CHAPTER 186: QUARTER FINALS END

The two energies collided, one burning red, the other shining gold. Elyra’s movement was the fastest it ever was.

She could easily get past Evander’s defense, but as she said before, there was nothing a Runescar could not cut.

Elyra aimed for Evander’s shield. [Runescar swordsmanship second form: Burning Blossom!]

Her sword flared brighter than ever, petals of flame scattering behind her as she swung. The condensed aura around her blade bloomed outward, erupting in a spiral of fiery blossoms.

Evander crossed his shield and mace before him, his aura flaring in response. "O’ Light of Judgment, bear witness!"

Elyra’s sword once again met with Evander’s buckler. Their aura mantles collided alongside the sword and shield.

Elyra’s sword sliced through Evander’s buckler and even his abdomen. Blood flowed out of his wound and through his mouth.

Evander staggered back, coughing a trail of red. He understood that even if he were to attack now, he would still lose. There was no logic in continuing. But even then...

’I already know it’s illogical... But as a noble of Norvaegard, fighting till the end is just the way we are.’

Evander was about to counter-attack, but Elyra was the first to make a move. "I already knew you would not fall down so easily."

Elyra had cut the nerves on his wrist, making it hard to grip his mace and shield, causing Evander to let go of his weapons.

"As expected of the future sword of Norvaegard," Evander murmured, his smile faint but bright.

"You did great as well," Elyra replied quietly.

"I guess... I can take pride in that..."

Evander spoke with a bright smile on his face. Elyra was about to say something more, but she noticed what had happened to Evander and no longer said anything.

The referee noticed it too. Evander had fainted while standing up with a smile on his face. Despite all the blood covering him, it looked like he was still shining. The referee raised his hand.

"Winner! Elyra Runescar!"

***

For a heartbeat, the entire coliseum was silent. Then, the applause erupted like thunder.

The cheers of thousands shook the arena as the crowd rose to their feet. The match between Elyra Runescar and Evander Judicar was unlike anything they had seen from students their age.

As Elyra stepped past the boundary of the arena, a faint shimmer of magic enveloped her, the blood on her hands vanished, and the bruises across her body faded away.

Yet, her breathing was still ragged, her limbs heavy. The exhaustion of battle remained, and her longsword was still chipped along the edge.

On the other side, Evander’s wounds sealed themselves as he was being carried out of the arena; he remained unconscious.

***

Rachel, who had been surprised multiple times since coming to Norvaegard, was the most shocked she had been.

Back in her Kingdom, she had seen many so-called prodigies and geniuses, but none were a the same level as the ducal heirs.

’Is this the true strength of a ducal heir of Norvaraegard?’

They were all either at the second circle or at the second aura mantle. Yet despite them being nearly at the same level of strength, their abilities and the way they use those strengths differ greatly.

’Is this the difference of a kingdom that had a majority of its culture revolving around glory and honor in battle?’

Her gaze shifted between Elyra and the unconscious Evander. This match, as well as the others, showed her that none of the students liked to surrender. Most of them would bite back even if every part of their body was wrecked.

’I hope some of those noble heirs in my kingdom learn a thing or two from Norvaegard’s ducal heirs.’ Rachel could not help but sigh as she looked at the final match of the quarter finals.

***

The last of the morning matches was Eisen Terre against the daughter of Viscount Lionel Greystone, one of the few nobles of this rank who came from a commoner background.

He was one of the students who got into the semi-finals all those years ago and graduated from the Royal Academy, gaining a knighthood. He later joined a few monster wave defenses, a few wars near the borders, and even a couple of territorial wars, which then allowed him to become a viscount.

Celise Greystone was his daughter, who stood proudly before Eisen Terre. She had a two-handed battle axe at hand.

Her frame was lean but powerful, her stance grounded. The weapon looked heavy, yet she held it as though it weighed nothing. Across from her, Eisen still had nothing in hand.

The referee gave the signal. "Begin!"

Celise charged first. The head of her axe came crashing down with enough force to split stone.

Eisen didn’t move until the last possible moment. A wall of packed earth rose between them with a muffled rumble.

Boom!

The axe struck the wall, shattering it, but not completely. Celise’s attack had cracked the barrier, yet Eisen had already moved. A faint shimmer of telekinetic force tugged at her ankle, throwing her stance off-balance.

Celise gritted her teeth and swung again, spinning in a full arc. The air howled from the force of her strike.

But Eisen’s second wall rose at an angle, diverting the attack upward. Dust burst into the air, obscuring her vision.

Eisen then used telekinesis to shatter the wall, making it burst into several stones. Celise had already seen Eisen do this before and was ready for it.

She took a few hits by defending her body, her aura mantle, while cutting down a few stones that were about to hit vital areas.

Of course, Eisen wasn’t just allowing her to do this; he used a telekinetic force to redirect some of the stones, making them hit Celise faster.

Eisen propelled himself forward with telekinesis, his steps gliding unnaturally fast across the dust.

Eisen then got behind Celise while she was distracted and using telekinesis to move his body. He punched Celise with incredible power and speed.

Celise, who was hit from behind, stumbled forward. Even with her aura mantle, the power of that punch was incredible.

Her boots dug into the ground as she steadied herself, spinning around with a roar. "This isn’t enough!" Her axe came swinging in a wide horizontal arc, a blur of raw power. "To push me down!"

Eisen raised his hand calmly. An earthen wall rose again, thinner this time, but angled. The axe struck it, sliding along the slant instead of breaking it outright. Celise lost a fraction of her balance.

That was all Eisen needed. The same wall that had deflected her strike suddenly burst apart, its fragments suspended midair by telekinesis. Eisen then brought down his, and a barrage of stones came raining down on Celise.

She managed to block most with her axe, her aura flaring bright against the barrage, but Eisen’s control was relentless. The shards didn’t fly randomly; they moved with precision, striking from blind angles, forcing her to overextend and stumble again.

Celise smashed one last fragment aside and dashed through the debris toward Eisen, gritting her teeth.

To everyone’s surprise, Eisen actually met her midway. A mage got into a close-quarters combat with an aura user.

"Are you looking down on me!"

Celise roared as she swung her axe down at Eisen, who evaded with a sidestep, and countered with a punch which Celise blocked with the handle of her axe.

"I’m not looking down on you. This is simply my best course of action." Eisen spoke while unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks that were powered by his telekinesis.

Each strike Eisen threw landed heavier than it should have. Every movement was assisted, not by muscle, but by invisible hands of force. His punches cracked the air; his kicks pushed like battering rams.

Celise blocked one, then another, but the rhythm was unnatural, Eisen’s limbs moved with incredible flexibility, and with speed and strength of an aura user or someone using an enhancement spell, but Eisen was not using any of that.

A wall of earth suddenly popped up from below Celise as she evaded one of Eisen’s punches. The wall of earth hit her abdomen, making her fly upward.

Eisen yanked her back down with telekinesis, locking her body midair for a split second, long enough to unleash a barrage of crushing blows at her vitals.

Celise’s aura mantle could not hold, and she fainted. Eisen caught her before she fell to the ground and gently placed her down.

For a moment, there was only silence. Then, Boom! The crowd erupted into cheers that shook the entire coliseum.

Those who knew about Eisen’s weird constitution, as well as his being just a first circle mage, were speechless. Such mana control, such creativity, using only two spells, both of which were the most basic of basics, to such a degree was an eye opener.

’If only there was a way for him to form his second circle...’

A few instructors sighed. Due to Eisen’s incredibly large mana pool, he never needed to control how much mana he used. Now, because of that, he found it extremely difficult to control his mana, which also made it difficult for him to form his second circle.

The instructors and a few high-ranking mages tried to teach Eisen how to control his overflowing mana, but it all ended in failure. So now he was stuck in the first circle despite his large mana pool.

***

The referee finally reacted and raised his hand in the air. "Winner! Eisen Terre!" The crowd once again cheered in excitement.

The quarter finals had ended, and the four that remained were the best of the best. Three of them were unsurprisingly from the four ducal houses. The fourth semi-finalist was the dark horse of the tournament, the only commoner to reach the semi-finals, Eisen Terre.

In the next match this afternoon, everyone will see if a commoner for the first time in the Royal Academy’s history will be able to reach the finals.