Quickly the fight turned into a melee. Unfortunately, it was not where phoenix thrived. The arrow which had hit Judith had quickly been pulled out and healed by Erik, yet, more followed in just a few seconds.

The tank she had downed also abandoned his shield and climbed out from under it, while the other changed to a body-sized kite shield. Allowing him to be an agile shield. The former instead charged at Erik and Ilmadia who were the furthest away.

'This is not good,' Eldrian thought as he made the distance from his opponent with Kyma's shockwave and took out Aoidos again. Striking fast, but his opponent managing to react fast enough. The following spells also just barely managed to mist the intended points, but they still landed.

The difference in agility was just too much for the man to overcome, so he decided on a hail mary before Eldrian managed to get a good hit in. Jumping forward onto Eldrian's spear, he threw his dagger at pinpoint range.

Eldrian jerked his head to the side immediately, yet, the blade still managed to graze his cheek. A thin line of blood appeared along with a very scary system message.

[You have been poisoned by Lansen poison, a Tier 4 poison.]

[Effects: Constant loss of 6HP and 9SP per second]

[Fatigue level increases every 8 minutes and 30 seconds.]

[Agility decreased by 30 points, strength decreased by 18 points.]

'Shit, not good.' Eldrian immediately realized he had just a minute left in this fight. While he had never experienced poison before, he had learned quite a few spells with that in mind. He knew how magical poisons worked, and it was not simple to cure.

Each type had a specific spell that could counter it, or you needed to use a detoxify spell above the Tier of the poison. Suffice to say, Eldrian didn't know any Tier 4 spells.

So, he charged forward recklessly. Using Shield to enable him to do as much damage as possible. Unfortunately, the tank that had taken up the position of a mobile shield immediately moved to block him.

No matter what Eldrian tried, he couldn't get past the man. His speed might have been near twice that of the man's, but his opponent knew his goal. It was easy to constantly cut him off while his teammates adjusted to dodge the spells Eldrian threw in their direction.

Unfortunately, due to the massive shield always in his face, Eldrian couldn't guide them either.

Soon, just a few seconds later, the system notifications of teammates dying rang in Eldrian's ears. 'Not like this!' He shouted internally, jumping back and sending the biggest ball of Floga he could forward. Yet, how could these semi-finalists not know of his weird trick?

They had no idea how it worked, but they assumed that wind and water would disrupt the spell. And it did. The wind caused the flames of Floga to scatter, the spell too weak to keep a mass. It had only stayed a ball thanks to Eldrian's will. The water extinguished whatever was left after.

Soon, Eldrian found himself surrounded and his HP running low. He wanted to heal himself, his instincts told him to. But he knew it would just hasten his demise. Unless it was divine magic, his heals would only contribute to the poison's strength. Especially when he couldn't put his focus into the healing process.

'At least one is going with me.' Eldrian thought, turning around to the mage who had left the protected area to get a shot at him. Eldrian pounced like a lion, without a second thought he put all his strength into his charge.

The mage managed to react to the thrust. Moving his body to not have his heart pierced, but he was stuck and Eldrian placed his hand on his chest with a smile. "Velona Pagetou." Eldrian whispered as suddenly the spell started appearing between his hand and the man's armor.

Pushing the iron with a might that should not have been possible, until finally the spell completed and launched itself forward. Ripping through the man, his eyes wide open in shock as he started at Eldrian like he was a psycho.

None of his teammates dared step forward to end Eldrian after that. Instead, they waited for the poison to take his life.

"Nasty trick, that poison," Eldrian said, resigning as his HP reached 10. His stamina had been 0 for a while, his entire body feeling like lead.

...

The viewers did not know what to make of what they had seen. They all clearly knew that Agrerian had used poison to take Eldrian down. If not for it, it was uncertain how the battle would have turned out.

Many hated the tactic, while others praised it as ingenious. However, one thing was certain. They couldn't surprise their opponents in the finals with the same trick.

Even the hosts of the tournament were on the fence about the use of poison. By all rights, Agrerian was the stronger team. Yet, to go to such an underhanded tactic did not sit well with them.

"Should we ban external items in following PVP?" Someone asked, the room they were in was a virtual one. Their box atop the battlefield allowing them to see everyone by simply looking down.

"No, it is also part of one's strength, isn't it."

"Maybe, but the fact that they are returned afterward, unexpended, feels wrong. If someone managed to get their hands on a Tier 5 or above mass destructive scroll, then they would be able to win without a fight."

"And how would they get their hands on something like that? Scrolls are something extremely rare, so few people would ever make them due to their one-use quality."

"Yet, certain spells can only be cast through a scroll or array." Another added.

Naturally, the room was filled with old game testers. Those from Constantin's generation, and he too was in the room. However, he didn't care for the result nor for the use of poison, what he was shocked about was Eldrian's growth.

'He triple cast. How, when?' Just a few days ago Constantin was certain his limit was still double cast. 'And again it is Frost Needle, he really loves that spell.'

Ignoring the heated debate going on in the room, Constantin decided to leave. Logging out, he wanted to go and ask Eldrian about his new power-up. Only to stop a few steps later.

'Is it new? And what can I gain by asking?' The middle-aged man thought to himself and sat down on his couch. After a few minutes, he climbed back onto his immersion chair and dived in ANW.

Waking in the library, he stood up and moved to one of the massive windows overviewing the city.

"It is all about feeling things? Is that right?" He mumbled, casting a Tier 4 fireball with ease yet not feeling a single connection between him and the spell. He could only control it due to the extra access he had given himself. Which all game testers had to ensure their safety and positions in their posts in the world.

{AN: It is really nice seeing the novel back in the top 100, a big thanks to everyone who is voting for it.}