I forgot. Even if for just a mere second, I forgot what this person was. Not a human, or anything else, a monster. One that can manipulate its body into any shape possible. If it wasn't for the people here and it most likely trying to hide its identity as a slime, it could fight at an even stronger level.
Hm... but, it does seem to be quite intelligent, although, I haven't heard them speak... or, perhaps they did when they casted magic and I just forgot...
"Oh! And in a sudden twist of the tides of battle, the two members of Dest team come out victorious! Looks like Akane is now out, return back to the waiting room, wouldn't you?"
Damn it, now Akane is out too? It's a good thing the walls of ice are working to their disadvantage... but this is looking bad. There's a high possibility we might lose.
I'm getting distracted. Just because I can think a bit-- or... a lot faster, doesn't mean I have infinite time. In fact, they've already begun their attack.
Oh? It looks like they're trying to emulate a strategy I used. While closing the distance between us, they seemed to activate a skill creating sharpened pieces of ice around him, of which flew towards me, seemingly their speed boosted by another skill. These must be the same things of which attacked me before in the icy mist.
Well, even if the ice is quite fast, I'm faster. There were about six icicles, all spread out in ways to make sure at least one would hit me. Dodging is an option, but I'd much rather just slice the one directly in front of me in half. It'll be much less work, and I won't have to move to a new location where they could have predicted I would go.
So, the moment the icicles are in range, I cut the one right in front of me in half, the thing losing its momentum and falling to the ground. That's dealt with, now--
I overlooked something. Behind the icicle, I cut in half was another one, of which was coming right at me at even faster speeds than the others. I just barely move out of the way in time, stepping to the side.
That was smart, scarily so. They realized that I had gained a new skill that allowed me to detect airflow through Appraisal, and instantly came up with a way to counter it. By using a skill of which allows them to create gusts of win, varying in power, he hid the second icicle. Then, the moment I cut the icicle in half and put myself in a posture of which allowed for an easy counterattack while I would have trouble regaining myself, he increased the speed of the icicle to much faster than the other ones. So, the speed of the former icicles was faked, in order for me to lower my guard.
Wait a minute, I don't see him anywhere...
No, from above? My airflow detection skill informed me moments before I would have been hit that my opponent was right above me, about to slam down onto me. Obviously, they were trying to get me in a position of which would not allow me to move. After that, all they would have to do would keep me there.
I jump away right in time. That was strange, Mana Sense didn't sense them. Mana Sense is usually used to see the mana in the environment around you, allowing for you to absorb mana into yourself. It also makes it easier to cast magic, seeing how you'll be more aware of the spell you're casting if you can see the mana making it up. However, mana is a particle and can be moved by physical beings with their body. Hence, if somebody moves, mana is disrupted, moving along with their body. Thus, you can detect somebody through mana being moved along with them.
However, I didn't sense pretty much any mana being moved, apart from what would seem to be the wind pushing it. One theory is that this has something to do with that 'Gust' skill again... but, that would require incredible control over skills, and extremely fast activation to keep the mana of which would be moved in the same place. And then, you would need to activate the same skill multiple times at the same time. It's probably possible, but for them to pull it off just like that?
Before more than a second passed, without them chanting either, a spell begins to form under me.
I jump back again, the spell completing without me there. It was like a tall box of ice, hollow, meant to trap somebody inside.
So, he used Chantless Casting too. I've tried to cast a spell without casting a couple times, but it's difficult. It involved visualizing a spell in a moment, but at the same time, not using speech to correlate the spell with how it looks.
Oh, behind me? Another icicle appeared, much larger than the others. I turned around quickly before it could hit, slicing it vertically before it could hit its target, me.
Alright, I managed to defend myself against those attacks, now to counterattack-- or not. All of those attacks were distractions, apparently, as now they're right behind me. They grabbed my arm, trying to trip me. I managed to stay on my feet, about to retaliate... but then, the blunt end of an icicle hit me from behind. Then, three others after.
All of that caused me to lose my posture, invertedly allowing for myself to be flipped onto the ground. I attempted to get up, but they kept me there, putting my arms behind my back. By keeping a constant application of Gust upon my body, it would be difficult to stand up or even move.
I activate Physical Boost, about to shake them off of me. However, they jumped upwards, keeping me locked down on the floor with Gust for a bit longer. The moment I'm seconds away from standing up, he casts one more spell.
Appearing from the ground was that same box of ice, trapping me inside allowing for no movement. Alright, this is fine, I can still get out. What, I still have like three seconds until I lose, right?
The ice isn't too strong, I kick through it with one hit. They looked somewhat surprised, obviously not expecting that. When you cast a spell without chanting, you lose the durability a spell like this might have had before, seeing how you won't have enough time to apply an extra layer of defence.
Now, all I have to do is get him down on the ground. I'm stronger than them, and I can reach them fast. In barely two seconds, I reach him, about to pull him down on the ground to completely stop them from moving. He's low on mana, they won't be able to do anything really. I'll win, then...
However, against all odds, something unexpected happens. One of the ice walls break, and there came from that side were two people.
"Yeah! Just in time! Theca, do it!" The one I believe is named Ashin yelled out, rushing at me... this isn't good, I still might be able to handle three people at once, however. I'm not too low on mana, and I'm not really tired either.
Except, I made a mistake. From below me, these strange thick threads wrapped around me, making it extremely difficult to move. This is fine, I can still break out of these.
No, apparently I won't be able to. The one named Ashin reached me, tackling me to the ground. He pinned me there, and although there should be a huge stat difference between us, I couldn't shake him off of me. While this was happening, even more threads wrapped around me.
Damn it, at this pace, I'll lose. I have to just get out of these threads--
"The final member of Team Ohre is out! This means, after a great battle filled with twists and turns, Team Dest finally takes the victory! They have won the tournament!" The announcer spoke out one final time, seemingly excited.
We lost.
>Chapter Y.18, end.<