School Transmigration: I, Chosen as the Saint by Dragons at the Start-Chapter 223 --The Illusion of Reality

The magus bit his finger and swiftly drew a blood circle on the ground, while Owen remained with his eyes closed, indifferent.

"Hmph, still so leisurely? You’ll regret this."

The magus smeared his hands with his own blood, pressed them into the blood circle, and shouted, "Remember this, my name is Laubus."

Owen opened his eyes as the scene on the field changed.

A fog spread from the blood circle, enveloping the entire arena.

Then, numerous figures appeared within the mist—a group of strongmen stood beside Laubus, with a lean fistfighter in front of him.

What in the world?

A ward?

"Interesting, this must be the embodiment of your inner self, right?" Owen’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Exactly, an illusion of reality is still a form of reality. Be careless, and this ward can claim your life."

"Oh, not bad. I admit, sometimes the fake can indeed become real."

While speaking, Owen pointed his Ice sword forward, and a burly man materialized in front of him.

With a swipe of his Ice sword behind him, three swordsmen and knifemen appeared as well.

Owen smiled, "Then let the imitations battle it out."

Sweat appeared on Laubus’s face, but the fistfighter in front of him laughed heartily, "My name is Hajir, and I am no imitation. But it doesn’t matter, let’s start the battle."

The fight between Owen’s summoned strongman and Hajir began.

Right at the start, Hajir unleashed his signature move, "leopard fist."

The strongmen behind Laubus cheered and shouted, as if Hajir’s leopard fist was an unmatched technique.

Owen and the figures he summoned behind him remained expressionless, while the strongman’s countenance shifted visibly.

He was merely a creation of Owen’s light touch with the Ice sword, brought into existence according to the peculiar rules of this ward, hence his strength was not considerable.

These entities were generated using the principles of Laubus’s ward, with those summoned behind Owen having a higher infusion of arcanergy, thereby possessing somewhat greater strength.

In the face of Hajir, however, the strongman seemed inadequate.

"Thrilling! Absolutely thrilling!"

Hajir showed no mercy as he charged towards the burly man.

The force of his punch, accompanied by the wind, startled the strongman; Hajir’s power seemed even greater than that of Laubus, who had activated the ward.

"Storm fist," the strongman roared, unwilling to be easily defeated.

He decided to fight with all his might, perhaps unaware that he was merely a summoned being.

Driven by a desperate will to survive, he too charged directly at Hajir.

Although Hajir had unleashed his special move right from the start, he was still controlling his arcanergy.

The strongman, on the other hand, fought with reckless abandon, making every move a full-force attack.

This brought their offense and defense to a sort of equilibrium.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of punches.

The surge of power rippled outwards like a tide, only to be contained by the edge of the ward’s fog, eventually dissipating within the arena.

The group standing behind Laubus appeared more like spectators.

Aside from cheering and shouting, they seemed to harbor a desire to enter the fray themselves, as if engaging the opponent was a rare opportunity.

Owen gradually realized that the individuals within Laubus’s ward represented hidden facets of Laubus’s own personality.

"Come on, show us what ’Leopard’ truly stands for!" shouted the crowd of spectators at that moment.

From their cries, the strongman understood that Hajir had yet to unleash his full strength, recognizing the gap between himself and Hajir. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

With this realization, he knew he couldn’t just give his all; he needed to fight with a determination to prevail against all odds.

He then accelerated the flow of arcanergy throughout his body, his punches growing fiercer as he closed in on Hajir, aiming to entangle him in close combat.

It’s when a person surpasses their limits, employing moves that stake their very life, that they momentarily shift in level—at least overpowering their opponent in terms of momentum.

The fight had reached such an intensity that even the spectators began to feel apprehensive.

"Merely relying on brute force won’t do. Is this your strongest persona? Nothing special," Owen commented, shaking his head as he watched their battle.

Hearing such a critique, Laubus’s face tightened, but the spectators behind him cast angry glances at Owen.

In their hearts, Hajir’s strength was unmatched in the entire City of Two, with no one capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

Now, to be so casually dismissed, it was a deep insult to those who could only cheer and dream of battling, yet lacked the opportunity or the strength.

One of Owen’s summoned swordsmen coldly stated, "What are you looking at, seeking death?"

Owen’s side remained devoid of any emotional fluctuation, completely indifferent to the proceedings.

The few behind him didn’t even regard these opponents as worthy adversaries.

"In that case, I would appreciate your guidance," Hajir said at that moment, after knocking the strongman away with a punch, facing Owen with fire blazing in his eyes.

Hearing this, Owen glanced skyward.

The burly man seemed to have fought Hajir for a long time before finally being defeated.

A character casually created with a mere point of his Ice sword had managed to hold his own against one of Laubus’s deeply concealed personalities for so long; Owen found himself quite satisfied.

He didn’t respond to Hajir’s words, instead, he was curious to see what Hajir would do next.

Owen had no intention of fighting.

His aura was so well-contained that Hajir couldn’t gauge his strength.

However, when Hajir looked towards Owen, he sensed a formidable presence from those standing behind him.

Clearly, the strength of Owen’s allies far surpassed his own.

Looking at the cheering spectators, Hajir felt profoundly alone.

Yet, he resolved to face the challenge, emboldened by his ignorance of Owen’s true capabilities.

Otherwise, his confidence might have crumbled.

The individuals within this peculiar ward were compelled to overlook the fact that they were mere constructs of the ward.

Thus, Hajir couldn’t see the process of Owen creating those "masters" with his Ice sword; to him, those individuals had stepped onto the stage on their own.

He sensed a powerful force emanating from Owen but was unaware it was a force beyond his comprehension.

Still, he clung to the hope of victory, gripping his fists tighter.

"Since you won’t make a move, who will be the next to do so?" Hajir addressed Owen and his group.

Maintaining a one-on-one duel stance and defeating them one by one seemed to offer a glimmer of hope for victory, at least in Hajir’s mind.

Owen looked at his Ice sword, then patted one of the knifemen on the shoulder, pushing him forward while saying, "Go ahead, your name is Jinny."

Jinny stepped in front of Hajir and said, "I am Jinny, at your service."

"Boasting grandly, yet you send your underling to fight when it comes down to it? Truly shameless."

The spectators started to clamor, still unable to grasp the situation clearly.

Hearing this, Owen remained unresponsive, showing no intention of engaging with them.

Hajir glanced at the audience behind him, feeling a headache coming on.

"Jinny, I look forward to your guidance," Jinny said again when Hajir hesitated to start, even bowing slightly towards Hajir in respect.

Though rough around the edges, Hajir understood the importance of courtesy and bowed his fists in return.

A surge of arcanergy fluctuated between the two, yet neither made the first move, continuing their standoff.

When Hajir began to gather all his arcanergy, the aura emanating from Jinny’s blade intensified, making it clear to Hajir that his strength was inferior to Jinny’s.

Such powerhouses were rare in the City of Two, and Jinny, still a young man, must be a prodigy to possess such formidable strength.

The audience behind Hajir also sensed the pressure emanating from Jinny, their chatter subsided, and even the cheers for "Brother Leopard" slowed down as fear spread among them.

At that moment, Jinny made the first move.

With a powerful stomp, he leaped towards Hajir.

With such strength, Jinny was an absolute force in the City of Two, incomparable to the previous burly man.

Jinny concentrated all his power into the blade, intending to end the battle with this single strike.

With a grunt, "Leopard fist!" Hajir bellowed as he surged forward.

This punch was his secret weapon, one he wouldn’t have had the chance to use had Jinny methodically pressed the attack.

He would have been utterly overwhelmed, making even a successful strike too easy to dodge under such unfavorable conditions.

But now, with Jinny’s arcanergy entirely focused on his blade, ready to deliver a lethal blow, Hajir saw his chance to strike with equal lethality.

Dodging Jinny’s thunderous slash, he closed the gap and landed a heavy blow on Jinny’s chest.

With a thunderous sound, Jinny’s form was shattered, dissipating into nothingness.

Cheers erupted from the spectators, but a chilling dread overtook Hajir.

"You were too careless!"

At that moment, Jinny’s voice echoed from behind Hajir.

A cold realization washed over him; he was certain that what he had struck was merely an illusion.

Jinny’s blade, following his words, pierced Hajir’s chest, and he fell to the ground.

Slowly, the ward began to dissipate, leaving only Owen and Laubus, who lay gasping on the ground, as the sole figures in the arena.