35 Chapter 35 - Entrace Exam [6]

A/N: this starts at the bit where the commentator started speaking last chap.

***

The commentator cleared his throat before speaking, clearly he was a little unnerved from the last fight. But, he didn't really show it.

"The next match won't be as exhilarating as that last one, but we still have two incredible prospects! On one side, we have Charlotte Von Erebus! The heir the Erebus Empire, the one who commands Reinhardt Hyperius as her Knight and the one who's family controls darkness itself!"

And so, she walked onto the field. The air was cold, her shadow began to shake, as if it was preparing itself for battle. She didn't seem to have any weapon in her hand, which surprised me a little.

'I thought she used a weapon?'

Then, the commentator talked about her opponent. I didn't pay much attention to what the guy had to say. I looked at her opponent, her opponent was an Elf with long grey hair. I felt a little bit of unease, but my worries were confirmed when I saw those eyes. Pale blue eyes. On her back was a bow, and on her waist wad a short sword.

Pale blue eyes, and grey hair. The mark of a 'High Elf.'

A High Elf was an Elf that stood head and shoulders above other Elves. Mana Capacity, efficiency and overall combat ability. But, what truly differentiated them from other Elves, and other races was their connection to the 'World Tree.'

They could use it to scout, and could it use it both offensively and defensively. The world tree's influence spread across the entirety of this world. In other words, a High Elf always has access to the World Tree.

The Elf wore very little armour, clearly favouring mobility over defense.

"Begin."

And so, Charlotte knelt down, placing a hand on the ground. Then, a wave of ice rushed towards the High Elf. With a snap of her fingers, two great roots sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around the ice that Charlotte had made. And soon, the roots contracted and crushed the ice.

The roots dissipated as cracked fell all over the stadium. Then, creating an arrow from a new root, she notched the arrow. Pulling back on her bow string, she fired it. The arrow was fast, but Charlotte tracked it and from her shadow, a tendrils of darkness formed and caught the arrow just before it reached her.

Then, Charlotte formed several dark spears and launched them at Elf. The used two of the World Tree's roots to create a sphere to wrap herself in. The spears sunk into the roots, but ultimately didn't pierce her defense.

Realising that ranged combat wouldn't be effective against an Elf, she reached into her shadow and pulled out a sword. And so, she rushed at her opponent. She was fast, slower than me and Arthur but it wasn't as if she was too far from us.

Then, from her leg, a thin line of ice reached the Elf's foot, trapping her ice. She managed to break out of it with relative ease, but it was too late. Charlotte had already thrust her blade, aiming for the heart.

Then, using her bow, the Elf blocked the attack. The snapped immediately, so she drew her shortsword and swung it at Charlotte. But, using her sword, the Princess redirected the attack.

In terms of strength, speed and close quarters combat ability Charlotte was ahead of the Elf. And so, realising that using her short sword alone wasn't good enough, she caused two roots to sprout.

'Is two her limit? Maybe it's a bluff?'

Then, using those roots she attacked Charlotte. The roots of the World Tree seemed more like additional appendages than mere roots.

Whenever the roots attacked, Charlotte had to use her Ice Magic to protect herself as she was already occupied with the Elf. Despite this, it didn't actually seem like Charlotte was disadvantaged. In fact, she seemed to be on the offensive whilst the Elf could barely protect herself.

Charlotte's Mana Capacity was also pretty ridiculous, it was greater than Arthur's. Obviously, her efficiency wasn't as good as his but it was better than mine. Of course, that didn't matter due to my capacity being the highest.

Then, Charlotte jumped, and froze one of the routes over after touching it. The Elf grit her teeth, and dodged the blow that came from above.

"The Elf can't use more than two roots. And, unless she makes one root dissapear, she can't conjur another. The strength of the roots seem to be tied to her output."

Arthur spoke in a way that told me that this wasn't a guess, but a fact.

Then, the Elf spoke.

"That human girl's quite scary. Darkness doesn't ever manifest as an Attribute, and she's an Erebus. Even I know they're the only family who can wield darkness. I can't help but think how confused her Highness must be. Normally, she's invincible in both close quarters combat and at a range due to the roots of the World Tree. But, that girl's keeping up as if the roots are barely an inconvenience."

Then, Charlotte's blade finally cut the High Elf. It cut her at the stomach, however the cut was shallow. Then, Charlotte kicked her away.

The Elf dissipated the froze root, and conjured a new one. Then, placing her hand on a root, she formed a new bow using vines as a string.