Raor sighed in relief as he watched Mio choose not to engage with the duo. He knew their strength and had no intention of risking his hard-earned points.

    The Ascenders'' Point Battle System operated on strict rules: higher-ranked Ascenders could challenge lower-ranked ones, but there was a catch. If a higher-ranked Ascender, such as a Bronze Rank like Mio, lost to a lower-ranked Gray Rank like Leon and Roselia, they would lose all their accumulated points. Meanwhile, the victors would gain all the forfeited points.

    For Raor, the risk far outweighed the reward. Even if Mio managed to win, it wouldn''t add significantly to her points. But losing? That would be catastrophic.

    "Especially against them," Raor muttered under his breath, recalling the rumors of their exploits. "On the first day, they defeated a Level 71 Derub. And after that, they took down a Captain of the Blue Titan faction. They''re not ones to mess with lightly."

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    He watched Mio carefully as she decided to retreat, and he couldn''t help but feel relieved. "Smart move," he thought. "Picking a fight with them would have been suicide... and a massive loss of points."

    Raor turned away, deciding it was better to focus on his own growth. "I''ll deal with them another day when the odds are in my favor," he muttered, blending into the crowd.

    "I''ll reengage after leveling up a bit more," Mio too thought, She too sensed Roselia power thanks to her class and understood she is no match to her, thus silently left not engaging her in fight, Knowing she would be the one who will loose.

    And she has more than just Points to loose thanks to her class, if her class give her reward for defeating Demons it also penalize her for loosing against Demons, Her class is an powerful Double edge sword that she ought to use carefully.

    Still, she wasn''t one to let an opportunity slip by. She activated her unique skill, Demon Mark, which allowed her to mark any demon and continuously track their location. A faint, invisible mark now hovered over Roselia, unnoticed by the duo.

    "One day, Roselia... I''ll face you," She muttered, her crimson eyes glowing faintly. "And when that day comes, you''ll be the one who dies."

    Unaware of the mark placed on her, Roselia and Leon continued to walk calmly, their thoughts focused solely on the impending battle with the Death Puppet King.

    Leon and Roselia continued walking, their conversation centered on the battle they had just faced.

    "The hidden Undead King that the The Alchemist King spoke of , The True Skeleton King," Leon began thoughtfully. "And based on the history you mentioned, Roselia, it''s possible that guy was once the ruler of this kingdom—the one cursed by the Arch Dark Magus."

    Roselia nodded, her expression serious. "That''s the same conclusion I reached. But that Arch Magus was truly evil," she said, her tone sharp. "He cursed an entire kingdom just because a single noble wronged him."

    Leon glanced at her, his expression calm but firm. "We shouldn''t judge anyone until we know their side of the story," he said. "What if it wasn''t just a single noble? What if the entire kingdom supported the noble who wronged the Arch Dark Magus?"

    Roselia frowned, pondering his words. "But history books say—"

    Leon raised a hand to stop her. "History is written by the victors," he said. "The Arch Magus was defeated, so we don''t know if the events in the history books are true or twisted to favor the winners."

    A series of fiery projectiles shot out, each bursting into flames upon impact and incinerating the wolves caught in their range. The ground scorched beneath the intense heat, leaving behind the charred remains of several Dire Wolves.

    "Woof!"

    But the Dire Wolves were adaptive and fierce. One managed to leap through the fire, its eyes glowing red as it lunged toward Leon.

    Roselia acted swiftly, summoning her dark blade. With a powerful slash, she intercepted the wolf mid-air. The creature let out a pained yelp, but another emerged from the shadows, this time aiming for her.

    Leon steadied his stance, releasing another spell. "Dark Flame Judgement!"

    A massive wave of dark fire engulfed the surrounding area, burning the wolves to ash. Roselia followed up, unleashing a series of sharp, precise strikes that cut through the remaining wolves with lethal efficiency.

    The duo fought in seamless coordination, eliminating the pack one by one without missing a single target.

    After a few minutes, the battlefield grew silent, save for the crackling embers left by Leon''s spells.

    Roselia exhaled, brushing off some blood from her armor. "Now, let''s seal the rift before more of them come," she said, glancing at Leon.

    Leon nodded, his staff glowing faintly as he approached the rift. Roselia raised her hand, summoning a creature. Her familiar—a small winged creature—emerged, its glowing eyes reflecting the magic it carried. It darted toward the rift, and went inside it.

    Roselia closed her eyes, reaching out with her connection to her little Evil Eye. Leon stood silently, watching her with patience, knowing that she was scouting the Rift to determine if it was safe for them to enter.

    Rifts were unpredictable by nature; they could lead to scorching volcanic zones, the depths of the sea, or even barren wastelands. Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Though, considering the wolves that came out of it, I think it''s probably a grassland or forested area," he murmured to himself.

    After a moment, Roselia opened her eyes, her expression serious. "The Rift is connected to a mountainous region," she began. "There are plenty of caves in the mountains, and the Rift seems to be situated inside one of them. That''s likely how the wolves found their way through."

    Leon nodded at the information but pressed further. "What else did you see?"

    Roselia frowned as she continued. "There are many monsters inside, most around Level 100. The Rift seems to start at the lower end of the cave systems in the mountain, and my familiar couldn''t scout much further than ten kilometers or so. Beyond that point, there is nothing but darkness, probably the end of this Rift"

    She paused, then added, "It''s a relatively small area compared to some larger Rifts, but the mountain itself seems like a massive cluster. If we go deeper, the stronger monsters will likely be concentrated there."

    ****

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