"WELCOME EVERYBODY!!! IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!"
The announcer's voice blared through the entire stadium, followed quickly by a round of applause.
Drakis paid it little mind as he checked over his armor again. 'Knives strapped, daggers secure.'
He moved his arms in a windmill motion, bracing every time the armor creaked.
'Movement could be better...'
Despite his earlier confidence, sweat was dripping down his back. Luckily, the armor hid those nerves.
"OUR FIRST ROUND WILL BEGIN HERE SHORTLY, AND BOY IS THIS FIRST MATCH SOMETHING TO BEHOLD!! IN THE RIGHT PIT IS THE YOUNG MASTER REALIS OF THE TERIKAN BLOODLINE, FROM THE PLANE KNOWN AS ROSTOVIA."
The sound of a gate receding into the ground reverberated across the arena and into Drakis' pit, followed quickly by the sound of overwhelming cheer.
Drakis tugged at his armor once more before looking up at his own gate. All he had to do was walk a flight of stairs and then he'd be facing his new destiny.
"Realis, was it." Drakis said with a sigh. Then, he stepped forward and walked up the stairs without pause.
Once he reached its summit, there was only one thing standing between him and Realis.
The gate.
Looking up at the announcer, Drakis thought, 'Well, let's go.'
As if he was prompted by Drakis, the announcer suddenly continued his introduction for the crowd.
"AND IN THE LEFT PIT IS DRAKIS OF THE VERYAN BLOODLINE, FROM THE PLANE OF CASACOVIA!!!"
Looking across the gate, he saw that his opponent had chosen light armor as well. However, Realis had taken the sword and shield.
Narrowing his eyes, Drakis took in the sights of his new kind of vision. With his [Omniscience] skill, his sight had become more akin to night vision.
Instead of experiencing the vibrant hues of the world, he saw everything in colors. The color around himself was white—no mana at all. The color around the veils was black—plenty of mana.
Right now, Realis exuded two kinds of colors: blue and purple. Although he didn't know how much mana that meant, he knew that more colorful mana meant less control.
Someone who was more experienced with managing their flow of mana would only be surrounded by a single color. Then, when they needed to use their mana, its true color would be shown.
In other words, Realis was wasting a lot of his energy.
"BEGIN!!!"
SHIRK!!!
Before his gate even reached the ground, Drakis leapt over it, clutching his throwing knife to his side. The second he hit the ground, he rolled to the side, landing with his knees bent and ready to jump at a moment's notice.
As he raised his head, Drakis saw that Realis wasn't nearly as proactive. The young master simply stood in the center of the arena with his sword raised and a smug look on his face.
"You heard my bloodline, didn't ya?" The boy laughed as he tossed his shield aside. "If you give up now, I'll make your death quick and—"
ZIP!!
Drakis threw his first knife directly at the young master's head. Unfortunately, the boy batted it away with ease using his free hand.
Then he glared at Drakis, who looked like a cat hiding in the shadows, waiting to pounce.
"You dare attack me?" Realis growled. "Do you not know who my father is?"
"Should I?" Drakis asked as he slid another knife from his strap, making sure to keep track of Realis' mana.
Ever since his first attack, it had grown into a vibrant purple. However, Realis had never moved from his spot, and Drakis had only moved further back. Whenever Realis retaliated, Drakis knew he would be able to dodge.
"Hmm... Well, if you really don't know the respect my bloodline demands..." Realis flashed a wicked smile at Drakis as his mana surrounded his sword. "Then I guess I'll teach you."
He slashed his sword through the air, a gesture that most would think was just for show. Drakis could see the insane amount of mana the sword was releasing, though.
A line of purple mana was dashing toward him, cutting apart the air itself as it made its assault. Even the ground split apart from the pressure of this attack.
Drakis rolled to the side, dodging the invisible attack by a mere split second.
A second later, the slash collided with the wall of the coliseum, cracking it wide open. Large rocks splintered off the wall, crashing into the ground.
"Ahh!!" "What the!!"
The crowd screamed as they witnessed this destruction.
Most of them were unable to see the invisible attack, so all they saw was the earth itself breaking apart at Realis' whim.
"Ah, maybe I went overboard," Realis said with a laugh, unaware that Drakis had dodged his attack. "I should've known that even just a Silver rank skill from my bloodline would be too much."
Shaking his head, Realis sheathed his sword before clicking his teeth.
ZIPP!!!
Suddenly, Drakis' second knife was flying through the air, aiming directly for a completely unsuspecting enemy. The knife sliced across his cheek, creating a huge gash.
Realis had moved his head back at just the last moment, as if out of instinct.
'His mana didn't change at all,' Drakis thought as he slid his third knife from its strap. 'So are his battle senses just that sharp then?'
That's what made the most sense to him. If Realis had used some kind of skill to sense the attack, his mana would've given that away.
Yet it had remained exactly the same, which meant he was dealing with a highly trained enemy.
Clutching his third knife in his palm, Drakis raised his arm to throw it.
Even if Realis was highly trained, there was an opening right here and now. With his face bleeding profusely, Realis was completely stunned.
Instead of preparing for another attack, all the young master did was raise his hand to his face.
Drip. Drip.
A sudden increase in energy stopped Drakis completely.
His arm was raised overhead, ready to throw the knife at any instant.
But he simply couldn't.
Realis' hand began shaking wildly as it covered his bleeding face. At the same time, his mana grew more and more unstable.
Red and purple mana clashed with each other, destroying the ground around him.
"You..." Realis growled, his voice suddenly sounding dark and almost demonic. "You dare strike me, a descendant of the Terikan bloodline?!"
The red and purple mana grew with Realis' anger until it encompassed the entire arena. Just its pressure felt like a thousand waterfalls slamming into Drakis at once.
'What is this?' Drakis gritted his teeth as the mana overwhelmed him. In his previous life, he had only felt an energy like this once.
And it was only growing.
In just a matter of seconds, the red completely conquered the purple and expanded throughout the entire arena. It crushed the ground beneath it, crumbling it into dust.
Even the walls were shaking apart against its strain.
Somehow, Drakis was holding on. Even as the red mana crashed against everything else, it almost felt like it was avoiding him specifically.
"You bastard!" Realis growled as he turned to Drakis. "I offered you a quick death! Now... I'M GOING TO FUCKING TEAR YOU APART!!!"