Chapter 153: Sparring (Part 2)
After a long period of internal struggle, Leandro finally adjusted his breathing, gave Zhou Ning a respectful bow, then pointed directly at him and loudly declared, "Senior Wayne, I challenge you!"
To be honest, Leandro was still quite conflicted. His impression of Zhou Ning was stuck at that moment when he had walked out of the broken space holding Elvis single-handedly. The way Zhou Ning had looked at him back then made him feel a sense of fatal danger. It had taken him quite a while to muster the courage to issue this challenge. But this was a good chance to test his own limits.
Zhou Ning: …
A challenge is fine and all, but do you really have to shout like that? Is it absolutely necessary?
"It's Leandro! He's challenging Senior Wayne!"
A gasp rang out, and the scattered students quickly gathered around.
More and more people crowded in, and eventually, even the teachers were drawn by the commotion.
Zhou Ning smiled and stood up. He took off his coat and tossed it to Qingbai Wild Sake. "Hold this for me."
Qingbai Wild Sake fumbled to catch the coat, clearly thrilled and hurriedly switched on recording mode.
He hadn't expected such a bonus from this hidden mission—having the game's hottest male lead square off against the number-two male lead? That was free publicity gold!
…
Truth be told, Zhou Ning wasn't completely confident going up against Leandro. He wasn't sure of the guy's current strength, but this was someone who, in the future, would have a fully fleshed-out BOSS-tier template. Probably wouldn't be easy to handle.
In this world, the sparring rules between NPCs were pretty simple. A referee—usually an archmage from the Mage Department—would cast an arcane shield on both combatants. It could withstand one potentially fatal blow. Once the shield broke, that person lost.
Because the shield looked like a thin eggshell around the body, players jokingly called this kind of duel "egg cracking."
As the countdown hit three, two, one, Zhou Ning didn't waste words. His black ebony and white ivory pistols silently appeared in his left and right hands, barrels aimed at Leandro:
"Bang!"
Two bullets, wreathed in flames and rippling energy, shot out. Opposite him, Leandro—wearing a white adventurer's outfit and sporting a scar on his face—drew a massive, broad greatsword. To Zhou Ning's surprise, flames had already burst to life along the length of the blade. It looked almost exactly like Darth Vader's red lightsaber from Star Wars, and he skillfully deflected the bullets with it. Two sharp clinks later, the shots vanished without a trace.
Clack!
Leandro dashed forward, and his flaming greatsword came sweeping down at Zhou Ning from overhead.
Even before the sword landed, the gust from its descent nearly blew the hat off Zhou Ning's head.
That's some terrifying power! Zhou Ning tensed up and quickly activated his evasive shooting technique. While bullets struck Leandro, Zhou Ning's body rapidly retreated, ready to dodge again if needed.
Just then, a status screen popped up for Zhou Ning, showing Leandro's stats:
[Leandro de Pessa]
Total Level: 60
Template: BOSS
Class: Warrior / Meteorologist
Attributes: Strength 149, Agility 124, Stamina 110, Spirit 59, Willpower 72, Charisma 74
HP: 2200 / 2200
Status: Uplifted
Specialties: Protagonist Aura (Legendary), Combat Reflexes (Elite), Persuasion Expert (Elite), Penitent Monk, Arrow Deflection, Meticulous, Tenacious, Spell Counter Mastery, Agile Movement. [Others Unknown]
Skills: Blood-Fired Focus (Grandmaster), Gale Swordsmanship (Master), Leap Strike (Master),
[Others Unknown]
Aside from agility and charisma, he beats me in every stat…
Even though only part of Leandro's specialties and skills were listed, Zhou Ning knew that a BOSS-class template usually came with at least 17 or 18 specialties, including 5 elite ones and at least 1 legendary. Zhou Ning himself hadn't even reached that yet.
And what caught him even more off guard—this guy really did have a specialty called "Protagonist Aura"? Why had he never heard of it in his previous life?
Boom!
As Zhou Ning retreated, Leandro's flaming greatsword slammed into the ground, cracking it open in a spiderweb pattern.
Then, with a stomp, Leandro suddenly lunged forward again, swinging his two-handed sword in a brutal horizontal arc.
The speed of this slash was astonishing. Zhou Ning almost had no time to dodge—but as if he'd foreseen Leandro's move, he used his flying shot half a second in advance, firing at the ground and launching himself into the air. He didn't go for an aerial combo; instead, he just pulled the trigger.
With a loud bang, another bullet struck Leandro's arcane shield, producing a visible crack. At the same time, Zhou Ning's mind flashed with a vision of himself being caught in the gust of a sword-strike-generated whirlwind. He landed and immediately sidestepped to the right.
Whoosh! A streak of sword light suddenly slashed across—Leandro's terrifying attack carved out a massive gust, kicking up the snow and sending it flying in a flurry of white dragons.
Zhou Ning had only just brushed past him when another strike followed without pause. Leandro's offense was relentless.
"No wonder he's the child of the realm… his combat prowess really is something else." Zhou Ning's lips curled slightly. After a period of testing, and without using his clan's secret techniques, the gap between him and Leandro wasn't that large—perfectly acceptable!
Time to stop holding back.
If this were a real death match, with Leandro's stacked specialties and oversized HP pool, he might even win—no, he'd definitely be far more dangerous. But under the rules of this sparring match, with both sides having just one arcane shield and equalized health and damage mitigation, his chances were basically zero.
As Leandro charged in again, Zhou Ning's eyes narrowed. A formless wave radiated from him like a pulse, sweeping outward.
Leandro clearly sensed something coming and quickly changed direction, trying to flank Zhou Ning before he could activate Conqueror's Haki. But the surrounding ten-meter radius was already covered by the skill's area of effect.
It was an AOE control-type attack!
[Your Conqueror's Haki deals 239 damage to Leandro. Mental differential: -4 (55–59). Leandro is stunned for 0.45 seconds. (Specialty "Penitent Monk" reduces control duration by 30%)]
Leandro's charge came to a sudden halt. At the same time, Zhou Ning activated Dodge, slipping past Leandro's right side. With a step of his left foot, he pivoted like a dancer, turned, and pointed both pistols—ebony and ivory—at Leandro's back.
Ripple Shot! Fatal Countershot! Ripple Shot!
Three solid shots landed in succession. Leandro's arcane shield finally cracked under the barrage—and shattered.
The match was over.
"Winner—Wayne Sturwell!"
Zhou Ning lifted his hat slightly in acknowledgment toward Leandro. Through this fight, he'd basically confirmed his own standing—close to BOSS-tier. As long as he didn't face some monstrous freak, he could put up a fight against most opponents.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)