Realm Lord
Chapter 157: Pathfinder!!?

Chapter 157: Pathfinder!!?

The question hung in the air, creating a tension that seemed to electrify the entire training room. The very atmosphere seemed to thicken with anticipation, as if the ship’s recycled air had suddenly become charged with static electricity. Every person in the gathered crowd leaned forward slightly, their collective attention focused on the three figures at the center of the room with an intensity that was almost palpable.

Aziel and Arthur exchanged another brief glance, their confusion evident in their expressions. In that single look, they communicated volumes—neither had any idea who this man was or what had prompted such a dramatic confrontation. The crowd around them had grown completely silent, as if everyone was holding their breath in anticipation of the response. The stranger’s confident demeanor only added to the surreal nature of the situation.

"You want... to spar?" Arthur asked questioningly, his voice carrying a note of disbelief. The words seemed to echo in the suddenly quiet space, each syllable hanging in the air as if waiting for judgment. The idea seemed almost absurd given the theatrical way this man had presented himself and the crowd he had apparently gathered for this specific purpose.

The man’s smile brightened considerably, as if Arthur had just asked exactly the right question. He let out a brief laugh that echoed through the training room, the sound carrying an edge that made several onlookers shift uncomfortably. "Oh no, no... I want to embarrass you in front of all these lovely people!" His declaration was delivered with such casual confidence that it took a moment for the words to fully register.

Arthur and Aziel stood blankly, neither knowing what to say in response to such a brazen statement. The sheer audacity of the man’s words seemed to have temporarily short-circuited their ability to process what was happening. The crowd around them began to murmur more loudly, sensing the tension building between the three figures at the center of attention.

"Excuse me?" Aziel said, his voice tight with the first hints of rising temper. His eyes had narrowed slightly, and there was a dangerous quality to his tone that suggested the stranger had just crossed a line that shouldn’t have been crossed.

The man seemed completely unfazed by Aziel’s obvious irritation, if anything, he appeared to be enjoying it. "Well, I don’t have all day, so which one of you will I be beating up? Or are you both too scared?"

Aziel’s face began to slowly turn red with anger, the color change visible even in the dim lighting of the training room. His hands clenched involuntarily at his sides, and small sparks of electricity began to dance between his fingers. "...What!?" he said, his tone now carrying a grueling edge that made several nearby spectators take an involuntary step backward.

Arthur, sensing the situation escalating rapidly, tried to interject with some semblance of reason. "What’s your problem, dude? We didn’t do anything to you." His voice carried genuine confusion mixed with growing concern about where this confrontation was heading.

The man’s smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by an expression of cold impatience. The transformation was so sudden and complete that it seemed to change the very atmosphere of the room. "All this talking bores me... we gonna spar or what?" he said, his tone now carrying an undercurrent of threat that made it clear he was growing tired of the verbal exchange.

Arthur’s mind raced as he tried to process the bizarre situation. ’What the hell is his deal?’ The thought echoed in his head as he struggled to understand what could have motivated this stranger to seek them out for what appeared to be nothing more than his own amusement.

"No, we’re—" Arthur began, attempting to decline the obviously problematic offer, but he was cut off before he could complete his sentence.

"Yeah, and I’m gonna beat your ass too, pal!" Aziel interjected, his anger now fully unleashed. Lightning was already beginning to dance around his skin in crackling arcs, and his face had turned an even deeper shade of red as his rage skyrocketed beyond his ability to control it.

Arthur looked at Aziel with a mixture of concern and exasperation. "Aziel, come on, don’t waste your time with him." His voice carried the tone of a tired and annoyed friend, but he knew from experience that once Aziel’s temper reached this point, logic rarely prevailed.

Aziel looked toward Arthur to respond, but before he could speak, the stranger delivered what would prove to be the final provocation. "You gonna listen to your boyfriend, or you gonna get on the platform?"

The words hit their target with devastating accuracy. Just as quickly as Aziel had been looking at Arthur, his gaze snapped back toward the man with an intensity that seemed to make the air itself crackle with energy. Without another word, he stomped toward the platform with determined fury. "Let’s do this!" he said starkly, his voice carrying the finality of a declaration of war.

Arthur palmed his face and shook his head, letting out a long, defeated sigh. ’Idiot,’ he thought to himself, knowing that there was no stopping Aziel now that he had been pushed past his breaking point.

The crowd began to buzz with excitement as the reality of what was about to happen sank in. "Holy crap, he really agreed!" one voice called out above the growing murmur of conversation. "Is he insane!?" came another, while a third voice added ominously, "Grey might seriously kill him."

As the crowd grew louder and more animated, Aziel and the man now identified as Grey walked up onto the platform. Arthur felt a growing sense of unease as he watched them line up across from each other. The excited chatter of the crowd was doing nothing to alleviate the weird pit that had formed in his stomach, a nagging feeling that something was very wrong with this entire situation.

The positioning of the two fighters on the platform created a stark contrast—Aziel with his crackling electricity and obvious anger, and Grey with his calm, almost bored demeanor that suggested he was about to engage in nothing more challenging than a light warm-up exercise.

"Hey Grey... what rank are you?" Arthur called out, unable to keep the nervousness from creeping into his tone. The question seemed to hang in the air like a lead weight, and Arthur found himself holding his breath as he waited for the answer.

Grey looked at Arthur with an amused, confident expression that somehow managed to be both condescending and terrifying at the same time. His eyes seemed to glitter with private knowledge that he was about to share. "Me? Oh, you know..." he paused dramatically, "Pathfinder."

The word echoed through Arthur’s mind like a thunderclap, each syllable carrying the weight of terrible understanding. His heart dropped into his stomach as the full implications of what Grey had just revealed hit him like a physical blow.

"What!? That’s not fair—we’re only Chosen! What the hell do you gain from this?" Arthur screamed out, his voice cracking with the strain of his disbelief and mounting panic.

Grey laughed, the sound now carrying a cruel edge that made it clear he was thoroughly enjoying Arthur’s distress. "Umm... amusement?" he said with mock thoughtfulness, as if he were considering the question for the first time, before turning back to face Aziel.

Aziel, who had been caught up in his anger and the adrenaline of the moment, now seemed to start becoming a bit nervous after hearing Grey’s rank confirmation. The reality of what a Pathfinder represented was beginning to penetrate through his rage-induced haze.

’Pathfinder!? What the hell? Why couldn’t I tell?’ Aziel’s thoughts raced as the implications sank in. His palms began to sweat despite the electricity still dancing across his skin, and he found himself questioning whether his anger had led him into something far more dangerous than he had initially realized.

"What? Wanna run away now that you heard my rank? You scared?" Grey’s taunt was delivered with the casual confidence of someone who knew he held all the advantages in the coming confrontation.

Aziel clenched his hands tightly, grinding his teeth as he fought against the growing realization of what he was about to face. But rather than backing down, he summoned his spear with a flash of lightning and covered his entire body in crackling electrical energy, steeling his nerves for what was to come. "No shot... let’s do this!"

Arthur watched from the sidelines as his friend managed to regain his usual confidence, Arthur could see the slight tremor in Aziel’s stance that betrayed his true feelings. ’Holy shit... im gonna fight a Pathfinder... this is... fucking awesome!!’ Aziel thought to himself his excitement growing.

His body continued to tremble, but now it was no longer entirely with nerves—now those nerves had transformed into pure excitement at the unprecedented opportunity to fight such a strong opponent.

Meanwhile Arthur’s nerves only grew as he prepared to watch his friend take on the unprecedented challenge.

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