The Phantom Riser

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE - SAGE

System Update

Victor Vaneki

Special Skill move: Sage; gives the user complete control over the elements of nature.

Active time: ???

***

Victor walked with a prestigious poise towards Jovak. His very presence gave life to the withered plants on the ground. The earth that had been destroyed because of their fighting began to heal as well. His presence but peace as well as a sure promise of death.

Jovak was excited. Isaac, who was terrified was perplexed as to how Jovak could stay positive in such a situation. “Now more than ever, I want his power for myself,” he said as he took an offensive stance. “Stay out of this, Isaac. This fight is beyond you,” Jovak said.

Isaac more than happily obliged. He was strong, but because he was strong, he was a good judge of strength as well. He knew clearly when an opponent was way beyond his league. And Victor was miles ahead of him in his current state. It was now a question of whether the Beast and the Phantom Riser would seek to attack him. Their battle might be inconsequential compared to the fight between Jovak and the Ascient… no, it wasn’t. the Ascient was a handful on his own. The last thing they needed was his teammates interfering. He needed to make sure that Jovak could focus squarely on his match with the Ascient. That was why he followed him in the first place. To allow Jovak to fight with as few restrictions as possible.

Kiro had a fair idea of what was going on in Isaac’s head. But he wasn’t keen on a fight, however. “Don’t worry about it, Isaac. We won’t interfere. Well, we won’t need to. Let the fight between these two decide our fate. I’m sure you can accept that, right?” Kiro suggested.

Isaac thought about it for a while. There was no reason not to take him up on his offer. Besides, that way he could monitor Jovak’s fight and support him if necessary. And if they decided to break their promise, then it would be fairly easy for him to react. He sat back as a gesture of retreat. Victor raised a gigantic root from the ground and took a swing at Jovak. Jovak caught the root in his hands and it sent an intense shockwave. Isaac almost rolled over as a result of it. Monitor the match? Support Jovak? Who was he kidding? That was just one attack. If he stayed too close to them, he could end up being collateral damage. He noticed that Kiro and Karenia had already put a considerable distance between themselves and the ensuing battle. So far, that it was difficult to see them. But he was sure that they had a good view of the battle as well.

***

System Update

Victor Vaneki

Skill move: Lightning Barrage; sends a foray of lightning strikes from the sky.

***

System Update

Jovak Leonard

Skill Move: Warp gate; absorbs attacks and reflects them back to the opponent.

***

Jovak opted to return Victor’s lightning barrage, however, he was unaware that elemental attacks could not attack him in his current state. The lightning strikes stopped midair and went straight at Jovak.

***

System Update

Jovak Leonard

Skill Move: Passing Wind; the user automatically evades any attack.

Limit: 00:30

***

Jovak moved through the bolts of lightning as he sought an opening in Victor’s defense. Victor spared him no time to breathe. He sent multiple balls of fire. He was looking to exhaust Jovak as much as he could, but it wasn’t too effective. Jovak manages to maneuver around Victor.

***

System Update

Jovak Leonard

Skill Move: Bone spear; the user creates a spear by protruding a bone from any part of his body.

Max range: 100m

***

Victor shattered the bone spear with a lightning strike. Jovak sought to escape with his ‘passing wind’ but Victor could finally see the wind energy that powered it. With one hand gesture, he removed the Passing wind, stripping Jovak of his skill. This time, his lightning bolts hit home.

***

System Update

Jovak Leonard

Skill Move: Cry of the Dead; heals the user completely even if he is in a near-death situation.

***

System Update

Jovak Leonard

Skill Move: Sonic boom; the user sends out a destructive amount of sound wave.

***

The effect of the sonic boom was so intense, that it affected Isaac, Kiro, and Karenia. Kiro shielded himself and Karenia in a force field sphere while Isaac wrapped himself in an energy cocoon. Victor took full damage. There was little he could do to protect himself from the soundwaves.

***

System Update

Victor Vaneki

Skill Move: Beware the Forest; creates a forest out of nothing. Everything with that forest is under the control of the user.

***

In an instant, gigantic trees sprung up from the ground, turning what was a barren land into a mighty forest.

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System Update

Jovak Leonard

Skill Move: Stealth; the user turns invisible to sight, smell and hearing.

***

Jovak felt this might be a good time to use stealth attacks. The trees would provide a good cover. While he was sure that it had advantages for Victor as well, he was going to exploit the drawbacks of the ability as well. How wrong he was.

Nothing occurred in the forest that Victor was unaware of. In a moment, it became a battle between Jovak and the forest. Victor didn’t even need to raise a finger. Every leaf, every branch, and every root were his enemy. He cut through as many as he could, but they soon quickly overwhelmed him. He found himself drowning in unending roots. They rushed at him with the pure intent to devour him. Heaps and heaps of roots surrounded him, each looking to squeeze the life out of him. He didn’t notice at first, but his stealth ability had disappeared completely. The trees were constantly draining his energy, so he had a hard time using his abilities. He struggled endlessly as he sunk within the sea of roots that looked to bury him for me. But his efforts were futile. He sighed one last time as he finally retreated. There was no use struggling at that point.

“I really hoped I wouldn’t have to use this at all,” he said. There was a hint of sadness as the words escaped his lips.

***

System Update

Jovak Leonard

Skill Move: God Killer