Chapter 31: 29. Come on! Battle!

Chapter 31: 29. Come on! Battle!

In the Gladiator Arena Ready Room.

Dorothy sat on the soft seat, removing the little kitten that had been sleeping on her shoulder, and stretched out her finger to wake her.

"It's time to go up, Buster, this is our first battle."

"Meow~ Ao~"

The little kitten that had just been awakened by her master was still somewhat confused about what had happened, but upon hearing her master's words, she suddenly glared with her milk-like voice, issuing what she believed to be a mighty roar.

"That's wonderful, you really deserve to be my Magic Wand, Buster is so reliable."

Dorothy was also amused by the little one, but to prevent the little one from feeling sad, she covered her mouth, calmed the smile, and then began comforting the little kitten like cooing to a child.

After receiving praise from her master, the little one was immediately in high spirits; she lowered her head and rubbed her head against her master's palm, and at the same time, a childish but pure and firm heart's voice also rose in Dorothy's mind.

"I bless you, my Master, may victory always be with you."

With this heart's voice, Dorothy, who was originally stressed about her real-life impending first battle, suddenly felt relaxed. A mysterious confidence emerged from her heart, as if victory was indeed always with her.

However, her overly strong Inspiration quickly penetrated the source of this strength and saw through the true nature of this blessing.

"It's a sort of psychological blessing similar to hypnosis, with the effect of energizing one's Spirit, boosting confidence, and stirring a fighting fervor; it's just a bit rough and not mature yet."

Although she made such an assessment mentally, that didn't stop Dorothy from looking at the kitten in her hand with amazement.

This little one really had something about her, having begun to awaken her own Talent not long after her birth. And this power, reminiscent of war rallying, was quite interesting, and quite related to the True Name she had bestowed upon her.

Buster, the cat god from Ancient Egypt's mythology, was a Goddess, a guardian of the household, the daughter of the sun, and a loving and gentle deity.

But she also had a fierce and violent side. She was sometimes seen as a dual aspect with another Egyptian Goddess, the lioness Sekhmet, representing the balance of nature and Strength.

Legend has it that when the cat god Buster was angered, she would manifest the War God, the goddess of destruction and vengeance, the ferocious side of Sekhmet.

Therefore, the blessing that Buster had just granted Dorothy seemed to carry a hint of the divine authority of the War Goddess. Although this youthful power was far from the divine strength, the little one was still growing, with promising prospects for the future.

In any case, her previous huge investment was not lost at all; the little one's Talent far exceeded expectations.

"Thank you for your blessing, Buster, let's head to the battlefield together."

Dorothy, cheered by her mood, had already forgotten the pre-battle tension, and she did not even attempt to remove the effect of the kitten's naïve "declaration of war," but instead invited her partner with great fighting spirit.

She had witnessed these.

Inescapable defeat despite all efforts, never-giving-up one-hit reversals from the brink of death, evenly matched battles with worthy adversaries, calculated every move for a satisfying and overwhelming victory...

There would always be these dramatic turns on the battlefield.

She had experienced these.

So, what was there to fear? This was just an ordinary duel, and even though this body was indeed heading to the battlefield for the first time, my heart had already been through countless battles.

Even if the duels in the Magic Network were illusory, with that fictitious world having only ninety-nine percent of the reality of this one, some would say that truly strong witches don't participate in such trifling Magic Web Duels because they are meaningless—a one percent gap between illusion and reality could mean the difference between life and death in real battlefields.

But what of it?

The world of the Magic Network may indeed be false, but the journey of these six years, the efforts and achievements, have been truly real.

The illusory world provided the soil for me to thrive and grow, and now, I will transition from virtual to reality, heading to the real battlefield.

Dorothy opened her eyes, and the gate in front of her slowly opened. Outside the gate, a multitude of information was perceived in an instant, transformed into countless data points, accepted and processed by her brain.

Indeed, it's different from the Magic Network's environment; my brain which could handle everything with ease there feels like an overloaded computer operating sluggishly now. The seemingly negligible one percent difference between reality and illusion actually implies a world of difference brought about by a qualitative change.

Now, this is the difficulty of real combat. Compared to this, the Magic Web Duels do seem quite insignificant.

But what of it?

Such a challenge is interesting enough, and besides, it's much simpler than starting from scratch six years ago.

Besides, if my brain is overloaded, then I just need to upgrade the settings on the spot.

Dorothy switched to a breathing rhythm that she had mastered since birth but had never actively used before.

[Dragon's Breath: What is the source of a Great Dragon's strength? Is it the hard Dragon Scale? The sharp Dragon Claw? Or the destructive Dragon Language Magic? No, it is the Dragon's Breath.]

[The unique breathing shapes the power of a Great Dragon, bringing about a strong physique, forging the endless Magic Power of the Dragon Heart, growing the indestructible Dragon Scale and invincible claws...]

[As long as there is breath, there is continuous growth. The breath is the source of the Great Dragon's strength, and the Dragon Breath is the power that destroys everything.]

On Dorothy's Identity Card, the Talent field, which had been previously blocked with asterisks, cleared to reveal this last hidden talent, a power she had inherited from her mother, Euphilia.

"Come, let's battle, Sophia."

The still young Juvenile Dragon let out a tender dragon chant, and the newborn Dragon's Wings on her back unfolded, carrying her soaring into the sky.