Chapter 574: Overclock

Garrett POV

He had never felt more powerful in his life. The mana coursing through his veins gave him so much strength. He was able to reinforce his body with all of the excess mana, which meant his physical abilities were already through the roof.

He laughed loudly and enjoyed the sensation of power. Nobody would be able to keep up with him now. He could probably even rival Isaac when it came to pure brute strength, not even saying anything about his speed. He was probably faster than most Tier 4s at this point.

He did have a time limit, though. He would be able to squeeze out several minutes of fighting while in this state. Anymore would damage his soul too much to heal for the next round.

He scoffed. As if I would need more than twenty seconds while in this state, he thought to himself confidently.

Thankfully, his new rapier took some of the stress from this technique as well. He wouldn’t have been able to keep it active for more than thirty seconds before his soul collapsed, even with all the natural treasures he consumed the other day.

He smirked as he stood there, watching his opponent and enjoying the expression on his face. Garrett was already imagining the fear that was racing through his opponent’s mind.

Julius Snow…

Garrett scoffed internally. Nobody thought he would win. They all thought Julius would win and go on to the next round. They all underestimated Garrett, and he would show them the error of their ways.

Even his own family didn’t think he would win. How dare they? Did they understand how much he trained?

He needed to win. Still, Garrett hated having to use the technique and the treasures his father provided. It proved that they were somewhat correct in their assumptions. However, he wouldn’t lose now that he had been pushed this far.

He had trained every day for the past four years for this moment. He wouldn’t let this pass him by. He would show everyone that he was better than this commoner.

Somehow, this upstart had managed to trick everyone into thinking that he was the next Cassian Luminous. It was a ridiculous idea. The Emperor’s brother had managed to get to Tier 5 before he was twenty. This commoner trash didn’t even come close to the true talents.

Eren? Isaac? Riven? Garrett had seen some of the true geniuses of the continent with his own eyes. The ones who were literally bred for war and death. The ones who had reached Tier 4 before they went through puberty.

Garrett might not be on that level of talent, but there was no way he would lose to some commoner. Especially not a commoner who didn’t even have a single excellent affinity to any branch of magic. Sure, he might have been fast and had some strong skills, but it wasn’t anything Garrett’s training couldn’t handle.

He had seen the commoner’s tricks when he fought Riven. It was nothing that Garrett couldn’t handle.

He had some of the best trainers since birth, and they all told him how skilled he was. There was no way he would lose.

The thought was laughable, and he used all of his pent-up anger to fuel his technique, flooding his body with even more power.

He glared at the young teen with hatred and, with a simple push of his will, his body shot toward his opponent. It was obvious that Julius had some kind of perception skill or ability to detect the spatial tear his rapier used to attack, so Garrett didn’t use the ability again. Instead, he used his pure speed to close the distance.

He grinned when he saw the look of surprise on the commoner’s face as his rapier thrusted forward. However, he felt that same annoying little ability activate, and his sword felt like it was pushing through a mountain of wet sand. It gave the commoner just enough time to react and flick his rapier away.

However, Garrett didn’t have to use his rapier. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat from a young age and was close enough to throw a knee into the commoner’s stomach. His knee made contact, and he smiled when he heard the grunt from his opponent.

Something must have gotten damaged from that attack, and he pulled back his leg to attack again, but for some reason, he wasn’t able to. His knee was stuck, and he belatedly realized that Julius had grabbed it.

Before Garrett could do anything about it, his head snapped back, and his nose stung with pain. He swore loudly and tried to remove his leg, but before he was able to, he was punched in the face two more times in quick succession.

His overclock technique helped blunt the damage, but his face still flushed with embarrassment. He quickly stabbed forward with his rapier; only then was he able to get his leg back.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

He wiped his nose and glowered at the other teen, feeling even more rage at the indignity of being punched in the face. Another surge of wind mana, and he was in front of the commoner again, attempting to pierce him with his rapier.

The commoner must have had a status ailment resistance because his sword hadn’t been able to work on him.

Probably from living in the trash for most of his life, he thought to himself as he thrusted his rapier.

His opponent was slippery, always seeming to know where the attacks would come from. He didn’t fall for any of Garrett’s feints. It was like he could see the future. Still, Garrett didn’t let up, and when he thought he had an opening, he went for it, launching himself forward.

Unfortunately, this was what the commoner had been waiting for, and Garrett got a face full of extremely hot flames. He flinched back from the pain and found himself suddenly under a relentless assault instead.

He tried to use his own movement skill, but for some reason, it didn’t activate. It was the same sensation he had felt earlier in the fight. It was like all of his skills were being ripped away from his control.

It’s the aura, he realized too late. The commoner’s aura was literally eating away at his skills and techniques.