The spectators had their mouths agape. Edniot was injured. Willa Martinez looked at Edniot and clicked his tongue.
He wanted to pierce his skull, but the ground around Edniot was already icy. Willa's foot slipped.
Silence befell the arena as they witnessed what had happened.
The famous, the favorite, had come dangerously close to being dispatched pitifully by a black horse.
Cheers erupted at the sudden twist, the unpredictable turn of events.
""WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!""
If not for the ice covering Willa's footsteps, they would have witnessed a noble's corpse in the ring for the first time.
Edniot fell to his knees. "Arrghh," he cried in pain as he covered his left eye.
Everyone witnessed as a noble had been brought to his knees.
Willa Martinez would never let this chance go. He moved as fast as a released arrow. With daggers in his hands, he dived toward Edniot's left.
The swing was not wide or meaningless. It was short and precise. Edniot, still in pain, guessed the next attack.
A shield of ice appeared at his waist, protecting him from the approaching enemy.
But to his misfortune, the target was not his waist. It was his thigh.
Swing.
Another gash appeared as the dagger expertly sliced through his left thigh.
Edniot groaned in agony, the wrath inside him reaching new heights. The pain turned into anger, and anger into power. He hollered, and a wave of icy gale blew.
Within the blink of an eye, the floor began to freeze at a steady pace.
Willa jumped back, trying to grasp the situation. But an abnormality occured.
Willa also fell to his knees, and in the very same manner, he covered his eye. People could see from the big screen a trace of blood leaking through his fingers.
"Oh, a skill with recoil. It must be a very unique one!" remarked the old man in the blue robe.
"Yeah, well… I think I should inform you now. Willa Martinez received a Champion's Blessing," said the man in white.
"Oh, I presumed as much. Tell me about the blessing and the first gift." The blue-robed man was not a patient one.
"His blessing is called 'Bewildering Body,' an illusion-based blessing."
The old man in blue raised his eyebrows. "Surprising! Very surprising! Who would have thought that the Martinez clan would birth a man capable enough to evolve their lineage?"
"What about the gift? I know it causes some confusion, but what is its name? How does it work?"
The white-robed man glared at him. "You thick-skinned golem, share something about your aspirant before prying further into mine."
"Well… Edniot's blessing is called 'Kaiser of Ice,' and it is very powerful."
The white-robed man sighed, seemingly unhappy. "What can we say? Great power is bound to have drawbacks."
The blue-robed man chuckled. "Not all great powers. Some… are just endless disasters."
"Yeah, there are… but we both know how rare they are," the white-robed man replied lackadaisically.
"Well, my dear friend, you are about to witness one." The words of the man in blue carried a subtle yet deep sense of pride.
The man in white smiled behind his veil as he muttered to himself, "Let's see," before shifting his gaze back at the arena.
The arena, once solid royal rock, had become a bluish, icy terra firma.
Willa Martinez retreated as the ice spread across the floor until he reached the very end of the arena.
He took a deep breath. The chill was about to hit his bones. One eye was closed and bleeding, yet he kept Edniot in check with the other.
'One more minute, and I'll be able to use my gift again. I have to impede his big attack,' he thought to himself, consoling and guiding his inner fear.
At that moment, the fallen noble rose again. The left side of his face was frozen, covered in ice.
Crimson red spots could be seen on it. "You…" He glared at Willa Martinez and raised his hand.
Small shards formed from the icy ground, and with slight hand gestures, they moved like deadly arrows, aiming for Willa Martinez.
Willa exhaled sharply. He wiped the blood off his hand by rubbing it against his trousers and grabbed his dagger again.
One after another, he masterfully destroyed the shards, not letting a single one touch him.
His breathing grew heavier, exhaustion creeping in. The shards were fast and carried force. Each collision between icy shards and dagger took a toll on his arms.
"You caught me off guard… That was your only chance," said Edniot, his face akin to that of the dead.
His skin had turned so pale that it even unsettled Willa Martinez. But before he could think of anything, frost crept all the way to the ground beneath his feet.
Willa flinched. The ring had a diameter of fifty meters, and now, all of it was covered in ice.
The walls had turned into small glaciers.
Willa Martinez looked at Edniot in utter disbelief. "You are on your last legs, yet you still have this much power? You have earned my respect."
Edniot was not pleased by these words. After a moment of silence, he replied in a low voice,
"You taught me a valuable lesson. Not all lowborn are trash.
For that reason, I will not underestimate you anymore. Do you know what that means?"
"What?" Willa asked quickly, hoping to hear something satisfying.
"It means you will die!" Edniot declared, his face painted with confidence, as indifferent as ice.
Seeing his grave expression, Willa Martinez began to worry. The vast reach and power were beyond his calculations. An Ascender indeed.
At that moment, Willa realized something. He could use his eye again. The pain and the gift's recoil had disappeared. He was ready to use it once more.
Willa tried to move, but his legs would not respond. Fear and cold had locked them in place. This was something he could not accept. Now was his only chance.
He knew Edniot was planning something. He had to surprise him, just as he had before, if he wanted to win.
However, his instinct told him exactly what to do. He stabbed one of his legs and struck the other.
The pain and the sudden rush of heat from his blood jolted his body back into action. Willa was ready to run wild now.
But it was meaningless..
Too late..
A sudden uneasiness crept over him, and in the next moment, a lightning-fast, one-meter spike emerged from the ground. Sharp as a spear, its target was Willa's liver.