ALL NOVEL CH.493 Adventuring Tournament, semi finals
It was day 2 of the tournament, and the semi-finals would be taking place today.
On our way in, I noticed something interesting. On the betting booth, the multiplier for the Card Beasts had changed significantly. Yesterday when I placed my bet, it was at x100, but today, it was at x8. That is a massive drop. They must have impressed everyone by how quickly they won their first match, so their multiplier had to be quickly adjusted.
But before any fights, there was apparently going to be another show. And oh boy did three of my girls surprise me when they entered the arena.
Alice was dressed in one of her magical girl outfits. Cailie had on some sort of idol outfit. I knew Cailie had a few of them, because she asked me to make them for her, after she designed a few in the Factory, but I didn’t know what they were for. And last, Wilma had on a fantasized female blacksmithing outfit, which looked quite different from anything she usually wears.
Cailie proceeded to summon a small army of Wind Spirits, including Anemoi herself. Apparently they were going to be the band for the performance the girls were about to give.
Because yes, somehow, someone had talked Cailie into a performance, and she had dragged Alice along. And apparently Alice had dragged Wilma into it because of the lyrics.
But hey, I like surprises, as long as they are good surprises, and hearing the threeof them sing together, yeah, I think I’ll enjoy this.
As for their song, it was something Laura must have helped them with, because as soon as I heard the first notes, I recognized the song. It was Don't Stop Believin’ by Journey.
… well, not quite, but you get the idea.
{ Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the unknown path going anywhere
Just a ocean girl
Born and raised in western seas
She took the unknown path going anywhere
A smith in a smokey room
A smell of coal and cheap booze
For a weapon they can never make
They go on and on and on and on
Adventurers waitin'
In their guild halls
Their eyes searchin' for the quest
Starlight, people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin' from the monsters of the night
Workin' hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to swing a hammer
Just one more time
Some'll win, some will lose
Some are born to slay the fools
Whoa, the story never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waitin'
Up and down the shoreline
Their shadows cast in the depths
Starlight, people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the night
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'
Starlight, people
Don't stop believin'
Hold on
Starlight, people
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'
Starlight, people }
As their performance came to an end, the colosseum exploded with applause. And I really couldn’t argue. It was a really good song.
Wilma was a much better singer than I expected, even if she didn’t really measure up to even Alice, and I don’t think I need to mention Cailie. Cailie is a semi-professional singer with like three singing/voice based skills, so it really isn’t fair to compare them. But despite it all, Wilma didn’t sound too bad.
… though I think some of it may have been Anemoi using Wind Magic to basically autotune Wilma’s singing, but I don’t actually know that. I just know Anemoi was using some sort of spell when Wilma was singing that she didn’t use while Alice or Cailie were.
And then there was the performance Cailie and Alice put on during the song. They both flew around, a few wind spirits joining them, as the two basically danced in the air. Wilma naturally couldn’t join that part, as she has no flight skills, but I think she was happy about that part.
The three, as well as their spirit band, showed their appreciation for the audience, before the wind spirits disappeared into the wind, and the trio left the arena.
“You should have told me you were about to do something like that. I would have helped.” I told them when they got to our box seat.
“And ruin the surprise?” Alice asked. “Lua, did you make sure we got his expression recorded?”
“Yes. Luckily Laura and Tahlia were both willing to help with that.”
“Good. I want to see it later.” Alice said. “And Brian. You did record our performance, didn’t you?”
“I record everything I see and you better believe I couldn’t get my eyes off of you. So as long as Tahlia wasn’t too busy with your side project, I did.”
With the starting show over, it was time for the first match of day 2. And that is team 1, The Unicorns, against team 3, Hunters Eyes.
I was quite worried about the match, as Hunters Eyes struggled with their first match against a similar team composition that was lower ranked than The Unicorns. So I don’t think this match will go as well as they expected.
And it seemed like Hunters Eyes also realized that fact, because as soon as the battle started, all three of them rushed at the enemy, and the wolf-folk immediately used his werewolf transformation skill.
The lizard-folk dual wielders attacked The Unicorns swordsman and guardian, while the werewolf went for their backline.
This assault was quickly stopped by The Unicorns guardian using Taunt to turn the assaults to him, while both their mage and healer used an Earth and Light attribute buff spells to boost his defense.
And yes, I know that is what they are doing. Mana Vision helps me discern spells that are used.
As for the fight, with the first assault redirected, Unicorns swordsman took the chance to assault the werewolf, seeing him as the highest priority target, as he seemed to be the strongest.
Getting a good slash in, he sent the werewolf flying because of the force, while also snapping him out of the Taunt.
This still left the two lizard-folk in a dangerous situation, as they were being Taunted by the guardian, while the mage was preparing the next spell.
The spell he chanted was Earth Bind, a quite versatile Earth-attribute spell when it came to locking down opponents.
The spell managed to catch one of the lizard-folk, but the other luckily snapped out of the Taunt in time, and was able to avoid the spell.
But it wasn’t over for him, as the unicorn healer of The Unicorns launched some Light Arrows at him, which had a clear rainbow coloration, so they were cast with the racial skill.
A single Light Arrow wasn’t all that dangerous, it just doesn’t have the power of penetration needed to harm someone of the level the combatants are, but with a few of them hitting in quick succession, combined with the light armor all the members of Hunters Eyes wore, those arrows wore down the lizard-folk.
While this was going on, the fight between The Unicorns swordsman and Hunters Eyes werewolf continued off to the side. And while the werewolf was a bit faster, the swordsman had better technique and better equipment, so he was able to push his advantage, eventually forcing the werewolf out of bounds.
He then headed to help his team, and soon enough, the two lizard-folk fighters were bound to the ground by Earth Bind, and the Unicorns won.
Then it was time for the Card Beasts second match. They were going up against the not so correctly named Death Blade. And because this match is meaningful for them, I’ll let Unika explain this fight.
[Unika POV]
“We do have to thank you for your assistance in the dungeon.” The leader of Death Blade said, before the match began. “We never would have made it if not for your healing.”
“You’d better not surrender because of it, because if you do, we won’t be happy.” I responded. A cheap win for a stupid reason isn’t really a win. “If you want to pay us back, come at us with all your power. Because we didn’t even get the chance to go all out in our first match.”
My words seemed to shake the members of Death Blade. They must have assumed we went all out, but we really didn’t. Our initial assault was too effective and ended the fight too soon. I mean, we are a sub-party under Card Summoners, and we didn’t even summon anything.
And even our combat skills were reduced to not much more than a quick showing by Einar. Disappointing. Hopefully this match will be a bit better.
The members of Death Blade looked at each other, before nodding. They then turned to us with determination visible in their eyes. Good. They are taking this seriously.
We did the same and prepared for the start signal.
And as soon as it did, I again released my monsters from Tamer’s Paradise, but unlike last time, I then immediately mounted Nitrum, and with a flap of his wings, we took to the skies.
On the ground, well technically he is flying, Nio rushed at our opponents with reckless abandon, with the released Lumi and Tuuli following his lead.
Luckily this time, our opponents were ready for our monster release. Their mage Instant Casted a defensive spell to stop Nio, while their guardian did a decent job at holding off Lumi and Tuuli. But I know that won’t be enough.
Riding on Nitrum, we flew to their backside and I began shooting arrows at their backs, while Einar assaulted them from the front with our monsters. Eline was supporting with weak Lightning spells, but that was actually just an attempt at getting their guards down.
Eline wasn’t using both Lightning Magic and Dark Lightning, just Lightning Magic. This significantly lowers the power of her spells, so that when she uses both, the enemy will underestimate the power of the spell.
I then had to quickly move away, as both the mage and archer from the Death Blade began to focus on me. I used a mix of Quick Shot and Spell Destroying Shot to protect us from the onslaught, as we retreated.
Landing next to Eline, I changed my strategy and began shooting at them with Spirit Shot imbued arrows. With Spirit Shot, the arrows cannot be blocked by armor or shields, they have to be dodged, but most people don’t know of the skill, so I got two good hits in, before the members of Death Blade realized what I was doing.
With them now worried about my arrows, Einar was also able to get a few Lightning enhanced strikes in, before he had to retreat, and regroup with us.
This still left the ‘assault team’ of Nio, Fer, Rum, Lumi and Tuuli to bother the enemy.
I looked at Eline, and gave her a small nod, a sign that it was time for her to summon her monsters. After two quick chants, Mufasa and Sparky joined us on the battlefield.
Eline then jumped onto Sparky’s back, before the two Lightning experts prepared a combined Lightning spell.
Then it was just the timing. We had to pull back the assault team in time that they won’t be caught up in the Lightning spell, and when I called out the retreat, we got everyone out of the way and Eline and Sparky released their spell.
A mix of black and regular lightning raced across the arena, hitting all the members of Death Blade, stunning them quite badly. While the guardian and the axe guy were able to stand up after the spell, the rest of the members were down.
So we went on the offensive, forcing the two remaining combatants out of the arena, winning us the match.