Carrot and Stick

The match day finally arrived. Arthur was silently walking toward the school grounds with his mother, contemplating his battle tactics, when he started hearing a lot of commotion. When he looked up, he saw a huge crowd waiting near the school. The contrast between his somber thoughts and the festival-like atmosphere struck him immediately.

People kept talking to each other while looking at him.

"I wish the boy could last more than a few seconds. Otherwise, it will be too much of a waste of my time."

"I think young master Kian would take his time torturing him to put up a good show for his loyal fans like us."

"I hope he doesn't end up too badly. Why did he have to go up against such a monster?"

He heard a mix of sarcasm, contempt, ridicule, and worry in people's voices, but unanimously everyone agreed that there was no chance for him to win this battle.

As he neared the arena where the battle was scheduled, he understood the reason for the crowd. Teacher Larry was smiling and talking to a middle-aged man who had sharp eyes and an imposing manner. The man was nodding and saying a few words intermittently, while Teacher Larry maintained a polite demeanor as they walked toward the school ground.

Seats were arranged for a few of the honorable guests, who were mostly influential people of the town.

Arthur was dumbstruck seeing so many people coming to see his match.

He was a normal human fighting one of the most powerful Awakened prodigies of their age in this town. Kian didn't even regard him as an opponent. The idea of so many influential people—including Sir Arash—attending such an insignificant match seemed surreal to Arthur, who had no idea about the underlying dynamics of the event.

What he was unaware of was that recently, Kian's notoriety had garnered a lot of ill attention. No one spoke directly due to the influence of Sir Arash, but there was resentment brewing in the minds of people who had suffered at his hands. Some of those children were also the offspring of influential people.

Sir Arash had planned this event as a demonstration of strength to garner support and suppress some resentment.

"People of Alvaro! Welcome to today's event. Today was supposed to be a match between my son and his friend at school out of youthful vigor. However, I have taken the liberty to make it into a display of strength for our younger generation. The selection to the Skywind Academy is about to begin in a month."

"Usually, we don't even get one student to enroll in the academy due to the stiff competition from students across the kingdom. The last admission to the academy from our school was five years ago."

"So, I designed this event to take note of the promising students and give them a boost so that they have a better chance at admission. The winner of every match is eligible for a reward."

"Based on the recommendations by the school and my personal judgement, I have hand-selected students who have yet to reach the age of ten, as this is the admission criterion for Skywind Academy. This includes not only those who had awakened last year but also those from the year before." He glanced a look at some of the influential people and saw their countenances softening a bit.

All the children present felt a fluttering in their hearts as they dreamed of getting a reward. If it was from Sir Arash, it would definitely be something good.

"Let the matches begin!" Sir Arash spoke and sat down on his seat as Teacher Larry took over as the referee for the match.

"First match - Geram vs Lily!" Teacher Larry announced.

Geram was the son of the priest of the local church, a man with significant influence in the town. He was also the elder brother of Gina, whom Kian had ruthlessly injured in a sparring match at school. Their father had been in a foul mood ever since.

Geram had awakened two years ago but aimed for the prestigious Skywind Academy and refused to enroll in lesser-known academies. Due to the tough competition, he hadn't been able to get admitted to the academy yet.

The match had been carefully designed so that Geram, with his Earth element, was paired with Lily, a Water element user with a weak foundation, to ensure an easy victory.

After a couple of moves, Geram closed in on Lily and landed a blow, ending the match. Without waiting for the next match, Sir Arash gave out a gift to Geram.

Geram excitedly opened it to reveal a hand leather guard reinforced with Earth element energy. Such armor was invaluable, providing strong defensive capabilities without adding significant weight. It was a prize that instantly validated his decision to persist in training for Skywind Academy admission.

This instantly increased the excitement in the match. Everyone tried to fight hard to secure a win and earn a reward.

All the matches went according to Sir Arash's plan. Rewards were given to the children of the influential people who were previously harmed by Kian.

From the sidelines, Kian observed the other children cherishing their meager rewards and celebrating the chance to compete for Skywind Academy admission. To Kian, it was laughable.

"Pathetic," Kian muttered under his breath. "Scrambling for scraps to enter Skywind Academy… as if that's the pinnacle of their dreams. They're all so beneath me."

For someone who had already been offered free admission to the academy—and rejected it in pursuit of far loftier goals—these matches were nothing more than a spectacle of mediocrity.

"Now, the last match of the day. Young master Kian vs Arthur," Teacher Larry announced.

"Before we start the match, I would like to commend Arthur for the daring feat of challenging an Awakened while being just a normal human." Sir Arash looked at the crowd and applauded.

"I have asked Kian to take the match as a friendly spar. But Fire is a dangerous element, and you don't have any element for your protection. I would advise you to be careful," Sir Arash warned Arthur.

Sir Arash had given out rewards to the children of the influential people to calm them down. Now it was time to show strength to those who dared to go against him. This was a carrot and stick approach to garner support through both gifts and punishment.

Kian and Arthur both walked out and stood ten feet apart, the tension between them palpable. "Begin!" Teacher Larry announced.