My Charity System made me too OP-Chapter 308: Continous challenge

The platform this time was a smooth obsidian circle surrounded by black mirrors—walls so polished they reflected not just the image, but the aura of those who entered.

Leon stepped forward alone. The others remained behind.

Across the arena stood a slender figure—a humanoid Obsidian Ant with no weapons, no armor, and no visible energy. He stood with his arms behind his back, unmoving. His carapace was polished to a glassy sheen, so reflective that Leon saw his own posture echoed in perfect mimicry.

The inner glyphs pulsed.

"Challenger: Leon. Defender: Mirrosh the Still. Begin."

Leon didn't move.

Neither did Mirrosh.

The silence stretched. A single drop of sweat traced down Leon's brow. He stepped forward.

Instantly—impact.

He stumbled back, clutching his chest. He hadn't been hit. But the intention to attack had rebounded on his nerves. A phantom strike, born from his own aggression.

Shell Reverb—engaged.

He closed his eyes. Focused. Mirrosh was reflecting not just force, but instinct. The moment he became aggressive, the rhythm turned against him.

He took another step. Slow. No hostile intent.

This time—no backlash.

Leon exhaled. "So that's how it is…"

He began to circle Mirrosh. Slow steps. Mirrosh turned only slightly, always facing him. The champion remained still as a mountain, but each time Leon even considered attacking, his muscles seized slightly, and echoes of his own plans trembled in his bones.

Shell Reverb: 62% — passive mirror harmonics detected.

Leon shifted strategy.

He struck his own chest with his fist. Then his thigh. Then his shoulder.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Each strike sent a kinetic note through his frame—stored, shaped, and building.

Mirrosh tilted his head slightly. A reaction.

Leon smiled faintly. Got you.

Suddenly he rushed—not at Mirrosh, but toward the arena's mirrored wall. He punched his reflection.

Crack.

The wall trembled—and Mirrosh's form twitched. Disoriented.

Leon spun, released all three built-up Shell Reverb strikes—not at Mirrosh, but at his own aura.

A chain explosion of harmonic distortion shattered the feedback loop.

In that flicker of broken resonance, Mirrosh lost his perfect stance.

Leon dashed in.

Shatter Echo: Activated.

He punched low—not hard, but precise. The disruption passed through Mirrosh's shell and shattered the internal balance of his legs. Another echo into the shoulder. Then chest.

Detuned. Cracked. Open.

Final Strike: Echo Pulse—redirected kinetic overload.

Mirrosh staggered. Dropped to one knee. Then lowered his head.

"Victory: Challenger Leon. Rank 54 Defeated."

The mirrors darkened. Silence remained.

But every Obsidian Ant in the audience bowed in unison.

Leon, breathing slowly, stood in the center—tired, bruised, but victorious.

Shell Reverb Mastery: 64%

Roselia approached first, handing him water. "That was... insane."

"It was me vs. me," Leon muttered. "I hate fighting myself."

Roman chuckled. "You won though."

Milim appeared with an apple. "Did you just punch your own ghost to win?"

Leon smirked, walking toward the exit. "Something like that."

Naval looked ahead. "Rank 53's next. Want to rest first?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah. Let's take a day. That one felt like it hit deeper than bones."

After the grueling battle against Mirrosh the Still, Leon and his companions retreated to a quiet chamber beneath the obsidian arena—an antechamber reserved for recognized challengers of the upper ranks. The room pulsed faintly with thermal veins of living stone, providing a soothing warmth and steady hum that eased the wear on their bodies.

Leon sat cross-legged against a carved stone wall, a cloth draped over his shoulders to catch the sweat. His breath slowed steadily, the Shell Reverb still subtly resonating through his muscles. Roselia sat nearby, silently wrapping a fresh cloth around his bruised forearm.

"You're pushing the boundaries every fight," she murmured.

"That's the point," Leon replied, voice calm but focused. "Each battle isn't just for rank—it's fuel for the Reverb."

A rumbling at the chamber's far end drew their attention. An Obsidian Ant Elder emerged—his obsidian armor layered in dust and etched with age-worn glyphs of refinement and resonance. He carried a long staff made of crystal bone and darkroot bark.

"You have reached the stage where echo becomes ripple," the Elder said, his voice deep and gravelly. "And ripple becomes shock."

Leon rose, bowing slightly in respect. "Elder. Do you bring the next phase?"

"I do." The Elder approached, placing a hand over Leon's chest. A subtle vibration coursed through Leon's torso, mapping his current flow of Shell Pulse.

"You have touched the second tier... but to refine it, you must go beyond memory. You must mirror." He withdrew a sliver of curved obsidian and pressed it into Leon's palm.

"This is the Mirror Node. When placed over your heart during Shell Pulse meditation, it forces your Reverb to reflect the enemy's intent, not just their blows. With it, you may anticipate, replicate, and even distort the momentum of attacks aimed at you."

[Shell Reverb – Subform Unlocked: Shatter Echo.]

→ You may now store 10% of received kinetic energy and replay it with variance: reversed angles, doubled frequency, or delayed impact.

Leon exhaled slowly. "A counterattack before they even finish the motion…"

"Precisely," the Elder said, smiling faintly. "But it comes at cost. It is not just their echo you carry. It is your own, rebounding."

Leon nodded. "I'll bear it."

With renewed purpose, he stood, flexing his fingers as the Mirror Node was absorbed into the Shell Reverb glyph embedded near his sternum. The air around him shimmered faintly—like ripples waiting to collapse into waves.

"Next is Rank 53," he said to his team, voice calm and sharp.

Roselia gave a half-smile. "I don't know if the champion will realize how outclassed they are… until they're already on the floor."

Naval cracked her knuckles. "Let's just hope they put up a good show first."

Leon strode to the arena gate once more.

The storm hadn't passed.

It was just gathering precision.

The gate to the next arena rumbled open with a drawn-out groan, a sound like tectonic plates shifting beneath the Tower. Rank 53 awaited.

Leon stepped forward, calm and composed. His breath synced with the thrum of Shell Reverb in his body—every step releasing controlled echoes of his past clashes, weaving his instincts tighter, sharper. The Mirror Node pulsed faintly on his chest, whispering feedback through his nerves.