The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: One Shot, One Win

[The Awakener ‘Infinity’ has issued a challenge for the 200th position in the Power Ranking.]

[If you wish to watch the battle, you will be transported to the arena bleachers in 5 seconds.]

Shiru saw the notification appear in her field of vision.

Within the next five seconds, she disappeared from the [Awakener Hall], along with many others, and reappeared in the bleachers of a large arena that could easily house 200,000 people at the same time.

She looked down at the battleground of the arena and saw the challenger, ‘Infinity’, standing on one side.

On the other side stood the Awakener who currently held the 200th position in the power ranking.

“I wonder how strong he is… Well, he did claim he completed the trials in Hell Mode. If that’s really true, then he should be very powerful for his level.”

“But then again, he just got here. Shouldn’t he gather more information before challenging?”

Shiru pondered in her mind.

“Once he gets the 200th position, anyone in Solarta can challenge him anytime they want.”

“His title, Infinity, is already attracting attention because he got the 1st position in the grade ranking,” Shiru thought, slightly worried.

Attracting too much attention was never a good thing unless you had a way to make use of it.

She doubted that Damian had any such plans.

If any Awakener seemed to grow too fast or show too much potential, many others would look at them with nothing but hostility and competitiveness.

Most saw such individuals as enemies standing in the way of their own rewards.

These Awakeners weren’t fools; they wouldn’t let a threat grow, knowing it could come back to bite them later.

They would try to nip it in the bud before it had the chance to grow.

Some factions with particularly bad reputations, like the Vampires and Werewolves, were infamous for this.

They often ganged up on newly arrived talents, threatening them, beating them, or even forcibly turning them into their species and enslaving them to ensure those talents wouldn’t surpass them in strength.

Shiru could already spot some of the Plebeian Vampires and Beta Werewolves in the crowd.

These Plebeian Vampires and Beta Werewolves were formerly normal humans who had been turned by higher-ranking members of their species.

As the lowest-ranking members, they were essentially slaves to the higher-ranking ones, and their power was nothing compared to the elites of their kind.

“Those bastards are here to see what ‘Infinity’ is capable of,” Shiru thought bitterly.

“They’ll report back to their superiors…” Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her contractor.

As soon as Damian disappeared from the [Awakener Hall] and appeared in the arena, a series of notifications appeared in front of him.

[You have entered the Arena of Power]

[Power Ranking Battle Rules:

-You cannot kill your opponent.

-You cannot use any temporary power-up equipment, pills, or similar items.

-You cannot involve a third party in the battle.

-Your level and cultivation will be set to match your opponent’s.

-You can use everything you have at your disposal to defeat your opponent.]

“Interesting rules,” Damian muttered.

[Your battle will start in 5 seconds.]

In the next five seconds, Damian spent his time observing his opponent, just as his opponent observed him.

However, Damian couldn’t sense anything particularly powerful from him.

“Looks like I won’t even get a chance to use any weapons…” Damian muttered as his eyes glowed with a neon blue hue.

“I’ll finish this as fast as I can.”

[Your battle will start in 1 second.]

[Your battle will start in 0 seconds.]

As soon as the timer hit zero, Damian pushed his left leg back and his right leg forward, dashing toward his opponent at full speed without any enhancements.

A gust of wind followed in his wake, kicking up a cloud of dust.

His figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of his opponent.

The young man, who appeared to be in his twenties, barely had time to react.

He turned his body to face Damian, but before his head even fully turned, he felt something slam into his stomach.

The next moment, he found himself flying backward like a rocket.

His body slammed into the wall below the bleachers with a resounding crash.

Bones shattered, and a fist-shaped dent marked his stomach. Blood poured from every orifice in his body.

The pain was overwhelming, but he didn’t even have the chance to scream.

His mind shut down from the shock, and he was already unconscious when he hit the wall.

[The Awakener titled ‘Infinity’ has won the match.]

[The Power Rankings have been updated.]

[The Awakener ‘Infinity’ has obtained the 200th position in the Power Rankings.]

As soon as the notification appeared, Damian’s opponent, who had been plastered into the wall like a bad painting, disappeared into specks of light, returning to where he had been when Damian issued the challenge.

Silence filled the arena as everyone stared at the battleground with confused expressions, Shiru among them.

“What just happened?” Shiru thought.

“The battle started, then I heard a sound, like a boom, followed by another boom, and then ‘Infinity’s’ opponent was slammed into the arena wall like paste.”

Shiru wasn’t the only one having this thought.

Every single person in the bleachers seemed to be thinking something similar.

“He won…”

They didn’t know what had happened, but whatever this new Awakener ‘Infinity’ did, it worked.

He had won the battle and claimed the 200th position in the Power Ranking, and they had no idea how.

The entire arena erupted into chatter, the air filled with people debating what had just transpired.

“Oh no… I should have made bets! I knew he was going to win…”

Shiru slammed her hand against the armrest in frustration.

While this was happening, Damian was busy looking at another set of notifications that had appeared before his eyes:

[You have defeated your opponent.]

[You have obtained the 200th position in the Power Ranking.]

[100 gold has been deducted from your opponent and transferred to your account.]

[Since you wagered [The Thousand Armor Impale] technique, an equipment or technique of similar value possessed by your opponent has been deducted and transferred to you.]

[You have obtained [The Winged Sword Dance]]

[You have defeated a Power Ranked opponent in under ten seconds with one shot.]

[Achievement Unlocked: One Shot, One Win.

Reward: +10 Free Stat Points.]

[Do you wish to take on the 199th position in the Power Ranking or return?]

“Of course, I’ll fight!” Damian grinned and immediately made another bet, this time wagering his defense technique, [The Armor of Sacred Light].

Just like before, every single person in Solarta received the same message:

[The Awakener ‘Infinity’ has issued a challenge for the 199th position in the Power Ranking.]

“Wait, didn’t he just win a battle? And he’s fighting again already?”

“Is he confident, or just stupid?”

“Looks like he doesn’t even need to rest; he’s already challenging his next opponent?”

Shiru noticed people beside her asking the same questions that were running through her own mind.

“…I should place some bets,” Shiru said in her mind and immediately opened the [Betting Function] of the system.

This function, like many others in the system, allowed users to bet on any battle or match organized by the system or related to rankings.

It worked like regular betting, except participants could only wager gold.

If Shiru bet 100 gold and her chosen contender won, she would receive 200 gold in return, taken from those who had bet against her.

Damian looked on as another Awakener appeared, a woman with long hair holding a spear.

She glanced at Damian with a slightly fearful gaze.

[Your battle will start in 2 seconds.]

[Your battle will start in 1 second.]

[Your battle will start in 0 seconds.]

As soon as the timer hit 0, the same thing happened again: the match was over within a couple of seconds.

The woman was slammed into the wall with a fist-sized wound in her stomach.

She wasn’t dead, but she would have wished she were if she were conscious, given the pain she was in.

Despite her condition, she was still alive.

[The Awakener titled ‘Infinity’ has won the match.]

[The Power Rankings have been updated.]

[The Awakener ‘Infinity’ has obtained the 199th position in the Power Rankings.]

Just like before, a series of notifications appeared in front of every single Awakener in the First Tower Realm, Solarta, informing them that the Awakener named “Infinity” had won… again… in a matter of seconds… again.

“This… how?”

“He just won again… I couldn’t even see what was happening…”

“I saw it… I mean, I barely saw a blur slam into that girl, and the next second, she was lying on the ground with blood everywhere…”

Some of the Awakeners understood what had happened this time.

They had been focusing on the battle, especially since there weren’t many strong people in the arena right now.

After all, why would the top-level Awakeners bother watching a battle between low-level Awakeners?

[You have defeated your opponent.]

[You have obtained the 199th position in the Power Ranking.]

[200 gold has been deducted from your opponent and transferred to your account.]

[Since you wagered [The Armor of Sacred Light] technique, equipment, or technique of similar value possessed by your opponent has been deducted and transferred to you.]

[You have obtained [The Wall Breaker Spear.]

[Do you wish to take on the 198th position in the Power Ranking or return?]

“Yes,” Damian grinned, and just like before, everyone in the First Tower Realm received the notification.

Not only had the awakener ‘Infinity’ finished two battles consecutively in less than 10 seconds, but he had also moved on to the next battle for the 198th position.

“This bastard…”

“Who does he think he is? Does he plan to fight every single one of the power rankers?”

Shiru, who was listening to the murmurs of the crowd in the arena bleachers, felt beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.

“Is he… really planning to fight every single awakener in the Power Rankings without taking a break?”

Shiru shook her head.

The idea itself seemed ridiculous and frustrating.

There was no way an awakener could fight 200 awakeners consecutively.

Not to mention, the higher the rank of an awakener in the Power Rankings, the more monstrous their powers would become.

For some reason, Shiru couldn’t shake the thought, as if some part of her couldn’t deny that Damian might actually be able to do it.

“This is getting ridiculous.”