"Did I faint?" Michael murmured as his heavy eyelids opened slowly.
He looked up at the ceiling of the Underground Colosseum and forced a wry smile on his face. The last thing he remembered was his attempt to unleash Extraction to extract the oxygen in his surroundings to extinguish the Blazing Inferno. Unfortunately, he had grossly underestimated the power of the two Peak Tier-3 Lords and ended up draining his energy storage near-instantaneously before the searing hot flames of the inferno reached him.
He collapsed right after.
'It doesn't look like much time has passed. Did I black out for a few seconds?' Michael wondered as he got up from the ground.
Alice was still tending to Kaleb, but she glanced over at him every few seconds. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw Michael getting up from the ground, and she returned her full focus to her little brother.
"Please don't strain yourself too much. I will take care of your wounds in no time!" A young woman in her mid-20s appeared next to Michael, releasing a strong healing current that washed over his whole body.
Michael looked down at his body for the first time, only to see that most of his clothes had burned along with his skin. However, the most disgusting was that the skin beneath his Spirit Armor Set was now glued to it. Michael tried to loosen the Spirit Armor Set but he quickly noticed that he had to rip out his skin to remove the Spirit Armor Set.
Michael considered doing that, but he changed his opinion when he sensed that his energy storage was replenished enough to extract the Spirit Armor Set. He pressed his flat hand against the chestplate of his Spirit Armor Set and exerted Extraction. A thin golden membrane shrouded the Spirit Armor Case before it disappeared inside the War Rune's storage space.
The young healer was a little bit surprised seeing how easily Michael detached the armor set from his molten skin, but she sighed in relief seeing that he didn't rip the Spirit Armor Set out of his body like a brute. That made her job much easier.
Michael ignored the pain spreading throughout his body as he moved. He put on a new set of loose pants and a comfortable shirt all while his gaze moved through the Underground Colosseum.
It shouldn't have been a full minute since their fight ended considering that the fights in the other combat rings were not over yet, but something seemed to have changed. The dynamic in the other combat rings had been disrupted, and nobody seemed to be paying attention to their own fights. Their full attention was lingering on the Best Mix Team and the Blazing Sun team.
Michael and his team might have lost, but none of the gazes thrown in his direction were filled with ridicule or boredom. On the contrary, the gazes that fell onto him were full of excitement, curiosity, and seriousness. It looked like everyone wanted to fight the Best Mix team even though they'd just lost.
The Underground Colosseum was deadly silent. Only occasional comments of the attending healer resounded in the Colosseum. However, even those didn't instigate others to start talking again.
"It looks like we underestimated your team. To think that a team with three Awakened at the 2nd Tier was strong enough to defeat three members of our team. You guys did a really good job countering our tactic," A young woman with blazing red hair said, breaking the silence as she approached Michael and Kaleb.
The woman was Maria Wang, the leader of the Blazing Sun team, and the heir of the Wang Family. She manifested the 6-Star Soultrait Blazing Sun, a Soultrait that was said to be able to create a flame as hot as the Sun. Michael was not too sure about that, but he clearly recalled the blazing flames burning him alive rapidly. It had been more than just a little bit hot.
"The two of you did a great job…or should I say that your combination of Soultraits and Artifacts did a great job?" Sera Kani remarked as she appeared to Maria's right side.
Both Maria and Sera were the only members of the Blazing Sun team, who didn't sustain any injuries. However, they were the most prideful, and it wounded their pride to win against the Best Mix team by a small margin. They ought to be dominating the Best Mix team rather than struggling the entire match to win. Something had gone terribly wrong, and it looked like they were searching for excuses right after the battle.
"Artifacts and Soultraits are part of our power if that's what you're trying to get at. But you're correct. We did great at combining our powers," Kaleb said, holding his head as he got up from the ground.
He regained his senses when Maria Wang approached them. It didn't require much intelligence to see and hear that Sera Kani was displeased about the result of the battle. But Kaleb could understand them. The power he unleashed thanks to Lokai's overclocked Burning Fury, and Michael's weird power that strengthened his Legendary Ice Staff by more than 150% was terrifying. Kaleb had never felt that much power before. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.
"You can store the Power of Soultraits in your ring, right?" Maria Wang asked Michael, pointing at the crimson ring with the Red Dragon emblem. Michael didn't answer immediately, which Sera Kani used as an opportunity to add, "It's a Legendary-rank Artifact, ain't it?"
Once again, Michael didn't comment. However, both Maria and Sera regarded his silence as an affirmation.
"A Legendary Ring Artifact that stores the Power of Soultraits…That's quite rare," Alice mumbled to herself, eavesdropping on the conversation between the youngsters as she continued to tend to her brother.
"My family wasn't able to procure a good Tier-3 Artifact yet. But I took a liking to your Legendary Ring Artifact. How about selling it to me?" Sera Kani asked, her hand already reaching out for Dragon Might.
Michael pulled his hand back and furrowed his brows and she would have seen it… if his eyebrows hadn't burned alongside his hair.
It was only at this moment when Kaleb realized that Michael's hair was no more. He burst into laughter while pointing at his friend's head.
"You are allowed to grow hair, you know? Michael, you should really avoid flames for the next few months, otherwise, your hair might never grow back. But now that I think about it…maybe being bald is your fate!"
Kaleb's comment alongside his loud laughing was loud enough to resound throughout the whole Underground Colosseum. In response, Michael subconsciously touched his bald head, a heavy sigh escaping his lips when he realized that he was actually bald again.
'I just grew back some hair…is that a bad joke, or something??'
Michael began to curse in his mind, ignoring Sera Kani, who was still trying to reach out for his hand.
"Oii. I asked you something. Don't ignore me, baldhead!" Sera shouted in frustration when she was unable to catch his hand.
Michael froze in his tracks the moment 'baldhead' resounded in the combat ring, and he turned back to the young woman.
"Hold your damn horses right there," Michael growled, numerous curses flashing through his mind, "First of all, why would I sell my Legendary Ring Artifact to anyone when I need it myself? Second, and most importantly, everyone even remotely responsible for my loss of hair would get nothing except a beating."
Michael didn't care whether Sera Kani or Maria Wang belonged to a big noble house, or some other influential household as his words tumbled out of his mouth. He was slowly getting angry at losing his hair whenever it was about to regrow. Michael couldn't even remember if it was the third or fourth time he ended up as a baldie. He didn't even look that great without hair. It was frustrating and saddening.
"Beating me? You could barely defeat some of our members only because of Kaleb and his 7-Star Soultrait. Don't overestimate yourself, baldhead!" Sena Kari shouted, completely forgetting about the Legendary Ring Artifact. Her cheeks were red and she continued to point at Michael and stare at his smooth, round head.
"Just try and fight me. I will beat you up at any time!" She chided, only to squeal aloud as Maria Wang pulled her back.
"Either way. You guys did a great job. I didn't expect your Frozen Nova to be that powerful. It looks like your strength will skyrocket once you advance to Tier-3. I will probably have evolved to a Higher Lifeform by then, but you can try and fight me. I want to see if my Burning Sun can burn through your Frozen Nova!" Maria Wang praised Kaleb before she turned around, ignoring Michael after he said that he wouldn't sell the Legendary Ring Artifact to them.
"I will definitely beat you!" Kaleb promised, just to glance at Michael before he added, "We will beat you two together!"
Sera Kani stopped in her tracks and turned her head to Kaleb, but she couldn't utter a single word as Maria pulled her along, dragging her away from the combat rings.
Left alone, Michael sighed deeply. He looked at the Legendary Ring Artifact and smiled lightly. He knew that Accessory Artifacts were rather rare, especially Accessory Artifacts with unique abilities such as Dragon Might. It could unleash a dragon's might to a certain extent, and store the Power of Soultraits for later use. The storage capacity was extremely high thanks to the ring being a Legendary Artifact, which further increased its value.
It was likely to be of equal value as Kaleb's Legendary Ice Staff. Maybe, it was worth even more.
Michael and Kaleb joked a little bit with each other now that they found a good target to provoke – Sera Kani. Meanwhile, Alice stared at Michael for quite a while.
It took her a few seconds but when Michael glanced over to her, Alice spoke out what had been lingering on her mind since the start of the Best Mix team's first battle.
"So…you have an Ice Soultrait?"
