Skills Challenge (III)

Chapter 24: Skills Challenge (III)

Looking at the destruction it did, Nova took a step back, analyzing the tremendous damage from the fireball.

 'No doubt empowering the fireball with the earrings is a terrifying thing,' Nova concluded mentally, turning to walk away.

 Turning, he saw Alex looking at him with awe and even a spark of admiration. At the look he was getting, Nova just shrugged and walked away even further.

 He didn't care how others looked, at least not now, as he knew one thing... he was going to change, both in body, soul and mentally, Nova knew very well that he was destined to change to survive in this world.

 Leaning against the wall, Nova lay there, hands folded across his chest.

 With a face that didn't reveal a single emotion, he focused his gaze on Alex, who suddenly shuddered under his gaze.

 'That guy is scary...', Alex thought, turning to face the cockroach doll.

 He knew very well that it wasn't a giant live cockroach, but a doll, but he couldn't help but shiver a little, he had been afraid of insects since he was very young.

But he faced his fear, raised his hand, his palm pointing towards the doll...

 A brown aura surrounded Alex, who was concentrating as much as possible right now.

 From his brown aura, it was almost entirely passed to his right hand which he was extending; from there, several balls of Mana concentrated levitating inches away from his palm.

 Those brown-colored Mana balls soon achieved a more diamond-like shape with a very sharp point, then looked like rocks with an edge so terrifying that Nova, upon seeing it, could have sworn it glowed.

 "Edge of Rocks, go!" shouted Alex.

 Instantly, the sharp rocks went straight toward the doll at terrifying speed, even faster than a fireball, but not Nova's enhanced fireball.

The rocks traveled at such a high speed that they looked like a blur that soon impacted the doll without transmitting a single sound.

 Several pierced the dummy and went embedded in the wall, several others remained stuck in the dummy's body.

 Alex, seeing that his attack worked and that he could see the doll's body, which had several wires and electricity, felt a little relieved, but that relief was short-lived when he heard a screeching sound that startled him.

*Squeak

 With the creaking sound, the doll in front of Alex moved slightly and slowly, scaring Alex to his core.

 Still, Alex had a difficult past, so he was able to overcome his fear, at least diminished, in this death situation.

 'Now I remember what those two masked men said,' Alex said to himself, looking in panic and fear at the doll.

 He remembered that the masked men said that the dolls could attack and that they should use defensive skills.

 At this reminder, Alex's face turned pale, at that very moment the cockroach doll moved.

 Being on the ground with all its kicks and three meters long, it gave a big jump that could easily cover Alex's small body of only 1.70 meters.

 However, Alex was able to react, backing away and enveloping himself in a brown aura.

 With the doll's body already about to crush him, Alex quickly uttered his defensive skill.

 "Wall of earth!!!" shouted Alex in panic, instantly, the earth around him moved rapidly.

 The earth around Alex created a protective layer that covered the space above him.

Quickly, Alex put both his hands on the layer of earth, so that at least he could hold on even longer thanks to its support, even if it was minimal.

*Boom!

 The cockroach doll impacted against the earthen wall, which could barely support its weight, having several cracks on its surface.

 If it wasn't for Alex holding the barrier from the inside, it would have possibly been destroyed into thousands of pieces upon impact and the full weight of the cockroach.

 But that was, without a doubt, bad conditions, now Alex was sweating buckets, using all his willpower to hold the barrier that little by little had more and more cracks.

 'Shit, if I had reacted earlier and without being afraid, I would have dodged this, but now...', mentally regretting, Alex felt that at this moment he was not far from being close to death if he lost a little bit of strength, the barrier would be destroyed and he would be crushed.

 Still, he had a look full of determination on his face.

 Concentrating all his Mana, Alex's body was once again enveloped in a brown aura, its color much brighter and more intense than before.

 The barrier instantly began to change at the hand of Alex's intense Mana aura, gradually the cracks in its surface closed.

 Alex took a deep breath to utter the most powerful spell in his arsenal.

"Sharp Barrier!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs to encourage his determination. At that instant, the barrier he was holding, began to have a change.

 The surface that was holding the weight of the dummy, previously flat, sharp thorns began to protrude, as long as a man's arm.

 The thorns dug into the cockroach's body, still, it did not react, making Alex desperate.

 'If it was a real one, it had writhed in pain and retreated, but now...', being at his peak of despair, he felt his soul escaping from his body.

 At that moment he remembered the guy who destroyed the doll with a fireball, he was the only person who could save him now, but on second thought, Alex concluded that there was no way he was going to save him.

 After all, it was in his best interest to have as few participants as possible so that he could have a better chance of getting in.

 But contrary to his expectations, a dull sound as if something was traveling at high speeds rang out, so much so that it seemed to cut through the wind itself, the next second, a colossal explosion happened.

 *Boom

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