"ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTS! HERE WE STAND, AT THE FINALS OF THE ROYAL DUELS! WE'RE BROADCASTING LIVE OVER THE ELVEN DOMAIN RIGHT NOW, SO GIVE THE CAMERA A WAVE!!"
The announcer spoke eagerly. It seemed that he was very excited for the fight.
"IN THE RING WE HAVE ALL 8 FINALISTS! THEY'LL BE DUKING IT OUT IN A BRAWL! THIS FREE FOR ALL WILL END WHEN ALL BUT 1 PARTICIPANT ARE OUT FOR THE COUNT! NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S BEGIN!"
---
In the ring, all 100 meters apart, stood 8 people. Grey was among them, listening to the announcer.
For the final bout, he brought all his weapons to show off a little. He wanted to have a little fun. In his hands was a bow, on his back a spear, and on his left side, a sword.
The announcer said to begin, so Grey raised the bow up, creating an arrow with Mana.
"Lux Sagitta!" He called out, although it did nothing.
The reason he wielded a bow with Magic, instead of just using Magic, was that the art he learned was truly unpredictable, and it saved him some Mana. He would not need to command the arrow, after all.
Whilst he prepared, his foes had all met in the middle, exchanging a few words. Once they finished, they turned to him, weapons in hand.
'Good thing I brought my weapons.' Grey commented once he realized what was happening.
"OH, IT SEEMS THAT IT'S NOW A 7v1! IT'S CLEAR THAT GREY IS TARGET NUMBER 1! WILL HE BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ALL OF THEM, OR WILL HE SUCCUMB TO THEIR COMBINED MIGHT?"
Grey, however, remained calm, unflinching in the face of this newfound danger. All 7 of them rushed toward him at once, ripe for the picking.
He knocked the arrow of Light to his bow and loosed it without hesitation. It flew through the air, arcing up and over the first few, landing dead center in the shoulder of the one hiding at the back.
"Ack!" The elf cried in pain. He reached for the arrow, making sure it was dug in. Since he had been wounded, it was best to keep the arrow in. However, the elf found empty air, his blood oozing out.
'Magic? Damn!' He realized.
TWANG!
Another arrow was loosed as he was distracted, headed straight for his face. He moved to block, placing his spear in front, but the arrow suddenly changed direction, digging directly into the space under the kneecap, incapacitating him.
Grey watched his arrow suddenly change direction with a smile on his face, knowing he hadn't spent any Mana to do that.
'Have I ever told you that I love you, father?' He thought. An arrow that changed direction mid-air, without warning, was extremely complex to do, and it was one of the basic arts in his father's style, not a Mana art. That meant it required no Mana to do.
The elf next to the elf Grey had just dispatched saw the whole thing, and was now frozen in shock.
THWOCK!
A whistling sound rang out, and in the next second a blunt arrow to the head solved that, knocking him out cold.
"OH MY GOODNESS! GREY HAS JUST REMOVED 2 ENEMIES IN A SPLIT SECOND. THE OTHERS HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN CLOSE YET! HOW ELSE CAN HE SURPRISE US?"
Grey suddenly dropped the bow, running toward the 5 elves, unsheathing his falcata.
3 of the elves wielded swords, a longsword, a greatsword, and a bastard sword —weapons that were, for the most part, decidedly better than his falcata. They knew, of course, that it would be extremely challenging to win —Grey was just that strong— but as a trio, they felt they could do it.
The one at the front took the first swing, heavy greatsword in hand, down at Grey, hoping to use the weight to hinder Grey's arms.
CLANG!
The swords met with a sound like thunder, but to the elf's dismay, he was easily deflected. His heavy sword struck the ground, and he couldn't lift it in time. Grey was right in front of him, his sword's pommel meeting the elf's temple.
"AND THAT'S ANOTHER DOWN! GREY IS ON A ROLL!"
The second and third elves attacked together, knowing only coordination could help them now. They had never fought together before, but they moved in sync at that moment. Whether it was synergy due to their desire to win, or another reason, they couldn't tell. All they could do was enjoy it and use it to win.
They swung at the same time, trapping Grey. They both attacked horizontally, hoping to contain him and strike at either the back or front. Either would do good damage.
Grey jumped, negating their attack, and threw his sword in midair. The blade whistled through the air, its pommel finding a home in one elf's forehead.
The second elf, wielding his bastard sword, swung it toward Grey, but it was met by a spearhead.
CLANG!
The strike carried a lot of force, knocking Grey away, but he rode the momentum, using it to orient himself far from the fight.
The last 2 elves met up with the third and, after a few whispers, decided on a strategy.
The elf with the bastard sword rushed forward, backed up by the other 2, who acted as casters.
"Lapis Hasta." The first chanted.
"Ignis Hasta." The second cast.
'Okay, a high-tier spell and a normal spell.' Since the first elf cast a Spell using Lapis instead of Terra, it was classified as a high-tier Spell and needed much more Mana. Grey was surprised he could sustain it but wasn't worried. It didn't matter.
'I can do this with attacks, but can I do it with defense?' Both Light and Dark were formless and pretty much harmless Elements. For Spellcasters, this didn't matter; their Spells would make the Light or Dark a solid, but for Grey, it was different.
As a Manipulator, he had to understand the principles behind it, and whilst he did, he was unsure if he could use hard Light to block an object. It was great as a weapon, but would it be strong enough to block an attack?
'No time like the present.' He thought, 'casting' the high-tier Spell.
"Murus Lucis."
A wall of Light rose from nowhere, the Mana pouring out from Grey's hands. One thing he had to be careful of was where his Mana left from. He was already abnormal enough.
The Fire and Earth spears flew through the air, clashing against the wall. It held, easily blocking the attacks.
Grey was about to send a counterattack but was stopped before he could say the first word.
A sword sliced through his Magic, leaving a see-through gouge in his wall.
Grey dropped the wall, attacking in a thrust. The elf didn't expect such a fast response, accepting the gut shot with open arms.
Grey stopped the spear just before it pierced his liver. He swirled the spear, bringing the shaft around into the elf's temple.
"AND ANOTHER ONE GONE, FOLKS! HE'S ON A RAMPAGE! THERE'S ONLY 2 LEFT, AND 1 HAS NO MANA AFTER THEIR ATTACK!"
Grey raised a hand, 'casting'.
"Pluvia Lucis."
Hundreds of small Light pellets appeared, falling toward the defenseless elf like rain.
"GREY HAS JUST CAST A SECOND HIGH-TIER SPELL! HE CAN'T BE STOPPED FOLKS!"
The other elf, soon to be the last, couldn't defend his ally without putting himself at risk. Due to the nature of the competition, he couldn't do that, so he chose instead to just put all his strength into one attack.
"Ignis Gladius!" He cast his Spell, a bastard sword of Fire appearing in his hand, and ran at Grey.
Grey set off into a run, matching him, spear in hand.
Closer and closer they went, when all of a sudden, a burst of Light hit the elf in the head, making him see stars and knocking him unconscious.
"AND WE'RE DONE! THAT'S IT LADIES AND GENT'S! GREY HEART WINS!" The announcer called.
---
3 hours later, Grey stood in the Royal Hall.
Back at the Arena, after his win, there had been a short celebration. The last part of the event was to be held in the Royal Hall, and only Grey was allowed entry, so it would be filmed live instead.
The celebration consisted of cheers from the audience, scowls from most of his competitors, and smiles on the Royals' faces.
Now, Grey stood before the King, Queen and Princess. There were a few cameras in the room, broadcasting the show.
Grey had spent the last hour and a half being lectured on the rules he had to follow on live TV, and he was thankful for his memory.
Now, it was time for it to start.
"Grey Heart," The King spoke. "You stand before the King and Queen of elves, asking for our daughter's hand in marriage?"
"Yes, your Majesty," Grey said, bowing. "I am here for Princess Aurora's hand."
He stuck out a single hand as he stood back up, looking at Aurora.
"I see. As the winner, you have the right to do so. Aurora?" The King looked at his daughter.
She stood up, walking before her father, and curtsied.
"Of course, your Majesty."
CLICK CLACK!
Aurora walked down the steps of the throne area, stopping before Grey.
She reached for his hand and placed hers on his outstretched palm.
"Well then," The Queen began. "As the leaders of the Elven Domain, we consent to you-"
The Queen stopped abruptly, feeling a shift in the Mana around them.
Grey felt it too, looking around the room.
FWOOM!
A neon blue, circular maw appeared from nowhere, swallowing both Grey and Aurora.
The King's mouth went agape in shock. "A Mana Dungeon!"
---
Kim Jaehyun sat on his couch, staring at the holographic TV.
"This just in. Princess Aurora of the Elves, and Grey Heart, winner of the Royal Duels, have been sucked into a Mana Dungeon. The entry requirements are unknown, but when know it's a C Rank. We are unsure of whether they will make it back alive, so please, pray for them."
Kim Jaehyun watched a smile on his face.
'In this world, fighting makes you better at fighting, but not stronger. Only training can increase your strength. That's why I asked you to go in their place; you who is so different.' He mused.
'How high will you climb?'
---
Lucas was sitting on his couch, watching the news like always. Suddenly, the emergency broadcast played.
'A C Rank!?' He grew worried hearing the lady's words. 'Wait, it's Grey. He'll be fine.'
"Honey, I think Grey has a girlfriend." Lucas called out.
"WHAT!"