"Is it true that you don't have a backer and that your entire strength comes from your great luck?" The skinny man asked with a faint smile on his lips.
Michael's eyebrows furrowed deeply, but he didn't respond. What was that guy trying to do?
He was already a little confused and astonished to see two familiar idiots standing on the other side of the arena, but their appearance didn't irk him as much as the words of the young man. The way he spoke made him want to slap the skinny man.
"Some even said that you were simply fortunate with the Summon you obtained from your Fortune Summoning Scroll. They say that you have no skill and that the Will of the Origin Expanse looks after you!" The skinny man added, still smiling faintly.
"Who the hell are you?" Michael growled in annoyance.
He wanted to rest until his next battle would start, and not listen to an idiot rambling on and on without knowing anything.
"My name is Julian Spinne. Nice meeting you!"
"That was not what I meant," Michael retorted.
"What did you mean then?" Julian Spinne responded, still smiling.
"Who the hell are you…to think that I care about you enough to keep listening to your bullshit?" Michael asked, his voice as cold as ice.
Michael turned away from these words and left. Meanwhile, Julian Spinne stayed behind, the corner of his lip tilting upward.
"Looks like I hit a sore spot. That was easy." Julian mumbled to himself.
Michael sat down on a bench to rest. He was a little bit angry.
'Lucky? Fuck off! I worked my ass off to build my territory in the Untamed Jungle, knowing that everything I've worked for can be destroyed at any moment!'
Was Michael lucky? He was pretty sure that calling himself lucky was a gross exaggeration.
The Untamed Jungle was great to grow stronger in a short time, but it was even more dangerous. Too many powerful monsters resided in the Untamed Jungle, and they could destroy everything he had achieved by razing his territory within seconds.
As for the Fortune Summoning Scroll, summoning Fenrir had been quite helpful. But that was only the case because Michael turned Fenrir into a catalyst to stimulate his own growth. If he hadn't killed Fenrir by now, Cleave Fenrir would have grown powerful and killed him instead. That was something Michael could be certain about.
Fenrir had given him various memories related to combat, and the weakened version of his Soultrait. That was pretty nice. Furthermore, Fenrir had also given him Blaire Tracer, but the Tracker had caused him more trouble than offering help at first.
Was that luck? If it was, Michael didn't really feel lucky.
He was always surrounded by danger inside the Origin Expanse. His territory could be bulldozed at any moment. If a powerful Tier-2 monster charged into his territory, everything would be over.
They might have dealt with a few Tier-2 Monsters by now, but that was with scheming and dirty tricks.
Tier-2 Monsters were many times stronger than Peak Tier-1 Monsters. Even Tiara would have difficulties facing one head-on without her Soultrait, Artifacts, and the help of everyone else residing in the territory. She was only a Mid Tier-1 Battle Maid, after all.
Unfortunately, she was also the only Tier-1 subject in his territory.
Michael could only leave the Origin Expanse without worries because he knew how powerful Tiara was. He recalled her fights against the Lizards in the cave and felt that her extremely high combat prowess was reassuring to his mind.
However, it didn't change the fact that the Untamed Jungle could cause unforeseen chaos and destruction at any time.
One way or another, Michael didn't believe in the concept of luck. He knew that the Untamed Jungle was dangerous, yet with Extraction at his disposal, he could make use of the dangerous territory and turn it into a great opportunity.
Did that mean he was lucky?
It didn't really matter.
What mattered was that Michael was still alive and that he won against Niklas Liekhofen without breaking into a sweat. He finally got revenge on Niklas for everything Niklas did to him in the past. Michael had been weak-willed and afraid of the Liekhofen family's influence. However, that didn't worry him anymore.
He won the first fight of the Real Combat assessment easily, turning him into a savage beast, who didn't know any mercy.
And after seeing his performance, nobody dared to approach him on the bench, which was quite nice. It allowed him to rest in silence until it was time for his second battle.
Half an hour after his fight against Niklas Liekhofen, Michael was called up to the arena again.
"Michael Fang versus Annabelle Claire. Come up to arena three and prepare for battle!" The referee from arena three announced loudly.
Annabelle Claire arrived in arena three first. She manifested a bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right hand before she went into position.
Michael had seen Annabelle's first fight. Her archery skill was impeccable, and she defeated her opponent easily. Three arrows were all she needed to defeat an opponent of the same rank as her.
Michael was already a Tier-1 Lord, while she was at the Peak of Tier-0. This gave him an advantage from the get-go. Feeling confident about his archery skills, Michael summoned the Siltang Bow as he stepped into the arena.
To increase his ranking in the aptitude assessment and ensure that he would get accepted, he had to show off that he was a versatile combatant.
Michael also summoned the Onyx Dragon Armor set before he changed into combat stance.
He grasped the Siltang Bow tightly and waited patiently until the referee announced the start of the battle.
"Fight!!" The referee bellowed a few seconds after the two combatants changed into combat stance.
Annabelle reacted instantaneously. She shot to the side while nocking her arrow on the bowstring. Her eyes were fully focused on Michael as she pulled the bowstring back. The moment the bowstring was fully drawn out, she took aim for a quarter of a second and released the arrow.
'Fast!' Michael realized immediately.
He used the Arrow Creation enchantment of the Siltang Bow and manifested a simple arrow with little energy. It was already nocked on the bowstring and ready to be used. Michael pulled the bowstring back and fired immediately.
A loud twang rang through the arena as Michael released his arrow. The arrow shot through the air with terrific velocity. It collided with Annabelle's arrow in the next second and destroyed it.
Annabelle was baffled when she saw this, but her movements never slowed down. Two more arrows flew through the air, aimed at Michael's vital spots.
'I shouldn't underestimate her,' Michael told himself when he saw how calm and composed Annabelle was. She noticed that Michael's arrow had easily hit her arrow mid-air when it had been at full speed, but she did not let it influence her.
Instead of allowing Michael's shot to influence her mind, she released two more arrows to put pressure on Michael.
However, Michael faced the arrows calmly. He used Lesser Enhancement on his Onyx Dragon Armor Set and the Siltang Bow, strengthening the Artifacts by 20% respectively. Simultaneously, Michael used Eagle Eyes.
He predicted the trajectory of the two arrows and took a big stride ahead to evade them. Simultaneously, he channeled energy into the Siltang Bow to create another Arrow. The arrow consumed the same amount of energy as before, but it was a lot firmer this time.
Pulling the Siltang Bow's bowstring back, Michael realized that the required pulling force had increased by roughly 20% as well.
Michael released the arrow that cut through the air with much more force than before.
Annabelle's eyes widened when she saw the arrow and its ridiculously high velocity. She panicked for a moment but reacted instinctively.
Her gaze turned sharper, and her stance changed at once. The pressure Annabelle radiated intensified severalfold, and her movements became smoother.
She retrieved another arrow, nocked it on the bowstring, pulled it back, and fired.
All those actions happened in the same second.
The arrow she had released was not extremely powerful but it was aimed precisely. It hit Michael's arrow from beneath, altering its trajectory, and ending the attack that could have cost Annabelle her life.
Michael raised an eyebrow when he saw the changes occurring to Annabelle, and he changed his approach to the fight once again.
'Did she just activate her Soultrait?'
