Veronika stared at Zayne with a serious look, but deep inside it was obvious that she was in shock.

'Some Travelers have already come to our city and more are coming every day, but they are all wimps... How could he get such an experience in just a few days? Is it possible? Veronika inwardly muttered as trickles of blood flowed from the corners of her mouth, 'I guess I underestimated him. I can't embarrass myself in front of Mr. Alden and Mr. Roland.'

Veronika directed mana toward her arms and legs, covering them with dense white energy.

"Fine, now the fight will get more interesting, although you have to admit that Zayne has already earned one point." Alden smirked.

Veronika jumped slightly in place a few times as if she was preparing to strike, then her silhouette disappeared when she was in front of Zayne.

'Quick!' Zayne's eyes went wide as he immediately counterattacked, bringing his sword down on her.

Veronika swung her palm, removing the wooden sword and stepping forward. Her fist slammed into Zayne's stomach causing his mouth to open wide, then Veronika lifted her leg, abruptly made a full turn, and kicked Zayne in the head.

It all happened too fast for him to defend himself, so the impact tossed Zayne aside with a painful expression.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Zayne rolled over the ground several times until he stopped.

'Fuck... What was that...?' Zayne inwardly muttered, trying to get to his feet, but it was difficult as everything in front of his eyes blurred. Zayne didn't realize it yet, but he had just gotten a brain concussion.

Step. Step. Step.

Veronika was quickly approaching him, but all he could see was her black boots pounding rapidly on the ground.

"'Off!" Zayne exclaimed, swinging his sword, which was now covered in a blue glow.

Veronika was about to stop the blade like last time, but just as her hand approached the sword, her gloves tore apart and a chill ran down her back. She quickly jumped aside, not daring to continue her attack.

"Argh... Damn, that hurt..." Zayne muttered, holding his head, "If I miss one more punch like that, it will be the end."

"Mr. Zayne, don't you want to admit defeat?" Veronika asked seriously as she glanced at her palms, which were covered in scratches.

"Hmm? I admit, that blow was stronger than I expected, but I think I'll pass. If I were to give up after one failure, I wouldn't be here." Zayne smirked, slowly coming to his senses.

"Fine. In that case, get ready. I will now attack in full force." Veronika grew more serious as she clenched her fists tightly.

"Oh, how kind of you to warn me." Zayne sighed.

Whoooooooooooooooosh.

Veronika's white energy became more massive as a powerful current appeared behind her that made her gray hair soar upward.

Zayne gulped. He didn't know what Veronika was going to do, but he knew it wasn't good for him at all.

Veronika stepped forward, turning into a white flash. Zayne was about to counterattack instantly, but before he could blink, Veronika's fist crashed into his jaw, throwing him up.

"Ouch..." Roland frowned, imagining how Zayne felt then.

The blow wasn't actually painful, however, Zayne was completely lost. He was ready to pass out at any moment while his mind fogged.

'Damn, this is bad. If I don't do something now, I'll definitely lose... but what can I do in the air? Wait... I have wings... Right, they'll help me...' Zayne inwardly muttered when his gaze was already completely blurred.

"What the hell..." Veronika muttered trembling at the sight of the massive scarlet wings behind Zayne, which cast a shadow over her.

Then, Zayne clenched his sword tightly and was ready to flap his wings. He could not see Veronika clearly, only her silhouette, but that was enough.

"Damn, this is bad!" Roland exclaimed, tearing forward with concern.

Bam.

Suddenly Zayne fell to the ground as the sword fell from his hands, flying aside while the scarlet wings gradually disappeared.

Veronika took a deep breath, "What was that...?"

"As far as I know he got that skill after defeating the Terror Grade Monster..." Roland muttered, walking over to Veronika, "I haven't seen him use it in battle before..."

"I see..." Veronika muttered.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Suddenly there was clapping with Alden's light laughter, which broke the tense atmosphere.

"Hey, why are your faces so frowny? Isn't it great that Zayne is so strong? Now our squad is fully prepared!" Alden said confidently with a satisfied smile.

"Yeah... I guess you're right." Roland nodded.

"Mr. Alden... though you said this was a friendly fight, I gave Mr. Zayne some powerful blows... I apologize!" Veronika bowed with a guilty expression.

Alden waved a hand, "Never mind. Moreover, the one you owe your apologies is Zayne. Let our doctor take care of him, he'll be good as new in an hour!"

...

Zayne slowly opened his eyes, feeling a painful tingling in his head. He looked around and realized he was in one of the rooms at Redfall Family Manor because of the luxurious view.

"Damn, looks like I lost. Well, I hope I gave a decent result, I'd hate to miss the next Chaos Hearth." Zayne muttered as his gaze caught on the letter lying on the table.

[Zayne, our doctor made sure you woke up as quickly as possible, so I think you should be awake soon. Meet Veronika, she should be in the main hall. She'll help you get home and let you know the rest.

And yes... You've performed better than I expected, than we all].

"Not signed, but obviously Alden wrote it, didn't he?" Zayne muttered, holding the letter in his hands, "Well, I hope I don't have to fight Veronika again, I didn't like it at all."

Zayne got out of bed and decided to check his status, to his surprise he noticed something unusual.

[Name: Zayne Fellen

Species: Human

Level: 9 [140/405 exp]

Title: First Sight of a New Era and 3 others.

Class: N/A

Health: 140/120*

Mana: 90/70*

______________________

Strength: 12*

Agility: 14*

Intelligence: 10*

Vitality: 11*

Endurance: 13*

Fate Force: 2

Status Points: 0

_____________________

All of his stats were slightly higher than usual, as well as HP and Mana. Zayne couldn't figure out what was causing such a change until he noticed a strange symbol next to the stats.

[*** - All your stats are amplified under the buff of a potion unknown to you. This effect will continue for another two hours].

"Hah, looks like Alden wasn't fooled, they actually used something worthwhile for me." Zayne muttered with a satisfied smile before heading for the exit.

As Alden had promised, he met Veronika in the main hall. It was late, so she could enjoy her well-deserved rest.

The aroma of strong coffee floated before her tired face, making sweeter the desserts that were in front of her.

"Looks like someone prefers sweets over sleep, doesn't it?" Zayne said, walking down the stairs as Alden had done before.

"Mr. Zayne, you're already awake... I thought I'd be done before that happened. Would you like to join me?" Veronika said respectfully, pointing to the couch on the other side.