Chapter 204 - Mental Illusion

"Spirit Neurotransmitter Pill, Glutamate, and Noradrenaline? Lilian, Mia, what is the operating time that Carolina Saez has?" Hei asked, raising his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

Hei was an offensive martial artist but also had a specialization as an alchemist. During this period, besides his fighting techniques, he had also refined alchemical skills, learning new recipes and methods of preparation. So, he knew the effects of the pills that the Carolina Saez had swallowed.

Spirit Neurotransmitter Pills were particular pills. Once ingested, they would deliver a specific message within the body, intervening on the internal dynamics.

For example, the Spirit Glutamate Pill influenced the brain's ability to learn, data assimilation, and memory. On the other hand, the Spirit Noradrenaline Pill had effects on the respiratory and circulatory systems, increasing the amount of oxygen received by the muscles and on the attention capacity and alertness.

"5 minutes. This is her limit at the moment," Mia answered.

"5 minutes? What does this time frame indicate? "Haruno asked.

"The Spirit Neurotransmitter Pills are particular alchemical products. In alchemy, the better the alchemist is, the stronger the effect of the created product will be. There is an upper limit dictated by the quality of the materials used, but the rule is that. Therefore the stronger an alchemical product is, the more difficult it will be for the martial artist to control and assimilate it. Not surprisingly, the use of pills, potions, or other objects during the fight is not recommended to avoid the danger of collapse deriving from the mismanagement of these alchemical products.

Spirit Neurotransmitter Pills are no exception. Although they are designed to be ingested during combat, their effects are difficult to control. It's already a great result if martial artists of the spirit soldier rank can control the effects for 2-3 minutes; even I can't go beyond that time. The fact that she can do it for 5 minutes is proof of her incredible control and knowledge of the human body." Hei explained, working out a quick but straightforward explanation.

Hearing this, all the listeners were amazed. They knew how resistant Hei's body was, especially towards the harmful substances that entered his body. After all, he possessed the Poison Law and continually performed poison intake training to improve his body's resistance. Still, despite that, he said he couldn't handle those kinds of pills for more than three minutes while Carolina Saez could make it to five minutes.

"However, the winner hasn't yet been decided. Haruno, what kind of effects do those pizzas have?" Hei asked. He knew that the pieces of pizza Mario Rossi ate weren't simple foods.

"The Pizza Capricciosa serves to increase the explosiveness of the spirit power, increasing the damage of his attacks, while the Pizza Margherita serves to stabilize the spirit power. By now, his spirit power should have grown thicker than it was before." Haruno answered.

"Thicker? If so, doesn't that mean it becomes more difficult for Carolina Saez to intervene in his flow of spirit power?" Mareo asked.

"Yes, but her processing capabilities have increased as well as her response time. Even with the enhancements resulting from the two types of pizza, Mario Rossi won't have an easy life." Lilian added.

Meanwhile, Mario Rossi and Carolina Saez were exchanging blows in the center of the stage. The young martial artist musician and chef was swinging his war hammer in a frightening rhythm. Everywhere it passed, you could feel the air being cut apart by the destructive force of the weapon.

Still, the young martial artist medic would meet every blow of the hammer using her delicate hands. Thanks to her abilities, she could minimize the spirit power flowing into the hammer and reduce the damage. However, despite this, the weapon's weight and the muscular form of Mario Rossi himself still represented a danger. Gradually, her defensive layer of spirit power was being reduced.

However, this also applied to Mario Rossi. Even though he was in a dominant position and was the only one attacking, his consumption of spirit power was nearly double that of his opponent. If it weren't for the pizzas he had eaten, he couldn't have fought like this. Even so, it was only a matter of minutes before he lost his strength.

'I must end the fight as soon as possible before I lose all my spirit power.'

'I have to hold out until just before the five minutes are up. At that moment, when his spirit power is at its lowest, I will use my final blow. '

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Carolina Saez's hands had turned red from the blood that oozed every time they made contact with the hammer. Even her bones were starting to rupture, but the young woman showed no signs of giving up.

"Shit ... DIE!" Mario Rossi yelled. He condensed as much spirit power as he could into the war hammer and made it descend from top to bottom with all his might.

Crack!

Carolina Saez intercepted the hammer with her hands. Although she redirected some of the spirit power, the power with which it traveled was too high. The hammer shattered the defensive layer of spirit power on her hands, and they gave way with the sound of breaking bones. But the hammer didn't finish its advance; it continued to swoop down, straight into the woman's chest.

Crack!

The defensive layer of spirit power on Carolina Saez's chest also gave way. The young woman spat blood and collapsed to the ground from the damage received, which were added the side effects of the Spirit Neurotransmitter Pills that had finished their course.

"The winner is Mario Rossi." Song Yazhu proclaimed the next instant.

With the officialization of Song Yazhu, the battle ended. Carolina Saez was immediately brought to be medicated while Mario Rossi came down from the stage to return to his seat and rest. The fight had been much more complicated than he thought, but in the end, he had managed to bring home the result.

"The next two fighters are Dae-Won, one of the Imperial Prince's guards, and Shen Jun of the Shen Family." Song Yazhu said, calling out to the next contenders.

Dae-Won and Shen Jun then left the area reserved for the fighters and headed to the stage. Unceremoniously, they took up their battle positions. Dae-Won pulled out his trident while Shen Jun brought out a pair of metal rings instead.

"He Fen, aren't they similar to your Wheels of Wind and Fire?" Leon asked.

Indeed, those metal rings, at first glance, looked very similar to He Fen's Wheels of Wind and Fire but had several differences. First, they didn't have any protruding blades but instead was a perfect circle; second, the metal edge was sharp in its entirety and therefore didn't have a handle.

"They are similar, but they aren't the same. Those are Chakram. They don't have a handle, so they aren't used for close combat. However, as thrown weapons, they are superior to my Wheels of Wind and Fire." He Fen answered.

"I'm happy that my first opponent is you." Shen Jun told Dae-Won.

"Really? And why?" Dae-Won asked in turn.

"As one of the Imperial Prince's guards, you are very famous here. But that's not why I'm happy. Instead, it is because of being able to challenge a companion on the path of illusions. After all, unlike other Elemental Laws, those who possess the Illusion Law are fewer in number. Either way, be prepared to witness my Illusion - Illusory Mist." After saying this, Shen Jun spat a mist-like substance from his mouth that instantly covered the entire battle stage, reducing visibility to almost zero.

'Illusory Mist? Is this an illusion, or was he bluffing? 'Dae-Won wondered as he looked around.

As an illusionist, he knew how to recognize illusions when he saw them, but that would take time. In consideration of this, some martial artists claimed to possess the Illusion Law when it wasn't true. The trick was to use wide-ranging moves that caused effects that could be mistaken for an illusion, such as creating a mist that obstructed the view. Therefore, the victim would have wasted time trying to break an illusion that didn't exist in the first place.

'No, this is an illusion. Even if he possessed the Gas Law and his technique has no offensive capabilities, the range covered is too broad for a spirit soldier. Also ... '

While Dae-Won was formulating his thoughts, a metal object came from behind him with a sibyl. The instant he entered his range of perception, Dae-Won spun his trident and hit the object. It was one of the opponent's two chakrams. However, the chakram, as soon as it was hit, vanished into the mist.

Slash!

Suddenly, a gash formed on his defensive layer of spirit power around his left leg. Another chakram had suddenly appeared and hit him. Fortunately, the blow didn't possess enough strength to dent the defensive layer of spirit power, let alone get to the flesh. But that put Dae-Won on alert.

'The previous attack was an illusion while the real one hit. With the reach of the chakrams, he will continue with this tactic to make me bleed until I lose consciousness.'

Whoosh!

Another noise of something approaching. This time Dae-Won decided not to repel the approaching fake chakram to remain attentive to the real attack instead.

Slash!

The chakram that should have been fake hit Dae-Won in the neck. This time the damage was greater than before, but even so, it didn't go so far as to dent the flesh.

'I see. He's mixing the order in which he hides his true attacks. What I see may be false or true, but I won't be sure until I go and hit it.'

Meanwhile, the audience in the stands were silently watching this strange fight. Indeed, all they could see was Dae-Won standing still as Shen Jun threw his chakrams. However, the peculiar thing was that the chakrams that Shen Jun was throwing were all headed in a different direction from where Dae-Won was.

"Hehehe, trying to trick Dae-Won with an illusion. He practically shot himself in the foot. "Xinya laughed as he watched that scene.

He said this because, although Dae-Won ended up in Shen Jun's illusion, the same was true for the latter. Dae-Won was inside the illusory mist, but the 'Dae-Won' that was being attacked wasn't the real Dae-Won but an illusory copy. Shen Jun believed that the one he was attacking was none other than the real Dae-Won.

'Unfortunately, even though I tricked him, I can't pinpoint his true location. His technique of concealment within his illusion is well solid. I should break it by force, but that would put him on the alert. Let's see how it goes a little longer. I'm sure he'll try to give me the last hit. After all, the longer the opponent is in the illusion, the higher the risk that he will break it, especially if he is a user of the Illusion Law.'

And as Dae-Won predicted, Shen Jun launched his killing technique with the chakrams and, at the same time, positioned himself in front of 'Dae-Won' to use a hand-to-hand combat technique.

Slash! Crack!

The chakrams severed the defensive layer of spirit power, causing two long, deep cuts on 'Dae-Won' hips as the punch technique smashed hard on his chest. Shen Jun smiled smugly for defeating Dae-Won in a battle of illusions.

'Your mistake was leaving me the initiative. Once in my illusory mist, you have no more escape. But consider yourself honored to be defeated by my technique because I will be the one to win the tournament. If not even you, who is the only one besides me to possess the Illusion Law among the participants, have managed to break it, then no one else will.' thought Shen Jun smugly as he waved his chakrams to remove the illusory mist.

At that point, as the mist began to thin out, something sharp pierced him from behind. He felt excruciating pain as his layer of spirit power was dented. Three sharp points reached the skin, but fortunately, the damage had been dampened and only caused three not too deep holes.

"Dae-Won!" Shen Jun said with gritted teeth when he felt the pain coming from the trident's three points. In an instant, he understood what had happened.

"You are too full of yourself, and you haven't understood that you have fallen into an illusion in your turn. But I must admit your illusory mist was well done. The only way to escape from there would be to destroy it. As a companion on the path of illusions, you have my respect." Dae-Won replied as he tried to advance his trident even deeper.

"Shit!" cursed Shen Jun as he condensed his spirit power into his back to block the trident's advance. "Damn! Mirage Clam Bloodline, Illusion Law, Mirage Beach!"

Suddenly, the scenery around Dae-Won changed. Instead of the fighting stage inside the Academy stadium, he was now on a maritime beach. The sand was a mixed color of fiery red and burgundy brown, while the seawater was a deep blue, which prevented you from seeing what was on the bottom.

"Welcome to my Mirage Beach. I hope you like the place I have chosen to continue our fight." Shen Jun said, appearing out of nowhere in front of Dae-Won.

The young illusionist of the Shen Family had a smirk as if everything that had happened just moments ago hadn't happened at all. Indeed, there were no traces of the three holes left by Dae-Won's trident on his back.

"I guess you're confused; that's normal. Now I'll explain it to you, be calm. "Shen Jun continued to speak, "As you well know, illusions are divided into two categories, external type and internal type. The Illusory Mist before was of the external type, and at first glance, this technique of mine also seems to be of the external type, and yet ... "

"Stop it with the explanations. You don't need to tell me what it is. We are in your mind, no?" Dae-Won interrupted his opponent's explanation.

Shen Jun looked amazed that Dae-Won already knew where they were but didn't pay much attention, "I guess being part of the Imperial Prince's clique makes you quite cultured. Yes, we're in my mind. And do you know what this means? That for you, there is no longer any chance of victory. At the rank of spirit soldier, none of the academy's illusionists can produce a mental illusion. If it weren't for my bloodline, even I wouldn't be able to."

Mental Illusion. It was another classification of the Illusion Law's illusions, which was added to the two customarily known - external and internal. The external type of illusions affected the surrounding environment, while the internal ones affected the victim's sense.

Instead, mental Illusions weren't real illusions because they didn't consist of altering something existing in reality, blurring the line between what was true and what was false. Instead, they consisted of creating a bond with a person through one's own minds. In this way, the victim's consciousness would be projected into that of the technique's user.

After that, it would no longer be a battle in the real world, but in mind. Thus, things that were impossible to accomplish in the real world became possible in the mental world, albeit it depended on the illusionist's skill in recreating reality with their mind.

"Were you so desperate? Resorting to a mental illusion ... you know it's not something you should mess with. Damage to the mind isn't like damage to the body. Even with the care of a martial artist medic, recovery isn't immediate. And in the event of serious damage, there is a risk of becoming brain damaged." Dae-Won asked Shen Jun.

Hearing this, Shen Jun's face darkened. Indeed, he would have preferred not to use something so dangerous, but he didn't want to lose. Not against Dae-Won, an illusionist like him.

"So? What problems are there? I just need to crush you, and I won't run into problems. I admit it, you are a good illusionist, but if you know about mental illusions, then you know that it isn't easy to create something inside your mind, let alone someone else's mind. You are carefree, but I know you're trembling with fear."

"Evil Spirits of the Sea!" Shen Jun shouted.

At his cry, the sea began to stir as bubbles formed in three places on the surface of the water. Then, from there, the bodies of three adult men emerged. They all had skin the same color as the sea while wearing clothes that vaguely resembled a combat tunic. Each of them held a sword in their hands.

"Unfortunately, the level of knowledge in the Illusion Law doesn't yet allow me to create more than three bodies. But there are no problems; these are enough and advance. It's time to take my victory once and for all." Shen Jun proclaimed as he twirled his chakrams with the index fingers of his hands.