The stands went silent, filled with anticipation.
Two groups of five High Humans were about to face off. They were just young fighters with two rings—one of them had only one. But on one side stood the number one clan, and on the other, a small clan known for its well-trained members.
The battle stage was immediately covered in an orange aura. Everyone activated the power of their rings at the same time.
"Begin." The judge's firm voice rang out clearly.
The temperature spiked. In the center of Raon's group, a short, muscular man shot forward like a bullet.
"Bring it on!" he roared, his body covered in tiny black stones that seemed to grow straight from his skin. Between them, a red, hot light flowed like magma ready to burst.
"Let's see who drops first," Matteo grunted, charging with his spear aimed straight ahead.
Harper readied her sword, moving with caution, her eyes analyzing every enemy movement.
Veyle stepped back a few paces but held her staff steady, ready to cast.
'Darian, stay by my side.' Leander's voice echoed in his mind. 'We don't have time to explain the plan. Just move forward and heal when I tell you.'
Darian nodded, positioning himself next to Leander.
That mental connection linked all five of them at once using the power of their rings. It was a simple trick for more experienced fighters. When one of them spoke, everyone heard it at the same time—though it only worked within a small range.
Leander exhaled sharply, and the spatial ring on his finger lit up. A dozen blades appeared in the air, floating around him like gravity didn't exist. Flying swords—something Darian had only read about in fantasy stories.
Harper noticed a subtle shift in the wind and reacted instantly.
She knew her opponent—a fast fighter who tried to break through the defensive line but got intercepted.
*CLANG!*
The sharp sound of clashing blades echoed as Harper collided with a man wielding a saber.
*Bang! Bang!*
At the same time, Matteo and the muscular man with an axe exchanged brutal blows. Both were tanks, blocking any chance of the enemy reaching the back line.
'Raon's a fighter too,' Leander told Darian. 'Their comp is: two fighters, one mage, one support, and one tank. But Raon won't move until their combo is ready. Keep an eye out. Our best shot at winning is using your power. Matteo just has to hold out when it counts.'
Leander spoke quickly, then gave another order: 'Veyle, an opening's gonna show up on the support. Be ready.'
'Got it.'
She replied, closing her eyes and focusing fully. On the other side, a round-faced mage did the same. It was a common practice to activate their blessing faster.
Doing that made them totally vulnerable to outside attacks—a common weakness among mages. Using a blessing meant they had to be protected or far enough away that the enemy couldn't reach them in time.
During the first five seconds of the fight, it was all about the tanks and the fighters clashing.
Then Leander gave a signal, squeezing something in his hand. The flying swords around him trembled. One of them vanished from the air.
Mentally, Leander gave the command: 'Veyle!'
Raon noticed it and smiled. "Now!"
The support in Raon's group—a blonde woman—raised her staff behind her. A strange sound echoed, like twisting metal. The space around her warped in a five-meter radius.
Leander's flying sword appeared right in the middle of that warped space, frozen in place just a meter away from her.
Darian recognized her blessing—it was space-based. Not only was it super hard to use and had insane offensive potential, but it was also known for how useful it could be. Since she was a support, her blessing had no offensive power.
'Watch out, that blessing's called: Displaced Space,' Leander warned.
Darian remembered reading about it in a library from another universe—it was a pretty well-known blessing. It created a spatial distortion in an area. Inside it, even if you saw someone right in front of you, you couldn't reach them. Basically, it slowed down all enemies and boosted allies.
Leander gave the signal, and Veyle, in perfect sync, opened her eyes and made the same motion he had.
*Whoosh!*
Suddenly, a young woman appeared floating above the enemy support.
It was Veyle, and it looked like she had teleported.
She waved her staff, and a thick mist appeared around the blonde woman, swallowing her whole.
'Come back,' Leander ordered.
*Whoosh!*
Veyle vanished in a blur and reappeared next to him. Right after, Leander dropped a small crystal he'd been holding in his hand. It crumbled to dust before hitting the ground.
That move had cost him a lot, but it was a combo of his Artifact and Blessing.
Raon, from a distance, narrowed his eyes. That was new to him.
Darian could feel it and was sure of it—thanks to the knowledge from that book. Leander's Blessing controlled gravity, something tied to the earth element at a high level.
He'd pulled off a combo using a space-based mobility artifact, boosting its effect by removing Veyle's gravity at the perfect moment.
Veyle stayed locked in, focused. The dense mist around the enemy support spun slowly, keeping her trapped. They'd spent a lot of energy—but they'd just neutralized the enemy team's key player.
'Matteo, Harper!' Leander called out.
The two roared at full power, pulling out small artifacts from their spatial rings.
All High Humans bought different kinds of artifacts for critical moments. The ones that were useful in combat were expensive, so usually no one would use them in a match. But everyone here was sure the enemy wouldn't hesitate to burn through their artifacts, so they just acted first.
Immediately, the two opponents felt a stronger force rising from their enemies.
Raon roared, "Activate!"
His order was followed by faint laughs, and then the enemies' outfits started to glow.
Veyle's eyes widened: 'The Mist Prison is collapsing!'
Leander nodded: 'That's the group power-sharing artifact. It's within expectations. Now's the time!'
The two in the frontline gave a signal, ready to go all-in with a do-or-die move.
Even without much experience, Darian understood the strategy. It was simple—but simple meant there was less room for error.
First, they used the element of surprise to keep the enemy support busy, even if only for a few seconds. Then, they'd go all out to press their advantage.
They were sure Raon would use artifacts to stop them. Matteo would throw himself at whatever appeared, sacrificing himself. That way, Darian would have to act to keep him in the fight.
At that moment… Darian's eyes locked onto Raon.
It only took two seconds for Harper and Matteo to activate everything. Their enemies pulled back. Then, they charged.
That's when a glint appeared in Darian's eyes, pulling him back to reality.
'Don't go. This'll go wrong.'
Leander huffed: 'We don't have time. Go!'
Darian continued quickly: 'Raon has two more artifacts and already used them. One is a spatial concealment artifact that he combined with the support's Blessing, making him completely undetectable. That let him plant traps. As soon as they get close, he'll trigger them and trap them.'
Leander's eyes shot open as he heard that.
'We don't have time,' Darian added. 'You can strike fast with a flying sword, right?'
Leander swallowed hard. Meanwhile, Raon let out a loud, unhinged laugh and waved, making Leander feel for sure something was hidden.
Veyle's mist was dissolving because of the first artifact, which combined the power of all five members of the enemy group.
Their support roared.
At the same time, the space around Matteo and Harper twisted. Small hidden lights revealed themselves next to them. It was already too late. But it could've been worse if they were even closer.
'It's the Celestial Storage artifact… the support's Blessing was stored at a lower level and got activated all of a sudden,' Veyle muttered tensely.
The two in front were trapped by the space field, with no chance to dodge. It wouldn't last long, but it was enough.
And it wasn't just two artifacts. Several hidden traps around them lit up, forming a small barrier against long-range attacks, blocking Leander from striking the enemies.
The last member of the opposing group, a round-faced mage, finally opened his eyes.
Electric chains shot out of his body, moving slowly through the air and closing off the entire area around Matteo and Harper like a prison.
Their support let out a breath, now activating her Blessing at full power.
It was a combo: the Displaced Space Blessing, along with a pretty well-known one used by the mage, called Blessing of the Thunder Prison—a name that was as straightforward as it sounded.
Their team had a solid tank, a support and a mage both with area-control Blessings. The mage's, obviously, wasn't just to trap—it was to kill.
Everyone knew these Blessings, but usually they took a big setup to cast. Easy to dodge. Harper could interrupt them in a second with a strike. Even Leander could stop them from afar.
But the support's Blessing, combined with the spatial concealment artifact and the Celestial Storage artifact, created an unexpected combo.
Those two artifacts weren't just expensive—they were almost impossible to find for sale. Probably any that showed up were snatched by the most powerful figures around.
But Raon could get them just by asking his dad. He asked—and got several. Even if Leander had predicted all of this… how could they deal with something like that?
The Thunder Prison and the Displaced Space fields were closing in completely. In two more seconds, it'd be over.
"Hahaha, it's over!"
Raon laughed like a maniac and finally moved. He'd just been giving orders and waiting for the glorious moment to finish it all off.
But...
A flying sword shot forward, aiming at a specific spot…
*Crack!*
A fissure in space appeared. One of the triggered traps broke, making Raon spin around in shock.
"What?! That's impossible…!"
He stopped dead, his danger-sensing artifact suddenly going off. He turned, attacking.
*Clang!*
His blade clashed with another flying sword that appeared out of nowhere.
Then, in front of him, a figure came charging in.
His red eyes were full of malice. But his expression? Just pure mockery.
"You like having fun, huh?"