A part of Lukas knew that he shouldn’t be so surprised to find out that Morgana was S-rank, as she was the daughter of a City Lord. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

But he still couldn’t help but blink in shock, taking in the sight of her climb to her feet.

On her forehead was a deep cut and blood flowed freely from it, running down her nose to drop to the floor.

Her once bright green eyes had now darkened to the extent that they were almost black.

Their gaze met, and Lukas felt a cold chill sweep through his body.

’It’s not as if she suddenly got stronger, so why do I feel threatened?’

He frowned, keeping his eyes on her.

No matter how many trucks she pulled out for this, one thing was certain. He was going to win this tournament.

Before he could do anything, Morgana dashed towards him.

He stepped forward with a snarl, cocking his fist back. The moment she was in front of him, he punched.

And in that moment, something amazing happened.

In the split second his fist tore towards her, Morgana’s body immediately went translucent.

His eyes widened as he stumbled forward, his entire body passing through her like she was a ghost.

The moment she passed through him, she turned solid, twisting to land a huge blow on his back.

Bam!

Lukas stabled forward, but planted his feet before he could take more than two steps, turning the movement into a twist, his legs snapping wide in an arc to deliver a kick.

Instead of dodging it or leaping back, Morgana stepped forward, her body going translucent again.

Lukas’ kick passed through her like she was made of mist, and the moment it was gone, her fist snapped forward, slamming into his face.

His head snapped back, and before he could do more than dog his heels in to stop his momentum, Morgana activated [Entangle].

Thick vines surged from the ground, wrapping around his legs and torso as fast as possible.

However, Lukas simply grabbed them and tore them off his body like they were made of paper, leaping backwards to put space between them.

His eyes were narrowed in calculation, his surprise gone and replaced with wariness.

’Didn’t she already use two skills?’ he wondered. ’Is she also a Dual Awakener?’

Well, it didn’t matter. There was no way he could predict everything his opponent was capable of, so all he could do was keep fighting.

Up in the luxury box, Barlas sat up straight, leaning forward, his eyes fixed on Morgana.

His eyes were slightly wide, and he didn’t even blink as he stared at her. "Is that..."

Seeing his expression, Le Fay chuckled. "Is that your first time seeing it?"

He took a sip of his wine, smiling. "Yes, you’re right. That is the Le Fay family innate skill, [Wraith]."

Unlike normal skills that were granted when one awakened a class, innate skills were skills belonging to a specific bloodline.

They can be passed down through families like an inheritance.

While some families had truly unique and one of a kind innate skills, most families obtained their innate skills through mysterious means in the upper floors of the Tower.

The advantage of an innate skill was that their bloodlines would have access to a skill they might never get due to the limitations of their classes.

And this was the Le Fay family innate skill, passed down from the patriarch, who was currently in seclusion in the Third Floor of the Tower.

Just like the name suggested, [Wraith] allows the wielder to become intangible at will, making them able to pass through attacks or walls with ease.

If Lukas wanted to win, then he’d have to catch her when she was tangible.

Down in the arena, Lukas attacked again, but this time, he was more cautious. As his fist raced towards her face, Morgana activated [Wraith], becoming intangible.

Lukas allowed his fist to pass through her face, stumbling forward as if he’d fallen for her skill again, then planted his feet, and his leg blurred into a back kick.

Morgana had already deactivated the skill in order to attack, and his leg slammed into her torso, sending her stumbling backwards.

He turned to face her, a small smile on his face. "I see."

She paused, staring at him. "What do you see?"

"How to win," he said.

She frowned, not understanding, but decided to humor him. "And how will you win?"

"It’s quite simple, actually." Lukas began pacing slowly, hands clasped behind his back, and not taking his eyes off her. "If I need to win this, I have to become reactive."

"We both know that without that skill, I’ll win. I can tear through your vines, and your lightning has no effect on me. I’m faster and stronger. And those matter enough to bridge the combat superiority you have over me."

"And since my problem is this... skill of yours, all I need to do is wait. I don’t need to attack you. All I can do is stand here. Worst case scenario, we stand here for a few hours staring at each other."

"And best case scenario, I attack you when you attack me. And I win."

Morgana stared at him, eyes narrowed. She was sure she could defeat him eventually. After all, [Wraith] was so versatile, it can allow her to attack from any angle.

But it would take a long time breaking Lukas’ defenses to win this battle. And she’d take lots of damage to achieve that.

She chuckled to herself. She’d come in search of a strong opponent, and now that he was in front of her, she couldn’t even take him down without resorting to her innate skill.

"I guess I do need to get stronger."

Then in a move that stunned the crowd, she looked up at Rollo who hovered in the air, slightly raising a hand. "I concede."

"Wait, what?" Lukas stared at her in shock.

Morgana turned to him with a chuckle. "You can have the prize. I don’t need it as much as you do."

She turned and began walking off the arena.

The crowd exploded into cheers, and Rollo descended, voice raised. "And the winner of the Prodigy Tournament, Lukas Valentineeeee!!!"

Lukas could only stare as music began to play, a marching band appearing at the edge of the arena.

"After seven days of gruelling battle. Of blood. Of sweat. Of tears. And we finally have the strongest prodigy of the city!" Rollo announced.

Lukas blinked, shifting his surprise to the back of his mind before turning to Rollo.

Rollo descended, landing on the ground next to Lukas. "We have witnessed not just courage, but grit and determination. And we all know that no one deserves it more than the man standing before us. He has fought through battles that would break the spirit of a lesser man and come out unbent."

The crowd cheered along.

"You have earned this, Lukas Valentine. It is time to receive your prize."

Rollo retrieved the golden headband, the [Kairos’ Fillet] hovering above his palm, its Adept aura radiating from it.

"And your prize, Luka—"

Boom!

An Adept level attack descended from the sky like a hammer, engulfing Lukas and Rollo in an instant.