The referee's arm swiftly dropped, and Osquin immediately unleashed his three optimally configured soul rings.
The Flame Armor Shield materialized on his right arm, but Osquin didn't rush to move. Instead, he assumed a textbook defensive stance right away.
Through the referee's brief introduction, Osquin knew that his opponent, a slender middle-aged man with three soul rings—white, yellow, and purple—possessed the Shadow Rat Martial Soul and was an agile-attack type Soul Master.
Having gained extensive combat experience through virtual battles in the All-Knowing Library, Osquin was well aware that when facing an agile-attack type Soul Master, he needed to be wary of a speed-based ambush at the start.
Osquin's opponent, the slender middle-aged man, was a Soul Elder who had been frequenting the Grand Soul Arena for years, so his strength was naturally up to par. He quickly completed his Martial Soul manifestation when Osquin released the Flame Armor Shield.
From Osquin's perspective, the middle-aged man's fingernails had noticeably lengthened after manifesting his Martial Soul, resembling rat claws. Moreover, his entire form seemed shrouded in a layer of shadow, making him appear somewhat unreal.
Could he be a stealth-focused agile-attack type Soul Master? Noticing this change, Osquin had this thought flash through his mind. Maintaining his defensive stance, Osquin began to move rapidly towards the center of the arena.
If Osquin were just a speed-type, agility-focused Soul Master, there wouldn't be a problem with him choosing to stand in a corner of the arena to defend and counterattack.
After all, the terrain of the arena's corner could effectively limit his opponent's attack direction. This way, Osquin wouldn't have to worry about the opponent using their speed advantage to circle him endlessly, exhausting him. He'd only need to defend the 180 degrees in front of him.
However, there were also certain problems with the terrain advantage of the arena's corners.
Due to the angle of the lights, there were large areas of shadow in the corners of the arena. If the Shadow Rat Soul Master in front of him truly possessed the ability to use shadows to conceal their movements, as Osquin suspected, then the shadows in the corners of the arena would become the opponent's best asset.
Although he wasn't worried about the opponent breaking through his defenses with a single attack, this was, after all, the corner of the arena. Once Osquin failed to detect the opponent's attack direction in the first instance, he would likely be knocked off the stage due to his inability to maintain his balance after being hit.
According to the rules of the Grand Soul Arena, falling off the stage would result in an immediate loss, which was something Osquin couldn't accept.
The center of the arena was different. That was where the lights converged, which could greatly restrain the opponent's ability to hide. Also, not being on the edge of the arena meant Osquin wouldn't have to worry about being knocked off with a single blow. This was indirectly increasing Osquin's margin for error during the fight.
Walking steadily towards the center of the arena, Osquin frowned slightly behind his soul-guide faceplate as he watched the Shadow Rat Soul Master on the other side of the arena, who hadn't made any move.
"You're not stopping me... Is it because even if I stand in the middle of the arena, it won't affect your performance? Or have you already started acting, but I haven't noticed?"
Having gotten used to analyzing his opponent's movements, Osquin had these thoughts flash through his mind. Without hesitation, he lit up his third soul ring. After completing the incantation of his soul spell in a voice only he could hear, a miniature burger appeared directly in Osquin's mouth. Hidden behind his soul-powered face mask, Osquin made no attempt to hide his chewing.
Even though I'd prefer to meet a strong, head-on attack-type soul master right now, that doesn't mean I don't have ways to counter an agility-attack-type soul master.
Seeing Osquin directly light up his third soul ring, the Shadow Rat soul master, who hadn't moved since completing his martial soul embodiment, immediately took action. In Osquin's eyes, the figure originally in the corner of the arena quickly faded and disappeared. At the same time, a faint shadow appeared less than ten meters in front of Osquin and quickly charged towards him. As it charged, that figure's thousand-year third soul ring was also lit without hesitation.
Shocked, Osquin immediately retreated two steps. While creating some distance, he also urged his soul power to release the energy defense shield on the Flame Armor Shield. Of course, Osquin didn't forget to let his first soul ring flash as well.
The reason Osquin's Soul Ring only flashed instead of immediately activating a Soul Skill was simply because he had hidden miniature versions of his first and second Soul Skills – Mind-Made, Crispy Shrimp Fried Chicken Burgers – in his mouth before going on stage, and swallowed them the moment he got up there.
Shifting the perspective to the Shadow Rat Soul Master for the time being, it seemed he hadn't made any moves since releasing his Martial Soul, but in fact, he had already activated his first and second Soul Skills.
The Shadow Rat Soul Master's first Soul Skill created a phantom that Osquin hadn't detected any issues with. Although it had no offensive power, this phantom was incredibly realistic. As long as the opponent didn't attack it, it would be difficult to discover that the phantom wasn't the Shadow Rat Soul Master's true form.
The Shadow Rat Soul Master's second Soul Skill was Stealth. Combined with the effect of the first Soul Skill, the Shadow Rat Soul Master could move forward while invisible. Though his speed wouldn't be fast, the concealment was undeniably excellent.
Relying on the characteristics of the Shadow Rat Martial Soul, if the first Soul Skill of the thin, middle-aged man wasn't broken, he could even achieve a true stealth combat effect after ten minutes.
However, normally, his opponent wouldn't give him so much preparation time. Nevertheless, the Shadow Rat Soul Master would still try his best to maintain the duration of his first Soul Skill, because the longer it lasted, the better the stealth effect the Shadow Rat Soul Master would gain after the Soul Skill ended.
Initially, seeing that his opponent today was a defense-type Soul Master, the Shadow Rat Soul Master was quite pleased, because defense-type Soul Masters usually lacked offensive methods, and those with ranged attacks were even rarer.
Normally, defense-type Soul Masters would typically assume a defensive stance and wait for their opponent to attack. This would allow the Shadow Rat Soul Master to gain a longer pre-skill activation time for his stealth ability.
Initially, things did indeed unfold as the thin middle-aged man had anticipated. Osquin didn't immediately launch an attack, only preparing his defenses. However, the middle-aged man hadn't expected Osquin to activate his third Soul Skill without being attacked first.
It's important to understand that for a Soul Elder-level soul master, there's a fundamental difference between using their third Soul Skill and not.
The Shadow Rat soul master, who didn't know that Osquin was fundamentally a food-type soul master, felt he couldn't hold back any longer. He needed to attack quickly, as the third Soul Skill was used to expand Osquin's defense area.
Because he didn't know the effect of Osquin's third Soul Skill, which didn't seem to change on the surface, he was unsure of its purpose. If the Soul Skill grew stronger over time, like his own, then delaying would only put him at a disadvantage.
The Shadow Rat soul master, revealing his form, blurred into a line as he charged towards Osquin. Osquin, holding up the energy shield of his Flame Armor Shield, saw a flicker of seriousness in his eyes.
Not only does he have the ability to effectively conceal himself, but he's also quite fast? At the Soul Elder level, this is a truly troublesome opponent.
Thinking this, Osquin slowly closed his eyes. The figure that had disappeared in the corner of the arena had already told Osquin that his opponent had the ability to deceive his vision.
Although he didn't know the exact effect of the Soul Skill, Osquin felt that when facing an opponent capable of deceiving the eyes, it might be a good idea to abandon visual observation, the most common method, and instead utilize other senses.
......
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(End of Chapter)