A man was seen lording over a battle ring.
He was sitting on a chair placed at the highest altitude from the battle ring at the audience's bay. There was no audience watching the fights taking place inside the battle ring. The man sitting on the throne was the sole viewer and judge of the competition.
This man had a kind of wild air around him.
He had a side-swept haircut with peculiar tattoos covering his sideburns. He had a thick mane-like beard that reached his belly button. He had woven his beard hair into thick locks, giving him a pro-testosterone look.
Even while he was sitting, one could tell that he was at least 8 feet tall and massive overall. He had muscular arms and huge biceps. His legs were the muscular marvel of human anatomy.
The man was carrying a huge broadaxe on his back. A simple round shield and a relatively small axe were also attached to either side by his waist. A sword was also seen strapped to his right side. To put it simply, he treated the weapons as if they were jewelry and adorned them as much as he could.
The man was only wearing a set of shoulder guards that did nothing to hide his muscular torso. He was also wearing arm bracers made of thick beast hide.
He had wrapped a thick beast hide around his waist. He wore tattered brown pants with a dragon scale pattern.
This man was none other than Ivar Ironside - the Lionheart.
He was still serving as the grand duke of the Edinburgh kingdom even after his real body had left the world of Anfang. This version of Ivar was the remnant of his soul that was granted a mana body with the help of an array to judge the participants.
Ivar Ironside was one of the exceptional rankers of his time on the land of Anfang because of his berserking potential. He later took a close combat expert class and proved his mettle once again.
What the general populace didn't know was the fact that Ivar had again shifted to being a berserker after recovering from a serious injury. He had also dabbled a bit in potioning, creating his own brand of berserking concoctions that were all the rage in his time.
This man was the reason why the Lionheart duchy specialized in producing top berserkers and close combat experts. His interest in the field of potioning influenced LA to cater to potioners' needs as well.
Ivar had proved his mettle and was currently judging the young participants who had come to claim his legacy. The man kept things straightforward by pitting the participants against each other. He just told them to fight each other without worrying about wins or losses.
The participants didn't know what to do at first when they heard Ivar's unclear instructions after they were all summoned inside the giant battle ring. But then someone launched a sudden attack on the ranker standing beside him and all hell broke loose inside the ring.
The man who had launched an attack on his fellow participants without a moment's delay had come to understand Sage's intentions just fine. Ivar wanted to see people either beating other people up or receiving a beating themselves.
Various battles started taking place in the battle ring at the same time.
The participants started fighting each other without a set pattern. They just chose their opponents and battled with them until one of them was neutralized. The winner would then move on to fight the next opponent.
Ivar didn't even say that he would pass on his legacy to the last man standing inside the battle ring. With an emotionless face, he judged the winners and losers as if there wasn't any difference between them.
Ivar was particularly interested in the ranker who had started the chaos inside the battle ring as soon as he received the instructions. The man's emerald-green eyes would strike fear into the hearts of his opponents.
When this man attacked, he aimed to kill. When he played defense, he seemed untouchable. He could seamlessly shift between various battle styles. He could act as a close combat expert when he needed to. His mid-range attacks made him come across as a berserker when he wanted to.
He beat every ranker that stood against him. As a result, the participants started grouping against him. Even then, they could not register a complete win against him.
"That's… that's a good move."
Ivar Ironside mumbled to himself as he watched the performance Eren was showcasing for him. The butcher had understood that the object of the test was not to score wins after wins against his opponents. It was to show one's aggression as a ranker, no matter which class one belonged to.
Therefore, Eren started attacking his opponents ferociously. He didn't care if they died or survived after he was done with them. He tried to grab Sage's attention by doing what he knew best- butchering people up.
So it should come as no surprise that Ivar was very impressed by Eren's performance on the test. He watched Eren's performance silently and came to understand that the guy had walked in the same shoes as him.
'He is a berserker… or was a berserker in the past. And he is an equally competent close combat expert in the present.'
Ivar could decipher Eren's apparent moves easily. The vestige of his soul was also updated with the current happenings in the kingdom. Therefore, he knew Eren was also known to be a potioner. The guy had a legit potioner's license to boot and was running a successful potion industry.
'He… he is just like me.'
Ivar Ironside's eyes shone as he made a decision. The butcher didn't even have to finish the group he was fighting. The Sage Berserker clapped his hand once and everyone inside the battle ring disappeared. All except Eren.
Butcher was not surprised that he had resolved the matter for Ivar Ironside's test so quickly. He smiled and bowed at the Sage, expecting his guidance in return.
