A chuckle couldn't help but escape Ryuk's lips as he stared up at the guy who also stared back at him with a smile.
Ryuk hadn't met many arrogant people in his life, nor was he very good with the word "arrogant" being the first to come to his mind when he saw a person. But surprisingly, that was the first thing that came to his mind when he looked at this scholarly-looking guy.
"What? You don't believe you're weak?" the guy asked as he suddenly raised his finger. In the next instant, a holographic screen appeared as the boy rapidly typed on its surface.
Immediately, the chasm around the room faded away, and then, a single robot appeared in the sky.
Immediately, Ryuk's face changed.
The robot was a new model at the Core Plane of Ascension—just like the one Ryuk had fought with—but right now, Ryuk was barely able to stand.
Yet the guy had unleashed a robot in the room.
How would he fight the robot?
"To unleash a robot on a human who can barely stand? I'm not that pathetic," the guy said with a grin as both Ryuk and he heard the sound of heavy soaring.
The robot had already been activated, and right now, it was rushing toward the guy who was standing. In an instant, it appeared before him, immediately throwing out a heavy punch.
Ryuk watched as the boy suddenly glitched in his position, and the robot passed through him like he didn't exist.
Just a second later...
The robot smashed into the wall, seemingly unable to quickly stop its motion, and Ryuk watched as the boy remained in the place he had been, never having moved at all.
But right now, there was a difference.
His left hand was currently burning with a silver flame, and instantly, Ryuk's eyes widened completely in shock as his gaze snapped to the robot.
It slowly turned its gaze to them and then tore itself out of the wall. It took a single step outward, preparing to launch itself for the next attack, but then—
The instant its legs touched the ground, it started turning into silvery ashes. Ryuk watched in shock as the robot's entire body suddenly began burning with a silvery flame and turning into ashes.
Less than 10 seconds later, there was nothing in the room except Ryuk and the boy, whose left hand slowly stopped emitting the silvery blue flame.
The robot had been defeated in a little less than 20 seconds after the fight began, and the flame-wielding boy had yet to move from his position throughout the duration, still looking at Ryuk with the same grin on his face.
"Somehow, that thing is what had reduced you to such a pathetic state, and you think yourself not weak?" the boy asked once again as Ryuk looked into his fiery eyes for a while before he smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I am weak," Ryuk said.
The boy looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Somehow, it surprised him.
There was actually a weak person in this world willing to admit to their own weakness.
The majority of people he knew would rather die than admit they were weak—most especially the fallen "genius." Yet here was a boy agreeing to be weak without any doubt or resistance at all.
It somehow piqued the young man's interest.
Could it be that this human before him had no pride in himself at all, to willingly admit to his own weakness?
One who had fought so hard and then, faced with the sight of someone easily destroying what he had fought so hard for, would usually want to fight back—to argue that what he had fought was everything.
But the human had just gone ahead and admitted to his weakness.
It was somehow refreshing.
"But not for long," Ryuk added in the end.
The boy looked at him, and then—
A loud laughter rang out through the room as the boy laughed uncontrollably for a long while before eventually steadying himself.
Then, with a smirk that reached his ears, he stretched out his hand toward Ryuk, who looked at it dubiously for a while before taking it.
In one swift motion, the boy pulled him up to his feet.
"I'll see you in the test, human. Hopefully, you're not weak by then."
Those were his last words before he moved out of the training room, his back soon disappearing into the far distance.
"That… that can only be Ignatius Blade, one of the top three Ultima Geniuses!" Ryuk said with a knowing smirk.
If he had thought the boy was the most arrogant bastard that existed, Ryuk's thoughts hadn't changed at all.
The boy was arrogant as hell.
But there was a difference—he had the strength to back it up!
When he had called the 6th most powerful Ultima Genius a "weird kid" who wasn't even worthy of remembering his name, it was safe to say he was arrogant.
But then he had proven his ability and defeated a Core-stage Plane of Ascension robot with nothing more than a touch.
He had proven that, even though he was arrogant, it wasn't an arrogance born of ignorance but one forged by his own strength and ability.
The only one who could easily defeat a Core-stage robot at the Plane of Ascension cultivation and call a 6th-ranked Ultima Genius "weak" could only be one of the top three most powerful Ultima Geniuses.
And if Ryuk's memories served him well, there were three most powerful Ultima Geniuses, about whom nothing was known.
'They were Calidor Wail, Morgaine Dominare, and Ignatius Blade.'
'The only male name amongst them was Ignatius Blade, and Ryuk could easily sense that this person was undoubtedly him.'
But it wasn't just his name that Ryuk knew.
He now also knew his skills...
"He controls an incredibly destructive Silver Flame that reduces everything it touches to ash."
"Somehow, all he needs is a touch, and he will burn down anything in his path..." Ryuk analysed.
"But he's not undefeatable."
"There are two ways to defeat him: either sever off his hands, which act as a conduit for him to channel the flames or simply avoid him touching you."
"One of the two ways, and I will defeat Ignatius Blade," he assessed with cold eyes and the confident smirk of a hunter analysing its prey.