Infinite Awakening: 10,000x EXP Converter!

With a loud digital chime, the giant holographic bracket above the arena shifted as the glowing blue names rearranged themselves into the semifinal match-ups. The wild cheers died down instantly, replaced by a tense and nervous murmur from the crowd.

Alvian Vance was set to fight Declan Maddox.

When Declan stepped out of the competitor tunnel, the entire arena fell completely silent out of sheer respect. He was the tournament favorite: tall, calm, and moving with an effortless grace that made everyone else look like amateurs. He wore a sleek black combat suit with no family crests at all, because he did not need a crest to show his power. He possessed the A-Rank Talent [Void Step], sat at Level 22, and held stats that dwarfed nearly everyone in the competition.

Up in the sponsor boxes, wealthy nobles leaned forward while their MAG-tech glasses flashed green with high readings. They fully expected a quick, one-sided slaughter. An E-Rank fighter had made it far with clever acid tricks, but tricks meant nothing against spatial magic.

Alvian walked out onto the stone platform with his steel short sword gripped tightly in hand. His patched jacket was already ruined from previous fights, and his breath was heavy but steady.

Standing at the edge of the platform, Helen Croft raised her hand high into the air. ”Begin!”

Declan vanished.

There was no burst of speed or blur of motion; he simply ceased to exist where he stood as a loud pop of displaced air echoed across the arena floor.

Alvian felt a sudden shift in air pressure behind his neck, and trusting his AGI 25 instincts, he threw himself forward into a desperate dive. A sharp combat knife sliced through the empty air right where his spine had been a split second before.

Declan reappeared five meters away without a word, watching calmly as Alvian rolled across the floor and scrambled back to his feet.

Pop.

Declan vanished again.

Alvian spun around with his sword raised to track him, but a sharp sting flared across his lower back, followed by a second cut across his left forearm. Blood dripped onto the stone tiles as Declan teleported in short, rapid bursts. The Void Step was simply too fast to track with normal human eyes. Alvian swung his sword wildly into empty air, only to take another slice across his thigh and one more across his right shoulder.

He was being bled out through a thousand tiny cuts. His VIT 34 kept him conscious and forced the wounds to close slightly to prevent fatal blood loss, but his HP was steadily dropping.

The crowd cheered as the A-Rank fighter pushed the underdog to the brink, while the nobles smiled and sipped their wine.

Alvian needed a plan immediately. His INT 13 worked at full speed, running through everything he had ever read about spatial magic. True instant teleportation would tear a human body apart, which meant there had to be a tiny delay during the shift. Watching closely as Declan vanished again with another soft pop, Alvian noticed a faint blur form on his left, followed three-tenths of a second later by Declan’s solid strike.

That was the window, but he still needed a way to know where Declan would land before he swung.

Alvian sheathed his blade, dropped to his knees, and slammed both hands flat against the stone floor.

”Clearwater Coating!”

Pushing his Essence reserves to the limit, he flooded the entire platform with a clear film of acid that spread rapidly like spilled water, hissing softly against the stone.

Pop.

Declan materialized right behind him, his combat boots splashing into the shallow puddle of acid. Because his A-Rank stats made the slight burn to his boots negligible, Declan ignored it and swung his knife, grazing Alvian’s ribs as Alvian rolled away.

Alvian ignored the pain and kept his eyes glued to the floor.

Every time Declan landed, his boots left melted, hissing footprints in the acid film. Thanks to his INT stat, Alvian quickly spotted the pattern: Declan always targeted his blind spots, switching angles based on the way Alvian faced.

Pop. Declan vanished again.

Instead of dodging, Alvian turned toward the predicted landing spot and struck blindly with his right hand coated in acid.

Clearwater Palm!

His hand struck solid flesh the exact instant Declan appeared, splashing thick acid across Declan’s jawline. The skin blistered immediately, and Declan stumbled back with pure shock on his face as he clutched his burning cheek.

The arena went dead silent once more. An E-Rank had just landed a solid hit on an A-Rank teleporter!

Realizing the acid tracks gave away his position, Declan stopped teleporting and rushed forward, relying on pure physical combat. His Level 22 stats quickly overwhelmed Alvian, trapping him in a flurry of knife strikes that cut deep into his shoulder and bruised his knee.

Alvian was bleeding heavily, but he only needed one clean hit to trigger the System wheel. Staggering back on purpose, he left his chest wide open as bait.

Declan took it, teleporting one final time right behind Alvian with his knife raised high for the finish. Alvian dropped flat to the ground and swept his leg backward. When Declan leapt over the sweep to bring his knife down, Alvian reached up from the floor and grabbed Declan’s ankle with a firm grip.

”Clearwater Palm!”

The acid burned through the combat boot and reached the skin, making Declan grunt in pain and lose his balance in midair.

[Ding!]

[Combat action registered.]

[Base EXP: 5.]

[Gambler Delay active? N. Rolling individually.]

The cosmic roulette wheel spun in Alvian’s vision, flashing through bronze, silver, and gold reels.

[Ding! Rare Roll! 340x Multiplier!]

[1,700 EXP received.]

It was not enough to overcome an A-Rank wall.

[Re-Roll Token available. Use? Y/N]

Yes, Alvian commanded in his mind.

The token vanished, and the reels spun again before landing on Gold, Gold, Silver.

[Ding! Rare Roll! 850x Multiplier!]

[Distributing 4,250 EXP!]

A huge wave of energy hit his body, easily flowing into his muscles and bones thanks to his high vitality.

[Level 19 to Level 22!]

[STR: 23 to 26]

[AGI: 22 to 25]

[VIT: 34 to 37]

[INT: 13 to 15]

[Essence: 14 to 16]

Power surged through his chest, sharpening his senses and pushing the pain aside.

As Declan landed and slashed his knife forward, Alvian’s new AGI 25 speed allowed him to catch Declan’s wrist in a vise-like grip. Declan pulled back with all his might, but he could not move an inch against Alvian’s boosted strength.

Clearwater Coating

Acid poured over the knife, dissolving the steel into gray sludge within seconds. When Declan panicked and tried to teleport away, Alvian grabbed his other wrist and let the acid burn through the combat glove into the flesh beneath.

Losing all his calm, Declan screamed in agony as the acid ate deeper. ”YIELD!”

Helen Croft rushed between them, waving her arms. ”Match over! The winner is Alvian Vance!”

The match had lasted exactly three minutes and forty-one seconds, leaving the entire arena in shocked silence.

Up in the VIP box, the sponsors scrambled as their MAG-tech glasses recorded an impossible stat spike without the use of any visible buff skill. E-Rank Talents simply did not grow like that. Helen glanced up at the box and saw Magistrate Sully watching closely from the shadows, making it clear that a formal investigation would follow quickly.

Alvian let go and stepped back, covered in blood but stronger than he had ever been. He looked up at the holographic bracket above the arena, where his name locked into the final slot opposite his next opponent:

Torsten Colby.

The final match was set, and Alvian turned toward the dark tunnel to prepare for the end.