NOVEL NEXT Chapter 96: The Tournament
It was the month of Christmas, and people were setting up their trees, searching for gifts for their kids and other loved ones. Everyone was blissful, since not a single dungeon break had occurred, not even in South Korea, the place known for dungeon breaks and constant destruction, which had actually helped them, rather than hindered, since many of the world's strongest fighters are from South Korea.
And since it was the month of Christmas, it was the month of the Tournament. The real tournament. In this event, seven fighters from each country, from all around the world, participate in a grand duel that involves physical, mental, and emotional stakes.
This was the biggest tournament that happens globally every single year, to determine which country is the strongest, but also because it happens during Christmas, to also celebrate peace and giving. It was a high-stakes tournament, with violence, though at the end of the day, only the low self-esteem countries are furious, as everyone else enjoys.
Nova and Elesch were playing with the kittens. The kittens had grown every fast, playfully curious about everything. Jumping as high as they pleased to get to Nova. They had some anxiety if they weren't close to Nova, so he had to constantly take them with him to the guild, so that they weren't anxious and carry on the trait.
Elesch was like another sister to them; they played together and discovered together. Luna and Sol had taken a liking to her, treating her as their older sister, always surrounding her for treats, which Elesch didn't think twice about.
After another thirty minutes, Nova and Elesch, with the kittens in a litter box, stepped out of the apartment to go to the guild to meet up with Marcus and Adam. Elesch and Adam had forged their relationship further, though they didn't dare to ask each other, due to pure nervousness, but they knew each other on a level that only long-time couples would understand.
After reaching the guild, they met up with Marcus and Adam and went to the eighth floor to train. Nova's Circle of Pillars itched slightly, having three black pillars embedded on it, the same as Elesch and Adam. They had refined their abilities through the Ability Chamber, constantly going there to interact with their duplicate self and learning more about their abilities to refine them further.
They had gotten stronger through the guild's gym, which was now fully redesigned and redone to refine the guild members further, as each and every one of them, including the trio and Marcus, knew that they were completely helpless during the dungeon break that had occurred nearly three months ago.
Nova set aside the kittens, tucking them in a safe spot to view them in action, while not feeling overly anxious. Everyone stretched, cracking their bones, then got into position.
"Since all of you are D-rank, I want you to continue to explore E-rank and D-rank dungeons to get stronger," Marcus spoke, his voice low and direct. "You have come a long way, and I intend for you to keep going a long way."
The trio nodded, lined perfectly in a horizontal line as they faced Marcus. Every time they came to the guild to train personally with Marcus, they always started with a light spar session just to warm up their muscles and feel the warmth radiating from them.
And they weren't allowed to use any abilities, only martial arts. In other words, they had to use only their raw strength that they had been working on through hours and hours of rigorous circuits and strength training. Staying on the stairmasters for hours at a time, at the max speed to build stamina and maintain a good energy flow.
Nova leapt first, followed by a duality between Elesch and Adam, who moved like a perfect pair. Nova launched a punch straight to Marcus's chest, but Marcus feinted to the right, grabbing his wrist and folding them downward, but he got up and skidded back. He didn't feel the pain; there wasn't any time for such an absurd concept.
Elesch and Adam split into their directions, launching a barrage of simultaneous attacks that kept Marcus occupied from both sides, then they switched their stance to cover a wider range, so that he wouldn't escape upward through the center. They launched kicks, punches, elbows, everything they could think of, mixing MMA with Muay Thai, Kyokushin Karate, and boxing.
If it were just based on raw power, they had enough now, with their raw speed, to take on D-rank monsters and not struggle too much, although they still needed to use their abilities to give them that edge to fully finish the monster.
Nova chimmed in, focusing on the back, so that nearly everything was covered, so there was no escape for Marucs. But Marcus simply smirked, taking all the punches and kicks as if they were nothing. Enough, though he was taking punches and kicks that could destroy buildings, a fun fact about him was that he was afraid of needles.
A simple needle that takes only ten seconds to go in and out, barely able to inflict any damage to him, yet he still felt shadow pain, like a guy being roasted alive.
Marcus elbowed Nova in the solar plexus, making him slam against the wall, as he stopped the punches of Elesch and Adam. Slamming their faces against each other, as if they were clothes. Their lips nearly touched before their bodies departed and were hurled right on top of Nova, who had just gotten up, but was once again slammed against the wall.
"I think, we y'all might just be ready for the Tournament," Marcus stated, laughing at Elesch and Adam getting up from Nova's lifeless body. "I am going to enroll you three in the Tournament. I think it will be a fantastic learning opportunity."
"The Tournament?" Elesch asked, confused, nodding her head to wear off the dizziness. "What tournament?"
"I will explain more as we get closer to it, but it starts on the ninetieth, about eighteen more days left, so you'd better become at least C-rank Adventurers before that time, got it?"