This morning of the continuation of the Elnira-Vulcan-Orion Tournament, Russell inspected the list of the remaining participants, projected to a massive holographic screen floating midair, after yesterday's schedule, the one that his mercenary folks didn't attend to, resulting in defaults and eliminating them from the tournament.
The projected holographic screen, which was produced, not with the utilization of either Human or Dwarven technology, but with Elven Magic, showed the names of the remaining participants in both categories – Students and non-students. These participants were either waiting for their fight schedule on this day or their fight against their next opponent upon overcoming the first obstacle with sweat and blood.
On the Student Category on the humanity side, there was Aisha Whispercrest, waiting for her next match. It's the same for Anya, Elizabeth, and Han Jiho, who won their respective matches yesterday, which was around the same time when Samantha, Russell and his Chaos Companions, along with the four Elven Soldiers – Thessalia, Lusha, Iefyr, and Kerym fought with the 'fake' Vampire Commander.
Apart from the above-mentioned names listed on the waiting list, there's the President of the Disciplinary Committee, Azalea Vermillion; the silent-type woman, Lyra Mihaela, the inconspicuous Vice President of the Disciplinary Committee, and the one who temporarily tangled up with Russell Moon due to the antics of the premortem Arthur Wolfson, Victoria Angelica Rasputin. That aside, there were names that he didn't recognize on the list, who were also scheduled for today's matches.
'Victoria and Lyra, huh. This will be interesting, though I'm pretty sure it'll be brutal for the participant who's going against the latter.'
Russell thought, not minding the list of the non-students, in other words, high-level matches, though it'd be a feast for the eyes of those who adore seeing the destruction, as long as it didn't happen in their place.
'Human Nature is just complex, far too complicated for me to grasp even with the stacking mysteries thrown into me.'
For someone like him, who experienced humiliation in his previous life, causing him to be an extremely introverted person, there's a kind of human who felt elated at the sight of destruction caused by or caused to others, but that same person would become a crybaby if that destruction also reached him.
After some time, with the cacophony of jubilant and exhilarated cheers from the three races, the name of the participants, for the first time in the morning that would serve as a wake-up call for those who still felt drowsy, had been called.
***
'Whoo… Calm down, Victoria… Calm down…'
Muttering to herself, Victoria Angelica Rasputin, the former Secretary of the Student Council, scrutinized the Elf standing in front of her, while trying her best to relax. It would be her first time fighting someone that's not a human like her and also surrounded by thousands of diverse, race-wise, individuals.
"Greetings, Human! I'll be your opponent. My name's Ryyai."
The Elf woman, around eighteen to nineteen years old, at least the same age as Victoria, wearing the usual Elven Green Tunic, having short green hair, orange glistening eyes, and whitish skin, introduced herself.
Every match that involved an Elf always started with an introduction even though the presider of the match already called them. In other words, the Elves either seemed too polite or wanted to be personal.
'Victoria, a pleasure to meet y-'
Since the overseer of the match already signaled the battle's beginning, it wouldn't mean that Ryyai must wait for Victoria to finish speaking as she disappeared from her spot in almost an instant.
Holding a green blade, emanating nature's aura in her hand, Ryyai appeared from Victoria's back as the former cleaved it down against the latter.
Bam-!
With the dust of smoke after the impact, Ryyai knew and felt that she didn't hit Victoria, which meant that she somehow dodged her surprise attack.
"Aren't you a rude-"
Within the dissipating smoke, a few meters away from Ryyai's spot, Victoria's voice echoed in a casual yet cold manner. However, before the latter could finish her words, as soon as Ryyai heard her voice, she quickly disappeared again, slashing through the thin smoke where Victoria's shadow and voice were.
With her formidable swiftness, it would be ordinary for her to reach the opponent in time as she finished gauging her strength before the match began. But, it seemed like there was something amiss with her judgment as Victoria wasn't hit again by her strike.
Even though Ryyai did not give Victoria an opening to bring out her weapon as the latter's barehanded at the moment, the former noticed something, prompting her to compose herself, stopping a barrage of sword strikes. Ryyai wanted to analyze her opponent for a moment since her previous analysis was only, and proven superficial as it didn't work well on her part.
As the cloud of smoke finally dissipated, facing each other at least five to six meters away, Ryyai spoke in a casual manner, but she was not letting her guard down in case Victoria would do the same as she did.
"Although appearance isn't everything, I thought you're just a fragile girl since you look like you're more prepared for an adventure instead of a fight, but it seems that you have the skills to actually dodge my attacks."
At this moment, Victoria was just wearing above-the-knee plain blue shorts, which accentuated her snow-white thighs, and a navy blue shirt, which also accentuated her lithe body, with the Obelisk logo on its top left side. In addition, she's wearing golden-framed eyeglasses, giving the impression of being a nerdy student.
Although Ryyai was still somewhat ignorant about the clothing style of a human, Victoria's atmosphere was just giving a carefree vibe compared to the previous human participants the former had watched.
"You're rude."
Victoria succinctly said. She was still barehanded, but her blue eyes were showing a fierceness and sharpness, seemingly wanting to devour the Elf in front of her. Her mid-back-length blonde hair was fluttering due to the wind as the environment was entirely a dense forest.
As soon as Victoria finished her words, Ryyai activated a skill this time because she realized that normal attacks wouldn't do after a few tries.
[Activating Skill: Leaf of Covenant]
Description:
The desire of an Elf to cut down the opponent will always be considered as nature's will. Although a great power is something to be coveted, it can only be achieved as nature willed it.
Rank: A+
Effects:
– The user's Strength and Swift stats will randomly increase by 25% to 40%, depending on the user's desire to cut down the opponent.
Releasing her aura, the air vibrated as Ryyai's body was strengthened. The ground of the arena made of thick branches cracked, causing some fine tree dust to scatter around her.
[Your Strength stat has increased by 30%.]
[Your Swift stat has increased by 30%.]
[You have been strengthened by the power of nature!]
This happened in only four to five seconds. After that, she lunged forward, but this time, just as she gave up on attacking using basic swordsmanship, she performed a sword technique instead.
[Green Blossom Sword Technique, First Movement: Ashen Bloom]
***
'Is she pissed?'
Victoria muttered to herself as she looked at her opponent, who used a buff skill on herself and quickly lunged forward to cut her down as if Victoria was a murderer who needed to be killed.
Even though the movement was quick, barely able to be followed by an average being's naked eyes, Victoria wasn't worried.
pαпdα-ň?νê|·сóМ Just as the attack would reach her, in that span of a second or two, one of Victoria's blue eyes changed its hue and became golden, and the pupil of her left eye now resembled that of an ancient clock.
[Activating the Unique Skill: Clock Hand's Eye]
[Your thought process becomes 500 times more proficient!]
[With the thought process increased like clockwork, everything in your surrounding will be in slow motion unless an individual possesses a time-related skill or Attribute.]
[Due to the inefficient Main Stats you possess, this skill can only be maintained for 5 seconds.]
As though time experienced a state of frozenness, everything around Victoria slowed down. This Unique Skill was different from the one she could passively utilize earlier, which was the reason she was able to barely dodge Ryyai's surprise attacks.
Without much thinking about it, since she's only given five seconds of being alone in the world, Victoria took out something from her Dimensional Inventory.
It was a silver-golden pocket watch.
Holding the chain tightly in her hand, she activated another Exclusive Skill.
[Activating Skill: Action Reversal]
[You have used a skill that requires a medium!]
[Requirement satisfied!]
[Medium: Chronos' Watch]
[Action Reversal Executed!]
At that moment, the five-second skill duration had passed, but what was screened in spectators' eyes was Ryyai, who was supposed to cleave down her sharp blade against Victoria, that thrust her weapon at herself.
***
[Action Reversal]
Description:
Being a Champion of the higher being that managed to peek the First Clock Movement of the Great Universe, you are granted the ability to reverse action when meeting certain conditions.
Rank: ???
Effects:
– Reverse the action of the attacker by making yourself look like the said attacker for a split second. If the attacker then struck his or her own image in that short amount of time, they will be on the receiver's end.
Condition of Use:
– Activated Unique Skill: Clock Hand's Eye
***
"W-what... Argh-"
A mouthful of blood spread on the dark green branches of the arena grounds as Ryyai's expression was full of confusion.
Her blade was thrust into her abdomen.
According to the spectators' eyes, what happened just now would look like Victoria teleported from behind, and when Ryyai reached Victoria's initial spot and managed to strike her own image on Victoria's spot, then the former would then proceed to make the action she wanted to commit against her opponent.
But Ryyai's aim was supposedly Victoria's back. In other words, during the five-second slow motion for her, she positioned herself to be stabbed by Ryyai's blade in the abdomen.
That's why, after the effect of the Clock Hand's Eye ended, Ryyai wouldn't have the time to retract her strike after becoming perplexed by seeing herself in front of her in a very short amount of time.
"Victoria Angelica Rasputin wins-!"
Seeing the condition of the Elf, the match presider quickly ended the fight as she declared Victoria as the winner. He then approached the bleeding opponent and healed her since it looked like an emergency.
'Fret not. I didn't aim her blade on a vital spot.'
Victoria muttered, letting out a sigh of relief even though she was feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.
***
'If one didn't know better, her skill will be misunderstood for being a psychological-related skill.'
Russell thought, scrutinizing the fight that just ended.
What Ryyai's struck was an afterimage of Victoria, whose face changed to Ryyai herself for a moment as an effect of the Skill: Action Reversal.
'Well, it's somewhat psychologically related since striking one's own image will result in hitting oneself.'
Apart from the fight itself, Russell noticed Victoria's demeanor. She became more confident based on what was written in his unpublished novel, though it's not like he could imagine what she was like just because of a few sets of words describing her.
"Oppa-! Oppa! Can you tell me what happened just now? It's instant. I didn't think that Victoria's that strong."
His younger sister, sitting beside him, interjected, cutting his little reverie.
"It depends. Anybody can be strong against the right opponent and with the right utilization of the skills."
Russell answered, which caused to Freya ponder.
"I see. I think there are many interesting matches today."
'Of course, that's why I'm taking the time to be here instead of sleeping in my lodging.'
Russell inwardly said though he didn't dare to be vocal about it.
***
After a few matches since the first match, it was now the turn of the Vice President of the Disciplinary Committee.
"...Lyra Mihaela against..."
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