What Lyrian wanted badly right now was to use his power. 'I want to know how much closer I am to being powerful.' He thought to himself.

Although the crowd of kids behind the factions, ready for a battle, were surprised by the actions of Lyrian and his team, they couldn't say much. They weren't in the position to after all.

It was up to the factions themselves, and how they handled the situation.

While looking at the Yaltan Wind Group, Lyrian noticed not only Silvus, who had clearly recognized his presence but was refusing to look in Lyrian's direction but also two other familiar faces.

Alten was equally, if not more shocked to see them, "Cedric!? Madam Glis!?"

Seeing Lyrian's perplexed expression, Glis looked away, as if she was ashamed to show her face. Lyrian didn't catch it for long, but she seemed to have a slightly angry expression.

Cedric on the other hand didn't even look toward them, only forward, his face forced to be serious.

Lyrian found this situation pretty amusing. If nothing else, it would be fit to test out his new strength after absorbing the Molten Essence. He noted the entire group.

Riding atop an outstanding mount; the Emperor Tiger was Silvus. Seeing this, Alten first exclaimed, "No less than an emperor for the future emperor huh..."

The others were all on foot, but apart from Silandra and Cedric, there were two other unfamiliar faces in Silvus' group.

"This isn't some coordinated attack."

A voice shouted out as the leader of the White Knights stepped forward on his wolf mount in front of everyone.

"It's practically a race. Let's go!"

He yelled out to his team as his wolf dashed out of the dome and began sprinting toward the tundra biome. After a small cheer performed in unison by his team, they all quickly followed behind him.

This small speech also enticed the crowd of kids to want to go.

"He's right! Whoever gets it first wins!"

A few kids began to step forward. historical

"Im gonna go get that damn core, don't try to get in my way!"

The crowd started to move faster, as confidence grew.

"The core is mine!"

Suddenly, with a final outburst of cheers, the crowd began storming through the dome barrier.

"Hoorah!"

With this, the other factions didn't waste any time either. If they were going to fight, it was going to be in the tundra!

***

A few minutes later, all of the factions had split up a few hundred meters each. The tundra was very close by, so they were going to arrive soon. They could see their destination even from the dome ever since they began running.

"Alten, do you have any idea where the Yang creature could be in the tundra?"

Lyrian asked, wanting to have a destination to travel to.

"The tundra... I have no doubt that it will be that place if it's in the tundra."

Alten said, looking forward to his mount.

Lyrian closed the distance slightly, "That place?"

Alten didn't hesitate to reply, "If the Yang creature is there, it will be in the Tundra Arena."

Since no one knew what he was talking about, Alten continued to explain.

"As you know, there are many places in the Tasnan Wilderland that are special areas. The forbidden area, the swamp, and even the Flatstone Mountains inside of the forbidden area. Just like these special areas where unique obstacles and beasts exist, there is a similar one in the tundra that's called the Tundra Arena."

With everyone more intrigued to learn about this area, Alten continued to explain it.

"I don't know a lot, but it's a supposedly enclosed area where beasts fight mysteriously for some reason. For this reason, many powerful one gathers there as well. I imagine the Yang creature will be there if anywhere in the Tundra."

With Alten finishing this up, they had already arrived at the tundra biome. The grassland slowly began turning into a white color as a layer of snow began to build atop it.

Finally, Lyirna's group, which was ahead of most of the others by now thanks to the speed of the Rock Ostrich, arrived at a river spanning about 30 feet in width. Without stopping, Lyrian ordered his ostrich to continue forward.

With one push his ostrich leaped right over it with ease, not falling into the ravaging water down below that flew as fast as the wind. The currents were dangerous and sharp, also having chunks of glaciers and fallen dead trees within.

On the other side, Lyrian landed in the real tundra for the first time. As he ran, his team following behind him, he surveyed the area. The land had groups of lifeless trees scattered here and there, their branches crowned with a layer of snow, and nestled beneath were resilient bushes adorned in dark green leaves, valiantly persevering against the harsh conditions.

Aside from a few boulders that punctuated the relatively level ground, the landscape stretched out in an expanse that seemed almost uniformly flat. A sudden rush of wind sliced through the air, causing Lyrian to feel an immediate, biting chill on his skin. The climate held nothing back, proving to be an unyielding force. Even with the fortifications that his training had bestowed upon his body, the cold seeped through his defenses, a tangible reminder of nature's formidable power.

As the remainder of Lyrian's team arrived on the far bank of the river, the sting of the frosty air was collectively experienced. Each subsequent gust carried a sensation akin to being scraped by coarse sandpaper, leaving behind a lingering burn that danced across the skin's surface. The inhospitable weather and the reality of the tundra were now vividly etched into their shared experience.

"The arena should be in the heart of the tundra! Let's go!"

Alten suddenly shouted as he took the lead. As they all followed him and left the area near the river, a masked figure quickly came jumped out of a few bushes before beginning to trail behind them.