The Drunken Brats were celebrating their 6th victory inside the Page Coliseum's refreshment area. They became the main topic of Battle Arena 1. Almost everyone at their cultivation level spoke about their triumphant victories.
Downing a bottle of water, Dam Son said to his teammates. "Though we won that last battle, we almost lost nearing the end. That Demi-Human with the strange hound on his back really got me scared for a moment."
"Tell me about it. Holding him steady was so exhausting." As he spoke, Sugar Bun filled his face with some baked goodies. "I almost lost my grip on him when he coated himself in that slippery Oil Script."
"Our last battle was indeed tough." Xuan Li agreed, splashing some water on his face to cool himself down. "I must admit that we did pretty well for ourselves despite us not being able to use our Guides' Powered Scripts. I never thought that we would have won 6 consecutive victories."
"Me neither." Sugar Bun joined in. "It was all thanks to our insane physical prowess not to mention Dam Son's Natural Verb Force. It was due to the frightening show he put on earlier that had many of our opponents scared to go near him. Isn't that right, Dam Son?"
"I suppose you're correct." Dam Son didn't sound all that enthusiastic. Deep down he was scared of releasing his Natural Verb Force again during a battle. He had no control over it. Sure, he could produce it effectively, however, without proper control, he could bring great harm to himself not to mention his teammates. Jin Hennessy hadn't taught him about NVF control as yet, therefore, he lacked the proper way to amplify his potential.
Dam Son was the ace of his team, yet he was afraid to utilize that very ace to win. In the last 5 previous matches, he participated without using much of his Natural Verb Force. If ever he used it, it was only for a second or so.
As the Drunken Brats continued to converse with each other by the refreshment area, they identified a large throng of excited individuals rushing towards Battle Arena 1. No longer were they the topic on the students' tongues.
"Why are all these people behaving like this, did something exciting happened?"
Gaining the attention of an eager individual from the crowd, the Drunken Brats found out that the semi-finals was about to take place on Battle Arena 1. It wasn't so much the ending of the tournament that attracted them, but rather the participants who were going to face off against each other.
"We're supposed to be battling in the finals soon. I think we should go and check out the opponents that we will be facing next. What do you say, guys?"
"We're with you, Dam Son."
Reaching a consensus, the Drunken Brats followed the excited crowd. Along the way, they got to understand better about the 2 teams who were about to battle each other in the semi-finals. The leaf Widows vs the Losers.
From what they heard from the crowd, the hottest, moreover most likely to succeed crew announced was the Losers. They consisted of mighty powerhouses that could rival second years and even third years at Raixom Academy.
"Let me through! Let me through!"
"Please stop pushing people. There's enough space for everyone."
"I can't wait to see this battle. My two favourite teams are going up against each other."
"Who do you think will win, the Leaf Widows or the Losers?"
"Right now it's kind of hard to tell. Both teams have their respective powerhouses. For the Leaf Widows there is Cinder Burn, the imperious nature Demi-Human and for the Losers there is Red Bull, the Dark-Human-Hybrid."
"We just have to wait and see then, but if I were to take a guess, I'd say the Losers are going to win. I've seen how they've dominated their previous battles. They've utterly crushed and humiliated their opponents."
"The same could be said for the Leaf Widows." As the surrounding audience continued to form their opinions of the imminent winners, the Drunken Brats made their way to a position where they could better see the match.
"I think here is fine." Looking towards the stage, Dam Son paid specific attention to the team members that the Leaf Widows were going up against for a chance to face them in the finals. "That one there in the middle must be the one the crowd keeps cheering for."
Dam Son focused on a slim built young man who boastfully stood at the forefront of his crew with his hands in his pants pockets. He wore loose slacks accompanied by a skin fit tank top and a shirt wrapped around his waist. His apparels were mostly dark. The texture of his skin was partially light and fiery. A major part of his face was obscured by a thick blindfold he sported. The most striking characteristic of this human hybrid was his Guide. It was already one step away from evolving to the Manuscript level. Many spectators thought that he was intentionally suppressing its rapid growth so that he could fit in with his peers.
Standing at Red Bull's lateral regions were his trusted underlings. On his right was a beautiful seductress of the Demi-Human variety. She was called Pine Punch, A Word Mage who excelled in golem magic. On Red Bull's left was a proficient human Wordsmith known as D.Zypher. She excelled in script analytics and Guides' defragmentation.
"All of them look extremely powerful. I can feel their intense Guide Auras all the way from up here." Sugar Bun's lips trembled as he said this.
"I couldn't agree with you more." Xuan Li also came to the quick understanding that the Losers team wasn't a pushover.
"We should stay focused and get a good grasp of their abilities." Dam Son suggested. "There is a good chance that we might be going up against them in the finals." For the first time in his created existence, Dam Son felt great anticipation about fighting against someone. His battle spirit was somewhat aroused by the Losers' aura.
Settling at the centre of the stage, the referee spoke to both teams, making sure that they were ready to fight and aware of the rules. "Alright, let the battle begin!"
As soon as the referee vanished off stage, team Leaf Widows made the first move. They quickly surrounded the Losers while activating various Powered Scripts. While all of this was happening, Red Bull didn't take a single step forward, all he did was nod his head at the beautiful princess by his left. "D.Zypher you're up."
"Just leave them to me." Receiving the order from her suave leader, D.Zypher began shifting her eyes about at lightning speed. The pages of her Guide were also spinning wildly. Within only a matter of 0.01 seconds, she already analysed the structural composite of the Leaf Widows' Guides.
"Attack!" At the same time Cinder Burn unleashed her Whip of Numbers, Balloona and Trish released various attacks of their own. However, a millisecond later, they received the shock of their lives. Their Guides got dispelled along with the activated attributes of their Powered Scripts; this rendered their attacking potential to almost zero.
"Huh? How is this possible?" Identifying that they were at a great disadvantage without the aid of their Guides, Cinder Burn gave the order to retreat.
"Trying to run away after crossing my path so disrespectfully?" Red Bull felt insulted as he watched the Leaf Windows regrouping at a distance. "Pine Punch my sweetheart, obliterate them."
"With pleasure my sweet senior." Pushing forth her right arm, Pine Punch called forth several Powered Scripts from her pineapple-shaped Guide, moreover, activated them simultaneously.
[Basic Word Mage Script: Paper Golem >>Spider] (Activated) –30(MPL)
[Basic Word Mage Script: Paper Golem >>Scorpion] (Activated) –30(MPL)
[Basic Word Mage Script: Paper Golem >>Hulk] (Activated) –35(MPL)
[Basic Word Mage Script: Empowerment x3] (Activated) –150(MPL)
"Destroy them all my children!" Pine Punch commanded her army of Paper Golems to attack the Leaf Widows who were still baffled by the events that transpired seconds ago with their Guides.
Perceiving the incoming monsters, Cinder Burn Lashed forth her Whip of Numbers, creating a wall of variable 3's to buy her teammate time to re-summon their shattered Guides.
"Balloona, Trish! Take out the arachnids! I'll deal with the big one!"
"Roger that!" With her Guide back in action, Balloona created a cluster of bubbles to slow down the advance of the Page Golems. Meanwhile, Trish tore them to pieces with her fine armies of elemental bugs.
"Fiery Nest Explosion!" Trish's attack completely obliterated the arachnid Paper Golems, leaving only the hulk at large.
"Zero Slice!" With only a few strikes, Cinder Burn took care of the hulk type Paper Golem. She and her teammates didn't stop there; once again, they rushed toward the Losers who hadn't made any drastic movement since they stepped on stage.
"Why isn't that one attacking?" Cinder Burn paid special attention to Red Bull as she and her crew launched several attacks at their opponents. "That blindfold he's wearing, what is it for?"
Fearful of getting too close without knowing what was what, Cinder Burn executed a mid-ranged attack which transformed her Whip of Numbers into a shooting spear. "Pierce!"
Cinder Burn's Augmented Weapon collided with an invisible force field the moment it entered Red Bull's proximity. He wasn't the one defending; it was his beautiful ally, D.Zypher and her ability to cancel the effects of Powered Scripts after they have been activated.
"It's difficult to get any attack through to him because of those annoying bitches. Balloona, Trish! Keep those two occupied. I want to get that one alone who is standing there like a scared statue!"
"Oh?" Red Bull heard clearly the insults Cinder Burn tossed his way. In light of this, he called back his sexy underlings. Not only did he tell Pine Punch and D.Zypher to pull back, but he also told them to disqualify themselves by leaving him alone on stage.
"What? Is that runt serious?" Cinder Burn couldn't believe her eyes. Red Bull was more arrogant than she was.
"He had his teammates go off stage just to prove a point or is he just stupid?" Balloona was confused.
"Maybe he thinks that he's more than enough to handle us girls." Thought Trish.
"I despise boastful bastards like him." What Red Bull did, pissed off Cinder Burn to the point of no return. She began browsing through her Guide, searching for the most powerful scripts she had in her arsenal. Never before in her life had she felt such contempt towards someone.
Being alone in his corner, he didn't feel a shred of fear. Red Bull withdrew a single hand from his pocket and beckoned the Leaf Widows with a finger, "Are you waiting for an invitation? Come at me with all you've got, little girlies." He smirked at them.