I Only Tame Dragons

From the Scarlet Blood Moon's side, one of the members leaned forward, grinning. "Watch this. Frigid's not even going to last thirty seconds."

"I say the moment the referee said go, that block of ice will fall down."

But on Horizon's side, silence reigned. There was no trash talk, no banter—just the silence of confidence.

The match began. Gore launched forward, a blur of motion, his twin blades slicing through the air with terrifying precision. The Scarlet Blood Moon team cheered, already celebrating their imminent victory.

As Gore's blade descended, promising a swift end to the match, something unexpected happened. Frigid's body shifted unnaturally, transforming into a massive block of ice. The impact of Gore's strike rang out through the arena like a bell, but the blade didn't carve through as expected. Instead, it glanced off the frozen surface, leaving only a faint scratch behind.

The crowd gasped, their voices caught somewhere between disbelief and awe. Gore, however, didn't pause. He lunged again, his twin blades slicing through the air in a deadly flurry. Each strike was faster, sharper, more precise, yet no matter how many times he attacked, Frigid didn't falter. He stood, immovable, his icy form shimmering under the sky light.

Frigid's defense was absolute.

A few dents appeared in his health bar as Gore's blades occasionally found some purchase, but even those minor wounds regenerated almost instantly. The chilling aura surrounding Frigid seemed to feed his vitality, patching up cracks in his icy exterior faster than Gore could create them.

The crowd's cheers began to die down, replaced by murmurs of confusion.

"What is this?" someone muttered.

"Is this really the same guy who only max out his defense?"

Scarlet Blood Moon's team members exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier confidence wavering. Their leader, their ace, was pouring everything he had into breaking through Frigid's defense, but nothing seemed to work.

Every slash, every thrust, every skill was met with the same unyielding resistance.

"Gore! Quit playing around and finish him already!" one of his teammates shouted, but there was no response from their leader.

Gore's frustration was evident. His strikes, once calculated and efficient, were now desperate and wild. He snarled, his blades a blur as he unleashed his strongest techniques, but it was all in vain. Frigid remained an impenetrable wall, his icy form undisturbed by the storm of attacks.

The crowd fell silent, their disbelief growing with each passing second. The cheers that had once filled the arena now gave way to uneasy whispers.

"Is Gore really struggling?"

"This can't be happening . . . Can it?"

"He's losing his edge."

Scarlet Blood Moon's smug smiles had long since vanished, replaced by furrowed brows and clenched fists. They had underestimated Frigid, and now the consequences were becoming painfully clear.

Gore's weapons, once pristine and deadly, began to show cracks. The twin blades, crafted for precision and speed rather than durability, couldn't withstand the unrelenting punishment of clashing against Frigid's icy form.

Splinters of metal flew with each strike, and the cracks grew larger until, with a final, desperate blow, one of the blades shattered completely. The crowd gasped as the broken pieces clattered to the ground. Gore froze, staring at the remains of his weapon in disbelief.

Frigid finally moved. He turned his head slightly, his icy gaze locking onto Gore. There was no malice, no arrogance—just an unshakable calm that seemed to seep into the very air around him.

"You can't break me," Frigid said, his voice low and steady. It wasn't a taunt; it was a simple statement of fact.

Gore snarled, throwing the broken hilt aside and gripping his remaining blade with both hands. He lunged again, his strikes fueled by rage rather than strategy. But without his second blade to balance his attacks, his movements were sloppy and predictable. Frigid blocked each blow effortlessly, his icy exterior absorbing the impact without so much as a crack.

The arena grew colder as Frigid's aura expanded, frost creeping along the ground beneath him. The temperature drop was tangible, and even the spectators began to shiver. Gore's movements slowed, his breath visible in the frigid air. His frustration boiled over, and he began shouting insults, hoping to provoke Frigid into abandoning his defensive stance.

"Fight me, you coward!" Gore roared. "What kind of warrior just stands there and takes it?!"

Frigid didn't respond. He remained in his defensive position, his focus unshaken. The insults rolled off him like water off a glacier. Gore's anger only grew, his movements becoming more erratic as he continued to strike futilely at the unyielding ice.

"Damn it!" Gore shouted, stepping back and glaring at Frigid with wild eyes. "You think you've won just because you can hide behind that wall? Let's see how long you last!"

But even as he spoke, it was clear to everyone watching that Gore was running out of options. His remaining blade was chipped and dull, and his stamina was nearly depleted. Worse still, the cracks in his weapon were growing, its durability almost at its limit.

Scarlet Blood Moon's team was in disarray. They had one stat boost left—their trump card—but it wasn't meant for this fight because Gore thought that he could defeat Frigid. No need for the stat boots. He was supposed to reserve it, to secure their victory in the final match. Now, with Gore on the verge of collapse, he had no choice but to reconsider.

"Do I use it now?" Gore thought in panic.

His hesitation was itched on his face, and it only served to deepen the cracks in his confidence.

Gore finally stepped back, breathing heavily. His face was twisted with frustration and exhaustion, his once-dominant aura now a shadow of itself.

Gore's lips curled into a bitter smile as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the last of the Elven Elders' artifacts.

It was a small, ornate crystal, its surface glowing with an otherworldly light. He crushed it in his hand, and a surge of energy coursed through his body, his stats skyrocketing as the artifact's power took hold.