NOVPUB
Chapter 98: Magic of John Wicked
In the next second, John’s arm bent slightly as the meteor continued its descent.
The crowd fell into a stunned hush, then erupted in gasps, shouts, and disbelief.
The slap on the meteor had caused his organs to jolt and rupture as more blood trickled while the totem healed him, knitting flesh and sealing ruptures faster than the damage could end him.
Without the totem skill, he would have been severely injured by his own moves so far, especially slapping the meteor and receiving waves of terrible backlash as the meteor continued its descent under this screaming body that broke and healed every second.
All those who could see what John was going through fell into a deep silence, either entirely stunned or solemn.
To bear such pain and endure like that by defending like this was as foolish as one could go to some Executives, but all of them couldn’t help but feel various emotional whirlings as John still had that fucking grin on his face as he fought while feeling a hell of pain.
And then, everyone saw.
John roared as a burst of energy detonated.
He squeezed all of his remaining stamina and pushed up with his right hand that was clashing with the meteor, completely stopping it and stabilizing himself, while readying his left hand for a punch.
All the while his body still rattling with ruptures and heals.
John’s eyes stilled, his grin stretching as his blood-curtained eyes saw the crimson meteor.
’Fucker, you are breaking!’
His left hand’s fist snapped up like lightning that learned how to punch and...
BOOM!
The meteor shattered like a fist of god shattering reality. It burst into a cloud of brown and red motes as everyone was physically jolted upon witnessing that scene.
And then, the audience burst into a loud uproar, not just in the stadium, but across the city.
The camera focused on John, whose knees hit the ground as he gasped for breath while trembling due to the physical trauma affecting his body after that punch.
John raised his hand arm as he stabilized in a couple of seconds and looked up, his wicked grin still across his face.
"Fucking shattered it. Now scream."
The audience went bonkers with cheers, all across the city.
"That was a wicked performance!"
"Holy crap!"
"John Wicked! John Wicked! John Wicked!"
"I am wet!"
"What are his Pets?! Does anyone know?"
"And the score is out! It is, obviously, perfect!" the executive shouted. Even he was thrilled to find that the sect had a madlad like that!
[ 05000 ]
John stood up slowly as his wounds completely healed.
He could see himself in all the giant screens above, and couldn’t help but feel exhilarated.
"Congratulations, John. You have broken all three records for Silver-rank Tamers in this sect," the spiky-haired executive said with a smile as he thumbs up at John.
"That was the plan," John said with a cheeky smile.
"You must be quite exhausted now. I’m sending you away, go," Azelis said as she waved her hand, causing John to disappear.
The spiky haired executive wryly smiled and announced. "We will take an hour-long break now. Everyone is free to enter the mountain and enjoy the break there. You can eat all kinds of food and enjoy resting places, but do not wander into no-entry areas, please."
...
Up above, the executives didn’t move from their chairs.
"Given what he showed when he shot the bullet...." Executive Rudh caressed his beard and continued. "That was quite a masterful synergy between a skill and his own soul technique. His control is not just high, but exceptional."
"Indeed. To use lighting and kinetic force generating like that to boost the bullet speed is a true original application he made." The middle-aged, dark-skinned Executive spoke, showing gleaming praise in his eyes. "He is a natural explorer and in fact, every young Tamer must discover and grasp such technicalities to improve their combat ability comprehensively."
"There you go again, Korrat. What he did is something all Gold-rank Tamers eventually learned to do. It’s his Pet’s skills that make him strong, and that’s undeniable," Executive Tavros narrowed his eyes. "Those skills are not ordinary. His Pet Monsters have high-ranking Potential, mostly Emperor-rank according to my guts. That’s quite a team for a random punk Executive Azelis found."
"Executive Azelis. Where did you find such a gem?" Executive Rudh cast a curious glance at Azelis as he asked.
"From the survival event in the Brimwind Region’s section four," Azelis answered as she smiled. "He is from a rather mediocre kingdom and is in an orphanage there. You all might not know, but the way he views Monsters and the depth of his bond with them is also a reason he is this exceptional."
"Not to mention," Azelis’s fist clenched, with a hint of anger that she suppressed and added. "He is quite enduring and strong-willed. Just that he is a tad bit reckless."
"Hahaha, being reckless is not good indeed!" Executive Rudh laughed loudly. "However, a planned reckless move for something better than intended is welcome in my view. That brat was prepared and watching 99 people before him defend that meteor must have given him quite the data."
"That...could be true," Azelis wryly smiled.
"Well, it does seem like we do not need aid from members belonging to other forces," Executive Jasime smiled as she put a lock of her hair behind and glanced at Executive Jason and Tavros. "We have someone far better to carry up the name of Ouroboros Sect in the younger generation now."
If Jason and Tavros were alone, they wouldn’t have held back the utterly ugly faces from forming after hearing that.
"From what he has shown so far, he is indeed an exceptional young kid," Executive Jason suddenly spoke as he nodded, calm with clear eyes. "Not only does he have exceptional soul sensitivity, if what Executive Rudh said is true, but he also has a team of exceptional Monsters that we have yet to fully see."
"He is highly free-style combat-oriented and has good instincts."
’Why is this old bastard praising him too?’ Executive Tavros internally cursed.
But he understood the next second why.
"However, we might be forgetting something," Executive Jason continued as he narrowed his eyes. "That we have been breached before, and this could be yet another attempt."
"What do you mean?" Azelis frowned.
"I am simply saying that we should do a thorough background check on him first, and once he displays his monsters, we must see how he got them. If he made contact with some individuals, they could be spies from the Whelshwing Continent."
’The fuck is this old bastard farting from his mouth?’ Azelis thought with a stunned, lip-twitching expression. She really wanted to speak that out loud, but refrained.
"What you said sounds far-fetched, Executive Jason. But since it’s a possible concern, we shall have his background investigated," Executive Korrat said as he got off the chair. "I’ll send my subordinates right away."
"Impatient as always, but your work is appreciative, Executive Korrat." Executive Tavros smiled this time while he and Jason communicated internally.
’Tavros, we have to plant evidence quicker before that coal-head finishes his investigation.’
’No worries, I’ll get it done fast. All of my subordinates were on a break and I just wanted to give them a mission. This will be it.’
’I’ll have to make a trip to the Nexus City. If the Lockham family wants this to happen, they need to help.’
’Hehe, they’ve really set their sight on that bitch, huh?’
’Shut it. Your jealousy is unbearable. You are never going to be able to touch her, so stop it.’
’Fuck you, old bastard. Fuck off.’
...
The one-hour break was over, and all Tamers arrived in the central battleground while most of the audience took their seats.
"Without further ado, allow me to explain the next round. In this, among you fifty tamers, only twenty will proceed to the next round."
"Wait!"
Suddenly, the spirit camera focused on Executive Jason as he used his soul energy to control it.
Although the other executives were surprised and frowned, they didn’t interrupt since the camera was on him.
"Before proceeding to the next round, I must state that the defense score of John Wicked is invalid. He must re-take the defense-score test."
"The test was to measure your defense," Executive Jason continued as he narrowed his eyes at John. "Instead of defending, you attacked the meteor and shattered it. That just showed everyone your offense, not defense."
"Am I wrong?" Executive Jason asked as he turned to Executive Rudh, who was the most senior and strongest among them.
Everyone turned silent.
"Yes, you are wrong!" shouted John Wicked. "And allow me to respectfully fucking tell you why you are wrong!"
Pin-drop silence followed before the audience, roped in by the bomb of vibe released by John, burst into uproar again.
"John Wicked! John Wicked!"
"Tell ’em, John wicked!"
"Wickedness Maximum!"
"John-fucking-Wicked strikes again!"
Executives: "..."
But this was the magic of John Wicked! He had completely made the audience his!
"Alright, calm down, everyone! I want to start speaking now," John said as he grinned. The camera remained on him as the audience quieted down.
"Audacious brat, this is no place for you to speak right now. It is we who will make judgment," Executive Jason said with a cold snort.
The camera moved to him, but as soon as John opened his mouth, the screens shifted.
"What? I’m sorry, but that’s just plain load of bullshit," John said, taken aback and exasperated. "I just showed everyone my form of defense. You are denying it, and yet I cannot express my art? I had a valid reason to defend the way I did, and after hearing the reason, only idiots would disagree."
"Kid, you are being quite audacious indeed," Executive Rudh said while grinning as he caressed his beard. "To even boast about your logic and label everyone idiots if unconvinced? That’s arrogance as well as confidence, so speak."
"Speak of your reasoning to convince us why you defended like that."
