Bro, I'm not an Undead!

(A/N: Bonus Chapter).

There were a variety of Classes in each category – Energy Former, Arma User and Form User.

Some were hard to practise and were thus rare as once one chose a class, changing it was difficult. Therefore most chose to not even try for harder classes.

Among Energy Formers, there was one particular class that was hard to master.

As Skullius felt the convergence of mana, his body was already on the move.

He couldn't let this guy finish whatever he was planning.

However, it happened faster than he could react even while boosted by the gravitational effects of his core. And rather than a lack of speed, this was something Skullius couldn't avoid in general!

The bright mana that gathered before the smirking Kurtish flashed so bright that the majority of witnesses had to turn away to avoid the piercing pain it brought to the eyes!

When it was done...

"Woow, what is that?"

"It's beautiful!"

"Bless the Deities!"

What greeted the eyes of everyone watching, was an enormous, magnificently designed box!

It stood before Kurtish, covering a third of the platform with its rainbow coloured hue that was sprinkled with bits of moving stars over its surface that made it look like something out of a fantasy of a fantasy's fantasy!

On its five visible sides, large protrusions, sculpture-like items attached to the box could be seen with glossiest sheen of gold in the shape of creatures with the likeness of griffins!

A crushing amount of mana fumed from this box.

A large amount of mana was required to forge it and once it covered its target, it secured them inside.

"Hahaha!" Kurtish turned and bowed as if he had just given a brilliant performance, waving at the crowd that cheered.

This was a unique show of strength.

This dashing middle aged man had imprisoned his opponent!

This was the prime means of offense that came with Kurtish's class which also extended into his Family Technique.

Kurtish was a Wardlock.

Some preferred to call them Barrier Masters but the few Wardlock's took on this name instead as they were not only limited to creating barriers but were very skilled in creating seals too. In short, their job was to restrict movements, concepts and energies.

The Oldd Family back in the day was well-known and relied on for its knowledge on seals and barriers.

135 Barrier formations.

87 Seal formations.

All these were secrets crested and kept by the Oldd Family, making its standing very high among the Families.

Despite how Kurtish looked, his knowledge and experience with energies along with his capability to use them to forge Seals and Barriers was quite impressive. Thus, he never needed to learn complex combat forms.

"Witness one of my Family's prized, yet basic Barrier forms, the Royal Constriction Box! The longer my opponent remains within it, the more it shrinks. Soon, it will fit inside the palm of my hand! Hahaha! You can guess what will become of the one who remains inside. Hahaha! No need to concern yourself with that. You won't have to see it," Kurtish said as he touched the large box which shook a bit before, with a loud thrum, it reduced in size by at least a quarter of what it had been!

The crowds were intrigued.

To have the ability to win without ever fighting was actually most people's dream.

And this man had that exact same ability.

Some of the contenders from the traditional Family circles scoffed at Kurtish. Him turning a fight into a showing of his Family Technique instead was... unsightly.

"I have to admit though. He certainly pushed back the heavy atmosphere that built up after that man came on."

"You're right. Everyone could use a break. It's a pity for Kurtish's opponent though. The only thing more impressive about the exterior of the barrier techniques of the Oldd Family is their interior. They are layered with high levels of intricacy and finesse. Without a powerful technique, you're pretty much doomed."

"That's right. These matchups are seeming less and less random the more they go by. How can there be this many consecutive mismatched opponents?"

How and how indeed.

Kurtish revelled in the cheers.

He touched the barrier again and it dropped in size further.

He then leaned in and spoke in a condescending tone towards the box-shaped barrier.

"You know, it's become a trend to kill your opponent lately. I would love to eliminate you as such but... I'll give you the chance to surrender. No, no. That's too generic. Beg for me to release you, otherwise you'll have an excruciating painful death. Did I forget to mention? No one can hear or see you when you're trapped inside, except for me that is. But if you ask nicely, I'll let them hear you plead for your life," Kurtish said while caressing the side of the large box shaped barrier.

"Come on now. Beg."

BOOOOOM!

A thrum of power knocked against the barrier with a sharp impact, one so fantastical that it reverberated throughout the platform from the Royal Constriction Box!

Kurtish moved back with slight surprise.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't scare me like that," he said with a self-reassuring chuckle, his eye darting towards his fiancé. He waved.

'Everything is under control,' Kurtish said in his heart with a smile.

The man's gaze turned back to the box.

"You're still refusing my offer? I'm being merciful here!" he called with a slight build up of anger and trepidation.

Kurtish had to actively peer into the box to perceive what was going on inside and when he did so...

Within, his opponent was standing near one of the walls of the barrier with a look of incredible focus.

Suddenly, his mana spiked, covering his entire body as a massive film that stretched out quite a distance from his body before gathering around his right hand which was balled into a fist!

Then...

BOOOOOOM!

Again!

'Hey, hey, hey!' Kurtish ground his teeth, watching the Royal Constriction Box shift an inch to the right from the force!

From the tent, some of the contenders were surprised at this development.

"Hey. Is the barrier actually failing to contain the impact?"

"It seems so. As far as I know, this is the barrier Kurtish usually uses for confrontations and it never fails to contain powerful attacks, especially when dealing with high level beasts. Breaking it would require otherworldly strength. Don't tell his opponent has something like that?"

"He's from the Bryne Family right? Signed in from elsewhere. I doubt he'll amount to much. After all..."

Kurtish restored his cool.

The barrier still held. In fact, it wasn't even damaged. All he had to do was stopping playing the mercy card and dispose of his opponent.

"And here I was being so kind!" he yelled before having the box shrink to half its current size!

Then another half!

And another!

The witnesses marvelled.

Here comes another agonising death!

The moment the barrier reached about twice Kurtish's size, he wore a ruthless face and had it decrease further in size!

'I was getting a little worried there. Fortunately for me you ended up becoming exactly what I thought you were. A stepping stone for my rise,' Kurtish thought.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

It happened a third time.

A shocking impact.

This one however felt different!

That was because as Kurtish ignored it and forced the Royal Constriction Box to shrink once more, he felt an incredible level of resistance!

The barrier seemed to be... full!

It was filled to the brim with something that maintained the shape of the barrier, refusing to let it shrink further!

'That's not possible! There can't be resistance from the inside of the barrier! That's preposterous! Damn it! If I had just used a stronger barrier from the start!' Kurtish thought in anguish. At this point, everyone could see that he was struggling and his image would plummet after all his blabber.

But he couldn't lose face over this.

He wouldn't.

BOOOOOOOOM!

"No way!"

The barrier broke!

Cracks emerged on one side, allowing for something to seep outside, giving insight to what was happening inside!

First, a sharp golden white leaked from the cracks as a few streaks only to disappear nigh instantly!

After it, blackish red wisps of energy that quickly spread out like a virus into the air before the barrier was knocked hard again showed, the force of the impact shattering one side completely as it struggled to shrink itself according to its master's will!

Kurtish frowned and gave up on trying to forcefully manipulate the barrier.

"You annoying little pest," he said with a sigh.

His opponent had broken out.

The Royal Constriction Box shattered into rainbow coloured pieces of glow that faintly vanished.

There weren't some of Kurtish's pride.

'Tsk.'

The wisps of blackish-red that had swam in the air vanished, the same going for those that leaked from Skullius' body.

The look on his face was not particularly cheerful as he wasn't too happy about being forced to use abilities he wanted to keep hidden for now.

He was annoyed.

"It seems you're just as furious as I am. Good!" Kurtish's said with his head raised high.

It seemed this battle was just getting started and everyone was getting excited, save for one person.

A certain surprise contender was standing from her seat with a look of incredulity!

Her pretty crimson gold eyes expressed something beyond shock with her lips trying to emit a few words.

How was that possible?!

That light...

That golden-white light that h

ad flashed for a brief moment had brought on a devastating amount of shock to her.

That extreme sense of familiarity...!

How?

How could a human possess..?

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