"You did It, Leader!" the girl yelled with a smile, pumping a fist in the air as the smoke billowed.
The leader didn't share the celebration. Her eyes were narrowed slits, scanning the debris.
"Don't forget he's one of the five. If he's taken down this easily, he won't be recognized," the leader snapped at her group. Her gaze remained fixed on the smoke, her hands moving in a blur as two more daggers materialized in her grasp.
Her mind raced, calculating the odds. 'He has the Warrior Bloodline. With my Assassin Bloodline, I can keep up. I hope.'
From within the gray cloud, a chilling sound echoed.
"Hehehe."
"Huh?!"
Everyone was stunned, staring as the smoke swirled and parted. Austin walked out, his stride casual. There was not a single scratch on him. Surrounding his body was a faint, shimmering distortion—a transparent armor created from his own condensed spirit energy.
"This? That attack should have shattered all your fingers!" the leader yelled in disbelief, her grip tightening on her weapons.
"Hehe. Do you take me for a fool?" Austin brushed some dust off his shoulder. "The moment I detected your plan, I let go of the daggers, so when they detonated, I wasn't in contact with any. My defense did the rest."
He smirked, but then his expression shifted, a flicker of genuine anxiety crossing his face.
"I so want to play with you guys, but I can't," he said, moving his gaze around the treeline nervously.
'I must get out of here before that monster arrives...' Austin thought, his heart rate spiking slightly. 'I will die too if Hitachi meets us here.'
The leader sensed his distraction and seized the moment.
"Team!! Attack!!" she yelled, shooting forward like a bullet.
"Fire Storm!!" the mage yelled from the backline. She raised her hands, summoning a torrential rain of fireballs that dropped from the sky, scorching the air as they fell.
"Sword Dance!!" The swordsman channeled his spirit energy into his blade. The metal hummed as he lunged forward, his movements fluid and rapid, following closely behind the leader and the second assassin.
The knight brought up the rear of the vanguard, his heavy armor clanking as he charged to support the three fighters ahead.
Austin's smirk widened into a feral grin, and his gray eyes flared a deep, ominous crimson.
"WARRIOR CLAP!!!"
"What?"
Before the leader could adjust her trajectory, Austin slammed both his palms together.
BAM!!!!
The impact sent visible sonic waves rippling out in all directions, tearing up the grass and distorting the air.
"Shit! Knight!!" She yelled, forced to drop to her knees to lower her center of gravity.
The two charging beside her skidded to a halt, huddling closer to the leader. The knight, seeing the danger, leaped over the crouching leader, landing heavily in front of them with a grunt of exertion.
"Mighty Shield!!"
His shield expanded rapidly, glowing with a golden light, and he struck it into the ground, creating a physical barricade.
BOOOM!!!!
The sonic wind repelled the incoming fireballs, scattering them harmlessly, before smashing into the shield. The whole team stood behind it, grimacing as the force rattled their bones.
"Really?! You think that will help you?!" Austin asked with a frown.
He didn't let up. He raised his leg and slammed his foot down, simultaneously driving his palms into the earth.
"Warrior Might! Earth Destruction!!"
BOOM! BOOOM!!
"...?!!"
The ground before Austin exploded upward. A fissure tore through the earth, rushing violently toward the group like a jagged serpent.
"Shit!!! Now!" The leader yelled, turning her head desperately to the mage.
"Yes!!"
The mage closed her eyes, veins bulging on her forehead as she channeled every ounce of her remaining spirit energy. "Almighty Light!!!"
WHOOSH!
A brilliant white force field domed around them, reinforcing the knight's physical shield with magical density.
"Now hold your ground!"
BAMMMM!!
The earth attack smashed into their defense. The ground shook violently, and instantly, spiderweb cracks appeared on the barrier of light.
"This? He is too strong!" the knight yelled, sweat pouring down his face as more cracks splintered his shield under the relentless pressure.
"Pathetic," Austin spat out.
He stopped his earth assault and stood upright. He pulled his right arm back, channeling half of his immense spirit energy into his fist. It began to glow with the brightness of a miniature sun.
"Warrior Punch!!"
"What?!! He's using four skills at once?! Is that even possible!" the swordsman screamed in shock. Using multiple high-output skills simultaneously shouldn't be possible for a student.
"His spirit energy must be immense," the second assassin stated, voice trembling as she stared at the fist made of pure, condensed power shooting toward them.
"No!"
BOOOOOM!!!!
CRACK!
The force shield shattered like glass. The knight's shield crumpled like paper. The attack smashed into the five of them with the force of a freight train, throwing them backward.
BAM!!
They all smashed into the ground, rag-dolled by the impact.
"Is that all?" Austin asked, lowering his fist as the glow faded.
He stared at the Leader. She was the only one standing, swaying unsteadily. The rest of her team lay on the ground for a few agonizing seconds before their bodies began to flake away, shattering into dust.
'He killed all my members with that hit! If I didn't have this invisible armor, I would be dead,' she thought, clutching her side, staring at Austin in total disbelief.
'I haven't seen any of the Chosen Five fight before... is there anyone that can defeat someone that can use multiple skills?'
She slowly stood back up straight, re-gripping her daggers. Her eyes burned with desperation.
"No matter what. I just need a scroll... If I have it, I will easily leave the outer region. As long as I enter the core region, my team will gain triple the points." She clenched her daggers, preparing for a suicide run.
But the forest around them suddenly came alive with noise.
"What do we have here?!"
"...?!"
The leader looked over her shoulder. A team of four walked out of the forest. Then another group from the right. Then more.
Before they knew it, 30 different teams had emerged from the tree line, surrounding the clearing. Some teams were fresh; others were battered, having only one member left standing.
Up in the high branches, Carl watched the chaotic scene unfold.
"Hmm... I don't understand, why so many people at once? Were they already hiding in the dark?" Carl asked in confusion, moving his gaze all over the place. The sheer volume of students was overwhelming.
"They are a total of 105 people... Are we still going with our normal plan?" Daniel asked, turning to Carl, his grip on his bow tightening.
"This just got a lot more difficult. They were all in the Shadows, watching..." Carl muttered.
His eyes drifted over his shoulder, landing on a solitary figure standing on a branch some distance away from them. The figure had their arms crossed, watching them with an unnerving calmness.
Carl narrowed his eyes.
"This just got a lot crazier."