Adresin's battle has made a mess of the arena. The one great crystal trees are now nothing but shattered debris littering the ground. The crowd's excitement is at its peak as the announcer shouts into the megaphone again.
"AND THE ALPHAS JOIN THE FRAY! AFTER THAT LAST BATTLE, WE'RE LEFT WONDERING IF THE ALPHAS CAN SHOW US SOMETHING MORE EXCITING!"
"Looks like they're expecting a lot from us," I chuckle as I face the wolf man who started it all.
He looks confident. Befitting a proud pack leader, he carries himself with inflated arrogance. The rest of Camp Sigma Phi, as if to respond to his perceived greatness, chant his name in complete unison.
"Brock! Brock! Brock!"
Their energies then sustain his ego further, and with that, the cycle of narcissism is complete.
"Haha, looks like you got no one cheering for you," he comments cheekily.
"I got one right there."
I point to Nifa who's sitting on the log barrier.
"Your Mana control has turned sloppy!" she shouts.
"Well, she has her own brand of support..."
"Make sure that we don't blow up because of your carelessness!"
"Alright, mom geeze! I just tamed my Mana again the other day you know?"
As Nifa distracts me, a blur of shadow rushes at me like a bullet. Then, in a fraction of a second, large savage claws pause just inches from my face as I block Brock's first strike with my forearm.
"THE FIRST STRIKE GOES TO ALPHA BROCK! USING HIS INSANE SPEED, HE CLOSED THE GAP IN AN INSTANT! BUT ALPHA RICHARD WAS READY FOR IT."
The crowd roars in response to the announcers energy.
"Nice power suit, human," Brock salivates, his breath smelling of rotten flesh. "Where'd you get it?"
He then swings his other claw but hits air when I jump back to avoid it.
"I'm really not in the mood for your games. What's with that pussy-ass swing?"
I then mutter quick words and magic circles appear under my feet.
[Telekinesis]
With one wave of my arm, the crystal shards, large and small, rattles to life. Then, ripping off a page from Adresin's book, I send all of them hurtling towards Brock.
"AMAZING DISPLAY OF MAGIC CAPABILITIES! WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT A HUMAN LIKE ALPHA RICHARD CAN SHOW THIS MUCH POWER? I WANNA KNOW WHERE HE GOT HIS SUIT."
As the deadly debris is about reach him, Brock digs his feet in the earth.
[Earth Wall]
With immense force, he punches the ground and a massive earthen wall appears to defend him.
Druid huh...
It certainly is possible to be a druid that goes in the front lines. But as I just realized, the rules have changed.
[Divine Mind Activated]
As I let the skill take effect, I feel my consciousness expand. My five senses go into hyperdrive and I could experience things I've never had before. My eyes in particular can see that Brock doesn't have spirits surrounding him, which is a necessary trait of Druids.
[Beware, This Creature Is Possessed]
Possessed?
I see...
If the cave is near here then it is certainly possible...
"What's wrong?! Don't go sleeping on me now!"
Brock's now behind me. Of course, I'm ready for him. Even if I close my eyes, I know exactly where he is at all times.
He snaps at me with his large canines but he's just a millisecond too slow as I already put a crystal in his mouth before he bites down.
*Crack*
The crystal shatters and blood oozes from his mouth. But he isn't fazed.
The crowd becomes electric at the sight of blood.
"Brock! Brock! Brock!"
"What's wrong human? Is dodging all you could do?"
"I could say the same, dog. Is missing all you could do?"
He snarls and after a brief crouch, he launches himself, not towards me, but towards the crystals.
"Let's see how you like these things in you!"
His movements are fluid like water as he takes apart long branches as thick as a forearm. Then, with all his might, he hurls them at me like bullets from a gun in quick succession.
[Defensive Technique: First Breath]
As I exhale, I pull in the air around me to form a shield. However, I put in a bit too much mana into my hands so instead of pulling just the air, I pull the space itself.
"WHAT'S THIS?! ALPHA RICHARD IS DOING THE SAME TECHNIQUES AS ELDER SISTER, BUT SOMETHING SEEMS WEIRD. THE SPACE AROUND HIM SEEMS TO BE DISTORTING!"
"You're such a dumbass!" Nifa shouts at me.
"My muscle memory still needs to catch up! Just give me a second!"
As the crystals hit the crunched up space, they disintegrate into nothing. As I thought, it's a good idea to use real battles to work out kinks like this. There's only so much training by myself can do.
[Defensive Technique: First Breath]
As I manage to add the right amount of mana, the technique completes itself and the rest of the crystal shards bounce off as it should.
I'd like to celebrate this little success but Brock's already on the move once more. But again, he doesn't go for me. He instead bolts to my injured teammates.
"ALPHA BROCK GOES FOR ADRESIN AND FREYA! THEY'RE TECHNICALLY STILL IN SINCE THEY DIDN'T SUSTAIN FATAL INJURIES BUT THEY'RE TOO WEAK TO DEFEND THEMSELVES!"
He's smiling...
Grinning like he already won...
[Deluge- Version: Davy Jones' Locker]
With flick of my wrist, a torrent of ocean water bursts from my feet and catches up to him. Then, cold, rotting hands reach out and claw at him until he's completely immobile.
"Wh-what's this!?" he shouts and struggles but each time he gets up again, the persistent hands pulls him face down on the water.
The crowd shouts in a panic as the hands harmlessly reach out at them.
"WHAT'S THIS SPELL!? HE CASTED IT SO QUICKLY AND IT MANAGED TO CATCH UP TO ALPHA BROCK WHO'S KNOWN FOR HIS AMAZING SPEED!"
"Sigh... he's done it now..." Nifa sighs in disappointment from her VIP seat.
I approach him slowly, making sure that he can't catch a glimpse of me. I want him to hear my every footsteps as he helplessly lay there.
"You coward! Dispel this and fight me like a man!" he shouts into the air but I don't answer.
His fur stands every time my boots splash on the water. He's nervous. He struggles more desperately and more intensely as I get near. Eventually, I crouch down near his ear, making sure that every syllable and every breath of my words reach him.
"I intended to have some fun with you... I really wanted us to have a good fight you know?"
I then flip him on his back so he can see my face. He looks scared. I wonder what kind of expression he's seeing right now?
"So why...?"
I plunge my fist into his mouth. He tears up and chokes a bit. His teeth draws blood but they instantly heal because of [Divine Body].
"Why do you have to be such an asshole to attack people I care about huh?"
I bury my arm deeper, making sure that I'm invading every inch of his body with my Mana. As a result, his eyes have rolled back in their sockets.
"You fucking Satyr! You don't even have a body but you have the balls to pull that shit?!"
I withdraw my arm swiftly and along with saliva and blood, a man with the bottom half of a goat comes out from Brock's mouth. The crowd gags at the sight of the creature as I hold it by the horn.
"Unhand me human!" the Satyr struggles in vain. "You can't treat me like this! I'm the Alpha of Camp Sigma Phi!"
In response to its struggle, I throw it to the ground and plant my foot in its neck.
"You maybe an Alpha in your teeny tiny world... But I'm the Omega who's about to end you."