"You’re better than I thought for someone at Level 7 of Apprentice Rank," Revenna said, a hint of surprise in her voice as she acknowledged Max’s strength.
Max shrugged. "I know that." He pointed his sword at her. "You better start getting serious, or I’ll take matters into my own hands." He flashed a confident smile. "Show me everything you’ve got. Show me your true strength at the peak of Adept Rank."
Revenna’s piercing gaze lingered on Max, a frosty smirk curling her lips. "Very well," she said softly, her tone carrying a dangerous calm.
The sword in her hand shimmered and dissolved into glimmering frost. Almost instantly, an icy sheen spread across her skin, crystalizing into a deep blue hue. The frost rapidly thickened, forming an intricate, gleaming suit of armor. Within seconds, she stood encased in a magnificent, glacial shell that radiated an oppressive cold.
"A Level 3 Ice Aura," Max murmured, his eyes narrowing as he studied her transformation. The aura surrounding her was otherworldly, almost alive, and the biting chill emanating from her made the air around them seem to freeze.
Revenna’s frozen gaze locked onto him, her chilling intent cutting through the atmosphere like a blade. Max barely had time to react before he felt a strange, numbing sensation crawling across his skin.
Crack!
Out of nowhere, jagged ice spikes erupted from his right hand, freezing his arm in an instant. The frost surged across his body like an unrelenting tide, his left arm succumbing to the icy grip next. Before he could channel his energy to resist, thick chunks of ice formed around his legs, chest, and shoulders, tearing through his defenses like paper.
The freezing aura devoured him in the blink of an eye, locking him in place. His entire form was encased in a prison of glistening, unyielding ice.
The onlookers were stunned by the sight. Some were amazed by the deadly power of a Level 3 Ice Aura.
"Level 3 Ice Aura is definitely as strong as I’ve heard," Bruce muttered, his tone serious. "All it took was a glance, and he was frozen completely."
"An ice that can freeze even the blood is an extremely deadly ability," Veylin remarked, his attention on Revenna.
Crown Prince Aelric nodded from his pillar. "Especially with her Ice Aura tempered with Witch Techniques from the Witch of the North. From what we know, her ice may be the deadliest in the Valora Continent," he said solemnly.
"Anyways, it looks like she’s done her job," Arthur Gale from the South sneered. "He’s frozen completely without even realizing what happened." He added with mockery, "And he thought he was better than all of us. Talk about confidence."
Contrary to Arthur, Max could still hear and see everything. Though his body was frozen, it wasn’t affecting him entirely.
’So, this is the strength of a Level 3 Aura,’ Max thought beneath the ice covering him. His body was frozen, but thanks to the protection from his 11 Dragon Scales, the ice had no effect on him—internally or externally.
"It’s over," Revenna declared, her figure suddenly appearing before Max. Her icy hand stretched forward, poised to shatter the ice that imprisoned him.
But before her fingers could make contact, the ice encasing Max exploded in a violent burst of red light. Flames surged outward, consuming the frozen prison in a blazing inferno.
"It’s not that easy to defeat me," Max said, his voice cold despite the heat radiating from him. His sword glowed fiercely, charged with his Level 2 Flame Aura, and he swung it toward her in a swift counterattack.
"Divergent Slash!"
A fiery arc, roaring with destructive power, shot directly toward Revenna, the flames crackling as they streaked through the air. At such close range, it seemed impossible for her to avoid the attack.
However, the unexpected happened.
Before the fiery arc could strike her, the flames froze mid-air, the intense heat suddenly extinguished. The blazing arc solidified into ice, then fractured, disintegrating into a flurry of delicate snowflakes that drifted harmlessly to the ground.
Max’s eyes widened. ’My Level 2 Flame Aura is useless against her Level 3 Ice Aura,’ he realized.
"I’m surprised you managed to escape that, but…" Revenna’s voice trailed off. "Is that all? Is this the confidence that makes you think you’re better than everyone here?" Her tone turned frosty, laced with a hint of disdain.
Max looked at her and smiled. "Nah, that was just a warm-up." He said, activating his Magic Bullets, Magic Sword Bullets, and Magic Sword Barrage skills simultaneously.
Almost instantly, the sky above the arena was filled with swords and blue dots, which rapidly combined to form ten glowing blue swords.
"Here I come," Max said, his voice steady and confident. In an instant, he activated all his agility skills at full power, his movements a blur. At the same time, he channeled his flying skills, propelling himself through the air at speeds that surpassed Revenna’s best.
His figure seemed to flicker and vanish, appearing in front of her like a streak of light.
His sword glowed ominously, alternating between red and blue as he thrust it toward her heart.
Revenna’s reaction was instantaneous. Matching Max’s speed—or perhaps even surpassing it—she conjured a sword of pure ice in her hand, meeting his attack head-on.
Clang!
The clash of their weapons reverberated through the arena, unleashing a powerful shockwave. The force sent a figure skidding backward across the icy ground.
It was Revenna.
Her feet barely touched the ground before she sensed another attack. Whirling around, she summoned an avalanche of ice to shield herself. For a moment, it seemed like her defense would hold—until the glowing sword cut through the ice like it was nothing.
Her expression darkened as the shards scattered around her. She hadn’t expected the ten swords Max had summoned to carry such immense strength.
’This is more troublesome than I thought,’ she mused, summoning an ice dragon from her body to intercept the incoming sword. The dragon lunged forward, its icy jaws snapping shut around the weapon. But before she could catch her breath, another sword appeared in front of her, followed by the remaining eight.
"What? Surprised?" Max taunted, his tone laced with amusement. Closing in on her, his glowing sword shifted between red and blue once more. He wasn’t relying on Fusion State yet—just an experimental merging of auras he’d first tested in his fight against Five.
Revenna frowned, recognizing the severity of the situation. Surrounded and outmaneuvered, she muttered under her breath, "Ice Dragons, hear my command."
From her icy armor, ten majestic dragons materialized, each one roaring to life. The nine dragons intercepted Max’s glowing swords, snapping their jaws around them and dragging them away. The final dragon surged toward Max with unrelenting ferocity.
"Abyssal Coating!" Max shouted, his left hand glowing with a dark, pulsing energy as the skill activated. With his right hand gripping his sword, he punched downward with his coated fist, meeting the ice dragon head-on.
Bang!
The dragon exploded into shards, the icy debris scattering in all directions. The force of the clash bought Revenna a crucial moment to recover and launch herself into the air, putting some distance between them.
"How’s that?" Max called up to her, a confident smile playing on his lips as he stood amidst the fading frost.