GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

The dust slowly settled to reveal Soverick. The ground beneath his feet had cratered. The 100m diameter dais had been cleared by the shockwave. Cracks spread from the crater to the edge of the raised platform. But he was fine. He dusted himself and looked around.

"I am Soverick Ghastorix. And I will be your Leader."

Everyone heard his declaration.

"You are chaotic. So I am Order. You need a leader. You have gotten one. You didn't ask for me, but I have enthroned myself."

He created a throne of stone with a spell and sat on it.

"If you don't like it then come. I promise to beat that fact into you. I will break your spirit and I will break your body until it is accepted."

Then he beckoned to all of them with his hand.

"Come."

Some were filled with indignation, and a lot of them were in awe, Even more, felt fear. But most of them were in shock or confused. That was before the youths in the Ghastorix family section began to chant his name

"Soveeick! Soveeick! Soverick!"

Soverick's previous opponent was the one to start it but then more picked it up. SWIFTESCAPE led everyone around him in chanting his name, his pain and injuries did not stop him. He may have fought and lost to Soverick, but he is now a supporter. Those in the Ghastorix family section joined in first. Whatever their feelings were or their reservations, Soverick was strong and he was part of their family. Strength needed to be honored, so they honored him.

More sections of the hall joined in the chanting and it increased in volume.

They shouted. "Soverick! Soverick! Soverick!"

The hall began to resound with the sound of his name.

There were some who didn't accept him though. It is only natural. Most of them were around the dais. They were the ones that Soverick had knocked over in the aftermath of his descent. The ones that survived the shockwave easily had all reached the first step of mastery. They were able to transfer the momentum of the shock wave so that they didn't take the brunt of it.

These are the group of battle sage monkeys who thought that they should have a hand in leadership and had enough confidence, pride, or arrogance to do something about their thought. They saw and felt a battle sage monkey drop on them from the sky. Still, it was not enough. They may be impressed, but they were not willing to submit. One of them stood up. He claimed back up onto the dais.

He was a towering brute for a monkey. He was already 1.6m tall and made Soverick look small with his 1.2m height. Such a height at the vitality core stage means he will grow much taller in the future. He was also heavily muscled. He looked more like a gorilla than a monkey. He had silver fur and what looked like boulders for fists.

He cracked his hands and said. "I am Strung SilverBack and I do not accept your leadership. Why don't you make me see reason?"

Soverick stood up from his throne. His body felt heavier but he moved lighter. It is due to absorbing a lot of momentum from that impact. His gate stores momentum and amplifies his power. He had increased the conversation rate but it has a limit to how much momentum it can accept at a time. That amount must not be greater than the total amount of momentum he has stored in it.

If he has 10 units of momentum, he can tank 9 units of momentum. Then depending on his conversion rate, his own momentum will increase. So if it increases to 11 units, he will be able to tank 10 units. If he faces 12 units then the gate will be destroyed. In summary, he can continue moving as long as he doesn't face an opposing force greater than his own, but the moment he is stopped is the moment he will lose all his momentum. He has to continue moving forward or he breaks.

In theory, there is no limit to how much momentum he can store but in reality, that isn't true. His body is the link between external momentum and his gate. If his body cannot withstand the process of momentum transfer, then it will break before the gate can store it all.

That's why he sat down on a throne earlier. He had sustained so much damage that he couldn't stand properly. He sat down to let his vitality heal him.

He isn't fully healed, but he has to make this fight impactful. He had to show overwhelming strength that will outclass his opponent and deter the other challengers. Silence returned to the hall as everyone focused on the upcoming fight. The outcome of this battle will determine if Soverick is the real deal or a one-time wonder.

Soverick shook his head in pity. "I warned you. But you came nonetheless. Like a fly to a flame. You will burn all the same."

He really pitied the battle sage monkey. He is the only one that thought so, but that's only for now. He will show every one of them what will happen when they defy him. So that they will pity future brutes that stand up to him.

He moved and Strung SilverBack moved too. The two of them flashed towards each other with speed beyond the capabilities of normal vitality core stage refiners. It proved that their movement skills were exceptional. Their speed was equal. But Soverick was holding back.

Their fists met and there was a shockwave from the impact. Strung was strong, he had a bigger body and stronger bones. So he could match Soverick in power. But Soverick was holding back.

The two of them didn't move back at all. It was a comical sight for a small opponent to hold back a much larger opponent but it wasn't a strange sight. Size doesn't mean superiority in strength when it comes to refinement, but that only starts at the mana entity stage. They couldn't figure out how Soverick could show this much strength at this stage. But Soverick was still holding back.

The cracks on the dais enlarged. Strung's other arm swung for another punch as his first arm fell limp to his side. Strung's left fist which looked like a boulder hurled itself at Soverick's small figure. It is an admirable thing to not waver even when your first clash in a fight turns sour.

Soverick's speed picked up. He wasn't holding back anymore. He flashed sideways and dodged the second punch. It wasn't a close shave, he evaded the punch completely. The arm struck empty air where Soverick used to be. Then Soverick punched the outstretched arm as it sailed past him. His punch broke the arm and went on to shatter its bones. The arm exploded into blood, bones, and gore.

Still, Strung didn't cry or give up. His right leg kicked forward. He wanted to slam Soverick with his foot. Soverick flashed again moving at impossible speed. That's what happens when you have momentum even when you are standing still. Your potential energy is always high and a single outlet will make you spring forward as if you are a wound-up spring.

So he flashed around Strung. He was suddenly on Strung's right side. This time it wasn't about evading the attack. He didn't have to move from Strung's left side to his right side. He was toying with Strung now.

He struck Strung in his exposed side. His right arm was already limp from their earlier fist clash so it couldn't block this attack. Soverick's punch struck him like a wrecking ball and all the air in his chest exploded out from his mouth and nose. It brought a lot of blood with it. Now Strung couldn't cry even if he wanted to. His throat has been filled with blood and chunks of his internal organs.

Still, Soverick wasn't done. He flashed to his opponent's back and struck his spine. Strung's spine exploded into a shrapnel of bones and he was propelled forward. Strung's two arms were gone, and one of his legs was up in the air because of his kick, so he was off balance.

He was about to fall face flat when Soverick flashed to his front. Soverick punched his face and broke his nose. The force of the punch knocked back his head and halted his falling momentum for a while. It gave Soverick time to slam another punch into Strung's chest and this time his hand went through it to the other side.

The earlier punch to his back had destroyed the structural integrity of his bone structure, so this one finally shattered the barrier that is Strung's sternum and penetrated all the way to the back. There was no spine to stop the progress of Soverick's arm.

Strung hung on Soverick's outstretched arm. His blood gurgled in his throat as he struggled to breathe. Blood had splashed onto Soverick's nonchalant face. His golden fur was ruined by the silver blood of his opponent, but his eyes continued to glow.

He had shown them that he isn't a one-time wonder. Maybe now, they will pity the fool that dares to challenge him.