Real Start

"This concludes all the fights of the group stage!" The commentator announced when all the battles were over for this round. "Will all the winning of each their groups, please step onto the middle battle stage!"

As he said this, ten young fighters went to the middle stage. Adrian was, of course, one of them. He looked around and saw that there was no one else from the Harlace house. This was quite surprising; he had expected the guy with the katana to go further. It didn't really matter to him, though; he just needed to win this tournament.

Everyone here was strong fighters, though, and every one of the opponents felt strong to Adrian. This really got him fired up; he needed some excellent fights.

Everyone got some new numbers now, representing the battle arena they came from. Adrian got number 6, as he was from the 6th battle arena.

They had to draw numbers to see who they were fighting in this group. The drawing was commencing in the way that number one draws first; then two draws second, and so on.

The commentator had now brought out a bucket with 20 paper slips in them. On each paper slip, there was a number, which ranged from one to ten. As everyone slowly went up, draw a paper slip each, Adrian was getting ready for his turn.

No one knew what the other had gotten for numbers, which meant that it would all be a surprise in the end. Adrian drew his number, which was number two. This also meant he was in the second fight.

"Now that everyone has taken their paper slips, it is about time to fight!" The commentator was getting ready for the fights to start. "But first, let me introduce the judge!" He said this, as he pointed at a man to the side. Adrian recognized this man, since it was the same judge he had on the battle stage he was fighting on.

"This man is Rufus! He is a veteran war hero! He has fought many battles, and he is an important person for this kingdom! Please welcome this hero, with a big applause!"

As the commentator ended his speech about the judge, the spectators started applauding. It was quite a beautiful site to see. The sound of applause made a beautiful atmosphere, which Adrian loved.

there hadn't really been any applause until now in this tournament. There had only been one uproar when Adrian had his fight with a guy who used a forbidden technique. Other than that, it had all just been some small murmurs that could be heard.

This final round though, is where all the excitement comes. It is here they can see all the strong fighters fight, with all they have. This was also the fights Adrian had looked forward to the most. He now gets the chance to fight against the most talented young men of the capital.

"Now that you have all met the judge, let us get this tournament started again!" The commentator knew how to make the crowd go wild. As he ended this sentence, the audience started an exciting uproar.

"Fighters who have the number one on their paper slips, please make your way to the battle stage!" The commentator finally made the first fighters get on the stage.

The fighters that went on stage, surprisingly both came from the best house in the kingdom. They both looked arrogant like they were sure to win this both of them. One of them was using two shortswords, while the other was a user of a massive hammer.

The guy with the two shortswords looked small and nimble, while the guy with the hammer, was a massive man, with bulging muscles. He looked more like a giant than a human.

"First fight is between number 1, Bertram from the Barham family, and number 9, Frans from the Barham family!" The commentator said this in an excited tone, it sounded like he was looking forward to this fight. The hammer guy was called Bertram, while the shortsword guy was called Frans.

"Both ready to fight?" The judge asked a question he hadn't asked before in the first round. Adrian thought this was a little weird, but he did not think more of it.

""YES!"" Both of them answered at the exact same time, with a loud yell.

"Then, let the battle begin!"

As soon as the judge said this, they both charged straight at each other. This was a surprise to Adrian since Bertram would be at a disadvantage against someone so much quicker than him.

As they hit each other though, Adrian was once again surprised. The quicker of the two, was actually Bertram. The hammer was flying with so much speed, that Adrian had a hard time following it. He also knew, if he were hit by that, he would not be in a good shape. He needed to pay attention to this guy.

This all made Adrian's heart beat faster in excitement. This was probably the strongest person he would have to face. It also showed how strong the first house, Barham, was. They have two strong fighters, at least, in the final rounds.

There was not really any excitement in the fight itself, since Bertram was stronger in every aspect, even speed, the opponent had no chance.

"The winner of the first fight is, Bertram from the Barham family!" As the judge announced this, there was a huge applause from the stands. This had been the first fight, of many exciting fights.

As Bertram went down from the stage, he felt someone looking at him. As he looked over to see who it was, he saw Adrian looking straight into his eyes. This made Bertram smirk and release some battle intent towards Adrian. This, in turn, made Adrian smirk while releasing his own battle intent.

"HAHAHA, I like you!!" Bertram yelled at Adrian before he turned around to walk down to his family. Adrian's smirk went wider, it seemed like he had made a 'friend.'

"That was one hell of a fight, are you guys ready for more!?" As the fighters had went off stage, the commentator quickly jumped in.

"YEAH!!" The audience yelled out in excitement, they were ready.

"Then, will the fighters with the number two on their paper slips, please walk onto the stage?"

As he said this, Adrian moved up to the stage. He saw that his opponent came from the Silverwin family. Which was the family Henry was from. It is a family with decent strength and an abundance of wealth. Adrian knew little of them though.

When Adrian looked over at the guy coming at the stage, he could see anger written all over his face. This guy was very angry, but Adrian didn't really know why. He was using the shot and shield like Henry was, it seems this was what the family preferred to use.

"So, you are the guy who crushed Henry and his shield?" Now Adrian knew why this guy was angry. "That shield cost our family a fortune, and you ruined it, you have to pay for that!" His anger was blazing. Adrian was wondering why he was so angry, over one shield though.

"Oh, you are only worried about the shield, how kind!" Adrian gave the guy a provocative smile. Which made him even angrier.

"The second fight is between number 6 Adrian from the Harlace family, and number 3 Gus from the Silverwin family!" The commentator jumped into the middle of their conversation, as he announced who were battling. He ended the sentence by looking at the judge, signaling to start the fight.

"Bot fighters ready?" The judge asked straight away, after getting the look.

""YES!"" One excited shouted, and one angry shout came. Both were yes, but gave of different emotions.

"Begin!" The judge said, with no emotion whatsoever.

As soon as the judge said that, Gus chose to charge straight at Adrian. He was using something like the shield bash, that Johanna's dad had used on Adrian before. This time though, there was not as much strength nor speed in it.

Adrian avoided it without a problem and decided to play a little with Gus. So as he avoided the attack, he slapped Gus across the face, to anger him some more.

Gus's face turned red, and his anger soared to a new level, this was pure humiliation. While Gus was getting angrier, Adrian was having more fun. He didn't know why, but it was fun to annoy people like this.

Gus charged at Adrian, and the same happened again, except this time, Adrian hit him twice. The Audience was having a hard time keeping back their laughter. They did not dare to laugh though, since this was one of the strongest noble houses in the capital.

"HAHA, did you say I had to pay?" Adrian on the other hand did not care at all. He provoked this guy without any restraint. He would just take the consequences later.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!" Gus gave an angry shout before he threw his shield at Adrian, which caught him off guard. The shield hit Adrian, pushing him back. As he finally found his foothold again, Gus stood in front of him, with his sword over his head. He swung it straight at Adrian's face.