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"OOh!....AAAAH!....ARRRR!..." Thee made weird noises while he broke through. His body swayed and shivered when the energy condensed inside him. He was experiencing a blissful feeling.
However, those who watched it had to turn their head in shame. Fortunately for them, Alex created some smoke screens and censored the scene. Then they patiently waited until Thee completed his breakthrough.
For a warrior, it was never easy to break through to a higher tier. Breakthrough always comes with a chance to fail. And breaking through mid-combat was an even rarer sight. There was only one reason for a person to break through mid-combat.
An epiphany.
Normally, warriors tend to break through in their best condition. They prepare for days, concentrate the energy inside them and a sudden flash of inspiration drives the energy inside them to break through. And the moment the breakthrough completes, the total amount of energy they could utilise will radically improve.
For a tier 4 warrior, their epiphany combined with the knowledge provided by their spirit guardian determines their spirit guardian possession state. A skill that can only be used by tier 4 and above warriors.
So, Alex was curious to know what kind of spirit guardian possession state Thee might have. After all, he was the only one in the entire Stone head tribe that was able to break through to tier 4.
Will it be similar to spirit guardian possession states that he had seen before? That was the question ringing inside his mind.
Kalina could create wings and temporarily fly and do aerial attacks while she was in her spirit guardian possession state. Her speed and strength were enhanced beyond what she normally had, nearing the strength of tier 5 for a short while.
The first elder created thorny armour in his spirit guardian possession state. He used icicle thorns present in the armour to attack while defending.
Why were their spirit guardian possession state different while they were both from the same tribe. The simple answer was the difference in their epiphany. Even though the spirit guardian provides them with knowledge, the personality and knowledge of the person in focus will also depend on what kind of ability they will gain.
In the beginning, they might be able to use the skills provided by the spirit guardian as it is. But later on in life, when they have to grow to tier 4 and tier 5 warriors. The importance of knowledge and experiences increases. That's why they need an epiphany. That's why so few become tier 4 warriors, even fewer tier 5 warriors.
After a couple of minutes, a sudden noise emerged from the smoke screen covering Thee. Alex quickly removed the smoke screen.
In the place Thee was sitting, Alex could see something. But it didn't look like a person.
'A giant?' He thought while he looked at the thing before him.
Thee was replaced by a stone giant that was twenty feet in height. And it was slowly walking towards Alex. Although its movements were slow, the blood lust it emitted confirmed Alex's idea that it was not coming in peace.
'Thee used his spirit guardian possession state. And he wants to kill me. Nice. Those I fear the most are the people who hide their intent and bide their time. It is hard to predict people like that. Fortunately for me, Thee was not like that.' Alex thought while looking at the stone giant that was walking towards him.
"Do you think you can win?" An irritated voice greeted Alex. It was Thee.
'Hm! I already won. His head doesn't seem to be working right.'
"Thee, is this the stone giant you saw in your vision while you awakened? Is that it? What about your epiphany? What about your influence in the spirit guardian possession state?" Alex asked an obvious question while ignoring Thee's question.
Although, the skill was called spirit guardian possession. It was not completely a possession. It's like possession in a manner that the user could borrow the power, skill and senses of the spirit guardian for a short time. It feels like the spirit guardian entered your body to give you power.
But even then, the skill used will be different from individual to individual. And yet, Thee looked just like the spirit guardian. Did he not have anything to offer while creating the skill? Or did he break through mid-combat without an epiphany?
Alex didn't have any way to explain what he was seeing.
"You dare mock me?" Thee growled, his eyes ablaze with fury. "Meru, today you shall perish by my hand." With those ominous words, Thee brought his fist down upon the ground, sending a shockwave of energy through the earth. A jagged spike erupted from the ground where Alex stood, poised to strike.
Alex reacted swiftly, leaping out of the way of the deadly spike. His heart pounded in his chest as he gazed at Thee, who stood tall and menacing, his power radiating from him like a palpable force.
A moment of carelessness would kill him. Alex realised that quickly. Fortunately for him, he had mana vision which allowed him to determine the direction from which the attack was coming. This helped him dodge the next few attacks.
Thee sneered, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "You're quick, I'll give you that," he spat. "But it won't save you from my wrath."
While Thee was attacking Alex left and right, Alex was analysing his situation.
Alex examined Thee's armour and noted that it was different from what he had seen before. Based on his intuition, he hypothesized that the stone giant's head and limbs were just a facade, meant to distract and deceive. Thee's true location was likely inside the core of the giant's body, where he would be well-protected from any external threats.
This meant that attacking the head and limbs would deal no harm to Thee. He could regrow them like stone golems in fantasy novels. It pissed off Alex. Thee was making his life harder.
The body's core was a single stone, completely sealed and impervious to any attack. Alex realized that his previous strategy would not work this time. There were no visible creases or crevices for water to seep into, and he had no means to directly damage the stone core.
So, a change in strategy was required to defeat Thee.
Meanwhile, the audience below stood still not knowing what to do. Thee broke through to tier 4. It was something they should have been happy about. Somehow, they did not feel happy.
Now, seeing him rampage against Alex made it even worse. They were seeing the hidden face of Thee. They were finally seeing his true self. The respect and admiration they had for their talented friend decreased to a nill within seconds.
Even then, Kalina didn't interfere in the fight. She could see that Alex was not in any immediate danger. And if it comes to a dangerous situation, she was willing to lend a helping hand.
After all, the sparring match should have ended long ago. Alex clearly defeated Thee fair and square. He even let him break through mid-combat.
The reason she let the match continue was because of Alex. He didn't step out of the sparring platform yet. He wants to beat Thee in his spirit guardian possession state. Kalina realised this fact and stood still as an observer.
Alex taunted Thee, "You can throw stones at me, create stone spikes in the ground, run at me like a mad bull, and try to fight me in close range. Is that the best you can do? A slowpoke like you could never even touch my hair, much less defeat me."
But Thee wasn't one to take such insults lying down. He heard Alex's words and slammed his fist onto the ground, unleashing a shockwave that decimated the 30-foot-diameter sparring platform. The platform was reduced to rubble, and only scattered stones and broken spikes remained.
Even though Alex was a tier 3 warrior in speed and physical strength. He was able to dodge the stone giants attacks due to his nimble body. According to Alex, the spirit guardian's possession skill of Thee was focused on defence and strength. In general terms, it was an armoured tank. It was not that great at attacking from a distance.
So, Alex had to think creatively to figure out a way to break it. And he did it within moments.
He knew the basic spells of five elements. The element of fire, wind, earth, water and lightning. And he could use three of them to his advantage right now.
Last time, he used a water spell to create water and a wind spell to freeze it. The wind was used to liquefy the air. The moment the liquified air goes out of Alex's control, it expands rapidly decreasing the temperature of whatever it touched to a temperature far below zero. It was the technique of creating a freezing spell.
Alex knew this because he came from a world with advanced technology and science. But he didn't know if the mages in this world knew it. He came to this conclusion after many trials and errors, there was no explanation about the details of how a rune worked anywhere in the magic tomes he studied.
'So, the next question is what happens to a stone when it is heated quickly and cooled immediately in rapid succession.' Alex thought while looking at Thee.
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