"DAMN IT!"
Madam Arabella slammed her fist on the armchair angrily, black lines were already covering her entire forehead.
She invested too much in ScaldingWinter to push him to win the tournament and get excellent results in the heavenly plane tournament.
Alas, her hopes were dashed the moment she decided to torment Felix.
"He is too strong...I am starting to think that only the Ravager, Avalanche, and Goliath the Juggernaut are capable of taking him down in this tournament." Boss Gideon commentated.
"We will see about that." Mr. Atticus said calmly, his eyes placed on Felix who was being avoided akin to a plague in the arena.Not a single fighter dared to target him after his performance, realizing that it was much easier to secure one of the other three slots than attempt to eliminate him.
So, for the next ten minutes, Felix was seen sitting near the edge of the arena with his arm resting on his knee, scanning the ongoing chaos in a nonchalant manner.
Just like the area around him was a banned zone, not a single fight was picked near him, which created a bizarre scene for the viewers.
"What an interesting newbie..."
Standing tall amidst the first group of fighters, the figure of Ravager was as imposing as it was intriguing. He possesses an alluring charisma of a stoic warrior, his icy gaze filled with inscrutable depth, often leaving his opponents unnerved.
His skin has an ethereal soft golden glow, showcasing his status as a newly risen golden spirit. Intricate tattoos adorn his body, swirling around his muscular arms and broad shoulders. His hair, a wild untamed mane while his attire of fluid silks mirrors his affinity to water.
His demeanor was not that of one who brags, but of a cold and serious predator who lets his skills speak for him.
This was Ravager, the previous two times champion of Astralis's Spectral Tournament in a row, stealing the crown from the known most powerful fighters, Goliath and Avalanche.
His strength and battle experience were so overwhelming, almost 99% of the fighters join those tournaments for the sake of securing the second or third rank.
He was that overbearing.
Sensing two pressuring pair of eyes on him, Felix turned his head to the side in a relaxed manner and returned the stare to the Ravager in the midst of the chaos reigning in the Colosseum.
Felix and Ravager, standing across from one another, their eyes locked in an intense standoff...The air between them seemed to vibrate, each sizing up the other with silent scrutiny.
Around them, the Colosseum was in a state of frenzy. The ground shook with impact, smoke, and dust filling the air, clouding the vibrant bursts of elemental abilities.
Fighters charged, bellowed, and fell.
Energy blasts rocketed skyward, shattering the heavens in a spectacular display of power!
Yet amidst all the mayhem, their unemotional expressions were unchanged, each man seemed carved from stone.
No words were needed, for their eyes spoke volumes more than words ever could. It was clear to all - a storm was about to break between these two.
'To think I will be forced to take such weaklings seriously again...Isn't it ironic Asna?' Felix shook his head, breaking off the intense staredown like it was nothing.
While his mind was as creepily silent as everyone else, Felix imagined Asna mocking the Ravager with her assholish personality.
He sniggered to himself for a moment before his stoic expression retook control over him again.
'Is he laughing at me?'
While it was brief, the Ravager caught him in the act and he didn't seem pleased in the slightest.
Unfortunately for him, Felix didn't bother to glance in his direction ever again.
Sometime later...
"The MimicJoker has fallen at last!! With that, we have our four finalists, and first four fighters to make it to the tournament!"
Mr. Sogrus extended his hand widely and congratulated loudly, "Make some noise for The Traveller, The Banshee, Morris, and Miss Jasmine!"
Clap Clap Clap!!
Out of nowhere, a single pair of hands started clapping, the sound echoing through the vast expanse. It was soon followed by another, then another until the entire coliseum resonated with the applause of thousands of spectators.
In the center of the arena stood the four finalists - Felix, The Banshee, Morris, and Miss Jasmine...Besides Felix, the three finalists looked like they had gone through hell seven times and came back worse each time.
To survive a battle royal with hundreds of fighters was no easy task and if Felix hadn't displayed his overwhelming strength, he would have become like them.
After the applause died down, they were excused from the arena and the dice were rolled yet again to decide the next group.
In the meantime, the arena went into a rapid reparation, becoming brand new in less than a few seconds.
"The next group is number one! All fighters please grace the stage." Mr. Sogrus requested.
'Avalanche's group.'
Felix's cold eyes followed the sole golden shimmering spirit amidst hundred fighters -Avalanche. He was a lean humanoid bear with snow-white fur that gleamed like a field of untouched snow under the sunlight.
He was considered one of the favorites to triumph the competition if he prepared enough to take down Ravager and get his revenge from the last tournament.
The fight that Felix watched on the tv was a replay of a very old competition where Goliath and Avalanche were still dominating the competition.
But now? It was too hard to predict the outcome with Felix and Ravager involved.
"What an expected but disappointing turn of events."
Mr. Sogrus sighed at the sight of Avalanche sitting at the edge of the arena while the rest of the fighters stayed as far as possible from him.
While no one was dumb enough to take the risk and fight off Felix - Avalanche, Goliath, and Ravager were on a whole different plane.
Unless those three sought to warm up in those group battles, it was impossible to see them breaking a sweat unless someone joined the competition without a single clue about their reputation.
Thus, the next three battle royals were quite exciting but not too explosive with those three acting as mere spectators.
In less than an hour, the final twelve finalists were decided and the competition came to a close for one day to give the fighters proper rest before the real deal begins.
...
Back in the national park...Felix could be sitting under the same tree while Karra was cooking a hot pot in the open under the stars.
As for Sekiro? He was sent to secure some spiritual treasures in the black market.
As the name implied, no one cared about the rules, laws, blacklist orders, or whatnot due to all the trades being carried outside of the laws' all-seeing eyes.
However, it wasn't all good and magical as the prices of the items there were at least triple the market price.
Still, Felix had been sending Sekiro consistently on a daily basis to get as many spiritual treasures as possible at the most reasonable prices.
In those past weeks, Felix had spent close to thirty thousand Lumus on them alone, but they were worth it as they made his battles much easier.
If it wasn't for those upgrades, it would have been much more annoying to deal with ScaldingWinter.
'The price might reach triple or even higher for each treasure, but I have to increase my spiritual prowess as much as possible before I meet those three monsters.' Felix thought.
Even though those three fighters hadn't showcased anything in today's competition, Felix knew deeply what they were capable of.
Even ScaldingWinter wasn't their match and Madam Arabella was merely dreaming of him coming close to their level.
'As long as I can defend myself against their telekinesis prowess, I will be alright.' Felix returned to his training, attempting to master a vibration ability capable of neutralizing mental energy more effectively and rapidly.
Right now, he was struggling to make it happen due to the mental energy nature being on a different plane of frequencies.The only reason he easily broke his opponents' telekinesis barriers was due to its frequency being stable as those barriers could be considered somewhat physical.
The same couldn't be applied to the rest of the telekinesis abilities.
Sometime later...
Sekiro returned with an irritated expression like he was just fed cow's dung forcefully.
"That bad?" Felix asked.
"You have no idea."
Sekiro closed his eyes and poured the bought spiritual treasures and the Lumus change in front of Felix.
"That's it?"
Even Felix's unemotional expression turned for the worst after seeing that Sekiro had bought with him an abysmal amount of spiritual treasures with the kind of capital he had given him.
"Sorry, boss...But you have become kinda famous and as your servant, I have also entered the blacklisted database." Sekiro sighed, "Those dishonest merchants knew that you are desperate for spiritual treasures for the sake of the competition and jacked up the price quite heavily. The ones before you are the cheapest considering the circumstances."
"I see..." Felix frowned, "Don't worry, this is on me, I should have thought about it beforehand."
"Still, good thing we have bought a decent amount in the past weeks before they caught up." Sekiro shivered, "I would have honestly punched some of them if I was forced to waste forty thousand Lumus on such exorbitant prices."
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