“Shit, he truly finished it with one hit…,” Jack uttered.
Most of the outworlder spectators were more surprised to see a Weapon Master class deal damage to the opponent than the fact that he did it in one hit. They were wondering if the guy had somehow cheated. But since Pallas didn’t say anything, they didn’t bring up the subject.
Surewin was revived, Boastful jumped down to the arena and ran towards her, all the while throwing insults to Domon. The audience watched the guy in fascination.
Domon watched Boastful as he walked back to the spectators’ seats, the guy was still rapping incessantly. Everyone expected Domon to give the guy a slap when he passed him by, but the old grandmaster kept his cool.
Surewin assured Boastful that she was fine. Boastful asked her if she was sure as he checked her to see if she had any visible wound. All the while the two traded flowery words. Jack had the urge to jump down there and gave them a piece of his mind, or a piece of his sword preferably.
The two weird lovebirds then left the arena together and went somewhere else. Jack thanked God for that.
“What art was that just now? I never see you use that move before,” Jack asked Domon when he came back and sat by his side.
“It’s a move that I never used on any opponent since I first learned it,” Domon answered. “It’s called Heart Exploding Punch. As its name implies, this is a killing art. For one who has less proficiency, this punch can stop the opponent’s heartbeat upon successful strike. While one with a good mastery, the punch will do as its name implies, explodes the heart. It’s a sure-kill deadly art.”
“I see. Well, you must be happy to finally be able to use this move.”
“I am. I can only use it since I know my opponent won’t die for real.”
“Can you teach me?” Leavemealone asked.
“If this is the old world, I won’t teach this move to anyone unless I’m completely sure of their morality, but this world is a different matter. However, you are not ready yet. The mastery in mana manipulation required to execute this technique is very high,” Domon replied. “When you are ready, I don’t mind teaching you. However, you should know although this art is deadly, it is not exactly practical. You need extreme precision to hit the exact spot on your opponent’s chest. Miss the spot, it will become just a normal punch. It will be difficult to execute it against a high-speed opponent.”
Leavemealone nodded his understanding. He stood up. “It’s my turn now. I will return soon,” he said.
“Damn it! Can you please don’t try being cool all the time?” Jack said to him.
*
Rogue Section Match 5
Darkradiant, level 46 Assassin (ethereal) Vs Leavemealone, level 46 Battle Monk (vampire)
*
The last time Jack was cheering for Darkradiant because she was from Wilted’s camp. This time, he was cheering for Leavemealone. However, Jack had a feeling that guy didn’t need any cheering at all.
<br/>”Begin!” Pallas declared.
Darkradiant got into a ready pose with her twin black daggers as she prepared to receive an attack, but Leavemealone just stood at his position with a relaxed stance.
Darkradiant frowned, did this battle monk underestimate her? Did he not see her finish her previous opponent in a short time?
Darkradiant wasn’t aware that Leavemealone was indeed not here watching her last match. But Leavemealone assuming a relaxed pose was not because he underestimated her. The untrained minds might think so, but those with decent martial experience knew that Leavemealone was ready even in his relaxed pose. He was completely focused and on full alert. There were no weak spots available for his opponent to take advantage of.
Seeing that her opponent was not moving, Darkradiant decided to just quickly end this match as well. She vanished from sight.
“She is trying her previous tactic,” Paytowin said.
“She is not someone who knows about mana sense,” Jack said. “I’m glad that Leavemealone decided to join this tournament. If that woman goes against Wong, she will be crushed badly.”
Leavemealone stayed still. Most of the audience was wondering why the guy still pretended to be cool when his opponent had become invisible. Any other person would have moved around frantically so they didn’t get backstabbed.
While they were still wondering, Leavemealone’s hands suddenly went to his back. Darkradiant came into view soon, her right hand was being grabbed by Leavemealone’s. Her dagger was just a few inches from touching Leavemealone’s waist.
She was extremely surprised, but she didn’t stop her movement. She stabbed with her other free hand. Using Ranger’s Swift Stab to increase her stabbing speed.
Leavemealone swayed his head, dodging the lightning-fast stab. His free fist punched out. Combining his non-standard skill, Iron Punch, that boosted damage with his fast and accurate control, his fist struck Darkradiant’s elbow.
She screamed from the pain. In their past world, that punch would have shattered her elbow’s bone, and she did feel as if that was happening.
Leavemealone made another punch to her head, attempting to finish the match fast. Darkradiant, although was in extreme pain, still had control over herself. She backflipped to dodge the punch while her leg kicked up. Leavemealone released the grip on Darkradiant’s one hand to dodge the kick.
Once landed back, Darkradiant used Combat Clone, turning into two. The clone rushed at Leavemealone from the front while the real one used Phase Strike and disappeared again.
With his mana sense, Leavemealone easily located Darkradiant who had again come up behind him. Darkradiant used Unblockable Stab once she appeared while lunging forward to deliver a physical stab as well. Leavemealone was besieged from three sides.
Leavemealone could sense that he couldn’t do anything to the Unblockable Stab, so he had stepped away once the phantom dagger thrust out. Unblockable Stab was a melee attack, it couldn’t reach far. While it was impressive that the attack couldn’t be blocked, someone with a fast reflex could easily avoid this assault by stepping away from its reach. The phantom dagger faded once it completed its short range.
The assault of the clone and the real Darkradiant, however, was still ongoing. Leavemealone spread his two arms to his two sides when the two assaults arrived. He then made a swivel. Darkradiant felt as if she had suddenly entered a vortex. She was swept forward, passing by beside Leavemealone without hitting him. Her clone also experienced the same thing, getting swept to where she was before. She and her clone had somehow exchanged places.
While she was still shocked by this sudden repositioning, she felt a hard impact from her back.
At the same time Leavemealone was punching Darkradiant’s back, he gave the clone a back kick, throwing the clone away. He actually couldn’t tell which one was the real Darkradiant, same as Wong when fighting against Kill Order. He just randomly sent one away so he could focus on one first.
Leavemealone then executed Infinite Lightning Punches. The fast-firing punches all landed on Darkradiant’s back. She tried to move forward to distance herself but Leavemealone stepped forward maintaining distance, all the while his punches never stopped.
Her HP was decisively depleted from the never-ending punches.
“Winner, Leavemealone of the vampire race!” Pallas declared the result of this match.
‘So, this is the real one,’ Leavemealone thought.
“Did you teach him that spinning move? I never saw that martial art before as well,” Jack asked Domon.
“No, that is his father’s martial art. Its name is Cycle of Shade and Shadow. He was still having trouble executing it properly when he first showed it to me. I gave him a few pointers that help him perfect the move. I know what he was lacking because I’ve seen that move in action before, when his father used it on me.”
“Didn’t you say you don’t remember fighting his father?”
“I don’t. What I remember is his martial art,” Domon replied.
Jack wondered if Leavemealone was feeling happy or sad when he heard that.
The revived Darkradiant went back to her seat, Jack could see the gloominess among the Wilted’s camp. They were down to just one participant now. Whatever they are targeting now was out of their reach.
When Leavemealone returned to Domon’s side, Jack asked if he would mind forfeiting his champion’s reward if he managed to become the champion. Jack explained what Joe and Anotherday had told him about the secret feature of the tournament, about what those Wilted’s gang needed to hinder Master’s plan.
“I don’t care about the rewards. I only care about winning and beating that guy,” Leavemealone said as he turned to Wong. Jack assumed that was Leavemealone saying that he didn’t mind forfeiting the reward if he won.
Pallas now called out the next contestants.
*
Archer Section Match 5
Synapses, level 46 Beastmaster (vampire) Vs David, level 46 Gunner (human)
*
“Well, I’m off. Wish me luck,” Jack heard David speak as he stood up. David was sitting close by since he was on the same human team as them.
“Good luck,” Jack, Domon, and Jeanny all said.
David turned to them with a smile. Probably didn’t truly expect a response.
“What do you think of his chances?” Paytowin asked.
“I’m not sure. In my opinion, Beastmaster class was kinda killer amongst the archer’s elite classes in this one-on-one setup with nowhere to run or hide,” Jack replied. “Whether it’s elite marksman, gunner, or hidden weapon specialist, they will mostly be a goner once they are swarmed by the pet and the wolves. Well, if the beastmaster didn’t complete the class trial on the first try, then those range classes still have a decent chance, meaning there is no Call Wolf Pack skill. But the participants here are all top-grades, and Synapses had shown in her previous match that she has the wolves.”
