Chapter 572 - The Individual Tournament 6
Uno's hammer came down like a meteor upon Hera who was completely defenseless at this time. She was smashed into the depths of the arena by it, her body bloodied and turned into mush, then cauterized by the heat.
Uno panted heavily and raised his hammer, his body shaking with strain from the damage he had suffered. His HP was down to less than 10%, which should have ended him. In fact, Uno should have not walked out of that explosion with a whole body, especially with his armor searing hot like this.
His saving grace became one of his passives that triggered when his health had fallen under a certain amount.
｢Last Stand – Passive skill
Effect: If you are the only tank within an area of 100 meters and have less than 30% HP remaining, all your stats are increased by 20% and your skills have no cooldowns.｣
This boost had granted him a way out of that otherwise fatal situation. Uno gazed at the charred corpse of Hera with a solemn expression, the cheering crowd rendered silent as many were traumatized by the raw sight.
Even though Hera was impassive and expressionless, she was still extremely pretty and her short stature had made her exude an air of cuteness. To reconcile that lovely lass with that blackened meat paste was horrible.
The core members were also silent, not passing judgment on what had occurred. Dreary Traveler was the only one who clenched his fists while looking at his woman, if he had a skill called Death Stare he might be tempted to use it. However ultimately, he sighed and relaxed, choosing not to blame Uno for just participating in this battle.
Sixth match winner: Alpha Male!
Uno and Hera were beamed to the side, fully restored. The Vanguard no longer looked like a molten warrior and Hera was also back to being hale and hearty. Her face was still impassive, as if the horror she just suffered did not exist. Her lover patted her head without saying anything else.
In truth, it had all happened in an instant, so she had felt nothing. Of course, if someone were to show her the video or image, she might not feel as good.
Uno simply nodded to her, and she nodded back.
No hard feelings.
7th Match: Loli King vs Tunder Power!
This match was once again an interesting match-up because the previously obscure Tunder Power had risen to worldwide fame as a member of Mexico's team. He had shown off his skills, wit, and craftiness during the Individual Battle Tower and the Group Battle Tower.
They were wondering what kind of performance he would show in this battle.
As for his opponent… the crowd did not know how to even consider him.
Hey bro, what's up with that name? Loli King? Don't you mean Prison King? What a pervert!
Many women in the crowd snorted with disdain when they saw such a name, booing the fellow as he came on stage. As for the fellows in the crowd, most were frowning, but some were gazing at him with worship for being brave.
Loli King wore a set of Bandolier-like armor, with two straps crossing over his chest to make an 'X'. He also wore a battle skirt that was worn by the scots in war, giving him a strange look overall.
He was a young man, but with a thick and burly body. This was less due to his natural build, but due to his class.
｢Beastmaster - Epic Class (Rank 3)
Skills: Nature's Aura (Passive), Enhanced Body (Passive), Beast Transformation (Active), Beast Summoning (Active), Beast Fusion (Active).
Starting Stats: Str 30, Dex 15, End 20, Int 10, Spr 10, Cha 10, Lck 10
Exp gain rate: 90%
Rank up difficulty: 55%
Class weapons: None.
Class skills: Any Druid, Nature or Taming.｣
｢Nature's Aura – Passive skill
Effect: The Beastmaster is one with nature, having grown from a humble druid who sought to heal to a warrior who allied with the wild to bring justice to the world. You are no longer able to attract aggro from monsters classified as beasts, and many approach you for taming.｣
｢Enhanced Body – Passive skill
Effect: As a trained warrior, you have honed your body to its limits in order to survive the transformation from man to beast. Your Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance are increased by 30% permanently.｣
｢Beast Transformation – Active skill
Effect: Transform from a human into a chosen beast form. Depending on the beast, your stats will magnify to represent the beast's strength at your level and Rank.
Duration: 10 minutes
Cooldown: 30 minutes.｣
｢Beast Summoning – Active skill
Effect: Instantly summon a tamed beast from the wild to support you in battle. The beast's stats will be capped at your level and Rank for the duration of its summon.
Duration: 30 minutes
Cooldown: 50 minutes.｣
｢Beast Fusion – Active skill
Effect: Under the effect of Beast Transformation, if you have a summoned beast within range, the two of you may fuse to acquire the sum of your total stats and strength for a short period. Once this skill elapses, your beast will be forcibly sent back and your transformation will be undone.
Duration: 1 minute
Cooldown: 1 day.｣
Tunder Power came up the stage calmly and stately from the right side. He wore a set of leather armor that was mixed with some cloth, especially his full body trench coat. With his bow and arrows placed behind his back, Tunder looked extremely cool.
Ilverios was surprised when he heard many of the ladies in the crowd cheer for him. He did not really see himself as attractive as most of the people from Supernatural were good-looking, so he had never before been given special attention.
However, to the normal folk, he was simply too suave. As a Wood Elf, how could he not be attractive? He even tied his shoulder-length black hair into a ponytail, which further added to his wild aura.
Once again, one had to wonder about the AI's intentions. This fight was between two men of the forest, a Beastmaster, and Wood Elf archer. Putting aside the dynamics of how archers and beastmasters fought, just this fact alone made many core members rub their chins with interest.
When Amber called for the fight to begin, the two men did not waste any time. Since the match would last only three minutes, Loli King instantly used his class' bread and butter skills Beast Transformation and Beast Summoning.
Immediately, he roared and went on all fours, slamming the ground with his right hand. His body elongated and grew more muscular, fur bursting from his pale skin and covering his entire body as stripes too emerged.
Eventually, the King symbol appeared on his forehead, signifying the end of his transformation. Loli King had become a Tiger King!
｢Name: Loli King – Rank 3 Beastmaster
Level: 100
HP: 2,998,000/2,998,000｣
His stats had grown to encapsulate what a Rank 3 Tiger King would have at that level. His HP had increased by over a hundredfold, and his physical stats had increased by 400%!
However, this wasn't all. With a roar of majesty that made many hearts palpitate, a form appeared beside Loli King from a portal that showed the background of a jungle. It was another Tiger King with the exact same look!
｢Name: Tiger King (Loli King) – Major Rank monster
Level: 100
HP: 2,998,000/2,998,000｣
This was enough to unsettle most onlookers. Two identical tigers with the same strength… just who could stand up to them?
Tunder's eyes narrowed slightly. By choosing another Tiger King, it was obvious to anyone in the know that this fellow was planning to fuse later, and since they were both the same species, the fusion's results should be extremely good.
However, the fusion had a maximum duration of 1 minute, so it would obviously be only used as a trump card, leading Tunder to make a simple plan. He would force the fellow into dire straits and make him use that ability, power through the duration, and defeat him when he was sapped of all power.
Clean and efficient.
To begin, he first used his Lock-on skill in Loli King while he could still tell who was who.
｢Lock-on – Active skill
Effect: Place a marker on an enemy that allows you to track them regardless of distance, location, or defenses. This cannot be blocked or dispelled.
Cooldown: 20 hours.｣
Immediately, Loli King felt immensely uncomfortable, as if the light brown eyes of Tunder that were specked with smidgens of gold could see him no matter where he went. This feeling of someone challenging his authority enraged him as his beast form made him far more primal, so he roared and charged at the Ranger.
The summoned Tiger King also followed behind him, racing towards Tunder's left while Loli King came in from the right. From their tacit cooperation, it was clear that he and this tiger had spent many fights working together and had built up a subconscious understanding of what to do.
Tunder smiled and nocked three arrows right away. As the first ranker in the Supernatural trainee competition back then, Riveting Night had promised the winner a free personally crafted weapon from Draco.
As Draco had come back for a long while and even made items for his wives as well as some extra's for Slim Fatty, he naturally made the bow and a set of 30 arrows for Tunder per his specification.
Previously, he had been using Gandiva, but that Epic bow had been given to Shani after he acquired his current Legendary bow, Reaper.
｢Reaper – Bow
Rank: Legendary
Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000
Effects:
Passive 1 – Multishot: Arrows numbering between 2 to 5 can be fired at once, all of them mimicking the target of the main arrow without the need for the Dexterity check of the user.
Passive 2 – Critical: No matter which part of the body an arrow from this bow strikes, it will be treated as a critical hit.
Active 1 – Arrow Storm: Fire every arrow in your quiver at once, with their effects boosted by 1000%. All enemies within a range of 10 km will be struck by their effects cumulatively and simultaneously.
Note: This skill can only be used if your quicker is full.｣
It was tailor-made for Tunder. He was someone who could manipulate the speed of his arrows and fire more than one a second. The first passive allowed him to shoot more than two arrows at once without having to manually adjust his aim, saving him energy.
The second passive allowed him to maximize his use of multiple arrows. Tunder preferred striking different body parts in one volley rather than aiming for a specific place. Legs and torso were easier to hit, so there was no need to aim for the head or arms in that case since the damage was all the same.
His quiver supported up to 30 arrows, and all of them were above the Rare Rank. 10 were Epic Arrows, with 5 Legendary ones, and the rest Rare to balance it out.
Right now, he had nocked three Rare Arrows and fired them away.
｢Poison Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Toxic effect +10%｣
｢Explosive Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Bomb effect +10%｣
｢Piercing Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Piercing effect +10%｣
In truth, Draco did not make these Rare Arrows for him, Tunder had purchased them from the Rank 7 Shop. Draco had made him 25 Epic Arrows and 5 Legendary ones, but he kept some of his Epic arrows in reserve.
After all, this wasn't the final battle. He had to keep some trump cards hidden. He was also the least sociable among the core members, so not everyone knew his abilities and what he could do.
The Poison Arrow was the slowest, while the Explosive Arrow took the lead. It struck the area near the feet of the Tiger King beast, sending it flying upward with a yelp of pain. The Piercing Arrow then tore through its right leg, making it scream in pain.
Loli King was shocked and enraged by this. He noticed that the Poison Arrow was headed for him and avoided it with ease. Tunder though, smiled and hooked a finger.
Loli King was alarmed by this action and jumped to the side again, noticing that the arrow blasted past him and returned to Tunder's grip. This made him feel fear, since if he had not had the gumption to dodge, he would have been pierced by that thing in the ass!
Insidious!
Tunder clicked his tongue lightly and nocked five arrows this time. He aimed for the staggering Tiger King beats and fire out another set of Rare Arrows.
｢Flame Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Burn effect +10%｣
｢Ice Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Freezing effect +10%｣
｢Wind Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Slicing effect +10%｣
｢Earth Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Smashing effect +10%｣
Along with these, he sent the Poison Arrow he had recovered back out. Seeing as his Tiger King beast was in no state to dodge, Loli King leapt in the way and raised a paw to smack away the arrows.
However, he was too confident in the power of his beast form merged with his intellect. The Wind Arrow simply cut up his skin, revealing surface-level wounds. The Fire Arrow burned one of his paws black, lighting it on fire.
The Ice Arrow froze the other paw, turning it into a block of frozen ice that could shatter at any time. Finally, the earth arrow smacked him in the center of his belly since Loli King had sat on his hind legs to use his two front paws.
This knocked him away, like a person shoulder bashing another. He spat out blood and crashed into another section of the stage, trying to put out the fire on one paw and unfreeze the other.
This left the Tiger King beast to be struck in the throat with the Poison Arrow, making it gurgle with pain as the toxins began working quickly in stripping away its life.
The crowd was left shocked and amazed. In just two attacks, Tunder had outmaneuvered his foes! He had severely injured his main enemy and almost crippled the sidekick!
What's more formidable, Tunder had only used seven Rare Rank arrows to achieve this, so what if he pulled out his bigger firepower? He could have ended it much faster, yes, but he was wary of something, which was why he was patiently dealing with his prey.
Loli King used the flames on his left paw of thaw his right, the two canceling each other out. He could barely rise to his feet as he was winded and his two front paws were severely damaged.
He was shocked when he saw that his summon was heavily poisoned and had one leg ruined. It seemed as if things were looking dire for him, so he decisively went all out.
Beast Fusion!
Immediately, he began to float in the air with a white glow covering him while his Tiger King also manifested the same visuals. The two then flew towards each other rapidly, colliding at their bellies before exploding in a thunderous glow.
From the magnificent light came a huge monster that was about the size of a mammoth, its golden fur billowing in the wind as the 'king' character on its forehead changed to 'emperor'.
｢Name: Loli King (Tiger King) – Rank 3 Beastmaster (Major Rank Monster)
Level: 100
HP: 5,996,000/5,996,000｣
Seeing as all the damage that had been done to him had been reset, Tunder's eyes narrowed. Loli King then gazed upon Tunder with a hint of disdain as he spoke in a thunderous voice.
"I am neither Loli King nor Tiger King. I am the Liger Emperor!"
The self-proclaimed Liger Emperor leapt forth like a speed train and raised a paw to smash where Tunder stood.
"And I will be the one to destroy you!"
Tunder agilely dodged and flipped upon the paw of the Lifer Emperor. From there, he nocked three of his Epic Arrows, his right eye closed due to the nature of them.
One was bright and shone with a splendor, the other was dark and glowed like the night while the final one was green and made one feel nauseous. They were the Epic Grade Light, Darkness, and Toxic Arrows respectively.
(Author's Note: I ain't gonna bother showing their stats because that requires too much brainpower and wastes wordcount anyway.)
The three had their active skills activated as they shot out. The Light Arrow flared brightly for a second, blinding all onlookers. The Liger Emperor was especially plagued by this as he howled in pain.
The arrow then struck his shoulder, and a beam of Light Energy struck him from above, searing a hole right through the joint. Tunder Power, who was calmly standing atop the raised paw, had to jump off since that paw became limp.
The Dark Arrow seemed to suck in ambient light as it struck the other shoulder joint. A black miasma erupted from the collision, spinning like a small sun before disappearing.
To the horror of all onlookers, the mound of flesh that had once been there was gone, looking like a beast had taken a huge bite out of the flesh there.
The Liger Emperor staggered painfully, shocked by the assault on his person and how powerful Tunder's arrows were. Realizing he could not allow the last one to hit him at all costs, he decisively roared with empyrean strength.
It produced a shockwave loud enough to blow back the arrow. Even Tunder had to plunge an arrow into the arena and grip it tightly to avoid being blown out. He also made sure to grab his Epic Poison Arrow that flew past him, a solemn expression on his face.
The Liger Emperor ended his roar and shook his body. Even though he had been hurt by those arrows, one could see his body begin to regenerate quick enough that in a matter of second, the damage would be undone.
Tunder was obviously not going to allow that.