The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion - Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Power Vs Pride – 3

Aeron’s eyes darkened.

“…I… lose to you? A lowly human?”

Something inside him snapped.

As a vampire, his emotions were already heightened hundreds of times beyond a human’s, but now, with his partial ancestral transformation active, his pride and fury erupted even more violently than usual.

“Yes, you’re about to lose… to a lowly human,” Damian nodded, smirking. “What are you going to do about it?”

Damian purposely provoked him, wanting to see what the vampire could do.

He wasn’t afraid that the noble vampire could harm him because he could sense the strength of his presence had diminished significantly since the fight began.

It seemed that, even though this vampire possessed great power, he lacked stamina.

Damian, on the other hand, had plenty.

He had only used two elemental essence forms: the [Earth Avatar] and [Wind Avatar].

He still had five more forms left that he hadn’t used.

The vampire was strong, there was no doubt about that, but Damian was his natural enemy.

He had [Fire Essence] and [Earth Essence] flowing through his veins, and he had developed the [Fire Resistance] trait after sitting inside the burning-hot liquid lava for more than ten days in the Trial Realm.

Not to mention, he also possessed complete fire immunity due to the [Fire Essence].

Unless the vampire was using a higher-ranked flame, there was no way the vampire could hurt Damian.

Even normal flames had power and intensity differences, which could be differentiated by the color of the flame.

For example, the lowest intensity of normal flame would have a reddish-orange color.

The more intense and powerful the normal flame, the color of the flame would change.

The spectrum of flame intensity goes from reddish-orange < orange < yellow < white < blue, and so on.

Damian had learned about the flame color spectrum when he was enhancing his understanding of the flame element for his magic cultivation.

Damian had been thinking about ways to increase the intensity of his flames for a while now.

His flame elemental magic had already grown so well that he could create pure orange flames, but he was more interested in increasing the color of the flame he could generate using his [Fire Essence].

However, he hadn’t yet figured out how to do so.

Damian was levitating about thirty feet in the sky.

He looked at the vampire, who was looking down, hiding his face from him.

The vampire seemed to be fine, even after being impaled by [Recna, the Spear of Torment] into his heart.

The hole in his chest had already closed up completely after about 30 seconds or so.

The flames around his body weren’t dissipating either.

Even though Damian could feel that the power of his presence had grown considerably weaker, the flame was still burning brightly in reddish-orange.

The flames generated by this noble vampire were the lowest intensity of the normal flame spectrum.

Flames are like elements and energies; each flame has different capabilities and properties.

Normal flames have no special properties, but they can grow more intense.

However, the noble vampire’s flames were still at the starting stage.

Unless their intensity grew stronger, they couldn’t affect Damian.

The vampire slowly raised his head and looked at Damian, revealing his blood-red eye, devoid of any emotion.

Around his eye, cracks resembling those on a shattered mirror spread outward.

However, they did not appear to be wounds; there was no blood, nor were they healing as they should.

Suddenly, Damian felt the vampire’s presence growing stronger once again.

The noble vampire’s flames surged, expanding around him with an even more intense reddish-orange glow.

“Looks like he’s burning every ounce of energy he has left to increase the intensity of his flames.”

Damian could see that the vampire refused to accept defeat.

He recalled how the vampire had belittled him, calling him a lowly human.

From that alone, Damian understood that this noble vampire despised humans more than anything in the world.

The thought of being beaten by one was unbearable to him.

His pride simply wouldn’t allow it.

Damian shook his head.

He understood the significance of pride, but in his opinion, if you lacked the power to back it up, then what was the point?

Pride meant nothing if you couldn’t prove it.

The vampire’s pride stemmed from his belief in his superiority, not just over humans but over many lower-ranking races.

Now, to be in a position where he was losing to the very race he looked down upon the most?

His pride was wounded beyond repair.

And as a vampire, who felt emotions a hundred times more intensely than a human, the humiliation was overwhelming.

In his partially transformed ancestral state, where everything was heightened even further, this defeat was nothing short of infuriating.

The noble vampire’s flames burned even brighter, his eyes glowing with fire.

In an instant, his figure shot forward like a streak of flames, attacking the figure hovering effortlessly in the sky.

He was fast, just as fast if not faster than when the fight had begun.

But Damian could follow his movements with ease.

He didn’t even need to activate his [Eyes of Clarity], which allowed him to perceive everything in slow motion.

With his supercomputer-like brain, enhanced natural eyesight, and high perception stats, tracking the vampire’s movements was effortless.

Despite the intense battle, Damian felt calm and at peace.

The [Wind Avatar] form enveloped him, granting him a feeling of complete freedom, something he had never experienced before.

As the vampire lunged at him with his fist drawn back, ready to pummel him with all his strength, Damian remained still.

The vampire propelled himself forward at full force, his attack empowered by the sheer speed of his flight.

But just as his fist was about to connect with Damian’s face, Damian vanished.

The vampire’s fist struck nothing but empty air, sending a blast of fire shooting into the sky.

“W-What the hell?”

The vampire’s eyes widened in shock.

He spun around, only to see Damian still floating in the same spot, arms crossed, an irritating smirk playing on his lips.

The noble vampire struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

He had thrown his full strength into that punch, and he had seen his fist about to collide with Damian’s face.

But in that final moment, the lowly human had simply… disappeared.

Damian’s smirk widened as he saw the vampire’s confused expression.

He had evaded the attack effortlessly, using the wind essence coursing through his body to move like the wind itself.

But the vampire wasn’t about to give up; his pride wouldn’t allow it.

Surrendering would bring him nothing but shame, something he wasn’t prepared to face.

Little did he know, he no longer had a choice.

Once again, he launched himself at Damian, his flames burning fiercely, consuming every last ounce of [Blood Essence] he had left.

He aimed another powerful strike at Damian’s head.

But just as before, the moment his fist was about to connect, Damian vanished.

“You…!”

The vampire’s frustration boiled over.

No matter how many punches he threw, Damian dodged them all with effortless, fluid movements.

Damian wasn’t using any weapons. He wasn’t employing any advanced techniques.

He was simply hovering in the air, his hands behind his back, allowing his body to move on its own, dodging every attack as if it were second nature.

His expression remained relaxed, almost amused, as he watched the noble vampire struggle in vain.

“He’s dodging everything…”

“Looks like the vampire resorted to hand-to-hand combat after realizing his flames had no effect on his opponent.”

“He’s too fast… that vampire can’t keep up.”

“Like the wind…”

To the spectators, it seemed as though Damian’s body was moving on its own.

But in reality, he was controlling every movement with [Wind Avatar], utilizing the immense boost in speed it granted him.

[Wind Avatar] made his body feel as light as a feather, allowing him to soar freely.

With the wind essence surrounding him, he could manipulate the air itself, pushing and pulling in any direction at will.

And so, he continued to dance through the sky, effortlessly evading every desperate strike the vampire threw at him.

“You… you lowly human, are you trying to make a fool out of me?”

The vampire felt his head spinning, his blood boiling with frustration and irritation.

He couldn’t even land a single blow on this lowly human he despised with his entire being.

For over five minutes, he had been delivering hundreds of attacks, yet not a single one had connected.

Never in his whole life had the noble vampire felt more frustrated, irritated, annoyed, hateful, powerless, and, more than anything, helpless.

He hated this feeling.

He hated this lowly human for making him feel this way.

This lowly human… he was a monster in human form.

Unknowingly, the vampire bit his lip so hard that blood began to drip from the wound, yet unexpectedly, it did not heal.

“I’m running out of blood essence…” His face turned grim.

That was when the noble vampire finally realized he had lost this battle long ago.

He had never been a capable enough opponent to fight against this monster of a human.

From the very start, this man had been toying with him.

He had always known he would win against a noble vampire like him.

“How did it come to this?”

The vampire felt his pride shatter as the reality of his defeat slowly sank into his barely beating heart.

The flames surrounding him began to fade, while the features he had gained upon transforming into his partial ancestral vampire form started to disappear.

His [Blood Essence] reserves were draining rapidly.