Birds soaring above the trees. Meanwhile, the giant rooted tree in the center towers over the birds themselves, casting a rge shadow onto the ground below it.

  Step, step, step. Sprinting past the wildlife and trees, Mars looks up at the massive tree branches hanging overhead.

  "Bam," whispers Rio, a few long feet away from Mars.

  Mars turns his head to the right, an arrow made of wind comes flying towards him. He quickly reacts in time, dodging the tip - just barely scratching his cheek.

  He rebounds from the dodge and immediately throws out an attack with his bde, swinging it intensely - the tip cutting the grassy ground. "Diamond Creation Magic: Emerging Crystals," casts Mars. A row of rge sharp diamonds emerge bottom up from the ground one at a time at high velocity. Destroying the trees and animals in its path towards its target - Rio.

  BAM!

  The sounds of trees falling over and breaking echo throughout the forest.

  Leftover debris lies in ruins on the sides of the rge diamond structures.

  Silence slowly fills the atmosphere.

  Mars composes himself.

  "Diamond Magic, interesting," says Rio.

  Mars calmly turns around to the direction of Rio's voice. “I thought I hit you?" Asks Mars, sternly.

  “I guess it would seem that way,” Rio says with a cunning grin on his face.

  Mars quickly figures out Rio’s ability to create identical clones. However, this doesn’t mean that the one standing in front of him could be the real one either, Mars takes this coin flip and immediately runs towards Rio, attacking with a teral swing.

  “You’re a quick thinker aren’t ya?” Rio says nonchantly as he dodges the attack.

  Rio’s left arm, hidden behind his back, grabs a knife out of his back pouch and utilizes the momentum of Mars’s teral swing to sneak in an attack.

  Mars notices the attack and takes a step back, but Rio has already positioned himself in a way where he will nd an attack due to the difference in their speeds in their current moment.

  Mars realizes the predicament he is in.

  Rio nds a clean stab into the side of Mars’s abdomen.

  However, this is not a real battle to the death. The combat uniform they both are wearing have been applied with many resistances. Meaning that the damage taken is not fatal in any way. Thus, Mars realizes this.

  “Diamond Creation Magic:” Mars says as he stabs the tip of his sword into the ground between both of them.

  Rio’s eyes slowly widen, realizing the predicament he is in now.

  The tides have turned.

  “Crystalize!” Casts Mars.

  The ground brightens, blinding both Rio and Mars.

  BOOM!

  “That was close, if I hadn’t prepared my defensive magic beforehand, I most likely would have finished there,” Says Rio as he breaks off a piece of diamond that is stuck onto his right arm.

  “Looks like both of us had countermeasures ready huh,” says Mars across from Rio a few feet away. In front of him is a clear diamond wall.

  In the center separating both of them is a beautiful diamond structure pointing upwards. The sunlight bouncing off the sides of the structure makes it shine.

  Both of them notice that if they don’t start taking this fight seriously, there won’t be any results to show to the judges.

  “As much as I want to have fun with you, I reckon we just let loose and see who wins. That works for ya?” Says Rio as he stretches out his right arm.

  “Agreed. I would like to finish this as fast as possible, I have other things I need to attend to,” replies Mars as the diamond wall in front of him slowly disintegrates away into mana particles.

  “Then, without further ado,” Rio equips his bow and immediately shoots out three wind arrows.

  Mars runs at Rio and swiftly cuts through the arrows. A fourth arrow appears, but before Mars’s bde could reach the tip of the arrow, it disperses into a strong pressure of wind, creating a cloud of dust around Mars.

  Mars looks around, standing in pce.

  Rio appears.

  Mars looks up.

  Both of them lock eyes.

  Rio fires an arrow towards Mars.

  “Diamond Encasing Magic: Shining,” Mars casts. Encasing his bde in diamond, the wind arrow bounces off the bde and sends it back two times stronger than before.

  It goes right through Rio as he slowly disappears like a mirage.

  Suddenly, the cloud of dust disperses as four other Rios ready an attack on all directions of Mars.

  “Wind Binding Magic: Wind bind,” casts Rio.

  Mars jumps, but the arrows redirect themselves and tch onto Mars, immediately pulling him back down to the ground.

  Standing in front of him a few feet is Rio, who is charging up another shot.

  “Wind Creation Magic: Viper Shot.”

  BAM!

  Rio feels his binding magic dispelling. “Heh, of course that didn’t get him.”

  As the dust disperses, a diamond structure shaped like a ramp appears.

  Rio looks up and sees Mars preparing to attack. He aims his arrow towards Mars.

  Twish!

  The arrow nds.

  Mars slowly falls to the ground.

  Thud!

  “Looks like I win this one, Mars,” says Rio as he approaches him.

  Crack.

  Rio takes a closer look at Mars’s face. The cheek is slowly cracking and breaking apart.

  Without a moment's notice, Mars nds a clean right swing with his bde onto Rio’s stomach sending Rio crashing into the trunk of the giant World Tree centered in the arena.