Bang! Bang! Bang!

Souta and Randolf exchanged blows at high speed. The ground and the buildings around them were demolished as the shockwaves sweep everything.

The entire third-year area became a battlefield for the two. Almost every buildings were reduced to rubble and ashes. Even the ground beneath their feet collapsed as ripples of energy were distorting the air around them.

The two collided once more causing shockwaves in the area. Then, they retreated tens of meters away from each other.

Souta looked at Randolf with a serious expression. He was using [Possession] and every skill that he had but this Randolf was keeping up with him.

Randolf smiled and charged at him once again. The black mist around him couldn't block his vision.

His figure flashed like a ray of light and arrived before Souta. He then swung the energy blade in his hand.

Souta quickly reacted and blocked the blade using his sword. Then, he lifted his feet and launched a kick at his opponent's stomach but Randolf saw it so he managed to step aside and avoided the kick.

Swoosh!

"You're good, Souta. I really wanted to fight you for a long time."

Randolf said as he slashed his blade horizontally.

Swoosh!

Souta shifted his body to the side and thrust his sword forward.

"Well, it's not that I don't want to fight you. It's just that I will not get anything from fighting you."

[Stab]!

Randolf changed the direction of the sword by hitting it from below. He felt that even if he tried to block the sword, the force inside it would injure him. The armor penetration of [Stab] skill was high so he couldn't risk himself by taking it head-on.

Clang!

After he managed to deflect the sword attack, Randolf raised his other hand and shoot a beam.

[Light Penetrating Beam]!

Souta knitted his brows tightly and slashed his sword.

[Crimson Moon]!

The two attacks collided and it caused an explosion in front of them.

A figure quickly jumped in the mid-air and rushed at Souta.

"You're a genius. Your growth rate is so fast. If I fight you a few months ago there's no doubt that I could easily destroy you at that time but it's different now..." Randolf said as his blade collided with Souta's sword.

Clang!

"Your improvement is so fast. You actually gained the power to fight me in just a few months." He said as he continued to swing the energy blade in his hands.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Souta passively defends himself from Randolf's relentless attack on him.

Black tentacles emerged from the ground but the energy blade quickly cut it down in just a few seconds.

Swoosh!

Randolf looked ahead and found that Souta was gone.

Hmm...?

He stood straight and looked behind him. He found that Souta was standing twenty meters away from him.

"[Shadow Ball] is it?"

Souta took a deep breath and asked, "What are your objectives?"

"My objectives? It's not my objectives, it's OUR objectives." Randolf turned serious as he looked in the sky. "We want to break the shackles binding us. Simply, we just want to be free..."

Boom!

He dashed towards Souta leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

Swoosh!

Souta tightened his muscles as he gathered his mana in his sword.

Boom!

Both of them clashed against each other generating powerful winds around them.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

In just a few seconds, both of them threw a hundred blows.

Randolf's speed and strength vastly increased and Souta felt it. His arms were getting numb and a few cuts started to appear on his body.

'This...? He's getting stronger.'

He couldn't block all of Randolf's powerful attack. The attack of a real Rank-A was beyond him.

"It's really hard to be free in this world... I'll tell you one thing. I'm not a genius like you. I'm an artificial one." Randolf said as he vanished and reappeared behind Souta.

'So fast?!'

Souta sensed his presence behind him so he turned around only to face a powerful kick.

Boom!

"Argh!!" He flew a few dozen meters away before he rolled on the ground.

Randolf leaped in the air as he chased Souta and arrived beside him before launching a kick at his stomach.

Bang!

"Ugh!" Souta coughed a mouthful of blood and it splattered on the floor. He wiped the blood on his mouth as he stood up and looked at Randolf.

"What do you mean by artificial?" He asked.

"I literally mean it. I'm not a human nor a demi. I'm a homunculus." Randolf replied to him.

Souta widened his eyes when he heard Randolf's words. He couldn't believe it but Randolf didn't have a reason to lie.

A homunculus... An artificial living creature made from magic and science.

It was hard to create a single homunculus as it needs a vast amount of resources and sacrifices. But the topic about homunculus was long gone from this world.

'Don't tell me someone continued this research...'

The players in the game couldn't even find a quest about the forbidden homunculus. Everyone thought that they were gone but to think that Souta would find someone connected to it in this world.

Thirty years ago... The three great countries launched a great inspection in this continent just to find the researchers of the homunculus. They found and destroyed countless facilities throughout the whole continent which was conducting research about artificial creatures.

Great cleansing occurred at that time and countless people who were involved in research died. The three great countries were fierce and anyone who tried to hide the research died. They deployed several god-level powerhouses to utterly destroyed the higher-ups of some countries involved in this issue.

Well, it was understandable as some leaders of large countries or small kingdoms were involved in this case so the three great countries didn't have a choice but to send their god-level powerhouses to kill those people.

For every homunculus, countless people will be used as an experimental subject. The three great countries wouldn't deem this research as forbidden if it didn't require human and demi sacrifices. Unfortunately, this experiment required to study the different types of human and demi's anatomy.

At that time, countless countries kept silent as they were afraid of the overwhelming power of the three great countries. They simply allowed the agents of the great countries to investigate their territory.

Deploying several god-level powerhouses was indeed a scary thing. Even if it was him in the game, he wouldn't be able to survive an attack from two or more god-level.

'So the three great countries didn't manage to completely eradicate this issue and some of the people that survive in cleansing continued the research in hopes to complete the homunculus.' Souta thought while looking at Randolf.

'Homunculus? What's that, Souta?' Saya asked him with a confused expression as she didn't have an idea about Homunculus.

Souta calmly explained to her what he knew about homunculus.

"I'm saying this to you because I know that you're not the type of person who will walk around the city saying that I'm a homunculus," Randolf said as he turned to Souta, and a smile formed on his face.

Suddenly, the ground shook heavily and a bright light flashed on the sky above them. It was so bright that it illuminated the entire Ladro Institute.

Souta and Randolf couldn't help but covered their eyes.

"That's... a [Trinity Elemental Ray]..."

Randolf immediately recognized the bright light outside the barrier. Souta recognized it too.

They didn't know what happened outside the institute but judging from this it seems that it getting worse. They wouldn't be surprised if the entire city was demolished the moment they got out of the institute.

Randolf shook his head and turned to Souta. "Teacher Bargan's battle reached its conclusion and the battle in the city are close to climax. Teacher and the people he was fighting wouldn't be able to do anything. Teacher Bargan was sealed inside that giant red ball in the sky and his opponents were heavily injured to the point that they couldn't cast a single spell." He said while pointing at the sky.

Souta knew what he was saying. Since the explosions above the city stopped it only means that the battle has finished.

"So we need to hurry up and finish out battle too. The second part of my plan will start soon." Randolf said.

'Second plan? He had another plan...' Souta tightly knitted his brows. This was not his problem but he had to get that barrier device to complete his quest.

Hmm...?

Randolf noticed that Souta was glancing at the barrier device in his hand. He raised it and said, "It seems that you really want to get this item. Is it really important for you to shattered the barrier that was protecting the institute from the fierce battle outside?"

"I don't care. I just want to shatter that thing in your hand." Souta replied to him.

"Then... Get it!" Randolf said before he threw the barrier device in the mid-air.

Souta quickly moved his body as he dashed towards the barrier device. At the same time, the gravitational ball behind him spun around and black tentacles rose from the ground.