Healing System

"Very well," Michael answered and followed after him, whereas Hu Rong was taken elsewhere by another person.

However, as the two of them walked, Michael felt a bump on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw it was Su Hanjo who had bumped into him.

"Sorry, Senior, I slipped."

'Sure you did.' He let out a smile and nodded.

That little bump was a bit irregular. After scanning his body with mana, he finally noticed something off.

A small incision was made near his collar, one that would normally go unnoticed due to how small it was.

But that was not what caught his attention; it was the reddish-green sludge left at the base of the incision.

'Poison, huh? This is becoming a little bit personal,' Michael thought and glanced at Su Hanjo, who had a barely noticeable smirk on his face as the two followed after Han Long.

In just a couple of moments, they finally arrived and stood on opposite sides of the arena, with Han Long acting as some sort of judge, standing in the very middle.

"The format is simple. You two will battle it out until one of you loses consciousness or is knocked off the arena. Absolutely no killing blows. Any questions?"

Both of them shook their heads and prepared to fight. Michael enhanced himself further with his mana; he would save his mana projection until their warmup ended.

However, just as Han Long was about to start the match, Su Hanjo spoke up.

"Excuse me, Elder, can you check if he is okay? It looks like he is growing a bit pale." Concern was present in his tone, with a hint of mockery.

"Uh? Mujin, are you able to continue with the fight?"

"Of course," Michael replied with a sigh. That was probably when the poison was supposed to kick in. However, thanks to his constitution, he was immune to all diseases and ailments, which included poison as well.

Even if it didn't, he had Purify.

Upon getting confirmation that he was okay, Han Long resumed his movements and brought his hand down before announcing, "Begin!"

The moment those words left his mouth, Su Hanjo disappeared from Michael's vision.

But he was prepared for that. Creating a miniature invisible shield to block an attack coming from behind him, he countered with a strike of his own.

Su Hanjo seemed to not be expecting that kind of reaction. For a moment, his expression contained traces of shock. However, just as quickly, it disappeared.

What followed was his body glowing a crimson color as his strength began rapidly rising until, eventually, it stopped.

But in that same moment, Su Hanjo dashed forward, his speed much greater than before.

And so was his strength, as the moment Michael put up an invisible shield, it shattered instantly, sending him skidding across the arena and almost falling off.

"Sorry, Senior, my hand slipped."

"...Don't worry about it; juniors do tend to be quite clumsy," Michael shot back with sarcasm before dashing back toward him.

The fight was surprisingly not as difficult as he would have expected. While Su Hanjo was strong, it did not seem like he was that strong.

'Definitely weaker than Rebecca, he nodded to himself and clashed once more.'

He sent a sweep toward Su Hanjo's legs, to which he merely jumped to evade. But as he did so, Michael proceeded to use a few of his cards, especially the ones he had been using the entire time.

A sudden wave of mana enveloped Su Hanjo, sending him tumbling down onto the ground with a surprised expression.

Before he could understand what happened, Michael sent a kick straight toward his chin, holding him up with his mana to make sure he did not fly off the arena.

But as the fist impacted his face, Michael was suddenly thrown back.

His attack was completely countered, as though it was parried.

Su Hanjo stared at him with a frown before the crimson color grew further, the energy around him making loud cracking sounds.

However, this time, he did not attack. Instead, he stared right at Michael before asking in a weary tone,

"Senior, why are you trying to join us with such skill?"

"Hmm? Money," Michael replied nonchalantly before slowly making his way toward the now stunned-looking Su Hanjo.

Like before, he attempted to hold him down and strike, but just before his attack could land, Su Hanjo evaded and sent an extremely fast side kick straight into his ribs.

Since he was unable to dodge, he took the full brunt of the attack. However, to his surprise, his bones weren't broken. He could only feel a few fractures that healed in mere moments.

'Is this because of the ascension...?' Michael thought and noticed Su Hanjo approaching with the same speed he had showcased with his kick.

His interest had disappeared in the fight. He was practically fighting a proud child, one that had a bit more strength than average.

Nonetheless, the fight was not satisfying, especially since there were no stakes—they couldn't kill each other.

He focused deeply, seeing Su Hanjo in the corner of his vision, and before he could even react, Michael sent a sword right through his leg.

However, he did not take one thing into account, and that was his strength, which had grown by leaps and bounds during the Ascension.

The attack, which was merely supposed to slow him down, managed to lop his entire lower body off.

Michael's eyes widened for a moment as he immediately ran up to him and cast multiple heals, restoring his body to what it was just moments ago.

"Sorry, uhh... Junior," he said as he glanced down at Su Hanjo, who had passed out with his eyes wide open.

He had the strength but not the abilities to back it up—certainly a strange sight.

But just as Michael took his eyes away from him, he saw Han Long staring at him with his hand stretched out, seemingly frozen in place.

"M-M-M... Elder Mujin!" he suddenly shouted and bowed dramatically, catching the attention of everyone present, even slightly startling Michael.

'God... It's starting again.'

That might not have been the case if you had subtly defeated a Tier 3 elder instead of blasting him in half with a single attack. These people don't have any resistances against mana; they are like balloons unless they are strong enough. That kid, Su Hanjo, was not.

'I'll keep that in mind for the next time,' Michael sighed and glanced at Han Long. "Get up already."

With those words, Han Long shot up from the ground and stared directly at him, seemingly waiting for instructions.

'Pfft... He reminds me of Hu Rong.'

"I assume I passed the test? Is there anything else I have to do?"

"There is one more test... But for you, Elder Mujin, I can make an exception!" he smiled while cupping his fists with a much smaller bow.

"I see... Would I be able to take requests immediately?"

"Yes, just a moment." Han Long began fiddling with something in his pockets before pulling out a wooden plaque, one that had the words "Escort Guild" written on it.

It was covered in all sorts of symbols that looked pretty much the same as the ones he had seen on the gate.

"There is a board inside the main office of the Escort Guild. If you take this plaque there, you will be able to take any requests you are eligible for," he explained and handed Michael the plaque.

"Eligible? Is there some sort of limit?"

"Well... Most who put out these escort missions ask for those who have a solid reputation; since you are new, it's not very likely that you'll catch any big fish."

As his words fell, a small frown formed on Michael's face. But before he could ask if there's any way to bypass that, a set of footsteps resounded, running straight toward him.

And upon glancing at the perpetrator, he noticed Hu Rong running at him with bloodied hands and a resolute expression.
Stay connected through empire

"Master Mujin! I have passed!"

"...Good job," Michael replied with a small smile and pocketed the wooden plaque.

His initial outlook on this world was to find everything there was to see as fast as he could, but perhaps that's not the most efficient way.

He would skip a lot of knowledge, such as how Su Hanjo powered up, and other things that he had yet to experience.

After deciding his next course of action, Michael cupped his fists and said, "Elder Han Long, thank you for your help."

Before he could start calling him Elder Mujin again, he took Hu Rong and headed straight for the office.

It was about time he checked out what kind of missions there were.