Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 321: First Victory, Next Battle: Last Tournament's Top 8!

Milun successfully defended the arena, but this match was only just beginning.

Soon, the opposing side sent out another Level 8 contestant.

Their thinking was simple. Although the previous Level 8 had lost, Milun had also expended a considerable amount of Mana in the process and was not in perfect condition. Therefore, sending out another Level 8 contestant should, in theory, be enough to defeat Milun.

Moreover, the opponent had a strategy this time. The one they sent out was not a Warrior, but an Assassin.

Compared to a Warrior, the Assassin profession was obviously more threatening to a Mage.

Especially in a setting like a tournament arena, where the available space for movement was very limited and the distance between both sides wouldn't be too far, the Assassin's inherent counter to the Mage profession became even more pronounced.

So, the order of appearance in this arena battle was quite deliberate.

It wasn't just a matter of strength; the slight countering factors between professions were equally crucial.

Seeing that her opponent was an Assassin, Milun also grew tense.

Her Mana was already nearly half depleted. Facing a same-level Assassin at this moment was quite stressful.But...

After glancing at the encouraging look in her mentor Flora's eyes from below the stage, she immediately tightened her grip on her staff.

The battle began. As soon as it started, the Assassin Professional immediately displayed their advantage in speed, easily dodging several of Milun's spells. This forced Milun to abandon her continued offensive. Otherwise, continuing to waste Mana like this would leave her with no means of resistance once it was exhausted.

And once the suppressive power of her magic was gone, the opposing Assassin would be able to close in.

On the arena, the match entered a very intense phase.

The audience below held their breath, especially the contestants from both factions, who were so tense they couldn't speak.

"Here it comes!"

The Assassin activated a Stealth-type skill. Milun could only guess based on the airflow around her and released a flame barrier.

However, the opponent did not choose to strike, clearly feinting an attack.

Milun took out a mana potion and drank it.

This couldn't go on. Her condition wasn't as good as her opponent's. Dragging it out would definitely mean losing.

Although defeating one opponent and severely exhausting another was already quite good, Milun still wanted to do more.

So...

She simply dispelled the magic barrier. After all, if she maintained it, the opponent wouldn't make a move anyway. Once the stealth ended, they would only wait for an opportunity from a safe distance.

If that's the case, she might as well just give them that opportunity!

Sure enough, after a moment of hesitation, the Assassin no longer hesitated and directly launched an attack.

After the magic barrier disappeared, it couldn't be reconstructed immediately within a short time. For the Assassin, this was a good chance for a quick victory.

Playing it safe might guarantee a win, but he would also be at the end of his rope, leaving him with little ability to fight back against the next opponent.

So, he might as well go all out!

Both sides harboring similar thoughts, the Assassin's sharp blade aimed directly for Milun's face, seemingly about to pierce that cute visage.

Milun's expression didn't change. Fire element gathered within her staff, and a fireball shot straight towards the opponent.

A cold sneer appeared at the corner of the Assassin's mouth. He then turned to dodge the fireball, adjusted the angle of his blade, and stabbed through the palm Milun raised to block. The blade pierced clean through her hand and, without stopping, continued into the side of her neck.

Milun's face turned pale, but a smile hung at the corner of her mouth.

The next moment, the originally launched fireball suddenly reversed course and blasted into the Assassin, who thought he had already won and was completely off guard.

"Ah—!"

The Assassin's status panel was equally fragile. After the explosion, he was immediately severely injured.

"Battle over!"

Strictly speaking, both sides could still fight, but this was a tournament arena, not a life-or-death duel. It emphasized stopping at the appropriate point.

So, it was counted as both being eliminated.

Subsequently, Empire personnel immediately treated them, and their injuries were instantly healed.

According to the tournament rules, it was now the Doria Kingdom's turn to send someone out first.

Flora pondered for a moment, her gaze falling on Eve.

"I'll go."

Eve immediately understood, nodded, and directly walked onto the stage.

Instantly, the murmurs in the venue grew much louder.

"It's Eve!"

"Isn't that the ace of the Doria Kingdom? Why is she coming on so soon..."

Many people present recognized Eve, knowing the name of this top student of the Warrior Academy at the Doria Kingdom's Royal National Academy.

To some who didn't know the full situation, this was the strongest contestant from the Doria Kingdom's academy.

Having the strongest contestant come on second was clearly not in line with normal thinking.

But the representative from the Donis Kingdom, their current opponent, wore a troubled expression.

He certainly knew Eve's strength was formidable, and he also knew Eve was definitely not the Doria Kingdom's ace.

What to do? Send out their top two right away?

No, those two still needed to preserve their strength to deal with that still-hidden Lin Mo!

So, he sent a Level 9 contestant onto the stage, intending to test the opponent's moves and patterns for his main force while also slightly draining her Qi and Blood and stamina.

However, he clearly still underestimated Eve.

"Match over! Eve of the Doria Kingdom Academy, successfully defends the arena!"

Three minutes... it didn't even take three minutes. That Level 9 Warrior contestant was easily crushed by Eve.

They were only 1 level higher, so how could the strength gap be so large?

He could tell that Eve hadn't yet broken through to the Elite Level. Although she had also received two bottles of "Essence Blood Serum" as a reward last time, she had obtained too few resources before. Her strength had just broken through to Level 10. Two bottles of Essence Blood Serum could only bring her close to Elite, not enough to directly break through the realm.

No choice.

"You go."

He patted the shoulder of his side's second-best contestant, the one who had participated in the last Hunting Competition and placed third.

His original level was also Level 10, but he had been at Level 10 for some time. So, after receiving the Hunting Competition reward, he directly promoted to Elite.

Level 11 and Level 10, though a 1-level difference, had a huge distinction between Elite and non-Elite.

He didn't believe his side would lose.

Seeing her opponent step onto the stage, Eve's expression also turned grave.

Without further ado, both sides directly clashed. The battle was extremely fierce from the very start.

After all, the opponent was Elite Level. Eve couldn't gain an advantage in a head-on collision, but the speed advantage of an agility-type Warrior gave her room to maneuver. Relying on rich experience and exquisite swordsmanship, she didn't fall behind either.

"A Level 10 Warrior can fight an Elite Level Warrior like this?"

Below the stage, many spectators were dumbfounded.

"It's just because that Elite Level one is too weak..."

Of course, some expressed disdain.

Lin Mo watched the battle before him with great interest. He was very familiar with Eve's strength, but not with her opponent. After watching for about five minutes, he reached a conclusion in his heart.

Eve would win.

Although on the surface, Eve's disadvantage seemed to be growing larger and larger, as if she was about to give in, her true means hadn't been deployed yet.

Sure enough, soon, the opponent, eager for quick success, gave Eve an opening. After dodging the opponent's attack, a giant golden sword descended from the sky, instantly piercing through the opponent's body.

If Eve hadn't shown mercy, striking from the side, she might have cut him in half right then and there.

"Battle over, Doria Kingdom Academy successfully defends the arena!"

Following the referee's announcement, the opponent was also healed by a golden light.

The Donis Kingdom representative's face was extremely ugly.

Lost! An Elite Level losing to a non-Elite Level!

This was simply a great humiliation!

"Gallagher, you go. Teach her a harsh lesson!"

Things had come to this. It was no longer about considering victory or defeat. They had to save face, or the Donis Kingdom's reputation would be utterly lost.

Eve, having fought and won against a higher level, was already in very poor condition. She was preparing to force herself to continue fighting to wear down the next opponent when a figure suddenly appeared before her.

"You..."

She looked at Lin Mo in surprise.

"Go down and rest."

Lin Mo stretched his limbs.

In fact, he had been using the [Shadow Split] skill, having his shadow infiltrate the opponent's side to gather information on their movements.

Hearing what that old bastard leading their team said, he certainly couldn't let Eve continue fighting.

The next one to come on was the opposing team's captain, also the Donis Kingdom's strongest contestant. Eve was no match for him.

Actually, according to reason, they could send Ellie now, or even Sherfilia might not necessarily lose.

But Lin Mo felt that due to the previous Hunting Competition, many people already knew his strength was formidable, so there was no real need to hide.

On the contrary, not many people knew about Ellie and Sherfilia's strength.

Moreover, he was a bit annoyed right now and wanted to hit someone.

Eve looked at Lin Mo's back, her lips parting several times, but ultimately she said nothing and obediently went off the stage.

Seeing Lin Mo take the stage, the audience below immediately buzzed with discussion.

"Who is that? That Eve should still be able to fight, right? Why did she go down?"

Some who didn't know the situation asked in confusion.

Those with broader intelligence all wore serious expressions. "He's making a move this quickly? The first place from the Hunting Competition!"

"The score from that competition was just too fake. We can't rule out the suspicion that the Doria Kingdom cheated amidst the chaos. Hmph, I want to see just how strong this guy really is!"

Lin Mo's opponent also looked at him with great interest.

"So you're that Lin Mo who made the mentor so nervous?"

Previously, after the Kingdom's people returned, they had told him about this Lin Mo, describing him in an extremely exaggerated manner.

Gallagher certainly wouldn't believe their exaggerated words, but he also wouldn't be overly careless.

"Come on, make your move."

Lin Mo was almost amused by anger. He pointed at himself. "You want *me* to make the first move?"

This guy, his strength wasn't much, but he was quite good at putting on airs.

"Alright, then here I come."

Of course, Lin Mo didn't have any thoughts of countering the showboating either.

Putting on airs with such a Rookie was really boring. He just wanted to finish the fight quickly and get down to rest.

And so...

"Thud—"

Accompanied by a dull sound, Gallagher's figure was sent flying backward, crashing directly into the arena's protective barrier. A gaping hole opened in his chest and abdomen, blood spilling all over the ground.

The entire venue instantly fell silent.

No one had expected that this battle, which should have been exciting, would end so abruptly.

"What happened? Did he... did he teleport over?"

"No, not at all. It was just that his speed was too fast. You didn't see it clearly."

Some mentors also explained with surprised expressions. "This guy... seems to be an agility-type Professional. That speed... his level likely reached Level 13!"

"The opponent was careless! Clearly being a Mage himself, not understanding his opponent, he actually let the other side strike first, and didn't even use a protective skill..."

Even the referee was stunned for two seconds before hurriedly announcing, "Battle over! Doria Kingdom Academy successfully defends the arena!"

Gallagher's injuries were quickly healed, but he remained unconscious and did not wake up.

The Donis Kingdom representative's face was ashen. Facing the referee's prompt to send out a contestant, he could only grit his teeth helplessly. "We forfeit this match!"

Their strongest, Gallagher, had been one-shot killed. Sending the rest up would be meaningless. Better to quickly prepare for the next match.

And so, the Doria Kingdom just like that obtained victory in the first match, securing the first point.

Lin Mo returned below the stage. The surrounding gazes converged on him—some reverent, some shocked, some curious...

Including several students from the Doria Kingdom were the same. Only Ellie and the others remained calm.

Those familiar with Lin Mo naturally knew that Lin Mo hadn't even used much force just now. If he had really punched with full force, the opponent would probably have had to piece their corpse together for half a day.

Because the battle ended early and the next one hadn't started yet, they could rest for a while, waiting for their next opponent's match to finish.

Meanwhile, through the transmission of many informants, news of this match spread outward at an extremely fast speed.

Soon, people from all academies knew that the Doria Kingdom had produced an extraordinary existence who one-shot killed a Level 12 Mage!

This included their next opponent—the Kingdom's First Academy from the large Kingdom, the Lix Kingdom.

The comprehensive strength of this Lix Kingdom was even slightly stronger than that of the large Kingdom, the Lonia Kingdom, which had come to participate in the Hunting Competition before.

The Lix Kingdom's Second Academy, their Kingdom's Team 2, had even entered the top ten of their group in the last tournament, clearly stronger than the Donis Kingdom.

The First Academy need not be mentioned. That one had entered the elimination rounds, and not just the top 32, but had won two elimination matches, entering the top 8! They only narrowly lost in the semi-finals to another large Kingdom's team.

Without a doubt, the team from the Lix Kingdom's First Academy was, in the eyes of most, the strongest team in their group. Many were optimistic they could secure a top 8 spot and contend for top 4.

Their group stage matches basically no one paid attention to, defaulting to them crushing everything.

So, upon hearing this news, the Lix Kingdom's Supervisor also scoffed at it, not taking it seriously at all.

In their main Kingdom, the weakest contestant was Level 10! Those who had reached the Elite Level numbered a full 8 people... among them, one Level 15, two Level 13s, and three Level 12s.

In his view, at least 4 people on his team could achieve taking out an unprepared Level 12 Mage in a surprise attack.