Chapter 141: Into the waters

Eren didn’t deny them the Physique Accelerant Paste. After all, he knew that having a much better physical synergy would allow a person to have better usage of R?zoň for an Array Formation.

Delia was the first to go through the hellish and heavenly feeling of the physical transformation. After that, she felt that her head had turned incredibly clear, allowing her to think much better about the R?zoňic symbols that she needed to memorize.

"This is.... It is game-changing," Delia muttered with disbelief.

This kind of medicine was unheard of. And she knew that if most of the Prominent Families and the Elite Awakener Organizations heard about this, they would immediately want to buy one from Eren!

A medicine that could improve the physique of a person with barely any effort was something that would be desired by everyone in the world!

Meanwhile, Celeste approached Eren. She was the last one to not take the leaf.

"So this is how you’ve been improving so fast," she said to him. "You know a lot about Array Formations and even medicine concoctions. What can’t you do?"

"Evade your suspicions, apparently."

She chuckled, "I’m not suspicious. Just curious."

"Would you just take the leaf? I know you want one."

Celeste looked at the leaf Eren offered her and simply smiled and looked back at him. "What makes you think I want that?"

Now, it was Eren’s turn to look at her. He wanted to see if she was serious. Did she really not want the Physique Accelerant Paste?

And from what he could see, it truly did seem as if she had no desire at all. Everyone who knew about the paste had some greedy desire in their eyes whenever they looked at the leaf.

Whether it be for personal improvements or for monetary gain, they all wanted more of that Physique Accelerant Paste.

But not Celeste, apparently.

"Alright, then don’t."

It was at that moment that Celeste snatched the leaf away from his hands.

Eren shook his head. There was a very good chance that Celeste just didn’t want to do what he said. He never knew she was so stubborn.

Anyway, Eren’s group experienced a great boost in their physical strengths, allowing them to improve on their skills with ease. They began to remaster the Martial Manuals that they learned from the Lindbergs’ lootbox and found that it was a lot easier than before

And within hours, they were able to achieve the very first tier of mastery with it.

Finally, Sierra, Abe, and the others were able to use a version of the Primal Step, allowing them to use Negative Reinforcement on their feet to achieve greater versatility.

Now, it wouldn’t just be Eren who had to climb up the obstacles. Now, they could do it too!

Now that everyone had improved drastically with their strength, Eren started on the next phase of his plans.

He immediately gathered everyone in a circle and told them what they needed to do next.

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After three days, Eren and his group finally exited out of their Territory and showed themselves to the outside world.

As soon as they arrived in the Pitted Cavern, they gathered a lot of looks and whispers aimed at them.

Even now, the bounty was still in-effect. Those who could make Eren suffer defeat would attain a lootbox from the Elvenied Riders.

Right now, their numbers were preventing the other groups from attacking them directly. But Eren was sure that once they were isolated and lost in one of the tunnels, they would get attacked.

In the distance, he saw Pang Cai approach him.

"Ready to swim the shark-infested waters?"

Eren chuckled. It truly did seem like the groups here were smelling blood on the water. After all, a lot of time has passed since the start of the Second Test.

And everyone was having a feeling that the test was about to conclude any day now. That sense of anxiousness made them even more feral, even more desperate to have one last bit of advantage they had in order to keep themselves afloat.

"About as ready as we were going to get," he replied to Pang Cai.

"Good. because it seems like trouble’s coming directly towards you."

Both of them turned towards the distance, where a young man was approaching them. He was a blue-haired individual, with a strong set of shoulders and intimidating double axe wield behind his back.

His axes were of different make and type. It seemed more likely that he won these weapons from his enemies rather than something he took in here for himself.

"You’re Eren right? My name is Carter."

Seeing the man hold out his hand for Eren to shake, Eren just stared at him and didn’t move.

This didn’t seem to faze Carter at all. But Eren could see that the man was annoyed.

"I come here to issue you a challenge. I’m not like these other snivelling groups who plan to ambush you in the dark. I prefer to challenge you outright. Give you the chance to prove yourself against me."

Issuing a challenge to Eren was quite smart on Carter’s part. He would be able to assure that he was the first one who fought them, while also putting himself in prime position to be seen by the sponsors watching from above.

"And why would I do that?" Eren asked him.

"Because I would be offering my own Territories as a bet. We’ll have an all-out battle. The winner takes all."

Carter then held out the flags from his pockets and showed them to Eren. just from first glance, Eren saw that they probably had the same amount of Territories in their hands.

Eren chuckled. "Seems fair. Why not?"

Pang Cai leaned into Eren and whispered to him. "I would be careful. It’s not exactly equal. If he wins, he’ll also get the lootbox from the Elvenied Riders, while if you win, you’ll still be targeted by the other groups."

But Eren didn’t seem to mind that at all. "IF he wins."

Seeing the confident look in his eyes, Pang Cai turned to him with shock. Pang Cai then turned towards the rest of his group, seeking solace with their reasoning.

But from what he could see, they were all raring to go as well!

What happened to these people in the few days they’d been cooped up in their Territory? Did the isolation finally get to them and they turned crazy?

"We’ll be having a duel with ten of our members, including ourselves. If one person wins, then the next opponent will come and try to defeat the winning person. The group who remains at the top will win the entire thing. Do you accept the terms," Carter asked.

Eren smiled and offered his hand, which Carter immediately took.

Not wanting Eren to renege on his deal, Carter added; "This is witnessed by the sponsors watching us from above. They will be watching."

He pointed towards the top of the Pitted Cavern, where they were allowed to see a patch of the skies outside.

"I don’t mind that one bit," Eren said.

With the deal set, Carter turned back towards the rest of his group and gave them the thumbs up. They all smiled with excitement, like killer whales smirking as they circled a vulnerable seal.

Pang Cai then grabbed at Eren’s clothes. "I understand you being confident. But with the rest of your group? I’m not underestimating them, but I know they’re not anywhere near the level of your opponents."

Eren shrugged. "Then I’ll defeat all ten of them."

Seeing his confidence, Pang Cai had no choice but to concede. "It’s your choice..."

In the end, Eren returned back to his group and told them the good news. Just as he told them earlier, they would be undergoing a crucial fight from now on.

It came a lot earlier than they expected. But it came nonetheless.

Eventually, they all gathered at the bottom of the pit, where a bright spot allowed the fight to be overseen by the rest of the groups here.

It gathered quite the crowd. Many were watching simply because they were curious, while others were watching to scout out any potential dangers in their opponents.

Carter and his group were already waiting on the other side of the bright circle.

"Bring out your first fighter," Carter said.

Immediately, Paul stepped forwards. He was the first fighter they would be sending out.

And on the opposite side, a man almost twice as tall as Paul stepped forwards and gave him an eerie smile.

"Is that Poss the Butcher?!"

"Oh god... this is going to be brutal..."

"If I were them, I would immediately renege on this duel. It’s clear to see that Poss isn’t even the strongest person in Carter’s group!"

In comparison, Paul was underwhelming. Not a lot of people even knew who he was.

But those who knew him knew that he absolutely stood no chance against Poss.