049 Selection
"What took you so long? Did you take a dump?" Asked Jack. "You missed most of Vincent match."
"I saw the ending," Nico replied. "Did I miss anything else?"
Jack thought for a moment, then laughed. "Oh yeah, one of the instructors wet himself in the middle of the match and then ran off!"
Nico chuckled.
A couple of matches followed. There were fewer people watching from the side as the more interesting matches had happened earlier. Anya was relieved because she was last.
In the late evening, the instructor called Nico and Sir Fredrick up the platform.
Many people were not interested in the match-up. Sir Fredrick, although a strong fighter and a nobleman, was not the strongest amongst the condensation stage students. Nico was not well-known at all to many people.
Nico prepared a spear in hand, standing in a mid-guard position. Sir Fredrick also selected a spear.
The instructor gave the signal.
Nico attacked Sir Fredrick from the top.
Watching Nico first attack, Sir Fredrick blocked and attempted to counter from the right.
Nico grabbed the spear and pulled forward. Sir Fredrick tripped, but thrust his spear into the ground to stabilize his body.
Nico powered through Sir Fredrick with his elbow and his body, using Chaotic Devil Cultivation enhanced strength to its fullest.
"Damn you pest!" Sir Fredrick pulled away.
Nico followed Sir Fredrick like a shadow and continued pounding out his attacks. Nico felt good that he didn't have to think too much for this match and simply let himself mindlessly charge and attack.
Nico took a few hits, but he remained unfazed.
"Nico is pretty reckless today," Xavier commented.
"He's enjoying the fight," said Vincent.
"He's also sleep deprived," said Ashe.
Nico thrust drilled several times into Sir Fredrick's force barrier to end the match.
"Winner of the match, Nico," the instructor declared.
Anya and Sir Lougram Mayley was the last match of the day and started late at around 8:00pm. Most of the spectators had retired.
The roommates stayed to cheer her on.
"You can do it Anya!" Nico then hollered loudly.
"Good luck Anya," Ashe stated.
Vincent have her a thumbs up and Jack shrugged.
The match began, but Sir Lougram were a lot quicker than Anya. His water burst messed up a lot of Anya's timing.
"Although water and wind skills are weaker than fire and earth type attacks, they are faster to cast," said Xavier.
Jack nodded, but Nico was fixed in a trance.
Anya her own waterblast toward Sir Lougram. Sir Lougram dodged right. His staff unleashed Windblade, blowing Anya back. She took several steps back before regaining for balance. He quickly thrust his staff.
Anya held on and prolonged the fight. She cast Scramble, and rushed toward Lougram. However, her spell didn't last long enough for her to close in on Sir Lougram. She slashed several times into Sir Lougram's body aura, but he evaded back to his comfortable distance.
Sir Lougram cast several windblades. Anya attempted to dodge, but one of the windblades shot her barrier.
After a few more bouts, Anya lost the match.
"Don't worry about it Anya, I'll pick you as my partner tomorrow," Ashe was sure Nico or Vincent would pick Jack.
Nico didn't know if Vincent was close to anyone else besides the roommates.
"Vincent, who are you picking for your partner tomorrow?" Nico asked..
Vincent thought for a moment. "Obi?"
"Okay, I'll take Jack for tomorrow then."
Professor Quin and the other assistants gathered information for tomorrow's partner match.
"You did well today," Professor Quin commented as he approached Nico. "Have you decided on your partner for the match tomorrow?"
"Can I have Jack for my partner?" asked Nico.
"Unfortunately, Jack is being partnered with Marcus."
"What!?" Nico didn't expect that. The order of the selection was based on the match-up, and Nico was close to the end. "Who else is left then?"
Professor Quin showed him a list of five people.
"Can I back out of the tryout?" asked Nico.
Professor Quin was slightly surprised. "Are you not aware of the prizes and opportunities from being in the combat team tournament?"
Nico had heard about it numerous times from Ashe. Aside from the prizes, being in the combat team meant catching the attention of powerful groups and an opportunity to be recruited by the associations and guilds. However, attention was the last thing Nico wanted at the moment. He wanted to focus on learning more about this world and completing the system task. There were still a lot of things he needed to learn before sticking his neck out.
"Professor Quin, you have no idea how tiring it is to be a student," Nico said while yawning. "I've been reading and studying all day and haven't slept yet. If I join the combat team, doesn't it mean I have to practice and prepare for the tournament? I would rather sleep than try to impress a bunch of old fogeys."
In addition, Nico had enough old fogeys to teach him various things.
Professor Quin didn't know how to respond, but he understood that students all have different priorities.
Nico returned home and passed out on his bed.
In the meanwhile, Baron Randall looked at a man kneeling before him.
"My lord," a short haired man trembled before Baron Randall.
He was a new instructor of the Academy and had been assigned by Baron Randall to watch the combat team tryout.
Baron Randall looked coolly at the man. "It was quite a simple task. All you had to do was cast an enhancement spell on Vincent's weapon."
"I don't know why, but my pants got wet for no reason."
Baron Randall eyes narrowed it. "None of the professors were near you, how could that happen?"
"I'm not sure, but it could be a student."
"If it's a student, then this could be potentially dangerous. Remove yourself from the Academy and return to Pasadine. Don't show your face in front of me again."
"Yes my Lord!"
The instructor left. Luckily, they were in the Windel Academy. If this had happened in Pasadine, his life would have been on the chopping block.
****
"I'm surprised you picked me as your partner," Obi prepared his hammer for the first round match.
Vincent nodded and selected a quarterstaff.
There were eight matches for day two. Nico was the only winner that backed out and Baron Randall turned down the selection for the partner round. Professor Clemson placed two alternates to complete the match-ups.
Vincent & Obi vs Hobin & Corribal
Prince Keras Kelsera & Mariot & Hilber
Juliana & Princess Toria Gordon vs Tulan & Ian
Marcus & Jack vs Norick & Tokon
Ashe & Anya vs Tokon vs Larabee
....
....
....
Hobin and Corribal also prepared their weapons on the other side of the court.
"I can't believe Professor Clemson placed this match-up first," said Xavier from the side. "Everyone will likely leave after this match. The selection is pretty much set at this point."
Vincent and Obi stood side by side, and so was Hobin and Corribal. Vincent faced Hobin while Obi faced Corribal.
The instructor signaled the start of the match.
With Vincent ability, they were able to knock out Corribal.
Hobin took out Obi, but Vincent was a dangerous person to attack head to head.
No one could predict the outcome of Hobin and Vincent's match-up. Although one hit from Vincent may easily injured many people, the same could be said of Hobin.
Hobin dodged out of the way and countered. Vincent backed away. Although Vincent force barrier could handle Ian's attack, it would break if he received an attack from Hobin head on.
The match was a dodging match, the first person to get hit loses.
They fought several bouts.
"This is nerve-wrecking!" Xavier scribbled every details into his journal without looking away from the match.
As soon as Hobin attacked, Vincent would dodge out of the way.
"They are going to lose stamina soon," said Ashe. "That's going bad if Vincent can't get a hit in."
In the end, Hobin higher cultivation and ability outlasted Vincent.
As predicted the following fights were predictable. Professor Clemson already had a list in mind, so he released a list shortly after the tryout.
Combat Team List:
Hobin
Prince Keras
Juliana
Vincent
Ian
Marcus
Ashe
Princess Toria
Norick
Obi
Tokon
Corribal