Chapter 29: Let's Fight

In the preparation room of the arena.

Dorothy sat on the soft seat. She took off the kitten that had been sleeping on her shoulder and woke it up with her finger.

"It's time to go, Buster. This is our first battle."

"Meow~ roar~"

The kitten, who had just been woken up by its owner, didn't quite understand what was happening, but as soon as it heard its owner's words, it immediately glared and let out a roar that it thought was very imposing in a milky voice.

"That's great. As expected of my magic staff, Buster is really reliable."

Dorothy was also amused by this little guy, but to prevent the little guy from being sad, she covered her mouth, calmed her laughter, and then praised the kitten like coaxing a child.

Getting the owner's praise, the little guy was immediately high-spirited. It lowered its head and rubbed its head against the owner's palm. At the same time, a young but pure and firm heart voice also sounded in Dorothy's heart.

"I bless you, my master. May victory always be with you."

Accompanied by this heart voice, the nervousness Dorothy felt about her first battle in reality suddenly relaxed, and a mysterious confidence emerged from her heart, as if victory was really always with her.

It's just that her overly powerful inspiration quickly saw through the source of this power and also saw through the essence of this blessing.

"It's a psychological blessing similar to hypnosis, with the effect of making people's spirits excited, self-confidence improved, and fighting spirit surging. It's just a bit crude and not mature yet."

Although she made such an evaluation in her heart, this didn't prevent Dorothy from looking at the kitten in her hand with surprised eyes.

This little guy really has something. She has already started to awaken her talent not long after she was born? And this power similar to war mobilization is a bit interesting, and it really has some connection with the true name she bestowed upon her.

Cat Goddess Bastet, the goddess in ancient Egyptian mythology in her previous life, the guardian goddess of the family, the daughter of the sun, was a gentle and loving goddess.

But she also has a fierce and cruel side. She and another goddess of Egypt—the lioness Sekhmet—are sometimes regarded as one body with two sides, symbolizing the balance of nature and power.

Legend has it that when the Cat Goddess Bastet is enraged, she will manifest the cruel side of the lioness Sekhmet as the goddess of war, goddess of destruction, and goddess of revenge.

Then the blessing Bastet gave her just now seems to have a bit of the meaning of the war goddess's divine power. It's just that this immature power is still a long way from the divine power, but the little guy is still growing, and the future is promising, the future is promising.

Anyway, the big investment she made before was not a loss. The talent of this little guy is far beyond expectations.

"Thank you for your blessing, Buster. Then follow me to the battlefield."

Dorothy, who was in a good mood, had already forgotten the pre-battle nervousness before. She didn't move to remove the effect of the kitten's immature "war declaration" and issued an invitation to her partner with high fighting spirit.

"Meow~ roar~"

The kitten cheered, and then manifested its true body in a burst of light.

That was a super-long magic staff that was a full two and a half meters long. The staff body was brilliant, as if cast from gold. At its top, there was a cross shape, and a radiant circular sun crown was embedded in the center of the cross. Around the sun crown lingered dazzling golden magic light flames, really like a small sun.

And in the center of the sun crown was embedded a narrow gem, like a cat's pupil, which made the sun crown at the apex look like both a sun and a huge cat's eye.

This is the Eye of Ra, the Eye of the Sun God. As the daughter of the Sun God, the Cat Goddess Bastet represented the eyes of her father god before she was born, so she is also called the God of the East, the God of Sunrise, and the Holy All-Seeing Eye. (Refer to the Eye of Sauron in Lord of the Rings)

Dorothy reached out and grasped this gorgeous and solemn magic staff. It felt warm and comfortable in her hand, and a strange sense of closeness came from her hand, as if she were touching the soft meat pad of the kitten's palm.

Her mana began to flow from her body into the staff in her hand; the silky, smooth fluidity was indescribably wonderful, and there was no longer the caution she had when using her old staff; all that remained was the unhindered, soul-stirring harmony between person and staff.

Dorothy had used high-end magic staves in the Mana Web before, and those powerful magic staves with various auxiliary abilities could make her strength double, but in the past, she had never used a magic staff as handy as Buster now.

Buster was simply as if it were custom-made according to her shape. The wonderful tacit understanding of "man and staff as one" that didn't need to be run-in at all made Dorothy feel novel.

Well, with such a partner in hand, there was nothing to be afraid of.

Holding the cat magic staff, the young witch stood up with increased confidence and walked to the gate.

In the minute before the gate opened, Dorothy closed her eyes and began to adjust her breathing.

This was her habit, a technique for calming her mood that she summarized after being abused and failing again and again in Mana Web duels.

All pre-battle excitement or anxiety are burdens. Facing the upcoming battle, a calm state of mind like still water is the best state of mind.

There is no need to think about the gap between the enemy and herself. Thinking too much cannot change the facts and will only make her anxious. Therefore, just do her own thing well and ensure that she makes as few mistakes as possible.

There is no need to think about whether she can win. The result after going all out will tell you the answer. At that time, whether it is tasting the joy of victory or drinking the bitter wine of failure, both have their own unique flavors.

During this moment of closing her eyes and concentrating, Dorothy recalled the scene when she first walked into a Mana Web duel at the age of ten. That scene is still vivid in her mind, but at that time, she wasn't as calm as she was now. Her mind was full of various emotions—excitement, hot blood, anxiety, and worry about gains and losses. Until the gate opened, she was still thinking about whether she should start with a fireball spell or an ice arrow spell.

Now, she had indeed grown up, growing from a little rookie back then to the "old oil stick" she was now.

Victory is certainly joyful, but it is not enough to make her crazy. Failure is certainly bitter, but it is not enough to shake her.

The experiences of countless Mana Web duels over the past six years flew past her eyes like a revolving lantern.

Storms that swept everything, violent thunder as dense as rain, unstoppable meteors, extreme cold that froze everything...

There were always all kinds of powerful and unimaginable opponents in the arena.

She had witnessed these.

The inevitable failure after going all out, the counter-kill with low blood after never giving up in a desperate situation, the evenly matched duel where they cherished each other, the crushing victory after calculating everything and grasping everything...

There were always these ups and downs of special developments in the arena.

She had experienced these.

Then what was there to be afraid of? This was just the most ordinary duel. Even if this body was indeed going to the battlefield for the first time, her heart had long been through a hundred battles.

Even if the Mana Web duel was fake and that illusory world only had 99% of the reality of this reality, there were always people who said that truly powerful witches wouldn't participate in that "play-like" Mana Web duel because it was meaningless. That 1% gap between illusion and reality might be enough to make you lose your life on the real battlefield.

But so what?

The Mana Web world is indeed fake, but the journey of the past six years, the efforts of the past six years, and the achievements of the past six years are real.

The illusory world gave me the soil to grow strong, and now, I will also turn from virtual to real and rush to the real arena.

Dorothy opened her eyes, and the gate in front of her was also slowly opening. Outside the gate, all kinds of information were perceived by her, turning into countless data accepted and processed by her brain.

Mm-ah, it was indeed different from the Mana Web. The brain that could easily handle everything in the Mana Web was now running slowly like an overloaded computer. That tiny 1% gap between reality and illusion actually had a qualitative change.

Now this difficulty was the real battle. Compared with this, the Mana Web duel did seem a bit like a small fight.

But so what?

Such a challenge was interesting enough. Besides, this was much simpler than starting from scratch six years ago.

Moreover, if the brain is overloaded, then upgrade the configuration on the spot.

Dorothy switched a breathing rhythm, a technique she had mastered since birth but had never actively used in the past.

【Dragon's Breath: Where does the power of a giant dragon lie? Hard dragon scales? Sharp dragon claws? Or dragon language magic that destroys everything? No, it's the dragon's breath.】

【Unique breathing shaped the power of the giant dragon. It brought the giant dragon a strong physique, shaped a dragon heart with infinite mana, and grew those indestructible dragon scales and indestructible claws...】

【As long as you can still breathe, you are constantly becoming stronger. Breathing is the source of the giant dragon's power, and dragon breath is the power of the giant dragon to destroy everything.】

On Dorothy's identity card, the * sign in the talent column that was originally shielded dissipated, revealing this last hidden talent. This was the power she inherited from her mother, Euphilia.

"Let's fight, Sophie Liya."

The hatchling dragon, who was still young, let out a young dragon roar, and the newborn dragon wings spread out behind her, carrying her into the sky. ===== CHAPTER 30 =====