Chapter 445 444   - World Tournament(Part 3)　　Point-of-View: Lidui Uensh

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　　Okay, I can do this...I just need to win my first two matches, and I'll be set! Winning this match puts me in the top sixteen, and then winning the next match will put me in the top eight...that's how far I need to go in this tournament to win a cash prize.

　　If I can, by some miracle, make it to the top four or beyond, the amount of money I win increases...but that's a bit optimistic, the top eight is probably as far as I can go, considering my power level and the way the match ups in this tournament have been set.

　　If I win this match, my next opponent will be Lily...her finishing move won't work on me, since I can breathe underwater thanks to the gills from my shark Anima. She's really strong, but not so strong that I don't stand a chance against her.

　　"And now, it's time for the sixth match, Lidui of the Rustlands versus Esta of Liberty!" Announced Belia loudly.

　　I've got a flood Spell Card on me, all I need to do is use this and fill the barrier with water. Once I do that, this match is as good as won!

　　My opponent, a female Elf with Demonic features, had a determined, serious look on her face, as she waited for the signal to start the fight. Too bad for her, she's not going to beat me. I've got this fight in the bag.

　　"Let's get right down to it, BEGIN!"

　　"Sorry, but I win," I smirked, as I activated the spell.

　　As I ran my Mana through it, a massive amount of water burst forth, rapidly filling the space within the barrier...this barrier is bigger than what's usually used for fights like this, so this might not fully fill it, but I won't let her reach the water's surface!

　　She managed to activate a spherical barrier around herself before the water fully flooded over her, but more than half her barrier was filled with water, so it didn't float up, and moreover, she should run out of air soon.

　　But I'm not waiting that long...I'll shatter her barrier and then defeat her! As I rapidly swam towards her, she suddenly opened a small hole in her barrier, putting her hand out through it...while simultaneously opening her Demonic third eye.magic

　　Hm? What's she trying to-...and the next thing I knew, I felt a sudden heat, before finding myself outside the safety barrier in the next instant.

　　Huh? What just happened? And why does the safety barrier look like it's expanded and bloated?

　　As if to answer my question, the safety barrier then faded, before I let out a gasp as immense heat burst out of it, stifling my breath and stinging my skin...no way, is that...is that steam!?　　Did she just use Alchemic Magic to turn all the water I brought forth into steam!?

　　As the steam faded, I spotted her in the middle of the arena, still inside her barrier, which she then deactivated, wincing as she clutched her hand, trembling in pain. I get it, she must have gotten burnt by the steam.

　　I felt a chill run down my spine, as water dripped onto the ground from my hair...yikes, if it wasn't for the safety barrier, I'd have been cooked alive in there.

　　"Well, that was fast. Even a pent-up virgin getting laid for the first time would probably last longer than that. The winner is...Esta of Liberty!"

　　...I couldn't even get past the first round. There goes my cash prize...

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　　Point-of-View: Rain, The Water Dragon

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　　Hm, should I stay in my smaller form or revert to my normal form? Since this is a one on one fight, I think I'll stay as I am. After all, my normal form makes for a much easier target to my opponents.

　　Well, anyway, I'm looking forward to this, it should be fun...here's hoping my opponent can step up to the challenge...

　　"It's time for match number seven of the tournament, and it's Rain of Abyss versus Houlgor of Idyll!"

　　My opponent is a Dwarf, and he was carrying a large axe on his back. Come on, let's see what you've got...

　　"BEGIN!"

　　The floor of the arena around the spot where the Dwarf was standing broke off and rose up, before shooting towards me rapidly. I countered by firing out ice shards in response, canceling out his projectiles, before blasting out a powerful gust of steam at him.

　　He quickly raised an earth wall to block my attack, before using teleportation to slip behind me, touching my back and activating a paralysis spell as he did, and then swinging his axe towards me.

　　Right as he was about to strike, I broke free of the paralysis and caught the handle of the axe before the blade could reach me, the edge grazing the side of my neck and drawing out a trickle of blood.

　　"Wow, not bad, you almost got me...now, it's my turn," I grinned, before slamming my tail onto his midsection and sending him flying back, skidding along the ring.　　I then flew up and rapidly swooped down at him before he could get back up, driving my fist towards his chest as I closed in on him. He quickly raised his axe defensively, my fist slamming onto the length of the handle with immense force, the impact causing the ground beneath the Dwarf to crack apart severely.

　　And suddenly, as the cracks deepened and chunks of the floor began to rise up, I swiftly flew back up and fired out a blast of water from my mouth, to deflect the projectiles he'd created.

　　As I fired out another water blast, he quickly formed a defensive barrier above himself, realizing that his Earth Magic wouldn't be able to absorb the force of my attack...but neither could such a flimsy barrier.

　　It shattered upon impact, before my blast struck the Dwarf down, knocking him back to the ground, as I swooped down towards him to finish it off.

　　I then abruptly halted as several small, and off-target, earth projectiles were fired up at me, evading them easily, before quickly zipping up as all the airborne projectiles that I'd dodged rapidly converged towards me, a couple of them grazing my feet as I flew out of the way.

　　This Dwarf is pretty good, he can't match me in speed or agility, but he uses the tools that he does have with impressive efficiency. Not bad at all...

　　Suddenly, he teleported above me, with his axe raised high. I hurriedly flew back as he swung it at me, the blade nicking my left shoulder as I just barely got out of the way.

　　As he began to fall back down, he arched his arm back and flung his axe at me with a rapid spin, which narrowly whizzed past the side of my head and slammed onto the barrier, the impact traveling throughout it.

　　The axe then fell down and hit the arena floor with a loud clang, just after the Dwarf landed back down with a thud, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face.

　　Hm, yes, not bad at all...now, then, I think I'm done playing around. There's no dodging this...

　　I took in a deep breath as the Dwarf began to rush towards his axe, but it was a futile effort. I then unleashed my breath in a devastating, icy blast of air straight down, the temperature rapidly dropping as frost formed outside the barrier, the Dwarf stiffening as he felt it, before the safety barrier activated and teleported him out.

　　A few more seconds and he'd have been frozen to the bone, and a simple poke would have shattered his body into small shards of ice. I then floated back down to the ground, streaks of mist flowing out of my mouth as the floor got covered in a thin layer of frost.

　　I can't hope to match Azyl in terms of sheer scale, but I can generate slightly better intensity...I can defeat anyone that doesn't have direct counter to my icy breath.

　　Still, that was pretty fun, that Dwarf actually put up a pretty decent fight. But, unfortunately for him, he was out of his league...

　　"Brr, that's cold! I bet everyone's nipples as stiff as rocks right now, I know mine are! Oh, and the winner is...Rain of Abyss!"

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