Center Stage

"Have you ever heard of juggling Niko?" With the three head sized crystals being held to his chest, Elijah threw one up into the air after another, and began juggling in a circle for almost thirty seconds straight.

"Haha yes I do know what that is. It does look like you need some practice though."

Elijah and Niko took hold of the three crystals and continued moving forward quickly. If it were up to Elijah, he would happily carry the three crystals that would just barely fit, in his storage.

While moving through the upper layers and avoiding vibrations and lights, they made their way to the very center. Earlier, Elijah had seen a massive expanse of a flat area through a thin line of sight, and knew big things would happen there. Both of them were confident in their abilities, and wanted more action. The stakes would be tremendously high with three crystals in their hands.

SZHING!

A white and thick strike of lightning zipped passed Elijah and Niko's face at a speed that looked instantaneous. Knowing there were very few lightning mages in the kingdom, Elijah screamed at the top of his lungs.

Surprises were seen on the faces of Novius and Alexia who were beaten with ripped and burned clothes. The group now had half of the crystals in the entire arena, which was sure to draw attention. With resistance, Novius and Alexia sighed as they followed the action seekers to the center stage where they would display their treasure. Along the way, Elijah focused on his breathing and attention to absorb the ambient mana. While the battle was amazing, the spell that cost him thirty percent of his mana was completely unnecessary to win, and only a show for the child biting for than he can chew.

A steep and jumbled ramp led to the smooth stone stage that stretched for more than eight thousand feet. Cheers began to rise in frequency at the sight of four children holding four crystals.

"Do you see Lucian? There are promising children…" Said Zion, the left hand of the king. His eyes were as black as the void, and his long black hair was neatly laying against his black and silver embroidered garments.

"Yes. It seems we may have some action on our hands. I am curious about that blue-eyed boy. He is a water mage that I was told beat the Riskwell's youngest prodigy not even twenty minutes ago. And with some interesting magic as well…" Lucian was a beauty among men. His flowing blonde and wavy hair in combination with his pearlescent eyes and white clothes made him an angelic figure who would "bless" the people of The Catacombs every so often. Whether it be money, bread, or a simple hug, anyone caught within his gaze was astounded and filled with pleasure. Lucian was considered the complete opposite of Zion, the night stalker. "I just hope these children are not afraid of the show they would put themselves in."

"Do you think he could be the one?" Zion asked as he leaned into the ear of Lucian.

"There is no way of knowing until the time comes. If he is, he will hide that unknown affinity of his. Even then, there would be no guarantee. We can't exactly execute a random kid in public can we?"

"You are right, but what if we gave him to the scientist? That man has a knack for children, and while it's disgusting to think about, the anomaly will still be alive within the underworld before offering him as food."

Lucian sighed. "Zion, you may be the left hand of the king, but that suggestion still might be rejected by him. Anyways, the action is approaching. I suggest we watch closely…"

On the opposite side of the circular stone stage was a group of four holding two crystals, as well as a group of three holding two crystals. Elijah and his group of four that seemed terrifying to the other two groups stood proudly as they walked to the center. Elijah was in the front, and with a smile on his face, he gracefully dropped all four of their team's crystals into the center.

"Who would like to fight for the entire pie?!!"

The crown buzzed with cheers as Elijah's hands raised to the air. The second the stage came into view, he knew what had to be done to stand out. What had to be done not get him a place on the frontlines, but action as he showed everyone the power of a water mage.

The frontlines were no longer something Elijah was striving for as he had a plan to somehow leave the kingdom after the tournament. While there were conflicted emotions within Elijah's heart, he chose to become a sporadic individual and chase action over everything to drown out the sounds of regret that were deep within his chest. However, the more fun he had—especially today—the more doubt clouded his judgement.

"Uhhh, Elijah? Are you sure you want to do this?" Alexia and Novius both had the same thoughts.

"Of course, let's make it interesting!"

Niko stepped forward right next to Elijah and grew a wide smile on his face. What they were watching was the acknowledgement of his opponents who dropped their blunted swords, and dropped the crystals in the center.

"When we return, do we start?" A boy with red eyes and dark brown hair stepped up to the plate alongside his three teammates. From the looks of it, this team had one of every basic affinity.

The other team had two fire affinities and one earth affinity. Elijah addressed everyone at the same time. "Yes, same rules, but the last team standing gets to keep the crystals. I do not think there is much time left, so we must start now."

The eleven contestants left standing all nodded in agreement and began slowly walking back to their respective positions close to the edge of the smooth stone stage. From what Elijah could tell, the crowd was not on the edge of their seats, but were silently waiting for the action to start.

A single scream resounded from both Niko and Elijah, and a few seconds later, a rumbling began to occur. Every single participant dropped to their knees with the motion of the center stage. It was being lifted to assume an easier position for the crowd to watch.

'It seems they truly want a show.'

"Do your best guys, and don't rush into a group of mages by yourself." A thin layer of water was excreted from the soles of Elijah's shoes, and with a swift and elegant shape, he zoomed into the distance heading straight for the group of three. The blunted wooden sword began dragging against the smooth stone floor while Elijah's hair fluttered in the wind behind him. His speed was unknown to anyone who hadn't seen it before, and even while a powerful mage was looking at the backs of Elijah's feet, the turning over of the water that created a small wave would barely give them any clues to how he is accomplishing this. The idea behind this being the simple fact that the ocean does not exist to these people.

Screams and shouts were heard from the group of three he was approaching, and pretty early on, two waves of fire were thinly spread out to block the crazed boy from reaching their team. However, a small amount of water collided with the fire as Elijah passed straight through it. The burning sensation was quickly dissipated by the water. Elijah knew very well this was not a wall of fire he could simply run through as he did in his past life. This fire was bound to the air, and thus would travel with him if he collided with it.

Bang!

A simple sword strike based on the surprise of his reappearing was all it took to knock a fire mage to the floor. All his opponents were able to see was a demon effortlessly sliding through the other side of the fire wall, and a targeted hit to the head of their comrade.

'Two more to go.'