4 THE SUPREMACY OF THE BEST

Everyone looked immediately at where Glax pointed, and this also meant that Proctius had to act. He started down the mound calmly. Everything about him exuded self-confidence and imminent danger. The countless turns of braids around his neck, too.

'Oh, shit. And to think that the art director at Dynamoth thought he was an alpha male. He never saw one in his life, but I would definitely like to introduce him to Proctius,' he thought wickedly. Guys like the art director who talked about the 'betas' with contempt, as if he were a great wavemaker... pff.

Proctius' eyes, however, were fixed on him.

Or rather, the 16 tokens on his neck.

'This was a good time for my cheat to manifest. Come on, it can't be just that! I cannot have transmigrated to such a place with no condition of survival! Where's the system?!'

Glax's gaze wasn't on the bald warrior's deadly stare, but on the weapon in his hand.

At that moment, a huge thing flew past Glax, like a blur. Only later did he understand the blot was the body of the other warrior with whom Rasmus fought. His friend had thrown him away with a roar and the man landed like a sack of bricks against some bushes.

As soon as Glax blinked, the warrior to his left advanced towards him, with a cinematic leap, and the spear aimed perfectly at his bare chest.

"IGH!" More by instinct and reflexes than by a conscious act, Glax turned to the side, feeling the air shift when the warrior landed in the place where he was just moments away, with the spear almost stuck in the ground.

It was bigger than him, and Glax delivered the first blow with his sword, using the opportunity since he was practically behind his attacker's back. He more or less aimed at the head, delivering an upward blow, but the warrior turned at the last moment, dodging and bringing the spear to defend himself.

Glax sensed when the blade of his short sword struck the phalanx of his opponent's fingers, clinging to the spear shaft. The blade opened its way through skin, flesh, and bones. Instinctively, he pulled the blade back.

His gaze went to the warrior's face first, rather than the hand he cut. The warrior's pale eyes narrowed, the muscles in his face contracted.

But it wasn't a howl of pain that Glax heard. It was a howl of rage.

The warrior jumped forward to attack Glax, changing his spear to the other hand, but he soon bent to the pain of his fingers held only by tendons.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other guy standing up and approaching.

'Oh shit. I better adapt to this world quickly. I cannot hesitate or I will die in less than 24 hours after arriving!'

He raised his sword again, feeling his body take on an automatic defense position, and he didn't like all the proximity that his short-range weapon offered, making him a very easy target for his opponents.

Rasmus parried the spear of the second free warrior with his club, muttering breathlessly.

"Defend the booty, Glax! Retreat!"

'Uh, nice word for 'run away!' So this is how one never runs away,' he thought, using the sword to attack the side of the enemy occupied with Rasmus.

Compared to those tall guys, he felt small, but in his favor, he was fast. Even though he hadn't planned it, his first blow landed on the warrior's forearm, causing him to drop the spear.

Glax grabbed his opponent's spear, a little awkwardly. Proctius was coming towards him, ignoring the rest. Glax was his target.

'Retreat seems like a wise word, now...' he would not be able to survive that psycho with a menacing gleam in his eyes if it all came down to melee combat.

With a sword in one hand and a spear in the other, he didn't know how to use any. But he must have looked more threatening than ever, for Proctius raised an eyebrow in surprise. Ironic, but surprised.

Glax shrugged, and also raised his eyebrows, implying that, unfortunately, Proctius would have to face him.

The bald warrior laughed. They were at least twenty centimeters apart in height. Proctius then opened his arms like a boxing champion, also shrugging, with a smile. And made a sign with his finger, showing that he accepted the challenge and awaited Glax's attack.

'Ha. Keep waiting. I can stay here all night.' It hadn't escaped him that Proctius's smile was even more menacing. He had pointed teeth like a dog!

All he could do was try to buy time, and he backed up to the terrain elevation where Proctius had come from. Rasmus's suggestion to run was tempting, but at the same time, he would feel completely useless if he left the guy alone, injured, with four opponents.

Rasmus might be hurt, but that only seemed to inflate his fury more. He let go of his opponent with a slam that knocked him against the rising warrior, making a strike.

Glax had no time to exult, and Rasmus was running towards him and Proctius, and with a flying shot, he hit the scary champion in the back.

Proctius stumbled and tried to rotate his body to keep from falling, but that was not enough. Rasmus had landed on top of him for a moment, but immediately jumped away, shouting at Glax,

"I SAID! RETREAT!"

He stood between Glax and his opponents, starting a retreat without turning his back. Glax tried to imitate the stance of the big warrior.

Proctius showed his anger, and so were the other guys.

"AGHHH!" Proctius rose with an arch of his body, and the two friends looked at each other.

Rasmus shook his head, and urged Glax to go one way while he went the other. It was possibly the only way to avoid facing four excellent warriors at once.

Glax darted up the side of the small island, through the fog, feeling the warm ground under the sole of his sandals, as he ran to the other side of the island. He knew it was small because he had seen it all over the place when he was in the old tower with the lightning rod.

He could hear his stalker running after him. When he reached the top of the slope, Glax saw some ruins on the other side. Although he could choose to run to the meadow or to the springs, he hoped the walls would give him some advantage.

'I must thank the old Glax for having good lungs and incredible stamina,' he thought wryly as he glanced around looking for a good hiding place.

If it depended on the old Matt, a sedentary nerd who has never endured more than a round in a basketball game, he would already have a spear in his back. But his new legs were strong and his lungs made no effort. With that advantage, he reached the ruins much earlier than his pursuers.

Even relying only on the moonlight to illuminate the ruins, he was aware that it was a group of buildings with a style that reminded him of buildings from the ancient era. More precisely, Greco-Roman constructions.

As he fled, he didn't really have time to calmly observe the details of the ruins, he just ran to the building that looked better kept.

He had lost sight of his stalker, but he was sure he would be here soon.

Then he saw something intriguing.

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Chapter edited by CeritusOrbis.