Earth's Alpha Prime

Jay relentlessly targeted the serpent's head, landing one precise punch after another while deftly evading its venomous strikes. His attacks were effective but not decisive—the Venomscale Serpent's defenses rivaled those of a typical Tier-6 High-Phase monster, making it difficult to land any critical damage.

Worse still, the force of his own blows inflicted nearly as much harm on him as they did on the monster. Xulkin's Innate Talent,║RECOIL MANTLE║, provided some relief by rebounding half the physical impact of his attacks, but the remainder still strained his body. Jay relied on his extraordinary regenerative prowess to counteract the accumulating damage.

Despite his efforts, his current attack power—barely at the standard of a typical Tier-6 High-Phase lifeform—was insufficient. Determined to overcome the stalemate, Jay pushed his movement speed to Mach 20, enhancing his damage output. While his punches struck with greater force, the backlash on his own body intensified.

The strain was immense. His joints and muscles screamed in protest, absorbing the brunt of the impact. Were it not for the Reality Emulator's safety protocols, Jay's skin might have burst from the internal pressure, his muscles tearing under the force. Only a fraction of the damage and pain was simulated for safety, allowing Jay to endure the self-inflicted harm and press forward.

Recognizing that his increased speed was yielding results, Jay pushed even further, unleashing his maximum velocity of Mach 25. With this, his attacks reached an unprecedented level of power, finally piercing through the serpent's tough hide and dealing significant damage with each strike. However, the strain on his body became catastrophic.

Jay's health plummeted to near zero, his body on the brink of collapse. In that critical moment, he activated Pompa's 2nd Innate Exclusive Skill,║REJUVENATE║, a powerful ability that continuously restored his health. The steady regeneration allowed Jay to endure the toll of his attacks and maintain the pressure on the serpent.

Undeterred, Jay pressed on, delivering blow after relentless, devastating blow. The battle soon reached its climax as the Tier-6 Mid-Phase monster finally succumbed to his relentless assault. Jay stood victorious, having successfully cleared the 17th Difficulty Level.

Exhaling deeply, Jay took a moment to recover from the exhaustion. Although the battle had occurred within a simulated environment, the Reality Emulator's lethality ensured that his virtual self mirrored his real-world capabilities. Every drop of stamina, Spirit Energy, and health expended were as real as the overwhelming score he had just achieved.

His performance resulted in an astonishing 4.4 million points—a score that outshone every other participant by a wide margin. Jay was satisfaction with the results. 

His individual score alone was half of what the Earth Team had managed in Round-2 of the previous Tournament. And with more challenges to come, his score would only climb higher, guaranteeing bountiful rewards—the goal Jay had been meticulously working toward.

Jay's thoughts were interrupted by MJ's urgent tone.

"Master, it has begun. They are attacking those from your Trial Region, and everything in your storage space has been emptied out."

Without his stockpile of spiritual fruits, his recovery options were limited. Yet, he remained unfazed—even if Zeix had been compelled by Urzo to to steal everything. 

Jay had already secured his most valuable items on Earth, anticipating such a scenario. Losing a handful of fruits and basic supplies was insignificant compared to the vast resources he had at his disposal.

"Looks like Urzo has gotten impatient," Jay muttered, his voice calm despite the brewing storm.

What Urzo didn't know was that Jay's vast reserves of Health, Stamina, and Spirit Energy were bolstered by an intricate web of passive skills, the most significant being Lokesh's Innate Talent,║TRUTHBOUND║. Together, they elevated Jay to a level on par with a Tier-7 lifeform in terms of those three reserves.

Even after clearing the grueling 17th difficulty level, Jay had expended less than a quarter of his total reserves. With multiple regeneration passive skills working in unison, his Health continued to replenish every second.

With Urzo initiating the war, Jay chose to forgo attempting the 18th difficulty level. Instead, he chose to exit the Reality Emulator. As he emerged, his Team's total score was prominently displayed on the colossal screen hovering above the Colosseum grounds.

The Earth Team's score was staggering—5.7 million points, an overwhelming margin above the competition. Jay's individual contribution of 4.4 million points had dominated, while the remaining 1.3 million points scored by his teammates still dwarfed the output of Urzo's team, who had only managed one-sixth of that.

Under normal circumstances, the audience's focus would have been entirely on the Earth Team's record-breaking performance. But chaos had erupted across the Colosseum. Urzo's plan had been set into motion.

The moment Jay stepped out of the Reality Emulator, he was greeted by the sight of his Trial Region members in the seating area surrounded by hundreds of Alpha Chosen. Waves of attacks rained down on them, yet none of the strikes managed to breach the shimmering barrier protecting them.

Jay's confidence in the Grade-6 Barrier Protection charms he had distributed was well-placed. Even with his full strength—the same strength he used to defeat the Venomscale Serpent—it would take him an hour to break through those defenses. For those with power levels below Tier-5, breaching the barrier was an impossibility.

Reassured by the barrier's integrity, Jay scanned the seating area and confirmed that everyone from his Trial Region, including his teammates who had exited the Reality Emulators earlier, remained safe.

Shifting his focus, Jay turned his attention to the massive crowd rushing toward him. The sheer numbers were staggering, far exceeding what he had anticipated.

From his earlier memory sweep, Jay knew Urzo controlled around 4,000 Alpha Chosen. But now, it seemed that nearly every participant in the Tournament had fallen under Urzo's influence. Thousands upon thousands converged on him from all directions.

MJ's voice cut in again, 'Master, I've analyzed the situation. Urzo has likely reached Tier-5. His ability to spread more than a thousand additional possession seeds indicates Stage-5 Mastery over his Innate Talent. This growth suggests he underwent evolution during the rest period and is now the second participant to reach Tier-5 after Regaz.'

MJ continued, 'There was no global announcement due to the ongoing Tournament, but it will be broadcast on Day-21. Urzo likely planned this ambush to counter your growing power, knowing you'd soon become too strong for him to handle.'

Urzo's timing was calculated, aiming to strike when Jay might appear most vulnerable—after exhausting himself against Tier-6 monsters. But the reality was far from what Urzo had likely anticipated.

Thanks to his immense reserves and regeneration capabilities, Jay was in far better condition than Urzo had likely planned for. The overwhelming numbers charging toward him didn't faze him.

Even with thousands of enemies bearing down on him, Jay's strength was more than enough to annihilate them. But there was the catch. 

Killing even a single participant would result in penalties—potential disqualification, reduced rewards, and the loss of his chance to compete in the final Tournament. For someone with aspirations of becoming the Alpha Prime, such consequences were unacceptable.

Jay faced the daunting task of subduing nearly 8,000 Alpha Chosen without taking a single life, all while they relentlessly and single-mindedly tried to kill him.

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Author Note: 

Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.

The first ten to comment for new chapter releases will get '1 ADVANCED CHAPTER' for free on Earth Alpha Prime's Discord server.

In the discord server, I opened a private channel for those Top 10 candidates, where I posted the respective Advanced Chapter.

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Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :

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This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com