Chapter 313: Chapter 313 - Arcadia Championship Clash(Part 3)

Point-of-View: Izzozon

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"Yesss! It’s finally my turn!" I grinned excitedly in anticipation.

"Take it easy, you’re gonna wear yourself out. Either that, or you’re going to get overexcited and end your match in an instant, only to be disappointed that it wasn’t more fun. Remember, we’ll each only be participating in one match today, so relax," Remarked Argent, patting my shoulder.

Oh, that’s right...yeah, it’d be pretty disappointing if my first fight ended before I get to enjoy myself. My opponent is Conda, the Lizardman Elder of the Demi-Humans.

I haven’t seen him fight before so I have no idea what he’s capable of, which should hopefully make it more challenging, and therefore more fun.

"Okay, I’m calm now...well, I’m still really excited to kick this off, but I think I’m a bit more composed. I’m heading out there," I declared, as Rosary left the arena, the next match ready to begin.

"Alright, good luck, Izzy...I’ll be cheering you on," Smiled Argent, stroking my hair.

"Thanks! I’ll put on a show!" I smirked confidently, before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and heading out, making my way down towards the arena, brimming with excitement and anticipation.

As I jogged out, I was slightly startled by how loud the cheers of the audience was...wow, it wasn’t this loud while I was inside, but out here in the arena, the sound is so magnified.

I clenched my right fist tightly as a giddy smile spread out across my lips, the cheers hyping me up as I stepped onto the arena, before spotting my opponent approaching the arena too.

"Well, now, look at you, that’s quite the bounce in your step. It’s actually helping relieve my nervousness a bit," He chuckled wryly.

The physical abilities of Lizardmen include a hypnotic gaze, the ability to spit a powerful acid venom from their mouths, a paralyzing venom from their claws and fangs, and the ability to stick to walls with their fingers and toes.

Well, the hypnotic gaze isn’t the most effective in battle, it requires prolonged eye contact to properly activate...and as for his venom, both the acidic and paralyzing varieties, my regeneration will ensure I recover from those almost instantly.

They have the ability to detect thermal signatures and possess a regeneration ability too, though it’s not as powerful as that of Demons. They’re also highly agile and flexible, and their raw strength is fairly immense too. And while they can’t use Magic, they generally tend to be blessed with at least two powerful Skills.

Of course, like I said, I have no idea what his Skills are, but I’m perfectly fine with that...

"Hope you put up a good fight, I’m looking forward to this," I remarked excitedly.

"Heh, I’ll certainly give it my best shot...try not to complain too much if I win though," He replied with a smile.

"That’s not going to happen, but I like the confidence. I hope you can back it up," I responded with a slight smirk.

"Okay, time for the third match...it’s Izzozon vs the Lizardman Elder Conda. Here’s the countdown...ten, nine, eight..."

Why does the countdown have to start from ten? Couldn’t they make it a three second countdown, or at most, five? Ten is so long...come on, I’ve waited long enough, count faster! We really need a more energetic announcer for tomorrow’s leg of the tournament...

"Three, two, one, zero."

Conda swiftly shot towards me, getting low as he closed in before rapidly spinning around and whipping his tail towards me.

I swayed out of the way, before springing back as he formed a swirling ball of Negative Energy and fired it at me...ah, he must have the Energy Conversion and Manipulation Skill.

The Negative Energy generated by that Skill isn’t as powerful as the Negative Energy that Demons generate, but his attack has some decent intensity to it.

He then raised his right arm slightly, before a strange, dark grey energy formed around both his hands...was he trying to hide the chant in order to mask the Skill?

I didn’t see him chant when he fired that Negative Energy attack either, he must have chanted in the instant he spun around to whip his tail at me...

He then leapt towards me and swung his right arm across at me, which I swiftly evaded by turning my body across, his hand whizzing past the front of my chest as I avoided his attack, before he planted his tail on the floor behind him to his left and launched off it like a spring, barreling towards me and swinging his left arm at my face.

I quickly jumped back to evade, the side of his hand brushing my chin-...hm? That felt weird, it didn’t hurt or anything, but something feels off...

I then lifted up my left foot and drove it towards him, before he swiftly kicked off the floor with his tail to spring back and out of the way of my kick.

Huh? He reacted quickly, but...I thought I could land that kick. Was I too slow? No, the timing felt right, but my execution seemed to lag behind a bit. What’s going on?

He then swiftly raced across as I unleashed a blast of flames at him, before I flew up and rapidly swooped down towards him, coating my fists in flames and driving my right fist down towards his head.

He quickly tilted his head across, grimacing in pain as my fist grazed the side of his head and inflicted a few burns across the scales over that spot, before he swung his arm up and lightly smacked my arm with his hand, the weird feeling growing stronger.

He swiftly backed away as I fired out a blast of flames from my mouth, a hiss of pain ringing out as my flames partially engulfed his right side, several burns across his right arm as he got some distance away from me.

Again, my movements were much slower than they normally are...

As the burns I’d inflicted on him began to heal, he shot towards me rapidly, driving his right fist up towards my face as he closed in on me, and as I put my guard up, he suddenly and abruptly halted his fist before slapping my knee with his other hand.

He then ducked as I swiped my claws at his head, before slamming his palm onto my stomach, my eyes widening in realization as I figured out what kind of effect his Skill was inflicting on me.

I drove my knee up towards his stomach, but he easily sprang back and evaded my attack, backing away and getting some distance again.

"I see now...I don’t know what that Skill is, but that grey energy around your hands, it makes me slower every time you land a hit, doesn’t it?" I surmised as I opened and closed my fist a couple of times.

My body feels a lot heavier, his attacks slow down my movements more and more with every strike. After that last hit, I think my speed is about on par with his...however, his reflexes and reaction speed are faster than mine, giving him the physical advantage...

"Yes, that’s right...well, sort of. Specifically, each hit I land with this energy increases your original weight by ten percent. I’ve hit you four times so far, which means you’re forty percent heavier than you were at the start of our match. I’d have liked to have landed a few more hits, but you’re only slightly faster than I am now, setting aside the fact that you’re still holding back on your full power, so I think it’s time to take this to the next stage. I won’t hide my next Skill, it won’t really make a difference whether you know what it is or not...here goes, Initiate Skill: Physical Boost x10!" He chanted, before he vanished from my line of sight, my body suddenly growing heavier as I felt a slap across my shoulder.

I turned that way, before I felt another slap across my other shoulder, followed by a palm strike to my stomach, my weight sharply and repeatedly spiking higher and higher as he proceeded to hit me with several continuous strikes, mixing in a few Negative Energy blasts in between.

Okay...I might have underestimated him a bit.

I then collapsed onto my knees as my legs wobbled and buckled under the immense increase in weight, deep cracks spreading out across the floor of the arena under me...heh, this is awesome, I didn’t think I’d struggle so much in the very first match!

"Ohh, we have to spar sometime after this tournament, you’re so much fun to fight against! I didn’t think I’d have to use this so early in the competition...as thanks for giving me such a great challenge, I’ll go all out!" I exclaimed, before chanting as he rushed in to deliver a finishing blow with his claws, "Unlock Seal: Level 3!"

He quickly halted in alarm and sprang back as intense wisps of blue flames burst out around me as I unleashed sixty percent of my full power, the most that I was able to fully control at the moment, before an immense explosion of blue flames erupted around me, roaring fiercely as it expanded across the entire arena, bathing the entire stadium in a fiery, pale blue light...

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