Chapter 16: Supreme Potential
One could say the smile that spread across the young man’s face was quite broad.
The fact that the two sides of the arena were divided by different elements, and being able to see them with the naked eye, was an incredible sensation.
It wasn’t just Dean; even Nemesis had felt the urge to shake his head at the sight of this pair.
The names of the pair fighting in that small arena hadn’t even been mentioned. They were both very low-level Demons and Angels.
Yet, despite all this, they were giving it their all.
The swords continued to clash until the Angel withdrew his sword for a split second; his Holy Power physically transformed into a golden light and shot towards the Demon at incredible speed.
The Demon ducked immediately and dodged the attack.
Or so he thought.
"BOOM!"
The Holy Power that the Demon had evaded exploded instantly, pinning the Demon to the arena floor.
The Angel, of course, leapt forward, mounted the Demon and pressed his sword against the Demon’s throat.
"I—yield."
When the demon realised he couldn’t win, he gave up, and so the duel was over.
To put it plainly, the look on the demon’s face made him seem at a loss as to what to do now that he’d lost.
It was more than just genuine sadness.
Dean didn’t even know how he felt when he saw that expression.
It was, of course, certain that the demon wasn’t weak.
Similarly, the other duels had also come to an end within a short space of time.
Dean turned directly to Nemesis and said, "That was amazing."
Nemesis, with a slight chuckle, replied, "Not all of the duels are like this. This was one of the good ones. That little angel is better than I expected."
The duels would continue in this manner.
Spanning exactly twelve rounds, each duel would become longer and more complex as the number of duelists in the arena dwindled.
The next stage of the tournament would begin on the second day, and by the morning of the third day, the finalists would battle it out to determine a total of four winners.
As for Dean, he had watched the duels between other ghosts, as well as low- and mid-level demons and angels, without getting bored until the evening; and, to be honest, simply by watching them, he had managed to gain some insight into how both magic and holy power were used.
Or rather... it would be more accurate to say he’d at least picked up a few ideas.
He was so impressed by how well and vividly others were using their own powers that he’d come to realise just how important it was to cultivate his own power.
As the day drew to a close, the final duel of the day was about to take place.
A total of eleven duels had taken place across the four small arenas.
Now, there would be one final duel in the last arena.
The participants had been summoned directly to the arena.
Dean, however, had suddenly begun to tremble.
[Fortune Threads has gone mad!
A person of supreme potential has been discovered!]
As the young man’s body trembled, one of the figures stepping into the arena began to glow in his eyes.
The words ’Supreme Potential’ were clearly inscribed upon this person.
Still, the young man was aware that he was neither an angel nor a demon.
He was a man.
Perhaps he was a ghost connected to heaven, because, unlike what Dean had seen underground, this ghost was well-dressed and had a slightly stern demeanour.
He wasn’t particularly large.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say he looked like a thirty-year-old bodybuilder.
"Are you interested in him?"
When the young man heard Nemesis’s voice, he looked at her and replied, "Quite a lot."
"I don’t see the reason. Very weak. At the bottom of the power scale. Uses only magic. No weapon, nothing. Is there a reason I’m missing?" Nemesis asked with great curiosity.
Dean, however, had only managed to glance at the Ancient Goddess once before turning back to the monitor and replying, "Just... a feeling."
Everything was just as Nemesis had said.
It was true.
As soon as the duel began, the ghost was immediately knocked to the ground, but managed to get back on its feet no matter what.
It was quite clear that the opponent opposite was treating it gently and not pressing the attack too hard.
Still, that wasn’t enough.
In a short space of time, the balance of power, which had seemed so close, had been shattered; his opponent had leapt straight onto the ghost and neutralised him with holy power.
It wasn’t even worthy of being called a duel.
It was more like a one-sided humiliation session.
The opponent was so overwhelmingly dominant that one could even see the expression on this person’s face constantly souring, as if they didn’t want to carry on with it.
"JUST YIELD!!!"
Shortly afterwards, as these words rang out across the arena, one could see blood flowing from Ghost’s body.
Dean hadn’t even realised a ghost could bleed.
You could say he’d suffered a double shock.
Meanwhile, Nemesis was watching Dean.
The Ancient Goddess had been observing this ghost closely, along with the words he’d just spoken, and was, frankly, surprised.
It could not be said that the ghost had virtually no fighting skills, but nor could it be said that it was powerful.
Even so, the ghost’s determination had caused even Nemesis to sneer.
Whatever the reason, it must have been a good one, for it was clear that the ghost would never give up.
Of course, despite all this, Nemesis still couldn’t see what Dean was seeing.
With every passing second of the duel, Dean wasn’t watching the duel itself, but instead kept staring at the inscription on the ghost.
There were many demons and angels in the area.
It was possible to find monsters of varying strength.
Yet Dean knew deep down.
[He HAD to subjugate this ghost.]
The system itself had even warned him.
Just as in the item shop, it had clearly shown him something he must not overlook.
And Dean, true to form, would not overlook it.
This ghost had to be his.
Come what may.
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