Chapter 39: New Skill

Immediately after summoning his spirit pet, Ain’s opponent retreated and cast a shield when he was at a safe distance. Then, he mentally commanded his spirit pet to use Wing Blades and bombard Ain.

After all these battles, the students had gained more experience. They became conscious of their own safety and tried to avoid shouting their commands.

The Black Wing Jay’s wings glowed with a golden light before slashing in Ain’s direction. Blades of energy cut through the air, rapidly approaching Ain.

Just like how Ain was aware of his opponent’s moves, the opponent was also aware of what Ain’s arsenal, at least what he had shown so far.

As long as Ain was forced to dodge continuously, he would be unable to use Spirit Blast. His spirit pet definitely couldn’t catch up to the Black Wing Jay, forcing it to attack the opponent. Since the Black Wing Jay was faster, it could approach Ain at that time and attack from a close distance, making it impossible for him to dodge.

This was the opponent’s plan, and it was unfolding nicely.

As soon as the blades were released, Ain quickly saw through their trajectory and dodged to the side. At the same time, he sent a command to Nox.

Seeing this, his opponent knew that his plan had succeeded. Next, he expected Ain’s spirit pet to move towards him, trying to attack him at close range.

But what happened next was out of his expectations.

Instead of approaching the opponent, Nox flew towards the Black Wing Jay in the air.

“What is he doing?” Seeing this scene, Hugo was also confused. If Nox chased after the opponent’s spirit pet, the result would be no different from their spars. Or rather, it could be worse, since the Black Wing Jay is also at Rank-1, unlike his Grand Eagle.

Teacher Turner also watched attentively.

As Nox was approaching the Black Wing Jay, it had already released another barrage of Wing Blades towards Ain, forcing him to dodge again.

Although Ain’s opponent didn’t know what he was planning, he still commanded his Black Wing Jay to maintain a certain distance from Ain’s spirit pet while continuing with the bombardment.

The Black Wing Jay acknowledged the command and was about to fly away when it suddenly froze mid-air, as its wings stopped flapping. Its eyes widened suddenly, a look of horror appearing on its face.

Its face was turned away from the crowd, so nobody noticed its expression, but as its spirit tamer, Ain’s opponent immediately sensed this change. But before he could react, the Black Wing Jay, which had suddenly stopped, began falling from the sky, completely paralyzed.

“What!?” Ain’s opponent was confused and panic-stricken, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. In this state, he failed to notice the light that had gathered on Ain’s finger.

‘Spirit Blast,’ Ain internally called out as he pointed his finger at the estimated location of the Black Wing Jay’s fall, before releasing his spell.

The ball of energy shot out with astonishing speed and accurately collided with the Black Wing Jay right before it hit the ground.

Bang!

A small explosion rang out in the arena as the Black Wing Jay’s body was pushed back from the attack, breaking the momentum of its fall.

This all occurred in a few seconds, and the crowd failed to react.

Only when the incapacitated Black Wing Jay’s body stopped moving did someone finally react. It was the Black Wing Jay’s spirit tamer, who abandoned his shield and ran up to his spirit pet in a hurry.

“Winner, Ain!” At the same time, Teacher Turner also announced the end of the match, breaking the silence that had overcome the training hall. The students finally reacted.

“Whoa! What just happened?”

“Why did the bird just fall from the sky like that?”

Amidst the clamor, Hugo stood with his mouth slightly open as he muttered, “What the hell was that?”

The medical staff quickly ran up to the Black Wing Jay to treat it as Nox joyously made its way back to Ain.

“Wooo…” Its elation and satisfaction were apparent in its posture. Ain also smiled as he understood what his spirit pet had just said. It was mocking avian spirit pets.

Teacher Turner looked back and forth between Ain and Nox for a second. Other than these two, only he and the medical staff probably understood what had just happened.

“Malicious Gaze…” Teacher Turner muttered with a smile before turning his attention away.

The medical staff gave Ain a nod before carrying the Black Wing Jay away. The bird’s injuries weren’t fatal. Moreover, Ain’s small calculation at the end had saved them some trouble.

Ain recalled Nox and walked back to the side of the arena. As he was walking, he began reviewing the recent battle.

The opponent’s plan was feasible, and it was possible for it to succeed. But that was only under the assumption that Ain’s own combat abilities were weak. Nobody in the class was aware of Ain’s close combat abilities or his physical abilities in general. He could’ve easily dodged all the attacks and approached the opponent to finish him off.

But he didn’t do so because he didn’t need to.

After his sparring sessions with Hugo, Nox became increasingly annoyed at flying spirit pets because of its inability to catch up to them. Even when they were of a lower rank, they could still toy around with it.

Ain was aware of its feelings and could only comfort it, explaining that this was just temporary and that it would get stronger in the future. But Nox didn’t seem to think so and couldn’t take it lying down.

During his trip to the Rocky Region two days ago, Nox attached itself to Ain’s shoulder as he rode the fluxboard on the grassy plains.

Throughout the whole trip, it stared at the sky, hatefully glaring at any avian spirit beasts that entered its vision, while cursing at them in its own way, “Wooo…”

Ain quietly ignored it, letting it release its frustrations. This continued until he saw a spirit beast that was flying low suddenly freeze and plummet from the sky before landing heavily on the ground. Due to the momentum of its flight, it slid across the grass for a while before stopping.

Seeing this, Ain was stunned and slowed down before coming to a complete stop near the now-deceased bird. At the same time, Nox’s excited voice sounded from beside him, “Wooo… Wooo…”

After observing the dead spirit beast, Ain couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Nox. Just before the event occurred, he felt clear spirit energy fluctuations from his spirit pet. He ignored its taunting words towards the bird and communicated with it. After receiving its reply, he used Scan on it, searching for its skills.

[Innate Skills: Possession]

[Skills: Phantom Claws, Malicious Gaze]

After confirming his spirit pet’s words, Ain couldn’t help but look at it speechlessly.

It turns out, as it was watching the birds flying overhead, its hatred for them kept growing in its heart. At one point, the hatred grew so intense that it actually learned a new skill…

Malicious Gaze, a ghost skill that could stun its target while also sowing seeds of fear in their hearts. The target only needed to enter Nox’s vision for this skill to take effect, and its range was large enough to affect some low-flying spirit beasts.

After this experience, Ain didn’t know if Nox could be considered silly, talented, or both.

Although the circumstances surrounding the skill’s comprehension were weird, he was still happy with this new skill. This skill could be lethal if used appropriately and could fill a gap in Ain’s combat system.

With this skill, he was more confident in facing spirit beasts with the ability to fly.

When Ain returned, Hugo promptly walked up to him and asked, “Ain, what was that? It looked like Nox used a skill.”

Ain wasn’t surprised that Hugo noticed it due to his high perception. Hugo just didn’t know what skill it was. Since it had already been revealed, Ain quietly told him, “It was Malicious Gaze, a new skill Nox learned.”

“Malicious Gaze?” Hugo was clearly unfamiliar, so Ain briefly mentioned the effects.

“Tch, what a powerful skill.” Hugo clicked his tongue in amazement.

“I have you to thank for that. If it wasn’t for Ace’s constant taunting, Nox wouldn’t have trained so hard to find a way to counter it.” Ain added with a small laugh, conveniently altering the skill’s origin a little.

“So, I shot myself in the foot?” Hugo laughed dryly.

As the two talked, some of the surrounding students stared at them with varying looks. The students were still surprised at Ain’s clean execution, especially that last Spirit Blast.

Among the students, a boy with white hair stared at Ain intently. Although he wore the same uniform as the surrounding students, he seemed a little out of place. There was a hint of arrogance between his brows as the surrounding students kept their distance from him.

“Ain Weisman…” The boy muttered in a small voice before turning his attention back to the arena.

1 Free Chapter! Read ahead!

Support me on Patreon and read up to 16 chapters ahead! There are Illustrations available, and a side story will be available soon as well!

patreon.com/ForsakenHaven