Chapter 13: Eight Young Heroes

The roar of the crowd and the clanging of weapons filled the Colosseum of Starlight, the main arena of the Nytharia Hero Academy. The monthly student competition had reached its intense semi-final stage. Eight of the academy's best students faced off for a place in the grand final: Aria, Sylvia, Sylvana, and Valerius on one side, against Xarther, Faun, Rush, and Lyra on the other. Headmaster Eldrin sat among the spectators, his sharp gaze observing every movement in the arena.

Before the matches began, the students gathered briefly in the corridor leading to the arena. The aura of competition was thick, mixed with curiosity and a hint of anticipation.

Sirius approached Aria with a wide smile, patting her shoulder. "Hey, Arthur! Didn't think you'd make it this far. Hope you can reach the final tomorrow!"

Aria nodded briefly, a little tense but focused. "Hope so too, Sirius."

Faun, standing beside Xarther, stared at Sylvia with a judging look. "So you're the plant mage everyone's talking about. Let's see how strong your roots are in the arena."

Sylvia replied calmly, her gaze equally scrutinizing. "Nature will speak through every thorn and vine."

Rush, with a wide grin, eyed Sylvana. "You must be a beast tamer. I'm curious, which wild beasts will you unleash against me?"

Sylvana smirked back. "You'll find out soon enough, and you might regret asking."

Lyra looked at Aria with a cold yet slightly curious gaze. "Hmm..." she murmured softly.

Aria nodded briefly, undaunted.

Xarther himself stood slightly apart, his gaze fixed on Aria. There was something in Aria's aura that drew his attention, a hidden, subtle power. But there was something else that troubled him more. There was a strange feeling of familiarity every time he saw the girl who was always called Arthur, yet he couldn't understand why the feeling arose.

As Aria stood facing Lyra, Xarther unconsciously muttered something softly, almost inaudible amidst the pre-match commotion. His eyes were fixed on Aria's posture, which was calm yet wary.

" ...this feeling... I feel like... I've seen her before... somewhere... but I can't remember... so familiar... but why...?" Xarther murmured, a slight frown creasing his brow, trying to understand the strange feeling that gripped him as he looked at Aria.

The roar of the crowd echoed through the Colosseum as the eight aspiring heroes entered the arena.

Match One: Sylvia vs Faun

Both took their positions in the center of the sandy arena. Faun, with a sharp grin, displayed his two claws coated in silvery magical energy, ready to pounce. Sylvia closed her eyes for a moment, sensing the flow of mana around her, then opened them with burning determination. The ground around Faun trembled, and instantly a barrage of sharp thorns erupted, forcing Faun to leap backward in a breathtaking acrobatic maneuver. The fight began at a high tempo. Faun darted like lightning, his claws slashing rapidly through the air, leaving trails of silver energy. Sylvia calmly extended her hands, summoning thick and strong thorny vines to whip and ensnare Faun. Faun agilely dodged the sweeping vines, occasionally leaping onto thicker ones for leverage, then launching claw attacks that pulsed with increasing magical energy. A tall and dense wall of tangled vines suddenly appeared before Faun, forcing him to find another way. Faun cleverly leaped vertically onto the wall, using his footing to launch an aerial attack with his claws glowing like a crescent moon. Sylvia swiftly grew poisonous flowers that exploded upon contact at the top of the wall, forcing Faun to evade again with an incredibly fast spin. The battle raged fiercely for over twenty minutes. Faun relentlessly attacked with his speed and ferocity, while Sylvia patiently and strategically created natural traps, utilizing thorns, vines, and even suffocating pollen clouds. Several times Faun's claws nearly struck Sylvia, leaving tears in her cloak, while Sylvia's vines almost managed to bind Faun. In the end, after a series of intricate feints and exploiting a momentary lapse in Sylvia's concentration as she created a new trap, Faun darted with lightning speed and managed to graze his energy-filled claws across Sylvia's arm, causing her to lose balance and fall, securing a narrow but thrilling victory for Faun.

Match Two: Sylvana vs Rush

Sylvana stood with a focused gaze, her hands slightly raised, ready to summon her beasts. From behind her shadow emerged a glowing forest wolf with burning green eyes and fangs the size of daggers, followed by a massive bird of prey with glossy black feathers and claws that gleamed like steel. Both beasts roared, their magical power filling the arena, ready to pounce on Rush. Rush firmly stomped his foot on the ground, summoning a sturdy and high wall of earth in front of him. The wolf lunged at the wall with a terrifying growl, its claws raking the stone surface with a bone-jarring screech, while the bird flapped its wide wings, creating a gust of wind as it soared high, ready to dive from the sky. Sylvana gave commands through her gaze and gentle movements of her hands, coordinating her two beasts' attacks perfectly. Rush continued to defend behind his shield, his powerful punches shaking the earth wall each time the beasts attacked. This tense battle lasted for over fifteen minutes. Rush relied on his immense physical strength and solid defense, while Sylvana cleverly utilized the agility and ferocity of her beasts, trying to find a weakness in Rush's defense. Finally, with a clever feint, Sylvana commanded her bird of prey to dive sharply from above at full speed, diverting Rush's attention to the aerial threat. At the same moment, the wolf swiftly and silently broke through the side of the earth shield that had begun to crack from the relentless assault, pouncing on Rush with deadly bites and claws, knocking him down and granting victory to Sylvana.

Match Three: Aria vs Lyra

The air around them instantly chilled several degrees as Lyra began to manifest her ice magic with increasing intensity. Dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of ice crystals of various sizes floated in the air, swirling around Lyra like a deadly miniature snowstorm, ready to be launched with a simple command. Aria took a defensive stance, the wind around her began to spin faster, creating a small vortex that protected her from the biting cold and was ready to be used as a counter-attack. Lyra unleashed a relentless barrage of sharp ice crystals, forcing Aria to move at full speed, evading the deadly hail with incredible acrobatic maneuvers. Several times, the crystals nearly hit her, leaving thin cuts on her clothing and a freezing sensation on her skin. Aria retaliated with gusts of strong wind, trying to shatter Lyra's ice formations, but Lyra's control over her magic was extraordinary, even turning some crystals into moving shields. This contrasting elemental battle lasted for over twenty thrilling minutes. Lyra then created a giant, shimmering ice spear and hurled it towards Aria with astonishing speed, leaving a trail of cold air behind it. Aria darted to the side with lightning speed, the spear slamming into the ground with a small explosion, creating sharp ice shards. Aria gathered the wind energy in both her hands, creating a high-pressure wind sphere that whizzed loudly. She hurled it at Lyra, who swiftly created a thick, glittering ice wall with intricate carvings. The wind sphere slammed into the wall with a violent explosion, creating a cloud of ice that spread rapidly around Lyra, reducing her visibility. Seizing the opportunity, Aria charged forward at full speed from behind the cloud, but Lyra had anticipated this. From within the cloud, sharp ice chains shot out towards Aria, wrapping around her legs and arms, yanking her roughly to the ground. Lyra emerged from the cloud, her eyes glinting coldly, a long and pointed ice sword in her hand, ready to end the fight. However, with her remaining strength and burning determination, Aria unleashed an incredibly powerful gust of wind from below, creating a sudden burst of force that sent her rolling away from Lyra's deadly sword strike. The ice chains on her limbs snapped against the rough ground. With cuts on her arms and legs, and her breath coming in ragged gasps, yet her eyes filled with unwavering resolve, Aria stood up again. She gathered all the remaining wind energy around her body, creating a vortex that grew larger, spun faster, and emitted a faint light. With a small, determined roar, she released the vortex towards Lyra, who hadn't expected such a powerful counter-attack after dominating the fight for so long. The wind vortex slammed into Lyra with full force, sending her flying backward and collapsing unconscious. With her body bearing minor wounds but utterly exhausted, Aria had achieved a near-impossible victory.

Match Four: Valerius vs Xarther

As soon as the fight began, Valerius, with a cold aura and disdainful gaze, immediately boasted about the power of his elven magic and ordered Xarther, a mere human in his eyes, to surrender without resistance. Xarther completely ignored him, his eyes fixed on Valerius with a calm yet confident look. He was certain he could defeat Valerius even without using his own magic, relying on his speed, agility, and physical combat skills, as he saw Valerius's arrogance and temper as exploitable weaknesses. True enough, Valerius, enraged at being ignored, attacked with powerful yet poorly aimed offensive spells. Xarther agilely evaded each attack, occasionally launching swift counter-attacks with his sword. After ten minutes of intense fighting, where Valerius grew increasingly frustrated as his attacks consistently missed and Xarther successfully provoked him into making mistakes, Xarther with a swift and precise movement managed to disarm Valerius and knock him off balance, ending the match with a surprising victory for Xarther.

With these results, Xarther, Aria, Faun, and Sylvana would meet the next day for the final matches, a highly anticipated showdown between four students who had demonstrated extraordinary potential throughout the competition, with vastly different fighting styles.

[... ]

That night, after the echoing cheers and tension of the new students' competition subsided, several higher-level students gathered in the academy's bustling tavern. The aroma of butterbeer and casual chatter filled the air.

Seraphina, a third-year water element mage with long blue hair tied high, sipped her drink while shaking her head in amazement. "Tomorrow's matches are going to be incredible. Four new students with such amazing abilities."

Kars, a fourth-year swordsman with a scar across his cheek, leaned back in his chair. "I'm curious about the fight between Arthur and Sylvana. Wind control versus beast taming. Such different styles."

Linn, a third-year archer with eyes as sharp as a hawk, nodded in agreement. "Sylvana will definitely unleash all her beasts. That glowing wolf and the giant bird of prey are no easy opponents."

vindargh, a burly fourth-year earth mage, scratched his bearded chin. "But Arthur can't be underestimated either. His speed and how he utilizes the wind... he has the potential to surprise."

Seraphina chimed in, "And don't forget Xarther against Faun. Faun is agile and his attacks are fast, but Xarther looked so calm and controlled during his fight."

Kars nodded. "Xarther is so mysterious. He even defeated Valerius without using magic. I wonder what his real abilities are."

Linn narrowed her eyes, looking thoughtful. "I still remember Xarther's gaze at Arthur earlier. There was something strange there."

vindargh raised an eyebrow. "Maybe just focusing on a potential opponent?"

"I don't know," Linn replied, shrugging. "But there was a kind of... deeper interest, I think."

Seraphina smiled mysteriously. "We'll just have to see tomorrow. These four students... they're definitely going to put on an amazing show."

They continued their conversation, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each new student, and speculating about the outcomes of the upcoming matches. Their enthusiasm for this year's new student competition was palpable.

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