Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Members from the Crimson demolition guild wore pensive looks as they gazed at the stage.

"Keep enduring Connor, that sword and that shield must consume an incredible amount of mana from their user, as long as you can hold on, you can end it with your own magic. Do not let someone who completely relies on secondary items to strengthen themselves beat you" the guild master of the crimson demolition guild thought inwardly.

After seeing the medium-range attacks from his sword is unable to disrupt his opponent, Ivan stopped swinging his sword randomly. The mana consumed by the sword to release that kind of energy was truly huge, even if he was level 400, that kind of consumption was still too much for him.

"You do know the consequences if you lose right" he remembered a memory before coming to the kingdom of Ellesmere.

"Do what you have to, but you must win the reward. If you cannot accomplish it, there is no need for you to come back".

Ivan grit his teeth, why of all times did he have to remember that conversation right now.

RUMBLE… the air was starting to distort and the surrounding mana was going berserk. The temperature around the stage was rising up and the area was dyed in a crimson hue.

Looking at Connor who was in the middle of all this, a never before seen seriousness replaced his previous goofy expression.

"Amalgamation Magic Flame Wind Mastery- [Rapid Bullet Storm]".

The moment his magic neared completion, fierce wind carrying along an intense heat started generating around the stage and quickly dried all the moisture around from this place.

Hundreds of fireballs the size of an egg materialised in the sky above the stage and was swept away by the wind further increasing the speed and rotation of the fire bullets. The wind picked on speed and quickly covered the whole stage before narrowing down on Ivan leaving him no place to dodge.

It encased him in the centre and stormed him with flame bullets everywhere.

<strong>BOOM… BOOOM.. BOOM…</strong> like a drum, sounds of continuous explosion rang out from within the storm which kept on getting stronger and faster with time.

Unlike the intermediate tier [Flame Bullet Barrage] magic, the [Rapid Bullet Storm] this time was the culmination of flame and wind magic and also the most strongest magic that Connor was currently capable off.

The magic not only increased the speed and deadliness of his already powerful flame bullet, but as the time goes on, each bullet dodged would gain even more power and speed.

Simon arched his brows seeing this spectacle of a magic being created in front of him. This fellow from the crimson demolition guild had used the amalgamation magic of flame and wind in such a way that his flame magic was being complemented by his wind magic.

The magic borne this way made his flame bullets have even more firepower and was far more deadlier than simply mixing the two elements to create a flame storm.

The audience was struck with awe as they witnessed the most powerful spell of a level 391 participant from one of the top five guilds, the Crimson demolition guild.

"As expected from a member of the Crimson demolition guild, their fire magic is indeed top tier in our kingdom"

"Yeah, I would have nightmares if I was the one being targeted by that attack. Seems like the participant from the kingdom of blackthorn had drawn the short end of the stick this time" the crowd gossiped, even from this distance they could feel the might and power of the attack.

They had no doubts in their mind that after that attack even if the participant from the kingdom of blackthorn was defeated, he would be rendered unable to battle.

WHOSH…WHOOSH…

Ivan hurriedly dodged the incoming flame bullets by manoeuvring his body in every way he could and blacked those that he couldn't with his shield.  The corrosive energy released by his shield, was able to block the bullets initially but as the time passed and the storm got narrower, the angle, power and speed of the bullets got trickier and faster.

Added with the fact that he did not have room to move his body around, some of the bullets managed to hit. Each of these flame bullets after being encased in the storm and being swept around, got much more powerful.

Fortunately, as the prince of the kingdom of blackthorn, the quality of the armour that he wore wasn't low, it was made of blackgold ore and was quite expensive. However, after being bombarded by hundreds of flame bullets repeatedly and in a quick succession, even the armour was giving out.

<strong>BANG… CRACK…</strong> the force of one of the bullets hitting him on the back was so powerful that Ivan fell face-first on the ground, his armour cracked. Now that he was immobilised, the rest of the bullets hailed down on him dying his body red.

"You do know the consequences if you lose right" those words from his memory for some reason kept on repeating itself at this moment making him even more furious.

"Like hell I will lose... HAAAAAHHHH" Giving a spirited shout, Ivan activated one skill after another.

[Super Enhanced Strength], [Super Enhanced Endurance], [Super Enhaced Defene] [Berserk]. An unimaginable amount of power flowed inside his body, his frame expanded and he became more wider and bulkier.

"[Battle Fury]" roaring out the name of one of his class-specific skill, he brandished his sword in a wide arc. All that energy was channelled into the sword and a blade shadow so huge and powerful that It was incomparable to the earlier attacks, manifested.

RIIIIIPPP

The moment the huge black blade shadow came in contact with the storm encasing him all around, a ripping sound like that of a paper being ripped, sounded out. And in front of the astonished eyes of all the audience, the powerful magic was torn apart before being swallowed by the black corrosive energy.

A hideous figure covered in blood and broken armour, surfaced from inside the stone. He looked so different than before that the crowd had difficulty identifying who he was.

After scattering the pesky storm of flame bullets, Ivan's eyes shifted towards Connor who was puking out blood from the repercussions of his magic being destroyed and had a stunned expression masked all over his face.

Without missing this opportunity when his opponent was in a daze, Ivan rushed towards the gap between them in a few seconds. Due to intuition or from his experience, Connor's body jolted awake the moment he felt his opponent's presence near him.

However, it was already too late, before he even realised Ivan was already upon him, charging at him with his shield raised high.

"[Brutal Charge]" a class specific skill of [Tainted Knight] which allows them to channel all their energy in charge and shift all that energy towards the shield right at the moment of impact.

<strong>BANG…</strong> a berserk force hit Connor right in the chest breaking a few of his ribs and like a ball, sent him flying towards the barrier.

<strong>BAM…</strong> the momentum with which his body collided with the barrier was powerful enough to create ripples in it. After rebounding back against the barrier, his body fell limply to the corner of the stage.

The members of the Crimson Demolition guild, all stood up seeing Connor get hit by an attack like that when his defence was the weakest. They all knew in their minds that after suffering such a blow, getting back up would be a miracle.

"You did your best, your last attack was praiseworthy. Go and bring him back, make sure he receives proper treatment" the guild master of the crimson demolition guild closed his eyes and commented silently.

It was as he had said, Connor had lost consciousness and Ivan was declared the winner. Seeing his opponent being taken by his guildmates, Ivan mumbled in a voice that only he could hear.

"Yeah, I felt your emotions from your magic loud and clear. Weapons and artifacts cannot always measure the true prowess of a person. But I cannot lose here, I have my own circumstances for using them". He silently disappeared in a corner after saying that.

"Winning 3 out of his three battles and showcasing his might to everyone, Ivan Mavis Blackthorn moves onto the top ten" Cyrus declared in a booming voice.

With eight of the top ten spots for the final day of the tournament taken, the remaining participants started battling even more fervently. However, their match lacked a little zing after the previous match and most of them also had a defeat in their score.

Win three out of three matches, that was the condition to grab one of the top ten spots. The participants that currently had 2 out of 2 wins in their score, were only a handful few and out of them, there were two participants who the audience knew were sure to move up and grab the top ten spots.

That is if they do not come across each other. Fortunately for their guilds, their opponents had been decided.

The first to take the last two reaming spots with his three victories was…

"Park Garrett from Sea God's Trident guild moves to the final day of the tournament after achieving his splendid three victories".

The audience cheered loudly when the name of the participant from one of the top five guilds came up. Marcus, Hallie and Tyler each participant from their respective top five guilds had secured a top ten spot for themselves, the ones who were still yet to move up, were Sea god's trident and assassin's guild.

Park Garett with his victory took one spot and brought his guild to the final day of the tournament proving that Godwin isn't the only genius they had in their guild.