Chapter 85: Killing Some Team

"Greetings, dear disciples," My master said atop the stadium, "The rank battles will start soon, and I'm here to introduce the ten teams that will be participating in this event!"

*Cheering* *Cheering*

"First on the list is the Mage Emperors, having 14 points after the last event. Though they call themselves that, they are all Combat Mages, capable of using martial arts and magic spells at the same time. Their ace, Vinir Avanir, is the strongest combat mage in the D-Class District. He is capable of using 3 elements at once and he has already mastered the martial arts of his clan, the Akasha Art."

Looking over the team, I can see the one named Vinir looking all proud and stuff. The guy has short ice blue hair, icy blue eyes, white skin, and wears a cape that's attached to his shoulders with shoulder pads, while wearing that cold face.

I could see how strong Vinir is; he is at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage. And not only that, I could feel 3 elements within him, all each of them are somehow intertwined with each other. Ice, steam, and lightning. Steam Magic is particularly dangerous if fused with the right element. For example, with Steam + Poison, you could poison a large amount of enemies. But steam in itself is a combination of fire and water magic, and with lightning being one of Vinir's element, he can be a very dangerous person.

He could just let lightning magic float within the steam particles, though his degree of mastery is still unknown to me.

His teammates though are not just some pushovers. Each of them easily surpasses Alice and Randy in terms of combat prowess, with Scarlet the only one who can contend with one of them.

"Next is the team 'Combat Kings'. While other teams have their own aces, the Combat Kings works together to defeat their opponents, and each of them is an ace on their own. They are one of the strongest D-Class teams in the history of our sect, and I'm proud of them!"

"Next is the team 'The Ultimate Emperors'. They have a very bold name but they can back it up with their combat prowess and magical expertise. Even though they are not as powerful as the other teams I've mentioned, they are capable of creating the most devious of plans. It astounds me that the disciples of my sect are so capable!"

"Next, the team 'Vengeance'. I don't know why they name themselves like that but I can confidently say that they are powerful enough to be here. Though their presence seems ominous."

He's right, Vengeance is a pretty ominous team. It looks like they have a reason for naming themselves that though. I heard that the leader of that team had his girl stolen by some upper-class disciples. Well, "stolen" is not exactly the right term for that. The girl just went with those people because they have wealth and resources. And yes, by people, I meant it in plural.

The entire 4-man team all wore dark cloaks that hid their faces, with swords beside their waists.

"Next is the 'Silent Monarchs'…"

Soon, after announcing all the details about the teams, my master decided to come down to the stadium and ready the dimensional box.

With all of us in front of him, he said, "The team with the least points, come forward."

The team, Harrowing Nightmares, stepped forward.

They still wore the same thing since last week, but this time, they wore the face of excitement.

"As per the rules; the team with least points gets to choose which map to fight on, so here it is," Yule gave them a paper that has all the maps of the dimensional box. The map selection varied from 100 maps, and after some time, they chose the lone island in the middle of the ocean with an active volcano in the middle… Huh, didn't know that existed in my master's dimensional box.

A door appeared in front of us, seemingly having nothing behind it.

"Now, just go through this door and you'll be transported to the map they've chosen for all of you. Again, none of you will be with your teammates once you've entered the door, so be prepared, lest you get defeated early in the Rank Battles," He warned.

"So, just like last time, huh?" Randy muttered.

"You know what to do, right?" I asked him.

"Yeah, just gotta throw the bomb upwards, right?" He replied.

"Yes, that's the signal for our team. I'm sure the other teams have their own way of meeting up with each other, so don't get lost," I warned the three of them.

"U-Umu!" Alice nodded.

"Don't worry," Scarlet said.

Randy nodded, and then we all looked forward as the door slowly opened, revealing a dark portal. One by one, the teams entered, and soon, it was my turn.

Without any hesitations, I stepped forward, and when I did, I felt like I was falling.

It would've been fine if I was falling in the sky, but I wasn't. It felt hot, extremely so, and when I looked down I saw an endless amount of lava just right below me!

"You have got to be kidding me!" I yelled.

(Scene Change)

I landed on the outskirts of the volcano, panting and wheezing.

I swear to every god there is, I will murder the one who put me in there!

"F*ck… that was terrifying," I said, turning off my wind magic. I used my wind element to get out of that thing, and I hope that that was not against the "No Magic" rule my master put up with me.

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

As I sat on the rocky ground below me, I saw an explosion in the distance, and I deadpanned, "Already? I was just about to rest… tch, no matter."

Dusting my ass off, I bent my knees after, and then, as my eyes' pupils slowly dilated and my legs suddenly growing veins, as my eyes shined under the fake sun, I leaped directly towards where the explosion was.

*BOOOOOOOM!*

I arrived there just after breaking the speed of sound 10 times, and saw Randy in the middle of an opening in this thick jungle forest.

I sighed, 'This guy's not even hiding after making that large explosion,' I said in my thoughts

I landed in front of him with a bang, and said, "Alice and Scarlet should take a while before arriving here, let's go and make a hiding place somewhere near."

He nodded, and said, "Yeah, but I think we should start hunting the other teams soon. We might lose many points if we take the time to build a hiding place."

Seeing that he has a point, I decided against my earlier plan, and said, "Alright, let's do that. But you know how strong the other teams are; you cannot fight them head-on, remember that."

He nodded again, "Of course."

"Okay, no—" I didn't get to finish my sentence because I grabbed him by the leg and pulled him down, so that he could dodge the sword coming towards his head.

I frowned, 'The one who threw that sword really intended to kill him…'

The sword with a white handle got plunged into a tree, and a guy wearing a bamboo hat appeared beside it, then pulled it. The guy wore a blue long-sleeve coat, black pants, and blue shoes designed for speed.

I narrowed my eyes, and muttered, "A member of the Imperial Heroes? This ought to be interesting."

*Woosh* *Woosh* *Woosh*

Then I sensed 3 more swords coming my way, though I dodged them all. Like the last time, all three swords were plunged to other trees and, again, three more individuals wearing the same bamboo hat and clothes as the first guy but in different colors, appeared beside them and pulled the swords out.

'They've teamed up already? Well, that's surprising. And this might be fun, I can test my newfound fighting experience,' I said in my thoughts as a smirk was slowly bestowed onto my face.

"Randy, support me from the back," I said.

"Understood," And he ran away behind me, but stopped mid-way and pulled out various bombs in his hands.

"I gotta say, you're a tough toddler. It amazes me how someone so young could be so powerful," The one in blue said, brandishing his sword towards me.

I simply let a smirk show on my face, and said, "You're going to regret trying to kill my teammate earlier,"

"Finish this soon," The one in the red said stoically.

"Don't worry, that baby is not strong enough to defeat me," The one in the blue said confidently.

"Stop yapping and be quick, Azure," The one in the red said, a bit annoyed this time.

The now named Azure nodded, and he turned to me, saying, "Sorry kid, but I gotta eliminate you now." Then, he appeared in front of me in a flash.

There was a good 20 meters from us, and he managed to cross that in less than a second. But even then, does that matter?

He thrusted his sword towards me, and in that small time, I saw everything in slow motion.

I didn't have to move from my spot as I just raised my right hand and caught the tip of the sword between my fingers.

In that small moment, in less than a blink of an eye, I said, "Since you tried to kill my teammate earlier, let me repay you for that."

I coldly looked at his eyes, and with mercy leaving me, I clenched my left fist.

I pulled his sword from the tip, and he was dragged down towards me as my fist met his face.

*BAM!*

With my bloodied fist stretched to where his head was supposed to be, his body fell, headless, as the remains of his head were scattered around us.