Chapter 231 - 230 : Extraction target is dead
[ Blessing of the Goddess of Life and Light Activated. ]
[ All Attributes have been doubled for the next 2 minutes. ]
[ For the next 2 minutes, the user’s body will become invincible and will not receive any damage. ]
Golden radiance instantly burst from Damian’s body.
Arthur simply looked at Damian in amusement.
"...Wow... Have you become a human tube light now?"
The golden light gradually faded.
Damian remained standing exactly where he was.
He hadn’t disappeared.
Instead...
A faint golden aura flowed across his entire body like liquid sunlight.
Every muscle overflowed with explosive strength.
The frozen ground beneath his feet fractured as waves of pressure spread outward.
Damian slowly opened his eyes.
Golden light flashed within his pupils.
He clenched his fist.
Boom!
The surrounding air exploded with a deafening shockwave.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Wow... No matter how many times I look at it, it’s truly astonishing."
Without wasting another second...
He kicked off the ground.
Boom!
The frozen battlefield exploded beneath his feet.
His speed increased so dramatically that dozens of afterimages followed behind him.
Even many professors struggled to follow his movements.
"So fast!"
"His speed doubled!"
"He’s even faster than before!"
Arthur’s eyes followed Damian’s movements with interest.
"Oh..."
"So that’s the effect."
The next instant...
Damian appeared directly before Arthur.
His spear shot forward with terrifying force.
Whoosh!
Arthur calmly tilted his head.
The spear missed him by less than an inch.
Damian didn’t stop.
His body twisted smoothly as another thrust shot toward Arthur’s chest.
Arthur stepped sideways.
The spear grazed his uniform.
Damian immediately followed with a sweeping strike powerful enough to split the frozen ground.
Boom!
Arthur lightly pushed off with one foot and drifted backward.
The sweeping spear narrowly missed him.
’He’s almost matching my current speed...’
Arthur’s eyes gleamed.
’Interesting.’
Damian accelerated once more.
His spear transformed into countless golden streaks.
Every thrust carried enough force to fracture the frozen battlefield.
"Radiant Spear Art..."
"Sixth Form..."
"Heaven-Piercing Dragon!"
Dozens of spear thrusts erupted simultaneously.
Arthur calmly shifted his stance.
"Celestial Dragon Flow..."
"Second Form..."
"Flow Reversal."
Instead of resisting the incoming force...
Arthur guided it.
Every ounce of impact flowed through his body before being redirected.
Boom!
Arthur’s fist drove into Damian’s abdomen.
Damian skidded nearly twenty meters across the battlefield before stopping himself.
Yet...
There wasn’t the slightest injury.
The golden aura around him shimmered once before stabilizing again.
Arthur smiled.
’Would you look at that... He’s almost matching me. And just as I thought... while that blessing is active, he isn’t taking any damage.’
A familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
[ Host... you also have plenty of skills. You could’ve ended this fight already if you wanted, so why are you dragging it out? ]
Arthur smiled inwardly.
’Maybe.’
’But I’m simply testing my current limits.’
’I want to know how far I can go relying only on my body and martial arts.’
’If one day I can’t use my skills... I won’t be helpless.’
The System fell silent.
Damian charged once again.
Empowered by his doubled attributes, every movement became sharper.
His spear techniques flowed endlessly into one another.
Each strike was faster.
Each thrust was heavier.
Each sweep carved deep trenches through the frozen battlefield.
Arthur answered with nothing but martial arts.
"First Form... One Point Collapse."
A perfectly timed strike disrupted Damian’s momentum before his next technique could fully develop.
Damian instantly changed his rhythm.
Arthur smoothly followed.
"Second Form... Flow Reversal."
The force of Damian’s own attack was redirected, throwing his stance off balance once again.
Still...
The blessing prevented any damage.
Damian laughed.
"Hahaha! It’s useless! For the next two minutes, I won’t take any damage!"
Arthur merely smiled.
"I know."
"So let’s find out exactly where the limit of your blessing lies."
The battle intensified.
Damian attacked relentlessly.
Arthur met every assault head-on.
Although none of Arthur’s strikes injured Damian, each precise counter disrupted his footing, broke his rhythm, and forced him to expend more and more energy.
The frozen battlefield echoed with continuous explosions as both fighters exchanged techniques at breathtaking speed.
Minutes seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.
The spectators could no longer distinguish individual movements.
They only saw flashes crossing the battlefield.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Each collision sent shockwaves racing across the arena.
Arthur calmly exhaled.
"Third Form... Heaven’s Spiral."
Qi began flowing through every pathway in his body.
Each movement naturally strengthened the next.
Every punch carried the momentum of the previous one.
Every step became smoother.
Every counter became heavier.
The longer the exchange continued...
The greater Arthur’s advantage became.
Damian’s breathing gradually grew heavier.
"How... Why won’t this wall break, no matter how hard I hit it?"
"Just... why?"
He immediately unleashed another spear art.
"Radiant Spear Art!"
"Eighth Form... Falling Star!"
His spear descended with overwhelming force.
Arthur stepped forward instead of retreating.
His fist met the spear shaft at precisely the right angle.
Crack!
The attack veered harmlessly away.
Arthur’s shoulder struck Damian’s guard, forcing him backward.
Then came a palm strike.
A knee.
An elbow.
Every movement flowed together without interruption.
Although Damian remained unharmed...
He found himself constantly being pushed back.
His footing became unstable.
His breathing became rougher.
His stamina continued to drain.
Arthur calmly observed him.
’The blessing prevents damage...’
’But it doesn’t remove fatigue.’
’It doesn’t restore stamina... but it does boost his stats.’
A notification suddenly appeared before Damian.
[ Blessing of the Goddess of Life and Light ]
[ Remaining Duration: 30 Seconds. ]
Damian’s pupils contracted.
"...Already?"
He clenched his jaw.
"No."
"I’ll finish this before it ends!"
With a roar, he poured every remaining ounce of strength into one final offensive.
His spear became a golden tempest.
Countless thrusts converged toward Arthur from every direction.
The frozen battlefield shook violently beneath the barrage.
Arthur remained completely composed.
His breathing never changed.
His gaze remained steady.
Every strike was answered with the smallest possible movement.
Every opening was exploited.
Every mistake Damian made was immediately punished with another perfectly placed counter.
The countdown continued.
Twenty seconds...
Fifteen...
Ten...
Five...
Damian desperately launched one final thrust.
Arthur calmly sidestepped.
Three...
Two...
One...
Ding!
[ Blessing of the Goddess of Life and Light has ended. ]
The golden aura surrounding Damian faded.
Arthur smiled.
"...Looks like that’s your limit."
Damian’s eyes widened.
Arthur stepped forward.
The entire battlefield seemed to fall silent.
He slowly drew back his fist.
Every ounce of strength.
Every trace of Qi.
Every bit of momentum accumulated throughout the battle...
Compressed into a single point.
"Celestial Dragon Flow..."
"First Form..."
"One Point Collapse."
Boom!
A single precise strike broke through Damian’s guard and launched him backward across the frozen battlefield.
The academy’s protective subspace reacted instantly.
Golden motes of light surrounded Damian before his figure gradually dissolved, safely transporting him outside the arena.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Then...
A clear announcement echoed throughout the training grounds.
{ Damian Stormborn has been eliminated. }
{ Winner: Arthur. }
For a heartbeat...
The arena remained completely still.
Then thunderous applause erupted from every direction.
Aaron shot to his feet, cheering louder than anyone else.
Evangeline and Isabella exchanged smiles before joining him.
Even many of the students who had doubted Arthur moments earlier found themselves applauding.
Standing alone at the center of the frozen battlefield...
Arthur simply closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of victory.
The deafening cheers of thousands of students echoed throughout the training grounds.
Suddenly, a notification appeared before his eyes.
[ DING! ]
The smile on Arthur’s face instantly froze.
[ Extraction Target: Lalatina Rion Armsberg has died. ]
Time seemed to stop.
Arthur stared blankly at the message.
"...What?"
His pupils contracted violently.
A cold chill ran down his spine.
For the first time in a long while...
His expression completely changed.
"...No."
Without thinking...
Arthur shot forward.
Boom!
The frozen ground shattered beneath his feet as he vanished from the battlefield like a blur.
The sudden movement startled everyone watching.
"Huh?"
"Where’s he going?"
"What just happened?"
"Did something happen?"
Even Athena Emberfall frowned slightly as she watched Arthur disappear from the arena without saying a single word.
Meanwhile...
Arthur sprinted through the academy corridors at full speed.
His heart pounded violently against his chest.
’System!’
’What the hell was that notification?!’
’Tell me what happened!’
A moment later...
The System responded.
[ Exactly as you read, Host. I don’t know what happened either. The target’s life signature disappeared suddenly. ]
Arthur’s expression darkened.
"...What?"
"How is that even possible?!"
"She was completely fine a moment ago!"
He accelerated even further.
The walls on either side became nothing more than blurs.
Students walking through the hallways barely had time to react before a powerful gust of wind swept past them.
"What was that?!"
"Was someone just running?"
Arthur ignored everything.
His mind raced endlessly.
’No...’
’Something’s wrong.’
’She shouldn’t have died out of nowhere.’
’There has to be a reason.’
[ Take a right from here. ]
He rounded another corner at incredible speed.
Then...
He suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened.
A young woman lay motionless on the polished stone floor.
Lalatina.
One of her hands still loosely held a water bottle that had slipped from her weakening grip.
Water slowly spread across the floor.
White foam stained the corners of her mouth.
Her skin had taken on a disturbing purplish hue.
Her eyes remained half-open...
Completely lifeless.
The hallway itself had become eerily silent.
Arthur slowly approached her.
He crouched beside her before quickly checking for a pulse.
Nothing.
He checked again.
Still nothing.
His jaw tightened.
"...Damn it."
He looked at her motionless body with a grim expression.
"Oh, shit... She’s definitely dead."
Then another notification quietly appeared before Arthur.
’System... Someone did this, didn’t they?’