Seeing that his opponent seemed lost in thought, his focus elsewhere, Froze grinned disdainfully.
He would teach this arrogant man not to lose focus in the middle of a fight.
With a roar that echoed through the entire building, he surged towards his opponent, a malevolent gleam in his eyes as he concentrated all his remaining mana into his fists. This attack would be his last and, consequently, his most powerful one. Every ounce of energy left in his body surged forward, reinforcing his muscles, sharpening his senses, and pushing his speed to its peak.
However, Froze had barely covered half of the distance separating them when he heard something that shook him to his core.
"I'm done playing with you, so be docile and quiet down, would you."
Before his brain even had time to register what he had just heard, Froze's eyesight became blurry before completely darkening a split second later.
Boom!
An explosion more powerful and impacting than all previous ones rang true as Froze's body crashed against the ground, unconscious.
Alex, who had just knocked his opponent out, spared him a glance for a split second before averting his eyes, his expression becoming lost again as he concentrated on the settling aftershocks of the breakthroughs he had just experienced.
Meanwhile, as the dust of the last attack settled and the onlookers finally grasped what had happened, a stunned silence took over the floor. Dozens of eyes remained fixed on the unmoving Froze, lying at Alex's feet, while the latter stood motionless, seemingly indifferent to the chaos he had just ended.
No one knew what to say or how to react. The tension in the air was suffocating, as if everyone feared that even the slightest sound might provoke something even worse. Several seconds passed in complete silence, only broken when Alex finally shifted, his focus returning. It was only then that the hushed whispers and nervous murmurs started spreading across the room.
He walked up to the edge of the stage, where Frieda and Filden—who had apparently regained consciousness during their fight—stared back at him with a mix of incredulity and horror.
"It seems that I have won this second wager as well," Alex stated dispassionately.
For once, the quick-witted Frieda didn't know how to respond, her usual amiable smile nowhere to be seen. It wasn't until she felt the weight of the surrounding gazes pressing on her that she finally snapped back to reality.
"Regrettably, it would seem so," she finally admitted, a sad smile appearing on her beautiful face.
At that moment, almost every man in the room felt an almost irresistible urge to step forward, to comfort her, to be the one to bring back her usual radiance. Yet, the one person she had focused on—Arcanor—merely stared at her for a brief moment. Somehow, the ever-shifting smoke making his mask seemed even more ominous than before.
"I will communicate at a later date what I want as payment," Alex said flatly, Frieda's pitiful expression not moving his heart even in the slightest.
Sensing an opportunity, Frieda swiftly extracted a small item from her robes and tossed it to Alex. "You can contact me through this if you need anything," she said, her voice laced with subtle intent as she emphasized the word anything.
Alex caught the communication talisman effortlessly, his eyes lingering on it for a brief moment before giving a slight nod. Without another word, he turned on his heel and began walking back to his group.
As he passed by Froze's unconscious body, he barely spared him a glance before losing interest entirely.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow as he caught the strange, unreadable looks Freya and Maya cast his way.
"Wh-What happened there?" Maya finally managed to stammer after a moment of silence.
"Well, you saw it with your own eyes, didn't you? We dueled, I won and he lost. That's all there is to it," Alex shrugged. Then, shifting his weight slightly, he continued, "If there's nothing else keeping us here, can we leave?"
After a brief exchange of glances, the girls decided that it was indeed time to depart. A minute later, they had already left, their departure plunging the training floor into an unsettling silence. It wasn't until several minutes later that a team of medics rushed over to tend to Froze's injuries.
Hushed whispers and murmured conversations immediately broke out among the gathered Drazen spectators. Those who had witnessed the entire altercation from start to finish eagerly discussed what had just transpired, their voices filled with a mix of shock and excitement.
Even before Alex and his companions had fully exited the training center, news of the battle had already begun to spread like wildfire. Within a few hours, at most, it would reach every corner of the city.
And there was no doubt about what the headlines would be—the crushing, humiliating defeat of one of the Drazen family's principal branch pillars at the hands of the very same man who had previously battled the five level 5 fighters sent by Earl Drickon.
Yet, the man at the center of all these conversations was currently descending the stairs of the training center in the company of three beautiful women, not really caring what people were saying about him
"What you did was reckless," Freya said, her voice calm but carrying a slight edge of disapproval. "If you hadn't won, our partnership could have taken a serious hit."
"I was certain I would win, though," Alex replied casually.
Freya seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she shut her mouth. Ultimately, Alex had won his duel, and that was the only thing that mattered.
"Where to now?" Maya inquired.
"The library," Freya answered, glancing back at Maya, who was walking alongside Amelia.
"Why would we go there?" the young heiress asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Lady Amy here had receiving the Tear of Knowledge, and your private library is the best place for her to unlock its full potential," Freya explained.
"Oh really?!" Maya's eyes sparkled as she cast a glance at Amelia, who merely nodded. "That's excellent. I'll stay with you, then. It's been a while since I last visited the library."
At that moment, Alex considered bringing up the fact that Maya was being followed by invisible guards, but he decided against it for the time being.
They exited the training center under the curious gazes of those on the lower floors and boarded their carriage. The journey was spent in casual conversation, the time passing quickly. After half an hour, the carriage came to a halt in front of a grand building.
From what Freya had told them, Maya's private library was located within the public library and could be accessed from the matriarch's mansion through an underground tunnel that connected it to Freya's estate. They had originally planned to use this route, but since they were already in the city, it made more sense to head directly to the library instead.
The library in question was enormous—perhaps even larger than the training center. Its towering walls radiated an aura of wisdom and age, exuding the solemn presence of an ancient archive. Despite its grandeur, there weren't many people around, making the sudden arrival of their carriage all the more noticeable. As soon as they stepped out, countless curious eyes turned in their direction.
Ignoring the silent scrutiny, Alex and his group entered the library.
The vast interior was divided into multiple floors, each lined with towering bookshelves filled with ancient tomes and scrolls. Following Freya and Maya's lead, Alex and Amelia ascended to the highest floor. There, to their surprise, Freya pressed her hand against a hidden panel on the wall. A moment later, one of the massive bookshelves silently slid aside, revealing a narrow, winding staircase leading downward.
'More staircases,' Alex sighed internally. He was truly growing tired of them and seriously regretted that elevators didn't exist in this world.
They descended for what felt like hundreds of meters before finally reaching the bottom. There, the walls were lined with torches that instantly flared to life the instant they appeared, illuminating the corridor with a brightness so vivid that one might have forgotten they were deep underground.
"Follow me," Maya said excitedly, her steps brisk as she led them through a twisting maze of hallways and turns.
'Are we still under the library?' Alex and Amelia both wondered with perplexed expressions as they followed after the mother and daughter.
It wasn't until a good dozen minutes later that they finally arrived before a massive double door made of reinforced steel, engraved with intricate runes. The door was sealed shut, and stationed before it were several guards, each exuding at least the presence of a level 4.
Upon receiving the matriarch's orders, the guards silently stepped aside and unsealed the door, allowing them entry.
Maya and her mother stepped inside first, followed closely by Alex and Amelia. As soon as they were all inside, the heavy doors shut behind them with a deep, resonating thud.
"Welcome to my personal library—or as I like to call it, the Mental sanctum," Maya said, spreading her arms in a grand, welcoming gesture.