"Characteristics of ice? Then..." Souta glanced at her as his eyes slowly moved and changed.
"No, I'm still at the first level but it let me approach the second level," Alice answered. She noticed that he was staring at her so she asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Ah, nothing..." Souta shook his head. "I thought that you mastered the second level Integration."
"Have you forgotten that only experts that broke the first great shackle could master the Integration?" Alice raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, right. I really didn't pay attention to it that much since I'm different from you guys." Souta shrugged his shoulders.
Mortals couldn't grow infinitely. They would reach their limit if they continued to grow. That's why they had to break the limiter in their bodies called shackles. So if an expert wanted to achieve the so-called Integration, they had to break the first great shackle, the fourth shackle in mortals body. The fourth shackle was the shackle that limited the growth of elemental power in a mortal's body.
After breaking it, they would achieve unbelievable powers. The strength that they would gain from breaking the fourth shackle was higher than the third shackle. Also, shattering the fourth was harder than the first three shackles. Many experts got stuck at this level and couldn't proceed forward.
That's why the Adventurer Guild in Giza Continent named the first three shackles SS-rank and the fourth shackle and above SSS-rank.
Every time a human or demi broke their shackle, they would gain a random characteristic. A characteristic was a random power that a mortal would gain from breaking a shackle. Unlike humans and demis, monsters broke their shackles after their evolutions. And instead of characteristics, the monster's abilities would advance to the next level in the process of it.
"I understand..." Souta nodded lightly. But there was one thing that was bothering him. Alexander Dreyfus. He clearly saw that man had seven seeds in his body. It means that his seven elements were all at the level of Integration.
How?
That must be some sort of secret technique to achieve the second level while at the realm of Solidifying.
"You know now, the reason why most humans and demis are envious of monsters' growth. If breaking my shackle could only enhance all of my skills then I would be glad even if I didn't gain any characteristics." Alice explained.
"Well... There's a reason why we are called monsters." Souta couldn't help but smile.
If someone were to ask him to choose if he wanted a random ability or enhancement of all of his abilities. Of course, he would choose the latter without hesitation.
'As for Yenxa...' Souta glanced at Yenxa who was receiving treatment.
If Yenxa had the proper equipment, she would be able to fight higher level opponents. He was similar to her. He could still remember the time when he was having a hard time fighting an S-rank and had to use the power of his universal grade and dark grade equipment. If he didn't have any of these high grade equipment, he doubted that he would defeat his previous opponents.
While Souta and Alice were chatting, the battle between Isabella and Hanso was concluded. The winner was Hanso.
Even if she had powerful skills of the God of Hunt, her opponent was still a level higher than her. If she was going to sneak attack then she could probably end the battle easily but... this was different. She was enclosed in a barrier so she couldn't fully utilize her ability.
She was weak in fighting head-on. Although she lost, no one doubted Isabella's ability. Aside from the Shackled Realm experts in Astros, no one could probably guard against her if she were to attack like an assassin. Hiding in a dark and swiftly end the battle before it even starts.
In the end, she still showed a good fight.
The fourth battle was between Amanda, the Clan Leader of the Witch Clan, and Arfi, the son of the Witch Clan Chief Enforcer. The winner of this battle was Amanda.
Watching all of this, Souta realized the set of tournaments. The first battle was between Eztein and Eilish and the second battle was between Yenxa and Leef. So tomorrow, the first battle of the second round would be Eilish and Leef.
Damn, everyone was sure who was going to win. No need to say it.
Soon, the fifth battle started. It was between a monster called Great Lightning Jaguar and a witch named Prima.
The winner of this battle was Prima.
Then, the sixth battle...
"Now, let's welcome the contestant of the next fight!!!" Meina's voice echoed. "Elder Hanmi, one of the two elders of our clan, the Witch Clan!! And his opponent is none other than the second-in-command of the Astros!!! Lady Alice!!!"
"Oh," Souta raised his eyebrows with interest. He turned his head and glanced at Alice who was sitting beside him. "It's your turn."
"Yep," Alice nodded and looked at the two children. She held both of their hands as she turned to him.
"I'm going to bring Anzu and Aina to Eilish first." She said before she left.
"Okay, I'm looking forward to your fight." Souta gives her a light nod. He focused his attention on the stage.
It was a good matchup. Elder Hanmi was a good opponent to test Alice's strength. He was also looking forward to Elder Hanmi's improvement. Since he was in the Champion's Den for a long time, he didn't know how much the others have improve.
His eyes could see that Elder Hanmi was still at One Shackle Realm, but he didn't know if he learned new skills or honed his fighting style. So this tournament would make him know their improvement.
...
Alice stepped into the arena after she left Anzu and Aina in Eilish's care. She gazed at her opponent.
A bald old man with a thick beard and mustache was standing in front of her. He was thin and his back was slightly hunched but Alice knew very well that she couldn't underestimate him.
Elder Hanmi. The man who he couldn't hope to defeat a few months ago.
Alice took a deep breath as she slowly brandished her weapon. She fixed her posture as she stared at her opponent without blinking.
Elder Hanmi opened his hand and a vortex of energy formed on his palm. He raised his hand as he made a grabbing motion before twelve sharp needles came out of the vortex. The needles were silver and each one was six inches long.
This was his soul weapon, the [Flying Piercing Needles].
"START!!!"
With Meina's signal, the two quickly moved as they vanished from their position.
Swoosh!
The next moment, several shockwaves swept out and the ground trembled continuously. The audience couldn't even follow the movement of the two fighters. They could only feel the intensity of the energy coming from the arena.
Boom! Boom!
Alice and Elder Hanmi already threw thousands of blows in just a few seconds. They were going all out as the sound of the collision continued to echo.
The sharp needles were flying everywhere as they flew toward Alice with unbelievable speed.
'A problematic soul weapon.'
Alice squinted as she moved her body from side to side to avoid the sharp needles. Then, she swung the spear in her hand toward the incoming needles.
Clang!
Touching the floor with her hand, she pounced in the direction of her opponent. At the same time, layers of gray-colored flesh covered her body. It looked like she was wearing a tight armored suit.
Looking at this scene, Elder Hanmi swiftly pulled out the short sword on his waist. He raised it and blocked Alice's spear.
Bang!
He felt his hand getting numb from the impact. He jumped away while controlling the twelve needles. He realized that he wouldn't be able to win in a frontal battle. The physical prowess of his opponent was slightly higher than his.
Suddenly, he felt danger coming from behind. His instinct was telling him to dodge. So without looking behind, he changed his direction.
Boom!!
A huge block of ice crashed in his previous position. It was terribly strong as he could feel a huge amount of mana inside that block of ice. If that one hit him, he would undoubtedly receive some damage.
"I have to go all out."
Elder Hanmi muttered as he raised his hand above his head. He was still moving around the arena while Alice was chasing him. All this time, he haven't stopped moving as he knew that he would only give his opponent an opportunity if he stopped on his track.
[Element Drive: Wind Force]!
Powerful swirling winds enveloped the twelve needles. When the needles moved, they were faster than before. It produced an ear-piercing sound and before anyone could hear it, it was already in front of Alice.
Bang!
Some parts of the arena were thrown in mid-air as Alice crashed into the ground. One of the twelve needles managed to hit her and it left a huge gaping hole on the side of her stomach.
"Ugh! Such power..."
Alice muttered as she felt the taste of blood in her mouth. She looked up and saw the twelve needles flying at her once again. She stomped her left foot on the block of stone.
Bang!
The temperature in the atmosphere quickly went down as a wall of ice rose from the ground. It was seven meters tall and has a thickness of two meters.
