"You—"
Ezekiel didn’t let the noble finish his sentence this ti. He had already approached him before he could begin speaking, azure light spilling from a thruster compartnt that had opened up at the elbow of his gauntlet as he landed a second punch. "Quiet down for a bit."
Indifferent to the blood that spilled from Edward’s lips, an unbothered grin settled onto his face as he glanced back at the audience, waving his arm around. "You all can see this, right? This is my next humble invention, teor Gauntlet I. As the first of its series, I have to warn you all that the effectiveness of this invention of mine is limited to around the early stage of the D rank.
"My invention has the ability to disperse attacks inflicted upon it, enforcing its durability by a considerable amount. This sa chanism forces attacks inflicted by an opponent to deal limited damage instead of having all that force converge on one spot as they intended.
"The teor Gauntlet, as you have noticed, also has the capability to increase attack speed by at least 20% — and not only that, this feature can be activated and deactivated at will, allowing you to maintain the ability to feint whenever you wish during a battle. And most importantly, it also possesses the ability to store mana!"
Ezekiel’s words further enticed the crowd, particularly the ntion of the attack speed enhancent. The ability to activate and deactivate such a boost at will was quite rare among enchanted equipnt. Such equipnt was highly sought after due to the fact that it could allow for many more variations in a battle — not to ntion that it could also be used to psychologically pressure an enemy.
Regrettably, only C rank or higher Forgers seed to possess the skill to forge equipnt with such features. So the fact that Ezekiel could do it ca as quite a surprise.
Even Edward suddenly stared greedily at the gauntlet cradled in the chanic’s hands, wondering how a black-hearted peasant was able to create such a wonderful piece of equipnt. ’How could Taia’s Will possibly bless such a cruel and hateful teenager with a talent for forging unique items?’
Suddenly, Ezekiel sneezed lightly. He then glanced at Edward before sneering. "Are you cursing at internally? You think I can’t tell?"
The latter’s expression darkened. ’Yes. I’m cursing you. What kind of darned sixth sense does this bastard have, anyway?’
He then frowned, glancing at the multiple pieces of equipnt donned by Ezekiel, his mind churning like a machine as he tried to think of options to at least inflict an injury on him.
As arrogant as he was, even he had to accept the fact that Ezekiel was too unique — it seed as though he had a plethora of equipnt geared toward allowing him to adjust to any and every situation. He couldn’t win, yet he didn’t surrender. His pride wouldn’t allow it.
He wanted to, at least, leave an injury on Ezekiel. To prove that he wasn’t soone who could simply be toyed with.
So he gambled.
All of a sudden, more bone-breaking sounds echoed from his body as his height shot up once more. A layer of extra muscle seed to appear beneath his skin while the fur growing on him extended all the way to his neck, his eyes flashing a bright crimson light.
A growl left Edward’s lips as he dashed forward, uncaring of the consequences. Things like plans or tactics didn’t cross his mind. Those were all burned away by the rage and a craving for blood that filled his mind.
It was a craving so strong that he threw everything else to the wind. He didn’t care about winning against Ezekiel. He didn’t care about his pride. He didn’t care about his family na. All he wanted was to make the person before him bleed.
Yet just as he reached Ezekiel, the latter simply side-stepped once more, aided by the azure light escaping from his soles.
"Are you having an inner monologue right now? You’re really giving main character energy. Is this the scene where your power spike kicks in and you miraculously turn the tide?"
Those words alone almost managed to bring Edward’s sanity back. But if they had, he would probably have stood stunned, a dark expression clouding his face at how cutting his opponent’s words were.
But the deranged werewolf didn’t care about that. He simply twisted his body, pushing himself forward to deliver a bite.
Yet Ezekiel once more weaved around it before lashing out with an uppercut, sending the noble’s chin up into the air. In the sa breath he plunged his hand into his Dinsional Ring, and a sword materialized in his grasp. A flick of the wrist, and the blade was already driving itself toward Edward.
The werewolf had already recovered by then but, once again, didn’t retreat. Instead he clawed forward while raising his elbow to defend against the sword, a disdainful light appearing deep within his bloodlusted eyes — as though the little rationality he possessed looked down on the very weapon that had failed to injure him previously.
A howl of agony split the air.
Edward watched incredulously as his arm was run through by the sword as though it were a hot knife slicing through butter, his sanity dragged back by the incredible amount of pain that shot to his brain.
To so extent, it was warranted. The edges of the blade shone with a dim scarlet glow that emanated a frightening amount of heat. This was the reason the sword had so easily pierced through Edward’s pine-like fur. Not to ntion that the heat enhancing the blade wasn’t ordinary — it was mana-based.
In fact, all the equipnt Ezekiel had been using was mana-based. This was the reason the light and glow of the energy they released were all azure. Had he used his actual Psionic energy, the degree of damage any of his revealed equipnt dished out would have shot up by a considerable level.
The chanic smiled lightly before withdrawing his sword, leaving behind a gash on Edward’s forearm that didn’t bleed due to the cauterized state of his muscles. This was also why he preferred vibration-based swords — they could allow his enemies to bleed more and run out of ti even faster. But this was rely a sparring competition; there was no need to go that far.
That said, his vibration-based swords weren’t exactly equipnt he was willing to sell. "May I introduce you all to the Ignis Blade? Like all the equipnt I’ve made, it also possesses a mana storage capability, while featuring the ability to convert mana infused or stored within it into a fire-based enchantnt that increases the blade’s potency."
The salesman-like expression on his face never left as he showcased his creation to the audience, before he sported his usual smile when facing Edward again. "Now, onto the ne—"
To his faint surprise, the haughty noble had already bolted for the edge of the stage and hurled himself off. His aim was as clear as day. He was surrendering.
Ezekiel’s lips twitched, not expecting to have broken the self-absorbed noble so easily. His eyes couldn’t help but scan the rest of the contestants back at the lobby. ’Now then, who shall be my next test dummy?’
Feeling that heated gaze, the contestants couldn’t help but shiver in unison.
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