The atmosphere in White Deer Giant Stadium was lively. Balloons and banners filled the stadium as the earth-shaking sound of drums echoed—the joy brought by the competition wholly immersed the audience.

At that moment, the top sixteen and top eight of the individual Player Kill competition occurred. The audience would cheer with warm applause and thunderous cheers whenever the screen flashed.

To highlight the importance of the competition, the organizing committee changed the arenas to two thirty-meter squares. At the same time, they increased the time to forty-five minutes per round to reduce accidents.

In addition, the organizing committee placed flags from the previous annual school professional competition around the competition venue. Giant posters of the sixteen participants stood beside the venue, looking exceptionally spectacular.

The audience felt the annual school professional competition’s long history when they looked at the dozens of flags of different colors.

Moss was lost in his thoughts when he saw the flags. Then a cry of surprise interrupted his thoughts, instantly bringing him back to his senses.

“Oh no! Miller’s sword cut Alan! Alan is in serious trouble now!”

Moss’s heart was in his throat when he saw that Miller had left a cut on Alan’s calf. Moss anxiously looked at Alan, who was at the center of Arena 2.

“What a pity. Alan’s paralyzing potion would have hit Miller if it were just a second faster.”

“I commend Alan for holding on for so long since Miller is ranked number one on the overall strength ranking list. He’s the most popular participant in the individual Player Kill competition.”

“Sigh, Alan lost. What a pity…”

“Sigh, he still lost. What a pity.”

Moss felt sorry yet proud of Alan when listening to the surrounding spectators’ discussions. Alan dared to fight against the most popular participant, not showing the slightest bit of stage fright. To reach such a level and contend with Miller, Moss felt that Alan had already won.

Since the start of the annual school professional competition, Alan’s growth had been the most vivid in Moss’s perception.

In the team Mystic Realm competition, Alan faced his fears of the two-star Mystic Realm, overcoming difficulties. He successfully conquered the two-star Mystic Realm alongside Moss.

Alan also thought that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the group section of the individual Player Kill competition. However, he had successfully entered the top sixteen. If Alan didn’t end up fighting the crowd favorite, Miller, he would have created another miracle. Alan had grown quite a bit throughout this competition.

Seeing Alan limping out of the arena in despair, Moss rushed over and hugged Alan. Then he comforted Alan, “You’ve done great, Alan. I’m proud of you for holding your own against Miller.” Moss gave Alan a thumbs up as he spoke.

“Sigh, but I still lost! It’s all up to you and Bass now.”

Then Alan pointed his chin toward the arena next to Mill and said, “Mill is doing great too since she defeated Will. Our school is in the top eight now!”

Alan lightly nudged Moss with his shoulder and said, “You have to work harder, or you’ll lose to Mill.”

Alan, who relaxed, suddenly remembered the pain in his calf. He bared his teeth and screamed, “Ouch!”

“Come on, Alan. I’ll carry you to the medical treatment point.”

“Don’t worry about me, Moss. Your match will start soon, so I’ll go to the treatment point by myself. Hurry up and get ready so I can cheer for you from below!”

Alan struggled out of Moss’s arm and limped toward the treatment point alone. Moss looked at Alan’s back, tidied up his clothes, carried his sword, and confidently entered the arena.

…

“Let’s show our appreciation to the four contestants for their wonderful performances. Congratulations to Mill and Miller for making it into the top eight!”

Thunderous applause echoed throughout the giant stadium as Davis’s attractive voice sounded.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the second round of the top sixteen will continue. Let’s warmly welcome Tom and Drake from Venue 1 and Mitchell and Moss from Venue 2!”

The audience would give a warm round of applause and earth-shattering cheers as Davis mentioned the participants’ names. When Davis mentioned Moss’s name last, the audience cheered for Moss rhythmically.

Moss had never received such cheers before, so he wasn’t used to it, especially since it came out of the blue. He then waved to the audience with gratitude.

After the short introduction that Davis deliberately dragged out, his passionate voice continued, “I declare the second round of the top sixteen, begin!”

Ten rapid drum beats sounded in unison as soon as Davis’s voice fell, signaling the start of the match.

Mitchell summoned an Explosive Wolf on Arena 2. It was four meters long with silver fur around its neck. The wolf’s leg muscles were as thick as a tiger’s.

The audience widened their eyes and mouths when they saw a huge Magical Beast appear on the field. Some audience members who had never seen a Magical Beast in person were so scared that they almost got up and ran away.

“Wow, that Magical Beast is scary!”

“I would’ve run away too if I didn’t know Mitchell was a Magical Beast Tamer.”

“Phew! I was scared to death.”

“Don’t worry. Although it looks fierce, Mitchell has already tamed it.”

While the audience discussed the matters of taming a Magical Beast, they heard Mitchell shout, “Charge!”

Then the audience witnessed Mitchell charging toward Moss alongside the Explosive Wolf.

Seeing as the Explosive Wolf started moving, some of the audience members who were scared to the point of running away squatted on the ground before they could return to their seats.

…

Mitchell, who was charging forward rapidly, was filled with anger. He was angry because the audience had ignored him when he entered the arena, so he vented his frustrations on Moss.

Mitchell immediately launched an attack, wanting to defeat Moss in the shortest time possible to prove that the Knights were still a low-leveled class.

Moss was shocked when he saw the huge Explosive Wolf charging toward him. He had never seen such an enormous Explosive Wolf before. It was even bigger than the level ten Explosive Wolf King he had killed in the one-star Mystic Realm.

However, Moss didn’t find this strange when he saw that it was a level thirteen Explosive Wolf. What surprised Moss was that Mitchell’s weapon differed from his previous matches. Moreover, Mitchell wore two rings and a belt.

It was evident that the equipment had attribute properties attached to them. Moss thought it wouldn’t be an easy fight, and he was right.

Number Two High had given the additional equipment to Number Three High as support. One of the rings was a black two-star agility ring that increased speed by 40% while providing a 25% attribute property.

The second ring was a purple strength ring that increased strength by 35% and provided a 30% paralysis status effect.

The blue recovery belt that Mitchell wore reduced damage taken by 25% while providing a 20% speed reduction status effect.

The recovery belt was the most crucial equipment for a Magical Beast Tamer like Mitchell. It could reduce the damage that Mitchell and his Magical Beast received.

However, the equipment’s additional attributes were only effective within a five-meter radius, with the user as its center.

The fact proved Moss’s prediction.

“S-Shield of Faith!”

Moss instantly summoned two shields in front of him when he saw the Explosive Wolf and Mitchell attacking him simultaneously. He successfully blocked the attack, but his upper body had already begun to feel numb.

‘T-This isn’t good. I’m feeling the effects of the attribute properties.’

Moss quickly realized the gravity of his situation.