Chapter 430 Fall and Rise - I
430 Fall and Rise – I
“KEVIN!!”
“KEVIN!!”
“WHITEHEART FOR THE WIN!!”
Loud cheers took over the stage as Kevin stepped on the stage as his eyes stared at the pair of crimson in front of him.
A year ago, nobody would have compared these two together as Kevin was on another level, but shockingly, the Rank 8 Ranker was standing against Rank 1.
First against Sam Allister, then defeating Elena Rothschild, and then going against Matthew, nobody imagined that Asher Greville would be the one standing in the final.
Kevin was surprised and a bit unhappy that someone like Asher was growing strong so quickly.
‘Is he trying to gain attention so that Amelia can’t overtake him,’ Kevin frowned.
‘A person like you doesn’t deserve to be the heir,’ Kevin said to himself as he gripped his spear tightly.
Despite Asher’s performance in the previous matches, this match was completely different.
Kevin Whiteheart was the Rank 1 student, and someone who had already become a B- Rank Hunter.
Kevin was way ahead of everyone in the Second Year, and his confidence was justified.
“You must be happy to stand here,” Kevin said as he pointed his spear toward Asher.
Asher didn’t reply as he took out his sword.
He didn’t show but Asher was a bit tired with all the matches he had fought till now. It was something that he didn’t do before, but right now Asher was trying to stand out as much as possible.
But the opponent before him wasn’t someone who could be defeated easily, much less by someone who wasn’t even on the same rank as him.
Kevin’s lightning attribute drained a lot of his energy when he used it, but in return, his senses and speed became much superior to someone on the same level as him.
In close combat, Kevin was the worst type of opponent someone could face as the lightning attribute around him not only would increase his strength but would act as a shield and would hurt the attacker as well.
It was a perfect offense and defense if one could master the lightning attribute, that’s why Farnus was considered the strongest hunter because he made his spear art that allowed him to create distance between himself and his enemy while also allowing him to close that distance anytime.
All advanced attributes were strong enough that people who had their affinity were trained preciously so that their talents could be used properly.
In comparison, Asher who simply had an affinity with the black element, and a few other elements, didn’t look like a person who could go against even other rankers.
But what made him different was his bloodline, the Greville Bloodline which was considered one of the strongest bloodlines that allowed Asher to use mana to his will.
Efficiency is something that a person would slowly learn over time, and it was part of the growth of a hunter. A step that took other years, was something that the Greville were innately gifted.
This was what the high-ranking hunters, like Silvus and Osbert, were thinking.
Unlike the students who were stunned by Asher’s performance, they could see the precise movements and mastery over his sword that allowed Asher to gain the upper hand.
But what caught their eyes was Asher’s battle sense, something that allowed a person to carefully read his opponents and his surroundings mid-fight.
“I guess him having an S Rank Bloodline ability wasn’t just a rumor,”
“Makes sense, I guess having a bloodline ability truly increases your strength,”
There were many opinions regarding Asher, but all of them concluded that possessing the S Rank Bloodline Ability, his talent wasn’t a joke.
Asher’s late awakening created an image of a weak person who wasn’t suited to become a hunter. After all, in other’s eyes Asher just seemed like a coward that was too scared to enter the world of Hunters.
The referee raised his hand and looked at both Asher and Kevin.
“Start!!” He shouted as Kevin brought out his aura calmly.
Unlike others, Kevin remained calm as he didn’t consider Asher a threat to him.
Asher pointed his blade at the ground spreading his mana sense, against an opponent stronger and faster than him, relying on his eyesight alone was foolish.
So, he decided to use the one thing that he was best at in the whole academy and that was the ability to sense the mana around him. Something that was greatly amplified by the Rank S bloodline ability.‘I will show everyone how unworthy you are,’ Kevin swung his spear in the air.
He pointed it at the ground and made tiny sparks of lightning appear on the stage.
Suddenly, the aura around Kevin changed as sparks started to wrap around him.
Lightning aura is the one thing that solidified Kevin’s Rank 1 position, among all the Second year.
Even Matthew who was Rank 2, knew there was a big gap between him and Kevin. And those thoughts were justified as using lightning aura so effectively made Kevin worthy of the title of the greatest talent of this generation.
The clash of these two continued as Kevin was effectively dodging the strange attacks that Asher would do.
In all the fights, he had seen Asher use a unique movement technique, so he thought of a counter for Asher, and it was using the lightning spark on the stage as signals that would alert him of the change in movement that Asher could do.
Asher’s eyes were following Kevin as he noticed the sparks beneath him.
‘Should I?’ Asher thought in his head.
The whole time in World Academy, Asher didn’t care much about ranks, or showcasing his strength as he didn’t want any attention from him.
Unlike Kevin, whose smallest actions would catch the attention of the entire academy, and someone who would openly use his charisma to gather followers.
Kevin was a perfect example of what an Heir to the Elite Family was expected to do.
Kevin was aware of the expectations for him, and the burden of carrying the name of his family. He practiced hard and became the Rank 1 Student and started becoming popular inside and outside the World Academy.
He had poured all his efforts into lifting the name of his family, which was considered the weakest Elite Family even further.
That’s why, he disliked Asher, who didn’t seem like a proper Heir to him. The fact he was given the position just because he was older, didn’t sit right with Kevin.
In his eyes, Asher had robbed Amelia of her deserved position and made no effort to behave like an actual heir.
Asher’s lack of consideration towards other students that tried to provoke him, caused bad rumors about him to spread.
And the last straw for Kevin was when Asher became acquainted with Alyssa.
Out of all people, he chose the one that would garner a lot of hate toward the Greville Family due to his actions.
Unworthy and Ungrateful were the two things that Kevin thought about Asher.
…
But was it correct?
Was it just Kevin’s infatuation that made him think of Asher like that?
But whatever the answer was, it didn’t matter.
The pieces were set, and the traps were ready.
“I guess little Whiteheart is better than you,” Leonard Tarvian muttered.
A smile crept on his face, as he saw the obvious result of the duel.
Kevin rotated his body as he allowed the sparks to flow through his body and wrap around his spear.
Each time Asher’s blade collided with it, he would feel burns on his fingers.
Asher’s aura countered any extra damage, so he wasn’t feeling numb, but it was getting hard to push Kevin back.
Their aura clashed, but it was obvious that Kevin had the advantage over Asher.
Asher was using more of his energy to make sure he didn’t get damaged by the passive effects of Kevin’s aura.
The difference in mana between a C+ Rank Hunter and a B- Rank Hunter was big enough to make the battle easier for Kevin as time went on.
Even right now, Kevin had the obvious advantage over Asher, but what he wanted wasn’t a simple win. He wanted to make it obvious what the difference between him and Asher was.
That’s why he wasn’t going all out from the start, and it was obvious to Asher who had another goal in his mind.
Being in the same class as Kevin, Asher had observed him, willingly or unwillingly as Kevin’s outgoing personality would make others notice him.
And their paths would often clash as Kevin wanted to keep the power status in the class neutral so he would often argue with Asher.
After all that time it wasn’t to see what Kevin wanted in this battle.