Chapter 46: Battle Of The Fittest

A large marine crustacean emerged from the blazing portal, its segmented armor resembling some bizarre fusion between a shrimp and a praying mantis.

A hardened tail exoskeleton trailed behind it, its raptorial front claws tucked tightly against its body, while vivid, almost iridescent patterns spread across its shell, rivaling the extravagant display of a peacock in full bloom.

The sheer spectacle of its appearance immediately drew the eyes of several image conscious girls scattered through the stands, Amelia included.

It stretched roughly nine feet long and stood three feet tall at rest, though it could raise its upper body nearly five feet off the ground thanks to its long, flexible trunk.

Its stalk mounted eyes moved with striking dexterity, packed with countless photoreceptors reportedly capable of perceiving an unusually wide spectrum of light.

Renowned among marine summons for delivering some of the most devastating blows, punches, and spear like strikes in its class, it relied heavily on club shaped forelimbs and sharp, hooked claws to land its signature, bone shattering attacks.

This was the AirBoxer MantisShrimp, a 4.8 Elite Tier summon!

Much like its real world namesake, it carried the fierce, aggressive temperament typical of mantis shrimp, renowned for producing some of the fastest striking attacks found anywhere in the animal kingdom, backed by remarkably complex eyes capable of calculating movement and distance with near surgical precision.

The MantisShrimp hovered through the air at a moderate height, its many legs scuttling rapidly beneath it as some unseen force generated underneath its body propelled it steadily forward.

It seemed to manipulate the surrounding air itself, compressing or liquefying the particles into some invisible, supportive medium beneath it.

Thanks to a heavily modified gill structure, it could also survive comfortably outside water for stretches far longer than any ordinary member of its species.

A fresh wave of reactions swept through the stands.

This was exactly the kind of spectacle that made competitions so consistently thrilling for the wider student body, a rare chance to watch firsthand how different summoners wielded their summons’ unique powers, and how wildly individual creatures could differ in both behavior and fighting style.

Amelia studied the MantisShrimp for several long seconds, her eyes gradually lighting up with something close to delight.

To her, the creature floating before her looked like nothing short of a walking art piece and a mouthwatering meal rolled into one striking package.

She had never actually tried seafood before. Her friends had spent years trying to talk her into it, and now, with an enormous, vividly colored crustacean hovering directly in front of her, the timing felt almost too perfect to ignore.

Even knowing full well this remained a strictly regulated competitive match, she couldn’t quite resist entertaining the thought for a moment.

Maybe, she mused, she’d actually give seafood a real try after all this was over.

"I appreciate the delicacy you’ve so kindly delivered for me and my summon. Really, I do. But I’m only here for the win," she said with a small smile, tilting her head to one side.

Roman shot her an unimpressed look before shaking his head slowly.

"We’ll see about that once this round’s over, parrot," he replied, a mix of cocky annoyance coloring his tone.

With that, Roman activated Echo.

Segmented armor spread rapidly across sections of his body, his fists reshaping into club like boxer hands while his legs took on the dense, sturdy structure borrowed directly from his MantisShrimp summon.

He surged forward alongside his summon, both moving in perfect sync as they closed in for the opening strike.

Amelia, the Firefox summoner, blitzed forward right alongside her own Saber Firefox. Dancing flames crackled steadily across her frame, giving her the fleeting look of some partial fire elemental given human shape. Her eyes burned with fierce determination as flame gathered thick around both her fists and legs.

Both opponents rushed headlong toward one another.

But just before impact, Roman triggered Exchange, the same positional ability that allowed a summoner to instantly swap places with their summon mid battle.

He switched positions with the MantisShrimp in a blink.

In an instant, Roman appeared directly in front of the Saber Firefox, while his summon materialized exactly where he’d been standing only a heartbeat earlier.

Roman launched himself into the air before slamming back down with tremendous force, both club shaped fists crashing squarely into the Firefox below.

BOOM! The impact flattened the summon hard against the platform, a sickening crunch of bone and singed fur accompanying its pained, high pitched whimper as one of its forelegs bent at a wrong, unnatural angle beneath it.

Amelia’s eyes went wide with sudden panic.

She barely had time to react before the MantisShrimp closed in, already committed to a decisive, crushing strike.

Every instinct in her body screamed at once.

She barely managed to evade the pressure driven blow, the air itself cracking audibly under the sheer force behind it, a visible shockwave rippling outward and kicking up a spray of loose dirt and shattered stone fragments.

Sparks flared briefly through the surrounding air from the raw force of impact, and the recoil alone sent Amelia tumbling hard into a rough, graceless roll, her shoulder scraping raw against the broken pavement.

The shrimp summon pivoted instantly, propelling itself toward her again without pause.

Its next crushing blow landed exactly where Amelia had been standing only a split second earlier, tearing straight through the platform and sending jagged chunks of broken debris scattering violently through the air, several fragments slicing shallow, stinging cuts across her exposed forearms as she scrambled clear.

Amelia twisted away just in time, hauling herself back to her feet and putting a little more distance between them.

But the creature’s strange, calculating eyes had already locked onto her.

Every twitch of movement she made was being tracked, measured, and calculated through the countless wavelengths of light its complex eyes could perceive.

Its body coiled tight before it lunged again.

Several students gasped aloud.

"She’s being read like an open book!"

"That thing’s literally predicting her next move before she even makes it!"

"Look at those eyes, it’s insane!"

Somewhere near the middle rows, a nervous looking freshman grabbed his friend’s sleeve. "Is it even legal for a summon to be that fast? I thought there were weight and speed caps for the sophomore bracket."

"There are," his friend muttered back, eyes glued to the platform. "Guess Roman’s summon just doesn’t care."

Amelia gritted her teeth hard.

Watching the creature close in on her again, she screamed and unleashed twin torrents of crimson flame from both hands, burning hot enough to rival industrial flame throwers.

The blaze engulfed the MantisShrimp entirely, swallowing it whole in roaring fire.

A massive wave of heat and flame rolled outward across the battlefield, consuming nearly a full quarter of the platform in its wake. The stench of scorched chitin and superheated stone drifted upward with the smoke.

The surrounding temperature spiked violently.

Students seated closest to the arena instinctively threw up their hands against the wall of heat rolling off the platform, while the referee retreated several more steps for safety.

Amelia’s smirk returned, wide and triumphant.

"Haha, now this feels good! I can push this way further than you’d ever expect! I’ll roast that thing down to nothing and actually get my seafood dinner out of this after all!"

The flames roared on, consuming everything in their radius. For one brief, hopeful moment, it genuinely looked as though the MantisShrimp had been completely overwhelmed, reduced to nothing beneath the inferno.

Then Roman appeared suddenly behind her, closing the distance in absolute silence. His fist connected hard against the base of her skull.

THUD! Amelia dropped instantly, unconscious before she even hit the ground, a thin trickle of blood already beading along her hairline where the blow had split skin against bone.

The MantisShrimp might have been dangerously close to defeat, blackened and smoking along one side of its cracked shell, but Roman had been there to back it up the entire time.

After all, even the most powerful summon still needed its summoner’s support to truly succeed.

Despite its blistering offensive speed, the MantisShrimp had always carried one glaring weakness, virtually no resistance or immunity against elemental attacks like open flame.

Roman walked calmly over to Amelia’s crumpled form, grabbing a fistful of her collar and hauling her slack, unconscious body upward for a moment, almost like some hard won trophy, before letting her drop unceremoniously back onto the cracked platform like discarded trash.

His gaze drifted lazily toward the stands.

It settled squarely on a few familiar faces he’d never particularly cared for, Mark among them, seated comfortably beside Hermione as the two chatted quietly together.

Several students, particularly among the freshmen, looked genuinely rattled by the sheer, casual dominance Roman had just displayed.

Whispers rippled steadily through the crowd.

"That guy’s seriously strong."

"He just took down both the summoner and her summon without breaking a sweat."

"His Echo basically turns him into his own summon mid fight."

"Yeah, he’s definitely one of the stronger sophomores this year, no question."

The reaction only inflated Roman’s growing reputation further among students who already viewed him as a genuine rising talent.

Up in the stands, Mark glanced toward Hermione with a knowing look.

Hermione returned the gesture with a warm, easy smile.

"Your turn’s coming up soon. I can feel it. Wonder how you’re going to handle it," Mark said.

Hermione let out a small laugh.

"Aw, don’t go putting pressure on me before I’ve even had my turn," she said, pouting slightly.

Roman grinned out at the crowd, clearly savoring the wave of nervous, wide eyed expressions surrounding him. He’d already recalled the MantisShrimp back into his soul space.

His fallen opponent and her summon were carried off by the medical team shortly after for treatment.

"This is exactly what happens if you ever cross into our territory! Stay out of it, and trust your instincts while you still can, alright?" he called out.

A few students exchanged uneasy, wordless glances. Others simply stayed quiet, unwilling to draw any attention their way.

Roman turned and made his way back down from the platform as two new opponents began climbing up to take his place.

One was Mia. The other was Jack, who immediately started fidgeting the moment he registered exactly who he’d been paired against.