Zeal walked out of the building and used a device to call a car. He waited a little on purpose, giving Leander enough time to get there first. Fifteen minutes later, he and Darian were already on their way to the central zone of the city.
That part of the city was reserved for the Empire. Since all High Humans were agents of the Empire, they had access to some special facilities.
Zeal made a light comment during the ride. The central zone was where all High Humans went when they wanted to talk with members of other clans, close safe deals, or even challenge each other.
Just training or resting during their free time was never enough for these people. Over time, with the constant pressure to grow stronger and survive, everyone ended up developing an extremely aggressive and competitive mindset.
Truth was, the strongest always became obsessed with constant improvement... those who didn't share that instinct died early.
If someone felt like training alone wasn't cutting it anymore, they'd start stirring up trouble with others, using conflict as pressure to break through.
Of course, there were really strict rules for High Humans, and since they were constantly monitored, breaking them without getting caught eventually was impossible.
Killing each other was forbidden—but what fun would a fight be without consequences?
That's why it was common for them to bet all the money they had, or something else of great and irreversible value. The goal was to do as much damage as possible, basically condemning the other person—even if they didn't kill them directly.
Darian sighed. High Humans really weren't easy people to be around. Other than the ones closest to them, everyone had to treat each other like potential enemies... but that wasn't a problem for him. He could tell from someone's karma whether they were dangerous, among other things.
He already understood that seeing people's dark pasts from other lives didn't mean much. Even though most had done some horrible things, the world wasn't just full of evil people. What really mattered was what someone was doing now—making mistakes and changing later was pretty common for some.
That's why he stopped stressing about it and just focused on people whose karma felt especially heavy recently. Of course, there were exceptions—Niara being one of them.
A few minutes later, as they approached a huge building ahead that looked like a circular medieval arena, he asked:
"Who's Raon?"
"He's a bastard from the Red River Pact clan. He's at the same level and generation as the folks in your group, but he's always chasing after this young mage from our clan, named Veyle. One reason is because her blessing matches his perfectly. The other... well... he's a bastard who's into her. Basically, he keeps causing problems until she agrees to switch clans."
Darian sighed. On top of all the chaos from living a life of fighting, High Humans still had to deal with this kind of classic drama.
Zeal went on, "Veyle's still really young, and she was kinda naïve for a while. But Rhea recruited her three years ago and taught her carefully. She chose to stay with us because she thought it was safer... but another reason was that Raon's got a pretty shady past."
"He's the son of his clan's vice leader—one of the strongest High Humans in the Empire. So yeah, he pretty much does whatever he wants. His dad does try—he keeps punishing him, and Raon even got kicked out of the capital years ago. But, as you can guess, spoiled bastards don't change."
He explained this with growing excitement, and then the car stopped and he quickly opened the door.
They both entered the place without any physical guards or restrictions. Still, everything was being monitored by hidden cameras, with AI watching, recording, and analyzing everything quietly.
The bleachers could hold thousands, but only a few dozen people were spread around in small groups, chatting.
In the center, there was a massive platform several hundred meters wide, currently empty. Around it, a faint, translucent barrier could be seen.
"This place was made for recon group battles," Zeal said, then explained more when he noticed Darian's confusion.
There were four types of groups among High Humans, each organized to handle specific kinds of missions.
The most basic was the Recon Group, made of just five members, usually one from each class. They were lean and meant to handle any kind of problem efficiently, not built for direct confrontation.
One level up was the Hunt Group, formed in a more personalized way, with classes chosen to fit a mission's specific goal. The limit was ten members—any more and it could mess with efficiency.
Above that was the Invasion Group, made up of three to five recon groups working together. They were led by well-trained commanders, usually all from the same clan. These groups were used for difficult invasions, organized and split for potential combat.
Finally, there were the War Groups, meant for large-scale battles. These had no member limit and could include entire clans or even multiple clans and mercenaries working together.
As soon as Zeal finished explaining, he pointed to one corner of the platform, where two groups were now walking in from opposite sides.
"Hahaha! Leander always acts like he avoids fights, but instead of dragging them back, he joined in!"
There were only four people in Leander's group. Besides him, at the front stood a tall, slim man with pale skin holding a long spear. Next to him was a lean woman with sharp eyes, long red hair tied back, and tight-fitting clothes, with a sword hanging at her waist.
Behind the three of them was a girl who looked like she'd just stepped out of her teenage years. Short and skinny, her wavy black hair framed a soft and beautiful face. She wore an ornate outfit in green and gold, and held a staff that looked like it was made of wood, but gave off a strange, attention-grabbing glow.
On the other side of the stage, a group of five arrived.
Four men and a blonde woman holding a plain staff. The only one who stood out was the leader, wearing a black hooded cloak that kept Darian from seeing his face clearly.
As soon as the two groups took their places on the stage, a middle-aged man slowly walked to the center. Both teams looked at him with respect — he was clearly the judge, and an Imperial soldier.
"I'll repeat the agreement between the two leaders," he announced calmly. "It'll be a fight between the two groups. The first to admit defeat loses. The losing side will hand over all the Merit Points recorded on their cards to the other team, and also pay a debt of 100 million within one month. Do both sides agree?"
Up in the stands, Zeal scoffed under his breath.
"This Raon guy must've done something really dirty this time. Losing all their points right before a mission and having a debt that high... it's basically a death sentence, no way out. No one can earn that much in time, they'll have to sell everything they own just to cover the debt. Even if they delayed going on a mission for as long as possible, they wouldn't earn even a third of what they lost in a year. He probably did this to force Veyle to switch to his clan, which would cancel the deal."
Darian felt a little weird. So the amount of merit points he had… everyone thought it was insane.
Down on the stage, the hooded man called Raon chuckled and said, "Heh, yeah, all agreed. Let's get this over with."
Leander gave a cold nod. "Agreed."
As soon as he said that, the judge nodded and started walking slowly off the stage. At the same time, Zeal muttered:
"This is suicide. Just four of them, not even a full group, going up against a complete team from the biggest clan... this... yeah, I get it now." He let out a long sigh. "Looks like Raon and his group really were involved in Oliver's death. They must've done something to force Leander into accepting this fight, even though it's insane."
"What happened?" Darian asked, while the judge calmly walked off the stage.
"Oliver was the group's previous support. He died on their last mission. But no one really knows what happened. It was a mission that needed two recon groups — and the objective was a perfect fit for both our clan's team and the Red River Pact's."
"They teamed up, but of course, Raon, being the leader from the Empire's top clan, took command of the mission. In the end, they completed it, but Oliver didn't make it back. All they said was that they got surrounded and Oliver was unlucky. Obviously, there's more to it, but without proof, Leander and the others couldn't do anything."
"The rules only stop people from killing each other outright… but, just like in the Divine Protection Universe, you gotta be careful with everyone — unless they're the ones closest to you."
Darian let out a dry snort.
Both sides stood silently on the stage, ready for a fight to the death. They waited for the judge to give the signal. Until…
Raon raised his hand and pulled down his hood, revealing his face clearly...
"!"
In that instant, Darian's eyes went wide.
Zeal immediately sensed the change in the air beside him. As he turned to look at Darian—
"WAIT!"
He heard nothing but a roar from Darian, aimed straight at the stage.