“Anyone else?” Almond shouted, causing other voices to lower. Seeing no one coming forward after five seconds, Almond wryly smiled, “Well, this is disappointing.”
“Don’t be.”
A voice boomed out before a figure landed on the platform ten meters across from him.
“Xavier!”
“Defeat him, Xavier!”
“Show him who’s the boss in Silver-rank!”
Almond looked at the light blue-haired young man with a white shirt and a trouser the same as his age, who was quite famous a month ago.
“Nice summon,” Xavier said, his eyes on Almond as he took out a rapier from his storage pouch.
“Thanks,” Almond smiled. “I guess I don’t need your introduction. Well, I am Almond, nice to meet you.”
Xavier faintly smiled, “If you have more summons, take them out. This one won’t be enough to protect you. I am 20 levels above you anyway.”
“Grrr…” Starlight Beast growled at Xavier, its mane pulsing with a glow.
“It’s saying that you are getting too full of yourself,” Almond chuckled.
Xavier raised his eyebrows, “Well, do you agree?”
Almond grinned, “Absolutely.”
Xavier icily smiled as his eyes turned severe. “I hope you are right, or this will be an unsightly battle.”
He activated Fortification, consuming 100 Mana as a protecting film that appeared around him, along with Body Enfold, to increase his overall physical power.
The referee, who was floating above the platform on a small cloud, felt they exchanged enough words and hit the gong.
*Swoosh!*
Xavier’s rapier pointed at Starlight Beast as a sharp blue-silvery beam unleashed, aimed at its head.
Starlight Beast’s reaction was fast enough to protect itself as it used B-rank Nebula Shield skill, a whirling mass of sparkling dust that ate up the beam attack.
But Xavier had already launched himself right after that attack, his Physical Enchantment and Weapon Enfold also activated.
Starlight Beast couldn’t react in time as Xavier had already arrived at Almond’s left, his rapier glowing and ready to deliver a powerful strike using his physical prowess and an attack-type class skill—Radiant Pierce (S).
‘He might die, so I’d better use it in a non-fatal area,’ was what Xavier thought as he aimed the attack at Almond’s shoulder.
But instead of seeing blood, Xavier saw sparks flying before feeling a powerful rebound as his body was flung away. He quickly stabilized himself after shooting ten meters away and gained a foothold as he landed, his eyes trembling.
“Not bad,” Almond nodded with a smile. ‘His Strength Boost is at level 7, Fortification at level 4, Body Enfold at level 3, and Weapon Enfold at level 2.’
However, Xavier had waves rising in his heart. ‘What’s going on? Was my skill interrupted right before it could release?’
The arena suddenly turned deathly silent. Nobody had expected Xavier to get pushed away after he himself went for an attack.
But Starlight Beast was angry, so it launched itself at Xavier, going full throttle for the first time.
Starburst Leap (A)
Cosmic Pulse (S)
*Boom!*
Xavier rolled to the side as he dodged the leap, but its main attack was the area of effect it generated after lading. Xavier was struck by the shockwave, making him unbalanced while feeling a jolt throughout his body with pain, and due to that, Cosmic Pulse’s gravity pull suddenly ruined his foothold as he fell hard on the ground.
Starlight Beast used A-rank Meteore Rush skill, turning into a comet wrapped in fiery starlight, intending to crash into Xavier.
‘It can’t be this easy, right?’ Almond raised his eyebrows. ‘Super Rookies are supposed to have S-rank and above classes, along with a good foundation.’
Fortunately, Almond was right.
Xavier’s body was wrapped in a milky-blue light as his figure flickered, moving ten meters towards Almond as he dodged Starlight Beast’s attack and was already in the position of stabbing at him.
‘Radiant Pierce!’
*Swoosh!*
Almond’s pupils shrank as he precisely side-stepped while moving less than half a meter, dodging the beam by a palm’s length.
‘What? How can he dodge that?’ Xavier’s Focus Field clearly captured Almond moving timely as he masterfully dodged the attack.
But he didn’t have time to think because Starlight Beast was once again on his tail, more angry than ever.
“Get lost, beast,” Xavier muttered with a dark expression as he caught Starlight Beast’s movement in his Focus Field. He jumped and somersaulted before unleashing his signature powerful attack.
‘Radiant Pierce—Crimson Spiral!’
This time, Xavier’s piercing beam had a crimson spiraling effect around it, while the beam also had a hue of dark red.
It struck the Starlight Beast squarely, entering its head and coming out of his back as its vitality turned zero in a second.
‘I’ve half of my Mana now, but that beast’s gravity was annoying,’ Xavier thought as he looked at Almond. ‘He shouldn’t have any more Summon as powerful as that beast, right?’
“Wow, that was not bad at all,” Almond said as he clapped and nodded while smiling.
“Why did you put away your sword?” Xavier narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to continue with another summon?”
“Of course, if you let me do it,” Almond chuckled and added, “Come out, Dark Pope Benedict.”
Just as a fancy black-crimson magic circle formed below Almond’s right-hand palm, Xavier launched himself, his rapier glowing while three needle-like projectiles conjured as they shot toward Almond.
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Almond’s eyes glinted, a smile playing on his face.
His left arm, empowered with Fortification and Body Enfold, swooped in a timely manner as he shattered the needles forcefully by using 100 extra mana on empowerment.
Ignoring the stinging pain, Almond’s right hand moved as his Preying Hunter’s Sword once again appeared in his hand, his eyes cleanly following Xaviar as he had arrived in a crouched manner to his left side, ready to stab his Rapier.
Almond met his rapier in a head-on collision, but he didn’t push away Xavier this time, “Do you know…I don’t need to do particularly anything to summon?”
Xavier’s expression changed as he saw a figure manifesting from the corner of his eyes that soon saw black tendrils coming at him.
Xavier jumped away quickly, missing by a hair’s breadth, as he saw a three-meter-tall figure clad in a black robe with a shadowy effect around him, with one hand empty and another holding a thick black book.
“Tell me, young man,” Dark Pope said to Xavier, his eyes peering at him with a nasty smile, “To dare challenge my lord here, are you inspiring or perhaps suicidal?”
*Uproar!*
“A humanoid summon?!”
“Damn, he can talk!”
“What the fuck?!”
“Two such powerful summons…I feel like he’s got an S-class.”
“Xavier! Don’t lose to him!”
“That beast is no less impressive, but to have two such powerful summons while he is just a newbie…fuck, his class must be powerful!”
Dark Pope looked around at the source of such noise, “Where are we even?”
“This is not a battle to the death, so keep that in mind,” Almond said with a wry smile.
“Duly noted,” Dark Pope nodded as he turned to Xavier again, his lips spreading into a grin. “Come on, young man, let’s have some fun.”
[Dark Pope Benedict]
– Rank: Silver
– Level: 10
– Classification: Mage
– Quirk(s):