Once the transformation completed, a wave of pressure erupted from Moon’s body in a single expanding pulse.

It rolled outward across the rubble in a ring of wind, scattering dust, and rocks in the vicinity, sending them flying meters away.

The two assassins standing closest to him were pushed back a full step, their hoods snapping backward from the sudden rush of power.

Across the arena, Alaric’s eyes widened.

He felt Moon’s power before he saw it.

It had appeared out of nowhere, an Evolver’s power rising in a single instant to something that had no business existing at Moon’s rank. Alaric stepped back from Ace at the same moment Ace stepped back from him.

Both of their heads turned toward the source.

Ace’s brows lifted and Alaric’s eyes widened.

The fighters within fifty meters paused mid-strike, feeling threatened by the sudden birth of a top tier predator.

A Surpasser on the eastern side of the collapsed wall turned mid-motion, his aura instinctively coiling defensively as if a much larger predator had just entered the field.

Tom’s grin widened greatly, his eyes shinning like stars in a dark sky. "This kid... he never fails to impress me."

’Tom... you are one hell of a talent scout. To scout such a genius... just how blessed are you?’ Tom complimented himself internally, incredibly pleased with his actions that led to his growing relationship with Moon.

At first, Moon had just been a simple investment that would most likely pay off in the future. But the more he interacted with the boy and seen his true capabilities, the more Tom realized that Moon was much more than that.

Moon was now akin to a second son of his. The more feats he accomplished, the happier Tom became instinctively. Not necessarily because of the benefits he would also reap, but because he truly loved the boy like his own son.

Kael who had been engrossed in his own fight, took a step back and stared with his mouth slightly open.

"...Moon."

Those around felt it too, Moon’s aura wasn’t Evolver-tier anymore.

It was Surpasser-tier.

Alaric’s mind ran through the possibilities.

He had known Moon was talented ever since he learned the boy had been spending time with his sister and looked into him. Their conversation the night before had only confirmed it. Moon had casually explained theories about the River of Paths that even Alaric had never encountered.

Moon was a prodigy. By any reasonable or unreasonable measure, he was terrifying.

But this?

This was something else.

’Did he activate a legendary skill...?’

That was only the possible scenario where such a power up could ever make sense. To raise your power by this much in a single activation. To take an Evolver’s body and make it exert Surpasser pressure.

To breach the ceiling of Evolvers without touching the River of Paths... that wasn’t normal.

Epic skills were the peak of power to almost all humans, talented or not, yes. But even Epic skills couldn’t provide such a terrifying leap of power.

Moon had become an entirely new person all together.

Alaric’s eyes blazed with excitement.

’This is it. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! A skill that reaches into the ranking above Epic... above pseudo-legendary. If the mechanism can be understood, if the principle can be studied, this could rewrite the entire progression path for all humans.’

He had been fighting on the same battlefield as Moon since the battle began. Moon hadn’t used this skill once.

He had held it in reserve until the exact moment he was ambushed, and was in real danger.

’The payoff isn’t free.’ Alaric realized immediately.

’This costs something. Something significant... either the resource requirement is enormous, or the side effects afterward are severe enough that he treats it as a last resort. Possibly both. He wouldn’t have waited this long if the cost were manageable.’

Despite that, the excitement in Alaric’s eyes didn’t vanish. Whatever Moon had just done, it wasn’t a free breakthrough. It was a purchase. And the price would come due somewhere later, in a form none of them could see yet.

Ace had also come to that conclusion, his smile returning to his face.

"Now that... is something I didn’t expect." He said quietly, his smile hiding none of his amusement.

Alaric didn’t answer.

His eyes stayed on Moon.

Across the battlefield, Baaron caught sight of the surging aura and immediately understood what he was looking at.

His grin faltered, he couldn’t let one of his strongest subordinates die. The boy was incredibly unpredictable at Evolver rank, and with an aura of a Surpasser... he became even more dangerous.

’I can’t lose a subordinate and whatever has made this boy so strong...’

"Run from the boy! This is his last ditch resort! It’s not going to last him long! Get out of his range and wait for it to fade away! This is an order!"

The two Surpasser assassins, both still standing within striking distance of Moon, hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning. Although the second assassin was from Ian’s group, he still followed Baaron’s order.

Although he believed they could win since Moon was missing an arm, and they were two highly competent assassins. He still decided to follow the orders.

They broke into a run immediately.

Baaron watched them retreat with a cold smile on his face. Whatever Moon had activated, Baaron’s assessment made it obvious that it wouldn’t last long enough for it to matter.

Kill the boy when the transformation ended and he was left crippled and drained on the arena floor. That was the play.

Moon’s face was ice cold.

He watched the two assassins run away from him for a split second. If looks could kill, both of them would have died a thousand times already.

He stored his fallen arm in his storage ring with a single mental command.

Across the venue, Tom’s voice reached Moon, "Don’t worry about your arm! I will make sure it’s back stronger than before! Now go slaughter some sheep, my boy!"

Moon turned his head towards the sound, catching a glimpse of the massive smirk on Tom’s face.

"Okay."