Gacha Harem System

The moment Rollo’s arm came down, Belle moved.

She crossed the distance between them at a dead sprint.

Unlike other competitors, she didn’t bother with any feints or misdirections, opting for a straight dash at Liam that told everyone she was there for a good ol’ brawl.

Liam immediately recognized her intentions and raised both arms, palms forward.

There was no way he was letting her get close. Everybody knows what happened to her opponents when she did.

He activated [Divine Wrath], sending golden energy in a wide arc through the air.

The attack covered any space she might try to maneuver through, leaving her with only one choice, which was to face the attack head on.

Everybody expected her to be sent flying, which was why jaws dropped all over the stadium as Belle simply dashed through the attack.

She activated her first class skill, [Unstoppable Force], and just as the energy hit her, the skill did exactly what its name described.

The golden wave that would have sent any other competitor in this tournament off their feet simply parted around her body, unable to interrupt the charge.

The force simply dispersed in all directions, and she emerged from the other side of the attack with her fist already drawn back.

This was the power of her [Juggernaut] class.

In an instant, she was already in front of Liam, who was having a hard time believing his attack had failed. After all, no one had ever broken through it before.

As Belle punched, she activated her second skill, [Pulverize].

This was a skill designed to deliver a single blow that bypassed armor, ignored damage reduction, and broke through any defensive [Item] an opponent was carrying.

A skill built specifically to end the question of whether defense could stop offense.

Liam’s eyes went wide, but his body was already responding. He activated [Unbreakable], the skill coming up around his body in the fraction of a second available to him.

Crack!

The punch slammed into him.

In that moment, an unstoppable force met an immovable object, and the impact resulted in something that had not yet been seen throughout the tournament.

Liam Walker staggering backward, the impact pushing him across the arena floor as [Unbreakable] shattered under the pressure of a skill specifically designed to break through it.

He dug his toes into the floor, stopping himself, then his eyes widened.

Maybe he should have allowed himself to be sent flying, because Belle was already in front of him, and her arm was pulled back for another punch.

She activated [Pulverize] again, ready to finish what the first punch had started.

The air around her fists distorted, and in that moment, Liam knew.

If he allowed the second blow to land against a defense that was already cracked, the fight was over.

So he activated his second [Hero] skill.

In that instant, a powerful aura detonated from his body like an explosion.

Belle’s punch was a few inches from his face when the burst of energy expanded in all directions, slamming into her.

She was sent flying before her attack could hit, twisting in the air to land on her feet, and sliding across the arena before digging her boots in and stopping herself.

She looked up to see that Liam had changed.

His eyes now glowed a bright gold, the irises replaced entirely by a white light.

The aura around him was so thick, everyone could see it in the form of wind that blew around him, fluttering his clothes.

His posture and expression was the same, but everything else about him had changed.

This was [Avatar of Valor], a skill that allowed him to enter a temporary peak state where all his skills were empowered, and his stats elevated.

This was the [Hero] class operating at the ceiling of what it could produce, and one of the reasons why it was one of the most dangerous classes to ever exist.

This was also because it had lots of skills that made the [Hero] almost impossible to kill the stronger he got.

And now, Belle had to face an empowered [Hero].

"You forced me to use this skill," Liam chuckled, his voice rumbling in his chest. "Impressive."

He took one step forward.

Then he blurred.

Belle crossed her arms in front of her face in that same instant, and it was just in time, as a punch slammed into her arms.

She was sent flying, breeze blowing past her as she hit the floor and skidded, leaving a long scrape across the floor.

She rose to her feet immediately, activating [Pulverize] on instinct as she punched the space in front of her with all her strength.

Her instincts had been right as Liam blurred back in front of her.

Unfortunately, his hand came up and caught the punch.

This time, [Unbreakable] absorbed the full impact of the punch, the empowered state making the difference that it hadn’t made the first time.

Her fist stopped against his palm like it had hit a wall.

Belle stared at her own arm, wide-eyed.

Then Liam clenched his grip.

Crack!

Belle screamed in pain as her hand was crushed in his palm, bones sticking out from flesh.

Ignoring it all, Liam placed his other hand on her shoulder, then released [Divine Wrath] at point blank range, directly into her body.

The golden energy sank into her body, the force detonating against her bones and muscles.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she dropped to the floor, her scream abruptly cut off.

Her body hit the arena floor and stayed there, blood seeping out from no single visible wound but from everywhere at once.

Her chest barely rose as she struggled to breathe, every part of her body shredded except her heart.

Liam gazed down at her for a moment before turning away, walking towards his seat without looking back.

The [Avatar of Valor] aura faded as he moved, the gold leaving his eyes and the wind dying.

Rollo’s voice filled the silence. "Winner, Liam Walker."

The stadium didn’t respond the way it normally responded.

There was applause, but it was scattered and uncertain.

The dominant sound was silence as thousands of people processed what they’d just seen.

The fight had ended in a way so brutal, the mood hovered somewhere between awe and unease.

The healers were already on the arena floor, surrounding Belle, working fast and without stopping.

Nobody was certain that she would make it.