Varnos took a deep breath and raised his spear again. The shock was still rippling through his eyes.
He was certain that Daniel hadn’t possessed this kind of power before he went to the Gulf. No, he was absolutely sure that back then, he still had the strength to defeat this kid.
At that time, Daniel had given him a slight sense of danger, but now? He felt absolutely nothing from him. No danger, no death, no terror.
It was as if Daniel had reached a level that Varnos could no longer comprehend, as if they were from two completely different worlds and Varnos’s body simply couldn’t perceive an existence like Daniel’s anymore.
What exactly had happened to him during this time? What things had he faced? What kind of opportunity had he gained that changed him so drastically?
Still, the shock Varnos felt wasn’t from sadness, in fact, he was even happy. Having another Awakened in the guild whose power was only slightly below that of National Rank Awakened would cause the overall strength of their guild to leap forward by bounds.
Daniel gave a calm smile, opened and closed his fists, and felt pure energy flowing through his muscles. No skills, no laws, no external energy. Just his body, his mind, his spirit, everything pure and enhanced.
"Alright, let’s move on to the next test."
He took a step forward, not at normal speed, but with a movement that seemed to slow time itself. Varnos immediately went into a defensive stance.
He spun his spear and activated [Moonlight Veil].
A curtain of moonlight wrapped around his body like a transparent but extremely solid shield that could deflect or absorb any physical strike.
Daniel came straight in and slammed his right fist toward Varnos’s chest. It was a simple punch, no external energy at all, but the speed and power behind it... it was like a massive explosion.
BOOM!
The moonlight curtain trembled, cracked, and in an instant completely shattered.
"What...? My shield... broken with just one punch?" Varnos leaped back. He wasn’t completely shocked because he had already expected that Daniel’s power was only a bit below National Rank Awakened level.
But expecting something and actually experiencing it were two different things.
Daniel didn’t pause. He took the next step.
Varnos reacted faster this time. [Moonlit Chains]!
Silver chains of moon energy burst out from the ground, trying to bind Daniel’s legs and stop his movement.
One, two, three... ten... a hundred... thousands... tens of thousands of chains, each one blessed with the power of the moon and strong enough to trap Rank S Awakened.
They could even hold a National Rank Awakened for a few seconds. He used this skill to buy himself time.
The chains were solid, more than enough for high-level fighters. But Daniel simply gave one casual shake, his leg muscles tensed, and the chains shattered like thin glass, turning into particles of light.
Varnos retreated, cold sweat running down his neck, a clear trace of disbelief on his face.
Now Varnos had no more hesitation. [Crescent Sanctuary]!
Crescent moons spun around him layer after layer, like a rotating wall of energy blades that would shred anything that came close.
Daniel smiled, pulled his left fist back, then thrust it forward with full power. The strike hit dead center of the crescents.
CRACK!
All the crescents exploded at the same time, like glass smashed by a hammer. Hundreds of thousands of crescents detonated, creating a massive shockwave.
Varnos felt an enormous force slam into his chest and staggered back several steps. His spear trembled in his grip. His breath caught in his throat.
The problem wasn’t that Daniel had managed to break through his defensive layers. The problem was that he had done all of this with just one punch, without any skill, law, or weapon.
Varnos knew he had no other choice. Using his domain was overkill, but if he didn’t use it, he would definitely lose.
"Domain Expansion: [Eternal Night of the Blood Moon]!"
The air darkened. The training ground was suddenly drowned in the crimson light of a blood moon.
Shadows came to life, the ground rippled like the surface of a lake, and moon energy became so dense that even breathing felt difficult.
Every movement Varnos made was now ten times faster and ten times stronger. His spear moved like lightning, and every strike could split a mountain.
"Now... let’s see if you can handle this!"
Varnos attacked at unbelievable speed, spinning his double-headed spear and sending a wave of crescent strikes toward Daniel.
Daniel didn’t dodge. He stood directly and threw punch after punch, not with skill, just raw physical power.
Every punch that hit the domain created ripples, like pebbles dropped into water.
But the ripples grew bigger and bigger. The domain trembled. Varnos felt something deep inside him start to crack.
Daniel took another step forward and threw his next punch with everything he had, not at Varnos, but straight at the heart of the domain.
CRACK... CRUNCH... BOOM!
The domain shattered like a giant piece of glass. The crimson blood-moon light vanished, the shadows scattered, and the training ground returned to normal sunlight.
Varnos dropped to one knee, his spear falling from his hand. He was gasping for air.
"My domain... broken... with just... a punch?"
He looked up, eyes full of disbelief. Daniel stood over him, completely unharmed, not even a scratch, and smiling.
"Good test. Now I know my body, my mind, my spirit... everything is way stronger than I thought," Daniel murmured to himself.
The increase in his power was far beyond what he had expected. Now he had no doubt, even National Rank Awakened might no longer be his match.
Though when it came to the Heavenly Kings, he still wasn’t sure.
"You... you’re a monster, Daniel. A real monster," Varnos laughed. Then he sighed, stood up, and picked up his spear.
"Well... you didn’t leave me any choice."
He gathered the last of his remaining energy. His eyes turned white again as he activated his final, most powerful skill.
[Apocalypse of the New Moon – Final Eclipse]!
The immense power of the new moon, absolute darkness, swallowed the entire training ground. A massive pillar of black and silver energy descended from the sky straight toward Daniel.
This attack could destroy an entire city. Varnos was certain: this time, he would finally get him.
But when the dust settled...
Daniel was still standing there. Unharmed. Well, his clothes were torn. He shook his hand casually, as if brushing off dust, and laughed, a calm, confident laugh.
"That was beautiful. Really beautiful. But... I think we’re done here."
Varnos sat down on the ground, exhausted, but a smile was on his lips.
"You won, kid. Completely won. Now I have zero doubt... you’re way, way ahead of me."
Daniel extended his hand and helped Varnos stand up.
"Thanks for taking it so seriously. Without you, I couldn’t have tested myself this well."
"Anytime you want to try again... just say the word. But next time... maybe I should train a little harder myself." Varnos squeezed Daniel’s hand.
He didn’t know whether he should be happy that they had such a genius and monster on their side, or depressed that a 19-year-old kid was stronger than him.
"By the way, I have a question" Daniel suddenly said.