Am I a Healer? You'd Better Think So!-Chapter 36: All Or Nothing

The stands fell silent, filled with anticipation.

Two teams of five High Humans were about to face off. They were just young fighters, each with a single ring and, at most, ten years of training. But on one side stood the number one clan, and on the other, a clan known for its highly trained members.

The battle stage was immediately covered in a red aura. Everyone activated their ring's power at the same time.

"Begin." The judge's firm voice rang out clearly.

The temperature in the area skyrocketed. At the center of Raon's group, a short, muscular man shot forward like a bullet.

"Come at me!" he roared, his body covered in small black stones that seemed to grow out of his skin. Between them, a red, molten glow pulsed, like magma ready to erupt.

"Let's see who goes down first," Matteo growled, charging with his spear pointed forward.

Harper readied her sword, moving cautiously, her sharp eyes analyzing every enemy movement.

Veyle stepped back several paces but held her staff firmly, ready to attack.

'Darian, don't leave my side.' Leander's voice echoed in his mind. 'We don't have time to explain the strategy. Just move forward and heal when I tell you to.'

Darian nodded, positioning himself beside Leander. That mental communication was a connection between all five members at once, using the power of their rings. They could speak, and everyone would hear simultaneously. It was a simple way to use the ring but only worked if they stayed within a small area.

Leander exhaled sharply, and his spatial ring shone. A dozen blades materialized in the air, floating around him as if gravity didn't exist. They were flying swords, something Darian had only read about in fantasy stories.

Harper sensed a subtle shift in the wind and reacted instantly.

She knew her opponent—a fellow swift fighter who tried to break through their defensive line but was intercepted.

*CLANG!*

The sharp sound of clashing blades rang out as Harper and a man wielding a saber collided.

*Bang! Bang!*

At the same time, Matteo with his spear and the muscular man with an axe exchanged brutal blows. Both were tanks, blocking any enemy advances toward their backlines.

'Raon is a fighter too,' Leander told Darian. 'Their composition is two fighters, a mage, a support, and a tank. But Raon won't move until their combo is ready. Stay alert. Our best chance to win depends on your power. Matteo has to hold the line when the moment comes.'

Leander spoke quickly, then commanded, 'Veyle, an opening will appear in their support. Get ready.'

'Got it.'

She responded, closing her eyes and focusing entirely. On the other side, a round-faced mage did the same. It was a technique to activate their blessing faster.

Doing this left them vulnerable to any outside attack. That was a common weakness of mages—using their blessing required either protection or positioning where enemies couldn't strike them in time.

In the first five seconds of battle, the clashes were between the two tanks and the fighters.

Then, Leander gestured, gripping something in his fist. The floating swords around him vibrated. One of them vanished from the group without warning.

Mentally, Leander commanded: 'Veyle!'

Raon noticed and grinned. "Now!"

The support of Raon's group, a blonde woman, raised her staff behind her. A strange sound, like twisting metal, echoed through the air. The space around her distorted in a five-meter radius.

Leander's flying sword appeared inside that warped zone, stopping a meter away from her, frozen in midair.

Darian recognized it. Her blessing was something created using the laws of space, commonly used for its utility. It had no offensive power at all. It was purely a support ability called: Displaced Space Blessing.

It created a spatial distortion within an area. Inside it, even if you could see someone standing just inches away, you wouldn't be able to reach them. In short, it slowed all enemy movements while benefiting allies.

Leander gave a signal, and Veyle, in perfect sync, opened her eyes and mirrored his gesture.

Then, without anyone sensing it, a young woman appeared floating above the enemy support.

It was Veyle—she had seemingly teleported.

She waved her staff, and a dense fog rose around the blonde woman, swallowing her completely.

'Return.'

Leander ordered, and Veyle vanished in a blur across the sky, reappearing right beside him. Then, he let go of a small crystal he had been gripping in his fist. The crystal turned to dust as it fell.

That move had cost him a lot, but it was a combination of an Artifact with Leander's Blessing.

Raon, from a distance, narrowed his eyes. That was new to him.

Darian felt it and was sure—thanks to the knowledge he had gained from that book. Leander's Blessing manipulated gravity, something connected to the laws of the earth at a high level.

He had pulled off a combo with a mobility artifact that used space, amplifying its effect by removing Veyle's gravity at the perfect moment.

Veyle remained fully focused. The dense mist surrounding the enemy support was swirling slowly, keeping her trapped. They had sacrificed a lot of energy, but they had neutralized the enemy team's key piece.

'Matteo, Harper!' Leander ordered.

The two roared with full force, pulling out small artifacts from their spatial rings.

All High Humans bought a variety of artifacts for critical moments. The ones useful in combat were expensive, so normally, no one would use them in a skirmish. But everyone here knew their opponents wouldn't hesitate to burn through artifacts randomly, so they just acted first.

Immediately, their enemies felt a surge of power rising from their opponents.

Raon roared: "Activate!"

His order was followed by quiet laughter, and then the enemy team's clothing began to glow.

Veyle's eyes widened. 'The Mist Prison is collapsing!'

Leander nodded. 'That's their group power-sharing artifact. Expected. Now's the moment!'

The two frontline fighters nodded, ready to charge in an all-or-nothing tactic.

Darian, despite his lack of experience, saw the strategy. It was simple, but being simple meant fewer chances for mistakes.

First, they used an element of surprise to keep the enemy support busy, even if just for a few seconds. Then, they would go all in while holding the advantage.

They were sure Raon would use his artifacts to stop them. Matteo would then throw himself against whatever popped up, sacrificing himself. That meant Darian would need to act to keep him in the fight.

But... Darian's eyes locked onto Raon.

It took only two seconds for Harper and Matteo to activate everything. Their opponents stepped back. Then, they charged in fast.

That was when a spark flashed in Darian's eyes, snapping him back to reality.

'Don't go. This is gonna go wrong.'

Leander scoffed. 'No time, go!'

Darian pushed on: 'Raon has two more artifacts, and he already used them. One is a spatial concealment artifact, which he combined with the support's Blessing, making it impossible to detect. That let him plant traps. The moment you get close, he'll trigger them and trap you.'

Leander's eyes widened at that.

'No time,' Darian continued. 'You can attack quickly with a flying sword, right?'

Leander swallowed hard. Meanwhile, Raon burst into uncontrollable laughter and gestured—making Leander feel like there really was something hidden there.

Veyle's mist was dispersing due to the first artifact, which combined the power of all five enemy team members.

Their support roared.

At the same time, the space around Matteo and Harper warped. Small hidden lights revealed themselves beside them. It was already too late.

'It's the Celestial Storage artifact... the support's Blessing was stored at a lower level and has just been suddenly activated,' Veyle murmured tensely.

The two at the front were locked in place by space, with no chance to escape. It wouldn't last long, but long enough.

And it wasn't just two artifacts. Several hidden traps around them lit up, forming a small barrier against long-range attacks, blocking Leander from hitting the enemies.

The last member of the enemy team, a round-faced mage, opened his eyes.

Electric chains surged from his body, slowly snaking through the air and enclosing the entire area around Matteo and Harper like a cage.

Their support scoffed, now unleashing her Blessing at full power.

It was a combo of the Displaced Space Blessing with another common one called the Thunder Prison Blessing—its name was pretty self-explanatory.

The enemy team had a solid tank, with support and a mage carrying area-control Blessings. The mage's Blessing, obviously, wasn't just meant to trap—it was meant to kill.

Everyone knew these Blessings, but normally, they required a big setup to use. It was easy to escape from them. Harper could also attack in a second and easily interrupt. Even Leander could strike from a distance to disrupt them.

But the support's Blessing, combined with a spatial concealment artifact and the Celestial Storage artifact, had created an unexpected combo.

Those two artifacts weren't just expensive—they were incredibly rare to find for sale. Probably, everyone that appeared ended up in the hands of the most powerful figures.

But Raon? He could get them just by asking his father. He asked—and got several at once. Even if Leander had predicted all this, how were they supposed to handle something like that?

The Thunder Prison and Displaced Space were closing in completely. In two more seconds, it would be over.

"Hahaha, it's over!"

Raon laughed wildly and finally moved. He had just been giving orders, waiting for the moment of glory when he'd finish everything.

But...

A flying sword shot forward at high speed, striking a precise point...

*Crack!*

A rift formed in space. One of the activated traps shattered, making Raon turn in shock.

"What?! That's impossible...!"

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He stopped abruptly.

*Clang!*

His blade clashed against another flying sword that appeared out of nowhere.

Then, right in front of him, a figure came rushing in.

His red eyes were filled with malice. His expression, however, was pure mockery.

"Like having fun, huh?"