Primordial Awakening: I Breathe Skill Points!-Chapter 51: The Bronze Crucible (2)

[Predator’s Advance - 1:03 remaining]

[MP: 2575 (5/second drain continuing)]

[HP: 1290/2200]

One minute of enhanced speed left.

Zeph’s tactical assessment updated as he circled Astrid, maintaining optimal distance while his enhanced reflexes tracked every micro-movement of her barrier constructs.

’She’s adapted twice to my adaptation. Professional experience showing. Real combat veteran, not just someone who leveled up in safe zones. But I know her pattern now.’

’She can’t maintain offense and defense simultaneously. There’s a gap when she transitions between constructs. The barrier magic has to dissolve before reforming in a different configuration.’

’But I need more than observation. I need perfect timing. Need to see the exact frame where vulnerability exists.’

He watched her advance, barrier magic flickering in complex geometric patterns that shifted from defensive walls to offensive spears in fluid sequences that spoke of thousands of hours of practice.

’Temporal Fracture. It’s the only way to see the exact timing without guessing.’

The skill used to cost all his MP when he first got it—a suicide button that drained everything for three seconds of frozen time. But after breaking past the level 30 barrier, after his mana pool had expanded from 800 to 3200, the cost had stabilized.

Now it required exactly 1000 MP.

Still expensive. Still a massive commitment that would leave him vulnerable if he miscalculated. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

But usable.

’Information is worth more than mana conservation right now. One second of perfect knowledge beats ten seconds of guessing.’

Astrid lunged forward, both fists encased in barrier gauntlets that hummed with concentrated magical energy.

Zeph activated Temporal Fracture.

[MP: 2575 → 1575]

Reality froze.

-----

Everything stopped mid-motion. Astrid’s fist frozen inches from his face, her expression locked in fierce concentration that made her look almost statue-like in its intensity.

And Zeph could move.

At 50% of his normal speed, but he could move while everything else remained perfectly still.

Three seconds. That’s what Temporal Fracture gave him at his current level and mana pool.

Three seconds where he was the only thing in motion, while the entire world waited in suspended animation.

He circled around Astrid’s frozen form, studying her barrier formations from every possible angle. The magical constructs were visible as semi-transparent geometric patterns that hung in the air like crystallized light.

’There. When she forms offensive constructs, the defensive barriers dissolve completely for 0.3 seconds before reforming in protective configuration. She can’t maintain both simultaneously—the mana requirements are too high even for B-rank.’

’The gap is real. I just need perfect timing to exploit it. Need to hit that exact 0.3-second window.’

He positioned himself for optimal counter-angle, axe ready, muscles coiled despite the slowdown effect.

[Temporal Fracture - 2 seconds remaining]

Zeph swung his axe during the frozen moment, setting up the trajectory so that it would connect exactly when time resumed.

[1 second remaining]

He adjusted his footing, shifting weight to his back leg, prepared for her inevitable counter-response.

[Time Resume]

Reality snapped back into motion with an almost audible whoosh of displaced air.

Astrid’s punch completed its arc—exactly where Zeph had been standing three seconds ago.

But he’d moved during frozen time, repositioned while she was locked in temporal stasis.

His axe was already swinging, timed perfectly for the 0.3-second gap in her barrier formation.

The blade connected with her unprotected shoulder.

[Cleaving Momentum - Maximum damage: 264]

[Critical hit - Vital area: 396 damage total]

Astrid staggered backward, shock registering on her face as pain signals registered for the first time in the entire match.

’He hit me. Through my barriers. How did he—’

Her HP bar dropped for the first time since the duel began.

[Astrid HP: 2404/2800]

-----

[Predator’s Advance - 0:41 remaining]

[MP: 1575]

[Cleaving Momentum - Maintained at Stack 5]

Forty seconds of enhanced speed left. 1575 mana remaining—enough for maybe two more significant skill activations if he was conservative.

But now he knew the pattern. Knew the gap. Knew exactly when she was vulnerable and how to time his strikes.

Zeph shifted from defensive to aggressive, axe flowing through practiced forms from Iron Woodsman’s Foundation technique.

Astrid matched his aggression, but now there was caution in her movements. She’d taken damage. Knew he could hurt her. The invincibility complex had shattered.

The dynamic had shifted fundamentally!

They exchanged blows in a flurry of motion too fast for normal eyes to track, creating a blur of steel and magical energy. His axe against her barrier constructs, each clash sending shockwaves through the arena that rippled the VR environment’s rendering.

He aimed for the gaps, those split-second transitions when her barriers reformed. She adapted in real-time, reducing the gap time, making her construct transitions smoother and faster.

Professional versus tactical genius!

Experience versus innovation!

B-rank power versus A-rank skills piloted by someone twenty levels lower!

Bam!

Zeph caught another gap, struck her leg with perfect precision. 180 damage that made her stumble.

She retaliated immediately with a barrier spear that pierced his side, the magical construct punching through his guard. Dealing zero damage under the combined effects of Iron Skin and Adaptive Resilience working together to negate the impact.

[Zeph HP: 1070/2200]

[Astrid HP: 2224/2800]

They separated, both breathing hard, sweat visible on their avatars despite the virtual nature of the combat.

-----

[Predator’s Advance - 0:18 remaining]

Eighteen seconds of superhuman speed left.

After that, he’d be too slow to dodge consistently. She’d have the speed advantage again.

’Need to end this now. No more playing it safe.’

Zeph had one card left to play.

Force

The D-rank skill cost 20 MP to activate, doubling all stats for sixty seconds—a massive buff that should have made it his go-to ability.

But there was a problem he’d discovered during training mode experimentation.

If he tried to stack Force on top of Predator’s Advance, the MP drain became catastrophic—200 MP per second instead of the normal 5 from Predator’s Advance alone. Some kind of incompatibility between the two buff skills that the system didn’t properly explain.

He’d have maybe seven seconds of stacked buffs before running completely dry, dropping to zero mana.

But those seven seconds would give him AGI 624!

Faster than anything Astrid could match. Faster than most A-rank players could react to.

’Seven seconds. That’s my window to end this. Seven seconds or nothing.’

He took a breath and made the call.

"You’re good," he said, voice calm despite his racing heart. "B-rank for sure. Makes me wonder why you’re in Bronze tier VR."

Astrid glared at him with barely controlled fury. "Shut up."

"Bad day? Taking it out on strangers in the arena?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

She charged forward in a rage, barrier magic flaring wildly and erratically as emotion overrode discipline and training.

’There.’

Zeph activated Force

[Force activated - All stats doubled]

[MP: 1575 → 1555]

[WARNING: Skill incompatibility detected]

[Force + Predator’s Advance = 200 MP/second drain]

[Estimated duration: 7.7 seconds before MP depletion]

Power exploded through his virtual body like electricity through copper wire.

STR 120 → 240. His muscles felt like coiled steel cables.

AGI 312 → 624. The world shifted into hyper-clarity, everything moving in slow motion.

VIT 220 → 440. His body felt indestructible, like reinforced titanium.

For the first time in the entire match, Astrid looked slow!

Not stationary, not frozen—but slow enough that he could see every movement, predict every attack, respond with time to spare and precision to burn.

Zeph blitzed forward at speeds that left afterimages in the VR rendering, closing thirty meters in less than a second.

Astrid’s eyes widened in shock as he closed the distance faster than she could possibly react.

She threw up barriers desperately, but he was already inside her guard, already past her defensive perimeter.

His axe swung through the gap with surgical precision.

[Cleaving Momentum - Maximum damage + Critical: 396]

[Astrid HP: 1828/2800]

She countered desperately, throwing everything she had at him, but her movements seemed sluggish compared to his 624 AGI.

He grabbed her wrist mid-strike, using the grip to control her positioning and break her rhythm.

[MP: 1355 → 1155]

Bam!

Second strike. Side impact that connected with brutal force!

[Damage: 396]

[Astrid HP: 1432/2800]

[MP: 1155 → 955]

Bam!

Third strike. Leg sweep that connected with brutal efficiency, nearly taking her off her feet.

[Damage: 264 (glancing)]

[Astrid HP: 1168/2800]

[MP: 955 → 755]

Four seconds of stacked buffs burned through.

Three seconds remaining before his mana pool hit zero.

Astrid formed Barrier Reinforcement around her entire body, adding 30% damage reduction in a last-ditch defensive effort.

[Barrier Reinforcement - MP drain: 50/second]

[Astrid MP: 2100 → 2050]

Zeph’s next strike hit the reinforced barrier with enough force to make the entire construct shudder.

[Damage: 185 (reduced from 264)]

[MP: 755 → 555]

[Force + Predator’s Advance duration: 2 seconds remaining]

Two seconds.

555 MP left.

He had to end this now or lose everything.

Zeph activated Wind Blade while simultaneously closing the final distance.

[MP: 555 → 505]

The A-rank skill manifested as a crescent of compressed air, 50 meters of effective range, traveling at impossible speed that even B-rank players struggled to track.

Astrid saw it coming through her combat instincts and raised a barrier wall with every ounce of remaining concentration.

The Wind Blade struck with 100% of his STR 240 damage—480 total force concentrated into a razor-thin cutting edge.

Her barrier cracked.

Actually cracked

The first time her barriers had shown structural damage all match.

She gasped in shock, eyes wide with disbelief.

’That’s A-rank. He has an A-rank ranged skill at Level 35?! How is that even possible?!’

The barrier held, but the impact forced her to drop her offensive constructs to reinforce defenses.

0.3-second gap.

Zeph was already there, having used the Wind Blade as cover and distraction for his final approach.

[MP: 505 → 305 (200 drain)]

[Force + Predator’s Advance duration: 1 second]

His axe swung in a perfect uppercut arc, using every point of his doubled strength.

Connected under her chin.

[Cleaving Momentum - Maximum damage + Critical + Vital Strike: 528]

[Astrid HP: 640/2800]

[MP: 305 → 105]

[Force + Predator’s Advance duration: EXPIRED]

Both buffs deactivated simultaneously, leaving him suddenly drained.

Zeph’s AGI dropped from 624 to 156 in an instant.

The world returned to normal speed with jarring abruptness.

Astrid was suddenly twice as fast as him again, her natural B-rank stats reasserting dominance.

But she was critical HP, mana nearly spent, barriers flickering and unstable.

[Astrid MP: 1050/2400]

[Barrier Reinforcement dismissed - insufficient mana]

They faced each other across five meters of scorched arena floor, both gasping for breath.

Zeph: 1070 HP, 105 MP.

Astrid: 640 HP, 1050 MP.

She could still win. Had way more mana and superior speed now that his buffs were gone.

But her hands were shaking visibly. From exhaustion, from pain, from the emotional whiplash of the day.

"You..." she started, then laughed—a sound somewhere between admiration and disbelief. "You actually... you’re insane."

"Had to be. You’re twenty-three levels higher."

"I’m Level 58. B-rank. Top 500 on the continental leaderboards. And you..." She shook her head slowly. "What level are you?"

"35."

Silence stretched between them for three full seconds.

Then she started laughing harder, the sound echoing through the arena.

"You beat me. A Level 35 just beat a Level 58 B-rank in straight combat."

She raised her hand in the formal forfeit gesture.

"I forfeit. You earned it, DirtyGrandpa."

[MATCH CONCLUDED]

[Winner: DIRTYGRANDPA]

[Placement Match 1/10: VICTORY]

[Performance Rating: EXCEPTIONAL]

[Defeated opponent 23 levels higher]

[Tier estimation increased: Gold II]

The arena began fading into white particles of dissolving code.

Astrid managed a tired smile through her exhaustion. "That username though. Really?"

"Random generator. Couldn’t change it."

"Brutal. Well... good fight. Best I’ve had in months."

"You too."

The VR space dissolved completely into nothing.

-----

Zeph’s consciousness returned to his white space, a smirk still on his face as endorphins flooded his system.

The match had lasted fourteen minutes in real-time.

Fourteen minutes of the most intense combat he’d experienced since the goblin dungeon raid that nearly killed him.

And he’d won!

His first ranked placement match!

Against someone twenty-three levels higher!

The VR system’s post-match analysis appeared in his vision in glowing text:

```

[PLACEMENT MATCH 1/10 - COMPLETE]

Performance: EXCEPTIONAL

Opponent Level Difference: +23

Victory Tier Bonus: Applied

Combat Efficiency: 87%

Resource Management: 92%

Tactical Decisions: 96%

Updated Tier Estimation: GOLD II

Remaining Matches: 9

Estimated Final Placement: GOLD I to PLATINUM III

```

Zeph pulled off the headset and stared at his ceiling, barely believing what had just happened.

’I just won. Against a B-rank. In my first placement match.’

’Gold II estimation. Potential Platinum placement if this continues.’

’This is actually working. The training, the preparation, the build optimization—it’s all working.’

He allowed himself a moment of pure satisfaction, letting the victory sink in completely.

’DirtyGrandpa is 1-0.’

’Nine matches until official placement.’

’And I’m already estimated in Gold tier after one match.’

Tomorrow, placement match two.

Tonight, he’d celebrate his first victory.

As DirtyGrandpa.

The username he was slowly, reluctantly learning to embrace.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​