SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will

Chapter 547: Ace VS Alaric

Alaric’s expression didn’t change, he changed stances to break the trance. Then, he activated his Epic-Rank skill, Flash Draw.

The sword returned to its scabbard in a single motion, so quickly that most observers wouldn’t have registered the sheathing at all.

Then his hand snapped back to the hilt, and the blade emerged again in an explosive redraw that released a massive burst of energy. The strike came at Ace from an angle he shouldn’t have been able to defend against, the speed of the skill nearly impossible to react to.

Ace’s body twisted sideways in a motion that mirrored Flash Draw’s speed exactly.

A second dagger appeared in his other hand, already positioned to intercept the incoming attack. The two blades met with a sharp crack that sent a shockwave rippling outward through the arena floor.

Alaric’s mouth tightened but he didn’t stop, immediately flowing into the next sequence and activating Purifying Strike.

The blade lit up with white light, a searing brightness that carried disruptive properties against curses, corruption, and debuff. If Ace was carrying any hidden dark techniques or afflictions, Purifying Strike would burn them away on contact. The blade descended in a vertical arc aimed at Ace’s shoulder.

A dark purple light appeared around Ace’s body for the briefest instant, as if a second layer of energy had been peeled away preemptively. Then Ace stepped backward and to the side, letting the Purifying Strike pass through the empty space where he had been. The light dissipated harmlessly against the arena floor.

’He knew that skill was coming.’ Moon thought sharply. ’He knew what it would do. And he moved something out of the way before it landed.’

Alaric pressed forward again, activating Dazzling Arc.

His sword swept in a wide arc that filled the air with radiant light, temporarily overwhelming nearby opponents’ vision and creating a window for a follow-up attack.

Ace closed his eyes and continued moving through the light as if he could still see everything perfectly. His feet carried him around the sweeping arc without hesitation, his dagger intercepting the follow-up strike Alaric had already begun launching. His eyes opened again the instant the brightness faded.

He wasn’t relying on sight at all.

Moon watched from Kael’s pillar.

Every skill Alaric had used so far had been Epic-rank. Skills that would take most Evolvers years to master.

Any one of those would have shattered a Surpasser’s defenses within the first exchange, especially since the caster was Alaric.

Despite that, Ace stood tall, guarding against every strike.

More than that, Ace wasn’t going all out. Neither was Alaric. Moon could see it in both of their postures. Both of them were still measuring each other, still probing, holding their strongest techniques in reserve.

This was the opening exchange of a duel that could easily last much longer.

’To keep up with Alaric... he is really not simple.’

The dark organization had sent someone of this caliber into the tournament.

Despite being strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with the Light Sword Saint, Ace had yet to do anything noteworthy.

’There is something he is after... but what is it?’

"My turn." Ace moved.

Whoosh!

Ace’s dagger rushed forward like a serpent striking its prey. Alaric barely intercepted the first strike before Ace’s second dagger was already flying toward his throat from a completely different angle.

Alaric twisted his body to avoid the second blade. It grazed his collar, cutting through the fabric of his cloak.

Whoosh!

Alaric countered with a horizontal slash of his own.

Ace ducked beneath it, spun on his heel, and drove his elbow into Alaric’s ribs. The impact knocked Alaric three steps back, his sword still raised, his composure intact but his stance broken.

Alaric’s brows drew together.

Ace pressed.

He came in low, then high, then low again, his daggers weaving through combinations, giving Alaric no pattern to read and counter.

Every strike came at a different angle, from a different tempo, targeting a different vital point. Alaric parried the first, dodged the second, redirected the third with the flat of his blade.

Alaric’s footwork was still perfect, so was his technique. But he was moving backward now.

Step by step, Ace forced him across the arena floor. The Light Sword Saint, the strongest Surpasser in the kingdom, was on the back foot for the first time since the fight began.

Moon watched from Kael’s pillar, his eyes wide.

Ace’s true offense was on a completely different level from his defense.

Alaric activated another Epic-rank skill. Radiant Step. He blurred sideways, repositioning himself fifty meters away in a single motion.

Ace didn’t lose sight of him, reaching him in an instant, dagger already swinging toward Alaric’s throat.

Alaric parried on pure instinct.

Then the arena floor suddenly lit up.

Every single pillar across the grid began to shine at once. Two hundred pillars pulsed with a deep golden glow, the light growing brighter with each passing second as the runes carved into their surfaces revealed themselves for the first time.

Moon’s gaze shifted to Klein, who had joined the battle against the Baaron and Ian.

’Klein told everyone to stay on their pillars. He didn’t just mean for the tournament... it was for this very reason.’

Moon’s smile brightened. Just like he’d expected, the pillars were forts that would help the contestants fight.

Since the association had placed them in danger by keeping their locations fixed to the pillars, they’d naturally made these pillars a hidden protection fort.

Every competitor’s biometric signature had been registered when they claimed their pillars, and the runes had been silently syncing with those signatures ever since. Anyone recognized as a competitor was safe. Anyone who wasn’t was a target.

Unfortunately, a few competitors had died before the pillars activated.

’To deploy the pillar’s help this late... the Awakener’s Association must have a serious reason.’

Moon understood this perfectly. The Association had decided to sacrifice a few of competitors for a greater purpose in their mind.