134 Besting Keith
Bleeding.
Both of Keith’s shoulders had been injured by Eren’s attack. His left shoulder was in a more serious condition because of its previous injury.
Keith roared in anger and pain. He took out his berserker potion vial and was about to drink it when he felt the tug Eren’s Blitz Whip had exerted on the two axes.
Keith was about to get rid of the two weapons that had been lodged in his shoulders. But he felt that the tug he felt this time was different from the previous instance.
Instead of pulling the weapons out, Eren had used his two axes as anchors, dragging himself towards them while he was mid-air. He straightened himself up as he was getting pulled and executed his next set of spells.
Eren’s axes were freed from their lodged state just when he was only inches away from Keith. The axes flew past Eren and he let them pass. That’s because he was holding two lightning bolts in either hand.
Solid Spark.
The blood splattered when the two axes were pulled away. Keith’s body was pulled back because the axes suddenly got yanked out of their lodged state. As a result, his balance was broken.
The berserker was about to fall flat on his back but right then he received another impact and his situation worsened. Solid Sparks had pierced the wounds left behind by the axes. They dug deeper and released Eren’s mana into the berserker’s system in abundance.
A lightning-element ranker was getting electrified. Eren used Keith’s shoulders as a foothold to launch himself in the air once again before pulling his flying axes his way. He then landed a few meters away from him and started casting his next set of spells.
Kieth had raised a 7-meter tall, round wall made of lightning mana around him to prevent Eren from approaching him carelessly when he was at his most vulnerable. He had gritted his teeth, not allowing himself to be consumed by pain. However, his face was twisted and his eyes were red, indicating the miserable state he was in.
This happened only a couple of minutes into the fight. The fast-paced battle saw both opponents exchange several moves in a short time. And Eren had come out on top during these confrontational interactions, thanks to making the right use of his trump cards at the right time.
Kieth used the lightning walls to protect himself against Eren’s sudden attack. He had come to realize that he had underestimated Eren. A fighter like him wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Kieth knew his injuries were severe. He had tried to mend them using his healing spell. But Eren’s mana was preventing them from recovering anytime soon.
Even when both the rankers were lightning-element users, they weren’t impervious to each other’s attacks. Their attacks contained their mana signatures, which created a conflict and affected the bodies that didn’t have the same signature. This was regardless of whether they were lightning element users or not.
Keith didn’t waste any time. He quickly took out the vial of his berserker potion and drank from it before crushing it with his clenched fist. Keith’s body turned red under the effects of the potion.
A berserker potion was something mostly used by berserker class rankers. It would temporarily boost the functionalities of the mana points and mana pathways, making each of the caster’s spells amplify.
The berserker potions would be able to bring out more than 100% percent of the spell’s potential. Since the berserker class focused on making the rankers’ mana points and mana pathways stronger than the average rankers, the berserker potions would allow them to make use of the characteristics to their fullest while suffering relatively minimal disadvantages.
Of course, the berserker potions would produce side effects after use. They would have to face exhaustion, excessive mana depletion, and severely affected mana points, which could be considered one of the most common side effects.
“You really did a number on me, you bastard. Serves me right for being overly cocky. Hahaha!”
Keith laughed while the berserker potion was showing its effects on him. The tongues of lightning that were dancing on his body were getting wilder by the moment. The mana pulse generated by him was also getting stronger.
Keith’s muscular body flexed a bit more, making the veins on his masculine form pop up even more. His limbs got more buffed up all of a sudden and the lightning mana coating them got more intense.
“I’ll take you seriously from now on. So that I won’t have any excuses in case I do end up losing against you.”
Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Keith’s words. The guy was not as dense as he was making himself out to be. He had admitted the fact that he might lose in the match.
Eren thought that the ability to perceive what was happening made Keith more dangerous now than he was before. Not every ranker was blessed with common sense after all.
‘Or… the haughty attitude he had shown earlier was just for the show. I guess he needs to have an overwhelming presence in the ring to gain popularity. The guy’s a showman first and a ranker later.’
Eren thought to himself before voicing his challenge.
“Heh! Come at me then.”
Eren smiled and beckoned him to charge with his index finger. For some reason, he also liked fighting with mature rankers who knew their shit. His skills would truly get tested against them. There was no fun in bulldozing over the dense brats. At least not always.
Another round of battle unfolded in front of the audience. The spectators cheered and roared as they saw two lightning element rankers battling against each other with everything they had.
The spectral screen above the battle rings would show the highlights of the match in real-time, sometimes in slow motion for mortal viewers. Keith and Eren were seen battling against each other while displaying exceptional control over their spells and weapon arts.
However, what Keith feared had come to pass. The guy had to eventually leave the battlefield due to his injuries. He declared his defeat himself before being subjected to the barrage of Eren’s Alfem once again.
Eren had won the duel relatively easily. He had managed to score a huge win with minimal injuries. And since he had put up quite a show, the name Viktor had become famous in the arena.