Lightning Is The Only Way

Yersi's fight was brutal. From the very beginning, she was out of her league and was suppressed continually. The opponent didn't even take her seriously as they gave her one heavy injury after the other.

Gravis' emotions went haywire as he watched. This was not like the fight between Aris and his first opponent, two levels above him. Back then, Aris still had the ability to somewhat defend against his enemy's attacks. Meanwhile, the only reason why Yersi was still alive was that her enemy didn't take her seriously.

She was driven into a corner and was about to die without even having injured her opponent. Gravis' body started shaking as he tried his absolute best to keep himself out of this. He needed to let nature take its course, but it looked like nature wanted to kill his daughter.

BOOOM!

Suddenly, Yersi unleashed a mighty lightning beam that incinerated her opponent. Gravis saw this and immediately knew what it was. 'The all-out attack that all Divine Beasts have,' Gravis thought.

The enemy was dead, but the all-out attack created another issue now. The enemy's corpse was incinerated, making it impossible to eat. Additionally, Yersi fell to the ground as her Realm dropped to the Mid-Rank of Energy Beasts. She had survived, but now, every enemy was three levels above her.

Gravis felt a lump in his stomach as he realized the situation Yersi was in now. There were no Energy Beasts around. Due to that, she couldn't become a High-Rank Energy Beast again without fighting a Spirit Beast.

If things continued like this, Yersi would undoubtedly die.

Gravis had an idea how he could salvage the situation, but it depended on Yersi's actions now. If she didn't make the right choice, nothing would be able to save her.

After a day of rest and healing, Yersi looked into the middle of area F. By the Energy she was feeling, she could judge the direction. So, she turned in the other direction and left area F. She knew that she needed to recover in an area away from here. She needed to go somewhere to regain her power.

Yersi reached the edge of area F, but the King responsible for area F appeared in front of her and stopped her. She was not allowed to leave.

"Area F is supposed to simulate the real world, right?" Gravis asked the King.

The King furrowed his brows as he heard Gravis' words. Would he involve himself? "Yes, which is why she is not allowed to leave. You can't flee from the real world."

"Yet," Gravis answered, "in the real world, she would be able to find Energy Beasts to regain her strength. If you were in her situation, would you want to mindlessly stay in an area that will surely bring you death?"

The King wasn't happy about these words. "She has made her choice, and she needs to deal with the consequences."

"She already has," Gravis said. "This fight had allowed her to awaken her all-out attack. Right now, she has decided to retreat. Have you never retreated in your life?"

"This has nothing to do with this situation. The rules have to be followed," he said.

Gravis remained silent for a bit. "I think you don't get what I'm getting at. I'm not telling you to send her back to area D. I'm saying that you should let her leave the areas altogether. Let her experience the real world."

Now, the King remained silent for a bit. Sending her back to area D would have been unfair to the other offspring. Yet, by preemptively leaving the areas altogether, no one would mind.

The entire reason for the area's existence was to reflect the real world in a safer environment. In the real world, there were powerful beasts all around. A fight between two Lords could kill an Energy Beast from a distance. Usually, deciding to leave the areas had a way higher chance of death than staying in them.

Two entire minutes passed where the King simply stood imposingly in front of Yersi, who had a fearful and panicked look on her face. She knew that she needed to regain her power, and she also knew that she couldn't regain it here. She needed to leave, but this godlike beast in front of her didn't allow it.

"I need to ask an Elder about this matter," the King answered Gravis finally.

"No need," the voice of the Empress appeared inside the King's head.

"Empress," the King said involuntarily in respect and fear.

"Gravis has already informed me of what has transpired over five minutes ago, and I have been watching your exchange," she said.

The King became nervous when he heard that. Had he done something wrong?

"You have chosen correctly by asking an Elder," the Empress transmitted, making the King feel a huge amount of relief. "I have designed the areas so that they reflect a safer picture of the real world. Yet, in this case, that doesn't hold up. Right now, area F is a more dangerous version of the real world for this particular offspring of mine. Staying in the areas is a privilege, not a punishment."

"Therefore, I decided to let her leave the area to regain her strength in the real world. Yet, she has also made her choice by coming to area F this early. So, if she manages to become a High-Rank Energy Beast again, she must enter area F again. This will force her to fight two levels above herself, which is what she wanted," the Empress declared.

The Empress had already decided on this issue about five minutes ago, but she wanted to see how the King responsible for area F would react. He held a position of paramount importance. If such a King were to be a traitor, they could have killed a frightening amount of talented beasts. She didn't like to doubt other beasts, but his position was just too important.

Luckily, the King had made the correct decision in the end. He had realized that he couldn't pass a judgment with confidence. Asking a superior was the best choice he could have made in this regard.

"It will be done, Empress," the King said deferentially. Then, he looked at the fearful Yersi. "You are allowed to leave, but you must return when you have regained your strength," he transmitted to her.

By now, Yersi was smart enough to understand all these words. Due to her father's blood, she was even smarter than Skye had been as an Energy Beast. Yersi lowered her head to acknowledge the command and then ran past the King.

Finding Energy Beasts outside the breeding areas in the Icy Pride Empire was tough. Nearly all offspring born in the Empire were inside these areas. The only Energy Beasts she would be able to find would be wild ones. Due to Kings and Lords continually fighting in the Empire, the wild beast population had huge issues in thriving.

Gravis watched her leave but still felt nervous. Now, it was all up to her. Finding Energy Beasts would be difficult for her. Right now, inside Gravis' Spirit Sense, he could only see two wild Energy Beasts, and his Spirit Sense had a reach of over 150 kilometers.

Meanwhile, Cera had managed to kill her first Divine Beast. The fight had been fierce since their powers were about equal. This Divine Beast had a Battle-Strength that was very close to being able to jump two levels. One could describe their strength as Half-Step High-Rank Spirit Beast.

Cera had learned a lot in the fight. In actuality, one could say that she had been lucky with her opponent. The gap between fighting one level above oneself and two levels was huge. One couldn't prepare themselves for such a massive jump.

Yet, by being able to fight someone that was more powerful than nearly any Mid-Rank Spirit Beast but weaker than nearly any High-Rank Spirit Beast, Cera had received the optimal opponent. This would be able to prepare her for fighting two levels above herself.

Aris had it the easiest. He fought one beast two levels higher than him after the other. He had been fighting beasts two levels higher than him ever since he had been a High-Rank Demonic Beast. These kinds of fights were still very dangerous, but Aris wasn't in a disadvantageous position.

Right now, the situation from back in area A had been completely reversed. Back then, Yersi had been the most powerful, followed by Cera and then Aris. Now, it was Aris followed by Cera, with Yersi having to recuperate outside area F.

'Aris will become a Lord with no issues. Cera also won't have any issues, but she won't be as powerful as Aris yet. Yersi might die before she can become a Lord,' Gravis thought.

'Yet, if she manages to recover from this setback, she might become as powerful as Aris. Having to search for food in such a dangerous environment is also a form of tempering.'

"Let's see what the future holds."