Ben's proposal surprises the other teams because they can win this tournament by just defeating one person. The spectators also get surprised including the commentator that gets speechless now.
"So you're saying that whoever defeats you also defeats your whole team?" asks Rufus.
"That's what I said," says Ben while smirking.
"Such strong confidence. I admit that you are very strong, but there are 30 of us here, and we all are high-ranking Mages in this Kingdom. It will be impossible to win against all of us even if it's you," says Minerva confidently.
"It sure will be difficult, if you guys can really work together," says Ben while still having his smirk.
Everyone frowns now because Ben is pointing out their obvious flaw. They might be able to work together with their teammates, but it will be very hard to work together with other teams. Also, they know that the teams will stab each other later because there is only one target.
Jura who stays silent from the beginning then talks. "I think we need to remove that anxiety for now and focus on him. We can think of who will get the points after we actually corner him. Don't forget that he is one of the strongest Mages on this continent."
Jura doesn't know what Ben is thinking by taunting them all, but he knows what Ben wants. They've known each other for years, so it's easy to guess what Ben wants. Being a battle maniac, Jura knows that Ben wants to fight everyone here, but it is too troublesome to find them one by one, so he made them come to him.
Although it's quite shameful, Jura also wants to win against Ben even if he needs to work together with other people. Also, more than defeating Ben, Jura wants to see Ben uses his full power. Ben has never shown his full power in the last few years, even when fighting Jura.
"I don't really like working with other guilds, but I think that's the only thing we can do now," says Minerva.
"I agree. Although we are friends, we still need to fight each other because this is a competition. Forgive me, Ben-kun, I will use my all against you," says Ichiya handsomely.
Everyone else also agrees because they know they can't win against Ben alone. They've seen his power on the first day of his battle against Jura and they know they can't win against someone with such power alone.
"You'll show me your full power today, Ben," says Jura while smiling.
"Sure, if you can make me show it. Come, show me what you've got," says Ben while taunting them again.
All teams look at each other before nodding at the same time. They know they need to work together for now and weaken Ben. They can think of the points later when they actually can win this fight.
Jura is the first to attack Ben using 2 stone fists that come to Ben from left & right. Ben jumps back to evade them, but Kagura has waited for him there. Kagura uses her Gravity Magic to increase the gravity on Ben before she slashes her sword at him.
However, Ben is immune to Gravity Magic, and it is too weak even if it affects Ben. He evades her sword by jumping quite high. Jura's stone fists are still moving toward him and Lyon also sends an Ice Dragon from another side.
Ben smirks and covers his hands with Dragon's fire. Then he spins his body horizontally in the air, creating a spinning flame blade. It breaks the stone fists and the Ice Dragon in an instant as if those spells are weak.
When Ben's fire disappears, Sting & Rogue suddenly appear above him. Minerva has teleported them there and they have prepared their attacks. They are preparing Dragon Slayers' basic attack, their Dragons' Roars.
"White/Shadow Dragon's Roar!" shouts Sting & Rogue before shooting their Roars.
Ben also uses his Dragon's Roar to counter theirs, "Sun Dragon's Heat Roar!"
A big bright orange beam attack comes out of Ben's mouth and hits the white & black beams. He overpowers their attacks easily and destroys their Dragons' Roars. His Dragon Roar hits them and sends them flying quite far.
Ben finally lands on the floor again, but some people have waited for him there. There are Orga, Rufus, Ichiya, Hibiki, Ariana, Milliana, Lyon, Yuka, etc. They all have prepared their magic circles, ready to shoot their spells at Ben.
Right when Ben lands on the floor, they shoot their spells at the same time. Their spells' power is different, but the combination of all their spells creates a very strong impact. A massive explosion appears on where Ben landed and a big crater appears on the floor.
Smoke & dust covers the center of the crater, obstructing everyone's view. Everyone waits for the dust & smoke to dissipate. But then Jura shouts at them, telling them to attack again because he knows Ben won't get defeated just like that.
He is right because when the dust & smoke get cleared, everyone sees a small golden cocoon in the center. Ben is protecting himself with solar energy that he shaped into a cocoon. He is unscathed because none of the Mages' attacks passed his magic.
"Is this all you've got?" asks Ben while smirking.
Everyone grits their teeth and they start attacking Ben again. Their attacks are good, but Ben can always counter them. They are also working together quite well, but it's not good enough because they aren't really working together, they are just taking turns attacking him.
It is good enough for people who never worked together. But it's not enough to be used against Ben because Ben is very fast. His reaction speed is faster than their attacks and he can always make spells to counter theirs right after stopping other attacks.
Everyone also realizes this, but there's nothing they can do. This is the best they can do with this composition. At least that's the case until someone takes the initiative to command the Mages to fight more organizedly.
It's Rufus who suddenly takes the role to lead everyone there. He has memorized all their Magic and styles, so he knows how to optimize their attacks. The others are worried that he has ulterior motives, but they still accept it because it's the best way to change the current situation.
Rufus asks Hibiki to help him at giving orders using Hibiki's Archive Magic. The Archive Magic can help them give orders without Ben's knowing. So they can make surprise attacks and use unusual strategies without revealing them to Ben.
They start attacking again and now their attacks are far more organized. Slowly, they start to push him with their organized attacks that keep getting better. They use short & long-range attacks well and they cover each other very well.
Also, they use Minerva's Space Magic very well. She keeps teleporting the Mages to unpredictable locations so they can attack Ben from there. Rufus has found some chances to attack in Ben's fighting style, and he uses them well.
Ben is getting more excited as the fight goes on because he finally has a very exciting battle. He can also get a lot of data from analyzing their magic. Even now, Ben is still not serious. But he decides to get more serious now because he wants to push them to give better fights too.
When they create a combination attack, Ben teleports to an empty spot at the side. He cracks his neck while everyone looks at his wide grin which makes them wary. That grin looks ominous, after all.
"Well, you guys are better than I thought. You keep attacking without giving me a chance to attack you. Although I just let that happen because I could always attack you anytime I want. But I wanted to see what you would do, and I must say I'm impressed. I really respect you for pushing me this far, so I will show you something that I've just made," says Ben while grinning.
Everyone suddenly feels the magic power around them change. They all find the source of this change immediately. It's the man in front of them who is looking at them as if they are his prey. Ben's magic power suddenly raises rapidly.
"Your spells are White & Shadow Drive, right? Then, this must be Sun Drive. I can feel my power raised a bit," says Ben who now has a golden aura around his body.
'Quorra, how's my stats now?' asks Ben.
[Name: Ben Cooper
Moniker: Karna (The Sun's Child)
Title: Youngest Wizard Saint
Age: 24
Status: Alive
MP: 1,538,031/1,657,173 -> 1,892,578/2,017,672
STR: 1,137 -> 1,243
AGI: 1,175 -> 1,286
STA: 1,324 -> 1,462
INT: 2,435 -> 2,555]
'Oh, they raised a lot,' thinks Ben happily.
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