Inter-Kingdom Tournament Participants - Part 2

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[Status]

Name: John Colton

Age: 14

Level: 7

Experience: 400/700

HP: 200/200

Mana: 50/100

Strength: 23

Intelligence: 20

Dexterity: 21

Agility: 21

Wisdom: 20

Unspent points: 0

Skills: Identify, Intermediate Magic Focus, Primal Instinct, Indomitable Will, Sword Training - Intermediate, Magic Creation - Beginner, Pain Resistance - Intermediate, Overcome the odds - Beginner, Blue Fire, Body Master - Beginner, Foresight

Spells: Fireball, Light, Aqua, Wind Slash, Raise Earth, Blind, Fire Bullet, Earth Bullet, Wind Bullet, Water Bullet, Wind Sword, Fire Sword, Earth Sword, Water Sword, Metal Bullet, Lightning, Ice Lance, Heal, Void Slash, Void Step

Boons: Wadur's Blessing

Curses: -None-

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After a week of constant training and mastering my skills, I took a look at my status and noticed that the growth of my stats from training was going slower than it did before.

I've gotten used to using my [Void Step] skill and felt more comfortable when teleporting into different areas without being confused with the direction I appear in. Everything went smoothly this past week and I felt ready to fight for my place in the Inter-Kingdom tournaments.

I took one last look at my status before I head to my dorms to freshen up and get some sleep.

I woke up with my body slightly sore from all the training, but at this point I've gotten used to it. I took a look at myself in the mirror and realized that my body was getting leaner and tougher compared to when I was at the barony.

I did my usual morning routine. Did some basic workouts, went to take a bath and donned my school uniform and prepared to go to the place where the duels were to take place.

As soon as I got out of the dormitory building with Daniel, Hannah and Julius were there standing.

"John! Today's the day of the duels right?" Hannah excitedly asked.

"Yeah, it's today. I've prepared as much as I could and can only do my best." I said as I gave out a weak laugh.

"Hmph, you can handle yourself well since you are my rival." Julius harrumphed and said

'When did me and Julius become rivals?' I looked at him with a confused expression but said nothing.

"You don't have to worry about John! I mean I've seen his body and he's getting really strong. The difference between him and when we first met is like night and day!" Daniel said excitedly.

"Daniel… I think you should watch what you say because some people might start misunderstanding you" I said as I pointed towards Hannah whose face was beet red from hearing his statement.

"I-I-I… No it's not like that! We live in the same room and we use the same bathroom as everyone else so-"

"Daniel, stop…" I cut Daniel off mid sentence, scared that he might make it worse.

"E-E-Ehem.. Anyway… John, we just wanted to wish you luck with your duels. The whole class is rooting for you! Even Teacher Sasha! She explicitly told us not to bother you while you were training!" Hannah exclaimed.

"Don't worry. Tell everyone that I won't let them down. Now, I think you guys should hurry or you'll get late. We all know how Teacher Sasha likes late students." I said as I gave them a big smile.

"Oh no! You're right!" Hannah said worriedly

"I don't want to experience that ever again." Julius' face dropped to the floor, as if remembering something traumatizing.

"W-W-We have to go… See you, John!" Daniel said as he started to run towards the school building, the others followed suit.

I watched them as they hurriedly ran towards the school building.

'This reminds me of my old school days… When we'd hang out just before school and would run when we realized we took too much time having fun.. Sadly, I have bigger problems now. Luna… Are you okay? Are you alive? I'm coming, so wait for me and hold on.' I clenched my fists as I looked up at the sky.

I made my way towards the training grounds where the duels were going to be held.

There were only a handful of people, I counted a little over a dozen people. 15 people to be exact.

Although the number of people were low inside the training grounds, it was easy to tell that all of them were strong. I could feel the intense feeling in the air. Everyone was sizing up one another and already trying to come up with plans to defeat them. All for the chance at joining the Inter-Kingdom tournaments to gain its benefits.

I looked around and only recalled the face of one person there. It was Kyra Hamilton, a daughter of a Marquis.

I made my way towards her and extended my hand.

"Hello, Lady Kyra. It's a pleasure that we could meet again." I said, smiling.

"Hello, John. It is a pleasure to meet you again, please forgive me for my past attitude with our duel. I have learned a lot from our duel and have learned from it. I was so engrossed with my sudden inspiration that I forgot to thank you. So, thank you." She answered with a serious face and gave a noble bow as she thanked me.

We didn't talk much after that. Everything felt awkward with her being the daughter of a marquis and a second year student and me being a son of a baron and just a first year.

Upon closer inspection, the students that were chosen to participate in the duels were almost all third year students, with only a handful of second years and me being the only first year student. Word got around and people started giving me looks and sizing me up as an opponent.

'Wow, everyone's so serious. There's not a single person here willing to underestimate me.' I flinched at their stares.

"SILENCE!" A loud roaring voice can be heard from the entire training grounds.

The Duke was seen standing in the middle, all of us not knowing how he passed by and appeared out of thin air.

'He probably can't have the void element like me, right?' I thought.

Everyone went silent from hearing the shout and faced towards the Duke.

"Now, everyone is here. I have to explain a few things about the Inter-Kingdom tournaments." His voice was still as loud as ever even when he was talking in a softer tone.

"The Inter-Kingdoms will have a solo battle, a duo battle and a team battle consisting of 3 people. Therefore, we will only need 3 students with 3 others serving as a back-up roster." The Duke said.

Everyone tensed up when they realized that almost all of the people here would be eliminated.

"Of course, the strongest of all of you will be chosen. Your titles and your standing, they don't matter here. What matters is your strength." He added.

The students began whispering to one another.

"I guess all of you are wondering what benefits you will gain if you win all of the duels, right? Okay. For the total winner of this fight, he or she will be the person fighting in the solo tournaments and will have his or her own specialized training room where that person will reside. And that person will be taught by me until the day of the tournaments."

The students gasped from the mention of the rewards for the winner of the duels.

"The second and third place will be part of the duo team and will also have their own specialized training room albeit a lesser one from the first place. They will be taught by different people, however those people are still experts in their field. These people will also be given different items that can help with their training and they vary based on whether they are first, second or third." Duke Lawrence said.

I could feel the air in the training grounds become increasingly tense by the minute. I looked around and saw that everyone had serious looks on their faces. It was obvious they wanted to win.

"Now, there are other benefits but I'll leave those as a surprise. Show us that you deserve to be part of the team and may the best person win!" Duke Lawrence roared

Everyone except for me cheered in response after Duke Lawrence's speech.

'This is it. This is the turning point of my life and the deciding factor for me to get stronger and save Luna.' I thought to myself as the sounds of cheering surrounded the training grounds.