Sero thought that it would look the same as what he saw on the screens prior, but as he stepped into the arena, he discovered that that wasn’t the case.
The massive wall of mana had been taken down, opening up more room for the match. Sero felt his anxiety coming back as he walked onto the dirt, taking in the enormity of the arena. Far ahead in front of him, Sal Tones was already waiting for Sero, appearing relaxed as he stood there watching. Sero focused on the shining glare atop his bald head.
The clamoring of the crowd reverberated around the stadium, preventing Sero from thinking clearly. His heart thumped in his chest, his breathing shallow and quick. He trudged on, approaching his opponent who folded his arms expectantly. A man wearing the official’s outfit that Sero assumed to be the referee jogged up to the pair, a whistle around his neck.
"Before the match starts, there are some ground rules you guys need to be aware of." The man glanced from Sero to Sal. "First, no killing blows. Second, do not continue if your opponent can’t fight anymore, or they surrender. Third, when I blow the whistle, both of you must cease fighting. Got it?"
Both Sero and his opponent nodded.
"Good, then the match will start soon. Take your places however you want. Do not use anything until the announcer finishes his count."
The referee jogged back to safety, holding up his hand in a thumbs up.
"Sorry in advance." Sal finally spoke, his voice a deep bass. He unfolded his arms and turned to walk a few paces away to create some distance. Sero’s eyes twitched in annoyance at his opponent’s confident arrogance. His irritation began to quell his nervousness.
"You got this, champion!" Aphiel cheered in his thoughts.
"Thanks." Sero muttered under his breath as he widened the distance between them as well. His Rationality activated, clearing his mind of negative emotions and distractions. As he turned around, Sero took a deep breath and relaxed his body. Enzo’s words came floating back to him.
"Don’t give your opponent a chance to breathe. Blitz them before they understand what you’re capable of, but don’t burn yourself out, either."
"Here we go folks, the last match of the day! Sal Tones, the buff and burly Siege Guard versus Sero Kassel, the mysterious Scholar!" The announcer seemed like he was forcing energy into his words. The crowd cheered, though it wasn’t as loud as it was towards the beginning of the tournament. Just as well, since Sero didn’t need the added pressure.
"Your greatest strength is your unpredictability and your copy cheat skill. If your opponent can’t figure you out, then they’ll have a hard time coming up with a way to beat you."
Sero placed his left foot forward while raising the heel of his right foot, slightly crouching. Sal watched him motionlessly, but with a wary gaze. The announcer began to count down.
"5!"
"Even if it seems like you have no chance of winning, keep pushing." Sero tensed the muscles in his legs.
"4!"
"It doesn’t matter if it’s training, a friendly spar, or a street brawl." He gazed at Sal, who made no attempt to prepare himself.
"3!"
"Fight with your life on the line, and remember one thing." The cries of the audience faded away in the background as Sero concentrated.
"2!"
"When you get hit, hit them back harder."
"1!"
Sero immediately pushed off his right foot, launching forward while simultaneously activating Perfect Analysis, Iron Skin, Inspiration, and his energy and mana efficiencies. A look of shock flashed across Sal’s face as he registered the speed at which Sero came towards him.
Reacting quickly, Sal immediately brought both arms towards his right shoulder, as if miming carrying a rocket launcher. Streams of dark blue mana swirled around his hands and soon coalesced into a massive navy blue cannon that rested on his shoulders. The Siege Guard dropped to one knee, his right hand on the cannon’s handle while his left supported the barrel.
Sero continued forward, unafraid as he copied the mana cannon creation skill. His Analysis fed him different courses of action as Sal gathered dark blue mana within the barrel of the cannon. Seconds later, a powerful beam of mana raced from Sal’s cannon, quickly meeting Sero.
Just before impact, Sero casted Shadow Sneak, feeling his body become weightless and intangible. The mana beam pierced through his body harmlessly, though it was a strange sensation to feel. It was like a breeze blowing on his stomach and back at the same time.
Rematerializing, Sero immediately threw out a Fire Blast as he closed the distance between them. He suspected that since Sal was a long-ranged class, he probably wouldn’t be good in close-combat, contrary to his body shape.
Sero’s hunch was proven wrong as Sal immediately readjusted to a stand, swinging his cannon up and slamming it down on the dirt. The impact sent a rippling shockwave of dust as dark blue mana billowed out from the cannon, rising and enveloping the Siege Guard in a hexagonal bubble.
Sero’s body buzzed as he copied the skill his Analysis informed him was called ‘Force Field’. He didn’t have to think about what the skill did as he dashed behind Sal, catching sight of his Fire Blast crashing against the bubble. Sero threw out several mana knives at the ground behind Sal, who whirled around in surprise.
Even before his opponent removed a hexagonal panel and aimed his cannon at him, Sero leapt up into the air, injecting a portion of mana into his jump to add more strength. Sal quickly replaced the panel and removed the one above, repositioning his cannon at Sero. But Sero had already conjured his mana blade and snapped his fingers, causing the knives below to detonate, shaking the Siege Guard’s focus. He quickly extended his left palm in line with the Force Field’s opening, firing off a mana nuke.
Sal was much better than he expected, shooting his own cannon blast that met Sero’s nuke in mid-air, resulting in an explosion of dark blue and green. Sero was knocked away, but transmuted into shadows to land safely on the ground, a short distance from Sal.
Sero could see the bubble flicker and disappear as Sal swung his cannon to clear the smoke.
"Holy… what an explosive beginning! Who knew that the Scholar was this ferocious?" The crowd roared in approval, their energy reignited by the intense and rapid performance.
"I underestimated you," Sal began as he lifted his cannon back onto his shoulder. "So, I'll go all out from now on."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Your head’s shiny." Sero responded.
Sal's face flushed red, his eyes narrowing dangerously. It seemed like it was a sore topic for him. "I'm going to enjoy beating you senseless!" He shouted, his voice filled with rage. Dark blue mana began to charge within his cannon as he aimed it at Sero.
"Why did you provoke him like that?" Aphiel asked incredulously. Sero ignored her for the moment, preparing himself for Sal’s attack.
The Siege Guard’s cannon launched a massive stream of mana directly at him as Sero quickly dispersed his sword, lifting both hands to the sky.
Before the beam reached him, Sero conjured the Jury axe in his hands. The massive weapon was still impossibly heavy for him to wield, but that wasn’t the use he had in mind.
As the sheer weight began to topple forward, Sero guided the falling blade towards the direction of the mana beam. The Jury slammed into the ground with a booming rumble, causing a massive shockwave to ripple straight forward. Just the force of the impact was enough to completely erase the mana beam and still carry through to Sal, who had a look of disbelief on his face.
The Siege Guard quickly recovered and swung his cannon in front of him horizontally, taking the brunt of the shockwave with his weapon. Despite his muscular build, Sal was pushed back quite a few paces away. Sero let go of the Jury, dashing forward with mana-enhanced speed as he formed his blade again, coating it with a green light.
Thanks to the grueling training Sero endured with Enzo, his body felt extremely light and still brimming with energy as he fired off a mana nuke followed by a volley of mana railguns. Sal barely managed to slam down his Force Field as Sero’s barrage connected, enveloping the bubble in a dark green smoke. Rapidly reaching Sal, Sero leapt up, dispersing his blade in favor of the Jury once again.
This time, the Jury axe had more height to fall from, which Sero realized in hindsight may have been a bad idea.
The weapon dropped down, stringing Sero along with it as it fell upon Sal’s Force Field. The Siege Guard’s eyes were speckled with fear as the blade of the axe immediately shattered the hexagonal bubble like it was glass, cleaved his cannon in half, and finally crashed to the ground. The impact actually flung the muscular Sal backwards through the air, and Sero literally had to hold onto the handle with both hands as he gritted his teeth to endure the aftershocks.
"That’s… that’s the Jury axe skill only seen from the Demonic Judge! And, we’ve been informed that those nukes and railguns are Kanna Yu’s staple combo! Ladies and gentlemen, this is something never seen before in history! Sero is using skills from other classes!"
The crowd was deafening as it roared its satisfaction. Sero continued to tune them out as he regained his bearings and dispersed the Jury.
Far in front of him, Sal had landed on his back, and ungracefully scrambled back up to his feet. His beige eyes were filled with a mixture of surprise, anger, and fear.
"What are you?" The Siege Guard yelled across the arena.
Sero shrugged. "Someone who’s disappointed in the match right now!" He yelled back. "For a shiny-headed muscle man, you look like you’re having trouble beating me senseless."
"Champion!"
Sal’s face grew a deep crimson as his eyes were now burning with rage. "I will not hold back!" He roared, conjuring not one, but two navy-blue cannons, one in each hand.
"Perfect," Sero muttered to himself. "Now, to make sure I dodge his shots so he can use more–"
Sal slammed both of his cannons on the ground, propelling himself forward at Sero like a missile. The unexpected move that evaded even his Perfect Analysis caused Sero to freeze in place. That precious second was all it took for Sal to get a clean hit on Sero, swinging both cannons sideways as he reached him, slamming the entirety of his left side.
Sero had never been hit by a truck before, but he could guess it felt something similar to what he just felt as the two cannons smacked him away and into the arena wall. If he hadn’t casted Iron Skin and Inspiration prior, Sero might’ve actually broken more than just his left arm, or perhaps died.
As soon as Sero got his bearings, he found himself face-first in the dirt, his entire body racked with pain. Immediately, he casted Recovery, juicing up his energy consumption to hasten the process. He struggled to his feet, seeing Sal stomping towards him menacingly.
"Forfeit now. That was just a warning hit." Sal bellowed.
"How about you stop polishing your head so it doesn’t shine that brightly?"
"Champion, why are you doing this?!"
The Siege Guard paused, every vein in his body bulging. Finally, he smiled.
"This won’t kill you, but it’ll definitely hurt."
Sal swung his cannons up, then slammed them down, causing a dark blue hexagonal spiderweb to blossom outwards from the impact. The mana spread across half the arena, reaching to where Sero was. His body buzzed, copying the skill as ‘Blast Zone’.
"Oh." Sero murmured. Blast Zone was a skill that covered a large area, marking targets and tracking their every position while inside the zone. A sinking feeling grew in his stomach as Sero anticipated whatever Sal had planned next.
"I really wanted to save this in case I ever got the chance to fight Liam, but you’re pissing me off way too much." The Siege Guard shouted, heaving both cannons on his shoulders and aiming at the sky. Dark blue mana swirled around him, rapidly becoming bigger and bigger. Finally, Sal unleashed his skill that Sero copied as ‘Starfall’.
"Holy fuck." Sero whispered as Sal blasted countless beams of mana into the sky. The entire arena became bathed in a dark blue hue as the beams hovered in the air as spheres of mana, quickly blocking out the sun. As Sal fired off the last of the beams, the sky seemed to fall as the beams began to crash down, homing onto Sero.
In the chaos of the crowd and the beams, Sero could faintly hear the high pitched whistle of the referee. His Rationality kicked in, calming him down and erasing his fear.
"Champion, move! You will perish if you do not minimize the damage!" Aphiel screamed at him in desperation.
"Nah, just trust me." Sero smiled slightly as he pushed his energy efficiency to the limit. He tripled the effects of his Inspiration and Iron Skin while stomping his foot to create his own green Force Field. Finally, he held a palm outwards at Sal, who had a satisfied look on his face.
As the sky fell upon Sero, he casted Fairness at the last second, forcefully lowering Sal’s strength and raising his own so they were somewhat equal.
Sal’s Starfall connected, raining down on Sero’s Force Field with a tumultuous thundering. It began to crack, which Sero had expected. He braced himself for what came next.
As his Force Field broke apart, Sero crouched and protected his face with his arms as the mana beams slammed into him over and over. It hurt, so much so that Sero couldn’t tell if he was screaming in pain or not. But he gritted his teeth and endured the barrage, recalling all the hits he took from Enzo.
To Sero, this was nothing. Even as he fell to one knee, feeling the searing shock of the blasts and the force of their impacts, Sero continued to hold his ground. It was torturous, as if a gang of thugs were brutally whacking him with iron bats made of molten lava. He was dimly aware of the weird sensation in left arm, possibly because it was broken and hadn’t healed yet.
After what felt like an eternity, Sero opened his eyes. His hearing was completely muted, his eyesight tinged with dark blue. He was just barely able to make out the hulking figure of Sal walking towards him, a slight expression of awe on his face.
Sero struggled to stand, feeling the effects of Fairness wash away. He couldn’t quite hear the words Sal was saying, but as the Siege Guard raised his cannons once again, he could pretty much tell what he had said.
He prayed that his body would listen to him as he mustered up the last of his strength and resources, releasing everything but Inspiration to double his stats. As Sal began to swing his cannons down, Sero jerked his head up and sneered wickedly.
The Siege Guard faltered, caught off guard by the sinister and grotesque expression on Sero’s face, which gave him the opening he needed.
The last of Sero’s mana swirled in his right fist as he swung it forward, turning his entire body with the motion as he casted Fairness once more. His fist connected with the rock-hard abs of Sal’s stomach, fulfilling the requirements of Revenge.
Since the beginning of the match, Sero knew he would never outright beat Sal in a contest of strength. Firepower, maybe, if he relied on his nukes and railguns, but the Siege Guard’s Force Field seemed durable enough to tank a majority of those hits.
As his Revenge enveloped Sal’s body with a green light, Sero fell face-forward on the ground. The green light exploded, the culmination of all the damage Sero had taken from Sal which was empowered by Fairness and doubled by Inspiration. The explosion flung Sal from the end of the arena that they were at all the way to the other side, where he slammed into the wall so hard, he became embedded in the concrete, creating a deep crater.
Sero painfully pushed himself up in a kneeling position using his right arm, and confirmed that Sal had passed out from that attack. The entire arena was silent.
"The… the winner is… Sero Kassel!"
As the crowd erupted into cheers and the medics rushed towards him and Sal, Sero smiled weakly, raising his fist in triumph before he felt his consciousness fade away.