Crown Game.

BOOM! AGHHHH!

"That lizard...she reminds me of that princess, Androssi. Is she another one of them? Hmm, I wonder if she's related to that first lizard I killed..." Erik watched the most humanoid lizard he had ever seen destroy the first team who had challenged hers. It was not even a fight; it was more like a massacre. She was throwing full-grown men like they were pieces of paper with one hand.

It was shocking, to say the least.

'This world really is different. That lizard is clearly still young but she's so strong. Sigh, these abilities that I got were definitely needed. I don't know if I would've been able to fight them had I come here as my regular self. Anyways, enough of that. I should focus on those who can at least fight competently as I still need to choose teammates...'

It wasn't long after Erik shifted his attention back to the match that the first round was over. The green lizard had routed the other team by herself.

'Well, it was her and that crazy weapon. I wonder if my black sword can do something like that?'

Erik watched as the first team dejectedly returned to their rooms and the game continued.

The second round.

The third round. It was finally Erik's turn to participate. But before he did, he had to pick out two teammates who had already lost or forfeited.

By this time, many interesting developments had taken place. The lizard had jumped off the throne of her own volition to attack an ordinary-looking boy for his weapon. Erik sensed that it was one that was similar to hers so he guessed that it was part of some sort of set.

He had seen shinsu being used offensively for the first time in the form of a giant wave and it impressed him greatly.

'It reminded me of the Kamehameha attack that Goku uses. I wonder if I could do something like that...'

Erik immediately wanted to get into a training room and try to replicate the attack, but now was not the time.

A young lady, one who was following Lero-ro sometime before, came into the room shortly after and said respectfully, "Mr. Erik, the third round is about to begin. Have you chosen your two teammates?"

Without hesitation, Erik responded, "I'll take the guy who sleeps a lot and that swordsman who was on the green lizard's team."

"So, Mr. Laure and Mr. Hatz then?"

"Yeah...Laure and hatz."

The lady smiled and walked out of the room, returning with the two men in question soon after. Erik wasn't surprised at all and could only shake his head when he saw the state they arrived in.

'Sigh, why is the swordman dragging the sleepy one on the ground? He could have at least picked him up...'

"Mr. Erik, here are the two people you requested. Good luck." The young lady left abruptly after saying that. It was like she was already tired of dealing with this particular group of regulars.

The swordsman dropped the other man on the ground and stared at Erik intently. He then said curiously, "That woman told us that we have another chance at the game if we join your team. I instantly refused because I don't betray my teammates. She said that I couldn't. What's your deal here?"

The man who was sleeping opened one eye and lazily looked at Erik, waiting for his response. Smiling a bit, Erik said, "Straight to the point huh? I like that. Well, I didn't have a team so the administrators gave me a chance to make one from the losers of the earlier rounds. The two of you were chosen. Simple as that. By the way, which one of you is Laure and which one is hatz?"

This time, the lazy man spoke. "My name is Phonsekal Laure. But, I have to ask; why us? That lizard is much stronger than us and throwing together such a haphazard team would only lead to disaster when it's time for us to fight."

As Erik was about to respond, a voice rang out on the loudspeaker.

"THE THIRD ROUND OF THE CROWN GAME IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! THE TEAMS THAT WANT TO JOIN, PRESS THE BUZZER BEFORE THE COUNT IS OVER! ONE!"

Erik slowly got up and walked toward the buzzer as he began talking.

"As I said, the answer is simple. The lizard is powerful but she's a loose cannon. She's just not reliable enough to be my teammate at this time. Everyone else is either too weak or too inept. Anyway, it doesn't matter if you want to join or not. I was hoping you would but I understand your plight. You can just exit this room with me and stay to the side, I can finish this by myself."

"TWO!"

Hatz raised an eyebrow at Erik's words as it reminded him of what the lizard had said before but he didn't say anything. He didn't believe what Erik said at all. Laure was the same at first but then he noticed something which immediately changed his view.

'The shinsu is not restricting him and he's moving through it as if it wasn't there. That's not anything special but the shinsu is wrapping around him like a blanket. Like it's protecting him. Hmm. Then there's that unnatural feeling he gives off...'

"THREE!"

Laure opened both his eyes and said, "I feel the same as Hatz. I wouldn't betray my teammates but we will follow you out to the game. Just don't expect any help after that."

"FOUR!"

Erik just got up and walked towards the buzzer, pressing it without hesitation.

"Noted."

"FIVE!"

Every team that hadn't participated up to this point walked out of their rooms, surprising Erik just a bit but this was all within expectations. He stabbed his sword into the ground and started cracking his fingers, readying himself for the long battle ahead.

'Alright, time to get serious.'

"MAY THE THIRD ROUND OF THE CROWN GAME, BEGIN!"

As the round started, in a room located over the field, two people were standing there watching the game.

"Quant, are you serious? That young man killed over 100 regulars in the first test without injury? I thought Anaak Jahad might be the strongest regular here but it seems I've been misinformed."

A short dark-skinned red-haired man who stood there next to Lero-ro with a sheepish look on his face responded, "Lero-ro, do you feel that? This unnatural presence he has...I've felt it before."

"You've felt it before? Where?"

"Remember that war on the outer area of 15th floor I told you about? How the heavy amounts of death there even affected the shinsu in the area?"

Seeming to get what Quant was saying, a look of realization appeared on Lero-ro's face. "So you're saying..."

"Yes. That heavy, unnatural feeling of death is emanating from him. It's like he spent his whole life around war and death. Maybe...he might be part of some sort of cursed race?"

Lero-ro gave some thought to what Quant said. Quant was absolutely correct in what he was feeling and Lero-ro felt it too. He even felt a slight stir in his soul, as if it wanted to leave his body for some reason. Of course, since he was a ranker, Lero-ro wasn't affected by this at all.

A wide grin appeared on his face and he said in a pleased tone, "A monster has just arrived."

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait and short chapter fellas. I was tryna figure out what Erik's "True Power" would be and it took a while as I wanted to tie it into the story. You know, true power like how SPOILER SPOILER:

Bam's true power is to devour everything and shit. But, yeah, everything is fine now so updates should be faster. Thanks for reading.