Now that he had seen how it feels in the parallel world, he felt that there were some aspects in reality that could never be copied. He couldn't pinpoint exactly, but he could just feel it.
Maybe it is the connection with Mother Nature that drives evolution itself; in fact, it might be that.
Oh well, the parallel world is only as big as the city, but the real world, which is said to have expanded after the first layer broke, is quite vast. Come to think of it, would it expand further after the second layer breaks? If it follows the same route as what had happened after the first layer, then it should.
He had seen previous cities, countries, and continents in records, but after two expansions, he doubted that anything recognizable would be left on the Earth.
Previous cities that were near them were already turned into ruins and are unrecognizable, and after two expansions, Earth might not be the same either.
After teleporting, he arrived at a scenic spot that is not as famous as others, as there is only a single lake here with no boats or any entertainment things. The reason was simple: this lake was near one of the Hidden Lineage houses; it was none other than the Tenebran family.
The area around the Tenebran family is untouched. Most Lineage families don't allow development near them. Some do allow it in the parallel world, but in the real world, it is a big no.
The Tenebran family hadn't allowed it even in the parallel world.
This was a lake behind a mountain, and the Tenebran family is at the base of the mountain's opposite side.
The river stream that passes near his house originated from this mountain. Although this mountain is alone, there is a mountain range not far away from here.
Vaelen looked around and was satisfied with the number of people present here; there were very few. He found a tree, climbed up, and opened queuing for his next battle.
He found it in just 20 seconds this time; it was longer than before.
He got teleported and arrived in a forest area. The arena was also made up of light green material, matching the whole vibe.
But just as he landed in the arena, he saw a lot of chairs appearing; in fact, it was too much. He got stunned because there was no way he could have become this famous, right?
His doubts were cleared when he saw his opponent's name.
Oh, so that's why, huh... what a pleasant surprise it is. His opponent's red hair should have been a dead giveaway, but he hadn't paid much attention to it.
[Burning Star (Ignis) (Rank 1) (3/0), Element - Fire, Affinity - 88%] Vs [Ashenveil (Rank 1) (2/0), Element - Darkness, Affinity - Hidden]
No wonder there were far more spectators coming here. Descendants of Hidden Lineages were very few in number. After the initial battle with beasts, many people from Hidden Lineages were killed, leaving only a few lifelines.
There is also information known by all: that Awakened shouldn't give birth more than two times. It applies to both parents, or else their affinities will drop.
This is the reason not anyone wants to have a third child. His family is the same; similarly, other Lineage families are.
So, the total number of Hidden Lineage descendants is very low. In this generation, in the Tenebran family, there are four: Vaelen, his brother, and his two cousins who have gone to their mother's house for some time.
Vaelen didn't have a good relationship with them. The reason is simple: he didn't like to talk too much.
Anyway, this guy can be counted as someone from his generation, though Vaelen is two years younger than him.
Vaelen was quite happy to match with someone from Lineage families. They are quite strong; it's not about the affinity but the main fighting styles of theirs.
An 88 percent affinity is also very good, but in the initial rank 1 starting matches, it is the fighting style that matters.
...
"Has the kid run out of luck? Getting matched with someone from the Ignis family in his third match is too much, and who is this guy? There was no news of someone from the Ignis family getting awakened with 88% affinity."
"Well, he might have awakened today. He has fought only three matches."
"We will get news anyway, but it looks like Ashenveil is getting his first loss, huh."
"The fight will be tough though. This kid isn't a joke. We still haven't figured out from where he learned his fighting techniques."
"Let's see how it goes."
...
Vaelen looked at his opponent. The fighting style of the Ignis family is very straightforward and explosive, just like their element.
So, he had no doubt his opponent would dash at him from the very start.
He had seen every house's fighting style and studied them just by looking at their battles.
They use bursts of essence to create explosive attacks; their movements are mainly straight without much variation.
Totally opposite to his unpredictable yet firm style, which he created by combining Tenebran and Glacien family styles.
[00:00]
Just as the clock reached 0, Vaelen didn't use his previous moves of dashing directly, as he had no doubt that this guy would do the same.
And as expected, he heard a little bang as if his opponent had kicked the arena with his legs very hard, but it was a simple nudge. But since this guy might have used almost 10 percent of his essence in his feet, it was a given that the nudge for burst speed was powerful.
Burning Star reached Vaelen instantly. He had won all his matches till now in one move; no one was able to react properly to his sudden burst of speed, and neither would this guy.
He was quite confident in his strength, not to mention this guy looked quite weak. Darkness element, huh... more like a scrawny little corner hidden from light.
He clenched his fist and moved his punch from bottom to up, aiming towards the chin of Vaelen, while smirking at no response till now from Vaelen. He could already smell his fourth victory of the day.
His sister had promised him to give 10 beast cores if he gets 10 victories nonstop, and he was going to achieve it.
Just as his fist was about to touch Vaelen, he saw the head of his opponent move upward. He got stunned inwardly as he was sure that his fist hadn't touched the chin yet, but the head of his opponent was definitely moving at the same speed as his fist, like it was hit by it.
Since he was already moving, he couldn't even stop his fist, and when his fist passed untouched, he saw his opponent vanishing from his eyes. He immediately tried to look down, but it was too late.
Vaelen, who dropped to his knees, saw an open, unprotected area of Burning Star and used more than half of his essence in his right hand and stabbed towards it. Oops, looks like he used too much in excitement. Even if his opponent used more than half of his essence to protect his front side, it wouldn't matter.
As that defense would work like a flat sheet, while his attack would work like a sword.
The result was just as he expected. The moment his fingers touched the stomach of his opponent, he felt a little resistance, but it wasn't enough to stop his thrust. His hands passed through Burning Star's stomach smoothly.
PIAAAKKK!
"Grgggghhhh..."
Burning Star felt the pain that he had never felt in his life. His eyes were already getting blurry from his tears, and his mind was getting affected by the pain. He held Vaelen for support.
Vaelen shook his head and backstepped while removing his hands.
Executing his fighting moves with essence is very different from simply executing them with human capabilities.
Using essence, he can push them to the extreme. His head movement at that speed wasn't possible without it, but if he thinks about it differently, then the speed of the fist would have been slower too without essence.
After 3 seconds, Burning Star died and vanished.
There was pin-drop silence among the spectators right now. The result was far beyond their initial assumptions.
They were quite sure that Ashenveil was going to lose, but he surprised them once again.
The execution of that move was flawless: to be able to read the flow of your opponent's attack and able to match it perfectly at the right time is mind-blowing.
They would have been surprised by this move if it was even made by an experienced expert, much less a newbie who had joined recently and had only three battles till now.
"Who is this kid?"
"No clue. Never seen those styles either. They look unpredictable like the Tenebran family, but the style doesn't match at all."
"By the way, this match ended with one attack too."
"Yeah, not to mention against an opponent like that."
"Dammit, I want to find this kid. If he really isn't from any family, I want him no matter what. I don't care about his affinity; amongst Rank 1, at least, he will be a monster."
"You are not the only one who is thinking like that, you know."
...
Vaelen vanished and appeared back at the tree. Beating a lineage heir would definitely create even more ruckus; it might go into the trending news of the day.