Chapter 133: Vlad vs Marcus
"Welcome everyone to the second day of the tournament," Sophia’s energetic tone echoed through the colossal arena, the spectators exclaiming in response. "For those who were not present yesterday, the major matches that occurred were Lady Seraphina against Felix and Raphael against Hugo D’Souza. Lady Seraphina remained undisputed and undefeated, still sitting at the top, while Raphael has climbed all the way to the fourth position."
"All hail Goddess Cendral!"
"All hail Goddess Cendral!"
"All hail Goddess Cendral!"
The arena rumbled with the loud cheers of the students, Seraphina’s name fixed on every tongue in awe of her unmatched power and beauty.
---
"I won’t be surprised if they built a cult for Seraphina," Vlad sighed, sitting on a bench in the waiting room, wearing a skin-tight black shirt and trousers. He decided to ignore the commotion outside and focused on the status screen before his eyes.
---
Status Screen
• Host Name: Vlad
• Rank: D
• Attributes:
– Umbra (Res: Mortal)
– Electro (Res: Mortal)
• Core: Primordial
• Stats:
– Strength: 38 Speed: 35
– Defense: 36 Agility: 37
– Endurance: 50 Vitality: 63
• Skills:
– Foresight Eye
– Lightning Step
– Mana Blade
---
"My stats have increased, specifically endurance and vitality," Vlad murmured, reading the screen. "It must be because of the Dragon Heart. I have also learned a new skill, Lightning Step, after enlightenment."
[Lightning Step]
[Description: Enables the Host to perform a short-range burst of movement at incredible speed.
Consumes Electro Mana]
"This is incredible speed. I can instantly close in on a mage before they can cast any spell."
While he was analyzing his stats, Sophia’s voice continued from outside through a speaker,
"There is also one competitor worth mentioning. He is a junior who is participating in the competition for the first time and is already giving the seniors a run for their money. He finished the preliminaries yesterday and will be fighting the opening match today to enter the top fifty."
"She didn’t have to say so much," Vlad sighed, facepalming. "It’s kind of embarrassing."
"With a huge round of applause, everyone welcome the first challenger of today, The Crownbearer, Vlad Lumberjack!"
A mixed reaction came from the students; some booed in disdain, some were silent in shock, while quite a few were cheering for him, naturally that group also included Max and Chloe.
From the tunnel entrance at the bottom of the arena, Vlad emerged, his black hair swaying in the wind, covering his face up to his nose. At his back, two swords rested, one with a black leather hilt while the other had a crimson gem embedded in it.
He ran a hand through his hair, revealing his bloody crimson eyes and sharp features hidden beneath.
"Kyaaa!!!! He is so handsome!" a girl shouted from the spectators.
"All the best, handsome junior!" another shouted.
"We are rooting for you, Junior."
By the time Vlad reached the centre of the massive ground, the stadium was filled with the loud cheers of girls.
"Showing off again, playboy Vlad," Chloe muttered, annoyance clear in her lavender eyes as she sat beside Max on the stadium bench.
Meanwhile, Vlad had a completely different reason for running his hand through his hair that had unknowingly caused such a ruckus.
"My hair has grown too long," he murmured. "A haircut sounds nice."
"Hehe~ our junior is certainly stealing the hearts of many young girls," Sophia chuckled, sitting in the commentator room. "Well then, without wasting any more time, with a round of applause, welcome The Squire Grade, fiftieth-rank holder, Marcus Tropicana!"
Vlad’s gaze shifted to the tunnel, cloaked in shadow, from which a figure emerged.
"Didn’t Senior Sophia call for Marcus?" Vlad mumbled, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "Why is a girl coming out?"
Although every muscle and body part of Vlad had been refined by breaking and rebuilding again and again over the years, he still appeared lean in his clothes. He made sure not to bulk up to the point that it would reduce his agility.
Yet the figure that reached the battleground before him barely seemed half his size. A slim waist, thin limbs, and a face too pretty to belong to a man. Short blue hair styled in a bob cut, with large blue eyes and fair skin.
"Umm... are you Marcus?" Vlad asked, confused.
"Yes, I am," Marcus’s deep, masculine voice echoed, freezing Vlad in place for a moment.
He tilted his head to look behind Marcus, making sure that threatening voice had really come from this... this kid who barely seemed twelve.
"What are you looking at?" Marcus asked, his voice sounding even deeper now.
"N-nothing..." Vlad mumbled, not even knowing how to respond to that. "There truly are all kinds of creatures in this world." Obviously, he muttered that to himself.
"I look forward to the match, junior," Marcus said, pulling him out of his thoughts as he unsheathed his weapon. It was a thin katana, barely the width of two fingers. "Go easy on me, or it will be very embarrassing."
’Unlike his threatening voice, he seems like a good guy,’ Vlad thought inwardly with a faint smile, before replying, "You surely jest, Senior Marcus. I will be the one learning from this match." He unsheathed The Éclair from his back.
Once both of them took their positions, Sophia announced, "The match will continue until one side surrenders or can no longer continue. Naturally, killing is strictly prohibited. Begin the duel!"
The arena fell silent in anticipation as both fighters sized up the opening in each other, standing still at their positions.
’With his build and the type of weapon he’s holding, he must specialize in speed and precision,’ Vlad thought inwardly, scanning his posture and muscles. ’In that case...’
Vlad bolted forward, swinging his sword in a wide horizontal arc.
As the blade drew closer, a veil of colourless liquid mana materialized on Marcus’s sword.
He moved his sword with elegant precision, guiding the incoming blade toward the earth beneath.
Vlad did not even feel his sword clash against Marcus’s. It was as if all of his force had been redirected.
As soon as Vlad’s blade struck the ground, splitting it open, Marcus’s sword had already reached his shoulder in a stabbing motion.
Vlad instantly took a few steps back to create distance between them.
"Water Blade!"
Two sharp arcs, formed of compressed water, followed Vlad, covering the distance between them in an instant.
Vlad ducked low, dodging the water blades, but two more had already been shot at him.
Before they could strike him, several small bolts of crimson lightning covered Vlad’s silhouette. In an instant, he vanished from his place, the blades striking empty air.
A trail of lightning followed along the ground as Vlad swung his blade down at Marcus.
Marcus had already anticipated that much. He had heard about Vlad’s match against Emily and was already aware of his blinding movement speed, untrackable by the naked eye. As soon as Vlad vanished from his place, Marcus was already swinging his sword for the next move.
A bubble of water materialized around his body. Vlad’s blade struck the watery surface and slid down, hitting the ground.
"You are faster than I anticipated, junior," Marcus said, his face carrying a smile of excitement as he shot his free hand forward, covered in a faint blue mana.
With a flick of his hand, several sharp needles of water, barely visible to the naked eye, shot at Vlad.
Vlad’s blade, covered in crimson energy, activated Mana Blade and quickly blocked the incoming needles. He stopped them all without much struggle, leaving even himself in shock.
’Whoa! My movement has increased greatly since yesterday,’ he gasped inwardly.
Still, he did not let the moment of surprise distract him from the actual fight.
"Nice block, junior," Marcus exclaimed as the spherical bubble around him compressed, covering his silhouette like armour. "Try blocking this as well!"
He bolted at Vlad, his blade swinging with relentless precision.
Tang!
Tang!
Tang!
The sound of their swords clashing echoed as Marcus began dominating the battlefield. Although Vlad was dodging most of his strikes, each of his counterattacks was rendered completely useless. The moment they touched his slippery skin, or more accurately the mana covering his body, the blade slid off instead of landing a proper hit.
It was not only the katana coming at Vlad. One moment it was his blade, the next his foot or fist coming for him.
’His movements are incredible. Just from his moves, I can tell he has put real effort into his training,’ Vlad murmured, his crimson eyes flickering with lightning as he activated Foresight Eye. ’However... he isn’t even close to Chloe in terms of lethality and speed. The only challenging part is his mana manipulation of hydro. Wait a minute... why didn’t I think of that?’
Marcus’s sword was coming for his stomach in a thrust when suddenly Vlad dropped his sword.
He grabbed the incoming blade with his bare hand. Naturally, the blade slid through easily, leaving a deep cut in his hand. Just as it reached a few inches from his stomach, a bright crimson glow illuminated Vlad’s hand.
Bolts of crimson lightning traveled through the watery silhouette covering the blade, reaching Marcus. A thunderous sound echoed as the lightning struck every part of Marcus’s body.
"I-I told y-you to g-go easy...." Marcus fell onto his back, water splashing onto the ground as his body emerged beneath it, black smoke rising from him.