CHAPTER 23: COMPETITION — BALLISTA IN ACTION

The metallic sounds reassured Cecil, and she breathed out in relief, only for Ballista to walk out, the sun reflecting off his majestic, golden-armoured body. His mighty warbow made his presence even more eye-catching, as everyone quickly noticed this knight wasn’t Mountain.

Shocked whispers and gasps spread throughout the arena, while in the headmaster’s office, Evangeline looked at Sebastian, her hands trembling softly.

"It’s a 5.0 Elite Tier summon with a potential of 7.0." She didn’t yell, in fact, her voice was soft, almost breathless, yet the impact it made was as powerful as a cry. The news struck the headmaster heavily, prompting creases to grace his temples.

’What is this?!’ Sebastian asked himself with a frown. He wanted to brush this off as Godfrey awakening another summon, which was rare, but not uncommon, but this summon looked similar to the first... it felt like this summon and the former were part of a set.

That thought shook his core because of a question that haunted him at the end of this assumption.

Were there more?

If there were, and their tiers and potential were higher, then Godfrey was indeed a King Tier, and a frightening one, because having more than one summon made him more of a threat than a summoner with a single or dual summons.

Meanwhile, at the arena, Cecil tried to pacify herself. ’It can’t be that it has the same skill like the fir—’

Her worst fear became reality as Ballista entered Black-Out State, and his tier rose from 5.0 to 6.0!

The referee’s mouth shut. The crowd erupted into an uproar, absolutely stunned at the absurdness of Godfrey’s summon. One summon having such a skill was frightening, but two?!

That was beyond frightening!

"This is bad," Orwen said with a solemn expression, turning to Dale, who was frozen in shock just like Cecil.

"It might be a 6.0 High Tier, but the Titan Yaoguai isn’t going to be defeated by a knight wielding such an absurd bow without an eyehole on his helmet," Snow spat nonchalantly.

"That’s true. That bow looks impractical," Dale nodded.

A freshman that heard them scowled at Godfrey. "What’s he going to do with that stupid-looking bow? Place it on the ground and shoot?!" he mocked with a loud voice.

At Cecil’s wordless command, the Titan Yaoguai charged at Ballista, fist clenched and prepared to punch his skull inward. With thick legs capable of kicking a huge tree off the ground, leaving behind a disorientated stump, the Yaoguai bounded across the platform. Its muscles rippled beneath its purplish-black, steel-like skin, and its snarling jaws stretched wide, baring fangs meant to rend through knights and beasts alike.

Ballista, however, simply slammed one end of his bow on the stone, summoned an arrow whose arrowhead reflected the sunlight, and nocked it.

The sound of the tendons used to make the bowstring stretching rippled through the air as Ballista drew his arm back until it could be vividly seen he drew this bow with his entire body. At this point, the Yaoguai was near.

Ballista released the arrow, and time seemed to pause for a moment. The air blew apart, and the huge Titan Yaoguai was launched backward like it had slammed headfirst into an 18-wheeler truck!

Hurtled backward by the impact, the beast crashed a few meters away, an arrow lodged right into its shoulder, half of the shaft poking out the other side. Growling in rage, the Yaoguai pulled out the arrow with an earthshaking roar, blood spilling down its massive frame, and leaped high, mana gathering in its clenched fist. Its shadow loomed like a falling mountain, eyes burning with malice.

Ballista turned invisible, and the Yaoguai slammed where he once stood, spreading web-like cracks from the fist dents on the stone platform. It sensed Godfrey standing not too far away and grinned, saliva dripping from its fangs.

Godfrey innocently raised an eyebrow.

A mini shockwave erupted as the Titan Yaoguai leaped several meters into the air, only for Ballista to appear beside Godfrey as an arrow left his bow. Just as it left, another arrow was shot, and another, right after another.

By the time the fifth arrow pierced through the Titan Yaoguai’s abdomen, it landed before Godfrey and his summon, staggering and bleeding with arrows rivaling ballistic bolts poking out of its back.

Ballista swung his bow, slamming the Titan’s chin with so much force, it staggered backward and collapsed, sprawled on the ground, staring at the sky like a dead beast before Cecil could even react.

Her summon didn’t even have the chance to showcase its ancient art mastery. Its towering bulk, its rugged mane, its mountain of raw muscle, all of it fell without purpose. Her supposed advantage suddenly became a glaring weakness that Ballista mercilessly exploited.

She watched with disbelief as the medics rushed in and took her summon away, but that disbelief turned to shame as she watched Isolde clap.

She was the only one clapping in the arena, but it echoed, striking everyone who didn’t expect this outcome right at their hearts. Snow’s expression was distorted when he saw the freshman who spoke boldly because of his statement.

The hot wash of shame over his face was a feeling Snow loathed. The referee, watching as the Titan’s blood was quickly cleaned off the platform, felt horrified at that knight whose bow was aimed at Cecil.

Technically, Cecil had to be beaten, quit verbally, or walk out of the platform for the match to be declared over, but no one in their right mind would want to fight a summon like Ballista without a summon of their own.

Cecil stared at Godfrey, her true mood hidden behind a mask of indifference. ’Godfrey Daniels, I’ll make sure your secret will one day be on the lips of every student in this school. Then, you won’t be able to hide anymore.’

Saying this inwardly, she left the platform, glancing at Snow, who ascended after her, from the corner of her eyes.

On the other side, Godfrey fist-bumped Isolde and left, while she stood at the top of the platform. The bloody shock of Godfrey’s victory was momentarily suppressed by the charming looks of the two contestants.

Isolde’s beauty was only surpassed by upperclassmen who had more developed curves, but she was indeed a sight to behold. However, so was Snow. Right from his freshman days, he had been among the top ten attractive boys in Manhattan, and he still kept growing even more handsome due to his summon’s influence.

Isolde summoned a towering wyvern over 12 feet tall, its alabaster scales glistening under the sunlight as its wings unfurled wide with a sharp, snapping gust.

Snow summoned a butterfly, much smaller in terms of body, but with a wingspan broader than the wyvern’s, shimmering with dazzling iridescence like fractured light through stained glass.

"White Wyvern, High Tier – 7.0!" the referee announced and drew a deep breath. "Glimmer Wing Butterfly, High Tier – 6.5!"

"Stop acting mysterious and show me your second summon!" Snow bellowed as his summon took to the skies along with Isolde’s wyvern.

....

A/N: I hope you enjoy this novel. Support by adding to your library and giving a power stone or two. Thank you.

I will also appreciate a review to keep me motivated.