Without allowing himself to lose sight of either of the Daphne’s, Felix rushed towards them. To his surprise, they matched him in turn, each running towards him in parallel.

Felix swung his sword from his right side, cutting up towards the Daphne to his left. Both Daphne’s moved to defend, managing to deflect his attack with their combined claws.

Felix was able to dodge the oncoming flurry of cat-like swipes, only getting grazed here and there around his torso, but wasn’t able to land an attack of his own. Daphne and her clone were beyond in sync, responding rapidly to every move Felix made.

Furthermore, the real Daphne continually popped in and out of his shadow, placing more and more cuts across his legs. The match dragged on like this for quite some time. Slowly but surely, Felix’s breathing grew heavy, and he started to struggle parrying the blows of both Daphne’s at once. The high volume of cuts on his legs began to spread all across his body, drenching him in drops of his own blood.

Fortunately for Felix, his resilience was able to hold up as he formulated a plan. Parrying another attack from Daphne’s clone, he felt her let up so slightly, allowing herself to be pushed back. Right as he did, a set of needles plunged into his shoulder as the real Daphne attacked from his shadow. Felix swung his sword back, having anticipated an attack to begin with.

Sluggishness in his movement was a growing problem, allowing Daphne to swipe at his leg before fully retreating from his shadow, dodging his attack. Even as blood oozed out of most of his body, Felix suppressed a grin. He’d just come up with an idea, something he wasn’t sure would work, but was worth a shot. At this point, he’d come to acknowledge Daphne’s strength, and no longer believed he stood a chance in the long run. If he wanted to win, he’d have to end things quickly.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Felix asked, swinging his sword around as if he felt nothing at all. “I can go all day.”

Raising his arms above his head, Felix moved all his mana to his arms.

“Good,” Daphne laughed, “that’s how it should be!”

Continuing her synchronized assault, the two Daphne’s began running in a circle around Felix, waiting for him to unleash his attack. With his shadow now at his nine o’clock, Felix waited patiently for the right Daphne to appear in front of him. They’d been circling around him, but he wanted to make sure he set everything up perfectly.

As one of the Daphne’s came back into view, Felix ran forward to intersect her path. Swinging his sword from the left, he swung down towards her. Blocking with her claw, this Daphne looked surprised as she was able to defend against Felix’s seemingly powerful attack.

Noticing the same let up as before, Felix let go of his sword, now knowing where the real Daphne would appear shortly. This allowed Daphne’s clone a window of opportunity, but that didn’t matter to Felix in the slightest. With all his mana condensed in his arms, Felix flung them to his left side.

Amplify magic wasn’t as simple as making one physically stronger. All of Felix’s senses could be enhanced through amplification, including his sense of touch. As Felix’s arms collided with the real Daphne’s arms, he was easily able to maneuver to grab her claw-bearing arm before it could hit. She’d come from his shadow, completely out of his sight.

Felix turned to see Daphne looked up at him. Her face had astonishment written all over it, complemented by her still being half inside his shadow. Having managed to stop Daphne’s claws before they could hit somewhere important, Felix turned back to her clone.

As expected, it had batted Felix’s sword away, and was now bearing its claw down towards him. His arms being his only defense, Felix swung the real Daphne to block the attack, managing to also hit the clone with his new ‘weapon.’

Of course, Daphne’s surprise didn’t last forever. Even as Felix’s held her one arm in a death grip, she reached for more needles, stabbing them into Felix’s legs. The jolting pain was immense, but he refused to give up. Even as his legs shook, Felix violently swung Daphne over his head.

She reached for more needles, but it was already too late. Plummeting Daphne towards the ground with everything he’d managed to muster, Felix didn’t hold back. Her body collided fiercely against the earth, producing a noticeable cracking noise.

Honestly believing that wouldn’t be enough, Felix tried to raise his arms for a second go, but he couldn’t muster the strength. Even if she wasn’t very large, Daphne easily weighed over one hundred pounds. After his sole counterattack, Felix’s arms had already given out.

His legs shook, his arms were beyond sore, but he’d given it his all. Even if Daphne were to rise back up, Felix would have been content with the results.

“OH!” The announcer shouted. “Felix has finally landed his first blow against Daphne the Demon! How will she handle such a devastating attack?”

The crowd cheered in excitement, but fell silent as Daphne remained motionless on the ground. Their excitement turned into anticipation as they waited for Daphne to make her move. She may have been hit hard, but they seemed to have faith in her.

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To the contrary, Felix relaxed as he further examined Daphne’s motionless state. He’d manage to land the most powerful counterattack he was capable of, and was growing confident he’d put her out of commission. Even the announcer seemed taken aback by the effectiveness of his first successful blow.

“I can’t believe it!” The announcer yelled. “I’ve just gotten word in from our referees: Daphne has lost consciousness. Felix, who’d been on the ropes from the very start, has managed to defeat Daphne with his very first hit! Our first exhibition match has ended with an outstanding upset by our newest rookie. Let’s hear it for Felix!”

The crowd boomed with joy, chanting Felix’s name. Everyone loves an underdog, and this audience was no exception. From underneath Daphne’s archway, two masked individuals carrying a long, wooden board rushed to her side. Placing Daphne gently on the board, they rushed her back past the archway. The audience paid this no mind as they cheered for Felix. Not able to help himself, Felix raised his bloody fist in the air. The crowds of people began yelling even louder.

I should head back, too. Felix thought to himself. Wincing slightly, Felix brought his arm back to his side. He’d suffered far more damage than he’d expected. Slowly walking back towards his own archway, Felix smiled happily. He’d beaten a strong adversary in a close fight, something he’d only dreamed of back at the orphanage. If he got the chance, he’d have to thank Daphne for the match. He may have disagreed with her tastes, but she’d been a worthy opponent.

Making his way past the archway, Felix sat beside Azula. From either side of him approached two masked people, identical to the ones that had hauled Daphne’s unconscious body from the arena.

“They’re healing magic users,” Azula explained before he could ask. “Apparently, they patch up all the contestants.”

“Good,” Felix replied with a grin, “I definitely need it.”

Thanking the healers as they began examining and treating his wounds, Felix noticed Azula giving him an odd look.

“What?” Felix asked.

“Nothing.” Azula sighed. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“Aw, that’s actually kinda nice.”

“Felix, I could blow on you, and you’d be done for, alright?” Azula said, only semi-sarcastically. “Just sit back and watch a pro handle this trial.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Felix said, trying his best to sound energetic. “You’d better not lose, miss gold-ranked adventurer~.”

While he refused to concede any ground, Felix knew Azula was right. He was in rough shape, but was glad she’d worried about him. So far, he’d been pretty happy to team up with her. Their trials had gone well thanks to her cautious mindset, even if he liked to tease her about it.

“Our next contestant is another newbie: Azula.” The announcer said, interrupting their conversation. “Her opponent today will be none other than Amos the Ample! Azula entered The Tower to prove herself, but will she be able to best such a well-versed adversary?”

As the announcer once again went over the rules, the crowd cheered in anticipation. They were about as louder as they’d been for Daphne, even though it was her comeback fight. Azula stepped out into the light, fixing her eyes on her opponent. Amos was over two heads taller than her. His massive frame over doubled her in size. Flexing his muscles to the crowd, Amos yelled a loud battle cry. The crowd followed suit, matching his energy.

“Without further ado, contestant, please enter your starting area!”

Azula walked forward, displaying a confident posture. Amos turned, pointing a thumbs-down in her direction. The crowd waited eagerly as the two opponents entered their circles. Felix watched in excitement,

“Start!” The announcer yelled.

Their match finally having begun, Amos took the same approach as Daphne. He most likely saw the bow slung across Azula’s back, a clear indicator of her strength at long range. If he could close the distance, he’d have an easier time dealing with what attack she threw at him.

However, almost as soon as he’d started, Amos stopped dead in his tracks. He’d been mid-stride when he’d stopped, putting his body in a strange-looking position. Amos’s body twitched as he looked down at his torso, seemingly as confused as all the spectators.

Putting more force into his step, Amos managed to budge himself forward, slightly breaking free from whatever was holding him back. However, he finished a few steps towards Azula only to appear further restrained. His arms were now pressed up against his sides, as if he was being bound by a rope. Azula had made her move right as the match began, continually wrapping her threads around Amos.

Amos’ composure made it clear that he was struggling immensely. He yelled in pain as he tried to free his arms. To his dismay, Amos made no progress in removing what restrained him. Falling onto the ground, Amos wiggled to try and loosen his restraints. Azula hadn’t moved from her starting location, opting to observe Amos from a distance as he struggled.

“I give!” Amos yelled, writhing in pain from the ever-tightening threads.

His brute strength wasn’t enough to snap a single thread. The match had almost just begun, but Amos had already thrown in the towel. The spectators watched in disbelief as one of their favorite fighters was beaten in a way they didn’t even understand.

“Uh… wow!” The announcer said, trying to regain his composure. “In a surprise upset, Azula manages to beat the mighty Amos in a mysterious fashion. May we have a word from our winner? How did you do it?“

Azula had been staring intently in Amos’ direction, as if expecting the match to suddenly continue. Sighing a short breath of relief, she ignored the announcer's question. Azula turned around, making her way back to the archway.

“Such confidence!” The announcer yelled. “To think Amos the Ample would provide such a fight as to cause his opponent to sigh… it seems the rookies have the advantage today, folks. Could this be an unlikely omen for the match to come?”

The announcer continued riling up the crowd as Azula made her leave.