Chapter 152: Chapter 150 — The Clouds That Walk

My feet descended slowly downward...

Cold refreshing air.

A towering mountain.

I could barely even see what lay beneath me.

Two days ago...

I had obtained the Greater Catastrophe Beast — the Pale Lightning Deer.

After many hours of training with it...

I made the system choose a suitable space for it.

Then accelerated time so its flow would match the other beasts.

Today...

I decided to check on it.

My eyes shifted toward the clouds.

They were already beneath me.

And several hundred meters away...

The Lightning Deer leapt across the clouds, floating effortlessly.

From its back...

Small white clouds continuously emerged and merged with the surrounding skies.

"It seems it’s building its own nature... just like the Flame Unicorn."

I whispered.

Then jumped.

I closed my eyes.

And let my body fall freely through the clouds and air toward the earth below.

Hundreds of meters.

Then dozens.

Then only several meters remained—

I stopped.

The air pressure created by my descent slammed into the ground and formed a massive crater.

I exited the dimension.

Two hours earlier...

A new batch of armor had arrived.

I now possessed seven different Unique Armors already.

Each one carried its own abilities and useful properties.

But...

Even with seven different armors...

The third requirement for completing the Full Equipment hidden quest was still missing.

The first requirement...

A healing ability.

Completed thanks to the existence of the White Flower.

The second requirement...

Attack capability.

Completed through the Flame Art.

But...

The third requirement.

Defensive capability.

I thought the Unique Armor would fulfill it.

But it wasn’t the answer.

If even a Unique Armor couldn’t satisfy the defensive condition...

Then what could?

Was it because I lacked an actual defensive attribute?

Maybe.

I wasn’t sure.

But one thing was certain—

Seven Unique Armors weren’t the answer.

And I doubted the remaining four would solve it either.

Well then...

Time to head toward the match.

.

I exited the cave.

The sun leaned slightly toward sunset.

I hadn’t received any notification that my match was starting soon...

Which meant the opening match was still ongoing.

I continued walking instead of teleporting directly.

The air was calm.

And so was the world around me.

But my mind...

Wasn’t.

The entire way...

I kept thinking about the Lord of the Seven Steps.

That man...

Didn’t possess terrifying destructive power.

Nor Catastrophe Beasts.

Nor overwhelming defenses.

And yet...

He was more dangerous than many masters I had seen.

"An attack that doesn’t rely on force."

I whispered.

"But on results. You can’t understand how to deal with it until you fight him directly."

I kept walking.

Then...

My steps suddenly halted.

"Lord of the Ivory Mask is requested to arrive. Your match is about to begin."

The message echoed inside my mind.

I narrowed my eyes.

Then quickly prepared for transfer.

.

The sounds of celebration were loud...

I entered the waiting room.

And it didn’t take long...

Before I was asked to enter the arena.

One step after another...

I was already inside.

My opponent stood before me.

Wearing a broad smile.

Then quickly spoke.

"Welcome... Lord of the Ivory Mask."

"The mysterious powerful lord."

"I hope you show what you’re truly capable of today."

I didn’t answer.

If I responded...

He would just keep talking more.

"The talkative type."

I whispered inwardly.

"They’re always deceptive fighters. They appear weak... then destroy you."

"You won’t talk either?"

The Lord of the Seven Steps sounded disappointed.

"Don’t you have friends to talk with?"

"Maybe you’re actually the outcast here trying to make friends through battle."

I replied mockingly.

The Seven Steps Lord’s smile widened.

As though I had just complimented him.

"Why not?"

He whispered.

"Battle reveals the true nature of men."

"Fine."

I said.

"I hope your nature is solid enough to give me a good fight."

He laughed lightly.

Then spun his twin daggers between his fingers.

"So..."

He said with a broad smile.

"You’re the type who likes direct combat too."

I didn’t answer.

My eyes...

Simply observed every tiny movement.

His stance.

His breathing.

His weight distribution.

Even his fingers.

Meanwhile...

He smiled as though he were on a casual stroll.

Then—

The starting bell thundered.

BOOOOOOM...

At that exact instant—

He vanished.

"Fast."

I whispered inwardly.

But I didn’t move.

Suddenly—

He appeared to my right.

SWOOSH—

The dagger passed near my neck.

The strike shifted slightly away.

I smiled beneath the mask.

"So it worked."

The Deflecting Wind Armor...

Had pushed the strike aside for a brief moment.

I instantly leapt backward.

As the Lord of the Seven Steps appeared once more.

This time...

His smile disappeared briefly.

"Hah?"

He whispered.

Then laughed again.

"That’s new. You use air as a—"

I didn’t let him finish.

I raised my hand.

Dozens of tiny blades shot toward him.

But—

He vanished.

Appeared behind me.

Then—

Vanished again.

Every time...

He drew closer.

Then suddenly—

He managed to hit me.

I narrowed my eyes.

"The moment his dagger collided with the small blades..."

I whispered inwardly.

"He reinforced the strike to pierce through the airflow and hit me."

He attacked again.

And again.

Each time he appeared from a different angle.

Leaving behind only tiny scratches.

My shoulder.

My arm.

My side.

Superficial wounds.

But I didn’t ignore them.

"He’s trying to exhaust me... or set up some kind of trap."

I whispered inwardly.

Suddenly...

I felt something strange.

A faint heaviness in my leg.

Then my hand.

Then my entire body.

"It started already?"

My eyes narrowed instantly.

I quickly retreated backward—

Then leapt fifty meters into the air.

My body stabilized in the sky.

I looked downward.

The lord’s smile was wide and provocative.

"It’s completely different inside the arena compared to outside it."

I whispered.

"Once you enter combat with him... his movement and speed feel on another level entirely."

I slightly raised my hand.

A strange numbness spread through it.

An unpleasant sensation...

As though something inside my body was wrong.

"Damn it."

I whispered.

Back on Earth...

I had experienced something similar.

I suffered from stomach problems constantly.

Pain.

Bloating.

That feeling of my body being sick...

Returned again.

"It’s confirmed."

I said.

"He possesses either an ability or a weapon causing this."

"You’re fast."

I said aloud.

My voice sounded calm.

But he heard it.

I pointed upward and added:

"Launching powerful attacks at you... no matter how many... would just waste energy."

"With your speed and evasion... nothing would land."

From my hand—

Dozens of circular wind blades emerged.

Then hundreds.

"How do you catch a tiny fast bird?"

I asked.

The Lord of the Seven Steps placed his hands around his mouth and shouted from below.

"How?"

Then—

More than two thousand circular wind blades formed in the sky.

The blades began merging together.

Then grew larger once again...

Until their number dropped below one thousand.

They rotated violently.

Then...

Started aligning beside each other.

Until they formed two shapes.

Two halves of an egg.

"Like this."

I said.

The two forms surged around the Seven Steps Lord.

They didn’t approach him directly.

Instead—

They surrounded him.

Then slowly began closing toward each other...

Trying to merge into a complete egg.

An oval prison made of blades...

To trap the Lord of the Seven Steps.

Below...

The lord’s smile finally disappeared.

He raised his head.

Looked toward the rotating walls gradually sealing him inside.

Then...

He laughed.

"Interesting."

He whispered.

Suddenly—

He vanished.

But this time...

He didn’t appear outside the cage.

Instead—

He reappeared inside it again.

Then vanished.

Then appeared.

Then vanished.

He moved like a madman.

But the space...

Continued shrinking more and more.

The sound of the blades roared violently.

SWOOOOOOOSH...

Even the air itself...

Had become sharp.

"I understand."

The Lord of the Seven Steps whispered.

"So you’re not trying to hit me."

"You’re trying to kill my space."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Exactly."

In the next instant—

The two halves of the egg nearly connected.

Only a tiny gap remained.

Then—

The lord exploded directly toward the final opening.

His speed erupted terrifyingly.

But I had been waiting for that moment.

I instantly raised my hand.

BOOOOSH—

Hundreds of tiny blades surged into the final gap.

Sealing it completely.

Then—

The egg completed itself.

BOOOOOOOOM...

The air shook violently.

The massive spherical prison stood in the middle of the arena...

Rotating like madness.

And inside it...

The Lord of the Seven Steps was finally trapped.

Silence filled the arena briefly.

Then the audience exploded into screams.

As for me...

I continued watching the cage silently.

Because I knew only one thing.

"This bastard..."

I whispered inwardly.

"Won’t lose this easily."

The cage slowly began shrinking.

I raised my hand.

New blades surged outward.

They rushed toward the prison...

Strengthening it.

It became heavier.

And louder.

Smaller.

Then smaller.

The lord stood at its center.

Motionless.

The cage shrank until it was barely three meters wide.

Then the blades violently collapsed inward.

BOOOOOOOOOOM...!

The explosion thundered monstrously.

The entire arena shook.

Winds exploded in every direction.

Dust filled the arena.

And the scattered blades...

Still spun within the destructive storm.

My eyes remained fixed upon the center of the explosion.

With complete focus.

One second.

Two seconds.

Then—

"Clapping?"

I whispered in surprise.

Tak... Tak... Tak...

Amid the silence...

A calm clapping sound echoed.

My eyes instantly widened.

I turned.

Dozens of meters away...

The Lord of the Seven Steps stood there.

Wearing his usual broad smile.

Without a single injury.

Even his clothes...

Were untouched.

My expression froze briefly.

"What?"

I whispered involuntarily.

Even the audience...

Fell into shock.

"How did he get out?!"

"When did he move?!"

"He was inside the cage!"

Voices of disbelief exploded across the stands.

As for the Lord of the Seven Steps...

He tilted his head slightly.

"Terrifying."

He said with a smile.

"If I had been even one step slower... I’d be minced meat right now."

I narrowed my eyes sharply.

"He’s lying."

I whispered inwardly.

"He isn’t moving fast enough to escape."

"But..."

"He’s teleporting."

Suddenly—

A sharp stab of pain struck my stomach.

Then—

My breathing faltered briefly.

"Damn."

I whispered.

My body was worsening gradually.

Below...

The Lord of the Seven Steps smiled even wider.

Then slowly raised his dagger.

Pointed it toward me.

"Do you know..."

He said quietly.

"What I love most about battle?"

His eyes locked onto me completely.

"That moment..."

"When my opponent finally begins realizing..."

"That he’s already losing."