"A Beast Channeler...and a Caster proficient in both Weapon Casts and Tattoo Casts..." Lera murmured, biting her nails nervously as Ver watched on restlessly. On paper, Wu's opponents are already impressive enough, but after clashing against Fatera...

Ver looked down at her hand, and the very thought of fighting against Fatera any time soon still gave her shivers.

Channelers, thanks to the high level of affinity with the Wave, are usually the most in tune with the Wave in the environments as well. This allows a handful of them to connect with certain Wave beasts and tame them to fight alongside the Wave users. Ever since the wild-spread development of Chariots, the use of actual animal-based chivalry combat was a thing of the past.

However, just because something has fallen out of favor doesn't mean it's not devastating when in the right hands. As Valerie returned with her body covered in blood from the Northern Forests riding the Great White Bear, she became the first Beast Channeler in her family's history.

Before then, they were nothing, even in the Kingdom of Talonia. Her younger sister, Val, was still coming of age, and the family of their status is a dime in a dozen within Talonia. But if she can make it as a Valkyrie candidate, she will bring honor, status, and power to her family...

And perhaps then...her parents won't have to work so hard anymore. Her dad can finally sit down and rest his knee, while her mom no longer have to worry about a sore back every night.

The hopes and dreams of her sister and her very own all rest in this moment. That's why she plead to Charlie and performed the deeds he wanted to give them this chance.

The chance to fight first in the Ring of Fire, the chance to showcase their strength, and the chance to eventually become a full-fledged Valkyrie after graduation.

"You shall see my strength! The strength of a Valkyrie Candidate!" Valerie announced, "Charge!"

A set of Wave-based armor was conjured right on top of body of the great white bear, and Valerie rushed it forward as the bear that had to at least be half a ton moved so quickly that it caught even Fatera by surprise.

Fatera could easily have moved out of the way. She could have jabbed hard to the side, avoiding the frontal charge and counterattacking from the side. She could have demonstrated her remarkable agility that comes as a part of her strength.

Or, she could just showcase her strength.

Slamming her fists together, Fatera coated her entire body with armor made of her own red-tinted Wave with gloves and boots letting off her signature crimson glow. Then, as the bear charged towards her, she dropped her right foot back, dug her heels in and launched herself forward.

One step is all it takes.

As the immoveable object and unstoppable force clashed, a shockwave rippled through the dirt ground of the entire arena like a rock dropped into a pond. An obnoxiously loud bang along with a shockwave swept through the interior space and caused the crowd to wince and cover their ears as Wu and Val were also swept off their feet, their bodies tossed into the air.

Val forced her eyes open, and her vision was still dotty as Wu hovered in the air with his gauntlet charged at maximum intensity.

"Let me tell you something, Val." Wu said, his voice barely coming through the buzzing sound of the orb of Wave the radius of his height, "Newton's first law: Unless acting upon by a force, you ain't going anywhere."

"What?"

Being knocked up into the air, there is nowhere for Val to go. She tried to throw her arms around and create Casts that will push her around, but it was all for naught as Wu unleashed the crater-making orb of Wave right into her body.

At the last moment, Val gritted her teeth together and crossed her blades in front of her body, creating a shield to protect herself.

Like a tennis ball being served, Val's body was slammed straight back, away from Wu and towards the outer walls of the arena. The orb exploded and covered Val in white as her suit of light armour became heated and her skin started to burn underneath. She screamed in pain and tried to stop herself from falling back when Wu shot out a trio of follow-up shots, knocking her farther and farther until her body was thrown into the sidewall and out of the circle.

Though Wu was successful, Newton's third law dictated that the recoil from the One-Shotter is also going to send him flying the other way, and as he landed softly onto the ground with his arms swinging out to the side for balance, yet another ripple through the ground knocked him up into the air as Valerie and Fatera clashed once more.

GOSH DAMN IT! Valerie cursed from right underneath her breathe. Fatera was far stronger than she had ever imagined, and if she's honest, Fatera could have won this battle threefold already if she took advantage of her inhuman speed.

However, for some odd reason, all she wanted to do is to clash head-on against Valerie, and she will happily indulge in that, knowing that raw strength and power is what gives Beast Channelers their biggest advantages.

And yet...despite the Great White Bear being deemed the guardian deities of the Northern parts of Kingdom of Talonia, despite their mystical strengths going up to at least Hill Forming level...Fatera, the woman mountain herself, didn't budge even an inch during each of the clashes.

Reaching down with her fingers, Valerie felt for the bruise and bumps over the armor piece over the Great White Bear's head before she comforted it briefly. It clearly realized the true extent of Fatera strength just from the influence she has on the local Wave fields alone, and as more and more of her combat powers became unleashed, victory started slipping out of Valerie's hands. However, both fighters being the prideful ones they are, they charged forward regardless.

Worse yet, Val had already been defeated, and as Wu neared the two, Fatera suddenly leapt back and turned towards him.

"Don't even think about it!" Fatera said, catching Wu dead in his tracks as he prepared to approach them, "She's mine!"

"O....k..." Wu said slowly before he ran away from the scariest girl he has ever met. Taking a seat near the edge of the arena circle, he watched as Fatera continued wrestling with Valerie, eventually lifting both her and the bear up into the air.

The bear roared out in anger and slashed its massive claws into Fatera's body, but she ate up those hits as the sound of its claws ramming into her body boomed out like drumbeats. Though slightly displaced, Fatera was not shaken in the slightest, and she spun around before shot-putting the bear and its rider out of the circle.

"Shit!" Valerie cursed, detaching herself from the great white bear and kicking on its back to send her back into the circle, but by then, Fatera was already waiting for her.

As Valerie's body got closer and closer, Fatera lined up a shot and roundhouse kicked her across the stomach, sending her straight through the outer walls of the arena, leaving behind a human-shaped hole.

The crowd halted for a moment before they cheered at the valiant battles of Wu and Fatera. And as Wu lied back and let out a breather, Fatera threw her fist into the air and enjoyed the crowd's thundering applause.

She was the key to their victory, and she has delivered on a third of her promise to Wu. That was entertaining and all, but...it wasn't the true fight she was looking for.

"Phew..." Lera let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in her seat as Ver also fell back and stopped playing excessively with the straps of her eyepatch. Ita jumped up and down in joy as she shouted Wu's name and tried to get a chant going, but it was clear that Fatera had instead become the people's favourite.

"So..." Wu said, rolling back onto his feet and moving towards Fatera, "How was it?"

"Meh." Fatera shrugged, "She's decent, but nothing too exciting."

"I thought you might say that..." Wu laughed dryly before Principal Khan's voice cut in.

"Looks like our rulebreaker lives to fight another bout!" He said as the crowd turned face again and started booing, "Thanks to the massive backpack of Fatera's."

The crowd cheered after hearing Fatera's name as Wu rolled his eyes slightly. It is true though.

"So...let's get this second bout started! Carrying on the theme of twins...We now go back to where this all started, with Charlie and Lily Watts as their next opponents! With justice taken into their own hands, how will the rulebreaker and the backpack carrying him respond?!"

Welp.

"You said you wanted a good fight, right?" Wu said, fixing up his gauntlet and tightening it once more as the dark blonde haired twins emerged from the tunnel, Lily Watts with her body surrounded by flames and Charlie Watts with his book of Casts in hand, "You are about to have one."

"Ha. One of the Boarded, at last." Fatera smiled excitedly as she slapped herself in the butts as tight and muscular as bricks, "Ya better not get in my way this time!"

"...I wasn't in yours last time either..." Wu protested when Lily and Charlie both stepped foot into the arena.

"Hello, rookie." Charlie said, his voice filled to the brim with malice, "At last, I shall have my revenge."

"Did you also do something to the arena's inner structure to help your chances?" Wu said, his arms crossed, "Take your time, since you won't have a chance otherwise."

"Let's see you and your big mouth after this match." Charlie grinned, his fingers lightly tapping the cover of his book of Casts as it sprung to life, "Sis. All you now."

"You." Lily said, pointing a finger at Fatera, "Come at me with all you got."

"I thought ya would never ask." Fatera said, powering up with a surge of Wave through all of her muscles before she dashed forward like a missile and clashed head on with the flaming figure of Lily.