Abigail took in a deep breath once she received the prompt to descend to the arena floor.
When she drew her opponent earlier, she instantly knew her chances of winning were slim to none. Her opponent was a boy named Percival Adams.
A dark sclera human in Class A3, one of the elite classes and an earth ability user. It was a poor matchup.
Earth ability users were known for their strong defence and heavy attacks, and with her main weapon being a bow and an arrow, she could only sigh in resignation.
But that did not mean she gave up as the battlefield was constantly changing.
She approached the formation and was instantly brought to her battleground where Percival was already waiting.
The boy stood with both arms folded across his chest as the air around him felt domineering and robust.
His green eyes in the backdrop of his dark sclera gave him a frightening look and revealed the sharp glint in them that promised pain and suffering.
The light smirk on his lips gave away his complete confidence in coming out on top. Just like Abigail, Percival was able to get a bit of information on his opponent.
And honestly, he was disappointed. Of course, he didn't mind the easy win though. And while this was mostly his thoughts, he had the mind to also pay attention to his surroundings.
'Her aura isn't impressive either. The only reason she's here is because of Alex.' He thought to himself as he continued to analyze his opponent.
Naturally, he wasn't the only one seeing how unimpressive the girl was.
"Isn't she the one who tagged along with Alex during the battle royale?"
"Yeah, that's her alright. With her pitiful mana pool, the only thing she has going for her is her archery skills."
The spectating students chatted away as they observed both opponents. Of course, the fighters were not exposed to their chattering.
The fighters weren't even able to see the spectators at all. To them, it was their opponent and their stage.
"I'll give you a chance to surrender."
Suddenly Abigail heard Percival propose.
"What…?" Of course, she heard him the first time. But the suddenness of it took her by surprise.
"Surrender. You and I both know you can't win."
Percival reiterated his words, stating the obvious. The spectating students focusing on them could hear their discussion loud and clear as while the fighters couldn't see and hear them, they could do both.
"Says who?"
Abigail replied with furrowed brows. She didn't like how the guy talked down on her. She more than anybody knew how slim her chances were.
But that did not mean she would just take insults from anybody. Percival may have the highest chance of winning, but her chances weren't zero, just slim.
"Huhuhu… No matter. Just don't say I didn't warn you." Percival replied with a headshake when a ding sound resounded in their space and a timer appeared above them.
[Fighters, get ready.]
Immediately they heard the voice, Abigail put aside what she wanted to say and retrieved her bow and arrows.
'This is it. In terms of mana capacity and combat prowess, it's his win. But my shooting speed is no joke either.'
Abigail resolved herself and nocked three arrows. Percival on the other hand channeled his mana into his fists and covered them with thick earthen fists.
Before the countdown even began, the duo noticed their surroundings changed to look like the backdrop of outer space.
The background looked serene and quiet, too quiet. Abigail and Percival promptly returned their gaze to each other, not wanting to miss the countdown and the first move.
Percival was no fool either. He may seem arrogant, but he understood that he could lose if he played with his opponent, despite the clear gap in power.
[Fight starts in three, … two, … one, …]
The moment the countdown reached zero, Abigail and Percival moved.
Both fighters moved with purpose as Abigail moved backwards and sideways to get as much distance from her opponent as possible.
Her movements were meant to be haphazard and make it difficult for Percival to close in on her. But it wasn't going to be as easy as she imagined, and she knew that.
Percival went on a direct offensive, intending to finish her off before any changes in the surroundings affected him in ways he couldn't predict.
"Running around isn't going to help!" He bellowed chasing after Abigail who was running every which way, her eyes locked on Percival.
Fortunately for her, the outer space stage was in her favour as she didn't need to watch her back to avoid obstacles.
With a racing heart and a heavy breath, Abigail took a deep breath and released her first three arrows at Percival before nocking another round.
WHOOSH!
With one sound that superimposed, the three arrows swiftly arrived before Percival.
"Hmph!"
He snorted coldly, crossed both arms and blocked the three arrows.
CLING!
'Huh?'
The three arrows impacted heavily against his arms and pushed him back, skidding across the blankness of space and bringing his charge to a stop.
He had underestimated the force behind the arrows. Even with his mindset of taking the girl seriously, somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he still underestimated her!
Before he could even recover his composure, three more arrows were whooshing through the void straight for his head.
Adopting a serious expression, Percival dodged the arrows and dashed after her once more. He was no longer in the mood to talk.
In an instant, he closed the distance and appeared slightly above Abigail, his fists raised above his head as he swung them down at Abigail. The look in his eyes as he looked down on Abigail sent shivers down his spine.
Yes, feeling pain was still turned on at maximum. If that blow hit, it wouldn't be pretty.
"!"
Abigail was shaken by his instant appearance, momentarily pausing the nocking of her arrows.
She instinctively dodged the incoming blows as she leapt backwards using her wind force to momentarily boost her reaction and response, pointed her right hand forward and released a strong wind pulse aiming for his exposed body.
Percival perceived the wind pulse and reacted faster than Abigail and covered his body in earthen armour in addition to the armour he already wore.
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
The fists slammed into the ground as the ripples spread out like waves from a single point.
As if by design, the ripples propagated into turning the outer space battlefield into the surface of a shallow water surface that reflected the clear blue skies with boundless clouds spreading out as far as the eye could see.