Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 101 - First Round End

Previously:

The day of the practical exams is finally here and Kiel is inside a large arena created by the Replica Dungeon. Kiel and Nelaira manage to defeat their opponents. Rhur uses Razorblood petals to slice the neck of his opponent open.

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He was concentrating so hard on defending from Rhur that he had completely forgotten about the seemingly harmless petals surrounding them.

A split second passed, and before anyone could realize what had happened, the axe-wielding man was gripping his throat with wide eyes threatening to fall out of their sockets. Through his fingers, streams of blood continued to pour out, and no matter how the man tried to stop the blood from flowing, it was all useless.

Before he could even Accelerate away, Rhur's sword had already pierced through his heart like an arrow.

Kiel was more focused on Nelaira's fight, so he too didn't see what had happened, but he didn't need to see it to know what happened. Rhur was very proficient in casting Acceleration, and he could cast it so fast that it was near instantaneous, not letting his opponent react to it in time.

He chose a nearby petal as his spell target and launched it flying in an arc across his opponent's neck. No doubt, his timing was perfect, choosing the moment in which his opponent would be unable to defend against it.

Though, even if his opponent could have defended against it by making a sacrifice, he wouldn't have done so. How could he have known that a soft petal under a simple Acceleration spell would be powerful enough to slash through his spell-reinforced skin?

He had no idea that those red petals came from the flowers of Razorblood, a notorious plant that fed on blood. On the outside, Razorblood looked like a harmless and beautiful bush with juicy fruits surrounded by countless flowers. However, when the creatures attempted to get its tasty fruit, those soft and delicate flowers would turn into razor blades.

The secret of the transformation of soft petals into sharp and deadly weapons lay in the mana concentration within the petals. When the mana within the petals surpassed a certain threshold, the properties of the petals would change. Razorblood plant needed only to channel mana into its flowers, and in the next second, it would be bathing in the blood of its enemies.

The legends say that Razorblood flowers were originally white, but because they were always drenched in blood, the blood had seeped into them turning them crimson.

And while those crimson petals were now drinking the blood of Rhur's enemy, on the other side of the arena, Deora stood with his hands crossed radiating an air of might.

He looked at the person next to him provocatively, as if daring him to try and attack him but made no move to start the fight.

The man that was in the middle, between Deora and Nelaira, hesitated in his choice who to fight. Nelaira was a female, so he didn't feel comfortable fighting against her, but on the other hand, she was an elibu and as such considered an easy opponent to beat.

His moment of hesitation caused him to miss his chance to fight Nelaira, who had chosen to fight with a female on her other side. And thus, since everyone else had started fighting, the man had no other choice but to pick Deora, who was the only one who hadn't fought yet.

The man released several daggers from his belt and Accelerated them in an arc towards Deora. He then followed, flying towards Deora with a spear in hand.

Deora looked at the daggers condescendingly, choosing to ignore them, and then averted his eyes towards the charging man. By the time the daggers reached Deora, the man had arrived several meters away from him, aiming to exploit the moment in which Deora will be forced to guard against the daggers.