Affinity:Chaos

"Hello." Klaus waved at the young man as he stepped onto the platform. 

The young man stared at Klaus calmly, he was in the Eighth stage of the Overlord Plane and felt Klaus wasn't his opponent. Of course he knew not to underestimate his opponent, but as Elementalists grew, the ability to cross stages and battle was lower. He too felt like he could fight against someone in a higher stage, after all, he was in the geniuses' rankings so he had the right to be confident. 

"Hey." The young man nodded at Klaus after studying his opponent carefully. 

The man in charge asked if both participants were ready, and when he got confirmation from them, he gave them the go-ahead to start the battle. 

The water element wasn't the most explosive, so a fight between two Water Elementalists wouldn't be as flashy as those of Lightning and Fire Elementalists. This didn't take away its strength though. All elements had their advantages, so everyone knew not to play down the water element. 

Klaus was the first to attack. Sending out a stream of water in the direction of his opponent. The young man didn't panic, with a slow wave of his hand, a large water body appeared in front of him, blocking the water coming his way. 

After he blocked it, he attacked Klaus as well, sending out three water snakes at him. All three moved independently, attacking Klaus from different angles. 

Klaus was even calmer than him, with a smile, he was covered with a water dome that was able to perfectly block all the attacks of his opponent. This was only them testing out each other's strengths. 

The young man continued his offensive, attacking from all angles. The water element was the most flexible element, classy yet destructive. 

Klaus continued his defensive stance, taking from one attack to another. The young man was by no means weak, so Klaus was fully focused on the battle, making sure he didn't give his opponent any chance to attack him. 

At the place he was standing, he had sealed the ground with ice, this way, no attack could come from below him. 

The battle slowly built up pace with powerful attacks slowly coming forth. Klaus didn't stay on the defensive, attacking whenever he could. However, it was easy to see that his opponent was slightly stronger than him in terms of elemental power. The strength of his attacks was more powerful than that of Klaus. 

"His opponent isn't weak." Alice stated while watching the fight. 

"I know, but he should win." Grey said confidently. 

If this wasn't a competition, Klaus could've easily displaced the mindset of his opponent with his words, but here, although it wasn't against the rules, it would attract way too many enemies. If they had a strong background to rely on, then they would've been fine, but now, they had to tread carefully. 

"He still hasn't used his ice, that would be the deciding factor in this battle." Reynolds said. 

"There's still a second option for him." Grey looked at the battle with a blank expression. 

The others recalled the ability Klaus and Grey comprehended when they were crossing that forest. During the few times they sparred, defending against the heavy water was extremely hard. Its weight made it hard to block. And Klaus was an ingenious individual who sought out the best time to use it. 

If used immediately, it would be easy for them to defend against it, but he always waited for the time they least expect it before using it. Even Grey who could still use it had a difficult time defending against it. 

While the trio were discussing, the battle was getting heated. Klaus and his opponent were showing their cards. When Klaus started using his ice, the young man in front of him immediately fell on the defensive which surprised the people watching. 

They expected since he was stronger than Klaus, he should have a higher mastery in terms of ice abilities as well, but Klaus was clearly the one on top. 

Bang! Bam! 

Klaus' ice spears were blocked by the ice wall the young man placed in front of him. The wall cracked the moment the second spear impaled it. 

The young man retreated and the spear hit the place he was previously standing.

While he was retreating, ice shards sprang out from the ground, rushing toward him. The young man panicked for an instant, and Klaus didn't let the opportunity slide. He pressed on with the ice shards while sending ice spears at the young man. 

The young man scrambled to defend against the ice spears and the ice shards chasing after him. While this was happening, Klaus was preparing his signature move, a thin ice was sent toward the young man. Before the young man could even detect it, it was already at the place between his eyes. He froze while looking at the hovering tiny ice. 

If this was a life or death battle, he would've been dead, without even knowing how he died. 

With a sigh, he shook his head in dejection. 

"I give up." He said to the man in charge of their platform. 

The man announced the result of the battle to the crowd before waiting for both individuals to leave the stage. 

The young man nodded his head at Klaus before leaving the platform. Klaus replied to the gesture with a nod as well and stepped off the platform. 

The battle lasted almost ten minutes, but it ended because of a small mistake by the young man. In a case where the difference in strength between both parties wasn't large, a mistake or a better strategy was what usually determines the winner or loser. 

Klaus got back to his seat, staring at the large stone in the sky that had his name placed in the fortieth place. 

"Interesting, such a strange item." He said while taking his seat. 

"How does it feel to be the person ranked fortieth in the entire Dixon Region?" Reynolds questioned. 

"Not good. Apparently, I can only get a reward when I get to the top twenty." Klaus shrugged. 

His aim for this competition was higher. Even if he couldn't get into the top twenty, he shouldn't be too far off.