The clash between the giant and the trio continued in a cacophony of fire, lightning, and shells.

  Fire soldiers were continuously summoned and destroyed, marginally damaging the neck and feet with every cycle. It didn't help the humans that the immense Constitution of the giant ensured it was slowly healing. Even if the rate was abysmal, the soldiers struggled to damage it much the same.

  Minutes passed in tense observation. If Lev had ever expected such a strange cycle of hit and run tactics to ever get boring, he would've been disappointed.

  The anticipation continued to mount. When the first drops of blood were spilled, the crowd went wild. The cheers didn't last long when the fight didn't stop, only escalating the violence further.

  Nearly ten minutes into the fight, Orianna visibly flagged under the constant assault for the first time. The brute didn't miss it, immediately bombarding her with a rain of pebbles that formed in its palm.

  Barrier after barrier took shape in front of her, just barely stopping the projectiles with only two of them left standing. The other thirty-three all shattered under the onslaught.

  Seeing that things were taking a turn for the worse, Orianna's bearing changed. Once again, she opened with a huge jet of fire, this one concentrated enough to force the brute a step back.

  All three warriors, both the sword wielders and the axe bearer, were deposited on the brute's shoulder. One by one, they consumed their own bodies to deliver one overloaded attack in quick succession.

  Down below, just as the giant staggered with a roar of pain, a huge arcane sword appeared in Orianna's hand. Lightning from Sherron and fire from her flooded into it, filling it up in seconds.

  From a single glance, Lev knew the blade was one of the strongest weapons that had ever been made by humans. Gradually, the lightning mana gathered at the edges, and the fire mana stabilized.

  Lances the size of large tree trunks pierced the giant's thighs the moment it gathered its wits, momentarily robbing its mobility. In the distance, an unconscious Sherron could be seen plummeting from the skies. Alec reached her after a few seconds, arresting her descent.

  All the while, Orianna's preparations were swiftly coming to an end. When the storm of lightning from the overloaded lances abated enough, she lunged forward. Arcane platforms appeared under her feet at the perfect moment, letting her reach the monster's neck in one single sprint.

  The giant realized too late that she was so close. With a scream bearing the hopes of all the survivors, Orianna swung.

  Lev was at the edge of his seat when the whole Illusion slowed down. Orianna, mid-swing. The giant raising its arm to block the final, desperate attack. Alec, watching from afar and praying for success to whoever may listen.

  The last vestiges of mana left Orianna as the blade came alive. Fire and lightning solidified further, extending the blade by nearly a dozen meters. Where the sword was poised to slash halfway through the neck, it was now on track to go through all of it.

  In slow-motion, the sword continued unimpeded, reaching the giant's neck faster than its rising arm by a hair's breadth. Fire and lightning clashed with unfathomably durable yet damaged flesh and bone, producing a shockwave that eviscerated the very ground the monster stood on.

  All of Orianna's previous borne fruit as ruined skin was slashed through, allowing the blade to continue deeper. For a brief instant, the weapon and bone were locked in a calamitous struggle. Both refused to give in, stubbornly resisting the other.

  Then, like a light showing itself at the end of the tunnel, a crack appeared in the giant's neck bones. The illusion sped up, and in a majestic display of domineering might and undying resolve, Orianna's weapon tore out of the other side as the giant's head flew from its shoulders.

  Triumphant, the sword carried on, completing the massive mana slash that it was originally swung for. The sheer power packed into the attack was released upwards, painting the entire world in shades of orange, red, and white as the skies were set alight.

  Like one, the people stood up from their seats and roared at the top of their lungs. Lev was a step ahead of them, screaming as loudly as he could from the royal booth with both his hands in the air. A dull ache in the right arm reminded him of the recent injury, but the pain didn't even register beyond that.

  "WOOOOH! Oi," Lev glanced at Katarina. "You cheer too."

  She rolled her eyes. "This is one of the most common plays in any theatre. Granted, it has never been performed on such a scale, but I've watched it fifty times before."

  Oh.

  Putting the princess out of his mind, Lev sat back down and steadied his breathing. The performance went above and beyond, thoroughly smashing all his expectations in the best ways.

  "ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL! TRULY, WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE WITNESSED SUCH AN IMPACTFUL AND MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE. MINDBLOWING!"

  True, Lev agreed in his head, drinking some cold water to combat all that hoarse cheering. Messing around with illusions is gonna be fun when I get my hands on them.

  "So," Lev voiced to get Katarina's attention. "How much of that was realistic?"

  "None of it," she replied without hesitation. "Orianna is way stronger than she was portrayed as. She was close to Exalted even back then. Same for the other two."

  There was a message hidden in that. Lev didn't know much about Orianna's motivations, but knowing she was refusing to rush to the next step let him form some guesses.

  "It is even worse for the giant. No fourth-threshold monster is that slow. Ever. The threat to the team's lives was far greater," she continued. "They were all constantly on the run, leading the monster away from the survivors."

  "That's more like them," Lev nodded, trying not to imagine the harrowing scene. He was infinitely glad that all three of them had survived. "What's next?"

  "Finale."

  He breathed in deeply. Elias was monstrously strong, and if he had beaten that wrecking ball of fire, he could most certainly deal with Lev's barrages, too.

  Tricky. I can probably face him in close range by pulling out all stops, but the damage to my body will render me unconscious in less than a minute. Elias can go on for hours.

  Lev was going to have to mix both melee and ranged capabilities, which was bound to be abhorrently painful. With a sigh, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Strategies flashed through his mind, and he lost himself in the oddly calming planning for the next few hours.

  ****

  "WELCOMEEEE TO THE GRAAANND FINAL! THIS IS WHAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! SETTLE DOWN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FOR WE ARE ABOUT TO WITNESS THE GREATEST GOLD RANK DUEL IN HISTORY!"

  Yes, yes, Lev paid half a mind to the commentary. And I'm about to get my ass kicked. Damn you, Viktor. You just had to go and pit me against the strongest warrior of our generation in a melee.

  "BOTH THESE CONTESTANTS NEED NO INTRODUCTION. A BARRIER MAGE OF ADAPTABLE YET SUPREME CAPABILITIES, AND A WARRIOR WITH NO EQUAL IN SPEED AND SKILL."

  Lev took a deep breath and settled his roaming thoughts. Crouching, Stargazer was gripped tightly and pulled back, haft above his right shoulder and empty blade near the ground.

  Elias adopted a simpler stance, both swords pointing forward with his legs bent slightly. A staredown ensued, almost crackling with tension. Lev was slowly realizing that they both had something to prove.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  If he won, Elias would hopefully learn that he was growing overconfident and needed to step up his game further. If Elias won, the speedster would show the world that ridiculous advantages weren't required to succeed. Consequently, his ego would grow just as much.

  It wouldn't be a bad thing if the warrior won. More than a few would be inspired to follow in his steps and do their best, which was bound to produce good results. Only, Lev wasn't planning to lose. Everyone needed to know what the best were capable of, even if the knowledge of his Wisdom Boost wasn't public. His friend would be the first to learn that lesson.

  Lev grinned. That one word felt weird to think, but it didn't sound bad. Friends were something he was lacking badly in this world, and the radiant team were good folk. It would be foolish not to deepen the connection, albeit with questionable methods of duking it out in an arena.

  "3"

  The hunters tensed.

  "2"

  "1"

  "BEGIN!"

  Lev's armor had just finished forming when he leaned back, dodging a sword about to pierce his head by a mere inch. A gasp escaped him at the sheer speed of the attack, but he didn't let himself be disheartened. Grabbing his entire armor, Lev threw himself back, barely avoiding the second weapon.

  The barrier blade finished forming in Stargazer, and Lev immediately deflected the next swing. From the clash, he could tell that Elias had him beat in base physical strength.

  Fortunately for Lev, raw strength wasn't his forte. Unfortunately for him as well, Elias outclassed him in speed too.

  Lightning flooded Stargazer and his armor, letting him react much faster. Elias also turned on his body enhancement, constantly keeping Lev on his toes with probing attacks.

  Simply keeping up with the onslaught was difficult. When Elias started to actually use feints and proper skill, cut after cut appeared on Lev's barrier armor. Each time, he just barely moved out of the way in time to avoid further injury.

  Lightning arrows took form, straining Lev's mind even further. Contending with the physical assault was already nearly impossible, which made conjuring the ten projectiles much harder.

  The barrage forced Elias away from Lev. Two of the arrows were deflected with the flat of the swords, whereas the rest were deftly dodged, rendering the whole attack useless. That was fine, as Lev wasn't aiming to damage him, only buying himself time to reconsider and plan.

  Elias rolled his shoulders and ramped up his body enhancement to the maximum. Lev gulped, unable to hold back a nervous smile as his friend advanced. If he was fast before, then his swords were now blurring even to his Perception. Stargazer was forcibly swung wide, pressuring Elias to leap backward with a lightning slash.

  A straight thrust was deflected, the haft was blocked, and the next punch was about to be blocked when a lance forced Elias to duck. Not wasting the chance, Lev launched a kick at his face, hoping to disorient the man.

  Raising the durability of his armor was the last thing that saved Lev from losing a leg as the opponent righted himself far too quickly and retaliated. Given the awkward positioning and little space to swing, Elias couldn't put much force behind the attack, only managing a long groove on Lev's barrier armor.

  Creating distance to not let the warrior get an upper hand, Lev hastily brought up Stargazer to block a surprisingly strong mana slash, skidding back a few steps from the impact. Elias was on him in a split second, barely disturbing the sand on the floor with his passing.

  For minutes, Lev was tossed around the arena. Shields formed to buy him some time, only for the swordsman to cut through them like butter. Not given a chance to fly up or strike back, Lev's annoyance about his inability to do anything about Viktor's request was mounting.

  Elias never tired. Just like him, the warrior had a class that thrived in prolonged combat. It was the man's skill and talent that was too overwhelming. The swords moved as if curving around any intended blocks and deflects, finding even the smallest of gaps.

  Lev was feeling quite humbled.

  Seven long cuts appeared under his barrier armor. The skinsuit was thankfully still functioning as most of the damage was dealt to Lev's arms, away from the enchantments present on his chest and back.

  Man, Lev sighed, already dreading what was to come. This is going to hurt so much.

  When his armor changed color and shone like a bright blue star, Elias didn't dally and sought to end the match immediately. Both the amount of mana and lightning being channeled was ridiculous for any Adept, hushing the entire arena.

  Stargazer blurred in a blue streak of sizzling lightning, deflecting the incoming strike far faster than before. Underneath, Lev's muscles threatened to unravel, and he knew time was firmly against him.

  Sand exploded under his feet as he took a long step, appearing in front of a slightly jolted Elias. Lev swung at his neck, forcing the swordsman to block the attack. The swords were pushed away from the force behind the glaive, leaving him open for a thrust.

  With both surprising and alarming agility, the swords reoriented themselves and clashed with Stargazer, expertly deflecting her to the side. Lev immediately darted back, barely dodging the counterattack, and rushed in again.

  Miniature blasts of lightning readily charged the longswords, slightly damaging Elias' hands if the sizzling was any indication. The very air was seared in Stargazer's passing from the amount of mana infusing her. Despite that, the hunter struck back like an unrelenting whirlwind of blades, never once giving Lev a chance to use any other skills.

  He's improving, Lev couldn't help but smile in panic. Nearly ten seconds had passed, and his arms were bleeding profusely. His legs too, were in a miserable shape. Yet, the warrior in front of him was slowly pushing him back.

  None of the previous confidence or faint amusement was present on his friend's face. Elias was giving it his all, and what an assault it was.

  Twenty seconds passed as Lev weaved a lightning slash between the melee, failing to take the swordsman by surprise. He got a kick to his chest for the trouble, sending him bouncing on the sandy ground.

  Stargazer, that had flown out of his grip, rushed back the moment Lev got a hold of his bearings. A barrage of arrows landed in a circle around him, blocking off the swordsman's advance and giving him some room to breathe.

  Healing mana suffused his body as he quickly planned the next steps.

  This is so doomed, Lev chuckled. He was utterly outclassed in terms of skill, and his speed was barely any higher, despite going all out.

  A transparent slash flew at him, making him abort any further thoughts. Elias was on him in a moment, swords snaking towards him in their graceful yet demonic lethality. Tired and battered, it took all of two seconds before Stargazer was wrenched away from Lev's hands.

  Before he could mentally recall her, a roundhouse kick to the face shattered his armor and sent him spinning through the air. Mercifully, the armor had sapped most of the force behind the strike, or else Lev would've been immediately eliminated.

  Quickly righting himself mid-air, Stargazer appeared back in his hands, but the dizziness caused him to stumble and fall on his butt. The incoming slash was blocked by four hastily formed shields, all of them shattering in the process, but the swordsman didn't rush in to end it.

  Elias stood where he was, slowly putting down the leg he had raised to kick Lev while staring at him in the eyes. A longsword was raised and pointed at the downed barrier mage.

  "Do you surrender?" he voiced, breathing uneven but still far from exhausted.

  Lev stared. For a long few seconds, he simply tried to digest the audacity. He knew most of it was done for the show, if the reaction of the roaring spectators was any indication, but it still mildly pissed him off.

  "Did you forget?" Lev questioned back, not answering. Using Stargazer as a cane, he shakily stood up, ignoring the blood dripping on the ground. "You were there, weren't you? In front of windkeep."

  The swordsman sprinted forward, covering half the distance in an instant when Lev didn't give up. A wave of arrows stopped him in his tracks. More followed, forcing him to backtrack rapidly and avoid the crackling explosions.

  Armor covered his form again as Lev rose into the air, healing his injuries all the while. Staring down at his friend, he grinned because of the dramatic display he was about to cause.

  "I'm a Monarch damned Mage."

  Lances joined the mix, searing huge swaths of sand into glass. Elias was now panicking, weaving and dodging to the best of his ability while firing back slashes. All of them were casually consumed by shields.

  Perhaps Elias was expecting Lev not to resort to going all out. Or maybe he genuinely didn't know what Lev could really do in that state. Back when they had faced the wave together, monsters were still streaming out of the forest when he had faced the mature harpy. It wouldn't be that surprising if the radiant team had missed his capabilities.

  Dozens of arrows formed in a few seconds, each imbued with a bit of lightning. Like flies trying to land on the swordsman in a suicidal charge, a stream of arrows never let him stay still.

  For a few seconds, the onslaught paused. Elias stared at him, trying to catch his breath and waiting for whatever was to come. Instead of an attack, Lev pointed Stargazer at him in a repeat of what the swordsman had done before.

  "Do you surrender?"

  Predictably, he didn't.

  Half a minute of constant attacks later, Lev and Elias were standing on the opposite ends of the arena. The latter had realized just how badly he had messed up by not finishing the match. His eyes were both resigned and slightly bitter.

  Lev's, in comparison, were bloodshot because of mana overuse and poisoning.

  Feeling like he had done all he could to prove his point, Lev formed five long, deadly lances above him. Fire and lightning left his body in a torrent, infusing them until they shone like tiny suns above the arena. No more words were exchanged as Lev commanded them to end the match.

  As one, the lances descended. Elias vanished the moment Lev gave them the order to move. Where the swordsman was a moment before, each lance landed like a small nuke, blinding the spectators with a giant explosion.

  The barriers surrounding the arena were already fully powered, resisting the raw might that stressed their incredible durability. For half a minute, crackling flames dominated that side of the arena as Lev stayed rooted on the spot, now disappointed in himself.

  Way to go, he slowly walked out of the arena while healing the last of the rather moderate mana poisoning, ignoring the commentator. I definitely went overboard with that last attack.

  Let's see how badly I damaged my relationship with the team by doing that, he sighed and handed the bracelet back to the waiting master. Lev received a respectful nod for winning, which he simply acknowledged and moved on.

  A small part of him whispered that he had messed up too badly, and that they would never want to see him again. Lev squashed the line of thought, but some of the uneasiness remained. His shoulders slumped slightly in relief when he found the radiant team a bit further away from the entrance, 'arguing' with each other.

  Rena, the one doing all the talking noticed him first. With an unnervingly neutral expression, she brusquely marched up to him.