Chapter 49: The Alves Family Arena [3]

Leah’s expression instantly became serious. Her Starfall was powerful, and her Astral Chains also possessed powerful restraining abilities, but the problem was... What use were they if she could not hit her target?

More than ten seconds passed; no attack came. Leah continuously turned around, searching.

Suddenly... To the left, a black blur shot toward her!

"Astral Chains!"

Buzz! Silver chains burst from the ground. However, they missed as the Blackshadow Panther forcibly changed direction in midair.

Leah’s pupils contracted. ’Too fast!’

Bang! Her entire body was sent flying, and three tears were ripped into the combat outfit covering her shoulder. If she had not formed a simple defensive layer from Astral mana at the last moment... she would already have been bleeding.

Despite all this, Victor did not intervene. He simply said,

"Continue."

Leah gritted her teeth and rose. The Blackshadow Panther disappeared again.

This time, she didn’t keep turning around in search of it; instead, she closed her eyes.

Milo stared from the spectator stands.

"What is she doing?"

Ten seconds later, the Blackshadow Panther attacked again—from behind and to the right.

The instant it entered a five-meter radius around her, and without turning around, Leah opened her eyes, her right hand pressing downward.

"Astral Chains!"

Boom! Four silver chains simultaneously erupted from different positions around her. They were not aimed at the Blackshadow Panther; instead, they sealed off all four directions!

One of them accurately wrapped around its hind leg.

Bang! The Blackshadow Panther lost its balance while moving at high speed, and its entire body slammed violently into the ground.

Quickly, she followed up with the next skill.

"Starfall!"

Buzz! Silver points of light gathered overhead.

Boom! Starlight descended, and the entire battlefield trembled slightly. The Blackshadow Panther’s position was completely swallowed by silver energy.

[Target’s Health decreased by 73%.]

It was not dead yet; Leah’s expression changed when she saw the Blackshadow Panther dragging its injured body back to its feet.

"Don’t stop!" Victor’s voice abruptly rang out. "No one in a real battle will wait for you to confirm the damage!"

The girl instantly came to her senses. She quickly summoned a second Astral Chains.

Boom! The Blackshadow Panther, which had only just stood, was restrained again.

This time, Leah did not use the more mana-intensive Starfall; instead, she directly condensed a mass of high-density Astral mana.

Silver light shot forward.

Puchi! It pierced the panther’s skull, ending the battle once and for all.

[Leah Vane has independently killed a real magical beast for the first time.]

[Practical combat experience greatly increased.]

[Astral Chains proficiency increased.]

[Starfall proficiency increased.]

[Target’s combat awareness slightly improved.]

Leah stood in the middle of the battlefield; her face was somewhat pale—not because of mana consumption, but because this was the first time she had truly killed a living creature.

The Blackshadow Panther’s corpse lay only a few meters away. Silver blood mixed with red as it slowly flowed from the wound. She watched it for several seconds; in the end, she did not look away. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Victor noticed that detail, which made a smile appear on his face.

Being afraid was normal; feeling absolutely nothing after killing a magical beast for the first time would have been far more abnormal.

What mattered was... not running from it.

"How do you feel?"

Leah walked out of the battle arena. "It was completely different from fighting training puppets."

"Of course."

"It was afraid," Leah spoke softly. "When it was restrained at the end, I could see that it was afraid."

Victor looked at her. "Do you regret it?"

Leah remained silent for two seconds; then she shook her head.

"If I didn’t kill it, it would have killed me."

"Then remember that feeling."

Victor didn’t lecture her with any grand principles. This was not a peaceful world, after all.

Beast tides. Secret realms. The Abyss. Imperial wars. All of those things genuinely existed here.

An SSS-grade genius who did not dare kill her enemies was worthless.

Finally... It was Noah’s turn.

Ever since entering the arena, the young man had been silent, but his eyes had never left the battlefield.

How Karl defended; how Milo made mistakes; how Leah adjusted after her first failed attack and turned the situation around—he watched everything.

"It’s your turn."

Noah stood up. "What level is mine?"

"Eighteen," Victor said.

Noah was currently Level 15, a three-level difference. Not unreasonable, but Victor did not choose an ordinary magical beast.

[Riftclaw Sword Wolf]

[Level: 18]

[Life Tier: Tier 1]

[Characteristics: High Agility. Its forelimbs possess bone blades, and its attack style resembles dual-sword combat.]

The moment its name appeared, Noah’s eyes visibly brightened.

Seeing the excitement, Victor was satisfied with his selection.

If one wanted a swordsman to improve, the best opponent was not necessarily the strongest; it was one capable of showing him a different kind of "sword."

The gate opened, and a gray magical beast almost twice the size of an ordinary wolf emerged.

Its most distinctive feature was the nearly half-meter-long white bone blade growing from the outer side of each forelimb. Sharp. Curved. They could even change their attack angles according to the movement of its forelimbs.

Noah drew his sword and charged first.

Clang! The first metallic collision rang out.

The longsword struck one bone blade, and the Sword Wolf’s other foreclaw swept upward almost simultaneously.

Noah turned sideways; his sword pressed downward.

Clang! He blocked again.

The human and beast instantly separated.

Victor’s eyes flashed sharply. Noah’s attributes were indeed low, but after his swordsmanship officially reached the advanced level, his ability to judge attack angles had clearly improved by a huge margin.

During the next couple of clashes,

Noah failed to gain the upper hand; a bloody cut had even appeared on his right arm, yet the expression on his face became increasingly focused.

Victor had thought the latter would be scared and nervous; however, what he displayed was pure excitement!

During their thirteenth clash, the Sword Wolf suddenly lowered itself; the next second, both foreclaws crossed and slashed simultaneously!

Noah’s pupils contracted in horror. This was an attack it had never used before, so he was caught off guard.

Unable to dodge, he raised his longsword horizontally.

Clang!!!

The enormous force sent his entire body flying like a kite.

Bang! His back slammed heavily against the ground.

The Riftclaw Sword Wolf did not stop; it instantly pounced, and one bone blade stabbed directly toward his throat.

"Noah!"

Everyone’s expressions darkened.