Chapter 131: The Complete Four-Fold Form

According to Elena, the battle format consists of ten individual duels, with ten humans each facing one Digimon. If the results end in a five-to-five stalemate, a tie-breaker match will be held. Furthermore, in each match, they are limited to deploying only one Digimon. Therefore, although ten people are facing ten Digimon, it is not a scenario where twenty or thirty Digimon are ganging up on one.

Leomon nodded and said, "This arrangement isn't necessarily unfavorable for us. Fine, let's proceed with this."

Truth be told, this was the best outcome under the circumstances. If a full-scale group battle had been initiated, their side might have held a slight advantage, but the casualties would have been catastrophic. Even if they emerged victorious, few would likely remain standing. The Digimon side must have reached the same conclusion, which is why they proposed this arena-style format.

The only remaining question was whether they possessed sufficient combat power to defeat their opponents. Leomon was uncertain about his own standing; he was only at the Champion level, and while Paildramon was an Ultimate, he had not yet reached the peak of the mid-tier Ultimate level.

It is worth clarifying here that the Ultimate level is divided into five tiers. Most Digimon, upon evolving into Ultimates, start at the "extremely low-tier" Ultimate level, with a comprehensive combat power rating below two thousand. However, after a period of training, these Digimon can push their ratings above two thousand, reaching the "low-tier" Ultimate level. Strictly speaking, the "extremely low-tier" category is often disregarded, with such Digimon simply classified as low-tier Ultimates.

Next is the mid-tier Ultimate. The pinnacle of this tier is a combat rating of ten thousand, which represents the maximum potential for an Ultimate-level Digimon. Any Ultimate that exceeds ten thousand points becomes a "high-tier" Ultimate. As is widely known, ten thousand is the baseline for most Mega-level Digimon, so reaching the high-tier Ultimate level grants a Digimon the ability to contend with weaker Megas.

However, breaking through from mid-tier to high-tier is exceptionally difficult. Once a Digimon reaches the peak of the mid-tier Ultimate level, they have already hit the ten-thousand-point ceiling. At this point, any further evolution is far more likely to result in becoming a Mega-level Digimon rather than a high-tier Ultimate. Consequently, except for a rare few special cases, ordinary Digimon require a latent potential higher than the average of their species to achieve this breakthrough.

This is because the stronger a Digimon is before evolution, the stronger they will be after. If one can reach the combat power of a first or second-tier Mega while still an Ultimate, their subsequent evolution could propel them to a third, fourth, or even fifth-tier Mega. Conversely, if one evolves into a Mega while only at the mid-tier Ultimate level, they might only possess the combat power of a first or second-tier Mega, and if their underlying potential is limited, they may never progress further.

Above the high-tier Ultimates are the "extremely high-tier" Ultimates. Much like the extremely low-tier, this classification is exceptionally rare. Currently, only one Digimon is known to exist at this level: Lucemon: Falldown Mode. As the leader of the Seven Great Demon Lords, Lucemon: Falldown Mode is hailed as the strongest Ultimate.

Using Lucemon: Falldown Mode as a benchmark, any Digimon capable of matching its combat power is classified as an extremely high-tier Ultimate. Since combat strength varies, if one were to place Lucemon: Falldown Mode on a scale, its power would roughly fall between the fifth and seventh tiers of the Mega level, with a median estimate around the sixth tier. The Mega level itself consists of ten tiers.

Although Ogudomon X and Jesmon GX have recently pushed the upper limits of Digimon strength—theoretically necessitating the creation of a new tier between the ninth and tenth—the established convention remains that the tenth tier is the highest. Thus, Ogudomon X and Jesmon GX are currently classified as ninth-tier Digimon, though they possess the strength to overwhelm other ninth-tier opponents with relative ease.

Returning to the matter at hand, given the importance of this battle, the opposition will undoubtedly deploy their ten strongest Digimon. It is highly probable they will include Megas, peak mid-tier Ultimates, and perhaps slightly weaker Ultimate-level Digimon. If Paildramon faces a weaker Ultimate, he might stand a chance, but if he is pitted against a peak mid-tier Ultimate or a Mega, the situation will be dire.

Leomon was unsure of how his own Champion-level strength measured up. If he could reach the absolute peak of his former Champion-level power, his Burst Mode might allow him to fight at the level of a first-tier Mega. If not, his Burst Mode would only reach the Ultimate level, leaving him in the same predicament as Paildramon. Compounding this, in the *Digital Source World* game he played before arriving in this real Digital World, his Burst Mode was only at the Ultimate level.

He did not know what changes had occurred during the transition from a game to a true Digital World. He could be weaker, unchanged, or stronger. Thinking of this, Leomon asked them, "By the way, since you arrived in this Digital World, are your Digimon stronger or weaker than they were in the game?"

Elena looked at Leomon, sighed, and said, "..."