It was the day that the second round of fighting would start, and the people heavily anticipated the next fight because Teras's next opponent wasn't just a nobody!
In his previous round, he was rumored to easily beat his opponent, and was from a known family that was praised for their adventuring times
Teras obviously didn't know what he was going against since he skipped the fight
'All that laid-back activity made me get rusty with my mana usage and fighting ability! I can't expect an easy fight! Just because I'm not fighting Enyo or Tokkou, it doesn't mean I won't have to try! I promised Lola something, and like many people I have met in my life, I'm not a liar!' Teras thought as he got ready to fight
But while he was waiting for the gate to open, he thought of something
'It feels like time is not passing right... One moment I'm fighting and the other I'm daydreaming... How long has it been since I last spoke to Enyo or Lola?' Teras thought
But before he could think of it any longer, the doors to the arena opened, and Teras walked up to the stage to face his opponent
'A bow? Well, that's new...' Teras thought
"WE WELCOME YOU ONCE AGAIN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THIS TIME WE HAVE TWO STRONG CONTESTANTS FACING OFF! IN ONE CORNER, WE HAVE TERAS! THE BIG SHOT THAT POPPED OUT OF NOWHERE AND ON THE OTHER SIDE WE HAVE TONY RAMA! THE ONLY-CHILD FROM THE FAMOUS RAMA FAMILY OR THE CUPIDS, THE ARCHERS FROM HEAVEN!" The announcer screamed at the top of his lungs
The crowd cheered loudly for both parties with excitement
Even he seemed excited from the second round of fights
Many of the people taking part in this tournament were selected due to their families or connections to the kingdom, but Teras was not. Maximus wasn't either, that's why the fact that both of them won their first fight excited everyone watching
So Teras and Maximus became the "underdogs" of the tournament, so basically they had the full support of the commoners
"It's nice seeing you in the flesh, Teras! I have heard many incredible facts about you! And you have shown me why those facts are true! It will be a waste to throw you out of this tournament, but things have come this way!" Tony Rama said, with a surprisingly humble expression on his face
'It's time to try redirecting his arrows! It must be easy if I use mana shields...' Teras thought as he warmed up for the fight
And in no time, the fight started
Fire rained upon Teras in an instant
Tony was firing fire arrows from his weird-looking bow, and the flaming arrows moved in an irregular pattern
It moved left, then right, then again left, basically each arrow made a zig-zag movement before suddenly changing its direction toward Teras
"ARE THE ARROWS DRUNK? I HEAR YOU ASK! BUT OF COURSE THIS ISN'T THE CASE! THAT'S JUST TONY'S SPECIAL TECHNIQUE!" The announcer said loudly
The first arrow was about to hit, and Teras tried to redirect it, but to his surprise, as soon as the arrow touched the shield, it exploded, damaging him and destroying the shield
'That's the fire card! But he is using it way differently! Is that what Enyo meant by specialized card users? Even a simple enough power like fire can be developed as something complicated and fun like fire arrows!' Teras thought as he smiled at the fact that his opponent was strong
It had been a long time since he fought someone who fought creatively like he does
Teras used mana overflow and tried to rush toward Tony, but every time he did, he was stopped by one of his arrows
Tony had complete control of the arena
Teras gathered up his thoughts and then decided to use his own explosive power
He realized he couldn't get past the arrows, so he used ranged explosions to destroy Tony's arrows, and to a degree, it worked, but the arrows were much quicker and easier to produce than the ranged explosions, so this show of explosions couldn't last long if Teras wanted to win
'He stopped?' Tony wondered as he couldn't detect anything mana-wise from Teras
Suddenly, Tony was hit from behind. Teras suppressed his mana and surprised him
"TERAS MANAGED TO DASH BEHIND TONY AND HIT HIM! DID TONY NOT SENSE HIM?" The announcer asked, confused and loudly
"What's up with your mana suppression? It's like your mana totally disappeared!" Tony said with a smile as he recovered from the attack
His talking was also a distraction from the four arrows he left on the ground for Teras
BOOM
'This kid... I felt no mana when he suppressed it! That's quite a feat! He had to touch me in order for me to notice him! If he does this again, I could be in trouble!' Tony thought as he readied many arrows for launch
"I get it now!" Teras said as he stood right in front of Tony
'I didn't see him because of the damn smoke...' Tony thought as he leaped back and sent the arrows flying at Teras
But to his surprise, Teras simply grabbed the arrows from the base and redirected them to Tony
Tony barely managed to change the trajectory of the arrows, making them hit the ground
"HE SIMPLY GRABBED THEM AND THREW THEM AWAY! WHAT KIND OF WITCHCRAFT IS TERAS PERFORMING?" The announcer said with his obnoxiously loud voice
"Your arrows! You basically use flames on the back of the arrows to move them right? Meaning all that explosion effect is simply an explosive power of fire coming from you!" Teras explained to Tony
"Am I supposed to act amazed? Even a kid could tell what my technique does, idiot!" Tony said with a grin as he loaded another bunch of arrows
"HEY, THAT'S MEAN I DIDN'T GET IT!" The announcer whined
"No! It's the way you do it!" Teras said as he simply stood and stared at Tony
"What?" He replied confused
"Before you launch the arrows, you put mana in them with your fingers like you would usually do at a mana-enhanced weapon, and then control the mana you place in the back of the arrow! Meaning I know an easy way to win against you!" Teras said with a devilish smile
"WHAT IS IT?" The announcer asked
Tony, enraged by Teras' expression, tried to hit him with the arrows, but Teras used air slashes to cut the arrows
The broken arrows landed in front of Teras, and that's when Tony knew he had to fight hand-to-hand
"If I destroy the base of the arrow first, then the mana strings you place on the back of your arrows become useless, therefore, you can't do anything to me!" Teras said as he stepped on the arrows, completely destroying them
"THAT'S SMART!"
'That's right… His power is not arrow-controlling fire, but he uses mana strings to control those arrows that are made by unburnable wood… I have to ask him what kind of wood that is…' Teras wondered while preparing to engage in close combat with Tony
Tony grabbed as many arrows as he could and threw them
"If you are so smart, deflect this idiot!" Tony yelled after attacking
'They are all explosive! One touch and he is out!' Tony thought as he smiled
"HOLY GOD, TERAS IS IN TROUBLE!" The announcer anxiously said
Teras placed his hands together
"I have to use this from the second round, huh?" Teras said before creating an overloaded explosion that overshadowed the countless explosive arrows Tony threw
"THE WHOLE STAGE IS DONE FOR!" The announcer sadly exclaimed
The whole stage was a mess, and the only reason it was still standing was because the explosion was elevated, if it had happened on ground level, then the arena wouldn't have been there anymore
Tony then decided to engage in close-range combat by grabbing two of his arrows and using them as boosts, he basically had daggers that enhanced his movements like rockets
As Tony closed the gap, Teras smiled while taking both his weapons out of their case
"THEY ARE FIGHTING FIST TO FIST NOW!" The announcer excitedly yelled
"Finally! You are actually trying to win!" Teras said with a smile as he took a battle stance
Tony tried to pierce Teras with his arrows, but ultimately failed due to Teras's quick reflexes
After Tony failed many times, he started getting creative
He used one arrow to dash forward and the other to rotate, and by repeating this action to Teras, who was already dodging by jumping out of the range of the attack, he made things simpler for Tony and harder for himself
'He is building speed! If this continues, then I will be at a disadvantage!' Teras thought as he started blocking as many attacks as he could, so he could slow down Tony's speed
But it was futile, the arrows were mana-enhanced, so there was no way of breaking them, and Tony's speed had built up so much that Teras had to block a hundred times to make him stop
So Teras thought simple-minded
'The only way to stop this fire tornado is…'
"Your legs!" Teras said as he ducked from an attack
He then proceeded to kick Tony's legs, making him lose his equilibrium, forcing him to stop
The fight was then set in stone
Teras closed in and, with his bare fists, started hitting Tony multiple times again and again in many places on his body. It was a complete beatdown
Tony tried to counterattack by piercing Teras's palm, but that didn't work either
"You think a simple stab will make me stop?" Teras said as he lanced into Tony's hand
He now prevented him from blocking with one of his arms. Teras then started using his legs to make up for the missing hand, dealing further damage to Tony
'Is he a beast? My attacks must have damaged him, so how?' Tony thought as he grabbed Teras's other hand
"If I can't win, I will make sure you don't make it out in one piece!" Tony thought as he set his whole body ablaze and then emitted fire from his mouth directly toward Teras
'Now tank that monster!' Tony thought as he smiled
His smile was quickly wiped off his face after he received a headbutt to his face
"Your breath stinks, bastard!"
"THAT CAN'T BE!!!" The announcer yelled
"I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS!" Tony yelled as he saw Teras barely injured
"Believe what fool?" Teras asked confused
"I burned you! How can you not sustain a single burn?"
"But I did! Oh, don't tell me you don't know basic mana functions! You see, people can use mana shield and healing to minimize their injuries! Crazy right?" Teras said in a goofy tone
Even though it seemed absurd to many, Teras was able to block most of the fire with an around-the-body shield and healed the burns caused by the heat with his advanced healing power
This way, Teras seemed to be unharmed
"Are you mocking me? ME?" Tony yelled as he got ready to engage in combat once again
"What if I did? Will you do something about it!" Teras asked with a devilish smile
"I WILL SHOW YOU!!!" Tony screamed as he released a beam of fire
This powerful attack was created by combining many mana strings and lighting them all on fire like he did with his arrows, a truly refined attack
'It's now or never! If I don't try this now, I will never know!' Teras thought as he recalled a thing Enyo told him a year ago while training
…
"Wait, isn't this reverse mana flow sort of like altering the movement of mana? I have never seen it happen before! Have you ever used it to redirect?" Enyo asked
"What? I mean, it could work, right? But I attract mana toward me, so wouldn't I just end up redirecting an attack at me? How does that exactly benefit me?" Teras replied confused
"Yeah, but it will be nice to know you can do that, right?"
…
Teras's reverse mana flow was activated, and Teras made sure to just barely dodge the attack. He was ducking under the attack and extended his right arm beneath the fire beam and his left arm toward Tony
'The beam is directed toward the crowd!' Teras thought as he panicked
Teras withstood the pain in his right arm and back, and made his reverse mana flow stronger, and at that moment, he did a miracle
The fire beam started to slowly shift toward Teras and then suddenly made a curve around Teras' back, then to his left arm, and finally returned back to the sender
Launching Tony out of the arena and pinning him to the wall
The crowd was a bit speechless, and even the announcer couldn't say anything
But after they heard a cheer from Enyo, the crowd went wild over Teras's victory
"TERAS IS VICTOR! I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW THIS FIGHT ENDED!" The announcer said while screaming his lungs out
While walking off the arena, Teras felt a certain aura in the crowd, and when he turned around to see what it was, he saw Icarus
The two of them stared at each other, knowing well what was about to follow