BXBX NOVEL Chapter 103 : Best of Five
He remembered the Dark Elf’s words before he raised the White Flag to surrender... In his own way, it seemed he had warned Sora that this world was not what it appeared to be. Despite being on opposite sides, Sora had a good impression of the man.
Musing over the man’s words, Sora remained silent, absorbing the new information. All factions apparently had access to the Ascension Tower, yet, for some obscure reason, Emily hadn’t warned them about something so important. ’Maybe she did not know?’ he couldn’t help but wonder. ’I’ll collect information on my own from now on. Living with such limited information is really holding back my growth. I need a way to access reliable information, any time I need it.’
The dwarf spoke next, his voice steady, "Human, not everything is black or white. Let’s put aside our enmity and work together inside this tower. This place and its opportunities are rare, and we should make the most of it."
The Dragonborn nodded, her melodic voice confirming to Sora that she was indeed female as she spoke. "The Dwarf is right. You’re the Team Leader, after all, and that earns some respect... So, what do you suggest we do?"
Sora thought carefully before answering. "It looks like we’ll be heading out soon. Depending on the battle format—whether its team fights or duels—we’ll need a strategy to match. Knowing each familiar’s strengths and weaknesses will help us prepare.
Klunor nodded, summoning his familiar. "I agree. And to add to the dwarf’s words, demons are an exception. I’ve yet to meet a demon who isn’t a bastard. Don’t expect them to align with your cause. Enough talk; let’s see everyone’s familiars."
Sora looked up at the colossal figure that emerged in front of the Dark Elf —a towering [Spectral Dragon - Level 145]. The dragon flew up silently, its massive translucent scales seeming to absorb all surrounding light, casting a dark aura over the space. Its intelligent eyes locked onto Sora, assessing him.
Activating his [Mana Eyes], Sora sensed a unique energy surrounding the creature, an essence he had never encountered before. His [Mana Customization] skill kicked in, guiding him to understand the strange, intangible force emanating from the dragon. ’This feels like the opposite of life-force… Could it be… Death?’ he wondered, curious about this new energy form. ’Is it an energy or an element? I want to copy it and test it myself!’
He focused intently, analyzing the flow of the energy, observing how it formed, how it moved, and the effects it had on its surroundings, feeling excited at the idea of stealing this new energy and its skills.
Sora’s thoughts were interrupted by the Dragonborn summoning her own familiar—Another dragon.
’Is everyone choosing dragons? How original...’ he thought sarcastically as he identified the creature: a level 145 [Ice Dragon].
With a sigh, Sora summoned [Netsu], his phoenix, hoping to match the others’ display of impressive beasts. As the Phoenix appeared, Sora facepalmed, taking in the sight before him.
There was Netsu, casually sitting, with cards stuck between his feathers, looking absurdly pleased with himself.
’The others are showing off incredibly majestic beasts, and here I am, making a fool out of myself, summoning a week-old gambling addict,’ Sora thought, glaring at Netsu. Through telepathy, a skill he’d "borrowed" from Netsu at level 30, he sent a pointed message, ’Stop fooling around and look up, or I’ll forge your body for a whole day.’
Surprised by the summon and scared by Sora’s threat, Netsu quickly burned the cards and straightened his back, feigning innocence.
Scanning his surroundings, Netsu noticed the two powerful dragons hovering above. Brimming with excitement, he stared at Sora and asked through their mental link, ’Can I play with them?’
’Don’t attack them, or you’ll get your master killed…’ Sora sighed, watching his Phoenix’s excitement, like a parent watching a child eager to play.
With a powerful cry, Netsu soared into the sky to greet his new "colleagues." Both dragons flinched, momentarily losing their balance midair from the force of the shock waves his voice created.
Netsu’s aura surged with such intensity that the air around him trembled, and his movements were so fast, he was almost like a blur to the onlookers. The overwhelming pressure forced the two dragons to retreat, scared by the powerful phoenix.
Saddened by the sight of his new "friends" flying away, Netsu floated back down and sulked, sitting behind Sora, his head hung low.
Klunor and the Dragonborn startled, visibly shaken by the display of power. It seemed that their dragons were quite weak compared to this phoenix...
"What did you feed your Phoenix?" Klunor asked, unable to hide his disappointment. "My tier 3 [Spectral Dragon] feels downright lackluster now. Thanks for ruining my mood."
The Dragonborn’s [Ice Dragon] dropped to the ground, trembling as it hid behind her. "My Ice Dragon did even worse," she admitted, casting a glance at Netsu. "It seems the tiers really do matter. I’m only tier 4, after all." She eyed her dragon with a mix of skepticism and concern, almost doubting its proud lineage after seeing the phoenix’s strength.
The dwarf sighed at the display. "Looks like my familiar might be the weakest here… Come on out, Bagra."
A massive [Black Tortoise - Level 145] materialized before them, its dark shell looking sturdy and ancient. Sora studied it closely, recognizing it as another legendary being from Eastern mythology.
’A Black Tortoise… I remember reading about creatures like this back when I’d read novels in class,’ he thought, feeling familiar with a beast he had never seen before.
All eyes then turned to the tier 2 player from the Demon Race, expecting him to summon his own creature. Instead, he ignored their stares, sat down, and closed his eyes, showing no intention of joining in.
Sora exchanged glances with the other three players, and together, they continued to discuss their familiars’ abilities and strengths in the remaining time. Their conversation was interrupted as a notification flashed before them:
[Your first opponent will be team 17]
As the walls of the massive waiting room faded away, Sora’s group took in a vast, glacial world stretching endlessly before him.
Under their feet, a landscape of ice stretched out beyond the horizon. The beauty and scale of the icy expanse left him speechless—it was as if he’d stepped into a frozen world suspended in time where the ground reflected the blue sky above.
’It feels like a different world... I’ve never seen anything like this, not even in the North of Sweden,’ Sora thought, excitement growing in him. He was beginning to enjoy discovering new landscapes, since he started traveling, and this place felt like the perfect setting for the battle to come.
As Sora looked around, he soon spotted another group standing a few kilometers away.
This time, he wasn’t surprised to see a team composed of players from various races: a human and a Dragonborn, along with a Werewolf, a Beast, and an Orc.
Werewolves and Orcs were powerful races who had launched attacks on Southeast Asia and Russia, respectively.
The Beast Race controlled the continent with the greatest diversity, with thousands of species and a dozen main sub-races with superior bloodlines and intelligence that led the lesser races.
Among the opponents across from Sora stood one such creature, with the body of a lion, a human-like face, and a scorpion’s tail.
It was a Manticore.
Sora’s focus changed when a notification appeared in front of him.
[Battle Format: Best of Five][All familiars will face each other in duels within their same tier, from weakest to strongest. The team with the most wins out of five rounds will be victorious.]
"We’re battling players of the same tier? Why even bother making teams then?" Klunor remarked, clearly surprised by the format. "They could just have us fight opponents in our tier and be done with it. There’s no need for teams, strategy or teamwork if it’s just duels of similar-level familiars."
The Dragonborn nodded in agreement. "There must be a reason. The system rarely assigns pointless tasks or rules."
Sora thought, ’Maybe teamwork isn’t expected during the teamfight but before or after?’ Familiar with the system’s patterns by now, he suspected, ’There’s a secret to making the team format advantageous; I just need to find it. And I feel like lower tiers don’t mean necessarily weaker familiars... My Phoenix isn’t strong because of its growth, but because of the way I trained it, after all.’
As the Dwarf sent his summoned [Black Tortoise] to face the enemy, Sora closely observed, discerning why it seemed weaker than the other four familiars. The tortoise was rather slow-witted and unable to perform difficult skills or follow complicated orders from its master who was growing frustrated.
’How did he raise this familiar? Did he max its growth, using the remaining time on [Train] but neglect its intelligence? That’s a poor approach,’ Sora thought. ’It relies too heavily on instinct and own bloodline skills. Training a beast with low intelligence diminished the effect of [Train] over time.’
As he noticed a similarly raised Golden Dragon on the opposing team, he watched the dull battle unfold. The Golden Dragon and Black Tortoise clashed for half an hour before the dragon finally fell and dissolved into light, returning to its master, an Orc in the opposing group.
The fight was so boring that Sora decided to try training Netsu with his [Nurturing] skill.
Observing him, the others found his behavior intriguing and began training their own familiar. However, they quickly noticed that, unlike on the previous floor, their familiars had stopped leveling up entirely.