Night hade. Elise took a deep breath and leaned her back against the waiting room wall.


    “Are you all right, Elise?” Raymund noticed that Elise’s face had rxed more, though there was still some tension. “Are you feeling better?”


    “I’m feeling much better, sir.” The female warrior nced at the sword lying beside her. “However, if possible, I don’t want to use that Blood Steal skill again. I guess that’s what made me feel ufortable earlier.”


    Raymund was silent for a moment. “Alright, you can try fighting without that skill for a while. However, if you start to lose, I ask you to use it. After all, that skill is very powerful.”


    Mona jumped into Elise’sp and gave an encouraging bark. The female warrior lifted her pet, letting her face be licked.


    It was then that a knocking sound came from the door.


    “I will support you from the upper stands.” Renee, who was apanying Elise, took Mona and hugged her. “Beat him, girl!”


    Elise just replied with a smile._.


    ***


    The female warrior was already in the middle of the arena. She was waiting for her opponent to be called by the host. Once again, she tried to ignore the cheers from the audience. This time it was easier for Elise. The faces of the people were not very visible because the light only came from the crystal balls.


    After being called, Oleg came out of the gate with a face full of confidence. When he was in front of Elise, the red-haired man boasted. “Don’t expect me to hold back against a woman like you! I wille to you with full force!”


    Elise didn’t answer, just looked up to look at the man who was much taller than her. Yes, the female warrior didn’t want to be mmed or hit by Oleg. But, at the very least, that ufortable feeling had disappeared from her heart.


    She can focus more.


    Igor Kozlov exined the rules of the match, then asked both fighters to withdraw.


    Like the previous matches, the crowd’s deafening voices erupted.


    “Here’s Ie!” Wasting no time, Oleg ran with all his might.


    Instead of dodging, Elise plunged her sword into the ground while holding the hilt with both hands. Her legs were slightly spread out, and she focused on activating her newest skill.


    Rock Stance.


    Oleg rammed Elise’s body, but the female warrior only shifted a few inches back from her spot. It was the big man who lost his bnce.


    Elise wasted no time. She lowered her body and made a circr motion.


    Whirlwind sh.


    Even though it was the first time she was doing that movement with a half-crouch, Elise didn’t find it a big problem. She managed to hit the opponent’s leg with her sword. Oleg fell, something Raymund thought would be impossible without the use of whirlwind sh.


    The female warrior raised her weapon high and dived the tip into the opponent’s body.


    However, Oleg rolled to the side, causing the sword to only pierce the ground. That movement didn’t affect Elise at all. She kept trying to stab and sh Oleg, who struggled to dodge it all in a down position.


    “Taste this!” The man kicked Elise’s leg, causing the female warrior to lose bnce. Oleg catches Elise’s body and throws her against the arena wall. Instead of letting her body hit the rigid structure, Elise stomped her foot against that wall, then pushed her body back to Oleg.


    Charging Thurst.


    Oleg couldn’t do anything when his stomach was hit by the female warrior’s sword. Were it not for the magically enhanced belt, the sword would have pierced his abdomen. This time his body was simply thrown away.


    “Holy shit!” Raymund shouted like a madman. “I didn’t expect you to be able to use that move under such conditions! Luckily, Oleg throws you all the way to breathe! If he ms you straight away, you won’t get a chance like this!”


    The audience seemed to agree with Raymund. They cheered wildly after the two participants’ series of movements.


    Elise didn’t answer her master and looked at her shaking hands instead. Maybe it was because of the effect she got when she stabbed her opponent’s body. Normally, her sword would pierce whatever it targeted, but now she felt like she had just hit a wall, sending tremors through her hands.


    “Ugh…” Oleg tried to get up while holding his stomach.


    Feeling that her hands couldn’t strike with the sword yet, the female warrior ran over and mmed her knee into the enemy’s face. Oleg, just kneeling, stumbled backward, and Elise was about to give her a second knee smack.


    However, Oleg managed to catch the woman’s leg. The man stood up with a shout of anger, then pulled Elise’s legs up, sending her body into the air.


    The female warrior felt a tremendous impact as her body was mmed into the ground. And it doesn’t just happen once. Oleg ms her five times, prompting the crowd to cheer like crazy. And at thest m, the ground cracked as soon as Elise’s bodynded on it.


    Oleg was about to do the sixth m, but instead, he copsed, holding his stomach again.


    The referee checked the two fighters, then began to do the count. “One!!!”


    “Elise? Are you okay?” Raymund asked his servant, who was breathing through her mouth and widening her eyes. “If you can’t stand it anymore, you better use that blood steal skill.”


    “No, sir.” Elise hissed, starting to rise at the count of five. Her whole body felt like it would crumble, as if they were asking why she had to continue the fight, despite the intense pain.


    However, this was nothing to Elise. She had been through far more challenging, terrifying, and frustrating things.


    So, she managed to get up first. The audience apuded to the female warrior. Some of them even stood up.


    Elise straightened up, took a deep breath, and watched Oleg, still struggling to stand.


    The man was just an ordinary human, different from the monsters Elise had faced.


    The female warrior then retreated a few feet, took a stance, then ran as hard as she could, trying to ignore the pain that gripped her body. She moved her sword from bottom to top while jumping, forming a vertical arc.


    Rising sh.