As the battle raged on, the once vast field of competitors dwindled to a mere ninety.
The cream of the crop was starting to rise to the top as more and more competitors began to showcase their stronger abilities in a dazzling display of power and skill.
The arena crackled with energy as the more powerful combatants unleashed their ultimate techniques.
Lassim leaned forward, in focus as he observed the intense clashes. "It seems like everyone is starting to not hold back anymore," he remarked.
Hallen nodded in agreement, his gaze shifting between the fighters. "Well, when you only have one chance each month, it makes sense to save your stronger attacks for the last moments."
In the midst of the chaos, one particularly heated exchange caught Lassim’s attention, as two fighters locked eyes with unmistakable animosity.
The fighters, #138 and #74, identified by the numbers on their attire rather than names, exchanged heated words as they circled each other. Lassim realized that they seemed to have a history together somehow as he listened in.
"You thought you could get away with that move again, didn’t you?" #74 growled as he dodged the roots spreading across the floor. He moved swiftly with his sword in his hand, remembering how he lost to this decisive move that had cost them victory in a previous tournament.
The other, #138, smirked, a glint of determination in his eyes. "That’s okay. I can do more with this than what you saw last time anyways. You better watch out!"
#138 then waved his hands, adorned with an eccentric amount of rings all shining brightly with green gems. They flashed with lights in a strobing fashion as mana was channeled between the rings and the roots spreading across the marble floor.
"See if you can get away this time! [Roses]!" He shouted, as suddenly black, rose-like flowers budded, grew, and then fully bloomed in an instant from the vines that covered the floor.
They released orange colored pollen that suddenly launched into the air from their petals in a controlled attack, directly towards #74.
The pollen filled the air and unsuspecting nearby competitors started wheezing, sneezing, and coughing the instant they breathed in the pollen. Their skin came in contact with the pollen particles and became red and itchy. The competitors within the nearby 20 meters or so all became useless immediately from this powerful move.
#138 swiftly swung their sword, although metal elemental in ability, to create air currents to keep the pollen away. Yet, it wasn’t good enough as they still needed to breathe and it only took a tiny amount of the massive flood of pollen directed at him to turn him into another slobbery and sneezing, red, itchy mess.
He, along with all of the others affected, quickly surrendered to be teleported away into the medical bay beneath the arena.
Drained on their mana reservers, #74 gave a triumphant cheer, "That’s for last month, you jerk!"
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Yet, as he cheered, he was suddenly pierced through the chest with a metal infused arrow from contestant number #280 from across the arena. He had been too absorbed in getting payback for the previous month’s defeat that he forgot to stay vigilant to his surroundings.
Contestant #280, a girl with long flowing purple hair and a bow that looked like it was forged of steel, gave a smirk as she moved her sights to her next target.
Meanwhile, on the rest of the arena, the final contenders fought tooth and nail to secure their spot among the top ten. Each clash leagues above the earlier minutes, as now the remaining fighters were giving their all to outwit and outlast their opponents.
"Ah darn it! I was betting on that #138 fellow," Hallen commented, his eyes a bit sad at his lost ESS. "I saw his nature elemental energy and thought he might do better. What a shame…"
Lassim nodded, his gaze focused on the unfolding battles. "Thankfully my competitor is still in it," he remarked, a hint of excitement in his voice. "I bet on #16 with the water fans. I’m glad I did too, she’s really strong!"
The tension in the arena was palpable and the roar of the crowd was extreme as the final moments of the Spirit Growth Stage Battle Royal unfolded. Each fighter was pushing themselves to the limit in pursuit of victory.
As Hallen and Lassim turned back towards the action, a dramatic turn of events unfolded near one of the edges of the arena.
A clash between a fire whip user, #3, and a water sling shot user, #99, reached a critical point that was about to cause an abrupt change through the entire arena.
Lassim and Hallen watched with bated breath as the intensity of the battle escalated, catching their full attention, the duo’s elemental powers colliding in a spectacular eruption of steam.
The fire whip user swung their weapon with ferocious speed, arcs of flame cutting through the air towards their agile opponent. The water sling shot user deftly dodged and countered, launching precise water projectiles that collided with the fiery onslaught, creating bursting clouds of scalding steam.
Suddenly, #99 stopped and called out, "[Condensed Shot]!" His hands pulled back the slight shot and suddenly all of the water mana in the air rushed towards him. The ball in his hands was tiny, but kept absorbing water mana without changing in size at all. It kept being condensed over and over under his control.
Then, after just a moment, he shot the ball towards his opponent. The tiny, standard size ball suddenly became massive as it traveled in the air. It grew to cover an immense area, one which he wouldn’t be able to block or really dodge as they had been fighting near the arena’s edge.
The ball grew in size to a massive orb 40 meters across. The fire whip user, #3, could only summon their entire mana reserves to attack back with. Appearing from their inner heart world, a creature that looked like some sort of living flame appeared out in the open. The fire whip user shouted, "Give it your all Flammus," as his whip wrapped around the flame elemental’s illusory waist like a belt.
The mana was sucked from #3, causing the flame elemental to grow in size as it sent out a flame ray, their biggest trump card, towards the massive orb of elemental water.
In response, the orb of water burst into a massive cloud of steam that exploded in all directions. The internal condensation of the orb of water was a delayed secondary effect of #99’s [Condensed Shot] technique that they had trained. The secondary burst could catch opponents off guard, allowing an explosive finish potentially.
The fire whip user was then knocked back from the force of the explosion, but mostly shielded from the water by the flame elemental sending out it’s flame ray.
With quick reaction, they managed to summon the whip back to their hand and crack it outwards to wrap around the leg of another competitor near the center of the arena. This quickly prevented #3 from being knocked out of the arena.
Unfortunately, the blast of the explosion wasn’t enough to fully stop the flame ray, which had continued forward and nearly incinerated #99’s clothes before the array system teleported them away to safety.
However, those standing nearby to their fight were truly unlucky. The force of the explosion was so powerful that it knocked out fourteen fighters in one swift blow. The only survivor in that part of the arena being only the fire whip user still clinging on as their whip anchored them to the individual they pulled on in the center of the arena, preventing their elimination.
The arena fell into a momentary silence, the steam and dust from the other fights settling as the realization dawned that the final ten had been decided.
The remaining fighters paused, catching their breaths and assessing the aftermath of the chaotic battle.
"That was insane," Lassim muttered, his eyes wide with astonishment at the sudden turn of events.
Hallen nodded, equally stunned. "That explosion took out more than a dozen fighters in an instant! How exciting!"
The crowd erupted into applause, acknowledging the incredible display of skill and tenacity that had led to the conclusion of the Battle Royale stage of the Spirit Growth Stage of the tournament.
With excitement, the announcer’s voice boomed through the air, "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed cultivators and patrons, what an exhilarating Battle Royale we’ve just witnessed! The Spirit Growth Stage has proven once again to be a crucible for these early stage cultivators! Let us applaud those that have given their all, but ultimately fell in the heat of the battle."
He paused for a moment, allowing the cheers and applause to fill the arena before continuing. "But, out of the forge, we have created 10 new heroes to compete for the top spot and become this month’s champion! For our valiant fighters, we will now have a brief intermission to rest and replenish their energies.
We will grant them time to take mana recovery potions and gather their focus for the next dueling stage of this thrilling tournament."
As he spoke, the remaining fighters quickly exited the stage, leaving behind the arena that began magically repairing and cleaning itself. The 10 then made their way towards a row of ten chairs, where personnel in togas stood ready with trays of mana recovery potions.
Lassim observed the scene with keen interest, noting the professionalism with which everything was organized.
The fighters took the potions without hesitation, their expressions a mix of exhaustion and determination as they prepared for the next phase of the competition.
He couldn’t help but feel a surge of satisfaction as he glanced at #16, the water fan wielder he had bet on. Seeing her still in the competition filled him with pride and happiness, especially since he had won a total of 2500 mid-grade ESS from his successful bet on her performance.
He felt slightly bad for betting on others for some reason, earning a lot of money for literally just sitting back and watching. He decided he would try and gift her some of his winnings somehow if she continued to make it through the whole tournament. He knew some of the winnings went to her anyhow, but it just felt wrong to him to profit so easily from another’s hard work.
The announcer’s voice cut through the air once more, announcing, "The drawing of lots for the single elimination dueling stage will commence in thirty minutes. Fighters, take this time to gather yourselves and prepare for the challenges ahead. Spectators, enjoy the brief break and get ready for more exhilarating battles!
Please feel free to enjoy the lovely refreshments and snacks being paraded around aisles at this time."
From around the arena’s stairways, hawkers selling various drinks, alcohol and snacks appeared to peddle their treats to the patrons. The tactic to earn some additional money by the stadium with this worked wonders as many couldn’t resist buying cups of mead or beer to accompany the easy to eat meat rolls they purchased as well.