When Domon returned to his seat, before Jack could ask his question, Peniel had beaten him to it, “old man, did you use mana manipulation to alter your game skill in that match just now?”
“I think you are hanging out too much with my grandson that you catch his rude manners,” Domon said. He then answered Peniel’s question, “I did.”
“Is it so impressive?” Paytowin asked.
“Did you not see the way your faction’s bosses treated him after his display?” Jack said to him. He also understood the difficulty. He was already having trouble applying mana manipulation in a simple swing. What more of applying it onto skills.
“Mana manipulation to alter a game skill is the highest attainment for mana manipulation application,” Peniel informed. “I told you two before that if you can alter your game skills with this technique, you will improve the skill’s output by a great deal. But I never thought that you really can do it already.”
“I tried it once when I was fighting the undead horde when I first join the guild. But at that time my level is too low, it gave my body too much burden,” Domon said. “Now I can do it more often, though it still gave my body some stress when I apply it to game skills. As I said, I never really put any attention on game skills, but after losing to Jack in the selection tournament last time, I have started to practice using mana manipulation on game skills. As you see just now, I can already use it on Ki Weapon and Ki Strike back-to-back.”
“So, that means I have helped you to win this match just now, eh?” Jack said.
Domon looked at Jack and said, “Nah. Even if I didn’t use the Ki Strike, I can still wear him down with just my martial arts. He won’t catch me the second time with that trick of his.”
Jack shook his head. He then said, “Anyway, I never expect you to be so crafty with game skills. You have seen him use Absorb Energy skill, so you used your Ki Wave to make him use it, so he couldn’t block your next mana manipulation-fueled Ki Strike using that skill.”
“Yeah. It’s a good thing I watched his match at that time. Otherwise, I would have caught off-guard again,” Domon admitted.
While they were chatting, two people suddenly came by. It was Jet Hung and Arthur Bagrat.
“Move aside, Jack boy!” Jet uttered as he pushed Jack aside.
“What the…!” Jack was boggled as the two old dudes inserted themselves on the seats between him and Domon.
“You have mastered it?” Jet asked.
Domon replied with a grin. He knew what Jet was referring to.
“Don’t be so smug about it,” Jet uttered.
“What is that technique? It looks more like magic than a martial art,” Arthur said.
“Yeah, one who doesn’t know better will have thought that was this world’s game skill,” Jet said.
Jack caught on after hearing the two. He asked, “Hey, what are you two talking about? Is it that move my gramps used when he blocked the opponent’s energy weapon?”
<br/>”Yeah,” Jet nodded. “That is an ancient martial art our late teacher taught us. Yet, our teacher only knows its basic principles, he himself didn’t truly learn it as well. It’s called Iron Wall. It’s a defensive art that is supposed to be able to block anything. But we never really successfully learned it. Well, at least that’s what I thought until now.”
“I have also just learned it recently. My mastery of that art is still heavily flawed. If I have mastered it to perfection, I wouldn’t have lost a single HP from that attack just now,” Domon said. “To tell you the truth, if we are still in our old world, I don’t think I will ever be able to learn it. But this world’s mana is very dense. The environment here makes it much easier to perform a technique that required a high degree of mana manipulation. You should also start re-practicing those arts that you have difficulty learning before in the real world. You might see the difference.”
“I see… I will do that!” Jet uttered.
“Me too!” Arthur joined.
While they were talking, they didn’t realize Leavemealone had gone down to the arena. Pallas had announced the third match of the day. The final match for the Rogue section.
*
Rogue Section Final Match
Wong, level 46 Battle Monk (orc) Vs Leavemealone, level 46 Battle Monk (vampire)
*
“Shit! We forgot to wish him luck,” Jack said.
“He doesn’t need it,” Domon said. “He loses or wins, that is due to his capability.”
“I disagree! Luck is part of our abilities. That’s why we have a luck stat!” Jack declared.
“Shut up and watch the match!” Jet reprimanded.
While Pallas had given them the start sign, The two contestants still stood unmoving, Wong never laid his eyes on Leavemealone. Instead, he was looking at the spectators’ seats, at Domon again. The Iron Wall art that Domon had displayed in the precious match far surpassed his Iron Shirt technique. It caused turmoil and dissatisfaction in his heart. He kept on lamenting why Domon had not chosen the Battle Monk class. He would have been able to battle Domon if so and wiped out this uneasiness in his heart.
“Your opponent is not him,” Wong heard Leavemealone’s voice.
Wong’s eyes stayed on Domon for a while longer before turning his attention to Leavemealone.
“You are just a cub. You have no business standing before me,” Wong said.
“We will see,” Leavemealone said and decided to be the one to initiate the first move.
His fist started glowing as he activated Ki-infused Fist. His body moved forward and left afterimages in his wake. It was his Illusive Form skill which he had used before when fighting against Jack. Its many images combined with his unique footwork made it difficult for people to pinpoint his real self.
“Hmph! Empty trick. Didn’t I already show that it is useless against me?” Wong said as Leavemealon approached, swaying left and right as his afterimages blurred together with his real self. “I’m disappointed. You are still just the same. I will finish you like the last time!”
Wong punched at Leavemealone’s real self. It was as he said, this skill was useless against someone who had mastered mana sense like Wong. But as his fist flew forward, he found himself suddenly losing balance, he was sucked by a force that dragged him forward.
Leavemealone had used his family art, Cycle of Shade and Shadow, His left hand guided Wong’s fist forward as his own body moved forward in a low stance, his right hand’s elbow was currently aiming at Wong’s ribcage.
“Hmph!” Wong harrumphed as he let his body move forward instead of fighting the tide Leavemealone had produced. His body shot forward. Leavemealone’s elbow strike missed, but his bent arm immediately went and grabbed Wong’s shirt that was passing by.
However, before Leavemealone could perform any throwing technique, Wong stomped and caused his large body to bump into Leavemealone. Leavemealone was the one getting unbalanced now. Wong’s backhand punch came at this time.
When many spectators thought Wong would finish Leavemealone in the same manner as Windleg, the elven opponent who Wong defeated in the second day’s match, Leavemealone made a backflip. His foot came kicking up at Wong’s chin. This sudden kick forced Wong to retreat.
The two paused and eyed one another afterward.
“Hmph, perhaps you have improved a bit,” Wong said. “But you are still not my match!”
Wong rushed out. He then met Wong head-on. Lightning-fast punches and kicks were exchanged rapidly. None hit. They attacked and dodged at the same time. The spectators who saw it couldn’t help but be entranced by the display. No skill was used in the series of punches and kicks, yet every attack was noteworthy.
But in the end, Wong was still the more skillful in terms of unarmed combat. Wong finally landed a hit at Leavemealone’s cheek, causing his movement to stop. A series of blows followed. As the follow-up blows landed, Leavemealone’s skin turned dark and steely. He had activated Steel Body, which reduced the damage he received.
“Hah! These game skills won’t save you!” Wong uttered. All throughout this tournament, Wong had never used a single game skill. He felt it beneath him to use them. He wanted to prove that he could be a champion without relying on one.
He clenched his fist, accumulating mana into that fist. He attempted to finish the match with this punch. As he delivered his punch, Leavemealone suddenly shifted position.
‘Another game skill?’ Wong thought. ‘No, not skill,’ Wong noticed.
What Leavemealone had done was reversing the effect of his martial art, Cycle of Shade and Shadow. Instead of using the force to redirect the opponent’s assault, he used the force instead to redirect himself, shifting his position in an instant. This was something that he had experimented with after mastering the skill with Domon’s help.
