Chapter 161: Fear (Part 2)

"I didn’t expect you to show up here today," Eric said with a smirk when Evan stepped into the ring.

Evan completely ignored him and looked at the referee, who was standing to the side.

"Can we start? I have other things to do after beating this sparrow."

The referee was a Rank Three Dark Elf. Upon hearing Evan’s words, he nodded calmly and turned toward Eric.

"Are you ready?"

Eric gritted his teeth when he saw how Evan had ignored him. However, he soon calmed down, and a cold look flashed in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he handed the recommendation letter to the referee, while Evan handed over the Arastine Boots that were part of their bet.

After the boots and the letter had been handed over, both Evan and Eric took their positions.

When the referee saw that they were ready, he slashed his hand downward and shouted, "You may begin!"

Boom!

The moment the referee announced the start of the match, Eric slammed his feet against the ground and charged toward Evan like a bullet.

Seeing Eric charging at him, Evan didn’t move and simply watched as Eric closed the distance between them at an incredible speed.

"What is he doing?" Erza asked in a puzzled voice when Evan remained motionless even after the match had begun.

"That human is so scared that his body has frozen from fear!" One of the students shouted with a laugh.

The other students also began laughing when they heard this, watching the arena with excited expressions.

However, Eric didn’t share their excitement.

Even as he closed the distance between them, he could clearly see that there wasn’t a hint of fear in Evan’s eyes.

Evan was incredibly calm. So calm that it gave Eric a very bad feeling.

"You’re really slow..."

Suddenly, Eric heard an indifferent voice and saw Evan’s ocean-blue eyes slowly turning golden.

"FEAR!" Evan muttered in a low voice and the next instant, a terrifying aura enveloped the arena.

Whether it was Eric or the students watching from the stands, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and cold sweat immediately appeared on their bodies.

Eric, who had been charging forward, immediately stopped in his tracks as goosebumps rose all over his body.

"W-What is happening?" He stammered, taking a step back and looking at Evan with a terrified expression.

His legs trembled uncontrollably, and his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

The moment Evan’s eyes turned golden, Eric felt as though someone had grabbed him by the throat, making it difficult for him to breathe.

His voice began to tremble, and in his eyes, Evan looked absolutely terrifying.

Eric wasn’t the only one experiencing this. The students in the stands were also trembling under the terrifying pressure emanating from Evan.

’Such a powerful spiritual skill...’ The referee was also stunned, but he soon regained his composure and waved his hand.

Instantly, a wave of energy spread throughout the stands, relieving the students who were shivering in fear.

However, the referee had only protected the spectators and didn’t interfere with Eric.

Eric was still trembling in fear inside the ring, his heart beating so fast that it seemed as though it might explode at any moment.

At this moment, in Eric’s eyes, Evan looked less like a human and more like a terrifying creature. Just looking at him made Eric feel as though he were about to die.

Fear was the evolved version of Evan’s previous skill, Intimidation!

He had evolved this skill into a Rank Two skill while on the second floor of the Animal Kingdom Dungeon, using the Rank Two Mana Core of the Lizardman King.

[Intimidation (Rank One, Level 5 Active Skill) → Fear (Rank Two, Level 1 Active Skill)]

---) Fear (Rank Two, Level 1 Active Skill): By looking at your target, you can instill deep fear in their mind. Upon being affected by Fear, there is a 20% chance that the target will fall into a nightmare illusion for 3–10 seconds. The skill’s effect is reduced by 50% when used against an enemy two ranks above you. Costs 50 Mana Points to activate and consumes 2 Mana Points per second while active.

Evan looked at Eric’s terrified expression and took a step toward him.

When Eric saw him move, his legs began shaking even more. However, he couldn’t retreat because his body had frozen from fear.

"D-Don’t come n-near me!" He screamed in a trembling voice.

"What the hell is going on?" Alice, Liam, Kevin, and Erza were equally stunned by what they were witnessing.

Although they had already known that Evan would defeat Eric, they had never expected the fight to turn out like this.

Suddenly, Kevin remembered something and swallowed nervously.

"Do you remember him evolving one of his skills on the second floor of the Animal Kingdom Dungeon?"

Hearing his words, Alice and the others remembered how Evan had been smiling strangely after evolving his skill.

Now that they were witnessing its effects firsthand, they finally understood why he had been so happy about evolving it.

"I’m telling you to stop right there!" Eric shouted like a madman when he saw Evan continuing to approach him.

This was the first time in his life that he had ever felt such overwhelming dread toward another person.

He could barely utter a word as his body shook uncontrollably.

Suddenly, Evan noticed a strange smell and glanced downward.

He saw that Eric’s pants were wet, and a suspicious liquid was flowing down his legs.

The more Eric looked into Evan’s golden eyes, the more insignificant he felt. It was as though he were a mere peasant standing before a king, someone who could kill him with just a single word.

Suddenly, Evan’s eyes shone even more brightly, and the intensity of his terrifying aura increased slightly.

When Eric saw this, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed to the ground.

White foam began coming from his mouth, and everyone assumed he had passed out from fear.

However, Evan knew that Eric hadn’t simply passed out, as a notification flashed before his eyes.

[Your target has fallen into a nightmare illusion for ten seconds.]

As Eric collapsed, Evan’s eyes returned to normal.

With his eyes back to their original color, the terrifying aura enveloping the arena disappeared, and everyone could finally breathe again.

Evan turned toward the referee, who was still standing in the same spot, his face filled with shock.

When the referee noticed Evan looking at him, he finally regained his composure and immediately announced.

"The winner is Evan!"