"Tch! This isn't working!" exclaimed Mauro.
Recognizing that he was only placing his team at a disadvantage, Mauro voluntarily ceased using his skill.
Fortunately for Damien, Mauro was not only sensible but also talented when it came to seeing the bigger picture.
Hence, he was spared from making a difficult decision.
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Heaving a sigh of relief, Damien was forced to use one of his trump cards–a few moments later to maintain a slight lead against the Colzen party.
The space around Damien's katana wildly distorted as a mix of red and black aura suddenly enveloped it, enhancing its cutting power tremendously.
Even though his skill, [(Semi-Passive) Sword Intent Lv.3 (Rare)], didn't directly enhance any of his attributes, it granted unparalleled sharpness to his weapon, enabling it to slice through materials tougher than the sword itself.
Gripping his absurdly sharp water-infused relic, Damien ferociously charged forth, viciously slashing his sword towards the Forest Troll Berserker's neck.
As a monstrous creature, the troll had sharp instincts.
Alarm bells rang inside the creature's head as it detected the imminent threat approaching from its left side.
The berserk troll then turned its head to look.
Realizing that it was nothing but a puny human, the troll roared in rage before viciously striking back, chopping its battle axes towards Damien.
Like a proud king, Damien sneered in disdain.
He simply continued charging towards the troll, fearlessly opting for a head-on clash.
A few milliseconds later, as the katana and the battle axes collided, there was no clanging sound, instead, a subtle clean slicing sound was heard.
Surprisingly, the formidable battle axes crafted from an unidentified material were effortlessly severed, along with a massive monstrous head, catching the Colzen party off guard with no time to react.
It was now around 5 PM so although it was a little early, the crowd decided to eat first.
As they vacated their seats, the enthusiastic audience eagerly conversed with their friends about the thrilling grand finals.
Everyone thought that Colzen would simply get steamrolled by Aslan so the current 1-1 scoreline was truly unexpected for them.
Some of the more fervent individuals even engaged in arguments with their friends who supported the opposing team, their chests heaving up and down in frustration.
Meanwhile, the Colzen representatives stood petrified.
In front of their academy station were around ten blacksmiths, although some of them were eliminated before the final stage, there were four notable ones.
All four blacksmiths advanced to the top 16, but only one captured Shye's attention, Meido Chan.
Eagerly conversing with the blacksmiths as they awaited the arrival of the Colzen representatives, the deans swiftly sprang into action upon noticing Shye and the others, with Dean Snowcrest and Dean Privett promptly organizing arrangements for their students.
Within mere minutes, the enthusiastic representatives were engaged in meetings with the blacksmiths eager to forge partnership deals with them, effectively dispelling the negative emotions stemming from their defeat in the second round.
As for Shye, he was over the moon.
In front of him was the blacksmith he admired the most, Meido Chan, who was responsible for crafting all the comfortable and trustworthy armor he had worn over the past four years.
He wanted to ask for her autograph.
However, he adamantly stopped himself from doing so because he knew that it would be detrimental to the partnership.
'Good thing I started investing points in intelligence...' Shye mused, realizing that the intelligence stat was truly worth every point investment.
"H-Hello, S-Shye C-C-Crowley, correct? I-I'm M-M-Meido Chan, a blacksmith. Do you know me? Oh...I guess you do...you're wearing my armor after all...Wait, ugh what am I saying?"
Hearing her stuttering like an absolute beginner, Shye couldn't help letting out a stifled laugh.
The contrast between her and Helena from the Gold Wing Spellcaster Shop was just too stark!