Inter-Kingdom Tournament Participants - Part 3

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[Status]

Name: John Colton

Age: 14

Level: 7

Experience: 400/700

HP: 200/200

Mana: 100/100

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 Step, Void Slash

Boons: Wadur's Blessing

Curses: -None-

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After the cheers and applause died down from Duke Lawrence's speech, the air inside the training grounds began to intensify.

The faces of the contestants turned serious and began looking around once again, gauging each and every person they could before the duels officially started. Duke Lawrence went to the very top of the audience seats, seemingly not wanting to involve himself personally with any of the students.

"Everyone, line up according to your year. We will be giving out your number. This number does not determine your rank in the competition. It will only serve as your identification for when the duels will be held." A teacher handling the duels said.

The students promptly lined up, not delaying any longer. 10 students lined up for the third years, 4 for the second years, and I am the sole first year in the duels.

I can feel the stares of some of the students on me. Some showed praise and some showed disdain.

'I guess this is normal… Being the only first year able to fight for a spot in the tournaments.' I thought, doing my best to ignore the blatant stares of the other students.

The teacher went towards me first. He gave me a small piece of paper that showed the number '1' written on it.

'Ah… Hopefully having this number won't make the others hate me more.'

After everyone received their respective numbers, the teacher in charge went back to the front.

"Now, I will be explaining to you how the duels will work. All of the duels today will be a one on one battle. There will be a winners' bracket and a losers' bracket. The winner of the winners' bracket will be the champion of the duels for today. The winner of the losers' bracket will have the chance to challenge the second or third place of the winners' bracket to take their place within the main team. The loser of that battle will then be put into the back up team. The second and third place of the losers' bracket will respectively be the two of the three in the back-up roster. Is this understood?"

"Yes, sir!" The students replied in unison.

"Seeing that we have an odd number of contestants. Number 1 will be placed in the winners' bracket as a default." The teacher added.

The students went to the audience's seats, waiting for the first duel.

I went to a seat more secluded from the rest. 'I definitely look like a loner right now…' I sat down as I sighed at the thought.

Surprisingly, Kyra saw me and sat down next to me.

"Lady Kyra, please forgive me but I don't think it is the best move to be seated next to me. Seeing as how you might be entangled with the murderous stares of some of the others right now." I said as I noticed her sitting down and next to me.

"Who cares about what people think. They don't know what I know… And that is that you are strong. Stronger than most of us, that's for sure." She replied nonchalantly as she stared towards the center of the starting grounds.

'Oh… Is that how she saw me? I was sure that she hated me for beating her that easily.' I let her sit next to me and just looked towards the grounds again.

"Number 4 and 13 come onto stage!" The teacher called out.

Two students came up front and stood against each other, preparing for the duel.

Number 4 was a second year student and 13 was a third year. The outcome was obvious.

The third year won swiftly and headed back to the seats.

"Well, that was quick. I guess the disparity in experience really plays a factor in these duels." I said as I looked towards Kyra.

"Hmph. The other 2nd years aren't ambitious enough. They attended these duels not having the mindset to win and join the tournaments and instead just to gain experience from battling the seniors." Kyra replied with a disappointed tone.

"So you're saying that you'll definitely place in the main team?" I raised my brow as I asked her the question.

"That is my goal, yes. But being able to join the back up team is also enough. Being able to get out of the kingdom and see the numerous talents of the world would be a better experience than just fighting the academy's seniors." She replied.

'Huh, she's prideful but still knows when to be modest and show respect for the seniors.' I left the conversation at that and proceeded to continue watching the battles.

The battles went on and half of the contestants have already been put either into the winners' or losers' bracket already.

"Number 2 and 10 come onto stage!" The teacher called out.

"That's me." Kyra said as she stood up.

"Goodluck! I believe you can win." I looked at her with a smile.

"Thank you." She said as she walked towards the middle.

Kyra was the last second year to be called to duel. All three of the other second year students have already lost and have been sitting at the losers' bracket side of the audiences.

Kyra stood opposite of her opponent. Her opponent was a third year male that looked like he specializes in physical training more than magic. He was one of the bigger ones when compared to the other third years.

Kyra didn't seem fazed by the disparity in size and just readied herself, with her wand ready.

Her opponent readied his axes and called out to Kyra.

"Lady Kyra, it is my honor to be able to fight a mage with talent for three of the basic elements as well as the dark element. However, you are still too much of a greenhorn when it comes to battle." He said with pride.

Kyra didn't reply.

"Hmph. I won't take it easy on you." The man said.

"Begin!" The teacher's voice sounded out.

As soon as they heard the teacher's voice. They began to move.

The man rushed towards Kyra with amazing speed, showing that his muscles weren't just for show.

Kyra remained unfazed by the speed of the man and focused on casting her spells.

"I got you!" The man screamed as he got closer to Kyra, raising his axes, ready to strike.

"Raise Earth." Kyra mumbled and suddenly the earth beneath the man started to rise.

"What!?" The man was surprised. He didn't think that she would use that spell as an attack instead of defending herself from his attacks.

The abdomen of the man was hit by a block of earth as he was sent flying up.

"Wind Slash." Kyra's voice commanded as a gust of wind went from her towards the man up in the air.

"Hmph. You underestimate me." The man said as he sliced towards the wind, splitting the slashes in half.

"Fireball." Kyra said as a ball of fire erupted from her wand and towards the man.

The man was unprepared for this sudden attack as it was too fast and he was unable to dodge it since he is still suspended in the air.

"Shit!" The man blocked the incoming fireball with his arms, shielding his vitals from the bulk of the damage.

The impact of the fireball sent him flying to the opposite side of the stage, ultimately crashing down back to the ground.

"That was a good hit, but that's not enough to-" The man said as he tried to get up from the floor but as soon as he looked towards Kyra, she was already in front of him attacking with her legs.

The kick landed squarely on the man's neck and he was immediately rendered unconscious because of the sudden attack.

Kyra bowed towards the unconscious man and headed back to the seats.

"Number 2 is the winner of this duel!" The teacher voiced out the results of the match.

"Congratulations on your win." I smiled towards Kyra as she returned back to the seat beside me. "That was a good tactic, making him defenseless in the air and attacking him with spells as well as rushing towards him to make another attack."

"Honestly, it was all thanks to our battle that I realised that I should not solely focus on the power of my spells." Kyra replied. "I realised that although I am a mage and my magic will be my trump cards, having a weak physique will only hinder me. Again, thank you for making me realise this."

"I really didn't do anything. I was just desperate to join the expedition so I ended it as fast as I could." I replied shyly, scratching the back of my head.

'I wonder what she would think if I told her that I'm also well-versed in the way of the sword…' I thought to myself.

The rest of the duels went on as normal. There were a few of the third years that piqued my interest when I realised that they were holding back a lot of their power even amongst their peers.

When the duels to determine the members of the winner and loser brackets were finished, we were given a short break to recuperate and strategize for the competitors we will be facing. As soon as the break was finished, we all returned back to the training grounds and resumed the duels.

"Number 1 and 9 come onto the stage!" The teacher commanded.

I went to the stage and faced my opponent.

"That first year is dead… he's fighting against him…"

"Isn't that guy's previous enemy unable to continue because of their battle? I feel sorry for this first year."

Murmurs and whispers of the students from the audience could be heard.

'Shit… It's this guy. He was definitely one of the strongest ones of the third years. Just my luck, I wanted to hide most of my strength until later…' I sighed.

"My name is Hector Williams. I've heard you met my sister Hannah. John Colton. I've heard a lot about you. A talented mage that is able to master all of the basic elements." He said as he walked closer and reached out his hand for a shake.

"It is nice to meet you, Lord Hector. Yes, me and Hannah are good friends as well." I replied and grabbed his hand to shake it.

He pulled me closer and whispered into my ear. "Of course, I also know about your talent for light and dark magic. I'm surprised."

I pulled back and stared at him with wide eyes as he chuckled and returned back to the opposite side of the stage.

'Looks like I have to take this battle a little more seriously than I thought.' I squinted, staring at the back of Hector as he walked back.