When Leohorn used the title skill <Warrior of Surtur>, the cuts that encased his body instantly healed. All the blood was gone from one second to the next, but it wasn't just that his wounds were closed, something else had changed in Leohorn. Steam began to ooze from his skin, and the beastly grin on his face was the sign that the battle had just begun.

The watching players sighed in surprise as they looked up from the arena and saw that Leohorn's HP bar had tripled in size.

'Transforming damage into healing. That's an interesting ability.' thought Kaizen.

Some spectators already knew Leohorn and therefore knew about some of his abilities, however, this turn in the battle was a big surprise to most.

"What? How did he do that?"

"That's not fair!"

"Ah, man! Ravastine is in serious trouble right now. I wonder if she'll be okay, she's so beautiful!"

Among all the thousands of people who were present in this Arena on this sunny day, the only one who didn't show any reaction was Leohorn's opponent. The noble and serious-looking woman held her sword with both hands in front of her back and waited for her opponent's imminent attack.

The Viking began to run as he pulled his sword from its sheath and threw his crossbow away. Every step he made was so wide in the distance that it covered the equivalent of an ordinary person's height, he was rushing in bloodlust. Then, when Leohorn got close enough, he leaped up and waved his sword at the lady, holding the handle of his saber with both hands.

*Timm*

The hiss of the clash of the two steel blades echoed throughout the arena, whose audience was quiet for this single moment and then exploded with energy.

Resisting Leohorn's blow was no problem for Ravastine, who, with impeccable legwork, spun around and kicked the player in the face, hurling him far away. The kick took almost no life from him compared to the thousands of HP points he had, but it was just stylish enough to make the audience roar with a smile on their faces.

"Ouch, did you guys see that?"

"Her foot hit him right in the face!"

"Hey, Leo! Check you didn't lose some teeth! Hahahahaha!"

"Imagine if he dies to someone with less level than him... That would definitely become a meme!"

The Viking felt humiliated in front of these thousands of people watching him. Starting the fight losing was something normal for him, especially since he liked using the <Warrior of Surtur> skill since he acquired it, however, being the butt of jokes was too much for his pride.

Leohorn got up with a jump and spat on the ground what little blood was in his mouth, "It's time to take this a little more seriously."

The steam that was coming off the Viking's skin became even stronger and, just as before, he ran toward the brown-haired lady.

Ravastine knew that using the same sequence as before would not be enough if Leohorn jumped at her again, so she had an idea. She held her sword in her hands at chest height with the tip facing up, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Using magic was a matter of focus, she knew that the more focused she was, the stronger she could be.

The Viking smiled with pleasure when he saw the girl close her eyes, for he thought she had already given up.

Purple sparks began to erupt around Ravastine's blade, and as Leohorn's footsteps grew louder, the number of sparks increased until a whirlwind of energy completely enveloped her sword.

Since her opponent didn't know what was happening, he braked his onslaught for safety.

"<Moth's Blessing>." uttered Ravastine as she opens her eyes.

Her sword was now covered by an incessant swirl of pure purple energy. The steel parts were no longer even visible amidst so much chaos.

It was the woman's turn to advance against the player at that moment. She shortened the distance between the two with a single step, because the purple energy also supported her feet.

"Never underestimate a noblewoman!" She exclaimed while dashing.

She then brandished her sword against Leohorn, who clicked his tongue and tried to defend himself. Before the two swords even touched, Leohorn felt the volcanic sensation of this energy that the NPC's sword exuded on his skin. Definitely, if it hit him, he would be in trouble.

Before Leohorn got burned, he chose to dodge her slash, and immediately after, he took two steps back quickly, sweating cold because this time he came so close to being killed.

'She is good. Really good. If I had taken another second or two, she probably would have ripped my arm off, or even worse. Either way, it would be a tremendous humiliation in front of all these people. I have to kill her soon, that's the only way Taznaar will be satisfied.' He thought.

It was clear on Ravastine's face that using the <Blessing of the Moth> skill demanded a lot from her. Her brow was frowning, and her hands were shaking, only as her eyes were focused. The battle was not over yet.

Leohorn looked at her and said:

"It's time to put an end to this, girl... <Corrupted Warrior's Fury>!"

Suddenly, a flaming red aura covered the Viking, and the most attentive spectators could see that for a single second, the man's shadow projected onto the arena floor took on the shape of a giant skull. The feeling that people felt when watching this and looking at Leohorn could not be described in any way other than awe. His eyes were completely white. The veins in his neck and face were bulging. At this moment, he looked more like a monster than a human.

In the blink of an eye, the Viking got in front of Ravastine, who didn't have good enough reflexes to dodge or defend herself from his furious fist.

Leohorn's punch landed against the beautiful woman's belly and threw her several feet away.

Ravastine whirled on the stone floor, but grating her right hand on the ground, she managed to stop herself and pull herself together. She took only one blow; however, her life bar was already half full. Her constitution was already weakened from the use of the <Moth Blessing>, so thanks to that, Leohorn's hit was critical.

Nevertheless, the battle was not over yet.

Gasping like a rabid animal, the Viking's roar echoed throughout the Arena, sending shivers down the spines of all who watched.

*ROARRRR*

On the other side, Ravastine stood up, and even though her hands trembled with exhaustion and fear, she bravely held the hilt of her sword once more.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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