Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 851: Lavish Spender [GT Ranking Bonus Chapter]

Those who were watching the second round of the competition unfold could only wonder if the first wave and the second wave of this round could even be compared to one another. During the first wave, basically only Finch had truly struggled against the Shadow Assassins, while the other students had been able to survive relatively well, keeping up with the Rank 6 Shadow Assassins for a considerable amount of time.

But now, the second wave was different. Almost every Monster was Grave-class, the sixth rank among the ten Monster classifications. Everything was covered in flames, literally. The air was suffocating, skin reddened from the unbearable heat, while the very atmosphere scorched and burned as though the battlefield itself had become a furnace.

Students ran for their lives. After all, not all of them could take on a Grave-class Monster. Even Teo Swig himself, who was ranked fifth in the former round, was struggling a bit. If it hadn’t been for Asher, he would have already lost a significant amount of Vitality Points.

One could only wonder, if the difference between the first wave and the second wave was already this pronounced and maddening, what exactly was the third wave going to bring?

Ten Rank 7 entities? Or perhaps a single Rank 8 entity for everyone to gang up on?

Could such a being of such frightening power even be ganged up on to begin with?

But just because over eighty percent of the students were suffering didn’t mean everyone was. For example, Finch, who had now summoned Lior to his aid, was practically enjoying himself. He simply shapeshifted into a tiny snake and coiled himself around Lior’s neck while allowing the Emovira, disguised as a Goblin, to run rampant across the battlefield.

Lior could be seen moving in a blur, his hand dancing through the air as he deflected numerous flaming feather attacks. The moment he finished deflecting the first barrage, he shot upward with an explosive burst of strength, the earth shattering beneath the force of his leap.

Without a shred of hesitation, he slashed toward the bird’s neck before it could even react. Blood splattered through the air as gravity reclaimed both the corpse and Lior. The instant Lior landed, he vanished once more, flickering toward his next target. But the moment he did, his senses warned him of an attack approaching from the side. He neither hesitated nor slowed down. Instead, he simply adjusted his centre of gravity, his katana streaking upward from below as he intercepted a vicious talon strike.

Sparks showered into the air upon the collision as neither combatant staggered backward. Lior smoothly deflected the talon to the side before, without missing a beat, slamming the ball of his foot into the bird’s breast with the force of a battering ram. The bird shot backward before immediately regaining control of its body, landing firmly on its feet as its talons carved deep, jagged claw marks across the asphalt.

Blood trailed from the bird’s beak. Although Lior had held back, at the end of the day, his After Damage ability wasn’t something he could manually turn on or off.

The bird opened its beak as blazing flames gathered within it. The next instant, it launched an enormous sphere of fire toward Lior. Lior didn’t take a single step backward. Instead, he entered a martial stance as he calmly sheathed his blade. The moment the flaming sphere drew close, he blurred from his position, appearing beside the attack. In one fluid motion, he unsheathed his katana and performed a horizontal slash, perfectly splitting the flaming sphere in half through its centre.

The very next instant, both halves brightened ominously as though they were on the verge of exploding. Finch immediately acted. Shifting from his snake form back into his human form, he summoned his soul-bound black chains and formed a protective dome around both himself and Lior. The following moment, an apocalyptic incinerating explosion erupted as everything outside the dome was reduced to a hellish landscape of flames and destruction.

Both Finch and Lior stood completely unbothered within the dome of black chains. Once the explosion subsided, Finch dismissed the chains, transformed back into a snake, and together they vanished once more as they continued their battle across the burning battlefield.

Because they were linked through the soul, Finch and Lior had originally thought that perhaps Lior would also be capable of manipulating the black chains. But it seemed the chains simply refused to receive orders from anyone who wasn’t Finch.

On another side of the battlefield, another student, who ranked seventh in the Qualifier Round rankings, was having a considerably easier time because of his unique ability.

Theodore Elox, brother to Kimberley Elox and heir to the richest family in Crymora.

A massive wave of flames surged toward him from the side, attempting to swallow him whole, but Theodore was ready.

He casually waved his hand as he spoke, "fifty thousand platinum coins. Tsunami Wave." His tone remained calm and composed.

The moment he waved his hand, fifty thousand platinum coins materialized around him. The very next instant, every single coin incinerated and vanished from reality. In response, an enormous oceanic wave manifested out of nowhere before crashing violently into the incoming sea of flames.

But Theodore Elox wasn’t finished.

Leaping into the air, he waved his hand once again before speaking in a chilling tone.

"One hundred thousand platinum coins. Lightning Barrage."

The crimson sky crackled violently as the next instant, scarlet lightning descended from the sky as though the heavens themselves were responding to his command. The Lightning Barrage crashed directly onto the Monster before him, instantly burning the enormous creature into nothing more than blackened charcoal.

"Five thousand platinum coins. Teleportation."

His calm voice echoed once more.

The moment those words left his lips, five thousand platinum coins appeared around him. They immediately incinerated and disappeared, and in the very next instant, Theodore Elox vanished from where he stood, his ability transporting him to his desired location. The moment he disappeared, a flame-based attack engulfed the position where he had been standing only a heartbeat earlier.

Theodore Elox’s ability was known as Lavish Spender

In the simplest terms, it was an ability that allowed him to buy his way through reality itself.

For example, earlier, he had simply purchased a tsunami from reality to defend against an incoming attack. Moments later, he had also purchased a barrage of lightning to smite his enemies.

It was an ability that demanded unimaginable wealth, and it was only fitting that Theodore belonged to the Elox family, a lineage renowned for awakening abilities related to money, wealth, commerce, and accounting.

The power of whatever Theodore purchased scaled directly with the amount he paid.

If he had only paid one gold coin to summon the tsunami from earlier, reality would still have granted him a tsunami. However, it would only have been a tsunami worth the value of a single gold coin, ultimately resulting in his own death against the burning flames.

Naturally, various limitations also existed.

For example, he couldn’t simply pay for his enemies to suddenly become paralyzed or lose their intelligence. Nor could he pay for them to be teleported elsewhere against their will. However, he could purchase such effects for himself, which was precisely how he had been able to teleport moments earlier.

And of course, his greatest weakness remained his wealth.

Without money, he couldn’t do anything. He would become no different from an ordinary person.

Any money spent had to be acknowledged as his own personal funds, not his father’s wealth nor his sister’s fortune. The coins that appeared around him were simply his wealth manifesting into reality from wherever it was stored, and the moment those coins incinerated was the moment reality accepted his bid.

If reality refused to accept his bid, the coins would simply vanish back to wherever they had come from without burning away.

All in all, with enough money, Theodore Elox could quite literally buy his way into heaven... and perhaps even into immortality itself.