"In the quarter of an hour, Ark alone defeated over 30% of the contenders! What a remarkable performance!"

The commentator's voice reached all the contenders throughout the forest. It was a message to motivate and speed the event up.

Ark traversed the forest with increased momentum. His steps light and without hesitation, as if he knew in advance where his opponent is.

Phantom was utilized well to scan the surroundings but was otherwise sealed. He perserved concentration on the expense of mana and stamina. Especially mana was consumed like water in a desert.

He kept several spell while disregarding the sword spirit completely. A spell to maintain strong grip. A spell to perform delicate manuevers with wind. One to replenish stamina, etc. There were all auxiliary spell that are more difficult to control, but were controlled skillfully all at once.

It was an exquisite battle style he had yet to show before, so even Elizabeth was surprised.

The combination of spells, the specific applications... none of it was simple. Ark had gone through countless trials and error before completing and mastering this array of magic.

Not only the varied forms of strengthening magic, he stored auxiliary magics of various uses to improve himself even slightly.

(I spend five years perfecting this technique, and though it's still not perfect, it sure as hell impressive. Just how many all-nighters I pulled to memorize one more fucking spell? Damn, it's annoying just to remember!)

Nothing comes naturally for an idiot. Ark had curious nature but struggled to etch the knowledge properly. He'd need to fervently read a book repeatedly several times while smart people would just need a leisure reading.

His abilities are all stems from experience and effort.

(Calm down, me. Just beat your frustration on the next opponent.)

A group of five were his next pray. Ark's mana reserves were sufficiently large even compared to senior knights. Even epiphet holders would be no challenge.

Or so he thought.

"To boldly reveal yourself and approach so calmly, are you confident?"

"Stealth isn't for me, as you can see." That's true. The man carried a broadsword as tall as Ark. "Besides, my gut is telling me I can't hide from you."

"Impressive. Your gut is dead on."

(Ugh, the intuitive type. I hate these the most.)

The type to feel danger even if there is literally no sign of it beforehands. It's a sort of people that tramples the meaning of training perception.

Unlike the lean Dain, this man had a robust body with dense muscles. His blond hair and wild eyes caused him to look like a delinquent, even though his behavior tried to say otherwise.

"I'm—"

"The Goliath, Barkus Dent. I know." Wild smiled took shape. "I wanted to fight you at least once."

Barkus was a classmate of Silvia. He had lost countless times to her, but that doesn't mean he is by any means weak. It's Silvia who is abnormal. The fact that he's an epiphet holder should say everything about him in terms of strength and achievements.

However, as he had lost to Silvia in everything, Ark who defeated her dazzled him more than his own petty achievements. That's why, he also wanted to fight Ark.

"Me too... but, sorry, I decided that victory now is more important than a fair fight we could set for later."

" " " "Anti-Magic Dome!" " " "

As if on a signal, four voices shouted in unison. Immediately after, all the spells Ark maintained were cancelled.

"Tsk, you teamed up with the Quadra? I'm flattered."

Quadra was special among the epiphet holders. They weren't one person, but a quadruple twins who acted as one. Each sibling had one of the main four attributes, and together they were considered a quadra mage.

(Shit. I'm not a mind reader, but to think I didn't realize their ploy. This is annoying.)

He was now trapped in a barrier that cancels all magics. Maybe if he used light or dark magic, but that would be overkill.

"Why don't you use spirit?"

"...Why don't you?"

(My spirit isn't working! A barrier that cancels both magic and spirit!)

The spirit didn't work, even though Ark had already fully recovered. It was bizzare, but he couldn't let Barkus see his inner turmoil.

"Aye, spirit leans too much on an element, like most prestigious styles. But, I heard you use the Iron-Sword, which is supposed to be weak metal element. It should've worked in a weakened state."

This particular barrier also had an effect against a spirit. But it had an opposite effect on magic that makes it more effective against higher level spirits whereas strong enough magic could break through the barrier's coercion.

Barkus gave an insightful gaze. "Your spirit is ill fit. It doesn't mesh with your body, nor with that fancy sword of yours."

It became clear at once.

Ark had no affinity to any element, so he had no talent for any spirit, who had elements as a main component. He acquired only the Iron-Sword that had weak enough element, but could never extract the full power as it didn't mesh well with his attributeless soul.

Now, as his new sword, Silverstar, is from a foreign metal from outer space, it no longer meshes well with the spirit.

Both weapon and body are out of sync. No wonder the barrier's slight coercion is enough to completely shut it down.

(Ragna was right. I have to get a fitting sword spirit and break through this wall.)

But for now, it's time to fight.

The atmosphere tensed as Ark grabbed his sword. Barkus also took out his broadsword and their fighting spirits clashed.

"You ain't gonna let me break the barrier, huh?"

"Of course! I will win with my strength and swordsmanship!"

Saying so, Barkus slammed his huge sword to crush Ark. With sharp movement, Ark performed a back step, then lunged in to attack.

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Barkus had a clear edge over strength. His skill with the sword was also enough to mitigate the speed disadvantage. A normal opponent wouldn't have been able to contend with him long enough with just physical ability.

But there's another factor to consider: skills.

Ark used Phantom to read Barkus' intent. Every attack was filled with the simple intention to 'attack' and the signals are produced even before the sword is swung. Faints had lacking intent and could be read easily. Even the act of 'dodging' contained intent of 'defense' so Ark could pursue Barkus.

Thus, Ark had managed to gain the upper hand.

"You are great... I didn't think I would lose... in swordsmanship like that..." Barkus was panting, covered in cuts.

But inwardly, Ark felt the one losing. Killing is naturally forbidden, but that makes it hard to defeat someone like Barkus with outstanding endurance. This caused Ark to waste too much stamina and mental energy.

A single punch is all it took to disqualify others, but that's because it packed enough force to render them unconscious, and he also plundered their mana reserves. In reality, long battles like this are commonplace.

"Sorry, I wanted to win without my skill, but I don't have a choice now."

The tension instantly rose. Barkus' aura suddenly changed and Ark's senses were ringing danger.

"Bolster."

He uttered a single word.

And Ark found himself slammed at a tree.

"Kuk! To think you held back your skill!"

Bolster. A simple skill with astounding effects of raising strength, speed and defense altogether. It was ridiculous because of its simplicity.

"It wasn't enough? Sorry, but I will end this right now. I had fun. I thought your challenge was arrogant, and you were too complacent about Quadra... but you have the capital."

(Shit shit shit! What should I do? Any more damage and it will be game over! No! I will...)

"Array Formation!"

Ark pointed his arm at the approaching Barkus. A magical circle appeared midair, slowly getting shaped. It was now only leaving Ark defenseless.

Even so, it had sufficient effect in detering Barkus, who reflexibly stepped back.

(I can do this. Shoot him, win, and move on. Yeah, just shoot...)

The magic circle vanished. Ark had let it go.

"Complacent? You are right, I have the capital for arrogance and complacency. It's because I have countless ways to defeat the likes of you."

What was he talking about? Barkus had no idea, but he couldn't lower his guard. Ark is currently emitting a peculiar pressure, as if going in now would only spell defeat.

"One of such ways was forcefully pushing my sword spirit to get the boost I needed. But that method would hinder my plans of victory, so that's a no-go."

And yet, Ark had given a different impression. It wasn't something caused by Phantom, but it infinitely reminded the use of spirit.

No. It's not right.

"Iron-Sword is half hearted from the roots. I knew that the best, but refused to give it up. It was all I had. I was afraid... of giving it up... of regressing."

"You... are you letting your spirit go?"

Yes. The spirit cultivated for years. Ark had given it up.

Every spirit inherently contained elements. Attributes. But Ark is attributeless from birth. None could fit him.

He now realized how reliant he was of the elements. In magic. In spirit. Even the magic he was about to cast... no, he wanted to deny trying to cast it. A spell he had promised to seal. Anyway, it was not wrong, but at least in spirit, it would never be ideal.

So,

"I will take this step forward."

He gave up the spirit.

And the earth rumbled.

"Wha—? Quadra! Drop the barrier and attack!" Sensing the irregularity, Barkus hollered.

However, it was already too late.

Meanwhile, in the commanders' seat, Elizabeth had an insight. An insight she must share with her colleagues.

"Spirits of light and dark are the best types. Any other element is lacking in purity, isn't that so?"

Julius, who sensed the meaningfulness in her tone, asked. "What are you getting at?"

"There should be no other spirit to compete with the supreme elements... but. Isn't that no attribute could. A spirit the world has never been seen before. Of an element some won't consider real."

The audience, the royal family, the commanders. All were witnessing a historical scene.

"He really did. Lil junior actually succeeded." Far away in the HQ, Ragna muttered in excitement.

Yes.

A new spirit has been born.

Void Spirit.

Barkus had already charged as Quadra all attacked together. He activated his spirit and skill and showed off tremendous might.

"Gaia Style: Boulder Crush!" An attack as heavy and destructive as a boulder, capable of smashing a human's skull to smithereens. And with a charge to gain explosive speed, an unstoppabe impetus was generated.

However,

"Too slow."

The newborn spirit, new and weak, had explosive compatibility with Phantom. The combined performance exceeded Barkus and a single punch blasted him away.

Groaning, Barkus had glown red.

Quadra watched Ark with utter terror. Their spells were deflected without being noticed by a transparent force.

"It's your turn."

The four siblings were soon defeated, deprived of their mana, without being able to retaliate.

In the midst of battle, Ark had obtained a significant power up.

"It became a multiplier." Ark muttered under his breath as he continued to hunt the contenders.

Over 60% of the participants were done in by him, so no one could complain when he wins. The commentator annouced there are only 20% of contenders so most of the big clashes were over.

Everyone were gathering at a big clearing, so he hunted the smaller units before proceeding to the main act.

Meanwhile, the remaining bunch were used as punching bags to test the Void Spirit.

He discovered that unlike before when Phantom had a strengthening effect on top of the original effect, it is now a multiplier effect.

If put numeral value:

20 (Iron Sword) + 100 (Phantom) = 120

And the current power:

3 (Void Spirit) × 100 (Phantom) = 300

The numbere weren't accurate but sufficiently demonstrated the sharp rise in power. The punch that instantly disqualified Barkus could not have been unleashed before with such small price.

Ark could now forsake his original plan to defeat Silvia and have enough leeway at it.

He wouldn't admit it but Silvia's growth made him chill in dread. He kept an eye of her current strength and gained a more comprehensive grasp than before.

In a word: terrifying.

The newfound motivation, gained by the acquisition of a rival and her defeat, pushed Silvia to a new realm. In a straight duel Ark would've 5% chance of victory.

So long as there is a chance, Ark would seize it. He would rather blow it all up than lose.

However, it would be dauntingly exhausting.

(I'm the best. Those I challenge unconditionally lose. And with this power-up, Silvia will be no different, keke.)

Of course, Ark never doubted his victory. The plan was already set, so as the 'cheat'.

The final act is going to be epic.

The battles were concentrated on a vast clearing. The force of the first prince and princess collided and as a result both sides became exhausted and agreed on a truce.

Eveyone heard that Ark was othe one to disqualify most enemies and the strange rumble coming from afar seems to indicate he was still kicking with energy.

Silvia listened half-heartedly. While her surroundings expressed pure astonishment at the reconnaissance report, only she nodded in confirmation.

It was her faith in her rival that made Silvia play passively. She didn't want to exhaust herself and lose again.

"There is no way he defeated hundreds of opponents by himself. I say he got allies in the second prince's faction and used them. That brute sword stealer."

"Didn't you get a new, better than before sword?"

"Yeah, I am seriously jealous."

Her comrades had a minor banter.

The forces of the first prince and princess agreed to work together to rid of Ark before proceeding to settle the conflict. It was a ridiculous situation that so many knights are cooperating to deal with a single human being.

A senior knight from the first order approached Silvia. "You lost to the boy before, and even though I heard he was no good in continous battles, he wiped almost everyone out. So my question is: you sure you can deal with him?"

Silvia blinked once. "I don't know. I have confidence in my strength but... winning isn't guaranteed."

"Thought so. Sigh, we should put our entire forces to exhaust him before you two fight. At this point, I'd rather lose the event to anyone other than him."

Ark had already proven his words true. By sharing information, the leaders of their groups realized that all the epiphet holders that weren't present, over a half!, aimed at Ark and were subdued by him. He is powerful, they were willing to admit that much.

But falling down without resistance would hurt their pride. They wanted to win over the arrogant child who all the elite knights below him. A battle royale between knights had turned into a grouping extermination. Ark was equated as a monster.

"I wouldn't recommend that."

The senior knight wanted to tell this to everyone, but Sylvia stopped him with her words.

She was riddled with misunderstandings about Ark, but at least she had a fair grasp of the minimum he could do.

Unlike others who evaluate Ark's abilities at the maximum of what he achieved, Silvia saw it as the minimum.

That wasn't an overestimation of her part, but a rational conclusion she came to realize after considering all the factors. Ark wasn't afraid to face even multiple groups at once because he had the ability not only to vanquish them, but also to minimize or completely zero the loss. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made a declaration purposely to draw more enemies.

"He had defeated most of the contenders in a small timeframe, among them powerful individuals. If he is exhausted, I will finish him myself. And if not, then you all wait to see who shall win, and act accordingly."

So the Sylphid decided to wait for Ark, who achieved something even she would struggle to, and their rematch.

She stopped to ponder for a moment, then added, "I'll say it only once: Ark is mine, so back off."

Silvia was eager to fight her rival, and with those feelings the end is looming.