My Charity System made me too OP
Chapter 433 - 433: Powerhouses II

A voice echoed from above. Calm. Measured.

"Challenger Leon Aetheren. Status confirmed."

"Opponent: Irn Valek, Blade of the Quiet."

"Rank: 99."

"Conditions: First blood, or surrender."

"Spectators: 13 Sovereigns in observation."

Then, without further warning, Irn Valek stepped into view on the opposite side.

His expression was calm. His silver eyes half-lidded.

But his presence…

It dropped the temperature of the whole arena.

"Didn't expect you so soon," Valek said, drawing a blade that shimmered like frozen moonlight. "But I'm not one to turn away a knock at my door."

Leon didn't answer.

He just raised his hand, and Shell Pulse rippled around his fingers—calm, focused, without display.

Valek blinked once. "You're already syncing with the floor. Good."

He drew a second blade and dropped into stance.

The Duel Begins

No countdown.

No signal.

Valek vanished the moment the wind shifted.

Leon's body moved before his mind caught up—Shell Reverb: Absolute Return activated on instinct, and his blade clashed with Valek's incoming strike in a burst of white light.

Valek spun midair, slicing from three angles at once. His movements were fluid, like water drawn across ice.

Leon countered with Tripart Echo, matching every attack with a layered echo-strike from a previous instant—delayed, re-timed, then released.

The crowd said nothing.

But a few Sovereigns leaned forward.

Valek's strikes sped up. "You're clean. Controlled. Most who reach this arena burn too fast trying to prove something."

Leon responded by dropping low and unleashing Shell Reverb: Karmic Loop—not to attack, but to bind his timing with Valek's rhythm. He wasn't just matching moves.

He was learning the song of Valek's motion.

Their blades clashed in midair, creating a brief stillness.

Then—

Valek cut his own palm.

Blood spilled onto the floor.

And the system spoke.

Duel Complete – First Blood

Winner: Leon Aetheren

Rank Updated: Unofficial Challenger – Pending Confirmation

Valek stood straight, watching the blood drip from his palm. Then, slowly, he smiled.

"I see why you came this far," he said, sliding his blades back into their sheaths. "You don't climb like the others."

Leon met his gaze. "I don't climb to impress anyone."

Valek nodded once. "Then you may survive here."

He turned to the watching Sovereigns.

"Let it be known," he said clearly, "Leon Aetheren has earned the right to challenge ranks above me."

As Leon rejoined his team, the system updated again.

[Access Unlocked – Rank Challenge System]

Eligible to challenge Ranks 98 through 90.

New designation: Tier VIII Challenger – Validated

Warning: Higher ranks are not bound to accept your challenge. Provoke with care.

Roselia placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did it. Clean."

Leon looked back at the now-quiet arena.

"No. That was just the first test."

He glanced at the next name on the board—Rank 98: Reinh Kaelthar, Storm-Locked Tyrant.

The air in Arkhe had shifted.

After Leon's duel with Irn Valek, whispers began moving through the higher circles. Most Sovereigns didn't waste time watching new climbers—but now, one had taken a blow and acknowledged defeat. That alone changed the mood in Arkhe City.

But Valek's final words mattered even more:

"Leon Aetheren has earned the right to challenge ranks above me."

He'd become visible.

And in the Upper Tower Tier, visibility was a blade.

Back at the team's temporary dwelling

Their quarters were simple—carved into floating stone, with reinforced shielding and mana suppression runes. Enough to survive a Sovereign's aura, not enough to survive a full strike.

Roselia cleaned her blade in silence. Kael adjusted his spell focus while Naval stared at a sigil map projected from the floor.

Roman looked at Leon. "You're thinking of challenging 98 next?"

Leon nodded. "Reinh Kaelthar."

Milim raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he the one who doesn't even live in the city? The guy who fights in the sky?"

Kael confirmed, "Yeah. Kaelthar's city floats in its own storm field—an isolated cluster of aerial islands that rotate around a lightning core. It's called Skydrath Citadel."

Roselia frowned. "I've heard about it. That place doesn't invite challengers. You fight him in his storm—or you don't fight him at all."

Leon looked at the projection Naval brought up. The citadel shimmered across the map like a slowly orbiting stormfront, just beyond Arkhe's range.

"Then we go there."

Skydrath Citadel – Edge of the Stormbelt

It took them half a day to reach the outer storm. They rode a hovering transport platform—gifted by a neutral observer Sovereign, amused by Leon's progress. But even the reinforced vehicle trembled as they entered the first layer of wind.

Lightning cracked overhead. The clouds didn't swirl—they roared.

The very air felt alive.

At the center of the storm, several massive floating islands orbited a jagged spire of obsidian metal that stretched from cloud to sky. That was the Storm Tyrant's domain.

No guards. No gates. Just raw power.

As soon as they got close, the sky above split open.

A bolt of lightning shot down like a spear and hit the platform next to them—destroying it instantly.

Then came the voice.

"Leon Aetheren. Challenger of Rank 99.

You climb too fast."

Another lightning strike hit just ahead of them.

"But that's what makes you interesting."

A tall figure floated down from the clouds—cloaked in stormlight. White hair drifted in the wind, and arcs of electricity danced over the armored plating on his arms.

He didn't wear a helmet. He didn't need one.

This was Reinh Kaelthar, the 98th Sovereign.

"You want to challenge me? Prove you can reach me without dying."

Leon didn't speak. He just jumped from the platform.

Wind and lightning howled around him.

The others didn't follow. They couldn't.

This fight was his.

Storm Citadel – Midair Duel Platform

Leon landed on a wide obsidian slab, floating just beneath the storm's eye. Reinh stood across from him, arms at his sides, the storm dancing between his fingertips.

"We fight until one cannot stand," Reinh said simply.

"I will not hold back. Neither should you."

Leon drew his blade.

Shell Reverb activated.

Tripart Echo flowed into his stance.

Absolute Return hummed beneath his skin.

And Karmic Loop aligned with the chaotic rhythm of the storm.

The Duel Begins

The moment Reinh moved, the wind screamed.

He vanished and reappeared behind Leon in the blink of an eye, slamming a lightning-coated punch at his back.

Leon stepped to the side—not dodging, but delaying the moment of impact with Shell Reverb. The blow passed through where he was a heartbeat ago.

Leon countered, striking upward.

But Reinh caught the blade with a bare hand—and crushed it with lightning.

Leon's eyes narrowed. That wasn't arrogance.

That was real Sovereign strength.

Leon responded by drawing the second part of his blade—Pulse Bind Mode, splitting his energy into overlapping echoes.

The storm warped.

Even Reinh paused.

"You're syncing with the storm?"

Leon didn't answer.

He stepped forward, Tripart Echo resonating with the thunder above. His blade sang with mirrored strikes—past, present, and returning force.

Reinh smiled.

Then roared—and lightning covered the entire sky.

For five minutes, the world became white and silver.

Blades met lightning. Shell Reverb battled Storm Memory.

Leon didn't fall. Reinh didn't yield.

Until—

A final clash in midair.

Reinh's armor cracked.

Leon's shoulder bled openly—but he still stood.

And then, Reinh raised a hand.

"Enough."

[Sovereign Duel – Concluded]

Result: Draw

Reinh Kaelthar has acknowledged Leon Aetheren.

Rank 98 challenge marked as held. Rank not taken.

Further progression permitted.

Reinh touched the lightning core behind him.

The storm began to calm.

"You're not ready to take my place," he said. "But you earned something else."

He tossed Leon a small crystal—crackling with unstable power.

"That's a Storm Fragment. Integrate it into your pulse core. When you've mastered it, come back."

Leon caught the fragment, breathing heavy.

"I will."