'Did everyone leave?' I thought as I made my way through the vacant jungle.

As I continued running aimlessly, I found myself at the edge of the jungle island, and was confronted with water as well as a whole other island made of ice. There were mini ice caves and ice hills scattered around. Thanks to the contrast of humans on an icy background, I was able to catch glimpses of people around trying to kill each other.

Despite it being ice, the breeze that brushed past my face proved it wasn't cold at all, it was rather warm in fact. I could even say it was suitable for habitation.

The ice island and jungle island were separated by a metre of water so I just hopped across the borders. Although the most efficient way to win the tournament was to avoid combat until the very end to preserve strength, that wasn't fun at all; it was cowardly. Besides, I am curious as to how many people I can bring down. I'm sure Daniel is watching too. I definitely can't show my weak side. Physical combat is one of my greatest strengths after all!

Firming my resolve, I ran toward the four people who were fighting each other.

—Daniel's PoV—

'This crazy girl was probably thinking something along the lines of, "this is perfect for warming up!" Or maybe, "Everyone is watching so I must show off my power!"' I figured, as I watched her go up to the four people who were already fighting each other.

It didn't even take a second for her to appear behind each of their backs and give them a concussion. It happened all too fast for them to even react. I'd say an encounter with Rachel was like an encounter with Death itself, you know, the Grim Reaper. You wouldn't even know what happened until you were already marked for death. This was also the reason I found it hard to spar with her. Her surprise attacks just couldn't be predicted...well by normal means at least.

Now that I thought about it, she was probably only participating because she knew we needed money in order to travel. She did know that we could just send mail right? Well, it wasn't like she knew I had money already. It would definitely be complicated if she wins this tournament but it's hard to say if she can beat the prince. I've only caught a glimpse of the prince's abilities and he was just messing around so I didn't know. From what I've seen though, he definitely wasn't the compassionate type. There was just something about the way he handled the ambush that ticked me off. I don't know why, but you could say it was a gut feeling.

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—Rachel's PoV—

'Eh, they didn't put up much of a fight.' Thinking that, I gave the last guy standing another punch which finally triggered the protective bubble.

He was tenacious, but it was no use. Was I too mean? Well, if they weren't even able to survive a couple blows, I doubt they could have done well either way. If they trained as hard as me, then would their fate have changed? I guess that's something to think about.

Krrck!

I flinched and looked back in reaction to the sudden cracking sound. Strange, I couldn't really tell where the sound came from. It sounded like it came from behind, but also from the front.

Krrrrrccckk!!!

This time I jumped and rolled over to the side.

When I landed, I heard more and more cracking sounds around me. Looking around, I realized that the ice had started to crack, slowly, but surely.

'Hold on, that's not supposed to happen.'

The ice was at least a couple metres thick. I don't recall smashing it or stomping my foot hard so who did it?

I looked around but there was no one nearby. From across the lake, I could make out the grasslands and a couple people fighting here and there.

As I was starting to question why the ice started to crack, the wind suddenly intensified and I could see something forming in the water.

Before thinking, I dashed as fast as I could over to actual "land." I was only a couple metres away from the desert island while the jungle island was much further. Although this ice was thick and solid, I still had some doubts as to whether or not it would hold out.

As I continued running, I noticed the amount of cracking started to decrease but conversely, the wind started blowing harder and harder, as if it were a snow storm.

Once I reached the edge of the iceland, I leaped over the edge and landed softly on some sand.

Just as I was about to take a breather, an arrow came flying from out of nowhere but I simply smacked it away with the gauntlets. As long as the tip didn't penetrate the metal, it was fine to just smack it away with the back of my hand. Just above a hill of sand was someone holding a longbow.

'Pfft. A marksman.'

Having him in my sight, I blinked behind him and knocked him out before he could react. I mean, why would anyone choose a bow and arrow in this type of tournament? There was a limited amount of arrows you could hold in a single quiver so just why would you pick the bow.

As I was going to comment further on how close range fighting was superior to far range, I realized that the wind had stopped blowing when I reached the desert island. I had been wondering how he could have shot the arrow in such strong wind but it looks like there was none.

Looking at the lake, there was a giant hole in the water swirling about, with ice blocks spread across everywhere. The iceland had already broken apart and the ice platforms were now moving circles around the spinning vortex.