As the referee hyped the fight, Stell looked at the scene, entranced. The unique Rose element left him captivated.
It was a unique element! He hadn't anticipated encountering such an element so early on. After witnessing Water's mastery, he felt a sense of embarrassment. Despite Water having invested numerous wishes into his element, Stell was certain that he had also dedicated a substantial amount of time to honing it.
On the other hand, what had Stell been doing? Reading books or wandering the town? Clicking his tongue, he looked expectantly at the fight.
"It's a pretty element. Almost as pretty as you." Water's charming smile echoed in the arena.
Rose only snorted. "Why focus so much on a Common element?"
Her question made Water laugh. "Are you stupid? Didn't you hear that it's hard to enhance your affinity? The real question is, why bother with the rarer ones when you can't upgrade them? Isn't it better to get a strong Common element than a weak unique element?"
Rose frowned at Water's words. "Let's see how weak my element is."
With a wave of her hand, a wave of roses appeared, approaching Water at an alarming speed.
Water smirked as he jumped over the roses.
"You can't avoid all of them." Rose smirked at Water's stupid action.
"Can't I?" Water laughed as he made the water rise from the ground, putting just enough pressure to keep him afloat.
Rose's smile froze as she watched Water. "See? It doesn't matter how rare it is if it's weak."
Standing up, he surfed the water before jumping, letting the towering wave that appeared to clash into Rose.
"I see that that element also has weak defense." Water laughed as he watched Rose smash into the wall before falling weakly.
"Damn you." Rose punched the ground, making another wave of roses, but it was useless. With another wave from Water, she was defeated.
"What precise control! What good tactics! And what a damn clean battle! With Water's incredible ability, group P TAKES THE WIN!" The referee shouted, hyping the battle.
Stell looked at Water strangely. Under normal circumstances, he would have despaired, wondering whether even Felix would be enough to deal with him.
However, his element countered Water's perfectly! Even with the lower affinity, Stell felt that he could hold his own against Water for at least a few minutes.
As the referee declared a ten-minute break, Stell's group observed in silence, refraining from comments. Stell desired to step forward and formulate battle strategies, but he felt unworthy of doing so.
And so, they spent an hour watching battles and spectators. Finally, the referee, who was strangely at the same time a commentator as well, announced the start of their first battle.
"On my left, we have quite an interesting group." The referee began. "Group G was one of the four groups which don't have any favorites. However, it has many players who could be a gem hidden in the dark."
With a slight pause, he raised his voice. "Yes, you guessed it! It's one of the four dark horses! It's the group with possible hidden dragons! LET US WELCOME GROUP G!"
As the crown cheered and applauded, Stell, Felix, and the rest of group G entered. Most of the players in the group had proud expressions, while some looked embarrassed.
"On my right, we have another dark horse group! What will happen when we see two dark horses clash? Who will win? The hidden dragons or the crouching tigers? Let us welcome the group rivaling group G, GROUP J!"
Stell noticed the subdued applause and wondered whether the referee had exhausted his creativity or perhaps the audience's enthusiasm was waning.
Whichever it was, he thought that it might be a good thing.
"Are you ready?" Felix grinned as he observed their opponents' entrance. Stell attempted to smile but could only manage a faint smirk.
As the referee declared the commencement of the fight, everyone witnessed Ta recklessly charge at his opponents wielding a colossal greatsword. Although, in his grip, the weapon appeared more akin to an ordinary sword.
Only after looking at everyone did Stell notice how tall Ta actually was. To him, everyone was a dwarf.
Somehow, despite his size, he was faster than anyone, rushing at the enemy group.
Swinging his massive greatsword, he knocked two opponents and eliminated another one.
With a morale boost, everyone rushed with the weapons they summoned in the waiting room.
Stell only looked blankly without even participating as the enemies were quickly dealt with.
"A MINUTE!!! THAT'S THE RECORD! GROUP G ADVANCES WITH ONLY TWO ELIMINATIONS!!!" The referee shouted excitedly, earning a cheer from the whole stadium. Even Water hadn't received a cheer as loud as that one.
With a blank look, Stell retreated to the waiting room, fixating his gaze vacantly on his group. The contrast was far too stark. His group was remarkably formidable!
He could feel the win already.
And as soon as he felt it, he fell even more into depression. Again, it wasn't his win. He was just an extra. Today, the protagonist was Ta. Or if we looked at the real protagonist, Felix.
He, however, was just an extra. He wasn't even mentioned by the announcer. The only one who was mentioned was Ta. And Felix would probably join Ta soon. After all, it was impossible for Felix not to shine.
With a sigh, he watched the last of the first eight fights.
As the referee announced the last two dark horses, Stell widened his eyes.
Tian Fen! Tian Fen was partaking in the surprise game!
Stell watched the calm Tian Fen approach the center of the arena with his group.
"Isn't that...?" Felix began.
"It is." Stell interrupted.
Felix looked at Tian Fen in anticipation. As the referee started the fight, both groups rushed.
"Isn't that kinda barbaric? Why did no one make a strategy?" Stell wondered.
"It's not like we did any better." Felix chuckled, making Stell nod. "We really didn't."
As the battle commenced, Tian Fen remained stationary, observing as the others engaged in combat.
"Why does everyone rush, though?" Felix wondered. "It's it better if they just shoot at each other from the distance or something?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's exactly because of that. Or maybe it's some other reason." Stell replied, unable to make heads or tails of the fight.
After some time, a person broke out of the crowd, rushing at Tian Fen in delight.
"Hahaha! This guy just closed his eyes? Is he mad? A free kill, it is!" He laughed as he swung his mace at Tian Fen.
However, before the mace could even reach Tian Fen, it fell from the person's hands.
He was cleaved into two with a single strike. As the crowd cheered, the battle continued.
It didn't take long for Tian Fen's group to lose, leaving three more opponents for Tian Fen to deal with.
"You may have been able to deal with a single one, but how about three of us?" A person licked his lips as he charged toward Tian Fen, flanked by two others.
Tian Fen slowly opened his eyes before slashing horizontally, eliminating all three players at the same time. With another slash, he cleared his blade of the blood. As the light of the arena shined on his face, the referee shouted.
"Group I's Swordsman masterfully showed his prowess, defeating three people at the same time! LET US CONGRATULATE THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF THE LAST BATTLE, SWORDSMAN!"