The previous celebratory atmosphere dissipates when the defeat is announced and the score tied. Laura carries Cheshyr over to Lina to have her cast Holy magic and heal her. My Restoration magic differs from the holy magic I gave Lina. My magic is more of absolute restoration while hers uses holy magic to heal and recover wounds using nature’s energy and human potential. Holy magic uses all natural means to heal while mine reverses damage done at a steep cost.

In short, my magic is more potent but drains mana quickly since it affects the physical being’s recorded time. Lina’s holy magic is less potent but more targeted for healing external wounds in a certain area. It also takes far less mana to use.

The musclehead bows in respect to a fallen foe and turns to leave when suddenly an outburst comes out from our side. Looking at who shouted, it’s Alice surprisingly.

Alice 「 You… big meanie! 」

All eyes stare in shock and wonder what came over this gentle child.

Alice 「 You bullied big sis Cheshyr. I hate you! 」

I forgot about it, but Alice has a deep love for her sister. The demon Envie took those emotions and turned them pitch black, but originally she cared for Cheshyr a lot. The sisters have been spending time together and bonding ever since we left Realight City.

This is the first time I’ve seen Alice express hate like that, and it’s directed on the enemy that beat her sister.

Before anyone else can make sense of this, Alice scurries to the musclehead and launches magic at him. The bubble magic she demonstrated before comes out. Clear bubbles float forward like leaves at the musclehead.

His expression hardens, most likely he can sense the magic in them and dares not underestimate them. He brings his arms together in a cross formation to protect himself. He makes a solid judgement since the bubble explodes on contact.

Even if his Vitality is high, a bubble bomb like that must feel like a grenade setting off right next to his face. It feels like the exploding bubble is stronger than the one Alice used on the rats.

All the guys have slack-jawed faces of disbelief at the sight of a little girl hurling exploding bubble magic. But it’s not over yet.

The smoke clears and the musclehead is standing firm with determination in his eyes. Alice waves her hand and unleashes a flurry of bubbles through the air. The number of bubbles is way too many to defend against so the musclehead punches at the nearest bubble trying to pop it or blow it off course.

The punch misses hilariously of course. Have you ever tried catching a bubble with rushed hands? The force of the air causes the bubble to whip about out of grasp. The same thing occurred when the musclehead punched out like lightning. All it did was cause the bubble to move out of the way and continue on its merry way.

Realizing that he couldn’t catch the bubbles with his hands, the musclehead backs off and punches at the ground sending up a wall of dirt and tiny rocks. But some of the bubbles easily squeeze through the gaps and reach him. He blocks the explosion with his gauntlet covered arms again.

The bubbles explode in a chain reaction all around. When the smoke and dirt settle the musclehead looks worse for wear. His clothes are singed and his gauntlets lose their shine. He is out of breath and his arms are shaken up.

Rather than stay on the defensive the musclehead decides to approach the little girl. Alice isn’t perturbed and throws another volley of bubbles at him. The sight of the approaching bubbles makes him stop and raise his arms again. But this time is different.

When the bubbles burst on impact the usual explosive force and sound don’t accompany it. Instead the bubbles burst into a lump of sticky fluids and stick onto the musclehead like glue. Alice managed to change the properties of her bubble magic and created sticky bubbles instead of exploding bubbles.

The sticky bubbles that burst into a sticky mucus trap the musclehead and hold him down. He realizes he is trapped and cannot move an inch. Alice summons another bubble with magic, this time it grows bigger and bigger until it is the size of four heads. If that bubble is another bomb, the explosive power must be double or triple the previous bombs.

But contrary to expectations, Alice drops the bubble on the ground and it stays intact. The bubble’s surface fluctuates like a rubbery ball. Then she makes another enormous bubble come out and it lands on the ground with a loud crash.

If I had to guess, the first big bubble was designed to not burst on contact and instead act like a cushion or some sort of bouncy bubble. The next bubble seems solid like a bubble made out of glass but from the impact it made falling to the ground it must weigh several pounds.

Alice grabs the heavy bubble with feeble arms and slowly raises it over the bouncy bubble. She drops the heavy bubble which lands on the bouncy bubble. The bouncy bubble sinks in like it’s going to pop but it manages to stay intact. Then the bouncy bubble springs back up and launches the heavy bubble into the air.

The heavy bubble ascends into the air a couple of meters until it’s just a tiny pin in the sky and looks like it’s on a crash course with the musclehead. Sensing the impending doom, the musclehead struggles in the sticky bubbles but can’t get out. The heavy bubble makes a whistling sound as it smashes through the air with tremendous force.

Lina and the pets Mu and Fu look away in fright. The heavy bubble lands with a booming sound as it kicks up a cloud of dirt. What is left is a crater and the musclehead laying down in spasms of pain. This girl is a natural at using the bubble magic I made up on the spot.

Maybe I should have been more careful with designing the bubble magic, or at least limited what kinds of bubbles she could produce. All I thought she would do is make soapy bubbles with it, not bombs of doom or launching bowling balls on people.

While everyone is stunned Dunfer yells out.

Dunfer 「 That’s unfair! My men wasn’t ready and got caught off guard. Cheaters! I demand that I should win the point automatically. 」

Gosler 「 He’s right I think. The little girl started before I could give the signal and she attacked the previous combatant. 」

Becca 「 Well she was a bit emotional, but I agree. That victory doesn’t count. I’ll take the automatic loss. 」

Gosler 「 Then the score is 1 – 2. 」

So the next match was decided before the fight could begin. Alice broke the rules and attacked unprovoked. I won’t blame her since she’s just a little girl standing up for her sister. The plan originally was to have Laura and Lina fight and then in the last fight I would go up, it looks like that won’t be happening.

We console Alice and assure her that no one is bullying Cheshyr and that she did a good job. I quickly decide that the next fighter we’ll send is Laura. She has more experience in fighting than her sister Lina.

Laura steps forward and Dunfer sends one of the twins wearing jackets like ponchos. This guy has the left symmetry of the twins who mirror each other. Everything from his hair to his weapon is situated on his left side. I’ll refer to him as port side twin.

Port twin carries a dagger in his left and shifts his body at the same angle. Laura readies her knife that I crafted and enchanted. With an Attack plus 10 carbon steel knife enchanted with plus 10 agility, it should be plenty strong against a normal weapon.

Neither side makes any sudden moves even after Gosler starts, waiting patiently and observing for openings. A bird rustles the nest making the tree shake. Almost like the signal to start the two rush with their weapons poised. Both thrust the sharp instruments at the same time and pass each other sending off sparks from the clash. In that short encounter everyone can see that they are evenly matched. A rip in Laura’s jeans, a cut on the port twin’s face, an indecisive outcome.

But looking closer, the rip in Laura’s leg is bleeding profusely showing the depth of the slice, whereas the cut on the port’s face is just scratching the surface. The port twin shows a rare smile like he’s fooling around.

Then just a split second later the sleeve on Laura’s slim arm has blood spurt from another deep cut. The cut must have been so quick that she didn’t notice it until now. It’s clear that in that interval the port twin unleashed two attacks. His speed is higher than the ninja Laura.

The two fighters face each other and Laura throws a small thin blade from a holder on her thigh. The throwing knife aims for the port twin’s face so he throws a small dagger from his back. The two projectiles clash in mid-air canceling their forces out. But under the shadow of the port’s dagger another dagger emerges like a snake at Laura.

She dodges to the side but the distraction proves successful as the port twin closes the distance and lets loose a flurry of dagger strikes. Each strike is aimed at a vital point, neck, shoulder, chest. Laura expertly blocks each strike with her nimble knife, but suddenly more attacks approach her unseen.

A cut on her other shoulder, one on the waist, and one on the knee. The cuts are not lethal but they impair her movement and breathing. We all clearly saw three attacks approach her, but the result is that 6 attacks came at her. The enemy is making two strikes with each attack.

I see through the trick but decide to hold it back from Laura so she can experience it herself. If she wants to serve as the scout for this team she needs the observational skills to prove her worth. This will be her first serious fight in this world.