The tense situation in the Ulran Arena was solved rather easily at the end of the day.
The Chieftain of the Berserker race appeared in the arena, and intervened before anything bad could happen. He merely released his pressure to restrict the humans and end the battle between Mekhaz and Peter Gramm.
"You must be the descendant of Zeus," The Chieftain, also known as Librarian by Michael, addressed Killian without a change in his expression.
The Chieftain was eerily calm, and it was impossible to read his train of thoughts from his face.
"That's me," Killian responded while taking deep breaths.
The Chieftain's presence still weighed heavily on Killian, restraining his movements drastically.
"Leave the arena and stay in the hotel until the Battle Exchange starts," The Chieftain ordered in a calm yet commanding voice.
Killian wanted to say something but speaking took a whole lot of effort right now. His mind had trouble gathering his thoughts and blood trickled onto the ground from his nose. But he was still faring well when compared to his subordinates who had collapsed onto the ground, bleeding from their ears, nose and eyes.
"We will leave… Just retract your presence…" Killian agreed reluctantly. The anger surging through his mind was like a blazing inferno but he forcefully swallowed all of it. Facing the Chieftain was not something Killian was capable of…not yet at least.
The pressure encasing the Ulran Arena dispersed, releasing Killian and his group at last. Killian got up from the ground. He glared at Michael since he was unable to unleash his anger toward the Chieftain. But he didn't do anything. Instead, a smile crept up on his lips.
"Beg for mercy! Plead that you won't face me or my people during the Battle Exchange, otherwise, you'll be shipped back crippled, and in a cage, like the rat you are," He cursed.
Michael raised an eyebrow, but he didn't feel like lowering his strength and holding himself back to be on par with Killian Zeus. Michael merely smiled without saying a word.
Killian and his group got up from the ground and left the Ulran Arena, not daring to look at the Chieftain as they passed by next to him.
'Is that how strong I have to become before others stop looking down at me?' Michael wondered seeing how easily the Berserker Chieftain suppressed some of the descendants of mankind's strongest families.
Killian and the others were still young, and they would grow rapidly in the next few years, but they were still descendants of powerful and highly influential families. Suppressing them as easily as the Berserker Chieftain was something Michael could only dream about with his current strength.
The Chieftain retrieved a small book. He turned a few pages and wrote down something before he glanced over to Thaor. As his gaze moved past Michael he halted in his tracks. A trace of surprise gleamed in his eyes.
"I think you should return as well," He said.
Michael didn't react immediately. Was he just imagining it, or was the Chieftain disappointed? Well, Michael was disappointed as well. He couldn't really deny that. But weren't fights between the strongest Awakened of the younger generation quite normal? Everyone thought that they were the strongest, only to end up facing someone, who had a natural advantage against you.
Fights were normal. Unfortunately, the way Killian Zeus handled the situation did not mean it was a normal fight anymore. It was a clear provocation and a warning for all Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs.
That was what disappointed the Chieftain.
After understanding the situation, Michael nodded his head. He looked back to take a look at Thaor, whose body had been fully regenerated. Thaor was still a little dizzy and affected by the aftermath of high voltage lightning currents coursing through his body for several minutes, but he would survive and heal without any permanent damage.
Michael took the stairs that led to the entrance and was just about to leave when Mekhaz's voice rang through the arena.
"If I may say something, Chieftain…" Mekhaz began, barely waiting until the Chieftain looked over to him before he continued, "I hope you can let Michael train with us."
Some Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs standing near Michael nodded their heads in unison. Thaor spoke up as well, "I agree with Mekhaz."
The Chieftain was a little surprised. He didn't expect someone to speak up for Michael.
In the first place, he was unsure what Michael was doing in the Ulran Arena with the descendants of the Zeus family. He met Michael in the library two days ago, and their interaction gave him some understanding of Michael's personality. It was hard to imagine Michael working together with someone like Killian Zeus and his subordinates. Their personalities would clash way too often.
Nonetheless, the Chieftain put aside his personal opinion of Michael and turned to Mekhaz. He had yet to gain a full understanding of the situation.
"Why do you want Michael to stay? I expected you wouldn't want to have another human near you after this…encounter," The Chieftain said, intentionally stressing the words 'human' and 'encounter'.
"Michael is a good guy. We met him earlier, and he earned my respect," Mekhaz started, only for Thaor to interrupt, "I fought Michael, and I respect him as well. He is not like this lightning freak."
Mekhaz frowned at Thaor for interrupting him, but he nodded toward the Chieftain before he continued.
"Most of us have Soultraits, which are closely tied to physical boosts, power enhancement, aura creation, and armament manifestation. We don't have anyone with mental attacks, nor many Awakened with Elemental-type Soultraits. Michael, on the other hand, has everything. We need him, otherwise, we will have a hard time finding our problems, adjusting to our weaknesses, and fixing our problems before the Battle Exchange starts."
"Fighting Peter Gramm wasn't too much of a problem. Defeating him would be a little bit annoying, but it's not impossible. As long as I use my secret technique, I could defeat him. However, this Killian Zeus and his bolts of lightning are different. My Living Armor can weaken them, but the bolts of lightning can easily pierce through my armor, rendering most of our defenses useless. His Soultraits and combat style is…different than ours."
"And this young human can help you fix your problems?" The Chieftain asked, only for Michael to add another question aimed at Mekhaz.
"How do you know that I have a Soultrait that affects your mind?"
He didn't really try to hide Spirit Whip, but Michael couldn't recall having used Spirit Whip on Thaor or anyone else in the Ulran Arena.
Mekhaz looked at him, just to smile without saying a single word to explain himself. Michael pressed his lips together, trying to suppress a sigh.
'Did I just expose myself, or did he already know?'
Meanwhile, Thaor nodded grimly at the Chieftain's questions. Even the other Berserkers, and Warlock Centaurs who had witnessed Michael's battle against Thaor nodded in agreement.
If anyone could help them learn more about long-range Soultraits and Elemental Soultraits, it was Michael. He might not be a Tier-3 Lord, but he had enough Soultraits to switch between various combat styles. It was hard to find someone like Michael, let alone convince him to help out. After all, many races considered each other rivals even if they were in the same Alliance. Some sort of competition existed everywhere.
Fortunately enough, Michael didn't really care about mundane things such as competition between allies. Having a rival and friendly competition was nice, but he wouldn't go as far as hating the others for competing with one another.
Seeing how everyone agreed to train with Michael, the Chieftain couldn't hide his surprise. He had researched Michael a little before but hadn't been interested enough to start a thorough investigation. Michael was just a young Awakened of the human race, and not worth more of his attention. Even the goods in Michael's possession hadn't been enough to pique the Chieftain's interest. He was busy enough with his work in the library, and the preparations for the Battle Exchange.
However, now that he saw dozens of Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs show their respect toward Michael his opinion changed considerably. It was not difficult for human Fletchlings to attain the status of a Warrior. But the same couldn't be said about earning the respect of a Champion, a former Champion, and dozens of Warriors. That was a lot different.
The Chieftain grew more curious and he made a mental note to request Michael's data from the Saphirelake Military Academy.
Michael noticed the subtle change in the Chieftain's expression and quickly interfered.
"I would like to learn more about the physical traits and instinctive-based fighting styles of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. It should help me a lot for the Battle Exchange, and in future encounters against races with similar traits – whether it is during the Flag War, or in the Origin Expanse. By helping Mekhaz and Thaor I will gain a lot as well. It's a fair exchange."
"You will encounter all kinds of enemies in the Flag War. Tekur is a neutral race that can awaken all kinds of Soultraits. Once their War Rune manifests and their Soultrait is awakened, they focus their whole attention on building a foundation around their Soultraits. But that is obvious since that makes them even stronger and more dangerous. After all, their techniques are on a different level than ours. The Interdimensional Flag War is merely a playground for the youngest generation to gain some combat experience. They won't even send their prodigies since the Flag War is of no interest to them," The Chieftain explained, providing Michael with some pieces of information he didn't know beforehand.
Looking at the Berseker, whom he had first gotten to know in the library, Michael felt that the librarian's attitude had changed once again. From being overly talkative in the library to trying to contain his anger, only to revert back to his talkative self, he kept seeing varying types of behavior. Nonetheless, something was different.
Was it curiosity that Michael sensed? He was not too sure.
"In that case, do whatever you want. Just don't stir any trouble. I don't want more issues before the Battle Exchange starts," The Chieftain remarked before he left without saying another word.
He disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared. Michael couldn't even thank the Chieftain for separating Killian and his group from the rest and not letting the dispute escalate.
After the Chieftain left, Michael and the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs started to train.
The following five days passed in the blink of an eye. Michael barely got any sleep. He was either in the Ulran Arena to train, or he rested and tried to comprehend the language he had learned by resting a few minutes in the Origin Expanse. Then he practiced his body refinement technique, improved his mastery of the energy absorption technique, and kept progressing in his mind refinement degree.
Sparring with the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs helped him a lot to improve rapidly. Not only did he gain a better understanding of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs but he also understood their racial traits, their strong points, and weaknesses.
Last but not least, Michael gained the most by being under heavy pressure fighting the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. The pressure allowed him to breakthrough and increase his proficiency with his Soultraits.
Within five days, Michael grew a lot stronger.
He felt that he was slowly improving himself and getting ready for the Battle Exchange.
No, he was definitely ready for the Battle Exchange!
[A/N: It's me, the author. I hope you've been enjoying reading Supreme Lord as much as I enjoy writing the story. It has been a rough journey for me, but I hope I could deliver an enjoyable story until now. First of all, I wanted to ask if the story is progressing nicely, or if there are major flaws that have to be fixed ASAP. If you found something that bothered you excessively don't hesitate. Write it down in the comments and inform me. I can only improve the story with your help ;D]
