"What is your current rank?"

The determiner frowned for a moment before speaking.

"I'm a Hunter, rank-E."

Alaric asked again.

"So, a rank-E Hunter can pass those exams, right?"

"That's right."

Alaric grinned and purposely raised his voice, drawing everyone's attention.

"Then I've got a request… I want to challenge you. If I defeat you, that means I'm a rank-E Hunter."

…

"Hey, look! Something interesting's going on."

…

"A boy's challenging the guild's determiner."

"Wow, that sounds fun. Let's go check it out."

…

The determiner's wrinkles deepened as he noticed everyone gathering. Still, he wasn't going to let some kid's childish provocation sway him. He said firmly:

"Rules are rules. I have no reason to accept your request. If you can't agree to my exams, then leave."

Alaric chuckled.

"What? Afraid of me? Afraid a teenage boy might kick your butt? I didn't expect a determiner of a big guild to be this cowardly and weak."

"Watch your filthy mouth… unless you want to be arrested for reckless behavior," the determiner said in an emotionless tone.

"Even if you're a VIP, nothing can shake me or let you pass the exams that easily… Listen, boy… just go home."

Alaric clicked his tongue. He didn't expect the determiner to act that hard, but that man had chosen the wrong person to mess with. It seemed that the bastard still had no idea who Alaric really was, but Alaric didn't want to rely on Dana's name too much just to force that damned man to accept his request.

Receiving too much help would only make him weaker.

"If you beat me in a duel, I'll give you a green-tier item."

Without hesitation, Alaric summoned his longsword. Well, the knowledge he gained from the library was extremely useful. He was smart enough to keep going there and read as much as he could. Based on what he knew, the sword was indeed valuable and expensive on the market—one of the most prized green-tier items

"My longsword alone might be worth a year of your salary. So you still don't want to accept my request?"

"Even so, if you still refuse, then I guess… you're really, really a coward and a pathetic guy."

…

"That boy's right… turns out the guild's determiner really is pathetic."

…

"Yeah. The master guild should've fired him already."

Chatter spread through the crowd. Everyone agreed with Alaric. Under that pressure, the determiner had no choice but to accept. Otherwise, his reputation would be destroyed—and worse, he could lose his position if the news reached the master guild.

Still, either way, he actually wanted that longsword. If he sold it, he could even buy a big house. Any green-tier item from a dungeon was priceless.

"Your request is accepted."

Alaric smiled ghostly.

"Great."

He summoned his system.

—

Normal Mission (0/1)

Status: ✅ Discovered

Life-or-Death Mission (0/1)

Status: 🔒 Undiscovered

—

[Normal Mission]: The determiner, an impertinent fool who carries hatred and jealousy toward the cursed one. Defeat that bastard in a duel to prove your strength.

***

"First… the fight between the summons."

The referee announced, marking what was basically the first match. In a sense, a hunter absolutely needed a strong summon to survive against monsters. Besides, a summon represented the potential of its summoner, so this was a good test for anyone who wanted to prove their strength.

Soon, a gigantic lion materialized from the void as the determiner called it out. A summon with Dormant potential… Well, that was pretty normal. The summon itself was common, but for him to stand here, there had to be a reason—after all, no guild would allow weak members to join their organization.

Of course, the audience quickly understood why.

"A stage-1 summon with three mana cores… Well, that's quite rare. I suppose that man must've hunted monsters non-stop to reach that point. A summon with Dormant potential is way too weak to survive even in the lowest-ranked dungeons. So the only way for summoners like him to evolve their summon is by hunting monsters outside the dungeon."

A man nodded.

"For sure. It must've taken him a few years to reach three mana cores, since the mana cores of monsters outside the dungeon are too low-quality."

"That skinny boy is really reckless to choose a summoner like that," another man muttered while assessing the competitors.

But he frowned the moment he saw Alaric's summon. In fact, he wasn't the only one—people were staring at Khaled with a mix of surprise and shock.

A wave of commotion rippled through the crowd when Alaric's summon appeared. A summon with Transcendent potential. It instantly reminded them of the breaking news they'd heard not long ago.

And pretty soon, they realized who Alaric was.

One of the Children of God. Yet, they still didn't know his true identity, since the information was kept extremely secret.

A match like this couldn't be predicted, simply because no one had ever seen what a summon with the highest potential could really do. Some people assumed the determiner would still win since his lion had three mana cores, while the slave demon only had one. Others believed Khaled might pull off something special—something worthy of transcendent potential.

A miracle.

Some didn't say anything at all, just stared with thinly veiled jealousy at Alaric's summon. Obviously, the determiner was one of them, mostly because of the Demon King's Curse.

"Shall we begin? If we drag this out too long, I'm afraid your summon won't even be able to fight anymore… it looks like mine's already making your pet nervous."

Indeed, the lion was trembling slightly as Khaled looked down at it with those cold eyes.

The determiner gritted his teeth and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Attack him!"

For the first few seconds, the lion hesitated, but then it forced down its fear, roaring before lunging at Khaled with impressive speed. It ignored the intimidating aura that had scared it earlier and opened its maw wide, baring its long sharp fangs—fully intent on delivering a brutal, precise bite straight at Khaled's unmoving head.

Only now did Khaled finally make his first move. But instead of performing the elegant sword technique everyone expected from a demon like him… he did something completely different.

He just threw a single punch—straight at the lion's maw—shattering those sharp, metal-like fangs that were supposed to tear through any enemy.

And he didn't stop there.

The demon let out a twisted giggle and continued ruthlessly tormenting the weak, pathetic lion with precise, vicious punches. Each strike was calculated—just enough to keep the lion alive, preventing it from returning to the determiner's spiritual sea.

Everyone stood frozen, simply watching the demon's brutality unfold… no one dared say or do anything. Even the determiner didn't dare. He had a clear feeling that if he tried to interfere, his fate would end up exactly like his summon's.

Fortunately for the determiner, Khaled didn't drag out the torture for too long. After around ten minutes of watching his pet being butchered mercilessly right in front of him, the lion finally reached its limit and died.

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