World Awakening: The Legendary Player-Chapter 81: A Real Man Fight

Jor stumbled, spinning around, his knife held in a clumsy guard. The other elves reacted a half-second too late, their eyes wide with shock. Nox was in their formation, a wolf among the sheep.

’Too easy,’ he thought, a cold smirk forming on his face. He could end Jor right now, a simple thrust, but that wasn’t the point. This was a test. ’Let’s see what this new body can really do.’

He didn’t attack. He just took a step back, melting into the space between two of the other elves. He moved with an unnatural fluidity, a product of his new Shadow Glide skill. The ground didn’t even crunch under his boots.

"He’s behind you!" one of the elves yelled, pointing.

Nox was already gone. He used another Void Step, this time appearing on the far side of the clearing, right next to the treeline. He just stood there, his arms crossed, watching them.

"What is this cowardice?" Jor snarled, his pride stung by the teleportation trick. "Face us like a man, human!"

’He wants me to stand still and get stabbed? Lame.’ He just shook his head, his smirk widening. He had their weakness: pride. And he was going to dissect them with it.

He activated Void Forging. A faint, dark mist bled from his right hand, swirling and condensing into the shape of a simple, black dagger.

"You want me to fight?" he called out, his voice casual. "Fine. But five against one is boring." He pointed his new dagger at the tall elf with the scar. "You. The ugly one. Let’s see if you’re any better than your boss."

The scarred elf’s face twisted in fury. "You dare—"

"Taren, no!" Jor commanded, pointing at Nox. "He is trying to divide us! Attack together! Surround him!"

’Tch, how annoying,’ he thought. ’But at least one of them has a brain.’

The five elves moved at once, their elven speed a blur as they closed in from all sides. Taren came from the right, his sword a high arc. Two others charged from the left, their blades aimed low. Jor circled around to his back, while Valeria drew her bow from a distance, looking for a clear shot.

It was a classic pincer movement, designed to overwhelm and kill.

’Good,’ he thought, a thrill shooting through him. This was finally starting to feel like a real test.

He didn’t try to meet them head-on. He Void Stepped again.

He vanished from the center of their closing trap and reappeared directly in front of Valeria. She was twenty meters away, pulling her bowstring taut. Her emotionless face finally cracked, her eyes widening in pure shock as he materialized less than a foot from her.

She didn’t even have time to release the arrow.

His left hand shot out, not to attack, but to grab the front of her tunic. He pulled her forward, using her as a human—elf—shield.

"Valeria!" Jor screamed.

The arrow she had been about to fire went off, the string slipping from her shocked fingers. It flew harmlessly over Nox’s shoulder and into the trees.

He held her in front of him, his forged dagger pressed lightly against her throat. "What were you saying about attacking together?" he asked, his voice a low whisper in her ear.

Her body was rigid, her heart pounding against his arm. The other four elves skidded to a halt, their attack broken, their faces a mixture of fury and disbelief.

"Let her go, filth!" Taren roared.

"Now why would I do that?" He turned to Valeria, "Pretty cute face you have there, would be a shame if it got messed up."

Valeria’s breath hitched, her stoic facade shattering completely at his words. A faint flush crept up her neck.

He felt the subtle shift in her body, the flicker of fear and indignation. ’tch, makes me look like the bullies i hate.’ freeweɓnøvel~com

He had no intention of actually hurting her. That wasn’t the point. The point was to break their formation, to shatter their confidence.

He shoved her, hard.

She stumbled backward, tripping over her own feet before crashing into Taren and another elf who were rushing forward. The three of them went down in a tangled heap of limbs and elven pride.

"There," he said, dismissing his void-forged dagger with a flick of his wrist. "Your shield is back. Now what?"

Jor’s face was pure fury. "You coward! You hide behind tricks and hostages! Is that the only way a human can fight?"

"He’s right!" Taren shouted, untangling himself from the pile and getting to his feet. "Stop your teleporting games and face us with honor!"

Nox let out a long, theatrical sigh. The sound was pure, manufactured boredom. "Honor? You want to talk about honor when it’s five against one?" He shook his head. "You guys are really one-note, you know that?"

’They’re just like the bullies back at school,’ he thought. ’All tough talk and pack mentality. They can’t handle it when someone doesn’t play by their stupid rules.’ But fine. If they wanted a show, he’d give them one. It was a good chance to test the limits of his new Primal Void skill anyway.

"Fine," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "You want me to fight ’like a real man’?" He hopped down from the slight rise he was on, landing softly on the hard-packed earth of the arena. "You got it."

He didn’t draw a weapon. He didn’t summon his dark energy. He just raised his fists, settling into a low, bouncy stance. He vaguely remembered seeing some old boxing movie on TV late one night at the orphanage. The main character stood like this, all coiled energy and sharp angles.

’Was it like this?’ he thought, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. It felt a little awkward, but the power in his muscles from the Primal skill made up for the lack of technique.

The elves just stared at him, their confusion plain on their faces.

"What is this fool doing?" one of them muttered.

Jor’s rage, however, blinded him to the absurdity of the situation. All he saw was the human, weaponless and mocking him.

"He insults us!" Jor roared. "Kill him! Overwhelm him now!"

He charged, and the other four followed his lead, a wave of angry elves surging across the clearing.

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