Sarah landed on the platform. She stood there blankly, unable to process what just happened.

"Hey, are you fine?" Asked a concerned voice.

Sarah came back to her senses. She looked up and saw that Ronald was standing in front of her at some point. She sighed deeply, "I still don't understand what just happened."

"No point thinking about it when you have no clues. Let's go ask your mother about it," said Ronald.

She nodded and the duo went to look for Mrs. Babington.

**********

Artix was transferred outside. He looked around and spotted the back of the duo as they left. 'It seems like they're quite close,' thought Artix, 'probably his fiancée or something,' he guessed.

Artix then made his way to receive his prize and made his way back to his dorm. He ate the pill and finished practicing. Finally, he had the chance to think about what just happened.

'That was totally awesome! I get excited just thinking about it. To think that just having your link reach the threshold would bring such a huge change. Looks like this disaster approach isn't so useless after all!'

'To think that when I equate my loss to my death, I would fulfill the criteria. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long.'

'Anyway, this still can be considered a trump card of mine.'

Artix thought joyfully after he analysed his mentality at the time.

'Plus, the experience gave me new insight. I think I will be able to conclude my third principle soon. I can't wait to become a Death Master. My first step towards becoming a septuple Law Master! Hehe...'

**********

Ronald and Sarah found Mrs. Babington and went back to the Babingtons' house. They sat in the living room and faced each other. Mrs. Babington was a lady looking to be in her 120s. She had a gentle atmosphere about her and had pointed ears with long, yellowish-green hair and a pair of golden eyes. She wore a simple long, pink dress.

"Mother, did you watch my match?" Asked Sarah impatiently.

"Yes, I did. I must say that you have lost splendidly. I expect no less from my daughter," remarked Mrs. Babington.

The duo became speechless, "Mother! This is not the time for jokes. Can you tell us what happened? Why did I lose consciousness? Why did I turn around? Why didn't I defend?" Said Sarah. Then she intently waited for an answer.

Mrs. Babington watched her daughter silently. Then she turned to look at Ronald. Then, she sighed, "You can count yourself unlucky. Among the laws, death is the nemesis of life. When he screamed, he used a basic Murmurs of Death spell, thus you, who lowered your guard because of his sudden actions, unconsciously looked backwards."

"What about what happened at the end?" Asked Ronald.

"At the end, he somehow managed to bring his link to the threshold level. My guess is that he treated his loss the same as his death and managed to fulfill the acceptance criteria for the duration of the fight. You know the mentality needed for becoming a Death Master, right?" said Mrs. Babington.

The duo nodded. Then, realization dawned on them.

"You can do that?" Exclaimed the duo.

Mrs. Babington nodded and said, "Death Masters, or in this case, potential Death Masters, are the most terrifying when backed into a corner."

"I remember fighting few of those guys back when I was at the college," said Mrs. Babington reminiscing the past.

"Then what happened? Did you lose?" Questioned Sarah curiously.

"I crushed them before they had the chance to change their mentality," said Mrs. Babington.

The duo became speechless.

"Then, what spells did he use at the end?" Asked Ronald. Sarah nodded on the side and looked at her mother.

"He should've used the intermediate spells, Immaterial State and Temporal Kill. Plus an additional intermediate Murmurs of Death at the end," said Mrs. Babington simply.

Then she explained, "Immaterial State enables him to ignore all physical attacks. The way to counter it is to simply keep something inside him at all times. This way his consumption would increase and he would be forced to cancel it. There is a simpler way which is to infuse your attack with a major law that you have a stronger connection or link with compared to his own. Temporal Kill, as the name suggests, temporarily kills the target. Hence, in your case, you blanked out for one second. You can't dodge this which is a pain but you can increase your resistance accordingly. If he uses it continuously on the same target within a narrow timeframe, it would become less effective. Finally, Murmurs of Death. This spell can be quite sinister at times. It can give suggestions to the target, making the weak willed or confused targets follow their suggestions. Again, this can't be dodged, but as long as your mentality is strong enough, you won't have much trouble ignoring those suggestions. Naturally, improving your link or connection works as well."

The duo listened while they came up with counter measures of their own.

**********

Two days passed and it was time for the second round. Each group was transferred to their designated towns.

Artix surveyed his surroundings. He spotted a boy and the boy spotted him at the same time. Without giving Artix a chance to speak, the boy immediately escaped.

Artix watched the back of the boy but didn't follow him. He wanted to try something. He didn't use Hide as he usually did.

'I am a target and I can be killed at any moment,' Artix began to hypnotise himself.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. 'My sense of security is quite high,' Artix thought, 'looks like this trump card of mine isn't so easy to use,' Artix sighed.

"Whatever," said Artix as he blended into the night.

Unlike last time, Artix went actively to search for pray in the first three nights. Quickly, the final night came and the survivors gathered on the platform.

Artix stood in the middle of the platform wearing a provocative smile. He looked at the 17 students who wore tired expressions in front of him and said, "Yes, yes, I am despicable. You don't need to waste words, just come at me directly."