Many students closed their eyes, expecting Luke and the Imperial Lion to crash into each other.
But Luke surprised everyone.
He changed his target. The Imperial Lion, which had turned into a flying comet, missed him. It couldn’t stop because it was moving too fast, so it kept flying into the air. Meanwhile, Luke met Ryan.
BOOOM!
Ryan wanted to use the beast as a buffer against Luke, but the plan exploded as their fists kissed.
Weaker, Ryan was forced back, and he tumbled countless times on the ground.
"Urgh... damn. What the...?" He groaned as he looked at his golden knuckles. They had been burned by the hellfire from Luke’s gauntlet. "How is that possible? There’s no way he’s that strong!"
While Ryan was occupied, Luke turned to the Imperial Lion. It came crashing back down at him like a meteor. ROAR! The beast roared angrily after realizing Luke had dodged it at the last second.
Even though it was called the Imperial Lion, it didn’t look like a normal lion. Its body was longer, and its back legs were shaped more like a monkey’s, letting it jump much farther than an ordinary beast.
Some of the Lesser-tier students watching were almost biting their nails, asking themselves how Luke was surviving against such a powerful beast.
"Come on, Cesar! Rip his arm off!" Ryan shouted as he got back on his feet. "If we beat him, you get double the beast supplies!
Claw Barrage!"
"Claw Barrage? Luke Kingsley is finished!"
"That’s the same skill Ryan used to beat Queen Lucretia in last year’s tournament!"
7-inch-long claws. Sharper than glass. A strike from Claw Barrage could tear through Luke’s armor if he wasn’t careful
You see, the same way an experienced gamer with a simple class can kill a novice with the strongest talent, an A-tier attack from a Greater beast could still crack Ancient or Mythic armor.
Luke wasn’t invincible, even if he was close to it.
Claw Barrage came so fast even under the defenses of the Bluespine Centaur Chestplate.
Everyone watched as Luke and the Imperial Lion danced around, golden slashes illuminating the arena.
BOOOM!
At last, Luke saw an opening and slammed his smoking gauntlet into the lion’s snout with all his strength. The beast flew away, but to Luke’s surprise, it recovered very quickly.
One punch from him was usually enough to knock out or outright kill!
"Shit. It must be the armor!" Luke cursed as Claw Barrage came at him again. This time, he let his chestplate take some of the hits to build up energy, while he blocked the rest with his gauntlet.
After storing enough energy, Luke dashed away from the Imperial Lion to catch his breath.
"You don’t stand a chance, Luke Kingsley!" Ryan shouted from the other side of the arena. "Divine Beam!"
Two beams of light shot toward Luke, but he blocked them with his gauntlet, splitting the light in seven directions. At the same time, the Imperial Lion attacked from behind. Luke used his last Blitz Charge and disappeared just before the claws could reach him.
The result?
Ryan’s Divine Beam hit his own beast instead.
But even after taking that attack, the Imperial Lion got back up as if nothing had happened.
This made Luke suspicious.
"Ahhh! You’ll pay for that!" Ryan yelled. "Cesar! Attack him again!"
This time, Luke wasn’t so confident. The lion was covered in so much armor that he couldn’t find a place to hit.
"But armor doesn’t last forever," Luke thought, eyeing every plate. "Now, what’s your warranty?"
The Molten Triceratops Mask helped scan the armor’s weak points, while the system checked the armor’s identity and integrity.
[Full Armor: Imperial Lion (100% Crossbreed)]
[Stock: 100% Man Materials]
[Grading: 5/10]
[Current Integrity: 65%]
Luke noticed that the armor wasn’t as strong as before. Every time he hit it, its durability went down.
More importantly, the armor had been made with normal human materials. That meant it was weaker than the real version if Luke were to forge it.
Luke used Blitz again and punched the side of the Imperial Lion, looking to drop that integrity.
[Current Integrity: 45%]
The metal plates started glowing red from the heat. Some of them even bent, showing that the armor was close to breaking.
Ryan narrowed his eyes at Luke’s chestplate. Soon, he realized how it worked. "Cesar, don’t attack his chest anymore! Aim for his head, his arms, and his legs!"
The Imperial Lion pounced from smarter angles to deny Luke his chestplate’s abilities.
A close-ranged battle ensued, ordained by strength and stamina. Luke matched the beast’s ruthlessness, striking whenever he had the opening, and reduced the armor’s integrity to 30%.
"Even with all that armor... how are you so fast?" Luke whispered, gnashing his teeth. But it didn’t take long for him to find the answer.
"What? Is that another beast?"
Inside the lion’s waist armor was something his mask didn’t miss.
Luke tried to grab it, but venom spurted out.
His defenses worked overtime!
"Ryan, you’re a coward for secretly using two beasts!" Luke yelled as he jumped away from harm.
Ryan burst out laughing while the students gasped and started arguing with each other.
"The match already started, so there are no rules against it!" Ryan said proudly. "Let me introduce you to my hidden partner, the Jetstream Centipede!
Did you really think Cesar could move that fast while wearing all that armor, idiot? The Jetstream Centipede controls the wind and makes the armor feel much lighter!"
"Fucking coward," Luke muttered as he struggled against the lion’s powerful jaws.
The Jetstream Centipede had been changing the air around the lion the whole time. That was why the Imperial Lion could move so fast instead of being slowed down by its heavy armor.
It was actually a smart strategy for a real hunter fighting monsters in the wild. But using two beasts in an academy match like this was just craven.
But two could play that game.
Luke wasn’t out of options.
He could forge another piece of armor right now and use it to fight back against Ryan’s unfair advantage.
His Forge Slot had refreshed after his last level-up. Now he could only hope the new armor sets inside it were good enough to save his summoner supplies.
〖Draft Card: Titan Beetle Cuirass〗
〖Requirement: 210 Flame Points〗
〖Description: A cuirass worn by the Titan Beetle. Grants increased defense, strength, and abilities related to indestructibility.〗
〖Draft Card: Cave Emperor Gauntlet〗
〖Requirement: 300 Flame Points〗
〖Description: A gauntlet worn by an Ancient Oni. Grants imperceptible strength, malevolence, and earth element.〗
〖Draft Card: Seven-Tusk Elephant Sabaton〗
〖Requirement: 330 Flame Points〗
〖Description: A foot armor worn by the companion of Atlas, the god who held up the world. Grants strength, planetary stamina, and gravity element.〗
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