CHAPTER 91: GOTCHA B*TCH

’What a creep.’ Auren rolled his eyes before jumping out of Micha’el’s wide swing. It seems like asking for help from that creepy Rhiki is out of his option.

Jaira began to move toward the platform, but before she could intervene, Rhiki appeared in front of her, eyes cold while shaking his head.

She stopped.

That look said everything.

"Don’t interfere. Don’t ruin the fun."

’So that’s how it is, huh?’ Auren thought, his heart pounding.

’These guys are really gonna let me die in a "friendly spar," huh? Figures.’

Auren scowled as he dodged another wild slash.

’Can’t trust those of those overgrown forest dogs after all...’

A blur of steel screamed past his cheek, close enough to ruffle his hair.

His instincts roared to life, adrenaline flooding his veins.

’Damn that was close.’

He dropped low and threw himself backward just as Micha’el’s blade hammered into the platform where his head had been. The impact sent shards of stone spraying like shrapnel.

’If Bigbird were here, I’d be dodging all this garbage with my eyes closed...’

The ground trembled under his boots. Deep cracks splintered out from the impact point, spreading like a spider’s web across the platform. The shockwaves were only getting worse with every attack.

Auren exhaled, steadying his breath.

’I need to finish this. One clean move- no more stalling. I can’t afford to waste mana... but maybe just a little.’

He quickly distanced himself and closed his eyes for a heartbeat, reaching inward, past his frayed nerves and the clammor of the crowd.

’wassup buddy!’

There, nestled deep within his mana core, pulsing calmly is the glowing golden egg. Still brimming with power and silently feeding off his dwindling mana reserves like a patient parasite.

’Just a little won’t hurt,’ Auren thought.

With practiced ease, he channeled a small but concentrated surge of mana making sure to use just enough, guiding it from the core of his stomach then to his chest, threading it carefully through his inner pathways, up to his neck, and straight into his eyes.

[TIGER FOCUS]

From there- it surged outward.

SHAAAA—

Auren’s eyes snapped open.

This time, they didn’t just glow.

They blazed.

Radiant gold burned in his irises, shaped like a tiger’s gaze- slitted, focused and beautifully untamed.

It wasn’t just light. It was presence.

Silent, yet overwhelming.

The transformation didn’t need sound to announce itself.

It commanded the moment.

A hush fell over the clearing.

Spines stiffened. Breaths caught. Even seasoned warriors among the elves found themselves instinctively stepping back the moment they saw Auren’s eyes.

It was like watching a divine predator awaken.

To the onlookers, it felt as if they were staring into the eyes of a Holy Beast- not just any beast, but the True Golden Phoenix itself.

Anast’cia flinched. The elders froze mid-breath. Even the rowdy onlookers hushed, as if some ancient force had stirred before them.

"Now this is more like it." Auren smirked, confidence blooming across his face.

Tiger Focus wasn’t some fancy spell from a book or a taught technique passed down by elves or sages. No- this one was Auren’s own invention and just for him alone.

It was born from weeks of trial and error, of staring at diagrams, testing reflexes, and mapping how mana moved through every nerve, organ, and muscles in his eyes.

He studied how intention could influence perception, how control could sharpen clarity and how mana can be traced through his subjects.

A compressed, high-intensity version of Falcon Focus- one he had seen humans and elves use before- but his was different.

Tiger Focus was all about precision.

No wide scans. No excess noise. Just brutal, focused insight.

Where Falcon Focus let you see the battlefield, Tiger Focus let you dissect it.

Every twitch, every breath, every tremor in the air around him became magnified.

He could see it all. The slight flex of muscle before motion. The lingering footprints of mana as it flowed through the body. Trails of energy, glowing like river veins, webbed across the combatants around him.

And then- he saw it.

Micha’el’s mana core and how they flow on his body.

It was turbulent. Cracked at the edges. Flowing too fast, and sometimes too hot on certain areas.

In other words, he was completely unstable.

’There it is...’

Auren’s lips curled upward, eyes narrowing like a predator who’d just spotted his prey’s not one but many other blind spots.

The real fight was about to begin.

Auren’s vision locked onto key points- especially on unusual mana surges that shouldn’t be there at the first place.

’One on his right shoulder. Another near the upper neck. A third around his left knee, and a particularly messy one under the jawline.’

Auren burned every movement into memory. After all, this was a one-time trick.

His mana reserves were too limited and pushing it any further might just knock him out cold.

’His mana’s spiraling. He’s overloaded. No reset, no restraint... He’s practically a live red glowing grenade with a timer.’

Auren’s thoughts snapped into action. His movements are lightning-quick.

’Alright then. Time to pull out a little Earth special move!’

Micha’el roared, his voice raw and primal, as he lunged forward. His greatsword spun like a windmill in a storm, its edges slicing the air with deadly intent.

The audience barely had time to react.

In the blink of an eye, Micha’el lifted his weapon for a decisive finishing blow—

CLANG!

But Auren didn’t parry in the conventional sense.

He let go.

Right in the middle of the clash, he released his grip and allowed his blade to spin away, helping him absorb the momentum of Micha’el’s brute swing while he dove deeper out of his swinging radar.

The unexpected maneuver snapped Micha’el’s focus- just for a heartbeat.

"What the- ?!" Micha’el’s face twisted in confusion.

He’d braced for a retreat or block from Auren, not...

This.

Auren surged forward, not away.

His body weaved in tight, ducking under the sweeping arc of steel. With a clean pivot and perfect timing, he slipped around Micha’el’s dominant side, his feet almost gliding as if the air had parted for him.

In that breathless moment, Auren appeared behind him- like a phantom stepping through the seams of reality.

His arm coiled around Micha’el’s throat like a steel cable. His leg swept in, hooking beneath Micha’el’s footing, locking the two of them in place.

And with ice in his voice, Auren leaned in close and whispered right by his ear:

"Gotcha, bitch."