CHAPTER 222: FRIENDLY SPAR

A slow, satisfied smile curved onto Adrian’s lips as he saw the final notification. Fifty million Tech Points. It was an astronomical sum, and he now had it all to him.

He knew, with a surge of creative energy, that he finally had enough TP to purchase all he needed from the store. He could start working on the Planetary Barrier project in earnest, right away.

Before Karl could continue his rant about a Transcendent-only spar, Adrian cut him off, his mind already shifting back to the grand project.

"I’m sorry, Karl, but I’ll have to decline that offer once again. An urgent issue just came up, and I’ll be going to the Factory right now. See y—!"

He was still waving them off, already turning to leave, when a pair of soft, slender fingers gently closed over his mouth, stopping his words.

He turned in surprise to see Nyra standing before him, her expression a perfect blend of playful admonishment and seriousness.

"Nope," she said. "You’re not going anywhere. We are not going to celebrate the completion of one monumental, world-changing project by letting you immediately dive into another one. You’ve been working for years, for goddess’ sake." She removed her fingers, her tone softening but losing none of its firmness.

"You’re going to stay with us, and you are going to have some quality time with your friends."

Adrian smiled wryly. He really, truly wanted to leave and get to work. The allure of the new project, of the endless possibilities now open to him with his new fortune, was a powerful pull.

But Nyra’s stare was a force of nature in itself. He let out a long, exaggerated sigh of theatrical defeat. "Fine," he lamented. "My grand plans for the evening, ruined. Is there no justice in this kingdom?"

Serena bumped fists with Nyra, a triumphant grin on her face. "Rightly said, Nyra! He’s not getting away this time."

She looked around at the group, her own excitement building. "Now... where do we start?"

Karl, finding it impossible that his brilliant suggestion was being waved aside, decided to reiterate it with vigor.

"What?! The duel is the perfect idea! It’s quality time! It’s team-building! It’s... fun!" He looked at Adrian for support. "Am I wrong, Adrian?"

Adrian, who had already resigned himself to staying, considered Karl’s words. He hadn’t had a proper, all-out fight in a long time.

A chance to test his limits against his two strongest companions... He shrugged, a genuine thrill running through him. "It is quite the idea," he admitted. "I’m in."

On Adrian’s approval, a wide grin split Karl’s face. Nyra’s eyes lit up with a competitive fire. Serena clapped her hands together. "Alright then, let’s have it! In the Simulation Chamber?"

"I think an actual fight might be better," Nyra countered, looking at Serena. "The simulations are perfect, but we know they’re not real." She smiled gently. "And besides, we’ll have the best healer on the continent right here to patch us up if anyone gets a few bumps and bruises."

The idea of a no-holds-barred, real-world spar between the three of them was both terrifying and exhilarating. They all agreed. After a brief discussion, they chose a location many kilometers away from any civilization: the Great Salt Flats, a vast, desolate, and perfectly empty expanse.

With their decision made, Adrian summoned the Voidstrider, the sleek vehicle materializing silently beside them. They all got in, the atmosphere inside buzzing with a friendly, competitive energy.

The journey was filled with the kind of easygoing banter they so rarely had time for anymore. Karl was already boasting, laying out his grand strategy for how he, a newly minted 9-Star Knight, was going to take down two Transcendents at once.

Nyra just laughed, teasing him relentlessly, reminding him that he was in for a surprise. Serena, for her part, acted as the exasperated but fond referee, making them both promise not to injure each other too badly.

Adrian piloted the craft, a rare, amused smile on his face, simply enjoying the moment of chaotic normalcy with the people he considered his true family.

They arrived at the Great Salt Flats, a seemingly endless expanse of cracked, white earth under the setting sun. The Voidstrider landed, and they stepped out into the stark, beautiful emptiness.

"Alright," Serena said, taking on her official role as referee and healer. "Three-way free-for-all. The fight ends when two of you yield or are knocked unconscious. Try not to break the continent. Ready?"

Adrian, Nyra, and Karl took their positions, forming a wide triangle on the salt flats, a couple of hundred meters apart.

They looked at each other, their friendly smiles fading, replaced by the focused intensity of true warriors.

As expected, Karl was the first to move. With a deafening war cry that echoed across the flats, he shot towards the now armored Adrian, his upgraded spear held ready, seeing him as the primary target.

But before he could even cross half the distance, Nyra acted. She wasn’t going to let this be a simple brawl. She smiled with a look of pure, mischievous power in her eyes as she stomped her foot onto the ground.

~RUMMMBLE!~

The entire salt flat convulsed. With a series of deafening cracks, dozens of massive, fifty-meter-tall pillars of solid-water like earth walls erupted from the ground, instantly transforming the open, flat plain into a complex, maze-like arena; that not only made it difficult to find spaces, but obstructed the up as well, making it difficult to ascend upwards into the air.

Karl was forced to skid to a halt, his charge completely broken, now lost in a forest of his own reflection.

Adrian stood perfectly still, his head tilted as he analyzed the new, chaotic terrain. High atop one of the newly formed pillars, Nyra stood, looking down at them both, a confident and challenging smile on her face. The spar had just begun, and she had already changed all the rules.

"Let’s see what you can really do," she said, her voice carrying across the new arena.