Chapter 48: [Powe Stone Bonus - ] The Alves Family Arena [2]

Chapter 48: [Powe Stone Bonus Chapter] The Alves Family Arena [2]

Karl was visibly startled, clearly not expecting his name to be called first.

He had originally assumed Noah would go first.

But in the end, he stepped forward, his expression serious. "What level?"

"Nineteen." Victor made his selection on the mana-crystal tablet.

[Rockback Savage Bull]

[Level: 19]

[Life Tier: Tier 1]

[Characteristics: High Strength, high Constitution, charging attacks.]

Several seconds later, the third metal gate directly ahead of them slowly rose.

Rumble!

From within the darkness, the sound of heavy breathing drew closer.

A massive savage bull nearly three meters long slowly emerged. Gray-brown rock armor covered its back, while dried blood still stained the surface of its two thick horns.

The moment it saw Karl standing in the middle of the battlefield, its eyes turned red.

"Moo!"

Boom!

Its four hooves slammed against the ground as its entire body charged forward like an out-of-control armored vehicle!

Karl instinctively tried to dodge to the side.

"Don’t dodge."

Victor’s voice came from outside the battlefield.

Karl’s feet instantly stopped.

Right.

What was his growth path again?

Heavy Defense.

If he developed the habit of dodging even enemies charging directly at him, how could he ever achieve ultimate defense?

Karl gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his shield, his veins bulging as he slammed the White Rock Bulwark into the ground.

"Rock Armor!"

Earth-yellow mana rapidly covered his body.

The next second, the Rockback Savage Bull crashed violently into his shield!

Boom!!!

The thunderous impact echoed throughout the entire arena.

The ground beneath Karl’s feet instantly cracked, sending his body sliding backward nearly two meters.

But he did not fall. He remained standing like a mountain!

"Again!" He roared, a savage light shining in his eyes.

The Rockback Savage Bull had already turned around, but hearing Karl’s taunt, the monster became furious.

Its second charge came, this time with even more tremendous force.

Boom!

Karl was forced backward again, but still he didn’t yield!

"Come on, is that all you’ve got?!"

"Moooo!"

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

By the fifth charge, both arms gripping the shield were visibly trembling.

The skin between his thumb and index finger had split open, leaking blood.

However, Victor did not stop the battle because he could tell Karl could still endure.

At that moment, the Rockback Savage Bull rushed forward once again.

This time, Karl did not simply hold the shield in front of himself.

Instead, just before the impact arrived, he slightly angled the White Rock Bulwark.

Boom!

The bull’s horns struck the shield, and the enormous force was redirected sideways.

The Rockback Savage Bull lost its balance and charged straight past Karl.

Crash!

Its head slammed directly into the stone wall surrounding the battlefield.

Karl paused for a moment as if shocked by his own action.

On the other side of the arena, Victor smiled.

It seemed this musclehead had finally started using his head.

Defense was never about standing still and stupidly taking every attack.

Victor had just been planning to tell him this, but it seemed there was no need anymore.

"Continue."

Ten minutes later, the Rockback Savage Bull collapsed, utterly spent.

After charging repeatedly, its stamina had been completely exhausted. Karl seized the opportunity and struck its neck several times with the edge of his shield, ultimately rendering it incapable of fighting.

[Karl Rosen has completed his first solo battle against a real magical beast three levels above him.]

[Practical combat experience greatly increased.]

[Heavy Defense path compatibility increased.]

[White Rock Bulwark proficiency increased.]

Karl emerged from the battlefield, breathing heavily. Although his right hand was still bleeding, there was obvious excitement on his face.

"Young Master. I understand what you meant yesterday."

"What?"

"I don’t need to be faster than it."

Karl glanced at the fallen bull.

"I only need to endure until it gives out before I do."

Victor nodded, impressed, "You’re not completely stupid."

Karl: "..."

Forget it. He had already heard the praise. The process did not matter.

"Milo."

For the Level 15 wind-element ranger,

Victor selected a Level 17 [Venom-Fanged Jackal] for him.

The Venom-Fanged Jackal was fast, small, and its saliva contained a mild paralyzing toxin.

For a ranged profession, it was far more difficult to deal with than a simple thick-skinned magical beast.

Less than a minute after the battle began, Milo had already been forced into a miserable state.

His arrows repeatedly missed. Only after facing a magical beast that actively circled behind him, used obstacles to block his vision, and genuinely wanted to bite him to death did he realize just how obedient the moving targets on the academy’s training grounds had been.

Milo could even smell the foul stench coming from its gaping jaws.

He instinctively tried to retreat, but there was a wall behind him. There was nowhere left to go!

"Stop thinking only about creating distance!" Victor’s voice rang out. "Is the short blade at your waist just decoration?"

Milo abruptly came to his senses. His right hand released his longbow and drew the blade instead.

Puchi!

The instant the Venom-Fanged Jackal pounced, the blade cut into its abdomen from the side, a shower of blood spraying directly across Milo’s face.

Feeling the warm sensation of blood on his face, an indescribable feeling of nausea passed through Milo’s body.

But the Venom-Fanged Jackal was not dead.

Its injury had drove it completely berserk, its claw tearing directly toward the slender human’s chest.

Seeing this, Milo finally stopped hesitating. Wind-elemental energy erupted as his body abruptly shifted sideways, dodging the attack and creating distance again.

He picked up his bow, nocked an arrow, and just a few seconds later—the entire movement roughly taking more than five seconds—

Whoosh!

The arrow flew through the jackal’s open mouth and pierced the back of its skull.

Thud.

The jackal paused mid-run as its corpse fell to the ground.

Milo stood where he was, his chest heaving violently, his entire body soaked in sweat. Although the fight hadn’t taken that long, it felt as if he had been battling for hours.

Several seconds later, when he finally caught his breath, he suddenly lowered his head and stared at his blood-covered hands.

"So this is..." he whispered. "What it feels like to truly kill a magical beast?"

"Your first time?" Karl asked.

Evelyn was not here. Otherwise, she definitely would have mocked him.

Karl merely patted his shoulder.

"You’ll get used to it."

Milo did not argue because those few minutes had left a deeper impression on him than an entire month of academy training.

Victor did not say much. The fact that he had not vomited was already good enough.

The next person was Leah.

Unlike the others, Leah did not lack combat experience entirely. What she lacked was real magical-beast combat experience, where an opponent would exploit hesitation and keep attacking until one side died.

"Level 16." The girl paused upon seeing the monster. "One level below me?"

"You think it’ll be easy?" Victor countered.

Leah was currently Level 17 and had two epic-grade skills. If it was only a Level 16 magical beast, it truly should have been easy.

But when the metal gate opened, she understood why Victor had selected it.

[Blackshadow Panther]

[Level: 16]

[Characteristics: High speed, stealth, explosive power.]

A pitch-black magical panther slowly emerged from the shadows.

It did not roar or attack like the previous monsters thus far. It merely lowered its body, and then, under Leah’s shocked gaze...

...Disappeared into the shadows of the battlefield.