Chapter 229 - 228 : Open Challenge
Arthur stood at the center of the training grounds.
The arena roared.
Students from every section cheered his name, their voices echoing across the massive grounds.
He stood calmly amidst the storm of noise, his expression relaxed, almost amused.
Then—
His vision was suddenly filled with notifications.
DING!
[ Extraction Conditions Fulfilled. ]
[ • Defeat Lalatina Rion Armsberg in an official one-on-one duel. ] [Completed]
[ All required conditions have been satisfied. ]
[ Extraction Link Successfully Established. ]
[ Ability Extraction is now available. ]
Arthur’s lips curved into a faint smile.
’I wonder what I’ll get this time...’
His gaze slowly shifted toward the stands.
Damian.
Victor.
Jasmine.
Arina.
All of them were watching him.
’Let’s get this over with too...’
He stepped forward and raised his voice, loud and clear.
"If there’s anyone in the first year—and of course, the rankers—who wants to challenge me for the position of representative in the upcoming Inter-Academy Competition... you can step up now."
He paused for a brief moment before a faint smirk appeared on his face.
"Or don’t come crying later... because I’ll kick your ass."
Silence.
Then—
An explosion of noise swept through the arena.
"What?!"
"Is he insane?!"
"After beating Layla, he’s still provoking the rankers?!"
Students panicked, whispered, and argued among themselves.
Some even pushed their friends forward.
"You go!"
"Are you crazy?! I’m not dying!"
"No way I’m stepping into that arena!"
Fear spread quickly.
No one wanted to face the monster who had just defeated their undefeated prodigy.
Meanwhile—
Victor smiled.
A dangerous...
Twisted smile.
The hand gripping his sword trembled with excitement.
Beside him, Diana immediately turned toward Damian, worry written all over her face.
"Brother, don’t fall for it. That guy is obviously trying to provoke you."
Then she turned toward Evangeline.
"Hey, Evangeline! Wasn’t the representative already decided after my brother defeated Aiden? Then why is that pervert challenging us again? Go tell him to stop shouting like a mad dog!"
Evangeline smirked.
"Why don’t you go and tell him yourself?"
Diana froze.
Speechless.
Julia crossed her arms.
"That bet had nothing to do with Arthur. He’s just doing whatever he wants. If you want the representative position... then go beat him."
Isabella glanced toward Liana with a teasing smile.
"Well? Isn’t this your chance? Go defeat him... after all, you said he’s just a weakling."
Liana immediately panicked.
"I-I would’ve gone... but after this morning’s training session my ankle really hurts... and I’m tired too."
Evangeline and Isabella burst into laughter.
Liana’s face instantly turned bright red.
"S-Stop laughing! I would’ve kicked his ass if I wasn’t tired!"
Then—
Boom!
Boom!
Two figures leaped down from the spectator stands.
Their feet slammed into the arena floor, kicking up clouds of dust.
One possessed dark blue hair.
The other crimson red.
The pressure radiating from both of them alone caused countless first-year students to instinctively step backward.
The crowd erupted.
"Victor!"
"It’s Victor!"
"Damian!"
"The rankers are finally moving!"
Victor stepped forward.
His icy blue eyes locked onto Arthur.
"You backstabbing bastard... I’ve been waiting since the entrance examination... to kill you with my own hands."
Arthur blinked.
Then tilted his head.
Confused.
"I’m sorry... who are you again?"
Pfft—
Damian couldn’t hold back a laugh before quickly covering his mouth.
Victor slowly turned his head toward him.
The murderous aura in his eyes was enough to freeze the surrounding air.
Damian immediately raised both hands.
"Why are you looking at me? He’s the one insulting you!"
Victor roared, "You ignorant fool! How dare you forget me?! I’m Victor Blackthorn, heir to the Blackthorn Family! Let me remind you—"
Arthur lazily waved his hand.
"Blah blah... weakling. I still don’t remember you."
He then looked toward Damian.
"But you... I remember. Mostly because I beat you pretty badly last time."
His gaze shifted back toward Victor.
"But you? Still nothing."
Victor’s body trembled with rage.
"I’m the guy you eliminated by attacking from behind—"
Damian immediately interrupted.
"Stop. He’s messing with you. Don’t fall for it."
Victor clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
"I’ll kill you!"
Shing!
His sword left its sheath.
Dark blue mana erupted around him like a violent storm.
Damian stepped forward as well, summoning his crimson spear.
"It’s time for revenge. You’ll pay for every bit of humiliation you put me... and my master through."
Arthur casually rolled his shoulders.
"Yeah... yeah... let’s get started."
A glowing timer materialized between the three.
The entire arena fell silent.
3...
2...
1...
0...
The instant the countdown reached zero—
Victor vanished in the next second.
Boom!
The arena floor exploded beneath his feet as he suwed his talent.
"Eclipse Maker."
Dark blue mana surged into the ground.
Rumble!
Rumble!
Gigantic earthen walls burst upward from beneath the arena floor.
One after another.
Within seconds, the battlefield transformed into an enormous stone labyrinth.
Towering walls blocked every path and every line of sight.
Damian frowned.
"Tch..."
Without hesitating—
He hurled his spear.
Whoosh!
The crimson weapon spun like a blazing meteor, tearing through the maze.
Boom!
The first wall exploded.
Boom!
The second collapsed.
Boom!
A third shattered into countless pieces.
The spear carved a straight path through the labyrinth before curving through the air and returning toward Damian.
But—
Just before it reached his hand—
Victor appeared.
Like a phantom.
No footsteps.
No warning.
Only a flash of blue.
Slash!
His sword descended toward Damian’s neck.
Damian’s eyes widened.
His spear hadn’t returned yet.
There was no way to block.
He forcefully twisted his body.
The blade narrowly missed his throat.
Instead—
Slash!
A thin cut appeared across the side of his neck.
Blood slowly trickled down.
Damian jumped backward just as his spear returned to his grasp.
He touched the wound before looking at the blood on his fingertips.
Then smiled.
"Not bad. I’ve never seen you fight like this before... were you hiding your strength?"
Victor didn’t answer.
His figure disappeared back into the maze.
Damian chuckled.
"Doesn’t matter... I’m still winning."
DING!
A notification appeared before him.
[ Talent SS-Rank: Eclipse Maker has been copied successfully. ]
A grin slowly spread across Damian’s face.
"Now i can do this too."
He planted the spear into the ground with a heavy slam
Boom!
The battlefield shook violently.
Every stone wall instantly crumbled.
Rumble!
The earth split apart.
Molten lava erupted from deep beneath the arena.
Within moments—
The entire battlefield transformed into a sea of blazing magma.
Rivers of lava flowed between shattered rocks.
The surrounding air distorted from the intense heat.
DING!
[ Skill: Fire Resistance (A-Rank) Activated. ]
[ Your body has become immune to fire. ]
[ Duration: 30 Minutes ]
[ Cooldown: 3 Hours ]
Victor clicked his tongue.
"Tch... that ridiculous copy talent."
Then—
Both of them noticed Arthur.
Standing calmly within the burning battlefield.
His movements appeared slightly restricted by the unstable terrain.
Damian smiled.
’Got you.’
Without a moment’s hesitation—
He hurled his spear.
BOOM!
The weapon blasted forward with explosive force.
The air screamed as it accelerated.
It became nothing more than a crimson streak aimed directly at Arthur’s forehead.
Faster...
Faster...
Even many professors could barely follow its trajectory.
The entire arena held its breath.
Arthur didn’t move.
Didn’t dodge.
Didn’t even blink.
The spear closed the remaining distance in an instant.
Its razor-sharp tip was aimed directly at Arthur’s forehead.
Any ordinary student wouldn’t have even seen it coming—
Let alone reacted.
But Arthur didn’t move.
Didn’t dodge.
Didn’t even flinch.
Damian’s confident smile widened.
’I’ve got him.’
Then—
Arthur calmly raised his right hand.
Snap!
His index finger and thumb closed together.
The spear stopped.
Completely.
Its tip rested less than an inch from Arthur’s forehead.
Caught...
Between two fingers.
The entire arena froze.
Absolute silence engulfed the training grounds.
Damian’s smile vanished.
Victor’s pupils shrank.
Crack.
A tiny fracture appeared across the spear.
Then another.
And another.
Arthur slowly tightened his fingers.
CRACK!!
The entire spear shattered into hundreds of fragments that scattered through the air like broken glass.
Gasps echoed throughout the arena.
Arthur casually shook the dust from his fingers before looking at the two rankers.
"Alright... let’s go, weaklings."
His crimson eyes glowed faintly.
"Blood Spear."
A single crimson spear materialized behind him.
Then—
Ten.
Twenty.
Fifty.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
Hundreds of blood-red spears appeared one after another until the sky behind Arthur resembled a scarlet sea of weapons.
Each spear radiated dense blood aura.
The pressure alone caused cracks to spread across the arena floor beneath Arthur’s feet.
Students instinctively stepped backward.
Some unconsciously held their breath.
Others simply stared in disbelief.
Arthur slowly raised one finger.
Then pointed forward.
Whoosh!
Every blood spear shot forward simultaneously.
The sky turned crimson.
Hundreds of spears rained toward Victor and Damian like divine punishment.
The air trembled beneath their overwhelming speed.
Victor reacted instantly.
"Eclipse Maker!"
Dark blue mana erupted from his body.
The molten battlefield trembled violently.
Crack!
Crack!
The flowing lava froze almost instantly.
An endless sheet of ice spread across the battlefield.
Gigantic ice walls erupted one after another, layering themselves into an enormous defensive fortress around Victor.
Boom!
Boom!!
BOOM!!
The first wave of blood spears slammed into the ice walls.
Violent explosions echoed across the arena.
Massive chunks of ice were blasted into the sky.
Cracks spread rapidly through every layer.
The second wave arrived almost immediately.
BOOM!!
Another wall shattered.
Then another.
Then another.
Within moments—
Crash!!
Victor’s entire fortress exploded into countless icy fragments.
But—
Victor had already moved.
His body became a blur.
His sword flashed repeatedly.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Each precise swing deflected another incoming spear.
His movements were smooth.
Efficient.
Every strike perfectly timed.
He advanced through the relentless barrage one step at a time, his blade leaving streaks of blue light through the air.
On the opposite side—
Damian reached into his storage ring.
Another spear appeared in his hand.
Unlike the previous one—
This spear burned with blazing flames.
Fire wrapped around its shaft like a living dragon.
He spun it once before charging straight into the storm.
Boom!
His flaming spear swept sideways.
Several blood spears exploded instantly.
He thrust forward.
Another dozen shattered into crimson mist.
Every collision unleashed violent explosions of fire and blood energy.
The battlefield was consumed by shockwaves.
Dust.
Steam.
Shattered ice.
Crimson energy.
For several seconds—
The entire arena disappeared beneath the chaos.
The spectators erupted into cheers.
"They’re actually pushing Arthur back!"
"Victor is incredible!"
"Damian destroyed so many of those spears!"
"This fight is insane!"
Arthur watched everything calmly.
Then—
A faint smile appeared on his face.
’Alright... these two really will become my trump cards during the Inter-Academy Competition.’
At that exact moment—
Victor vanished.
Again.
This time—
Even faster.
Even quieter.
His presence disappeared completely.
Not a single sound.
Not even the slightest ripple of mana.
Then—
He appeared directly behind Arthur.
His sword was already moving.
A flawless strike.
Fast.
Precise.
Lethal.
The blade descended toward Arthur’s neck with enough force to sever it cleanly.
Many students didn’t even realize Victor had moved until his sword was only inches away.
But—
Arthur’s left hand suddenly became covered by a strange black liquid.
The mysterious substance flowed across his arm before instantly solidifying into a pitch-black gauntlet.
Clang!!
Arthur caught the sword with his bare hand.
The blade stopped completely.
Victor’s eyes widened.
"W-What...?"
He tried to pull the sword back.
It wouldn’t move.
He poured more mana into the weapon.
The blade trembled violently.
Still—
Arthur’s hand didn’t budge.
It was as though Victor were trying to pull a mountain.
Arthur slowly turned his head.
Their eyes met.
A calm smile rested on Arthur’s face.
"Too slow."
Victor’s heart skipped a beat.
Before he could react—
Blood gathered within Arthur’s right hand.
It condensed.
Compressed.
A crimson spear formed instantly.
Without even giving Victor a chance to retreat—
Thrust!
The blood spear pierced straight through his chest.
It tore through his heart before emerging from his back in a spray of crimson blood.
Victor’s body froze.
His sword slipped from his fingers.
Arthur stepped closer until they were only inches apart.
"What did I tell you before?"
His voice remained calm.
"I don’t remember weaklings like you."
For several seconds—
Victor simply stared at him.
Then—
A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
"...You monstrous bastard."
"You really are... the real deal."
Tiny cracks of white light spread across his body.
One after another.
His entire figure began glowing.
The cracks widened.
Then—
Shatter.
Victor’s body broke apart into countless motes of light.
The glowing fragments floated into the sky before disappearing completely.
Victor Blackthorn had been eliminated from the subspace.
Silence.
For a single heartbeat—
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Then—
The entire arena erupted.
"ARTHUR!!"
"HE DEFEATED VICTOR TOO AINT HE TRIED FROM THE FIGHT WITH MISS LAYLA!"
"UNBELIEVABLE!"
"WHAT KIND OF MONSTER IS HE?!"
The deafening cheers shook the entire academy.
But amidst the thunderous applause—
Arthur’s gaze slowly shifted.
Toward Damian.
The smile on his face remained.
The fight...Was far from over.