Mortal combat was the best but most dangerous way to become stronger. If a creature was able to get through such a duel, it became many times stronger, as it had to break through several barriers to win.

After increasing its blood purity to 99%, the Wolf reached its maximum power, its peak. He no longer had any way to get any stronger being in the Fourth Chronicle, his only option was to move on. He had to reach Fifth Chronicle to get rid of his disease, or he would die in a few months.

"Look, you are a unique case since you possess two attributes, darkness, and ice. It's a pretty good combination, you're lucky to have such abilities, but you need to understand them better to become stronger." Wain said calmly with a sly smile on his face.

Wolf nodded, "I understand that."

"It would be good for you to fight someone who also wields darkness and ice, so you could get used to your new powers faster. Of everyone here, I'm the only one who has that opportunity, so I thought I'd be your opponent until another idea came to me." Wain smirked as he took a few steps back.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Wain waved his arms as a dark stream brought two people forward, they were Frigus and Nicole.

"They will be your opponents!" Wain exclaimed with an excited expression.

"What...?" Frigus muttered in a confusion.

"Hey! That's not funny at all!" Nicole shouted with a frown look.

"Leader... Are you serious? I mean... It's impossible for me to last one second against Frigus and Nicole, they're too strong." Wolf muttered in disbelief.

"Sure. I am." Wain nodded confidently with a wide grin, "Obviously it won't be that easy. If there are no conditions, they'll just kill you in a heartbeat, no one here wants that. Our goal is to save you, not kill you."

Everyone looked at Wain in puzzlement, waiting to hear what he had come up with.

"Look, you've reached the absolute limit of the Fourth Chronicle, so Nicole and Frigus will lower their power to the first stage of the Fourth Chronicle. Furthermore, Frigus will not be able to use his sword as well as his armor and Nicole will not be allowed to defend herself with darkness." Wain said calmly, swinging his hand from side to side.

"Hmmm... In that case, he actually has a chance..." Reto muttered with a thoughtful expression.

"Sure. However, obviously, even then Nicole and Frigus will be stronger than you, so it will be a real test." Wain said as his gaze grew cold, "Nicole and Frigus will be weakened, but they will fight with the express intention of killing you, so don't think of it as training."

Wolf gulped since he realized that Wain was more than serious.

Clap.

Wain clapped his hands drawing attention to himself, "Well, in that case, let's get started. Only Nicole, Frigus, and Wolf will stay here, the rest of you go back to the viewing room."

Everyone nodded and followed Wain.

Frigus and Nicole were slightly puzzled as they didn't expect Wain to decide to make them fight against the Wolf, but they didn't really mind.

Crackle.

Friugs' armor fell to the ground as the floor was covered in cracks due to the sheer weight, though the armor looked pretty light on the outside.

"Well, it might even be interesting." Frigus muttered letting go of the hilt of his sword. The ice sword flashed brightly in blue light and flew aside, hovering in the air.

"Damn, I didn't even know you were in such incredible shape..." Nicole muttered looking at Frigus as she bit her lip.

Frigus' naked torso was athletic and dry, just the way a great warrior who spends days training should be.

"Nothing special. For someone like me, it's just an inevitability." Frigus waved a hand as he glanced at Nicole, "It's time for you to get ready, too. Put away that invisible darkness that won't even let the Wolf scratch you."

"Pfffffff, I didn't mean to leave it, I just forgot, okay?" Nicole snorted as she snapped her fingers.

Whoooooooooosh.

A dense layer of darkness appeared around Nicole that quickly disintegrated into small particles, making her skin slightly lighter and the glint in her eyes brighter.

"Fine, now it's time to lower our power slightly." Frigus nodded.

"Slightly? Hah, with the Demigod Stage, we will go down to the first stage of the Fourth Chronicle! We'll be a hundred times weaker!" Nicole exclaimed.

"Well, that's even a good thing. I realize now that Wain's decision was the right one." Frigus muttered while his aura was rapidly weakening.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Nicole asked with a confused look.

"We may have more experience than Wolf, but we will be weaker on stage. It'll be good training for us too, because the only one stronger than us is Wain, so we just haven't had a decent opponent in quite some time." Frigus muttered in a serious voice as his gaze went to Wolf.

"Agh... I see, I agree with you. There isn't a single monster in my territory who could even hurt me, so this should be fun!" Nicole exclaimed with a happy expression as she waved her hand. She had a blade of darkness that gave off powerful energy.

"Well, looks like it's time to get started." Frigus stepped forward as he pointed his sword created from the energy of ice at the Wolf, "Attack at any moment. We're ready to take your blow."

Wolf nodded, however, he was in no hurry to act. He looked at Nicole several times, then at Frigus, and took a deep breath.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Wolf's silhouette blurred as in a heartbeat he appeared before Frigus with a predatory gaze. His icy blades headed toward Frigus' neck with tremendous speed, seemingly unstoppable.

'Fast!' Frigus exclaimed inwardly, thrusting his sword out in front of him at the last moment.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The shockwave threw Frigus back several meters, causing his back to hit the stone wall.historical

"Damn, I guess I'm too used to being strong..." Frigus muttered, staring at the icy sword that was breaking into pieces while blood dripped from the corners of his mouth.