Victors and Breaks

The limp body of Fenris layed on the ground with blood flowing out of his nose. Elijah was stuck in his thoughts — replaying the scene, but also reminiscing in the feeling. Every speck of mana exiting his body felt like fireworks exploding into creativity. The culmination of his plan and events that took him into the flow state gave him hope. 

Hope that he will treat this life – his second life, with grace and gratitude.

Elijah knew Fenris was down, yet, the ref still yelled at the top of her lungs while waving her hand in the air. "STAND DOWN!" A thin pillar of dirt the width of her pinky finger shot into the sky at incredible speed. This was the signal for a healer to be sent. 

Of course, Elijah began focusing on his own healing, which took some time. The feeling of his bones slowly shifting back into place by the ethereal water was tickling.

The fight was concluded, and Elijah had a stern conversation with the ref explaining how what he did was completely okay, but that the damage was almost severe. Elijah was surprised, and decided to not look at what he caused, and immediately walked back with the ref before the healers were finished.

On the way back, Elijah saw a match going on between a practically bald black haired boy and a brown hair boy. Of course it was Niko battling an earth mage. The same guerilla-like strategies were occurring. And from what it looks like, the battle had just started, but quickly came to an end with a very interesting use of fire magic by Niko. A long horizontal line of fire was created that slowly bended around the wall just enough to occupy the earth mage with two more quick spells. Niko must have had his mana still coursing through his magic and didn't let it disperse, which uses up far more mana than manageable.

This small opening gave Niko the chance to blindly shoot a fireball from around the corner of the wall, and knock his opponent unconscious. 

A very peculiar pattern was taking place within this tournament that was already visible on the first day. Distractions and openings were the key to winning with the slow time to cast magic. Everything had to be built up if you wanted an attack, which means it would be easily defendable. The idea is to build up a powerful attack that you know is going to be blocked and throw it into a situation that would cause the defender to leave himself wide open.

The people who understood that fighting beasts is wildly different from fighting each other would likely win, with many upsets that would befall the families of even noble families.

'At least I was able to figure it out on my own…'

Niko caught Elijah's still figure that was being pulled by the ref forcibly. A smile was on both of their faces.

"You know Elijah, I would really love to see you fight, but we have to stay here and wait… I assume you won right?" Raylen was slightly pissed off, but understood that the time would come to watch each other. With over four thousand people participating, there is not going to be time to dilly dally between matches.

"Pfff, of course. According to the ref I actually overdid it. I didn't see his face, but it was probably something none of you would want to see."

"Amazing Elijah, I guess that means you are done for the day?!" Alexia asked.

"Indeed. I am going to get out of here as quickly as possible. It's loud, and I'm hungry. I wish you guys good luck!" Elijah quickly said his goodbyes with the urge for some alone time, and passed by Emery's group that was in the set of couches thirty feet away from him.

Confidence was radiating within him, and without hesitation, he said something none of Emery's friends would expect. "Good luck Emery, I hope to see you in the semifinals!"

"Hey, isn't that the Weltor's charity case?!"

"So much talk for a water mage…" Jared said with an annoyed tone. He didn't even bother to look at him, which meant Elijah had made an impression.

"It's okay if you are scared of people being nice to you. You all care too much for the expectations around you. Don't you want to create your own?" This was more of a hint towards Emery, but also to take a passive aggressive approach to smoldering their mood.

Jared Ruby, the youngest son of Landon Ruby, the renowned Hunter Captain, and first in line for the position of Fire Judge. Jared took after his father in the sense of uncaring confidence, and momentary outbursts.

Upon walking into the radiance of the mana barrier, Elijah was insistently given a carriage for some unknown reason. Instead of being dropped off at the Weltor's, he was brought to the edge of Centerpool in the north, a couple of buildings to the left of the main northern bridgebridge.

"Amaris is waiting for you inside." A finely dressed man with a closely shaven black hair opened the carriage door, and bent his arm to the side as he slightly bowed.

The streets were busy with people carrying their acquired goods and food rations in brown cloth bags. All around Elijah were rows of what looked like three story townhomes – all of which stood at the same height, with metal rails on their roof. Below Elijah's line of sight was a small staircase that paved an easy path to the obvious target. Coincidently, the rug and wooden door were lathered with tons of light blue pigment – reminding Elijah of ice.

The door was already cracked open. Without hesitation, Elijah pushed it open the rest of the way and saw just a sliver of a moving person – a head of frosty hair.

Clinking of glasses and laughter were heard coming from the hallway to the left of the stairs. Something about this place was familiar to the point of being an exact copy of some of the townhomes in his previous life. Elijah's guess is that this is simply the most efficient layout to maximize space. A washroom was to the right directly underneath the stairs. And when Elijah popped his head around the corner, he saw dim candles being burned inside hanging glass lamps above a kitchen counter.

"That's why I told you not to underestimate that boy. He is talented alright, but has a knack for absorbing and learning anything I teach him. Not to mention he has the smarts of a veteran." Amaris' words were heard by Elijah while slowly peeking around the corner. The three people surrounding him had slightly confused expressions as if they had heard something completely unrelated to what they were originally talking about.

"Elijah! You're here! Sorry about the sudden change of your plans, but you are here to add to the conversation as we discuss some sensitive information." Amaris moved closer and shook his hand. "You won your matches today right?"

It took a few seconds for Elijah to respond as he was running programs through his mind. The handshake sure was a change from the usual nudge of the shoulder. "Of course I did. But, who are these people?" In the back of Elijah's mind, he was afraid of talking about what he assumed Amaris wanted to talk about, and covered his dismay with a quiet question.

Amaris nodded to the three calmly standing around the metal countertop.

All three of them walked forward with the intention to softly shake Elijah's hand. However, once they all walked closer, Elijah recognized one man.

"Landon Ruby, I think you may have heard of me." Another tall man with wavy black hair that laid flat on his head. This man's eyes… were more than just the color of fire, and his black coat adorned with red and golden touches made him feel like a 'tall' and respectable man.

"Leah Trafor, Air Judge. Amaris has told me a little about you already!" What a beautiful woman, and with rather revealing clothing as well. The tips of her nipples were poking through her white tightly knit cloth that wrapped around her body into a formal dress with slits where her thighs were. If Elijah was in his old mindset of objectification, he would have a small hatred towards this woman. However, ever since adopting the idea of healthy aestheticism, he came to like women embracing their bodies, in a healthy way of course. The female body had a magnificent appeal in a structural way, and the same could be said about the male body. Of course, the appeal is only there if the individual is healthy, fit, and their posture is nearly perfect.

But also… This kingdom was not the same in the sense of 'sexualization'.

"Mikhail, Crystal Judge…" A tall and muscular man that instead of just having his pupils changing colors, he also had the whites of his eyes shiny and crystal-like. A small hint of a rainbow radiance was present, and gave the man a rather peaceful stature compared to his obvious demeanor and seven straight scars that ran across his face in different lengths.