Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 2096 Five Supernovas!

The angel shook his head.

The other participant instinctively lowered his voice, though his excitement made it impossible for him to stay quiet for long.

"Arkorg only entered the outer layer about a year ago." He glanced toward the approaching devil. "And he's been causing one storm after another ever since."

Another participant joined in. "When Arkorg first showed up, he didn't slowly build a reputation the way most newcomers do. He went straight after the strongest young geniuses he could find. Primordials, angels, dragons, and spirits, he fought all of them."

The expressions around them grew more serious.

Someone else added, "There were plenty of famous newcomers back then, but Arkorg just kept fighting until his name stood right alongside the very best of them."

The confused angel frowned. "Alongside the best?"

A Dragon Race genius nearby laughed. "You really must have been buried in some remote trial this past year."

He looked toward Arkorg before continuing. "Arkorg is one of the Five Supernovas."

The angel's eyes went wide. "Hold on."

He seemed to remember something. "The Five Supernovas? You mean the five young monsters who rose through the outer layer over the last year?"

Several people nodded.

The title alone was enough to shift the atmosphere.

The Five Supernovas weren't an official ranking created by the Godslayer's Pilgrimage, and no system had handed them that name. The participants of the outer layer had.

Over the past year, five newcomers had risen so quickly that their names spread from city to city.

Each one belonged to a different one of the five great races, each had crushed many of the geniuses considered exceptional among the newest generation, and each had eventually come to be recognized as one of the brightest young talents rising through the outer layer.

Arkorg represented the Devil Race, Aniel represented the Angel Race, and Westora represented the Primordial Race. Dorian came from the Dragon Race, while Hamon represented the Spirit Race.

Five geniuses from five races, and five young monsters whose reputations had grown at almost the same time.

One participant stared at Arkorg and said quietly, "They say that over the last year, if a newcomer wanted to prove they belonged at the top of this generation, sooner or later they had to cross paths with one of those five."

Another nodded. "And most of them regretted it."

The Five Supernovas weren't simply talented, because the outer layer was full of talented people. Everyone who entered the Godslayer's Pilgrimage had already been considered a genius somewhere.

The Five Supernovas had risen above that entire sea of geniuses. They had challenged powerful opponents, entered dangerous trials, and piled up victories that carried their names across multiple cities.

Despite belonging to races that were constantly at odds with one another, the five had become linked by reputation. Whenever one of them accomplished something extraordinary, people naturally measured it against the other four.

If Arkorg beat a famous Dragon Race genius, people asked whether Dorian could have done it faster. If Aniel cleared a difficult trial, people wondered whether Westora had already managed something greater somewhere else. If Hamon revealed a new ability, rumors immediately started comparing it to the techniques of the rest.

Without ever forming a group, the five had become rivals in the eyes of the entire outer layer.

The angel who had asked about Arkorg swallowed. "So he really is one of them?"

"He is."

A Spirit Race genius looked toward Max. "And now he's challenging Max Voidwalker."

That realization pulled the crowd's attention back to Max, and the atmosphere grew stranger still.

Arkorg was already an established monster of the current generation, while Max had only recently appeared in the outer layer. Even so, in that short time he had built up a rumor just as ridiculous.

A Primordial at the 1st level of the Law Manifestation Realm. A newcomer who had blocked a Divine Lord Realm Dragon Race genius with one finger and then destroyed that same genius with a casual flick.

Now one of the Five Supernovas had walked across the third monolith to challenge him in person.

Several people stopped whatever they were doing, and even participants who had been about to enter nearby arenas turned to watch the confrontation.

Arkorg finally came to a stop several meters from Max, and his crimson eyes studied him carefully.

Unlike some of the people Max had faced before, there was no mockery in Arkorg's expression. There was excitement instead.

The devil smiled. "So you're Max Voidwalker."

Max calmly met his gaze.

Arkorg's smile widened as he looked him over. "I've heard some very interesting things about you."

He raised one hand, letting the Bronze Mark engraved in his palm glow faintly. "But a plain arena battle isn't interesting enough."

His crimson eyes narrowed. "How about we make a bet instead?"

Max didn't answer right away. He simply studied Arkorg.

Now that the devil stood this close, Max could sense his cultivation clearly. He was at the 3rd level of the Divine Lord Realm.

That alone explained part of his reputation. Among newcomers eligible for the Ten Shadows Trial, the 3rd level was the highest cultivation permitted, and combined with whatever talent had earned him a place among the Five Supernovas, there was no question that Arkorg stood among the strongest geniuses of the current generation in the outer layer.

Max's expression didn't change. "What kind of bet?"

Arkorg smiled. "It's simple."

His gaze drifted toward the towering monoliths deeper inside the trial grounds. "You and I both keep going through the Ten Shadows Trial."

He looked back at Max. "Let's see which one of us defeats more shadows."

The crowd around them quieted. A contest like that, between an established Supernova and the Primordial newcomer whose name had just spread out of Bloodstone City, was already enough to draw everyone's attention.

Then Arkorg added his final condition. "And if you lose, you die."

The atmosphere changed in an instant.

Rosaline's brows drew together, and Rakan's expression darkened. Even some of the people watching from nearby stopped whispering.

Only Ervin stayed relatively calm, though his eyes sharpened as he looked between Max and Arkorg.