Forming a scythe of darkness in my right hand, I lunged forward and swung with all my might. Steel spikes pierce my right arm from the side as the destruction I unleashed melted the battlefield into a sea of molten iron. Using [Shadow step] to teleport above, Zaltria was there as well, standing upon a tower that held him above. The barrier broke as students had to evacuate. Some teachers and adults were using ice magic to cool down the molten iron, though the depth wasn't high enough to reach the spectator seats, the molten iron could splash at the students, endangering them.
The other participants of the tournament had to put their battles on hold as well, delaying the semi-finals to the next day. Dissipating the molten metal back into mana, Zaltria walks off the match grounds with a satisfied look. Instant kill wasn't a viable option as it was just a normal tournament. Getting off the match ground as well, I decided to make use of my time to make strategies.
Since we weren't fighting with each other, I thought Fez would give some suggestions. It wasn't that she was unwilling when giving me tips, it just happened that I've roughly covered 80% of the skills that came with my class. The only realistic way to find an easy way was unrealistic itself.
Since daily grinding in the caves didn't give much, the only option was to actually learn during my fight with Zaltria and develop a new skill. I could barely push myself with my stats if not for the barrier constantly breaking. It only showed how inexperience I was as I couldn't control my strength.
Well, if sticking to my usual fighting style was adequate, then I'll do it. This tournament should improve my fighting abilities at the end, James was in there as well after all. If anything, I needed to improve or nothing will change. It was just like my previous life, everyday I indulged in sloth, delaying my work, taking shortcuts and regretting the fact that I didn't work hard. Even though I knew that indulging in sloth was completely my fault, I never stopped and continued to regret meaninglessly.
Well that's why there was a second life. Who knows if there were anymore chances, it sure as hell isn't worth taking the risk. This would be treated as the final chance. For me to work hard. And that was why I couldn't resist.. At all cost I needed to free my head of needless drivel and focused on improving. To this day, the final boss of Harab dungeon still radiates an imposing aura just from me being near the entrance. As if time was stopping, my heart stopped beating, causing me to struggle to move due to fear.
To this day, I would continue to leave it for another day, maybe when I become level 1000 I'll attempt it, at least that was what my instincts were telling me. Out of all things, it evoked more fear out of me than the king did, which was ridiculous in and of itself. In the best scenario the king could be holding back and I was just overreacting, in the worst scenario, it was more realistic to defeat the king than this monster.
Capitalising on my built, I continued to practice the skills that came with my skills to the maximum efficiency. Maybe it was pointless to worry with my existing skillset, but I felt that it was the bare minimum to approaching this battle. No... bare minimum? Since when was there a quota? What was this lack of motivation? Tch, I'll have to fix this empty feeling sooner or later. I guess the tournament can be used to work on it.
At the level 900 section of the dungeon, monsters started to stack their own skills. A single hit could be fatal if not for my absurd speed and vitality. Flipping across the dungeon floor, I pushed strength into my left hand, throwing myself into the air. Using the strength in my right hand, I twirled the scythe in my hand as I carved through layers and layers of enemies. Making use if [mana detection tier-5],I predicted my enemies next movements. Attaching a chain and throwing my scythe, I mowed down the monsters that got near before retrieving my scythe. Dissipating the scythe back into mana, I've decided to test out a new weapon.
The nature of the 4th tier of [manipulate shadow] was to convert mana into force, at a rate of every 5 seconds, the damage output was mana x level x 100. The trick was that you can leave it at 0 force in order to conserve mana. Tier 5 of [manipulate shadow] allowed the mana cost to be 0, manipulating it with mana can also give a suction force. If I was to abuse this feature, wouldn't a gun be easy to make? Picturing a revolver, the dark element flowed into my palm and molded into the shape of a trigger. Slowly the barrel was also formed, giving a warm yet cold feeling in my palm.
Changing the shape into a normal hand pistol, I imagined the function of this new weapon as I familiarised the feeling in my hand. *Bang! * Pushing down the trigger, a shadow stake emerged and never seperated from the trigger. Instead it kept extending until it hit it's target, just like a grappling hook but more deadly. Isn't this just firing a shadow stake from my palm? What a waste of time. But I still gain new inspiration. Since I was reminded of a grappling hook, what if I incorporated immobilising stakes into my fighting style?
Putting this new idea into practice, I continued to get used to the feeling of pulling my enemies closer and carving them up. By evening I was drenched in sweat, pulling everything in the vicinity to its death or destruction. It wasn't exactly normal for a little girl to be worked this hard, but I'll just ignore the stares in public.
Using [shadow step] to teleport out of the dungeon, I decided to take a walk in order to dry off my perspiration. The sweat may make my white dress slightly translucent, but my cardigan should be able to cover all the important parts up. I wasn't to go without underwear, but my dignity was still important as well. Why did I wear a white shirt then? Because I like it. Bring this burning feeling to my heart that was akin to the passion of finishing exercises, I took my steps with pride as I resolved myself for tomorrow's battle.
Unlike the battles last year, my life was no longer on the line. Still, that didn't mean my ego was going to be left alone. As a result, I won't ever stop wanting to win. Let's win the tournament again this year!