The fifth terminal was another massive change.
It and the last station were far more important than their predecessors. If the others unlocked the potential for them to activate, these two terminals were the ones that actually guided and facilitated the activation.
When August activated it and saw the puzzle for the first time, he was a bit confused.
The difficulty level had shot up, and the actual contents had changed completely.
From two dimensions to three dimensions, August was already expecting a four-dimensional puzzle to present itself here.
But that wasn't the case.
The puzzle was still defined within a three-dimensional space, however, it was more of a world now.
There were tiny individuals on a tiny planet that presented itself as nothing more than a hologram.
Still, they had lives and emotions, personalities individual to each and every one of them.
August was just seeing the world from an outside perspective, but for some reason, he could feel their presence, the breath of life emanating from their bodies.
Yet, he also knew they didn't exist.
'This doesn't seem like it could be done with just the power of the Holy Clans.'
Even if it was just an illusion, it was still too vivid for any dragon to produce.
August was immediately suspicious of the terminal's origins, but for now, he focused on the puzzle itself.
Which, by the way, wasn't forgiving at all.
It didn't tell him what to do.
Clearly, his goal wasn't the same as it was when the puzzles really were just puzzles.
There had to be something for him to solve in this world to make it whole. Only then would he be able to move on to the sixth terminal.
However, it was completely up to him to figure out what it was.
He could zoom as he pleased and even follow a single person through their daily life if he wanted to. He could also zoom out and see the entire universe from an overseer's perspective.
August had been given a godly omniscience in that world.
And he needed to figure out exactly how to use it.
His mind would definitely receive a workout here, but he definitely wasn't the one struggling the hardest in this space.
After all, not only was there Eris, whose fight was slowly reaching a level that August couldn't stand, but there were also Valerie and Mikael, who had only just started fighting.
Both were in conflicts that would determine their fates.
And when it came to Valerie specifically…
While she entered the central area in high spirits, it was fair to say that she wasn't in the best state.
Fighting Remelia took a lot out of her, but for the sake of her and August's victory, she got up and fought again.
Luckily, she'd made a lot of progress during her previous battle.
Mikael wasn't nearly as much of a threat as Remelia was.
Not only because of her growth…
…but because their elements were complementary.
BOOM!
Mikael didn't ask questions. Since Valerie decided to attack him, he was going to fight back.
He could always worry about August later. The threat in front of him was always the most dangerous one.
After all, in this situation, all four of them were competing for the podium, and only three of them could take their places on it.
Mikael didn't care if it was August or Valerie.
One person had to be eliminated. Whichever one served themself up for slaughter was the one that would go.
He spun in the air and kicked, creating a manifested dragon of light that rushed at Valerie.
Several roots immediately jumped out of the ground and blocked his attacks.
BOOM!
There was indeed a loud sound as the two forces made impact, but it wasreallycaused by all of the wind pressure that Mikael created.
The light itself…
Well, everyone knew how wood reacted to light.
It was absorbed, turned into nutrients that boosted the roots' vitality.
The only thing that Mikael's base attacks could do to her was enhance.
Of course, it wasn't like he couldn't harm her.
Elemental advantages were always useful to have. It would lead to an inherent advantage that could only be surpassed with pure skill or absolute strength.
Mikael didn't have absolute strength in this situation, but he certainly had skill. It was the exact thing that let him beat out the rest of his clan's geniuses to compete on this stage.
He attacked again.
Light was a difficult power to manipulate.
Elena had a light affinity as well, but without her connection to Valhalla, it would have been discarded long ago.
Life was simply far more powerful. Light had potential, but Elena couldn't find ways to bring it to a level powerful enough to support her on bigger stages.
It could be used to heal, sure, but that was not a combat ability.
It could be used for speed, sure, but that left one's actual power in the hands of their physical fitness.
When it came to manifesting light, there weren't a lot of options.
Stars, balls, beams, and other simple structures were the only real mediums that a genius like Mikael had.
Still, he made do with those restrictions and turned his power into something valuable, just as every other member of a light dragon clan did.
It worked well enough if one could do it properly. Otherwise, the Aurora Clan could've never become one of the six Holy Clans of Arulion.
When Mikael attacked again, he used properties of fire within his light.
His body surged with power as he wrapped himself in a layer of the element.
Speed was still important. The weaknesses of this technique could be filled in by other techniques.
And, heat was always an important factor of light.
Valerie had just finished dealing with someone whose entire identity revolved around that concept, so shedefinitelywasn't happy to encounter it again.
Still, that was how the situation turned out.
Valerie instantly summoned a massive forest that took up a defeat chunk of the central area.
Practically the only things left uncovered were August and the terminals, and Eris and the beast.
The heated light beams that blasted towards Valerie were stuck in the forest. They struck a few trees and burned through them, but they couldn't reach Valerie through the thick foliage.
That wasn't necessarily a problem for Mikael.
With his speed enhanced to such a degree, he could move like he was teleporting:
With a level of dexterity that only light could possess, he shot straight through the forest, phasing through any obstacles that he couldn't avoid directly,
BOOOOOOOM!
The light of the explosion as he struck towards Valerie was extremely bright, enough to almost blind the spectators outside.
If it wasn't for the intervention of the tournament staff, there truly would have been injuries.
A massive forest, and in its midst, a dome of pure golden-white light.
It was already a mystifying scene, and it became even better when audiences realized that it was only half of what was happening in the central area.
Thisreallywas the fight to end it all.
The outcome of this altercation would determine the final rankings of the heir wars' first round.
And though all of the participants, except for Eris, of course, seemed like they were evenly matched…
…this fight would end sooner than anyone in the audience expected.
The fifth terminal was another massive change.
It and the last station were far more important than their predecessors. If the others unlocked the potential for them to activate, these two terminals were the ones that actually guided and facilitated the activation.
When August activated it and saw the puzzle for the first time, he was a bit confused.
The difficulty level had shot up, and the actual contents had changed completely.
From two dimensions to three dimensions, August was already expecting a four-dimensional puzzle to present itself here.
But that wasn't the case.
The puzzle was still defined within a three-dimensional space, however, it was more of a world now.
There were tiny individuals on a tiny planet that presented itself as nothing more than a hologram.
Still, they had lives and emotions, personalities individual to each and every one of them.
August was just seeing the world from an outside perspective, but for some reason, he could feel their presence, the breath of life emanating from their bodies.
Yet, he also knew they didn't exist.
'This doesn't seem like it could be done with just the power of the Holy Clans.'
Even if it was just an illusion, it was still too vivid for any dragon to produce.
August was immediately suspicious of the terminal's origins, but for now, he focused on the puzzle itself.
Which, by the way, wasn't forgiving at all.
It didn't tell him what to do.
Clearly, his goal wasn't the same as it was when the puzzles really were just puzzles.
There had to be something for him to solve in this world to make it whole. Only then would he be able to move on to the sixth terminal.
However, it was completely up to him to figure out what it was.
He could zoom as he pleased and even follow a single person through their daily life if he wanted to. He could also zoom out and see the entire universe from an overseer's perspective.
August had been given a godly omniscience in that world.
And he needed to figure out exactly how to use it.
His mind would definitely receive a workout here, but he definitely wasn't the one struggling the hardest in this space.
After all, not only was there Eris, whose fight was slowly reaching a level that August couldn't stand, but there were also Valerie and Mikael, who had only just started fighting.
Both were in conflicts that would determine their fates.
And when it came to Valerie specifically…
While she entered the central area in high spirits, it was fair to say that she wasn't in the best state.
Fighting Remelia took a lot out of her, but for the sake of her and August's victory, she got up and fought again.
Luckily, she'd made a lot of progress during her previous battle.
Mikael wasn't nearly as much of a threat as Remelia was.
Not only because of her growth…
…but because their elements were complementary.
BOOM!
Mikael didn't ask questions. Since Valerie decided to attack him, he was going to fight back.
He could always worry about August later. The threat in front of him was always the most dangerous one.
After all, in this situation, all four of them were competing for the podium, and only three of them could take their places on it.
Mikael didn't care if it was August or Valerie.
One person had to be eliminated. Whichever one served themself up for slaughter was the one that would go.
He spun in the air and kicked, creating a manifested dragon of light that rushed at Valerie.
Several roots immediately jumped out of the ground and blocked his attacks.
BOOM!
There was indeed a loud sound as the two forces made impact, but it wasreallycaused by all of the wind pressure that Mikael created.
The light itself…
Well, everyone knew how wood reacted to light.
It was absorbed, turned into nutrients that boosted the roots' vitality.
The only thing that Mikael's base attacks could do to her was enhance.
Of course, it wasn't like he couldn't harm her.
Elemental advantages were always useful to have. It would lead to an inherent advantage that could only be surpassed with pure skill or absolute strength.
Mikael didn't have absolute strength in this situation, but he certainly had skill. It was the exact thing that let him beat out the rest of his clan's geniuses to compete on this stage.
He attacked again.
Light was a difficult power to manipulate.
Elena had a light affinity as well, but without her connection to Valhalla, it would have been discarded long ago.
Life was simply far more powerful. Light had potential, but Elena couldn't find ways to bring it to a level powerful enough to support her on bigger stages.
It could be used to heal, sure, but that was not a combat ability.
It could be used for speed, sure, but that left one's actual power in the hands of their physical fitness.
When it came to manifesting light, there weren't a lot of options.
Stars, balls, beams, and other simple structures were the only real mediums that a genius like Mikael had.
Still, he made do with those restrictions and turned his power into something valuable, just as every other member of a light dragon clan did.
It worked well enough if one could do it properly. Otherwise, the Aurora Clan could've never become one of the six Holy Clans of Arulion.
When Mikael attacked again, he used properties of fire within his light.
His body surged with power as he wrapped himself in a layer of the element.
Speed was still important. The weaknesses of this technique could be filled in by other techniques.
And, heat was always an important factor of light.
Valerie had just finished dealing with someone whose entire identity revolved around that concept, so shedefinitelywasn't happy to encounter it again.
Still, that was how the situation turned out.
Valerie instantly summoned a massive forest that took up a defeat chunk of the central area.
Practically the only things left uncovered were August and the terminals, and Eris and the beast.
The heated light beams that blasted towards Valerie were stuck in the forest. They struck a few trees and burned through them, but they couldn't reach Valerie through the thick foliage.
That wasn't necessarily a problem for Mikael.
With his speed enhanced to such a degree, he could move like he was teleporting:
With a level of dexterity that only light could possess, he shot straight through the forest, phasing through any obstacles that he couldn't avoid directly,
BOOOOOOOM!
The light of the explosion as he struck towards Valerie was extremely bright, enough to almost blind the spectators outside.
If it wasn't for the intervention of the tournament staff, there truly would have been injuries.
A massive forest, and in its midst, a dome of pure golden-white light.
It was already a mystifying scene, and it became even better when audiences realized that it was only half of what was happening in the central area.
Thisreallywas the fight to end it all.
The outcome of this altercation would determine the final rankings of the heir wars' first round.
And though all of the participants, except for Eris, of course, seemed like they were evenly matched…
…this fight would end sooner than anyone in the audience expected.
