Alden narrowed his eyes, sensing the pressure rolling off the two dragon‑kins in front of him.
"Judging by that aura," he said, "both of you are around grandmaster mid‑rank, huh. Looks like they are pretty strong."
Beside him, Alex smiled and clapped a hand on Alden's shoulder.
"Alright, buddy," he said, grinning, "you're up."
Realisation hit Alden like a brick.
"No, no, no," he snapped. "You bastard, you're not leaving me with all the work again, are you?"
Alex didn't bother answering.
He just kept smiling, gave a casual two‑finger salute, and said, "See ya."
The next second, his figure blurred and vanished from his vision.
"You fucking slave driver!" Alden yelled after him. "I hope that Marcus guy beats your ass black and blue!"
Pyrax and Kyra, seeing Alex disappear, both exhaled in visible relief.
Their gazes shifted fully onto Alden.
"This one doesn't look that strong," Kyra said, eyeing him up and down.
Pyrax smirked. "Let's test that."
He vanished in a blur.
