--- [Lett’s perspective]
As soon as the preliminaries began, the fighting commenced.
An all-out brawl broke out.
Projectiles of all kinds flew left and right, teeth scattered across the ground, and the overwhelming noise of hundreds of combatants screaming was slowly dying down as the numbers dwindled.
With each defeat, a healer comes running in and carries them out.
With my specialty, I can easily dodge their attacks and keep my distance.
There’s no reason for me to fight all of them.
Instead, I’ll let them fight amongst themselves.
A few other people had the same idea as me, but most were unable to keep themselves out of the way long enough for it to be effective.
Now, only four hunters remain…
Two fearless brutes who took on everyone they could, one guy with a camouflaging ability, and of course, me.
The brutes start battling it out, but quickly stop.
I don’t know what he said, but one of them said something to the other one…
Something that could even make someone like him stand down.
As I ponder what it could be, they yell out…
“Come out you two! Pussies who run and hide don’t deserve to make it to the main tournament! We won’t fight each other until you guys are out!” – Brute 1
My plan was to wait until only one other person remained, then knock them out while they’re exhausted.
I guess that plan’s gone down the drain now…
Still, I’m in a much better condition than they are.
I’ve got a good shot at beating them.
The chameleon turns off his ability and approaches them.
He doesn’t attack, and neither do they.
“You too.” – Brute 2
We’ve all seen each other’s abilities by now, so there’s no point in trying to hide it.
I teleport down to them…
“Hey chameleon, how about a truce? We take down these guys before going for each other?” – Lett
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“Sure, but my name is Johnny, not chameleon!” – Johnny
“Works for us!” – Brute 1
As he says that, he charges at me.
Before I’m even within range, he already throws a punch at me.
The moment his arm is fully extended, a clump of magma identical to his fist comes shooting out.
I teleport out of the way, but it melts the ground behind me.
While still far away, I throw a punch of my own, before teleporting right next to him, slamming my fist right into his left cheek.
He stumbles backwards, but remains standing up.
At the same time, the other brute flexes his muscles, turning his whole body into metal.
Based on what I observed earlier, he becomes almost indestructible when using his ability, but his movements are pretty limited.
Johnny tries to punch him while still in his metal state, but instead of his fist breaking like I expected, he instead sends his opponent flying away.
He’s strong…!
“Wow… Had I not used my hardening there, I would have been a goner! Not bad, boy!” – Brute 2
He gets up, and immediately charges at him.
Johnny enters his stance, ready to unleash yet another blow.
“Keep your eyes on your opponent!” – Brute 1
A blob of magma suddenly appears mere centimeters away from my face!
By the skin of my teeth, I teleport away just in time to not get cooked alive…
I need to focus; I can’t let the other two distract me anymore!
A flurry of strikes comes my way, and with each and every attack, a deadly dose of molten rock follows.
Despite how dangerous they are, to me, this guy is actually the easiest opponent to beat.
My ability lets me avoid them without much trouble, making victory almost certain.
However…
I don’t know if that’s true in the case of the other two.
I’ve grown a lot stronger these past months, but physical strength is still the area I lack the most in.
Getting past the other guy’s iron skin won’t be easy…
Additionally, Johnny is more of the same.
His specialty might not have anything to do with making himself tougher, but it doesn’t have to be.
From the way he’s handling his opponent, I can tell he’ll be hard to take down.
I might have to fight dirty…
As I keep dodging his projectiles, my opponent grows more and more frustrated.
The speed and ferocity of which he sends them out increases with every miss.
I telegraph my moves, and teleport behind him.
He knows exactly where I am, and instantly grabs me.
Just as I planned…!
For a few moments, I pretend to not be able to teleport away while he’s holding me.
He takes the bait and throws an absolutely massive attack at me.
Just before the magma hits, I teleport away…
It flies right into the other brute’s back, instantly taking him out.
His massive body blocked the view, making Johnny unable to see what hit him.
He clearly didn’t expect it, and in that moment of confusion, his defenses were lowered.
I teleport into the air behind him, and kick in the side of the head with every ounce of power in my body.
His lights are instantly shut off, and the healers quickly arrive to carry them out.
That leaves only me, and magma-boy…
“You sly woman! Didn’t you two agree to a truce?!” – Brute 1
“Nah. This is a free-for-all, remember?” – Lett
If I want to make it to the main event, I can’t afford to hold back in any way.
With anger burning brightly in his eyes, he does everything he can to hit me with his ability.
However, the result is still the same; I teleport away from every blob of lava that comes my way.
When he least expects it, I teleport right above him, slamming my heel into the top of his head.
He staggers, and before he’s able to fully recover, a flying knee clobbers him in the face, knocking him out for good.
Just as quickly as before, the healers take him out to heal all his injuries.
One of the high-ranking hunters that watched over us comes down and congratulates me on my victory.
At the same time, another healer arrives.
They do their thing, and despite me not having any injuries, they recovered all my lost stamina.
“The other groups should be done soon. For now, just wait here. When your name is called out, go through that door over there.” – High-ranking hunter
He points to a door that I can only assume leads to the main stage.
The time has finally come…
The battle festival is starting for real now!