My Charity System made me too OP
Chapter 437 - 437: Arkhe City Duel III

Arkhe City – Sovereign Assembly Hall (Restricted Layer)

The room was a quiet dome carved from obsidian glass, glowing faintly with embedded lines of mana. Only full-ranked Sovereigns above 90 could enter.

Leon sat across from an information node, reviewing battle reports on Tal'Ranis.

There were few.

Rankers had tried all forms of attack—blunt, magic, curses, delay traps.

Some used time dilation, others collapsed fields with entropy.

Tal'Ranis had never moved more than five meters in any battle.

He simply waited.

And then stopped them.

Roman leaned in, reading over Leon's shoulder. "He's a walking fortress."

Milim frowned. "Worse. He's a fortress that reflects the attacker's force back. Everyone says the same thing: the harder you hit, the faster you fall."

Leon stood. "Then I won't hit hard."

Roselia raised an eyebrow. "What will you do then?"

Leon turned to the Challenge Registry terminal and pressed his hand to the next name.

Challenge Request: Rank 89 – Tal'Ranis the Eternal Guard

Duel Arena: Bastion of Silence

Victory Condition: Land a single clean hit. That's all.

Transfer to the Bastion of Silence

There was no sky.

No arena.

Just a massive, silent hall—like an ancient throne chamber, with a single glowing line drawn across the floor, ten meters from the far wall.

And against that wall stood Tal'Ranis.

He was tall. Towering, even. Clad in full armor of dull silver, a shield the size of a door planted in front of him. His spear rested in the air, but hadn't moved. His helmet bore no crest, no symbol, only a slit of deep blue light.

He did not greet Leon.

He did not speak.

[Duel Initiated – Rank 89: Tal'Ranis the Eternal Guard]

Terrain: Static Void

No terrain advantages. No movement bonuses.

Condition: Land one clean hit on Tal'Ranis.

Passive Effect: Guard of Reflection – Any direct attack rebounds force equal to the attacker's intent.

Leon approached slowly.

No words.

No battle cry.

Just silence.

He activated Shell Reverb: Echo of Origin, layering it with Karmic Loop—but neither attack moved forward. He wasn't here to rush.

He was here to listen.

Ten meters.

That's all the distance he had.

Leon moved first—not to strike, but to test.

He used Tripart Echo to send three pulses along the side wall. Tal'Ranis didn't react. He stood as still as stone. The pulses hit the wall behind him and shattered.

Leon's second attempt was more complex—a Reverse Absolute Return, sending an echo through the floor to strike from beneath.

Tal'Ranis twitched.

Not stepped. Just shifted his shield angle half a degree. The pulse was caught and dissolved.

Leon exhaled. "He doesn't move because he doesn't need to."

Roselia whispered from the spectator vault above, "Then how do you land a hit?"

Kael answered softly, "You make him defend something that doesn't exist."

Leon closed his eyes.

Then smiled.

He stepped forward… and dropped his blade.

The entire hall shivered.

He wasn't going to strike Tal'Ranis.

He was going to force a reaction.

He activated Shell Pulse: Echo of Origin → Split Mode.

One echo split in two—one projected forward, a visible shimmer of sonic force—

The other… folded inward. Hidden. Timed.

Tal'Ranis reacted.

His shield snapped forward, intercepting the projected echo.

At that exact moment, Leon's hidden echo detonated behind him.

It wasn't aimed at Tal'Ranis.

It struck the floor beneath the distant back wall—forcing the entire hall to shake, launching a dozen stone fragments toward the back of Tal'Ranis' exposed side.

For the first time—

Tal'Ranis stepped to block.

That's all Leon needed.

One movement. One shift. One break in the form.

He stepped inside the angle, pressed a hand to the exposed edge of the armor—and triggered a soft pulse through his fingertips.

Not violent.

Not forceful.

Just present.

A clean, direct touch.

The entire field froze.

[Duel Ended – Victory: Leon Aetheren]

Condition met: Landed clean hit

Tal'Ranis has acknowledged success

Promotion: Full Rank 89 Granted

Tal'Ranis didn't speak. But he lowered his spear, then removed his helmet for the first time.

A quiet, stern-faced man with gray eyes nodded once.

"You understood. Force doesn't break perfect defense. Simplicity does."

Leon returned the nod. "You never needed to be beaten. Just understood."

Return to Arkhe – Rank Board Update

[Leon Aetheren – Rank 89 Sovereign]

Victories: 95, 92, 91, 90, 89

Council Recognition: 4 votes

Next Access Level: Rank 88 Challenge Available\\

Arkhe City – Ember Vault Archives

The Ember Vault was sealed behind layered sigil locks. Only Sovereigns with access to Upper Elemental Permissions could view the records stored here.

Leon entered alone.

Inside, the chamber glowed with a steady red hue. Rows of glowing crystals floated in the air, each one holding combat footage, battle recordings, and power breakdowns of Sovereigns who used raw elemental force.

One crystal pulsed brighter than the rest.

[Rank 88 – Arkarion, The Bound Flame]

• Former Tower Smith Lord.

• Forged 7 Sentient Armaments.

• Rejected elemental support—became the flame himself.

• Passive State: Constant Flameform

• Combat Style: Pressure Assault, Flame Engulfment, Armor Meltdown

Duel Rule: Endure and Overcome

Arkarion will burn at full power. You must last ten minutes, or strike him with force enough to quench his flame.

Leon watched the short reel: previous Sovereigns collapsing from heat exposure, armor melted onto their skin, magical gear catching fire.

Roman's voice echoed over the comm:

"You sure about this one? You've seen what happens to climbers who go in cocky. Most don't even last five minutes."

Leon replied calmly.

"I don't plan to last. I plan to break through."

[Duel Challenge Accepted – Rank 88: Arkarion of the Bound Flame]

Arena: The Crucible Core

Terrain: Superheated Chamber (1200°C baseline)

Passive: All materials degrade over time

Condition: Survive for ten minutes or defeat Arkarion directly

Transition to Crucible Core

The moment Leon stepped in, it hit him.

Heat. Pure, punishing heat.

His armor groaned. The air shimmered around him. Breathing felt like inhaling fire.

The arena was a ring of obsidian, glowing cracks streaking across its surface. Above, a furnace-like sky loomed, raining embers like snow.

And at the center…

A man of flame.

Arkarion stood like a living statue, body glowing from within. His skin looked molten—veins of lava coursing beneath charred armor that floated in broken fragments around him.

His eyes were twin coals.

He said only one thing:

"Burn with me. Or leave."

Leon didn't respond.

He stepped forward and activated his core techniques—Shell Reverb, Storm Sync Pulse, Tripart Echo—then layered his inner body with defensive weaving: a technique he'd developed to counter high-mana pressure.