Chapter 496 — Poverty & Blood Arena

"It seems that although I’ve reached Rank 4, my strength is somewhat ’empty’. At most, I have a little more Cosmic Energy stored within my body, and my physical strength is a little higher. My power has increased, but not as much as expected.", Liora thought.

The next instant, her gaze turned inward, focusing on the Cosmic Energy that was stored within her body.

She could choose to manipulate it with just a thought, empowering her strength and talents as if it were demonic energy.

That was what she did in the past, at least.

But it was only now that she understood that this was not the "proper" way to fight.

Recalling the contents of the Elemental World technique, her eyes gleamed.

Her consciousness concentrated on the Cosmic Energy and began to alter it. The Elemental Affinity talent was activated.

A faint four-colored hue began to appear in the initially colorless energy.

Red, brown, blue, and green. Fire, earth, water, wind.

Within a few moments, the Cosmic Energy had turned into an amalgamation of four distinct yet harmoniously blended colors and types of energy.

A faint cracking sound echoed from within Liora.

The next moment, her strength soared once again.

She felt herself resonate with the Elemental Affinity talent, as if its power had increased out of thin air.

Moments later, when everything was over, she couldn’t help but check her current state.

The results caught her off guard.

"My strength has improved by about ten percent.", she judged, knowing this was the result of mastering the first level of the Elemental World.

Even so, she had never expected such a result. This was only the first level of the Elemental World.

How much would her power increase if she mastered the other ten levels?

Subconsciously, she entered the Information World again and opened the War Academy’s System.

She focused on the "store" and on the Elemental World technique.

"I’ve already learned that what is currently restricting me is my lack of a Domain. If I want to awaken it and resume my progress, I need a suitable technique. Or at least, something to guide the way forward.", Liora deduced.

She could always choose to study the seed of the Fire Domain given by the Lord of the Nova Terra Planet.

However, she knew very well this process would be time-consuming.

Compared to doing this, it would be far easier to obtain the rest of the Elemental World technique. With her experiences, comprehension, and Elemental Affinity talent, she would be able to master it in seconds.

"The first three levels require ten thousand Contribution Points each. As for the fourth level, the price jumps to one hundred thousand. This means I need one hundred twenty thousand Contribution Points in total."

Looking at her balance, which was nearly empty, Liora felt as though she had become a pauper once again. The feeling of poverty was both novel and strangely familiar.

Thankfully, she already knew the way to obtain more Contribution Points.

"Besides the competitions conducted by the War Academy, taking up tasks, and contributing to humanity as a whole, the easiest way is to participate and win in the Blood Arena.", she thought.

The moment that thought surfaced, she focused on the arena symbol.

The next moment, she was teleported to the middle of a familiar architecture.

"Welcome, Awakener Liora Augustus! Would you like to start a Battle Simulation or participate in Blood Arena?" a mechanical voice echoed in her ears.

In the past, Liora would have chosen to conduct a Battle Simulation.

But this was not her purpose for coming here today.

After a brief pause, her consciousness swept outward and communicated with the Arena.

"I wish to enter the Blood Arena.", she conveyed her wishes.

The moment she finished speaking, the entire arena seemed to pause as if time had stopped.

But the next second, the same emotionless voice rang out.

"Determining Awakener’s strength... Rank 1."

"Searching for a suitable opponent... It has been found."

"..."

"Awakener Liora, please brace yourself for teleportation."

"Three... two... one..."

As the countdown finally came to an end, Liora sensed a teleportation force descend upon her and transfer her away.

Yet, as she scanned her surroundings, she found that she was still in the same futuristic arena. The floor remained a mixture of metals and precious materials, and the audience seats were empty.

The only difference was that she was no longer alone within the battle stage.

In front of her stood another person. A man wearing a thin black battlesuit that covered his entire body and holding a magnificent green saber in his hand stood not far away.

The moment he appeared, a line of text emerged above him, dyed red and dripping with blood.

"Erwin Anandes. Wins: 6. Defeats: 2. Rating: 1 Star."

Just as she was staring at this text, Liora sensed her opponent doing the same.

He looked at the space above her as if reading something.

A flicker of surprise flashed across his face the very next moment.

"Huh?", an exclamation escaped his mouth.

"A newbie? It seems that my luck is good this time...", he muttered under his breath.

It didn’t require someone to be a genius to understand what was happening.

Obviously, just as Liora could see the "score" of her opponent, the other party could as well.

Seeing that she had no wins or defeats, he concluded she had never participated in the Blood Arena before.

In the eyes of the man, Liora had turned into an easy target. A walking package of Contribution Points, if you will.

Despite this, he didn’t say anything. He waited for the numbers hovering above their heads to reach "0" before rushing forward.

He brandished his saber and activated his talent, causing a silver sheen to envelop its sharp edge.

The next instant, he swung it towards Liora’s torso, wishing to cleave her in two.

He showed no intention of holding back. He neither cared that Liora was a woman nor about her status as a newbie.

Boundless bloodlust erupted from his eyes.

The moment he took action, he was determined to take her life!