At this point, those who remained were the elites and above average fighters, beings capable of one day reaching D Rank, and perhaps having a tiny chance at something greater.

Sam found himself standing on the arena’s sands a few moments later, facing off against one of the lava wielding twins. A grin spread across his face unbidden. Perhaps this battle would be a bit more interesting.

“Ah, the hammer wielding brute,” the other fighter said. Her voice revealed her as the female member of the twins. “This might serve to be a more entertaining battle than my previous ones.”

“Funny you should say that. I was thinking the same thing.”

The mage slammed down her staff onto the ground, and cracks began to spread from the impact point. Gateways to seas of roiling lava and fire opened up. Sam could tell that she was going all out from the beginning. Each line of elemental energy was suffused with the power of a potent Dao Seed, and the heat was palpable, even from a few dozen feet away. Sam decided to treat this as a test of his power. He would start out without any buffs or skills, and see how many it took for him to win.

He blasted forwards, surprising his opponent with his speed, so far unrevealed during his earlier battles. The ground cracked around him. He decided to hide his ability to teleport for as long as possible. It was common among E Rankers, but not among those who had just reached that rank. It was better served in case he came up against someone who could counter the majority of his powers.

Sand turned to glass beneath his stride, the sudden heat of the compression fusing the grains together. With a battlecry, he brought his hammer down towards the mage. She twisted her draconic lips into a sneer, and raised her staff. A geyser of lava erupted from thin air, knocking Sam backwards. His outer layer of skin charred, but there was little significant damage.

He flipped in the air and landed on his feet, gazing towards his enemy. This was shaping up to be an entertaining battle.

He rushed forwards once more, starting to use a bit more technique in his movements. Rather than relying solely on his brute strength and speed, he started to incorporate some elements of his weapon mastery. Although it was nothing compared to those who had trained with their armaments for decades, it was still enough in a battle against a mage.

He weaved around the cracks in the ground, which were continuing to widen as the battle went on. He could sense a burgeoning stockpile of Dao Energy being steadily channeled into the ground, but he ignored it for now. It would only serve to spice up the battle.

His hammer passed dangerously close to the mage’s face, but she deflected it at the last moment with a shield of energy. It cracked beneath the onslaught, but ultimately held firm.

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“You are unusually potent compared to the rest of your ilk,” the woman sneered. “Most melee fighters would have died by now.”

“I’m not like most.”

Sam surprised her with a sudden surge of power, channeled a little bit of his Dao into his legs. He streaked forwards like a comet and buried his hammer into the woman’s torso. Only, he found that his hammer had impacted a pillar of lava, and the mage was standing behind him.

“Teleportation, eh?” Sam said, turning slowly.

“I wouldn’t expect a brute to understand the nuances of such a noble art.”

Sam merely smiled. He rushed in again, cracking through the sound barrier. This time, when the mage tried to teleport, he locked down space around her. Her eyes widened, just in time for his hammer to cave in her ribcage. She went hurtling backwards, and into the shield. Surprisingly enough, the battle did not end.

The woman rose, spitting up blood. With an expression of pure rage on her face, she raised one arm. Suddenly, the growing stockpile of Dao Energy in the ground beneath her exploded in potency. Tendrils of lava erupted from below, streaking towards her. Her form began to expand, lava coating her limbs until she was a ten foot tall hulk of glistening lava, appearing unharmed from Sam’s earlier strike.

She thrust one arm forwards and a beam of energy streaked out, speeding towards Sam. He thrust out his own arm, and channeled his Dao, elemental energy and mana into the air. A shield of red and blue formed there, taking the incoming strike with ease. However, he had revealed himself to be more than a simple warrior.

The blast of lava spattered across the shield, beginning to burn through. Sam simply pulsed his will through the shield, and rebuffed the attack, sending a wave of energy outwards.

He drove himself forwards, each step flickering into existence. With a grin, he brought his weapon down, striking the magma golem that surrounded the mage. The woman was sent flying, the lava deforming. A shard of Dao energy exploded out of Sam’s hammer, impacting the shroud of lava. Tendrils of disruptive energy began to unravel the protections, and the lava started to drip to the ground.

Sam continued to hammer the mage into the sand, but she was annoyingly durable in her battle form. This was the power of a true elite of the Multiverse, and even then, she was nothing but a minor inconvenience.

Each strike battered away slabs of lava, deconstructing the armor with ease. Sam found himself dominating the battle almost effortlessly. It seemed that this was the limit of his opponent’s power. It was almost sad in a way.

He eventually tired of battering the seemingly implacable suit of armor and reached out with one hand, laying it down on the lava construct. He sent the full force of his Dao Seed through the armor, unraveling it in a matter of moments. The lava splattered to the ground, glassing the sand. Then Sam raised his hammer, bringing it down one final time. His opponent was teleported back to the stands, and he followed a moment later.

“You held back a lot during that fight,” the Overlord observed. “This situation is growing bleaker as time goes on.”

“Turns out, immense power comes with immense boredom,” Sam replied.

“You always did like that movie,” the Overlord replied.

Sam turned to the man, a look of amazement on his face, but there was no trace of the sudden flash of his father that he had seen. He sighed, and turned away, realizing that there was no point in continuing the conversation.