The clown gazed at the sprawling attraction park below with a nostalgic look. From this height, Ever Happy Smiley Land stretched out like a twisted dreamscape - a maze of roller coasters writhing like metal serpents, countless attractions glowing with ethereal light, and at its heart, that massive circus tent that seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat. Dark shadows flickered between the structures despite the cheerful illumination, as if something lurked just beneath the park''s colorful surface. It was indeed a sight to behold, but I remained focused on defeating my opponent. The sheer scale of the park reminded me of the power wielded by its masters - and Barry, floating before me with Space Mana crackling around his massive form, was one of them.


    I didn''t have much time to fool around and enjoy the review. Every moment wasted meant Arabella and Co were more likely to lose to the little girl. I''d had my suspicions about Lucy since first meeting her, but I never expected she was actually the Ringmaster. Even now, my Mana Sense couldn''t tell me much about her true nature. She didn''t even feel that dangerous, but... there was a reason why she was chosen as one of two opponents in the hardest challenge here.


    While the clown was still overlooking the Smiley Land, I tested my Gravity Mana against the clown''s barrier just to be sure it truly prevented my direct influence—and yes, it did. He felt my attempt and shook his head.


    "Oh my, eager to start, aren''t we? Well, I''ll make it quick," he said, waving his hand.


    A thick wave of invisible Space Mana rushed toward me. Through my Mana Sense, I analyzed his power structure - about half came from the System, slightly more than his natural abilities. He had likely reached the peak of Tier 4 with his Space powers before the System advanced him to Tier 5. The incoming wave contained both System energy and Space Element mixed together, suggesting he''d received an Archetype that complemented his original power.


    Unlike me, he seemed to possess only one Element, which differed from how things worked for humans on Luminosa. There, to gain a Supreme Element like Space, you needed at least two lower ones. But perhaps this limitation made his single Element even stronger.


    I tried to fly higher to avoid the wave, but it followed me with unerring precision. The moment it touched the tip of my leg, I felt that limb freeze in place completely. His strategy was clear - he meant to immobilize me piece by piece.


    I countered with my own wave of Gravity Mana, forming it into a concentrated sphere that exploded within the center of his attack. The blast scattered his Space Mana, though some splinters of energy still reached me. My Abyss Plate absorbed them instantly, converting them into my own Mana and replenishing what I''d just expended.


    But I couldn''t relax for even a moment. My Mana Sense flared in warning as Barry teleported behind me, wielding what looked like a severely oversized carnival mallet—the kind used in a whack-a-mole game. The handle was a deep, glossy red, while the massive cylindrical head was striped in alternating bands of bright yellow and electric blue. It should have looked comical, a toy meant for rigged amusement park games, but the air around it rippled with barely contained energy.


    The seemingly harmless weapon radiated immense power, an overwhelming force wrapped in absurdity. As Barry swung it toward my head, I felt space itself distort between us, stretching and twisting like a puppet string, trying to pull me into the inevitable strike.


    I avoided the initial attack, counteracting the pull with my Gravity Mana, at the same time, I channeled Lightning Mana into my sword, manifesting a crackling whip that struck at the clown from behind. The attack met the absolute resistance of his barrier, accomplishing nothing.


    Of course, I thought grimly. The real fight won''t start until I deal with that barrier.


    The clown’s first attack was just the beginning. Barry’s form blurred—a frenzy of motion as he struck from every direction at once. Above. Below. Behind. Dozens of attacks landed within a single second, too fast to counter them all.


    I barely managed to block the hammer with my elbow as he struck from below. A mistake. The impact was devastating—my Abyss Plate cracked, agony lancing through my arm as my shoulder nearly wrenched free from its socket. The sheer force sent me hurtling upward, towards the top of the Ferris Wheel Zone.


    I reduced my Mana output against the anti-flight barrier''s pressure, using it to slow my momentum. Though constantly fighting against it drained my power and focus, I was beginning to sense a subtle advantage in its presence - one I could exploit once I fully adapted to its effects.


    But I couldn''t afford to wait that long. I''d gotten a taste of the clown''s capabilities, and it was time to counter-attack. But I needed to wait for a perfect moment... this was when he made a mistake of attacking me from above.


    I pushed more Mana into my forearms as they met with the hammer, despite it looking like a mere kid''s toy. The destructive power behind it could probably level a house easily... or even sink a battleship. The Abyss Plate, made of pure, focused Gravity Mana, didn''t hold much longer, and I was sent plummeting toward the ground at incredible speed.


    "Get ready, my friend," I told Antipucker, "for your final form."


    "I was forged ready!"


    I smirked. "You already said it three times just today..."


    The clown''s posture shifted, a momentary slackening in his manic energy, and I seized the opening. With a surge of focused intent, I channeled the raw, crushing force of Gravity Mana into Antipucker, my steadfast companion. The blade shimmered, then underwent a dramatic metamorphosis. Gone was the ephemeral, nearly invisible edge of Air. What emerged was a solid, obsidian blade, the length of my forearm, a stark contrast to the vibrant chaos of the amusement park. It wasn''t simply black; it was a void, a consuming darkness that seemed to swallow the very light around it. The air rippled, distorted, as if the blade itself were warping the fabric of reality. A deep, resonant pulse emanated from its core, a tangible thrum of raw, unbridled power. This wasn''t just a weapon; it was a manifestation of gravity itself, a miniature black hole forged into a blade, radiating an oppressive weight that felt both terrifying and absolute.


    I managed to halt my descent when only a hundred feet remained between me and the ground.


    "And here I thought this would be the end," the clown laughed as he descended after me slowly, his giant hammer floating nearby. "Your new blade looks pretty. I would even be scared... if not for the System''s protection."


    "Did you hear it, buddy? He called you pretty," I chuckled, my pose relaxed despite my forearms crying with pain, even as my Abyss Plate slowly recovered. I activated Primal Lightning Surge, filling my body and mind with electrical power, heightening my senses for whatever the clown might throw my way next.


    He didn''t bother with new tricks, just teleporting behind me again. And just when I was about to dodge, he changed his position instantly. It was such a pain fighting someone using Space Mana - even back in Luminosa, I hadn''t met anyone like this. But compared to the Demon Queen, the clown was nothing special. Perhaps my understanding of beings at the peak of the fifth tier was skewed because of my encounters with her. If this was the extent of his abilities, it would be over very soon.


    Instead of dodging, I met him head-on. With a wave of Antipucker in his ultimate form, the Space power emanating from the hammer was sucked into it completely, disappearing. Next, I aimed for the clown''s arm right at the shoulder. Barry didn''t even bother avoiding the strike, perfectly confident in his barrier.


    But this was a big mistake. In just a moment, my sword cut through the clown''s unnaturally thin arm, making his eyes go wide.


    There was a reason I called my sword Antipucker, and it wasn''t just to tease him. Pucks had greatly bothered me back on Luminosa, their deep affinity with Mirage Mana making their forms completely untargetable. The only known way to kill a Puck, no matter how weak (though even the youngest was at least Tier 2), was to use an attack with the Mirage attribute. But I found a solution. When channeling Gravity Mana, my sword could cut through any barrier as long as it maintained contact, instantly sucking away all the Aether and Mana it contained. The System''s barrier was no exception.


    "Still laughing?" I asked, settling into a combat stance, the dark blade humming.


    The clown''s laughter echoed, sharp and manic. "Laughing? Of course I do! This is the most hilarious thing ever! You ripped through the System''s barrier! The absolute barrier! Not so absolute anymore? Ha-ha! You''re indeed an anomaly, Clinton and your sword... I''ve never seen anything like it. Though, my hammer''s still my favorite. I admit, I underestimated you. No, no. You''re going to be very entertaining."


    "Ultra Rare or Epic?" I asked, curious. His weapon was obviously System-made.


    "How about Legendary?" The clown grinned as he poured more energy into his weapon. The hammer grew even larger, its energy truly frightening now. It could easily squash an elephant like a mouse.


    "Just kidding. It''s Epic, Mr. Anomaly," Barry admitted. "Unfortunately, even I haven''t gotten a Legendary weapon yet. But it''s the next best thing, you know."


    Now that the hammer had grown to ten times its former size, the gravitational pull as it swung at me from above was terrifying. I knew I couldn''t just block it with my sword alone. Worse, the Space Mana flowing through the weapon wasn''t pulling me toward it anymore - it was pushing me downward. Barry was done playing around and wanted to fulfill the more realistic win condition in one go. At our current height, if I took this hit, there was no question that I wouldn''t be able to stop myself from hitting the ground.


    I was forced to use my best evasion technique - one I called "Get Out of Dodge." It had saved me more than once, though it required significant focus and Mana. I created a pushing impulse of reverse Gravity while a hundred feet away I made another gravitational point that pulled me toward it. Lightning Mana shot from the opposite side, propelling me like a rocket, while I used Air Mana to create a perfect vacuum in my path, eliminating air resistance.


    All of it happened in a mere moment, though I''d had to prepare the technique beforehand, knowing I would need it. Thankfully, the preparation had been done while the clown was boasting about his weapon''s power. It wasn''t exactly teleportation like Barry could do, but it was the next best thing - moving at Mach 2 speed, if not faster. Silently and flawlessly, I avoided perhaps one of the strongest attacks my opponent could demonstrate, judging by how around 5% of his Mana was depleted. As for me, I lost 10%, and considering his total Mana was almost twice mine, it wasn''t a very fair exchange.


    The sound of distorted Space Mana hitting the ground was deafening. Thankfully we were away from any buildings or people. A crater two hundred feet wide appeared, reaching just as deep into the ground. The earth and asphalt were completely pulverized.


    "So you can teleport as well, Mr. Anomaly?" Barry tilted his head. "Or wait, no - you just moved at a speed higher than I could react. Rather sad. But let''s see how good you are at dodging this: Pom-Pom Rain!"


    His wide smile turned manic as his hammer split into a myriad of smaller ones. Some were child-sized, a few even smaller, but most were between normal hammer size and sledgehammer. Unlike Sugar''s gummy balls, these weren''t meant to just restrict movement - each hammer held serious attack power, and their number was enough to deal significant damage even through my Abyss Plate. One of the drawbacks of the plate was that I couldn''t use it alongside Primal Gravity Surge, but having it act as an exoskeleton was good enough. I knew I couldn''t dodge all of those hammers. I could only hope my armor would hold.


    I created a helmet with additional Mana - if there was a vulnerable point, it was the head, especially against blunt weapons. The only saving grace was that since the hammers weren''t directly wielded by the clown, they weren''t protected by his absolute barrier. In fact, when it came to weapons, the barrier was a double-edged sword, as it prevented the clown from fully activating their abilities.


    The hammers disappeared and reappeared all around me, surrounding me like I was in the depths of a deadly sea. My Virtual Interface gave me a slight but crucial advantage in predicting their behavior - my recent investment in Mind was already paying off. As the attack began, I grouped my body tight and clenched my fists. This was going to strain both my body and Mana reserves.


    My first defense was a barrier of repelling Gravity, powered by as much Mana as I could spare from my plate. Meanwhile, I began creating something between my hands, carefully protecting it from the onslaught. While each individual hammer couldn''t break through my barrier, every impact still resonated through my body. Even so, I focused on forming a tennis ball-sized cluster of pure power.


    I concentrated as much Air as possible into this sphere, holding it together with Gravity and causing it to spin at frightening speed. The air was so compressed that it was only a matter of time until it exploded, but I wasn''t done. At its center, I placed a concentrated ball of Gravity Mana, similar to what I''d used to kill those under my care, but much stronger. This was a technique of mass destruction I''d developed not for personal combat, but to devastate armies—the Tsar Sphere!


    The sphere contained not just Air Mana but actual air itself - normal, non-magical oxygen and other gases. This was one of the tricks to making abilities more powerful than they should be: using physical matter controlled by your Element. My entire Abyss Plate was covered in cracks, and my Mana was depleting dangerously fast. All I needed was a single spark to ignite it...


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The explosion that followed was devastating. Being my own creation, I absorbed back a part of its Mana, but still took some damage. The hammers got the worst of it - the vast majority were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. The blast reached the clown, but his impenetrable barrier ensured he remained unharmed. Still, that last attack had cost him about 15% of his Mana. As for me, my armor was in tatters, cracking or destroyed in most places, though slowly beginning to recover.


    The explosion sent me closer to the ground, now only fifty feet up. Before I could recover both mentally and physically, the clown rushed at me. He moved incredibly fast, but this time without teleporting - there was an advantage to pure speed, as it gathered kinetic energy that could be transferred into an attack. His Superman punch with his remaining hand seemed almost silly, lacking his usual calculated precision. For a moment I hesitated, unsure whether to dodge or block. That split second was enough - I couldn''t avoid the fist hitting my chest. I swung Antipucker at his head, but the blade passed by mere inches, only managing to cut a few strands of his hair and expose the skin beneath.


    Instantly, Space Mana engulfed me. This wasn''t just an attack meant to deal damage - he was trying to teleport me straight to the ground. No, beneath it. I had to focus nearly as much Mana as I had against the hammers just to resist the pull. Even then, I could only cut its power in half, ending up twenty-five feet from the ground. He changed tactics, creating a teleportation portal beneath me, trying to force me in. I barely escaped using Get Out of Dodge again, but my Mana was reaching dangerous levels - down to 30% while he still had 60%.


    Got it, let''s refine that scene with those crucial adjustments:


    "The clown''s form flickered, a sickeningly smooth transition, and he materialized behind me – his signature, infuriating move. The seamless blend of his innate Space Mana manipulation and the System''s augmented abilities allowed him to bypass conventional movement, a terrifyingly efficient teleportation. I''d clocked a subtle, blindingly fast rhythm to his reappearance, a mere third of a second between each jump. A near-impossible window of vulnerability, but one I''d prepared for.


    Another wild, telegraphed punch swung towards my head. I leaned back, letting the force of the blow pass harmlessly over me, my eyes fixed on the infinitesimal timer ticking down in my mind. One... two... snap. He appeared again, his form solidifying just behind my right shoulder. But this time, I was ready.


    As his fist aimed for my ribs, I unleashed the prepared trap. A dense, localized field of Gravity Mana erupted from the ground far beneath him, not to hold him, but to act as a launch pad. I poured 5% of my dwindling reserves into the effect, creating a gravitational surge that propelled the ground upwards. He tried to teleport, I could feel the space around him twist, but my own Gravity Mana surrounded him, making the attempt fail as his Mana was suppressed.


    His eyes widened, a flicker of genuine surprise replacing his manic grin. In that moment of disorientation, I seized the opportunity and did the simpliest thing ever - I grabbed him. His absolute barrier, while impenetrable to direct Mana manipulation, was useless against the force of my grip. Perhaps the seventh''s rotation challenge was a gift in disguise as it allowed me to have a better understanding of how the barrier worked. With a final, brutal surge, I suplexed him downwards.


    The clown became a projectile, hurtling through the rapidly ascending earth and asphalt. The impact was a deafening crunch, as he was driven through the makeshift platform. Thirty feet above the ground, the mass of earth and debris reached its zenith, then, with a thunderous roar, it collapsed, a chaotic avalanche of rock and shattered asphalt crashing down, the sound echoing across the twisted landscape of Ferris Wheel Zone.


    But there was no victory message. The clown teleported above me, laughing as he shook off the dirt from his clothes, "Well, well, that was really close, Mr. Anomaly! You almost got me there."


    "Almost? It seems the System didn''t like my trick. I was almost sure it would work - after all the ground is the ground."


    "No, no. There was nothing wrong with the trick, it would have worked if I didn''t react fast enough. Do you remember your victory condition?"


    Of course - with my perfect memory, I couldn''t forget something so obvious. I had to make the clown''s feet touch the ground.


    "While you sent me through the ground, my feet never touched it. I made sure of that," Barry grinned. "That''s how it is, Mr. Anomaly. Well, now I guess your plan failed. I see you''re really trying your best to win, but... I don''t feel like losing at this point, so should we finish the show?"


    I sighed. I had barely 20% of my Mana left while his was more than half full. In absolute terms, the difference was now fivefold.


    "It seems you can''t avoid using it after all," Antipucker said quietly.


    "Yes," I agreed. "He isn''t quite as problematic as the Demon Queen, and the odds aren''t as stacked against me as back then, but I''m not at my peak either."


    "What are you blabbering about?" Barry asked. "Are you giving up so easily, or do you have another card up your sleeve? Because I still have a few tricks that will make you laugh." His confident words weren''t empty, he seemed to ignore his damaged hammer, though he could probably restore it to its initial state. Our previous exchange had shown my superiority in close combat, and his regenerating left arm was only half-grown.


    "To be fair... I have a trick that I really want to show you, Barry," I said, focusing on my ultimate technique.  The fact that I was pushed to such extremes on my first day here said a lot. All my remaining Mana flowed into my core, becoming a vortex of Gravity Mana far stronger than what I used for cultivation. It began pulling Aether toward me. This was why I''d invested in Mind attribute and chosen the Mana Bolt skill. If I ever managed to master this technique, it would take me to a whole different level of power.


    Got it, keeping the detail but reverting to standard dialogue tags:


    "The clown didn''t stand idle. A sickening, wet crackling sound echoed as black tentacles, thick as a man''s arm and shimmering with an oily, multicolored sheen, erupted from his body. They writhed and pulsed, their tips splitting into smaller, grasping tendrils. His face, already distorted into a grotesque caricature, began to elongate and warp further. The skin stretched and tore, revealing glimpses of the pulsating, multicolored mass beneath. His eyes, once bright with manic energy, now became glassy and distant, as if something else were taking control.


    "You see, Mr. Anomaly," he said, his voice rasped, a distorted echo of his former joviality, "I am an anomaly of sorts as well. Some mistakenly think I''m human, but I''m anything but. Let me demonstrate."


    The transformation completed, and he now resembled a writhing cluster of giant, segmented worms, each segment slick and glistening, forcing their way out of what remained of his human form. The effect wasn''t repulsive in the traditional sense; instead, the worms, with their bright, almost candy-like colors, resembled oversized gummy worms, their texture disturbingly smooth and elastic. The incongruity of the cheerful colors against the grotesque form sent a shiver down my spine, a twisted echo of Sugar''s unnerving charm.


    "You offended me by slaying my favorite golem," Barry continued, his voice now a chorus of rasping whispers from the mass of worms. "It took me ten years to create Sugar. Now, thanks to you, I''ll have to recreate him from scratch."


    "So you were his mysterious master?"


    "Yes, and he was my precious creation. Of course, I couldn''t create him without help from the System or Mr. Chuckles. Even our dear Ringmaster helped with the design, making him look so cute and sweet. Though that didn''t stop you from destroying my dear Sugar." His tentacles shot toward me as he spoke.


    Okay, let''s infuse that confrontation with more vivid detail and a sense of urgency:


    "So you’re made of sugary substance as well? Can I taste you?" I taunted, the words laced with a grim amusement, as tendrils of crackling Primal Lightning Surge danced across my skin, heightening my reflexes. The air around me thrummed with raw electrical energy, a desperate attempt to gain the speed needed to avoid the writhing, multicolored tentacles. My ultimate technique was nearly complete, its invisible vortex pulling at the very fabric of reality, but I needed to buy more time.


    One of the thick, gummy-worm-like tentacles lunged towards my leg, its segmented body flexing with surprising speed. I slashed at it with Antipucker, the dark blade slicing through the slick, elastic flesh with a wet, tearing sound. A sickly sweet, almost cloying scent filled the air, a bizarre contrast to the violence of the moment.


    Barry seemed to realize his direct attacks weren’t effective. With a sickening pop and a ripple in the air, a series of dark, shimmering portals tore open around me. The multicolored tentacles, now moving with a frenzied, unpredictable rhythm, erupted from these portals, their tips grasping and snapping like hungry maws. They appeared from above, below, and behind, their movements too rapid, too chaotic to fully anticipate. I felt the slick, gummy-like texture brush against my arm as I narrowly dodged a strike from behind. But his plan had come too late – my trump card was primed, ready to unleash its power.


    "I am the Lord of Aether," I declared. "Aether Spring, come forth!"


    The vortex in my core transformed. It no longer helped me cultivate - instead, invisible waves of Gravity focused purely on Aether spread outward. The technique consumed almost all my remaining Mana, but once complete, the Aether Spring fully recovered my capacity in mere seconds. Such incredible recovery speed was only possible due to the extreme Aether density in this area, but it put tremendous strain on my Mana channels. It was like forcing a powerful stream through a tiny tube.


    The technique had another drawback - it required intense focus and made me almost unable to use Gravity Mana for other purposes. Fortunately, we weren''t very high, and with Lightning Mana, I could still counteract the anti-flight barrier. My Abyss Plate also fully recovered. While I couldn''t use Gravity Mana directly during this trump card, the plate had been created beforehand.


    A positive side effect was that as my Mana channels widened to receive this massive influx, they also allowed for greater output. I could release power just as quickly as I gained it.


    "What is this? You really are an amusing individual," Barry laughed as his tentacles broke through my constantly regenerating Abyss Plate. Using Air Mana, I took control of all air within two hundred feet, making it into my pond that helped my every move - possible only because I could afford to waste half my Mana on such an inefficient effect. My Primal Lightning Surge also received far more power than usual, its effect tripled by the tenfold Mana investment.


    "Damn, this is dangerous," the clown said as I appeared at his side, my sword nearly decapitating him. Despite his inhuman nature, I sensed his head still contained his core and soul. Cutting it or piercing his heart would at least incapacitate him temporarily.


    The transformed clown chuckled, "Whatever. You realize you''re the one on the clock, not me. I can just run away and wait until your absurd technique expires. I bet your body won''t take it for too long."


    "Not so fast," I said quietly. I felt his teleportation gathering - if he reached the top of the barrier, catching him would be nearly impossible. But to teleport, he needed to activate his Mana, and Aether Spring wasn''t limited to just enhancing my Mana abilities. Antipucker was now a conduit for the overwhelming influx of Aether, consuming my Mana at an impossible rate, and acting as a siphon. He wasn’t simply cutting, he was devouring magic.


    A dark ripple pulsed around Barry, a telltale sign of his teleportation attempt. It never materialized. The ripple died, choked by the sheer, consuming power of Antipucker.


    "Shit, how is this possible?" Barry growled, the chorus of rasping whispers from the worm-like mass now laced with a raw, panicked edge. His tentacles flailed frantically, their multicolored segments writhing and snapping in a desperate attempt to break free from the invisible absorption field created by my sword that even started to create ripples in the absolute barrier.


    "Do you have any last words?"


    "Wait, wait, don''t kill me! I... I can''t easily revive like the others. It would take too much time... years, even! I don''t want to miss all the fun for so long!"


    "Oh? So you even have revival. And here I thought I would kill for sure the one who tricked me into not saving my companions when I could."


    "Hah! Tricked you!" A surge of raw, chaotic Mana erupted from the clown, a tidal wave of power. "So you were afraid all this time… afraid your sister and friend were gone forever? That the System’s ‘revival’ was a lie? You just laid bare your deepest, darkest fear, anomaly! And now, you will pay for that mistake. I admit, your power is… remarkable. But you cannot comprehend the real horror of my existence! Witness… the True Terror Strike!"


    The clown’s form pulsed, a grotesque distortion of flesh and energy. He poured every last drop of his Mana, his very essence, into a single, devastating attack. It wasn’t just physical; it was a psychic assault, a violation of the soul. The System’s enhancements amplified it, turning it into a weapon of pure, existential dread. Even with the Aether Spring’s boundless energy, I could only wield half my Mana at any given moment, and he was unleashing double that in a concentrated, soul-rending strike.


    His words echoed in my mind, a venomous whisper that ripped open old wounds. Leah’s fading smile, the cold, empty space where Jimmy’s laughter used to be. The crushing weight of ten years, the fear of reliving that loss, the soul deep certainty that without them, this world was nothing. A wave of icy dread washed over me, threatening to extinguish the Aether Spring’s radiant power. My grip on Antipucker loosened, the dark blade slipping from my fingers towards the ground as I threw my forearms up, a desperate, last-second shield against the onrushing terror. The impact hit like a physical manifestation of grief, a crushing force that threatened to shatter not just bone, but the very core of my being.


    The impact was catastrophic, a brutal, concussive force that sent me hurtling downwards, my body a ragdoll against the raw power of the clown''s attack. The ground rushed up to meet me, the pulverized asphalt a blur beneath my rapidly descending form. For a disorienting moment, I was adrift, lost in the swirling vortex of fear and memory the clown had unleashed. But deep within the chaos, a small, stubborn voice echoed, a fragment of a lesson learned long ago.


    When on your back, don''t let your feet touch the ground.


    The words, a relic from my brief stint in Jiu-Jitsu classes as a kid, resonated with a sudden, desperate clarity. Despite the agonizing pain, the bone-jarring impact, and the sheer force of the blow driving me downwards, I forced my legs to remain elevated. I contorted my body, using the last dregs of my strength to angle my descent, ensuring the soles of my boots hovered mere inches above the rapidly approaching ground. The System hadn''t announced my loss yet, a thin thread of hope in the face of overwhelming despair. I was battered, broken, my mind reeling, but I wasn''t down. Not truly. Not yet.


    The clown, his form a grotesque parody of his former self, descended towards me, his remaining Mana flickering weakly, barely registering at 5%. The Aether Spring, my lifeline, had been forcibly extinguished by his soul-rending attack, leaving me drained and vulnerable. Residual Mana pulsed through my battered body, but the pain was a roaring inferno, every nerve screaming in protest. My Mana channels, pushed beyond their limits, felt like frayed wires, a testament to the unprecedented strain they''d endured, even disregarding the brutal psychic and physical assault I''d just survived.


    "You were very close, Mr. Anomaly," Barry rasped, his breath ragged, each word a strained exhale. "The System… it doesn’t play favorites, does it? Perhaps… a Jiu-Jitsu match would be more fitting now."


    "I may have forgotten most of the moves," I managed, my voice a strained whisper, "but… I can try."


    "Very funny." He waved a trembling hand, the remnants of his former power barely visible. "Just one flick of my wrist, and you’re an NPC. Any… last words, anomaly?"


    "Oh, look," I rasped, my gaze fixed on a point just above his head. "A bird."


    "That won’t work on me, Clinton," he snarled, his eyes narrowed.


    "It already did." I smirked as I let my gaze drop to his feet.


    And next, the System confirmed my victory.