Midyear Battle Victory

The second round began with a match between Mark and Samuel. As Will sat in the waiting area, he could hear the excitement as the fighter walked out the tunnel. Knowing he had to fight Mark in the next round, Will observe the match from the end of the tunnel. As Will walked along the shaded corridor, Chloe grabbed his elbow, waking Will from his thoughts.

"Thanks, Will for what you did back there with Vincent," she said graciously.

"Ah yeah, you're welcome?" Will replied not sure if she meant the conversation or the battle.

"You don't understand the amount of mistrust and dirty looks I get from people because my parents own a bakery. Some people look down on me and others try to take advantage of me," she said.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Will said genuinely.

"Will you've always treated the commoner cadets as equals, and I appreciate that. Mark does too, but he won't say it," Chole said tearfully.

"Your welcome," Will replied not sure where this conservation came from or where it was headed.

"I can see why you have so many fans at the academy," she said jokingly.

"Fans! Here?" Will was shocked

"Just forget about it, let's watch the match," she said smiling.

Our conversation ended just as the etiquette finished.

Mark's strategy was simple, stay away from shadows. Where Samuel's was the opposite. This was the most awkward of matches, with either Mark or Samuel unwilling to change their strategy. The since the battle took a little afternoon, there was a shadow slanted over the coliseum. After what felt like 10 minutes of neither cadet moving refusing to budge from their plan, Marshall Rolf said he would dock points if they both refused to fight. It was immediately apparent this threat did not affect Samuel but rather soured Mark into action. Mark moved carefully towards the shaded area of the coliseum.

As Mark moved to the edge of the shadow, Samuel leaped with a dagger point straight towards Mark's face. It surprised Mark holstered his sword, grab Samuel, and threw him towards the center stage where the sun was brightest. For Mark's effort, there was a bleeding scratch in his right eye to the corner of his lip. Moreover, the blood that seeped out was black and not red. Mark boldly unsheathed his story and ran to Samuel. As Samuel stood from being thrown, he realized he was in the open sun. And the only way to return to the shadows was to get behind Mark. When Samuel saw Mark running towards him to began throwing steel daggers at Mark.

The sight of Mark running towards Samuel and Samuel throwing daggers at Mark was a sight unseen before by Will. To Will, this looked comical, like a parent running to a child with a temper tantrum. As Mark closed the gap, Samuel began by slowly walking backward, it was obvious Samuel was waiting for something. Mark's breathing became heavy and his running speed dropped dramatically. To the point where Mark stood in place and dropped to one knee. Breathing heavy, Mark dropped his head, beads of sweat dropped like a storm. When Samuel saw Mark on a knee he pressed his advantage. Just as he was about to stab Mark in the heart. Mark jumped up and sent an uppercut to Samuel's chin and then punch his nose, breaking it, before both fighters fell to the floor motionless. Seeing neither fighter getting up, Marshall Rolf called the bout a draw.

Samuel was given a recovery pill and was immediately fine. When Samuel recovered, he handed the medics a bottle to give to Mark. Only after pouring out the bottle into Mark's mouth could he swallow the recovery pill. Will heard the medics telling Marshall Rolf Mark was poisoned, but they were unfamiliar with the poison or antidote as it was considered a Black Night guild secret.

Marshall Rolf walked to the tunnel with Samuel and Mark. Watching them sit down, Marshall Rolf explains draws were rare in competition, but for knights killing your opponent ( or knocking them unconscious for the competition) was considered a victory. For a knight's death hazard they must prepare for and it was honorable to death to die by your competitor as equals. Thus ties were not viewed as losses but rather mutual victories.

After his speech, he requested Chloe and I follow him out to the stage. As Chloe and Will exited the tunnel they heard the roar of the crowd. Both fighters stopped to take in the sight. It was obvious the crowd motivated both of them to give their all.

After bowing Chloe and Will met in the center. Will had cast [rock armor], but he noticed the temperature around the fighter had dropped considerably. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon, and winter was approaching, but it was here. However, for Will, the stage felt like it was the middle of winter. The. Will noticed Chloe's blade with the Valkyrie emblem had an icy cold blue chill emanating from it. When she swung her sword Will dodge but the icy sword caught his right arm and parts of his rock armor chipped away. Will was stunned by an elemental attack! He knew Chloe had a normal Knight Academy mid to small mana pool, but where did she get this sword. Immediately Will was on his back foot playing defense. Chloe swings chipped away his armor at this arms, chest, and back. Will parried and blocked while focusing on recasting [rock armor] to refill the gaps. Will continued to defend, an hour passed as Will continued to defend himself. When the swords met majestic blue-green sparks would be set free. Will realized water or icy elemental attacks were effective against the earth. After the competition, many people would say this was the greatest sword fighting they'd seen between Stags in over a hundred years.

After an hour, Will realized Guild Master Cameron must have given her this sword for this very reason. But Will had an epiphany if water was effective against the earth, wasn't the reverse true? Will cast [meteor] as he performed a feint, and the stepped back to create space. Small boulders appeared in the air falling to the ground. For the past three months Will had practiced the spell [meteor], and at first mounds of dirt fell from the sky, then it was pebbles and over time it morphed into small boulders. Chloe seeing the boulders falling nimbly dodge each rock, but as Chloe's attention changed from Will to the sky, Will decided now was the time to attack. He grabbed his iron I got and cast [iron lance], a long meter cylindrical iron pole formed from the ingot, the cone-shaped spearhead adorned the top. The lance was plane and functional. Once the lance was molded from the ingot, Will threw the lance at Chloe she was dodging the last falling boulder. The lance caught Chloe in the abdomen as he fell to the ground and dropped the sword. Will collapsed onto one knee, looking chivalrous to the group, but he was exhausted from casting so many spells. Many in the crowd thought he was distraught at hurting Chloe. Will stood victorious over Vincent but knelt at the motionless sign of Chloe. Everyone thought something different. Many commoners saw this showing as showing respect for their plight. Young noblewomen saw this as being chivalrous. Noblemen saw him as someone who fancied Chloe. Only Elder Thaddeus and Elder Li knew the real reason, Will depleted his mana reserves.

Standing up Will walked back to the tunnel with a recovered Chloe, cementing everyone's various beliefs. Will had turned into a crowd favorite. In the waiting room, Will sat against a wall and began meditating, circulating whirlpool. Usually, when Will meditated he circulate his whirlpool a thousand times, over time the speed of his mana pool increased slightly, but each slight improvement allowed him to accumulate mana faster. As Will sat cross-legged he could feel external mana entering his mana pool. While Will meditated, Evan and Vincent fought.

After two hours a dejected Evan and grinning Vincent returned. Vincent's superiority returned and discussed how Mark and Will used tricks to beat him, but confident without tricks or magic he could've slaughtered them. No one said anything, confirming to Vincent they knew he was right. Vincent's narcissism worsened after his battle, and he continued to demean Evan and other commoners incessantly. However, Vincent's croaking did not wake Will from his meditation. Only a gentle touch from Mark made Will ope. His eyes. Seeing Mark, Will smiled, stood up, and stretched his legs.

"It's time for our match Mark," said.

"Oh, how did the others do?"

"Vincent beat Evan to end the second round. In the third round, Chloe and Evan won," Mark said

Thinking about the results so far, now Will knew Vincent, Chloe, and Evan had both lost twice. Samuel and Mark had both won and tied, which meant only he had won two games. Will had never expected this outcome but knew if cadets had been matched differently the results would be different. For example, what if he had to face off against Samuel again would he have won twice or fought Evan instead of Chloe. Would he have still won? Putting the doubt outside his mind and checking his mana pool, Will knew he had returned to full strength.

"Look Will before we go out there know that I'm going to give it everything I have. Know that I'm not concerned about beating nobles to make a point, I'm only fighting to improve myself," Will said sadly.

The commoner, noble ruckus had to be weighing on his mind.

"I pay no attention to the crowd or politics. My only hope is to have a good fight," Mark's eyes lit and I could tell he was unsure of what I would say. Will's comment had set his burdens at ease at least for now. They shook hands and exited the tunnel as classmates to the stage. Seeing the two enter onto the stage the volume skyrocketed. Before the roar seemed like a squeak to what it was now. Commoners and nobles shouted jeers about the other. People placed their desires onto these two cadets, some viewed this as a duel of honor, rather than as a sparring match between first-year cadets.

After preform battle etiquette, Will and Mark circle the arena like two male lions fighting over territory. Everyone could feel the battler lust between the two, and the air was sucked out of the coliseum as both competitors ran to meet each other in the center. Mark sung his heavy bastard sword at Will, Will's katana cut around Mark. The different swords, techniques, and footwork made for an entertaining match. Their match resembled the British and Japan met in the 1600s. Mark both fighters used two-handed swords. Both fighters had dense body enhancements. The strikes, cleaves, and riposte, the offensive and defensive counterattacks continued. It was only after an hour and a half that Mark was having trouble marinating his body enhancement. When Mark and Will spared last in Marshall Rolf's physical trading class, Mark's body enhancement outlasted Will. Now the roles reserved, Mark was having trouble keeping his defense up. The largest difference between the two was obvious, Will had a larger mana pool and could easily circulate mana to replenish his muscles and maintain his [rock armor]. The constant attack and parries were closing in on two hours. The crowd was in an uproar, it was common for second years and above to have two-hour matches, but for first years usually, an hour was the limit. Now, these two cadets were already fighting on par with second years, how strong were this year's cadets?

After the second hour elapsed Mark could be seen slowing down. The back and forth battle, and Will's lack of magic of using magic, enabled him to outlast Mark. Will was used to fighting Elder Thaddeus, but their matches last only an hour as they were usually fighting with swords and magic. On many occasions, Elder Thaddeus would cast [fireball] as a feint and Will would expand all his mana trying to block that one spell and while also defending against Elder Thaddeus' sword attack. Will was used to flowing dueling and this type of fighting devoid of magic was easiest on him. With his constant training, he could match Mark and he did not have to worry about Samuel's sneak attack, or Chloe's icy strikes, or Evan's overwhelming heavy strikes, or Vincent's madness. These were two strong opponents entrenched in a fierce battle. Mark and Will moved around the stage, attacking and defending. Swords clashes, fists were thrown, legs kicked, yet these fighters persisted never relinquishing much ground. Finally, after two a half hours Mark expended his mana and lost his body enhancement. Will's [rock armor] also began to chip and he was replacing the gaps at a slower and slower speed.

Cuts appeared on each other's bodies. Mark's chest was filling with holes from Will's pointed strikes. Will arms bleed from Mark's downward blows. Once Mark's downward strike had so much momentum that Will thought his left arm might fall off from the hit. However, Mark's chest looked like Swiss cheese. Knowing victory was near and recognizing Mark's decrease movement. Will feinted and spun around catching Mark from behind. Will's strike sank deep into Will's back and his katana was visible stuck out from Mark's chest. Mark looking down saw the katana sticking out from his chest accepted his defeat and slouched on the ground with the katana between his body.

The healers rushing to the stage removed Will's katana and gave Mark two recovery pills before he improved.

Will bent over with his hands on his knees breathing heavy, but after a few minutes, he realized the loud coliseum was quiet so quiet he could hear the birds in the sky above. Standing straight he looked at the crowd and saw them staring wide-eyed. After Marshall Rolf announced Will the winner and the conclusion of the first year midyear exam, people started clapping, cheering, and waving flags again. Will had scored a perfect victory and his final battle cemented Mark and Will as the exceptional cadets.

Soon afterward the tension between commoners and nobles in Guidon died down. Will's victory appeased the nobility and Will's respect for Chloe and Mark appeased the commoners. After Will's victory even though it was only late afternoon, Will fell into his bed and did not wake until the next morning.