Chapter 156: Turning Point [7]
The Teamfight Tactics session carried on.
It was currently the fourth session.
Brandon's team.
Swoosh—!
Sparks of different kinds of magic flew in the air.
While Cyrus and Julie acted as vanguards, and the main offense, Brandon stayed back and offered support from behind.
Each time Cyrus' water whip would latch onto someone, Brandon would immediately freeze the whip, immobilizing the poor student.
As soon as that would happen, Julie's earth magic would finish off the job.
But 'finish' was quite an overstatement.
The other team would quickly assist and stop their attacks.
Though Brandon could probably wipe the floor with them all on his own, he refrained from it.
It wouldn't do good to steal the spotlight from his teammates.
Even they need to gain some experience.
And so the same strategy continued to be implemented. Not one side was giving out.
The other students' knew they couldn't begin to compete with Brandon.
However, that didn't mean they would give up so easily.
They persisted.
In the face of an adversary, using the fight as a learning experience, they carried on.
Earth being hurled.
Boom!
Exploding into cinders as flames ignited.
Lightning sparks heading towards the other.
Kracka! Kracka!
But would be instantly blocked and redirected by a wall of water.
Wind blades piercing the air.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Immediately countered by an earth wall.
The ground shook intensely. Dust clouds obscured the vision of everyone watching. While all kinds of flashing light emitted from the ongoing battle.
It was intense. Everyone's attention was peeled to the battlefield.
The way Brandon supported his teammates had left them in awe.
Using all of his elements efficiently, while trying to prolong the fight.
Everyone knew that was the case.
That he was prolonging the fight.
However, it made it even more engaging how the fight didn't end in a single second.
Seeing all of Brandon's elements had left them excited.
After some minutes, the battle was at its climax.
As everyone had expected, Brandon's team had suffered no casualties.
It was now a three versus one.
The last one being the flagbearer.
And as courtesy calls, Brandon stepped forward, giving the enemy an option for a one versus one.
He was up against a woman.
Kathlyn Venice, with long flowing black hair and deep black eyes.
She was another one of the school's beauties.
Brandon was quite familiar with her.
After all, she was one of the students that volunteered themselves to become his officers.
"I appreciate it if you don't go easy on me, Brandon."
She elegantly bowed.
It was one of her demeanors.
An elegant lady-type.
"I didn't plan to."
He nodded.
Out of respect for his opponent, he would give it his all.
With such thoughts, he took another step as Kathlyn stood still with her eyes closed.
Cyrus stood with his arms crossed, while Julie's hands were clasped behind her back, watching the entire scene.
Kracka!
Blue streaks coalesced in his foot. Brandon pushed his foot forward and bolted towards Kathlyn.
Reacting immediately, Kathlyn followed suit. Wind wrapped around her entire figure.
Swoosh! Swoosh—!
Wherever Brandon appeared, wind blades would automatically flash towards him.
However, with his reflexes, Brandon instantly dodged her attacks.
Swoosh! Swoosh—!
Time had passed, and not once had Brandon taken the initiative to attack.
This thought alone irritated Kathlyn.
"I thought you said you weren't going to go easy on me?"
Swoosh—!
"I'm…."
Swoosh—!
"Not."
Swoosh—!
What he was currently doing was using Kathlyn's attacks as practice.
Was he going easy on her?
"Nope."
He shook his head.
Swoosh—!
And he continued swiftly dodging each wind blade.
Swoosh—! Swoosh—!
"Then why aren't you attack–ing…"
"Boo."
He appeared right behind her.
"Eh?"
The wind surrounding her figure expanded and tried to push Brandon back.
But as soon as Kathlyn turned around…
"...."
He wasn't there.
"Oh no."
Tzz—
"Good job."
His voice reached her from behind. Since the wind was nowhere around her, Brandon had managed to get close to her.
Kracka!
Just like that, he had managed to subdue Kathlyn as he tapped on her neck. Lightning coalesced from his fingertips, and Kathlyn's entire figure stumbled on the ground.
Shortly after, Evelyn's announcement rang in the air, signaling the end of the current matchup.
"That's enough. Winner, Brandon Locke's team."
"Woooo…!"
"Goddamn."
"Brandon's crazy…"
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
Looking down at Kathlyn, Brandon offered his hand.
With a smile on her face, she accepted his gesture and got up.
That being said, Brandon's match had finished for the day. The session would continue until 2:00 PM.
And tomorrow would be his next match.
At the moment, it was around 12:00 PM.
Removing his top, Brandon looked at the mirror inside the changing room.
"Nice."
He gave a thumbs up as he scanned his figure.
His body was developing nicely. His muscles were firm, and not a single scar defiled his flawless skin.
He knew that shouldn't have been the case.
After all, he had suffered major damage just recently.
But due to whatever Jin did to heal him, it all disappeared as if it were never there.
That kind of healing magic was impossible, as far as he knew.
For some reason, Jin's healing had the same after-effects as a healing potion.
Jin was even more powerful than he had initially thought...
Brandon shifted the topic from there.
The thought of healing potions filled his thoughts.
In the first place, what was in the system shop's potion?
For quite a while, he had never received a single quest from the system.
With that reason, his coins stagnated, and he couldn't buy a healing potion for himself.
He knew that in this world, injuries were quite severe. There were potions, but only for enhancing one's mana core.
Healing was out of the question.
Then, could he somehow benefit from the potions?
"I could sell them to the Ashfields for research."
It would be a great boost to his income.
Due to being a major shareholder in Deus company, he would receive a cut from all the income.
A passive income.
But that wasn't all.
After the whole Francis incident, Brandon had managed to find the blueprints for the shiftporter.
Yes.
That was the game changer that had boosted Deus Company to the top.
In other words, he was the reason why shiftporters were still being produced in the market.
"Haa…"
He breathed out a sigh.
At the moment, the potion plan was nothing but a fleeting dream.
He had no system coins to buy one in the first place.
And the system provided him with no quest.
Was there something wrong with the system?
It became apparent to him that…
For some reason, the system's statistics were quite unreliable.
Did stats even matter at this point?
All of his stats were in the D+ category. Yet for some reason, he had managed to keep up with most of his enemies.
It made no sense whatsoever.
And for some reason, the system wouldn't tell him his mana core level.
He had no idea what his mana core was even at.
Seeing Rachel's [Elemental Assimilation], it became apparent to him that she managed to break through the tier three ranks.
But for him, he had realized it wasn't possible to assimilate with any of his elements.
Did that mean he was a tier two?
"Haa…"
He had no idea.
If he were a measly tier two, then how come he was stronger than all of his classmates?
With such thoughts, he stopped pondering.
The system was a mystery.
It was as if it was there to mislead him. To distract him from something.
But that something..
He had no idea what it was.
Rumble… Rumble…
"...!"
All of a sudden, the ground began to shake intensely.
Thud!
He felt his body weaken, and he slumped on the ground.
"Akh!"
A throbbing pain pierced his skull like sharp daggers.
Rumble… Rumble…
The ground continued to shake.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The mirrors began to crack.
Crack!
And immediately shattered as the quaking intensified.
"The hell is going on—Akh!"
He clenched his head and gritted his teeth.
The pain persisted and he felt like wanting to pull his hair out.
"....!"
All of a sudden, the familiar sight of the system interface materialized in front of him.
[Error! Mana Fluctuation! Error!]
"The hell…?"
[Due to the abundance of mana in the vicinity, your body is now capable of fully integrating with the Sovereign's Will.]
"Sovereign's Will?"
[Would you like to proceed?]
[Yes] [Yes]
"...."
It didn't give him a choice.
But in the first place, what the hell was going on?
He had never seen this happen to Raven before in the novel.
What the hell was a Sovereign's Will?
However, it seemed like it was a direct power boost. If it could somehow subside the aching pain, then there was no other answer.
"Yes!"
[Acknowledged.]
[Integrating with your Sy%*^em...]
[Integrating with your Sovereign's Will.]
[ETA: 24 Hours.]
"...."
For some reason, it was about to say 'system'. But it seemed to have glitched and corrected itself.
So by Sovereign's Will….
Did it mean the system?
But before he could continue to ponder, his vision gradually grew hazy.
"Akh!"
The pain intensified, he scrunched his entire face.
It seemed like whatever the integration was, had made the pain even worse.
Rumble… Rumble…
The shaking continued.
He started crawling towards the door.
"Someone…"
He reached out for the door.
"Save… m…."
...And his voice died down as he blanked out.