After wrapping up his conversation with Shadow Nine, Mike took a shower, changed his clothes, and then headed out to school.
On the way, Mike happened to run into an extremely excited Cain.
"Mike! I successfully changed my class last night, I'm now a Wind Swordsman!"
"That's great, sounds like fun."
Cain was exceptionally thrilled, and being a chatterbox, he kept talking non-stop on the road.
"I was a bit worried about the third level being too tough to get through. I heard that because of Thor, levels three to six are going to reset, kind of like... a purification? It means the difficulty will decrease, and the base rewards will increase!"
Mike only then understood the significance of the reset from Cain's explanation.
Similar events had occurred during the first three times of supreme power. In some extremely difficult special levels, when a supreme being achieved a 100% Exploration Rate and cleared with an SSS rating, dramatic changes would occur!
The difficulty would decrease, the base rewards would increase, and the entry threshold would be lowered!
Of course, these changes come at a cost, with a slight reduction in the reward cap. However, compared to the overall gains for the human race, this was negligible!
"With a Battle Lord-level seer taking action, it's estimated that after this reset, the rate at which the younger generation of humans matures will be higher, and the number of tier one Battle Soldiers will skyrocket!"
Cain's words were filled with endless excitement.
"Mike, do you know what this means? We have a great chance of becoming Battle Soldiers!"
"That makes sense, thanks to Thor."
Mike's reaction wasn't as exaggerated as Cain's, even somewhat subdued.
Battle Soldiers? He was already a nine-tier Battle Soldier, and next, he would be aiming for Battle General.
Cain's reaction was even more outrageous, "If Thor were here right now, I'd definitely kiss his shoes to show my gratitude!"
Mike paused for a moment.
"Don't kiss Thor's shoes, kiss mine first."
"Get lost!"
...
Florida, suburban factory.
Last night, a Battle Lord-level battle occurred quietly and ended just as silently.
Thanks to special formations and tactics, the battle did not affect reality, keeping damage to a minimum.
Maxen Stoneheart reappeared on the battlefield, his brow furrowed.
"Is this guy a cockroach? He won't die!"
At the scene, many people were fiddling with instruments and setting up magical formations, trying to find clues to the true location of the opponent.
But...
Maxen Stoneheart turned his head, shook it, and said,
"This guy has completely gone into hiding. Although his power has decreased, he's become even more dangerous!"
...
Florida, 80 miles from the abandoned factory.
Downtown, inside an apartment.
"Safe houses should really be set up more frequently."
A young man with black hair sat on the sofa, swirling a glass of red wine, looking out at the world through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
His expression was cold, out of place with the celebrating people on the streets, his face bearing a cold smirk.
"Three Battle Chiefs, using two favors from the demon god, finally brought about my rebirth..."
"Maxen Stoneheart, that fool, probably thinks I'm really dead. As for [Guardian Shadow], that old guy... even if I can deceive him temporarily, he'll realize it later!"
"The safest plan is to head to the Abyssal Plane as soon as possible."
The young man with black hair reminded himself that he was only temporarily safe and would eventually be tracked down!
Suddenly, an ethereal voice echoed in the ears of the black-haired man.
[Don't forget... our... deal...]
The young man's face darkened, and he said unhappily, "I'll do what I promised. That Lone Wolf who killed my son, I'll seek revenge."
After saying this, a hint of confusion flashed in the depths of his eyes.
The fourth demon god, why specifically demand the killing of a 'Battle Chief-level' Lone Wolf?
What was the reason behind this?
Regardless, to secure this rebirth, he had made a deal with the fourth demon god, and he must kill his target before fleeing to the Abyssal Plane.
In return, once he reached the Abyssal Plane, the fourth demon god would help him regain his Battle Lord strength!
"Alright, everything from before, with the death of the fourth demon cult leader, should have vanished into thin air."
Saying this, the young man stood up, walked to the window, and the sunlight cast shadows across his face.
"Now, I am a teacher at Florida's Elemental High School, young and promising, with a bright future, all set up under my backup identity."
"Let me check my recent work schedule."
"Transferred to a summer camp in Florida as an assistant... Excellent, surrounded by these students, no one can threaten me, and I still have a chance to escape to the Abyssal Plane!"
The young man downed his wine in one gulp, his smile stretching exaggeratedly, "Praise the Goddess of Luck, she's finally on my side!"
...
Florida, Magic High School, activity hall.
Normally, this place hosts school-wide meetings, New Year's parties, and other events like entrance and graduation ceremonies.
The hall, capable of accommodating thousands, was now seated with only twenty students.
They sat in small groups, scattered around, quietly chatting and waiting for the meeting to start.
Mike and Cain were among them, sitting in the last row.
"Mike, did you hear? This time the list of 20 people wasn't sorted by grades as usual. Instead, it was sorted by the first letter of names."
"Huh?"
Mike feigned curiosity, "What's the difference?"
"Well... there are some bad rumors going around."
Cain hesitated but decided to speak up,
"Rumors say Robert helped you cheat to beat James, and the results of that fight are still controversial, not yet publicly announced."
After saying this, Cain immediately patted Mike's shoulder,
"I know who you are. If you really had that idea, why would you need Robert's help? You could have easily cheated on your own to beat him!"
"I trust you 100%!"
Mike felt that Cain's words weren't exactly complimentary. It seemed like he really thought that Mike had achieved victory through cheating.
But for Mike, this little drama was just a ripple.
Right now, before everyone entered the summer camp training, Mike couldn't afford to reveal his full strength.
The incident in Thunder Valley, due to various misunderstandings, made James think it was all Cain's doing.
But with Cain's actual abilities, it was clear he couldn't keep it hidden for long.
Once they entered the summer camp, Mike could easily attribute his strength gains to the rigorous training!
Training made me stronger!
Does that make sense?
It makes perfect sense.
Everyone had arrived, and the Dean had also come, with an instructor immediately starting to organize the discipline.
"Students, move to the front!"
"There are so many seats in front, why leave them empty, get moving!"
"Students in the last row, come to the first row!"
The 20 students were rearranged by the instructor into the first two rows, waiting for the Dean's speech.
Beside the podium, David arrived out of breath.
"Dean, James isn't coming, no matter how much we persuade him."
"It's time, don't let one person delay the entire summer camp training. This is James's choice, he's an adult, he's responsible for himself."
With that, the Dean stepped onto the podium and began his speech.
The dry and tedious talk, even though it carried a message of encouragement and motivation, still tended to make people drowsy.
"...that's all I have to say."
"Those who have fallen asleep can wake up now."
With a joke from the dean, many students laughed out loud, lightening the previously tense atmosphere.
Robert stepped forward, holding a microphone, "As the Dean said earlier, you don't have to attend classes at school for now. Go home, pack your essentials, and meet here at 1:30 PM to head to the summer camp!"
"The summer camp will operate under a semi-closed management, with training conducted on a one-on-one basis, elimination style!"
Robert emphasized the words "elimination style" heavily, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over three people:
Mike, Cain, Jessica.
These three, two with D-tier talents and one with an F-tier talent, were arguably the weakest trio in this summer camp roster.
The first batch to be eliminated, they had already reserved their spots.
Or rather, even before Cain and the others had stepped through the doors of the summer camp, one foot was already on the edge of elimination!
Not just Robert saw it this way, other students also looked towards the trio when they heard 'elimination style'.
Having someone else to cushion the bottom... that felt pretty good.
Robert continued, "Listen up! Just because you enter the summer camp doesn't mean you can rest easy! At the end of each weekly test, the students at the bottom will fight against a new batch of students, and the loser gets eliminated!
The summer camp will continuously bring in new people and constantly eliminate the old. The resources invested in this summer camp are beyond your imagination. If you perform well, you might even get the chance to attend top superpower universities and possibly become classmates with Thor!"
When Robert mentioned 'Thor', everyone's breath hitched.
Those young faces were filled with dreamy light!
To become classmates with the future supreme being—Thor?!
That would be a tremendous honor! Just thinking about the possibility was exhilarating.
Mike, a bit embarrassed, touched his nose and thought to himself, "Am I really that popular?"
Now, there was an awkward issue: actually, you're already Thor's classmates...