Chapter 176: A guardian and anti-magic power
"I don't mind. This isn't the first time someone said something similar." Gevan didn't seem to mind that much.
Exactly after Gevan stopped talking, Belowin exclaimed, "What! Do I see correctly, or are my eye playing tricks on me for reading too many pages? Is Brother using his speed spell? I need to write it down, hehe."
Gevan hastily turned his gaze back in the center of the sparring test upon hearing these words. Vincent felt that something wasn't right. He missed Ollie more frequently than before.
[Ollie's brother Belowin said that Ollie is secretly using a spell. He mentioned it's a speed spell. So that's why his body, sword, and shield seem to be covered by mana flowing like the wind.]
Vincent frowned and decided to test the speed difference with a quick combo of strikes. Left, right, left, right, and a quick sneaky uppercut to the chin. Vincent completed the combo, but Ollie appeared to move briskly than before. As if trying to hit a fly, Vincent could not land a single hit.
Vincent felt as if Ollie had something else helping him move his body faster. Furthermore, whenever Vincent's fists approached Ollie to land a hit, his fists seemed to move slightly further to the opposite side of Ollie than their planned destination. As such, Ollie wasn't blocking Vincent's assault anymore because of this.
Vincent gritted his teeth and tried to go faster. He kept increasing his speed until he reached the limit and couldn't go faster.
Vincent used his perception to control his movements and utilized his newly gained speed, yet Ollie still seemed untouchable. Stats alone can't win Vincent this spar.
"Hahaha. Don't worry, Vincent. I'm almost using all my strength and also using Wind Boost buff to move quicker. But, I must say, your speed is good without any spell buffs." Ollie admitted.
'If he is using spells to become better, then I will use my special technique and see how quick you are.' Vincent thought before stopping.
Vincent closed his eyes and started to use the adaption phases Koss taught him. Then, Vincent began to reject and direct the tiny particles of mana found in the air. The next step was to lead the flow directly inside the three glowing cracks located at the back of his hands to collect the mana inside.
Ollie noticed Vincent seemed to have a dangerous plan. Ollie rushed forward with the intent of scaring Vincent to stop what he intended to do.
Ollie didn't want anyone to get hurt. It's a friendly test sparring match. There is no need for anyone to get gravely injured or die.
Ollie swung his sword at Vincent's gauntlets and...
*Boom!*
When the collision occurred, a loud boom blasted throughout the testing hall. The tables and chairs shook, and the windows vibrated from the force of the impact. Furthermore, both Vincent and Ollie were sent flying to the edge of the combat area's darker tile zone.
"Urgh..." Ollie stood up. As he opened his eyes, great power filled his body, and memories of spells flashed through his mind as if he cast them multiple times before.
Gevan was the first to notice how Ollie's eyes gleamed a mysterious light, and his face raised an excited smile. Ollie had a different atmosphere around him, as if he became much stronger than a second ago.
On the opposite side laid Vincent on the floor. He opened his eyes, and once again, an expanding light welcomed him. "Huh?" Vincent muttered after a notification window appeared.
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[The Host has met the requirements to mutate Overheat and achieve a sub mutation. The mutation is only possible after the Host had their blood circulation modified and mana entered the mutated bloodstream.]
[Overheat shared sub mutation ability Overflow gained.]
[Overflow description.]
[Absorb the flow of mana and entrap it inside condensed mutated blood controlled by Overheat. The mana has a possibility to refine itself via mutation and benefit the user or follow the user's intent.]
[Depending on the user's proficiency, the user can reject the absorbed mana in the form of a projectile with the distance limit and force also depending on the user's proficiency.]
[Depending on the user's proficiency, the projectile can change its form by the user's will before the rejection begins and formed mana is shot.]
[Depending on the user's proficiency, the total mana stored can be increased via mutated mana refinement.]
[Depending on the density and rich mana absorbed, the user might experience an increase in the mana stat.]
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Similar to Ollie, Vincent stared blankly as if in a daze. The ability Vincent just learned might be because of Feng Mengli opening a couple of meridians and Ester's fifty percent Mana Body Trait gift.
"Could... could it possibly be?... did brother just Awaken into an advanced class?" Belowin seemed shocked by the result of the blast.
"Vincent, are you injured?" Ester worryingly asked.
"My mate, you flew like a bird... but why do I feel like you are about to smile?" Lupa noticed what Ester did not.
"Really?" Ester questioned. Soon, she started to get the exact guess as what Lupa said.
"Does this mean both of them Awakened a class or an ability?" Gevan questioned in utter surprise. It was the first time in his life that a spar or, more specifically, an attack causing the two participants to Awaken at the same time.
Gevan summarised correctly. Thanks to Vincent, Ollie managed to break through the advancement he couldn't do for almost a year. Although Ollie is a human, he retains the half-elf genes of his mother, giving him more potential to have mana in his body.
Furthermore, Ollie's father possessed a Warrior class. Ollie could advance this quickly because of this in his few years as an adventurer.
Bartholomew is similar, but unlike Ollie, he inherited more half-elf genes, and his father possessed a Mage class. Bartholomew wants to be like his cousin Ollie since they are the only humans in the family left. Unfortunately, different from his wishes, he ended up Awakening into the mage class category.
[Vincent. Did you get injured from the blast? Please warn me next time when you are about to do something dangerous. You worried me to death. Although I'm already living on mana life support.]
-I'm feeling better, and I'm sorry for worrying you. I just wanted to try something else.-
[I'm worried about your health. The mutation became active again, and not only did it previously boost your power, but now it has given you the ability to mutate the mana surrounding you. I hope it doesn't have a negative side effect on those around you.]
Vincent stood up and looked at his blood-mutated gauntlets. He closed and opened his hands, but he didn't feel any different than before.
-I don't think it's a passive ability. Maybe it's similar to what Koss said. Similar to Energy Flow.-
[Theoretically, you might be correct. For example, Energy Flow is possible after tempering the blood of one's body to influence the mana of this world. Similarly, Overflow is using the mutated blood to do a similar yet advanced thing.]
-So you mean when I use Overheat, Energy Flow is switched with Overflow?-
Vincent started to understand the reasoning behind this. Sometimes it's difficult to understand the change one's own body without someone else pointing out what they see.
Kazumi is intelligent and can remember everything she sees, providing Vincent with quick uptake of the situation. As a result, Vincent now understood the situation better.
[I might be thinking too profoundly while everyone is staring at you and Ollie like exotic creatures. You can consider it like this. When you are in Overheat form, you have an additional body adaptation thanks to the mutation. Let's call it to devour since it should be able to absorb and refine mana with a probably unhealthy RNG.]
-You really like to use strong words to make an ability sound more powerful.-
"Hehe." Vincent chuckled after remembering the overbearing name Kazumi wanted to give to Guidance Tactics in the past.
"Hey, Vincent. It looks like you have also become stronger. Want to go for another round until the five minutes end? I guess it's a few seconds remaining." Ollie challenged Vincent to another quick round. He seemed excited to have a person not only let him go all out but help him advance.
Not many people liked to spar or take an adventurer combat test with Ollie. He has a large figure, and he also has the advanced class of a Warrior, which is the Protector class.
Thus Ollie was always forced to lower his combat power and try not to get too many complaints that the test was too hard or the examiner was too strong to let them pass. Ollie did all the tests with a sigh until Vincent appeared.
"I accept. " Vincent smirked at the idea of discovering how he could activate Overflow and learning about the mana absorption ability.
Vincent then decided to use Inspection on Ollie to learn about what change Ollie has experienced.
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[Name] Oliveros
[Condition] Healthy
[Class] Guardian
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[Class Guardian]
*Strength Boost +6
*Wind Armour
*[Inspection level too low.]
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'Ollie Awakened into a stronger class... but that spell is very familiar... hmm...' Vincent pondered before Kazumi informed that Wind Armour might be similar to what the Great Gray Wolf used.
Ollie smirked and said before he started running towards Vincent, "Let's try our best, hahaha."
Ollie quickly reached Vincent and started with the attack. He swung down his sword at Vincent much faster than before. Vincent could only raise his arms to guard.
Ollie then decided to give Vincent some space. He took a few steps back and allowed Vincent to regain his footing.
Vincent understood that Ollie wasn't trying to win and overwhelm his opponent. He simply wanted a sparring partner without disliking each other for what happens in this friendly spar.
After this action, Vincent felt more relaxed and more in control of the situation. It wasn't about passing the test anymore. Instead, it became about trying out what they gained with no repercussions.
"Come, friend. Let's continue." Ollie clenched his sword and rushed forward to swing his Wind Boost buffed sword.
*Clang!*
Vincent blocked the attack with a slight recoil from the impact, yet it wasn't enough to disrupt his guard. Vincent smirked, excited to continue, and threw a punch.
Ollie blocked and raised an excited smirk. The two of them seem to have fun was in the audience's minds.
Additionally, Ester and Lupa couldn't believe that Vincent, suddenly out of nowhere and without explanation, became this strong. It wasn't even a life-threatening fight as well.
Ester and Lupa planned to ask later the real reason why. They wanted to grow stronger if it wasn't difficult. What is Vincent's secret to power? Both thought, yet the answer might shock them.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone