Erica took a deep breath as she waved her wand.
From the wall of ice she had created, a spike reached out and pierced a jaguar.
“Ughh...”
Another jaguar jumped the three-meter wall and charged at Erica and in response, she calmly dodged.
“Grr...”
Before the jaguar could settle to pounce on her, an ice arrow pierced his eye, killing him on the spot.
“How are you?” Vanessa asked from inside a small igloo of ice.
Erica had cast a spell called ‘ice fortress’ using the magical energy of her wand so as not to expend her own and produced a wall around Vanessa and Jordan.
The igloo was another extra spell to defend them.
This fortress allowed the ice mage to cast spells using the ice in its surroundings, managing to decrease a mage’s expenditure of magical energy and speeding up casting.
For endurance battles in the long run, it was useful and the surrounding corpses made it clear that it was proving very useful.
“I’m fine,” Érica replied, and looking at the drones, she asked. “How is Jordan feeling?”
“He can’t feel his legs anymore. I’ve delayed the poison as long as possible, but I don’t know how long it will last,” Vanessa replied in a solemn tone.
Jordan was completely paralyzed, but that he couldn’t feel his legs revealed that the paralysis was spreading deep.
At any moment, there could be some organ failure.
Sure, it was quite possible that Jordan was affected by a healing mage creating placebo effects or replicating the consequences harmlessly, but neither Vanessa nor she was happy with the situation.
“The others are already coming, we just have to hold on,” Érica said and her expression turned ugly as the drones detected five enemies around them.
They were coming from everywhere.
“Keep quiet and don’t go out. Others are coming.” Érica calmly reminded and flew off to engage an opponent.
What came was a Chaos-tainted boar that had already mutated.
That boar had a black horn on its forehead and as soon as it noticed Érica it charged towards her even though she was flying.
Unintelligent and savage, extremely aggressive... For Érica such an enemy was a relief.
“[Ice Spike]” Érica muttered and an ice spike rose in front of the boar.
*Crack*
That B-ranked boar lowered its head and broke the spike with its own horn.
Érica didn’t care and, using that brief moment that the boar was turning towards her, she cast two consecutive spells.
An ice arrow was fired at the boar and it bore it with its fur, but from underneath, an ice spike emerged and impaled it from the stomach.
Instead of flying back, Erica activated the movement ability of her combat suit and appeared near the small fortress.
Two enemies were enormous crocodiles and the other two were boars that hit the wall.
They were all B-Rank creatures, and all four wanted to break the wall.
Érica’s mind immediately worked remembering the weaknesses of those crocodiles, to act the next moment.
“[Winter Area]” Casting a spell around those two crocodiles, the movement of both of them slowed down as their legs froze.
Those crocodiles had a muscular body and their scales resisted the impacts and cut of a swordsman, their weakness being magic.
They were B-Rank wild creatures and Érica let them panic as they were frozen and turned her gaze to the two boars that were breaking through the wall.
*Boom*
Those beasts were hitting the wall with their horns and causing explosive sounds as they collided directly.
Although the wall was thick and sturdy, at this stage the charges had weakened the ice and it was falling apart piece by piece.
And it was from that destruction that Érica used to her advantage.
*Boom*
As the boar charged the wall, it staggered, letting a chunk of ice hit its head, and Érica moved.
The ice chunks around the boar took the shapes of spears and in an instant she was shot towards the boar, managing to pierce it and letting that creature let out a shriek of pain.
Without expending any energy to finish it off, Érica moved to the other boar and performed the same trick, only this time she finished it off by throwing an ice spike from the ground.
The expense of creating an ice spike that way was higher than using the surrounding ice, though the attack was effective on this type of enemy.
As she eliminated the other boar, she noticed that the crocodiles fled and one had left one of its legs frozen as it had not frozen.
Her high affinity caused her old spells to start acquiring greater strength to freeze.
“I’m done with the surge, I think I... Shit!”
Before she could inform Vanessa, her holographic clock chimed, and she realized that about a dozen creatures were approaching.
Some were giant bees, and the others were jaguars... A high number of B-ranks.
“Stay in that place!” Érica ordered, closing and reinforcing the igloo.
Then she looked at the bees in the distance and prepared her spell.
A spell of greater difficulty, as it had a higher area effect.
The bees were the size of a beach ball, and their stingers looked sharp.
“Bzzz...”
She heard the buzzing and concentrated on her spell, expending some of her magical energy.
The holographic clock gave her a warning that more enemies were sighted and, without panicking, Érica kept her concentration as much as possible.
“[Icy Blizzard]” Érica exclaimed, creating a blizzard that spread around her fortress.
It didn’t have the strength of an air magic blizzard, but it was enough to spread cold air along with some small pieces of snow.
“Bzzz...”
Bee let out a buzzing sound for the last time as Érica launched her ice arrow and managed to pierce through it.
The bees became annoyed and flew with more speed, but their wings slowed down as they entered the fortress and Érica took advantage of that reduced speed.
“[Rain of arrows]”
Her second spell was cast, and this was a higher spell than the ice arrow, this time launching dozens of ice arrows at a low cost.
The flaw was low accuracy, though it didn’t matter when it was enough arrows to miss the target.
Some bees fell to the ground and others were knocked down by the arrows, and still more bees came close.
“Grrr...”
At that moment, a low growl sounded next to her and Érica dodged the jaguar’s claws.
Without giving her time to react, the remaining bees closed in to catch her and before she could move, a white sphere hit her barrier.
“Shit...”
Cursing loudly, Érica froze that spider web sphere before the barrier deactivated and flew in the spider’s direction.
“[Ice Spear]”
Casting her best spell the spider was pierced, but other spider webs were shot from the nearby trees, and this time more prepared, she moved in the air as she dodged.
“Bzz...”
The spider webs hit the bees and Érica was hit by the jaguar.
There were too many enemies!
The bees in the sky, the jaguar on the ground, and at a distance, the spiders.
Each of them was not attacking each other and even though they had no teamwork, it was evident that they were allied.
“There goes some help!” Vanessa’s voice echoed in Érica’s ears and she could feel a light spread through her body.
Her mind raced and an overflowing amount of energy spread through her body.
With her wand in her hand, Érica laughed.
“That was very helpful.” She muttered as she waved her wand.
From the wall where the jaguar was standing, an ice spear was shot through her leg.
Bees flew at her and Érica shot several ice arrows as she moved to the spiders.
The spider webs were launched at her and as she dodged them, they hit the bees behind her back.
Taking advantage of the confusion, she found the three spiders that were hidden in the trees and cast three ice spears.
Her spell casting speed was splendid, as well as the strength of the spell.
It didn’t matter if the child-sized spider tried to hide behind a tree, the spear pierced the tree with enormous force and hit the spider.
Érica had been training for a long time and had learned many spells.
Her dedication and study covered the weaknesses of her lack of knowledge during mid-year practices.
The common duels could not reveal her full skill and all her preparations because it was only training.
This time, it was different.
Other jaguars attacked from the forest and, even though there were five of them, Érica did not panic.
She cast her larger-scale spell at a great speed and when the jaguars tried to jump over the wall; they were met with ice spikes extending from the wall.
Some were pierced, some were wounded, and some broke those spikes, but that was enough for Érica, who launched a powerful ice cannon at those who landed safely.
*BOOM*
An explosion resounded, and that spell known for its impact force and explosive ability let its strength show as well by freezing its surroundings.
“Grr...”
Grunting and wailing echoed in Érica’s ears as the wounded jaguars fell to the ground.
The frostbite was too strong, causing some to end up losing their limbs or being stuck against the wall that froze them.
To escape, they had to get hurt, and these enemies were wild beasts, but they were not affected by the chaos.
That meant they still had their instincts and were afraid of a strong enemy and pain.
Érica took advantage of this without caring about the injuries she caused or how unpleasant it was.
Many onlookers may have been upset by the animal abuse, but Érica didn’t care and continued with the attack.
Her goal was not to kill, but to cause enough wounds to make her enemy retreat.
Her knowledge and the ability of her spells were revealed, along with her great source of magical energy.
Ice shock, ice cell, winter area, ice wave, ice cannon, and other spells were cast consecutively using the surrounding ice methodically.
Slowly, Érica’s expression turned pale from the loss of magical energy, but she drank a bluish potion to recover her magical energy and defended again.
The corpses increased, and the number of enemies increased as if the authorities realized their capabilities.
*Bang*
Before she began to display high-level spells with more devastating effects, a shot rang out and two jaguars were shattered.
The next moment, the shots kept coming, leaving Leslie in sight, who had her sniper rifle in the form of an assault rifle.
The mastery of weapons made the advantage evident when it came to facing many enemies and the bullets severely wounded the creatures in her vicinity.
A bee was immediately killed by a shot and while some boars whose skin was tougher and crocodiles could resist a little, the weaker ones dropped like flies.
*BOOM!
In the distance, explosions could be heard as Nicole charged at all her enemies, striking with shocking ferocity.
Her fists pierced the backsides of the spiders, and she didn’t mind getting dirty as she continued.
Before Érica could ask about her remaining companion, from where the jaguars were coming from, a huge sphere of water flew across the sky as the jaguars tried to tear her apart.
Érica prepared her spell, but it was unnecessary, as the water from the sphere moved to the jaguars entering their orifices to drown them.
Alexey inside the water sphere turned pale from the expenditure of his magical energy, but that was a mere cost to defeat ten B-Rank jaguars.
“We organized upon seeing you surrounded to help you,” Leslie reported as she reloaded her rifle.
Érica nodded enthusiastically at her trusted companions and since the tournament was technically still on, she kept her cool.
“Go give the materials to Vanessa and don’t get careless now that we are close to victory,” she commanded, acting as the leader.
This was no time to let her guard down, at least not until outright victory.
******
Cecile watched as the young men ran as a group towards the rendezvous point.
Now Jordan, who had been the ‘wounded’ one, was taking the lead and reduced the pressure of his companions as much as possible.
As if to prove that the effort of his companions to help him was the right decision.
The mages were tired even the healing mage who had to cast offensive spells was exhausted.
She caused her enemies to be overstimulated, causing them to faint or the wounds to be maximized.
Healing magic was impressive in that it could affect the inside of a body, and such an effect was not necessarily beneficial.
If used excessively, those benefits could become a serious problem.
That happened with some beasts that had the sensitivity of their senses heightened, making small wounds feel like death wounds.
Or a small sound felt like a huge explosion that could rupture eardrums.
The body usually only accepted beneficial stimuli unconsciously and only someone of a high level could avoid being harmed by those healing magic spells, but those opponents were beasts and creatures without intelligence.
It was easy for them to be knocked down, and the healing mage proved to the audience that healing mages were not harmless.
However, she also revealed a more important fact.
“Vanessa is a rank A. I hadn’t realized,” murmured Director Vincent, who was watching from the side.
They were in a private box and Cecile was invited to join this usual high-ranking group and, unlike always, there were some other guests, such as ministers and important individuals in this place.
She focused on the combat, and the student named Vanessa.
The prowess of that healing mage required not only magical knowledge, but a unique control of her own magic, and Vanessa revealed such meticulous control as an A-rank.
“She participates as a member in healing modalities and in those, it is difficult to realize her true strength,” Elder Harris specified.
A B-rank healing mage, although with a lesser source of magical energy, with sufficient knowledge, could be better than an S-Rank.
It was true that casting spells, such as regenerating organs or body limbs, were impossible for such individuals, but that did not mean he was ‘weak’ as a healer.
Knowledge of magic and the human body, along with treatments, were what represented the true strength of a healer.
Though usually only analyzed by looking at their source of magical energy and their ability when it came to casting spells.
“Nicole West. An excellent fighter,” Emperor Victor muttered, turning his attention to another student.
Nicole, with splendid fierceness, could face her enemies without fear and in this challenge she manifested skill and intelligence.
Now she was demonstrating her endurance, as she fought tenaciously, paving a path to the rendezvous point.
At this point, the personal and any artifact barrier was either destroyed or weakened, which meant that the young fighter was using her body to continue to be the shield of the group.
She was cautious, and that she had multiple cuts all over her body, with none being serious, was proof that she was good at dodging.
By controlling her breathing and following a method of not getting overtired, she could stay in combat and make it to the rendezvous point, even while struggling.
The entire group advanced and Cécile watched as they reached the rendezvous point and were rescued, as if they had gone through some kind of military mission.
Then, as they disappeared with space magic, the people in charge of the tournament appeared.
They collected the corpses, caught the dangerous beasts affected or mutated by Chaos, and saved them for use in other challenges.
“You must have spent a fortune on this tournament,” Cécile said helplessly.
All the stages were specially prepared and thus the authorities trapped the magical beasts and monsters to use them on a large scale.
The person who responded was not Emperor Victor, but General Quiroga, known as the General of the North.
“Hmph. We can do it. For years, foreign powers pressured us and now that we are united, we made clear what others feared. We are strong,” General Quiroga declared, looking directly at Elder Harris.
The ministers and some presidents of the South American Empire gave a glance in that man’s direction and remained in uncomfortable silence, being more uncomfortable for some ambassadors of the nations within the northern giant.
“Now those of the ‘north’ fear us and can no longer perform their old tricks to secretly intervene in our politics. They know that the South American Empire will not fall,” General Quiroga commented with obvious derision and contempt.
The comment pointed to the long history of the United States with interventions in South American politics throughout history.
Saying it at this moment, where other people were present, caused the atmosphere to become quiet and tense.
Present was the Adventurers Academy teacher who was considered a ‘North American’ even though he was Canadian.
Central America and North America were united in the ‘United States of North America’ and, technically, they were now one nation.
It may not have been that long ago that they were united, but the current president was a Mexican who did an extremely excellent job of uniting all the countries.
And while that idea sounded far-fetched and impossible thirty or forty years ago, right now, it was reality.
A far-fetched reality and for Cécile, everything was far-fetched since a virtual reality machine was revealed to lead to another world and all made by a god.
In the end, the American continent underwent great changes during these twenty years and ended in a division between South American and North Americans.
Those ministers, presidents, or ambassadors who were present dared not say anything to an SS-rank, and Elder Harris was the one who frowned at the comment.
“The past is the past. Now we have to look to the future and put our grudges aside,” Emperor Victor intervened and, with a serious expression, stated. “Regardless of who is right or wrong. At this time, for the continent to be divided in two is for the best.”
Some frowned, but others nodded.
The United States, in leading the union with the other countries, used as an excuse the formation of the South American Empire that was emerging at the time, although the truth was that the plan for continental unification had been prepared for a long time.
Some countries were nationalistic and Cécile did not want to imagine what politicians and influential individuals had to do to make it all end up this way.
Not to mention the monetary expense they had to incur.
However, no one denied that the long-term benefits were incredibly high.
Countries that were formerly poor and considered ‘third world’ faced dangerous dungeons, but at the same time, had powerful people to defend them.
Nationality and place of birth meant nothing in the face of equality to become strong.
Those who went through more difficult situations had a greater chance of rising through the ranks.
Between life and death, skill users grasped ideas they could not understand before and achieved enlightenment, becoming stronger in the process.
Countries that believed in themselves and only prioritized their defense eventually realized that it was inefficient.
It was fine to protect their lands, but if the neighboring country was ravaged, then the creatures would come to their borders.
Africa was the evidence of such events when waves of creatures arrived in countries that were already in chaos and devastated it only to head for another.
The north became a single nation as expenses were spread, and benefits were now appearing.
In Central America, the regions had many resources, with the dungeons bringing a huge benefit.
Skill users were constantly being strengthened and guilds were successively created, bringing more benefits.
Still, some did not see everything in a good light and, for Cécile, General Quiroga was an example.
“Your Majesty, you are too indifferent,” General Quiroga said and, with an icy voice, he looked at Elder Harris and announced. “They are now the lair of mafias and cartels. However, they dare not move against it.”
He was mocking Elder Harris, who was an American, and he did it in a direct way.
Although Cécile, who was silent, knew it wasn’t a lie, at least not entirely.
“They let the Queen of the North unify all the mafias and cartels in America and right now they live in their lands and cause harm to our people.” General Quiroga spat in annoyance.
If countries can unite, so can mafias and that happened.
The ‘Queen of the North’ was the one who unified them thanks to her SS-Rank force and while in the South American Empire their lairs were taken down, they were now in the ‘United States of North America’ safe.
It was recognized that due to the current stabilization of the northern giant, it was difficult to deal with such ‘diseases’.
The onlookers were silent at these words.
Rumors about political conflicts between the two giants were brought to the fore today, and it was quite possible that it would spread to the public before long.
Cécile remained silent without reacting too much.
General Quiroga was known to be someone aggressive, especially to those in the north, and it was not uncommon when, before the unification of both continents, he wanted to attack the Central American nations.
“You will return to the north, Quiroga. Your vacation will end today,” Victor ordered, and seeing General Quiroga’s annoyed frown, he released his SSS-rank aura.
General Quiroga’s expression became furious and angry, but in the end, he lowered his head.
“I understand, Your Majesty,” he said in a low, growling voice.
He then withdrew by slamming the door on his way out, getting everything even quieter than before and that silence was not only uncomfortable but heavy.
It wasn’t every day that one saw an internal conflict and the problem was that this conflict was the difference in perspective regarding politics related to the northern nation.
“I’m sorry for that. I hope you can still enjoy the tournament I have prepared,” Emperor Victor said, and with a fake smile, he reported. “I will be retiring. My mood turned sour.”
Without waiting for a response from those present, he withdrew.
That he did not correct his general, showed his stance on such political conflicts and caused the imagination of those present to grow.
******
Victor leaving the silent room took a step and space distorted in a second as he appeared with Ersin at his side.
The seriousness he wore before, as if his mood had been ruined, suddenly changed and he gave an amused smile.
“Ha, he’s a fucking idiot. His performance was extremely good,” Victor commented, laughing in amusement.
Political conflicts?
To the public, it seemed that way, but in reality, the two countries agreed on many things.
If it wasn’t that way, it would have been difficult for an entire continent to split in two so peacefully.
Even if the experts looked for connections publicly, they would find nothing and that was because Elder Harris as the leader of the hero guild was the connection to the current president of the northern giant.
“General Quiroga will return to the north and start spouting some rumors to heighten the tension. Do you wish him to attack another mobster den as well?” Ersin asked in a simple tone.
This attack would be carried out without asking the authorities of the northern giant, and that would lead to the tension rising even higher and Victor shook his head.
“Everyone thinks I’m busy with the tournament. Let’s leave it at that,” Victor replied and laughing like a child, he pointed out. “This little performance is to keep the atmosphere tense. It will help the Queen of the North relax.”
It was known that he hated corruption and mafias, it was to such an extent that he had imprisoned most of the big mafia groups in South America.
Such events stabilized his dominant position during the early days of the empire but caused the Queen of the North to suffer a loss and, because of her high caution, she withdrew her assets to the north.
The tension between the two countries gave the impression that cooperation was impossible and that was real to a point.
The low and mid-level officials in the northern giant knew the tensions of both countries and even the president left a brusque attitude to the southern giant.
The two looked like rivals and enemies, although in reality, both were carrying out a large-scale cleansing plan that was extremely classified.
They would cleanse the entire American continent of the mafias by eradicating a disturbing internal problem.
All so that when the abyssal portals arrived, they could concentrate on one less issue.
He had to do an excellent job to make it impossible for the mafias to recover on the American continent.
“Before we start, we need to wait for the right moment,” Victor murmured with a soft laugh.
Only the right moment could grant him greater benefits when it came to carrying out his plan.
Patience was a virtue; which Victor knew very well.
Erica took a deep breath as she waved her wand.
From the wall of ice she had created, a spike reached out and pierced a jaguar.
“Ughh...”
Another jaguar jumped the three-meter wall and charged at Erica and in response, she calmly dodged.
“Grr...”
Before the jaguar could settle to pounce on her, an ice arrow pierced his eye, killing him on the spot.
“How are you?” Vanessa asked from inside a small igloo of ice.
Erica had cast a spell called ‘ice fortress’ using the magical energy of her wand so as not to expend her own and produced a wall around Vanessa and Jordan.
The igloo was another extra spell to defend them.
This fortress allowed the ice mage to cast spells using the ice in its surroundings, managing to decrease a mage’s expenditure of magical energy and speeding up casting.
For endurance battles in the long run, it was useful and the surrounding corpses made it clear that it was proving very useful.
“I’m fine,” Érica replied, and looking at the drones, she asked. “How is Jordan feeling?”
“He can’t feel his legs anymore. I’ve delayed the poison as long as possible, but I don’t know how long it will last,” Vanessa replied in a solemn tone.
Jordan was completely paralyzed, but that he couldn’t feel his legs revealed that the paralysis was spreading deep.
At any moment, there could be some organ failure.
Sure, it was quite possible that Jordan was affected by a healing mage creating placebo effects or replicating the consequences harmlessly, but neither Vanessa nor she was happy with the situation.
“The others are already coming, we just have to hold on,” Érica said and her expression turned ugly as the drones detected five enemies around them.
They were coming from everywhere.
“Keep quiet and don’t go out. Others are coming.” Érica calmly reminded and flew off to engage an opponent.
What came was a Chaos-tainted boar that had already mutated.
That boar had a black horn on its forehead and as soon as it noticed Érica it charged towards her even though she was flying.
Unintelligent and savage, extremely aggressive... For Érica such an enemy was a relief.
“[Ice Spike]” Érica muttered and an ice spike rose in front of the boar.
*Crack*
That B-ranked boar lowered its head and broke the spike with its own horn.
Érica didn’t care and, using that brief moment that the boar was turning towards her, she cast two consecutive spells.
An ice arrow was fired at the boar and it bore it with its fur, but from underneath, an ice spike emerged and impaled it from the stomach.
Instead of flying back, Erica activated the movement ability of her combat suit and appeared near the small fortress.
Two enemies were enormous crocodiles and the other two were boars that hit the wall.
They were all B-Rank creatures, and all four wanted to break the wall.
Érica’s mind immediately worked remembering the weaknesses of those crocodiles, to act the next moment.
“[Winter Area]” Casting a spell around those two crocodiles, the movement of both of them slowed down as their legs froze.
Those crocodiles had a muscular body and their scales resisted the impacts and cut of a swordsman, their weakness being magic.
They were B-Rank wild creatures and Érica let them panic as they were frozen and turned her gaze to the two boars that were breaking through the wall.
*Boom*
Those beasts were hitting the wall with their horns and causing explosive sounds as they collided directly.
Although the wall was thick and sturdy, at this stage the charges had weakened the ice and it was falling apart piece by piece.
And it was from that destruction that Érica used to her advantage.
*Boom*
As the boar charged the wall, it staggered, letting a chunk of ice hit its head, and Érica moved.
The ice chunks around the boar took the shapes of spears and in an instant she was shot towards the boar, managing to pierce it and letting that creature let out a shriek of pain.
Without expending any energy to finish it off, Érica moved to the other boar and performed the same trick, only this time she finished it off by throwing an ice spike from the ground.
The expense of creating an ice spike that way was higher than using the surrounding ice, though the attack was effective on this type of enemy.
As she eliminated the other boar, she noticed that the crocodiles fled and one had left one of its legs frozen as it had not frozen.
Her high affinity caused her old spells to start acquiring greater strength to freeze.
“I’m done with the surge, I think I... Shit!”
Before she could inform Vanessa, her holographic clock chimed, and she realized that about a dozen creatures were approaching.
Some were giant bees, and the others were jaguars... A high number of B-ranks.
“Stay in that place!” Érica ordered, closing and reinforcing the igloo.
Then she looked at the bees in the distance and prepared her spell.
A spell of greater difficulty, as it had a higher area effect.
The bees were the size of a beach ball, and their stingers looked sharp.
“Bzzz...”
She heard the buzzing and concentrated on her spell, expending some of her magical energy.
The holographic clock gave her a warning that more enemies were sighted and, without panicking, Érica kept her concentration as much as possible.
“[Icy Blizzard]” Érica exclaimed, creating a blizzard that spread around her fortress.
It didn’t have the strength of an air magic blizzard, but it was enough to spread cold air along with some small pieces of snow.
“Bzzz...”
Bee let out a buzzing sound for the last time as Érica launched her ice arrow and managed to pierce through it.
The bees became annoyed and flew with more speed, but their wings slowed down as they entered the fortress and Érica took advantage of that reduced speed.
“[Rain of arrows]”
Her second spell was cast, and this was a higher spell than the ice arrow, this time launching dozens of ice arrows at a low cost.
The flaw was low accuracy, though it didn’t matter when it was enough arrows to miss the target.
Some bees fell to the ground and others were knocked down by the arrows, and still more bees came close.
“Grrr...”
At that moment, a low growl sounded next to her and Érica dodged the jaguar’s claws.
Without giving her time to react, the remaining bees closed in to catch her and before she could move, a white sphere hit her barrier.
“Shit...”
Cursing loudly, Érica froze that spider web sphere before the barrier deactivated and flew in the spider’s direction.
“[Ice Spear]”
Casting her best spell the spider was pierced, but other spider webs were shot from the nearby trees, and this time more prepared, she moved in the air as she dodged.
“Bzz...”
The spider webs hit the bees and Érica was hit by the jaguar.
There were too many enemies!
The bees in the sky, the jaguar on the ground, and at a distance, the spiders.
Each of them was not attacking each other and even though they had no teamwork, it was evident that they were allied.
“There goes some help!” Vanessa’s voice echoed in Érica’s ears and she could feel a light spread through her body.
Her mind raced and an overflowing amount of energy spread through her body.
With her wand in her hand, Érica laughed.
“That was very helpful.” She muttered as she waved her wand.
From the wall where the jaguar was standing, an ice spear was shot through her leg.
Bees flew at her and Érica shot several ice arrows as she moved to the spiders.
The spider webs were launched at her and as she dodged them, they hit the bees behind her back.
Taking advantage of the confusion, she found the three spiders that were hidden in the trees and cast three ice spears.
Her spell casting speed was splendid, as well as the strength of the spell.
It didn’t matter if the child-sized spider tried to hide behind a tree, the spear pierced the tree with enormous force and hit the spider.
Érica had been training for a long time and had learned many spells.
Her dedication and study covered the weaknesses of her lack of knowledge during mid-year practices.
The common duels could not reveal her full skill and all her preparations because it was only training.
This time, it was different.
Other jaguars attacked from the forest and, even though there were five of them, Érica did not panic.
She cast her larger-scale spell at a great speed and when the jaguars tried to jump over the wall; they were met with ice spikes extending from the wall.
Some were pierced, some were wounded, and some broke those spikes, but that was enough for Érica, who launched a powerful ice cannon at those who landed safely.
*BOOM*
An explosion resounded, and that spell known for its impact force and explosive ability let its strength show as well by freezing its surroundings.
“Grr...”
Grunting and wailing echoed in Érica’s ears as the wounded jaguars fell to the ground.
The frostbite was too strong, causing some to end up losing their limbs or being stuck against the wall that froze them.
To escape, they had to get hurt, and these enemies were wild beasts, but they were not affected by the chaos.
That meant they still had their instincts and were afraid of a strong enemy and pain.
Érica took advantage of this without caring about the injuries she caused or how unpleasant it was.
Many onlookers may have been upset by the animal abuse, but Érica didn’t care and continued with the attack.
Her goal was not to kill, but to cause enough wounds to make her enemy retreat.
Her knowledge and the ability of her spells were revealed, along with her great source of magical energy.
Ice shock, ice cell, winter area, ice wave, ice cannon, and other spells were cast consecutively using the surrounding ice methodically.
Slowly, Érica’s expression turned pale from the loss of magical energy, but she drank a bluish potion to recover her magical energy and defended again.
The corpses increased, and the number of enemies increased as if the authorities realized their capabilities.
*Bang*
Before she began to display high-level spells with more devastating effects, a shot rang out and two jaguars were shattered.
The next moment, the shots kept coming, leaving Leslie in sight, who had her sniper rifle in the form of an assault rifle.
The mastery of weapons made the advantage evident when it came to facing many enemies and the bullets severely wounded the creatures in her vicinity.
A bee was immediately killed by a shot and while some boars whose skin was tougher and crocodiles could resist a little, the weaker ones dropped like flies.
*BOOM!
In the distance, explosions could be heard as Nicole charged at all her enemies, striking with shocking ferocity.
Her fists pierced the backsides of the spiders, and she didn’t mind getting dirty as she continued.
Before Érica could ask about her remaining companion, from where the jaguars were coming from, a huge sphere of water flew across the sky as the jaguars tried to tear her apart.
Érica prepared her spell, but it was unnecessary, as the water from the sphere moved to the jaguars entering their orifices to drown them.
Alexey inside the water sphere turned pale from the expenditure of his magical energy, but that was a mere cost to defeat ten B-Rank jaguars.
“We organized upon seeing you surrounded to help you,” Leslie reported as she reloaded her rifle.
Érica nodded enthusiastically at her trusted companions and since the tournament was technically still on, she kept her cool.
“Go give the materials to Vanessa and don’t get careless now that we are close to victory,” she commanded, acting as the leader.
This was no time to let her guard down, at least not until outright victory.
******
Cecile watched as the young men ran as a group towards the rendezvous point.
Now Jordan, who had been the ‘wounded’ one, was taking the lead and reduced the pressure of his companions as much as possible.
As if to prove that the effort of his companions to help him was the right decision.
The mages were tired even the healing mage who had to cast offensive spells was exhausted.
She caused her enemies to be overstimulated, causing them to faint or the wounds to be maximized.
Healing magic was impressive in that it could affect the inside of a body, and such an effect was not necessarily beneficial.
If used excessively, those benefits could become a serious problem.
That happened with some beasts that had the sensitivity of their senses heightened, making small wounds feel like death wounds.
Or a small sound felt like a huge explosion that could rupture eardrums.
The body usually only accepted beneficial stimuli unconsciously and only someone of a high level could avoid being harmed by those healing magic spells, but those opponents were beasts and creatures without intelligence.
It was easy for them to be knocked down, and the healing mage proved to the audience that healing mages were not harmless.
However, she also revealed a more important fact.
“Vanessa is a rank A. I hadn’t realized,” murmured Director Vincent, who was watching from the side.
They were in a private box and Cecile was invited to join this usual high-ranking group and, unlike always, there were some other guests, such as ministers and important individuals in this place.
She focused on the combat, and the student named Vanessa.
The prowess of that healing mage required not only magical knowledge, but a unique control of her own magic, and Vanessa revealed such meticulous control as an A-rank.
“She participates as a member in healing modalities and in those, it is difficult to realize her true strength,” Elder Harris specified.
A B-rank healing mage, although with a lesser source of magical energy, with sufficient knowledge, could be better than an S-Rank.
It was true that casting spells, such as regenerating organs or body limbs, were impossible for such individuals, but that did not mean he was ‘weak’ as a healer.
Knowledge of magic and the human body, along with treatments, were what represented the true strength of a healer.
Though usually only analyzed by looking at their source of magical energy and their ability when it came to casting spells.
“Nicole West. An excellent fighter,” Emperor Victor muttered, turning his attention to another student.
Nicole, with splendid fierceness, could face her enemies without fear and in this challenge she manifested skill and intelligence.
Now she was demonstrating her endurance, as she fought tenaciously, paving a path to the rendezvous point.
At this point, the personal and any artifact barrier was either destroyed or weakened, which meant that the young fighter was using her body to continue to be the shield of the group.
She was cautious, and that she had multiple cuts all over her body, with none being serious, was proof that she was good at dodging.
By controlling her breathing and following a method of not getting overtired, she could stay in combat and make it to the rendezvous point, even while struggling.
The entire group advanced and Cécile watched as they reached the rendezvous point and were rescued, as if they had gone through some kind of military mission.
Then, as they disappeared with space magic, the people in charge of the tournament appeared.
They collected the corpses, caught the dangerous beasts affected or mutated by Chaos, and saved them for use in other challenges.
“You must have spent a fortune on this tournament,” Cécile said helplessly.
All the stages were specially prepared and thus the authorities trapped the magical beasts and monsters to use them on a large scale.
The person who responded was not Emperor Victor, but General Quiroga, known as the General of the North.
“Hmph. We can do it. For years, foreign powers pressured us and now that we are united, we made clear what others feared. We are strong,” General Quiroga declared, looking directly at Elder Harris.
The ministers and some presidents of the South American Empire gave a glance in that man’s direction and remained in uncomfortable silence, being more uncomfortable for some ambassadors of the nations within the northern giant.
“Now those of the ‘north’ fear us and can no longer perform their old tricks to secretly intervene in our politics. They know that the South American Empire will not fall,” General Quiroga commented with obvious derision and contempt.
The comment pointed to the long history of the United States with interventions in South American politics throughout history.
Saying it at this moment, where other people were present, caused the atmosphere to become quiet and tense.
Present was the Adventurers Academy teacher who was considered a ‘North American’ even though he was Canadian.
Central America and North America were united in the ‘United States of North America’ and, technically, they were now one nation.
It may not have been that long ago that they were united, but the current president was a Mexican who did an extremely excellent job of uniting all the countries.
And while that idea sounded far-fetched and impossible thirty or forty years ago, right now, it was reality.
A far-fetched reality and for Cécile, everything was far-fetched since a virtual reality machine was revealed to lead to another world and all made by a god.
In the end, the American continent underwent great changes during these twenty years and ended in a division between South American and North Americans.
Those ministers, presidents, or ambassadors who were present dared not say anything to an SS-rank, and Elder Harris was the one who frowned at the comment.
“The past is the past. Now we have to look to the future and put our grudges aside,” Emperor Victor intervened and, with a serious expression, stated. “Regardless of who is right or wrong. At this time, for the continent to be divided in two is for the best.”
Some frowned, but others nodded.
The United States, in leading the union with the other countries, used as an excuse the formation of the South American Empire that was emerging at the time, although the truth was that the plan for continental unification had been prepared for a long time.
Some countries were nationalistic and Cécile did not want to imagine what politicians and influential individuals had to do to make it all end up this way.
Not to mention the monetary expense they had to incur.
However, no one denied that the long-term benefits were incredibly high.
Countries that were formerly poor and considered ‘third world’ faced dangerous dungeons, but at the same time, had powerful people to defend them.
Nationality and place of birth meant nothing in the face of equality to become strong.
Those who went through more difficult situations had a greater chance of rising through the ranks.
Between life and death, skill users grasped ideas they could not understand before and achieved enlightenment, becoming stronger in the process.
Countries that believed in themselves and only prioritized their defense eventually realized that it was inefficient.
It was fine to protect their lands, but if the neighboring country was ravaged, then the creatures would come to their borders.
Africa was the evidence of such events when waves of creatures arrived in countries that were already in chaos and devastated it only to head for another.
The north became a single nation as expenses were spread, and benefits were now appearing.
In Central America, the regions had many resources, with the dungeons bringing a huge benefit.
Skill users were constantly being strengthened and guilds were successively created, bringing more benefits.
Still, some did not see everything in a good light and, for Cécile, General Quiroga was an example.
“Your Majesty, you are too indifferent,” General Quiroga said and, with an icy voice, he looked at Elder Harris and announced. “They are now the lair of mafias and cartels. However, they dare not move against it.”
He was mocking Elder Harris, who was an American, and he did it in a direct way.
Although Cécile, who was silent, knew it wasn’t a lie, at least not entirely.
“They let the Queen of the North unify all the mafias and cartels in America and right now they live in their lands and cause harm to our people.” General Quiroga spat in annoyance.
If countries can unite, so can mafias and that happened.
The ‘Queen of the North’ was the one who unified them thanks to her SS-Rank force and while in the South American Empire their lairs were taken down, they were now in the ‘United States of North America’ safe.
It was recognized that due to the current stabilization of the northern giant, it was difficult to deal with such ‘diseases’.
The onlookers were silent at these words.
Rumors about political conflicts between the two giants were brought to the fore today, and it was quite possible that it would spread to the public before long.
Cécile remained silent without reacting too much.
General Quiroga was known to be someone aggressive, especially to those in the north, and it was not uncommon when, before the unification of both continents, he wanted to attack the Central American nations.
“You will return to the north, Quiroga. Your vacation will end today,” Victor ordered, and seeing General Quiroga’s annoyed frown, he released his SSS-rank aura.
General Quiroga’s expression became furious and angry, but in the end, he lowered his head.
“I understand, Your Majesty,” he said in a low, growling voice.
He then withdrew by slamming the door on his way out, getting everything even quieter than before and that silence was not only uncomfortable but heavy.
It wasn’t every day that one saw an internal conflict and the problem was that this conflict was the difference in perspective regarding politics related to the northern nation.
“I’m sorry for that. I hope you can still enjoy the tournament I have prepared,” Emperor Victor said, and with a fake smile, he reported. “I will be retiring. My mood turned sour.”
Without waiting for a response from those present, he withdrew.
That he did not correct his general, showed his stance on such political conflicts and caused the imagination of those present to grow.
******
Victor leaving the silent room took a step and space distorted in a second as he appeared with Ersin at his side.
The seriousness he wore before, as if his mood had been ruined, suddenly changed and he gave an amused smile.
“Ha, he’s a fucking idiot. His performance was extremely good,” Victor commented, laughing in amusement.
Political conflicts?
To the public, it seemed that way, but in reality, the two countries agreed on many things.
If it wasn’t that way, it would have been difficult for an entire continent to split in two so peacefully.
Even if the experts looked for connections publicly, they would find nothing and that was because Elder Harris as the leader of the hero guild was the connection to the current president of the northern giant.
“General Quiroga will return to the north and start spouting some rumors to heighten the tension. Do you wish him to attack another mobster den as well?” Ersin asked in a simple tone.
This attack would be carried out without asking the authorities of the northern giant, and that would lead to the tension rising even higher and Victor shook his head.
“Everyone thinks I’m busy with the tournament. Let’s leave it at that,” Victor replied and laughing like a child, he pointed out. “This little performance is to keep the atmosphere tense. It will help the Queen of the North relax.”
It was known that he hated corruption and mafias, it was to such an extent that he had imprisoned most of the big mafia groups in South America.
Such events stabilized his dominant position during the early days of the empire but caused the Queen of the North to suffer a loss and, because of her high caution, she withdrew her assets to the north.
The tension between the two countries gave the impression that cooperation was impossible and that was real to a point.
The low and mid-level officials in the northern giant knew the tensions of both countries and even the president left a brusque attitude to the southern giant.
The two looked like rivals and enemies, although in reality, both were carrying out a large-scale cleansing plan that was extremely classified.
They would cleanse the entire American continent of the mafias by eradicating a disturbing internal problem.
All so that when the abyssal portals arrived, they could concentrate on one less issue.
He had to do an excellent job to make it impossible for the mafias to recover on the American continent.
“Before we start, we need to wait for the right moment,” Victor murmured with a soft laugh.
Only the right moment could grant him greater benefits when it came to carrying out his plan.
Patience was a virtue; which Victor knew very well.
