NOVEL WEB Chapter 1429: The Match Against Dylan
-----
Gray's wings were something new, and apparently part of a Skill connected to his Spirit, the Valkyrie Spirit he could summon, a powerful angel-type spirit capable of offense, defense, quick movement, and healing. Clarice's attack was easily avoided by his powerful wings, as he spun in midair and then descended towards her back, aiming at the golden armor covering her back with his golden spear.
Clarice quickly swung her axe upwards as she spun back, easily parrying his blow and sending him flying up. The roar of a lion was then heard, as her axe glowed bright gold, swinging down against Gray, who rapidly used his spear to clash against her powerful attacks, his wings helped him move in the air while Clarice was falling, ultimately, he managed to kick her down.
They weren't saying a single word, staring at one another in silence, it seemed they were constantly thinking about their next move and predicting the other. Gray went for something safe, summoning eyes made of light around him and firing white light beams against Clarice, a long-range magic attack that she, as a mere Gladiator, would be unable to easily respond to.
It was a good judgement from Gray, Clarice panicked, running away from the beams one by one, jumping, or hitting them with her axe spirit. But she wasn't completely hopeless, as around her legs, a pair of golden graves appeared, decorated with small golden metallic wings and the heads of some sort of bird.
"Eagle Greaves!"
These greaves were in actuality her second spirit, giving her the ability to jump through the air by releasing small gusts of winds from her legs, she rushed towards Gray, evading his holy beams and then aiming at him with her axe once more.
CRAAASH!
With all her strength, she sent him flying down, as Gray barely managed to protect himself with his spirit's abilities. His spear glowed bright gold, suddenly releasing spirit energy. It was also his second spirit, a Holy Spear of some sort.
In that moment, both clashed as Gray rushed into the skies once more, Clarice held the upper hand in terms of raw power, each of her blows releasing strong shockwaves, while Gray's attacks were piercing and sharp, shattering her armor with each blow, while he was assisted with healing and offensive magic.
Both seemed almost completely even, and yet, this was a competition where the one that touched the outside of the arena would lose.
Eventually…
"HAAAH!"
Clarice swung her axe down, as Gray panicked and quickly went for a defensive stand, but it was a feint, as Clarice punched his face and then kicked him with the strength of her Greaves, sending him pummeling down not into the arena, but the outside area.
BAAAM!
Gray was about to get back into the battle, but his eyes widened once he realized where he landed…
"Aw man, I completely forgot about this!"
"Hehe, it's my victory!"
"Clarice from the Second Class wins this match!" Professor Hector said, as several of the students cheered, the battle was quite entertaining.
More battles like that continued, as I was able to gauge how strong everyone had grown and how much they had progressed. It was quite clear that the majority had already hit Rank 4 in their Spirit Orbs and had at least Ranked Up their Classes to 3 Stars.
They had three spirits each, and plenty of new skills to go with them, those from the classes I belonged to were especially tenacious compared to the rest of the classes, even being capable of beating those of the Third and Fourth Classes, which were much older than them.
While watching the battles, I felt the presence of a powerful person stepping into the arena, overflowing with a mighty golden aura, light and holiness exuding from him. His presence also caught everyone's attention as this happened right after the last match.
"And today, everyone, as many might already know, there's a special Exhibition Match between our two young heroes!" Hector said. "You probably already know who these two are without even having to introduce them, but even then, please allow me!"
"Do your best Blake!" Erika said.
"I know you can do this, show him who's stronger," Elizabeth said.
"Go for it, bro!" Chris cheered.
"Thank you."
I walked downstairs as the lights around the arena suddenly gathered around me, the public glanced at me, as I walked into the arena, and Dylan emerged as well.
Our Auras clashed, emerging as golden and crimson energies constantly warped our surroundings, shattering the floor and then setting it ablaze with our prowess.
"The strongest human, our greatest Hero, blessed by the Holy Spirit of Light itself!" Professor Hector said. "Hero Dylan!"
"OOOOOHHHHHH!"
The people went crazy, screaming his name and cheering for him the most. He was quite a celebrity. Dylan smiled, his long green hair waving as he spread out his arms and smiled, thanking the audience with a charismatic smile. His bright golden eyes shone brightly with emotion.
"Thank you! It's an honor to be here everyone! Thank you! Your warm welcome truly moves my heart!"
He was indeed the pillar of humanity, an incredible man that was born with a powerful Talent, the 5 Star Hero Talent from the get-go, something that has only happened a handful of times throughout history. His strength alone was what helped humanity face against the Demons from the north and create this stalemate that helped us buy enough time to generate more soldiers for the war in the Cold North.
But of course, he was not 5 Star anymore, not at all. For a while now he had been working, for decades. His power has already surpassed that of the original Hero, ascending even further. I cannot see his status, but I can tell that he's at least an 8 Star now. His Spirit Orb is likely at Rank 9, same as the Elven King.
Though, the Elven King had only become an empty husk for Mammon, so his true power had been lost and eaten by the Archdemon…
This time, I was going to face one with such power without being sealed or weakened.
"Alright, Blake… Despite how your Spirit Orb Rank is still lower, I can tell you're much stronger than that, right?" Dylan asked. "Shall I go all-out then? Let's make this fun."
"You took the words out of my mouth," I nodded. "Alright, let's make this fun, Dylan."
He knew of my true power, or well, a part of it that I let him know about. He was also able to instantly tell my Spirit Orb Rank, which was currently stuck at Rank 7 Peak Stage, and he probably knows that my Talent is 7 Stars already.
-----