Chapter 168: Match Footage

Recently, Adam had been very careful whenever he was out in public, to the extent that he was forced to cover up his own face.

Shadow City had become a far more chaotic place of late as many of the betting organizations from the dark web had sent people to the city, and following his match against Oni no Hanzou, he had become an extremely sought-after figure.

For the people who had been sent here by the betting organizations, it was part of their job to assess the mental state that the most prominent combatants were in leading up to the battle royale.

Unfortunately for Adam, his telegnosis was still quite mediocre for someone of his powers, so if other powerful adapters were sent to assassinate him, then he would be oblivious until the moment he was dragged into the psychic world.

Furthermore, he had become a celebrity of sorts in Shadow City. As someone whose powers ranked him near the top of the S tier, many people would've been able to recognize him had he been walking around on the streets with no disguise.

Hence, whenever he went out, he had to wear the disguise given to him by Baldie Lin in order to avoid causing a stir.

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Adam had stayed indoors as much as possible, watching footage of past matches in Baldie Lin's shop.

All of the footage were of S tier matches. Due to prior time constraints, he hadn't had a chance to learn much about the other S tier combatants, so he was doing his homework now to familiarize himself with the powers and attributes of the other S tier combatants.

"This time, there are a total of 12 S tier combatants who have been confirmed to take part in the battle royale, and they've formed six different teams." While the footage was playing, Hook was giving Adam a rundown of all of the information that he had gathered from both official and unofficial sources. "Out of the 12 S tier combatants, I've split them up into two halves: the stronger half, and the weaker half.

“The stronger half consists entirely of combatants who are around the same level as Oni no Hanzou was at his peak. Medusa, Diamond, and Ikkaku all fall into this category. In addition, Oni no Miko and Dead Wood are slightly stronger than Oni no Miko, but not by much. The one that is most worthy of attention is this man, Eyeless..."

Hook was pointing at a swordsman on the screen with a strip of fabric tied over his eyes.

"He is currently the most powerful S tier combatant, and he was born blind. Given his wealth and advancements in modern medical technology, he could've easily had artificial eyes implanted, but he chose not to do so. He feels like being blind is advantageous to the honing of his telegnosis, so he's quite a strange character, and he hasn't chosen to team up with anyone for this battle royale."

"He hasn't teamed up with anyone? Does that mean he's going solo?" Adam was rather surprised to hear this. According to the rules, a team in the battle royale could have a maximum of four members, yet not only had Eyeless not filled this quota, he hadn't even sought out a single teammate. "Is he that confident in his own abilities?"

"It's not confidence. How do I put this? He has the personality of a cultivator from ancient times. He thinks that all adversity and hardships can help make him stronger. Unlike everyone else, he came to Shadow City solely for his own training, and I've heard that he's not doing this for wealth or reputation. If he wins the battle royale, the reward that he wants is a sparring match against the director."

"... What a strange man."

Adam turned his attention to the footage of Eyeless's match, wanting to see just how powerful he was.

In the footage, he was battling an artificial anomaly that was at least on par with the average S tier combatant, roughly on the same level as the skinned anomaly that Adam had seen once before.

However, in its battle against Eyeless, it was only able to last a few exchanges before it was vanquished.

During the entire battle, Eyeless hadn't displayed many abilities at all. It seemed that he had managed to kill his opponent with just a few casual slashes of his sword.

"That was rather strange. Play the footage again."

Adam watched the footage a second time, but once again, all he saw was a few casual attacks from Eyeless before the battle drew to a conclusion.

"Judging from the appearance of that anomaly, it should possess very high defensive or regenerative capabilities." At this point, Adam was an expert when it came to anomalies, and he could roughly determine an anomaly's attributes based on its outward appearance and personality. "How was he able to kill that thing so easily?"

"That's the strange thing about him. All of his battles appear to be very uneventful and unremarkable. There was even a battle of his that concluded without any damage being dealt to the surrounding environment, which is extremely rare to see in adapters of his caliber."

"Is it because he's focused all of his psychic power onto his sword?"

"I don't know about that, but I've heard that the wounds that he inflicts on his targets can't be healed. He pours all of the hardships that he's endured into his blade so that his targets experience the same pain and adversity that he has. All of the spectators refer to his sword as the Blade of Hardship."

"He does look really strong." After watching a few more of Eyeless's battles, Adam was able to make a rough assessment of his power. "He's quite a bit more powerful than Oni no Hanzou was, but he's still not that far above everyone else in the S tier. If he's going solo in the battle royale, then he shouldn't be that difficult to deal with."

"That's where you're wrong. What you're seeing now is Eyeless in his current form, but the most remarkable and terrifying thing about him is his ability to make breakthroughs when faced with adversity. Due to his nature, he's able to persevere for a very long time even on the brink of death or when he's at a clear disadvantage in battle, and the more pressure he's under, the faster he grows.

“Apparently, he wasn't very powerful when he first came, only ranking near the top of the A tier or on the cusp of the S tier, but he has grown rapidly since then. Unfortunately, I don't have any footage of any of the matches where he's been at a disadvantage."

"I see. I'll make sure to take note of him."

There were over 100 combatants participating in the battle royale, so perhaps one of them would be dead before they even had a chance to run into each other.

Hence, it was better to have comprehensive information on everyone rather than detailed information on a select few combatants.

Adam didn't have much time left, so there was no way that he could develop an in-depth understanding of all of the combatants.

"Who else do I need to keep an eye on?"

"This guy, Diamond. He's Iron Man's brother, and he holds family in very high regard, kind of like an old-school gangster. Apparently, he's participating in the battle royale because he wants to secure blank slates for his parents and his wife."

"Blank slates..."

"You've heard of blank slates, right? They can..."

"I know what blank slates are, there's no need to explain them to me."

Not only had Adam heard of the term, every time he heard it, his body would display a slight stress response, characterized by chills and cold sweat.

This was a reaction that arose from a combination of emotions, including resentment and anxiety.

"Given his personality, he's definitely going to come after you. During the battle royale, most people will try to avoid battle as much as possible in the early stages, preferring to gather resources in preparation for the final showdown. However, he's not going to be one of those people. Even if he runs into you very early on, he's still going to hunt you to the end."

"Looks like I have another enemy to look out for."

To Adam, Oni no Hanzou and Diamond weren't just ordinary opponents. Instead, they were his enemies, and he was naturally going to adopt different measures when dealing with enemies compared to dealing with opponents.

"If these people are so strong, why don't they form teams with each other? Surely not all of them like to run solo like Eyeless."

"Many of them are affiliated with different organizations, and they also have personal vendettas against one another. On top of that, everyone has different needs, so it's virtually impossible for a bunch of S tier combatants to come together and fight for a common goal.

“Having said that, it also depends on what kind of agreements everyone can strike with one another in private. If you're looking for S tier combatants to recruit, you can consider Ikkaku and Medusa from the top half of the S tier, and Midget and Dragon Knight from the bottom half."