*Zale*
Suspicion.
It was what made him the person he was. People often mistook paranoia and suspicion to be one and the same thing. No, they were not the same. Paranoia is extreme, bordering on insanity. Suspicion, however, is merely the slight doubt that allows one a certain level of clear-headedness.
That was the quality he prided himself on for the most part. And once again, that quality proved its use.
When he had asked his foolish son to participate in this competition, he hadn't expected much. He merely wanted to confirm his suspicions.
They were confirmed to a large extent and much more.
'It's a minor feat at best, but for someone who shouldn't be able to use Spirit Energy?'
Zale wasn't dense, nor was he an idiot. After injecting Melchior with the serum, he stepped back to watch the fight from where he stood before.
Clyde and Andy were done killing off the mobs– something they should have completed a long while ago. Frankly, he was disappointed in those two.
"And that old idiot wants to send them to the academy?" he scoffed.
The most talented people were the ones who leveraged their talent by combining it with hard work. If you expect talent to carry you all the way through, you're nothing but a naive fool.
It seemed like that was what they were in the end.
On the other hand, his son was a different story entirely. Zale found it hard to put a finger on it.
At times, it didn't even feel like the same boy from a week ago. Previously, Melchior continued training and conditioning his body, but it was largely aimless. His acts then were more like looking for a purpose to strive for, but the purpose itself didn't exist.
This time around now…
'I can feel it. The drive. Not to mention those slight energy fluctuations I've been sensing all this while.'
His eyes focused as the boy recovered and retrieved his weapons.
Thump~!
There it was again, that energy. That feeling. It was no longer suspicion or speculation. After watching the series of battles take place up till now, he had finally settled upon a conclusion.
'He is my son, but he has changed.'
Zale's forehead had creased from how often he furrowed his brows. Perhaps it was a sign that he was growing too old for this.
But he couldn't stop yet. Not even close.
. . .
*Melchior*
He stood, clear-headed, staring at the large beast in front. His burns were healed, but that was as far as it went.
All the other injuries from before remained to a small extent. He walked over to the side calmly, grabbing the bow and arrows on the ground. Unfortunately, what little was left of the arrows was down to just two.
'Was it Zale that healed me?'
Melchior scanned the surroundings, hoping to sense a whiff of his father somewhere. There was not a single trace of the man anywhere, but the sharp man was probably lurking somewhere.
There was no point in trying to figure out where the man was situated at this point.
Instead, he focused on the opponent in front of him.
"Let's finish this,"
For some reason, the heat no longer bothered him. His spirit energy was fully replenished and circulating even faster than before. It was very different. His memories told him that this phenomenon should have only happened past the first bottleneck. That bottleneck usually took the average Bonded two weeks to overcome.
He had overcome that after a single day of learning to use Spirit Energy.
No human being should be able to perform this feat. But…
'It isn't enough…'
Melchior placed an arrow in the string of his bow, staring at the beast. A glowing white glint swirled in his light blue eyes, seeming to grow bigger by the second.
He took to a quick sprint, ducking past the confused hand in a single second. The Flame Hound twisted in confusion and then turned to try to face him.
The boy wasn't there!
From above the beast himself, Melchior drew the singular arrow, pouring a big whiff of energy into it.
Then…
SWHIP~!
BOOM!
A large shockwave exploded as the wind gathered around the glowing white arrow and fell right onto the hound's head immediately.
Melchior's momentum had been depleted, and gravity dragged him down once more. But it wasn't done. Not even remotely.
Every muscle in his legs was strained as he pushed them to their limits and a large surge of energy passed through his entire body, gradually concentrating on his legs.
Then at their peak…
He jumped straight into the air and notched the final arrow in his bowstring. Finally, he poured what little was left of his energy reserves into the arrow.
CHAK~
CRACK!
The piece of wood began cracking under the extreme pressure of both energy and the force with which he pulled it.
There was no point in holding back.
No point in hiding.
At this point, his life was on the line.
It was him or it.
And so…
His eyes glowed fully white with coldness as he let go of the arrow once and for all.
"Fall."
Silence. Then everything.
The collapsing arrow shot down at an almost unseeable speed to everyone around. A loud explosion resounded right at the point of contact, hammering straight into the Flame Hound's skull.
CHAK.
The next sound was small, but still very much audible. It was the sound of the collapsing arrow living its final moments and lodging itself into the ground.
Another silence followed that. Melchor landed on the ground, a few metres away from the arrow inserted through the skull of the beast.
[Ding!]
[Anomalous Spirit Beast Killed]
[Reward: Fallen Angel Circulation Technique]
A second screen popped up in front of his head after that, displaying different contents.
[Ding]
[You have learned a new skill: Surge Jump (Lvl 1)]
[You have learned a new skill: Primitive Channelling]
[Your Charisma has levelled up to Lvl 1]
That was as far as the energy in his body could carry him to read. He fell, then dropped to the ground wordlessly.