"Oh, by the way, Ori, where are your sisters? I haven't seen them since—well since I passed out after defeating The Chimera"
Ean questioned as he turned to look back at Ori, who simply raised an eyebrow before taking sighing
"I disqualified them"
"Disqualified them?"
"Yes"
"How?"
"Well—It turns out that you can get people to lose if you just knock them out and turn them into the administrators"
"Oh, I didn't know that"
"Well, you do now"
Ori replied as Shu simply stared at them
"That's good because then I won't have to kill people unnecessarily"
Shu said, interrupting the small conversation they were having
"Kill?"
Ean questioned as Ori nodded as if adding to what Ean just said
"Well, I heard from the guy in the gate that in this competition, killing was allowed"
"So you took that as a sign to go on a killing spree?"
Ori questioned, making Shu sigh as he scratched the back of his head
"Well, yeah I guess"
"You do know that you can just knock them outright?"
Ean added, as Shu simply smiled, walking forward as he stared at the Sun
"I guess I forgot about that option"
"You—forgot?"
Ean whispered, with a slight hint of hesitation, as a nervous smile grew on his face
"Yeah, I was training with a pretty powerful guy, and although he was powerful I could land some of my attacks but, he'd just take them head-on and beat me up right after, so I always attacked with the intent to kill——I guess I got a little too used to that way of fighting. Sorry if i startled you"
Shu explained, before turning to look at Ean with a warm and kind smile on his face
"Powerful Guy? What do you mean? I sent you to The Death Cave, no one comes out alive, I mean it's understandable that you'd come back alive, but there was someone stronger than you in there?"
"There were two people there, they go by the names of- - - - - -"
Shu was about to state their names, but just when he did, a bright light surrounded him, not only him but Ori and Ean as well. As soon as they were surrounded by that odd light, their bodies soon vanished from the field.
Just as quickly as they vanished they reappeared, but this time, they found themselves in what seemed to be another field, trapped by giant walls that formed a circle around it, and above them were floating rocks.
Each rock was a different size, some were boulders and some were even the size of pebbles, but what was even more to the trio amazing was the fact that the rocks build a sort of stairway to a white shining door
"Woah! This place looks like an amazing place to train!"
Shu yelled while walking around as he stared up at the rocks, watching them move around, some even crashed, breaking into smaller pieces.
Just as soon as they got there, more people starter appearing, till the field was eventually flooded with people, or rather, participants
"And now we start the third Mini-Game! Welcome all, to the Passage Toward Heaven"
A voice was heard, which echoed throughout the field, alerting every single participant in the area
"It is I again!"
The voice yelled as a giant blue screen appeared above the field, showing off a man with the eyes of a snake and a smile comparable to that of a giant
"I congratulate you all, you've made it to the new Mini-Game, only those who survived were able to arrive at this new level. But before I continue, I'd like to announce the winner of the prior Mini-Game!"
The man yelled and while the screen shifted from his face to a boy, with long black hair and bright pink eyes
"Of course, it would be him"
Ean whispered while scratching the back of his head as he stared at the screen
"Oh, you know him, Ean? Is he strong?"
Shu questioned as he stood next to Ean, placing his hands on his hips as he stared up at the boy on the screen
"Of course I do, he's the popular Asai Mino after all"
Ean replied as Shu simply tilted his head, not really understanding the popularity part
"So he's strong?"
"Yes, very"
"People are even comparing him to Arthur, the guy with ice abilities you beat a month ago"
"Ah—he's as strong as that guy?"
"Yep"
"He doesn't look as strong as Arthur"
"W-what huh? You can tell from just a glance? So he's weaker than Arthur huh? ...Still, though, he is a threat-"
"No, that's not what I meant"
Shu whispered, interrupting Ean's self-dialogue, causing him to turn his attention all the way from the screen to Shu
"Then what did you mean?"
Ean questioned as he raised an eyebrow, not properly prepared for what Shu was going to say next
"He looks far stronger than the Arthur I fought back in the academy"
"Wait are you serious!?"
"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"
Shu replied while staring at the screen and soon after so did Ean, and Ori, who had no way to fit in the conversation
"And the focus of this Mini-Game is!"
The man yelled as the screen switched back to him
"To reach the top! Whoever does so first, wins the Mini-Game and will be allowed to enter the tournament!"
With just those words, the screen disappeared, and Shu's casual calm face turned into a serious one
"Watch it Ean, I sense about three energy signatures somewhat around our level, so stay behind me, you're pretty injured right now"
"Sorry I'm kind of a burden to you"
Ean replied while doing exactly as Shu instructor him to, moving behind him for protection, and just when Ean did, a blue aura began to surround Shu's body, an aura that released an oddly strong pressure
"Well! Let us begin this shit show!"
Shu screamed while taking on a fighting pose