Chapter 93
"There are hardly any strong competitors left, the champion's palace has really emerged."
In the midst of a wide rocky meadow, Zoe commented with a somewhat complicated expression as she looked around. Different camps could be seen, all formed by groups of participants no larger than 10 people, surrounding a gigantic pillar of light.
"Well, it was something that had been rumored for a couple of months, so it's most likely, although something good is that we don't have to see bitches fluttering around." Elera responded, standing next to Zoe.
"You're right about that, it's really a relief, not having to see that bitch," Liliana agreed as she analyzed the area that would soon become a battlefield.
"Although I share the sentiment, I still feel a small loss for not even having been able to participate in the main battle," Zoe added with a sigh, to which Elara nodded in agreement.
"I understand what you mean, it's really a shame not to have made a stellar debut with a championship."
"Don't talk nonsense, the champion's palace was not something we could aspire to, we are still too young, that is not a suitable battlefield for us, our time will come. For now, we must focus on getting our passes for the exploration, Liliana commented with her arms crossed, standing beside the beautiful ladies.
"Hmph, don't kill our ambition Liliana," Elara commented, her cheeks a little puffed up with annoyance.
"I'm not killing your ambition, I'm talking about the reality before us," Liliana commented, not giving much importance to the topic while carefully analyzing the participants in the other camps.
"That doesn't change the fact that you're a Killjoy."
"Whatever you say."
"Stop fighting, we have an imminent battle ahead," Zoe said with a serious expression as she saw the pillar of light seemed to dim slightly.
"Hmph, I'll let you go today because of the battle that is coming."
"That's what I'm telling you, if it weren't for the battle, I'd teach you a couple of things."
"Hmph" x2
Although Liliana and Elera were fighting each other, neither dared to take their eyes off the front, fully concentrated on the movements of the other camps, circulating mana through their bodies, ready to enter combat at any moment.
"Fellow disciples, everyone is ready for the battle."
A male voice was heard from behind the girls, who simply nodded without turning their gaze, fully focused on what was in front of them. The girls' total lack of interest put a somewhat bitter smile on the young man's face, who simply approached and stood beside them.
The young man appeared to be about 18 years old, with fair skin and an expressive face, symmetrical features, and a softly contoured jaw, adorned with intense blue eyes. His hair was longer on top and styled upwards, with a gradient from black at the roots to bright red at the tips, which, along with the earrings he wore, gave him a rebellious and modern style.
"What chances of obtaining the staff do you think we have, fellow disciples?"
Undeterred, the young man asked again with a charming smile on his face, causing Zoe to respond with a serious tone, although her gaze remained focused on the column of light.
"Disciple Williams, that is irrelevant, what we must do is concentrate on doing everything possible to obtain the staff."
The young man's face turned somewhat bitter at Zoe's serious words, but he quickly nodded.
"Disciple Laverne is right, I apologize for my imprudence."
"I hope you can stay focused on the battle, or you might be quickly eliminated, which would leave us at a serious disadvantage."
Zoe added with a grave expression as a beautiful sheathed katana appeared in her hands, which she brought to her waist, where it floated fixed as if by magic, defying gravity without any support. She then said aloud to the companions behind her, "Prepare your weapons, the battle is about to start.…"
With Zoe's words, everyone present took their weapons from their storage rings. In Liliana's right hand appeared a beautiful long staff made of white wood that reached from the ground to the height of her head, with intricate runes carved on its surface. It was crowned by a beautiful yellow crystal sphere, which emitted a soft whitish light aura, making it look holy and immaculate.
Elara, on the other hand, held a short and sleek black staff with a red crystal on top with different engraved runes, elegant and neat in appearance, which allowed for easy maneuvering, being about the size of her torso.
Disciple Williams held in his hands a wooden staff with a minimalist look, with intricate geometric details at the top surrounding a beautiful blue crystal sphere. The staff reached up to his waist, where a short sword hung defying gravity, in the same way as Zoe's katana.
All those present watched nervously as the other groups prepared, gripping their weapons tighter for fear they would slip from their grasp due to the sweat covering the palms of their hands. Although they had survived until now facing different battles, they were fully aware that their elimination was just one mistake away. Moreover, as the tournament was reaching its end, meaning there were very few places left in the exploration group to fight for, this made them even more anxious.
As the air filled with a tension so heavy it could almost be cut with a knife. Zoe took the scabbard of her katana in one hand and the hilt in the other, while spreading her legs and bending her knees. Her gaze totally focused and her mana furiously coursing through her body.
Suddenly, the column of light dimmed completely, revealing the beautiful staff inside, which served as the starting signal for Zoe. She dashed out at a blinding speed towards the staff, while large amounts of mana swirled around Elara, Liliana, and Disciple Williams.
Zoe's action of dashing towards the staff was something several other participants also attempted, each with all kinds of weapons in their hands, from spears to daggers. They all met in the center while powerful spells followed closely behind, threatening to mercilessly destroy them all.
The moment Zoe was close enough to her opponents, she unsheathed her katana at a speed imperceptible to the others. She sent a powerful flying slash that forced her airborne opponents to cover themselves, while all the surrounding spells reached them. But Zoe didn't even flinch at this, maintaining a serious and concentrated expression on her face.
Zoe's slash, despite not being able to inflict much damage on her opponents, achieved its purpose of making them retreat. So she quickly took momentum in the air, taking advantage of a platform of light that suddenly formed in front of her, and sped off to meet the other participants in the air.
At the same time, several barriers of different colors formed between Zoe and the spells about to reach her, and a powerful flame hit them. Creating a powerful explosion that made the air vibrate, releasing a powerful shockwave that hit the barriers full force, managing to shatter some, which quickly reformed.
In the midst of the clash of spells, the airborne participants didn't stay still and sent different attacks of various elements towards the others, causing several to be teleported to the space station, being disqualified from the tournament.
After surviving the relentless rain of attacks from all directions, Zoe reached the staff along with three other people, who looked at each other with serious expressions. They quickly unleashed their best attacks in an attempt to, at the very least, delay their opponents long enough to grab the staff. Since they had no hope of eliminating people who had survived the previous pandemonium of attacks.