Battle after battle was fought, more brutal than ever before as the best 66 survivors weeded out of 10,000 fought in a primal showdown.
Batch 1, batch 2, batch 3, and then…
[Batch 4: Kairo Vale vs Roland Veiss]
The crowd stirred.
"Lord Roland!" "Lord Roland!" They cheered.
This time, Kairo's luck finally ran out. Ronald was among the few applicants who already won the audience's heart so thoroughly that he got a nickname.
He was known as a prodigy among the applicants, not for his raw muscle but for his versatility. Ronald awakened four special abilities; Illusion Weaving, Iron Grip, Flame Breath, and Skin Reinforcement.
The combination made him a nightmare for anyone without refined battle instincts. In short words… he was a monster.
"His luck finally ran out!" A few nobles sneered.
"Let him teach the musclehead a lesson in elegance and technique".
Kairo exhaled, rolling his shoulders. His knuckles still bore faint bruises from earlier bouts, but his eyes gleamed sharp, unblinking.
DONG!
The bell rang but this time, no one rushed.
Roland smiled thinly as his eyes glinted with arrogance. "You're strong, Vale, I have to give you that. But strength means nothing when you can't trust your own senses".
He snapped his fingers, then…
BZZZ!
The coliseum bent. Stone walls melted into endless trees, shadows elongated, and phantom screams filled the air.
Kairo knew about his opponent's dreaded special ability. He was prepared for it, he tried to fight it, and yet it didn't even matter once he was assaulted.
He blinked, and suddenly there were five Rolands in front of him, circling him, each of them hefting a weapon, each of them real enough to fool even touch and sound. Kairo gritted his teeth.
His heart thundered.
Illusions weren't like raw force. They preyed on doubt, they ate away at reason, and now he was the victim.
The five Rolands attacked simultaneously. One spat fire, another swung a hammer, while two lunged barehanded, and the last one hurled phantom spears.
[Muscle Lock Activated!]
Kairo felt his body shrivel up slightly as he used the ability again, even as his stomach felt it was on the verge of tearing open due to his hunger.
BAM!
He blocked, but his ribs jolted as if real steel crushed them.
Pain flooded him. Real or not, his brain believed, and his body responded.
He staggered, teeth clenched. "Tch…!"
Roland's laughter echoed from everywhere at once. "See? Even your muscles can't protect you from your mind".
Blood dripped from Kairo's lips.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and then, his memories surged… starving in the slums, fighting for scraps, nights where the only sound was his stomach eating itself. The humiliation of laughter when his ability was revealed.
At this moment, Kairo saw it all again like a movie.
He whispered, almost to himself. "Pain? Illusion? They mean nothing, I've lived worse," his voice soon turned into a growl. "Show me something real!"
At that moment, the system flickered.
DING!
~----~
[Predatory Instinct Active!]
>Combat reflexes heightened under duress.
~----~
Kairo thought this passive ability only activated when he fought for resources. But at this moment, he didn't mind at all.
His eyes snapped open, not to sight, but to instinct as his muscles coiled, listening to the rhythm of the ground, the faintest shift in the air, even the true weight of an enemy's steps.
The illusions lunged again. This time, Kairo didn't swung wildly.
Finally, he saw through the pattern.
He ducked beneath a phantom flame, ignored the hammer that would have crushed his skill and instead pivoted, punching straight into empty air.
BAM!
The crowd gasped.
One Roland crumpled, his Skin Reinforcement shattering under Kairo's blow. Just like every other applicant, with his mana capacity tethering on nothing, he couldn't use his special abilities at their full power.
The illusion haze flickered violently after that punch.
Roland stumbled backward, clutching his jaw. "I-impossible…!"
"Nothing is impossible b*tch!" Kairo snarled.
The arena still warped, more phantoms swirling in to overwhelm him. Roland bared his teeth, layering illusions tighter, faster, and more savagely.
Kairo spat blood as he crouched low, fists trembling with coiled power. His eyes gleamed like a predator's.
"Doesn't matter how many shadows you throw at me," he muttered. "I only need one punch to end this".
He lunged forward again, straight into the storm of illusions.
But Roland was not done. His illusion ability was Epic grade afterall. His eyes turned even colder all of a sudden and then he bit his hand, inflicting self-injury on himself, leaving Kairo briefly confused.
By inflicting self-injury on himself, Ronald activated a skill.
[Overdrive Activated!]
The efficacy of his illusions doubled.
BZZZ!
The arena warped.
The coliseum vanished and Kairo saw himself back in the slums. He saw familiar rusted tin walls, and the smell of rotting garbage assaulted his nose, making him grimace.
All these didn't impact him much though, what truly hit him was the laughter of bullies who once cornered him.
"You're trash, Vale".
"You'll never awaken".
"You think you're special? You'll die here like the rat you are".
Their faces sneered at him from every angle. Dagger flashed and boots slammed into his ribs. Every stab and every kick felt real as Kairo felt his body scream in pain.
Then, another face appeared.
Leora… his sister. Her hand reached out through the smoke, her voice weak.
"Kairo… you promised…"
Kairo froze for a heartbeat, and that was when something snapped.
Roland's laughter echoed everywhere. "Break, Vale. Break like you always should have". But Kairo no longer heard anything.
Heck, he didn't even see anything. All he saw was red.
Kairo clenched his teeth so hard blood filled his mouth. He lowered his stance as his muscles flexed, his skin hardening with Muscle Lock.
Then, he swung his fists.
BAM!
He didn't punch at the phantoms, neither at the bullies, not even at the image of Leora. He punched into the emptiness where his instincts screamed something real was standing.
Roland flew back again, blood spraying from his jaw like rain. And once again, the illusions shattered like glass, the slum vanishing in an instant. Roland didn't stay down though, but before he could move…
Kairo became unhinged. He charged, catching Roland and then he vent all his anger as he unleashed a barrage of blows.
Roland coughed blood, but the duel didn't end yet. Gritting his teeth through the pain and the fatigue, Roland slipped away from Kairo.
Then the illusions swarmed again, but Kairo didn't flinch this time, even with Leora's face flickering through the haze.
He closed his eyes.
BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP!
One breath, one heartbeat, and as his muscles coiled like steel cables, his instincts screaming louder than Roland's tricks for a moment, he moved…
He took a step, then he felt a weight shift to his left.
'There!'
Kairo snapped forward.
[Hypermuscle Creation Activated!]
He coughed blood due to the strain but he didn't stop as his first tore through the illusions, smashing straight into Roland's ribs.
Crack!
Bones cracked as Ronald coughed blood, his illusions faltering as he wheezed and groaned in pain.
He staggered back, shrieking as he threw everything into one desperate gambit. Fire burst from his mouth as his skin hardened like iron, while the phantom doubles flickered around him in chaos.
Kairo roared, every single vein in his body bulging even as his skin hardened under Muscle Lock again.
"ENOUGH!" His voice rumbled like thunder.
He lunged, weaving through the false images, and then he hammered Roland square in the face with all the weight of his body.
CRACK!
Roland hit the ground, going limp. In response, the arena shimmered as all the illusions finally evaporated into nothingness.
The referee hastily stepped forward. "Winner, Kairo Vale".
For a heartbeat, there was only silence, then…
BOOM!
The crowd erupted, half in disbelief and half in awe.
Kairo stood tall, his chest heaving as blood continued dripping from his lips, but his eyes never wavered. His body screamed, but his will didn't bend.
He muttered under his breath, almost like a vow. "Shadows can't stop me. Not now, not ever".
"One more…" he growled.
And with that, he turned his back on Roland's broken body, walking off the arena as the stands shook with murmors.
"That slumrat… he's unstoppable!"