Although Tendo's actions had been long anticipated,
Watching Tendo in the scene, challenging a younger Enite, the bullet comments on Site 13 immediately became active.
'A battle for the strongest?'
'As expected of Tendo, he never plays by the rules.'
'Caroline's internal monologue: I knew I shouldn't have come with you, now I have to clean up the mess.jpg'
'The one above is spot on! Just imagining Caroline hands-on-hips glaring at Tendo makes me laugh out loud!'
Amidst the dimensional audience's teasing, Enite in the scene reached up and ripped off his black combat jacket.
The moment the fabric fell, everyone's attention was drawn to his bare torso.
While Enite's physique wasn't particularly towering, the fluid, chiseled muscle lines, and the scars left on his bronze skin from countless raids into fallen zones and death battles with Star Beasts,
Made every inch of his musculature exude a 'thousand-refinements' texture, as if he were a perfect structure born for combat.
Gazing at Tendo not far away, Enite wasn't in a hurry to strike.
He straightened his body, the scar over his right eye twitching slightly with a smile. His tone was somewhat nonchalant, yet it concealed a fiery obsession.
"Latecomer, do you know what is the most attractive thing in this world?"
Tendo didn't respond, merely observing him calmly with his starry eyes, clearly not very interested in the question.
Enite didn't mind, smiling as he said, "It is the Unknown."
As he spoke, Enite raised his head to look at the crack in the cave ceiling, from which he could just make out the characteristic purple sky of the Quicksand Star Fallen Zone.
"Star Beast barbecue I haven't eaten, depths of the Fallen Zone I haven't set foot in, a tomorrow I haven't seen. It is this series of uncertainties that makes me look forward to the coming of tomorrow so immensely."
"But as I breached more and more Fallen Zones, and defeated more and more Calamity-level Star Beasts, I suddenly discovered..."
Enite looked down at Tendo, a self-mocking curve on his lips.
"...Those 'challenges' that once thrilled me slowly became 'matter of course' and 'tasteless.'"
"It wasn't until I saw you recently that I again smelled the scent of the 'Unknown,' and developed a new anticipation for the 'future.'"
"Because when I saw your eyes just now, for the first time, I felt, 'Oh, so I might lose too.'"
Having said this, Enite suddenly took a step forward, slowly adopting a simple martial arts starting stance.
The next second, an astonishing scene unfolded.
The residual Ant Queen Star Energy in the cave, the Star Source Particles in the sand, and even the 'fear' emotion emanating from the survivors in the distant Fallen Zone, all turned into streams of 'invisible' energy, frantically pouring into Enite's body!
Seeing this, Tendo's eyes slightly narrowed.
He could clearly feel that the current Enite was not 'absorbing' energy.
He was 'devouring' every usable 'carrier.'
This ability already far exceeded the scope of ordinary Star Sources.
At the same time, information about Enite's Star Source and some abilities appeared on the dimensional screen in the form of a status panel.
[Star Source: Gluttony]
[Type: Mythical Beast]
[Core Ability - Gluttony: No reliance on Star Energy reserves needed. Can actively devour any form of 'energy carrier' in the environment. This includes Star Energy, biological emotions, kinetic energy, and can even be intangible substances such as 'knowledge' or 'fragments of rules.']
[Self-Restriction: The devoured 'food' must possess 'unknown' or 'challenging' qualities. If conventional energy (such as ordinary Star Energy potions) is consumed, it can only restore basic stamina and cannot enhance strength.]
[Evaluation: 'For me, tasteless food won't fill my belly no matter how much I eat.' - Enite]
Feeling the strength constantly surging within his body, Enite's lips curved into an excited smile.
"Latecomer, everyone says I raid the Fallen Zones to save humanity, but only I know that I'm not that great."
"All I do is look for 'delicacies' that can make me 'full'."
"And you are the most interesting 'delicacy' I have ever encountered."
Tendo looked at the man before him, who was emanating an aura of pure consumption, and finally dropped the casual look on his face.
An invisible Vector Field instantly spread out, fixing the sand and dust stirred up by Enite in the cave mid-air.
"Interesting delicacy?"
Tendo's voice carried a hint of amusement and mockery.
"Then I'd like to see if the current you... can 'eat' me."
Facing Tendo's 'mockery,' Enite didn't reply. He only violently stomped the ground and launched a punch toward Tendo.
His fist carried no Star Energy, yet it was more terrifying than anyone else's.
Because what was contained in this fist was a momentum that disregarded and devoured everything.
Even the surrounding space seemed slightly distorted by the pressure of this punch.
This was Enite, a humanoid monster who could single-handedly kill Calamity-level Star Beasts with just his raw physical strength.
However, his opponent at this moment was also a 'monster' wearing human skin.
"Vector... Reversal."
As Tendo's voice softly fell.
The next second, everything in the cave began to collapse.
Sand,碎 stone fragments, and even the trajectory of the force from Enite's punch, surged in reverse under the effect of the Vector Field, instantly covering the entire dimensional screen, leaving only a chaotic mess of light and shadow that obscured what was happening inside.
When the screen returned to normal, the camera had shifted to the real-life 'Fallen Zone Holographic Simulation Experience Store'.
[Warning! Warning! Abnormal data fluctuation detected on Machine No. 024. Abnormal data fluctuation detected on Machine No. 024...]
A piercing alarm suddenly blared through the simulation store. The initially lit simulation pods flashed red lights and were then forcibly shut down.
Even more bizarrely, the saved electricity from these simulation pods seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, all rushing toward the old, first-generation simulation pod in the corner.
It was the one Tendo was in!
"What's going on?!"
A staff member, alerted to the situation, hurriedly ran over.
And when he saw the number of the simulation pod glowing an abnormal red, his face instantly turned pale, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
This was a pod used by a Heavenly-level student. If anything went wrong with it, let alone him, a mere shop assistant, even the boss, or the boss behind the boss, would be in deep trouble!
How much trouble could one person cause?
The expression on the staff member's face now made it clear.
Fortunately, Caroline, who had been guarding the simulation pod, spoke at this moment.
Her voice was utterly calm and carried an undeniable certainty,
"It's fine. You can leave it to me."
The staff member looked up to see Caroline had already walked to the back of the simulation pod and skillfully lifted the dust-covered rear cover.
The next second, the data cat tail behind her suddenly extended, its tip transforming into slender connectors that precisely inserted into the machine's circuits.
Soon, the simulation pod, which was originally only designed for single-person entry, slowly switched to a unique 'Dual-Player Co-op Mode' under her operation.
However, no one noticed that while Caroline's tone seemed calm, a flicker of concealed anger flashed in her eyes.
Tendo, is this what you meant by 'there won't be any problems'?
Overloading the simulation pod for a deduction—are you truly unafraid of accidentally trapping your own consciousness in the quantum data?
Do you really think you are a 'God' who can calculate everything perfectly?!