Peace’s domain looks better with colors.

Sofia bent over, picking up a small rock, and lightly juggling with it. Seems perfectly normal… She threw the rock back to the ground and turned around, “I’ll just take care of the duels by myself until we get a real opponent now, alright?”

“Have fun!” Bookie approved with a thumbs up.

“We’ll see about that.”

“And to those who bet against Pareth in the previous one, we thank you for your sacrifice! Now for our next battle, this is an imprint who’s been known to end streaks with her tricks. Avian magic sure has a devious side, so, what will it be? You still have fifteen seconds to bet!” Love tried to rile up the crowd. Despite that, the public did not look too enthusiastic.

If anyone knows how to win with ‘tricks’ it should be me. Her equipment looks decent but nothing exceptional. She does have a lot of mana compared to most mages our level… Nothing compared to me, though. Let’s see.

After the bets were all placed, Love announced the beginning of the match.

“The heart snatcher against Velli Hekta, begin!”

Sofia looked up at Love whose form was slowly turning invisible as the seconds counted down.

Heart snatcher?

Well. Not underserved. Rich coming from Love itself, though. Sofia thought, casting a very weak piercing bolt and sending it crashing against a distant tower. Hmmm.

On the other side of the barrier, the Avian was flying away, frantically trying to put as much distance as possible between Sofia and herself, all the while leaving sneaky mana traps behind. To Sofia’s mana senses they were clear as day.

Interesting technique. Anyone who’s familiar with Sovuln’s spatial anomalies would notice that, though.

After three seconds, the barrier came down. The avian kept flying away while channeling something, while Sofia had lazily started channeling two piercing bolts.

She’s at her max speed already, it looks like. Trajectory predictable, she’s too focused on her casting. Ambient mana is fine. Currents oddly stable, even.

After channeling for a few seconds, Sofia held two stable javelin-like bolts. Should be enough. So, first… I just need to give it the proper spin…

Sofia threw a bolt to her left, as if aiming at Peace’s castle, and it disappeared beyond the horizon without hitting anything. Immediately, she started channeling an explosive bolt in that hand, then she turned back toward the Avian.

She’s not even looking…

Sofia threw her second piercing bolt, precisely aimed at the spot the Avian’s head would be in a tenth of a second. She had traveled quite the distance in little time, but couldn’t go too high due to the overhead sea, which made Sofia’s aiming easier. At a speed of about 300 kilometers a second, the bolt flew toward the avian’s head like a death sentence.

A yet, without looking, the avian managed to avoid it, letting herself fall just a tiny bit, enough for the bolt to barely miss her head. The bolt harmlessly flew past her, while another pierced her skull from ear to ear. The bolt Sofia had thrown in another direction had returned.

Got ya! That’s right! I was taught to fly by an avian, I know all your tricks!

As if the bolt wasn’t enough, the injury interrupted the avian’s long channeling, causing her a huge backlash as all the mana she had been handling ran wild through her body.

Is she gonna crash?

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Well that makes the parabola easier to calculate… I really need to send the throwing technique master a thank you gift after the trial, this just makes the bolts so much better.

Annnd… Half a million should be enough, right?

Sofia threw the explosive bolt toward the sky. An instant later, as the Avian crashed into a house at the limit of Peace domain’s gargantuan city, the bolt reached her, engulfing all nearby houses in a large ball of blue fire.

“Did that do it?” she asked out loud, a hand over her brows, as if that could help her see through the houses blocking the view.

[ROUND 5/13 - WIN]

“Looks like it did,” Sofia said, turning around, “and back to the waiting room we go…”

Bookie was staring at Sofia, jaw wide open and holding his skull.

“What? Surprised? Maybe you should have been training with me instead of playing with Lepo,” Sofia teased him with a smile.

The sixth round came and went with similar ease, an Exidian thought he could attempt to Kill Sofia with some kind of advanced invisibility spell. Getting close to Sofia was a mistake. His skeleton promptly turned him into an invisible mop.

What was a lot more of a surprise was one of the names in the list of people eliminated that round.

“Saria is already out?!” Sofia exclaimed out loud, scrolling back up to confirm the name she had just watched fly before her eyes.

“What the hell, she actually is… There’s what… Maybe three or four people who even have a chance against her? And I wouldn’t bet on any of them, really. Did she encounter Tartaros? That early?”

“It’s good news for us, right?!” Bookie asked.

“Somewhat?” Sofia answered, uncertain, “At least it means we won’t have to go against her. That might be for the best, she knows our skills too well… But at the same time… That’s one fewer possible good fight for me… My mana heart hasn’t progressed at all so far.”

“Sofia too very kill,” Pestle commented, nodding to herself, “Very kill not progress,” she said with a shrug.

“I get that… But what choice do I have, they’re just too weak…”

Once again Sofia could somewhat hear Love through the door before the start of the round.

“And for this midpoint round, we have a very special fight! Or is it even going to be a fight? It could be a massacre! I see the bets are very unanimous once again… Guys! How am I supposed to make money if you all bet on the same side?! Come on! Hmmph! You’re all no fuuuun! Wha- What do you mean I voted on the same side too?! Hey! Sh- Shut up Sun! You’re not supposed to be able to look up the votes!”

“Ah… The seats are full already. You know, I wondered if we would have another very special person in the public, but someone’s being shy! Too bad. It was the perfect opportunity for psychological warfare, too! Isn’t that something you love to do? Or did you just not have the money for a seat? Pfftt. You’ve turned sooOo lame! I can’t believe we used to be friends. I’d vomit! What? No I’m not taking too much time! Are you the commentator or am I, huh?! Want a taste of my big fat Love you sonovabitch?!”

A sudden quake shook the waiting room, knocking everyone over.

“And no refunds! Get fucked! Anyone else got anythin’ to say?!”

“That’s what I thought! Gakk, open the fucking doors!”

The waiting room’s door flew open, but Sofia stopped the skeletons from walking out.

“You guys stay here. Yes, even you, Pareth. Please. Thank you.”

Sofia left the room without activating her armor, her eyes closed. She could already guess her opponent, having listened to Love. It was someone she’d been careful to avoid for the entire trial.

Her mana senses engulfed the terrain around her, a vast open plain. She could feel a light breeze on her skin. The sun was shining on her skin, birds were singing. A perfect day to send a message of peace, and compassion.

Love kept talking, but Sofia was so deep in her own mind that she could barely hear her, she simply focused on her breathing, and on maintaining a neutral expression. She could feel the resonance of the essence she held and the one on the other side of the arena.

It’s just an imprint…

Just an imprint…

Sofia heard the sound of the three second countdown ticking down. She did nothing much other than reading the mana movements around her, and, to pretend she was preparing something, channeling the nymph graveyard without letting it be cast.

After what seemed like an eternity, the countdown ended, and the battle started in an awful silence. The enemy immediately sent an attack. Judging by the shape and movement, illusory book pages, Sofia guessed. The first one cut deeply through her unprotected left arm, while the others all harmlessly crashed upon her, stopped by the [Singularity Edict].

A system window opened, visible only in Sofia’s mind. She quickly took brief notes.

‘Active - Low mana usage - Pages of light? - Channeling continuous projectiles - Low damage - Inflicts weak curse.’

Noted. Next.