The announcer decred Muiler G the winner of the match. The crowd erupted in appuse. The focus shifted then shifted to the , featuring one of the sibling duo, Chal and Cha. The two stood side by side in their aqua-colored battle dresses with sheathed bdes at the ready.

  Cha, the older and more experienced of the two, had an air of sweetness about her, but there was a hint of sadistic joy in her eyes.

  Chal, oher hand wore a made-up fad had a short stature, trasting with their sister’s adult womanly figure.

  Cha, with a gentle smile pced a hand on Chal’s back. “You don’t have to be so angry all the time, little brother. We’re here to practid have fun.”

  Chal replied with a hint of annoyance. “I don’t like people looking at you that way. I’ll make sure no one dares to try doing something stupid.”

  Chal strutted into the ring, and the announcer couldn’t help but notice the dress they wore. “Alrighty, folks! Let’s get this matderway! Over in the left er, we’ve got Chal, our brave young dy—”

  Chal’s face twisted in frustratioomped his foot and shouted, “I ain’t no girl! I’m a guy, a strong guy, and don’t y’all fet it!”

  The announcer was taken aback but also qui the uptake. She chuckled and tinued, “Well, I’ll be! My apologies, Chal. Didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. And in the right er, hailing all the way from the East, we’ve got Banito! This here warrior left his kingdom behind for the honor of fightin’ for the West. He’s here to prove he’s got what it takes to call himself one of us!”

  Banito, heavy armor flexed for the crowd with a triumphant grin. His muscur physique was a stark trast to Chal’s appearance.

  While Banito flexed and showed off his impressive physique, a group of enthusiastigirls in the audience couldn’t tain their excitement. They chatted amongst themselves with stars in their eyes:

  “Oh my goodness, look at those muscles! Banito is just...wow!”

  “He’s so manly and strong. I ’t take my eyes off him!”

  “I don’t know what made him leave his kingdom, but I’m so gd he’s here in the West.”

  “I bet he’s uable in the ring. I hope he notices us!”

  Chal and Banito faced each other in the ring. Banito looked down at his oppo and began ughing. “Well, well, well! It looks like I’ve got a very easy oppooday. Chal, was it? I’m not sure if you realize, but you doly look like a strong challeo me. And the magical level I’m sensing from you... it’s disappointingly weak. Like a baby girls. You sure you’re a dude?!”

  Banito’s ughter echoed through the arena. He funted his muscles with a cocky grin. “You see these?” he taunted, kissing his biceps and striking another pose. “These are what a real man should have. If you were a man, Chal, you’d have some too!”

  Chal’s gre could have pierced steel. He ched his fists, trying to keep his cool. “Maybe you should’ve saved some of those brains for yourself instead of stuffing them into your muscles,” he shot back,

  Banito roared with ughter. He turo the crowd, gesturing grandiosely. “Did you hear that, folks? The little guy thinks he’s funny! e on, ugh with me!”

  The audience responded with cheers and ughter. Chal growled, but Cha pced a f hand on his shoulder.

  “Now, now, Chal. Let’s show Banito what you’re truly made of whech starts.” She then turned her attention to Banito.” Don’t let appearances fool you, my brother is a force to be reed with.”

  Banito looked curious. “Brother? Are you absolutely sure about that? What type o man wears a dress like that?”

  Cha gave him a grin. She spoke with uling fidence. “You shouldn’t judge my brother by his appearance, Banito. You’ll regret that.”

  Cha’s smile held a sinister edge. Banito felt a flicker of unease despite his bravado. Cha turned and stepped out of the ring to let Chal and Banito face off.

  With Cha gone, Chal yelled out, “Hey, Str! What are you waiting for? Let’s get this shit started already!”

  Str raised an eyebrow but nodded.”Let the match begin!”

  Banito wasted no time. He swiftly drew his bde and released his sword magic. The crowd watched in awe as he invoked a powerful sword and, and suddenly, the grouh him quaked.

  “Release, Demolitioner - Level 3!”

  A massive wreg ball materialized, suspended from his bde by a bck . It swung with incredible force, creating shockwaves aru in its wake. The croed at the overwhelming power of Banito’s sword magic.

  Chal reacted swiftly, uhing his bde and ung it at Banito; however, he easily khe bde aside with his own.

  But Chal wasn’t finished yet. He summoned his own magical energy, f a bluish ball of energy in his hands. With agility and precision, he maniputed the ball, making it dodge and weave through Banito, who attempted to knock it away. Then he shouted:

  “Manipution Ball!”

  The ball of magical energy surged toward Banito, striking him squarely in the ter of his chest. The impact sent Banito stumbling backward. The force made him briefly wear a look of surprise.

  Banito shook off his shod then grinned. “Wahahaha! Kid that was nothing!”

  Chalirked. “Nothing, huh?” He swiftly moved to retrieve his bde, but Banito unleashed his enhanced wreg ball at him which glowed with green energy. The ball sprouted menag spikes that rained down upon Chal.

  When the spikes desded, one of them grazed Chal. Banito began to ugh in amusement, but then he felt something wrong.

  Banito muttered to himself, “I didn’t enforce my attack, but it seems like it used double the amount of energy. Something’s nht. I’ve mastered my sword magic this far...”

  He gnced around the arena, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Chal stood fidently with a smile on his lips. He mao retrieve his bde.

  Banito pointed an accusatory fi Chal. “You did something! What did you do?”

  Chal chuckled and twirled his bde.“Oh, it’s nothing too plex. The Manipution Ball is just like it sounds. It’s an attack that allows me to manipute the energy you try to use. Each time you get hit by this teique, the energy you attempt to use will be doubled. So, from x2 to x4, and so on.”

  Banito’s eyes widened in disbelief. The audience murmured iement upon hearing of this ability.

  “Why does a sy kid like you have a teique like that,” asked Banito curiously.

  Chal shrugged nontly. “Appearances be deceiving, ’t they?”

  Banito’s face twisted into one of irritation. With a roar, he charged at Chal, swinging the wreg ball in a wild arc. “Doesn’t matter! Muscles win in the end! You may have that trick, but it doesn’t pare to--”

  Chal cut him off mid-sentence. “You really like to hear yourself talk, don’t you?” With a swift motion, Chal leapt into the air, somersaulting over Banito and sshed his back with his bde.

  Banito let out a growl of pain and spun around, eyes bzing with fury. “Why you—!”

  Chal was already on the move. He dashed across the arena. Banito in hot pursuit, swinging his on wildly. The ground shook with each impact, sending up plumes of dust and debris.

  “You think you run forever, little man?” Banito shouted, trying to keep up as Chal weaved effortlessly through the wreckage.

  “You’re just a in a dress, Chal! ’t even fight like a real man! You think this Manipution is anything special?”

  Chal tio evade him, but his own anger was rising.

  With a hint of annoyance, Banito tinued, “You’re nothing but a sideshow act! How pathetic!”

  Chal paused. His eyes he turo face Banito directly with a gre. An intense, dragonic aura began to emanate from him, swirling around his body like a storm.

  Banito’s eyes widened in shock. “A dragon? What kind of trick is this?”

  Chal’s bde was now enveloped in crag lightning energy. “Now you’ve pissed me off. Go to hell, and take your muscles with you!”

  With a swift and powerful motion, Chal charged at Banito and struck with full force, unleashing a torrent of lightning that engulfed Banito in a violent, explosive storm.

  The croed. The arena was filled with smoke and the sound of thunder. When the smoke finally cleared, Banito stood in the ter. His once-imposing armor had been reduced to tatters. He was left wearing only oner’s clothes, and his muscur physique had vanished entirely.

  Banito tried to stand tall, still attempting to project fidence, but he quickly realized his muscles were gone. Panid disbelief crossed his face.

  Chalirked. “So, you were buffing up your muscles with magic? Lame.”

  With a swift motion, Chal’s bde fshed through the air and Banito was knocked off his feet. Banito weakly responded, “I... I uimated you.” Banito then lost sciousness.

  The announcer decred, “What an upset! The winner of this match is Chal!”

  The crowd erupted in cheers for Chal.

  As Chal stepped out of the ring, Cha entered, and gave him a high-five.

  The announcer boomed throughout the arena, “Ladies as, lend me your ears! I present to you, the reigning champion of the Eastern Annual Tour, hailing from our very owern Kingdom... Cha!”

  The crowd erupted into wild appuse and cheers. They shook the rafters when aowledging Cha’s impressive status. The announcer went on, “Now, folks, Cha ain’t just known for her jaw-droppin’ bat skills; she’s also got a sweet and charismatic way about her. Despite her strength otlefield, she carries herself with grad humility, like a true Southern belle. Whenever Cha steps into the arena, it’s always a treat for the crowd. Y’all better buckle up ’cause we’re in for one heck of a show from her today!”

  The annouurned her attention to the testant. “Alright, folks, let’s roll out the red carpet for our challenger—Vu!”

  As Vu stepped into the ring. The announcer tinued, “Now, Vu might be o the tour se, but don’t let that fool ya. This gal’s already made waves with her fierce fighting style aless spirit. She’s here to show everyone she go toe-to-toe with the best of ‘em. Vu’s fixin’ to make her mark today!”

  Vu, a young and eared girl, stepped into the ring. Her attire was a blend of mismatched armor pieces. Various types of armor, some heavy aallic, others lightweight and flexible, adorned her frame.

  Cha approached Vu with a friendly smile.“Hey there, newer! I noticed you’ve got quite the assortment of armor…”

  Vu looked up at ervously. “Oh, you noticed, huh? Yeah… dunno what I’m doing with all this gear. I just picked up what I could find, really...”

  Cha chuckled and began to examine Vu’s armor. “No worries. We all start somewhere. Let me give you a few pointers. First, your armor should fit you snugly. You don’t want it too tight or too loose.”

  Vu nodded, abs the advice. “Okay, got it. What about all these different pieces?”

  Cha tinued, pointing to various parts of Vu’s armor. “See, you’ve got heavy and light armor. It’s good to know the purpose of each. Heavy armor offers better prote but slow you down. Light armor lets you move faster but sacrifices some defe’s essential to strike a bance based on yhting style.”

  Vu’s eyes brightened as she realized Cha was genuinely helping her. “That makes sense. What about these gaus and boots?”

  Cha expined, “Gaus protect your hands, and boots help you move more fortably. But remember, you don’t want to overburden yourself. Choose what suits your style best. And don’t fet to maintain year. A well-maintained armor is a reliable one.”

  Cha turo Str and asked, “Mind if we take five minutes before we start?”

  Strave a nod. “Sure thing.”

  The announcer shouted with suprise, “Hold on, folks! Looks like we’ve got a brief intermission. Where are Cha and Vu heading off to?”

  The urmured in curiosity. Cha and Vu stepped out of the ring and into a quieter area. Cha began to help Vu with a suit of armor more fitting for a knight.

  Vu marveled at the transformation. “Wow, this feels incredibly light on me! I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

  Cha smiled warmly, adjusting the straps. “o tha’s all about finding what works best for you. Everyone needs a helping hand now and then.”

  Vu looked up at Cha with admiration. “But, Cha, I’ve noticed you’re always in that dress when you fight. Why not wear armor yourself?”

  Cha’s smile turhoughtful after adjusting the st strap. “Ah, well, I prefer noricted movement. Armor is great, but sometimes it be too strig. My dress is desigo be both funal and flexible. I rely on my agility and skill rather than heavy prote.”

  Vu nodded. “I see. So it’s more about how you move and use your strengths rather than just relying on armor.”

  Cha gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Exactly. Everyone has their own style. Find what suits you best and make it work. Now that that’s over with, are you ready to show the crowd what you’ve got?”

  Vu’s eyes sparkled with fidence. “Absolutely. Thanks to you, I feel like I take on anything!”