CHAPTER 155: CHAPTER 155 THE NEW ARCANE RING

"Shelby!" Zane exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh? You know him?" Xoxo asked with a playful tone.

"Yes. He must be here for me. Xoxo, bring him here."

"Alright," she replied with a smile, waving her delicate hand. In an instant, Shelby appeared beside them.

"Hey, Shel—" Zane began, but Shelby instinctively jumped back, startled.

"Zane! You’re here! And who—" his voice cut short as he dropped into a defensive stance.

"Relax," Zane said, raising a hand calmly. "You’re in Solaris City—an artificial city built by the Atlantis. She’s the guardian here, an A.I. with sentient life."

Shelby glanced at Xoxo suspiciously, but before he could ask more, Zane turned to her and said, "Can you excuse us? We need a private conversation."

"Of course," Xoxo said with a soft, knowing smile, then vanished into thin air.

Shelby’s eyes narrowed. He couldn’t sense her presence at all—not her mana, not her trace—and that level of concealment was something only experts of the highest tier could manage.

"Are you really safe here?" he asked, his tone grave. "I came on a rescue mission. The second phase of the tournament begins in ten days."

"She’s harmless," Zane replied. "In fact, she’s been quite helpful to me." Then, with a faint grin, he added, "Now, remove all your Arcane Rings."

Shelby frowned. "Why?"

"Just trust me," Zane said simply.

"You know I can’t," Shelby argued. "If I remove them, the weight counter resets from the start again."

"Believe me, Shel. You’ll want to do this."

Shelby sighed heavily, then closed his eyes. A faint golden aura shimmered around him as one by one, his Arcane Rings detached from his body—hovering in the air like a swarm of miniature suns.

Zane’s eyes widened. "You said you were using ninety-something..."

"I added a few more later," Shelby admitted. "Now it’s one hundred twelve in total. My load’s static at thirteen million kilograms."

Zane smirked. "Show-off."

"Just don’t waste my time. If this turns out to be a prank, I’ll pound you into the ground," Shelby warned.

Zane chuckled. "Relax. I was expecting you to start floating the moment those rings came off."

"This," Shelby said proudly, crossing his arms, "is what we call mastering your control."

Zane laughed and reached behind him, unsheathing the sword strapped to his back.

"Sword-baby," he said with a grin, "do the same thing you did for mine."

The sword pulsed faintly. It could sense the vast mana and metal essence within Shelby’s rings—and it was hungry. But out of respect for its master, it restrained itself. Until the command came.

The moment Zane gave the order, a spectral maw of mana opened along the sword’s blade. With a low hum, it sucked in all of Shelby’s Arcane Rings one after another—like a predator swallowing prey.

A shrill, metallic crunch echoed across the hall.

Shelby froze in disbelief. His eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing without words. "I-Is that... thing a soul sword? And why—why are you feeding it my rings!?"

The expression on his face was priceless—half outrage, half heartbreak, like a man watching his life savings burn before his eyes.

Zane burst out laughing. "Don’t worry, Shel. I’ve got a better gift for you."

He shook the sword lightly and said in a mock-stern tone, "Spit the ring out, or I’ll send you to the smithy back at the academy!"

Shelby blinked. Is he actually... talking to his sword? Has he gone insane here?

But before he could voice the thought, the sword trembled—and a golden ring shot out of its mouth, hovering gracefully in the air.

Shelby’s jaw dropped.

Zane caught the ring midair and held it up, studying it closely. Then, in his mind, he called out—

"System, analyze this ring. Does it carry the same three features as mine?"

Ding!

[Affirmative.]

"Good," Zane said. "Then help me set its weight to the exact value Shelby had before removing it."

He waited, expression calm but expectant. Shelby, meanwhile, eyed him suspiciously, curiosity written all over his face.

Suddenly, Zane’s knees buckled. His whole body shuddered as an invisible mountain of pressure crashed down on him. The air cracked around him like thunder.

It felt as if the entire sky had fallen.

His muscles screamed. Veins bulged. He clenched his jaw and roared, "Shel...by! The weight—I can’t bear it anymore! Take it back!"

Sweat poured down his forehead in thick streams as the stone pavement beneath his feet began to sink—cracking under the unfathomable pressure.

Shelby didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward and snatched the golden ring from Zane’s trembling hand.

Instantly, the pressure lifted. Zane gasped, collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud. His face was pale as chalk.

Shelby, however, grinned from ear to ear. The moment he took the ring, he felt the staggering weight press onto him—and he loved it. His body trembled, not from strain, but excitement.

He slipped the golden ring onto his middle finger. The ring shimmered once before settling into place, its glow faint but constant. The load didn’t vanish—it hugged him, grounding him in power.

He crouched and helped Zane sit up, offering him a water bottle. "You okay, brother?"

Zane gulped the water, his breathing slowly evening out. "Yeah... after a bit of jerky, I’ll live." He exhaled, color returning to his cheeks. "Now, let me tell you about the new ring’s features. There are three."

Shelby’s eyes gleamed like a child about to unwrap a gift.

"The first feature," Zane began, "is the Progressive Weight Amplifier. The ring’s load will increase automatically every ten minutes. Its maximum capacity... is equal to the mass of Jupiter."

Shelby blinked. "...You’re joking."

"Wish I was."

Shelby burst out laughing in disbelief. "That’s insane!"

Zane smirked. "The second feature is Combat Load Adjustment. During battle, you can release a percentage of your overload to boost your movement and reaction speed. There are three tiers: Tier One releases ten percent of the weight, Tier Two releases fifteen percent, and Tier Three releases twenty-five percent. The load returns right after combat ends."

Shelby’s excitement doubled. "So, I can fight like lightning while still training my body at full weight later? Perfect!"

He leaned forward eagerly. "And the last feature?"

Zane grinned slyly. "You’ll love this one. The third is called Conditional Burst. When your life is in genuine danger, the ring automatically triggers—granting you a +25,000 Agility boost."

Shelby’s jaw dropped. "That’s... a trump card!" His grin softened into something more sincere. "Thank you, Zane."

Zane waved him off with a chuckle. "Save your thanks for later."

Shelby then frowned. "By the way, why are you still here? Did something happen to your green card? Is it damaged?"

"Nah," Zane replied. "The card’s fine. It’s just that Xoxo wanted me to stay for some advanced training. And, well..." he scratched the back of his head, "...I kinda got carried away."

Shelby nodded thoughtfully. "That girl from earlier—Xoxo, right? Since there are seven days left before the second phase, think she’ll let me join the training too?"

Zane smirked. "Let’s find out."

He turned toward the open space and called out, "Xoxo!"