Chapter 52: The Battle for the Champion (2)
Ren's POV:
"KYAAA!!"
Her scream echoed in my ears when the first wind slash grazed my cheek. I jumped back from the tree, but the attack kept pursuing me.
"What the hell…?" I muttered, almost in disbelief.
I raised my staff and parried, but the slash penetrated some of my defense effect. It wasn't serious, just a thin scratch—
But still.
'She broke through [Limitless]…? With that power?'
That... wasn't normal.
The girl, the little wheat-haired one jumped back, her breath gasping, face red with anger or embarrassment I couldn't tell.
Then she raised her hand again.
I managed to open my mouth to say, "Hey, how—"
But it was too late.
Slice!
A thin cut appeared on my chest, grazing the skin by only a few millimeters. I looked at the wound, then looked at her.
"…you… actually injured me."
She glared at me like a cat whose fur was bristling.
"D-DON'T COME NEAR ME!!!"
I blinked.
[Instant Regeneration] immediately kicked in, healing the scratches all over my body. But I didn't care, and just looked at the girl with interested eyes.
I cleared my throat slightly and said, "Ahem, I apologize for startling you, alright?"
The girl's face was as red as a ripe tomato. But due to her scream, everyone I was fighting earlier turned around quickly.
Kyle spoke first.
"Huh?? When were you there!?" he said in surprise.
The others were no different. Noah glared at me, angry. Abel sighed huskily. Mia and Lucius muttered something.
Umara clicked her tongue. And the Elf princess Maira just stared at me sharply.
I waved my hand towards them. "Just now, I guess?"
Then I turned back to the girl, or Lia, with interest. I leaned forward and said again.
"So little lady, how were you able to break through my defense?" I asked.
Lia stared at me sharply, her face still red. She turned her face away and replied, "I don't know, and what are you talking about? Defense?"
My eyebrow lifted slightly, then the voice of the system, or Noll, sounded within me.
[Host, quick analysis results show the reason is quite clear.]
'Explain.'
[Lia possesses a Chaos-Wind affinity—a rare and unstable element type. And besides that… she carries the blessing of the Wind Goddess.]
I blinked.
'And the connection between those two and my [Limitless]?'
[Listen. The stellar energy coating the Host's body is absolute, but also pure and very "orderly." Whereas Chaos-Wind... is the opposite. It obeys no law of Mana.]
Noll continued.
[Because Chaos is one of the foundations of the universe—just like stellar energy, the two do not negate each other. However, the Chaos element has the nature of "scrambling the energy structure."]
I tilted my head slowly.
'Meaning?'
[Meaning, every time that girl attacks, her Chaos-Wind shakes the composition of the Host's stellar energy, leaving your defense slightly open. Not destroyed, just imperfect.]
I looked at Lia, who was now busy avoiding my gaze.
[Well… if I may summarize briefly—]
Noll seemed to clear his throat.
[She is the Host's natural counter besides Leon. At least for your [Limitless].]
Right, it wasn't just this girl who had managed to break through my power. But Leon, that turd-head, he could also penetrate my [Limitless] because he used a strange sword technique that could pierce space.
I closed my eyes.
'…You're only telling me now?'
[You just met the girl now. Why are you angry at me?]
"I'm not angry," I muttered out loud until Lia looked at me confusedly.
She realized my gaze on her was quite long. Then she said. "What are you looking at?"
Hearing that, I snapped out of it, then rubbed my hair and pushed it up. Lowering my hand, I said.
"Nothing... Just that you look cute?" I replied, staring at her.
Instantly, a voice echoed throughout the virtual world:
[The Exam will end in 1 hour!]
I looked up for a moment, then turned to everyone in front of me, pointing at them.
"So, shall we continue?"
Slowly, I drew my weapon—an odachi. That made everyone tense up in unison.
"Now, now, let's end this fight." I smiled at them.
Slowly, I drew the blade of my sword and—I crouched slightly, taking a stance. My mouth hissed like the sound of something burning and scorched.
The hiss made their skin tense and their hair stand on end. Then a moment later—blue fire appeared on the blade of the sword.
I looked at them, "Exert all your strength." I pressed my foot hard into the ground, "I'm coming."
Whoosh~!
My fire blazed wildly on the blade of my sword. And with a powerful thrust—I lunged.
Third Person POV:
Ren shot towards Lia, intending to finish her off, but Lia didn't stay still; she slashed with her wind blade.
The blades attacked Ren quickly, but Ren moved like flowing water; he avoided every wind blade.
In a fraction of a second, he arrived in front of Lia. Her eyes widened.
"Too late!"
Just as that happened, someone appeared in front of Lia, blocking Ren from hitting her: Kyle. Ren, whose mouth was hissing small flames, spun as if dancing.
He slashed with his sword, which was coated in Aura and blue fire. The fire was so thick that nothing could be seen—only the blaze.
Ren's blue fire burned so bright it was blinding, like a blade of sun exploding at close range.
Kyle raised his sword, brown Aura enveloping his body like living armor.
Whoosh—Clash!!
The impact shook the ground. A shockwave swept the grass, pushing Lia back several steps, making her slightly breathless.
Kyle winced.
"Ukh… it's so hot…!"
His Aura was stripped away little by little by Ren's blue fire, as if being roasted from within.
Ren looked at him with bright eyes that pulsed like stars. He grinned widely. Then he shifted his sword to the side.
Attacking again.
Kyle strengthened his footing. The ground shifted and cracked beneath his feet.
"Damn… even my Aura… is being burned?" he muttered, nearly disbelieving.
Ren pulled his sword back—his blue fire gathered and spun, forming a small vortex on the blade.
If that single slash landed, Kyle knew he wouldn't have time to defend himself.
"Attack now!" Kyle screamed as loud as he could, forcing all his energy to hold back the swing.
Ren moved like flowing water, bypassing Kyle and going straight behind him. His fire blazed as he slashed.
SWOOOSH!!
But at the last second, Noah appeared above Ren. He attacked, making the air tremble.
[Divine Sword Technique: Judgement Slash!]
Ren dodged with a smooth movement, then jumped away. His blue fire continued to follow him like a cloak.
Noah's sword sliced through empty air. He clicked his tongue. But as Ren touched the ground, another attack came. Dozens of tree roots lunged at him quickly.
Ren took his technique stance:
[Flame Breathing Technique: Second Form: Dance of the Fire!]
Instantly, Ren charged straight towards the tree roots. His movements blurred as he ran. His mouth was still hissing.
The tree roots came from all directions: above, below, and the sides. They were like giant snakes vying to bite him.
Ren took a deep breath. His hiss grew stronger. The blue fire on his odachi blade blazed more wildly, as if alive and elongating.
Then—
SWAAHH!!
He moved.
His body spun, his feet gliding lightly on the ground, his sword swing forming arcs of fire. Ren slashed the first root.
BRASH!
The root was immediately split in two and exploded into black embers.
The second root attacked from the side. Ren ducked, spun, and his blade danced following the direction of his body.
Just like the name of the technique: Dance of the Fire, he danced.
Blue fire formed a large circle around Ren as he spun. Every root that entered that circle was immediately trimmed, melted, and destroyed into scorched dust.
"He… is dancing…?" muttered Mia and Abel, transfixed, their faces pale.
Lucius swallowed. "Not dancing. That is… a form of martial art."
The roots kept appearing.
Ren leaped onto one root, stepping on it, then danced on top of it while slashing another root that tried to stab from below.
Every slash seemed to have a rhythm.
Swip! Swip! Swip!
Ren's movements were both beautiful and deadly. The blue fire left a trail in the air, like lines of light forming an engraving.
In a matter of seconds. All the roots that attacked him had been split, burned, and vanished into charcoal fragments.
Maira, who had summoned the roots, was panting heavily.
Ren landed lightly, holding his odachi to his side, the blade still faintly glowing.
He hissed softly. The blue fire reignited slightly as he straightened up.
"If that's all there is…"
Ren looked at Maira, his smile slowly widening.
"It's not enough."
Noah gasped from a distance, biting his lip. Lia, who was watching from behind Kyle, widened her eyes.
"…he's truly strong…"
Ren raised his sword again. The blue fire moved like a wave on his sword blade.
"Come on."
.....
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