Chapter 164: Raven vs papabear

This was the kind of training he was looking for. He wanted interesting opponents to fight. Although his primary purpose for entering the Arena’s Nexus was to find opponents he could defeat to gain essence and improve, he still preferred choosing ones that caught his attention, not just anyone.

He preferred fighting interesting players rather than ordinary ones.

After screening for a while, he came across an interesting name and avatar. The name was written boldly — Raven. The avatar looked unusual, almost funny. He wore a dark blue cloak that covered his entire body, with only his face visible.

Atlas sent him a request.

Shortly after, it was accepted.

He believed the fight would be interesting, especially since the opponent was a C-rank.

Here’s your edited version — corrected for grammar, clarity, and flow, without adding new events:

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After a while, Raven appeared right in front of him. He didn’t say anything at first.

“Raven? That’s a really funny name,” Jelo said.

“I could say the same about you,” Raven replied calmly. “Papa Bear. I can see it on your profile. That’s quite an interesting name.”

Jelo chuckled. He knew the name Papa Bear sounded ridiculous and funny. That was exactly why he reacted that way.

He stared at Raven.

“I’m not here to talk,” Raven continued. “I’m here to fight.”

Jelo chuckled once more. This guy was confident.

Well, I’m not surprised, he thought. He’s a C-rank. He must believe he’s going to beat me. He should’ve seen my record. I’ve hardly lost any matches here.

In truth, he had only lost one.

So I can see why he’s confident. He probably thinks I’m just an E-rank because that’s what’s written on my profile.

But none of that mattered.

“All that matters is strength,” Jelo said, gripping his fists.

He stood ready to fight.

Raven came in fast, slashing diagonally across Jelo’s chest without a word. Jelo activated Skilled Guard on instinct — his skin hardened like cooling iron, and the strike scraped across him without biting deep. He shoved Raven back and reset his footing.

Then the shadow hit him.

The echo of Raven’s first slash replayed itself three seconds later — same angle, same force — and Jelo hadn’t moved far enough. It caught him across the ribs and knocked the air from his lungs. He staggered, already learning the lesson. The first attack is just the warning. The second one is the real thing.

Raven pressed forward, slashing twice more in rapid succession — a low cut, then a spinning strike aimed at Jelo’s shoulder. Jelo used Wing Burst, vanishing in a blur and reappearing ten feet to the left. He landed breathing hard, watching Raven carefully.

Three seconds passed.

The two shadow echoes tore through the empty space where Raven had originally struck — right where Jelo would have been if he’d stayed put. He exhaled slowly. I have to time my movement around the echoes, not just the man.

Raven pushed forward again, feinting right then cutting left, building up his shadow library and layering echoes across the space like traps set on a timer. Every corner Jelo backed toward had a delayed strike waiting in it.

Jelo took a glancing blow across his forearm. Then another to the shoulder. His Skilled Guard soaked what it could, but he could feel it thinning. Raven wasn’t trying to finish him — he was drowning him in delayed punishment, wearing the defense down one ghost-strike at a time.

Okay. Different approach.

Jelo focused. He felt heat gathering behind his eyes as his vision sharpened — details snapping into clarity, the air around Raven’s body reading like text. He could see the slight tension in Raven’s shoulder before each movement, the subtle shift of weight that telegraphed a strike half a second early. He watched Raven wind up and slash downward — and instead of dodging immediately, Jelo counted.

One. Two. Three.

He sidestepped the real attack. Then stepped again to avoid where the echo would land. Clean.

Raven blinked.

Jelo raised his hand, fingers curled, and thrust it forward. Dragon Claw erupted from his palm — a searing projection of claw-shaped energy that screamed across the distance in less than a second. Raven twisted to avoid it, and most of it missed — but the edge caught his side and tore a scorched gash along his ribs. He grunted and skidded back.

He recovered fast, launching into a flurry — three rapid slashes, each one seeding the air with future pain. Jelo used Wing Burst twice in quick succession, the exhaustion of it pulling at his legs. He was buying himself seconds. That was all he needed.

He tracked the echoes. Watched them bloom and fade. Watched Raven’s rhythm — when he attacked and how long before the shadows followed. It wasn’t random. Raven was precise, which meant he was predictable.

Jelo waited for the opening.

Raven came in close, slashing once across Jelo’s guard — Skilled Guard caught it, barely — and in that moment of contact, Jelo grabbed Raven’s wrist and held him there. Close range. No room to build distance or layer another echo.

Raven struggled, surprised by the grip.

Jelo pulled him forward, dropped low, and drove his other hand straight into Raven’s midsection. Dragon Claw fired point-blank — not a wide arc but a tight, focused thrust. The energy detonated against Raven’s core like a hammer wrapped in fire.

Raven flew backward, hit the ground hard, and skidded to a stop. He tried to push himself up. His arms gave out. He sank back down, staring upward, the wind completely gone from him.

Jelo stood with his arm still extended, smoke curling from his fingertips. He lowered his hand slowly and exhaled.

“You almost had me with those echoes,” he said. “Took me a minute to figure out the timing.”

Raven, flat on his back, let out a short breathless laugh. “Yeah. Almost.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The system activated, notifying him:

Points gained. 20 essence gained.

Jelo looked at it, excitement flashing across his face. It had been a while since he had gained any points. He hadn’t defeated anyone in some time, so gaining twenty essence now meant a lot.

He decided he would fight a couple more times before his time was up and see how much essence he could gather. After that, he would make a proper plan on what to do next.

Until then, he returned to the interface and began searching for more players to fight.

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