MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1354: Nine Prodigies of Astella (11)

”…Hoh?”

Hearing that heʼd been chosen as Valyrʼs first opponent, the assassin looked at the young man with a raised eyebrow, recalling that the former was the first obstacle he faced in obtaining his current position.

Though he was able to achieve victory against him with a few perfectly timed slashes, the man was still surprised that someone like Valyr was able to stand his ground against him.

After all, the gap in strength between them was almost two entire class ranks.

ʼSurely heʼs just doing this to get revenge,ʼ thought the assassin to himself, with the murmurs and conversations spreading throughout the crowd agreeing with the thought he had.

Then again, from his perspective, such a thought made a lot of sense. After all, who in their right mind would choose him, someone whose strength was solidly at Rank 4, as their first opponent for the ranking?

However, just as he continued to think that the young man beside the announcer was just acting out of anger, the assassin was forced to pause his thoughts as he noticed the way Valyr was looking at him.

ʼHmm…ʼ Feeling both conviction and determination behind his gaze, the man began to slightly frown in response as he wondered where the young man got his confidence from.

Curious as to what gave his first opponent such confidence to take him on a second time, the man eventually agreed to the request, causing the crowd to erupt in a mix of cheers and gasps as the two made their way to the stage.

…

”Do you think heʼll beat him?”

”Of course not. Donʼt you remember how he got his ass easily beat the first time he fought against him?”

”But thatʼs because he was caught off guard. Now that he know fully understands who heʼs up against, do you think heʼll lose again?”

”Honestly speaking… yeah. A gap of two class ranks in strength isnʼt something you can easily make up for.”

”…Yeah. Unless he has some new trick up his sleeve or something, we might just see a repeat of what happened at the start of the first round.”

Listening to the conversations that were ongoing as he made his way to the stage, Valyr briefly had a wry smile on his face as he noticed that most of them felt like he had chosen to fight the assassin again just to deliver a message.

ʼThen again, itʼs just like what they said,ʼ thought the young man to himself, his thoughts agreeing with one of the conversations they had. ʼThe only reason why I would fight him again is because I have another trick up my sleeve.ʼ

ʼA trick I honestly shouldʼve used ever since the ninth round began.ʼ

Whoosh!

Taking out the spare spear he had from his spatial bracelet, a mix of groans and sighs soon echoed throughout the crowd, with almost all of them now thinking that the young man was indeed fighting the assassin again just to deliver a message.

Deciding to ignore what the others were thinking for the meantime, Valyr tightly gripped his spear as he shifted his gaze towards the man before him.

”…Do you really want to experience being defeated by me a second time?” Readying up all his buffing skills in preparation for the battle, the assassin brandished his scimitars as he looked at Valyr with a serious gaze.

”I wouldnʼt be so sure of that if I were you,” answered the young man back, slightly grinning as he got into a battle stance.

”Who knows? I might just turn the tides on you this time around.”

”…” Taking that as a sign to be a bit more cautious of his opponentʼs moves in the upcoming battle, the assassin gripped his scimitars a bit more tightly as Valyr began to activate most of the buffing skills in his arsenal.

”Ready?” With both Valyr and his opponent having made their preparations for the battle, the arbiter went ahead and took a few steps forward before asking them the question heʼd already asked dozens of times throughout the tournament.

Obtaining a pair of nods from the two in response, the arbiter nodded back before giving the two full reign over the stage.

”Fight!”

Whoosh!

Not wanting to give Valyr the opportunity to make use of his new trick, the assassin hastily charged at him and swung down with full force.

”Hup!” Responding to his opponent taking initiative, the young man swiftly cast a few layers of shields in front of him before using the spear he held as his final defense.

Bang!

Unsurprisingly, the might behind the manʼs scimitars caused most of the shields to shatter, with only the shield closest to Valyr being the only one that withstood the remaining force.

Swoosh!

Knowing that heʼd only decrease his chances of turning the tables around if he continued to stay where he stood, Valyr went ahead and deployed his movement skill before sending out a couple of blazing orbs towards the man.

”[Orb of Apyrhan]!”

Bang! Bang!

Though each blazing orb contained a great level of might that could threaten him if hit directly, the assassin deftly struck both orbs at their weak points, causing the orbs to burst before it could even transfer their destructive energy someplace else.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

However, just as the man was planning to close the gap between the two one more time, a barrage of mana bolts began to head his way, forcing the man to move his body here and there as he used his scimitars to block the bolts that got past him.

Seeing that Valyr stopped sending more spells at him to waste his time, the assassin used it as an opportunity to close the gap between them once more, imbuing both his scimitars with energy before slashing in a cross pattern.

”Quite the commendable effort.”

”But this is where it ends for you.”

Briefly gazing at the glowing scimitars aiming for his body, Valyr gave the assassin a faint smile before thrusting out his spear.

”I wouldnʼt be so sure about that if I were you.”

Swoosh!

With his gaze partly focused on where the spear tip would hit him, the man swiftly swerved around the spear before continuing to land his attack on his opponent.

Yet, just as he thought that the strike was another diversion by the young man to buy himself some more time…

It was at that very moment the man began to feel danger behind his back.

”…[Soul Fusion].”

”[Four Paths Azure War Arts].”

”[Descent of the Azure Phoenix].”