281 Chapter 281: A Challenger Arrives! (1/2)
Theodore was flung several meters back from the blow and he landed on the ground, unmoving, even as several girls shrieked in shock and a few guys jumped up in reflex. I quickly ran over to help him, and he groaned as he slowly sat up.
”What happened?” I demanded, glaring at Paul, the captain of Sexton Academy. ”Why are you attacking him?”
”Huh? I didn't attack anybody!”
”Wrong guy,” Theodore muttered and shook his head.
”Ho ho!” a huge guy with blond hair and a macho appearance strode up, his heavily muscles bulging under his yellow and black uniform. ”You thought it was Paul, but it was me, Diego!”
Seriously? Now we were ripping off Jojo of all things?
”We were talking about the match…” Theodore grunted in pain as he raised his uninjured hand to gesture at the big holographic screen. ”I said the Garrulous King would win, even though Diego claimed that he would lose. When the Garrulous King won, he felt humiliated and decided to take revenge by attacking me.”
”…the what king?”
Seriously? Are we still doing that stupid Battle Frenzy thing? At least I wasn't pretending to be the Garrulous King by diving into some virtual OP system and fighting some prodigy and winning against all odds (in the middle of an exchange session, no less) or some bullshit.
”He's lying!” Diego snapped. ”There's no such person as the Garrulous King or All Mouthy King! We were just watching the Rock and the Hard Place fighting against each other! I bet on the Hard Place, he bet on the Rock, and I lost. Then he demanded money even though we didn't bet any money! Of course I'll hit him!”
Theodore looked sheepish. ”I thought betting meant placing money on whoever you bet on.”
”Even so, you went too far,” I told the guy named Diego with a frown. ”Just tell Theodore you won't pay up. Why is there a need to hit him?”
Pearl was hurrying over and casting healing magic on Theodore. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the extent of his injuries.
”It's a simple fracture, nothing serious. I can heal it in no time.”
”That's good, because we'll need him tomorrow.” Harrison had also hurried over and was relieved to see that it wasn't serious. He then glared at Diego. ”However, Richard is right. You went too far.”
”Oh ho? What do you intend to do about it?”
”Don't do it!” Theodore warned us, gritting his teeth in pain. ”That guy's ability is insane! I still don't quite understand how he did it, but his World amplifies the strength and power of his Soul Spirit! Soul Spirit is another type of Soul Beast, but instead of taking the form of a beast, it takes a more humanoid form! I don't think it has any sentience, so it's still somewhat connected to him spiritually and mentally.”
”Yeah, that's pretty much how Soul Beasts work,” I confirmed, since I was the master of so many Constellation spirits.
Diego grinned slyly when he heard that and he slowly raised his hand to point a finger at me.
”You're next, Richard!”
”…wait, what?” I gaped at him. ”You're still ripping off Jojo?”
Another moan from Theodore caused me to clench my fists furiously, and I decided to roll with it for now.
”You bastard…” I growled, and then I began walking toward him, my mana rippling through my relatively short and skinny figure. My eyes narrowed in fury. ”Diego!”
”Ho…” Diego raised both his hands dramatically. ”You're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming straight at me?”
He certainly had a penchant for stating the obvious.
”Even though your friend, Theodore, told you the secret of The World,” Diego continued in an exaggerated manner. ”Like a web novel author scrambling to finish writing a chapter right before his readers come online to check his story for any new chapters so that he can maintain his daily updates and therefore receive their votes and power stones?”
”I can't beat the crap out of you if I don't approach you,” I pointed out dryly as I continued to calmly close the distance between us.
”Ho ho!” Diego chuckled evilly. ”Then come as close as you like.”
He then began moving, and the two of us approached each other right in the middle of the restaurant, while the other students cowered from the sheer fury or aggression that seemed to emanate from us.
I didn't even summon anything or yell anything, but Diego's ghostly specter suddenly materialized in front of me and kicked out. Fortunately, I managed to raise my leg to block the kick in time.
”!!”
The blow was so powerful that I actually withdrew a single step. The trousers leg of my uniform was ripped right open.
”You're too slow, too slow!” Diego crowed as he folded his arms. ”The World is the ultimate Soul Spirit! Even if he doesn't stop time, his speed and power are infinitely more powerful than those of your Constellation spirits!”
”So it's the same kind of Soul Spirit as my Constellation spirits, huh?” I mused to myself. ”Well, almost. Unlike my guys, your ghost doesn't have a lot of range, but he has tremendous power and is capable of precise movements.”
Diego scoffed at me. ”I wanted to test out a little to see how much more powerful the World is, compared to your Constellation spirits.” He raised a hand as he stifled a chuckle. ”Though…it seems that a test was hardly necessary.”
”Test?” I snorted. ”Is that what you call just poking me with a move that couldn't even injure me? Well, I guess you tore my uniform trousers, though.”
”Why are you Jing Tian Academy students so stubborn about admitting defeat?” Diego growled with a scowl.
Then he scoffed and gestured candidly, a silly grin spreading across his macho face.
”Hmph. I suppose I should rise to your immature provocation and test you a bit more.”