“I’m not sure whether you had good or bad luck in the draw.” Areci places her hand on my shoulder.
We look back at the holographic screen. The draw was done internally; they only announced that the first eight seeds could only face each other in the quarterfinals.
Of the seven limit-breakers participating, only six remain now. One of them decided to withdraw from the competition. Jefran Vallac suffered some kind of mental damage after the attack a week ago, and his family decided not to expose him further. That’s why he won’t be participating in the tournament.
“I just hope I don’t get bored until the semifinals,” I reply to Areci.
My section of the bracket only has two limit-breakers: the boy with exceptional talent with the spear and light magic, and me. I’m eager to fight him. If we talk purely about weapon mastery, his talent isn’t inferior to mine. My body vibrates with excitement.
On the other hand, Areci’s section has four limit-breakers. If no surprises occur, they should face each other in the quarterfinals.
That’s another factor to consider in this competition: surprises. Many competitors don’t reveal their full strength during the early stages. They prefer to keep a few cards hidden up their sleeves to catch others off guard in the final rounds.
The most important school tournament—and one of the most important tournaments overall—comes with great rewards. You could change your life completely if you achieve a high position in this final stage.
“Will we see each other in the finals?” I ask Areci with a mischievous smile.
“If you don’t make it, I’ll remind you for the rest of your life.” She winks at me. I can feel her desire to fight me right now. Under different circumstances, I might have challenged her myself.
“Get ready. You fight in twenty minutes.” Brendu speaks from my other side, tapping me.
“See you later. I hope you’ll cheer for me from the stands.” I say goodbye to the group as I walk toward the locker room.
“If you lose first, I’ll buy food with everything we have left at school!” Shawu shouts. I just raise my hand in farewell as I keep walking.
Could it be a coincidence? I can’t believe I’m the first one in the entire bracket. It feels like someone pulled a few strings to place me as the opening match.
I look at my opponent in the arena. He’s about Brendu’s height, slightly broad in build, and his long hair partially covers his eyes. His smooth black hair is neatly tied back in a bun.
He seems… discouraged? I don’t see any smile or eagerness to fight. Did he just sigh? His presence shifts slightly—now he feels more determined, more focused on the fight—but he still looks somewhat sad.
The starting whistle sounds, and we both stare at each other. I wait for the first move. I’m confident I can defend against any attack.
Purple mana swirls around his body, much more concentrated in his arms and legs. His Imra coats his body as well, and I can sense several Laws flowing through him.
Poison?
This just got more interesting. He seems confident in his combat abilities because he launches himself forward the moment he finishes preparing.
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I form my reliable ice armor. This time I won’t use additional defenses. If I need more protection, I’ll construct it during the fight.
His first punch crashes into my sword. I barely block it in time—his speed catches me by surprise. His strikes are very calculated. He leaves no openings for a counterattack. He made the right decision by closing the distance from the very beginning.
The short distance makes it harder for me to land a clean hit. I’m not pushing my body to the limit with gravity; I’m keeping my mana roughly at the level of Humyr or the twins.
A kick almost slams into my ribs. My sword blocks it just in time. Another strike follows toward my face, and I have to snap my neck aside to dodge it.
The poison seeps in through his attacks. I hadn’t noticed it before, but my senses are slowly going numb. I release a burst of life mana to purify the poison in my body.
What a powerful infiltration ability—I almost didn’t notice it!
I lose focus for a moment, caught between my surprise at the ability and eliminating the poison already inside me. In that brief lapse, I don’t see the fist heading for my arm. I fail to block the blow and it lands cleanly.
The punch isn’t strong enough to push me back, but I frown in pain from the poison. I feel my skin, bones, and mana trying to corrode.
This variant is very different from Brendu’s. It’s less toxic overall, but the problem is the speed at which it tries to spread. I have to use my Imra to block its path. If I let my guard down for even a fraction of a second, the poison tries to travel through my entire arm.
I use death mana along with my Imra and every Law I can to eliminate the poison, just as I do with Brendu’s mana.
Hm?
It takes me slightly longer to purge it. The Laws have strengthened it. He must have at least two Laws and a pseudo-Law related to poison.
At this moment I realize the biggest difference between the two of them: he is completely focused on his poison affinity. The accumulation of Laws is formidable. Eliminating each fragment of his mana is becoming troublesome while I defend myself.
He increases the speed of his strikes so I don’t have space to heal. He’s pushing me to my limit, aggressively trying to keep me under control.
I won’t let you corner me!
I increase the mana around my body. Gravity takes hold of every centimeter of me. My power rises exponentially. The mana slows his strike just enough for me to react.
All my movements become explosive. My new speed catches him by surprise. His punch deviates a few centimeters, and I finally get the chance to attack from a comfortable position.
My slash is almost dodged. I came very close to cutting his throat. He had the reflexes to move just enough and only receives a cut on his cheek.
I dared to go for a killing strike because I know no one can die in this tournament. We’ve all been given protective bracelets that activate when we’re close to death. I don’t have to worry about killing someone right now.
My swords accelerate further. Each strike surpasses my opponent’s current speed. Now it’s my turn to corner him.
He increases his efforts to contain my strength, but it’s not enough to keep up with my speed and power. Cuts begin to accumulate across his body. Every few exchanges, my blade connects somewhere.
I can’t deny it—he has talent in close combat. I’m not holding back at all with my swordsmanship, and I’m surpassing him through sheer physical skill. Even if I lowered myself to his level, I could still win—but it would take much longer.
Finally, a small opening appears. I don’t waste it. My sword slices straight through his arm in a single strike.
He releases an explosion of mana from the other side. His leg moves at incredible speed to catch me off guard and connects with my face.
The poison hits me hard. That blow was heavily loaded. I’ve never felt so much poison trying to pierce through my entire body. My mental ability is working overtime to hold it back. I bite my lips to avoid screaming in pain.
My sword moves despite the agony. He tries to block it, but I don’t allow it. My other sword cuts that hand off, and the first blade aimed at his chest finds flesh.
I pierce his chest, and before I can push further, a light blocks his body.
I wait until the light fades. I can see the disappointment on his face.
“That was a great fight!” I offer him my hand to help him stand.
The light not only protected him—it’s healing parts of his body at an alarming speed. It stops after regenerating one hand. Apparently, it can’t fully heal him.
He hesitates for a moment before taking my hand, and I help him up.
“Thank you…” He looks slightly confused by my actions.
“By the way, I’m Maki. It’s a bit late for introductions.” He probably already knows my name, but I say it out of courtesy.
“Nice to meet you, Maki. I’m Juano.” He gives a shy smile.
My first opponent has given me a lot of inspiration to improve. I’m very grateful to have fought him. If the rest of the tournament will be like this, I’m looking forward to the next battles.