Reincarnated With a SSS-Rank Hypnosis Skill in Another World-Chapter 32 - Unlucky Pairing...

[The Gods have reached a consensus.]

[They have decided to give you a skill that will be useful for you in your upcoming fight.]

[You have been given the skill: Last Stand.]

[Last Stand]

[Grade: A-Rank]

[Effect: On the verge of death, you will completely heal back to peak condition as if you had never fought in the first place.]

[Cooldown: One Week.]

[Tip: Use carefully.]

I looked at the dozens of messages from the system as I realized that the real key to strength wasn’t the magic of this world. It was the one from the Gods. They had countless skills that they could award me depending on the situation.

It only required me to show my worth to them. To show them that I was one of the best. Something that I would not fail at doing. Not now, not ever.

Magic was still very important. But based on the skill that they had just mindlessly given me... it was clear that I would be able to get something even better in the future, especially if I were to become an apostle.

I knew vaguely what an apostle was based on the fantasy books that I had read in the past. I would basically be able to share some of the powers the God possesses, something extremely powerful. But it was clear that it wouldn’t be easy to become one.

While many of them considered it for a short moment, none of them pulled through.

I needed to show them that I was worth it. And the first path to doing so was winning the tournament against that black-haired anomaly.

I could only hope that I wouldn’t fail, especially since I now had basically two chances at winning. Something that could throw a lot of fighters off if they ignored this particular detail.

What would be crucial would be the element of surprise and timing.

I smiled in the back of my mind as I could already imagine fighting in the final. However, before that, there were still many steps in my way that I would have to conquer. freeweɓnovel.cøm

***

The night was quiet. I didn’t try anything special; I knew rest was necessary. Today would be an important day. I still had to reach the Top 256. I was currently in the Top 1024. It was going by fast, but I could slip up at any given moment if I was given a bad match-up.

I reached the arena today as well, entered the green room, and was met with the quite loud Alek, the weirdo of the elites. Surprisingly, he hadn’t been eliminated just yet, barely winning his fight yesterday.

As for the rest of them, they had won without the slightest sweat.

All of us were currently waiting on the pairings of our opponents for today. The arena had shrunk in size today, with only four battlegrounds, meaning that each of us would only be fighting once today.

Within a few minutes, the pairings came out. Luckily, I hadn’t been put up against anyone in the room.

I was against a certain noble named Vex Snider.

And obviously, I had no clue who he was until Alena, the cold beauty, suddenly spoke up, surprising me.

"Mhm. Your fight will be interesting. That Vex is said to be the best talent that House Snider has produced in the last one hundred years. Let’s see how the ’talent’ of the Vale household fares against him..." she said, clearly teasing me by using the word "talent," almost sounding a little sarcastic deep down.

I frowned upon hearing that, thinking that my fight would be easy when clearly... it wouldn’t be.

***

Vex Snider.

The name didn’t ring any bells—until it did. The whispers in the waiting room started to rise, murmurs floating from the lips of elites who didn’t scare easily.

"He crippled his last opponent."

"Didn’t even touch him. Just... waited."

"House Snider is full of freaks. That poison talent of theirs is unnatural."

I clenched my jaw and kept my expression neutral, but I felt the heat of eyes settling on me. They all wanted to see if I’d fold—if I’d break before the match even began.

Poison.

Talk about bad timing...

I had just come out of a heated discussion with the God of Poison himself, and here I was, fighting against a Poison Master.

I could only shake my head, hoping that I wouldn’t have to use my Blood Dagger today.

Alek stifled a snort. "Better hope he doesn’t breathe on you, Vale. I hear his sweat is venom."

I didn’t look at him. "Maybe I’ll make him sweat, then."

A few snickers echoed around the room. Even Alena’s lips twitched, though she didn’t quite smile.

Time passed quickly after that. Before long, the bell rang out through the arena—deep, guttural, and heavy with meaning. Another round of blood was about to be spilled.

The announcer’s voice boomed across the sky.

"Next match: Jake Vale of the Vale Household... versus... Vex Snider of House Snider!"

The crowd roared, though I barely heard it over the drumming in my chest.

I walked out into the arena under the harsh sun, its heat baking the cracked stone beneath my feet. Across the field stood my opponent—tall, wiry, with eyes that looked like they hadn’t blinked in days. His hair was slicked back with something that glistened green under the light, and even from this distance, I could tell he smelled like something was rotting.

He smiled at me.

A slow, deliberate grin. Like he already knew the outcome.

"Jake Vale," he drawled, voice oily and lazy. "Never heard of you. But they say you’ve got fire in you."

I cracked my neck and offered a crooked smile. "And they say you’re toxic. Guess we’ll both find out soon enough."

He chuckled, low and raspy. "I like you. You’ll make a nice corpse."

The announcer raised his hand.

"Begin!"

The air tightened—

My body tensed—

And Vex moved first before I could even blink.