‘I knew these bastards would pull something like this…’ Ashton smiled as he entered the arena, ‘I wonder whether the Director decided on the ‘blackout’ protocol so I could do what I want without worrying about others outside.’

Ashton wasn’t surprised, to say the least. He had more or less expected these fools to do something like this. The moment he got inside, he was immediately cornered by the around 15 nobles. Obviously, most of them were the same people who had tried to fight him a week ago. 

“Looks like you ran out of luck, mutt.” As usual, Lucas was the first one to bark, “You’re going to die today. But before that, we’ll make you beg for your life!”

“Like you were begging for yours, when I found you in the previous round?” Ashton smirked as Lucas’s face turned bright red with rage, “Either way, you retards think you can kill me? Really?”

“Don’t worry about what we can and can’t do.” Nick said in his emotionless voice before cracking his knuckles, “But what youshould know is that, I’ll be collecting my first place rewards from you too.”

“You mean these?” 

Suddenly Ashton was covered in black armour from the head to the toe along with the bone whip in his hand. But there was something else… he should not have had all that armour! The director said they would have to use the gears they had obtained in the last round. Then how the heck was the bastard mutt using an armour that was clearly not a part of the prize pool?

‘Phew… it was a risky move but it worked!’

While everyone was busy strategising about what to do next, Ashton had his undivided attention on what the director was saying. Although she said that they’ll be using the gears and stuff they obtained in the last round, she never explicitly said they won’t be able to use the things they brought with them.

That’s why Ashton remained silent while all those idiotic nobles were taking everything out of their inventory. He was taking a risk… and if it failed, he might as well get paralysed from the shock of trying to access his inventory. 

But his bold move paid off. Not only was he stronger than the rest in terms of levels, but also in terms of equipment. 

‘As much as I hate to admit it… the mistress’s armour is quite good.’ Ashton thought to himself. 

The box that the mistress gave him on the night he got back after fighting with ‘Bella’, carried a full-body armour. An armour that went along with Nemean hide, that Ashton already had in his possession. 

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Item: Widower’s Wrath

Type: Armour

> Defence: 150-183 HP per strike

Stats bonus:

>> Armour: +15% while equipped for use (increases with user’s level).

>> Reduces 2x damage taken from Night Creatures.

>> Enhances armour by 20% when fighting against Werewolves and Vampires

>> Reduces 0.6x damage against Weapon attacks.

Rarity: Rare

Description:

<Information regarding the origin of this armour has been hidden by its creator. Need the permission from [????] to view this content>

The weapon had been enchanted and imbued with unique abilities and effects.

Effect(s):

> Protects the wielder from negative effects such as Poison, Haemorrhage, Stun, and Paralysis.

> Increases all of the user’s existing resistances by two grades (when equipped).

> Grants the user, the passive skill: [Negate].

The armour automatically negates the effect of every fifth attack it takes, along with the damage.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

• Grants the user the active skill: Locked. (Needs creator’s permission to unlock.)

• Grants the user the passive skill: Locked. (Needs creator’s permission to unlock.)

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Although the armour did not have any extraordinary effects, it was still more than enough for Ashton. Another thing that intrigued Ashton the most was the need for the approval of the creator to unlock some effects as well as the armour’s description. 

‘I’ll have to find the man sooner or later. But for now, let’s see how good this armour actually is.’

“It’s just an armour. What can it do against fifteen of us?” Lucas barked yet again while the rest of the nobles nodded along.

Fifteen against one? There was no way this bastard could defeat them all. Also, if he couldn’t kill all of them or else, their families would kill him afterwards. No matter how much the director tried to protect him, he would be gone either way. 

However, before any one of them could take a step towards him, something happened. Ashton made his move first… and started running away?

“Should have known the bastard would run away.” Lucas yelled yet again, “After him!”

With the Gruntas and other nobles by his side, Lucas was feeling way too overconfident. As a result, he decided to actively participate in the fight, while he was usually someone who would stay behind and let the others do his job.

Nick and Nicole were the only ones left behind. Even though the previous altercation between Ashton and him had only lasted about a minute, that much time was enough for him to know what kind of person Ashton was.

“The mutt is planning something.” Nick finally spoke after a moment of silence, “He isn’t someone to run away just because odds were stacked against him.”

“If he was, then the Conundrum wouldn’t have bothered even trying to get rid of him.” Nicole chimed in, “What should we do then? Attack or analyse?”

“For now… let’s just focus on the competition. While they are chasing him, let’s eliminate as many people as we can. That way when we kill him, we’ll be able to twist the narrative to our advantage.”

Eliminate everyone till only the fifteen of them were left… seemed to be a good plan. With the blackout, the only ones who could let their secret out were the ones who were not a part of their plan. With none of them around, they’ll be able to do as they pleased with Ashton without worrying about the consequences. It was a win-win for all of them.

“Let’s use ‘that’ like we did in the last round..” Nick said as an ominous smile appeared on his face.