Posted by After Aker’s success with the poshige he tried again and again to raise his hand and inject nature particles into ingredients. He discovered that he was able to succeed in roughly ten percent of his tries no matter which type of ingredient he used.
Thinking that perhaps it would be easier using the poshige again he tried dozens of times and found that his ten percent success rate stayed reasonably consistent. After mulling it over he determined that having a ten percent success rate was still incredible since what he was doing now shouldn’t be possible.
He would ask Vance to bring some of the ingredients to his cell at night so that after his battles in the arena he could practice. His hope was that with constant and daily practice his ten percent success rate would increment up. At least for now he would commit his time in the kitchen and time in the afternoon to practicing his ability to inject nature particles.
As Aker was contemplating his training regime in respect to his nature particles he was interrupted by Vance to head towards the arena as his fight was up next.
Aker donned his new armor for the first time tonight. In yesterday’s fight he still couldn’t use it as Mavis still wanted to polish it once more.
Aker looked sinister standing in the foyer wearing his new armor that had no shine or gleam to it, light seemed to die once it made contact with him. His black mask covered his face with only glowing red blood eyes with streaks of blood red paint cascading down from them. In each hand was a pitch-black sword he had used to kill and subdue hundreds of beasts.
Unknown to Aker when he was working in the medic station, forge and kitchen he was inadvertently releasing a slight amount of killing intent and battle intent. Due to his daily battles he had developed his intents and just before the battle and during the battle it would skyrocket. Outside of his battles he didn’t perceive himself as a ruthless and bloodthirsty person, he was just doing what he had to in order to survive.
It is difficult to live the type of lifestyle Aker lives without giving off a dreadful sense of might which naturally would instill fear into those that were not accustomed to it. For the normal people seeing Aker for medical care and the apprentices in the kitchen, every now and again they would sense an overwhelming blood draining intent leak out from Aker. This generally happened when he was thinking on a particular battle move or magic beast he fought. At these times those normal people would shiver and must step away, it was their only option.
Initially even Kara had felt that way from time to time when around Aker, but after all the time she spent with him, she too had become oblivious to his sudden burst. From time to time her and Aker would be working side by side, his killing intent driving everyone around them mad with fear as the two continued with preparing a remedy for a patient.
However, now and at this moment Aker was releasing it full tilt, he was ready to see what ominous ploy Alex had for him in today’s battle.
Aker was sure that Alex wouldn’t underestimate him this time and would probably try and overdo it in order to gain back the dignity he had lost in yesterday’s battle. Aker didn’t save any face for Alex and had intentionally goaded him with the hopes that he could cause his emotions to go completely into flux and actually enter the arena.
Aker was positive that his plan would work, however he would have to face the full power and might of Alex’s beast taming abilities until he was fed up with being humiliated enough to make that mistake. Even if Alex entered the arena Aker wasn’t certain he would be able to defeat him, but it gave him the best opportunity. Even if there was only a ten percent chance he would defeat Alex in the arena in a fight, there was a zero percent chance he could defeat him as long as Alex continued attacking with magic beast. There would never be an end to the number of magic beast that Alex could train and as such there would never be an end to Alex’s onslaught as long as Aker lived.
Walking into the arena the crowd seeing Aker’s devilish new look stood to their feet and cheered with each step Aker took as he approached the center of the arena. His new tiger influenced designed body armor along with the rest of his battle outfit gave the onlookers an ominous feel as if though Aker was the embodiment of an evil vengeful spirit.
As Aker stepped to the cheers of the crowd his eyes couldn’t help but take in the already present Alex standing on his pedestal located directly above the center of the arena. Alex’s pedestal was roughly one hundred meters above the dirt floor of the arena but was now clear and see through instead of the solid object it was yesterday. This new pedestal would solve the problem that Alex had yesterday and would allow him to keep visual acuity on his beasts and Aker at all times.
While one hundred meters was a long distance it was still close enough that Aker and Alex could see each other. While Alex couldn’t see Aker’s face behind his mask, he could feel Aker’s intention, all the malice and hatred was able to traverse the distance between them easily.
Aker having faced the boos and jeers of hundreds of thousands didn’t feel as pressured as he did now under the menacing gaze of this steely man. His brown eyes filled with the fire of hell gazed down at Aker wishing he could burn him alive as he listened to the wails of his misery.
“You sure have a menacing glare for a coward who won’t even step into the arena himself. How about you have some beast fight on your behalf and then brag about how great you are because you could tame them while they rotted away in a cage not able to fight back. It was great subduing the beast you had already tamed as they listened right away. I guess when the person who tames them is a coward, they’re destined to be cowardly as well, how could you teach them anything else?”
Aker’s voice like a thunderclap echoed through the arena, everyone could hear it as he mocked Alex. He already knew that subduing the beasts that Alex had already tamed would drive him wild and cause his emotions to fluctuate all over.
Just as Aker expected Alex’s hateful filled gaze flashed the briefest moment of shame before reflecting vengeance. Aker could tell that his words were having a profound effect on him and if he should continue, he surmised that it was likely that Alex would break and give into his rage.
“Go ahead and brag now, but before today’s over you will be begging for a quick death. I’ll tell you this, you will die slowly and painfully unless you beg me in a way that makes me satisfied. You had better be on your knees, tears in your eyes and head down while begging, otherwise I’ll never let you taste the freedom of death. The people here will tell stories of your torture and begging and will forever forget everything else.”
Alex’s temples pulsed as he spoke his despise for Aker had daggers in his eyes, his killing intent was oppressive and menacing. Numerous people in the crowd shivered at Alex’s words as they heard the conviction in his voice indicating that he had a life and death fate with Aker.
Aker who was smiling behind his mask kept his eyes on Alex and responded back simply “After I defeat you today how will you cry? Will you scream at my back about my impending death? Will you give me more orders for me to ignore? I wonder what embarrassing moment you will have? What excuse will you make for yourself about your failure to tame these beasts? When I subdue them will you still blame me, or will you finally look to your pathetic training? Already all your embarrassment from yesterday is the whispers of The Pit, you can barely take a step without someone mocking you in secret. No one dare look you in the eye for fear they would laugh in your face, but rest assured that behind your back even your servants were ashamed and embarrassed for you. If I were you, after today’s defeat I would find a quiet room and kill myself then when they laugh at you, they would add on a statement of at least he wasn’t a coward too!”
Aker’s words were devastatingly brutal. Alex hearing his words was struck in the face and for a moment his confidence faltered with the thought of ‘what if I lose today too?’ which he had never considered.
Alex’s entire life had been smooth, and he had never faced any adversity much less an actual loss. Whether he lost to Aker due to his carelessness or not was irrelevant at this time, for Alex he needed to crush Aker in order to regain his superiority. If it was just losing to Aker, he would have been devastated but his mental fortitude would have allowed him to recover rather quickly, it was the combination of losing to Aker and having Aker supersede his training and taming.
Depending on Aker’s strength Level 1 Basic beast may have never been enough to destroy Aker, Alex was fully aware of that. Perhaps even if he had a hundred of them in the arena the outcome of victory and defeat was already predetermined, and Aker would always win that battle. Alex’s mind instantly rationalized and understood that concept based on how long it took Aker to defeat the first wave. He couldn’t have won that easily if he wasn’t significantly stronger. This was the exact reason Alex determined to go directly to the Level 1 Intermediate beast rather than waste his time with more Level 1 Basic beast.
What has left a lingering doubt in Alex and shattered his unbreakable self-belief is that in only moments Aker was able to subdue the beast he had spent so much time and effort on. How could he not be questioning himself after such an event happened? Ultimately after considerable thought he deduced that the issue was the strength gap and had nothing to do with his training. Aker was simply to strong and no amount of training would have resulted in those beasts not turning their belly up for Aker to rub.
Alex who had lost the verbal argument shut his mouth, his anger swelling so much that if he were to speak his voice would sound shaky and cracked which would only further draw Aker’s ire. For Aker he felt awkward as he had never spoken in this manner before and it didn’t feel comfortable for him.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he desperately needed to draw Alex into the arena there would be no way that Aker would speak in such a condescending manner, but since he had no choice, he would take it to the furthest extreme he could. While it felt awkward, admittedly each time he spoke in this fashion the words seemed to slide off his tongue a little easier.
‘While it’s difficult to talk in this manner to someone, there is no denying the physiological impact it has on the person. Already Alex’s thoughts are more chaotic than when I first walked into the arena and he has less control over his emotions because of his increased anger. Perhaps in the future it would be worthwhile to remember that a well-placed verbal attack can be effective even when a physical attack could not.’
Aker couldn’t help but ponder on his situation. In his current predicament he was in a situation that didn’t allow for him to directly attack his enemy, however he felt that he had landed a devastating blow none the less. What he realized is that each situation would determine the best weapon for the job……in this case, his “honoring” of Alex had become a powerful opening move.
As Aker was pondering the gates opened to the magic beast and to Aker’s shock out walked only five beasts. These five magic beasts were all beast that Aker was immensely familiar with as he had fought each them time and time again. However, the prevailing difference was that these five were larger and more ferocious looking than any he had seen before.
The first to walk out was a Fire Ape that stood a full meter taller than any he had fought before. In addition to its hands and feet radiating fire its entire body was covered in a glow of flame. From where Aker was standing, he could see the force of the flame pushing the dirt on the ground away, its force was scatting the dust into the air merely standing there.
The second magic beast to exit was an Ice Mammoth that with each step froze the ground solid. Its long snout was shooting small ice crystals with each breath it took, its chilly eyes could freeze its prey in place. The immediate temperature around the Ice Mammoth appeared to drop by a half dozen Celsius.
The massive Wind Wolf followed the Ice Mammoth, its movements left a slight after image with each step it took. Its fur seemed to blend into the atmosphere more than any Wind Wolf Aker had faced before. Aker could still remember his first battle with a Wind Wolf and its ability to disappear in front of him. Not since then had Aker struggled with keeping his eyes on the Wind Wolf, that is until today.
Following the Wind Wolf was a gigantic Oppression Ox whose gravitational force was pushing down the dust kicked into the air by the Fire Ape.
Last to step out of the gate was a Violet Furred Hound yet different than the hounds he had faced in the past, this one gave of a menacing aura. Typically, the Violet Furred Hound was a difficult opponent due to its ability to selfheal, but it wasn’t a typical beast of prey that wanted to ravage and destroy manically. The Violet Furred Hound that was staring down Aker gave him the impression that Aker was responsible for the destruction of his entire family and only seeing the blood of Aker bathing the dirt floor of the arena would he be able to forgive the heavens.
Aker who had been confidently mocking Alex a moment ago swallowed down his saliva with a big gulp. He was aware that today’s battle would increase in intensity but seeing the lineup before him was much more than he had ever thought possible. This wasn’t just a leap of one or two levels in difficulty, just from a glance Aker could tell that each of these beast had reached the Level 1 Intermediate level.
As Aker was wondering how he was going to be able to battle these beasts and his mind was trying to find a solution desperately, his thoughts were interrupted by the mocking sounds of Alex’s confident voice.
“I’d like to see how you’re going to defeat my Five Element Dominator Formation today! With one of each type of magic beast there is no way you can survive; I’ll enjoy watching you suffer from up on high. I promise to not miss even a single moment of your excruciating pain, this is my Alex Drexler’s promise to you. You should consider yourself fortunate as I rarely take the time to bother with trash, I am making a special exception for you.”
As Alex was returning Aker’s previous mocking and was getting more and more proud of himself as he spoke, if he could see Aker’s eyes, he would know that his words were wasted at this very moment as Aker had stopped listening at “Five Element Dominator Formation”.
Aker was familiar with the Five Element Dominator Formation and his mind was recollecting its strengths and weaknesses. As he recalled, a wicked smile slowly spread under his mask as he thought to himself ‘had you not told me which formation you were using I would have been in real trouble just trying to figure it out. By the time I did I could have already been seriously injured. While I may not be strong enough to break it, at least now I know what I have to do which should save me most the effort and trouble it would have taken.’
Little did Alex know that his rant had just significantly increased Aker’s chances of survival and in the same breath acutely increased his chances of Aker’s earlier mocking becoming reality.