Chapter 49 - Ki

The audience was left speechless when they saw Jagger's special technique, it was called Ki Explosion, and could do exactly that. He surprised and defeated many enemies with that, but to think that he would use… not even his most hardcore fan had expected that. What no one expected was the fact that Aion would still be standing when the dust curtain dissipated.

The area around Aion had been destroyed a few good centimeters, and his body was emitting a lot of steam, but his armor protected his torso and his forearms, and his axes protected his head.

"That fucking hurt like hell…" Aion said before activating Rage and then using Sonic Thrust.

Jagger blocked the strike with both of his gauntlets, but he still was pushed back for twenty meters. The impact made his arms tremble, and the vibration made him feel like his bones were cracking as well. When he stopped, he saw one ax flying to his face, and he used his gauntlets again to block it. Jagger succeded, but in that short window of time, he lost sight of Aion, and when he saw him again, it happened when he landed a dropkick on his chest.

Despite the surprise attack, Jagger refused to fall, and Aion couldn't use that chance since he stopped to grab the ax that was repelled to the sky. As soon as he took it back, Aion charged again, he let the blood rush to his head thanks to Rage, and the didn't have time to avoid the attack when Jagger used Ki Explosion again.

Although he was surprised, Aion protected his face with his forearm guards, and since Rage increased his Endurance, the second attack didn't damage him that much. However, some wounds on his body were starting to bleed now. It was unexpected that Jagger could spam that attack, but one could see by looking at his face that he couldn't use it more than once again. He was sweating a lot… it was probably an technique on the level of Inner Force.

Jagger was a tough nut to crack. He still charged at Aion before he could recover from the attack and punched his stomach since his face was being protected. The armor got in the way, but the impact traveled to his body, making him flinch. Jagger had more than enough time to kick his left side. Aion's stance was broken, and the left side of his head was wide open. However, when Jagger approached…

"HAAAAAAH!" Aion shouted.

The powerful voice forced everyone in the arena to close their ears and paralyzed Jagger. Aion approached and swung his ax at his head, but the blocked the attack with his gauntlets. Clear cracks appeared on it. Despite the dizziness and pain in his arms, he used Ki Explosion once more.

Aion's axes cracked as well, and he threw them aside before he charged at the opponent. Jagger thought that Aion had gone mad. It was impossible for him to lose in a fistfight. When Aion's fist approached his face, Jagger used his own and frowned in pain when he felt his bones cracking. Aion was supposed to suffer some damage as well since he felt his fist cracking, but Aion didn't show that.

In the next moment, Aion used Chaotic Punch, and Jagger was left speechless when he tried to block the attack. In the end, his forearm got in the way, but then he was pushed backward while a fist mark was left there throbbing.

Jagger wanted to know how Aion learned that… he had no idea that it was the skill he learned when the monk class reached level thirty. That skill had the power to cause more damage the tougher the target's defense was.

To capitalize even more on the surprise of the enemy, Aion mimicked the move of Ki Explosion. Jagger covered his face with his arms, but nothing happened. Aside from the fact that he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

Jagger spat a mouthful of blood since Aion used Chaotic Punch again. Still, the asshole was tough enough to refuse to give up or fall. He punched Aion's right temple and almost made him fall. From that posture, Aion aimed another Chaotic Punch, this time on his left side. It had been a perfect liver blow… Aion felt that he was using a chainmail under his clothes, and the impact was lessened. Still, Jagger staggered backward for a bit before Aion smashed his right with a right straight.

This time, Jagger fell to the ground like a broken toy… and didn't move from the spot. After a while, the referee recovered from the surprise and declared Aion the winner.

"That was refreshing… increasing my strength and endurance helped a lot," Aion thought. "Alongside recalling all the moves of those fighting games."

It has been ten years since Aion played any game. Still, recalling the most basic moves had been easy, and he had a good idea of what Jagger would pull off… Still, he didn't expect something like Ki Explosion. Even if he had some knowledge of some crazy fighting games, that magic world still surprised him.

Regardless, Aion wanted to heal himself, but he let the healers do their job, even though they looked like they didn't want it. They did their job because Aion's father was nearby, and despite their differences, Lexus wouldn't let his son be treated differently from the other competitors.

"That was a good fight," Lexus said. "You surprised him through and through."

"I figured out that I would have to take the pace of the fight since he was more skilled and had more experience," Aion said. "If he had kept his head cooler and not let his anger control him, then I would have to try harder."

"Like using Inner Force," Lexus said.

Aion never showed he using that on anyone, but his father was smart enough to figure that out on his own… it couldn't have been helped.