Chapter 204 - Mental Illusion (1/2)
”Spirit Neurotransmitter Pill, Glutamate, and Noradrenaline? Lilian, Mia, what is the operating time that Carolina Saez has?” Hei asked, raising his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
Hei was an offensive martial artist but also had a specialization as an alchemist. During this period, besides his fighting techniques, he had also refined alchemical skills, learning new recipes and methods of preparation. So, he knew the effects of the pills that the Carolina Saez had swallowed.
Spirit Neurotransmitter Pills were particular pills. Once ingested, they would deliver a specific message within the body, intervening on the internal dynamics.
For example, the Spirit Glutamate Pill influenced the brain's ability to learn, data assimilation, and memory. On the other hand, the Spirit Noradrenaline Pill had effects on the respiratory and circulatory systems, increasing the amount of oxygen received by the muscles and on the attention capacity and alertness.
”5 minutes. This is her limit at the moment,” Mia answered.
”5 minutes? What does this time frame indicate? ”Haruno asked.
”The Spirit Neurotransmitter Pills are particular alchemical products. In alchemy, the better the alchemist is, the stronger the effect of the created product will be. There is an upper limit dictated by the quality of the materials used, but the rule is that. Therefore the stronger an alchemical product is, the more difficult it will be for the martial artist to control and assimilate it. Not surprisingly, the use of pills, potions, or other objects during the fight is not recommended to avoid the danger of collapse deriving from the mismanagement of these alchemical products.
Spirit Neurotransmitter Pills are no exception. Although they are designed to be ingested during combat, their effects are difficult to control. It's already a great result if martial artists of the spirit soldier rank can control the effects for 2-3 minutes; even I can't go beyond that time. The fact that she can do it for 5 minutes is proof of her incredible control and knowledge of the human body.” Hei explained, working out a quick but straightforward explanation.
Hearing this, all the listeners were amazed. They knew how resistant Hei's body was, especially towards the harmful substances that entered his body. After all, he possessed the Poison Law and continually performed poison intake training to improve his body's resistance. Still, despite that, he said he couldn't handle those kinds of pills for more than three minutes while Carolina Saez could make it to five minutes.
”However, the winner hasn't yet been decided. Haruno, what kind of effects do those pizzas have?” Hei asked. He knew that the pieces of pizza Mario Rossi ate weren't simple foods.
”The Pizza Capricciosa serves to increase the explosiveness of the spirit power, increasing the damage of his attacks, while the Pizza Margherita serves to stabilize the spirit power. By now, his spirit power should have grown thicker than it was before.” Haruno answered.
”Thicker? If so, doesn't that mean it becomes more difficult for Carolina Saez to intervene in his flow of spirit power?” Mareo asked.
”Yes, but her processing capabilities have increased as well as her response time. Even with the enhancements resulting from the two types of pizza, Mario Rossi won't have an easy life.” Lilian added.
Meanwhile, Mario Rossi and Carolina Saez were exchanging blows in the center of the stage. The young martial artist musician and chef was swinging his war hammer in a frightening rhythm. Everywhere it passed, you could feel the air being cut apart by the destructive force of the weapon.
Still, the young martial artist medic would meet every blow of the hammer using her delicate hands. Thanks to her abilities, she could minimize the spirit power flowing into the hammer and reduce the damage. However, despite this, the weapon's weight and the muscular form of Mario Rossi himself still represented a danger. Gradually, her defensive layer of spirit power was being reduced.
However, this also applied to Mario Rossi. Even though he was in a dominant position and was the only one attacking, his consumption of spirit power was nearly double that of his opponent. If it weren't for the pizzas he had eaten, he couldn't have fought like this. Even so, it was only a matter of minutes before he lost his strength.
'I must end the fight as soon as possible before I lose all my spirit power.'
'I have to hold out until just before the five minutes are up. At that moment, when his spirit power is at its lowest, I will use my final blow. '
Peng! Peng! Peng!
Carolina Saez's hands had turned red from the blood that oozed every time they made contact with the hammer. Even her bones were starting to rupture, but the young woman showed no signs of giving up.
”Shit ... DIE!” Mario Rossi yelled. He condensed as much spirit power as he could into the war hammer and made it descend from top to bottom with all his might.
Crack!
Carolina Saez intercepted the hammer with her hands. Although she redirected some of the spirit power, the power with which it traveled was too high. The hammer shattered the defensive layer of spirit power on her hands, and they gave way with the sound of breaking bones. But the hammer didn't finish its advance; it continued to swoop down, straight into the woman's chest.
Crack!
The defensive layer of spirit power on Carolina Saez's chest also gave way. The young woman spat blood and collapsed to the ground from the damage received, which were added the side effects of the Spirit Neurotransmitter Pills that had finished their course.
”The winner is Mario Rossi.” Song Yazhu proclaimed the next instant.
With the officialization of Song Yazhu, the battle ended. Carolina Saez was immediately brought to be medicated while Mario Rossi came down from the stage to return to his seat and rest. The fight had been much more complicated than he thought, but in the end, he had managed to bring home the result.
”The next two fighters are Dae-Won, one of the Imperial Prince's guards, and Shen Jun of the Shen Family.” Song Yazhu said, calling out to the next contenders.
Dae-Won and Shen Jun then left the area reserved for the fighters and headed to the stage. Unceremoniously, they took up their battle positions. Dae-Won pulled out his trident while Shen Jun brought out a pair of metal rings instead.
”He Fen, aren't they similar to your Wheels of Wind and Fire?” Leon asked.
Indeed, those metal rings, at first glance, looked very similar to He Fen's Wheels of Wind and Fire but had several differences. First, they didn't have any protruding blades but instead was a perfect circle; second, the metal edge was sharp in its entirety and therefore didn't have a handle.
”They are similar, but they aren't the same. Those are Chakram. They don't have a handle, so they aren't used for close combat. However, as thrown weapons, they are superior to my Wheels of Wind and Fire.” He Fen answered.
”I'm happy that my first opponent is you.” Shen Jun told Dae-Won.
”Really? And why?” Dae-Won asked in turn.
”As one of the Imperial Prince's guards, you are very famous here. But that's not why I'm happy. Instead, it is because of being able to challenge a companion on the path of illusions. After all, unlike other Elemental Laws, those who possess the Illusion Law are fewer in number. Either way, be prepared to witness my Illusion - Illusory Mist.” After saying this, Shen Jun spat a mist-like substance from his mouth that instantly covered the entire battle stage, reducing visibility to almost zero.
'Illusory Mist? Is this an illusion, or was he bluffing? 'Dae-Won wondered as he looked around.
As an illusionist, he knew how to recognize illusions when he saw them, but that would take time. In consideration of this, some martial artists claimed to possess the Illusion Law when it wasn't true. The trick was to use wide-ranging moves that caused effects that could be mistaken for an illusion, such as creating a mist that obstructed the view. Therefore, the victim would have wasted time trying to break an illusion that didn't exist in the first place.