Took me a while to get this chapter out, but better late than never!

The audience in the arena was just as many as the day before. Just as noisy. People were just as wild and excited. I would assume that, with their enthusiasm, they severely lacked some form of entertainment—or that was only how interested they were in martial arts.

I tugged on the furry gloves that covered my fingers, stepping onto the big stage to face the honey-ladle head, Honey Beast. I had previously been inclined to view him nicely, but his snide remarks the day before ticked me off. It was not enough to regard him with hostility, but it was definitely enough for me to try to give him a harder time than he was probably expecting.

"Today's first fight will be between Honey Beast and Lionheart! Place your money and place your bets!"

I stepped back and faced the opponent, evaluating him. His stance was very relaxed. There was not even a hint of caution as I stepped up and got into the first stance.

He tipped his head back. I could almost imagine a grin under the mask.

I could feel some coldness inching from under my skin, threatening to spring out at any given moment. I had the solution that Mistress Kora brewed, but I wouldn't want to depend on it to solve my problems.

I was going to have to do this the old-fashioned way, and without anything to aid me.

I took a deep breath to calm the rising ire that bubbled in my chest. Anger was a powerful thing, but it didn't always work for the one feeling it. Mistress Veronika precisely told me to use it and forge myself further, but to not let it burn me.

This was a good test on my patience, and also perhaps a good exercise in controlling my power. I knew I was a disadvantage since I wouldn't be able to use it, but it was much better than accidentally murdering some people.

Just the thought of those creatures...and that frost...turning everyone to ashes sent my toes curling in disgust. I had been a little excited at the thought of having extraordinary abilities, but if it was something as accursed as this one, I frankly would not enjoy it at all—although if I could use it for redemption, then why not?

"Alright! It seems our participants are ready! This fight starts in a-one! A-two! Aaaaaaa-three!" A brief horn blew after the host's count.

Honey Beast, surprisingly enough, shot forward with eagerness. I didn't expect he would try and aggressively set the pace of the fight. Considering his actions earlier, he seemed to not have much regard.

Or maybe nothing has changed. He probably wanted to end this fight as soon as possible.

He pulled back a fist and struck at my face. I weaved to the side, expecting the move, and caught his wrist. Since he was heavy and I didn't want to overexert on the strength side of things, I used the momentum of his attack against him and flipped him over to his back. I even helped him accelerate as he landed on the pavement with a bang.

I heard him gasp.

He had been very clear on what he wanted to do—and while he was fast about it, I was prepared enough.

I stepped back this time and let him get up on his feet, still as ever prepared, curled into a stance, and waiting for an attack. Taking the rhythm of the fight was not the only way to take a battle. If I tried going at it like that, with how aggressive he was being, I would only be fighting fire with fire.

He was reckless. I could take advantage of that.

He stood up and, this time, took a better look at me. I was guessing he hadn't been taking me very seriously earlier, but that greeting would serve as a forewarning that I wasn't to be taken lightly. After all, among the thousands that had auditioned to be included within this tournament, I was one of the fourteen.

Thankfully, this opponent of mine wasn't the talkative type, either. Otherwise, our battle would be full of meaningless chatter and taunts—which would lead to nowhere.

The host did all of the talking for the both of us.

"Lionheart just asserted her position in this fight! It seems Honey Beast should be a little bit more wary with regards to how he would approach this one!"

He stepped in for another attack, and I waited for him to enter my range. Mistress Veronika had hammered into me the concept of spaces. There were many things to consider with regards to attack and defense and it was the length and reach of one's body, as well as the opponent's. One reason why weapons were so valued was that they extended the range and equipped someone with more means than just their fists, but we weren't given those.

Even then, I would definitely be beaten in close-quarters combat. Right now, I was not confident in my skills of wielding an object other than myself. I had barely even touched on the topic of long-range artillery.

Honey Beast shook his fist around, jumping on his toes and launching himself forward. This time, he did so with more caution and threw a combination of attacks that literally threw me off my feet. First, he slid in close. He then jutted a punch at my face while he targeted the back of my knees. As I was distracted by fist coming at my nose, I wasn't able to pay enough attention.

As a result, I lost my balance.

This time, I was the one who fell.

I landed on the pavement with a considerable thud, and it hurt enough to awaken my senses a little more.

"And down! Lionheart takes the fall this time around because of a double maneuver!"

Unfortunately, Honey Beast was much more merciless than I was and was determined to follow up an attack to incapacitate me completely and make me yield.

He lifted his feet in the pose of a stomp, targeting my stomach. My heart jumped when I realized what he was trying to do, but it was too late to roll out of the way. I mustered some courage and caught his feet, redirecting the trajectory of his attack so that he fell over instead.

"A reversal!"

I scrambled to my feet. I wanted to lock him into a position with the use of his leg to make him submit, but I was a little too slow putting that idea to use. While down, he sent a kick to my shoulder and forced me back. I didn't fall and merely staggered, but I completely lost the advantage I had wanted to take.

"Ooh!" The host hollered.

I stood back and put some space between Honey Beast and me, reevaluating the way I should approach this one. From that exchange, it made me realize he had better reaction time than I did—perhaps more live combat experience too. I only recently learned the basic stuff, and now I wasn't very sure if that would be enough to make me win this time around.

I had to make up for my lapses with something, though I wasn't really sure what I could do.

"Lionheart has stepped back after being shut down by Honey Beast in her attempt to assert dominance! Both have taken a bit of a breather from each other, it seems. Who will be the first one to step forward this time? Will it be Honey Beast again? Or would Lionheart proceed with their cautious approach?"

Wow, that host had a good read in the intentions of the competitors on stage. If he was narrating every bit of what we were thinking, there would be no secrets. Then again, our exchange had been very straightforward. I wasn't sure if we were at the level where we wouldn't be breathing as we fought.

But he was right.

I was much smaller in size, and I was the frailer side of this fight. It would do me good to use my size to my advantage and remain in cautious defense. If this guy threw his fist around enough, he would eventually wear himself out. I didn't know about endurance, but I had had consistent exercise since I was young—courtesy of the mistresses.

But that wouldn't work anymore.

I probably should have taken advantage when I managed to knock him down earlier, but I was a bit prideful at that time, and now I was suffering for it. I should've been just as merciless and sent in several attacks. Just like what Eren had done. She seized an opening the moment she saw it and was relentless in her assault, which led to her winning.

"YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT!" The shrill screaming from the dugout pulled me out of my reverie. I saw Maun and Eren on the side, the former excitedly shaking his hands in the air in lieu of cheers and the latter crying her support at the top of her lungs.

I took a deep breath. If I was going to be honest, I was actually scared. If I thought any more about what I should do, I would be worrying myself until I lost. I probably should start thinking less and start doing more.

I pulled up my fist and moved in on Honey Beast to throw in a set of attacks of my own. Staying cautious would only prolong the pain.

As I lacked a distinctive "style" of my own, I stuck with what I knew. It was probably unrefined and reckless, but it was the best I could muster in the end. There was no use feeling unconfident about what I had and worrying if I was lacking. I would just have to deal with it.

I threw a punch. As expected, it was caught. My wrist was pulled to the side and twisted to my back in an attempt to restrain me. I would admit it hurt. I gritted my teeth at the uncomfortable tug on my limb and bit down the urge to scream.

"It's time for you to just lay down," he whispered to me.

I would not be able to swing back my elbow at this position to strike his face because that would end up with me breaking it—I knew.

I pushed myself against him and brought down my feet on his toes as hard as I could. He yelped in pain and loosened his hold, which allowed me to swing my elbow and strike his face. Taking advantage of the successful move, I took his head under my arm in a choking position. I bent him over to my side and followed up with my knee to his chest. Once. Twice. Thrice.

"Hu-waw! It seems Lionheart has taken the advantage. She got out of that arm lock, and now she's beating Honey Beast senseless!"

I got a good kick—not literally—out of that one.

"Give up. Call for your defeat," I said, pulling on his arm and locking him so that he wouldn't be able to move.

"This isn't right," he replied.

I opened my mouth to retort, but sudden heat flared out from Honey Beast. His skin turned so hot that I was scorched through my gloves. I threw away the charred costume and stepped back from my opponent as he lit up in flames. Head to toe was flaming ember, and the heat was scalding enough that I had to maintain a certain distance just so I wouldn't get burned.

"Ah, crap," I muttered.

I had no element to fight back with. If he would be using fire to aid him in combat, the things I could do to retaliate—or defend—would be very limited.

I was attempted to say this wasn't fair, but Conduits were not without their blessings from the gods, and this was the point of the whole tournament to begin with. This was essentially an integral part of the game, so I could only blame my luck on being unable to use my power to aid me in this battle.

My mind went whirring as I debated on how to defend. Or attack. But I wasn't allowed to wallow in my worries as a ball of fire came hurtling at my face.