The second round of the preliminaries pitted Nat's team against a more experienced and
strategically-minded group. This team comprised a C+ tier earth elemental known for their
defensive prowess, a B- tier wind elemental with exceptional mobility, a D+ tier water elemental
skilled in supportive healing, and a C- tier fire elemental with a focus on sustained damage.
They had clearly analyzed Nat's team's previous performance and seemed determined to
exploit their perceived weaknesses.
The opposing team's strategy was immediately apparent. The earth elemental erected a series
of intricate and rapidly shifting barriers, making it difficult for Atlas to land direct hits. The wind
elemental used their superior mobility to constantly reposition, harassing Zephyr and preventing
him from establishing any consistent air control. The water elemental stayed towards the back,
providing healing and support to their allies, while the fire elemental unleashed a steady stream
of focused flames, targeting Nat and Lyra.
Nat's team found themselves on the defensive from the outset. Lyra was forced to constantly
adapt her earth barriers to the ever-changing battlefield, her precise control stretched to its
limits. Zephyr struggled to pin down the agile wind elemental, his erratic gusts often missing
their mark. Atlas focused on breaking through the earth defenses, his powerful water jets
meeting solid resistance.
The opposing team's fire elemental, a student named Ignis, seemed particularly focused on Nat,
perhaps seeing him as the easiest target. He unleashed a barrage of focused fireballs, forcing
Nat to rely on quick reflexes and the limited protection Lyra could provide. The heat was intense,
and Nat felt the strain of trying to evade the relentless assault.
However, Nat had been diligently leveling up his Agility through the system, and his reaction
times had improved significantly. He was also learning to utilize his small flames in more
creative ways. Instead of directly engaging Ignis's powerful attacks, Nat began to use his flames
to create shimmering heat distortions in the air, making it harder for Ignis to track him accurately.
He also used small bursts of flame to ignite patches of dry foliage on the arena floor, creating
temporary obstacles and visual clutter.
Seeing Nat under pressure, Atlas shifted his strategy. Instead of directly attacking the earth
barriers, he began to target the ground beneath them, using pressurized water jets to
destabilize their foundations. This created openings that Lyra could then exploit with precisely
aimed earth spikes.
Meanwhile, Zephyr, after several near misses, finally managed to anticipate the wind
elemental's movements. With a sudden burst of focused wind, he created a localized vortex that
momentarily trapped their agile opponent, allowing Atlas to land a decisive water strike.
The battle became a tense dance of adaptation and counter-adaptation. The opposing team,
initially confident, began to falter as their well-laid plans were disrupted by the unexpected
resilience and strategic thinking of Nat's team. The healing from their water elemental kept them
in the fight, but the constant pressure from Lyra's shifting earth, Atlas's relentless water attacks,
and Zephyr's unpredictable wind began to wear them down.
Nat, though still not a powerhouse in terms of raw elemental damage, continued to play a
crucial support role. He used his 'Focused Flame' to disrupt the opposing fire elemental's
attacks, create small but strategically placed obstacles, and even ignite small fires to force their
opponents to reposition. His improved agility allowed him to evade attacks that would have
surely hit him in the previous round.
In a climactic moment, as Ignis launched a particularly powerful stream of fire towards Lyra, Nat,channeling his focus, managed to create a sudden burst of intense heat right in front of Ignis,
momentarily disrupting his concentration and causing the stream to waver. This small opening
allowed Lyra to encase Ignis's feet in a cage of earth, immobilizing him. With their primary
damage dealer incapacitated, the opposing team quickly succumbed to the combined assault of
Atlas and Zephyr.
Once again, Nat's team had defied expectations. Their victory was a testament to their
adaptability, their strategic thinking, and the way they had learned to compensate for their
individual weaknesses by working together. The whispers among the spectators now carried a
note of genuine intrigue, a growing sense that this unlikely team might be more than just a fluke.