"Cultivation isn't fair," Aria replied. "Now—your badges. Hand them over, or I force you out like the others."
Kieran looked at his remaining allies. Jin nodded slightly. Lyssa grimaced but nodded too.
"We surrender," Kieran said, removing his badge. "You win."
They all tossed their point badges to Aria. She caught them, noting the totals:
Kieran: 1,247 points Lyssa: 1,089 points Jin: 1,334 points Others: 800-900 points each
Total gained: approximately 6,500 points.
Her badge updated: 7,000 points. And she'd only been in the dimension for an hour.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Aria said genuinely. "You're all skilled. But today wasn't your day."
"Clearly," Kieran muttered. Then, surprisingly, he smiled. "You were holding back in the application test, weren't you?"
"I showed what was necessary," Aria confirmed. "Nothing more."
"And this is you not holding back." Lyssa shook her head. "We're so outclassed it's almost funny."
