“Huff…huff…I didn’t think I’d need the armor’s help so soon…” Gaudartha said as he slowly got back on his feet. “Phoenix Armor possesses great regenerative capabilities.”
Yeah, I could see that! All his injuries were gone… As if the defense value of Gaudartha’s armor wasn’t bad enough, it came with ridiculous recovery abilities, too? This was a nightmare. How many more charges of this trick did he have left? There’s no way he could keep it up indefinitely, but I didn’t think it was a one-time thing, either. The armor was crafted by a Godsmith, after all.
Teacher, one more time!
No. He’s already seen that move. He knows how to anticipate it.
All right.
Teleporting around too much would make it easier for him to read us. That was why we hadn’t used too much. If Fran could figure out the Demon’s Shadow Walk back in Alessa, a more experienced fighter could definitely spot our teleport tells. Unlike Short Jump, a plunging attack made her an obvious target if you knew where to look. Using it again was far too risky.
We looked at Gaudartha in shock. His full recovery was bad enough, but he took it one step further.
“He’s…Awakened again?”
Yeah. He’s back at full mana, too.
Our efforts to whittle away at his mana pool were wasted. To make things worse, our resources were still draining away. I wasn’t one to talk, being a magical sentient sword, but that armor should’ve been banned! It was overpowered!
With Gaudartha back to the same state he was before the match started, Fran made up her mind.
I’ll have to use it.
Can’t be helped.
Even if we drained all his mana again, his armor would just put him back the way he was before. Still, its power took about a second to activate. We needed to drain his mana and kill him before it could happen. That was the simplest way of winning.
You’re not used to that form yet, so we have to be quick about this. We don’t know what’ll happen to you if you stay that way for too long.
I know.
And don’t expect anything from Physical Immunity. I won’t have time to fiddle with it at that speed.
Never planned to, Fran declared.
I was prepared to back her up, especially considering that she couldn’t really die in this fight. This was our best chance to try out her new powers.
“Jet, take to the shadows and keep him busy.”
“Woof!”
“Here we go!”
Gaudartha knew from the look in her eyes that she was putting everything on the line. He allowed her to make her last stand as she gathered up mana. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but it will not be enough to defeat me! Come at me with all you’ve got! I’ll put a stop to it!”
“I’ll kill you!”
We’d done everything in our power to prepare for the tournament. I gathered up the crystals and ranked up. And Fran…
“Awaken.”
Evolved.
Boooom!
Mana exploded outwards. Black bolts of lightning crackled about Fran, forming a thunderstorm around her. Gaudartha only stared in stunned silence.
“Awaken…?”
“Hm.”
“A Black Cat…?”
Gaudartha could be forgiven for his shock. A Black Cat had just evolved right in front of his eyes. This was our ace in the hole: the pinnacle of the beastman tribes, which Fran achieved with Lumina’s assistance. Her appearance didn’t change much. She didn’t grow extra fur and her skin remained the same color. She didn’t increase in age, and whiskers didn’t sprout from her face. What changed were her eyes—a striking gold—and her tail, which pointed towards the sky like a lightning rod. If you paid close enough attention, her black tail now had gray stripes on it, but it was easily missed.
However, her stats had certainly increased. Three hundred points in Agility and Magic, along with a complete recovery of health and mana. It didn’t stop there. Evolving granted her access to a particular skill.
“Flashing Thunderclap.”
This was the advanced form of Lumina’s Thunderclap, unlocked after she evolved. Lumina had used it to fight in her normal state, but its true potential remained locked away until one evolved. In her Awakened state, Flashing Thunderclap granted Fran Strength Up, Agility Up, Heightened Reflexes, Elemental Blade Thunder, Enhanced Thunder, Thunder Immunity, and Thunder Magic Up. It was much more powerful than before.
Seeing Fran in her Awakened state hyped up the commentator.
“Fran has Awakened, ladies and gentlemen! But what’s this? She doesn’t look that much different than before! Not that she needs to with those threatening thunderclouds floating around her! I’ve never seen black lightning fall from the sky before, let alone from a person!”
Lumina’s lightning had been a natural pale blue, but Fran’s was inky black. Her bolts looked like they belonged in a sumi-e painting rather than in the clouds.
Fran had evolved into a Black Sky Tiger of yore.
“We’ve all heard the stories about the impossibility of Evolution for Black Cats, but Swordceress Fran has proven that false!”
To a non-beastman, the fact of Fran’s Evolution was surprising, but they were far more interested in how much stronger she was now. The beastmen, on the other hand, looked absolutely solemn.
“…”
Gaudartha stood in the arena, mouth agape, looking like he had completely forgotten about the battle. Meanwhile, in the VIP area, the Beast King had gotten out of his seat to stare. He leaned on the rails, looking like he wanted to get into the ring himself just so he could confirm it. Rosch, seated next to him, wore the exact same expression.
“A Black Sky Tiger?” Gaudartha croaked, finally returning to his senses. “To think I would be in the presence of one of the Ten…! How did I not notice before…?”
Gaudartha shook his head in disbelief. This was our chance. Fran leaned forward, ready to exploit this gap.
Ready?
Let’s go!
She rushed in at the rhino.
“Where did—gah!”
“Hmph!”
“Urgh! What…?!”
To Gaudartha, it must’ve looked like Fran had disappeared. No teleportation or invisibility here, just raw speed. The attack caught him completely off guard, and he wailed in pain.
