Another World Mall

Chapter 264 First Encounter

"Each participant has taken their position. The preliminary match is about to start. Let's count together, everyone!" Shion raised three fingers. "3!"

The audience also participated in the countdown as they looked at the numerous live videos coming from the drones.

"2!"

"1!"

"Start!"

…

In the forest, Clovis looked up, finding countless drones that were hovering in the air. Once the countdown was over, they shot a firework into the sky.

The loud bang symbolized the start of the competition.

"Let's go! This is the only competition for today, so it's fine to overwork a little." Clovis waved his hand.

Clovis's group headed north according to Melody's instructions. The area itself was quite spacious. Tier 2 and Tier 3 humans could easily cover the distance from one corner to another, so it didn't really matter for them.

The beasts were still roaming around.

In fact, the first thing that most groups, including Clovis's group, encountered was a pack of beasts.

They started killing the beasts to get the initial points. Because of the drone shots, there was no need for them to get their essence as proof.

All of them were monitored and calculated by a group of experts and AI.

Hence, after the beasts died, Clovis led his group to the next destination.

…

In the stadium, Shion slammed the table and shouted enthusiastically. "Uooh! We've got our first battle. It's the Bloody Rose against the Red Ant!"

"But…" Shion paused for a moment as the battle lasted only an instant. "Bloody Rose obliterated them!"

"Oh! What is this? There is a group that has already encountered the Tier 3 beast? They are…" Shion paused for a moment before saying, "Li…ba…tion Fiesta! I apologize if I pronounce it wrong. Still, is this luck?

Will they still have enough strength left to fight against other beasts after dealing with this Tier 3 beast?"

…

As announced, Clovis actually found a Tier 3 beast. It looked like a lizard and had a very long tongue.

"Jay." Clovis abruptly stopped.

"Alright." Jay nodded, feeling excited already. "We're lucky to meet a Tier 3 beast right away."

The lizard had a long neck and an elongated body and tail. It was moving swiftly toward them and swing its head.

Jay moved forward and swung his sword down.

'It's time to test the power of Minotaur's Swing.' Jay took a deep breath and struck the lizard's head.

*Clang!*

A clicking sound echoed, indicating the head's toughness was similar to that of metal. However, this was a Tier 3 beast. Its strength should be above that of a Tier 2 human.

Yet the clash only lasted an instant before the lizard's head was knocked down to the ground.

*Reee?!*

The lizard was wailing in confusion, not understanding what had happened. In fact, it was shocking that it actually lost against a human despite swinging the head with such momentum.

The one that was shocked was not only the lizard, even the audience in the stadium couldn't help but drop their jaws.

"W-What?!" Shion gasped. "The lizard is known as Tanystropheus. As you can see, the body's structure makes it very agile and the skin is actually as tough as metal. It can easily destroy a building with a swing of its head, but he is able to knock the head down?"

Everyone couldn't believe what they saw.

"He must be very famous for having that kind of strength. Allow me to check his information—!" Shion abruptly stopped. "What is this? The man who just knocked down the lizard's head is actually only 16 years old? He has also reached Tier 2. However, he must have evolved to Tier 2 just recently.

"Is this for real? A Tier 2 human who evolved recently managed to knock down a full-fledged Tier 3 beast? No, wait! Actually, three of them are actually 16 years old and already Tier 2… Is this serious? They seem to come from the same city as the runner up of the first competition.

"Why haven't we heard such geniuses this whole time?" When Shion was focused on looking at their information, the audience suddenly cheered. Shion couldn't help but raise her head, finding yet another interesting encounter. "This… this is… Oh! To think that on top of a Tier 3 beast, they also encounter another group.

"They only have four members, but all four of them are Tier 3. What will happen in this battle? Will Libation Fiesta overcome the challenge and possibly become the dark horse of the competition?"

Mayor Revan looked at the screen anxiously. He was excited at first that he heard a lot of praise for Libation Fiesta since they would become the pride of the city. However, it would be troublesome if they lost in this first fight, especially since the opponents were quite strong.

Ragna was already stepping forward, standing between the group and their enemy.

"Hmm? A bunch of Tier 2 guys? Isn't that… the famous Ragna?!" One of them seemed to recognize Ragna.

"You mean the infamous weakling?"

Ragna had already gotten used to insults. Even though he already had the strength to oppose them, he didn't let the emotion take over him.

Clovis only glanced at them and said, "Ragna."

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Of course. We are here to win."

"Hahaha!" Suddenly, they laughed. "Did you hear that? They come here to win? With only them?"

"Jay, Melody."

"There are only four of them. All of them are here. Don't worry." Melody assured him, looking at these four, who seemed to be using melee weapons.

"Should I take care of them?" Jay asked with a cold tone, disliking the fact that they dared to insult their teammates.

"Will that be a problem?" Clovis smiled.

"No. Take your time with the lizard." Jay leaped toward them. Melody was the same, but from the outside.

"They're coming?!"

"Fools!"

Those four people looked down on Jay, who was only Tier 2. They focused more on Melody, ready to intercept her if she came closer.

Meanwhile, Clovis immediately took over Jay's position and played with the lizard.

On the other hand, Jay had closed the gap between them.

"I'll take care of this brat. You two go for the woman. Rain, you watch out for the others."

Jay sped up, seeing the one who was commanding the group swing his sword. "Little brat. I'm going to teach you the strength of a Tier 3 human! It's not something that can be compared to a—!"

Jay struck his sword before he could even finish, blowing him away.

Bam!

The guy crashed into a tree with such force that it dented the tree.

The enemies couldn't help but drop their jaws to the ground.

"Too much chit chat."