Chapter 36: The Little Unicorn Beetle Beast

[Entering preparation time. Both sides must select a Digimon to enter the arena within thirty seconds. Due to the host's settings, no Digimon above the Rookie level may participate.] As this scene unfolded, another system notification rang out.

When the notification ended, a system panel appeared before Beast. On the panel, images of both Beast and Agumon shimmered into view.

In this situation, Beast certainly wouldn't choose Agumon. Although Agumon was a Rookie Digimon with a combined combat power of one hundred, it was still much weaker compared to Beast's own Digimon.

It didn't take long for Beast to select his Digimon for battle. Meanwhile, the burly man on the other side had also chosen his combatant. Almost simultaneously, a magic array appeared before Beast, and his Digimon slowly rose from its center.

Whether it was because the arena was packed and all the Digimon had been squeezed out, or simply a function of the arena's settings, when Beast entered the arena, there were no Digimon at his side.

On the other side, a magic array appeared before the burly man, within which stood the figure of Solarmon.

Solarmon, a Machine-type, Vaccine attribute, Rookie Digimon. Its signature move: [Ring of Light].

[Battle begins countdown!]

[5!]

[4!]

[3!]

[2!]

[1!]

[Battle start!]

Almost at the very instant the system prompt faded, Solarmon unleashed a [Ring of Light] and fired it straight toward Beast's Digimon.

[Shield of Control!] Beast's Digimon, seeing this, charged directly at Solarmon with shield raised, and with a single strike, slashed away thirty percent of Solarmon's health. A few more blows, and Solarmon would be defeated.

[Battle ended!]

Not even half a minute had passed before the system notification chimed again. As it did, Beast's Digimon dissolved into data and faded away.

In the arena, a defeated Digimon does not return to the login space to be reborn. After all, this isn't a dungeon; once a duel begins, one side will inevitably lose, and defeat means death. If Digimon revived after every defeat, few would be willing to enter the arena.

"..." The burly man stared blankly at the scene. Even after the surroundings reverted to the original room, he stood frozen, unable to process what had happened.

"This can't be. My Solarmon's attack power is three hundred, and its defense is two hundred fifty. How is it possible? How could it lose to your Digimon?" In truth, if Solarmon had simply lost to Beast's Digimon, it wouldn't have fazed the man so much. But the fact was, Solarmon couldn't withstand Beast's Digimon's attack—he had been obliterated in seconds.

An attack power of three hundred—though the exact combined combat power was unclear, it was likely between one hundred and one hundred twenty, at least. Among most Digimon, that was already formidable, but for Beast's Digimon, it was still not enough.

Beast replied coldly, "Three hundred attack? Even if my Digimon stood there and let you hit it, you couldn't break its defense. Your defeat was justified."

Beast didn't say it outright, but his meaning was clear: his Digimon's defense stat was above three hundred.

"I suppose I drew the jackpot this time..." The burly man seemed to realize something, and a wry smile spread across his face. "You must be the top player in your server, right?"

"I'm not sure," Beast shook his head. "I've never fought anyone else. But in terms of level, I am indeed the highest."

Having cleared a hidden dungeon, Beast had leveled up three times and was now level thirteen. In his server, none exceeded his level, as confirmed by the leaderboards. The second place was level twelve, and from third onward, all were level eleven. There weren't many at eleven—most hovered around nine or nearly ten.

"In that case, let me fight you." At that moment, a spectator stepped forward. "Coincidentally, I'm also the top player in my server."

In the arena, neither player nor Digimon attributes could be viewed. Unless someone stated them outright, their level and combat strength remained unknown.

Still, being first on a server's ranking meant this challenger was at least comparable to Beast—if not level thirteen, then surely twelve. Beast understood why he wanted to fight: "Digital Source World" had eleven servers, so there were eleven so-called 'top players.' No one wanted to share that title—especially not with ten others.

Previously, Beast might have refused the challenge. But now, with tasks to complete, he did not decline. If he couldn't win, he would trigger Burst Mode. And if even Burst couldn't secure victory, it was no matter—arena defeat didn't mean Digimon rebirth, only more matches to fight.

"Agreed," Beast replied. With that, a new round of substitutions began.

This time, the process was the same as before, so no need to repeat details. Only, the arena had changed from grasslands to frozen tundra, and Beast's opponent was no longer Solarmon, but Kuwagamon.

Kuwagamon, an Insect-type, Virus attribute, Rookie Digimon. Its signature move: [Excavation Smash]. Small in stature, yet remarkably strong for an insect Digimon.

Though Beast had no idea what Kuwagamon's combined combat power was, since these two players had arrived together, they were likely from the same server.

If this player claimed to be the server's top, then he might not surpass others, but at the very least, he was stronger than the burly man. The burly man's Solarmon, by Beast's estimate, had over one hundred combined combat power. Thus, this player's Kuwagamon couldn't be much lower.

[Looks like I'll need to prepare for Burst Mode...] A system panel appeared before Beast, displaying data for his Digimon. With the experience bar overflowing, a lit button stood out—Burst Mode...