Garion watched Veyrion leave before turning back toward Slifera. "So..."

He grabbed another piece of roasted beast meat and pointed it at him. "Why does that Veyrion guy hate you so much?"

Slifera’s glowing blue eyes narrowed slightly. "It’s complicated."

Garion raised an eyebrow. "Complicated how?"

"You’re an A2 Threat Evaluation, right?" Garion continued. "That means you’re considered a genius too. So why is he acting like you’re some trash?"

Slifera sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Because Veyrion is from one of the main bloodline branches of the Silverian Race."

Garion blinked. "Main bloodline?"

Slifera nodded slowly. "I’m from a side branch."

His voice remained calm, but there was obvious annoyance underneath.

"Even though I’m talented, to people like him, side branch members are still inferior unless we completely surpass them."

Dahlia frowned. "That’s stupid."

Rovak snorted. "That’s why I hate that bastard."

Slifera continued, "Veyrion is indeed a genius. I won’t deny that. His bloodline purity is higher than mine, and his energy synchronization talent is excellent."

Then his expression became colder. "But because of that, he and his people are arrogant. Very arrogant."

Elisa calmly added, "Some Silverian main branch clans are known for looking down on other races as well."

Garion slowly nodded. "So it’s not just you. He looks down on everyone?"

Slifera gave a dry laugh. "Pretty much."

At that moment, Alira finally spoke. "The Silverian Race is one of the top fifty races in the Cosmic Universe."

Garion paused. "Top fifty?"

Alira nodded. "Their natural talent in energy control, technology synchronization, and formation connection is extremely high. Many advanced ships, weapons, and cosmic devices use Silverian engineers or operators."

Garion looked at Slifera with new interest. "Ohhh... so your race is actually that impressive."

Slifera crossed his arms smugly. "Of course."

Rovak immediately grinned. "Too bad your personality isn’t impressive."

Slifera’s smug expression vanished. "Shut up, horned idiot."

Rovak immediately burst into laughter. "Hahaha! See? That’s the Slifera I know."

Garion looked between the two of them with amusement before asking, "Then how did you even become friends with Rovak and Elisa?"

Slifera froze for a moment.

Rovak also paused slightly, as if he had never really thought about it properly.

Elisa calmly picked up her cup and answered first. "It just happened."

Garion blinked. "That simple?"

Slifera sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Pretty much."

He looked toward the entrance where Veyrion had disappeared.

"Because I was from a side branch, I was constantly compared, suppressed, and mocked by the main branch. So even though I’m Silverian, I never really had the chance to act as arrogantly as they did."

Rovak grinned. "Yeah. When I first met him, he was still acting smug, but he didn’t actually look down on me."

Slifera clicked his tongue. "Because you were too loud to ignore."

Rovak laughed. "Exactly!"

Elisa smiled faintly. "We met during our first few months in the terminal. Rovak got into trouble, Slifera somehow got dragged into it, and I happened to be nearby."

Garion’s grin widened. "That sounds familiar."

Slifera raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Garion waved his hand. "Nothing. Continue."

Slifera sighed again. "After that, we kept running into each other. Missions, registrations, training grounds, small conflicts... somehow, it kept happening."

Rovak nodded proudly. "That’s fate!"

Slifera immediately replied, "That’s bad luck."

Elisa calmly added, "But useful bad luck."

For a moment, the three of them looked at each other.

Then even Slifera’s expression softened slightly. "Anyway, it wasn’t some grand story. They were just the first people I met who didn’t care about main branch or side branch nonsense."

Rovak pointed at himself proudly. "I only care if someone can fight well."

Elisa nodded. "And I only care if someone is trustworthy."

Slifera crossed his arms and looked away. "So yeah. Coincidence, basically."

Garion smiled. "Coincidence, huh?"

Dahlia grinned while chewing another piece of meat. "Sounds more like you three are stuck together."

Rovak laughed loudly. "Hahaha! Exactly!"

Slifera’s mouth twitched. "Don’t say it like I chose this willingly."

Rovak laughed even louder. "Hahaha! Too late. You’re stuck with us now."

Elisa smiled faintly but didn’t deny it.

Dahlia looked at Slifera for a moment, then glanced toward the direction Veyrion had left. "So basically, that silver pretty boy has been annoying you for a long time?"

Slifera frowned. "Pretty boy?"

Garion nodded seriously. "That description is actually accurate."

Slifera ignored him and sighed. "Yeah. You could say that."

Dahlia slowly grinned.

Beside her, Rovak also grinned at almost the same time.

Slifera noticed both of their expressions and immediately felt something bad coming. "What?"

Rovak slammed one fist into his palm. "Don’t worry, Slifera."

Dahlia cracked her knuckles lightly. "Yeah. If either of us meets him in the arena..."

Rovak’s dark-red aura flickered with excitement. "We’ll teach that bastard a lesson."

Dahlia’s grin became sharper. "Just count on us."

For a brief moment, Slifera stared at both of them silently.

Then, surprisingly, a small grin slowly appeared on his face. "...Yeah."

His glowing blue eyes turned colder. "Make sure you make him sorry."

Rovak burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha! That’s what I wanted to hear!"

Dahlia lifted her chin proudly. "Leave it to your senior sister."

Slifera’s mouth twitched again. "You’re not my senior sister."

Dahlia ignored him completely.

Garion leaned back with a satisfied smile while watching them. "Good, good. This is what I like to see."

Alira glanced at him. "What?"

Garion grinned. "Friendship, motivation, revenge, and food."

He picked up another piece of meat. "That’s a perfect training environment."

After that, the atmosphere around the table became much lighter.

Garion, Dahlia, and Rovak continued eating like monsters, while Slifera complained the entire time about how embarrassing they were.

Elisa quietly enjoyed her meal, occasionally stopping Rovak and Slifera from starting another argument.

Alira remained calm at the side, though even she seemed slightly amused by the group’s chaos.

By the time they finally finished eating, the table was covered with empty plates stacked like small mountains.

Rovak stood up first and stretched. "Alright, that was good."

Dahlia nodded proudly. "Not bad. Cosmic food passes."

Garion laughed. "Yeah. This place is approved by God Gym."

Slifera sighed. "Please don’t make that sound like an official certification."

After paying, the group walked out of Beast Furnace Hall.

The tournament district outside was still noisy and bright, filled with participants, spectators, merchants, and floating advertisements.

Rovak turned toward Dahlia and grinned. "Then I’ll see you again when the second round starts."

Dahlia cracked her knuckles. "Two or three days, right?"

Elisa nodded. "Most likely."

Rovak’s grin widened. "Good. Don’t lose before we fight."

Dahlia smirked back. "Same to you."

Garion waved casually. "Alright then. See you all later."

With that, the group separated under the glowing tournament lights, each waiting for the second round to begin.