Shadow Slave

A stunned silence settled over the resplendent arena. A sea of spectators was staring at Sunny with wide eyes, not sure if they had heard it right. Even the Saint seemed shocked and uncertain about what to do.

Surely, Mongrel had not just… challenged a Master of the Great Clan Valor to a fight?

In that silence, a bright laughter suddenly rang, rolling over the vast courtyard. It was Morgan. She was laughing with a delighted expression on her face, her striking vermilion eyes full of mirth and amusement.

A few moments later, she looked down and asked, her raspy voice relaxed and steady:

"Oh, really? You want to fight me?"

Sunny stared at her from below, and nodded.

"Yes."

…But of course, he didn't. He might have been a little bit crazy, but not nearly crazy enough to wish to fight an Ascended serving one of the Sovereigns. Hell, that Morgan girl could have been Anvil's own daughter, for all Sunny knew.

However, the fact that he would rather avoid such a confrontation didn't mean that fighting Morgan would be of no benefit to him. In fact, Sunny felt that it could push him to finally mastering the second step of Shadow Dance. A member of a Great Clan had to have a lot to teach him.

'Plus… who knows? If I win, she might give me the reward anyway. Anything else would just look petty…'

So, even if Sunny was against the idea, it was the best bad idea he had managed to come up with.

As for how he was supposed to win against a Master… that depended on Morgan herself. If Sunny was right, she would not unleash her full power on him, be it out of pride, a sense of fairness, or simply to save face.

The young woman, meanwhile, was still looking at him from above. Her scarlet lips were curved into a slight smile.

"...Such an audacious wish."

She leaned back… and in the next moment, the crowd gasped.

rose into the air from the force of the impact, but the young woman

He instantly tensed.

'Curses… she actually accepted?'

hope that

instead. Stopping opposite Sunny, the young woman studied him for

Thane… if you

bewildered Saint remained silent for a few

"Uh, yes… of course…"

the

has entered

"...Morgan has challenged Mongrel!"

then turned back to

"...That's better."

for a moment, and then shook her

As an Ascended, I can't expect an Awakened — even one as skilled and distinguished as you — to really have

for a bit, and then smiled

I have an

armor and vermilion cape suddenly disintegrated into a torrent of scarlet sparks. The young woman was left standing in a simple black tunic,

minute… if you survive against me for one minute, the win will be yours. That should be

behind

arrogant… and pretty… wait, no! What an arrogant

about it, Morgan's offer was exactly what Sunny had wanted. This way, he really stood

had to fight for sixty seconds and try to learn as much as he could in that

stared at his Ascended opponent and calmly