Chapter 63
Elijah's blood was pooling on the concrete floor beneath him. His vision was blurring at the edges, and the fifth fighter was already walking toward him, fists raised, ready to finish what the fourth had started.
He breathed.
In, Hold, Out.
He used the roots of the Eternal Grounded Tree called
The Control breathing.
He had read about it in the system's description, had felt it once or twice during training, but he had never used it in a fight. The Control breathing did not enhance his strength or speed.
It controlled his body from the inside.
He felt the blood vessels around his wounds tighten, constricting, slowing the flow. The bleeding did not stop completely, but it slowed, reduced from a stream to a trickle. His heart rate steadied. His breathing deepened. The pain did not disappear, but it became distant, manageable, something he could push to the back of his mind and ignore.
At the same time, the Healing and Adaptation breathing moved through him, knitting flesh, sealing cuts, pulling together what the Control breathing had stabilized. The two techniques worked in tandem, one slowing the damage, the other repairing it.
The fifth fighter stopped a few feet away, watching him. His mask was black leather, covering the upper half of his face, and his eyes were dark brown, almost black. His hair was long, tied back in a loose ponytail, and his clothes were simple—dark pants, a dark shirt, no armor, no visible weapons.
His aura was a deep orange, the color of fire at twilight, and it pulsed around him in steady waves. Beginner Knight Stage Mid. His Ki sense was sharp, reaching out, reading Elijah's condition. He knew Elijah was injured. He knew Elijah was bleeding. He knew Elijah was running out of time.
He raised his fists.
Elijah raised his own.
The fifth fighter attacked.
He was fast, faster than the woman with the blades, faster than the man with the gun. His fists came in combinations—left, right, left, hook—each punch aimed at Elijah's head, his throat, his chest. Elijah blocked what he could, dodged what he couldn't, and took a hit to the shoulder that made his arm go numb.
He did not try to knock the man out. He did not try to disarm him. He did not try to find a non-lethal solution.
He looked for the kill.
The man threw a punch at Elijah's face. Elijah ducked, stepped inside the strike, and drove his elbow into the man's ribs. The man grunted but did not stop. He brought his knee up, aiming for Elijah's stomach, and Elijah twisted, the knee grazing his hip instead of landing clean.
Elijah's hand shot out, fingers reaching for the man's throat. The man's Ki sense read the attack, and he leaned back, the fingers brushing his chin instead of closing around his neck. He answered with a punch to Elijah's side, right where the bullet wound was, and Elijah gasped as pain exploded through him.
He stepped forward again.
His right hand formed a fist, and he drove it into the man's jaw. The man's head snapped to the side, and Elijah followed with a knee to the stomach, then an elbow to the chest, then a punch to the same spot on the jaw.
The man stumbled back, his orange aura flickering. His guard dropped for a fraction of a second.
Elijah's hand found the black blade.
He had picked it up from the floor when the fourth fighter's body was dragged away. The woman's blade, the one with the dark steel and the perfect balance. It was in his left hand now, held low against his leg, hidden from the man's view.
The man's Ki sense was sharp, but Elijah's movements were fast, and the blade was small. The man did not see it until it was too late.
Elijah stepped forward and swung.
The blade cut through the air, silent and clean, and the man's eyes went wide as it reached his throat. He tried to dodge, tried to lean back, tried to bring his hands up to block. But he was too slow.
The blade did not cut his throat. Elijah had aimed higher.
It cut off his head.
The man's body stood for a moment, swaying, blood spraying from the severed neck in a dark fountain that caught the lights and turned them red. Then the knees buckled, and the body fell. The head hit the concrete a second later, rolling once, twice, coming to rest against the chain-link fence.
The crowd was silent.
Elijah stood over the body, the black blade in his hand dripping blood onto the concrete. His chest was heaving, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The wound in his side was bleeding again, the Control breathing faltering as his focus wavered.
He looked at the cage door.
Men were already coming in to remove the bodies. Two of them grabbed the headless corpse and dragged it toward the door. Another picked up the head by its hair, carrying it like a bag of groceries. They moved quickly, efficiently, without looking at Elijah.
The fifth fighter's body left a trail of blood across the concrete. The fourth fighter's body was already gone, but his blood was still there, dark and drying, mixed with the blood of the woman and the second man and the first.
Five down. Five to go.
A screen flashed in the corner of Elijah's vision.
[Quest Complete: The Path of Ten - First Five]
You have survived the first five matches. The remaining five await.
Reward: 1,000 System Points | 1,000 EXP
[System Points: 70 → 1,070]
[Experience: Level 4 (43%) → Level 4 (68%)]
Elijah read the screen, then closed it. He looked at his remaining system points. 1,070. Enough to buy something that might help him survive the next five fights.
"System," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Create normal techniques. Skills that will help me in battle."
The screen flickered.
[Searching for compatible normal techniques...]
[Two techniques available within current system point range:]
[Technique Skill (Tier 2): Flash Step]
*A low-level movement technique that enhances leg strength, increasing movement speed by 20%. Passive. Can be taught to others.*
Cost: 500 System Points
[Technique Skill (Tier 2): Iron Body]
*A low-level defensive technique that increases body durability by 20%. Passive. Can be taught to others.*
Cost: 500 System Points
[Total Cost for Both: 1,000 System Points]
[Remaining System Points after purchase: 70]
[Purchase both? Yes / No]
Elijah did not hesitate. "Yes."
The warmth spread through his legs first, then through his skin, his muscles, his bones.
[Flash Step (Tier 2) acquired. Passive. Movement speed increased by 20%.]
[Iron Body (Tier 2) acquired. Passive. Body durability increased by 20%.]
[These techniques can be taught to others. The system can create instructional materials for 100 System Points per technique.]
Elijah closed the screen. He did not have time to think about teaching anyone else. He had five more fights.
Another screen flashed.
[Quest: The Path of Ten - Final Five]
You have proven your restraint. Now show them the might of the King. Use Zenith at full power. Do not hold back. Finish the remaining fighters.
Reward: 2,000 System Points | 2,000 EXP
Punishment: Death is its own punishment.
Elijah read the screen. Then he closed it and looked at the cage door.
The sixth fighter was already stepping through.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, with a shaved head and a mask that covered his entire face. His eyes were pale blue, almost white, and they looked at Elijah with no emotion at all. In his hands was a heavy axe, its blade stained dark with old blood.
His aura was a deep green, the color of forest shadow, and it pulsed around him in slow, heavy waves. Beginner Knight Stage Mid. His Ki sense was strong, controlled.
Elijah breathed.
In. Hold. Out.
He reached for Zenith. Not thirty percent. Not fifty. One hundred percent.
The red aura exploded around him, brighter than it had ever been, brighter than the lights above the cage. His muscles screamed, his bones creaked, his blood burned in his veins.
His stats shifted behind his eyes.
Strength: 29 → 58
Endurance: 27 → 54
Defense: 28 → 56
The man with the axe took a step forward.
Elijah moved.
The Flash Step technique activated, pushing his speed higher, and he crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. The man's Ki sense screamed, and he raised the axe to block, but Elijah was already inside his guard.
The black blade came up, and the man's pale blue eyes went wide.
Elijah swung.
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