--(Nathan's POV)--

"Hehehe..one dagger for one hit. Let's see who will go down first."

I wiped the blood from the corners of my lips and turned to Vile reaper.

His eyes had turned bloodshot, and he was dangerously glaring at me.

'So much for wanting your opponents to fight back.'

There was one dagger stabbed in his abdomen and one at his shoulder. It would take them a few more minutes before they disintegrate.

(Good, we'll win at this rate!)

'No, we are losing.'

The dagger stabbed at Vile reaper's shoulder was aimed at his neck. He had somehow, at the last second, managed to dodge.

On the other hand, I was heavily bleeding, had more than a few broken bones, and was exhausted.

'Should I use [Synchronization]?'

I thought of the easiest way to win the match. But then I immediately denied the idea.

The rulers of the universe, the 13 strongest beings, the Monarchs.

That shit quest from the equally shitty system was telling me to kill one of the Monarchs in mere 13 years.

To reach that level, I will have to repeatedly fight beings far stronger than me.

If I'm going to use [Synchronization] now, for someone who wasn't even 10 levels above me, then it would be better for me to give up on everything.

Thinking of my god-awful future, I couldn't control my laughter.

Indeed, Vile reaper was stronger than me. Heck, he can kill me in one move if I made a mistake, but…

"I can win."

"…you, what did you say? Do you really think you can win!"

Vupp-

(Above!)

Vile reaper teleported above me.

He had his one leg raised to do an axe kick.

Crack-

On Eth's instruction, the crack that was above my head opened and a dagger flew out.

At the same time, Vile reaper's kick hit my shoulder.

Bam-!

Puchi-!

The dagger stabbed his right thigh while his heel landed on my shoulder.

"Urgh.."

Vile reaper teleported away.

He groaned as blood flowed profusely from his thigh.

I could also feel that my shoulder bone had cracked, but I didn't let out a single utterance of pain.

No, I was smiling.

The pain was making all the unnecessary thoughts go away.

With my head clear and light, I could think more clearly.

"Is that all you got? Come on, I can do this all day!"

I opened three cracks beside me and fired daggers at Vile reaper.

Swish- Swish- Swish-

Vupp-

He was forced to teleport away.

The pain was hindering Vile reaper's judgment-making skills. He was teleporting at random to dodge the attacks and wasting his aura reserves.

While Vile reaper was dodging, I controlled the 7 free cracks and focused on reducing their size.

Firing weapons stored in cracks went like this: Create crack->Store weapon->Open crack->Shoot weapon.

A smaller crack takes less time to open and I can use my art with a single thought.

These two things combined made the counterattack possible.

All 10 cracks were covering my body. With this, I can attack the moment Eth tells me Vile reaper's location.

"YOU! FUCKING! BASTARD!"

Vile reaper roared and teleported in front of me.

Swish-

A whip appeared in his hand and he slashed with it.

Crack-

The crack above my abdomen opened, and a dagger flew out.

Vile reaper changed the direction of the whip mid-attack.

Clang-!

The whip hit the dagger and threw it away.

However, it caused Vile reaper's attack to delay by one second and it was enough-

Bam-!

-for my fist to hit that fucker's face!

Vile reaper's neck turned unnaturally from the impact.

Before he could react, I attacked again.

Four daggers flew at him. At the same time, I twisted my heel and spun to do a tornado kick.

Puchi-! Puchi-!

Bam-!

The dagger impaled his abdomen and forearm. He managed to dodge the daggers aimed at his vital areas with his high agility.

The kick, however, struck his head.

"Urghh…"

Vupp-

He quickly teleported away before I could follow up with more attacks.

*

--(3rd person POV outside the arena)---

Leon was feeling overwhelmed as he saw Mr. Pepe fighting.

When the match started and Vile reaper absolutely thrashed Mr. Pepe, Leon felt a little happy and relieved. Mr. Pepe wasn't as strong as he first appeared to be.

In fact, it was clear that Mr. Pepe was weaker than Vile reaper.

This made him realize that the gap between Mr. Pepe and him wasn't as big as he first thought it to be.

But the situation gradually changed.

Vile reaper teleported in front of Mr. Pepe and punched him, sending him flying away.

"W-what?"

Leon couldn't believe his eyes.

There was a dagger stabbed in Vile reaper's abdomen!

However, it was just the starting. what happened next shocked him even more.

Mr. Pepe suddenly gained the upper hand and began counterattacking!

Leon wasn't able to understand how Mr. Pepe was suddenly able to hit Vile reaper.

Chills ran down his spine at the crazed laughter of Mr. Pepe and his unshrinking declaration.

"Hehehe..one dagger for one hit. Let's see who will go down first."

"What is he doing?!"

Leon couldn't believe his ears. As a mage, Mr. Pepe was bound to lose the exchange if both of them struck each other every time.

WOOOOOOO-

On the other hand, the crowd was going crazy.

The match was filled with ups and down. The crowd finally went into a frenzy when Nathan finally got a hit in.

Bam-!

His fist kissed Vile reaper's cheek and rattled him.

Vile reaper hurriedly teleported away before Nathan could continue attacking.

The spectators were on the edge of their seats to see what will happen, even a second earlier.

Mr. Pepe was bleeding and panting. He was barely able to stand straight.

On the other hand, Vile reaper had four daggers stabbed into his body.

VILE REAPER! VILE REAPER! VILE REAPER!-

MR. PEPE! MR. PEPE! MR. PEPE!-

The onlookers chanted the name of the fighter they wanted to win.

Almost as if they could hear the crowds chanting their name, Vile reaper and Mr. Pepe moved at the same time.

Vile reaper started teleporting around Mr. Pepe. However, he kept his distance this time.

He understood that if he went too close, he wouldn't have time to dodge the daggers after they came out of the cracks.

Nathan bought the grimoire out and started chanting the spell.

Leon, who was able to hear the chants, frowned.

"Rank 2 spell <Mud Spike>?! He can use an attack spell too!?"

Vile reaper also recognized the chant and teleported far away.

The spell itself wasn't dangerous. What shocked Vile reaper and Leon was the fact that Mr. Pepe could use attack spells too.

A support mage cannot use an attack spell.

However, Mr. Pepe was speaking chants for an attack spell.

This revelation stunned all those who recognized the chants.

It was a universal fact that support mages can't use attack spells. If they do, the output will be almost negligible while also consuming a larger quantity of mana.

Yes, it was a universal fact. But since the beginning, when did Mr. Pepe's action make sense?

Never!

Nathan's actions always suprised them!

Gulp-

People gulped.

Would they see a mage using both support and attack magic?

"The 5th Irregular…"

Someone spoke, but no one denied it.

No, they felt their excitement shooting through the roof!

They were witnessing the birth of the 5th Irregular!

*

Vile reaper teleported away from Nathan.

He also recognized the chants.

'He can tank damage from me, use a support spell on himself, and now use an attack spell too?!'

His vigilance peaked, and he made his decision.

'I need to kill him. If not, he will kill me after joining the team.'

Vile reaper knew that Nathan held a grudge against him for torturing Miller.

If not, why was he still fighting when he was bleeding all over and his chances of winning weren't high?

Vile reaper was hurt, but he was still better than Mr. Pepe, who was a mage.

Vupp-

Vile reaper started teleporting and attacking him from a little distance.

Each time, he had to divert his attack or teleport before his attack landed, or the daggers would impale him.

Vile reaper could attack Nathan but he didn't want to take the risk of taking more injuries. From Mother Mash's match, he knew that it was best to play safe.

'I don't need to worry about the spell. I should focus on attacking him.'

Magic circle appearance always precedes spell activation.

Even if the spell can hurt him, it wouldn't matter as long as he avoided the magic circle.

At that moment, Nathan's chant was completed.

"…drown the fields..<Mud Spike>"

Vile reaper looked below to check the location of the magic circle.

"What?!"

However, what he saw shocked him to the core.

?