171 Dances with Dragons (Part 2) (You Fell for It-The Previous Chapter Wasn't Actually Filler)

Dia Lan took a deep breath, and the next moment, her eyes flashed, her gaze as cold as a machine.

Mechanized Mind

From the very beginning, Lioz's captivating beauty had been interfering with her thoughts, so she dared not say anything and decided to avoid it for the time being.

Then, as Lioz approached, Dia Lan made a series of hand seals with his hands, even activating the magical tattoos on his body.

Turn Mud to Stone

The flowing lava instantly solidified into hard stone, and Li Aoz, who had been striding forward while deeply immersed in the magma, was suddenly trapped in the rock strata.

Snap!

As Li Aoz slammed his fist down, the Lava Guardian followed suit, instantly shattering the rock layers. Due to the interference of their power, the entire earth trembled and shook violently.

—Now! [Energy Siphon]

Dia Lan used a super magic technique, abandoning incantation, and instantly hit Li Aoz, whose figure was briefly frozen. Light and shadow flashed around him, and magic fluctuations quickly spread outward.

"Draining my mana is the right strategy."

But draining his mana bar is a bit difficult.

He grabbed a rock and, under the cover of the flames and Lava Guardian, stuffed it directly into his mouth. The mutation feat he gained during his Alpha Rank, ' Iron Stomach,' allowed him to quickly digest and decompose inorganic matter to restore his energy.

Furthermore, Li Aoz possesses the secondary profession [Mage]'s [Class Talent: Arcane Deconstruction]—for every extraordinary knowledge learned from a Main Class, it permanently increases maximum Mana and mana regeneration speed by 1%.

Li Aoz's Main Class is [Mutant], and he currently possesses two extraordinary knowledge points.

Simply relying on [Energy Siphon] is not enough to burn his mana bar.

Dia Lan was unaware of all this; she continued to follow her tactics and fight. At this moment, the two were incredibly close in score.

Li Aoz advanced with unstoppable momentum, resisting Dia Lan's attacks and launching an armored charge, cutting his way to the enemy's front.

The decisive moment has arrived.

Arcane - Dragon Language Chant - Forbidden Wall

Boom! Dia Lan raised her hand to erect the most powerful spell barrier of the Delta-rank, but it was still shattered by the Lava Guardian's raised fist. She was not flustered. The moment the Lava Guardian slammed his fist into the ground, Dia Lan used the impact to instantly leap into the air. Looking down at the Li Aoz sweeping destruction on the ground, she immediately switched her tactical style.

Arcane · Draconic Language Chant · Shackling Chains

The best way to deal with such large individuals is to use binding tools to entangle them. The larger the individual, the harder it is for them to break free of a well-made net. On the contrary, smaller targets are more likely to escape through the mesh of the net.

The chains of magic wrapped around the Lava Guardian's body, but they were meaningless against the Zeta-rank's power attribute, and were shattered completely with a struggle.

Among the people passing by the arena, there were also some familiar faces of Li Aoz.

"The solidity of that fire elemental's body is ridiculously exaggerated."

Sylvia from the Enforcement Team complained:

"I never expected that Lioz, who failed his exams a month ago, would be fighting Dia Lan to a standstill... It's just like the elemental riots back then."

But at this moment, Sylvia could no longer connect the elemental riots with Li Aoz.

Because the entire arena was still created by Dia Lan's bloodline talent, to outsiders it appeared that Li Aoz was simply going with the flow and cleverly utilizing the advantages of the terrain changes.

"By the way, Senior Mordot, what's your opinion?"

Sylvia tossed her hair aside and looked shyly at the senior standing next to her.

"Wow? This method looks a bit like Architecting."

Mordot stroked his chin:

"Lioz's approach is truly brilliant. He used force to compel the magic-savvy Dia Lan to confront him head-on. Dia Lan is an arcane mage, and such mages have an incredibly wide path to mastery, but in the early stages, they really don't have many ways to counter this kind of threat."

"Senior, are you on Li Aoz's side?" Sylvia asked, her hands behind her back, while her eyes were only on Mordot.

"Hmm, I originally thought that Dia Lan wouldn't lose no matter what." Mordot shook his head. "As Dragon Titan, Dia Lan is only using the bloodline of the dragon race, which is good at spellcasting—why not use the talents of the Molten Gold Titan? Faced with Lioz's fierce attack, she should abandon the spell fortress tactic and use the Titan's talents. Close combat would be more advantageous for her."

However, the advantage of bloodline did not manifest itself.

Dragon Kind and Titans are creatures known for their size and strength.

Mordot even had the illusion that the power unleashed by Lioz in conjunction with that fire elemental caused Dia Lan to abandon close combat.

"If Dia Lan keeps fighting like this, time will run out."

"Mordot said in a deep voice."

"Then, senior, how about we make a bet?" Sylvia blinked and said, "Since you think Lioz has the advantage right now, then I'll stand on Dia Lan's side."

Mordot didn't look at Sylvia, but kept his eyes on the intense battle in the arena, and casually said, "Want to make a bet? It's not a bad idea. What do you want to bet on?"

Sylvia held up her finger and said smugly, "It's simple, the loser has to treat the other to dinner."

"Is that all?" Mordot said dismissively. "I can treat you even without a bet."

"Oh dear—senior, really..." Sylvia blushed, then turned her face away. "There are still many people here, senior, if you say that... does that mean you like me?"

"Indeed, I quite like you," Mordot said, clapping his hands as he watched Lioz throw a spectacular uppercut. "Well done, Lioz! I like you, and that punch! Fantastic!"

Sylvia's face darkened, and she immediately turned around, leaning on the railing and shouting, "Hey! Dia Lan, you can't lose! Take down Lioz completely!"

Bang! Li Aoz punched empty air, glanced outside the arena. "What are those people doing outside? They're so noisy."

"Ignore them."

Dia Lan stood gracefully in mid-air like an elf. The dragon scales on her body had increased so much that they almost formed a set of form-fitting armor. Whether it was an illusion or not, as her magic power was depleted, Dia Lan's face became more and more beautiful, and her cheeks flushed.

"We're not done yet."

Dia Lan exhaled a breath of hot, stale air.

"Call..."

Her gaze became somewhat unfocused for a moment; her brain was starting to struggle from the frequent use of super magic techniques.

Despite casting fifteen [Energy Siphon] spells on Li Aoz, it was Li Aoz's magic power that was depleted first.

Now, she can't even maintain [Mechanized Mind], so she has to stop using it to conserve magic.

There are 1 minute and 43 seconds left.

"Lioz, don't look anywhere else."

She slowly landed on the ground, raised her Dragon Claw, pressed it against her heaving chest, and said earnestly:

"Watch me closely."

"Watch your opponent."

"We haven't decided the winner yet."

Her gaze was incredibly firm and full of confidence.

"Hmm—come to think of it, you're doing pretty well."

Li Aoz shook his neck and smiled, "Don't think about so many things. Your focused fighting posture is enough to break other people's stereotypes about you."

Time remaining: 56 seconds.

Upon hearing this, Dia Lan was puzzled:

"... stereotypes?"