"What's with these guys and looking at me?" Nox muttered under his breath as he caught the gaze of the Light Princess, who was now looking at him with an innocent smile on her face. Nox found this action very strange. There were thousands of people in the audience stands, and somehow, two people—Elise of the Inferno Kingdom and now Lumi of the Light Kingdom—had made eye contact with him on purpose. Were they paying attention to him? Did he reveal too much during his fight against the Wind Dragons? 'That could be it,' Nox thought as he rested his head on his palm while staring at the princess, who continued to stare at him without taking her eyes off him. Elise had been very brief and wasn't too obvious; however, Lumi went overboard and even started to wave at Nox while beaming a bright smile, which Nox found to be extremely cute. "Hey, do you know her from somewhere?" Fenix furrowed his brows in confusion as he asked. Then he shook his head. It couldn't be. "I think she watched your match and somehow became a fan." Nox yawned. "I hope that's it." He narrowed his eyes and added, 'And I hope she's also normal up there.' Those gem-like eyes were mesmerizing, but they were also unsettling. Nox had heard in his past life that when someone appeared too beautiful, they could seem creepy and off-putting. Looking at the fighting platform, he couldn't help but feel the description perfectly fit this scenario. --- 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺 "Tsk, she's not only childish but also arrogant," someone from the Shadow Kingdom sneered, their face twisting in annoyance as they noticed Lumi wasn't acknowledging their presence. Nyxirith didn't seem bothered by this as the officiator was explaining the rules. She took this opportunity to glance in the direction where her opponent had been looking and saw Kawl. She had watched his fight like the others, and though she was a bit curious, she didn't regard him as much of a threat in this competition. Soon, the match officiator was done and distanced himself, like usual. As he stepped away, Lumi beamed an innocent smile as she looked at Nyxirith and her teammates. "Guys," she clasped her hands together enthusiastically, her pleasant, childish voice echoing, "please take it easy on Lumi. She's just a child. Don't be like big brother Kawl. If you can do that, I promise to give you candy." She concluded with a low bow, saying, "Thank you." Nyxirith listened with an unreadable expression on her face, her thoughts unknown. "Tell me this is a joke?" The same Shadow Dragons suddenly chuckled, a mix of annoyance and amusement in his tone. "Candy? Seriously? It seems you didn't learn anything from the previous matches. Allow me to enlighten you." A cruel expression appeared on his face as shadows slowly covered his feet and legs, then he surged forward. "Wait!" Nyxirith tried to stop her teammate, but it was already too late. He had appeared before Lumi in the blink of an eye, a shadowy fist barreling toward the little girl with the intent to crush her—causing the air to ripple. FWIISH BOOM! The fist missed its target. Lumi was suddenly airborne; she appeared graceful a few feet away from where she had been before. However, the shockwave of the attack blew back her white robe, causing it to flutter in the air. "Bastard! You dare attack our little Lumi?!" The expressions of the other Light team members turned ugly. "Tsk, this is a competition. I'd do it again if I had the chance," that Shadow Dragon sneered. "If anything, she should be glad that punch didn't touch her. If it had, I'm afraid that little pretty face would be unrecognizable by now." A deep frown appeared on Lumi's face as she shouted in a tiny voice, "Everyone, attack!" At her command, the Light team surged forward, half-transformed. BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! Light and shadow flashes clashed repeatedly in the middle, sending shockwaves spreading out in all directions. Both teams were very swift and powerful—most of the audience could merely see flashes of light and darkness. Unlike the previous matches, none of the participants took on full dragon form. Nox's eyes gleamed. He knew the reason for this all too well. In this kind of competition, one would think taking on their full dragon form gave them an edge. However, it was actually a liability. By only altering some parts of their bodies, they could move more efficiently and strike with blows several times more powerful—inflicting more damage than using their fangs and claws in their full form. --- Shing! Shing! Nyxirith slashed fiercely with the shadow sword in her grasp. Her opponent was naturally Lumi. Unlike the rest of her teammates, she didn't underestimate the little girl—hence, as soon as the fight started, she went directly for her. A deep frown appeared on Nyxirith's face. In the last two minutes, she had been on the offensive, constantly attacking, and the little girl had gracefully dodged each of her attacks—and even made it appear easy. 'And those orbs… what do they do?' The Shadow Princess narrowed her eyes, her gaze locked on the floating crystal orbs of light orbiting her opponent. This was one of the reasons she hadn't used any of her destructive skills—she was being cautious of the orbs. Cunning bastard, King Dracos clicked his tongue for the umpteenth time. He could tell the Light Monarch had purposely kept his daughter out of the public's scrutiny to prevent anyone from discovering her skills and abilities. At that moment, Nyxirith decided to take a risk. Her shadow sword pulsed with a powerful dark resonance, making all the shadows in the arena react strangely. The air became heavy with a suffocating pressure that could be felt by all the fighters—including the spectators. "My shadow—why is it going towards that sword?!" "Mine too! Holy shit, what is she doing?!" Nox shifted in his seat, watching as his shadow disappeared from beneath him, rushing toward the arena and the shadowy sword in Nyxirith's grasp. At first, he thought it was only his shadow—but soon realized it wasn't. Thousands of shadows were being devoured by Nyxirith's sword, and it was growing larger with each passing moment. Everyone held their breath and leaned forward. They could feel it… the Shadow Princess was about to unleash a powerful skill. "You have potential, and I'd like to fight you some more, but I need to win this competition!" Nyxirith declared as her sword descended like a black meteor on Lumi, ignoring the floating crystal orbs. "Tsk, mistake." King Thomas shook his head in disappointment as he saw the Shadow Princess's action. *** Guys this is the synopsis of my next novel what do you think about it? I already have good stock already. [Ding! You have extracted the Dragon Empress's unborn child. Do you wish to claim it as a pet?] [Ding! You have extracted all the impurities from the Starlight Sword. Its rank has been upgraded from Epic to Legendary!] [Ding! You have extracted the skill: Lightning Judgment Lv100.] … After dying at the hands of the God of Destruction, Gabriel found himself in the body of an insignificant character in the game Realm of Ascendancy, before its launch and convergence with reality. Witnessing the world being obliterated before his eyes, along with his friends and family, Gabriel swore to make a difference in this timeline. Armed with the God-tier Extraction Talent, follow him as he uses his knowledge of the game's future to manipulate both NPCs and players, turning them into powerful lackeys who will lay down their lives for him without hesitation. And all he needed to do was fulfill the unique condition set by the mysterious goddess who granted him a second chance. "The skills of those you kill? Yours." "Their strength, their talent, their souls? Yours." "Their loot? Yours." "Their class? Yours!" "The resources of the universe? Yours!" "Their experience points? Yours!" "You will devour the power of the strong and rise beyond the heavens." "Kill, KILL, KILL, KILL! Kill everything that blocks your path—monsters, humans, gods, whatever! Slaughter them and extract!!"