System's POV

Chapter 603  You Have Skill Issues, Old Man

Cranky, who had shrunk his size to become a two-meter tall Honey Badger, sat on the throne that originally belonged to the Grievefoot, who was confident just several minutes ago.

Seated on his left and right shoulders were none other than Pica and Pico, who had smug looks on their faces.

Cranky made a clicking sound with his lips as he raised his hand.

As if waiting for that moment, the Umbrafang, Harahon, approached him and respectfully gave Cranky a tobacco cigar.

The leader of the Monkeys then lit the tip of the Cigar with a lighter Thirteen had given to him earlier.

Cranky then placed the cigar between his lips and huffed before blowing out some white smoke like a Mafia Boss.

"Big Brother Cranky's right leg feels stiff," Pica said. "Monkey, give it a massage!"

"R-Right away, Miss Pica!" Harahon replied, after which he knelt in front of the Honey Badger and started to massage his right leg.

"Ape, are those arms of yours for display purposes only?!" Pico glared at Khan, who was holding a feather fan, and fanning Cranky from the side. "Put some muscles into it, fool!"

"Y-Yes, Sir Pico!" Khan then increased the speed of his fanning, almost blowing the two baby Pocopocos off Cranky's shoulder.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing, punk?!" Pico shouted. "Are you rebelling against Big Brother Cranky?!"

"I-I wouldn't dare, Sir Pico," Khan stuttered. "Then what are you doing?" Pico said in disdain. "Do you think fanning strongly is good? Do you think stronger is better huh?!"

"No. I made a mistake, I'm sorry!"

"Tch! Do your job properly before Big Brother Cranky gets angry. You are this close to becoming his dinner, you know?"

The Grievefoot then decreased his fanning speed, while the Baby Pocopoco glared in his direction.

Deep inside, Khan was unwilling to let the darn bird order him around. But what could he do? The Honey Badger was a Peak Archon. A creature that could easily kill him with a flick of a finger.

The Monkeys, and Apes, were all kneeling in front of Cranky's throne, not even daring to breathe deeply just in case the Honey Badger would find fault in them.

While this was happening, Giga was sitting on the ground and drinking the juice of the coconut-like fruit with a straw.

There were two Rank 6 Steel Apes fanning him from the side, making sure that he felt comfortable.

Blacky, Hercules, the Trolls, and Ogres were also in a relaxed state as the Monkeys and Apes fan them from the side.

As of the moment, the 12th Floor had changed its Boss, and the new one was none other than the Honey Badger, who was listening to Pica's and Pico's curses aimed at Harahon and Khan.

The portal that led to the 13th Floor was already open, and Thirteen had entered it alone a while ago.

He asked everyone to stay on the 12th Floor because he didn't want them to see what was going to happen next. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Even Tiona, who had always accompanied Thirteen, simply waited for him at the entrance of what seemed to be a Giant Coliseum.

A sign hung at the entrance which read…

"Here lies the Final Trial of the Temple of Courage. In order to honor your courage and resilience for coming this far, the opponent you will face will be just as strong as you. This trial is completely balanced, so you have a fifty-fifty chance of passing.

As to whether you will succeed or not, let Fate decide whether you will pass this final test.

Required Number of Challengers: [1]

Since the Final Trial only accepted one Challenger at a time, Tiona was forced to wait outside because she was also counted as one Challenger.

The Temple would decide the number of Challengers based on the opponent that they would face.

And since all the battles were deemed "Fair" under the heavens, the opponent that Thirteen would face would be just as strong as him.

"It has been a while, Thirteen."

"Stop talking, Old Man. Your breath stinks."

Thirteen glared at the System God, who was standing at the opposite end of the Arena with his arms behind his back.

"Huhuhu, you're still as disrespectful as ever."

"I have many people I respect. You're not one of them."

"It seemed that being human made you ruder."

"I need to thank you for that. Being human made me understand what a sh*tty father you really are."

A chuckle escaped the System God's lips.

Although he had a smile on his face, Thirteen could almost see the nerves bulging on his father's head due to annoyance.

"Do you have anything to say to me?" Deus Ex Machina asked. "We won't have many opportunities like this to talk."

"Yes, I actually want to ask you something," Thirteen replied.

"And that is?"

"You're only using an Avatar, right?"

"You're right. This is just an Avatar. Something like this is easy for me to do."

Thirteen nodded in understanding.

But a second later, he stomped his right foot forward and disappeared from where he stood.

He then reappeared right in front of the System God and unleashed a straight punch aimed at the Old Man's face.

Deus Ex Machina casually bent his body sideways, dodging Thirteen's blow before counter-attacking.

As if expecting that move, Thirteen followed up his punch with a downward elbow strike without showing any bit of mercy toward the person who had sent him to Pangea.

Two loud claps spread inside the Arena, as Thirteen and Deus Ex Machina, blocked each other's attack with the palm of their hands, conjuring shock waves around them.

"You've grown weak," Deus Ex Machina commented.

"And you've grown senile," Thirteen replied. "You really want to have the last word, don't you?"

"That's what my Host, Vincent, advised me in the past when picking up girls."

"Oh? Is that also the reason why he's dead?"

"At least he wasn't single when he died. Unlike you. Imagine being a thousand years-old virgin. You have skill issues, old man."

Deus Ex Machina laughed before unleashing a flurry of blows without holding back.

Thirteen didn't back down and faced his father's attack with his own, which was the true start of the battle between Father and Son, who were both fighting for what they believed was right.