Chapter 51: The Battle for the Champion
Noah Raven's POV:
"Try harder, candidates," the Vice Student Council President, or Ren, said teasingly.
I slightly gritted my teeth, then without wasting time I shot towards him—and so did the others.
Ren saw that and smiled. In a fraction of a second, I arrived in front of him, attacking from the side. The brown-haired guy, or Kyle, was behind him.
Ren shifted and diverted Kyle's sword to block my sword from hitting him.
Clang!
And with a quick movement, he kicked my face and threw Kyle almost simultaneously. I flinched backward and growled.
Another person came, Lucius—that's what the Elf princess called him—stabbing Ren with a blurred speed. But unfortunately, Ren dodged to the side, spun his body, then struck.
Thwack!
"Damn it! Why are you targeting my face!?" Lucius snapped while rubbing his nose.
Ren ignored him and pulled out his weapon—A staff? He attacked. Lucius, groaning, arched his body.
But with a quick movement, Ren's staff changed direction and struck his ribs with great force.
'How can this be?' I muttered inwardly.
Then he spun his staff, about to strike again, but was blocked by tree roots. Before Ren could react, another root wrapped around the hand holding the staff.
The root pulled him up and threw him. We all saw the opportunity. Abel attacked first.
She pulled the beautiful bowstring and released an arrow. Ren, still in the air, saw the arrow coming—he smirked then...
He disappeared—
"What the—"
Ren appeared next to me and whispered low, "What are you thinking?"
He punched.
Boom!!
I parried it with my sword at the last second. I jumped as far away from him as possible. I winced loudly.
'What the hell is this? Isn't he restricted!?'
Ren was about to come again but was blocked by Kyle, Umara, and Lucius. They attacked fiercely, but Ren, he skillfully kept up with them.
I stood up and gently rubbed my hair, sighing. Then I looked at Abel; she was looking at Ren with shining eyes.
Seeing her, I clenched my fist.
'Why? Why Abel?'
My eyes blurred, 'You have me who has loved you since forever, so why?'
'Will you look at me if I defeat him?' I slowly closed my eyes, 'If so, I will do it.'
I exhaled slowly, raising my sword. And with a quick movement, I lunged.
'I will show my sword skill and defeat that bastard.'
I joined the three of them in fighting Ren. He saw me coming, but he was still smiling.
Swords clashed. Each collision produced sparks of light and the sound of metal biting the air.
I held my breath as my sword blade grazed his staff. The vibration from the impact made my fingers ache, but I didn't retreat.
Ren pushed me with incredible force, and I was thrown back several meters, hitting the ground and leaving deep footprints.
"Is that all, Hero?" he asked, his voice light as if this were just a normal practice.
I clicked my tongue. "You are too relaxed and arrogant."
On the other side, Kyle had lunged with brown Aura exploding around his body, making the air sharply swish.
Ren ducked, avoiding the lightning slash, but Lucius had already jumped on top of him, bringing down a vertical strike.
Ren's staff spun—
Thwack!
Lucius's sword blade was blocked, but at the same time Umara slammed her large hammer from the side.
Explosion!
The ground lifted, and shards of rock flew everywhere.
I covered my face with my hand to shield against the dust. But in the midst of the mist, I saw something that made my chest tremble.
Ren emerged from the smoke, standing with slightly dirty clothes and a small scratch on his temple.
For the first time, he looked... injured, I guess?
And strangely, his smile grew wider.
"Good," he said, his voice like calm thunder, "only now do you look like potential champions."
I gritted my teeth. "You—!"
I attacked again, this time without thinking. All the anger, jealousy, and obsession mixed into one.
My sword danced wildly, coated in bright golden Aura reflecting a sheen on its blade, as if guiding me.
Ren parried every attack with efficient movement, but this time he could no longer just defend.
I forced myself forward.
Attack after attack continued, until finally—
Clang!!
My sword successfully broke through his defense, slightly grazing his shoulder. A drop of blood fell to the ground.
I froze for a split second. Ren looked at me, not with anger... but with a proud and interested gaze.
"That's how you should fight, Hero," he said flatly.
Then before I could retreat, he raised his staff high. Blue lightning light pulsed at its tip.
He attacked.
Baaamm!!
Lightning exploded. Tendrils of lightning struck in all directions. Kyle closed his eyes, Umara crossed her arms, and Lucius—he was struck.
"Akhh!!" Lucius screamed.
Mia, Abel, and Maira saw that from afar, widening their eyes.
As for me, I took a direct hit from Ren. My body felt painful, but I endured.
A moment later, the dust disappeared, revealing my half-burnt body and tattered clothes.
But the attacker, or Ren, stood there unharmed—unharmed? I looked at him with furrowed brows and wide eyes.
He stood there without wounds, and the attack that had hit and injured him earlier had vanished. Only smooth, milk-white skin remained beneath his clothes.
I stared at him and stammered. "H-how is that possible!?"
Ren, seeing my shock, smiled faintly and said in a teasing tone. "You didn't think that could defeat me, did you?"
He leaned forward. "Try harder."
Lia's POV:
I fought occasionally and ran through the forest. Currently, I was heading toward the central location, the place where I kept hearing loud impacts.
"Is that him, my favorite?" I muttered softly. My steps quickened toward the location.
A moment later, I arrived there and saw—a group of people fighting someone. My breath immediately caught when I saw who was fighting.
They were all legends in the game I played, except for a few unknown people. Abel, Kyle, Noah, Mia, Maira, and the last one, the one I most wanted to see in this world—Ren.
They fought like madmen. From my point of view, I saw Kyle thrown far away due to Ren's punch.
Noah, whose clothes were tattered, attacked with his sword technique. But Ren was faster; he disappeared before Noah reached him.
Then he reappeared above him, slamming Noah down with his foot. The ground cracked as Noah was thrown down.
An Elf man appeared behind him, Lucius. But what made me unable to help but be surprised was that his sword was held in the air without touching.
I swallowed dryly.
Then with a rotating movement, Ren struck Lucius and made him flinch back several meters. Then I saw an arrow shoot toward Ren.
Ren turned, and what I saw on his face—he was smiling widely. I flinched, even though he didn't see me but was looking at Abel.
"Abel, I adhere to a system: in a fight, everything is fair and equal~, so I'm not holding back."
Then he disappeared—
Ren reappeared next to Abel with a flash of lightning striking his body. Before Abel could say anything, Ren struck.
BAAAM!!
Abel was hit in the stomach even though she was using her light shield. She gritted her teeth hard. Abel spun in the air and immediately shot an arrow.
As for Ren, he was about to jump when a root shot toward him and held him in place. They all took that opportunity to attack.
The green-haired Elf girl, Umara, jumped and slammed her hammer towards Ren with a powerful blast that made the ground shake.
After that, Mia chanted a three-star magic spell, which was Chaos Fire in the form of a Fire Dragon.
The air burned as she cast it. With her command, the fire dragon attacked.
Then there was the Elf princess; she created a wooden golem with tree roots, about seven meters high. The golem struck Ren, who was probably still restrained by the roots.
They couldn't see him because the thick mist and dust obscured their eyes. I also couldn't see him from here.
And finally, Kyle reappeared and slashed with his Aura. The air split as his Aura charged toward the mist and—
Booommm!!!
An explosion occurred again. I could only freeze in place, my brain filled with various thoughts that Ren must have lost.
"Huh... It looks like he lost, right?" I muttered softly, still staring at the flying dust.
"Oh? Do you think so?"
I nodded my head, "Yes, even though he's strong, there's no way he could survive that combo attack."
"Hmm... if that's the case, want to bet?"
I chuckled softly, "Heh, how much—wait??" I stopped mid-sentence and froze, then turned to the side.
There Ren was crouching lazily, looking at me amusedly. He smiled faintly and said, "Hello, little lady. Are you done watching?"
His face was only a hand span away from mine. My mouth opened slightly, then a second later I instinctively raised my hand and attacked him while screaming.
"KYAAAA!!"
A barrage of wind slashes struck Ren in all directions. That made his eyes widen.
Slash!