"Rules are simple. The match ends upon surrender, knockout, or ring-out. No lethal intent. No permanent injury. No looms. Thirty-minute limit."
She raised her hand.
"Battle start."
Dun stepped forward confidently and cracked his neck. "Do not worry, Lord Lioren. I alone will take care of this presumptuous brat."
Lioren nodded, a dazzling grin aimed straight at me.
I returned it with one of my own, lacking both charm and the dazzling part. As much as I hated to admit it, the guy really was unfairly handsome.
I walked forward as well, matching Dun's pace, quietly enhancing my right hand.
When we were only a short distance apart, Dun stopped and crossed his arms.
"Just so you know," he said smugly, "I am not as kind as Lord Lioren over there. You should beg for forgiveness before it is too late."
With my hand still brimming with energy, I stretched casually and cleaned my ear with a finger.
That did it.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he snarled and coated both arms in wind. His body lifted off the ground, boots hovering inches above the arena floor.
"You are asking for it."
He shot toward me, the air around his arms compressing into a spiraling drill as he straightened his fingers.
I watched him calmly and came to a simple conclusion.
Slow. Too slow.
Compared to hellish daily training with Kim and being ragdolled by Tasora, this was nothing. Back then, I had to rely purely on instinct just to survive. Against this guy, I could actually see everything.
When Dun swung his right hand at my head, I ducked easily and shoved him aside with a sharp push.
He stumbled back, barely regaining balance.
His face turned crimson, rage practically pouring out of him.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!"
I tilted my head. "Underestimating you. Isn't it obvious?"
From the corner of my eye, I saw Lioren's grin falter.
I exhaled slowly. Oh? That was not enough?
Then how about this?
I planted my feet, enhanced them fully, and extended my right hand toward a point roughly five meters in front of Dun.
I braced my body, muscles tightening in anticipation.
Dun, still fuming, barked, "What nonsense do you think you are do—"
"KABOOOOO000OOOOM!"
The explosion of force ripped through the arena.
Dun's body launched past Lioren in a blur, the shockwave ruffling his perfectly styled hair as Dun slammed into the arena wall and sailed straight out of bounds.
Silence followed.
I looked directly at Lioren and met his eyes.
"I told you," I said calmly. "A breeze was more than enough to knock you over."
Lioren's smile finally vanished, replaced by a sharp and serious stare.
I rolled my shoulder, half as a warm-up and half as a provocation, and said, "Finally got your attention, pretty boy?"
Behind Lioren, Runden was sweating heavily. "That was a tier-three magic, flame burst," he muttered nervously.
"Isn't he unranked?"
Lioren did not look away from me. "Change of plans. Runden, coordinate with me. He must have lied about his rank to catch us off guard. Complaining now would only make us look afraid."
His gaze hardened.
"Stand proud. Show the pride of an Ocypete."
"Yes, my lord," Runden replied stiffly.
Runden stepped back and thrust both hands forward, eyes shut tight.
The pink highlights in his hair began to glow as violent currents of wind gathered around his arms, spiraling outward in unstable waves.
At the same time, Lioren drew his sword.
His yellow hair shimmered, his eyes glowing as the transmuted thrum of wind coated the blade.
The air stretched and solidified, forming an extended edge of compressed wind that hummed with lethal sharpness.
I glanced at Zmey, silently asking if this was allowed.
She met my gaze and merely shook her head once.
So looms were forbidden, but weapons were fair game. This world's logic still baffles me to this day.
I refocused on my opponents.
By my estimation, Lioren was an Ichor type, direct and lethal up close.
Runden was clearly an Astute type, likely preparing either a wide-area attack.
The next move was obvious.
I stepped back, fully enhanced both my arms and legs, and then launched forward.
Lioren met me head-on.
Compared to Dun, he was slower. Not by much, but enough to notice. Still, something felt wrong.
The moment I closed the distance, his sword moved.
It was sharp, fluid, and precise.
Steel and wind cut across my path, forcing me to twist aside.
I raised my enhanced forearm to block, and the impact sent a jolt through my bones.
The wind blade screeched as it scraped against my reinforcement, shaving away layers of condensed thrum.
I clicked my tongue and pivoted, kicking low to break his stance.
He stepped back smoothly, sword flowing into another arc that forced me to retreat instead.
Again.
And again.
Each clash chipped away at my enhancements. Not enough to break them instantly, but enough that I could feel the strain.
The wind-infused blade was eroding my reinforcement faster than expected.
I jumped back, creating distance, and quickly recoated my arms and legs with fresh enhancement. My breathing stayed steady, but my focus sharpened.
Lioren did not pursue immediately. He simply pointed his blade at me and smiled faintly.
"What's wrong, peasant?" he asked.
"Cat got your tongue?"
Behind him, the wind around Runden continued to swell, growing heavier and denser by the second.
Letting that fatso finish his chant is a bad idea. But this pretty-faced bastard will not let me through.
I then thought of a popular saying in a gaming community I was in.
"If running does not get you out of trouble, then you are not running fast enough."
I broke into a sprint toward Runden.
"Charging in without a plan," Lioren sneered. "As expected of a peasant's tactics."
While running, I shot a grin at him, "Don't kid yourself. I was only testing the waters."
Lioren planted his feet and raised his sword in a clean knight's stance, wind spiraling tighter around the blade.
"Then come forth."
I snapped my arm forward, palm aimed straight at him.
"KABOOOOOM!"
A compressed blast of air detonated in front of Lioren, ripping the ground apart and throwing dust and debris skyward. The shockwave howled through the arena.
But he was already gone.
I felt it a split second too late.
He slid sideways with impossible precision, coat fluttering as the explosion tore past where he had been standing.
Before I could adjust, I was already running again, aiming straight for Runden.
A sharp whistle cut the air.
CLANG!
I twisted just in time, crossing my arms as Lioren's wind-forged blade crashed into my guard. The impact skidded me backward, my boots carving lines into the stone.
"Tch."
"Tch."
We both recoiled
I recoated my arms with thrum and lunged again.
"BOOOOM!"
He dodged again.
I tried to slip past him.
SLASH!
The blade grazed my shoulder, shredding my enhancement like paper. Pain flared, sharp and immediate.
I jumped back, teeth clenched, reforging the coating before it could collapse entirely.
"BOOOOM!" "CLANG!" "KLANG!" "BOOOOM!!"
Again and again, explosions roared, and steel screamed through the air. My attacks shook the arena. His sword carved through them with elegantly.
My breathing grew heavier.
So did his.
Sweat rolled down his temple. His movements were still sharp, but no longer effortless. My head burned, my arms screaming every time I recast enhancement on them.
We stood a few meters apart, both drawing in ragged breaths as the wind howled around us.
Behind Lioren, the thrum around Runden had reached a dangerous pitch.
This stalemate cannot last.
And we both knew it.
I wanted to save this technique until midterms at least, but Lioren's swordsmanship was far more refined than I had anticipated. No choice then.
Lioren noticed something was off and readied his stance. For some unknown reason, a smile crept across his face.
Not the usual creepy, snake-like grin, but something more innocent.
He was on cloud nine.
I stepped forward and brought both palms together, placing them behind my back. I enhanced my feet and hands to their absolute limit.
This was the first time I had ever done this.
Once the base enhancement stabilized, I layered another coat on top of it.
Then another.
Three layers.
My body screamed in protest.
I looked at Lioren and said, "Do not blink."
The glow in his hair highlights and eyes intensified. The air blade extended even further, swelling to a comically large size.
"You wish," he replied, grinning with exhilaration.
He launched himself toward me.
I wanted to meet him head-on, but brute force would not be enough to win against him.
At the exact moment Runden finished his chant and opened his eyes, I moved.
I detonated both overlapped palms behind my back and my feet simultaneously, launching myself like a missile, not toward Lioren, but toward Runden.
"Ocypete's Breath!"
"KABOO0000OOOOM!"
I slammed into Runden, driving my fist into his face while carrying all of my momentum.
"KAPOW!!""
CRASH!!"
Runden was sent flying clean out of the stadium.
One opponent left.
But something was wrong.
He had definitely chanted long enough for a wide-scale spell and completed it.
If it was not an area attack, then he must have cast something else entirely.
Something like a—
A violent gust of wind slammed into me from behind, catching me completely off guard.
Before I could finish the thought, the answer revealed itself.
I turned.
Lioren was floating high above the arena with a pair of wings on his back, staring down at me, holding his absurdly massive wind sword aimed straight at my position.
With his blond hair and perfectly sculpted face, he looked like an angel descending from the heavens.
I stared up at him, awe and excitement bubbling together.
"Looks like it is time for phase two."