Lucas wasn't in a good mood; in fact, his current mood could be described as abysmal. In the drawing of lots he and his opponents ended up as the first match and he couldn't help but lament his bad luck.
Right now, he was standing above the clouds. A thousand meters up is the number the MC gave him and his opponent before they entered the dimension. Up here the only solid platform was a series of pillars six thousand to be exact. Each pillar had a radius of three meters with spaces between each one, the pillars were positioned to form a rectangular arena albeit a massive one. It would take someone at Lucas' level more than ten minutes to traverse it from end to end.
Lucas was positioned on one end of the arena and his opponent was positioned on the opposite end. They were so far away from each other that each looked like a spec in the eyes of the other. To get to each other they would have to traverse the pillars. However, each step could lead to a thousand-meter drop. Lucas didn't know if the leaders would actually let a falling disciple die but he was certain that falling would mean elimination.
As Lucas was in the midst of thought he was interrupted by the voice of the MC.
"Welcome to the Skyfall Arena, I don't know if you two are lucky or unlucky but this arena ranks among the top ten most difficult that this dimension has to offer." Joked the MC in a jovial tone.
"…" Lucas and his opponent weren't amused by this statement.
"Ahem, moving on. The rules of this arena are pretty simple; they are 1. don't fall and 2. defeat your opponent within an hour. However, to spice things up this arena has a pretty special added feature. At the end of every minute a random number of pillars will collapse and at the end of the hour there will no longer be any pillars left standing." Sated the MC.
When Lucas heard this, he didn't know how to react. This arena was made solely to torture anyone who sets foot inside it. Not only will he have to maintain a high level of concentration when moving to ensure that he didn't fall, he also had to battle an opponent while keeping track of the time, all the while making sure that he wasn't caught on a collapsing pillar.
On the other side of the arena Lucas' opponent was feeling any better that he was. She was a girl around fourteen years old. She had back length black hair and dark brown eyes, she was of average height and had an attractive face. Her name was Cassandra, and she was one of the stronger disciples from the newest batch. In the first round she was able to convincingly win her battle royal along with her best friend Alissa who convinced half the group to forfeit. Looking in Lucas' direction, she was able to just make out a human shaped figure.
"Hmm, Lucas won't go easy on me just because I'm a girl, but I should be able to catch him off guard if I play my cards right." Mumbled Cassandra to herself before getting ready to move.
After giving both participants time to collect themselves the MC spoke up.
"The first match of the tournaments second round starts now!" Declared the MC as bother Lucas and Cassandra began rapidly traversing the pillars.
***
Outside the private dimension, there were large screens set up that broadcasted the going ons of the dimension to the audience sitting in the arena. When the spectators saw the nature of the battlefield, they could help but be in awe of the valley's ability to entertain. The other contestants on the other hand couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines. What were their battlefield going to be like?
Within the sect masters' private room, a giddy Zander could be seen bragging about his creation to the other three kings who clearly weren't as hyped as he was.
"… So, as I was saying the skyfall arena is the perfect test of a person's ability to focus and remain calm. It took me months of effort to make the most stressful environment possible." Bragged Zander.
After hearing zander brag about his glorified torture machines for ten minutes, Peter couldn't help but sigh.
"Zander what wrong did these children do that makes you so keen to torture them for your own personal enjoyment?" Quipped Peter.
"Hey now slow your roll Peter. Calling it tortures a bit too far, I prefer the phrase tough love." Replied Zander.
Charlotte simply rolled her eyes at the two men's antics and turned her attention towards Ira.
"You've been awfully quiet this whole time." She casually remarked.
"Well it gets tiring talking to overgrown children." Said Ira implying at Peter and Zander.
"You're one to talk. Have you even been with a woman?" Joked Peter.
"…"
Both Charlotte and Zander were fighting hard not to laugh while Ira simply grunted and returned his attention to the match.
***
It had only been two minutes since the start of the match, but Lucas was already struggling. About fifty pillars had already collapsed, in fact one of them started crumbling while Lucas was standing on top of it. Luckily, he was able to escape elimination, but his already stressed mind was pressured further by his close call.
Looking in the direction of his rapidly approaching opponent, Lucas could only lament his bad luck. None of the pillars in Cassandra's chosen path had collapsed, compared to Lucas her start had been pretty uneventful. However, instead of dwelling on it Lucas refocused his mind as he knew a moment of distraction could spell his doom.
As he continued on his way, Lucas slowed his pace. He didn't want to move too fast and make a mistake. He was also conserving his aura for the coming battle. After a couple more minutes of close calls and slow progress, his opponent was finally within reach. Without wasting any time Lucas immediately gathered his aura within his legs and launched an attack at Cassandra, covering the ten plus meter distance in the blink of an eye.
"Leaping Grasshopper!" Yelled Lucas.