Some time after their victory was announced, Lian and his team sat in the crowd, watching the next matches.
Kair spoke up. "We almost lost that round. We have to do better than this."
The big-nose guy nodded. "Yeah, this victory was a complete fluke. If we go into the next round with the same mindset, we'll definitely lose."
Lian looked at the fat guy. "Our coordination is complete ass, especially yours. Stop dragging the whole team down."
The fat guy grabbed Lian by the collar, raising his fist as if he was about to punch him.
Lian didn't flinch. Instead, he looked him dead in the eyes.
After a few seconds, the fat guy slowly lowered his hand and let go of his collar.
The big-nose guy quickly stepped between them, separating the two before things could escalate.
"Come on, no need to get that worked up. You know Lian is right. And Lian, you could at least be a little nicer. No need to be a jerk about it."
He then added, "Okay, we'll come up with a strategy before the next match. Once we have proper teamwork, we will be unstoppable."
Kair and the fat guy agreed.
--
Later, Lian was in the washroom, washing his face. The big-nose guy walked over and stood next to him.
"It went just as you said," he said. "I mean, you could've just brought up the idea yourself. I'm sure they would've agreed. Was it really that necessary to act like a jerk, though?"
Lian replied, "Yeah, it has to come from you. It's the group effect. If more people want the same thing, others tend to follow thinking that's what everyone wants. Like when you go out to eat with your friends and order ice cream, but they all order pizza. You see that and think, 'You know what? I'll get pizza too.'"
The guy replied, "Oh, yeah. Makes sense."
He then added, "Also, what was that rune you used for the explosion? Is it a Sequence 2 rune? No, it has to be even stronger than that to one-shot the crystal."
Lian casually replied, "It's just an explosive. Not everything has to be a rune. You ever heard of the word dynamite?"
The big-nose guy stared at him for a moment, still trying to process that answer.
Lian replied "Anyway, the next match should be starting soon. We should go figure out a plan."
They left the washroom and rejoined the others.
--
After some time, the next round began.
This time, they were matched against another team from Class B.
Lian took one look at the opposing team and immediately recognized a couple of familiar faces.
Ah, great. These guys again.
A tall guy stepped forward with a cool-looking scythe resting over his shoulder. Beside him stood a guy wearing thick, expensive-looking armor and carrying a massive shield. A normal-looking guy with a sword and a girl followed behind them.
The moment the scythe guy and the shield guy noticed Lian, they exchanged a smirk.
Lian looked at his team. "Change of plans. Fat guy, you're taking defense. I'll deal with the guy with the shield."
Kair frowned. "What happened all of a sudden?"
"Remember the rune I used last time? The one that can interrupt someone else's rune activation? He stole it from me."
Kair's expression changed.
"My guess is that he has it with him. They'll probably let one of our attackers reach their defense, then two of them will gang up on him after his rune gets forcefully deactivated and he suffers the backlash."
Lian paused.
"Of course, I could be wrong. It could be with anyone on their team. Worst case, if he's smart, he could've reverse-engineered it and made copies so everyone has one."
He glanced toward the others.
"So unless your Ether control is good enough to handle the backlash, you're cooked. Also, avoid close combact as much as possible."
Lian looked at the fat guy and the big-nose guy.
"The people might change, but the formation remains the same. Just stick to what we discussed."
The match began.
Lian immediately focused on the opposing team.
They need to take one of them out quickly. The fewer people they have, the lower the chance of running into that Interference Rune.
His eyes settled on the shield guy.
Lian and Kair moved into their attacking positions as the scythe wielder and the swordsman began closing the distance.
The scythe wielder swung his weapon, sending out a massive shockwave that tore across the ground in a wide line. The attack struck Kair head-on.
At the same time, Lian materialized a metallic sword and clashed with the swordsman.
Kair was pushed several steps back from the sheer force of the attack. His bracelet absorbed most of the critical damage, but the slash still managed to cut across his chest, leaving a thin wound stretching from his shoulder toward his neck. Blood slowly dripped.
Kair looked at the wound in disbelief.
"How did one attack do this much damage?"
The scythe wielder grinned.
"You used to be one of the strongest students in this academy. But that was before. People change as time passes, and it is a never ending competition to be the strongest."
He raised his scythe.
"A lot of people have reached Sequence 2 now. You're no longer the strongest anymore."
"After I reached Sequence 2, I was finally able to use the full power of this rune."
Lian glanced at the two of them as they fought.
This is how the world works.
The people with talent are usually the ones who get ahead at the start. But talent alone has limits.
Eventually, the gap starts closing. The people with more resources, better foundations, and more opportunities keep improving even if they started slower.
And someone who started ahead can spend years believing they're untouchable, only to look around one day and realize everyone they left behind has already caught up.
Just as Lian finished thinking, his opponent twisted his sword and knocked Lian's blade aside before following up with a quick diagonal slash aimed at his shoulder.
Lian released his grip.
The metallic sword immediately lost its shape, collapsing into a blob of liquid metal before rapidly expanding into a shield.
The sword slammed into the shield with a sharp metallic clang.
At the same time, Kair swung his sword.
Flames erupted from the blade, surging outward with the swing and leaving a blazing trail through the air. The slash carried so much force that the flames seemed to follow the motion a moment later, spilling across the battlefield.
The scythe wielder was swallowed by the flames, but he forced his way through them and continued attacking Kair.
Kair dodged some of the swings while meeting the others with his sword, deflecting each strike before the scythe could reach him.
Suddenly, the flames around Kair's sword began to flicker and weaken.
Kair glanced around, only to see the armored guy charging toward him.
The massive shield came crashing down.
Kair jumped aside just in time, and the shield smashed into the ground where he had been standing.
The scythe wielder immediately took the opportunity to slip past the attack line while both Lian and Kair were occupied with their opponents.
Meanwhile, Lian was still fighting the swordsman. He parried one of his strikes before his metallic sword suddenly melted into a chain, wrapping around the man's body and locking him in place.
Lian immediately followed up with his Pyromancy Glove.
High-intensity flames erupted from his hand and engulfed the swordsman.
Just as Lian was about to finish him, he caught sight of several ice spears flying toward him.
He quickly formed another metallic shield in front of himself.
The ice spears slammed into it, leaving a huge dent in the metal. The impact sent Lian flying several feet backward, and he hit the ground hard.
Lian looked up and spotted the girl joining the fight.
Three against two.
He quickly assessed the situation before looking at Kair.
"Deal with those two. I'll take care of her."
Lian rushed toward the girl, several metallic hands floating around him.
"Using the same trick as last time? It won't work twice."
She raised her hand and sent a wave of ice toward the floating hands. The ice rapidly spread over the liquid metal, freezing each hand solid. One after another, the frozen pieces fell to the ground.
Lian glanced at the blocks of ice trapping his metallic hands on the ground.
This is bad.
I only have a limited amount of liquid metal, and every time she freezes one, I lose part of it.
Just then, Kair finished off the swordsman and rushed over to help.
He immediately swung his sword.
A blazing slash tore toward the girl, but she quickly formed an ice shield and blocked it.
One of Lian's metallic hands shot forward at high speed and slammed into the already damaged shield.
Crack!
The ice shattered.
The metallic hand continued forward, wrapping around her neck and pinning her in place. She grabbed at it, trying to pull it away, but another metallic hand caught her wrist and locked her arm down.
Kair stepped forward, ready to finish the fight.
The flames around his sword suddenly flickered.
Lian and Kair both stopped and looked behind them.
The guy in the expensive armor stood there, massive shield resting against his shoulder, a smug grin on his face.
"Don't you think you're forgetting someone?"
Lian and kair looked at him.
"...Ah, not this guy again."