Endless Leveling Done Right!

After watching Renard getting slammed into the ground for the umpteenth time, Alex finally turned to face Charles.

"Renard is like a clump of iron," Alex answered. "He is currently formless, so he needs to undergo certain experiences before he can become who he is meant to be. And the only way for him to learn is to face obstacles repeatedly. It's like how a blacksmith forges the finest swords."

"… That's a good way to say that he needs a good beating," Charles commented. "But are you sure that you're not enjoying this, Alex?"

"Of course not!" Alex exclaimed, looking deeply offended. "I simply care about his personal growth. I'm his Club President after all."

"Oh? Then you should stop smiling so widely whenever Renard disappears into a cloud of dust. You're convincing no one when you act like this."

Alex coughed lightly, but the smile quickly reappeared once Renard made contact with the ground again.

It was no secret that Mr. I-Have-Trust-Issues refuse to cooperate with him most of the time, so seeing him getting beaten up put a smile on his face.

"Renard will take whatever I say with a grain of salt," Alex said. "There's a 30% chance that he will do as I say and a 70% chance that he will ignore me. As you may already know, Renard doesn't like taking orders.

"He is a free spirit. He doesn't want to be shackled down by anyone. The more someone tries to bind him, the more he will resist and the more he will hate that person. I don't want him to hate me, so I just let him do what he wants."

"Is that the only reason?" Charles inquired.

"There is one more reason," Alex admitted. "Renard believes that the only person he can rely on is himself. He doesn't want to depend on anyone because he doesn't want to be betrayed. Or rather, he doesn't want to feel disappointed when someone he has come to trust fails to meet his expectations.

"If he fails in what he does, he will only blame himself for being incapable of reaching his goal. He won't have to blame others for his shortcomings."

Meanwhile, Renard had finally managed to break free from the vine holding him. Now, he was punching the stone projectiles—each the size of a basketball—flying towards him.

"Alex, have you met Renard in the past?" Charles suddenly asked as Renard pulverized another projectile. "You seem to know a lot about him. It's like… when we first met. You seemed to know a lot about me even though we'd not seen each other before."

When Alex glanced at Charles, he realized that the boy from Briarwood Village had already stopped watching the projection and was looking at him with a solemn expression.

"Didn't I tell you, I'm a Seer?" Alex replied.

"You did." Charles smirked. "But I have a feeling that there's more than that."

His gut instinct told him that Alex really knew a lot about him. It was not just him either. Alex seemed to understand their club members so well he could predict how they'd act.

Even the situation they were currently facing seemed to have been within Alex's expectation. His preparations and plans always matched each development so seamlessly.

Sometimes, Charles wanted to crack Alex's head open and discover his secret.

"I think it's almost over," Alex commented as Renard crashed against several trees after Prince Kaelen summoned a massive fist to swat Renard away like a pesky fly.

The Elven Prince stood a few meters away from the fallen young man with his hands clasped behind his back.

Sweat formed on his forehead, but he was mostly unscathed. The same could not be said for his opponent, who struggled to even get up.

"You're so weak." Prince Kaelen sighed. "It seems that I have overestimated you."

"Damn… you!" Renard growled as he tried to prop himself up from the ground, but he couldn't muster the strength to do so.

"It's futile," Prince Kaelen stated. "During our exchange earlier, I used a vine that excreted a paralyzing poison on your body. You won't be able to move for a few minutes."

Prince Kaelen turned to leave, but he suddenly paused and gave Renard one more look.

"You humans have a saying that in the face of absolute strength, all tricks are meaningless," Prince Kaelen said, careful to keep his tone neutral. "Unfortunately, you don't have absolute strength. So, let me give you some advice.

"A lone wolf may fight fiercely, but a wolf bound to a pack conquers far greater prey. Learn when to stand alone and when to fight alongside others. Otherwise, you will remain nothing more than a beast swinging blindly against the world."

Renard's eyes burned with defiance, but a small tremor flickered in his chest.

He wanted to dismiss the Prince's words as nonsense, to spit back that he didn't need anyone.

But something inside him, buried deep under the scars of his past, resonated faintly with what Kaelen said.

Even so, he refused to accept it!

"That's easy for you to say because you have grown up in an environment where you are pampered everyday!" Renard shouted.

"What do you know of hunger?! What do you know of suffering?! Have you ever experienced having to fend for yourself on your own?! You know nothing! You're just a spoiled brat who was born with everything!"

"You're right," Prince Kaelen replied, for what the young man said was the truth. "I don't know the kind of life that you've lived. But there is one thing that I do know."

The Prince once again gave Renard a pitying look before continuing.

"You humans have always fought stronger beasts by ganging up on them. When faced with a creature that your fists cannot slay, you rely on weapons to do it. It doesn't matter if it's a stone, a branch, or even the environment itself.

"Even the powerhouses in this world that have reached the Rank of Paragon didn't get there on their own. You're too naive, Renard. That's why you will never defeat Alex Stratos.

"That man will not hesitate to hide behind a girl if that is his only way of winning! He is a scum! A shameless human scum! On that note, even though you are weaker than him, you're still a better person!"

"…"

Renard, who had expected to disagree completely with Prince Kaelen, suddenly found himself tongue-tied.

He was tempted to shout "Finally! Someone who understands!" but he held himself back because he had a feeling that if he really were to do that, he would lose in more ways than one.

Renard bit his lip so hard he tasted blood. His chest heaved as he was torn between anger and a strange relief that someone had finally spoken aloud what he himself had always felt about Alex.

Charles almost choked on his tea after hearing Prince Kaelen's assessment of Alex.

While he spluttered and coughed, he saw Alex flipping the projection of Prince Kaelen off, not caring that they were out in public.

The Professors also glanced at Alex, but decided to turn a blind eye to his inappropriate behavior towards the Elven Prince.

'Out of sight, out of mind,' some of the Professors thought. It didn't cost them anything to pretend that they didn't notice Alex giving Prince Kaelen the middle finger.

At that moment, a little white bun exited the dungeon and made its way to Alex and Charles.

"Dim!" Dim Dim shouted as it jumped high in the air, landed on top of the table, and did a dabbing pose.

"Is everything ready, Dim Dim?" Alex asked.

After hearing what Prince Kaelen thought of him, Alex itched to cause a Dungeon Outbreak!

"Dim!" Dim Dim saluted.

Nearly two hours had passed since the First Years had entered the Orion Dungeon.

Now that Endless Horizon had finished their preparations, it was now time for the real fun to start.

"Let's go, Charles." Alex broke into an evil smile. "Time to make that bratty prince pay for slandering me. And how dare Renard stay silent when his own Club President was getting unfairly insulted!"

Charles sighed helplessly. "Alex, you look really scummy right now."

"Dim Dim!"

"See? Even Dim Dim agrees with me."

Alex feigned deafness as he strode confidently towards the dungeon filled with undead monsters, ready to unleash hell on everyone inside.