Now Nicolai had plumbed most of the Memory Discs, his next distraction—while engaged in the drudgery of making Rotation Orbs—was watching the Tournament replays he'd purchased from Starz.

These turned out to be less comprehensive than the salesman had promised. He surmised that the man had struggled to get good footage of everything, considering he likely hadn't anticipated the opportunity of the Tournament. Hopefully, next time, every single fight would be recorded in perfect detail.

But for now, all the big final fights were recorded, and there were snippets from the Free For All section of each Tournament.

Nicolai focused on Tournaments' Two and Three. He had certain questions he wished answered. How did technology stack up against Cultivation at these higher levels? Were there any more surprises? Decisive pieces of magic or technology, like the Silver Net and the Lasrgun? Who were the best fighters, and what were they doing?

He especially wanted to see Cultivators fighting while utilising true Artifacts. Based on what he knew, Artifacts weren't really a thing at Tier 1. It seemed that Symbiotes at that Tier were too limited to be used to be create proper Artifacts, that it wasn't possible without the higher-power Symbiotes of Tier 2 and above.

He was currently watching the Free For All section of Tournament Two. Of course, the Modules had gone through the whole thing and highlighted all the big moments, worked out everything they felt was important, but he still wanted to watch it himself.

The Free For All was going very differently compared to the one he'd been involved in. The Cultivators had all banded together. The Earthborn followed suit upon recognising this. The Duel Arena system did not show any signs of caring that the Free For All had become a team deathmatch.

Before managing to link up and form a team, many Cultivators had fallen to lasers. If someone from Earth was classed as Level 2, they were most likely a Cyborg, and it was common for Cyborgs at that level to have a self-defence laser. Aware of their effectiveness against this particular enemy, the Cyborgs made it their mission to use lasers wherever possible. Though the Cultivators were Tier 2 and had powerful methods of their own, when those without some kind of defence against a laser were caught out in the open they could only scramble helplessly, attempting to flee into cover before sustaining too much damage.

But, many of them did have methods of defence.

Nicolai saw the Cultivators surround themselves with various barriers. The earth and stone of the arena were manipulated, raised to make walls, while some Cultivators simply dove directly into the ground. Symbiotes spat out quantities of floating water which formed protective screens. Clouds of smoke or mist were formed and spread through the area.

These defences were more or less effective.

The barriers of earth and stone worked very well against lasers, as they did against pretty much everything. But they were slow to raise, easily flanked, and where they weren't thick enough were quickly blasted through by more standard projectile weapons and explosives.

The clouds of mist and smoke were more of a detriment than anything. Lasers went through both with little loss of energy, and as the Cyborgs all had thermal vision, they could also see through the clouds, to the Cultivators dismay.

However, there was one particular, small cloud which seemed composed of strange, shimmering light. He didn't see any lasers make it through that.

The floating walls and bubbles of water proved one of the most effective countermeasures, at least against most lasers.

One particular Cultivator, someone called Leng, leaped about and managed to take out quite a few Earthborn while wrapped by a thick wall of water. This individual also had a Silver Net, which protected him from more typical weaponry. When red lasers hit the bubble, the water hissed and boiled, steam pouring out, but the lasers didn't make it through and the water seemed endlessly replenishing.

For a time this individual flew about, chasing Earthborn down one by one, stunning them with some kind of electric attack then finishing them off with an Artifact spear. This strategy seemed to be very effective, and Nicolai felt he might be looking at the ultimate winner.

That was until Leng came into contact with an Earthborn who had a slightly more specialised laser, rather than the typical self-defence version. This laser was capable of being switched to various different wavelengths, and the Cyborg simply swapped it to blue.

To a blue laser, in the wavelength of perhaps 450 to 495 nm, water is practically transparent. Rather than interacting with the water, the laser will simply pass through with little loss of energy.

The Cultivator discovered this scientific factoid when the blue laser passed straight through his water barrier, and he underwent a similar experience as Jian had encountered. His eyes burst, his flesh burned, his hair and robes were set aflame. This Cultivator responded better than Jian, however. He immediately dropped from the air, diving toward cover. Using his Soul Sense, Nicolai supposed, to see his way.

The laser tracked him, and the man turned away, sacrificing his back to protect his head as he fell.

Nicolai wasn't sure if he'd have sustained "lethal damage" before getting into cover or not. Certainly even if he did land, he would be in such a state that even recovery with Rejuvenation Orbs wouldn't would take quite some time to heal him, putting his odds of survival very low.

But, fortunately for the plummeting Cultivator, someone else sustained lethal damage just before he did, which brought the number of remaining competitors to thirty. The Free For All portion of the Tournament ended immediately, before Leng could be removed.

There were other individuals who stood out during this Free For All. Unfortunately, Starz hadn't been able to get views on all of them, and the big screens above didn't show everything of interest. Still, Nicolai kept note of a few he'd spotted who he was interested to see in later rounds.

It also shouldn't be said that the Cyborgs had an easy time, and in fact it wasn't that one-sided. The larger mass of Cultivators who'd managed to link up, surrounded themselves with defences of water, earth, and stone. This defence, constantly strengthened and repaired by those within, who also focused on deflecting any explosives launched at them, worked very well.

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The Cyborgs who tried to get closer, probably looking to get some form of explosive in or shoot through gap in the defences, quickly found out that this was a very bad idea. The moment they came within the range of the Cultivators' Soul Senses they suffered lethal damage almost instantly.

Nicolai knew precisely why this was. The Cyborgs, most of whom had no Soul, had drawn within range of the numerous Soul Senses of the Cultivators behind the barriers. Even if they did have a Soul, against so many their Soul Sense would quickly be destroyed. With that, the Cultivators could use the typically much nastier Symbiote effects that had to be aimed and applied with Soul Sense. It was difficult to tell exactly what those drawing too close were being destroyed by, but Nicolai saw explosions of fire, zigzagging bolts of lighting, crackles of angry purple light, and sprays of blood, to name a few.

The Tournament advanced into the duelling rounds, and Nicolai observed with interest.

He saw a Cultivator use a now familiar strategy, forming a great mound of earth and stone around himself, so large that a demolition kit would be required to blow it apart, rather than just grenades. The Cultivator hid within it, and the Earthborn he was against tried the typical weapons; a high calibre rifle, a laser, grenades. None were effective. But the Culivator didn't seem able to counterattack.

The Earthborn approached closer, but the moment he did so an Artifact Blade launched out from where it'd been hidden beneath the earth, shooting in attack. The Earthborn was running backwards before it had even begun to move. The Blade came close enough to attack, swooped at him, but it was deflected by an invisible force. The Earthborn was able to scamper out of range of the hidden Cultivators Soul Sense, and the sword slid away.

Nicolai surmised the Earthborn had a Soul Sense of his own and must in fact be quite capable with it, if he'd been able to deflect the Soul Sense that was manipulating the Artifact Blade.

The match proceeded very slowly after that, with the Earthborn keeping his distance and the Cultivator staying in his giant mound, until ultimately the Cyborg managed to damage or even destroy the Artifact Blade by baiting it into attack then shooting it with an anti-material rifle.

Following that he was able to close ground, and was noticeably battling against more Soul Sense attacks while working to damage the earth. Surprisingly, he actually got closer and closer, and seemed to be doing fine in the Soul Sense arena. Nicolai found this somewhat odd, as it was very unlikely the Cyborg was Tier 2, and a Tier 1 going against a Tier 2 in Soul Sense should stand little chance. And yet, the man closed ground.

The trick was revealed when, after coming very close to the mound, he suddenly tried to flee but after only a few steps was abruptly lifted into the air, slammed into the ground, then rocks shot out of the mound and slammed into him repeatedly as he was held there. The match finished shortly after, with the Cultivator who had hid within the mound for the entire round seizing victory. Nicolai was quite approving of the Cultivator's non-flashy display.

Nicolai guessed the Cultivator had put on an act, giving out weaker Soul Sense attacks than he was capable of, encouraging the Cyborg to come in closer to try for a finish. Then, once he'd been too close to get away, broken his Soul Sense in a couple of attacks and finished him.

In another match, a Cultivator flew on spiritual wings, and fired with an Artifact Bow. This was the one with the shimmering cloud around her, that defended from lasers. However, she had no Silver Net and ended up in a game of hide-and-shoot with her opponent. Ultimately, she won when her opponent, oddly, fell asleep for no apparent reason. She approached then finished the Cyborg. The recording had no spiritual component and he was thus unable to see Soul Sense or anything else, but he presumed she had used an invisible Soul Sense guided attack, and the Earthborn had not possessed the ability to defend against it.

A flashier match occurred between the Earthborn with the blue laser, and a Cultivator with a heavy focus on lightning. The Cultivator simply charged straight at the Earthborn, was hit and burned by the laser, but before the damage could be considered lethal, pulled in range of Soul Sense and launched a powerful lightning attack. This stunned the Earthborn long enough for the Cultivator to hit him with an Artifact hammer, blasting him backwards. But after landing the Cyborg stood up, only slightly damaged, and finished burning his opponent to the point of lethal damage.

Notably, many of the Cultivators did not possess a Silver Net. Nicolai supposed that it hadn't been easy to buy one when they'd only had thirty or forty minutes to do so. Those without tended to struggle even more, as one particular fact became clear.

Weapons from Earth tended to greatly outrange Symbiotes and Soul Sense. Cultivators needed to get within a certain range, so that they could use their most devastating attacks, powerful Symbiotes guided by Soul Sense. They could still fight from outside that range, but would resort to firing projectiles or energy attacks unguided by Soul Sense. These tended to be slower than bullets, and the Cyborgs dodged them without much issue, while the bullets they shot back were much faster.

Nicolai was especially interested in matches between Cultivators, and found himself amused by one in particular. He'd been highly invested in it, watching as they exchanged energy attacks and leapt around—though he'd known that there must be a great deal he was missing by being unable to see spiritual effects and Soul Sense. Still, he'd been able to glean some good insights from seeing two Cultivators battle.

That was until one Cultivator got into a bad position and looked moments from being finished off, only to pull a Lasrgun of her own. She wasn't particularly accurate with the laser, but managed to hold it on target long enough to set her opponent afire. With that she must have gained a heavy advantage in their invisible Soul Sense fight, as all signs of her being pressed vanished and she finished her opponent only moments later.

In the fights between Earthborn and Cultivators, Nicolai had tended to observe few instances of Culivators using Earth tech, or the reverse. They happened, here and there, but not often. But what was much more common was seeing Earthborn use Symbiote Arts and Soul Sense to gain an edge in fights against other Earthborn, and, as with the cultivator using a laser, the sight of a Culivator using Earth tech against another Cultivator.

Nicolai supposed that for most, they struggled to get any technology or magic that matched their power level, as these individuals were all at Level or Tier 2. It was very unlikely any Level 2 Cyborg would also be a Tier 2 Cultivator, at most they would Tier 1 with some number of Nodes.

But just having some Symbiotes and a Soul Sense could give them some extra options and unexpected advantages, especially against those who hadn't bothered to look into these new options. Something as simple as using a Finger Symbiote to pull a magazine from a gun, as he'd often done against those without Soul Sense, could turn a losing fight into an easy victory. Not to mention things like Storage Symbiotes, which gave one capabilities that Earth tech had no comparison for.

Likewise, a Cultivator suddenly pulling out a Lasrgun or throwing a timed grenade at a crucial moment, could completely confuse and wrongfoot their opponent.

The uptake of such methods was still relatively low. Perhaps this wasn't unusual, as they had all only been in this place for less than four months. Nicolai knew he was an outlier regarding such things, and that for those coming into this world with more established power already, adjusting and investing in the new methods available would not have been as necessary as it had been for himself.

But the trend, in spite of the dislike the two sides had for one another, was clear. Already as he watched this Tournament, it looked like those who had invested in gaining the capabilities of the other race for themselves were disproportionately represented in the final rounds. At higher power levels, even a small additional edge could be a deciding factor. He fully anticipated that in the next Tournament, there already would be much more interchangeable use of magic and technology than in this one.

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