F-Rank Soul Eater-Chapter 143: It’s All About Pride.

There were too many things wrong with this battle.

Reasons Soren would have preferred not to be here.

The first was that there were just too many eyes on him.

Even the dust from the torn platform did not help in covering the cameras with tracking technology or the eyes of the students with enhanced sight because of their connections to their Shades.

This meant that Soren could not use the range of abilities he had in his arsenal—as he was keeping them a secret.

If he did, this would raise a lot of questions and would bring trouble to him.

The second was because in the arsenal of abilities he had—those he had gotten from the train, Goldsworth’s was the only ability he never figured out to use.

Soren had taken time to use each and every ability—to understand them.

That way he could use them when he needed to.

But Goldsworth’s was different. Soren had tried.

He could feel the presence of the Shade there—it was strong—and unlike some other shades Chronovore consumed, this one was not badly destroyed.

However, Soren could not just access it.

The Shade gave him a weird feeling. It was like...

...He was not qualified.

Back then, Soren had not thought too much about it and threw it to the back of his mind.

He even assumed that if he could not use it, then Goldsworth would not be able to use it.

But he was mistaken.

Nevertheless, he had to fight.

20,000 points were riding on it.

He was no fool and understood what was going on.

They were trying to make a point of him.

After all, he was the rising F–rank commoner.

The one that had dared to stand against Nobles and was practically winning.

The possibility of his status as a Waterfell only made matters worse.

Basically, Soren was a thorn in their flesh, and Goldsworth was the instrument they would use to whip him back in line.

Of course, Soren could simply just give up and forfeit the match. Take his twenty thousand points, a massive loss, and walk away.

However, he didn’t.

Why?

The reason was simple. If they would pay that many points to see him suffer now, Soren could only imagine what would happen if he won.

Yes. They would send more.

And he would make even more outrageous demands.

He could not help but think about it and smirk.

He might have just found a money glitch that was suited to him and him alone.

—if he won, of course.

Whip...

The attack split the ground again.

A drop of sweat fell from Soren’s brow. Without the range of abilities he had access to, battling Goldsworth was proving to be very difficult.

He had not even been able to close the distance between them.

Goldsworth was a ranged fighter.

And his defense was not weak.

Soren whipped out his dagger.

His mind made quick, sharp calculations.

Right now, the platform was akin to an inescapable dome, and he could not use his long-range attacks.

But there were still abilities he could use in secret.

For example, Bulb’s multiplying ability and Ivory’s frog body enhancement.

As long as he did not use the tongue enhancement, he should be in the clear. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Now, for a quick test if this was going to work.

Soren’s gaze was fixed on Goldsworth’s hand movements.

Every finger motion meant a whip that could split a boulder was heading his way.

The noble boy chuckled loudly, pride filling his voice.

"Didn’t they say you were tough? The F–rank capable of getting first place in the orientation garden.

Now look at you! Running around like a headless chicken. Hahaha... Don’t worry, Clown, I’ll hang your Glassheart in my room to remember you by.

You should be grateful. I’m being kind."

The golden strings glowed brighter, and the force they fell with was more intense.

However, Soren did not dodge this time around. Instead, he used his dagger to defend against the attack.

Boom.

Soren’s legs sank into the earth. The thin golden whips were not just sharp. They were also very heavy.

"SHIT!" He cursed—muscles tightening as he activated Ivory’s frog-body-enhancing ability.

However, his Blackfield flared.

Danger, from behind.

Soren dove to the side, barely dodging the whip that scraped some of his hair, as he rolled on the ground.

He looked ahead. "Of course, I should have thought about that."

The whips, regardless of their earth-shattering abilities, were still whips.

As such, they were flexible. When he blocked that attack with his dagger, the other end of the whip came for him from behind.

"YES!" Goldsworth mused. "That’s where trash like you belongs: beneath my feet—a rug."

His red soul energy flared more. The golden whip got brighter as more attacks came for Soren.

Three this time around.

One managed to barely scrape his forearm.

It stung.

Blood splashed in the air.

The Sponsor chats were wild with praise.

[Golden Finger: Look at him roll on the ground like the rat that he is. This is what I paid good money for. Let him suffer. Rip him apart.]

[Chandelier Lights: Skin the trash alive. Let him know respect.

[...]

There was more.

Of course, there were a few people on Soren’s side—expecting him to do better—to fight better.

The arena was no different, voices drowning one another.

Each one screaming out their own desire.

The Commoners were pushing him to win. The nobles were laughing and cheering.

Soren was under a lot of pressure. Even when he fought the antibody kings, he had not felt this much pressure.

If not for his experience, Blackfield, and his speed, there was no way an F-rank could have been able to survive this long in a fight against an A-rank Soulbound warrior with training.

This was training that Goldsworth had since he was little.

Soren even had a feeling that Goldsworth’s Shade might have been specifically tailored for him.

For a person that supposedly just bonded a few weeks ago, his proficiency in using it was incredible.

No wonder he had been in the first place position in the Orientation garden and not Vass.

Goldsworth understood his weaknesses and strengths.

He stayed far away tainting his advantage, and even if a person managed to close the distance, he was still surrounded by the golden whips like home of a spider.

Even worse, Goldsworth was yet to use his First Form technique.

It was like he was mocking Soren. And attempt to remind Soren that he was not in his league.

—that he did not need to use his full strength.

Soren had to admit, Goldsworth was a challenging opponent.

However, not going full force from the beginning was Goldsworth’s undoing.

Soren’s battle-trained eyes had managed to observe a pattern in attacking.

Goldsworth had ten fingers, but not all ten whips worked at a time.

At most four—each controlled by a finger.

Soren noted that the others were firmly concentrated on maintaining Goldsworth’s defense.

Soren had managed to block an attack with his dagger earlier on by using the abilities of two shades—Ivory’s frog and the bulb.

Soren knew that if he could get close enough.

There was a possibility he could give an attack that would ensure his win.

Of course. He would have to give it his all.

"Goldsworth, guess what? This commoner is going to make you kowtow again. You are going to eat dirt."

Soren stated as his eyes tracked the trajectory of the whips, allowing his Blackfield to guide him.

His muscles tightened, focusing strength in his legs.

Boom.

He kicked against the ground.

"What the hell is he doing?" Someone asked in the stand.

"Is he trying to attack Goldsworth head-on? That’s suicide."

Everyone agreed with that statement.

Everyone, except Li.

His gaze focused. "Madman." He complimented with a slight smirk.

Goldsworth frowned, his fingers moved, and whips rained down.

However, in an unexpected twist, Soren was dodging every attack.

The most incredible part of it all was that he did so without dropping in speed.

"Unbelievable, how is he doing that?" Many watched. Shocked.

This made Goldsworth frown; his movements became more desperate.

By now, the platform looked like a war between dynamites had been fought on it.

Soren ran, gaze on Goldsworth’s fingers.

The index moved before the forefinger, and the forefinger always attacked from the left.

He dodged.

The closer Soren got, the clearer it became. It was also easier to predict.

Also, Goldsworth was careful with how he used the whips close to his own body.

Soren smirked.

Goldsworth panicked. ’How... how is he doing that? How is he getting closer? No... no..."

However, no matter how he panicked, the patterns remained the same.

And even when there was a little deviation, Soren quickly adapted to it.

Finally, Soren had reached the golden strings protecting Goldsworth.

He leaped high into the air—dagger coming down in full force.

"Didn’t I tell you? I am going to make you eat dirt."

Goldsworth’s eyes widened—filled with fear

And for a moment... a slight second, Soren saw something unbelievable.

The golden strings glitched... like static.