NOVPUB"Haah… haah…"
Standing at the forefront of their final formation, Valyr glanced at the beast standing before them, its fur having been tattered by the group's ruthless attacks.
"Hooh…"
In return, the gorilla glanced back at them, taking note of how none of its opponents were spared by the might of its attacks.
After being pushed to make use of its fourth stage strength, the gorilla showed no hesitation in awakening its Intent of Earth, showing both the participants fighting it, as well as the audience its deft control over the ground.
Being caught unaware by its specialty, most of the members in Valyr's batch were immediately forced on the passive, making use of all the defensive skills they had in their arsenal to defend against them.
Yet, with each attack not only powered with peak Rank 5 stats, but also with the energy of the world itself, it was no surprise that such skills only served as slight nuisances to the attacks themselves.
Fortunately, that singular setback was enough for Valyr and the others to know that they could not hold back any further, using everything in their respective arsenals to go all-out.
Indeed.
Aside from Valyr becoming the de facto leader of their batch before the fight, the entire group agreed upon the fact that they would save most of their trump cards for when the time was right.
Being limited by the fact that they could only use a couple of buffing skills throughout the first three stages, many of them thought it was a miracle that they had been able to last against the gorilla for that long.
Then again, with nothing stopping them from going all-out, it was no surprise that the gorilla was immediately overwhelmed the moment everyone in Valyr's batch made use of their Intents and ultimate skills, causing it to roar out in pain.
Though, just as everyone thought they could continue beating up the gorilla for a bit more, the latter took a more active response to their show of force, swiftly pushing itself to the fifth and final stage of strength it could unlock.
The control of a Force.
Whoosh!
Although the gorilla had only shown the strength of a 4th Grade Force, that was more than enough to shake the confidence of the participants, with everyone coming to the conclusion that they had to stake it all on one last attack before they admitted defeat.
In the end, their combined attack only matched up to one of the gorilla's Force-imbued attacks, reminding everyone there that levels, skills, and comprehension went hand in hand to becoming stronger.
"…We admit defeat." Seeing as there was no point in prolonging their fight against the gorilla, Valyr called for the surrender of their entire batch to the organizer watching them, who immediately notified the tamer controlling the gorilla to have the latter step down.
Seeing the gorilla distance itself from them, even though its expression was that of indignation, Valyr and the others immediately let out wide sighs of relief as they left the platform, only to then be greeted by a massive cacophony of cheers from the audience.
Looking at the other batches that took on the second round at the same time as them, they immediately noticed how the four batches were looking at them with glistening eyes, prompting them to realize that they were the last batch among the five to surrender.
Feeling a bit of pride from that fact, Valyr and the members of his batch eventually made their way back to the underground town, being informed by the organizer that those who would move on to the third round would be called once every batch was finished with their attempts.
…
"Even with his strength limited to the start of Rank 3, he really doesn't disappoint," said Paul with a slight sigh, only to then look at the others with a slight smile on his face.
"Say… what are you thoughts on paying him a visit after the tournament's done?"
"I don't mind," replied Tyrst, Paul's brother, with a shrug. "Though, it still depends on what Neia and Madeline think."
"I don't mind either," said Neia, her eyes betraying the calm expression she had. "It's been a while since we've last talked with him anyway."
"Let's stop by a store and get him a gift first!" Madeline told them, her exuberant voice making the others duck their heads in embarrassment. "I'm sure he'll greet us with a smile!"
"…Yeah." Paul could only nod at her words, shifting his gaze towards the leader of their group after that.
"How about you, Braum? Are you coming with us?"
Hearing the question, Braum briefly looked at Valyr, who gave off a confident aura while heading to the underground town.
Faintly smiling at the various thoughts that surfaced at that moment, the man eventually looked back at Paul and the others before nodding.
"Sure."
"It's a good opportunity to see how much he's grown anyway."
…
"So… how was it?"
Making his way back to the tavern Ataraxia was at, Valyr was immediately greeted by the sight of the former grinning at him.
"Exhausting," replied the young man in return, pointing at the damage done to his armor. "And very difficult."
"What's difficult?" Ataraxia asked for clarification. "The level gap? The gorilla's skills? The coordination?"
"All of them," said Valyr in slight exasperation before deciding not to think about it any further.
Ordering a cold and sweet beverage from one of the servers, the young man soon took a few large gulps of his new drink before looking back at Ataraxia.
"I'd suggest you pay more attention on the other beasts," he told the latter. "I can share you what I know about the gorilla, but you're on your own for the other ones."
"Don't worry." Ataraxia grinned, waving his hands in slight nonchalance. "It'll be a while before I head up the surface."
"Surely I wouldn't be called for the next batch, right?"
"…"
"…For the 262nd batch, please head up to the surface once I call your name!"
"…"
"…Azure Mage!"
"…"
"…"
"…You were saying?"
