Chapter 250: Scroll and Items

Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Scroll and Items

She even yawned, raising a hand to rub her eyes as she asked, "Can we start fighting now?"

Such an attitude was utterly humiliating.

Rex Shaw’s eyes instantly reddened. With a furious roar, his muscles bulged as he shot toward Seraphina Sinclair like an arrow from a bow. The giant axe in his hand whistled through the air as he brought it straight down!

"Take this axe!"

He roared, trying to overwhelm Seraphina Sinclair with his sheer ferocity.

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze sharpened. Instead of retreating, she advanced, her footwork light and shifty. She sidestepped the axe blade like a phantom.

Her long blade swept upward with the motion, striking straight for Rex Shaw’s wrist.

Rex Shaw’s heart jumped. He hadn’t expected her to be so fast. He hastily changed his attack, bringing his giant axe around horizontally in an attempt to parry the long blade.

CLANG!

Blade met axe, sending a shower of blinding sparks into the air.

The immense recoil sent a numbing shock through Rex Shaw’s arm. He was horrified.

He prided himself on his superior Strength, yet he hadn’t gained the slightest advantage in a head-on clash.

Seraphina Sinclair, however, used the force of the impact to spin, her long blade tracing a perfect arc through the air. A second slash, like a shadow, was already on its way to Rex Shaw’s midsection!

Rex Shaw scrambled to block with his axe, finding himself in a wretched predicament.

Once his rage subsided, he found he didn’t have a shred of courage left to fight Seraphina Sinclair.

The mere thought of the three S’s on her Evaluation made him shudder, but it was precisely those three S’s that had made Rex Shaw choose her in the first place!

There was only one chance to choose, and if he was going to choose, Rex Shaw was going to pick the strongest!

Although things had come to this, it wasn’t as if Rex Shaw was completely out of options.

After all, whether it was teaming up to enter a special zone and waiting for Blacktiger Ford to be injured by monsters, or injuring her with his own hands in this arena, the result was the same. And he could use items in either scenario.

Even if it was a sneak attack, as long as Rex Shaw succeeded, Blacktiger Ford would have no way to fight back.

He had warned Blacktiger Ford more than once.

He wasn’t just some random scrub. Killing him wouldn’t be that easy.

Rex Shaw took a deep breath, using his axe to push himself up from the ground. He pulled a scroll from the small of his back and abruptly unfurled it.

The scroll was ancient and worn, covered in twisted runes painted with a dark red pigment. It emitted a sinister, chilling aura that made the heart race.

"Blacktiger Ford!" A savage grin, a mixture of fear and madness, twisted Rex Shaw’s face. "I gave you a way out, but you refused to take it! Now, I’ll show you my true trump card!"

A red light shot out from the scroll, bathing Rex Shaw in its glow.

In that instant, his entire aura changed. It was as if he’d taken some kind of muscle Potion; the faint definition in his arms began to rapidly swell and contort, with blue veins bulging like earthworms under his skin, which had turned an unnatural, dark red.

Realizing what the item was, Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t about to stand by and watch him absorb the scroll’s energy.

She swung her long blade, cleaving the scroll in mid-air and slicing the thing clean in two.

The red light vanished, and Rex Shaw’s transformation halted.

His eyes were bloodshot, and a low, beast-like roar escaped his throat. The muscles of his upper body remained grotesquely swollen while his lower half was unchanged, creating a bizarre mismatch, as if he’d been crudely pieced together.

"You... You dare destroy my scroll!"

Rex Shaw was both shocked and enraged. That scroll was his last resort, a treasure that could save his life. It could unlock his potential for a short time, causing his Strength and Speed to skyrocket. He never imagined she would slice it in half before it could even take full effect!

Seraphina Sinclair flicked her Blade, her tone tinged with bewilderment. "What? Was I supposed to wait for you to finish?"

The question left Rex Shaw speechless, his face turning beet red.

He knew, of course, that interrupting an opponent’s skill activation was a perfectly normal combat tactic. He had just been too reliant on that scroll. Now that his trump card was gone, his mind was in chaos.

"Enough talk!" Rex Shaw tried to feign confidence as he brandished his giant axe and charged again.

Even though the enhancement was interrupted, the residual power still made his charge shockingly powerful. The axe blade whistled as it cut through the air.

Seraphina Sinclair, however, gave him no more chances to get close.

With a light tap of her feet, she retreated like a wisp of smoke. As she moved, she flipped her left hand, a pale yellow rune already pinched between her fingers.

Seraphina Sinclair had originally planned on just using a Fire Drawing Rune, but since her opponent had brought out a scroll, she couldn’t be stingy herself.

What she tore was a Purifying Flame Rune!

’As for the new D-level Talisman... why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?’

"Go!"

Following Seraphina Sinclair’s cold, quiet command, a ball of moon-white flame shot toward Rex Shaw.

Rex Shaw’s face contorted in terror. The flame moved far faster than any normal human could react. Even if he threw down his axe and used all his strength to dodge, it would have been all for nothing.

Seraphina Sinclair had assumed the match would end right there, but the instant the flame struck Rex Shaw, the unexpected happened.

The moment the moon-white purifying flame touched Rex Shaw’s body, it didn’t engulf and incinerate him as expected. Instead, it slammed into an invisible barrier. With a muffled BANG, it scattered into sparks and was thrown back!

An inconspicuous wooden pendant on Rex Shaw’s chest shattered on impact, turning to dust.

He himself was sent stumbling back by the remaining force of the impact, his blood roiling in his chest, but his face was a mask of euphoric relief mixed with a twinge of pained regret.

"Hahaha! Didn’t see that coming, did you!" Rex Shaw gasped for breath, roaring with triumphant savagery. "I have a defensive item, too! Trying to kill me in one hit with a rune? In your dreams!"

Seraphina Sinclair raised an eyebrow. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by understanding.

’How could someone who’s reached the top ranks of the region and acts this arrogant not have a few life-saving items on hand?’

The item had blocked one of her Purifying Flame Runes, so it was clearly of a high grade.

"Quite a few tricks up your sleeve," Seraphina Sinclair remarked, her tone still flat, not the least bit shaken by the failed attack.

She flicked her wrist, and two more runes appeared between her fingers. They were Purifying Flame Runes, as well.

’She had plenty more runes. How many of those defensive items could Rex Shaw possibly have?’

The triumphant joy on Rex Shaw’s face froze, replaced by incredulous terror.

One incredibly powerful rune had already cost him a priceless item. ’And she has more?’

In that second, Rex Shaw finally understood the weight behind the two words, "Rune Master"!

He didn’t have time to think. Survival instinct took over, and his body reacted in the most direct way possible: run.

He spun around and made a break for the edge of the arena. Though he knew the arena was enclosed and his chances of escape were slim, he couldn’t summon a shred of courage to face an opponent with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of runes.

And he didn’t stop shouting, either. "Spare my life! I have a way to survive this! If you spare me, I’ll give you all of my supplies!"

’A way to survive?’

Seraphina Sinclair raised an eyebrow. ’This is an arena, and he has a way to survive?’