Chương 25: Strike of a weakling

"Let's see how I do with hand combat before using a weapon," Zephyr contemplated, uncertain of his current combat abilities given his altered body.

'At the entrance test, I had a weapon that increased my strength,' Zephyr recalled vividly, not wanting to omit any details. 'I just threw the axe at those zombies, and thanks to the extra strength, I was able to defeat them.'

He paused, contemplating the differences between his previous encounter and the current situation. 'But this time, my opponent is human, smarter than those zombies,' he reasoned, acknowledging the challenge ahead. Glancing at Emery, he noticed her confident stance and trained demeanor. 'She's probably from one of those commoner refuge cities , where the fat cats stay. People from there are more trained' he speculated, drawing from Zeph's memories.

"I'm sick of this!" Emery's outburst snapped him back to the present, reminding him of the impending confrontation.

The first to dash forward was Emery, her movements swift and determined. She paid little attention to Zephyr's stance, focused solely on her goal of ending the match swiftly to earn respect. While underestimating one's opponent was generally unwise, Emery possessed the unique ability reserved for champions. Utilizing this skill (aura vision), she assessed Zephyr's strength and concluded that he was weak.

While they weren't yet full-fledged champions, most students, like Eva and Jade, possessed the ability Emery used. To utilize it, they needed a significant amount of energy (aura), comparable to the size of a football, much like Eva and Jade's current energy levels. Unfortunately, Zephyr couldn't tap into this ability—at least, not yet. However, he still possessed his special skill: the ability to sense danger using his inspection skill.

[Inspect]

[Name: Emery villan]

[Race: Human]

[Ability: Wind]

[Vitality: 95%]

[Threat: Blue]

'Hm, I see. She's a blue threat. I haven't fought one before. This is a good opportunity to assess their strength,' Zephyr mused inwardly. He had been eager to challenge Jack to gauge the strength of the blue threats, but circumstances hadn't allowed for it. Now, standing before him was an opportunity to gain insight into their capabilities firsthand.

Emery moved with incredible speed, reaching Zephyr in mere seconds and striking out with a dagger that caught him off guard. Reacting swiftly, Zephyr sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the attack that whizzed past him like a speeding bullet. Seizing the opening, Zephyr capitalized on Emery's miss and delivered a powerful kick to her side, sending her crashing to the ground. However, Emery quickly regained her composure, flipping back onto her feet in a fluid motion.

'What the hell's that? He avoided my attack,' Emery thought, bewildered by Zephyr's agility. 'But how was he quick enough to counterattack immediately after my attack missed? How fast is this guy? Isn't he supposed to be weak?'

Once again, Emery activated her aura vision, confirming that Zephyr's energy remained the same size as before—a small baseball size. The size of this energy ball determined a champion's power source, whether it was used for their ability or stamina. Emery was surprised that despite his seemingly small energy level, Zephyr exhibited such remarkable speed and strength to knock her down.

Zephyr couldn't help but smirk as he observed Emery's bewildered expression. The truth behind Zephyr's sudden burst of speed lay in the additional attribute points granted by the katana strapped to his back.

[Attributes]

[Strength: 10]

[Speed: 10 (+2)]

[Stamina: 10]

'Hm, the added speed really helped, didn't it?' Zephyr thought, smiling confidently.

Emery wasted no time and swiftly launched another attack, aiming to stab Zephyr in the chest out of annoyance. Such a blow could prove fatal if it landed, but once again, Zephyr evaded with his newfound speed.

"Isn't there supposed to be rules about striking fatal areas that can actually kill someone?" Zephyr voiced his concern aloud, glancing at Jared, who observed the match without intervening.

"You didn't die, did you?" Jared's remark elicited chuckles from the spectators, except for the Marrow sisters, who remained indifferent.

"Tsk*, you humans are really annoying," Zephyr muttered, visibly distracted. Seizing the opportunity, Emery swiftly kicked Zephyr's legs, causing him to stumble and fall to the floor. 'I'm starting to hate humans more,' Zephyr growled through gritted teeth.

Emery wasted no time and charged towards Zephyr, delivering a powerful kick to his abdomen. The force sent Zephyr skidding across the stage floor before he was thrown to the ground, away from the stage.

"Uhmm, I keep forgetting I'm human. Can't use that kind of sixth sense the vampires use again. Splitting of consciousness," Zephyr muttered to himself as he pushed himself up from the ground. He knew he couldn't afford to stay down any longer, or the match would be over.

'I think I'll use the katana now, even though I haven't seen her use her ability yet, which could be a problem. I have to defeat her before she uses it, and test that theory,' Zephyr decided, weighing his options.

Another thought crossed his mind: whether he would gain experience from defeating humans as well. As if in response, a notification popped up in front of Zephyr, confirming his theory.

[Quest]

[Defeat the human in front of you, who is a blue threat]

[Reward: 100 exp]

'Oh, my. That's enough to make me level up!' Zephyr thought, a newfound determination coursing through him as he walked back onto the stage where Emery stood proudly.

The introduction of the quest filled Zephyr with a renewed sense of motivation to win. His initial curiosity about testing a blue threat's strength was now secondary to the prospect of leveling up. He wasn't sure what would happen to him when he leveled up, but he was confident it would be something beneficial.

[Shadow Enhance activated]

As shadows enveloped his right hand, Zephyr unsheathed his katana and held it out confidently.

[Your strength has increased by five.]

[Strength: 10 (+5)]

'Hmm, I see it increased my strength. Which could mean that depending on what body part I use it, my power increases. If it's my leg, my speed increases; if it's my hand, strength increases,'Zephyr chuckled in excitement.

The appearance of the shadow went unnoticed by the majority of the spectators, thanks to Zephyr's control over its movement. Despite its subtle presence, it didn't diminish the increase in his strength. However, Zephyr couldn't conceal it from those who could use aura vision.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Jade inquired, turning to her sister.

"Yes, I am. It looks like he's using his ability, but it's a strange one because it's just like a shadow," Eva responded, her expression remaining stoic.

Jared also noticed the phenomenon but didn't dwell on it. There were countless abilities documented in the ability book, and no one could be expected to know them all, especially when they weren't even their own.

Emery's heart pounded. "Is that an ability?" she wondered, feeling the daggers in her grip. Zephyr's energy was rising, and she could tell something big was about to happen.

Zephyr spoke with a calm certainty, "Time to finish this." He moved quickly towards Emery, his sword swinging through the air effortlessly, his face showing no sign of emotion.

Anger bubbled inside Zephyr because of Emery's earlier disrespect. His katana moved with his anger, swift and sharp, aiming for Emery. She tried to block with her daggers, but the attack was too strong, shattering the daggers instantly and heading straight for her.

Emery's eyes went wide. She thought it was the end. But then, out of nowhere, a rocky hand blocked the katana's path, stopping it with a loud clang.

"Enough!" Jared's voice filled the dojo, stopping the fight in its tracks.

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