Daisuke, Professor Bayley, Osten, and the rest of the adventurers had their mouths agape in plete and utter shock. For a moment, there was nothing but sileil the Professor spoke.
“A-Amazing!” he stammered, his eyes quivering.
While the css erupted in a wave of astonished whispers, Daisuke took a moment to analyze his Stats.
Status Window, he ted mentally.
[Name: Haxks
Species: Human
Level: 13 | EXP: 4,754/26,406 (18%)
Css: None
Affiliation: Adventurers’ Guild | Merts’ Guild
Title: Lone Wolf, Pathfinder, Unwavering Spirit, genial Denizen, Master of Divi, Devoted Hunter
HP: 894/894 | MP: 1242/1252
Str€ngt#: 0 (+15) | St@m!n@: 0 (+12) | Ag!lit￥: 0 (+25) | !nt€ll!g€nc€: 237 | D€xt€rit￥: 0 (+35) | p0ur€: 0 | !nd0m!t@bl€: 0
Stat Points: 0]
Daisuke’s eyes widened in arm. What the hell?
His Status Window flickered wildly, its digital dispy mimig the erratice of a dying light. The glitch mirrored the effects of the digital seizure that still pgued one of his skills.
Upon closer iion, a perplexing sight awaited him: all of his Stat Points were mysteriously ied into Intelligehen, just as abruptly as it had begun, the anomaly ceased, and everythiuro normalcy as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
[Name: Haxks
Species: Human
Level: 13 | EXP: 4,754/26,406 (18%)
Css: None
Affiliation: Adventurers’ Guild | Merts’ Guild
Title: Lone Wolf, Pathfinder, Unwavering Spirit, genial Denizen, Master of Divi, Devoted Hunter
HP: 1499/1499 | MP: 137/147
Strength: 48 (+15) | Stamina: 73 (+12) | Agility: 82 (+25) | Intelligence: 16 | Dexterity: 10 (+35) | posure: 5 | Indomitable: 3
Stat Points: 0]
As Daisuke grappled with the inexplicable bug… or phenomenon that had affected his Stats, Osten found himself breaking into a nervous sweat. However, a grin still tugged at the ers of his mouth.
It had bee abundantly clear to him that Daisuke was a mage—the intimidation that made him flin the ; the burst of speed in the cafeteria; and now the overwhelming power of his magical attack.
Mages were known for their impressive magical attack power, but they had limited health and pitifully weak defeo boot. In trast, Osten’s armored suit wasn’t just eye-catg; it boasted incredible physical and magical defense.
If he could turn a fight against Daisuke into one of attrition, he might just drain his mana over time, eventually allowing him to nd a signifit hit. It would only take one solid strike t Daisuke’s HP to a crushing zero.
“Mr. Starfrost,” called Professor Bayley, being to the silver-haired boy with a discreet wave of his hand. Leaning in closer, he whispered, “Are you… a mage or a warrior?”
“…I’m a warrior,” Daisuke whispered back, his voice carrying a hint of suspi.
The man’s expression paled slightly, but he made an effort to maintain his posure. “Very well. Please remain by my side until I instruct otherwise.”
Daisuke frowned inwardly but ceded to the and, his curiosity about the professor’s iions growing.
“Alright, everyone... that cludes the evaluation for mana output,” the professor decred with a firm nod. “Now let's shift gears and dive into the assessment for physical attack power and bat prowess. Prepare yourselves; we're about to embark on a small tour.”
His gaze swept over the members of Group B, log eyes with each student as if challenging them personally. “Each of you will be armed with a wooden on and engage in single bat. Once a winner is decred, two more partits will step forward to take their p the arena.”
He paused for effect, allowing the anticipation to build. “We'll tihis process until we have our finalists, who will then face off against each other in an ultimate showdown. Only one will emerge victorious.”
Osten, his bitterness clear, gestured to Daisuke and questioned, “And what about him?”
“The finalist will spar against Mr. Starfrost to determihe ultimate victor.”
Osten ched his teeth in a mixture of annoyand envy, but the professor paid him no mind.
“Sg will be based on form, teique, power, and speed,” Professor Bayley expined. “Matches will be decided definitively when I give the call. If there are no further inquiries,” he sed the assembly, ensuring everyone was attehe first two testants, please select a on and step forward.”
“These is have no clue who they're up against,” murmured the girl beside Osten, her voice tinged with disdain. She shot a sidelong g the other students, her expression a mix of annoyand superiority. “Even the Professor doesn't seem to know his pce.”
“We're the stro duo in our level rahe tank added with a scowl. “And we hail from the mightiest guild. Let's show these fetuses what we're made of, Osten; it's high time these rookies learheir goddamn pce!”
Osteed a wooden longsword, his anger simmerih a veneer of calm determination. All he could think about was crushing Daisuke and anyone else who dared to challenge him. And that’s precisely what he did; the professor had difficulty sg the bout as it was entirely a one-sided battle.
As the tour ensued, Daisuke discreetly used the Eye of Verity to analyze the Stats of every partit. Although the average level of the adventurers was 15, they exhibited varying degrees of skill and teique.
However, no level of ability could pete with the overwhelming advantage of equipment, and this stark reality propelled Osten and his allies forward until only Osten remaianding.
Daisuke seized the opportunity to ask, “Why didn’t you allow me to take part in the preliminaries?”
The professor’s reply came in a hushed tone, “Because I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to prauge your capabilities without presenting you with a det challenge.”
Daisuke didn’t offer a response. Instead, he retrieved a pair of daggers from the ons rad positioned himself ter stage, his demeanor posed.
Osten, grinning with malice, couldn’t tain his excitement. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment,” he taunted. “I’ll break every damn bone in your body.”
Elena and her panions looked on in dismay. She cupped her hands together and started whispering a prayer, her ears sagging, her tail limp. But Daisuke wasn’t worried, nor was he nervous. He held Osten’s gaze nontly, ign the spite and hate that emanated from them.
Eye of Verity, he ted the skill mentally.
[Name: Osten
Species: Human
Level: 19 | EXP: 27,478/56,406 (48.7%)
Css: Warrior
Affiliation: Adventures’ Guild | Dragonsbane Guild
Title: None
HP: 2655/2655 | MP: 82/82
Strength: 120 (+10) | Stamina: 40 (+5) | Agility: 25 (+5) | Intelligence: 5 (+6)
Stat Points: 0]
Before Daisuke could browse the skills se, Osten charged forth with a primal roar, his eyes abze with a wild fervor that hinted of madness. He was evidently uned with caution, his reckless advance mirr his fiden both his equipment and his own power.
Maintaining his posure, Daisuke faced his adversary's oning sword, its menag arc rising from the ground. Swiftly crossing his wooden daggers, he met the attack head-on, then seamlessly transitioned into a backflip in the same beat.
Professor Bayley watched ily. Impressive! He leapt backwards at just the right moment to avoid taking the full brunt of the blow. That was quick thinking.
Daisuke frowime seeming to slow to a crawl. He's level 19... six levels above me,” he mused inwardly, his mind rag to calcute the implications. But if I factor in my total Stat Points, theoretically, that would put me at level 24... or 32 if I include the bonus Stats.
The instant Daisuke’s feet touched the ground, his body leaned forward, and then he vanished in the blink of an eye.
Osten paled, his eyes darting from side to side. He’s fast!
Suddenly, a dagger whizzed toward him from the side. With a grunt, he turo deflect the projectile. It spun in the air. But it was all but a distra; Daisuke had already repositioned himself behind him, as if materializing there, his dagger breag the gap between his armor ptes at the hip.
Osten winced, his expression tightening, but he quickly regained his posure, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. “Crest Moon Ssh!” he roared, invoking a skill.
His wooden sword shimmered, emanating a crimson arc of light remi of a mana-fed projectile as he swung it with all his might. Yet, to his dismay, it met nothing but empty air. Daisuke had vanished without a trace, as elusive as a fleeting mirage in the desert sands.
CLASP!
Daisuke caught the dagger that was about to hit the ground, butterscotch eyes gleaming fiercely. Brandishing both ons, he unleashed a barrage of blinding attacks on Osten, like a whirlwind, targeting the small gaps in his armor.
Overwhelmed, Osten’s eyes snapped open in e. “Shell Break!” he bellowed, activating another skill.
Daisuke leaped ba time as a transparent barrier momentarily expanded outward from Osten’s body, like a jagged stone wall.
Daisuke’s eyes fshed calgly.
Timing the precise moment the spell would dissipate, he charged in. Osten raised his sword, poised to attack or defend, but a familiar skill from the enemy had his entire body grinding to a halt like a rusty gearbox in dire need of repair.
Intimidate! Daisuke uttered, invoking the skill.
Helplessly, behind his helmet's visor, Osten's eyes widened in horror as a dagger halted mere inches from his face, its wooden edge poised menagly. With a mixture of shod disbelief, he shifted his gaze from the on to its wielder, just in time to witness a head of silver hair being raised, revealing a pair of butterscotch eyes blinking open.
“Checkmate,” Daisuke decred, his voice calm and fident, which was followed by the t, “Magic Missile.”
PHSSSHHH!
An explosioed, sending Osten hurtling to the ground like a discarded puppet. His once-imposi y in ruins, shattered by the force of the bst, leaving his fad armor scorched. He bore a stupefied expression as his body y sprawled on the ground.
“And we have our victor,” Professor Bayley announced, bringing the match to its clusion.
The crowd erupted in cheers. Elena and her friends embraced each other, jumping up and down with joy.
Meanwhile, Osten’s ckeys hurried over to give him a helping hand, but he clicked his tongue and shuhem bitterly, a murderous gaze fixated on the bastard who had just bested him—no, shamed him in front of dozens of people.
Vaughn_RR_Seider
