After Kenji was out, a new student from Lincoln College came onto the stage.
System Window:
Name: Sofia Reyes
Class: Ranger
Weapon: Bow
Adrian and Alas were already growing restless. Aster was fighting the third opponent in a row, and neither of them had even gotten the chance to step into the arena.
"These Lincoln students are so weak. I’m getting bored just watching," Adrian complained with a sigh. "I know! I want to fight too!" Alas added impatiently. Yor shook her head. "I don’t think they’re weak. It’s just that Aster is ridiculously strong. He’s defeating them without even lifting a finger."
Adrian snorted and folded his arms. A jealous frown appeared on his face. "There’s nothing impressive about that. I could beat them just as easily."
As usual, Aster remained perfectly still, making full use of Sloth’s Authority. Unlike the previous two opponents, Sofia had at least paid close attention to his earlier matches. Although they had ended too quickly for her to gather much information, she reached the same conclusion as everyone else. "He’s incredibly fast!"
She clenched her bow tighter. "The moment the match starts, I’ll immobilize him with Shadow Trap. Then I’ll stay in the air and bombard him with arrows. If he can’t move, he won’t be able to dodge." A smug smile spread across her face. "If strength isn’t enough, then brains will do the job. Hah... as expected of me. I’m a genius." She proudly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
The referee raised his hand.
"Begin!"
The instant the match started, Sofia activated "Eagle’s Blessing." Wind gathered around her feet as her body shot high into the air with astonishing speed. At the same time "Shadow Trap!" Dozens of shadowy hands burst out from Aster’s own shadow and tightly wrapped around his ankles, pinning him to the ground. Aster was startled for a brief moment "What...?" But after realizing the hands weren’t draining his mana or weakening him, he quickly calmed down. "So it’s just a movement restraining skill."
Hovering high above the arena, Sofia immediately formed a glowing mana arrow using her skill "Piercing Arrow!" She drew her bow to its limit and released the arrow.
Whoosh!
The mana arrow tore through the air toward Aster’s head. Aster instinctively activated Grapple, but the shadowy hands held him firmly in place. No matter how hard the Grappling Gun pulled, his feet refused to budge. Seeing the arrow closing in, the Principal of Lincoln Martial Art College couldn’t hide his excitement. "Finally! One of my students is going to injure that monster!"
General Cassius and Captain Lyra unconsciously leaned forward with worried expressions, while the Principal of Saint Helena silently observed every movement, trying to uncover Aster’s secret. Just before the arrow reached his face, Aster thought of his Undead Greatsword.
In the next instant, the greatsword materialized out of thin air directly between his face and the incoming arrow.
Clang!
The mana arrow shattered upon impact. The greatsword lost its momentum and dropped heavily onto the arena floor. Sofia’s confident smile froze.
"What...?"
She had been certain the attack would land. That brief moment of shock was all Aster needed.
"Strike."
"Strike."
"Strike."
Fifteen invisible staff strikes erupted around Sofia almost simultaneously.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The barrage sent her crashing out of the sky before she could even react. The smile on Lincoln’s principal instantly disappeared. He stared blankly for a second before shouting,
"Who threw that sword?! That’s cheating! Someone clearly threw it to block the arrow!" General Cassius immediately stepped forward with a perfectly serious face. "Cheating? What are you talking about? It obviously came out of the storage ring I gave him." "You think I’m blind?!"
The two principals leaned forward until their foreheads collided, glaring at each other while grinding their teeth. Meanwhile, Saint Helena’s principal narrowed his eyes. "No... no one threw that sword."
"Judging by its trajectory, it wasn’t summoned from a storage ring either. Items from storage rings always appear in front of the ring itself. That sword materialized in midair, directly in the arrow’s path." His eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Another skill... or perhaps his class talent?"
Sofia hit the ground with a painful thud, causing Shadow Trap to disappear instantly. The moment the restraints vanished, Aster used Grapple.
Whoosh!
He appeared directly in front of her in the blink of an eye. Sofia slowly looked up. Aster stood over her calmly, his expression as lazy as ever. She let out a long sigh. With a helpless smile, she raised her hand. "...I surrender."
The referee immediately declared Aster the winner and called for the final representative of Lincoln Martial Art College to enter the arena.
The General was really happy with Aster’s performance. Adrian and Alas were really bored. They wanted to fight too. But everyone’s expression changed when the last student from Lincoln College came onto the stage. It was a really beautiful female student with glasses. She was shaking with nervousness.
System Window:
Name: Aisha Patel
Class: Healer
Weapon: Fist
"What? A healer? And she is already so scared." Aster looked at her. She was nervously looking to her right and left. "How can they qualify someone like her? I don’t want to fight her." Aster raised his hand and said, "I surrender." The General was a little confused why he surrendered.
Aster thought, "I fought three opponents back to back. They sure would understand if I take a rest now. I have already done so much hard work." Thinking this, Aster was going back to his teammates, and the audience suddenly started to celebrate with joy. "Finally he’s leaving. I was so bored, I almost fell asleep." "I would never forgive him if he hurt that innocent girl." the audience commented. "Yeah, no one likes me in this life too," Aster thought with an anime crying face.
After going back, "Who’s going next?" Aster asked, but this time Adrian and Alas both didn’t want to go. "I don’t want to fight a girl!" Alas said. Adrian added, "Yeah! I’m here to fight strong opponents, not a silly girl." Both of them said while crossing their arms. "Fine, if you two don’t want to go, I’ll go," Yor said and left for the arena.
Yor walked towards the arena. Both Yor and Aisha stood face to face. The audience finally started to cheer after being quiet the entire time Aster fought. This made Aster very furious. Aster looked at the audience sitting right above him. They said, "Yeahhh! Mommy Aisha! Mommy Yor! Fight! Fight!" "I love you, Aisha! Please marry meee!" "Yor, add me to your social media!" Aster manifested Strike right into them, making them unconscious.
Back on the stage, Yor stared at Aisha.
System Window:
Name: Yor Sess
Class: Druid
Weapon: Wand
"The match starts now." The referee started the match.