"Argghh!" Julian grunted as his figure was thrown across the arena. The arena had grey tiles and underneath that were various formations that protected the audience and the participants from any lethal injuries.
His opponent was a tier two on the third array however there was a huge disparity between them that made this fight one sided. And that was the fact that his opponent actually knew what he was doing whilst Julian was like a child, confused in his predicament thus he was forced to play defense.
And the worst part of that idea as well was that even that too, he wasn't all that skilled in that as well.
*Bam*
With a final blow, he was thrown out of the arena. "HAHAHA!" Raptures of laughter echoed through the air as they saw this scene. Julia was an absolute monster when it came to combat but that came along with its own set of problems.
He was known for being extremely arrogant and merciless with his opponents. Provided he won and didn't cross the borders of cheating, he would use any underhanded tactics to achieve victory thus to see him beaten to such a state was definitely pleasing to the audience.
"Julian, are you okay?" The instructor came over as soon as he noticed how Julian was contending. At first he thought that he was about to pull some cheap trick but to his surprise and to those of many, Julian actually was beaten to such a state.
"I would like to withdraw from the competition." Julian said with resolution in his voice. He wasn't a masochist to keep on going. In his past life, he had never experienced such pain as he was bedridden but now this, this was too much.
"You are aware of what you are doing, right?" Arannis SAID AS handed him a grade two healing potion. It could heal superficial injuries and internal injuries but not to a great extent.
Mostly it was used for spars with the highest grade used in wars and high stakes fight while the lower ones used in casual spars or for inconvenient matters. He drank it before he walked out of the arena, dejected and full of shame.
"Very well, the next participants are Calliope and Vivienne. Get up here!" Arranis said as he walked off the stage. The two parties made their way to the stage as they waited for the battle to commence. A quick glance at Calliope, one could deduce where she thrived in.
"I actually thought that you would withdraw as well." Calliope said with a hint of mockery in her words. Vivienne ignored her words as her mind started calculating on taking her down.
By looks alone, Calliope was heavily built with bulging muscles. She had a cocky demeanor and a fiery temperament hanging around her. She was a giant in comparison to Vivienne's figure which seemed frail and dainty.
"Don't bother trying to take me down. Just hold still and close your eyes. It may sting but it will be over before you know it." Calliope said as she realized what Vivienne was trying to do.
*Ding*
The bell was rung, allowing the commencing of the match to which Calliope did not hesitate in closing the distance between the two. Vivienne recalling her memories was a mage, specializing in spells and somewhat long range and wide scale attacks but that wouldn't be possible with Calliope constantly approaching her.
'She's preventing me from making any moves on her. Seeing her endurance, if this keeps up. I'll be exhausted and shell be able to close the distance between us.' Vivienne concluded as she saw Calliope's figure frantically rushing towards her.
She knew that she couldn't run the entire fight as Calliope would out last her in terms of physical attributes. Suddenly, she launched a medium size fireball towards Calliope to which a faint light armor enveloped her figure as the fire was easily dispelled.
She didn't bother dodging it as she took it head on. "Is that all that you got?" Calliope asked as she noticed that Vivienne was no longer running like the way she was earlier.
"So you have finally come to your senses. This shouldn't take long." Calliope was ranked in terms of physical strength and vigor among the top of the class. There were few that could contend with her in that aspect thus most would want to wrap the match as soon as possible.
Vivienne on the other hand wasn't actually planning on inflicting any form of damage with that attack. It was pathetic and she knew it. It acted as a gauge to determine whether she had any form of protection artifact on her.
She was barely dressed thus locating the artifact would be easy but the problem was that it wasn't visible. 'She has a concealment attribute to it.' Vivienne thought as the two clashed.
This time, she chose to go on the offense and launch a barrage of attacks on her. Mostly were potent fire spells which Calliope blocked by either dodging or brute blocking by relying on her shield. 'This isn't working.'
She knew that she couldn't keep this up for long even if she wanted. She could already feel the result of blatantly firing projectiles at Calliope. But that didn't mean that she didn't have another trick up her sleeve.
"Is that it?" Calliope asked ash saw the haggard expression on Vivienne. Just as she was about to close the distance between her…
*BOOM*
An explosion went off that threw her to the side taking her by surprise but luckily, her amour negated most of the damage away but that didn't mean that she came out completely unscathed. There was a slight burnt graze on her cheek because of that explosion.
'So that's it. It would seem that the armor isn't completely invincible as it can't defend against cache or indirect attacks such as explosions very well.' Sure this was great for her to know this not to mention she had covered the entire arena with such mines.
She knew that Calliope despite her huge figure, she was surprisingly agile. But the problem was that it worked both ways but she knew where she had placed them. However she was completely spent and she would take a while to regain her energy.
Her mana pools were drained which she had to absorb the small white orbs that drifted carefree in the air. They were present all over and she could faintly see them along with any tier expert. The more one would see them, the easier it would be for them to not only recuperate but also advance to higher tiers.
Calliope on the other hand didn't seem too fond of the mines that were placed all over as she treaded lightly on the arena. Luckily she didn't possess and artifact that could enable her to traverse on air or make huge leaps as it would be problematic for Vivienne.
As soon as she got close to any mines she had planted, Vivienne instantly exploded knocking her off course and at ties into other mines which she had planted during her runs.
"Wow! To actually thin that Vivienne actually had such a plan. She might actually turn this fight around." Some random observer speculated however if one looked closely, one would realize that Vivienne's advantage was slowly waning.
And she knew this as well as she tried to plant more with some landing on Calliope while others, she was able to faintly sense them. If one was a proficient mage, they would be able to deduce where the mines were planted but since Calliope was more of a brute tan a mage, she didn't have this advantage.
'I can't keep on recuperating while keeping her at bay. I need to fully keep her away from me but there is still the problem of taking her down.' Sure she would be able to recuperate her mana pools but the challenge of taking Calliope down was still evident.
Looking at Calliope, she had an infuriated expression on her face and it was understandable. She had been tossed around the arena like a rag doll due to the mines placed. Parts of her face had been burnt off along with her arm.
Her movement had decreased greatly as she was now walking carefully. Both sides seem exhausted from this exchange but they had to keep on going. Calliope couldn't allow herself to lose to such a weak opponent while Vivienne couldn't allow to disappoint their parents.
To her surprise, Vivienne heard a voice that she thought that she would never hear ever again.
[{Host is in a conflict, do you wish to reclaim your previous abilities?}]
[{Andrew hopes this helps and says hello.}]
She seemed frozen seeing this notification. 'Does this mean that he is here?' She thought but the matters in front of her required attention and if she didn't pay attention then shed definitely lose.
"…Yes." She said finally. Her situation required her to do so. She hadn't fully explored Vivienne's memories in terms of combat but now, she would be using something that she was more than capable she could control.
In a split second, her black eyes shine golden as a smile finally erupted from her face. So far, she could tell that this world had never dealt with such an element first hand. Sure teleportation had already been discovered but arrays were used as a medium.
A person doing it with no spell following it after would no doubt raise suspicions but knowing that she would be forced to expose this skill sooner or later. She might as well do it now to avoid complications later.
"What are you smiling at?" Calliope asked as a small streak of blood ran down her forehead. She had been bounced all over that she had received internal injuries and a head concussion but the fact that she was still on her feet proved her determination.
"Because you are going to lose!" Vivienne said as she raised her arm pointed at Calliope. It was evident that she was going to fire a projectile thus she raised her hands on a block stature to defend but to her surprise, there was no projectile directed at her.
Vivienne crushed her hand and Calliope's figure seemed to collapse to the floor as she seemed to be strangled by an invisible hand. "What spell is that?" Numerous voices emerged from the crowd. "I can't tell, she's not using mana in that! Did she come up with such an attack herself or what?!"
Arranis contemplated as he saw this. He couldn't sense any mana in this attack thus found it peculiar. There were moves that didn't require mana but majority of that was for trivial matters such as lighting fires lifting heavy objects and more.
But to do not utilize mana for such a potent attack, it was barely heard off. Sure, there we attacks that barley used mana but those were the low tier grade spells. 'Maybe she is using a concealment artifact but why would she wait till now to use it? Do they have to be weak or maybe it is a mind attack.'
Arranis thought as he saw this.
*BAM*
Calliope's figure was hurled a lot for most of the arena as Vivienne seemed exhausted herself as she was barely on her feet but she persevered nonetheless. Another figure who was shocked upon seeing this was Julian. He could deduce what skill she had used.
'It seemed that he knows what skill she utilized but why is he shocked in seeing it?' Arranis picked up on this as well. "Congratulations Vivienne, you won the matc-"Before he could finish, Vivienne said as she got off the arena.
"I concede!" She rushed off to which Julian followed her. "She actually quit the match despite having such a skill." Some speculated, pondering why she would withdraw from the match.
…
"Are you okay?" Julian asked as he noticed her sister was no longer reveling in her victory but rather anxious. He could understand why as he had seen her use that skill in his previous life but to think that she could use it here was definitely a surprise for both her and her brother.
"You won, sister." He said as he handed her a grade two restoration potion. Her fatigue faded from her body but that didn't seem to lessen her tension. "He is here!" She said grimly. "Who?!" Julian asked with a somewhat fearful expression.
Even in their last world, he had never seen his sister this spooked at all. "Andrew! That monster is here!" She finished off.