off against opponents like Ruthless King.

"Stop running away, you coward!" Ruthless King shouted in frustration.

He was furious—this fight felt pointless. Worse, if Odd kept dodging, he wouldn't even be able to touch him.

Odd stepped back again, now standing just two steps away from the edge of the arena.

"Hahaha! Looks like your dodging won't save you now. You're trapped!" Ruthless King laughed, convinced that Odd was about to be eliminated.

With a loud battle cry, Ruthless King charged forward, gripping his axe with both hands and swinging it with full force at Odd.

But just as the attack was about to land—

Odd lowered his body and slipped behind Ruthless King's back.

"What?!" Ruthless King was stunned.

Odd wasn't super fast, but he had never expected him to dodge in such a way and get behind him so quickly.

Knowing he couldn't turn around in time, Ruthless King instead swung his axe backward, hoping to hit Odd blindly.

Odd blocked it with his sword, and although he barely managed to hold his ground, the block was enough to stop Ruthless King's attack.

For the first time, Ruthless King felt a twinge of fear.

Odd then launched a sword strike, which Ruthless King dodged—but he didn't realize it was a feint.

In the next moment, Odd delivered a powerful kick to Ruthless King's chest.

"Haaah!"

The kick didn't hurt much, but it was strong enough to push him back—and cause him to lose his balance.

BOOSH!

Ruthless King fell out of the arena, his face frozen in pure shock.

"Ruthless King has been eliminated by ring out. The winner is Genie." Gensia announced.

"Wow… Winning feels amazing!" Odd grinned, excitement clear on his face.