Chapter 204 Match 1: The Dungeon Crawl [4]

[Team Iron Fortress Eliminated!]

The deafening cheers of the crowd in the Arena rang out as soon as the Iron Fortress team was eliminated by Ares. While some spectators were stunned by the merciless beatdown that the last student received, others reveled in the bloodlust of the moment.

However, the other academies who were present at the event felt a mixture of fear and anger at the display of Ares' power. The thought of facing him in the competition was daunting, and some even considered the possibility of dropping out.

Hercules sat in silence, his eyes fixed on the screen, the tension around him palpable. As the footage of Ares' merciless beating of the opposing student played out, one of the other students couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hey Hercules, I think he had you in mind when he was handing out that beating," they said, eliciting nervous laughter from the others.

However, Hercules didn't reply, and his focus remained on the screen.

The VIP box guests were left in shock as Ares unleashed his savage fighting style. The beastman turned to Sarah, his expression incredulous. "Did you see that? Wasn't that one of Tania's techniques?"

Sarah nodded slowly, her gaze fixed on the screen. "Yes, but he's using it in a rogue way. Tania had been interested in taking him as her disciple, but with their current strained relationship, I don't think Mika would allow it."

Joseph's voice cut through the tense silence. "But let's not forget what he did to the last student. That was brutal." He shuddered as the memory of Ares pounding the helpless shield bearer and removing his head clean off his body played in his mind.

David cut in, "I'm not surprised by his fighting style. After all, he is Mika's disciple."

Sarah sighed and added, "I'm just glad Elaine isn't here to witness that. She would have found it entertaining."

The atmosphere in the room was tense, and Joseph couldn't help but feel disturbed by Ares' brutal treatment of the last student. "But come on, that was too much," he said, shaking his head.

The beastman spoke up again, "I don't think I want to cross paths with him in the future. He seems to be a dangerous one."

The group fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts about Ares and his ruthless display of power in the Arena.

***

Back inside the VR world, one of the students from the Cherry Blossom Academy expressed their shock, "This is unbelievable," one of them gasped. "How can he be so ruthless? It's like the restriction doesn't even affect him!"

They had arrived just as Ares was pounding the shield bearer and were planning a sneak attack on one of the academies when they got eliminated. However, witnessing Ares' ruthlessness, they were too intimidated to take any action. They also sensed the presence of another academy near them, which seemed to be thinking the same way.

"He was aware of our presence, right, sister?" Eva turned to her sister and asked .

"Yeah, I believe so, sister" Ava replied.

...

And not far away from Cherry Blossom Academy were the students from The Royal Knights Academy.

"Unbelievable. He snuck up on the poor guy carrying a shield. If he hadn't done that, he wouldn't have won so easily," one of the students stated, disapprovingly.

Another student chimed in, "Shouldn't we teach him a lesson on how to fight with honor, Lady Isabella?"

Isabella, the Vice Representative leading the team, sighed inwardly. 'These idiots don't understand that he didn't need to sneak up on him. He could have won even without that. He already sensed the other academies around him, and it was a warning to everyone that if they tried to interfere, he would show no mercy.'

"Princess Isabella?" a student called her, noticing her lost in thought.

Clearing her throat, Isabella refocused on the present. "A-Ahem, No need. We need to focus on getting our hands on the Crystal, so there's no need for us to waste our energy fighting other academies."

"Right, of course," the students replied in agreement.

Her words were met with relief from the rest of the team, including the student who had suggested teaching Ares a lesson. He had only wanted to impress Isadora with his bravery and had no desire to face monsters like Ares and Livia.

As an archer, he knew that Diana and Livia were watching his back while Ares was beating the shield bearer to a pulp. Even with the element of surprise, there was no way they could have succeeded in a sneak attack when other teams were also waiting in ambush.

***

As Ares and the team descended deeper into the dungeon, they encountered a fork in the path. Eric, who was leading the front, stopped the team and gestured towards the four paths. The team halted and gathered around him.

"We have to make a decision here, what path should we take?" Eric asked, turning to Ares while everyone else did as well.

"I think we should take the corner left path," Diana suggested. "It looks less heavily guarded."

Claude turned towards Livia, waiting for her opinion.

"...We already know what's waiting for us down these paths anyway," Livia said nonchalantly.

Ares stood silent for a moment, surveying the four possible routes, before turning to Livia. "Livia, can you create an ice wall to block off the right paths, leaving only the left path for us to take?" he asked.

"Yes, I can do that," Livia nodded and began to conjure a barrier of ice, which quickly formed a solid wall, blocking off the other paths.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Eh? W-Why though? Isn't it just a waste of her mana? Other academies can just destroy the ice wall, right?" Diana asked, confused.

Ares' smile widened, revealing a hint of cunning behind his gaze. "As you may have already realized, we cannot defeat an A-Rank monster alone. By blocking off other routes, we leave the other academies with no choice but to take the same path as us. We can then use them to fight the boss monster guarding the crystal."

He paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in before continuing. "And some academies may try to break through Livia's ice wall and enter the other routes, but it would be a waste of precious mana and time. Even if they manage to destroy the wall, they cannot defeat the boss monster on their own with their limited resources. So we need not worry about them," he explained.

Diana's expression grew alarmed as she comprehended the full implications of Ares' plan. "If all the other academies follow us, won't we all be caught in the same chaos? We'll have to fight not just the boss monster, but also the students from the other academies," she said with concern.

Ares' grin widened. "That's precisely the chaos we're aiming for. The other academies will be too busy fighting the monster to fight each other. We can use that to our advantage and secure the crystal."

"...."

The group fell silent, contemplating Ares' plan. It was a bold move, but if it worked, it would give them a significant advantage over the other academies in the race to obtain the crystal.

...

Ares' plan was a stroke of genius, relying heavily on Livia's skills in creating an impenetrable ice wall. The other teams were sure to face great difficulty breaking through it due to the restrictions imposed on them.

Only the strongest fire mages and warriors would be able to do so, but even they would have to waste a good amount of their mana and time to accomplish the feat.

In this Dungeon crawl match, time was of the essence, so the other academies would have no choice but to choose the open route, playing right into Ares' hands. This would lead to a final showdown between the academies in the battle against the A-rank monster guarding the crystal.

Ares' confidence in his plan was infectious, and the team members were all eager to see it through. They knew that they were up against some of the best students from other academies, but with Ares' strategy, they were sure to come out on top.

To be continued...