Chapter 550: Luminous Institute of Healing Arts

Julius found himself pleasantly surprised by his opponent. They were a much better sparring partner than he suspected they would be. Especially when they mentioned they wanted to surrender.

He was impressed by how well they took a hit. Their massive weight and weird concept provided a challenge as well, but it was their sheer durability that was the most impressive. Julius wasn’t taking it too easy either. He was forced to use [Void Strike] to some extent. Not a full-powered [Void Strike] but just enough to get through their defenses.

Just forcing Julius to do that was impressive.

That metal body of theirs was pretty challenging to break through. Julius felt bad for the guy because, in a fight like this, he likely couldn’t showcase all his skills. These one-on-ones were not to his benefit. During actual battles against monsters and in complex environments, his opponent likely had a better chance at demonstrating their strengths.

You could never underestimate the value of a good tank or frontliner.

With that being said, his opponent was just too slow at the end of the day. Perhaps if he had some other long-range skills or something, it might have helped. The Magnetic Concept could only restrict Julius’s movements so much. With a bit of testing and a lot of willpower, Julius was able to run circles around the guy.

He had finally managed to wear his opponent down in the end. The metal armor, which had been continuously regenerating itself, had stopped. It was battered and cracked, barely holding together.

Julius was waiting for his opponent to surrender, but despite the defeat being evident, his opponent showed no signs of surrender. There was still an unyielding feel to the guy’s aura.

Julius shook his head with amusement. For a person who was so pessimistic about winning from the get-go, the guy was weirdly stubborn to keep fighting. Not that Julius minded it. It just made it more fun for him.

It also allowed him to test [Kinetic Shell] a decent amount. The skill was even better than he could have hoped. His control over kinetic energy had never been the most amazing, especially when compared to geniuses like Arthur or even most of the students at Cain’s school.

However, this skill was already changing things for Julius. He hadn’t realized how much a skill like this helped him manipulate his kinetic energy. Keeping a passive field of it around him at all times was quite a boon.

It gave him more freedom to experiment or even to focus on other aspects of kinetic energy.

Julius only wished it could have lasted longer. He was slightly out of breath from beating his fists into his opponent, but it still wasn’t enough.

He ducked underneath the massive hammer once more. The guy was tired; he was gasping for breath with each swing, his face was flushed entirely red, and his eyes were bloodshot. However, Julius couldn’t fully relax; he was still a dangerous opponent and still had some tricks up his sleeve.

One of these tricks suddenly appeared. Just as Julius stepped in to siphon some kinetic energy from the hammer, he was surprised when the hammer fell apart. With nothing to siphon, he was left confused and missed the flying elbow that caught him in the chest.

The incredible weight of his opponent sent him flying off into the distance. Despite being able to absorb more kinetic energy than ever, attacks with significant mass behind them were still hard to deal with.

He slid to a stop and laughed before dashing back in aggressively. The thought of throwing constructs at his opponent didn’t even pop into his mind. Why would he waste such a perfect opportunity to fight someone who could contend with him in close combat?

He barely avoided the hands of the larger teen who was trying to grapple him, likely trying to wrestle him to the ground. Julius was having fun, but he knew better than to be stupid. If he got into a wrestling position, that wouldn’t be good, and he would probably have to use some of his other skills to get out of it.

Thankfully, he was able to stay one step ahead and kept on laying down more aggression. His fists had already been broken or fractured several times. Even with constructs laid over them, the sturdiness of his opponent’s body was tough to get through.

However, he doubted anyone other than a few extremely perceptive people would even spot the healing. And if they did, they wouldn’t know just how powerful his healing skill was. Many warriors had some form of self-healing skill; while they weren’t as strong as his own skill, they were still effective.

His opponent had a skill like that. It wasn’t a direct healing skill, but Julius could sense gentle pulses of mana that invigorated the guy’s vitality. It was likely a nice passive skill that helped with general recovery and fatigue.

It was only after a few more minutes of constantly pouring attacks onto his opponent that Julius finally felt something give way. The skill that maintained the metal armor around his opponent flickered a few times and eventually vanished.

The metal armor was suddenly gone, and in its place was a tired and battered young man.

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Julius and his opponent met gazes for a fraction of a second, and they both let out tired laughs. There was a flash of respect from both of them. They knew how this match would end, but they also wanted to finish it with a bang.

Julius waited for his opponent to gather as much mana into his body as possible. The damage he had received throughout the fight meant some of this mana leaked out, but Julius could still feel its power.

Then once the guy was ready, they both gave a firm nod of their heads. There were no funny games or dodging. Julius went right at the frontliner and utilized all of the kinetic energy he had left. His shell grew brighter from the excess kinetic energy, and Julius could physically feel the field around him get heavier as he jammed more energy into it.

Each step created a crater in the ground. He chuckled when a few stray pulses of kinetic spiraled out of his control, but continued in a straight line, feeling his new life technique threaten to go out of control as well. However, he maintained everything together with sheer will.

When they crashed, a shockwave blasted out from the center of the arena. Dust flew everywhere, and the enchantments that contained the damage flickered for a brief moment.

The entire crowd was silent as they waited for the dust to clear. When it finally did, they erupted into cheers.

Left standing in the middle of the arena, a little bruised and with a big smile, was Julius. His opponent had collapsed to the ground, completely tired and not an ounce of mana left in his body.

The downed teen had truly given it his all with nothing left to give. It was something that the crowd seemed to appreciate as well. There were chants for both of their names. From what Julius could tell, they were just happy to watch such an entertaining fight.

Julius could only laugh and wave at the crowd as he made his way out of the arena.

His first match of the third stage was done, and he wondered who else he would fight in the upcoming matches.