"Someone died!"
"It's the mage!"
"Hotpot! Hotpot!"
"Victory is at hand!"
The spectators were excited, their cheers shaking the arena.
Down below, the combatants were unable to see them. SpireX faltered for a second as the news of Menace's death was relayed to the team. Everyone's hearts skipped a beat. But the professional players wouldn't give up. Instead, they became even more determined. The pressure on Fortune increased. SpireX, BlackHorizon, and Greenhorn unleashed hell upon the mage.
A moment later the [Sacred Barrier] shattered with a loud bang. A wave of healing magic was unleashed, aiding Liam and his friends.
"Kill!"
SpireX let out a shout, his eyes red. Fortune was right in front of him. The team captain waved his two axes, rushing at the mage. Greenhorn and BlackHorizon followed. Terrifying attacks rained down on Fortune. The latter tried to get to safety with a flash step, but it was not enough. Against three warriors Fortune eventually failed to defend herself.
"No! Fortune! How could you?!"
"Don't they have some pity for women?!"
"I will… wait what is that?!"
Just as if looked like the mage was about to fall, the audience noticed something strange. Fortune's staff was floating in the air. It began to shine in a deep blue light. A long river of gently flowing water appeared out of nowhere, winding around the mage, preserving her last bit of HP.
"Damnit!"
SpireX couldn't help but curse. He knew about this effect of Fortune's [Staff of the Jailed God], which could save her life and grant her 5 seconds of invulnerability once every twenty four hours. He had been gambling. Perhaps Fortune already had to use the effect. Or even if this wasn't the case, the shock of nearly dying could have caused Fortune to cancel the cast of her ultimate skill.
But this wasn't the case. Since advancing to a new class, it was easier for Fortune to prevent her cast from getting cancelled. She found it easier to move around or perform a flash step. Additionally, should someone use magic in her vicinity, Fortune would absorb some of the unleashed mana, shortening her cast time. Thus, even though the three warriors put a lot of pressure on her, delaying her cast, it was now finally ready.
Fortune couldn't help but show a bright smile. She felt her own improvement. In the past she had sometimes joined some of the top teams, but her focus was on content creation. Ultimately, she found it difficult to keep up and was eventually replaced or left on her own.
But this time it was different. The atmosphere of the team suited her perfectly. It was just the right level of competitiveness but also support among the team members. Bleary Mirage was not only a great player himself but also someone able to help others to improve.
Fortune often had the thought that the expert was too experienced teaching weaker players. As if he had led other teams before Hotpot existed. But those thoughts were only fleeting.
The mage focused back on the current battle. An insane amount of mana gathered on her staff, causing it to shake wildly in her hands. Invisible currents struck the mountain valley. Under the solemn looks of SpireX and the others, Fortune pointed her staff to the front and a tall, blueish magical avatar appeared out of nowhere, its pure presence sending shivers down the spines of all mages.
"Sh*t! We failed to stop her!"
Henragon cursed loudly. Only at this moment did he arrive behind Liam, trying to interfere with the dangerous nephilim. Liam was under great pressure. CUwUty did a good job holding him back. Without [Chaotic Tempest] he might really be at threat of dying.
Balm surveyed the battlefield. Her [Light of Regeneration] had just come off cooldown. However, there was not much of a choice. Fortune had just used her ultimate skill. Should she die now, the avatar would also disappear, negating all her efforts. Thus, Balm used the skill on Fortune. Inwardly she prayed that [Light of Regeneration]'s additional effect would trigger, spreading the healing to another ally. The chance was only five percent. But with her ultimate skill active it was increased to twenty percent. With a little bit of luck…
"Thanks!"
Fortune sighed in relief. For the moment she had survived the assault. Her invulnerability still lasted for two seconds. She took the time to sweep her eyes over the battle. Suddenly she froze looking at Hero of Realms.
GalanTen's mage was in a similar situation as her. Supported by his healer he was temporarily save and the warriors who had attacked him had turned elsewhere. Thus, it was only logical for the mage to use this brief respite to also cast his own ultimate skill.
Fortune discovered the immense amount of mana gathering towards the mage.
[Fortune: Look at Hero!]
A quick warning moved her friends. However, as long as Hero of Realms was protected by [Life and Death], there was not much they could do about it.
Hero of Realms was surprisingly quick. It was obvious that the mage relied on skill with a low cast time. Even his ultimate skill didn't take long. The mage straightened his body, his usually tired expression turning stern. He stretched both his hands towards the front, his staff floating between them.
"Elemental Barrage!"
The mage shouted the name of his skill but at this time no one thought it sounded cringe. Everyone stared solemnly at the magic circles of various colours shining behind his back. The wind roared, the temperature rose. Small rocks danced around the mage and lightning flashed across the sky. Hero of Realm's hair danced in the chaos.
The scene was branded in the minds of many spectators. This was what a real mage should look like. Not to say that Cyclone or Fortune were any weaker, but they just didn't have this kind of imposing appearance.
Hero of Realms didn't care much about the audience. Right now, he only knew that his team needed him to turn the situation around. Of course, he was not entirely alone. Shortly before Hero of Realms unleashed his skill, the arrow representing [Life and Death] sticking to his shoulder suddenly turned from a vital white colour to a deathly black.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Finally, Hero of Realms revealed his magic. The magic circles floating behind his back chaotically shot various elemental spheres, creating a terrifying bullet hail. Water, fire, wind, everything stirred up the battlefield. Even Silver Blade, if forced to tank this skill, would struggle.
"Careful!"
"Dodge!"
"Get away!"
For a moment Hotpot's members were flustered. It was impossible to dodge all the attacks. Luckily a single shot didn't deal too much damage. But still, after only two seconds Hero of Realms dealt almost ten thousand points of damage across the board.
Luckily Fortune managed to cast her ultimate skill beforehand. She hastily directed her avatar to stand in front of Hero of Realms. Its large body was immune to magic, the perfect counter for the mage. Hero of Realms frowned heavily. He shot left and right, trying to get around the magic avatar, but Fortune perfectly controlled her summon to block the enemy.
The members of GalanTen all wore grim expressions. This was exactly the reason why they wanted to take out Fortune before Hero of Realms used his ultimate skill. After all, it wasn't only Hero of Realms's [Elemental Barrage] which as blocked but also Oculus's [Life and Death].
The healing skill had a secondary effect. After transforming into the black arrow of death, it allowed Hero of Realms to apply a stacking debuff to enemies hit by his abilities. This debuff was like an executioner's blade hanging above the enemy's neck. It marked two percent of the enemy's HP per stack. Should the HP fall below this threshold, they would die on the spot.
Among the friends, some stacks had been scattered but it wasn't that bad. The one in danger was Fortune's avatar. Despite its immunity to magic it wasn't immune to the debuff. Stacks accumulated quickly, already increasing the threshold to 32%.
However, at this point Hero of Realms was running out of steam. He took a deep breath, looking at the result of his ultimate skill. The dissatisfaction was evident in his eyes.
"Quick! We take out that avatar!"
While some magic still lingered in the air, SpireX directly gave the next command. BlackHorizon and Greenhorn reacted perfectly. The three warriors appeared next to Fortune's avatar and struck with all their might. It only took them a few seconds to push the magic avatar below 32% of its HP. Suddenly a dark arrow came out of nowhere, piercing the avatar's heart, killing it on the spot.
"So vicious!"
Fortune drew a sharp breath. Her avatar couldn't even reveal its might. During the time it only managed to retaliate against SpireX with two punches. But if it weren't for her avatar the same fate might have befallen one of her friends.
"No!"
Suddenly a startled shout came out of nowhere. Everyone's eyes switched from the disappearing avatar to Hero of Realms. A shocking scene presented itself as Quickstep's swords struck the mage, reducing his HP to zero.