Elemental Cats

The island specifically set up for the original Pirate Meet was a little roughed up and damaged during the battle between the pirates and the Starsling Kingdom's fleet. But it was mostly superficial damage, and the island was quickly restored and prepared for another Pirate meet.

The commotion of repairing the Pirate Meet island was enough to alert everyone in the city of the upcoming second Pirate Meet. However, no one knew what the Pirate Meet would be about or why it was held. Most people guessed it would be about the aftermath of the Blue Lounge League of Pirates' disbandment and what would happen to the city.

They weren't wrong, and most people guessed correctly that the Bunglehoppers would take their place.

However, Toz becoming the Pirate King came as a surprise to almost everyone in the city.

The leaders and the most loyal followers of the Red Hook Pirate Crew, the Cult of Nihiltas, and the Bunglehoppers were on top of the stage to show their faces while another unaffiliated pirate announced everything. Toz and Brunswick stood next to them, and while several people took note of those two and wondered about their identity, those who cared enough to guess just thought they were new members of one of the crews or something like that.

So when the announcer told everyone that Pirate Haven would celebrate their new Pirate King and Toz stepped forward, the island devolved into chaos.

However, the clamoring pirates quickly shut up when Wulf stepped forward and cleaved through the air right above everyone's heads with a large phantom axe made of aura.

Only a few people in Pirate Haven knew who Toz was, which wasn't weird since he had only recently arrived. He didn't exactly have a flourishing reputation supporting him, and he expected the reaction, but that didn't mean he would tolerate it.

Wulf had stepped in to silence everyone, and Toz appreciated the gesture, but it also made it look like he couldn't handle it himself. Wulf only realized it after Hayar smacked the back of his head.

Toz looked at the pirates, who would have objected to him becoming the Pirate King if it wasn't because of the three pirate leaders and their followers behind him.

"If you have any objections or if you consider yourselves capable of defeating me, say so, and I'll prove you wrong."

Toz's words were met with confused silence by the pirates. A few of them looked like they were considering whether or not to test Toz. However, there was one pirate more eager to fight with Toz than any other pirate.

The burly pirate pushed himself to the front of the crowd while shouting.

"Don't think I've forgotten you for a second, you bastard. I hope you're ready for what's coming. I won't let you off easy now that I've broken through."

Toz looked at the burly pirate in confusion. The pirate hadn't forgotten him, but he had forgotten the pirate, so he wasn't sure how to respond.

However, Toz wouldn't reject the challenge just because he couldn't remember his opponent or what grudge they had against him, so he invited the pirate onto the stage.

The stage wasn't quite big enough to make a proper dueling arena, but it was large enough for a fight between two long-distance mages, and it would be more than enough for any challenge Toz fought.

"Cark, leader of the Sanguine Blade and a seventh level fighter, has challenged the newly enthroned Pirate King, Toz, a fifth level mage."

The announcer's voice helped everyone understand what was going on. However, the announcer's words spread more confusion than they answered questions.

Due to the variety and possibilities of inclinations, the levels of power of mages and fighters were more like guidelines rather than strict measurements of actual combat strength. A third level sword wielder could defeat a seventh level alchemist in direct combat, depending on the circumstances of the individuals and their inclinations. However, the opposite could also happen if the alchemist was proficient in creating potions or items suited for battle that countered the sword wielder.

Due to the unpredictability of combat, it was impossible to determine the combat ability and strength of individuals in an accurate manner. But since the levels of power were something everything and everyone had to follow as they grew stronger, it was the easiest and simplest way to determine strength universally.

While it happened that there was a large discrepancy in the levels of two fighters where the one with the lowest level won, it was still pretty rare, so a lot of people trusted in the strength of the designated level when they didn't know anything else.

The reason why everyone on the Pirate Meet island was shocked was that Toz, as a fifth level mage, had somehow garnered the support of two mages at the ninth level and one fighter at the eighth level.

Using wealth and connections to acquire that support would have been possible if they lived in a civilized society, but Pirate Haven was a place where anything could be done with force if money didn't accomplish it. And the three pirate leaders weren't people who could be bought with money. A few people looked at Wulf and decided that one of them could be bought, but it wouldn't be enough to convince only Wulf since he was the weakest of the three pirate leaders.

However, it still didn't make sense that a fifth level mage convinced the three pirate leaders using force.

It happened that people crossed divisions to beat opponents when their matchup was good, but it was extremely rare that someone was just better than everyone else, no matter the level of power. Counters and bad matchups were natural and could overcome the gap between different divisions and the difference in the quality of mana.

A being at a higher level was more resistant to the attacks of someone at a lower level due to the innate difference in the mana quality between levels and divisions. That was an inescapable fact, no matter what kind of inclination one had. Even Toz couldn't overcome the difference in mana quality between medium or high level mana, no matter how many elements he had or how many times he refined it. However, he could come infinitely close, and make up for the difference using the quantity as well as his control over mana.

The pirates slowly began to realize that Toz was special in some way for him to crown himself Pirate King and so confidently stand on the stage and face every pirate of Pirate Haven.

Needless to say, the pirates were beginning to look forward to the confrontation between Toz and Cark after their shock faded.

The spectators weren't the only ones eager for the fight. Cark was as well. He had trained hard and pushed himself to the limit to try and seek revenge. He could only hope his efforts weren't too late.

Toz was still looking at Cark, trying to figure out who he was. Cark noticed Toz's relaxed attitude, and he remembered their last encounter. A chill ran down his spine, but his anger far outweighed the shakes he got each time he looked at Toz's feline eyes.