Chapter 394

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"The 8th stage?"

Monk looks back at Maria as he leads us out.

"I'm not sure, I've never seen anyone face it. It's probably better that way."

Each of us nods and doesn't reply after that note. We follow Monk, walking out of the fortress and regaining our mana sense.

Our rings of concealment and alteration activate the moment we step out from the dark tunnel.

Abby and Maria's faces light up as they take their first breaths of both mana and Qi-infused air.

"Feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Sure does..."

The walk back to the arena goes pretty quickly. Although my mind is still racing through possibilities of how to set up a business with Bri, and the potential offer Lith will give me tomorrow morning; once the sounds of the yelling crowds hit my ears, my brain switches gears.

I will have to save up a lot of money for startup costs if I want to do all of this on my own. Farming every single material for crafts may not always be feasible, I'll have to pay a team to farm for me. It may not seem optimized on a small scale when I can do everything myself, but I have to think bigger...

So, the mission right now is to make as much money as possible before my fight, and practice my Qi to its upper limits during my actual time in the ring.

Maria and I put on our black and white masks, while Abby just stays content with her ring of alteration.

"Masks are too stuffy, I don't need an extra layer of disguise just to look cool."

Monk gets a chuckle out of her line.

The four of us walk through the crowds of people in the lobby and make our way behind the registration and down the steps to the training rooms.

The announcer's voice is echoing through the stadium as usual, hyping up some of the last remaining midday fights while the sky above begins to shift from the golden yellow sunset to a black sky with twinkling stars.

Mr. Wright greets us as we make our way down, and his eyes practically light up with joy when he sees yet another fighter appear from nowhere next to the three others that broke record high numbers in the fight arena last night.

"Do we have another future legacy fighter on our hands?"

I nod, grinning under my mask and replying.

"Yeah, it'd be best to put all of us into the later rounds. You're in for another great showing tonight, I believe."

We mark our names, and Abby gets registered last minute without even having to throw her punch on the block upstairs.

"If you're attending with this group, I assume you're more than strong enough to handle yourself, Ms. Emerald Warrior."

Abby smiles and turns away, and Maria does too.

Monk and I follow close behind, we walk over to where the usual legacy fighters are standing by the teleport platform.

He speaks up with his arms crossed.

"I'm curious to see how they perform in the ring today. They seemed to be of a similar strength to you when you first awakened, let's see how they deal with real enemies in front of them."

I cross my arms as well, replying as we come to a halt to look up at the holographic display of the final midday fight taking place.

"That's right, we will see."

As the final match ends, and even more people pile in above us in the arena, Max, Sia, and Ace walk over to greet us.

Max, the shield, looks at all of us together and just smiles and shakes his head.

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