Amid all the shouting, I could hear my teammates’ words of encouragement. Even the twins were actively cheering for our captain.
Only captains are allowed to face the challenge alone; the rest of the team takes it on simultaneously in groups of three or four. The organizers chose this format because captains are usually the strongest, allowing everyone to focus entirely on that person without diverting attention to other screens.
When Areci is teleported, the cheers gradually begin to fade. As the countdown decreases, so do the spectators’ voices. With only two seconds remaining, the stadium falls into complete silence. It feels like a funeral.
Everyone is focused on the participant with the rare affinity, one of the women destined to become an example for the next generation. She is meant for greatness in every sense.
When the counter reaches zero, every unnecessary thought disappears from my mind. My entire brain locks onto the screen in front of me. I even push my mental skill to stay calm for as long as possible.
The beep sounds the instant the counter hits zero. Areci launches forward like every participant confident in defeating the ogre, charging straight at the monster without fear of losing. She reaches it just as quickly as the others thanks to her movement skill.
Her body is already coated in magma-type mana. She’s going in with a direct offensive. She has only built one additional construct: a massive sphere of magma above her head. The moment the ogre is less than two meters away, she hurls it forward.
The enormous magma sphere shatters all of the ogre’s defenses, forcing it to stumble back from the sheer force of the impact. Its scorched body tries to regenerate amid the chaos, but someone doesn’t allow it.
Areci is already on top of it, driving her sword into its chest and forcing it onto its back. She leaves the blade embedded and switches to direct strikes. Her fists are weapons to be feared while her body is covered in that magma armor.
She focuses on the head, blow after blow without stopping. The ogre tries to resist using earth mana like all the others in the tournament, but it’s useless. Its arms attempt to grab her, but she had already anticipated that. With an agile shift of her body, she moves out of reach.
Her mana flares an intense blue. Areci clasps her hands together and slams them directly into the ogre’s battered skull, shattering it into pieces. Brain matter sprays in every direction, and even her magma armor becomes splattered with remains.
The entire audience falls silent, watching the remains of a powerful grade 4 monster vanish across her body. The heat burns everything into ash.
She remains standing in place, lifts her head toward the sky, and raises her hand in celebration. The entire stadium erupts in euphoria when she does. That single motion breaks the silence.
“She didn’t hold back at all,” Brendu says as she throws her hands up and cheers for her friend.
The rest of the team bursts into applause and cheers for our captain. I’m shouting at the top of my lungs as well. I notice Shawu and Humyr hugging as they celebrate. Something must have changed between them these past few days. They look much closer lately.
“She must’ve broken the record. Areci has to be in first place!” Ogine shouts while grabbing the twins by the shoulders.
I stay silent. I’m not sure she was faster than Prince Charles. I know it was under four seconds and over three, but I don’t know the exact hundredths. I couldn’t focus enough to count precisely. My mind was more concerned with memorizing every detail.
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After a few seconds, the audience begins to calm down. A massive scoreboard appears on the screen. At first, it only displays three seconds.
The organizers are building suspense. The hundredths start cycling wildly through every possible number. Everyone holds their breath.
The suspense ends when the counter stops at 21. Three seconds and 21 hundredths. The stadium roars again at that magnificent time. Everyone seems happy or amazed. Everyone except us. We remain silent.
We all know second place is impressive. Many would kill for it. But we also know how badly Areci wanted to surpass Prince Charles in this tournament. She was only three hundredths away from tying him, and four from surpassing him.
Areci reappears. She doesn’t look sad or happy. She’s simply thoughtful as she walks toward us. Shawu is the first to run to her, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
There isn’t much time to speak. No one finds the right words before the next three are called to the stage. The twins and Humyr are up next. As expected from such offensively oriented fighters, they manage to defeat the monster. It wasn’t easy. They struggled, but they killed it in the end.
Next are Brendu, Ogine, and Shawu. Apparently, they’ve decided to leave me for last. I don’t know whether Susan intervened to send me alone or if the organizers did it after seeing my performance in the previous stages. I’m not complaining. I don’t mind going solo and putting on a show.
Shawu wins through a battle of attrition. Her style revolves around rapid offensive strikes, and she gradually wears the monster down. Brendu also defeats it. Her new item from the previous stage plays a significant role in her victory.
The most surprising is Ogine. She also defeats the ogre, using nearly all the allotted time. Her new staff benefited her greatly. It was a narrow win, but a win nonetheless.
“Don’t you dare place below me,” Brendu says as I walk toward the teleportation platform.
“Get ready to fall to third,” I reply without turning around. Thanks to my perception, I can see the small smile forming on her lips.
The crowd’s roar vanishes when I’m teleported to face the ogre. My plan is already in motion. I will make full use of every attribute I possess.
My swords are already in my hands, mana swirling around me. There’s something preventing me from building anything until the fight officially begins. I’m not like the others. Some used spatial affinity to escape or gain distance from the ogre. I’m different.
I teleport directly in front of the ogre, catching it off guard. By the time it reacts, it’s already lost an arm. Before the severed limb hits the ground, gravity propels my body forward, and my other blade carves a massive gash across its torso.
I can feel its movements slowing due to my gravity and because its body is desperately trying to regenerate the immense damage it just suffered.
I don’t waste a single hundredth of a second. I construct a fully charged Joyeuse behind it, driving it in at the perfect moment to halt its attempt to strike me with its remaining arm. The force of the construct slows it further, and I seize the opportunity to drive my arm forward with all the gravity mana I can muster.
I don’t push past my body’s limit for this attack. It’s unnecessary. It’s only a grade 4 ogre. Breaking myself would be a waste of mana.
The ogre’s constructs are disrupted by my Imra. I give it no room to act. My will clashes against its own, suppressing it in place. I overpower it quickly, forcing it down onto one knee, freezing it in place.
My blade is already moving toward its neck. Its head flies off in a perfect, clean cut. My final strike even freezes the severed neck on contact. The improvement in my ice affinity is noticeable. Only I can sense it in that instant. I’m getting closer and closer to where I want to be.
The counter must have stopped the moment the ogre’s head separated from its body. I raise my right hand, forming an M with my middle fingers, and with my left hand I form a V—my initials—just like I did in the last tournament I participated in.
The clock begins running wildly, seconds and hundredths racing without stopping. The first number to settle is the last digit of the hundredths: 8.
For a moment, I think I’ve tied the prince. That shouldn’t be possible… right? A few more seconds pass before it finally stops.
“Two seconds and ninety-eight hundredths.” That’s the time displayed on the clock. It’s a record, even for me.
I understand why I achieved it. I was focused on a single monster without worrying about restraint for safety. That’s impossible when surrounded by enemies or when conserving energy for a potential ambush.
I feel spatial mana surround me, and I’m teleported back into the coliseum. A thunderous roar greets me, and my friends are already running toward me. Brendu is the first to reach my side as I materialize.
“Congratulations.” I’m greeted with a tight embrace and a kiss.