Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start

For a while, the Colosseum kept ringing with cheers and yells filled with shock and disbelief.

But as the dust had started to settle on the place Varacius had crashed into, an eerie stillness spread across the Colosseum.

It was as if the very air itself was warning about something impending.

The once deafening cheers and murmurs of disbelief faded into a hushed, almost reverent silence.

Everyone's eyes were locked onto the wreckage where Varacius had landed.

Was he unconscious? Could he even stand after that? What was happening?

A moment passed, then another. A flicker of movement drew everyone's attention.

They recalled how Leon, the vice president of the Berserker Club, rose even after a slap from Alex, so they thought that, although Varacius was slapped with more force, as the president, he would still rise.

And true to their belief, through the cloud of dust and shattered stone, Varacius stirred.

His body trembled as he planted a bloodied hand against the cracked wall, pushing himself up. The audience gasped, some in shock, some in relief, and some in excitement.

He was still conscious.

But everyone's expressions changed soon, and what made their breath catch in their throats was his expression.

He was grinning.

Not the strained grimace of someone forcing bravado in the face of overwhelming power, nor the smirk of a man too stubborn to accept defeat.

No, it was an unhinged, wild grin—the expression of a man who had just uncovered a revelation that shattered everything he thought he knew.

Blood dripped from his split lip, and his left eye was already swelling shut, but his crimson eyes burned brighter than ever.

"Ha... ha... hahaha..." A rough chuckle spilled from his throat before growing into an uncontrollable laugh.

Alex's brow lifted slightly. "You're laughing?"

[Did you hit him too hard?] Sophie's voice echoed in his head, making him scratch his head in confusion. 'I did control myself, but maybe his brain did get damaged.'

Varacius, on the other hand, staggered forward, his legs unsteady but his aura surging, wilder than before. "Ahh... I get it now..." he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

The crowd, still frozen in suspense, watched in awe as the berserker cracked his neck, ignoring the pain. His gaze locked onto Alex, eyes alight with something dangerously close to exhilaration.

"You... You're different." Varacius wiped the blood from his lips. "For the first time in a long time, I feel it—this absolute gap between me and someone else. But you know what?"

He grinned wider, his mana flaring once again. The red energy around him twisted, coiling into an erratic, almost unstable form.

"I love it."

The moment he spoke, the air trembled. But it wasn't from him. It was from the ground itself.

'Urgh! This stench!' Alex, on the other hand, frowned, his nose scrunched as he suddenly felt his blood boiling in rage.

His eyes squinted as he found the source of the smell. It was from the ground where Varacius was standing.

Varacius had thrown something—some kind of liquid—on the ground.

But before Alex could think deeply about it, a deep, guttural rumble echoed beneath their feet, and suddenly—

BOOM!

A massive crack tore through the Colosseum floor, right where Varacius had landed. It wasn't just a broken stone—it was something entirely else.

Golden light seeped from the fissures, illuminating the arena in an unnatural glow. A strange, ancient energy surged upward, sending waves of power rippling through the air. Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Alex narrowed his eyes. 'Should I pretend to be dumb for now?'

"What is this?" He muttered.

Varacius, still grinning like a madman, didn't look surprised. If anything, his expression was one of realization.

"Heh... I guess it was true," he whispered, eyes darting toward the glowing cracks. "This place... This arena... It was never just a battleground."

The golden light pulsed, and suddenly—

A roar erupted from beneath them.

"ROAR!!!!!!!!"

The air shook with the sheer force of the sound, sending a chill down every spine in the arena.

Alex's gaze darkened as he took a cautious step back. "What the hell did you just wake up?"

Varacius wiped the blood from his cheek, eyes gleaming with excitement. "Looks like our fight isn't over yet."

Inwardly, however, he was as serious as he could be. 'I need to eliminate him. This is the least I can do for my savior.'

He recalled the expression Keryu, his savior, used when he talked about Alex. There was enmity between them.

Keryu had asked him to use this if he couldn't defeat Alex, and although he never thought he would have to use it, he was doing it now.

'It's your fault for getting in his way.' Varacius glared at Alex and just as he thought that—

The Colosseum floor exploded.

A blinding golden light erupted from the cracks, engulfing the arena in an eerie glow. A deafening roar followed, shaking the entire stadium to its core.

The sheer force of the sound sent shockwaves through the air, causing the audience to recoil in terror.

As the dust began to settle, a massive form emerged from beneath the shattered stone.

A wyvern.

The creature was colossal, its scales shimmering with a mix of obsidian and gold.

Its massive wings, partially unfurled, crackled with residual energy from the seal that had just been broken. Its eyes, glowing like molten lava, scanned the arena with a predatory glint.

Rows of jagged fangs lined its gaping maw, steam rising from its nostrils as it exhaled, taking its first breath of freedom in what must have been centuries.

The stadium fell into chaos.

"W-What the hell is that?!"

"Did Varacius just summon a wyvern?!"

"Where the hell did it come from?! From under the arena??"

"No way! Something like that was sealed under the arena all this time?!"

Panic spread among the spectators as realization dawned. Some gripped their seats with white-knuckled fear, while others scrambled back, glancing at the barriers separating them from the battle.

"Is the barrier strong enough to hold that thing?"

"It has to be, right?! This is the official Colosseum! There's no way they'd let something break loose... right?"

"Damn it, Varacius! What the hell did you do?!"

Among the terrified voices, a few grew curious as their gazes shifted toward the referee, expecting intervention. But the man remained still, his expression unreadable.

It sent a clear message. He wasn't planning on stopping this, and looking at that, things finally started to click in the heads of some guys.

"Wait... summoning is allowed in the matches, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but this is a wyvern! How did Varacius even know that it was there? No one knew something like this was under the arena!"

"It doesn't matter! He summoned it! That means it's a part of the fight!"

There was a rule of the competition that anything used as a weapon was permitted. Even if the wyvern had been sealed here for who knows how long, the fact remained: Varacius had summoned it.

No one knew how he did it, but since he did it, it meant that it was his weapon—this was still part of the match.

Varacius wiped the blood from his lips, his grin never fading. "Not bad, right?"

Alex, however, wasn't looking at him anymore.

His piercing blue eyes were locked onto the wyvern. His mind wasn't racing with questions about what had just happened. He already knew the answer.

There was only one person who could've orchestrated this.

Keryu.

That bastard.

Alex's lips curled into a grin of his own, amusement flickering in his gaze. So, Keryu was getting impatient? This was his move?

Revealing a hidden piece like this, forcing Alex into a battle that should've been impossible?

Pathetic.

All this meant was that Keryu had unknowingly taken a step closer to his own demise.

But that was for later. Right now, there was a much bigger problem standing in front of him.

The wyvern let out another ear-splitting roar, its enormous wings stretching as it took in its surroundings.

The air trembled with its sheer presence, and the ground beneath it cracked under its weight.

Many, who were expectantly staring at the arena, wondered what was going to happen now.

Anyone could tell that the wyvern was strong after all. Those who were stronger could tell its exact strength. It was a star connection beast, a mid-stage at that.

It wasn't something a star formation realm student could defeat.

Alex, however, just rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck as he took a step forward. 'Looks like it's time to show more of my strength to the world.'

His grin widened as he spoke to the wyvern. "Alright then... let's see what you've got."