The man called Nims was a monk who grew up in the treacherous terrain of the Himalayan mountain range. It was rumored that he had been expelled from the Tibetan monastery and found his way to the Kal-Umbra. As for the reason, no one seemed to know.

But one thing was for sure; the bearded brown skin man was one of the strongest players in the Apocalypse Game before his regression.

The man who was a head taller than him and had muscles that could only be found in action movies possessed a much more robust physique than ordinary people. And for the old master to put such a person against Alan, it was either a compliment for his outstanding progress or a straight-up attempt to make him fail.

"Do you accept the test, foreigner?"

Unfortunately for Alan, with the start of the Apocalypse Game only two weeks away, he had no choice but to accept the challenge. He nodded, "I accept, Master."

Immediately after, they all headed to the courtyard outside the monastery, where a stage was quickly formed as the other figures in black garbs made a circle. Alan and Nims were standing face to face a few meters apart inside the ring.

The two of them had chosen their weapons and were ready to fight. Alan held a single-edge blade, while his opponent had a one-and-a-half-meter-long steel polearm.

The monk glanced at him and raised one of his arms to pray at him before saying,

"Foreigner, I will pray that you will defeat me."

Hearing this reminded him the man was rumored to be crazy as well.

The monk then shot towards Alan and swept the steel polearm at him. The faint sound of air being torn apart could be heard as the tip of the polearm swiftly headed for Alan's waist.

BAM!

Alan managed to respond to the attack, positioning his sword on the trajectory of the polearm and reinforcing it with both his hands. However, the momentum contained within the polearm was so strong that it sent his body skidding to the side.

"Damn! He's too Damn strong!" Alan screamed inside his head.

Unrelenting, Nims immediately chased after Alan. He raised the polearm to the sky before swinging his hand in a downward movement. The air seemed to ripple as it swiftly headed towards Alan's head with great force.

Swish! BAM!

A faint sound of gaps sounded in the area as Alan perfectly blocked the attack with a high parry. However, even though the parry stance allowed him to mitigate most of the force, the power of Nims' full swing coupled with the help of gravity was simply too much for his sword, which instantly broke.

As a result, the polearm managed to hit Alan on the shoulder. A wave of pain swept over him, and his body involuntarily knelt. Noticing the second attack making its way to him, Alan quickly threw his body to the sides to evade it.

His body continued to roll until there were a few meters between them. Afterwards, Alan quickly stood up, groaning in pain.

The monk was undoubtedly a monster.

Alan closed his eyes as the countless experiences he had before his regression flashed in his mind, and Alan relaxed. When the monk once again dashed at him, he calmly opened his eyes and dodged it perfectly.

This time, Alan decided to fight him with a focus on agility. He kept swiftly moving around, simultaneously searching for an opening, and when he finally found it, he took it. He jumped at the last second, rolled toward the broken blade on the ground, and quickly stabbed the monk.

Splat! Splat!

One pierced the monk's back, and another made a deep cut to his thigh. A wound that would make most people stumble on their feet.

But to Alan's surprise, Nims was utterly unfazed by it.

The monk dropped his polearm and grabbed Alan's shoulder right where it was struck earlier. He gripped hard on the wound, causing Alan to scream, before hunching his back and smashing Alan into the ground.

"ARGH!"

A groan of pain escaped Alan's lips, but knowing there would be a follow-up attack, he quickly mustered all his strength and rolled his body across the ground, moving away from his opponent.

The fight suddenly turned into a brawl as Nims decided to chase after Alan.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The two exchanged punches and kicks with each other as they tried to bring the other down. Fortunately, because Alan managed to injure Nims' thigh earlier, the latter's movements were somewhat impeded, allowing Alan to dictate the rhythm of the battle.

Alan managed to land a few hits before the monk could counter with one. However, his opponent seemed like the mighty mountain itself. He was still able to stand even after receiving dozens of hits.

A certain sense of determination flashed across Nims' eyes as if he was trying to prove something. However, the same could be said for Alan, as there was no way he would give up here.

Knowing he couldn't defeat the man in a contest of physique alone, Alan decided to start taking his chances and put all of his strength into hitting more critical areas of his opponent. A skill he learned during all those three years of surviving the game.

When he had the chance, Alan's first target was a decisive blow to the opponent's knee and then quickly toward the Peroneal nerve just three inches just above it.

Bam! Bam!

This quickly made Nims lose strength in his legs, forcing him down to kneel.

Alan quickly took his chances and deliberately attacked two more of Nim's nerve points. His jaws and temple, making the man finally fall to the ground in pain.

Arghhhh!

Knowing his golden opportunity was finally here, Alan pinned the latter to the ground, using his four limbs to strangle Nim's neck, ready to break it.

Alan felt a heavy sensation all over his body. He panted heavily as he barked, "Surrender!"

Nims was definitely in a lot of pain. However, he remained silent. He kept enduring, and it seemed the only way to stop the monk was to break its neck.

At this moment, the old master's voice sounded in the air.

"This is a deathmatch. Kill him."

Alan had his fair share of killing before his regression. However, he knew now was not one of those moments, he thought of a way and then decided to let go of his arm,

"No, this is enough."

The old master, Yi Tan, showed an amused expression after hearing his words. With a wave of his hand, the others who had been just watching the fight took action. They pulled Alan off Nims and restrained him to the ground.

Once again, Master Yin opened his mouth. "Kill him, or you will die in his stead. This is our way."

However, before Alan could answer, a loud whirring sound was heard in the air. It caught everyone's attention as they all turned their heads in the direction it came from. There, in the distance, a helicopter was flying towards the monastery.

It was descending some distance away from the courtyard where everyone gathered. When it finally landed on the snowy ground, a beautiful woman with long black hair came out with several men in military uniform surrounding her.

A flash of memory popped into Alan's mind when he saw the woman.

"Damn, just my luck… She's here too, haa…."