“Congratulations on your first victory!” Brendu is the first to shout at me as I return to the box where we always sit.
All my friends come one by one to congratulate me as well, some more emotionally than others. Humyr, for example, is always the most expressive in these kinds of situations. The twins are the complete opposite, but I can still feel the happiness they have for their friend.
“Was it a difficult fight? That poison looked dangerous.” Areci asks after we calm down.
“Yes, it was. It was harder than I expected. I thought I was already used to fighting poison users because of my daily training, but this was completely different.” I look at Brendu and smile. “Brendu is much stronger overall. She’s far more versatile. But that guy is focused purely on poison. The difference in how it’s used is enormous.” I touch my face as I remember.
It’s like comparing the normal fire of any user with the blue or pale-celestial fire of Areci. The difference is huge. There’s no point of comparison. The intensity of the flames is so different that you can start roasting without even being touched. The same thing happens with poisons.
The memories are still fresh—it only happened a few minutes ago. The poison tried to expand in every direction, even using every infected part as fuel. It didn’t matter whether it was mana, skin, or bone—it used everything like gasoline to keep growing and spreading.
I could only remain calm and composed thanks to my mental ability. I didn’t panic because of my previous experience. It took me much longer just to control it and prevent it from spreading. It became an internal battle between Juano’s will to expand and my will to stop it. In the end, my Imra was far stronger and prevailed.
Completely eliminating it during the fight would have been a massive problem at another point in the match. If Juano had managed to extend the fight longer, I might have had much more trouble dealing with the poison while defending myself from being infected again.
In the end, my death mana did most of the work, destroying every trace of his ability so that life mana could restore everything back to normal. Juano in Ruby or Diamond rank will be extremely dangerous.
“Yes. For a moment that ability from your fight reminded me of a skill belonging to one of my mother’s cousins—of course on a much smaller scale, since my uncle is Diamond rank. Someone else in your situation wouldn’t have been so careless as to let themselves get contaminated.” Brendu says it naturally, as if it were entirely my fault.
I roll my eyes and ignore most of it. “I got a good inspiration for how to use my ice after feeling firsthand how his poison spreads while consuming everything. I want to achieve something similar with my ice.” I know it’s possible. Many fire users do it, and some ice users have achieved it too. With enough training, I might eventually understand it.
We keep talking while watching the following battles, until finally someone from our group has to head to the locker room before their match. The next one to fight is Ogine.
She is the weakest among us in direct combat. She has improved significantly during the last year thanks to everyone’s insistence, but she’s still far behind in combat skills.
At least her first-round pairing wasn’t too bad. She seems to be facing another team support-type fighter. The other girl is an unusual earth user. She doesn’t seem focused on direct combat—more like a tracker through earth vibrations with solid defensive capabilities.
The fight lasts longer than expected. Breaking that defense becomes a real headache for our friend. Ogine also gets injured several times. The other girl isn’t focused on offense, but she still has a few attacking abilities.
Healing mana becomes the deciding factor in the match. Ogine manages her mana well and that ultimately makes her the winner. We all congratulate our friend when she returns. She had been the most worried about failing the first round.
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Humyr is the next one from our group to go out.
Before his fight, we watch the spear user with light magic completely demolish his opponent. He only used his spear during the entire fight and never needed to use mana for anything other than strengthening his body.
Humyr gets a very annoying opponent for his fighting style—a boy who fights entirely from a distance and focuses on wearing down his opponent. They are two opposite extremes. Humyr has a tough match ahead.
For a moment we all think the worst. It looks like our friend is going to lose.
Then everything turns around in an explosion of mana. His opponent’s senses become overwhelmed by the massive wave of mana bursting outward and he loses sight of Humyr for a second. Our friend uses that moment to close the distance and overwhelm him with brute force.
“That was close…” is the first thing he says when he opens the door to our box.
I’m the first to appear beside him and give my friend a strong hug, just like he did with me earlier. I’m immediately pushed aside by Shawu, who hugs him tightly while sticking her tongue out at me.
Charles wins his match without any trouble. Watching him fight feels like watching someone take a stroll through their own backyard. He doesn’t hold back at all and aims to finish the fight immediately.
Shawu is next. She wins relatively easily, without the complications Humyr or Ogine faced. Her opponent is a spear user and a main attacker. He isn’t weak at all, but Shawu is far more skilled in many ways.
This fight becomes one of the most entertaining of the day—a constant back-and-forth with no tricks involved. Both of them put on a great show and earn the applause of the audience.
The next person who catches my attention is Brunu. He wins without even moving. His power is overwhelming from the very beginning. Extremely powerful magic deployed instantly, and his multiple affinities make him a difficult opponent.
Brunu’s opponent tries everything possible and doesn’t make things easy at any moment, but that isn’t enough to break through so many defenses while surviving that many spells.
Bruk with his spear is already on the stage, staring directly at his opponent. She’s a very tall girl—even taller than me—and she’s also a spear user.
The fight is just as entertaining. Both have very similar spear mastery, with only a slight advantage for Bruk. The difference comes down to their control of mana and Imra. My friend manages his mana more efficiently, but his opponent uses her Imra with greater precision.
The battle drags on and becomes a war of attrition. Both are covered in cuts and severe wounds due to the aggressive nature of their affinities—especially Bruk’s explosive one.
Finally, Bruk manages to win while gritting his teeth at the end. He was just one hit away from collapsing.
Next on the list is Areci. She heads to the locker room with a big smile, strangely without saying a word.
What Areci does in her fight is insane. Like Charles and the other limit-breakers, she doesn’t hold back at all. She enters the fight with the intention of finishing it as quickly as possible.
Her opponent is someone focused on defense, which makes the fight last longer than expected. He receives a brutal beating the entire time. The boy endures as best he can. I’m impressed by his incredible defense and strong will not to surrender.
In the end, he can’t endure any more damage and the light envelops his body, ending the match.
Brendu faces a long-distance fighter. She’s at a disadvantage during the early part of the fight. While she’s skilled at ranged combat, her opponent is even more specialized.
The princess turns the situation around after buying enough time to summon her monstrous trees.
Her constructs can endure attacks like tanks, and her teleportation catches her opponent by surprise. Little by little she drains the girl’s mana until she finally finds a gap in her defenses and corners her to claim victory.
Salvaj approaches his first match with much more calm. He fights more in my style—moving slowly at the same rhythm as his opponent and gradually increasing the intensity to make the fight more entertaining.
When he feels satisfied, he suddenly accelerates the pace explosively, leaving his opponent unable to react. Salvaj doesn’t miss the openings in his defense and delivers a fast and brutal beating to finish the match.
Finally, the last important person in this tournament is Brak. Our explosion mage—just like her brother—faces a boy who also specializes in ranged combat. His affinity is water.
The fight is entertaining, but the winner is obvious from the start. Brak has better mana control, more mana overall, and her affinity gives her a clear advantage.
She ultimately overwhelms him, though she ends up injured and mentally exhausted like the other participants.
The day ends with victory for all of us. The joy of passing the first round fills us completely. We decide to celebrate for advancing together.
Most likely some of us will lose in the next round or the one after that—but that’s a problem for the future. Today is a day to celebrate.
We go to a good restaurant chosen by Areci. We don’t worry about drinking too much. Tomorrow will be a rest day, and the fights will resume afterward.
“Let’s celebrate everyone making it through the first round! Cheers!” Areci shouts.
“Cheers!” we all answer at the same time while raising our glasses.