The shouts which followed the painful triumph of Leon over Aurelia, were the remnant of the exciting conflict they had engaged in.

Leon was demonstrating his flexibility, and with the power of a juggernaut he burst through the tangled traps of Aurelia, but it was obvious what the penalty was.

He was standing on the stand of the conqueror, getting his breath; the remains of Overdrive were drained away, and he was left a conquered and exhausted man. People shouted his name and the Lionheart legacy required them to worship him.

However, the applause clogged almost immediately in a new silence, when the holographic bracket burst into the quarterfinals.

All eyes turned to the final pairing, an unpredictable top seed against a serene, enigmatic Elven Princess.

During the final quarter final,

Michael Wilson (Seed #1) will face Elara Moonshade (Seed #8).

A novel tension had settled down over the Colosseum.

Elara Moonshade was not a beast such as Leon or Eric, a raving monster such as Aiden or Lyra. She symbolised the antique art, innate elegance, and silent force.

The arrows she used were directed by affinities of Life and Earth. Being Seed #8, she was technically an underdog, yet she performed perfectly and her enigmatic combat use of elvish abilities made her a dangerous unknown.

Elara stood on her stage with her ears open and she was listening to the ambient sound of the Colosseum.

She had a fluent, airy motion, and the long, silver-green hair lay as moonlit water. She was calm, with her good, moulded features, and ageless composure of her people.

She pulled a longbow, made of living Yggdrasil wood, vines taken into the frame and throbbing faintly with the mana of Life and Earth. She nocked an arrow and her eyes were on me. He is quick, erratic, and has various contradictory affinities. I judged that his gestures allude to spatial manipulation, though crudely. Direct oppression is stupid. Severity is my defence, ground my friend. I will fasten him before he can shut.

I got on my platform, and attracted Draken. The dark blade was cold and stable as compared to the colourful Life energy of Elara.

My brain already was Quantum Analysing by probabilities. Elara Moonshade E Rank Royal Archer. Affinities: Life, Earth. Strong/weaknesses: superior archery, improved perception, almost flawless stealth, and combination of healing/detection and control/defence. Weaknesses: reduced physical capabilities, excessive dependence on range, speed vulnerability.

My plan: kill her ground position and her senses, cut the gap and get the job done.

The virtual world had, in fact, become solid around us: a ruined place in starlight sky. Loose walls, half-covered moss-grown figures, and high arches gave shelter and sniper positions.

Moonlight shadows darken the ruins and they are an ideal hunting field to an elven archer. The system appeared to be aimed at testing my capacity to overcome unfavourable ground.

[BEGIN!]

Elara vanished.

When the signal flared she disappeared into the shadows in the background of a crumbling aqueduct not with a skill, but with the instincts of elven stealth. Her presence, which in itself was not much, was almost unnoticed in the surrounding Life and Earth mana. Starlight gave the impression of circling her, leaving nothing but silence.

'Impressive stealth, 'I said to myself, as I stood close to the middle of the ruins. 'It would be her game to chase her blindly.'

I shut my eyes, turned on my super senses, which were thrown into the higher gear by my fine Quantum Analysis Mind.

I could not see her, but I could sense slight disturbances, the slight crunch of the gravel that had been displaced on a high ledge, a flicker of the Life mana as she pushed energy, the movement of the air that had been disturbed by her passage.

"High ground. Southeast quadrant."

Silently as a falling star an arrow appeared out of the darkness. "Piercing Root Arrow!" It was impregnated with the hardened Earth mana, but directed not to my chest, but to my leading foot, so as to stifle me.

I flicked on the switch "Swift Step," and flicked laterally as the arrow hit the rock and smashed it. "Good precision. Crippling, not killing, at once.

Another arrow passed off a still different angle--this time high left. Coated in Wind mana, A trace of her untapped potential, Silent Leaf Arrow. It was constructed to move silently and very fast.

I struck back with Draken, Frost Edge glaring. CLINK! The arrow turned off uselessly. Then even as I parried a third arrow came under low right--"Earth Bind Arrow."

It fell on the ground just at my feet, and great grasping roots of hardened Earth mana sprang up, endeavours at the legs of my body.

"Coordinated attack."

She is probing my defence of multitasking and attempting to stake me out, I reasoned, jumping back, and employing a burst of Wind mana out of my store, a tactic taught me by Leon and Eric, to attain some additional upward velocity and beat the roots.

"You cannot hide forever, Princess," I called out, projecting my voice toward the region I sensed her in, hoping to draw a reaction, a mistake.

Another arrow, of soft green light, was her reply.

"Bloom Tracer Arrow." It did not attack me but hit a broken statue to the left, and flew off in glittering pollen which lay all about the rocks--a detection ward.

She would recognise me immediately I passed by that place.

"She's methodical. Establishing her ground, regulating the sight lines, wards... textbook archer tactics," I grinned. Time to disrupt the board.

"My apologies for the mess, Princess," I murmured, then focused. "Ice Domain." KRA-KOOOM!

The wave of absolute zero exploded outwards from my position. Frost spread like a tidal wave across the ancient ruins, flash-freezing the crumbling stone, coating the statues in glittering ice, and turning the patches of moss and grass into treacherous, brittle sheets. The temperature plummeted. The starlight seemed to dim under the oppressive cold.

A sharp intake of breath echoed from somewhere high on the icy ruins. Elara's connection to the earth, her natural stealth advantage – instantly hampered.

The familiar terrain was now an alien landscape of slick, freezing surfaces. Her elven boots, designed for silent movement on forest floors, offered little grip here.

Now, the advantage was mine.

Lightning crackled along Draken's blade. I didn't charge wildly.

I began to move across the ice, not running, but skating, using controlled bursts of Wind and Lightning mana at my feet, combined with Siekie Ryoku footwork.

I became a blur, weaving through the frozen pillars and statues at speeds far exceeding normal E+ rank capabilities.

I saw her silhouette briefly – a flicker of movement against the starlit sky as she leaped from one icy archway to another, her elven grace visibly struggling against the treacherous footing.

Her arrows became less frequent, less accurate, as she was forced to focus more on maintaining balance than on aiming.

"You cannot run!" I called out, deliberately applying pressure, closing the distance.

I unleashed a "Frost-Lightning Bolt" – a fusion spell, not aimed directly at her, but at the icy pillar she was about to land on.

The bolt struck, shattering the ice. Elara cried out in surprise as her perch crumbled beneath her. She leaped desperately towards another wall, firing an Earth Bind arrow mid-air to create a handhold.

"There!" That brief moment of instability was my opening.

I didn't use Heaven Splitter; it was unnecessary, too much exposure.

Instead, I used the technique that had become my signature surprise attack.

"Shadow Swap."

I targeted the deep shadow cast by the very wall Elara was clinging to.

The world warped for an instant. I blinked, swapping positions.

I materialized directly behind her on the narrow ledge, Draken already in motion.

Elara gasped, spinning around, her eyes wide with shock.

She hadn't sensed me, hadn't anticipated this kind of movement. Her bow was useless at this range. She tried to draw the short glaive attached to her bow's riser.

Too slow.

I didn't aim for a vital point.

I brought the flat of Draken down in a swift, controlled arc, tapping the side of her neck with just enough force, amplified by a subtle pulse of non-lethal Lightning mana.

Thud.

Her eyes rolled up slightly, her body going limp as the neural shock triggered the system's elimination protocol.

She began to dissolve into data particles even before she could fall from the ledge.

[Match Over. Victor: Michael Wilson.]

________________________

[VR Hall & Viewing Boxes – Aftermath]

The virtual world dissolved. I reappeared on my platform, the familiar hum of the Colosseum returning. The crowd was quieter this time, a thoughtful silence replacing the earlier roars.

They had witnessed another victory, yes, but this one felt different. It wasn't brute force, nor pure speed, nor even conventional strategy.

It was… unpredictable...Evasive...Almost illusory.

Elara emerged from her pod, her serene expression replaced by a deep frown of concentration.

She replayed the final moments in her mind, trying to understand the movement that had bypassed her senses so completely.

'Shadow? No… the mana signature was wrong. It felt like… space itself. '

She looked over at me, her usual reserve replaced by intense curiosity.

Queen Elenia and King Hemdril exchanged glances.

"Spatial manipulation?" the King murmured. A rare and volatile affinity. He is more than he appears.

[System Notification: Quarterfinal Victory Bonus.]

[+2 Unallocated Stat Points.]

[+2000 SP.]

I quickly allocated the points: +1 AGI, +1 INT, bringing both closer to the next threshold.

[AGI: 152, INT: 147]

[SP: 229,720]

The holographic bracket flared one final time, confirming the Semifinal matchups that would determine the finalists.

The names burned brightly against the Colosseum's dome, charged with immense anticipation.

Semifinal Matchup 1: Maria Frostheart vs. Eric William

Semifinal Matchup 2: Michael Wilson vs. Leon Lionheart

Ice versus Light. The Shadow versus the Flame. The final four. The crowd erupted, the sound deafening.

The stage was set for the penultimate act. My gaze met Leon's across the waiting area.

The rivalry, the respect, the inevitability of our clash—it all hung heavy in the air between us. Tomorrow, one of us would fall.

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