“| Our first Game will be Survival! Each participant will be tasked to survive for as long as possible against an overwhelming foe created by our Arena in a one-on-one setting. All matches will occur at the same in a Spatial Layer! |” The presenter announced giddily.

Sitting at the table, Rakna rested his cheek on his fist whilst watching the spatial layers scramble their structure and duplicate. In an instant, Eye of Symphony locked onto 312 Layers; one for each participant.

Everyone in his group also watched in interest as the stage for this Game transformed into a vast expanse of glittering sand, dunes, and rocks; an endless desert illuminated by a crescent moon.

“| As per usual, our participants will be projected into the stage as half-spirits. If they perish, they will be eliminated from the competition and return to their physical bodies. |”

“Hey, I made that!” Ciel exclaimed happily and half of the group looked at him in confusion.

Kryas snorted. “Our little ghost here was the one who designed the Spirit Projection. The kids who participate in the Arena Games are placed in pods and both their mind and soul get projected into a pseudo-virtual world that is intrinsically tied to the spatial layers to take part in the Games.”

“It is impressive, as always,” Gaelius commented. “Once again, I have to praise you for your genius, Ciel,” the old scientist said amicably and the young ghost smiled sheepishly.

“Thank you!”

Meanwhile, Rakna paid half a mind to the conversation and ordered his Eye to zoom in on one of the layers where he could see an acquaintance participating. ‘Shin-Woo is in there, huh?’

“Still, that desert, it’s the Silver Sea, isn’t it?” Zialtra remarked curiously.

Merlina nodded and spoke for the first time since her greetings, “It is.”

Cura, who happened to be sitting nearby, seemingly agreed with the observation.

“The Silver Sea?” Flavia asked out loud and Azheim answered her.

“It’s the name of the 600th Plateau, young lady,” he explained. “As you can see, it is almost a mirror of the Tenth Plateau, known as the Golden Sea. The differences are simple; it is always night time and the sand glows silver due to the moonlight. Additionally, there are a lot more rock formations that are apt for… hiding.”

Higure chuckled. “It’s as he says. The Tenth’s danger was the monsters dwelling underground, but in the 600th… the true danger hides on the surface, in the darkness of those rocks.”

“I think I know what they will pit against the participants for survival,” Zialtra said with a grin. She sent a look toward the lioness as if acknowledging a kindred being. “What do you think?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re right,” Higure cackled.

The ones listening to them shivered unconsciously and Rakna groaned silently. ‘One Higure is more than enough. I don’t need two of them,’ he grumbled right as the specifics of the Game Round were announced.

“| To pass this round, you must survive ten minutes! Your enemy… will hunt you, |” the presenter said ominously. “| Good luck, |” he stated and faded to silence as a faint timer appeared in the sky above the stages.

“Hm, so it begins,” Azheim mused and glanced at Rakna. “You seem rather focused, boy. Is there someone that has caught your attention? An associate?”

The therian eyed him back for a moment before looking back at the stage. “Thirty-first layer from the top. It’s a friend of mine,” he replied simply and the most experienced people at the table were quick to pick out the correct spatial layer.

“…bro, thirty-first layer doesn’t mean shit to me,” Allan once again complained. “How are you guys even enumerating them already?!” He nearly yelled it out as he saw half of his friends along with their additional company acting per Rakna’s words within a second.

“I’m surrounded by freaks…” The Ichubyr groaned.

Hans sighed on the other side of the table. “Use more than your eyes, fool,” the author uttered and for once, Allan only raised an eyebrow instead of a retort, meaning he was listening. “Spatial force is something you can sense as long as you pay mind. But if that does not work for you… close your eyes, switch your perception toward the stage, and seek the auras of the participants.”

The blond furrowed his eyebrows before complying.

“They will feel as if they are stacking on each other,” the azure-haired boy continued, helping Marie and Evelyn in the process as well. “That is what Xiorra implied by ‘from the top’. From there, count to thirty-one, open your eyes, and try to match the aura you feel with what you see.”

After a few seconds, Allan opened his eyes again and his pupils dilated before eventually settling down. He blinked a bit and then turned toward Rakna. “Ah, it’s that guy who saved you, right?”

Rakna nodded impassively, ignoring the questioning looks he got from it. Though Zialtra did seem to be very much interested, albeit for a different reason.

“Oh? That guy must be quite something then,” she smirked.

* * *

“The Silver Sea…” Shin-Woo exhaled, his breath crystallizing from the frigid air of the nightly desert. Slowly, he drew the sword at his waist and began walking around the rock formations in a way that left the least number of dead angles.

Unlike all other participants, he knew which monster was going to appear. Maybe at some other time, he would have felt guilty for using his past knowledge as competitive advantage, but he had gotten over it pretty quickly.

He had accomplished his duty; save Rakna Xiorra. Now, all that was left was for him to focus on his own power and grow strong enough to deal with what was to come. If winning the Arena Games allowed him to get closer to that goal, he would gladly cheat a little.

“…!” Abruptly, his body stiffened and his instinct rang as he stared at one particular rocky area. He narrowed his eyes, his irises glowing and promptly twisting into dozens of parallel silver lines.

At the same time, with a practiced motion, he flicked a scroll out of his pouch with his thumb and it soared into the air. He extended his palm toward it. “[Scroll Edge,]” he intoned and the scroll opened itself in front of his eyes, lines of runes glowing one after another.

Silently, Shin-Woo thrust his sword at the scroll, the tip failing to pierce the paper. However, like ashes, it subsequently scattered and fused with the blade.

The swordsman breathed in and slowly widened his stance, raising his sword above his shoulders and aiming his blade at the rock formation as if he was about to throw a lance or a javelin.

“[Edge of Distortion,]” he chanted and for a split second, a flash of light emerged at the tip of the slender sword before it was thrust. Soundlessly, a single cut appeared on the rocks.

At first, nothing else happened but then a second cut appeared, this time much longer and deeper than the first. From there on, it quickly snowballed and in the blink of an eye, distortions in the air made it proof of the existence of millions of invisible slashes.

The rocks were cut into miniature pieces and the sand of the desert mixed with the minced dust of the now destroyed natural formation. Shin-Woo flicked his weapon to the side as if cleaning off an inexistent layer of blood, but instead of relaxing, he raised his guard and his enchanted eyes attentively scanned his surroundings and the cloud of dust.

Then, through his Synesthesia skill, he spotted a white and beige color emerging to his left; an aura of great power. He looked at the source and narrowed his eyes at the creature that stood there, in silence.

“So, you finally show up…” He whispered, his left hand open and in the process of coalescing mana into a pile of old-looking papyrus paper.

The monster that stood in front of him was around three meters tall and humanoid. Its limbs were slender and long, matching its torso that gave the impression of nothing but agility. Its body was covered in a sort of silver and beige shell with scales on it, blending in with the sand.

It was as if its skin was some sort of intricately layered armor. It also had a long, almost flat, tail growing from its back with the same type of armoring and ending into a sharp tip. Then, there was its head.

Its face had no mouth and instead had white markings mimicking the teeth of a skull. It had bright red eyes with rectangular pupils that were beset by a pair of threatening forward-facing horns.

* * *

“The Silent One; it’s a Prowler,” Zialtra chuckled as she crossed her arms and leaned back. “That’s a bit mean to have these kids face off against one. Then again, it makes for a swift culling.”

“A Prowler, you say?” Flavia raised her voice out of curiosity. “Are they dangerous?”

“Well, it definitely looks scary, if anything,” Allan snorted.

“Prowlers, also called the Silent Ones are Wilden of the same category as Skulking Angels,” Ceresta stated and those not in the know looked at her. “That is to say; ultimate killing machines.”

Higure cackled at her side. “Pretty accurate,” she said whilst watching the quiet and immobile form of the Prowler on the stage. “Skulking Angels can be considered apex predators for three reasons; ultimate defense, ultimate camouflage, and extreme speed. Prowlers, on the other hand, aren’t just predators; they’re true weapons of slaughter.”

The lioness pointed at the stage with her chin. “First, look, the thing took the attack of your friend and came out of it unscathed. Not to mention, it appeared right next to him in an instant. It already highlights two things; defense and speed. Additionally, the shell of Prowlers adapts to its habitat and as long as they hide, their presence is nonexistent. They don’t breathe, have no mouth, and no body heat. As such; adds strong camouflage to the lot.”

“They actually exist in a lot of Plateaus, but the 600th is the first you’ll see them in. And something you can’t observe yet; they also possess a regenerative ability that would put a troll to shame.”

Then, she grinned as everyone watched the Prowler suddenly break from its immobile stance and lean its upper body forward. A red orb of raw power began to spin into existence in between its horns soon after.

The orb was fired in less than a second and in the span of a breath, a beam of energy hit the place where Shin-Woo was standing, blasting the landscape for hundreds of meters around its point of impact.

“But most importantly; ultimate attack power.”