"It seems Kane has an unyielding fighting spirit," Ethan said in an admiring tone, never pausing the Heals flowing from his staff.
"Even in such a predicament, he refuses to give up."
Kane felt like he was on the verge of madness.
He had never endured such a long, agonizing torture in his entire life.
Seconds ticked by like hours.
Finally—
as if the gods had taken pity on him—
after tormenting Kane for about three minutes, Ethan heard the sweet sound he'd been waiting for.
Trait 2 effect activated successfully.
You have acquired the talent: Conceptual Armament (S-rank)!
Successfully copied!
A cool, revitalizing energy coursed through his body, forming a delicate balance with the blazing fury of Blazing Hellfire Rage.
He focused his mind, and could faintly sense the subtle flow of energy within the boundaries of the arena floor—a perceptual boost granted by Conceptual Armament.
Now that his goal was achieved, Ethan lost all interest in prolonging the suffering.
"It seems Kane has finally reached his limit," Ethan said calmly, stepping aside to let the referee through.
"You may declare the result now."
The referee shot Ethan a complicated look before raising his voice.
"Winner—Ethan!"
"It's… over? Or wait—did Ethan finally get bored of playing with him?"
"I'll never understand where Kane got the confidence. He was too scared to even fight Vax earlier, but after Ethan beat Vax, he had the nerve to challenge him. What's going on in his head?"
"If you could figure out what goes on in the mind of a god-tier powerhouse like Ethan, you'd be a god-tier powerhouse too!"
"Are there any more challengers?" the referee called out, trying to steer the event back on track.
The audience's eyes darted between the five champions standing on their stages.
Ethan stood there as casually as ever.
Amy exuded an icy elegance, her posture straight and proud, radiating the sharp edge of a master swordsman.
Nero stood with his arms crossed, a faint aura of freezing cold swirling around him, making him look unapproachable.
Bruen's massive, towering frame stood silent like an ironclad fortress, exuding an unshakable sense of pressure.
And the fifth champion had been replaced—Tyr was gone, and Vax now stood in his place.
While Ethan and Kane had been locked in their bizarre battle, the fifth arena had long since concluded its match.
True, Tyr was also an S-rank talent with formidable strength.
But as a rare wood-elemental class—the Forest Warden—
he was completely countered by Vax, the fire-elemental mage.
He couldn't even unleash half his true power.
In less than a minute, he'd been blasted off the arena.
These five champions each radiated an aura of immense power and composure.
For a moment, no one in the stands dared to speak up.
"Are there any more challengers?" the referee pressed again.
After a brief silence, a voice rang out.
"I challenge Bruen!"
Everyone turned to look.
Tyr took a deep breath, shooting a complicated glance at the arena where Vax stood.
In the end, he strode toward the fourth arena—Bruen's stage.
Bruen raised an eyebrow, refusing outright.
"I decline this challenge."
The referee nodded at his words, turning to Tyr.
"The defending champion has already accepted one challenge and is entitled to decline further ones. Please select another champion, or withdraw your challenge."
Tyr's face flushed red, then turned pale.
He had chosen Bruen because, as a melee class, Bruen's Mountain's Bulwark talent was famous for its impenetrable defense and massive HP pool—but his offensive capabilities and destructive power were relatively weaker in comparison.
He'd thought he might stand a chance of outlasting Bruen with a Forest Warden's crowd control and attrition tactics.
He'd never expected Bruen to refuse outright, not even giving him a chance to fight.
The guy was playing it way too safe!
Tyr's eyes swept across the other arenas.
Nero? An ice-elemental mage with terrifying crowd control and burst damage.
While not as outright countered as by fire-elemental magic, it would still be an extremely tough fight.
Amy? A swordsman with sky-high attack and agility, ruthless and decisive in battle.
He doubted he could survive three of her strikes.
In the confined space of an arena, high-agility classes like assassins and swordsmen held a natural advantage.
If Vax had countered him through elemental affinity, Amy countered him through class matchup.
Vax? Forget it. He had no desire to be turned into a charred mess again.
Finally, his gaze landed back on Ethan, who had just finished his match.
This priest… was weird. Extremely weird.
As a healing class, he should theoretically have limited offensive options—making him the easiest target among the five champions.
But he'd toyed with Vax and utterly crushed Kane, winning both fights with the same casual ease as taking a stroll in the park.
Having defeated two S-rank talents in a row, his true strength was completely unfathomable.
And he seemed to be a little… unhinged.
If he lost, there was no telling what kind of torment he'd have to endure.
"I accept his challenge!"
Just as Tyr was hesitating, Ethan's voice suddenly rang out.
"The defending champion accepts the challenge! Both contestants please prep—"
The referee paused, startled, before speaking on instinct.
"I didn't say I wanted to challenge Ethan!"
Tyr cut him off hastily, his face going pale.
Ethan looked genuinely disappointed, letting out a soft sigh.
"Oh, I could have sworn I heard Tyr say he wanted to challenge me. That's such a shame."
"Referee, I heard it too! Tyr said he was challenging Ethan!"
A clear, crisp voice piped up.
Everyone turned to see Amy, the champion of the first arena, speaking up.
Tyr whipped his head around to stare at her, his eyes wide with shock and confusion.
But all he saw was Amy shooting Ethan a playful wink.
It's over!
I've been set up!
The referee was confused, but since the young lady from the Jones family had spoken up, he decided to go along with it.
"Contestant Tyr, each person is allowed only one challenge attempt. Now that the defending champion has accepted, refusing to step onto the arena will result in an automatic loss. Do you wish to forfeit your challenge opportunity?"
Forfeit?
That would mean losing his chance to participate in the Seven Schools Training Camp—and with it, his shot at a share of the provincial resource allocation.
Surrender without even fighting?
Tyr shook his head firmly.
Ethan was just a healing class—there had to be a chance to win.
Besides, Ethan had just fought two intense battles back-to-back.
Even if he'd seemed effortless, there must have been some cost, right?
It's now or never!
I'm betting on it!
Ethan watched Tyr walking toward his arena, a bright smile spreading across his face.
Forest Warden, S-rank talent Myriad Forest Domain.
Myriad Forest Domain (S-rank): Range of control, domain, and healing skills increased by 100%, duration increased by 50%.
Within your domain, mana regeneration speed increased by 100%, healing effect increased by 100%.
Attacks have a 50% chance to apply a Forest Mark (reduces target's movement speed by 15% × number of stacks, lasts 10 seconds). When 5 stacks are accumulated, the marks explode, rooting the target in place for 2 seconds.
A crowd-control focused talent—each had its own strengths and weaknesses compared to Blazing Hellfire Rage.
In an open-field battle, with plenty of room to maneuver, Vax might not have been Tyr's match.
But in the confined space of an arena, Vax's Meteor Shower could cover the entire stage in an instant.
Tyr's talent had no room to shine at all.
"Enlighten me," Tyr said, stepping onto the arena, his expression grave as he bowed respectfully.
Gone was the disheveled, defeated look from his loss to Vax.
He looked deadly serious.
He was determined to go all-out with crowd control from the very start—denying Ethan any chance to close the distance or react.
Ethan nodded slightly, tapping his staff lightly against the ground to signal he was ready.
"Match—start!"
The referee's voice faded, and Tyr immediately swung his emerald-green staff.
"Jungle Prison!"
Rumble!
The arena floor cracked open violently, and countless thick thorns and vines erupted from the ground,
coiling toward Ethan like giant green pythons at blinding speed—ready to swallow him whole and trap him in place.
At the same time, Tyr waved his staff again.
"Poison Vine Entanglement!"
Several dark purple, glowing poison vines mixed in with the normal ones, slithering silently toward Ethan's ankles.
Once they wrapped around him, they would not only restrict his movement but also inject a paralyzing neurotoxin.
A textbook opening combo of crowd control spells.
But to Ethan, it was utterly useless.
Too slow!
He didn't even need to activate Conceptual Armament.
His base stats alone were more than enough to dodge the vines with ease.
This time, Ethan had no intention of feigning weakness to drag out the fight.
After all, Tyr had already been too scared to challenge him initially—even if he put on an act, Tyr would never believe it.
Ethan's figure moved like a ghost amidst the swirling vines, twisting aside at the last second to avoid every single thorn and poison vine by a hair's breadth.
His movements were fluid and effortless, as if he had foreseen the exact path of every vine.
Tyr's pupils shrank, alarm bells ringing in his head.
That speed!
It's impossible for an ordinary priest to have this kind of agility!
He dared not hold back.
Slamming his staff against the ground, he roared, "Myriad Forest Domain—activate!"
A dense green light radiated outward from his body, covering the entire arena in an instant.
Inside the domain, the air shimmered with distortion.
Countless tiny spores and glowing motes drifted through the air, severely impairing visibility and movement.
Tyr could feel his mana regenerating at a rapid pace, his control over the plants within the domain becoming seamless and instinctive.
"I refuse to believe I can't catch you!"
Tyr clenched his hands, and more vines burst forth from the ground and even the air itself, weaving into an impenetrable net that descended toward Ethan.
At the same time, he backed away carefully, maintaining the maximum possible distance from Ethan.
But in the blink of an eye—
Ethan appeared right beside him, slapping five stacks of Blazing Inferno Marks onto his body in quick succession.
Then he began casting Heal on him repeatedly.
Tyr stared in horrified disbelief.
He closed in that fast?
The gap in our strength is too great!
This fight is completely hopeless!
Tyr opened his mouth to surrender immediately—but Ethan's voice cut through his thoughts, soft and menacing.
"Fight this match seriously, or I'll come looking for you later."
The word "surrender" died in Tyr's throat, stuck there like a block of ice.
Ethan's voice was quiet, but it sent a chill down Tyr's spine.
Come looking for me later?
That's a threat!
Tyr had no doubt that Ethan meant every word.
After watching his performance throughout the tournament, it was clear he was a man who did whatever he wanted, with no regard for rules or consequences.
He had no desire to be targeted by this lunatic in dungeons, in the wilderness, or even on the school grounds.
The thought of surrender was crushed completely, replaced by a numb sense of humiliation.
Fine. Fight then. What else can I do?
At the very least, with everyone watching, he can't go too far… right?
Tyr gritted his teeth, abandoning all attempts at evasion and defense—they were pointless anyway.
He focused solely on casting spells, summoning vines and thorns not to trap Ethan, but merely to harass him and buy time.
Green light and crimson flame intertwined on the arena.
Ethan remained calm and composed, tapping his staff to dodge attacks while casting Heal on Tyr again and again.
Minutes ticked by.
Vax watched from the side, grinding his teeth in frustration.
This again!
Ethan clearly had the power to end the fight instantly—but he chose to torment his opponents like this instead!