Journey to Become the Zenith

Are You Sure About This?

"Why isn’t Günter hitting him?"

"Is Günter playing with him?"

"He must be."

"Perhaps he’s trying to frighten him first."

The crowd couldn’t imagine another possibility.

After all, Günter was a known expert.

How could an apparently ordinary man continuously avoid his attacks?

Diana’s lips curled slightly.

She understood.

Victor wasn’t struggling.

He was playing with Günter.

Her blood-red eyes gleamed with quiet amusement as she watched the scene unfold.

She leaned slightly closer to Victor when he passed near her and murmured with a teasing smile, "Victor, you’re being rather mean."

Victor glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

A faint smile appeared on his handsome face.

"Am I?"

Diana’s smile widened.

"You know you are."

Victor gave a quiet chuckle before turning his attention back to Günter.

The young guard was beginning to breathe more heavily.

Sweat gathered along his forehead.

He had started with the intention of ending the confrontation quickly.

Now, however, he couldn’t even touch his opponent.

Worse still, Victor didn’t appear tired.

Not even slightly.

Günter clenched his teeth.

He attacked again.

Victor casually avoided him.

Another attack.

Another miss.

The pattern continued.

To everyone watching, it appeared as though Günter was deliberately holding back and humiliating Victor.

The truth was the exact opposite.

Günter was becoming increasingly frustrated because he couldn’t understand how Victor kept slipping away from every attack.

Victor, meanwhile, was quietly observing him.

His golden eyes followed every movement.

The increased mana capacity he had obtained recently had given him a better understanding of his own condition. This encounter was another convenient opportunity to gauge just how much control he had gained.

But there was no reason to reveal everything yet.

Victor wanted to see what Günter could do.

He wanted to understand the strength of the people surrounding the young master.

And, perhaps most importantly, he wanted to see how far this foolish situation would go.

Diana noticed the faint curve of his lips and shook her head.

She knew that expression.

Victor was enjoying himself.

The young master of the Valier family, however, had long since lost patience.

He had initially watched with amusement, expecting Günter to cripple Victor almost immediately.

Instead, several exchanges had already passed.

His fingers tightened around his expensive clothing.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

His face darkened.

He looked at Victor as though the man’s continued existence was an insult.

"Günter, enough horsing around, it’s getting boring and I need that woman right now!"

The young master’s voice carried across the street, sharp with impatience.

Until now, he had watched the fight with an expression that suggested everything was proceeding exactly as he expected. But seeing Günter repeatedly fail to touch Victor had finally exhausted his patience.

His fingers tightened around the edge of his sleeve.

He had originally thought this would be simple.

Günter was a powerful warrior, one of the three guards assigned to protect him. Even if Victor possessed some skill, there was no reason for the confrontation to last this long.

Yet Victor was still standing.

Not only standing—he looked completely relaxed.

There was no blood on him.

No visible injury.

Not even a trace of exhaustion.

Victor’s black hair moved slightly in the breeze, while his golden eyes remained calm and clear. His black shirt and leather pants contrasted sharply with the golden jacket over his shoulders, making him stand out among the gathered crowd.

His expression contained neither fear nor excitement.

It was almost as though the battle had nothing to do with him.

Diana stood nearby, watching silently.

She already knew what was coming.

"Günter, enough horsing around, it’s getting boring and I need that woman right now!"

The command carried a different weight this time.

Günter’s face hardened.

"Yes, young master!"

Hearing the young master’s irritation, Günter suddenly changed his stance.

The relaxed posture he had maintained until now disappeared.

His feet settled firmly against the ground.

His shoulders lowered.

His fists tightened.

Then mana erupted from within his body.

A powerful wave of energy spread outward, stirring dust from the ground and causing several people in the crowd to instinctively step backward.

The air itself seemed to grow heavier.

Mana gathered around Günter’s body.

It clung to him like an invisible layer of armor.

His muscles tightened beneath the pressure. His shoulders rose slightly as he drew in a slow breath.

Then the space around him began to tremble.

It was subtle at first.

A faint vibration.

Almost too small to notice.

But everyone in the arena felt it.

The spectators who had been whispering only moments ago gradually fell silent.

One by one, their voices disappeared.

No one needed to tell them something had changed.

They could feel it.

"So... he was holding back this entire time?"

"That pressure..."

"Günter is finally serious."

"That young man is finished."

The whispers spread through the crowd before dying away again.

Even those who couldn’t accurately judge Günter’s true strength understood the difference.

Before this moment, his attacks had looked powerful.

Now, they felt dangerous.

There was a completely different weight behind his presence.

Günter slowly raised his head.

His eyes settled on Victor.

The faint pity that had remained in his gaze throughout the battle was gone.

There was nothing soft left in his expression.

No hesitation.

No restraint.

Only determination.

He had received a direct order.

And he intended to carry it out.

His fingers slowly curled into fists.

The mana surrounding his body grew denser.

The atmosphere seemed to tighten with him.

For a moment, Günter looked ready to move.

Then Victor’s voice reached him.

"Are you sure about this?"

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Authors Notes: Dear Readers, Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure! Your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement really keep me motivated to keep bringing *Journey to Become the Zenith* into existence. If you’re loving the Chapters, I’d love it if you supported my book with a Powerstone, review, or even a Golden Ticket—it helps me develop as a writer and lets more readers enjoy the story. I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!

With love,

Scorpio_saturn777

Creator of Journey to Become the Zenith

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