Capítulo 61: I want your Head
The prelims of the ranking bout ended within two weeks, and naturally, it was the first day of the actual ranking bout after a two-day break. Lin progressed through the prelims without much trouble. So did Shadow Knight and a few other notable mentions. Out of the over five thousand participants, the number remaining for the actual bout was just about five hundred.
Unlike the prelims, the locations of the actual bout were those with the harshest conditions. As wanted by Piora, they need to make sure that the participants can fend for themselves no matter the situation they find themselves in and should be able to battle their foes using the locations to their advantage.
As such, the selected locations were to put the various participants at a disadvantage from the get-go. How they break out and use the place to their advantage was up to them. The first match for the Quint side was set to take place in a territory full of lava with a small portion of land. It was basically an island surrounded by lava.
The first to appear in the battleground was a fiery orange-haired man with a slim build and a dragon tattoo which covered his torso and arms like a shirt. He wore red pants and shoes, contrasting his black tattoo. He was the same man that battled the being in obsidian armour two nights before. His red eyes were now pitch black with red pupils.
He manifested his bo staff with exquisite engravings and was two meters long. The space before him distorted as his opponent appeared before him. It was a man in amour as dark as obsidian. The armour was laced in gold and had exquisite engravings, with a red mane holding a long black drape. On the drape was a symbol with three red diamond-like objects arranged like a cross, with the lower part of the cross-like symbol being a flame that resembled a spear.
The man's face was hidden by a spartan-like helmet, which made him resemble an army general. It was none other than Lin. Just like the previous matches, their details were displayed on the screen.
<Name: Reiko James>
<Assigned Weapon: Bo Staff>
<Element Attributes: Wind>
<Level: Quint>
<Rank: 20>
Unlike the other matches, few people cheered for him as he wasn't well known. All his opponents were weaker than he was, so he crushed them without much effort. When Lin's details were displayed, many turned their attention to the match.
"Isn't he the one who defeated a rank 18 with a single strike?" someone asked.
"I remember him. But I think he will still lose since his opponent is 3 ranks higher than him", another commented.
"Whether he wins or not, I think it would be an interesting match nonetheless. Don't you think so too?" A man stroked his beard and spoke. Many glanced at him and thought he was right.
"Considering he defeated a rank 18 that easily, he should be stronger than your average quint. Now that I think about it, it does pique my interest. I would love to see just how strong he is", a woman responded with a smirk.
"Certainly, this should be interesting to watch".
Hearing their conversation piqued the interest of others as well. They began to pay attention to the match they otherwise thought would be boring.
Though most thought he would lose, they gave themselves the benefit of the doubt. Most paid attention to see if he would perform a miracle like the others.
<Name: Lightning Inferno Sovereign>
<Assigned Weapon: Spear>
<Element Attributes: Flame>
<Level: Quint>
<Rank: 17>
Reiko surrounded himself with a strong wind on the battlefield and began to float. Lin's face darkened as he stared at the man before him. "What's with this murderous aura? Did I wrong this person?"
"We have been searching for you for a long time. Finally, we meet", Reiko said with a smirk. Lin was flustered as he had never encountered the man nor heard about him before. "You know me?" Lin asked. He thought it was weird as the person spoke like they had met before.
"Of course, why wouldn't we know you? After all, you are affiliated with that family", the man sneered.
"What the hell are you talking about? And why do you keep saying we?" Lin was getting uneasy as the man's murderous aura was left unchecked. "Does what he is talking about have anything to do with the symbol on my drape? And he said I was affiliated with a family; does that mean he recognises the symbol on this drape?" Lin wondered as he awaited his answer.
"You don't need to know about that. All you need to know is that your existence cannot be tolerated, so you should die already." Reiko said and unleashed a barrage of attacks at Lin with his staff.
"You should have the strength to back up your words, you lunatic." Lin's power burst forth as fire surrounded him. He punched at the attacks and nullified them. "Who are you, and how do you know me. What do you want from me?" Lin questioned as he created five flame needles and shot them at the man.
The man released a gust to blow away the flame needles and swung his staff ferociously at Lin. The wind lashed at Lin like tiny blades. "I told you already, didn't I? I want your head", the man cackled and kept attacking Lin. Lin raised a flame wall to absorb the attack, but some wind blades slipped through.
"Ugh! This is annoying. I finally found someone who has a clue to some of my questions, but he's just a complete nutjob. If I overpower him, I should be able to glean some answers from him".
The look on the faces of the audience was one to behold. Mouths were left agape as they saw the rank 17 Lin fighting on par with a rank 20. It was just unheard of and unbelievable.
"Can someone be this strong?" an audience commented as he looked up the screen. Unable to believe his own eyes.
"This! Is he going to pull off a Drak all over again?"
"No way, Drak was a rank lower than him when he pulled off something like this, but still, to have someone this close in strength to him is nothing short of amazing."
The crowd watching discussed the battle as the two duked it out.
On the battlefield, Lin was being pushed back. His opponent was far more skilled and had much more experience than he had. "Damn it. Is this lunatic really pushing me back? And I'm already getting worn out." Lin gritted his teeth and used his movement skills to evade Reiko's attacks. They clashed again, and Lin was thrown into the sea of lava.
Realising he would die if he fell into the lava, Lin covered his lower body with his black flame and used it to propel himself towards land. His opponent did not sit around and allow him to do as he pleased. Reiko launched at Lin, using the air to make himself lighter, allowing him to float as he struck Lin with his staff.
Lin manifested his spear to block the attack but was blasted away by a gale before he could react. He crashed into the sea of lava, splashing it everywhere. "Argh!" he screamed while coughing up blood.
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder