Ajax P.O.V.

I had been prepared to end the match before it began with a well placed Void infused arrow. I have to say I was rather surprised when that didn’t work, the way the snake hissed right after it intercepted my arrow told me she realized the danger even if the princess hadn’t.

I was ready to bite the bullet and rush into the small dense domain the elf created but I was surprised by how well my magma infused shield managed to hold up to an ice lance. Unlike Elara the princess had limited her domain to conserve mana, not only that but her ice lances had to start from her palms unlike the unpredictable wild slashes so I could easily just outlast her.

My plan there was to force her to get close to me, that way I wouldn’t have that far to go inside her domain before I got in range. It is unfortunate to say the least that she quickly figured out how useless it was to keep throwing ice lances, worse yet instead of getting closer to me she took advantage of the fact that I stopped moving in order to cast a stronger spell.

Was I back to square one? Did I have to charge into her domain after all? It took her seconds to adapt to my strategy, do I have to risk brute forcing a win? Can I even do it? There has to be some vulnerability.

Should I try another Void arrow? Even with her domain active she most likely will only create a small ice shield in front of herself instead of intercepting the arrow. Since Void works by moving the point of impact I’ll just have to infuse this arrow with more mana to make up for the difference.

No that won’t work, if I try that the snake would still knock the arrow out of the air with a wave of rocks. Wait, the snake! I can force her hand by going after the snake. The whole thought process must have looked like it took no more than an instant, I have to say there is something to be said about investing heavily into your mental stats.

Going after the snake wasn’t a sure way to victory, unlike us the snake can retreat from the arena without disqualifying the fighter. I stopped my [Mana Syphon] from dipping into my own mana supply and simply used the generous amount the princess had donated.

Without my own mana I felt myself grow a bit slower and a bit weaker, this might mean I wouldn’t be able to finish the snake as quickly as I’d like but it should give me some longevity into the fight. It would do me no good to just run the snake out of the fight and face the elf without any mana.

The snake itself isn’t all that dangerous. Barely level seventy is something that I should be able to handle with ease by this point, especially when it isn’t even fully grown. The snake itself seems to recognise my plan so it launches another wave of rocks towards me with its tail while at the same time digging a small moat in front of itself.

Dodging the rocks from such a close distance is a lot harder but still something I can manage. The same cannot be said by the small cyclone that hits me from the side as the princess finishes her stronger spell. Damn it, Winter also contains wind, she's not just limited to ice.

Thanks to my defensive enchantments I am only slightly inconvenienced by the attack, unfortunately this also means that my mana expenditure grows once more as I start using my Light and Life mana to start healing the bruises I will no doubt be forming as a result of that attack.

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During this entire time the snake has been slowly retreating towards the exit gate of the arena at the behest of the princess. Despite her telling it to just run however the snake has never taken its eyes off me, sensing that I would pounce the moment it showed any vulnerability.

I’m almost at the snake when I abruptly stop as an ice lance much stronger than any of the previous ones flies by centimeters in front of me. It’s a good thing that my [Sense Mana] can keep track of all the princesses' attacks as I close it on the snake with it only thirty feet from safety.

Realizing it won’t be able to simply escape the snake wastes no time slamming its heavy tail into my shield. I have to admit that it packs quite a punch, unlike the ice lances the princess was sending at me, however this attack isn’t going to push me back only to the side so I have no issues using the attack's momentum to get closer to the head of the snake.

I fully infused my hammer with metal mana as I went for a heavy swing. There is an argument to be made for using Void instead however with how slippery the snake is I’m more worried about only landing a glancing blow that Void wouldn’t be able to contact after, with the increased weight from metal even a glancing blow should be enough to finish the snake.

As I take the swing I feel the snake start activating its own mana, it is currently trying to make itself smaller while also leaning back to dodge the attack. I waste no time using [Mana Syphon] to slow the process as much as I can.

My swing cleanly connects with one of the snake's large fangs as his still too large head is too slow moving back. I had briefly flashed the full power of my [Mana Syphon] for this blow so it comes as no sunrise to me when I see the fang shatter as the snake's head is propelled into the wall of the arena only two feet away from safety.

“Regalia!” The princesses voice is filled with anguish and rage and that is the only warning I get as I juice my shield with magma and hold it up as a small avalanche falls on top of me.

The power of the avalanche smashes me into the side of the arena as well and I can feel my legs give out from underneath me as I sit down hard. Is it over? Will I lose? It takes me a moment to reorientate after the power of the blow and only then do I realize why the fight isn’t over. The spell had consumed the last of the mana in the princesses domain so she has nothing left to attack for now.

I got to my feet as quickly as I could, unfortunately the snake managed to get out of here in time. This leaves it as a battle between me and the princess. She is casting as quickly as she can looking to establish another domain, unfortunately she was smart enough to leave a wind wall separating us so I can’t just take her out with an arrow.

I waste no time taking my shield and my hammer back into my spacial storage and flare my [Mana Syphon] back to full power as I charge straight for the mage. I can feel how hard I’m pushing both my [Running] and [Sprinting] skills.

I am halfway to her when she releases her domain for a second time. It is clear that her fight has taken a toll on her, while there is the same amount of mana packed into this domain as the one she used at the start of the fight, this was much larger and less dense. With the return of her domain however I also have to bring my hammer and shield back out, slowing me down slightly.

As I see her casting I slow down and brace myself for an ice lance that never comes. I feel more mana gathering and quickly pick up more speed as I realize she is going to try and finish this with another powerful spell, her second domain was less dense because she plans to run through it much quicker, it wasn’t a mistake.

I’m one step away from her when she unleashes a frost nova with at least two thousand mana poured into it. My magma infused shield is quickly cooled and frozen over as it hangs limply in my hand yet it managed to protect my top half from the spell. The same unfortunately cannot be said about my legs as the ice roots me to the floor all the way up past my knees.

Just a step away from her but the fight isn’t over yet. I pour as much mana as I can spare, using magma, fire and even ice to break my legs free in a final struggle to get my last swing to land. My hammer is fully infused with every last drop of mana I can squeeze out. Eight hundred mana turns out to be more than my gauntlet can handle as I feel the Void gem inside the dragon’s gift crack as I throw my hammer as a projectile over hoping to cover the last foot of distance and slam into her ribs.

The wall of ice quickly rises in the path of my hammer and stops it almost as soon as I threw it. The deep purple glow surrounding it winks out as soon as it makes contact with the wall of ice, as does all the momentum it carried.

I see the princesses face start to form a triumphant smile when her robes enchantment activates. There was enough Void mana in that blow to move the point of impact past all of the magical shields and ice landing cleanly on the princesses left ribs.

The elf is sent flying by the impact as I hear her ribs snap from the blow and the all too familiar protective orb forms around both of us as she coughs out blood signifying my victory. The healers are rushing towards at breakneck speed and I feel a surge of mana surround me as Shadow, and the captain of the first squad both all but teleport next to me as I feel Aranor’s mana surgeon threateningly on the side lines.