Raymond felt a primal, instinctual terror spike through his chest. For the first time in his life as a generational prodigy of House Saber, his supernatural assassin reflexes were completely useless. He couldn’t read the commoner’s stance because Thomas didn’t have one; it was just raw, unadulterated, and terrifying momentum closing in on him.
Thomas released his grip on the stiletto and drove his left fist straight forward.
The punch was completely clumsy, devoid of any refined academy form, but the sheer, adapted kinetic force behind it was devastating. Raymond desperately threw his secondary stiletto up, trying to intercept the incoming strike with a defensive parry.
SNAP!
The sleek, silver stiletto shattered into a dozen glittering fragments under the sheer weight of Thomas’s knuckles. The punch didn’t lose a single ounce of its speed, slamming directly into the glowing bottleneck node at Raymond’s right shoulder joint.
CRUNCH!
The sound of shattering bone and tearing tendons echoed clearly across the front rows of the stands. The localized impact entirely disrupted Raymond’s internal mana flow, sending a violent shockwave of kinetic energy tearing directly through his torso. Raymond let out a choked, agonized scream as his body was lifted clean off the ground, spinning through the air before crashing heavily into the black sand.
He rolled dozens of times across the arena floor, his silver hair covered in dirt and his right arm hanging at a completely broken, useless angle. He lay in the crater, gasping for breath, his twin weapons completely destroyed.
A suffocating, dead silence fell over the entire Arena.
The thousands of high-bloods who had been cheering for a slaughter froze mid-shout, their jaws dropping in absolute, terrified disbelief. Ryan slowly let go of the stone railing in the back rows, a massive, breathless grin spreading across his face, while Lina and Mina stared down at the sand with wide, awe-struck eyes.
Down on the floor, Instructor Cross stood frozen on his marble platform, the starting flag slipping slightly from his fingers as he stared at the lesser-blood farm boy who had just systematically dismantled a prominent house prodigy using nothing but his bare hands.
Thomas stood alone in the center of the sand, his uniform torn and stained with his own dried blood, but his posture completely solid. He raised his head, his right eye returning to its normal brown hue under the system’s shroud as he looked up toward the elevated noble platform far above.
Julian was still standing at the railing. He didn’t look disappointed anymore. A slow, incredibly sharp, and dangerous smile stretched across the handsome noble’s face behind his silver-rimmed glasses. He had seen exactly what he wanted to see. Thomas wasn’t just a lucky fluke; he was a genuine threat, a wild card that would make the final rounds of the Crimson Arena an absolute bloodbath.
Thomas quietly turned his back on his fallen opponent and walked toward the gate, a cold chime resonating deep inside his skull to signal his very first victory
[ COMBAT QUEST COMPLETED: SURVIVE & DEFEAT RAYMOND ]
* Reward: 100% Successor Integration Pool Unlocked.
* Structural Adaptation: Permanent Piercing Resistance Against Raymond Acquired.
[ System Notice: Preliminary Round 1 Success. Continue your ascension, Successor. ]
Permanent piercing resistance meant he was now resistance to piercing attacks from Raymond, the high-blood would not be able to hurt him with his blades again.
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