“It’s quite frustrating how you were able to follow all my movements the entire time, none of my tricks worked.” Josselyn lets out a sigh. “I already knew I would lose from the beginning, what I didn’t know was how big the gap between us is.” She leans her back against the wall.
“You would’ve had more chances against other limit breakers, I just happen to have an ability capable of neutralizing that steam curtain.” I shrug.
“You both did a great job! The audience really enjoyed your fight.” Brendu’s voice comes from the side, she just arrived at the hallway where we were talking. I hadn’t felt her because I lowered the range of my Personal World, I need to rest my mind a bit.
“Princess Brendu, it’s an honor to see you again.” Josselyn performs a perfect bow toward Brendu, she managed to respond even before I could.
I wink at Brendu in response to her words. “Did you come to receive your handsome and strong boyfriend?” I ask jokingly.
“No, you already had enough attention from the spectators.” Brendu sticks her tongue out at me. “I came to talk a bit with Josselyn.” I already imagined something like that, Brendu wouldn’t have bothered coming otherwise, she would’ve waited in the stands like in the previous round.
“I’ll serve as private guard.” I walk in the direction Brendu came from. The princess lightly brushes her fingers against mine and continues walking toward Josselyn, the girl freezes in place, her eyes looking lost.
I head to the end of the hallway so I won’t hear their conversation, I’ll watch the entrance so they can talk peacefully.
Brendu has been planning for some time to bring Josselyn under her wing, she wants to take her directly under her command and at the same time try to find a friend in her. Josselyn has too much potential to let her pass, she also seems to be a good person overall.
After a long fifteen minutes, I feel two people approaching where I am. I raise my gaze to see both of them smiling, it seems the negotiation went well.
“See you soon Josselyn.” Brendu says goodbye.
“Yes princess, I’ll be waiting for your call.” Josselyn bows again. “I hope I can have a rematch in the future, Maki.” I can see her eyes shining, she truly wants to fight me again.
“Whenever you want, we can train.” I reply quickly.
I do want to fight her again in the future, my Personal World gained a level during our fight. It’s difficult to level up this ability, I’ll try new ideas when I have time and apply them when we have our rematch.
Josselyn bows to me as well before leaving, she runs off like a rocket.
“Looks like everything went well.” My statement also serves as a question.
“Yes, she didn’t have any complaints. I’m worried about how quickly she accepted, I gave her some time to think about certain conditions or benefits, I don’t want to take advantage of her admiration.” Brendu smiles softly.
“You have a beautiful heart.” Those were the first words that came to my mind.
Brendu has changed a lot during this year together. She was never someone who took advantage of weaker people or those of different status, she was well raised since childhood, but she still had a big shock when classes started, she changed little by little until the moment I met her.
I’ve marked another point in her life, she’s adapting to my way of being and I to hers, sharing every day has brought us to that point.
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The same happened during our time living with Arisa, Marga and Sol, each of the five of us took a small part from the others. Small reactions, types of responses, gestures, we’ve all unconsciously taken something from one another.
Brendu intertwines her hand with mine and we walk toward the stands, there are several fights we need to watch, we have to support our friends.
The next match from someone in our group was Ogine again, it was quite sad for us to see how she lost without being able to do much. I recognize the person who defeated her, he’s one of the two guys who followed me during the harpy mini event, I did some research on them after that event ended.
Jairo, I’ll remember his name, if we both win our next match we’ll face each other.
Shawu and Areci were the first to go comfort Ogine as soon as she returned to the stands, it was a bit surprising not to see her sad or frustrated.
“Thanks everyone for your words, but I don’t feel disappointed for losing… I’m more focused on supporting than fighting, I’m already happy to have at least passed one round.” She lets out a long sigh. “I feel like I’ve taken a huge weight off my shoulders.” Her eyes and smile reflect it, she’s genuinely happy with where she got.
We understand her words, trying to comfort her would be worse right now, so we decide to change the topic and watch the next matches.
Saule won his match as expected, he once again dominated his opponent purely through spear mastery, he only uses his mana and aura to reinforce his body and movements. He didn’t give his opponent any chance again.
Humyr is giving everything in this match, he and his opponent are terribly injured, both are strong and resilient fighters. Neither of them has given in at any point, both keep advancing without caring about their body’s condition, both are fighters who always move forward.
My friend’s match ends with his victory by a small margin, he managed to endure a bit longer. For a moment I thought I saw something different in him, something changed in my eyes. I make a note to ask him when all of this is over.
Charles, on the other hand, also won his match in a crushing manner, just like Saule. Neither of them left any room or hope for their opponent. Charles is incredibly sharp in his matches, he’ll be a difficult opponent for anyone.
Shawu won her endurance match, her opponent was someone specialized in defense. The guy tried to endure as much as possible while draining Shawu’s energy, at times he launched counterattacks to catch her off guard, but overall he focused on defense.
Shawu had a hard time breaking through his defenses, in the end she managed to find a way to deal residual damage until she defeated him. If her opponent had endured thirty seconds more she would’ve lost, she was at her limit.
We’re all happy for our friends, but they are quite quiet and thoughtful, which is strange considering their energetic and talkative personalities. Both are focused on thinking about their next opponents, Humyr and Shawu will face Saule and Charles respectively.
Brunu’s victory wasn’t unexpected, we all expected him to advance and he didn’t disappoint. He delivered another magic recital, it surprises me how many spells he can construct at the same time, his constructs aren’t just fast, they’re incredibly destructive.
Unfortunately, Bruk was also eliminated this round, his opponent was someone named Braul. This guy’s name has been gaining traction recently, he’s had a huge power jump and many organizations are keeping an eye on him.
Areci and Brendu both won their matches. The former had no real trouble, it could even be considered a one-sided beating, while the princess had a much harder time defeating her opponent, but both advanced to the next round.
“Don’t hold a grudge for what happens in the next round.” Areci says to Brendu.
“Be gentle with your friend.” Brendu replies. They’ll face each other in the next round.
They continue joking about this nice coincidence, it’ll be a very entertaining match to watch, but I already know who I’ll support, my heart will always be with the princess.
Salvaj followed the same pattern as his previous match, starting slow and building up during the fight. He seems to be enjoying this tournament just as much as I am.
Brak was the last one to fight, she had many difficulties due to her opponent’s speed, a girl heavily focused on speed and agility. Brak had to create explosions very close to herself to deal damage, in the end her strategy proved to be the right one. Brak managed to advance by a hair, she ended up heavily injured by her own magic.
The round comes to an end, the new matchups are ready and everyone has earned a well-deserved two-day break after giving their all in this stage of the event. No one seems to be taking it lightly, everyone is very focused on advancing.
I’ll take these days calmly, I’ll try to rest as much as possible so I don’t overload my body. I need to find a way to reject Brendu’s invitation to a party with other nobles, although it seems I won’t have a choice and will end up going. “This will be more exhausting…” I mutter to myself, I already feel tired just thinking about socializing.