Chapter 320: Chapter 320 - Arcadia Championship Clash(Part 10)

Point-of-View: Tania

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"It’s time for the eleventh match of round one, it’s the Fairy Elder Tania vs Leif."

My opponent is a young Light Elf boy, and as one of the Elders, I can’t afford to let him defeat me. At the risk of sounding boastful, I think I’m pretty powerful, but that doesn’t mean I can afford to get careless, I must keep my guard up and be cautious to ensure my victory.

He looks pretty nervous and anxious, he’s fidgeting a lot and his gaze is darting about...well, then, I should make sure that I don’t give him the opportunity to settle down. Of all the races that can use Magic, we Fairies are the best Spellcasters...I’ll make sure to hammer in that fact to everyone who’s watching, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"Here’s the countdown...ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero."

The instant the countdown ended, I unleashed a combined blast of flames and wind straight at my opponent, who quickly unleashed a burst of wind to his left to launch himself off to his right, evading my Spell before he fired off jets of wind from his heels to send himself hurtling towards me rapidly.

My, he’s quite fast and his control over his Wind Magic is excellent, not bad, not bad at all.

I zipped across as he closed in on me and took aim, firing out a piercing blast of wind towards me, evading his attack before I formed a rapidly spinning disk of ice and sent it barreling towards him with immense speed.

He quickly swerved across to his right as it sliced through the air and closed in on him, just barely avoiding my Spell before whipping his arm across and firing out a slashing wave of wind towards me, before I swiftly formed a narrow, vertical wall of earth in front of myself, the wind slash colliding against it and failing to break through as my earth wall absorbed the impact before breaking apart and crumbling to pieces.

My opponent then launched himself high up into the air, raising his arms above his head and forming a massive, swirling vortex of wind, before swinging his arms down and sending it hurtling down towards me.

I formed a large dome of water around myself, which absorbed the impact of his Wind Spell, before I broke the dome apart into several small needles and froze them, creating dozens of ice shards and sending them shooting up towards him rapidly.

He quickly zipped across the air, crying out in pain as a few of my needles struck his legs and got lodged in, before he gritted his teeth and pulled them out before healing himself, his expression easing before his eyes widened in alarm as I fired out a rapid bolt of lightning towards him.

He very briefly took his focus off me to pull out my ice needles and heal himself, and that was all the opening I needed.

He swerved downwards as the lightning bolt closed in on him, before his body sharply stiffened as it grazed the back of his right shoulder, paralyzing him as he began to plummet.

Good, he doesn’t have the mobility to react to my next attack, and I won’t give him enough to recover to do so...

"Elemental Earth: Meteor Strike Barrage, Initiate Skill: Enchantment - Explosion!" I chanted rapidly, creating several large rock projectiles and applying the Explosion Enchantment onto them, before sending them hurtling towards him with immense speed, a look of alarm appearing on his face as he struggled to try and regain mobility to get out of the way, but it was too late.

Several fierce explosions erupted as the large projectiles converged in on him, the entire stadium rumbling as deep cracks spread out across the arena, puffs of dust bursting out of the cracks as my opponent then appeared outside the arena, the barrier having teleported him out before my explosive meteor barrage could blast him to pieces.

Hm...maybe I should have used the the Meteor Strike Spell instead of the Meteor Strike Barrage Skill, that was a bit overkill, the entire arena is in pieces... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"That’s match eleven done, the winner is the Fairy Elder Tania."

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Point-of-View: Rhyle Stryker

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Looks like it’s my turn now...I feel really stressed out about this.

"You look nervous, dad...relax, you’re plenty strong, and you’ve been training hard lately, you’ve got this," Smiled Argent, patting my shoulder.

"Yes, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve been in a real fight, I effectively retired after you were born," I replied with a wry smile, before getting up and taking a deep breath, slowly exhaling to compose myself.

The last time I fought for real was when those Knights attacked Juana Village...if only I’d kept up with my training and stayed in shape, maybe I could have prevented that tragedy. I suppose there’s no point in thinking about that now, it won’t change the past...

"Well, there’s no pressure or anything, it’s just a tournament for entertainment, after all, so relax," Argent pointed out, snapping me out of it.

Yes, that’s true. But there’s a different kind of pressure...both my sons made it through the first round, it’d be embarrassing if I, as their father, failed to do the same. Okay, time to head out there.

I made my way out of the waiting area and down towards the arena, doing my best to maintain some composure...it really has been ages since I last fought in earnest, Argent, Larrk and a few others have been helping me spar to get back in shape and shake off the rust, and I think I’m physically more or close to where I was at my best, but mentally, I still have a lot of work to do.

My memories of the time that Drakkar tortured me are pretty hazy, the time between the attack on Juana Village and after I woke up from my coma are a blur...I consider myself lucky to have made a full recovery after going through that.

My boys gave me this second chance at life, and I have a responsibility to live my life to the fullest from here on...anything less would be an insult to them and the efforts they expended for my sake.

I clenched my fists to steel myself as I approached the arena, the barrier forming as I stepped onto it, along with my opponent, a Lizardman.

"Match number twelve of round one, Rhyle Stryker vs Nakes. And here’s the countdown...ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero."

"Manifest Soul Weapon: Wings of Liberation!" I chanted as the countdown ended, white feathered wings forming over my shoulder blades, before I quickly flew up as my opponent faded from sight.

Must be the Invisibility Skill, I don’t see him anywhere, so it’s not teleportation...alright, here goes.

I began to charge up a Fire Spell, before swerving across the air as a burst of acid came shooting up towards me and then firing the charged up Spell down in the direction the acid had come from, the flames roaring down and crashing onto the floor of the arena...did I get him?

Suddenly, I stiffened as I felt something sticky smack against my right elbow before rapidly pulling me towards the wall of the barrier towards my right...this must be his tongue, Lizardmen can stick to surfaces and shoot their tongues out like frogs, I let my guard down!

No, this is an opportunity!

As I began to close in on the wall of the barrier, I sharply spread out my wings and unleashed a powerful flap, briefly halting the momentum before I grabbed the invisible tongue sticking to my elbow with my left hand, grimacing slightly at the slimy, sticky feeling on my palm, before unleashing a burst of lightning, a stuttering cry of pain ringing out as the lightning traveled through his tongue and electrocuted him.

The lightning dried up the sticky moisture coating his tongue, allowing me to pull his tongue off my elbow right as he turned visible again, hitting the floor of the arena with a thud and letting out a groan as he struggled to get back up, his body trembling.

I then unleashed a barrage of sharp earth projectiles down towards him, his eyes widening in alarm as he scrambled to try and get out of the way, but he couldn’t react fast enough, the piercing projectiles converging in on him before the barrier triggered and teleported him out.

I...I did it...

"And the winner of match twelve is Rhyle Stryker."

Whew, I’m glad I got through that...honestly, I’m feeling a lot more relieved than triumphant...

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