Level Eater-Chapter 218

The Fishman race doesn't approve of carelessly touching women and children.

So Hablul felt a bit guilty but left Leah as she was and went back.

Leah was just exhausted, so after a short rest, she would be able to walk around on her own.

Therefore, without thinking much about it, she lay down on the circular stage to take a break.

Although some lethargy remained, once she could walk normally again, she went around collecting the fragments of the hammer she had broken.

Since the materials used were precious, she couldn't just leave them scattered about.

"Indeed, this can't be called a weapon. Breaking every time it's used makes it just a tool."

Since she had been making it bit by bit in her spare time, it was still in the prototype stage.

So it couldn't be helped that it was defective, but perhaps due to her dwarven craftsman nature, Leah, who sought perfection, was dissatisfied.

"But I'm grateful I could test its performance in actual combat. I knew it would break, so without a situation like this, I wouldn't have had the courage to use it."

This equipment had a prototype burial-type hammer with a prototype golden crystal pile bunker embedded in it.

If a completed version existed before her, she could gain insight by observing it.

But such a thing didn't exist.

Furthermore, with Leah's limited experience as a craftswoman, her technical skills couldn't keep up with her mind, and she finished collecting all the fragments while feeling that the day when the word "prototype" could be removed was still far off.

When she finally returned a bit late, since there was no one who seemed to be losing, Leah was warmly welcomed.

Such companions, or rather friends, who she couldn't have imagined just a few months ago.

Leah was secretly moved by being surrounded by such people.

"Now that everyone's done, I guess the second round will come to someone next."

"I want to go one more time. Next time I want to see the spirit beast technique of staff arts up close!"

"I want to go another round too!"

Athena still seemed to have something smoldering within her, as her fighting spirit was rising.

"And from the other team, Tatsuro-san said the dangerous one was the female leader, right?"

"Yeah. When I carried the person who was saying something like 'oh hans?' I took a quick look with spirit eyes. She might be able to use spirit magic, probably limited to wind magic." (T/N: とか: Used to imply uncertainty or provide examples. He is referring to Beverly at this point.)

"'Might be' is pretty vague, isn't it?"

"I just learned spirit magic and my color identification with spirit eyes is still inexact, and it's slightly different from the color of my spirit magic. So it might be a similar but different skill. But my opponent seemed familiar with spirit magic, and there's a high possibility that someone still remaining has that skill."

"Ah, I see what you mean."

While they were having this mini-strategy meeting, the repairs to the circular stage were completed, and the next pair began to be announced.

[Now, I'll announce the eighth match! Jaka jaka jaka jaka─────jan. The event is the first to destroy two in quick succession. The participants are Athena-san from Tatsuro's team, And from Fornacis, it's been decided to be a magic battle with Nutau-san!]

"Alright!"

"............Hm? Isn't this Athena woman the one who fought with Milosz? Why is her name coming up in a magic battle?"

Nutau, the younger of the reptilian brothers, broke into a cold sweat wondering how someone who could go toe-to-toe with Milosz could also use magic.

Meanwhile, Athena's eyes were overflowing with motivation, seeing this as her chance for revenge.

"I'm going!"

"Just be careful not to get hurt."

"Got it!"

And so Athena walked to the circular stage with large strides.

When Nutau arrived as well, the preparations for battle were complete.

The rules were already understood so they were skipped.

It was simply that whoever destroyed two randomly appearing cubes first with magic would win.

[Alright. Then, let's begin. 3, 2, 1───start!]

"[Dragon Armor]"

"[Fire Armor]"

At the start signal, Athena activated [True Form] and deployed [Dragon Armor], and since that alone might be considered a physical skill, she immediately switched to a mixed lightning and wind attribute.

And matching her, Nutau also used a similar skill. He deployed [Fire Armor] and clad himself in armor of fire.

The two who simultaneously used similar skills were surprised at each other, but without breaking their concentration, they continued their actions.

Athena thinly spread the amber-colored smoke coming from her limbs widely around the area.

Nutau began to inhale a fireball that he had created with magic in front of his face.

(He's eating the fireball...... I wonder what kind of skill that is)

(A skill of the same system as mine...... no── armor of wind and lightning attributes... or rather, it seems to be a higher-level skill that can switch to any preferred attribute. And what is this amber-colored smoke being spread across the stage? Is it some kind of attack magic? Damn, if my brother were here at times like this, he could tell me right away)

Usually acting together with his brother, Nutau was used to leaving all reconnaissance and analysis to his brother, the dispelling magic user, while he handled the attacks.

Having maintained this style for many years, Nutau was not good at analyzing enemy attacks on his own.

And while his mind was occupied with this unfamiliar task, a cube appeared exactly in the middle between the two standing on the stage.

"───!"

Of course, since it appeared right in front of them, they noticed almost simultaneously.

Nutau had been continuously inhaling and storing the flames he had created with his own magic, and he stopped inhaling to enter the motion for [Compressed Fire Breath], a skill that compresses and expels the stored flames.

This motion was something that had become ingrained in his body through repeated practice.

It could reach the cube in less than a second.

However, the cube was destroyed before his attack could reach it.

"──What!"

"I'll take that one!"

That was to be expected.

If it took Nutau less than a second, it took Athena less than 0.1 seconds.

This was because the dragon power smoke, which could be called a part of her body, was already spread throughout the area.

Just by switching a part of it to the lightning attribute, she could easily produce enough power to destroy a cube.

Yes. Currently, this entire stage was effectively under Athena's control.

"So that's what this smoke is for───Buuuuu!!"

"Well, that's the normal response~"

If the amber-colored smoke remained spread across the stage, Nutau would have no chance of winning.

In that case, there was only one thing to do.

Namely, destroying the amber-colored smoke.

Nutau directed his [Compressed Fire Breath] at the smoke spread everywhere rather than at the cube, blasting it away.

The firepower was already high-level fire magic further enhanced, and fierce flames of breath danced about.

"Well then, I'll have to try harder too!"

Now it was Athena's turn to lose if she did nothing.

Since just letting it be dispelled would only waste dragon power, she re-gathered it around herself and transformed the lightning and wind mixed attribute, wrapped around her dragon-armored arm, into the shape of a giant dragon's hand.

In response, with the surrounding smoke cleared, Nutau also stopped his [Compressed Fire Breath] and faced off with Athena, exchanging glances.

"To think that someone so excellent in martial arts would be at this level in magic as well. It makes me want to curse the difference in our birthrights."

"I don't like being cursed~"

Though they were trading light banter, both were glancing around waiting for the next cube.

During this time, Athena laid out [Dragon Path] power rails in all directions to be able to go anywhere.

Nutau, for his part, began inhaling flames again to replenish the fire for [Compressed Fire Breath] inside his body.

After several tens of seconds of them repeating their eye contact battle while focusing on their own preparations and cube-searching without attacking each other.

Finally, it appeared.

"──!"

"─!"

The cube appeared diagonally forward and to the left from Athena's perspective on the circular stage.

From Nutau's perspective, who was standing in front of Athena, it was diagonally back and to the right.

By chance, it appeared at the moment when Athena was looking diagonally forward to the right, and also by chance when Nutau was directing his attention to the right.

So Nutau, who was looking in a direction closer to it, noticed its presence a few instants before Athena.

If Athena got this one, it would be a complete shutout loss for Nutau.

That had to be avoided at all costs, so he stopped inhaling flames to build up [Compressed Fire Breath] and released a fierce breath of flames toward the cube.

"──Buuuuuuuuuu!!"

"This one!"

Even if Nutau got this one, Athena still had room to spare.

But this time she was aiming for a complete victory; she didn't intend to let him take even one.

She placed her foot on the rail extending in a straight line toward the cube, switched to lightning and wind attributes, and launched forward.

As if shot from a catapult, she advanced at the speed of lightning.

The speed of Nutau's breath of flames was remarkable. It was fast enough that Athena couldn't catch up just by running blindly.

However, Athena now moved at the speed of lightning traveling straight along the path.

Even if the other side was faster, it couldn't match this.

"Haaaaaaaaaaah!!"

(What!?)

The lightning-wind attribute mass shaped like a dragon's hand created from Athena's dragon power smoke leaped out in front of the breath of flames flowing from Nutau's mouth and blocked its path.

However, he seemed intent on breaking through Athena's wall, as he continued to blow without stopping.

Athena reinforced the lightning-wind attribute with a massive amount of dragon power with all her might and further strengthened it with lightning and wind magic using her own magical power.

From Athena's perspective, the cube was just a little beyond arm's reach, but if she diverted her attention even slightly, she would immediately lose to the breath.

Understanding this by instinct, Athena couldn't move to destroy the cube and desperately continued blocking until the other side ran out of power.

─────And then.

"Buuuuuuuuhuuu......uuuu─────kaha"

Nutau's long breath finally ran out, and his breath stopped as he hurriedly tried to inhale again.

However, that instant needed to inhale again was practically an eternity for Athena.

"Teryaaaah!"

"──haa, haa, haa......ku......so......"

Splendidly, Athena crushed the second cube with the large hand created from dragon power.

[That's it! The match is over! The winner is─────Athena-san. With this, "Tatsuro's Team" gains their 6th victory point! This puts "Tatsuro's Team" at match point! Fornacis, please do your best too!]

Athena released her dragon armor and turned around to make a V-sign with dragon power smoke so Tatsuro and the others could see well, celebrating her victory.

And Nutau, who had finally let them reach match point because of himself, walked back dejectedly.

Catching a glimpse of his back, Athena thought she should return too and quickly activated [Adult Form] to hurry back to Tatsuro and the others.

"I won~!"

The smile she showed upon returning to the waiting room was so genuinely happy that it made even Tatsuro and the others break into wide smiles.