Casual Clowns were drowned in the shadow of the floating island, appearing hopeless.
Their second endeavor in the tournament didn't go as smoothly as the first, mainly because of their lack of intel and preparation for the second opponents.
Ender was shot down before he could scout the surroundings and discover the enemies. The said enemies made a first move and secured consumables without breaking too much sweat.
Had it not been for Cerberus and El Boss Queen's persistence, Casual Clowns might have lost track of consumables.
Their only victory so far was that their presence forced the other team to activate their Territory Sphere.
No one was proud of this, however.
Sin approached El Boss Queen and focused her entire healing prowess on her arm.
The woman's right arm was naked, meaning she couldn't fight as crazily as she used to. It was a weak point that enemies would focus on from now on.
It was El's dominant hand, too.
"I can punch with my left just fine," she said after Sin's eyes fell on her right fist.
Her words meant she'd be able to deal much damage or at least trouble her enemies with a left hand. She didn't sound weak or even tried to encourage others.
It was a sheer truth.
El Boss Queen fought with only her left fist more than a dozen times throughout her life.
"You'll be most likely the first target of that explosion mage," Sin said. "Be careful."
"...yeah, I will," El replied belatedly.
She wasn't used to hearing those words. Moreover, it was Damien's sister that had said those words! She may be the team's healer, but that little fact caused her concerns to weigh much more in El's heart.
Meanwhile, the boys were staring up at the floating island.
Five of them looked peculiar, staring up in their unique masks.
Even with them not saying anything, the group looked like villains scheming something cruel.
Shaw spat, "It's not that high."
Prince nodded, "They only secured one sphere, after all."
SWalker asked, "If we beat them, we will have four spheres, right? Remind me, how many territory spheres does the mountain's spire count as?"
Jake replied, "Three."
The five of them went 'hmmmmm' aloud.
The teams were now down to seven. Two of them were currently in a stalemate, meaning that five other teams were already engaged in combat over resources or spheres. There was a chance that at least one was recuperating on the elevated island.
The mountain's spire counted as three territory spheres, so having five of them from other teams was enough to win the tournament so long as the mountain's spire was claimed.
"We can't really stay idle, can we?" Jake asked.
The other four nodded.
The only saving grace was that anyone could stop the team from winning the game off the mountain's spire by simply being up there. It meant that only one of the clowns could spoil someone's win by hiding at the mountain's peak.
It was unconsciously decided that it'd be Jake since he could teleport and climb obstacles relatively quickly.
That said, the bastards above them had to be eliminated first.
Jake clapped his hands, "Get me roots of the trees. I'll make ropes for us to climb up this island. I will be able to swiftly pull us over to them."
Because of the survival kit Jake had inherited from Richard, he could craft a few valuable survival tools.
One of them was a rope with a sturdy knot.
It took him less than ten minutes to prepare three ropes by weaving them from the trees's roots. Jake tested them with his strength and keen eye before drawing out his bow and aiming at the island's edge.
Then both said at the same time, "Pick up the third rope and get to the work."
"Ugh," Shaw nodded. "Who am I pulling up?"
"El," Jake replied.
Shaw's face lit up. "Servers you right, baby undead."
Last Coin was holding onto Jake's rope. He was a mage and was the third lightest member of the team. Of course, it was decided that he was the third lightest not to piss off the ladies.
In reality, however, he was the lightest because of his robes.
Sin and El wore heavier equipment.
At last, the rest of the team landed on the island.
SWalker gracefully hopped off the rope and set his feet on the ground. He stood straight, his hand on his sword's hilt. "Thank you."
El Boss Queen dragged herself to the floor like a zombie. She looked up and spat. "Curse them all."
Last Coin used Jake's help. He caught his arm and flew up, as Jake used a lot of strength to get him up there. "Thanks, Jake."
Casual Clowns were now only a step short before reaching their enemies!
"The Shrine is on the cooldown, am I correct, my dear sister?" Prince asked.
"It is. You used your undead transformation earlier than me, so you should know better," Sin retorted.
Jake raised his hand, "Well, you guys think of something. I'll teleport when you get across this desert!"
"So lucky!" Shaw said.
SWalker nodded.
Last Coin pondered, "I should be able to marathon up there with my mana step, too. I think everyone should use their movement skills to mitigate the damage... ah! I can help you! How about I create a path with earth walls and sprinkle water on you?"
"Do it already, man!" Shaw said. "I'm dying here! Stamina is dropping even with us just standing still!"
"Yes, leave it to me!" Last Coin said.
While Sin decided to apply fire resistance to everyone, Last Coin took the team's helm and channeled his powers. He used the bubble of water first to sprinkle it on his teammates.
The second magic from his magical orb was an earth wall.
The magical orb within his sleeve rotated, heightening Last Coin's potential.
Last Coin shouted, "Sixty-four earth walls!"
"Woah! You already can double them?!" Shaw shouted.
Everyone else also stared at Last Coin as though he was a monster.
Earth walls sprouted diagonally from the desert's floor before falling like a domino!
The path toward the oasis was therefore created!
Prince patted Last Coin's shoulder, "Benevolent enough to create a highway on the desert! You have a bright future, Golden Coin!"
"Thanks," Last Coin awkwardly replied.
Finally, the five teammates stepped onto the starting line.
Prince cracked his neck, "We won't wait for you two 'cause we're barging straight into the oasis! Make sure you catch up to us real fast with your skills, or you'll miss the fun! This stage is foreign to me! I'm getting—"
"Quiet," Sin butted in. "We're off now!"
The five ran through the desert, stomping on the earth walls. Even with that footing, it was scalding, and each member of Casual Clowns felt like dragging their feet through the river of lava.
"It's nice to be an archer."
"Yes, it's nice to be a mage, too."