Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Tournament (4)
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I had registered the "Polymorph" skill on my profile as "Scale Armor," but during the actual match, the only skill I used was "Telekinesis."
The reason was that there hadn't been an opponent difficult enough to warrant using "Polymorph," and since it involved scales emerging from my skin, it wasn't compatible with the sparring suit.
"Would it be possible to compete without wearing the sparring suit, by any chance?"
I politely approached the high-ranking official who had come looking for me earlier and made my request.
"I'm not entirely sure, but wouldn't that violate the rules? Is it really necessary?"
The official looked at me with a puzzled expression.
I explained that I had a skill allowing me to produce scales from my skin, which greatly enhanced my defense when activated.
"I see. Understood. I'll mention it to the judges as well. A little flexibility with the rules should resolve any issues."
The official nodded, assured me not to worry, and hurried away.
This was only possible because we were playing at home.
If it had been an away match, such a request would likely have been ignored outright.
The rules mandated wearing the sparring suit, after all.
I returned to the waiting room and took off my clothes.
"Polymorph."
Red scales sprouted from my body.
They gradually took the form of armor.
Looking in the mirror, a dragon knight clad head to toe in full plate armor stood there.
"It looks just like a dragon knight from some game."
It wasn't my preference at all.
It was simply the form Laura liked.
"Is this the kind of knight you fancy, miss?"
I teased Laura with a slight smile.
[W-What? How rude! I merely pursue beauty.]
Laura jumped as if I'd hit a nerve.
I decided not to provoke her further.
"By the way, for this match, please help out if I secretly request it."
[Hmm? Won't that risk exposing your identity?]
"It's just speculation that Dark Knight uses Dispel anyway. Even if the Chinese guy notices, how much could he really figure out? A 0.5-second Dispel at a key moment—they won't know. They'll just think it briefly disrupted the skill activation."
[F-Fine, got it.]
Linking me to Dark Knight over a mere 0.5-second Dispel would be a stretch, but even if my identity were somehow exposed—which was unlikely—this was worth the risk.
I checked the time.
About five minutes left.
I wiped the smile from my lips and took a deep breath.
It was nearly time to go.
"Status Window."
------------[Status Window]------------
◈ Name
n̶̡̡̛̟̠͈͎̟̍͜͝͡͠ų̢̰̭̲̋͒̓͊̀̒́͘͡l̴̳͙͓̞̻̝͇̥͆̋͂̉̕͡͠͠l̨̛̫̖̝͓̮̳͓͆̃̈̈́̈́͆̈̕
◈ Stats
[Strength 200 A](+1100)
[Agility 841 B](+1100)
[Intelligence 291 C](+1100)
[Luck 277 F](+1100)
[Overall C]
◈ Skills
[Inheritance 921 A]
[Dragon Heart --- A]
[Telekinesis 767 C]
[Magic Engraving --- B]
[Polymorph --- S]
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Strength at S-rank, Agility at A-rank.
This gave me the edge in raw stats.
But if the gap in other skills was overwhelming, I could still lose—slightly.
"Shin Noda, the match is about to start."
I heard a voice calling from outside.
I got ready and left the waiting room.
"Gasp."
The staff member who saw me gasped in shock and collapsed to the floor.
He was trembling.
"A-Are you Shin Noda?"
"Yes. Get up."
I helped him to his feet as I replied.
Only then did the staff member steady himself and guide me to the arena.
"Hello. I'm Zhang Yi-chen."
As soon as I arrived, my waiting opponent greeted me in halting Korean.
"Yeah, sure. Hello. Shin Noda here."
I responded with a dazed nod.
Zhang Yi-chen stared at me with eager anticipation.
'What is he expecting?'
The scoreboard began its countdown.
「10」
「9」
《This match pits Shin Noda against Zhang Yi-chen. Shin Noda's appearance is a bit unusual, right? Apparently, it's a skill.》
《That red armor is the skill?》
《Yes, it emerges from his skin, so he couldn't wear the sparring suit.》
《Whoa, that's risky. But I trust it boosts his defense in return.》
Zhang Yi-chen stood still, nodding attentively to the commentators.
He grinned and spoke up.
"That armor looks fantastic."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"I sense tremendous power from you."
"......"
I shrugged.
'So what?'
What was I supposed to say to that?
《For reference, Zhang Yi-chen is the top-ranked player from China's academy rankings—a true prodigy of the era. They call him the Radiant Angel there.》
《China has academies in every provincial-level district—over twenty in total. But Zhang Yi-chen isn't just number one in one of them; he's number one across all of China.》
The commentators explained about Zhang Yi-chen.
The audience finally realized just how formidable he was and burst into applause.
The countdown continued amid all this.
「3」
「2」
「1」
I took a deep breath.
I had to win this.
***
One minute into the match.
The two fighters exchanged fierce blows.
They had both realized early on that their opponent was no novice with weapons.
Shin Noda, mindful of his opponent's skill, held back on thrusts and focused on sweeping swings with the spearhead leading.
Thrusts had wide motions that left him open afterward, and if the shaft were grabbed, he'd be in trouble.
"Hah!"
Zhang Yi-chen shouted as he crossed his twin blades to block the incoming spear, then smacked the shaft away with one sword.
He then charged into Shin Noda's guard and slashed a long gash across his chest.
Shin Noda had no experience against dual swords, while Zhang Yi-chen had plenty against the more common spear—that was the difference.
《Shin Noda takes a direct hit! Even with the armor, is he okay?!》
As Zhang Yi-chen pulled back from obscuring the view, Shin Noda's condition became visible.
There wasn't a single scratch on his armor.
《He's unscathed! No wonder he skipped the sparring suit!》
《This puts Zhang Yi-chen at a huge disadvantage. How does he plan to breach that armor?!》
The commentators clamored excitedly.
Zhang Yi-chen was usually sensitive to such noise, but now it didn't faze him.
'This scent...'
When he'd closed in on Shin Noda moments ago, he'd caught a familiar smell from his body.
It was the unique pheromone emitted only by New Humanity like themselves.
Zhang Yi-chen leaped back and lowered his swords.
"Are you New Humanity by any chance?"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"I can smell it on you."
Shin Noda flinched inwardly.
He wondered if living with Alpha and Omega had let their pheromones rub off on him.
"Focus on the fight."
He played it off and changed the subject.
Zhang Yi-chen shook his head.
A smile crept onto his face.
"Your armor is impressively tough. I see no need to hold back. Forfeit if you feel you're about to die."
Wings sprouted from Zhang Yi-chen's back.
They resembled an angel's but lacked substance, more like illusions.
He jumped with all his might.
As an A-rank Awakener, he soared beyond the reach of Shin Noda's spear.
And he stayed airborne.
'The hellish pattern begins.'
Zhang Yi-chen couldn't truly fly with the wings, but they allowed unlimited gliding without falling.
The sword in his right hand extended into a long crimson beam of light.
The beam whipped around like a lash.
《Whoa! He's airborne! Not full flight, but hovering—Shin Noda's in trouble!》
《What's with that laser whip? That's two skills already! This tournament's skill level is insane!》
Even the commentators could hardly believe their eyes.
Skill Books had extremely low drop rates outside special dungeons, so most Awakeners only had their innate skill.
Yet this tournament featured numerous contestants wielding multiple skills.
Zhang Yi-chen attacked from the sky, illusory wings aglow as he swung his laser whip.
It was clear why he was called the Radiant Angel.
Shin Noda rolled along the ground to dodge.
Even so, he couldn't fully evade the whip moving faster than sound.
The edges of his body took glancing hits.
Shin Noda glanced down to check his armor.
'At least that's a relief.'
It was half-torn and ragged, but not shredded like paper.
The whip looked like it could slice through anything, like a lightsaber.
"Your armor's useless now."
Zhang Yi-chen grinned triumphantly at the state of Shin Noda's scales.
To the audience, Shin Noda seemed on the brink of defeat.
Even the official who'd handed him the Oracle and Weapon Master Lee Chan-hyuk gripped their seats in suspense.
《At this rate, Shin Noda has no counter!》
《A hovering skill... Might be meh for Heroes, but it's killer in duels!》
Crimson beams dazzled the arena.
Each whip strike gouged massive scars into the floor.
They barely grazed Shin Noda's body, over and over.
'If that's how you wanna play, I've got a way.'
Shin Noda should have looked terrified amid the merciless barrage from above, but his face remained impassive as he devised a response.