CHAPTER 223: ADRIAN VS NYRA VS KARL

Nyra’s elemental maze had turned the Great Salt Flats into a labyrinth of towering, crystalline earth walls, blocking sightlines and forcing close-quarters navigation. But such obstacles were mere inconveniences to warriors of their caliber.

It had been a frustrating reality for all of them: the limited mana in this world had stifled their growth.

What should have been rapid ascensions through the Transcendent ranks had crawled at a snail’s pace.

Nyra, once far ahead, had plateaued at 2-Star Transcendent, her elemental mastery deepening but her raw power inching forward.

Karl, with his relentless drive, had caught up to her level, also reaching 2-Star Transcendent. Adrian, however, had pushed further, claiming the mantle of 3-Star Transcendent through six years. The disparity wasn’t vast, but in a battle like this, it could be decisive.

Adrian didn’t waste time admiring the structure. His Power Suit came to life, the sleek armor enhancing his already formidable physique as a body knight.

With [Omnisense] active, his perception expanded like a web, mapping every vibration, every shift in the air, every hidden angle in the maze.

He raised his arm, materializing the mana gun onto his hands. Channeling a surge of his potent mana into it, he fired.

~BZZZT-CRACK!~

A brilliant beam of concentrated energy lanced out, slicing through the nearest pillar like a hot knife through butter. The wall shattered in a cascade of crystalline shards, the explosion rippling outward.

Adrian didn’t stop; he pivoted, firing in rapid succession, each shot precise and devastating. Pillars toppled one after another, crumbling into dust and debris, clearing a path upward.

With a burst from his suit’s thrusters, he rocketed into the sky, hovering above the remnants of the maze, his eyes locked on Nyra atop her perch.

Karl, trapped deeper in the labyrinth, growled in frustration. But he was no stranger to breaking barriers. Planting his feet firmly, he stomped downward with earth-shaking force.

~BOOM!~

The ground quaked, cracks spiderwebbing outward. Then, gripping his mana enhanced spear, he spun it in a full 360-degree arc, building momentum like a whirlwind.

~WHOOSH-WHOOSH-CRASH!~

A massive wave of kinetic energy erupted from the spear’s tip, expanding in all directions like a shockwave from a bomb.

The walls around him shattered on contact, fragments exploding outward in a hail of debris. The force didn’t stop there; it propagated through the air, sending secondary shockwaves that toppled distant pillars.

Karl leaped upward, the residual energy propelling him into the sky, where he floated effortlessly, his spear gleaming.

Now, with the maze in ruins, Karl and Adrian hovered on either side of Nyra, surrounding her in a tense triangle.

Karl grinned wildly, his eyes alight with battle lust, while Adrian’s expression remained calm.

They respected each other too much to rush in blindly, resulting in a stand off.

Nyra clicked her tongue. "Tsk. The two of you are stronger than I thought. But I’ll still end it quick anyways."

She didn’t wait for a response. In a blur of motion, she launched herself at Karl, deciding to eliminate the wildcard first.

Flames ignited around her fists as she closed the distance, air currents propelling her like a comet. Karl met her charge head-on, his spear thrusting forward with pinpoint precision.

~CLANG!~

Their clash echoed like thunder. Nyra’s flaming punch glanced off Karl’s spear shaft, but she twisted mid-air, summoning a gust of wind to redirect her momentum.

Water condensed from the atmosphere, forming razor-sharp icicles that she hurled at him in a barrage.

Karl spun his spear defensively, the weapon a blur that deflected each projectile with metallic rings.

~TING TING TING!~

Shards of ice shattered harmlessly around him. He countered with a sweeping arc, the spear’s tip glowing with kinetic charge, aiming to cleave her in half.

Nyra dodged with grace, earth rising from below to form a shield that absorbed the blow.

~CRUNCH!~

The shield crumbled, but she was already retaliating, combining elements seamlessly: fire and air merged into a roaring inferno tornado, spiraling toward Karl with blistering heat.

He charged straight into it, his transcendent aura flaring to protect him from the flames.

"Ha! Is that all?" he bellowed, thrusting his spear into the vortex’s core.

~BOOM!~

Kinetic energy disrupted the tornado, scattering flames in all directions. He emerged singed but grinning, closing in for a brutal overhead strike.

Nyra parried with a wall of compressed air, the impact sending shockwaves that cracked the salt below.

She followed up with earth spikes erupting from the ground, forcing Karl to leap aside. Water whipped around her like tentacles, lashing out to ensnare him.

He sliced through them with his spear, the blade proving nearly indestructible, its edge honed by his unmatched skill and talent. Each swing was a show of his technique.

Adrian watched from afar, hands clasped behind his back, his [Omnisense] picking up every nuance. He didn’t interfere with their dance.

Nyra weaved elements like music: fire blasts followed by air-enhanced speed, earth barriers transitioning into water floods that she ignited into steam explosions.

Karl met it all with raw ferocity, with his spear an extension of his will, blocking, thrusting, and countering with waves of kinetic force that shattered her constructs.

The battle intensified.

Karl powered through, his body a blur of speed. He landed a glancing blow on her arm, drawing first blood, a shallow formed on Nyra’s arm, but it healed almost as quickly as it appeared.

Nyrasmiled fiercely, retaliating with a combined elemental assault: water frozen into ice spears, propelled by wind, tipped with fire. Karl deflected most, but one grazed his side, cauterizing the wound instantly.

It looked like Karl was gaining the upper hand. His relentless pressure forced Nyra on the defensive, her elements clashing against his unyielding spear.

He pressed forward, a kinetic-charged thrust aimed at her core, the air warping around the tip. The battle seemed poised to end, making Karl’s grin to widen as victory was in sight.

But then, in a heartbeat, everything shifted. Nyra’s eyes flicked toward Adrian, a subtle signal only Karl caught.

Without warning, they pivoted as one, abandoning their duel to launch at the seemingly uninvolved spectator.

Karl hurled his spear like a missile, infused with enough kinetic energy to level a mountain, while Nyra unleashed a quadruple-element bolt; fire, water, air, and earth fused into a chaotic helix of destruction.

The attacks converged on Adrian from opposite sides, a perfectly coordinated ambush meant to catch him off guard.

The switch was seamless, in its execution, with no hesitation to give it away. Even an observer might not have seen it coming, the feigned rivalry masking their true plan: team up against the strongest.

But Adrian had read them like an open book. He smiled faintly as the attacks closed in.

As Nyra’s multi-elemental bolt screamed towards him, he simply raised one hand, the Vortex Counter spinning to life in his palm, catching the chaotic spell and effortlessly absorbing its power.

Simultaneously, as Karl’s spear tip neared his chest, he didn’t even move. He met the charge with a single, open-palmed Resonant Fist.

~CLANG!~

The impact sent a deep, vibrational shockwave up the spear’s shaft. Karl cried out as a numbing force shot up his arms, forcing his fingers to go limp. His prized spear was sent flying from his grasp.

It was clear they had chosen to team up against him. A slow, dangerous smile spread across Adrian’s face. He wasn’t planning on holding back.

The fight became a lesson. Adrian was a blur of blue and black, a phantom of perfect, efficient violence.

He executed Phantom Flow, reappearing before Nyra, dodging her frantic follow-up spells with contemptuous ease.

He didn’t strike her, but used a chop to her neck that overloaded her senses and sent her spiraling harmlessly towards the ground, temporarily stunned.

He then turned to Karl, who had just recovered from the shock to his arms. The ensuing "fight" lasted ten seconds.

Adrian was simply on another level, his movements too fast and his counters too perfect. He disarmed, disabled, and defeated his friend with a series of precise, non-lethal strikes, ending with a final, gentle palm strike to the chest that laid Karl out on the salt flat beside Nyra.

The spar was over.

Serena descended from the sky, a wry, "I told you so" look on her face as she began to heal their minor injuries.

"That... was... awesome!" Karl gasped from the ground, a wide, exhilarated grin on his face despite his defeat. "You didn’t even break a sweat!"

They shared praises over the next hour: Karl boasting about his spear work, Nyra analyzing her elemental combos, Adrian admitting their synergy pushed him.

But the thrill left them craving more downtime. "No more fights for a bit," Serena declared. "Let’s do something normal."

***

Over the following days, they explored various activities, savoring the rare peace.

They hiked Duragut’s mountains, sharing stories under starlit skies. Karl dragged them to a hidden hot spring for relaxation, where banter flowed freely.

They spent a day fishing at a serene mountain lake, where Karl, in an attempt to catch a legendary leviathan, had to be saved by Adrian from being pulled into the depths.

They held a cooking competition, a disastrous but hilarious event where Nyra’s subtle Elven cuisine was pitted against Karl’s philosophy of "if it’s not charred, it’s not cooked."

Adrian, though itching to work, joined in, racing Karl across landscapes or debating philosophy with Nyra. Serena captured moments with sketches, fostering bonds long neglected.

But eventually, the pull of progress won. On the fifth day, as the group lounged by a serene lake, Adrian stood to announce, "Unfortunately, the break is over."

It was finally time to get back to work.