Chapter 74: End of Finals (1)

Wendy took a step back to catch her breath. The match had been going on for two grueling minutes, and she hadn't managed to land a single hit on Nox, her agile and elusive opponent.

"Argh!" The white-haired girl groaned, looking at her arm that bore a relatively deep cut mark--a result of their previous clash just moments ago.

"I have to take him more seriously than his sister."

Despite her depleting HP, Wendy staggered to her feet and gripped the sword tighter.

"She's still up! I know this fight won't end like this," a spectator shouted. seaʀᴄh thё NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The crowd watched in stunned silence. They had heard rumors about Nox being a dark horse in the competition, but his current performance exceeded all expectations. Wendy's attacks had been effortlessly parried or dodged, leaving her struggling to keep up with Nox's barrage of attacks.

Now that she was on her feet, the spectators thought she was about to take the fight seriously. They sat on the edge of their seats, watching intently.

In the arena, Wendy sprang into action, charging towards Nox with her gleaming blade held low. Nox hurled his dagger at her, but this time she was prepared. With a swift motion, she raised her sword, and a sharp metallic clang echoed as she deflected the incoming dagger.

With renewed determination, Wendy sprinted forward, her eyes locked on Nox. In one fluid motion, she leaped into the air, her body twisting gracefully. As she descended, she activated her skill and brought her sword crashing down into the ground.

[Earth Ripple!]

The platform's surface began to ripple like waves in the ocean. Nox was confused at this phenomenon; he tried to jump, his face turning grim as he realized he was stuck to the ground.

Against his will, Nox felt himself being dragged towards Wendy. The skill she had activated manipulated the ground beneath him, creating ripples that locked his feet in place. As long as his legs touched the ground, he was helplessly pulled towards her, like a puppet on strings.

It was an intermediate-ranked skill that didn't require much experience and could only imprison Nox for a limited period of time, but it was all she needed to finish this fight.

"With his legs stuck, he won't be able to dodge any of my attacks... This is my chance!" Wendy declared, pulling the sword out from the ground. She felt slightly embarrassed for fighting so seriously against a child, but it couldn't be helped.

Nox was unpredictable, like a fish in water. It was very difficult to catch him. Because of this, she decided to make the best use of this opportunity to finish him.

Wendy lifted her sword, her breath steadying as she prepared to deliver the final blow. But just as she was about to strike, she activated [Warrior's Focus!]

Her eyes glowed with a fierce blue light, and she felt a surge of energy coursing through her veins. This skill was her ace in the hole; it allowed her to enter a state of heightened awareness, increasing her accuracy and speed. Her sword began to glow with a faint blue aura of mana, and her movements became even more swift and deadly.

'Warrior's Focus consumes a lot of mana for each second it's activated,' Wendy thought. She liked using it at the end of a fight to suddenly gain the upper hand. With this skill activated, she could see everything in slow motion.

However, she soon noticed Nox was smiling.

"Why is he smiling?" she thought, feeling shivers down her spine.

"Something is wrong," she thought, looking around, expecting a sneak attack at any moment, but there was nothing.

Yet... she still felt uneasy.

"I might just be overthinking--huh, what's this cold sensation?" Wendy snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the tip of a blade pressed against the back of her neck. But how was that possible? She had only one enemy; he should be...

"Where is he?" Wendy's eyes widened in horror as she realized Nox was standing behind her, his dagger at her neck.

"Earth Ripple should still be active, so how did he get out? How?!"

Wendy's thoughts raced as she tried to comprehend the impossible situation. She had Nox right where she wanted him, stuck to the ground with Earth Ripple, and yet... he was behind her, his blade against her neck.

She tried to move, but her body felt heavy, as if rooted to the spot. Warrior's Focus was still active, but her heightened senses couldn't explain how Nox had escaped her trap.

The crowd was on its feet, shocked. They had just witnessed the most unbelievable turn of events in this tournament!

"What just happened?!" a seasoned Awakened shouted. "How did he get out of the Earth Ripple?!"

Earth Ripple was a popular skill, and many had seen it in battle. They knew how difficult it was to escape from.

Nathan, seated in the officiating seat, leaned forward, his eyes widening. "Did he just teleport?!" he asked, his voice trembling with a mix of confusion and awe.

As a high Awakened, Nathan could tell Nox had simply used camouflage in the fight against Rab. That was why it took longer for him to go around the bald boy, but this time, he had appeared instantly behind Wendy.

"How is he even getting all these skills?" Nathan wondered, at a loss for words. Skills were very expensive and hard to come by; most Awakened only had a few because of their cost.

A teleportation skill is even more expensive; it's a game-changer in any battle. How did his grandson get his hands on one?

"Eve must have given it to him." It was the only conclusion Nathan could come to.

***

On the wall...

"The mission is about--"

"That can wait."

"Huh?" The mysterious woman was surprised when she saw Eve's attention focused on the live feed floating just above the crystal in her hand.

It was an ongoing fight between two youngsters. But what shocked her was not the fight itself--it was common knowledge that Eve was a very boring person, and nothing seemed to excite her. But to think she would suspend an order from the queen just to watch two youngsters fight... Who were these kids?

She decided to take a closer look, her eyes settling on a boy with eyes as dark as night itself.

"It's him!" she suddenly exclaimed in surprise as her eyes landed on Nox.