Return Of The Strongest Player

The sparks of flames evolved into a tiny fire at the tip of her katana.

At that moment, Felix couldn't handle it. He rushed forward using mana as a catalyst to increase his speed. If Sarah truly had a backup plan, he couldn't twiddle his thumbs, waiting for her to deliver a strike.

If that truly was the case, he had to unleash his true power.

Arthur leaned forward. A smile was plastered over his face, and his eyes were glued to the battle. He wasn't impressed by the power, but the intensity of the emotions that exuded from each of the combatants.

As mentioned previously, a battle revolved around emotions.

If the emotions in a battle were fluctuating, it was considered an 'interesting' or 'worthwhile' battle in Arthur's deep, crimson eyes. However, it seemed many other spectators didn't agree with him.

Many spectators fell asleep, while others rested their chins on their palms, waiting for a display that could cause their hearts to skip a beat. Of course, that was impossible for mere first year examinees to produce.

Still, as Sarah's sword produced tiny flames, many spectators' eyes widened.

Felix appeared before Sarah's katana, and the latter's eyes widened. With crazed eyes, the former thrusted his spear forward, attempting to impale the blonde-haired woman once and for all.

Unfortunately, through the use of what seemed like a footwork technique, Sarah evaded the strike quite easily. She then withdrew, attempting to distance herself from Felix.

"You were being quite bold earlier," said Felix, chasing after the blonde-haired woman that seemed to escape him narrowly each time. Yet, they both could feel the narrowing distance, and that eventually, Felix could catch up.

A raging storm of mana was brewing.

Through continuous use of mana, the atmosphere's mana density had increased, albeit by an imperceptible margin.

'Battlefields are the best place to absorb mana,' thought Arthur, assuming a meditative position. His eyes remained open, and he continued observing the battle. However, he also took advantage of the situation by empowering his mana reserve.

It was a win-win situation.

Some hadn't noticed the increase in mana density, while those who had didn't care enough to take advantage of it, as their mana reserves were quite vast. In layman's terms, the weak who needed mana couldn't sense it, while those who could weren't in need of it.

However, Arthur both needed it and could sense it due to his unusual perception.

A few seconds passed, and Felix and Sarah's weapons collided. Since it was an indirect hit, Sarah's katana didn't shatter. Yet, it reduced the weapon's durability even further.

The blonde-haired woman gritted her teeth as the flames on her katana dimmed for a second. Felix, on the other hand, continued his barrage of strikes, uncaring of the predicament Sarah was in.

"This one should take care of it," Felix muttered before thrusting his spear forward. However, at that moment, the shy flames on Sarah's katana raged. They were voracious, attempting to swallow everything in proximity.

'A fire elemental skill,' thought Arthur. It was obvious, but this skill seemed a bit extraordinary. Was it a merged skill?

It seemed unlikely, but what if it truly were? The odds of the battle would immediately tip into Sarah's favor, and Felix's barrage would have been for naught. A merged skill involving two flame elemental skills…

Had it not been for Sarah's incompetence, the skill could have ended the battle in a single second. That was how valuable a merged skill using two skills of the same element was. Such skills were locked in vaults.

"[Combustion Blade]!" Sarah shouted in a very cliche manner. She swung her katana horizontally in the shape of an arc. Mana particles burst from the katana, and so did the voracious flames.

Sarah's feet blurred, and her movement became difficult to track.

Felix's eyes widened, and his pupils darted from place to place, desperately trying to spot Sarah. Yet, it was to no avail.

The crowd was silent, and in a split second, Sarah's body manifested before Felix's eyes. They both smiled, thinking they'd gotten the upper hand. Felix suddenly shifted his attention to defense instead of attempting to thrust his spear forward.

Sarah, caught off-guard, gritted her teeth. However, she continued her offensive strategy.

Her feet moved in complex patterns, and she aimed directly for Felix's throat. At that moment, the arena burst into light.

The spectators were blinded, and only the stronger ones could accurately make out what was occurring. The collision of two energy-infused weapons was devastating, and drowned in the spectators in anticipation.

Silence.

As the light and smoke subsided, the winner was revealed.

"The winner of the first battle is…"

Sarah's unconscious body lay on the floor, muddled with a pool of blood. Although she wasn't dead, her vitals were faint.

"Felix!"

The crowd broke out into cheers and boos.

Arthur's forehead creased, and confusion arose in his mind. Sarah was clearly on the winning side… What had altered the flow of the battle? The blonde-haired woman's emotions were more intense, and her power was significantly higher.

At that last second, her flames burst, attempting to swallow Felix. Yet, as the light faded, the victor was the overly happy man.

Why? How? When?

'Did I overlook something?' Arthur wondered, stroking his chin. It wasn't healthy to assume outcomes, but this was one peculiar battle. Felix had the capability to change the flow at the last second.

He was a worthy enemy.

But if Arthur couldn't discern his strengths and weaknesses, his observation skills were worthless.

'I see,' thought Arthur. Realization suddenly struck, and his expression brightened. Felix possessed a skill involving the concepts of illusion.

When working with illusory tactics, one usually cloaked their abilities until the very second they had to use them. In Melzer's case, his attempt at using an illusory skill was horrible, as he revealed his presence while doing so.

In Felix's case, he masked his skills, and only used them once his weapon had collided with Sarah's, which caused a slight opening.

By blinding the spectators and providing Sarah with a sense of guaranteed victory for a split second, Felix fooled everyone. After that, he took advantage of Sarah's overconfidence and used an illusory skill at that very moment.

He caught Sarah off guard.

Once that happened, it was a piece of cake to knock her unconscious.

Arthur's eyes lit up, and a sense of rivalry arose in his chest. Raw power was not that important in battles. But if one could manipulate their surroundings and take advantage of those around them, one was sure to attain victory.

Those kinds of people were the most fun to engage in battle with.

At that moment, Felix glanced in Arthur's direction, revealing a faint smile.

Arthur smiled back.