Chapter 262: Skills On Disy
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake gave a wry smile as he saw Haygur materialize outside the arena, his face three shades paler than normal and dripping sweat.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Would you look at that, he really didn’t die,” Drake scoffed, “That could be useful,” he nudged Bjorn, who shook his head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No thanks bro, I know a fight I can’t win anymore when I see it. My growth stopped a while ago. Maybe a <i><span style="font-weight:400">spar</i><span style="font-weight:400">” heughed, “But we both know it won’t end in a spar.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fair…” Drake sighed, only to have himself shaken forward an ecstatic shouting Sah Ul’ next to him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Drake! Did you see that! They did beautifully! And those are new skills if only I had more time to train with them! They could have utilized it better!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake smiled. Sarah had addressed him by his first name, showing just how excited and proud she was of them after just the first exchange in the fight.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah, they have the rest to think about now though,” he said leaning back into his seat, trying his best to push down his smoldering instincts to jump into the arena with each passing moment.
<span style="font-weight:400">A shout came out from the monitors from the adventurers.
<span style="font-weight:400">“They used a movement skill! It must have a long cooldown lock them down and take them out now!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Take em out! Or do you want to be embarrassed by some kids!” another shouted.
<span style="font-weight:400">Atropos and Charlotte looked unperturbed by the hundreds of people they had forcibly broken through to kill Haygur.
<span style="font-weight:400">And it seemed to be for good reason.
<span style="font-weight:400">Another roar came from the front line of the adventurers and guards as a man was thrown careening into one side of the encirclement around the two women.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kalik spat on the ground behind the small cloud of dust that had kicked up from the thrown man, his hands in his coat pocket as he raised his chin high.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oi! You forgetting about the strongest one here?! Ah?!” he pointed to the orc guardsmen, “You should be ashamed as warriors of the Rahk! Ganging up on two people! Kalik Tu’ the future Patriarch of the Rahk is right here and ready to beat you background characters into an early grave!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake couldn''t help butugh hearing the young teen’s deration. But Charlotte and Atropos both frowned from their position.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Who is the strongest?” Charlotte bemoaned.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Certainly not the ruffian….” Atropos added sighing.
<span style="font-weight:400">“There just kids! What are you waiting for?” someone shouted from inside the arena.
<span style="font-weight:400">The signal snapped the surprised mob of people into action, spells firing, skills activating, and debuffs flying out from the crowd.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kalik breathed out, taking a practiced stance and bending at his knees.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Tranquility finds all, Blossom Rotation!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">His blood lit up with a silvery glow, his hands pointer palms out as the light quickly spread out in a sphere. Once it reached it seemingly max range covering the three, he began rotating his body quickly burning a small ck spot into the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">The spells, skills, and projectiles ttered against the light and flung back where they came just as quickly. Fireballs, lightning bolts, shards of ice, arrows, bullets, and even some conjured weapons flew back into the crowd as the counter of the participants in the arena began counting down.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kalik decelerated, bringing his hands together and breathing out once more, a wide toothy grin on his face.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Just stand back like always and let your better do all the work!!” he howled, throwing himself forward into the now disorganized group.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake smiled from the stands, Sah Ul’ throwing a fist forward.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Kalik! Why are you rushing forward like that! Ah! Be more aware of your surroundings!” she groaned.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That rank-up really did a number on his personality huh…” Drake mumbled watching the fight as the crowd was a chorus of ‘oo’s’ and ‘ah’s’.
<span style="font-weight:400">The spells continued after a moment’s break from Kalik’s skill, beginning to bombard the two women once more, this time a line of warriors running in with the spells and projectiles to begin a skirmish.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte twirled her spears in each hand, bracing herself for the fight, as Atropos began chanting, arching her hand.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“The night is all-consuming! Shadow me.”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">From the flourish of her arm, Atropos summoned four dark purple magic circles surprising the crowd and Drake.
<span style="font-weight:400">“She got a multicast skill?” he said wryly, “She’s trying really hard to be like me huh?”
<span style="font-weight:400">From the magic circles, four ck mes bloomed, in the next moment growing double in size as they wereunched into the oing line of close-range fighters, setting two aze as the other two missed their mark.
<span style="font-weight:400">But the first dodge of her spells only paused the result as the mes stopped turning to collide with the unguarded back of the two that had evaded.
<span style="font-weight:400">“She’s some kind of hybrid spell caster, be careful!” a shout warned.
<span style="font-weight:400">The remainder of the first line of fighters pushed past the fallen burning corpses turning into blue lights screaming with their weapons raised and skills being yelled aiming for Atropos.
<span style="font-weight:400">But Charlotte intercepted easily, her spear deflecting the desing down on the Atropos with astounding expertise.
<span style="font-weight:400">With practiced motion Charlotte slid her spear around the oing onught, parrying the blows with both her full-length spear and short spear, each one thrusting forward and finding vitals as the other deflected blow and blow.
<span style="font-weight:400">“W-what?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I can’tnd a hit!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“They’re just level 14! Overwhelm them with numbers!”
<span style="font-weight:400">A cry rang out as the adventurers and guards began to be desperate.
<span style="font-weight:400">Unfortunately for them, they had forgotten about the other three members of the teen’s group.
<span style="font-weight:400">Quetz glided abovezily, two pistols in hand behind her head as she looked down.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Quetz doesn’t think she even needs to bang boom, boooo...” she grumbled, only to have an arrow fly towards her.
<span style="font-weight:400">But with a flex of her aura, the arrow changed direction passing over her shoulder.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ehhh! That’s dangerous you know!” she chirped, “Quetz was disappointed because the stupid annoying guy died so fast, but if you are gonna shoot at Quetz!”
<span style="font-weight:400">She twirled in the air, her body going into a dive as she kicked off the air somehow flying down into the backline of archers, mages, and other support participants with a gust of wind, her pistols pointed at their heads.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then Quetz will just shoot back!” she giggled.
<span style="font-weight:400">The sound of the guns cracking popped like firecrackers one after another as she emptied her bullets into the people around her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“She’s out of bullets!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Nuh-uh!” Quetzal cooed, flipping backward as she dodged ance of fire, twelve blue tipped bullets twirled in the air next to her as she emptied her pistol, turning in one fluid motion to guide the new bullets into the chamber of her weapons with her aura, snapping the chamber closed.
<span style="font-weight:400">Firing off another few bullets she giggled, “See?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Slow her down! She has to be dexterity-based, get debuffs on her!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Quetz frowned, her pistols shimmering away, reced by a single-barreled shotgun with red etchings.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Quetz doesn’t like ugly slow things!”
<span style="font-weight:400">She pointed the end at the man who yelled out.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">The wind sings with the howl of a whipped storm.”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The barrel began to vibrate and glow green as the slide smacked and cocked five times, five slugs hitting the floor.
<span style="font-weight:400">Quetz whistled, a beaming smile on her face.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Howling Gale!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The shotgun exploded forth, bright sparks as the empowered slug burst forth mming into the man, tearing him into pieces as it pushed through him into several people behind him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You kids are getting ahead of yourself!” someone shouted from behind Quetz, forcing her to turn.
<span style="font-weight:400">Behind her was a hulking man nearly the size of Bjorn, an enormous hammer in his hands raised high to bring down on the small avian.
<span style="font-weight:400">The man roared motioning to m the hammer down only to catch on something in the air, his face twisting into pain and confusion.
<span style="font-weight:400">“W-what is this!?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Beads of red dripped and revealed lines in the air, no, wires.
<span style="font-weight:400">A growl sounded from behind the man’s head, Clotho suddenly on his shoulder his hand raised and quivering as he wrestled with the beast of a man with his metal threads, his face a feral.
<span style="font-weight:400">Clotho’s canines gleamed in the light of the arena as he looked down at the man, his hackles turning his face almost primal from his normal androgynous expression.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Y-you little shit! You think you canpete with a pure strength ss!” the man roared, struggling.
<span style="font-weight:400">The man groaned and shouted, fighting against the wires as his body shimmered in a red hue, but Clotho wasn’t sitting idly waiting for his wires to snap.
<span style="font-weight:400">With his free hand, Clotho bent back a finger, flicking one of the wires connected to the man. The wire rang and vibrated a venomous green dripping down the shaking string.
<span style="font-weight:400">The man no longer struggled, instead, his eyes tracked the green running down the wire.
<span style="font-weight:400">“W-what is that!? H-hey stop!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Clotho snarled, the venomous color shooting forward and encasing every wire entrapping the hulking man, turning his skin a pale gray wherever they touched.
<span style="font-weight:400">His petrifying status condition was being elerated.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake was again surprised, his leg beginning to bounce as he leaned forward.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Crazy… He has a skill to elerate his status conditions now and he can even stop a pure strength ss above his level,” he smiled, “He’s really put in a lot of work to grow.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Clotho howled, the man turned into a half-statue in a matter of seconds. And with a flex of his hand, the wires screeched and reeled back into the nails on Clotho’s hand passing through the brittle afflicted man with ease, his body copsing into pieces.
<span style="font-weight:400">The crowd howled with him, some beastkin joining his roar, while others cheered so loud it almost drowned out the shing of weapons in the arena.
<span style="font-weight:400">Quetz gave a happy chirp as she waved to Clotho.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Quetz didn’t need it, but thank you CC!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Clotho huffed, flicking his wrists as his wires shot out again, slicing and entraping those around them he couldn’t bisect in a single swipe of his wires.
<span style="font-weight:400">The battle raged on, the teens fighting with the cooperation that should have outstripped both their age and experience to anyone who had seen them just a week prior. But they had not seen the fights they had been through and the trials they had ovee together while with Drake.
<span style="font-weight:400">“They’re just kids! How can’t we take them? Their resources can’t be endless, they have to run out sometime!” someone yelled.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drake scoffed. It was true their resources weren’t endless, but it wasn’t as if the teens weren’t taking damage as the battle went on. They had gained experience and prowess during the week they had traveled but they were still just in the process of being polished.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, no one seemed to notice the subtle scent and mana that was traveling through the arena as well as where it wasing from.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin had stayed out of the fight for now, letting Anima work her healing magic as he kept his aura condensed around them and constant to fuel her regeneration.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re doing good sweety, keep it going steadily. It’s our job to let them shine for now,” Landin said, keeping his eyes on the fight.
<span style="font-weight:400">But he could avoid the battle only for so long before people began to notice.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s about time,” he said, turning to the oing group of te and leather wearers that charged toward him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Looks like you think sending melees in to fight a support ss is going to be an easy victory. Hate to tell you, but I’m not exactly alone.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin snapped his book close, sliding it into a holster on his side as he put his hands into his robe’s pockets.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Ifirit, Tundra Howl.”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">A small wolf jumped in front of Landin, pale blue mes running down his legs and mane as a guttural growl formed in his throat.
<span style="font-weight:400">The pup’s jowls quivered blue mes escaping its jaw until Ifrit released and opened his maw a breath of pale blue mes flooding forward, freezing everything it touched. The ground zed over in ice and people were instantly turned to statues of frozen flesh in the blink of an eye.
<span style="font-weight:400">But it seemed someone had slipped past as someone teleported behind Landin.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re too cocky boy! <i><span style="font-weight:400">Guillotine de!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Without looking, Landin snapped his fingers, vanishing and reced with Anima, who easily dodged the blow due to being one-third the height of Landin, making the de pass over her bushy head harmlessly.
<span style="font-weight:400">But it didn’t stop her from raising her flower-covered arms in protest at Landin who was now where she was just a moment ago.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sorry sweety,” heughed, “Had to be done, and I knew you’d be alright.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The rogue’s face paled as a tiny frozen rocket that was Ifirt mmed into him after missing his strike, tackling him to the floor.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin walked over casually, Ifirit’s jaw already clenched down on the man’s throat, freezing it over.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No hard feelings right?” Landin said leaning over the man, “Don’t know what you guys were expecting when you got into this, but unfortunately for you that guard decided to rattle too many cages when he insulted Drake.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin pulled his book from its holster unfurrowing it, “What he has done for me, for <i><span style="font-weight:400">all of us</i><span style="font-weight:400"> is more than we can repay. He let me change, let us change and ovee. And that man, Haygur? Decided to take it too far. And it looks like either Drake or Natto decided to make an example of him and everyone here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The man was frozen from his neck up, Ifrit wagging his tail as he sat on the man’s chest, his tongue lolling to the side in satisfaction.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Guess he can’t hear me anymore… Good boy Ifrit.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin rolled to the side, a de passing over his shoulder.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What are you on about kid!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin came to a stop, righting himself.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Just making conversation and thinking out loud. It’s my process.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The woman roared dashing forward holding two longswords in her hands as she shed in a cross.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin jumped backwards, Ifrit trailing behind the woman doing his best to mp down on her legs.
<span style="font-weight:400">But the woman was adept, keeping her footwork clean and precise enough to both move forward as she continued to sh at Landin while dodging the small wolf pup.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Why can’t I hit you! Are all you brats hybrids!” she growled with a downward sh.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin turned to the side, the de passing in front of him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“In a way, sure. But back to my point, I think Drake or Natto wanted even better odds than this.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The woman huffed, “Shut up already!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“See, when we wereing back we had to fight just like this,” Landin exined, dodging and slipping in and out of the woman’s strikes, “But that was much worse and we had less skills. But now? We have a few new tricks up our sleeves and as far as I see it this isn’t a battle anymore.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The woman growled again her des humming and shining green as she went for another cross sh. Landin couldn’t dodge this time, so he was forced to snap his fingers again, trading ces with Ifrit suddenly behind her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s a disy of skill,” Landin exined, “And of overwhelming power. And man, I have no intention of holding back like everyone else.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Ifrit, Let the bell toll!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The woman swiveled on her heel bringing the sword in an arc around her. But Landin ducked continuing to chant.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Ring the sound of victory, devour the branch of life-”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The woman shed and hacked trying tond a blow, the magic circle below Landin growing as he continued to dodge.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Grow and expand. Step forward into the light!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin jumped backward, snapping his book shut and throwing his palm up.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Summoner’s Enlightenment!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The woman tried to shoot forward to catch Landin while he was in the air, but her foot caught and she stumbled.
<span style="font-weight:400">Tumbling to the ground she winced, her hands going to her leg, or missing leg. Her foot was missing an icy stump remaining, the ssy skin slowly inching its way up her thigh.
<span style="font-weight:400">A deep growl reverberated in her chest as she looked up. There the small wolf pup was reced by a fully grown and enormous ice wolf, its fangs longer than her chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her mouth opened but sound escaped her right up until the moment Ifrit bit her in half reducing her into particles of blue.
<span style="font-weight:400">Landin patted Ifrit on the snout with a smile, the wolf growling lightly and leaning into his hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good boy.”