两男一女的双龙挺进

"Yes, I know it looked as if they\'re fighting, but it\'s a tournament."

Thirteen became even more confused. What was a tournament? Just before reaching the fighting platform, Nox had placed Thirteen in the taming space. Now, he was trying to convince the panda that it was a tournament.

"I shouldn\'t have used \'tournament\'... how about this: it\'s like a game, and they\'re competing to see who is stronger."

[Stronger?]

"Yes, to know who is stronger, so we just watch."

[Nyx? Friend?] The panda pouted. He really wanted to help Nyx in the fight. In Thirteen\'s mind, Wendy was no different from the ants back in that dimension.

In fact, all enemies were like that--they should be crushed! The panda\'s eyes glowed. Fluffington lazily yawned and licked his paws. [This battle maniac is just finding an excuse to join the fight, don\'t mind him, brat.]

[Excuse?] The panda looked away like someone who had been caught stealing. It wasn\'t an excuse to join the fight... alright, maybe it was, but he did it out of care for Nyx.

Nox chuckled and scratched the back of Thirteen\'s ear. "I know you want to help, buddy, but in this game, we have to follow the rules. No outside help, okay?"

[Rule?]

"You didn\'t understand anything I said, did you?" Nox massaged his temple.

Back in the arena... "Is everyone from that stupid academy this arrogant?" Nyx shouted as the two fighters distanced themselves and clashed again, sparks flying like a shower of rain.

She couldn\'t believe the nerve of this girl. How dare she talk about some panda in the middle of their fight? This was humiliating; it was a clear sign that her opponent didn\'t see her as a threat.

\'The one thing I hate most in this world is being underestimated,\'

Nyx charged in again. She unleashed a flurry of strikes, her sword slicing through the air in deadly arcs. Wendy parried each blow with her own sword, then countered with a swift kick aimed at Nyx\'s chest. Nyx leapt to the side, avoiding the attack by mere inches. As she landed, she launched a powerful slash at Wendy\'s shoulder.

"I didn\'t mean it like that!" Wendy sidestepped, but the sword had already grazed her skin, spilling blood on the fighting platform.

\'Dammit, this girl is tough. Who the hell is her master?\' Wendy couldn\'t believe she was forced back by a five-year-old to a corner. As she watched Nyx\'s attack pattern, she noticed a crucial detail.

The girl was aiming at vitals, hell-bent on finishing the fight as quickly as possible.

\'She noticed, huh?\' Nyx thought. Wendy was beginning to predict where and when she would attack, making it very difficult to land a hit.

\'Mom told me something like this would happen...\' Nyx thought. \'But this has been my goal from the beginning... make my fighting style predictable, then change it in the middle of the fight. By the time she figures it out, it will be too late. And if she does, I\'ll just have to change it over and over again.\'

Nyx clenched the muscles in her legs.

\'I will win this fight!\'

She thought back to the Phantom Slash technique that she had learned from her mother. It was a technique that required her to deal with her opponent in the fastest way possible by depending on her agility.

But Nyx had an even better way to use this skill. Like every other kid, she also received a skill compatible with her paladin class.

What if... what if she enhanced this technique with a speed-oriented skill?

"Holy Speed!" she declared, her voice ringing out across the arena.

As she spoke, Wendy\'s eyes widened. Right before her eyes, Nyx\'s body began to shimmer.

Then she burst forward like a whirlwind. Wendy gritted her teeth as she saw Nyx\'s sword slice through the air with incredible velocity, leaving trails in her wake.

\'This girl... I need to take her seriously!\' Wendy managed to parry most of the strikes, but some snuck past her. Her uniform was now soaked in blood. She took a huge step back to stop the barrage of attacks. The spectators were silent when they saw this sight. There was no chant of excitement; they were simply stunned.

Had they overhyped Wendy, or was she the one going easy on the little girl?

Perhaps the only one who was cheering was the panda!

[Woohoo!] The panda pumped his fist and bounced excitedly, cheering. Blood, more blood!

***

\'I.\' Wendy gripped her sword tighter. At first, she hadn\'t thought much about this fight, but after sustaining these injuries, she knew she needed to take it seriously. If not, she just might lose. She didn\'t care much about losing, but if the news spread to the school, she would be ridiculed by her peers.

"You... you\'re not normal, but this is the end of the road for you," she declared.

"Confident words for someone who hasn\'t even landed a hit?" Nyx smirked. The fight was already in the bag. Now all she had to do was make her opponent lose her mind, then finish her off in her clouded state.

"You think so?" Wendy chuckled. "If you paid attention, you\'d notice I have yet to use a skill!"

Nyx\'s eyes widened in realization. Indeed, Wendy hadn\'t used any skill.

"Now... it\'s my turn!" Wendy roared and charged forward, her sword radiating an intense, fiery glow. The air around her seemed to distort with heat as she shouted:

"Inferno Strike!" Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet cracked and smoldered as she struck, her blade slicing through the air with a blazing trail.

"W-what? That attack looks very powerful," a spectator cried out when they saw the blazing trail in the air.

The audience was scared that Nyx would be hurt very badly and wondered why the referee hadn\'t interfered yet.

"As expected of the Vermilion Royal Academy, that is an advanced skill right there!" Advanced skills were very expensive, and not even many adult Awakened had one, but a little girl was casually displaying one.

If they were this shocked, only God knew how they\'d feel if they discovered that Nox could actually copy an ability and upgrade it to the ultimate tier.

(Quick recap: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced skills, Ultimate skills)

Over a hundred hearts beat wildly in their chests as they watched the two swords clash in mid-air with a deafening bang that almost made everyone bleed from the ears. The impact of their clash caused the platform to crack in two, and dust rose, enveloping everything.

"W-who is the winner?" a spectator nervously asked the question in the minds of everyone.