Wrock’s Unrelenting Force!

Kan'na looked across the field, "Hm, so he's not doing this quickly."

Akiol chuckled, "Let him have fun, we're all just relaxing anyway."

"I guess."

~ ~ ~

Wrock rotated to dodge an incoming attack. As Kor's fist hit only air Wrock used the momentum and delivered a crushing blow with his elbow.

Kor's armor dented from the impact as he recoiled back, a blossoming pain spreading across his chest.

Wrock slid forward and punched in the exact same spot, a silhouette of a sword stabbed into Kor's chest.

[Xiphoid Strike]!

And it began! Wrock's new and improved combo!

[Sky Rending Launch]!

Wrock punched Kor's jaw with an uppercut motion, the force sending him into the air. A trail of blue followed behind his fist. He quickly followed up with a jump and kneed Kor's chest, further damaging the armor.

[Vaulting Knee]!

He spun quickly and kicked Kor back down to earth.

[Cycle Crash]!

[Intense Speed]!

Wrock appeared underneath Kor and kicked upwards, two cobra silhouettes coiling around his leg.

[Twin Rising Cobras]!

[Thundering Impact]!

The shockwave slammed into Kor and sent him further into the air.

Wrock was prepared to continue their clash when they fell, but a purple wolf aimed a bite at his neck.

Wrock kicked its jaw causing it to yelp in pain and retreat. After a quick look around he noticed that the enemy team was charging forward.

'Oh, so they finally decided to work together?'

A sorcerer raised their staff and swung towards the ground, "[Prism]!"

A glowing transparent prism appeared above Wrock and a colorful thin beam shot downwards.

Wrock grinned and controlled the mana around his hand. As if slapping away a fly the beam was redirected towards the enemy team.

A Defender slid forward and held their shield at an angle. It emitted a neon green light the moment the beam was about to hit. The beam bounced off the shield and headed towards the sky. Hitting the sky barrier a large explosion occurred.

~ ~ ~

"Hmmm."

Akiol debated which card to choose. After assessing the possible choices he reached for the card. . .

BOOM-!!

A shockwave passed through the arena and blew away the cards.

Akiol sighed, "Really?!"

~ ~ ~

"Tsk, buff me! Kor and I will take him on together!"

An individual named Nier drew a long dagger from his waist, "Kor! Get up!"

Kor coughed as he shakily stood up, his armor mending around him. His wounds healed at a visible rate, no doubt the work of the Priest.

He spat some leftover blood into the grass, "So we're going all out from the get-go?"

"You act like we have a choice."

"Fine, fine. I'll tag along then."

Kor clapped his hands together and a red energy flooded from them. The energy quickly covered his entire body and solidified. His armor turned more sinister, giving off a deadly aura. When he spoke his voice was deeper, as if going through a voice modifier, "This guy is something else, don't underestimate him."

A golden rune appeared over Nier's left eye changing his pupil to match in color. He spun his dagger into a reverse grip, "Yeah I saw."

"Then let's go!"

They shot off towards Wrock, two streaks curving towards his position. One red, one gold.

~ ~ ~

Wrock grinned, "Now that's more like it!"

He tilted back slightly, a dagger swung by his neck only to miss by a small margin. He then used a hand to redirect a punch from Kor, followed by a punch from his other hand.

Wrock's blow was almost completely dodged, instead he only managed to deal a little damage with the attack.

Nier quickly recovered from the missed blow and stabbed towards Wrock's eye. Simultaneously Kor aimed a punch for Wrock's head. Both were ready to adjust to any movement Wrock made to dodge.

Wrock was quite pleased, it wasn't a bad move. Although it still wasn't enough.

Wrock's hands flashed. Kor and Nier were shocked to see their wrists captured by Wrock.

"I must commend that move, any ordinary fighter would have been done in by it."

Wrock threw their arms to the side and delivered swift yet powerful blows. The two stumbled and slid back from the force.

Nier winced, "He hits like a truck! Weren't Pugilists supposed to be lighter in damage, due to their combo potential?"

Kor shook his head, "I don't know, but he's ridiculous."

"Tsk! Such an unfair matchup. Let's do Plan B then."

"Got it!"

Wrock silently prepared himself for whatever this 'Plan B' was.

The two charged forward, once they got close they activated several Skills.

Wrock watched as he was bombarded with several attacks. Forming mana at his palm he redirected the attacks.

Akiol had long since informed them about the mana being essentially the same from their past world.

Mana was something the party had long since mastered. With just a few tries they had completely nailed the control.

Why hadn't they tried it before? It was because they already have, just simply not in-game. They hadn't expected a world with no mana to be able to perfectly replicate the mana from their past world.

The bonuses from reaching the pinnacle of mana control were quite substantial. It had significantly improved the party's overall strength.

Additionally now that they could use their techniques and abilities from their past world, their entire level of power was drastically increased.

There was still a limitation on their techniques, since that required inner mana and not the ambient kind.

Wrock's eyes narrowed, Kor and Nier suddenly retreated quickly. He almost immediately noticed a change of mana beneath him. Without even looking he activated two skills:

[Refresh Collection]!

[Intense Speed]!

The area around his previous location was replaced by a powerful eruption. Wrock noticed the mana turning slightly chaotic from the power.

A smirk formed on Nier's face. Naturally he was already aware of the teleport skill. The giant eruption was merely bait!

The golden rune on his face began to glow brighter, "Let's go Kor!"

"Aye!"

Nier shot a powerful golden ray, it's glow dazzling to anyone who would see it.

[Brilliant Ray]!

The red energy erupted from Kor and shot forward, taking shape of a dragon's head.

[Crimson Rage]!

The two attacks fused together, showing a crimson dragon glowing a bright gold.

Indeed, it was Sync! They had managed to Sync two incredibly powerful skills, a feat to behold!

The dragon head tore through the ground as it charged towards Wrock, passing through the now-fading eruption. As if showcasing its might.

"Ah, so that was the plan."

Wrock knew he wouldn't be able to take on such a powerful skill unscathed. Pugilists were not known for their tanking abilities after all.

Of course that didn't mean he couldn't clash with it.

"I actually want to go so far. You guys are truly great."

Mana erupted around him, rushing to meet his requirements.

He took a breath, it has been a while since he had used one of his old techniques after all.

His hand curled into a clawing shape, he then thrust this 'claw' forward. Mana erupted into action.

Suddenly a massive blue Phoenix formed, its talon gripping the attack. As if subduing a dragon with only one hand, or in this case a talon.

{Phoenix's Talon}

Wrock clenched his fist and the Phoenix closed its talons and shattered the attack. Leaving only some mana residue in its place.

"You're joking right?"

Kor and Nier stared in disbelief, their powerful Sync'd attack that had never failed before was shattered?

The rune on Nier's face suddenly vanished as he dropped to his knees, "This is some cruel joke right?"

Kor's armor returned to normal as well, "Hah, even after all that?"

"What a monster. How are we supposed to win at this rate?"

They heard clapping as Wrock approached, the crackling blue flame no where to be seen.

With a smile on his face he began to praise, "Fantastic, you guys were great. Truly."

Nier shook his head, "It was such a one-sided battle."

"Nevertheless I am quite pleased. It's not often you see skilled individuals in this game. However, it seems you're at your wits' end?"

The enemy team grit their teeth. Kor and Nier were their 'trump cards'. They both had extraordinary power that had never failed them before. None of them were capable of matching that strength.

Wrock held out his arms, "No need to be so down. There is no shame in running from a battle you cannot win. You have put up quite the fight already, no?"

"Tsk, what a cowardly way to fight. You surely aren't in any better position yourself. Such skills would need quite a bit of MP anyway."

Wrock shook his head, "No, I'm still capable of fighting just well. You all however, well at least you two, are facing backlash from the powerful skills. Am I right?"

"What about you? You must have used a Berserk Skill, how else can you explain that power?"

"That's were you're wrong. That wasn't a Berserk Skill."

"Lies, clearly you're stalling for time, or know you cannot win."

Wrock sighed, "My party is no worse than I in combat, take a look at your situation. Despite throwing out your best you still haven't taken down a single one of your opponents. Much less harm them. You're situation isn't too good."

"The same goes for you, as far as we are concerned all six of us remain."

"I'm giving you a chance here, do you want to continue or quit here? The choice is yours."

"We'll fight until the end thank you."

A grin spread across Wrock's face, "Excellent! That's the spirit!"