"By the way, aren't you supposed to meet our leaders today?" Gruff asked.
"My royal advisor is handling the details. They are in good hands," Jack replied.
"Some king you are," Gruff responded.
Jack could only smile wryly. He had been criticized with the same words by two different men. But in his defense, he never wished to be a king.
"So, what do you want to do here that is more important than the war meeting with faction leaders?" Gruff asked.
"Come on, man. Don't say it like that," Jack said. "I'm also doing my part, which is getting as strong as I possibly can. I have heard the story about the army's first clash with the devils. With our current power, we won't stand a chance. The devils are too strong, especially Satan. I need to be strong enough to be able to fight them."
"Yeah, I've heard about it too. It was pretty brutal. If not for Goddess Serenity, maybe all seven countries would have lost their armies. To think I will be heading out to face enemies like that. Sigh… Here I am, thinking I can just live out my days in peace."
"You are heading to the front line as well?" Jack asked.
"Of course, all combatants who are active members of the faction are required to go. With the world armies at shamble due to the wars, we league factions can no longer sit around twiddling our thumbs. Every one of us who can fight must fight!"
"That's good to hear, but don't push yourself too far, okay? Leave the dangerous parts to us, outworlders."
"That, I agree," Gruff laughed.
After chatting for a bit longer, the two parted ways. Gruff still had a lot to do. He was one of the senior officers in the faction. Though he wasn't considered strong compared to most of the upper management staff, he was good at management. Hence, Ragorth trusted him to be among the ones in charge of their people in the Themisphere branch.
Jack went to the colosseum room where the challenge stages were. He still saw some players here. These were players most likely still undecided about joining the war against the underworld forces, or they were here to strengthen themselves like him before the war.
He hoped it was the latter. If it was the former, he didn't have the time nor the heart to persuade them. Even if he could force them to go to the battlefield, it would be meaningless if they weren't willing to fight. They would just run at the first sign of trouble. Hence, he ignored these players.
Jack walked to the wall with the Roman numeral XCV. He touched the wall and disappeared. He came out into a space populated by four level 83 mythical lycans, sixteen level 86 rare elite lycans, and thirty level 90 special elite lycans.
These lycans were stronger and faster than the average werewolves. They also had a face more resembling a human than a wolf. While they still excelled at pack hunting style, they also had the cunningness of men. They cooperated well and exploited a weakness when they found it.
Jack brandished two swords since he couldn't use magic staff. He then used the War God Manifestation from the get-go.
"Let's do this," he said.
*
The battle didn't last long. With his current levels, skills, and abilities from his many legendary equipment, the battle was mostly one-sided. Even without Lightning God Blessing, he had more than enough arsenals to overpower those fifty lycans.
Without stopping, Jack barreled through the stages. When he entered stage 99, the fifty opponents he faced were five level 85 mythical armored lycans. Fifteen level 90 rare-elite armored lycans, and thirty level 95 special-elite armored lycans.
These armored lycans were larger than the lycans in previous stages and they all wore armor and carried weapons. The way they coordinated resembled well-trained soldiers. They moved in formation and utilized each other's positions to the fullest.
It took Jack a bit longer but eventually, he conquered this stage. When he came out, he noticed the other players were staring at him. He didn't think it was strange, considering he must be the first player to reach so high a stage.
These players didn't recognize Jack because he no longer wore his king outfit. They were wondering who this expert was. They didn't dare go near to look at his face because they didn't think a player who wore such an eye-catching armor to be anyone ordinary. They were right, this mysterious player was entering stages above stage 95 while they were still struggling around stage 60.
While they were still speculating about this expert's identity, they saw this player walk to the golden mural protruding out from this colosseum-like wall. This part of the wall was the only one that had a protruding part, and it was the only one with mural decoration in gold.
At the center of this protruding wall was a large letter C, also coated in gold. This was the wall to the last challenge stage, stage 100!
While they were still wondering if this mysterious expert would attempt the stage, they saw him extending his hand. His hand touched the wall with the golden mural. He turned into a flash of light and the light disappeared into the wall.
*
Inside the stage, Jack came out into a different space than the previous ones. In previous stages, his surroundings were always void. This time, there were things. He was standing in a large plaza, not unlike the Colosseum room outside. Around him were the circular walls. The difference was he could see the blue sky above.
As he was observing his surroundings, he sensed something appearing not far behind him. He turned and saw another armored lycan. This one was slimmer than the ones in previous stages. It had golden furs with a tint of red. Its eyes were two green orbs that stared sharply at Jack. It wore medium armor. In its two hands were a saber and an axe.
Jack looked around. Just one? No other enemies?
He used his Inspect on this single lycan.
*
Primordial Lycan (Eternal monster, Humanoid), level: 90
HP: 4,900,000
Strength: 5,104
Physical Defense: 7,350
Magical Defense: 5,460
*
Jack smiled. "All right, then."
