GLOBAL AWAKENING: My 10,000x Exp Multiplier-Chapter 13: []Terrain Manipulation, The First Match

Sovereign Military Academy, Grand Arena.

The arena was incredibly massive, built with tempered glass and polished steel to hold fifty thousand spectators. Today, it was packed to the absolute brim. Metallic hover cameras the size of falcons buzzed around, projecting the matches onto massive holographic screens suspended in the sky.

This was the 97th Annual Combat Tournament. For the students, it was a chance for glory and a stage to secure lucrative sponsorships from the top guilds. For the military brass sitting in the elevated VIP boxes, it was a livestock auction. They were here to measure the combat data of the new generation, completely oblivious to the fact that their entire world was on a one month countdown to an apocalyptic alien invasion.

Vahn Ryker stood in the dark tunnel leading out to Ring 4, casually leaning against the cold concrete wall. He wore his standard academy jacket over a simple black shirt. No armor. No glowing staves. Not even his Soul Bound Shadow Blade, which was resting safely in his digital inventory. Bringing a weapon that devours souls to a school sparring match felt a bit like bringing a nuclear bomb to a pillow fight.

"Competitors to Ring 4," the automated voice of the stadium announcer echoed loudly. "Jaxson Vane versus Vahn Ryker."

Vahn pushed off the wall and stretched his shoulders with a soft groan. He walked out of the tunnel and into the blinding glare of the stadium lights.

The noise was a physical force. Fifty thousand people were screaming, cheering, and placing bets. Vahn barely registered them. His deep purple eyes swept over the massive circular combat platform made of dense runic stone.

Standing on the opposite side of the ring was his opponent, Jaxson Vane.

Jaxson was tall, athletic, and draped in a set of Silver Tier Wind Rider armor that glowed with a mint green aura. He held a beautifully crafted rapier in his right hand. He waved his free hand and blew kisses to a group of screaming girls in the lower stands.

"Alright, settle down!" Jaxson laughed before turning his attention to Vahn. His smug smile dropped for a fraction of a second as he took in Vahn’s entirely ordinary appearance. "Wait. You are Ryker? The commoner Kael was shouting about?"

Vahn stopped exactly ten meters away from Jaxson. He placed his hands easily in his pockets.

"Are you lost, man?" Jaxson chuckled and pointed his rapier at Vahn. "The janitor closet is back down that hallway. I am doing you a favor by telling you to walk away now. My armor has an active wind shear aura. If I hit you, those cheap clothes will shred and you will spend a week in the medical ward."

Vahn tilted his head and smiled. He found the sheer audacity of these elites funny.

"Do you practice these speeches in the mirror?" Vahn asked loudly so his voice carried over the crowd. "Or does the arrogance just come naturally with the Silver Tier armor?"

Jaxson’s face instantly turned a brilliant shade of red. The crowd nearest to Ring 4 went completely silent. A commoner talking back to a sponsored elite was social suicide!

"You arrogant little rat," Jaxson spat. The mint green aura flared, whipping his blonde hair wildly around his face. "I am going to make sure the medics carry you out in a bucket."

High above them, the countdown timer flashed.

Three.

Two.

One.

Begin.

Jaxson did not hesitate. He chanted a quick incantation and fed mana into his boots.

"Gale Step!" Jaxson roared.

He launched himself forward like a streak of green light. He crossed the gap in less than a second. His rapier was drawn back, glowing with a condensed vortex of wind magic designed to blast Vahn completely off the platform.

To Vahn, who had fifty base Agility and the reaction speed of an EXP Architect, Jaxson was moving incredibly slow. Vahn did not even bother activating his Temporal Step.

Instead, Vahn looked down at the floor.

’System,’ Vahn commanded internally. ’Access local terrain parameters. Target: The runic stone directly in front of me. Set friction to zero.’

[System Ability]

↳ Localized friction modified to absolute zero.

Vahn took his right hand out of his pocket and took an extremely casual step to the left.

Jaxson planted his heavy boot onto the stone, preparing to unleash his devastating wind blade. Normally, his boots would grip the textured stone to anchor his massive kinetic force.

Instead, Jaxson’s foot hit a patch of reality that possessed zero friction.

"Wha..." Jaxson gasped as his center of gravity completely betrayed him.

His leading leg shot out from under him. His body went perfectly horizontal in the air. The massive vortex of wind gathered at the tip of his rapier suddenly had nowhere to go.

As Jaxson crashed onto his back, the sheer concussive force knocked the breath from his lungs. His arm flailed, and the condensed wind spell detonated directly into his own chest!

BOOM!

A violent explosion of green energy erupted on the platform. Jaxson was launched backwards like a cannonball. He skipped across the arena floor and crashed heavily into the outer wall.

He slid down the wall with his beautiful armor scorched and dented. He was completely unconscious.

The entire stadium went dead silent. The hover cameras zoomed in on Vahn and projected his relaxed face onto the massive screens above.

Vahn had not cast a single spell. He had not thrown a single punch. He just stood there and casually brushed dust off his jacket.

"You really should watch your step," Vahn spoke softly to the unconscious boy. "The floors here are a tripping hazard." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

In the VIP box, the academy instructors stared at the monitors in complete disbelief. According to the system logs, Jaxson had simply tripped on his own feet and blown himself up!

"Winner of Ring 4... Vahn Ryker!" the announcer finally declared.

The crowd erupted into a chaotic wave of confusion and laughter. The commoners howled with laughter at the elite who knocked himself out. The sponsored students screamed about faulty equipment and demanded a rematch.

Vahn ignored them all. He turned his back on Jaxson and calmly walked toward the tunnel.

He saw Hana sitting in the lower spectator stands. She pointed at him and laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach. Beside her, Sia Vance had her eyes wide with awe, furiously taking mental notes on Vahn’s evasion techniques.