Second Day of the Tournament… The First Bracket in Group 4 was well underway. The audience couldn’t help but gaze in awe at the incredible scene taking place in front of them. Noah Griffin, the Seeded Candidate of the Griffin Clan and part of Mikhail’s and Clark’s generation, was currently cursing inwardly. "Come down and fight fair and square if you dare!" Noah roared angrily at the Sorceress, who was giggling above the arena as she unleashed countless homing Magic Bullets, which made it nearly impossible for Noah to do any counter-attack. Similar to Roland, Noah specialized in close combat, making Erica the worst opponent he could face in the tournament. Not only did the Sorceress know how to fly, but her attacks also seemed to have a mind of their own, following Noah wherever he tried to run. At first, he believed that he still had a way to defeat Erica because he had a Rank 5 Alpha Eagle he could summon, helping him fight aerial battles. However, when his Eagle appeared, Erica shot it down from the sky with a Flaming Spear that was ten meters long. The Eagle didn’t die, but its injury prevented it from effectively fighting against Erica in the air. In the end, the Sorceress tortured it by casting countless Magic Bullets aimed at its head, sending blood and flesh flying in every direction. Worried that his prized Avatar would die like a dog under Erica’s merciless barrage, he was forced to unsummon it and once again land on the ground. The moment this happened, he completely fell under Erica’s mercy, left with nowhere to run or hide. Using everything in his power, he did his best to dodge, block, and deflect the Magic Bullets that seemed unending. While he did have a few range abilities in his arsenal, Erica easily subdued them as if she was already used to such tactics. Thirteen had trained Erica to the point that she could attack and defend at the same time without problems. In fact, among the members of the Hero Party, she was the hardest to defeat. Even Roland would have a hard time fighting against her because not only could he not reach her when she flew in the air, but his only ranged ability, the Flying Sword, was also useless against the Sorceress. Simply put, Erica was the Dark Horse in the tournament and had the highest chance of becoming the Champion. As long as no one could effectively bring her down from the air, she was a menace that was truly hard to defeat. The funny thing was that, while this battle was happening, some kind of music was playing in the background. This music was similar to the music that was being played when players fought against Bosses in their game, making everyone understand that they were up against a powerful enemy. Pica and Pico even started to sing, adding lyrics to the Boss Music, which was a bit similar to the song "Something Just Like This." Noah was very tempted to stab the two Pocopocos to make them stop singing their blasted song, but he was too busy dodging and deflecting Erica’s attacks, which seemed unending. The Patriarch of the Griffin Clan, Douglas Griffin, sighed internally as he watched his grandson’s pitiful state as the latter was helplessly being besieged from the sky. "When this battle is over, make sure to hire an instructor who will train Noah on how to fight against an opponent that flies in the air," Douglas ordered. "I don’t want to see him lose like this in the future. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, Sir!" the Butler of the Griffin Clan replied with his head bowed in a respectful manner. "First, Clark. And now, my grandson is about to lose. It’s like the world is trying to make the Monarch Clans the laughingstock of this tournament." Douglas sighed. A minute later, Noah finally had enough and surrendered through gritted teeth. Erica, who had easily won her battle, waved at the crowd, making them all cheer and shout out her name. "Erica, I love you!" "Erica, please marry me!" "Erica, give birth to my child!" "Zion, I love you!" Erica’s ears twitched when she heard someone shout Zion’s name. But since so many people were shouting at the same time, she wasn’t able to determine from who or where the sound had come from. Soon, she gracefully landed on the arena before walking away to make way for the next battle. Thirteen watched her go before glancing at this Communicator. The representatives of the Monarch Clans and the Prestigious Families were calling Erica’s flying ability foul, petitioning for it to be banned for the rest of the tournament. The teenage boy knew that they were just worried that their own people would suffer the same fate as Noah if they were unlucky enough to be paired with Erica. Although he found all of this silly, he was certain that the Patriarchs would pester him after this match was over so that some rules would be made to restrict the Wanderers from taking flight. Of course, Thirteen understood their concerns. He also knew very well that, as long as Erica was allowed to fly, only a handful of people in the tournament would be able to stop her. This included Shasha, Shana, Rianna, and Mildred, who had their own abilities that allowed them to fight in range combat. These people had also sparred with Erica in the Rigel Continent, so they were already familiar with her abilities. After Erica’s battle ended, another fan favorite appeared in the Arena. She was none other than the Saintess of the Hero Party, Shana. Donning white robes, she looked pure and innocent, making people want to protect her. Her opponent was one of Thirteen’s Squad Captains, Pietro, who was looking at the Saintess with a helpless look on his face. The young man glanced at his Superior Officer, who was standing on the stage, and gave the latter the "Should I win? Or should I let her win?" gaze. Thirteen then mouthed something, which made Pietro shudder. The teenage boy told him "if the Hero Party would not kill you, the Grand and Field Marshal will skin you alive. Do you really want that to happen to you?" Shana, who wasn’t aware of what transpired between Pietro and Thirteen, looked at her opponent with a smile. "I hope to have a good fight with you, Pietro," Shana said with a determined look on her face. "L-Likewise," Pietro stuttered. Deep inside, Pietro was already feeling dead inside. If Shana lost, not only would he become enemies with the Hero Party, but he would also become enemies with the Grand and Field Marshal of the Central Government. As one of their soldiers, he found this situation very hard to swallow. Suddenly, he heard a notification in his communicator, which was a message Thirteen had sent to him. "Just fight seriously, so you won’t have regrets. I will handle the aftermath." After reading his superior’s message, Pietro felt as if a heavy load had been taken off of his shoulders. He once again glanced at the stage where Thirteen was at and saw the young man giving him a thumbs up, signaling that he should do his best. ’I’ll fight her seriously!’ Pietro vowed in his heart before facing off against Shana. Thirteen had arranged this battle for a reason. Shana and Pietro were strong in their own specializations. However, both of them countered each other! Thirteen wanted Shana and Pietro to both grow by overcoming their weaknesses. But Thirteen had to admit that it would be quite difficult to guess who would win between the two of them because both of them were very powerful if they fought with their lives on the line. Pietro’s Speed and Shana’s Control. This was one of the battles that Thirteen was paying very close attention to because he wanted to measure just how much Shana, and Pietro had mastered the Divine Techniques that he had bestowed upon the both of them.