Luna was in the laboratory as usual, trying to create a new piece of equipment. At that moment, she felt her entire body grow hot. She instinctively knew the reason for this was that Davi was calling upon her power.
She sighed, wondering if he was okay. Still, she closed her eyes and willingly granted him a part of her strength. If she could, she would give everything to him.
Far from that peaceful laboratory, it was this power that saved the boy's life as he was tossed back and forth in the arena.
Even with 20% of Luna's stats, it was obvious that the boy was far from being a match for Rowan, who easily dominated him. The most he could do was dodge a blow or two.
Rowan, on the other hand, grew frustrated by how long it was taking to defeat a talentless commoner. This man was annoyingly persistent and resilient. On top of that, he had immense experience in real battles, making all his movements perfect and precise.
These factors combined kept him alive for a while, but it was clear that all he could do in this situation was endure a little longer. Furthermore, if things continued this way, his 10 minutes would soon run out.
"Stop, please!" Ember begged, unable to bear seeing her companion being beaten so badly. "Why are you doing this? Just give up, it's impossible!"
Davi ignored the girl's words, focusing solely on the battle and the enemy before him. Rowan, however, was not so focused and became irritated by her interference.
"Shut up," he muttered, launching a burst of fire at his sister.
However, before the attack could hit the girl, Davi defended her using
His thermal resistance skill was rising at an impressive speed and had already reached level 15. That said, he was far from immune to those flames, and an intense pain coursed through his entire body.
It was obvious that he didn't need to do that, Ember would have survived, but he still did it. It was hard to explain why, David simply didn't want to see his companion get hurt like that anymore.
"If it's impossible, then I'll make it possible," he shouted, partly to the girl and partly to himself. "Because, in the end, this is the only way to achieve my dream," he roared gutturally.
Once again, the boy charged aggressively, getting as close as he could to Rowan. The mage was extremely powerful, but all of his attacks were more effective at a distance. And his despise for training in hand to hand combat, made this his weakness. That's why Davi needed to close in to level the playing field.
There was only one problem with this plan: getting closer also made him an easier target, and any small mistake could result in his death. The other issue was that, even if his movements were flawless and he dodged every attack, Rowan still had far superior stats compared to his own.
In other words, even though Davi was far more skilled in close combat, the sheer difference in power made victory impossible. As a result, even when he managed to get closer, the boy couldn't put any real pressure on his opponent.
But it wasn't as if his efforts were completely useless. Amidst it all, he continued diligently storing power in the golem's core. As long as he could hold out long enough, there was still a chance of victory.
However, those chances seemed to dwindle by the second. Once again, Davi was struck by an attack, and more burns spread across his body. The excruciating pain made him scream, but he didn't even have time to complain, he had to keep dodging.
Anyone watching could see the only possible outcome was Davi's death. No matter how hard he tried, it was impossible. The difference in power was simply too great.
If only he had a little more power. Watching it all, Ember cursed her own cowardice. If Davi, with so little strength, could fight so valiantly, what excuse did she have to act so pathetically?
She punched the ground in frustration, her chest tightening. She wanted more than anything to help her companion, but she had already given up, and interfering in the fight now would mean her disqualification.
Yet she couldn't bear to watch any longer when Davi was struck again. Her body moved on its own as she ran to his aid, tears streaming down her face as she saw his body covered in so many wounds
"Get out of my way, you failure," Rowan growled, truly enraged at that point. With every step he took, the ground beneath him turned to lava. In his hand, he concentrated an enormous amount of flames, ready to deliver the final blow.
If I don't do something, my brother is going to kill him. Ember thought as she stood up, determined to fight. But before she could take a single step forward, a hand on her shoulder stopped her. It was Davi's.
"You don't need to worry. I'm going to win, so don't throw everything away by getting disqualified." Despite everything, Davi's gaze was murderous, he was ready to do whatever it took to destroy his enemy.
Looking at him, Ember's heart filled with despair. She knew that if this continued, Davi would only get hurt even more. Was there no way she could help him? Was there nothing she could do...
Yes, there was.
It was so stupid, it couldn't possibly be true.
But it was.
Deep down, she had already noticed it: Davi's rising stats. It was probably that strange ability,
She didn't know if a coward like her was worthy of that man, but even so, she decided to do what she could. Ember pressed herself against Davi and kissed him passionately.
Rowan, witnessing the scene, stood frozen, unable to react. After all, what was happening was far beyond anything he could have imagined. What the hell was going on in this battlefield?
But it didn't matter if it was absurd or not, because Davi had just received 20% of Ember's power, along with one of her abilities. And for the next five minutes, the course of the battle would change significantly.
Activating the
Rowan was completely caught off guard when Davi suddenly launched himself with overwhelming speed and strength he had never shown before. The impact of the first strike forced Rowan to stagger back a few steps, something he never expected to feel from such an inferior opponent.
"What…?" Rowan barely had time to finish the sentence before Davi was already on him again, his punches and kicks landing with precision and ferocity.
Davi landed a straight punch to Rowan's face, the sound of the impact echoing through the arena. He followed it up with a brutal sequence of attacks, each strike forcing Rowan further back, growing more desperate with each hit. For the first time, Ember's arrogant brother was being dominated in combat.
This is impossible! There's no way a commoner could pressure me! Rowan tried to shout, but his words were cut off by a powerful kick to the stomach, making him double over in pain.
"Nice to meet you, my name's Davi, and I think I exist," the boy retorted sarcastically as if he could read the mind of the idiot in front of him. Then he continued his relentless assault
Rowan was undoubtedly more powerful, that hadn't changed, yet he was being completely overwhelmed. The reasons were many: his lack of experience in real battles, his arrogance in allowing Davi to get close, and above all, Davi's insane courage.
There were very few people who dared to fight so recklessly. If Davi made even a small mistake in his movements and was hit point-blank by his opponent, he would likely be finished.
Maintaining such a precise and intense sequence of strikes was nearly impossible, especially when he was constantly being burned by the heat around him. Yet, somehow, he seemed capable of making the impossible possible.
There was just one problem, he still lacked attack power. Because he needed to keep Rowan constantly distracted, Davi couldn't stop throwing punches and kicks for even a second. But those simple strikes weren't strong enough to bring his opponent down.
Moreover, as time passed, Davi had to push his body and mind further. On top of that, his ability was nearing its limit.
Perhaps if he didn't have a time limit with his skill, victory would have been possible. But as the battle dragged on into a test of endurance, a clear winner emerged.
After nearly four minutes of relentless attacks, Davi faltered, and Rowan finally managed to push him away. Having learned from his mistake, Rowan followed up with an implacable sequence of attacks, making it impossible for Davi to get close again.
While Davi's stats were still high, he continued dodging in one way or another, all while absorbing more and more of the power from Rowan's blasts.
But suddenly, his body grew heavy, the time limit on his ability had been reached. And with that, he became easy prey.
"As I suspected, you have a time limit, don't you?" Rowan stopped attacking and approached arrogantly, delivering a strong kick to the boy.
After taking so many hits, Rowan at least wanted to exact some revenge.
And after all of that, Davi was cornered. His back was against the wall, his entire body ached, and he could no longer even stand. In fact, his vision was beginning to blur, darkness creeping in as he felt his limit approaching.
"This is your final destination as a failure. I'll admit, if your ability wasn't so useless, I would have lost," Rowan said, pointing his wand at the boy. "I'll acknowledge you were at least a good opponent. Now, come on, use that final trump card you've been saving. I'll show you the difference in our levels."
"So, you knew," Davi weakly raised a small red sphere in his opponent's direction.
Rowan, in turn, summoned a shield of flames in front of him; unlike his sister, he had defensive abilities. He stood, waiting for the attack to come.
And nothing.
The final blow never came...
Before Rowan could even be surprised or find the situation strange, a massive explosion struck him from behind. The cause was a small drone, resembling an insect, carrying the golem's core.
The explosion was deafening, and a column of fire and debris rose around Rowan. The force of the attack was so immense that the ground beneath him cracked, forming a crater. The flames continued to dance ferociously, scorching the air around him. For a few moments, everything was silent and shrouded in smoke.
But as the smoke finally began to clear, a shadow emerged from the wreckage. Rowan was standing, injured, his clothes torn, his body covered in burns and soot stains, but he was still breathing. A dangerous and dark glint burned in his eyes, a determination that seemed both sadistic and desperate.
"Hmph…" Rowan laughed, a hoarse and contemptuous chuckle. "Impressive, plebeian. I was almost defeated by such a despicable trick. But you forgot something important... I, too, have a final trump card."
His eyes now resembled those of a demon, and red scales began to spread across his body. Even though some were damaged, he remained alive. Rowan had activated his transformation ability,
"Now, you will witness the true power of pure blood."
Davi, still on the ground and utterly exhausted, watched in despair. All his effort, all his struggle to finally create an opening, and Rowan was still standing, now stronger than ever.
He tried to get up but was unable to. Then…
[The skill
He heard the notification echo in his mind.