Chapter 226 - Oli vs Freele

"Now, with a sponsorless contestant going farther than ever before, will we get to see yet another upset?! Are we about to witness a finals match that no one could have predicted?!"

The audience was feasting on the announcer's commentary left and right. Everyone was eager to see another surprising star struggle to beat the odds. 

Not daring to mention the early and unexpected loss of two top competitors, the ref eyed both Oli and Freele. Seeing them stand on opposite ends of the stage was enough to get his own blood boiling. With so many upsets and so many unexpected matches, he was glad to get his small cut of the bookie profits. Regardless of his need to not show favoritism, the ref pled in his heart that Oli could pull off something the greatest upset of the entire tournament.

"A genius born only once every generation, Freele Whizek was placed at the second seed for a reason folks. She passed her own fiance and now the only person standing between her and the final match is a new name that none of us had heard until today.

"Entering under the recommendation of Sword Master Hurman but without sword skills, Oliver has shown that he's far from predictable. He's not a merciless monster but he also won't let anything stand between him and victory.

"Neither opponent has yet shown the full extent of their strength, so it's time we finally witness their power. But can a mighty low-adept match up with a mid-adept on the cusp of ascension? Will Oliver be able to end it before his essence runs dry or will Freele manage to keep Oliver's brutish strength at bay till she claims victory. Ladies and gentlemen… It's time we find out!"

Swells of the crowd echoed in waves across the amphitheater. Excitement was higher than ever! With the last match ending in a startling upset and this match poised to be even greater, all the crowd could do was impatiently wait for the ref to get on with the show.

"Are you both ready?"

"This is your last chance to give up," Freele laughed, matching Oli's confident stare.

Chuckling as well, Oli pounded his fists together. "Forgive me in advance for shattering your expectations."

"Ready," both contestants stated with a calm excitement in their voices.

"BEGIN!"

Taking opposing strategies, Oli and Freele took action immediately. Freele began to hover in the air just above the stage, gliding further backward as a cyclone of wind took shape around her. Oli leaped ahead with hammers in hand, ready to close the distance between them as soon as possible.

There was one thing that bothered Oli more than anything as he prepared for this match. He had never gotten a chance to see what Freele was capable of. With forfeit after forfeit, the only time Freele ever threw an attack was the time Trantor had silently given up and was thrown out of the ring by Freele's first attack. That left Oli with only a glimpse of what she could do. All he could deduce was the great chance of her being a long-range specialist. And sadly for him, Oli had deduced correctly.

Oli chased after Freele. Plunging straight into the growing cyclone, everyone was baffled.

"Fearless!" commented the ref. "For a man with earth essence to enter such winds, Oliver is truly fearless!"

"Or reckless…" Reginol mentioned, snickering at the silent, unfazed Practor Patriarch.

Freele was also startled. How could she expected Oli to challenge his weakness head-on without hesitation?

But Freele instantly understood Oli's tactic and glided further away from the cyclone. She watched Oli's earth essence getting stripped away bit by bit as he started to run with the fierce winds. And as Oli's essence was constantly replenishing itself, Freele felt instant relief from her decision to move as his essence hammer was thrown alongside the winds, crashing near her former position before being fully torn apart.

Oli didn't let up. His essence expenditure was far more than any battle before this. But if he couldn't get close to Freele, then none of his attacks would have a chance at finishing her off or even wounding her.

"Amazing! But how long can Oliver keep up such a strategy?" the announcer shouted in question. "And how will he deal with her light essence?!"

As the announcer had noticed, light began gathering around Freele. It grew brighter and brighter until she was a beacon hovering over the stage. She watched carefully as Oli would run in and out of her cyclone in an attempt to chase her. But she never hesitated to maintain the cyclone and never dared to hold herself as the easy victor. Freele watched Oli's every movement as she stalled to gather more light essence. The last thing she wanted to do was underestimate Oli and let him get close.

Effectively, it was a match of a glass cannon against a tank. Both combatants understood that and both combatants had deduced the other's strategy. But neither planned to change their tactic. They could only lean into their strengths and accepts their current weakness as something they needed to avoid at all cost. For Oli, that was being stalled out of all his essence. For Freele, that was taking a single, physical blow from Oli. With a limited amount of essence and paper-thin defenses, they targeted their opponent's greatest weaknesses with their natural strength.

As she expected, a few earthen spikes began to erupt from the ground below. However, her hovering allowed Freele to evade them quite easily.

Oli was the combatant that was appearing to struggle the most. He was clearly putting up a fight but Freele's stalling strategy was his earth essence's natural enemy. It forced Oli to keep a close eye on Freele while she gathered more and more light around her.

"Are you going to actually attack, or do you only know how to dodge?" taunted Oli. "You asked for a fight and now you're just running away? What sort of logic is that?"