??VVIP Area.


    "It''s the fifth day of the tournament, and only four candidates are left from so many of them… Today''s matches are going to be more intense…"


    Hearing Jin''s words, Ashtel nodded his head and said,


    "Indeed, the first match is between Rio and Liam, and the second match is between Link and Vanya… All four of them are strong, and it''s difficult to say which of them will make it to the finals."


    Only four topbatants remain in this tournament after four days of matching and screening.


    The whole world is looking forward to this tournament.


    Ryul shook his head and sighed.


    "Sigh~ although I knew that all of the candidates from your team Astra were strong, even I wasn''t expecting that out of four candidates in the semi-finals, three would be from the same team!"


    Other SS-rankers were also feeling the same as Ryul.


    Something like this has never happened before.


    No single team had so many powerful people that they all made it to the semi-finals. For the first time, a single team alone is dominating this tournament.


    Other candidates pray that they don''t end up going against a member of Team Astra, as that would mean immediate defeat.


    "You guys really dug up so many gems at the same time… sigh~ why my elf race''s children''s don''t have so much talent… Only Vanya made it to the semi-finals…"


    Hearing Ryul''sints, Ashtel and Jin could only shake their heads.


    Even they were surprised by the abundance of talented young people this year.


    It''s as if the stars and fates have aligned to create this perfect group of people; each one has a unique strength, and each one is more amazing than the other.


    Unlike others, Ashtel wasn''t particrly happy with all this.


    He nced at Liam and Rio, who were entering the stadium grounds, and then said,


    "In the annals of history… strong individuals are born to counter some great cmity… and so many immensely talented children were born in the same year and grew up together…"


    "This may seem good from far away, but if you think more about it, the appearance of immense talent is a sign of an uing cmity… as if the world gave birth to these talents to counter this cmity…"


    After hearing Ashtel''s words, other SS-rankers couldn''t help but feelplicated in their hearts.


    As the saying goes,


    [Heroes only appear in the face of a cmity… Their appearance is a clear sign of an oing disaster…] (Source: Trust me bro…)


    Although it would be wrong to me them for it, their appearance is not a good sign either.


    All SS-rankers have gained a lot of information on this trip, and they will likely take countermeasures once they go back to their respective races.


    At that moment, Ryul cast a quick nce at the stadium grounds and said,


    "It''s starting! This match should be more interesting than others, I think…"


    …


    Stadium Ground.


    Rio and Liam stood opposite each other.


    The usual smirk appeared on Liam''s face, while Rio''s face remained as expressionless as ever.


    "So we finally met, Rio… It seems that the candidates you fought weren''t able to keep you down at all…"


    Hearing Liam''s words, Rio nodded his head slightly and replied in his usual emotionless tone.


    "Except for Lia… Others didn''t give me much of a challenge... but I think you won''t let me down, ''Dragon Master'' Liam…"


    For Rio, this tournament had no real meaning. He couldn''t improve his skills by fighting people who were weaker than him. Only a few people could stand up to him.


    Up until this point of the tournament, Rio hasn''t suffered a single major injury; even Lia was barely able tond a few cuts on him.


    Rio hasn''t even gone all out yet, and he passed all of the previous four matches easily, which only increased his boredom and nothing else.


    Unlike Link and Liam, who truly enjoy battle no matter who the other party is, Rio can''t feel that rush of emotions until things go to the extreme.


    Pursuing that rush of emotions in battles has now be a hobby for him.


    (Simply speaking, he has be a battle junky who wants to feel the rush of adrenaline in extreme situations…)


    Seeing Rio''s nonchnt behavior, Liam came to one conclusion.


    ''He will attack with ''sword intent'' in the very first move… Ellie''s barrier can''t stop ''Sword Intent''… I need to dodge it….''


    Liam has excellent intuition and observation capabilities.


    The reason he made Rio talk with him was because he wanted to gauge what mover Rio was likely to use in the first blow.


    Knowing the opponent''s ''first blow'' is always a great advantage.


    Liam could sense Rio''s boredom and enthusiasm for fighting; he figured out that Rio was looking forward to fighting him, and he would likely start the battle with a strong move.


    The reason why Rio didn''t open with strong moves until now was because his opponents were too weak, but that''s not the case with Liam.


    If Rio lets his guard down, Liam can deal massive damage; even Rio dares not take him lightly.


    And unlike other opponents, Liam won''t admit defeat until he is really defeated and has nothing left to fight back; moreover, Rio doesn''t need to hold back too much against Liam either.


    Which means that in this fight, Rio can finally enjoy himself.


    Liam''s weapon, ''Azazel''s dreaming heart, floated beside him, and a smile appeared on his face as he got ready for the battle.


    Rio unsheathed his sword and ced it near his waist as he took his stance.


    The two of them were now ready to fight each other to the end.


    *And now!! The first match of the semi-finals is about to start!! Get ready for an epic duel between two friends!!*


    *3!... 2!... 1!... Fight!*


    When the countdown ended, two things happened at the exact same time.


    First, just like Liam predicted, Rio''s very first move was ''sword intent, as he wasn''t nning to hold back against Liam.


    [Sword Intent]


    [Elemental Sword Art: Thunder Type: Condensed Thunder Arc!]


    And the other thing that happened was that Liam was ready for it, and he immediately cast the summoning spell.


    [Summon: Armored Mantis King!]


    A giant mantis, which was nearly three feet tall, appeared from the summoning circle, and Liam directly jumped on its back without hesitation.


    [Barduk: Technique Bypass!]


    The speed of that mantis was extremely fast; it was nearly as fast as ? the speed of Rio when he uses his ''Dark Wing Movement arts''.


    Barduk, the mantis king, is Liam''s fifth strongest summon; he has the ability to bypass techniques.


    If Rio had used only ''Sword Intent'' then he couldn''t have bypassed it, but Rio also used his sword art technique along with sword intent.


    As a result, Barduk bypassed it without harm.


    A w'' enhances sword intent, making it impossible to bypass, but whenbined with other techniques, the effect of that w'' weakens. Liam recognized this minor weakness when he fought alongside Rio.


    Rio''s sword intent produced a powerful shockwave, destroying half of the stadium in one attack.


    This just showed that Rio was really aiming for a powerful attack in the very first move.


    But even he was a bit surprised when Liam bypassed his technique unharmed.


    [Advanced Fire Magic: Maximum condensed st!]


    Liam waved his hand, and a magic circle the size of a two- story building appeared in the sky above Rio, and a massive fireball gotunched out of it.


    [Dark Wing Movement Arts!]


    Rio stepped directly onto the air itself and raised his sword above his shoulder to attack.


    Heunched towards Liam at his full speed,pletely ignoring that massive fireball as if it had nothing to do with him.


    The fireballnded on the ground, triggering a massive st that instantly created a 25-meter-wide and 5-meter-deep crater.


    The st also sent massive amounts of debris into the air, significantly reducing visibility.


    ''I already knew that st wouldn''t do you any harm, but reducing your visibility was also important…''


    Liam patted the mantis on the back and gave him another order.


    [Barduk: Silent Movement!]


    Not only did Liam use Barduk''s fast speed to move out of Rio''s attack range, but he also asked Ellie to suppress Liam and Barduk''s mana fluctuations, which, in turn, countered Rio''s amazing detection abilities.


    Moreover, with the debris cover, Liam easily slipped away from Rio''s attack range.


    ''It will take about five seconds for Rio to figure out my position, as I have suppressed my mana fluctuations a lot with Ellie''s help…''


    Although five seconds may seem too short, for powerful individuals, this is already a massive advantage.


    Liam immediately waved his hand, and a massive summoning circle appeared on the ground.


    [Summon: Wyvern Lord!]


    Liam''s second-strongest summoned beast, the ''wyvern Lord'', is only weaker than Ellie, but whenpared to his other summoned beasts, he is much stronger.


    Although Rio once severed its wing in one go during the group survival test, Liam had used his mana to help the wyvern recover over time.


    Moreover, now that Liam is an A-ranker, the wyvern has be much stronger than before.


    [Gamel: Instant Flight!]


    Liam''s orders were swift and efficient; he knew that he didn''t have much time, so he immediately ordered Gamel to fly into the air.


    Before Liam could be happy for too long, five seconds passed, and Rio detected Liam''s mana fluctuations.


    [Concentration!]


    [Body Strengthening!]


    [Dark Wing Movement Art!]


    [Sword Intent!]


    Rio increased his physical capabilities by using ''concentration'' and ''body strengthening'' skills, which he rarely uses. He then used ''dark wing movement art'' to execute swift and fast movements.


    At that point, his speed had already exceeded Mach 15.


    His insanely fast speed created shockwaves and air pressure that swept the debris and dust away in one go.


    *Boom!*


    Liam was prepared for that attack as he knew that Rio will rush straight at Barduk when he detects their presence.


    Thus, Liam instantly gave his order.


    [Ellie: Shadow Escape!]


    Ellie used the wyvern lord''s shadow as a mark and teleported Liam and Barduk right under him, thus saving them from Rio''s insane attack.


    But still, Rio''s attack was too fast; it barely grazed the mantis lord''s arm and destroyed his right hand in one go.


    …


    …


    Author''s Notes.


    Yo! It''s your beloved author here! Rio really is a menace… His speed has already exceeded the speed of the fastest fighter nes! He really was holding back when fighting others…


    Question of the day:.


    What do you think is the reason that is helping Liam keep up with Rio?


    (Tell me in thements.)


    By the way, don''t forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.