It was a clash of the wind and sea.

The battle of the Pervasives.

Undisturbed by any passerby be it the Covetors from the far atoll or the residents of the Daryan Harbor or the strollers of the coast, both Alist and Era tasted the salt flying out of the raging blue waters.

The battlefield's regions were even covered with steam which puts Alist's vision at an early disadvantage.

She manipulated the sea waters which enveloped and doused the blinding vapor.

While splashing out the fog, she took out a pinkish-gray sack which was cone-shaped and held its mouth open with both hands as if expecting to catch something.

But as soon as the steam curtain went down, a forceful blast pushed Alist away from the near challenger.

Era sent strong spirals of air current blowing in her direction as retaliation for catching him off guard earlier.

He then released Lacerating Winds to slash her with injuries and to delay her from triggering her water control.

But his opponent successfully evaded his attacks by having the big sea wave swallow her back underwater.

Reading about Era's fighting strategies, Alist knows his opening move will be ripping out the oxygen from the air surrounding them.

He could tell the kind of air any species latches onto as not everyone is breathing in the same life gas.

Oxygen is the most common amongst the life-giving airs so it was easy for him to snuff out the life of his enemies.

He may be twelve years old but his mind and physique is born for battle.

Knowing that her enemy can use Air Detraction anytime, Alist accepted the sea's embrace.

Breathing underwater is not an ability or skill she possesses as a Water Specialist which was why she needed to be quick before Era forms his zone of asphyxiation.

She may conjure a bubble filled with air to sustain her breath but the bubble can pop anytime she is attacked.

Thankfully, Alist had a sack made from the lung of the Scythe Whale which was a massive C-rank mana species that has an affinity for Wind Specialism.

When a Scythe-headed Whale performs the Call of the Winds, fierce and powerful gusts blow violently in the direction of their enemies.

The reason why these whales were able to do such ability was because of their lungs which were superbly elastic and sealable that the stored air could not escape.

Alist killed one the other year and sold the whole body except for its lungs.

She carved out the twin air repositories and drained out the whale's gore with water several times before its use.

The finishing product is the appearance of a C-rank magic item called the Odyssean Bag of Breath which could be filled up to the size of a gigantic hot air balloon.

When Era blasted wind force into her, Alist made sure that her arms were outstretched in order to capture all the air the bag can take.

Of course, being blown away is also painful and deafening to the ears but she still held on with the waves acting as her trampoline before going underwater.

She then swiftly took out a corrugated breathing tube and attached it to the whole of her resuscitation bag before placing the heavy bag into her Sea Bear's Glass.

With that, Alist dived deeper while biting and sealing her mouth shut on the air bag's tube.

The water is her domain so her opponent needs to do his best to force her out completely.

"Coward!" Era sneered loudly as he drilled the Wind Dozer into the area that marked Alist's disappearance.

Several Black Crow fishes flew into the air and were sliced up into pieces spreading their intestines everywhere.

As Era killed more unfortunate aquatic creatures, the duel zone became the literal red sea.

The blood of innocent seafood decorated the waters and the stench of their deaths were intentionally spread by Era.

Since blood easily dissolves in water, it was all the more effective for the cadaverous scent to latch onto Alist if ever she resurfaces from her hideout.

Wind can easily pick up the scent of a person so it will be easier for Era to mark her out if she ever comes in contact with the dead fishes' stench.

While the Air Ripper continued slashing the waters with blades of wind and massacring the swimming by-passers, Alist stood on top of a rock near the tall seabeds.

She opened her consciousness and thought of her mana plate which immediately appeared in front of her.

No one can see each other's mana plates since it is a personal energy of the mana species or vessel.

The golden plate floated at Alist's eye level and showed the status of her mana content.

In Alist's old world memories, RPGs have mana or the life force that sustains one's magic represented as a bar meter and measured in mana points (MPs).

But in the novel, the inhabitants of Kaiden see their magical energy in a different way.

Eons ago, the Fallen Stars landed on the surface of Kaiden like morsels of meat falling into a dish bowl and filled the empty world with their existence.

From that point in history, mana species were created with individual circular plates that represent Kaiden itself.

Similar to what trees, corals, shells, rocks, and ice cores have, the plate is the annular growth ring of one's mana.

Fortune or misfortune dictates the size of its capacity that if one has a plate as small as a single grape, that mana species is forced to either live with that portion or become a Mana Covetor to leech out others' magic life forces.

The mana plate does not look like a magic circle or a sigil.

It is simply displayed as a flat golden circle and when mana is consumed, the aureate energy will diminish in a clockwise rotation until there is none left.

If ever one upgrades their mana plates through taking in other's magic energy, another annular ring will be added.

This concentric part establishes one as a mana vessel.

Alist first saw her own mana plate when she was five years old and its size was only 12 inches (1 ft) wide.

Her mana plate may seem small but having that plate width at such a very young age isn't normal.

Five years old is the normal age a child can be able to see his or her own mana plate and it is usually 8 inches wide.

But in Alist's case, a one foot wide plate means she is born with such luck to inherit that size of a vessel.

At first, this shocked her because she had the same mana capacity as the overpowered MCs who were true geniuses.

Then the five-years-old her calmed down after realizing. 'I guess this was the result of my passive training since I couldn't move around as a toddler at that time.'

Mana Release.

A passive skill used by all Specialists to let out their aurae.

Manifesting mana into aura is no easy feat and very tiring which was why it was practiced at the young age of five.

However, the 8-months old toddler undergone this without anyone's knowledge.

Alist knew that maintaining her Mana Release is very important for a Specialist as drawing out aura circulates throughout her whole body and boosts her Specialism.

It took her five grueling years of Mana Release training which she scheduled every midnight or at times wherein she was not under the watchful eye of her parents.

This was the reason why she had a 1-ft wide mana plate.

Of course, having a diameter of that capacity will not be enough for her to use Water Specialism freely which was why she trained her body and hunted for mana fodders.

From a newbie Covetor to an adept Covetor, Alist's mana plate grown another foot wide with five annuli around the inherited 1-foot core.

an illustration of Alist's mana plate*

As she spent her mana in Xenia's etiquette classes, in participating in the sea game, in skedaddling away from the grudging Covetors, and in dueling with Era, she currently has one golden annulus which was gratefully mana-regenerated by Twisted Trapper earlier.

Alist also has her freshly-caught Red Crystal Abalone but she decided to consume the extremely rare shells' energy instead because the latest catch is dedicated to her family.

With all the supporting mana items in her grasp, she remained silent and became one with the sea.

She opened her Water Sense and discerned the splashes made by Era's wind hacking who also created his own Wind Zone to track the scent of his target.

But Era was the actual target.

He was the prey.

'In my old world,' Alist narrated mentally 'I stalked and ran after opportunities that hold my survival. My prizes. My just rewards. Between him and I, I am the real hunter. Between the swooping eagle and the patient fish, I am the real devourer with the teeth of a piranha. And between the two Mana Covetors in this Uptaking duel, I am the real and absolute Covetor.'

Her eyes glinted with the greed atavistic to the Fallen Star ancestors and her aura burning intensely for victory.

Unbeknownst to Era, Alist commanded the sea waters to execute her next move.