"Why isn't the Guildmaster of The Future finishing this fight already?"
Nawa asked, changing the subject after noticing the distant, troubled look on Yongyut's face—as if the man had momentarily sunk into painful memories.
"Kid, didn't you hear what I just said?" Yongyut replied, still filming but glancing at him briefly.
"Singkhon isn't ordinary. He may not have officially advanced to High Rank (Rank B), but his combat ability is already close to that level. The Tigerfang Guild wouldn't have made him a core member otherwise. If the Guildmaster underestimates him, something unexpected could happen."
Nawa raised an eyebrow.
"You're telling me… a Rank C can defeat a Rank A?"
"Hmph. Listen carefully." Yongyut lowered his camera slightly, adopting the tone of a seasoned analyst.
"I've never entered The Oneness myself, but I've seen countless Player battles. A rank only represents basic physical stats—strength, speed, defense. But what truly determines a Player's power are combat skills and artifacts.
With the right skill set and a good artifact, even a low-rank Player can defeat someone ranked above them."
Player Rank Structure
Player ranks were determined by averaging core physical attributes: strength, defense, speed, agility, accuracy, and mana.They were generally divided into six broad tiers:
Rank E — average stats: 1–99
(Ordinary humans average 1–50)
Rank D — 100–999
Rank C — 1,000–9,999
Rank B — 10,000–99,999
Rank A — 100,000–999,999
Rank S (Super Players) — any Player whose average base stat exceeded 999,999.
What Yongyut said wasn't wrong—powerful skills and artifacts could drastically amplify a Player's capability, enough to compensate for the stat gap.
That was true in theory. But in practice, high-rank Players usually possessed advanced skills and superior artifacts as well. They had more resources, more experience.
Cross-rank victories were possible… but incredibly difficult.
And indeed, what was happening before them matched Yongyut's analysis.
The Guildmaster carried no weapon at all—not even a single artifact. His clothing was ordinary, not enchanted. Singkhon, meanwhile, was fully armed and equipped with combat artifacts, clearly ready for a full-force battle. For some unknown reason, the Guildmaster also wasn't using any skills.
Nawa narrowed his eyes.
"Do you think I'm a kid you can fool? From what I see, if he truly wanted to win, this fight would've ended already. He looks like someone who doesn't want to attack."
Yongyut didn't deny it. In fact, his expression brightened with satisfaction.
Deep down, he agreed completely.
Singkhon wasn't strong enough to challenge someone like Tana, the man who had raised The Future Guild into one of the nation's three great powers. His combat prowess couldn't simply be measured by rank.
Yongyut had intentionally spoken differently earlier to test Nawa's reasoning—and the boy hadn't disappointed. In fact… he had exceeded expectations.
Right now, Yongyut desperately needed an assistant—someone who could enter The Oneness in his place, gather firsthand information, and help him analyze news.
Because cameras and modern equipment couldn't enter The Oneness, everything depended on observation, memory, and deduction.If the assistant misinterpreted something, his reports would also be wrong.
Not only did he need someone intelligent, he needed a Player—preferably one with strong analytical ability. He had searched for years but never found someone suitable.
High-rank Players had guilds, fame, sponsorship—none would waste time doing field reporting. But today… he might have found the perfect candidate.
A small, satisfied smile appeared on Yongyut's face.
"I apologize for earlier.
You were right—the Guildmaster isn't attacking because… he can't."
Nawa's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
He had guessed as much, but he lacked the deeper details—the reasons behind it.
Yongyut finally explained:
Three years ago in the outside world—which equaled nearly ten years inside The Oneness
(time there flowed three times faster)
A massive war erupted between the Yothandia Kingdom and Mayonia.
At that time, Tana wasn't yet a Guildmaster—just an ordinary Player. He volunteered as a field commander for Yothandia and joined the war.
During one battle, his unit fell into a deadly ambush caused by their general misreading the enemy's strategy.But Tana refused to surrender.
He led his entire unit in a desperate breakout. Multiple Mayonian captains—many with strength comparable to High Rank Players—attempted to stop him.
None succeeded. Tana's actions changed the entire course of the war, allowing Yothandia to claim victory.
After that war, his strength surged to new heights. He was appointed as a general within Yothandia—a human-led kingdom—and soon afterward, he founded The Future Guild.
Backed by the influence of Yothandia's army, The Future Guild rapidly rose to become one of the three great guilds in the country.
The problem?
After that war, Tana rarely showed his true strength. Rumors spread that he had suffered severe injuries—injuries that had never fully healed.
The guild never denied the rumors. They didn't need to. Even without Tana, The Future Guild still had two Rank A vice-guildmasters.
But now everything had changed.
By declaring themselves the law enforcers of The Oneness, The Future Guild had made enemies. Their rivals could no longer sit still. Yongyut believed Singkhon's attack had a hidden purpose—
Not to win. But to force Tana to reveal his true condition.
Nawa's pupils dilated slightly.
"So you're saying… the Tigerfang Guild sent Singkhon to test the Guildmaster?"
He was shocked—not just by the answer, but by the implications.This wasn't simply a fight. It was a clash between the three great guilds—a political power struggle with consequences that could shape the entire country.
Yongyut was equally shocked—not by the situation, but by Nawa.The boy grasped the political weight of the conflict almost instantly.
This kid… he's sharper than I expected.
It had taken Yongyut years of research, experience, and observation to understand the guild dynamics.
But Nawa had pieced it together after just a few exchanges. But the truth was… this wasn't innate genius. Nawa had spent years practicing the Buddhist principle of The Law of Conditionality—the doctrine of conditionality:
"Because this exists, that exists. Because this arises, that arises."
By viewing the world as interconnected conditions instead of isolated events, he could see relationships, consequences, and patterns with remarkable clarity. It wasn't natural intelligence.
It was cultivated insight.
"So why choose a press conference? Isn't this too obvious?" Nawa asked.
"There are two reasons," Yongyut explained.
"First, no modern equipment can enter The Oneness—so no one can record battles there. Second, Earth still has laws. Even if something goes wrong, Players don't have to fear being killed. But inside The Oneness… every fight is life or death."
The reason modern devices couldn't enter was simple:
Anything passing through the teleport gate had to be made from materials originating in The Oneness. Those materials differed fundamentally from Earth's, making it impossible to build complex devices like cameras.
The only widely usable tool was the Player's earpiece—crafted mostly from Oneness materials. It served as a key for teleportation and came with many functions: creating storage spaces, long-distance telepathy, and more.
It was indispensable for every Player.
Suddenly—
"You think you're so tough, huh!?" Singkhon roared, thrusting a hand into the pouch tied at his waist.
He pulled out something clenched tightly in his fist. A faint blue glow seeped through his fingers as the object absorbed his mana.
It was Enchanted Rice Grain—a magical consumable. Extremely destructive, with a wide attack radius.And extremely expensive.
A single handful cost tens of thousands of baht.
Singkhon hurled them. Each grain shot forward like a bullet.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The massive stage disintegrated, blown apart into rubble as if struck by heavy artillery.Yet Tana remained unharmed.
His body blurred, disappearing from the explosion's center and reappearing dozens of meters away—without even looking at Singkhon.
His gaze was fixed elsewhere.Two men were approaching.They wore black uniforms resembling ceremonial Thai dress.On their chests, embroidered in gold—
Three Elephant Heads.