Chapter 65: The Tryouts (8)

Eden stood on one of the larger floating platforms, his silver eyes fixed on the man several meters above him.

Alexis hovered on another elevated platform, cyan hair shifting gently in the turbulent air.

Lightning crawled lazily across his arms.

Eden smiled.

"So."

He rolled his shoulders.

"Let’s see what you’ve got."

Alexis grinned.

"Gladly."

He lifted one hand.

Then pointed his index finger toward Eden.

The gesture looked almost ridiculous.

Like a child pretending to fire a gun.

"Bang!"

A lightning bolt exploded from his fingertip.

Eden’s eyes widened.

’Fast.’

The attack crossed the distance almost instantly.

His instincts screamed at him to move.

But he didn’t.

Not yet.

Instead, Eden planted his feet and raised both arms in front of his body.

He wanted to know.

How strong was a talented C-Rank compared to him?

He wanted to feel the difference.

The lightning struck.

Pain exploded through Eden’s body.

His feet left the ground.

He was launched backward like a rag doll, crashing through the wall of the platform behind him.

Stone and reinforced metal shattered around him.

[Master!]

Sylvia’s worried voice immediately echoed through his mind.

Eden coughed.

’I’m fine.’

[You were struck directly by his lightning.]

’I noticed.’

He pulled himself out of the rubble.

His arms were numb.

His muscles were aching.

But he was standing.

That was what mattered.

Sylvia’s voice remained concerned.

[Are you sure?"]

Eden flexed his fingers.

’He’s a formidable C-Rank. I want to know how far I can push myself without relying on Corrupted Surge.’

’I’ll finish him off once I’ve had enough of him, so don’t you worry.’

There was a brief pause.

[...You are strange, Master.]

’Rich, coming from you.’

Eden looked up.

Alexis was staring down at him.

Then the cyan-haired Awakened laughed.

"You’re tough!"

Eden wiped a thin line of blood from his mouth.

"Apparently."

Alexis’s smile widened.

"Most people would have tried to dodge that."

"I was curious."

"Curious?"

"How much damage you’d do."

Alexis adjusted his sunglasses.

"And?"

Eden looked at the crater around him, then back up at Alexis.

’Let’s taunt him a little.’

"It was really disappointing."

Alexis’ smile faltered for a second.

"Ah."

He raised his hand again.

"Then let’s see you handle this!"

The atmosphere changed.

Lightning erupted around Alexis.

Unlike before, it didn’t remain concentrated around his body.

It spread.

A massive web of cyan electricity expanded across the battlefield.

Eden’s expression sharpened.

’Here we go.’

Alexis flicked his fingers.

Lightning rained down.

Eden moved.

A bolt tore through the platform where he had been standing.

He jumped.

Another struck beneath him.

He twisted in midair.

A third passed within inches of his face.

’It’s getting faster too.’

Eden landed on another floating platform and immediately sprinted.

A lightning spear tore across his path.

He jumped over it.

Then another.

And another.

Alexis wasn’t firing simple bolts anymore.

Some were spears.

Others were wide arcs of electricity.

Several exploded upon impact.

One tore straight through a platform and continued into the battlefield below.

Another struck a group of contestants fighting several dozen meters away.

"WHAT THE—?!"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Eden clicked his tongue.

’He’s not even trying to keep the damage contained.’

Alexis continued smiling.

Lightning gathered around both of his hands.

He swept his arms outward.

A huge wave of electricity tore across the battlefield.

Eden leaped.

The wave passed beneath him.

But another bolt struck him from above.

Pain shot through his shoulder.

He crashed onto a platform.

Before he could recover, another explosion swallowed the area.

Stone shattered.

Eden was thrown sideways.

He landed hard.

Rolled and stopped.

For a moment, all he could hear was ringing.

Then the dust began to settle.

Alexis stood several platforms away.

His smile remained.

"Still alive?"

Eden slowly rose.

His shirt was torn in several places.

His breathing had become heavier.

He looked at his hand.

Then at Alexis.

"...Yeah."

Alexis grinned.

"Seems like being tough alone isn’t going to cut it."

Eden wiped blood from his cheek.

"Is that so?"

His smile slowly widened.

"Then I guess I’ll have to change something."

Essence erupted from his body.

The atmosphere around him warped.

Crimson energy surged across his skin.

[Corrupted Surge]

The skill activated.

Every attribute surged.

And his Essence output exploded.

Alexis’s grin disappeared for the first time.

Eden vanished from his vision.

He crossed the distance in an instant.

Alexis barely had time to react.

Eden appeared directly in front of him.

His knee drove toward Alexis’s face.

Alexis’s eyes widened.

A thin layer of lightning instantly formed across his body.

Eden’s knee struck.

The impact still forced Alexis backward, but the lightning absorbed most of the force.

Eden felt a sharp sting shoot through his knee.

He immediately jumped backward.

Alexis landed on another platform.

His breathing had changed.

His expression had changed.

He stared at Eden.

"You..."

"You’re fast.

"...I didn’t even see that."

Alexis adjusted his sunglasses.

Eden stared at him.

’Interesting.’

He glanced at Alexis.

’Did he just abandon his Perception attribute entirely?’

The man’s lightning was abaurd, both in speed and power.

But his ability to actually see Eden’s movement seemed surprisingly limited.

Sylvia’s voice returned.

[Master.]

’I know.’

’That defensive lightning.’

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

’It reacted before he did.’

[Precisely.]

Sylvia continued.

[I believe it may be an automated defensive skill.]

Eden watched Alexis carefully.

’Meaning?’

[It may be linked to his vision or perception. Once an incoming attack enters his field of awareness, the skill automatically manifests a layer of lightning to reduce its impact.]

Eden’s expression sharpened.

’Even if he doesn’t consciously react?’

[That appears to be the case.]

Eden frowned.

’That’s annoying.’

Sylvia continued.

[Your Dark Matter could strengthen you further.]

Eden immediately rejected the idea.

’Nah.’

[Master—]

’I’m not going to rely on an incomplete power just because I’m fighting in a tournament.’

Sylvia fell silent.

Eden smiled.

’Besides.’

His eyes remained on Alexis.

’If his defense reacts through his vision.’

He lowered his stance.

’...then I’ll just attack somewhere he can’t see.’

Alexis smiled.

"What, cat got your tongue?"

Lightning erupted around him again.

"Come on!"

The next exchange was brutal.

Eden moved through the battlefield at incredible speed.

Alexis responded with increasingly destructive lightning.

Eden tried attacking from the side.

Lightning intercepted him.

He attacked from above.

Lightning followed.

He moved behind Alexis.

The defensive layer reacted.

Bang!

Eden was forced backward.

"You’re really annoying!"

Alexis laughed.

"Ain’t my fault!"

"You started this!"

Lightning exploded between them.

Eden twisted away.

A bolt grazed his side.

Pain flashed through his body.

He landed.

Alexis raised both hands.

"C’mon!"

The sky above him filled with lightning.

"Let’s see how long you can keep dodging!"

A storm descended.

Eden ran.

Every step became a gamble.

Lightning destroyed platforms behind him.

Chunks of reinforced material were blasted into the air.

Other contestants fled as the two C-Ranks tore apart their surroundings.

"Those two are insane!"

"Get away from them!"

Eden jumped from one platform to another.

’He’s getting cocky.’

Alexis had started smiling again.

He believed he had figured Eden out.

He believed his defensive skill gave him the advantage.

And perhaps...

He was right.

For now.

A lightning orb suddenly appeared above Eden.

His eyes widened.

"What—?"

Boom!

The explosion launched him downward.

He crashed onto a platform several levels below.

His body bounced once.

Then stopped.

Alexis hovered above him.

The smile on his face became confident again.

"That one’s going to hurt."

Eden slowly lifted his head.

Lightning gathered around Alexis.

More than before.

Far more.

The air itself seemed to tremble.

The electricity twisted together.

A massive serpentine shape emerged.

A long dragon made entirely of lightning.

Its jaws opened.

Electricity poured from its mouth.

Eden stared upward.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

Alexis raised one hand.

"Let’s finish this!"

The lightning dragon roared.

Then descended.

Eden sighed.

"Where the hell is Devour when I need it?"

He looked at his hand.

The red Essence that should have answered him remained inaccessible.

Locked behind a wall of insufficient attributes.

’Seriously.’

His jaw tightened.

The lightning dragon descended.

Eden sighed.

"Whatever."

The dragon struck.

The explosion swallowed the entire platform.

Lightning tore through the surrounding battlefield.

The shockwave ripped apart several floating structures.

Dust and debris erupted into the air.

The explosion was so massive that contestants hundreds of meters away stopped fighting.

Even the observation room went quiet.

Alexis hovered high above the destruction.

The smoke obscured everything.

He slowly lowered his trembling hand.

"...Well."

His smile slowly faded.

"That’s disappointing."

The lightning dissipated around his body.

He looked down at the destruction.

"Still..."

His expression softened slightly.

"That guy’s got some spirit."

"You’re strong."

He had acknowledged Eden.

Alexis sighed.

"I guess that’s the end of—"

"Thanks."

Alexis froze.

His eyes widened.

The voice had come from behind him.

"What—?"

Eden appeared.

Right behind him.

Alexis turned as quickly as hit body allowed him to, and yet it was too late.

Eden used the dust. The debris. The lightning.

The destruction itself.

Everything that had blocked Alexis’s vision had given Eden the opportunity he needed.

He had slowly forced himself upright and closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

[Burst-Step]

The distance vanished.

Eden appeared in the air behind Alexis.

His fist was already raised.

Alexis’s defensive lightning began to react.

But this time...

There wasn’t enough time.

Eden’s fist crashed directly into the back of his head.

The impact was enormous.

Alexis was launched downward.

He crashed through one platform.

Then another.

Then a third.

Three platforms shattered beneath him.

His body finally slammed into a fourth.

The entire platform shook.

Alexis didn’t move.

He laid there, unconscious.

Eden slowly looked at his fist as he fell through the air.

"...Huh?"

He genuinely sounded confused.

He knew his attributes were high.

Higher than a normal C-Rank.

He knew Corrupted Surge had pushed them even further.

But Alexis wasn’t a normal C-Rank.

He was talented.

Extremely talented.

A future monster.

And Eden had just knocked him out with one punch.

Sylvia’s voice immediately erupted inside his head.

[Master!]

Eden sighed.

"Oh no."

[That was truly magnificent!]

He could feel Obsidian share the same sentiment somewhere deep inside his dark matter.

"Guys."

[You defeated an opponent of extraordinary talent with a single strike!]

"Sylvia."

[Master’s power is truly—]

"Sylvia."

[—magnificent beyond—]

"Please shut up."

A brief silence.

[...Yes, Master.]

Eden landed beside Alexis.

He looked down at the unconscious man.

Then at his own fist again.

"Seriously..."

He shook his head.

"You should put more points into Vitality."

Alexis didn’t respond.

Obviously.

Eden sighed.

"Good fight, though."

"I can see why they called you ’The Lightning Lord’ in my previous life."

He turned away.

That should have been it.

Another opponent down.

There wasn’t much time left for this round.

And Eden had more than enough badges to pass.

That was all there was to it.

Or so he thought.

Eden tried to take a step, but froze midway.

Something was wrong.

The air felt Cold.

Not ordinary cold.

His breath became faintly visible.

Eden slowly looked down at his hand.

A thin layer of frost was forming across his skin.

His smile disappeared.

"What?"

The frost spread.

Across his fingers.

Up his wrist.

Another patch appeared along his side.

Then his knee.

Eden’s silver eyes narrowed.

The Essence around him had changed.

It felt thinner.

Heavier.

As though the atmosphere itself had suddenly become saturated with something foreign.

Something cold.

Eden slowly turned his head.

The battlefield around him was changing.

Frost appeared across the floating platforms.

A thin mist spread through the air.

The temperature continued dropping.

Eden’s expression became serious.

"...You have got to be kidding me."

He knew that feeling really well.

Someone was approaching.

And judging by the sudden cold surrounding him...

They weren’t coming to congratulate him on his victory.

Status Report!

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[STATUS]

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Name: Alexis

Level: 141 [C-Rank]

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Attributes

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Strength: 300

Agility: 260

Vitality: 150

Essence: 600

Perception: 150

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Skills & Authorities

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Lightning Treshhold [S]

Turns the awakened’s Essence into Lightning. Versatility and output scales with the Essence attribute.

Lightning Barrier [A]

Passively reduces the impact of any physical attacks without the awakened’s vision.

Lightning Lord’s affinity [S]

Grants the Awakened immunity to all sorts of Lightning attacks and phenomena.

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