Odgar took a deep breath, admiring the object in his hands.

It was an item he'd found in the dungeon, and, simply put, it increased one's combat power in exchange for their life energy.

In other words, using it would cost him years of his life.

But that wasn't the big problem; the boy was far from a coward afraid to risk his own life. Still, using such a thing seemed simply undignified, not something a true warrior would do.

Odgar sighed deeply, clutching the amulet tightly in his hands. In the end, he couldn't disobey his master, no matter how much he disagreed with him.

Still, he gripped the sheath of his sword with determination. All he needed to do was win the fight without needing it. That way, his conscience wouldn't be burdened.

He had trained hard to reach his natural level, and he wouldn't lose easily.

ഠഠഠ

Meanwhile, Lina felt her heart racing to the point of almost bursting, and her whole body froze.

What was the reason behind this?

Simple, Davi had quickly left to buy something to eat at one of the food stalls around the arena. In that short time, a group of adventurers approached Lina to talk.

They had been impressed by her performance in the first battle and wanted to chat with her, even inviting her to explore a dungeon with them sometime.

Seeing this, a few more people joined the conversation, and soon she had become the center of attention in the stands.

Since she was terrible at interacting with people, this ended up proving to be an even scarier challenge than the fight she had just faced.

And this time, she couldn't simply use her powers to keep people away. What was worse, they were being really persistent with their invitation, even after she refused once.

Perhaps thinking that she was just shy and would eventually give in, they decided to press her a bit more.

After all, having someone powerful like Lina in their party meant defeating strong monsters, and earning a lot of money. In other words, she was a very valuable companion.

As the crowd of adventurers insisted, surrounding her with persuasive smiles and eyes gleaming with ambition, cold sweat trickled down Lina's back. Her fingers trembled slightly, and the blush on her face grew stronger by the second.

That was when a firm voice cut through the chatter.

"Sorry to interrupt, but she already has a group."

Davi appeared like a protective shadow, slipping between the curious onlookers with a commanding presence.

Before Lina could react, he suddenly pulled her by the waist, pressing her body against his, feeling the girl's chest against him for the first time.

Her oversized clothes had hidden just how large her breasts actually were, but that wasn't important at the moment.

Lina gasped, feeling his warmth against her back, her heart pounding again, but now for a completely different reason.

"We're not accepting new members," Davi continued. His tone was casual yet firm, leaving no room for debate. His eyes swept across the group with a challenging glare, and some immediately stepped back, intimidated.

One of the more stubborn adventurers opened his mouth to protest, but Davi was already turning Lina away from them, his hand sliding to her hip possessively, as if marking his territory.

"Come on, we have better things to do," he murmured near her ear, sending shivers down her spine and making her blush furiously.

"Thank you," she whispered softly once they had managed to get away.

"It was nothing," he said, ruffling her hair. "You can count on me whenever you need." He smiled.

"T-thank you," she blushed again, her heart racing once more.

But Davi didn't notice the girl's reactions, because his attention had already shifted back to the arena, where a massive torrent of fire had just erupted. In an instant, the battle was over.

Lina looked at it too, trembling slightly—after all, that would be her next opponent.

"Don't worry. All you can do is give it your best," Davi said, ruffling her hair again. "Just do everything you can, so you won't regret it later."

"Yes…" she nodded.

"Now, sorry to leave you behind, but I need to go face my opponent."

ഠഠഠ

"Let's go…" Davi said with a confident tone as he stepped into the arena.

He took a deep breath, focusing on the fight ahead. He knew he couldn't afford to show any openings.

The crowd around him roared with excitement, eager to witness the battle. Many cheered against Davi for several reasons: the men envied him for obvious ones, and many believed he had won the team championship unfairly, since he hadn't done much in the final match.

But that didn't bother him in the slightest, Davi even found it amusing to fight with such an animated crowd.

"You may begin!" declared the referee, his voice echoing through the arena.

His opponent, a young man with black hair and an arrogant posture. Then, before Davi could even take his stance, Odgar lunged forward with a savage roar.

He's pretty aggressive… Davi thought, stepping back.

Odgar decided to start by using his full power. He cast combined with , confident in his own strength, but…

"You're pretty fast," Davi murmured, dodging the strike at the very last second.

His expression remained calm, as if he considered that attack nothing more than an ordinary swing.

And in truth, no matter how fast it was, Odgar was still far from Davi's current level. After adding so many girls to his harem, his stats had risen to terrifying heights.

On top of that, he had grown so used to borrowing and adjusting the amount of power at will that he could accelerate only at the exact instant he needed.

Objectively speaking, Odgar had no chance of winning with just his normal strength, that was an immutable fact. He tried a few more strikes, unleashing his abilities, but it was obvious he didn't stand a chance.

So, Davi got tired of playing around. He moved forward to attack, and in moments, Odgar was already backed against the wall.

Remembering his master's words, Odgar swallowed his pride. The most important thing was not to disappoint the man who had always looked after him.

The boy activated the amulet.

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