"THESE COMPETITORS NEED NOT ANY INTRODUCTIONS! ON THE LEFT, WE HAVE LEV, THE BARRIER MAGE. VERSUS HIM, WE HAVE DANIEL, A WARRIOR WHO HAS STEADILY CARVED THEIR WAY TO THE QUARTERFINALS!"

  Lev readied Stargazer as Daniel held up his single longsword. The man was focused on pure speed and aggression, not unlike Elias. The main difference was that instead of completely specializing in speed, Daniel hit just as hard as he was deft.

  "3"

  "2"

  "1"

  "BEGIN!"

  Barrier armor formed around Lev leisurely as Daniel didn't move, giving him the time to prepare. Lev appreciated the gesture even if it only put the opponent at a greater disadvantage.

  Enhancement formation was carved, and the moment Lev sent mana into it, Daniel blasted forward. Faster than the wind, his longsword was aimed to stab Lev's midsection, and he barely brought Stargazer in the way to deflect it.

  It was an obvious move, one Daniel was fully expecting. His knee followed, almost breaking Lev's armor and sending him flying back. Not wasting a moment, Daniel was on him before Lev could even hit the ground, forced to dodge as Lev released a slash point-blank.

  Lightning seared and exploded the sand in a straight line as the attack missed. Both the fighters paused, reassessing.

  Surprisingly weaker than Viktor, Lev summarized after the brief exchange. The same knee attack from Viktor would've shattered his armor, especially because Lev wasn't using the durability rune.

  Rolling his shoulders, Lev imbued a metric ton of lightning into his armor before making the first move. Daniel countered the first thrust easily and closed the distance further, denying Lev the advantage of range.

  His longsword blurred forward like a snake, aimed to pierce his neck. Turning at the last moment, it scored a thin line across Lev's shoulder, letting him throw a kick at Daniel's stomach.

  A right hand grabbed his leg before it could do any harm while locking him in an awkward position. Lev tried to pry it out, but the warrior's strength was too much for him to wrestle out of.

  Daniel headbutted him before he could do anything else, causing him to see stars. In the meantime, a chunk of lightning leapt out of his armor, jolting Daniel enough to make him loosen his grip.

  Lev darted back and formed four arrows. They were filled in a blink before flying at the prepared warrior. Two of them were taken out by a well-aimed mana slash, whereas the rest were dodged just as Lev reached him.

  Daniel had to immediately defend himself against Stargazer. Unlike before, Lev didn't let the opponent come closer even as he lost every exchange in a few moves. More lightning streamed into the glaive, releasing a concentrated cloud of lightning that forced Daniel to backtrack despite being the superior melee fighter

  The clash continued for a full minute as Lev didn't give the fighter any opportunities. He was waiting for both Daniel's general skills and active class skills, but the man was strangely reluctant to bring them out.

  Firing a large crescent slash, Lev dashed back to reconsider the whole fight.

  He has an active enhancement for both sword and body, which accounts for two actives. The Mana Slash was a general skill, so where are the rest?

  Daniel wasn't deterred by the random pause. He rushed in and had to immediately sidestep a long lance that landed in front of him.

  Up above, the air was slowly filled with dozens of unfilled lances. Like Lev's opponents before, Daniel immediately created distance to have a better chance at dodging the fast projectiles.

  With a single nudge, tens of lances were fired over a few seconds. Daniel bobbed and weaved, expertly avoiding most of them while deflecting all those he couldn't. All the while, Lev was starting to realize that maybe the man had active skills similar to his own, without any actual active parts.

  So… he's just that much weaker than Viktor? Lev concluded, slightly disappointed. His friend had at least immediately overwhelmed him.

  Mana Barrier was pulled out, too. The skill was decently leveled, maybe at the end of 2nd rank or perhaps at the beginning of a new evolution. Each barrier blocked at least two lances before shattering, yet the barrage continued the same.

  Lev's mana dwindled at a snail's pace. Without infusion, he could keep throwing lances at the enemy for an hour straight.

  Shaking his head, all the remaining lances were dismissed. Lev took a deep breath and pulled out all the stops. His body was going to suffer greatly, but he needed to test the limits before facing Elias.

  Lightning rushed into his armor in far greater quantities than before. Lev's speed rose exponentially, and his mind strained to just keep the imbued mana at bay. Walking itself became a much harder task, especially with the enhancement formation running at full throttle.

  If Daniel was not holding back before, Lev now completely outclassed him in speed.

  Lev moved, appearing in front of his opponent in a blink as a large swath of sand was raised from his passing. Stargazer was swung from maximum range, and Daniel's longsword was primed just in time to block the attack.

  This time however, he was launched sideways from the sheer force of the swing. Speed was a type of power in itself, and Lev was not holding back.

  Joints creaking and muscles tearing under the tremendous duress, Lev rushed his opponent. Every strike caused a small shockwave from the collision, throwing Daniel back each time.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Still, Lev couldn't find an opportunity to put an end to the fight. As more healing mana entered his body to counteract the mounting damage, Lev's mind felt as if it was on fire while he channeled earth mana into Stargazer during the constant assault.

  Once a large amount had infused her, Lev tested his new skill with a lot of mana for the first time. Light brown mana solidified in a half-moon shape as Stargazer was swung vertically. In an instant, the slash formed and was launched at the longsword that moved with surprising agility to block the attack.

  Barriers formed to slow down the crescent slash, but they weren't worth a mention with how easily they were cleaved in two.

  For a brief instant, Lev got to see Daniel's longsword bend under the earth slash before Drakys pulled both the weapon and the wielder out of the arena, announcing Lev's victory.

  The crowd roared in approval as Lev took deep breaths. Pain coursed through his entire body from the overexertion and shocks from erratic lightning imbuement. Controlling all that amount was too much for him right now, yet he had only made it worse for himself by adding earth mana into the mix. In the end, it all worked out in a spectacular fashion that left no room for doubts about just how deadly Crescent Decimation was.

  All in all, Lev was more than happy with the new skill as he dragged his feet to the waiting room.

  ****

  "There you are," Viktor's voice reached Lev when he exited the arena building. "What took so long?"

  "Healing," Lev curtly replied, not wanting to reveal too much in front of all the people present. Elias, Isabella, and Aryan were the semi-final participants and were standing on the side. Unsurprisingly, the silence between them was somewhat tense.

  Nina, Sabrina, Daniel, Luke, and unexpectedly, Ron were also present, as was the rest of Elias' team.

  "What's the occasion?" Lev asked after taking in everyone's casual clothing.

  "Hmm," Elias peered around. "Well, we wanted to take you to an exhibition, but there were more people waiting for you."

  "I suppose we can all go shopping together while we're at it," Lev said with a smile.

  "You guys can go; I have somewhere to be." Aryan waved them off before vanishing in a puff of shadow mana.

  "… That's that," Lev chuckled. He summoned two barrier dinner plates in front of him, before a bowl of soup and a small loaf of bread appeared atop them.

  Under the surprised gazes of everyone present, Lev dipped the soft bread in the soup before leisurely taking a bite.

  "What?" he questioned after swallowing. "I'm ravenous after all that healing."

  "Weren't we supposed to go shopping?" Isabella questioned. To answer her, Lev simply started moving towards the merchant's district. The food plates followed, which answered that question as everyone fell in line with him.

  Ron ended up being the closest. The acid mage was hesitating to speak, so Lev initiated the conversation.

  "Out of everyone, you gave me the toughest fight," Lev glanced at him. "You're one hell of a mage."

  "Thank you," Ron replied, finding his bearings. "I just wanted to apologize about running off like that. Don't want to send the wrong message, you know?"

  Now Lev was the one struggling to find words. "I… understand how it could be disheartening to face me."

  Ron nodded, though he was grinning. "Feels hopeless, especially when standing in front of such a strong attack you casually sent my way. For a moment, death seemed nothing but certain."

  Lev winced. "Same, but with that blob of acid. If I didn't have my Perception passive, you would've won."

  "I was certain that I had you," Ron said, shaking his head. "It was a good fight, regardless."

  They both lapsed into silence as they walked. Everyone else was walking in front of them, far enough to not eavesdrop.

  "Got to go now," Ron looked at Lev. "Sorry. I just wanted to get that off my shoulders before leaving. The caravan leaves in an hour."

  "Oh, where to?"

  "Timberhold to take some time off. Good luck with the finals!" Ron called out as he left.

  Lev almost said 'you too' but shut up in time, settling for nodding at the acid mage. Ten seconds later, Lev was walking along with the rest of the company.

  "Sent off your lov-" Isabella started, shutting up as a barrier hand formed and flicked her forehead. "What was that about?"

  "Nothing that concerns you," Lev simply answered. "So, why're you here?"

  "No particular reason," she shrugged. "I had free time and thought I'd get to know you better. That room felt somewhat suffocating to talk freely in."

  Or maybe you just didn't want to talk to me in front of your father, Lev filled in the gaps. Thus enlightened, he looked at Daniel, Luke, and Nina. The question was asked through a single raised eyebrow.

  "… Are you alright?" Daniel asked, genuine concern in his voice.

  Everyone had stopped in their tracks in the middle of the road. Isabella had even summoned a sound ward.

  "What do you mean?" Lev questioned back, hoping his fears wouldn't turn out to be true.

  "We will not push it if you don't want us to, but you were bleeding from your eyes, nose, and ears. You didn't seem entirely… present by the end, either," Nina explained, staring into his eyes.

  Lev wanted to deny it immediately. He? Suffering? It sounded outlandish.

  Yet the words got stuck in his throat. The truth was that fighting at such intensity hurt more than a little bit. His body was significantly damaged every time he used a large amount of mana, and his mind struggled to keep up with the physical movements and manipulation. From the very start, there were no muscles or joints to guide Lev's armor. All the burden was placed on his mental faculties.

  "It's good training." Lev eventually looked away. It was embarrassing how quickly he had been seen through.

  He wasn't lying either. Lev was more worried about his mental state than anyone else. Every time he had felt pressured or down, he hadn't hesitated to talk to someone.

  The pain brought about by combat was not leaving any noticeable lasting impacts on his mind. Sure, the torment was all-encompassing by the end of the fight, but it healed swiftly and served as a reminder of how much he had progressed in a short time. He would still take a break after this, though.

  Like a normal, mundane human, Lev could feel his body becoming ever so slightly more flexible after each such exertion. The pain was not going to waste.

  "If you say so," Luke conceded, though still somewhat suspicious.

  Lev grinned. "Worry not, I can just go hug The Galvanic Sniper whenever I want."

  More shock and awe followed as Lev finished his meal in silence. It felt good to throw around the name of the Exalted for such silly reasons.

  Isabella sighed. "Done flexing?"

  "Let's go," Lev replied while nodding happily. "You can do the same, no?"

  "Me and Lady Sherron aren't that close," Isabella shook her head. "It still amazes me how casually you tread around her."

  Lev wasn't sure what exactly to say to that. He was not willing to risk calling Sherron soft and kind in public when her reputation was that of an angry storm.

  "… Comes with time," Lev sagely nodded. Better off not taking any chances.

  Surprisingly, nobody questioned that. It seemed they weren't comfortable with discussing one of the strongest humans to ever exist, which was fair.

  They chatted about mundane things while walking to the merchants district. Lev got to learn why Daniel and Luke both had so few skills.

  Their active skills, just like Lev's, were focused on single aspects. Consequently, they provided fantastic boosts despite the limited scope.

  Luke and Daniel were a blacksmith and woodworker, respectively, and both of those professions used up all of their general skill slots. Several extension skills were required to form a good base, and they were fine with the trade. Their team covered the weaknesses expertly.

  "What exactly are we looking for?" Lev asked as the girls decided to enter a clothing shop. The store was clearly meant for females, leaving everyone else to wait.

  "They'll be back soon," Viktor answered. "There's an exhibition of epic items in the Dawn Emporium. Surely you're interested?"

  Lev was far more than just interested. Epic items were the next rank above Rare, yet the difference was like night and day. It wouldn't be false to say that only the strongest of Masters and the Exalted had full sets of epic items.

  Judging by everyone else's expressions, they weren't happy with the small delay but nobody really minded either. They had an entire free night to spend.