Overwhelming Firepower

The second day of the Royal Academy Tournament began.

The city awoke to the sound of drums echoing from the coliseum. Within its walls, the competitors gathered once again, some calm and confident, others restless and pale from nerves.

They had witnessed the skills of the other fighters. They now understood how far apart they were from the top.

Of course, some of them were still deluding themselves that they could do the same thing or were better.

***

Lucen sat in the waiting gallery with the other students. As on the first day, the matches were chosen at random.

Unlike the first day matches, this time the matches were slightly more intense. The ones who felt the gap in skill became even more desperate as they fought harder than before.

Those who thought they would easily win were then the ones eliminated. After seeing those whom everyone thought would win lose, the others started fighting a little less recklessly.

This time around, there were a few matches that used the entire ten-minute rounds. The judges then give points to determine who wins and who loses.

Each judge could score from one to ten, and the student with the most points gets to continue. The criteria for judging depend on the judges.

Kaelvar Runescar awarded high marks to those who showed grit and refusal to yield, regardless of elegance or finesse.

Elandor favored precision, giving more points to those who landed the most clean hits.

Seraphina leaned toward creativity and strategy. Those who used feints, traps, or unusual techniques earned her favor.

Principal Aldren’s judging, on the other hand, seemed... Unpredictable. His decisions baffled the students and amused the audience.

***

The morning passed with a steady rhythm. Depending on the damage to the stage, a few craftsmen would fix it.

Each new pair that entered the arena carried traces of yesterday’s memory in their stance. No one rushed in blind anymore.

The smarter ones tried to predict their opponent’s tempo, recalling every movement from the first day.

Of course, this only worked if the person in question had already shown all he or she could do.

The first few bouts were predictable. Students who relied on strength were outmaneuvered by those with patience, and those who relied solely on aura found themselves drained halfway through.

A few gamblers started cursing at the students who lost, as they too lost quite a sum of gold coins. Of course, the school would not tolerate such people and would kick them out.

***

After a few matches came and went, one of the Ducal heirs took the stage. It was Elyra Runescar.

Even among the four ducal heirs, she was considered to have the highest chance of claiming the championship. She was considered a safe bet by the gamblers.

The air in the coliseum shifted the moment Elyra Runescar stepped into the arena.

Her long crimson hair fluttered lightly in the wind, and her expression remained calm, not arrogance, but certainty. She carried no visible tension, only quiet confidence, as if the match before her was merely another sparring session.

Her opponent, a second-year named Garvin Rowe, gripped his two-handed sword tightly. His knuckles were white, and a faint tremor ran down his arm.

Everyone knew this would be a one-sided fight. Even Garvin himself did not feel like he had a chance.

Still, seeing how the other students were able to defeat those who were more skilled than they with nothing but willpower, maybe he could do the same. He took a deep breath, tightening his stance.

The referee looked at the two. ”Are you both ready?”

Elyra gave a small nod. Garvin answered with a deep breath.

The referee raised his hand. ”Begin!” The very second the referee’s hand dropped, Garvin tightened his stance as he enveloped himself with his aura that was at the second mantle.

On the other hand, Elyra was in a casual stance and was not using Aura. Lucen’s match yesterday had once again shown the difference between him and her.

Lucen had fought against someone at the second mantle without using aura, mana, or his unique magic.

The only time he used one of the three, which was his aura, was when he delivered the finishing blow to his opponent.

It was obvious to those skilled enough to see his movements that he was making a statement, to let others know that he was here to claim victory.

So for this match, Elyra decided to showcase her skill with the sword without using much of her aura.

Elyra started walking towards Garvin, who was surprised. This wasn’t something that Elyra would usually do.

Elyra Runescar was famous in the Academy and somebody who would use her overwhelming speed to win, but this time she was doing something completely different.

Still, Garvin did not let his guard down and continued to wait for Elyra to attack and find a chance to counter.

Elyra then did a sword slash without any aura, which Garvin easily blocked. He then redirected Elyra’s blade to the side and countered.

Elyra easily evaded the attack and countered as well. Garvin parried her attack and countered again.

This exchange continued for a while, which excited the audience. To the untrained eye, the exchange was a rather intense defense and offense. Elyra had a few nicks on her body, while Garvin had a few more.

Yet it was Elyra who had an unsatisfied look on her face. Despite not using aura, she was already able to do this much against an opponent with a similar level of aura to hers.

When Garvin saw the expression on Elyra’s face, he finally understood what was happening and felt ashamed and angry. He then did a full-powered downward slash, which Elyra evaded by jumping backward.

”Am I that unworthy!”

Elyra, who was about to counter-attack, stopped in her tracks when Garvin suddenly shouted.

”You’re not even looking at me properly! The opponent your eyes are seeing is not me, who is right in front of you!” Garvin shouted as he gripped the handle of his sword harder.

Elyra looked at Garvin. The other party had fought her with a certain determination, yet she treated her opponent as something to make a point, to compare herself with Lucen.

She was not looking at the opponent in front of her, but at someone else. This was truly a disrespectful act for a warrior.

’I was too caught up with wanting to show Lucen that I improved as well... I disrespected the warrior who’s fighting me with burning determination.’

Elyra then bowed her head, which not only surprised her opponent, Garvin, but the audience as well.

”I apologize for not treating this match and you with the proper respect you deserve... Allow me to make up for mistakes by showing you the best I can.”

Elyra’s stance shifted as she gripped her sword using her hands. She then enveloped her entire body and her sword with her aura mantle, a blazing red which was the same color as her hair.

The entire collisuem suddenly felt hotter. Elyra’s breathing had changed rhythm as she looked at her opponent properly this time.

Garvin felt like he was being stared down by a giant predator. Still, he did not feel frightened; in fact, he felt excited. Elyra Runescar was going to go all out.

Garvin strengthened his aura mantle as much as he could. He enveloped his entire body and sword with his aura mantle. He focused his entire senses on Elyra.

He was going to continue the same strategy as he had in the beginning. He will block or evade Elyra’s next attack and counter.

The entire audience had suddenly become quiet. Garvin could hear the beating of his heart, and he could sense the direction of the wind. His senses were working beyond his limit.

It was at that moment that he saw it. Elyra moved at a speed greater than whatever she used in the last match. She then became a blur in his sight.

Garvin’s mind was screaming at him, BLOCK! Garvin moved his body to block the incoming attack. He felt something hard hitting his sword, and he slid back a few feet. It was at that moment that he heard Elyra’s voice from behind him.

”To think you were able to block the first strike. Unfortunately, I had struck you five times.”

When Garvin heard those words, it was as if it were a trigger. His body, which felt fine a second ago, suddenly felt pain as he fell to his knees. His sight was starting to go dark, and he fainted.

In that brief moment, Elrya dashed by past Garvin and attacked him with five slashes. The first slash, which was the fastest, was surprisingly blocked.

Unfortunately, Garvin let his guard down, thinking she would only attack once, and he would be able to counter like before. But now that she was using her aura mantle, her strength and speed were completely different from before.

The referee then raised his hand. ”Winner! Elyra Runescar!”

Elyra sheathed her sword and bowed to her fallen opponent.