Chapter 63: Suppress the Mountains and Then Sleep

“Wow! The ghost injured the Titan Bear so soon!”

“Who are you calling a ghost? It’s clearly a Dark Specter.”

“Why aren’t they using spells?”

The spectating students clamored as they watched the two parties disengage after the small exchange.

The teachers also watched attentively, as the fights this late in the competition were never boring.

Marius was also seated amongst the crowd, expressionlessly watching the match. But no one noticed the dark look in his eyes, as well as his tightly clenched fists.

On the arena, Ain’s and Elias’ gazes met after they joined up with their spirit pets. They knew that the real battle was about to begin. Without any words, the two dashed towards each other again. But this time, not only did the spirit pets follow closely behind, but spirit energy also circulated within their bodies, preparing for the upcoming clash.

When there was only a meter left between them, Elias suddenly twisted his body and aimed a fierce wheel kick at Ain’s face.

Ain’s reaction was instantaneous, reacting the moment he saw Elias shift his center of gravity. With his forward momentum, Ain could only dodge to the sides. But just as he followed through with the dodge, a large claw, bigger than his head, appeared in his path.

Seeing the attack, Ain wasn’t surprised and responded calmly. Premonition had already warned him of the danger right as he was about to dodge.

Following the momentum from his dodge, Ain leaned forward and rolled, allowing the claw to swipe over his head, hitting empty air. Right on the heels of that, Ain sprang up with fluid movements and attacked the Titan Bear with a side kick.

Spirit Impact ensured maximum damage as his kick landed on the bear’s hind leg.

Bam!

Ain immediately followed up with a series of punches, augmented with Spirit Impact, all aimed at the bear’s thick hind legs.

“Roar!”

The Titan Bear let out another pain-filled roar. Although Ain hadn’t used Possession, the damage from just Spirit Impact was still significant against an Intermediate Rank-1 Spirit Pet.

Elias had already noticed Ain’s attacks, but he couldn’t immediately assist the Titan Bear. At the moment, he had just dodged Nox’s multiple swipes with Phantom Claws before managing to land a punch, pushing it back. Due to Spirit Impact, Nox also suffered some damage.

This time, after exchanging one move, both parties entangled with the other’s spirit pet, but battle was still in Ain’s favor.

The Titan Bear was a big target, making it difficult for it to dodge. Although its agility wasn’t as low as the Metal Golem’s, Ain could still use a similar strategy to wear it down. Moreover, its defense was clearly weaker than the golems as well.

On the other hand, Nox was much smaller and more agile. As a ghost-attribute spirit pet, physical attacks augmented by Spirit Impact still dealt damage, but the magnitude was much lower.

Elias quickly became aware of this fact and sent some instructions to his spirit pet. It was difficult to defeat either party individually.

Both parties were fighting within a few meters of each other. With the Titan Bear’s large body, it could be said to be right next to Elias.

Just as Ain landed his punches, the Titan Bear stood up straight and raised both its claw into the sky. With an earthy glow around its arms, it slammed them onto the ground with tremendous strength.

Crack!

Shards of broken earth suddenly emerged from the ground and flew towards Ain at great speeds. They spread in a conical wave that got wider the further it traveled.

With no place to dodge, Ain immediately cast Shield to block in front of him. Actually, as soon as the Titan Bear stood up, he was already prepared. This was Rock Frenzy, an earth-attribute skill that shot out a rain of rocks, covering a large area.

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This skill had already been revealed in the earlier matches, so Ain was always on the lookout.

Right after casting its skill, the Titan Bear didn’t pursue Ain but turned around to attack Nox instead.

Meanwhile, Ain couldn’t leave his cover as the Rock Frenzy was still ongoing.

Nox, who was fighting Elias, saw the Titan Bear approaching threateningly, and panicked a little. Just as it was in a pickle, Ain’s instructions arrived, and it complied without further thought.

Instead of flying backward to dodge, it flew straight up and avoided the encirclement altogether.

Seeing that Nox was out of reach, the pair hesitated for a second before turning towards Ain. The entire battle was an improvisation; they had no trouble adjusting their plans. They shifted the target of their trump card from Nox to Ain.

Ain, behind the now cracked shield, noticed the change. Just as he was about to respond and use Spirit Blast, a heavy pressure, like a cloud burst, suddenly descended out of nowhere and firmly suppressed his body. Even his mind felt a little sluggish, as his thoughts slowed down. Of course, with his innate talent, Wisdom Root, the decrease in cognitive abilities didn’t affect him whatsoever.

But the pressure on his body was immense, making it difficult for him to move. It was a little similar to what he faced in the preliminary round but also inherently different.

Due to this, Ain’s actions paused. The Spirit Blast that had just begun to condense collapsed immediately, and the foot he had lifted to move pressed back onto the ground.

As Ain suddenly paused and seemed to be facing something unknown, the observing students were baffled. Hugo also looked at Ain with bewilderment. But his perception was a lot keener compared to his peers. Although he couldn’t tell the exact reason, he realized that Ain was affected by some kind of power.

“That’s Mountain Suppression!”

“It’s a difficult skill to learn at lower ranks; that Titan Bear’s talent is pretty good.”

While the students were confused, the teachers immediately recognized the cause and effect, and informed the nearby students. This was Elias's trump card, Mountain Suppression!

Mountain Suppression was a rare earth-attribute skill. It could directly suppress the target’s body and mind with the force of a mountain. Some lucky Titan Bears could awaken this skill as an innate skill upon evolution. This was clearly the case for the Titan Bear in front of Ain.

With his plan reaching half-completion, Elias rushed up to Ain with the Titan Bear, ready to take this opportunity to end the match. Having no other way out of this predicament, Ain sent some thoughts over to Nox.

Right before Elias and the Titan Bear reached Ain, a faint, creepy, yet melodious sound suddenly resounded in their vicinity.

“Woooooooooooo… Wooooooooooo…”

“Woooooooooooo… Wooooooooooo…”

The sound had only appeared for a second, and before Elias and the Titan Bear could make sense of it, their eyes became heavy, and a wave of drowsiness struck their minds. Lethargy filled their bodies, and an intense urge to sleep appeared in their hearts.

As their consciousness slowly sank, Elias suddenly snapped out of drowsiness and shouted in his mind ‘No! I can’t fall asleep here!’

But before the sudden burst of mental fortitude could assist him, bouts of dizziness struck him again like waves at the seashore, constant and periodic.

In the end, he subconsciously relaxed his body and was unwillingly lulled to sleep. Beside him, the Titan Bear had already hunched over, its snores like a thunderstorm.

As soon as the Titan Bear lost consciousness, the effects of Mountain Suppression disappeared, freeing Ain from the pressure.

“Whew.” Ain breathed out slowly upon his release and focused his gaze on his opponents, who were sleeping in unnatural positions.

Nox took the opportunity to fly over to Ain and circled around him, asking for praise, “Wooo…”

‘You did great! Your new skill really came in handy.’

Receiving what it desired, Nox continued circling around Ain before settling on his shoulder.

The skill Nox just used was called Hex: Cursed Lullaby. This was a ghost-attribute skill capable of lulling its targets to sleep. This was Nox’s most recent, self-taught, skill. Just a few days ago, Nox comprehended it on its own and displayed its effects on the pups and the cat, instantly knocking them out.

Ain smelled another interesting story behind the skill, but Nox refused to tell him. He didn’t force his spirit pet to divulge its secrets, as he could already grasp some things based on who its first targets were.

Hex: Cursed Lullaby and Malicious Gaze both served a similar role in controlling the enemy. To Ain, it didn’t make much of a difference. The only convenient thing about Hex: Cursed Lullaby was that its effects were difficult to counter, and the target would be completely incapacitated.

Otherwise, he would’ve used Malicious Gaze to stun the two, and then attack them. But the stun duration varied based on the opponent’s mental fortitude and might even be ineffective, so Ain opted to put his opponents to sleep.

After observing the effects of the new skill in actual combat, Ain looked toward Teacher Linus, who also served as the judge. After considering for a couple of seconds, Teacher Linus made her judgment, and the ending buzzer sounded.

Buzz!

“The match has ended! After a spectacular battle, Ain Weisman has become victorious!”

This time, there was no silence, and the students broke out into a cheer.

At the same time, maybe it was due to the buzzer or the cheers, Elias and the Titan Bear also regained consciousness and awoke from their short slumber. The effects of Hex: Cursed Lullaby didn’t last for long. This was due to their similar ranks, as well as Nox’s lack of mastery.

The two looked around the arena in a daze before everything clicked in their minds. Elias let out a sigh filled with various emotions and returned to his feet.

Ain walked up to him and extended his hand. Without much thought, Elias grasped it and shook it firmly before turning around to leave.

Ain smiled and followed behind amidst the cheers from the crowd.