Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 50

Frozen ripples
“Is this all you got?”

Hans’ cold emotionless words entered his ears, prompting the fellow to quickly jump back, feeling scared for his life.

Noticing that the blade was lodged in the icy scales of Hans’ glove, Logan opted to leave it there, unwilling to risk staying too close to Hans for even another second.

‘F*cking monster,’ he cursed inwardly, a sentiment that was echoed by all the high-ranking awakened who observed the confrontation.

Right now, in Logan’s eyes, Hans seemed like an insurmountable wall, impervious to any of his attacks.

Yet, his instinct to survive fueled his will to fight with determination, propelling him to rush forward once again.

SWOSSHH

His heavy punch almost connected with Hans’s nose, but the agile opponent moved out of the way just a few milliseconds earlier.

Seizing the opportunity, Logan grasped the handle of his sword handle and poured his mana into it, shattering the ice that held it and freeing his weapon.

Getting his weapon back, he withdrew once again and started planning for his next move.

After a few seconds of calmness, Logan finally came up with something.

‘This is it,’ thinking that, he once again launched himself at Hans. This time, however, he narrowly evaded the spells that flew in his direction and leaped high into the air before reaching his opponent.

While still in the air, Logan shouted, “Let’s see how you take this!!”

Then, the sword in his hands swung down, hitting Hans, who was covering his head with both arms, obviously encased in the ice armor.

Although the hit failed to breach Hans’ defenses, that wasn’t the objective behind Logan’s attack.

CRKKK

The already cracked ice below their feet shattered the moment Hans took the hit, plummeting him into the frigid water below.

SPLASH

Driven by the monstrous power in Logan’s aura, Hans crashed into the river with tremendous force, erupting the water and creating a towering pillar that reached the upper end of the barrier, obscuring the spectator’s view momentarily.

And since the water wasn’t so deep, Hans’ feet quickly touched the river bed.

He was still quite out of himself, but his mind remained the same. He soon realized that the tide of the battle was turning against him and continuing the battle would only become increasingly disadvantageous for him as the opponent had already diminished his wisdom by almost two hundred points.

An astronomical amount, which for a normal mage would be the same as a decrease in rank, but for him, it still barely caused any inconvenience. However, as time passed, it could become a real hassle since all of his other stats would plummet as well.

He needed a move that was decisive and would end the battle quickly, or one that would incapacitate Logan, thereby not allowing him to inflict any further damage.

And he found a way to do that right before his eyes.

Hans placed his cold hand on the riverbed, straining to maintain its stability amidst the current, and then prepared a powerful punch with his other arm before retracting it.

Channeling all the power he had in his body, Hans unleashed the punch. Though the water’s resistance slowed his movements down by a great degree, weakening it a lot more than the amount he poured, the force was still more than enough for what he wanted to achieve.

Just as his knuckles made contact with the riverbed, he activated a Tier-3 skill he had recently acquired from clearing the C-Rank gate: {Earthquake}.

The seismic waves originating from his punch made the water ripple.

Meanwhile, on the surface, Logan arrogantly gazed down into the river, confident that he had inflicted a fatal blow on Hans while all the people around who were observing were taken over by the anxiety.

After thirty seconds passed and there was no response, Logan turned his back to where Hans was presumed to be and started walking away.

According to him, the battle had already ended.

However, the four A-Rank spectators remained vigilant, sensing Hans’ lingering mana.

‘What are you waiting for?’ Kenta wondered silently.

Suddenly, the silence that had taken over the place for a few moments was broken as the sound of rumbling ground reached everyone’s ears.

The earth had started trembling….

Suddenly, the smoothly flowing river exploded, sending powerful waves in all directions.

Logan quickly turned his head around, but before he could even manage to react, the water had already engulfed him, leaving him startled.

He crouched, ready to spring and get out of the cold water, but before he could move, another spell was cast by Hans.

{Blizzard}

The surging wave of water turned to solid ice in a flash, trapping the opponent inside, not allowing him to even move a muscle.

“What in the…?”

It was indescribable, amidst all that ice, only Hans could be seen with his feet planted on the now-frozen and somewhat empty river.

The massive block of ice he had conjured blocked the river’s path, serving as a dam, letting the water spill over and flood the surroundings.

The moment the flow of Chicago’s river stopped, even if only for a few seconds, a part of the city faced flooding since the drainage system was barely enough to avoid such a catastrophe.

The cars stopped and the pedestrians started running away from the sudden flood.

Only those spectating the fight remained still, mesmerized by Hans.

The boats that were previously on the still waters of the river were now stranded on land.

“Let’s end this.”

Hans raised his arm, touching the ice before the frozen Logan.

All the immobilized man could do was move his eyes as he stared at Hans’ palm.

Even if he wasn’t emphatic, Hans could still tell that Logan’s eyes were filled with fear.

But he didn’t care.

“Repent for your mistakes in your next life, Logan.”

{Fire Javelin}

Although the fire spell wasn’t as powerful as always given that Hans had already used up most of his mana, it was still enough to pierce through the block of ice, shattering it into countless pieces.

Logan, whose whole body had been frozen as well, faced the same fate and shattered under the burning spear.

Now that the dam was destroyed, the river once again started to flow while the remaining water on the streets was swiftly drained.

Amidst the cheers and awe from the citizens in the battle spot, Hans returned home, however, his display of powers was so bright that admiration wasn’t the only thing he had received.

Both Benjamin and Sophia started looking at him as a possible threat and so did the Asura Guild once they came out of the raid.

Clutching the newspaper in his hands, Brandon Mitchell burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha, I knew he would do it, but I didn’t expect it so soon… the kid surely made a big fuss… Hahahaha.”

“Guild master, what could ever be so delightful ?” Zachary Barnes interjected.

They had just come out of the gate and their faces were covered in bruises, while behind them, many of their companions were tending the injured and moving the spoils.

Sitting on a crate, the guild leader handed the rolled newspaper to the mage before saying, “Here take a look at this, it’s the guy that came to us a few days ago.”

The mage’s pale hands reached for the paper, reading its first article.

[Logan Harris stripped of his powers]

{Logan Harris, once hailed as a gentleman and leader of the security team of the association’s Chicago branch, has been executed for his treacherous actions.

The man who was tasked with the role of protecting the city had instead betrayed its citizens and committed countless crimes.

He was dismissed from his position and immediately punished by the new association branch leader, Hans Ritcher.

The new star of the awakened seems to be keeping his promise to cut off the rotten branches from the association, but now the repercussions of hi….}

He was already surprised, but his astonishment grew as he continued reading; every subsequent article talked about the same person:

[Masked evil, Logan Harris punished for his actions]

[Logan Harris’s death, a man worse than the demons]

[The fall of Log…

One after another, all the articles portrayed Hans as a national hero, expressing gratitude for his service.

‘This guy could become quite the nuisance… I should contact HIM and let HIM pull out the weeds before they grow,’ the mage’s eyes narrowed slightly with growing concern.

“What? Is something wrong?” the leader asked.

As if nothing had happened, the mage’s expression returned to normal and a smile appeared on his face as he handed the newspaper back.

“No, nothing.”

_____

Somewhere in China.

Sitting on a red armchair, a woman watched her tablet’s screen while a mechanical voice that resembled that of Hans echoed from the speakers.

“Let’s end this.”

A smile played on the woman’s lips as she murmured to herself, “Hooo, it seems someone else other than me possesses it… the EPIC CLASS.”

_____

Somewhere in Europe.

A fit woman watched a TV in amazement and raised the remote control to press the stop button.

“Woooow, you surely are strong aren’t you Hans? You shouldn’t be this powerful right now. Has something happened to you, perhaps?”

“Well, I suppose I’ll just have to adjust my plans a bit.”

“Hey alfreeed~”

“Yes, madam.”

A butler entered the room, bowing respectfully.

“Given my schedule, when can I visit Chicago?”

“My lady, I believe it will take at least a month.”

“A month, a month…. Mhhhh… make it two weeks, and be sure to prepare my finest dress. I’ll be enjoying myself a bit.”

_____

Somewhere in the US.

A man lay on his bed and the only thing that lit the dark room all around him was the screen he was staring at.

“Cough, cough…”

He coughed blood before it trickled from his mouth, splattering all over his hands and staining the white sheets.

“Maybe… maybe if it’s him…”

“I just hope he grows stronger in time… otherwise, it might be the end.”