[Sword intent!]
[Elemental Sword Art: Fire Type, Horizontal Shift!]
*crack!*
Rio's sword swung horizontally at breakneck speed, instantly breaking through the mermaid team's barrier.
Rio shattered the barrier and severely injured one of the mermaid mages, before the other party even had a chance to react to the situation.
Witnessing one of their team members being teleported after only one attack from Rio made the mermaid wizards realize right away how serious this situation was.
"Sh*t! He is too quick! Restrict the field, or we're out!"
A mermaid wizard with a higher level of intelligence immediately assumed command of the conflict and urged his fellow mermaids to limit Rio's movement.
The other mermaid wizards nodded and immediately began casting magic.
[Intermediate Water Magic: Water Wave!]
As a result of having already lost the majority of their team members, the two murlocs wanted to put some distance between themselves and Rio.
But before they could move, one of the mermaid wizards chanted water wave magic, which resulted in the enormous water wave pushing them in the direction of Rio.
It was obvious that Rio was not going to pass up such a fantastic opportunity.
[Elemental Sword Art: Wind Type: Twin Claws!]
Two enormous wind arcs flew out of Rio's sword and struck the Murloc warriors, who were in a state of great panic.
If Rio had not purposefully held back, the wind arc that was enhanced with sword intent would have been so powerful that it would have almost killed the two murlocs on the spot.
[Congratulations! Your team has successfully defeated two teams!]
[Time left: 9 hours and 45 minutes.]
Rio received another notification on his smart watch as the entire Murloc team was vanquished and teleported away; however, he was unable to look at it at the moment since he was too busy.
Two sizable water waves that surged in opposite directions confined Rio to a small area.
A massive magic circle materialized a few meters in front of Rio, it was the result of the combined efforts of four water-type magicians.
[Combination spell: Condensed Water Arrow!]
A beam of water that was extraordinarily condensed was launched at Rio at a speed that was ten times faster than the speed of sound itself.
That water beam created such a loud sonic boom that it echoed throughout the entire forest, frightening off numerous wild animals.
That water wave created such powerful shockwaves that the entire lake was split in half right away.
'This one's fast...' (Rio)
Considering that Rio was preoccupied with the murlocs and was constrained by the enormous water waves coming from both sides, he was unable to avoid being hit by that beam of water that was traveling at an incredible speed.
[Sword Intent: Stone Type!]
Rio instantly raised his sword and covered it in defensive stone elemental energy with sword intent.
At the same time, he thrust the pointed tip of his sword towards the beam that was approaching.
'I can use the shadow robe but I don't want to show it here so...' (Rio)
Rio was subjected to a tremendous amount of pressure on his arm as a result of the condensed water beam colliding with the tip of his sword.
'This force is as powerful as Link's strongest punch...' (Rio)
Not only was the combination spell quite powerful, but it also required a significant amount of mana from the mermaid wizards.
As a result, they were unable to keep it going for more than five seconds at a time.
However, during those five seconds, the water beam was able to successfully push Rio backwards by tens of meters.
Rio also sustained a few minor cuts on his body here and there as a result of his actions, which caused the water from the beam to scatter in random directions.
Due to the fact that the water beam was unable to penetrate Rio's sword, the water began to disperse and fly away in a random direction, resulting in small cuts on Rio's body.
However, Rio was unaffected by these minor details.
Due to the fact that Rio had been facing that beam head-on, his right hand had several bones broken, so when the attack came to an end, he switched the sword onto his other hand.
'So that's how a full blow from a combination spell feel... Although strong, it lacks the "flow" that Link's punches have...' (Rio)
Rio's figure suddenly became hazy in the eyes of the exhausted mermaid wizards, and the next time they saw him, he was standing directly behind them.
"Nothing to be surprised at, I've taken blows of this level before..." (Rio)
[Sword intent: Overload!]
[Elemental Sword Art: Thunder Type: Uncontrolled Thunder Pulse!]
Rio's attack was at the very least ten times stronger thanks to sword intent that was operating at maximum capacity as a result of "overload."
Rio's sword unleashed a thunder arc that was accompanied by enormous tentacles made of condensed thunder elements.
This arc struck all six of the Mermaid team members who were still fighting.
The sword intent enhancement makes this AOE attack nearly impossible to dodge from close range for even an A ranker.
Rio only needed to land that one hit in order to eliminate the entire Mermaid team in a single assault.
Six teleportation circles appeared and transported the mermaid wizards away.
[Congratulations! Your team successfully eliminated three teams!]
[Congratulations! Your team has finished the team battle phase of the competition!
[Congratulations! Your team has broken previous records and surpassed the shortest time required to complete the first phase of this tournament!]
[As you have already completed the team battle phase, you are no longer eligible to remain in the team battle area!]
[Initiating teleportation...]
Before Rio could react, a teleportation circle appeared beneath his feet, transporting him away in an instant.
…
VVIP area.
*Complete silence*
There was not a single SS-ranker who spoke because they were all at a loss for words to adequately express their reactions to shock.
As they had all witnessed Rio's fight against the Murloc and mermaid teams just now, they were all aware of how easily Rio prevailed in that battle.
'It's not even a battle at this point. It was just a one-sided massacre. (Ryul)
Although Ryul has been present in a significant number of these competitions over the course of the last century, this was the very first time that he had witnessed a single candidate triumph over two teams by himself.
Anyone who was able to make it to this point is not a weak candidate; each of them is a genius in his own way.
However, to think that Rio was able to defeat all of the geniuses that they had on two different teams is truly remarkable.
Ryul glanced at Ashtel after seeing Rio's image on the hologram:
"You didn't tell me there was someone as strong as Link on your team....I had heard the rumor that there was another kid who could keep up with Link during the tests you conducted, but this... This isn't what we call 'keeping up'…" (Ryul)
Ryul's remarks even caused Ashtel to shake his head in helplesness.
"Well.... even I didn't expect this to happen… perhaps his sword intent got enhanced after reaching rank A… the data we have about him was recorded when he was at rank B… so…" (Ashtel)
All of the other SS officers looked at Ashtel with baffled expressions.
They were already aware that humans were in possession of a monster named Link, but nothing could have prepared them for the possibility that there was another hidden monster right next to Link.
This is an extremely shocking news!
The silent mermaid representative spoke to Ashtel in a meaningful tone.
"You hide quite deep...The future of humanity seems to be promising..."
Ashtel could only shake his head in helplessness, as he had not expected this to happen either.
'Ugh, I thought they'd face some difficulty after three teams joined to fight them...Who would have thought that this kid alone could eliminate two teams...' (Ashtel)
As Link and the others were preoccupied with the Elven team, Rio had to face those two teams by himself.
If Rio had still been a B-ranker at the time, his chances of winning would have been significantly lower.
But, now that he is an A-ranker, his victory was already guaranteed from the moment he chose to use sword intent.
...
The Murloc team consisted entirely of warriors, whereas the mermaid team consisted entirely of water-type wizards.
These two teams were obviously very compatible with each other; they could have easily defeated others with such an incredible combination, but unfortunately for them, they ended up facing Rio.
The Murloc and mermaid teams lacked anyone with a skill capable of canceling Rio's sword intent, leaving them defenseless against it.
Ryul repeatedly looked at Rio's image on the hologram, thinking to himself:
'The human race has struck gold this time...There are many ridiculous monsters among the younger generation.... Perhaps these monstrous geniuses will overshadow the entire next generation...' (Ryul)
An amused look appeared on Ryul's face. He glanced at Ashtel and said:
"Actually... this makes things even more interesting...Given the skills of the two of them, it's likely they'll face off against each other in individual combat phase..." (Ryul)
Ashtel nodded his head at Ryul's words.
"If that happens, we might get to see them both fight at their full strength…" (Ashtel)
...
Author's notes.
Yo! It's your favorite author here!
Rio's incredible feats have captured the attention of everyone, and the SS-rankers appear to have finally taken him seriously.
People will undoubtedly compare Link and Rio in the future. Rio and Link's fans will engage in heated online debates over who is stronger between them.
Question of the Day.
Do you also think Rio did those two teams really dirty?
1. Yes (Bro considered drinking tea while fighting...)
2. Yeah! (He didn't even use his full strength and only got injured while testing the spell's effects!)
By the way, don't forget to use the power stones and leave a review if you enjoyed the story. Share your thoughts on the chapter. Your encouragement drives me forward.