Chapter 166: 166. The Beserker
Owen sat cross-legged in the ship’s cargo bay with his eyes closed and his Breathing slow. His CE core pulsed at 312, his ambient absorbtion of energy at the Veridian Crossing had now hit a Plateau.
He replayed the Korr fight in his mind. The feint that made Korr flinch, the 30 CE punch to the thigh and the 60 CE finisher which was efficient but not perfect. He counted the wasted CE; a few points on feints that didn’t land, a few points on dodges that could have been tighter.
Every point matters now from on, he couldn’t just be wasteful as he was with mana. The scope of his fights had increased now and his choices were limited by his tier.
As his mind reeled, the cargo bay door hissed open. Gorvax entered without knocking, His robed form cast a long shadow across the deck.
"Your next opponent is different from korr" His voice was flat. "Not a patient counter-fighter, this is a berserker."
Owen opened his eyes. "I’m gonna need more detail than that, sensei"
"His na is Vrex. Tier 5, three-star. He has no technique. Only raw power and endurance. He will try to crush you in the first minute."
"Great! My kind of guy" Owen grinned.
Gorvax’s featureless face tilted. "Just try to make him exhaust himself. Then you strike."
---
They passed through the teleportation gate and the Crucible’s stone corridors welcod them with the sll of sweat and blood, which was stronger today. The crowd’s roar echoed through the walls, vibrating in Owen’s chest.
Gorvax pulled up a holographic replay of Vrex’s last match.
The berserker was massive. Nine feet tall. Thick grey hide stretched over slabs of muscle. Small beady eyes buried beneath a heavy brow. His arms were as large as tree trunks. His movents weren’t graceful but they were an inevitable force, A wrecking machine given form.
The replay showed him walking through a defensive fighter’s strikes. The smaller opponent landed punch after punch to Vrex’s torso, each hit absorbed. Vrex didn’t flinch. Didn’t block. He just kept advancing.
Then he grabbed the fighter by the throat and slamd him into the ground.
BOOM!
The match ended as the fighter didn’t get up.
Owen’s Dragon’s Eye analyzed the footage. Vrex’s CE reserves were approximately 1500, the baseline for a Tier 5, three-star. But he spent lavishly. Each wild swing cost 60-80 CE. His knees were unguarded. His stance was wide, leaving his center exposed after a missed swing.
"His weakness seen to b his knees..." Owen said.
Gorvax nodded once. "Disrupt his base, and he becos a falling mountain."
---
Owen stood in the pre-fight chamber. Rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers. The gauntlets humd against his skin; faint, expectant and Ready.
He calculated his CE budget. 312 base. He couldn’t afford to trade blows. He would rely on Each solid burst of evasion using Montum Shift, then He needed at least six to eight solid strikes of 30-40 CE each to bring Vrex down.
No conversion unless I’m about to die.
Gorvax’s final advice echoed in his skull. "Do not let him corner you. The energy barriers are your enemy. Keep to the center of the pit."
Then Owen stepped through the entrance.
---
The pit was hotter than before. The energy barriers shimred along its edge, casting the stone floor in a sickly blue glow. The crowd was louder as they rembered his last win. Betting Cores exchanged hands in the floating platforms above. Voices overlapped. So cheered for False Fist. Others had already bet against him.
Then vrex entered.
His footsteps shook the stone floor. The grey hide of his arms was scarred, crosshatched with old wounds from previous fights. His small eyes scanned the pit, found Owen, and locked on. No acknowledgnt. No respect. Just target acquisition.
The referee’s voice bood through the arena. "False Fist versus Vrex; Tier 5, two-star versus three-star. Fight!"
DING.
Vrex charged. No circling. No feints. Just a straight line of an unstoppable destruction.
Owen used Montum Shift to slide left. CE cost: 5.
He had now learned to channel CE into his basic draconic skills, the results were more spectacular than their normal usage with mana.
Vrex’s fist passed inches from his face, the wind pressure alone stung, whipping Owen’s hair back and leaving a raw line across his cheek.
Vrex recovered fast then He swung again, a wide arc ant to catch Owen’s body. Owen ducked under it, rolled, then ca up behind Vrex.
He threw a low-CE jab of 15 CE to Vrex’s kidney.
POW!
The impact barely registered, vrex’s hide was thick; his CE only dropped by 5 from reinforcing. The berserker didn’t even grunt.
He spun, swinging His backhand to catch Owen’s shoulder.
CRACK!
Pain flared through Owen’s arm. His CE dropped to 289. Ultra-Regeneration kicked in, costing another 10 CE to heal the damage. Owen rolled away, gasping.
"Shit, I really can’t trade blows with this juggernaut"
Owen changed tactics. He stopped dodging linearly and started pushing off the pit walls; changing direction mid-air, using Montum Shift to stay ahead of Vrex’s swings. Each redirection cost CE, but Vrex’s wild swings cost 7 CE each, missing every ti.
The crowd roared. The floating platforms shook with stomping feet.
Vrex’s breathing grew heavier. His CE dropped: 1430, 1360, 1290.
Owen landed a 20 CE punch to Vrex’s left knee.
CRACK!
The berserker stumbled. His leg buckled for a split second. His CE: 1240. Owen’s CE: 280.
Owen followed with another 25 CE punch to the sa spot. Vrex’s leg buckled again. His CE: 1170.
Vrex roared in frustration. He swung both arms in a double hamr fist; a desperate, wide arc ant to crush Owen where he stood. But Owen dropped and slid between Vrex’s legs, kicking up into his groin. Not a clean hit. But enough to stagger the juggernaut.
"Argh!"
Vrex’s eyes went red. He stopped swinging and proceeded to charge a full-body tackle.
But Owen jumped, and Vrex crashed into the energy barrier.
BOOM!
The barrier shimred and held, while Vrex rebounded, dazed.
Then Owen transford into his half-dragon form, wings tearing through his shirt, scales rippling across his forearms, tail extending. The crowd erupted. He’d never shown this form in the pit. Bettors scread. So cursed. So cheered louder.
He caught the air with his wings, angled his tail for balance, and landed on Vrex’s back.
POW! POW!! POW!!!
Three rapid 35 CE punches to the base of Vrex’s skull. The berserker’s CE dropped to 1050, He reached back, grabbed Owen’s arm, and squeezed.
CRACK!
Owen’s arm cracked, His CE dropped to 190. He couldn’t break the grip.
"Ti for so Conversion, Now"
He activated Dragon’s Tongue. One word, channeled through his remaining CE.
"[Release]"
Vrex’s grip loosened, just a fraction, just a heartbeat.
Then Owen converted mana to CE. 200,000 mana for 200 CE.
Then He channeled 180 CE into his free fist, Cosmic Impact Fist.
He punched Vrex’s jaw.
CRACK!
The berserker’s head snapped back, His eyes rolled and his grip went weak as He collapsed.
The referee’s voice cut through the silence. "Winner: False Fist. Knooooockooooout."
Then fight ended.
---
Vrex, helped up by attendants, nodded at Owen. His small eyes held no malice. "You’re slippery, False Fist. I couldn’t catch you completely"
Owen’s half-dragon form faded. "You almost did, big guy."
Gorvax t him outside the pit. His posture was neutral, but his voice carried approval.
"You used conversion, Wisely. Good." A pause. "The Enforcer is still hunting."
Owen flexed his aching arm. His CE had risen to 460 from the stress and ambient absorption. Small. But aningful. Almost breaking through to two stars now.
"When do we leave?"
"Now."
---
They walked through the teleportation gate. Back into Veridian Crossing’s sterile corridors.
Gorvax’s comm buzzed. He read the ssage. His posture stiffened.
"The Enforcer has triangulated our general location. We have to leave within the hour."
Owen’s jaw tightened. "Where are we going?"
"A basic world called Kaelos. I have... soone there to et."
They reached the ship.
---
The engines humd to life. Veridian Crossing shrank to a point of light behind them.
Owen sat in the co-pilot’s seat, watching stars stretch into lines as they entered the cosmic highway. His CE core pulsed at 460. Tier 5, one star—still at the bottom, but rising.
Gorvax set a course. "Kaelos is three days from here at warp speed."
"And the Enforcers?"
Gorvax’s voice was cold. "They might follow. But not yet."
The ship accelerated. The void swallowed them.
---
A blip appeared on the radar.
Not the size of Tribunal ship. This was smaller, Faster.
Gorvax’s hand moved toward the scythe. "Pirates. It seems out bounty from the Desolate beast and arena has been noticed. They want the Cores."
Owen clenched his fist. "So, do we outrun them...or ?"
"Or...."
Gorvax stood. The scythe materialized in his grip, its blade gleaming with light that wasn’t light.
"Perfect, I’m still itching for action"
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