The moment Jay activated║Terror Apparition║, Wibbit froze, his attacks ceasing as terror overtook him. A vision of his worst nightmare played out in his mind, leaving him unable to resist as he was pulled into Jay's grasp. Terror spread across Wibbit's face, and he screamed in his usual high-pitched yet soft voice, "Please don't kill my brother!"
Jay instantly noticed the change as Wibbit's voice reverted to normal, free of the groggy tone that signaled Urzo's possession. It wasn't just Wibbit—everyone within a 60-meter radius was paralyzed, their faces etched with terror as they shouted in fear.
Even those who had been relentlessly attacking Jay now stopped entirely. However, Jay observed that anyone further than 60 meters away remained unaffected, confirming the limited range of his passive skill.
Wasting no time, Jay sent a part of his consciousness into Wibbit's Spirit Space to locate and remove the Possession Seed implanted by Urzo. To his dismay, there was no seed to be found. Jay quickly realized that Urzo had retracted the seed just in time.
To confirm his suspicion, Jay released Wibbit, who still trembled with fear, his mind trapped in the aftermath of a traumatic memory. Moving swiftly, Jay approached a nearby Alpha Chosen and placed a hand on his shoulder, diving into his Spirit Space to search for any trace of a Possession Seed. Again, he found nothing.
But after a meticulous inspection, Jay discovered something faint: a remnant of the seed. Its traces were so faint that he had to mobilize MJ to scan every corner of the Spirit Space.
The process would take several seconds, and in the meantime, Jay prepared a Volatile Aqua Shell around himself and the Alpha Chosen. The dense, protective barrier, composed of Akor's volatile aqua element, shielded them from the unending barrage of attacks still raining down on him.
Though the shell held strong, deflecting every attack aimed at Jay, the nearby Alpha Chosen weren't as fortunate. Still under the effect of║Terror Apparition║, they stood immobilized and were struck down by friendly fire, their lives lost for no reason other than their inability to defend themselves.
It wasn't just a handful of casualties—by now, the death toll had climbed to around 200. Despite the carnage, Urzo remained indifferent, showing no regard for the Alpha Chosen who perished in the crossfire.
Just then, MJ's voice rang out in Jay's mind with an urgent warning. 'Master! Look out!'
Jay immediately exited the Spirit Space of the Alpha Chosen he was inspecting, only to see the copper-brown lance hurtling toward him. It was less than an inch away, spinning rapidly with several aligned metal spikes that made it resemble a drill. The lance had easily pierced through the Volatile Aqua Shell, and in that moment, it was on the verge of striking him.
Through the breach in the protective shell, Jay caught sight of his attacker: Wibbit—or rather, Urzo, who had once again possessed him.
Realization dawned on Jay as he pieced it together: the seed remnants acted as a gateway, allowing Urzo to send and retract his Possession Seed at will. Wibbit was still far from free of Urzo's control.
Jay's mind kicked into overdrive, processing the situation at full efficiency. Thanks to his exceptional speed and heightened time perception, the split second stretched into what felt like an eternity. The world slowed to a crawl, giving Jay ample time to calculate his escape.
But little did he know, Urzo had prepared a counter for his speed.
Suddenly, Jay's entire body was overwhelmed by a wave of weakness as hundreds of debuffs stacked onto him in an instant. His overall stats plummeted to less than one-tenth of their original value, leaving him weaker than before.
However, those debuffs hadn't affected the looted stats that were integrated into his attributes. In contrast, all his other stats—whether gained through level-ups, Spirit Equipment, Spiritual Fruits, or Achievement Titles—had been reduced to one-tenth of their original value, dropping from a total of 1400 to just 140.
The sudden loss of over 1,000 stats caught him off guard. For a fraction of a second—a moment that felt like a lifetime to Jay—he struggled to adapt. But thanks to the state of Synchrony, his body and mind adjusted rapidly, mitigating the effects of the sudden debilitation. His movement speed, though reduced, remained formidable.
However, Urzo wasn't done. Jay felt the Pseudo-Speed Energy around him dissipate entirely as Rex's Innate Exclusive Skill,║Acceleration Buff║, deactivated without warning. To his dismay, the skill was no longer accessible, robbing him of a crucial speed boost and slowing his movements even further.
As Jay puzzled over how it had happened, the lance struck, lodging itself deep into his stomach. It tore through his full-body armor, drilling relentlessly as blood spurted from his mouth.
Reacting quickly, Jay morphed a portion of the Centauri Kavach, redirecting more of its material to cover the pierced spot. This adjustment reinforced the armor, preventing the lance from drilling any deeper.
To Jay's shock, the attack carried the power of a Tier-6 Low-Phase lifeform, far exceeding Wibbit's usual capabilities. He speculated that Urzo had amplified Wibbit's stats through his possession ability, pushing the power output beyond Wibbit's natural limits.
As he stabilized himself, Jay caught sight of Possessed Wibbit. Despite the gaping hole in his own stomach—though only half as severe as Jay's—Wibbit's crazed expression remained intact.
Through gritted teeth and evident pain, Wibbit spoke in Urzo's groggy voice. "What a strange ability… Half the damage I inflict on you is being transferred to me, and there's no escaping it. Show me everything you've got! Let's see who falls first—you or this Tournament Manager!"
Urzo's words confirmed what Jay expected: the ability being referenced was║RECOIL MANTLE║, an ability that reflected 54% of the damage Jay received back onto the attacker—in this case, it was Wibbit, not Urzo, who had possessed him.
The result was that the reflected damage slightly exceeded the original, ensuring Wibbit would succumb first if this continued.
While Jay's health reserves were on par with a Tier-7 lifeform thanks to Lokesh's Innate Talent,║TRUTHBOUND║, giving him a significant advantage, the situation was far from ideal.
However, if the Tournament Manager were to die, Jay would be held accountable, as it would be the reflected damage that caused his death. The penalty could be even more severe than merely losing rewards or being disqualified from the World Tournament.
This was an outcome Jay could not allow. Without hesitation, he toggled off the passive ability of║RECOIL MANTLE║, halting the damage reflection and effectively saving Wibbit from certain death.
However, this decision came at a cost. With the damage reflecting ability disabled, Jay's health began to deplete at an accelerated rate, the lance continuing to drill into him as the battle raged on.
Exciting news! The revamped version of Volume 1 is now live on Kindle . You can find it on Amazon by simply searching the book title. Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoy the new edition!
Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.
The first ten to comment for new chapter releases will get '1 ADVANCED CHAPTER' for free on Earth Alpha Prime's Discord server.
In the discord server, I opened a private channel for those Top 10 candidates, where I posted the respective Advanced Chapter.
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